The Power Within - Transformers Prime (2)

Chapter Nine

  "Sure thing. See ya, A."

  With that, I tucked my bag over my shoulder and crossed the street, heading towards Optimus. Getting inside the passenger seat, I finally let my grin show.

  "Optimus, that was perfect!" I said. "The look on Vince's face was absolutely priceless! Thanks for the backup."

  "You didn't look like you needed backup," The Prime replied as he began to drive. "I just wanted to punctuate your point."

  I laughed. "Still, that was amazing. Next time that idiot decides to bother me, I'll just remind him about how awful he'd end up on your bad side."

  "If you must, Amanda." I could practically hear the smile in his tone. "How was school?"

  That dropped my mood, which he noticed and made him insist on knowing what happened, so I told him all about how distracted I'd been all day.

  "It's hard." I finished. "Before I just had to worry about the team and school, but now it's the team, school and this goddess thing. I almost blasted Vince with the silver dust back there and nearly couldn't hold it back."

  "Why is that?" There was no accusation in his voice, just wondering.

  I shrugged, leaning back against the seat. "I was mad. Really mad. I almost wanted him to throw a punch so that I'd have an excuse to."

  Optimus went silent for a long moment. "Cleona's powers were always fuelled by her will and emotions, which is why she worked so hard to keep them reigned in."

  "So you're saying I'm bad a controlling them because I can't control my emotions?"

  "No, but you are experiencing difficulty because you don't know how sensitive your powers are to your emotions. Over time, you can learn how to use your emotions to fuel your powers."

  "Like you do?" I blurted. When the Prim went silent, I wondered if I overstepped. He was very exclusive when it came to showing others his emotions, and even then the flashes of emotions were brief, like if you weren't paying attention you'd miss them.

  "Optimus, I'm sorry, I-" I started to say but he cut me off.

  "It is fine, Amanda." He said in his same, collected tone. "I reign my emotions to prevent them from clouding my judgement. In war, one must be able to see all possible outcomes and be prepared for each. Emotions would obscure those visions, interfering with counter actions and providing a distraction. With lives depending on my ability to see those outcomes, I cannot allow my emotions to cause the Autobots to fail."

  I nodded in understanding. "My mom used to say the same sort of thing. She used to tell me that a little bit of emotions when making decisions is good, but too much only leads to failure."

  "Ingrid was an admirable leader within the human military."

  "I wish she were still here," I whispered, staring at my hands. "She knew about my powers, she knew what they meant. She could have helped with all of this, even with the team."

  "Unfortunately everyone has their purpose in this universe, and that of your mother may never truly be known."

  "Yeah.." I looked up and saw we were still driving, far from Jasper now and out in the country roads. "Where are we going? Now can you tell me?"

  "We will arrive soon." Optimus assured me. "Then you will see. I would take this opportunity to complete your homework, as you may not get another chance tonight."

  "Fine." I huffed, pulling out my binder. "But I want you to know I'm not happy with being kept in the dark."

  "Noted." He said with amusement in his tone.