"I'm assigning this mission to the two of you as your arrival on this world has not already been revealed to the general population. This gives the two of you an advantage which the rest of us no longer possess, the ability to move and act without drawing too much attention to yourself or your partner."
"Some high level undercover work?" He could not help but grin as he thumped himself on the chest as he looked up at his superior. "No problem, nothing I cannot handle..."
"As long as he can keep his mouth shut," a jab in his side redirected him to the source of the interruption, currently pausing in order to glare at her partner before continuing. "I'm not sure if he's fit for the job sir. While he has proven to be a capable soldier this guy really loves the sound of his voice. Stealth missions might not be his forte."
"I'll do fine," he playfully waved off her remark as he threw a gentle tap against her shoulder in response. "You're just worried that you're going to feel all lonely without the sound of my voice brightening up your day. So what will it be sir? Stakeouts? reconnaissance? Perhaps tracking down some straggling 'cons our team didn't wrap up yet?"
"The task I had in mind is best described as 'guard duty'," the giant towering over the both of them spoke, his voice soft and gentle yet carrying a confident authority ."I expect both of you to handle your individual assignment with care. I trust your reports on your previous missions and have no doubts on your abilities but this time the mission objectives are far more delicate than what you are used to."
"Ah, looking after the locals." He nodded as he glanced towards the far side of the room where one of their new allies stood against the wall, looking back in his direction. " Do they really need us though? Those two could handle themselves just fine as far as I heard."
"While it is true that neither of them required our constant protection this cannot be said about the persons closest to them. While I hope that your guardianship will be an uneventful one I fear that our current peace might not last forever."
---
"Ichika, wanna come and go to my place?" Gotanda Dan lazily slung his arm around the neck of his friend before pulling the boy along with him. "I just got my copy of the latest Mondo Grosso DLC," he continued, "and I sure could use a worthy opponent such as you to try out some of the new models this afternoon."
"Well..." The other boy looked back, mulling over the proposal, only to be beaten to the punch.
"What's this I hear? Do I hear the voice of a boy desperate for some cheap victories?"
Huang Lingyin wasted no time in inserting herself between the two boys in order to break the impromptu hold of the redhead on his friend. Her actions swiftly bore fruit as Dan released Ichika to turn to his newly found adversary. "Well, if you're looking for a more than equally matched opponent this girl is more than willing to take you down a few times."
"As confident as always Rin?" Dan bared his teeth in a disturbing smile to which the girl responded with her confident grin. "You know, you have heard about how overconfident people tend to speak in third person like that? You might want to look that up someday."
"Don't worry." The girl reassured Dan. "It's not overconfidence if it's based on this girl's sheer difference in skill compared to you."
"How humble of you. I'll just have to put those words of yours to the test." Dan dramatically cracked his knuckles in response to the challenge. His mind made up he turned towards his other friend. "Ichika, you'll join us right? Can't beat her like that without an impartial witness to watch her cry."
"Ah, right. "Ichika replied as he searched his pockets. "I just need to make a call first. I'll be right behind you, just give me a minute." Within moments the boy pulled out his cell phone, flipping it open before hitting a short set of buttons with practiced motion. Whoever Ichika has on speed dial didn't wait long in answering the phone as the boy almost instantly moved the phone to the side of his head.
"It's me. Nothing, just…"
"Hey Dan," Rin moved next to the boy as she watched Ichika conversing with whomever was on the other side of the line. "Who is Ichika calling whenever we go somewhere? I thought it was his sister at first but he never mentions her name when he calls." The girl glanced towards Ichika who seemed unaware of her attention before she looked back at Dan. "I mean, whoever it is Ichika got that person on speed-dial. He doesn't even have my number on speed dial!"
"Oh," Dan smirked. "Jealous?"
"NO! I'm.... just curious." The girl pouted as she looked away, her feet tapping on the ground as she impatiently waited on her friend. "... He never calls me..."
"Ah, Ichika is more the messaging type isn't he." Dan nodded in understanding. "Maybe Ichika's contact is the guy who often shows up to pick Ichika up whenever he needs a ride home."Dan suggested as he scratched his forehead. "You know, the last few months I've seen this red American muscle car with those fake horns in the front."
"Oh, that car?" Rin looked at Dan with a look of recognition in her eyes."I've seen it before. Once, I saw it standing near my home when Ichika was coming over for dinner. Whoever was in it drove off once I got closer though, which really crept me out I couldn't even see the driver thanks to the tinted glass. Seriously, what kind of person drives around in a car like that?"
"You know what I think?" Dan whispered as he leaned closer to the girl. "I bet you that guy is some sort of private bodyguard, probably a foreign ex-military dude who takes his car with him wherever he's hired. Ichika's sister probably hired him to keep an eye on Ichika while she's working as the country representative."
"That's… stupid," Rin shook her head. "I mean, that just sounds over the top. Why would she ever do that?"
"She's the first winner of the Mondo Grosso, right? Dan pointed out. "She's a famous person, people might be targeting Ichika for that."
"But to hire a guard who drives around town?"Rin turned to look at Ichika who seemed to have finished his conversation and was heading towards the two of them. "I mean, it's not like someone is just gonna drive down the street and pluck him from the sidewalk in ..."
Whatever Rin had wanted to say was cut of as the sound of screeching tired drew her attention to the street behind Ichika as a van hurtling down the road skidded to a stop right next to the boy.
---
To Ichika time came to a stop as an unmarked van appeared out of nowhere, stopping right next to him as the screeching tires made him jump to the side. At that moment the door opened, revealing the heavily armed men sitting in the van, the closest to him pointing some sort of contraption at him. Without any warning a bolt of lightning striking him in the chest, forcing a cry out of his lungs before he crumpled to the ground. Before he lost consciousness he felt himself being pulled into the van, it's engine roaring as it took off once more.
Left behind were Rin, who soon snapped out of her confusion before setting a desperate sprint after the vehicle, and Dan, who fumbled with his phone as trembling fingers tried to enter the emergency number.
Both of them were so distracted by the turn of events that they did not notice the second vehicle until the muscle car raced past them, the machine but a red gleam burning down the road.
---
"... And they just grabbed him from the street in front of half a dozen witnesses. From what I saw, they shot him with a stun weapon before dragging him into the van."
"Understood. Continue your pursuit while we alert the local authorities. The boy's safety is the highest priority but do not break your cover unless absolutely necessary."
"Got it, but I can't do much in these tight streets. Can you send me some backup? Preferably the slim, two-wheeled kind, someone who can maneuver past them in these tight corners."
"Arcee has been ordered to secure her own charge in the event they attempt to strike at both of them. I fear that for now none of us can come to your assistance."
"Don't worry.There is no way they are getting away from me."
With his engine roaring he rushed through another corner, tires screaming as he nearly grazed a light pole. He was catching up, steadily gaining on the van as it continued its attempts to shake him off. Whoever was driving was skilled, certainly good enough to lose even other talented drivers in a char chase like this.
Well, he wasn't just your average driver though.
"What the…"
The chase abruptly came to an end as the driver swirled to the side, the window of the passenger seat opening up as the barrel of a weapon was pushed through. A stand-alone Energon blaster, carrying a single shot. One of the first designs by humanity to harness the raw power of Energon and apparently the latest toy on the black market. Now an idiot kidnapper had gotten his hands on one of them and was stupid enough to point it at him out of a speeding van, the telltale glow of an upcoming energon discharge warning him of the attack to come. Even with a single shot, getting hit would hurt bad, if not stop him in his tracks.
And then the van shook before swerving all over the road.
He couldn't tell if the van had actually hit something or if the driver has tugged at the steering wheel suddenly and forgot to warn his passenger. Whatever the reason was the weapon slipped out of the hands of the man holding it as it fell towards the ground before discharging. In a flash the discharge ripped open the road between himself and the van currently spinning out of control as the discharge of the weapon sent it flying even further.
He couldn't avoid the hole, nor drive around it. Even braking at full strength wouldn't stop him in time and would cost him precious time. If the van were to crash into something everyone inside would be gravely hurt, including the person he was trying to save. There were several bystanders around, and the sound of the explosion would probably attract many more within minutes. By the time he'd be done he'd be attracting more attention than ever before. Who was he kidding, he had already made his decision. He had a friend to bust out of trouble after all.
"Alright fellas! Let me teach you a lesson!" Cliffjumper yelled as he turned on his pipes, his T-cog spinning into action as he prepared to switch from driving to jumping at full speed...
"If you mess with Cliffjumper…,"
The Autobot shifted propelling himself into the air with his legs as he jumped towards the still moving van and it's unsuspecting passengers.
"..you get the horns!"
---
In the company of titans
Infinite Stratos - Transformers Prime
