"I just have one request of you young lady"

"What is it?"

"Become the best SEAT pilot you can be and help put one out for me, do what I was unable to do after my father died"

"I didn't realize you wanted to become a firefighter John"

"Yes I did, but after dad died I put aside my dreams to help mom run the farm, but I soon realized that I loved the farm just as much as my dream, maybe even more so because it's part of my family heritage, and over time I've realized that I wouldn't be able to handle the stress of fighting fires, learned that when I panicked during flight school and a fire had cropped up and we needed to land to let the firefighters do their jobs"

"How on earth did you ultimately become a pilot then?"

"Learned to control my actions and explained to the instructor that the fire was so much more intense than I had thought one would be, I also explained my former dream and she said that if I reacted to a fire three miles away from us it was a good thing I didn't become a firefighter pilot"

"So two years from now we come to let you know that we need to modify Powerglide to become a SEAT and I'll be the one to pilot him"

"Agreed, though I do have one request if we're going to do this, as you know to dust crops he needs to actually look like a plane that only has one engine and we can do that, however I want as much of his original parts as possible, if you need to teach me how to fix the engine, I want him as Cybertronian as possible so that all of us remember him even if he's no longer alive"

"John the mechanics will have to repair him at times, if they don't know how the engine works they could make a mistake and that could cost lives, not just the lives of people Karen is trying to save but Karen herself could be lost"

"Okay you have a point but I still want him as Cybertronian as possible before you give him to me and then once Karen's ready we'll finish the modifications to make him a SEAT"

"Then if we're going to do this we want Karen to be part of it because we'll make sure that the regular mechanics can handle fixing him but I have a feeling that Karen wants to be a part of this as much as possible am I right?"

"You're most certainly correct Ratchet, but first...Prowl, Jazz, Barricade, Soundwave, Ravage, Steeljaw get yourselves back on the berths before I weld you there myself, you guys are not fit to be standing up and moving about, heck I don't even know how Prowl is even in here considering he's currently blind, and what happened to Omega Supreme anyways?"

"Omega returned to Cybertron injured but well enough to travel, First Aid went with him to make sure, how did you know something happened to Omega anyways?"

"Captain Faireborn gave me a video of today's battle that's how, now then since we need to modify Powerglide we don't have to rush so first I'm going to make sure Ravage and Steeljaw get fixed because those two are the easiest to deal with, and before you ask how I knew you six were up and about when you shouldn't have been I have one word for you...powers"

"They've advanced that much?"

"Either that or because I live with you guys they're that attune to you, you know that I've been able to sense for six months now"

"Didn't expect them to be that accurate though in so short a time"

"Like I said part of that might be the fact that I live with you, have since I was two months old"

"Well for now we've got Cybertronians to repair and then..."

"Yeah and then, Mr. Faireborn do you also want to be part of the modifications since I have absolutely no idea what is needed to become a crop duster?"

"I would like that as well, you know you may be losing a family member while I gain a plane but the world lost a protector today and I will never forget that"

"Well first we'll have to disconnect him from the machines and then...then we'll repair who we can"

Soon after Powerglide was taken off the machines he turned gray, though this was also done after his final forced transformation

"We'll paint him to his original color after we're done as part of the remodeling but first like Karen said time to repair some Cybertronians who need repairs"

John leaves for the moment knowing that his cousin would call him back once they were ready to start making the modifications to Powerglide so that he could become a SEAT eventually but for the moment would be a crop duster. It would take three days to finish the repairs because of the fact that all of them were grieving and actually being given a chance to grieve, not to mention they had to fabricate a few parts for the repairs this time but finally during the weekend it was time to make the modifications to Powerglide that would first transform him into a crop duster in preparation for becoming a SEAT in four years

"So how do we begin John?"

"Come on I'll show you how it's done and to be honest he won't need too many modifications and will still be his mostly Cybertronian self, in fact we can't really use what would be considered his engine anymore because it's too alien, but we can modify that into propellers and I'll show you guys a few more modifications I need so that he can become a crop duster, eventually he will be able to become a SEAT because I studied what SEAT's look like so I can instantly have him modified to become one...or well actually the fire services would do that but for the most part a SEAT is a crop duster that's been modified to fight fires and the modifications are extremely slight modifications at that"

Together they managed to rebuild Powerglide before Karen went back to school so John simply flew back to his fields in Powerglide, though the job wasn't entirely complete because while they had repainted him in his original colors and given him a tail number they didn't know quite yet whether or not the modifications to make him a crop duster first would work until John tested it out, afterwords more modifications would be made as needed to make Powerglide a crop duster and then later a SEAT

"Karen you looked upset as you left school on Friday what's wrong?"

"Sorry just received some bad news about some family, due to the fact that it was Captain Faireborn who took me home I already knew something had happened, I just didn't realize how bad it was until I was home"

"That's right, Captain Faireborn of the EDC might take you to school but for some reason she never takes you home, I also now remember that your parents are somehow part of the EDC even though no one will give me a straight answer"

"The reason why she doesn't pick me up is a long standing agreement between her and my family as a means to keep me from panicking or worrying when it isn't needed"

"So as soon as you saw her you knew something had happened"

"Exactly, I have to have a system for reasons I can't explain but it's because of the system that I know how things are going with my family"

"Though how can your family afford so many different cars?"

(Chuckles) "I'm afraid that's our secret, now then can I go to class now?"

"Sure Karen"

School started normal but then at Phys Ed she learned that things were about to take a turn because there was a self defense section that had been added just two years earlier and people liked it so it was continued, what surprised Karen the most was that it was her sensei that was teaching the course. The sensei was known to the EDC and the Cybertronians so she had understood why Karen needed to be pushed as much as possible as quickly as possible in most self defense moves though she did leave the knife training to Faireborn who could teach her more practical moves that she might need in the battlefield one day. The rest of the class just wondered why she left her shoes off and in the locker room until they saw the mat and the person in a strange outfit, they were also a bit surprised to see Karen bowing to the person and the person bowing back as well

"Sensei Hunter I was not expecting to see you at school"

"I know Karen I've been teaching this course for the past two years, but since you were not at the right grade to see me you couldn't have known...Karen as I'm sure you've already noticed there are some other people here as well that you might not recognize"

"Indeed sensei I had seen them"

"They are here for a reason Karen, one which will be revealed to you later on in the class"

So the group was started on the basics including Karen whom everyone noticed was deliberately going at a slow speed and was looking like she was really concentrating on keeping her movements slow and calculated, that day was simple blocks and punches. Afterwords the sensei called Karen foreword

"Karen, katas please"

They soon saw Karen going through more movements then they had been taught at a slightly faster speed then before but still very noticeable to the naked eye and she went through several different moves and they could tell different katas because she always went back to attention before starting again. Then the sensei called foreword another person whom Karen didn't recognize and that's when the observers were suddenly a lot closer than before and that's when Karen knew what was going on

"Sensei why do this before the end of the course?"

"This is so I can have you by my side for the rest of the course Kerenai"

Suddenly the start was called and the students finally realized just how advanced Karen was because she was going so much faster then before that they couldn't keep up, suddenly the sensei was down and Karen backed off and a point was called. The next fight Karen lost but she then won the next two and that's when the fight was called and both people were sweating in the end

"Well done Karen, you've advanced to the final level and achieved the highest ranking in black belt and can now be a sensei to other students when you come to the dojo though I know and understand just why you don't come very often"

"Thank you sensei"

Just then the bell was rung which meant that it was time for the next class so the students quickly got dressed and the rest of the day actually ended up normal compared to Phys Ed. After school Karen decided not to practice any of her other skills or even do more hand to hand practice, instead she decided to do something she hardly allowed herself to do which was simply have a vacation and went to the movies with a few of her fellow EDC kids, part of this was that Karen knew that she needed a break just as much as any other person however she didn't allow herself to be a kid or teenager very often due to the fact that she had been raised by the Cybertronians and as such she had to be stronger, faster, and smarter than even EDC kids in case she was ever abducted by her family's enemies, so basically she allowed herself to be a kid or teenager about once every three to four months and never during the summer when she was doing Coast Guard assignments, though there was that one time her temporary foster family forced her to go to a game one Saturday that she had off when she was twelve and in Florida. Her vacations only ever lasted a day, two if her family was lucky but never more than that though they knew she could really use a week or two off she would never allow herself to until she had an actual job and mandatory vacation periods

"So how was the movie Karen?"

"It was great Mike, though you know as well as I that this is only a short reprieve"

"I know and for the record I hate it"

"I know you do and in a way so do I but unfortunately for everyone involved it has to be this way"

"But why?"

"Mike your security clearance has already told you everything it can, what it can't tell you is something I also can't tell you and that's for your own safety, for everyone's safety in all honesty"

"Just what do your parents do that's so dangerous though, it states that your security clearance is so high because what your family does puts you at higher risk then most for kidnapping and that there's something unique about you that an enemy could want as well which is also a mystery to the rest of us EDC kids"

"Again, if it's not in your files I'm not telling, just knowing the truth about me could get you kidnapped or worse killed and I can't afford that Mike, my mind would break if that happened"

"What makes you so sure of that?"

"Because it almost happened before but that's all you're getting out of me and that's period"

The next day they went back to the school grind but this time things were different in the middle of her math class the teacher suddenly stopped her lecture

"Can I help you gentlemen?"

Everyone turned and Karen instantly knew what was up and simply grabbed her things and stood up

"How soon?"

"Five minutes"

"Base orders?"

"No Executive orders"

(Sharp intake of breath) "He's the one who gave those orders?"

"Yes ma'am"

"Understood, three minutes then"

Karen left and was ready in three minutes and then left the school. Most of her class was wondering just who the guys in uniform were but also realized that they weren't going to be getting any answers, not that they could identify the uniforms anyways because most people didn't know what a uniform looked like, or which branch was using which uniform, what they didn't know was that not only did Karen recognize the uniform she also recognized the pin that was on the person

"What do the Recon Marine's need me for? I already know that the President gave you guys permission, had to of because of the fact that I'm still currently in school and he's never interrupted my schooling before, he even made sure I was back in time for school when the Tsunami hit the Philippines the summer before I turned eleven"

"As you know we've been having on going operations in South Africa recently because of all the civil wars that have been going on lately, we've recently lost two units on a routine mission with one of the government's. We're teaming up with a team of SEAL's to rescue them but our sniper got injured in a training accident recently and we don't have any other sniper's to help, considering your situation it was decided that you would be the one to team up with the SEAL sniper to cover us during the op"

"Understood, have sniper gear ready for me at the base?"

"Already on the plane Lt."

"Okay then let's do this, full debrief once in the air?"

"Yes, that's the only way we can do it because we don't know how long our men got"

"One question why are we teaming up with the SEAL's?"

"Because they also recently lost a unit and their unit is with ours so we simply decided to combine forces to rescue all of our men at once"

"Okay then, that actually makes sense"

They soon arrive at the plane and then head off to the mission where Karen was given a full debrief, five hours later they were on the ground and ready for action but it took another two hours to get to their positions

"Okay Lt. we're going to provide cover fire but we have to take out the front guards first when I say boom you fire one shot is that clear?"

"Got it"

Karen waits for the mental countdown ready and waiting and as soon as she hears the word she pulls the trigger and the two front guards are taken down no problems

"Okay, now all we can do is wait to provide any cover fire that's needed"

Fortunately things went off without a hitch and the hostages were all rescued and a quick evac was arranged. Over all it only took Karen a day and a half to complete the mission but since she was tired after she got back, and was running a slight fever it was decided that she would stay home for the rest of the school day and the next just in case she caught something while on the mission and her school was only given the explanation that she had been needed for something and that if they needed to know more they would find out but if they didn't then they weren't to ask any questions. As it turned out Karen had unknowingly cut herself with a thorn that had mild poison on it, but it was a poison that was non lethal to humans, just made them feverish for forty-eight hours if that. Once Karen got back to school she was simply a regular school student for the rest of the year and then once summer started she went to California for her annual Coast Guard assignment

"Sir shouldn't a kid like her be a lifeguard if that?"

"I wouldn't question orders Petty Officer because we do have orders in regards to her"

"And what are those orders sir?"

"Your orders Petty Officer are to allow me to train and go on missions with you to the fullest extent of my abilities, however I am not qualified to be a pilot so that position and the position of mechanic is closed off to me for the moment, but I can be a Rescue Swimmer, a communication person whatever else you need I can do it I am fully trained and qualified"

"Indeed you are Lt. I was just wondering how you can even have annual Coast Guard assignments considering the situation you are in"

"That Commander is between me and my commanding officers as you full well know"

"Understood Lt., however for the moment what I want is to see you doing laps in the pool and then...I think you might need to liaison with the life guards nearby because we want them to do some specialized training that only we can provide but I haven't received any word back in over a month and we need those answers by the end of this month, there's also the fact that it will let you get to know the area from the locals which you need to do. After that I want you in the pool for laps so get you warmed up in case you have to take a swim soon"

"Understood sir, when should I be back at base?"

"I want you back by 1600 hours if at all possible, oh and you'll be staying with me for the course of the summer because I volunteered"

"Yes sir"

Karen went to the life guard station and explained the situation and found out that the only reason why they hadn't gotten a reply was because the higher ups hadn't been able to be contacted until just the day before and they had agreed to it

"Now then is there anything else we need to know Lt.?"

"Actually yes I was ordered to get to know the area from the locals"

"Okay then I'll give you a basic tour and also a look at the ocean so that you can see what you're up against, and then you can explain why a fourteen year old is in the uniform of a Coast Guard member"

"That is classified sir so you won't be getting any answers about that, however you can be assured that I am fully trained to the best of my abilities in all aspects except flying"

"Oh why can't you fly?"

"Not qualified in the civilian sector because I'm not old enough yet. I have orders that I have to wait until I'm old enough to go for a pilot's license in the civilian sector before I can learn to pilot for the military"

"Okay then that actually makes sense"

Karen is given the tour and is back at base by 1600 and reports to the base commander