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This was not how Danny was expecting his night to go: all he planned to do was lounge around, harass Screamer when he could, maybe go into the lab, hang out, and help Breakdown with some cleanup. The usual, at this point. But instead, now he found himself in the silver claws of one cherry-red dumbass who was staring at him intently.
“What are you doing, Knockout?” Danny rolled his eyes at the mech who had just scooped him up off the floor without a second thought and started walking in the opposite direction Danny was going. “I had a whole lot of haunting I wanted to get done today.”
“You’re coming with me.” He purred and started walking toward the Decepticon groundbridge. His large pedes made a resounding metal clang every time he stepped.
Danny crossed his arms and rested them on top of Knockout's clutched servo around Danny’s waist. “So is this a kidnapping?”
The bot paused for a moment before answering. “Yes, it is.” He smiled like he had evil intentions, but Danny wasn’t scared in the slightest.
“Alright, alright, do your little ‘I’m an ominous evil doctor’ thing.” Danny did finger quotes as he rolled his eyes. Knockout was ever one for being dramatic. Starscream was right, he did care more about his appearance than the lives of everyone else in his immediate vicinity.
From the few interactions Danny had with the mech in the past, he would have assumed he would want nothing to do with Danny’s carbon-based fleshy form of filth. Danny, of course, neglected to tell him that he was, in fact, made up of ectoplasm in his ghost form. Then again, Danny didn’t think any of these Decepticons knew he was a ghost, and instead, they just assumed he was a very strange human. Which was fine by Danny – fewer threats for him that way.
So far, only Starscream had seen Danny use his powers outright, when he phased them out of that cave-in (which was how he found himself on the Nemesis in the first place). Once Starscream had been rushed into surgery due to his injuries and Knockout opened up his chest (or subspace) to check on his inner systems, he was greeted with Danny, who had been trapped inside. And ever since then, Danny had just made the Nemesis his base of operations. He got to annoy Starscream and now so many more, and also, no rent. Beats hiding out in abandoned buildings or crashing in Jazz’s dorm room whenever she’d let him.
Danny glanced over as Knockout, still holding Danny in his servo, was looking over some files on their alien computer. It was written in Cybertronian, which Danny didn’t have the energy to translate. Knockout’s eyebrows (or. he guessed, his ‘optic ridges’) furrowed before he placed Danny down on the desk and started typing. “So are you going to tell me why you’re kidnapping me or am I just going to stand here while you do your paperwork?”
Knockout groaned. “Well, seeing as you have made yourself at home on the Nemesis and have somehow been claimed as Starscream’s pet human…” He shuddered in disgust. “Who the pit knows why he would ever keep something like you. But after some careful consideration, you may actually have some use after all.” Knockout didn’t so much as glance over at Danny.
Danny crossed his arms, “Oh wow, such compliments, you really know how to make a guy feel appreciated.” He glanced up at the monitor, now able to focus on a few cybertronian words and translate them in his mind. He had been trying to read through Starscream’s data logs and pick up at least some stuff, but he had always been better at learning spoken languages than written. But it seemed a common word that keeps reappearing is ‘relic’.
Knockout turned off his monitor after presumably reminding himself of the case he was about to be working on, and cast a glance down toward Danny, “We are retrieving an ancient cybertronian relic designed to emit high-frequency audial waves. We don’t know much more about it than that.”
Danny tilted his head to the side. “But why bring me? Why not ask your husband to go with you, seeing as you obviously don’t think I'm worth bringing.”
“Husband?” Knockout questioned with a face of confusion.
Danny smiled slightly, trying to keep his smirk down. “You and Breakdown are partners, right?”
“Naturally,” Knockout smiled and flicked his hand to the side.
“Well, on earth, we would call you guys husbands.” Danny shrugged hands in his pockets as he leaned back.
Knockout rolled his optics and placed his hands on his waist, brushing off the ‘husbands’ thing without a second thought. “Well, I can’t bring Breakdown on this mission because unfortunately, I need a human to collect the relic for me. And seeing as you are the closest skinbag who would be willing to be coerced into assisting without snatching a random one off the street and threatening them…” Knockout’s servo transformed into a horrific buzz saw and spun it a few times before transforming back.
Danny held up his hands. “Okay, I get it. Also, you didn’t need to kidnap me; you could have just asked me to help you.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Danny rolled his eyes at the Con’s antics. “Where are we going?”
Knockout turned back on the computer and gestured towards a mountain with a road crossing back and forth up the side to the peak. “The relic had been discovered recently and taken to be used as a trophy for a street race, as random of a decision as that was. Either way, I can win the race no problem, but given my previous trips down to earth I have given myself somewhat of a reputation for revealing our identities.” He tapped his finger against the door on his arm.
“You mean you keep transforming and scaring the living shit out of people?” Danny guessed.
Knockout simply nods and continues. “I can’t claim the ‘trophy’ without bringing more unwanted attention to myself, so if I have a skinbag playing driver, then you can simply grab it for me once I win and then we can groundbridge away.”
“I’ve always wanted to be in a race.”
Knockout narrowed his optics as he snatched up Danny again without a second thought about the possible whiplash he could give the human with the movement. “I’d sooner recharge on a berth of sandpaper than let you drive me. You are to sit still and not touch anything in my cab.” He pressed a button down on the Cybertronian keyboard, and the groundbridge light filled the room. “And if you don’t keep your servos to yourself, you won't have them anymore.” The cybertronian growled.
Danny held up his hands placatingly, “Alright-alright, whatever, you do the racing, I grab the tech, and we ditch the joint. Beats sitting in Starscream’s room and studying cybertronian glyphs all day.”
Knockout throws Danny up in the air and transforms into a car, and by the time Danny had fallen back down he landed in Knockout’s passenger seat right before the roof closed in place over him. The Con, without even checking if Danny was sitting correctly or had his seatbelt on, gunned it through the portal, likely leaving skidmarks on the Decepticon warship’s floor.
Seeing as this was Danny’s (sorta) first time through the groundbridge, he felt a little nauseous. It felt a bit like being thrown through one of the natural ghost portals. He grabbed his mouth and leaned forward, trying hard not to throw up inside Knockout’s cab because he was sure that if he did that, he would be on a one-stop trip to becoming Knockout’s first-ever human dissection lab.
Knockout made a noise of horrified disgust, “Purge your tanks in me and I’ll turn you into a smear on the pavement, human!” He then opened the side door and Danny stepped out, taking gasps of fresh air. That would take some getting used to. He leaned his arm up against the roof as he stared down at the ground to keep himself still.
“Is it always like that?” Danny panted between breaths.
Knockout made a sound like he was bored and rolled his optics. “You are having your very molecules displaced and re-formed...”
“Sounds about right,” Danny remembered having to go through one of these portals before when Starscream was injured, but last time he was wracked with worry over his friend being hurt. Last time they also walked through instead of speeding through at about eighty miles per hour. “Just go a little slower next time.”
Knockout scoffed. “I don’t do slow.”
“Sure you don’t.” Danny sighed. How were all of these Cons so full of themselves? Granted, he had only met Starscream, Knockout, and Breakdown so far, and has only had the chance to talk to Breakdown a few times, but first climbed out of Starscream’s subspace.
He had only ever heard of Soundwave so far. The Con without a face. And the Decepticon commander of communications and security, but if Danny had to guess, he thinks the mech likes him or is at least interested in him, seeing as he was somehow willing to neglect to tell his master about Danny’s new appearance on the Nemesis. And given the way that Starscream spoke of the faceless mech being constantly snitching on the second in command and in other words, being Megatron’s little lap dog. He surprisingly hasn’t mentioned the new pet human. Danny made a mental note to ask him about it the next time he came across him.
Danny looked over at his hand that was resting on Knockout’s roof, taking into consideration the light glow that was coming off of him and reflecting off the metal. He could also see the reflection of his glowing green eyes in the extremely tinted window of the red Aston Martin. Not only did he not look human enough to blend in currently, but if anyone got any footage of him in this race… ‘Phantom’ is still a wanted ghost by the government, after all.
Danny sighed and pushed himself away from Knockout. After a quick glance around the secluded forested area they were currently in, he let the transformation flow over him in a flash of light. Danny’s jacket, cargo pants, and fingerless gloves stayed the same. The only major difference was that his white hair changed to black, and his green eyes changed to blue. Also, if he opened his mouth, his fangs would be gone. Danny cast one more glance at his reflection. His ears now rounded on the ends. Perfect – at least he will blend in better.
Knockout made a sound of surprise that quickly bled into an alien doctor’s curiosity. “I was unaware that humans could change their colors.”
Danny laughed, trying to brush it off as something normal, and hopefully, the alien would believe it was. “Humans change their hair color all the time. Most of the time during a spur of the moment crisis, or just cause they want some change in their lives.” He shrugged.
“So why do it now?”
Danny walked around to the driver's side of the car. “‘Cause white hair doesn’t exactly blend in for a stealth mission.” He could feel confusion bubbling up in Knockout’s field – something he started noticing more when he was around mechs other than Starscream. So far Knockout and Breakdown had the most emotions that Danny could feel emanating from their frames. It seemed Starscream just bottled all of his up.
Danny reached for the driver’s door handle and it didn’t open. “Absolutely not.” Knockout quickly snapped back, “I don’t want you to have any access to my gears.” Earlier confusion about the transformation was swiftly swept under the rug, much to Danny’s appreciation.
Danny crossed his arms and looked down at the muscle car incredulously, “How am I supposed to play driver if I'm not even in the driver’s seat?” He put his hands on his hips. “And how am I supposed to collect the trophy if I can’t even get out the right door? Or if they take any photos? Just ‘cause your windows are tinted doesn’t mean that they can’t see anyone in the driver's seat.” Knockout grumbled. “Look, I can sit on my hands if I have to.”
“Fine. but if you touch…” Knockout started his threat.
Danny held his hands up. “I know I know, you’ll eviscerate me, or dissect me, or step on me, or all of the above. But if we wait any longer we are not going to make it to your race at all.”
Knockout made another disgruntled sound and opened his driver's door. The second Danny was seated, Knockout slammed the door shut and took off down the road, giving Danny only a couple of seconds to scramble for a seat belt. He may already be dead, but Jazz would kill him if he wasn’t wearing one.
-
A yellow Camaro with black stripes down the hood sped through the groundbridge and took off down an empty road. In the driver's seat sat a sixteen-year-old boy with black hair and a long-sleeved shirt – not the kind of kid you would expect to see racing this kind of car. Jack leaned forward to get a better look up at the cliffs, turns, and rocky terrain leading up the mountain before casting a glance down at Bumblebee’s steering wheel, offering a small smile.
Raf had discovered a cybertronian device being used as a trophy for a race, having recognized the glyphs and markings instantly when it came up in his research. From what Jack had heard from the autobots when Raf shared his findings was that it was an old cybertronian relic that had been lost in the war. Something designed to be used as a weapon that the autobots didn’t want falling into Decepticon servos.
From the description Ratchet gave it was called a “Cybertronian Sonic Emitter,” and it was designed to incapacitate cybertronians with a piercing sound only they could hear, though supposedly, it should be inaudible to humans.
Unfortunately, the only way to access the alien weapon would be to join the race and win. They were keeping it in a secure location and only bringing it out once the race was over, so no stealth mission to steal it in the meantime.
Jack and Bumblebee were brought up to the plate. The race was for cars only so Jack couldn’t take Arcee with him. At that point, it only really left Bee. And seeing as Bumblebee’s human is twelve, they decided that Jack should go, much to Arcee’s disgruntlement.
The last race Jack did with Bumblebee didn’t go so well and after that, there was a base-wide ban on street racing. Until this came up. But at least Jack had a little bit of experience driving Bumblebee in a race, even though they were being shot at last time. They slowly pulled up to the starting line where at least a dozen other brightly colored modified cars were parked. This was bigger than the last one Jack went to.
“Jack, Bee, you guys hear us okay?” Arcee’s voice crackled through Bumblebee’s comm, which the mech then amplified into his speakers so that Jack could hear too.
Jack nodded, “Loud and clear ‘Cee,” and Bumblebee made a chirp in the affirmative.
Bulkhead spoke up. “How’s the competition looking? Do you think you can get the tech?” Bumblebee responded with a bunch of beeps and whirrs that sounded positive, but Jack had no idea. He didn’t know how Raf translated it – Bee was impossible to understand. You had to be some kind of supergenius or Cybertronian to understand the mech’s alien binary as a form of communication. And Jack was neither of those things.
Jack turned his head at the sound of one of the cars pulling up. For a split second, he felt a chill run down his spine. He ducked down and looked out next to them as a horrifyingly familiar red paint job with intricate silver patterns down the doors pulled slowly in a few cars ahead of them. Jack stared for a moment, tuning out whatever conversation Bee was having about the race with Bulkhead and stared, trying to make sure he was right. He was.
“Uh, guys?...” Jack started, Bee stopped his beeping instantly, and Bulkhead paused on the other end of the line.
“What is it, Jack?” Arcee, spoke up, a tone of concern bleeding into her voice.
“Knockout’s here.”
He heard Bulkhead grumble something, and Miko spoke up. “Of course he is. That good for nothing Con is never not there when a race is involved.”
“You sure it's him?” Arcee asked.
Jack nodded, even though she couldn't see him. “Positive.” Bee also chirped in something to the affirmative, which then bled into something more spiteful. “Ever since he chased us down on the track and kidnapped Vince, I won’t forget that car.”
Arcee spoke up again. “Okay, Bumblebee get out of there, we can’t-”
Jack pulled his hands off of the steering wheel. “Wait Arcee, What about the tech?”
Raf spoke up. “If Knockout wins the race, the device will be in Decepticon hands!”
“That’s why you gotta smoke ’em, Bee!” Miko cheered. “Ram Knockout off the road and get that trophy.”
Jack could sense Arcee’s scowl through the comm link. “Miko, this isn’t fun and games anymore. Knockout will do anything it takes to win. Which includes hurting the other racers. And if he notices Bumblebee, he will go after them.”
Bumblebee pitched in with another string of sounds Jack couldn’t comprehend, and Miko spoke up. “How is evil doc bot going to even collect the prize? And if he loses, like, wouldn’t he just kill the winner and take it for himself?”
“Miko’s right.” Jack started. “The only way Knockout doesn't get his claws on that tech is if Bee and I get it first.”
“I don’t like it,” Arcee said. Jack could hear the metal of her plating brushing together as she crossed her arms.
Miko groaned. “You don’t like anything!” Bumblebee chirped in.
“Good idea Bee,” Bulkhead spoke up. “Arcee can do recon in the area and if he transforms to attack anyone or try and steal the tech, she can stop him.”
“Fine.” Arcee spat. “But I still don’t like this.”
Jack glanced over at Knockout again. “Arcee, I’ll be okay. Bee can protect-” Jack stopped in his tracks as he stared. Knockout’s door opened and out stepped a human. Jack’s eyes widened and the human who looked just a bit older than him closed the door and leaned up against the Decepticon without a care in the world. Bumblebee must have noticed the same thing because he immediately started spouting off panicked beeping.
“What!? Knockout has a human with him?” Bulkhead called out in surprise.
Jack could hear Optimus stepping closer to the console, pulled into the conversation at the new revelation. “Is the human being held against their will?” The Prime asked.
Jack looked the kid up and down. “No, he’s just… leaning against him.” Jack was beyond confused, and by the sounds of the murmurs on the other side of the com link everyone else back at base was too.
“Why would Knockout have a human with him?” Arcee asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
Raf spoke up. “Well, maybe he needs one to collect the prize?”
“But how did he acquire the human? Is he under threat? In danger? Does he know that he is driving a Decepticon ?” Ratchet spoke up for the first time in the call, his voice incredulous.
Jack stared at the kid, who was now talking to another racer girl who had gotten out of her car to speak to him. The kid seemed laid back enough. “Why don’t I ask him?” Jack suggested.
“Out of the question.” Arcee snapped “You are not going over there with Knockout where Bumblebee can’t help you if you need.”
“Knockout still doesn’t know what I look like, and I don’t think he noticed Bee. If I can figure out how the kid got here maybe we can help? He might not even know he is in danger!” Jack rebutted.
“Jack-” Arcee started.
Optimus spoke up, his voice leaving no room for question as everyone silenced to listen. “If you deem it safe, Jack, I believe talking to the human with Knockout, if given the opportunity, would be beneficial. If the human truly is in danger at Decepticon's hand, his life is more important than the race or the sonic emitter.”
“More important than Jack’s life?” Arcee raised her voice
Jack could sense Optimus shaking his head on the other side of the call. “No, but in a crowded place such as this, Knockout wouldn’t be able to act and still get his servos on what he needs. And if there is an opportunity to speak with the human to find out why they are at this particular race. That information could be invaluable to helping them.”
Jack nodded again and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Okay, sounds like a plan. I’ll let you know how it goes.” Jack opened the door of the car and stepped out, walking cautiously around behind Bumblebee so the Con didn’t notice him.
-
Knockout made a sound of disgust as a lady who had been ogling Knockout and speaking with Danny turned to leave. He spoke up in a whisper, or as close as a whisper he could get Danny imagined. “Pathetic skin bags have no chance in winning this. Look at these poor excuses for motor vehicles – I bet they can't even make it over one fifty.”
Danny chuckled and leaned his head back against Knockout’s roof to stare up at the firey-red sky which was getting darker and darker as the sun set. He felt a wave of annoyance wash over Knockout's frame as Danny leaned on him, hating every moment someone was touching him and risking putting a scratch on his paint job. “Well, you seemed to enjoy those ‘skinbags’ when they were doting all over you a second ago,” Danny said back with a chuckle.
He heard Knockout’s engine growl before Danny looked up to see someone else coming over to speak to him. Maybe he should have just stayed in Knockout’s cab, but the Con was complaining so much about Danny being in the driver's seat that Danny needed a moment of fresh air. “Another person’s coming. Keep on good behavior. Spraying someone in the face with windshield washer fluid was not it.” Danny double-tapped the door, feeling the dismay of Knockout as he imagined more smears on the paint from Danny’s hands.
Danny glanced up and looked at the kid coming up to him. He looked awfully young to be here. Probably no more than sixteen. “Woah, nice car, man.” The kid said, once he got within hearing range.
Danny put on his best customer service smile that he learned while working at the Nasty Burger two years ago. “Thank you! Though I wish I could take the credit, but it’s not mine.”
The kid tilted his head. “Oh? Whose is it then?”
“A friend of mine – he wanted someone to drive in the race. He would have done it himself but he didn’t think he could win without me so I figured I’d step in and help.” He felt Knockout’s frame rumble behind him in brief outrage.
The kid kept passing strange glances over Knockout and then back up at Danny as if trying to figure something out. Danny smiled and laughed nervously, shrugging his shoulders. “You in the race as well or just watching?” Danny asked.
The kid seemed to snap out of his stupor as he looked back up from the door and back to Danny’s face and put on his own smile. “Racing.” He glanced up at the winding path up the mountain. “Scary track, you think you can do it safely?”
Danny smiled and patted the Knockout's roof again, feeling the low rumble from Knockout's engine as a warning. “I think I got it, good luck to you though.” Danny smiled and held out a hand. And the kid accepted the handshake.
“Good luck to you as well. Stay safe.” The kid glanced down again at Knockout before backing away slowly.
Danny’s smile dropped slightly. “That was strange.”
He was distracted when he felt Knockout's door try to open from under him. “Now stop leaning on me. You are going to leave marks.”
Danny shrugged. “Fine, fine, stop whining.” He opened the door the rest of the way and climbed in. Knockout not too kindly slammed it behind him, barely missing Danny's leg. “Okay man, did you want me to help you or not.” Danny snapped at the steering wheel.
“I would rather not have had one of you fleshies ever contaminate the inside of my cab at all, yet here we are.” He grumbled Danny could sense that Knockout would be rolling his optics.
“You’re the one that kidnapped me, man,” Danny retorted, leaning back in the seat and crossing his arms. “And face it, you’re loving all the compliments the other drivers are giving you through me . I could feel your ego expanding when that girl talked about your paint.”
Knockout seemed to be about to retort when he revved his engine instead. Danny glanced up quickly to see a woman standing at the front of the line of racers, holding a flag in each hand. Danny quickly leaned over and put his seatbelt on. Just as it clipped in, Knockout took off like a shot.
Knockout started near the back of the race but he was climbing fast, speeding in and out between racers and nearly clipping their bumpers. Danny imagined that being the car himself made his spatial awareness a whole lot easier to keep track of and would give him a crazy edge in a race like this.
Danny looked out towards the edge of the road The track was big enough to maybe fit two cars side by side if they were touching mirrors, which made interesting tight squeezes if you wanted to pass someone. But down the ridge of the road was a large drop back down to the other part of the road as it swiveled back and forth up the mountain. Any car hits a corner too fast and it will tumble at least ten feet. And if it doesn’t stop there, it will continue rolling down the whole mountain.
Danny swallowed hard. He doubted Knockout would fall and that wasn’t what he was worried about. What he was worried about were all of these other people here. Suddenly, a yellow Camaro with a black stripe down the hood pulled up just behind Knockout, looking like he was about to make a turn to pass him. The windows were tinted so dark Danny couldn't see who was driving past the silhouette.
Knockout’s lights flickered. “Well well, what do we have here?” He purred, and Danny raised an eyebrow at the Con. “Didn’t think I’d see you again.” The car again tried to make a pass by Knockout and Knockout pulled forward and in front of them to make sure they couldn’t. The car then went back and sped around the other side of Knockout, speeding past him just in time before Knockout could cut them off again. Now with the car in front of them, Knockout growled. “Alright, I’ll play.”
Suddenly Danny could see a blaster come out of his gas tank in the mirror and he SHOT the car in front of them’s tires. The Camaro immediately spun out, careening towards the edge of the track. Danny gasped, leaning forward to see as the car did two flips and then got caught between a tree and the ground on the track. Danny’s eyes widened and he looked down at Knockout, who could have just very well killed someone.
“What the hell!!?”
“He was in-” Danny cut Knockout off by slamming his foot down on the break and pulling the steering wheel, causing him to skid to a halt leaving long black marks across the road. The place where they stopped was just a slight bit wider than the normal track. “What do you think you’re doing, fleshbag!” Knockout demanded in outrage after being involuntarily stopped.
Danny uncliped his seatbelt and opened the door climbing out of the con as fast as he could. “You just ran that guy off the road! Someone could be hurt!”
“I told you not to touch my instruments!”
“That was before you probably killed someone.” Danny lifted his foot and kicked the door. Knockout let out another yell of anger at his paint. Danny felt two cars race by behind him, almost clipping his arm, but he didn’t turn around. “Go finish your stupid race if you care so much, I'm going to check if he’s okay.”
“Suit yourself, fleshbag.” Knockout snarled and took off, causing Danny to stumble out of the way unless he wanted to be run over.
-
Bumblebee groaned in pain. He was still in his vehicle mode and he could feel his roof pinned against a tree and his wheels were still in the dirt on his side. He looked up and saw Jack in the driver's seat with his eyes closed. Not good.
“Jack, Jack, are you okay?” He knew that the human couldn’t understand his use of cybertronian binary, but the sounds should be enough to wake him.
The human groaned. “Huh, Bee ?” Jack sat up and started to look around with bleary eyes. Bee was expecting something from Knockout but for him to shoot at them in front of other people during the race… Okay, maybe that was exactly what Knockout would do.
Bee did a quick once-over scan of Jack. And noticed that he was bleeding from his head. Bee initially panicked – humans needed blood on the inside! He was hurt! He was just about to frantically call back to base and ask for that backup or a ground bridge to come help get Jack out of there when suddenly he sensed another human run up to him.
“Hey, are you okay? Hey!” The kid jumped off the track and slid down the hill a couple of feet until he reached Bee and Jack. He then stood on the door and began knocking on the window. Bee recognized him as the human that they saw earlier with Knockout. But.. How? Knockout just let them go? Or was this another trap?
“Shit, okay, I’m coming in, just be careful.” The kid said, seeming like he was about to break Bumblebee’s window or rip off his door handle, so instead Bee quickly unlocked his door and pushed it open slightly. The kid (who seemed just a few years older than Jack) grabbed onto the now-open door handle and pulled it open the rest of the way. Standing on either side of the open door frame he bent down to try and grab Jack.
The human did a once-over of Jack and saw that he was mostly awake. “Hey kid, didn’t think we would meet again so soon.”
“Me neither.” Jack reached for his seatbelt and uncliped it.
The human grabbed onto Jack’s hand and pulled him up with an almost impossible strength with one hand that Bee didn’t think a human that muscle-deficient would have possessed. “I am so sorry, I had no idea what happened back there! I think my car was just being a moronic bitch. I should take it to the shop and get it stripped.” The kid muttered mostly the last bit. “I got out and ran over as fast as I could when I saw you fall!” The human set Jack down so he was sitting on Bumblebee’s side and his legs were hanging into his cab through the open door.
So the human likely didn’t know that he was driving a Decepticon that was hellbent on winning and getting rid of Bumblebee at all costs. How did he get to drive him? Jack said earlier when he got back in Bumblebee the human claimed to be racing for a friend. Possibly the Decepticon managed to trick the human into driving him without knowing.
He then raised his hand and tilted Jack’s head towards him and eyes flicked up to the gash on his forehead and blood dripping down the side of his face. He then lifted up a phone that seemed to be pieced together with tape and other materials and shined a light in Jack’s eyes making him wince. “Alright kid, you don’t look in too good of shape, but you should be fine. Just a minor concussion and that gash. It could have been a lot worse. These races are dangerous.”
“Your car was the one that ran us off the road,” Jack said. Bee hoped that the human missed the us part.
The human winced, “I’m so sorry. It will never happen again while I'm around. I'm sure of it. I’m just glad you’re okay.” He glanced down into Bee’s cab. “Do you have a first aid kit?”
“I- Don’t know.” Jack grabbed his head and shook it slightly. Bumblebee did, in fact, have a first aid kit under his seat. But he couldn’t very well say that, not only would it out him, but neither human would understand and there would have been no reason for it.
The human nodded and then grabbed onto both sides of the door frame and lowered himself in to try and look. The kid started searching around and then climbed further into the back placing a hand on the headrest and kneeling to look under Bee’s seats. “Jackpot.” He then reached down and grabbed the kit and Bumblebee felt a rush of relief that he found it. The kid then abruptly sat up and glanced around before staring strangely at Bee’s radio. Bumblebee had the strange feeling that his spark was being stared into at the moment.
“You find one?” Jack asked.
The kid nodded and looked down at the kit in his hand and away from Bee. “Yeah. Under your driver's seat.” The kid climbed back out with ease and found his place sitting on Bumblebee’s side again. He opened the kit, grabbed a few medical supplies he had seen June use before and leaned closer to Jack. He put some sort of chemical from a bottle on first causing Jack to hiss. And then he started using a needle and thread to pull the skin back together. And finished it off with a bandage.
“There, good as new. Sorta.” The human stood up and offered to take Jack’s hand. Let's get you up to the road so you can get some proper medical help. Jack glanced down at Bee. “Don’t worry about your car, you can come and get it later. But unfortunately, I don’t think either of us have a very good chance at winning anymore.” He laughed.
Bumblebee watched as the two humans managed to scale the ten or so feet they had dropped off the mountain. Jack stumbled quite a few times but the other human caught him and pulled him up with ease. As soon as they were far enough away Bee commed in. “Knockout got us off the road, but we are okay. And the human with him is here too. Don’t know where the Con went. I’m stuck for a while, so Arcee, it's up to you to stop him.”
-
Knockout made it up past the rest of the racers with ease, reclaiming his first-place spot even with the setback the human pest made by slamming on his breaks. The fragging human had one job and then got too sobby when Knockout shot the Autobot off the track to ensure his win. Pets are supposed to do what you say, not do the opposite at every turn. Why did the Autobots ever keep them around? All they did was cause more problems. And how could Starscream stand that one?
All those questions were for later though, because Knockout skidded and spun across the finish line, flashing his headlights in victory. A few humans cheered and one human was holding the sonic emitter above his helm. That was when everyone paused. Knockout was confused for a second before realizing they were waiting for a human to come out of the driver’s seat and collect the trophy.
And said human driver is currently halfway down the mountain being all high and mighty with a hero complex. But this also currently means his plan is backfiring. Great. Onto plan B. The human got closer to him and Knockout instantly transformed and grabbed onto the tech before transforming back and taking off down the mountain, listening to the screams of shock from the little fleshlings. See he didn’t need a stupid human. That was easier without him.
It was already night on this planet and the darkness would help cover him in his escape. He drove down the back side of the mountain, which led him to a smaller human town where he could easily find a place to stay out of sight. He then commed in to Breakdown. “Mission was a success and I have the relic,” he boasted as he pulled into an empty parking lot and transformed, leaning up against the wall of some building.
“No trouble?”
Knockout rolled his optics, tossing the relic from one servo to the other while standing in the abandoned parking lot, “Bumblebee showed up but I took care of that nosy scout. The human pet was the most bother. Little scraplet slammed on my brakes when I rammed the Autobot off the road.” He growled. “When I get my servos on him...”
Breakdown paused on the other end of the line. “You took Starscream’s pet human?” He asked.
“Well, I needed one to enter the race and collect the relic. Little help that fleshy gave. I ended up having to do it on my own anyway.” He tossed his servo to the side and sighed.
“Where is the human now?” Breakdown asked.
“Who cares, probably still giving medical assistance to those other humans.”
“You lost Starscream’s pet human?”
“I didn’t lose him – he lost himself! If he had just stayed in my cab and didn’t touch anything like I told him to, we wouldn’t have a problem.”
“Knockout, let me get this straight. You took Commander Starscream’s pet without permission and now you have no idea where he is or how to get him back?”
Knockout paused. Oh. maybe that wasn't the smartest thing to do after all. “Starscream should be glad I got rid of his pest.” Though deep down he knew that wasn’t going to be true. Scrap, Starscream was going to kill him. Breakdown let him think. “Ugh, fine. I guess I'll go find the fleshy before I get back.” He groaned.
“I’ll have the groundbridge ready when you find him.” And Breakdown ended the com line.
Now Knockout has to find the pest somehow. That is, if he hasn’t run away already. If the pet was gone for good, Starscream would have his head. Now where would the human go? Suddenly a rain of energon blasts came down on him and he lifted his servo to protect his face. He glanced up to the top of the building where it came from and saw a recognizable autobot silhouette. “Great. The two-wheeler.”
“Give up the relic, Con!”
“Why don’t you try and take it?” He sneered, readying himself for the next barrage of blasts.
-
Danny looked up at the now mostly dark sky, with only a few final streaks of purple remaining as the stars appeared. The kid had been fine and Danny left immediately to go and find Knockout. He was currently flying around, invisible, searching for any sign of the red Aston Martin. He was tempted to just go straight back to the Nemesis and beat Knockout there, but Danny wanted to give the Con a piece of his mind… and also survey any damage he may have caused while not under Danny’s supervision. At this point, he was just these thousand-year-old aliens' babysitter.
After a bit of searching Danny headed towards the town, which was likely where most of the participants of the race were from, still not spotting him. Did Knockout really just leave him? Danny shouldn’t be surprised. But he supposed it would be moronic on Knockout’s part, especially seeing as he kidnapped Danny in the first place.
Oh well, even if Knockout did leave Danny could just call Starscream for a pickup. Or maybe even manage to weasel a groundbridge from Soundwave. Danny was flying over the town, glancing around idly, when he heard what sounded like two cars crashing into each other over and over and blaster fire. Danny rolled his eyes and turned in that direction. If there was someone with road rage, it would be Knockout.
Once he reached the sound his eyes widened. Yep, that was Knockout, but he was fighting in a hand-to-hand brawl with a mech that was about half the size of him. He was holding the relic in one hand and blocking her attacks with the other.
Danny flew down and landed on the roof of one of the buildings overlooking the parking lot the aliens decided to make their boxing ring. Danny figured it was best not to get involved, at least until someone gets really hurt, that is. But a random human showing up in a fight like this? It's also very likely Knockout started the fight in the first place. So maybe he has this coming.
He sat down with his legs hanging off the edge of the building and put his chin in his hand as they exchanged back-and-forth blows and blaster fire. He sighed. Knockout was technically down an arm at the moment and may actually need some help with this. The smaller mech shot a blaster at his knee joint causing him to cry out in pain and stumble back. Alright, time to call in the re-enforcement.
He pulled out his phone which he had downloaded a couple of the Decepticons com lines into, searched for Breakdown’s contact, and pressed call. The Con answered with a very confused tone. “Hello?”
“Hey Breakdown, you better come and pick up your husband before me or this angry motorcycle chick beat his aft,” Danny said nonchalantly as he leaned back and looked at his nails before glancing up at the fight as another clash of metal sounded.
Breakdown seemed to snap out of his stupor. “Human? I thought Knockout lost you!”
Danny crossed his arms. “He certainly tried. But he’s currently losing a lot of his paint, and I don’t think you or I want to be here to deal with the fallout if he loses anymore.”
“Right, right, I’m on my way.” Breakdown cut off his com line. Danny put his phone away just as the blue mecha kicked out Knockout’s legs from under him, causing him to fall back on his aft and drop the relic. She then ran towards it and snatched it up, holding it under her arm like a football
That was when Knockout opened his subspace and flicked out a small tube that extended into what looked like a double-ended cattle prod. He snarled as he jammed it into her side, and she let out a yell of pain as the electricity flowed over her. Danny’s eyes widened slightly. Mental note, make sure to watch out for Knockout’s electrical weapons, that would hurt.
She fell to the ground and the relic slipped from her grip and slid about ten feet away from them across the parking lot. That was when suddenly they both yelled out in pain. Knockout dropped his weapon to the ground with a clatter and his knees collapsed under him as he grabbed his audials. The femme pulled her legs in closer to her as she gripped her helm tightly as well.
Danny’s eyes widened as he stood up, glancing over them and then back to the relic. The relic which Knockout said was a sonic weapon. Danny could hear it ever so slightly, but he was sure if he was in his ghost form he would be on the ground too. Just below him, he heard the sound of a groundbridge powering on. He didn’t get the chance to warn Breakdown before he was already on his knees clutching his audials in pain.
Great, time to clean up this mess. Danny jumped off the building and landed with a bit of flight in order to avoid breaking his legs, and he booked it towards the relic. He dodged underneath one of Knockout’s arms he used to try and hold himself up and ran past the smaller blue mech who seemed to be trying to crawl closer to the weapon. She made a bit of a surprised expression as he ran by but he tried to ignore her. Currently two of his friends, no, one of his kinda friends, and his cocky husband were in a lot of pain and he was going to help them. Even if one of them did piss him off earlier.
The relic was about the size of an extremely large watermelon that Danny could wrap his whole arm span around, plating coating it and blue light emitting from it. How this thing was a prize for a race, Danny would never know?
Danny glanced back at the mecha around him. He could see energon flowing down the sides of Knockout’s face as he groaned in pain. Danny grabbed one of the panels of the relic and pried it off with a screech of bending metal. Now he could see the inner workings of it… and still had no idea how it worked.
This thing had to run off of a power source- no, likely energon, so he just had to cut the supply of energon to the thing-a-magig making the sound. That's easy enough. Danny winced as he stuck his arm into the wiring, turning his hand intangible as he tried to feel for what could be a battery of some kind. He grabbed onto something that he could sense the energon flowing through and promptly wiped it out.
He looked over the thing in his hand as the lights from the relic died down. It was a strange sort of box that had slits through it which appeared to be glowing brighter than any energon Danny had seen before. …possibly because it was electrically charged? Danny held it for one more moment before it started heating rapidly in his hand. “Scrap.” Danny tossed the the thing across the parking lot as far as he could before the thing exploded.
The blast knocked Danny back hard, causing him to tumble. He could see as many of the windows of the buildings around them all shattered in an instant and the tarmac of the parking lot seemed to melt. Danny started to pull himself up off the ground with a groan. “ Ow .”
He didn’t have a moment to think before the blue femme had already run over and picked him up as well as the now disfunctional relic and started running out of the parking lot. Danny was currently having a killer headache from that explosion, so being thrown around like a rag doll was not it. She then transformed and he ended up sitting on her seat with the relic heavy and useless in his lap.
“Hey, those are mine!” Knockout had gotten up enough that he could start shooting at her. She swerved in between the blasts, one of them hitting Danny’s calf. What is with him and being abducted by aliens today? She swerved behind the building and transformed again, letting Danny off on the ground. Both of her servos transformed into blasters as she turned around and started firing on Knockout again, using the building as cover.
She put one arm up to her helm. “Requesting backup, I have the relic and human.” Danny crossed his arms. She most certainly didn’t have one of those things. Danny glanced up as another groundbridge appeared behind her and Danny made a split-second decision to turn invisible and run through the wall.
Danny appeared next to Breakdown on the other side of the parking lot, who was still shaking his helm from the sonic weapon. “You okay?” Danny asked, walking up to him.
The large mech groaned. “Yeah, I wasn’t as close as Knockout, though.” He bent down to pick Danny up and looked over as more blaster fire rained down on Knockout, who glanced over at his husband before bailing back towards him for protection.
“I think it’s time we leave this party!” Knockout yelled. Danny winced at the volume of the audial challenged mech.
Breakdown smiled at his partner “Agreed.” He then transformed (without throwing Danny in the air, mind you) and Danny was sitting in the back seat of his armored truck as he reversed, quickly followed by knockout as they made it through their own groundbridge before the other bot’s backup arrived.
-
The two injured Cons and one disgruntled human drove through the groundbridge, and it quickly closed behind them. They skid to a stop right in front of one of Starscream’s heels. “Explain. Now.”
Knockout transformed and stormed out of the room, pushing Starscream to the side as he did so. “I hate fragging humans!,” he yelled, and Starscream cast him a strange glance before looking back to Breakdown, who had now transformed and put Danny safely back into Starscream’s servo.
“I’ll deal with that – I think his hearing’s shot from the sonic waves,” Breakdown sighed, running a servo over his faceplate before walking off in the direction of Knockout.
Danny looked up at the incredibly confused seeker. “So! How was your evening?”