Prodigal Son

Chapter 11

Frankie tore through the streets, her knuckles sore as she gripped the turbo Cycle's handlebars.
The same words rang around her brain, over and over
He's here
He's here
He's here
The green glow of the island's protective dome slowly encased the scenery, and she only went faster.
Chase probably wouldn't be entirely pleased about how far she was pushing past the legal limits, but this the definition of an emergency.
Finally, she pulled up to the firehouse, but didn't dismount right away.
The team was in crisis mode.
Charlie yelled over his comn,
"Mainland Team, report!"
"Agent Rafael here, Mainland Team reporting in."
"Copy, Mainland Team. Standby."
Doc ran up, and handed out two Com Links, one to Agent Fowler, and one to Woodrow.
"Stay set up here, stay in contact at all times."
Agent Fowler only nodded, clipping the comn to his lapel.
"Trust me, this ain't my first crisis."
"Even so, if it becomes necessary, certain controls for island resources are only available in the command center."
Fowler nodded, than lightly slapped Doc Greene's shoulder.
"Good luck out there."
Doc nodded, and Fowler went to wrangle Woodrow.
Frankie dismounted, a hand going to her back.
A quick mod to the phase-bit's harness, and the Comm-Tab clipped neatly to the back.
She made sure it was secure, then joined the fray.
"How's Kade?"
Charlie sighed, then glanced inside the firehouse.
".... Stubborn. Doctor McSwain says he has a concussion, but he's refusing to stay down."
As if on cue, loud shouting echoed from outside the firehouse.
"BECAUSE HE'S MY BROTHER, DANI!!!"
"HE'S MY BROTHER TOO, AND HE ALMOST KILLED YOU!!!"
"DAMN IT, HE'S NOT IN CONTROL OF HIMSELF!!!!"
"HE STILL SLAMMED YOUR HEAD AGAINST SOLID ROCK!!!"
Graham was struggling to keep Dani and Kade apart, the two viciously yelling at one another.
Charlie charged in, slamming a metal rod against the door with a loud bang.
Everyone stopped, and Charlie dragged Kade away, while Frankie helped Graham pull back Dani.
"EVERYONE STOP. WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR CHILDISH FIGHTING. THE ISLAND IN ON LOCKDOWN, CODY IS HERE. GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER."
Dani and Kade were still furious, but managed to expell some of it.
Kade took a deep breath, saying firmly,
"Listen. He caught me off guard, but I'm not standing down. If you want me to just sit out the most important fight of our lives, then I'll gladly fight you over it."
Dani glowered, pointing out the bandages around his forehead, and the heavy bruising on his face.
"You're hurt!!! Did you forget who in the family has the medical license?! Doctor McSwain said you have a mild concussion!!
You can't just-"
"I can, and I will."
Dani went to retort, but Charlie held up a hand.
"Stop. Just... Stop. Kade.... We both know you shouldn't go out there injured. I don't endorse it, but right now, we don't have time to argue. Kade, it's your choice."
Kade nodded resolutely.
"Then that's settled. I'm going out."
Dani bristled, but Charlie nodded.
"Fine. Everyone, gear up. Doc's tracking them now. With the dome up, it's only a matter of time."
With that, he grabbed the case for his armor set, and popped it open.
He slid on a helmet, popping down the visor. Next, two shoulder plates, followed by two wrist and forearm pieces, all a deep blue color.
Charlie flexed his wrists, and two large shields popped from the forearms, made from forcefield projections.
Everyone followed suit, gearing up with their own armor.
Despite her anger at Kade, Dani was a bit thrilled as she strapped on a chest piece, attaching a back plate with long, thin, orange wings, much like that of dragonflies.
She placed on her own helmet, which was just like her usual one for duty, but a bright orange, and a green tinted visor.
Graham was already semi-prepared, having on his own chest plate, shoulder pieces, and helmet. The helmet, again, was much like his usual, with the addition of a visor.
But, now he slid on two hefting gauntlets, large and durable.
"You sure you're up for this?"
Kade rolled his eyes, hearing the approaching footsteps.
"Oh, not you too."
Heatwave sighed, making sure Cody's jacket was tightly secured around his neck.
".... Was he really that far gone?"
Kade froze.
It wasn't what he'd been expecting. He'd been anticipating another lecture about why he shouldn't go out.
".... Yeah...."
"The Moor-Bot's gonna pay for this."
Kade nodding him, meeting his optics.
"Agreed."
Heatwave extended Kade's own case, and he took it, imedianty tearing in.
A red and yellow fireman's helmet with a face visor went onto his head, followed by an unusual back piece, with what appeared to be a water tank.
On went the shoulder pieces, the arm guards,  and like Graham, two large, but flexible, gauntlets.
But what set Kade's apart, were the long rubber tubes that snaked down each of his shoulders, to his hands.
Frankie walked up, explaining to everybody,
"Dani, the flight-pack we created for you is activated by sensors in your gloves.  There should be a smooth button on the base of each hand. Kade, we replicated Heatwaves's ability to synthesize water from the air. It'll collect in your tank, then shoot out of those spouts on your knuckles."
Graham flexed his gauntlets, and gave a rare smirk.
"As for me, we studied Boulder's sonar ability, and channeled it into something a little.... Creative."
Aiming away from any people, he targeted a large cardboard box, and slammed his hands together, causing a huge shockwave to rip out, sending the box flying.
Graham grinned at everyone's stunned reactions, proclaiming,
"Sonic shockwaves!!"
Everyone made final adjustments, as Frankie, Baranova, and Doc all attached simple shoulder plates, and Charlie couldn't help but snorting as he noticed that Doc's were bright purple with green polka dots, matching his signature tie. Which itself was currently tied around his head like a bandana.
Frankie's were a similar purple, but instead brandished matching Rescue Bots insignias.
Chase, in words of encouragement, loudly proclaimed,
"I believe now is an appropriate time to say this. Let us give that ruffian the "what for"."
Heatwave nodded, glancing over at Optimus for approval.
"You heard the man. Let's go get him."
-
"Firehouse Team, report in."
"Fowler here. Tracking positive, any second now..."
The tension hung thick in the air, as the assault team waited in the woods.
Doc's fingers were tight on a Hardening foam cannon, glancing beside him as Chief fiddled with his comn.
The two of them hid behind a tree, everybody similarly dispersed.
Suddenly, he heard it.
An engine rev caught everybody's attention, as the Moor-Bot bounded into the scene.
Instantly, Chase and Boulder charged out to block it's path, Heatwave and Blades taking the rear, and Optimus and Bee each taking a side.
Charlie grabbed a megaphone, everybody charging out of their spots to take up an offensive position.
"WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!!! RELEASE MY SON!!"
The Moor-Bot shifted to it's bot mode, standing tall.
It glanced around, but didn't look threatened in the slightest, only chuckling darkly.
"My my.... It appears we've reached the final stand, haven't we?"
From behind him, Heatwave scowled deeply, his jaw grinding.
"You've hurt people for the last time, you sparkless tin can!!! Release. Cody. Now."
The Moor-Bot mockingly raised it's hands.
"Oh dear, what odds! Very well, if you wish to see the boy, then I humbly grant your wish."
The bot's cab opened up, and Cody burst out, grinning as he stood atop the new hoverboard.
"About time we had a family reunion."
Everybody tensed up, as Cody dropped closer to the ground, cracking his neck.
"Surprised you showed, Kade. I didn't think you'd be able to face me, after failing again."
Kade tensed, and Frankie grabbed his arm.
"That's not him, that's the Moor-Bot talking."
She tried reassuring him, even as doubt nagged at her.
Heatwave had similar discomfort, his hand itching as he tried to resist the urge to grab the jacket.
Cody only scoffed st that.
"You're all the same, aren't you? So far in denial that you can't take responsibility for your actions, and dare to accept your faults."
Graham, ever the mediator, took a deep breath, raising his hands.
"Cody, you're right. We did fail you before. All of us made mistakes, but we do accept responsibility. We failed, but we're making amends. But we can only do that if you let us."
At that, Cody hesitated.
His face fell, looking conflicted.
The Moor-Bot seemed to take note, gripping the boy's shoulder lightly.
"See what you've done? You've confused him! Now, dear partner, you won't forget who freed you, will you?"
The grip grew tighter, everybody watching in increasing tension.
"You won't forget all I've done to aid you, will you?"
Then, the purple glow was back in his eyes, and Cody shook off his confusion.
He glared at his family,  growling out,
"I know where I belong. I know who has my best interests at heart."
The Moor-Bot released it's grip, nodding.
"Right, this has gone on long enough. I believe it's best we end this stalemate."
To everyone's shock, the Moor-Bot's left shifted to a cannon, Boulder gasping out,
"It couldn't do that before!!!"
"I upgraded myself! Not that you'll be around long enough to discover how."
It fired out, and the battle began.