If you want to know exactly what Brielle looks like, I added a link of her portrait to my user page.

Incredibly Brave, Incredibly Stupid

After a long lecture, which was really just her dad yelling at her and her mom telling her she'll never get anywhere in life, Brielle retreated to the guest room.

She put on a somber face for the entirety of her parent's rant. Usually, she would throw in her own comebacks and retorts, but she just wanted to be somewhere secluded as quickly as possible. Brielle closed the door and threw herself on the bed, taking out her phone and frantically searching for her recent pictures.

There he was: yellow armor, glowing blue optics, and two metal fingers forming a peace sign. Bumblebee the Autobot.

Brielle began to giggle idiotically. She jerked back and forth, acting like a young girl who'd just met her teen idol. As her brother Anthony would put it, she was "fangirling hardcore."

Brielle had woken up from many dreams that she wished were real. As fantastical as her dreams were, what she just experienced was a thousand times better than anything she could imagine because it was real. Life couldn't get any better than this.

Well, it could have. She could've gone with Bumblebee. Then again, she'd just get in the way. Common sense told her that there were more evil robots out there and she could easily be crushed, even by accident! Then again, she was able to help Bumblebee out tonight and that was good enough for her.

'Don't kid yourself.'

Every fiber in Brielle's being was telling her to not settle for that. She wanted desperately to go with Bee. She knew that she would probably slow him down, but she was selfish enough to overlook that. Brielle inhaled deeply and blew the air out of her mouth. "Too late either way."

"Dad. What are you talking about? I was never with any boys like that—ugh!" Marie quickly made her way upstairs to avoid any more embarrassing accusations from her father. Ever since Brielle got home, there'd been a lot of shouting in Aunt Lynn's house. It was time to find out exactly what happened tonight.

Marie tiptoed down the hall. From the guest room that she and Brielle shared, she could hear spurts of giggles and then heavy sighs coming from her sister. 'Sounds like Brielle met someone. Someone special.' Marie thought. She'd bet her collection of old computer parts on it, for Brielle sounded exactly like Marie when she met that cute boy in Florida a year ago.

Marie placed her hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. She saw Brielle lying on her back on her bed and looking at her phone. 'She could be texting him right now!'

Marie dramatically entered the room and asked, "Alright, who is he?"

Brielle quickly tuck her phone under the pillows and gazed innocently at Marie. "Who's who?" she chimed, her voice as sweet as honey.

Marie was leaning against the door jam with her arms crossed. "Don't use my own tricks against me. Who is he? And why does dad think I'm running off with boys in the middle of the night?"

"Because you do."

Marie checked the hallway to make sure no one was eavesdropping and shut the door.

"Well no one's supposed to know!"

Brielle rolled her eyes. "Well if you don't want anyone to find out, stop interrogating me."

The position Brielle shifted to gave Marie a good look at her hair. Marie cringed with horror. "Oh dear Lord. My poor baby!" Marie all but sprinted to her sister's side and placed her hands on Brielle's shoulders. "What the hell were you doing tonight?" Before Brielle could open her mouth, Marie held up her hand and abruptly said, "No. Don't speak. I must fix this immediately."

From her side of the room, Marie pulled out a folding travel kit. In no time, she pulled a pair of salon quality scissors from the neatly organized kit. When Marie wasn't tampering with the school's mainframe, she was reading Vogue and keeping up with the latest fashion blogs. Marie's fashion savvy was the only reason Brielle trusted her with a pair of scissors.

Marie grabbed Brielle by the shoulders and directed her to sit down on the rolling desk chair. "Now hold still. You're getting layers whether you like it or not. Think beach waves. They're sexy."

And the snipping commenced.

Brielle's body was as stiff as she could manage for Marie. It was a good thing Brielle trusted her sister with this sort of thing. By the feel of it, Marie was taking a lot off. Her waist length hair quickly transformed to just past shoulder length hair.

Marie cleared her throat in an attempt to get her sister's attention. "So, what did you do while you were out?"

Brielle idly twiddled her thumbs while trying to come up with a decent excuse. "Oh, I just took the bike for a ride through the desert."

Brielle was a good liar, but not as good as her sister. She always felt horrible after telling even a little white lie. Marie, on the other hand, is a cutthroat bitch. She'll do just about anything to get her way.

"And you were so late because?" Marie prodded.

"I was a bit turned around. That's all."

Brielle heard Marie's curt 'hm' before she put the scissors on the desk. The darker brunette pulled some styling cream from her travel kit, squeezed a bit on her hands, and ran it through Brielle's hair. When she finished, she rolled Brielle to the full length mirror on the back of the door and asked, "Do you love it?"

Brielle's eyes widened. She was pleasantly surprised. "Wow. Yeah, I really do actually. You're good."

"And you're a liar."

Brielle's brow furrowed. "I'm not lying, I think it looks great."

Marie rolled her eyes. "No. About where you were. How the hell can you get turned around when you were on a straight road?"

Brielle tried to find words to appease her sister, but none came out.

Then Marie swiftly hurried to Brielle's bed and snatched her cell phone from under the pillows. Brielle was right behind her though and she pushed her sister down onto the bed while trying to grab her cell from Marie. "Jesus, Marie!"

Marie knew that Brielle could incapacitate her very easily, so she needed to be quick. Luckily, the last image Brielle had on her phone was still up. Even though she had to wrestle with Brielle on the bed, her face managed to contort to a befuddled expression. "What's this? I thought BotCon was in June?"

Brielle loosened her grip on her sister and sighed heavily. "Uh, yeah. I mean no. It wasn't like that. Just a, uh, y'know. Little attraction on the side of the road." Brielle sounded like she was struggling for words, but she pressed on, "and I took a picture because it looked cool."

Marie looked at her sister with a 'are-you-kidding-me' sort of look. "Why keep it so secret then?"

Brielle paused before responding. "Because they had computer stuff there, too. I thought you'd get mad if you found out I was there without you."

Marie seemed satisfied. She nonchalantly tossed the phone and Brielle quickly scooped it up. "You're so weird. Okay, I'm tired. Night." Marie said.

Brielle sighed, a serene smile on her face. "G'night, Marie."

All was well for the remainder of the Piper excursion. No one questioned Brielle about her whereabouts on that fateful night. However, Marie started acting strangely the last week they were there. She'd been talking to that Glenn guy a lot more than usual and kept herself locked in the guest room most nights.

After everyone said their goodbyes, the family was on the road and on their way home to Illinois. The car ride was relatively silent, mainly because the Piper children had their iPods on full blast. It wasn't until the car came to a ferocious halt did the teens realize what was going on.

"OH SHIT!" came Anthony's shout as a pair of massive mechanical beings came tumbling from the highway above.

Brielle staggered in her seat. She watched the scene play out before her: two robots having a death match on the highway.

'Bee was right.'

Brielle really hadn't "seen nothin' yet" as Bumblebee remarked. These guys were easily taller than Bee and the evil guy from before. Her eyes were glued to the battle sprawled out before her. Brielle unbuckled her seatbelt and pulled herself to the sunroof where she would have a better view of what was going on.

"Brielle! Back in the car now!" her father urged, tugging her arm and forcing her back in. Brielle defiantly pulled back and managed to break free of her father's grasp. She agilely pulled herself out of the car from the sunroof, leapt on the hood of the car, and landed just in front of it.

Her entire family was yelling, no, screaming at her to get back into the car. "Are you fucking stupid!" Marie shouted. Tears began to well up in her eyes at the thought of losing her sister.

Brielle ignored the pleading of her family. This wasn't just a coincidence that she was here staring at another pair of robots.

"Brielle look out!"

The girl hadn't paid attention to where the robots ended up. By the time she saw that the beige robot was tumbling straight towards her, it was too late.

Or so she thought.

"I got you."

A large metallic hand clamped around her waist and her body jerked to the side. The larger robot with the flaming paint job caught her in the nick of time. The massive robot pushed himself up just as the beige guy leapt for him. The red and blue robot shifted Brielle to his left hand and then used his right to give a striking blow to the alien's face, literally ripping it off.

With the evil robot out of the way, the massive alien directed his blue optics to Brielle. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice deep and strangely secure.

Rather than answering his question, Brielle asked, "Are you an Autobot, too?"

The large robot's protective mouth cover folded back. His expression was that of surprise. With this guy's massive metal fingers around her, Brielle hoped this guy was on Bee's side.

"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots."

Brielle's amusing expression widened to show even more awe. "T-thanks for the save." was her brilliant comeback.

It looked like Optimus was in a hurry, so he quickly set Brielle down and nodded before shifting into a truck and speeding off. Brielle waved goodbye like a dumbstruck moron.

"Ambrielle Denise!"

A pair of arms, this time human, clamped around her. It was her sister, Marie, with tears streaking her face. "What the hell! Do you want to die! What were those things? Jesus Brielle."

Brielle, although appreciative of her sister's concern, had the life crushed out of her by her grip. "I'm fine Marie."

Marie pulled Brielle back to the car where her family waited. Her mother wrapped her arms around her and whined, "If I wasn't so grateful that you're okay I'd be so pissed right now."

"Did that thing hurt you?" her dad asked.

"Why did it let you go?" added Anthony.

Brielle wasn't exactly sure how to answer. "Uh, he was a good guy." Brielle claimed. The family settled themselves back in their car. The military was there in no time to direct cars away from the wreckage and send them on their way.

Brielle tuned out the babbling mess coming from her family. She tried to make heads or tails of the entire situation, but didn't have enough information. She kicked the seat in frustration. Brielle hated being left in the dark. It was like when all your friends had a big secret and you were the only one left out.

It didn't take long for the Piper's to be on their way again. The entire time, everyone in the car was piecing together conspiracy theories about the newly discovered alien robots. All except Brielle and Marie.

Marie glanced suspiciously at Brielle from time to time. Brielle pretended not to notice her sister's dagger-like glares. To Brielle's dismay, it looked like Marie put the pieces together.

Normally, the family had to drive through Mission city in order to get home in the quickest time possible, but the roads leading to the city were blocked for "unexplained" reasons.

Mr. Piper was a stubborn man. He wouldn't take another route, especially when no one would tell him why he couldn't take his usual one. He parked the car on the side of the road and forced the family to bake in the Nevada heat until everything was cleared up.

"You really are an asshole, Bud." Mrs. Piper mumbled to her husband.

The kids knew what was about to happen. Before their parent's argument could get any more heated, they left the car for some fresh air.

Anthony stayed close to the car and called his girlfriend, explaining the giant robot death match to its entirety. Brielle wandered around as far away from the car as her parent's would permit. What she was trying to do was avoid Marie, but Brielle knew that was easier said than done.

"That wasn't a little side show you went to, was it?" Marie asked, arms crossed.

Brielle shut her eyes at tight as possible, momentarily escaping reality, before looking apologetically at her sister. "I promised I wouldn't tell anyone what I saw."

Even with such an angry face, Marie's features still appeared angelic.

A long moment passed.

Suddenly, Marie's expression turned from accusing to excited in no time. "Oh my God. Oh. My. God. You met a freaking alien robot! Holy shi—you should have told me sooner!

Brielle was mystified by Marie's reaction. "Uh, I—Why are you okay with this?"

Marie rolled her eyes and rummaged through her designer handbag for a brief moment before pulling out a memory chip.

"This," Marie explained, "Is information given to me by Glenn. Y'know, the guy who lives with his grandma? Him." She looked around to make sure no one else was in earshot before continuing. "The other day, one of his friends came to his house. She used to be an analyst for the freaking NSA. Anyways, she gave him a copy of some kind of frequency. Alien in nature. He deciphered it mostly, but sent the rest to me to decode because the cops showed up."

Brielle thought Marie was just making fun of her now. "Bullshit."

"And . . . meeting a living breathing alien is more believable, right?"

Brielle sighed with defeat. "Continue."

"Whoever these guys are, they're ancient; older than the existence of our galaxy even. They have their own language, their own alphabet! I've been trying to decode it this whole time."

Brielle couldn't believe what this was hearing. Not only did Marie know about the aliens, but she knew more about them than Brielle. She was pissed. For once in her life, Brielle felt special, but that was taken away from her by perfect little Marie.

Marie's face contorted to one of fear and she quickly hid the memory chip in her purse. "Someone's coming."

Brielle didn't want to look suspicious, so she nonchalantly turned around and pretended she was on her way back to the car. A sleek black car pulled up to the side of the road, and then three more followed.

"C'mon Marie. Let's get back to the car." Brielle whispered. The two ambled to the car. Brielle was trying to listen to what the suits wanted. From what she picked up, it was just a routine examination to make sure everyone wasn't contaminated by radiation.

Brielle didn't buy it for a second.

When civilians asked where the radiation would come from, the suits didn't answer. "Classified" they would say. As if they all didn't notice the obvious robot brawl not too long ago.

The men carried with them a metal machine to detect "radiation" emanations. The thing didn't make a peep for the longest time. The man holding the machine took a step in Brielle's direction.

Beep . . . beep . . .

His eyes locked with Brielle's.

"Marie. Anthony. Get in the car, okay?"

The two did as Brielle said. The man slowly approached Brielle. As he got closer, the beeps from the machine quickened until it was just a perpetual high pitched screech.

"Excuse me, miss." The man began, his voice pleasant but urgent. "I'd like to ask you a few questions. Will you come with me?"

Brielle was uncertain about what she should do. On one hand, she could go with him and possibly learn more about the aliens. On the other hand, they could force her to tell them everything she knows and it could turn out ugly. A few more men in suits followed the other guy's lead until she was completely surrounded.

Brielle's parents finally ceased their arguing when they saw their daughter was in trouble. "What the hell are you jackasses doing?" her father yelled while getting out of the car. Brielle's mother followed suit and told Marie and Anthony to stay in the car. More men showed up and pushed Brielle's parents back. Mr. Piper, who was a big man, shoved past them and threatened to beat their asses if they touched his daughter.

"I'm sorry sir." the ring leader said. "Your daughter doesn't have much of a choice." He then muttered in his earpiece, "We have an Energon reading. Direct contact."

'I don't have a choice.'

Story of Brielle's life. She never had a choice. No matter how hard she fought or how vigorously she trained, she was always beaten by the boys. Like her dad said, she would never be good enough. Never as smart as Marie or as amiable as Anthony. She was the black sheep of the family. She couldn't do much of anything really.

Brielle's thought about what happened a few weeks ago. She helped Bumblebee defeat an evil robot.

"You are the one that saved me."

"Your bravery is unmatched."

Those words came from an advanced alien being, not her dad or her geometry teacher. Hell, even if the president of the United States told her that, it still wouldn't mean as much as it did coming from Bumblebee.

'If Bumblebee thinks I'm brave, I must be brave. Or incredibly stupid.'

Something was happening in Mission City. Brielle bet that Bumblebee was there as well as Optimus. She had to get there. She'd probably get killed, but her selfish desire to be a part of something bigger ruled over any rational thought.

"Time for my dumb luck to kick in."

Brielle punched the guy in front of her square in the gut, sending him back a few feet. That was when the rest of the suits took action. Two tried to grab her, but she ducked and with a swift swipe from Brielle's legs, the two fell backwards.

Brielle's parents began shouting at her, telling her to just do as they asked, but Brielle would have none of that.

Another wave of suits came. Brielle began to chant in her head.

'Block, kick, duck, block, kick, jab, hit . . .'

The suits began to fall one by one. One managed to grab her arms and pin them being her back, but a swift kick to the groin made the man loosen his grip.

A biker was sitting on his sleek crossover motorcycle about twenty feet away. Brielle sprinted towards the bike before more FBI guys could arrive. She shoved the man off the bike, making him face plant his sub sandwich. "I'm really sorry!" she shouted before taking off.

Brielle sped past the road blocks and onwards towards Mission City. She wasn't sure what she'd even find there, but she couldn't turn back now.

Brielle wasn't sure whether what she just did was incredibly brave or incredibly stupid, but whatever you want to call it, it sealed her destiny.

X X X

Thank you so much for the reviews! I appreciate them all. I hope you continue to enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it!

This video reminds me of how Brielle would fight when being attacked by the Sector 7 suits: http:(slash)(slash)youtu(dot)be(slash)pf45hmO_1ak (from 0:52 - 1:02 mostly)

Don't worry, you'll see more Autobot/Decepticon action in the next chapter!