feigning innocence
"You overheard our conversation, didn't you?" The ambulance, who had witnessed all sorts of damage to the body, spoke first. He was now having a headache over the issue of educating Steel Fork.
"I just overheard it by accident..." Steel Fork looked away guiltily. "Thousand Faces is dead. We don't need to waste energy on prisoners. His body can be recycled for spare parts. Isn't that a good thing?"
These words were spoken directly to Optimus Prime by Grimfork. Grimfork's red optics were brighter than usual, revealing a hint of stubbornness, while Optimus Prime's blue optics were dimmer, with two black metal plates above them converging and sinking towards the center. The Autobot leader's deep voice was serious, his tone unable to conceal his disappointment.
"I'm sorry, Steel Fork, you have to be put in solitary confinement. This will be your solitary confinement cell."
"Why? I'm doing all this for us!"
“I have already said that as Autobots, we cannot harm unarmed Cybertronians, even if they are prisoners.”
The empty room, converted into a prison cell, had a door made of a uniform metal composite material, standard electric lights for lighting, and gray cement walls and floors—a very ordinary room, but somewhat primitive to the Cybertronians. If it were used for rest, Steel Fork wouldn't have any objections; but using it to imprison her… Steel Fork couldn't help but say:
"Optimus Prime! This room can't hold me! I can get out anytime!"
“If you don’t recognize your mistakes at all, then I don’t think you’re fit to participate in this war,” the Autobot leader sighed.
"You must leave."
The light from the hallway outside shone through the glass windows, preventing the enclosed space from becoming completely dark. A charging bed and some restraint devices that didn't need to be moved were the only living facilities in the room. Steel Fork sat on the concrete floor, leaning against the wall with her arms wrapped around the bent stabilizer. In the dim light, the energy lines inside the exposed protoplasm and the decorative fluorescent strips on the exterior of the machine emitted a faint glow. Her wings would hit the hard ground at a certain angle, which was not only uncomfortable but also scratched her paint, so she could only find a specific angle to droop her wings to show her low spirits while maintaining comfort.
Yes, in the end, Grimlock was still sitting alone in the solitary confinement cell. If she didn't accept the punishment of solitary confinement, Optimus Prime would, as he said, try to find a way to get her away. The Autobots weren't without options; for example, Wheeljack had a spaceship. Grimlock could sense from the low magnetic field that Optimus Prime was serious.
She didn't want to be alone anymore.
"I'm going to the solitary confinement cell! Okay?" Steel Fork's voice trembled slightly. "None of you are to worry about me."
...
"Gun! Gun!" The voice of the god came from the other side of the door. "Why don't you turn on the light?"
"I left some lights off so you could see my sadness." Upon hearing the voice, the steel fork's wings tilted back, it moved closer to the wall, and continued to ask:
"Divine Child! What are you doing here?"
"We've finished school, so we came to find you to play."
"Um...the ambulance said you were put in solitary confinement?"
"Yes." The wings drooped again, and Steel Fork raised his voice high, "So what's wrong? I can't go out right now!"
Under the worried gaze of the ambulance beside her, Shenzi continued, "Gunchak, are you alright now?"
"not good--"
The youngest member, Lafite, shouted his last words into the closed door:
"We will come to see you again."
For the next few days, the door to the solitary confinement cell remained tightly shut, and no sound came from inside. Ambulance, who had been staying at the base, was somewhat worried. He stood in front of the door with an energy block in his hand, and brought his optical glasses close to the glass window on the door. The room was still dark, and the fork-like machine was not visible.
"A steel fork? Are you still in the room?"
"What are you doing, ambulance?" The voice of the steel fork came from inside the room, near the door.
"I brought you an energy cube. You're a superhuman; is your energy level still at a good level?"
"Didn't they say the base's energy reserves were running low?"
The ambulance opened the door to the solitary confinement cell a crack, and a pair of stabilizers appeared on the other side of the gap. He stuffed the energy cube inside, closed the door, and said, "This should be enough to replenish your energy."
After a moment of silence, the ambulance driver, assuming the fork was empty, continued:
"Gunpowder, I want you to know that we are Autobots..."
"Stop! Stop! Get away!" The voice on the other end paused for a moment, then spoke again, sounding flustered, "Don't disturb my TV show!"
Solitary confinement usually means no TV, so what kind of punishment is it to allow internet access for entertainment? Therefore, the steel fork either damaged the signal jamming device or is a lie.
The ambulance sighed and left, exhausted.
A few more days passed.
"Steel Fork, let me tell you, a terrorist organization wanted to steal a nuclear weapon to make a super-destructive weapon, and we stopped them. Then, an artifact in the museum turned out to be a Cybertronian harvester!"
"Really... That's great, very good. Now that you've finished talking, hurry up and leave, don't bother me anymore."
A few days later.
Arcee arrived at the door of the solitary confinement cell. "Steel Fork, do you want to come out for a stroll?"
"No!"
The partitioned doorway led to the solitary confinement cell. "Want to play some heavy ball? Staying in solitary confinement all the time will drive you crazy."
"I'm still in solitary confinement, aren't I?"
"It's okay to hit for a while."
"No!"
The bumblebee arrived at the door of the solitary confinement cell, buzzing "buzz↗buzz↘buzz".
"No!"
...
Steel Fork can use her supernatural abilities to sense the state of things within a certain space, including but not limited to spatial fluctuations, air vibrations, and whether there are people outside the door. She can sense the frequency of the fire's pulse, the heartbeat, and the pumping blood. Since coming to Earth, this perception has become even more acute.
Today, in this cycle, one of the three hearts that came to the door is missing; the tallest one is not there.
Steel Fork asked, "Where did Jack go?"
The divine child Raffi exchanged a glance with him.
"Jack has exams!" "Jack is also working his part-time job!"
What exactly is he doing?
The divine child looked at Lafite, and Lafite looked at the divine child.
"Working part-time!" "Taking an exam!"
"Hmm—? You'd better not lie to me, the consequences will be severe!"
It seems that the Divine Child and Raffi have no choice but to tell the truth.
"Okay, okay. He went out racing with Bumblebee."
"Racing! Why didn't you take me with you?!" Spending all day in the same room, no internet, no entertainment, not even any work to do, her joints felt rusty, her processor kept lagging, and Steel Fork felt she couldn't stay in the room any longer. She shouted:
"I want to go racing too!"
"A steel fork? You still remember you're an airplane, right?"
Being confined to one person for two weeks finally took a toll on Grimfork's mental state, even though that time was very short for a Cybertronian. She broke down and continued to shout, "Can't I watch?! I don't want to stay in the confinement cell anymore!"
Laffey's voice: "I remember Optimus Prime said he was going to put me in solitary confinement for a month?"
The divine child's voice: "What's the big deal? Just sneak out and don't get caught."
“Laffey, Jack went racing with Bumblebee? I remember Bumblebee is your partner, and racing is prohibited, so…” Hackham was lying on the door panel, his visor facing the glass window, and Laffey and Miko could clearly see his malicious smile. “Take me there! Take me there!”
Steel Fork used his supernatural abilities to reach the door and walked into the hall with Raffi and the Divine Child. The partition, Arcee, and the ambulance were all there.
Steel Fork thought to himself, "Oh no, there are so many people."
The partition exclaimed with delight, "You've finally decided to come out with the steel fork!"
The ambulance driver continued staring at the control panel, reviewing the data. "Didn't you say you wouldn't come out even after the confinement period ended?"
Arcee raised an eyebrow: "What are you going to do? Where's Jack?"
"He has an exam!" "He's working a part-time job!"
Steel Fork looked at Lafite, God looked at Lafite, Lafite looked at God and then at Steel Fork.
"He took a part-time job!" "He has an exam!"
Arcee's thin, metallic eyebrows furrowed, and she lowered her voice: "He went racing, and with Bumblebee?"
Rafi's eyebrows curved slightly downwards into an "eight" shape as he apologetically accepted Arcee's gaze. The Divine Child looked down at her toes, kicking dust off the ground with her shoes. The steel fork wings drooped slightly, and a polite smile graced her visor.
Without a doubt, Jack rode Bumblebee to go racing.
Arcee covered her faceplate, her voice filled with frustration.
Bumblebee's distress call came suddenly. Partition, Arcee, and a steel fork used to retrieve God Child Laffey rushed onto the land bridge, while the ambulance remained at the base.
Optimus Prime, returning from patrol, saw only an ambulance at the base and asked, "Where did everyone else go?"
"Jack and Bumblebee went for a race and ran into the Decepticons. They've already gone to help." The ambulance prepared to reopen the land bridge, feeling both worried and relieved. "Fork went to help too. It seems Laffey and Goddess helped her escape from solitary confinement. Don't be too harsh on her."
The black metal rectangle used for eyebrows and the slightly constricted optical lenses relaxed, and Optimus Prime said, with an expression that was hard to describe as helpless, relieved, or annoyed, "Don't worry, old friend. I think with Grimfork around, I don't need to rush over."
...
He was a Decepticon, and at the same time, he was also a car. Starscream disagreed with his aesthetic sense, partly because of his habitual sarcastic remarks about his colleagues, and partly because of his pursuit of speed as an air force commander—things that run on the ground can never be as fast as those that fly in the sky.
Steel Fork easily caught up, knocked down, and rescued Vince, who had been kidnapped.
And they were kidnapped and knocked down.
Strike's faceplate, which was previously reddish, has now turned completely red—he's in a hurry. He and Knockout are best friends, brothers, and confidantes. Knockout works in the Decepticons' medical unit, while also researching weapons and conducting some minor scientific research. Strike accompanies Knockout when they're not on missions, acting as his assistant.
"Let him go!"
"What can you do if I don't let go?" Grimfork said arrogantly, mimicking the tone of a character from a TV drama. Perhaps due to her newfound powers, Priest hadn't equipped Grimfork with hand cannons, hand blades, or any other native weapons. She stood to the side and rear of Knockout, one hand gripping rather than transforming into a blade against the sides of the red sports car's snow-white visor, the other gently pinching the Cybertronian's fragile neck—a neck composed of wires and IV tubing that would be considered tough yet flexible by humans. Grimfork wanted to project a purely villainous image, but her visor, pressed against Knockout's back wings, only made her appear somewhat comical, the Autobot thought.
The blow didn't see it that way; he roared in exasperation and humiliation:
"What do you want me to do! Let him go!"
He knelt on both knees, his upper body pressed against the ground by the partition, his head tilted upwards as much as possible to avoid touching the ground, and his pair of yellow optical glasses stared fiercely at the villain who had kidnapped his companion.
Steel Fork clenched her fingers tightly amidst the clattering, terrified sparks and chaotic magnetic field, then relaxed. She was now extremely pleased, and her Autobot companions breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't done anything drastic like pulling out the sparks, then played along with her.
"This little face is quite nice, isn't it?"
In a great mood the moment he was knocked down: "Thank you for the compliment, you're very good-looking too."
The priestess shouted from the side, "Shut up! Mind your place!"
The fuel tank was empty again, and Steel Fork received a disheartening signal of low energy levels. Lately, the machine's energy consumption had been unusually rapid; it hadn't been like this before. So she said:
"Your name is Strike."
"yes."
"You, immediately, right now, move all the Decepticons' energy blocks over here! Otherwise, I'll pull out their spark."
Strike didn't speak immediately; he glared at Steel Fork, who glared back. He stared at Knockdown for a long time, then turned away from the head eagle, a shadow of armor on his face, grief and resentment seemingly threatening to crush this honest man within the Decepticons' ranks.
"I can't do it."
He roared, "I'm powerless! I'm sorry, knock me down, I'm too weak, I can't save you, and I can't save myself!"
Tough guys don't usually shed tears, but when he heard his good brother and friend so helpless and hysterical, he couldn't help but shed tears, his eyes welling up with tears streaming down his face.
“Strike… This is all my fault, it has nothing to do with you, don’t blame yourself. In these chaotic times, I’ve been wandering and homeless since childhood. Without you, I don’t know how much longer I would have been alone and miserable. Now we’re both in the hands of the Autobots. I’ve heard that the Autobots never take prisoners. Strike, let’s be brothers again in the next life!”
"knock down--!!!!!"
"Strike!!"
"knock down--!!!!!"
"Strike!!"
The partition awkwardly loosened its suppression of the attack. Arcee turned her face away; she couldn't bear to watch any longer. Bumblebee overheard the humans' hushed conversation:
Are they putting on a melodramatic show?
Steel Fork thoroughly enjoyed the scene; she was completely immersed in her artistic creation.
Due to the restriction of movement, the masked man pressed against the tire that had knocked down the back wing, and the steel fork said with difficulty and pride: "Hmph, you should be glad that you have met a wise master today."
She commanded, "Block, unleash the attack."
The partition stood aside as if granted a pardon.
"You'll be fine if you knock me down before you bring the energy cube."
Strikes to brace himself against the ground, and with his optical mirror fixed on Steel Fork, he stood up warily, then pulled out all the emergency energy bars from the subspace. As soon as the energy bars left the subspace, they floated into the air and moved to the partition, where Steel Fork held them.
"This is all I have. As for the energy blocks in the warship, I'll give them to you when I have the chance. Could you release the Knockout first?"
A red and blue truck was approaching from a distance, and the Divine Child Raffi urgently tapped the leg armor of the steel fork to remind her.
The moment I was knocked down, I felt the restraints disappear; the steel fork vanished, only the sound lingered in the air.
"Let's go, thank me."
The blue SUV and the red sports car sped away at airplane speeds, quickly disappearing from sight.
Optimus Prime looked at the group of Cybertronians and humans who seemed guilty, like children who had done something wrong, raised an eyebrow, and said in a deep voice, "When we get back, I want to hear explanations from all of you."
He looked around, his optical glasses squinting slightly: "Where's the steel fork?"
"She's not here!" "Right, she didn't come out." "Buzz buzz buzz. (I didn't see her)" "Um... she might be invisible, in solitary confinement."
Optimus Prime paused for two seconds, then, remembering Ratchet's words, sighed softly and said dryly, "Autobots, back to base."
After saying that, he walked in front and never looked back again.
“I’ve been in solitary confinement the whole time. You can ask Godson and the others if you don’t believe me,” Grimlock said to the Autobot leader on the other side of the door.
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