A/N: My best summary for this chapter is "Optimus versus the peanut gallery". I don't know. I thought it was funny.

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Chapter 4: Rendezvous

Her calculations were good, Riella noted with a touch of pride; it was almost exactly ten minutes' drive to the rendezvous point, which was a dark, empty alley that Prowl had chosen precisely because of its out-of-the-way quality. They barely had time to pull to a stop before the crunch of tires on broken concrete and the flash of headlights announced that the other four had arrived.

Riella's eyes lit up and she couldn't hide a smile when she recognized the first arrival: a green and gold modified Hummer, with a familiar symbol on one side. Prowl –

I saw. Prowl transformed in one rapid movement, optics locking on to the silver Pontiac Solstice and black GMC Topkick. Almost everyone I would have picked. Prime made a good call.

The final vehicle – a Peterbilt 379 semi-truck with a strong resemblance to Optimus's original Cybertronian vehicle - transformed, taking an extra few seconds to adjust to the new format. The rest of the new arrivals followed suit, along with Bumblebee, but Riella opted to stay in organic mode for now. Again, no need to terrify the poor humans any more. "Welcome to Earth, Prime."

Prime nodded to her, and by extension Prowl. "Thank you, all of you." He bent down to look at the two humans. "And are you Samuel James Witwicky, descendant of Archibald Witwicky?"

"They know your name!" Mikaela whispered, almost too quietly to be heard. No, that was a lucky guess, Prowl commented dryly, over the bond instead of out loud as he'd apparently intended. Riella smirked. Optimus glanced at them with a slightly raised eyebrow ridge, an expression that probably meant he didn't have to hear the comment to know it had been made, and continued addressing the humans.

"My name is Optimus Prime. We are Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"But you can call us Autobots for short," the Hummer – Ratchet – added, nodding to the humans before looking down at Riella with a faint smile. "It's good to see you again. I expect a full summary of the last few years, when we have time."

"Why wait? We got time now. What's cracking, little bitches?" Jazz, whose Solstice alt-mode left him barely a foot taller than Prowl, backflipped neatly onto the top of a parked car, nearly crushing the hood. "This looks like a cool place to kick it."

Optimus might have rolled his optics, just slightly. It was hard to tell. "My first lieutenant, Jazz."

Prowl's optic roll, on the other hand, was very obvious. ::Oh, for Primus's sake, Jazz. I have enough trouble understanding when you use Cybertronian slang. Do you have to add Earth profanity to your vocabulary? And for your information, 'bitch' is not a term of affection, generally speaking.::

::Really? 'R you sure? Gets used all the time.:: Jazz tilted his head and looked at Prowl with an expression of mock innocence, ignoring the continued conversation between Optimus and the humans.

::I paid enough attention to know the actual meaning of a word I don't plan to use, Jazz. Of course I'm sure.::

Riella arched one eyebrow. ::And I thought you and I were supposed to be the old married couple, Prowl.::

"My weapons specialist, Ironhide," Optimus continued, directing a stern glare at the trio. ::That's enough, you three.::

Ironhide's cannons spun and charged with a hum as the humans turned to look at him. "You feelin' lucky, punk?" Prowl and Riella grimaced simultaneously at the reference.

"Easy, Ironhide," Optimus warned, clearly not getting it. The humans might have understood – it wasn't clear – but Sam looked rather like he wanted to hide under Bumblebee.

"Just kiddin'." The weapons specialist looked slightly crestfallen. "I just wanted to show him my cannons."

::Surrrrre you did,:: Jazz remarked dryly, still over the open comm line. ::No intimidation here, no sir.::

"My medical officer, Ratchet." Optimus pointed to the medic, with another annoyed glance at Jazz and the dry comment, ::Could you please refrain from commentary for at least five minutes?::

"So these are humans. Teenagers, apparently physically average for age and size…" Ratchet's optics flickered slightly as he scanned the two humans for any anomalies. "Hmm. The boy's pheromone level suggests he wants to mate with the female. Fascinating."

"Ratchet…" Riella fought back a snicker and shook her head at him. "No." Over a private line, she added, ::Believe me when I tell you that won't go over well on a human planet. Do you remember my early years? Humans are much less open.::

::That's not the impression I formed,:: Ratchet responded coolly.

Riella sighed and leaned back against Prowl's leg. ::Ratchet. The Internet is quite possibly the worst way to learn about human sexuality. Trust me on that.::

I notice he didn't say what Mikaela's pheromones are indicating. Prowl's amusement was obvious even outside the bond. Good reason, or common sense?

None of your business, Riella shot back affectionately. And don't you dare say that over the open comm, or Jazz will have a field day with it.

Ratchet looked like he was building up quite the retort – about humans, the internet, Riella, or all three - but before he could actually say anything, Optimus pointedly moved on with the introductions. "You already know my tactician and scout commander, Prowl and Riella, and your guardian, Bumblebee."

"So you're my guardian, huh?" Sam looked up at Bumblebee, who was doing a few dance steps as his radio played. Check on the rep, yep, second to none. Riella smiled a bit at the dance and the song choice, but the human didn't. "Um, why can't you…when they can…"

"His vocal processors were damaged in battle." Ratchet pointed a small laser charge at Bumblebee's throat to check his status, causing the smaller Autobot to turn away in protest and cough. "I'm still working on them."

"Why are you here?" Riella glanced at Mikaela in surprise, wondering if her initial impression of the girl as quiet and uncertain had been correct. Her question showed quite a bit more common sense than Riella had expected.

"We are here looking for the AllSpark. And we must find it before Megatron." Optimus crouched to get a better look at the humans.

"Mega-what?" Sam looked utterly confused. Prowl raised an eyebrow ridge.

::Was the pronunciation unclear? Perhaps you should speak louder.::

::I believe I made a request for no further commentary, Prowl.:: Without looking in their direction, Optimus activated his hologram projector and began explaining. "Our planet was once a powerful empire, peaceful and just. Until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons..."

Shaking her head at her mate, Riella placed a hand on Ratchet's leg and looked up at Ironhide. "Not precisely the welcome I imagined, but I'm glad to have you here on Earth. You have no idea how good it is to see all of you again."

"Been too long," Ironhide growled in agreement. "Prowl, what've you been up to, blastin' 'Cons and kickin' aft while the rest of us were stuck searchin' the galaxy?"

"As if." Prowl's visor flickered a shade lighter. "Today's run-in with Barricade was the first sighting in half a year. Could have used you as backup, though. Urban combat, close quarters."

"Hope you taught him who's boss."

Prowl shrugged. "For the most part. He ended up running with a few severed cables in one leg and a lot of dents."

"He got away from you!" Ironhide barked out a laugh. "Losing your touch, are you?"

Prowl glared at the larger 'bot. "He took out my transform circuits! What was I supposed to do, chase him through a crowded city on foot? Besides, there were humans involved…"

Riella sighed and turned to Jazz and Ratchet, leaving her partner and Ironhide to argue. "Primus, some things never change. How was the trip down?"

"Dull. Y'know, nothin' but space." Jazz sighed, but brightened almost immediately. "Ya diggin' this planet or what? Everythin' available over that Internet, and humans…seriously, Primus, it's weird, but there's way more than you ever mentioned. How come?"

Riella climbed up onto the car to sit next to him. "I am hardly an expert on humanity. I am not one, remember? I have never been to this planet before. I will admit it's...fascinating. Of course, some things I honestly didn't want to know."

Ratchet snorted. "That makes two of us. Are you all right? No injuries, mechanical problems, recent emergencies? If you were in a fight with Barricade today…"

"Nothing serious," Riella assured him. "A couple of scrapes from falling on the concrete, but he never touched me. Prowl got the worst of it, and it wasn't bad, relatively speaking. We were not his targets."

"Never thought 'Cade would pass up a chance to take out a couple of 'bots," Jazz commented. "Gettin' soft?"

"I doubt it. He was after the humans. Apparently the Decepticons know about the glasses with the coordinates, or at least they've made the connection between Archibald Witwicky and his great-grandson." Riella turned her attention back to Optimus just in time for the explanation to finish.

"...they will use its power to transform Earth's machines and build a new army."

"Which will have the unpleasant side effect of exterminating the human race," Prowl added, unnecessarily. Sam gulped, and Mikaela turned to stare wide-eyed at him.

"Please tell me that you have those glasses."

Riella arched an eyebrow. "Was it ever in question? We wouldn't be anywhere near you if he did not have them."