This episode got away from me a bit, and I also totally forgot I had it all written and ready for proof-reading lol.

Anyway, here's the Scraplet episode!

Hope you all like it!

God Bless and Good Day!

~The Lupine Sojourner

Saturdays are usually a fairly mundane affair, considering I technically have the day off, unless something needing to be reported happens.

That means, typically, that I hang out with Mayfly and whoever is at the base, or the kids.

Today, Bulkhead and Bumblebee are out in the Arctic looking for a strange energy signature Ratchet had discovered. Soon as I have more information, I'll type up a quick report, but for now I relax and watch some cartoons while I drink my morning coffee. Call me childish, but some of these cartoons are pretty good.

Bulkhead and Bee call in to report a sort of escape pod they'd found at the source of the signature. Mayfly and Optimus had to help them cut it out of the ocean it was frozen in, haul it into base, then Bulkhead and Bee were sat down for a routine defrosting procedure, despite their complaints.

"Bee, my Spark was twinging the whole time you were gone. Just let Ratchet defrost you." Mayfly calls, helping Optimus carry the thing to a vault.

Sometimes I forget that Mayfly and Bumblebee are what the Bots call Spark Twins, and feel each other's pain.

I learned about it when Bee had been injured by a welding accident while finalizing the Energon supply line and Mayfly had winced, rubbing her chest. I'd asked what was wrong and Mayfly and Ratchet had explained the situation. Mayfly had told me before about Spark Twins when we talked about family dynamics, but I'd never realized what it really meant til I saw Mayfly wince at Bumblebee's pain.

I then flinch as the thing loudly bangs to the floor of the vault. Frankly, I'm surprised the pod-thing fit in one of our makeshift vaults, but it does. It definitely looks like an escape pod, but Ratchet's not too certain.

I settle back on the couch after getting up to look at the thing, sighing as I finish my coffee.

"I told you, doc, we're fine!" Bulkhead grumbles, pulling a line off his chest as he stands.

Ratchet immediately sits him back down and reattaches the line. "The only way to be certain you're fine, Bulkhead, is to endure standard defrosting procedure. You know prolonged exposure to sub-zero conditions can cause permanent system damage."

I shiver. "Just like frostbite for humans."

In fifteen minutes, Bulkhead and Bumblebee are cleared by Ratchet and they leave to pick up the kids, which never takes long. Arcee is about to head out to pick up Jack, but Optimus calls her back. After another near fifteen minutes, Optimus and Arcee walk over to Ratchet.

"Ratchet, have you learned anything more about our Arctic find?" Optimus asks.

"He hasn't had a chance to look over it yet, sir." I reply for him automatically.

"Ms. Burns is correct, and even if I weren't otherwise occupied, the pod can't be opened while it's frozen solid."

Optimus nods. "Then Mayfly, Arcee, and I will search for any clue which might explain the origin of our Arctic find." I wonder why he's in a rush to know what's in the pod...

Ratchet pulls up the coordinates and activates the bridge. "Only until your sensors sound." He tells them, calibrating a device to give the temperature sensor in the Autobot insignias parameters to sound an alert at the temperature he determined too low. "Remember, once your core temperature reaches the blue zone, system failures aren't likely-they're imminent." The insignias beep and flash blue upon getting the parameters from the instrument Ratchet pointed at them.

I walk down to the ground floor as the others arrive with the kids.

"Miss us, doc bot?" Miko asks coyly as she gets out of Bulkhead.

Ratchet groans. "Shouldn't they be in school?" He asks no one in particular.

"On Saturday?" Miko asks incredulously. "We have the whole weekend off, to spend with you."

I can't help laughing at her sarcasm. She knew how to give as good as she got from Ratchet.

"I wasn't expecting to carpool." Jack muses to Arcee, walking over to her. "What gives, Arcee?"

"Tag team, Jack-my turn for exploration duty." Arcee replies, gesturing to the active ground bridge.

"Oh, too bad." Jack tuts, arms crossed. "It's a beautiful day for a ride. Would hate for you to feel guilty for leaving me indoors."

Arce scoffs. "Arctic exploration duty." She clarifies.

"Indoors where it's warm." Jack quips, walking away to join Miko en route to the entertainment center.

Raf is next to pipe up. "The Arctic?" He asks, eyes wide in wonder. "I've always wanted to see snow!"

I tilt my head in surprise. "You've seen pictures, right?" I ask before I can stop myself.

"Well, yeah, but never in person. It's not the same, you know?"

I nod. "I didn't see snow til my thirteenth Christmas when Uncle Will took me skiing."

"Oh, man! I'd love to go skiing!" Raf exclaims and I smile at his enthusiasm.

"I would invite you to join, Rafael, but the conditions are much too extreme, even for we Autobots." Optimus explains, getting us back on task.

"I understand." Raf replies good-naturedly. Clearly, he was disappointed, but at least he was bearing it well.

"But I will bring you back a snowball." Optimus offers.

Raf perks up immediately. "That would be awesome!"

Satisfied that Raf was cheered up, Optimus walks through the portal, Arcee and Mayfly right behind him.

"Transport complete." Ratchet mumbles, as usual, but the next instant, as he turns to deactivate the portal, it shorts out, sparks flying from the handle. "By the Allspark!" He swears. The machine, still sparking a bit, starts sputtering and shutting down as Ratchet looks it over.

"It's never done that before." I mutter without thinking.

"Obviously!" Ratchet grumbles. "Bulkhead! Bumblebee! Here! Now!"

"It's about the ground bridge!" I add.

The bots walk over as I join the kids, seeing as there was nothing I could do. "Whatcha doing?" I ask, flopping on a recliner.

"Video game tournament!" Raf replies.

"I see."

"You wanna play?"

"Nah, I'll just watch. Thanks, though."

Miko smirks, snatching a controller that Raf was reaching for while waving to Bee. "Prepare to be destroyed." She taunts, holding out a second controller for Jack, who groans.

"Yeah, not really my thing, Miko." He replies.

Miko's smirk deepens. "Oh? Scared of losing? To a girl?"

Jack sighs, but smirks back. "Bring it!" He snatches the controller.

"No mercy." Miko promises.

I notice Raf looking a little down suddenly, but before I can talk to him, Jack notices too and tries to cheer him up.

"Hey, Raf, wanna take on Miko for me?" Jack tries, but Raf gets up and starts walking away.

"No thanks. I have stuff to do."

I decide to give him a minute or two before following him, not interested in the game tournament anymore.

So I walk over to the Ground Bridge, where Ratchet is trying to get the machine running again, to no avail.

"You can't boss us around just because the boss is out." Bulkhead grumbles.

Ratchet, to his credit, does soften his tone…a little. "I need some heavy lifting. The Ground Bridge is down." He explains. Bee makes a few worried noises. "Optimus, Mayfly, and Arcee made it through just fine. It's bringing them back that concerns me."

I swallow. "Well, about how long do we have before they're going to need pickup?" I ask.

"Not long. An hour and a half, at the most." Ratchet replies.

I nod. "So we have at least an hour to get it working enough to bring them back. Anything I can do?"

Ratchet, again to his credit, shakes his head, even smiling just a little at me. "The sentiment is appreciated, Ms. Burns, but no. If you wish, you can power the Ground Bridge on to test it when I have located the problem and fixed it, but until then, I'm afraid there's nothing you can do."

I nod. "Ok. Call for me when you need me, ok?"

Bee makes an affirmative noise and Ratchet waves me off, so I head off to find Raf.

He must still be sad he can't go see snow. Goes to show he is only 12, no matter how smart he is or how good he is at hacking.

I start a timer on my watch so I can keep track of roughly how long Optimus, Arcee, and Mayfly have been gone as I walk toward the hall of vaults.

"-eat that! You're gonna choke!"

At the sound of Raf's voice, I hurry over, only to see him watching a little…thing scuttle toward him. It's a quarter of Raf's size, but clearly Cybertronian, judging by the metal body and big blue eyes. "Or…not." Raf muses.

I frown. "What the heck is that thing?" I ask, more to myself than anything, as I walk over.

"I don't know, Ms Burns." Raf replies. "The Autobots never said anything about pets."

"No…they didn't." I suddenly have a very bad feeling. "Why don't we take it to the team? They can tell us what it is. And we can tease them about never telling us they had a cute pet if it's theirs." I wanted the team to see this thing. It doesn't seem dangerous, but I can't help a weird feeling. "Why did you say it was gonna choke?" I ask.

"Oh, I tossed a wrench, thinking it would fetch it like a dog, but it ate it!" Raf chuckles, but that just furthers the bad feeling.

"Huh. Well, grab it and let's go show Ratchet and the others."

I glance behind us and don't see anything out of place, but still. I feel like I'm being watched.

Before we get to the main area, the power briefly shuts off.

Strange…

I jog ahead of Raf and whatever that thing is as the power comes back on.

Ratchet is showing the others motherboards that looked…chewed.

"Might be the main grid." He was saying.

"Uh, Ratchet? Raf found something I think you need to see." I call, but he doesn't seem to hear me.

"Hopefully it isn't a substation malfunction."

I roll my eyes, but then have a thought.

Motherboards are metal, right? And the thing Raf found apparently eats metal…the Autobots are metal…

Oh no.

Raf then comes in. "Hey, guys! Look what I found!" The little metal thing seems to have fallen asleep in Raf's arms.

"We're busy-AGH!" Ratchet screams and backs away. So does Bulkhead and Bumblebee, all of them petrified at the sight of the thing in Raf's arms, Bulk and Bee even going as far as to get their blasters out.

I back up a little. It's an intimidating sight, even if I know they'd never hurt me.

"Whoa whoa! What's with you guys?!" Miko and Jack get between Raf and the Bots.

"Scraplet! Scraplet!" Bulkhead all but screams, trying to back away more.

"What's a Scraplet?" Raf asks.

"The most dangerous vermin ever to crawl on the face of Cybertron." Ratchet replies, staring in terror at the Scraplet.

"I knew it." I grumble to myself.

"This?" Jack scoffs, point to the tiny robot. "Are you kidding me?"

"You're giant robots!" Miko adds. "Scrappy here is…teeny."

"Guys!" I snap, getting their attention. "Raf said that thing ate a wrench, which is metal." I point to the motherboards. "Those motherboards are metal, and look chewed." I then point to the cowering Bots. "They're made of metal and terrified of that thing, which means there are likely more of these things."

They don't get it.

"Robyn's right!" Bulkhead agrees. "You have no idea the damage that 'teeny' thing can do!"

"He wouldn't hurt anything!" Raf protests.

"Raf, sweetheart, trust them. They know what they're talking about." I try to be a little more gentle. "If they say it's a threat-" I trail off as the thing wakes up, sees the giant feast of Bots in front of them, and launches forward faster than I would've thought possible, mouthful of vicious-looking teeth whirring as it runs toward the Bots, who try and fail to hit the things with their blasters.

It zips in and starts eating Bee's leg. Bee, panicked, falls over, trying to back away from his own limb.

The kids finally clue in to the danger as I run over, making a joined fist with my hands and smacking the tiny bot off Bee. It just leaps onto his arm, where Bee smacks it off. It goes over my head, lands, turns and goes to continue its grisly meal when Raf grabs a crowbar and starts smacking the Scraplet to literal pieces.

I check on Bee. "You ok?" I ask. He nods and makes a few whirring noises, rubbing at the silvery chewed trail the Scraplet had left behind.

"Easy there, killer." Jack jokes, taking the crowbar from Raf.

Raf jogs over to Bee as Miko smirks. "Whoa…did not see that coming."

"Raf smacking the Scraplet, or the Scraplet being dangerous?" I ask crossly, crossing my arms. "Cus I told you it was! Raf said it ate a wrench, and when I saw the chewed motherboards, it wasn't hard to put two and two together. It eats metal."

Miko rolls her eyes. "Well, sorry we're not geniuses like you."

I narrow my eyes. "I'm not saying I'm a genius, I'm just saying once evidence presented itself, I made a few deductions."

"Ok, Sherlock."

"Miko, lay off." Jack cuts in. "She has a point."

Miko walks off in a bit of a huff.

Raf looks nearly in tears as we walk over to Bee. "I'm sorry, Bumblebee!"

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Raf, you didn't know. Just maybe ask before you bring any strange pets into the base, ok?" I wink at him, and he nods, still looking guilty and upset as he looks up at Ratchet.

"Is he gonna be ok?"

Ratchet is already looking Bee over, nodding. "Only a mesh wound. He'll live."

"Now do you believe me?!" Bulkhead all but whimpers. "All Scraplets do is dismantle machinery and eat anything metal-especially living metal!"

Jack shrugs. "Well, bug squashed, game over, right?"

Ratchet shakes his head. "No. When it comes to Scraplets, there's never just one." He turns toward the vault hall. "And I fear I know how they got in here."

He walks toward the hall and I realize he means the pod thing Bee and Bulk found in the Arctic.

"Oh…that makes sense." I mumble. The kids look lost as they trail behind the Bots. "Bumblebee and Bulkhead found a big pod thing that was giving off a strange energy signature, so we brought it back here. Guess we know what was inside." I shudder.

Turns out, the pod had a massive hole burst through it from inside, proving Ratchet's guess correct as we gather around the pod. "It's a trap." He muses, shining a flashlight attachment into the empty metal container. "A Scraplet trap."

"Imagine being the unlucky one who opens that." I shudder.

"Uh, it's also an empty Scraplet trap." Bulkhead notes.

"Most likely ejected into space eons ago, only to wind up in the Arctic, where the temperature kept them in stasis." Ratchet adds.

"Until we brought the thaw." Jack concludes.

"Now they're awake and ready to brunch." Miko pipes up.

"Not helping." I reply.

"So…how many are we talking about?" Raf asks worriedly.

"Thousands." Ratchet replies grimly. "And the power malfunctions and Ground Bridge damage are sure signs that their infestation is well under way."

I shudder, but turn to Ratchet. "Can we maybe quarantine them somehow, contain them?"

Ratchet shakes his head. "I'm afraid not, Ms. Burns. We lack the time and equipment for such a feat."

I hum a bit in thought. "Could an emp shut them down long enough to get them out of here?"

Ratchet shakes his head again. "No, that would damage the systems we need to bring Optimus, Arcee, and Mayfly back from the Arctic, and it would take too long to get the systems up and running, especially since the Scraplets have already started their feast."

I bite my lip, trying to think of our next move, then freeze as I remember that the communications servers are near the electrical grid for the base.

I pull out my phone and try to patch into Mayfly's line as we all return to the main area.

Nothing but static. "Crap!" I curse, putting it back in my pocket. "It's been almost twenty minutes already! We have to do something!"

On the main computers, Ratchet is also trying to get in touch with the away team, but there's no answer. "The Scraplets have gotten into the comm-link system!" He snaps, thumping the keyboard in anger and frustration.

I bite my lip. "What do we do? Optimus and the others-"

"I know, Ms. Burns," Ratchet interrupts. "but if we don't eradicate these creatures immediately, they will reduce the entire base to a scrap heap!"

"I say we bug out of here and let them keep it!" Bulkhead replies.

"Bulkhead, that would doom the away team!" I snap back.

"Ms. Burns is correct." Ratchet agrees. "Evacuation is not an option. If we don't get the Ground Bridge online stat, Optimus, Mayfly, and Arcee will perish." He looks at Bee. "And that would have devastating repercussions for everyone involved."

"What repercussions?" Raf asks.

"Mayfly and Bumblebee share a Spark and a deep connection as Spark Twins. Even now, Bumblebee may be feeling twinges of Mayfly's discomfort as her temperatures drop, as I assume she felt the Scraplet begin feeding on Bumblebee moments ago." Ratchet explains. "To lose a Spark Twin would mean to lose part of your own Spark. Bumblebee would lose part of himself if Mayfly perishes…and of course the reverse is also true."

Bee nods in agreement, hand over his Spark Chamber and making a few noises I assume are agreeing with Ratchet and expressing worry about Mayfly.

"We won't let that happen, Bee." Raf assures him.

I nod. "Not if we have anything to say about it."

Jack shudders. "So you all can die from cold?"

I nod. "In very very extreme temperatures, yes. So that's why they can't stay in those sub-zero conditions too long. There's also windchill to factor in, which means we have to hurry."

Miko turns to Bulkhead. "Wait, Bulkhead, you never run!" She snaps.

"Miko, you haven't seen a swarm of these things devour a bot!" He protests. "I have!" I shudder, trying to dismiss the mental picture that conjured.

Seeing Bee get essentially sampled was bad enough! I don't want to see a swarm!

"They pick you apart from the inside out," Bulkhead continues. "going for the small, juicy bits first-fuse by fuse, circuit by circuit, til there's nothing left, and I mean nothing, not even your optics…"

"Alright, we get it!" I walk over to the locker to grab my handgun and holster. "Ok, so hopefully if a crowbar can take these things out, my gun will also be effective." I clip on the holster before unlocking the gun safe and checking to make sure I have a full magazine. "So, now what?"

"Yeah, you have to let us help!" Jack agrees.

"Whoa guys, this is serious!" I protest.

"But we're not made of metal!" Raf points out.

"Yeah, Rob, the Scraplets can't hurt us!" Miko snarks.

"Still…" I sigh. "I guess it should be safe, but if you are near me when I'm firing you have to get behind me and stay there no matter what, got it? This thing isn't a toy." I pat the holster. "I can try to cover Ratchet as he starts repairing the Ground Bridge, but we need to get comms and power stable, too." That was more thinking aloud, and yet Ratchet almost smiles at me.

"Typically, I find you humans' fleshiness to be your least engaging quality, but it would appear to provide an advantage under these extremes."

I roll my eyes. "Gee, thanks."

Jack raises a hand. "I think Ms. Burns is right. We should pair off-one bot, one human. I'll help watch your back while you repair the Ground Bridge."

I nod. "Good idea. He'll need time to get it back in working order, so I'll help you."

"And we go on a bug hunt." Miko smiles.

I sigh. "Much as I hate this plan, we have no time for anything else, so yeah, get the bugs away from the electronics and systems and we'll handle repairs."

Bulkhead and Bee shudder. "Oh, boy…" Bulkhead moans as Bee makes shuddering whirs.

"Good luck!" I call after them.

I then head down to the ground level and watch Ratchet examine the motherboards. He exchanges the damaged ones and pokes and prods and switches things for nearly fifteen minutes.

"How's it going over there?" Jack asks nervously.

"I've repaired the damaged conductors, and rerouted the central conduits, but the Ground Bridge still won't receive power!" Ratchet snaps, punching the ground near the open motherboard holder.

"Easy, Ratchet. We'll figure it out!" I reply, keeping my ears and eyes open for any sounds of Scraplets.

Suddenly, I see them near the ceiling fan that circulates air throughout the main area. That's a swarm, alright…crap.

They spot Ratchet and immediately start-

"They can fly?!" I snap, grabbing my gun and getting in front of Jack, who was backing up, as scared as I am.

"You never said they could fly!"

I begin firing as I move toward Ratchet, the noise echoing loudly in the more confined area, but it seems effective if I can nail them in the mouth.

However, there's fifty for every one I take down. Plus, as the swarm descends, I see a few veer off heading for Ratchet and toward my gun. They're not a problem since their mouths are clearer targets, but then my magazine clicks empty.

Before Jack or I can do anything, one lucky Scraplet gets too close and chomps the barrel clean off, forcing me to release the gun if I want to keep my hand.

The gun is gone in less than five seconds.

"Well, so much for that!" I grumble, looking for anything that can be used as a weapon. In the time it had taken for the gun to be eaten, the swarm has descended on Ratchet, leaving Jack to try to bat them off with a pipe as best he can.

Desperate, I snatch up the fire extinguisher and spray it all over Ratchet.

Somehow, the spray is effective, deactivating the little terrors.

But only some. Of course, the main swarm gets away to circle back and attack.

As if timed, I hear Bulkhead and Bee coming back into the main area.

"Ratchet, grab the patch kit. We're leaking Energon like-whoa!" He takes in the approaching swarm as I remember a wooden bat Agent Fowler bought me a while ago. I didn't know what to do with it, so I'd put it in my locker.

I sprint to the locker to grab it, hoping it would last long enough to deal with this mess. I briefly consider throwing ammo at them and hoping the gunpowder explosion had enough power to kill them, but that's not likely, so I just grab the bat.

The swarm attacks Bulk and Bee mainly, and they're left to try to keep them away.

"Eat this!" Bulk growls, slamming his wrecking ball into a group of Scraplets, but it doesn't impact the numbers at all, and sticks a few to his hand. He screams out in pain.

Things get worse as the swarm now has multiple targets. Jack tries to help Ratchet with the fire extinguisher, Miko rushes to Bulkhead, and Raf does his best to keep the Scraplets off Bee, so I go help him, twirling the bat and managing to knock some down before they get to Bee.

There's no end to these stupid things!

We keep trying, though. We have to! Finally, the Scraplets seem to realize they weren't getting an easy meal and back off a bit.

The ground is littered with dead Scraplets that are thoroughly smashed by Miko, Raf and I, as well as sprayed with the fire extinguisher by Jack.

"Phew!" I wipe my forehead. "Well, this'll mean quite the heap of paperwork, and one heck of a story." I look over the exhausted and munched-on Autobots, who can only lay there, groaning.

"We get 'em all?" Jack asks.

I shrug. "Who knows?"

Ratchet sighs, listening to the distant sounds of Scraplets eating, a sound I hope never to hear after this is over. "Hardly. These were just scouts."

Bee seems to groan, flopping his head back.

"So, the rest of them know we're in here?" Bulkhead asks.

I swallow. "Just what we need." I grumble.

Ratchet's eyes narrow. "If we allow ourselves to become their next meal, Optimus, Arcee, and Mayfly will never make it home. We must get the Ground Bridge operational!"

"Then we could use it to send the Scraplets anywhere on Earth." Raf adds.

"Maybe." I agree. "Trouble will be getting them to go through the Bridge."

"Why not just send them back to the Arctic?" Jack asks.

I frown. "We'd have to do it somewhere away from where Optimus and the girls went, so they don't end up getting eaten."

"Not necessarily, Ms. Burns." Ratchet has his 'thinking' face on.

"Yeah, we already know they don't do cold." Jack points out.

"I guess..." I consider the implied plan. "It could work, in theory."

"It'll be one-stop shopping!" Miko grins.

"Given the body mass of the Scraplets, sub-zero temperature should freeze them on impact." Ratchet taps his chin as he thinks through a possible plan, if I know him. "So, think Ratchet! Think!" I keep an eye and ear out for the swarm as Ratchet thinks. "If the Ground Bridge is still down, there must be a breach in the Energon fuel line!"

Bee buzzes a little, trying and failing to get up.

"If we weren't breaching, one of us could get back over there and fix it." Bulkhead sighs.

I chuckle. "If only there were others in the base besides you Bots." I roll my eyes and cross my arms.

"Yeah! Where do we find it?" Jack asks.

"And how do we fix it?" Raf adds.

Ratchet directs Jack to grab a welding torch and tells them where the line runs.

I then nod. "Get going, you three. You'll be perfectly fine, since you're not metal. I'll stay here in case the swarm comes back before you're back."

Jack gulps, but turns. "You heard her. There's no time to lose." He bravely starts walking, followed by the others.

I keep my eye out when Bee gets my attention, nudging Bulkhead and making whirring noises, tapping his Spark Chamber.

"Worried about Mayfly?" I ask, glancing at Bulkhead.

"Yeah. Kid's feeling her Spark cooling down. We gotta get that bridge open." Bulkhead translates.

I go over and pat Bee's shoulder. "We'll get it working in no time, Bee. It's ok."

Ratchet nods. "As soon as the children have patched the leak, power should be restored and we should be able to retrieve our friends and your twin. I'll put them through a good defrosting session to ensure no damage was done."

"Now, if we get-when we get the Ground Bridge back open, do we send the creepy-crawlies out or bring our bots in?" Bulkhead asks.

I frown. "Good point." I think about it, but Ratchet replies before I can think of a plan.

"Optimus, Arcee, and Mayfly will be fresh meat. If we bring them in first, the Scraplets will have no reason to leave. We'll need bait."

"Where're we gonna get bait?" Bulkhead protests. "The Scraplets already helped themselves to everything in here!"

I instantly think of grabbing pots and pans and banging them as I run for the portal, but doubt that would be enough to lure the swarm through the portal, not to mention I wouldn't last more than thirty seconds at most dressed like this (open button-down shirt with a tank top under it and loose jeans and combat boots) in sub-zero temperatures. That wasn't long enough to get the swarm out. Someone would have to get me back inside, as I might pass out upon exposure. It could happen.

No…unfortunately, it'll have to be a Bot. But who?

The sound of chittering Scraplets has me in front of the Bots, bat at the ready.

Luckily, Jack and the kids run in just as the Scraplets arrive. "Ratchet, all systems go!"

"Fire it up!" Miko adds.

"Please work, please work!" I mumble, prepared to start beating off Scraplets again as Ratchet wobbles to his feet and grabs the switch.

"Ground Bridge…activated." He slurs a bit, falling over, throwing the switch as he did.

Bulkhead looks between the swarm above and the Bots on the ground and gets a look in his eye. He glances at the portal not far away. "Bait, huh?"

"I'll try to cover you, but I can't go through the portal!" I call, backing toward the portal.

"Thanks, Robyn." He smiles, then looks up at the swarm, waving at them. "Ready for the main course?" He backs onto the path to the portal. "Come and get it!" He then turns and runs as best he can through the portal.

There's really nothing I can do to help Bulkhead, so I just duck as the swarm speeds after him. I notice Ratchet has his arm over Bumblebee to keep him down and unnoticed by the swarm.

Tense moments later, all four Bots, Optimus, Mayfly, Arcee, and Bulkhead stagger through the portal and Bee tries to get up when he sees his twin, but can't quite manage it.

"Oh Primus…" Mayfly mumbles, taking in the wreckage. "I felt something wrong, a lot of sharp pain, but I couldn't figure out what happened til Bulkhead came out of the portal and fragging Scraplets chased him out. Guess that's what the pod was." She shakes her head wearily as she sits beside Bee. "Just our fragging luck."

"Yeah...they freaking ate my gun." I grumble, shaking my head and leaning against her before thinking better of it after my arm felt like it was already freezing after a few seconds. "Can you believe it?"

"I'm guessing they did a lot more than just eat your gun." Mayfly replies, her doorwings shuddering and body shaking with residual shivers.

"I'm glad you don't seem to have suffered any system failures, at least."

"Barely avoided it. If you'd been any slower with the portal, and the sun hadn't come out after Bulkhead came through, we might not have gotten away this easy."

"Define easy." Ratchet mumbles. "You need a long defrost cycle, not to mention the patchwork needed on-" He starts trying to get up, a worried look in his eyes.

"Ratchet, we can handle it. You're injured, too." I turn to Jack. "Hey, Jack! Grab the welding tool you used before. We've got some patching to do."

Before long, with a little help from Ratchet (who clearly isn't used to being the one needing care and kept trying to take over), we had everyone safely on the road to recovery, Energon lines humming and everyone resting…

Well, almost everyone. "Report biocircuitry status!" Ratchet calls as Jack types on the laptop we're using to monitor Bee and Arcee, Mayfly holding her twin's hand as she leans against his bed.

"Levels are rising!" Jack reports, giving Ratchet a thumbs-up.

"Excellent." Ratchet replies, then turns to Raf. "Rafael, keep a close watch on Bumblebee's electro-pulse monitor. Miko, check Bulkhead's interface patch. Ms. Burns, ensure Mayfly's pulse is rising. Her temperature was concerningly low."

I walk over. "I know. The away team's temperatures were all concerningly low, but they're going back to normal. Ratchet, we're handling it. Just take it easy and recover." I chuckle, patting the medic's leg. "You need rest as much as the others do."

"Yeah, Bee's pulse monitor is steady." Raf reports.

"Bulk's looking good!" Miko adds.

Optimus, half-laying down next to Ratchet, almost smiles. "Ms. Burns is correct, old friend. Perhaps you should get some rest. You saved quite a few lives today."

Ratchet actually genuinely smiles at us as we go to double-check our work. "It…wasn't all my doing." He admits. "We're just fortunate this infestation happened on a Saturday."

"Did Ratchet just give us squishy humans a compliment?" I tease, sitting on Bee's bed next to Mayfly.

"Must be the Scraplet damage." Mayfly retorts, not missing a beat.

"Must be." I nod as if seriously agreeing with her before we both start snickering and just plain laughing.

"I heard that!" Ratchet grumbles.

Optimus, again nearly smiling, looks us over. "Our human friends may be small, but they are strong."

I give a quick two-fingered salute, smiling back at him. "Thanks, Optim-"

"Aaaahhhh!" Who knew Miko had such a high-pitched scream?

"Scraplet?!" Jack snaps, immediately grabbing his pipe from before.

"Spider!" Miko squeals, dancing around. "Is it on me?!"

"Miko, you just stepped on it! It's dead! You're fine!" I call after her, but she can't hear me over her own screaming and thrashing around before running off, still squealing. I roll my eyes. "So much for being strong." I quip under my breath.

"Did she just scream like a little girl?" Bulkhead asks in an amused tone I know to mean she teased him about his scream at some point and now karma was returning the favor.

"Yup." I reply, laughing. "To be fair, I'm not a fan of spiders, either." I then sigh. "Now for the loads of paperwork and work orders to get this place back up and running." I sigh. "Good grief."

"You should get some dinner and sleep, Robyn." Mayfly says, eyeing me with concern. "It's been a long day."

I wave her off. "Nah, I'm good. I'll make sure you're all good and the kids get home safe before I head out for the night."

"Oh, we're fine, Ms. Burns." Raf replies, typing on the computer. "I want to make sure Bee's ok."

I smile and walk over. "I know, but look. His pulse is rising, his wounds will heal with time and some Energon, and he'll be there to pick you up tomorrow from school, but for right now, it's getting late, and you should head home before your family misses you."

He sighs. "They wouldn't. I have a lot of loud siblings."

I nod. "Maybe, but still. You'll see him tomorrow. You, too, Jack." I call. "You should head home. I can drop you all off tonight and you'll have to carpool to school tomorrow or take the bus, but after school, you three can come over and see how they're doing, I promise. But for right now, there's nothing you can do, and your families or host family are wondering where you are."

"Yeah, Mom's gonna be home from work soon." Jack sighs. "And I have homework."

I corral the boys toward my car. "So let's go. I'll get Miko."

=#=#=#=#=

I had to pull pretty much an all-nighter after I got back to base, monitoring vital signs and keeping the Energon and defrosting lines going, but between needing to check things, I dozed on the couch.

So it was no surprise when I all but pass out on the couch by morning.

Somehow, I wake up in my own bed. Confused, I get out of bed to find it's nearly 6 hours since I was at the base.

In the living room, Uncle Will was typing on his laptop. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty." He calls.

I yawn. "What..? What happened?"

"Well, Mayfly called me to fill me in on what happened, the damages to the base, and the fact that you overdid it and were asleep on the couch after pulling an all-nighter. I came and picked you up. You were so tired you didn't even wake up when I got you home and in bed."

I smile. "Thanks, Uncle Will." I go to kiss his temple, but he leans away.

"Morning breath." He pretends to gag, waving a hand on front of his face.

I roll my eyes and chuckle as I walk to the bathroom to get ready for the day, deciding a shower would be delightful.

Once that's done, I come out for some tea (as I didn't want to mess up my sleep schedule, although I probably did anyway pulling that all-nighter) and leftover tikka masala with rice.

"Any word on how the team's doing?" I ask as the food is in the microwave.

"Ratchet says they're well on the road to recovery and told me to let you rest as long as you need to." Uncle Will replies.

"Maybe he's not so bad after all." I joke.

Uncle Will chuckles. "Maybe not."

We did make a pretty good team, after all…there's hope for him yet.