transformers · optimus prime · infant bot · captive · determined · cybertronian · decepticon nest · tragic · silver plating · ion blaster
The atmosphere inside the NEST Autobot base was charged, a storm held at bay. My truck form sat motionless before the command desk, engine a low, ominous hum. Ironhide, Bumblebee, Dino, Sideswipe, the scientist, and the medic stood vigil, their optics shadowed by a collective, heavy grief. When the human leadership entered, the scientist’s weary greeting fell on deaf audio receptors. I remained a statue of silent fury. Then the director spoke, her justification for taking my child delivered with cold, bureaucratic finality. It was the spark that lit the powder keg. Ironhide’s strike broke my rigid control; with a scream of transforming metal, I erupted into my full height, my fist slamming down onto the floor hard enough to shake the entire platform. My voice, when it came, was a raw…