Chapter 3: Bots' Afternoon Out

Soon, Hot Shot and the others were in the Action Matrix, and Hot shot was explaining the rules of Cube to the Junior Protectobots.

"Now, it's all very simple." he said. "The object of the game is to be the first individual player or team to gain a certain amount of Energon boosts from the Cube. Here, since you guys are pretty much new to the game, I set the Cube so that whoever scores twenty Energon boosts first will win. In professional games, the number of boosts required to win is fifty."

"Sounds easy." said Reach.

"However, there is a catch." Hot Shot went on. "The longer the game goes on, the smarter the Cube gets, and the longer you have to hold it to get a boost."

"Gotcha." nodded Copper.

"So, are we ready to play or are we ready to play?" Hot Shot asked.

"Ready when you are, cuz." replied Patch.

"Okay, then." nodded Hot Shot as he activated his Cube. "Play Cube!"

And so, the Cube rose into the air and the game began. It wasn't long before both teams had nineteen boosts. One more boost for either team would make that team the winners. True to Hot Shot's word, the Cube had indeed become smarter and faster, making it difficult for either team to catch it.

"Boy, Hot Shot wasn't kidding!" said Copper. "Trying to catch this Cube is like trying to catch a Seeker by the tail fin!"

Eventually, Patch managed to jump up and grab the Cube.

"I got it!" she cried.

But nothing could prepare her for what happened next. The minute she got a good grip on the Cube, the Cube zoomed out of the Action Matrix, taking Patch with it. Needless to say, the Junior Protectobots were very surprised at this.

"Is that supposed to happen?" asked Sky-High.

"Not usually." replied Hot Shot. "Come on! Follow that Cube!"

With that, everyone raced after the Cube and its passenger as Hot Shot contacted Heatwave on his comm and told him about the situation at hand.

"Thanks for telling me, Hot Shot." said Heatwave. "I'll pass along the message to the other bots and tell them to be on high alert."

"Got it, Dad." replied Hot Shot.

Meanwhile, Patch was still hanging on to the Cube for dear life as it continued on its break-neck course.

"How do you stop this thing?!" she asked.

Right as she said that, the Cube began to glow brighter, and it wasn't long before it gave off an Energon boost, which Patch absorbed. Shortly after, the Cube powered down and allowed Patch to land safely on her feet.

"Thank Primus for that." she sighed as the Cube turned off completely.

At that moment, Hot Shot and the other junior bots arrived on the scene.

"You alright, sis?" asked Copper.

"Yep." nodded Patch. "And good news, girls, we won! I got the last boost!"

Patch and the other girl bots all high-fived each other.

"Boy, that was a great game." said Copper. "Thanks for teaching it to us, Hot Shot."

"No problem, Copper." replied Hot Shot.

Just then, Whirl had an idea.

"Say, how would you Junior Protectobots like to go out with us for a while?" she offered.

"Really?" asked Reach.

"Sure." said Whirl. "I mean, apart from what you were taught in your lessons and what you've seen in the Earth museum, you guys really haven't seen much in regards to what life on Earth is really like."

"Now that I think about it, that does sound like a good idea." said Sky-High.

"But we should probably ask our dads if that's okay." said Hot Shot to Copper.

"Agreed." nodded Copper.

"No need." said a familiar voice from behind them.

The voice belong to Heatwave, who was just now coming on the scene to check on Patch and the rest of the junior bots.

"Hot Zone and I heard you as we were on our way here." Heatwave explained. "And if you wanna take your new friends out, you have my permission."

"Just make sure you keep him and Patch apart as much as possible." Hot Zone added.

Hot Zone pointed to Wedge to stress his point. Wedge scowled at this.

"Jeez." he said under his breath. "Patch wasn't kidding about him being a pain in the afterburner."

Heatwave wasn't happy about his brother's behavior.

"Come on, Hot Zone." he said. "This isn't necessary. I mean, I understand your feelings, but I promise you, Wedge can be trusted."

"Yeah, Dad, lighten up." added Copper. "Besides, he may be a former Decepticon, but he's still a pretty nice bot to hang around. Heck, you should have seen him at the Cube game."

Right away, Hot Zone could tell there was no way he was going to win, and he threw up his hands in defeat.

"Fine." he said before looking at Wedge. "Just don't try anything fresh, alright?"

"Yeah, whatever." said Wedge with a roll of his optics.

"Also, if you see any type of emergency while you're gone, do not hesitate." Heatwave then said.

"Roger that, Dad." replied Hot Shot. "Come on, guys, to the Ground Bridge!"

With that, Hot Shot began leading the group to the Ground Bridge.

"So, Hot Shot, where are we going, exactly?" asked Quench.

"You'll find out soon enough." winked Hot Shot.

Soon, they arrived at the Ground Bridge, where Hot Shot fired it up. Then, they walked through it and, in a matter of seconds, found themselves on Griffin Rock.

"Junior Protectobots, welcome to Griffin Rock." Hot Shot announced. "This is where my dad and his team were originally stationed."

"You may find that Griffin Rock is a very unique place." added Medix. "Compared to every other city in the United States, Griffin Rock is a technologically advanced community."

"That's right." said Hoist.

The Junior Protectobots looked around and saw many of the wonderfully bizarre gadgets and technologies Griffin Rock had to offer.

"I see what you mean." said Reach.

Just then, Whirl had an idea.

"Hey, let's show them the MOFTA!" she suggested excitedly.

"The what?" asked Patch.

"The Museum of Future Tech Art, a.k.a. "the MOFTA"." answered Medix. "It's a museum here on this island that houses exhibits that combine science and art."

"Chase and I were the ones who installed its security system." added Whirl. "And later, I solved a mystery about one of its main attraction, the Mano e Nano, a sculpture made of nanotechnology."

"What happened to it?" asked Copper.

"Well, a lightning bolt caused a power outage." Whirl explained. "Said power outage resulted in the sculpture disintegrate. Chase thought the statue been stolen, but I was able to prove it wasn't."

"Nice." said Reach. "Say, where can we find this museum?"

"It's over this way." said Hot Shot. "We'll get there faster if we're in vehicle mode."

With that, all the junior bots transformed into vehicle form, with Hot Shot and Whirl transforming into their respective fire truck and police car forms, Hoist and Medix transforming into their respective tow truck and ambulance car forms, and Wedge transforming into his sports car mode. The Junior Protectobots' vehicle forms were as follows; Patch's vehicle form was an ambulance, Copper's was a motorcycle, Quench's was a water tender truck, Reach's was an aerial work platform truck, and Sky-High's was a tiltrotor aircraft. They then drove off, and soon arrived at the museum, where they reverted to robot mode and went inside. The Junior Protectobots were amazed at all the technology-inspired artworks that were on display.

"Boy, these are awesome!" said Patch. "I've never even seen stuff like this on Cybertron!"

"None of us have." her brother agreed. "This stuff is really fascinating."

"Glad you think so." said a voice.

At that moment, who should appear but Doc Greene?

"Hello again, Junior Rescue Bots." the scientist greeted. "Who are your friends?"

Hot Shot and the other Junior Rescue Bots wasted no time introducing Doc Greene to their fellow Cybertronians, neither did they waste time letting him know about Hot Shot being cousins with Copper and Patch due to Heatwave being the brother of Hot Zone.

"Well, I never." said Doc Greene. "I have learned about Hot Zone and the other Protectobots from some side research about you Cybertronians and your culture, but I never once thought he had any relatives, especially siblings."

"You know now." said Copper.

"And knowing is half the battle!" grinned Whirl.

Well, everyone had to laugh at that. After spending a little more time at the museum, the bots left. Just as they were stepping out of the museum, their audio receptors picked up music.

"Hey, where's that music coming from?" asked Quench.

"I don't know." said Sky-High. "But there's only one way to find out."

The group then transformed back into vehicle mode and set off in trace of the source of the music. They soon arrived in the park, where a stage was set up. On the stage was someone the Junior Rescue Bots least expected to see. Specifically, it was the famous pop/rock band The Kings Of Peace, who were currently playing "Lady Willpower" by Gary Puckett & The Union Gap. Whirl could hardly contain her excitement, and couldn't help but squeal with delight, which caught the Junior Protectobots completely off guard.

"Hey, what was that all about?" asked Sky-High.

"The Kings Of Peace are Whirl's favorite Earth band." explained Hot Shot. "There was actually a time they were performing a concert here in Griffin Rock, but their tour bus got stuck on some mud, so we came to rescue them. They were so grateful to us that they let us have our tickets to the concert for free."

"Well, that was nice of them." said Copper.

"Say, Hot Shot, maybe we should transform into robot form so we can see them better." Whirl suggested.

"I don't think that's a good idea." said Quench. "What if someone sees us?"

"It's okay, Quench." said Hot Shot. "The people of Griffin Rock already know we're alien robots."

"Yeah, mate, she'll be right." added Brushfire.

"Well, okay." said Patch. "If you say so."

With that, the bots all transformed into robot form. This failed to escape the attention of the band, and lead singer Jimmy Wigg made a point of pointing out the newcomers to the audience.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll look over there, we have some unexpected yet still very special guests with us tonight; the Junior Rescue Bots!" he said. "Make some noise!"

Jimmy and his bandmates, plus the audience, all clapped and cheered for the Junior Rescue Bots. Jimmy then beckoned the newcomers to come closer to the stage, which they did.

"Say, Hot Shot, would you mind telling us who your new friends are here?" Jimmy asked.

"Sure, Jimmy." nodded Hot Shot. "People of Griffin Rock, allow me to introduce you to my cousins, Patch and Copper, and their friends Quench, Reach, and Sky-High. They are the Junior Protectobots."

Each of the Junior Protectobots waved to the crowd as Hot Shot named them. After introductions were made, Patch decided to ask the Kings a question.

"Say, do you guys do requests?" she asked.

"Sometimes." replied James Roman, the lead guitarist. "Why? Is there something you had in mind?"

"As a matter of fact, there is." Patch nodded. "How about "Leader Of The Pack"?"

"Sure, we can do that." said drummer Stepney Angelis. "In fact, why don't you sing the words and we'll play the music?"

"Why not?" agreed Patch. "I mean, it only makes sense that I sing, since I'm a girl."

"And me and the other girls can be your backing singers." added Quench.

"Sounds great." said Patch as Hot Shot and the other boy bots jumped off the stage and rejoined the audience at their previous spot in the back. "Okay, boys, hit it!"

With that, the Kings began playing the aforementioned 1964 song by The Shangri-Las, with Patch, Quench, Reach, Whirl, and Brushfire singing the words as the Kings played the music. The song soon ended, and amid the cheers and applause of the audience, the girls rejoined the boys in the audience.

"Man, Patch, you and the other girls sounded great." said Copper.

"Thanks, bro." smiled Patch. "I definitely won't be forgetting this experience anytime soon. Not only did I get to see an Earth concert for the first time, but I got to sing with the band, too."

Later on, as the Kings' show was drawing to a close, Hot Shot noticed how late it was in the day, hinted by the beginning sunset.

"Hey, it's getting late." he said. "We better head back to the Academy."

"You guys go on ahead." said Patch. "I'll catch up. I've never seen an Earth sunset before."

"Then follow me." Wedge offered. "I know a great spot on this island to watch it."

"Okay, Wedge." nodded Hot Shot. "See you later."

With that, Hot Shot and his friends parted ways. While Wedge left with Patch, Hot Shot, Whirl, Hoist, Medix, Brushfire, Copper, Quench, Reach, and Sky-High returned to the Academy via Ground Bridge. When they returned, they were met by Streetwise.

"There you guys are." he said. "Did you kids have a good time?"

"You bet we did!" grinned Sky-High. "We got to see this cool museum of tech art and got to see our first Earth band concert!"

"Yeah, they really enjoyed our time with us." added Hot Shot.

"So I see." smiled Streetwise.

It was at that moment Streetwise noticed Patch wasn't with them, nor was Wedge.

"Say, where's Patch?" he asked.

"Well, she wanted to see the sunset." Hot Shot replied. "And Wedge offered to-."

But Hot Shot was unable to finish, because at that moment, Hot Zone was coming onto the scene, and he overheard what his nephew was saying. Needless to say, he was not happy to hear this one bit. In fact, he was furious.

"What?!" he snarled. "I told you to keep them apart! And you know that, don't you?!"

The junior bots, especially Hot Shot, had no idea how to react to Hot Zone's outburst. They just stood there, overwashed with fright. Streetwise, recognizing the looks on their faces, made an attempt to calm his superior down.

"Take it easy, Hot Zone." he pleaded. "Maybe you should let Hot Shot explain some more."

"I've heard quite enough, Streetwise." Hot Zone said. "My daughter, alone with a Decepticon! Good grief!"

And with that, Hot Zone stormed off as the others watched on.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said that..." Hot Shot grimaced. "Sorry, Streetwise."

"Don't apologize, Hot Shot." said Streetwise. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Althought Hot Shot did feel better after hearing that, he still felt concerned about his uncle's present behavior. At that moment, Heatwave entered. He had heard Hot Zone's raised voice, and had decided to investigate.

"What's going on here?" he asked. "I heard Hot Zone yelling."

Medix quickly explained the situation to Heatwave, and as the latter listened, he too grew concerned.

"Oh, boy." he said. "I don't like the sound of this."

"Should we do something, Dad?" asked Hot Shot.

"Only if need be." his father replied. "But for now, all we can do is hope and pray that Hot Zone doesn't say or do anything he'll end up regretting."

End Of Chapter 3