Game-Changer, Chapter Five
#5 of Game-Changer (Transformers Prime fanfiction)
Arcee leads a team into an enemy base to rescue Jack and his mom.
I'm coming for you, Jack. Arcee sat in the trailer, her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms around her knees, staring at the wall, barely noticing the vibration from the ground zipping under the tires. Just hang on.
A motion in the corner of her eye drew her attention to the rest of the squad riding in the trailer that Optimus was currently hauling across the desert. Ashanti sat to her left, checking her ammo and shoving the clip back into what appeared to be some sort of anti-tank rifle, her face frozen in the same expression of intense rage she'd had ever since the mission briefing. Past her, the rest of the team--all of them human--waited for Prime to reach the target zone.
If any of them were nervous, they didn't let it show.
Poor Ashanti. There was still a chance that Jack was alive, but Ashanti didn't even have that small comfort. Arcee couldn't stop running the briefing over again in her mind:
"The Scraplets were a diversion," General Sanchez said shortly after the briefing began. "Moments after they attacked, several labs all over the base were hit--at exactly the same moment. Right down to the second_."_
"One of them was my husband's lab," Ashanti said, staring at a random point on the table, her lips quivering with the effort to hold her fury in. "When I got there, Jamie...changed. Right in front of me. His skin just sort of...split apart. All over. Shifted around, folded, unfolded..." Tears streamed down her cheeks. "It wasn't Jamie. It was a thing that killed him and turned itself into a copy of him."
Arcee walked over to the table and sat on the floor. "It's possible that he was a Decepticon--"
"A Decepticon all along? No." Ashanti squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath until she regained control of herself. "His body was found less than an hour ago. He's been...dead...for nearly a week. The body was so well-hidden that it wouldn't have turned up without the thorough search of the entire base ordered by General Sanchez."
Arcee winced, unable to stop herself from imagining the same thing happening to Jack.
Sanchez reached over to put his hand on Ashanti's shoulder. After a moment, he looked around at the others and said, "The...imposter had Jamie McKenna's team begin work on a new project six days ago."
"Let me guess," Arcee said, forcing her mind back to the matter at hand. "A device that would monkey-wrench Cybertronian weapons?"
"Yeah. We all thought it was a good idea; without something like that, a purely human squad wouldn't have a chance in hell in a fight with even a single Decepticon. But now the project's true purpose is pretty obvious."
"Well, it backfired, then. The Vehicons' weapons were just as inoperative as ours. Maybe they weren't able to fine-tune it, or they had something going on in another lab that would prevent their own weapons from being jammed, but weren't able to use it in time."
"Could be. We're still assessing casualties and damage, and finding out what was taken. It'll be a while before we have a clear picture." Sanchez shook his head slowly. "One thing we know for certain--not only can the Decepticons mimic humans now, they can duplicate specific individuals_."_
Ashanti crossed her arms tightly over her chest. "Almost a week. I was living with that thing for almost a week, and I never even noticed anything different about him."
The implications didn't take long to sink in. Arcee's eyes grew wider and her lips parted slightly. "_Shit."_
"Yeah." Ashanti took a deep breath and tried to get hold of herself. "I can't dwell on that right now. There's still a job to be done." Ashanti looked up at Arcee. "Even more than that, I don't want you to go through what I'm going through now. We need to rescue Jack and his mom."
Arcee held in a sigh. Rescuing them shouldn't have even been necessary. I'm sorry, Jack. I've failed you again.
A nudge against her left leg made her twitch. She glanced down to find Ashanti giving her a concerned look. "You okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Uh-huh. About as fine as I am." Ashanti shook her head. "It wasn't your fault."
"I should've seen that little bastard sneaking up behind me. It's my job to catch things like that." Instead, she'd only noticed the first humanoid 'Con after he had clocked Jack on the back of the head--and with her full attention on him, she'd missed the one aiming an EMP rifle at her back.
"Jack!" Her eyes snapped open and she lurched upright as the last of her software finished rebooting. A quick look at the spot Jack and June had used for cover confirmed her fear--they were gone. "No..."
A large, metal hand touched her shoulder. She lunged at her shotguns.
"Easy, Arcee." Prime's voice.
She looked over her shoulder, found him kneeling beside her, and put the guns down. "What the hell happened?"
"You and I were stunned by a weapon similar to the one Ashanti used against the Scraplets. When I woke up, Jack and his mother--"
"They're gone. I know. Are they...?"
"The Vehicons returned after we were incapacitated and captured them. That means both are safe, for now. If they wanted our friends dead, we would have found their bodies as soon as we rebooted."
Arcee stood, staggered and braced her hand against a nearby roof until she regained her balance, and picked up her shotguns.
"I know what you're thinking, Arcee, but running headlong into the thick of things won't help them. We need to regroup and come up with a plan."
"Fine." She switched on the guns' electromagnets and clamped them onto her back. "I have an idea."
"Arcee, listen to me." Ashanti's voice jolted her back to here-and-now. "It wasn't your fault. In combat, things like this just happen."
Arcee nodded, even though she wasn't convinced. "June said something similar not too long ago."
"Well, she was right. And we still have a chance to save them."
"I hope so." Arcee looked down at her. "You sure you're up for this?"
"I need to do this. If I don't, then the bastards win." Ashanti picked up her helmet, strapped it on, and looked Arcee in the optics. "Never let the bastards win. No matter what." She managed a bitter chuckle. "I can hold it together until this is over. I'll turn into a blubbering mess after we get back to Groom Lake."
Arcee nodded and tried to keep her thoughts on track by going over the rest of the briefing in her head.
"This is the latest intel we got from Bumblebee." Carla picked up a tablet from the end of the conference table and tapped an icon on its screen. A video captured by Bee's optics popped up on the TV--a shot of a half-dozen Vehicons in their car modes, racing across the desert, literally in the middle of nowhere. Miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles, as the saying went. Even on maximum zoom, the 'Cons looked tiny against the wide-open Nevada backdrop. "He followed them at extreme range, barely close enough for him to keep them on his sensors. And then, well, this happened."
Everyone stared at the screen for several seconds, waiting.
The Vehicons were suddenly blocked from view by the sand erupting all around them, creating a sort of miniature sandstorm. When the clouds dispersed thirty seconds later, the cars were gone. The image zoomed and panned rapidly as Bee tried to reacquire his targets, but the desert landscape remained empty in every direction.
"Obviously," the general said, "we'd really like to know what just happened there."
Carla looked at Arcee, Optimus, and Bulkhead. "Do the 'Cons have teleportation capability?"
"No," Prime said. Then he frowned. "Unless they have developed a new, miniaturized form of space bridge technology."
"There was no evidence of the vortex that a space bridge produces," Arcee said. "This was something else entirely."
"No matter what it is, at least we know where they vanished. We will investigate the area."
Arcee nodded and met Optimus's gaze. "As I said before--I've got an idea."
"We are almost there," Prime's voice came through Arcee's comlink. "Get ready."
The humans stood and filed toward the rear of the trailer. Arcee checked her shotguns and her pistol one last time before scooting over to join them. Her built-in cannons should be functional by now, but she'd be a fool to assume the 'Cons couldn't jam them again.
Besides, she'd taken a strong liking to these new guns. They had proven surprisingly effective, and the sheer brutality of them was so gratifying.
"We will keep them distracted," Prime said as he slowed and came to a gentle stop. "If you find a way to co-opt whatever they used to disappear, we will follow you in as soon as we've dealt with the Decepticons out here."
"Got it." Arcee crouched, bracing her feet under herself, and looked around at her squad. "Comlink silence once we go."
Ashanti nodded and gripped the door handle.
"In position," Prime said. "Good hunting, Arcee."
"You too, Optimus." She nodded at Ashanti. "Go!"
#
Out the door and immediately down on the ground, laying flat in the dirt as Prime detached from the trailer and sped away to meet up with Bumblebee and Bulkhead.
Arcee ran another quick diagnostic and snarled at the results.
"Problem?" Ashanti said softly, staring through the scope of her anti-tank rifle.
"My autorepair systems aren't finished yet; I still can't use my vehicle mode. The Scraplets really screwed me up." Arcee zoomed in on Prime as he was joined by Bee and Bulkhead, and all three headed for the spot where the Vehicons had vanished into thin air. She tried to keep herself laser-focused on the mission; the last thing she needed was to think about just how deep those little monsters had gnawed into critical parts of her body.
"Well, if we're lucky, you'll be able to do it by the time we find Jack and his mom. You'll need to get them out of there fast."
Before Arcee could reply, the sand five hundred yards away erupted, spewing into the air like a fountain--and Vehicons emerged from the resulting clouds.
"I caught a glimpse of a tunnel through the sandstorm," one of the humans, Josephine Chang, said, peering through her helmet goggles. "There's an opening in the ground and a sloping tunnel."
"I see it, too." Ashanti pointed ahead. "Looks like they're using some sort of air cannons to stir up the sand and dirt and hide where they're coming from."
Ten Vehicons in car mode headed toward the Autobots, followed by ten more roaring out of the dust clouds.
"Stay close," Arcee muttered, pushing herself up and advancing on the Decepticons' position, forcing herself to move slowly so she wouldn't outrun her team.
Ashanti, Chang, and the rest--Chad Jensen, Tyra Case, Gary Dawson, and Deedee Washington--ran along behind her, staying near her feet.
A third wave of 'Cons materialized from the mini-sandstorm and engaged the three 'Bots.
Arcee frowned and zoomed in on one of the Vehicons. "Whoa. Those guys are more heavily armored than the ones we've been fighting."
"This is gonna take too long," Ashanti said. "Arcee, go on ahead and hold the door open for us."
Arcee almost hesitated. She didn't want to leave them without protection--but then, if the entrance closed before she could reach it, all of this would've been for nothing.
And if that happened, she might never see Jack again.
"Okay. If we're lucky, the 'Cons will be too busy out here to notice you guys. See you in a few." She charged ahead, checking her cannons' status while drawing her shotguns. Both of her energy weapons were offline again; the 'Cons obviously had their jamming device up and running.
Far off to the right came the zapping sounds of Vehicon arm cannons and the pops and booms of the scaled-up slug-throwers the three other 'Bots had brought with them.
Great. The 'Cons can jam our weapons while leaving theirs functional. That's just goddamned wonderful.
She ran straight into the dust cloud, briefly wondering if any more 'Cons were on the way out, but not really worrying about it. If any suddenly appeared in front of her, they'd get a faceful of 140mm, explosive sabot rounds.
Sure would be nice to see what's in front of me, though. The artificial sandstorm was bad enough, but the setting sun had forced her to amplify the available light. And the problem with that was, all someone had to do was shine a spotlight into her optics and she'd be blind until she could switch them out of light-amp mode. Which would only take a second--but that was more than enough time to take a blast through the spark chamber.
The ground under her feet dipped, and seconds later, she found herself in a sloping tunnel leading deep underground. The tunnel was more than large enough for Optimus to stroll through, and its walls--
This looks like one of the corridors on the Nemesis_._ Arcee's jaw dropped as she deactivated her light-amp mode. Had the Decepticons somehow hidden their ship underground? Without anyone noticing? If so...
No, that can't be it. Burying something that big, even out in the desert...no, someone would've picked up on it. A surveillance satellite, aircraft passing over, even a tourist looking for interesting scenery to photograph. Besides, why would they do that in the first place?
What else could it be, though? Building a base like this, right under everyone's noses, seems just as unlikely.
The sound of footsteps reached her auditory sensors and she turned around, raising one of her shotguns. She relaxed when Ashanti and the rest of her team appeared at the mouth of the tunnel.
Washington moved her goggles up onto her helmet and looked around. "Not what I expected."
"Same here." Arcee "holstered" one of her shotguns on her back, freeing up her left hand, and rested the other gun on her shoulder. She turned and headed deeper into the corridor.
Ashanti glanced at Washington. "Double-D, you're on point with Arcee." To Jensen, she said, "Chad, cover our six."
"Any idea where they might be keeping Jack and Mrs. D?" Washington said as she caught up with Arcee, covering the corridor with her abnormally large assault rifle.
"I have no idea what the layout of this place is, yet. Their location would depend on why they were taken."
"True," Ashanti said. "The human-size Decepticons breaking into their house implies they were singled out for some reason."
"Yeah. That's what worries me." Arcee pointed her shotgun straight ahead, and began scanning for organic lifeforms. She kept her sensors restricted to short range to reduce the chances of nearby 'Cons detecting her scan. "For now, the only thing we can do is start looking."
#
After wandering through the corridors for what seemed like hours, Arcee's scan picked up faint human life signs. Trying not to get her hopes up just yet, she pointed down a corridor that branched off to the left.
"Got something," she whispered. She and Deedee increased their pace.
"I wonder why we haven't run into any opposition," Case said, turning to make sure no one was coming up behind them.
"Maybe everybody's out there, fighting the 'Bots," Dawson said.
Chang laughed softly. "If they thought Arcee was out there, they probably figured it'd take all of 'em to have a chance of surviving."
Arcee grinned, but it faded quickly. She continued tracking the life signs, and her spark practically leaped in her chest when the signal grew stronger. She moved faster, until she was jogging down each corridor, turning a corner, and continuing on.
Finally, one last right turn brought them to a corridor that ended in a single door. Arcee crept up to it and did a more thorough scan of the room on the other side.
"I'm picking up two humans," she whispered. "And three...well, they're not typical Cybertronian signatures, but very close. They're human-size."
"Looks like we've got a few of the imposters, then." Ashanti leveled her anti-tank rifle at the door and glanced at Arcee. "This locked?"
"Yeah, but not for long.." Arcee pried open the panel to the door's right and reached inside. "Be ready to move as soon as I have it open."
"Got it. Dee?"
Smirking, Double-D took a pair of large, cylindrical devices from a pocket. "These work on Cybertronians the way flashbangs work on us, so you don't want to be within twenty feet of 'em when they go off."
"You sure they'll work?"
"We never got a chance to test them until the 'Cons attacked Groom Lake. They work, alright."
"Guess we should thank the 'Cons properly for the opportunity to try 'em out." Ashanti looked up at Arcee again. "Can you tell where in the room they are?"
"Far end, in the left-hand corner. More than twenty feet away, luckily."
"Good. Just open the door, Arcee. We'll take it from there."
Arcee nodded and kept working. She completed the bypass seconds later and the door slid aside. She caught a glimpse of two of the small Decepticons looking over their shoulders at the door before Double-D hurled the flashbangs across the room.
A bright light burst in the air and suddenly Arcee's sensors scrambled. When her vision cleared, she was on her hands and knees, barely able to maintain her balance--and the boom of Ashanti's rifle shattered the air.
"Scratch one," she muttered, shifting her aim to a new target.
Arcee shook her head and managed to get her feet under her. "What the hell?"
"Guess the range on those things is longer than we thought. Sorry." Double-D flicked an apologetic look at Arcee before charging into the room.
"As long as they got the job done, it's all good." Arcee fired up another systems diagnostic and let it run in the background as she followed Ashanti in. "We'll need at least one of them alive."
Ashanti nodded, but said nothing.
Arcee looked around as they crossed the chamber. Consoles and monitors lining the walls, benches and tables on the floor, some empty and some holding spare parts and half-completed devices. And on the far end, a row of smaller tables--human-size--and on two of them...
Jack and June. Both of them appeared to be unconscious.
On the floor near them were the two surviving 'Cons. Both were still recovering from the grenades Deedee had lobbed at them, just now raising themselves to their hands and knees.
Dawson whistled softly and nodded at the third 'Con, slumped against the wall; above the body, the round from Ashanti's rifle had punched a hole in the wall after exiting the back of the Decepticon's skull.
"Nice shot, boss. Turned his head into a canoe."
Ashanti smirked briefly. "When I find the one who murdered Jamie, I'll make sure he sees it coming." She glanced at Arcee and nodded at the tables. "Go on. We've got these pieces of shit covered."
Arcee hurried over to Jack and his mother. A cold fist closed around her spark at the sight of dried blood trailing from his nostrils, but at least he was still breathing.
A soft moan from the other table drew her attention. June turned toward her and her eyes grew wider. She tried to sit up, but something held her down. There were no visible restraints on her; it was as if the table itself were pulling her down.
Arcee leaned over to look at the control panel at the end of the table, under June's head. The controls were labeled with Cybertronian text, but that was the only thing about it that was the least bit familiar to her.
"Hold on a minute. This...this isn't Cybertronian technology. And it sure as hell isn't human." She studied the panel carefully, that cold sensation around her spark growing stronger. When she found nothing related to life support, she shut everything down.
June sat upright with a gasp, rolled off the table, and almost fell. Arcee reached out to steady her and deactivated Jack's table with her other hand.
"June are you--?"
"I'll be okay, I guess. But Jack..."
"What the hell did they do to him?"
"I'm not sure. They put something...a probe, I think...up his nose. It...it..." She sobbed and shook her head.
They..._what?_ "Is it still active?"
"No. It came back out after a few minutes. He's been unconscious ever since then."
Arcee stared at Jack and stroked his cheek gently. "Jack? Come on, partner, wake up."
He groaned softly.
"Jack..." She leaned closer and whispered, "I need you."
He moaned again, turned his head slightly, opened his eyes halfway...and closed them. Then he forced them open again.
"Ar...cee...?"
"I'm right here, baby." She touched her forehead to his. "Whatever they did to you, it's over."
"They..." He tried to sit up, grimaced and held his hands to the sides of his head. "Oh...Jesus..."
Arcee placed her hand on his back and held him until he managed to sit upright. "Jack...what did they do to you?"
He shivered and crossed his arms tightly over his chest. His mom lurched forward, stumbled, and braced her hand on the table to hold herself up. She made her way around to Jack's side and put her arm around his shoulders.
"They...they had this...machine...thing." He shuddered and held his breath for a moment. "Looked like a centipede, but...metal. It..." He touched the crusted blood under his nose. His hand shook and Arcee held it gently.
"I know. June told me what it did."
"It...it interfaced with my brain. I--I--I don't know how, but it..." He looked up at her and his lips quivered. "Jesus Christ, Arcee, they know everything! They know where the Autobot base is. They took it from my brain, somehow."
No... She rubbed his back. "It's not your fault. There's nothing you could've done."
Behind her, Ashanti drew in a long, slow breath. "That must be how the duplicate of my husband was able to fool me so completely. I bet they used one of those brain probes on him."
"Bloody hell," Jensen muttered. "Bad enough that they can look like us--but if they can even copy our memories and personalities..."
Arcee turned to glare at the two Decepticons, who were still pulling themselves together, looking around with twitchy jerks of their heads. "Well, this base has got to go, then."
"Damn straight," Ashanti said.
Arcee kissed Jack's forehead and turned to the 'Cons. "Okay, you two. We've got some questions for you, and you're gonna answer them immediately."
"We're telling you exactly two things--jack and shit," the one on the left snarled, turning to sneer at the young human behind her. "And Jack won't be--"
Arcee didn't let him finish. She raised her right foot and slammed it down on his head, crushing it like a beer can. There was just enough time for him to release a truncated scream before his head was flattened in a shower of sparks and a splatter of energon.
The remaining 'Con recoiled in horror and scooted back against the wall.
Arcee glared down at him. "How about now?"