Chapter Text
“Time to go, bitlet.”
That was ominous, but she didn’t stop to think as he pulled her up and then toward the black and gold Aston Martin in the park’s car park. “Huh??”
“Merely a precaution. I’ll explain on the road.”
She swallowed, eyes widening slightly. “Ok.”
“Nothing too bad, I’d think, but better safe than sorry,” Knock Out said as he bundled her into the passenger side before ducking around to the driver’s seat, where he made it seem as if the holoform had actually climbed into the seat and not simply rezzed out.
It was only when they’d put some distance between the park with its corner shop and themselves that Mizuki spoke again. “Government?”
“Autobots. The Prime.”
Mizuki sat straighter, eyes wide as hands fisted against the seatbelt. “What—?”
“Hmmm.”
“But—”
“They’re tracking me.” It was dry and somewhat deadpan, but she could tell he was bitter. Her heart went out to him and if they hadn’t been driving, she’d have hugged him. After all, this was somehow worse than the other Earth. At least there they’d been able to rest and spend weeks in one place, to relax and breathe between being chased — hunted, but she tried not to think of it that way — by the governments of the world.
Here, on this Earth, it was like moving every second day. Every week if they were lucky. No time to rest, relax or even breathe and if she, a tiny human maybe 5’ tall at best, was starting to feel strangled, Knock Out was probably feeling it too. Not that he’d tell; he was a Decepticon. They hid weakness.
At least those chasing them on this world didn’t know about the Superpowers or the upgraded nanites within them. Small mercies, that. “Because you’re you?”
“Remember what Breakdown told us about this world when we met with him?”
“Oh...” She didn’t like thinking of that, even if the meeting had been under signal disruptors and it’d been Knock Out’s second meeting with his alt-verse husband. Unthinkingly, she summoned Pika onto her lap and wrapped the Mimikyu in as tight a hug as she dared. “But—”
“They’d have known, bitlet. Now I’m back from the dead and far from a zombie.”
Mizuki made a face. “I don’t even want to know what your zombies are like! Earth’s are bad enough and we fought some!”
More like her Pokemon fought the zombies alongside her friend, but she’d been on Zippy as the Rapidash trampled them, while the Decepticon and Hoshii had found creative ways to work together with an energon prod, psychic powers, and electricity. That counted as helping, right?
“No, I suppose you don’t,” Knock Out chuckled and, at Mizuki’s fierce scowl added, “They didn’t see your face.”
“I don’t ever want them to!” Not when they both knew they’d try to get her away from the ‘Decepticon’ for her ‘own safety’. Like she was a child who didn’t know anything, who’d been brainwashed or something. Pit no. She knew how dangerous Knock Out was, how he viewed most humans, and she didn’t blame him one bit.
Humans could be awful, horrible creatures. Selfish even, and she knew it all too well.
She shouldn’t. She was a child. Barely even thirteen yet she’d been Champion at eleven. Then the Porter had happened, and she’d become a Hero and Celebrity and all that entailed. Then they’d bounced to another Earth for a time, and now here. They needed rest. More than that, Knock Out needed both his husband and his best friend. But, life wasn’t fair. “Never! We’ll find them and bring them to my world — you’ll be safe, you hear me!”
“I hear you, bitlet.”
She knew he didn’t believe her; his sadness was evident enough, but that was fine. She’d believe in it for both of them, believe enough that it happened.
The power of determination and friendship could do anything.
-/-/-
“—and Raf got into the CCTV,” Miko said, with a flourish towards the boy.
“Yeah. I think we’ve got a face on her now, too.” Raf finished and spun the laptop around to reveal the face of a laughing girl with bobbed black hair, grey eyes, and a red hat.
“Hey! She looks Japanese!” Miko squinted, then made a face. “And maybe related to Knock Out’s holoform?”
“What, you could speak to her?” Bulkhead asked.
“Yeah, provided I can get a chance. The Decepticreep, like, barely leaves her side!” And he’d blocked every other image of her they could have gotten of the girl until now.
“That is worrisome in itself,” Prime said. “But not unexpected.”
“So, correct me if I’m wrong,” Fowler started from where he leaned on the railing. “But all I’m hearing is someone we thought dead a year ago is still kicking around, with a Japanese civilian in tow, and only now we’ve been able to put a face to her?”
Prime sighed, tired yet also understanding what Fowler was getting at. It’d been a long two months of trying to track Knock Out, or who they assumed to be the doctor. So far all they had was a signal that resembled his, yet nothing concrete. “That would be accurate, Agent Fowler.”
Fowler frowned. “I assume she’s some kind of hostage, then?”
“That remains to be seen. So far, Knock Out—”
“We assume he’s Knock Out, you all heard what Breakdown said...”
“What, you have a better name for him?” Bulkhead asked, grinning a bit when Jack clamped his hand over Miko’s mouth to keep her ‘suggested names’ from Fowler’s hearing.
“Be that as it may, he has yet to meet up with any Decepticon outside Breakdown. It would be prudent if we treated him as if he were Knock Out.”
“That was, like, once, and they split as soon as we showed up,” Miko grumped once she’d shoved Jack away. “And it’s taken us this long to get a look at her face—”
“I’ll see what strings I can pull to run her face through the databases. Maybe see if we can get the Japanese government to help,” Fowler offered before Miko could get any further into her rant.
“Even if she’s not a hostage—”
Jack frowned. “Why wouldn’t she be?”
“Yeah!” Miko added. “He’s a Decepticon—”
Raf ignored them both as he continued. “How do we get her away from him? We know he’s cagey—”
“Send in us,” Jack said. “Look, we know he’ll flee if one of you shows up, but us? We’re human and Miko’s kinda a tourist—”
“Field trip!!!”
“Not really. He’s got a human with him and—”
“We need to eat,” Raf finished.
“Yeah, exactly. So, here’s the idea...”
-/-/-
“Pinky promise not to eat inside you!” Mizuki said as she and Knock Out — via holoform — looped pinky fingers. She knew what pain she would endure if she broke the promise and she was fine with it; a broken pinky was nothing to any of the injuries she’d sustained on her Journey or in Super USA, and she’d have earned it if she ever broke a promise.
More than that, it was worth it; she really just wanted to go through a drive-through with his alt. It’d be fun, and they’d found the first one in Jasper (and had a snicker at the sign) then agreed it was the one they’d use.
“Welcome to KO Burger. How may I help you?”
“Two of the ten nuggets and fries with a can of Coke please,” Mizuki chirped, oblivious to how Knock Out’s hands had suddenly tightened on the wheel.
“Two ten nuggets and fries with a Coke’ll be $9. Head to the window to pay.”
“Is it me or this world like, a dollar more expensive than the last one and that was about the same?” Mizuki whispered, never mind she’d said the exact same thing more times than not.
As they pulled away to the next window, Mizuki’s comm buzzed as the holoform reached over and ruffled her hair in clear amusement. ::Be careful. This could be one of the Autobot’s pets.::
“Awww,” Mizuki whined, slumping down in the seat, arms thrown over her chest in a patented teenage pout, ostensibly at the hair ruffle and the laugh it implied. She didn’t really glare at the dashboard, but also she did. He shouldn’t be amused! He knew she had an allowance! One that was hacked, but still! It added up!!!!
The pout only broke at the holoform’s smirk and playful poke.
“Evil.”
The dashboard lit up in a ‘:)’.
Mizuki dug out her cap, shoved it on and pulled it down with a stifled giggle that earned another poke. At least it hid her face well enough as she accepted the takeaway with a sulky face, and she’d like to think she was better at pretending an emotion now than even a month ago.
They pulled out, and then— “Now to the park?”
Mizuki did not jump at the voice change. She didn’t and he could wipe the half-smirk off his face. She had not jumped at the voice change! “Yeah! The one with the waterfall!”
The drive was short, maybe ten minutes and mostly filled with racing jargon as Mizuki looked up races on her Comm. They wouldn’t be going to any of them though and it stung, but she knew Knock Out would have found something else by now, so it was fine and talking about them was still exciting. Exciting and harmless, and if she let slip she had a horse, well... she chose to be optimistic and happy, but she was also a realist. If they thought she had a horse, that was just another layer of protection and misdirection.
If they found her, learned of her powers, of her Pokemon, she’d be on the vivisection table in some lab in a heartbeat. To say nothing of what’d befall Knock Out.
It also distracted her from the fact there was a small listening device in the bag, disguised as ketchup.
One that, as soon as possible, Knock Out crushed without a word.
-/-/-
Feedback hit, and as one, the assembled bots and humans flinched back.
“Well, now what?”
Prime sighed. “I... am unsure.”
-/-/-
Elsewhere, high above, Soundwave considered the signal he’d tracked for the last few days. Boring, average. Human stops. Nothing of note. Yet it had vanished again, and while it wasn’t the same as Knock Out’s, it was close enough it merited monitoring, both remote and personal. If it was the doctor, they would reclaim him. If it wasn’t, then it was an unfortunate Neutral.
Perhaps it was time to consider another method.
The spymaster spun in the air, then jetted upwards to the Nemesis. It was time to bring the Deployer Twins out of stasis.