CHAPTER 32
Questioning

Tarantulas hated waiting, but for the moment, waiting was the best option. He seated himself on a hillside just outside of New Chicago as he waited quietly for Waspinator to return. The mech had no doubt gathered much intel on the movements of the young human whom had stolen his way into the Autobot, Prowl's, spark and whom held the key to Blackarachnia's own devious intentions. The sound of wing beats in the otherwise still night air made his red optics flick up towards Waspinator as he came to a stop on top of the hill.

"I hope you bring good news for me, Waspinator." Tarantulas stood from his seated position "Both your mistress and I grow very restless."

Waspinator cringed nervously at the venom within Tarantulas's voice. The mech was never happy, but tonight, he seemed especially agitated. He made a few steps in order to keep some distance between himself and the Predacon and shook his head. "Outside of schooling, the boy is always with Autobots." He shook his head "Waspinator thinks Decepticons Tarantula-bot hired tip them off. Waspinator has no opening. Waspinator is sorry."

Tarantulas grimaced, unamused by the fact his own plan had backfired on him in such a way. He hissed, and swatted an Earth fly with one of his talons before a growl also escaped his lips. "The Autobots should know they can only delay us." Tarantulas spoke coldly "We've come too far, and searched for him far too long to back off." He then grimaced "What else have you learned?" He questioned.

"Waspinator learned that there's an uncle."

The grimace turned to a small grin and a chuckle at that. Tarantulas reared his head back towards Waspinator. "An uncle, eh?" He questioned.

"Yessss." Waspinator replied "Big Bot call uncle, but uncle no home. If boy goes to uncle, boy will be open to attack." He shook his head "Autobots cannot protect boy there." He added.

"At least not forever." Tarantulas replied.

Though the night had started with bad news, Tarantulas did quite enjoy where this was going. Granted, there was no guarantee the child would go to him, but Optimus Prime had a very high sense of duty. And should his research into human laws prove right, the chances that he would go to the uncle with Optimus behind it were quite high. "Perfect." Tarantulas turned to Waspinator, gripping his chin "You've done well, Waspinator, you get to live another day." He released him from his grip "Now find out what you can about this "uncle"." He grinned "We must not let the opportunity be passed up."

Waspinator nodded his head, and within moments, was off in the air again. Tarantulas returned to the darkness, his optics glowing with delight as he chuckled darkly. It was only a matter of time now, only a matter of time.

...

Prowl enjoyed the morning hours of the day, they, like the evenings, were the calming hours. At least until Jeff got up, and his life became more of a hassle, though easily one that he was happy to deal with. Grabbing his cube of energon, he silently settled down on the large Transformer-sized chair at his equally massive table. The sound of a knock on his door grabbed his attention as he peered over to find Bumblebee standing in the doorway quietly, his optics peering down at him. "Prowl, I'm sorry to bother you this early in the morning." He spoke up.

"It's fine Bumblebee, what can I do for you?"

"There's been a security breech on the far side of the city." Prowl sighed, slowly standing to his feet "I know you have to get Jeff to school. But I've been asked to come and get you on the off-chance something is wrong." He paused "I'm taking over Jeff duty this morning." He added.

Prowl relaxed at that, trusting Bumblebee to actually get him to school on time. Though Bumblebee and Jeff hadn't really connected while the boy had been on base, he had more than enough practice driving Sam around in his high school days. Not to mention with their close proximity in ages, Bumblebee was likely to be someone Jeff would get along with easily. "Primus, slag it all." Prowl sighed, finishing off his cube of energon "Just make sure he grabs his lunch, the food at his school is disgustingly bad for his health." He explained.

Prowl was out the door quickly, ironically, the moment the bedroom door opened and Jeff stepped out. "Morning..." Jeff nearly jumped at the sight of the yellow mech a moment before realization hit "Oh, hey. You're that yellow bot that found me with Sideswipe, right? Bumblebee?" He questioned, the mech nodded "Nice to see you again." He added.

"Likewise." Bumblebee replied "I'm also one of your guardians during school hours." Jeff raised an eyebrow "I'm the Comaro." To which Jeff made an "oh" motion with his mouth "Just so you know, I'm your designated guardian this morning. Prowl was called away on an emergency." He shook his head "I was told to remind you to pack a lunch."

Jeff felt slight apprehension at the fact that he was under the protection of a mech he didn't really know. He'd always heard that Bumblebee was the kindest of the Autobots by far, but he had never seen it for himself. Yet, the goofy, yet friendly, smile that he was giving him did relieve some tension that Jeff currently felt. "Yeah, thanks for the reminder, I sometimes forget." Jeff shrugged, he looked up at the mech "You can go do whatever, if you want. I'll meet you at the entrance in like an hour?" He questioned.

Bumblebee shook his head a little. "I do not want to risk anything happening between now and then."

Jeff couldn't help but frown a bit, so he was one of those mech's. The one who usually seemed to be dead set on their duty, no matter what it was, or how trivial it may be. He could only hope the "fun-loving" part of his personality was true, or it was likely to be a painful several hours.

...

In retrospect, Bumblebee was grateful for his early years on Earth as Sam's guardian more than anything else in his time there. He knew the way into a teenaged human's heart: through his stomach. A drive through the local McDonald's and an ice cream cone later, Jeff was warming up to his guardian for the day quite quickly. "Bee, just saying, but you're already awesome." Jeff laughed as he leaned back in the passengers seat "Prowl would be going on about the fattening contents and why it's bad for my health by now." He added.

"No secret that Prowl can be a stick in the mud."

Jeff could only snort a little at that, though he nodded in agreement. As much as he loved his full-time guardian, Prowl did have the tendency to be a buzzkill, especially when it came to his health. "Yeah, I guess Prowl can be that way." Jeff shrugged "But it's all good, because most of the time, he's awesome." He then added "I don't think you guys give him enough credit at times."

"Give me a break. Give me a break. Break me off a piece of that KIT KAT BAR!"

Jeff shook his head at the sound of the old Kit Kat commercial that flooded out of Bumblebee's speakers. "What is with that? You've used the radio like seven times now?" He questioned "Is everything okay with your vocal processors, or whatever?" He questioned.

"When I first came to Earth, they were damaged. I could only communicate that way." Bumblebee explained "Call it a habit, basically. But it's also a lot of fun." He noted "Remind me to tell you the story of my own charge and the Pretender I put through the circle of hell." He teased.

Jeff could only imagine what a Pretender was, or what he could have possibly done to it. Crossing his arms a bit, he shook his head. "Sounds like a plan." Jeff replied gently "Listen, Bee, can I ask you a question?" At his "yes", he leaned back a bit "How well do you know Prowl?"

Bumblebee was silent for a moment, uncertain of how to answer. Prowl had been one of his many caretakers as a sparkling, though not his primary one. On the other hand, they weren't completely close in the way he was with other mechs. "I've known him most of my life-cycle. I used to work under him briefly, as well." Bumblebee explained "I'm not the closest mech to him, but we talk often, why?" He questioned.

"Do you think he's going to adopt me?"

Bumblebee nearly pulled to a full stop at the question. It seemed almost out in left field, but he also understood why. This was a question better asked to someone who wouldn't immediately talk to Prowl about it, on the off chance the answer was no. Bumblebee was silent as he pulled into the parking lot of Jeff's high school, and the boy sat there a minute. "Jeff... One of us adopting you is a tall order. As we are not of the same species." Bumblebee explained "But don't give up hope either, kid. He is quite fond of you. And I've never seen him quite this way before." His holoform gently winked "I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility."

Jeff smiled at that, nodding his head a little, and climbing out of the car. That was two votes pro-him staying for life, at least he hoped. Patting the scout's hood, Jeff nodded to Bumblebee. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, and you know, the ride." Jeff shifted his backpack over his shoulder "We should do it again sometime." He suggested.

"Sure thing." Bumblebee replied "Just say the word, I'm usually free."

As Jeff headed towards the school, Bumblebee settled into the parking spot. He could only silently hope that despite the excitement of the morning, things would be calmer from here on out.