#2 - Plan of Action

When he fell back on the floor, the boys went over to help him up.

Starscream stared blankly at the high ceiling, his pale silvery blue eyes as wide as saucers. His face still looked pretty much the same as he used to but was softer with human features. He was wearing a dark blue hooded jacket that had red stripes running up the sleeves and sides. It wasn't zipped so it revealed the dark golden shirt underneath. His pants were the same dark blue with a red stripe running up the sides. He also had black army style boots and a black motorcycle helmet and leather fingerless gloves. The visor was up so you could see his face but you couldn't see his hair.

Rad and Carlos managed to hoist Starscream up between them until he could somewhat stand on his own. He was unresponsive and was breathing heavily. Alexis came forward to see him more clearly. Even if this wasn't Starscream, though she was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was, she wanted to help him.

"Starscream," she said a little firmly and touched his shoulder. "Tell me, how do you feel?"

It took him a few moments to regain himself, for the panic to subside, before he looked up at her. He looked so tired. "I..." His panting was becoming lighter as he began to breathe normally. "I... I thought I was... Was I...?" He couldn't finish.

"Le mataron a tiros for cryin' out loud!" Carlos exclaimed with a nervous laugh. "Of course you were dead, amigo."

"Carlos!" Rad and Alexis snapped in unison.

Starscream wasn't sure what Carlos said but figured it was supposed to be offensive. But currently, he didn't really care. He just wanted to lay down somewhere quiet and recharge and wake up in his normal body back on Cybertron.

"We need to get him out of here," Alexis said. "You guys help him out while I find my palm pilot."

They had no objections and immediately began walking him back toward the base doors. They soon got him outside and were sitting him down on a low flat rock near their rides. Carlos plopped onto the ground while Rad stayed by Starscream's side.

"What do you remember?" he wondered.

Starscream didn't feel like answering many questions but he assumed the more answers he gave, the more answers he would get back. "I... Galvatron and Optimus... Unicron... I was trying to get Galvatron to see... We were all going to be lost if we didn't unite..." He flinched, remembering the pain. "Then... there were voices, all around me. I couldn't see anything... but then I saw light. I followed it and..."

"¡Toma!" Carlos interrupted. "Here you are."

It was around then that Alexis came out of the base and closed and locked the doors. "I got it," she announced. "Is there anything else we need to get before we leave?"

They shook their heads and Alexis came to stand by Carlos to complete the semi circle. "Okay, now we just need to figure out what to do."

"Well," Rad began. "He can't stay here. Maybe we should contact the Autobots-"

"No!" Starscream growled then calmed a bit when the children looked at him oddly. "I don't concern them or the Decepticons anymore, especially like this. Besides, what good would it possibly do to tell them about me?"

This response didn't surprise them. He must still have his pride, even as a human. It would take a lot longer for him to adjust. They didn't even know how long he would be like this. Maybe forever. "Then he's going to have to stay with one of us," Rad stated.

Carlos shook his head. "Not me, dude." he said. "When school ends next week, my familia ir de viaje for the summer."

Starscream was tired of this gibberish. "What did he say?" he demanded.

"He said his family is going on vacation," Rad translated. "And my family is coming to visit a week later until after the Fourth of July. What about you Alexis?"

"My grandparents are coming but not until the end of June," she admitted. "But I can't take him home. My dad would have a cow and I'm not sure what mom would say."

Starscream listened to the arguments and suggestions until his head spun even more than it already was. Why couldn't he just stay here? He knew the kids had 'camped' here before. Why couldn't he do the same thing? He groaned, putting a hand to his forehead as he felt a headache coming on.

Alexis knew that there was no way around it. Rad couldn't keep him for more than a week and Carlos was out of the question. She sighed. "Alright, alright, he can come home with me," she finally agreed. "But I'm going to need a pretty good excuse."

They began to talk about what sorts of reasons why a strange guy suddenly showed up. They suggested several things but nothing sounded realistic enough. After about twenty minutes, they only had one salvageable story:

Alexis would say that Starscream was from Canada. His real name was hard to pronounce properly so he preferred to use his name's meaning; star scream. His parents had been killed last year in a car crash. He ran away to the states because his legal guardian abused him. He was Alexis's pen-pal and that was how he knew where to find her.

"What do you think, Screamer?" Carlos asked the ex-Seeker once this had been decided.

Starscream gave him a not-so-friendly glare. "I think humans need less complicated and foolish laws," he retorted.

Rad rolled his eyes and got up to get his bike. Carlos didn't have a comeback and Alexis stifled a giggle. She almost smiled as Rad pulled up on his bike along side Starscream and asked him if he wouldn't mind ridding behind.

It wasn't that she hadn't wanted him to stay with her, it was because she thought Rad or even Carlos might be able to show him better about what being a human was like. But perhaps if she just cared and watched out for him during the summer, they could take over once the new school year started. If she could just try and keep him out of trouble until then, they'd probably be okay.

Once Starscream figured out how to keep his balance behind Rad, the other two got their skateboard and scooter respectively and headed out down the gorge and toward their neighborhood. Though not even for five minutes could Starscream survive the bumpy ride through the gorge. He strongly requested that they stop. They did so and he quickly got off of Rad's bike and sat on the ground, head in his hands.

"What's wrong?" Rad asked, kneeling by his side.

The ex-Seeker couldn't even begin his list of things that were wrong. However, the main thing was that his shoulder blades were sore and cramped. "It's... my back," he finally admitted.

Alexis came over and looked at his back. At first she saw nothing of suspicion, then she noticed that he had a backpack on. It was black and simple other than a zipper on each side and a pocket on the front. A metallic purple Decepticon insignia was sewn on the front pocket and Cybertronian letters were stitched below it. She didn't know why she hadn't seen it before, but never mind that now. Perhaps there was something in it that was causing his discomfort.

She knelt down and tried to ease the pack off when she felt Starscream tense. "Stop, that's irritating it," he hissed.

"I'm sorry," Alexis apologized, confused as to why trying to take it off would bother him. She would have thought that would make him feel better. Curious, she unzipped one of the side pockets and saw a white mass. Was that feathers? She reached in to pull it out but when she touched it, Starscream trembled and pulled away from them.

"What're you doing?" he demanded. He sounded and even looked offended from where he now stood. It was hard to tell his true expression through his helmet.

"Why difensivo?" Carlos wondered, leaning on his up-turned skateboard.

Rad and Alexis stood. "I-I'm sorry Starscream," she murmured. "I think there's something in your backpack that's hurting you."

Rad looked thoughtfully from Starscream to Alexis and back again. He came toward the human Decepticon with his hands up. "Do you trust us?" he asked.

To be honest, the only one he really trusted was Alexis, but Starscream wasn't about to admit that. Yet after all, these kids were only trying to help him. He eased his stance slightly. "Yes."

"Then hold still and let me see," Rad came back to his side and, as gently as he could, reached in the open side pocket.

Starscream stiffened again but suppressed his shiver. He didn't understand why he felt... violated. The only reason he knew that he might feel like that was because he had been a Seeker. Seekers were sensitive about their wings but how could he feel like this if he had no wings now? Perhaps it was because he hadn't been a human very long and that part of his back was still sensitive.

He clenched his teeth as Rad pulled on him. He only looked when everyone gasped. He took a sharp breath himself when he saw what Rad was holding up.

"Dude... is that even attached!" Carlos exclaimed.

What Rad had pulled out was a large white feathered wing. Along the flight feathers near the tips ran a thick rusty red stripe. They all gaped at it until Rad gained himself enough to unzip the other pocket and gently pull out the other wing. He then stood back with Carlos and Alexis.

Starscream looked over his newfound wings for a long time. He couldn't believe it. Since realizing he was a human now, he had thought he was doomed to be a ground crawler and only fly by bulky human aircraft. A smile dawned on his face as he stood straighter, chest out proudly, and raised his wings higher. He gave them an experimental flap which buffeted the children's clothes and hair.

Carlos was the first to comment. "Wow man, you could be a real-life super hero!" Rad laughed at that but Starscream didn't seem to hear them. He was so relieved, so... happy. Yes, he was happy. Truly happy. He could still fly... he was still master of the sky, with no one but the birds to challenge him.

The kids had to snap him out of it and help him fold his wings back into his pack. Alexis assured him he could try them out later. Right now, they had to get him inside.