Enemy of my Enemy

Chapter 5: Homecoming

Everyone snapped their guns up to aim at Soundwave. He remained motionless and his blank visor simply stared back at them. Panels in the walls and ceiling opened, and sixteen blaster turrets deployed. They tracked around and locked onto their targets. June's helmet cameras analyzed each turret's position and calculated their aim. The paths appeared in her HUD and she gasped.

They're only aiming at the humans. Which was probably the only thing that would get the Autobots to back down.

The only comfort was her knowledge that their armor could take one or two hits and remain intact. Any more than that, though, and they'd be fried.

One of the Vehicons who'd brought the crate of energon into the room floated around behind Soundwave. He drifted closer, raised his blaster, and aimed it at the back of Soundwave's head.

Without even turning to look at him, Soundwave pointed his arm back toward the Vehicon, deployed his blaster, and shot him in the face.

"No," the female Vehicon moaned again, staring as the body tumbled slowly to the back of the room.

June glanced over at Jack, Bumblebee, and Ashanti's team. Bee released a low, sullen tone, and began to lower his rifle. Starscream floated behind him, staring wide-eyed at Soundwave and gibbering and trembling.

Then, suddenly, something beside him stirred. June's eyes flicked to the right and she sucked in another deep breath.

Optimus had opened his optics and started looking around. He reached out to the wall, grasped a handhold, and turned himself around to face Soundwave.

At the same moment, the air in front of Soundwave rippled and Miko appeared, hovering upside-down a few feet from his face. Soundwave twitched slightly and tilted his head up to stare directly at her.

"Hi." With a casual move, Miko stuck a satchel charge to his visor, reactivated her stealth system, and vanished. "Bye."

He whipped his right arm up to pull the charge off his face.

It detonated and the blast knocked him backward.

The female 'Con glanced over at Bee. "Activate the bridge while you have time."

Bee returned to work on the console. Optimus reached over to Bulkhead and grabbed the shotgun that was still clamped to his back. He aimed at Soundwave and said, "Everyone, move clear."

The wounded Vehicon pointed a twitching hand at the cubes of energon. His voice glitched. "Give--give--vvvvv--me one o-o-o-of those."

The female stared at him and shook her head. "What? No! No, don't even--"

"Ran d-d-d-diagnostic. Only have ffffff-few seconds l-l-l-lef--left."

The space bridge activated and a swirling green vortex filled the empty space in the center of the enormous metal ring.

"Everyone, evacuate." Optimus glanced at Bee without taking his aim off Soundwave. "Go. Take our friends home."

Starscream took one of the cubes from the crate and pushed it toward the wounded 'Con. The female grabbed it out of the air, hesitated, and handed it to her comrade. She turned him around and pushed him toward the floor. When he reached it, he activated the electromagnets in his feet and clamped himself to the floor. Starscream shoved the crate through the bridge and turned to grab the crates holding the parts for Arcee and Bulkhead. Bee pushed Bulkhead through and turned back to Optimus.

"Hurry. I'll be right behind you." Optimus never took his optics off Soundwave.

Soundwave recovered from the blast, magnetized his feet to the floor, and faced Optimus. His visor had a spiderweb pattern of cracks across it, but was otherwise intact. The blaster turrets tracked the humans as they darted toward the space bridge.