Prodigal Son

chapter 3

Agent Fowler groaned, rubbing his temple.
"..... Okay. Let me see if I got this right. The AI replica of a madman from victorian times who discovered almost-immortality, became a world conquering tyrant in an alternate timeline, then got taken to France in the future by Jules Verne, sealed an AI of himself inside a videogame, then got out, was locked in a freezer for a few months, broke out, proceeded to hijack the most secure facility in the entire state of Maine, then put itself inside it's own robot as a body, kidnapped your son, then MIND CONTROLLED him to be sure he'd be an obedient partner?"
Charlie rubbed his neck, leading Fowler inside.
".... Yeah, that's... About it."
".... I officially take back everything bad I have ever said about Miko. I'd take her stunts over this any day."
"I mean, you've tried having Griffin Rock legally declared a disaster area at least 8 times in the last decade, so... Are you really surprised?"
Charlie led him inside, to where they'd set up the base of operations.
"Salvage is on call in the Mainland facility, The Greenes made a run to the lab, Heatwave and Kade went out on water patrol, and everyone is running all sorts of errands. We're... A bit scattered right now, trying to cover as much ground as possible."
Optimus followed as Charlie led everybody in, taking in the surroundings.
The equipment set up was obviously rushed, tables strewn about randomly, computer monitors on the verge of falling over, cables being a tripping hazard across the floor.
That wasn't counting the maps barely attached to the walls, and the large standing bulletin board in the center of the room, with attached schematics of the Older Model Moor-Bots, and notes taken on the remaining phones in the B.L.F.
Grief had taken it's toll on the team, whether they realized it or not.
Something caught Optimus's optics, and he turned to the room's corner.
Leaned over a table, Frankie seemed entirely focused on something in front of her, the occasional spark flying or flash of light.
Optimus took in Chief Burns making formal introductions to everyone for Agent Fowler, Blades taking bumblebee aside and making painful explanations, and Graham and Dani approaching Rafael.
Slowly, he walked over to the corner.
"Francine Greene?"
Frankie suddenly jolted, jumping right out of her chair.
"GAH! Optimus?!"
He back up, raising his hands.
"Apologies, I did not intend to startle you."
Frankie sighed, pushing the chair aside. Optimus recognized the jacket slung over the back of the chair, his optics widening.
Frankie's eyes were swollen, dark circles under them. She looked like she hadn't slept, or taken many breaks.
"... Are... Are you alright?"
Frankie looked away, rubbing her neck.
".... I'm fine, Optimus. I just.... Want Cody back."
She glanced over at the table, and he followed her gaze.
"I've been fixing up a few things. His Comn link and hoverboard got fried from the ocean, I got them working again."
Optimus thought for a moment, then got down on one knee, much to Frankie's confusion.
"Francine. You are very close to Cody Burns. I have ... Been informed that you were the last to see him, and the only to truly experience his present condition. This is a trying time. I.... Expect that it must be weighing heavily upon you."
She clenched her jaw, then sat back down, turning away sharply.
"I'm said I'm fine. Better than he is, anyway."
"Francine. It is okay to grieve."
Frankie picked up the Comm link, then sighed, rubbing her head.
".... I was right there. Right. There. But he got away. I failed him. I couldn't save my best friend, and now we have no idea if we can even get him back."
"Presently, you must not lose hope. Nor must you blame yourself. You did all that you could. His thoughts being altered was not a change you could've forseen."
The comm clattered back to the table, as Frankie raked her hands across her scalp.
"... But .... He's gone.... My best friend is gone because I couldn't move fast enough!!! I promised him I'd have his back!! I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to him!!! I SHOULD'VE DONE SOMETHING!!!! I SHOULD'VE DONE MORE!!! but....."
Frankie slumped over in the chair, her breath tight, before she grabbed the back of the chair, pulling off the jacket and bringing it close.
".... He's gone.... He's gone...."
"You are not alone. This is a devastating loss, one that has reached you all in different ways."
Frankie wiped her eyes, snapping,
"What, like how Heatwave and Kade spend every second on patrol? Or how Dani punches the Moor-Bot blueprints when she thinks nobody's looking?"
"Frankie."
Optimus tenderly reached out, his large index finger delicately trailing her chin.
His optics were soft, his voice gentle as he said,
"Dwelling on the past only corrupts the future. You are grieving. You cannot hold yourself accountable for circumstance and tragedy. I do not believe Cody would wish this pain upon you."
Frankie's breath hitched, and slowly, tears started streaming down her face.
".... He's gone."
She buried her face in the jacket, and started sobbing loudly.
Optimus pulled away, softly saying, "I believe the human term is, "let it out."."
"Frankie!!!"
Charlie ran over, and after registering the jacket clutched in Frankie's hands, and tears rolling down her face, he imedianty turned on his comn.
"Doc, you and Anna better get back here soon, Frankie needs you."
"We'll be over soon! We just locked down the lab systems, we're hoping to prevent more data breaches from the Virus."
Frankie took a deep breath, then asked,
"Can I see that?"
Charlie didn't hesitate, handing it over imedianty.
Frankie took the Comn, and whispered,
"Daddy..... I miss him...."
Doc was quiet a moment, then replied with remorse.
".... I know, my little Archimedes. I know. I'll be back soon, I promise you."
Frankie smiled, then wiped her eyes. The call ended, and she went to hand back the Comn, but found herself in a tight hug from Chief Burns.
He held her tight, saying gently,
"Frankie, I need you to know how proud I am of you."
"... You are?"
He pulled away slightly, gripping her shoulders as he said firmly,
"You did a very brave thing. You could've gotten yourself killed, and while I can't condone those risks, it was a very brave thing you did. And you did it because you care about him.
Please know this. I don't blame you whatsoever for the Bot slipping away. I could never. Nobody Blames you. How could we?"
Frankie took a moment to digest his words, then gave a weak smile.
"... Thank you."
Charlie only smiled, handing her a tissue.
"No. Thank you."
Frankie glanced behind her, and grabbed her two projects.
"Oh, you probably want these. I just fixed them up."
Charlie stared at the repaired Comn Tab and Comn link, then to her surprise, he pushed the Tab back to her, before taking the link and clipping it to the collar of her suit.
"Why don't you hold onto these, for now?"
"Are... Are you sure?"
Charlie only smiled.
"Positive."
Frankie looked at the Tab, then trailed a hand over the front controls.
With a deep breath, she stood up, draped Cody's jacket back over the chair, and activated the Hoverboard setting on the Tab.
"We're coming, Cody. We're coming."
-
"Hey, thanks for giving me a hand!"
"No problem!"
Graham took half of a large Equipment trunk, Raf taking the other, while Dani walked beside them, holding a large crate of miscellaneous parts.
Gram struggled a bit, but soildered on.
"I can't thank you enough for helping us save Cody. You don't even know us, but you're willing to do all this?"
Raf smiled, pausing a second to catch his breath.
"Hey, it's the right thing to do."
Dani smirked, then lightly nudged his shoulder.
"So, what was it like being on Team Prime? You're Bumblebee's old partner, right?"
"Yup! And ... Unusual. It was pretty chaotic, but serious. Saw some pretty bad things, had some seriously close calls. But ... I met my closest friends. I saw things nobody else would. It was pretty scary, but I think I became a braver, more assertive person, because I met the people I did and had those experiences."
They sat the case down by the firehouse entrance, and Dani dropped the crate, as Graham and Raf started delicately opening it up.
"After the Autobots left, Agent Fowler got us all in proper agent training. We officially established Sector E, which is now the official government branch for Human Cybertronian Relations. Jack and Miko, my friends, are the top field agents, and were just appointed official diplomats of Cybertron. They're actually on a mission right now, or else Optimus probably would've asked them too."
Dani smirked, asking, "How about you? Punch a Decepticon in the face or something?"
Rafael flushed, laughing nervously.
"Oh, no, heh. I'm mostly just the IT Guy nowadays. I do handle some communications, and have had a couple missions too, but I'm comfortable with staying on tech support."
Graham gave him a knowing look.
"Trust me, I get it. Just never forget, the tech side is just as important as the field work."
"Of course!"
Dani absently rummaged through the crate, her expression slowly darkening.
"... Hey ... Can I ask what exactly you and Fowler are going to do? We can't track Cody, his comm and comn tab were in the jacket, and we found his phone in the command center."
Rafael paused, then nodding, looking down at the equipment.
"First of all, we're spreading word, trying to spread Cody's description. Of course, we can't mention all the details, but spreading word about a kidnapped boy could get us a sighting."
"Right.... Right..."
"And, we're working on ways to immobilize the Moor-Bot on sight. We're thinking a concentrated EMP might be enough to take out the AI without Harming Cody. The problem, however, would be keeping the Cybertronians from getting hurt. After all, they're succeptible to EMPs too."
Dani nodded, then forced a smile.
"Yeah... Yeah. I'm sure we'll get him. After all, Cody once fought the entire town alone while we were all controlled. Yeah, that's it. All we have to do is smash the phone and he'll be fine, right?"
-
"I am sorry, Cody. This will be quite painful."
The Moor-Bot paced about, before holding up a small metal device.
"But, as humans oft say... What does not kill you.... Makes you stronger."
Cody sat upright on the cot, blankly staring ahead as he faced his "partner".
"As useful as Madeline Pinch's phone is, it's flawed. Your mental functions are greatly diminished, with minimal free thought. A tool like this has it's uses, but..... I require more. I require... You. Therefore.... I have taken notes, and improved.
I do not need to suppress you, Cody. I need to... Redirect you."
The Moor-Bot paced around the cot, eying the items placed around it.
A heart rate monitor connected to Cody's chest, the results shown by a screen connected to the wires.
In similar fashion, a few wires were attached to his forehead, monitoring brainwave patterns.
"Lay down, dear boy."
His eyes hollow, Cody did as instructed. He turned onto his stomach, taking care not to crush the wires.
The Moor-Bot tugged his shirt collar down, exposing his neck in full. Carefully, with it's large fingers, it wiped down the area with a disenfectant wipe.
"Begin activation."
The device was a small chip, square in shape, with a slight curve.
It had a grey body, with a smaller purple box in the center.
But most ominous, were the long needles poking out of the back.
"Subject: Cody Burns. Attempted: Complete neural rewiring."
With that, it leaned over, and slowly pushed the needles through his skin, until the back of the chip was flush against his skin.
Cody tensed, hissing loudly from pain.
Yet, he didn't move.
"Activate Nervous Link."
The purple detail on the chip's back lit up, glowing vibrantly.
Suddenly, Cody bolted upright, gasping as his eyes and veins glowed a vibrant purple.
He ripped the monitor wires from his chest and forehead, screaming as he thrashed about, grabbing his head from pain.
The Moor-Bot only watched, frowning slightly.
Slowly, cody gradually stopped fighting, the purple in his eyes shining brilliantly, before his eyes closed, and he passed out.
The room's main console lit up, and the bot looked over.
Link established. Neural redirection in process.
The bot matched over, delicately picking up the unconscious boy, laying him back onto the cot.
Then, it laughed.
It grabbed the phone off the floor, and without second thought, crushed the phone between it's fingers, the mangled debris dropping to the floor in pieces.
"Oh... Clever man, that Doctor Morocco...."