Chapter Text
The training room echoed with the sound of a fight. It was physical, not verbal, luckily, and a harmless fight at that. Jack watched the two Autobots in front of him spar in the training ring, Bulkhead holding the focus mitts, and Arcee punching into the mitts with a fury that Jack had only seen a few times before.
“Grh!”
“C’mon, Arcee. Take it easy, I’m holding the focus mitt, not Megatron.”
The blue Autobot only responded by hitting her target harder. Bulkhead, holding the targets, grunted as he was pushed backwards from the force. Jack winced at the sound of the heavy blows coming from the training area, but reassured himself that if anyone could handle those hits, it was Bulkhead. He turned away from the sparring Autobots and looked at the other two kids sitting beside him. Miko was watching the match, but with considerably less interest than usual. Her hands played nervously in her lap, telling Jack that this whole incident had her a lot more unsettled than she liked to admit. In between them, Raf had his knees tucked up to his chest, chin resting on them, and was staring off into the distance. Jack reached out and placed a hand on the smaller boy’s back, trying to offer some support. He couldn’t imagine what Raf was going through right now. Bumblebee was his Autobot buddy, after all. Raf glanced at him, gave a weak smile, and turned away again.
“Arcee!”
Bulkhead’s voice rang out through the training room, and all three children looked up to see Arcee let her arms drop to her side and stalk away from the other bot. Bulkhead was pressed up against the far wall, and he had the focus mitts held up in a protective stance. He dropped them to the floor, and started to walk after Arcee. She paced back and forth a few times, then eventually looked at Bulk remorsefully.
“Sorry, Bulk. I got carried away. I’m just so- so angry!” She delivered a hard punch to a nearby punching bag, and then looked back at the other bot. “I shouldn’t have cornered you like that. I’m sorry.”
Bulkhead sighed deeply, and put a servo on the smaller bot’s shoulder. “I understand, Arcee. It’s okay.” He shook his head. “I’m upset too. I get it.”
He glanced over at the kids, then pulled Arcee a little closer to him. He seemed to be whispering in her ear, and she was nodding to something he was saying. The children all looked at each other, not sure what they were talking about. They had been here for at least half-an-hour by now, and they had just been sitting quietly while the bots sparred. Jack tried to ignore the little voice in his head that was telling him that something was very wrong. He really wanted to talk to Arcee and ask her some questions, but he also knew that she was definitely not in the mood for that right now. He watched the Autobots continue to talk, and decided that he should probably ask them what was going on. However, Miko beat him to it, and broke the silence first.
“Bulk? What had Megatron said to you guys? None of us could understand what he was saying, not even Raf.”
Raf sniffled at the reminder, and Miko looked a little guilty. Jack patted Raf’s back gently, and gazed up at Arcee. She met his eyes for a moment, but then she looked away. Something was definitely up. Jack had a suspicion of what it might be, but he really, really hoped that he was wrong.
“Uh, he was just making some threats, that’s all. There’s really not that much to tell.” Bulk was also avoiding eye contact with the children.
“C’mon, Bulk! It can’t have been nothing if he tried to shoot Bee’s head off a minute later!” Miko threw up her arms in frustration.
“Hey!” Arcee whipped around to face Miko. “Watch it, Miko.”
“I’m sorry, that sounded worse than I meant it to.” She looked remorseful for a moment, then spoke again, her voice very small. “I just don’t understand what’s happening.”
Bulkhead sighed. “Trust me kid. No one does. But,” he added, seeing the sudden looks of worry on the humans’ faces. “I’m sure Ratchet and Optimus are figuring something out as we speak.”
There was an awkward silence as everyone mulled over the bot’s words. Raf spoke up next, surprising everyone else. Raf had not said anything since they left the main control room.
“Why did Megatron try to kill Bee? That doesn’t make any sen-”
Jack coughed loudly, and looked at Arcee. She managed to catch his drift, and she walked over to Raf.
“Megatron was bluffing, but because he’d never used Bee’s blasters before he didn’t know that they would fire.” She sighed. “Optimus could see that coming, and he didn’t want to take any chances just in case Megatron wasn’t bluffing.”
Raf still looked very uncertain, and he turned to look at Jack. Jack nodded, like he was agreeing with Arcee, and silently hoped that Raf would let it go. The younger boy sighed and looked away. Jack let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and looked at Arcee. Her shoulders were tense, and her servos were shaking slightly. Jack felt his heart sink. He was almost certain that his suspicions were true, and that realization hurt. The Autobots seemed to sense that the mood in the room was spiraling steadily, and Bulkhead reached out to Miko.
“C’mon, I’ll teach you how to do a proper roundhouse kick. Let’s work off some energy.”
Miko hopped into his hand, and the two of them walked out into the training area. Arcee sighed and sat down next to Raf. The three people on the sidelines watched Bulkhead and Miko for a few minutes, no one speaking. Raf broke the silence again as he turned to face the femme next to him.
“How long have you and Bumblebee been teammates?”
Arcee’s optics grew soft, and she let her head rest on the wall behind her. “Well, a really long time, but I knew him before we were even teammates.” She turned so she was facing both of the boys, and smiled a little. “I knew him when he was a sparkling.”
“How old is a sparkling again?” Jack said. “What age would that be in human years?”
Arcee shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure, it’s a very large range, but I think Bumblebee would have been what you humans call a baby.” She grinned at the surprised looks on the boys’ faces. “So, yeah, I’ve known Bee for a really long time. I was a sparkling too, although much older. Maybe around Jack’s age, but in Cybertronian years.”
“What was he like when he was a sparkling?” Raf appeared to be fascinated with the subject. He was always eager to learn more about Cybertronians.
“Very much like how he is now. Curious, friendly, and fun.” She smiled gently. “Watching Optimus chase a sparkling around the Autobot base was always amusing.”
“Wait, Optimus?” Jack looked at Arcee. “Optimus raised Bee?”
“Yeah, pretty much. The entire base helped him, but everyone knew that Optimus was Bee’s favorite person. Ratchet and Elita-1 were very close seconds.” Arcee saw the confusion on the boys’ faces, and continued. “Optimus found Bee while he was patrolling by the Well of Allsparks one time, and took him back to base. Bee clung to Optimus like he was his lifeline, and Optimus suddenly found himself stuck with a sparkling.” She laughed. “He was so confused at first, but Bumblebee quickly had him wrapped around his digit.”
Raf was grinning, and Jack felt relieved that he was thinking about something happier for a change. Arcee seemed to feel that way too, and she continued to talk about what it was like when Bee was little.
“I remember the first time I met him. I had been in training with Elita when she suddenly got a call from Optimus. Optimus told her that he needed her in the med-bay, so we raced over there as fast as we could. When we walked in, there was this little yellow sparkling on the berth. Primus, he was so small.” She looked away for a moment, blinking rapidly, then continued. “Ratchet was just finishing an examination, and he said that he was a new-form.”
Jack assumed that that meant Bee was a newborn.
“As soon as Optimus picked him up, Bee curled up against his chassis, went into recharge, and wouldn’t let go. Optimus had a meeting that he had to attend, but he didn’t want to wake him up, so he attended the meeting with a sparkling in his arms.” Arcee grinned. “I was in that meeting, and it is still one of the best ones I remember. Everyone was so interested in Bee that most of the meeting was forgotten.”
“Were there not a lot of sparklings in the Autobot base?” Raf questioned.
Arcee shook her head. “No, that’s the thing. There hadn’t been any new sparklings in centuries. The batch that I came from was thought to be the last one, and then suddenly this sparkling appeared out of nowhere.”
“Batch?”
“New Cybertronians are formed in the Well of Allsparks, usually in batches, and then sent to the surface. The well stopped creating new-forms when the war started, so we thought that there wouldn’t ever be any more sparklings. That’s why everyone was so interested in Bumblebee.” Arcee sighed. “He was everyone’s favorite, but Optimus, Elita-1, and Ratchet were his favorite people.”
Jack and Raf watched Arcee as she looked away from them. Jack was pretty sure he could see tears in her eyes. She gazed off into the distance, thinking about other, happier times. The group was silent, the only sound in the room coming from Miko and Bulkhead in the training area. Arcee sighed deeply, and looked at the boys again.
“I played with him a lot when Optimus and Elita were busy. Cliffjumper would sit with me, and sometimes others too. Bulkhead, Chromia, Jazz, Tailgate…” She trailed off, her face gradually growing sadder. Arcee stood suddenly, swiping at her face. “I’m sorry. I- I need to step away for a moment.”
Jack and Raf watched her go, the sound of her footsteps dying away as she walked out of the room. They turned to look at Bulkhead and Miko, who had both stopped what they were doing when they realized that Arcee was leaving the room. The room was silent, no one daring to say a thing. Jack sighed and put his head in his hands. He fervently hoped that the suspicions he had were wrong, because the stories that Arcee had been telling made it a thousand times worse than before.
“Prime!”
Optimus and Ratchet both jumped at the sudden noise from one of the computers. Agent Fowler’s face appeared on the screen, frowning as always, and Optimus quickly made his way over to talk to him.
“What is it, Agent Fowler?”
“You spot any Decepticons wearing hula skirts lately?”
Optimus raised an optical ridge. He had no idea what a hula skirt was. “No, Special Agent Fowler. Why?”
“Because I was hoping you had a lead on the ‘Cons that busted into the Kauai Naval Observatory. Place looked like it was hit by an army of wrecking balls.”
“Why would Decepticons break into an observatory?” Ratchet called over his shoulder from his spot in front of the computer.
“Does the Hoit-Nikogosian ring any bells? It’s a space telescope, and as of last night it’s missing its primary lens.”
“It is difficult to guess Starcream’s intent without knowing where the lens has been taken.”
“Well then, it’s a good thing that the lens has a tracking device.” Fowler pressed a button, and a map popped up onto the computer display.
“The arctic? Oh joy.” Ratchet said somewhere behind Optimus.
Optimus ignored the medic and stared more intently at the geographical map on the screen. “There is a class ND7 deposit of energon in that area, but it is un-minable.”
“Until Starscream melts his way down to it with the lens.” Ratchet appeared next to Optimus and was now looking at the screen too. “Right through the glacier.”
“Melting a glacier that size would cause sea levels to rise and demolish coastal cities.” Agent Fowler looked at Optimus expectantly. “Well?”
Optimus and Ratchet both looked at each other, and both looked back at the yellow Autobot lying on the floor of the containment chamber. They both looked at each other again, Ratchet shaking his head and frowning, and Optimus looking a little more resolute.
“We will take care of it, Agent Fowler.”
Fowler looked past Optimus, raised an eyebrow, and then looked back at him. “Is everything okay there, Prime?”
“Fine. We must go and stop Starscream.” Optimus hung up the call and turned to look at Ratchet. The medic huffed and walked back to where he had been working earlier.
“The Decepticons have always had the worst timing when it comes to their schemes.”
Optimus vented deeply, then activated his comm link. “Bulkhead, Arcee, prepare to roll out.”
“But- what about Bee?” Jack looked up at Arcee.
They were all back in the main control room, and Optimus, Bulkhead, and Arcee were prepping to leave for the arctic. Arcee glanced at Jack, then at Bumblebee who was still lying on the floor.
“We’ll be fast, Jack. It’ll be fine.”
“What if he comes back online? He wasn’t supposed to last time, but he did. What if-?”
“Jack-”
“No, Arcee, it’s important.” Jack stepped closer, gesturing for Arcee to bend down. She did, and leaned in to hear what he was whispering. “I- I don’t know how to say this, but…” Jack took a deep breath and prayed that he wasn’t making a huge mistake. “Megatron wasn’t the one in control, was he?”
One look at the Autobot’s face was enough to answer his question. Arcee gazed back at him, a mix of emotions in her eyes that Jack couldn’t quite place. She took a shaky breath, and whispered softly in Jack’s ear.
“I think so. I haven’t asked Ratchet directly.” She sighed. “Please, Jack. Don’t tell the other kids. They don’t need to know. They had to watch it happen, and that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Don’t tell them.”
“I won’t, but what if he comes back online again and… um, tries again? None of us are strong enough to stop him, and Ratchet’s only one bot.”
Arcee looked more distressed than Jack had ever seen. Jack could see her servos shaking. She glanced at Bee again.
“I know, Jack. I know. That’s why we need to be fast.” She stood up straight and looked down at the teen. “Will you help Ratchet in any way you can?”
“Of course. Arcee,” he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I’m sorry if I did something wrong I just-”
“You haven’t done anything wrong, Jack. I had my suspicions that you knew. I just- I just don’t like thinking about it myself.”
She walked away to join Optimus and Bulkhead in front of the ground-bridge. Optimus kept glancing over at the containment chamber, and Jack knew that the thought that had crossed his mind must be in the Prime’s as well. Miko and Raf were standing by Ratchet, who was prepping the coordinates for the bridge. He flipped the switch and the portal roared to life.
“Be safe!” The medic yelled after the team as they transformed and drove into the green swirling light. The team looked smaller than usual, and it made Jack’s chest feel funny. Miko and Raf waved to them as they went. Jack swallowed the lump in his throat at the sight of them. They didn’t know what Bee had done, and he was going to make sure that they never found out. Never.
As he walked to join the others, he passed by the chamber where the prisoner was. He winced at the sight of the doors, which didn’t fit so securely as they once had. In his haste to stop Bee from shooting, Optimus had practically torn the doors apart. Jack had never seen the Prime so frantic. Jack sighed and kept walking. He couldn’t stop thinking about Bee, and what he had almost done. What was Megatron doing to him or telling him that drove him to such a drastic action? He couldn’t even imagine. Jack shook his head and went to stand by Raf and Miko. Raf was gazing sadly at Bee, and Miko was watching Raf out of the corner of her eye. Ratchet was working away on his computer, various scans and diagrams were scattered across his screens. Jack stood next to Miko, and leaned a bit closer to whisper in her ear.
“We should try to do something fun to distract Raf for a while.”
“Good idea.” Miko whispered back. She cleared her throat and spoke with a louder volume. “Hey Raf, wanna go play video games? I’ll let you be player one!”
Raf turned to look at her, and gave a small smile. “No thanks. I want to help Ratchet.”
“Umm, okay.” Jack stepped forward and started to guide the younger boy towards the area where they usually hung out. “But don’t you think you could take a little break? It’s good to take breaks!”
Raf made a face at him. “You’re acting like a mother hen right now, Jack, and it’s weirding me out. You’re worse than your mom.”
“Hey! No I’m not!”
“You kinda are.”
“Miko. That is not helpful.”
Jack pinched the bridge of his nose. Sometimes he wondered how he ended up with a bunch of robots and two strange children as his friends, but whatever, he could deal with this.
“C’mon, Raf. Just take a small break with Miko. Please?” When he saw the other hesitate, he decided to try and sweeten the deal. “I told Arcee that I would help Ratchet for a while. I’ll keep an eye on Bee, and you can go play a few rounds with Miko. I promise I’ll tell you if anything changes.”
Raf sighed. “Fine, but only for a little while.”
“Yes!” Miko pumped her fist, grabbed Raf by his arm and dragged him off. She winked at Jack as she passed him, and Jack knew that she’d do her best to keep Raf occupied.
As soon as they disappeared up into the hang-out area, Jack turned to face Ratchet. He climbed the ladder to the upper area so he could be face to face with the medic.
“Is there anything I can do, Ratchet?”
The medic sighed. “No, Jack. I need to be left alone so I can work in peace.”
“Sorry.” Jack sat down on the floor, and let his legs dangle over the ledge of the platform.
“You’re not going to leave until I give you something to do, are you?”
“Nope. I made a promise to Raf and Arcee.”
The Autobot grumbled something under his breath, then handed a data-pad to the teen. “Read through this and highlight any info you find on cortical psychic patches, the Cybertronian processor, or viruses.”
Jack to it from him and started to read. Ratchet had obviously translated the data into English so he could read it, and it seemed to be something like a medical report or journal. It was kind of interesting, and it reminded him of the medical reports that his mom worked on. He kept reading, but the article seemed to be on the Cybertronian alt-modes.
“Jack?”
Jack looked up from the data-pad. Ratchet was looking at him, and he had stopped typing away on the keyboard. “Hm?”
“What were you and Arcee discussing earlier?”
Jack felt a nervous sensation run through his stomach. There were several lies he could tell, but something was telling him that it would be better to tell Ratchet the truth.
“We were talking about… Bee. About how he tried to, y’know.” Jack stared directly at the medic. “It was Bee, wasn’t it?”
Ratchet vented deeply, and turned away. The room was quiet for a few moments, apart from the sound of the tv a little farther off. Miko’s laugh rang through the room, an odd contrast to the heaviness that seemed to occupy Jack’s chest. When the old bot faced Jack again, Jack was startled by how upset he looked.
“Yes. It was Bumblebee who was in control. How did you know?”
“I- I just thought that it didn’t make sense for Megatron to do that while he was still in Bee’s body. I was guessing, really.”
Ratchet gave a wry smile. “I had a hunch that you suspected something was up. I could see it on your face as you left the room.” His face grew darker. “We can’t tell the younger kids, they don’t need to know. It would only scare them more.”
Jack nodded. “I know, and I agree. That’s partially why I was so pushy about them taking a break.”
Ratchet nodded. He looked at Jack and his eyes grew a little softer. “You’re a good kid, Jack. You’re sensible.”
Jack wasn’t sure what to say, so he just smiled at the bot. Ratchet handed Jack another data-pad, and turned back to his work. He stopped after a brief moment and faced Jack again
“One other thing.” He smirked at the boy. “It’s not a bad thing to be a ‘mother hen’. I’ve been called that for stellar cycles now.” He chuckled softly, and Jack was pretty sure the bot was looking in Bee’s direction. The smile seemed to drip slowly off his face. “It keeps people safe. It keeps them alive.”
Jack was silent, the medic didn’t say anything else, and they both returned to their respective tasks. The final statement hung heavy in the air, and it left Jack’s mind turning. There was no more conversation for the better part of the next fifteen minutes until Ratchet made a hrmph sound, and started to walk away from the main computer.
“I’m getting some materials I need for a possible procedure from the storage room. I’ll be right back. You’re in charge, keep an eye on everyone.”
Jack nodded. He watched the doors close behind Ratchet, then he stood and made his way to where the others were. Miko and Raf were on the couch playing a racing game, and Jack came to stand behind them.
“Who’s winning?”
“Me!” Miko grinned as her racer passed Raf’s. She paused. “But only by a little bit.”
“She’s beaten me six times now.” Raf put the controller down and turned to face the older boy. “How is Bee? What are you and Ratchet doing?”
Jack glared slightly at Miko, who shrugged guiltily, then faced Raf again. “No changes. Ratchet’s getting some stuff in the back for a procedure. He might be getting close to something.”
Raf’s face lit up. “That’s great!” He hopped off the couch. “Can I help again? Please?”
Jack hesitated, but decided that Raf wouldn’t stop asking if he didn’t say yes. “Okay, here are some data-pads to read. You’re looking for anything about the Cybertronian processor.”
Raf happily accepted the device, and declared that he was going to go sit by Bee.
“Let’s all hang out with Bee.” Miko said, jumping to her feet. She also took a data-pad from Jack’s hands.
As they started walking, Jack heard a beep come from the main computer. He ignored it for a moment, but quickly remembered that Ratchet wasn’t in the main terminal at the moment. He turned and began walking in the direction of the noise.
“I’ll check it out. You guys go ahead and I’ll meet you there.”
Jack went back to the main computer and tried to figure out what the notification had been. The computer was still beeping shrilly, and the display was flashing. He leaned over the safety railing so he could get a better look at the screen.
“Oh my God.”
Jack felt his heart drop into his stomach as he saw what the notification was. Big red letters stared back at him, making his skin crawl and his heart pound.
Processor Activity Detected.
Containment Chamber Doors Compromised.
Movement Detected in Containment Chamber.
At that moment, an ear-splitting shriek echoed through the main room sending Jack’s heart into his throat and his feet racing towards where the others were.
“Miko! Raf!”
Jack flew across the room, turning the corner and praying that his fears weren’t coming true. He slammed into something at full speed, and sprawled backwards onto the floor. He rubbed his head and stared up at what he had run into. He felt his heart stop and his blood run cold as he realized that it was none other than Bumblebee. The bot glared down at him, and Jack quickly realized that it wasn’t Bee, it was Megatron.
“Jack! Get up and run!” Miko’s voice snapped Jack out of his frozen state. He realized with horror that the Autobot had Raf firmly grasped in one hand and Miko in the other.
“Run, Jack! Find Ratchet!” Raf pounded his fists against the hand holding him, but it had no effect. “Go!”
Jack jumped to his feet, and started to run in the other direction. He heard someone scream, and he jumped to the side out of pure instinct. One of Bumblebee’s feet crashed down where he had been standing a moment earlier, and left cracks in the concrete. Jack yelled, and kept running.
“Ratchet! Ratchet!” Jack dodged another of Megatron’s attempts to squash him. “Ratchet!”
Jack had never felt so scared in his life, with the threat of being crushed looming over his head, and his friends in the grasp of a psychotic warlord. His heart was racing, and his mind screaming. He gasped as Bee’s foot narrowly missed him again, but the impact caused him to stumble. He heard both Raf and Miko scream, and then he felt Bee’s foot ram into him and send him flying. Jack yelled as he was kicked across the room, but the scream cut off when he slammed into the far wall. He fell to the ground and stayed there. He gasped for air as he lay on the floor, the wind had been knocked out of his lungs when he hit the wall. It hurt to breathe, and he groaned in pain. He was pretty sure he had hit his head too, as the room seemed to be spinning around him.
“Jack! Jack, say something! Please!”
Jack rubbed the back of his head and slowly tried to sit up. It was too much, and he slumped back to the ground. He was surprised that Megatron hadn’t ended him yet, with him being in such a helpless state. He blinked a few times to try and stop the world from spinning, and realized that Megatron had another goal in mind. He was standing in front of the ground-bridge computer and was typing something in. Coordinates, Jack thought. He’s trying to leave.
“Jack! Please say you’re okay! C’mon!”
Jack hissed at the pain in his ribs and back where Bee had kicked him, and slowly tried to sit up again. He saw Miko and Raf looking at him desperately, and their faces quickly changed from terrified to relieved when they saw Jack sit up.
“Oh my gosh! I thought you died!” Miko sobbed. She and Raf were being pinned in between one of Bee’s arms and his chest so that Bumblebee could use the keyboard with one hand.
“Hngh.” was the only thing that Jack could manage to say in reply. “Urgh.”
“What?”
The sound of the ground-bridge coming to life interrupted any other attempts to say something. Jack watched in horror as Bee marched in the direction of the portal with the kids still held tightly in his grasp. They were both kicking and screaming, but their efforts were no use. Jack started to crawl towards them, dragging his aching body across the floor.
Stop them! You need to save them, keep them safe!
“No!” Jack reached out, grasping at the air as they got closer to the portal. He coughed a few times. “No! Stop!”
Bee, Megatron, paused briefly and glanced back at Jack. His optics were filled with pure malice, and Jack shuddered at the sight of them. The bot turned away, and strode through the ground-bridge. Jack could only watch helplessly as they disappeared, the sound of Bee’s footsteps and the kids’ screaming dying away. The ground-bridge closed after them, leaving Jack alone in the room. He collapsed back to the ground, head still spinning, and mind racing. He wasn’t sure what to do. They were gone, Megatron had taken them captive. He had failed.
“Jack? What in the name of the Allspark happened in here?”
Jack looked up from his spot on the floor to see Ratchet jogging over to him, concern plastered all over his face.
“Are you okay? Why are you on the floor? Where are the others? Where’s-” Ratchet picked Jack gently off of the floor, and stopped when he saw the empty container on the other side of the room. His optics widened, and his voice grew hoarse. “Where is Bumblebee?”
Jack sat up in the medics arms, head pounding, and pointed desperately at the ground-bridge.
“Ratchet, he took them. He took Raf and Miko. They’re gone. They’re Megatron’s hostages.”