"How was my car damaged?"

Bumblebee heard Danielle inquire again while Optimus Prime stood by like a 'giant' lawyer expectantly waiting for the Autobots' explanation.

"It was all a mistake really," came Hound's voice. "Long story short, I mistook yer car for Bee. So I took it to Cade to get it fixed... If it's okay with Optimus, we can take ya to yer car if ya want."

Optimus started to respond but the human, not understanding Cybertronian protocols when it comes to Primes, suddenly jumped in. "I don't think it's up to him since what you did was steal my car. I'd very much like to see my car, thank you."

"That is only fair, Miss... I am sorry. I did not quite get your name. I am Optimus Prime."

"I'm Danielle Moore," she supplied in a calmer tone.

"Danielle Moore?" Bumblebee all but squawked, nearly tipping over when he bent to get a closer look at the woman. His optics had sporadic glitches, most likely caused by the impact with Berserker's plated skull, and it forced him to continuously refocus his sight. "The Danielle Moore!"

Danielle backed away from the towering extra-terrestrials fearful of him crushing her. "Well that is my name; without the 'The'* part."

"That explains everything!" Bumblebee exclaimed, throwing the others into a state of confusion. "Solus Prime! I can't believe it! It's Danielle Moore -"

"Who?" Hound scratched the back of his head; clueless about the yellow 'bot's fascination.

"She's a Nascar racer; one of my favourites... and I can't believe you flipped her car!" Bumblebee gasped, covering his head with his Cybertronian hands.

"He what!" Danielle screeched. Faint green veins in her face and neck were now more visible than before, pulsing with angry blood. Hound moved further away from the human as if she was an activated grenade and Bumblebee cringed.

"Now, now, everyone calm down," Optimus cautioned. "We should really be on our way. I'm sure Miss Moore would like to have her vehicle back and has other things to attend to instead of standing around here all night."

In the next instant the yellow Autobot caught Hound glaring at him and right then the heavy Autobot shoved him forward; in spite of telling Optimus that they needed to get him - Bumblebee - to triage immediately. "Take on yer vehicle-mode already," Hound pushed, "We need to have ya checked out at the base."

"Easy, Hound." Optimus interjected, "If it is as serious as you're saying, shouldn't you be more careful?"

Hound coughed and flicked a shell unto the ground which made Danielle yelp and duck behind one of Optimus' feet.

"Watch it," she warned. "Small human on the ground here."

"Sorry. Sometimes I forget my own might," Hound stated with a chuckle while shifting into vehicle mode.

Bumblebee rolled his optics and shook his head. "Right..." He transformed and left his passenger door opened to the woman. "Hop in. I'll take you to your car, Milady."

Danielle hesitated. "Will we be attacked again?" She glanced at Berserker's form nearby. "Will there be others like...him?"

"No, but you may ride with me if it makes you feel safer," Optimus Prime offered.

"Yes, that'd be best," she replied quickly, and to the Chevy she said, "I'm going with him."

"Aww." the yellow car shut his door; dejected.

"Very well," Optimus said as he too transformed and allowed the young woman to climb into the passenger seat.

"What about the 'con, Optimus?" Hound asked. "Don't have the resources to move 'im."

"I've already contacted Colonel Lennox's team to secure the area while we escort Miss Moore to her car," the leader replied. "Let's roll out."

For forty minutes Bumblebee struggled to drive in silence to Cade Yeager's - possibly permanent - dwellings, because he was ecstatic about Danielle Moore. Although she wasn't a frequent winner, she ranked in the top ten and happened to be one of his favourites. Which was probably due to his own bias for drivers who remained faithful to Chevy in the races.

As the three Autobots pulled into their old friend's garage/work-space, the human emerged from behind hanging plastic curtains to greet them. "Hey, Optimus!" Yeager waved at the blue and red truck as he walked towards them. "Hound said the car was top-priority but I didn't think it was so important that you had to be here to collect it. What's the big deal?"

While Bee and Hound were switching modes, Optimus' door opened to reveal his passenger who immediately jumped out and startled the man. "Whoa, who's this? Is there something you're not telling me Optimus?"

At this moment Bumblebee couldn't resist jumping in. "She's The Danielle Moore! One of this year's top ten stock car racers in Nascar's Monster Energy Cup Series. Winner of the Pure Michigan 400 with 45 points and placed third in the Bass-Pro-Shops-NRA; 49 points, best time 36.434. And you know what the best part is?"

"I don't want to know," Hound muttered to the side.

Cade was amused by his friend's enthusiasm, which was not surprising considering Bumblebee's known favour for American culture. "No, Bumblebee. Enlighten me."

Bumblebee grinned - or whatever was the equivalent on his robotic features. "She was inside me! She drove me and it was the best thing ever!" The Autobot tipped when his optics glitched again and Hound propped his back to balance him.

Cade balked. "Uh, Bee, I don't think - "

"That doesn't sound too right at all," the woman scowled, prompting Prime to interject.

"Danielle Moore, this is Cade Yeager. One of our most trusted allies and an excellent Mechanic - so to speak. Which is why Hound would have brought your car here for repairs."

"Nice to meet you," Cade offered his hand which the woman shook. "I - uh - guess the yellow 2015 Chevy is yours?"

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Yeager - given the circumstances," she replied, casting a disapproving glance at the towering lifeforms before adding, "yes, so where is it?"

"Ah - Right this way!" He answered and led them through his home which happened to be a down-sized, airplane hangar. It was high enough for the Autobots to stand upright and walk freely, with sections marked off by queue line ribbons and hanging sheets of plastic.

Bumblebee whistled. "Boy, this place is a dump."

"Never mind the state of the place," the man announced as he ducked behind a set of plastic sheets. "It's a work in progress but when I'm done, Bee, you'll see how great it is."

"Hmmm."

Without warning the man halted and spun around. "Oh - uh, before we go any further I have to warn ya, I did a little bit of experimenting on your car."

"What!" Danielle stormed forward and Cade tried to stop her with his arms.

"No . Wait a sec, Miss..."

"What kind of experiment?" Optimus asked with a tone of grave concern.

"Ohhh, just a little one involving self-repair," Yeager supplied, still blocking the woman from going forward.

"Aye! Can a 'bot catch a break," the yellow Autobot threw his arms up on his head and turned on the spot, ashamed.

"What did you do?" Optimus pressed, lowering his face to the human's eye-level.

"Yes, what did you do to my car?" Danielle demanded. "I thought they brought it here to be fixed."

Cade's face flushed and he ran his fingers through his hair. "They did, but you see there's this Cybertronian technology -"

"Our technology," Optimus interjected.

"Their technology... that - that grants them the ability to modify their physical features and composition -"

"It is also very dangerous," the Prime said cutting off the inventor. "Which you, off all persons, should be well aware of, because you have seen what it can do in the wrong hands. Why are you doing this? What have you done, Yeager?"

"Optimus is right," Hound offered, pitching a shell from his teeth. "What did you do to the woman's car?"

Cade cowered from the projectile and winced when it crashed into one of his cordoned off projects. "Okay, okay! Calm down," he cried. "It's right over here." He lifted a plastic veil behind him to reveal the four-year-old model car, parked neatly on a raised ramp.

Danielle walked over to her property and began inspecting the vehicle for damages. "I don't understand," she said after finding none. "It looks untouched; almost brand new. They said there were damages from earlier today - how did you repair them so fast?"

The question seemed to excite the man more, while the Autobots shifted with uncertainty. "You see, I isolated the bio-programme which controls physical changes and synced it to a computer programme which allows me to control of any modification. Then I tested the prototype on your car and voila! It worked... With a click of a button I fixed all the dents and scratches in a matter of seconds!"

"Really?" The woman raised her head to look at the mechanic. "That's unbelievable."

"I know right."

"Not to us it ain't," Bumblebee commented.

"Cade Yeager, I don't know what has gotten into you as of late. You have betrayed our trust and used our own DNA and bio-technology for your own intents and purposes," Optimus admonished the man.

"Optimus, come on," Yeager protested. "Don't be like that. I'm sorry, okay. I promise no one will get their hands on it. I swear on my life."

"I am disappointed in you, Yeager."

While the males squabbled, Danielle took the opportunity to open the door to the driver's seat. She was about to get inside when the car vibrated under her touch and a jolt of electricity shocked her hand. Startled by the sting she jumped back and the vehicle began splitting along lines appearing on it.

"Uhm, guys," she called, staggering back from the erupting car.

It opened up in sporadic episodes, spouting arms and legs that were washed over by streams of electricity. Its head was comprised of parts of the dashboard and the touchscreen display, and it swivelled around to scan the area. The new-born transformer emitted an electronic snarl before it lunged at Danielle.

She screamed, cutting through the banter behind her, and leapt off the ramp to escape the feral vehicle. She curled into foetal position and used her arms to protect her head. The clumsy creature crashed head-first into the ground, and scrambled to find its footing.

"What the -" Bumblebee stared at the clambering car in astonishment and lifted his blaster to take aim at the abomination.

The rogue car rose up with a roar and rushed towards Hound. The bulky Autobot side-stepped out of his attacker's path and loud blasts rang out as Bumblebee and Optimus took the offender down. It crumbled to the ground like a marionette puppet, twitching and screeching while its spark dimmed out.

"Well, that was unexpected." Hound stated, letting a chuckle roll off his belly.

Bumblebee pointed to the dead transformer. "And that is why we don't play with Cybertronian technology, kids."

The three Autobots turned to Cade, who had his hands on his head.

"What do you have to say about yourself, Cade?" Optimus asked the man.

"You're absolutely right, Optimus. I had no right to mess with stuff I don't fully understand. I just thought that with your ability to change, I could apply it to make small repairs like when you guys sustain damages. But now I know that that was the wrong approach. I am truly sorry, Optimus..."

The Prime nodded and then turned to address the young woman. "Miss Moore, are you unharmed?"

Danielle nodded without taking her eyes off her demolished car. "My... car..."

"I'll personally see to it that your car is replaced," he informed her. "I sincerely apologize for all the trouble my compatriots have caused you today."

"Yeah, I'm so sorry, Danielle," Bumblebee said. "This is all my fault -"

"Oh so now ya wanna admit that this whole mess was yer fault," Hound spat. "Yer a piece of scrap for hiding near a car that looks exactly like ya in the first place."

"Shut it, Hound." Bumblebee shoved the tank. "It wasn't even my model to begin with. You're just too dumb to know the difference."

"Hound, I believe you owe Miss Moore an apology just as much as Bumblebee does."

"Yeah, yeah, Prime. I know," Hound mumbled, and to the Nascar driver he said, "Please accept my humblest apologies, Miss Moore."

The woman finally looked away from the 'alienized' car and locked eyes on the Autobots. "You know where I live, don't you?"

The three transformers and human looked at one another perplexed, and the yellow Autobot spoke up. "Yeah, why?"

"I think you might have to take me home..." She tilted sideways and careened to the ground, only to be caught a few centimetres off floor by Hound.

"Uh, what do we do now?" Hound asked while he manoeuvred the limp human into Cade's arms.

"We do as she asked and take her home," said Optimus.

Cade groaned because he was straining from the weight of the girl and tried his best to balance her in his arms. "Really, Hound? She's like the weight of a feather to you and you hand her over to me."

Hound shrugged. "Yeah, she's your kind."

"Bumblebee, I trust that you and Cade will take her home. Hound and I will devise a way in which to replace or reimburse her for the car. It will take some time, but in the meantime, Bumblebee, you may ask Miss Moore if she will accept your assistance as a mode of transport. It's the least we can do. That will be your mission once she accepts."

"Awesome! Danielle Moore will be my passenger!" The Autobot did a fist pump and recoiled and quickly when Optimus glared at him. "Right, Roger that. Let's go, Yeager!" The Autobot transformed and opened his doors for Cade to place Danielle inside.

"And, Bumblebee, remember to wait for her to wake up to ask."

"Sure thing, Optimus."

The Prime shook his head as the man finally got the woman inside and shut the door. "Cybertron, help us all."

A/N: Soooo, we're at the real End now. Thanks for reading & reviewing! If any of you are left out there. Stay cool.

XD