Whisps of dust drifted from the ceiling of the base, followed by a few faint tremors still rippling through the ground beneath their pedes. The Autobots exchanged uneasy glances.
"What was that?" Arcee asked, glancing at the ceiling concerned. She had just come back from one of her rides, adding multiple new scratches to her already scarred frame. The femme had taken Bumblebee with her after the young mech had asked to come along after watching a few seconds of the video of Miko.
Primus, she didn't know that it was possible to hate anybody more than Airachnid. All she wanted to do was find Jack and the kids and bring them back, plus do some extra damage to MECH. Everything in her screamed to go out and try to find them, but she knew that could jeopardize things.
Ratchet, who was deeply engrossed in the terminal, waved a servo dismissively. "Unimportant. But I think I've located one of the children's phones!"
"What?" Arcee and Bumblebee rushed to his side.
"Where?" the scout asked, leaning into the medic's personal space to get a view of the monitor. He looked hopeful, and not as depressed as he had been lately. Optics were brighter and his winglets were up.
"Connecticut," Ratchet replied, pointing to a signal on the map that blinked. A smile crossed the doctor's face before it was quickly erased. "It's weak, but it's definitely from one of their devices. I believe it is -Miko's-."
"What are we waiting for!" Bumblebee exclaimed, bouncing with newfound energy. "Let's go get the kids!"
Ratchet wagged a digit. "Ep, ep, ep. We don't know if this is another trap of MECH trying to catch one of us. We wait for Optimus; I've already sent him a message."
"Ratchet," Arcee started, placing a servo on her hipplate. "MECH has already had a chance to catch us in the forest. We were at their mercy, but they didn't even bother with us. They were after the children specifically."
"What?" Ratchet looked surprised at this piece of information. However, before he could say anything else, another signal began to beep on a different console, catching everyone's attention.
"Another relic?" the femme muttered, staring at the map. "Seems the 'Cons have been busy."
Ratchet frowned, pulling up the coordinates. "It's in New York."
"And they didn't blow up the city block?" Arcee said sardonically. The medic opened his intake to reply but the sound of engines from the base entrance drew their attention.
Wheeljack and Bulkhead rolled in, looking worse for wear. Both were covered in a thick layer of dust and had numerous scratches and dents that weren't there previously. Transforming in unison, they both stepped forward.
Arcee raised an optical ridge giving the Wreckers a pointed look. What had they been doing that they looked like that?
"What's going on?" Bulkhead asked, brushing dust off his shoulder.
"Ratchet found the kids!"
"What?!" Bulkhead's eyes widened. "Y-you did?!"
"I said we might have found the -children-," Ratchet corrected quickly, shooting a glare at Bumblebee. That didn't deter the scout, who hopped eagerly from one pede to another, punching at the air.
Arcee rubbed her faceplate. "But the 'Cons have uncovered another relic."
"I say we forget the relic!" Bulkhead exclaimed, pounding his fists together. "The -kids- are way more important!"
Optimus entered the room at that klik, surveying his team. "We cannot allow the Decepticons to claim another relic," the Guardian Knight said. "Arcee, Bumblebee—you will travel to -New York- to intercept the Decepticons and secure the relic. You are the best choices to navigate through such a densely populated area."
The femme's optics widened in surprise, while the scout slumped. "Optimus, with all due respect, shouldn't I—"
"Bulkhead and Wheeljack will accompany me to -Connecticut-," the sage continued, cutting her off gently but decisively. "We will locate the children and ensure their safety."
"Optimus, I should be the one to—"
"Arcee," the Autobot leader interrupted firmly, "I trust you to handle this mission, we cannot allow the Decepticons to have another possible weapon of mass destruction."
"But the last time we split up; it ended with the kids being taken!"
"I understand your concern," her leader said, placing a servo on her shoulder. "But we cannot afford to divide our focus. The safety of the children and the security of the relic are equally important. This is the best course of action."
Her shoulders sagged. "Understood," she said flatly.
"What happens when our cover gets blown?" Bumblebee questioned. "There's over eight billion people that live in that city. We're bound to get caught by at least one of them."
Agent Fowler walked in at that moment, and all the Autobots' attention turned to the government liaison. "What? I wasn't doing anything." The man looked annoyed, at the blank looks. "I was using the bathroom…" He trailed off when he noticed the red dot on the map.
"Agent Fowler, Arcee and Bumblebee need you to accompany them to New York."
"The Big Apple?" The man raised an eyebrow. "Are the 'Cons blowing up something?"
"Not yet," Arcee muttered darkly, looking at the screen. "But they found uncovered another relic. We need you to come with us just in case a human spots us, so you can run interference, while the others go find the kids—"
"You found them?!" the man exclaimed.
"Might have found them," Ratchet corrected, sounding irritated. "My scanners detected Miko's trackers, which means that it's out of MECH's shielding. It could possibly be a trap—"
"I don't care if it's a trap!" Bulkhead roared. "If there's even a chance Miko's out there…" The Humvee looked down, venting.
"Prime," Agent Fowler's voice took a warning edge. "Don't do anything that'll draw attention and try not to kill any of MECH, even if they do deserve it. You already know how Galloway is."
The Guardian Knight gave a curt nod. "We will do our best, Agent Fowler. Prepare for departure immediately. Time is of the essence."
Bumblebee transformed, and Arcee followed suit a moment later. Agent Fowler watched as the GroundBridge flared to life, grimacing at the sickness that was sure to follow. He entered the Camaro, settling in the comfortable seat.
The femme looked at Optimus, before she activated Sadie, her holoform. Keep her as realistic as possible, Arcee told herself. Remember what Jack taught you about acting like a human. She revved her engine and sped into the light of the GroundBridge, hoping that when she got back, Jack would be waiting for her.
Knock Out looked at the rather unimpressive, dust-covered container in front of him. His servo rested on his hip, and he shot a pointed glance at the nearby miner Vehicon, who stood awkwardly beside the container, unsure of what to do.
"Well?" Knock Out drawled, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "What are you waiting for? A personal invitation? Open it!"
The Vehicon scrambled into action, while Knock Out tapped a sharp digit against his arm impatiently, watching as the miner-class Eradicon pried open the lid. The lid was tossed to the ground and inside the circular container was a circular device the size of Knock Out's servo, with four clawlike appendages extending from the bottom.
The medic tilted his helm, utterly dumbfounded. "What in Primus' name is that?" he muttered, stepping closer.
The Vehicon nearby ventured hesitantly, "It… it looks like a relic, sir."
Knock Out gave the miner a flat look. "Yes, I can see that," he said with a roll of his optics. "The question is: what does it do?"
Reaching in the medic gingerly picked up the relic, holding it at arm's length like it would bite him. "Hmm," he mused aloud, turning it over in his servos. "I hope this isn't a glorified paperweight. Though…" His optics lit up. "Maybe it's something to shield my perfect finish from Autobot attacks."
The Vehicon didn't respond, unsure if Knock Out was being serious or sarcastic.
"Breakdown, darling," he cooed. "You're going to want to see this. I may have found something that will make those Autobots positively jealous."
Breakdown didn't understand why he liked to speak the human's native language. Obviously, the big lug wouldn't understand. His voice sounded so much better in English, suave and smooth. He liked hearing himself talk, especially in English.
|"Is it a hammer?"| Knock Out rolled his optics at the short sightedness of his friend. Oh, the woes he had to deal with in the grand machine of the Decepticon cause…
Nobody could appreciate anything. Especially when it came to him. Nobody cared about the medic. He was overworked and unappreciated. It was infuriating, honestly!
"No. It's a paint protector, I think."
|"Oh."| The disappointed tone couldn't be anymore obvious.
The medic glanced at his underlings, having an idea. "Are there any signs of those pesky Autobots?"
|"Nope,"| Breakdown replied. |"Just rock, and rails, and some more rock."|
"They'll be here at some point," the medic said before he shut off the comm. He looked at the Vehicons, who were waiting for something to do. He allowed a sly grin to spread across his faceplate. "Who wants to be the first test subject?"
The Eradicons exchanged nervous glances.
Knock Out rolled his optics dramatically, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, come now. Don't all volunteer at once," he drawled, waving the relic. "This could be the chance of a lifetime! Imagine: you could go down in Decepticon history as the first to harness the power of this marvelous little gadget. Whatever that might be."
Still, no one moved.
"Honestly," he muttered, shaking his helm. "What is it with you grunts and your utter lack of initiative? Fine." He gestured toward the smallest of the miner-class Eradicons. "You. Miner. Step forward."
The Vehicon hesitated, and it didn't help that his fellow comrades stepped back, leaving him utterly exposed. It was painfully obvious in their fields that they were relieved they hadn't been chosen.
Knock Out smirked, pleased with himself. "Now that's more like it. See? All it takes is a little courage." He held up the device, turning it over in his servo. "Now, let's see what this baby can do, shall we?"
The Vehicon shifted nervously, unhappy with the situation but unwilling to disobey a superior. Knock Out stepped closer, gesturing for it to stand still. "Relax," he said breezily. "I'm a professional. This will be perfectly safe… probably."
Before he could do anything, he heard the rev of an engine, accompanied by bright lights. Breakdown sped down the curve of the tunnel, and yelled, "The 'Bots are here!"
An irritated scowl crossed his faceplates as he watched the Autobot scout (who admittedly had some sweet rims, though not as good as his) Bumblebee give chase after the Breakdown. They disappeared around the bend, leaving Knock Out with four miner-class bots and two warrior-class Vehicons. They wouldn't do much besides being cannon fodder, but who cared?
Besides Breakdown, of course.
Superheated energon fired at them and Knock Out ducked for cover into the space where the relic had been uncovered, to protect his paintjob. Not because he was a coward. Seeing that the Vehicons were just standing there, he barked, "Attack them you idiots!"
Arcee darted forward, flipping onto the first Eradicon and unscrewing its helm from his frame, sending it crashing to the ground in a mess of sparks and wires. She took a miner-class with two well-placed shots to the chassis, leaving smoking holes before spinning around to take down another with a series of acrobatics.
She leapt onto the only warrior-class Eradicon left, firing her blasters point-blank into his armored plating. The drone fired at her and attempted to swipe at her with one of his claws, only for the femme to leap off his back and land gracefully on her pedes.
Knock Out watched the battle unfold. "Ugh. Can't you buffoons do anything right?" he snapped at the Vehicons left who were quickly being overwhelmed.
A few more shots took out the rest of the miner-class, leaving the pair together. "Drop the relic," Arcee snarled, aiming her blasters at him. "Now."
The medic sighed dramatically, placing a servo over his chassis. "Honestly, the lack of manners these days."
"Hand it over," Arcee snapped.
The Decepticon's servo shifted into his favorite weapon—a buzzsaw. He grinned and attacked the Autobot, swiping at her lowly. She flipped over him, firing a few shots as she did. My paintjob! he thought angrily, whirling around as she landed gracefully.
Before she could turn around, he slashed down at the femme with the rotating weapon. She grunted and fell on her aft.
"You have lovely features, perfect for a painful little procedure I call the 'nip and tuck'." He raised his weapon, prepared to bring it down on her. She moved the side at the last second and was behind him before he could do anything. Arcee didn't waste any time and kicked him the back, sending him face first into the filthy human ground.
"Dodge and kick."
Knock Out groaned, temporarily dazed. He heard pedesteps next to him and saw the femme crouch down to pick up the relic. Making her first mistake, she turned her back toward him and seemed to be trying to figure out what the device was.
The medic slowly, quietly, got to his pedes, pulling out his staff. The end extended and crackled with electricity as he jabbed it into the same spot where she kicked him. The femme let out a cry of pain as her systems were overloaded and temporarily shut down.
"Shock and drop." He smirked, twirling his staff before he picked up the relic that had fallen out of Arcee's servos.
"Now… shall we see precisely what you are and what you do?" He raised the relic, giving it a once-over to ensure that it wasn't damaged. "And what better way than to conduct an on-site experiment."
The Decepticon crouched down next to the femme, preparing to put the strange device on the femme's wrist. Only he didn't get the opportunity to finish his job. Something heavy crashed into him, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Knock Out twisted to see Breakdown laying atop him, groaning in pain. "My paintjob! Get off of me, you big lug!"
The blue mech only grunted in response, shifting his weight slightly. The medic reached out to the relic that was barely out of reach, the tips of his digits grazing it. It disappeared from the ground when a black servo picked it up, turning it over.
"Seems like you lost something, Knock Out," the scout chortled.
It was then that the medic noticed a fleshy round the curve, one in a fancy—what did those humans call it?—suits. He wriggled around, managing to get Breakdown's weight off of him. "Move it!"
His friend slowly rose to his pedes as Knock Out made a dash for the fleshy. It yelped when clawed servos wrapped around its pathetically small frame. Ew, ew, ew! He was most certainly going to take a decontamination bath when he got back to the Nemesis.
Transforming, he strapped the fleshy to the seats in his alt-mode, keeping it in place so that it wouldn't touch anything and spready more… germs over him. Who knew what diseases that fleshies carried! "Catch me if you can, Autobots!" he called out mockingly, watching as Breakdown transformed and followed his lead. "And you, fleshy, don't you dare touch anything."
"FOWLER!"
Miko gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles turning white with how hard she was holding it. She let one hand off the steering wheel and grabbed her pink flip phone, furiously pressing buttons in a vain attempt to send a message.
This was the twentieth message she had sent in the past five minutes. Stupid MECH jammer! She thought angrily, tossing the phone onto the passenger seat. She shivered, feeling cold despite it being what most people considered 'perfect weather.' The serum had left her feeling colder than usual and brought about new pain—chest pains that really, really hurt. They would come randomly.
She looked at the console with the clutch and gears, having no idea what they were for. Only that they were stupidly complicated and didn't help her driving. She vaguely recalled her driving lesson with Bulk, when he let her drive him once, which almost ended in disaster.
That was the only reason she was driving now.
The static-filled crackle of the walkie-talkie startled her.
|"Girl,"| came a sardonic voice, |"I know you've stolen my car. Where do you think you're going?"|
Miko hated that voice. That stupid smug tone. She wished she could punch his ugly face right now. "I'm going to a Slash Monkey concert, duh," she replied, rolling her eyes even though he couldn't see her.
A low chuckle crackled through the radio. |"Then it's going to be a very long drive. You do realize there's no Slash Monkey concert within 2,000 miles, right?"|
An unwanted shiver crawled up her spin. "Yeah, but you're not a Slash Monkey fan, so how would you know?"
Silas laughed again. |"True. But I know every event happening in this region, and a concert isn't one of them. So, why don't you tell me where you're really going?"|
Miko smirked despite herself, even as she fought the growing pit of dread in her stomach. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I don't think you're the type to appreciate a good adventure story."
|"Enlighten me."|
She rolled her eyes again, gripping the walkie-talkie. "Fine. I'm driving to save the world. You know, like a rock star."
|"Is that so?"| Silas replied dryly. |"Well, rock star, you might want to know where you are. You seem a little lost."|
Miko glanced at the road around her and the forest that surrounded her on every side. "I'm not lost!" she shot back defensively.
The weirdo's laugh came through once more. |"Oh, really? Then tell me girl, where are you, exactly?"|
"Uh… somewhere green," she said lamely.
|"I thought so,"| Silas said with mock sympathy. |"For the record, you're heading west on Highway 8, moving at approximately 47 miles per hour. You're about 12 miles south of the abandoned military base that's by one of the old Nike Missile sites we're stationed at. I doubt that information will do you any good."|
Miko swerved to the side and slammed on the brakes, glaring at the walkie-talkie. If she could reach into the walkie-talkie and punch the weirdo on the other side, she would do it. Over and over again. The dark fantasies played out in her mind once again, for the tenth time today.
The girl fumbled to grab the phone, typing down the information she had just heard and compiled it into another message to send to Bulk. Looking at the bar, she saw there was still no internet. Maybe if she got out a little further…
|"And now you've stopped,"| the man continued smoothly. |"Good. Now that I have your attention, here's what you're going to do: Wait there. My men will come retrieve you shortly."|
"Not in a million years," Miko snapped.
|"You're only making this harder on yourself,"| the cruel man drawled. He seemed entirely unconcerned about what she had just done. She tricked him! And yet, he acted like he had it under control. |"Do you really think you can outmaneuver me? You're driving my vehicle, with my tracking systems. I know every move you make."|
Ugh, of course he would put trackers in his toys.
"Don't you have some evil plan to ruin the world or something?" she snapped, looking around.
|"You've got some nerve, kid. I'll give you that."| That unnerving, weird laugh was back. |"I must admit, I've underestimated you. All of you three brats, especially the Darby kid and you. You've proven your more trouble than your worth."|
"Then let us go," Miko suggested in a not-so-nice tone.
|"I think not,"| the man responded. |"You're far to valuable to get rid of."|
"You just said—" the Japanese girl groaned, rolling her eyes.
|"You're a bold one,"| Silas remarked, and she could practically see his evil smirk. |"That is a trait that will ultimately prove futile, and it is… punishable."|
"Bold is my middle name," Miko quipped, forcing herself to ignore the dark memories that tried to surface at the word. Memories of the torture and Mr. Creepy Baldie Face. Panic started to claw at her, nearly sending her into a frenzy.
She would go back! Never!
"You're a bold one, aren't you Miko. Let's see how long that lasts."
|"You can't escape me."|
A scream was torn from her throat as he twisted her arm at an unnatural angle and snapped it. Her eyes went wide in horror as her bone protruded through her skin, making it a gruesome sight.
Miko's knuckles turned white on the wheel. "Watch me," she said through gritted teeth, slamming the gear into reverse and spinning the Humvee around.
Another bruise bloomed across her pale skin, one of the many that were forming from the brutal punches of the man. Everything hurt! It would heal; the trauma wouldn't, she knew. A whimper escaped her lips as he cut into her skin again, leaving a trail of blood.
|"There's nowhere to run."| Silas paused, contemplating something. |"Besides, if you want the other brats to stay alive, I suggest you wait for my men to pick you up."|
"You told us that we were your chimera-Transformer-thing! You're not going to kill us," she snapped, hearing him curse. "You probably shouldn't have revealed your evil villain plan. That's the number one rookie villain mistake. Duh."
|"Then I'll make your friends suffer unimaginable pain,"| the man growled, cutting through her grim thoughts. Miko smirked. He was angry, angry was good. Well, she thought it was anyways.
I'm sorry, Jack and Raf, but I have to do this. If I escape, I can tell the 'Bots where you are at so they can come to your rescue. Her thoughts quickly spun out of control, and she focused on driving, taking another deep breath. I know I said we're the three musketeers, but one of us has to do this.
"You're already making us suffer 'unimaginable pain'," the Japanese girl sneered. "What worse can you do?"
|"I was being merciful,"| the weirdo snapped.
Miko pressed down on the gas, swerving past another car and hearing it honk. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she knew one thing: She wasn't about to let Silas capture her. The girl slammed the walkie-talkie with as much force as she could with one hand, ramming it into the console until it broke apart.
"Bulkhead," she whispered under her breath, her mind flashing to her green-armored friend. "I need you."
The girl heard the sound of engines, and she glanced in the mirror to see motorcycles with armored soldiers on them trailing behind her. Ugh, Silas really was persistent. She was flattered that he sent four guys instead of one, in the least, he wasn't insulting her. He probably knew better than to underestimate her now, especially after what she pulled off.
Her heart raced. "Great," she muttered, gripping the wheel tighter. "Just what I needed."
Motorcycles, she quickly found out, were much faster than the broad car she was riding in. The rider to her left sped up, pulling alongside her door. Miko could see the barrel of a barrel aimed at the window. She screeched, ducking when he fired. Her hand released the wheel, yanking down at the same time, sending the car careening to the left.
There was a scream as the man fell off his bike, tumbling on the road. Sparks flew as his bike slid along the road, hitting a car nearby, causing it to swerve and crash into the metal railing of the highway. She cringed, quickly taking control back and righting the vehicle.
She saw the glass was cracked but not broken. Phew, she thought, that was close.
The second motorcyclist was to her right, and pulled out a pistol, firing four shots at the window. The first two didn't break through but caused cracks to form. Three and four broken the glass, sending the sharp shards into her skin.
Miko's eyes widened as she saw that the soldier was about to shoot her in the head. She twisted the wheel sharply to the side, the truck hitting the clipping the motorcycle's front tire, sending the rider into a wild wobble. He fought to regain control, and failed, tumbling to the ground with his bike.
The Japanese girl barely had time to celebrate as the third rider on her left swerved in, ramming his motorcycle into the Humvee's side. "You wanna play rough? Fine!" She growled. The girl yanked the wheel hard left, slamming the Humvee into the other bike. The rider veered off, struggling to maintain balance, but he managed to recover and pulled back alongside her.
Spotting a narrow dirt trail cutting through the forest up ahead, she slammed on the brakes, hard enough to send both motorcycles zooming past her. Then, with a quick turn of the wheel, she veered sharply off the road and onto the uneven terrain of the trail.
The Humvee bounced wildly over the rocky ground, jostling Miko in her seat, but she held on tight. The two riders realized what happened and were quick to follow, back behind her in less than a minute. "Of course they're off-roaders," she groaned.
The forest flew past her in a blur of green and brown, and she noticed a split path. She spotted a fallen log up ahead and had an idea. She gunned the engine, barreling toward the obstacle. At the last second, she yanked the wheel hard to the left, narrowly missing the log and continuing down a secondary path.
One of the riders wasn't so lucky. He hit the log dead-on, his bike flipped into the air before crashing down. It exploded a moment later. "One down," Miko said grimly, trying to ignore the twisting feeling in her gut that she caused someone's death. Even if he was one of those MECH bastards. "One more to go."
Multiple shots were fired at the back window, and soon, cracks were spreading across the glass. Probably just a couple of more would break the glass. This secondary path led up a steep incline, unfortunately. She put metal to the pedal, hoping that it wouldn't be too much for the vehicle to handle.
The girl reached the top of the hill, catching air and landing with a crash on the other side. The force of the landing sent Miko's head slamming into the steering wheel, dazing her momentarily.
The rider behind her wasn't as fortunate. His bike couldn't handle the jump, and he lost control, tumbling down the hill with his bike that exploded on the way.
"Ha!" Miko exclaimed weakly, trying to see through her swimming vision. She realized that the Humvee was just at the edge of the hill that led down an equally steep incline to the bottom. It lurched forward and sped down the hill at a dangerous speed.
Her eyes widened when she saw the curb approaching rapidly. She yanked on the wheel, trying to turn left but it was too slow. The vehicle turned and ended up flipping at the high speed, rolling several times before coming to a stop upside down.
The Japanese girl's head throbbed, and she could feel warm liquid trickling down her forehead. The world spun around her, and an awful ringing blared in her ears. Black spots danced across her vision as she reached out for the phone that had miraculously survived and somehow hadn't flown out of the car in the crash.
The flip phone's screen was cracked, and it was low on battery. Obviously, MECH wasn't charging the phone very much. Her finger trembled as she sent the message she prepared earlier, praying that she was out of range of the jammer.
Everything went black.
Miko finally got the spotlight. Seems Silas underestimated her too much. I was excited to release this chapter! Things are picking up a bit :D