[Book One] Destined for More

Chapter Six _ Mission City, aka Chaos

We eventually arived in Mission City. We briefly stopped at a pawnshop called Rhonda's, and I watched in confusion as, after a few minutes, Lennox came running out with a series of old radios. There wasn't much else they could get their hands on at the moment, so the soldiers had to settle for the 'dinosaur radios', as they enjoyed calling them.

As we came to a stop, the seatbelts unhooked and we exited the car. After the front seat popped back up, I put the Cube on it. "I'm leaving this here, alright?" I said, patting it a few times. Bumblebee let out a few whirrs, I smiled and closed the door. I then approached Sam and Mikaela. Military vehicles were pulling up all around us, and the soldiers were getting ready with quick but calculated movements. Within a few minutes they were armed up, positioned and awaiting orders.

"Air Force has arrived! Pop smoke!" Lennox shouted.

"Raptor, Raptor, do you copy?" Epps spoke into the radio as green smoke started raising from the ground around us.

Someone was listening on the other side. "We have your visual. Green smoke is the mark. Provide air cover and vector Black Hawks for extraction."

A few jets flew over us, with more making their way in the distance. One of them soon separated from the others and was starting to fly very low in between buildings, headed right towards us.

"Uh, guys-" I approached Lennox and Epps, pointing at the plane. "I-is that normal? It's... flying a bit low." They both turned around, and their confused and worried expressions were enough of an answer.

As if to confirm the trouble, Ironhide transformed close by, warning us: "It's Starscream!"

I looked up at him, then at the soldiers, then back at the sky. "Great! We're toast."

Epps spoke into the radio without taking his eyes off the jet. "Please tell me you copy."

"Back up! Take cover! Bumblebee!" Ironhide called out. Bumblebee also transformed, and the two Autobots managed to raise the trailer of a nearby truck to try and somewhat shield the group from the probable incoming attack.

After a moment, Lennox saw that the jet wasn't changing course. "No, no, no, no- Move!"

The soldiers quickly scattered to find shelter. We tried to find cover as well, but the jet was far too fast. He was already on top of us before we could do anything. Everyone was frantically running around. I risked bumping into someone more than once.

"Back up! Back up!"

"Retreat! Fall back!"

"Incoming!"

The missile hit hard, throwing us off our feet with a powerful shock wave. The ground shook with the force of the impact. One moment I was running, the next I was on the ground, ears ringing, and a sharp sting on my leg and arm. I wasn't really sure which ones, but something definitely stang. I rolled to the side, coughing at the dust filling my lungs. I slowly opened my eyes, trying to shake away the fuzziness in my head. The ringing subsided enough to finally hear something again.

"Anybody hurt? Everyone okay?"

"Clear the area!"

I let out a few more coughs, and slowly sat upright. The soldiers around me were starting to sit up as well. Looking around, I saw two giant figures crouched down next to us. Ratchet and Jazz must've stepped in last minute and managed to shield us from most of the damage. I hazily looked up. Bright blue optics stared down at me from behind a visor.

"Ya good down there?" His voice sounded a bit strained, but overall he seemed to be fine.

I brushed off some grit that stuck on my face. "Yeah. Yeah, I think we're good. Thanks." He nodded, but his gaze lingered on my form for a few more seconds. He then nodded to Ratchet, transformed and drove off, ready for combat.