Chapter Text
Smokescreen drove through the barren desert, his wheels kicking up a cloud of dust behind him. Smokescreen couldn’t help glancing down at the human curled up inside him every few minutes, checking on Danny’s ragged breathing and the dark stains slowly seeping into his seats.
He couldn’t just drive aimlessly forever. After what felt like hours, his headlights caught the outline of a rocky cliffside in the distance. As Smokescreen got closer he spotted a cave nestled within the formations, just big enough to offer them some cover while he figured out what to do. Smokescreen pulled up to the cave’s entrance, slowly rolling to a stop before turning off his engine.
Smokescreen was cautious as he spoke, keeping his voice low. “Hey, kid. We’re here.” The human had fallen asleep quite early on in their drive.
Danny stirred but didn’t wake. Smokescreen frowned, unsure of how fragile humans were, especially after all that blood loss. “Uh, Danny?” He raised his voice slightly, “Hey, you awake?” He really hoped that the human would wake up. He needed to wake up. Smokescreen wouldn’t know what to do if the kid didn’t.
As Smokey panicked the kid’s eyes flickered up with a groan of pain, Danny blinked up at the dashboard, his body stiff as he tried to move. “Wha—?” Danny’s eyes widened as the confusion settled in, but he seemed more disoriented than afraid.
“We found a place to stop for the night… You wanna get out and stretch or something?” Smokescreen asked, feeling awkward as he spoke, he had no idea what to say in this situation. He watched as Danny winced but nodded, his pale blood-coated hands grabbing the door handle, missing the first time. Smokescreen sighed and opened to door for the kid.
As soon as Danny climbed out, Smokescreen transformed, his towering frame unfolding with a mechanical whirr. He had to duck down to not hit his helm on the cave ceiling. He was ready for Danny to freak out. After all, he’d just turned from a car into a giant robot—definitely not a normal human experience. The last human who had seen him in his robot form freaked out and took a picture of him and Bee which luckily Raph managed to erase.
But Danny only stood there, swaying slightly, his pale blue eyes squinting up at him in pain. “Huh,” was all he said, giving Smokescreen a once-over before leaning against a boulder and collapsing down against the floor.
“You’re, uh… you’re not scared?” Smokescreen asked, genuinely surprised.
Danny huffed, grimacing as he pulled the tattered remains of his shirt aside to inspect his wounds. “Nah, giant transforming cars barely make the top ten weirdest things I’ve seen,” he muttered, ripping a piece of fabric from his shirt and pressing it against his side, it seemed as though the bleeding was already stopping and everything else left on him was starting to become dried flakes. Only the biggest wound on his torso which looked like a pretty nasty burn was still sluggishly dripping blood.
Smokescreen stared partially dumbfounded, partially horrified at the injuries. “You’ve got a really strange life, huh?”
“You have no idea,” Danny mumbled, his breath hitching in pain as he tied the makeshift bandage tighter around his torso. His hands shook slightly, but he kept his expression neutral Like he was trying not to let Smokescreen see how much pain he was in.
Smokescreen crouched down to one knee and tilted his helm at Danny, watching the human’s makeshift patch job. “That doesn’t look like it’s gonna hold up long,” he said, his tone laced with concern. “Maybe I could, I dunno, help with something?”
Danny glanced up at him, his face tired but amused. “You a medic now?”
Smokescreen chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his helm. “Not exactly. I’m more the ‘punch stuff and drive fast’ kind of guy.”
“That explains a lot,” Danny muttered, managing a small smirk. Despite the banter, his movements were sluggish, head lulling to the side over and over as the kid fought to keep it upright.
“You should rest. I’ll keep watch,” Smokescreen offered, noticing how Danny was swaying more and more, his body giving out from the blood loss and stress.
Danny, despite himself, yawned and slumped back against Smokescreen’s leg. “You sure?”
“Hey, I got this. You’re safe here,” Smokescreen promised, watching as Danny’s eyes fluttered shut.
Within minutes, Danny was out cold, leaning against Smokescreen’s massive frame. Smokescreen remained still, his optics softening as he looked down at the sleeping human. He couldn’t help but feel responsible for the kid now. Whatever had happened to Danny, whatever he’d been running from, Smokescreen was going to make sure they didn’t get their hands on him again.
-
Danny woke slowly, his body aching with every slight movement. His eyes flickered open with sunlight filtering through above him. Sunlight? Why would there be sunlight? He hasn't seen sunlight in months. He fought to remember where he was, his mind hazy with sleep and pain. Then, it hit him—he’d been hiding out in a car, a sentient car.
A giant alien robot car.
He sat up quickly, which was a mistake. His whole body screamed in protest, and he had to steady himself before his vision blurred. Rubbing his eyes, Danny glanced around the cave, only to see the familiar, towering figure of Smokescreen sitting at the entrance, scanning the horizon. One hand on the side of the rock supporting himself as he leaned out.
Danny swallowed, his brain trying to process everything from the previous night. He had been talking to an alien. Who wanted to help him? Who promised to keep him safe? And Danny could feel that he was being sincere, it was like Danny could sense this guy's emotions. Feel them like he could any other ghost. It was strange.
Smokescreen still hadn’t noticed him yet so he took this time to look over his wounds. The part of his shirt he ripped off to make the bandage was holding up at least, though it was stained red as the blood thoroughly seeped through the whole thing. Those blasters were a real pain.
And even though Danny was utterly exhausted and drained from all of the horrible experiments and everything he went through to escape those guys, his healing factor still seemed to be working. At least better than a normal human.
“You’re awake.” Smokescreen’s voice broke the silence and Danny jumped at the sudden sound. Smokescreen held his hands up in surrender and grimaced at scaring Danny. “How’re you feeling?”
“Like I got run over by a truck. Twice.” Danny groaned, wincing as he gingerly touched the makeshift bandages.
Smokescreen chuckled softly. “Well, the good news is, no trucks ran over you last night. Bad news… you still look like slag.” He walked in further to the cave ducking down as he did so. Danny fought not to back up as he approached.
“Thanks,” Danny muttered sarcastically, though there was no real malice in his voice. His gaze drifted over Smokescreen’s form as he sat down leaning against the cave wall across from him. “So, you’re… a robot. From space.”
“Yup. Cybertronian, to be exact,” Smokescreen said, sounding almost proud. “Pretty cool, right?”
Danny leaned his head back against the cave wall, still trying to wrap his mind around it. “And you’re not, like, gonna dissect me or anything?”
“Whoa, no! Of course not!” Smokescreen held up his hands, sounding horrified by the idea. “I’m the good guy here. I told you, I’m gonna help you.”
Danny stared at him for a long moment, the sincerity in Smokescreen’s voice also seeping through the strange emotional field Danny felt around him.
“Help me how? I have barely anywhere to go now, they’ll find me anywhere. They Know…” Danny paused looking down at the cave floor, his throat feeling like it was going to close. He really did have no choices. If he went back to Amity Park that was the first place they would look. And there was no way in Hell he was going to Vlad. If he could make it to a ghost portal he could hide out there for a few months… That would give him time to figure something else out.
“Well, I was thinking…” Smokescreen started up again, Danny’s attention being snapped to him and pulling him out of the panic. “Maybe you could come back to our base with me? I’ve got a team, and they’d know what to do! They’ve been on earth way longer than I have. No hospitals, no humans. Just us,” Smokescreen said, his tone hopeful. “I promise, no one’s gonna hurt you. I’ll keep you safe.” Again Danny could feel the strange field around him bleeding with ‘safe–protect–care’
Danny hesitated, his mind flashing back to the GiW, to the pain, to the fear. He had no reason to trust anyone, let alone an alien robot. But… Smokescreen hadn’t hurt him. He’d kept him safe. And maybe, just maybe, he could trust him.
“…Okay,” Danny said quietly, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. “I’ll go with you.”
Smokescreen grinned, his frame relaxing. “Awesome. You won’t regret it, kid.”
Danny wasn’t so sure about that, but for now, it was enough.