"Reports about a giant metal man continue to spread through social media. Many are chalking it up as a hoax, while others believe this to be a type of prophecy," a news anchor said. There aren't many images and videos of the thing, but here is one of the images that was taken that night. Experts believe that the images and videos are not faked."

Students stood around a desk as one of their classmates played it through their phones. The other students sat around or waited for the teacher to come. Making beats on the desk or just fooling around in the empty classroom. To the far right in the back was a girl leaning against the wall, looking outside the window, listening to her classmates or what she could. She has brown eyes, fair skin, and medium-long black hair with pink highlights, worn in a long ponytail and two twin-tails on top of her head. The top of the twin tails was pink, and a fully pink hair bang went down the right side of her face, exposing her right eye.

"Hey Miko," a voice said, snapping Miko out of her daydream. Miko turned to face her friend. He had thick, short black hair, a brown hoodie, and long dark grey jeans.

"Sam," Miko would say as she looks out the window.

"You, okay?" Sam asked,

"Yeah, I'm fine." She looks towards Sam. I'm just bored, is all…same old, same old."

"I expected things would be different for you here since you're not in Tokyo anymore," Sam would say.

"I don't mean the place genius; I mean the things happening around us. The mundane things, you know?" Miko shrugs. "Go to school, get straight A's, and follow what everyone thinks about me."

"No one thinks you should get straight A's," Sam reassured Miko. The look she gave him told him all he needed to know. "Yeah, um….sorry."

"I just want something exciting to happen….like more exciting than the standard routine," Miko groans.

"Hey guys," another voice said. The pair turned to the voice, and they both smiled—Miko more than Sam.

"Sari!" Miko would say.

Sari smiled, looking down at her friends. "So, did I miss anything?" Sari had a dark complexion and red hair tied into long pigtails with bangs parted from the left. Two hair clips held the hair in place, and she had blue eyes…oddly colored blue eyes. They were beautiful yet unnatural, robotic in a way.

"No, Miko is just bored of life," Sam would say, resulting in a punch from Miko. "Ow…"

"I'm not bored of life," Miko growls.

"Right," Sari said as she chuckled and sat down. So, have you all heard about the giant robotic man?"

"No," Sam said.

"I heard people talking about it…is it a rumor?" Miko asked.

"Yeah, most likely," Sari would say.

"Doesn't your dad make robots?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, but I don't think he or anyone would make this," Sari would show them the giant metal man in the image.

The image was clear. He was taller than most of the things around him. Sam nodded while Miko's eyes lit up.

"I have an idea!" Miko would shout. "We should try to find him!"

"And believe in the rumor?" Sari asked.

"It can't be a rumor…or at least we can…myth bust it," Miko said.

"I don't know. Should we spend our time trying to uncover a rumor?" Sam asked. It didn't sound fun…. or safe.

"Fine..it can just be a girl thing then." Miko looks toward Sari.

"Not something I would like to do," Sari would answer.

Miko groans, her head falling against her desk. Sari and Sam glance at one another, wondering if they should change their answers or agree with Miko. If they do find the metal man…. then what? How can three teenagers bring him in or escape him if he's evil? However, this is Miko; she may not even get close enough to find out if it's true; she may give up when she finds out that finding him would take much more effort than hope.

"Look, I'll just send you the image, and you will do what you want. Okay?" Sari asked while sending the image to Miko.

Miko only raised her hand, giving her a thumbs up. Right as the door opened and the teacher walked in.

"Sorry, I'm late. My car broke down halfway there, and the Uber app canceled my rides. So y'all get to have a free day while I work on finding a way to get my car to a shop," the teacher said.

"Oh, cool!" Sari would say as Miko's head shot up.

"Free day, you say. Does that mean research for our myth hunting? Eh? Eh?" Miko would say to her friends.

"Fine…..not like we have nothing stopping us now. but just for this class….so what's your plan?" Sari would ask.

"Giant people just don't disappear, Miko…wouldn't more people be talking about him than just a small town?" Sam asked.

"We don't need the kind of doubt here, Sam…and I say," Miko would rub her chin as she thinks before snapping her finger. "Find any accounts that posted the picture. Find out where they can be and then interview them."

"Ugh…" Her friends would let out dual groans as Miko narrowed her eyes.

"It's not that bad. Aren't you all up for an adventure? A chance to break the mundane?" Miko asked.

"Not really. I'm already breaking it. My dad agreed to send me to an actual school… away from Detroit." Sari would explain. "And I spent my life around robots."

"And I did try out for the football team…. " Sam mutters.

Miko exaggerates her sigh as she looks towards her friends. "Okay, well, I'll put in all the effort to find our giant metal man. And I want something from y'all when I prove it's real."

"Okay, well, question. If he's evil…. the hell would you do?" Sari asked.

"I haven't…thought of that," Miko mutters. But look, this could be our chance to form a legacy."

XXXXX

Legacy…Legacy. Those words ring through Lio's head as he lies against the slab. Pharma was looking over his processor scans. In front of him was BlueStreak and Bumblebee going over his supposed legacy.

"And then there was this time that Starscream came, nearly taking out Hot Rod's scouting party. Luckily, you were there and entered a fierce one-on-one battle with her. You were able to stalemate her and then win. She had the power. You had the skill," BlueStreak would say.

"And you normally lead teams too. Optimus was still above you in rank, but you were as trusted as Ultra Magnus, Prowl, and Fortress Maximus," Bumblebee said.

"Interesting….so I was just a competent fighter and leader…. that's it?" Lio asked.

"Well, that's not all that. You were a wise leader. You were somewhat like Optimus to more…how should we put it?" BlueStreak rubbed her chin.

"Violent. Optimus would give her enemies more chases to give up before landing the final blow while you didn't," Pharma would say. "You were kind of like her executioner."

"Oh…" Lio mutters. "So…what did you find?"

"A light case of amnesia." Pharma would say, "Some damage to your head… some gaps in your memory which will return in time."

"Will that interfere with him helping?" Bumblebee asked.

"Not from what I'm seeing. He's healthy, though. It's almost like he's brand new," Pharma would say. "Do you know all the weapons that you have on you? Do you know all your functions here?"

"No, and no," Lio would say while getting off the slab.

"Right…normally, we would come with blasters or blades. Usually both," Pharma said, turning her left hand into a chainsaw.

"Why would a medic have that?" Lio asked.

"Just try to picture a blaster or something," Pharma would say.

"What's that?" Bumblebee would point to the golden claws on his arm.

Lio raised his arms, looking at them. "I don't know…I just had them."

"Oddly enough, he had those when I first meant him…. Kind of like a lion," BlueStreak would say. What does that mounted head do? It disappears when you transform…maybe masshift or just, who knows…move around your body to fit another place."

"Masshift?" Lio asked.

"Yeah, some transformers can get bigger and smaller to fit a form. Chromia could've been a motorcycle, but she's functionally our group's heavy hitter," BlueStreak said.

"She's taller than you. How can she be something so small?" Lio asked as he made a fist; the golden claws quickly shot up, becoming blades. "Wow…."

"Oh, cool! You're like Wolverine!" Bumblebee shouted.

"What?" Lio faced Bumblebee.

"A short, grumpy man who can heal and make claws come out his wrist," Bumblebee would poke the claws.

"Well, we know you have blades…what about blasters?" Pharma would say.

BlueStreak snaps her fingers. "Oh…what if we shove him pictures and videos of Leonidas to jog more of his memories."

'That may work," Pharma would say.

BlueStreak smiles, strolling towards Lio, placing a finger against her head. She projects an image from her eyes. It is Leonidas; his armor is sharper and more aggressive than Lio's. Two ion blasters are in his hand, a large sword is on his back, and two extra swords are in the seethe on his hips. He wore a mouthguard, which only kept everything above his nose visible.

"The legend himself…or should we say yourself," BlueStreak said.

"You told me a little about him and why his legacy is great…. but it doesn't seem like enough to form a legacy off." Lio would say.

"He's important and cool," Bumblebee would say.

"Okay, okay, quit it," Pharma would walk over. "Lio. We have two ways of getting weapons. The first way is hand-held weapons, which many of us have, and usually, when we transform, it pops out of us."

BlueStreak shows an example: an Autobot driving, transforming as the gun would forward. As they transformed, they would catch the gun and aim. Others would have the same for melee weapons or have them appear in their person.

"For most melee weapons, there's an opening in the body which hides the melee weapons," Pharma would say.

BlueStreak shows another image of an Autobot's back popping up as they take out a weapon. Some examples came from their backs or thighs, but most showed the weapon popping out.

"As of now, your melee weapon is those claws. It may be the only one that you have." Pharma would say. "Now, most of us would have blasters coming from our hands. It is connected to our body. It draws the energon from our body to power it. However, even when we use handheld blasters, that's just the laser variant."

"Laser variant?" Lio asked.

"Other guns use bullets, and sometimes we have missiles, but those are practically unlimited. Like growing hair and nails," Pharma answered. "Now try picturing weapons. Focus hard and picture it coming out."

Lio nods as he holds his hands up, making a fist again, then gently undoing it as the claws pop back down. Lio then clutched his fist, waiting for anything to happen. Nothing happened at first, as the three Autobots stood around waiting for something to happen. Chromia wonders in.

"What's going on here?" Chromia asked.

"Trying to get Lio to use his weapons. Like a blaster." Bumblebee replied.

Chromia grunts, placing a hand on her hip. "What makes you think that he has a blaster? Most melee builds don't have blasters on them."

"Most," Bluestreak repeated.

Chromia head over, noticing something on Lio's back. "Leo- Lio…what are those things on your back?"

"What things?" Lio turns to face her.

"Like metal vents just…sticking out of your back." Chromia looks up to him.

Lio thinks for a moment before he gets an answer. "Jet boosters. It's like a jetpack"

"So, your flight-capable," Chromia said, crossing her arms. I wonder how that could be used when we need to be in disguise."

"We need to be?" Lio asked, dropping his arms.

Chromia leaned, turning her attention to BlueStreak and Bumblebee. "You didn't think to tell him about that? Did you even mention anything about road safety?"

"..Will you be mad if I said no?" BlueStreak asked with a nervous grin.

XXXXX

The rest of the school day was as average as Miko expected. The metal man buzz died out as the day passed, and the rumor became duller. Images that were once online were gone. Completely removed from the internet, even the old news broadcast was gone, and a replacement explained how the rumor was a hoax.

This answer satisfied many people, especially Miko's friend, but she wasn't easy to sway. Why would all the images be scrubbed from existence if it was a hoax? Why would they delete a news broadcast and make a new one, explaining it was a hoax? When something is learned as a hoax, it stays up with the knowledge of it being a hoax for no one to believe.

Luckily for Miko, she saved the images to her phone or took screenshots, so they were safe. Miko had written down some of the accounts she saw, and with a little digging, she could find where some of them went to school or hung out. Unfortunately for her, it required a ride towards the city they were in, and she couldn't find it with the school day going on. Miko thought about just skipping; she could make up whatever she missed.

When Miko approached them, Sam and Sari were already at the table, eating lunch.

"Hey. Y'all up for skipping school?" Miko asked.

"We just got here," Sam said.

"Miko, is this about the metal man?" Sighed Sari.

"Of course, it's about him. I found some people who had taken the image before it was taken down," Miko said.

"Miko, it's just a hoax," Sam would say.

"Says the man whose great great grandfather witnessed some giant woman in ice," Miko placed a hand on her hips. "Y'all agreed to help."

"Help research in one class," Sari corrected.

"He was crazy. They put him in an asylum after that. He was ranting nonsense…and even then, that was in the Arctic circle… several years ago." Sam looked up to face Miko.

"Well, fine then. Cover for me…I'm going to go find him," Miko said.

"Miko," Sari huffed. "Do not do this. Do not skip school. You may get caught…and get dragged back here and in trouble."

"Come ooonnnn," Miko whined. "Cover for me, y'all owe me for not helping"

"And how may we do that? We don't have the same classes." Sam asked.

"Easy. I sign myself out. They call my host parents, aka Sari, who can perfectly replicate my host mom's voice and confirm I can go, and Sam…" Miko looks at him. "Glad you can be here to hear this brilliant plan."

"Yeah, yeah…just don't come crying to us when this backfires or fails," Sam would say.

"And don't come begging for me to let you hang out with my giant metal friend once we become buddies." Miko grins at Sam.

Sari rolled her eyes and took out her phone. "Better hurry"

Miko nodded and quickly left. Sam would look at Sari.

"So…. why don't you believe as much as she does? You two freak out over giant robots fighting and monster truck rallies," Sam would ask.

"I don't want her to get involved in something that may not be what she believes," Sari calmly said, picking up a fry and twirling it between her fingers. "She wants to break the mundane…find a legacy, and yet this may not be what she thinks it is…. imagine if she learns this isn't real? How would she react?"

"I haven't thought about that…" Sam mutters. "Nor have I thought about the other time someone I knew witnessed a giant person…though this one is a man…"

"But we are her friends…..we should've joined her…Or at the very least stopped her." Sari placed her chin against her palm. "The loser club should stick together."

"We aren't losers," Sam mutters.

"Tackled by four people, lifted by the coach to go call your mom," Sari reminded him with a grin.

"No….um…no um I was there to research a book…" Sam would grumble.

"Whatever you say, buddy." Sari continues to grin. "You would've made a good football player."

Miko grumbles to herself, kicking a rock before heading back inside. She's upset that her friends don't want to help her search for the giant metal man. The doubt her friends kept telling her made her second guess herself. The more she thought of it, the more impossible it seemed and the more it seemed like a fantasy…what would she even do when she did find him? What if he is good…what then? Miko shook her head as she tried to get those thoughts out. She decided to focus on the task at hand.

Walking into the front office, she gave a little wave to the receptionist and grabbed a pen to sign herself out. The receptionist gave Miko a look, which she returned by staring the receptionist in the eye while signing herself out.

'And now, it begins,' Miko would think.

XXXXX

"And that's some of the basic," Chromia explained. "And the biggest thing. Do not…and I repeat, do not transform unless you need to."

"I got it." Lio nodded as he crossed his arms. "So, the locals can't know of us…why?"

"Didn't you get hit in the chest by a missile?" Crosshairs drawled.

"It didn't hurt that much," Lio would say as he rubbed his chest absentmindedly. "I did feel it more than their other attacks, but it wasn't enough to fully put me down."

"Right. And we're sure we want this as our new leader?" Crosshairs point to Lio. "He's as loss as a sparkling. He resembles nothing of Leonidas…other than appearance."

"I agree...Somewhat. I'm not Leonidas." Lio would say.

"Pharma did say that you have amnesia, so you don't remember, but it will come to you eventually," BlueStreak would say.

"Yeah," Bumblebee would say, "You just need to be in a leadership position; maybe that will draw your memories out faster than waiting, and like we said, there's nothing too concerning on this planet to worry about, Lio. Bluestreak can help you out every step of the way."

Crosshairs scoffed, leaning against the wall, which caught Pharma's attention; her eyebrow twitched slightly.

"Crosshairs…stop that," Pharma hissed.

Crosshairs grunted, pushing herself off the wall and stepping away from it. Lio blinks as he looks at them and Chromia notices.

"Pharma is a bit of a control and neat freak," Chromia would tell him.

"Oh," Lio responded before sighing. "Fine…if y'all believe this so much. I'll be your leader."

"You will?!" Bumblebee asked as she fist pumps. "Hell yeah!"

"Good to have you back," BlueStreak would say.

"Ugh," Crosshairs grumbled; there wasn't a response from Pharma or Chromia,

"However, this is to prove a point that I'm not who you think I am," Lio told them.

"Okay, so it's win-win either way," Bluestreak would say.

"If you see it like that…so tell me. What's the mission?" Lio folds his arm. "Why are you all here, and for how long?"