Chapter 5

Eventually, the white car holding the 7 crammed in humans reached the secret Autobot base where Miko, Raf, and Agent Fowler were already waiting.

"About time you got here" Miko said as they got out of the car. "We've been waiting here for hours."

"Miko we just got here" Raf pointed out.

"Yeah, well same thing" Miko replied. "Anyways, how's is like being human?"

"It's pretty cool. Disgusting, but pretty cool" Arcee said while stretching out her back. Agent Fowler raised an eyebrow and June gave him a look saying 'we gave them the talk'.

"Miko, food is amazing! Why didn't you ever tell me about how good it tastes?" Bulkhead exclaimed, the wrecker sure loved food and his big size only raised his appetite.

The teen girl laughed. "Wait until you try sushi, there's a place in town that is pretty good. You'll love it Bulk."

"How are you doing Bee?" Raf asked his guardian. They were now about the same size with Bumblebee edging him out by an inch or two.

"I'm awesome, Raf! Got my voice back, had a great sleep and a tasty breakfast. So far, being human is awesome!" the former scout exclaimed.

"Cool, let's go play some video games. Now you can finally use a controller" Raf said, heading for the ladder that leads to the couch.

"Hold on son, we need to figure some stuff out first." Agent Fowler stopped the two kids from proceeding. Everyone gave the agent a confused look about what he meant so he continued.

"Yesterday, I reported out little problem to the government and they have some questions that need to be answered. The first one, how long will it take for you to fix your ancient transforming thingy?"

"Do you mean the artifact that turned us into organic beings?" Ratchet questioned.

"Yeah that one. How long until you have that up and running?" The agent asked again.

"Currently, I am not certain. I'll run a diagnostic on the damage right now so I may need a few hours to complete the scan." Ratchet responded, heading over to his equipment that now towered over him. Luckily, he had some things designed for human use and grabbed the things needed for a complete scan.

"Ok, well that leads us into our next problem. Since you 'bots don't look like you'll be able to go out into the field anytime soon, the military needs to know if you have any ideas about fighting the Decepticons when the time comes." Agent Fowler said.

Optimus looked at the human Autobots and turned to the agent. "Well, Agent Fowler, because of our current state, we do not posses any means of combating the Decepticons when they attack."

"Wait, what about the Apex Armor?" Bumblebee asked.

"The Apex Armor is an important piece in our armory. While it may be very powerful, I believe it would be a poor choice of action to send one person to battle an army of Decepticons. I will not risk losing this artifact, if Megatron were to get his hands on this ancient relic, the balance of power would no longer be in our favor." Optimus stated.

"Great, so we can't scrap 'cons when we're human" Wheeljack grumbled. "Are we just going to let the 'cons run loose while we stand and watch?"

"Optimus, Jackie has a point. What if they find another relic or start to attack a city?" Bulkhead added.

"Slow down big guy" Agent Fowler intervened. "If those Decepticons even think about hitting one of our cities, Uncle Sam will be sure to blast them right out of the sky. Now as for recon, the military has decided that as long as you are out of the fight, we'll be taking it from here."

"Agent Fowler, you know my standards. I will not-"

Optimus was cut off by Agent Fowler who put up a hand. "Hold on Prime, I'm not done. Whenever we get a signal on Decepticon activity, we'll send in drones to do some scouting. While we do that, you Autobots will need to give us some inside info on what they're doing. If the situation comes to it, the military will send in a strike team to bomb the area."

"What if they attack a populated area?" Arcee asked.

"If they do, we'll evacuate everyone immediately and launch a strike team. Right now, our Air Force is our best way to engage the enemy." Agent Fowler answered.

Optimus listened closely to what the agent said. "Autobots, although I do not condone the military getting involved in our battles, we are left with no choice but to follow their plan of attack. Until Ratchet can have the artifact fixed, we will aid our human allies in locating any Decepticon signals." The Autobots nodded in agreement, even though they didn't think it was right, it was their only move. "However, the only time your military launches a strike team is when we allow you to. If we send a strike team to bomb every Decepticon movement, Megatron will surely figure out that there will be a lack of Autobot counter-attacks. It would be wise for us to choose the situations that your military contributes to."

Agent Fowler thought about Optimus' statement and realized he was right. "All right Prime, have it your way. The military will only attack when you give us the go. Now onto our final problem, if you guys are going to be human for a while, I'll need to create an ID for each of you."

"You told us this yesterday, why didn't you already do it?" Arcee asked.

"Well, I couldn't create the IDs yet because I can't exactly put your first name as Bulkhead, or Wheeljack. Those aren't earth names and they will definitely stick out from the crowd." Agent Fowler answered.

"Sweet! We get to give them names?" Miko exclaimed, excited to make up a name for everyone.

"Yup, they'll need one to blend in with everyone else. At least until Ratchet can get your relic fixed." Agent Fowler responded, pulling out a notepad. "You guys decide on something and I'll write it down."

Miko and Raf quickly went over to Bulkhead and started to study his facial features, trying to decide on a name that would fit him.

"What are you doing Miko?" the big guy asked as she raised his arm.

"Giving you a name, silly. You're a pretty big guy and obviously built for wrecking." Miko tapped her chin and looked at Raf. "I'm thinking Trevor, what about you?"

"I think he looks like a Ryan." Raf responded.

"Ryan! That's perfect! What do you think of that Bulk?" Miko asked.

Bulkhead thought over the name. "Ryan, huh? Has a nice ring to it. I like it."

"Ok then, Ryan it is!" Agent Fowler wrote the name on his notepad.

Next was Wheeljack, who was also very muscular but not as big as Bulkhead.

"John? No, Carl? No, David?" Miko fumbled for possible names, each of them not sounding right.

"What about Cameron?" Raf stated. "It can be Cam for short."

"Hmm, sounds pretty cool. What do you think Bulk, do I look like a Cameron?" Wheeljack asked his fellow wrecker.

Bulkhead looked him over and nodded his head. "I think it's a good name Jackie, fits your style."

"Ok so Cameron..." Agent Fowler said, recording it down on paper.

"Wow Raf, you're good at this naming thing." Miko said, walking over to Bumblebee. Surprising her, she was actually taller than him which she found weird but the scout didn't seem to mind.

After a couple failed name attempts, they finally decided on Bumblebee's name to be Jason, courtesy of Raf's excellent naming skills.

"Slow down Raf, you're 3 for 3 so far. Let me have a go" Miko said, running over to Optimus to get a good look at him. The Prime was taken by surprise at the girl's investigation and looked very uncomfortable as Miko raised his arms and tapped his legs.

"Peter!" she said. "Peter is a great name for someone who's always serious."

"That's a pretty good one Miko" Bulkhead said walking over. "What do you think Optimus?"

The Prime rubbed his chin, something he picked on from Jack. "I suppose it does make sense. Although, it does sound very familiar but I cannot seem to remember from where."

"Welcome to Earth, Peter!" Agent Fowler joked as he wrote it down, earning a laugh from everyone and a nod from Optimus.

"What about Ratchet, what should his name be?" Miko asked, earning a quiet grunt from the medic as he worked.

"I was thinking Martin; classy name for a scientific man." Raf stated.

"That's a good one Raf. HEY RATCHET, DID YOU HEAR THAT? YOUR HUMAN NAME IS MARTIN!" Miko yelled across the room so that Ratchet could hear her. He merely nodded in annoyance but secretly, he liked the name and made sure to thank Raf later.

Agent Fowler wrote it down and counted all the names. "Ok, so we need one more. I think Arcee still hasn't gotten a name yet."

"I think we should wait for her boyfriend to come before we give her a name" Miko sneered, earning a laugh from the two wreckers behind her. They laughed a bit before stopping once they saw the glare Arcee was giving them.

"Where is Jack anyways?" Raf asked.

"He had an early shift today, he'll be back at around noon." Arcee answered. "Anyways, I already have a human name; Sadie."

"Sadie? Where did you get that one from?" Miko questioned as Agent Fowler wrote it down.

"It's my human hologram I use when I drive around by myself. When we first came to Earth, I heard the name and I just stuck with it I guess." Arcee said, shrugging for the last part.

"All right, that's everything. Prime, if we could go over a little more details right now, I'll get going." Agent Fowler said, motioning for Optimus to follow him to the lift.

"Wait, hold on Agent Fowler. Do you think you could get us a car or two? Now that we don't have a vehicle mode, it's really hard to get around places." Arcee stated.

Agent Fowler scratched his chin and thought about how he could get some cars. "Hmm, yeah I think we can work something out. You'll need a driver's license though, do you 'bots know how to drive?"

"Oh course we do, we turn into cars!" Bumblebee exclaimed with everyone else nodding in agreement.

"All right, I tell you what; when I come back in about two hours, I'll bring two cars along. Also, sorry pal but I can't get you a license. Technically you're too young to drive and if I put you behind a wheel that would be against the law." Agent Fowler said to Bumblebee, the scout sighing in disappointment.

"Hey it's all right Bee, you'll be able to drive once you turn back into an Autobot" Raf said, trying to comfort his friend.

"I guess..." the scout mumbled, still a little disappointed.

"Come on Bee, I'll play you Need for Speed" Raf challenged.

Quickly Bumblebee's mood changed and he followed Raf to the couch.

"Hey! I call playing the winner!" Miko yelled, running after them with Bulkhead and Wheeljack close behind her.

Arcee stood there looking at everyone. Since Jack wasn't there, she didn't really have anything to do. She also wondered who would pick up Jack once his shift was over. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. The former two-wheeler spun around and saw June smiling at her.

"Don't worry Arcee, I'll pick up Jack after I run some errands." June said as if she had read her mind. "As for now, enjoy being human. Go and play some video games with the others and have fun."

Arcee smiled at the nurse's kind words. "Thanks June, I will."

The former two-wheeler headed towards the ladder where the group was cheering on Bumblebee and Raf while calling for the next turn.

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Author's Note: Reviews are appreciated. Don't be shy, just put something in right here VVV.