These Paths We Tread (Autobot x OC)

VIII. Little Wonders

Catherine hummed a small “oh” as she looked down at her upturned palms, imagining the glowing streams she had seen. She was the Allspark? The Allspark? The one that had given and taken the life of that little crab-Nokia robot? The one that was the life source for these guys? The one that Megatron could have used to destroy the human race but instead destroyed him? That Allspark? It didn’t seem real—didn’t feel real, but she knew it had to be true. How else could she have done all that? How else could Jazz be holding her right now?

 She was the Allspark.

But what did that mean?

“This—this is incredible! To think it could combine with a human! And to retain so much of its power!”

“Don’t get carried away, Ratchet,” Jazz spoke up, surprising the medic, whom had raised his hands up with joy. “She won’t be able ta do that again. Not anytime time soon, anyways.”

Catherine nodded, “He’s right. I don’t think I’d have the energy for it, and I don’t even know how I did it.”

“Still… this… this is incredible,” the medic repeated. “I… Optimus needs to know… And Ironhide, too.”

“Better now than later, but we gotta keep it low key, ya dig? Can’t let none of these Sector Seven boys know,” the silver mech rumbled and Ratchet nodded as he turned away, growing quiet.

Catherine frowned at her carrier’s words. At first she had wondered why they would need to keep it so secret, but the longer she thought about it the more she began to understand. The greatest hint was the sight of Bumblebee quietly lying on the experiment table and remembering how he had been suffering there only hours beforehand. The organization’s focus was on his kind and the Allspark. Hell, Simmons literally breathed it, and here she was—a human being combined with one of their greatest research projects. They would want to study her, maybe even dissect her, and she wouldn’t be surprised if some of them would go to dangerous lengths to get what they wanted.

She shivered at the thought of being strapped to an experiment table, and to be subjected to the pain and torture Bumblebee had gone through. It passed, though, and she told herself it was a little unrealistic to think they would really do such a thing. After all, they were humans and she was human—just a little changed; mutated. Surely the government wouldn’t subject her to such awful experiments? And even then, surely they would not risk enraging the Autobots by experimenting on the being containing the remnants of their Allspark? And what about the Autobots? She knew they wouldn’t experiment on her—it just wasn’t in their nature—but what then?

“Jazz,” she spoke softly, grasping at the metal plates of his finger, and he brought her closer to his face. “What’s going to happen to me?”

He smiled softly again, “Nothin’ that’s what. We won’t let nothin’ happen ta ya. No one’s gonna hurt ya.”

“Even… Even if that means you guys? Would… Would you… Would you let me go if I asked?” she replied, eyes falling in both shame and fear. Whatever she expected, it was not the feel of cold metal on her chin lifting it up to look into his blue eyes, still holding that same, soft smile.

“If ya wanna go then ya can. It might even be betta for ya, and if any of ‘em try ta stop ya, I’ll defend ya ‘till the end. It’s the least I can do for ya, shorty. Ya saved my life.”

“I was only repaying you. You sacrficed yourself to protect us from Megatron,” she smiled back, pressing her cheek into his finger. She said no more and neither did he, encompassing them in silence as the medic spoke to Optimus through some unspoken means, and Bumblebee remained unusually quietas he watched. That was the least of her concerns, though, as she closed her eyes in serenity. It was so quiet she could even hear her heart thumping in her ears against Jazz's metal finger, and there was another sound—one that seemed to move in tune with hers, although off by enough so that she wasn't confused which one was hers. She did wonder what it was, though; the unknown beating that she could feel.