Ruby - Origins - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Metal Alloys

Ruby stepped back, staring at Sideswipe in disbelief. Her mouth worked to say something, anything;

"I don't think I'm going to turn into a car any time soon-"

The screech of straining metal pierced Ruby's ears as the huge hanger door opened. Optimus, Ironhide and Ratchet rolled into the hanger. They transformed and hurried over to them.

"How do you feel?" Optimus asked Ruby. Ruby repeated to him what she had already said to Sideswipe;

"Pretty normal, really, just, sort of lighter, like gravity doesn't bother with me so much,"

Optimus held out his hand to her and said, "May I?"

Ruby swiftly clambered up and sat in his palm, expecting to be hit with another wave of shivers from touching his cold metal, but she was OK. Optimus lifted her up to his eye level. He scanned her with blue light from his visuals and it scattered off the sequins of her top. 

She flinched, panic rising in her throat. She felt the same. Had the bracelet failed? Had she failed? Maybe this was all a mistake.

The other autobots, and Ruby, watched his expression, eagerly awaiting his verdict.

"Hmm," said Optimus.

He did not say anything more.

 "Well," said Ratchet, "What do you think?"

Everyone leaned in closer to Optimus. Ruby's heart pounded from where she stood in Optimus' hand.

"It's very interesting," he said, "Maybe you would like to look for yourself."

Optimus held out his hand containing Ruby to the yellow autobot. Carefully, she clambered across. Ruby held onto Ratchet's index finger, worrying about slipping off.

Ratchet scanned Ruby with light from his own optics. It tickled. "Ahh!" he exclaimed, pleasantly surprised.

Ruby gritted her teeth. Were they ever going to actually tell her what they saw with their weird lights? Or were they going to keep passing her about like an animal in a petting zoo?

"Er, hello?" she snapped, "Do you want to tell me what's happened to me, or can I go and get something to eat while you decide?" Her stomach rumbled as if to prove her point.

"Your entire body contains metal alloys!" Ratchet said excitedly, "It lines your skeleton, is embedded in your muscles and encloses your blood vessels and organs, it's fascinating!"

Ruby's irritation vanished, replaced with surprise, "I'm made of...metal?"

She looked at Optimus, "Is this really true?"

He looked down at her, reassurance engraved into his metal expression,

"An organic being with a cybertanium skeleton," he said, more to himself than to her, "It's something else entirely, incredible, I wonder what else..."

Ruby, still in Ratchet's palm, looked down at her upturned hands again. She could see her metal veins more clearly now, beneath her pale skin, they shimmered slightly. A small smile appeared on her face. Hard metal was more durable than squishy flesh. Surely, that made her strong. But it didn't make sense; she felt lighter, but metal must be heavy than bone?

She looked past her hands, down at the floor, a good fifteen feet away. An idea flickered in her head. Before she could talk herself out of it, Ruby jumped from Ratchet's hand.

The autobots rushed forward, but they were too late. The fall wouldn't kill her, but broken legs were quite likely. 

The sickening snap didn't happen. Ruby landed graciously on the ground, rocking on the balls of her feet as she straightened up. A huge grin spread across her face. She beamed up into the shocked faces of the autobots, frozen with their heads bent over her, their eyes glowing. Ironhide's hand was outreached; he had made the quickest attempt to catch her.

"That, was, AWESOME!" she exclaimed, breaking the stunned silence. The autobots stared at her in awe for a moment longer, and then Optimus said, "We are going to have to test this."