"I have no idea what he was doing all the way out there," Ratchet was saying to Optimus. Kira tossed her schoolbag on the couch, grinned at Raf and Jack who were playing video games, and walked over to Ratchet and Optimus.

"So," she started, "what's up, Ratch'? Bulkhead picked me up today." Ratchet sighed and rubbed his helm, looking slightly apologetic.

"I'm afraid I was rather busy," he admitted. Kira cocked her head, silently urging him on. "We found Knock Out badly damaged and offlined in a heap of scrap."

"Knock Out?" Kira questioned, perking up immediately. The red and white racer, if she remembered correctly. And he was a Decepticon! "You mean the Decepticon who Jack met in a street race? And the one who Miko tried to attack? And the one that tried to-"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Ratchet growled. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose before continuing. "We brought him back here for now."

"Really?" Kira asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Only until he recovers enough to tell us what happened," Optimus said. Kira nodded.

"Don't you have homework to do?" Ratchet asked, tapping his fingers against his arm.

"Of course! The teachers never give us a break," Kira smiled, taking Ratchet's hint and walking back to the couch, where Miko was currently cheering Jack on.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Miko shouted, jumping up and down. Kira stood as close to her as she dared, and looked at the screen. Two racecars were currently battling for the top spot, and the finish line was just ahead. The yellow racecar, which Kira assumed was Raf, pulled back and hit the red car's bumper, causing it to spin out.

"Ah-what?" Jack gasped, staring dumbly at the screen while Raf's car passed the finish line.

"Ooh, too bad," Miko said, not sounding sorry at all. "My turn!" she announced, jumping on the couch next to Jack.

"Hey, awesome job Raf!" Kira congratulated the younger teen. "You're pretty good." Raf chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"Heh, thanks," he muttered, looking shy.

"Hey, you guys should totally race!" Miko exclaimed, looking at Kira, who shrugged.

"Maybe some other time," she replied. "Did you guys hear about the Decepticon?"

"Decepticon?" Jack asked, standing up to allow Miko some more room.

"Yeah, apparently the 'bots found Knock Out in a scrap pile or something, and he was badly damaged."

"What happened? I bet Megatron pounded some sense into that scrap-brain!" Miko declared, punching her fist in emphasis. Kira shrugged.

"They're not sure, but maybe he'll talk when he onlines," she suggested.

"Whoah," Jack started, but Raf spoke up before he could continue.

"You mean that he's here, inside our base?"

"Yes, but he'll be kept under constant guard when he wakes up," a new feminine voice said. Kira and the others turned to see Arcee walking up to them. She had a faint smile on her faceplates as she turned to look at Kira. "And I think that Ratchet meant for you to work on your homework, not set the base into panic."

"Er…" Kira shuffled her feet awkwardly. The blue femme chuckled.

"Now why don't you guys work on your homework? You've been playing video games for a while."

"Jack and Raf were! But we weren't!" Miko protested. Arcee sighed and shook her head.

"Oh, and Jack," Arcee started. The dark haired teen looked at her quizzically. "Your mom's getting home early tonight, remember?"

"Oh man, I totally forgot!" Jack shouted. "It's Mom's birthday."

Miko rolled her eyes, so that Jack couldn't see but Kira noticed. Raf smiled at Jack, who nervously laughed.

"I'd better get going then," he said, grabbing his book bag and running down the stairs.

"Bye Jack!" Kira called. "See you tomorrow at school!" Jack waved from on top of Arcee before the duo sped out of the base.

A game controller suddenly appeared in Kira's line of vision, and she instinctively flinched. She looked over her shoulder to see that Miko was standing on the back of the couch while dangling the controller in front of Kira.

"Hey," Kira complained, swatting the controller out of her face. It landed on the floor with a dull thunk.

"Hey!" Miko protested. "That's worth like, fifty cents!" Kira and Miko burst out laughing.

"Sorry, I've only got a ten dollar bill!" Kira gasped, setting Miko off into a serious giggling fit. Raf glanced from one teen to the other, completely clueless.

"Beer ooh boo weep? {Want to go for a drive?}" Bumblebee asked Raf, seeing that his human friend was feeling a little lost right now.

"Sure, Bumblebee," Raf replied, giving his partner a small smile. Bumblebee glanced at Miko and Kira and cocked his head as they continued to laugh.

"Bweeop? {Are they okay?}" he questioned, sounding concerned. Raf gave a small laugh himself.

"Yeah, they'll be fine after a while," he reassured the yellow robot.

"Y-yeah Bumble-Bumblebee," Miko gasped. "We-we're fine!" Somehow that set the two off even more, and Raf shrugged helplessly. Bumblebee shook his helm and offered a hand for Raf to get in to. Then Bumblebee transformed and they drove off into the groundbridge.

Kira was lying on the floor, gasping for breath. Miko hung over the back of the couch, also panting.

"Hey, where'd Raf go?" Kira asked, attempting to sit up.

"He went with Bumblebee for a ride, I think," Miko replied, pointing towards the groundbridge. "He likes you, y'know."

"What?!" Kira gasped, looking up at Miko in shock.

"Yup. Kira and Raf, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-"

"Shut up!" Kira shouted, throwing Miko's backpack at her face. Miko smirked and ducked, never once faltering in the song.

"First comes love, then comes marriage-" Kira leaped onto the couch and shoved a pillow in Miko's face, muffling her voice. Miko managed to wiggle out of Kira's grip and ran down the stairs, still singing the song in an even more annoying voice. Kira growled and chased after her. Unexpectedly she smiled, for she knew that the exchange student could not run for long, not compared to Kira, anyway.

"Gotcha!" Kira announced as she tackled Miko, bringing them both to the floor. Miko grunted and pushed Kira off.

"Hey!" Ratchet shouted angrily. "I am attempting to work here!" The two teens looked up guiltily to see a fuming Ratchet.

"Sorry, Ratchet," Kira apologized, looking embarrassed. Ratchet sighed heavily and set the tool that he was holding down on a supplies table.

"Why don't you two run off and play, hmm?" Ratchet suggested, his voice a bit more even.

"No worries, Ratch! The monster truck rally'll be on later, and you'll miss me!" Miko shouted, giving the orange and white medic a thumbs up.

"Doubtful," Ratchet muttered as Miko checked her phone.

"Oh no! It's gonna start soon! Where's Bulkhead?" Miko asked.

"He went out on patrol with Optimus," Ratchet replied, turning away to hide the smirk on his face.

"I'm sure that he'll remember," Kira tried to reassure her friend. A sudden loud honking noise came from the entrance to their base, alerting all three of them. Optimus drove in, followed by Bulkhead. They both transformed and walked up to Ratchet. Optimus waited patiently while Miko greeted Bulkhead, who then transformed and Miko hopped in.

"You sure that you can't come?" Miko asked Kira, who shook her head.

"Yeah, Agent Fowler should be arriving later tonight. You guys have fun, 'kay?" Kira finished, a slightly forced smile on her face.

Miko nodded. "I'll record some of it for you!" she called out as Bulkhead drove out of the base. Kira watched them drive away sadly. Ratchet's voice snapped her out of her stillness and she turned around.

"Did you find anything, Optimus?" His voice was quiet. Optimus gravely shook his head.

"No sign of Decepticon activity," he stated simply.

"And they haven't been looking for him either," Ratchet frowned. "Do you think that this is a Decepticon trick?"

"It is possible, old friend," Optimus replied. "But for now he is to be treated well, and also guarded well."

"How damaged is Knock Out?" Kira piped up, trying to grasp the meaning behind the Autobots' words.

"Very," Ratchet replied. "It's a miracle that we found him in time. Or," Ratchet's optics narrowed, "a terrible coincidence."

"What do you mean?" Kira asked, looking confused.

"Kira," Optimus spoke, "this does not concern you right now. I believe it would be best for you to finish up your schoolwork before Agent Fowler's arrival." Kira nodded slowly, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Alright," she tried not to grumble as she started to head up the stairs to where she had left her backpack. Optimus and Ratchet continued their discussion quietly. Kira sighed and pulled out her math homework. It was the only thing left to do, because she had finished up her science homework during lunch and recess, and while Miko was in detention, she had finished up her grammar work. Math was by far her favorite subject. She didn't really know why, but she had a knack for figuring out all the numbers and symbols fairly easily. Maybe it was because of her father. He had sat with her when she was younger and helped her with the problems. She had always wanted to impress him, but no matter what she did, he had been proud of her.

Kira felt a hot tear trickle down her face, and she wiped it away quickly, glad for once that almost no one was at the base right now. She missed her father, but she would never admit it to anyone. She had been taken from him at age ten, because he was apparently sick in the head. Now she sort of lived with the Autobots, sometimes Jack's house, and other times Agent Fowler would arrange something temporarily.

It had been four long years jumping from foster parents to orphanages. Agent Fowler had taken her away from there, and she had no idea why, until she had discovered the Autobots. That had been quite an accident.

Agent Fowler's helicopter had been attacked by a jet, which had then turned into a robot. They were then rescued by a red and blue robot, who attacked the flyer while an orange and white robot had checked to make sure that the Agent Fowler and Kira were okay. Her very first memory of Ratchet was when he brought his face close to the two and scanned them both quickly with some red beam from his arm. After assuring that they were safe to transport, the medic carefully carried the two into a green swirl of energy, which transported the three into the robots' base.

Kira had been (after recovering, that is) immediately curious about the 'Autobots,' as they called themselves. For some reason, that curiosity made Ratchet and their red and blue leader, Optimus Prime, nervous. But for the other Autobots it was quite the opposite. They were curious about her and seemed completely oblivious to the others' concerns.

Kira shook her head and tried to focus on her math. She sniffed softly and tried not to think about her father. A memory came to her mind anyway.

"Have you finished your schoolwork yet?" Her father's voice.

"No," Kira groaned. "I don't want to do it! It's too hard!" Her father sat next to where she was sitting, the cold, cement ground. He studied the math problems scribbled out on a sheet of paper.

"C'mon," he encouraged, giving her a slight smile, "you can do this. I'll help you."

"Well…okay," Kira said. Her father squeezed her shoulder gently.

"That's my girl."

That's the day that the military had arrived, taking her from her father. Two teardrops hit Kira's math work.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Kira shrieked, petrified as the army people separated her from her father. The dark figure paused and turned back to her. He had tears in his eyes.

"Go with them! You'll be safer," he called, his voice cracking. And then he turned and the darkness swallowed him up, leaving an empty space in Kira's heart.

She had never seen him again. She had been told that her father was mentally ill, but she didn't believe it. Her father had never hurt her or spoke badly at her. Sure, they had never lived in one building for more than three months, and she had never gone properly to school, for her father had taught her everything, but there had never been a time that she had questioned his sanity.

When she attended real school, Kira was ahead of the rest of the class. She also was more fit and beat them almost all the time in gym class. From that moment onward, she swore to do her very best, because she knew that that was what her father would have wanted. She was the head of her grade now, and her stamina was unmatched by anyone else in the school.

Kira slowly put her math back in her bag. If she didn't finish it tonight, she could finish it on the way to school tomorrow. She sat there in silence for quite a while before realizing that she could no longer hear Ratchet or Optimus.

She looked over to see that neither 'bot was present, and she figured that they must have gone to another room to talk. Kira felt a stab of frustration but she pushed it away, trying to calm herself. Reluctantly she stood up and stretched, her body feeling stiff from lack of movement. She started walking down the stairs, deciding that a small walk might make her feel better. She didn't really want to be grouchy when Agent Fowler arrived, or in front of the Autobots.

She absentmindedly walked by the med-bay, almost expecting Ratchet to be present. He wasn't there. Kira felt her spirit drop in disappointment. She noticed a red form on the berth, and she suddenly remembered. Knock Out! Her heart began to pound, and she slowly approached the berth.