"I believe it is impolite to not introduce ourselves first," Optimus said, "I am Optimus Prime. I am the leader of the Autobots - Autonomous Robotic Lifeforms. I believe Fastlane and Cloudraker have already introduced themselves to you."
"I'm Medix! Doc-Bot in training," the white bot with the green and orange markings declared, before turning to his larger, equally white comrade, "come on Uncle Ratchet…"
"Alright," he obliged, "I am Ratchet, head of health among the few of us here."
"Oh hey," a cobalt bot waved from her post near a computer, "name's Glyph. Researcher and archaeometrist. Wait, wait, wait, that's a human at the base isn't it?"
"Indeed it is, Glyph," Optimus said.
"I thought you said we weren't allowed to make direct contact with the sapient race of this planet, yet here we are, making contact with one of them! This is so exciting!"
"What's with her?" Beat asked.
"Glyph is really enthusiastic about all things alien - to us," Fastlane explained, "the whole team's still trying to get used to Earth, but Glyph here - she's eager to learn about every nook and cranny of it - famous landmarks, famous activities, famous peop- oh right! Glyph! We brought her here because we think you can help her."
"Can I now?" Glyph questioned, "I'll see what I can do."
"'sup," a drone-like being, noted for his unusually square body shape and choice of tank treads over feet - not to mention having a human-ranged height - greeted as he pressed away at the computer.
"Push-Button," a holographic woman appeared beside it, "might I suggest being polite for a good first impression?"
"Sorry, bub," Push-Button, as he was called, replied, "just tired from debugging your new programs. You don't have to come up with something new everyday you know."
"A hologram?" Beat says as she waved her hand about as it phased through the newly-formed lady, "if you are aliens, why does your talking A.I. thingy look like… one of us?"
"My idea," Glyph boasted, "when in Rome, you do what the Romans do, so they say, am I right?"
"My designation is Teletraan-1," the holographic woman says, "I manage all systems aboard this vessel. This here is my companion, the Battlemaster-type Cybertronian Push-Button. Push-Button assists in my programs."
"Yeah," Push-Button added, "instead of the cool stuff like slagging Decepticon troops. I mean, I'm pretty decent at it, not to brag or anything."
"And there. Ah! I knew I saw your pops somewhere on TV," Glyph said, "Hawk Gallows. He's mostly an assistant to the more famous Dr Fujiyama, the Famous Scientist. He's got a good few other assistants."
"They must be managing some lab," Fastlane bemused, "why not pay them a visit?"
"We should give them a call first."
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
"Lord Megatron," a great, blue bot approached his leader, his voice a combination of accents and tones layered on top of each other.
"Soundwave," the leader he spoke to asked, "you bring news?"
"Something that may be related to the Autobots and the human you seek, my liege. I am not able to track one end, but the other leads to coordinates matching the location known to be the main headquarters of 'Fujiyama Corp'," Soundwave continued.
"Good enough, old friend," Megatron praised, "play the conversation."
Hello, is this Fujiyama Corp?
Yes, who is this?
This is… uh… Glyph. I'm an… uh… related to Dr Hawk Gallows. In fact, his daughter, Beatrice Gallows came to see us the other day.
So sorry for the loss… let me book an appointment. It says that appointments must be booked a week in advanced, so how does a week from now sound? 12pm?
Oh, that's great!
"Sweet Solus Prime! Does that mean we get to get back at those dingy Autobots for that last time?" Pounce raised his head, most elated.
"Indeed, my liege, we would like a chance to prove ourselves once more," Wingspan added.
"No need for that," Megatron finalized, "I already have an agent in-house."
One week later…
"Wait, the Decepticons found me somehow… won't they find me again?" Beat asked.
"We Autobots did a little thing where the Decepticons can't detect our energy signatures," Glyph explained, "as long as we're in disguise, there's no way to find us! Same applies to anyone near or in us."
"Why not apply that to me directly?" Beat questioned.
"Remind me to do just that after our little field trip," Glyph assured.
The two were riding on the road, with Beat sitting at the back of Glyph's vehicle mode. Glyph had prepared a holographic driver at the driver's seat to reduce suspicion of a self-driving vehicle.
"Oh, we're here," Glyph said as she drove into a parking lot, with the man himself - Dr Fujiyama - waiting for them.
"I know what you are," Dr Fujiyama said, "assume robot mode, everyone will just assume you're one of our inventions."
"That alone gives me a lot of questions," Glyph replied.
"So, Dr Fujiyama, could you tell me something about my dad?" Beat would ask.
"Of course," Dr Fujiyama added, "your father was one of our leading scientists, but he had a secret - a secret he shared with only me and a few others here."
"A secret that has to do with this here, I assume," Glyph would point to her Autobot emblem as the trio would descend down the floors via a lift.
"That is correct," Dr Fujiyama added, "this might be a bit hard for you to swallow, Ms Gallows, but your father was a Cybertronian from the planet Cybertron."
"WHAT?" both Glyph and Beat were shocked.
"Why are you surprised?" Dr Fujiyama looked at Glyph.
"He looked pretty human to me," Beat said.
"He was using a type of technology from his planet called Pretender technology," Dr Fujiyama explained, "the basics of it was that it allowed himself to disguise as a human via a Pretender Shell, despite the fact that he's more than twice the size of your friend over here."
"Pretender tech? I thought that was just some rumour," Glyph said, "never thought it actually existed."
"So my dad wasn't just linked to the Autobots, but was one?" Beat expressed.
"That's right," Dr Fujiyama said as they entered their floor of destination, "he has teammates around the globe. Based on how he's never mentioned any 'Glyph' or whatnot, I assume that you both are separate groups?"
"No, I've never heard of other Autobots aside from the bunch of us," Glyph replied.
"Anyways, meet my associates, Dr Hitotonari and Dr Arkeville. They're in on our secret too."
"It's a pleasure to see some new faces," Dr Hitotonari said.
"Welcome, welcome," Dr Arkeville added with little enthusiasm.
"And I don't believe you have met-" Dr Fujiyama said, before being interrupted by Glyph.
"Wheeljack!" Glyph exclaimed.
"Hey, Glyph," the one known as Wheeljack said, waving, "it's been a while."
"So you do know him," Dr Fujiyama said.
"Wheeljack and I go waaay back to the the Iacon Academy of Science and Technology. He's my senior by a Stellar Cycle," Glyph said, "we do different courses though."
"It's such a small world," Wheeljack responded, "literally. Even after we all mourned for Metalhawk, life must go on. Still, I'm surprised that there are still cons that we need to protect this world from even after my team and I buried Bludgeon all those Vorns back."
Wheeljack looked towards Beat.
"So," he said, "you're Metalhawk's lil angel. He's talked lots about ya."
"I wonder why he never showed me this side of his life sooner," Beat pondered.
"He definitely trusted ya enough to give ya that over there," Wheeljack pointed to the watch-like device Beatrice wielded.
"You know about it?"
"All Metalhawk's ever said about it is that it's special and important, and could win us Autobots the war," Wheeljack said.
"No wonder the Decepticons want it," Glyph said.
"Have you been eating well," Dr Hitotonari placed a hand on Beat's shoulder.
"I guess," Beat said, "ever since the Autobots took me in they've been trying to figure out a proper diet, since I don't eat the blue stuff they chug. Glyph's the closest thing to a human expert back at base, so she's been coming up with something."
"Dr Gallows has been a great man to us," Dr Hitotonari said, addressing Glyph, "so I must thank you and your team for doing your best in taking care of her. If you have human-related troubles, just know you have human allies here."
"Yeah," Wheeljack said, "give me a call from time to time too."
"Duly noted," Glyph said, "now then-"
Just then, a rumbling was heard.
"What is that?" Dr Fujiyama said.
"We better check that out," Dr Hitotonari said.
"Everyone stay behind me," Wheeljack added, unsheathing a pair of katanas, "Jackie's ready to take 'em on."
Everyone took the elevator up, finally seeing the terror terrorizing the building - a ninja robot, close in size to Cybertronians, appeared.
"Is that a Decepticon?" Glyph asked.
"No," Dr Fujiyama said, "that is Project Nightbird, an invention I intended to reveal to the world. Who activated her and why is she going on a rampage? She was built to protect humanity!"
"Seems like the opposite to me," Beat was startled.
"I don't know what's going on, but I'm about to kick some afterburner," Wheeljack charged forward, his blades colliding with Nightbird's as they clashed.
"Where'd you learn that?" Glyph said, converting a hand into a blaster.
"Wreckers were a little short and desperate, decided to sign up," Wheeljack said, "this was part of the training."
Wheeljack was having the advantage.
"At the end of the day, she's just an Earth gynoid meant to replicate a Cybertronian, no way she can best me," Wheeljack boasted, before Nightbird conjured clones of herself.
"Typical ninja stuff. This trick's as old as time," Wheeljack said, but felt shock when attacks from not one - but many of these replicas struck him.
"That's impossible! She's using genuine ninjutsu - and this stuff isn't ordinary either," Wheeljack exclaimed, "solidifying shadow clones… I've only ever heard of Sixshot and Yoketron doin' it! She's not just the real deal, she's got evidence of being on par with the best!"
That was when a Nightbird clone manifested over Beat in a puff of smoke, ready to stab her in the head, before her watch glowed, immediately coating her with plates of armour that flattened the Nightbird clone's sword like a tin can. Next, Beat would grab the clone's arm and smash it against a wall, causing it to vanish in a puff of smoke.
"That is definitely not something I programmed," Dr Fujiyama said, "the Nightbird - at least at this stage - should be a completely mindless robot!"
"Forget it," Glyph said, "you humans get everyone out of this building and to safety. We bots will handle this."
"I think I can help," Beat, now in an exosuit of some kind, declared, "the watch activated and put this on me."
"I don't know if Optimus will be mad at more, or more importantly if you'll be safe, so stay close," Glyph said.
Wheeljack cut through the Nightbird clones, each fake vanishing into smoke. Glyph's strikes were not so successful from afar, but with the battlezone so filled with Nightbirds, her hitting a good number was inevitable. Meanwhile, Beat's exosuit was simply far too durable for the Nightbird clones' strikes, which was precisely why when Nightbird's sword managed to barely chip and scratch her exosuit…
"This one's the real deal!"
Wheeljack proceeded to behead that Nightbird as Beat, enhanced by her exosuit's strong grip, held the ninja robot in place. With that, all the other clones vanished, leaving just that one. Nightbird still had willpower, her headless body picking her head up as she proceeded to vanish in a puff of smoke.
"She'll be back," Wheeljack said.
"Hopefully we can find some more answers by then," Glyph said, "this place is a mess."
"Yeah, don't worry about it," Wheeljack said, "I'm the one doing the fixing."
With the threat gone, Beat's exosuit vanished, retreating into the watch plate by plate.
"All in a day's work," Beat put her hands at her hips, "though, why is it a little colder all of a sudden?"
"I don't feel colder," Wheeljack said.
"Same here," Glyph added, "maybe it's because your clothes are gone."
Beat immediately blushed and covered herself, before screaming, "DON'T LOOK!"
"I don't get it," Wheeljack said.
"I'll explain later," Glyph assured.
"Thanks, I learned lots about pops today," Beat, covered in a towel, said, "and his friends too."
"Call anytime," Dr Fujiyama said, "we owe Hawk a bunch, and we owe you for saving us from the rampaging Nightbird, so putting you on top of a priority list is the least we can do."
"If your squad needs some muscle or brain, you know who to get," Wheeljack declared.
"Anything you want to say, Dr Arkeville?" Dr Fujiyama asked.
"Yeah, sure," Dr Arkeville, "good luck in your fight against the Decepticons."
With that, Glyph rode away with Beat as her sole passenger.
"... after all," Dr Arkeville uttered under his breath, "you'll need it…"
Meanwhile, elsewhere…
Nightbird teetered back, limping away.
"Nightbird!" Megatron exclaimed, "you return! In multiple pieces, I see."
Nightbird held her decapitated head, motioning it to nod.
"Hmmm… this new body is constructed from crummy Earth materials, after all, no surprise that standard Autobot weaponry can cut through it with such ease," Megatron observed, "I will get Flatline to fix you up."
"Glit, eject," Soundwave declared as a white, panther-shaped Cybertronian emerged from his chest.
"I will assist Flatline with any operations to improve lady Nightbird's state," Glit declared.
"My liege, I was thinking," Wingspan spoke up, "now that the Autobots have the girl, they could theoretically work completely under the radar outside of this case and some others."
"Oh, the solution to that is quite simple, Wingspan," Megatron assured, "the Autobots have a weakness we do not - they care for the inhabitants of the planet that we claim as our battlezone. We, on the other hand, accept that casualties are a must in war - a fact that the foolish younger me took a long, hard time to accept."
"I'm surprised that the mighty Megatron would admit that he was once foolish," a voice boomed from behind, "how humbling."
"Surely you did not speak up just to spew your usual insolence, Starscream," Megatron chided.
"Oh, no, no, I simply could not resist the thought of building on what you have laid out," Starscream, with wings stretched, grinned, "likewise, you cannot wait to turn Optimus Prime and his team into mush as you acquire the key you need."
Megatron frowned, "your plan had better work, Starscream."
Back at Autobot base…
"And you said that her pops being an Autobot was stupid," Fastlane teased Cloudraker.
"How strange that this 'Project Nightbird' attacked so suddenly," Optimus said.
"Frankly, I have doubts it was a coincidence that it struck on the day we were here," Beat guessed, "also, the fact that it had abilities that were impossible by Earth technology standards… that Wheeljack said she was using 'genuine ninjutsu' or something with her solid clones."
"Solid clones are quite a rare, elite ability amongst ninjutsu practitioners across the universe," Optimus said, "among Cybertronians, I have only seen one use it. To have the discipline and mind to reach such a state, one is expected to at least be a sentient being capable of going beyond core instinct."
"So there's no way she's a 'mindless robot'," Glyph said.
"Think her brain or soul or whatever belonged to a Decepticon?" Beat proposed.
"A transplant of her brain module and spark?" Ratchet chimed in, "that would explain some things."
"Any account for the high failure rate?" Beat asked.
"Contrary to the human equivalent," Ratchet, "such transplants have a higher rate of success than usual, or if they are to fail, it is not necessarily the end per say. In fact, Sparks can be extracted from the body and stored away for long periods without any means to support it, before being inserted into a new body. Back on Cybertron, it was considered a very inhumane imprisonment practice."
"If that's the case," Cloudraker added, "then the Decepticons have some means to identify our moves. Why else strike at the same time as Glyph & Beat's visit?"
"In any case, I believe it is important to be on the lookout," Optimus concluded, "not just for our collective sakes or for our new friend's, but for the people of this planet, especially on today's mission where the Nightbird struck a human-occupied building that could have claimed the lives of non-combatants. It is fortunate that we have Autobot and human allies who are willing to aid in our mission."
