Autumn POV
I couldn't really believe it! Okay so she isn't my human Carrier, but I knew… I could feel that she was telling me the truth when she said she was my Carrier! She created me, and I just knew that. I clung to her like a lost child holding on to her mother. I was finally safe! I knew it… no bot would be able to do anything to me with her around, and here I am safe in her arms.
'Mami' loves me! I know she does, because I can feel it! It's a warm gentle feeling that spreads throughout my whole frame. It leaves me feeling like I'm out of breath even though I don't breathe anymore. It just feels so… good!
I haven't heard her designation, and I don't care what it is either. I'm going to call her 'Mami'! It's the same thing I called my human Carrier when I was little. It's German for Mommy and I think it fits her perfectly!
I looked her over to see what she really looked like since I hadn't really seen anything except her face plates. When I did, my optics bugged! I'd seen a few human women with that kind of figure in magazine pictures, but I never thought I'd meet one! She didn't have any armor yet, so it was her bare protoform I was looking at. Mami was naked! Still, she had a real hourglass figure that put every human woman I'd ever seen to shame. Her chest plates made it look like she had a good sized bust on her for her size, a narrow waist, and hips that flared out in a way that screamed sexy!
Mami smiled at me and then she put Mikaela on my right shoulder. I looked over at my friend a little worriedly.
"Are you okay?" I asked her.
"I'm fine. I could use some coffee right now though. Somebody started making a bunch of noise and woke me up early!" Mikaela said smiling even though she finished off by glaring at Mami.
"I'm really very sorry about that Mikaela, but I simply couldn't wait any longer. Why don't you get some shorts or something on, and I'll take you both to the rec room so you can have some coffee, and Autumn can get some energon?" Mami said smoothly.
That voice! It's the same one I remember… well barely remember! But it sure sounds the way I remember it. My bot Mami looks and sounds exactly the way I remember my human Mami. It's like having her again. I know she's not the same, but somehow, that doesn't matter… because she's here!
"Sounds good to me! What about you Autumn?" Mikaela asked me.
"I could use some energon… actually, I think I need a lot of it." I answered as I checked my HUD. It showed my power levels at 28% which is low enough to make Ratchet start yelling if he finds out, so I better down some fuel before he does.
Mami turned to the back of the medbay, but Optimus stepped in front of her. That is when my optics really bugged! I had never looked down at Optimus before… as big as he is; he only comes up to the bottom of Mami's chest! He's a lot bigger than I am, but she is even bigger than he is! That is when I knew it… I don't have to be scared of him anymore! Mami will protect me!
Arcee POV
I watched as Optimus stood in front of Kinetica. As large and imposing as he can be because of his size, she was still a lot bigger.
"What are your plans regarding Autumn?" He asked seriously.
"Immediately, or long term?" Kinetica replied lightly. "Immediately, I plan to take her to the rec room because she needs to refuel. My long term plans are to ensure her adjustment to being a Cybertronian so that she is not only comfortable among us, but happy to be with us."
"You believe that you can succeed in this where we haven't? The kind of torment that Autumn has endured will take time to heal… a lot of it." Optimus shot back with narrowed optics.
"That's true. However, I have an advantage that hasn't been available to you. I know exactly what Autumn has endured from the time she was born. She both loved and cherished her human mother, and even though she now has only a couple of memories left, that love has never wavered. I will see to it that she recovers all of the pleasant memories of her mother! Rose Michelle Mondschein was a woman to be proud of; she was a very honorable person who loved her daughter fiercely. I fully intend to give Autumn that same intensity of love because she needs it." Kinetica answered calmly.
"You seem quite certain that this will make a difference where Bluestreak's love did not." Optimus stated gravely.
Autumn was swiveling her head as she looked back and forth between the two worriedly. It was plain to see that she was scared and nervous, but I had no doubts that Optimus wouldn't do anything to hurt her, and I was sure that Kinetica wasn't going to hurt Autumn either.
I saw Kinetica give a sad but beautiful smile as she looked down at Optimus.
"Yes Bluestreak loved her. He still does, and she loves him just as much. He loves Autumn with his entire spark… but he isn't her Carrier. Autumn is still young enough that she has a physical need for the love of at least one of her parents. With her human mother being killed so early in her life, and her father being what he was; it is now up to me to give Autumn what she needs, and I will enjoy doing exactly that!" Kinetica said firmly before she looked at Autumn and smiled brightly.
There was an almost hypnotized look on Autumn's face as she reached up and gently caressed Kinetica's cheek. She was completely enraptured and I could understand why. As I recalled everything I knew about Autumn, I remembered what Soundwave had said over the comm system. According to him, Autumn needed a femme in a position of authority; one that would protect her, and love her while giving her the physical and emotional support that she needs. With Kinetica being the All Spark, there could be no doubts about her absolute authority among all Cybertronians! This strange new development meant that Autumn now had exactly what she needed most, because I could see that she really did care about Autumn.
"Now, Optimus… Mikaela needs to get some proper clothes on before she appears in public, and Autumn needs to refuel. Anything else to be discussed needs to take place in the rec room while these two are having their requirements met." Kinetica said firmly.
That was when Mikaela fixed Optimus with a fairly fierce glare and almost growled as she spoke. "Coffee, now! Why is that a problem?" She demanded.
Optimus nodded and stepped aside. Kinetica walked over to Ratchet's desk and lifted her hand to Autumn's right shoulder where she picked up Mikaela and placed her gently on the desk so she could get some proper clothes on. Mikaela grabbed a pair of cut off shorts and quickly pulled them on. As soon as she did, Kinetica picked her up and put her back on Autumn's right shoulder.
As Kinetica turned to leave the med bay, I saw Mikaela grabbing hold of Autumn's frame with her left hand so she could hold on. That alone showed me that Kinetica was being conscientious about what she was doing, because putting Mikaela on Autumn's left shoulder would have been much easier, but Mikaela would have had a difficult time of holding on to Autumn with her cast.
As Kinetica walked towards the entrance to the med bay Prowl sat up. A frown graced his features for a moment before he stood up and turned to face Ratchet.
"My lack of a severe processor ache is indicative that you have deviated from your normal procedure. I would inquire as to what exactly you did." Prowl stated curiously.
"You mean you normally have a strong processor ache after being rebooted?" Ratchet asked insistently.
Prowl merely nodded and crossed his arms while waiting for the CMO to answer his question.
"Then Kinetica was right. Letting you reboot on your own avoids the pain that a manual reboot causes." Ratchet said while he frowned as he thought about that.
"That would indeed appear to be the case." Prowl said before facing Kinetica.
I saw Prowl look her over for a moment before he fixed his gaze firmly on Autumn.
"It would seem that your presence is actually beneficial to Autumn. It is rare to see her smile and I have only witnessed that when she is interacting with Ravage or Bluestreak.
Sunstreaker snorted derisively. "Ha! You should have seen her that first day Sides and I were showing her how to drive. She was so happy she was jumping up and down."
"Really?" Prowl demanded in doubt.
"Yes. Autumn was quite thrilled with her achievements that day. She enjoys learning from those two." Kinetica stated in response.
"That information is very interesting, because to my knowledge, no one actually enjoys interacting with those two." Prowl said seriously.
Both of the Terror twins looked like they were ready to blow some gaskets at that remark.
"While others might find them difficult to deal with, Autumn finds them to be very enjoyable to learn from, and she is very eager to continue her lessons with them. They have been firm, but also kind in their dealings with her. That is the reason I wish for them to continue teaching her. The size of my frame will preclude assuming an alt mode with the performance necessary to teach Autumn properly. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are exceptional in their driving abilities and they have demonstrated an appropriate level of skill at teaching others; once one adds Autumn's eagerness to learn from them in the equation, you will see that having Autumn continue her lessons with them is for the best." Kinetica said firmly.
I really couldn't believe what I was hearing! Someone was not just defending the twins but actually complimenting them on something that had nothing to do with fighting or making high grade! It was a first for me to hear such a thing.
Prowl arched a brow ridge while looking at Kinetica seriously. "You do not believe that their temperaments could be detrimental to Autumn's development?
"No I don't!" Kinetica answered firmly. "While they might be considered surly by others, they too care about Autumn in their own way. That is why she is progressing so rapidly. They enable Autumn to enjoy learning from them even as they make her push herself to her limits. They actively encourage Autumn to do her best, and they even compliment her when she performs well. They are excellent driving instructors for her!"
I looked over at the twins to see that they each looked like someone had hit them… hard! They were gaping at Kinetica. Apparently they had never expected someone to say anything good about them. I have to admit, I never expected it either.
Ironhide had turned his head to look at the two speculatively, and Optimus was nodding.
"Most tend to think I only keep them around for their fighting skills, but I have said before that there is far more to those two than meets the eye." Optimus said with a nod.
Sunstreaker and Sideswipe turned their disbelieving faces to Optimus and gaped at him.
"Of course there is!" Kinetica said fervently as she fixed Optimus with a hard look. "Otherwise they would have joined the Decepticons. No one can endure what they have been through without being affected in some way. Yes… they've been forced to maim others… they've also been forced to kill so many times that even they do not know how many times they killed in the arena! However… regardless of what they were made to do by others; they have not lost their sense of honor, compassion, or decency! That is exactly why Sunstreaker insisted that Autumn remain under their tutelage until they are satisfied with her driving performance! Were those two actually even half as cold and callous as many believe them to be… Autumn would have been given a single lesson and left alone to figure out the rest for herself. Even now there are plans to continue instructing Autumn until she doesn't have to think about what she's doing with her alt mode, driving at the peak of her performance abilities will be second nature to her."
"I thought they'd be as mean as Ironhide and Mirage were, but they aren't. They're fun! They're even teaching me how to have fun by sliding around a turn and going so fast that if I had wings I'd fly!" Autumn told Kinetica with a smile as she looked up at the bot.
Kinetica laughed with a musical sound as she looked down at Autumn. "And what is that sliding method called again?"
"They called it 'Drifting'! They told me that a squealing tire is a happy tire, but make sure that it's my back tires that have all the fun because I'll lose control and crash if my front tires start squealing." Autumn answered happily.
"Hold it! Time out!" Mikaela bellowed almost angrily from her position on Autumn's shoulder.
"You're learning how to drift? In a Ferrari?!" Mikaela demanded with wide eyes. "You are so taking me with you for that next lesson!" She added in a firm jealous tone.
"Okay, but Ravage is riding shotgun!" Autumn answered grinning.
That one comment was very surprising to me. Autumn rarely speaks up about something she wants, and when she does… she is very tentative about it… as if she expects to be physically punished for it. A grinning demand like this… is completely unheard of!
"You mean like we did the day before yesterday? I won't mind that at all; we'll all have some fun!" Mikaela retorted eagerly.
That was when Ravage raised up from her spot in a corner of the medbay and stretched. Even though the Cybercat was completely silent while doing this, Kinetica still turned to face her.
"Now that you're awake, you can join us for morning energon." Kinetica said while kneeling down and extending her right hand.
I was surprised that Ravage didn't even hesitate. She jumped into the extended hand and Kinetica stood back up while handing the Cybercat to Autumn.
I know that Ravage is very leery of almost everyone, but there was no reluctance in dealing with Kinetica. Adding her to the number, makes four bots that Ravage will interact with. Soundwave, Autumn, Optimus on one occasion, and Kinetica are the only bots that Ravage has had nonviolent contact with. That alone tells me quite a lot.
As soon as Ravage is in Kinetica's hand, the large Cybercat starts purring! That is very surprising to me because it shows that Ravage actually likes Kinetica.
Autumn took Ravage in her left hand with an even wider smile. Once the Cybercat was securely positioned, Autumn looked up at Kinetica with pure adoration in her optics.
The large femme had waited until it was clear that Autumn was ready before she left the med bay and headed straight for the rec room. Upon arrival she quickly selected an empty table and placed Autumn in a seat without upsetting Ravage or even Mikaela.
"I'll be right back." She said before moving to the energon dispenser.
Several of us followed her over there, and she politely stepped back and allowed us to get ours first. It was a very good thing she did, because Kinetica grabbed a tray and loaded it down with twenty cubes of energon! She added a some minerals to three of the cubes added a large container of coffee along with various creams and sweeteners before going back to the table.
She sat down on Autumn's left and put the tray in front of her, and I saw several sets of optics and one pair of eyes bulge at the number of cubes on the tray. There seemed to be enough there for the rest of us, but it was clear that three of those cubes were strictly for Autumn. I suppose that two of them are for Ravage… but that means she plans to consume fifteen cubes of energon!
The first thing Kinetica did, was pass the coffee supplies over to Mikaela before handing a cube to Autumn and opened a cube for Ravage. That was when she slid the tray with the remaining cubes closer to her.
"Is there a good reason to have so many cubes of energon for yourself?" Optimus asked intently.
"Yes, Optimus, there is. My frame contains a lot more systems than your or Ratchet's, which means that my power requirements are much higher. Right now I am still low on power and can't bring several of those systems online yet." Kinetica answered easily as she lifted a cube to drink.
"Parents always need more than their kids. If I need three, then she needs a lot more than that." Autumn said wisely.
"Am I to understand that even after five cubes of high grade that you are still at less than half power?" Ratchet demanded angrily.
"That is correct Ratchet. However, this amount of energon will sustain my frame for quite a while because my systems are also far more efficient than yours." Kinetica replied before drinking almost a fourth of the cube. "I gave Autumn three, because her power levels are also quite low. I will not allow her to descend to such a state again."
"I would inquire as to the exact level of power available to you Autumn." Prowl asked with a frown.
Kinetica answered before Autumn could reply. "She emerged from recharge with a reading of 28%. I am now constantly monitoring her power levels and I can assure you that they will never become so low again."
"28%?" Ratchet bellowed. "She was at full capacity when she entered recharge!"
"I know. As I said earlier, I transferred the least amount of power that I could. Even so… I don't like having her power level as low as it is. Right now, she is at 39% thanks to the energon she is drinking, and her energy level will continue to climb." Kinetica answered calmly.
"You are cognizant of Autumn's current energy levels? How is that possible?" Prowl asked.
Everyone began looking at Kinetica intently while waiting for that answer, and I can't blame them. Just how does she know that?
"The Creation Bond I have with Autumn is far more inclusive than any that you or even Ratchet is familiar with. I am aware of Autumn's entire frame… I will know the instant that she receives any damage. Even if it is a simple scuff of her paint. This allows me to monitor her frame status, power levels, and emotional state. If she wishes to, Autumn is also able to communicate with me through that bond. No matter what happens now, she will never be, or feel alone again!" Kinetica answered firmly before finishing the first cube and getting another.
At that point Sunstreaker and Sideswipe both started snickering while looking at each other mischievously.
"What are you two planning now?" Ratchet demanded irritably.
"We're not planning anything, Hatchet! That's the same kind of bond my brother and I have, so you may not be familiar with it, but we are!" Sunstreaker retorted with a glare.
"You are absolutely correct Sunstreaker, I have actually formed two bonds with Autumn! The first is a standard Creation Bond, and the other is that of a split spark which you share with your brother. It means that I will be able to closely monitor Autumn without being in her presence. Once she is old enough, I will then give her the option of dissolving those Bonds." Kinetica told Sunstreaker with a smile.
Suddenly Mikaela started laughing heartily. "Somehow, I have a sneaky feeling that things are about to change around her… a lot!"