Kelsey had finished counting the rafters on the ceiling for the third time when she was quite literally shaken from her boredom by massive footsteps.
Bumblebee had left to go and pick up his human charge - they actually had a human child in their care! - about twenty minutes prior, leaving Kelsey to stare idly at the loading screen of a video game.
"Hi! How're you doing?" The giant green Autobot had appeared, his massive footsteps betraying him immediately.
Kelsey inclined her head uncomfortably to stare up at his earnest face, "I'm fine. Thanks."
"Kelsey, right? I'm Bulkhead. Nice to meet ya!"
"N-Nice to meet you, too..." Kelsey couldn't help but give a small smile as the green giant beamed.
"I'm sorry Bee left you here all by yourself. He'll be back with Sari soon."
"Unfortunately." A dour voice came from behind Bulkhead. Kelsey peered around the green Autobot to see the black and gold one approaching them. This one thankfully didn't cause tremors when he walked.
"Aw, c'mon Prowl, lighten up a little." Bulkhead chided, before turning to Kelsey, "Kelsey, this is Prowl. He's our ninjabot."
"I'm sorry, your what?"
"Charmed." Prowl raised a brow, "Anyway Bulkhead, Prime told me to let the girl know he wants a word with her."
"About the 'Con?" Bulkhead blurted. Kelsey winced.
Noticing the human's expression, Prowl frowned slightly, "Ex-'Con, if we are to believe him, Bulkhead. Which presents us with even more problems than first thought."
Bulkhead hummed as Optimus Prime himself entered the room.
"Ratchet is in there now giving Knock Out a checkup." He announced, striding over to the assembled group.
Kelsey had seen Optimus Prime speak on television several times, but the Autobot in front of her now seemed altogether too hesitant to be the leader of Detroit's robotic superheroes. He sat himself down on the piles of tyres Bumblebee had earlier flopped upon; the action reminded Kelsey of a teacher sitting in front of a student before gently informing them that they'd failed their last test.
"Now, Kelsey, is it? I am Optimus Prime, and as you're probably aware we are the Autobots. I'm gonna give you a quick rundown of our situation here on Earth before letting you know where you and Knock Out fit in, ok?"
Kelsey nodded, anxiety welling in her stomach.
"What do you know about the Decepticons?"
"I-I've seen the aftermath of their attack on the news. And Knock Out told me they were bad news." Kelsey didn't know why she was stuttering. Prime wasn't coming across as particularly patronising, but she suddenly started to feel very small.
"Yes, Kelsey, they're very bad news. They do not care for organic life. It is our job to protect Earth from them. Thankfully, the Decepticons have not been heard from for a few months. Are you following so far?"
Kelsey nodded.
"So here's where things get complicated. You are not in any form of trouble. But Knock Out is, regardless of whether he's telling the truth about his defection or not. One the one hand, if he's lying and is still a Decepticon, then we've got a 'Con living in our brig for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, if he is indeed truthful, we're going to be getting a lot of unwanted attention from Cybertron."
"What do you mean? Like, it's legal, right?"
"Oh it's legal." Prowl interjected, "But what Optimus is trying to say is that the Decepticons have a specialist taskforce that, uh, hunts down defectors. The Decepticon Justice Division. If word gets out that Knock Out is with us, we immediately become a target."
Kelsey could feel a panic attack nipping at the edge of her consciousness, but managed to rein it in, "So you're telling me I would become a target because I helped him?"
"Perhaps." Optimus replied. He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by the squealing of tyres followed by the very much human squealing of a little girl.
"Bumblebee, do you mind?" Prowl stomped over to the yellow hatchback and the little girl who had tumbled out of the passenger seat.
"Hi Prowl. Hi guys-whoa!" The girl - no older than nine or ten - fixed her gaze on the newcomer.
"Sari, this is Kelsey. She...had a run-in with a possible Decepticon." Optimus, although happy to see their human companion, was not pleased at the interruption. Kelsey winced at the term Decepticon.
"Whoa a Decepticon? I thought you kicked their skidplates back to Cybertron!" Sari exclaimed, rushing up to the rest of the group. Bumblebee jogged along behind her.
"It would appear that this one wasn't tagging along with Megatron's group. Kelsey discovered him a little while ago and helped fix him up." Optimus explained. Seeing Sari's face morph into a scandalised expression, he hastily added, "Although he claims to have defected."
"I thought he was an Autobot." Kelsey shrugged nervously. She wasn't sure she entirely liked feeling like the moral inferior to a ten-year-old.
"How old are you?" Sari blurted.
"Uh, seventeen?" Kelsey replied, slightly taken aback.
"Do you play video games?"
"Uh, sometimes? My main hobby is fixing up old cars...and aliens, apparently." The last part was muttered to herself.
"That's so cool! Oh pleeeease can she stay? Please please please?!" Sari cast a puppy-eyed gaze up at Optimus.
The Prime inwardly cursed; he could never bring himself to deny that look, "Well Sari, that's entirely up to Kelsey. She's had a long day, and we still need to get more information from our, uh, captive."
"Can I see him too?" The young girl begged.
"Certainly not."
"Aww Optimus!"
Optimus fixed Sari and Bumblebee with a glare, silencing them.
"Uh, Prime, sir? When can I see Knock Out again? I want to let him know that I'm okay." Kelsey asked quietly.
Raising a brow at her formal address, Optimus replied, "Once we've questioned him a bit more. But, uh, you're free to stay here for the time being. Bumblebee can give you a lift home later."
"Oh no, he doesn't have to-"
"It's cool, Kel. Hey, did you want to continue that game of Ninja Gladiator we started earlier...?" Bumblebee ushered the teenager back towards the television screen eagerly.
"Hey, do ya think Ratchet's okay in there? He's been with the 'Con for quite a while." Bulkhead asked quietly as he leant over to Optimus.
"I'm sure he would let us know if anything was up. And besides, he acted like he knew him. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to reread the Autobot Code's chapter on defections..." Optimus' shoulders visibly slumped, and he strolled off towards his quarters.
"Sounds like fun, huh?" Bulkhead joked to Prowl, who by now was the only person not involved in a video game.
"Hmm." Prowl replied, mind obviously elsewhere. Muttering a brief adieu to his friend, he began to head towards the brig.
Puzzled, Bulkhead shrugged and turned towards the video game.
The hours ticked by slowly, and Kelsey found herself longing for the comfort of her own bed.
Bumblebee and Sari had been playing Ninja Gladiator for several hours now, and Kelsey was honestly surprised it had kept their attention for this long; it certainly hadn't kept hers.
She let out a yawn that was more conspicuous than she had intended.
"Hey, Kel? You want me to drop you home now?" Bumblebee pried his optics away from the TV screen for the first time in about an hour.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Please. If it's not too much of a bother."
"Nahhh, I'm chill. This game is getting boring, anyway."
Kelsey suspected he was just getting sick of losing to a ten year old, but she remained silent.
"Where do you live, anyway? Here in Detroit?" He asked, tossing his remote onto the sofa.
"No, I live a bit further away. Hillsdale County?"
Sari spat out her soda, "That's like two hours away!"
Kelsey shrugged nervously, "Knock Out drove in in about an hour, but I guess he broke the speed limit?"
"Well," Bumblebee's chest puffed out in pride, "in case you didn't know, Kel, speed is my thing. I'll get you there in no time."
He transformed, and Kelsey sighed, before stepping into the awaiting hatchback.
As Kelsey was being introduced to the other Autobots that afternoon, Knock Out had been pacing within his cell. Ratchet? Here? This was just his luck. Then again, maybe the old mech could vouch for him.
He turned as a shadow filled the brig's doorway.
"Well I'll be." The gruff voice was the same as it had been millennia ago,
"Sunstreaker."