"Who is that?" Ripclaw snarled.
"Do not engage," Predaking uttered. "That may be an Autobot."
"So what?" Darksteel growled.
Ripclaw shouted, "Come here and say all that to our faces, you arrogant snob!"
To Predaking's surprise, the Autobot transformed and dropped down in front of the four Predacons. Fearlessly, he waved a large white gun at them.
"Horrible? Look who's talking, ugly beast!" the Autobot flier snarled. "You're just beastly Decepticon weapons! None of us actually want you here!"
She cried, "You think you can just insult us without consequence?"
"I just say the things others are too scared to say!"
Springer rushed up in copter form and landed between the Predacons and the Seeker. "Devcon! We told you that the Predacons were our allies! What possessed you to attack them?"
"Oh, shut it, Springer," Devcon snapped. "Bloody Predacons? As allies? We should all turn against them and blast them to smithereens! We can take them together!"
"You dare?" Predaking snarled.
"I am sorry." Springer threw out his hands. "Devcon here has a few screws loose. This is the second fight he's started since arriving last night, and I've been needing to keep an eye on him."
Springer latched onto the Seeker's arm.
"You're more trouble than those Combaticons," Springer growled. "No more flying around. You are coming with me, and that is an order from a superior officer."
"Scrap that," Devcon muttered, though he did not pull against Springer's grip. He raised his voice so it carried down to the bots on the ground. "These are Predacons! These are experiments of Shockwave! I don't care what Bumblebee thinks, these creatures are carnivorous monsters of the past and the War! Shockwave made them to kill us Autobots! What kind of killer instincts do you imagine they have?"
"Shut up already!" Ripclaw snapped. "I don't even know you! I never even fought in your stupid war!"
"Silence him," Predaking hissed at Springer.
"Come with me," Springer commanded Devcon.
The two Autobots transformed and flew away from the construction site.
Darksteel said, "If he wanted to see a monster, I could have shown him one."
The annoyed Predacons returned to work, this time helping with the construction of Iacon's new houses. While raising walls, Predaking seethed from their experience with Devcon. Although fair bots like Bumblebee and Springer existed, ones like Devcon soured his faction. If it weren't for the reliable friendly company of the Vehicons, Predaking might have left the city to either track down Shockwave or live in the wilderness.
That night as the Predacons sat in the Vehicon residence, introducing Ripclaw to those who wished to greet her, a new guest entered the building. Short in stature but gleaming to attract attention, all eyes fell onto Knockout.
"Bonsoir, gentlemen," he purred.
He glided through the room and took a seat by the energon tank. Slowly, he filled up a cup for himself, smirking as though he enjoyed the silence and growing intrigue of everyone around him. After putting a casual elbow on the table and taking a sip, Knockout spoke again.
"So, any of you interested in body modifications?"
He drank again, letting his listeners process his words. However, he looked only at the Vehicons and not the Predacons.
"You don't have to be purple anymore, you know," Knockout continued. "Decepticon traditionalist colours. On the contrary, you could be any colour you like. Or perhaps, any form you like. What do you say?"
A Vehicon asked, "What exactly are you offering?"
Knockout rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'm offering to change your bodies, however you like. I could change your colours, slim you up or bulk you up. Maybe even give you a new alt mode."
"However we want?" another Vehicon echoed.
If the Vehicons' eyes could have widened, Predaking felt sure that they would have. They glanced at each other, but then silence dragged on and no one had a response.
A wheeled Vehicon beside Knockout stood up.
"My fellows. For a long time, I never aspired to be different. Same as you. But now that the War is over, and Megatron and Starscream are gone, we are free to be bots of our own."
The Vehicon's face split and revealed two rows of sharp orange teeth. Everyone in the room—Predacons and Vehicons—jumped in surprise, save for Knockout. The red bot coolly drank more energon.
"I am a Cybertronian equal to any other. I altered my appearance to demonstrate my individuality. Call me Altero."
All other Vehicons froze in place. Something struck them profoundly in a way the Predacons did not understand. Looking around, the Predacons were surprised by how long the Vehicons simply stared at the fanged Vehicon.
Predaking realized, None of them have ever been named. This is a shocking prospect.
Finally, the Vehicons whispered the name over and over.
"Alter… o? What is 'o'?" Darksteel asked.
Altero lifted a finger. "That would be the masculine suffix in some Earth languages."
"Huh?"
"Oh, don't you worry," Altero hushed. "I just thought that Earth had interesting things to offer. I believe all we Vehicons perused their 'Internet' and learned about their cultures, activities, cinema… in our boredom. We can borrow from them. And when it comes to names, we can hold names that no other Cybertronian has ever held."
Altero whisked his arms to point to Knockout.
"Dream, my fellows. And we will make your dreams reality. I will greatly reward the doctor for his services."
Altero's faceplates locked back into place. He looked no different than any other Vehicon around him. It left almost everyone buzzing from the shock, questioning if they had just imagined everything. Yet there Altero stood while the others sat. His chin was raised higher. His chest puffed out more. Perhaps it was Predaking's imagination, perhaps not, but his eyes seemed to glow a little stronger. He radiated difference. When he strode toward the exit, there was a surefooted swagger that Predaking had never seen in another Vehicon's gait.
After the mysterious Vehicon had departed, Knockout headed out as well.
"I'll be stationing myself in one of those new Iaconian homes," Knockout said. "You'll find me. I know you'll be looking!"
He winked, then vanished.
Whispers of bewilderment rushed from the Vehicons. They bounced in their seats and twisted around, seeking guidance from one another.
Darksteel exclaimed, "That sounds great! I think you should definitely do it. Why not?"
The Vehicons stared at the Predacons.
Ripclaw added, "It sounds like a great idea. You can be whoever you want to be."
"If you have your own looks," Skylynx said, "the Autobots will probably respect you more."
"Most certainly," Predaking punctuated. "And each of you can become acquainted on an individual level."
The concept seemed to blow their minds.
"What colour would we even want to be?" one whispered.
"I suppose you have rarely considered 'I', that is to say, personal identities," Predaking rumbled.
A Vehicon pondered loudly, "We spent so much time discovering 'we', a feat in itself to realize our community and the suffering we face. 'I' is new, but it is something we have been discovering. We speak differently, vary in our skills, and have different opinions. We have our own sparks. So, why not be like Altero and show the world that we are each our own bot?"
"Still Vehicons, but individuals," another Vehicon agreed.
As the Vehicons spoke up and became encouraged, the general consensus was that they would retain a Vehicon look no matter what modifications they made. They did not want to abandon their community to look the same as the bots who had looked down on them.
"I will go first!" one jet Vehicon cried. "And I will be called… Ciel!"
"What's that?" Darksteel asked.
"The word français for Sky."
"The what?"