Chapter One

Morgan Berchiere knew when his sister was lying. He glared at her, the expression coming off more like a childish pout than a true glare. "What do you mean?" The question was asked with narrowed brown eyes, his chin length black hair bobbing as he shifted to better watch his sister's actions.

She was cleaning. Sydney never cleaned.

"Syd, I'm serious," he said, poking at his cereal, all appetite lost to the unusual tension in the small mobile home. "What do you mean we have to stop by the police station?" Morgan was old enough to understand that people didn't go to the police station to have a friendly chat.

"I told you, Mor, I'm having a few problems with someone, and the police can help me get away from him for a little while," Sydney replied, her voice sounding a bit strained.

"Him? Oh, no, it's Kevin isn't it?" Morgan let out a whining sound, sinking down in his chair. He should have known earlier. His sister had the worst luck with guys ever. She attracted losers, but couldn't get rid of them once she figured out they were losers.

"Eat your cereal, we have to go." Sydney was stomping around the kitchen now, making two basic lunches for the both of them and packing them into a pair of lunch pales. She handed one to Morgan and went to retrieve his backpack. A quick check reassured that he'd have all his school supplies on his first day. That would leave a good impression, or so Sydney hoped.

"Syd, tell me what happened," she heard his tiny, seven-year-old voice call from down the hallway. She sighed, deciding that he had every right to know.

"Kevin came over last night. He wanted me to turn you over to the state so he and I could start over together. He said you cost too much money and are still too stressed out about your Mom being back in the Republic."

There was silence. Morgan tried hard not to be hurt when Sydney's boyfriends said strange things like this, but he was always afraid that one day she might listen to their requests and act on them. If she did, he wouldn't have any family and that was his worst fear. "What did you say, Syd?"

"I told him to get out of my house. I told him if I ever saw him again, I'd kill him. I said he had no right to talk about my little brother like that, and that you and I, Mor, have come way too far to be torn apart now." She paused for a few moments. "Then he tried to get past me, to get to your room. He said he'd do it for my own good, but I managed to shove him out the door and lock it. I called the police, and now I have to go tell them exactly what happened. Michelle is going to take you to school today."

Morgan had turned red in the face. "That son of a bitch! He can't take me away from you, Sydney! I won't let him!"

Sydney hugged him, kissing his forehead. "Come on, Morgan. Let's get out of here, okay?"

Michelle, a pretty black girl who claimed to be from Santa Cruz, stood in her third-floor apartment room in front of a vanity mirror twisting her highlighted hair into small, colorful braids. She had received the distressed call from her best friend, Sydney, just after midnight.

Michelle didn't hesitate when Sydney asked for her help. They were best friends, afterall, and what kind of friend would turn down another in a situation like this.

Syd had asked that Michelle take her little brother to school that day before going to work.

"Absolutely, sugar," Michelle cooed, trying to comfort her friend.

Michelle and Sydney had been friends for two years, but Michelle had known Sydney longer than that. The woman, though she looked only to be in her early twenties, was around since, quite literally, the beginning of human records.

Michelle was a Transformer. She had hatched sleepily from one of the lost stasis pods that Optimus sent into orbit to protect them from the crash. Her scanners indicated that she was in the Himalayas, and the DNA sequencer's chosen life form was a soft, cuddly red panda. Her datatracks, still fully intact, displayed a visual message from Optimus that was centuries old.

A Maximal without a purpose, she set off on four red panda padded paws hoping to complete a sort of world journey, determined to find a place and purpose in this strange new planet.

It literally took millions of years. She hid her stasis pod, dragging it to each new place she would call home. Finally, she took on the created appearance of a young black woman and moved her stasis pod into a do-it-yourself storage location.

She witnessed the Great War firsthand, but knew better than to interfere. Instead, she stood on the sidewalk, just as in awe of the great machines known as Autobots as the humans standing all around her. She had witnessed her own history.

Afterward, she met a girl named Sydney Berchiere at a woman's bar downtown. The two hit it off immediately. They snagged jobs together at the local department store, working in the women's section. Both girls seemed most comfortable about clothes and seemed to spend all their extra money on new outfits for themselves or the rapidly growing Morgan.

Michelle stood from her vanity just as she heard Sydney's trademark knock on her door. She slipped her wide hoop earrings into her ears as she walked to the door, opening it, laughing when Morgan tried to tackle her.

"Not today, shortcake, I'm all did up," she cooed, giving him a big hug. She then transferred her attention to Sydney. "Hey sugar, you feelin' all right?"

"Yeah," the half-Hispanic woman muttered. "I'll be happy when this is over and done with. I don't wanna have to think about the guy ever again."

"Well, don't you go givin' up on falling in love, Syd. Never know when your lucky day will roll around."

"Yeah, Meesh. Thanks for taking Morgan today. I owe you one." The women embraced briefly before Sydney kneeled to kiss Morgan's cheek. "See you after school today, Mor. Be good."

"You got it, Syd," the little boy smiled. Sydney left and made her way to her little Honda, and Michelle turned to look at Morgan.

"Come on, honey," she smiled. "Let's get going. I don't want you to be late for your first day of school."