Author's Notes: I had this thought while I couldn't sleep, a common occurrence, as I was pondering the ACTUAL sequel to Word's Unspoken. We really didn't get to see the direct chaotic aftermath of Soundwave's decision to unveil to the world Cybertron's existence. Who would be the best bots to handle the delicate task of calming humanity down? Of course, the heroic and friendly Rescue Bots and their young but eager students the Rescue Recruits! They aren't grizzled soldiers, shaking with war flashbacks and bitter anger just boiling under the surface, like some Bots we know. They are trained to remain level helmed in all sorts of emergencies and are also training their prodigies in the ways of humanity too. It seems the perfect fit! Also, as a HUGE fan of the Rescue Bot series (despite my adult hood status) I want any excuse to write about these adorable heroes and their equally awesome human partners! (Go Burnes Family!)
This will absolutely NOT be a full-length book like the last story or the next one that is coming. I am thinking it will just be maybe five or six parts, following Heatwave and the gang stomping out fires (literal and metaphorical) directly following Soundwave revealing to humanity their secret. They come up with a detailed plan of action to set everything right, that quickly becomes obsolete as a series of unforeseen and increasingly hilarious and ridiculous circumstances unfold. I for one am sure Heatwave and the gang can handle it just fine.
Part One
Damage Control
Heatwave
Heatwave was taking a second to himself, amid the hundreds of flashing emergency alarms that assaulted his call desk. Ah yes… what a promising vacation this upcoming week could have been. Their second to last training semester for their Recruits had just ended. There were very few emergencies, even on Griffin Rock, and that was a rarity in itself.
He had intended to take care of many important tasks this break… Recalibrate the training center, upgrade the Sigma along with Boulder and Graham, and, Primus willing, catch up on his piles and piles, and piles and piles of paperwork. Or maybe even glimpse the surface of Cybertron? He had heard it was really something spectacular to behold in recent history.
Well, all of that was clearly not meant to be.
More alarms blared the next second, and Heatwave took that as his cue to return to reality. Those few kliks was all the 'him' time he would be allotted. Digits flying over his call desk he rerouted the emergency calls to as many members of his team as possible, trying to stop any calls from slipping through.
A number popped up in his personal Commlink, right under Optimus Prime's number (which he still didn't have the Spark to delete.) It was an Earth based number, and one which he answered frequently, usually accompanied with an optic roll.
"Heatwave here." He answered regardless, a single finger pressed to his audio to answer the call.
As he suspected, the familiar voice of his human partner, Kade Burns, came through shouting too loudly through his brain module. /DUDE. WAVE!/
Heatwave vented. It was literally all he had left to keep the frustration at bay. "I KNOW Kade! You don't need to tell me. I know what happened. I'm just about to call the Chief and regroup."
/Any word from Team Prime?/ Kade inquired. /I thought Cons were their job to deal with?/
Heatwave was surprised, and a little proud Kade had retained that information.
"Usually, yes. But my guess is there isn't much they can do when some random Con gets struck with a wild glitch and hacks all of Earth's communication satellites just so they can send all of humanity a friend request." Just saying it all out loud made Heatwave feel like his own brain pan was about to fry. "Kade, there really isn't time to talk about this. I have about two hundred calls backed up."
/I do too./ Kade added with a hollow sounding snicker. /Hence why I called you first! My station just got flooded in the past three minutes with over four hundred calls. Not with fires or medical. Just panic… What should I tell people?/
Heatwave hesitated. The rare show of vulnerability in his brash human partner's voice caught him off guard, almost more so then the Cybertronian secret being blown up across the planet not ten minutes before.
A Groundbridge request shook him back to reality. It was from the cadets down south… That's right, they were still in North Carolina.
"Just… Tell people not to panic." Heatwave answered at last. "I know that's easier said than done, but all we can do now is set people's minds at ease. Remind callers, there isn't an active threat to Earth. Transfer them to government offices and remind them that the emergency lines need to stay open for emergencies, not questions. I'm about to Bridge to Griffin Rock. I expect to see you there too."
/Sure thing bud… I'm sure the local government bodies are going to love us after all this is over. Gah! I guess I'll start on that right after I deal with this new load of callers. Even my own guys are freaking out./
Heatwave left his office, hurrying to the Groundbridge hub to collect the cadets. "Yeah, a good start would be getting your own team under control. If you can manage that, Kade. I hope you've worked on your diplomacy in my absence." Thankfully, his brash commentary had the desired effect.
Kade laughed at him, the tension leaving his tone. /Excuse me, I am a born leader my man! Hence why I always outshined you on our rescues./
Heatwave rolled his optics. Good, Kade wasn't totally out of sorts, already back to his normal arrogant self.
He offered Kade his normal curt goodbye before taking his own advice and answering emergency calls as he walked. He didn't make it far. The door to Blade's office almost blew off its track. The owner of said office rushed out, smashing into Heatwave.
"The Recruits! Their still all in North Carolina!" Blades yelped in pure unfiltered horror. Not that Blades had any filter to speak of, even on a normal day. Before Heatwave knew it, the copter was latched onto his servo in his usual overly dramatic fashion.
"Bridging them back now." Heatwave assured him, grumbling as he ended up having to half drag Blades along.
"And Boulder and Chase!" Blades added frightfully. "We need to get them all back before they are chased down by a mob of angry humans and get repurposed into Cybertronian souvenirs!"
Heatwave gave Blades a pointed look. "That's a little dramatic. The Cybertronian secret may have been blown to the Pits, but that doesn't mean OUR personal cover is gone. It's not like the Con gave away the Academy's address in that message he sent out."
He hurried down the ramp into the Academy's Ground Bridge hub, Blade's propellers whooshing fretfully as he continued to whimper about angry mobs of humans. Heatwave activated his open Commlink to the Recruits and the rest of the team. "Stand by to Ground Bridge. We're regrouping at the Academy." He ordered, typing out the Recruit's coordinates first.
"I'll have to say goodbye to Dani forever… Will I even get to say goodbye to everyone in person or will we have to make a break for Cybertron right away?" Blades continued to panic. The death grip he held on Heatwave's servo finally let up in favor of covering his gasping mouth plates. Heatwave assumed some other insane scenario occurred to him in his downward spiraling panic. "How am I supposed to be the best Bot at Dani and Taylor's Conjunx wedding thing if I'm on Cybertron?!"
The Groundbridge to the North Carolina base activated with a burst.
"Last I checked, they weren't hitched yet." Heatwave reminded.
"Exactly! That means I'm going to miss the whole thing! I've been researching on the internet-"
"Which I've told you countless times not to do." Heatwave vented.
"I know, but this was important. BUT I saw that humans have multiple Conjunx Endura parties before the big one where everyone they have ever met is invited. I can't miss any of them! Dani will need help decorating and sending out invitations… Primus knows she can't cook for it! I need to be here to stop her from even trying! What if her cooking kills Taylor before he even makes it to the first party!"
Before Heatwave could even begin to break any of that ridiculousness down, a small four wheeled vehicle burst through the Ground Bridge vortex, traveling far over an advisable speed. Heatwave didn't even need to recognize the alt mode or color scheme to know the speeder was Hotshot.
"Professors!" The racing Land Rover shouted. It was all he managed to say before he interrupted himself with a yelp of alarm. He had failed to stop his wheels before he transformed, which only made him tumble into the floor in a less then graceful fashion. The rest of the recruit team barely avoided running over Hotshot's prone form as they blasted through next. The whole chaotic ordeal lasted only a few seconds and was a masterfully crafted cautionary tale against speeding.
"Professors!" Whirl said in a near identical tone of panic as Hotshot had. But to her credit, she did manage to stay on her peds after transforming from her copter mode. "The secret!"
"Team Prime is completely panicked!" Medix added, shouting right over Whirl.
"I was in the underwater base when this all went down, I missed it! What exactly is going on?" Wedge interrupted.
"We're going to get chased off Earth by an angry mob!" Hoist whimpered.
"Wait, Professor Blades, does this mean we aren't going to be at Miss Dani's wedding thing?" Whirl gasped an intake of pure horror.
Heatwave was halfway through typing in the next set of coordinates to bring Boulder and Chase back. Primus knew he would need some semblance of sanity to back him up as the group behind him continued to melt down.
By the time they returned, Heatwave gave them a pleading look.
Boulder observed Blades and the much younger Cybertronians all yapping over each other for a few thoughtful moments. Then he offered Heatwave a half-sparked smile. "It's about how I imagined this going if the secret ever came out."
"I dare say, they are taking it worse than humanity is." Chase commented.
Heatwave reached the end of his patience for the chaotic choir in the already echoy room. He blared his sirens until every pare of optics was on him and all mouth plates snapped shut. "What's the first rule of rescue work, Recruits? Have we already forgotten?"
Only Medix raised a servo, out of classroom habit. "Don't panic?"
"Exactly." Heatwave said, though was irritated Blades hadn't said it first. "Now. This isn't the end of our time on Earth. It's just complicated it. Chief Burns and the rest of the team are waiting on Griffin Rock for us. We're going there now to regroup and talk this out, calmly. Everyone is going to be looking to us for answers, so I expect level helms out of each of you. Am I clear?"
Hotshot raised a servo from his place still plastered to the floor.
"Yes Hotshot." Heatwave acknowledged.
"The humans on Griffin Rock already know about us though. Why start there?"
Heatwave nodded. "Exactly. We're going to recruit their help and get ideas. We have a large focus group of humans who already went through finding out about our kind. They should have great insight that can help us assist the rest of the world transition. That's the plan anyway." He turned back to the controls, typing in the coordinates for the Griffin Rock fire station. As he waited for the system to fire up, he caught the worried glances in the reflective control panel. Hoist scanned fretfully between his fellow Recruits, his chassis shaking until Whirl placed an assuring hand on his shoulder. She tried to give him a smile, but even she didn't seem sure of herself. Hotshot shuffled to his peds, casting a worried look down at the Rescue Bot emblem on his chest.
Heatwave vented. His hand left the controls, and he returned his now softer gaze to the Recruits. "It's ok to be worried. What's happened is hardly fair on any of you. But not one of us is an island. We will get through this like every other mission, as a team." He allowed a smile to crack his features, before he held out a fist in a gesture he knew Cody had taught the impressionable Recruits. "Rescue Bots?"
The colorful assortment of optics blinked at his offering, unsure. Hotshot bumped his smaller fist into Heatwave's and returned the smirk. The others followed the example. "Rescue Bots!" they finally gave in and cheered.
Heatwave nodded to them all. "Good. Now, let's roll to the rescue!" He hurried into the Groundbridge, the team right on his heel struts. He was nervous too. There was nothing worse than the unknown outcome. But if he had learned anything from his years of work, that unknown factor loses its power over a bot as long as he had a team to rely upon.
Heatwave rushed out of the vortex with the Griffin Rock Fire Station before him. A rather comfortingly nostalgic sight in such turbulent times. Another familiar sight was Chief Burns, already in his uniform despite this being the week he was supposed to be off, on a long fishing vacation with his brother. It seemed the Decepticon stunt had ruined more than Heatwave's own relaxation plans.
"Cody's been stuck in the command center with Graham…" The Chief informed Heatwave grimly. "There really is no way to walk this situation back, is there?"
As the others arrived through the portal, Heatwave could only shake his helm. "I'm afraid the secret's rust."
Chief Burns heaved a heavy sigh, forcing his slouched shoulders to straighten. "Then we'll work through it." Heatwave could tell he was trying very hard not to let the age show on his face. Damn the Con for causing all this mess…
"How's everyone on the island?" Boulder inquired worriedly.
"Asking if you Bots are ok, to be honest." The Chief said. "When everyone got the message, we've been getting phone call after phone call asking if you're all safe and still hidden from the public."
"Aww." Whirl blurted, a hand touching the place over her Spark. "That's so sweet."
"But it means they know what's at stake." Wedge added quietly amongst his young team. Heatwave heard it even though it was whispered.
"Dad!" From the top floor of the Fire House, Graham's messy brown hair poked out of a dusty window. "We sent out an Island wide alert telling everyone the Bots are here. That should pacify everyone for now… Hi Boulder!"
Boulder waved cheerfully in kind before his human partner vanished back inside.
They all rendezvoused in the Station's garage. It allowed closer access to the phone on the wall.
Sliding down the fire pole after Graham came the youngest member of the Burns family. Cody hurried up to the Bots, having somehow grown even taller since the last time Heatwave had seen him. He was also wearing a look of grave concern. It didn't suit the young human at all. "Where are the others?" he asked. Much like his dad, he was trying to mask his worried tone.
"Blur and Salvage are on assignment with High Tide." Boulder answered. "They're coming as soon as they finish their mission."
"And Primus knows where Quick Shadow is." Blades added.
As a matter of fact, Heatwave did, after receiving her most recent encrypted comm. "She's fetching Brushfire. I've called Quick Shadow to come here as soon as she can. She has the most experience with Decepticon activity."
"Guys! You're here!" The garage's collective attention turned in time to see the firetruck pull up, Kade behind the wheel and Dani in the passenger seat. The one who called out from the back window was Frankie, Cody's friend. She must have hitched a ride from Doc Green's lab.
"Heatwave," Frankie began somberly after jumping out of the truck with the others. Her cellphone was clutched to her chest, though she appeared fearful to look at its screen. "My dad confirmed it. The message went out across every available satellite… He couldn't intercept it in time to stop it." Reluctantly, as if she feared the message on the phone could bite, she held up her device for him to see. It allowed Heatwave to examine the notorious message for the first time on a human device. He adjusted his optics, trying to read the clashing English and Cybertronian text on the small screen.
"I can't believe this had to happen now of all times." Kade snapped, slamming the door to the firetruck behind him. "It's totally going to interfere with my Sexiest Firefighter's of Maine Calendar getting published this month!"
Dani shuttered. "I wish the Cybertronian secret being blown interfered with me having to know about that calendar getting published this month."
"You wrote a book, Mr. Kade?" Whirl asked, optics twinkling with amazement. "Can I read it?"
"A calendar tells the time of day, Whirl." Hotshot corrected smugly. "So Kade is just part of the time of day now."
This only made Whirl's vents gasp in renewed delight. "So, he's like, a Time Lord now!? Professor Blades showed me a show about an alien Time Lord too! That alien must have SO many calendars over in London!"
Heatwave snapped upright, having a very hard time trying to read the tiny text on Frankie's phone while also ignoring the ridiculous commentary going on behind him. "How about we focus, Recruits? Our first step is to find out exactly what we're dealing with, and how much information the message revealed about us."
"How bad could the damage really be?" Blades asked with a wince. "Is it maybe short and vague?"
"To all of humanity." Kade began to read aloud from his own phone, a normal amount of snark in his inflection as he did so. "'I am Soundwave, one of the three Lords of the Decepticon faction. We are autonomous robotic organisms, from the planet Cybertron,' he then gives exact coordinates." Kade explains, flashing his phone to the group to show off Cybertron's familiar galaxy. He turned it back around so he could continue reading. "There's a bunch of math problems…. I think more space maps… I don't know why we needed all this info. Who would even know which Galaxy this is? Not like I'd ever go there."
Dani glanced at her own phone to cross reference her own copy of the Decepticon message. Then she groaned. "Oh my God Kade, that one is the Milky Way. Our Galaxy."
"Hey! Not like I've ever gotten a birds eye view!" He snapped back. Now bristled, he continued. "'You have been kept ignorant of our presence on your planet for near thirty Earth years, as it was deemed by your local authorities to be in your best interest and for your peace of mind. However, in light of the recent Peace Treaty between the Decepticon faction and the Autobot Faction…' he then has a MASSIVE document titled (Autobot Decepticon War) sandwiched in here. I don't think my phone can open a doc this big without exploding… anyway, 'I have deemed it no longer necessary to continue the deception over your collective species. We have a great interest in creating an open relationship with Earth going forward, and brokering all markets of trade, communication, and partnership. What follows is all available Cybertronian comm channels that can be reached from Earth,' Blab bla bla, more math, more links. More star maps… 'We reach out in peace, and eagerly await your communication. Signed: Decepticon faction leader, Soundwave.'" Kade glanced up expectantly at the group, finally done.
"So, it was a lot." Blades said, his rotors drooping on his back.
"It's also protected by the mother of all encryptions." Frankie added while poking at her phone. "Our intel shows almost every world government trying to take it down, but it isn't budging."
"The least the Con could have done was give us a helms up." Hotshot grumbled while crossing his servos.
"Who is he?" Frankie inquired. "This Soundwave guy." She elaborated.
"A no-good ne'er-do-well." Chase huffed. "And that is putting it mildly."
"It's the other group on Cybertron." Heatwave answered Frankie, and anyone else who may have been interested. "The ones who aren't Autobots."
"Soundwave was the one who saved me from getting… hurt, back on Cybertron." Wedge added, as if coming to the Con's defense, and Primus knew he needed one. "My old teacher still works for him. I wondered why Rivet had to rush back so fast through the space bridge."
"Ok, so it's A LOT." Whirl offered while she flapped her rotors merrily. She looked ready to tackle the arduous task of looking on the bright side of this grim situation. "But maybe we can cover it back up? Break through the Decepticon password and then send out another message? Maybe a 'Just kidding' one? Don't you humans have that worldwide joking holiday? When is that? Are we close to it?"
"That's in April… And it's for the United States only." Graham said. "It's November 3rd right now."
"So…. Next week? No biggie." Whirl asked, optimism waning, but her stubbornness allotted her some hope to hang onto. "Can we check one of Mr. Kade's time calendars?"
"Trust me you don't want to look at that." Dani warned the young Bot.
Heatwave assumed Kade would have something to say to that, seeing as it had everything to do with Dani making fun of him. Instead, he caught Kade actively wincing down at a notification on his phone. Without another word, he retrieved the remote and clicked on the local channel on the tv hanging in the garage.
"HUXLEY PRESCOT HERE, ON THIS END OF THE WORLD COVERAGE!" the tv blared. The local Griffin Rock tv personality was inches from his camera, an almost sadistically giddy grin spread across his face. "The secret's been blown, and not a Bot of any size can shove the lid back on this cookie jar folks! What does it all mean? When will the scared mobs around the globe come to dismantle our beloved local heroes, the Rescue Bots! Should Griffin Rock take up arms in their defense?! I for one vote we return the favor for all their good deeds! This is Huxley Prescot, reporting to you live from the end of the world coverage, ready to rumble!" With his free hand not holding his microphone, he pulled out a (far too large for his stature) broad sword he no doubt 'borrowed' from the Griffin Rock Museum.
The phone on the wall started ringing off the hook, along with all the lines from the upstairs command center. Chief Burns let out a defeated sigh. He trudged over to the phone to start on damage control from the newly panicked locals.
"I do believe, Huxley did that on purpose." Chase assumed; optic ridge cocked.
They all paused as the Chief couldn't even get out the line 'Griffin Rock Emergency' to the first caller. "We have everything under control, there's nothing to worry about… I know what Huxley just said. He- please hold. Griffin Rock E- No Mr. Feiffer the Bot's aren't going to leave Earth forever… Even if they did, no, Griffin Rock won't explode… Hold please… Griffin- NO Mrs. Neederlander, the last thing we need in this powder keg is your gun collection! No one is going to get shot… H-how many rifles did you just say you have? I hope you have all those registered."
"A good first step is to learn from our friend Huxley and NOT spread panic." Heatwave pointed out.
"Um, how can Earth not panic?" Blades demanded. "Everyone just learned that giant transforming aliens have walked among them since the 80's! That's terrifying, and that's not even counting how many alien movies are on the market. Imagine if we found out the Quintesson had been hiding in plain sight on Cybertron long after they were supposed to be gone!"
"We could just lay low." Medix surmised. "The less people hear and see of us the better. Just long enough for the panic to blow over naturally."
"But if there are more rescues we need to address because of this…. Then what?" Hoist pointed out, very worried again. Medix frowned, clearly unsure how to respond to that.
"Um, I'm sure this has nothing to do with the problem at hand, but what's a Quintesson?" Frankie asked.
Heatwave glared at Blades for having added yet one more thing to the already complicated topic.
Blades, of course, didn't take the hint, spinning around to address Frankie and further derailing the topic. "They are big scary face tentacle aliens that conquered worlds and even enslaved Cybertron a long time ago! They have robot sharks that eat you if you try and rise up against them!" He shouted, wiggling his fingers in front of his faceplates in order to give a poor visual representation of the creatures he was describing.
Graham looked horrified learning about yet one more hostile alien force floating somewhere out in space. Kade only cocked a brow in response to the prompt to history lesson. "That sounds like one heck of a story we haven't heard about yet." Kade pointed out.
"They're long gone." Boulder assured everyone, but mostly Graham. "They were driven off Cybertron and haven't been heard from since."
"That's what they WANT us to think." Blades grumbled.
"How about we try and take over the emergencies?" Kade huffed towards Heatwave. "You Bots stay here on Griffin Rock until this all blows over, and our teams take over on the mainland. Run a little human on human interference?"
"We'll be totally overwhelmed." Graham pointed out bleakly.
"Then maybe it's time to stop hiding." Cody said.
"Not the time for a hero moment Codes." Kade snapped.
"You know what, I think it is Kade." Cody snarled right back, catching Kade off guard at once. "Because that's what the world needs right now. Heroes. And that's what you Bots have always been. Why not just keep doing what you've always done, but just stop hiding? When you're questioned, say you just didn't want to scare anyone. Be honest."
"And if we get run out of towns?" Wedge asked, servos crossed tight over his chassis.
"Then you drive faster and keep working." Cody said.
"Citizens are one thing…" Graham muttered. "But militaries are another. I don't want to see anyone here hurt for just trying to save lives."
"But Cody's right." Heatwave intoned, reigning in the meeting. "We can't just stand by as the world falls apart. If people need help, we have to answer. It'll be more dangerous than normal, but we can't turn our backs on people in need." He gave the Recruits a worried glance. "But that only applies to seasoned Rescuers. You guys are still in training, all be it your almost done. I'm not going to ask you to put yourselves at risk."
"What are you saying professor?" Whirl blinked her wide optics in that sappy way that always had a knack for getting into Heatwave's Spark. He tried to fight off the look and stay firm. "I'm saying, I don't want to risk your lives. The message that Con sent out didn't identify any of us personally, so no one knows about your identities. I'd like to keep it that way."
"Won't that secrecy kind of go out the spaceship window if we start rescuing people out in the open?" Hotshot pointed out.
"That is why you won't be." Chase added, having caught on to Heatwave's train of thought. "You Recruits will remain on Griffin Rock to help with local rescues. Our team, alongside Quick Shadow's and High Tide's, will handle the public."
As Heatwave assumed they would, the Recruits instantly bulked at the idea.
"But what if you all get hurt!" Whirl blurted in an absolute panic. "We can't just sit back and watch our professors trying to handle this alone!"
"We can stay in disguise!" Wedge offered, his tone almost pleading. "But we want to be there if you guys need back up!"
"Please don't leave us out of the loop Professor." Hotshot begged.
Heatwave's plating bristled, now every pair of sappy optics was boring into him, twisting his Spark. Cody was giving him a look of his own. It wasn't pleading, like what was radiating from the Recruits. It was a stern look, one that carried a great deal of weight despite the owner of the gaze's size. Cody was on the Recruit's side.
Heatwave was going to strangle that Con for putting him in this situation. "I'm sorry Recruits. But that's my final word."
Hotshot
He sat amongst his fellow Recruits outside the Fire Station's basketball court, collective Sparks far too low to offer up conversation. There wasn't much to do but wait for Heatwave and the others to come up with a detailed plan of action. One that did not include him. Currently, that plan was calling Team Prime on the mainland, and waiting for instructions. Not like any of that mattered to Hotshot. He and the others were off the mission, stuck on Griffin Rock so they didn't get smelted down by roving packs of angry humans.
"Why'd you're old Decepticon buddies have to go and do this again Wedge?" He finally grumbled; helm shoved over his knee joints in a pouting fashion. True, nothing would get done being confrontational, but Hotshot was angry, and he felt like venting.
As he assumed, Wedge took the bait and was quick to snap back. "Hey, it's not like we all had a vote to uproot everyone's lives and I just called out that day! I didn't have anything to do with this!"
"Please refrain from fighting." Medix grumbled from his own place in the grass. He was counting and recounting each individual blade of grass in servo's reach. "It's not doing my processor ache any favors."
Wedge snorted. "Hey, I was happy to just sit here and stew, but Hotshot apparently had other ideas."
"It may not be all bad." Whirl hummed. Hotshot glanced up from his closed off posture to see She wasn't looking at any of them. She was laid out on her back in the grass, lazily watching the clouds float by. "Griffin Rock always has something horrible going down. It's not like we'll be bored here."
"I wish Professor Heatwave would trust us more." Medix vented. "I get it, we're young and inexperienced, but I don't see how we can't help at all. At least Cody trusts us."
"Young and inexperienced my aft!" Hotshot snapped.
Whirl gasped, shooting upright. "Language Hotshot!"
"Not helping our case for being seen as 'young' Whirl." Wedge pointed out.
"I mean it!" Hotshot went on. "We don't even have one more year of training before we'll graduate. I know we're young for Cybertronians… but that doesn't make us worthless."
"But what if things DO get violent?" Hoist wondered, optics lingering on nothing in particular, other than the worrying unknown. "We know how to save lives… But I don't know what to do if the lives I'm trying to save are trying to hurt me… or one of you."
Hotshot found his voice box stalled when he drew a blank. He didn't consider that. What would they do if Earth militaries started gunning for them? Would they just run? Fight back? He didn't know how to fight like Team Prime did. The thought was terrifying.
"I wonder how things are going on in there?" Whirl muttered after a prolonged span of silence. The persistent ring of the local emergency line was a constant source of noise, but nothing from Team Prime. Occasionally they heard their professors heatedly talking with the Burns', but beyond raised voices, Hotshot couldn't really concentrate on any one thing said. He let his helm lull back onto his raised knee joints and shuttered his optics closed. "Wake me up when this all blows over." He grumbled.
"What are your little metal butts doing out here, sulking about!"
That snapped Hotshot back into reality. He jolted up to see the human who started screaming at them, already recognizing her from her cranky voice alone. He shuttered, as if he already was in trouble.
The older Griffin Rock resident, Mrs. Neederlander stood stooped over a shopping cart, her eyes glaring at the five of them. Hotshot could not focus on her original question though, because he zeroed in on the contents of the shopping cart she was pushing. It was filled literally to the brim with human artillery. Guns of every size, color and terrifying shape poked out from every angle like a war time bouquet. Perched on multiple boxes of ammunition where a small human child would normally sit in a shopping cart, was Mrs. Neederlander's equally ancient cat, Mr. Pettypaws. Licking his paw and looking like a small furry dictator on his mobile thrown of chaos.
"Ummmm, hello… Mrs. Neederlander." Whirl finally said, dragging her own optics away from the cart of death. "You, expecting some, unpleasant company?"
The woman scoffed. "It's called taking precautions! And I did tell Charlie over the phone I had plenty to share if no one else bothered stocking up. I warned him we needed more sharp shooters other than myself and him on this island, but no one wanted to sign up for my hunting club! And now, all of a sudden EVERYONE is asking me about it."
"Mrs. Neederlander… This all isn't on our behalf, is it?" Wedge asked hesitantly.
She gave him a pointed look behind her glasses. "Of course! It's to protect ya! After everything you and the big Bots have done for this community, the least I could do is offer to stand in the way of anyone trying to hurt ya! I didn't think Charlie believed me, so I decided to head over with what I had and offer what help I could. I had to ask Murphy down at the mini mart for the cart, otherwise I'd have to make multiple trips."
"That's… not necessary Ma'am." Medix tried to assure her. "The last thing we want is for anyone to get hurt."
She leaned heavy into the gun cart, raising a wiry brow. "I know, because you Bots are even more goody two shoes then old Charlie over the years. But my insurance here aside, I'll ask again. Why are you five out here when you should be in there planning how to fix this mess?"
"We've been deemed too inexperienced." Hotshot explained with a weak shrug. "Professor Heatwave doesn't want us to get hurt."
"Let's be honest here." Wedge groaned. "He doesn't want us to get in the way. Or make things worse."
"Is that so?" Mrs. Neederlander growled. "Give me a moment, younglings." With out further explanation, she started to push her cart back along the path past them towards the Fire House. Then Hotshot jumped as she shouted in her usual cranky manner. "Heatwave, ya big fire bus, get your tail pipe out here! Charlie, you too!"
"We're going to get in trouble for this somehow, I just know it." Whirl whimpered before jumping to her peds and rushing over. Hotshot followed her example, the others soon in tow.
Heatwave ducked out of the garage before Hotshot could stop this from descending any further down into madness. Their professor froze as he took in the arsenal in the cart for himself, pushed by the deceptively frail looking older woman. Then the Chief came out, and Hotshot was sure whatever a human's equivalent of a nerocluster fuse just blew in his brain.
"Misses… How, what…" The Chief couldn't get anything coherent out.
"You took your blood pressure meds today, right dad?" Dani made sure to ask at that moment, eyes shifting between her dad's gob smacked expression and the gun cart.
Mrs. Neederlander rolled her eyes, digging in her purse and producing a crumpled stack of papers which she shoved into his chest. "Yes, Charlie, they're all registered, don't have a stroke."
Charlie pawed through the paperwork, Chase doublechecking it over his shoulder. "Yeah… It all checks out Chase." The Chief sighed.
Their police Professor was equally lost for words. "By Alpha Tryon's beard… I feel like there should be a law prohibiting this." Chase finally admitted. He fell silent. Hotshot knew that look. He was mentally checking and then double checking every police code he had filed in long term memory. The confusion only grew in his optics. For the first time, the search must have failed to yield him any answers. "Why is there not a law against this? Not even a fine?"
"Welcome to the USA sweety." Mrs. Neederlander said simply, watching Kade as he picked out a massive rifle that almost dwarfed her in size. Chief Burns stopped Cody from reaching up and touching it.
"Lady, WHAT are you afraid of with all this?" Kade demanded to know.
Mrs. Neederlander slapped the cart assuredly. "Not a DAMN THING. But getting back to what's important! You're all total idiots if you're going to head into this mess without one of your biggest assets!"
"What do you mean?" Graham wondered, after taking a healthy step away from the cart.
"The little Bots of course!" She snapped while jamming a thumb over her shoulder to point out the Recruits. Hotshot wasn't the only one who jumped in surprise. "How haven't you thought to use them for public appearances? They are small tykes, unlike the rest of you looming metal monstrosities. They're also students, so relatable to the younger generations, and over all less threatening than most hair balls Mr. Pettypaws here can cough up."
"Ouch?" Wedge grumbled.
"I'm sure Cody has at least pointed this out already." She continued to gripe.
"Yeah, I had a whole speech and everything. No one listens to me." Cody explained with a shrug.
Frankie patted him on the shoulder. "It was an impressive speech."
"And they should listen to ya!" She huffed. "How many things have gone haywire on this rock in the ocean we call home, and you have had just the solution? Same with the little metal kids here! They've earned their salt!"
"Metal kids… Ow!" Medix started to mutter indignantly, before Hotshot and Hoist bumped him hard in the midsection at the same time. Condescending nicknames be darned, this may be the best shot they had.
Hotshot glanced hopeful at Heatwave, clinging to the hope Cody's previous speech and Mrs. Neederlander's general intimidating presence would be enough to convince him to reconsider their suspension from the mission.
The emergency Cybertronian comm system blared from under the garage before their Professor could decide on a response.
"Prime's alarm." Boulder spoke up, unable to mask the twinge of sadness that accompanied the remark.
"That means it's the team in Nevada instead." Heatwave said. "More than likely Bumblebee."
At once, Wedge and Blade's drooped shoulder plating rose. "Bee will know what to do." Wedge promised the group with a confident smile. "I bet he already has a plan."
"That the yellow one who worked for that red and blue semi-truck calling now?" Mrs. Neederlander huffed. "Good! Those two always had some sense at least!"
Hotshot could tell Heatwave was trying very hard to maintain his calm composure. But his professor's left optic was starting to twitch in the way he thought only Hotshot could get it to after messing up multiple times at the Academy. Hotshot's current record was eleven near disasters in one day.
No one told the Recruits not to jump on the elevator, so Hotshot quickly leapt on with the others before it started it's decent into the lower base.
Mrs. Neederlander was the only one who remained on the first level with her hoard of guns, continuing to glare the older Bots down until she was out of sight. Blades released an involuntary shutter. "We should send her to face the Cons. That should intimidate them."
Hotshot risked the occasional glance at his team, all standing at the edge of the elevator and trying to remain invisible until they arrived at the Cybertronian command center. After a moment to compose himself, Heatwave answered the comm from Team Prime. As their teachers had assumed, the esteemed Autobot Bumblebee appeared on the screen. "Team Sigma 17, reporting in sir." He said with a salute.
Bumblebee's blue optics were already tired. "Thanks for answering Heatwave. I see you've called everyone into one place. That's a good start."
"Quick Shadow, High Tide and the others are on their way. We're waiting on your command, sir." Heatwave said.
"Sorry for the delay," Bumblebee pinched the bridge between his optics tensely. "I'm sure this has been a stressful day for you all. The Decepticons are my team's responsibility… and this slipped right under our olfactory senses. This is totally on us, so we'll fix it."
"You cannot predict tomfoolery sir." Chase offered with a shrug.
"With all due respect sir," Heatwave began. "With everything else Team Prime has to deal with, how will you also appease Earth's leaders? I assume they're mad."
Bumblebee gave a humorless laugh. "Yeah, that's an understatement. But, it isn't the Rescue Bot's burden. I'm calling to suspend all your future rescue assignments until we can get things back under control."
Heatwave visibly winced.
'Well, that was unexpected.' Hotshot thought, noting the slight irony of him and the other Recruits being barred from outside missions, only for Bumblebee to do the exact same thing to their teachers.
/At least they know where WE are coming from now./ Hotshot said, opening a private Commlink between them that excluded their teachers.
/But there's no point in arguing./ Medix retorted. He made sure to catch Hotshot's gaze as he sent the ping. /Bumblebee outranks them all./
"Um, if I could, sir." Wedge piped up. Hotshot whirled around in total shock. Wedge was the last one he expected to challenge Bumblebee's authority.
Not that he was confident in what he was saying. The moment Bumblebee's optics found Wedge he looked as if he lost a foot off his height. But he didn't back down completely. Fidgeting nervously, he approached the console. "How are things going to change on Cybertron? Didn't you just sign a treaty with the Decepticons? This won't, change that, will it?"
Bumblebee pursed his lip plates at the smaller bot. "To be honest Wedge, I don't know what will happen. Things may change, because Soundwave's direct action did technically break the treaty."
Hotshot huffed from his vents. "Well, it was a good week of peace while it lasted."
"I'm not going to let the war break out all over again. Not over this." Bumblebee promised them. "We'll just have to rework the treaty. We're making plans to head out to Cybertron in the next few days to do that. Our team is sort of part of the Autobot government body now, by the way. I forgot to mention that…"
Heatwave furrowed his optics. "And you have time to deal with all that, and what's going on here on Earth?" he repeated, now much less convinced.
Bumblebee shook his helm. "Not really. It's a problem, for sure."
Both sides fell silent. Now Hotshot felt himself fidgeting. He wasn't used to seeing his professors, and now Bumblebee, so unsure of what to do.
Heatwave broke his statue like persona to look across the room at Cody.
At first, Cody hesitated. Then a confident smile broke across his face, and he nodded to Heatwave assuredly.
Heatwave returned the nod, then turned back around to face the console. "With all due respect sir, you can't manage all of that alone. With Earth in chaos, the last thing we need is the war rekindling. Your team needs to put all your focus into assuring that doesn't happen. Let my team handle damage control on Earth."
"Heatwave-" Bumblebee began to protest.
He didn't let him finish. "We aren't soldiers, we're rescuers. And-" Then Hotshot found himself in Heatwave's line of sight, along with his other teammates. "We have the new Recruits. They are smaller, unarmed, and will offer a much more personable front, as it has been pointed out to me, by multiple observers today."
Excitement bubbled in Hotshot's Spark. He wasn't the only one either. Whirl let slip a quiet squeal, Hoist just managing not to jump up and down.
"And if I can, Bumblebee." Chief Burns came down the smaller elevator, looking up at the screen. "They have the support of every human on Griffin Rock, and the city in China. We can make this work."
Bumblebee was silent, biting his lower lip plate. Some sort of chaos drew his focus behind him in the military bunker he resided in. There were frantic shouts and arguing voices. It sounded like a taste of what he would have to look forward to on Cybertron. Things were bad on Earth, but Hotshot didn't envy him. Bumblebee looked back to Heatwave. "Ok. We'll meet in person to hammer out the details, but I agree. And I trust you. You guys can pull off a good first impression, I know it."
"You can count on us buddy!" Blades assured him, bubbling over with a newfound confidence none of them had seen all day. 'Who was this bot all of a sudden?' Hotshot thought with bemusement, and he could tell by Heatwave's expression, he was thinking it too.
Bumblebee finally cracked a smile. "I know I can. Thanks. All of you." Everyone present, humans included, smiled, saluted, or like Kade, gave an affirming thumbs up before Bumblebee ended the call.
"I have to admit," Blade said. "I just said that to cheer Bumblebee up… Do we actually have a plan for this?"
"We'll make it work." Heatwave assured them all. "We'll rely on each other's strengths and see this done like any other mission. And just like always, I know we can do it." He looked back to Hotshot and the others still plastered towards the back of the room. Hotshot tried to extinguish the excitement from his features. He probably seemed a little too excited to join in on this very uncertain and dangerous mission. "And I'm sorry, for not giving you Recruits more credit. You're all perfectly capable of handling any mission, including this one. This is just unfamiliar territory, for all of us."
"We know you just wanted to protect us, Professor." Hoist offered.
"But now we can be around to protect you too!" Whirl insisted. "Like you always say, Professor Heatwave, 'no bot is an island.'"
It elicited a snicker from Boulder. "She's got you there, Heatwave. You did just say it not even an hour ago."
Hotshot caught Heatwave roll his optics, though he couldn't hide his own amusement at the irony. "Point thoroughly taken everyone. Let's get started, only so no one else yells at me today."
