HUMILIATE ME

"What you're waiting for?
What you're waiting for?"

⬵⤁

June folded a pillow, blanket, and a change of clothes into Jack's backpack, storing the medical supplies then placing some food on top of that. She did not know how well taken care of he was, however she doubted it was much. It killed her, and her fingers itched to write a note, type a text message, something, to let someone know where she was. Agent Fowler did not exactly keep tabs on her, much less Miko or Rafael. No one would know she was gone, except her workplace, and even then she wondered if Fowler would be alerted to her absence. It was thirty minutes until Megatron's promised arrival, and she was becoming increasingly anxious.

Setting two full bags of medical supplies, clothes, food, and water on the kitchen table she gazed at the notepad in front of her. Surely she could write a note, and Megatron would not be angry. She would be gone by the time someone found it, so what did it matter?

A noise alerted her to a presence in the garage, the woman bristling slightly. She half expected Megatron to step into the home, but silence persisted for some time.

Grabbing an umbrella as a weapon June popped open the door slowly, peeking into the garage. A bright blue motorcycle sat in the middle of the empty lot, its wheel turning to look at her. June's heart dropped and panic seized her chest. What was she here?

"Arcee?" She asked in disbelief.

"June," the motorcycle transformed, hunching over in the small space. It amazed the nurse how the Cybertronians came in all shapes and sizes, ranging from larger than a three-story building to small enough to compact in her garage. Soft blue and pink optics gazed at the nurse, her expression holding hints of sadness. "I just came to check on you. How was your shift?"

The woman's mind raced, wondering if Arcee somehow knew. Such a notion was impossible, because she had done just as Megatron requested. She did not tell a soul.

"I-It went just fine," she set the umbrella down, trying to discreetly check her watch. The last thing she needed was Megatron to be caught by surprise and start a rampage through her house. "Nothing exciting happened . . ."

Despite the human being much younger, Arcee considered June a kindred soul. Jack had told her plenty of how June battled being a single mother with little social support, and her efforts had clearly paid off. They both struggled, and they both would do anything to keep Jack safe. She knew his capture was having an adverse effect on June.

The human woman shuffled with slight agitation, Arcee well aware it was nearly two in the morning. She had not entirely expected June to be home so soon, but it was apparently an uneventful shift at the hospital. Perhaps she had been allowed to leave early.

"I know it's driving you crazy, missing Jack," Arcee supplied, trying to be helpful. "But I promise, I'm doing my best to try and find him. Megatron will pay for what he's done."

June nodded numbly, her hands beginning to actually shake. Arcee had no idea that the nurse was going to leave. She could very well come back the next day, and would be completely unaware that June had been kidnapped.

The thought caused a shudder and sob to escape her, the woman unwillingly breaking down in front of Arcee. She could not keep this secret. It was wrong, and just another manipulation. Megatron was only doing this because he knew June would do anything to keep Jack safe. Even lie to the Autobots.

Comforting, smooth digits touched her face, and June leaned into them as she kept sobbing. Arcee just gently held her, the war-hardened femme softened by June's maternal cries. Tears ran down her cheeks in streams, the nurse unable to form words through the onslaught of grief and emotional pain. She just wanted everything to be normal. She wanted Jack to be safe.

It was a long time before she finally worked herself down to sniffles and deep breaths, her hands shaking almost uncontrollably.

"I-I'm sorry," she whimpered, apologizing for everything.

Arcee did not know any better, giving one of June's hands a comforting squeeze between her digits.

"It's alright," she assured her, pulling away. "I should let you get some sleep. Call me if you ever need anything."

"I will," June's empty promise clung to her like a sin, the nurse giving the small Autobot a sad smile. Turning and slipping back into the house, she ghosted back into the kitchen and reached up to brush a stray strand of hair out of her face.

Cold, unforgiving claws latched onto her wrist, dragging her close to an intimidating frame. June yelped and struggled briefly, her hand pressing against a warm Decepticon insignia.

Cold air brushed against her ear, a parody of a human breath. "I thought I specifically instructed you to not tell the Autobots."

June struggled, freezing when she saw the time. He was fifteen minutes early. If he had just waited a few more minutes -

"I didn't say anything," she told him, trying to keep her voice low despite the panic in her chest. "I swear to you, I didn't know she was coming. She just showed up!"

"An Autobot without a pet, coming to check on you?" He hissed, his grip tightening. June felt her hair stand on end, something wild and strange beating against her skin. It took a moment for her to recall that Cybertronians had EM fields, which when intense enough and not pulled in could indeed be felt by humans. Megatron likely kept his tight, but she was so close his rage literally brushed against her.

"Megatron," his name was strange coming from her lips. "I promise you, she doesn't know you're here. Please -"

"Forgive me, but I have no inclination to believe you," he snarled, his voice increasing in volume and making her flinch. "Unfortunately for you, I am in a particularly nasty mood. So perhaps I will make you both pay for your mistake."

"No, please," she tugged at his grip, trying to make him let go. "Please, don't touch Jack. Don't."

He ignored her, his optics resting on the two backpacks and making the correct assumption that they contained her supplies. June knew if he took her on the ship, not only would no one realize she was gone, but Megatron would torture Jack in front of her, and then vice versa. She refused to let him do that, yet in her current position she was helpless.

However, Megatron was tiny compared to his normal size. Human sized, if not just slightly larger - not manageable for June, but . . .

"Arcee!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Megatron whipped back toward her in surprise, and in the same motion the wall exploded behind her. She ducked, instinctively wanting to avoid debris and any wild shots that could be taken.

Megatron was no idiot, and he kept a tight grip on his human prisoner. Black digits curled around her throat and she was pressed against a broad frame, her fingers clawing at the grip and she kicked out desperately, only hitting air.

A single, charged gun was pointed directly at both of them, Arcee hissing angrily.

"Megatron," her gun hummed as it charged, preparing to fire. "Let her go."

"I think not," he retorted, his grip only tightening on June. She choked, wiggling against him to no avail. He was immobile, taking her resistance in stride. "I have already wasted enough time and energon, I will not walk away empty-handed."

"Arcee . . ." June gasped out her name, begging the femme to do something, anything.

"You already have Jack! That's more than enough!" Arcee snarled, her canon growing increasingly warm against her armor. "Why June?"

"I am in need of her medical services. Unless you would rather your pet perished?" Megatron asked venomously. "June already graciously agreed to heal her progeny. Though perhaps now she was having second thoughts."

Arcee narrowed her optics. "What are you talking about?"

The tyrant put the pieces together, pausing as he did so then bursting into cruel laughter. "So she didn't tell you, as instructed. How intriguing. But that does not matter now. You know, and you will tell your comrades she was taken aboard my ship. There is nothing you can do here, femme, unless you wish to put us both in peril."

He was right, even though Arcee did not want to admit it. An eons-long war could end if she pulled the trigger . . . but not with June. Not at the expense of an innocent's life. Optimus, Jack, and her own self would never forgive her for such a choice.

After an agonizingly long moment of contemplation, Arcee powered down her weapon. Megatron grinned in triumph, his red optics flashing down to contemplate June, as if deciding what was next.

"We will take our leave, then," he did not flinch as a Groundbridge opened beside him again. In one swift motion he grabbed both backpacks, June grunting and crying out as he shifted his grip to her hair, pushing her forward and into the vortex.

Arcee watched them go, slamming her fist into the floor with rage. She actually made a sizable hole, breaking the fragile infrastructure of the home with ease. That did not register with her as she touched the side of her helm, activating her comlink.

"Arcee to base," she grit her denta. "We have a problem."

⬵⤁

"You have some nerve."

June yelped as she was shoved to a cold floor, the sound of two backpacks thumping to the ground following suit. She quickly turned and got to her feet, taking several steps away from the slowly advancing warlord. She could see in his body language what his intentions were, though it was no big secret. He remained in his smaller form, June looking around to see they were alone - save for the tall, thin, an notoriously silent Soundwave. She had never encountered the Decepticon before, but the stories the kids told her provided plenty of information.

"You threatened to hurt me," she retorted, realizing it was inevitable before he had her cornered. "You threatened my son."

"You gave every indication that you informed the Autobots of our little meet-up," he snarled in return. "And then promptly sicced the runt on me!"

June took her scrub coat off, throwing it to the side and giving him less material to latch on to should she find the best way to bolt around the increasingly angered dictator. His red optics shined brightly, the trained nurse almost easily picking up the very subtle twitches of his arms.

Arcee's arrival had scared him. The Decepticon was at his most vulnerable, saved only by the human woman he had managed to use a body shield. Had June managed to slip from his grasp, the Autobot would have had a very clear shot at him. A deadly one, at that.

That was why Megatron was so livid. June had placed him in a position of weakness that he was not prepared to handle. She had no idea if the Autobots knew Megatron could shrink that small - but now they did for certain. Perhaps she had ruined some plans of his.

"If you had just listened, you would know I was telling the truth!" She snapped back, unable to stop her racing heart as he continued to close the distance between them a few inches at a time. "I was scared! And I certainly was not going to let you hurt Jack!"

Megatron cast aside her replies as if they were nothing, finally getting close enough to reach for her. He assumed that while June had the survival instincts of a human, she would just be a scared little animal once he latched onto her - like her son.

June gladly proved him wrong. Instincts instilled upon her in her self-defense class immediately kicked in, her arms and legs snapping into action.

Jerking the half of her body he was attempting to grab her opposite hand gripped his wrist, jerking him in that direction. To her surprise he weighed much less than she was expecting, throwing the Champion of Kaon off-balance without even meaning to. Regardless she continued the motions of her self-defense, shifting behind him and kicking his knee in. She was fast, and even Soundwave was impressed at her gutsy retaliation. Swinging her fist she made to hit the mech in the side of his helm.

Megatron had since effectively recovered from his surprise, snarling and catching her fist. His battle protocols flared online and he did not bother trying to override them, his mood soured and having taken enough humiliation for the day. June yelped as he twisted and threw her up and over her own head, slamming her back into the ground.

All of the air left her lungs and pain shot up her spine and arm. Something popped and her shoulder felt as if it had burst into flames, causing her to let out a strangled scream. Everything hurt.

The dictator stood as she coughed, flailed, and cried pathetically. He bared his denta, both extraordinarily angry and begrudgingly acknowledging that he had underestimated her. No matter, she paid for her mistake.

In an incredible display of mercy he grabbed her wrist again, violently wrenching the joint that was so obviously displaced and sticking it back in place. That elicited another scream, June feeling the numbness that had crept up her fingers become replaced with a globalized sensation of tingling and needles. She curled in on herself, trembling in pain as tears dripped from her face and onto the cold floor.

Cold air brushed against her cheek, Megatron kneeling down and growling into her ear.

"Don't think you will not be punished for your insolence," he snarled into her ear, so close his scarred lip plates almost touched the cusp of her ear. "This now makes two incidents that you have displayed, June Darby, and my patience with you is all but lost. I would most certainly tread carefully."

She glared at him, her unhindered arm gripping the one that had been traumatized.

"You are going to regret this," she hissed, a mother feeling the brunt of what her son had experienced.

"If I had a victory every time I heard that, I would have long since won this accursed war," he stood, and June hearing the sounds of transformation that she had become accustomed to thanks to the Autobots. Twisting her body she realized he had returned to his full height, an intimidating size that made her painfully aware of what she had done. Megatron, a powerful and ruthless Decepticon, had nearly had his ass handed to him by a human. A creature he considered utterly insignificant. She was almost surprised he had even bothered keeping her alive.

"Reunite her with her dear Jack," Megatron ordered the silent Soundwave, who had witnessed the entire incident. A practiced nurse, June noticed how his gait was just a touch off, as if he was briefly disoriented or even weakened. She slowly sat up, not bothering to even try and fight Soundwave or speak to him. It hurt to move, her spine aching and a bruise most definitely forming somewhere on her back, if not also her wrist or shoulder. The pain had been amazingly blinding, and even now it was difficult to imagine just how she did not immediately pass out.

Soundwave obeyed his master, picking June up after she had retrieved the bags of supplies, steeling herself for the worst of sights. She did not know what bones were broken, or what cuts Jack could have sustained from Megatron's brutality. She doubted the tyrant had done anything as nice as relocate a shoulder, but she silently hoped he had shown at least some restraint. Jack was still a child.

The scene she was greeted with was off-putting. Ratchet was pressed against the farthest wall and curled in on himself, purple optics glaring out from behind his arms when he lifted his helm. The glare quickly turned to surprise when he realized Soundwave had something in his servo.

June sucked in a sharp breath when she saw Jack's state. Dried vomit and blood caked the floor close to him, and he too was curled in on himself, clutching his arm. She saw the state of his shirt - torn like a rabid animal had attacked him, blood soaking his shoulder and a deep brown.

"Oh my god," June jerked forward, not being put down fast enough. "Jack!"

"June?" Ratchet uncurled from himself, shocked that she was there. "Why are you here?"

"Mom?" Jack croaked, opening his blue eyes blearily. He had to be having a fever dream; there was no way his mother was there.

June ran over to her son without any explanation, Soundwave leaving the room before Ratchet could get angry and attempt to attack him. The concerned mother knelt down next to her son, forgetting about the ache in her arm as she rolled him onto his back. Three jagged lines of deep, dark blood marred the side of his face, and she could see had a few cuts on his hands and body. He cried in pain when she touched the arm held against his chest, her stomach twisting. There was no x-ray needed to realize it was broken - perhaps even shattered. A black and red bruise had blossomed down almost the entirety of his arm, the angry swelling concerning her greatly.

"Jack, I'm here," she assured her son, tears pricking her eyes and falling down her cheeks again. "I can't believe they did this . . ."

"June, what are you doing here?" Ratchet asked again, bewildered and increasingly angered by Megatron's obvious game.

"To give Jack the medical attention he needs," she snapped at him, not providing further information or providing room for argument. "It's going to be okay Jack, I have everything you need. I promise."

"Mom . . . you shouldn't be here," he whispered, but in his heart he knew he was so relieved she was there.

June shook her head, sitting him up and hugging him carefully. She did not indicate once that her shoulder was causing immense pain. "I was told you were hurt. I had to come," she very gently moved his arm, taking a thorough look at it. "It's going to hurt, sweetie. But I have to get this arm casted and start a round of antibiotics."

"Uh, Decepticons don't have bacterial infections, mom," Jack could not help the slight sarcasm. "They won't have any of that."

"That's why I brought this," she pulled out a bottle of the antibiotics, ignoring the guilt that weighed heavily in her chest. She had most certainly made her way into the hospital's apothecary and raided it for antibiotics, painkillers, and anything else that would be of some use. "I'm going to do everything in my power to get you better, Jack."

Ratchet felt his spark twist. Megatron had asked for one thing.

The Autobot base.

The medic, in desperation and anguish, had told the warlord the one thing he had wanted all of this time. And Megatron had not taken Jack to a doctor - no, he kidnapped the boy's mother. Not only had Ratchet just put all of his friends in jeopardy . . . but now there was one more prisoner for Megatron to torment. June did not know much, but that did not keep her safe from the psychotic dictator.

He was angry at himself and Megatron, the warlord only giving the medic more reasons to become increasingly bitter at what he had become. Ratchet was becoming just as much of a monster as the tyrant that had enslaved him.

Realizing he was all but useless in this situation, Ratchet slunk back to his corner and curled up, the medic lost again in his thoughts of inadequacy and self loathing. It was becoming quite clear to him that he would soon be no better than Megatron, slating his comrades to die because he had too much spark.

The Autobots certainly would not want him back.