TRANSFORMERS

The Human Element

Warning: There will be some things thrown into this chapter that is based on law and what some government officials have the right to say or do. Just to let everyone know now, I am ‘not’ an IRS agent, nor do I know the legalities of government officials on almost all matters. Also, this is based in a Transformers universe, where alien Transformers came down years ago and have been in constant battles with each other, affecting the world as we know it. So, please do not start spouting to me how wrong I am on the rules of law. I already know. And even if it’s true and I’m totally wrong based on normal American legalities, that doesn’t mean I’m wrong based on the TF universe once they effected this world, anyway. So, anyone who doesn’t like the legal rules I made up, I guess you’ll just have to grin and bare it. It really has no real merit to the plot, anyway.

Chapter 6.

It was in a meeting room where Markis was seeing a shady-looking fellow from Saratoga, and what appeared to be his body guards. Markis’s hand slammed hard down on the table, leaving a permanent imprint in it and making the man and his men jump. One even started to move his hand into his jacket. But the men behind Markis did the same, making them think twice before drawing a weapon.

Markis grinned evilly down at the man, as he murmured, “Do you really think your pathetic little group is any challenge against me? I am being gracious by offering this deal. You should be lucky that I am even giving you the opportunity to continue to breathe another day! If you do not accept my offer, my group will meet with you tomorrow….and I guarantee it will not be pleasant. There ‘is’ no alternative than my rule! Serve me or perish! I will crush every insignificant member in your faction, and your families, and your friends, and your children. By tomorrow…..they will all be gone!”

“Y-your insane!” The man spat out, which only made the evil expression on Markis's face widen.

“This is not insanity...it is power, straight and simple. I have it and you don't. If you still want to continue to have the comfortable existance you have, then you will be smart and accept my offer.” Markis replied.

At that moment, Markis’s Autobot diplomat, Taylor, burst into the room.

Everyone turned towards him, looking like both sides were about to draw their guns and gun him down. Markis looked annoyed and snapped, “I am 'not' to be disturbed during a meeting!!”

“I-I’m sorry…..this is important, sir. Everyone is in great danger!” Taylor cried.

“What are you babbling about?” Markis asked, having no idea what he was talking about.

Taylor was infact shaking, but not because he was near Markis. Something seriously spooked him, and not even the guns that were drawn. “I got this from an Autobot report. They caught some kinda disease, that has practically spread through all of Cybertron already, and is spreading like wildfire on Earth, right now!”

“What??” The other mafia boss said, standing up. He looked as his men, then turned and said, “We’ll have to resume this meeting later.” The man then gave a nod of respect towards Markis, and they quickly headed out the door.

Markis let them leave, since this information had quickly taken precedence. “Tell me of this disease! Are all the Autobots dead?”

“It doesn’t seem to kill them, exactly.” The man said. “It makes you go nuts and kill anything around you that moves, especially those not yet effected. And all you have to do is come in contact with one of those that are infected, and you instantly got it!”

Markis paused, thinking for a minute. He then turned towards his other men and stated, “You’re dismissed. I’ll be in my office.”

When Markis got there, he immediately checked the TV stations, to see some of the reporters reporting on outbreaks of madness that was only growing. Some stations were totally off the air, while some stations showed the camera just laying there while people ran around trying to kill each other.

“It’s true.” Markis thought in fear. Quickly he hit the intercom, stating, “Polly…..hit the emergency lever for Cyber Corp. Lower this building, NOW!”

“What? But, Markis….why…?”

“Do not question me, just do as I say!” Markis spat.

Polly activated the emergency switch that Markis had installed. At the time Polly thought he was crazy having this in, or very paranoid. And when it was placed in it, Markis originally thought he would need it incase the Autobots ever caught wind to what he was, and have it as a means of escape. This situation was obviously never expected, but it seemed to work just the same.

Markis then announced, “Attention everyone. There is an emergency happening in the city. For everyone’s protection, I have initiated an emergency command to lower this building into the ground. Stay where you are until the building is once again still. All employees of A level clearance are to meet with me immediately after we have stilled.”

Of course, he could care less about anyone else. But it was little lies like that which seemed to help keep the humans in line.

Once the building was completely underground, all those that were directly involved with Cyber Corp’s criminal acts (aka: those with A clearance), entered their boss’s room to meet with him.

Taylor was there and Markis quietly nodded for him to approach. He then addressed the others, stated, “Taylor had informed me of an emergency presently taking place on Earth. There is a disease that is spreading rapidly, which causes insanity in others and makes them want to attack anything living around them. Any direct contact with such people will instantly infect that person. I want you all to put on protective outfits and check floor to floor to ensure there is nothing crazy going on in this building. Anyone acting suspicious in the least, you are to instantly kill that person and anyone that human touches. No mercy. If you must kill anyone, do not move them without the protective gear. Report to me once it is ensured this building is safe. You will then make arrangements with taking shifts near the ventilation areas to ensure nothing finds them and succeeds in getting through. Is there any questions?”

One of them asked, “How long do we have to stay here like this?”

“As long as it takes.” Markis answered.

The guards checked floor to floor, finding only one section near the main floor where some people were running around acting literally…..crazy. The guards did as ordered, pulling out machine guns and gunning every person down in that section, taking no chances and asking no questions.

Then with suits made to withstand radioactivity, they took those bodies to the building’s incinerator and destroyed every body that was killed, cleaning up the room and even quarantining that section from anyone else entering for now.

Fortunately, Cyber Corp had it’s own stocked cafeteria, water, work-out room, and even shower room (even though normally the last two were only meant for high-ranking officials).

Markis decided to patiently wait out the storm, hoping that all these crazy diseased things would just kill themselves off. Though it was unbearable to him having to actually be in the same building with these humans for far longer than he’d ever want to…he had also seen the up side to this. This disease makes people want to kill each other. If they actually ended up doing just that, then when it was finally over with….he might just walk out instantly being in control of everything without even having to try.

His underground time with his employees lasted an entire week, but he remained patient and waited while avoiding the humans as much as possible.

Finally, he noticed the news and all other stations began to return to normal. TV stations had returned online once again, with humans reporting that the Autobots had somehow found a cure, and everyone was alright once again.

When Markis decided it was safe for himself, he finally released the emergency lock-down and Cyber Corp once again risen from the ground to take its place in normal status. It was disappointing to him that the planet filled with humans weren’t extinct. But at the same time, it didn’t upset him too bad. Afterall, since the disease was never part of his plans in the first place, he saw no loss that the illness didn't allow him to instantly rule. Instead, he decided he should be grateful that he did not become one of the victim’s and possibly killed by a corrupted Autobot.

But once again, everything was back to normal. Markis was able to leave the building without fear of being infected with anything, and took the first night in seven days to return to his mansion. It felt strange to him that he actually enjoyed returning to this Earth house so much. But he greatly enjoyed the solace that he could not find in his work place.

Soon, the next day had come and it was work once again. He still had that head person in Saratoga he had to threaten once again and make sure he knew he was not gone simply because of this temporary delay.

So, Markis return to work the next day and ended up in his office once again plotting to gain more power in this human existence.

As he did, he was surprised to see his secretary Teresa happily bounding into the room, looking very excited. "Oh, Mr. Darkmoon! Did you hear the news this morning?"

Markis hid his ‘kill’ list under his stock market sheets, picking one of the stock sheets up to look over so he didn’t have to actually concentrate on her. He then stated blandly, "Of course I heard the news. Everyone was cured. If they weren't, we wouldn't be working again today."

"No, not that news…the other news!" She giggled.

Markis sighed, trying not to lose his patience. If the chaos he experienced before he became human didn't teach him patience, these humans were teaching him the hard way. By now, he had learned that if he ended up killing every employee that pissed him off, he wouldn't be in business. Sometimes idiocy simply had to be tolerated, especially when it came to these flesh creatures. "No, Teresa. What is this exciting news you heard this morning, that I should be so interested about?"

"Why, I thought someone would have told you, sir! The old leader of the Autobots is back!"

The paper he had been casually skimming slowly lowered, as he gaped up at her. "What?"

"Yes…Optimus Prime! Isn't that wonderful? Everyone likes him! Now, instead of having to deal with that other robot, Rodimus something...you get to deal with him!" She cheerfully stated.

Markis now dropped his chart completely, his eyes reflecting shocked disbelief. For the first time since Teresa had worked here, Markis had finally paid 100 percent of his attention on her, taking her off-guard.

He rose from his desk, glaring dangerously at her, eyes set a blaze. "Are you saying the 'deceased’

Optimus Prime had somehow returned from the dead to lead the Autobots??"

His almost 'too' calm question began to frighten her, who had not expected him to be angry in the least from this news. "S-sir….is something wrong? I've heard he's a wonderful uh,...Autobot to work with. He's always organized and knows what's going on...Ow!"

The last comment caused Markis to fiercely grab her by the wrist, as he came around and forcibly placed her to her knees. "Optimus Prime had been dead for over 2 years, and now he's alive again!?!!" He roared at the top of his lungs.

"Stop!" she cried. "You're hurting me!"

At the same time, Markis's intercom started up. In fury, he pushed her away yelling, "Get out of my sight, NOW!" Then stormed back over to his intercom. She ran out of the room, as he slammed his fist down on the button, almost breaking it. "What!!"

"Markis, it's Stein. I just heard the Autobot, Optimus Prime is back from the grave!"

"Why that's just wonderful, Stein. Don't you think you could have found this out sooner! My own secretary found this out before anyone else!!! Why wasn't I informed of this earlier! I have scouts, spies, investigators, advisors, computer geniuses, scientists, and personal ambassadors to the Autobots, and I get this information from my SECRETARY??!!!" Markis roared.

Stein considered reminding Markis that most people weren’t underground and probably infected and gone insane instead of thinking of working for him at the time. But Markis had a tendancy to sometimes be ‘too’ self-centered to think of such things. So instead of getting yelled at for the comment, he just replied, "Uh...yeah. Well, I can see you're in a bad mood, so I'll just..."

"You'll do nothing but what I say you do!! Find out why I wasn't informed! What are my ambassadors doing down there, taking a week break!!! Find out how he got back to life and why!! Also, I want Miller down here, immediately!" Markis then slammed the intercom again, this time totally breaking it.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Miller didn't show up until later, making sure to give Markis plenty of time to calm down. He entered, saying, "Yeah, boss."

"I want another secretary…kill Teresa. Stein's finding out why I wasn't informed. Anyone, including the ambassadors who does not have a proper valid excuse why I didn't get this information, send Andre after them. You will have them replaced with someone more competent. And get Polly down here to fix my intercom."

Miller replied, "Okay, boss."

He left the room, advising Teresa to follow him. Markis remained in his room to stew over this new information, and how it could affect his future. After all, this news was the absolute worst news he could get. Optimus Prime was alive. Now even when he did get back, he would have to struggle to get Cybertron back again, unlike the easy victory he was expecting it to be.

‘But then…’ Markis thought as his hand came up, rubbing his face. “Optimus Prime greatly trusts humans. At present, being in this human form may work even better for me at this moment. Yes….this can still work to my advantage.”

With a new idea in mind, Markis once again began to plan.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Next week came and a new personal secretary (another model figure, thanks to the guy a few ranks below who keeps hiring these people) had taken Teresa's place. Also, with the old Autobot leader now incharge once again, the ambassadors to Cyber Corp greatly jumped in to meet with him in hopes to create an even closer bond with the Autobots, which Markis only encouraged all the more.

Overall, business seemed back to normal as usual for Cyber Corp, when the intercom once again sounded in the CEO’s office room. Markis responded to it, acknowledging his brand new secretary. "Yes, Lillia….what is it?"

"Well….I'm not sure, Mr. Darkmoon. There's a Miss Alyssa Walker here to see you, sir. She has no appointment, but she says it's official business."

"What sort of official business?" He asked.

"She says she's from the IRS and they're performing a personal audit on you and Cyber Corp. Plus, there's a few questions that she needs answered. Should I let her upstairs, sir?"

Markis thought, 'Well, Carl…I guess your findings came out true.'

"Yes, she may enter. Make sure no one else disturbs me while she's here."

Lillia answered, "Yes, sir." and clicked off.

In a matter of a few moments, there was a knock on the door.

Markis replied, "Enter."

Alyssa Walker entered the main office of Markis Darkmoon, the president of Cyber Corp. For the 1 year she had worked in her field, she had been doing research on him, ordered by her superiors. The Govt. has had their suspicions of him being the new head of the NYC Mafia. But, the more research she did on him, the more the Govt. started to block her own work. Within the past 3 months, she has lost more evidence against him, than gained. Worse still, her own boss had now been suggesting to perhaps give this case up for more important cases...that there was not enough found on him to worry about.

But, Alyssa refused to give up. She didn't have much to go on, but she still had enough to harass him. She had hoped that perhaps if she shook him up, she could find more evidence that way. All her instincts found the vanishing evidence too suspicious. And a man wielding the power he did could cause some real trouble if he really was the new crime boss. Even though most agents would have listened to their superior and simply dropped the case, she refused to be that person. Alyssa was determined to find the truth...no matter what.

As she entered his room, the door closed behind her, surprising her. She then turned back in front of her to face this possible new Mafia king. His back faced her on the opposite side of his desk, watching out the window, hands clasped behind his back, his hair combed neatly back in a straight wrapped pony tail, which hung half way down his back. His suit was all white.

The man then said to her, "Welcome, Ms. Walker. What can I do for you?" Not bothering to even turn to face her.

His mannerisms annoyed Alyssa, right off the bat. Without fear, she strutted right up to the desk, file in hand. "I have been assigned by the IRS to perform a full audit on your person and your company, Mr. Darkmoon. I am going to need your 'full' attention, to proceed."

Markis, annoyed with this 'rookie' who obviously had no idea who she was dealing with, prepared his biting words for her, then turned to strike. Then he saw her…and for some reason, his words escaped him. Instantly, his mind became a blank slate, forgetting entirely what he was about to say. All he could see was her.

There was…something different about her, an inner strength he had never sensed in a human before. Her aura was incredible, leaving him temporarily speechless.

Alyssa calmly waited as the man turned to face her, but as he did…the man in shades simply stared and said nothing. But he wasn't the only one. Alyssa was also taken off guard by him. She too sensed a strength she had never sensed from any man she had ever seen before. And the way he remained quiet and just stared into her...there was something simply amazing about him.

She mentally attempted to escape this odd feeling that gripped her, trying to remind herself this was business and he was a potential threat to the law. This man was a criminal…she was sure of it. She then blinked, realizing something strange about him. For some reason, this man was wearing sunglasses…inside the building. Plus, it was cloudy out…it didn't make sense. She certainly had no reports that he had any problems with his eyes, or otherwise for that matter. Maybe he was trying to hide something…maybe he took drugs.

As she dwelled on this, the man's hand came up, and slowly slipped the sunglasses off to take a better look at her. It quickly made her assumption wrong about the drugs….his eyes were as white as anything. Yet, the coloration of his eyes were as jet black as his hair, making a perfect blend with his pupils, as if he had no eye color, at all.

The look upon his face was awe-struck, making her feel strangely uncomfortable and not so professional once again. But, still attempting to recover from her own shaken reaction of him, she attempted to say something, and managed to stumble out some words. "Uh…your parents…they were Mr. and Mrs. Darkmoon, right?"

'Oh, my god…I didn't just ask that, did I?' She quickly chastised herself. 'Of course, that would be his parent's names. Stupid, stupid!'

At first, he was so transfixed with her, nothing came to mind. This strange feeling was on the most basic of levels. It wasn't the first time he had experienced something similar, but it almost never occurred. The first time this happened was when he was first created, roughly 9 million years ago.

As he emerged from the building in which he had just been created, the brand new leader of the Air Guardian’s optics focused on the golden spectacle of Cybertron in all its glory, and for the first time he felt true desire. Nothing in this universe would stop his obsessiveness to have that which called to him, not even his own programming to protect and serve its leaders and its people. Cybertron would be his.

Later, the lust for power came to him in random spurts, a craving for greatness and to be the strongest thing in this universe. But, even that paled to his obsession for Cybertron.

Nothing else had ever come close. But once again for the first time in many eons, he felt a craving. He didn't know why, but she was responsible…and somehow, he wanted her. But how does one obtain something that is not an item? This hunger confused him, as he attempted to analyze and figure it out.

But then she spoke, finally snapping him out of this temporary trance. "Er…what?" He muttered out, at first not hearing the question. A moment later, his mind finally began to work again, taking longer than expected to comprehend the question. "Parents! Yes, of course…they were my parents."

Forcing herself to act professional again, Alyssa then asked, "And where do they live presently?"

In order to try and regain his own state of normalcy, Markis turned away to once again face the window, still confused and trying to figure out why this had occurred. Avoiding her face helped, as he muttered out, "Where they live...I believe that should be on your files, Ms. Walker."

"Please, just answer the question, Mr. Darkmoon." Her tone was much colder, suddenly. Alyssa had taken his turning away wrong, assuming he was being rude and that the man probably felt himself too important to bother to look at her or answer the question. And if there was one thing Alyssa couldn't stand, it was having someone look down on her.

Yet, her own frozen demeanor also hit Markis the wrong way, seeing the woman as being arrogant towards him. Her sudden cold and clipped words immediately returned him fully to his senses, as he shook away the fog that blocked his thinking process.

Markis now once again turned her way, this time prepared for her. "Tell me, Ms. Walker. What is the reason the government would be auditing my person? I can understand perhaps my business for tax purposes, as they tend to do on occasion. But, this should have nothing to do with me, personally."

Her face was stern, showing nothing. "I do not have an explanation, Mr. Darkmoon...I am merely taking orders. Now, could you please answer the question?"

"Not until I have proof of what you are."

She showed him her badge of being Govt. official, and her legal sheet of approval, showing she had the right to be doing this audit on business and personal affairs for any suspicions they may have.

"It all seems very legal, Ms. Walker. But neither your paperwork nor your badge show that you are IRS. It appears to be a lot more official than that."

"You seem to have a lot of knowledge about the different ranks of the government, Mr. Darkmoon."

"Of course." He stated. "I have quite a few government dealings, as I'm sure your records should show." After immediately saying so, he could clearly see the surprised glint in her eyes, which was quickly hidden.

Strangely enough, her records did not come up with this, but it should have! She quickly continued, "Well, let's forget about your business for the moment. If you could simply answer the question I have first given you..."

"Perhaps you could first tell me who you're working for?"

“The government, of course.” She stated.

Markis added, “I understand that….but, which branch?”

"Mr. Darkmoon, that is privileged information. I am not permitted to give that out."

"Oh? And have you been ordered to lie to myself and my secretary, or is that privileged information, as well?"

"I am ordered to keep that information from you whatever way I see fit. Now, can you please answer the question?"

"I shall...when you first tell me who you work for."

"Mr. Darkmoon, if you don't answer the question, I am required to have you escorted to a police station to have you questioned, where you will not leave until you answer them. Now, can you answer them here, or will I have to escort you from your own building?"

Markis then smiled his diplomatic charm. "There is no need to be so official, Ms. Walker. Please, have a seat."

She had a seat, as did Markis. "Very well. Now, where do your parents live, Mr. Darkmoon?"

"Please, Markis."

She added, "Markis."

He continued, "They both died in a car accident, Ms. Walker."

She froze, shocked by this information. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

He added, "Do not be concerned. They died so long ago, I barely remember them, now."

"Please, Alyssa." She added, mirroring his own response, though she wasn't sure why she did so.

Her comment placed an almost predatory smile on his face, at her permission of using her first name. "Alyssa." He didn't know why that affected him, why she affected him. But her name rung through his mind, creating an almost haze as he gazed at her. He still couldn't understand why, but he had a need for this human that had to be fulfilled….she was something he had to possess.

First….for those that know the original Transformers, it should be pretty obvious that I am following the actual timeline. The interesting part about following the timeline in this story is the ability to have these things happen from a totally different perspective: aka…Megatron’s perspective.

And secondly is my interpretation on Megatron and his past. Certain things made no sense to me, like ‘why would anyone during the golden age of Cybertron have Vector Sigma create an evil Air Guardian to take over Cybertron in the first place’? In the episodes, which were the making of the Aerialbots special, it showed that Megatron started out as a warrior and the newly created Head of the Air Guardians, which no one believed to be a threat to anyone, especially since there was no war and everyone was at peace. No one in their right mind would create a Transformer who’s purpose is to rule the universe! So, it’s logical to believe that Megatron’s programming was not to do so….it was to protect and serve Cybertron and it’s leaders. But, what could change him? What could possibly make a Transformer fight and succeed in destroying his own programming, then changing it to become something seemingly so dark and evil?? My answer was Cybertron. I do not believe Megatron is solely a cold machine with no feelings except for pure greed. As a sentient life, he has to be ‘more’ than that. Even though his ego showed him wanting to rule the universe and have infinite power, the entire series had Megatron’s main goal always gunning for Cybertron. I decided after Megatron looked upon Cybertron for the first time, he instantly fell in love with it. But it was a love that was so deep that it became beyond obsessiveness. He simply ‘had’ to have Cybertron. And that possessiveness for his home world was so great, that he could not accept anyone else owning it except himself. Thus, the real reason for the beginning of the war. And what else in this universe could you imagine being able to counter a Transformer’s own programming, but love? Even in the movie, as he saw Unicron transform from a planet to a god and begin to crush Cybertron, as Galvatron he transformed himself into gun mode and began to shoot at the planet-sized mech. to defend his planet, knowing doing so would probably be the end of his life….which was very interesting to me. Megatron always mocked Prime for his weakness in placing others before his life, but in that split second he seemed to have shown the same thing for his own world…something I had never seen any other Decepticon do: self-sacrifice. Though death was not how it ended for him, the action was still there.