Son of a Legend - Redux

1. At the Beginning

June didn't like to dream much. Well, not always. Not before such nightmares pooled her mind with fright. There was screeching metal and other terrifying features that scared her to no end.

The young woman woke up, her eyes wide and her breathing hard. Once she realized that it was all a dream, she seemed to relax. The room was dim, indicating that it was dawn. Absentmindedly, she reached her hand out and searched for her husband. She felt nothing but the fabrics of the sheets, and she bolted up in a panic. Her eyes tried to adjust to the darkness so that she could find him.

"Steve?" she hissed.

"I'm right here."

The woman looked up, noticing a dark silhouette sitting at the end of the bed. Reaching out she turned the lamp on, casting their room into light. As she looked at him, she saw a look of worry in his eyes. It sometimes still amazed June that he could wake up in the middle of the night looking concerned. She sat up completely and saw that he was for once focused on something. She followed to see what it was he was gazing at, noticing the small boy in the next bed that was fast asleep.

"Steve, he's fine."

"I know," Steve said. "He would have loved the others, huh?"

June smiled sadly, wishing her little boy could have gotten a chance to spend time with the team and whatever kids they had. "Yeah, I think he would have. Do you think it would be sad that he wouldn't get to see the home he could have grown up in?"

"June, let's not start on that," Steve said. "All of that doesn't matter anymore. I guess it's nothing to worry about. But finding at new home now…"

"We really don't have to leave," she breathed.

He looked away. "You know why we have to."

June sighed. She crawled over to him, resting her hands on his shoulders and leaning against him. "I wish this didn't have to happen. It hurts. It will hurt him. It hurts them, I knew that."

Steve shifted in his spot, forcing June to look up at him. "I know it will seem we will disappear. We'll come back someday. In time to see the world heal again."

June smiled. She knew Steve could overcome many obstacles, not like her. After missing out on all of the things he would have lived and died for throughout the years, losing friends…losing the first love of his life, he was a father. That was the biggest surprise he ever had! And she was not willing to let anyone take those things away from him.

"June, you both mean a lot to me right now. You both are still and always will be the best things that ever happened to me. That will never change, not even in death."

"I just wish he could have something that would show what we stood for."

Steve's eyes lit up. "Actually, I do have something he'll remember by."

He got out of bed and knelt down by the bedside. He reached under it and handed her a bag that he had kept for so long. She peeked inside, blinking in surprise.

"Your…"

"It was the only thing that I managed to get from the base before they sent the team after us," Steve said. He looked up and saw how uneasy she was. He placed a hand on her cheek. "Don't worry. We'll be back to where we started. I promise."

"I hope it will be soon, Steve."

"It's okay. Just remember…"

"We're doing the right thing," June whispered, recalling what he told her earlier. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything."

"June, you have nothing to be afraid of. You and Jack…" He paused. He knew she didn't have to hear the words to know what he was thinkinig, but he still wanted to say them. If not to calm her, than to himself. "To keep you two safe…there's not a thing I wouldn't do."

And there wasn't. Steve only hoped he could get them into Nevada before they were caught without having to prove it to her.

The Autobot base was located on an abandoned ranch in the middle of the Nevada desert, provided by the town when they were ignorant on who bought the property. The barn and the other buildings were preserved hollowed out to allow the Autobots to walk around in them. The barn itself was longer and wider then most barns were, where the main section was shaped into two sections.

The first and larger one was where the Autobots spent their time walking around and interacting without fear of crushing humans underfoot. And the second smaller area was about ten feet above the ground and was where the humans normally spent their free time. It had a couch, table, television, all the things needed to keep the humans occupied.

At the moment, the base was occupied by the entirety of the Autobot team. Everyone was getting the place ready to welcome their newest family members, given how odd June sounded during her call. She had sounded a little uneasy and a bit spooked when she called for a bridge. Not to mention she'd been lacking most of her usual elation, so that left the question of what had happened on her little trip to Germany.

"Finished!" Bulkhead cried out happily as he stepped backwards to look at their new home.

"Ladies and gentlemen," exclaimed Cliffjumper. "We've finally did it."

"Autobots, you have all done well," complimented Optimus Prime.

"About time," Roadbuster mumbled.

"Well, it doesn't look that bad," claimed Arcee.

"With all of your hard work, we were able to finish our headquarters and I would like to reward all of you the day off from your daily duties," says Optimus.

Bulkhead sighed in relief. "Anymore work and I'll fall apart."

"Alright! Let's go and enjoy ourselves!" Cliffjumper cried happily, but was stopped by Arcee.

"Not so fast, Big n' Red," she told him. "It's getting late and we all need our recharge, do we not?"

"What?"

"Are they here now?"

Bulkhead jumped at the sudden voice, screaming "Ghosts!" as Bumblebee jumped into Cliffjumper's arms. Roadbuster ran and ducked behind Optimus.

"Jeez, what is with you people?" Two tiny figures came out from behind the door, dragging a wagon behind him. "You act like the world is full of nothing but ghosts."

Optimus peered down at the two smaller ones. "No, Wheelie, they are not here now," he said.

The conversation was cut off when the proximity sensors were set off. Ratchet grumbled as he went over to see who it was. He tapped into the monitors and gasped.

"Ratchet, who is it?" Optimus asked.

"It's them!" Ratchet said.

Optimus vented calmly. "Grant them access."

Ratchet sighed as he typed in the command to open the gateway to their hideout. Before they knew it, a motorcycle drove in that carried three passengers, one of them small and clinging to the woman.

"Steven Rogers. June Darby," Optimus greeted. He glanced down at the small one. "Is this your son?"

June looked down at Jack. His eyes were focused on the giant beings in front of him. He never met anybody so tall or made of metal before, although he had heard stories from her. It had been his mom, dad, and some other people he met in his life. The Autobots were just like fairytales.

"He's a little shy," Steve smiled. "Jack, these people are the Autobots. We're going to be living with them for a while."

Cliffjumper stepped forward. "Hey there, Jack. I am Cliffjumper but you can call me 'Uncle Cliff' because I'll be the best uncle anyone will ever have," he said with pride and feeling proud about it.

Arcee snorted at that, thinking he might be going over his head saying it. Guess it's time to introduce themselves to the kid. "Hi. I'm Arcee. I'll be taking the role as your big sister. And this," she pointed at Bumblebee, "is Bumblebee, your big brother." Bumblebee gave a happy sound at the thought of being someone's big brother.

Now it's Bulkhead's turn. "The name's Bulkhead, and don't think that Cliffjumper will be your 'fun uncle' because I'll be the funnest uncle ever." He sent a smug look over at Cliffjumper, earning him a glare. They didn't even bother to acknowledge the disapproving looks from both parents.

Ratchet rolled his optics at their exaggeration of being the fun uncle. His attention has been caught when the boy was looking straight at him, almost as if thinking whether or not he's family. "Hello kid. My name is Ratchet and I'll be your personal medic from now on."

"Oh," Jack grumbled. He seemed disappointed.

Steve shook his head.

"Hey, I'm Roadbuster," the lime green one said. "Just Roadbuster."

"I'm Wheelie, and this is Mr. Brains Personality," Wheelie greeted, putting an arm around his companion and pulling him closer.

"I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not," Brians mumbled.

Optimus smiled at the scene before him. It has been so long since everyone was so happy, as if the war never happened. This youngling truly was special to affect the Autobot's lives. Said youngling started to look at Optimus with his expressive eyes.

Bumblebee walked to Optimus, taking Optimus' one hand with his unoccupied hand so he could get closer to the boy. Optimus' spark raced when he tried to reach out to him.

"Looks like we know Optimus is gonna be his favorite," stated Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead, come on," Steve said.

"Greetings, Jackson," Optimus smiled softly, causing him to look up to him. "I am Optimus Prime and I welcome you to the family."

Jack had a million questions for the Autobots. Some of them were happy to answer, and they shared their own queries in return. So far they had managed to avoid the events that occurred weeks ago. It was obvious to all of them that Jack didn't want to know what had happened that forced them on the run, and so they left the subject alone. There were too many other things to talk about. But for some reason, they didn't know where to start.

"How are you feeling?" Optimus asked June.

"Like I'm over the hill," she responded.

"I was inquiring about your son," Optimus said, turning to look at the small child.

"Jack?" Unintentionally, saying his own name brought a smile to her lips.

"He would have loved the others, would he not?" Optimus asked.

June closed her eyes and lowered her head. "Yeah, he would've."

Ratchet had stopped midway in his work, listening to the small conversation unfold. Worry pulsed in his spark. He heard exchanges such as this one, and they didn't end well. Hoping to lighten the topic, he switched to another one.

"Isn't it cold up there in the Midwest?" he asked.

"Cold doesn't begin to describe it," Steve scowled.

"You could see the shores of Lake of the Woods from Jack's bedroom window," June smiled.

Ratchet hummed. It was then he realized since they entered the estate there had not been one second where June and Steve had not touched each other. He stared in disbelief at the young woman he knew for so few years. The previous events had shaped her into an entirely different person.

"Child's getting sleepy," Arcee announced. June looked up and saw her coming up with the boy cradled gently in her hands.

"Here, I'll do the deed," Ratchet said as he carefully took the boy.

"Ratchet, I can take him," Steve protested.

"Ep, ep," Ratchet interrupted. "If I try to give him to you, he'll likely wake up and start crying. And the crying is the least I enjoy out of a child."

Optimus inwardly rolled his optics. The medical officer was as transparent as water. There was no way he was letting go of the boy that easily.

Steve seemed to understand, and sat back down.

"I just can't believe you guys came back after all this time," Brains said. "If I had known something like this would've brought you back to us, I would've had them do this sooner."

"And she'd kill you if she found out you were behind it," Wheelie stated.

"Touché," Brains agreed.

There was so many questions June wanted to know, but she was careful to avoid leading the conversation towards anyone else; not wanting to feel upset all over again. "How's the team?"

Ratchet cleared his vocal cables. "Well, last I heard from Whitman he now works at Rand Corporation. Ms. Madsen was rehired at the NSA. Shame, because she deserved better."

"Dutch, from what I heard, is doing fine himself," Arcee said. "He now owns a place in Colorado. It's one of those—" She paused and narrowed the ridges over her optics.

"Collectible shops," Cliffjumper said.

"That's it," Arcee said.

"And the other two boys?" Arcee asked. "Where are they?"

"Can you believe what Spitz did?" Bulkhead smiled. "He went back to school. And he didn't just go, he graduated. I can't believe he made it that far. He's now an Egyptologist. You'll never guess where he is right now — Alexandria."

"Really?" June raised a brow. "Well, what about Simmons?"

Beeps, clicks and whines came from Bumblebee. He presented them with a hard cover book from the fold of his armor. Steve took the book for further inspection. June scootched over to get a better look at it.

"The Constitution Project?" June looked up. "He wrote this?"

Ratchet sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. On the plus side, it was a success. I couldn't get anyone to stop reading it."

"I always thought he would end up in government work," Steve said. "But I kind of thought he'd be one of those lunatics who create their own conspiracy websites."

"Well, he thought of doing that. But that man hasn't been able to get around much," Roadbuster said.

"Yeah, especially after…" Wheelie stopped. He hadn't meant to bring this there.

"Yeah," Steve whispered "After."

June looked up at each of them. She made sure she held their gazes with hers so she would know she had their attention. She never liked to touch the subject. But she had to let them know what really happened.

"I just want you all to know: any of the stuff they said about us isn't one hundred percent true."

The room seemed to stand still, and June was aware of Steve grabbing tightly to her shoulders. There was no noise, only a single sentence left hanging in the air, waiting for a reply.

Optimus provided her with, looking straight at her and giving her a simple nod.

"We know."

Steve waited for June to get Jack to settle into bed before he slipped out with Arcee to the town. He looked at the country as they zoomed down the highway. He breathed through his nose and looked ahead. Their little boy would grow up without the things they had worked for. He wasn't kidding. June and their son always will be the best thing that ever happened to him out of the seventy year sleep he had.

Arcee pulled up to a building that resembled a warehouse. He got off and entered the building. He was surprised to see a familiar six foot tall man with brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hank?"

The man looked up and smiled. "Hello, Steve."

"I thought you quit on us."

"I did. I was just coming back to collect some things." He looked around at the items strewn over the shelves. "I just hope that Tony hasn't messed with them."

"Doctor, you know you're always welcomed back."

Hank stopped in the middle of his collecting and paused. "And you can still keep your family safe in Manhatten." Then he looked up adding, "But I guess you didn't have much of a choice. I do."

"I know how much she meant to you," Steve said. "I just don't understand why you sent your daughter and nephew away."

"I don't wish to hurt them by knowing the truth," Hank confessed. "I can't imagine their reaction towards it. I'm hoping that I'm doing the right thing."

Steve looked out the doorway as a vehicle pulled up. "I hope so too."

"Don't worry about it," Hank said. "I'm sure that one day you'll be able to find your way back."

"Only if you find yours."

"Probably not after this."

Steve smiled. "What good would that do now?"