Chapter 32: Changing Paces Part 1

(Alternative Title: Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Format)


Rad was distantly aware of the ringing in his ear, and felt the firm hand shaking his shoulder. His ankle throbbed, and he blearily looked up to see High Wire holding his cell phone out towards him. "What?"

"It's been ringing for a while." He said.

Rad sighed, and gingerly sat up to answer the phone. He rubbed his brow, frowning at the clock. It was only seven a.m., who called this early? But once he saw the caller I.D. was nothing but a string of numbers, he knew how stupid that sounded. "Hello?"

"Rad, we have a problem." Hot Shot said. "Red said the scanner picked up a card signature. Optimus wants to go get it first thing before it can cause any trouble."

Rad nodded, still too tired to remember the robot couldn't see it. "Right, okay."

"Great, I'll be right there to pick you up." Hot Shot said, and the call ended.

Rad yawned, grumbling as he grabbed his crutches and climbed out of bed. He glanced at High Wire, feeling his curiosity. "Sakura Card on the loose, going to take care of it."

Then High Wire felt alarmed. "What? This early? Can't it wait until you've fully awakened?"

Rad shook his head. "No, gotta get them to trust me again." He sighed. "This'll have been all worth it if I can have that back, especially since…" he trailed off. Neither Carlos nor Alexis had spoken to him since he told them about his powers.

Tiredness was replaced by the grim realization Kero had been right after all. The guardian hadn't thrown it in his face, for once not at all happy to have been correct. Perhaps holding out hope, Rad wished things would turn around and prove him wrong.

It didn't seem likely now, but oh well. He made his choice.

Rad grabbed a clean set of clothes and washed up, putting his hoodie on last as he gathered his cards. He heard a yawn from across the hall, and glanced over to see Rachel leaning against her doorframe. "Sorry to wake you up."

She waved it off, but stopped and took in his appearance. "And where do you think you're going? You have a doctor's appointment this morning." Rad stalled, and the blonde's face tightened. "You're going after a card, aren't you?"

Rad stiffened. "Well, it is my job."

"You're too young to have a job." His cousin muttered, then shook her head. "I'm going with you," she held up a finger when Rad tried to protest, "no, this is my fault, and I'm going to help you fix it."

Rad sighed as the blonde wasted no time in throwing on a jacket over her pajamas. "And you're not going to change?"

Rachel shrugged. "I can change when we get back." Her expression turned serious. "Now where were you going?"

"I…I don't know. Hot Shot said he'd be here to pick me up though." Rad explained, and Rachel nodded.

"Then let's get going." She gestured to the hall. "And High Wire, wake Kero up to be on stand-bye in case Rad needs to call about this card."

High Wire saluted her. "Right, on it!" he said gleefully.

Rad snorted as he and his cousin made their way out of the apartment. "You just made his day with that order; he and Kero don't like each other very much."

Rachel shook her head, sighing as she locked the door behind them. "I couldn't have guessed."

Rad scrutinized her; he couldn't tell if she was joking. He did notice her brow furrow as she updated her to-do list on her phone. "Busy day?"

"Of course, just because my exams are over doesn't mean I get a day off." His cousin replied. "I've been looking for a summer job, shopping my resumes around. You still have your appointment later, and I still need to do the shopping for groceries before the sale ends tomorrow."

Rad's head spun, feeling overwhelmed just by the depth of that list alone. For the first time, he saw how well that attitude would have worked with being a Cardcaptor. Rad bit his lip, looking down as he hobbled alongside her. 'Don't, not now. Don't doubt yourself now.' He scolded himself, frowning.

The two got to the entrance of the building as Hot Shot came driving up to the curb moments later. "We are so in sync." Hot Shot chuckled.

Rachel snorted, but Rad smiled as she helped him into the backseat. Once she got into the driver side, Hot Shot sped along the road back to the base. "So where exactly did the signal show up?"

"Somewhere in a, what's the word, cliffy? Yeah, lots of brown, rocks and dirt, not much grass." Hot Shot replied.

"Guess I should hope it's not got anything to with dirt or I'm screwed." Rad said.

Rachel narrowed her eyes at him. "Watch the language."

"Hey, where's Kero? Shouldn't he be here helping out too?" Hot Shot asked.

"He's going to be on stand-bye. And do you really want to listen to him complaining about missing his sleep?" Rad asked.

"Good point." Hot Shot said.

The rest of the drive was silent, and Rad found himself getting giddy as they got closer to the base, smiling as the car got to the entrance, slowing to a halt. Rad would have leapt out of car if capable, so instead gingerly lifted himself out. The blond barely waited before he was already hurrying at a slow pace inside, not glancing back.

"We gotta hurry, before the card can do anything." He called. Though seeing Sideways sooner, well, he wouldn't disagree that was also a reason to get to the command room.

"Don't go too fast or you'll trip!" Rachel called sternly.

Hot Shot snorted. "He's fine, and looks like he's getting better." He said, and Rachel groaned.

Rad shook his head, and could almost see his cousin glaring at the yellow bot. When he got to the room, he glanced around, and made a beeline for the yellow and purple bot, beaming up at him, cheeks flushed. "Hi, Sideways!"

The robot returned his stare steadily. "Rad." He said in acknowledgment.

"How are you today?" Rad asked.

Sideways' gaze seemed to turn flat. "Waiting for you to be here." He said. Rad flushed deeper, but he faltered when the bot continued, "The card's signal isn't going to stay in one area forever."

"Right, the card." Rad muttered, then cleared his throat. "Optimus, Red, Smokescreen." He said belatedly, glancing sheepishly at the other bots. "Where's the card signal?"

"Maya detected the signal during the early morning. It's stayed in the same area, at least for now." Red Alert said, nodding to the screen. It showed a flat plain with almost no grass, just patches on the ground and large rocks scattered around.

'Why would it go so far out?' He shouldn't have been so surprised, knowing the string of cards that had already gone against what Kero said. Rad sighed. "We should hurry up then. Maybe we can find it before, well…" he trailed off, just as Rachel came into the room.

"You're going too?" Smokescreen asked.

Rachel huffed. "Of course I am. This is my fault, and I'm going to make amends in anyway I can."

Optimus gazed at her steadily, before glancing at Rad and vented quietly. "Very well, but both of you be careful. Stay behind us until we have secured the card."

Rad's lips twitched. He wanted to say something snarky like how he'd already been doing this by himself. He kept it down though, because arguing wasn't going to make anyone trust him faster. Rad winced, his thoughts going back to Alexis and Carlos. Neither had wanted to speak to him, and Sureshock and Grindor relayed they were still mad with him. 'I made my choice, I can't go back and change it.'

He could, most likely, but that wouldn't solve the problem. Rad would have just delayed the inevitable.

With that oh – so – morose thought in mind, Rad trekked through the hall with everyone else towards the warp room. He and Rachel paused to get their reinforced orange jumpsuits and Rad looked around once the helmet appeared on his head. Everything was muffled by the ear protection, but the visor was wide enough to let him see through the corner of his eyes.

"This is so cool, great job, Red!" Rad said.

"Yes, well, the safety of our allies is important." Red Alert said, his tone a strange mix of stiffness and nicety.

Rad would take what he could get, nodding as he tried to veer towards Sideways, but Rachel steered him back to Hot Shot and made him sit in the passenger seat. He grumbled to himself, fishing his key from around his neck. The blond winced as it was a bit hard to pull up with the suit being fitted around him.

The mini-cons clamored around the door, and tried to get past Optimus, but the red and blue robot stopped them. "I'm afraid this isn't a mission we can bring any of you on." He said. "We have very little understanding of what these cards are capable of, and any danger must be kept to a minimum."

The minis sulked, and grumbled as they pointed out Mirror was a mini-con, but it was subsequently ignored as they stalked away.

Rad shook his head, but glanced up as Red Alert stayed behind, reading the co-ordinates as everyone else readied to leave through the warp gate. The gate shimmered online, showing the flat, rocky plains where the card would be. The blond hunched over, grimacing as his stomach knotted. 'Yeah, I could really go without the sick to your stomach feeling.' He thought.

The feeling disappeared once they were on the other side, and Rad carefully stretched his legs as he got out, taking in the plains. Though an inappropriate time to think it, he found it relieving to not have to hide and pretend he had snuck around behind everyone's back. 'And that's why they're distrusting of me, remember?' he thought, and sighed.

"Rad, can you sense the card anywhere?" Optimus asked.

"Let me try." Rad closed his eyes, extending his senses. He could feel his cousin's magical signature, a small but burning flame to reflect its underuse. He winced, but kept trying to seek out the card's. He brushed against something, though brief, it snapped to focus on him. Then it was gone.

Rad's eyes snapped open. "It's coming, and it's mad."

Everyone tensed, looking around to watch the area cautiously. Rad tried to find it, but while not Dash levels of quick, his sensing was still too new at seeking out power sources to get a fix on it. All he could feel was a fury that permeated the air the closer it got but still unseen.

In one swift motion, a shadow fell overhead. It was a strange, lizard like creature, blue with long ears but with big eyes like a chameleon, but had several curved spikes running along its back. It had jumped from a ledge overhead, its movements quick as it darted around the Autobots. Rad realized what it was doing when he saw the path it was taking.

"Ray, move, it's after you!" Rad shouted, trying to pull a card free from under the suit, but it was too tight to lift.

Rachel's eyes widened briefly, but narrowed as she glowered at the creature. "Then come and get me!" she shouted.

"Are you seriously trying to be bait?!" Smokescreen yelled.

As the creature dove for Rachel, a large metal hand came and caught the long tail, halting it before her. Hot Shot let out a relieved sigh, but he sucked in a sharp vent as Rachel jumped on it to hold it down.

"What are you doing?" he shouted.

"Making sure it doesn't escape!" Rachel snapped. "Rad, forget the cards and seal this thing now!"

Rad jumped, fumbling with his key. She was right, there was no time for anything else, not when the card was right there. "Return to your power confine, Sakura Card!" he pointed the wand at the creature, who struggled harder as a shell card appeared, sucking it up until nothing was left. It promptly caused Rachel to fall onto her stomach, and Hot Shot to stumble back onto his aft.

Rad reached for the card, but it zipped away. He stared incredulously as it stopped before Hot Shot, but then immediately careened off towards the rocky plains again. "Hey!" he called indignantly. "Get back here!"

"Did…that card not follow your magic rules or something?" Smokescreen asked.

Rad groaned, rubbing his head. "Create and Shield both did the same thing; Hot Shot subdued them, but…why didn't it go to him this time?" he asked frowning.

"I suppose this is abnormal?" Sideways asked. Rad nodded.

Hot Shot groaned, but then stopped, his eyes widening as he stared at his hand. "What the hell?!" he looked down at himself. "Wha-huh? Why is my body down there? What's going on?!"

Rad blinked, furrowing his brow. "Hot Shot, are you feeling okay?"

The yellow robot recoiled. "Hot Shot? I'm not him, I'm –"

"Scrap, I feel so weird." Rachel grumbled, rubbing her helmet, only to freeze. "Why can't I feel my head? Optimus, sir, did I lose it?!" she shrieked.

The Autobot leader seemed taken aback, if his tone was anything to go by. "No, Rachel, that's just your helmet."

Rachel stiffened. "Helmet? Since when did I wear a helm-" she stopped, seeing her gloved hands and jerked back. "What is this? Why am I so short?!" she turned, only for both her and Hot Shot to freeze.

"Why is my body moving on its own?!" They both shouted, pointing at each other.

"Okay, this is getting weird." Smokescreen muttered.

Rad nodded, and looked between both his cousin and the Autobot. "Hot Shot." He called, and his stomach dropped when Rachel gazed at him. "Rachel." He added, and the robot then looked at him. "So, it, er, looks like we know what the card does."

Hot Shot's mouth made a screeching sound as his denta grinded together. "This is no time for jokes, Rad." He said, and hearing the stern words sounded weird coming out of Hot Shot's mouth.

"Hey, lighten up, this wouldn't have happened if you didn't try to be a hero." Rachel drawled, and Hot Shot glared at her.

"That's rich coming from you-me-ah, this is so confusing!" Hot Shot doubled over, clutching his head. "Rad, use that card to change us back."

"About that…" Rad trailed off.

"It flew away." Sideways said bluntly.

"What?!" Rachel yelled. "How are we going to change back? Are we going to be stuck like this? Am I going to be stuck in this?!" Hot Shot let out an indignant 'hey!' but Rachel suddenly swiveled, and collapsed into an unceremonious heap on the ground.

Rad stared. "Well, I never thought I'd see Rachel faint, even it if just her-his-the body."

"It's not funny." Hot Shot growled, eyes glinting. "I'm going to find that stupid card and make it change us back!" he tried to stand, but almost immediately collapsed to his knees. "Damn iiiiiit!"

"Hot Sho-Rachel, control yourself." Optimus said, his tone strained. While he tried to sound calm, it was clear he was just as out of his depth with how to deal with this. "We will figure this out, but for now we must return to base and formulate a new plan."

"Right." Smokescreen said, and reached down to lift Rachel up, and Hot Shot growled.

"Why is walking so hard?!" he shouted. "You make it look easy."

"Perhaps it has to do with the sudden change in distribution that you're unused to it." Optimus said.

Hot Shot sighed, a strange sound as it came out as a heavy, metallic whoosh from his mouth, than opposed to his vents. "I guess." He grumbled, and looked put-out as Sideways helped him stand up.

Rad bit his lip, looking around but could not sense the card at all in any capacity. "I'll talk to Kero once we get back."

Optimus nodded. "Red Alert, warp us back."

"Yes, of course." Red Alert replied.

Rad almost jumped when Smokescreen knelt beside him, and grabbed his shoulder before they warped away. The blond's head spun, and shook it as Smokescreen set Rachel down. "How do I take this suit off? I need my phone."

"Just a moment." Red Alert said as he walked in, and typed a sequence into the computer before the suits disappeared from Rad and Rachel's forms, leaving them in their original clothes.

Rad let out a sigh, and fished his phone from his pocket, dialing the home number as he winced when Hot Shot tried to move, but only fell on his face again. "Kero, we got a problem. A card that looks like a blue chameleon thing switched Hot Shot and Rachel."

Kero was silent for a moment, before grumbling. "Not again. Look, the two of them just gotta wait until tomorrow because Change's power can only be used once a day."

Rad nearly blanked. "What." His mind did stall. "That's…sucky, and we got a bigger problem. Change took off because Rachel's in Hot Shot's body-uh, form."

"Of course it did." Kero muttered. "Then I guess you still got a day to go find it again."

Rad wished he could glare through the phone at the guardian. "I'd like to see you do better."

Kero huffed, and Rad could imagine the glower on his face. "Well if I was in my real form I'd show you!"

Rad rolled his eyes. He could continue arguing, but knew that sniping each other was what Kero and High Wire were already doing most likely. "Will it wear off and they'll go back to normal?"

"Uh, no." Kero said flatly.

"Worth asking." Rad grumbled. "Fine, you've been a biiiig help." He drawled, then clicked the phone off. "So, bad news; Change is the only thing than can turn them back, and even more, it's power can only be used once a day."

Red Alert grimaced, Optimus shook his head, and Sideways glanced at the two swapped beings. Smokescreen though said, "And even worse; what are these two going to be doing until then? Would Rachel-uh-Hot Shot…the human, staying here for a day cause problems?"

Rad nodded. "She's supposed to take me to the doctors today," he glanced at his phone's time, and his eyes widened, "oh no, I only have an half-an-hour to get there!"

Hot Shot choked, another strange sound to have a robot make. "What?! You're not missing that appointment, it took me days to get you in this early!" he tried to move, but fell back on his aft, and he slammed his fist onto the ground. "I don't have time to get sit around!"

"You can go anyway. What do I tell them? My cousin is this giant robot, don't be alarmed?" Rad retorted. Hot Shot glowered at him.

Optimus stepped in. "This may be a strange and unusual situation, but if this meeting is important, Rac-Hot Shot will have to go with you." Hot Shot choked again.

"Optimus, are you sure? Hot Shot can barely handle his own emotions, I don't see how he can handle spending a day as a stressed human." Red Alert said.

"Is there any other way? Can't Maya take her place?" Smokescreen asked. "Just do that changing thing and she looks like Rachel."

"It won't work if Rachel has to sign something. And I can't because I'm a minor, so I can't be alone in any doctor's meetings either." Rad explained. He sighed, and poked Rachel in the back with one of his crutches. "Hey, wake up!"

"Watch it, Rad!" Hot Shot snapped, but the blonde jumped, twisting and swatting the crutch away.

"I'm awake-huh?" she looked up, and up. Her expression twisted. "Aw scrap, it wasn't a bad recharge. I really did pass out?"

"You did." Sideways said, and Rachel grumbled.

Hot Shot coughed, a screeching sound that their attention alone, before seeing him glare at Rachel. "You'd better not do anything to mess my body up."

"What? If anything, you shouldn't mess my body up." Rachel retorted. "And what would I be doing to even do that?"

Rad tapped her shoulder. "There's things you have to do today…as Rachel."

Rachel stared at him blankly. "So I have to pretend to be me-her?"

"This is going to get confusing." Smokescreen muttered, even as Rad nodded to Rachel's question.

"Okay, just so we're on the same page, call me Rachel and a 'she' while I'm in this body." Hot Sh-Rachel, said.

"Then…I suppose you can call me a 'he', but definitely Hot Shot." Ra-Hot Shot added, looking at the form, a thoughtful look appearing on he-his face. "Then this means, while I'm pretending, I can see what humans do without being caught?"

Rad furrowed his brow. "I gue-"

"This is awesome!" Hot Shot yelled, and Rad nearly jumped back as the not-Rachel jumped to his feet. It was the blonde's face, but the grin was Hot Shot's. "I can finally stop pretending to be just a car and see how the humans interact because I'll be the one doing it!"

Rachel stared at him incredulously, sputtering. "You-you-you'd better not hurt my body!" she reiterated, but Hot Shot didn't seem to hear her.

"Perhaps the real worry was whether one of them would take too well to the change." Red Alert muttered.

No one could find themselves disagreeing.


Rad was confused, about whether he could spend a bit more time with Hot Shot, but also just how bizarre it was seeing such a big grin on his cousin's face as Hot Shot stared out at the passing buildings. "I thought you'd be used to Lincoln by now."

Hot Shot snorted. "As a bot maybe, but not having to hide or pretend to be a car?" he smirked. "I want to try things out for myself, experience human stuff while I have the chance. I bet Rachel's doing the same thing."

Rad doubted it, since he was sure she'd probably be freaking out still when they left the base, Smokescreen being sent to stay on hand just in case Change was found soon. People still gave them looks about why they were driving this car, but Rad found it didn't matter compared to the situation right now.

They were going to his doctor's appointment.

"Just…try not to make the doctor think Rachel's an unfit guardian." Rad said weakly.

"I've been wondering, why is she watching you? I figured since you went with your other relatives you'd be staying with grown adults." Smokescreen said.

Rad scratched his cheek. "They're not…the most attentive." He said uncomfortably. "And…Rachel was always there when she could be. Plus, I didn't want to go through what she did - constantly moving back and forth from town, always feeling like an outsider…" he trailed off, glancing at Hot Shot. He knew it was the bot inside, but the face was still his cousin's, and that would never be not-weird. Rad shook his head. "We're almost there."

"And if you get stuck, Hot Shot, just react how you do to Red." Smokescreen said.

Hot Shot looked at the wheel dubiously. "Snarky?"

"Okay, maybe not." Smokescreen said quickly.

Rad rubbed his forehead. How was it that right now he was being the mature one? "Anyway, just try not to act suspicious or my doctor will know something's up."

Hot Shot huffed, leaning back in the seat. "What do you take me for? I can be serious." He grumbled.

"Sure you can, buddy." Smokescreen drawled.

Hot Shot scowled at the wheel. "I'll have you know I was a superior officer on Cybertron-" he stopped, his mouth snapping shut. Rad wondered what happened, but frowned when he noticed his cousin's cheeks starting to turn red and the eye twitch.

Rad's jaw dropped. "Hot Shot, you need to breath! You can just stop after you quit talking!"

Hot Shot gasped, sucking in a large gulp of air. "How do you humans handle this scrap!"


Rachel would never say being a quick learner had been one of her many skills, but she had observed the other Autobots walking around enough to at least stand up. Walking turned out to be much harder, and it didn't help when she thought of what Hot Shot was doing her body.

A splitting pain twisted in her shoulder, and she collapsed to her knees, metal clanging against the floor as she held the area. Surprise and shock coursed through her, because wasn't she a robot? How did pain process normally like this? Optimus attempted to help her stand, but Rachel shook her head as she grimaced when a glowing card came from the shoulder, pulsing and weaving before shaking intensely. It seemed Create knew it wasn't really Hot Shot in this body.

With little more than a flick at her, Create zoomed through the wall.

Rachel groaned loudly. "This can't be happening. Maya, is Create leaving the base?"

The girl fritzed into existence near her, unfazed as always. "No, it is merely holding up in one of the vents."

"Perhaps while Change is being located, you'd like to gain quicker control of your-Hot Shot's-the body?" Optimus stumbled again, but Rachel couldn't blame him. This situation was weird. And unsettling, and nerve-wracking.

"That sounds like a good idea." Rachel said, and had to take her mind off all the things which could go wrong, or she'd drive herself insane thinking about it.

"And just think; you might only be a little beaten up when you two switch back, knowing Hot Shot." Sideways said idly.

Rachel stumbled, collapsing to the floor with a reverberating clang.


Rad glanced nervously at Hot Shot, who was fidgeting and glowering in his seat. The fan in the doctor's office was humming, and Hot Shot got a dirty look any time he tried to pace from the secretary. Rad let out a relieved, somewhat anyway, a nurse came out of the back, calling his name.

"Finally." Hot Shot grumbled.

Rad winced when the nurse's brows creased, but said nothing thankfully. Rad nudged Rachel, his voice low. "You can't say that out loud. They'll think Rachel's a bad caretaker, remember?"

Hot Shot glowered, but nodded. "Yeah, got it." He said both followed the nurse to a back room.

Soon enough, they were led to a clean, sterile room that Hot Shot grimaced at as they took their seats. The nurse left with a 'the doctor will be here shortly' before departing.

"Okay, it's weird, but I'm reminded of Red's med bay." Hot Shot said.

"Well, he is a doctor, right? I can imagine he'd keep this space clean." Rad replied.

Hot Shot's reply was cut off by the door opening once more, and an older man in his thirties walked in, hair combed.

"Hello, Bradley, how are you today?" The doctor asked.

Rad grimaced at the name. He'd told the doctor not to call him that, but the man thought calling him 'Rad' would be too unprofessional. "I'm fine today, Dr. Dado. Just waiting for this cast to come off." He glanced at Hot Shot when he snickered at the name. "C-can it get taken off soon?" Rad hurried on, his voice cracking as it rose to try and cover the snickering.

Dr. Dado still heard it though, and only spared Rachel a brief frown before moving on. "We'll see."

Rad nodded, and frowned at Hot Shot. Well that could have gone better.


There was a crowd of 'Cons that gathered at the computer screen, showing the training field out on the crater. Though Starscream had managed to get away from Megatron once he'd come back during the last outing unscathed, he'd stayed well out of well when the Decepticon leader glared at him.

"Anyone else notice he's acting...weird?" Cyclonus asked.

Starscream sneered. 'It must be bad if Cyclonus is saying something's weird.' He thought, but frowned at the screen.

Megatron had the current roster of Autobots' hardlight images scattered around the craters. He wasn't firing back at them, dodging with an odd agility for his frame. He swept that annoying yellow mech up, tossing him at the orange one without looking to see the forms dissolve and made a beeline for the purple and yellow bot, who broke off firing blasts and dodged the swipe. Megatron twisted around, grabbing the mech by the leg and slammed him into the ground, the form dissolving as well.

"He's amazing, his combat prowess is superb." Demolishor said awed, only to stammer when both Starscream and Cyclonus stared at him. "It's just-he-ah-never made a big deal out his fighting. Though he's not terrible at it, and-and-" he cut himself off, glowering instead as Cyclonus laughed while Starscream only huffed. "S-shut up!"

"Why don't you all be quiet?" Scavenger's unpleasant voice grumbled as he and Skywarp came into the room.

The purple mech saw the screen, his optics lit up before he shoved himself past Demolishor and leaned in to view the screen better, ignoring the dirty look he got. "Wow, I had no idea that old bot could move so fast." He said bluntly.

Almost casually, Skywarp teleported from about to be hit by Demolishor for his insubordinate comment, to appear back beside Scavenger, who looked unimpressed. "I'm an old bot." he drawled, though turned a frown to the screen, optics narrowed.

"More like ancient scrap." Starscream muttered. Catching the flash of purple from his peripheral, and repetition, let him side-step his cousin trying to shove him.

"Take that back!" he snapped. "You don't get to say anything about him!"

"So you respect him but not me? You never were grateful about how I protected you all those years." Starscream scowled.

Skywarp matched it. "More like-"

A shockwave shook the ship, and the arguing seekers turned to the computer, in time to see Megatron had thrown Red Alert to the ground, before his pede came down onto the bot's chest, going straight through before the form dissipated. The stomp was so hard though, that it left an imprint into the ground.

"Megatron really hates that medic." The helicopter said.

Demolishor huffed. "That's sort of ob-hey!" he snapped, seeing Cyclonus had once more went into a spontaneous recharge.

Skywarp frowned, looking over the group, then muttered to Scavenger, "Why are we here again?"

Scavenger vented deeply. "I'm not sure, probably because Megatron is having personal problems." He drawled. While Skywarp laughed, the older mech frowned as he looked at the screen, watching as Megatron took down the Optimus copy. 'Though it appears he's made some vast improvements-whether by actual skill…or something else.'


Rad was still tense and anxious long after they left the office. Dr. Dado hadn't reacted much to Hot Shot's fumbles, but Rad never let himself calm down until they were out of the office, back in Smokescreen's cabin. The only silver lining being his next visit would be when the cast came off, finally. His lungs burned, and the blond let out a long exhale.

"That…was…okay." It was more of a reassurance, than a statement.

Hot Shot leaned back in his seat. "I don't know what you're so worried about. I did great." He grinned.

Rad shot him a withering glare, faltering when he couldn't get past how it was still his cousin's face. "You were…passable. You're really lucky Dr. Dado is really professional."

Hot Shot snorted. "So what next? Take you to school and I get the day to myself? Sounds good."

Rad gave him a flat stare. "That's not going to happen." He said, and pointed to the pocket where the list was. "You got a lot to do."

Hot Shot looked through the notes with a scowl. "How much does she do every day?" he asked incredulously. "She's like some weird combination of Red and Maya with all this."

"Then you just need to tell the office why I'm late, and you can hide in the apartment." Rad said.

"Hide?" Hot Shot glowered. "There's no way I'm hiding away, not with my only chance to know what humans do up close."

Rad grimaced as Smokescreen reached the school, groaning and slapped his forehead. "Are you serious?" he grumbled.

Hot Shot grinned as he jumped out of the cabin once Smokescreen stopped. "Time to see how this youngling education thing works."

"You'd have to stay in class." Rad said wearily.

Hot Shot huffed. "I guess that's a terrible trade-off."

Rad shook his head as they walked into the school, the blond taking his time to climb the steps. Once inside, the two of them made their way into the office, and Rad glanced at Hot Shot, nudging him once he saw the still form. "Keep breathing."

Hot Shot grimaced. "This breathing thing I could do without." He muttered.

The secretary noticed first, beaming. "Hello, do you need a late-slip?"

Rad nodded, but Hot Shot cut in. "Yeah, me, his cousin, is here to say that my cousin was at the med-doctor's office. He had an appointment, so that's why he's late. Because he had an appointment." He obviously hadn't breathed during it, as he gasped, sucking in a breath.

The smile slipped from the secretary's face, who stared at him blankly. "Right…" she trailed off, before getting a slip. "Here, Mr. White. Have a pleasant day." She added, smiling at him, then giving Hot Shot a strange look, who rubbed his neck and trailed after Rad.

"I'd say that went well." He said confidently.

Rad groaned, slumping over. He couldn't believe this. "Do you realize how you sounded in there?" he asked, but as they turned the corner, he heard a sharp gasp, and looked forward to see Alexis had stopped dead in her tracks.

Her shock turned to anger, red flushing her cheeks. "Rad." She said stiffly.

The blond bit his lip, ducking his head. "H-hi, Alexis." He said awkwardly, and wondered if this would ever stop being awkward. "So, how are you-"

"I have to go." She said quickly, glancing at Hot Shot with a beam, but jerked back when Hot Shot crossed his arms.

"I know you're mad at Rad and all, but avoiding him isn't going to make any of this go away." He said bluntly.

Alexis gaped, while Rad wanted to slam his head into a wall. "W-what?" she stammered. Her gaze narrowed, meeting Hot Shot's gaze, then turned to Rad. "What did you do to her? Why is she acting like this?" she asked, and Hot Shot took Rachel's phone out of his pocket as it vibrated.

Rad jerked back. "What makes you think I did something?" he asked defensively. He shook his head. "You know what? It's not Rachel right now, it's Hot Shot. One of these magic cards swapped their minds and we're waiting for the Autobots to find it to switch them back."

Alexis stared at him. "You mean it's Hot Shot?" she repeated, as though it were the only thing that mattered. "And Rachel's in…" she trailed off, blinking. Then she scowled. "Look what this magic stuff is doing!"

"Hey, it's not my-well, not entirely my fault. It's more complicated than that." Rad replied. "In fact, if you'd just listen I could explain it better."

Hot Shot frowned at the phone. "Hey, Rad. I just got a text from someone named Stella. Who is she and why is she saying she wants Rachel's opinion on where to have their date?"

Alexis let out a strange sound, as though she were choking something back. Her eyes squeezed shut, form shaking before she ran past them. Rad tried to call her, but she only kept going, leaving him floundered about the reaction. Did she hate the idea of magic that much?

"What was that about?" Hot Shot asked, looking confused.

Rad could only shrug. He had no idea.