"Are you sure it was the twins?" Optimus rumbled in question.

"Who else could it possibly have been?" Ratchet growled back.

The Prime and CMO stood together behind the med bay, discussing the latest events. They created quite the odd sight together and many humans passing by stopped to gape at the pair. A glaring Ratchet frightened off most of the crowd.

Optimus sighed. "But how could Sideswipe and Sunstreaker have pulled off such a feat?"

"Slagged if I know! The point is they did it, I know it! Sunstreaker has been here for less than two weeks and they've already caused mayhem together. Just hand them over to me Prime, I'll take care of them alright!"

The Prime rubbed his optics, choosing to skim over the medic's questionable request. "Has Prowl been notified of the situation?"

"Yes of course!"

"Did you talk to him? Is he taking disciplinary action against Sideswipe and Sunstreaker?"

"Well, I don't know. But he is certainly aware of the situation."

"Has he been… affected by the recent events?" Optimus asked.

Ratchet seemed a little deflated as the conversation drifted away from due punishment towards the twins. "I don't know," he responded.

Optimus turned slightly away and touched a digit to his personal intercom. "Optimus Prime to Prowl," he said into the comm-link. "Prowl, are you aware…? Yes I know – no I don't know where the twins are. Yes I have been affected as well. Prowl… calm down," Optimus sighed in frustration as the 'bot on the other end of the conversation ranted in his audio. "Listen, I need you to meet Ratchet and myself behind the med bay… behind the med bay… now. That is an order Prowl, Optimus Prime out."

Optimus cut the link and turned back towards Ratchet. "He's on his way," said the Prime.

o~o~o

In the recesses of a ruined Chicago, a form slunk through the shadows. Glittering optics watched as humans passed by, and shrank back into dark corners when they got too close. Oddly enough, it did not encounter any Autobots as it slowly moved through the city, working its way towards its destination. After another several minutes of slinking, the med bay came into sight. The form moved towards the back of the bay where finally two Autobots came into view; Optimus Prime and Ratchet, although a stranger wouldn't have been able to identify either of them underneath their odd getups.

The shadow crept forward, eyeing the strange looking 'bots as they conversed together. As it got closer, the big black one that could only be Optimus Prime caught sight of the movement and looked its way.

"Ah Prowl, glad you were able to join us," Optimus greeted.

The tactician emerged from the darkness; although, the bright yellow-orange paint that covered his armor hadn't done a very good job at hiding him in the first place. There really wasn't much of a change in his frame build, but the brilliant paint scheme and the word "TAXI" written in bold black letters across his doorwings revealed the source of his humiliation.

"Prime. Ratchet." Prowl returned a gruff greeting. He looked wary, despite being in the company of fellow officers. The three eyed each other for a minute; processing the new looks each other sported.

"Well then," Prowl finally said. "We have something to discuss?"

"Indeed," said Optimus. "Who do you think is responsible for this?"

"Optimus!" Ratchet said in disgust. "We've been over this; it was obviously those two pit-spawn brothers! Prowl, tell him!"

Prowl sighed through his vents and hesitated before speaking, as if he were loath to even talk, therefore acknowledging his very existence, while in such a degrading state. Nevertheless he responded, "Although I have no evidence to prove it, I do believe that Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are responsible for… this," he finished rather lamely.

"Unfortunately I cannot allow somebody to be accused of breaking the rules without sufficient evidence. Do you think you can acquire the proof you need before issuing out the punishment?" Optimus asked of the two.

Prowl and Ratchet stared at each other for a moment. "How about this," Ratchet finally spoke up. "We gather all the Autobots together, and I'll bet you anything Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are the only ones without ridiculous alt-modes. Would that be proof enough for you Optimus?"

Optimus seemed to contemplate the request for a moment before nodding. "Yes," he said, "That would be sufficient."

o~o~o

In another part of Chicago, a band of misfits made their way through the deserted streets. Hound was chatting animatedly with Bumblebee in the front of the pack, while Dino slunk gloomily in the back.

"I don't know why you're moping Dino," Jolt said to the purple Chevy ssr. "Look at me, I'm hot pink!"

"Well at least you're a Cadillac. What am I supposed to be?! It's hideous, whatever it is," said Tracks.

Bumblebee joined in through their comm-link, "But it's got kind of that classic look, you know?"

"Yeah it's not so bad," Hound said to Tracks as he listened in on the conversation.

Tracks snorted. "You don't have the right to comment here Hound, you're a Porsche!"

Hound turned around and walked backwards so he could talk to Tracks face to face. "Well really," he said, "What use is a Porsche when I want to go off-roading? There isn't a single place I can think of where I can drive through terrain without banging up my undercarriage!"

Suddenly, one of the two Model Ts in the group started snickering.

"What's so funny?" Hound asked defensively.

"I jus' got it," Mudflap giggled. "Bumblebee… is a Bug! Geddit? He's a bug, 'cause his name is a type a bug, and now his alt-mode is a Bug… geddit?!" He proceeded to laugh until Skids smacked him upside the helm.

"Yore an idiot," the other twin chided.

Bumblebee approached the two aggressively, doorwings held high, beeping with irritation and throwing his arms in the air in a tirade. The twins took off with the furious Bug right on their tailpipes.

Hound shook his head at the antics, but before he could comment they were all greeted by hailing tones in their comm-links.

"All Autobots report to the med bay," Optimus Prime's commanding voice ordered.

They all looked at each other. Jolt shrugged, "Well then, let's shove off." And they altered their course and made their way towards Ratchet's temporary med bay.

o~o~o

When the mismatched group finally made it to their destination, they were greeted by none other than Prime, Ratchet, and Prowl outside the med bay. The incoming Autobots gawked at the appearance of their officers.

"Oh man… Prime?" Jolt laughed after a minute.

Several of the 'bots chuckled despite themselves. Optimus, for once, looked like he had no idea what to say, and Prowl looked like he was fighting off a CPU crash. Therefore it was up to Ratchet to take charge of the situation.

"Where are those fragging twins?" the CMO asked.

Just at that moment Bumblebee trudged in, dragging Skids and Mudflap behind him. He dumped the protesting Model Ts and took a look at the strange sight. He beeped something unintelligible which ended in a burst of staticy noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"Where are the other twins?" Ratchet growled.

"How should we know?" Tracks retorted. "Last time I saw them was when Dino was changing his alt-mode!"

Suddenly Dino found himself in the middle of a stare down as ten 'bots turned to look at him. "Hey, don't look at me! I already told Jolt, I've had no part in this!"

"Yeah well you started it," Skids grumbled, earning himself a glare from the purple truck.

Optimus, finally bringing himself out of his stupor, rubbed his optics, weary of his soldiers' antics. "Autobots…" he began, but was swiftly interrupted by a shout.

"There they are!"

Every mech present turned to see three femmes approaching their position. Arcee, Elita-One, and Chromia, and by the looks of them even they were suffering from the effects of recent events. Their wheels were larger and their frames had sharper edges and less paneling (much to the mechs' delight), and not to mention they now sported huge, long monkey-bar handles. To anyone who knows their way around a motorbike, it was obvious their alt-modes were Harley Davidsons. The femmes were also painted black with flame designs, the color of the flames matching each femme's previous paint color. The boys couldn't stop staring as the three marched up and halted in front of them all.

"All right," Chromia finally said after a few minutes of mutual inspection had passed. "Which one of you is Dino?!"

All fingers pointed out the mentioned Autobot.

"How dare you!" Chromia snapped at the unfortunate mech. "It was funny when you messed with your own body, but to go and tinker with our's…? Without our permission? While we were recharging?" Nuh uh, I don't think so. You change us back this instant or Primus help us we will…!"

"Hey hey hey! How many times do I have to say, I had nothing to do with this!" Dino interrupted the femme once his shock had worn off.

"Oh yeah right, don't even try to pull that kind of slag on us!" Elita backed her sister up.

"I mean it!" Dino retorted.

Elita was about to fight back when a deep rumbling sound stopped her. The 'bots looked around, trying to find the source of the noise. It increased, until finally all optics locked onto Optimus Prime.

The Prime was doubled over, laughing. He didn't know why, nothing about this situation had seemed funny to him up until this point. But when suddenly the femmes appeared, and he saw nearly all of his Autobots together in their ridiculous and mismatched getups, he had realized just how absurd this all was. However, it wasn't until he had glanced over to his side and saw again the word "LOVE" sprawled across his medic's chest plate, and the stupefied expression on Prowl's face, that he really lost it. He leaned back, bellowing in laughter, his deep voice booming across the city.

Everyone stared, but no one knew what to do. It was a rarity just to see the great Prime smile, and it was unheard of to hear him even chuckle. This intense, resonating laughter was unprecedented.

"Oh man he's lost it," Jolt said to Tracks.

"I think he's broken," Tracks whispered back.

And for anyone paying attention, the funniest part of the whole situation was Prowl's expression. Mouth clamped shut but optics as wide as hubcaps, he stared at Optimus with the most horrified and frightened look anyone could have pulled off, leaning away as if afraid his Commanding Officer had finally gone senile.

But Optimus didn't care about the reactions he was receiving. It just felt so good to laugh. Despite the war ending and cleanup in Chicago going smoothly, the tense feeling he'd always had during the war had never gone away. In fact his uneasiness had been growing in the last few days, and he just couldn't figure out why. His spark still harbored that sensation of wrongness that had first come about over two weeks ago, and even though he had gotten used to it, he was still very much aware of its presence. And so he let himself laugh for another good hard minute, letting the merriment wash away all the tension in his body.

But finally the laughter died away and Optimus was able to regain his composure; what was left of it anyway. When he finally looked back up, his gaze was met with the mostly blank, but a few amused, stares from his troops. Optimus cleared his vocalizer.

"Autobots disband," he ordered.

The 'bots glanced at each other in humor, but after a moment they slowly wandered off in various directions.

"Okay, so where are those twins?" Ratchet said after he, Optimus, and Prowl were alone again.

"The Wreckers didn't show up either," Prowl commented, having somehow regained his own sanity. "Neither did Perceptor," he said as an afterthought.

"Oh, uh, haha, I'm here actually," came a sudden nervous reply. The three officers turned in unison to see a sheepish Perceptor emerge from behind a nearby building. "I suppose even I have not been immune to recent events," said the scientist.

Upon seeing the scientist, Ratchet smirked. "What are you supposed to be?"

"Well, it's a Nissan Figaro, to be precise," said Perceptor.

"And it's pink," replied Ratchet, still smirking.

Indeed, Perceptor's alt-mode had been changed to that of a Nissan Figaro, and just like Jolt, he was pink. Such was the source of Perceptor's embarrassment.

"Perceptor, have you seen Sideswipe or Sunstreaker?" Optimus asked of the scientist.

"Uh, uh no, not recently no," Perceptor responded. Prowl's optics narrowed at the hesitation in Perceptor's reply, but his attention was averted by Optimus turning and activating his comm.

"Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, state your position," he commanded. A few moments of silence followed in which no reply came from the twins. Sighing in frustration, the Prime again activated his comm. "Wreckers, where are you?"

Immediately the voice of Leadfoot came through all their comms. "Alright alright, hang onto your transistors we're comin'," he growled.

In moments the forms of the three Wreckers appeared within sight, Leadfoot in the lead. "Man, yew couldn'a waited 'fer another… whew look at all'o ya! Ha! Wot happened tae yer bodies?"

Roadbuster and Topspin shared Leadfoot's amusement. "Haw haw! Ya look like ya've been right well messed oop!" Roadbuster laughed.

"An' ah thought Mirage's body was screwed over!" said Topspin.

The three, completely normal looking, warriors laughed and slapped each other in merriment while the officers stood and watched in horror.

Optimus was first to snap himself out of his stupor. "Wreckers, where have you been during the last four days?"

Roadbuster looked up from his doubled over position. "Huh? We've been doin' our demolition operations, y'know tha'."

"What about during your off hours?" Prowl spoke up.

Leadfoot responded, "We jus' hang oot in the opposite side o' town. Why, ya accusen' us o' somethin'?"

Prowl stared at the Wreckers before turning to look at Optimus, asking him through the comm, "You think?"

Optimus's reply was immediate, "I do not believe the Wreckers have the will or means to pull off such a prank. They are innocent."

Receiving this, Prowl turned back to the warriors who were occupying themselves by telling questionable jokes to each other. "No we are not. But do you know where Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are?"

"Oh, Siders and his Lemon Drop brother?" Topspin responded. "Yeah they've been hanging oot in our neck o' the city for the last couple o' days. We would'a kicked those two rascals oot a long time ago, but the cheeky one knows a lot'a fun games."

"Haw! Remember the one where Leadfoot passed oot on tae road?"

"Aha! Yeah thae guy nearly boosted me leg open with his truck, he did!"

Prowl's doorwings were slowly rising and his optics narrowing in menace, and Ratchet intervened before the SiC got too steamed up over an obvious infraction of the rules. "Do you know where those twins are now?" he asked.

"Oh, are thea in trouble?" Roadbuster asked enthusiastically.

Leadfoot snickered, "Hehe, yeah we'll show ya where those rogues are. T'will be fun tae see those two put down a notch, ha! Follow us."

The Wreckers turned to leave with Ratchet, Optimus, and Prowl in tow. But Perceptor hung back, "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll go to my lab instead."

Optimus turned back toward the scientist and gave him a nod. "Very well, do as you wish," he said.

"And see if you can find a way to reverse these fragging alt-modes," Ratchet shot back.

And so the group departed, Perceptor towards his lab and the rest towards Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's hiding place.

o~o~o

The Wreckers led the officers into the southern half of Chicago, where they hung out for most of their free time. Their chosen den was hidden in an area that had already been demolished and cleared of most rubble. It was also close to parts of Chicago that had not been attacked during the battle a little over a month ago, and was still inhabited by humans, something that set Prowl a little on edge, but the area was still within their jurisdiction, so he really couldn't do anything about it. The group worked their way down the streets, winding their way around buildings and former blast zones. After several minutes of trekking, two distinct voices could be heard up ahead.

"How much you wanna bet I can break that one window up there in that building?"

"I really don't care."

"Oh come on Sunny, just a guess!"

"I'd bet my paint job you'll miss."

"Ya sure about that?"

"Quite."

The silence that followed was broken by the thoom of an object being thrown through the air and then the distant crash of a window being broken.

"HA! You lose!"

"That wasn't the window you were supposed to hit."

"Yes it was I was pointing right at it!"

"Whatever."

"So you submit? You lose! Now get over here."

"Get away from me."

"Nuh uh you betted your paint job, now get over here so I can scratch it!"

"I said get away from me!"

Just as the advancing group rounded the corner there was a crash of bodies hitting the ground and an angered snarl. They emerged to quite the tumultuous scene: Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were grappling each other, but Sunstreaker managed to scramble away and, in a fury, threw a piece of rubble at his red twin. Sideswipe dodged the projectile, and instead it sailed just over the heads of the five gathered nearby, forcing Optimus to duck.

"Oh slag it!" Sunstreaker cursed.

"Ha, missed me!" Sideswipe jeered.

"Sideswipe! Sunstreaker!" Ratchet barked, making Sideswipe jump and whirl around.

The red lambo snorted back a laugh before addressing the group, "Woah, uh, hey guys. What brings you to our lair?"

"Your lair?" Leadfoot exclaimed behind Prowl. "Oy, who let yew stay here in the first place?"

"Yes, and we'll get to you three in a minute, harboring criminals is just as offensive as the stunt that they pulled off," Prowl growled, who for the moment only had smoldering optics for the twins.

"Criminals?!" Sunstreaker repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, criminals, hooligans, you two have crossed the line!" Ratchet snapped, unable to contain his growing rage any longer. "You!" and here Ratchet pointed savagely at Sunstreaker, "have been here for a mere two weeks, and you and your brother have already managed to screw EVERYTHING up! Do you realize what a violation of privacy your actions were?!"

"Violation of privacy," Prowl picked up the rant, doorwings hitching up in agitation, "damage of personal property, shirking your duties, insubordination, compromising your fellow soldiers, superior officers and the Prime!"

At this Optimus placed a hand on each officer's shoulder. "Enough," he said, before noticing Sideswipe who, hiding behind Sunstreaker at this point, was trying his hardest not to laugh. Even though he knew the answer to the question was obvious, Optimus asked it anyway, "Sideswipe, why are you laughing?"

Struggling to compose his face, Sideswipe answered. "It's just, how can I take orders seriously... from a taxi and a... the... looooove bus! Ahaha!" And here Sideswipe burst out laughing.

"That's it!" Ratchet growled and sprang towards the twins.

"Run Sunny run!" Sideswipe shouted before taking off into the city, his brother right behind.

The Prime sighed as he watched the trio run off, the Wreckers chortling behind him.

"Oh ho what a show, eh?"

"Those rascals have a point they do!"

"I think for now," Optimus said to a silently enraged Prowl, "it would be wise to let Ratchet deal with the situation at hand."

Prowl vented heavily before nodding.

o~o~o

Jolt and Tracks walked together through Chicago, making their way towards the rec area for their ration of energon. They conversed casually, until a distant revving of engines interrupted them. It was coming closer, and they stopped to look around. In a moment, one red and one yellow Lamborghini came sliding around a corner, screamed down the deserted roadway, past the two watching Autobots, and skidded out of sight. Next a brightly colored Volkswagen bus appeared painted over with peace signs, flowers, and the word "LOVE" sprawled across its side, came screaming around the same corner, whizzed past the observers, and followed the sport cars in hot pursuit. Pretty soon the sound of revving engines and squealing tires died into the distance as quickly as it had started up.

"Well," Tracks said. "That made my day."

Jolt agreed and the two started out towards the rec area again.

Author's Notes: Alright, I promise you next chapter, the plot line will return! But for now, I hope you're enjoying the silly.