She had no idea what she was doing. She had rolled all the way to the back room and Optimus unlocked it for her. She sat in her chair and stared.
The room was cold. Ice cold. And there was some kind of shroud in it. It didn't feel right for her to go into it.
"Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes," Optimus said, voice rumbling through her frame.
She rolled forward slowly. Damn it was cold. And up to the funeral looking shroud. Optimus followed her in and slowly pulled back a tarp with writing all over it to show her what had to have been Jazz.
He looked a little worse for wear but otherwise like any of the other Autobots. She couldn't see a difference other than there was no blue eyes sparkling down at her.
She hesitantly reached out and touched him. He was fucking ice cold. She pulled her hand back, hoping it wouldn't stick. It didn't but she wasn't sure it wouldn't if she tried again.
"What am I supposed to do?" she asked Optimus.
"I don't know," he said quietly in response.
She risked getting her hand stuck and put her hand out again. There was a buzz. There was something there. She didn't know what but it was there. If only she could get the buzz to be right. It was the wrong frequency. Out of tune somehow.
She pulled her hand back and tucked it against her chest, warming it.
"I don't know," she said mournfully, looking up at Optimus.
"That's ok. We just wanted to make sure," he said softly. He gestured for her to leave and she did, giving it one last look over her shoulder as Optimus covered Jazz back up.
She waited until Optimus pulled the door closed before spinning to face him.
"What was supposed to happen?" she asked with curiosity.
He sighed, rubbing his hand on his face in a very human like gesture.
"We believe the AllSpark might be able to return life to those who have passed," he said quietly.
"Whoa."
She was stunned. She had no idea she could hold that kind of power. It just didn't seem logical. She wasn't anything special. She was Katie the now wheelchair bound normie. She had nothing fancy about her life. She had a shitty mom and a helicopter dad.
That thought paused her. What the fuck happened to her dad? He was probably freaking the fuck out unless they just straight up said she died. She could see that happening too.
"It appears there is more to it than we hoped," Optimus said softly, dragging her back into the present.
"I'm sorry." She felt bad. She really wished she had been able to perform a miracle for them.
"There is nothing to be sorry for," Optimus said kindly before he started walking back towards the main hangar.
She got stuck, staring at the mural. There had to be more to it than that. There just had to be.
She didn't know what or how but she was going to find out. She felt determined. A sense of purpose finally giving her something to strive for.
She rolled back towards the group and watched as they looked eagerly behind her only to end up disappointed. It made her mad at herself. What was she missing? What secret was there that she was yet to unlock?
Jolt made a chirp that signaled understanding and it lowered her shoulders a bit from the tense hold she had on them. She breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to hold it against her. No one probably would but she was starting to really enjoy Jolt as her only friend on base.
"As she is indeed with AllSpark energy, she must have a guardian," Optimus said suddenly, coming up behind her. She looked at Jolt. He was the most obvious choice.
"Ironhide," Optimus said, motioning to the big black mech. She was stunned. She didn't expect that at all. From the look on Ironhide and Jolt's face, they didn't expect it either.
"Aren't I already keeping tabs on Lennox?" Ironhide asked in the grumpiest tone she'd ever heard from him.
"You're who I trust this to. You have had the experience necessary to keep her safe," Optimus said with his head held high.
Sideswipe scoffed.
"He's just a geezer," he muttered lowly.
"Oi," Ironhide said, looking like he was going to go over and pummel Sideswipe. She scooted back, closer to Optimus and out of the way.
"Why not me?" Jolt asked, a hurt look on his face.
"You are still quite young and need more experience," Ratchet said, clearly in on the know.
"But Bee is a guardian!" Jolt protested.
"Bumblebee is a scout and has seen far more battle than you, young Jolt," Optimus said sternly. Jolt pouted but didn't protest any further.
She definitely would need to learn the power dynamics. It was clear she had no fucking clue what they were. She knew Optimus was the leader and Ratchet had authority but their ages weren't something she'd even thought to factor in.
"I accept the guardianship," Ironhide said, voice gravely and official sounding.
Optimus nodded and Sideswipe, the twins, and the girls and vanished. She still hadn't gotten to meet them, she mused before they vanished into the night.
Jolt left hesitantly, looking like he wanted to stay more than anything.
Then it was just the four of them. Or at least it was, until Optimus and Ratchet melted into the shadows like fucking ninjas.
Then it was just her and Ironhide.
"So, Hoss, what's a guardianship anyway?" she asked casually, really not sure what else to say. This whole thing was awkward as all hell. At least with Jolt she was used to him.
He grunted before slowly kneeling before her.
"Well, fish bait, it means I make sure you don't die," he said with amusement. She scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"That part was obvious. Are there any other hidden tricks to it?" she asked.
"Nope that's pretty much it. You'll need to probably spend part of the day with me as I have a busy schedule and I can't keep track of you when you're not in sensor range."
That was news to her.
"Sensor range?"
"It's a little further out than eyesight but not by much," he said slowly.
"So what, you're going to like monitor my vitals and shit?"
He nodded, peering down at her with narrowed eyes.
"So don't go doing anything I'll pin as anxiety," he said roughly. She had no idea what the fuck that would even mean but she was going to do her best not to upset the giant gun truck.
He walked her to the dorms, silent as all hell. It was weird. His footsteps barely made a sound. It was almost like he wasn't there.
"Night, Hoss," she said as she opened the door to the dorms.
"Night, fish bait," he said with amusement before folding down and taking off with a roar.
The next few days were an exercise in patience for her. She had to follow Ironhide around while he did drills and it was so incredibly boring. The first day it was cool to see shit blown up but by the third she was done with it. She still didn't even have a book or anything of the sort to do.
It didn't help her already kind of sour mood when the suit appeared when she went to lunch.
"What," she demanded, grumpy as all get out.
"Doctor appointment," he said with a shrug before leading her towards what she assumed was the doctor. Damn she hated that man. And she still didn't know his fucking name.
The doctor asked her about her meds, making sure she was taking the antibiotic and all that jazz. He checked her arm briefly but didn't really bother looking too hard. Another tally for her they just want her dead list.
What she wasn't expecting was more fucking needles. She took one look at the needle and her heart starting racing in her chest. God she hated them.
He grabbed some blood, not that she looked and that was the end of it.
At least that's what she thought until they returned to the main common area. She'd never seen an Autobot inside but with the size of the doorways, assumed they could get in.
It didn't explain a grumpy looking Ironhide that started scanning her the second she came into view.
"What the fuck did I say about not getting anxious?" he said, still scanning her. The tingles made her shiver. It was such a weird feeling sensation.
"Well it's not my fault they poked me with needles again," she said sourly. Today was just not her day.
Ironhide grunted but didn't have anything else to say apparently. He didn't exactly wander away but he was gone when she looked back at him. Weird guy.
She went and got lunch and came outside to a nearly frantic Jolt.
"What happened?" he asked, leaning over and examining her as much as he could. His scan also shot over her, buzzing beneath her skin.
"I got poked with needles. Not that big of a deal. I just hate needles," she said sourly.
"You should tell Ratchet," he said with a quick nod before folding around her and speeding off towards the hangar.
She fought off the immediate shock of being suddenly in a car before glaring down at the radio.
"I'm fine, Jolt. I really just am afraid of needles. It's not a big deal," she said, really starting to feel the grumps at this point.
"Why are they continuously sticking you with needles? What do they know?" Jolt said quickly and that gave her pause. It really didn't make sense that they needed to take so much blood from her.
"Huh," she said softly, thinking.
Ratchet was apparently waiting for them when they drove up.
"They took your blood?" he asked before scanning her aggressively. It was starting to make her more than a little worried.
"Yeah but they've done that before," she said peering up at Ratchet.
"I wonder if they found something," he said quietly to himself before kneeling down and meeting her eyes.
"I'm going to need to take a blood sample for myself," he said quietly. She flinched back. Why with the needles.
"Don't look. It'll be over fast," he said, reaching forward. She turned her head away. She felt the prick and tried her damndest not to flinch back from it.
Ratchet got up and went directly into his lab, not bothering to say goodbye, muttering to himself.
"Ratchet will take care of you," Jolt said quietly, a worried look on his face.
"Should I be concerned?" she asked, rubbing at her arm. There really were a lot of new things other than learning how to make a wheelchair work that she just wasn't quite used to yet.
"I don't think so," Jolt said with a pained look on his face. Great. So he didn't have an answer for her either.
"Look, you should be fine. Wanna go for a ride?" That she did. In fact, it was exactly what she needed. To just exist loud and free for a few minutes. She nodded and then found herself folded into Jolt's sporty little frame.
"Hold on tight," he said before racing out of the hangar. It was definitely the fastest they'd gone in a while.
He rolled the windows down and the air whipped with their speed. It was amazing. She let out a yell, throwing her hands up. She felt like a person again.
That was until a big black angry sounding truck roared up next to them.
"What the fuck!" he yelled at them. She could sense angry chatter being directed towards Jolt in their language as well. It had to be hella loud for her to actually sense it.
"Joyride time," Jolt said before spinning his wheels and turning them aggressively away from Ironhide.
She couldn't hold the laugh in if she tried.