I just wanna say, that this was enjoyable to write. School wanted to stop me, but I persevered! This is a birthday gift one-shot for XxLosAngelesGirlxX, and this is about her…what should I call it? I guess I could call it an OC/self-insert. This is about her OC/self-insert. I hope you like it! Happy Birthday, XxLosAngelesGirlxX!

Disclaimer: I do not own Ironhide, Mirage, Optimus Prime, or Sophia. The Transformers belong to Hasbro and Sophia belongs to XxLosAngelesGirlxX. The only character I own is the ex-human Mikaela.


Introduction: Sophia

I sighed as I looked at my reflection in the window of the small drugstore on one of the streets near the one I lived on. I smoothed down my short brown hair before I put my baseball cap back on, and turned from the window. It was Saturday, and I had absolutely nothing to do. I had tried everything from writing the next chapter of my FanFiction to reading a book to taking a walk, which I was doing at the moment. I had been listening to a song on my iPod when I had come across the drug store, and had turned off my music machine there. Everything seemed to be working against me in terms of boredom. I hated being bored.

Nothing really happened in the part of the city I lived in. A kid would get hurt or a there would be a car crash, but that was about as interesting as it got here. But at least this part of the city was safe. The center of the city was dangerous, with all the drinking and Casinos.

I sighed again as I walked away from the drugstore and down the street. I walked past several teenagers I saw at school as I made my way to the small park at the end of the street. I stuck my hands deep into my jean pockets. I bowed my head as a small breeze threatened to blow my cap off, and continued walking as I neared the park. I was going to sit down, and do something…maybe watch the birds or use a stick to draw in the dirt. I was going to generate something interesting to do or I felt like I was just going to go brain-dead from the boredom.

Once I reached the park, I found a bench to sit on and sat down on it. After I got comfortable, looked at my sneaker-clad feet and began to wiggle them slightly as I began to generate ideas that I hadn't tried already. I could try to hang upside down from the monkey bars on the nearby jungle-gym. I could…slide down the slide upside down. I could draw a hopscotch in the sand surrounding the jungle-gym and play hopscotch… My brain began to quickly generate ideas from nonsensical to pretty good.

I giggled at some of the ideas I had thought up. Some of them would be great for little kids…but I was an adult now. If I played like that, I could be labeled as insane…though I usually ignored the labels people could come up with. I finally gave up trying to think of something to do when I thought that watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon would cure my boredom. But I quickly shoved that thought away. I would never watch DOTM because of that Mary-Sue Carly and because the director killed off Ironhide. Ironhide was my favourite Autobot.

There were so many things wrong with that movie. I couldn't count out how many. The removal of Mikaela Banes, the death of Ironhide, and many more. And their excuse for Mikaela's removal? 'Oh, she broke up with Sam'. Why did she break up with the human protagonist? There was no real reason…

By the time I was finished thinking that, I was steaming. I got so riled up over that movie. But I managed to calm myself down and sighed loudly. It was just a movie about a fictional universe. It was nothing to get mad over. Michael Bay would never hear how much he screwed up Transformers.

I bent down, picked up a pebble, and threw it as I noticed a group of people come walking into the park from the far side. I examined them. There were two men and one girl. One man was close to seven feet tall, the other man was six and a half feet tall, and the girl was around five foot seven. She was absolutely tiny compared to the men; but the size didn't seem to bother her. She was laughing at what one of the men had said.

I studied their appearances. The girl had short brown hair and hazel eyes and was dressed in a black t-shirt, a jean jacket, jeans, and pink converse. The tallest of the two men had black hair, vibrant blue eyes, muscles like you wouldn't believe (but not as bad as the muscles some body builders have), and was dressed in a black t-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of combat boots. The second man also had black hair and vibrant blue eyes, but he wasn't as heavily muscled. He was dressed in a red t-shirt, a black leather coat, black jeans, and a pair of black dress shoes. The first man's overall make-up and dress screamed 'military' while the other man's almost screamed 'rich snob', and the girl's was 'country girl'. They were an odd bunch.

They came closer, and I could cat their voices. The military man's voice was deep and rough, while the rich snob's voice was deep and, surprisingly, carried an Italian accent. The girl's voice was a little soft, maybe slightly high pitched, but held a lot of spunk. Were the guys her…uncles?

Though, something about the men reminded me of something…but what? No, not something. The military man reminded me of someone while the 'rich snob' reminded me of someone else. The girl? She didn't remind me of anyone, unfortunately. But who were the two men? I tapped my chin in thought as I tried not to stare at them.

I turned my body slightly in order to keep them in my peripheral vision. I watched as the two men and the girl walked up to a couple of vehicles that made me freeze. 'Rich snob' and the girl walked up to a red Ferrari 458 Italia while the military man walked up to a black GMC Topkick. I couldn't believe my eyes. I was more focused on the truck than the Ferrari, but I didn't take that to mind as I abandoned the thought of trying to pretend to not stare and just outright stared.

I barely blinked as I watched the man climb into the Topkick and close the driver's door behind him. I watched and listened as he started the engine. At the edge of my vision, I watched as the other man climbed into the driver's side of the Ferrari and the girl climbed into the passenger's side of the sports car. It's not like I obsessed over Topkicks, but my favourite Autobot, Ironhide, transformed into a GMC Topkick. For fun, I had checked all the Topkicks I had come across for a large Autobot symbol on the tailgate, but none of them had them. So I watched as the Ferrari and the Topkick pulled out, and stared at the tailgate.

This time, it felt like my heart had gone cold. My eyes widened so wide that for a second I wondered if they would fall out of my skull. Proudly displayed on the tailgate was…was…an Autobot symbol. I gasped and jumped up from the bench I was sitting on. That Topkick had an Autobot symbol on its tailgate… For some reason, I felt the need, the want, to speak to the driver. I had to speak to him. If I didn't, I had a feeling that I would regret it later if I didn't do it.

So, I ran after the retreating mass of truck.

It hadn't gotten very far during my small bout of shock, so I sped after it on foot. It was going pretty fast since it was probably going the posted speed limit. A normal human that wasn't an athlete would not be able to go that speed. But that didn't discourage me as I sped after the truck, determined not to lose it. I was going to talk to the driver. I was going to find out where he had got the truck and how it came to have the symbol that seemed to be engraved into the metal. I wasn't going to give up.

Fortunately, the truck and the Ferrari stopped at a red light and I managed to catch up. I stopped next to the truck, leaned down, and rested my hands on my knees as I forced myself to catch my breath so that I didn't sound ridiculous when I tried to talk.

Slowly, I managed to regain my breath. But before I could open my mouth and speak to the man in the truck, the sound of gunfire emanated from the street on the left. I quickly looked towards the noise and gasped when I saw the last thing I would expect.

It was a large, metal, grey, winged robot.

Near my home!

I quickly glanced back at the man in the Topkick. I saw him glare towards the winged robot before he vanished into thin air with a faint crackling sound. I merely gulped at that strange phenomenon before the truck exploded into a mass of wires and metal before it quickly formed a humanoid figure. Metal quickly clicked into place, forming armor, before a head with two blazing blue popped up from between its shoulders. In the Topkick's place stood another robot. But not just any robot—it was Ironhide.

I wanted to squeal like a fangirl, but Ironhide ran forward and went to intercept the winged robot, who I was beginning to guess was Starscream. My attention was quickly ripped from that awesome scene as I noticed the girl climb from the Ferrari. The man she had gotten into the car with didn't. With a strange tingly feeling in my stomach, I watched as the Ferrari transformed into another Autobot—one I was a lot less familiar with. But I knew his name. His name was Mirage. The girl stared up at him. Mirage quickly glanced down at her. "What are you doing?" he asked, his voice matching the voice of the 'rich snob'. "Transform!"

The girl shook her head. "I'm going to make sure the civilians are alright! You go help Ironhide!"

Mirage curtly nodded before he turned and ran after Ironhide. The girl looked down with a forced sigh before she caught sight of me. She ran over to me with a serious look on her face before she stopped in front of me. "You have to get to cover!" she said calmly. I probably looked like I was in shock. "Are there any more people on this street?" Numbly, I looked up and down the street that the battle was taking place on and slowly remembered that the shops on this street usually closed early. That meant that no one was on the street…

I shook my head. "Th-there's no one here…but me," I told her.

She nodded. "Good," she said. "Now get to cover." She then turned and ran from me, transforming up into a black armored femme four feet shorter than Mirage. She dashed after Mirage, and I watched as she joined the battle. And I watched how the battle ensued.

Ironhide grappled with Starscream as the femme rushed over to take some pressure off of the Weapons Specialist. Mirage was nowhere to be seen. But I soon caught sight of him as he appeared on the roof of one of the shops that lined the street and aimed his sniper rifle at Starscream's head. But before he could fire off a shot, another Decepticon appeared and tackled him off of the roof. I couldn't tell who it was because Mirage and the Decepticon were constantly moving. But once they stopped, I recognised the mech as Soundwave. He was standing over Mirage, pointing his sonic gun at his head—helm.

But Soundwave was knocked away by a gunshot. I quickly looked over at the source of the shot, and saw it was from the femme. She smirked before she turned back towards the brawl with Starscream.

Everything was happening so fast, but I managed to regain my focus when Mirage chucked Soundwave in my direction. I screamed and jumped out of the way. I remembered that I was supposed to be running away—to seek shelter. But of course, the action had caused me to forget. And I kinda didn't want to leave the action behind. Something in my head was screaming at me, saying 'IT'S THE AUTOBOTS! OH MY GOODNESS THEY'RE REAL!' This was probably going to replay in my brain for the next several weeks.

I tried to turn away, but found that I could not. I was glued to the battle. My eyes were more focused on Ironhide's part of the battle than on any of the other parts of the battle.

Ironhide was dodging Starscream's attacks as Starscream slashed at him with his claws. Ironhide tried to point his cannons at the seeker, but every time he did, the Decepticon knocked them away. The femme rushed over to Starscream's side and climbed onto his back. She planted herself firmly on his shoulders, gripping the plating with her metal toes as she covered the Decepticon SiC's optics with her servos. She growled as Starscream began to flail around, attempting to dislodge her, but it gave Ironhide enough time to aim his cannons and fire a few good shots.

Dust suddenly started to sprinkle down on me from the roof of the building I was standing beside, so I looked up to see what was causing it. I screamed when I realized that it was being caused by Soundwave and Mirage, who were grappling each other now on the roof of the building next to me. I ran from the danger and dashed across the street and onto the other side as the silver Mercedes Decepticon and the red Ferrari Autobot toppled off of the roof in a mass of battling metal and landed where I had just been standing a few seconds before. I shuttered and wondered what could have happened if I hadn't noticed the danger I was in.

The battle continued to rage and I watched it from my new vantage point. I winced when Starscream managed to throw the femme from his shoulders before he leapt forward with a battle cry and tackled Ironhide to the ground. Ironhide grunted as he slammed into the concrete and slid a few feet with the evil seeker on him. The femme fired repeatedly at the seeker's back, but that did not get him off of Ironhide. Sniper bullets didn't usually knock seekers over, it seemed.

Without knowing that I was doing it, I had drifted forward a few feet as Ironhide shoved Starscream off and got to his pedes. Ironhide quickly ran a few steps backward, and soon I was standing in the heat of the battle. I blinked and looked around as the living skyscrapers fought. The Cybertronians were still fighting on the road, but at any moment, one of them could go flying in my direction.

Ironhide and Starscream began to grapple each other, each hoping to overcome the other. I knew that Starscream and Ironhide had similar strengths, but Starscream was so much bigger than Ironhide…

On impulse, I found myself reaching down to pick up a brick that had fallen from the building I was now standing in front of. Screw trying to pretend that I hadn't seen any alien robots up close. Starscream had probably seen me, and would probably use me against the Autobots once I was out of their reach. So I took careful aim, and threw the brick at Starscream's helm. It clanged off the side of the Decepticon's helm, and the battle between Ironhide and Starscream suddenly halted. Starscream turned to look at me and his optics lit up angrily. I gasped and took a few steps back before I suddenly found myself pressed up against the front of the store. Man, Starscream was really freaky.

I knew I should have been running at that moment, but I couldn't make myself move.

With a huff, Ironhide was caught off guard when Starscream suddenly shoved him to the ground. Said seeker stepped towards me and I screamed again when I realized he was going to grab me. I tried to back away from him, but I was pressed up against the store and couldn't get away.

Starscream reached out to grab me, but before his claws could even touch me, he was knocked away by Ironhide, who had leapt to his pedes. Starscream rolled down the street before he got to his pedes and scowled at the Autobots. But to my surprise, he didn't attack again. He merely growled before he transformed and flew away. I watched him go with confusion as I heard Soundwave also transform before driving away. I heard the femme growl, and I looked over at her. Her doorwings were tense as she watched Starscream fly into the clouds and disappear. "Coward," she sneered darkly.

My body chose that moment to start backing up slowly. I inched around the corner and pressed my back against the wall as my heart thundered in my chest. I tried to take deep breaths, but it was a while before I had gotten over everything that had just happened.


I sat nervously in the booth of the café. I stared down at my mug of hot chocolate. My mind was on the Autobots. Why had I run from them? They had just worked their afts off to save my neighborhood—and me—from being decimated by Starscream and Soundwave, and all I did to thank them was walk off. Yes, I had been afraid, and yes, I had been left in so much shock after the battle, I couldn't think straight. But I wished that I had at least thanked them for saving my aft.

I swirled the savoury liquid carefully in my mug before I took a sip of it. I sighed as I felt the liquid slide down my esophagus. So many questions were flying around in my head, and I had no idea what to do. One second my conscious was urging me to walk outside into the rapidly darkening evening and attempt to find the Autobots, but then the next second it was screaming at me to go home and tell my mom about it. I didn't know what to do. What if the Autobots were a government secret? What if I got in trouble by telling my mom about them? What if the military tracked me down and took me to the NEST base because I saw too much?

The latter thought actually sounded appealing.

To see the Autobots up close and real 24/7 would be the best thing that could ever happen to me. I wouldn't have to watch the fourth Transformers movie—I would live it!

Those thoughts actually brought a smile to my face. It was small and concealed, but it was a smile nonetheless. That would be so cool…

Suddenly, I heard the bell over the café's door jingle as someone entered. Strange, the café was about to close. Nobody should be coming in.

I listened to someone walk over to my booth, and suddenly the human form of the femme from the battle earlier slid into the booth seat across the table from me. She looked at me with a pair of hazel eyes before she blinked and glanced down at the tabletop. "You…didn't run when I told you to," she informed me slowly. "Though…I understand why you didn't leave. Seeing giant robots kicking 'Con aft is a pretty awesome sight…"

I nodded absentmindedly as she gave me a crooked smile. After a long pause, I asked, "What's your designation?"

Her smile straightened somewhat. "My name's Mikaela—and yes it is a human name, but I like it. That's what happens when you grow up as a human girl before you get thrown into an alien war. What's your name?"

I blinked. "Wait? You were human?" I asked.

She nodded. She gestured to herself. "Not all Cybertronians have human forms, you know," she said wryly.

I snorted before I looked back down at my hot chocolate. "So…what's your name?" she asked again.

"…Sophia…" I told her slowly.

She smiled widely. "The name 'Sophia' means 'wisdom'. I like it."

I grinned. "I like your name too," I stated. "It reminds me of Mikaela Banes, Sam's true girlfriend."

Mikaela giggled. "I'm glad you agree with the Sam/Mikaela pairing, Sophia—'cause they're married."

I was shocked that, even though the third movie told the viewers that Sam and Mikaela Banes broke up, they were still together in real life. I just blinked and Mikaela giggled at the look on my face. After I had recovered, I took a deep breath and asked, "So why are you here?"

Mikaela pursed her lips. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she seemed to think about my question. After about a minute of waiting for an answer, she answered the question. "Well, now that Starscream's seen you and that the Autobots are worried that the Decepticons know that you're affiliated with us. Major Lennox and Optimus Prime want you back at base."

My eyebrows shot up. "Really?!"

She nodded.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" I cried as I leapt from the booth. Mikaela chuckled at my eagerness.

"I take it that you're a fan of the Autobots? That's good," she said as she slowly slid out of the booth. "Then I hope you won't mind if we drive to the base in Ironhide."

"'Won't mind'? I would love to ride in Ironhide!" I exclaimed before I grabbed her wrist and almost dragged her out of the café. I've always wanted to ride in him, no matter how wrong that sounds, I thought.

Yes, being able to ride in the alt-form of your favourite Autobot is any Transfan's dream, and I couldn't believe I was going to be able to ride in Ironhide…

My inner fangirl threatened to take over, but I managed to calm myself down as we reached the door. Mikaela managed to take the lead and opened the door for me. I quickly thanked her before I took a few steps out onto the sidewalk. My eyes instantly landed on the mammoth truck that sat almost innocently by the curb. I took in the features that made it look like a hybrid between a GMC semi and a pickup truck as I noticed how his black paint almost glistened in the sunset.

I walked over to the GMC Topkick slowly as Mikaela walked around the front of the truck. The driver's door opened for her and she climbed into the driver's seat. Once she was comfortable, I watched as the door closed, by itself, behind her. I walked closer to the truck and wondered if I would have to open the door myself because the Weapons Specialist didn't know me. But I shouldn't have worried, because as soon as I was close enough, the front passenger door popped open for me too.

It was a slight struggle, since the truck was so high off the ground, but I managed to climb up into his cabin, and as soon as I was sitting in the seat, the door closed behind me. I quickly belted myself in, seeing as Mikaela already had, and once I was, Ironhide started up and pulled out on the road. I was quiet as I felt the vibrations caused by him driving ran through me. But then a blissful smile appeared on my face.

I was in an Autobot!


The base was apparently a long ways away, even though it was in the state of Nevada. I fell asleep during the drive, feeling very much safe inside—what many fans called—the bodyguard of Optimus Prime. Before I knew what was going on, I felt someone shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes and found myself looking up at Mikaela, who was grinning. "Wake up, sleepy head," she joked. "We're here."

At that, I sat bolt upright before blinking the sleep out of my eyes. I looked out through the windshield and saw the hangers through with help of the lights hanging from the outsides of the hangers. I got out quickly with Mikaela, but could only stand there as both Ironhide and Mikaela transformed into their bipedal modes. What were the soldiers going to do to me? Were they going to lock me up? Would they grill me with answers?

Suddenly, I was picked up, and in a few seconds, I found myself sitting in Ironhide's right servo. I must have had a shocked look on my face, because the Weapons Specialist chuckled. I got over my shock slowly, and just sat quietly. Though, I couldn't resist hugging his thumb.

They took me into what looked like the main hanger. I looked around and watched with wide eyes as we passed a few more Autobots and a few clusters of humans. Ironhide approached a tall and regal mech with blue and red armor with blue and red flames on it. I looked up into the mech's bright blue optics as Ironhide stopped. "Here's is the girl who witnessed the battle, Optimus," Ironhide said, slightly raising his servo. The regal mech bent down slightly in order to get a better look at me.

And I just sat there, looking up at the Autobot leader in shock.

"She was one of the civilians that I had told to run, but it seems that fear must have rooted her to the spot," Mikaela informed. Her doorwings twitched up and down before she turned, walked over, and stood next to Mirage.

"What are we going to do with her, Optimus?" Ironhide asked.

The mech sighed as he straightened. He seemed to think for a few moments before he came to an conclusion. "Ironhide, you will guard her until we can get this sorted out," he said to the black mech holding me. Turning to Mikaela and Mirage, he said to the black femme and the red mech, "Mirage, Mikaela, I'll require that you guard the Lennox farm until Ironhide is able to resume his duties." The two nodded before they transformed down into their alt-modes and drove out of the hanger, their engines roaring.

And I just sat there, taking this all in as my heart fluttered excitedly. I was at the Autobot base, and I was going to be guarded by my favourite Autobot! Wow.

"Thank you!" I cried.