Birth of an Angel

Have you ever had a moment where you know everything’s about to go downhill?

That one moment where you just know things are about to get ten times worse?

I got the feeling that, once the doorbell rang, one of those moments just ran me over like a herd of elephants.

Swiping the glasses from Sam, I stuffed them into one of the pouches and jogged into the front room.

Dad had already answered the door, and a bunch of men in black suits were coming in.

“How are ya doing, kids?” One of them voiced, sounding too happy to be sincere.

“Why don’t you kids come with me?”

“I don’t think so!” Dad shouted, getting between us three and the agent as if that would stop him.

“You’re not taking my kids.”

“Really? You gonna get rough with us?”

“No, but I'm gonna call the cops because there's something fishy going on around here.”

“Yeah. There's something a little fishy about you, your kids, your little Taco Bell dog and this whole operation you got going on here.”

“What operation?” Dad retorted.

“That is what we are gonna find out.”

Another agent walked up to our current antagonist, whispering something to him while holding up what looked like a radiation detector.

Looking surprised, he took the device and stepped forward.

“You two, step forward.”

I didn’t really see the harm in it (I could probably bust him up pretty good if he tried anything), and squeezed around dad with Sam.

The detector-thing went nuts, and he hadn’t even held it up to us yet.

“Bag ‘em and tag ‘em!” He ordered, and chaos ensued.

I couldn’t tell who exactly handcuffed me and dragged me outside, but hurting them wouldn’t have changed our situation.

Squeezed in the back of a car between Sam and Mikaela, I felt a foreign panic and looked out of the back window.

Guardian’s bright eyes were visible as she peered around the corner of a house, the panels along her back rising like a hissing cat’s fur.

But the car was already pulling away, too fast for me to even think of communicating with her.

Frustrated and growing increasingly angry (though I couldn’t tell which one was mine, or even if either of them were), I glared at the back of the agents’ heads until the annoying one decided to start talking.

“So…Ladiesman217. That is your eBay username, is it not?”

I turned my glare on Sam.

“Really? Ladiesman217? That was the best you could do, Sam?”

“It was a typo, and I ran with it!” He defended.

“Does this sound familiar?”

He held up Sam’s phone, and I wanted to face-palm as his terrified voice came from the shitty speakers.

“Yeah, that sounds like Ladiesman.” Mikaela answered, looking mildly amused.

“Last night at the station, you told the officer your car transformed. Enlighten me.”

“Well, here's what I said, okay? 'Cause this is a total misunderstanding that my car had been stolen…”

“Really?”

“...from me, from my home, but it's fine now because it's back! It came back!”

“Well, not by itself.” Mikaela interjected hurriedly.

“Well, no.” Sam agreed, realizing his mistake.

“Because cars don't do that because that would be crazy.”

They all burst into laughter, and I just stared at them like they were insane (which wasn’t that absurd of a guess) when the agent abruptly stopped.

“What do you kids know about aliens?”

At least no one was doing that creepy laugh anymore…

“Like Star Wars?” I scoffed.

“They’re just stories.”

Probably losing his temper (I have never met anyone with a shorter temper), he pulled out a badge and shoved it in our faces.

“You see this?”

It’s kinda hard not to…

“This is a ‘Do whatever I want and get away with it’ badge!”

…

Well, at least I knew what to write on the man’s tombstone.

“I'm gonna lock you up forever!”

“Oh God, you know what? Don't listen to him. He's just pissy because he has to get back to guarding the mall.” Mikaela retorted.

“You, in the training bra? Do not test me. Especially not with your dad’s parole hearing coming up.”

“Parole?” Sam parroted, sounding stunned.

“It’s nothing.” She insisted.

“Grand theft auto. That ain’t nothing.” Simmons informed.

“Remember those cars my dad used to teach me to fix? Well, they weren't always his.” Mikaela admitted.

That was enough for me; I had grown to like Mikaela, and finding out she had a record didn’t bother me that much.

But it seemed to bother Sam, so I elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.

“I’ve had just about enough of you, Simmons.” I stated calmly, keeping my temper in check.

“So if you don’t want to get hurt, you’ll let us go.”

Sam flinched away from me when Simmons started laughing.

“What are you gonna do, little girl? Yell at me?”

“Look at me.” I growled, waiting until the agent met my eyes.

“Look at me and tell me I won‘t hurt you.”

Simmons paused, and something like fear crossed his face just before we crashed.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the seats for balance, closing my eyes as the car screeched to a stop.

Glass shattered around me, and I curled into myself as we were lifted off the ground, metal screeching in protest.

Soon, the car couldn’t take the strain and separated itself from its own roof.

I waited until everything had settled before opening my eyes, feeling completely safe at the sight of Optimus Prime looming over us.

“You A-holes are in trouble now. Gentlemen, I want to introduce you to my friend, Optimus Prime.” Sam voiced, pleased.

“Taking the children was a bad move! Autobots, relieve them of their weapons!”

Guardian dropped down from the bridge we had driven under, hissing at the agents as Jazz’s hand turned into a magnet.

Once all of their guns were gone, Optimus leaned down to human level.

“Hi, there.” Simmons greeted meekly.

“You don't seem afraid. Are you not surprised to see us?”

“Look, there are certain rules I have to abide by. I'm not authorized to communicate with you except... to say I can't communicate with you…”

“Get out of the car.” The Prime ordered.

“Right. Uh, me? You want me to...?”

“Now!”

Swinging myself calmly out of what was left of the car, I paused when Mikaela took hold of my wrist, unlocking the cuffs.

“Thanks.” I stated sincerely, smiling.

Rubbing my wrists as she went to free Sam, I turned to rejoin Guardian, who was purring like a lonely housecat.

She nuzzled into my torso, the rumble of her engine thrumming through my bones, and I hugged her as best I could.

“I missed you, too.” I admitted, running my hands over the mobile plates of her cheeks.

Lifting her head, with my clinging to her nose, Guardian walked over to the subdued agents, the plates rippling along her back in a warning.

Once back on my feet, I turned as Sam and Mikaela bombarded Simmons with questions.

“What is Sector 7? Answer me!”

“I ask the questions round here, not you, young man!”

“All right, how did you know about the aliens?”

“Where did you take my parents?”

“I am not at liberty to discuss…”

Sam reached into the agent’s suit pocket, ignoring the protests.

“Hey, you touch me, that's a federal offense!”

“‘Do whatever you want and get away with it’ badge, right?”

“Brave now, all of a sudden with his big alien friends standing over there.”

I joined Sam and Mikaela in handcuffing the agents together, Guardian watching closely to be sure none of them tried anything.

Seeing Simmons start under dressing, I turned away; enough mental scarring had been done for one night, thank you very much.

I turned back at the sound of handcuffs being secured, and scoffed at the ‘S7’ Superman logo.

Boys…

Simmons flinched as I walked up, Guardian growling a warning behind me.

“I don’t care who told you to illegally kidnap us-,”

He seemed ready to protest, but my glare silenced him.

“But they’re going to regret it just as much as you’re about to.”

“What, you going to sick your housecat on me?” He retorted, purposely keeping his eyes away from Guardian’s menacing fangs.

“That would be giving you an easy out.” I replied, smiling.

“She doesn’t like the taste of bullshit.”

Guardian shifted behind me, and she picked me up by the back of my tank top without warning.

I was about to ask why when I saw Bumblebee pop off what looked like an oil cap and…

I stifled my laughter at seeing the Camaro-bot pee all over Simmons, Guardian setting me down as she gave a static-filled chuckle.

“Bumblebee, stop lubricating on the man!” Optimus ordered, sounding amused despite himself.

We didn’t have long to enjoy the moment, however…

“Optimus, incoming!” Ironhide warned, firing one of his cannons into the ground.

The resulting shockwave blew out the tires of incoming black cars, and Guardians roar startled me into action.

Sam and Mikaela were already scrambling onto Optimus’ hand, and I leapt onto the other before he lifted us up.

The moment I touched the metal of his torso, I felt a surge of energy flood my body and swayed dangerously.

Catching my balance on his thumb, I tried to shake the ringing out of my head before scrambling onto his shoulders.

There were plenty of metal plates to hold onto, and I gripped one for dear life as the massive Autobot started running.

I should have been petrified, being thirty feet off the ground, but I felt strangely safe, like nothing could hurt me…

Pressing into the warm metal, I wondered where Guardian had gone as a jolt of apprehension entered my heart.

Helicopters closed in on us, the searchlights passing just behind Optimus’ heels, as the Autobot raced through a half-deserted street and down an alley.

This led to an empty ravine, with a bridge a bit further down that Optimus immediately aimed for.

With a grace I hadn’t expected, he swung himself up into the criss-cross of iron supports.

Hidden from view, I curled up instinctively as the helicopters passed below us.

The blades looked dangerous from this angle, and I knew falling would mean being turned into mincemeat before splattering on the concrete.

Just as that thought entered my mind, Mikaela fell.

My heart practically leapt out of my chest as she screamed, holding onto Sam’s arm in an attempt to keep away from death.

Then Sam slipped.

“NO!”

I don’t know why I jumped.

Maybe it was the terror on Sam’s face, or the adrenaline in my blood.

All I knew was that one of those dormant instincts had kicked in and I was falling.

Pain tore through my back like hot knives, and I was blinded by the agony as the metal settled.

My back had just opened up and made a jetpack.

It roared to life, slowing my descent as I grabbed onto Sam and Mikaela.

The jetpack likely would have held up my own weight with ease, but the added load of two nearly-grown teenagers was too much.

No matter how much it tried, we were still falling.

I was getting ready to die when…

“ KEARA! ”

Metal shrieked as Guardian caught me in her soft mouth, careful of my still-tender back as she skidded on the concrete.

Bumblebee stopped on his stomach a few yards to our right, holding Sam and Mikaela aloft with both hands, and I had never felt so relieved.

The helicopters started circling then, and Guardian put me down as the jetpack slid back into hiding under my skin.

Crouching over me, she growled at them, the panels along her body shifting in order to cover her delicate inner circuits.

A harpoon was fired, and a tangle of wires wrapped around Bumblebee’s wrist, pulling him off-balance.

I cried out as another batch of wires caught Guardian’s forepaws, whipping across my face painfully.

Falling back as the cat-bot reared up in outrage, roaring and bearing her fangs at the perpetrators, I touched my stinging cheek for cuts.

Nothing.

Panic was starting to set in, both mine and Guardians, when her hind legs were bound together.

Landing heavily on her side, she thrashed and keened in an attempt to free herself.

Feeling the ground quake after she fell, I ran to Guardian’s side, putting my hands on her cheeks.

“It’s gonna be okay, G.” I promised, voice as steady as I could make it while I was having a panic attack.

“It’s gonna be okay, I promise. It’s gonna be okay.”

Hearing sirens, I looked over my shoulder as the army of black cars entered the scene.

My grip on Guardian tightened as men came closer, some brandishing guns and others strange hoses.

When I heard Bumblebee’s shrieks of agony, I knew what they wanted to do.

“Don’t you dare.” I growled, feeling my right arm start tingling.

Guardian howled in agony, and it tore my heart open like it was my own.

Spotting the person foolish enough to hurt my friend, I leapt on him in a fury.

Even in a rage, I never forgot how to fight; always stay on your feet, and never tackle someone to the ground except as a last resort.

Remembering this, I punched the man across the face, bringing my knee up into his stomach before flipping him onto his back.

Guardian’s thrashing got worse, and the keening sound she was making rose in pitch as more men attempted to blast her with this freezing gas.

I took down five more of them, plus a handful of armed officers, before they overpowered me.

I still kicked as they hefted me to my feet, arms restrained behind me, leading me towards the SUVs.

A scowl twisted my face as Simmons smirked down at me.

“How’s your housecat doing, alien girl?”

My rage was more blinding than my pain had been, and the next thing I knew, I was being shoved into an SUV beside Sam as Simmons cradled a broken nose.

Staring out the windshield as Guardian gave up her struggles with a whine, I felt my heart break.

Tears ran down my cheeks, and I choked on a sob as I curled my legs in, feeling helpless.

Whatever connected me to Guardian felt cold, and I desperately pushed against it with everything I had.

Then warmth spread through me from a different source, care tinged with sadness, and I grasped onto it to keep from being swallowed by my guilt.

The feeling wrapped around my heart like a blanket, and I leaned into Sam for comfort as it soothed me to sleep…