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"Well, here we are." Lucas Conrad stopped at the door leading to the lab where several Pretender bodies awaited analysis. Beside him, the Pretender using the name Rosalina Mendoza placed a hand on the door and hesitated.

Ashanti stood behind them, holding her rifle in Mendoza's general direction but keeping it aimed at the floor--for now. After seeing what one of those things had done to her husband--and to her for nearly a week after it murdered him--there was no way she would completely trust any of the others until they proved themselves trustworthy.

"You okay?" Conrad said softly. "I know this can't be easy for you."

"Not really." Mendoza braced herself and pushed the door open.

Ashanti followed them into the lab and looked around. Four robotic bodies lay on tables in the center of the room. They ranged from silver-gray to charcoal to jet black in color, and from a weird sort of Giger-esque appearance to full-on nightmare fuel. Mendoza walked over to the nearest body and pondered it for a moment.

"This one went by the name Allison Palmer. Not a close friend of mine, but..." She sighed. "I hate to say it, but I'm not surprised she put up a fight. She always was hot-headed. I hope she didn't hurt anyone before you took her down."

"She got off a few shots." Ashanti pointed at the scar on her left cheek. "One grazed me, but that was the last thing she ever did."

"Glad to know it wasn't worse." Mendoza pointed at the small hole in the Pretender's chest. "Good shot. Right through the spark. Clean kill."

"Spark," Conrad muttered. "What is that, anyway?"

"In human terms, I guess it'd be where a Cybertronian's lifeforce is. Maybe you'd call it the 'soul.' There's no exact translation, but it's close enough. If you shoot me in the head, there's a chance I'd be merely disabled until repairs could be made; replace the damaged components and restore my memories from the most recent backup, and there's a chance I could come back almost the same as I was before. Damage my spark beyond repair, though, and I'm dead. There's no coming back from that."

Conrad looked away and shivered. Mendoza reached out to take his hand. When he relaxed, she turned back to the corpse.

"Anyway, remove the processor and memory modules from her head and replace them with your own equipment, and do the same with the spark chamber, and you could use the body as a remote-operated vehicle. You could control it from the base or a mobile operations center, or an Autobot could link up to it."

"Hmm." Ashanti raised an eyebrow. "That would be useful for infiltrating an organization like MECH, if it's safe for the 'Bots to use. We'll need Ratchet to do a thorough investigation and verify your claim first."

"Fair enough. I just...after all the harm my people have caused, I hope we can at least do some good, no matter how slight." Mendoza closed her optics and wrung her hands. "We owe it to all those who died, on this world as well as our own."

Ashanti nodded slowly, hoping Mendoza really meant it. "Well, maybe if--"

Her comlink beeped. "Col. McKenna?" General Sanchez's voice.

"Right here, sir. I hope this is about our missing team members?"

"It could be. Our satellites detected a massive explosion about forty miles southeast of the town where they were abducted. Given what happened the last time Airachnid picked a fight with Arcee and Jack, I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to blow her up again."

"Definitely worth investigating, sir. Where was the blast, exactly?"

"Mountain range between a tiny town named Coquille and an even tinier one called Winston. Fortunately, there were no people living anywhere near the explosion. Exact coordinates have been sent to your armor; it'll be in your HUD when you gear up."

"I'm on it, sir. I'll assemble my team as soon as someone arrives to guard Mendoza."

"They're already on the way; should be there any moment. I've also informed the Autobots; they'll be on the scene before you arrive."

"Good to hear, sir. If Ratchet can bridge us there, we'll handle MECH while the 'Bots take care of Airachnid."

"We're on the same wavelength, Colonel. You have a go."

#

End of the line, cunt. Arcee strode over to Airachnid's body and shoved the barrel of her shotgun into her face, jamming it right between Airachnid's optics. Without sparing even a split-second to gloat, as much as she wanted to, she pulled the trigger.

Airachnid's left arm snapped out and knocked the gun aside. The round grazed her cheek and drilled into the rubble under her.

Arcee whipped her other shotgun around, but Airachnid blocked it with one of her spider legs. Before Arcee could recover, Airachnid clamped a hand around it, wrenched it away from her, and flung it away. It crashed through the trees, tumbled out of sight, and finally splashed into a creek somewhere behind her.

Arcee drew her pistol and jumped backward. Airachnid flicked another leg out, knocked her off her feet, and swatted the handgun away with a third.

Arcee snarled and lunged at her--but caught a spike on the end of a fourth leg in her face. Sparks flew, pain seared through her left cheek, and she batted the leg away. She raised a hand to her cheek and found a long gash under her eye, in almost the same spot as the one Airachnid had given her all those centuries ago, when she had tortured and murdered Tailgate right in front of Arcee.

She deployed her arm-mounted blades and charged again, lashing out furiously, trying to move faster than Airachnid could counter. Airachnid shifted into her bipedal mode and blocked every blow with her back-mounted spider legs.

No way you're getting away from me this time, you bitch! Arcee continued punching, kicking, and swiping with her blades, hoping to land at least one solid hit before--

Airachnid lifted her right arm and shoved the blaster emitter on her palm into Arcee's chest.

No! Arcee threw herself to the side.

Airachnid fired and the beam drilled into Arcee's chest, burning through her armor before she could dodge it. A blast of heat ripped through her from front to back and she screamed. Her legs buckled and she collapsed.

"Arcee!" Jack's voice, distant and muffled through the nearly overwhelming pain.

She pushed herself up--but Airachnid's foot slammed into her and sent her rolling downhill. She couldn't tell how far she fell, but she didn't stop until she hit a tree. The impact uprooted the tree and jarred her sensors.

An impact shook the ground nearby. She turned her head and found Airachnid striding toward her.

"I've waited so many centuries for this." Airachnid sneered and crouched, jamming her knee into Arcee's chest and pinning her down.

Arcee grunted and managed to raise her left hand. She extended her middle finger and shoved it into Airachnid's face.

"While I appreciate the offer, I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Airachnid grabbed Arcee's wrist and forced it to the ground, shifting her weight to keep her pinned. "You see, I've got my eye on someone else."

Snarling, Arcee slid her right hand under her back and grasped the knife clamped to her metallic skin. It was all she had left. She had to make it count.

Airachnid cocked her hand back and rammed her fingers through the wound in Arcee's chest.

Jack appeared at the top of the hill just in time to see the blow. He froze in his tracks and drew in a long breath.

"No!"

#

A sensation as cold as ice closed in around Jack's heart as he stared down at Arcee and Airachnid.

Arcee's eyes were wide in shock and her mouth open as if she were trying to scream, but couldn't. The knife in her right hand slipped out of her fingers and slid down the hill.

Jack released an incoherent scream and flung himself toward Arcee, skidding and stumbling, but somehow staying upright.

Airachnid yanked her hand out and energon spurted from Arcee's chest. Airachnid flicked it off her fingers and turned to smirk at Jack.

"Well, now there's nothing standing between you and me."

He reached Arcee and stopped. She stared at him and clamped a hand over the hole in her chest.

"No," she moaned. "Go! Run!"

"Forget it." He put his hand on hers.

"Please, Jack," she whispered. "Get out of here."

"No." Jack stroked her hand. "If you go, we both go." He stood and faced Airachnid.

"Well, you've certainly grown a pair since the first time we met." Airachnid leaned closer until her face was inches from his. "Most intriguing."

This is insane. What could I possibly do to her? He tried to keep the doubt and fear off his face, tried to banish all feelings except his rage. He glanced at Arcee, at the energon trickling out of her wound and splashing onto the ground...

...at the human-shaped distortion in the air a few feet from her outstretched hand. The air rippled ever so slightly, like heat waves.

Miko!

The knife Arcee had dropped scooted a few inches closer to her hand.

Jack forced himself not to react. He turned back to Airachnid. Gotta distract her.

He focused on his rage, let it build and push him to the snapping point.

"Now, where were we?" Airachnid reached out to stroke the side of his helmet. "I really hope Arcee lives just long enough to watch--"

Jack swung his left arm out and shoved her hand away.

Then he cocked his fist back and punched her in the face.

Even though the armor prevented him from breaking every bone in his hand, it still hurt. Even though his armor boosted his strength, the blow barely scuffed her finish.

But it did catch her by surprise.

She flinched and stared in shock, her mouth hanging open. Finally, she arched a brow plate. "Well, it seems this is my lucky day. I like it rough."

In the corner of Jack's eye, the cloaked Miko continued dragging the massive knife toward Arcee's hand. Jack stepped toward Airachnid and jabbed his finger at her, trying to keep her eyes on him and off the knife.

"Don't you fucking touch me!" He stepped aside, moving away from Arcee, and tried not to smirk when Airachnid's optics remained locked onto him. "You're completely out of your goddamned mind. You think I'd ever let you do anything with me, you piece of shit? You'll have to rape my dead body."

"Oh, Jack." Airachnid sighed. "And we were off to such a promising start."

"Promising?" He glared straight into her optics, making sure she understood that he meant every word of what he was about to say. "Okay, you want a promise, here's the only one you'll ever get from me. I am going to kill you!"

Her jaw dropped again.

The knife appeared to levitate as Miko lifted it and lowered it carefully into Arcee's hand.

"No matter what it takes. No matter what it costs me. No matter if it kills me. I'll rip the spark out of your chest, and I hope you live just long enough to watch me piss on it before you die."

Airachnid stared down at him for several seconds. Then she snarled and reached out to grab him.

He stood his ground, not letting his glare falter.

"Ladies first," Arcee grunted, hauling herself upright.

"What?" Airachnid spun toward her.

Arcee plunged the knife into Airachnid's chest. The specially designed blade pierced her armor and slammed in to the hilt, missing her spark chamber but not by much. Airachnid screamed and almost toppled over. She clamped her hands around the knife and tugged, then seemed to realize that the serrated blade would tear her up on the way out.

"I've waited centuries for this," Arcee hissed. "Bitch!"

She braced her other hand against Airachnid's chest and yanked the blade out, shredding wires and cables and circuitry, ripping them out of the wound in a spray of energon. Airachnid staggered away, whimpering, pressing her hands over the wound. She slumped against the hill, turned to glare at Arcee, and let out an enraged roar.

She aimed her hand blaster at Jack.

Arcee fell again, but dragged herself toward him, trying to get between him and Airachnid.

A familiar crackling, humming sound filled the air somewhere off to the left. Jack spun around and almost leaped with joy at the site of the ground bridge's green vortex. Optimus, Bee, and Bulkhead emerged and looked around.

"Over here!" Jack waved his arms.

They looked downhill and found him. Then they saw Arcee and burst into a full-on sprint down the slope.

Airachnid roared again, looked around frantically, and finally turned and ran. She scrambled up the hill, falling and picking herself back up, until she reached the pavement.

The three 'Bots ran over to Arcee, their footsteps shaking the ground.

"No," Arcee mumbled, "don't let her get...get away...."

"You are more important," Optimus said, turning and activating his comlink.

"Goddamn right, you are." Jack rushed over to her and pulled his helmet off. He stroked her cheek and leaned over, touching his forehead to hers.

"Ratchet, we need a ground bridge now! Open it right on top of us!"

"But that could--"

"Arcee is badly injured. Do it now!"

Jack took one last look up at Airachnid as she shifted into her helicopter mode. The transformation happened slowly, the extensive damage making her scream in pain as parts moved into the proper configuration. She rose into the air and sped away as the vortex appeared only a few feet from Jack and Arcee.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." He looked down and found her eyes closed and her face slack. That cold fist gripped his guts again as Optimus scooped her up in his arms and ran for the ground bridge. He stumbled after them, barely able to breathe.

"Arcee...oh, no..."

#

The door burst open and June screamed. She backed away from the door, but stopped when a team wearing familiar black armor flowed into the warehouse.

"Ashanti?"

They turned quickly, sweeping the room, and finally relaxed. The nearest one took her helmet off.

"Yeah, June. Are you all okay?"

"More or less." June turned and nodded at a man on the floor nearby. They'd used the scraps of Airachnid's webbing as a makeshift mattress to keep him as comfortable as possible. "We've got one civilian survivor. He's been here for at least three days; the MECH people really worked him over and he's badly dehydrated, starving, and has multiple fractures, bruises and cuts, some of which are infected, and his front teeth have been knocked out."

"We'll get him to the hospital right away, then."

"Great," the man mumbled. "Go through all this...and end up with a hospital bill for the rest of my life."

"Well, don't worry about that." June smiled. "I think the Lake's hospital can eat the cost this one time, given the circumstances. Right, Dr. Madsen?"

"Absolutely."

The civilian managed to smile briefly. "Thanks, but I can live with a bill. Just...whatever you do, don't send me back to that goddamned town. Anywhere but there."

"Oh? Why?" Madsen finished disinfecting a nasty gash on the man's arm.

"It's a shithole. Mostly because of the people." His eyes closed and he started to fade out. Madsen slapped his cheek gently.

"Come on, focus, stay with me. What kind of people are they?" Madsen glanced at Ashanti. "Colonel, we'll need a ground bridge to the Lake immediately. Have them bring a gurney."

"On it." Ashanti moved away and spoke into her comlink.

"The kind who go shopping in their pajamas, think Larry the Cable Guy is fuckin' hilarious, and can't find their own asses with both hands and a ouija board." The civilian shook his head. "Man, don't even get me started on those banjo-twangers. They've been driving me insane for the past twenty years."

"Why stay, then?" Madsen closed his medical kit and glanced at Ashanti.

"Can't afford to leave. Trying to save up enough money, but..."

"A med team is standing by," Ashanti said before turning to face Silas, still strapped to the tipped-over chair. "Get him up."

Her team picked Silas up, tore the webbing off, and gripped his arms to prevent him from running off.

Ashanti glared at him. "A lot of people are dead because of you."

"Acceptable losses." He smirked. "Since your robotic friends are being kept secret from the public, you can't even put me on trial. And as Nurse Darby and the others have seen, I won't give you any information, even if you try to torture it out of me. Which you're not allowed to do."

She stared at him for a long moment. "You know, I think I have a better idea." She raised her assault rifle and aimed it at his crotch. "I shoot your dick off, and if you can get to a hospital before you tap out, you can go free."

"You wouldn't--"

She pulled the trigger.

June screamed and flailed, then put a hand on her chest and tried to slow her breathing.

Silas, for the first time since she met him, finally had fear in his eyes. He looked down at his crotch, mouth hanging open and eyes nearly popping out of his head.

Ashanti shook her head slowly. "Well, fuck me. I missed." She glanced around. "This place must be colder than I thought."

Her team chuckled.

"Okay, guys, as soon as the bridge opens, take this piece of shit through and lock him in the deepest, darkest hole we've got." She turned, listening to something coming over her comlink. "Yeah, open it right in here if you can." She nodded and continued listening.

Her smile faded. "Are you sure?" After another moment, she closed her eyes and sighed. "Okay. I'll let her know."

June took a step toward her. "What is it?" She sucked in a quick breath. "Jack? Is Jack--"

"He's okay, June. Not a scratch. But Arcee..."

"What? She's hurt?" June lifted her hand slowly and covered her mouth. "How...how bad is she?"

"Not..." Ashanti winced. "Not great."

"I need to see her and Jack. Now."

Ashanti nodded. "They're about to open the bridge. I'll take you straight to Jack."

The green vortex flared into existence in front of them and a med team emerged with a gurney.

"Huh," the civilian muttered. "Fuckin' cool."

Ashanti waited for him and Silas to be escorted through, then turned to June. "Okay, let's go."

June followed her into the bridge, wringing her hands, dreading what she might find on the other side.