In an office building, a man sighs as he sits at his desk, looking over a data pad. News has been buzzing about the metal man, and everyone in the responsible department has worked fast to scrub the image from the internet and downplay it. Teams were sent out to talk to those who saw it, trying to give them a logical explanation about what they saw, such as that they were hallucinating, and the metal man wasn't real.

Things like contaminated water, a vapor in the air, or something from the meteorite caused them to see things. None of this would be easy, and getting some witnesses to believe what they say would be hard. The pod has been collected and is currently in custody. He was already familiar with the pod; he had meant someone who had used it once before. From the news he heard, he believed it could be her friend, and now it wasn't attacking. The ones who shot at him have been given their punishment and will be getting a scolding soon.

Their new mission was to find the man and potentially others like him and work out a partnership. They can't have giants walking around without hiding themselves so that they can prevent situations like this. Even if most of the paperwork is digital, it's still paperwork and annoying.

"Agent Burns," A man would walk into his office.

"Yes, Simmons?" Burns would ask.

"The team is ready, awaiting orders to head to the city to talk with every eyewitness and the police officers who've fired upon that man," Simmons would say.

"Excellent work, Simmons," Burns would stand up. "Let's saddle up and get this over with."

"Rodger, that, sir," Simmons would say, saluting and leaving the office.

Burns looked at his desk as he stood up, reviewing the events when the first one arrived on Earth—a good one and two bad ones. Now, a new one bigger than all the others he'd seen had arrived, and he feared what would come in response to him being here.

Burns said as he walked out of his office, "Let's hope he's the only new visitor we have."

XXXXX

"As you all recall," Bluestreak said, her voice filled with determination as they made their way to the bridge.

"Allegedly," Crosshairs added.

"Whatever," BlueStreak said. "So, the war isn't going so well for us on many fronts. We tried our hardest, but with the Decepticons having the most energon reserves and more troops, we had to seek energon anywhere we could."

"While also hiding some of our troops to regroup, gather whatever energon we can gather and bolster our forces so we can return home and quickly defeat the Decepticons." Chromia would add.

"Along with finding a way to bring our planet back to life," Pharma added.

"Just Cybertron? Or all the planets?" Lio asked.

"Mainly Cybertron…while the war spread to some of the other planets, the war cut off enough to not spread there that badly. It's like our sides mutually agreed to fight over Cybertron," Pharma explained.

"Probably because whoever controls Cybertron," Chromia would say.

"Control her colonies," Lio would say.

"Exactly," Chromia told him.

"And that's not the worst of it," Crosshairs said. "Somehow, Megatron's demands for equality became wanting to kill all organics, and this planet is full of them. Which means we're also babysitters."

"I wouldn't call us that," Chromia would say.

"What would you call this?" Crosshairs asked.

"Protection. Babysitting would involve watching one or more of them specifically because our enemies are out for them only," Chromia explained. "We're here to help the humans, give them a helping hand when they're in danger."

"Well, that sucks, too," Crosshairs grumbled.

"How is the search for energon going?" Lio asked.

"Bad," BlueStreak answered. "It's too deep for our current scanners, or we can't pick it up."

"Our ship scanners have been down for a while. We know energon is here, but not the exact location." Pharma said.

"It's important that we get to it before any other Decepticons arrive on this planet, "BlueStreak would say.

"Anymore?" Lio asked.

"Yep, they attacked before; as I mentioned earlier, Bee snuffed them out." BlueStreak said, "It was a whole mess, but luckily, she stopped it before they could get some backup."

"She was here alone till we arrived." Pharma would say. "So, we also just wait to find any other Autobots and bring them here."

"And it's been two months without incident," Crosshairs said.

"You were here for two months, Lio asked, "And you were unsuccessful in finding energon?"

"We found some, but not enough. The search is bad because we can't find enough to fuel our ship fully, let alone provide help for an army," Chromia said. We had to move locations, repair our ship, and reestablish communication. It recently went down again."

"We've kept busy, not as busy as we've liked. When you live in us, two months is nothing…a blink, if you will," Pharma would explain.

"We're just waiting for Optimus to show up or someone of rank equal or higher to yours," BlueStreak said, accessing their computers. "For now, we act like we're here alone. Send out the probes we have to monitor far-off places. Pharma checks anywhere, too, since she's the only one capable of flight while we normally stay in this area. Unless we decide to do a long patrol. Drive somewhere several hours away, and then come back to the ship. Our comfy little home. Away from prying eyes and just the best place to feel comfy."

"Right…" Lio would say.

BlueStreak would launch some of the probes out. "We did patrol yesterday, but another one is in order."

"I agree," Lio would say. "It will be best to actively participate to learn more about what y'all told me. A hands-on experience is the best way to learn."

"Ugh, sister…" Crosshairs groaned. "I'm staying here this time."

"Fine. We'll split up into teams. Chromia and Bee go into the deserts and see if you can find anything. Lio, you're with me," BlueStreak said as she snapped her fingers and pointed to Pharma. "And Pharma, you're alone."

"Yeah, I know." Pharma would say.

Once they were ready, the ship's doors would open. Pharma shot out first, flying through the waters at breakneck speed as she turned up and flew completely out of the water. Next were the four cars as they all drove out and sunk to the sea floor, heading towards the place with the best elevation to drive out of the water. Leaving the water, they would enter their team and drive down two paths. Lio and BlueStreak were heading to the city.

Crosshairs strolled towards the captain's seat, raising her arms as she stretched. She hopped into the chair, grinned, and got comfortable.

"Ahh, I could get used to this," Crosshairs exhaled. "Just me reporting to me. Now, should I watch a movie? Or relax….no, they will be upset if I don't help by monitoring things for them…or attempt to fix long-range comms."

Crosshairs groans as she presses a button on the ship's computer. The screen changes as she sees multiple cameras from each probe, 1 to 8. Looking at them, she notices that probe 1 is over the city BlueStreak and Lio are heading to, filled with cops, military vehicles, and SUVs. Crosshair's eyes widen as she leans forward, looking at all the vehicles. The probe turns, showing the police car and a custom-colored truck heading to the city.

"Ah, scrap." Crosshairs quickly stood up and headed over to the communication array, slamming her fist on top of it, causing an access panel to open. Crosshairs got to her knees and placed her hand within it to attempt to fix their communication. "Bloody hell, the moment they decide to go on patrol is when these humans decide to bolster their forces. Hopefully, they can get out of this situation on their own."

XXXXX

The situation wasn't as bad as the probe made it out to be. Lio and BlueStreak had entered the city; noticing all the people, BlueStreak decided it'd be the best time to teach Lio about keeping a low profile in a situation like this. Several human vehicles were around, designed to look for them, and some he had witnessed before. Lio followed behind BlueStreak, doing everything she did.

"And the signs with the word stop, you stop," BlueStreak said.

"Simple enough," Lio would say. "So red lights mean stop…and yellow lights mean speed up?"

"No, yellow lights mean slow down—well, speed up when you're able to…there's a rule where if you make it between these white lines when they turn yellow, you can make it," BlueStreak answered.

"Right…so this driving thing isn't so hard," Lio said.

BlueStreak would chuckle. "Eh, not that easy, yet not that hard….and speaking of that, it's time you learn about the burdens of being a truck."

"Burdens?" Questioned Lio.

"See that sign?" BlueStreak moved her mirror so the light could hit it.

"Yes," Lio confirmed.

"That sign is about trucks not being able to enter that area. You can't go through most roads since you're the biggest thing on the road." BlueStreak explains, "Go to that turning lane and remember, with some turning lanes when the turning light turns red, but the other light is green, you can turn if the road is clear for you to do so."

"Copy that," Lio said as he got into the lane. We'll meet back up in…two minutes. That should be long enough?"

"Yeah…with the increased human activity around, it'll be best. I would say we should go…but they don't know what we are," BlueStreak would say as Lio's light turned green. "Just don't do anything to get yourself noticed."

"Copy that."

Lio would turn, heading down the street, and a familiar girl watched the truck drive down the street where she once was.

"Wow," Miko would say, taking out her phone to take a picture. "Man…, I wish I had taken a picture of the front of it. That's a unique truck."

Miko puts her phone away and continues to walk forward. The doubt that once crossed her mind left her head, especially when she noticed the military vehicles, which confirmed her suspicions. If they're here, the metal man is real; if he's real, he's in the city somewhere and needs to be found. Maybe he has some camouflage, so he can't be found. If that's the case, what hope would she have of seeing him? Shaking her head, Miko would slap herself.

"No, negative thoughts out, Miko. These are just positive thoughts. You need to prove your friends wrong about the metal man," Miko told herself. "Yeah, you got this. Nothing can go wrong. Nothing. You got on the bus to get here with no incident."

As Miko turned the corner, she bumped into a man; a quick splash was heard, along with a hollow sound emitting from the ground after Miko had fallen.

"Hey," The man would say.

"Oh man…watch where you're- shit," Miko would say as she looks up at a police officer—the captain.

"Quite the vocabulary, young lady," Captain Fanzone said as he looked down at Miko. "A vocabulary that should be fixed in school…which should still be going on."

"Uh oh well funny story…..I was able to…stay home," Miko would say.

"Is that right now?" Fanzone asked, quirking a brow. "Well, you wouldn't mind me calling your parents to see if you were allowed to skip school."

"Welll…I um" Miko stammered over her words,

"If your parents allowed you to stay, then calling them wouldn't be an issue. Right?" Fanzone raised an eyebrow.

"Right…they wouldn't…let me just get my phone, and" Miko would stay to drift off as she stopped facing him and then behind him. Her eyes widen, and she quickly points. "That man's jaywalking!"

Fanzone would turn around while Miko scrambled to her feet and ran away. Fanzone turns around, hearing her heavy steps.

"Hey!" Fanzone shouted. "Ugh…this is why I hate kids."

Miko quickly ran back down the road, saying she had come, hearing sirens behind her as she ran. Her little head start wouldn't last, especially with him using a car to get her.

"Why is he taking me skipping so seriously? Doesn't he have donuts to eat!? Or buy again!?" Miko shouted as she turned behind her, noticing the yellow police car. Miko looked around for a place to duck between but noticed a back alley, big enough for her to run through while small enough for a vehicle not to fit around. While running into it, Fanzone sighs, knowing he must take the longer way around to get her. However, with a car, he had to make it to the other end before she made it out or a few seconds after she made it out.

Miko was just a little faster than Fanzone anticipated, and she made it out with seconds to spare so she could determine her left move. Looking around, she noticed the nearly vacant road with just one vehicle—the truck she had seen earlier.

"This is stupid and risky! This is stupid and risky!" Miko shouted as she dashed towards the car as Fanzone turned the corner.

"There she is," Fanzone said.

Miko would hop onto the truck's footstand and grab the door to pull it open. It was her lucky day as the door opened, and she quickly hopped in. Miko wouldn't notice anything in the truck or the lack of a driver. The door shut on its own while Miko caught her breath, looking towards the driver's seat.

"Hey, I need a favor. Can you?" Miko stops as she notices the empty driver's seat and slowly looks around the truck. The engine is running; she can hear it. "What the…"

Suddenly, the doors lock, and Miko's heart drops as she whips toward both doors. Before panic can slowly creep in, a bang against the window nearly gives her a heart attack, so she jumps and then looks towards the window, seeing Captain Fanzone.

"Come on, missy, either you go back to school, and we forgot this, or we." Fanzone stopped as he noticed only Miko in the truck. "What the?"

'The doors locked on its own!" Miko would shout.

The lights turn green, and the truck drives off, Making Fanzone fall out while Lio speeds down the street. Fanzone watches the truck drive away, shaking his head. He rushes towards his car and grabs the radio.

"All units! All units! Watch out for a white and red semi-truck!" Fanzone would shout. The truck had speeded off with a teenage girl!"

XXXXX

Miko panicked but pushed herself back in her seat, looking around the empty cabin, panting. Suddenly, the radio came to life, and a voice came through.

"BlueStreak, we have an issue." Lio would say.

"What's the issue?" BlueStreak asked.

"W-what the?" Miko asked.

"I accidentally have a local in me…I think she was running from one of those police cars." Lio said.

"You took a local!? How!?" BlueStreak asked.

"She just hopped in; I didn't know what to do," Lio asked.

"I'm getting call now. They're looking for you," BlueStreak sighs. "Drop the human off somewhere and head back to base."

"Where exactly?" Lio asked, turning the mirror behind him as he noticed police cars following him. "Do I still follow the driver safety laws when being chased?"

"No!" BlueStreak and Miko shouted.

"Drive! Drive! Drive!" Miko would shout.

Lio sighed; as a car got close enough to ram him, he took off, speeding through the red light and easily avoiding the incoming vehicles. This did not stop the police cars as any car would come to a stop, thanks to their lights and sirens. Catching up to Lio was more difficult since the truck was driving faster than they thought and not losing control at breakneck speeds. Lio's first thought was to lose them across the city, then head out the way he came in. They'll be lost on where he must go if he's lucky enough.

"Burns, sir," Simmons would run up to Burns, who was talking with a man in a car.

"What is it, Simmons?" Burns asked, leaning up and gesturing for the car to leave.

"There's a truck driving around with a girl inside it," Simmons said.

"So, is it a kidnapping?" Burns asked.

"Yes and no. The police Captain who saw the truck noticed that the girl was in it alone, and the truck drove off without a driver." Simmons would say. "I think we found our guy."

"You sure?" Burns faced Simmons, hovering his hand over his walkie.

"Yes, you said this one was big, and a truck could be big enough to hide him," Simmons answered.

-"All units. Be on the lookout for a Semi Truck being chased by the police force. Stop the truck and shoot the tires, but do not shoot the truck itself. Do not harm it,"- Burns commanded over the radio as he looked up to Simmons. "Let's go, Simmons. We get the girl out, get in, and ask it to take us somewhere."

Now Lio had another issue to face: another entity was chasing him. So, the new authority they saw coming in is now after Lio, who still held the advantage regarding driving. However, he had no real trick to avoid them unless he could lose them again. Miko would look out the window in awe, mainly of how the truck could keep away from the cars chasing. Suddenly, she is thrown to the driver's side as Lio slams on the breaks, turning as he allows most of the cars to zip past him or slam on the breaks while Lio bursts a U-turn going down the street before making another turn heading left, then right as he busts another U-turn. Heading left.

'S-stop turning so much I'm getting a headache!" Miko groans as she holds on as best as she can. Lio would wrap a seatbelt around her and pull her back into the seat.

"Okay, look. I will drop you off somewhere, and you can just run off home, okay?" Lio would say.

"What? No way! They'll stop me and bring me in. Once they learned, I skipped school along with this! They'll kick me out of the country! I can't go!" Miko shouted.

"…Out the country?" Lio questioned.

"Didn't I just say that? Just take me with you…or do something magical! You are a self-driving and talking truck!" Miko blurts out.

The time to think ended as a police car drove past, and Lio backed into an alley to be missed. Lio cursed to himself on what to do.

"Great," BlueStreak sighs as she turns on her lights and sirens. She speeds down the streets faster than the other cars, even faster than Lio's speed. "All units! I know where the truck went! I need backup!"

This worked like a charm; with the seriousness of the situation, there was no fact-checking. All they did was follow the speeding police car or listen to her words. While many would begin to follow her, Simmons didn't, and he would look at Burns.

"So…what's the word, sir?" Simmons asked.

"I don't know…and we don't know where he truly went…and he has a kid," Burns told Simmons. If this is like the black one encountered, then he's friendly…She, too, had someone with her. I guess that she'll be back."

"Is it wise to leave a child with him?" Simmons questioned.

"Do you know where he went?" Burns asked. "The Last time evil ones came here, they tricked us. The good ones went into hiding. I don't like this any more than you do. Let's search for him one last time."

Simmons drove off to find Lio, unaware that he was hidden in an alley away from them, still trying to convince Miko to exit the vehicle, even with all her pleas.

"I don't understand how I can exactly help you," Lio would say.

"You can take me with you, and I will return to school the next day. Or you can keep me for a while. Maybe until Monday. Today is a Friday, after all." Miko shrugs. "I just can't go back now."

"They're looking for you…won't you be missing spark other issues?" Lio asked.

"They didn't see a driver; they'll be more concerned with the self-driving car and don't know my name." Miko waved his question off. "Just drive."

"…We do protect life," Lio mutters, remembering Chromia's words as he drives off. "You have pink hair. I don't think your name is important."

Miko stared at the steering wheel as he said that. She looked up and thought over what he said, though she could cross that bridge when she arrived. For now, Miko wondered if she would meet the giant metal man; if not, then she could tell her friends she had found a self-driving and talking car.

XXXXX

BlueStreak sighed as she had successfully escaped the police cars, driving too fast for them to catch up or even see the car. Of course, she had to take a long way around to get back to Lio, which took much more out of her as she stayed at the same speed to catch up to him faster. Lio still had a sizeable head start, but with BlueStreak able to go faster than everyone on the planet with her vehicle mood, the near-hour drive would be cut in half, if not more, for her.

Approaching Lio, she was going to think of something to tell him. She was going to chew him out for the situation, but this was meant for him to get some hands-on experience. Nothing was important in the city, and no one told him about locking doors, so this situation hammers in the point to do so.

"Next time, keep your doors locked," BlueStreak told Lio as she drove beside him. "Now we can't go to this city for a while. We need to lay lower than before….and find energon because I'm about to drink up most of whatever we have."

"Sorry about that," Lio would say. "Miko was running from someone and thought she could hide in me until the cop drove past."

"Miko?" BlueStreak asked.

"That's the human name. She told me," Lio said.

"She told you her name before she left?" BlueStreak scoffed. "Why would she do that?"

"Why wouldn't she?" Lio asked as the two droves towards the edge of the cliff.

"Um….Lio?" Miko would ask.

"Because she'll never see you again," BlueStreak answered as she drove into the water, Lio following suit.

"Lio! Lio, you're going into water!" Miko shouted as she kicked back into her seat, trying to escape even though there was nowhere to go.

"Don't we protect humans when they need help?" Lio asked before he turned his attention to Miko. "Relax, there's nothing to worry about. No water would get in."

"Are you sure about that? Do we stay down here? How do we breathe!" Miko asked.

"What's breathe?" Lio asked.

"Lio, you, okay? You're talking to yourself…and yes, we help them, but we don't let them know about us," BlueStreak said.

"I'm not talking to myself." Lio would answer as the two headed to the opened vehicle bay, and both drove inside. "I'm talking to Miko."

"Oh, okay," BlueStreak would say. Transforming as the door shut, water splashed about her as it slowly started to go down, all while Lio stayed in vehicle mode. "Wait…. did you say Miko?"

"Yes," Lio said.

"Lio, we don't talk to humans…why would you give her the means to communicate with you?" BlueStreak placed her hands on her hips, looking down at Lio.

"Oh, I didn't give her the means to communicate with me," Lio told her, opening his door.

"Okay, good…." BlueStreak looks down, but the gears in her head start to turn before she finally catches on. "You didn't."

Miko hopped out of Lio, who transformed right as she got out. Miko turned, looking up at Lio. Her eyes lit up as she realized Lio was the man she sought. Miko's hands rose to her mouth, and her eyes became stars as she did a few little hops in her excitement.

'Sir! You can't just bring her here!" BlueStreak roared. "Why is she here!"

"She told me she'd get kicked out of the country if I dropped her off with all the cops around!" Lio defended, raising his hands. "Besides, Chromia did say we give them a helping hand when they need it."

"She didn't mean like this!" BlueStreak points to Miko, who is taking pictures and selfies with Lio in the frame. "We need to take her back now!"

"No way! I can't go back! Not yet least!" Miko would shout.

BlueStreak walks over, bending down to grab Miko and raising her to her face. "And why is that?"

"I'm an exchange student, dude. I'm not allowed to skip school, and I'm sure if I was involved in some kidnapping, they'd probably send me back to Tokyo for safety! And this is the most exciting my life has been in years!" Miko shouted.

"So going missing for a day and returning will raise less suspicion?" BlueStreak asked.

"…Well, it can allow me to develop a good lie." Miko rubbed the back of her head.

"You two," BlueStreak pinched the bridge of her nose. "Bumblebee says she has an agent friend…of sorts or like he knew the friend she made…maybe we can find that guy, hand you over, and just have him do something to ensure you stay here."

"So, bringing her here was good," Lio grins.

"No, no, it wasn't, and I can't help but guess she did several stupid things to lead her here," BlueStreak told Lio. "Follow me."

"Where are we going?" Lio asked.

"I have a place to put her…plus Bumblebee and Chromia are here. And humans need to breathe," BlueStreak said as she walked down the hall. "Hopefully, she is the most difficult thing we must handle."

Lio followed after BlueStreak, the bay doors opening to allow the other two Autobots inside. On the bridge, Crosshairs had left to talk with BlueStreak. Crosshairs was unable to restore their long-range communications. On the screen, some of the probes were returning to the ship. Say for one which was in space. Something would grab the probe as it descended, preventing it from moving. The Camera was turned to face a woman with red eyes and a painted skull on her face. In a swift motion, the probe was crushed, reducing its section of the monitor to static.