TITLE: Predator
SERIES: Imperfection, part 8
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money
Author’s Voice of Warning (aka Author’s Note):
English is not my first language; it’s German. This is the best I can do. Any mistakes you find in here, collect them and you might win a prize The spell-checker said everything's okay, but you know how trustworthy those thingies are....
FEEDBACK: Loved

wow, a longer ficlet this time! This is a kind of sequel to Guardian :)

Barricade is bored... beware the bored bad ass...




Barricade blamed his complete and utter boredom for the fact that he had started to look into the matter of Sam Witwicky. It probably was boredom that the incident where he had saved the young human now occupied his processor. He had no connection to him otherwise. He didn’t care about him. That was Bumblebee’s job. He was the boy’s guardian.

Cruising the streets, Barricade had taken to listening into the police radio traffic, going through all bandwidths, following daily events on the streets of Tranquility. His interest was piqued because of the various incidents, some of which he pursued with the curiosity of a watcher of an alien society. The four years on Earth had given him an idea of humans and the culture of this continent, but their crimes and petty squabbles held his fascination.

Using his knowledge of the police force, he started to poke around the files of that particular night. There were no reports on teenage gangs harassing anyone, so he turned to snooping through the police computer. It took him a while to locate reports that might be associated with the incident, but he wasn’t in a hurry.

Following the electronic paper trail, the former Decepticon quickly filed many reports away as not related. Those had been gang related incidents, but Sam Witwicky wasn’t in a gang. The only police report the human had on him had been in connection to Bumblebee, which made it unimportant, too. Barricade took to digging into the human’s background nevertheless, deeper than Frenzy had ever tried to. Nothing but the location of the Allspark had been important back then.

The human boy as such was boring. There was nothing outstanding about him, except that one of his predecessors had found Megatron and paid for it with his sanity and sight.

Barricade had a grudging respect for Sam Witwicky though. The boy had terminated Megatron. He had succeeded in what others had failed. Mechanoids had tried to kill the Decepticon leader and their sparks had been extinguished in turn. The human had used the Allspark’s power, true, but he had managed to get close enough to pull it off. And he had shown an incredible bravery. For that, Barricade respected him. Weak, human fleshling that he was. It gave him an understanding of why the Autobots still protected him, why Bumblebee had chosen to remain with him.

A name that popped up throughout his search into Witwicky’s background was Trent DeMarco. He was apparently a rival and one of the stronger humans in his age group. He derived that strength from looks, attitude and physical prowess.

Decepticon traits, Barricade thought with a sneer.

But the DeMarco human was missing the brain to back up the brawn. In the Decepticon ranks he wouldn’t make it past the designation of foot soldier. Maybe just a drone, like Scorponok. Low level unit, barely more than a receiver of orders.

But among the humans of his age and in the school Sam Witwicky went to, he was apparently sought after by the female humans and feared by the those who were no match for him. Like Bumblebee’s charge.

And Sam had taken something from Trent he had seen as his own. A girl. While Barricade didn’t relate to the male and female bonding of this race, he understood that it had irked the physically stronger Trent that a weaker of his kind had succeeded in swaying his mate from him. It was like the female had defected. Humans replicated by physical interaction, sex, and they tried to attract a mate by flaunting their assets.

Barricade snorted. He found physical replication an unstructured, flawed and too dangerous process. But many races procreated like that, so humans weren’t special. They were just beneath his notice, aside from one or two.

Cybertronians didn’t procreate like this, and they didn’t need to mate. His kind had companions, but not for sexual needs. It was a matter of kinship, of finding what the humans would call a soul mate. It was the resonance of their spark, and when the perfect resonance had been found it didn’t matter what rank the other individual had. Or what faction he belonged to. Jazz was an Autobot and Barricade had been a Decepticon. They were different, but their sparks disagreed, and Barricade did so too. Jazz was simply perfect.

For humans it was more difficult, involved wooing their mates, the possibility of losing them, and also resulted in jealousy and revenge over petty matters.

Trent DeMarco had turned petty because he had lost what Barricade had discovered was called a ‘trophy’. He had turned to trying to hurt or even kill the one who had taken that trophy from him.

Humanity was intriguing. Disgusting and weak, but intriguing.

Seeking out the human’s address, Barricade started studying him, his behavior, his friends. He was a blustering idiot, the Saleen concluded after only a few days of following DeMarco. All muscle, no brains. A jock he was called among his peers and females wanted to catch his eye, but it didn’t polish over the fact that he was stupid.

Barricade watched him relate his bravery on a game field to his followers and almost laughed out loud. Bluster. Just bluster. And a coward underneath.

The shock trooper knew mechanoids like that and they were beneath him. Cowards usually used others to play out their revenge, because to do so themselves would reveal them. So they stayed in the shadows and watched and laughed.

Barricade rumbled in disgust. As a warrior he played with stealth and cunning, too. He would sneak upon an unsuspecting victim and deal a blow, but he would never sink so low as to use another to do so. He was honorable. Trent was scum.

Since he couldn’t openly remove this scum from sight, Barricade used his studies of human kind and their laws to deal out his own revenge. While he didn’t care about Sam Witwicky, the human had his respect and he was important to the Autobots. Indirectly Barricade was linked to the small force of former enemies because of Jazz. Add his boredom to that and he had enough motivation to plot a little.

#

It had started out with outstanding traffic violations coming in. Parking tickets, too. Trent had been mystified because he hadn’t been aware of breaking any laws. His parents had been far from impressed. Of course he had tried to straighten out what he saw as a misunderstanding and he drove down to the police precinct – only to get his car impounded because of the outstanding tickets. The officer behind the desk wasn’t to be swayed from the decision and Trent spent hours trying to explain that he hadn’t broken any laws.

He walked home that day.

It didn’t stop there, though. Police came by his house to ask him about his involvement in a gang related issue where his name had apparently come up. His parents freaked. His grades dropped. Bills from online auctions, online purchases and outstanding credit card amounts filled the post box.

Trent believed someone was out to get him – and someone was. It was just too professional for it to be prank by guy from school.

When he received a call from a lawyer who claimed he was representing a large music company out to sue him for illegal downloads, Trent was close to a complete breakdown.

Barricade simply sat and watched.

Of course DeMarco noticed the police cruiser, but he never associated anything with it. Police vehicles were a normal sight, but this one was making him nervous. There was never anyone inside, but it appeared at the football field, at his home, at school. Once he caught Witwicky looking at it, frowning, then hurrying to his flashy yellow Camaro.

None of the Autobots approached him over his presence in the area. Not even Jazz asked him anything. The Autobot trusted him.

At the end of his senior year, Trent DeMarco was scraping by by the skin of his teeth. His grades were abysmal and he could forget about the college he had wanted to go to. Girls didn’t even look at him any more. His friends had drifted away. His parents were employing lawyers to get the false traffic violations, bills and whatnot taken care of.

Barricade felt satisfaction rise inside of him. Rolling past the human he made a point of not having his hologram at the wheel, and the bug-eyed look and gaping mouth was worth it. He rumbled a little dangerously, stopped once more for good measure, then drove off.

Trent DeMarco wasn’t there the next day.

Or the one after that.

He left for LA and a college there a week later.

#

It came as something of a surprise when the human who had launched the little mind game approached him one day. Barricade sat in a car park outside a super market. He had opted to park himself around the corner in the overflow site where barely anyone came. Those who drove by were spooked by the police presence, except delivery, but that had been early in the morning.

Barricade detected Bumblebee’s energy signature not far away and he smirked to himself. Of course the human would have his guardian along. He wasn’t that brave or that stupid.

“Barricade?”

He watched him approach. Witwicky radiated nervousness and his bodily functions all spoke of stress. His blood pressure was higher than normal, the electrical currents in his brain were spiking along his whole nervous system, and his muscles were ready for a fight or flight reaction.

“Uhm…”

“What do you want?” he asked, letting some darkness bleed into his voice.

The human flinched. “I…ah…” He fidgeted and Barricade expected Bumblebee to come tearing around the corner any second. “You were the one who sicced the police on Trent, right?”

Clever human. However had he found out?

“I don’t concern myself with petty human matters.”

“Really?” There was disbelief in that exclamation and Barricade had to give it to the young human, he was truly brave. “Everyone started to notice Trent’s troubles and I somehow couldn’t believe it was real. I asked Bumblebee and he said it hadn’t been them.”

“Autobots are known to lie.”

“Why would he do it then?”

“Ask him.”

Sam gave a frustrated sigh. “It wasn’t any of them. And I believe them. Bumblebee checked the false tickets and said someone hacked the system, And he wasn’t human. I also saw you around school quite often. If you aren’t stalking me for some reason, it leaves only you stalking Trent.”

“He is of no interest to me.”

“But you know him.”

Barricade cursed himself. “What do you want, human?” he demanded.

“I want to know why. I don’t matter to you. You’re not my guardian or protector.”

Barricade laughed maliciously. “No, I’m not. I was bored, human.”

“You were bored and you ruined him?” Sam whispered in disbelief.

“Yes.”

The boy gaped.

“He tried to kill you, Sam Witwicky. Why do you care?”

The human paled and took a step back. “W-what?”

“Have you forgotten the incident four months ago? You were chased by several low lives and they were intent on harming you severely, maybe even taking a life.”

“But… Trent… he was behind it?” Now the human was shaking. “Why?”

“I believe it is called jealousy and revenge. You took what he claimed as his.”

“Mikaela? I never… I mean… she and I…”

“Males of your kind tend to react aggressively toward one another, especially when one is seen as weaker and therefore as no threat to another’s trophy.”

Sam swallowed hard.

The sound of the yellow Camaro slowly rolling around the corner had Barricade on edge. Bumblebee made no menacing moves, just slid closer to his charge. Sam reached out and touched the brightly painted roof as if he needed reassurance.

“I have looked into the files of those who chased you. They were apprehended without my involvement. They have what is called a rap sheet in your language. Murder would be the next logical step in their evolution of crimes. I also traced money leading from DeMarco’s account to one of them. He paid them to rough you up, accepting your demise should it happen.”

Sam swallowed noisily. “Oh God…”

“Sam,” Bumblebee could be heard, voice soothing.

“He tried to kill me, Bee! Trent set all of this up!”

Barricade was silent, just watching.

::You didn’t have to become involved:: Bumblebee sent electronically.

::As I told the human, I was bored. I was interested to know why this human was the target of his kind::

::You saved his life::

Barricade shifted uneasily.

::Thank you::

::Don’t thank me, Autobot::

Bumblebee didn’t reply, but Barricade caught the smile nevertheless. It made him even more uneasy. The human was looking at him with fear and confusion. It wasn’t fear of the former Decepticon though.

The Camaro opened the driver side door and Witwicky got in. Still looking at him. When the pair pulled out, Barricade started his own engine and merged with the traffic on the road, scanning the police radio and thinking about his motivations.

Boredom. It had been boredom. Nothing else.

An hour into his aimless driving he was joined by a silver Pontiac Solstice. Jazz sent an electronic greeting, overtook him, and headed for an exit leading away from Tranquility. Barricade followed without a second thought.

#

“Bumblebee told me what you did.”

Barricade ignored the silver Autobot who was leaning casually against a natural formation of rocks.

“He said you were bored.”

He still ignored him.

Jazz smirked and looked at his black counterpart. “Boredom lets you harass humans, huh? And you did some good with it, too.”

Barricade flexed his claws. He wondered what he had to do to get the other to drop this. If he had given the outcome of his torment of Trent DeMarco some deeper thought he would have realized that Jazz would see some good in it.

“Why did you do it, ‘Cade?”

He glared at the Solstice. “Because it was entertaining,” the former Decepticon spat.

“I know you’re good at tormenting others, but why pick this incident with Sam? Don’t tell me you like the kid.”

Barricade rumbled. “He’s of no use to me.”

But he was of use to the Autobots. They protected him. Protecting him gave Barricade some breathing space when it came to accusations and suspicion coming his way. Pure self-defense.
“Still you got the guy who sent others to harm him. And it was pure genius how you did it. Ironhide would probably have run him over.”

“He lacks finesse.”

Jazz grinned. “Yep. And he loves his big guns. You did some real good, ‘Cade.”

“If you start calling me a good boy and patting my hood you’ll lose an arm, Autobot!” he hissed.

That got him laughter. “Oh, now don’t give me ideas!”

Barricade squelched his more violent reaction and rumbled dangerously instead. “My reasons had nothing to do with the human.”

“Like your presence in the area when he was attacked was pure coincidence.”

“Exactly.”

Jazz tilted his head, then smiled. “Okay,” he replied easily.

Too easily, Barricade thought, but he didn’t press on. He truly didn’t care about Sam Witwicky. He respected him, but he wasn’t his guardian. That fell to Bumblebee and he had nothing to do with the Autobots.

“Still feeling bored?” Jazz interrupted his thoughts.

Red optics narrowed. “What are you planning?”

“Have some fun. Unwind. You know…”

Barricade was tempted. Very much. He transformed and revved his engine. Jazz laughed and did the same, briefly touching the black prow. Then he backed away and turned, heading for the highway. Barricade followed, ready to be surprised where the other was going.

His thoughts turned back as to the reason why he had done what he had done. Maybe he had tried to fall into good graces with the Autobots, though he didn’t need to. It wasn’t his intention. That Jazz was happy about his actions wasn’t important either.

Right.

Ri-ight…

Barricade squelched that thought. He didn’t have to prove his loyalty or his intentions to anyone, least of all to his companion. And the others were of no interest. Ironhide could growl all he wanted. To Barricade he was unimportant as long as he didn’t attack the former Decepticon.

It had been boredom.

Just boredom.