Sentinel was starting to have his doubts when it came to training Alice.
For one thing, he hadn't expected her to learn so much in such a short amount of time. She'd already been called to her school's office several times for retaliating against bullies. Not only that, Ultra Magnus, as wise as he was, was oblivious to her behavior. As much as Sentinel wanted to keep it that way, he still hated having to deal with her conferences.
The older mech and Alice had somehow developed a sort of father-daughter bond while Sentinel hadn't been looking. In fact, they had been seen deep in conversation about Earthly etiquette or something that Sentinel couldn't understand. Apparently, it was improper to run red lights, not stop for stop signs, and violently cuss at cops in Cybertronian when they pulled you over…Coincidently, Sentinel had done these things and more in less than three hours.
He'd been sent to the Brig for the remainder of the day because of that, leaving Alice free to interact with the other local Autobots on Earth.
--
As Jazz drove her to the Earth base and blasting his favorite song on his stereo, the topic of why Sentinel was such a jerk inevitably came up.
"What's your opinion, Jazz?" She asked. "Is there any reason why Sentinel acts like someone shoved a lamppost up his butt?"
Jazz merely laughed and replied, "No one really knows. He's touchy about that subject, but if you really want the details, Optimus Prime might know. You might have to soften him up first, y'know, get him to trust you."
"Please! If Sentinel hates him, I'll be great pals with him. Besides, I, Alice O'nett, have mad social skills."
"Is that why you went and made friends with Sentinel? I heard he's teaching you how to have self esteem."
"That's what he wants you to think."
"Oh really? Well, either way, we're here."
"This is the place?" Alice asked. She looked the building over, slightly surprised. "I'd have though that their place would be a lot fancier than this."
"That's what Sentinel said when he first came here," Jazz commented, transforming. "Except he wasn't so nice about it."
"That's Sentinel for you."
--
"Jazz! What's up?" Bumblebee looked up from the TV and waved as the two strode inside. "We need a fourth for OffRoad Warriors Max! We got it yesterday!"
"You finally got it? Awesome!" The mech ran over and grabbed a controller, leaving Alice standing at the door.
For such a shabby exterior, the Autobots had a very neat and pretty awesome décor. "Not bad, considering they've been here for, like, a year." She muttered, stepping farther inside. She wasn't overly fond of video games, but she did enjoy watching them play. "Hey, Jazz, mind introducing me?"
"Huh? Yeah, sure," He mumbled, too mesmerized by the game to pay her much attention. "Alice, this is Bumblebee, Sari, and Bulkhead."
"Hey, I think I remember you," Bumblebee said, glancing at her for only a moment before returning to the game. "You're that kid who hangs out with Sentinel, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, is he really holding you against your will?" Bulkhead asked, optics never leaving the screen.
"Wha-NO! He's my friend and my new partner!" She retorted. "He's teaching me how to be tough."
At the word 'friend', a massive on-screen collision flashed. Apparently, Jazz's character had come out of nowhere and rammed into the three others. As Jazz did a victory dance, Bee yelped at Alice, "What, are you out of your mind?! Sentinel Prime is the biggest, most egotistical jerk this side of the universe! Why in the world did you ask for his help?"
"Well, he just sorta…was the only one available at the time, considering he's got no friends." Alice explained, grinning slightly. "Besides, he's not much of a jerk when you get to know him."
"What the slag is going on in here?" A grouchy yell came from deeper in the base.
"Nothing, Ratchet," Sari yelled back. "Just playing video games."
It was then that Alice noticed the key hanging around Sari's neck. "Hey, Sari, what's that?" She asked.
"Huh? Oh, that's just my key." She responded. "I mostly use it to repair my friends if they get damaged."
"Oh, wow, it can do that? How'd you get it?" Alice asked, looking down at the key in an interested manner. "I mean, if you feel like telling me…"
"It's a long story, but, long story short, it was infused with the power of the Allspark, a Cybertronian artifact filled with raw power." Sari was about to go on, but there was a blip from Jazz's comlink.
As the mech answered, there was a loud screech of anger from the other side. "JAZZ, YOU INSUBORDINATE GLITCH! WHERE DID YOU TAKE ALICE?"
"Whoa, calm down, Sentinel!" Jazz responded. "I just took her over to Optimus' pad to hang out with the others-"
"YOU WHAT?! If you don't get her back here…"
"Alright, alright, fine! I'm heading back there now." Shutting it off, he turned to the others and said apologetically, "Sorry guys, but I'm gonna have to cut this visit short."
"That's alright, Jazz," Bee responded. "Man, Sentinel's such a slaghead…"
"Yeah, well, unfortunately for us, he's our superior," Jazz shrugged and transformed. "I just wish someone would put him in his place. Come on, Alice, we'd better get going."
"Bye, guys. It was nice meeting you!" Alice waved goodbye from Jazz's window as he drove off.
--
"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Sentinel practically howled at Jazz. "She's MY human! You could have gotten her contaminated with organic germs!"
"Oh, 'YOUR human', Sentinel? Last time I checked, she was your friend, not your pet! Ugh! I have no idea why that human's hanging around with you!"
"She happens to LIKE 'hanging out' with me!"
"Hey guys. Why all the yelling?" Alice poked her head from around the corner, a towel wrapped around her head. Sentinel had ordered her to take a bath, and she had reluctantly complied. "I thought I heard my name out here…"
"It's nothing, Alice, nothing at all…" Jazz growled and stormed off.
"What's up with him?" The human asked.
"No idea." Sentinel replied before turning to look at her. "I trust you're decent, as you humans say."
"Well, yeah. Dude, I'm not going to come out here butt naked, even if you are a giant robot."
"Hm. Alright, we've got important matters to discuss. Come, we'll take a 'walk'."
--
As the two emerged from the Elite Guard ship, Sentinel began by saying, "You show incredible promise, and that's why I do not feel comfortable letting you laze around with lower mechs, like Optimus' group."
"Huh. Funny, they seem really nice."
"That they may be, but they are nothing more than a straggling splinter group. You mustn't spoil your image by associating yourself with them. That being said, I think it's about time you had an assessment."
"…Wow, Sentinel, that's a lot of big words," The human said in mock awe. "Did you make this speech while you were in the Brig?
"…Yes, but that's not the point. I think it's about time you showed me how much you've learned."
"But I haven't learned anything."
"So you say, but, again, you have potential. Stop giving me that look, I haven't even told you what I'll be assessing you on yet. I want you to prank the slag out of Optimus Prime's group. ALL OF THEM, do you hear me? Spare no one."
"But, they seem like their cool guys…"
"Either way, you must do it."
"I don't have to! You aren't the boss of me!"
"Well, unless you'd like to go back to being a nobody, then fine, you can be dismissed. But those stragglers might not think so much of you if you don't show up with Ultra Magnus or Jazz. They might just shun you."
Alice winced. True, she wished she didn't have to do this, but… "I hate you sometimes." She growled. "Fine, I'll do it."
"Good. Now, for the rules: You'll get no help from ANYONE, not even me, you have seven days to prank them all at least once, and you will have to report back to me with what you did and to whom. I'll decide at the end of the seven days if you pass or not. I will allow a period of three days dedicated to preparations, but after that, the clock is ticking, no exceptions. Also, you aren't allowed to tell anyone. Are we clear?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"Good."
--
The next day, Alice was out with Jazz once again. As they drove through the city, Jazz asked, "Something wrong, Alice? You seem kind of down today."
"It's nothing, Jazz. I'm ok, just a little tired." A sudden explosion from ahead made the mech screech to a halt. "What the heck?"
Letting Alice out and transforming, Jazz ran forward, nunchuks at the ready.
Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Sari were taking cover behind some debris, as a small girl on a floating unicorn while brandishing a wand was throwing a temper tantrum outside a toystore. "Jazz, thank Primus you're here!" Bee yelled. "This kid's out of control!"
"Is that all?" Jazz asked, looking up.
"GO AWAY, UGLY ROBOT!" The girl screamed, blasting Jazz with a rainbow-colored blast that knocked him backwards. "I DON'T LIKE YOU!"
"Yeah, Professor Princess is a brat, isn't she?" Bulkhead asked, pulling the stunned mech behind a barricade. "We have no idea why she's acting like this."
Meanwhile, Alice had arrived on the scene, peaking from behind a large pile of debris. Ducking just in time to avoid a rainbow blast, she spotted the others. Scurrying towards them, she panted, "Man, someone's gotta put that kid in time-out."
"Yeah, but we can't really hurt a human, even if it's a bratty one." Jazz replied.
"Well, if we can calm her down long enough, we might be able to get her ready for the police, or her parents, to deal with her." Turning to Bee and Bulkhead, she asked, "Can you guys be a distraction while Jazz, Sari and I find something that we can distract her with?"
"We're on it!" The yellow mech replied, as they ran from behind their shield. As the girl screeched and attempted to blast them into oblivion, the three snuck into the now demolished toy store.
"Now, what do we use to calm her down?" Sari asked.
"Well, just by looking at her and her…" she smirked. "'Weapon', I can tell she's all into pink and rainbows. We should start looking for something shiny and maybe pastel-colored. Start looking!"
After a few minutes, Jazz's voice sounded from somewhere behind some rubble. "I think this might work. What do you guys think?" The mech pulled out what appeared to be a life-sized ballerina doll with an absurdly large wind-up key in its back. Its dress was a bit tattered due to the explosions, but it reposed peacefully in Jazz's hands.
"It's a bit battered. She might not go for it if it's dirty and messed up." Alice mused. "Sari, can I use that key of yours?"
"Well, this IS an emergency…Alright." Taking it from her neck, she handed it off to Alice. The girl removed the wind-up key and replaced it with Sari's. She gave it a few good turns and it sprang to attention.
--
Bumblebee and Bulkhead had ducked behind the piles of debris as the blast came down thick and heavy. "Slag it! Where are they with that pacifier for that kid?!" The yellow mech yelled.
"Actually, we're right here." The two jumped as Jazz seemingly appeared behind them. Soft music filled the air, and the doll, Alice and Sari came from behind Jazz. "Well, think this'll work?"
"I hope so…" Alice took a deep breath and yelled. "Hey, kid! Look what we've got!"
Professor Princess looked to see the doll dance gracefully across the rubble. She looked at it for a few moments before yelling, "I already have one of THOSE!" She attempted to blast the distraction away, but it simply danced away from the rainbows that threatened to decimate it. "Hey, hold still!" She yelled, right before Bulkhead's wrecking ball knocked her off her floating unicorn and separated her from her wand.
As Bumblebee picked the crying girl up by the back of her shirt, Alice rushed forward and removed Sari's key from the doll's back. It immediately let its head flop forward and stood still. Handing the key back to its owner, she commented, "This thing's really powerful, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but it's not a toy so I can't use it for just anything anymore." Sari replied.
"Hmm…" Alice turned back to the still toy. "Think they'll let me keep it?"
"Why would you want that thing? Professor Princess has one!" Sari asked.
"Well, I kinda like it. Besides, just because I like giant robots doesn't mean I can't act like a girl once in a long while."
"Agreed." Sari remarked as they watched the police take Professor Princess away in a cruiser.
--
"And what is THAT?" Sentinel looked down at Alice, who'd brought the doll home with her.
"It's a doll. I used it to pacify a raging girl on a floating unicorn." Alice replied in an innocent voice.
"Am I expected to believe that? Please, what do you think I am, an idiot?" Sentinel scoffed.
"Well, if the shoe fits…" Alice grumbled.
"What did you say?"
"I said, I did! Really! Just ask Jazz!"
"Hmmm…Humph. Fine."
"So can I keep it, please?" Alice practically begged.
"Fine, fine, just make sure it's clean and it isn't contaminated or something. Don't forget, you still have two Earth days of preparation before you get assessed." He turned his back on her and strode down the hallway.
As soon as he was gone, Alice stomped her feet. "Ugh! Why did I ever ask him for help?!" Grabbing the doll, she grumbled, "I wish I could put him in his place…Oh well. Come on, Dolly, we'd better start planning. First off, though, we'd better clean you up. Last thing I want is that jerk taking away my partner in crime. Also, I think you deserve a better name. Dolly sounds kind of lame. I'll think of something eventually…" She giggled. "Look at me, talking to a doll. You'd think I was crazy or something."
--
As the girl slept on her desk amid crumpled pieces of paper, she was unaware of the shadowed figure enter her room around one in the morning.
Two red optics glowed in the room. It had started slinking through the halls around eleven PM, looking around curiously and examining the various locks on the doors…as though it was getting a better grip on its surroundings…