Another year would have passed before they received an energon signal from Chicago. Cade was quick to say that he was going to investigate it, and hopefully, bring back whoever was emitting the signal. With this being a dangerous adventure, Elizabeth tried to talk the man into letting her tag along, but alas, he refused. Leaving that morning, Cade took off in his jeep with Bumblebee following close behind and Hound tailing them. Watching as they left, Elizabeth sighed before turning towards the Autobots that stayed behind and gave them a nod before disappearing into the mobile home that Cade had. Throughout the year that had passed, Elizabeth had gotten a better handle of her Cybertronian side and was able to comfortably utilize her new abilities. Of course, that does not mean that she is invincible towards manmade weapons, but she was a little more resistant to them. Tiny had developed very well over the last year, as he could now speak out loud and transform into just about anything that Elizabeth needed. Ranging between weapons and tools, Tiny had helped Elizabeth quickly do patch work for the Autobots and for the county sheriff's police cruiser. Also during the past year, they had gained an extra set of helping hands. A young man that offered his assistance through an advertisement in the paper, however, once he arrived he realized his mistake. Luckily, he had gotten along with Elizabeth pretty quickly and he chose to stick around.
Hours had passed and Cade had finally arrived to the abandoned part of Chicago. Entering the city, the first thing he saw was several large walkers that were aiming at children. Rushing to their rescue, he swerved to a stop and ordered the four boys to hop into the jeep while he threw a grenade towards the oncoming government machines. Bumblebee had also come barreling through a building and launched himself into one of the machines to take it down while Cade went after the last person.
"Come on, it's over." Cade spoke somewhat softly.
"No! It's not! I can fix him!" A young girl shouted as she fought against his hold.
"No one can fix him, he's dead! Stop, look at me! Would he want you to die too? Come on, now." Cade snapped before dragging her behind him.
Leading her away, they jumped into his jeep and drove towards the gate that surrounded the area. Forcing everyone out, he made sure that they had escaped the abandoned part of the city before making his way back into the heart of the area to find what it was that he was searching for. Finding the signal inside of a downed Cybertronian ship, Cade didn't have a choice but to blow open the hatch. Climbing in with the barely conscious mech, he pressed a rag to the wound and tried to assure him that everything would be okay. However, the mech seemed to have other things in mind as it pulled out an old chipped, large, coin like object and handed it over to Cade. Pushing away the mech's servo, Cade again tried to reassure the mech. It was unfortunate, but the mech died and Cade had to leave as soon as he could. Comming Bee, he let him know that the mech didn't make it and that they needed to get out of there as soon as possible. However, he wasn't able to make it far as he was suddenly surrounded by military vehicles and personnel known as, TRF. Looking around at the group, Cade raised his hands up and above his head while dropping to his knees. A man stepped forward and circled around the kneeling fugitive as if he were trying to assess and gauge what kind of response he would receive. Keeping his eyes in front of him, Cade listened as the group of soldiers began to whisper about him.
"So, help yourself out here. Where are the others? The ones you're hiding." The man that was leading the group questioned.
"I'm not a sell-out. Those are my friends." Cade scoffed as he shook his head.
"Friends? This is an invasion. One day we wake up, they're in charge." The man sneered while getting up in Cade's face.
"You see anyone in charge? They just keep falling out of the sky. There is something coming, and I don't see us shooting our way out of it." Cade spoke calmly.
In the distance, the sound of a vehicle approaching reached the men's ears and brought their attention towards a yellow and black Camaro. Immediately firing their weapons, the TRF took on the oncoming Autobot and watched in confusion as Bumblebee broke into multiple pieces.
"What the hell was that?" The leader asked as he glanced around the area.
"That was a big mistake." Cade shrugged.
In that moment, Bumblebee attached a hook to the soldier's leg and started to reassemble himself. Allowing the man to dangle in front of him, he set off multiple explosions while incapacitating a bunch of the TRF soldiers. Eliciting screams of shock from the men that attempted to escape from the sudden attack.
"You really shouldn't approach someone until you know they're dead." Bumblebee's radio mocked.
"Put your weapons down! Easy Bee, come one now!" Cade pleaded as he put his hands in front of him.
Dropping the TRF leader, Bumblebee placed his hand cannon against the man's chest to hold him in place.
"I'll burn you so bad, you'll wish you died as a child." His radio sneered.
"Shoot him! Shoot him!" The man shouted.
"You'll be dead before I hit the ground." Cade threatened as he pulled out his own weapon.
"Take the damn shot!"
"Don't do it Bee! Everyone hold your fire! And you! Drop it!" Another voice echoed from behind.
"I'm not dropping shit." Cade scoffed without even glancing back.
"Hey, Bee, the military, we don't want it this way. You've gotta believe that! It's a new world order, and these people are the ones that are calling all of the shots." A familiar voice echoed through Bee's processors.
Shaking his head and pointing his cannon towards the man, Bumblebee beeped and whirred angrily. Before turning to face the man that was still laying on the ground.
"You know that all they wanted was a home. You push them, and they are going to push back." Cade reasoned.
"If they're the ones calling the shots...Then they're the ones...Who killed...Liza!" Bumblebee growled out angrily.
"What?" Lennox choked out.
"She was hurt...So bad...They said they would help...But they killed her!" Bumblebee's radio cracked while pointing his weapon at the TRF leader.
"Bumblebee!" Cade suddenly shouted angrily.
Silence briefly fell among the groups as they all took each other in. Lennox, who was trying to reason with Bumblebee, stood dumbfounded as he hadn't heard any news about his friend having passed away. However, the silence didn't last long as Hound came barreling through the debris and transforming into his bipedal form.
"Hound incoming! I love starting the day with a little gun-fight! I'm sorry to say, but my invitation to this little ass kicking was lost in the mail!" Hound grinned while pulling out a machine gun.
"My crew and I are rolling out here. Let's go, they won't touch us." Cade sighed in relief.
"No Decepticon activity, TRF stand down." Lennox sighed into his radio.
"You sure you don't want to shoot at me? I mean, I am a pretty big target." Hound mocked while slapping his gut.
Leaving the group of TRF soldiers, Cade and his posse leave the abandoned part of Chicago and begin their trek back to South Dakota. The drive back was quiet for the most part, however, Bee's outburst was fresh in their minds. Everyone knew that Bumblebee had purposely avoided Elizabeth, and even after all of the coaxing, he would act like she didn't exist to him. It broke their hearts to see their friend hurting, but they could never get the mech to explain why he was acting the way he was. After hearing what Bee's thoughts were, Cade couldn't help but frown and clench his fists on the steering wheel of the jeep he was driving. All this time, Bumblebee didn't see Elizabeth as a living human being. She was dead to him, just because she didn't return to them the way that they had hoped.
"Bee, we have to talk when we get back." Cade spoke solemnly through his radio.
Beeps and whirs echoed back, but Bee made no arguments against Cade's demand. The rest of the fifteen hours were quiet, and the solace they had was the wind that blew by their faces and bodies. It wouldn't be until the next afternoon that Cade would arrive at the reservations and come across the local Sheriff. Seeing the native on a horse, rather than in his cruiser, Cade addressed the man as "Chief" which caused the native to grimace in response. Elizabeth, knowing that Cade should be coming back soon was waiting on top of one of the piles of cars. Her eyes were glued to Drift as he chanted to himself while balancing on his sword.
"No fear. No hate. No anger." His voice echoed softly.
A soft chuckle escaped the woman's lips when a small baby Cybertronian Pterodactyl landed on his foot, which sent him into an angry fit. Even Crosshairs couldn't help but mock the samurai from his perch on an old gunner. Across the junk yard sat Jimmy, who for the most part, took care of the place whenever Cade would leave. Even though Elizabeth was supposed to keep the Autobots in line, even she would disappear whenever Cade left. Suddenly, the sounds of explosions brought their attention towards the entrance to the yard and they noticed Hound rolling in. Eyes lighting up, Elizabeth slid down the pile of junk cars and started to make her way towards the incoming group.
"Can't you go easy on the brakes!" Jimmy shouted angrily.
"But this is how I roll." Hound shrugged.
"You're getting dust all over the campus!" Jimmy whined, which brought chuckles from Elizabeth.
"This ain't no campus, it's a junk yard." Hound mumbled.
"Hound! How did it go?" Elizabeth beamed as she ran up to the round mech.
"As good as it could've been, I guess." The large mech shrugged.
"Grimlock! You are seriously pissing me off! For being some great Cybertronian warrior, you act like junk yard dogs! Where is Sherman's cruiser! I know you have it! Turn around! What's in your mouth! Spit it out!" Cade shouted angrily as he chased after the large metallic Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Keeping his back to Cade, the large reptilian Cybertronian swallowed the cruiser whole before choking it back up. Shouts of anger still spilling from Cade's mouth as he watched the being slam it's head onto the ground with a whine. Turning from the moping warrior, Cade focused on Jimmy who was watching from the workshop.
"What the hell is this, Jimmy Jay!" Cade shouted as he quickly made his way towards the younger man.
"Hey now! You hired me through an ad on the ledger! What do you expect me to do! Whenever you leave this place turns into the wild jungle!" Jimmy whined before casting a glance towards Elizabeth.
"Would you rather go to Federal Prison?" Cade sighed as he stood across from the man.
"Federal? I don't want to go to any prison." He stuttered.
"Well that's where you're going, because this is aide and abetting. And don't you dare think you're off the hook!" Cade shouted as he turned to face the woman.
"What did I do?" Elizabeth chuckled awkwardly.
"You were supposed to be watching them! You know damn well that they all listen to you just fine." Cade berated.
"I was bored, so Crosshairs and I took a little drive. Besides, Tiny and I can get it fixed." She shrugged.
Before Cade could complain anymore he turned his focus back towards the entrance to see another vehicle approaching. Immediately, his eyebrow twitched with annoyance before he glanced back at Jimmy.
"What's he doing here?" Cade questioned.
"Who is it? Oh, that's Day Trader!" Elizabeth beamed.
"It's got to be the most annoying Transformer on Earth. Should I frag him?" Hound quipped.
"Definitely frag him." Drift nodded.
"What did he give you to get passed the gate?" Cade asked as he turned to face Jimmy.
"Absolutely nothing!" Jimmy squeaked.
"Hey, hey Cade! He gave him this!" Wheelie popped in while poking at an old blaster.
"I've never seen that before in my life." The younger man stated while raising his hands above his head.
"Oh come on, say it! An alien blaster makes for a big man!" Wheelie pressed.
"You know what! Humans lose their temper all the time!" Jimmy sneered as he lunged for the mini bot.
"Okay, that's enough! Day Trader! What are you doing here?" Cade sighed before approaching the large mech.
"Oh! Did you find our spaceship? I'm getting tired of waiting around here to catch a bullet." Hound sighed.
"I'm pretty sure carbon monoxide and a gasoline drinking problem will kill you before a bullet can. But anyways! I've got a ton of stuff, like this, found it out in Buffalo, it's Starscream's head. And, I've got a new voice box for Bee." Day Trader dropped a ton of his things.
"Is it going to work this time?" Cade glared before taking the small piece.
"Come on, Cade, I only get the good stuff." The mech shrugged.
"You hear that Bee! You're gonna get your voice back!" Cade grinned.
Dancing around in his spot, Bumblebee started to celebrate the chance of being able to speak again. The others around him laughed at his enthusiasm, except for Elizabeth, who only smiled warmly at the mech. It always made her smile whenever Bumblebee and the others got along, but at the same time, she felt left out.
"Alright, what else do you have?" Cade asked as he moved up onto one of the ladders.
"Hm not much, but oh! Where did you get that piece of junk? There's no way that's a real talisman, especially in this dump. I can definitely take that off your hands." Day Trader spoke quickly while eyeing the small object.
"I can clearly see that this thing is valuable because it's got you licking your chops, you filthy skank!" The man sneered before grabbing the piece.
"Words hurt, Cade. But there are seven signs of the apocalypse, and that showing up here is number one. It'll probably be best to escape this place before it's too late. But, Imma head out and get a nice oil bath." Day Trader shrugged as he turned to leave.
Watching as the wandering mech took his leave, everyone let silence fall over them. That was until a child came running out of the lines of wrecked cars calling for Cade. At first, Elizabeth was surprised to see the young girl running out, and her first instinct was to glare at the man.
"This is not happening. You cannot stay here kid, I've got enough strays." Cade groaned as he walked through the workshop with Elizabeth following behind them.
"I'm not a kid! I'm useful! I can fix things!" She quickly spoke as she followed him.
"Yeah, good for you." Cade rolled his eyes.
"Better than anyone. And I do have a name you know. It's Izabella, with a "Z"." She added on.
"I highly doubt that. And I honestly don't care if it's spelled with a "Z", an emoji or a dollar sign. You cannot stay here, just go home, please. Besides, I already have someone that can fix shit." Cade waved her off.
"I don't have a home, and those people killed the last thing I called family. So, I wanna stay, and I wanna fight them." Izabella spoke emotionally.
"Them? Well I've got news for you about them. They have infinite funding, there is no fighting them. Besides, they have the support of the entire world, and you, you're a kid." Cade berated before taking off.
Following behind him, Izabella kept trying to plead her case. Elizabeth had stopped following after them after she heard that the young girl had lost her family during the fight at Chicago. Clenching her fist, Elizabeth turned back and made her way towards Hound who was preparing a space to call Cade's daughter for the evening. It was quiet between the two, but they both knew that it was probably better this way. It wasn't long until Cade came up and grabbed the phone and waited for Hound to finish bouncing the signal. Elizabeth could hear the sad voice of Tessa as she spoke to her father quickly. It caused her heart to break as the line was suddenly caught off. Glancing off to the side, she noticed Bumblebee sitting on the edge of the roof away from the group. It was obvious that he was listening in, but because she was standing there, she knew that he wouldn't come any closer.
Miles away, Lennox was on point with negotiating with Megatron who had reached out to the TRF. Meeting in an isolated area with a panel of lawyers and several other soldiers, they watched as Megatron dropped two agents and walked towards them. To say that seeing Megatron again was daunting would have been an understatement, but at the same time, Lennox knew the role that this mech would play for their own plans.
"I know you, human. I want my crew." Megatron sneered as he pointed his long sword towards Lennox.
"Well, give me names!" Lennox shouted as he looked up at the mech.
"Mohawk." The Decepticon leader rumbled.
Glancing back at the panel of lawyers, Lennox waited for their response. Receiving a nod of approval, he returned his gaze to Megatron and motion to continue.
"Alright, next?" Lennox frowned.
"Dreadbot."
"No." A female lawyer spoke loudly.
"What!?" Megatron rumbled as he slammed his sword into the ground.
"Well, we can make it work! He just has to wear a GPS tracker!" Another lawyer squeaked.
"Okay, next!" Lennox quickly motioned.
"Nitro Zeus."
"He just has to stay in the county. Seriously." A female awkwardly spoke.
"Uh, right." Lennox sweatdropped.
"Berserker."
"Absolutely not."
"We have limits Megatron! Pick again." Lennox shouted.
"Fine. Onslaught."
The lawyers were quick to agree before taking off into their cars and leaving the area. This left Lennox and a few soldiers to stand facing Megatron.
"So, what is that you really want, Megatron!" Lennox questioned.
"What anyone would want. To go home." The mech sighed as he stood to his feet.
"You know, I wouldn't mind that either." The man mumbled.
"Oh, one more thing. Where is Elizabeth Witwicky?" Megatron's voice was deep and sinister.
"Why does it matter to you?" Lennox narrowed his eyes.
"The fleshy has always proven to be useful, even when you humans thought otherwise." A laugh escaped from the tall being.
"I'm sorry to say, but she's gone." He seemingly choked out while watching the Cybertronian's face.
"I see. How unfortunate." Megatron mumbled before leaving.
Back at the junk yard, morning had finally come and everyone was starting to wake up. Cade and Bumblebee were already in the workshop switching out the old voice box for the new. Before they had gotten started, Izabella was working on her friend, Squeaks, arm. Watching from behind the girl, Elizabeth took notice of how it was being adhered.
"Hey, you might want to loosen that." Elizabeth spoke suddenly.
"I know what I'm doing." Izabella frowned as he turned to look at the woman.
"I can see that you know the basics of it. But, you still have to attach all of the wiring and energon supplies. You won't be able to reach them like that." The woman pointed out casually.
Taking a moment to look over her own work, Izabella frowned before turning back to the woman. Looking her up and down, the girl sighed before pulling off her goggles and stepping back.
"And who are you?" Izabella questioned with a slight tilt of her head.
"Elizabeth, but they all call me Liza." Elizabeth smiled warmly.
"Wait, I know you! You're Elizabeth Witwicky, the girl that brought one back to life! You could have saved Canopy!" Izabella suddenly shouted angrily.
"I'm sorry for what happened to your friend, but I've never resurrected a Cybertronian before. I saved one before he died, I'm sorry to say, but there isn't any way to bring one back after death. However, we can do whatever we can to keep these ones from meeting the same fate." Elizabeth frowned, before a small smile donned her lips and she reached a fist out.
"Right. So, uhm, what were you saying about attaching energon supplies?" Izabella asked while fist bumping the adult.
Giving a grin, Elizabeth sat down beside Izabella and started to point out the different energon lines that would weave around the new arm that was being installed. At first, Izabella watched with weariness, but eventually noticed how much care went into Elizabeth's work. The two girls finished with Squeaks' arm fairly quickly and grinned when the small bot flexed the arm without any problems.
"Hey, kid, come work on a real bot." Cade called from the workshop.
Standing off to the side, Elizabeth watched as Izabella came up and worked on it with him. A frown had formed on her lips as she watched the yellow and black mech lay quietly with the child hovering over his helm. It felt like forever ago that Elizabeth was making sure that Bumblebee was in good shape, and ever since her return, she hadn't looked over him once.
"Alright, we're all done." Izabella grinned as she leaned back.
"Awesome Bee! Now, sit up and let's hear it!" Cade smiled.
"This is so exciting! Wait, this isn't my voice!" Bumblebee spoke with the voice of Siri, which caused Elizabeth to immediately burst into laughter.
"Don't worry Bee. We'll find it." Cade grimaced.
"This is such bullshit!" Bumblebee shouted while ripping the voice box out.
Glancing over his shoulder, Bumblebee looked at Elizabeth before disappearing from the workshop. A look of surprise washed over the woman as she caught his glance, but quickly brushed it off before going off to do her own thing. Several hours later, Sherman's voice came through their speaker system to alert them of incoming hostiles. Immediately grabbing her bag, Elizabeth was quick to make sure that she had her clothes. She no longer needed to have multiple bags for weapons or tools, because she now had Tiny. However, she was never above creating new weapons for Cade, and even Jimmy, to try out. Rushing over to the jeep, Elizabeth made sure that Izabella and her partner Squeaks were both inside before calling out for Cade. It was going to be a long day, and they needed to get a move on and fast.
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I do not own Transformers as it is owned by Hasbro and writer/producer Michael Bay.
I really only own Elizabeth Witwicky, who is Sam's cousin, and the employees of Ben's Mechanics.