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“Wha—what?” was all Lennox could bring himself to say. It was hard enough to believe the young redhead before him wasn’t dead after directly touching the generator, which should have fried her or burned her or something, but now there was a miniature robot that had been her phone just a few split seconds ago climbing over the top of her hand and up to her shoulder. Its eyes were eerily familiar to those of the two Autobots gaping with him, but it didn’t look as intelligent in the way it rubbed against her cheek, nuzzling her like a cat would. Worst of all, Catherine was staring back at him like it was the most normal thing in the world.
“It’s a long story so I’ll tell you straight up: I’m the Allspark,” she replied, and continued when his expression remained dumbfounded. “You know—the Cube? That thing you had Sam run around with? The one we used to destroy Megatron? That Cube. And you remember how it can cure and bring the Autobots to life? Well, I have that power, as my little phone-drone shows.”
As if to confirm her statement, the little robot chirped, a smiling face flashing onto its chest screen. Lennox still could not close his mouth, nor could he bring himself to move, his mind literally about to shut down from the confusion running rampant through it. He did manage to shake his head, although that did nothing to clear his thoughts. It was only when he saw the redhead smile sadly that he regained some composure and took a step forward, running a hand through his hair to try and wrap his mind around it.
“What… When… H-how did this…?”
“How did I become the Allspark? That’s part of that long story I was talking about, and I’d be happy to tell you if you’ll agree to me joining the human-Autobot alliance.”
“Join the—No! It’s too dangerous, you’re too young, and this is just…” he rambled, trailing as his mind faltered on words to say again.
I knew he’d say that. You’re just too kind, Lennox. “You know very well I’m more than capable of fighting in dangerous situations, and, yes, I am technically too young to join, but I’ll assume Prime didn’t say anything and tell you that I don’t have to be a soldier—I can be a liaison. It’s what Prime asked me to be, anyways. And, frankly, Lennox, while I am human, I'm the Allspark, too. In a way, I belong with the Autobots.”
“Catherine,” Ironhide rumbled, stepping closer, “it was not wise to use your powers so openly. And were you not the one who thought it was safest to not join us?”
“Whoa, whoa, wait,” Lennox called out, moving much closer now and looking between them. “What the hell are you talking about? When did Prime ever talk to you about any ‘liaison’ business and why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t you tell me about this Allspark business and everything else, too?”
Catherine sighed, though not with exasperation, “How do you think you would have reacted? You would probably be even worse than you are now. Not to mention the place we were staying was full of people who experimented on the Allspark. And yes, I did say it was best if I didn’t stay with the Autobots, but things are different now. With Sector Seven gone and you in charge, Lennox, I don’t think I need to worry about being experimented on or studied. And, frankly, while I could hide at home, it would be better if I hid among the Autobots. That way, if I was found out, they would already be there.”
“Catherine,” the brown-haired man spoke sternly, grabbing her arms and turning her to face him. “Please tell me what is going on. I’m pretty lost right now, and it’s sounding like a lot of this has to do with NEST, which means I need to know about it.”
She waited a moment, watching his expression, before nodding, “Alright. I’ll tell you everything.”
There, standing before her three-member audience she began to explain everything that had happened barely two months ago. She explained how her blood was now Energon-based, allowing the Allspark’s energy to bond with her. She left out the visions she’d seen or how the power works, but she told him what she could do, such as revive Jazz. He’d gone wide-eyed then, and she had to elaborate on how, yes, the shard was useless. She had all the reviving and healing powers, and the shard was just a ruse to keep Sector Seven and everyone else off her tracks. They couldn’t afford to have their friend and the Allspark in the organization’s hands, subjected to God-knows-what. She continued on from there, telling him what Prime had asked and spoken to her about, and how she’d thought it was safest to stay home, but not anymore. Ironhide placed his agreement here and there or added some input she didn’t know, and all the while Lennox watched so intently she was afraid he might explode from whatever emotion was thundering inside him. Never once, though, did she see any hint of him considering her some freak, and she silently thanked him as she finished.
“Jesus,” he breathed, running a hand through his hair again. She waited as he turned away and looked at the ground with his hands on his hips, deep in thought. She felt some of her hope faltering as he closed his eyes to sigh and then turn back to her. “So nobody besides the Autobots and me know? No one found out?”
“No one. We made sure, and I know how to hide my powers, so not even my parents know.”
He sighed again as he nodded, “That’s good. Still—you’re their Allspark? I just… It’s... it's unbelievable. Hell, I wouldn’t believe it if you hadn’t shown me with that robot phone thing. Is it like them?”
“No. Or, at least, I don’t think so. I think it’s like the one from before at the base that I told you about. I’d have to ask Ratchet to be sure,” she replied, stroking the phone’s head, which made it chirp happily.
“And you can create more? Using electricity? That’s why you weren’t electrocuted?”
“Yes, although I can only take in so much.”
“Ah,” he hummed, and became oddly silent, just staring at her. His expression looked stuck between complete, utter confusion and understanding. She wasn’t entirely surprised—it was a lot to take in for someone who was just learning it and didn’t know all that much about the Autobots. He was actually taking it better than she expected. She glanced up at Ironhide to check on him, and he was his usual self, apparently fine with whatever decision was made. She could still sense his unease with her revelation, although he was relieved it was Lennox she told and not someone else. She looked up at Sideswipe, too, who had decided to hang back during her tale. His face was impassive, and she didn’t really know what to make of the sense of confused awe coming from him.
With Lennox still silently staring she decided to repeat her question, “So… Will you let me join the alliance? NEST, was it?”
That seemed to work; his eyes blinked rapidly as he was brought back from wherever his thoughts had taken him. His lips set into a firm frown, and, by his stance, she could tell what he was going to say. It hurt her hopes a little, but she had gone too far now to be denied.
“I’m sorry, but it’s just too dangerous. You’re better off staying home. We’re going to be hunting down Decepticons, which will put you right in their grasp. It’s too dangerous for both your safety and your secret. I just can’t allow it. Furthermore, your parents wouldn’t—.”
“I don’t care what my parents think! I may not be a ‘legal’ adult, but I am more than capable of making my own decision, and, frankly, they don’t have any right to tell me how to live my life!” she snarled suddenly, surprising both herself and Lennox. She quickly recovered and continued, “Furthermore, if I become a liaison like Prime asked I won’t need to go hunting—I can remain at the base where I’ll be safe. And I’ll learn how to fight. You know I can use a gun, and I’m already fairly strong from wrestling. If that’s not good enough right now then train me! I’m willing to work and learn! I want to join! Please!”
He met her eyes for a few seconds before looking up at Ironhide, “Is that true? Prime wants her to be a liaison—nothing else? And you guys would protect her at all times?”
“Prime has made it clear he would not have her fight directly, and yes, we would ensure she would be protected at all times if it was her wish to join us.”
“So you guys want her with you?”
“We would not refuse her by our side,” the black mech nodded. “But we only want what is best for her, and we will abide by her choice. It is her right.”
He turned back to the redhead, her eyes bright with a determined fire of hope. She was so young though. She was just a kid, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t care if she got hurt or not. It was probably because he had his own little girl, but he couldn’t help wanting to keep Catherine out of harm’s way. Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder if sending her back home would be doing just the opposite of that. After all, had she not fled from her home? And then she had just exploded about her parents just now. She wouldn’t talk about it, but he knew now, without a doubt, something had happened. Still, the life she wanted wasn’t an easy one. It was dangerous beyond belief to fight the Decepticons, but, then again, she knew that, didn’t she? She had fought with him at Mission City and done a damned good job for her first time. And now, here she was determined and willing to do anything to go into it again. Who was he to deny her?
“You’re willing to go through the training? And let me to tell you it’s not easy. We’re fighting an entirely different enemy from any human or terrorist, which means the training is a hell of a lot harder. I’ve already had men quit even before they knew what they were up against. You sure you can handle it?” he asked sternly, gazing down at her with hard eyes, but she didn’t waver.
“Yes. It's what I want, and I won’t let some tough training stop me.”
“Then I’m going to give you a trial run. For the few days you’re here, you’re going to get the full deal, and you will do it all without complaint. If I hear even one, then you can forget it. I don’t care if you have the Allspark powers or whatever—you will not get into NEST. Not even when you become old enough.”
She couldn’t keep the smile from her face, “Yes!”
“What was that?” he inquired, raising a brow to hint at her fault.
“Yes, sir!” she saluted, and he nodded with approval. He sighed for a third time and ruffled the top of her head.
“You’re going to be the death of me, you know that? Sarah is going to kill me when she finds out,” he grumbled, and a few snickers came from the redhead. He grinned a little back, but then turned to her with a somber look. “Alright, we need to discuss how we’re going to do this. You’re also going to help me finish the truck and chores. Now that you’re a soldier, you don’t get the guest treatment from me.”
Catherine gave him another “yes, sir”, and happily followed him over to the truck and work bench where he began to relay orders. She followed them to the mark, all the while smiling for the sheer fact that he was giving her a chance to get what she wanted and needed, and because he hadn’t rejected her despite knowing she wasn't fully human anymore. She was finally leaving that place—hopefully for good—and would be with those she was happiest with. Remembering two of them were there, she used a few small, free moments to look back at Ironhide, whom was watching her with his usual gaze. She could sense he was happy she would be around them, but he had also become wary, and she silently apologized for that. She would make sure he didn’t need to worry so much.
When she turned away at Lennox’s call, so did Ironhide, but the black mech faced the silver mech rather than the brown-haired man. Sideswipe’s face was still stuck as Catherine had seen it, although his frown had deepened. The black mech already had a good idea of what was running through his student’s processor, as Prime had not told all the Autobots what Catherine was—only that she was important, a friend, and was to be protected. It had been done so for in the event any of thier weaker-willed were interrogated, but now there was no hiding it from him. If the younger mech was angry, he expected it, and so waited as Sideswipe found his words.
“She… That human is the Allspark?” he spoke over their private comm. link channel.
He nodded, “Yes, and she must be protected at all costs. You must not speak of this to anyone else save me and Prime's group. Is that understood?”
Sideswipe nodded back, and then his optics locked onto the redheaded female’s form, the thought in his processor working hard around an idea. He was not given long to ponder, however, as his mentor pulled him away to go train in the fields. He reluctant agreed and left, though spared Catherine one final glance back.
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-O-
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The next few days were, without a doubt, murder, and not just for Catherine. Lennox hadn’t been kidding when he said his wife would kill him. He ended up talking to the blonde-haired woman the night he had agreed to train Catherine, and the redhead had no problems hearing the shouts. Mrs. Lennox was not happy with her husband taking a young girl from her parents into some government business involved with fighting giant aliens. By some miracle, he managed to persuade Sarah into letting the redhead train for a few days to see if she would manage. If she didn’t, she would go home, but if she did, and he agreed, then she would be staying with them until he had to leave. She would go with him to the naval base, of course, and he would make it happen by pulling a few strings and using a few favors to make her eighteen on file, and to also put her up for liaison training. While Catherine would forever wonder what magic Lennox had used, she was just glad the matter had been settled. Sarah was still moody those few days, though, and her husband suffered for it at night on the couch.
Of course, that didn’t seem all that bad in Catherine’s point of view. Lennox, however, didn't feel the same, as she was pretty sure he took his pain out on her. She didn’t dare complain, though. And, in all honesty, it wasn’t that terrible. Waking up at five in the morning was pretty easy, as she was used to waking up early for school. Jogging at the five in the morning, however, wasn’t so nice, especially when it was a good six mile long path that he made her take. She did a lot of jogging for wrestling, but the most she’d even done in one straight go was four miles. Six and her legs weren’t very happy with her, but she was still okay. Then came the push-ups and sits up, and while they were a lot more than she did in wrestling, that was still okay. It didn’t end, though. As soon as breakfast was over there was more toning and strength and endurance building and speed training. Again, she was so glad she did wrestling, as it prevented her from dying the first half of the day.
After the physical training, Lennox pushed her right into her weapons. She half-expected to begin actually shooting, but it wasn’t to be. Instead, he had her learn every part of the gun he had been cleaning, which was to become their main type of weapon use against the Decepticons. It reminded her of one of the ones from the Halo games, although it used compact, saber-like rounds that were strong enough to penetrate through Cybertronian armor. Hers was unloaded, of course, and she spent hours taking it apart and learning each piece, only to have to put it back together again. Needless to say, putting it back together was a lot harder than taking it apart. It took what felt forever, but she eventually got it done—only to do it again, and again, and again until she knew it all by heart. Only then did he allow her to actually begin aiming and gathering her stance together. Thankfully that wasn’t so hard, as she’d gone shooting before, although now she has a scope instead of a ball to focus her aim.
It wouldn’t be until the next day that she would actually begin shooting, using clay pigeons as targets. That she was definitely used to, but the firing was very different—it was more like shooting a pistol rather than a scattered blast range. Thankfully, Lennox was patient and she had extra help with the Autobots, too. Ironhide was an excellent teacher when it came to aiming and timing, but what would one expect from a robot millions of years old that was built for war? Sideswipe did his share, too, and he was actually more helpful than she expected. He was fun to be around as before, though theyir conversations were more serious this time around, generally involving fixing her aim or some friendly advice. She did okay and learned fast, although she was pretty sure she could have done better if she hadn’t been tired from her morning workout.
Her third day was the hardest. By then her limbs had begun to ache from their extended and strenuous use. Wrestling was a tough sport, but training to fight Decepticons was even harder. She still pushed through it all. For one, the soreness would ease when she worked the lactic acid out, and there was no way she was going to give up on or ruin her chance of joining the Autobots. A few sore limbs were no excuse, so she bit back any groan or hiss of pain she might have had. It thankfully got a little better by midday after she’d worked her muscles, had lunch—she thanked God for Sarah’s holy cooking skills—and then practiced shooting the clay pigeons again. It wasn’t to last, though, as Lennox had a surprise for her. Instead of just pigeons, she was going to work with an actual Autobot. Apparently, the NEST soldiers that continued on got to do the very same thing, treating the situation as if it was a hunt for the Decepticons.
Her opponent was Sideswipe, whom was all too happy to show her up if only for her little “I’ll keep him in line” days ago. She only slightly regretted saying it as Lennox gave her the rules: she had to hit at least three different vital spots with a total of ten shots. Non-vital shots didn’t count, and if Sideswipe got her before then she was dead. Just when she was ready to say that there was no way she could win, her mentor explained that Sideswipe could only use his blades and he had to block her to where she couldn’t get away, and that they’d also have it take place in a small area near the edge of the land with a lot of trees to represent buildings and obstacles. While it was better, she was still pretty sure it was one-sided. Sideswipe, on the other hand, had no doubts, and constantly gave her victorious smirks whenever she looked.
Still she trudged on, remaining quiet as Ironhide drove her and Lennox over. If there was any good news, it was that it would only last five minutes and the trees were actually thicker than she expected. Not that it meant it wasn’t enough room for the slender mech to edge his way through. She found that out barely a minute into the match when she had taken up hiding behind a particularly thick bunch and heard the groan of wood bending and bark cracking. She’d looked and found Sideswipe pressing through, which brought about a few choice words she would never repeat around Annabelle.
While Lennox had told her it was a firefight match, it was more of her running her ass off to get as far away as she could to get off two or three shots before running again while Sideswipe kept getting closer. He was fast even on the rough ground—the trees weren’t doing a lick of good—and he was even better at avoiding his vitals being hit. Hell, she was barely even able to strike his normal armor with the jerk ducking or shifting out of the way like some slick shit. Of course, her technique got old fast, and Sideswipe had apparently held back the entire time, as, about three minutes in, he was suddenly always right at her heels, leaving her no time to fire. That, in turn, led to him cornering her by stabbing his blades—which were actually pretty cool—into the ground in front of her. She knew she’d lost and didn’t bother running as he grinned victoriously at her. "Jerk" was only one of the rude words she had for him.
Lennox and Ironhide were more sympathetic, saying she lasted a decent amount of time and she had managed to land three—albeit non-vital— hits. She supposed that should have made her feel better, but a certain silver mech wouldn’t have it, and constantly teased her throughout the rest of the night when she was finally given a break. Thankfully he would get tired of it—mostly because she ignored him in favor of the fantastic star-gazing on the farm. He was much better to talk with then, and she learned a little about him, like how he was a younger generation born for war and how he was one of the best. While she doubted his skills, she let him brag and found it kind of nice to listen to. It made him seem more relatable, or that was the best way she could think to describe it. He asked her things, too, and she would answer. Sometimes he listened with earnest, but other times he would brush her off if an idea bored him. Normally it would have annoyed her, but she would just end up laughing when his “bored” face appeared.
That was also the time when she finally got to interact with her little phone “drone”, which she had gotten around to calling Teletraan for the fact he was a type of telephone than transformed and she wanted to make it special so she added in an extra “a”. He—or, well, she just assumed it was a ‘he’ since their kind didn’t really have genders—seemed to like it and always answered to the call. Although he was “Cybertronian”, he would still act like a phone and, was by all means, far better than any phone in existence. She could access the Internet with him instead of just calls or texts, and she could bypass a lot of security. He was like her personal hacking computer, only smaller and able to talk through emotion icons and symbols. That had been difficult to get through, but her powers allowed her to sense what he wanted more than anything else. Granted, he didn’t really seem to need much—in fact, he was happy just being around her. He really was like some kind of pet, and she loved it.
Sometimes Ironhide would join them at night, but most times he was off by himself or, to her surprise, with Sarah Lennox. She hadn’t honestly gotten a lot of time to spend with the blonde-haired woman, but she was always nice and motherly when they did hang out, so she couldn’t help but wonder how Ironhide was “leashed”—as Lennox said—by her. She would try to sneak some peeks, but all she would generally see was them talking. There one thing she noticed: Annabelle was always with them in those moments, and Ironhide would generally be watching the little girl with the softest expression she’d ever seen come from him. It spiked her curiosity, but she never attempted to pry. She didn’t even ask Sarah, though made note of the woman’s comments about thinking it was adorable how gentle the "big guy" was with Annabelle despite being so big and a robot.
She was going to have plenty of time to think on it, though, as on the fourth day Lennox didn’t take her training. In fact, she woke up without the man hovering over her as he nudged her awake—he would have shouted, but he didn’t want to wake the baby—and at nine in the morning. That alone was very surprising, and when she came down she found breakfast and his wife waiting to tell her to meet him outside when she was done. She did as told, locating the soldier soon enough, working diligently on the truck again. When he turned to meet her his face was grim, and she suddenly expected the worse.
And then he said okay. She could join.
Her joy literally blew out of her body, through the atmosphere, and onto the next galaxy over. She somehow didn’t start jump around screaming, and it was probably because the soldier continued on, informing her that there were going to be some special things. “Things” being that she couldn’t tell anyone about what he had done, meaning her age change and the fact she was going to be given special quarters and special training with his group. Furthermore, she had to keep a low profile for most of her first year there so people could become used to her presence and not get suspicious while his “buddies” got her officially situated. She agreed fully and heartedly, glad to just finally have her dreams in her grasp. Then he brought up the topic of her parents.
They had talked about it before on the day she revealed her powers, but not all that much. She certainly hadn’t explained her feelings towards them, but she was pretty sure he could guess. However, despite that, something needed to be done. Firstly was telling them her intentions. Although the papers put her as eighteen for everyone else, it would be better if her parents knew so there wouldn’t be trouble. They were her family, after all. She then asked what if they weren’t her family anymore, and that led into some conflicting talk with Lennox. In the end, she told more than she would have liked to let him worry about, but it convinced him enough to agree to override their decision. It helped she was the Allspark, and that her presence would endanger them, too. Not that she was so worried about that.
With that settled, and her decision about her parents in mind, Lennox told her she was going home tomorrow with Sideswipe to get her things and then come back to stay the remainder of the wait with them. She couldn’t help asking what they would do if her parents attempted to make any calls about her leaving, but he just told her not to worry—they had it covered. She trusted him, and so spent the last bit of that day listening to how things would go down and preparing for the next day.
It was harder than she thought, trying to figure out what she could say to those people. There were so many things she wanted to tell them, but it couldn’t be just any words. She was going to leave them behind forever and never look back, and she had to make sure they knew exactly why. Maybe it was petty, but she wanted them to feel every margin of the pain she had suffered because of them. It was time for them to face their own truth, and by the end of that day she knew exactly what to say. All that remained was getting there.
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-O-
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“You sure you’re ready? You look a little nervous,” Lennox smiled comfortingly as he came up beside Catherine, whom had taken up standing on the front porch, her arms folded across her chest. Teletraan peered out from the pocket of her jacket to chirp back at the man before he was nudged back into his alternate form. She sighed then, looking out at where Sideswipe was waiting in his vehicle form—oddly more patient than usual—and then looked up at Lennox for a moment before looking back with a shrug.
“As I’ll ever be, I guess. Not every day a sixteen—er, eighteen year old disavows their parents. It needs to be done, though. We’re better off without each other, to be honest,” she replied, and felt a warm hand wrap around her shoulders.
“Well, you know I don’t completely agree with it, but... I’m not you. Just don’t regret what you do, kiddo, ‘cause you can’t take it back.”
She smile a little, “Yeah. I know. I don’t plan to... By the way, I was wondering—what really convinced you to agree to this? Was I really that persuasive?”
“Well, you did have some good points… buuut Ironhide helped a little when you weren’t looking.”
“Ah. I will have to thank him,” she hummed, and looked up at Lennox. “Thanks, by the way.”
The brown-haired man smiled back, hugging her close for a moment before turning away, leaving her alone again. She sighed once more, her heart thumping anxiously. She knew her plan was what she had to do, but she was so afraid to fail—so afraid to fall back into that cage. She could do it, though. If she could survive an alien war and have the courage to reveal her powers and take such a risk, then she could do it. She just had to take those first steps.
The silver Stingray honked loudly, his patience finally up. She chuckled and descended down to the dirt path. His door opened for her and she slid in, this time marveling at his interior. She hadn’t been able to do so before, and it was stunning. She would never admit it, but she kind of preferred it to Jazz’s vehicle form. It was roomier and there was just something she liked about his kind of vehicle. She would never admit that to Sideswipe, either. His ego was high enough already.
“So this time we are going to your house, right?” he inquired and she knew he was smirking.
“Yep, so get to it. It’s about three hours and I want to get back in time for dinner,” she shot back, smacking his steering wheel lightly.
“Hey, hey, watch the merchandise! I don’t have to do this for you, y’know,” he grumbled, starting his engine and taking off just as she put her seatbelt on.
“Actually, you do. Ironhide said so. He’s got you W-H-I-P-P-E-D. Whipped,” she grinned, adding in the sound of a whip crack.
“Pssh, he wishes. I’m just tired of being in this dirty place. The paved roads are much better on my frame.”
“Oh my God, I’m riding with a prima donna!” she groaned, leaning back and smacking her forehead for emphasis. Teletraan decided to make his debut, poking his head out and showing a face sticking its tongue out while he chirped some incoherent words.
“Oh shut up or I’ll boot you both out.”
“Do that and Ironhide will destroy you within an inch of your life. Literally.”
“Please, I can take him,” the vehicle huffed.
She raised a brow, “So that’s why you landed face first in that pile of horse crap and the mud puddle and the rest of the ranch?”
“… Shut up.”
She smirked and then burst into laughter, earning more “shut-ups” from Sideswipe. If there was one thing she could out-do him in, it was comebacks, and the mech was going to be at her mercy for the entire ride. It was going to be a wonderful three hours.
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