"Are you sure about this?" Agent Fowler asked, his hands holding him up as he leaned over his desk.

"I'm pretty sure about it," Elita replied with a sigh as she re-filled her large mug out of the coffee pot in Fowler's office, doctoring it with sugar and milk before she turned to face the others in the room.

The unit commander had his arms crossed over his chest as he stood beside the desk. Ratchet was sitting on the couch that rested in front of the window, enjoying the smell of Elita's coffee as she settled on the arm right beside him. Slash was leaning against the wall right next to the door, every once in a while eyeing the entrance.

Agent Fowler sighed heavily as he sat back down in his chair, the thing squeaking in protest. This wasn't exactly the news about the unit he was expecting. Between the three of them, four if he counted Ratchet, they had accounted for five possible moles in their group. How could they have gotten past the screening that they did for every candidate before they were even considered to join? Sitting up a bit at his desk he jotted down a note to double check when the men were screened.

"Missions are on hiatus until we get this problem solved," the unit commander stated directly.

"I agree," Elita said. She was about ready to continue when Slash calmly held up one of his hands as a signal. "I'm thinking that for the big dinner this week we do bar-b-que, if we can get an allowance for the provisions."

Ratchet frowned a bit, knowing that they were being careful about their conversation while Slash had his hand raised, meaning that he had noticed that someone was near the door. As long as the signal was in place they talked about food, which annoyed the Autobot more over the fact that it was making him hungry more so than the fact that they had stopped the conversation. Just the thought of Elita cooking again was making his mouth water.

As the human medic slowly lowered his hand, Agent Fowler and the Commander walked closer to Elita and Ratchet, as they stood up, continuing their conversation quietly.

"They somehow figured out what you could do, E," Fowler said. "Unfortunately Ratchet's change and your ties to Adaptation are going to make them act again. All planned missions are on hold until we get to the bottom of this."

"Unfortunately that's only going to alert them that we're onto them," Elita mumbled. "Though I would assume that they already do."

"What do you suggest?"

Frowning, Elita thought it over as she took a drink from her mug. "It takes a while to plan a mission and that's when we actually have intel to go on. I hate to do it, but we still act as if things haven't changed. Lay out a bit of honey and trap the flies."

The unit commander chuckled a bit as he shook his head. "Always about food."

Elita turned to face him, pointing at the man with her mug. "Spike Witwicky, if you don't back off I have half a mind to bring your daddy into this."

Ratchet only raised an eyebrow at how amused the men seemed to be at the threat. They either didn't take her seriously or that the man's 'daddy' wasn't seen as much of a threat as well. Even the Autobot had to admit that the threat sounded extremely childish.


The group of five stood chatting waiting as their sixth member carefully made his way around Agent Fowler's door. They were to check in with their commander tonight with new information before they could receive further orders. Right now M.E.C.H. was wishing to retrieve their missing project to see exactly how she was able to successfully achieve the fusion that they had only attempted with Silas. Then there was the transformer that she had put into flesh and bone. When the current commander that took over after Silas disappeared heard about that he wanted more information. Unfortunately for them, they had no idea how she had gone about it.

The leader of the group looked up at their scout as he came closer to them, shaking his head about the success of his mission. "All she managed to do was make me hungry," he told them.

Rubbing his chin, the group leader thought over everything. "We can't report in empty handed, so something has to happen."

"We'll have to force her hand," one of the group mumbled quietly.

"Can't attack in the open, that'd peg us for sure," another replied.

"But, gentlemen," the leader smiled as he caught sight of Commander Witwicki as he passed by to check on the equipment and inventory that some of the unit were working on, "accidents always happen."


With the meeting dismissed, the group went their separate ways. Ratchet actually followed Elita, despite her attempt to leave him behind with the other medic, as she made her way around checking on her team as they worked in small groups around the hanger. A few were working on the vehicles, some checking weapons and the other equipment, and, as it seemed to be the normal for any group he had been a part of, there was a group that was just messing around. It irked Ratchet that Elita seemed alright with the group that wasn't a part of the upkeep, but it was good for moral that the team took turns to relax. The old medic just preferred to have his hands working on a project of some form to help him relax.

As they walked past a group that was playing was called basketball, at least he thought that's what he remembered Miko and Jack teaching Bumblebee and Bulkhead back at the base, the ball had gotten out of hand and bounced towards them. He watched as Elita grabbed the ball with a laugh and asked the group, "Shirt's or skin's?"

"Skin's," one of the men in front of her answered; one that apparently was on the team that the ball belonged to since he was missing his shirt. "Sure you don't wanna join us?"

"Maybe next time," Elita smirked as she lightly tossed him the ball. "The kids will be here soon."

With a light farewell the pair left those who were playing to their game. Eventually their rounds got them back to the medical area, where John was mopping the floor. Careful to make sure they didn't give him more work, the two stood off to the side.

"How goes things?" he asked, only glancing up from his task.

"The usual controlled chaos for the days between," she replied with a sigh.

Slash's chuckling ended abruptly as they all turned at the sounds of crashing, grinding metal mingled with shouting voices. Elita was already moving out, Ratchet right behind her, when they heard someone call out for a medic. Ratchet went rushing towards the sound, instinct kicking in at the call. John let the mop crash to the floor as he grabbed his bag and ran after the pair.

Ratchet and Elita reached the group as the whole mass of men were working quickly to pull the metallic shelves off of the men that had been trapped under the pile of supplies and metallic frame when it fell. As the injured was pulled free, Ratchet soon realized that he had no idea where he could start in helping with the men. Elita noticed that he seemed stuck as he stared at the blood covered bodies and yelled for him to come help lift up the shelves. The Autobot saw that Slash was already tending to the men, so he quickly added his strength to the task of freeing the others.

With the whole unit helping, the task went efficiently and without question to any orders Elita was giving. Ratchet saw panic slowly rising in her form as each man was pulled free, the wounded being tended to under the human medic and his team. With a glance around he realized that she was taking into account every man there and who was not.

"Where's the commander?" one of the men shouted. Apparently Elita wasn't the only one taking in numbers.

Ratchet heard a groaning from the pile nearby and rushed towards the sound. Peeking through the twisted mass of metallic shelving structures, one of which looked like it had been cut clean through, he saw a body under the mess.

"There's someone over here!" he called out before he gripped the frame to lift it up, his feet slipping a bit from the puddle of blood that had accumulated on the floor. Elita and several others were at his side adding their strength to the task. When it was lifted enough Elita slipped under the mass.

"Stay with me, Spike," she said urgently as she took in the situation. One of the supports for the shelving unit had pierced through his chest from behind, the man wasn't conscious. She didn't have time to wait for someone to cut the post free so she grabbed a hold of it behind him near his back, her hand glowing brilliantly as she cut it.

They all saw the bright blue light flash from under the pile moments before Elita began to crawl out backwards, dragging the unit commander with her. When they were free from the pile the group let it drop. Slash was at her side as they rolled the commander onto his back, Elita still supporting him since they couldn't lay him flat. Blood poured from the wound, but from the amount that surrounded them on the floor and drenched their clothing they knew that he was running out fast.

"He'll die before he even reaches the table," Slash mumbled, knowing that every single one of the unit was surrounding them, waiting on baited breath about their commander.

Elita took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, she couldn't lose him. Not after everything her father went through to make sure that this man grew up with his own. She also knew she didn't have a choice. Snapping her eyes open she looked up at Ratchet.

"Ratchet, Slash, pull it out."

"But," both medics started.

"Do it," she ordered, then glanced to the side. "You two, help hold him down."

A couple of the uninjured men that was nearby quickly rushed to her side, each helping support the commander. On her count the medics began to pull on the piece of metal. As it pulled free Elita had her hands on either side of the wound, again with them glowing brilliantly as she focused on her tasks.

It was painfully slow, but the object pulled free. The two that had been holding down their commander watching as tissue, muscle and bone mended under her glowing hands right before their eyes. When the skin had finished forming, Elita sent a little jolt of energy into his torso. Commander Witwicki gasped for air, his body twitching slightly from the shock, but soon relaxed back into his unconscious state.

"Get the wounded to the medical bay, now," Slash ordered urgently, the unit quickly rushing to do as he ordered. The two men that helped hold down their commander carried him to the medical bay, he might be physically alright, but he would still need blood. That was one thing that Ratchet always appreciated, when the group didn't question the medic when injuries were at stake.

Concern flooded the Autobot as he knelt down beside his friend. She still sat on the floor, covered with blood, and looked quite pale. Sitting next to her Ratchet gently pulled her into his arms, knowing that she would be exhausted from the task; her body was shaking from it. After the discussion that they just had in Fowler's office it was a dangerous thing to expose. He also knew that she respected the man as much as she did Optimus, and she was willing to do what it took to make sure that they survived.

Elita's body relaxed as she gave into the darkness that called her, finding a strange comfort in Ratchet's arms that she never knew she needed. It was a comfort that made her feel safe, a feeling she hadn't had since her father left.


One of the men that had carried the commander sighed as he pulled off his bloodly clothing, having stepped into the shower with it to rinse off most of the mess before he washed up. He still couldn't believe his eyes, despite having watched the whole thing. She was amazing! Though that's exactly what Silas had thought of her as well.

Five other men stepped into the shower area, one of them had his arm in a cast. An acceptable casualty for the vast amount of knowledge they gleaned. They had aided with the clean up while he had offered to donate blood for their wounded commander, which kept him in the medical bay so he could observe on goings there. Most of the wounded were moved to the hospital on base for further observation.

"I've made our report and received our orders. We strike tonight," he told them quietly as he passed his wet clothing over the shower wall.


Ratchet had held onto Elita as she sleep for roughly a half an hour, the group that had started to clean up doing their best to be as quiet as they could. More than one amused look was given to the medic from the group, though he couldn't understand why.

When she did finally come to she was back on her feet and going, despite not only Ratchet's words of warning about doing too much too fast, but several of the other men had echoed the concern as well. They wouldn't let her help with the clean up, but they all urged her to check on the wounded in the medical bay as long as she promised not to harm herself again with such a spectacular light show.

Slash and the other medical officials were busy helping with the wounded, the head medic issuing orders almost as much as he worked his way around. Several army green ambulances were waiting to transport, one taking off as another pulled up. Privately Ratchet was glad he didn't choose that color scheme.

As soon as they walked in John had Elita resting on a bed, though she insisted that he not pull the separation curtain around so she could watch. She was concerned for her troops and couldn't stand the idea of just being closed off from them. Despite her many attempts to go around and aid the wounded, she was sent back to resting by not only the medical staff but the wounded as well. None of them objected when she took the seat beside Commander Witwicky's bed as he still slept.

Ratchet, on the other hand, put himself in the middle of everything. He didn't know how long he was going to be stuck as a human, so he decided he had better learn how to mend them. He was pleased that it was close to what he had already known how to do, what he didn't like was how messy it was.

With the last of the wounded riding in the back of an ambulance, the medical crew began the long clean up of the area. It went quickly with so many hands to help, but it was still a daunting task. During the clean up the medical crew took their turns using the shower system that was set up in an adjoining room. Ratchet and Slash were the last two to clean up, aside from Elita who had focused on the task of washing up the commander.

Ratchet had stopped as he watched her gently sponge away the blood that had stuck to his skin, using a soft care that he felt jealous about. Why was he jealous over her tender affection towards this man? Maybe he thought Spike was special enough to her that she only used her gift to save him, until he recalled that she had first discovered it when she saved Optimus' life. Someone nudging his arm brought him out of his thoughts, realizing it was Slash who had done so.

"Let's go get you washed up so you can get some sleep," the medic suggested quietly.

Just the thought of another fight with soap made Ratchet wince, but he was a mess and smelt terrible so he followed the other medic into the shower area. Managing to avoid getting soap in his eyes this time, Ratchet was rather relieved to be clean once the task was done. Having wrapped a towel around himself, he paused as he caught sight of Slash in the shower.

The man was utilizing a mirror that hung up on one of the posts, rubbing some sort of buzzing device over not only his jaw line and cheeks, which Ratchet learned himself that those were areas that male facial hair grew, but over his head as well.

"What in Primus' name are you doing?" the Autobot asked, honestly bewildered.

Slash looked at his companion through the reflection of the mirror, not really stopping his task. "Shaving."

"All of your hair?"

"Yep," the human replied as he lifted his chin up to get under it and his neck. "Especially in cases like today, it's easier to clean up and keep myself clean if I don't have a bunch of hair to deal with. It also makes things easier if I have to quickly prepare for surgery. I don't run the risk of unsanitary things getting caught in my hair if I'm having to slash open my patient."

"Slash open?" That honestly was an appalling thought to the Autobot, so why did this human find the idea funny enough to chuckle about. "Is that where you got your nickname?"

"Sort of." John shut off his battery operated razor and tucked it back in its holder before he gave himself another quick rinse before shutting off the water. "A general surgeon is sometimes called a 'Slasher' because there are times our patients look like they're out of horror movies. The name kinda stuck. Guys of the group say it gives a good intimidation factor."

Ratchet just shook his head, "I don't think I'll ever completely understand human humor."

John just smiled, "Don't feel bad. I don't understand a lot of it myself."

The pair stepped into the main area, finding Elita up and cleaning up the mess that she had made. Commander Witwicky was cleaned up and dressed in a patient garment, but resting under a blanket. Elita, on the other hand, still was covered with dried blood.

She had removed her over jacket and undershirt, leaving her in a black bodice like top that zipped up on the left hand side. It covered and supported her like a bra without shoulder straps, but it was low cut in the back to allow the nano-fibers in the shape of an Autobot symbol that covered her whole back to be unrestricted for when she was merged together with her larger form. Ratchet had seen her in it before, but for some reason he felt heat rushing to his cheeks.

Slash walked away, half laughing and half coughing as he shook his head. "You made sure to make him fully functional, didn't you?" he asked Elita as he walked past her to a set of cabinets.

"What?" she asked, looking up from the task she had been focused on in the sink. Turning to look from one medic to the other, Ratchet became even more confused as to why her face suddenly turned a dark red as she quickly focused back on her tasks. "It wasn't a conscious decision, no."

"Subconscious perhaps."

Elita groaned as she started to scrub the fabric harder in the sink.

Looking down, Ratchet started to grumble again. "Elita, would you please fix this? This is getting annoying."

John was laughing by this point, having pulled on a clean pair of pants before he walked back over. "You didn't explain that to him, did you?"

"Explain what?" the Autobot demanded.

Elita shot the human medic a dark look, the intent behind it completely ruined by how dark her blush was. "I had assumed you explained things like that to him, especially since it is dealing with the male anatomy."

"What does the body type have to do with explaining anything?" Ratchet tried to interrupt.

"Ah! Well, see your first problem was you assumed, and you know what that means," John mumbled as he walked around her as he tossed Ratchet a clean pair of pants. "Secondly, your orders were for explanations to be PG. That's at least a PG-13, which is your responsibility since you set up the restrictions."

"I agree, you should have explained it all back at the Autobot base," Ratchet tried to interrupt again, but at least she just ignored him still.

"Would you please help me out here?" Elita pleaded.

"No can do, boss lady. I've already had the 'talk' with my kids."

"What talk? What does talking have to do with any of this?" the Autobot sighed.

"You have experience! You know just what to say."

"You could always show him," Slash replied with a smirk.

Elita sighed as she rolled her eyes. "I forgot how big of a rump you could be, John."

"Now that's your own fault for forgetting something you've known since day one at boot camp."

With an aggravated groan, Elita just dropped her wet clothing back into the sink. "I need some coffee."

"That's a perfect way to start the romance," John called after her, which only got another growl in response. Chuckling he turned back to Ratchet, who finally put on the pants since he wasn't trying to get anything said between the two. "That's a normal reaction for your body, just ignore it and it'll usually go away on its own."

"What reaction? I swear human bodies are some of the strangest forms I have ever encountered."

Again John chuckled with a shake of his head. "It gets like that for the act of physical and emotional bonding and reproduction."

Ratchet's jaw dropped. All he could do was watch as Slash checked on the commander before they shut the light outs out for the room, all the while trying to figure out how in the universe that had anything to do with species reproduction. No wonder Elita was avoiding the subject.

"She'll probably crash in there again tonight. Tomorrow we'll do something about getting her a room set up," the medic said quietly as they walked through the base, most of the troops getting things settled before most of them headed to their homes or rooms, depending on who was scheduled for overnight watch. "It's been a long day. Go ahead and crash early if you want. See you in the morning."

With a soft sigh, Ratchet headed towards the kitchens first to grab a bite to eat. He didn't see Elita there, the cooks telling him that she had already grabbed her drink and headed to the showers. A bowl of hearty beef stew was waiting for him, something left behind by Elita. With his stomach happily and warmly filled, Ratchet gave into the urge to head to bed.

After changing into some of the clothing that was placed in his foot locker Ratchet stretched out onto his bed, supporting his head with an arm behind it. He had a feeling the others would be coming in soon and he would do his best to stay wake until then.


Elita sighed as she slipped on clean clothing; at least being in the military made her wardrobe simple. She'd go grab a bowl of stew that had been cooking all day and head back to the medical bay. She just hoped that Ratchet liked his. If not, she was sure she'd hear about it. He always let everyone know when even a little something bothered him. No doubt food was one of those things.

She found the cafeteria dark as she walked in, frowning as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Hopefully the cooks had put her stew in the fridge. She was so hungry she'd eat it cold. She managed to make her way half way through the room without incident when she suddenly 'felt' someone behind her. A thick piece of plastic was thrown over her face and pulled tight, cutting off her air supply and blocking her attempt to scream for help. Her struggles were cut short when she felt an electrical prod being jabbed into her side, the current shocking her body offline.


He didn't realize that he had dozed off until the sound of the door opening and shutting slowly brought him out of his restful state. A cold feeling crept over him, making him slowly open his eyes. Someone slammed their hand over his mouth, someone else grabbing his feet as he tried to kick his assailant away. A sharp pain in his neck was quickly followed by a burning sensation before Ratchet's body felt heavy. Despite struggling to do so, darkness overcame the Autobot.

He was carried between two of the M.E.C.H. agents and thrown into the back of an ambulance, where Elita's bound form was already laying on the floor. They shut the doors, one hitting the back a couple of times to let the driver know that the load was secure. The driver slowly pulled away, heading out the front gate of the military base, driving away into the night.


Author's Note: I don't own the show.

Boy that was a lot to get in. Question is, to continue or not to continue? Let me know!

Edit 2k19: Yes, continued. *Heart* you all!