Spark of a Wrecker

Jack Darby opened his locker, exchanging the textbooks in his hands for the ones he would need for next period.  There was no real need to hurry; the break between classes still had a good five minutes left to it, but the young man was not a fan of the local scenery.  By whatever joke of the universe that was being played on him, Jack had found his locker to be rather annoyingly close to the one belonging to Vince, Jasper High's resident Jerk with a capital "J."

The red haired teen was currently laughing about something in the center of a group of friends, more than likely completely oblivious to what time it was.  Not that Jack was particularly interested in reminding him.  Closing his locker, and giving the combination dial a spin for good measure, the young Darby prepared to leave.  Before he'd taken his first step, something new caught his attention.

Miko Nakadai had just turned the corner of the hallway, a questing look on her face that changed the moment she saw Vince.  Lips pursing and jaw clenching, the Japanese exchange student began to march over to the bully, her feet stomping hard as she glared at him.  Of course this did not go unnoticed by the red head.

"Can I help you, pigtails?" Vince asked with a chuckle as he flashed what he probably thought was a roguish smile.  If said smile was supposed to disarm girls, Vince obviously hadn't counted on ones like Miko.

"Okay, dorkus, where are they?" the sixteen year-old girl demanded, glaring into the older student's eyes.  That Vince was a head taller than her didn't seem to faze Miko at all.

"Uh… what are you talking about?" Vince said in a creeped-out voice, holding up his hands as Miko proceeded to violate his personal space.

"Don't hand me that buddy, you know what I'm talking about," Miko countered.  "I know you took 'em so ya better just give 'em back."  For a brief moment Vince's face visibly darkened, and Jack thought he might have to get involved if things turned violent.  Fortunately the school bully was apparently not low enough to strike a girl just for bugging him.  

"Look, toots, I get that you wanna leave an impression on the ol' V-man," Vince began, his face muscles relaxing into a somewhat condescending sneer, "but trust me, crazy psycho nut-job 's been done to death.  So how 'bout you just tromp off to wherever it is little punkette wannabes like you hang out, huh?"

"I ain't goin' nowhere, drippy, so you might as well gimme what I want before I have to get physical with you," Miko said in a threatening voice, one thin finger stabbing into Vince's chest.  

"Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?" he asked with a derisive laugh, knocking away the girl's hand.  "What, you gonna bust out some sorta chop-socky on me or something?" he challenged, reaching out a hand to shove the smaller student's shoulder.  This proved to be something of a mistake.

Miko did not, in fact, know any karate.  She claimed she'd once tried to learn after seeing an old Bruce Lee movie, but simply hadn't had the patience and had quit after three lessons.  She was, however, quite a devoted student of the ancient and noble art of professional wrestling.  That she had also become quite adept at mimicking some of Bulkhead's moves only added to her repertoire.

As Vince's arm had extended to shove her, the smaller girl had grabbed hold of his wrist with both hands, slipping behind him and swinging his arm around into a half-nelson.  The redhead managed only a single startled yelp as his assailant progressed the hold into what looked like a modified version of a cobra clutch.  Of course with Miko being shorter than him, Vince also found himself involuntarily bending backwards as the girl applied pressure to his arm, straining his back muscles awkwardly.

"All right, scuzzo, now you can either tell me where you stashed the goods, or its nappy time for, like, two hours.  And that's if I remember to let go," the slim Asian girl growled, straining to keep her victim under control.  Vince struggled to break the hold, but his body was panicking as the choke hold began to cut off his air flow.

"Let… Let go of me you crazy-" he began to croak, only to be cut off as Miko twisted hard.

"You know what I wanna hear, Vincy, just tell me and I'll let go."  For a moment, Jack again wondered if he should get involved.  Much as he disliked Vince, the young man was fairly certain Miko would get into too much trouble if he let her kill the redhead.  Fortunately Vince had enough of a survival instinct to know when to cut his losses.

"Locker… Locker!" he choked out, pointing back to his still open locker.  Casting a suspicious look to where Vince had indicated, the frown on Miko's face was suddenly replaced by a satisfied smile.  Releasing her grip on the older boy, the slim Asian girl reached into his locker and carelessly yanked something out.  From his vantage point Jack saw a familiar looking orange vest, shirt, and pair of jeans.  With a derisive sniff at Vince, Miko rolled the bundle of clothes up and put them under her arm before stomping off.  Sensing this was something he needed to see the resolution of, Jack moved to follow his friend, passing the still recovering Vince as he did so.

"Tell me you didn't do what I think you did," he said as he passed the red head, a look of disbelief on his face.  

"Oh bite me Darby," the school bully choked out, glaring darkly at his accuser.  "Not like I hurt the little punk."  Growling, Jack continued after Miko.

The exchange student was almost sprinting down the hallways she was moving so fast.  Her path soon took the two teens to the school's gym, where curiously a group of boys were standing just outside the locker room, annoyed looks on most of their faces.  Without even paying any attention to those looks Miko walked up to the front of the line where a green haired boy in a purple shirt with the words "Slash Monkey" emblazoned on it stood.  The boy smiled as he grabbed the approaching girl about the waist.

"Hey, babe, you get what you were looking for?" he asked.  Miko smiled back before disentangling herself from his arm.

"Yeah, thanks for keeping everybody out of the locker room for me, Luc, I owe you one."

"Swag from the next concert's on you Meeks," he said, making a clicking sound as he aimed his fingers at Miko.  Smiling, the Asian girl turned back around and walked to the door of the boy's locker room, Jack finally catching up to her.

"Hey, what happe-"  Miko ignored him as she reached out her fist and gave the door a loud knock.  After a few minutes the door slowly swung inward a bit, just enough to allow a mop of damp brown hair and the familiar face of Raf to peek timidly out.  It was fairly apparent from the redness of his eyes that the tween had been crying, but his dour face brightened a bit as he saw his friends.

"Miko!  Did you…?"  Miko gave the younger boy a triumphant smile, holding out the clothing she'd liberated from Vince's locker.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou," the prodigy blurted out, a skinny arm darting forward to snatch the offered bundle before ducking back into the locker room, just as the buzzer signaling the start of class sounded.  There was a collective groan of annoyance from the students who'd been inadvertently held hostage.

"C'mon Nakadai, we were supposed to be out on the field by now," one of the waiting students angrily pointed out.  "The coach is going to blow a gasket."

"Oh he will not Max, and one tardy isn't gonna kill ya," Miko shot back, her hands on her hips.  Behind her the door to the locker room once more opened and Raf stepped out, looking much calmer as he finished pulling his orange sweater-vest on.  The crisis now over, the waiting students shuffled past the three friends.

"So I guess we're through here?" Jack asked as they turned to leave for the classes they were now late for.  Suddenly the sound of the school's PA system coming to life was heard.

"Miko Nakadai.  Please report to the Principal's Office… Immediately."  Now it was Miko's turn to look annoyed as she let out a sputtering huff.

"And there goes the other shoe dropping," the slim said, shaking her head.  Raf gave her an apologetic look, but the living ball of energy just perked back up.  "Okay, I'm gonna go see what ol' Mr. Cameron wants to do to me.  Catch you guys later, neh."  With that the teenage girl trudged off, leaving her friends to cast worried looks at one another.

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Later, at Omega One, the Autobots' hidden base, Jack sat on the couch the kids had claimed for their own when they'd taken up part-time residence with the refugee Cybertronians.  Ostensibly he was supposed to be doing his homework, but every so often he cast a worried look at the inactive ground bridge.  School had been out for about two hours and his two human friends had yet to make an appearance at the base, a fact that was unsettling considering the events the young man had witnessed earlier.  

         Towards the end of the day the Principal had called for Rafael to come to his office, and there he had apparently remained given that neither he nor Miko had shown up when the Autobots had arrived.  Having thus been left out of the loop, Jack was also feeling just a touch curious as to how the situation had been resolved.  

          A sudden chime signaled the activation of the base's comm. system, followed by a string of blips, beeps, trills, and whistles.

          "I read you Bumblebee," Ratchet said.  "Activating ground bridge."  With a roar the familiar green vortex swirled open as a yellow muscle car and a dark green hummer rolled into the base.  Doors opened on the two vehicles and Raf and Miko exited their respective guardians.

           "Ah!  Freedom, there's nothing like it!" Miko declared as she stretched, acting for all the world like an inmate being released from prison.

           "It wasn't that bad Miko," Raf said, shouldering his backpack.  Then he looked up at their clubhouse, noticing Jack leaning over the railing.  "Hey Jack."

           "Hey yourselves," Jack called back with a wave.  "So don't leave me in suspense, what happened?"  At young Darby's question, Miko and Raf soon realized they now had not just his attention, but that of the Autobots as well.

           "Yeah, spill Miko," Bulkhead urged, clearly miffed the girl hadn't recounted her tale already while he had driven her home.

           "Not much to tell really.  Cammy was pretty steamed about me puttin' the squeeze on Vince, but I handled it."

"'Puttin' the squeeze' on him?" Optimus Prime half asked, half stated.  "You attacked another student?"

"Well, I really didn't have a choice.  Vince wasn't exactly being cooperative," Miko defended herself as she walked up the stairs leading to the loft and crashed onto the sofa in a laying position, causing the red and blue Autobot to shake his head and rumble in disappointment.  Violence to defend oneself he could understand, but this… and that Miko seemed so unrepentant about it unsettled him further.

"Don't blame Miko, it wasn't really her fault," Raf said, perhaps sensing Optimus's displeasure.  The Prime's gaze shifted to the smaller boy, and immediately Raf backed up a step, an embarrassed look crossing his face.

"What do you mean?"

"She was just trying to help me out," the little human admitted.  "Vince… kinda…"  Raf began to blush a little, his cheeks turning red as he tried to figure out what to say.  It was Miko who broke the silence.

"Vince stole Raf's clothes," she said rather bluntly.

"Miko!" the younger boy yelled in horror, his face reddening even more.  The exchange student gave him a surprised look.

"What?  'S not like Jack didn't know."  A sudden burst of concerned beeps and clicks sounded from Bumblebee, causing his partner to hold up his hands defensively.

"No, no, nothing like that," Raf assured the scout as the worried mechanoid approached him.  "I was just cleaning up after P.E. and Vince snatched my stuff before I could get dressed.  Said if I wanted them back I'd have to come get them.  But Miko heard me, um… just heard me, and she said I should just stay put and she'd take care of it."

"And that's when you went and put Vince in that chock hold," Jack surmised, his voice indicating that, while he didn't wholeheartedly approve, he wasn't overly distraught about that fact.

"Hey, you heard me ask him nicely," Miko said with a smile, waving her arm dismissively as she did so.  "When diplomacy fails…"

"It is my understanding that there are other humans in your school in positions of authority," Optimus Prime stated.  "Would it not have been more sensible to involve one of them, rather than actively seeking a more violent path?"  

"Pfft," snorted Miko rather derisively.  "Why give Vince that kind of satisfaction?"

"'Satisfaction?'" Ratchet asked.  "How exactly would this Vince-creature get satisfaction getting into trouble through proper channels?"  Again Miko snorted.

"You wouldn't understand," she said in a slightly condescending tone.  "You're just too… old."

"Excuse me?" Ratchet asked in a more incredulous voice.  Miko gave an exasperated breath.

"Yeah, I could have gone to a teacher or something, and they probably would have gone straight to Vince and gotten back Raf's stuff.  And then Vince'd probably get a suspension," she said in a bored tone, like she was explaining simple math to a moron.  This fact was not lost on Ratchet.

"And this would have been unacceptable because…?"

"Because then the whole thing woulda been broadcast all over school."  At the girl's words Raf visibly shuddered.  "Sure Vince woulda gotten a suspension or something, but poor Raf'd be a laughingstock at school.  Do you seriously think the teacher would've been able to keep something like that quiet, especially since Vince wouldn't've?  But now…" Miko smiled at this, "ol' Vinnie-boy's the one who got humiliated.  Plus he got suspended for bullying Raf, so any chance he has to clear up what happened is gonna sound like he's just coming up with a story to get back at me."

"Ha ha ha, serves the jerk right," Bulkhead mused loudly, shooting his partner a thumbs-up.

"Bulkhead, this is not behavior to be encouraged," Ratchet admonished.

"I have to agree with the Doc-bot," Arcee said, ignoring the red and white Autobot's irritation at the nickname.  "Revenge might have been what Vince deserved, but you were needlessly reckless."  This time it was Bulkhead's turn to snort.

"You make it sound like she went around the school kicking everyone's aft-plate," he retorted, sticking up for his partner.  "Miko saw a problem and fixed it, end of story.  No fuss, no muss."  He then turned to the Asian girl.  "I'm surprised this Principal guy didn't thank you for fixing the problem for him."

"I know," Miko responded, kicking up her feet and hands for emphasis.  "But instead what does he do?  He gives me two weeks detention and a boring lecture."  Suddenly the teen girl's voice became comically deeper as she began to imitate Principal Cameron.  "'We have rules here young lady, and they do not allow for vigilantism.'  Like I'm some sort of idiot."

"Well you did put another student in a chokehold," Jack pointed out.  Miko favored young Darby with a sour look, causing Jack to throw up his hands in surrender.  "I'm merely pointing it out," he said defensively.  

"Like Bulk said, I saw a problem, I fixed it."

"And you received two weeks detention for it," Optimus reminded her, hoping the realization that she hadn't got off scot-free would temper the human's judgment in the future.  Again Miko dismissed this.

"Two weeks.  I can do that in my sleep."  The teen paused as she considered something that caused her to let out a short laugh.  "Come to think of it, I probably will."  Realizing Miko was most likely to continue crowing if asked more questions, Jack's attention turned back to Raf.

"So," he asked the smaller boy, "I guess Principal Cameron called you to the office to confirm Miko's story, huh?"  Raf nodded at that.

"Oh THAT was the best part," Miko blurted with glee as she swung into a sitting position.  "Since Raf here was the victim in all this, Cammy had to call his parents and let them know what had happened.  And when Mr. Esquivel found out, did he read the Principal the riot act.  I didn't even know it was possible to switch between English and Spanish so much."  The Asian girl looked at her smaller friend.  "Seriously, it sounds like a great language to get angry in."

"It wasn't as funny as you think," the embarrassed Raf said, scratching the back of his head.  "Papa never liked the idea of me going to public school, and this didn't exactly help his opinion."

"You think he might yank you out?" Jack asked.  The younger boy shook his head.

"I hope not," Raf said.  "He's been talking up this private school back in his hometown, but that would mean having to go live with my grandparents back in Spain.  I love Tato and Tata, but I'm really not keen on having to move in with them."  Bumblebee suddenly began beeping and clicking in rapid succession, attracting Raf's attention.  The boy let out a laugh and shook his head at the humanoid robot.  "I don't think the Principal would be overly thrilled if I had a car following me between classes in the school."

"It would destroy the carpeting to say the least," Jack quipped.  A series of angry clicks escaped the robot and Jack held up his hands as Bumblebee leaned in close to him.

"Bumblebee," Optimus chided his scout, "I'm sure Jack is treating this with as much concern as it is due."

"Yeah Bee, I'm not going anywhere yet," Rafael assured his friend.  "And I'm sure Papa'll cool down after a bit."  After a moment's thought the boy added, "Uh, as long as nothing else happens."

"Oooh, sounds to me like you need a bodyguard," Miko said, swinging her legs about on the couch as she punched the air.  "Someone to kick a little aft for you human style."

"I think you've kicked more than enough 'aft' for the time being," Ratchet pointed out.

"Doc's right, Miko," Bulkhead said.  "Fixin' a problem's one thing; but the last thing we need is you getting yourself expelled or something for picking fights."

"Oh you guys are no fun," Miko quipped, the smile on her face indicating she'd been joking.  With that, she leaned back on the couch.  Bulkhead's hand rose to his helm as he shook his head, wondering if he had been this cheeky when Ultra Magnus was gathering the original Wreckers.