Author's Note: To all my readers, I apologize for the long delay. Alas, I have essays up the wazoo and now evil exams are upon me. So you can blame the admin at Cape Breton University (why they changed the name from UCCB I'll never know) for keeping me away from keyboard.

Disclaimer: The only characters I own are Ultra Rodimus and Falcon. Everybody else belongs to somebody else.

Metal and Neon

Chapter 4: Convincing

The question caught all six of the listeners by surprise. Ultra Rodimus snorted his amusement as they struggled to regain their senses. Spike waited patiently for an answer.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Warrick finally managed to ask.

"Everything," Ultra Rodimus answered evenly.

"Do you?" Spike insisted.

Brass looked sceptical. Sara and Warrick exchanged glances. Catherine's eyes narrowed. Nick said nothing.

"I try to keep an open mind," Grissom responded. "But I will not answer yes or no unless I have proof."

Ultra Rodimus tilted his head to reveal a very pointed ear, then opened his eyes as wide as possible, causing his pupils to narrow to thin vertical slits and proving that he wasn't wearing contact lenses. Stunned silence fell as the CSIs and the homicide detective stared at distinctly non-human traits. Finally, Ultra Rodimus unwrapped his right forearm to expose the creature perched on it.

The silence deepened.

Cautiously, Grissom raised his pencil and prodded tentatively at the creature. Falcon promptly lit up like a torch and hissed at him. Grissom was so shocked he leaped backward and ended up tipping his chair over. Nick let out a surprised yelp. Catherine jumped a foot straight up. Sara let out a startled screech. Warrick's legs almost gave way. Brass jumped right out of his chair.

Spike frowned at the glowing creature. "I wish you wouldn't do that."

Falcon chittered at him, managing to sound annoyed. Ultra Rodimus chuckled.

"He says 'how would you like being poked somewhere sensitive?'" the young Prime relayed. He ran gentle fingers down the skrill's back, stroking the creature. Falcon's glow faded, his hissing subsided, and he began to purr faintly.

"What on Earth is that!" Warrick demanded.

"A skrill. His name is Falcon."

"A... skrill?"

"Yes. A sentient life-form taken from its home planet and bio-engineered into a weapon. They draw nutrients from their hosts' bodies, and can discharge energy blasts powerful enough to completely vaporize their targets. Falcon attached himself to me about a year ago." Ultra Rodimus continued to stroke the purring skrill. "He and I are partners."

Grissom frowned. "You said that Falcon is sentient. How does it communicate?"

"Skrills are telepathic in a limited way. They can only talk to their hosts. Falcon can be quite a chatterbox at times."

Falcon made an affirmative chirp.

"He can also understand our speech, and is a very good judge of character. My theory is that they're limited empaths. When they don't like someone, they're usually right in their opinions of that person's character."

"And he's not from Earth." Nick leaned over for a closer look. "Looks like a cross between a scorpion and a mutated spider."

"I'm not from Earth either," Ultra Rodimus pointed out. "Nor are those who threaten this city."

That got them back on topic. Catherine looked at Spike. "Is that why you asked us if we believed in extraterrestrials?"

"Yes."

Brass resumed his seat, leaning forward. "You know who's causing those accidents? What mauled that jogger?"

"I do."

"Then spill it."

"Why didn't those cars have drivers?" Nick cut in.

"They don't need drivers. The vehicles themselves are sentient beings."

"They're what!"

"Sentient robotic creatures from out there." Ultra Rodimus waved a hand skyward. "They belong to a faction called Decepticons, and those vehicles form a subgroup known as the Stunticons."

"Sentient robots?" Warrick repeated.

Ultra Rodimus nodded.

"And you know this how?"

"Because I too am a sentient robot. I merely possess the ability to become human, or close, at will."

"You're a Decepticon too!"

"No!" Ultra Rodimus glared. "I belong to a faction called Autobots. We are enemies of the Decepticons. They seek only to destroy and conquer. We seek to protect. There is a very large difference between us and the Decepticons."

Sara looked at Spike. "Are you one of them too?"

"No, I'm a genuine human. I've been working with the Autobots since they came out of stasis in 1984."

"What?"

Spike sighed. "This is going to take some explaining."

He then proceeded to tell the six about the Cybertronian race, about their origins millions of years before humans had ever evolved, the wars that ravaged their planet, the crash on Earth, their awakening, how humans had encountered them, the various treaties between Earth and Cybertron, the horrific battle at Autobot City, the death of Optimus Prime, and Ultra Rodimus's ascension to power, describing Ultra Rodimus's rank as clearly as he could. His audience was silent as Spike explained the dimensional breach that had brought the two factions of Transformers to Las Vegas, and what the Decepticons were after.

"They have to be stopped before they destroy Vegas," Spike finished. "That's what Ultra Rodimus and his Autobots are here to do."

"Now we just have to find them," Nick pointed out.

Brass's cell phone rang. The detective answered it. After a moment he ended the call. "There's been another accident."

"Then let's get going." Ultra Rodimus stood.

Ten minutes later the team stood in the midst of a tangle of twisted metal, watching Ultra Rodimus scan an experienced eye over what had once been a loaded minivan and at least three cars full of passengers- teenagers on their way to a party. The Autobot growled.

"Motormaster," he snarled. Raising his head, he scanned the street. "He can't have gone far."

An engine snarled. Tires screeched. Onlookers scattered as a huge semi trailer, black with purple-tinted windows and dragging a grey trailer, appeared at the far end of the street and came barrelling right toward them. At the speed it was moving, they barely had enough time to get out of its way.

The CSIs and Spike promptly bolted for the sidewalk. Ultra Rodimus, on the other hand, stepped into the middle of the street, right in the oncoming semi's path. His green eyes blazed.

"Get out of the way!" Sara screamed.

The truck's horn blew furiously. Ultra Rodimus only bared his teeth. The Autobot leader raised his right arm...

To be continued...

Oooh, I'll bet you hate me for this one! Cliffie! And you'll have to wait until the next update to find out what happens!

Iniora Nackatori: Thank you for the compliment. I do somehow manage to write good crossovers. What puzzles me is that no one else seems to have the nerve to try and cross Transformers with anything else. I appear to be the only one who dares. Isn't that odd.

Fenestrae: He's used to being stared at in either form, so he's learned how to ignore it. The fact that he does have pointed ears (think Spock from Star Trek) earns him a lot of stares and more than a few dropped jaws.

Gromia: The sooner the better, eh? And yes, Ravage is the size of a normal cougar. If he was any bigger he wouldn't be able to fit inside Soundwave.

Quillian: Thank you for the compliments. And I don't write hard slash. I write mild slash, and more suggestive scenes than anything else; I leave it up to the readers' imaginations to fill in the blanks. If you're brave enough to want to know what my twisted mind is really capable of coming up with, go read y story 'Burning Skies'. I'd recommend you read it with caution if you have a weak stomach.

See you all again next chapter!