Hey everyone! I'm back already with a brand new chapter! Thank you all so much for the great reviews, I'm so glad you loved the last chapter. I hope you like this one as well. Enjoy!
PS, sorry for any grammatical errors.
Transformers Prime: The Medic's Assistant
Chapter 53: New Recruit
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers Prime
(Autobot Base)
No matter how hard she tried, Stormracer couldn't stop thinking about Knock Out. She found herself growing worried the more she thought about her feelings towards the decepticon. As much as she wanted to see him again, she knew her team would learn eventually. The only one who knew was Sierra who agreed to keep her secret. Still, it was eating away at the femme. She wanted to tell the bots. She knew the longer she waited, the harder it would be. But would they understand?
Trying to focus on something else, Stormracer stood beside Bumblebee as they watched Raf replace a photo of the scout leaked online.
"Removing Bumblebee and replacing him with this," Raf said as he got rid of the image and replaced it with a tap-dancing monkey video.
"The tap-dancing monkey strikes again," Jack said as he and the younger boy high fived.
Sierra laughed as she looked at Bumblebee. "That was probably your best picture yet, Bee."
"Haha, very funny," the scout bleeped.
"Bumblebee's sightings on the world wide web are no laughing matter," Ratchet scolded from the computer.
Down on the floor behind the medic, Miko was helping Bulkhead with his exercises. Both were laying on their sides as they did leg lifts together. Bulkhead struggled as Miko counted each lift.
"7... 8... 9..."
Bulkhead's leg dropped as he let out a groan. "Why can't I just drive from now on?"
"Because your legs will atrophy if you choose not to use them," Ratchet told him.
Bulkhead groaned again before him and Miko restarted.
"1... 2...3..." the Japanese girl recounted.
Jack looked back at the laptop and noticed something. "Wait, what's that?"
Everyone else looked at the picture, showing what looked like a meteor. But when Raf zoomed in on the image, they saw it was something else.
"A cybertronian escape pod?" Raf asked.
"Here in Earth's atmosphere?" Ratchet asked in disbelief.
Raf brought the image onto the large computer as everyone gathered around.
"Autobot or Decepticon?" Arcee asked.
"Impossible to tell given the image resolution," Ratchet said.
"In any event, this merits investigation," Optimus said.
"Could be a trap," Arcee said, "and we're down one bot. Should we reach out to Wheeljack?"
"I can hear you!" Bulkhead exclaimed from the floor.
Ratchet frowned. "I don't care if Bulkhead isn't combat ready," he said angrily, "after that revenge stunt he pulled with Miko, Wheeljack can stay rogue."
"An autobot may be in distress," Optimus said, "Ratchet, bring your medical kit."
Ratchet looked at Stormracer. "I may require assistance."
His assistant nodded.
Soon the team, minus Bulkhead, arrived at the crash site with their weapons up. Seeing the coast was clear, they made their way towards the crash site. The ground was torn up along with some trees, filled with energon leaking from the pod.
Seeing what looked like an emblem on it, Arcee wiped the dirt away, revealing who's side it belonged to.
"It is of decepticon origin," Optimus said.
Arcee looked at the large hole in the pod. "And the con inside blew his way out."
Just then shots were fired at the team from the side, making them look to see multiple vehicons attacking them. The bots wasted no time as they fired back. Ratchet had Stormracer take cover behind the rocks as insecticons appeared.
"All those cons came out of one pod?" Arcee asked.
"Humans refer to the phenomenon as a clown car," Ratchet answered as he activated his scalpel.
"They don't look like they're clowning around," Stormracer said as she fired her EMP.
The bots continued fighing as an insecticon landed near Stormracer. She fired her weapon, only for the beast to block it with his arm. But just as the large insecticon was about to attack the femme, Bumblebee rushed over from behind and fired his blasters. The insecticon turned around and went to attack the scout, only for the autobot to fire multiple shots at his chest. The beast then fell to the ground offlined.
"Bee, six o clock!" Stormracer warned as she fired an EMP pulse.
The pulse flew over Bumblebee's head towards another insecticon that was coming at him from behind. The pulse hit the insecticon's helm, causing him to shriek as he staggered back. Bumblebee fired at his spark multiple times, offlining the overgrown bug.
The scout looked back at the assistant. "Thanks Storm."
"Any time," she said as she and him went to help the others.
The bots took cover as the vehicons continued firing at them. Just then shots were fired from behind Team Prime, making them turn around. Running through the trees, a white bot with blue stripes and red trim skidded across the ground before running straight towards them.
"Incoming!" Arcee shouted as she and Bumblebee pointed their weapons at him.
"Down in front!" the bot shouted.
To everyone's surprise, the newcomer leaped in front and fired back at the enemy.
"Friendly?" Arcee asked questionably.
Stormracer stared at the bot for a moment before her optics widened. "No way."
The unknown bot continued firing as an insecticon flew over and rammed into him. The bot did a back flip before firing at the large bug. But as he fired, one of his shots hit the energon leading up to the pod, causing it to ignite.
Everyone's optics widened at this.
"Fall back!" Optimus ordered.
Everyone including the new bot ran for cover as the fire rapidly made its way to the pod. Managing to reach the larger rocks in time, the team jumped and got behind just as the pod exploded.
Boom!
Dust and smoke covered their sight as they kept their helms down. Once the air cleared, everyone got up to see the damage done. Blue flames danced around the ground and trees, including what was left of the vehicons and insecticons.
The new bot got up on a rock to see the mess he made. He then grinned and cheered at his victory.
"WHOOO! Too hot for you, cons?!" he exclaimed as everyone walked over from behind.
Ratchet looked at Bumblebee. "Friend of yours?"
Bumblebee shook his head. "Nope."
"Never seen him before," Arcee added.
Stormracer however walked over towards the bot. "Smokescreen?"
The white and blue bot turned around. Recognizing the teal femme standing there, his optics widened as he jumped down in front of her. "Chem?"
A huge smile immediately spread across the femme's face. Letting out an excited scream, she nearly tackled the bot as she gave him a big hug. "Smokescreen!"
The bot now known as Smokescreen laughed as he excitedly hugged her back. "No way! You're here!"
Stormracer pulled away to get a better look at him. "Ohmygosh, I can't believe you're here! Look at you! You look great!"
"So do you! I see you finally ditched those goggles."
Stormracer laughed as she hugged him again. "I missed you so much!"
All the bots looked at the two in confusion. "Uh, Storm?" Arcee said, "mind telling us how you two know each other?"
Stormracer pulled away from the bot as she looked at the others. She sheepishly chuckled. "Oops! Sorry! This is Smokescreen. Him and I grew up together in Polyhex. We hung out all the time."
"Well, someone had to get you away from all those boring science data pads," Smokescreen said.
"It wouldn't have killed you to try reading one," Stormracer told him teasingly.
Smokescreen laughed as he put his arm around her. "Same old Chem."
"Chem?" Bumblebee asked.
"Oh, yeah! Chem was the name I went by before I changed it." She looked at Smokescreen. "I go by Stormracer now. Storm for short."
"Stormracer... I love it!" Smokescreen said with a thumbs up, "So cool!"
Arcee stepped forward. "Sorry to break up the reunion, but are we going to ignore what just happened?"
Smokescreen looked at the two-wheeler and grinned. "Oh yeah! Torching that energon leak. Pretty good plan, right?"
"Except that it wasn't your plan," Arcee argued, "It was a random shot that almost fried us to a crisp."
"Worked out, didn't it?" he responded.
"Thank you, fellow autobot," Optimus said as he walked over to him, "your valor is to be commended."
Smokescreen's optics widened in shock as soon as he saw the Prime. "I don't believe it. You're Optimus Prime!" He looked at Stormracer and the others excitedly. "He's Optimus Prime!"
"We know," Arcee said.
"Yes, yes," Ratchet added.
"That he is," Bumblebee bleeped.
Stormracer snickered at her friend. "Cool, huh?"
"Welcome to Earth, Smokescreen," Optimus greeted as he held out his servo to the bot.
Still excited, Smokescreen took the Prime's servo and shook it. "It's an honor to be here. Especially with you."
"Now what?" Ratchet asked, "it's not like we can just bring him back to base."
"Wouldn't be the first time an ally turned out to be a plant," Arcee added.
Stormracer frowned at her teammates. "Come on, bots. I know him. He's a hundred and ten percent good."
"We can't take any chances, Storm, you know that," Arcee told the teal femme.
Optimus looked at the emblem on the young mech's shoulder. It was an autobot emblem, but with stripes. "I see that you received your training from Cybertron's Elite Guard."
"True enough," Smokescreen said, "though it wasn't much more than a boot camp by the time I joined. Never even got a proper graduation ceremony."
"There was a war going on," Arcee pointed out.
"Hey, all I ever wanted was to be a soldier, serve the autobot cause. But what I got was security detail at Iacon."
"The Hall of Records of all places, Optimus do you not find this highly suspicious?" Ratchet asked his leader.
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence, Ratchet," Stormracer said.
The medic wasn't convinced along with the others.
Optimus looked at the Elite Guard. "Smokescreen, what was your assignment inside the Hall?"
"Guarding Alpha Trion during what turned out to be the final days of the war," Smokescreen answered.
"You served under the master archivist?"
"Ah, wasn't thrilled at first. Watching the back of an old bot instead of kicking con tailpipe!" The young bot slammed his fist into his servo on the last part.
The others just gave him looks. Stormracer cleared her throat, gaining Smokescreen's attention. She did a quick glance at Optimus, reminding Smokescreen the two Primes were friends.
Smokescreen looked at Optimus apologetically. "Sorry. But the big A turned out to be a great teacher, and a true friend. I mean, he was the one who petitioned Halligan and the High Council to make you a Prime."
Hearing Smokescreen say this, Optimus activated his commlink. "Rafael, activate the Groundbridge."
"That's it?" Arcee asked skeptically, "that's all you need to hear before inviting him to the party?"
"If my former mentor shared this information, it is because he considered Smokescreen a trusted ally," Optimus explained.
Stormracer happily squealed as she grabbed Smokescreens arm. "I can't wait to introduce you to Sierra. You're gonna love her."
Smokescreen looked at her questionably. "Who?"
Stormracer quickly filled him in as they all returned back to base. The humans got up as soon as they saw the new bot enter.
"Smoke, these are our human friends," Stormracer introduced as they walked over. "That's Jack, Rafael, Miko, and Sierra. Sierra is my human partner." She looked at the kids. "This is Smokescreen. We're old friends."
"Hiya!" Sierra greeted with a wave.
"Hey there," the white and blue mech said. He leaned towards the redhead. "So, Sierra, you been able to understand all her nerd talk?"
"Most of the time," the girl said with a smirk. "When I don't, I just smile and nod."
Smokescreen laughed. "I like her already."
Stormracer laughed along as she playfully swatted his arm.
"We haven't had somebody new here since Wheeljack," Miko said to the new bot, "What's your story, Smoke? Where'd you come from? How'd you get here? How many blasters you packing?"
Smokescreen looked at her questionably. "So, these are the lifeforms we're supposed to protect?" He looked at the bots. "Are they all like this?"
"Fortunately, not," Ratchet answered as he and the others approached, "but I too share Miko's fascination with how you came to arrive on Earth."
"In a decepticon escape pod," Arcee added before folding her arms.
"Come on you two," Stormracer said, "you can trust him."
"It's cool, Che- I mean, Storm," he said with a wink.
"Well?" Arcee asked.
Smokescreen smirked. "Tough crowd." He then began his story. "The main thrust of combat operations was at least twenty clicks from the Hall of Records. So things had been pretty quiet, but the situation went downhill fast. The cons launched a massive surge that wiped out the last line of defenses surrounding Iacon. I was the only thing left to hold them back, and let me tell ya, I was pumped. I mean, this was my chance to see real action for the first time, to prove myself. Until everything went black. Cons took me prisoner and dumped me onto a transport ship. But I managed to give a guard the slip and hopped in an escape pod. Apparently, it was a long-distance pod cause it knocked me into stasis. Next thing I knew, I'm hitting solid ground. Hard."
"The decepticon warship must have picked up the pod's beacon and guided it to Earth," Ratchet said.
"Which would explain Smokescreen's welcoming committee," Arcee added before smirking. "Hm. Bet those cons were disappointed not to find one of their own inside."
"Smokescreen, do you know of Alpha Trion's fate after the fall of Iacon?" Optimus asked.
"I wish I did," Smokescreen said before sadly looking down, "but that was the last I ever saw of him."
Optimus sadly glanced away.
"That's it," Smokescreen said, making the Prime look back at him. "My life story. Not exactly the glory I envisioned for myself. Until now! Being here with Optimus Prime? I knew I was destined for great things! I mean, now that you have help, how hard could it be to end this war?"
Everyone heard groaning, making them turn around to see Bulkhead slowly limping towards them. The wrecker had a frown on his face as he grunted at every step he took.
"Take a good look, Newbie," Bulkhead said as he limped over, "this is how hard."
Smokescreen looked at the large bot in shock.
"Uh, Smokescreen, this is Bulkhead," Stormracer said, trying to break the tension, "Bulkhead, this is Smokescreen. He's an old friend of mine."
Smokescreen gave the wrecker a wave and smile. "Hey."
Bulkhead only gave him a 'humph' before limping off to the side.
Optimus looked at the new bot. "Smokescreen, I would suggest that you take some time to become acclimated to your new surroundings. A tour of the base would be an excellent start."
"Sure thing!" Miko said.
Bulkhead groaned from the side, making the girl look to see him upset. Changing her mind, she looked back at the new recruit. "On second thought, now's not a good time for me."
"I'll show him around," Stormracer volunteered before elbowing Smokescreen's arm, "it will give us a chance to catch up."
"Sounds good to me," the recruit said with a smile.
"Alright! First off, this is the main hangar where the magic happens, over there is the medbay..."
Everyone watched as the two walked away, both excited that they were together again.
"Why do I get the feeling those two together are going to be impossible to live?" Arcee asked.
Ratchet vented in agreement.
"Well, at least Storm is acting like herself again," Bumblebee bleeped.
"Yeah," Raf said, "I've noticed Stormracers been quiet lately."
Knowing the real reason why, Sierra tried throwing them off. "It's probably nothing. She could be just having one of those weeks."
Everyone glanced at one another before shrugging, thinking the girl was right. Seeing she convinced them, Sierra let out a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile down the corridor, Stormracer continued showing her friend around as she explained how everything worked. They soon reached the storage units containing the relics.
"And here we keep all the relics we've collected. Phase shifter. Spark extractor. Immobilizer. All of these we found here buried on Earth. And talk about small universe because most of these came from-"
"The Iacon Hall of Records," Smokescreen finished as he looked at the phase shifter through the door window, "I remember these."
They walked up to another storage unit before Smokescreen noticed Airachnid frozen in a stasis pod. "Whoa! What kind of relic is she?"
Stormracer looked at the arachnicon and frowned. "The kind you don't want to mess with." She placed her servo on her torso where the spider femme impaled her. "Trust me."
Smokescreen looked at the prisoner before following his tour guide.
As they walked, Stormracer looked at the mech and happily smiled. "I still can't believe you're here. And you're Elite Guard! Just like you always wanted."
Smokescreen grinned. "I know, right?! Might not have been how I pictured it, but I did it!"
The femme wondered about something. "Hey, out of curiosity... did you know a femme named Lancer? She's another friend of mine that joined the Elite Guard."
Smokescreen stopped dead in his tracks, making Stormracer stop as well.
"No way!" he said in shock, "that's why your new name sounded familiar! You're the Stormracer Lancer talked about!"
Stormracer optics widened as she smiled. "You did know Lancer! Wait, she talked about me?"
"Uh, yeah! You and your other friend, Greenlight. Lancer had a lot of stories about the three of you. I can't believe she was talking about you this whole time!"
The teal autobot laughed. "Small world."
"Lancer was really cool. A little strict at times, but still, a good friend to have. She helped me a lot with training. Would definitely count on her to watch my back." He looked at the femme. "So, what about you? Wait, don't tell me. You're Optimus Prime's own personal scientist, right?!"
Stormracer sheepishly chuckled. "Actually, no. I'm uh... I'm the medic's assistant."
Smokescreen gave her a confused look. "Huh?"
"Yeah. I don't know if Lancer mentioned, but we weren't able to graduate from the science academy because of the war. Because of that I couldn't get into the science division. So, after a crazy story, I became Ratchet's assistant."
Smokescreen thought for a moment. "Now that you mention it, she did say something about you getting into the medical field. That stinks though. I can't believe you didn't get into the science division. That was your dream."
Stormracer gave him an assuring smile. "It's okay. I've learned a lot from Ratchet." Her smile grew. "Besides, you reached your dream! My best friend in the Elite Guard! Actually, I technically have two best friends that are in the Elite Guard. I'm very happy for you."
Smokescreen smiled. "Thanks, Chem. Uh, I mean, Storm."
Stormracer's smile disappeared. "Do you... know what happened to Lancer?"
Smokescreen's smile disappeared as he shook his head. "Sorry, I don't. She was stationed elsewhere while I was in the Hall of Records."
Stormracer sadly looked down.
"Hey, she could still be alive," Smokescreen said optimistically, "I mean, I made it out okay. Maybe she's somewhere out there fighting off the cons."
The femme chuckled. "Yeah. She probably is."
Smokescreen smiled and nudged her. "I'm really glad you're here. I missed you."
Stormracer smiled and nudged him back. "I missed you too, Smoke."
Meanwhile in the main hangar, Bulkead was sitting down with his arms crossed as he fumed about the new recruit.
"If you wanted to replace me, you should have called Wheeljack!" he angrily told the others. "I could have lived with that!"
"No one is replacing you, Bulkhead," Arcee assured him, "for one thing, Smokescreens too green."
"Well, Bulks as green as they get," Miko said.
"What Arcee means is, Smokescreen still has a great deal to learn," Ratchet clarified to the girl.
"And once you got him trained, then what?! Huh?!" Bulkhead fumed, "he's in, I'm a doorstop!"
"Bulkhead, your place with us is not in jeopardy," Optimus told the green mech, "but there is no dispute that we have long required additional fire power. It is essential that our team learns to work with our new recruit. Not against him."
"Better hope the hotshot's blasters are as big as his mouth," Bulkhead said before looking down at the floor, "how hard can it be?"
"Hey, everyone!" Raf said from the computer, "check this out." He then brought an image on the larger computer screen.
Ratchet grumbled as he and the others walked over. "Don't tell me it's another Bumblebee sight-" he didn't finish his sentence as soon as he saw the image. "Oh my."
Everyone looked at the picture in shock. On it was a dig site with unearthed energon in the center. But it wasn't the typical blue energon.
"Red energon," Optimus said.
"Here?" Ratchet asked, "On Earth?"
"I'm sorry, what's red energon?" Sierra asked.
"An extremely rare and volatile form of energon," Ratchet explained, "refined into fuel it provides the power of hyper speed."
Stormracer and Smokescreen soon returned as they approached the team.
"What's going on?" the femme asked. Seeing the image, her optics widened. "Is that red energon?"
"We must have Agent Fowler clear the dig site of all human presence, in the event we are not the only ones who have discovered its location," Optimus said.
"Now you're talking!" Smokescreen said as he stepped forward, "Let's scramble up some con circuits!" He punched his fist into his servo, ready for action.
"Given your limited field experience, I believe further training is required before you are battle ready," Optimus told him.
"Optimus, with all due respect-" the recruit tried to argue.
"Furthermore, we autobots live on this planet as robots in disguise," the Prime continued, "you'll need to obtain an earth-based vehicle mode."
"In order to maintain a low profile," Arcee added, "if that's possible for you."
Smokescreen smiled. "If you're talking wheels, bring them on!"
"I'll take Smoke outside and show him his options," Stormracer said.
"You need to get back to work," Ratchet told her.
"Aww!" both the assistant and recruit whined in unison.
Sierra chuckled as she walked over to her guardian. "Jack and I can help Smokescreen find an alt mode. It will give us a chance to get to know him better."
Stormracer smiled. "Thanks, Sierra." She leaned towards the girl and loudly whispered. "Make sure to keep an eye on him. He can be a bit of a troublemaker."
"Hey!" Smokescreen exclaimed.
Stormracer pretended to be clueless as she looked at him. "Hmm? I didn't say anything." She innocently whistled as she walked away towards her workstation.
Optimus looked at the others. "Autobots, prepare to roll out."
Smokescreen watched as Optimus, Arcee, and Bumblebee departed through the groundbridge before the redhead got his attention.
"Follow us, Smokescreen," Sierra said as Jack joined her.
"Lead the way," the recruit said.
Stormracer watched as the three left the hangar. Smiling to herself, she went to work.
(Time skip)
Laying on top of a mountain, Smokescreen, Sierra, and Jack watched cars drive by down below, hoping to find a good vehicle form for the new bot. However, Smokescreen didn't like his options.
"Nope!" he said to a pale yellow car.
"How about that one?" Jack asked as they looked at an old truck.
"Meh, more Ratchet's speed, don't you think?"
"Cement truck?" the boy suggested.
"Yeah, if I were a constructicon." Smokescreen looked at the humans. "Seriously? This is the best your planet has to offer?"
"No, but this Jasper," Jack said as he rested his head on his fist.
"Not exactly the most entertaining place in the world," Sierra added.
Smokescreen looked back at the road. "I feel for you."
Sierra sighed as she scooted closer to Jack and leaned against him. "Not a lot for pickings today."
"To bad there's not a car show in town," the boy said.
Smokescreen looked at the two humans laying close together. He smirked. "So, how long you two been dating?"
Both looked up at the bot. "That obvious, huh?" Sierra asked.
"A little."
"A few months now," Jack answered. "You got a girl, Smoke?"
"Me? Nah," Smokescreen said, "little hard to find a partner now a days."
"You and Stormracer seem really close."
Smokescreen chuckled. "Well, don't tell her, but I had the biggest crush on her growing up. But she's more into the bad bot type."
Sierra glanced away and rolled her eyes. I knew it, she thought to herself. She then noticed a cool looking car coming up. "Hey, check out that one," she said as she pointed at it.
Jack and Smokescreen looked at the low riding sports car passing by.
"Now that's more like it!" Smokescreen said with a smile. Scanning the car in time, he backed up before transforming into his new vehicle mode. "How do I look?"
"I wouldn't exactly call it low profile, but it looks good on you," Jack said.
"I love it!" Sierra said with a smile.
Smokescreen revved his engine in excitement. "I can't wait to show Storm!"
(Time skip)
As the three made their way back, Stormracer was finishing up her work when she heard Ratchet attempting to speak with the away team. Curious, she walked over to the computer.
"What's happening?" she asked her boss.
"Don't know," Ratchet said. Finally, he was able to get a hold of the autobot leader. "Optimus, is something wrong?"
Smokescreen, Sierra, and Jack walked in as the Prime responded.
"Starscream has come for the red energon," Optimus said, "and I fear he will not be detoured in his quest."
"Starscream?!" Smokescreen exclaimed with a frown, "I've heard stories about that stiletto heeled creep back on Cybertron. Send me in doc."
Ratchet looked at him. "When Optimus requires back up, he will ask for it."
"Aw, come on! I got my v mode and everything! I'm suped up and ready to roll!"
"Yep ep ep! What part of further training did you not understand?!"
"Starscream is most likely wearing the apex armor," Stormracer said, "he's going to be tough to beat with it on. Maybe I could-"
"Oh no!" Ratchet exclaimed as he frowned at her, "last time you tried to fight him, you nearly got yourself killed."
"I know, but maybe I can distract Starscream and buy the bots time to grab the red energon."
"Out of the question."
"Then let me get out there and help!" Bulkhead volunteered.
"Not you too!" Ratchet exclaimed. Groaning, he tried contacting the autobot leader. "Optimus, what is your status?"
There was no response.
"Optimus, I repeat, what is your status?"
Nothing.
Bulkhead limped over. "Ratchet, they need me. I can do this!"
Ratchet only kept trying to reach the others. "Arcee? Bumblebee?"
Bulkhead frowned. "Did you hear what I said?!"
"I heard," Ratchet answered as he turned around and stepped towards him, "and I'm ignoring you." Thinking the bots were indeed need of backup, Ratchet had no choice. "This may be your opportunity after all Smokescr-" He stopped when he looked over where Smokescreen was. But there was no sign of him. "Where is Smokescreen?"
Not even noticing her friend had vanished, Stormracer looked around in confusion. "Smoke?"
Meanwhile down the corridor, the recruit had made his way to one of the storage units and opened the door. He looked at the phase shifter placed in the center.
"That's the one," he said.
"You there!" the medic's voice called out.
Smokescreen looked to the side to see Ratchet and Stormracer making their way over to him.
"What in the name of the Allspark do you think you're doing?" Ratchet sternly asked.
Even Stormracer looked concerned. "What's going on, Smoke?"
Smokescreen fully faced the two. "Just need to quickly borrow the phase shifter here."
"Borrow?" the medic asked with a frown, "if I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to steal it."
"Look, if Starscream has the apex armor like Storm says, then this relic is the best option," the recruit said.
Stormracer looked at the phase shifter.
"You're out of line." Ratchet said, "now shut that door and-"
"Wait!" Stormracer interrupted. She looked at Smokescreen. "You have a plan, don't you?"
"The apex armor is practically indestructible, right?" the recruit said, "but, if I use the phase shifter, I could phase through the armor-"
"And get Starscream out of it," Stormracer finished as her optics widened. "That's brilliant, Smoke!"
Ratchet looked at the two before letting out a frustrated vent. "Fine. But you need to get there fast."
Soon as Smokescreen grabbed the phase shifter, the three ran back to the main hangar. Smokescreen immediately transformed into his vehicle mode as Ratchet activated the groundbridge.
"Be careful, Smoke!" Stormracer shouted as the recruit drove off through the portal.
She and the others waited by the computer, hoping Smokescreen's plan would work. After a while, they heard Optimus' voice through the comm unit. "Ratchet, please open the groundbridge."
Soon Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Smokescreen returned to base with the apex armor in hand. Once it was set off to the side, Smokescreen went over to Ratchet with the phase shifter in his servo.
"Told ya I just needed to borrow it for a while," Smokescreen told the medic. He looked at the others. "Doc here thought I was trying to steal your relics."
The medic swiped the phase shifter from the recruit's servo. "Only until you explained your plan, which I then sanctioned. It's called protocol."
"Ratchet is correct," Optimus said as he approached Smokescreen, "standard procedure must be observed by every member of this team."
Feeling that he messed up, Smokescreen sadly looked down.
"However," Optimus added, "I believe we must also commend Smokescreen."
The recruit perked up at this as the Prime continued.
"You have proven to be a quick study by choosing to place strategy above bravado."
Arcee looked at the others. "There's going to be no living with him now."
"While this may lack the pageantry of a proper elite guard ceremony, I wish to welcome you to Team Prime." Optimus said as he gestured towards the others with a smile.
Stormracer smiled as she walked over to Smokescreen. "Welcome to the team, Newbie."
Smokescreen smiled back. "Fighting alongside Optimus Prime and my best friend? I couldn't ask for anything better."
Stormracer chuckled as they both high fived.
Everyone else gathered around and welcomed their new member. All but one.
Glancing over, Stormracer noticed Bulkhead sadly looking at the group before limping back down the hall. Miko took notice as well and tried to cheer him up. However, the girl's attempt failed as he kept going further down the hall.
(Time skip)
Having shut himself in his hangar, Bulkhead laid on his berth and stared up at the ceiling. He let out a vent as he laid there pouting. Just then there was a knock on his door, making him frown. "No one's here!" he said.
"Don't know who No One is, but I'm here to see Bulkhead," Stormracer's voice joked from the other side.
Bulkhead groaned. "What do you want, Storm?"
"Can we talk?" she asked, this time sounding serious.
After a long pause, the wrecker vented as he sat up. "Doors open."
The teal femme opened the door and stepped inside. "Hey," she said as the door closed behind her.
The wrecker frowned. "Thought you would be hanging out with your old buddy."
"And neglect my other buddy?" she asked as she walked over and sat down beside him. "What's wrong, Bulk?"
Bulkhead glanced away and let out a vent. "Do you think I'm useless now?"
Stormracer's optics widened. "What?! Of course not!"
He frowned. "Then why do I feel like I've been replaced?"
Stormracer put her servo on his shoulder. "You're not being replaced, Bulkhead," she said, "your legs going to get better, and you'll be back out in the field. You just need time to fully heal."
He shook her servo off. "Uh huh. And how long will that take, huh? Weeks? Months?" He vented. "The newbie did good today, getting the apex armor from Starscream. Guess no one needs me anymore."
Not liking the way he was talking, Stormracer frowned at him. "Stop talking like that! No one can replace you, Bulkhead! Not even Smokescreen! You are the strongest, most hard working out of all of us, and there is no one in this entire universe that can ever replace you. And I refuse to allow you to think otherwise."
Bulkhead's frown softened as she continued.
"Your leg will get better. And when it does, you'll be back out there with the others. Heck, you and I will even go on our own crazy missions like before. But until then, you still need to recover. And when you're ready, we'll all be there cheering you on."
The wrecker was quiet as he sadly looked at the floor.
Stormracer let out a vent. "You're not just a member of Team Prime. You're family. And we all care about you." She then stood up and walked towards the door. She stopped in front of it before turning around. "I know Smokescreen can be a bit much, but he means well. Please give him a chance." Soon as the door opened, she walked out of the room with the door closing shut behind her.
Bulkhead looked at the door before flopping onto his back with a groan. He continued staring up at the ceiling as he thought about what the femme said. Though he still felt upset, hearing her say those things made him feel slightly better. However, he knew it would still be a while for him to get used to the new recruit.
And that was chapter 53 New Recruit! We finally have Smokescreen in the story! YES!
Shout out to Cure Cybertron for sharing the idea of Storm and Smoke being old friends and meeting again on Earth. Thanks again for the great idea!
Next chapter of course is Human Factor which will focus on both Stormracer and Knock Out. How will they react to Cylas? We'll have to wait and see.
Thank you all for reading this chapter and hopefully I will post again soon. Until next time! God bless!