The Lost Highway (KITT/Mike)

[Blindspot]

Blindspot continued to loom in a convincingly threatening manner. His talons twitched when the human spoke of his firepower, and the medic had to bat down rising aggressive urges to punish the puny fleshling for hurting his miner. Blindspot was able to control himself better than some, though, and the man was able to finish his speech without being mauled. When KITT comedic again, Blindspot cocked his head slightly.

<“Very well.”> He had no interest in taking the humans, himself. Mike and KITT were free to do with them what they liked, but he was mildly concerned about their fate, mostly because of what they had seen. <“It would not be… wise if too many learned of my presence here, or the presence of my miner.”> He wasn’t sure how much he should say this this strange vehicle. He wasn’t technically an Autobot, so he wasn’t technically an enemy, but nor was he exactly an ally, either.

For the moment, though, they were on the same side. <“I must ask for you to wait to call the authorities until I and my associates are clear. It would be… bad if they saw us.”> Telling KITT this much was a bit of a leap of faith for Blindspot. The alien vehicle and his human companion obviously respected Earth laws, and he had just given KITT reason to believe that he may not. <“At any rate, we should secure the hostages as soon as possible. I think I might be able to help with that.”>

Blindspot straightened slightly. “Humans,” he rasped, “you should consider yourselves very lucky. I have decided to release you to this human’s custody rather than take justice into my own claws.” He flexed those claws slowly as he spoke, leaving no doubt as to what sort of "justice" they could enforce. “We have business to attend to near the mine. You will stay here, and not a single one of you will stray from this spot. I know this because if you do…”

He silently pinged Windshear a set of coordinates. In the time it had taken Mike to interrogate the men, the Eradcon had come over the town, and had been circling silently, high above the clouds. Now he dove, still not quite dropping his cover, but announcing his presence with the dull thudding roar of his engines. He armed his blasters and fired at the coordinates that Blindspot had supplied him.

Plasma bolts spat through the air, sizzling harmlessly into the dirt behind the men. Windshear pulled back up, still having not broke the cloud cover, and continued circling.

“My associate will, regrettably, be forced to see to it that you are incapable of straying further.” He did not specify to KITT that this was another bluff. Perhaps he didn’t feel the need to… or perhaps it wasn’t a bluff. <“Let us go to the mine now; I am certain I will have no problem negotiating with the men holding the townsfolk hostage.”>

[KI3T]

<"Very well, Mike could stay behind to help keep watch, but the little girl will have to stay with me until the proper authorities arrive. I do not want to risk her getting caught in a firefight if they happen to fight back against your associate. It may be wise to have your associate land to better monitor them for my partner's sake - if you both are willing, that is, since I cannot be in two places at once. If you would rather have your associate go with you, I can easily stay here and fight them if they get aggressive, as made obvious by my weaponry. It is whatever you decide to do. I would indeed like to know what you find in the mine regardless since that is part of why we are here."> KITT replied promptly, unmoving from his current poise towards their group of hostages. Part of him rather he stay here to help Mike, the other was a curious AI who wanted to investigate with Blindspot. He wanted to prove he was capable. Of course being bullet proof was a huge advantage to the AI, but it was a secret not yet revealed.

((go ahead and post, I'll probably use both next round. I think KITT wasn't fired on by the humans, but I'm not sure. I'll edit if needed.))

[Blindspot]

Blindspot nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with KITT’s priorities. <“Right-- we mustn’t let them harm the pup.”> That was tantamount. He drummed his claws against the plating on his outer thigh for a moment, thinking. <“Yes, calling my associate down is a good idea. If things get unpleasant at the mine, then he could always come to back us up.”>

He looked back to KITT, Mike, and his miner, who was still hovering placidly nearby. A private communication passed between them, and then he pinged Windshear. He did not explain his actions to the humans. All they knew was that the dull roar in the air was sharpening to a scream, and then a wicked-looking aircraft suddenly streaked out of the sky, shredding its way through the clouds and shifting in mid-air to land with an almighty boom behind the group of humans, cracking the pavement and shaking the structures all around them.

The terrified, unarmed guards looked between the slim form of Blindspot and the wall of dark purple that comprised the much-bigger Windshear. The glare of his visor bathed them in a red glow.

“What’s goin’ on here?” His voice was not the same thin rasp of his companion’s. It was more like a roll of thunder. “These’re the guys that caused all the trouble?” He shifted one of his arms into a rifle and pointed it at the humans, who stared helplessly back at the purple glare. “Did they hurt the miner?” he snarled.

“No, I’m fine, Shear,” the miner called to his bodyguard. It was a lie, but if he told the truth, he knew he would set the Eradicon off on a rampage. “I had help, too.” He rolled towards Mike and hovered beside him, indicating that this human was on their side. “If it weren’t for this guy, I might have been in real trouble.”

Windshear gave no verbal reply, but cocked his head, staring at Mike.

From KITT’s back seat, the girl had watched the display with rapt attention, and now delivered her opinion. “That,” she said, “was pretty cool. But are we going to just stay here? They’ve got my parents.” She had not been privy to Blindspot and KITT’s private conversation, and didn’t know what the game plan was.

Blindspot took a step back. <“My associate will not harm your human friend, not now that he knows he assisted the miner.”> He reverted to his alt mode smoothly and abruptly, rocking slightly on his tires and flicking his headlights on. <“Shall we see to the hostage negotiations?”>

[KI3T]

<"Yes, I would prefer, at this point, to stay with the hostages for Mike and the girl's sake. It is likely better that your associate goes with you instead. I will contact you if anything sudden occurs. I should be able to watch them and keep the miner safe."> KITT replied, hoping that Blindspot would trust him on that. He knew Mike would prefer it, and Mike was setting on calling the local police as not long from now. He could transform if needed, and he was bullet proof. He was quite sure he could handle the situation, especially with the miner as an additional helping hand.

[Blindspot]

Blindspot paused. <“Oh.”> KITT was asking a lot from the Vehicon, even though he didn’t know it. He was asking Blindspot to leave the miner with him and trust that no harm would come to his charge. The miner commed Blindspot, telling him that he was not concerned. Still, Blindspot wasn’t sure… and he saw Windshear looking expectantly to him, awaiting an answer.

He felt the pressure of decision weighing on him. Scrap. He didn’t do good when he was forced into leadership roles. He struggled with his programming, his processor locking up in intermittent spurts as he tried to figure out what he should do. Finally, he said, <“Very well. We will return shortly.”>

He silently pinged Windshear, who seemed to accept his decision. The Eradicon turned briefly to KITT, growling, “Don’t touch the miner, grounder.” Before he stepped back and abruptly transformed, taking off. The heat wash from his exhaust swept over the hostage criminals. These were hardened men who had seen horrible things and probably done worse, but they were beginning to get seriously rattled by how strange the night had become.

The two Decepticons vanished into the night.

---

At the mine, the guards were tense. The entrance to the mine was dominated by an old, somewhat decayed structure that had been used as a base of operations. Most of the townsfolk were inside the largest building, (they were not actually being held within the mine itself; that was where the men had stored their smuggled goods, in the shallower galleries) which had once been used to hold heavy machinery, but had long since been emptied.

“I’m telling you,” one of the guards muttered, looking left and right with a tangible air of nervousness “I heard gunshots. We should send someone out there.”

“If you want to go, be my guest,” the other replied, shrugging and checking the safety on her rifle. “After that weird shit that happened last night, I ain’t stickin’ my neck out for nobody.”

“After this, I quit,” the first guard muttered, “this job’s getting too weird for me.”

His female companion shrugged, and was about to deliver her thoughts on the matter when, of all things, she saw a car turn the corner on the old paved road that led to the mine. Instantly she hefted her rifle, as did her fellow guard. It wasn’t a police cruiser or a military vehicle, but rather, oddly enough, a low-slung sports car. It rolled to a placid stop in the parking lot outside of the main structure, its engine rattling as it idled.

“Okay, pal, you picked the wrong place to go for a joyride,” the female guard called, advancing with her rifle at the ready. “Out of the car, and hands--” she never finished her sentence, because in the next moment the car jerked and began to change, plates whirring and reconfiguring themselves into the shape of an enormous robot. She immediately backpedaled as it swiveled to face her with its glaring red visor, but quickly brought her rifle to bear again out of instinct.

“A human toy,” the machine rasped in a voice that sounded like metal grinding against metal, “how quaint.” Instantly a flood of people poured out of the guard house, a mixture of men and women, all of them armed. They clustered around a single individual, who was peering up at the robot with no fear, but rather a cold, calculating expression. Instantly the robot’s attention was drawn to him. “You must be the leader.”

The man did not reply, but a few of his guards were noticeably irritated by how easily their commander had been picked out.

“I’m on a schedule, so I will be brief. You have a number of unarmed humans held hostage here. You will let them go and surrender yourselves to the appropriate Earth authorities.”

A few of the guards outright laughed, but their leader did not. His expression remained frozen, cold, fixed. When he spoke, it was not loudly, but the sound of his voice instantly silenced everyone standing around him, and he had no trouble being heard. “What are you?”

The machine cocked its head, but did not respond.

“Are you here for the other one? The one we found?”

“I have already secured my miner,” the robot replied, and the calm matter-of-fact tone to its voice send a chill through the blood of those listening. To free the miner, it would have had to go through a group of heavily-armed men. It spoke of the task as if it were as mundane as organizing a file cabinet. “That is the only question I will answer for you. Surrender immediately.”

“You can’t get us all,” the leader replied calmly, “not before we take care of our hostages.”

The robot was quiet for a moment. “No,” it finally replied, “I cannot. I will be utterly honest with you. I will not hurt you. I dislike violence, and I take no pleasure in harming living things.” A low roar filled the air. “However, I am afraid that my associate does not share my proclivities--” here he had to stop because the roar had grown, shaking the very air with the force of its fury, and Windshear performed his second dramatic entrance that night, to much greater effect, landing with an earth-shaking boom behind the group of humans. Concrete cracked. Rusting structures shook. One guard stumbled and nearly fell over.

This one was a lot bigger than the chatty one. The humans divided their focus between the two very different machines. “Nor is he as patient as I am.”

Windshear silently shifted the plates of one arm to form a rifle, which hummed as it powered it up.

“We know you are not invincible. Whatever you are, whoever you work for, you can be taken down,” The leader had not once taken his eyes off Blindspot.

“Be quiet. Now,” Blindspot rasped, glancing to Windshear. His dull associate had not quite caught on to what the human criminal was hinting at, which was a good thing, because the last thing he needed was for the Eradicon to start firing. “Release the humans.”

The man had not gotten to where he was by being timid. He shook his head. “We’re at a stalemate here. Something’s got to give. If we surrender, we’re done. Maybe we can make this worth one another’s while?”

Blindspot shook his head in return. “You are an audacious creature, human, I’ll give you that.”

“We know how to take you down. You want to give us up to the feds? They’ll be interested in hearing about you, I’m sure.” Blindspot’s shoulders hunched at this, and the human smiled a little. Good. He’d hit a nerve. “So, let’s make a deal and I won’t--”

There was a flash of light and a hiss, and quite suddenly a blackened crater where the man had once stood. The force of the blast had knocked several of the henchmen off their feet. The ones standing nearest to their leader were badly burned. For a moment Blindspot just stared, startled, and then he looked to Windshear, who had his rifle-arm raised. “You shot him.”

“He was talkin’ too much.” Windshear rumbled. With a shrug, he turned to the remaining guards. “Okay, listen up, humans,” he roared, “any one of you blabs about us and I do to you what I did to your boss. We’re playin’ by my rules now, got it?” He aimed the rifle towards the group of guards, and it hummed to life once more. “Anybody wanna argue?”

Nobody did.

---

When Blindspot and Windshear returned, it was with the hostages in tow. Windshear had agreed to let them ride in his cargo hold, and though the humans were certainly shaken from their ordeal and a little shell-shocked at being given a ride by an alien flight craft, they seemed grateful enough as they clambered out. Windshear patiently waited on the ground, his landing gear extended.

Blindspot immediately approached KITT. “We disarmed the guards and instructed them to wait. Some of them might have fled, but it was either leave them or leave your hostages.” He paused for a moment, and then switched to comm. <“Many of them will require medical attention from your authorities. They… angered my associate.”>

At the same time, the little girl was tapping on the inside of one of KITT’s doors. “That’s my mom! Can you let me out, please? It’s my mom!” She had just seen her mother come stumbling awkwardly down Windshear’s unloading ramp.

[KI3T]

"Grounder..." KITT generated an irritated snort and Mike patted KITT's roof in assurance as Windshear followed Blindspot. Little did the drones know that he could fly if he wanted to! He quite well liked the ability to do so now as well. "I am much more than just a car."

(later)

"At least it was a success none the less." KITT said to Blindspot, opening the door for the little girl. "Go with her, Mike, just in case." Mike followed obediently, not saying much after finishing his call to the police. They'd be here soon, then it'd be all over and they could get this place cleared out.

[Blindspot]

Blindspot rolled to a stop, watching the young girl exit KITT and immediately run towards the crowd of humans, calling out for her mother. A grown woman answered the call, and the two met each other, embracing. Family. Blindspot was aware of the concept in an abstract way, because he did not have one, but it still rather warmed his spark to see the child so obviously happy.

As Mike ambled off to see the girl to her destination, Blindspot was left alone with KITT. Now that the danger had passed, he was struck by what a strange creature he had stumbled upon. A sparkless alien that served alongside humans, of all creatures. Still, the sparkless alien had helped him retrieve his miner. That was important. Even more important was that this sparkless alien had not betrayed his trust when he and Windshear had left to deal with the hostages.

And, a very small voice at the back of his processor hinted, it doesn’t hurt that the sparkless alien has a chassis that is very easy on the eyes.

But there was no time for that! “We should be going. You will doubtless want to contact the authorities, as well as medics for the wounded criminals, and we need to be far from here when they arrive.”

Behind him, Windshear was closing the hatch of his cargo hold, and his engines were slowly rumbling to life. The jet seemed eager to be gone.

[Mike Traceur Knight]

Mike nodded at Blindspot then. "Yes, the sooner we get them into Police hands, the better. Now is a good time to leave as you see fit. We highly appreciate you and your willingness to work with us, 207." Mike said to Blindspot. Of course, both KITT and Mike were oblivious to the other things that Blindspot was thinking about regarding KITT. "Hopefully things will return to normal here soon, if anyone does decide to return."

Mike knew that they would need to investigate further into these drug dealers/smugglers, as they were likely to be causing greater trouble for them elsewhere, if they hadn't already. The name floated around in the back of Mike's mind, and he was pretty sure he recognized it from his time working with the Black River unit (again, not to be confused with the Black Water Corporation or any involved in it).

Once the Police and medics arrived, Mike filed any needed reports before leaving the area and heading towards the nearest airport to meet up with a C130, which would be piloted by a certain student pilot that was his adoptive daughter.

((I figured that was okay, that i added that little bit about the smugglers being associated with Black River))

[Blindspot]

Blindspot would have nodded, had he not been in alt-mode. “Of course.” His priorities were now with getting far enough away from the town to request a ground bridge back to the Nemesis, and to get the miner into medical hands.

Windshear waited with admirable patience while the humans cleared the area around him, and, retracting his landing gear, took off abruptly, rattling the walls of the warehouses nearby. Some of the humans ducked, buffeted by the wind of his passage, but a few of them watched in awe as the alien vessel twisted in the air to come back around.

Blindspot was already pulling onto the road, waiting for the miner. Of the three Decepticons present, the laborer lingered the longest. “Hey. Both of you,” the miner called, swiveling his gently-hovering altmode towards Mike and KITT. “Thanks. I hadn’t met humans before those guys, but you know… you’re all right.” He angled himself towards the crowd of freed hostages. “Take care, little one!”

“You too!” The girl called from somewhere in the crowd.

Blindspot raced down the road, and Windshear wove up through the clouds to cover their retreat from above while the miner brought up the rear. It was an odd sight for anyone traveling those forgotten back roads, those lost highways. <“Who was that guy, anyway? I didn’t know there were living machines here.”>

<“Neither did I,”> it was Windshear, surprisingly, who responded, <“But I guess they ain’t all bad, if they helped you out.”>

<“Agreed,”> Blindspot concluded. A single thought occurred to him as he let the darkness ahead swallow him and his comrades. That brave human, his mysterious, soft-spoken living vehicle… he had forgotten to thank them.

<“Hey, I’m in range of the ship,”> Windshear commed, <“gonna go ahead and call for a pickup.”>

Blindspot send a wordless assent his way, and within moments, a green glow appeared further down the highway. The two vehicles plunged into it, shifting moments before they were snatched into the heart of the bridge. A moment later, a thundering roar announced Windshear’s descent, and the Eradicon landed on the highway with a resounding thud. He paused long enough to look back over his shoulder at the stretch of cracked pavement veering off into the shadows.

He shuddered. Creepy place. Creepy as the Pit.

Then he took two steps forward, and was gone.

((Yeah, the BWC connection is fine by me. Should we call it? I think we’re done!))

[Jetta Windstar]

THREAD COMPLETE!