Ruby - Transformers: Age of Extinction fanfic

Camp fire Catch-up

Ruby stared into the flames of their roaring camp fire. Across from her sat a man called Cade, who hadn't stopped frowning, and his teenage daughter, Tessa. Cade couldn't have been very old when Tessa was born, he still looked young. And angry. He had short brown hair and a Texas accent. 

Behind them, the Autobots paced, casting monstrous shadows on the rocks. The fire was unnecessarily huge. Ignited by Optimus, it reached several feet into the night sky.

But Ruby didn't feel the heat coming from it. Nor could she really smell the charcoal. She folded her arms across her chest, numb. She'd ditched the night gown and put on some clothes given to her by Tessa. Even with the jeans and sleeves rolled up several times over, they still drowned her. Tessa was probably a foot taller than her. She reminded Ruby of Carly, and she couldn't help but wonder where she and Sam where these days. She hoped they were happy and safe.

Optimus could barely stand to look at her. Ruby knew that he blamed himself for her years of imprisonment. Years of torture, years of starvation. Years that showed in her protruding ribs, hollow cheeks and skinny limbs. 

Still, his avoidance hurt. So she just watched the burning colours dancing in the fire, and listened to Brains' tale of woe. How he was treated came as no surprise. Kept in a tiny cage, never let out, prodded, poked, electrocuted. She'd been there, got the t-shirt and burned it. There wasn't a single trace of blue nightgown left. But one thing they'd done to Brains that they hadn't to her was force him to work.

"They made me work with the bodies!" he cried, "And the worst bit of all? I had to go through Megatron's head. Do you know how scary that place is?"

"Is?" Tessa repeated, "He'd dead, isn't he?"

Brains shrunk into himself, "Well, yes, his body is destroyed, but his mind was still very active when they had me sifting through it. It moved and changed, still thinking; nasty, nasty place. His voice haunted me, still haunts me really."

"What did you extract from his mind?"

The little robot's one good eye shone and watered;

 "W-well, they made me, I didn't have no choice! Intel, advanced weapons, and they made this evolving metal from it all. It literally changes and reforms, the algorithm is nothing short of genius really...the humans have called it 'transformium.'"

"And then they built a clone of him," Ruby's voice sounded raspy. Her vocal chords were still a little rusty.

"Not just one," said Brains, "Lots; hundreds probably. Man-made transformers."

Ruby's head snapped up. "Tom said the government endorsed it. Protection for the human race from any future alien threats."

"They're trying to prove that they do not need us any more." Optimus put his metal fists on his hips.

"You need to go back into hiding," said Ruby, "All of us do. They want to get rid of us."

"And what about us?" snapped Cade, "They destroyed our home, threatened my daughter's life! We have nothing to go back to, no where to go."

Ruby put her head in her hands. Her long hair fell forwards to the ground. She was too tired for this.

"Go with Bumblebee for now. Get as far from here as you can," said Optimus, "Ruby and I will wait until the morning, then we will lure them the other way. Plus, she needs rest."

Normally, Ruby would protest. But falling asleep in the cab sounded absolutely blissful.

"Rest?" Cade scoffed, "She needs medical attention."

Of course, they didn't know. Ruby's powers had been beyond top secret within the government. Only a handful of people on the planet knew about her. To Cade and Tessa, she was just a normal, battered and tortured girl.

"I'll be fine," she said. She stood up and walked over to Optimus' feet, taking care not to trip over her trailing jeans. "Sit," she told him.

Sitting wasn't quite what Optimus did, but he did drop to one knee. Ruby rubbed her bracelet while she stared up at his mangled chest;

 "This was done by a bullet," she said, "An alien bullet. Who fired it?"

"I do not know," said Optimus. He turned his head to look away from her; "It happened when I lost you. I panicked. I hid. Cade restarted me, three years later."

"You patched him up?" Ruby asked Cade.

"I did what I could, yeah," he replied.

She nodded, impressed. She climbed, somewhat awkwardly, onto Optimus' knee. She placed both hands on his warm metal side and closed her eyes. Threads of blue energy sprouted from her finger tips and explored the damage. 

She sought out the dents, the twisted and knotted metal, smashed intricate pieces and broken parts. Her hands grew hot as she worked. The dents came out with lots of resounding pops. The metal moaned as it stretched and remolded, and the more intricate workings in his chest clicked back together like knitting needles. 

Ruby opened her eyes. Optimus' chest ebbed with blue light. Satisfied, she released her hands. The light faded and she slumped forwards, overcome with a wave of fatigue. She caught her breath and asked; 

"Does that feel okay? It's been a while."

Optimus lowered an open hand to her. She stepped onto his palm, wrapping her arms around a long, gleaming silver finger for support. 

He lifted her to his eye level, "That's much better. Thank you, Ruby."

He narrowed his eyes at her before lowering her back to the ground. Ruby caught sight of Cade and Tessa, staring at her with their mouths open.

"Go now," Optimus told them. He transformed into a large, blue truck, complete with red flames.

The Autobots copied him, transforming into their respective vehicles. Bumblebee gave Optimus one last look of disapproval, rolled his eyes, and transformed into a bright yellow camaro. Cade and Tessa backed away from Ruby, like they were afraid she'd zap them. Bumblebee popped open his doors and revved his engine. They hurried inside and the Autobots sped off.

Ruby blew out some air, relieved. She pulled herself up to the cab door, swept her eyes around the area to check they weren't being spied upon, then collapsed inside. Optimus shut the door for her. Gosh she'd missed him.

"I hope tomorrow brings black skinny jeans and ankle boots that actually fit," she murmured. To her surprise, Optimus gave a small chortle. Ruby smiled, and fell asleep, dreaming about new clothes.