NOTE: The flashback scene in this chapter was written through the help of my dear friend and co-writer Tyroth Darkstorm, also the characters Tyroth, Sephie and Hugh belong to him! Check out my favouraite stories and authors category to read his amazing fics!
Chapter Fifty-Three
Getting Aquatinted
"...and thus this is where we are now." Leonardo concluded as he finished telling the story to Tyroth, Sephie and Hugh who sat there listening intently.
Tyroth was frowning hard as he listened, Sephie was staring with her mouth open, and Hugh was gazing at the Autobots then back at Leonardo wondering if he was dreaming.
After the dragon, gecko and human man had arrived and settled, Splinter wasted no time in preparing some tea as well as some for Fowler when he awoke.
Pandora and Michelangelo found it hilarious that Fowler had fainted again, as had the other Autobots yet Donatello made sure the agent was comfortable on the sofa and Monalisa fanned him until he was to come to.
Leonardo then took a breath as looked back at Tyroth, Sephie and Hugh, then looked to Optimus who stood closest to the raised platform.
"Um...Prime, if you'd like to take over?" he asked to which Optimus nodded.
"By all means Leonardo." He said then looked to the Dragon, Gecko, and human police officer.
"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."
"Autobots?" Hugh asked.
"Autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron." Ironhide explained.
"Oh right..." Hugh breathed.
Optimus then introduced his team to Tyroth and Sephie who in turn spoke who they were, and Hugh also introduced himself.
"Leonardo has spoken a lot about you." Optimus stated, "About who you are and what you have done for humanity."
Tyroth looked rather proud.
"I'm a man, or rather Dragon of honour and justice." He said, "I care very deeply for my family and friends as well as the humans, even though they have no idea we exist."
"So why are you here?" Sephie asked.
"To protect your planet." Optimus spoke "From the Decepticons."
Tyroth frowned.
"There's a threat to Earth?" he asked walking over to the rails on the platform and looked up at the Prime who nodded.
"Who are these...these..." Sephie paused.
"Decepticons." Ironhide said.
"Yes, them." Sephie said.
"A dangerous group of Cybertronians lead by Megatron." Optimus spoke "Our war raged for centuries, costing many lives and eventually our planet."
"By Odin..." Tyroth said.
"You mean you can't go home?" Sephie asked.
Ironhide shook his head.
"Unless we find a source to repair our planet, Cybertron will be devoid of life forever." He said.
"And we will find a source." Ratchet cut in "Even if it kills us!"
Tyroth looked at all the Autobots.
"Wow..." he said, "I never imagined I'd wake up one day and find myself in a silo with giant robots."
"Likewise." Hugh muttered "And I thought I'd seen everything."
"Join the club." Michelangelo said, "But I have to say, it's made our lives a lot more interesting than it was before!"
"Sure has!" Pandora cheered.
"And you were the one who got us into this predicament." Kemeko quipped.
"Hey!" Pandora cried looking at her cousin "How many times to I have to say what happened wasn't my fault!"
Tyroth and Sephie looked at each other, then at Pandora, knowing very well how the hybrid often got into scraps.
They never understood how Pandora managed to get herself into sticky situations, it was either bad luck or she was just a trouble magnet, but they knew despite the holes she fell into she was always able to get back on top.
"You were the one who suggested looking at the crystals Optimus was at!" Kemeko said.
"Yeah! But I didn't know there would be giant robots nearby!" Pandora snapped "And for the record, you weren't so slick when that night guard got you in the museum!"
"Hey!" Kemeko cried.
"Girls!" Monalisa called over "Quit arguing or it's backflips!"
Both Kemeko and Pandora went quiet, yet Pandora put out her tongue at Kemeko which made Tyroth and Sephie chuckle and Ratchet rolled his eyes.
Just then a groan was heard from the sofa, and everyone looked over to see Fowler waking up.
"Guys!" Donatello called over "Fowler's coming round."
"Ugggh by Sam's Beard..." Fowler muttered as he rubbed his head "Jeez what a nightmare..."
He sat up and looked around to find himself back in the silo with the Autobots and the Hamato Clan.
"Huh?" he asked, "What am I doing here?"
"I can answer that." Leonardo said walking over and kneeling next to the sofa.
"Leo?" Fowler asked cocking his head.
"I hate to say, but you fainted again." Leonardo said.
"I did?" Fowler asked then looked over to Tyroth, Sephie and Hugh then he remembered the museum.
"Oh man..." he started to go pale again.
"Please don't faint again William!" Donatello said, "They haven't even told you about themselves yet!"
"Okay..." Fowler said then he saw Hugh walking over.
"Agent William Fowler." He said, "I'm Hugh Beauregard, pleased to meet you!" he held out his hand for him to shake and Fowler did so.
"Hi." He said, "And you are?"
"Chief of Police in Chicago." Hugh explained "And good friends of Tyroth and Sephie here." He gestured to the Dragon and Gecko.
Fowler blinked as he looked at Hugh then at Tyroth and Sephie.
"Okay...alright," he said "I'm not dreaming this..."
Bulkhead stood next to Ironhide as he watched Fowler speak to Hugh, Tyroth and Sephie.
"Bet you three High Grade he faints again!" he challenged.
"You're on!" Ironhide responded.
"Making bets huh?" Arcee questioned making the three Mechs look over.
"Well, I bet four High Grades he goes insane!" Arcee smirked.
Bumblebee bleeped and whirred his own bet as well to which the four Autobots chuckled and looked back at the platform to watch the show.
Fowler sat up straight and listened as Tyroth and Sephie explained who they were and where they were from, with the Hamato clan speaking for them as well.
They spoke about how they were once Raymond Ottosen and Elizabeth Hartman, and about their home Mutopia under the city of Chicago, and the inhabitants as well as the magical water and all the adventures they had had in the previous years although they did leave out the Skyrim and Dungeons and Dragons escapades.
"Whoa..." Fowler breathed as he listened.
"Like the Hamato Clan, we hide under Chicago and protect the city from peril in the shadows." Sephie explained.
"I see..." Fowler said then turned to Hugh "and how did you get to know these guys?" he asked.
"I share Agent Fowler's curiosity." Optimus said.
"We all do!" Ironhide agreed.
Hugh took a deep breath.
"Wow, where to begin." He said rubbing his chin "It was so long ago."
"And we still remember it like yesterday." Tyroth said placing a hand on his chest as he began to remember...
Flashback
15 years ago, Chicago, Night
It was late at night in the city of Chicago and Hugh Beauregard was making his way home.
He strode along the pavements feeling very tense and angry.
He had been serving as chief of police for many years and it always felt like a triumph when he saw criminals go down for their crimes, whether it be a petty theft or fraud to a serious case like murder or paedophilia.
But today was one case he had been on, and the perpetrator had managed to walk free from court due to legal loopholes.
Hugh could never understand how lawyers slept at night if they were defending the most dangerous or harden criminals despite the whole 'Everyone has the right to a fair trial'.
Hugh knew he was guilty, but due to the loopholes and 'lack of evidence' he had walked free, and Hugh felt like he had let the victims down.
It wasn't the first time, but it still stung his soul and he felt he needed to get some air and go home to rest for a while.
Luckily, he wasn't due back on duty for a couple of days, so he decided to relax and try and calm down before he got back to work.
After a few minutes he decided to take a short cut through an alleyway to get to his apartment.
He could have gone the long way round, but this way cut his journey by ten minutes, and he knew how to defend himself if he ran into trouble.
Taking a breath as well as wrapping his coat around himself, he walked through the alleyway.
After a couple of minutes, Hugh suddenly had a feeling that he was being followed and he slowed down.
He always knew when to trust his gut, and this was one of those days.
Hugh frowned and reached for his gun on his belt yet before he could do anything he was grabbed by the collar and thrown against the wall!
"Chief Beauregard!"
Hugh shook off stars and looked up to see a man with brown dreadlocks in a suit along with several other men and women holding knives, bats, and pipes.
"Thought you'd send me into the slammer huh?" he asked, "You thought you'd get me put in jail?"
Hugh gasped as he recognised the man in question, and it was the one who had been in court and found not guilty.
"No way!" he gasped.
The man chuckled.
"Oh yes, the one the judge and jury found not guilty!"
Hugh glared.
"How they didn't see through you, I'll never know!" he spat "But I know very well what you are and what you're capable of!"
"Oh Hugh, you have no idea!" the man said, "No idea what I can do..." he looked at his group around him "But you are about to find out!"
So, saying he clicked his fingers and the gang members approached Hugh with their weapons.
Hugh, being the experienced Police officer he was, instantly got into action and raised his fists ready to fight, despite there being one against several goons, he wasn't going to go down without a fight.
No sooner did he do so than the goons went for him, and he was struck with the pipes and bats as well as punched and kicked.
But the brave police officer kept trying to fight back despite all the blows laid on him, and before long, a baseball bat to his stomach sent him down and he fell on his hands and knees coughing up blood and mucus as well as a couple of teeth.
He panted and looked up as the thug raised the bat to smash his head in but the dreadlocked man in the suit stopped him.
"Enough, he's mine to finish." He said then took out a gun before pulling back the flintlock.
"End of the line Copper!" he sneered "I have to say... it's been fun!"
He lifted the gun ready to fire, yet as he pulled the trigger, a large red and yellow shape landed in front of him, and Hugh heard the bang followed by a cry of horror.
"What the fucking hell?"
"Dishonour! Damn you to Hell!"
"Monster!"
Hugh blinked as he looked up and he saw before him a large creature with wings standing in front of him along with a slender scaley lizard woman with long curly red/brown hair.
"What in the name of...?" he questioned then gasped as the creatures turned around to face him and he soon saw they were a male red dragon and an intense green gecko woman.
The dragon held out his hand to Hugh.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
Hugh lifted his hand to the dragon, and he saw that he sported a bullet wound in his chest very close to where his heart was which was healing faster than he could blink.
"I...I... well I..."
He was pulled up to his feet by the dragon and he cleared his throat.
"Thank you...but...who are you?"
End Flashback
"... I know I broke the rules, by letting myself and my wife be seen by human eyes, but I couldn't just let a police officer be murdered, thus I took the gamble."
"And it paid off!" Michelangelo quipped.
"Sure did!" Raphael agreed.
"Wow..." Fowler breathed.
"What happened to those crooks if I may be bold to ask?" Ironhide questioned.
"They got put behind bars for a while since it's a proper offence to attempting to murder a police officer." Sephie reported with a wink.
Hugh nodded.
"These two saved my bacon more than a few times that night!" he chuckled "Not only was my life saved, but the guy who walked free ended up in jail as I hoped he did, for trying to kill me!"
"Right on!" Pandora cheered.
"And we gained a human liaison too." Sephie said "one to give us the heads up on any criminal activity and cross the red tape."
"Indeed!" Tyroth winked.
"And because they exist outside the law." Hugh said, "They can do what we the police cannot as the red tape doesn't apply to them."
"Sweet!" Pandora said clapping her hands.
"All to serve and protect the city." Hugh concluded.
"I see..." Fowler muttered as he looked at Hugh, Tyroth and Sephie his face getting more and more pale.
Watching the agent, Bulkhead, Ironhide and Bumblebee looked at each other and snickered.
"His mind is blown." Bulkhead whispered.
"Darn tootin'!" Ironhide chuckled.
Bumblebee bleeped then he looked to see Fowler fall back on the sofa as he fainted.
"That's first time he's fainted!" Bulkhead said, "two more times and that high grade is mine!"
"There he goes again!" Michelangelo exclaimed as he saw Fowler fall back on the sofa.
"Is he always like this?" Tyroth asked.
"Pretty much!" Michelangelo said.
"He passed out three times when we told our stories!" Monalisa confirmed.
"Yet you should have seen him when he was shocked with an energon prod when Starscream tortured him!" Raphael added.
Splinter sighed as he looked at Fowler.
"I suppose we will have to wait until he wakes up again to speak more." He muttered.
Hugh meanwhile tutted.
"And this is a Federal Agent?" he asked, "Never thought he'd be like this, it's almost like a surgeon fainting at the sight of blood!"
"That's one way of putting it!" Donatello agreed.
So Fowler has learnt about Hugh, Tyroth and Sephie and fainted again and the Autobots are taking bets!