Transformers Prime AU (Book 1) (Wattys 2017)

Chapter Four

Six months later.

Elita folded her arms and gave her daughter a look when she walked through the door. Arcee stopped and glanced at her torn clothes before staring back up at her mother. The woman gave her a look indicating she needed to explain herself. The girl folded her arms and glared back.

"Young lady." Her mother said sternly. Arcee huffed and rolled her eyes.

"I was just playing." She mumbled.

"That's not what I heard." Elita responded. "Cliffs mother said you got in a fight with one of his friends." The girl frowned and glared at the floor.

"Tattle tale." She muttered.

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" Her mother said and they sat on the couch. She sighed in exasperation.

"I was playing with Cliff and his friends came over. They told him to come play with them and I followed. They told me no girls were aloud. I told them they were a bunch of stupid heads, and I could beat any of them in a fight. They said if I could, then I could come with them." She paused to take a deep breath.

"So you beat them up?" Her mother guessed.

"Well..... ya." She responded. "Okay only one. They said there was no way a wimpy girl could beat them. So I proved the boy wrong. But that's what he gets for calling me a girl." She huffed. Her mother was quiet for a moment.

"Arcee... You don't need to beat people up because they call you that. I know he meant it as an insult, but you've tried to hit people when they just say you're a 'cute little girl." Elita said calmly.

"Well.... the boys won't let girls play with them and I don't like playing Barbies and dress up." She glared at the floor as she flopped against the couch.

Her mother sighed and remembered the last time another girl came to the house. Arcee had wanted to play outside and climb trees. But the girl wanted to play dress up and dolls. Arcee figured she should try it. The game ended when Arcee started ripping the heads off the Barbies and throwing them out the window. When she was asked about it, she simply told them that they were stupid. They hadn't had another girl over since.

"Maybe you need to find a few friends that are girls and like what you do." Elita finally said. Arcee just huffed again and walked off to her room. Her mother rolled her eyes.

~

The past six months had been hard for the police department. The gangs had gone silent for the first month and they started to wonder if they dispersed. Then suddenly they came back but seemed to be working together. As the months progressed rumors spread of the gang leaders meeting together and working with a third party. No one could verify these rumors but they noticed the gangs were becoming one organization. Megatron hadn't returned and Ultra Magnus became Optimus' new partner.

The two worked hard on catching gang members and trying to put an end to the crimes. They made a lot of progress and even managed to catch one of the leaders. They quickly discovered that someone had approached the gangs and challenged each leader to a fight. Once the person won they took over. The police soon realized a mafia was forming in the city. Optimus and Ultra Magnus had been the most successful in the case. The chief gave them a third partner to help them out. Ironhide could be a little cocky but he was good at his job. They got pretty far when Ironhide went undercover. Optimus felt they would have the gangs in custody pretty soon.

One day after a particularly difficult few hours, Optimus left to take a break. He went to a small diner and sat down for a moment. He looked out the window and watched the people walking by. He didn't know how long he sat there and he didn't really care at the moment.

"Optimus, it's been a while." The man looked up and smiled slightly when he saw his friend.

"Megatron." He greeted as he stood and shook his hand. He gestured for him to sit. "Where have been? I haven't heard from you after you left." He said simply. His friend smiled crookedly and sipped his drink.

"You could say I found a better job opportunity, that's kept me busy." Megatron muttered. "Though I've heard you've been working hard yourself." He said. Optimus stared at him blankly. Something was different about his friend and he didn't like it.

"Yes." He responded slowly. "As you have probably heard the crime rate as gone up significantly."

"I'm sure they put you in charge of finding who's behind this, because you're the best." Megatron said the last part with a hint of malice. Optimus furrowed his brow and leaned back against the chair.

"Megatron, you act as if you know something I don't. But I can tell you're not going to say anything." He said seriously. The other man grinned but it wasn't friendly.

"I would advise you to drop this case and forget what you know." Megatron growled.

"You know I can't do that." Optimus said as he narrowed his eyes.

"Very well." The man said and stood up. "It was good seeing you again." He got up and started walking away. He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Tell your family, I said hello." He grinned again and walked out.

Optimus narrowed his eyes and jumped to his feet as he followed. He walked out of the building and looked around for the man. A crowd had gathered as everyone headed off in different directions. He scanned the crowd and glared as he tried to find the man. But he had simply disappeared. Optimus clenched his fists and stared at the ground as their conversation ran through his head. He made his way back to the station and quickly reported what had happened. His team then spent the rest of the time discussing their next move. The chief said they needed to find Megatron and bring him in.

Optimus was deep in thought as he walked down the street to his neighborhood. The bus driver had said something to him but he didn't pay attention. He glared at the sidewalk as he went over the days events. His conversation with Megatron had disturbed him. He looked up at the house as he started up the walk way. Optimus stopped dead in his tracks as he stared. The front door was smashed open and all the lights were off. His eyes widened and his breath hitched.