Ruby - Transformers: The Last Knight

Time Warp

Ruby stared at the phone. The gravity of the situation dawned on her. Very soon, there would be no planet, and no gravity to hold the world together. And a deep feeling, an instinct, told her it would be her actions, and her alone, who would ultimately determine Earth's fate. 

She had to protect Cade and the token. That was the key. One wrong decision and, poof, no more planet. They all stared at her, waiting.

Ruby passed the phone back to the old man and nodded.

"Alright. Bee, you're with me and Cade on this, er, plane," 

It was perhaps rude to call it a flying death trap out loud. 

"Crosshairs, Hound, protect Tom and Tessa, I have no doubt TRF and the decepticons will use them to lure us out. Drift, we need you back in the ship, search the skies, report any signals you pick up - anything. Where's Grimlock?"

"Decepticon watch," said Hound, "He's a good guard dog."

"We need him to provide a distraction to ensure we get air-bound without being followed."

"Hang on, who put you in charge? What if I don't want to get in the plane?" said Cade, "I should find Tessa,"

"Fine. Stay here, do that," snapped Ruby, her ever-mounting temper getting the better of her mouth, "Lead every decepticon who is after that token straight to her."

"You take it!" Cade threw the coin at her, expecting it to bounce harmlessly off her chest.

Instead it shocked Ruby so violently flashes of lightning cackled across her body. She fell to her knees. The token plonked back at Cade's feet.

"Cade!" said Drift, "What's gotten into you?!"

Ruby got back to her feet, trying to breathe and ignoring the smell of burning hair.

"I'm sorry!" cried Cade, pocketing the token, "Sorry! I just don't want any of this, not again!"

"It chose you Cade, you don't have a choice, and neither do I."

But she got it. She didn't have the right to give out orders. She wasn't Optimus. But he wasn't here, and everyone was going to die.

An ear-shattering roar split the tension. Ruby gritted her teeth against the metallic reverb ringing through her body.

"Grimlock says the decepticons are back on their feet," said Hound, raising his gun in the direction of the town.

"Well darn," said the old man, "They'll see us fly off and follow, aha," he held up a finger, "But I have just the ticket!"

He pulled a dark green bulb out of his pocket and held it out to Ruby. It looked like a grenade, but Hound had plenty of those, more than triple the size, and they wouldn't put down a decepticon. Ruby hesitated.

"Here, take it, go on,"

He rolled it into her palm. It felt lighter than the usual explosive.

"Throw that, and run," he explained, "It has rather a poor radius, about twenty meters, but it'll give us enough to time to escape unseen. Don't stop to watch. We'll get ready for take off. Now hurry!"

His sudden change in voice spurred Ruby into action. She sprinted back into the tangle of broken buildings, doubling back on herself until she ended up behind Megatron and Barricade.

The angry robots stomped down the high street, sending debris rolling and bricks tumbling.

"The token isn't far, I can smell them!" roared Megatron. 

Ruby didn't wait to hear more. She rotated her throwing arm a couple of times, then flung the green bulb the full length of the street. It went faster than a bullet and burrowed into the tarmac between the two of them. Ruby darted for cover.

No boom rocked the ground. Instead, there was a strange sucking of air, like a drain being unblocked. Ruby stuck her head out and her jaw dropped.

Megatron and Barricade were frozen in motion poses inside a large blue dome. It rippled like water. Megatron faced her, a sinister pincer-like hand reaching out. It was as if he had suddenly turned to stone. His red eyes glowed through the blue veil, looking at her and seething over what she'd done to him. And that's when she saw the blue dome shrinking. 

Don't stop to watch.

Ruby ran for the plane, her body blurring with the speed. It was already moving, lining up on the runway, choking her airways with black smoke. Hound, Crosshairs and Drift were already green and black specs in the distance. Ruby gathered her legs beneath her like springs and bounded into the open door.

"What was that?" gasped Ruby, catching her breath with her hands on her thighs. The plane smelt more rotten inside.

"Hm?"

"The grenade-that-wasn't-a-grenade? The freeze bomb? The decepticon trapper? Does it have a name?"

"Oh that old hat, pretty trick isn't it?"

"How does it work?"

The man shrugged and closed his eyes.

Cade finished bolting Bee down when the nose of the plane lifted. They were away. Ruby did not feel better.

"So, where are we going?" asked Cade, his voice too high, trying to forget he'd electrocuted the girl who could flatten entire cities with one hiccup.

"No idea," said Ruby, "Wait, who's flying?"

The man stayed silent and still. Fast asleep. Or dead. Ruby decided she didn't want to check and instead went to inspect the cockpit.