Chapter Text
June stifled a groan as she got up off the cot and made her way to the bathroom in what had been labeled, temporarily she hoped, the "Maximals' Den". The week following the fall of Darkmount was decidedly hectic for the Autobots and Maximals. It began a couple days afterwards with an experimental armored truck, apparently called 'convoy 8-4' being brought in for Optimus to scan as his new vehicle mode. Fowler had also seriously put his foot in his mouth by bringing Raf and Mikos' things from their homes that day as well, inadvertently rubbing salt in the fresh emotional wounds in regard to their families
June had been as good as her word to all three of her 'children'. She'd put in for some emergency time off from the hospital to be there for them. Going so far as to sleep on a decidedly uncomfortable cot near the kids' makeshift berths, the Cybertronian equivalent of a bed, and living out of a suitcase. The day Fowler brought everything she kept close to the trio. Between her and Jack they'd been able to distract the other two from the drama of what had happened with their families.
With Miko it was a matter of asking about her feelings for Jack. Miko, reluctantly at first, told her about her slow fall into love with her son as she sifted through the boxes looking for the few of her worldly possessions she wanted. When she came to their time in captivity June complimented her gung-ho attitude towards confessing, and the thought process around her attempts to help them escape. Miko laughed when June told her she'd have to show her Jacks' baby pictures when she got a chance, causing the part time Lion bot to groan.
In Rafs' case, Jack decided to keep him busy, after he pulled what he wanted from his boxes, by rigging up the videogame system. The tools in Rafs' hands made adapting the human sized console to retro-engineered controllers he'd built out of scrap around the base to fit their hands easy. What followed was Raf thoroughly trouncing Jack at their favorite racing game. Afterwards Bumblebee joined them for the first time ever, leaving both boys in the dust as Miko and June laughed at their commentary.
The next day, however, brought somber news. Optimus had called the three into a meeting to explain that apparently, their classmates Vincent, Sierra, and her friend Allison were reported missing. He also explained that there was a good possibility that they were taken by the Decepticons, based on what they'd said about their talk with Vector Sigma.
All three Maximals had somewhat mixed emotions about this news. Despite being bullied by Vince repeatedly over the last few years, none of them wanted to wish what they'd been put through on anyone. Jack had surprised Raf and Miko when he admitted that he and Vince were friends when they were around Rafs' age. The death of Vinces' father had caused the other boy to act out and ultimately drove a wedge between them, leading to their current level of animosity. June had always lamented the fact that the two had such a falling out.
Miko had felt guilty at the fact that she'd disliked Sierra so strongly because of Jacks' infatuation with her. Jack and June had to remind her that the odds of someone else being kidnapped by the Decepticons was already high considering their desire to use humans to replenish their troops. Finally, June figured out why Miko was reacting so strongly. Taking her aside she put the young femme at ease by reminding her that no matter how it looked, she hadn't brought what happened upon the other girl, the Decepticons did. Miko felt a little better at that.
Raf simply wasn't sure what to think or how to feel. He'd been bullied pretty bad by Vince in school, but not to the level Jack was. At the revelation of Jacks old friendship with him he felt even more confused. Bumblebee simply said that that was a normal part of growing up. Unfortunately, that didn't stop Raf feeling bad over feeling nothing for his classmates' potential fate.
Coming back from the bathroom June thought about a conversation she'd had with Arcee that afternoon. She'd been pulled aside by the Autobot and brought up to speed about her call to a Cybertronian psychologist that she'd hoped could help the three. Apparently, he was coming alongside additional reinforcements from the Autobots. This, she hoped, would be a good idea. Between what had happened to those three and all the new they'd received since; she knew they'd need professional help. Hopefully they accepted it.
Hearing a thud, she ran the rest of the way back to the makeshift bunks to find that Jack had fallen off onto the floor. Adding to the trouble he was writhing and rapidly transforming between his lion and robot modes. At times it looked like he was trying to do both at once. A quick glance told her that the other two were twitching in their sleep as well and didn't hear the commotion.
"Jack" June yelled, running to her son. Avoiding the spasming mess of limbs and tail that her son currently was, she got up to one of his shoulders and shook it as hard as possible. Jacks' eyes sprung open and he leapt backwards, springing into his lion mode and growling as he did. From the look of it, Jack didn't know where he was. "It's okay sweetie, it's okay, you're safe. It was only a nightmare." She said softly, trying to sooth her distressed son.
Looking around Jack saw that he wasn't back in Knockouts' lab like he was in his nightmare. He took a deep breath and let it out several times before he was relaxed completely. "Sorry mom, I dreamed we were back in Knockouts' lab about to be dissected." Taking another breath, he transformed back into his robot mode, although still on all fours. June nodded, that was an understandable cause for a nightmare. She went up to him and hugged him around the neck, a hug he returned with one arm. She'd be damned if that monster got his hands on any of her children again.
A few moments later Miko let loose a scream that caused both of them to jump to their feet. Looking over they saw that she was sitting straight up on her berth, tears rolling down her face. Seeing Jack and June coming towards her she curled up into a ball, tearfully muttering in Japanese. This also had the side effect of waking Raf who sat up panting and shaking if fear like Miko was, a sign that he'd been in the throes of a night terror as well.
The sound of roaring engines and the tell-tale sounds of transformation signaled that Mikos' scream had summoned the Autobots from the hangar next door. The door opened and Arcee, followed closely by Bumblebee and Bulkhead ran into the hangar with Ratchet and Optimus bringing up the rear. Wheeljack, Smokescreen, and Ultra Magnus had left earlier with some of Fowlers' Men to acquire more food for the three Maximals earlier that day.
As the first three Autobots went to their respective charges Jack had calmed Miko down enough to tell him about her nightmare. "My parents were having parts cut out of me and auctioning them off. I begged them to stop but they just kept going." She took a shuddering breath. "Then I saw you two were next to be cut up and." She choked out the rest and started crying again as Jack wrapped his arms around her and began to purr in hopes of calming her. She'd poked fun of him for "being such a pussy...cat" at first, but right now, it was comforting to hear. It was a sign that they were alive and safe.
Bulkhead crouched down to put a servo on her shoulder. "It's alright now Miko." Bulkhead reassured her as Jack took her hand. "We made sure that the only ones who know you three are here are us, and Fowler. Everyone else thinks you were moved somewhere else two days ago." This had been done to throw off any possibility that Sector Seven of some other Mercenaries would come after them.
While they calmed Miko down, Bumblebee was helping Raf. "I know it wasn't real Bee, I don't know why I reacted the way I did." Raf Grumbled irritably. At Bumblebees' beeping for an explanation Raf replied. "I dreamed I was being used as a sideshow freak to make money. Like I said it was just downright dumb." He finished shaking his head.
"Actually, none of your nightmares are 'dumb' Rafael." Ratchet interrupted. Drawing everyone's' attention. "From what I can tell you three are suffering a type of, in Earth terms, PTSD. The dreams and night terrors you three experienced are symptoms of it. Additional symptoms could include flashbacks, irritability, and increased anxiety."
Optimus interrupted. "Is there anything that can help them, old friend?" He didn't like that the three of them were suffering. Least of all because their situation was at least partly his fault. Megatron knew the children were close to the Autobots, and by extension, him. Again, he mentally berated himself for leaving the three of them unprotected.
"There are treatments." Ratchet replied with a sigh. "Unfortunately, I'm not a psychologist or a Mnemosurgeon, I wouldn't know where to begin. To use nurse Darby for example, it would be like her attempting brain surgery. I could just as easily cause more damage."
Arcee and June looked at each other. June nodded and Arcee cleared her throat. "Actually, that's something I was going to talk to them about." She turned to the others. "Among the reinforcements coming to Earth is an Autobot psychologist by the name of Rung. He specializes in Post body modification therapy." She explained, emphasizing on their new forms. "But he has expanded to helping those with PTSD. If you want, he can help the three of you with what you're going through now."
The room was silent for a few moments. Even Jacks' purring had ceased. The various occupants of the room looked at each other before Jack spoke up. "How well do you trust this bot Arcee?" He questioned. "Can we trust him?"
Arcee nodded, it was a fair question. "I was a patient of his before the war broke out on Cybertron. I kept up with him until shortly before we had to leave Cybertron. Believe me you three, he can be trusted."
The three Maximals looked at each other. Miko spoke up first. "Alright, I'll do it. But if I hear 'and how does that make you feel too many times I'm out." Jack and Raf snorted a little at this while June shook her head.
Jack looked at the femme in his arms, then back to Arcee. "I'm in Arcee. I don't think we can keep going on like this anyway. How about you Raf?" He asked looking at their large friend. Raf just nodded his agreement. He'd never been to a psychologist before, hopefully it would work. He didn't want to admit it, but that nightmare worried him more than he was letting on. With that the four settled back into an uneasy sleep with Bumblebee and Arcee staying to help in case of more nightmares.
Distraction from these events came the next day in the form of Optimus and Fowler having wreckage from Darkmount brought to their new base. Ratchet had been borderline ecstatic about the raw materials and equipment being trucked in as he and the team sorted and stored it. Not the least of which was the fortress' space bridge, which was set up in record time with Rafs' help. Although he lamented the fact the Enigma of Combination was apparently removed before their attack.
He and Wheeljack had taken over the hangar next to the kids and begun to convert it into a combination med bay and research lab. Hopefully they'd be assisted by the science crew of the Lost Light when they arrived. With luck, they might be able to figure out some way to help their charges, perhaps even reverse the transformation should the need arise. While Jack, Miko, and Raf knew that, whatever forms they were in, their lives were forever changed, the prospect of possibly being human again was tempting. Even if it meant, as Miko put it. "Spending a lot of time on the 'turn your head and cough' circuit."
Meanwhile on the Nemesis. Shockwave had already begun work of Project Predacon 2.0. While his initial attempts with the sparkless Vehicon bodies had failed, the first two exploding when the Enigma tried to combine them with CNA from the Predacon, he'd found that using Earths' deoxy variant of CNA (which he now called DNA) in conjunction with raw cyber matter, seemed to stabilize the bodies to the point where spark reintegration was possible. Admittedly including a Vehicle alt mode in addition to the beast one was a stroke of genius, and one that would make reintegration easier. It also furthered his research into Cybertronians with multiple alt modes.
The humans he'd had Soundwave retrieve however, were another story. Ignoring their screams and pleading was easy enough, but from what he could tell there was something missing from his experiments that had been present in Knockouts' initial one. He'd tried to replace it by combining the humans with cyber matter individually and with DNA from different sources. He'd created not the protoform hybrids Knockout created, but what looked like Techno Organic monsters based on the lifeforms the added DNA was sourced from. Despite the alterations he'd attempted he wasn't able to recreate the process and had the highly aggressive subjects placed into stasis pods.
Finally, he reported to Megatron. "Lord Megatron." He began, walking onto the Nemesis bridge where He and Starscream had been planning. I have promising news on Project Predacon 2.0." He knew that Megatron already knew about the failed human hybrids. He also knew that this news would impress him.
Megatron looked at Shockwave. "You have a completed warrior?" He asked curiously. He knew that Shockwave was nothing but efficient, but it had only been a week.
Shockwave shook his head. "Negative. I present three." He stood to the side to allow the three new Predacon hybrids Make their entrance. "May I introduce, Infernus, Waspinator, and Terrorsaur." The three entered the bridge and stood before Megatron.
Megatron took a look at his three augmented soldiers. While not as polished as the Autobots' human pets had looked, they looked like they could be quite powerful. "An interesting result Shockwave." He turned to the trio. "Predacons, sound off." He commanded pointing to the one on his left. It was mostly Purple and red and seemed like a flyer.
"I am Terrorsaur lord Megatron." The flyer began in a somewhat raspy voice. "And I must say it is an honor to be serving you, and I thank you for granting me this new body to fight in. With our combined might, the Autobots will be crushed beneath our feet." To accentuate this, he flipped into a form that looked like a cross between a bird and a Predacon. Following that he folded into what looked like a jet mode similar to the standard flyer Vehicon.
Shockwave interceded. "I found I was able to combine CNA from the Predacon with DNA fragments of an extinct Earth animal called a Pterosaur. The two were, surprisingly compatible. The beast mode is capable of high maneuverability and evasiveness, while the flying alt mode is capable of reaching Mach 2 easily. An ability set shared with Waspinator." He finished motioning to the next bot in line.
Megatron nodded and turned to the red and black bot in the middle. It looked like a combination of another flyer with some kind of insecticon. "My name izzz waspinator." He said changing into his apparent wasp mode, emphasizing his name. "And I, like the Kizzz bot over there, I look forward to zzzerving the Decepticons with honorzz." Waspinator answered folding into a jet mode similar to Terrrorsaurs', and buzzing every few sylables.
Megatron nodded. Despite the annoying speech pattern, this Predacon could well be quite useful. He turned to the third and final Predacon. A red, orange, and purple insecticon mashup with drills covering its' hands. "And you soldier?"
The final one saluted, then transformed into a giant ant. "I am Infernus my queen." He announced in a regal voice. "And any order you give, shall be happily executed." He transformed again, this time into a tank with the drills on the front end.
Megatron turned to Shockwave with a raised brow as all three Predacons switched back into robot modes. "I have reason to believe that his beast modes' instincts have infected some of Infernus' higher functions. However, as he sees you as the 'queen' of the Decepticon 'hive', I do not believe this will be an issue.
Megatron nodded. "Such strong loyalty and devotion, you could learn a thing or two Starscream." He said over his shoulder to his aerospace commander and second in command, causing him to growl and turn back to his console. He turned back to Shockwave. "An excellent showing Shockwave. Do you require any additional resources before continuing your experiments?"
Shockwave nodded. "While the original Predacon has thawed out and is currently enroute back to the Nemesis, I wish to gather some additional varieties of Predacon CNA to further my research. I released several Predacons on this planet millions of years ago and, though fossilized, I wish to retrieve the remains."
Starscrem laughed. "Oh, that should be easy. It shouldn't take more than a few thousand cycles to find what you're looking for." He said sarcastically.
Shockwave looked at him. "Starscream, did you really think that I didn't have them chipped when I released them?"
That Shut him up. "Wait really?"
Megatron looked at Shockwave. "Then that shall be your new Predacons' first mission. Shockwave will provide the coordinates and he, Starscream, and Knockout will each take one Predacon and a contingent of Vehicons to each location. Shockwave, those failed experiments with the humans you have in stasis pods, give one of them to each group as well. If the Autobots show up to try and stop you, releasing them should give you enough of a distraction to get the fossil and get back to base."
As Starscream and the Predacons left to gather the required troops Megatron held Shockwave back. "Was there anything else you needed that didn't come up?" He had a feeling Predacon CNA was only a part of what Shockwave really required.
"Indeed, lord Megatron." Shockwave began. "I wish to test two theories that I have developed. First, I wish to see how a Cybertronian reacts to the augmentation while the spark is in the body. Second, I wish to see if a resurrected Terrorcon can be augmented in the same manner."
Megatron nodded. If Terrorcons could be enhanced that way too, then he'd have a strike force of near unstoppable, undead monsters that he'd have absolute control of. "I think I have just the cadaver in mind. A good thing too, since I don't think Knockout would let us use Breakdowns' body for that. Did you have someone in mind for your, other experiment?" He asked, thinking he could volunteer Starscream if not.
Shockwave nodded. "I checked on the roster of prisoners still in stasis on Luna 1, and noticed that we have Rampage, the Ripper of Rivets Field, still imprisoned. His aggressiveness would make him a good candidate, and I have a, unique, safety measure in mind that should keep him firmly under our control."
Megatron repressed a small shudder, he'd read about that bot. As much carnage as he saw as a gladiator, the thought of Rampage still unnerved him a little. As desperate as he'd been in the beginning of his gladiatorial career, he'd never resorted to cannibalism. Let alone the fact Rampage did it for fun rather than survival for survival. Airachnid hadn't even been that twisted a hunter. Although the two would get along swimmingly if she weren't imprisoned as well.
"Very well." He Growled. "I just hope your method of control is a damned good one." With that, Shockwave turned and left the bridge. Going to the ship intercom he pulled up the med bay. "Knockout, before you leave, please bring Dreadwings' corpse to Shockwaves' lab." He cut the link before any reply was heard, knowing his medic heard him. "One way or another, this will be an excellent display of what happens to traitors to the Decepticon cause."