"Prime!" Fowler yelled, entering as usual with all the subtlety of a foghorn. "We need to talk!"

From his monitor, Ratchet sighed and turned to greet the human with a barely-subdued grimace. "Optimus is in the back supervising our weekly stock rotation, Agent Fowler. Would you like me to get him for you?"

"Would I?" Fowler demanded, brandishing a sheaf of papers as though it were a weapon. "We have what might possibly be a national crisis on our hands! If Prime doesn't get his metal butt out here right now, we're gonna be kicked out of here faster than a box of British tea in the seventeen-hundreds!"

Keeping his eyes locked with the irate man's gaze, Ratchet forced a smile and stabbed the button for the intercoms.

"Optimus, if you would please come out here before I commit a rather serious felony, I am sure Agent Fowler would appreciate it."

A few seconds later, Optimus emerged from the hallway junction, Nova on his shoulder and the other Autobots on his heels.

"Agent Fowler," he greeted the human politely. "What can I do for you?"

"We've got to talk about the showdown that happened a few days ago," Fowler snapped, rapping the papers against the railing for emphasis.

"Does this have to do with recent events involving Nemesis Prime?" Optimus inquired, stepping closer to the railing. At the mention of the doppelgänger's name, Nova shuddered. Her recent encounter with Cylas was still fresh in her mind. Of course the nightmares had been prevalent, and her neck was sore from staying up all night.

"You bet your rusted pistons," Fowler snapped. "Do you know how much of a mess this guy made?"

Bulkhead bent a little to speak to Arcee. "Uh, why do we have to sit here and listen to him lecture Optimus about things we already know?"

"We already have the Decepticons trying to kill us," the two-wheeler replied. "We don't want the entire American government on our tailpipes too."

"The attack on Alden military base turned a lotta heads," Fowler was saying, opening the sheaf and flipping through the sheets with his thumb. "It wasn't a large facility, but the strategic advantage it provided the States was lost when MECH attacked it. Since Silas was never found, they don't have any real proof of who was behind the attacks except for a bunch of Cybertronian spare parts."

"They still think Optimus was behind it the whole time?" Arcee demanded.

Fowler snapped the papers closed, glancing at her. "When you need a suspect for an unusual terrorist attack, a dead alien in your hands is kind of hard to explain away."

"But Optimus didn't do it!" Bulkhead cried. "You saw it yourself!"

Fowler sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose slowly. Nova was amazed that Fowler had showed no signs of grey hairs after all that he had to deal with.

"Simply put, the military's convinced that Prime's been doing some questionable things lately," he said. "What with his temporary turn to the Decepticons, and the alliance we had to strike with Megatron to stop Unicron a while ago—"

Nova straightened, a frown darkening her face. "You told them about all of that?"

"I have to kid," Fowler explained. "That's my job. I report everything to them, and in return you all get to stay here under the protection of the US government."

"Anyway," he continued with a sigh. "After all that's happened, my superiors wanna know whether they can trust the big guy or not."

"Of course they can trust him!" Nova cried indignantly. "He saved us all!"

"I have to agree," Ratchet affirmed from his monitor. "Out of all of us, Optimus doesn't deserve this kind of scrutiny."

"Be that as it may, I gotta do some more gabbing up at the fort, because they won't believe me without proof," Fowler replied, leveling his pen at Optimus. "Prime's gotta be there because of all the stunts MECH pulled lately. I need them to know he's actually alive, and I know they won't believe it until they see it themselves."

"Yeah, I guess the government might be confused about that," Arcee mumbled. "Being out of the action and all."

"The kid's gotta come too," Fowler added, tilting his pen up at Nova.

Nova started back, her eyes wide. "Me?"

"Why, Agent Fowler?" Optimus asked sternly.

"She just needs to be there so they can assess her strengths," Fowler explained. "And so they can determine whether she poses a threat to national security."

"National security?!" Ratchet roared. "Now, hold on just a minute—"

"She's been known to take on Decepticons before," Fowler rejoined, flipping through his papers again. "And according to your medical records, you state that she once gave off a huge burst of energy, which disrupted crucial electrical systems."

"Decepticon electrical systems!" Ratchet cried. "She was in the warship!"

"Exactly. If a human can take down something that size; the government wants to hear about it."

"But she—"

"Ratchet," Optimus interrupted. "Could you and the others give us a moment?"

With a gusty sigh, Ratchet complied. "All right, everyone out. We still have those rations to take care of."

The others groaned and followed the medic, and Nova started to slide down from her perch, but Optimus stopped her with a word. "Not you, Nova."

"Not me?"

"This matter concerns you."

Once the others had left, Optimus turned toward the agent again.

"Agent Fowler, I have certain misgivings about this summons," he said, his voice grave. "Is it truly mandatory?"

"Afraid so, Prime," Fowler nodded. "You'll both be on site, of course, so you can stay close."

"But they will not allow her to remain with me?"

"Not until they know where both of you stand."

A silence fell as Optimus and Nova shared a glance. The half-spark already felt a pit of dread growing in her stomach at the thought of being alone in a government facility.

"You're leaving me?" she asked under her breath. Please, please don't leave me...

But Agent Fowler was not finished.

"Don't wear your armor either," he said to the girl. "We don't wanna cause a panic while we're there."

Nova shrank inward, her hands suddenly cold. "No armor? But-"

"I'm afraid it's not negotiable," Fowler said, his gruff tone softening a little. "I'll be by to pick you up in the chopper at ten."

Optimus shook his head. "I am sorry, Agent Fowler, but I will be escorting her to your facility."

Nova's eyes grew wide, and she stared up at her guardian with sudden hope.

"Prime, they want her to be under the supervision of an official government agent."

"I understand their concern," Optimus nodded. "But as her guardian, I believe it would be safest for all parties involved if I were to remain with her as long as possible. I will not allow her to go otherwise."

The silence became unbearable as Optimus held the agent's gaze, and Fowler eventually breathed a sigh.

"Lemme make a call," he said, pulling out his phone.

Dialing a number, he walked a few yards away, and Nova tugged at Optimus' finial insistently.

He turned his head, meeting her eyes.

"Why did you do that?" Nova asked, her eyes brimming with worry.

"Because my main priority at this briefing must be to keep you safe," said Optimus. "Given recent events, I do not believe that you are prepared to withstand sudden exposure to military scrutiny."

Nova's heart leapt. He was going to stay with her after all.

But as she realized there could be serious consequences from his decision, her heart began to sink again.

"But ... if you don't do what the government says, they might kick you off the planet, or shut you down, or—"

"Nova, humans as I have seen them are prone to distrust, and in many cases they are right to be so," Optimus interrupted. "But at times it can make them fearful of what they do not understand, and that fear can cause them to act without wisdom. One such as you must be protected against such fear, no matter the risk."

Nova sat down, putting her head in her trembling hands. "What if the government decides I'm too dangerous? What if they take me away?"

"That will not happen."

"But what if it does?"

Optimus hesitated for a moment.

"Then I may be the one to act without wisdom," he said at last.

Nova raised her head, staring at him. The idea that Optimus would risk the favor of the planet for her was … rather horrible to think about. But the knowledge that he would be there to protect her felt like stronger armor than she could ever hope for.

Before she could say anything more, Fowler approached them, flipping his phone shut.

"All right, I got the go-ahead from the chief," he informed them. "You two can go together."

Nova cleared her throat, twisting her fingers. "Um, Agent Fowler? What will they be ... doing to me when we go?"

Fowler nodded. "Not to worry, kid. We'll have one of the best psychologists in the business examining you. This is just an evaluation to make sure you're not a raging psychopath, and from what I know about you, it should be a piece of cake."

"They're just asking me questions?"

"That's right. Nothing to it."

Nova relaxed a little, breathing a sigh and attempting to smile. "Oh, good. Good. This should turn out all right, then."

"I'll be seeing you both tomorrow," Fowler said, turning toward the elevator. "Try not to cause international disputes in the meantime."

Once he had gone, Nova slid down from Optimus' shoulder and nodded briskly, bouncing her hand against her thigh.

"Well, it'll be fine, right?" she asked hopefully. "Fowler said there's nothing to it. It'll be just fine. Right?"

Optimus paused for a second, unconvinced by the girl's weak attempts to hide her nerves. For someone who could not lie to save his life, Optimus was rather excellent at seeing through them, to the point where he was nearly impossible to bluff.

"I cannot promise that the briefing will be easy, Nova, but I can promise that I will protect you in any situation. You do not need to be afraid."

Nova gave a smile which belied her inner turmoil. "Yes, sir."

Just as long as you don't leave.