A/N: How's it going, everybody? That's right, I'm back to mornings officially now! My work schedule has finally shifted so that I no longer have to come in at an ungodly hour, so huzzah for that! That said, I think we should properly get started on what will ultimately the last BIG arc of this story before we go on a bit of a hiatus as I return to Ben 10 RWBY in May. But don't worry, because we're ending things with quite the exciting mini-arc. So, let's not waste anymore time, this is…

Chapter 19: Dating Dangerously

…..

The Skyboom Shield. A relic that appeared to be as new as the day it was forged. It was a very tall shield that had multiple points and edges sticking out of it to give it a very dynamic appearance, making it almost seem streamlined in a way. The gold, silver and black details definitely helped in that regard as well, making it shine so much that one could see themselves in its reflection. Those and many more were the reasons why the 1-A students were all staring at the relic, their sights transfixed on the massive weapon as it was propped up against the base's wall.

"Wow… so you're telling me that this thing is indestructible?" Ochako asked as she reached out and touched the shield. "All this time buried under ground and it doesn't even have a scratch on it!"

"Yeah… believe it or not, this thing was supposedly forged several millennia ago." Izuku emphasized. "Forged by one of the original Thirteen Primes. And even after so long, it's almost like it hasn't seen ANY use."

Tenya put a hand to his chin, regarding the object with splendor. "A shield that cannot be cracked and is capable of generating an energy field. Simply fascinating!"

Mei, on the other hand, beamed brightly with excitement at the weapon. "AMAZING is what it is! You have NO idea how much of an itch I'm getting to study this thing right now!" She began dashing back and forth to either side of the shield, inspecting it closely. "You don't think there's any way I can disassemble it, do you? I mean, there has to be SOME mechanism inside of it that deploys the energy field and recognizes when a Prime is holding it, right?

The group all chuckled lightly at Mei's enthusiasm, knowing that the mad inventor could gush about the shield for hours. Momo glanced over to Kyoka curiously. "That's right, only the hand of a Prime can activate it, apparently?"

"That's what Optimus said." the purplette confirmed. "Heh, apparently Starscream tried to activate it himself. Wish I could've seen his face when THAT failed on him." But then, her smile suddenly disappeared as she hugged her arm close. "Just wish that one of us didn't have to get hurt in our mission."

"Hey, just remember, Jiro;" Eijiro piped up, "things could've been a WHOLE lot worse if everything went belly-up on us."

"Yeah, I mean, not only could BURNS have died, but you guys might've, too." Denki emphasized with a grin. "So in reality, Burns getting out alive with only a couple broken bones is the BEST scenario you could've asked for." …And then Denki quickly found himself on the receiving end of several glares and unamused faces. "…I probably could've worded that better, but you get my point."

"Hmph, sure." Kyoka rolled her eyes. "Doesn't help me feel better, anyway."

Mina came over and put an arm around the punk rocker with a supportive smile. "Hey, look on the bright side, Kyoka; they said that Burns will be making a full recovery with about a week's rest." She jerked her thumb over to the Skyboom Shield. "Plus, we ended up with the big win today, so things are gonna be fine, right?"

Slowly but surely, Kyoka smiled back to her friend and nodded. "Yeah, you're right, Mina. …Though I can't help but wonder, what exactly WERE those three life signals that Red Alert picked up?"

"Wouldn't we ALL like to know that?" Everyone perked their heads up and were surprised at the sight of Arcee coming into the room. She appeared to be fairly repaired, though her paint was still scratched up a little. "Hey there, kids, how're we all doing?"

"Arcee!" Momo pressed her hands together and smiled up to her friend. "You're back on your feet already?"

The intelligence officer chuckled nervously as she slowly came into the room, keeping her hand on the wall. "Hehe… well, just barely. Bee and I still gotta see Sunny about getting our paint back up to snuff, but we figured it'd be best to get Prime and the others all sealed up first before they leak energon everywhere." She craned her head around and waved to the yellow bot behind her, who also hobbled in. "Isn't that right, Bee?"

Bumblebee flopped onto the floor after coming in, resting his head against the wall. "Zkrt—Man, why do we have to—keep gettin' torn up like this?"

Stepping up next to his leg, Izuku put a supportive hand onto his friend. "Yeah, I feel you there, Bee. First the Scraplets, now this. It's been a rough week, that's for sure."

"That's an understatement." Tenya agreed before raising a brow up to Arcee. "So, have Agents Fowler and Fairborne taken Agent Burns back to their base yet?"

"Actually, that's part of the reason why I came in. They're gonna be headed out soon, so I thought I'd come in and tell you…" Arcee trailed off and her optics focused onto Kyoka, who knew exactly what was coming next. "In case, well… if any of you wanted to give Burns some words of encouragement."

Kyoka sighed and nodded slowly. "Yep, I'm coming. Time to do what I gotta do."

"D-Don't worry, Kyoka." Izuku assured as he and the others all gave her supportive smiles. "We'll be right there with you, so don't feel discouraged."

"Deku's right." Ochako gave a thumbs up. "Things between you guys will be great, I just know it!"

The purplette had to admit, she wasn't expecting this level of support from her classmates… or rather, her friends. She bowed her head to them in appreciation as she took a big breath. "Thanks guys. Really, I appreciate it. Hah… c'mon, let's go." With that, the eight 1-A students and Mei all went out into the main control room with Arcee and Bumblebee, and the first sight they were met with was Prime, Jazz and Bulkhead all having the holes in them being patched up. Red Alert, Strongarm, and surprisingly enough, Springer of all bots were working on them respectively, the latter still riddled with holes himself.

The teens were taken by surprise by that, without question. "Uh… Springer?" Denki piped up.

"Hm? Oh, hey kids!" Springer waved as he briefly paused working on Bulkhead's armor plating.

"We were wonderin' when you'd come around." Bulkhead grinned as well, gesturing to some sealed parts where a few of the bullet holes had once been. "Hey, Mina, check these out. I bet a few of these are gonna leave some mesh scars!"

The pinkette immediately brightened up at that. "Woah, sweet! Nice one, Bulk!" Mina shifted her eyes up to Springer with intrigue. "But I didn't know that you were a medic, Springer! And working on Bulk while YOU'RE still full of holes? That's hardcore!"

Springer chuckled a bit and brushed off his chest plate. "Ah, I'm no medic, Mina, trust me. Though I WAS a pretty handy engineer when it came down to some tight situations." He continued working on Bulkhead's holes, welding them shut one-by-one. "Sometimes, though, during war, some techniques come in handy for situations you'd never expect to use 'em. So when it comes to battlefield wounds, let's just say that I've had to weld a few shut in my time. Not many pretty sights, I can tell ya that right now."

"Woah… now THAT is hardcore." Eijiro emphasized before turning to Prime. "So, Optimus, we heard that Sector Seven were about to leave."

"Indeed, Eijiro, they're right over there." Optimus extended his finger toward the front entrance, where the three government agents were standing. …Well, where Fowler and Fairborne were standing. Those two were supporting Burns by their shoulders, his arms wrapped around both their necks. His broken limbs had been mostly healed, but they were still sensitive and he'd need to stay off of them for a while.

Prime directed his sights down to Kyoka, and she gave him a nod. "Alright… here it goes." Kyoka started forward, the rest of her friends bringing up the rear before the agents saw them. "Hey there guys."

"Oh, hey!" Burns smiled genuinely. "If it isn't the troublemaker." He saw Kyoka flinch and he couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Heh, kid, relax. Remember, I'm not angry with ya or anything. In fact, I'm happy to see you guys came to see us off."

Izuku tilted his head. "So… h-how long will you be held up, Agent Burns."

"If all goes well, he SHOULD be back in action by the end of tomorrow." Merissa emphasized. "I do better with smaller and younger bones, so ones with a bit of age on them take a little longer…"

Burns narrowed his eyes at her. "Hey, are you callin' me old?"

Merissa wore a cheeky smirk at that. "Sorry, but when it comes to the twenty-year age gap, you got the short end of the stick, old man." A groan came from the Burns and everyone else burst out laughing, aside from Agent Fowler who shook his head in amusement.

"Hehe, well, I will say that the mission went better than I had initially thought it would." The top agent admitted, setting his sights onto Izuku, Kyoka, Mina and Eijiro. "I heard you kids did pretty well for yourselves out there, so congratulations. Maybe we'll consider putting you on more missions… and I'll be sure to put in a good word to Aizawa and Nezu." His smirk increased and gave the kids a knowing look. "After this, we may need to acquire your hero costumes for these missions."

Everyone was stunned by the implication. "Wait… you're serious?!" Denki exclaimed.

"Well, sure! You ARE heroes in training, aren't ya? Time to prove it with some experience out in the field." But then, Fowler raised a finger to all of them. "That said, don't get your hopes up too high, now. I'll have to get approval from Nezu, All Might and Aizawa for this. The first two may not be much of a problem… but your homeroom teacher will be a tougher nut to crack."

"Very true…" Momo concurred. "But we don't even have any provisional licenses yet, nor have we worked with any mentors… are you sure something like this would even be allowed?"

Merissa shrugged to her. "Well, you'd be both under the Autobots AND government supervision, AND you'd be conducting these missions in secret, so no public heroes other than the ones who already know about the Autobots would know about what you're doing." She gave them a small wink. "And if any of them have issues with it, we'll show 'em what you're able to do and then tell 'em to mind their own business."

"But like I said, above all else, we'll need your teachers' approval for this." Fowler emphasized. "They ARE responsible for you all in your hero training, after all."

Tenya bowed his head to Fowler in understanding. "Of course, Agent Fowler, that's very logical. But thank you for speaking on our behalf, all the same."

Fowler nodded to the Engine user before setting his focus over to Mei next. "And of course, we'll need some proper support gear upgrades for you all, so if Miss Hatsume is willing and able—"

"SAY NO MORE!" Mei shouted with a salute. "Just bring the outfits to me and I'll give 'em the proper babies they need!"

Everyone winced at the volume of her voice, but nonetheless, the students were happy to hear that Mei would help them in any upgrades they'd need. "Heh, good, very good." Fowler chuckled before craning his head back up toward Springer. "And hey, hot shot!" Springer perked his head up and raised a metal brow down at him, the agent wearing a serious face. "Be lucky that Burns here decided not to hold anything against you since him getting crushed wasn't your fault. If it were up to me, we'd be singing a different tune… but all the same, good job making sure none of the kids were hurt."

Springer just smirked back and chuckled himself. "Heh, didn't really have to do anything on my part, Fowler. The kids handled themselves pretty well out there." His attention went to burns, nudging his chin at him. "And hey, Hot Hands, heal up good, ya hear?"

"Will do." Burns grinned back before sighing a little. "It's gonna be a long twenty-four hours, I can say that much.

"Yeah, about that…" Kyoka stepped forward, her hand reaching up to her neck apprehensively. "Agent Burns… I… wanted to say sorry for everything I've said to you these past couple of weeks. For the longest time, I thought you were just like any other government jerk…" She offered a meek smile to him. "But after what you did… I realized how wrong I was. Thanks again for saving my life back there."

Burns smiled back down and reached his good arm out, placing it on her shoulder. "Ah, don't worry about it, Miss Jiro. Trust me, I get it, when we're doing our job, we can come off as heartless cogs in a machine. But when it comes down to it, that's all it is; our job. We're people too, we feel empathy for others, but we have to hide it under a stern demeanor most of the time." He pulled his hand back and shook his head. "Nothing's all that easy in this line of work."

"And I get it now." Kyoka nodded. "Thank you for helping me see that."

"So, does this finally mean we're off the hook with you?" Fowler asked hopefully.

"Him? Yeah." Kyoka affirmed before smirking to Fowler. "You, on the other hand, still might have a way to go?"

Fowler rolled his eyes as a chorus of laughter permeated through the whole place again. "I should've figured…" He trailed off as his sights went up to Optimus. "Prime! I'll contact you once we get to base."

Optimus rose to his feet, his wounds having been fully welded back up. "Indeed, Agent Fowler. I will bridge there as soon as you do and I will bring the Skyboom Shield, as we discussed."

"Good, we'll see you then."

After a round of farewells between everyone, Izuku set his eyes up to Optimus curiously. "H-Hey, Optimus, what did you mean by you bringing the Skyboom Shield to Sector Seven's base? Are you gonna store it there or something?"

"Indeed, Izuku. The Skyboom Shield is far too important to keep here, where it can be easily taken." Optimus explained. "And while it would be a useful tool in battle, there is even more of a risk of the Decepticons taking it there as well. They may not be able to use its full power, but a relic such as that is too important to lose."

"Better to keep any advantages we have than risk 'em bein' taken away, ya know what I'm sayin'?" Jazz added.

Mina waved up to them affirmably. "Oh yeah, totally. Still… would be a shame if we just hauled it off to Sector Seven without showing the rest of these guys how it worked…" She jabbed her thumb toward Momo and the others, all while eyeing Optimus knowingly. "Maybe just a… small demonstration?"

Optimus saw the expectant and pleading gazes of the children, cracking a small smile beneath his faceplate. "Haha, alright, very well." he obliged. "A brief showcase of the shield's power wouldn't hurt, I suppose." A collective cheer came from the students… only for them do die down in confusion as Prime raised his hand toward the other room. He saw their perplexed expressions and raised a finger. "Wait for it…" SHOOM! CLANG! Nearly as fast as a speeding bullet, the Skyboom Shield came flying from out of the doorway and into Prime's hand, stunning the students as he raised it up to them. "And there you are."

Slack jawed and wide-eyed, the group of nine teenagers blinked in utter disbelief. "I-I… I don't—WHAT?!" Mei screamed as she started writing furiously in her notes. "This defies ALL laws of physics!"

"Optimus… how did you do that?!" Tenya exclaimed.

"When I placed my hand upon the shield for the first time and it recognized me as a Prime, some more of its features were unlocked to me aside from the energy field." Optimus elaborated as he raised said field, the golden hexagonal-patterned barrier appearing before him. "Thanks to this new link, I am able to summon the shield from several feet away, so long as it's within range."

Eijiro pumped his fists with a wide smile. "That is SO freaking cool! You could take down a whole BUNCH of Cons if they were in the way when you do that."

Prime chortled at that as he lowered the field. "Hmhm, yes, fair point, Eijiro. But as stated before, this relic is far too important to fall into enemy hands, as enjoyable as it would be to wield." His optics shifted down, seeing his reflection within the shield's pristine finish. "But who knows? Perhaps a time will come when the Skyboom Shield may see some use."

"I hope so, that shield is badass!" Denki agreed… only for a small alarm in his pocket to suddenly go off. Several others also heard alarms of their own… and they could only come to one conclusion. "Oh crap, is that…"

"It is." Momo confirmed gravely as she eyed her own phone. "It's almost curfew."

"Damn, time flies by." Kyoka noted, shifting her eyes back over to Arcee and Bumblebee. "Hey, I know you guys are still scratched up, but is there any chance you'd still be able to get us home?"

Arcee quickly gave her a reassuring wave. "Oh, psh, of course! You ready, Bee?" Bumblebee buzzed in approval and the two transformed, their vehicle modes just as scratched up as their robot modes. "We may not be pretty, but we'll get you guys home lickety-split!"

Bulkhead, with his wounds all sealed up, stood from his seat and came over as well. "Ah, I'll come with, too. Feeling a lot better now, really." Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Now in his Hummer mode, the green Autobot opened his doors, inviting his usual tag-alongs in. "Eijiro, Denki, Mina, load on up!"

With that, everyone went to their respective rides, with Optimus extending a hand to them. "Safe travels, everyone. And remember; there are only two days left to go before the Sports Festival, so let's make those days count." He received a collective "RIGHT!" before all of the students got in their rides, the three Autobots rolling out into the night.

Right at that moment, however, the main console started beeping, causing Red Alert to move right over to it. "Optimus, incoming transmission from… U.A.?"

This caught Prime's attention immediately. "Put it on screen." He had expected All Might to appear on the large monitor when Red Alert answered… but instead, he was met with the beady, yet friendly eyes of a certain mammalian principal.

"Greetings, Optimus Prime!" Nezu smiled and raised his paw to the Autobot leader. "How has your evening been?"

"Nezu, sir, this is quite the unexpected call." Optimus replied. "Our evening is going well. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Well, over the past few days, I was thinking of a potential idea… one that involves the U.A. Faculty and expanding this Circle of Trust that we have." Nezu began, catching Optimus' full attention. "Now, I wanted to run this by you first, since I don't know how comfortable you would be with it. If you aren't, that's completely understandable, of course. But I figured that having more people in the know about you would be beneficial, to both the students safety and your benefit."

Optimus had to admit, he was intrigued by the proposal. And with Unicronus now confirmed to be on Earth… some more allies wouldn't hurt. Prime pulled up a chair and leaned forward, ready to hear Nezu out. "You have my attention, Nezu, sir. Please, go on."

…..

The next day was Saturday, and overall, things were… actually kind of hectic for the students of Class 1-A. Two days to go until the Sports Festival… and they had to deal with midterms on top of their usual asignments. Needless to say, the testing ran them all rampant… but thankfully, they got a bit of reprieve when lunch time came around. The eight 1-A students who were in the know about the Autobots were on their way to their usual table… when they all paused at the sight of who was already standing there. "Uh… what?" Mina asked.

At the table was none other than Kaida Kiryu, along with Rikido Sato, Hanta Sero, Fumikage Tokoyami, Tsuyu Asui, and Toru Hagakure, all of them facing the group with expectant stares. Needless to say, the moment was a bit awkward, especially with plenty of people still going around the cafeteria. After glancing back and forth in confusion, Kyoka decided to lead things off. "Uh… hey guys?"

"Kyo." Kaida led as well, giving the purplette a curt nod. "How's it goin'?"

"Oh… not too bad. Kinda confused why all of you are gathered here, but otherwise…"

Toru sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck… at least that's what they assumed she was doing. Kind of hard to read someone's body language when all you can see is their clothes. "Yeah, well, here's the thing… we kinda… well, we were wondering—"

"Just where have you guys been going after school?"

"Gah, Tsu! I was getting to that!"

The frog girl placed a hand on Toru's shoulder and apologized. "Sorry, Toru, but you were kinda beating around the bush. I figured it'd be best to be straight forward." With a small sigh from the invisible girl, Tsu went back to the others. "But I'm not gonna lie, we came here because we were curious about what you guys have been doing every day after classes are done."

"You've all been coming and going the same way for the past couple of weeks." Hanta pointed out. "Being dropped off and picked up by random cars and then driving off to who knows where. It's kinda… weird."

But then Rikido waved his hand. "Well, they're not RANDOM, Sero. I recognize the Beetle as Brian's car. Ya know, All Might's intern?"

"Which brings up another good question." Fumikage interjected, his seemingly ever-present glare boring into all of them. "Just what kind of connection do you have with Brian? It all seems rather strange to me for all of you to suddenly go with him to places unknown."

"Yeah, and hanging out with someone interning with All Might sounds like a pretty big deal…" Kaida went on while raising her brow at her friends. "You guys aren't getting some sorta extra tutelage from All Might himself, are ya?"

There was a long, tense silence after that. The group were completely speechless as their classmates questioned them, and while there was no hostility behind the inquiries, they could all tell they were dying to know. After a little while, however, Tenya gave a brief laugh, surprising even his friends. "Ahaha! Is that what this is about? Everyone, I can assure you that there's nothing of the sort going on, believe me."

Kaida placed her hands on her hips and tilted her head. "Okay, Class Rep, so if that's not what's going on, then what is?"

"U-Um, I think I can answer that." Izuku piped up, bringing everyone's attention onto him. Usually he didn't do so well with so many eyes on him, but he felt like he owed everyone this explanation... especially since it involved keeping their cover. "Y-You see, Brian is actually the son of a family friend who's in the military. He's spent the last year here in Japan and overtime, we've become really good friends."

"But Brian has a lot of friends of his own who're also in the military." Kyoka continued, backing Izuku up to help ease the process for him. "And after talking with them a bit, they said they'd be happy to help us out with training for the Sports Festival."

Their fellow students were surprised by the answer. "Woah, seriously?" Hanta said with his triangular grin. "That's awesome!"

Rikido pumped his fists at what he heard. "No kiddin'! Getting to train with ACTUAL military guys? That sounds sweet!"

"Think WE could come along some time?" Toru asked excitedly.

The other group eyed one another warily at that question, knowing that they'd have to deliver a disappointing answer. "Er, sorry guys." Eijiro apologized. "But their commander has made it clear that they don't have time to train with a whole class full of us, especially with the limited time they have per day."

"We're lucky enough to get training time for a few hours after school as is." Denki added with a shrug. "If anymore of us were added, their people would be stretched thin."

The other students all became visibly crestfallen at that. "Aw… well, I guess that makes sense." Hanta relented. "Guess there goes that…"

However, Kaida was still curious about something. "Okay… but what about that girl from the Support Course we see with you every day? Hatsume, I think her name is?"

"Yes, she seems like quite the odd addition to your group." Fumikage noted as he narrowed slightly in suspicion. "What connection does she have to you all, exactly?"

"Oh, right, Hatsume…" Momo started. "Well, in truth, her uncle actually has some connections with this military group as well. He helps repair their vehicles and whatnot. And since he's usually at their base for work, she usually comes along with us after school." She offered her classmates a kind smile. "I think you all would actually like her. Hatsume is a bit of an oddball, but she's good people."

Kaida pursed her lips at that. It all seemed like a pretty tight explanation of things… but still, she couldn't help but feel that there were still some things that didn't add up. A bit too many conveniences, maybe? Well, whatever it was, she didn't want to press the issue too much and start an unneeded confrontation, especially with her friends. Her smile slowly returned and she offered a shrug of her own. "Ah, well, if you say so. But hey, let's hope you're fancy military training is enough to get you far in the Sports Fest…" She leaned in closer with a determined gaze. "Because I don't plan on losing."

"Oh, you're not the only one!" Ochako gave her own determined smile and raised a challenging fist. "I'm gonna make it all the way to the top, you'll see! I'm gonna—"

"Do your best, right, we've heard it before." Kaida winked. "And hey, no matter how we trained, let's keep THAT as our goal for this Festival, eh?"

But just then, an unwelcomed voice entered the conversation. "HA! Speak for yourself, Lizard Lips." Almost everyone cringed at the sound of Katsuki Bakugo's boisterous roar, the explosive blonde walking past them with his head craned back and his lips up in a sneer. He glanced over to them at first before turning his head, sending them a resolute glare. "Goin' in with THAT kinda attitude is what separates the losers from the winners. If you wanna win the whole thing, you're gonna actually WANT it."

"Grr… winning isn't everything, Baku-breath." Kaida retaliated.

"Not in this case, Scale Belly." Katsuki retorted with a surprising amount of gravity. "Think about it; we're gonna have the whole world watching us AND almost every Pro in Japan who're scouting for internships. This Sports Festival is gonna make or break us, and I don't plan on bein' broken. I'm gonna win the whole damn thing, you'll see…" He seemed to focus on Izuku briefly as he finished his statement; "And if anyone decides to get in my way… you can be sure I'll break them." With that, Katsuki walked away, not even giving anyone the chance to retort against him.

"Ugh, that guy." Kyoka groaned. "That had to be THE most—"

"Manliest thing I've ever heard!" Eijiro exclaimed as his own sharp-toothed grin appeared, pumping a fist up in the air. "Now I'm feelin' the itch to win!"

However, many of the others all eyed him with either surprise or disappointment. "Kirishima, you can't be serious!" Kaida argued. "You see THAT as manly? Wanting to break people to get to the top?"

Instantly, Eijiro's recoiled at the accusation and waved his hand. "O-Okay, maybe not THAT part. But you gotta admit, the thought of winning the tournament isn't a bad one."

"Kirishima's right… and so is Kaachan." Izuku said, the greenette staring after Bakugo while the others were stunned by HIM of all people being in agreement with him. "We have to keep in mind that this is more than just about showing off what we've got to the world… but being able to impress the Pro Heroes as well. If we wanna do that, we're gonna have to make it to the top." He smiled to the others as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "O-Of course, I don't plan on breaking anyone either, b-but hey, I'm pretty sure Kaachan was just exaggerating anyway."

"Well, we can only hope so." Kaida rolled her eyes as she and her group started to move away from the table. "Anyways, sorry to interrupt your lunch, guys. We'll see you back in class, 'kay?"

"Yeah, of course!" Mina waved. "We'll see you then!" The group of eight sat down to enjoy their meal, all while sighing in relief. "Man, that was a close one."

Kaminari rested his hand against his head. "Yeah, I didn't think everyone would get THIS suspicious about the whole thing. Glad they bought our cover story."

Kyoka crossed her arms, thinking back to how Kaida had paused back there. Just by her facial expressions along, the purplette could tell that the Sauro-Parts user still had her suspicions, and that did concern her a little bit. "Well, I just hope that it can stay that way. If anyone else in this school catches on to you-know-what, it could be all over."

"On that, we can agree." Tenya nodded. "Hopefully things will never come to that…" There was a bit of silence before the Class Rep decided a change of topic was necessary. "So, um… how about these midterms? Think you're all doing well?" A collective murmur came from the table as everyone started eating, the teens wanting to discuss anything but the tests.

…..

A few hours later, the school day (and more importantly, the testing) was finally over, and the eight teens were ready to head out to get to the more enjoyable part of their day; training with the Autobots. As always, they met up with Mei outside of the school entrance and then trudged out straight for the parking lot, where Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were already waiting in their vehicle modes. Their holoforms stood together, with "Sadie" waving to the teens first. "Hey there, guys! How was… school?" The pink-haired girl was taken aback by how exhausted most of them appeared, their bodies slumped forward with their arms hanging down at their sides. "Woah, what happened to you?!"

"Ah, ya know, we just went through hell." Kyoka replied. "Midterm testing on a Saturday is freaking torture."

"Hm, sounds lovely." Sadie said sarcastically.

Behind everyone else, Momo, Izuku, Tenya and Mei all seemed relatively fine for the most part, with the pinkette crossing her arms and shaking her head. "I dunno what you guys seem so down on. My tests were easy-peezy."

"Well yeah, but you guys are SMART!" Denki emphasized, with everyone else shooting small glares at the four.

"Yeah, plus we had very little time to prepare with everything ELSE that's been happening this week!" Eijiro added.

Sadie rubbed the back of her neck and winced a little. "Ooh… yeah, good point. Maybe we should've put a bit more focus on schoolwork to balance out training for the Sports Festival."

Tenya raised a hand to speak. "Well, what's done is done. …Though I will say that something else of note DID happen today… we got questioned by our fellow students about our goings on after school these past couple of weeks." This caught the three Autobots' attention immediately. "Plenty of them were curious as to why we've been picked up and dropped off by you three every day."

Mei's eyebrows snapped up in surprise. "Woah, really? Did you give 'em our cover story?"

"Oh, don't worry, we did." Eijiro reassured. "Though we DID have to give 'em some bad news when they asked if they could train with you "military guys"."

"Yeah, well, it is what it is, I suppose." Buck said, seeing how unsure the teens were. He sighed and sent a sympathetic gaze their way. "Guys, listen, I know that you're uncomfortable with lying like this, but remember; it's for the good of this whole planet that you keep our secret."

The teens all nodded to him. "Yeah, we know… still kinda feels bad to have to lie to their faces, though." Eijiro said, placing his hands behind his head. "But whatever, I'm just glad that all of that testing us done."

"I know, right?" Mina threw her head back and whined; "It SUUUUCKED!"

"Well, at least we'll have the day off tomorrow." Denki shrugged. "Then after the Sports Festival, we get TWO days off while the second and third years do THEIR events!"

Sadie and Buck nodded at that. "Hey, now THERE'S something to look forward to, right? We'll take those days to celebrate how you guys did."

The teens eyed each other warily before Eijiro pointed out; "Uh… but you don't KNOW how we're going to do at the Sports Festival yet."

"Maybe not, but either way, we're still gonna celebrate." Buck asserted. "Because honestly, after putting you through our intense training regimen, you kids deserve a party, no matter what place you get."

"Aw, thanks Bulk!" Ochako beamed happily. "That's so nice!"

Momo placed her hands together and bowed her head to them. "Yes, it truly is. It's very sweet that you're willing to celebrate our accomplishments no matter the outcome."

"Zrtk—Celebrate good times, come on!" Bumblebee suddenly blasted through his radio as his holoform started dancing to the groovy beat of Kool and the Gang. The group all laughed together as "Brian" continued to disco dance as best he could… until the blonde boy caught sight of the top of someone's head just beyond the short brick wall around the parking lot. …And this person had a familiar head of luscious black hair. The sound of a record scratch blared through the radio before he jumped back into his vehicle mode… through the window. "Zrkt—ABORT! ABORT! Zrtk—RETREAT!"

Needless to say, everyone was taken aback. "Woah, Bee, what's gotten into you?!" Izuku asked. In response, Bumblebee played this;

Woah-oh, here she comes!

Watch out boy, she'll chew you up!

Woah-oh, here she comes!

She's a Man-Eater!

"…Oh no." Kyoka immediately understood, her head whipping toward the parking lot gate. "SHE'S here… everyone, get in and let's scram—"

"Well, well, well! Look who we have here!" Some felt a chill run down their spine at the voice they heard, others couldn't help but feel slightly stimulated by its dulcet tone. And of course, there were some that had both feelings at the same time. Everyone craned their heads around in time to see none other than Midnight come strutting their way, the woman still in her BDSM hero costume. She put a visible sway in her hips as she came toward the group, and while she seemed to be eyeing all of them… a few could tell that she was zeroed in on Brian in particular. "Seems like some of my favorite students are once again off to train military-style, hm?"

Nearly everyone swallowed hard at that… though Denki couldn't help but feel somewhat elated at that compliment. "Did you hear that?" he whispered. "She called us some of her favorite students!"

Kyoka grimaced and rolled her eyes. "Kaminari, come back to reality and stop getting your hopes up. Whatever you're thinking, it ain't gonna happen." She put on a smile for her teacher as she approached. "H-Hey, Miss Midnight! What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just came because I wanted to compliment you again on your History assignments from this past Monday." Midnight shifted her eyes over to Mina and raised a brow. "Admittedly, I could tell that some were a bit more… slapdash than others…" The pink girl laughed nervously before Midnight followed it up with praise again. "But overall, you did a fantastic job. I anticipate seeing your midterm exams once they get back…" She bit her lip in anticipation as her sights went over to the blonde of her desires, who was desperately trying to hide under his car door. "Hmhm, Brian, you're so cute when you're bashful like this!"

'I think the word you're looking for is "terrified".' Arcee thought to herself before going over and putting a hand on Bee's shoulder. "Hehe, c'mon Bri, there's really nothing to be nervous about, ya know." She raised a skeptical brow to Midnight, silently questioning if she was right."

"…Ahem, Miss… Sadie, was it?" Midnight kept a professional tone about her as she spoke to the shorter woman. "I appreciate you showing support for your friend, but I actually do have something important to say to him." This took Arcee and many others by surprise, Brian himself staring at the R-Rated Heroine teacher incredulously as she lowered herself down to his eyelevel. Even more surprising to him, though, was that there was a very serious air about her. "Brian, I know that these past couple of weeks must've been… strange for you. I know that I can be quite the flirt, but I want to assure you that I mean no harm, and if you've ever felt uncomfortable, I'm sorry."

And just like that, everyone's minds were left utterly confused. "Wait… is Miss Midnight apologizing for being too flirty with someone?" Eijiro whispered.

"Who is this woman and what has she done with our teacher?" Kyoka added.

"I heard that!" Midnight said aloud, making the punk rocker cover her mouth. The woman craned her head around to the teenagers with a raised brow. "I may be a flirt, but I'm also a responsible adult who can recognize when things have gone too far." Her concentration went back to Brian, her expression unchanging. "It's like a dominatrix knowing how submissive her partner is willing to be and when a line has been crossed."

An awkward silence passed over the group, the analogy implanting in their heads like a confused tumor. 'That's a weird comparison.' they all thought.

Midnight waved it off and went back to her point. "But the long and short of it is… I do have a strong attraction to you, Brian. And I'm not afraid to admit that." She gave him a soft, genuine smile, which actually made him relax a bit. "So that means I'm not afraid to ask this either; would you like to go on a little date with me tonight?" If she turned around, Midnight would've seen the astonished faces everyone was wearing, but she kept going. "If memory serves, I made an offer to show you around to a few fun places I know, so I would like to make due on that. So, what do you say, big boy? Wanna take a chance?"

Bumblebee was honestly a bit stunned. The woman who had been unrelentingly flirting with him for the past couple of weeks had not only said sorry for making him feel uncomfortable… but genuinely offered to take him on a small tour to what he could assume were some local places. It was a lot for him to process all at once, but at the same time, he felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. '…Maybe she's not as bad as I thought.'

The blonde glanced up to his compatriots, hoping to get some sort of advice. However, all they could offer were some perplexed looks and a few shrugs, they themselves unsure of what to make of the offer. However, when his eyes landed on Sadie, she offered him an empathetic gaze and a soft smile, giving him a nod. 'Say thank you, but let her down gently.' Arcee thought to herself, hoping her message came across to the bug.

After a few more moments of thinking, Bumblebee came up with his answer; "Zrkt—Okay!"

"Ah, excelle—WHAT?!" Arcee nearly transformed out of shock, but stopped herself.

"WHAT?!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

"SAY WHAT?!" All of the students shouted simultaneously.

"Zrkt—Thank you for—zrkt—bein' a really nice person!" Brian said through his radio while bowing his head to Midnight. "Zrkt—I will go on—zrtk—this date, and—zrkt—I'm sure we'll have—zrkt—a good time!"

Midnight gasped and clapped her hands together happily. "Ah! I was hoping you'd say that! Brian, I can promise you that you will NOT regret this." She reached up to run a hand through his hair before trailing a finger down his jawline. "I've still got a few things to take care of here, so meet back here at about 5:30, okay?" She wore a flirtatious grin as she leaned in closer to him. "I promise you'll be blown away and we'll have a very fun time."

Brian saluted right back to her. "Zrkt—That's a big 10-4!"

"Amazing." Midnight winked to him once more as she spun around on her heel to leave. "I'll see you later tonight, tall, blonde and handsome." She also winked to everyone else and raised an arm to them. "And students, I hope you're all excited for the Sports Festival on Monday! Take care and best of luck to all of you!"

And just like that, Midnight was off, though this time she had a little spring in her step. All the same, however, everyone was left utterly baffled by what they just saw. "…The HECK did we just witness?!" Mei hollered.

…..

About an hour later, everyone was back at the Autobot base… and needless to say… "You did WHAT?!" Red Alert wasn't taking the news well. He was pacing back and forth in front of a sheepish Bumblebee, with Arcee and Bulkhead standing a just a few feet behind him as Red chewed him out. "You're telling me that you accepted to go on an OUTING with a human female?!" He snapped his head up to the other two, making them flinch. "And YOU didn't stop him?!"

"W-Well what were we supposed to do?" Bulkhead asked. "Make ourselves look like utter jerks for no reason? Besides, it's just a date, Red. What could possibly go wrong?"

"Oh, I dunno, EVERYTHING?!" Arcee emphasized, her focus going down to Bee himself. "Bumblebee, you REALLY should've thought things through here better. We're in the middle of a war with the Decepticons, who've proven to be able to show up at the most unexpected times. And yet you willingly accepted a date with a human female who you barely know?"

"Zrkt—Well, technically—zrkt—we've known each other—zrkt—for weeks." Bumblebee defended himself. "Zrkt—And besides—zrkt—she actually apologized—zrkt—for making me feel—zrkt—TOTALLY weird!" He folded his arms and gave a shrug. "Zrkt—I feel like I could at least—zrkt—give her what she wants—zrkt—if only for just—zkrt—one night. Zrkt—Besides, it sounds fun!"

Red Alert, however, wasn't satisfied with that answer. "And what if it ISN'T just for one night, hm? Or what if THIS night goes horribly wrong and the Decepticons attack from out of nowhere?" He pointed to Bumblebee with a stern finger, the yellow bot growing increasingly upset. "I can go on and on about how this could go horribly wrong, yet all you're concerned about is having a good time?!"

Bumblebee's scowled and he balled a fist, batting Red's own hand away. "Zrkt—Don't you go pointing fingers at ME, Buster!" Without question, Bee's reaction took everyone aback, even the teens who were secretly peering in from the other room. "Zrkt—All I want is to make—zrkt—someone HAPPY! Zrkt—If something goes wrong—zrkt—I'll take responsibility for it—zrkt—and call for back-up. Zrkt—I'm not some kid anymore, ya know!"

"Well, you're certainly acting like one." Red countered stoically, his lips in a slight sneer as he turned away from the group and waving them off. "But what do I care? Go on ahead, risk the safety of yourself and this woman. Don't come to me when it all goes wrong."

As Red Alert left, the trio and the students stared after him in stunned silence. That was probably the most upset they had seen him in quite some time, and for the students, that was the angriest they had seen him EVER. The only one who wasn't left speechless was, of course, Bumblebee. "Zrkt—Yeah, well—zrkt—get welded!" He began storming toward his quarters, hoping to vent some frustrations while getting ready for his date.

"Bumblebee…" the small bot paused and turned his head slightly toward Arcee, her face etched with worry. "Please, let's just all calm down and think this whole thing through. I know that you want to make Midnight happy, but there ARE a ton of risks that could happen." She placed a hand on her chest. "If anything, at least allow me to ghost you guys, just to make sure no Decepticons decide to show up."

Bee let that thought simmer in his processor before relenting. "Zrkt—Fine, if it'll make you feel better—zrtk—be my guest." He shook his head and went on to ask; "Zrkt—Just make sure you don't—zrkt—be TOO noticeable—zrkt—okay? Zrkt—I don't wannna—zrkt—freak her out or anything."

Arcee smiled and flashed him a thumbs-up. "Understood. You can count on me."

"Zrkt—Great. Zrkt—Now if you'll excuse me—zkrt—I need to go find out—zrkt—what to do on—zrkt—a date."

With that, Bumblebee left, and Bulkhead eyed Arcee curiously. "You seem… oddly okay with this all of a sudden."

"Trust me, I'm not." Arcee denied with a sigh. "But, it's Bumblebee's choice. And as much as it frustrates me, I'm not about to deny him something he's so adamant on."

"So what, you're just gonna ghost him for the entire night?" The two Autobots set their attention downward as Izuku, Kyoka and Momo came in, the others having left the awkward situation to go train. Kyoka crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow up at Arcee. "You do know weird that is, right?"

"Y-Yeah, Kyoka's right." Izuku agreed. "Spying on dates is kinda not cool, you know?"

At that, Arcee scoffed and gave a short laugh. "Ah! Spying? Haha, guys, I can assure you that I do not intend on spying on their date. My job will be to watch out for Decepticons, that's all."

But both Momo and Kyoka weren't convinced, sending knowing smirks up to the pink femme. "Arcee, you're not fooling anyone." Momo asserted. "We all saw how flustered you were when Bumblebee said yes to Midnight's offer." The raven-haired beauty leaned in and pointed a finger up to her. "Admit it, you're jealous that Bumblebee's taking a pretty woman out on a date."

Arcee's jaw dropped at the accusation. "Ah! I… I-I have NO clue what you're talking about!" She turned her head up and spun away from Momo, placing her hands firmly on her hips. "What reason would I have to be jealous? Bumblebee's my friend, and I respect him enough to go along with this decision, even if it IS risky."

"Maybe…" Kyoka shook her head, her smirk only increasing. "But it sounds to me that there's some things you're burying beneath the surface." She saw Arcee glance back down to her in confusion, but Kyoka simply shrugged it off. "But hey, what do I know? If you're really so supportive of Bee's choice, then who're we to judge?"

Arcee pursed her lips at that. There was something that Kyoka was trying to get at, but the intelligence officer wasn't exactly sure what that was yet. "Hm… thank you." she replied warily. "That said, I could use some extra sets of eyes on this mission. Think you three would be interested?"

Izuku and the girls looked to one another, thinking over their options. "Well… Optimus isn't here and Bee's going on his date, so I'm free for a little while." Izuku noted.

"Plus, Windblade's out on patrol today, so I'm free as well." Momo added.

Kyoka placed her hands behind her head. "And since Jazz is busy trying to decipher that message again, I'm pretty free, too. By the way…" She shifted her attention up to Bulkhead inquisitively. "Where IS Optimus? We haven't seen him since we got here."

"Ah, something about an important meeting with Nezu, Aizawa and All Might." Bulkhead answered. "I bet they're just discussing how our mission went yesterday."

…..

Another hour had passed and things were finally starting to wind down for the teachers at U.A. High. If the kids thought THEY had it bad having to take their midterms, then they'd probably loathe having to actually GRADE them. This was Present Mic's thought as he and Snipe walked through the hallowed halls of the high school, both of them having finally finished grading all the students' tests. The part-time radio DJ slumped forward, his hand moving to his back in pain. "Agh, god that, was hellish."

"Yer tellin' me, Mic." Snipe agreed, the gas masked gunslinger stretching his arms up high to loosen himself up. "Ugh, I think I got more cramps in my shootin' hand than normal after all that."

"Just think, finals for this semester are gonna be even WORSE if what Nezu has planned is gonna actually happen." Mic pointed out. "And on top of that, now we've got a last-minute MEETING to go to?" Both men groaned exasperatedly before a new sound greeted their ears. It sounded like… heels clicking along the floor? The duo paused in the hall and turned their heads back… and were stunned by what they saw. "W-What the hell?!"

Snipe had to do a doubletake, rubbing the lenses on his mask to make sure he wasn't seeing things. "N-Nemuri! What is all this?!"

Before them stood none other than Nemuri Kayama, the R-Rated Heroine Midnight. Only she wasn't in her scantily clad hero costume as they had expected her to be. Rather, she was in a rather eye-catching shin-length midnight blue dress with a low cut for her cleavage and an exposed back. She also wore matching heels and her face had been done up in fresh make-up while her dark hair cascaded freely behind her. Her dazzling blue eyes glimmered with excitement as she greeted the two men. "Oh, hello boys. Lovely day out, isn't it?"

Snipe was having trouble finding his tongue at the moment. "Uuuh…"

"I reiterate; WHAT THE HELL?!" Present Mic repeated, upping his volume for emphasis.

"Agh! MUST you do that, Mic?" Nemuri scolded as she rubbed her ear, raising her head up proudly. "If you must know, I've changed into this dress for my date in just a few short minutes."

This took both men by surprise. "Woah, a date, seriously?"

"Yep, just made it a couple hours ago, actually."

Snipe furrowed his brow and pointed at her. "Wait, so you actually BROUGHT that dress to school with ya prepared for a date… that ya didn't even have locked in?"

"Well, of course." Midnight wore her usual sultry grin as her insides began bubbling with excitement. "After all, you can never be too prepared for last-minute dates. Besides, I've been working my charms on this boy for a long time, and the fact that he's finally agreed to a night on the town with me… oh, it just makes me feel giddy!"

Mic rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses. 'Among OTHER things, I'm sure.' He placed his hands on his hips and asked; "So who IS this boy, anyway? Anyone we might know?"

"Oh, it's All Might's intern, Brian." Midnight answered. "You remember, the one he brought to observe the Entrance Exams?"

At that, both Snipe and Mic's eyes widened in disbelief. "…Yer kiddin." Snipe shook his head. "Nemuri, he's gotta be like, what, ten to twelve years younger than you?"

"What can I say? I like the young, strapping ones." Nemuri stuck her tongue out in anticipation. "Makes me feel a lot younger myself, honestly, as much as I hate to admit my age."

Both men deadpanned at that. "Midnight, you still look like you're in your twenties." Mic muttered. "Not sure you need any more help feeling young."

However, Midnight simply smiled at the blonde man. "Aw, thank you, Mic, I appreciate that." She strolled on past the duo and wave to them as she set out. "Anyway, I'll see you all on Monday! Have fun with your days off!"

"W-Wait, didn't ya get the memo?" Snipe called back. "Nezu asked us to come to a last-minute meeting after closin'!"

"Ah, just tell me what happened when Monday rolls around." Midnight brushed off. "I've already got my plans locked in, and besides, it can't be anything TOO important, can it?" She heard the men sigh behind her as she exited the front door, making her way down to the front entrance. It was exactly 5:29… and as if on cue, she saw a certain Volkswagen Beetle come pulling up to the curb. Brian got out and her eyes lit up at his ensemble; a black leather jacket with a yellow polo and blue jeans. Simple, but it just worked for him. She couldn't help but smirk at the face he made when he saw her in her dress, his eyes wide and lips parted just slightly. Oh yeah, he was stunned. "Hmhm… you like?"

Brian swallowed nervously, something he never thought he would HAVE to do before replying; "Zrkt—You look—zrkt—fantastic."

"Aw, you're so sweet!" Midnight strode right up to Brian and stopped mere centimeters away from him, leaning in quite close. "And I must say, you're quite ravishing tonight as well. Though I sense a bit of a motif with your clothes…"

"Zrkt—I like—zrkt—yellow."

Midnight couldn't help but laugh, though she attempted to control herself by holding her hand close to her mouth. "Ahahaha! Oh, Brian, you are a HOOT!" She leaned in even further, wrapping an arm around his neck as she pressed her chest against his. "I can just tell that this is going to be an amazing night. Shall we?"

"Zrkt—Let's get rolling!" The duo climbed into the Beetle and were off down the street within minutes… all while a certain pink sports car kept a watchful optic on them from a safe distance.

Meanwhile, behind U.A.'s main building, Present Mic and Snipe had made it out to this last-minute meeting, where the rest of the school's faculty had all gathered together. Among the more notable teachers were Cementos, Thirteen, Vlad King, and Ectoplasm, though others such as Hound Dog, Power Loader, and even Lunch Rush and Recovery Girl were there as well. And then of course, there was All Might, Eraser Head and Nezu himself, the three of them standing near the front of the small crowd of teachers.

"Alright, everyone, if I may have your attention, please!" Nezu waved his paws, bringing their focus straight to him. "I would like to thank you all for coming on such short notice. I know that between preparations for the Sports Festival and today's midterms, things have been quite hectic. However, considering what we have to show you today, I believe that you will all be quite surprised, nonetheless."

Before he could go on, however, Aizawa spoke up, noticing the lack of someone in particular. "Wait… we're missing Midnight. Where is she?"

"Uh, yeah, about that…" Present Mic started, getting everyone's attention.

Snipe rubbed the back of his neck, knowing how Aizawa would probably react. "She uh… had a prior engagement she had to make, so she asked us to fill her in on what this is all about on Monday."

"Ugh… big surprise." Aizawa groaned.

"Ah, worry not, Aizawa." All Might assured. "We can't control the lives of everyone, you know. I'm sure that Midnight will find out sooner or later, anyways." The Symbol of Peace placed his hand on his hips and faced the crowd once more. "So, let's get this started, shall we? I'm sure you're all wondering why you're here. Well, to answer that, allow me to bring in a close personal friend of mine, one that some of you may even recognize…"

All Might waved his hand toward the entry gate… and in pulled a rather large red and blue semi-truck, which pulled to a stop just a few feet away from where the teachers were gathered. At first, they all murmured amongst themselves in confusion, but the moment that the driver's side door opened and Agent Fowler stepped out, there were several surprised noised from them as well. Fowler straightened his tie and spoke up, addressing the crowd with a slight bow. "Hello, teachers and heroes of U.A. High. It's a pleasure to be here."

"Woah… Agent Fowler?" Power Loader asked.

"What's he doing here?" Vlad King piped up, the white-haired Blood Hero furrowing his brow. "There's not some sort of national emergency, is there?"

"No, there isn't, Mr. King. At least not yet." Fowler answered, placing his hands behind his back… all while the sound of copter blades began to be heard overhead. "However, there IS something important related to not just national security, but WORLD security that Principal Nezu thinks you should all be aware of. You see, a few weeks ago, we experienced an event, one that was pretty unexpected. I'm assuming you all remember the meteor incident, right?"

Cementos was the next to speak. "Well, how could we not? It was the day AFTER the U.A. Incident, after all."

"Exactly…" Fowler craned his head up, leading everyone to do the same. Decending down toward them was a green helicopter, one with a very strange design to it. The copter just casually landed on the ground… and to everyone's astonishment, there was no one inside. "But to put it simply, there's MUCH more to it than that. You see… those weren't meteors that came crashing down into Musutafu that night. They were… something else. I suggest you all brace yourselves for what you're about to see."

Much to everyone's astonishment, the truck began to move on its own as well, eliciting gasps and yells from the crowd. And then… Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Both the truck and the helicopter started to shift and change shape, their parts converting into… what appeared to be limbs and other body parts that took on robotic, humanoid forms. With bewildered expressions, the group of heroes all stared incredulously at the two robots, and judging by the fact that All Might, Nezu and Aizawa hadn't batted an eye at it, they could only guess that THIS was the topic behind the meeting at hand.

The tall, red and blue robot with the truck chest knelt down to be closer to the humans' eye level, greeting them with a bow of his own. "Greetings, U.A. Faculty." he greeted. "My name is Optimus Prime. And I believe that we have much to discuss."

…..

If there was a word that Arcee could use to describe this evening, it would be… uneventful. Honestly, so far, this little outing that Midnight had taken Bumblebee on had been pretty normal, for the most part. She had taken him to a couple of scenic sights around Musutafu, including the beach, an admittedly lovely botanical garden, and now they were at the local art museum. Izuku and the girls had explained to her that Midnight was the Modern Hero Art History teacher at U.A., so she figured that she'd take him to a place like this, especially since it was open up late to debut a some new and exciting exhibits. Still, though, that didn't stop the night from being fairly dull from Arcee's perspective. They had been at this for almost two hours now, and so far… things had been calm.

"Still no signs of Decepticons, Arcee." Momo noted from her vantage point in the passenger seat, with Izuku and Kyoka covering the rear. The heiress pulled herself in through her window and looked to the pink femme's holoform. "I think we should just face facts; the Decepticons have no interest in this date."

"Heck, I doubt they even KNOW about it." Izuku added.

Arcee, however, shook her head. "Maybe not, but we can't take that chance. Us Autobots go out on patrol like this every day to make sure that Decepticon activity stays low…" She glanced back toward one of the museum windows, seeing Midnight and "Brian" observing a nearby art piece with happy faces. "…It's just that today, our patrol involves having to play chaperone."

Kyoka rolled her eyes and crossed her arms defiantly. "Arcee, when are you going to admit that you have a problem?"

The intelligence officer raised a brow back at her. "Kyoka, like I said before, I am NOT jeal—"

"YES. Yes, you are." The punk rocker pressed firmly, taking Arcee and even Izuku by surprise. "I know that you probably don't want to admit it, but seeing someone getting this close with your best friend… it bugs you, doesn't it?"

Momo was taken aback by Kyoka's behavior, but also impressed that she was this passionate about Arcee's feelings. 'Now how about showing that same determination with Izuku, hm?' she thought with a slight grin.

Arcee's features scrunched up in frustration, her eyes moving away from the girl and onto her steering wheel in thought. After a few seconds, she gave a conceding sigh. "…Okay, maybe I do. I just… I want to make sure that Bee doesn't get his feelings hurt. I've plenty of femmes on Cybertron like Midnight, the ones who think that they can just get away with toying with mechs who stick to them like magnets…"

Izuku leaned up to the front, sending an empathetic gaze to his friend. "Arcee, I understand how you must feel about that, but I can promise you that Midnight isn't like that. Sure, she may be extremely… flirty and… er…"

"Sensual." Momo put it gently.

"Y-Yeah, that. But I can tell you from just following her hero work, I've seen how good of a person she is." Izuku pulled up his phone and showed Arcee an image on it, one of Midnight escorting two little children away from a burning building. "Just last week, she saved a family from an arsonist villain who burned down their home. She even… ahem… "punished" the villain right there on the spot."

Kyoka smiled and nodded to Arcee. "There, see, does that sound like a bad person? I mean, look how much fun Bee's having in there."

The pink-haired avatar moved her sights back to the museum, seeing Bee and Midnight both laughing together as the latter pointed out a certain piece of art. Slowly, a smile came to Arcee's lips, seeing just how much the two were enjoying themselves. "Well, I guess you make a… wait." Her focus shifted up toward the roof of the museum, having caught a glimmer of something in the corner of her eye. She zoomed in and saw some small movements and then another shimmer of light. …And it was in the shape of a gunbarrel. "Oh scrap, HOLD ON!"

Before the kids could ask why, their seatbelts automatically buckled them in and Arcee's wheels screeched as she pulled away from the curb. And then… BANG! A shot had hit the ground where they once were, leaving a dark burn mark on the street and sidewalk. Thankfully there were no bystanders standing there, but every human near the area suddenly screamed and fled when they heard the shot.

Arcee pulled to a stop and both Izuku and Kyoka had to catch their breath, their hands clinging onto their seats for dear life. "W-What the HELL was that?!" Kyoka shouted.

"I knew it. A Decepticon thought they could get lucky tonight." Arcee moved her eyes back to the top of the museum, seeing the Con in question stand up and stare down directly at her. She saw the shadowy figure make a "come hither" motion with their hand before backing away so they wouldn't be seen. "Oh, this one is just asking for trouble." She activated her comm and contacted Bumblebee. "Bee, this is Arcee. I don't know if you heard that, but I've spotted a Con on top of the museum roof. I'm headed up to investigate, but you NEED to get yourself and Midnight out of there. I've got a plan, you'll know it when you see it. Arcee, out."

"So, what do we do now?" Izuku asked before all of Arcee's doors promptly opened.

"You three are gonna go inside and tell everyone that a villain's been spotted on the roof." Arcee instructed. "Then you'll help Midnight and Bumblebee get to safety as quick as you can, okay? I'll engage this Decepticon."

Momo felt a sense of worry start to overtake her. "But what if you get spotted?"

But Arcee just gave her a wink. "Don't worry, I'm an intelligence officer. We're taught how to be stealthy. And if any heroes come on the scene, I'll be sure to get this Con away as quick as possible." She reached over and placed a reassuring hand on Momo's shoulder. "Once the other humans have been cleared, I'll call in backup. Until then, you guys handle the evacuation, okay?"

Izuku and the two girls eyed one another, the trio sharing a nod before going back to Arcee. "Okay, we'll follow your lead on this, Arcee." Izuku climbed out of the back with Kyoka before meeting with Momo up front, leading the Autobot to close her doors. "We'll be quick, don't worry."

"Good, I'm counting on you three!" With that, Arcee watched as the three teenagers ran across the street to the museum, and once they were in, she went up to the building herself. She went around the back and found a nice, dark corner with no nearby windows, her holoform blinking out of existence before she transformed into robot mode. She jumped up and climbed to the top of the museum… only to find nothing.

Arcee's optics narrowed. This wasn't a good sign. She pulled her pistol out and started forward, keeping her guard up. "…Show yourself, Decepticon!" she called out. "You wanted my attention? Well now you've got it." She continued toward the ventilation shaft and the door to the roof, leaning her head over to see if the Con was hiding somewhere. And then… she gasped. There, having been planted on the side of the roof entrance, was a sensor mine, secured on by eight heavy clamps. "Oh, scrap—" PSSSSSST! "AH!"

The mine went off and its contents blasted out at Arcee; a purple, gaseous mist. The Autobot's intakes were immediately filled with the mist and she began coughing, the harmful vapor starting to clog up her ventilation system. "Hak-hak-HAK! W-What the—" CRACK! "AUGH!" With a hard hit to the side of her head, Arcee was taken off her feet, landing so hard that she put a crack in the roof. What's more, a warning light flashed in her optics reading; COMMLINK DAMAGED. 'Oh… fantastic. How could this get worse?'

"Hmhmhmhahahaha!" The small chortle that became a boisterous laugh was all Arcee needed to have that question answered… and at the same time, send a chill through her systems. She recognized that laugh. Her optics darted upward in horror as a slender, feminine figure came into few, now clear for Arcee to see. The one normal optic and one telescopic optic were more than a giveaway for her, but the accent just cemented it. "Bonjour, Arcee! Surprised to see me, non?"

"Sh…Shadow Striker?!" CLANG! "AGH! Hak-HAK!"

"Zat is correct, mon cherie." Shadow Striker pressed her foot against the Autobot's midriff as her insidious smirk increased. "It has been far, FAR too long."

Arcee was scared, confused, and flabbergasted at the same time. "H-How did you—hmph!"

But Shadow Striker quickly clamped her hand over her foe's mouth. "Did you really think zat Skywarp and Thundercracker were ze only ones Starscream summoned to zis planet? Tsk, tsk, tsk, you really should have expected otherwise." She traced a finger across Arcee's cheek, only enraging the intel officer more. "Oh, it how I have waited for zis reunion…"

"Get your hands off me!" Arcee tore her face away from Shadow Striker's hand, glaring up at her. "What do you want?!"

"Hmph, isn't it obvious?" Shadow balled one hand into a fist, while using her other to point at her telescopic optic. "I want revenge, cherie. For what you and zat little yellow bug did to me."

That only made Arcee tremble in rage. "Are you serious? JUST for your eye?! If anyone would want revenge more around here, it'd be ME!" She swept her legs, but Shadow leapt away before she could be tripped, though this allowed Arcee to get back up and bring out her swords. "What you did… I'll NEVER forgive you for!"

Shadow Striker landed on her feet and pulled out her rifle, taking aim at Arcee as they squared off. "Oh… still sparkbroken about zat? I would have zought you'd be over it by now. But, c'est la vie, it appears not." She raised a single finger up to her opponent. "But… before we get to ze inevitable… I would just like to point out—"

"WHAT?! What could POSSIBLY be more important than this right now?!" Arcee shouted, only for Shadow Striker to point straight up. Arcee craned her head skyward and was met with something she didn't expect; three incoming objects that were diving straight down toward the museum. They were small, but fast, and they zoomed straight down past them and toward one of the windows.

"…I am not ze only one on zis mission." Shadow explained. "For today, ze new recruits earn zeir keep."

…..

Inside, meanwhile, Bumblebee had been on high alert ever since he heard the first shot, and Arcee contacting him soon after that didn't help. As much as he wished he could help, he couldn't get to the roof without blowing his cover. Plus, he didn't want to get Midnight involved, especially since she was having a good time. 'Arcee, I sincerely hope you know what you're doing…' Bee thought to himself.

"Oh, Brian?" The blonde holoform shook his head and was brought back to reality when Midnight tapped him on the shoulder, her hand extended to another piece of hero art, one with several heroes all running out toward the viewer. "What do you think of this one? See how all of the capes a unique flap to them, no matter where the heroes are running?"

"Brian" gave her a single nod, putting on a small smile. Nemuri, however, noticed that something seemed off. "Brian, are you alright? You don't seem to be in the right headspace." Brian's grin became somewhat sheepish as he rubbed his neck. "You know, if you're not interested, all you have to do is say—oh!" Nemuri brought her hand over her mouth apologetically. "I'm sorry, I was about to say something VERY inappropriate!"

Brian smiled and shook his head, waving his hand to try and get his point across. "Oh, I know you're not offended, but… well, I don't usually date people who don't speak, so this is a first for me." Nemuri was met with a kind, happy smile, along with a thumbs up from Brian to help reassure her. "Oh, you're so sweet. Come on, why don't we—"

BAM! All of a sudden, the front door of the museum burst open, causing many of the attendees to gasp all at once. And, if that weren't enough, Brian and Nemuri were astonished to see Izuku, Kyoka and Momo were the ones rushing in. "EVERYONE!" Izuku belted out. "You're all in danger, you need to get out now!"

"A villain just fired at someone from the roof!" Momo added. "We need to evacuate!"

At the front, one of the security guards suddenly came forward and placed his hands on the teens' shoulders. "Woah, woah, hold on there, kids. Let's not get jumpy here. If there were any villains around, I would know—" THWUMP! Just then, the entire building shook as if something heavy fell, accompanied by some debris that fell from the ceiling as it cracked slightly.

"…Is THAT enough proof for ya?!" Kyoka asked.

"Good enough for me. EVERYONE OUT!" The guard pulled down the emergency alarm and all of the museum-goers started screaming for their lives, rushing out of the front door while Izuku and Kyoka subtly pushed past them to get to Brian and Nemuri.

The R-Rated Heroine was particularly stunned to see them here. "Midoriya, Jiro, Yaoyorozu, what in the world is going—"

"No time to explain, Miss Midnight." Izuku asserted. "We need to get you and Brian out of here."

Kyoka went up to the blonde and whispered; "Yeah, there's a Ecepticon-day on the Oof-ray."

Brian's expression hardened up. He knew it. 'Couldn't we have gone just ONE night without Decepticon activity?!'

"W-Wait, what is on the roof?" Nemuri furrowed her brow at the teens and pointed a stern finger at them. "I don't know what's going on, but if this is some sort of prank, you can be sure that—"

"Wait!" Kyoka raised her hands, silencing the older woman as her jacks raised up. "I-I here something coming… and it's coming in fast!" All of a sudden, the group and all of the evacuating bystanders were met with a bright flash of light coming in through one of the larger windows… and there were three objects coming in fast. "SHIT! Everyone, GET DOWN!" The people still inside the museum just barely had enough time to do as she advised and then…

CRASH!

Glass flew everywhere as the window was destroyed, the three fiery objects having smashed their way directly inside. Brian had pulled Midnight down and shielded her with his body while Izuku did the same with Kyoka… and consequently, Momo as well. The two girls were taken aback by how suddenly he had grabbed them both, but they were still thankful that none of them had glass in their eye. "Hah… everyone alright?" Izuku asked.

"Y-Yeah, I think." Kyoka confirmed.

Momo nodded up to him. "Yes, I think so, too… though, uh, I think we could use our legs back, please."

Izuku's eyebrows shot up and he glanced down, seeing that he had somehow straddled Momo's right and Kyoka's left legs. His cheeks flushed red and he backed off immediately, bowing his head low to the ground. "AAAH! I-I'm so sorry, i-it was a spur of the moment thing and—"

"Izuku, relax." Kyoka reached forward and ruffled his hair, putting him a bit at ease. "We're not mad, far from it. Ya did what ya had to do."

"Exactly. Even if it did seem a bit… precarious." Momo sent a knowing smile over to Kyoka, who rolled her eyes in response. "But yes, thank you, Midoriya, I—what the…" The teens all moved their eyes up to see what Momo had saw… and they were left surprised and dumbfounded by what had come crashing through.

On the other hand, Midnight was in complete heaven. "Mmm… well, well, what do we have here?" The R-Rated Heroine smiled lustfully up to Brian as she gripped onto his arms, while his chest was pressed up to hers. "Usually I'm not one for bottom, but I can always make an… exception?" But when she saw what the teens saw in the corner of her eye, she was also stunned by what was before them all. "…What in the world?"

In front of them, as well as many other civilians… were three very tiny jets. Not RC jets or anything like that, no, these jets all appeared to be fully functional aircraft. But they were just… REALLY tiny, especially for the models they were based on. In the middle was a white Boeing that had gold details along the front and wings. To its right was a white Concord with purple detailing on its nose, its wings, and its rear stabilizer. And finally, on the left, was a black and purple Venture Star Shuttle with what appeared to be a cannon on its back. All in all, this was just NOT normal.

…But the moment the middle one spoke, the three teens had a feeling they knew what these were. "Hm, not a bad place we've got here." The Boeing said in a feminine voice. She scanned her surroundings and quickly located their targets; the trio of students, the U.A. teacher… and the holoform of their interest. "Ooh, but lucky us! We didn't even have to search this place for you. Let's go, boys! We've got a job to do!"

"Haha, yes ma'am!" The Concord exclaimed in a husky, masculine voice. "Jetstorm, TRANSFORM!" The entire nose of the jet folded up onto its back as its undercarriage unfolded into a pair of black legs, while its forearms unfurled from its rear thrusters. An angular head with a pair of small horns popped out of the rear before the jet's stabilizer folded down onto the being's chest, and before anyone knew it, a red-visored robot was standing before them with a smirk. "Hehe, let's clean house!"

"Sonar, transform!" The black shuttle's front end extended out and split in half, with the nose flipping up to form the robot's feet. Its arms folded out from the sides of its wings while the wings themselves rotated to that they were pointing up on the bot's shoulders. Finally, a black head with a gold faceplate rotated out from the rear of the jet, with a golden chest plate complimenting it as well. The bot folded his arms and spoke in a much smoother voice; "Let's get this over with."

"Agreed. Runway, transform!" The Boeing's transformation seemed to be the simplest of them all, with a pair of strong, black-painted legs unfurling out from under the jet while its arms flipped down from the secondary thrusters beneath its wings. The Boeing's rear thrusters and stabilizers folded down to create her chest plate and a smooth-helmed head popped right out afterward, complete with a head crest. Her features were unmistakably feminine, her lips curling up into a smirk as she placed her hands to her hips. "Alright, let's get down to business."

There was a long, drawn-out silence as a wave of shock went through the entire room, leaving the gathered crowd speechless for many minutes. Several, long, agonizing minutes for the three teenagers in particular as they became suddenly quite cold. Everything was blown in less than a minute, just like that. The secret… was out. Kyoka grit her teeth and screwed her eyes shut in disbelief. '…Fuck. Well, that was nice while it lasted—'

"AAAAAAH! ROBOT VILLAINS!" One woman screamed.

Kyoka's eyes snapped open, relief washing over her. 'Oh, thank god, people are stupid.'

Sonar sighed and lowered his head. "Is this SERIOUSLY what we're going with?"

"I know, I don't like it." Jetstorm muttered, glowering at the humans. "Hey! We're not—OOF!"

"Quiet, motormouth." Runway snapped quietly with a slap to the head. "The boss said it's our story and we're sticking to it." She put her smile back on and raising her arms up to the people. "What my friend means to say is… YES! We're villains, ones who've gotten their hands on some quite advanced technology. We call ourselves the Aerial Assault Team… now, who wants a piece of us?"

…..

A/N: And there we have it! The three Mini-Cons that Thundercracker found last chapter are here, folks, and they're already getting their reps in! Of course, given their names and what they turn into, they're without question one of THE most iconic Mini-Con teams ever, the ones that formed the Star Saber… but they're also not exactly how you remember them from the Armada cartoon. For those that don't know, the Aerial Defense Team was released in SEVERAL different color schemes over the years, including an evil version that was supposed to represent the Star Saber's evil counterpart, the Dark Saber. THAT color scheme is the one I'm going for here (though even then, their blade form is probably gonna be renamed, too since… well, the Star Saber has kind of taken on a life of its own).

Oh, and in addition, I made Runway a female. Let's face it, the original Mini-Cons never had a personality outside of their toy bios, so with this, I don't have a problem adding a bit of variety among their ranks. Heck, the only female Mini-Con from the original Armada toyline I can remember is Sureshock, so why not add more, huh? With that said… Voice Actor time! I wanted these Minis to have younger-sounding voices, so here's what I came up with;

Sonar - Eric Bauza (Leonardo from Batman vs TMNT)

Jetstorm - Greg Cipes (Kevin Levin from Ben 10/Beast Boy from Teen Titans)

Runway - Ashley Johnson (Gwen Tennyson from Ben 10/Terra from Teen Titans)

But of course, the Mini-Cons' introduction wasn't the ONLY thing that we saw in this chapter, was it? Seems like Optimus has come around to the idea of expanding the circle of trust to the rest of the U.A. Faculty. I mean, with someone as dangerous as Unicronus on Earth, it never hurts to have more allies to count on. But of course, Midnight just HAD to leave on her date with Brian before she could get the memo. Safe to say THAT backfired. Speaking of, Red Alert REALLY didn't take too kindly to Bee's decision, did he? Here's hoping he doesn't condemn Bee to hard after this…

And that leads me right into Arcee and her standing on the issue. Seems the girls were starting to whittle down her walls and help her see that there might be more to her feelings than just being worried about a Decepticon attack. Could this ultimately lead her to realize that her feelings for Bee go deeper than even she's aware of? Well, we'll just have to wait and see. But first, she'll have to deal with Shadow Striker… but just what the assassin such ire from her? Guess we'll have to wait to find out. So, with that said…

And now, the Preview! The Decepticon ambush continues as Thundercracker shows up soon after the Mini-Cons, leading to a kidnapping that leaves our heroes shellshocked. They manage to contact Optimus and he and Springer show up… along with several U.A. teachers, much to their astonishment. After giving a brief summary of what went down, Prime and the teachers come to one conclusion; they have a rescue mission to mount. But just WHO is in need of saving? Well, we'll find out soon enough. Next time; Students and Masters. The teachers are getting involved in the mission and… wait, the STUDENTS too?! Thanks for reading, everyone, and I'll see you next time! Stay safe out there, and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!