Kapitel 14: Problems persist

I accidentally reunited with Jack at the museum two weeks ago. Fortunately, he respected my decision to stay away from this conflict so that my identity as the recipient of the Allspark would not be revealed. Unfortunately, I learned that there had been a death of a security guard at that museum, which journalists said was due to an incident of vandalism, but it was obvious that it was government intervention to prevent mass panic.

I was currently in the process of engine modification on my car, not because it had any problems, but because I was updating the artificial portal generator system. I was opening a compartment in the center of the engine that revealed a cylinder with a circumference of 10 centimeters and 20 centimeters in height, although relatively small, it had a large amount of pure Energon generated through my power base.

[I've been using this car for two weeks non-stop and it seems like the power hasn't even had a 0.001% drain.] I thought, I know I shouldn't be impressed, but I put out what I thought was a pretty insignificant amount of power.

Lux's concentration was interrupted when his cell phone started playing a rock and roll song. Since Lux had no one other than his racing rival with his phone number, he didn't even check the origin of the call and answered his cell phone, keeping his concentration on providing his attention in his car.

"What's new Kurt, are you thinking about racing again?" I asked.

[[You know how it is, there's no one who can beat me, only you have the minimum quality to truly challenge me.]] Said Kurt or rather, Knock Out who used a fake name to talk to Lux.

"Don't be like that, there are many talented people in this world, you just have to find them." I suggested, as I placed the Energon cylinder inside its engine compartment.

[[Lucky for me I already found one.]] Knock Out directly referenced Lux, as he was the only one who defeated him in a fair race.

As strange as it may seem, Knock Out, a dangerous, feared and renowned Decepticon, respected a simple human. For many it was a waste of time, as if he were interacting with an insect, but for him, things changed.

When Knock Out lost to Lux the first time they raced, he challenged him again, even winning a few times, but that didn't stop Lux from acquiring other victories. As a matter of honor as a Cybertronian, Knock Out challenged Lux fairly in their private races, always increasing the challenge and because of that a simple human gained his respect.

Curious to find other challengers like Lux, Knock Out ventured across the planet in search of these talented pilots, however, many were arrogant and lacked the talent to keep up with him when he took the competition a little seriously.

"Have you learned to praise? How rare." I couldn't help but scoff.

[[Don't push your luck, let's race at the following coordinates.]] Knock Out sent the coordinates of the next race they would have and to Lux's surprise, it was 50 kilometers from his position.

"Alright, I'll meet you there at 1:30 at the latest, depending on traffic." I close the hood of my car. I open the door and climb into the driver's seat.

[[See you soon then.]] Knock Out ended the call, returning to his work of operating and restoring Lord Megatron's physical state. Even if he was in a secret alliance to help Starscream usurp Megatron's position as leader of the Decepticons.

***

Some time later, Knock Out was on a highway alone, waiting on the side of the road in his vehicle mode, just waiting for the only human he was interested in. His lonely moment finally ended when he heard the familiar sound of a muscle car. He then drove down the highway just far enough to line up towards the horizon, as the Dodge Viper lined up next to him to start the race.

"Sorry for the delay, I underestimated the traffic this time." I say, holding a glass of soda in one hand.

Knock Out rolled his eyes, he already knew about Lux's bad eating habit of being a compulsive eater. "Let's begin, we're tied at 4 to 4. Today we're going to find out who's the fastest!"

Lux put his soda in the holder and stretched his neck, placing his hands on the steering wheel. "I hope I can see you in my rearview mirror."

"Let's see if your confidence precedes your skill." Knock Out taunted, eager to race, making his engine roar imposingly.

***

Nave Decepticon Nemesis:

Breakdown was polishing Megatron's body, which had the marks of the explosion on its body armor. Even though he is someone who specializes in demolition and explosions, he shows a patience for this type of thing that is almost unusual.

The automatic door opens, revealing Starscream walking with his hands resting behind his back, his mischievous gaze scanning his surroundings.

"Breakdown, where's Knock Out?" Starscream asked, finding it odd that a Decepticon warrior was doing the job of a medic.

"He left a few minutes ago, he left me the job of cleaning Lord Megatron's armor for now." Breakdown continued his work, now focusing the cleaning on the Decepticon leader's metallic shoulders.

"Ahhhh! That idiot, he's racing the humans again!" Starscream roared, wanting to blow something up with the missiles on his forearms. "Knock Out is always leaving my Decepticon ship without my permission, I'm sure his attitude would be completely different with Megatron awake."

Breakdown continued his work, but silently agreed with Starscream's words. Just like him and Knock Out, all the Decepticons thought Starscream was a leader who did not represent strength, only maintaining leadership due to the chain of command, overshadowed by the shadow of the true leader of the Decepticons.

Starscream decided to go to the bridge of the Nemesis and decide to forcibly bring Knock Out to the ship and make an example of him to the Decepticons so they understand that he is in command and must be respected, just as Megatron was. [[Damn you, Megatron, if you had died, I would have been the leader of the Decepticons by now, but now I have to work with the worthless Knock Out for this theater.]] Starscream thought, gritting his teeth in anger.

When Starscream enters the bridge, all the Decepticons, except Soundwave of course, look at him, returning shortly after to their directed work.

"Soundwave, I need you to open a ground bridge at Knock Out's location, I don't want our medic to be away from Lord Megatron while he's in such a delicate situation." Starscream lied on the last part.

The silent Soundwave stared at Starscream for a few seconds, seeing how serious and angry he was, probably saying some truth in his words. Then finding a tolerable request for the moment, he located the coordinates of Knock Out who was moving at high speed. For many Cybertronians, calculating the distance, speed and exact moment to use the portals in sync with a moving object was virtually impossible even for some geniuses, but for him it did not represent a real challenge, just a routine task acquired with countless years of practice.

A portal appeared in the central corridor of the command bridge, where whoever exited the portal would appear directly in front of Soundwave and Starscream. However, what emerged from the portal was not only a red Aston Martin, but a gray Dodge Viper next to it at the same time.

The two cars skidded on the metal floor until they finally came to a complete stop, but the situation was extremely complex and indecipherable for Lux or even Knock Out, who was caught completely off guard.

"But… Holy shit…" I whispered, seeing two Cybertronians staring at me with unfriendly expressions.

Starscream spent a few seconds not knowing what to do when he realized that a human was inside his warship. His red eyes traveled towards Knock Out, with an almost palpable fury.

Before Starscream could say anything, Lux simply stepped on the accelerator and ran towards the giant automatic door that opened for him, crossing the corridor and some Decepticons confused by the sudden scene.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? DECEPTICONS, DESTROY THE HUMAN!" Starscream ordered in a war cry, pointing his finger at Lux.