Seven
Karma stays out of it for a good while. When she next wakes up, it's to the beating of helicopter blades. What's with her and helicopters? It was midday when she came to, so she had to have been out for a good bit. The chill of heavy metal around her wrists when she tries to stretch out her arms reminds her just where she was and what had caused her situation.
In front of her sat three other people, an older man in a suit and tie, a black guy in a T-shirt and shorts, and a blonde woman in fairly nice clothing. Karma can't help the ice in her eyes when she takes in the two beefy soldiers to either side of her, clearly there to make sure she doesn't do anything to her peers.
The blonde is the first to speak into the bulky headphone's microphone. She had a distinctly Australian accent when she spoke.
"So, what'd they get you for?"
"Cousin bought a car. Turned out that he was an alien robot. Who would've thunk it?" Karma replied, her tone far friendlier than the other occupants of the helicopter had been expecting from her.
The black man to the Australian's side mouthed the word "wow", looking at Karma with awe in his dark eyes. Wow indeed, Karma thought, her mind going back to Bee and the rest of the Autobots, including Sam and Michaela. She wondered where they'd gotten to. Suddenly, her blue eyes widened. The glasses. She'd never gotten the chance to give them to the Prime. The teen had put them into her pocket, but in all the confusion she'd completely forgotten about them.
Karma couldn't feel the glasses in her pocket, maybe they had fallen and the Autobot's had managed to grab the coordinates. One could only hope.
The trip in the helicopter came to a stop about an hour or so later. They landed out in the countryside, a couple of miles from any form of city. More black SUVs were there to drive them to wherever the hell they were being taken. The man in the suit, who'd been introduced as Secretary of Defense Keller, was taken to a separate SUV, while the blonde, Maggie, the black man, Glen, and Karma went in another.
It didn't take too long for the SUVs to reach their destination, which turned out to be Hoover Dam. The group was led to the restricted area of the Dam, where Simmons and a unit from the Army stood at attention. The Army men saluted Keller as he walked past, followed by Maggie and Glen. Karma was stopped before she could continue forward by Agent Simmons. Behind him stood an older man, dressed much like Keller in a dark gray suit and black tie.
The teen snarled slightly at the hand pressed to her shoulder, trying to shove it off. Unfortunately, her hands were still cuffed behind her back, so she couldn't really do anything about the hand that had clamped onto her shoulder. Karma glared at Simmons, her blue eyes going dark in anger, turning an almost stormy color.
"Hey, kid. I think we got off on the wrong foot. You must be hungry. Can we get you anything? Burger, soda, double venti macchiato?"
"You can start by taking me to Bumblebee, releasing the handcuffs, and telling me where you took my aunt and uncle. Oh, and Michaela's record? That's gotta be gone. Forever."
Simmons and Karma locked eyes before the man standing behind the agent cleared his throat. "Come with me, we'll talk about the car."
"The car has a name, asshole, might as well start using it. You're gonna work with them, and you're gonna show them the damned respect they deserve." Karma growled, shoving her way past the man and the guards who'd come with him.
By the time the agents caught up, Karma had already gotten back with the group, standing beside a soldier with sandy colored hair. The tag on his uniform shirt pocket read Lennox. The soldier glances at her, seeming to backtrack when he actually takes notice of her young face and the cuffs around her already bruised wrists. The wounds all across her body were more than noticeable, the blue liquid from the Decepticon- Autobot battle somehow still a liquid and mixing with the still-fresh blood oozing from the wound.
The group wound up in one of the largest bays Karma had ever seen, and she stared in shock at what stood as the epicenter.
These fucking idiots had Megatron, frozen in ice, and were trying to study the warlord. They didn't have any idea as to what the Decepticon was even remotely capable of.
"What the ever loving fuck is he doing here? Are y'all stupid or something? Why the hell would you have him here, this close to the damned Allspark?" Karma growled out, making her way towards Simmons.
She couldn't really do anything to the smug agent, the cuffs still grinding into her skin, abrasions being made any time she tried to move even the slightest. Karma's comment gets everyone's attention, eyes snapping to look at her.
"Allspark? What's that?" Lennox asks, his head tilting slightly.
"The Allspark is like a giant energy source, it's what makes the Cybertronians Cybertronian. And this warmonger that you've got locked up is not someone that you wanna just give it to."
"NBE-ONE has been in cryostasis since 1935. Your great great grandfather made one of the greatest discoveries in history." The man in the suit states, hands clasped firmly behind his back.
"The fact is, you're looking at the beginning of the modern age. Spaceflight, microchips, lasers, cars; all reverse engineered from him." Simmons butts in, getting up in Karma's face slightly.
The teen growls. Her fists clench with the strong urge to sock the man. Give him a nice black eye to go along with his broken nose and bruised jaw.
"Well, why Earth? If they're from another planet entirely, and I'm assuming they're much more advanced than us, why come here?" Lennox asks, arms crossing over his chest. Karma had a feeling that the sandy-haired soldier was the captain or something of the unit.
"Their planet was ravaged by war, made uninhabitable by eons of it. Megatron here, that's what they call him, is basically the harbinger of death with a vendetta against anyone he sees as inferior, AKA us. They're here because they don't have the ability to continuously create their own fuel, which is where the Allspark comes in. And I can tell you one thing, if you have Megatron here, then the other Decepticons know exactly where the Allspark is." Karma glanced over at Simmons and the Suit.
"And I have a feeling y'all know where it is, too, don't you?"
Simmons and the man in the suit were quick to lead the amalgamation of people into a separate room, one of the walls made of glass to showcase the Cube. Karma couldn't help the sharp intake of air when she laid eyes on the Allspark. It was much more magnificent than she'd originally thought it would be.
The Allspark itself was a dulled bronze color, but the glyphs etched into the metal were a silver in color, almost seeming to glow the closer Karma gets to it. The Cube was huge in comparison to the teen, but she had the feeling that it would fit perfectly in the hands of one of the Autobots. Or the Decepticons.
The group gets taken into a vault of sorts, Simmons handing out safety goggles. In the middle of the vault sat a tank of what was probably reinforced glass. The tank itself wasn't very big, but it had many scuff marks, with a small crack in the glass. Whatever it was they kept in there, it had tried to get out.
"Anyone got a cellular device? Phone, kelob?" Simmons asks, holding out an impatient hand.
"I gotta phone." Glen says, throwing the phone over to Simmons.
The agent studies the phone for a bit before placing it into the center of the tank. He mutters something about the Nokia being made by the Japanese and Karma can't help but think just how much of a nutcase this guy was. And apparently she wasn't the only one of that opinion.
"Nokia's are from Finland." Maggie whispers, giving the muttering agent a slightly confused look.
"Yes, well he's a little strange." Keller states in a low tone.
"Little is an understatement, mate." Karma mutters, rolling her eyes slightly.
The two beside her, as well as the two soldiers she had spoken with earlier, couldn't help but laugh, their hands going to their mouths to try and stifle the noise. A sound like crackling electricity brought their attention back to the box in the room, lit up with a bright blue-white light.
Karma couldn't help the small breath of air that escaped her as she watched while the small phone transformed quickly. The small bot had red optics, most likely a Decepticon, and a mini machine gun on his back. As well as a mounted missile launcher. What the ever loving fuck. Not even Ironhide had a missile launcher and he was a whole weapon's specialist.
Everyone stared in wonder before a loud crack rang out, the mini Decepticon quickly falling. It didn't get back up. Lights start flashing and loud, high pitched alarms start blaring. Karma whips her head around, blue eyes flashing in the red light, locking onto the green-ish ones of Lennox. A rumble has everyone stumbling, trying to get out of the vault without falling over.
"It's the Cons. They know Megatron's here, meaning they also know that the Cube is." Karma states, her blue eyes piercing into Simmons'.
Suit walks over to an intercom system, pressing down on a button. "Banachek- what's happening?" Karma is just close enough to the phone-like comm-link to hear the reply.
"Sir, NBE-ONE's hangar has lost all power-" Banachek's eyes widened, "What?!". "- And the back-up generators just aren't gonna cut it."
Karma lets out a soft curse, spinning on her heel and pacing slightly. Lennox places a hand on her shoulder, speaking to Simmons in a miraculously calm voice.
"Do you have an arms room?" Banachek nods, saying something to the man on the other end of the phone before leading the group to a different room.
It doesn't take long for the group to end up in some sort of armory, guns and other such weapons scattered about the place. There's already a group of soldiers and agents loading ammo into mounted turrets and guns and the ragtag unit rushes in. Sabot rounds immediately catch Karma's eye. I suppose that's the only type of ammo that can pierce their armor…
Epps and Lennox run up to the weapons cache, each grabbing a handgun as well as a rifle. Karma follows them, grabbing an M4 Carbine and a rifle, slinging a sniper rifle across her shoulders as well. Lennox glances over at the girl, slightly worried about the fact that a kid seemed to know these types of guns so well.
Before the man can think of saying anything, the lights flicker and the ground rumbles again. Karma whirls to face Simmons, stalking closer to him. The teen forces his back until his back hits the side of a military vehicle.
"Take me to Bumblebee." She growls, sliding a hand down to grasp at her handheld.
"The car? It's confiscated."
"Then fucking unconfiscate him." Karma grinds out, shoving the nose of her gun into the agent's ribs.
Simmons freezes for a moment, fear flashing in his eyes before it quickly disappears. His eyes harden and he shoves back against Karma, trying to get her to stumble. It doesn't work.
"We don't know what will happen if we let the car near that Cube. Maybe you do, but I don't."
"So, what? You wanna fucking sit here while the 'Cons get closer to breaking in and stealing the Allspark and reviving their leader?" Karma hisses.
"I have people's lives at stake here, young lady!"
Before anymore can be said, Karma grabs Simmons collar and slams him back against the hummer from earlier, shoving her M4 against his throat. Lennox comes to stand behind her, holding two of his own handhelds around the room, threatening anyone who got too close to the teen.
"Take her to Bumblebee." Lennox snarls, casting a quick glance and nod to Epps.
Within minutes, the other soldiers have the agents either unconscious or on their knees with their hands held behind their heads. Simmons does his best to ignore the Colonel, focusing on the very angry teen currently pressing a gun into his trachea.
"D-drop the gun, kid." He states shakily.
"And why should I, hmm? After everything you did to me, to Sam and Michaela, not to mention to the Autobots, why in the name of hell should I listen to you? First; you kidnap me, Sam, and Mikaela, then; you start going after our fucking friends, and then, to top it all off, you fucking tranq me and put me in handcuffs, which, by the way, are still on!" Karma states, her voice raising slightly, but not enough to be a resounding yell.
Seething, Karma continues to glare at the man, not entirely noticing when Lennox and Epps tense up at the mention of everything the teen had gone through. The sandy-haired man is quick to make his presence known, standing just behind Karma, his guns coming to point at Simmons.
"Seriously, Simmons? These are kids we're talking about. This is a new low, even for someone like you."
The agent doesn't say anything. What was there to say? And he had a feeling that anything he said at that point would lead to the teen in front of him following through on her threat.
Karma gently presses the gun deeper into the agent's gut, watching as he stiffens and tries to back away from the very much loaded weapon. Rolling her eyes, she gives him one last shove before walking away, making her way towards the table with weapons once more. Sitting on the table, almost innocently what with all the large guns surrounding them, was a pair of knives.
They looked specially crafted, being a black shiny metal with golden details lining the blade and hilt. The base was serrated, made so that when it was stabbed into something, it was both hard to pull out and painful to do so. The blades themselves looked nearly brand new, not even slightly scuffed. Karma had no trouble lifting them when she went to pick them up.
It was clear that a lot of thought went into their craftsmanship. They were easy to carry, lightweight, and a good size for someone like her. Next to them sat a sheath, tied to a thong of leather that could be tied into a best or slung across her torso. Instead of doing either, she decided to tie it much like the shoulder holster for pistols. Karma gently runs a hand over one of the blades before driving them both into their sheaths.
Turning around, she locks eyes with Lennox and Epps. She starts walking towards them when yet another tremor runs through the floor, knocking more weapons onto the ground.
Karma sends another icy glare to Simmons, taking him by the collar once more. "Take me to Bumblebee. Now."