"So," Arachnid and Black Arachnia had been listening to the tiny human in front of them as she nibbled on a packaged pastry (mostly squished) in the open air of an unused park, "this- device is a power source?"

         "For the most part." Marissa nodded, wiping her hands on the overgrown grass in an attempt to get rid of the artificial sticky feeling. "Optimus Prime said something about ancient powers. Relics and stuff."

     Vector Sigma was rather impressed with his holder's ease in telling stories. Sure, he had witnessed her tales, non-fiction and fiction alike, but certainly not when her life was in more danger than any creepy male in an airport could possibly put her in. He could tell the arrival of Waspinator sparked a large amount of anxiety in the woman, but even that didn't deter her from telling the crafted half-truths. She was oddly calm, as everyone else who had come to know her observed. 

         "And what of activating this device?" Black Arachnia interrogated. Much to her dissatisfaction, the puny Earthling shrugged in answer.

         "They didn't tell me. Probably for safety reasons since I was clearly going to be a target." 

         "Puny human is right, too much right." Waspinator observed with a frown, glaring at the creature as she took off her shoes and wiggled her toes in the untouched grass. 

     Tucking her legs in, Marissa let her forehead touch her knees. The air wasn't as fresh as her farm home, but it was certainly fresher than around the gas station. Her mind wandered to the Autobots and two Decepticons. She doubted the two brooding bots were all that worried, but the Autobots were probably already waiting for some call from Vector Sigma. The brunette had no way of knowing if the entity was calling their sparks or not, or if he could call individual sparks, but if Vector wasn't suggesting she was in immediate danger, Marissa guessed she was relatively safe. 

     The three bots above her had begun there clicks and squeaks. Their prisoner didn't bother asking for a translation as her headache worsened. The trio could have cared less as they (mostly the two Arachnicons) spoke of how to carry out their plan to retrieve the powerful trinket. In truth they weren't sure how to retrieve the relic when so many Autobots and the one Decepticon were traveling together. They speculated that Starscream had gone off elsewhere in his shame of even thinking about contacting the Autobots since they did not see the Seeker, hear him nor sense him in the skies (despite having superior stealth, none of the bug-like aliens held the advancements to sense the cloaked flier). It didn't make them any less wary of the possible battle ahead.

         "It doesn't have to be a battle." Black Arachnia broke from their native language as she looked down at the puny human, still curled on the cold grass in the Californian night. "A trick, however, could be feasible."

         "Waspinator likes tricks!" The green Insecticon cackled.

         "What are you suggesting?" Arachnid stared at her sister with interest, leaning against a thick trunk of one of the surrounding trees. "We don't exactly have access to cloning technology."

         "No, but we do have access to raw materials." Black Arachnia then let a devious grin spread across her faceplate.

)-/\-(

     Bumblebee's radio was frantic with numerous news headlines about missing persons to voice his growing concerns. It was of no help to Sam's worries as he looked for any sign of the sky-blue shirt, he knew Marissa had been wearing despite the dark. They had been wandering around a nearby town for nearly two hours when Optimus called the duo back. It didn't ease either of their anxieties, but the two complied. They arrived at an unused barn fifteen minutes later, the group already sitting inside, or transformed considering how small the building was.

     The three shortest: Knockout, Blurr and Bumblebee, were the only ones who could transform and stand, though having to hunch. All were thankful Starscream wasn't with them as his wings would have surely pushed everyone out of the uncomfortably cramped space.

         "We've been given a proposition by Waspinator." Optimus explained to the small party he had sent on a search for the woman. Ratchet, Ironhide and Bumblebee, with their human charges, were the only ones to search. Barricade had originally argued, wanting to look for Vector Sigma and the human as well, but both Velocitronians voiced the unanimous concerns about a second abduction. "It appears that Marissa Faireborn has successfully fooled him and the two Arachnicon sisters into thinking that we have Vector Sigma."

         "It's not all that difficult to fool a simpleton like Waspinator." Barricade chuffed.

         "So, they know what it is? Well, who he is?" Mikaela questioned from Ironhide's open window; Barricade being ignored though agreed with.

         "It doesn't appear to be so." Knockout shook his helm, being the most mindful of what his helm touched, or any other part of his frame, really. Said task was a little difficult with the odd shadows from everyone's headlights in the lightbulb-less building.  "He still called it 'the trinket'. Waspinator may be simple, but he calls objects or individuals by their name, usually. If he knows them, that is."

         "That means Marissa was able to hide him, then." Colonel Lennox plotted in the cab of Ratchet. "What's the chance she's still alive?"

         "One hundred percent." Miles informed from beneath Blurr's pedes, side stepping to avoid getting in the way of the cramped speedster's tapping. "Green guy said they'd trade Marissa for the bracelet."

         "That leaves only one problem." Barricade wasn't going to be ignored again if he had any say on the matter. "We don't have Vector Sigma."

         "No, we do not." Optimus would have nodded. "Neither are safe until they are returned to us. Therefore, we must procure a false bracelet."

         "You have got to be joking." Ratchet huffed. "Recreate the likeness of Vector Sigma? No matter what form, that's nearly impossible."

         "He's literally stuck in a bracelet?" Sam pointed out; hand flared as his arm hooked over the side of Bumblebee's door. "There's plenty of metal we could polish in this old barn alone. I'm sure we could either find or buy some paint and draw the white center well enough."

        His suggestion was shot down by every bot in the barn, some not as nicely as others.

     To recreate the likeness of Vector Sigma's form, the group would have to not only create a convincing model but find a way to infuse it with some amount of power. The three teens were surprised to hear that the miniscule vessel of personalities actually glowed, though not seen by the human eye, and held an aura around it, no more powerful than a low battery. If one was not paying attention to him or unaware of him, Vector Sigma would go undetected if he so chose. However, the trio they were going to face had run into the entity before, and likely had an idea of what they could detect when scanning the dubbed 'trinket'.

     William questioned how long they had until the deadline of their deal. Optimus admitted that he was unsure. The Arachnicon sisters were unpredictable, and likely to realize Vector Sigma was already with them at some point, Barricade suggesting by Marissa's own folly. The oldest human asked for an estimate, to which the Prime guessed until midnight. The height of the night was well away, meaning the man had enough time to gather supplies from somewhere (likely having to break into a hardware store). The military man suggested using resin and fishing wire to recreate the plasma-like pattern on Vector Sigma's surface. 

         "If we can jury-rig a battery, drain it a bit if one of you guys can, would that be enough?"

     There was a tense silence as the group of aliens thought. It didn't sound feasible, and there wouldn't be any glowing to the fake, even from what a Cybertronian optic could sense, but it was the best they could come up with.

         "Why not ambush them?" Ironhide grumped. "It's seven against three, I'd call it even."

         "They'd kill the human before your cannon could lock on target if they sensed a trap." Barricade dared to transform, forcing the two antsy racers farther back into the building and into the vehicular mode of Optimus. "At least then they'd leave without Vector Sigma considering he'd likely still be hidden on her corpse."

         "How dare you!" Mikaela glared from Ironhide's cab, the bot whom Barricade had decided to loom over. "We're getting Marissa back unharmed, so get your despicable suggestions out of the conversation."

     Barricade held back a retort when he heard the soft whirr of a speed blaster warming up. It wasn't a whole threat, but it was still a firm enough warning to make him transform back into his police cruiser form. An antsy and cramped Velocitronian was not one to be trifled with. Both Knockout and Blurr were grateful the brute gave them a bit more room than he had before. 

     No one seemed to notice the Seeker's absence, or at least they didn't care. Starscream didn't care either as he flew over the trees that were quickly turning to sands, so he knew he had gone too far. He made a sharp turn, barely missing a bird, planning to return to the others. He was unaware of the goings-on and uninformed of Waspinator's reveal of having the woman. It wouldn't have eased his spark any, however. 

     In truth, his spark had already eased. He wasn't sure why but decided it was because he really didn't care at all for the idiotic human. The flier had taken on a nonchalant attitude, finding his search for Marissa more of a bother than anything after the initial urgency had waned. He didn't care who found her, though he couldn't admit to not caring whether or not she was found. There was still a small twinge in his spark telling him not caring at all wasn't quite right.

         'To the pits with this nonsense.' He thought to himself. 'Why can't a human stay un-abducted long enough to actually be of use?'

     The question seemed valid to him, never mind he and Barricade were the first to start the trend. Starscream didn't linger on the subject long as a beam of sharp, hot, searing light blinded one of his sensors.

         "Gah- I'll turn whoever did that into slag!" He immediately started circling once the source stopped its painful attack. The area was unused, perhaps a few hikers enjoyed the scenery, but there were no passersby to be seen in the deep night. Starscream was about to give up his petty search, but the sudden waving of a fleshy arm caught his attention in the low light of a campfire. 

     Monitoring his surroundings, Starscream landed harshly on the ground, transforming mid-air. He was, for once, worried about someone seeing him, except for the woman clinging to a metal slide like a lifeline from the shockwave he sent rippling through the ground. 

     There was something odd about her. Starscream couldn't place it but there was definitely something off.

         "Thank God." Marissa sighed, ponytail tight against her skull, meaning she had been brainstorming about how to get Starscream's attention. The broken piece of shiny metal revealed her plot. "We have to get to the Autobots, those three we ran into before finding them abducted me. They've got a decoy version-"

     Starscream wasn't completely listening as his optics focused on the fleshy creature before him. He heard her and remembered the most important parts of the woman's explanation, but for the most part, he was trying to deduct what was wrong with her. Marissa's colors were- different, to say the least.

         "Would you stop staring at my underwear and transform already?" 

     The seeker finally blinked, realization clicking in his processor. The mech reeled back, brushing the tip of his wing on a tree.

         "Why are you bare?" He glared at the disgusting human. "Even what poor excuses of armor you had on were more than this! I am not having any part of you touching me."

         "You sound like Knockout-" Marissa shook her head, still fighting a headache and chill. "I told you, Arachnid has a decoy they made from a tree. That one to be specific!" 

     Starscream glanced where her finger pointed, noting that much of the trunk was missing from a felled Sequoia. He guessed Waspinator carved the trunk similar to Marissa's likeness. The only thing they needed were her clothes and hair, though Starscream was unsure how any of the three nuisances could mimic human hair. In other words, he was stuck with a mostly naked human in his cockpit.

     The mech let out a long mechanical sigh.

         "Where is Vector Sigma?" He decided to question, hoping the squishy hadn't placed the entity somewhere distasteful on her person.

     To his immense relief, Marissa dashed toward a tree. She returned with the entity on her undamaged wrist. The other was still quite bruised, but not as sickly looking. The Insecticons had demanded the brace that once adorned it as well, so it was bare.

         "Once we land you are getting out of my cockpit immediately, understand?" The commander ordered.

         "I am not standing before the whole of the Autobots almost naked. This alone is embarrassing enough." The fact she didn't show any signs of shame or embarrassment about her predicament only made the Seeker roll his optics. She was definitely not a model, and her teal underwear caused a bit of a muffin top at her waist, but the woman was overall healthy for her build and age. Still, it seemed femmes of any planet were self-conscious about how they looked no matter how much armor they dawn. "Just feel fortunate enough they decided I should keep my bra and underwear."

         "Well no wonder, you humans are disgusting, why would they subject themselves to seeing more of even one organic body?" Starscream made a gagging sound, shivering at the thought of what could have been the end of his beloved sight. "I'll drop you off somewhere discreet and have Barricade bring you your clothes if the Autobots get them."

     Marissa shook her head, hands set firmly on her exposed waste. 

         "I don't want another seeing me like this. I'm only fortunate no one has decided to go for a late-night stroll!"

         Once again rolling his optics, Starscream ignored her statement and transformed. He wasn't willing to help the woman into his cockpit, but Marissa was resourceful enough to use the freezing metal slide to jump to his wing and carefully seat herself in his pilot's seat after snuffing out her tiny fire made of leaves and twigs. She wished she had her helmet, but that was sitting in Optimus Prime's cab. With a lack of head protection, Marissa made sure to tighten the belts as best she could before her captor took off.