A man with black black hair and blue eyes dressed in professional clothes and a woman with brown hair and green eyes dressed in a waitress' uniform sat on one side of a desk. Another woman, older and dressed in professional clothes, sat on the proper side of the desk. All of them were frowning, seeming uncomfortable.

"... Mr. Martin, Mrs. Martin - do you know why I've called you here, today?" The older woman asked formally. The man sighed, shaking his head.

"Mrs. Kitner, I'm sorry-"

"What for?" The older woman raised an eyebrow. "Why do you believe you have been called here?"

"Well..." Mrs. Martin folded her hands, anxious. "Our daughter told us that there was a disturbance, yesterday."

"That's one way of putting it." Mrs. Kitner agreed, and the couple sighed. "... What do you know about your daughter's intelligence?"

"We... We don't." Mr. Martin replied, a little embarrassed. "Eleanor is an independent spirit. She tends to keep to herself, reading old books she probably doesn't understand."

"Books?" Mrs. Kitner inquired, intrigued. "What are they about?"

"Uh... Just random things." Mrs. Martin began, tense. "Like... Julius Ceasar, the Voynich Manuscript, ancient Egypt, ciphers, the Fastis Killer, Crete, Sherlock Holmes, the World Wars, other languages, other things - there's no connection between them. I personally think she just believes that her holding the larger books makes her look smarter."

"... There is a connection." Mrs. Kitner announced, and the Martins blinked. "Codes." Mr. Martin raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Martin, for the past two months, Eleanor has been turning all of her assignments in... Written in code." Mrs. Kitner slid a paper over to the couple, and they began to look it over. "She's always included a key. It takes time for me to read them, but she's absolutely right in all of her answers... Yesterday's disturbance came about because she read a very large passage from the book while the book was upside down and she was using a mirror to reverse the page, and she did it perfectly. Her neighbor, Miss Lewis, found this to be disturbing and caused the ruckus." Mrs. Kitner gave a small smirk. "Your daughter has quite the right hook. Her uncle should be proud."

"Mrs. Kitner, what you're saying is absurd!" Mrs. Martin protested, sitting up straighter. "She's seven!" Mrs. Kitner nodded, frowning at the Martins.

"Yes, she is... And she's brilliant." The teacher told them, and the couple exchanged glances. "I would like to have her take a test to see if she's ready to be moved up into advanced placement next year."

"Advanced placement at this school doesn't begin until fifth grade!" Mr. Martin's eyes narrowed. Mrs. Kitner looked over at him, frowning.

"Yes, I know... She's done everything she can, in this class. Her workbooks have all been completed, and none of the other years' texts have proven to be a challenge for her."

"It's February!"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

/\

That night, the Martin couple was home. Mr. Martin sat in a chair, reading a book, and Mrs. Martin was working on a book of crossword puzzles while sitting on a sofa. They were alone... Finally, Mrs. Martin could take it no longer. She stood up and left the living room, walking down a small and dark hallway to the very last room. She arrived and opened the door, and she blinked in surprise.

Her seven year-old daughter sat at a desk scattered with library books and papers covered in scribbled-in symbols, her long brown hair pulled back in a messy ponytail. The child seemed to be in the process of doing her homework and encrypting it in a code she had designed, a smile on her face as her glasses glinted in the yellowed lamplight.

"... Eleanor?" Mrs. Martin asked, frowning worriedly. The little girl blinked, then looked up at her with a grin, her big blue eyes shining.

"Hey, Mommy!" She greeted, then she gestured to one of her books. "Did you know that most of the codebreakers during World War II were women?" Mrs. Martin blinked in surprise. Then, the woman gave a small smile, nodding.

"Yes, dear. Your great-nana was one of them... Do you like to learn about that sort of thing?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Alright." Mrs. Martin closed the door, sighing softly as she leaned against it and looked up at the ceiling, then she walked down the hallway, entering the living-room once more. "George?"

"Yes, Helen?" Mr. Martin looked up, raising an eyebrow. "Did you talk to her?" Mrs. Martin nodded, smiling softly.

"Yes, I did... And I want her to take that test."

/\/\/\/\

Sixteen Years Later...

/\/\/\/\

An old, rusted, brown pickup truck drove down an icy and battered road that weaves through a landscape of frigid mountains, snowy hills, icy lakes, and evergreen trees. The engine sputtered lightly, but the truck kept a good pace as it made its way towards a little log-cabin sitting beside a small lake.

The driver pulled the truck into a garage and exited the vehicle to close the garage-door by hand, then they went back to the truck and retrieved a large paper bag filled with groceries. They closed the truck's door before walking through the garage to a door that lead into the cabin, opening the door and stepping inside before closing the door.

It was a young woman in her early twenties with long, lightly-curly brown hair that fell to her upper back and cascaded over her shoulders, some of it pulled back from the front of her head and tied in a small, low ponytail that was then braided over the tresses at the back of her head. Her bangs were grown out and swished to the left. Her eyes were a shade of dark blue, and a pair of rentangle-framed brown glasses were perched on the tip of her nose. Light freckles were under her eyes, and her skin was lightly suntanned but still a bit pale.

She wore a pair of faded blue jeans, brown boots that went to just below her knees and were laced up, a red collared dress-shirt with the top two buttons undone, and a brown pea-coat that wasn't buttoned-up. Her wrists held a multitude of bracelets of silver and brown leather with symbols carved into it, and there were a pair of opal stud-earrings in her ears. A black chord around her neck held a small, silver replica of Mjølnir - the hammer used by Marvel's Thor. A brown strap across her body held a brown leather satchel to her right side, and it had the image of running horses imprinted on it. A pair of simple, white earbuds were in her ears, the chord going down to her left pocket - where her cellphone was situated.

"If everybody had an ocean

Across the U.S.A.,

Then everybody'd be surfin'

Like Californi-a..!" She sang quietly with her music, grinning as she carried her groceries into her kitchen. "

You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies,

Huarachi sandals too..!

A bushy bushy blonde hairdo..!

Surfin' U.S.A.!"

The young woman set her bags down and began unpacking, placing refrigeratables in the fridge before placing the longer-lasting food in the pantry. She hummed along with her music, lightly bobbing her head as she organized cans and bags of chips. She finished quickly and closed the pantry, and she passed her fridge on the way further into the house. A blue magnet held a newspaper clipping to the shiny surface.

...

FASTIS KILLER UNCOVERED AT LAST!

Young Codebreaker Unlocks the Murderer's Complete Key!

A New Yorker -Turned- Alaskan Hermit, 23 Year-Old Eleanor Martin Has Solved the "Unsolvable" Crime in Just Two Years' Work!

...

The young woman walked into a small living room and hummed softly as she looked around. Her blue eyes flitted to a desk covered in scattered papers with apparent nonsense written all over them in sloppy pen, then to a recliner in the corner surrounded by shelves and stacks of books. Her eyes went to a small television, and she raised a hand to the pendant around her neck, giving a small smirk. It could be time for another marathon...

But the young woman sighed and approached a reinforced sliding-glass door, moving the blinds aside before opening the door. The woman took a deep breath of fresh air and smiled before she stepped out into the snow and closed the door, and she slowly walked towards the frozen lake. A massive black cottonwood was at the shore, and from a lower branch hung a swing.

The woman walked over and brushed snow off of the swing before sitting down on it, swingingback and forth as she looked up at the blue sky with a smile. The peace, the fresh air, the freedom - this was why she came to this place...

And it was all about to go to Hell.

There was a strange noise, and when the woman's eyes opened, she saw a strange green, pink, blue, and yellow vortex of light hovering in the air. She quickly stood up and ripped her earbuds out, astonished.

"Whoa." The woman gripped the strap of her satchel and took a step back, her eyes wide. From the vortex, a massive silver being stepped through - with burning red eyes and a body of metal. The being was flanked by two others, one that was blue with a visor for a face and one that was red and wore a dark smirk. "What the heck..?"

"Eleanor Marie Martin?" The silver being asked, and the young woman frowned as it slowly approached her. "The codebreaker?"

"... Yes." The young woman replied uneasily, gripping her satchel tighter. "God, this is not how I saw myself dying." The being blinked, then he raised an eyebrow.

"You assume we are here to kill you?"

"I've seen too many movies to think of anything else." The woman admitted, blinking as she gazed up at the silver creature. "It's either gonna be dissection, brain-scan, or weird science - and I really hope you have to kill me first and that it'll be quick and I won't feel my organs being harvested."

"Ew!" The red one cringed lightly. "Humans, disgusting!" The silver being shot a glare at the red one, then he looked back at Eleanor.

"Miss Martin, we are not here to harm you." He assured, and she blinked. "On the contrary... We need your help."

"... What?" The woman asked, slowly lowering her guard. The silver mech approached and got down on one knee to get a good look at her, his red eyes narrowed.

"There is not much time... Come."

/\

When a scary giant robot say "come", a person should really take the polite road and go to avoid being stepped on. That was Eleanor Martin's reasoning when she followed the three beings through their portal.

Eleanor gripped the strap or her satchel so tightly that her knuckles turned white as the two other beings left, leaving her alone with the silver being. She looked around the dark room filled with strange monitors until her eyes arrived at the front, where the silver being had his back to her, and when she saw windows and open sky, she took a deep breath. She was in some sort of ship in the sky, facing a massive and terrifying-looking metal being of unknown origin.

What a Monday.

"... Miss Martin." The massive silver mech turned around, and Eleanor took a step back, her eyes widening. "Do not fear. As I said before, we have no intention of harming you. We simply require your specific skill-set to assist in a project of ours... You are the best codebreaker that this world has to offer, are you not?"

"I..." The woman blinked, then she took a deep breath and looked up at the mech. She didn't know if she could do what they wanted of her, but she wouldn't send them hunting for some other innocent person. And, perhaps, if she did do as they asked, they would let her go. "What code is it that needs broken?"

"It should be simple for someone of your supposed talents." The mech gestured to a screen, and several encripted phrases appeared on it. "They are coordinates, locations on this planet. Our enemies smuggled dangerous artifacts here, artifacts that could do harm to your people. We are here to collect them before they can be uncovered and placed into the wrong hands, and then we shall leave. This is a mission of assistance, of mercy - but the files we recovered from our enemies are encrypted, and we are unable to break the code."

"... So, if I break the code and get you these coordinates, you'll get these dangerous artifacts off of my planet and go?" Eleanor asked, frowning slightly. "No one will get hurt?" The silver mech nodded, his expression serious.

"That is correct. We are simply here to ensure our people's technology does not cause any more harm than it already has, but we must also be cautious. If we were to reveal ourselves to your species, there would be panic - and that would be contrary to our cause here on Earth. We are guardians of freedom, of peace."

"Hm." Eleanor looked down, then she looked back at him. "... Alright. I'll need a copy of your number and letter system and access to your computers. The language and technology barrier will cause a bit of trouble, but I'd say that - at most - I could have those decoded in... Maybe two or three weeks?"

"And, if you had assistance from one who has in-depth knowledge of both of the codes and a bit of experience in codebreaking?"

"That would probably cut the time in half, at least." The woman nodded, crossing her arms. "I suppose that that's why you want to have both, me and him. You want to get these codes cracked as soon as you can so that you can retrieve the artifacts."

"Perceptive." The silver mech gave a light smirk, nodding. "I knew that finding you was a wise choice, Eleanor Martin... Yes, your partner has already been located, and he is working on the code as we speak. Once we bring you up to speed, you should both be able to crack the code rather easily."

"If you say so." Eleanor gave a small shrug, then she frowned again. "Just so I don't raise or lower my expectations, what's to become of me once this project is completed?"

"As I have said twice before, we have no intention of harming you." The silver mech insisted, and Eleanor looked skeptical. "We are here to protect mankind, yourself included... I must apologize for bringing the burden of your world's future upon you."

"... It is a bit above my pay-grade." The woman gave a light smile, then her eyes narrowed and she nodded. "But hey - I am the woman who cracked the code of the Fastis Killer. I'm not even sure if there is a pay-grade for that... I'll do it."

"Thank you, Miss Martin, for your contribution." The silver mech nodded, then he turned and began walking, a door opening as he approached it. "Now, we must introduce you to your partner. Orion Pax shall be most pleased to meet you." Eleanor followed the mech, still gripping the strap of her satchel tightly.

"Mind if I know your name, boss?" She asked, grinning lightly. The silver mech looked down at her questioningly. "Silver Guy seems below your pay-grade."

"I am Megatron." The mech replied curtly. "Leader of the Decepticons." Decepticons? That brought to mind deception, but Eleanor wasn't stupid enough to point that out...

"... That is one of the coolest things I've ever heard." The young woman said, and the red-eyed mech blinked. "No wonder your enemies are hiding. Your name alone wins half the war on intimidation. Nice." The silver mech looked straight forward as he kept walking, though he couldn't help but smirk.

Eleanor followed Megatron down the hallway, frowning slightly as she held onto the strap of her bag. Even though she had agreed to assisting him with the encryptions, she did feel a little unsettled - especially when it came to meeting her supposed partner. From what she'd seen, these robots were pretty scary looking - and she wouldn't be able to focus with a metal creep peering over her shoulder with those burning, red eyes...

"Here we are." Megatron turned to a door, and it opened. "Orion, how is your progress?" Eleanor blinked, peeking out from behind Megatron as the large figure in the room turned around. He was tall, and colored in red, blue, and black. His eyes - or optics, Eleanor decided - weren't red. They were a pretty, innocent-looking blue.

'Damn.' Eleanor thought, blinking again. 'I never thought that something that big could look that innocent and have eyes that cute. What are these things, giant skinless Furbys? Actually, no: that image is terrifying...'

"I have succeeded in decoding one entry thus far, Lord Megatron." The robot, Orion, replied in a deep voice. It suited him, Eleanor decided, giving a small smile as she tilted her head to the side, growing more curious than she was afraid. This Orion Pax was different...

"Excellent, Orion." Megatron nodded in approval. "Now, while I appreciate your work, I have come to fear that the Autobots may be attempting to crack these same codes and track down the artifacts. Therefore, I have seen fit to seek out one with skills similar to your own so that you may accelerate your efforts."

"You have?" Orion asked, seeming a bit unsettled. Megatron raised a hand - servo, probably - to calm Orion, giving a small smile.

"Do not fret, Orion. I am aware that, due to your injury and subsequent lapse in memory, you have found certain comrades of yours to be a bit on the... Abrasive side."

"I... Have." Orion admitted, looking down. He seemed ashamed, and Megatron placed a servo on his shoulder - or maybe it was called a rotator-cup. Eleanor didn't know - she was an expert in code and language, not mechanics.

"That is why I looked to an outside source when seeking your partner." Megatron announced, then he looked back. "Miss Martin?" At hearing her name, Eleanor stepped out from behind Megatron, folding her hands behind her back as she looked up at a surprised Orion. "Orion Pax, meet Eleanor Martin. She is the best codebreaker that Earth has to offer, and she has come here in order to help us save her planet from the potentially destructive use of the artifacts."

"She is a human?" Orion asked, surprised, and he got down on one knee to get a better look. "Fascinating."

"You're pretty neat yourself, mister." Eleanor gave a light grin, holding her hand out. "Nice to meet you, Orion Pax." Orion blinked, then mimicked the gesture and extended his servo. Eleanor grabbed his massive index-finger and shook it twice, then lowered her hand and folded her arms behind her back, again. Orion seemed intrigued as he lowered his servo.

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance as well, Eleanor Martin."

"Eleanor would be fine."

"Alright." Orion gave a small smile. "You may call me Orion."

"Alright." Eleanor nodded, then she crossed her arms. "Well, let's get to work. I have to get home in time to stare at the ceiling and spiral into a deep, dark void of depression while I wait for the next season of Sherlock to be released. Can't miss that."

"... These humans are strange creatures." Orion noted, standing up and looking at Megatron. Megatron just shrugged, shaking his helm.

"I myself do not understand their mannerisms anymore than you do, old friend."

"Ay, something we have in common." Eleanor gave a small smirk, raising an eyebrow and clapping her hands together as the two mechs looked down at her. She rubbed her hands together in the wake of the clap, grinning. "Well, boys - it's time to get down to business. You need these codes cracked so that you can find these artifacts, and we don't have much time - so now that the pleasantries are over, I think we should get to work."

"That seemed to make sense." Orion commented, then he nodded. "Very well, Eleanor." Orion scooped the young woman up and set her down next to the main monitor's keyboard. "What do you make of this?"

"Hm." Eleanor's blue eyes flitted around the screen, and she gave a nod of thanks as Megatron brought up a screen that had his kind's letters and numbers and their English conversions. "... How I usually start is by testing the classic code-formations used by historical figures on the cipher in question. Earth has a long line of encryptors throughout the ages, and they were clever but simple. If I apply Ceasar's old method..." Her eyes flitted over the smaller screens. "No. They've exchanged the numbers in the coordinates for letters... Okay, let's see what happens when we try-..."

Megatron turned and left the two codebreakers in the room, folding his arms behind his back as the door closed in the wake of his departure. As he walked down the hallway, he began to smirk.

/\

The red being from before frowned at Megatron as the warlord inspected what appeared to be a med-bay.

"My lord, if I may inquire once more - why did you bring a human onboard?" The red mech asked, confused. "From what you have said, Orion Pax is perfectly capable of completing Project Iacon on his own, and humans are... Inferior."

"That they are, Knockout." Megatron agreed, looking back at the medic. "But Soundwave's research appears to have discovered an outlier, one on-par with the human hacker that the Autobots have employed in their service. Eleanor Martin is a brilliant codebreaker by human standards, and I tested them by our own... Soundwave could not decode the encryption of this so-called Fastis Killer's messages with any of his technology, yet she could with her mind."

"Impressive." Knockout noted, giving a small smirk. "But did you really only bring her here to give Orion a helping hand?"

"... No." Megatron admitted, his optics narrowing. "The human's presence is meant to ease Orion's nerves, especially due to his distrust of our crew. By having her kept here and cared for, we can fool Orion into believing that we are the cause seeking the betterment of humankind."

"Nicely done." Knockout commended his leader, grinning. "I assume that her fate will be the same as Orion's upon the completion of their task?" Megatron gave a small chuckle.

"I am not often fond of assumptions, Knockout... But I must say, you are becoming better at making them."

Well, how's that for a prologue?

Back when I first watched "Transformers: Prime", I didn't like the Orion Pax Arc that much. With the other "Transformers" incarnations I had watched growing up, I wasn't really a fan of seeing Optimus Prime - the most badass character I had ever seen - reduced to an awkward, naïve, and nervous little nerd.

... Then, I remembered "Transformers: Animated" Optimus Prime and all was suddenly right in the universe. XD

I'm kidding, I'm kidding - that guy was great. And so was Orion Pax, once I actually started analyzing the arc for what it really was. That arc was meant to show us that Optimus really deserved to be the Autobot Leader and that, even before he was chosen by Primus, he was a genuinely good person... 'Bot... You know what I mean!

"Some are born great, some rise to greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them" - Orion Pax was all of the above, and this arc shows us why Primus chose to make him Optimus Prime. Sure, Ratchet's story explained a lot - but just watching that awkward, naïve, and nervous little nerd talk back to Megatron when he feared that his "old friend" had gone bad is evidence enough that the story was true.

God, I love that arc now. It's my favorite, and I wanted to write a story that starts in it. :)

I got the idea for Eleanor Martin by watching shows like "Psych" and "Sherlock" and considering Orion Pax's featured skill-set. There are lots of brilliant human codebreakers, and I wanted to create sort of a young, modern version of the classic codebreaker in Eleanor. She's clever, smart, and quick to grasp new concepts - and when there is something at stake, she gets right down to business and starts working to achieve her goals. But at the same time, she does half of the things she does because she got bored and she's a massive nerd - and she needs a much bigger filter for the things that threaten to spill out of her mouth. I characterized her in this way mostly because I'm the sort of person who likes to screw with the Transformers in these sorts of stories. XD

I wanted a character who could keep up with the nonsense while still retaining humanity, as displayed in her nervousness when facing the Cybertronians. However, once she got comfortable, I was allowed to have a bit more fun with her. She played off of Megatron and Orion in a way that left them both confused, she's capable of keeping up with these "superior" beings and even out-pacing them, and she's clever enough to begin showing Orion a new way of doing something they're both good at. I'm so excited about where I'm going to take her from here, I can't even stand it!

*deep breath*

I only own my OC. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks! :)

P.S.: The "Fastis Killer" is a parody of the infamous Zodiac Killer. "Fastis" means "Calendar" in Latin, so... Yeah. I thought it was a clever way to show her talents without "breaking history", but whatever.

P.P.S.: I did research on Cybertronian anatomy for this story, and I don't know if any of you guys did that, so...

servo = hand

helm = head

faceplate = face

rotator-cup = shoulder

ped = foot

audial-sensor = ear

aft/tailpipe = rear-end

spark = heart/soul

Energon = fuel, ammunition, blood

optic = eye

chestplate = chest

dentas = teeth