Arggh! Damn plot bunnies! GO AWAY! Ow! One of the bit me! Hard!

Fraggin, Like I don't have enough fanfics on the go. Oh well… Here I go again. I read a couple fanfics (One where it turns out Bumblebee is a femme,) and then I get this stupid little plot bunny that comes up and bites me in the slagging throat. So now I must obey and write this story. And just so ya'll know, I'm prone to quirky and odd storylines. Anyways, I take credit for this story, though the explanation of TF reproduction I have to give credit to P.A.W.07

Sam leaned on the hood of his oh-so-beautiful-car and looked up at the sky. "Bumblebee, do you think that there are more Autobots out there?"

"Yes Sam, I'm sure, and so are the others," The Camaro answered. The average person would have been scared shitless had they overheard a car talking, but Sam and Bumblebee were out on a lonely hill, watching the stars. And technically, Bumblebee wasn't really a car; He just looked like one because it suited his purposes. "And they will someday come here to earth. Just as we did."

Sam looked down at his favourite vehicle in the universe. "Hey, now that the Allspark is gone, how will you Transformers keep from going extinct? I mean… You are robots, but everything has a limited life."

Bumblebee revved his engine. "Oh, we'll find a way. The Allspark was not the only way that new Transformers came into existence; if femmes still exist out there, we'll continue."

"What are femmes?" Sam asked, taking his arms off Bumblebee's hood. "And what do you mean by 'if femmes still exist'."

Bumblebee transformed back into his root mode: a giant, bipedal robot. "Femmes are Transformers who were given a bit of extra power when they were sparked. I guess you could equate them to human females," He nodded thoughtfully. "They are capable of creating new sparks within themselves, but not the body. So there must be someone nearby to remove the new spark from her, and to put it in a body."

Sam stared at his guardian. "So in other words, you never need the Allspark?" He felt very put off suddenly. Had he gone through all that trouble for nothing?

Bumblebee shook his head. "Oh no Sam. The Allspark, when it created a new Transformer, he or she was "Born" fully aware and mature. That bot will decide their own fate, whether to join the Autobots or Decepticons." Sam shuddered at the word "Decepticon". "But a bot sparked by a femme is like a human infant; it needs to be cared for. They need a body built for them, a femme can only create the spark, which I'm told is an exhausting process."

"So, uh, what about Transformers men?"

Bumblebee made a sound that meant he was amused. "The term, Sam, is Mech. And just as human males are necessary for reproduction, Mechs are needed too. If you really want the details, ask Ratchet, not me."

"Right," Privately, Sam doubted he really wanted to know, he'd been through sex-ed in school already and he really did NOT want to have to learn the Transformer version. "What about you? Are you Allspark-created or Femme-born?"

Bumblebee looked sad. "Femme-born. I was the last sparkling of Cybertron, after that, Megatron went on a rampage and had almost all the Femmes massacred. My "mother" included. But I was raised very carefully by the Mechs she'd left me with."

"That's terrible. But, if you were the last, does that mean there are none left?"

"I don't know, I hope not," Bumblebee looked out over the horizon. "But even if there are femmes out there, they can only spark if they have a spark-mate."

"A what?"

"A spark-mate, a Mech who is, usually by chance, compatible. His spark has to match harmonics with hers. There are usually multiple compatible sparks, but that doesn't mean that they'll get along…" Bumblebee trailed off. He checked his internal clock. "Oh no, we're late. And I really do not like the idea of your parents grounding you and taking my keys. I don't trust your father." Sam laughed.

Mikaela Banes sighed as she looked out her window. Now that she knew what kind of beings existed out there, she wished that they would come. She liked the Autobots and wanted them to come to earth where they could live among the cars and trucks, completely visible yet unseen. She thought they were cool, and she had to admit, it WAS because of them that she'd finally been rid of that jerk Trent and had a cool boyfriend in Sam. That most certainly counted for something. As she watched the sky turn, she thought she saw three shooting stars. "Hunh? No way, it must have been my imagination…" She trailed off.
A few miles away, three Italian imports were racing down a deserted roadway at 90 mph. Two of them, the two racing side by side in the front, were beautifully crafted and identical, save for colour, Lamborghini Countachs and, strangely seeing as it had more horsepower, following along behind with a straining engine, was a sleek silver Ferrari Enzo. Had another person been on that road, they would have seen that none of the three cars had a driver.

One of the two Lamborghini's, the one with a handsome red and black colour scheme, slowed down until it was beside the straining Ferrari. "Are you alright Nightstar?" It spoke in a male's voice. "Slow down." The Lamborghini hit it's brakes and the Enzo seemed almost grateful as it followed suit.

"Oh thanks Sideswipe, I couldn't have held that pace up for much longer. You and Sunstreaker must think I'm a pain. I can't even hit your guys' cruising speed any more."

Sideswipe revved his engine. "Don't say that! Come on, I know that you're aren't in the best condition, if anything, we've been pushing you too hard, are you tired?"

"Y-yes, but, don't we need to find the other Autobots?" The Ferrari tried to accelerate, but found the strain too much and quickly stopped. By now, the second Lamborghini had turned around and come back.

"Now what? Nightstar burn out? Again?" He revved hid engine irritably. "Come on, I like my new look, and it looks like it's gonna "rain" as they call it here."

Sideswipe transformed, he stood at around twenty-seven feet. "Shut up bro, you promised me that you'd help me take care of Nightstar." He glared angrily down at the golden Countach. "Don't tell me you're trying to get me to just leave-"

"I never said that!" Sunstreaker interrupted hastily. "I know as well as you do why Nightstar's like this, but it's becoming a liability. We need to find the other Autobots, Nightstar will need a medic." He transformed as well, stepping to look at his twin in the optics. "If we don't find a good medic in three months of this planet's time, Nightstar will die in pain."

The bot in the center of this argument seemed unwilling to join in. "Please guys, not now… I can't take it." Finally, Nightstar transformed and stood up. Or tried too. Stumbling, she let out a squeak and would have collapsed had Sideswipe not been expecting her to faint. He swiftly stepped forwards and caught her as she fell.

Sunstreaker looked concerned. "Well, argument over, come on, let's find a place to rest."

Barricade hated earth, he hated humans, he hated Autobots, and most of all, He hated losing to Autobots. So it was understandable why he was in a foul mood. As he drove angrily down a road, something on his radar cheered him up considerably: three other Decepticons. He stopped and Transformed just as Starscream touched down on the road. Following close behind was another jet aircraft, F-18 hornet by the looks of it, and a Corvette came roaring down the highway, momentarily amusing Barricade as he remembered that he was supposed to punish speeders.

Starscream stepped forward. "Barricade," He said in Cybertonian. "You are online, and still a Decepticon, I admire your fortitude."

Barricade bowed, he knew better than to cross Starscream. "Thank you Starscream. I congratulate you on your promotion to supreme commander of the Decepticons," He spoke in the same language. "I report that four new Autobots have landed, they all have yet to join the Autobot commander."

"Excellent. We shall pick them off one by one."

"Unfortunately, three arrived together and they are staying together, but they are moving uncommonly slow."

Starscream shrugged. "Whatever, it seems that they are weak, easy prey." He gestured carelessly at the two Mechs behind him. "Ramjet and Breakdown."

Barricade grinned, if showing what appeared to be fangs counts as a grin. "Delighted, as these fleshlings say, now, let us hunt."

Sideswipe carried Nightstar to a stand of trees while Sunstreaker kept an optic out for trouble. "Sunny…"

"Don't call me that Sideswipe."

"I'm sorry, but I'm really worried about Nightstar, she's getting weaker and weaker."

"I know that, Primus, I was the one who found her, remember? You don't think I realize they're dieing? If only we could get her to a medic."

Sideswipe carefully put the offline femme on the ground. "I really hope the reports that Ratchet went with Prime are true, if anyone can fix her, he could."

"Yep, and we'd sure know that." Sunstreaker chuckled, then went still. Sideswipe followed his brother's gaze to see a police car driving up slowly. With a start, he realized that it knew they were there.

"Aw frag," His arm transformed into a laser cannon, and he took aim. As he watched, the cop transformed to robot mode and began to walk up the hill.

Sideswipe readied to fire, but then the intruder stopped. "Identify yourselves Autobot comrades." With a start, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker grinned at each other; they had been lectured to many times by that voice to not know it.

Sideswipe swiftly powered down and leapt forwards happily. "Prowl! It's Sideswipe and Sunstreaker! Are we ever glad to see you!"

Prowl scowled as soon as he heard that voice; he respected the twins' skill, but they were a pain. But he sensed a desperate tone to Sideswipes voice and wondered what could cause the fearless, sometimes insane warrior so much grief. "It is nice to find my fellows as well. But why are you so upset?"

Sunstreaker answered. "It's Nightstar here," He pointed at the femme, who'd regained consciousness and gave Prowl a weak smile before putting her head back down to rest. "She's in a really bad state and we can't travel very far before she needs to stop."

Prowl bent down to look at her. "I'm no medic, but I may be able to…" He trailed off and took a closer look at her. "Primus! How have you managed to keep her alive?"

Sideswipe showed Prowl his arm. "We've been siphoning off our own energy to her because we can still absorbs solar energy, but it just isn't enough. She needs a medic, and fast, or she'll die."

Suddenly, a huge explosion ripped through the stand of trees.

Mikaela noticed flashing lights in the distance. Fireworks? No… Wait…. There were two fighter jets. She went pale and reached for her cell phone, dialled Sam's phone number and mentally begged him to pick up. On the sixth ring, he did. "Witwicky residence."

"Sam, it's Mikaela. I can see flashing lights in the distance and there's fighter planes."

"What!? Oh shit! Mom! Dad! I gotta go! Mikaela, me and Bumblebee will come pick you up in five minutes!"

"Alright."

"Nightstar, get out of here!" Sideswipe yelled. The femme hesitated, she hated to run from a fight. "Go! And that's an order!" Roared Sideswipe.

Surprised, Nightstar stepped back. But he was right, she didn't have the strength to fight, she could only hope that the Decepticons were no match for the twins and Prowl. She transformed and took off as fast as her failing circuits would allow.

Barricade noticed the retreating signature. He swiftly transformed and followed.

Ironhide rolled as fast as his wheels could carry him. He'd received Bumblebee's communiqué with a mixture of delight at the arrival of new Autobots (And the chance to pound some Decepticons into scrap) and concern, what if they were too late? Almost angrily, he pushed his vehicle mode to the limit. He saw the other Autobots and drove into line behind Optimus. He could see that slagging Starscream flying in slow circles, leisurely gunning down Ironhide's comrades. Suddenly, one of the F-22's wings was blown off and Ironhide revved his engine in approval, too bad he hadn't made that shot.

As the Autobots came to the top of the hill, they saw Barricade chasing down a silver Ferrari with no difficulty whatsoever. The Enzo transformed, and looked as if it was ready to defend itself, but it was only too easy to see that this warrior was already beaten. But before anyone could make a move to help, a red Lamborghini Countach came screaming down the road any rammed into Barricade's legs, sending the Decepticon for a fall. Transforming, Sideswipe leapt in front of Nightstar and stood there protectively.

"Come on Decepticon! Let's see what your spark looks like!" He roared in Cybertonian.

Ratchet blinked, how he knew that voice, that attitude. Why did the universe see fit to punish him by creating those two? Why? He'd been there the day they'd been sparked, and he'd watched them become true warriors, but Sideswipe and his brother were still a pain. Then he saw another jet fighter preparing to strafe Sideswipe and the bot behind him down. Ratchet mentally counted to four and bang, the jet lost a tailfin. Still in the Air, the aircraft beat a hasty retreat. Sunstreaker had aimed well.

Breakdown felt his courage drop as he saw how many Autobots there were, deciding he was safer to take on Prowl, he turned to face the police car. Big mistake. Prowl dropped him in thirty seconds. But no one had time to celebrate.

Nightstar gave an involuntary screech of pain as she was lifted off the ground by the neck. Sideswipe whirled, but found himself helpless to do anything because Barricade was using the femme as a shield and had his cannon pointed directly at her spark. "Deactivate your weapon and surrender Autobots." Torn, Sideswipe looked into Nightstar's pleading optics, she was telling him No, I'm not worth it. But he had no choice, he knelt down and made to remove his cannon.

But Ironhide had other plans. He shot Barricade easily in the back and the Decepticon police car dropped the femme who collapsed on the ground and didn't move. Barricade fell and Ironhide put a shot through his head to be sure he wouldn't get back up.

Then he, Optimus, Ratchet, Bumblebee, and the humans came down to where the three mechs were standing. Prowl saw them and saluted. "Optimus sir." He said in fluent English.

Optimus smiled. "Prowl, it is good to see you," He looked at Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. "You two, it's good to see you are well, who is your friend?"

Sunstreaker glanced at his brother, who did not even seem aware that his commander was addressing him. Sideswipe had knelt down next to Nightstar and was gently trying to wake her up, speaking softly in Cybertonian to her. "She's Nightstar, Sideswipe's spark-mate."

Ratchet took less than a microsecond to process all that he had observed and to put it together with what was said. "Is she sparking!?"

Sunstreaker nodded grimly. "Yeah, but the trip took too much of her energy, me and Sideswipe have had to siphon our energy to her." He held up his arm to show a small hole. Ratchet realized they must have somehow jury-rigged themselves to save her. But that didn't solve the problem. Furiously, he shoved Sideswipe away from Nightstar and rolled her on her back.

Sideswipe protested. "Hey!" But he quietened when he realized who had moved him. "Ratchet, thank Primus…."

Prowl watched with an air of concern. But he was a tactician, and as worried as he was he knew that they had to move. "Prime, we need to go to a more secure location."

Sideswipe glared at Prowl. "No! Nightstar needs to rest! I won't let you-"

"Enough Sideswipe," Interrupted Ratchet. "Although he is right Optimus, I may not believe in miracles, but that is the only way to explain why this femme is still functional."

Mikaela looked at Sam. "Sam, what is a femme?"

Sam remembered the talk he'd had with Bumblebee only a few hours ago. "A femme's like a girl Transformer."

Mikaela started. "So… what does all that mean?"

Sam thought hard. "I don't know, but I think…. I think she's the transformer equivalent of pregnant."