Hi everyone! This is going to be a longer story, but I have to build up the base of the plot first, and in later chapters I plan on deviating slightly to develop my character's purposes. I have the entire story mapped out in my head and I have high hopes:) Lot's of science and hopefully lots of action to come. And an eventual OP/OC relationship, I think that will be obvious in the first chapter. Suggestions appreciated even though I know which direction this is going:)

Summary: A team of scientists are commencing an experiment to alter earth's metals to be similar to the Autobot's indigenous metal for repair purposes. The Doc and Skyla are the human's leading this experiment, but as they start perfecting things, the Decepticons get wise to their purpose. Human/Cybertronian relationships developing through the chapters and a tremendous life decision for an Autobot in later chapters. Should be interesting!

Timeline: somewhere between and after tf2-3...(I haven't seen 3 yet) Perhaps AU even.

*Also, I am incorporating some elements of G1 Transformers into the story as well, seeing that I prefer that series the best, so TFmovieverse+G1verse mergence to make me happy. 3

CH 1

Red lights flashed, rocks crumbled.

"Skyla, give me the code, NOW!" a scientist, Tom, said as the rocks around the cave suddenly shattered into small boulders.

"5827455!" Skyla yelled in response from beneath a table with solution on it. She clasped her hands tightly on top of her head while rocks pummeled the table. Tom punched in the code as quick as his human fingers could and the shuddering stopped. Most of the scientists and some Autobots got up from their refuge on the floor and under things and brushed themselves off. A slow wave of relief sighs echoed around the cave. Skyla got to her feet and brushed the dust and small rocks from her shoulders and then walked over to Tom. Tom turned to face her, she was furious.

"Well...I guess that was a failure.." Tom said underneath his breath.

"Lucky for you, I have no authority to fire you, but the Doc does..." Skyla's face was red with anger, "Ugh" and she turned in a huff and walked away before she said something she would regret later.

Doctor Hoffmann's team was part of a research experiment to use some of the Autobots technology for a specific purpose, creating a new kind of metal. Skyla, before her compliance to work with Doctor Hoffmann, was a student of his. Their mission was the only one of several proposals to get approval from Optimus Prime himself, though they had never met. Doctor Hoffmann, whom they also called, "the Doc" hired Skyla on as his assistant, and team leader. She was the one who had discovered a pattern to "living metal" in the chemical composure and soon after, Doctor Hoffman's research grant exploded with money. It was an experiment to use Autobot technology for chemically altering earth's metal and minerals in order to help sustain the Autobot's repairs and treatments. Since human technology was way behind cybertronian, not to mention the geologically different minerals to be found, they needed to find a sustainable metal harvesting, and a chemical balance. The Doc and Skyla thought they had gotten the formula just right and now they were in the testing phase.

Tom was a little too trigger happy sometimes, turning the key on an experiment that hadn't yet been deemed safe. Skyla wished the Doc would fire him but unfortunately, he was a tremendous asset. Scientists from around the world worked with them, some specializing in geology, some in physics, but most were from the biology category.

If was a fine balance, all experiments had either been too strong, or too weak. Now was the critical time to balance the energy.

"Ok, who wants to try this again?" Skyla asked her team. The other scientists looked at each other and sighed. One spoke to her.

"Sky...we need a break, personally, I'm tired." This was Yugi, a Japanese scientist who had specialized in Marine Biology.

The statement drew a long-drawn out sigh out of Skyla, "Everyone?" Skyla looked around the room at the rest of the scientists, they all nodded their heads in agreement.

Unaware to Skyla, a few autobots decided to make a small visit to her laboratory in the caverns, among them, Optimus Prime. They arrived silently, aware of the small cave collapse, not wanting to vibrate the cave any more than necessary. Optimus and the Autobots transformed and were escorted through the caverns until they reached the large space where the team was set up. There, they waited patiently. Optimus crossed his arms and stood tall, his face plate off, his eyes burning a bright bright blue.

Skyla spoke softly to her team before dismissing them.

"Okay fine...You all are doing great, I know it's a hard test but we're definitely progressing. It's going to be tiresome, just stay with me, let me know when you need breaks and food. I'm proud of all of you for sticking through the toughest part of this experiment, let's all take the rest of the day off and start again tomorrow morning, okay?" Skyla nodded to everyone in front of her and a wave of talking started when she dismissed themselves.

Skyla walked to her desk table and sat down in front of her computer to log the day's events. The Doc was out for the week, on a research-gathering mission somewhere in South Africa. She vlogged the day, hour by hour to the camera. Eventually Ratchet and Optimus were led into the roomy cavern of the laboratory by one of the scientists.

Thor, an Austrian biologist and Skyla's good friend led them to where the ceiling was the highest so they could stretch.

"Skyla vill be very pleased that you have arrived Optimus, I know that she has been eager to meet you personally. Ve apologize for ze early dismissal, ze team was tired and Skyla has dismissed us for ze day." Thor said in a thick accent.

Optimus Prime's optics wandered the cavern, taking in the entire set up, "Resting for the future is never a bad thing." Optimus replied in a deep metallic tone. Skyla's eared jumped at the sound of that voice. She knew it was Optimus Prime, she had not yet seen him in person since the beginning of the experiment, only the Doc had. She had been on information gathering trips whenever he had come by to see how the research went, and was always bummed that she missed him.

She turned her head around with a jolt and bumped her table that made her webcam fall, clunking noisily on it's way down. She turned back and scrambled it back onto its tripod and dismissed her vlog and quickly stood. She again, turned to face the newly arrived Autobots but smacked faces with Thor, who was just on his way to retrieve her. They both stumbled backwards and Skyla grabbed his shoulder.

"Sky, I didn't know you vere so persistant on rubbing faces vith me again, jah?" he chuckled.

"Piss off-" she said in an annoyed tone of voice, "Thor, it's..." she rubbed the bump on her forehead, "It's, the leader, ooh..." she regained her composure and Thor grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

"Heh, yes, that vas vhat I was on my vay to tell you." Thor and Skyla walked side by side back to where Optimus and the Autobots waited, Optimus's optics following her intently. Her face was towards the ground, she was practicing her introduction, running words through her mouth. She had wanted to meet Optimus so badly and dreamed of the day that she would be in his presence, as she looked up to him as a protector and leader of her world, she would do anything to help him. She took one more big breath and lifted her head to look at his face and there he stood, all 32 feet of his body.

'Wow' was all she could inaudibly whisper out while taking in his stature. He was taller than all of the other Autobots she had met, by far. Her breath hitched in her throat as she took in his form, listening closely to his energon pulse, the pulse of life in him. It pulsed louder than Ironhide's and Cliffjumper's and all other 'bots they had previously been visited by in their lab. His body emmited a constant but uninstrusive humming sound, a sound that she would burn into her audio memory for days to come. She shook herself out of her trance and opened her mouth with a big intake of breath, but before she could use that breath for words, Optimus spoke first.

"Skyla Marie Becker, I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, it is a pleasure to meet you." He said in an authoritative, metallic, bravado voice. Optimus lowered his hand in front of Skyla and leaned his arm on one knee as he held his hand out. Skyla completely forgot her rehearsal and looked at the enormous metal hand in front of her. She had seen and witnessed other Autobots so close to her before, but this wasn't just any robot, this was Optimus Prime. In a flash of a second, her mind raced through many decisions. What was she to do with this hand, was she to shake it? Was she to jump on it so he could lift her up? Should she just touch it? She really wanted to touch it. She looked at his hand and then raised her head to look at his face. She delicately placed her right hand onto his metal skin.

"Optimus Prime.." she stuttered, "You have no idea what an honor it is to finally meet you." She replied breathily. Optimus smiled and they parted hands. "The uh, the Doc isn't in, he's on a mission in South Africa, but if there's anything I can do for you while you're here..."

"It is an honor myself, to meet a pioneer of the new advancements of human technology, at such a young age." Optimus said in return as his optics roamed the cavern again. Skyla wasn't exactly a pioneer, she thought, more like an instigator. Her focus in college was mainly biotechnology but with an emphasis in geology. After just graduating with her Bachelor's, the Doc hired her on. He was impressed with her ideas and they had worked well together as a professor/student team. Their hope for the new living metal formula they were creating, was for it to be just as good as the Autobot's indigenous metal.

Optimus spoke again,"I apologize for the short notice."

Skyla started," Apologize to ME? Are you joking? Please, you are always welcome here, whenever you want. You and all the autobots are free to come as you please. In response I apologize for the mess, we had a small miscalculation in our last experiment." She blushed at the fallen rocks and the caved in walls, not anything major, but just enough to make the place untidy. She blushed at the appearance of the cave, slightly embarrassed that they had to arrive after a complete failure.

"It happens to all of us." Optimus said softly. "I was actually sent here by Doctor Hoffmann, he contacted me from Africa and told me to visit you immediately. The reason my visit is hasty is because I fear that the Decepticons are becoming wise to yours and Doctor's operation." Skyla knew of the growing Decepticon threat to their mission, but she and the Doc knew that risk, everyone did, it was only a matter of time. "Time is growing short and they will stop at nothing to get the formula to your metal." Optimus said in a direct manner.

Skyla stopped and thought, the Doctor wasn't the brightest when it came to keeping secrets, they had done everything possible to hide the lab, train their staff, and re-direct communication or stop it altogether coming from the lab.

"I approved this proposal myself, knowing the risks, and I am not about to have it stolen just because..." he stalled, "because you aren't protected. Testing is an imperative time for an experiment to remain under wraps until it is perfected, a perfect time for Decepticon intervention." Optimus knelt on his knee and held a hand out.

"Is it okay with you if I and the other Autobots patrol the area and protect the cavern until the formula is ready? I already have approval from the Doctor."

She blinked a couple of times and then blinked some more. The room was silent other than the sound of gears turning and desks bubbling, she had no idea what to say. Something like...'of course!'

"Skyla, are you going to give him an answer?" Thor brushed the side of her lab coat and whispered into her ear, "It's Optimus Prime, I wouldn't keep him waiting..." Skyla definitely knew she shouldn't, but her mind was running wild with his arrival, the potential of the experiment, and the nearness of completion. Skyla nodded her head to Thor, "You're right..." Thor gave her a crooked and unsure smile and jerked his head to the right, where Optimus was standing as if saying, 'go tell him then'.

"Of course!" Skyla finally blurted out, "I am not sure if you really even need my approval." She rubbed her neck unsurely and forced a nervous smile. She had to thank Thor every now and then for pushing her forward, he was probably her favorite team member, and good friend.

"When the Doctor is away, I was told that you are in charge." Optimus replied.

"What!" Skyla whisper/yelled.

"As you humans say... that came straight from the horse's mouth." Optimus said. "And with all due respect, he also gave me permission to stay even if I didn't get your approval." He smirked slightly and then stood up. "We also have some theories on your experiments. I brought Ratchet with me because between human scientists and cybertronian scientists altering the chemical composition of earth's metal, perhaps we could be of use to perfect the sequence for you. We know the formula, you know your minerals, so let Ratchet help you on these last details."

"Optimus," Skyla said, "I-I couldn't think of a better way to perfect the experiment. Thank you." she calmly said, nodding her head slightly at him, "When should we start?"

"Well I'm here now, aren't I?" Optimus replied.

"I dismissed my team for the day after the cave collapse, they were fatigued, would you be content with starting tomorrow?" Skyla asked nervously.

"We don't need a team to discuss a chemical sequence. Time is of the essence. All I need is you, Ratchet, and a webcam, today." Optimus Prime's face became sterner and more stoic. Skyla felt like he was touching all the insides of her brain with his eyes. He was definitely forceful, and that's why he was the leader.