Transformers Prime

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed chapter 1. I thought it would be a good idea to start the story off with some action. It felt right. This chapter will contain what I hope are some interesting story elements. This chapter will be a bit longer than the first. Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2

True to Ratchet's prediction, Raf and Miko arrived at the Autobot headquarters courtesy of a drop-off by June Darby. She greeted them before leaving, asking Ratchet to let Optimus know that she had an after hours staff meeting to get to. After a nod from Ratchet, Jack's mother departed the hideout with her white sedan. Miko was dancing to some unheard tune from her earphones and iPod. While she slowly made her way up the stairs on a dance tune, Raf was trailing behind, at work on his laptop.

Bulkhead trekked over to the large balcony platfrom, overlooking the couch that Miko had leaped onto. She put her iPod on standby and waved at her Guardian Autobot. "Yo, Bulkhead! How's it goin? Wanna watch the monster truck rally later today?" She asked quickly. Bulkhead chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Heh. Sure thing, Miko." Raf and Bumblebee greeted each other also, with Raf sitting on one of Bumblebee's servos. "How goes it, 'Bee?" was heard and Bee responded with an enthusiastic answer with his trademark beeps, whistles, and whoops. "That's great! Me? I've been working on signal algorithms. Hopefully, it can help to triangulate weak signals better," Raf explained helpfully. Ratchet suddenly turned his attention to him.

"Did you say, it can amplify weak signals?" Ratchet inquired, his focus entirely on the boy.

"Uh, y-yeah," Raf answered, caught off guard by Ratchet's sudden interest.

"Hmm. I could actually use a bit of your...expertise to amplify this signal that Optimus and I have locked onto recently. Raf placed his laptop down and leaned on the railing of the balcony platform. "Wow! Really?" Raf was excited at the prospect of Ratchet actually wanting his help this time around. "Sure! Be right down!" the boy said, adjusting his glasses and again picking up his laptop. While Raf helped Ratchet with the formulae on the computer, Miko eagerly told Bulkhead about her day with the help of some exaggeration and gesticulating. Jack and Arcee were just sitting on the ledge of the platform, appreciating the quiet.

"Arcee, you think there are still other...autobots out there?" Jack asked, hoping to break the silence. Ever since he met the autobots, Jack had only seen Optimus and his small team, and had heard of Cliffjumper and Tailgate. Arcee looked down to regard him.

"I hope so. Optimus and Ratchet had found a signal recently. There could be chance there's a 'bot out there." Jack nodded before breaking out into a grin. "Hey that's awesome!" Jack stood up from the ledge with no effort. "Maybe it could be more than one! Optimus told me about this one guy, Sam, who helped to defeat the Fallen, and-"

"Wait, the fallen?" Arcee interrupted. Optimus actually fought one of the original thirteen? Arcee had never heard of Optimus Prime mentioning a battle of a degree like that.

"Uh, yeah," Jack clarified. "You didn't know?" he asked after a short pause. Arcee shook her head no. "If it's imoprtant enough, I'll find out."

Their conversation was cut short when Optimus Prime reentered the commons area. "You commed, Ratchet?" he asked, standing to the side next to the computer monitor with arms crossed.

"With Raf's help, I've been able to triangulate the signal better. It's definitely a cybertronian signal. The thing is, I don't know if it's an Autobot...or a Decepticon. Something of this cybertronian's makeup is distorting the identification."

Optimus nodded silently, assessing the situation. "Ratchet, activate a ground bridge. The rest of us will scout the area. We cannot risk the chance that it may be an Autobot. If so, he or she may be in danger," Prime said confidently. Miko ran up to Bulkhead's foot.

"Hey, can we come too?" Miko asked, putting on an innocent face. Bulkhead kneeled down so that he could be on the same eye level as Miko.

"Sorry, kid. We don't know who this might be, a 'bot, 'con, or even a trap. Better if you stay here. Maybe the next mission," Bulkhead said, which Miko responded with an annoyed moan.

"Aww, man!" Miko complained. The ground bridge materialized with a swirl of many colors. Optimus, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee walked through, with the latter waving at Raf before the portal began to close. Miko was about to move forward, but Jack held her arm.

"Not this time," Jack said. The japanese teen sighed irritably before relenting. "Aw, come on! We coulda' saw an awesome new 'bot!" Miko complained with raised arms.

"Or a 'con..." Jack reminded. With slumped shoulders, she finally gave up. "Okay, okay. I'm gonna play some video games!" Miko assured before running up the stairs to the couch and T.V.

0o0o

"Looks like the transwarp generator didn't work as planned." The female cybertronian assessed before picking up the cylinder shaped object and typing unknown commands on it's keyboard. Closing the keypad on the device, she surveyed the landmass with her four red optics.

"This place is a dump." For miles in each direction, there were nothing but rock cliffs, jutting rocks and boulders pretty much everywhere. Blinking her optics, she activated her internal G.P.S. looking for any landmarks she could find upon first reaching the backwater planet.

"Jasper, Nevada? Just a lot of desert and canyon. This place is full of it..." Blackarachnia mumbled in disdain. Using one of her back-mounted spider arms, she latched the Transwarp device to her waist. She was just about to climb the rockface when she heard an unusual frequency behind her. Turning around quickly, she sighted the source of the noise. A portal began to swell a small distance above the ground. Four autbots jumped out of the portal with Bumblebee scanning the area.

With a start, Bumblee sounded out a string of cybertronian language, pointing to a rock face that she was hiding behind. Deciding there was no poit in hiding, she showed her self.

Arcee reacted first, training an arm blaster at her.

"Arcee, wait, that ain't airachnid," Bulkhead said, hovering his arm in front of Arcee's weapon. Arcee narrowed her optics at the cybertronian. She resembled Airachnid somwehat, but she looked very different. Mostly in the helmet and that she had four red optics glaring through it. Slowly, she lowered her weapon.

"Who are you?" Arcee demanded.

"Optimus..." The cybertronian in question said. Optimus looked very different. As a matter of fact, they all looked different. Except the one she now knew as Arcee. She'd never seen her before. Arcee had growled at being ignored so easily.

"What is your name, and how do you know mine?" Prime inquired. That was another difference too. His voice. He didn't sound like an aspiring warrior, he sounded much more mature, and it sounded deeper. Optimus sounded sifferent and Bumblebee was very quiet. In the scrapes with the autobots she remembered, Bumblebee would be talking by now. Where was she? She figured there was no point in withholding her name at this point.

"Blackarachnia," she said slowly, keeping a wary distance from the autobots.

"Are you aligned with the decepticons?" Optimus continued. She looked down at the decepticon badge attached to her chest plate.

"No. No, i'm not," she responded. Studying the autobots again, she had an idea of what happened. She always did know that The Transwarp generator could travel through space as well as time, but she hadn't given it much thought. She was hoping to travel back in time to her academy days to stop what had happened to her...but now it looked like she needed to get back to her own dimension. This was earth, but it wasn't the same earth she had ran into Optimus at first. The autobot standing in front of her looked more seasoned. Much more seasoned.

Arcee placed her hands on her hips. She still wasn't believing this cybertronian completely. She didn't look the least bit innocent. For all she knew, she could be some decepticon spy.

"Optimus, I don't trust her," Arcee said aloud, voiceing her opinion, not caring that arachnia could hear her. Arachnia hissed in response.

"Arcee, calm yourself. She is not Airachnid. All cybertronians deserve a chance," Optimus reprimanded. Arcee vented out air, slightly annoyed. She leaned on a rock with her arms crossed. Bumblebee stood next to Arcee and talked with her to keep her company.

0o0o

A/N: Hope you're liking the story so far. Ending was a bit choppy, but I'm working on it. Megatron and his gang will get some screen time next chapter.