Basketball, Robots, and Police Chases Chap. 23

Mirage was slightly confused as he watched the swaying small pools of light amidst the massive ocean of darkness of the cavernous ceiling.  He wasn’t at the base was he? Couldn’t be. He did not ever remember sneaking back in... Meaning how and when did he get back? The last thing that he remembered was - Scrap. His optics widened as he jerked upwards off the berth.

The Autobot immediately regretted doing that, hissing in pain as his digits ghosted over the rough patch over his shoulder. Mirage quietly muttered curses under his breath damning the leader of the Decepticons as he managed an awkward sitting position. Oddly enough it appeared that he was alone, which was highly strange of Ratchet to leave a patient and even more so for the others since it seemed there was at least one Autobot or more annoyingly enough one of the humans, always present. However he didn’t dwell on the subject longer than necessary. He had a mission to accomplish. Carefully, Mirage swung himself around, his shoulder beginning to throb in pain as if mocking him. I am much too young to feel this old… The spy internally groused as he set both of his pedes on the ground. But at least I can move somewhat without assistance.

“I don't know what's worth fighting for
Or why I have to scream.                                                                                                                    
I don't know why I instigate
And say what I don't mean.”

He paused at the low singing voice, a frown slowly forming on his mouthplate while looking up at the balcony that the humans set up to be their ‘rec-room.’ Perhaps he was not as alone as he thought. Slouching on the questionably sanitary couch was a single teenager who had her face hidden behind a copy of some book called Assassin’s Creed: Renaissance and a pair of headphones blaring in her ears. Even if her face was not visible, Mirage still knew who it was and he vented silently in annoyance. Why did Primus mock him so?

“I don't know how I got this way
I’ll never be alright.
So I'm breaking the habit,
I'm breaking the habit
Tonight.”

Thankfully though, she appeared to be oblivious of his consciousness since she was still singing and flipping the book’s pages every now and then. Just to make sure, he waved a hand with nary a sound in front of her to which she didn’t react to. Nodding with quiet satisfaction, he made to get off of the berth so he can go find Optimus.

Apparently he wasn’t that quiet.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Myra offhandedly said behind her novel making him freeze in mid-movement.

How did she –?  Mirage threw an incredulous look at the raven haired teen who now had her grey eyes peering over the book. In response, she tapped her earphones with a smirk on her lips. “Just because I have these in doesn’t necessarily mean anything.” Ignoring the scathing glare that the mech was now sending her direction, she continued on with her explanation. “Besides Hatchet made it quite clear as to what he would do to you if you even thought of leaving that berth.”

The spy rolled his optics, though he was mentally noting the fact that she called the Autobot CMO ‘Hatchet’ instead of his actual name. Either, the Twins were more influential than the mech realized or the teenager was just quick to pick up on terms. “I am neither scared of him, his threats, nor of his wrenches.” But he pulled himself back on the berth anyways so as not to tempt fate. Unfortunately the movement didn’t escape the teen’s notice and she made a ‘mhm’ sound followed by a quiet “sure you aren’t” which practically meant she was not at all impressed by his false bravado.  

In other times, he would just ignore such comments. Right now however, Mirage was not in the mood for the teen’s provocations. His brother was close to if not on the executioner’s block, his team mistrusted him, he was in pain yet again, and she thought it both wise and amusing to mock him. Enough was fragging enough. “Isn’t there something better that you can be doing? Preferably somewhere else?” The spy snapped moodily at her. Like running off a cliff perhaps?

Myra’s eyes hardened into a storm grey before she slammed her book shut. “Suddenly it’s illegal to worry over the ever arrogant Mirage. Guess that’s why Bluestreak isn’t here because he finally got tired of your attitude.” She grabbed her backpack to shove her stuff in muttering some harsh sounding derogatory terms.

He winced at that comment about Bluestreak. Now that was just below the belt.  “Wait, I - uh, that came out wrong...” He muttered.

She stopped both of her hands that were at her sides were tightened into fists. “Well, you know you should have thought about that before saying it.” Myra threw daggers over her shoulder before falling back on the seat again. “But I guess I’ll humor you and ask: what did you mean then?” Her flinty eyes scrutinized Mirage, daring him to say anything further much akin to a particular saboteur that had found out he stayed past curfew.

The spy would never admit it, but that brief similarity somewhat unnerved him. He formed the words before slowly saying them out loud. “Why aren’t you home with your parental units? I do believe they were supposed to arrive yesterday, yes?”

The teen grimaced. “Oh. That. Well...” She looked away wringing her hands distractedly. “...They never actually came home last night.”

Mirage shuttered his optics in surprise. Things seemed to have turned from ‘awkward’ to ‘seriously awkward’. “... I’m sorry. Did they...” He stopped short when Myra’s head jerked up just now realizing what she had said.

Mentally, Mirage snorted at the fact she was ripping into him for saying something he didn’t mean when she just turned around and did the same exact thing. “Oh hell. Sorry about that.” She nervously laughed rubbing at the back of her head. “I don’t mean that they died or anything it’s just that...” She furrowed her eyebrows trying to find the best explanation. “Well I don’t know in all honesty. I guess, long story short I called them up to ask why they weren’t home yet and I learned that apparently they never planned on coming home early. Seems that Miko decided to lie just to freak me out or something...”

“It would not be the first time you know.” Mirage pointed out but he didn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was off.

“True.” She pursed her lips. “That and the fact Eri invited me to go to a tourney... Well, I kinda decided that I need a break so I came here. Then I come to find you’re knocked out because of a ‘personal mission’ and well decided to stay...” The teen dragged her gaze away from the floor. “You may be an ass most of the time but I don’t think you deserve such a thing as to waking up without someone there.”

A few minutes of deafening silence passed between the two of them. Myra, a little flustered at having opened her mouth and the fact he was now staring at her, looked away with a faint blush on her cheeks.

Good going dumbass. Just make everything awkward why don’t you? Open mouth and insert shoe. Now how about you go back to reading your book and keeping your mouth shut from now on before you make a bigger fool out of yourself? She internally reprimanded herself as she bowed her head to do exactly that going back to reading about a particular Italian Assassin and trying to remind herself not to compare.

The only sounds other than the occasional page turning from the couch being heard were Mirage’s digits starting to tap slowly on the metal surface of his berth, obviously torn by the look of his face.  The mech must have made up his mind because he coughed awkwardly into his servo.

“Forgive me for asking but…” Myra immediately looked up perking an eyebrow. “What did you mean - ”

“ - by what I said earlier?” She finished for him, her eyebrow rising even further. The adolescent didn’t even sound surprised that he asked such a thing and the Autobot slowly nodded in response. “Well that depends...” Myra slowly placed a crumpled piece of paper as a bookmark, and closed the book on it to keep her place.

Mirage waited for her to continue, but he comprehended she left it hanging for a purpose. “Depends on what?” He questioned annoyingly.

Myra fussed with her hair apprehensively, avoiding looking at him. “You won’t like it but, it depends on whether or not you’re willing to tell me why you are considered a traitor amongst the Bots.”

She braved a glance and saw that her response was only a glower, a clear indication of what his answer was. Myra minutely bobbed her head before leaning back into the couch and crossing her arms. She had already known what his reaction would be just from experience.

“Then you’re not getting anything from me.”

Mirage clenched his jaw irritably. Damn your stubborn hide. Unfortunately, one of the things he reluctantly admired about Myra was her aggravating ability to be both stubborn and reckless, even if it was stupidly done. Nonetheless, he was going to find out one way or another exactly what she meant by that comment. In his entire existence, he learned the term ‘traitor’ was not something thrown around lightly.

“So, basically you are saying that the only way you will tell me is if I tell you.”

She exhaled, having the decency to look apologetic as she looked sidelong at him. “Bingo.”

“Hmph...” He snorted indignantly before tapping his fingers against his leg. “What if we made a deal?” The crimson mech indicated the both of them. “You tell me your pathetic past first and I shall tell you my tragic backstory afterwards?”

But she shook her head. “Sorry, no deal I’m afraid. How do I know you’ll keep your end of the bargain?”

“You have my word as a spy,” he immediately answered, his azure optics somber and very serious, meaning he meant every word.
 
Myra mulled over his words slowly, throwing a hand over the couch as she furrowed her eyebrows in thought. “... I know you mean well, but let’s be honest here. I’ve only known you for a handful of days.” She even put her hand out to exaggerate that notion. “For all I know you could hear what I have to say and then use it - ” The teenager shut up instantly when she saw the dark look on his face and the way his shoulders were now bristling like some feral cat. I think I might have pinched a nerve there.

“I suggest you think very carefully on what you just said.” He ground out slowly, his optics darkening. “And realize that the same issue applies to me as well.” Despite the fact he should have stayed on the berth, the fuming Autobot had risen up and had easily crossed the short distance between the medical berth and the balcony, stabbing a finger in her face and ignoring the pain from the motion.

“I do not know you and you do not know me. Why should I even possibly share anything with you? In fact the only reason I ever met you was because of a mistake that Bluestreak made which led to me getting burdened with both you and the insulting responsibility of watching and making sure you are safe when in reality I could not care less what happened to you, your race, or your planet.”

Immediately after saying that, he wanted to smack himself for saying something so stupid. Myra glared at him in response before she took a hand and rubbed it grubbily against her eyes. This wasn’t really getting anywhere anytime fast.

So, he tried a different approach.  

“... if you were in my place, would not you want to find out if the person that said ‘traitor’ meant the truth?” He formed the words carefully. “To make sure it was not some kind of lie just to gain pity or sympathy?” She didn’t respond to him right away, her angry posture suggesting that she was still wounded from his earlier insults.

Idiot. He rubbed his faceplates rumbling in frustration while mentally kicking himself. But he was just too damn proud to apologize. “You must understand my predicament, Myra.  I have been around for a very long time in your sense of the word and I have stumbled across those who have said the exact same words as you only to realize that they were false and hollow. So to hear you say it… It was what you humans would call a ‘blast from the past’.”

“You thought I was lying only to get empathy from you.” Myra sounded bitter saying that as if she bit into something sour. “Please I can do other things besides that to get you riled up.” She threw another disapproving look at him, but this one seemed half-hearted. “As much as I would love to say I was lying when I said that, I wasn’t. It has been a blight on my family name for quite some time.”

“Which you are still not willing to share with me I suppose.” He guessed which only made the girl nod briskly.

“Yep.”  

Mirage muttered under his breath something on the lines of ‘hardheaded glitch’ before heaving a sigh. “However you look at it, the end product is still the same thing. Over the eons of getting my hopes up for nothing and the disappointment afterwards, I started to doubt that there were any others of my caste still remaining.” The raven haired swimmer looked up abruptly, stunned by his sudden disposition, never expecting him to sound so miserable.

She had to constantly remind herself that the Autobots were not human. They and their Decepticon foes were obviously not organic and as such were much bigger, older, and had such different customs. One of which was the fact they could change forms as easily as her changing outfits. And the more she mingled around them, especially Mirage, the stronger she urged that sentiment. Yet at the same time, how could she keep saying that when she had seen them act and bleed just like any other human? Like right now with an obviously grieving mech?

Cautiously, she unfolded herself from the couch and made her way to the edge before resting her arms on the rail inches away from a mech who could easily end her life. “You mean to say - ” She prevented herself from finishing the horrible notion he was proposing.

Unfortunately as if reading her mind, he nodded slowly with a pained look. “I have come to the conclusion that I am more or less the last surviving member of the Cybertronian noble caste. And in all honesty, I am not even sure how long I will last.”

A picture was beginning to paint itself in Myra’s mind and the more Mirage continued to share with her, (as small as it was), the clearer it was becoming. And the more familiar it was starting to sound. The teen knew the mech probably did not appreciate it, but she could not help but feel pity. She also felt shameful at herself for trying to extort him so for information that was clearly very painful to talk about. On top of those, she also had a sense of sympathy.

“Alright, I’m just gonna take a shot in the dark here.” She licked her lips nervously when he fixed his unnerving gaze on her. “A-and it’s up to you whether you want to say I’m right or not.”

Mirage raised an optic ridge in response and before her courage left her, she charged on ahead with what she had in mind, consequences be damned.

“You’re from a class that held wealth and power for a long time, in fact, as long as anyone could really remember. Your kin prospered on the labor of the lower classes’ backs but rarely did they do work themselves and when they actually did it was only for their own gain. Overtime the lower castes started building a grudge and that started to fester, to build, until a single usurper decided that it was time for a change and thus revolted against the old system. In response, your caste panicked and decided that instead of losing everything. They’re going to try and ride the new system, get the benefits of staying alive and also being able to still hold onto their fortunes and titles, even if it is at such a high price. But they didn’t care since they were so desperate to hold onto old traditions. You, on the other hand…” She paused tilting her head sideways in thought.

“You didn’t do what the others did. In fact you balked against the actions of the others, already seeing the error of their ways: the inevitable fall of a long-lived dynasty that just could not last, even if you hated the thought of losing the only way of life you ever knew.  Even if your actions banished you from the memories of those you once called ‘friends’. Nonetheless, the actions of the majority had already labeled you something, and no matter what you did or say, you could never remove it. On the contrary you only seemed to add more credibility to the brand. And because of that, you get called a ‘boot-licker’, a ‘murderer’, a ‘flatterer’, a ‘yes-man’….”

She glanced down at her shaking hands, willing them to stop before uttering the last words in barely a whisper. “A traitor. And when it comes to traitors… Well.” The teen trailed off unsure as to finish the sentence. But her mouth ran off before her brain could stop it. “They lose everything.”

Myra expected many things in response to her statement. A scoff followed by a denial of the whole thing or a snort and a roll of the eyes since he always seemed to do that at least once. But never had she expected such a reaction from the otherwise cool Autobot. Mirage backed away looking shell-shocked, hardly noticing that he almost stumbled over the medical berth.

“H-how - ?” His voice was cracking. “How would you know such a thing?”

She sadly looked at him before clasping her hands on the rail and murmuring. “Because my great-grandfather had the same thing happen to him about eighty years ago.”

After reflecting on her words some, he frowned slightly, looking confused. “If I remember correctly you said sixty the first time.” Apparently it did not take long for him to get back to normal.

“That I did unfortunately,” she agreed, “I’m not the greatest at math, even worse when I’m mad.” Her lips parted into a small smile as she looked at him with her grey eyes. “But if it’s any consolation, Mirage, I never pictured you as a traitor when you first said you were… An ass, yes, but never someone who would willingly turn over to a side he obviously hates.”

“And what makes you say that?” He rumbled narrowing his optics in suspicion. “Remember you said it yourself that you do not know me well enough.”

“True but in some incidents, I just know some things.” she stated while readjusting a ring on her finger before looking upwards. “I know that you don't like me. Hell, I believe it's even safe to say that you downright hate me. But despite that I still think you're an Autobot. I mean when we were getting chased by Mr. Demon Cop the other night you could have easily ejected us and left us to fend for ourselves, yet you didn't. If anything you stayed behind to give us a chance to escape. Isn’t that sort of your guys’ thing? Protect those who otherwise can’t? Well you did that.” She pointed at him.

“Not Bluestreak, not Arcee. You. And concerning what happened with Optimus?” Myra snorted rolling her eyes. “In all honesty,  the bloody Autobot Commander himself should have known better not to touch you after a battle. Obviously you weren’t yourself at the moment...  As my grandfather would say 'to touch a soldier straight after a battle is to tempt losing a hand'. But that's... just my two cents.” The raven-haired teen shrugged. “That is up to you to believe me or not. I mean what would a human like me know about things of this nature?”

“A surprising one who apparently loves to mock me,” the Autobot retorted while shaking his head.  “Do you do that for everybody else or am I just the lucky one?”

“Not telling.” She managed a chortle, her eyes twinkling mischievously. Myra wouldn’t swear to it but she swore she saw a twitch of the lips on Mirage. Did he briefly smile or had it been her imagination? Either way she shrugged it off, instead focusing on the future topic ahead. She blew a strand of hair out of her face before climbing over the railing and sitting on it letting her legs swing freely. “And this human owes you an explanation.”

He already knew what she meant but still he looked at her in surprise. “Why? I did not tell you anything.”

She nodded reluctantly. “No, but you told me enough.” The teen then fixed him with a half-hearted steely look. “Now do you want to hear what I have to say or not?”

Mirage, again, raised an optic at her before inclining his head. “Do not let me keep you then, signorina.”

“Right well then...” She took a deep breath before starting. “First things first, I am the descendant of a very powerful and old Venetian family -. ” A loud slam cut her off making her nearly fall off from her perch. “Fraggit all to hell,” she grumbled under her breath throwing a glare over her shoulder as she stabilized herself.

Confused, the spy peeked over the same direction. What he saw made him very glad that he had gotten back on the berth. Marching down the hallway was the ever moody Ratchet, followed by an entourage of Autobots. The medical officer didn’t look surprised that Mirage was awake and sitting up, but he did throw a glare at Myra as he passed her by. “I thought I told you to go home with the others.”

“And I thought I told you to go shove it because I was not leaving until I made sure he was okay.” She shot back with a stubborn look.

Myra and Ratchet had a brief glaring contest before Optimus politely coughed into his hand. “Miss Daniels - ”

“Myra.” She cut in not breaking her line of sight from the medical officer much to the chagrin of the other Autobots who were probably starting bets amongst themselves. “No need to be formal here, sir.”

“My apologies, Myra,” the Prime corrected himself, “I believe it’s safe to say that Mirage is in capable hands and will recover just fine. However, I believe it best for you to go home and rest. You have been here for quite some time.”

“How long have you been sitting there?” The crimson spy interjected perplexed to hear this.

The teen frowned, thinking. “Eight hours give or take?” She then shook her head stubbornly. “But I feel fine.” Mirage, on the other hand, saw that she was lying. Her eyes looked droopy and he could see she was stifling yawns behind her hand.

And he could also see that most of the Autobots, Optimus and Bluestreak especially, were harboring serious expressions. A sure sign that they were not pleased by his actions and had questions for him to answer. A good time as any to face the firing squad.

“Myra, as you can see I am fine. You need to go home now.”

The said teenager looked at him aghast. “Oh come on! Really? Do I have to?”

He met her eyes. Please I need to do this. She seemed to get the hint and jerked her head with reluctance. “Fine….”

Optimus also nodded and glanced at the twins. “Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, you will escort Miss Daniels home and keep watch.”

The golden twin let an indignant squawk as he dragged himself away from the buffer he had brought along. “Wait - What?! We have to watch a squishie!?”

After getting her stuff ready, Myra set both of her hands on her hips and glowered at the mech. “Uh, excuse me, but the name is Myra.”

“Same old, same old, you squishies look all the same to me.” He waved her off going back to buffing. Mirage watched as the teen’s jaw hardened and her eyes narrowed as she looked fiercely at the golden mech. “I just dare you to call me, ‘squishie’ one more time, Golden Boy.”

Sunstreaker growled in annoyance while his twin sent a look of bemused respect towards the teen. “And if I do?”

The raven haired teen sweetly smiled as she shouldered her bag. “Oh, just keep in mind that you have to sleep sometime and I have a good reputation when it comes to keys and ruining paint jobs on fancy cars.”

Mirage had to stifle a chuckle as the three of them left. One having a half-scared, half-pissed face at having been brought low by a said ‘squishie’. The spy would have to ask Sideswipe about what happened later but in the meantime, there were other things to be dealt with. He then met the optics of his leader and his conscious hardened.

Mirage bowed and then retrieved the listening device from a hidden compartment. “Sir, I have a very crucial piece of information for you.” The crimson mech then clapped the listening device into Optimus’s servo, clasping it briefly before letting go.

“From whom if I may ask?” The Prime questioned, his gaze set on the device in his servo.

The crimson mech swallowed thickly before replying with, “Knock Out.”