Her Protector

"Introductions: Part Three"

By xHiddenM

Note: Hey guys! Back for another chapter. Had a blast writing this one, but I don't like how all of these parts turned out. Please, please leave a review! Also, I'm looking for a beta, so if anyone could recommend someone to me, that'd be fantastic. Thanks guys! Please review!

xXx

Warnings: Mild underwear talk, nothing graphic.

Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Hasbro/Dreamworks. All OCs are mine.

xXx

"Wake up. Wake up!"

Starscream shook Miko with one finger through the window (there hadn't been any glass or plastic) and knocked her out of her makeshift bed.

"Ugh! What gives, dude?" she snapped, jerking the covers over her head again. It was, however, in vain, as Starscream yanked them back roughly, though he was considerate – more like careful, he was never 'considerate' as far as anybody knew – and nudged her again. It might've been a nudge to him, but to her if might as well have been a kick to the back.

Miko curled up on herself, rubbing her eyes and scratching her head. Glaring, she stood and sat back on the bed, giving in and stretching.

"Hurry up and get ready," he said casually, as if he hadn't manhandled her. "I'll be in the wash racks for a few minutes. Prepare yourself for the day as needed. We will be going to get some supplies with Knock Out soon." Turning on his heel, Starscream headed towards his personal wash racks.

She lay back down on the bed, but she wasn't too tired anymore. No, not as she thought of yesterday. It came back to her like whiplash. This wasn't her house. This was the Nemesis, the decepticon headquarters. The moment she'd stepped into Starscream's hand, Miko had become an enemy of the autobots.

Her hand rubbed her 'bed' absentmindedly. It was far too thin to be comfortable, the blankets too light in the cold of the warship for her. Starscream had told her to get ready, but there wasn't much she could do. As far as Miko knew, there were no human facilities there. She hadn't brought any food, money, toiletries, or clothes.

It was a good thing she normally wore a couple of layers of clothes, then. Opting to skip the leggings, she slipped on her shorts and her usual navy blue tank top (the one with the little green alien), lacing her boots up and debating whether or not she should stick on the belt too. She did eventually, but unclipped the little stuffed animals on it, placing them to the side of her bed. Her shirt and leggings went under the bed, not even bothering with folding them.

Hair.

Shit.

They were still up in her usual 'do, but it was messy now, so she ripped out the bands and bent over at the waist, flipping her hair and using her fingers to comb through it. Flipping it back, she took one band and pulled it into a half ponytail, brushing her bangs with her fingers so they looked the same as they normally did, but now they were a little framed by her wavy hair.

She smiled to herself and sat on the bed, staring at her little doll house from the inside. In a way, it felt like Miko was intruding in Starscream's childhood; as if this were a top secret box will all of his personal memories. More specifically, the good ones.

"You better be ready, Miko," the very mech came out of his racks shiny and clean, interrupting her train of though. He leaned over at the waist to peer through the window, studying her choice of clothing with mild interest.

"Yeah," She said, shifting away from his watchful optics and pushing the little door open. "Where to?" stepping into his waiting palm like it was natural. There was no hesitation or stumbling.

"We are heading to the medbay to meet with our CMO, Knockout." Starscream answered evenly. "You may or may not know him." he added the last bit slyly, a little sarcastically, even.

Miko winced at the name and continued with another question. "Why do we need to see him? I thought your wing was fixed." It did indeed look fixed, with no sign of any previous damage.

"He will be chaperoning you to New York City, New York, where the Nemesis currently resides over."

"B-but where will you be?" Starscream noted her expression; it looked stricken, panicked. He chuckled as they walked through the semi-empty halls of the warship.

"I shall be following you from the skies. You see," they both ignored the strange looks a group of Vehicons was giving them. "His alternate form is much more common. Do you know of Knockout's racing habit?"

Miko nodded.

"Well, those who win in those 'competitions'," he sneered, "Are paid thousands of dollars a time. And added to that are bets placed on the drivers. Just last night he won over seventy thousand dollars, and I asked him to collect the given money instead of simply getting rid of it as he prefers to do. After all, human currency has no purpose for us."

"Seventy thousand dollars?" she gaped. "In just one race?"

"No, of course not. I believe he did several; that is the sum. Knockout will be funding us."

They entered the medbay that moment, preventing any further comments she'd had. There he was, polished and red, smooth, and holding himself with arrogance.

"Why, hello there," Knockout purred towards them, setting a sharp tool he'd been holding down on the table.

"You must be our newest . . . resident. Welcome to the Nemesis." He strode across the room smoothly, smirking as Miko frowned and narrowed her eyes. "To New York City, then? I heard it's a lovely place. Most likely the equivalent to one of our bigger, shiner cities. Perhaps Iacon, or maybe Tyger Pax."

Miko hated him already.

"Let's go!" he clapped his hands eagerly.

xXx

Only minutes later, they'd reached New York City. Miko was riding within Knockout's alt mode, listening to him as he complained about her dirty boots, her nasty human self and the dirt and oils residing on her body.

It had been eventful, the past hour.

The very first thing they did was bring her to a penthouse. The lobby was bright, with several chandeliers and marble floors. A nice middle-aged blond sat at the front desk in a preppy blue and yellow business suit, her blond hair pulled back into a tight bun and bangs combed perfectly over her forehead.

The second thing she discovered were their holoforms. Starscream, having nowhere to land without causing suspicion – more like panic, really, how often do you find a jet in the parking lot of a mall? – hovered in the air above them, miles out. Knockout was the one to park.

He jerked to a halt, tires screeching. Several humans turned to look and stare at the source of noise, and then in awe of his shiny, expensive, alt mode. He stepped out, and suddenly Starscream was getting out of the back seat with him, both in holoforms.

Their holoforms were almost exact replicas of humans, though there was something slightly off about them that Miko couldn't place. Perhaps it was their posture, which was abnormally straight and both of them refused to slouch no matter how much she complained and instead turned the subject around to correcting hers.

Starscream had tousled blond hair and smoky grey eyes, a tall, lean frame, and dressed somewhat causally. Knockout was similar to his height and build, but looked much more different than the former. Running his hand through his dark brown hair, the only true human in their company noticed his burgundy eyes as they caught the light.

Both 'men' wore button up shirts – Knockout's a deep red and Starscream's a baby blue – and were in the process of popping open the first couple of buttons and rolling their sleeves up. It was funny, though, Miko remarked silently, how their pants seemed to change both of their styles completely around. The grounder wore dark skinny jeans and black Converse while the other wore black slacks.

The glove compartment popped open as Miko stepped out, and she curiously reached in to pull out a leather messenger bag, which Knockout snatched away from her and slipped over his shoulder. Later, she learned that it contained his money in cash.

"Don't touch the money." He said casually, winking at a few ladies that caught his eye. They giggled and squealed, making Miko roll her eyes at their stupidity. Seriously, they just eye fucked an evil alien.

As they entered the mall, the scent of cinnamon buns, barbeque, and coffee assaulted their noses. Knockout assessed Miko's attired and wrinkled his nose, lips pulling downwards in a frown.

"You and I are going to have a play date."

The first store they hit was Aeropostale, a teen store that had loud, pumping music and clothes crammed into practically every space available.

He kept Miko's in a tight grip to his left and snatched up T-shirts, jeans, skirts, and jackets. Eventually, he just passed them to Starscream when he couldn't carry anymore, much to the seeker's annoyance. And then, he forced her to go into a fitting room (alone, thankfully), setting out what shirt went with what, and tossing back a pair of jeans back to Starscream and ordering him to get a different size. This went on for almost two hours before they paid.

Next up, Guess.

Most of the clothes they got here were much more expensive and fancier, but to Knockout that just made it even better. He was picky, snapping at the other to do this and get that. And then they came to a Forever 21, and spent more time there than anywhere else with jewelry.

To Miko, the most embarrassing place was Victoria's Secret, where she'd been given more underwear and things that made her blush furiously. She and Knockout had more arguments in that store than any other, much to Starscream's amusement. Miko was trying to explain why it was inappropriate to come out in the lingerie/'underwear' in public just to demonstrate to him, and then had to further explain why he couldn't come into the fitting room with her to watch her try it on.

"Heh," an old man to his left chuckled, placing most of his body weight on his cane. "You never know how to react in a store like this,"

Starscream sat on a bench glumly, placing his bags at his feet and keeping careful watch over them like his life depended on it as Knockout waited anxiously for Miko to come out to his left. She did pop her head out, opening the door a crack and revealing her back and shoulders, but not her front.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Yes?" Betty, a middle-aged, slightly overweight lady chewing gum rather loudly.

"Can I get this in a bigger cup size?" Miko mumbled, blushing. Betty nodded and smiled at her embarrassment. The younger girl turned ever redder when she caught Starscream's curious gaze.

Betty returned in no time with a much bigger purple and pink lacy bra. He watched as her long, thin, pale fingers reached out and took it, and then as the door shut. He amused himself by watching her feet below the door. Her ankles looked extremely fragile, weak, and far too white. They were much tinier than what you would assume from her usual boots.

The corners of his mouth twitched upwards as he watched her wiggle and stand on her toes, twisting and turning. He assumed she was modeling and studying her reflection. Suddenly he caught a flash of purple, and her right foot left the ground, and then it reappeared with the fabric around her ankle, and then she tried to do it with her other foot, but stumbled, and Starscream watched as she stumbled and hit the wall with a thump.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Betty asked, mildly concerned as she hesitantly knocked on the door.

"Yup! Sorry, I tripped," Miko called back. Betty rolled her eyes and chewed her gum.

Knockout let out an annoyed sigh and leaned against the wall, absentmindedly pushing away a bra on a hanger away from his head.

"OK!" Miko stepped out, fully clothed, "I'm starving!" she announced.

"But we have so many more places to go!" Knockout whined.

Starscream, sensing another argument coming around, agreed with Miko that she hadn't fueled at all yet, said they'd quickly get something to eat, and then they'd continue on for a little while longer.

After a nice Big Mac from McDonald's, they visited a shoe store, where they watched her stumble around on three-inch heels, wedges, and boots, and wincing at the overly tight flats. In the end, they bought a pair of Vans, Converse, two pairs of boots, a pair of Nikes, several flip-flops, and sandals.

Then, they'd entered the more 'essential areas', like the Apple store and a Barnes and Nobles. They'd bought an iPhone 5, an iPad, and a Macbook Air. In the middle of the store, Knockout stole her phone from her back pocket and crushed it under the heel of his Converse. Starscream smacked him upside the head, apologized to the employees – several of them looked shocked – and left the store in a hurry.

"Jerk! That had all of my contacts, my pictures, everything was on that thing!" she moaned. Pictures of Team Prime, her home in Tokyo, Japan, her memories.

"Please," Knockout snorted, turning his nose up. "You're overreacting."

She growled under her breath, but a warning look from Starscream shut her up. "Whatever,"

Checking the time on his chronometer, he realized it was past nine o'clock. "We'll need to head back the Nemesis soon; and we have yet to drop off our. . . recent purchases."

"You mean we aren't taking everything back?" Miko asked.

"No. It is illogical to do so. Instead, we shall take only few things in that new backpack of yours," he nodded to one of the many bags in his hands. "Our chosen residence is merely a storage unit for when we are not on the Nemesis."

They drove to a large building, Miko falling asleep in the backseat. Knockout chose to woke her up by blaring music as loudly as possible, making her jump and shriek at him for a good five minutes.

They were at hotel, she realized, and her room was on the top floor. Knockout handed her a keycard to her room. With a click, they walked into the suite.

To her right was a large bathroom. To her left were a loveseat and recliner set, and a TV resting on top of a set of drawers. Beside that were a desk, lamp, leather swivel chair, and two bookshelves built into the wall. The floor were carpeted a soft blue color, and a king sized bed sat beside a large window, navy blue curtains pulled back to reveal the lowing city below. The bed was a nice, pretty shade of ocean blues and greens, match the floor and curtains and blending comfortably with the creamy walls.

"Go take a shower," Knockout urged. "Humans can be so nasty sometimes with all the oils and dirt they collect."

Sticking her tongue out, Miko grabbed a bag from a store and a Victoria's Secret bag, checking the contents and nodding, satisfied. "I'll be out in about half an hour." She said.

It was actually more like forty-five minutes, but that was alright. Starscream, in that time, set up her electronics for her while Knockout tossed the bags by the drawers and the shoe boxes next to the bathroom door, turned on the TV, and laid back on the couch, watching a soap opera.

Miko soon came out, smelling like vanilla and lavender, in a T-shirt and jeans.

"So what're we gonna do tomorrow?" she asked conversationally as she took out her backpack to take to the Nemesis.

"Tomorrow," Starscream responded as Knockout laughed loudly at something on TV, "We will begin your training and set up human alliances,"

Miko stuffed a pair of pajamas into her bag, two T-shirts, a pair of jeans, shorts, flip-flops, and socks in before responding. "Alliances with who, exactly?"

"The underground, of course. We need allies, others who want to take down the government. During your shower – " he paused as she noisily shifted through a shopping bag, "I have set up a website. Impossible to hack by humans, but public. Our alliances will begin with conspiracy theorists, those who disagree with their government, etc. We advertise, attract attention. Knockout will continue racing and in turn, funding us."

"Sounds smart." She said offhandedly, not really caring, not yet. "OK, I've got my stuff." She announced.

"Finally!" Knockout said, sitting up. "I'll see you outside." He vanished, and Starscream nodded his goodbye as he joined him.

Miko yawned, and left the hotel room, turning out the lights.

Back to the Nemesis.

xXx

"Introductions: Part Three" end

"Introductions: Part Four" upcoming.

5-12-2013

Please review!