Hey all! Thank you all sooooo much for the reviews! I'm glad to hear that my writing is able to inspire others, or even bring a smile to your faces. It makes writing this so much easier. And believe me, I understand bad weather situations. Indiana has been nothing but a skating rink for the past couple of weeks...
My apologies for the two updates, I've had some, let's say... interesting... problems with fanfiction today... It's probably my computer's fault but, once again, my apologies.
Anyway, here's my next update! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do no own Transformers, but Cat is my soul property!!
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It was already the middle of the day when Optimus and Cat had returned from the desert. Cat had obeyed her orders to return to the medical bay where Ratchet was preparing his new space for examining their two newest residents. She reached the bay and before she could begin her work with a datapad, she was stopped by the medic.
"Come over here for me please, Catherine," he motioned for her to walk to him so that he could help her up on one of the exam tables.
"Uh… Sure, okay," she walked to the Autobot and allowed herself to be picked up after stepping onto the palm of Ratchet's black, metal hand.
Stepping onto the exam table, Cat turned and looked up at Ratchet, who was standing still, studying her carefully.
"What's the deal?" she was becoming impatient.
"Hold still for just a moment for me," Ratchet silenced Cat's annoyed tone of voice and continued what he was doing for a moment further.
"Thank you, Cat. That's all I needed," was the only response.
"Well? What is it?" Cat was already becoming irritated. First she was handled like a rag doll, and now her friend would not tell her why he was taking scans of her.
"After we first landed here, I did not take the time to scan any residual effects that we might have had on the humans. And after such prolonged exposure, it was useless to take any scans to tell if there were any defects to you three. I was taking scans to see if there were any problems with a mechanoid coming in contact with a human after being outside of the planet's atmosphere," he explained.
"You mean like radiation exposure?" Cat asked.
"Radiation, pollutants, things that are abnormal for your bodies to come in contact with. But I am satisfied with the results. The residual effects from your encounter were no more harmful to you than every day exposure to air," he finished.
"…Good to know…" Cat gave a confused, but sarcastic look.
"So? Did they seem in good health?" Ratchet asked as he began separating his tools out.
"Yeah, I didn't notice any major malfunctions in their primary systems. They downloaded information from the internet easily, and their speech relays were quick to make the translations needed to speak English. But I wonder if Wheeljack's communication sensor is out of alignment? He said that most of Optimus' message was garbled to him," Cat reported back to the medic, skipping the finer details of her encounter with them.
Ratchet smirked. Optimus, of course, had already given him a silent transmission of what he encountered after reaching the arrival point. He was tempted to leave it alone, but even Ratchet needed a laugh now and then.
"So…" he began, "Optimus informs me that you had a close encounter with Wheeljack's scientific nature?"
Cat froze from punching in information on the data pad and replied, "As long as I don't blow up… we're cool for now…"
The medic snickered, and continued on with his work.
"Oh! Which reminds me to ask," Cat turned back towards the neon yellow bot, "Is there something wrong with Bluestreak's speech processor?! That guy seems like he could talk until the cows came home!"
Ratchet looked at the girl, confused, and replied, "I do not remember Optimus mentioning that there were bovine in the dam," he stated simply.
"What's with you and your need to be literal all the time? It's an expression, for crying out loud!" Cat pointed out.
"Oh. My apologies," she could have sworn that he chuckled.
"So?" Cat was implying about the earlier question.
"If my memory chip serves, and I keep it in strict order so it does, Bluestreak's creators gave him a faster speech processor. However, they couldn't provide a proper program to keep those functions from deterring every thought process from being said," Ratchet thought back.
"So that's normal for him?!" she shuddered, "I'd hate to know how he talks when he's really in a hurry!"
"Neither would I…" the medic agreed.
While Cat was getting a data pad ready for the readings that would be taken, Ratchet was going through his scans of the girl that he had just taken. In scanning her for residual effects from her encounter with the new Autobots, he had also taken the time to give her a full examination of her own. Going through every thing that was normal for humans and normal for Cat, he began to notice strange occurrences. Although these occurrences were normally something that would happen every so often with humans, there were just too many to ignore. He quickly rounded back to Cat as she was distractedly writing away.
"Catherine," a stern tone was evident.
"Hmm?" she turned to him, "What is it?"
"Pull up the right sleeve of your shirt, if you please," he ordered.
Cat's eyebrows went from innocent to annoyance in a flash.
"I thought we were done with this part?!" she asked.
"That's an order," he reminded coldly.
Cat pursed her lips and mumbled, "You're the boss…"
Pulling up the right sleeve of her elbow-length shirt, Ratchet reached out and pinched her forearm and turned it ever which way with wide optics. Fresh scratch marks were all over Cat's upper arm. He let go and motioned for the other sleeve to be pulled up. Still mumbling, Cat did as she was told and revealed even more fresh marks.
Without even asking, Ratchet turned Cat around and barely lifted the back of her shirt, to which revealed even more of these scratches, which were blood-red compared to the old, pink scars that remained from any previous battle she had withstood.
"Were these from this morning?!" the medic asked, irritated that she had not come forward about this.
Cat sighed, "No…"
"Well? Where did you receive these from?" he asked.
"Well…" her eyes strayed away from looking at him.
"Catherine," he gave her a warning.
"I've been… I've been training a little bit… Training the old way that I was taught to. There's a special room in the basement that I've been using at night to train quietly and-" she was cut off.
"And what does this training consist of, exactly? Running yourself into a wall?!" Ratchet put a hand to his hip and the other hand on the examination table where his fingers tapped in an annoying fashion.
"No! Of course not! The training program that's used is a holo-matter projector. One of the few things that the government came up with that was a good idea. The projector uses images of battle techniques where you're fighting enemies, and I wanted to see if I was still any good at it…" Cat confessed.
"And I suppose that you have proven this?" he asked.
Cat narrowed her eyes at the medic, "No… Actually these are from every instance where I couldn't keep up with the enemy, and was attacked by the holo-matter objects…"
"And yet you continued to try your hand at it?" his optics narrowed into itty bitty dots, signifying an intense glare.
Cat shrugged, "It's how I was taught to train. If we failed at a task, then we would be in the room all day until we succeeded."
Ratchet would have liked nothing better than to scold the girl for doing something so incredibly distasteful, but he had not forgotten how she was taught. He'd seen this before, back on Cyberton. When he would examine a Decepticon's corpse, he had noticed how there were always fresh welding marks on them. He would then later, find out that they had been trained in the same, brutal fashion. He sighed and called one of the human medics over.
"These need to be cleaned and dressed properly," he ordered the woman who looked over the markings and set off to find some cleaning solutions.
"But-" Cat started.
"No buts. Until we can find a more suitable way for you to train, you will not use that room," the Autobot shook his head, still in much disbelief over how far these secret government programs went. Nearly destroying the children that were raised this way.
The woman brought back the only solutions that were proper in treating small lacerations. She held a bottle, and a cleaning cloth, as well as several large bandages.
"No way in hell, are you touching me with that!" Cat seethed at the human as her eyes set dead onto the bottle of Rubbing Alcohol.
A few moments later…
The doors to the med bay shot open and four vehicles rolled in. Two being familiar as the alt modes of Jazz and Ironhide, and the other two must have been the new alt modes of Bluestreak and Wheeljack. They looked up to one of the examination tables and saw that Ratchet had a hand on Cat, holding her firmly down to where she was sprawled out, while a nurse was cleaning her cuts.
Jazz and Ironhide transformed out of their alt modes and walked over to the table, overlooking the situation.
"Wuz goin' on?" Jazz asked.
"Catherine is learning, the hard way, why it is a bad idea to try and hide things from her physician," Ratchet smirked.
"OW! Will you move on already?! You've rubbed that spot three times!" Cat hissed at the woman giving her the treatments.
"I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to stay still! I'm just about done," the woman reasoned.
Ironhide snickered, "Now we know why we heard those threats two floors below."
"Yes well, it has to be done to make sure that none of these wounds become infected," Ratchet then looked over to see what appeared to be two, brand spanking new vehicles from off of a lot.
"So, who is who?" the medic asked, not relenting on his hold on Cat.
A white, Dodge 2500 pickup, modified with special towing capacities, dual rear wheels, and specialized flood lights atop of the roof transformed into the giant form of Wheeljack.
"It's been quite a while, Ratchet," Wheeljack's form was now white armor with two flashing side panels on either sides of his cranial unit. The panels lit up with every word spoken from the science officer.
-That's a bit distracting…- Cat smirked to herself before her eyes went wide with another dose of rubbing alcohol to a cut –I am SO getting him back for this!-
"It's good to see that you're among the few left, Wheeljack. We could always use the help of someone as creative as you in advancing our systems," Ratchet smiled.
Looking down to the last vehicle, Cat saw a black, Dodge Viper with two silver streaks running from the front to the tail-end transformed into the newest look of Bluestreak. He had silver, blade, type of "wings" on his back, and a silver rifled mounted just behind his left shoulder. The rest of his armor was the same black as his alt form.
"I haven't seen you since you were just a sparkling," the medic smirked
"That's what I was telling these guys! I remember you and Jazz from a long time ago! Of course that was so long ago I can hardly recall those memory files. Of course a lot of my memory files from long ago were replaced by my newer memories. But, of course, that happens when mechs get older and-" Bluestreak was so far into his word bender that he hadn't noticed that everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing, including the nurse cleaning Cat's cuts. They were all staring at him with eyes wide and mouth agape.
"Well," Ratchet intervened, "You're all finished, Catherine. You may as well go ahead and leave for the day. Remember what I told you, though. No training until we find a more suitable program for you."
After being let up, Cat pulled her shirt back over her back.
"Yeah, yeah…" she was helped down to the ground by the medic and walked out of the med bay, a frown on her face.
-I try and be helpful, and what do I get? A lecture and pain!- Threw her arms up in frustration as she walked off to her room.
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Arriving to the medical bay just seconds after Cat had left, Optimus was happy to see that Wheeljack and Bluestreak had chosen their new alt forms, but was somewhat dismayed to see that no one in the room looked happy.
"Is there a problem?" The Autobot leader asked.
"We were jes about to ask the same thing," Jazz answered, then turned towards Ratchet, "So where'd she get all them cuts?"
The medic crossed his arms and sighed in frustration, "I'm afraid her old training has taught her some bad habits. Apparently there's a training room in one of the basement facilities here that has a holomatter projector, and she's been using it during the time that she's supposed to be recharging."
"What'd she do? Program Starscream as her opponent?!" Ironhide bellowed.
"…I'm also afraid that her fighting skills are still not as they were before Mission City. Apparently she's not yet fast enough to defeat them," Ratchet replied, "As soon as I'm done with these two I'll be sure to check this training area out for myself."
Optimus nodded, "I will join you as well," he then turned to Jazz and Ironhide, "I actually came to relieve you of your shift for the day. Thank you for taking care of these two, men."
"S'not a problem!" Jazz replied as he and Ironhide gave a small salute and walked out of the med bay.
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"What do you seem so upbeat about today, anyway?" Ironhide asked the lieutenant as they walked towards the lounge.
"I gotta bet with Cat. If she's still up to it anyway," Jazz answered confidently.
"Oh? What's the bet?" the security mech asked with a raised eye ridge.
Jazz smirked, "She thinks she can beat me in a race."
Ironhide scoffed, "This is something I gotta see myself!"
"Well if Cat's in a good mood enough for it, then you should watch as I beat the slag outta her on the track!" A triumphant and determined lieutenant gloated.
"That kid's always in the mood to try and show us up!" Ironhide laughed.
They arrived to Cat's apartment door and gave a stern knock. It was only a few seconds before an angry form of the girl opened the door. Her eyebrows were furled, her lips were pursed, and her arms crossed as she leaned against the door frame.
"What's the matter? Ratchet forget to torture me in another way today?" she scowled.
"Well I was gonna ask if you were up to showin' me what you're made of, but I can see that you're busy sulkin'," Jazz smirked.
Ironhide was amazed at how quickly Cat's facial expressions had changed. Her glare had instantly transformed into a wide smile.
"Just let me grab my stuff! I'll meet you down in the garage in a few minutes!" her form was gone in a flash as her door was left wide open.
"That was easy," the black mech smirked.
"Yeh, I figured as much," Jazz snickered as he and Ironhide went down to the garage to wait for their human friend.
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They hadn't gone out more than a mile away from the Dam, but they were in a nice, large clearing. It would be far enough away from anyone who could spot them for a short race. Ironhide transformed into his bipedal mode once more, and positioned himself at the starting point. Jazz was in his alternate form, and Cat was just a few feet to the left of him, adjusting her helmet visor as she looked around for a finish point. The area was surrounded by a horseshoe of tall desert rock. It was probably a good two miles in radius.
"From here to there, "Cat pointed to the other side of the horseshoe, "First one there wins!" she reminded happily.
"Not to sound like the ole' Hatchet, but you'd better keep an eye out for rocks that your bike there couldn't take. If I brought you back all mangled both Optimus and Ratchet would -" Jazz started.
"You just let me worry about what's in my way. The only thing I want you to focus on is how quickly you're going to be eating my dust!" Cat gloated as she revved the engine of her bike.
"Hmph! Let's get this over with then!" Jazz revved his own engine.
Cat smirked and asked, "Would you do the honors, 'Hide?"
The black mech stepped forward and to the right of the racers. He raised an arm and waited for just a moment, looking at the riders and seeing their confident forms steadily ready for takeoff. He brought it down quickly and stepped out of the way as both Cat and Jazz were speeding off in a flash.
They were neck and neck. Jazz was actually surprised at how well Cat's bike could pick up speed, and how well it was gaining even more speed. However, this didn't stop him from gaining even more speed himself.
Cat shifted into higher gears as they came upon the first, very slight, curve. This, somewhat, made Jazz nervous since Cat was the closest to the wall of the rocky ridges. Cat giggled slightly knowing that she was giving her friend a little grief, hoping that it would give her the edge she needed to pull ahead.
Ironhide noticed this little maneuver as well and cringed, "The kid's got some nerve trying a power move like that!"
"Slow it down on the curves! Yo' gonna run into the rocks at this rate!" Jazz shouted.
Cat only grinned mischievously and just kept up the pace that she was going. She was right, Jazz came down to a controlled speed so that he wouldn't lose traction in the sandy dirt, which enabled Cat to pick up at least ten feet in the lead.
Jazz growled. He'd been duped into slowing down and he knew it. They were still going close to two-hundred miles per hour, but that was still slow compared to what they would have been going on a straight, concrete path.
They were, now, over halfway through the loop of rocky ridges, Jazz was catching up with Cat, not ready to admit any kind of defeat. If he was going to lose, it had better been a damn good reason, like a tire blowout. Not a silly reason that he knew Cat would never let him live down! He was about to come within inches of beating the girl when something caught his optics way up in the sky.
Ironhide noticed it immediately too. Two fireballs streaking across the twilight skies. He radioed to Jazz quickly.
-Jazz! There's something - but he was interrupted.
-Yeh, I see it! Can ya tell where they're gonna land?!- Jazz couldn't calculate it easily since he was roughly riding through the desert at high speeds.
Ironhide scanned the two objects and quickly calculated the distance and probable place where they were going to strike the Earth. His optics widened.
-Stop, Jazz! They're going to come down directly on you and Cat if you keep going!- he yelled over the comm. Link.
Jazz quickly came to a halt, his brakes squealing intensely. This noise, however, was drowned out to Cat as her motorcycle's engine roared at it's high speed.
"Cat! Stop!" Jazz tried to yell, but the girl couldn't hear him.
Cat looked back to see that Jazz was far behind her and yelled, "What's the matter?!" with a wide smile on her face.
"Stop!" Ironhide tried to join in with Jazz to yell for the girl to halt, but to no avail. He, then, got the idea to point into the sky, waving his arms wildly to attract her attention while she was turned to look at Jazz.
The fireballs rocketed to the Earth at break-neck speeds. They weren't in Cat's line of vision at all, and it was beginning to worry Jazz and Ironhide that it might almost be too late by the time she did see them.
"Cat! STOP!" Jazz tried once more.
Cat looked over and saw that Ironhide was jumping up and down and flailing his arms all around, one of which pointed to the sky.
"What's his deal?" Cat wondered.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake and rumble beneath Cat's bike. She gripped onto the handlebars and slowed down enough to actually notice that Ironhide was pointing above her, and Jazz was pleading her to stop. She looked to where her friend was pointing and saw the two, giant fireballs heading towards her.
"Oh, this day just keeps getting better and better…" Cat commented sarcastically
Pulling on the handbrake, Cat's back wheel slid out to the side as she tried to make an immediate stop. She was only, however, too far away from being a safe distance from the landing area.
"CAT!" Jazz and Ironhide yelled in unison.
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Sam was just finishing up eating dinner with his family. He was aiding his mom with the dishes while watching a small, portable television. They were listening to the local evening news as they were cleaning up.
"What are you plans after dinner now, Sam?" his mom queried.
"I've got some homework to finish up on, and then I was thinking of going to the lookout with Mikaela…" he sighed. He really didn't like being asked what his every move would be, but sometimes he would just give in from arguing and tell his parents when they asked.
"Oh, that's nice! Mikaela's such a sweet girl," Judy cooed with acceptance, which made Sam roll his eyes.
"…Thanks mom…" he continued to washed the extra bits of food off of the plate and handed them over to be placed in the dishwasher.
"We have some breaking news to report at this time. Apparently, some strange object has just crash-landed on the outskirts of Tranquility. Reports say that a local junkyard has been evacuated due to the object landing in the middle of it's lot. However, when the police arrived to the scene, there was nothing unusual found. Witness are being questioned, but so far nothing has been linked to the crash."
Sam craned his neck to look over to the small screen, sheer terror was written all over his face.
"Did he just say what I thought he just said?" the teen asked, his mouth wide open in shock.
"Well that's odd… They saw something fall from the sky, but they can't find what made that mess?" Sam's mom commented.
Sam ran outside to his yellow friend, "Bee! Did you just -"
"I'm afraid so, Sam… But I think we might be in more trouble than we think…" Bumblebee responded.
"Why's that?! Is it a Decepticon?!" Sam's frantic tone was evident.
"I'm unable to scan it's signature code, but I do know one thing for certain… It's a half mile away and closing in on our position…" Bumblebee's Camaro nose was poking around the corning of the back of the house, watching for the object that was now coming dangerously close to his charge.
Bumblebee didn't know how good it would do him now, but he called the only help that he could…
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The phone was ringing at the Lennox home. They lived just a few miles away from Tranquility, but today had not been watching the news.
Sarah Lennox was washing dishes from dinner, as Will cooed and cuddled his infant daughter lovingly.
"Hon? Can you get that?" Will called for his wife.
Sarah sighed, but smiled. She enjoyed watching her two favorite people play together. She quickly walked across the kitchen and picked up the phone.
"Hello?… I'm sorry, he's a little busy at the moment can I have him call you-…. An emergency?… And who can I tell him is calling?… H-Hold on just a moment…" she poked her head into the living room and said, "Honey, there's a man on the phone who says there's an emergency and he has to speak with you."
"Who is it?" Will turned to look towards Sarah.
"He… Well he said his name is "Bee"?" Sarah looked confused.
Will picked up his daughter quickly and dashed to the phone, motioning for Sarah to take hold of the child while he spoke. Sarah dried her watery hands on a nearby towel and gently took her daughter from Will's arms.
Will took the phone, "Hello?"
-William, there is an emergency! An unknown Cybertronian has just crash landed and is heading for the Witwicky residence!- the frantic voice of Bumblebee rang loud and clear over the phone.
Will looked to his wife with a new, serious look on his face and replied into the phone, "I'll be right there!"
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"All finished. Everything looks good for the both of you. If all the Autobots arrive with as minor damage as a misaligned communications sensor relay, then it'll be the least amount of work for me," Ratchet commented.
The other three Autobots that were in the med bay chuckled slightly at Ratchet's comment. It had been a quick exam for both of the newcomers, and the noise level had gone down… That was until the medical bay doors burst open, startling the four who were already in the bay.
"Ratch!" Jazz was the first one through the door, followed by Ironhide and two silver, unknown mechs, still in their original bipedal modes fresh out of their space travels.
As Jazz moved out of the way, everyone's optics went straight to the form of Cat, who was sitting up in the crook of Ironhide's arm.
"We had a little problem when these two arrived without warning," Ironhide explained as he gently set the girl on the examination table.
Cat still had her rider's jacket on, but she was covered in dirt. She held her right arm around her torso and flinched as she was set down.
"I tried telling them that I was fine…" Cat tried to play off her pain. She tried to smile but it ended up looking more like a cringe.
"What happened?" Optimus asked, looking over the girl along with Ratchet who was meticulously scanning her from head to toe.
"We were-" Jazz started before noticing a glare from Cat. Her, not very subtle, stare made him remember that they would probably get into a bit of trouble if the truth had been told… But he had never lied to Optimus before. Ratchet, oh sure, he'd given a better story to make an injury sound not as silly as it had been, but never Optimus.
"Sorry Cat… We were racin' in the desert, and nothing was goin' wrong until these two," he pointed to the silent silver mechs, "showed up outta nowhere. Cat didn't see 'em in time and was nearly flattened."
Ratchet stopped his scans for the moment and turned to Jazz, "Is there something wrong with your logic processor?"
Oh man, he knew he was going to hear it now.
"Of all the irresponsible things I would have expected from you, lieutenant-" the medic started before being interrupted by an emergency transmission from a far off comrade.
-This is an emergency alert! We have an unknown Cybertronian signature approaching to the Witwicky residence, and fast! I could use some help here!- Bumblebee's transmission went through to both Ratchet and Optimus, who looked to each other.
"An unrecognized Cybertronian signature? You don't think a Decepticon noticed all of these Autobots arriving and decided to cause trouble do you?" Ratchet asked.
-Hang on, Bumblebee! We're on our way!- Optimus replied to Bumblebee's plead for help.
"Men, we have a possible Decepticon in Tranquility, and we need to get there fast! We'll have to save disciplinary actions for later. Ratchet, you stay here with Catherine and these two-…" Optimus suddenly realized that he had no idea which two Autobots he was addressing, "Erm… Exactly who are you, if I may ask?"
"We dunno," Jazz answered, "Their speech processors are damaged."
"I see… Then they will stay here with Ratchet as well. The rest of you come with me!" The leader ordered.
Cat sat up painfully and yelled out, "Hey! Why am I sticking around?! If there's a Decepticon in Tranquility, I want to be there for it!"
Ratchet turned back to the girl and growled, "You are now admitted to the med bay, so you're not going anywhere. You have two of your human ribs broken, and something tells me that you were lucky not to have much more than that!"
Optimus smiled and added, "And as much as I appreciate your entheusiasm, we can't have you injured and out in the open as a target for the Decepticons. Autobots, roll out!"
"Yessir!" Jazz, Ironhide, Wheeljack and Bluestreak all followed Optimus out of the med bay.
Cat winced terribly as she was helped taking her rider's jacket off slowly, "It's not like this is the first time I've broken something!"
Ratchet frowned and sighed, "And I have a pretty good feeling that it won't be the last time either…"
For some reason, this comment caused the two, unknown newcomers to smirk madly. They both looked to Ratchet and Cat, looking as if they were enjoying the remarks being made. This caused Ratchet to turn to them and point to the other mech-sized exam table.
"You two may take a seat for the moment. I just need to ensure that she doesn't have any life threatening wounds that I didn't catch the first time," he turned back to the wiggling human, "Hold still, Catherine."
Cat sat back on her mechanical arm, putting her left arm around her aching rib cage. The two mechs took a seat on the exam table and watched on in interest.
"Those ribs are agitating your breathing. Too much movement and they might have punctured a lung. You're staying here overnight, no arguments," the medic sounded even more irritated after the second set of scan results.
"I live three floors up from here! It's not like it's the same kind of drive from here to Tranquility, it's a hop skip and a jump away! Besides, I heal three times faster than your average human." Cat weakly protested.
"I wish you would let me do my job instead of constantly undermining my advice," Ratchet furled his eye ridges and scowled.
"And I wish that you'd remember how used to this crap I am," Cat spat back.
The Autobot gave her a quick smirk and said, "Then I suggest that you get more used it."
Turning to the two newcomers, Ratchet noticed that they were laughing, only they were unable to make any noise. He opened a drawer of tools, grabbing at one, and walked over to them.
"It's no wonder why we couldn't make out your message to us if your speech processors have failed. But at least you were able to receive Optimus' transmission," he said as he began work on one of the silver mechs. While he was working, he couldn't help but feel as if he knew these two…
"There," a quick click, and the first one's speech processor was back online, "How's that?"
The Autobot's internal mechanisms whirred and garbled before finding the correct language to adapt into it's circuitry.
"Much better!" he grinned, "Thanks a lot, Hatchet!"
And then it hit him.
"Oh dear Primus…" Ratchet's optics widened.
Cat looked to the medic with a raised eyebrow, "Something the matter, Ratch?"
"Not you two… Of all the Autobots that could have gotten our message… Not you two…" he stood in shock.
"Ratchet?" Cat looked from him to the two on the table opposite from her. Was there a reason that she needed to be ready for a battle?
"Aw, come on Hatch! At least it's us, and not a couple of Decepticon seekers!" The mech smiled wildly.
"Who are they?" Cat asked.
Ratchet turned to the human girl and said, "Catherine… These two are Sideswipe and Sunstreaker… The only twins ever born on Cybertron… And the only two pit-born slags known for causing almost as much trouble as a Decepticon…"
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Bumblebee was still looking around the corner of the house. He would battle if it were necessary, but he was more or less hoping that it was a mere coincidence that the mech was headed towards the Witwicky residence.
"Sam, I suggest you and your parents flee," Bumblebee suggested.
Sam turned to look at the Camaro form of his friend and asked, "What?"
"Go get your parents and have them drive away from here, Samuel," this time the Autobot ordered.
"No! No way! I'm not just gonna take off on you like that! Forget it!" Sam rebutted.
"Sam, I have already informed Optimus of what's happening, and I have also called for William Lennox, who has informed the government of the situation. I would prefer that you get within a safe distance from here in the meantime and-" it was, however, too late.
The unknown signal approached within just feet from their location, as well as the rumbles of an engine in dire need of a good fix. Sam looked to the front of the house from the driveway and saw that a Mustang police cruiser had stopped in front of their house.
"Oh no…" Sam worried.
"Please, Sam… Go!" Bumblebee encouraged.
Sam was in shock. Was Barricade so malicious that he was going to try and kill Sam's family?
The cruiser turned down the Witwicky driveway, slowly approaching them. Bumblebee swung around the corner of the house and blocked entrance to the rear.
"Leave here, at once, Barricade!" Bumblebee shouted.
The police cruiser stopped in it's tracks, the engine revving uncomfortably. Sam hadn't moved an inch. He was determined to do what he needed to help his friend, even though he could have been squished like an insect if he had made the wrong move. The Mustang made several noises as though it were internally computing information.
"Bumblebee?" an unfamiliar voice queried.
Bumblebee wasn't sure why, but for some reason he, now, regretted calling in so many reinforcements.
"My memory chips go back to the day that Ironhide and myself recovered you when you were just a sparkling. Do you mean to repay me by mistaking me for that piece of scrap metal?!" the cruiser's voice was almost monotonous except for when he indicated that he was not to be misconstrued as a Decepticon.
"Bee? That isn't Barricade is it?" Sam asked as he poked his head from around the corner of the house.
Sam could hear Bumblebee's weaponry power down as the mech chuckled.
"Sam, I'd like you to meet Prowl."
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Chapter Teaser!
"Pit-born slag?" Cat was confused. She had heard Ironhide use Cybertronian curse words, but she had never heard "pit-born" used before.
"I hope that's your way of saying "Glad to see you two alive and well!" Doc…" the silver mech that could talk crossed his arms.
Ratchet looked to Cat, then back to the two smiling mechs sitting in front of him and sighed, "Something tells me that my workload just got a lot heavier…"