The Whispering Sage: I loved that chapter! But I'm slowly going to be adding in more romance so I'm sure it's only going to get better!

JJ: I love Denny but I never really understood how people bought his excuses. Anna's going to really help with that! Ah, I understand now. Yeah, Sideswipe can be rude but he tries to be better.

Gry20: I really like the idea! It's given me something to think about until we get to that point in the story.

Guest #1: That's pretty cute, haha.

Guest #2: I don't think he would either. Steeljaw is a classic Decepticon.

Bumblebee stood up on a rock, pointing to a map that Fixit pulled up from the Alchemor's computer system. "Now, this map shows where we've found stasis pods so far."

Fixit moved in closer, pointing out lines on the map. "Hey, if you drew a line between the pod vocations ovations locations, it looks kind of like Megatron."

Anna flinched, looking away from them all as memories plagued her processor. She remembered Knock Out telling her he was only following Megatron's orders as he tortured her. Then when he saw her revive Bumblebee, she knew he would have done worse if he had lived. If there was worse to be done. He was cutting into her, he cut her rib cage open. He grabbed her heart.

"Here's that thing on his nose, here's the-"

Anna looked up at him, her optics seeming to glow. "Fixit, don't mention that monster in front of me, ever." She glared at him a little. "Okay?" She was shaking, horribly. They probably assumed it was anger but it was from fear and pain.

Fixit nodded quickly, dropping his servos. "S-sorry, Anna..."

Bumblebee looked back at her, frowning. "Oh... I didn't realize... I'm so sorry, Anna." He jumped down, walking over to her. "Anna..." Bumblebee gently tilted her head up, frowning softly down at her. "He's not going to hurt you ever again, or Knock Out. No one will hurt you like that ever again."

Anna vented, looking down into his beautiful optics. "Yeah…" She patted his hand before looking away from him. "It's fine. Continue please."

Bumblebee vented softly, wanting to help her feel better but not in front of the others. He looked over and saw everyone looking at them worriedly, he motioned them off before changing the subject. "So, now we have an idea of where to search for more pods. The more pods we find, the better our chances of finding fugitives nearby to recapture."

Anna looked over to see Sideswipe slowly moving his digit closer to Strongarm's helm. She bit her glossa so she wouldn't laugh, knowing that wasn't going to end well. It also distracted her, which she was thankful for.

"In this grid alone, there are probably-" Bumblebee's speech was cut off by fighting noises behind him. He turned around to see Strongarm had Sideswipe pinned to the ground, the male whining from the pain. Grimlock was laughing audibly while Anna was laughing silently.

Strongarm used more pressure to keep him down, "And that, funny bot, is what happens when someone sticks his finger in my audio receptor."

Sideswipe turned his head until he could look back at her, "For a rule book with arms, you fight dirty."

Grimlock laughed loudly, bending over, "Do it again, Strongarm. Do it again!"

Bumblebee hopped down, helping Strongarm off Sideswipe. "Guys, please, I'm just trying to get us better organized."

Sideswipe got up, getting into Strongarm's face again. "You got lucky. I was about to make my move."

Strongarm pointed at him, "My foot is about to move you right back to Cybertron."

Anna shook her helm, placing her helm in her palm. "Guys..."

Bumblebee shoved them apart, "Enough!" The other three all walked off, two in anger while the last was laughing. Anna slowly walked up to Bumblebee, as did Fixit.

Fixit looked up at him cautiously, "Um, should I reschedule our map presentation for tomorrow?"

Bumblebee vented, looking off into the distance. "My team never gave Optimus trouble like this."

Fixit looked up at Anna and then Bumblebee, "Really? What was his secret?"

Bumblebee looked down at him, "I'm not sure..." He looked back up at the sky, "I guess I could try asking him." He then walked off, going to do just that.

Anna looked down at Fixit. "He's being too hard on himself... Optimus' team did work well together, but Optimus was the leader of the Autobots and we were in a war." Anna looked back towards where Bee went off to, "He just needs to believe in himself and see himself as our leader."

{X}

Anna was sitting on a tree stump, staring at the ground quietly as she tried her best to not think about Megatron. She would watch Strongarm punching the strange bobble-head. Soon her processor would twist it until she saw Knock Out above her, her blood on his digits. Anna vented roughly, clenching her hands tightly. "Dammit."

She jumped up, aiming her gun as she heard a loud crash, barely able to detect the surge of emotions she got over her dormant bond with Bee. She ran over, digging through the old arcade games. She tore the bobble-head off her mate's head, relaxing when she saw he was okay. "Don't worry me like that!"

Bumblebee smiled softly up at her, letting her pull him up. "You were worried?"

Anna punched his shoulder, huffing at him. "Of course I was."

Bumblebee rubbed his shoulder, pouting at her. "You said you were going to stop hitting me."

Anna crossed her arms, "I will when you stop making me. I also agreed to cut back, not stop."

Bumblebee vented as he rubbed some dust off his armor, "You know, when Optimus told us to stop doing something, we stopped."

Russell looked up at him curiously, "Why?"

Bumblebee looked down at him, "Because Optimus had this great, commanding voice. It was... ahh." He 'cleared his throat' before he made his voice deeper, imitating Optimus. "Strongarm, Sideswipe, Grimlock."

The three bots quickly gathered in front of him, gasping. "Huh?"

"There is no time for this foolishness. We have a galaxy relying on us and a mission to complete," Bumblebee completed his 'inspiring talk' with grandiose poses.

Anna smiled at her dork, feeling her spark thrumming in her chassis. He looked silly while doing those poses, but his words did have meaning. If Optimus himself needed them to be here, then something very bad was going to happen. They needed to be ready, not goofing off. But she knew that would be a major part of this team. Strongarm, Sideswipe and Grimlock all had very exuberant personalities. Then Anna and Bee both looked at the other three with exasperation when they all laughed at Bee.

Strongarm tried to apologize while she was still laughing, "Oh, I'm so sorry, sir, but..."

Sideswipe laughed loudly, almost falling over, "That's the worst Starscream imitation ever!"

Bumblebee looked at Anna, very confused and appalled. "Starscream?"

Anna shook her head, patting Bumblebee on the shoulder. "You tried."

Fixit interrupted them, rolling up to give them some news. "I picked up a Decepticon signal. It appears to be coming from-"

Denny cut him off, yelling out, "Crown City?"

Fixit looked at him curiously, "How do you know?"

Denny motioned to them all, walking to the diner. He turned on the TV to a local news station, turning it up for the others.

"This afternoon, on this wooded trail, hikers found a strange object which was then brought to the Crown City Museum of Natural History and Sciences. As imaginations run rampant, scientists are working to open the bizarre artifact. Sources tell us the object appears completely alien to them, with another source speculating that there might be something or someone locked inside."

Anna gaped at the TV, "How did my Unit let this happen? Oh, my Primus." She turned and commed Ratchet's computer. She waited for him to greet her before talking. "How did our unit let a news reporter show more Cybertronian tech on live TV?" She motioned up at the sky. "Where's Miko? She's gone too." Anna screamed through her clenched denta. "I'm fine! I'll take care of it. How come the new recruits didn't catch it? Yeah, Yeah. Bye, Ratchet."

Bumblebee stared at Anna with his mouth wide open. "Anna?" The others were all very shocked as well.

Anna turned to them, crossing her arms. "Miko's on an assignment and can't help. Apparently, no one else spotted this in time. So now I'm going to have to."

Sideswipe looked at her and then the others, leaning against the diner. "Why are you so angry? The other humans found a stasis pod for us." He laughed softly, "Let's walk in there and get it."

Strongarm shook her helm, "Our goal is to not be seen by Earth's population, remember?"

Anna nodded, "My entire Unit is based around covering up things like this." She then stared down at the ground, mumbling to herself. "We need to train them better."

Bumblebee frowned softly, "We do need that pod though, before the humans accidentally free what's inside."

Denny placed some glasses on his face, grinning. "No problem. I could pose as a dashing archaeologist. I'll ask for a tour. Once I'm in, I'll open the loading dock doors for you. Then you grab the pod."

Anna smiled down at Denny, liking his enthusiasm for disguises. "I could take you in with me as my historical expert." She frowned. "I do need to make sure they drop this." She turned to Bumblebee, "I'm going to use my console on base, I'll meet you guys outside Crown City?"

Bumblebee nodded before gently holding her hand. "Okay. I'll see you soon." He paused and smiled at her, "Tell Ratchet I said hello?"

Anna chuckled as she opened a ground-bridge, "I'll bring his wrench back for his special greeting." Bumblebee shuddered, mumbling about Hatchet as he gave orders to everyone else.

Anna laughed as she went back to base, quickly working on erasing every bit of information available on the pod. She contacted the museum telling them she was coming and not to talk to anyone else. She contacted the news station and told them she erased everything from their systems. She also warned them that if they covered anything about this or the pod, she would bring hell upon them for a breach of national security.

Anna hummed as she looked at Ratchet, "I love when they try to fight me."

Ratchet chuckled, working on a new project of his. "I know. You've shut down many 'alien fanatic' groups before, making them actually cry."

Anna vented softly, "I was nice at first but the people refused to do any sort of action, even when I told them what I could sentence them with. So, I erased all of their life's work and put them on a watch list." She got a message from Bumblebee saying they were ready, waiting on her. "Scrap!" She quickly cleared everything from the computer, rushing through another ground bridge. "Bye, Ratchet! I'm sorry about earlier, this morning was pretty tough!"

"It's fine, be careful!"

{X}

Anna looked down at Russell and Danny, grinning softly. "Well, I like the outfits."

Denny grinned at his son, "I told you."

Russell looked up at her, his smile waning a little. "Is it alright if I come too?"

Anna nodded, "Of course. Two historical experts are better than one!" Honestly, it would have been easier without Russell but he has been left out before. She could keep him safe if anything happened. Besides, Denny was there too. She then turned to Bumblebee, smacking him on the helm with a wrench. "Ratchet says hello with love."

Bumblebee winced, rubbing his head. "Still hurts less than your punches."

Anna winked at him, kissing the spot on his helm. "You deserved it. You're doing better, though." She transformed, opening her doors for the two Clays. "Let's get going, guys."

Denny chuckled as he got in the passenger's seat, buckling himself in. "Yes, ma'am."

Anna activated her holoform, looking back at Russell and smiling. "You look cute. I'm sure Hank would think so as well." She winked as Russell started stuttering. "Okay, I'll stop." She quickly drove across the bridge, heading to the museum. "You got your identities together?"

Denny nodded, looking very excited. "Yep!" He looked back at Russell, grinning. "Right, son?"

"Right." He sounded a little unsure but excited too.

{X}

Anna straightened her pant suit, slipping her badge and ID's into her pocket. "Alright, ready?" She saw the other two nod, leading them through the doors of the building. She walked up to the front desk, flashing her badge. A dark-skinned woman and an older, white gentleman were sitting at their desks. Anna nodded her head at them, "I'm here about the matter of national security."

The woman quickly nodded her head, looking nervous. She knew their museum could get into a lot of trouble if this woman wasn't happy when she left. "O-of course."

Anna nodded. "I'm here to look at your new artifact and will be removing it from your facilities. If I here of any news or press about this, there will be consequences." She stared them down before motioning to the two behind her. "These are my historical experts, you will show them the proper respect as such."

Denny stepped up, introducing himself. "I'm Nevada Flieber, famous archaeologist. I discovered the Flengi Tribe in the lost city of Pantra. I'm surprised you don't recognize me." He then motioned to Russell, "And I'm here with my intern-."

Russell cut him off, speaking for himself, "-International adventurer. I'm McPlank. We just got back from Cartagascar, where Professor Flieber helped me recover the Sammurabi idol."

Denny looked down at him, gaping. "Helped you? I wouldn't say-"

Anna stepped in. "They're here to check your work on the artifact, and to check out your other work here. They're going to giving a report, so hopefully it will turn out okay."

The two of them quickly stood up, nodding. The man spoke for them as they began leading them into the building. "Of course! We'll give you a tour, right this way."

Denny bent down, frowning at his son. "You promised to follow my lead, McPlank!"

Russell motioned to where the museum workers were headed, "Lead on."

Anna let her lips pull up at the ends, leading the ground while she talked more with the man about keeping everything quiet and having to vacate the premises soon. The workers showed them all the exhibits, talking about them for a bit though they were rushed. They showed them where the artifact was being kept before leaving to make sure everyone left, using a gas leak as the reason.

Anna pulled up a map of the museum layout, finding the way to the loading bay. "Okay, let's go get our team first." She walked with them through a back room, heading through the storage room and to the loading bay.

Denny pulled open the garage-like door, motioning for them to come in. "Everyone is gone now, come on in!"

Bumblebee jumped out of the way as Anna's vehicle mode drove up behind him, honking her horn. "Hey!"

Anna laughed as she dropped her holoform, transforming beside him. "Hey to you too." She motioned for Bumblebee to go first. "Let's look for this pod."

The first exhibit they came to was on the Cowboys of the wild west. Anna vented as she looked up at the scene. She got a flashback of herself when she was little, she dressed up as a cowgirl for Halloween.

{X}

Little Anna twirled in the mirror, looking down at her cowgirl outfit. She was wearing a yellow flannel shirt, a jean jacket over top, dark jeans and some brown cowgirl boots. The hat was on the bed, being ignored on purpose. Anna sighed as she saw the hat again. She looked in the mirror for real, frowning at the little bits of hair starting to regrow on her head. She felt of the fuzz, frowning even more.

"Anna!"

Anna looked over to see Raf running into her room, grinning at her. He was dressed up as a cowboy as well. He was wearing the same outfit but with orange flannel. His own cowboy hat on his head already. He smiled at her, placing her hat on her head. "You look beautiful. Let's go! You have to take me trick or treating!"

Anna smiled down at her little brother, nodding her head. She adjusted the hat before holding his hand, grabbing her candy bag on the way out.

{X}

Anna shook her helm, looking down at her arms, metal arms and not human arms. She looked over at Bumblebee, seeing him grinning at the scene before them. She walked over to his side, linking her hand with his, needing the comfort. She felt him squeeze her hand back, smiling up at her. She smiled back, feeling her spark thrumming more in her chest.

Grimlock looked up at them all, looking very confused, "What are these statues of human beings so happy about?"

Bumblebee grinned, looking over at Grimlock and then back at the scene. "Well, they're cowboys. They were independent, carefree adventure-seekers who transported groups of equine and bovine mammals across this continent's Western region before it was settled. It was an exciting time."

Grimlock leaned down, talking to Sideswipe, "I understood exactly none of that."

Sideswipe shrugged, "Me either." He motioned down the hallway, already walking that way. "Let's go find the stasis pod." Strongarm also followed them. They were almost at the corner when Bumblebee saw them leaving.

Bumblebee turned and held out both hands, speaking in a deep, firm voice. "Stop!" Bee turned to Anna, Russell and Denny. "Yeah, I think I know what I did wrong before. I was just doing Optimus' voice, not his body language." He stood up straight, walking over to them stiffly. He then continued speaking in the 'Optimus' voice. "By dividing our search efforts, we will be more efficient. Each of you shall choose a-" He was cut off because the other two transformed, heading down different hallways.

Bumblebee's perplexed expression was adorable to Anna. She smiled and patted his shoulder. "You'll get it eventually, Bee."

Bumblebee turned to the two humans, "Stay here. If anything goes wrong, evacuate via the loading docks."

Anna shook her head, until she saw Russell sneak off on his own. Anna laughed internally, sneaking behind Denny and following the little boy. When they were down a hallway, Anna spoke up. "Snuck off huh, McPlank."

Russell grinned up at her. "They said McPlank couldn't find the treasure, but like McPlank always said, 'McPlank has his ways."

Anna walked beside him now, "And now McPlank has help."

Russell smiled at her, "Not going to tell my dad?"

Anna shook her head, motioning to the doorway to their right. "No, because we're already here." They walked inside the room, seeing the pop right in front of them. "Now, we just need to re-seal this thing..." She walked to the side, expecting Russell to follow her.

He didn't, however, and when the lip popped off he was almost hit. "McPlank was in big trouble this time!"

Anna quickly grabbed him, holding him to her chest while she rolled. She stood up, placing him behind her. "Russell, behind me." She turned and faced the large bull-like 'con in front of them. This seemed to be a reoccurring pattern here.

The 'con peered around at Russell, frowning down at him, grunting before he spoke. "What are you?"

Russell squeaked out, "Surprised." Anna placed her leg in front of him protectively.

The 'con grunted again, looking up at Anna, realizing she was a 'bot but not who he was after. "What is this place? Last I remember, my boss Contrail sent me to smash the stabilizers off a 'bot who crossed him, then I woke up in that tiny box." He reared back, roaring, before he began attacking the pod. "No one puts Terrashock in a tiny box!" He then seemed to be looking dizzy, "Walls are closing in. Hard to breathe. Gotta get out. Gotta find Contrail!" He ran through the wall, ignoring their yells for him to stop. He grunted as he got up, "Which way's out?"

Anna stepped in front of Russell again, getting in offensive position. "There isn't a way out for you, 'con, except in handcuffs."

"Russell, Anna?"

Terrashock turned, frowning at the new 'bot. "Hey, are you the Bot that Contrail sent me to wise up?"

Sideswipe tilted his helm, his voice pitch rising as he spoke, "Probably not?"

Terrashock growled at him, "Of course you're gonna say that. What do you think I am, stupid?"

Sideswipe frowned at him, squinting one optic at him, "Is that a trick question?"

Terrashock pawed at the ground before charging at Sideswipe, knocking him into the wall. He then stood up, continuing to head down the hallway. "I am getting out of here, and I'll smash any bot that gets in my way!" He began running on all fours, charging down the hallway.

Anna and Russell ran over to Sideswipe, Anna helping him up. "Are you alright?"

Sideswipe nodded as he got up, wiping some dust off his shoulders. "Fine."

Russell looked up at them, "What do we do?"

Sideswipe grinned at Anna. "We get in his way. Come on!" He transformed, letting Russell get inside.

Anna transformed as well, speaking to them before they left. "You go find Bumblebee and Denny. I'm going to track this 'con down and make sure he doesn't escape." She quickly sped down the hallway, following the sounds of heavy thuds.

{X}

Sideswipe jumped over the loading dock bay, drifting as he came to a stop. He transformed, catching Russell in his hands so he could hop down to the ground safely. "Here you go."

Russell grinned up at him, "Sideswipe, you make walking a bore." He then turned to his dad and Bumblebee, "Have you seen a metal buffalo come through here?"

Sideswipe pinched two digits together, "Big head, small brain?"

Bumblebee stood up, frowning as he commed Fixit. "Fixit, have you been hearing this? Can you give us an ID?"

"Yes, sir. From the description, particularly the small brain part it sounds like Terrashock, a Buffaloid, considered the most brutal enforcer on Cybertron."

Bumblebee frowned, "That's what was in the pod? Great. Once a Buffaloid gets moving, it's nearly impossible to stop."

Sideswipe laughed nervously. "Uh oh."

Bumblebee turned to him, ignoring Russell and Denny talking. "Uh oh? What 'Uh oh', Sideswipe?"

Sideswipe held up his servos in surrender. "Your mate kind of ran off, telling me to find you and get Russel to his father. She said she was going to try and stop him."

Bumblebee's expression darkened. "Great." He commed his mate, venting as she didn't respond to him. "I don't blame you, she's very protective." He then held out his hands as Sideswipe began to leave. He used his 'Optimus' voice again, "Team, listen to me. This is Bumblebee, your team leader. If you find the fugitive, do not engage him. Instead, summon your team mates and bring the Decepticon to the museum's entrance grand hall, where we can attack it together."

Bumblebee leaned down to talk to the humans, grinning, "See, I realized I wasn't adding the inspirational team stuff, like Optimus would have." He chuckled before continuing, "So, you know what? Let's get to the museum entrance." He began walking, trying to com Anna again. "Anna, answer me, please!"

{X}

Anna vented, transforming as she heard Terrashock in front of her. "Bumblebee. I'm fine."

"Good! I was worried. Once a Buffaloid gets moving, it's nearly impossible to stop. So, try and force him to the grand hall, carefully."

"Got it. He's in front of me now." Anna dropped the com, stepping into the room. It was the same room that had the cowboy scene they saw earlier.

Terrashock passed one of the mechanical buffalo, stepping back as he saw it. He grunted before speaking to it, believing it to be another Buffaloid. "What are you doing here? Did Contrail send you? He said I was his only enforcer."

Anna looked over, seeing Strongarm peeking over the wall on the other side. She quickly waved her over, telling her to wait.

Terrashock then began destroying the mechanical buffalo, grunting at it. "Ain't nobody stealing my job!"

Strongarm and Anna walked out together, Strongarm calling him out. "We'll add a 1305, destruction of private property to your list of crimes." She aimed her gun at him, "You're under arrest, Decepticon."

Anna aimed her own gun at him, frowning. "Don't make me fight you."

Terrashock frowned darkly at them both, walking towards them. Anna tried to push Strongarm back but she didn't listen, shooting at him. Terrashock ignored the hits, tossing Strongarm behind him. He then turned to Anna, growling. "Or what?"

Anna ran at him tackling him to the ground. She rolled with him, using her blades to swipe at his face and upper body. "Or you're going to regret it!"

Terrashock grew angrier from the pain, standing up and tossing her to the ground. "NO!"

Anna groaned as her whole body ached from the impact. "Okay. He's strong." She got up, seeing he was already gone. She looked for Strongarm but couldn't find her, she already being gone as well. "Where did she even go?" She began running down the hallway, looking for Terrashock and the others. She didn't find any and transformed, racing to the grand hall. Anna got there just in time to see Terrashock at the stairs.

"Finally."

Bumblebee aimed his gun at him, distracting him while the humans hid. "End of the line, Decepticon."

Anna quickly transformed, tackling the 'con again, punching him as hard as she could in the face. "Scrap!"

Bumblebee ran closer, shooting even more, "Stay down!"

Anna went to get her cuffs, but before she could Terrashock rolled over, squishing her against him and the ground. "Ugh!"

Bumblebee shot at his face, hoping to make him move. "Over here, 'con!" It worked, but not in the way he hoped.

Terrashock saw the outside, crashing into Bumblebee as he ran. Bumblebee went flying out the door, landing on the ground outside. Terrashock ran outside, looking around before running off again.

Anna recovered enough, jogging outside to where Bumblebee was. She then saw everyone gawking at them still, Denny saying it was the museum's new animatronics. She stood up straight, standing next to Bumblebee.

Denny looked up at Bumblebee, "Hey, big guy. What's the density of Mercury?"

Bumblebee spoke with a robotic voice, "The density of Mercury is, uh, Bzz. Error." He acted like he was having shorts in his circuitry as he stood up even more.

Anna looked down at Denny, acting very robotic. "The density of Mercury is 13.56 grams per cubic centimeter."

Denny 'lead' both 'bots back inside while they walked 'robotically'. Russell talked to the crowd, claiming they were working out the bugs and the museum would be open soon.

Anna stretched out, groaning when they were inside. "Scrap. Where's the team at?"

Bumblebee looked up at her, frowning. "You okay? I thought he crushed you."

Anna nodded. "I'll be okay." She gently touched his shoulder. "I'm glad you are too. I was worried when he sent you out the door."

Bumblebee smiled, placing his hand over hers. "I'm okay..." He vented before his expression turned serious. He commed the entire team so Anna could hear the others. "Strongarm, Sideswipe, Grimlock, this is Bumblebee. The Decepticon is loose in the city. Anna and I are heading to the loading docks and going after him. Bumblebee out."

Russell looked up at him, "Why didn't you order them to meet you there? Isn't that what Optimus would've done?"

Bumblebee nodded, looking down at him. "Probably."

"Bumblebee?"

Anna and Bumblebee both looked up at an elevator doorway. The surface was so shiny that Optimus could be seen in it. Bumblebee frowned at his reflection, "Optimus, I tried to call you."

"I am permitted to make contact only when the Primes believe your need to be dire. I hope you are making progress."

Anna frowned, shrugging her shoulders. "He's trying, sir. It's tough."

Bumblebee gently squeezed her hand before talking to Optimus. "Now's not a great time for me to talk, Optimus. A Decepticon is free in a populated area."

Optimus nodded slowly. "I see. You and your team will pursue and apprehend it, I assume."

Bumblebee vented, looking down. "My team…" He closed his optics, shaking his helm. "I'm not doing a very good job of leading them, Optimus." He looked up at him, frowning. "No matter how much I try to be like you."

"Perhaps that is the problem. Bumblebee, you are not me."

Bumblebee slumped his shoulders, his door-wings even lowering. "You can say that again."

Anna placed her hand on his shoulder, shaking her helm. "Bee, that's not what he means... You can't lead like him because you're Bumblebee. Just like I couldn't lead if I was trying to be you."

Optimus nodded, "Anna is very wise and correct. I only-" He looked off before he disappeared.

Bumblebee frowned, "Optimus? He just disappeared. I hope he's all right."

Denny looked up at him, "Did he say anything before he went?"

Bumblebee looked down at them, frowning. "That I'm not him."

Russell looked up at him, following behind the 'bot. "Maybe Optimus didn't mean that you not being him is a bad thing." Anna gently smacked Bee's shoulder, giving him the 'I'm-right' expression. Bumblebee vented before looking back at Russell, waiting for him to explain. "I mean, you're you. You've been so busy trying to give orders like someone else. What would you do if you just tried to lead like you?"

Bumblebee looked up, thinking about it. He then saw the cowboy scene again. He walked closer, looking like was in deep thought. "Hm." He then motioned to the others, heading to the loading dock. The others were waiting on them there.

Strongarm spoke up first, "Sorry, lieutenant."

Sideswipe nodded, looking up at him. "Just had some bad luck."

Grimlock grimaced, rubbing his helm, "That thing has a really hard head."

Bumblebee smiled at them, walking past them. "We're going after Terrashock together. Come on."

Anna grinned, winking down at the two humans. "I'm glad we got through to him." She followed him, walking beside him.

Strongarm followed behind them, looking confused. "Sir? Do you have a plan?"

Bumblebee turned around, looking back at them. "If no one's giving a Buffaloid orders, it feels lost. Alone. But if someone steers the Buffaloid-"

Grimlock motioned towards him, "The Buffaloid will go where you tell it to."

Strongarm grinned, looking back at Grimlock. "Maybe even right into a stasis pod." She turned to Bumblebee, grinning, "Lieutenant, that's brilliant."

Bumblebee pointed at her, "Even better than that, Cadet." He then rubbed his servos together, smirking at Anna. "It's going to be fun." He then transformed, "Let's roll out!"

Anna felt so proud of him as she transformed, driving behind him. The others were behind her, Strongarm pulling Grimlock on a trailer in the rear. They quickly caught up to him on the road, the 'con calling out for Contrail again.

Strongarm talked over the team com, "Our cover."

Bumblebee responded, "Forget our cover. We'll deal with that after we capture Terrashock. Do like I do." He then sped up, driving around all the others cars in traffic. "Yee-haw! Yippie ki-yay!"

Sideswipe went next, driving on the side rail, "Yee-haw! Yippie ki-yay!"

Strongarm went next, dodging cars as best as she could with her wide load. "Yee-haw! Zippy highway!"

Anna laughed loudly as she raced past all the others, honking her horn. "Hurry up, cowboys and girls!"

Bumblebee hit the side of Terrashock, steering him to the left. This caused Terrashock to transform, jumping over the median and running on all fours. Anna raced ahead and bumped into Terrashock, steering him back to the right and over the median. Sideswipe and Strongarm were behind him, pushing him forward. Strongarm and Sideswipe boxed him in, Grimlock using his tail to spur the 'con further like a whip. Bumblebee got the back with Anna.

Bumblebee looked ahead and saw some scaffolding over the road, realizing the potential dangers. "If he hits that scaffolding, the overpass might come down."

Strongarm called out over the com, "We're too close. There's no time."

Bumblebee commed Anna privately, "With me?"

Anna commed him back, lightly nudging him in the side as she drove ahead with him. "Always."

Bumblebee and Anna drove ahead of Terrashock until they were close enough. Anna drove to the left while Bumblebee braked with both doors open. He tripped Terrashock causing him to stumble and start rolling. Anna quickly veered right, hitting the 'con. This sent Terrashock down an exit ramp, rolling the whole way. He then hit a wall, falling on his stomach.

The rest of the team caught up, braking around the guard rail above the exit. Grimlock jumped over, yelling cannonball as he went, landing on the 'con. "Cowboy Grimlock. I like the sound of that."

Anna laughed softly before she heard Denny over Strongarm's com. "No way Bee and his team keep their cover after this."

Russell spoke up, sounding like he already knew how. "Like McPlank always says, "McPlank has his ways… Strongarm, you got a speaker?"

"Blue button."

Russell then spoke over the loud speaker, "If you liked that action, folks, come on over to the Stunt Car and Truck Festival in Witchihoma County. Bring the kids."

Anna helped Grimlock put the unconscious 'con on the back of their trailer before they headed off. Denny excitedly acted like he was shifting gears and making engine sounds. "That was a blast and a half! Don't you guys think?"

Russell grinned, "Blast and a half."

Grimlock called out to the others, "What would cowboys do after a successful mission?"

Bumblebee answered him, "Just what we're doing, Grimlock." He then gently bumped into Anna's side, thinking about her the most when he said this. "Ride off into the sunset together."

Anna laughed, "Together." She then raced ahead of him, "But one of us is always the fastest! Yee-haw!"

Bumblebee laughed, racing after her. "Yee-haw!"

Sideswipe, Strongarm and Sideswipe all called out as well, just as excited. "Whoo-hoo!" "Yippy-ki-yay!" "Yee-haw!"