These Paths We Tread (Autobot x OC)

X. Two Worlds I

*note:  -text-  = Autobots talking via their internal communication link (a.k.a. comm. link) 

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Although the Autobots and Catherine were eager to continue working with her powers—the redhead especially so—it was not to be. Sector Seven had not taken kindly to Ratchet’s misbehavior, and it wasn’t long before Ironhide rumbled about humans approaching. The Autobots moved quickly, placing Catherine down on the experiment table near Bumblebee, Jazz hoisting himself onto the free one, Ironhide moving near the saboteur’s table, and Prime and Ratchet standing at the ready with the Allspark shard in hand. The redhead watched, leaning against ‘Bee’s side with folded arms, as a group of soldiers lead by Tom Banacheck strolled in. Happiness was nowhere to be seen on their frowning faces, and she had to hold back the smile curving at the edge of her lips.

Ratchet and Prime were both well prepared for the human convoy, though, and they took Tom’s not-quite-shouting-but-really-close-to-it rant at the Autobots making the situation more difficult extremely well. ‘Extremely well’ meaning the medic grumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes while Optimus gazed down at them in respectable silence. When it was their turn to talk it began with letting Tom and his men know they found a way to remove the Allspark energy from Catherine’s body without harming her and that it was quite simple, but it would take time to get all of it out, so she’d need to return more than once for the duration of their stay. She wasn’t surprised to find her safety was hardly Sector Seven's concern as they essentially threw it out the window when they balked at how they had “cured” her. Prime showed them the shard, and Catherine was sure she saw the white of their eyes from where she stood, which was a fairly good distance.

And that quickly led into the explanation—the lie, she secretly smiled—of how the Allspark’s power still remained in the small slither of it, and that it was able to remove some of the energy residing within Catherine, but not all of it quite yet. Of course, even if it had they wanted to make sure there wasn’t going to be any side effects. Tom asked how they could be sure, and that led to pointing out Jazz, whom waved like it was no big deal. Again, the redhead could see the white of their eyes, and she almost couldn’t hold back her laughter. Thankfully, Bumblebee helped by nudging her hard enough to make pain override the humor. She stifled the laugh and watched as Tom Banacheck seemed to become more at ease knowing the shard had enough power to revive their kind. While it could have just very well been because it meant the man had found a bargaining chip for the alliance, Catherine wasn’t completely sure. And that worried her.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much more time to worry as Tom suddenly became aware of her existence, and stated she would need to be returned and that they would discuss her coming back later. Ratchet affirmed he would expect her around the same time tomorrow, and would like to have at least an hour to work, rather than twenty minutes. He wasn’t given a reply, but he took that as enough of a confirmation to gently pick up and place Catherine on the ground. She smiled sweetly at the agents, noting how they should hang out with the Autobots—they were great to talk to. They didn’t reply, and instead shuffled her into the middle of the convoy. She managed to say good-bye to the Autobots as they began to herd her to the exit, and Jazz and Bumblebee waved back while the others merely nodded. They were gone from sight as she turned around and followed the humans out. It didn't long for Tom to turn onto her, asking her questions, and she answered all of them with an innocent smile.

Back in the room, though, things were not so care free. Ratchet, his annoyance irked, found his way to vent in the form of going over Bumblebee’s injuries. The yellow Autobots wisely did not make any complaint or whine as the medic worked, nagging about the extent of the damage and how the materials he was going to use were insufficient. Ironhide made the mistake of nagging at the medic’s nagging, and was promptly silenced with a threat to dismantle his cannons and not repair them. The black mech turned away, barking that he would be in another room, and stalked off. Jazz remained on the table, training his optics on the frowning face of his leader, whom had yet to turn from the direction the humans had gone.