Transformers Fan Fiction ❯ Cover Me ❯ Reassurances for Everyone ( Chapter 28 )

Cover Me

By Black Dragon Queen

Author's note: Another week, another chapter. Please tell me what you think.

PAIRINGS REVEALED THUS FAR:

Wheeljack x Ratchet, Inferno x Red Alert, Sunstreaker x Sideswipe, Past Prowl x Jazz

Font Index: “Speaking”, `Thinking', “-Radio Transmissions-”, “Cybertronion” “:Link:”

~*~

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Reassurances for Everyone

Wheeljack sighed as he looked about the main hanger; the large, empty main hanger. Why was it that whenever he needed help with any of his inventions, everyone conveniently had somewhere else to be? Shaking his head he turned and made his way back to the hanger turned workshop, pausing to look about the strewn pieces of different equipment scattered about on the floor. With another long sigh he made his way over towards the half constructed transmitter and began connecting the different wires. He waited…

Nothing happened.

With a released breath, he smiled down at the machine. “Let's try to keep this one working shall we?” he said aloud with a grin as he flipped the switch.

Everyone paused in what they doing as a sudden explosion rocked the southern part of the compound. “You know, that's becoming a rather too common occurrence around here,” Ironhide muttered.

“I had nothing to do with it!” A voice called from the other side of a random building and Optimus stepped out from around the structure.

Ironhide shook his head. “We know,” he called back as Inferno stepped next to him.

“Now there's a sound I missed,” he smiled as he looked over towards the direction of the engineering hanger.

“Not us,” the First Arrivals muttered and Inferno turned back to them surprised.

“I don't know if it's the atmosphere or what, but a lot of things tend to go `boom' around here,” Ironhide told him with a sigh and Inferno turned to look at Red Alert for conformation. Red nodded the affirmative and Inferno then turned towards Perceptor in surprise.

“Are you sure-” he began only to have Perceptor interrupt him once again in aggravation.

“Yes! Yes! For the billionth time yes!” he shouted back hysterically.

Red glanced at the other crimson mech before turning back towards Optimus. “What got into him?” he asked softly. Optimus shrugged.

“What was that explosion?” Everyone turned in surprise as Ratchet came jogging over. “Optimus! What did you do now?”

“I did nothing!” Optimus insisted affronted. “How could you think that? I'm not the one who's known for huge numbers of explosions.”

Ratchet frowned before his optics suddenly brightened in realization. “Wheeljack!” he shouted before turning around and racing towards the smoking hanger.

Optimus sighed as he watched the others continue to build the watchtower. Well, Red, Inferno and Ironhide build the watchtower. Perceptor was making himself look busy by going over the designs that Red Alert had sketched in an excuse to avoid any and all actual labor. Perceptor was a great scientist and invaluable to the team, but still sometimes he wished that Perceptor would help with the more physical aspect of their work.

With another shake of his head Optimus turned back to study the watchtower. Actually it was more like a very tall chair. Almost like one of those lifeguard chairs one would find at the beach. “Will this thing hold?” he asked seriously.

“It better,” Red grunted as he shoved an I-beam into place. “I added three percent more bracers than it needed.”

Optimus nodded as two more figures appeared from around the corner. Everyone shook their heads at the small dings and amount of soot that covered the silver and green mech from head to foot. “Optimus,” Wheeljack said solemnly. “It may be a while before I can get that transmitter up.”

Optimus forced himself to keep from grinning as he clamped a hand on the mechs other shoulder. “I'm sorry Wheeljack. I know it's my fault that the first one went up like a `firecracker'.”

The other mechs were chuckling behind them but surprisingly Wheeljack was shaking his head seriously. “Believe it or not, it wasn't your fault.”

“What?” Ironhide called out in surprise.

Optimus turned to glare at the black top kick before turning back to the skyline. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, while the humans were able to learn from all the reverse technology they did on Megatron, they also compensated for their planets natural resources,” Wheeljack stated.

Ratchet frowned. “I don't follow.”

“Well, its like this,” Wheeljack stated as he snatched a large bed sheet that was used by the Autobots as rags. “While the humans did manage to create a functioning automatic world, all their things such as cars, trains, etcetera all have to be powered by their planets unstable natural resources. Hence the multiple explosions with our equipment.” Wheeljack found himself on the other side of six confused, blank stares and he sighed. “It's like this. Our technology was run by our own plants natural electricity which means that our equipment could be run at a higher rate of speed.”

There were still some blank stares but Perceptor suddenly seemed to understand. “So what you're saying is our equipment was running to fast for this planets natural fuel?”

“Correct,” Wheeljack was grinning though no one could really tell behind his ever-present faceplate. “Our technology is just too quick for anything that they have here. The transmitters just basically overheated and ka boom.”

“Hah! So it wasn't my fault!” Optimus cried out happily.

Ratchet shook his head. “No, you just had the rather run of bad luck of standing next to everything when it went up.”

Ironhide, meanwhile, frowned as he turned to eye a large stack of fuel barrels. “Dare I ask about our own systems?” he asked. “I mean, we've been living off of their `gas'-”

“Petrol,” Red corrected.

“Gas,” Ironhide insisted, “for a few Earth months now.”

“I would assume our own filtration system has something to do with that,” Wheeljack turned to Ratchet for conformation and the EMT unit nodded.

“That and we're still pretty much living off our own Energon reserves. I don't think we would have any problems for at least a few more Earth Centuries yet but I'll double check just to make sure.”

“Well, that's a relief,” Ironhide sighed.

“What is?” Everyone turned surprised to see Sideswipe limping towards the group.

“Sideswipe!” Ratchet yelped as he made his way towards the injured mech. “What the hell did you do to yourself this time? I know that we haven't had any encounters with the Decepticons since you arrived planet side so what did you do now?”

Sideswipe flinched as Ratchet knelt down next to him and began examining his leg joints. “I didn't do anything,” Sideswipe told them. Ratchet gave him a disbelieving glare. “I didn't!” he persisted. “Sunny and I got into an argument.”

“Again?” Red asked him in surprise. “You two never fought while we were in space. What happened to make you two suddenly at such odds?”

“I don't know!” Sides cried out hysterically. “But ever since a few days after we landed, he's been getting… I don't know. Grouchy.”

“Understatement,” Inferno coughed and Red elbowed him.

“He has!”

“Ratchet,” Optimus stepped up next to the medic. “Could something happen when he was injured?”

“I have no idea,” Ratchet replied. “I examined him thoroughly. All his systems were completely functional.”

“But this didn't start until after he had been healed,” Sideswipe protested. He squawked as Ratchet suddenly lifted his damaged leg.

Optimus reached forward to study the other mech. “Well? What's the prognosis?”

Ratchet frowned. “I should probably retighten some of these and one of his support bars bent. He'll be alright.”

“Good!” Optimus gave Sideswipe an eerie smiled. “Which means you can help us finish the watchtower later today.”

“Aw, man.” Sideswipe gave an exasperated sigh.

“Sides!” Everyone jerked at the sound of Sunstreaker's panicked voice and suddenly the yellow mech screeched around the corner, his optics searching the compound frantically until they lit up at the sight of his other half, standing on one leg while the other was still in Ratchet's hands.

“Sunny!” Sideswipe gasped as the other mech made a straight line for him at a dead run. “What?”

Ratchet practically threw himself backwards as Sunny tackled Sides to the ground. “Sides! Where have you been? When I turned around you were gone and don't you ever do that to me again! I can't believe you just left me all alone! I'm sorry I lost my temper with you and please say that you forgive me otherwise I'll never be able to stand it!”

Sides looked at his husbands for a long moment before turning back to the other mechs with a baffled look on his face. “Um, hey Perceptor?”

“Oh for Primus' sake! I'll run the tests again!”

Optimus, Ratchet, Red and Ironhide all watched in amazement as the scientist began marching towards his lab with loud angry steps. “What got into him?” Ironhide muttered aloud. The others just shrugged.

~*~

Mikaela could not stop laughing. Both boys in front of her were bright red, nearly lighting up the whole cafeteria with the force of their combined blushes. “It's not funny!” Sam hissed at her.

“Yes, it is!” Mikaela snickered. “Your mom nearly taking you out with her bat is funny!”

Miles was still red but he gained a smirk of his own. “You should hear what she did to Barricade.”

“What'd she do?” Mikaela asked excitedly as she leaned forwards in anticipation.

“Well, apparently she was unhappy with the lack of readiness of the males of the household in the event of a real break in and instead of just throwing the dog out, she threw Mojo into Barricade!”

“What?” Mikaela blinked as the two boys broke out into laughter.

“Well, I don't suppose that's really funny but the fact that Mojo started to claw at Barricade's seats…”

“Oh no,” Mikaela snickered. “Bet he didn't like that one bit.”

“Bumblebee did though,” Sam snickered again.

Mikaela shook her head as she finished off her cold pasta. “So I take it Barricade's been behaving?”

“Yeah,” Sam smiled. “I was surprised myself. Who would have thought that a Decepticon would enjoy the drive in?”

“No not that,” Mikaela rolled her eyes. “I just can't believe that `Bee was willing to let you ride in him. He didn't try and take off with you, did he?”

“Huh?” Sam paused in the act of taking a bite of his sandwich, his mouth hanging open showing off the back row of his teeth. “Why do you say that?”

Mikaela reached forward and snapped Sam's jaw closed but surprisingly it was Miles who answered him. “Well, he's the bad guy right?”

Sam turned to his friend confused. “What? No he isn't. There aren't any sides anymore, remember? There's no reason for the Decepticons to attack the Autobots. The All Spark is gone.”

Mikaela let out a long-suffering sigh. “This is why we all worry about you Sam,” she muttered as she finished off her drink. “Sometimes you can be completely clueless.”

Sam turned to her puzzled. “What?”

“Look, it's like this.” Mikaela set her bottle aside and leaned forwards towards the two boys. “While the All Spark is gone, the Decepticons don't really need an excuse to attack the Autobots. They may just take pleasure in destroying them.”

“What?” Sam cried out surprised. “But why? Their leader is gone, there's no reason to fight anymore. Barricade came to me with the idea of a truce, remember?”

Mikaela sighed at the boy stubbornness. “But he said it himself; he's still a Decepticon at heart- I mean spark. They're sneaky by nature. That's why we're surprised that Bumblebee let you ride with him.”

“But if everyone's still so suspicious of him, why did `Bee let me ride with him? Better yet, why is he hanging out with him?” And Sam made a grand gesture towards the windows where the two cars could be seen parked next to one another. Now that they had the excuse that they were fixing `Cade up, a rather nervous Miles was allowed to “drive” him to school, much to his father's delight and his mothers panic.

“Sam, isn't it obvious?” Mikaela sighed, reaching out and patting Sam's hand comfortingly. “He's doing it for you.”

Sam stared at the girl in complete surprise, a little unsure where this was going. “What do you mean?”

“Sam, even I managed to understand that part,” Miles told him.

“What?” Sam sat back at an angle so he could look back and forth between his two friends. “What are you talking about?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Mikaela told him. “He's not causing a bigger fuss because he wants you to be happy. He knows that you feel strongly about wanting the remaining Cybertronions to get along.”

“Well, I do, but not like you mean,” Sam frowned. “I mean, I can't really see there being a truce between the Autobots and Starscream.”

Mikaela nodded as she finished off her lunch. “You can say that again.”

“What?” Miles glanced at the two puzzled. “Who is this Starscream I keep hearing about?”

“Trust us, he's someone you don't want to mess with,” Mikaela told him. “But if you ever see a military jet somewhere you don't think it belongs, get under cover quick.” Miles frowned but shrugged and allowed the subject to drop.

“I still don't see what the big deal about Barricade is. When he's finally healed, he'll make his offer to Optimus and then he'll either be the first alliance between a Decepticons and the Autobots or he'll leave on his own. I still don't understand why everyone is still so distrustful of him.”

The other two of the table's occupants glanced at one another knowingly but somehow, Sam completely missed the look. “What I can't seem to get,” Mikaela spoke up, “is the fact that Bumblebee seems to be getting use to him.”

“Why wouldn't he?” Sam asked. “He spends practically all his time watching `Cade to ensure that he doesn't do anything.”

Mikaela rolled her eyes. “And you wonder why we all watch him so closely,” she muttered. “Well, I'll have to check him out after school.”

“What? Why?” Sam asked her.

“Because he's been driving all over town on essentially bent frames and hanging bolts. Who knows what he may have damaged! I may have to send you back to the base for more of Ratchet's tools if worse comes to worse.”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Sam screamed in horror and Miles dropped his milk into his lap in surprise.

“Damn it Sam,” Miles frowned at the stain spreading over his thigh. “Now I'm going to smell like a dairy farm all day…” Sam instantly tried to apologise as Mikaela shook her head while she packed up her tray and headed back towards the doors as the bell rang loudly above her.

~*~

“-Why not?-” Barricade sent angrily. “-We already know he won't tell anyone.-”

“-It's lunch time,-” `Bee sent back. “-In case you haven't noticed there are humans sitting on the lawn.-”

Barricade glanced back over towards the picnic benches where an assortment of teenagers all sat gossiping. “-So?-”

`Bee sighed in frustration. “-You may not care about being caught, but I do. So just calm down will you?-”

Barricade huffed as he sat back down on his tires. “-This is boring.-”

“-Yeah, well parking lots aren't exactly the hub of excitement.-”

The two cars were silent for a long time before Barricade spoke back up. “-Next time I think I'll forgo driving one of the kids here. It was much more fun just roaming the city scaring the local delinquents.-”

“-Can't you behave for one slagging day?-” Bumblebee asked him.

“-Primus forbid. I might end up an Autobot.-” Barricade made a gagging sound after this statement and Bumblebee huffed in irritation. Ensuring that none of the humans were looking their way, he quickly swung his door open and whacked the other car.

Barricade gasped in disbelief. Bumblebee said nothing however and looked for all intended purposes like he was going into recharge. Glancing at the different students on the lawn, Barricade waited for a group of girls to pass by them before wham! Bumblebee gasped as Barricade's door whacked his own door panel. “-My paint job!-” he hissed.

“-Oh suck it up,-” `Cade chuckled before another thud sounded as `Bee whacked him once more.

Not to be outdone, Barricade retaliated and there was a staccato of thuds and bangs in the center of the parking lot before `Bee suddenly failed to whack the `Con back. “-Damn it, stop or we're going to get caught!-” Bumblebee hissed.

`Cade paused and cast a scan over the crowd where some of the students were looking out over the parking lot curiously. “-Whoops.-”

“-Oh we are so going to get caught.-”

“-Once again, who was it that transformed in the middle of the neighborhood street?-”

“-Shut up!-”

Barricade huffed but said nothing more as a few more students walked past the two, looking about the parking lot searchingly for the source of the odd noise. Sighing, he glanced over at the other car and noticed that the `Bot had amazingly slipped back into recharge. With a sigh, he settled himself down and allowed himself to slip into his own recharge to await the humans to finish their stupid “classes”.

He was awoken a few hours later by a surprised gasp and `Bee's disgruntled mutter. “What the hell happened to my cars?” Sam cried out indignantly. Miles and Mikaela were standing behind the distraught boy as he looked back and forth at the multitude of dents in both vehicles side panels.

“What?” Mikaela asked him as she stepped forward and looked over Sam's shoulders. The girl let out a gasp of her own. “What happened?”

“I don't know,” Sam muttered but the boy was instantly looking out over towards the jocks corner.

“It wasn't them…” `Bee whispered, glancing uneasily at a gaggle of cheerleaders who were walking towards their convertible. “The `Con and I just had a little disagreement.”

“Can't you ever just use my name?” Barricade hissed at him.

“Why should I `Con?”

“You really want to pick a fight with me, don't you?”

“Me? You're the one who's always trying to goad a fight out of me!”

“What?”

“Both of you shut up!” Mikaela hissed. Each vehicle both went silent at the threat in her voice and Mikaela sighed. Throwing open `Cade's passenger door, she threw her bag into the back seat as all the males watched her curiously.

“Um, what are you doing?” Sam asked.

“What does it look like?” she answered him as she snatched the false keys out of Miles hands. “I want to hear how his engine sounds.” They watched surprised as she slid into the driver's seat and waited for Barricade to start himself up. Sam shrugged as Miles put his own bag into `Bee's back seat and soon the two cars were easing out of the parking lot and into the flow of traffic.

Mikaela grinned as she sat in the plush seating and relaxed in the silence. Not that it lasted very long within the `Con. “So?” Barricade's voice exited the hidden speaker. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

Mikaela looked down in surprise before directing her gaze back to the road. “What makes you think I wanted to speak to you?”

Barricade let out a disbelieving snort. “Please. My subordinates can lie better than that.”

“Really?” Mikaela asked. “Do they get away with it?”

“Never,” Barricade said proudly. “Now spill.”

The human girl smirked before her features became serious. “I need to hear it for myself.”

Barricade was puzzled. “Hear what?” he asked her.

Mikaela's grip tightened on the steering wheel and she pursued her lips into a thin line for a moment before she clarified. “That you're not going to do anything to Sam.”

“What?” Barricade cried out. “Everyone is still waiting for me to do something?”

“Well can you blame us?” Mikaela snapped. “When we first met you, you were trying to kill him.”

“I was not trying to kill him!” Barricade insisted. “That would have accomplished nothing! I was trying to frighten him into telling me where he had the glasses with the All Sparks location. Killing him would have defeated the purpose.”

“Oh?” Mikaela drawled. “What about when `Bee showed up?”

“Now him, I was trying to kill,” Barricade admitted.

Mikaela looked down at the dash searchingly. “And now?” she asked him.

Barricade was silent for a while before he finally let out a small chuckle. “I'll let you in on a little secret,” he told her. “He is so easy to tease, it's almost not even funny.”

“What? So you two are like, friends now?” she asked him in disbelief.

“Primus no! We're like what you call oil and water. It'll never happen.” Barricade emphasized. “More like, eternal rivals.”

Mikaela shook her head but she heard the teasing tone in the `Cons voice. “So you do like him.”

“Now what does liking him have to do with anything?” he asked her and Mikaela gave a soft smile.

“Whatever you say,” she smiled as they pulled into Sam's driveway.

“Well?” Sam asked her as he stepped out of `Bee. “What's the verdict?”

Mikaela smiled at him. “I heard a few sounds I wasn't happy with so I'll have to take another look at his undercarriage.”

Sam frowned at her and poked her in the arm. “That wasn't what I meant,” he whispered. “What did you two talk about?”

“Why whatever do you mean?” Mikaela blinked innocently. Sam frowned and was about to say more when the screen door suddenly squeaked, announcing that it was being opened.

Everyone was surprised when Judy suddenly came out of the house, a familiar object in her hand as she made her way towards Sam with a large smile. “Sam!” the woman called out holding the object up over her head triumphantly. “Look! I got you your own bat!” Both sets of Sam's friends, humans and mechs alike, burst into laughter as Sam groaned dramatically and dropped his head into his hands in mortification while Judy just looked on in complete bewilderment at their reactions. “What?”

~*~

-To Be Continued

Author's Note: I really hope my, er I mean Wheeljack's explanation about the fuel thing made sense. Please join us next week for chapter Twenty-Nine of Cover Me: Whispering Worries and Welcome Words