"Not happening." 

     Lennox knew the answer already, and Marissa's deadpan expression made him notice the features she shared with her father.

        "I can't exactly say 'no'." He tried to explain. "It's going to take more than just Galloway's say-so, of course, but it's still a probable conclusion to this entire fiasco."

         "Putting Barricade and Starscream in a prison?" She gestured with an arm to the two Decepticons being held back from bolting already and throwing Cybertronian profanities. "They've helped you guys so far, even did their best to not harm me. I think that's deserving of a little credit."

         "You insolent little pests believe you could entrap me?" Starscream screeched in English, being held back from pummeling the entire group of humans by Ratchet and Optimus, while Bumblebee and Ironhide held down Barricade on the floor.

     Lennox dragged a hand down his face tiredly. He was not having the best of afternoons.

         "It's not official, got it?" He attempted to reason, though he was speaking solely to Marissa. "That's the tentative plan. It still has to be run by the Secretary and the President. If not, then the Vice President. Those two are still murderers and world killers, not to mention kidnappers."

         "Are we seriously throwing that bullshit around again?" Marissa cursed at the officer, watching as his eye twitched.

         "Bullshit? Kid, you have no idea what you were roped into, you've been injured and threatened by both 'Cons, attacked by two others we had no idea even existed and let's not forget that you endangered your entire family by making your. Own. Choice."

     Marissa blinked. She hadn't realized her own argument could be used against her. Suddenly it was plain as day that she could be considered the bad guy in her situation. She had a faint knowing that there was something off about the piece of metal on the ground the whole time she had it. Instinct should tell her to get rid of it, right? 

         Or did she have a faint want for adventure she only thought she'd find in books?

     The thought that she was being selfish crossed her mind, but helping the Autobots wasn't being selfish, not to her. Was she really helping the Autobots by staying with Vector Sigma, though? Perhaps she had only come to enjoy the conversations with the entity and didn't wish for it to end so soon. Or maybe the strange protective nature she felt over the being was making her forget who she was supposed to be loyal to.

         'Am I being lied to?' She wondered. 'Is he just using me?'

         'How dare you-' the sound of offense stabbed at her skull, and Marissa found herself apologizing for assuming she was only a tool for Vector Sigma's plan, whatever that may be. 'I wish no ill on a friend.'

     A friend. Yes they had become friends, something Marissa was quite used to hearing from others, feeling such a fondness she would describe for her own friends toward Vector Sigma. She wanted to help her new friend get home, and become one with his other half.

     Pulling her hair into its usual ponytail, Marissa tightened it twice before crossing her arms to signify her final decision. Lennox's expression became more cross as the silence endured.

         "I refuse to give Vector Sigma to any other human being." The woman stated, making Starscream and Barricade's optics flicker with a strange pride as their hostage rebelled against the human government itself. "He stays with me, until he is returned to the Allspark. I will not see him be put in some containment cell like a lifeless relic! And further, I will not allow Starscream or Barricade to be imprisoned."

         "I'm afraid you don't have a say on the last matter." Optimus admitted, both him and Ratchet finally able to let the Seeker go once he had calmed enough. Bumblebee and Ironhide still held down the struggling Barricade. "Yes, these two have brought Vector Sigma to safety, but only for their own gain. Ms. Faireborn, you must understand that they are war criminals, accused of much more than murder and abduction."

         "Marissa-" Sam flinched as her livid attention snapped toward him, "these guys are the equivalent of human murderers, rapists, torturers, drug dealers; whatever you can think of!"

         "Except the rapists," Knockout gagged, "honestly, how you humans copulate is disgusting."

     The cherry racer was swiftly hit in the helm by Blurr, forcing a flurry of Velocitronian curses from the mech.

         "They're the cause Cybertron is dead in the first place." Mikaela crossed her arms to match the other female, creating a stand-off. "Why Vector Sigma risked being lost in space with the Allspark."

         'Vector-' Marissa decided maybe he could shed some light on her predicament.

         'It's true,' he admitted, 'but everyone has their reasons, some more spark-breaking than others.'

     Nodding, the four original humans of the Cybertronian team believed they had won the argument by her action. Marissa's hardened stare told them otherwise as she held eye contact with every single being in the room. She tightened her ponytail one more time before holding Vector Sigma out in front of her, glittering on her wrist.

         "Then Vector Sigma will never be returned, unless both mechs are there to witness it."

     A heavy silence fell on the room. 

     Marissa's confidence was clearly unshakeable, despite such an attempt being so futile when surrounded by giant aliens who could easily subdue her, a trained veteran with twice her strength, two boys who could likely help and a hormonal woman just waiting to go ape. The only protest she could hear was from Vector himself, however, but she assured he would not be kept as a prisoner or hostage. He was not a tool; Marissa only wanted the best for her two caretakers.

     The silence was finally filled by a strange laughter, genuine but mocking in tone. The originator was Starscream, the sound apparently contagious as Barricade caught it too. Both Autobots holding down the police cruiser stood up, confused and frankly rather creeped out by the sudden and never seen before mood from both mechs. The others were just as disarmed by the mere thought of the two finding genuine amusement in something. The fact that they were laughing at Marissa only made the situation ever more eerie.

     Said woman's face was confused as she watched Barricade stand, wiping what appeared to be lubricant from his optics.

         "You're something else, squishie." The interrogator rumbled. "I'm almost glad I didn't let you fall to your death on the black top."

         "Thanks?" Marissa's brown orbs flicked to Starscream as his mirth died down.

         "Rebelling against titans." The Seeker mused. "You have bearings, for a fleshling. So, what say you, Prime?" The grating sound of Starscream's voice was both mocking and confident. He was mocking the woman below, as he knew as well as anybody within the hangar her efforts, if she really did attempt to keep Vector Sigma to herself, would all be in vain. "Bend to the whims of a human, or risk being hated by the holder of Vector Sigma?"

     Optimus's optics focused on the young adult. Her threat, as it truly was such, was null and void. She was helpless amongst giants and a man of the American military, not to mention the bravery of both Sam and Mikaela would hardly need to be accessed in order to subdue the country girl if they were truly needed. He believed she knew that, but her determination was admirable, though stupid and rather blind. 

     Starscream and Barricade were criminals, no matter where they went. The circumstances that led them to be such awful beings would likely never be explained to their accidental charge, but it didn't matter. Both had to answer for their crimes. Justice would not be hindered for the accidental attachment to and from a human. 

         "Ms. Faireborn," the Prime began, "your dedication is admirable, and while we know you do not hold any malcontent against anyone, I'm afraid the future imprisonment of Starscream and Barricade is imminent."

         "I only want them to witness the possibility of Cybertron's return." Something in her eyes told Optimus that Marissa had already deducted the two were bound for prison, and she was not as biased as she appeared to be. A willingness to see the good in others, perhaps? "I have no hand in what happens to them afterward, I'm just a random human who found a pretty chunk of metal in the end." No, that wasn't quite it. A human's eyes could explain much of how they feel, but Optimus found those feelings were not always so easily deducted. "But if you were to be locked up between three walls and a barred door, wouldn't you want to know that what you were fighting for could be brought back?"

         The swiveling of the leader's optics paused, and the pieces clicked together. 

     Marissa knew exactly what to believe. She understood the two Decepticons had to be prosecuted for their crimes, but she also understood that they too held sparks as fragile and hopeful as the Autobot's. It was not that she saw good in them, or that she was willing to look for such an anomaly in the two 'Cons. No, she saw that they recognized good, and saw a good in her so unique and unusual they wanted to investigate, leaving an opening for Vector Sigma to work on that minute amount of hope in their sparks, gone unnoticed for centuries. Something in his own spark told Optimus that all would be well with the two 'Cons, at least for the time being. Allowing Marissa's request to be fulfilled was risky, but worth the possibility of a tranquil pair of Decepticons.

     Turning to look at the duo, Optimus saw the strange sight of a genuine melancholy across their faceplates. 

     Starscream refused to look up, staring at the floor with his arms crossed. He'd hate to be imprisoned, grounded for life, destined to never see the skies again. He'd rather suffer the Cybonic plague than know they were there to be conquered but untouchable to only him. Yet his spark yearned to see a restored horizon of Cybertron, even for a moment. To know there was something to escape to if he had the chance.

     Barricade's quiet stance was less melancholic, but anger was his well-known way of handling any other emotion. Yes, he longed to race the streets of Cybertron again, dare to climb its tallest buildings, even further his studies as a Physicist, but he'd rather rust in a junkyard than be held back by Autobot forces. His gaze tried to glare a hole in the wall away from the group of humans, a species that only brought him trouble. The thought of being stuck on Earth made his spark lurch in its intense want to go home, prisoner or not. 

         "Starscream and Barricade will be under strict surveillance," Optimus split the silence that had enveloped the tense group, "and imprisoned after Vector Sigma has been reunited with the Allspark."

     Marissa grinned; the four other humans far less enthusiastic as they stared in disbelief at the Prime. The three Autobots who had been with their leader for longer argued with the decision, the two Velocitronians simply stunned to stiffness (a nearly impossible feat). The two Decepticons behind the group mirrored the other pair, optics slowly scanning the room to stare at Marissa. The human femme smiled back, a sweet gesture that would have sickened them, but Barricade was too busy wondering what power Vector Sigma had given the welp, and Starscream studied her for an anterior motive. Of course, there was none, and no power was transferred from one to the other. Marissa simply had a strange influence.

     Sure, they'd still be imprisoned, but until then, who knew how many opportunities would crop up for either of them to escape. The possibilities could very well be endless, and there was no way in the pits Optimus didn't consider such a situation arising. They could always split up and find Vector Sigma after he was returned to the Allspark, they had all the time in the world. 

         'An interesting turn of events.' Starscream thought to himself. 'Interesting, indeed.'