Wildstar regained consciousness inside of the Autobot Base as Ratchet began to repair her stab wound. "Ratchet…?"

"Easy now. You suffered a harsh blow."

"What-? Wait. Red. Where's Red?! Did she make it here?!"

He shook his helm. "Optimus, Arcee and Bulkhead are intercepting Soundwave as we speak. Bumblebee and Smokescreen are monitoring and will open the bridge when they retrieve her."

"Let me up doc! I need to go and help! Red's my charge, Soundwave-!"

Ratchet immediately physically halted her. "Stay still! They are retrieving her at this precise moment, Wildstar. I know they will be able to rescue her."

"He called her a weapon…" Wildstar trailed off and looked away. "I'll make sure I kill him next time we meet." she hissed to no one in particular, claws flexing.

The computer blipped an incoming transmission and Ratchet looked up as Smokescreen answered. "Optimus! Did you get Red?" He asked immediately, and Wildstar looked hopeful. But there was too long of a pause before he answered.

-Soundwave held her hostage. We were unable to retrieve her in time before they were both on the Nemesis.-

Wildstar felt her spark break. Soundwave had managed to steal her friend. "Let me up." She looked at Ratchet with rage in her optics. "I need to go after her! She's just a little girl, she won't survive on the Nemesis!"

"There is nothing you can do!" Ratchet snapped and it only made Wildstar angrier as Bumblebee opened the bridge.

"There has to be something! Red is my fragging charge Ratchet! Optimus trusted me to keep her safe and I failed her! It's all my fault. If I hadn't agreed to let her try to beat her speed record she would still be here."

Ratchet didn't say anything as the others walked through, all silent and solemn. He too looked lost as he walked away, towards them and Smokescreen approached his sparkmate. "Wild, hey. It's not your fault."

"It is Smokescreen! Frag! They're going to force her to comply with whatever they want. She's helpless! I can't protect her."

He frowned and hugged her. "No, you and I both know Red isn't helpless. She's stubborn and she won't let them end her. We'll figure something out and bring her home, I promise."

"... Mhm… Smokey?"

"Yeah?"

"W-what are we going to tell her brother and the kids?"

Smokescreen didn't say anything. He just hugged his mate tighter.

OoooooO

Red screamed as she went flying through the spacebridge, once again crashing into the ground and rolled to a stop, this time right in front of a pair of silver peds.

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Starscream squealed in fear, claws gouging into Megatron's plating as he jolted up at the small human girl. Soundwave entered a moment later and the groundbridge closed behind him.

"That, is our new asset." Megatron rumbled, pushing Starscream aside. "A human, Soundwave? This is the weapon?" The silent mech nodded and on his screen showed images of her transforming. "A techno-organic with human flesh." The commander mused as the girl staggered up, groaning.

"Can't anyone just, I dunno, not throw me?" She muttered and slowly looked up to see two pairs of red optics, one vermillion and the other- whoa. Major case of goldfish lazy eyes. Her spark sank when she realized that aside from some giant light fixtures it was dark and she was in some kind of room that hummed. It sank even more when she realized exactly who lazy eyes was. Megatron. She was staring at Megatron. Boy if that chase hadn't sucked up every single drop of the energy drink she ingested…

She stumbled backwards as he rose, and reached down. "Roll-!" She tried to summon her mods before she was grabbed by a ponytail and halted painfully. The back of her tank top (and also painfully a bit of her flesh) was then grabbed and Red was lifted up until she was dangling in front of the scarred faceplate of the most feared Decepticon in history.

"And what might you be called, techno-organic?" he asked her, sharp denta inches from her face. Now she understood why Jaws was so scary. Yikes.

Red gulped, trying to not start hysterically sobbing and throw up. So she masked her fear, swallowed the nerves she had and tried to put on a tough cascade. "You- you better let me go, if y'all know what's good for ya!" She snapped at him. "I'm warning you now, goldfish eyes! As soon as my cannons cool I'm gonna give you a reason to wear an eyepatch! You and that creep that snatched me and the chick over there!" She pointed at Starscream.

Starscream looked both scared, appalled, and insulted. Soundwave had nothing to say, of course, and Megatron looked like he'd been bitten by her for a moment and then laughed, a dangerous sound. "Isn't it a feisty little thing! Soundwave, take it to a cell before my poor Seeker has a spark attack." he drawled, noticing how Starscream was tense. Such a typical weakling. "Keep an optic on her until a stasis collar can be built to its size since it insists on threatening us. And tomorrow, since it was you who captured our asset, you will have the honour of marking it with our sigil." He kept his optics fixated on the half-human as he spoke.

Soundwave approached, then silently took Red from the other Decepticon and stalked off towards her holding pen, briefly glancing over his shoulder at Megatron and Starscream with some jealous annoyance. Of course he would be preoccupied now that his plaything was back. Ridiculous. He had no mate and yet those two, the most toxic beings ever to exist were fragging each other if not plotting against or beating up the other. It made him somewhat glad he did not have to deal with such an annoyance.

"I ain't afraid of any of ya Cons, you hear me?!"

Right. He had to get saddled with the mouthy one.

"No siree! Just y'all wait! The bots'll come for me, y'all see! And when they get here you're gonna-... hey, wait a minute. ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" She yelled, thrashing in his grasp. "YOU! CREEPY! HELLO! YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED!"

Soundwave chuffed and then shook her a little, wanting her to be quiet. She squeaked and looked nauseous, and proceeded to upheave her stomach's contents on his servo. He almost dropped her. Disgusting! Glaring under his mask, the mech brought her into his quarters, where she was soon dropped into an energon container. It was small since it was only built for liquid, but for her it was huge. He glanced down at her to see if she was causing any trouble and decided she wouldn't. He would make sure. But first he had to make the proper preparations.

Red, recovering from her nausea about twenty minutes later, sat up slowly and looked around at the room outside. It was dark save for a single light fixture, with a slab, a large screen with- sweet mercy it was earth! She stared at the dot that probably represented where they were, and saw the location. Right smack dab in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Oh so much for escaping!

She began to rush around her confinement, looking for a way out. If it was anything like the monitor back at base, maybe she could radio in for help! Red stopped suddenly as she heard a beep and stayed still when Soundwave reentered the room, approaching her. She stared up at her own reflection, daring not to move.

"Inquiry: Designation?" he asked, pointing at her.

She looked confused and then glared at him. Oh heck. She was being interrogated. "I ain't talking!" She snapped at him, trying to mask the panic in her eyes.

Soundwave merely sat down, watching the little half-human from behind his visor. "Inquiry: Designation?" he asked yet again, wanting to know what they would need to call her for her to respond to commands. Designations could be a powerful thing when it came to humans.

She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring up at Soundwave, her green eyes locked onto the reflected image that warped like a funhouse mirror. "Inquiry: Designation?" He asked again, and Red suddenly realized something crucial. He wasn't using voice clippings like before. Was this what he actually sounded like?

"Inquiry: Designation." He grabbed the cube and threateningly gave it a small shake, causing her to slip and crash into a wall. "Lack of Response: Punishment."

Red yelped and held out her hands. "Wait! Wait! I-... just, call me Red. That's my designation. That's what I'm called, on earth."

Soundwave stored that valuable information away in his processor before he asked another question. "Inquiry: Location of residence?"

Red then glared. "Don't you try. I ain't telling you that even if you shake this here cube. That's confidential and on a need-not know basis ya get me?" She gazed bravely into his screen. "There ain't no one else like me out there s-so why, why even bother knowing that stuff? I also don't know where the Autobots hold their base, what they have in there aside from a pinball machine and an old video game, their plans and what they've got y'all don't!" Soundwave just stared at her. "You can probe me or make me barf again and rattle me 'till my brain bleeds but I seriously don't know anything. Never bothered, never got close."

The mech was, well, a little surprised by the femme's sheer audacity and boldness to tell him off when it was clear he had the upper servo, and she was afraid. But he could also tell she was being honest. And besides he didn't care about that currently. His master had tasked him with caring for her until the proper arrangements were in place and another was selected to train her. Deciding to try something less personal, the mech took a vial, poured a small amount of energon in it, and held it above the cube

"Inquiry: Energon required for fuel?" he asked.

She looked at it as he let a drop fall into her makeshift cell. "Uh, okay..." Just what was he playing at, she wondered. "I'm still human. I need food and water 'n stuff like that. I can't eat energon. So I guess I'm gonna starve to death!" She crossed her arms. "Probably in the next twenty four hours. Oh yeah. Humans also make waste so unless ya want to deal with something way more disgusting than vomit, ya better be ready to let me use the facilities."

Soundwave almost whined aloud at her ornery nature. He had never guessed that a techno-organic would need so much care and attention! Not to mention had special human requirements as well. Rubbing his helm with his free servo, the mech set the vial aside. "Inquiry: What fuel is required for techno-organic? And what 'facilities'?" he asked, knowing he had to keep her alive lest he lose his head to an enraged Megatron. He may have been important but Dark Energon had made his master more, unnerving.

"Okay, since ya wanna know, it's this stuff called water. Not the salty stuff 'cause that'll make me sick. Fresh water, but not from rivers or lakes 'cause that'll make me sick. Comes in bottles, and jugs. There's also food but it can spoil fast, some needs to be cooked before it's edible. Some kinds humans are allergic to. Oh yeah. And for facilities, hope yer ready to let me use human gas stations." She drawled.

Soundwave quickly stood, deciding he needed to fetch the techno-organic some organic food and was gone without another word, making his way out of the Nemesis and targeting the nearest human food storage-unit called a 'grocery store'. He would deal with the other thing later.

Red watched Soundwave leave and sighed. "Terrific! Now what?" She pondered for a minute, pacing back and forth across her cell, them heard something rattle. She looked up in time to see the vial roll off, crash onto the ground and made an audible shattering sound. An idea instantly hatched, and a happy smirk spread across her face. Making sure the coast was clear, she backed up.

"Rollerblades: On!" She whispered to herself, and felt her feet whirr and shift. "Boosters: On!" They hummed as they charged up, and she readied herself. With a sudden rush, she crashed into the thick wall of glass, causing it to lurch dramatically forward! She fell, caught her breath, and staggered up. She couldn't get a head injury, go for her shoulder for that 'oomph' Red needed. One more.

Her boosters activated again and she surged, crashing into the wall. It jolted, teetering precariously on the edge of the desk and she pushed on the wall as hard as she could…! It toppled, and crashed open as it hit the ground. She landed, skidding to a halt and got up, dusting herself off. Okay. One more obstacle. "Rollerblades: Off, Hands: On!" She alternated the mods, and with her cannons at a full enough charge, she aimed and fired at the wall panel. It took a few tries, but she managed to get it and with a fizzle and beep, the door slid open!

"Yes!" Red cried in triumph, quickly dashing outside and down the corridor. She ducked and watched as two Vehicons passed by, preoccupied with whatever they were talking about, then shot out of her hiding place and continued on her daring escape.

OooooooO

Meanwhile, back at the Autobot base, a new beacon popped up on the monitor. Wildstar peered over Ratchet's shoulder to look. "Let's go see if it's Cons! If we can get through their groundbridge-!" She was already heading for their own.

Ratchet grabbed her by the shoulder pauldron. "Wait now!" he looked at her directly. "We don't know if its Decepticon or Autobot activity. Besides if Megatron is the tactician we know him to be, he won't risk such a thing immediately." Ratchet's optics widened soon after as the signal became clearer. "Wheeljack!" He exclaimed, as the signature popped up. "It's Wheeljack!"

Every bot looked momentarily excited. "I haven't seen Jackie forever!" Bulkhead said happily. "Not since... Since-!"

"The stellar cycle before we met Red?" Arcee sighed, instantly bringing back the troubled mood. Red was on everyone's processors. And how were they going to be able to tell Jack, Miko, Raf and especially Mitch that she was gone?

Smokescreen saw and felt just how depressed and stressed Wildstar was. Poor femme… These past four hours waiting for basically a miracle wasn't doing anyone any good, much less Wildstar herself. So, then he had an idea.

"Wildstar and I can go and bring him to base, maybe scout along the way." Smokescreen said suddenly, smiling at his mate.

Scouting. That one word echoed in Arcee's audio receivers. It was the same thing she had been doing when she had stumbled across Red for the first time, well, more like met, fighting off two vehicons attacking her and her brother...

-Flashback-

Arcee was doing patrol with Wildstar. There had been a powerful energy surge in Jasper that had caused a blackout not too long ago, maybe two weeks, tops. Humans blamed a rogue lightning strike but those of the other world knew the truth. That was too powerful of a signature to be anything but a Cybertronian weapon activating. But that was the thing… before it could be traced it had died. It only popped up three times since, in random locations but it had been the third and first that were in the same general area. So now, Decepticons were frequently patrolling the streets in hopes to find the mysterious source, and there were more frequent sightings of Vehicons in Jasper. The pair were driving through the Main Street, patrolling for any sign of either weapon or foe.

-Arcee to base! No readings present, and no Decepticon patrols either. That recent spike looks to be another dead end. We'll be returning ASAP.- Once she hung up, Arcee playfully spoke to her comrade. "Excited that we're wrapping up so soon I take it?"

Wildstar laughed. "Okay, okay! You caught me. I am. " Just then, two purple sports cars drove into view. "Decepticons!" She cried, screeching to a halt.

Both ducked into an alley. They didn't seem to notice the two Autobots and continued to drive. "Looks like that spike wasn't a dead end after all." Arcee murmured, watching the Decepticons drive by.

"Wanna try and tail them?" Wildstar asked.

"Carefully. We do not engage unless spotted or they find the source of the signature." Arcee commanded, and once far enough they pulled out and drove as far behind as they could without being seen and without losing them.

Suddenly, two streets from where the outskirts started, in the trailer park, a dark green and rusty pickup truck came shooting out of nowhere! "WATCH OUT!" Came a male voice, faint but obvious. The driver t-boned the vehicon to the left and they skidded before finally halting. A young man in his early twenties leapt out of the truck and rushed over to the badly dented vehicon. "Goodnight Sweet Grace! Are you alright?! Shoot this is all my fault!"

He had a western accent, red hair and was well-built in human standards. A scrawny girl a bit younger than him also scrambled out of the truck, her fiery-red hair tied into two long ponytails. "Mitch! For the love of god, honk or something the next time Jess is 'bout to quit! You coulda killed someone!" She scolded him, hands on her hips.

"Well I didn't know the engine was gonna, so cut me some slack okay?!"

Before anyone could say anything else, the dented vehicon transformed and the other one followed suit! The man, Mitch, and the red-headed girl stumbled backwards, terrified. "Mitch!" The girl yelped and the human stood in front of her, trying to block the Vehicon from her.

Arcee and Wildstar quickly sprang into action. They gunned their engines and came shooting towards them before transforming into their base modes. They had no choice, human lives were at stake from a couple of pissed off drones! Both took on the Vehicons, landing numerous kicks, punches, and blasts at them, while the girl watched wide-eyed as they battled. Mitch had gotten to the door of the truck, whirled around and saw his sister gaping upwards.

"Red c'mon! We gotta get outta-!"

Then, one of the 'Cons quickly grabbed Mitch and held him up as a shield! Arcee couldn't do anything to help, and froze up. "MITCH! NO!" The girl shrieked and barely dodged being grabbed. And that's when Arcee heard it for the first time; "HANDS: ON!" There was the sound of metal shifting, sudden rapid fire of a cannon and the Vehicon lurched backwards!

Arcee turned her head and her blue optics widened when she saw the young girl's hands had turned into a Cybertronian cannon! How in the-?! The girl, Red rapidly fired away causing the Vehicon to drop it's captive. Arcee quickly sprang into action and caught him while the girl finished off the Vehicon, getting him in the helm with an unusually powered blast that knocked her back. Wildstar sent the other one's helm flying and rolling into the desert dust. No one said anything for a long moment, and then, "Hands: Off!"

She staggered up, steadying herself and quickly rushed over to Arcee. She stared up at the Autobots and Arcee stared right back, both in disbelief. After a long moment of silence, the human man- Mitch spoke up. "Uh... wow... uhm... thanks ma'am for the help."

Arcee snapped to. She put him down gently, next to his worried sister. She couldn't believe it, this, human girl was the source of the energy spike, she was some kind of Pretender or something! But, then why had the other called her 'sister'? If he was a Pretender as well then why not defend himself?

"You're- you two turned into stuff and back, e-exactly like Red!"

"Mitch-!"

"Listen, I- I don't know what ya are or if you can speak or understand me, but you gotta help us." He took Red's wrist and pulled her forward. "A little while ago my sister turned into something, and she can make her arms into weapons and she's fast like, superhuman fast! I saw how y'all turned your arms and bodies into stuff, you're just like her. You- you got answers I don't. Please, you gotta help my sister. I don't know what to do."

Wildstar knelt down, Arcee keeping her optics open for any signs of traffic or humans who could spot them. "... don't worry. We're taking you both somewhere safe and we'll give you the best answers we can. My designation is Wildstar, what you humans would call a 'name'. That's Arcee." She looked over at the blue femme, who looked back at the small human girl. "What's your name kiddo?"

The girl swallowed, and she stepped forward "It's Red. Nice to meet'cha Wildstar, Arcee."

-Flashback End-

Arcee blinked and looked upwards at the departing pair. "Just, be careful you two."

"We'll be okay, Arcee. I promise." Wildstar said firmly, optics bright. "Call us the moment there's any sort of update, please."

The femme nodded and the pair transformed, Smokescreen leading the way. "Come on. Let's go get Wheeljack."