5

Prime stepped back and a light came from his chest. A hologram of a cube glowed in the dim light of the stars. The Autobots' eyes glowed blue in the night. Kiara had been so terrified she hadn't noticed the beauty of these alien robots. They were like nothing she had ever seen.

"This is The Cube, or Allspark," Optimus began. "It is as old as the universe itself. It was the start of our race; established on a far off planet we called, Cybertron. For countless thousands of years our race prospered on Cybertron; until the Decepticons came into the picture. They are led by my brother, Megatron. They wanted to use the Cube to take over the universe. That's when the war began.

"For thousands of years the war raged and ravaged the planet; until finally few were left and the Cube was lost to the stars. Our planet was no longer able to support many forms of life. Megatron followed the Cube here, and we are not sure where either of them is. Our job now is to find the Cube and destroy it before Megatron can use it for his own plans." The hologram faded away.

Bruce looked around, "So, he's a bad guy?"

"No duh," Heather put her hands on her hips.

"Will you hurt us?" Bruce looked up at the Autobots.

"Not while our sparks are live and we still have control of our circuitry."

"Well," Kiara looked down at her shoes, "what does this have to do with us?"

This time, Ratchet stepped up. "If Megatron gets his hands on the Cube, he will populate the Earth with our life forms and extinguish the human race." Heather grabbed her neck.

"Well we should figure out where to look first." Kiara opened a map. "We could head to the nearest mountain peak. There should be a good signal up there for whatever your guys' instruments are."

"That's a good idea," Ratchet agreed. "Optimus?"

"Autobots," Optimus looked around. "Roll out." He got onto his hands and knees, transforming into his semi form.

Bruce's mouth quirked in a smile, "I've got dibs on Ironhide!" He hurried over to the large black pick-up.

"I call Arcee!" Heather jumped onto the blue motorcycle and pulled the helmet over her eyes.

Kiara wasn't sure who to go to, but her feet walked over to Optimus. She ran her hand over the smooth metal and thought about all the power and intelligence under the exterior. She opened the door and slid into the driver's seat. The interior was slightly more advanced than a normal semi's. She smiled.

"Would you like to drive or should I?" Optimus asked.

Kiara hugged herself. "You can. I can't drive a semi."

"Would you prefer to ride with another Autobot?"

"No, I'm fine." Kiara fastened her seat belt and sat back. She watched in amazement as the gas pedal pushed down and the wheel turned on its own. "How can you drive like that?"

Optimus took a moment before he answered. "It's like you learning to walk. It becomes automatic after a little while."

"I hope you're not one of those crazy drivers."

"Only in emergencies."

Kiara ran her thumb over the Autobot symbol where the horn would be on the steering wheel. "This is the Autobot symbol, right? What does the Decepticon symbol look like?"

A hologram appeared on the dashboard. Kiara reached out as if to touch it, but her fingers stopped centimeters away from it. She let her hand fall. "Do you know where Megatron is?"

The hologram faded. "I don't know. There is no indication of him. I'm not sure where he went."

Kiara sat there for a while and thought. "Can I turn on some tunes?"

"If you would like."

Kiara turned on the radio and turned it to her favorite station. Kiara stared at the steering wheel as the Styx and Elton John songs whispered softly into her ears. Finally she steeled her courage and grabbed onto the wheel. As she drove, Optimus gently guided her on what to do and when to do it. Heather, Bruce, and the other Autobots' followed in a straight line behind them. All too soon they arrived.