The mainland of the state of Maine where the Rescue Bots training center is located. Optimus had me training with the new Rescue Bots recruits before heading to Griffin Rock. I'm not a Rescue Bot. I'm on Optimus and Bee's team that deal with the Decepticons. My brother, who leads the Rescue team on Griffin Rock, will be delighted to know that he will be helping our team with a rescue since Inferno is down for a while.

"For a Rescue Bot, you still have a lot to learn, Blurr, but you did good today. Pretty quick on your feet."

"Thanks, Bluesteel. Glad you could train with us. We didn't even know there were female Autobots on Optimus' team."

"Very few know for a reason, Blurr." Then I turned to Salvage. "We could use someone like you on the team, Salvage. If you ever want to quit being a Rescue Bot and become an engineer for Optimus, let me know."

"I will, but I enjoy being a Rescue Bot."

"I'm glad you do, Salvage. I have to be getting to Griffin Rock. Can't wait to surprise Heatwave. He doesn't even know I'm coming." Salvage activated the ground bridge. I walked through the ground bridge to the firehouse. I was greeted by a robotic dog.

Heatwave went to see what the robotic dog was barking at. He was shocked at who came through the ground bridge.

"It can't be!"

I transformed to robot mode. "And why can't it be, bro? Surprised to see me after so long?"

"Yeah, I am. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise, silly. I also know you've been hiding your secret from your team."

"How do you know that?"

"We're twins, remember. I've felt everything through the bond. Anger, excitement, everything."

"Which ground bridge did you come from?"

"The one on the mainland."

"The training center?"

"Yep. Optimus had me train with Salvage and Blurr before I came here. Blurr was pretty quick on his feet in the simulation. He still has a long way to go, but his spark is definitely in the right place."

"We'll have to agree to disagree on that, Blue."

"I haven't heard that nickname in a very long time. Is Whiny Blades still around?"

"Yep, but he's currently on assignment overseas."

"And what about Boulder and Chase?"

"Boulder is in the Pacific Northwest and Chase is here. Him and Chief are on patrol. What brings you here?"

"Optimus needs your help. Just you. Inferno is down due to a hard hit from Kickback and Shrapnel. Ratchet isn't sure when he'll be back on his feet."

"I'd love to come and help, but I can't leave my team without a leader, Blue. You know that."

"Do you trust them enough to do their jobs without you?"

"Of course, but I'm leaving Kade without a partner?"

"Who's Kade?" Just then, the elevator came down to the Rescue Bots Recreational area. 2 Humans walked out of it.

"Who are they?"

"That's Cody and his father, Chief Charlie Burns."

"I will ask again, who is Kade?"

"Kade is Chief Burns' oldest son and my partner."

"Heatwave, who's your new friend?"

"Cody, Chief Burns, I'd like you to meet Bluesteel. She's my twin sister."

"Twin sister? I thought Cybertronians didn't have siblings?"

"He kept this secret from everyone, Cody. I understand why he did it. He didn't want to be distracted. As for Cybertronians not having siblings, not true. I'm friends with a set of twins."

"So, what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, Bluesteel? Optimus didn't mention that there was another bot coming?"

"It was my choice, Chief. I didn't want Optimus notifying anyone here. I hadn't seen my brother in a long time. I also need to take him with me for about a week."

"Optimus is on board with Heatwave leaving?"

"His orders, Chief. When we come back, I get to have some down time with my brother and his rescue team."

Chase walked in not long after refueling. I turned towards the footsteps. "Chase! Its good to see you!"

"Bluesteel? I thought you left to join Optimus' team?"

"I did join his team. I came for my brother. Then I when we come back, I get to hang with him for a few months."

"Can I ask what you need Heatwave for?"

"Optimus needs him for some search and rescue missions and other things. The "other things" I have no idea on. He will be safe when we go behind enemy lines."

Just then, Kade had come down in the elevator. He exited it and saw a new bot.

"You look like Heatwave."

"I had scanned a different vehicle mode for here. My current vehicle mode would have drawn WAY too much attention for my liking."

"And Blurr doesn't?"

"If you had seen my previous vehicle mode, you'd understand my need to change."

"What's your name?"

"You first, Red."

"This is my son, Kade. He's Heatwave's partner."

"Isn't that Red Alert's nickname, Blue?"

"Yep. Kade has red hair, so it fits."

"Point made. How is Red?"

"Still paranoid as ever. Even more so since his friend, Inferno is down for a while."

"Is that why Optimus asked for me?"

"Yep. He knows you're a capable leader, Wave. The search and rescue team is Inferno's. With him down,…"

"Optimus needs a temp. replacement."

"You got it."

"Whoa, whoa. You're leaving, Heatwave? What am I supposed to do without you?"

"Kade, you did fine without him for a long time. I think you'll be fine without him for a while again."

"My apologies Kade. My name is Bluesteel. I'm Heatwave's twin sister."

Kade and Chase looked at Heatwave. "Long story. Tell you when we get back."

Chase stepped up to me and extended his hand to me. "Give me your word you will bring him back in one piece, Bluesteel. We'd be lost without him."

I shook his hand and nodded. "I will, Chase. Prowl asked me to ask you if you were still studying police codes since being stationed here?"

"Tell him I study every day. Also tell him thank you for checking in on me. He's the reason why I studied to become a police bot."

"Good to know. Try not to take things so literally, ok. Some things were not meant to be analyzed or understood."

"Been telling him that for years now." I chuckled a bit.

"Alright, Wave. Time to go. Optimus is waiting for us at the training center. From there, we will ground bridge to the base where Bee and the others are waiting for us."

Kade walked up to me. I kneeled down. "You have something you would like to say, Kade?"

"Keep him safe. He's not just my partner. He's my friend."

"I will, Kade."

~You need to tell me more about Kade later, bro. He seems to really care about your well-being.~

~So I noticed.~

I called for a ground bridge back to the training center on the mainland. We walked through and Optimus greeted us on the other side.

"Thank you for retrieving Heatwave, Bluesteel. How did Chief Burns take the news?"

"Not very well, but he understood."

"Kade wasn't either." I looked at my brother.

"Can you blame him, bro? I took his partner from him. He's stuck with a non-transforming fire truck for a while."

"Thank you for this opportunity to help your team, Optimus. I've been waiting for this moment."

"Prime, he's gonna need a weapon before we go behind enemy lines. I promised Kade and Chase that I would bring him back in one piece. He needs to be able to protect himself if he gets shot at. Especially, if we get separated from the rest of the team."

I looked over at Salvage. "Call Chase and tell him that he's temporary Rescue Bots leader 'til Heatwave gets back. I think he forgot to tell Chase that before we left." Then I looked at my brother, who nodded at me.

"And have Boulder and Blades head back to Griffin Rock. I don't want Chase doing rescues by himself."

After all that was done, another ground bridge opened up to where Bee and the others were waiting for us. All 3 of us walked through it. It was the scrapyard that Bee talked about the last time he visited the Rescue Bots on Griffin Rock.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

"Heatwave! Its good to see you again!"

"You too, Bee. My sister filled me in on what you need from me."

"Are you ready to go behind enemy lines with us, Heatwave?"

"Bee, Heatwave needs to be trained on how to use a weapon in case he gets separated from the extraction team."

"Then what better bot than his own sister to teach him. You might wanna scan another vehicle again, Blue."

"I agree. Red is NOT my color. That's Sides' color."

"You wouldn't believe who showed up while you were gone?"

"Please tell me it was Sunny?"

Just before Bee spoke, I heard someone behind me. "Who else would have shown up, Blue?"

I turned around and saw Sunny standing in front of me. I hugged him. "Sunny! I've missed you, you yellow nutcase!"

"I've missed you more, teacher's pet!"

Heatwave and Bee looked at each other then at us with strange looks.

Sunny and I looked at each other and smiled, then looked at them. "Sunny use to drive me nuts back in the day. Every time we went on patrol, he was always blinding me with his sparkling wax job on his paint or his rear bumper."

"I called her teacher's pet cause she was always ratting Sides and I out to Prime."

"Better him than Prowl."

"Speaking of Sideswipe. Where is he, Bumblebee?"

"Him and Strongarm are on patrol right now, Optimus. Want me to have Fixit call them back?"

"Yes. We need everyone here."

I looked around for a certain mech and couldn't find him. "Hey Bee, where's Drift?"

"Him and his minicons are at the other end of the scrapyard, Blue. Want me to call him over?"

"Naw. Its been a while since I've seen him. I had been doing recon all over the planet. It'll be nice to see my old sensei again"

Heatwave was shocked when I said sensei. "You studied Metallikato back home?"

"Of course. You didn't?"

"I started doing it after getting situated at the firehouse on Griffin Rock."

"Sunny, wanna help my brother with learning to shoot a weapon? He's a Rescue Bot. They don't use weapons like we do."

"Be happy to, Blue."

"Thanks. I'm off to find Drift." Then I turned around and took a nice walk through the scrapyard.

While Fixit was calling Sides and Strongarm back to the scrapyard, Bee ran to catch up with me.

"Hey, why are you having Sunstreaker teach Heatwave? Why aren't you doing it instead?"

"One, I do wanna see how Drift is doing since I left his teachings to do recon for Optimus a few years ago."

"What's the other reason why you won't do it?"

"Even though him and I are twins, we didn't part on very good terms. Optimus asked me to block him on my end of the bond since I joined the team. It was so neither of us would get distracted. He's been holding that grudge for a very long time. I didn't want him to take it out on me."

I put my hand over my spark. I could feel my brother getting upset.

~Calm down, Wave. Getting upset isn't going to help you when we are on the battlefield.~

~You're right, sis. I'm not mad at you anymore, either. I understand why you blocked the bond.~

~We'll talk later about it, ok. Just focus on learning how to shoot. Sunny is a good teacher. He taught me.~

~Thanks.~

~For what?~

~Sending emails every week. I had been worried about you.~

~I'm fine. We'll talk later tonight, ok.~

~Ok.~

"What was that about? You looked perplexed for a bit."

"Just Wave getting upset with learning how to shoot a weapon. I told him that Sunny taught me how to shoot. There was no need to get upset."

"Does he know that…"

"You and I are together? Nope. Does Prime?"

"Nope. I wanna keep it that way 'til the rescue mission is over."

"I'm fine with that. After this is over, Prime gave me a few months off. I'll be on Griffin Rock with my brother and his friends."

"Thanks for letting me know. Tell Blades I said hi, will ya?"

"You should call him yourself, Bee."

"I agree with Bluesteel, Bumblebee."

"Then I'll head back to the command center. Make sure you all refuel tonight."

"We will, Bee." Then Bee left us to talk.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

After Bee left, I turned my attention to Drift and his minicons.

"Its good to see you again, Drift. You too, as well, Slipstream and Jetstorm. Still learning from Drift, I see."

"They still have much to learn, Bluesteel. Have you come back to pick up where you left off?"

"If only, sensei. I do practice every day, though. After this mission, Optimus is giving me a few months off. With your permission, I'd like to teach my brother what you had taught me while I'm on vacation?"

"You do have my permission, Bluesteel. You have been a very good student. I hope that Slipstream and Jetstorm are just as good as you are one day."

"They will be, Drift. They have a good teacher."

"Indeed they do, Bluesteel."

I turned around and saw Prime standing in front of me. "Hey, what can I do for you, Optimus?"

"I need to speak with you."

"Of course. Thank you for giving me permission, sensei. I will do you proud."

"I know you will. You already have, my pupil." I bowed out of respect. Drift bowed back.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Optimus and I went for a walk around the scrapyard.

"Everything ok, Prime? I didn't like the look on your face when you walked up to us."

"I'm concerned about Heatwave."

"Why? He'll do fine. This is what he's been wanting to do. Every email I get from him is about getting on your team to fight the Decepticons. He'd rather fight than do rescue work on Griffin Rock. But I think his team would miss him too much, Prime."

"I agree. Perhaps you and him could switch."

"Uh, no thanks. I can't stand Blades. He whines too much. He reminds me of Gears and Huffer. No offense, Prime."

"None taken. I agree with you. I noticed that Sunstreaker is here and teaching your brother. He's doing quite well."

"I was surprised he showed up, but I'm glad he's here. Now he can keep his brother out of trouble. I do get tired of Sideswipe's pranks. I know Bee is too."

"I want to apologize for asking you to block your brother on your side of the bond for as long as you have. I know how much of a strain it is on the spark. I've seen it with Sideswipe."

"I did what you asked of me, Prime. I know why you had me do it. So, there's no need to apologize. Bee is right about one thing. I do need to change my vehicle mode. I miss my Lambo vehicle mode."

Prime chuckled a bit. "What?"

"You and Sunstreaker are both the same. You both worry about how you look in vehicle mode."

"I'm not as bad as Sunny. No way in pit am I as bad as him. Since I'm a femme, having a Lambo vehicle mode works for me. I'm sleek and very agile."

"I will give you that. You are very agile. I guess it does work for you."

"Told you it does. How's Inferno? Ratchet say anything on how long he'll be down?"

"At least a week. Bumblebee will be leading the rescue mission. I'm only sending in a small group on this mission."

"I don't understand how Steeljaw and his crew got the drop on Inferno and his team along with Jazz and his team."

"I don't know either."

"Since I have to go refuel soon, I'll ask Bee. Maybe he can give me the answers I need. Jazz is my best friend, Prime. I'll be damned if I'm going to let him get tortured by a bunch of reject Decepticons."

Prime gave me that 'I don't like swearing' look. "Sorry. I just don't wanna see Jazz and his team get hurt or worse, Optimus."

"I understand you're frustrated, but please try not to swear around me, ok."

I smiled and nodded. We headed back to the command center shortly after.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

When we arrived, I noticed that Sides and Strongarm were back. They both looked my way and were shocked to see me after so long.

"Hey Blue! Good to see ya!"

"Hey Sides. Hey Strongarm. Still taking academy courses?"

"Of course. Who's your friend, Blue?"

"Sideswipe, you remember Heatwave, don't you?"

"Of course. Leader of the Rescue Bots. What is he doing here?"

"Ask Optimus." Then I looked to Strongarm. She looked confused.

"What's up, Strongarm? You ok?"

"Sideswipe said Rescue Bots. I didn't think there were any left."

"Heatwave and his team were patrolling the area when they landed on Earth. Griffin Rock, to be exact. Now there's 2 more Rescue Bots, actually 4 more. Hightide and Servo along with Salvage and Blurr."

"I remember Blurr. Sideswipe had him doing his chores the whole time he was here."

"Typical Sideswipe."

"I'm right here. I can hear you both."

"And now that your brother is here, I don't need to babysit you anymore."

"Who said you had to anyway?"

"Someone had to keep you out of trouble, you red cherry bomb."

"I can't wait to scan another vehicle tomorrow. This is so not my color. I'll look better tomorrow."

Bee walked over with an energon cube for me and to stop the bickering.

Bee handed me the energon cube. "Ok you 2. That's enough. Sideswipe, go refuel and take Strongarm with you."

"Sure Bee." Then they both left.

"Thanks, Bee. I had just come for a cube."

"What did Optimus want?"

"He was worried about Heatwave being out on the battlefield. I told him that is what my brother has been wanting to do since showing up on Griffin Rock. He suggested that maybe my brother and I switch."

"I hope you told him no."

"I did. I like where I'm at. I wouldn't mind if he came once in a while to help."

"I wouldn't mind either. If you don't mind taking a walk with me into the woods up behind the scrapyard, there's something we need to talk about."

"Something tells me its not good."

"You're wrong. This is something good."

"Now I'm worried."

"Don't be. Come on, let's go."

I finished my cube then threw it in the recycling bin near the command center.

"Nice shot. Still the best shooter on Cybertron."

"And still undefeated."

"How could I forget that. I think I'm the only one who has come close to beating you."

"Yep. I beat you by one point. It was a good game, though."

"Yeah, it was."

While we were walking through the woods, I kept getting this weird feeling in the bond between Heatwave and I.

~Everything ok, bro? You're sending mixed emotions.~

~I need to talk to you.~

~I'm with Bee right now. Can it wait?~

~Not really.~

I sighed. Bee didn't like how it sounded. ~Fine. I'll be right there.~

"That didn't sound good. Is Heatwave ok?"

"He needs to talk to me. Apparently, whatever it is, can't wait 'til we get back. I'm sorry, love. I'll try to make it quick."

"I can wait. If your brother can't wait for 30 mins., then it must be urgent."

"He was never the patient type. Ask Chase and Boulder."

We had been walking back to the command center when I was ambushed by something big and green.

"Grimlock, get off of her!"

I bench pressed Grimlock right off of me and stood up. He transformed and extended his clawed hand to me.

"Sorry about that. Sideswipe said Bee was in the woods with someone. I had to make sure he wasn't being led into a trap."

"Appreciate the thought, Grim, but I'm fine. We were just out for a nice walk in the woods and talking about the mission tomorrow. Right Blue?"

"That's right, Bee. I should go see what my brother needs. Talk after?"

"Sure. Before we head out tomorrow, please scan a new vehicle."

"I will, Bee." Then I headed off to see what my brother wanted.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Heatwave was over by the vintage fridges waiting for me. "So, what's up?"

"Has Optimus talked to you?"

"Yeah. He's worried about you being on the battlefield. I told him you'd be fine. Why did you ask if he talked to me?"

"Did he talk to you about you and I switching?"

"Yeah, he did. I told him I didn't want to. Again, why are you asking?"

"I'm resigning as leader of the Rescue Bots, Blue. I'm tired of the same rescues all the time. I'm bored of it."

"Have you told Optimus? Or Chase? Or even Kade?"

"Optimus knows. I'm going to tell Chase and Kade when we get back to Griffin Rock."

"Who do you expect to take your place?"

"You, of course."