A bunch of M.E.C.H. soldiers were patrolling the woods. All were armed. Silas was leading. "Suppression fire only. We take this one alive." He said. His tracker detected an Energon signal.
They heard a woosh behind them. They turned around, but it wasn't there. Silas detected movement and shot his cannon twice but missed. One of his soldiers shot at the thing but missed, too, and only hit a tree.
Silas and his men chased the thing to a canyon. He pressed a button on his goggles and detected the source of the Energon signal. "Tight formation!" Silas said. They jumped to the small canyon floor, weapons drawn.
They walked past what appeared to be large spider webs that only a large spider from Australia could create. Silas had also seen Arachnophobia when he was younger, but a mutated spider from Venezuela South America that had venom powerful enough to kill in under 30 seconds was impossible, no matter how interesting it was.
The signal suddenly vanished. Silas tried to lock on again as his men were grabbed and strung up. He turned around and found them stuck to the web, unable to free themselves.
Above him, out of sight, Arcee's arch nemesis Airachnid hissed and smiled with sadistic glee.
Pebbles fell onto Silas. Airachnid was right above him. He shot at her but missed. Airachnid grabbed his gun and broke it, threw Silas into the canyon wall, and launched a web from her servo, restraining Silas.
"Don't tell me M.E.C.H. never considered that an open channel distress signal from an injured Decepticon might be a trap?" Airachnid asked as she approached Silas. "I'll bear that in mind next time." Silas said.
Airachnid couldn't help but laugh. "Next time? Decepticon radio chatters all abuzz about the workover you gave poor Breakdown. As an Ex-Con myself, I really should eviscerate you for that." Airachnid said. Silas wasn't intimidated.
"But, an old acquaintance and her nasty little human destroyed my ship and skinned my knee. I need to pay them back in kind. Both of them. You see, I may get in and out of places most Decepticons can't reach, but I'm still learning to navigate this planet." Airachnid said. "What's in it for M.E.C.H.?" Silas asked.
"I'll let you live. And since you came to collect a 'transformer', was it? I'll throw in whatever's left of Arcee after I've broken her." Airachnid offered.
Meanwhile, Jack was walking Arcee home with Elsa and Anna strolling next to him. They were used to the new world and the Autobots and knew of the Decepticons now. "Thanks for walking me home, Jack. You're a real gentleman." Arcee thanked. "I don't want you revved up before bedtime," Jack said as he left her to open the garage door. "Mom's a light sleeper, and I don't think that she'd understand about -" Coincidentally, June was standing right in the middle of the garage. "Understand what, Jack? You breaking curfew for the 3rd time this month?" She asked.
"Mom." Jack said nervously. "You two, off to bed." June said to the girls. They groaned. "Do we have to?" Anna asked. "Yes. I'll tuck you both in when I'm done scolding Jack." June said.
They walked past June. Anna whispered into Elsa's ear. "Let's make a big snowman later."
"Sorry, Anna. But, no." Elsa said. Anna pouted but obeyed.
"Back to you, young man, am I to not understand why your boss called you about missing another shift at work? Or maybe the email I received from your art history teacher who's concerned that you've been falling asleep in class?" June asked.
"Well, two words, Mom: Art and history." Jack nervously joked. "Tell me the rumors aren't true, Jack. Tell me you're not racing that motorcycle." June said. "No, no! Wait, where did you hear that?" Jack asked.
"Small town. People talk. I work in an emergency room, Jack. I've seen what can happen. So, please tell me you haven't fallen in with a bad crowd." June said.
"What? No, no, no, no. My friends are the good crowd. Seriously good!" Jack said. "I let you have that bike because you convinced me you were mature enough to handle it. But, I think you may need a gentle reminder." June suggested. "Message received, Mom. Loud and clear. I'm, I'm glad we had this talk." Jack said.
"I meant let's see if a few weeks without the distraction of your motorcycle will do the trick." June said. "But -" Jack started. "No buts! You're grounded from everything but school and work. And if you want to take a bike to either, you'll peddle." June said. It was futile to argue with her now.
Jack stared at the bike, and June blocked his view. "Serious face, Jack. If I see that motorcycle out of the garage." June stopped herself at that last word and kissed Jack's forehead. "Now, go wash up and get some sleep. I love you." She said and entered the house.
"I'll miss you while you're grounded." Arcee spoke. "Don't worry, Arcee, I'll visit you here every day." Jack said. "Uh, Jack, I won't be here. Sitting on my fat tires for 2 weeks is not an option." Arcee said. "No, no. You saw Mom's serious face. Look, Arcee, I feel badly enough thag I've had to lie to her all this time, but if you're not here, she's gonna think that I'm blowing her off!" Jack exclaimed.
"Deep breaths, Jack. Your mom works late nights. I'll try to be back in the garage before she gets home. But, no promises. No go. Your sisters are no doubt waiting for you, " Arcee said. "They're just friends. Not my sisters, and I sleep in my own room." Jack said. "The room part is true, but I saw how you treated Elsa and Anna. They're like sisters, aren't they?" Arcee asked.
"I guess they are." Jack mumbled.
The next day, Jack finished his shift. He kicked the bike's break stick up, and his phone rang. It was June. "Hey, Ma."
"Jack, I hope you're not planning to eat takeout tonight. I took my break early so I could cook my adopted girls and my grounded son a wholesome dinner." June said. "Where are they?" Jack asked. "They're with me, I just picked them up from daycare." June said. "Organic Tofu! Awesome! Hey, uh, car beats 10 speed, I'll uh, I'll be home soon. Tell the girls I said hi, love you, bye!" Jack hung uo and immediately dialed Arcee.
"Pick up, pick up, pick up!" He begged. "Arcee! You wouldn't be in the garage right now?" He asked. "Negative, Jack. Can we talk about this later?" Arcee asked. She was battling Vehicons in a rich Energon deposit.
Jack was speeding home as fast as possible. "No! Mom's on her way home! If you don't race back there right now, I will be grounded for life! And Mom will make me sell you for parts!" Jack almost shouted. "Bee, can you handle it?" Arcee asked. Bee buzzed.
"Ratchet, I need a bridge!" Arcee said.
Bee jumped onto a Vehicon and shot its helm off. He jumped off the corpse and killed more Vehicons. Narrowly missing the extremely volatile Energon crystals. He watched the first Vehicons helm clatter to the ground.
June was getting closer.
Jack picked up the pace.
June pulled into the driveway.
Jack turned the corner.
June got out and let Elsa and Anna play in the front yard.
Jack panted in exhaustion.
June walked past the garage door. She stopped. She sighed deeply and turned the handle, expecting to find Jack's motorcycle, but it wasn't there.
Jack finally got home. "Jackie!" Anna said, as she ran and hugged Jack after he got off the bike. He returned it. "JACK!" June bellowed. "Uh, oh." Elsa said. "Jack, I can't believe you disobeyed me! Where is the motorcycle?!" June seethed as she stomped outside.
"Uh." Jack said. Green light filled the garage, but June didn't see it. "What do you mean? She's right where I left her." Jack stammered. He opened the car door and pressed the garage door opener. The door opened, and June turned around. Her eyes widened as she saw the motorcycle.
"Did you get one of your crew to sneak it in? Or, did you just walk it up again?" She asked.
Jack sighed in defeat. "Okay, Mom. Do you really want to know?" Arcee nudged slightly. "Fasten your seat belt. My motorcycle is a sentient robotic organism from a distant planet. Part of a team stationed here on Earth, fighting a secret war. And I spent most of my time after school hanging with her crew." Jack admitted and walked his bike next to Arcee.
"Jack." June started. "And the coolest thing is this even her actual form. She's really a giant robot who can transform into a vehicle!" Jack said. "Enough, Jack!" June groaned.
"It's okay, Arcee. Show yourself." Jack said. Notning happened. "She's, she's shy. Arcee, really. No more hiding. No more lies." Jack said. Still nothing. "Come on, roll out already!" He gently kicked her, but she didn't move. "You guys tell her." Jack said to the girls.
They said nothing but stood next to him. "So, um, the bad crowd you've been hanging out with is a science fiction club?" June asked. Jack stayed silent. "I have to get back to work. Watch the girls. We will continue this when I get home." June said. She entered her car and drove away.
"Thanks for the support, guys." Jack huffed. "We didn't know what to do." Elsa said. "Don't blame me. Remember." Arcee said. "I know, I know. You don't exist." Jack said. He walked into the house. The girls followed.
In his lair, Silas was examining security footage of what happened when Jack was running from Airachnid. "Your ships black box sustained serious damage in the explosion, but, our software was able to reconstruct a few frames from the security feed." Silas said as Jack's face filled the screen.
"That's him. My Jack." Airachnid said. "Our facial recognition algorithm will send Jack's image across the web. Another kind of web." Silas said. "Ah, the mother load."
"Government database?" Airachnid asked impressed. "Social networking page. Everything worth knowing about Jack Darby is right here. Age: 16. Jasper Nevada. Recently adopted younger sisters. Mother: June Darby. A nurse." Silas said.
June's shift was finally over. She walked out to her car to go home, hoping to watch some more episodes of Family Guy before going to bed. "Maybe I'm being too hard on Jack. But, he lied. And the only way he's going to learn is if I stick to my -" A strange van suddenly pulled up next to her. The side door opened, and a M.E.C.H. soldier aimed an electric rifle at her and shot her.
Jack rode back home after going for a stroll. The motion sensor activated, and the garage door opened. "Girls, Arcee, is Mom home?" He asked. "No." Anna said. "I don't know. I just bridged from base to beat her here." Arcee said.
"Oh, Jackie, someone left this here for you." Elsa gave him a yellow package. "Thanks. Oh, I got you a KitKat." Jack gave her a KitKat. Jack then tore open the package, and a high-tech device fell onto the table. "Hello, Jack, Elsa, and Anna." A familiar voice called. It was Silas.
Arcee transformed. "Silas!" She identified. "Who? What's going on?" Anna asked. "M.E.C.H!" Arcee said. "Them?" Elsa said. "They know where we live?!" Jack asked. "We know things about your family that even you don't know. For example, do any of you know where your mother is?" Silas asked.
"Where's Momma June?" Elsa asked. "Understand, Elsa, we have no of hurting her. In fact, we'd like to reunite you all with her as soon as possible. I just need you all and Arcee to follow the GPS coordinates programmed into this communicator. They'll lead you to the temporary facility I've set up." Silas explained.
Arcee activated her comms. "Ratchet -" She suddenly started screaming. It felt like her entire CPU was being shredded apart. "ARCEE! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO HER?!" Anna screamed. "Did I not mention our communicator scrambles the signal and your brains? Any break in communication or attempt to reach the other Autobots and Ms. Darby, well, I wouldn't want to feel responsible for the outcome." Silas said, and hung up.
Jack drove down the road on Arcee. Anna sat in front of him, Elsa held onto him from the back. Her platinum blonde hair whipping behind her. Jack followed the GPS coordinates.
"If anything happens to her because of our connection to all this. I -" Jack hissed. "Jack, girls, M.E.C.H. is only interested in me. Once they get what they want, they'll let your mom go." Arcee assured. What they didn't know was Silas was still listening to them. He smiled with sadism.
"That's not exactly reassuring. You're family too." Jack said. "I swear I will make every meanie there regret messing with Momma June!" Elsa said.
Jack turned right, and they drove into an abandoned warehouse facility. Jack came to a stop, and then they were covered in red dots. M.E.C.H soldiers were everywhere, weapons drawn. Silas was in the center. "So, what's the plan?" Jack asked. "The usual." Arcee said. "Hold on tight." Jack warned the girls.
Arcee revved her engine, drove forward, and passed Silas. His men fired at them with the accuracy of Stormtroopers.
They soon entered a large building, safe from the terrorists for now. "Mama?" Elsa called. "Looking for June? She's hanging around here somewhere." Airachnid said as she showed herself.
Arcee transformed. "Airachnid!" She hissed. Airachnid fired webs from her servos and restrained Arcee. "What's she doing here?!" Jack questioned. Silas and his army surrounded them.
"Help them, please! They're human like you! You can't let Airachnid -" Arcee tried to plead. "A few human lives are a small price to pay for a miracle of science, like yourself." Silas interrupted. A soldier raised his rifle and shot an electric missile at Arcee, and knocked her out. "Arcee!" Jack gasped. "You and I will have a private session later. And your new sisters can join. Promise." Airachnid said.
"Gentlemen," Silas ordered. Two of his guards approached Jack and removed the communication device and his flip-phone. "I'm still learning about Humankind, but one thing is clear to me, Jack, you people care deeply about family. Therefore, the sweetest revenge I could possibly devise would be to make all 3 of you watch as I take your family apart." Airachnid sneered.
"Our family will kick your butt!" Anna said. Airachnid snickered. "False bravery. I like that." She said. "If you hurt ny mother -" Jack tried to say until Airachnid interrupted. "You remember how much I enjoy sport. Don't you, Jack? So, I'll give all of you the opportunity to save your mother. I've stashed her close by." Airachnid's said as she pointed her helm at the clock on the computer.
"If any of you can rescue her before the stroke of 12, I will let all of you go unharmed. Deal?" Airachnid asked. "And if we fail?" Elsa asked. "Well, June will be the 5 star dessert after the grand meal of killing you." Airachnid said. Elsa gulped in fear.
"Please! Don't let her do this! Let Mama go! We won't tell anybody, we swear!" Elsa begged as she ran to Silas. "Enough!" Silas said, and he pushed her to the ground. Jack helped his adopted sister up. "Yes, Elsa, woman up already." Airachnid added. She looked up at the timer. "Six minutes." She said.
Jack took Elsa and Anna's hands and ran outside with them. "Mama!" Anna cried. "Mom!" Jack shouted.
Silas examined the camera footage. "Now, I know we promised the spider-bot that she would have first crack at you, but something tells me she plans to turn our mutual criss-cross into a double-cross." Silas said to the unconscious Arcee. "Silas, we don't have the means of transporting it right now." A guard said. "We'll have cut and run. Open her up." Silas ordered.
A saw activated.
Less than 2 minutes remained.
Jack, Elsa, and Anna continued searching for their mother. A shadow of Airachnid covered them, then disappeared. While the other two were distracted, Elsa gasped when she saw Airachnid. The Ex-Con presented her servo to a still unconscious June Darby, trapped in spider webs while hanging off a ledge.
"There she is!" Elsa shouted. "Mom!" Jack shouted as they ran across the ground. "Mom!" He shouted again. June slowly woke up and saw the trio running towards her. "Jack?! Girls?!" She said, surprised. The older kids climbed up the ladder. Jack first. "Anna, stay here. Elsa, we could really use your magic right now." He said. "Um." Elsa said.
"Anna, stay. Don't move." She said to her younger sister and followed Jack up the ladder.
Less than a minute left.
Elsa was almost there when she looked down and fearfully gripped the ladder. Unable to move. "Jackie! I'm scared!" She cried. "Don't look down!" Jack said. "I already did! I can't move!" Elsa said. "Elsa, just look at me. Take a deep breath, and climb a little more!" Jack quickly instructed.
Elsa slowly obliged, and Jack grabbed her hand and lifted her up. "Jack, Elsa? Is Anna safe? What are you doing here? Who are these people? How did I get in this stuff?" June questioned.
"Don't worry, Mom. We're gonna get you out." Jack said. The platform shook, and Airachnid crawled next to June. She snickered before continuing up. "Jack, the robots are real?!" June asked in fear.
"We beat your deadline!" Jack shouted. "Afraid not, Jack. The task wasn't for you to find your mother by midnight. You had to rescue her." Airachnid said. "What?!" Elsa yelled.
The time struck midnight.
"And times up. Now," Airachnid started as she threw webs at the kids. Jack's hand was restrained to the platform. Elsa's feet were trapped as well.
"Take a seat, sit back, and enjoy the horror show." Airachnid said.
"Make haste, gentlemen. Don't worry about making a mess." Silas urged.
Elsa and Jack tried but failed to remove the webs. "You know, kids? She's your mom. Why should I have all the fun. So, one of you gets to choose agonizing or excruciating." Airachnid said as sulfuric acid dripped from her mouth.
A drop of the extremely corrosive chemical landed on a pole and immediately started dissolving it from the rail. Another drop landed near Elsa's slightly exposed foot. She tried to move away from the toxic chemical, but the webs held her feet in place.
"No! No!" June begged. Jack ripped off the corroded pole and used it as a lever to pry off the web from his hand.
The M.E.C.H soldiers were almost through cutting the web. "Guys, your mother wants to know. Don't leave her dangling." Airachnid taunted on the monitor.
Arcee opened one optic, pretending to be knocked out. "You monster! Stop this!" June begged.
Arcee closed her optic. The soldiers removed the web. "We only have time to take one part. Go straight for the heart." Silas ordered. The surgeon that took Breakdown's optic lowered the same drilk that removed it towards Arcee's chassis. Right where her Spark Chamber was.
Both her optics snapped open, and she broke the drill in half and slapped the surgeon away. The same guy with the saw tried to attack her but was punched away. She kicked another aside.
Two more M.E.C.H soldiers appeared from behind the computer and fired at Arcee. She transformed and drove to find Jack, Elsa, and Anna.
"Let it go. No matter the outcome, the spoils will be ours." Silas said.
Jack continued to pry the web from his hand as Elsa continued pulling her feet out of the web, but they snapped back down. The 8 year old didn't know what to do. Ever since she and Anna escaped the undead Skyquake and were seemingly permanently trapped in this new world, her magic only came in spurts. She couldn't control them anymore. When they had discovered this after Bulkhead rescued and defeated Breakdown, Raf compared her to some guy from a, what was it, show? Yeah. Some evil futuristic scientist named Eobard Thawne who had lost his powers after killing Nora Allen and preventing Barry from becoming the Flash. Only for the change to damage his connection to something called the Negative Speed Force.
"Well, kids, if you won't decide, I guess it's ladies' choice." Airachnid said as she got closer to June. "Mom, we're sorry." Jack apologized. "NOOOO!" June begged. As Airachnid was about to kill her, she heard a motorcycle engine rev. Arcee drove through the container yard. She transformed and climbed up the building and kicked Airachnid away.
Jack finally freed himself. Elsa broke out of the web, but some remained on her shoes and rendered running hard. "Jack? Your motorcycle?" June asked. "I can explain, Mom. Wait! I already did!" Jack remembered.
Arcee black-flipped away from Airachnid a few feet. "M.E.C.H. lost Breakdown. What were the odds they could hold onto you?" Airachnid questioned. Arcee lunged at her, but Airachnid blocked the attack with her extra limbs.
Arcee kicked Airachnid onto a lower platform and jumped after her. Airachnid punched Arcee to the ground. She chased her onto another building.
Arcee kicked at her, and she returned the kick. Airachnid fired red Energon blasts from her servos. Anna managed to take cover behind some metal crates.
She watched in horror as one of the Energon shots hit the platform Elsa, June, and Jack were on. Causing it to fall, down, and hang off the building. Elsa managed to get to the top first. "Jack!" June shouted. "Mom!" Jack shouted. "Jack!" June shouted again as Airachnid was ready to spit sulfuric acid at her.
Arcee clashed into her in time but was punched to the next building. Airachnid jumoed to the top of it and swung her spider legs at her. Elsa helped Jack up. His hand accidentally pushed a lever, and a nearby cement mixer activated.
Arcee blocked Airachnid's attacks but was kicked off the ledge. She thankfully held on. Airachnid thrusted her bladed spider legs but missed. Arcee climbed back up and jumped into the air, kicked Airachnid off, and she fell straight into a cement container.
Arcee leaped down next to the cement pipe. She nodded at Jack, who then pushed another lever. Arcee kicked the pipe to face Airachnid. Cement poured out and onto the spider-bot.
She roared as she struggled to move, but the cement cooled too quickly and froze her in place. "Ahh! Jack! Elsa!" June shouted. Arcee looked back at the frozen Airachnid. The cement already began to crack. "Hang on, June." She said.
Then, a web grabbed her back, and she was thrown into the ground, trapped. Airachnid snickered, then heard helicopter engines. Agent Fowler and two other choppers appeared. "Aim for the creepy crawly." The agent ordered. Machine guns on the copters fired at Airachnid.
Silas stood in shock. "How did they find us?!" He demanded. He noticed his radio was missing.
"Please! Don't let her do this! Let Mama go! We won't tell anybody, we swear! A memory of Elsa begged before Silas pushed her down. She secretly snatched his radio.
"Thanks for coming, Agent Fowler." Jack thanked. The second they were out of sight to find June, Elsa gave him the radio as she didn't know how to use it yet knew it would work. Clever girl.
"If I'd known 'Cons were involved, I would've called in Prime." Agent Fowler said. "That might have been too much for Mom to handle in one night." Jack said. The machine guns stopped firing. Airachnid survived. Her optics turned green, and she scanned the helicopter Agent Fowler was in. "Argh! Not again!" He growled.
Silas watched with curiosity as Airachnid transformed into a purple version of Agent Fowler's helicopter and escape. "No!" Arcee shouted. "So, that's how it's done. Genius." Silas muttered. He snapped his fingers, and the lights went off.
Later, Jack and Elsa sat next to June. Anna ran from her hiding spot to hug her adopted mother.
"Mrs. Darby, I'm special Agent William Fowler. It's time you knew the truth. For the past several months, Jack has been interning for me at the agency." Fowler lied. "Momma's not gonna believe you, Mr. Fowler." Elsa said. "You got that right." June agreed.
"Agent Fowler." A nearby soldier said. "Let me guess: Without a trace?" Fowler asked. He growled and walked away.
Arcee approached the family. "And she would be your?" June asked. "Motorcycle. Guardian. Autobot. Friend." Jack answered. "Call me Arcee." Arcee said. "Thank you, Arcee. I should admit, I haven't been really showing the girls around town, I've been taking them to see the others. I think it's time for that ride you once made me promise." Jack said.
The next day, Jack had called Raf to come pick up the girls and take them to base as Arcee didn't have enough space to carry all four of them. The secret door opened up, and Jack drove in with June at the back. She stood in shock at the towering Autobots who were real.
"Mama, these are the Autobots." Elsa introduced as she and Anna got out of Bee. "Mom, meet my science fiction club." Jack said. June removed her helmet and awkwardly waved at the Autobots.