Alias's POV
I ran forward towards the treeline, desperate to reach my friends first. But the sounds of battle had already began and I was going to be late.
I jumped over a log and emerged from the treeline, immediately assaulted by the sight of a finished battle. I had been too late.
A soldier yelled and pointed at me, I quickly unfroze and dodged a wave of bull- tranq darts? Thuds sounded behind me and I growled and ran forward, materializing a sword and slamming the butt into a soldier.
He crumpled to the ground and I started attacking the others. Eventually, I fought to the armoured vehicle that held my friends and raised my sword. Something small stabbed my wrist as I was swinging and I stumbled, missing the lock.
I looked at the object and saw a tranquilizer dart in my wrist and glared towards my attacker, revealed as Agent Fowler.
I raised the sword again as the man ran towards me, I only needed to break them free so th-
The sword missed again as Agent Fowler tackled me to the floor. I growled and tried to poke him, but he pinned my wrist with a solid foot. My comrades shouted in outrage.
"Come on kid, stop struggling. The tranq should already be working by now." He said calmly.
I continued to struggle. True, I was feeling fatigued, but that was no excuse to fall unconscious. He sighed and wrenched my arms behind my back and cuffed them, I felt something slide over my knuckles and flexed my fingers.
An Elsa cuff. Stupid movies.
I was hauled to my feet and escorted away from my comrades towards another armoured vehicle.
"Why isn't the tranquilizer working?" Fowler asked someone.
"I don't know, better metabolism? I'm not a scientist, just a field medic." The soldier answered.
"Hmp."
He pushed me towards a door way and I hid a grin. This was my moment.
Once we got to the door, I kicked up and put my feet against the doorframe before pushing out and knocking Fowler over.
We landed with a thump, but I quickly got up and ran towards my charges, who hollered with joy and shook the cage bars as I approached.
"HALT!" Agent Fowler yelled.
"Like Tartarus!" I yelled in return before jumping up and sticking my hands through the bars.
Someone quickly grabbed them and I felt the looking mechanism shifting. Fowler and his soldiers caught up and tried to pry me off, but everyone else had a tight grip too.
It hurt.
I tried to bit someone who grabbed my shoulder, and they quickly snapped their hand back. I smirked before I felt their grip begin to prevail over my friends.
And just when I was almost out of the cage, the lock clicked and feel off. I jumped off the car and slammed into someone, dragging them down and then rolling.
I popped up and unleashed my sword, before desperately slashing it at the lock on the car, but someone grabbed my arm and I slashed their shoulder instead.
Something was embedded in my forearm and I growled as everything became blurry and wobbly. I stumbled for a second before falling over into someone's arms.
"We got her." He said.
"Finally! She tried to bite me!" Another solider complained, holding her hand close to her chest.
Wimp. I hadn't even succeeded.
"Fowler, you shouldn't have given her another dose. It's too much!" The medic from before said.
I felt myself being dragged towards the armoured car and I struggled weakly. Stupid government.
They shoved me in a tank and I leaned against the wall, exhausted, but still conscious. Agent Fowler leaned down next to the cage as someone bandaged his shoulder.
"You really should have just surrendered." He said.
"But then you would have let us go anyway." I said softly.
"And why is that?" He asked, amused.
"Because I'm a hacker. I know all about your secret Cybertronians. You can't do anything to my friends or I'll tell." I threatened.
He glared, "Then we'll just lock you away."
"Forever? That's hardly legal."
His eyes widened and he glanced at the medic, who shrugged and walked away.
"But I won't tell anyone if you let them go." I offered.
"You haven't even been fully arrested and you're already bargaining for freedom. How do we know you didn't already?" He asked.
"Well, first of all, I'm not a killbuzz. And second of all, you don't, but you also don't have much of a choice." I answered.
That tranquilizer was really starting to get me.
"Hmm. You don't tell anyone about the aliens and I let your friends go? I need one more positive for that." He said.
"Come up with it later and I swear I'll agree." I told him.
"Very well." He nodded and smirked smugly before walking away.
Our caravan halted and I heard my companions yelling outside.
I smiled.
Ultra Magnus's POV
Agent Fowler walked into the base and frowned towards Optimus. I stood at attention sternly.
"Prime, I've got a bone to pick with you. We recently captured those terrorists yesterday, but their leader had sensitive information about all of you. It's not legal to hide a teenager away with minimum contact, so my superiors wanted her to stay here. With the sensitive information." He asked.
"What about her followers?" Arcee asked.
"Part of the bargain was that they were set free. It was a necessary sacrifice, but if we see them again, there will be no hesitation in taking them down." Folwer explained.
"Wait, we get to meet a criminal warlord teenager girl!? Cool!" Miko exclaimed.
"Not cool. Stay away." Fowler ordered.
"You say that as if Miko will listen to you." Wheeljack murmered.
"Enough. If it is your government's wishes that she stays here, then I believe that it the best option. Especially after their help in relocating us." Optimus decided.
I nodded in agreement.
"Good. Then I'll go get her." Agent Fowler said and minutes later he returned.
He was pulling a glass cage on wheels and brought it over to the human area, which was raised above where we walk. The kids stared in confusion.
"You don't look like a criminal warlord." Miko said.
"I'm not." The girl replied casually from inside.
"Yes you are."
"Says the fat guy who does special operations."
She was laying on her stomach with her head propped up on full cuffs, which extended all over her hands. Her back seemed unusually straight for the position she was in, but I brushed the suspicion off.
The sides looked to be about seven feet tall and seven feet apart. There was a door, but it was sealed tightly shut with a lock from the outside.
"This is the big problem you guys have been talking about? She doesn't look like much." Arcee said.
"That's why they all lose." The girl said.
Arcee raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"What is your designation?" I asked.
"Alias, at your somewhat service!" She smiled brightly.
"Service. What a great idea..." Agent Fowler muttered before walking out.
▪️◾◼⬛◼◾▪️
"Ultra Magnus, we are ready to receive you." Ratchet said through my comms.
I drove through the groundbridge into base and kept still while Bumblebee grabbed the box off of my back.
"There wasn't much left in the ruins of the fortress." I told everyone.
"You call this 'not much'?" Wheeljack asked, carrying a lob ball.
He threw it at Bulkhead and it bounced off of his armour before heading straight towards Miko, who was pulled back by Jack. Then it stuck itself in Agent Fowler's door.
I glared at Wheeljack.
"Wheeljack, you could have caused serious damage!" Ratchet scolded.
"To me!" Miko huffed.
"What were you thinking?" I asked sternly.
"I was thinking Bulkhead could catch that lob." He replied casually.
"Let me make myself clear. As Optimus Prime's second in command, I have no intention of tolerating wrecker behavior." I stated.
"Some things never change." Wheeljack muttered.
"Jackie..." Bulkhead warned.
"Need I remind you that it was Optimus Prime himself who assigned me to command your wreckers unit to get you loose cannons under control?" I asked rhetorically. "An effective combat unit begins with discipline, if you won't except that, feel free to chose the path of least resistance. As you did before."
"If my ship weren't a twisted wreck at present, I'd do that. Sir." Wheeljack replied venomously.
Then he walked away angrily.
"Wow, the tension in here is thick. You guys are terrible at working together." Alias commented, looking at all of us with interest.
"I believe this is not your moment to speak, captive." I told her sternly.
"No, it definitely is. If you guys are protecting my planet from giant evil alien robots, I should at least take an interest in how you work together. You guys suck at it."
"As if you could do better." Ratchet rolled his optics.
"I have more people than you and I do." She smirked.
"Any word from Optimus?" I asked, changing the subject.
I would not be scolded by an Earthling child.
"He's investigating recent Decepticon activity, hopefully an energon mine." Ratchet answered.
Suddenly a blue and yellow car sped in.
"Smokescreen?" Arcee asked.
"Ah, what gave me away?" He asked, transforming.
She smiled in amusement.
"Where have you been soldier?" I asked.
"Scanning new warpaint. I thought it would be proficient to follow Optimus's lead, and Bumblebee's." He replied.
"Now you can look your best while stacking those empty cubes." I ordered in return.
"Yes sir." Then he muttered something under his breath while walking towards them.
"What was that about a Prime?" Ratched asked with wide optics.
"Uh, oh time. Time to stop acting like a rookie." He answered and I turned back around.
I walked over to Alias.
"Tell me, what is your reasoning for blowing up a spar- orphanage?"
She sighed, "It wasn't a real orphanage."
"Then what was it?"
She looked up at me, surprised. How no one else bothered to ask what it might have been?
"It was a underground child trafficking station. Hundreds of orphans had been lost to that place and after we received confirmation from an escapee, we set off the fire alarms. Everyone escaped and we blew it sky high." She replied.
"With what?"
"Grenades. Homemade ones." She replied casually.
"You know how to make grenades?" I asked.
"No, but one of the kids did. He was a smarty pants."
She sighed, looking a little sad, before perking back up.
"But back to what I was saying before, you need to have some... better judgement against your troops." She stated.
"I doubt you are experienced enough to understand how warfare works."
"You would be surprised." She muttered. "Even so, you can't really think that discipline is the first builing block in a good unit."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Seriously?"
Word Count: 1810