Strength always comes at a price.

It can cost time, energy, and effort— but it can also rob you of the things you hold dear.

When I found out what I was and what I was capable of, I had to accept a lot of things.

One of them was that the relationships I had built would someday crumble away like dust and slip through my fingers.


-0-0-0-0-0-


Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Raf ran out of the Harbinger as the mysterious ship landed and lowered its ramp. Bumblebee warned Raf to stand back, but the little boy didn't listen. One of the occupants of the ship lunged...

"RAF!" Miko shouted in delight as she hugged the boy. Raf blinked, surprised, then closed his eyes and laughed as the girl spun him around.

"Girl's got a grip, doesn't she?" Jack asked with a small chuckle as Raf was released. Raf high-fived and hugged him, and he smiled tiredly. Ratchet smiled as the rest of the group descended the ramp.

"You're alive." He spoke, and the three human children looked up and saw Arcee, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack step off of the ramp. A tall blue mech remained on the ship, along with two figures in blue and orange, and Ratchet blinked as his optics found the mech. "Ultra Magnus?!"

"Doctor." He nodded in greeting. He began interacting with Ratchet, but the two small figures kept their distance as the figure in orange seemed to scold the figure in blue.

"New paint job looks good, 'Bee." Bulkhead told the scout. Bumblebee buzzed excitedly in reply.

"You think so? Thanks, Bulkhead!"

"At least you had something to work with." Arcee grinned at the yellow 'Bot, nodding. "If I reversed my colors, I'd be pink."

"The communications link needs further calibration to be compatible with Autobot frequencies." Ratchet spoke to Ultra Magnus. "The ground bridge, however, is fully operational."

"That would've come in handy when Robo-Dragon was trying to eat us for breakfast." Miko blurted out. Ultra Magnus looked down at her, raising an optic-brow.

"The indigenous population of this planet... Do they all display the same disregard for authority?"

"No." Ratchet replied quickly, raising his servos. "Mostly just Miko, and sometimes Jenna... Say, where is Jenna?" Before anyone could reply, the sound of a jet-engine resounded and they looked up. Ultra Magnus reacted quickly, but so did the others. "No!"

"Don't shoot!" Arcee warned as she, Bulkhead, and Bumblebeee stepped in the way. Bulkhead held his arms out.

"It's Fowler! He's one of ours!"

The ship landed, and when the dust cleared, Agent Fowler could be seen helping June Darby out of his plane. The moment she saw Jack, she ran over and hugged him tightly, closing her eyes before pulling away and raises her hands to the sides of his face.

"It's okay, Mom." Jack assured, smiling tiredly. "I'm fine." Miko and Raf hugged June as well, and she looked at them fondly.

"Your families are safe. Agent Fowler saw to it that Jasper was evacuated in time."

"The only signals that Ultra Magnus was able to isolate are standing right here." Arcee announced, frowning. Wheeljack scoffed, his optics narrowing.

"Maybe his scanner's faulty." He said coldly. June blinked, then looked up at Wheeljack in surprise.

"The kid's unaccounted for." Bulkhesd noted grimly. Ratchet sighed, bowing his helm.

"Smokescreen bridged out unaccompanied." He told everyone quietly. "Only Optimus knows where, and Optimus remained behind to destroy the ground-bridge and to ensure that everyone else made it to safety."

"I watched the base go down." Fowler spoke forlornly. "No one or thing walked out of there - and even if Prime survived, I'm not so sure that we can wait around for him. Not with Megatron holding our planet hostage from his 'high and mighty' perch at Darkmount." June saw Wheeljack's fists clench, and her eyes widened.

"Hm." Ultra Magnus nodded in agreement. "I would be inclined to agree with the native life-form. We must stop Megatron, with or without Optimus-"

"Where is my daughter?!" June finally snapped, and everyone blinked as she looked up at Wheeljack. Her fists had clenched, her eyes had teared up, and she looked livid. "Where is she?!" Wheeljack blinked as Fowler, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Raf all seemed to come to the sudden realization that the girl was missing, then he looked down.

"June-"

"You told me that you would keep my baby safe! Now, where is my daughter?!"

"... Complicated." Jack replied quietly. Over on the ramp, the figure in blue looked up, hugging herself, and the figure in orange sighed quietly before gesturing.

"Go." She said, and the figure in blue looked at her. "No time like the present, rookie." The figure in blue slowly nodded, then she slowly began walking towards the group. As she walked, her armor pixelized and vanished, and it was suddenly Jenna Darby in a bizarre outfit under her usual green hoodie, her hair cut to shoulder-length and her eyes now a pair of glowing-blue optics.

"Hey, guys." She greeted tensely, already uncomfortable as Bumblebee, Ratchet, Raf, Fowler, and June began staring at her. "I, um... I guess that I'm a techno-organic. So, that's a thing. Um... Oh, God - Sari?"

"I've gotcha." The figure in orange walked over and placed her hand on Jenna's shoulder, her helmet dissolving. Bumblebee's optics widened in disbelief.

"SARI?!"

"Hey, 'Bee." Sari looked up at him, smiling. "It's been a while... You guys are just magnets for reckless young techno-organics with death-wishes, aren't you?"


Sari explained as much as she could about techno-organics to Raf, Miko, Jack, Arcee, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus, Fowler, and June. Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Bulkhead listened in silence, as did Jenna. The brunette, sitting in a dark corner, was oftentimes staring at her hands or messing with the few mods that she knew of, but she didn't draw attention to herself.

Once Sari was done, Bulkhead made Wheeljack explain what had happened in Darkmount. Jenna hugged her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on them, remaining silent. She missed her long hair, the curtain of brown frizz that seemed to shield her from the world and hide her from prying eyes.

"... Anything to add?" Wheeljack asked quietly, and Jenna blinked before looking up. His optics were on her, his expression emotionless, and Jenna blinked before looking down.

"I... I woke up in this place." She admitted, shaking her head. "It was like a dream. I don't know if it was real, but there was a Cybertronian there. He called himself Primus, like the guy from Wheeljack's stories." She looked up at him, frowning. "It was kind of strange. He told me told me that I was a techno-organic, and he showed me what looked like how I came to be. Two people finding a pod that crashed outside of their house, and this liquid-metal body-"

"Sound familiar?" Sari asked quietly. Bulkhead, Ratchet, and Bumblebee nodded, frowning. Jenna looked down again.

"Whatever. He told me that the 'Cons learned about us, about techno-organics, and that they found me. And..." She shook her He's, scoffing. "He said that the 'Cons killed my parents after they dropped me off in Jasper to save my life." All went silent, and Jenna looked away. "Then, he told me that 'J-... Wheeljack thought I was dead, and that Sari was going to jumpstart me and bring me back as a freakin, robot, and... I just woke up, and I was like this."

"And I taught her how to use some of her mods, and she told me what the blinking lights on my tracker meant." Sari held up the tracker, smiling as she tried to ease the tension. "We headed to the Wrecker meet-up point, and Jenna told me that there was a 'Con mine nearby when we found the place deserted. We flew over there, fought a robot-dragon-"

"Predacon." Jenna corrected quietly. Sari lightly rolled her optics.

"Whatever. The rest is history."

"... Predacon?" Ratchet asked, alarmed. Jenna looked up at him, her optics narrowed.

"According to the information that was honestly-violatingly downloaded into my head... Yeah. That creature was a Predacon." She told him, then she blinked as June walked over to her. "... Mom-"

"No, Jenna." June glared down at her daughter. "What were you thinking, up there? You could have been killed!"

"I know, but-"

"Were you thinking of anything aside from that reckless bravado you've let Wheeljack etch into you?!" June asked her, glaring. "I mean, did it even cross your mind about how Jack and I would be affected if you died?!"

"... I have to live knowing that you're going to die long before I will." Jenna replied quietly, and June blinked. All eyes and optics turned to Jenna as she stood up and looked at June. "I'm seventeen for eight-billion, Mom... And I have to live every day knowing that I'm going to be in my prime long after this entire solar-system is dust." Her fists clenched at her sides. "Yeah, I was thinking about you and Jack. I thought about you two and Miko and Raf and Agent Fowler and the Autobots for every second of my time in that place... But there was more on the line than your feelings."

"Jenna-"

"Mom." Jenna's optics narrowed. "I'm sorry... But stand by what I did." With that, she turned and left the room.


/\


When the 'meeting' was over and the big 'bots were talking, Sari led Jenna outside and began drilling her with mod-practice. They figured out that Jenna's wings and bombs were what she got instead of the ("awesome!") energy-hammer that Sari possessed, but aside from that, Jenna and Sari possessed the same mods. However, Jenna did not possess Sari's knowledge of combat and endurance, and when Sari suggested sparring practice-

"Ah!" Jenna yelped as she was sent flying across the canyon, landing on the ground and rolling a few feet before coming to a stop and just laying there, groaning. Sari sighed, shaking her head and smirking.

"You tired yourself out again. I told you to tell me so that I could let up."

"... No." Jenna looked up, glaring as she pushed herself onto her hands and knees before standing and facing Sari. "I'm a Wrecker. I don't back down, I don't quit, I don't stop fighting." She raised her fists, smirking. "You say I'm a strong as a 'bot, now. Let's prove it, eh?"

"Well... If you say so." Sari said tensely, raising her fists. "You think you can take it?" Jenna nodded, grinning.

"I think we can both agree that I've had worse, Red."

"Alright... Let's-" Sari blinked, then frowned as she looked up at something. "Actually, I think you have to go. Someone wants to talk to you." Jenna blinked, then sighed quietly before turning to her right and looking up.

"... Hey, 'Jackie."


He didn't pick her up, like he used to. When they went up on top of the cliffs to talk, Jenna had to use her wings and fly up because he didn't even offer to help her like he always did. When they were on the cliff, he stormed a few paces away, and Jenna just knew she was in trouble.

"... 'Jackie-"

"Don't 'Jackie me." He looked back, glaring as his fists clenched. Jenna blinked, then crossed her arms and looked down, frowning.

"I didn't know, okay? I didn't know anything about this techno-organic shit, I thought I was-"

"You think I'm mad about that?" Wheeljack asked, and she blinked again before looking up at him. "Kid, whatever this techno-organic is - it was unavoidable, and I can tell you didn't know." Jenna seemed to become a little relieved, and Wheeljack blinked before resuming his glare. "No, I'm mad for the same reason as everyone else. I'm mad about the scrap you pulled up on Darkmount!"

"I..." Just like that, her face fell again and she looked guilty. "'Jackie-"

"Don't."

"... Wheeljack, I was screwed either way!" Jenna finally snapped, glaring back as she stepped forward. "So yeah, I did something incredibly stupid! Yeah, I challenged a 'Con solo even though you wouldn't be able to come and save me! And I'm glad I did it!"

"Why, you-!"

"I didn't care, and I still don't - I didn't plan on being saved! I didn't need to be saved, I didn't want to be saved - I just wanted you to get out of that place alive!" Her blue optics glowed brighter as she let her temper loose. "So before you look at me like that and try to make me feel even shittier about what happened up there than I already do, tell me what you would have done! If you could have done the same thing - freed me and disabled 'Screamer so that we at least had a CHANCE of getting away when we were about to die, even though you knew it would be your neck on the line -, would you have done it?!"

"I..." Wheeljack blinked, his expression falling. "... Kid-"

"Don't kid me!" She shot at him, throwing her fists down at her sides. "We were screwed, Wheeljack! There was no out! We were going to die, so I did what I had to do! And if you haven't noticed, I'm still standing here - so for God's sake, stop acting like the world is ending just because I took the initiative and did what I knew would save you!"

"... Look at you." Wheeljack gave a small smirk. "Just... Look." Jenna blinked, and he gave a small chuckle. "Have you ever stood up for yourself like this, before?" Jenna blinked again, then looked at how she was standing and seemed to only just realize how she had been talking. "... At'a girl. See, that's what I was worried about missing." Jenna looked up at him, confused. "I thought you were dead, kid... I thought that time was up even faster than it was going to be." He looked down, then back at her. "I thought I would never get to see the day when you realized that you're not what others told you that you were. I thought I would never see the day when you stopped seeing yourself as badly as you did... Just look at you, kid. Not even using those techno-organic mods, and you're one of the fiercest things I've ever seen." He gave a light grin. "If there was supposed to be a well-defined moment when you became a real Wrecker... This would be it."

"Look, I... I'm sorry, Wheeljack." Jenna frowned, calming herself down and letting her fists fall open. "But I knew I wasn't getting out of that place... So I did everything I could to make sure that you would." Wheeljack scoffed, getting down on one knee.

"You're crazy, kid." He told her, frowning. "It was my job to protect you, up there. You saw how it was, me with Jack and how your mom jumped to conclusions - imagine if I had to explain you dying to them." Jenna cringed lightly at that. "I'm already going to get turned into scrap when I least expect it because of this."

"... 'Jackie, I-" Jenna opened her optics as Wheeljack suddenly scooped her up in his servo and lifted her up. She looked up at him, frowning, then sighed quietly. "Still partners?"

"... Still partners." Wheeljack gave a light grin, nodding, and she smiled as he set her on his rotator-cup before standing. "So, you're on the sturdy-side, now? Won't 'break easy'?"

"Yep!" Jenna agreed, grinning, then she laughed as he reached up and messed up her hair with his finger. "Hey, that doesn't give you a free license to be a jerk, Wheeljack-ass!"

"I think it does." Wheeljack smirked, and she looked up at him. "After all, kid - you scared the Pit out of me."

"You don't get scared, 'Jackie." Jenna rolled her optics, smiling. "Surprised, yes. Worried, maybe. Scared? Please."

"You think highly of me, kid."

"You never gave me any reason not to." The techno-organic announced, and Wheeljack blinked. Then, he grinned as he looked at her.

"Ready to go and get some revenge?"

"We suck at getting revenge, 'Jackie."

"Yeah, I know... So, you're in?"

"... Damnit." Jenna rolled her eyes, sighing and smirking. "It's not like I don't know where I'm going, should our usual luck stay with us... I'm in."


/\


Wheeljack carried Jenna on his rotator-cup towards the other Autobots, grinning.

"I've got the second ace up our sleeve." He announced, and Jenna blinked as she noticed Bumblebee holding Sari. Ultra Magnus nodded, then looked around with a frown as the humans approached again. June still looked upset...

"We must do everything in our power to ensure Megatron's downfall." The newly-arrived Autobots announced sternly. "But we must be smart about it."

"Whoa, who put Shoulder-Pads in command?" Wheeljack asked, irked. Jenna made a mental-note to ask him about the bitterness in his voice later.

"Temporary command." Jack tried to calm Wheeljack down. Ratchet took a different approach.

"Ultra Magnus is the only logical choice." He tried to convince everyone. "He was trained by Optimus, who served as his commanding officer throughout the war for Cybertron."

"He can lead us into a fight." Jenna agreed, and Wheeljack looked at her with an expression that clearly read traitor. "I have no doubt about that, if what Ratchet said is true. Ratchet isn't one to give undue praise." Ratchet shot a light glare at the young techno-organic. "But in case of the worst, Ultra Magnus has a lot to learn about Earth before he can be the permanent C.O."

"That will have to wait." Ultra Magnus told her, frowning. "But I thank you for your candor."

"Earth rule number one." Jenna gave a light grin. "Watch where you step." Ultra Magnus blinked, then looked down at the humans standing around him.

"I see..." He looked up. "Now, unless there is any further objection... Please, follow me." Ultra Magnus turned and walked towards his ship, and Wheeljack rolled his optics as he and the other Autobots followed.

"Aye-aye, captain."


Jenna snickered as Wheeljack blinked in surprise, gazing at Ultra Magnus' large wall of weapons."

"Autobots, take your pick." He invited them, gesturing to the weapons. Wheeljack slowly began to smirk.

"Now you're speaking my language, sir."

"... What have you done?" Jenna deadpanned, rolling her optics. "It's official. We're all gonna die." Wheeljack grabbed a smaller weapon, smiling deviously. "Nope! Whatever his first choice is, he should not get it!"

"Shut up, Snow Queen." Wheeljack rolled his optics and handed the weapon to her, and she blinked. "That's a sonic-gun. Anything big comes at you, fire that and it'll get sent flying."

"Huh." Jenna blinked, surprised. She hadn't received much training, so this . "The only time when you want the knockback enchantment..."

"Did you seriously just make a Minecraft joke?" Sari asked, irked. Jenna blinked, looking like a deer in headlights, and Sari sighed quietly. "Anyone ever tell you that you're a nerd?"

"Yeah..." Jenna admitted, looking uncomfortable. Wheeljack blinked, then looked at Jenna with a smirk.

"Ever finish building that Minecraft Hogwarts?" He asked sincerely, and Sari blinked. Then, the techno-organic in orange groaned and face-palmed.

"Come on! You've gone and corrupted the badass war-hero Wheeljack with your nerdiness?!"

"Thanks." Jenna whispered as Sari fumed, and Wheeljack winked. Jenna blinked, then she smiled. "Nerd."


Wheeljack held up his gun and energy-whip, smirking as the ground-bridge opened behind him and the other Autobots. Hjdnna was on her shoulder with her sonic-gun, seeming a little nervous.

"Autobots, lock and load." Ultra Magnus ordered, frowning. "You're up first, Wreckers." Bulkhead and Wheeljack grinned, and Jenna blinked before nodding.

"Alright... Let's do this."


/\


"Fire in another hole!"

Wheeljack pitched another bomb at the base of the citadel. It struck and exploded, rocking the entire building to its core, and suddenly the Decepticon Seeker Armada was pouring out of the citadel and firing on the Wreckers. Bulkhead and Wheeljack ran to avoid their fire before Bulkhead blasted one with his energy-cannon and Wheeljack destroyed three in one swipe from his energy-whip.

"Where's the kid?!" Bulkhead shouted at Wheeljack as they ran forward, blasting at the Decepticons with their own weapons and taking a few. Behind his battle-mask, Wheeljack smirked.

"I think the kid decided to even our odds!" He replied, gesturing to his side. Jenna's sonic gun rested there, and when Wheeljack and Bulkhead transformed, that gun was in the back seat. "We needed air-support!"

As if on cue, a flash of blue darted through the sky above. Jenna took a deep breath as her wings gave a mighty flap and she soared up to face a Seeker, her hands splitting apart to reveal her blasters. A massive sphere of energy appeared between her hands, and she blinked as the growing mass of energy whipped her hair around before grinning.

"Whoa! Spirit Bomb! I'm Goku, now!" She exclaimed, then she sent the energy blast flying. "Ya-hoo!" The sphere unleashed a laser of pure energy that blasted two Decepticons, and she gaped at her work. "Wheeljack, did you see that?! That was totally awesome!"

"Nice work, kid!" Wheeljack chuckled, he and Bulkhead transforming back. "Keep it up!" Jenna nodded, then blinked as she saw a figure jump down from the Nemesis and onto the citadel. Her optics narrowed, and she flapped her wings and flew up to face the Decepticon, glaring.

"Shockwave!"

"... A techno-organic." The scientist realized, examining the girl carefully, and Jenna formed a sphere of energy in her hands, scowling. "We had such a specimen in captivity? Why was I not informed?"

"Yeah, I'm not talking to you." Jenna announced coldly, her wings flapping again as her helmet activated. "After all... You stuck a plug in my partner's brain."


Bumblebee, Arcee, and Sari hid in a hallway, doing their best to avoid being shredded by Decepticon gunfire.

"Well, we're screwed!" Sari noted, deadpanning. "If we don't die here, my dad is gonna kill me!" Bumblebee nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! Me, too!"

"We have more-important things to worry about!" Arcee shouted, annoyed. "Sari, are there any techno-organic mods that could work here?!"

"They're mods, not miracles!" Sari told her, irked. "All I've got is a skyboom shield, but it's only big enough for me!"

"Bumblebee and I will draw their fire! You try to get behind their lines and take them out!"

"Alright!" Sari held up her left arm as a circular shield appeared, deadpanning. "Here goes everything!"


Shockwave dodged the blast and fired his cannon, but Jenna dodged and flew downwards. She flew around, building up momentum, then flew up to Shockwave and-

"RAH!" Jenna slammed both feet onto Shockwave's chest and sent him flying off of the citadel. The Decepticon crashed onto the ground, and Wheeljack and Bulkhead looked back with wide optics as Jenna landed on the scientist's chest

"... Yippie-kay-yay." Jenna glared, raising her hands and preparing to fire. Wheeljack blinked, then he registered the reference and smirked proudly at his partner.

"Motherf-"

Shockwave suddenly lashed out and snatched Jenna in his servo before raising his cannon and firing straight at Wheeljack and Bulkhead. The two Wreckers were knocked back, and Shockwave stood with Jenna still held in his servo.

"Your mission was most illogical." Shockwave announced, and Jenna looked up at him with wide optics. Then, her optics narrowed dangerously as Decepticons brought Arcee, Bumblebee, and Sari out, a small group of Vehicons surrounding the Autobots - they and Shockwave making eight. Shockwave noticed Sari, then he looked down at the girl in his grip.

"Tell me, little one, where all of you have come from." He ordered, the n there was a loud sound in the sky. Shockwave looked up, and Jenna blinked before looking over at her partner.

"... Wheeljack!" Jenna shouted, and he looked up. "Knockback Eight!"

"Oh, God." Sari deadpanned as Wheeljack blinked and looked down at the small weapon at his side. "Please, tell me we're not about to be saved by a nerdy Minecraft reference..."

"... Catch!" Wheeljack grabbed the gun and threw it to the girl, who grinned as she caught it and pointed it at Shockwave's turned head. The scientist looked back as the girl placed her whole left palm on the trigger.

"Take this, Sauron!" She shouted, firing, and the sonic pulse went out and blasted Shockwave in the face. The 'Con fell back, unconscious, and Jenna stood up as Ultra Magnus called...

:All units, Optimus Prime has returned. I repeat, Prime is alive and quite well.: He announced, sounding happy and relieved. The Autobots began fighting off their Vehicon captors while Jenna stumbled around, shaking her head and seeming dazed.

"Kid!" Wheeljack looked back, grinning. "You alright?"

"... What?!" Jenna asked loudly, squinting her eyes. "What did you say?!" Wheeljack blinked, then laughed and raised his servo to rub the back of his helm nervously.

"I should have mentioned that that'd be a side-effect... Your audial-processors need to recover!" He gestured to the sides of his helm with his index-fingers. "The close proximity and the size of the sonic gun when you fired it may have caused some damage!"

"Oh!" Jenna nodded, raising her thumb and grinning awkwardly. Wheeljack deadpanned, realizing that she hadn't understood a word, then he scooped the techno-organic up as Optimus Prime and some military planes flew overhead and blasted Darkmount to smithereens. Jenna gaped, then grinned and clapped excitedly. "Again, again!"

"No!" Wheeljack scolded playfully. "No more explosions for you!"

"What?!"

"Oh, for-! Never mind." Wheeljack scooped the girl up. "Let's go." He transformed, Jenna appearing in shotgun, and the white Wrecker drove with the rest to safety.


/\


Agent Fowler moved all of the Autobots and their technology to the actual Unit E hangar, and when all of the 'Bots and their allies had gathered, he spoke."

"On behalf of the president and the joint chiefs, I thank you all for your selfless heroism in defense of this planet." The agent looked around at all of the Autobots. "I'm only sorry that the world can't know of your undying dedication, because I - for one - owe you my life, my liberty, and my future." Fowler saluted, his expression stoic, and Ultra Magnus turned to Optimus.

"Sir, I am honored to relinquish command of the Autobots to you."

"Welcome to Earth, Ultra Magnus, and to Team Prime." The Prime greeted, smiling. Miko ran over to Optimus, beaming.

"Alright, someone's got to say it! Optimus 2.0 is rad!" She looked over at Ratchet. "Imagine what the forge could do for your bod."

"I-! Well-!" Ratchet sighed, deadpanning, then frowned as he looked back at the large, golden and silver hammer in the back of the room. "Is it true that the forge has been drained of its power?" Silence fell, and Ratchet looked at Smokescreen. "Then, any hope of rebuilding the Omega Lock has truly been lost."

"I did what I felt was right." Smokescreen said quietly, looking down. Ratchet blinked, then gave a small smile.

"Then, your instincts have again proven to be quite sound." The medic told him, and Smokescreen looked up with wide optics before grinning. Someone cleared their throat, and everyone looked back to see Sari standing there, grinning.

"Optimus, I'm hurt! Where's my hello?!"

"... Sari." Optimus spoke, his optics widening as he stared down at the techno-organic. "How did you-?"

"Big, metal citadel poking out of the desert." Sari crossed her arms, smirking. "When doesn't it have to do with you guys?" The Prime blinked, then smiled as he got down on one knee to look at her. Sari walked over, and Optimus held a servo out, letting the girl step on.

"I have missed you, little one."

"I've missed you too, Prime." Sari beamed, then she looked back. "FYI, there was another reason for my visit..." Jenna stepped out of the shadows, frowning as she looked up with heee blue optics, and Optimus blinked in surprise. "You found another one, Optimus... Jenna's a techno-organic."

"What?" Optimus asked, standing up abruptly. Jenna gave an awkward grin, shrugging.

"Congrats, Prime. You've officially reacted to this better than my family and my partner did." She joked, and a blue glow surrounded her body as digital sounds rang off. Suddenly, Jenna was in her armor and her helmet dissolved into pixels with another digital sound.

"I've talked to the big boys about this." Fowler admitted, walking over to where the two techno-organic were. "Sari, you know this already. But Jenna... You're half-human and half-Cybertronian and unfortunately, as the Cybertronian half is the original and dominant half, it's been decided that-"

"In the eyes of the government, you're not a citizen anymore." Sari told Jenna grimly, and she blinked. "You're Cybertronian. That doesn't change too much - like how I'm allowed to live with my dad unless things get really bad -, but you're not allowed to vote and you have to respond to military commands as long as you're on Earth. And... If the Autobots get kicked off the planet, you've got to go."

"What?!" June and Jack asked, stepping forward. Fowler sighed, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Ha!" Jenna laughed, and everyone blinked as she doubled-over and hugged herself, laughing. Sari blinked again, then frowned.

"Jenna?"

"Sari, this is awesome!" Jenna looked up, grinning. "Best news I've had, all day!" Jenna pointed at Fowler, smirking. "If 'Jackie and I decide to bail, you can't tell me not to go! And while I'm on this mudball, I don't have to get a job because I'm a military asset and they've got to 'maintain' me with those taxpayer dollars!"

"... Oh, God." Jack face-palmed while June and Fowler gaped. Wheeljack was laughing so hard he was probably hurting something, and Sari's right optic was twitching. Everyone else looked amused, concerned, or both.

"I finally meet another one of my kind, and she's nuts." Sari deadpanned heavily. Jenna looked over at her, grinning.

"What can I say? I'm a Wrecker, it's in the job-description."


/\


Jenna sat on her bed, frowning as June paced in front of her and Jack stood in the doorway.

"... Mom-"

"No, Jenna!" June looked back at her daughter, glaring. "No! Do you have any idea what you've done?! Do you realize the consequences of your actions?! You could have died!"

"I know."

"Oh, you know?! That's a relief!"

"Mom, please-"

"And today, running off into a battle when you have no idea what you're doing?! You could have been killed, again! Do you have a death-wish?!"

"... Wheeljack is my best friend, Mom." Jenna announced quietly, frowning. "I thought he was going to die, in that citadel. I... I had to do something! I couldn't let him die!"

"He was supposed to be protecting you!"

"Mom, we were both screwed! If I hadn't done what I did, 'Jackie and I would have both goften the axe up there! I survived because I'm a techno-organic, but even if they still hadn't figured that out and I had still gotten away, at least Wheeljack would be dead! I was the only one who could act, and we both lived because of what I did!"

"But you didn't know that! What would we have done if you had died?!"

"What would I have done if he had died?!" Jenna's optics teared up. "I would have had nothing!"

"Are Jack and I nothing?!"

"No! Err..." Jenna looked up at Jack. "What would you do if Arcee died, Jack?!" Jack blinked, surprised, then looked down. "What if she was going to die, and you could do something?!"

"... I would do whatever it took." Jack replied quietly, and June looked back at him with wide eyes. "Any day... Mom, our guardians - they're friends, family. What Jenna did... I understand it. If it were Arcee, I would have done it. I'm sorry." Jack turned and walked away, and June walked to the doorway to watch him go.

"At'a boy, Jackson." Jenna smiled, and June looked back at her. The woman blinked, then sighed.

"... You're grounded." June announced, then she left the room and closed the door. Jenna blinked, then sighed looked down as she wiped her tears away.

"Great..." Jenna blinked as she got a ping on her phone, and she looked at it, seeing a text. "Huh?"

Knock-knock.

Jenna raised an eyebrow, then stood on her bed and looked out the window to see a white car parked in her back yard. Jenna blinked, then opened her window.

"Wheeljack?"

"... There's a place waiting for you at Hangar E." The white Wrecker told her. "You in, partner?" Jenna blinked again, then she smiled lightly and nodded.

"Definitely."


Wheeljack drove into Hangar E and transformed, whistling innocently as he walked past Ratchet, Optimus, and Ultra Magnus.

"Kid's fine." He said quickly. "And I'm hitting the slab. 'Night." The three didn't seem interested, so Wheeljack went to a back corner of the hangar and found a sort of lift. He pressed a button, and the lift lowered him to a place beneath the hangar.

There was a massive room fit for combat training lit by LED lights, and several massive doors built into the walls. It was like an underground hangar built for vehicles that no one was supposed to see, which was fitting.

Wheeljack walked to one of the rooms and pressed a button to open the door. He frowned slightly, seeing a small and metal medical-cot in the back corner of the room and nothing else but the LED lights above. This place was set up for a machine or a war-hardened Autobot, not a kid. Not his partner...

"'Jackie?" A muffled voice asked from inside his chest-compartment. Wheeljack sighed and opened it, and Jenna popped out and looked up at him. He was still getting used to those blue optics... Jenna saw the room and blinked, then gave a forlorn smile. "They weren't kidding about the whole 'Cybertronian treatment' thing, eh?"

"Kid, I'm sure Fowler will let you fix it up-"

"It's fine." Jenna hopped out and let herself fall to the floor before standing up straight. "I'm going to be around for billions of years. I can't expect that I'll be comfortable all the time... And I'm Cybertronian, 'Jackie. It wouldn't be right for me to live any other way than how you guys live."

"You're half-human."

"No." Jenna shook her head. "Part-human. I have blood for some reason, but I don't have organs or a brain - I have systems and a processor... I'm skin, hair, blood - and the rest is metal and Energon." Jenna looked up at Wheeljack, grinning lightly. "And that's fine, 'Jackie... I'm okay."

"... No, you're not." Wheeljack frowned, reaching back and hitting the button that closed the massive door. "I know you better than that." Jenna blinked as Wheeljack transformed and opened his shotgun door, then she slowly walked over and slid inside, closing the door as she curled up in her usual place.

"... I'm scared, 'Jackie." The girl admitted quietly. "As awesome as this is... Things were a lot simpler when I thought I was human."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"The only one I had to worry about disappointing age-wise was you." Jenna replied, and Wheeljack's whole form jolted. "I was going to under-live you... Now, I'm gonna out-live everyone else. Maybe even you."

"... And that's okay." Wheeljack said, and Jenna blinked. "Kid, if you out-live me... I'll know that I made up for Darkmount."

"Unless you die tomorrow." Jenna deadpanned lightly. "'Cause then, I'd kick your ass."

"That'd be hard, if I was dead."

"You forget that Primus and I are buddies, now. I can ask him to bring you back so I can beat you to death, which I can also do now."

"Tch." Wheeljack scoffed, amused. "You're a wild one, kid. I'll give you that... And I'm glad that you're not going anywhere, any time soon."

"Softy." Jenna teased, and they both laughed quietly. "... I'm glad that we won't have to say 'goodbye', anytime soon. I hate 'goodbye's."

"Easy, Tex."

"Why did I introduce you to my fandoms..?"

"So that I'd get your obscure references."

"Right, right..." Jenna closed her optics. "Goodnight, 'Jackie."

"Goodnight, kid."


-0-0-0-0-0-


I wish I could catch that moment and hold onto it forever.

I was scared and we were both uncertain, but we were together and there was a quiet happiness.

I had hurt you, but you let me in anyway because you cared about me.

You shouldn't have, 'Jackie.

You shouldn't have.

...

...

...


Consequences!

Those weren't a thing, the first time around!

Back when I first wrote this story, everyone just accepted what Jenna was and what she had done. Now, I've written conflict!

Of course, June and Jack and everyone else wasn't okay with what happened! Of course, things changed and the government had to address the rights of a human/Cybertronian hybrid! Of course, Jenna herself isn't fully adjusted to her discovery!

That's how human things work, I think! XD

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