Arianna looked up as her phone gave a buzz, signaling a new text. She flipped open her phone and looked at the words across the screen.
Bee and I are on our way- Raf.
"No Optimus," mused Aria, "This should be good." She put her phone in her pocket and pulled on her hooded vest, black gloves and boots, then headed for the door. "I'm going out!" she yelled to the Chavez's, who were in the kitchen together.
"Be back before dark," Mrs. Chavez called back.
Aria nodded and headed out the door, waiting on the edge of the curb. Raf didn't live too far away, so she wouldn't have to wait long. While she waited, she held up her hand and allowed a slight bit of frost to form. "Not sure why ice powers could come in handy," she mused to herself, although a few people heard her.
"Well, you never know," said Nauticia, "Besides, new powers seem to show up whenever you're about to have a problem."
"And besides," said Perceptor, "cold can be devastating to cybertronians with long enough contact."
"Ah," she replied, then waved as a familiar yellow and black Urbana 500 came around the corner. Bumblebee opened the door and let her in. "Hey you two," she said cheerfully as she climbed in, greeting Raf, who was also in the seat behind her, "Optimus told you two to pick me up?"
"Although I'm pretty sure you could've flown yourself there," said Raf, a little jokingly.
*What do you mean by that?* asked Bumblebee as they drove away.
"I can fly," said Aria, "but I'm pretty sure Optimus wants me to be as low-profile as I can. So that's why he picks me up."
*Or why he asks one of us to pick you up,* finished Bumblebee, *I can see why he's worried. I think it's only luck that the Cons haven't found out about you yet.*
"But it's only a matter of time," she said, "I can't stay hidden forever."
*Another fair point,* said Bumblebee, *Well, just sit back and enjoy the ride while it lasts.*
()
When the group finally arrived at base, meeting Bulkhead on the way with Miko and Jack, they found Optimus and Arcee standing in front of the Groundbridge, which was online, and Ratchet watching them as they came in. "Missed us, Doc-bot?" asked Miko as she climbed out of Bulkhead.
Ratchet gave a sigh and asked Optimus, "Shouldn't they be in school?"
"It's Saturday!" said Aria, "We don't have school today. We've got the whole weekend off. Besides," she held up a flash drive, "I'm working on something here and Percy helped me finish the math, so I get to work on it today. Yes, I know you don't like being called Percy," she said suddenly, rolling her eyes upwards, "but when do I ever stop with the nicknames." She noticed Ratchet give a slight smile.
She then turned to look at Optimus and Arcee as Jack said, "Wasn't expecting a carpool. What gives, Arcee?" He looked up at the femme.
"Tag team, Jack," explained Arcee, "It's my turn for... exploration duty." She said the last part a little bit dramatically.
"Too bad," said Jack, a slight smile spreading across his face, "It's a beautiful day for a ride. Would hate for you to feel guilty for leaving me indoors."
"Arctic exploration duty," added Arcee, grinning.
"Inside where it's warm!"
"Nice save, Jack-jack," said Aria, laughing, "And an odd coincidence. I got a new power last night." She held up her hands as a miniature snowstorm swirled around her hands.
"Definitely inside where it's warm," said Jack, standing back a little and shivering.
"I don't know why you're not sweltering!" said Aria, turning to look at him, "You wear long-sleeves all the time and it's like eighty degrees outside!"
"I've been in cold weather a lot in my younger years," said Jack, striding away.
"Like where?" she replied back, "Alaska? New York in the winter time?"
"I would say, 'burn' but considering you are talking of cold places," said Optimus, smiling slightly as everyone turned to look at him.
"You actually have a sense of humor?" said Aria incredulously, "Ironhide never said that you did!"
"There are some things even he didn't know about me," he told her.
"I've always wanted to see snow," said Raf sadly, "I wish I could come with you guys."
"I would invite you to join, Rafael," said Optimus, "But the condition are much to extreme. Even for we Autobots."
"I understand," said Raf, looking down slightly.
Optimus and Arcee started into the Groundbridge, but then Optimus turned and said, "But, perhaps you and Aria could have a little bit of fun."
"Don't worry," said Aria cheerfully, wrapping an arm around Raf's shoulders, "We'll clean up when we're done."
Optimus nodded and he and Arcee headed into the Groundbridge. "Transport complete," said Ratchet. He turned to the consul and gave a yelp as it suddenly sparked and fritzed. "By the Allspark!" he exclaimed. "Not referring to you, Aria," he quickly added at her cough.
"I know," she said, "But what happened?"
"The Goundbridge is down," he said as everyone gathered around.
*Did Optimus and Arcee make it?* asked Bumblebee in worry.
"Optimus and Arcee made it though," reassured Ratchet, "It's bringing them back that concerns me." He turned to Bulkhead and Bumblebee and said, "I need some heavy-lifting. Remove those panels," he told them, pointing to the Autobot insignia on the floor, "Chop-chop."
"We might have to hold off on our winter wonderland spree, Raf," said Aria, turning to look at the younger boy, "How'd you like to come with me to the power converters. Maybe there's something wrong there."
"Sure!" said Raf.
"What do we do?" asked Jack from the balcony.
Aria flew upwards and landed in front of one of the computers, typing on it rapidly before grabbing a tool-kit. "Check the base's hall cameras," she said, turning to him and Miko, "This couldn't have been an accident."
"You think something is inside the base?" asked Bulkhead, looking up from lifting up a floor panel with Bumblebee.
"Well, Groundbridges don't often fritz out on their own," she told him, "Something, or someone, had to have done it like that."
()
"Power converters are right in here," said Aria, pointing to one of the massive doors in the hallway.
"How do we get in?" asked Raf, looking up at the switch that would open the door.
Aria winked and handed him the tool kit. Then she flew upwards, pushing the button until the door opened. "It's handy to fly," she told him, "Never know when you have to get to someplace that you can't reach."
"Cool!" said Raf, handing her back the tool kit, "So, do you think the problem with the Groundbridge is here?" he asked her as they went inside the room, which was oddly dark.
"The power converters don't really help to power the Groundbridge," she told him, turning on a flashlight, "But if there is something inside the base, it might've come... here." She looked at the wall in front of her, confusion and worry on her face. Raf looked with her, his own eyes widening.
The wall in front of them was covered in these long gashes, which showed the glittering metal underneath it. The power conduits themselves weren't in better condition themselves, covered in the same long gashes and sparking wildly. "What happened?" asked Raf as Aria swept the flashlight beam around.
"I don't know," said Aria, "But to the others, they look like..." A sudden chattering noise interrupted her, and she whipped the beam around. What she saw made several cybertronians in her head scream like downright little girls.
It resembled a tiny head with large blue-violet optics and a mouth full of rotating teeth. It scuttled along on a bundle of tiny spiky legs. It was headed right for them, it's optics alight and set on her flashlight. "What is that?" yelled Raf as it advanced on them.
"Scraplet!" she yelled, "I hope that what Perceptor said about cold is true with these guys too!" She raised a hand and aimed at the advancing scraplet, and a burst of cold shot from it, striking the pest. It stopped for a few seconds and then fell over, it's optics dimming.
Aria and Raf sighed and Aria approached the scraplet, touching it tentative with her foot before giving a sigh and picking it up. "What's a scraplet?" asked Raf, looking at it.
"Cybertronian pest," she replied, "Eats anything metal. They're really nasty to cybertronians."
"Anything metal?" asked Raf, fear suddenly etched across his face.
"Anything," she told him. "But how did one get in the Outpost? Let's show this to Ratchet."
When they came in, they found Ratchet still puzzling over the Groundbridge with Bulkhead and Bumblebee watching nearby. "Hey Ratchet!" Aria called out, "I think I've found our culprit. Or at least one of them." She held up the scraplet by its legs.
Ratchet turned to her. "What do youuuAAAAUUUGHHH!" he screamed when he saw the dead scraplet. Bulkhead and Bumblebee turned and their own optics bulged when they saw the dead scraplet.
"Don't worry!" she yelled over Ratchet's scream, "It's dead!"
Ratchet calmed down as Miko and Jack looked over the balcony. "What's that?" asked Miko.
"It's a scraplet," said Ratchet, looking at the body in apprehension, "It's practically a cannibal. It eats cybertronians if it wants too. Anything metal is done for when it's around."
"Especially living metal," said Bulkhead, shivering
"And it's the reason why the bridge fritzed?" asked Miko.
"Possibly," said Arianna.
"Well, bug squashed," said Jack, "problem solved. Right?"
A grave look crossed Ratchet's face. "When it comes to scraplets," he told them, "There's never just one. I figure I know how it got in here."
()
"So this is what you guys brought back from the arctic?" asked Aria, looking at the pod in front of them.
Ratchet nodded, looking inside the pod with a flashlight. "It's a trap," he explained, "A scraplet trap."
"Uhh," Bulkhead said nervously looking inside of it, "An empty scraplet trap."
"Most likely ejected into space eons ago," Ratchet turned to the rest of them, "Only to wind up in the arctic where the temperature kept it in stasis."
"Until we brought the thaw," said Jack, looking up into the empty trap.
"And now they're wide awake and ready to brunch," said Miko nervously.
"So," asked Raf, "How many are we talking about?"
"With scraplets, it's hard to tell," said Aria, looking into the trap, "But this is big enough to hold a few thousand. Maybe a lot more. But with the power malfunctions and the Groundbridge damage, you can tell they're already deep in the system."
"But what about Arcee and Optimus?" exclaimed Jack, "They're still in the Arctic!"
"The scraplets are already deep in the system," said Aria, "It's possible they already got to the com channels."
"If we don't get rid of these pests immediately," said Ratchet, "They will reduce the entire base to a scrapheap."
"Well I say we bug out of here and let them keep it!" said Bulkhead, Bumblebee nodding in agreement.
"We can't!" said Aria.
"She's right," said Ratchet, "Evacuation is not an option. If we don't get the Groundbridge online stat, Optimus and Arcee will perish."
"They will?" said Jack in worry.
"Cybertronian systems can't handle sub-zero temperatures after a long period of time," explained Aria, "Remember that scraplet I brought in? I had to freeze it to kill it."
"Bulkhead!" exclaimed Miko, turning to her guardian, "You never run."
"Miko, you haven't seen a swarm of these things devour a bot!" said Bulkhead. "I have. They-"
"Oh-kay, Bulkhead," scolded Aria, "No need to scare the kids further. Besides, we can help! We're not metal, so we could do some damage to the scraplets if they try to get to you guys."
"Typically," mused Ratchet, "I find your fleshiness to be your least engaging quality."
"I'll try not to be insulted," said Aria.
"But," continued Ratchet, casting her a look, "It would appear to provide an advantage under these extremes."
"Then we pair off," said Jack, "One bot, one human. Aria and I can have your back while you repair the Groundbridge, Ratchet."
"While the rest of us go on a bug hunt!" declared Miko.
Bulkhead and Bumblebee looked at each other, their shoulders sagging. This wasn't going to end well.
()
"Anything Ratchet?" asked Aria, standing next to Jack with frost covering her hands. Jack was wielding a metal staff that Aria had provided. The two of them looked over at Ratchet as he grave a growl of frustration.
"I've repaired the damaged conductors," he said frustratingly, "and re-routed the central conduits, but the Groundbridge still won't receive power!" He slammed a servo into the ground frustratingly.
"Then there must be something else," said Perceptor, "Perhaps the calibrator is out of sync?"
"Ratchet said that it wasn't getting power," said Nauticia, "So there must be something wrong with the power source."
"Guys, I'm on guard duty," Arianna shushed the two tech-heads, "I'm not in science class. Could you two keep it towards the back please?"
As she heard the two voices move towards the back, she looked up- and froze.
Scraplets were crawling around on the ceiling, eating at the metal walls. "Jack," she whispered, "Get ready." She motioned upwards.
As Jack looked up, the scraplets looked at Ratchet and their teeth started whirling. They flew off the ceiling straight at Ratchet. "They fly?!" yelled Jack, "You never said they could fly!"
"Be grateful they don't combine!" Ironhide yelled as Jack and Aria rushed forward to help a besieged Ratchet, Aria freezing them while Jack slammed his metal staff into them.
"I do not need that image in my head!" Aria yelled in her mind, pulling some of the frozen scraplets off of Ratchet.
Ratchet looked up and yelled "Jack! The fire extinguisher!"
Jack quickly grabbed it and raced back towards the Autobot medic, spraying him with white mist. "Even more cold! It seems to be more effective," agreed Aria, freezing the scraplets even more. The scraplets started to fall by the dozens. Ratchet collapsed on the ground as Jack kept on spraying him and Aria set up a cloud of cold over them to stop the scraplets from getting to him.
Aria looked up as more whirling sounds approached, as well as footsteps. Bulkhead and Bumblebee came limping in with Miko and Raf following close behind. "Ratchet!" yelled Bulkhead, "Grab your med-kit! We're leaking here!"
"No time for that!" yelled Aria, "Grab Ratchet and get down close to the consul! I'll handle the rest!"
Bulkhead and Bumblebee looked up into the scraplets that started to head towards them, then nodded and pulled Ratchet towards the Groundbridge controls. "Jack! Miko! Raf! Stay with them and take care of any scraplets that get through!" commanded Aria. The other three humans nodded and rushed towards their guardians. As soon as they were at the consul, Aria set up a cloud of cold over them.
The scraplets started to whirl around, wondering where their prey went. "Sorry, boys," said Aria, a small blizzard whirling around her, "Lunchtime is over!"
A massive shockwave of cold blasted out from her body. All the scraplets in the room were instantly frozen, a few of them still chattering a bit. Aria gave a deep sigh and relaxed, saying, "Not gonna do that again anytime soon." She held up a hand and dispersed the cloud.
Jack, Miko, and Raf came forward, leaving a groaning Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee, helping to take care of the remaining scraplets. "Did you get them all?" asked Jack.
"I don't think so," said Aria, listening to the buzzing sounds around the base, "There's a lot more where they came from."
"These were just scouts," groaned Ratchet. Bumblebee gave a buzz of annoyance and laid back on the ground as Bulkhead asked, "So... the rest of them know we're in here?"
"And if we allow ourselves to become their next meal," added Ratchet, "Optimus and Arcee will never make it home. We must get the Groundbridge operational!"
"Then," said Raf, an idea entering his head, "We could use it to send the scraplets anywhere on earth?"
"It's a pity we can't send it to the Con's warship," said Aria ruefully, "I would love to see Screamy get a load of that."
"But how about to the Arctic?" suggested Jack, holding up his now empty fire extinguisher, "We already know that they don't do cold."
"Suh-weet!" cheered Miko, hefting her wrench, "One stop shopping!"
"Given the body mass of the scraplets," Ratchet thought aloud, "sub-zero temperatures should freeze them on contact. So think, Ratchet. Think!" He rubbed the back of his helm as he thought aloud, "If the Groundbridge is still down... then... there must be a breach in the energon fuel line!" he finished triumphantly.
"Since you guys can't patch it up," said Aria, "We'll do it. Jack, you took a welding class, right?" she asked, turning to him.
"Yeah," he replied.
"You take the lead then," she told him, heading over to a small closet located on the ground and pulled out a tool box with welding materials in it, "Take the entrance hallway. First door on your left. Follow the pipes until you see the breach. Don't weld it directly. Clean up the breach as best as you can, then weld a few plates onto it. That'll be a makeshift bandage until Ratchet can properly fix it."
Jack nodded and turned to Raf and Miko. "Let's go."
"You're not coming?" asked Miko.
"Someone has to stay here and watch the bots," said Aria, "and I'm the best girl for the job."
As soon as the three kids left, Bulkhead asked, "So if we get... when... we get the Groundbridge open, do we send the creepy-crawlies out, or bring our bots in?"
"Optimus and Arcee will be fresh meat," said Ratchet, "If we bring them in first, the scraplets will have no reason to leave. We'll need bait."
"Where are we gonna get bait?" asked Bulkhead, "The scraplets already helped themselves to everything in here!"
"Get down!" yelled Aria as a familiar whirling sound approached, "They're coming!"
Bulkhead gave a small yelp as a massive horde of scraplets came in, crouching down beside Bumblebee, who looked fearfully into the air. Ratchet looked at Aria as two miniature blizzards formed around her hands. "I seriously hope the others hurry," she muttured.
Just then, Jack, Miko and Raf came rushing into the room. "Aria!" yelled Jack, "All systems go!"
"Fire it up!" yelled Miko, her fist pumping brieflyinto the air.
Aria turned to the Groundbridge controls, one of the tiny blizzards around her hands disappearing to be replaced by a white light. The same white light surrounded the levers on the Groundbridge controls. "Groundbridge... activated!" she yelled, pulling back her hand, the levers pulling downwards. The Groundbridge finally roared to life.
Bulkhead looked at Ratchet and Bumblebee, who were still down and with Ratchet nearly unconcious from the pain. Several metal beams crashed down close to hwere he was, causing him to shield his face. Then, he looked over at the Groundbridge. "Bait, huh?" he mused, looking back up at the scraplets. He stood up as quickly as he could.
"Bulkhead!" yelled Aria, "What are you doing?"
"Providing the main course!" said Bulkhead, moving in front of the Groundbridge. "Hey, metal-eaters!" he yelled, catching the scraplets attention, "Come and get it!"
The scraplets started to chase after Bulkhead as he moved into the Groundbridge, leaping through the vortex with the whole swarm chasing after him. "What was he doing?" asked Miko.
"Bait," said Aria, "He was bait."
()
Optimus Prime and Arcee, both on their last dregs of energy and nearly frozen, stumbled towards the waiting Groundbridge, both of them nearly falling over. As Optimus stumbled back to his feet, he noticed something coming through the Groundbridge. His optics widened when he saw Bulkhead, covered in scars and scraplets swarming all around him.
Bulkhead saw his two team mates. "Down!" he yelled urgently at them, "Down!" He fell down in the snow as the scraplets flew over and past him, setting their sights on the two weakened Autobots. Optimus saw them coming, and stood protectively in front of Arcee.
Just before the scraplets could reach them, they froze over. Optimus and Arcee shielded themselves as the dead scraplets hit them and bounced off, landing in small piles around them. Arcee and Optimus looked up as Bulkhead brushed a few dead scraplets off of him and said, "I'd invite you in, but the place is a mess."
()
A few hours after Bulkhead came back through the Groundbridge with Optimus and Arcee, everyone had finally settled down inside the med-bay. With Bumblebee and Arcee resting on the medical berths, Bulkhead sitting next to the medical chamber, and Optimus and Ratchet settled alongside the wall with Ratchet sitting on a crate, the four humans had gotten to work to help repair the Autobots with Ratchet coaching them.
As Aria moved around, checking on Optimus and Arcee, Ratchet said to Jack, who was keeping an eye on the two Autobots, "Report biometric status."
"Levels are rising," reported Jack, giving a thumbs up.
"Excellent," said Ratchet. He then turned to Miko and Raf and said, "Rafael, keep a close watch on Bumblebee's electro-pulse monitor. Miko, check Bulkhead's interface patch."
"It's steady!" Raf said.
"Looking good!" cheered Miko.
Ratchet nodded and asked Aria, "How are Optimus's and Arcee's systems?"
"Still a little frozen," she reported, "but thawing out nicely. Aparrently generating ice isn't the only thing I can do with my ice powers." She proved her point by helping to remove a little bit of ice from Arcee's arm joints. She gave a sigh of relief and said, "Thanks."
"Perhaps you should get some rest yourself, old friend," Optimus told Ratchet, "You save quite a few lives today."
"It...wasn't all my doing," said Ratchet, watching as Raf and Aria connect an energon line to Bumblebee. The old medic added, "We're just fortunate that this infestation happened... on a Saturday."
"Our human friends may be small," pointed out Optimus, "but they are strong."
That, however, was slightly proven wrong when a very girly scream came from Miko. "Scraplet?" asked Jack as he, Raf, and Aria got into ready positions with their weapons.
"SPIDER!" she screamed, causing everyone to turn and look at her as she asked, "Is it on me?" She raced down the hallway, still screaming.
Jack tossed down his metal staff and crossed his arms in disgust. "Everything we've been through today," he said, "And she's afraid of a spider?"
"Did she just scream like a little girl?" asked Bulkhead, looking down the hallway that Miko had gone.
As Optimus and Ratchet exchanged glances, Aria rolled her eyes and said, "Bulkhead, Miko is a little girl. And you have no idea how long I've been wanting to say that!"
Author's note: That is actually quite true for me. I've been wanting to say that for a long time. XD