"Welcome to K.O. Drive in, where every patty's a knock out. May I take you're order?", Jack said over the microphone.
It had been a long day at work and me and Jack's shifts were almost over. In Jasper, Nevada there's not much to do so naturally you're going to have rowdy teenage kids with attitude problems and stupid ideas that they think are jokes. But this was totally uncalled for in my book.
"Uh, Two super combos, extra fries", said the customer.
Jack turned to prepare the meal. "Okay, dos numeros tús."
Turning back to the window jack asked if they wanted anything else.
"Yeah, some advice. How do I get an awesome job like yours?"
Laughter was heard over the speaker as Jack and I wrapped the sandwiches and fries. Although they thought it was funny, Jack had a comeback.
"So that's two we're-not-as-funny-as-we-think-we-are-combos with a side of bite me!" Jack retorted into the microphone whilst I giggled to myself.
The laughter abruptly stopped as Jack slammed the bags of food on the counter. "What'd you say?!?!"
Jack reached up and placed his hand on the microphone. "$5.59 sir, at the window."
Jack turned his head towards me with a smirk adorning his face while I was by now laughing my ass off. Jack turned to the cash register. While Jack was preparing to take cash or credit I didn't fail to notice the car pull up to the window and the school bully, Vince, and a bunch of his friends grab the bags of food and pulled a dine-and-dash. They started laughing again and that's when Jack turned around to face the window again. However, Jack and I weren't quick enough to grab the bags before they pulled away from the drive-thru window.
"Hey!!!" he cried. Jack slammed his hand down on the windowsill. "I have to pay for that!"
I just smirked and slapped Jack in the back.
"OUCH!" Jack exclaimed. "What was that for?!?!"
My smirk turned into a helpful, friendly advice giving smile. "Jack, life sucks and we can't just sit around and wait for things to get better. We have to act when the time is necessary, so don't your panties in a twist over a few measly bucks."
Jack's mood didn't seem to be any better than it had been before. I sighed.
"If it makes you feel any better I'll take the money of of my paycheck and you can keep your $5.59." I offered.
Jack's face seemed to light up at that offer and I smiled. Finally, he was starting to cheer up! I motioned for him to follow me. "C'mon, it's time for us to clock out."
I walked to the back and clocked out of the computer. After Jack had clocked out as well we walked back into the main area of the restaurant, out the front door, and into the parking lot where our bikes were. I was an exchange student from Greece so I was staying with Jack and his mom, June.
That's when Jack's phone rang. "Hey mom! We just got off." Jack said as he answered it.
Mrs. Darby said something and then Jack spoke up again. "No, I'm not going to the dance and neither is Alexis."
Jack smiled. "Experience suggests that neither Alexis or me should never cut a rug. Unless we're installing a carpet."
Jack walked into the parking lot as he said this. I smiled from where I was on a bench and looked down at my phone only to see that I had no messages.
"Be careful? Seriously?" Jack asked. "This is Jasper."
That's when Jack stopped short and finally took notice of the blue and pink motorcycle sitting in the parking space in front of the door.
"I love you..." Jack whispered in awe.
Of course Mrs. Darby thought that Jack was talking to her so she said something across the line. Then Jack realized what he did and made up for his mistake.
"Y-yeah I love you too mom! Gotta run!", he said stuttering in anticipation.
He hung up the phone and walked towards the motorcycle.
"Hello, beautiful!" he said. "Where've you been all my life?"
He ran his hands across the console and seat of the bike. While he was doing this I could've sworn I saw the mirror on the left side of the bike move on it's own. That's when Jack started to get on the bike.
"J-jack? I don't think you.." I trailed off because he wasn't listening.
"It may take a few K.O. paychecks, but I am gonna own a ride like you someday." Jack declared. I rolled my eyes. Of course Jack was obsessed over getting a motorcycle. One he was a teenage boy, and two, he's had this motorcycle helmet that he bought when he was just a kid and he's wanted a real motorcycle ever since.
That's when I noticed the local "pretty and popular" girl from high school, Sierra, had walked upon the scene. Tailing her was her blonde haired friend, Christy.
"Are you talking to your motorcycle?" she asked, bursting out laughing with Christy. I stood up angrily.
"Hey! Don't talk to Jack like that!" I shouted. Sierra stopped laughing and looked over to me.
"What's it matter to you toga girl!?!" she asked angrily.
"U-uh my motorcycle?" Jack stammered. It was to be expected for him to be nervous. He was one of the many male high shcool students that was crushing on the auburn headed popular girl.
"N-no! I-I mean yes! Yes!" Jack cried. "It's mine, but uh...heh heh no! I'm-I'm-I'm not talking to--well to you! I'm talking to you! I-I am."
Jack set his head in his hand in defeat, having just embarrassed himself thoroughly in front of the girl that he liked. "How's thing's Sierra? Take you for a spin some time?"
That's when I noticed the mirror move again on the motorcycle. "C'mon smooth operator! Wrap it up!" I heard a voice whisper. I looked up into the street and saw two cars that looked exactly the same who looked suspicious. It was also the fact that they were pointed directly at us that had me suspicious. Maybe the biked belonged to them?
I decided to intervene. I walked over and grabbed Jack by the shoulder.
"Jack we need to go. Now!" I whispered sharply into his ear. He ignored me.
"You...know my name?" Sierra asked. Ha! No surprise there, the girl's a total airhead not to have noticed that she and Jack share the same homeroom.
"We-we're in homeroom together. I-I'm Jack! Jack Darby?" Jack said with tone of hope in his voice.
Then all of a sudden there was a rev of an engine and the two cars that had looked suspicious were now right in front of us, lights shining in our faces. The mirror on the bike moved again. I felt something bad was going to happen so I quickly wrapped my arms around Jack. Then the two cars started charging towards us. Sierra and Charity jumped out of the way. Unfortunately though, I was hanging on to Jack so when the motorcycle started and reared up into a wheelie on it's own, I was dragged along for the ride.
"Heeeeyyyy!!! Whoa! Whoa! Whoaaaa!!", Jack yelled as we speeded through the two cars and onto the main road. The two cars turned around and followed us.
Holding on as tightly as I could I was surprised to hear the voice come from the motorcycle. "Do not let go!"
"W-who said that!" Jack and I screamed in unison.
The two purple cars from before sped up and converged around us. Slowing down, the bike caused the two cars to slam into one another. When they pulled apart and an opening formed in between the two, the motorcycle sped up, getting further away from the two dangerous cars on our tail. We turned around a corner and we pulled into an alleyway where Jack and I both jumped off.
"What are you!?!" I asked in alarm.
The bike revved and drove forward a bit. "I don't exist! Tell anyone about me and I'll hunt you down!" the motorcycle said. It drove forward threateningly and Jack and I ran off, Jack tripping a bit.
As we ran away, one of the purple cars followed us down the alleyway. I screamed and grabbed Jacks hand before hearing the loud sound of tires screeching as the motorcycle was once again heading our way.
The purple car was gaining on us. "We don't even know her!" Jack yelled out.
To my delight, however, the blue motorcycle pulled up next to us. "Hop on!" the female voice yelled.
Jack and I jumped on and I wrapped my arms around Jack to prevent myself from falling off. We sped up and then pulled back out onto the main road. It was then that the shooting started. Jack covered his head and I buried my face in his back. We pulled onto the highway.
"W-why are those guys shooting at us!?!?!" I shouted.
"There's no us kid, and they're no guys!" the feminine voice of the motorcycle rang out.
Jack and I turned back on the motorcycle only to see that the two dark plum colored cars had followed us onto the highway and were steadily gaining on us. It was then that a black and yellow mustang pulled onto the freeway and crashed into the two purple cars. The mustang turned around from the crash and started to head our way.
"Friend of yours?" Jack asked in a panic.
"Family." The motorcycle's voice answered.
As we sped up I turned to check on the mustang and noticed that he was preventing the purple cars from getting around him in order to get to us. I silently mouthed a thank you and turned back to face the front only to share Jack's look of terror as we were about to head right off the end of the road!
The motorcycle sped up and raced towards the edge. "WHOOAAA!" Jack and I screamed in unison.
The bike jumped the edge and we were in the air for about five seconds before we landed on solid ground and were racing down a hill towards the edge of a wall. We launched off the edge of the wall and into the air, only to land on the concrete below in front of a boy who looked only about twelve or thirteen years old.
"Woah!" the boy exclaimed, dropping his remote control.
I sighed in exhaustion. "You can say that again."
We heard the revs of engines and I looked up with Jack and the small boy, only to see the two purple cars racing down the hill and launch into the air. However, that wasn't the shocking part. No, It was the fact that In mid-flight, they transformed into four story robots! I gasped and grabbed onto the little boy bringing him close to me.
That's when the mysterious motorcycle behind us transformed into a robot as well. "This ends here cons'" she said as she started to charge towards them.
Jumping in the air, she kicks one of them to the ground while dodging their fire and then kicks the other one in the face. Reeling back from the force of her kick, the "con" as the female robot had put it, was pushed back further as the once motorcycle sent another series of attacks on him.
"What are they?" asked the little boy.
"Talking cars that turn into robots." Jack answered.
"Or the other way around." I finished.
"This...is...for...Cliff!" she said as she punched the con in the face.
The con looked at the female robot before she stepped back into a guarded stance and both him and the other con who had recovered from the first attack started to shoot at her once more. Doing a series of backflips, the female robot was eventually hit by a blast from one of the cons. That's when I heard the horn of the mustang.
The mustang rolled down the hill, launched into the air and transformed into a black and yellow robot. He landed on one of the cons and punched the other in the face sending them to the ground. Behind the robot the female robot got up and growled under her breath while holding her head. The black and yellow robot took a step back and stepped on the little boy's remote control car. Looking down he realized what he had done.
::"Oops! Sorry":: I heard the robot say.
"No problem! Really!" the little boy reassured the black and yellow titan.
That was when one of the cons shot a blast at the black and yellow robot and sent him to the ground. The robot was about to get up but one of the cons slammed him back to the ground with their foot. Blasters pointing at the poor bot, the little boy defended him.
"Leave him alone!!" he yelled.
One of the cons' raised their blaster and walked towards us. "Bad call" Jack said.
I grabbed the little boys backpack and Jack ushered us into a pipe to where the robot couldn't get to us.
The can however was pulled back from the pipe and was beaten by the mustang/robot. He then looked down into the pipe and reassured us that it was okay now.
"Thank you!" the little boy and I said in unison.
::"No problem! You're welcome!":: the bot said and then walked away.
We didn't stay to see what happened after that.
The next day after school, Jack and I walked out of the school and past another exchange student who was drawing. It was then that I saw the motorcycle from yesterday. I paid it no mind and could've sworn I saw the mirror following my movement. From afar Jack and I saw the little boy from yesterday who we learned was named Rafael.
We walked over to him by the tree. "Raf. Hey." Jack said. I waved a Raf smiled at me acknowledging that I was there.
Jack scratched the back of his head. "Look, let's just keep this between the three of us and forget anything ever happened okay?"
We heard the horn of the yellow mustang as it pulled up to us on the sidewalk.
Rafael gasped. "Jack! Alexis!" he said and grabbed Jack's wrist.
"Oh not again!" Jack cried.
::"Come on in Rafael and Alexis!":: the car said, raising the door.
However I don't think that Jack had understood him. "I-it wants us to get in."
"No just me and Raf." I stated.
Jack looked at me questioningly. "H-how do you know that?!?!?"
"It said so" Raf simply said.
"What!?!" Jack exclaimed.
"Yours is over there!" I said pointing behind us.
"Look, I really don't think that-" Jack was starting to say.
However, Raf and I weren't listening.
"How's it going?" Raf asked.
I climbed In the car and got in the driver's seat while Raf hopped in the passenger's side.
"Alexis...Raf! Wait! Wait! Stop!!" Jack protested.
The mustang didn't stop as we pulled away from the curb.
Apparently, the mustang's name was Bumblebee and the motorcycle was called Arcee. Although he didn't give us anymore info because we were supposed to get that information from their leader, someone called Optimus Prime. On the way though, when Jack was getting picked up by Arcee, they had picked up another person. An exchange student who I knew as Miko, was now along for the ride.
We pulled out of town and looked to be headed for a mountain when all of a sudden the mountain opened us and we pulled inside a tunnel which came out into a military silo.
"Cool!", Raf and I said in awe.
There, at giant computer stood another robot. This one was orange and white. Then came another in the color of an olive green. We came to a stop and hopped out of Bumblebee. Arcee and Bumblebee transformed and waled off somewhere.
"I thought there were three." stated the orange and white bot.
Arcee put a hand on her hip. "Haven't you heard?" she asked. "Humans multiply."
"I'm Alexis and this is Jack" I said, pointing to myself and Jack.
"I'm Raf" Raf introduced himself.
Miko ran towards the olive green bot. "Hi! I'm MIko!" she said.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Surprised, the green bot answered. "Bulkhead."
Miko gasped. "Are you a car? Are you a truck? I bet you're a monster truck!!"
She continued to rant on as I looked around. Their set up was pretty cool. I myself was wondering what the shortchanged turned lined with technology was though.
"So if you guys are robots, who made you?" Raf asked curiously.
"Raf I don't think that they were made." I stated.
"Pphht. Puuuleease" the orange and white robot said.
That's when I heard the crashing footsteps that were going to change my life forever. I turned around to see a six story robot in red and blue colors.
"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron. Also known as, Autobots." he said.
Jack stepped forwards. "Why are you here?" Jack asked.
"To protect your planet from the Decepticons." he said.
Arcee cut in. "The jokers who tried to bump us off last night."
"Ok, why are they here?" I asked.
I'd kinda figured out by now that he was their leader, Optimus Prime. He kneeled down to my level. "A fair question, Alexis."
"In part, they are here because our planet is uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war." Optimus stated.
"W-why were you fighting a war?" Raf asked.
"Foremost, over our world's supply of energon, the fuel and lifeblood of all Autobots and Deceptions alike."
"The combat was fierce, and endured for centuries. In the beginning, I fought alongside one whom I'd considered a brother. But in war, ideals can be corrupted. And it was thus, that Megatron lost his way."
Miko sighed. "Is there gonna be a quiz?" she asked sarcastically.
"So what does Megatron, or any of this, have to do with us?" I asked.
"Megatron has not been seen or heard from in some time. But if his return is imminent, as I fear, it could be catastrophic." Optimus stated.
Meanwhile on the Nemesis...
Soundwave walked towards Starscream with the transmission playing on his visor.
"Those transmissions are emanating from deep space." Starscream said. "I would hate to waste the energon. Unless, you are absolutely certain?"
Soundwave nodded silently.
Starcream sighed. "Then lock on transmission coordinates, and activate the space bridge."
The vehicle by the control board complied and activated the space bridge.
Just outside earth's orbit....
The space bridge opened and a single jet flew threw the vortex. Transforming, a silver and purple cybertronian could be seen. It was Megatron.
"DECEPTICONS!" he thundered. "I have returned."
to be continued...
ns 15.158.61.7da2
