Rodimus let out a sigh as we – him, Ultra Magnus and me - waited in front of the city hall for the mayor to come back from a visit to the battle site in the centre of his city. When he'd heard the Autobots had chased off the Decepticons he went to have a look at once.

I looked up at him. "Do you really think he's gonna give you a hard time?"

"It's a lot of damage."

"Could have been a lot more."

"That's usually not the way mayors see it," Ultra Magnus stated.

"They should be happy you guys stick around to defend the world from the Decepticons."

"I don't think that's the way they see that either." Rodimus looked over his shoulder as he picked up the mayors car in the corner of his eye.

The black expensive looking car stopped, the driver got out and opened the door for the mayor. He got out and walked up to Rodimus Prime. He was in his mid-fifties and wore a dark long coat over his grey woollen suit. On his head he wore a hat that went with the coat.

He looked pretty reasonable to me. Totally different than the two other city-officials who got out of the car as well. They looked like sharks in human-form to me. To bad I wasn't in my dog-form. Than at least I could growl at them.

The mayor took off his head and looked up to the Autobot leader. "That's quit a lot of damage done to my city."

The two 'sharks' behind him nodded in agreement.

Before Rodimus could respond to that, the mayor continued.

"We are very grateful you showed up as quickly as you did," he said with a friendly smile.

Surprised Rodimus glanced at Ultra Magnus who was as surprised as he was. Pleasantly surprised, but still surprised. I could tell the sharks weren't too happy about what their mayor said.

They tapped him on the shoulder, bent towards him and whispered something to him. I could only pick up 'sue', 'claim' and 'millions of dollars'.

"Oh no, that will not be necessary," the mayor turned them down. "If you want to sue someone, sue the Decepticons."

He was obviously a fan. What do you know…?

"Please forgive my advisors," the mayor apologized for them.

"Of course," Rodimus said with a nod. "We will help fix the damage wherever we can, mister mayor," he offered.

"That would be a great help," he mayor gladly accepted the offer.

Rodimus drove me back to Autobot-City while Ultra Magnus went his own way, back to what he was going to do when he ran into the Combaticons.

This time I did take a ride with Rodimus in stead of flying back myself. I folded my hands behind my head and leaned back in my seat, next to the drivers seat. I put my feet up on the dashboard. "Hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind… nothing is gonna mess up the rest of my day now," Rodimus happily said.

"You don't get that kinda response a lot, do you?" I asked him cause he was as happy as a child with a lollipop.

"Nope… so now I'm enjoying it."

He was so much enjoying himself that he drove along the streets out of to city in such a relaxed way … he probably didn't see that red light, cause he wasn't slowing down.

"Red light…?" I mentioned.

"Hmmm?" dreamy Rodimus.

"RED LIGHT!!" I quickly sat up and pointed right at it. "Dead ahead, RED LIGHT!!"

"Oh… yeah.." he said lightly, hit the brakes and stopped right in front of the white line on the road.

I had to hold on tight to keep me from flying against his windscreen, it wasn't gonna crack if I hit it, so I held on tight! My heart raced in the back of my throat.

"Could you PLEASE pay attention to where you're driving?!" I exclaimed as I fell back into his seat. "Mind my nerves… please…"

"Hey, you should be wearing seatbelts when you drive with me."

"NOW you tell me?!"

"I thought you'd know by now…" he grinned.

Back in Autobot City Marissa came up to him as soon as she lay eyes on him.

"Rodimus!" she attracted his attention. "Earth Defense Command is requesting backup for our station orbiting Earth. They're detecting a Decepticon squadron approaching!"

"So what are you hanging around here for? Go get the Autobots you need and get up there," Rodimus told her with a giddy grin. "I'll leave that in your capable hands."

She gave him two huge stunned eyes as he walked off. I grinned.

Springer contacted him through his comlink. "Hey, Rodimus, can I try a little something on Alyx to see if she can withstand a certain idea I have?"

"Sure, just don't kill her, okay?" He said in the same giddy manner but now MY eyes grew large.

"She can regenerate right?" Springer checked with him.

"You heard me."

"What was that about?" I wanted to know cause I didn't pick up most of that.

"Oh, nothing to worry about." He waved it off with his hand as if it were a annoying fly. "Still want some breakfast?"

"I thought you'd never ask!"

This time we actually made it to the mess hall without being disturbed! There was a long section where food was stalled out behind glass, warm and cold.

I got myself a tray at the beginning and walked along the glass windows ordering everything that called out to me: 'eat me … eat me'. With a nicely filled tray I sat down at a table at the window.

Rodimus sat down on the floor with a nice fresh energon cube.

"Is that the biggest glass they have for that?" I grinned. "I should go back to that space station and get you some decent glasses for your energon."

"Actually it's not a glass…"

I took a nice long sip from my hot tea and I pulled a plate with a nice big chicken mayo sandwich my way. Usually I don't have chicken mayo sandwiches for breakfast, but by now it was passed lunchtime, so I needed this. I took the sandwich between my fingers and moved it up to my mouth to take a huge chunk out of it … I heard several loud banging noises, kinda like an automatic gun that echoed through the mess hall.

A fraction later I felt three impacts against my back … quit powerful ones too… it felt like something was poked through my chest and came out the front….I looked down… Oh my… it actually did…

Rodimus dropped his half emptied energoncube when my blue dress started coloring deep red on two places and the dark hole in my skin just below my shoulder started to gush blood.

He looked at where the shots came from and to his stunning surprise it was Springer. "Don't worry," he called out to the freaked out humans present in the mess hall. "Just a test."

As I looked over my shoulder I gave him a most surprised look "Just a test…??" I coughed up blood cause my lungs had partly filled themselves with it.

Than all turned black around me and I knew I fell to the ground, but I never felt the impact.

Rodimus jumped to his feet. "HAVE YOU COMPLETELY LOST YOUR MIND!" he yelled at Springer.

"Hey, just checking if a mechanical life form like ourselves can take out an Azori'jin," Springer explained himself. "Well, I guess that's a 'yes'. She never had a clue I was coming."

"Well, of course not, she shouldn't have to keep her sense up here to be safe!"

Springer walked up to me and knelt down. "Let's see how long it will take her to regenerate," he said without any worries about the regenerating part.

Rodimus called First Aid on his comlink to get to the mess hall ASAP. In the mean time I wasn't moving and looked quit pale.

"She wasn't bragging about the regenerating, was she?" Springer asked Rodimus when he didn't see anything he'd expected to see.

"How can you just shoot her like that?!" Rodimus just wanted to know. "Why not just once… If you really had to shoot her in the first place!"

"Well, I can't surprise her when she knows I'm coming, right? And something like this should be tested correctly, so I shot her properly."

First Aid came racing in and transformed right next to Springer and Rodimus. "Oh my," he let out when he saw me laying there in a pool of blood. "What happed here?"

"Springer shot her to check if he could and if she can regenerate if he did." Rodimus snorted.

"… Oh…" blink blink.

I slowly started to regain consciousness… heard their voices all blurry in the distance.

"I think I'd better bring her to the medical bay, just in case," First Aid concluded after checking on me.

Just when he wanted to pick me up and put my on a stretcher - carried by two human assistants - I took a deep breath and slowly opened my eyes.

Rodimus sure let out one big sigh of relief. "You are one lucky Autobot!" he told Springer.

"I beg to differ…" I mumbled as I grabbed the table with my hand to pull me up. "Will you … look at my dress…" I said most annoyed.

"So a mechanical life form can take out an Azori'jin!" Springer said cheerfully.

"Why is that a good thing?!" Rodimus was about to smack him in the face.

"In case this Takehiko shows up, remember?"

"Maybe you just haven't seen enough of what I am capable off…" I got on to my chair, all messy with blood. "Darn… now I need a long shower…"

My wounds had closed up from within my body right to my skin but the blood was still there of course.

I looked up to Springer. "Do you really think Takehiko will be surprised that easily? He'll fry you before you even know he's there!"

He took some steps back. "Don't you fry me again! I could try, you said so yourself."

"Yeah, but I will respond as an angry Azori'jin would!" I turned my back on him and grabbed my sandwich. "AFTER I eat my sandwich!"

I took a bite and said with my mouth still half full: "You'd better start running. Or flying …"

Springer looked at Rodimus.

"I'd to as she says," Rodimus said with a smirk. "Let's see if you can take out an Azori'jin who's hunting you down. That sounds like a more realistic situation."

Too quickly for Springer's sake I finished my sandwich and quickly transformed to my organic metal self and than into my favorite feline shape, the one I had lived in for years. But than off course way bigger, big enough to be a worthy adversary for our green friend who had just SHOT ME!!

I crouched, lay my ears in my neck and gazed at him with furious bright blue eyes. My long white fangs shimmered in the light as I curled up my lips in a frightening roar.

He swallowed a lump from his throat … or at least produced a similar sound… took a few steps back… than turned around, transformed into his helicopter mode and took off towards the exit of the mess hall.