Chereads / Jetstream: A Transformers Story / Chapter 7 - Battle on The Highway

Chapter 7 - Battle on The Highway

Sideswipe, Jetstream, Bumblebee, Dino, and the humans were parked by the side of the road at the edge of town. This was the point they had picked to meet up before heading to N.E.S.T. It was a one way road to the D.C Parkway. Sam Got out of Bumblebee and stood watch, as he looked on for Sentinel, he began to dial Mearing's number, hoping she would pick his call.

Today must have been his lucky day because she did pick his call, much to his relief.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"It's Sam Witwicky, the kid from earlier"

"I know who you are, I'm wondering what are you doing on my phone"

At that moment, Sam could see Sentinel Prime approaching as the Autobots started up their engines showing that they were ready to move.

"I've just picked up Sentinel Prime, Optimus is ten minutes away. We're heading to N.E.S.T now"

"Mr. Witwicky, I thought I made it clear to you that I did not want you calling this phone" she replied. She was currently walking to a fleet of cars from the Pentagon.

Sam quickly got into Bumblebee holding his phone as the Autobots began to move and Simmons followed.

"Listen, the whole thing has been a setup from the beginning. The Decepticons wanted Optimus to find Sentinel because only Optimus could revive him" he said.

"But we have the Space Bridge"

"Mearing, you have five pillars. I just learned that they have hundreds. You're doing exactly what they wanted you to do. What do you want me to say to you? The Decepticons are coming for Sentinel Prime" he explained.

She immediately hung up the phone and told her driver to head to NEST. Meanwhile on the D.C Parkway, the Autobots had moved into formation to guard Sentinel Prime. They kept the Prime in front with Jetstream behind him. The other three fanned out with Bumblebee in the middle, Dino on the Left and Sideswipe on the right as Simmons and Dutch cruised behind them.

"What could possibly go wrong" Jet said.

He spoke too soon as not long into their drive, Energon alerts went off at NEST headquarters.

"We have an Energon alert. Energon reading detected on the D.C Parkway" said the NEST announcer.

"That's not good" Brian said as men began to mobilize. "Let's suit up and roll out"

"We've picked up two readings around a bank in midtown" said an analyst.

"Alright, send Brian and his team along with Que and Ratchet to go find out what's going on there" ordered Lennox. "Give me Intel on the Parkway"

"We're currently tracking five black Suburbans" said another analyst as they zoomed in on the cars with their drone and displayed it on the screen.

The five Suburbans were special agent Chevy SUVs with official lights on top of them and on their grill.

 

The Autobot's could sense a rising tension around them and were about to find out why.

"Something doesn't feel right" said Jet.

"Keep your eyes peeled guys. I have a feeling, things are about to get ugly" advised Sideswipe.

As they drove on, the black Surburbans caught up to them, and Sam noticed them through Bee's rear mirror. Simmons also noticed them with their sirens gaining his attention.

"Guess we got some protection" he said smugly.

"Those aren't normal police vehicles" Jet said.

"They're…"

"Decepticons" Dino said as he finished Sideswipe's sentence.

"We have to keep Sentinel safe guys. No matter what" said Sideswipe.

"Roger that" the three chorused.

Sam would fell a light tug as he noticed Bee accelerating more than before. As a matter of fact, all the Autobots had begun to move faster causing him to wonder what exactly was going on.

The five Suburbans got closer to Simmons' car before finally revealing who they truly were. The two in the middle would transform turning into Dreadbots with long hair like Rastas. Simmons was in total shock when he saw them, as he yelled in fear. His yell would cause one of the cons to notice him which wasn't good. He grabbed Simmons out of the car and throw him onto the road leaving him in a state of shock.

The two would advance further as they hit the signboard up ahead, causing it to collapse and its three signs to act as ramps for the others. The remaining three Decepticons would the ramps to launch themselves into the air as they transformed as well chasing down the Autobots on foot.

"That's not good. That's not good" Sam chanted as intensity began to build. The Dreadbots were closing down quickly and leaving destruction in their wake.

In the aftermath of this, Dutch had managed to stop right before the collapsed signboard as he looked at his boss lying on the ground through his rearview mirror in shock.

"It's the dreads" Dino said.

"We stick to the plan and guard Sentinel" Sideswipe said.

"Make sure Sentinel reaches the base" Jet said.

"Jetstream, what are you doing?" Sideswipe asked.

"I'll take some out. You guys can handle the rest"

At his words, Bumblebee, Dino and Sideswipe moved out the way creating room for Jet to move through.

"What's going on?" Sam asked confused at the sight.

Jetstream slammed hard on his breaks causing his tires to screech as he moved through the space the Autobots had made for him.

"Where is he going?!" asked Sam.

Jetstream would pull his handbrake causing the car to slide as he turned around to face the Decepticons. Sam stuck his head out the window to see what was going on and what he was about to witness would be mesmerizing. Using his momentum, Jetstream would begin to transform, using his legs to kick off the ground with his arms open as he would hit two Decepticons in the neck with his move causing them to flip in the air.

"Holy shit!" Sam yelled

The other three Decepticons simply moved out of the way as it wasn't their fight. Their instructions were, clear. Get Sentinel Prime.

Jetstream rolled to his feet as he engaged his battle mask and face the two who were recovering from that hit.

"Axle, Springbox. It's been a while since I've seen your ugly faces" he said getting into his fighting stance.

"Deathstrike" Axle said with a sinister tone.

"You dare join the Autobot scum?!" said Springbox.

"We will kill you for your treachery" Axle said angrily as he and his partner bot out spiky batons from their backs.

"Okay" Jet said as his wrist blades came out. "Be my guest"

With Jetstream battling those two, the other Autobots had to worry about the three closing in. They kept a straight line, accelerating as hard as possible but those Dreadbots were just too damn fast. They closed in on them, as Sam's heart began to race because of their proximity.

"Watch out, watch out!" he said with the dreads approaching.

The Autobots hauled ass but the dreads weren't giving up as they eventually caught up with the Autobots and were ready to pounce on them. In a swift move, all three cars slammed on their breaks avoiding the dreads as they leaped to grab them. Especially hatchet as he was really going for Bumblebee.

Sideswipe and Bumblebee instantly switched to their stealth force modes as their bodies entered a semi transformed state with guns and missile launchers protruding from their bodies.

"Shoot em, shoot em, shoot Bee" cried Sam.

 They opened fire on the dreads, with their focus being on Hatchet for now as he was the closest to them. Dino zoomed under a car thrown into the air by the Decepticon before leaping into the air and throwing his detachable hands at the dog like Cybertronian. He had a firm grip on his shoulders and gave a light chuckle as he skid on the dividers on the road.

Bumblebee and Sideswipe opened fire on the hound like Decepticon using all that they had available to take it down. Bumblebee sent three spiraling missiles at the Decepticon, hitting it below the shoulder. This would enable Dino to pull the injured Decepticon into oncoming traffic in the opposite lane. He crashed the body of Hatchet into the car, with the force of the impact decapitating him. Dino then leaped into the air, transforming back into his vehicle mode to give chase to the two that remained.

The Autobots continued to shoot at the Crankcase and Crowbar, trying to hit them. In an attempt to slow them down, The Decepticons flipped several cars into the air to obstruct the Autobots from getting any closer. Little did they know that Stealth force Mode was highly maneuverable enabling the Autobots to flip themselves over the flying cars and land on the ground perfectly.

 Bumblebee and Sideswipe switched back to their regular vehicle modes as the form they were in sacrificed speed for firepower. The two gave chase but then something unexpected happened. With Dino and Bee closing in, Hatchet hit a truck carrying gas cylinders; causing the truck to crash and threw multiple cylinders into the air. Bee was moving at almost the same speed as Dino so there was no way he could slow down and maneuver his way out. With Dino peering off to the right and driving through a safe pocket of space, Bumblebee transformed with Sam within him and lifted himself over the crash. Bee ejected Sam from his back causing him to scream in terror as he was now airborne.

Bee reacted quickly as he moved a cylinder, a tire and an axle from Sam's path before grabbing him and transforming back to his Camaro form. With a rush of adrenaline, Sam was thrown into the intricate, yet complex view of Bumblebee transforming back into his vehicle. Sam's mind could hardly process what was going on, one minute he was in the air, the other he almost got grinded to bits by moving gears and metal parts. Sam let out a loud scream as Bumblebee came to a halt for him to catch his breath and calm down.

"Alright Bee, back to NEST" he said panting as Sideswipe drove by.

Back on the road, Jetstream had found himself combating two Decepticons at once and it was no easy thing to do. He went under one of the swinging spike bats as he slashed across Springbox's chest, only to be hit in the side by a missile. As he rolled on the floor, Axle jumped into the air with his weapons raised as he sought to smash Jet's skull. Jetstream reacted quickly as he brought out his plasma cannon and fired at his opponent, hitting him in the chest.

As he got up, he was hit in the side by Spingbox bat, he swung wildly to catch him but the Decepticon Side stepped and fired at him once again, throwing him to the ground. Jetstream rolled before bringing himself to a halt as the Decepticons regrouped.

"Face it Deathstrike, you're outnumbered and outgunned" Axle said with a sinister smile.

"Give up while you can and return to our side" said Springbox.

"I will never return to the Decepticons. A place full of hatred and pain; that is not a world I'm going to return to" He said getting up as he prepared for his final stand.

"Then you will die with your Autobot scum. Alas, it is almost time for us to enact our plan" said Axle as he geared up to fight.

"But it's a shame he won't be alive to see it" Springbox said before charging at Jet.

The Decepticon jumped at him, trying to tackle him to the ground but with some quick footwork, Jetstream had managed to avoid the Decepticon. He grabbed Springbox by the hand and threw him at Axle before firing both of his plasma cannons at them. He jumped into the air twirling to gain momentum to strike them. The two moved out of the way in the nick of time and Jet sunk his blade into the road.

He was kicked in the head causing him to spin as he stepped backward. Axle attempted to hit him from the side with his bat once more but Jet had grown adept to their tactics as he stepped out of the way with a spin, noticing the bot with the corner of his eye. He would use that momentum to hold Axle's hand and used his blade to slice his hand clean off before slapping him in the face with it. As the Decepticon stepped back, Jetstream leaped onto his body and stabbed his blade into his head, twisting and turning his wrist to ensure that he inflicted enough damage to him.

"Brother!" Springbox yelled.

Jetstream rolled of his body and turned to face his last opponent but was quickly taken down by an angry Sprinbox. The two tussled on the ground with Springbox trying to pound Jetstream's head. Jetstream got his head out of the way as his opponent's bat got stuck into the ground, this gave him the opportunity to punch Springbox in the face and kick him off his body.

As the Decepticon recovered, Jetstream would stab him in the shoulder before turning him around and punching him in the face. Springbox held Jet by his shoulders trying to throw him to the ground but was quickly overpowered by Jetstream as he pushed off his left hand then sliced off his right hand. He would kick Springbox to the ground and without a second to waste he would pin down his working arm with his foot and kneel on his back. He pulled his head back as he placed his blade to his throat.

"Tell me the plan. What plan were you and Axle talking about? Why are you after Sentinel?!" he demanded.

Springbox had a light chuckle as red energon dripped out the side of his mouth.

"What's so funny?" Jet said aggressively as he pushed his blade on his neck.

"You have already lost" he said.

"Already lost?! What are you talking about?!"

"We are not after Sentinel Prime. We were merely his escorts to ensure a safe delivery of out parcels" he said before coughing.

"None of this is making any sense"

"I'm about to die anyway and you will surely lose. I will tell you this so that you may watch your world crumble knowing fully well that you cannot stop it no matter what you try"

"Start talking" he said as he pressed his blade harder against his neck.

"A deal was made many years with Megatron. Sentinel will use the space bridge to bring more Decepticons to this world and we will claim it for our own and there is nothing you can do to stop us" he said with a sinister laugh.

Jetstream wasted no time as he sliced off Springbox's head as his body became lifeless and dropped to the floor. He stood over their bodies battle damaged with fire on the road, cars destroyed, pieces broken and humans carefully watching him from behind the cover of their vehicles.

He would attempt to contact NEST and tell them the information he had managed to get out of the dead Decepticon and ask them to get the pillars away from Sentinel but when he tried, nothing worked. It appears that his comms got damaged by that kick to the head from Springbox.

"There's only one way I can save them now. Before it's too late"

Jestream back flipped into the air as air shot out from the air vents on his torso, his body began to change, his wings extended outward as his engines began to whirl. A cockpit formed from his chest, encapsulating his head within it as his body took the shape of a jet. Once he had transformed into his Harrier form, Jetstream took off towards NEST hoping that he would make it there in time.