Transformers: A Matter of Fate

A CHANGE OF PLANS

Mark started off from the alleyway, and for a moment, Hound sat there. Maybe the kid was right, and they were meant to cut their losses and quit while they were ahead. Maybe it was a bad idea for him to have interfered and gotten attached in the first place. But his spark tugged, and his engine revved. Something told him in the deepest part of his being that he was not meant to leave this boy at all. At least, not yet. He drove quietly towards Mark, and yet again opened the door. "Yer not getting rid of me that easily." Hound noted "If they won't let you stick around, I'll take ye out of town."

"Why would you do that for me?"

"It's what friends do." Hound noted "They help each other."

Mark looked thoughtful at that, his eyes staring up at the sky. But after a moment, he had reached forward, and clutched the door ever so slightly. It was a defining moment for him, if he went with Hound then, he had accepted him as a friend. He had accepted to leave the loneliness he felt behind him and possibly end up under full Autobot protection. But if he left now, he could again cut his losses, and forget about this whole little "adventure" all-together. He tapped his fingers against the door quietly, working this out in his head to the best of his ability.

A minute later, he had seated himself in Hound's passengers seat. "You'll take me anywhere I want to go?"

"Within reason." Hound replied.

"Okay." Mark replied, buckling in "Then drive."

...

"Have you lost your processor, Hound?"

It was certainly the reaction Mark had expected, but the way Crosshairs delivered it nearly made him jump out of his skin. He sat on a platform in the large barn, or at least, what was left of it. It looked like they had started to fix it from where Optimus had practically blown it up, but had stopped and moved onto other things. And to be honest, it was probably exactly what had happened. But it still had four walls and most of the roof, which was enough to keep him hidden. "Listen, now that they're building an actual lab attachment to the home, this is going to be nothing more than a barn." Hound commented "Mark won't even be here for its completion. He'll be long gone then."

Drift stared between Hound and his human friend, stroking his chin in thought. "The boy doesn't appear to be a direct threat. He carries no weapons." Drift circled where Mark sat silently "I do not see why we cannot simply allow him a couple of days stay..."

"Two weeks." Mark stated "That's how long I planned to stay. So after that I'd be gone."

Crosshairs crossed his arms, and stared down at Mark, his optics narrowing slightly. He took a few steps forward, and looked down at him with a look of fire in his optics. "Kid, no offense, but I don't even know you." He explained "You could have fooled ole Hound into thinking you're a good guy for all any of us know." Mark frowned slightly "So I'm going to need to hear more of a reason to keep you around."

"Because we're part of the reason he's an orphan in the first place."

Mark cringed, having hoped silently that Hound would not have mentioned this at all. "What does that mean, Hound?" Drift asked, confusion now filling his optics "Who are you?" He asked Mark.

"Mark Savoy..."

There was silence among the group, though Crosshairs looked very stunned. From his corner, Bumblebee stepped forward himself, and tilted his head, as if trying to see the resemblance. "The kid looks alright to me." He piped up using a variety of sound clips "Remember we're supposed to be the good guys here." He added for good measure.

"He's the son of-!" Crosshairs began loudly

"Judge not the son by the actions of his father. But rather his own actions." Drift told him politely "I see no problem in housing him for a short while. And Sensei would quite likely put this to a, how you say, Democratic vote." He then turned towards Sideswipe, who was in another corner "Sideswipe?"