The Other Autobot, Season 1

by The Lupine Sojourner

[The meteor is huge! Easily the biggest I've seen. Only…why does it look like metal? And why is part of it opening! I scramble behind a tree and have to stifle a scream as…something comes out of what I now realize is a spaceship! An actual spaceship!] What if Team Prime had another Scout, a female named Mayfly? What if Agent Fowler had a goddaughter? Covers Season 1 of Prime

6. Episode 4

Here's an actual episode for you guys! Again, if you have any ideas for the bonus chapters (meaning scenes of Team Prime experiencing things about Earth for the first time or alternate scenes, such as 'what if Robyn or Mayfly were involved in a scene they're not involved in in the chapter insertion?') please let me know! I'm happy to do bonus stuff!

Anyway, for now, I'll just let you all read the episode!

God Bless and Good day!

~The Lupine Sojourner

An unknown time later, I slowly wake to the sound of the computer beeping and Ratchet calling Optimus.

I sit up, feeling much steadier and ready for whatever Ratchet was about to report.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mayfly asks, scooping me up.

"Mayfly, I'm fine!" I protest.

"You've only been sleeping a few hours!"

"I feel much better now, so please put me down!" Mayfly does, sighing in resignation. She knows I hate it when she manhandles me. "Thank you." I smile to let her know I'm not mad and turn to Ratchet. "What's going on?"

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Ratchet asks, for once not testily. "Humans and Energon are a dangerous mix."

I shrug. "I feel fine. What's that?" I point to the screen as Optimus looks it over.

The triangles and other symbols are nonsense to me, but I know Ratchet's cracked the code. "These are engineering specs for a space-time vortex generator." He tells Optimus.

I frown. I'd heard him say that once, complaining about how he couldn't make one with 'primitive human technology', but I'm not sure precisely that all meant.

"Megatron's building a Space Bridge, if he hasn't already." Optimus explains, seeing my confused look.

I take a moment to process that. It takes another second to realize what it means. "Whoa…that's really bad."

Undead armies don't come from thin air. Optimus, Mayfly, and Ratchet fought a small army that on Earth.

To get access to even more dead Cybertronians…he'd have to go to Cybertron and raise the dead there. Which would mean the end of the world and the Autobots.

Unless somehow we can stop it.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee walk over, having heard the discussion. "The sooner he leaves, the better." Bulkhead grumbles, not getting the danger.

Optimus turns to address him. "Bulkhead, a Space Bridge runs in two directions. Megatron may not be using it to leave Earth, but to bring through his conquering army." He explains.

Mayfly's doorwings shudder. "I hadn't even thought of that." She rubs the welded area on her midsection. "The force we fought was hard enough to defeat. If Megatron gets even more undead…" Bee frowns at her, beeping and whirring. "Think about it, Bee." She encourages. "Where can he find that many dead Cybertronians?"

Bee whirs again, realization dawning.

"The 'main event' Megatron referred to? The only place Megatron could possibly recruit that many fallen warriors…" Ratchet adds, leaving the word unspoken, but we all hear it regardless.

"Precisely." Optimus confirms, making me shiver as he looks at the ceiling as if to see Cybertron in the stars above the silo. "Cybertron."

"So we have to find the Space Bridge and somehow take it down before Megatron can unleash his army." I growl, fists clenched in determination.

"You said it, Robyn." Mayfly agrees, then looks at Optimus. "What's the plan, sir?"

Optimus takes a moment to think before he speaks, as usual. Optimus never spoke without taking even just a second to think about what he would say, always conscious of the impact of his words. "We cannot allow Megatron to send Dark Energon through his Space Bridge. If we fail, the dead of Cybertron will rise, swarm through it's vortex, and invade Earth, bending humankind to Megatron's twisted will."

We all grimace at the mental image of mindless undead Cybertronians attacking cities mercilessly under Megatron's command.

Ratchet had already been working on the computer, analyzing more data from the picture Miko had taken.

Soon, we turns to the gathered Bots. "Optimus, I've pinpointed the location of Megatron's Space Bridge-high in Earth's orbit."

Optimus frowns. "Out of our reach."

Miko, who I just notice is at Bulkhead's feet, shrugs. "Ok, so you guys don't fly, but can't you just Ground Bridge there?"

Before I can reply that no, it's not that easy with the Ground Bridge's limited range, Ratchet sighs.

"The Ground Bridge has limited range." He explains without much patience, hands up to illustrate his point. "Stretched all the way into orbit, the vortex could snap, scattering us to the stars."

I gulp. But how else are they going to get to the Space Bridge? There's no other way, since we can't find the Decepticon warship that would have the coordinates.

"Since Megatron is likely already in transit, I'm afraid we must take that risk." Optimus' face is grim, his hands clenched. He knows the risks, but if they're going to stop Megatron's plan…they don't have a choice…

Do they?

I take a step forward. "Can't Ratchet tinker with the Ground Bridge first, see if he can at all increase the range?"

"Optimus is right; there is no time with Megatron on the move." Ratchet says, frowning at me.

"Indeed. Reaching the Space Bridge first is our only means of stopping him." Optimus agrees, facing the Ground Bridge.

I turn to Mayfly, realizing that once she goes through the portal, I might not see her again.

She lifts me up and I hug as much of her neck as I can. "It'll be alright, you'll see." She soothes, finger rubbing my back.

"I hope so."

"Ratchet'll make sure we're fine."

I know she's just trying to comfort me, but it doesn't work at all. For her sake, though, I can pretend. I manage a smile as I end the hug. "Right, yeah. He's an engineering whiz. What was I worried about?"

She set me on her shoulder since they aren't leavin just yet. "That's the spirit!"

Everyone's taking in the somber atmosphere and the stakes when a horn beeps from the drive-in entrance.

We all turn to see Arcee driving up with Jack sitting on the seat.

I smile. I knew he'd come back!

"Hey. Guess who's back." He says, a little sheepishly as he takes off the helmet.

"Welcome back, Jack!" I call, waving from my seat.

"Sorry I left." He says, walking over as Arcee transforms.

"No, I get it. One time Cons caught me and Mayfly on patrol. It was pretty gnarly since the Ground Bridge was on the fritz. I filed reports from home for a few days to calm down."

"Autobots, prepare for departure." Optimus orders, directing us back to the matter at hand.

Arcee frowns. "Where to?"

"The final frontier." Miko says before I can.

"Space?" Jack asks, surprised. "I thought the Autobots didn't have a way to get there."

Miko's face falls a little, but I clear my throat.

"It's a little dicey with the range on the Ground Bridge, but we have no choice."

Jack frowns. "What does that mean?"

"I'll fill you in in a sec." I say as Mayfly raises a hand to get me down. She sets me on the second level near the computers. I hold her finger for a moment before letting go.

"Um…be seeing yah?" Jack says, unsure how to handle this. Arcee smiles and shrugs a little.

I come down to stand with the kids. "We will. It'll be fine." I assure him despite no real confidence other than Ratchet's expertise with the Ground Bridge. "Kick a few Cons for me if you can, Mayfly!" I call, smiling as Mayfly walks over to the Ground Bridge.

"They won't know what hit 'em, partner!" She calls back. "Especially if I see Starscream's ugly mug." That, I'm probably not meant to hear, so I pretend I didn't as Raf smiles at Bee.

"Be careful, Bee." He farewells, and I assume Bee says something like 'I will!' in reply, but I can't tell and no one offers a translation.

"I'm so jealous!" Miko protests playfully.

"Don't even think about following me." Bulkhead warns.

"About that. We need to talk while they're away, Miko." I add, pointing a stern finger at her.

She gives me a 'what do you mean?' look before the Ground Bridge opens and the Autobots gather in front of it.

"Optimus, if you leave me stranded on a planet teeming with humans, I will never forgive you." Ratchet calls.

I grit my teeth. "Like that would be so bad?" I grumble to myself, but wave as Mayfly waves at me in a final farewell.

"Until we meet again, old friend." Optimus replies and I hear his battle mask slide into place. "Autobots, roll out!" He calls and they transform, driving through the portal.

I suck in a breath, turning to the computer and waiting for the life signals to appear on the screen.

Thankfully, they all do a few seconds later and I exhale in relief.

"Autobots, transform and gravatize!" Optimus orders, the audio coming in over the comms.

"Don't look down, or up, or left." Bulkhead moans as everyone arrives at the coordinates of the Space Bridge.

"So Megatron's packing enough Dark Energon to raise Cybertron's dead?" Arcee asks, and for a moment I wonder how she knows, since no one had filled her in.

Then I remember that they can send briefings and other memos through something called the Grid and that's likely how she figured out the stakes.

"Yep, and trust me, you don't want to tangle with the undead." Mayfly muses, and I can just see her doorwings shuddering.

"Since we do not possess ready means of disabling the Space Bridge," I hear the sound of Optimus readying his blasters. "Nothing gets in or out."

"Is the warship there yet?" I ask, since we don't have video feed.

"Staring right at it." Mayfly reports. "It's just sitting there."

Several long moments pass before anyone speaks again.

"Well? What're they waiting for?" Arcee snaps.

Another moment's pause, then Optimus replies. "It appears the Decepticons have sustained serious damage to their interstellar navigation system."

"How can he tell?" I ask.

"Other than me, Optimus Prime has the best optics of any of us. I can barely see what he's talking about. Looks like the entire dish is missing."

"Huh. That's my handiwork!" Bulkhead realizes, chuckling.

"Really?" Mayfly asks. "Let me guess; you threw it at them." She laughs when Bulkhead gives an affirmative reply. "Trust you to make a mess. But in this case it turned out to be the best mess you ever made."

"Indeed. Great job, Bulkhead." Optimus praises. "Without the dish, Megatron will unable to aim the Space Bridge at Cybertron."

"Yeah!" I cheer.

"Don't celebrate yet. We still have to make sure the Cons don't have an alternate means of pinpointing Cybertron, Robyn. And that Dark Energon never reaches Cybertron."

Raf frowns. "Don't the Decepticons know where their own planet is?" He asks.

Ratchet scoffs. "Naturally. But Cybertron is many light years away. To reach their target, their aim must be astronomically precise."

"If Megatron went to the trouble of rendevousing with his Space Bridge, he must have an alternate targeting system, a remote one." Optimus points out.

"Agreed, but where could he find it?" I ask.

"She's right, Optimus. From what I know of Earth's technology, I doubt there exists a single radio-telescope dish on this planet powerful enough to pinpoint Cybertron."

Raf and I get the same idea at virtually the same time, Raf sitting down and pulling it up.

"What about a whole bunch of linked radio-telescope dishes, like the giant-size array in Texas?"

"That's the only possibility." I agree, but Ratchet disagrees.

"Zip-buh-buh-buh-buh! This is not child's play!"

"Ratchet, the military uses it when they need to. If anything on Earth can pinpoint Cybertron, the giant-size array can." I stare at him, daring him to refute me, when Optimus breaks the tension.

"Good thinking, Ms. Burns, Rafael. Ratchet, have Agent Fowler alert the array staff to the security hazard."

I glance over at Uncle Will, surprised I hadn't even thought to check on him after I woke up.

He's half-awake, and still delirious. "You, soldier!" He calls, pointing at Ratchet. "You're out of uniform! Put on some pants!" He flops back on the bed.

"...That may be a challenge." Ratchet replies, then turns to me. "Ms. Burns, are you authorized to make the call in your uncle's stead?"

I shrug. "I'm just contracted with the government. If I called without Uncle Will's authorization code, which of course only he knows, they wouldn't take me seriously."

Raf starts- "Wait when did you learn to hack?!" I ask, surprised.

"It's just something I picked up." He replies. "But I can't get past the array's firewalls! They're too thick!"

I try logging into the database I use to file reports then accessing the array's report files, figuring that would give Raf a way in, but I hit a firewall since I don't have clearance for those files.

"Thanks for trying, Ms. Burns." Raf says, continuing to try.

"You actually think you could keep the Decepticons out?" Ratchet asks.

"Apprently, he can, if he could get past the firewalls." I retort.

Raf nods in agreement. "Maybe."

Jack then steps forward. "Uh, wait wait wait. Raf, what if we could get you all the way in? Like, inside-the-building in?"

"Not a bad idea. It'd be tricky to get around security, but my clearance should at least answer some questions if they catch us, not to mention get us inside the building itself. I can say you're a homeschool field trip or something and Ratchet can bridge us out."

"I could log into their internal network on the other side of the firewall." Raf adds.

I nod, walking toward the locked cabinet I keep my guns in. "Alright, it's settled. I'll get my glock, just in case, and we'll be good to go."

"The risk is too great, Ms. Burns." Optimus says over the comms, having heard everything. "The Decepticons will be there, perhaps even on-site."

"Agreed, plus, Robyn, you're still recovering!" Mayfly worries too much.

I set my jaw. "Mayfly, I'm fine. If Raf and the kids go inside the building, I go inside the building, end of story."

"Yeah! With all due respect, Optimus, you said it yourself, this is bigger than the safety of four humans. Ms. Burns will be there to protect us." Jack presses.

"And if we let the Cons win, we're fragged, along with everyone else on our planet."

"The Cons might be hacking it remotely, Optimus. We need to try everything in our power to prevent them using the dishes." I press, clipping on my hip holster and badge and facing the computer again.

Optimus is quiet for a moment. "...Raf?"

Raf thinks for a second, then his face grows determined. "I wanna give it a shot."

"That's the spirit!" I smile, patting him on the back. "Grab what you need while Ratchet fires up the Ground Bridge."

"Well, here comes the welcoming committee, finally." Mayfly grumbles and I hear a different kind of blaster prep sound before shots louder than I've heard before ring out.

Guess Mayfly's using her sniper mode. I've never seen her use it, but she did show me once when I found out she's not only a scout like Bumblebee, but also a sniper, a portion of her chest transforming into a sniper rifle that almost looks like she ripped it off a tank, her right knee and left foot bracing into the ground to give her stability while using the larger gun.

"I was gonna say that!" Bulkhead complains between shots.

"Too slow." Mayfly grunts as she shoots more of the 'welcoming committee' down, I'm assuming.

But then Ratchet has the ground bridge up and we go through it, winding up outside the array building.

I feel a bit tingly, but not like the prod, more like I got goosebumps, but down to my core, even my bones, which feels really weird.

"That'll take some getting used to." Jack moans.

"Yeah. Come on." I call, shaking off the feeling.

"Whoa." Miko says upon seeing the building.

Soon, we get inside, using my badge to get through the doors. We find a side room that's not in use and slip inside. Either we got lucky and timed it between patrols, or something's wrong.

"That was too easy." I mumble to myself as Raf sits at the table and get out his laptop.

Miko opens the door and double checks we're good to go. "Security sure is lax in this place."

"It's not supposed to be. We must've just timed it well." I shrug, hoping I was right and this isn't about to go sideways on us.

Raf starts hacking and gets inside the network. "I'm in!" He cheers, then frowns. "And so are the Decepticons."

"What?" Jack asks.

"How can you tell?" Miko asks.

"Schematics, with the same alien math we saw on their ship. But this time, I can download them!"

I patch into the comms with my phone (an upgrade courtesy of Ratchet) and connect my earpiece, but find nothing much except the sound of fighting.

"It's gotta be the Space Bridge." Miko notes.

"Probably." I agree.

"The Decepticons are syncing it to the dishes, but I can sync to them."

"Will they know?" Jack asks as I ask almost the same question.

"Even if the Decepticons see that I'm in the system, they'll have no idea I'm in the house." He explains.

I suddenly get a bad feeling. There should be patrols pretty frequently, right? Why wasn't there anyone in the main reception area we snuck by? Or at all in the building, from what I can tell?

This might not have been our smartest idea, but at least this time I'm not completely helpless.

"What just happened?" Arcee asks.

"The whole thing's shaking!" Mayfly grunts, stumbling by the sound of it.

"The Decepticons are locking on to Cybertron." Optimus deduces.

I turn to the computer whiz. "Any updates?"

"They're locked on to Cybertron, but not for long." He reports, typing away.

I put my hand on the handle of my glock, but don't even move to loose the strap keeping it in yet. My gut tells me something's wrong, but nothing's happening yet.

Don't get an itchy trigger finger. Breathe…you're not fighting the Cons in space. It's fine…

I make myself let go of my holster as Raf finishes whatever he does to prevent the 'Cons from locking on to Cybertron's coordinates.

It works, the coordinates erased and I distantly hear the dishes shifting back into ready mode.

On the comms, Bumblebee beeps triumphantly.

"Indeed, Bumblebee. This can only be Raf's doing." Optimus replies.

I tap the button to activate the mic in my headset and smile. "You guessed it. That kid is a whiz!" I chuckle, ruffling his hair fondly before muting the mic.

The next moment, however, Raf has to redo what he just did as whoever was targetting Cybertron gives it another try.

I get a bad feeling in my gut, eyeing the door.

It's then I notice the camera, the red recording light active.

Crap! Why hadn't I considered the cameras?! Too late now…

Hopefully we can get this taken care of soon, and get out of here before anything happens.

Jack apparently has the same feeling. "What happens when the 'Cons realize they're being punked?" He asks.

"It's only virtual combat, you know, like online gaming."

"What if the 'Cons need to be inside the building to get past the firewalls, too?" I press, hand on my holster again, tuning out the fighting in my earpiece.

"Uh…" No one has an answer to my question, so I pop the strap keeping my glock in the holster.

My gut's telling me something's gonna happen.

"Well, the Con who's hacked the system probably has way better hacking knowledge than I do, so likely they're not here." Raf mumbles.

"Good point. Just keep at it, ok?" I smile, but glance at the door again.

"The 'Cons are probably, like, a 1000 miles away." Miko says, but I notice more light in the room and turn just in time to see the arm that kidnapped me before coming inside!

Grabbing my gun, I pull Jack and Miko behind me, my back to Raf as I cock the gun. "Stay behind me!" I take a deep breath to calm my racing heart and fire.

The shot bounces off the arm, richotching off into the open door and before I can do anything else, the arm grabs Jack and jerks him around the room. Miko grabs onto the arm as I put the safety on my glock and holster it (no time to uncock it). Just as I'm about to grab Jack, though, he's tossed into me and we go flying into the wall.

The breathe wheezes out of my lungs and I collapse, coughing and trying to catch my breath.

Interestingly, Raf is left alone at the computer.

"I won't let them lock on again." He grits, trying his best to focus on the computer.

I stand. "That's it, Raf! Stay focused-agh!" This time, I'm tossed around the room, and then used to knock Miko (who'd fallen off the arm at some point) into the wall.

"Sorry." I manage, having to catch my breath again as I struggle to my feet.

Then the arm seems to remember Raf, who has to jump onto the table to avoid getting grabbed. I grab him as he yanks the USB drive downloading the schematics out of the computer. Together we duck toward a corner of the room as the computer is destroyed.

I spot Miko grabbing a fire ax, but before I can warn her, she leaps at the arm, managing a single swing before the arm smacks her back toward us, the ax clanging into the floor, where the arm grabs it.

"You handed it an ax?!" Jack snaps.

"She didn't mean to, Jack! Look out!" We duck as the ax comes close, then goes out the door.

I sprint after it, realizing what it wanted. It was going for the hardline!

The kids come after me as I can barely keep the arm in my sights as we pound through hallways.

We arrive at the end of the line for the arm, only to see Soundwave standing on a broken glass roof, about to fly away.

I reel back, arms out to keep the kids from getting any closer.

Miko, thinking quickly, grabs her phone and snaps a picture, and when Soundwave notices us, he snaps a picture as well before transforming and flying away.

I exhale in relief, then notice the ax embedded in the floor, the hardline cut right through. There's no way to stop the 'Cons now.

They'll use the Space Bridge!

"Why is he leaving?" Miko asks.

"Becuase he did his job." I grumble, sighing.

Raf notices as well. "He cut the hardline. The dishes are locked on to Cybertron…for good."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon. We need to get back to base and figure out our next move. Were the schematics downloaded all the way?" I ask.

"Yeah."

"Well, that's something, at least. Maybe there's a flaw we can use to shut down the Space Bridge." I tap the button again. "Ratchet…we need a Ground Bridge."

"Everything alright?" He asks.

"We'll explain at the base."

As we go through the portal, I hear Mayfly gasp.

"Optimus! The Dark Energon!" I again hear her go into sniper mode and fire a few shots, but judging by her growl and return to normal robot mode, she couldn't hit the target. "No! Scrap!"

We arrive in the base and I remove the earpiece as Bulkhead asks how to beat the planet's undead.

"What happened? They locked on and activated the Space Bridge!" Ratchet snaps.

"Raf was preventing them when Soundwave got in the way. His little arm knocked us around, grabbed the fire ax, and cut the hardline." I explain simply, leaving out the part about Miko grabbing the ax.

"Optimus, I'm registering a rapidly expanding mass inside their Space Bridge vortex, one with a peculiar energy signature." Ratchet reports.

"Dark Energon." Optimus grumbles, or as close to grumbling as I've heard from him. "Ratchet, we must destroy the Space Bridge." Ratchet frowns, the weight of that statement on his shoulders. No Space Bridge, no hope of them ever returning to Cybetron to try to save it. "There's enough live Energon coursing through it to achieve detonation, but we lack the firepower to ignite it."

"If I knew how the Space Bridge was engineered, I might find a technical way of accomplishing that feat." Ratchet replies.

I nudge Raf and he steps forward, holding the USB drive. "Would schematics help?" He asks.

Ratchet, now that he had a possible means of destroying the Space Bridge, hesitates. "Optimus, I must say the Space Bridge is our only hope of ever returning to Cybertron. Are you certain it's destruction is the only option?"

I find I don't blame him for asking, even agreeing with the sentiment. I wanted them to be able to go home and save their planet, even if it means possibly never seeing them again.

"I am afraid so." Optimus replies, the pain of the choice in his voice. He didn't want to, but to protect Earth from the undead, he had no choice.

I sigh, hanging my head. Then notice Uncle Will standing next to me. "You ok?" I ask.

"Are you?"

"Yeah."

"Me, too."

"Then by all means, let us light our darkest hour!" Ratchet sounds determined, probably because he understands that they must protect Earth, even if it's not his favorite place to be.

Raf downloads the schematics to the base's computer and Ratchet starts looking them over.

"Autobots, take your positions and await Ratchet's lead." Optimus orders. "While I make my stand."

"Yessir!" Mayfly replies, and I can just see her snapping a salute. She has such high respect for Optimus, always treating him with respect and dignity. I smile, feeling the same respect for him, selflessly sacrificing a way home to protect humanity.

I see a Decepticon signal rapidly approaching the Space Bridge and assume it's Megatron.

Sure enough, a deep gravelly voice comes faintly through Optimus' comm channel a few moments later. "Your fellow Autobots are wise, Optimus. They know when to retreat." Megatron taunts.

"I hold no illusions about engaging your army, Megatron, but I might derail it's objective by removing it's head."

Megatron laughs. "Highly unlikely, Optimus, as I am infused with their very might!"

"One shall stand, one shall fall." Optimus snaps.

The sounds of combat are all that I hear from the comms as I turn to the computer displaying the schematics Ratchet is studying.

The schematics don't make sense to me, so I watch the mass of purple signatures getting closer to the Space Bridge.

"These things are getting closer." Uncle Will worries. "That's bad, right?"

"Yup." I reply. "Those are all of Cybertron's undead."

"Wait what?"

I grit my teeth. "Apprently, Dark Energon can raise the dead and Megatron has a Space Bridge. He locked on to Cybertron's coordinates and tossed a huge chunk of Dark Energon through the Space Bridge to raise an army large enough to conquer Earth. We're trying to find a way to destroy the Space Bridge before the army comes through." I surmise. "The Cons used the giant-size array in Texas since while rescuing us, Bulkhead ended up destroying the 'Con's interstellar navigation system."

"Bug guy's useful for some things, I suppose." Uncle Will jokes, smirking.

"Yup."

"Ratchet, we're in position." Arcee calls over the comms.

I hadn't realized Raf was helping Ratchet look through the schematics, but they seem to have found something.

"Arcee, pay close attention." Ratchet instructs, then starts detailing the plan and what the team needs to look for using terminology I have no idea what it means.

Over Optimus' comms, the fight seems to be going badly, if the loud clanging of metal on metal and Optimus' pained grunts are anything to go by. That, and Optimus' life signal flickers a little, indicating injury.

"Starscream, what is it?" I suddenly hear Megatron growl. There's a pause as Starscream replies. "Ah, misdirection, Optimus?" He asks coyly, chuckling. "You would have made a fine Decepticon."

"In your dreams, bucket-head." I growl.

"I chose my side." Optimus spits as the sounds of battle resume.

Tuning back into Ratchet's directions, it seems the team is almost ready to ignite the Energon. "Now follow the line from the flow regulator to the Energon pump. There should be a valve."

"I see it." Arcee confirms.

"Good. To turn all that power against itself, all you need do is reverse the current." Ratchet instructs grimly.

I hear Arcee and Mayfly grunt a little as they turn the valve, or so I assume.

"Current reversed." Arcee notes a few seconds later.

"Yes!" Uncle Will cheers. "...Right?"

"Right!" I cheer back, high-fiving him. "Team Prime saved the day again!"

"I'll ready the Ground Bridge."

"Look out!" Mayfly calls and the sound of firing rings through the comms.

I notice that Megatron had disengaged from the fight and was trying to stop the others.

Too little, too late, but it seems Arcee takes a hit, her life signal flickering lower than Optimus' had.

"Optimus, the Ground Bridge is ready and waiting." Ratchet calls, not noticing the flickering life signal over the sound of the Space Bridge igniting.

"Autobots, jump!" Optimus calls and I hear them obey.

Moments later, they're not through.

Raf frowns. "Do you think they're…"

"They're ok, but I think Arcee took a hit." I reply, not wanting to lie.

Ratchet frowns, opening the screen on his wrist. "...One life signal is very faint." He confirms.

As the Autobots come through the portal, we can't help a somber atmosphere, despite Miko cheering and hugging Bulkhead's finger when he came through.

Poor Jack and Raf are left saddened by the sight of Bumblebee and Mayfly supporting Arcee, who was mostly unconscious (or whatever equivalent term Cybertronians use is) and unable to support any weight.

There's no time for me to greet Mayfly, so I stay out of the way next to Uncle Will.

"Megatron got a lucky hit in." Mayfly notes, letting Bumblebee take Arcee's weight. "I'll start prepping sickbay."

She'd taken an interest in Cybertronian medicine since being stranded on Earth and knew what to do.

Ratchet comes over, tense with worry. "We lost one this week. By the Allspark, don't let it be two!"

"Ratchet!" Mayfly calls. He sighs and goes to help Mayfly as Arcee opens her eyes, smirking when she sees Jack's worried expression as he grabs her dangling hand.

I stay near Uncle Jack.

"Arcee…"

"Jack, really? There are other motorcycles in the world." She jokes.

"But you're my first." Jack replies.

"She'll be alright, but we gotta move her." Mayfly says gently, scooping Arcee up and taking her to the sickbay. Ratchet comes over for a moment, frowning.

"And Megatron?" He asks.

"Not even he could have survived ground zero." Optimus replies.

"Let's hope so." I grumble to myself.

Then notice that Uncle Will isn't next to me anymore.

He's by the elevator, straightening his tie. "Prime!" He calls. Optimus turns. "I didn't get to thank you 'Bots for the save. I owe you one, maybe two for saving Robyn, too. Matter of fact, we all do." He looks at me. "I take it you're staying?"

I nod. "I'll be home later."

He nods and the elevator closes.

I move down the stairs and walk over to Jack as Mayfly and Ratchet start repairing Arcee. "Between them, they'll fix her up, don't worry." I tell him, despite not being certain. Looks like one hell of a hit.

"I hope so."

Soon, Arcee walks out of sickbay looking steady.

I give Jack a noogie to cheer him up. "Told you."

He is about to go over to Arcee when Miko jogs to Optimus. "So…is this the part where you say goodbye and tell us we need to forget we ever saw you?"

"What makes you think that?" I ask, brow raised.

"I just-"

"If we wanted you all to leave, we wouldn't have brought you three here and let you keep coming back to the base." Mayfly chuckles, walking over. "We're stuck with Robyn, but you guys are free to come and go as you please."

"Oi!" I snap, pretending to be upset.

The kids chuckle.

"Mayfly is correct in that you are all welcome members of our team, our family." Optimus agrees, smiling a bit. "For as long as you wish to be."

Later, when the kids go home for the day, after a stern lecture about never sneaking out with the Autobots when they said no, and leaving the base unpopulated, Mayfly and I find ourselves watching the sunset on the top of the silo. I sit on her shoulder, enjoying the view in peace and quiet.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Mayfly asks.

"I promise I'm fine, Mayfly." I assure her. "Today was…not easy, to put it mildly, but I'm safe now, and thanks to everyone's efforts, so is the whole world." I shrug. "That's good enough for me to be more or less comfortable."

"More or less?"

"Well, I mean, seeing Soundwave so soon after being freed shook me, but I'm fine. He has no idea where the base is, and I'm never going to knowingly put myself in a situation where he could kidnap me again, but sometimes when I round a corner, I swear I see that arm in the corner of my eye."

"That'll go away sooner or later." Mayfly reaches up to pat my leg with a finger. "Just know that we'll always be there for you, no matter what."

I nod, patting her finger. "I know that, don't worry."

And I do. I know that, no matter what, Team Prime will always be there for me and the entire world.

I can think of no better protectors to put my trust in.