//------------------------------// // Robots In Disguise (2) // Story: We Need A Medic // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// The Autobots base was underneath of a hill far from the town where Fluttershy had grown up. Fluttershy knew that a normal person would have been shocked senseless when they saw a hole open beneath the hill and a bridge of light energy formed beneath it, but after the giant robots and the transforming battles, she was running out of the energy to be surprised. So it was with slightly wide eyes that she and Ratchet drove down into the depths of the hill. "You know, I should say I'm surprised that you have a secret base like this, but if fiction has taught me anything it's that all alien life have a secret base somewhere," Fluttershy muttered to Ratchet as she looked out the window just as Ratchet drove off of the bridge of light and into the heart of the Autobot base...and when she laid eyes upon the alien home, Fluttershy's eyes widened further than she thought was possible.. The walls, floor and ceiling of the base were all constructed with a strange metal that gave off a light that Fluttershy could tell was not of this world. She also spied piles of blue cubes that pulsated with an eerie power, one that made her rainbow magic churn in her stomach. But finally there were the near dozen other Autobots, who were all similar in size to Ratchet, but each of them was shaped very differently. Some of them, the fliers from earlier, she recognized easier because of the wings protruding from their backs or the fact that some of them were hovering off of the ground. Other Transformers had wheels sticking out of their backs, while she spied one that she assumed was based off of a tank, if the giant cannon sticking out of its left shoulder was any indication. But despite the differences or how comical some of them looked, Fluttershy couldn't help but stare in awe at the alien life that was walking around before her eyes. "Impressive, isn't it?" Ratchet asked with a clearly pleased tone in his voice. "While the Autobot army might still be recovering from our war with the Deceptacons, we have a younger generation of bots ready to fight against any Deceptacon uprising that may rise up in the galaxy. Most of them may be rookies, but they all have the hearts of Autobots. I bet you're wondering how we got so many in such a short time?" "The only thing that i'm really wondering is how did you guys build this place without the government catching onto you and trying to capture you for dissection?" Fluttershy thought aloud, having been taught, by fiction, that the government would rest until they had gotten their hands on the body of an alien specimen. "Actually Fluttershy, we have a few allies of our own within your Earth government. In fact, when we returned to this planet to hunt the cons that came here, I contacted an old ally of mine and he set us up with this base," Ratchet said, before Fluttershy heard him chuckle. "Of course, I updated it with all of the cybertronian advancements so that it could actually function, but Fowler's contribution was generous." Through the windows Fluttershy watched as all of the Transformers heads turned towards the smoking Ratchet and looks of concern spread across their faces. Ratchet drove over to a section of the base that had numerous machines that Fluttershy couldn't figure out, before he came to a stop and the door closest to her opened up. Taking the hint, she stepped out of the ambulance. Yet the moment her legs touched solid ground her knees gave out and she collapsed to the floor, her whole body shaking. "Are you alright?" Ratchet asked her. "I think it's finally setting in just how close I came to dying," she replied meekly. A groan escaped Ratchet's lips before his whole body began to change and morph, transforming him from an ambulance to his true robot form a moment later. Once he was at his full height he pressed a button on his wrist and a metal table shot out from the metal floor beside him. "Sir, how did the mission go?" an Autobot that had racing paint asked as he walked over to Ratchet, who had sat down on the metal table. "Not as well as I had hoped. While I managed to secure the girl, I was far from undetected in doing so," Ratchet replied with a grunt as he laid down on his back. "I have a name you know." "Yeah, we heard all about that," another bot with racing strips said as he walked up besides the table, but his strips were red and black while the others were blue and silver. Aside from that difference the two could have been perfect images of each other. "We heard you crying out for help on the comms before our fly boys had to go out and save your bumper. Pretty rookie mistake for such a legendary vet to make if you ask me." "Well nobody asked you, Curbcheck," Ratchet snapped back in a low voice and the younger bots snark faded. "And yes, I did get my chassis banged up a bit, but I succeeded in my mission. And sometimes, as you will learn, that's all a bot in the field can do. Now then, where's Optimus?" "He's out right now, sir," the other bot replied with a far more formal voice. "After...the loss of Taillight and...he wanted to be in the field more. He's currently monitoring one of the five girls while under cover as a cow transporter." "Of course he is. Well, until he gets back I'm in charge," Ratchet said with a hint of a challenge in his voice, but while the younger bots may have been brash and cocky, they knew better than to question Ratchet's experience and leadership skills. When no argument was given, Ratchet grunted and leaned back on the table, opening up his chest compartment as he did so. The machines that had been as still as statues when Fluttershy had arrived suddenly sprung to life and swarmed around Ratchet with a speed she didn't think they could make. "What are they doing to him?" she mostly asked herself, but the audio receptors of Curbcheck were better than he let on and a chuckle escaped his mouth. "Aw how cute, the fleshy is trying to understand how cybertronian tech works," Curbstomp said with a laugh. Fluttershy turned her gaze skyward to see the giant racing bot smiling down at her and instantly she hid behind her hair and averted her eyes, drawing forth another bellows laugh from the bot. "Oh this is just dumb and small, it makes me laugh." "Tell me brother, do you know how any of this cybertronian tech works?" the other racing bot asked his brother and instantly Curbchecks laughing ceased. "I thought so. Perhaps you should't be so hard on the "fleshy". After all, this is her first time seeing it. You grew up around it and still don't know how it works. Who is really the dumber one here?" "Can it, Stickshift," Curbcheck snapped back at his brother, getting Stickshift to chuckle slightly at his brothers anger. "To answer your question Fluttershy, these are medical drones I created to provide medical aid and repairs within the base," Ratchet said from the table, where a flurry of sparks was raining down from his chest. "While they are far too easy to shoot apart in actual combat, here in our base they can provide repairs to all sorts of injuries and damages. While not as good as me, they can get the job done in a pinch." "Did you really suffer that much damage protecting me?" Fluttershy asked as she looked at the floor and brushed the hair out of her eyes. "I'm sorry." "Don't start a pity party, I'm not dead yet," Ratchet grunted as he waved the machines away, before sitting up on the table. "Ugh, it's as I feared. I suffered a deep wound from one of the missile strikes. It's not serious, but it will be a while before I'm fully functioning at one hundred percent." "Should we give you an energon infusion?" Stickshift asked. "No, that won't do me any good. I will recharge why body and then get back to work," Ratchet replied with another grunt as he hopped off of the table, casting a glance down at the confused Fluttershy. "Energon is essentially the blood of Transformers," he said with a nod towards the giant piles of blue cubes. "Unlike human blood, it can be mined out of planet's that have been infused it with. Our home Cybertron generates energon at a fairly rapid pace, allowing us to sustain our thousands of years of living." "So...all of you live off of these cubes," Fluttershy repeated, just to make sure she was getting it. "Yep. It's what keeps me feeling strong and going fast," Curbcheck said as he began to flex, while his brother placed a hand on his face. "You think riding in that rusty old ambulance was fast fleshy, you should try a real vehicle like me out next time." "My name is Fluttershy, not fleshy." "And I suppose this is where introductions should be in order," Ratchet butt in as he walked in front of the other Transformers. "These here are the twins, Curbcheck and Stickshift. They both are incredible warriors, but only one of them seems to have a check on their ego," Ratchet added before glaring at Curbcheck, who found the floor interesting all of a sudden. "Over there are our fliers, Jetstorm, Air Raid and Silverbolt. They're the three best fliers in all of Cybertron, even if Silverbolt is slightly afraid of heights." "A jet that is afraid of heights? Isn't that...counterproductive?" "Maybe, but don't bring it up around him. He gets defensive," Ratchet muttered before scanning the rest of the main room. "Let's see, Detonator is the tank looking bot, Screech is our scout and Wideload is a wrecker..." "Ratchet," Fluttershy cut in with such a serious tone that all three of the bots looked down at her with shock. She stole what courage she could muster before she took a step forward. "I am certain that all of these Autobots are wonderful...aliens and I would love to learn more about them later, but you promised me that your leader would tell me why the cons are after me and my friends. And your leader isn't here. So I want to hear it from you." Ratchet's face fell for a moment as he considered his options, but after a moment he shook his head and his natural serious look covered his expressions. "Alright, I suppose a promise is a promise. Fluttershy, remember what I told you about Ultracon?" "Aside from his name, which is still not that intimidating, not really." "Well while he may not be the fighter or tactical genius that Megatron was, he is very skilled in deception, assassination and, most importantly, securing legendary items that could turn this simple resurgence of the Deceptacons into a brand new war. And war is what we are trying to avoid." "Okay, but how does this relate to me and my..." "I see you figured it out. Your magic is an incredible and untapped source of power," Ratchet said grimly. "Ultracon believes that the magic of you and your friends may be the key to creating a new breed of super Deceptacons, ones that cannot be bested by a regular Transformer. That is why he is hunting you and your friends." "Then we have to warn them! We-" "We already have measures in place to keep your friends safe," Ratchet reply, but his voice was still grim. "Nearly all of your friends is currently being monitored by an Autobot. Optimus is watching Pinkie, Holy Diver is keeping an eye on Rainbow Dash, Applejack is being monitored by RV, Wildride is watching Rarity and I am watching you. So right now we are doing all we can to make sure that-" "Wait a moment," Fluttershy cut in, noticing that there was one missing. "What about Sunset? She has the Rainbow Power as well? Who is watching her?" "...Taillight was watching Sunset." "But...but I heard Stickshift say that-" "Yes. Taillight was killed by the Deceptacons trying to protect Sunset. Fluttershy...the cons already have Sunset Shimmer."