Howdy, y'all! Sorry that this was on a lull for literal ages. A lotta shit's been going down for me. I got in another car wreck (second one in less than a year, and on the same day as the first one), I'm drowning in homework and college shit, and now I have PTSD! So fun* Anyway, here's the next chapter for Prime Karma, hope y'all enjoy. And hopefully more updates are soon to follow. :)
*note the sarcasm
Nine
There was a tense silence in all of the vehicles, no one in the mood to chat. The roads were basically deserted as they drove away from the Hoover Dam, the scene with Megatron having scared people off. Karma's leg was bouncing nervously, the Allspark held tight in her lap. Bumblebee had told her that Sam and Michaela were safe, but until she saw them herself, she wasn't sure how much she believed him. However, the fear of them being in danger was based on nothing.
A loud and familiar horn was blasted in front of them as they rounded a mountain corner. A certain red and blue semi came barreling around the other side of the road, other very familiar vehicles following just a hair behind. Karma couldn't help the bubble of relieved laughter that broke from her, watching as Optimus and the Autobot's did a sharp U-Turn, the Prime drifting slightly, dust kicking up behind him.
"Were you tryna to keep all the fun to yourself, Punk?" Ironhide's voice crackled over Bee's radio, making a slightly delirious Karma laugh harder.
"Trust me, Hide, it has never been so good to see y'all."
"Karma?" This time it was Lennox's voice coming through the radio. "Are these guy's with us?"
"Yeah, Lennox. They're good. They're really good."
It didn't take long to make it out to the highways of the city. The Autobots had made a kind of guard around the human caravan, letting Bumblebee lead.
The tension over the comms was almost palpable, but Karma couldn't bring herself to break it. Now wasn't the time for chit chat. She watched as the city came closer and closer. If she were being honest, Karma felt bad for what they were bringing to the city. These people didn't deserve the oncoming war, and she could only hope that the General had managed to evacuate the city.
Suddenly, the ground shook, a rumbling following soon after. Turning around, Karma's blue eyes widened at the sight of a Decepticon rampaging across the highway, slicing through cars without a care.
"Optimus, we've got bogies." Karma stated, her voice loud and tight.
"I will take care of it. Ironhide, Ratchet, Jazz accompany Bumblebee to the city. Get the Allspark out of here."
With those orders, Optimus slammed on his breaks, his tires throwing up smoke as he fishtailed to go the wrong way. Faster than Karma thought possible for a 'bot of the Prime's size, he transformed and ran at the 'con. Moments later, Optimus had slammed himself against the tan vehicle, throwing the both of them off the highway, the 'con transforming and starting a wrestling match with the Prime. With the way the highway bent, Karma could only keep watch of them for a few more seconds before they were out of her sight.
Karma sat back against the leather seats of Bumblebee's interior, a harsh breath escaping her lungs. It was unnerving to see the amount of destruction that the Decepticon's left in their wake, with no regard for the rest of the humans on the planet. Karma had seen what Barricade could do, and his little scrapheap, but she hadn't exactly seen how far they were willing to go in public.
Next to her, the Allspark seemed to pulse in agitation and Karma pulled it into her lap. Immediately, it stopped pulsing, staying a calm and bright blue. The closer they got to the city, the warmer the Cube got, like it knew that it was close to where it was supposed to be for its protection. Karma faintly wondered if the Allspark was as sentient as the Cybertronians themselves. To her, it made perfect sense. Why wouldn't a part of Primus be sentient? It wasn't like the God could do anything considering he was a planet and everything. Like Unicron.
Karma paused. How the hell had she known that? She didn't remember Bumblebee or any of the other Autobots telling them about their homeworld, let alone what was basically their version of the Christian God and Satan.
They made it to the city within minutes, kicking up dust with their tires. Karma watched as people went about their days, some looking at the military vehicles and random assortment of cars with slight confusion. Their ragtag group made a sudden pit stop at an old, rundown pawn shop. Lennox was quick to run into the store, muttering about some sort of communication.
"Alright, let's go. Now!" Lennox yelled, ushering the rest of his men back into their vehicles. "I got short-way radios."
A small moment of silence went across the Autobot comm-link. "Wait. W-what the hell am I supposed to do with these?" Epps asked, his voice relaying his absolute confoundment.
"I don't know, use 'em. That's all we got."
"This is like… Radio Shack dinosaur radios or somethin', man. I'm only gonna get twenty or thirty miles outta these things."
Epps called out for aircraft, his voice muffled between the warring frequencies. Karma huffed, trying to look out of Bumblebee's windows for any sign of the Air Force. Nothing but a blue sky. It was pissing her off. Here they were, basically on the worst day of their lives, and the sky had the audacity to look nice and perty. How rude.
"F-22 in sight. I want planes for cover, and get Blackhawks to extract that Cube." Lennox stated.
Karma paused for a moment. She never heard a response from Epps' radio. She knew military protocol fairly well, and she also knew that when a Sergeant Major like Epps asked a question, you responded. So, why didn't that F-22?
"Bee, are there any airborne 'Cons?"
"No."
"Shit."
Their caravan stopped moving. Lennox, Epps, and their men got out of their vehicles. Sam and Michaela got out of Optimus. Karma was about to get out of Bee, the Allspark in hand, when Ironhide confirmed her fear.
"That's not the Air Force, it's Starscream!" The weapon's specialist yelled, quickly transforming.
"Shit!" Karma growled, running for Sam and Michaela. She managed to tackle them, covering them with her own body, right as Starscream unleashed a missile. What felt like ages, but was really only seconds, passed before the missile dropped mere feet away from the trio. Karma felt herself go flying, the heat burning her and the resounding wind catching her.
She hit the ground rolling, feeling her skin get shredded by pieces of concrete, asphalt and other types of rubble. A scream ripped from her throat, the pain of her burns mixing from the agony of the road rash. After a couple minutes, Karma got her breath back and tried to stand. She fell the first couple attempts, but on the fourth or fifth time, she managed to get to her knees, her breathing heavy and labored. The more she forced her body to comply, the worse the pain got. It was starting to feel like she got stabbed in her ribs.
Finally managing to stand, Karma looked around the destroyed city, noting a few military men surrounding her, most likely caught in the shockwave. Her eyes latched onto her cousin and Michaela, the two trapped underneath the hand of one of the bots. Ratchet, by the looks of it. Karma's gaze moves from the humans to the rest of the bots, taking in each new scratch, chip of paint, and dent she can see. None of them are too worse for wear, and Karma lets out a sigh of relief before straightening herself.
Slowly, she limps over to her cousin and their friend, her hand covering the right side of her ribs. Somehow, she still held onto the Allspark, the Cube tucked into her elbow. At her approach, the Autobots crouch down, setting up a perimeter around the Army and them. Sam opens his mouth at the sight of her, eyes drawn to something. Whatever he was wanting to say, Michaela beat him to it.
"Karma, you're bleeding." The girl says quietly, like too much noise would disturb the "safe haven" surrounding them.
Said teen glances down at herself. Her dust-covered clothing was starting to blot with blood, the gray fabric of her t-shirt staining red. How had she not noticed that?
"'Tis but a flesh wound." Karma states, an accent coloring her tone, a grin on her face. Well, the grin is more like a sneer. Not even she could help the amount of pain she was in.
Before either other teen could say anything, Karma waved them off, giving her attention to the Autobots and soldiers.
"Alright," Lennox started, "We need to get that Cube as far away from here as possible. Sam, Karma, there's a white building across the way, about two or three miles. Get to the top, light this flair, and wait for one of our helicopters to come to you. The rest of my men are gonna fan out, a few with each bot, and give y'all cover."
The two nodded, eyes hardening. Sam had never been one to be active, however, the same couldn't be said for Karma. She'd been in track and cross country as a kid, and had carried on some of the routine. It was clear to both of them who'd be taking the lead, and who would be a distraction, if need be.
Karma patted Sam on his shoulder before walking over to Ratchet. She figured her cousin would want to say some parting words to his crush. Maybe after all of this, they'll finally get together. The medic glanced down at her as she walked up to his foot. A blue light shone from both his optics, lightly scanning over her. His face plates and mouth pulled down in a frown. Well, into more of a frown than usual for the grumpy medic.
"Before ya say anything, Doc, I'm well aware of my injuries, and I planned to get them looked at after all this is over. But Sam needs me. Y'all need me. And I ain't leavin' ya till I get the Allspark outta here. Gimme some bandages and a brace or something for my ribs."
Ratchet grumbled, but didn't say anything, carefully handing Karma a pack of medical tape, gauze, and a brace. He let her wrap the tape herself, but insisted on putting the brace on properly. She was about to question just how he planned on doing that, but a second later, a man stood in front of her.
He was in his early to mid fifties with long bright red hair pulled into a braid, silver surrounding his hairline and temples. His eyes were a bright blue-green with flecks of teal throughout set into a tanned face. He wore an orange-red button up shirt underneath a white doctor's coat and black slacks. On his feet were a pair of military boots. And, what pulled the entire look together was the silver dog tags hanging around his neck. One of them read "Ratchet" and the other had the Autobot insignia carved into it.
"Y'know, by now, I thought I wouldn't find anything surprising anymore. And yet, y'all seem to pull random facts outta y'all's asses."
Ratchet chuckled slightly at her words. "This is a holo-matter form, or a holoform. I invented them so that, on any planet we ended up on, we'd be able to blend in with the dominant species."
"... Huh. Y'know, when all this is said and done, presuming we all survive, I'm gonna have so many questions."
The medic just let out another small laugh and set to work placing the brace on Karma's ribs. It prevented some movement in her torso, but nothing that would set her back too much. As long as she didn't do anything stupid while wearing it, she'd be fine. Or, so said Ratchet.
A couple minutes later Sam and Karma stood side-by-side, Karma holding the Allspark and Sam holding the flair Lennox gave him. They both took a deep breath before exchanging nods. It was time to enter the den of the lion. And he had never been hungrier for human flesh.