I don't own Transformers or their characters.

Chapter 1: Man Down

BumbleBee and Bulkhead waited, parked in the shadow of Jasper High School. Undisturbed by the downpour that had taken Jasper by surprise, the bots were getting impatient.

Bulkhead turned his radio on in preparation for his charge, muffled bass making the raindrops vibrate on his windshield. BumbleBee allowed himself to be lost in thought. He became so distracted, the usually familiar blare of the school bell made him jump on his tires. Thankfully, none of the students seemed to notice as they poured out the double doors. All the kids were focused on the rain; some were cheering and splashing in puddles, others held anything they could over their heads in desperation. After another couple of kliks, their teenagers emerged from the school.

Raf was first, using his arm to try and protect his glasses from the rain as he descended the front steps, taking care not to slip. He was about halfway down when Miko burst through the doors and all but slid down the stairs past him. She zig-zagged across the lawn toward Bulkhead, stomping in every puddle along the way. Jack came last, speeding up slightly to catch up with Raf.

"Let's blow this joint!" Bulkhead's door popped open and she barely came to a stop before jumping inside.

BumbleBee opened a door for each of his passengers with a whirr as they walked over. Raf turned to Jack as he climbed into the front passenger seat, "He says Arcee had patrol." Jack shrugged and climbed into the back.

"Hey Bee!" Raf chimed, lowering his backpack to the floor between his feet. The boys were dripping from the rain, but the scout didn't seem to mind. As they drove off Raf launched into an explanation of his day excitedly, occasionally pausing to answer the bot's questions.

Jack was quiet in the back seat, and BumbleBee thought it was odd. The teen stared out the window at the stormy landscape speeding past. Perhaps he was upset about the substitute ride. Or maybe his pride was hurt about being in the back seat. Or maybe he was sleepy. Humans, you just never knew with them.

By the time they pulled into the base, the weather had worsened to a thunderstorm. Bumblebee clicked and chirped as he let the kids out.

"Don't worry, Bee, we can still have fun inside" Raf assured him with a smile.

The base was filled with the whirring and sliding of metal as the bots transformed.

It had been quiet at the base before they arrived. Ratchet was focused on tinkering with a bit of machinery. He mumbled by way of greeting and waved dismissively. Arcee didn't turn from the computer as she filled out her patrol report but called a welcome over her shoulder. There was a puddle at her feet but she had already dried off. Optimus Prime was nowhere to be found.

Two sets of squeaks echoed through the room from the kids' wet sneakers as they climbed the ladder to their designated platform. Wait, two?

Arcee spared a glance over her shoulder as she continued to type. Miko was already at the top of the platform with Raf not far behind, but Jack hadn't started to climb yet. He stood at the bottom of the ladder, holding onto one of the lower rungs with his hand, his bag still slung over his shoulder. From that angle, his black hair hid his expression from her. She turned to face him with a frown.

"You good, Jack?"

He seemed to snap out from whatever daze had ahold of him and smiled up at her, "Yeah, sorry I must have gotten lost in thought. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night." He pushed his damp bangs from his face and started his climb as Miko plopped herself into one of the couches, the worn out springs groaning under her.

"You don't say? Maybe that's why you kept falling asleep in like, every class. You've been acting zombie-weird all day, dude." She shook the rain from her hair with vigorously.

Raf blocked the spray with his jacket. Jack pulled himself up the last few steps of the ladder with a huff, "I'm just, ugh, fine. Chill, guys"

Turns out running for your life was a great core workout, and while Jack wasn't particularly athletic, his time with the Autobots had put him in good shape. It was odd, then, that the familiar climb left him winded. He all but collapsed on the couch beside Miko, causing the cushion beneath her to pop up slightly. She raised an eyebrow and looked ready to retort, but Jack cut her off. "Hey, doesn't that monster truck rally you haven't shut up about start soon?"

With a gasp, Miko dove for the remote and began frantically flipping channels, her worries all but forgotten. Raf had already become engrossed in his homework.

"Sweet!" Bulkhead cheered, but Ratchet cleared his throat. "Oh, uh, right. We 'gotta get some stuff for Ratchet, but tell me what I miss when we get back!"

"Got it, big guy." Miko kept her eyes glued to the screen and shot a thumbs up in his direction as he and Bumblebee left the room.

The tension eased from Jack's shoulders as he thought all eyes were off of him. He relaxed back into the couch and rubbed at his eyes. Arcee, who wasn't so easily dissuaded, eyed her charge suspiciously.

He was acting sort of.. off. He was smiling lightly and occasionally responding to his friends, but was altogether much quieter than usual. His color was also lighter, but the humans had changed color a bit before. Perhaps this was the opposite of a 'tan'? Arcee knew enough about Jack to tell he was exhausted, but he obviously didn't plan on elaborating. After a bit she shook her head and returned to her report.

Even with the sounds of destruction blasting from the TV, and Miko's equally chaotic cheering, Jack dozed in and out during the special. He was shocked awake by one such scream.

"BOO YEAH!"

Miko kicked her legs out and pumped her fists in celebration. She must have used too much force, because one of her boots flew off and knocked right into the cable box. The tv channels began to change on their own. She made a sound that was somewhere between a hiss and a sob, "NOO." Her wide, panic filled eyes landed on Jack. "Fix it!"

Jack sighed, but this was far from the first time and he knew the drill. He knelt behind the tv and wiggled the dusty wires until it stopped its fit. Miko squealed and flipped the channel back to her show. "Thanks dude! You rock."

"Mhm," was all Jack said as he pushed himself to his feet. He must have moved too quickly, because the world tilted on its side and blurred. Uh oh.

Thump

"..ack…"

"Ja..k…"

"Jack!"

Next thing he knew he was on the floor. As the world refocused itself he became aware of three faces hovering over him, one much larger than the others. Miko and Raf leaned back to give Jack space to sit up. He must have swayed again because he found himself leaning against Miko.

"Woah there, buddy," he couldn't help but notice her voice was unusually soft.

"Jack what's happened? Are you injured?" Arcee demanded before turning to call for Ratchet. The medic approached to find Miko holding the back of her hand to Jack's forehead as he shivered against her.

"Really, I'm fine," he insisted.

"Dude, you're burning up!"

Ratchet scoffed at the inaccurate diagnostic technic. "Hold still, kid" he ordered, ignoring the boys mumbled protests as he scanned him. Beside him Arcee was leaning over the railing as close as she could to Jack, anxiety rolling off her in waves.

"Your body temperature is 102.4F, well above human average." He concluded. Arcee turned and planted her optics on Ratchet, her servos still gripping the railing tightly.

"Meaning?"

Miko piped up before Ratchet could answer. "Awww, widdle Jackie is sick." In spite of her teasing tone, her and Raf helped Jack to his feet and led him back to the couch.

"I'm fine, it's probably just that 24-hour thing going around." Ignoring him, his friends forced him to lay down across the couch. Jack couldn't stop the relieved sigh that escaped him.

"What do we do? Is he in danger?" Arcee's increasingly alarmed voice rose, drawing the attention of BumbleBee and Bulkhead as they entered the room. They put down a handful of large metal crates near Ratchet's workstation.

"For now he probably just needs to rest," Raf explained, "and to drink fluids. It's probably just the flu."

"What's a 'flu'?" Bulkhead asked, scratching his helm in confusion.

This time it was Ratchet that answered, "A human illness that can range from mild to severe, typically lasting anywhere between 1 and 7 Earth days."

BumbleBee whirred in confusion, looking between the dazed boy and the medic. It was easy enough to guess what he was asking.

"Mild! This is mild," Jack interjected, and was rewarded with a coughing fit. He rolled onto his side and buried his face in the pillow to stifle it.

He was surprised to feel a huge finger run soothingly up and down his back. Tension he didn't know he was holding slipped from his body. Jack twisted a bit to meet Arcee's optics. Her mouth was stuck in a concerned pout, but she struggled to return his reassuring smile. He knew her well enough to see the fear in her eyes.

"Arcee really, I'll be okay. Getting sick is just a sucky part of being human." His voice was rough, and Miko went over to the kitchen area to get him water. Just as she opened the mini fridge, all the lights shut off.