FSE

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"Oh, hell," Raf whispered as he stared wide-eyed at the bank of monitors in front of him and the others. Ratchet stood off to the side, keeping his optics on the screens and his right hand over the ground-bridge controls. Tomoko sat beside Raf, covering her mouth with her hands as she stared at the feeds from the Autobots' optics and their human teammates' helmet cameras. Lucas and Rosalina stood on Raf's other side and gripped each other's hands tightly. Steve and Khalilah stood a few yards away, trying to divide their attention between the monitors and Starscream, leaning against the wall in his usual spot, with his ankles crossed, watching the battle with a smirk and an arched brow-plate.

Khalilah wrung her hands and began pacing again, only to stop a few seconds later and lock her optic on the images and the bio-readouts beneath each of the humans' feeds.

Ultra Magnus kept himself planted in the doorway and scowled steadily at Starscream, while Smokescreen twitched and shifted from one foot to the other and back.

"I should be there," he muttered with a glance at the swirling ground-bridge vortex on the far side of the room.

"That is Optimus Prime's decision, soldier, not yours," Magnus said without taking his gaze off Starscream.

On Arcee's screen, one of the Insecticons uprooted a tree and smashed it into Bumblebee. The sight of him flying through the air and then tumbling across the ground made Raf's heart pound.

Arcee herself had already taken a beating over the last few minutes as she tried to drag Knockout to the ground-bridge opening in the combat zone. Jack and her human-size, remote-controlled body had been trying to provide cover fire, but there was only so much their tiny weapons could do against the Insecticons' heavy armor. Even mini-Arcee's new sniper railgun couldn't do more than punch small holes in their armor unless she nailed a lucky shot through one of their optics and into the brain.

Arcee's full-size body had a scaled-up railgun, but it had been knocked out of her grip several minutes ago, and she hadn't been able to get back to where it lay.

The stream from Bulkhead's mini-me whip-panned to the left and Raf caught a glimpse of two of the 'Cons Arcee had taken out before another disarmed her.

The view from Ashanti's helmet cam showed a half-dozen Insecticons piling on top of Optimus. He collapsed under their weight, but he managed to throw one of them off and shove his arm-mounted blade clean through the neck of another.

Raf glanced at the newly-arrived 'Bots and the two Vehicons who'd defected, and wondered why Optimus hadn't requested backup. Maybe he still wasn't completely sure he could trust Steve and Khalilah, and he could be trying to keep the 'Cons from learning about Magnus and Smokescreen.

That could be true about our Vehicon friends, too. Maybe he just doesn't want to lose the element of surprise.

A rapid, panicked bleeping and honking sound yanked Raf's attention back to the screens. He glanced around and finally spotted Bee slamming into the ground again, sending out a fountain of dirt, gravel, and shredded grass. An Insecticon leaped on top of him, clamped onto his chest plate, and_pulled_.

Raf's heart pounded and his lungs seized up.

Bee deployed his built-in blaster and shot the Insecticon point-blank in the face. The enormous, bug-like robot twitched, snarled, and wedged its claws into a torn spot in Bee's chest.

"No--" Raf tried to squeeze his eyes shut, but couldn't move.

The 'Con ripped Bee's chest wide open, exposing his wiring, conduits, and possibly his spark chamber.

Optimus gutted one of the other Insecticons, shoved it aside, and caught a glimpse of a huge robot Raf hadn't seen in the fight before.

"Breakdown," Arcee muttered as she limped across Miko's field of view and blasted away with her shotguns. "Just what we need."

"Could be, actually," Jack said. "As long as he attacks the 'Cons and not us, I won't mind his presence so much."

"Fair point." Arcee flip-cocked the shotgun in her right hand and fired while cocking the other. The round drilled into an already-weakened spot on a nearby Insecticon's chest and blew it open. Arcee snarled and fired a second blast straight through the new opening and directly into the 'Con's spark. A column of blue flame erupted from the hole and energy arced into his arms and hands and even another Insecticon standing nearby. Secondary explosions burst his chest open and sent shrapnel tumbling across the field. The Insecticon toppled over and remained motionless. The red glow faded from its optics.

Breakdown roared and charged the Insecticon on top of Bumblebee as he drew his hand back and prepared to ram his claws into the wound he had just torn in Bee's chest. As Breakdown approached, Raf got a better look at his face and realized one of his optics had been gouged out.

Breakdown slammed into the Insecticon and both of them rolled across the ground.

On another screen, Jack swung his EMP rifle around and zapped another Insecticon. It dropped to its knees, shook its head, and grunted.

Mini-Arcee lined up a shot with her railgun and squeezed the trigger. The gun released a miniature sonic boom and the slug shattered the bug's optics and exploded through the back of his head, ripping out bits of hardware and sending a stream of energon spraying out behind him.

"Nice!" Jack grinned as the 'Con collapsed. He turned around and his eyes widened. "Arcee!"

As Bee picked himself up, he spun toward them and they centered in his monitor--just as an Insecticon tackled Arcee from behind, spun her around, and drove his blade into her gut. She doubled over with an eardrum-shattering scream and her shotguns slipped from her hands.

"No!" Tomoko reached out toward the screen, eyes and mouth open wide, her lips quivering.

Jack released an incoherent scream as the 'Con pulled his blade out and Arcee collapsed, curled up, and trembled. He lined up a shot and emped the Insecticon, knocking him off balance. The bug tried to recover, but he zapped it again, and then again.

On Jensen's screen, another Insecticon took a grenade to the face from Bulk's launcher, staggered, and toppled over--straight toward Jensen.

"Oh, fu--"

The 'Con slammed down on top of him. The screen blanked out, his audio cut off, and his readouts flatlined.

"Chad!" Khalilah stared at the screens and her arms hung limp at her sides. She let out a long moan. Even though her face was only an immobile optic strip on an otherwise blank mask, she still managed to look shocked.

On Bee's monitor, Jack grabbed the railgun from mini-Arcee's limp hands and whirled around to aim it at the disoriented Insecticon. He fired a round into the Insecticon's head. The impact knocked him over but didn't pierce his armor. Jack shifted his aim and blasted another slug through the optics. The bug's head snapped back and the vital components inside showered across the ground behind him.

Tomoko stood and turned to stare at Ratchet. "We've got to do something!"

An idea clicked into place and Raf spun toward Tomoko. "Hey, since you're a clone of Airachnid, you have web launchers like hers."

"I--I never thought to check my hardware for that. I'll do it now." Tomoko cocked her head for a split second and then raised her hands and stared at the web emitters seated in her palms. "Oh! So that's what those are!"

"Might be a long shot, but maybe you could at least immobilize the Insecticons. It'd buy everyone else time to get through the ground bridge."

Tomoko's face brightened, but it faded quickly when she turned toward the bridge vortex. She trembled and wrung her hands again.

"I can do this," she whispered, and bounced slightly as if trying to psyche herself up. "I can do this. I can do this." She whimpered and sprinted through the bridge.

"I'm going, too." Khalilah's voice shook as she marched into the vortex and vanished.

Steve glanced at Ratchet, nodded, and followed her.

Smokescreen took a step forward, but Magnus clamped a hand onto his shoulder.

"We'll stay right here." He glanced at Starscream. "Just in case."

Smokescreen grimaced, but stayed put.

"Hold on, everyone," Ratchet said into the comm panel. "Help is on the way."

#

"Arcee!" Jack took a step toward her, but her mini-me grabbed his arm. He spun around and found her shaking her head.

"We've got to stay with Knockout," she grunted, her voice strained and her face twisting in agony. "Maybe Breakdown can drag his dented ass through the bridge. Optimus can help me and Bee if he can get away from the rest of those bugs."

Jack glanced at her full-size body and caught a glimpse of energon gushing from the jagged gash in her belly.

Oh, no. She'll bleed out by then!

"Hold on, everyone," Ratchet's voice came through the comlink. "Help is on the way."

Jack whipped around to face the ground-bridge vortex and found Tomoko, Khalilah, and Steve sprinting across the field, their feet shaking the ground with every pounding step. Jack realized they must've come through a few seconds ago.

Tomoko stopped, turned one way and another, and wrung her hands. She whimpered and her face twisted into a look of wide-eyed, gaping terror.

One of the Insecticons turned toward her and raised his blaster. She cringed and let out a soft sob.

Optimus extracted himself from the last of the Insecticons who'd piled on him. He hauled one of the bugs up and hurled its body at the one getting ready to shoot Tomoko. The body plowed into him and cartwheeled him off to the side.

Steve put his hand on Tomoko's shoulder for a brief moment. "Come on, pull yourself together." He charged into battle and fired several shots from his blasters, distracting the bugs aiming their guns at Ashanti's team.

Miko appeared between another bug's legs, dropped an EMP grenade, reactivated her armor's stealth system and vanished again. The grenade blew with a flare that blinded Jack for a few seconds and dropped the Insecticon to his hands and knees.

"Oh...shit!" Tomoko stuck her left arm out toward the bug, palm outward, and fired a wad of part-organic, part metallic webbing at him. It splattered into the ground beside his right leg. Tomoko let out a shrill squeak, twitched her hand slightly to the right, and launched another.

This one struck his legs and wrapped around them, pulling them together and hardening enough to hold them in place.

She fired another into his torso and arms, then followed up with several more, until the bug was encased in a thick layer of webbing.

Tomoko grinned, turned to point both palms toward another Insecticon, and fired several larger wads of webbing into him.

Optimus turned to Breakdown and pointed at Knockout. "If you and your friend want to survive, take him through the bridge. We will cover you."

Breakdown stared at him, glanced at Knockout, and ran over to him.

"About time you showed up," Knockout said. "Where were you when I was getting all these dents and scratches?"

"Getting my goddamn_eye_ ripped out," Breakdown snarled.

Knockout gave him a slack-jawed stare. "Oh. Right. Um...sorry."

"Let's just get your narcissistic ass out of here, or it was all for nothing." Breakdown scooped him up, slung him over his shoulder, and charged toward the vortex.

Jack glanced around until he found Tomoko scampering around the battlefield. She'd shifted into her half-spider form and continued webbing up the Insecticons. By now, most of the surviving bugs had been cocooned, and Steve continued pestering them with his ineffective blasters, keeping their attention off Tomoko and the others.

She scurried around and sprang through the air while splattering them with her webbing. Many of her shots missed thanks to their combat suites jamming her targeting systems, but she managed to hit enough shots manually to immobilize the rest of them over the next few minutes. Finally, she glanced around, seemed to realize she'd cocooned them all, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Optimus kneeled beside Bumblebee and reached out to pick him up. Bee glanced over at Arcee, shook his head, and pointed at her while bursting out a frantic series of beeps and buzzes. Optimus put a hand on Bee's shoulder and nodded before running over to Arcee, still curled up and shaking.

Steve hurried over, helped Bee get to his feet, and kept a hand on his arm as they rejoined the rest of the team.

Tomoko scurried over to Arcee, returned to her bipedal mode, and kneeled beside her. "I have an idea." She held her hand out and popped a small blob of webbing into the gash in Arcee's metal skin. She spread several more layers on and smiled at Arcee. "That should keep you from losing any more energon."

"Th--thanks." Arcee grimaced, forced her optics open, and reached out to Jack.

He placed his palm in hers and managed a shaky smile. "Let's take you home."

Optimus picked her up and carried her gently to the vortex.

Jack glanced down at the railgun in his hands. The shock and fear began to fade, and anger slowly took its place. He strode over to the nearest Insecticon and lined up a point-blank shot.

"Jack." Arcee's human-size body walked up behind him and touched his shoulder.

"Wait, Jack," Optimus said softly. "They are helpless."

"You think I give a shit?" Jack glared into the bug's optics.

The bug glared back at him and growled.

"If you do this," Optimus said, but Jack cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be just as bad as they are. Right now, I don't care."

"I understand why you want to kill them all. But following through on it is what made the Decepticons what they are now. Do you think Arcee wants you to become that? Do you think your mother does?" Optimus held his gaze for a few seconds before turning back to the ground bridge. "It's your call."

Jack sighed and passed the railgun back to mini-Arcee. "He's right. You're more important." He turned away and she put her arm around his shoulders.

Optimus turned to face the bug. "He spared your life today. Never forget that." He carried Arcee through the vortex and both of them vanished.

"Come on." Mini-Arcee nodded over her shoulder. "Let's make sure everyone else gets home safely."

He followed her over to the dead Insecticon everyone had gathered around. Khalilah lifted the body carefully and shoved it aside, revealing Jensen's body on the caved-in ground.

"No," Ashanti whispered. "Not another one. I can't lose another one."

"What--when did--oh,no!" Jack glanced around at the others. Damn it. First Case and Dawson at the same time, and now this, just a few days later.

Khalilah lowered herself to her knees and leaned over to stroke Jensen's helmet.

Jensen moaned softly and everyone gasped.

"Holy shit!" Ashanti dropped to the ground, popped the latches on his helmet, and eased it off. His face twisted into a grimace, but he forced his eyes open and managed a split-second grin.

"I--I thought you died!" Khalilah slumped forward, closed her fingers gently around his head, and stroked his hair.

"The thought definitely crossed my mind when that thing fell over on me." Jensen grunted and took several gasping breaths. "The impact must've damaged my comm system. Or something with the diagnostic system. Whatever--I'm pretty sure my right leg is broken."

June crouched beside him and glanced at her medical team. "One of you bring a gurney from the base and then we'll have Ratchet bridge us straight to the Groom Lake medical center."

Harris nodded and rushed into the vortex.

Jensen seemed to notice Khalilah's tender touch. He raised an eyebrow, grinned briefly, and reached up to run his palm along her finger. "Sorry if I scared you."

"It...provided motivation." Khalilah raised her other hand and pointed a sharp fingertip at him. "That doesn't mean it's okay for you to do it again."

"I'll try to avoid it." He winked.

Steve chuckled softly and glanced at Bee. "Now will you let me help you get back to the base? You got torn up pretty badly."

Bee nodded, honked and whirred several times. He hobbled off toward the ground bridge with Steve keeping an arm around him to hold him steady.

Arcee grasped Jack's hand. "Come on, babe. Let's go home."

#

"Hey, June." Arcee smiled shakily as Jack's mom walked over to the table and sat. "How's Jensen doing?"

"He'll be okay. He was right about his leg--it's broken in four places. It'll be a while before he's back in action, but at least it wasn't worse. That new armor can really take a beating."

"Yeah, he got lucky." Arcee laughed softly and nudged Jack's shoulder. "Hey, what is it with human males letting 'Cons fall on them and fuck up their legs?"

Jack blushed, but laughed with her. "I dunno. Might be a recessive gene, or something."

June chuckled and took the seat across from Arcee. "How about you and Bee?"

"Well, Bee could've ended up a lot worse off. No internal damage, despite having his chest ripped open. Once the fabricator is up and running, it won't take long to make the parts he needs." Arcee grinned. "He, Raf, and Tomoko are back to playing GTA Online. Tomoko's relieved to have survived the battle, and we're all making sure she doesn't forget how she saved all our asses. After the way her life began, I think it's important that she feels like she's not helpless anymore."

"I'm glad to see her grow from a victim to a hero, too." June smiled, then she raised an eyebrow. "And you? Are you going to be okay?"

Damn. I was hoping I could avoid talking about that. Arcee shrugged and picked up a taco from her tray. She gazed out through the fence surrounding Groom Lake. Thanks to the bright flood lights, the desert beyond the fence appeared to be a black void.

"The damage isn't life-threatening. The blade missed anything critical to keeping me alive, but it did sever my spine." She pointed at her belly, where the blade had gone into her full-size body. "On my real body, I can't feel anything below here, and can't move my legs. But don't worry, we can make the parts I need once the fabricator is finished, and if we can talk Knockout into helping with the repairs, I'll be good as new."

Jack sighed and slipped his arm around her waist. "I hate myself for suggesting it, but it seemed like a good idea to make sure Knockout and Breakdown are repaired first. Y'know, a show of good faith. Well, more like, 'We scratched your back, now you scratch ours.'"

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself. It was the right call." Arcee smiled. "Seems like one Optimus would make. And in the meantime, I've got this Pretender body, so I won't be completely useless."

"I'm just glad your life isn't in danger this time." Jack kissed her cheek.

"So am I." She chuckled. Then she wiggled her brow plates. "And y'know what? After the important parts are replaced, I'm gonna have Ratchet install a vagina in my real body. Just in case I don't have access to this mini-me in the future." She winked. "I figure it'd be good to have the option, at least."

Jack's face turned an even darker shade of red. He flicked a glance at his mom, cleared his throat, and stuck a fork into his lasagna.

"Uh, not to make you uncomfortable or anything, June." Arcee held a hand up and laughed. "It just slipped out. I mean, every now and then, the weirdness of this hits me and I start wondering what the hell I'm doing. The whole sex thing is completely alien to my people, so there's a part of me that's still a little grossed-out by the idea. But then Jack kisses me, or puts his arms around me, or slides his hands over my chest--and it feels so good, I find myself wanting more. We're still planning to wait until he's legal, so don't worry about that."

"No, it's okay, actually." Now June blushed. She opened her bottle of grape Sunny D and took a long sip. "After we finished fixing up Jensen's leg, I went back to my quarters and, just on an impulse, I got on Skype and called Mom. I guess I was thinking there's probably been a lot of stuff about a 'giant alien robot invasion' on the news, so I should talk to her about it. Especially since our faces were probably caught on camera when we first met Tomoko."

Jack chuckled. "How's Grandma doing?"

"Fine. Been glued to the TV and Internet, though, keeping up to date on all the alien-invasion news that we haven't had time to even check out. She saw us on that freeway with Tomoko, alright. Took a while to reassure her that we're okay, and I hate keeping most of the details from her, but I did sign a nondisclosure agreement before General Sanchez introduced me to Arcee." June took another drink. "I did let it slip that you're dating someone, Jack. You were always so introverted before you met Arcee, and you know how Mom always nags about you having a normal life."

"Hah. I wouldn't be interested in a normal life anymore, even if I could remember what one felt like." Jack grinned and gave Arcee a kiss. "So, just how specific did you get?"

"Hah. Not very. I did tell her that you found your soulmate." June smiled and stared at her Sunny D. "I, uh, did let a detail or two slip. She kept pumping me for information--you know how she is. Told her that you're dating one of the alien robots. An adult one. That took a while for her to wrap her mind around it."

"I bet." Jack raised an eyebrow. "So, how did she react?"

"She was quiet for a while. Picking her jaw up off the floor, I suspect. Then she asked if you really love each other, and I didn't even hesitate." June glanced up at him and smiled. "You're both ready to give your lives for each other. I've seen that firsthand. If that's not real love, I don't know what is. So I told her, yes, absolutely. I did spare her all the harrowing tales of your many close calls and narrow escapes, though. And I didn't mention the age gap being thousands of years. Anyway Mom finally said, if you love each other that much, then it's all good. And of course, she was quick to remind me that I was thirteen when I got knocked up, so..."

Jack laughed. Arcee smiled.

"So, you're really okay with me and Jack? I know you've said you are, but--"

"I admit, there's still a small part of me that's kind of unsettled by this. But here's what I'm getting at. Mom also told me something I didn't know. About Jack's dad."

Jack stared at her and raised an eyebrow again.

"She wasn't planning to mention it to me, but when I talked about my...reservations about you and Arcee, she dropped a bombshell on me. When your dad and I...well, you know. When it happened, I thought he was seventeen, almost eighteen. Maybe even a little over eighteen."

"And? What did Grandma tell you?"

June took a deep breath. "He was actually twenty-seven."

"What?"

Arcee stared at her with both brow-plates elevated. After several seconds passed, she burst out laughing. "Oh, the plot thickens!" She took a bite of her taco and marveled at the never-before-experienced taste. Wish I'd had access to one of these bodies a long time ago.

"Well, back then, I thought he looked seventeen." June blushed again, and tugged on her shirt collar. "Ish."

"Twenty-seven?" Jack continued gaping at her.

"Twenty-seven." June sighed and took another long swig. "She found out a few years ago. Guess Facebook suggested him as a friend and she checked him out and found out his real age."

"Jesus Christ," Jack muttered. "Wow. You could totally nail him for statutory rape, then."

"Eh, what would be the point? It was sixteen years ago. Besides, I got the best son in the world out of it, so I'd say things worked out for the best." She grinned. "Anyway, once that sank in, I realized I'd be the biggest hypocrite in the world if I kept letting your age gap bug me. So, I'll adjust. Eventually. And if you two...you know...whenever you feel like you're ready, um...yeah. I won't give you any crap about it."

"Thanks, Mom." Jack smiled. "We're not rushing it, but whenever it happens, I'm glad I won't have to feel like it's something I'd be grounded for."

June snorted. "As long as you spare me the details. Need-to-know, right? And I don't." She grinned. "But yeah. Anyway. Mom put the whole thing into perspective. Exact words--'Preventing a horny teenager from fucking is like preventing a fish from swimming.' And she said I should know that better than anyone. So, how can I argue with logic like that?"

"Hah! I'll have to thank her next time I see her."

"Soon, I hope. She said she wants to meet Arcee whenever all this stuff is declassified."

Arcee smiled. "I'd like that."

Everyone fell silent for a few minutes. Arcee finished her taco, picked up a napkin, and gave herself a moment to enjoy the peace and quiet. It was astonishing, how much her life had changed since she and the other Autobots found Earth. Before, her entire life had been nothing but battle after battle, with nothing to look forward to except more of the same. But in a little over three years after that day, she'd discovered there was such a thing as downtime. And beautiful sunsets. And food. And moments like this, when she could take a few seconds to appreciate the simplest things, like a quiet evening with her new family.

Footsteps approached from the door, far behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and found Miko, Sierra, and Bulkhead's mini-me walking toward them, each carrying a try piled with food. Arcee almost chuckled.

And just like that, the magic is gone.

"Hey, guys." Miko and the others took seats at the table to Arcee's right. "I wanted to be the one to introduce Bulkhead to the wonderful world of unhealthy food, so here we are."

Bulkhead chuckled and stared at the burger, fries, and other items on his tray. "Dunno where to start."

Miko grinned and pointed a thumb at Sierra. "And she was just kind of hanging around, so we invited her over."

"Had to get away from the parents for a while." Sierra chuckled. "Having a look around on my own--well, the parts of the base I'm allowed into, at least." She blushed. "And I was kind of hoping Smokescreen might still be around."

"He's back at the Autobot base. I'll let him know you're looking for him, though."

"Cool." Sierra blushed.

"Oh, this is an interesting turn of events." Jack grinned.

Sierra laughed and shrugged. "Well, if you can have a crush on a giant alien robot, so can I." She stuck her tongue out at him, then she giggled.

"Hey, I've got no problem with it." Jack grinned. "So, what's up? Aside from the odds of Smokescreen losing his virginity?"

Sierra blushed again, and burst into laugher. Miko chuckled.

"Well, we've been filling Bulkhead in about Weird Walter."

June's eyes opened wider. She screwed the cap back onto her Sunny D bottle and set it aside. Arcee chuckled.

"Weird Walter? Oh, he's the guy who tried to return a box of rubbers, right?"

"That's him."

"Huh." Bulkhead shrugged. "Can't believe I spent so much time in and around Jasper, and never heard of the guy until now."

"He's kind of a harmless version of Trevor in Grand Theft Auto V. Well, mostly harmless."

"Ah." Arcee glanced at Jack. "I never really noticed the guy back when we were in Jasper. I'm guessing he does stuff like the condom-return thing fairly often?"

"Oh, boy, does he ever."

Miko grinned. "I've always thought his most glorious moment was the day he got high on embalming fluid and tried to fuck a picnic table."

June burst out laughing and slumped over the table. Jack, Sierra, and Arcee joined in. Bulk clamped his hands over his optics.

"Gaaaah! Gonna need a memory wipe to get that image out of my head."

June, still slumped over with her head on her forearm, pointed at the cap on her bottle. "That was a good call."

Sierra snickered. "I bet you anything the ER surgeons have had to extract some interesting objects from that guy's asshole."

June grimaced. "Oh,eww!"

"Hey, I _know_you've had to deal with stuff like that before, Mom." Jack reached over and nudged her shoulder.

"Yeah, with quite a few people, unfortunately. I just had some serious flashbacks."

Miko flashed a wicked grin at her. "So...?"

"Nope. Can't. Patient confidentiality." June made a zipping-her-lips gesture and stared straight ahead.

Everyone else laughed again. Arcee put her arm around Jack's shoulders and smiled.

Nah, the magic's not gone. After everything we've gone through lately, I think this is just what we needed. She glanced around at the others. Yeah. I could definitely use more evenings like this.