Victoria made her way through her first few classes with ease. In order to be of value, she knew that intelligence would be an important asset to her. So by the time lunch came around, Victoria had indirectly convinced every person in her class that she was a genius.
Vince was boasting more and more, his pride and ego seemly grown to an impossible size simply because he was related to her. Victoria was prepared to snatch that away from him very soon.
All she needed was the right moment. And luckily for her, MECH had ensured that every class she had was with at last one of the three Autobot humans. Including lunch.
Victoria waited until a few minutes after lunch had began before she stood up and excused herself from Vince's rowdy table.
"Bathroom." She lied before making her way to Rafael, who was sitting along by the window.
He looked up at her in surprise before glancing back at Vince.
"Um, hi Victoria." He smiled nervously.
She smiled back, making herself to appear slightly nervous as well. "May I sit?"
Rafael nodded.
"What's your name?" She asked.
"I'm Raf." He told her. "If you don't mind, can I know why you aren't sitting with your brother and his friends?"
Victoria glanced at Vince worriedly. "Well, I was, but..."
She sighed. "Back at my boarding school, when I was younger, I used to get picked on a lot. I did people's homework and had to give up my lunch money all the time."
Raf's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"
"Yeah." Victoria leaned forward. "And I saw Vince go up to you earlier. I haven't seen Vince in years and I just want to make sure I'm not making friends with the wrong kind of people."
Raf bit his lip. "I don't really know if I'm the best person to talk with about this. If Vince found out..."
Victoria tilted her head in worry. "What? Would he hurt you?"
Raf shook his head quickly. "No! No.... I mean, maybe?"
"My brother is a bully." Victoria stated sadly. "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be." Raf smiled. "It's not your fault. I'm sure once Vince gets older and more mature, he'll grow up and do the right thing."
Victoria frowned. "How old are you?"
"Twelve... I got pushed up a few grades." He said.
"Wow, you must be super smart!" She exclaimed.
"I heard you're pretty smart too." Raf replied.
"And humble." Victoria grinned.
Raf blushed.
Someone buff leaned against their table. "Hey, Vic. I thought you were going to the bathroom."
Both kids looked up at Charles.
"I was." Victoria said. "But I changed my mind."
He looked at Raf. "So why are you doing talking to the computer Rat?"
"Rat?" Victoria glared. "We're in high school. Haven't you gotten over your childish tendencies to call people names by now?"
Charles blinked at her in surprise. "Well, I just, uh- well everyone calls him Rat. He doesn't mind it, does he?"
Charles gave Raf a pointed look and Raf slunk down a little, looking away. "Yeah, it's fine. I don't mind."
Victoria scowled. "Charles, why don't you leave us alone?"
The quarterback glared at her before turning around and heading to Vince's table.
"You shouldn't have done that." Raf told her quietly. "It's fine. I just do what they say and nothing happens."
Victoria furrowed her brows. "When I said that I used to be bullied, I meant every word. I don't get bullied anymore because someone came and stood up for me. Today, I'm going to pay that forward."
"You really shouldn't-" Raf stopped talking when Vince stopped next to their table, two other football players behind him.
"Hey, Vic." He forced out a smile. "Come on back to my table."
The other two guys went and stood behind Raf, making the small boy quiver in terror.
Victoria stood up and looked at Vince. "Leave him alone."
By now, they had attracted the attention of all the students in the cafeteria.
Vince took a step forward, his bright orange hair clashing with her dark red. Both siblings oozed confidence and neither of them backed down.
"Don't do this." Vince warned her. "You can still be popular if you leave this trash and follow big brother."
Victoria suddenly reached back and before anyone could react, she'd punched him square in the jaw. Vince stumbled back in shock, grabbing his face.
The entire cafeteria went silent.
"First of all, Raf is not trash. The next person to pick on him will have to go through me." Victoria told everyone. "Second, I was born first. And third, my name is not Vic."
"You bitch!" Vince spat, stepping forward and grabbing Victoria's hair. "How dare you-"
She kneed him between the legs and Vince released her, yelping. Victoria grabbed his face and slammed it into the table, knocking him out cold.
The two football players charged and Victoria jumped onto the table before flipping over them and landing at their backs. They whirled around in surprise, but it was too late.
Victoria ducked and knocked out their legs from under them. Both of the boys landed on Vince and Victoria stepped over them, glaring down upon them.
"If I ever see you two messing with someone again, I'll make sure you don't get away with a warning." She told them darkly.
When she turned around, Raf's eyes were wide, along with everyone else in the large room. She turned to the principal, who was standing in the doorway and she gave him a small salute. He lifted his chin and left without another word.
▪️◾◼⬛◼◾▪️
"Hey, Raf!" Miko ran over to the smaller boy and gave him a hug. "Guess who the principal let out of detention today?"
"You?" Raf frowned. "Why?"
"I have no idea, but he looked pretty happy about it." Jack answered for her before he noticed Victoria.
"Oh, hey." He gave her a small wave. "I heard about what you did earlier."
Victoria smiled. "Us little people have to stick together."
"Girl, you ain't no little person no more!" Miko wrapped her arm around Victoria's shoulders. "I saw the whole video! It was awesome!"
Victoria melted inward. "Yeah..."
"You're the hero for like half the school now." Jack told her. "No one other than Miko has stood up to Vince before and last time she did that, he knocked her out."
"Yeah, I got a black eye for a week!" Miko grinned. "It was so cool!"
"Bullies are fueled by fear." Victoria stated. "People should never let them know that they get to them."
Suddenly, a car honked off to the side and the three of them turned their heads.
Raf looked at Victoria. "Hey, thanks for what you did."
She smiled. "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
He nodded and the three of them walked off.
Victoria headed back to her car, only raising her eyebrows slightly at the giant scratch across the hood. Seems Vince tried to get his revenge.
Well it was lame. He should have broke the windows or poked holes in the tires. Now that, that would have really messed with her mission.
Victoria stepped inside and closed the door, turning the car on.
"Report?" Silas's voice came over the radio as she started to drive.
"I've gained the trust of the human allies." Victoria stated. "Phase two is ready to be initiated."
"Good. I'll have the signal turned on now." He told her.
Victoria nodded and headed for the edge of town.
"Good luck, Red. I know you won't disappoint me."
There was a small beep as the radio shut back down and Victoria was left in silence. She only had to wait about 47 seconds more before a swirling blue-green portal opened.
Despite having seen Breakdown and dozens of images, Victoria was still slightly amazed at the sight of Optimus Prime and Smokescreen running at her.
She sped up.
"Knockout!" Optimus yelled. "Stand down!"
He started shooting at her and Victoria's eyes hardened as she expertly dodged the blasts. They both transformed into their vehicle modes and flanked her car from behind. Victoria skidded to a stop at the side of a mountain.
They transformed, pointing their blasters straight at her. Victoria was trapped between them and solid rock.
"What is your mission here, Decepticon?" Optimus demanded, narrowing his eyes.
"Good question."
Both Autobots whirled around, pointing their blasters at another groundbridge. This time, multiple vehicons had surrounded the Autobots and Knockout was with them.
"I thought I detected Breakdown's signal." The cherry red medic stated. "Guess I found something even more peculiar."
"But- but if you're Knockout then who is that?" Smokescreen demanded.
"Probably a human." Knockout glanced at Victoria's car. "And as much as I admire the finish, it seems to be damaged."
Victoria glanced at the scratch on the hood.
Thanks, Vince.
"Smokescreen, guard the human." Optimus told his rookie.
Victoria smirked. That was all she needed to hear in order to have good reason to pick their side.
The girl put her foot down on the pedal, speeding forward and surprising all parties. Within seconds, her lightning fast vehicle slammed into the foot of one of the vehicons.
It was knocked over and then the stalemate ended, both sides charging. Knockout screeched and ran backward.
"Retreat!"
Victoria took that as her opportunity to speed off but while the vehicons were providing Knockout cover fire, one of their blasts landed next to the real Aston Marton.
Her car flipped and Victoria gasped, immediately grabbing her shoulders and pulling her feet away from the pedals. She jerked against the seatbelt twice, closing her eyes at the sound of metal grinding against the hard rock floor.
For a moment everything was silent and Victoria opened her eyes, looking around slowly. She blinked a few times before trying to undo her seatbelt.
The strap refused to move, so Victoria pulled out a pocket knife, cutting it off.
She fell forward, landing on the door roughly, her arm scratching against broken glass. Victoria looked up, preparing to climb up and out of the other door, because she knew that the windshield was bulletproof.
Instead, a shadow moved over the top of the car and soon, Victoria was staring straight up into the eyes of a concerned Optimus Prime.