Rated: M for adult themes: language, violence, mental rape, character death, mech erotica, torture, gore, and suicidal ideation. This varies from chapter to chapter, so read at your own risk.
Important Note: I started this series of fics before Revenge of the Fallen hit the theaters. This is an A.U. 2007 movie verse fic, NOT a ROTF/DOTM/AE/LK/BB or whatever follows fic.
Disclaimer: The only thing I own in this work of complete fiction is Velocity/Sira and Hardcore. They are mine. Everything else is copyrighted and owned by some really rich people. I make no money from this but wish I could.
XxxX
Full Velocity: Apocalypse Code
Chapter 2: Desolation
XxxX
The town spread out below, and in the bright daylight, everything appeared normal. The buildings stood clustered together in short blocks, separated by parallel and perpendicular streets. Most houses had arid lawns, but a few areas of green spoke of people's refusal to admit they lived in a desert. On the ridge above the valley, it looked as if this town had been spared from calamity.
Raising the binoculars to her optics, the small-town paradise disappeared into the new dystopia. No cars moved along the streets; storefront windows shattered into tiny pieces, green lawns became overgrown and brown, and trash collected against bushes and fences. So far, uncontrolled fires had not consumed this town, and it stood nearly intact. Noticeably, no smoke rose skyward in puffy plumes; survivors were not burning to keep warm or cook. Assuming anyone remained alive in the town.
Velocity handed the binoculars to Slipknot. "There are a lot of buildings to clear, but I don't see any movement. No patrols, no one going building to building, no animals roaming the streets." The chill of dread slipped up her spinal assembly; she did not like this place. Fortunately, once they finished the search, she could lead her team back to the rendezvous point at Boulder City and return to Creech, rejoining the main Autobot force.
"Abandoned?" the mech asked as he stowed the binoculars and pulled an old-fashioned paper map from his storage compartment. Carefully unfolding it, he held the delicate paper espes from his optics. "Um, Cal-Nev-Ari or Searchlight?"
"Close, Desolation." She offered the mech a smile; his map-reading skills had improved dramatically but still needed work.
He squinted harder at the map. "How did you know?"
Velocity chuckled. "I read it on a road sign a mile back," she admitted, not wanting the newly arrived Autobots to attribute her with any more ridiculous abilities.
This had become her existence since the Decepticons triggered an ongoing E.M.P. over the entire contiguous United States, killing millions and throwing technology backward several centuries. By hiding hundreds of thousands of small disrupters, Soundwave ensured that even when the Autobots found one or two and destroyed them, the infrastructure supplying electricity, communications, clean water, sanitation, food, supplies, and medical aid remained broken. What good did it do for a ten- or twenty-mile area to have the E.M.P. field removed when electricity came from a plant almost a hundred miles away? On top of the E.M.P., the Decepticons ripped down powerlines, slicing them apart, and destroyed power stations, ensuring it took longer to restore necessities. People starved as food supplies ran out, died of diseases clean water had once eradicated, froze to death on cold nights, and succumbed to illnesses and infections antibiotics could have cured.
The Dead Zone of the United States also wreaked havoc with Cybertronians. The mechs, more reliant on sensors, data input, and their technology, could not function. Even ones like her who rarely relied on such things had difficulty transforming or accessing weapons. She had her claws, and when she arrived at an area the Autobots had cleared of the E.M.P. pulse, she had her sword and ranseur. Along with most of the Earth-stationed Autobots, she wore them strapped to her frame in sheaths made of woven cables. Fortunately, the Dead Zone also affected the Decepticons; the enemy became scarce, they either went into hiding or fled to more Cybertronian conducive areas of Mexico, South America, or Canada.
All of this destruction to root the Autobots from their underground base, giving Optimus Prime nowhere to retreat to, leaving their small number exposed and vulnerable. The plan failed when Ultra Magnus arrived and added his warriors to the fight.
Now, the Autobots tried to help anyone they could. She led a small search and rescue team; they investigated nearby towns and moved anyone willing to refugee camps. Completely voluntary, it gave the new Cybertronians a quick indoctrination to life on Earth and the varied natures of humans. Currently, she had six Autobots on her team, enough to defend against attack and few enough to make a quick retreat.
"What's the plan?" Barrelroll vibrated with anticipation. Small, not much larger than her, with an orange and black paint job, the mech focused more on the next minute than the present one.
Velocity glanced upward, gauging the height of the sun above the mountains. The Parhelion, Ultra Magnus's ship, a black blemish in the blue sky, hung out of the reach of Decepticon disruptors. Enormous and designed for galactic travel, it appeared huge, even from this distance.
"I think this is where I say, 'it's quiet, too quiet.'" No one understood her reference, so the femme let it die. "Teams of two, take a third of the town and work your way across and down the streets. Don't ignore small buildings either." She turned to face the assembled mechs. "Slipknot, Roadhazard, I am coming with you; we are heading to the industrial buildings first. We have about six hours of daylight, and I want out of this place before dark."
They broke off into pairs, and Velocity stayed with Slipknot and Roadhazard; their pedfalls crunched dully among the buildings. As they wove their way along the streets of the tiny business district, they bent and glanced into shops and stores. Most shop fronts lacked glass; the large windows, broken and glittering at their peds. Velocity gave the darker interiors cursory glances, quickly noting what remained on the shelves and racks. A prickling sensation moved up her spinal assembly. Canned foods still sat on the shelves of the little grocery store. Over-the-counter medicine and first aid supplies lined the walls of the drugstore. A clothing boutique still contained coats and scarves.
Slipknot turned to her. "These stores have not been looted. Can we return with a convoy and take the supplies for our humans?"
"Maybe, and they are not our humans." She absently corrected the mech's wording, her thoughts elsewhere.
Some of the smaller towns they explored had not suffered the panicked destruction of larger cities, but heavily armed men and women patrolled them. They did not tolerate looting and maintained order with swift justice. No one patrolled here, and as far as she could tell, very few people remained - if anyone. The chill of unease dropped a few more degrees and frosted her energon.
"Let's hurry. I don't like this." Turning to Roadhazard, Velocity saw him fiddling with the sign over the mechanic's garage on the corner. "Roadhazard, stay behind me. I don't want my ass exposed."
The mech barely glanced at her.
Grinding her dental plates, Velocity chose to let the mech's behavior slide. Arriving on Earth had shocked some of Ultra Magnus's Autobots. The organic world and its little inhabitants scared some of the Cybertronians, and they retreated to the Parhelion at the first opportunity. The more adventurous stayed on the planet. Finding Ironhide's infamous mate, Chromia, and an unknown young femme bonded to the Prime became an even bigger shock. Most stared at her in awe; some, like Slipknot, showed a friendly curiosity, and others, open disdain. Roadhazard treated her like a tolerated annoyance making her question his motivation for volunteering.
She continued down the street, one mech in front and one behind. Even though all had shattered windows, the buildings still held most of their goods. Turning down a road, they passed homes sitting on their chain-linked squares of dirt and grass. Most of the windows remained intact, and the doors shut. Cars lined the driveways and clogged the streets where they had stopped. No dogs barked at their arrival, and no cats or rats scurried for cover in front of them.
"This is weird," she mumbled to herself. "Where is everybody? Where is anybody?"
"Lady Velocity, I do not find any dead," Slipknot voiced what she noticed.
Cringing inward at the title, Velocity nodded. Once they learned English, many new mechs began addressing her as "Lady." Optimus pointed out they meant it as a title of respect. When he became Prime, many referred to Elita as Elita-1, a show of her status. The position also placed Elita as the femme leader and representative. Since Chromia still led what few femmes remained, Velocity did not earn a numeric title. Also, the cover story that she was the Last Gift of the Allspark added an air of mystery and importance to her. So, the Autobots collectively chose "Lady" as her title, and she had to live with it.
"It would be so much easier if we could scan and go home," Roadhazard grumbled behind her.
"Yeah, it would. Why don't you ask Soundwave how to turn off these fucking disruptors?" she snapped. At an intersection, she glanced down a side street; two other team members traveled parallel to them. Good, if something happened, they would have quick reinforcements.
"Come on, let's check out the warehouse. If the people went anywhere, they went there."
The warehouses were a large factory complex of several buildings, most likely the town's primary income. One of those places that held the lives and financial stability of an entire county in its hands. A place, when it closed its doors and moved on, so would the population. Velocity could not tell what they manufactured. Blue letters over a stylized sun said "Jansen's" with no other details. Apparently, everyone knew what Jansen's made, needing no further explanation.
The cargo bay doors stood open, dark rectangular portals cut into the side of galvanized steel. Her cold disquiet refused to warm in the desert sun.
Slipknot entered first, his ax pulled and ready. Velocity entered close behind, unsheathing her sword, and Roadhazard followed on her heels. Enclosed areas like this offered excellent hiding for Decepticons. The lack of humans or stray pets meant something had driven life from the town.
As her optics adjusted, Velocity found huge machines cluttered about the interior. Huge machines could easily hide a huge threat behind them. Conveyer belts crisscrossed the open spaces, cutting it apart and making movement difficult. She sucked air between her dental plates. If she wanted to hide, she would pick a place like this. A place where a large chunk of metal made sense.
It hit her. The rancid, sweet odor of decaying flesh permeated the air, and she wrinkled her nose. Someone or something had died in here.
"Be thorough." She instructed the mechs.
They spread apart as they searched the factory. Weapons drawn, they tapped along the machinery; unconcerned about stealth, they wanted to see if anything jumped up and transformed.
Ducking beneath a conveyer, Velocity thought she heard a soft intake of air through vents. She froze, tipping her helm one way and then the other to locate the sound. Her audios only picked up the pedfalls of the other Autobots and their gentle tapping.
"Lady Velocity, can you come here?" Slipknot called from across the building, his hand resting on the edge of a window dividing an office area from the factory floor.
Forgetting the unidentified sound, she wove her way to Autobot. His optics flickered in pain as he watched her approach.
"In here." He motioned towards the window with his helm.
A thick cloud of bloated black flies buzzed around them, another bad sign, she knew what their presence meant. Velocity squatted to peer through the glass. It took her several seconds for her processor to catch up with her optics. Discolored and partially melted from the desert heat, flesh slipped off bones and oozed to the floor. Bodies filled the enclosed space, heaped randomly as someone tossed them in there. She blinked and moved to the door, her hand on the knob. Organic instincts screamed that she might be able to help them, even though she saw the bloat.
A hand on hers as Slipknot tried to wedge between her and the door. "You tell us not to waste time on the dead. These humans are dead. We go through this every time we find a grave." A small smile tipped his facial plates upward. "You are renown for your temper, but some of us know of your compassion."
Velocity glanced away and released the door handle. Slipknot was correct; she did react to the death the Decepticons caused, it enraged her. The wasted potential, the destroyed hopes, the vanished dreams. Piles of dead struck deep within her and pulled out a dark, vile rage that demanded blood and vengeance. The beast within her metal body snarled and paced, nearly frantic - for this reason, she led her small team in ever-widening circles to focus on survivors. Helping the living kept the rage at bay and the beast quiet.
Turning from the pile of dead, she cycled her vents. There would be no retribution today. "Note the location. We will add it to the database when we return to Creech." Obvious instructions, they had done this many times. Locations of the dead recorded, general descriptions taken, and then they moved on.
Velocity glanced around. "Where is Roadhazard? He is supposed to have our rear."
As the words left her vocals, one of the machines on the factory floor stood up. Turning around, the mech finished his transformation; red optics burned with hate.
"The Prime's little doll," he hissed through jagged dental plates.
XxxX
The fly buzzed around the room and landed on his cheek again. Lifting a shaking arm, former Agent Reginald Simmons shooed it away. Since coming out of an Autobot-induced coma and learning of the state of affairs, he considered himself former; certain the collapse of the U.S.A or his physical condition lined him up for a forced early retirement.
His arm flopped weakly into his lap, and the fly continued its irritating circles around the room. He should be grateful he still lived, but his injuries left him paralyzed from mid-chest down with limited use of his arms. The only thing making his existence tolerable was the good fortune that Optimus Prime chose to take him when they relocated. The Autobots had cleared the disruptors from a large enough area and restored some electricity using their tech. Simmons had air conditioning and warm meals to offset the fact that he could not control his bodily functions.
Being an invalid in the Apocalypse sucked, and he wondered if death was a better option.
A soldiernurse opened the door to his room, not a hospital room, but someone's office they converted.
"You have a guest." He stated as he pulled the blinds up and opened a window.
Bright light cut through the dim room, searing a path and stirring the fly into the air. It landed on Simmons's nose. The former agent tried to direct a puff of air upward to remove the damnable insect. Instead, it crawled between his eyes and onto his forehead. "Tell them to go away," Simmons finally croaked.
"But you requested this meeting."
The glare of virulent chartreuse filled the window and blocked the sun. Adjusting to kneel, Ratchet gazed into the room.
Simmons shooed the nurse and the fly at the same time. Once alone, he turned his attention to the Autobot. "About time you showed up."
The mech frowned. "I have been busy. What do you want?"
A sly smile tipped the corner of Simmon's mouth. "Either kill me or make me like Velocity."
Blue optics widened in surprise. "Neither is feasible…."
"Oh, don't bullshit me. I'm already tired of laying in this bed, and another forty years of it will be Hell on Earth. I know you know how, and you owe me for this," he weakly gestured at his broken body.
XxxX
The Decepticon locked onto Velocity and smiled cruelly. Massive hands and powerful arms shoved machinery aside.
"Run!" shouted Slipknot. Moving between the femme and the Decepticon, he swung his ax threatening a fight.
A contemptuous laugh echoed around them. "Run away, little doll. Run away to get your ports plugged."
Velocity refused to run. She stepped next to Slipknot and shifted her grip on her sword. "I'm not a doll." Someone calling her a doll pissed her off, and if someone killed a bunch of people and tossed their bodies in an office like used tissues in a garbage can - that enraged her. The Decepticon offered himself as a sacrifice for her vengeance. "So, go fuck yourself and get off my planet, you rust-covered cunt," she baited.
As the taunt left her vocals, Slipknot hooked an arm around her waist and snatched her off her peds. Spinning, he bolted as the Decepticon charged after them. "Do you want to die?" the Autobot snapped as he ran.
"I want to kill him. Put me down," she snarled, twisting in the mech's hold.
Slipknot aimed them towards a doorway too small for their bulk. He did not slow and barreled through the wall, forcing Velocity to cover her helm with her arms, protecting delicate facial plates. Sheetmetal exploded around them, and sunlight pierced her optics. Outside of the building, Slipknot continued to run, each step jarring Velocity against his hip. Behind them, the Decepticon's roars and Cybertronian swears could not cover the shriek of twisted metal.
Without warning, they tumbled to the ground. Dirt and rocks scraped into Velocity's facial plates as she slid to a brutal stop. A shadow blocked the light. The femme did not look up but rolled out of the way. An I-beam impacted the earth where she had laid. Scrambling to her peds, Velocity twisted to avoid another swing of the makeshift weapon.
Backing away from the attacking mech, Velocity found Slipknot nearby. He struggled to make it to his peds. He kept collapsing, a leg twisting beneath him. He had stepped into a large hole, breaking something.
"Come here, hub," the Decepticon hissed as he slammed the I-beam into the ground. "I want to show you something."
He pulled the metal out of the dirt and charged her. Velocity had no option but to run. As she bolted around the corner of the factory, the I-beam whizzed passed, missing her helm by mere feet and ripping apart the corner of the building.
"Shit," Velocity hissed between her dental plates. Rounding another corner, she found a dead end, buildings on three sides. A length of pipe impaled the wall next to her head. Spinning, she faced her attacker, wondering where her team had gone.
Smiling coldly, the Decepticon picked up another piece of pipe in his empty hand. Clanging the pipe and the I-beam together, he laughed. "What should I do first?"
"How about - go fuck Megatron's rusting corpse." Her taunts hid the genuine fear sparking along her circuits.
He charged and swung the beam again, a clumsy move without balance. She quickly spun out of the way and into striking distance. Her sword slipped into the gaps around his hip and sliced a hydraulic line before she spun away again. It would take more than a severed line to drop this mech. Ones his size would have multiple lines and redundancies.
Realizing he had missed his target, he swung the I-beam again. Velocity kept out of his reach, noticing the fluids begin to ooze out of the wound. From behind the Decepticon, Barrellroll and Kaleidoscope tried to advance, but the enemy would turn and swing at the Autobots, keeping them at bay. Velocity attempted to use these openings, but what the Decepticon lacked in finesse, he made up for it in power and speed.
He pressed her, pushing her closer to a corner, limiting her movements. Swing after swing whistled through the air and slammed into the ground. Stepping backward, Velocity stayed on the defensive. He moved toward her, and she retreated. His attacks kept her focused on him, too busy to look for an escape route.
Another swing and Velocity dodged; instead of solid ground beneath her ped, she stepped on a length of pipe. The metal tube rolled, unbalancing her. Seeing the opening, the Decepticon rushed in. Twisting to land on her hands and peds, not her back, the femme hit hard but did not wait. Springing up, she bolted away from the mech. At the same time, the two Autobots attacked, giving her a chance to escape. She ricocheted off a wall, using the momentum to change her direction and dart past the 'Con. Running away from the fight, she saw Rusty holding Slipknot.
An oscillating whistle pierced her audios a second before the I-beam slammed into her, knocking her sideways. The impact spun gyros and disrupted electrical flow through her torso; Velocity tumbled to the ground. Static filled her optics, as her spinal assembly arched nearly to the breaking point and hypercoils spasmed.
Hands locked onto her armor and dragged her from the dust. The roars of defiance and crashes of metal echoed around her. A familiar electrical field enveloped her, cradling her against his chest as the disruption cleared, but this was not the Autobot she wanted. Rusty held onto her, not his real name, but a nickname from an unhealed rust patch on his helm. Velocity squirmed in his arms, but the movement spun her gyros.
Rusty admonished her, "No, you are staying out of that mess. I think that blow caused a temporary energon disruption. It would help if you stayed still until it cleared. Anyways, the 'Con is down; they are stripping his weapons." He lowered her to the ground, helping her rest against a semi-trailer.
Velocity relaxed; she didn't want to move, circuitry started activating, and pain spread through her back and side. "Report," she managed to gasp between spasms. Ignored damage reports scrolling across her H.U.D.
Kaleidoscope, with his garish and multicolored paint job, hoisted a newly scavenged weapon. "We found another mass grave near the school. Looks like this 'Con wiped out the town and was setting up a staging point. All larger buildings were in the process of conversion for Cybertronian habitation."
"Great," Velocity sighed, clearly not meaning it, and thunked the back of her head on the trailer. "Someone patch me up so we can head home," Lifting her helm again, she glanced at the assembled team, "Where the fuck is Roadhazard?"
XxxX
Author's Notes:
I don't think there is a Desolation NV, but I could be wrong. Please correct me if I am. I chose the name for dramatic effect instead of using an existing town.
The phrase, "It's quiet, too quiet." Was first used in The Lucky Texan, starring John Wayne.