3...2...1...

"Charge!" 

Optimus accelerated forward at Leo and Alexandra's command. He easily pulled ahead of the other cars at the stoplight.

Leonardo cackled,

"Moohahahah, we're in the lead!"

"All objects in the mirror are losing this race! Go, go, go, go!" 

Alexandra was bouncing up and down in the passenger seat of the fire truck; the seatbelt was the only thing really keeping her down. Suddenly, some cars passed in front of Optimus. Alexandra pouted,

"Hey, what's going on? We were winning! Why'd you slow down?"

"They passed me because I am going the speed limit while they are not," 

"But..."

"I am obeying the laws of the road. You, of all people, should know the law, with your father being a police officer and all," 

He used his turning signal and turned off the main road to a back road. Alexandra crossed her arms and silently mumbled to herself. Leonardo, ever the comedian, decided to start playing Bad Boys by Inner Circle.

"Bad boys, bad boys,

Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do,

When they come for you?"

Alexandra shot Leonardo a look. Leonardo smiled innocently,

"What? It's your dad's theme song,"

She rolled her eyes and watched the trees blur by until Optimus pulled onto a dirt road leading into the forest. He continued driving until he hit a dead end and stopped, waiting for his passengers to disembark. Alexandra headed to a nearby outhouse and changed into running clothes. The barely 5-foot teen put her hair up into a ponytail and handed Optimus her backpack.

"See you at the house," 

With that, she started her light jog into the forest towards her home. Leonardo's voice echoed through her earbuds. Optimus kept a steady pace behind her.

They had started this little workout a few weeks after her birthday. Mazikeen suggested it to make sure her little sister kept in shape to be safe. Alexandra would run nearly two miles home under Optimus' watchful eye. He trailed behind her, offering a ride if needed. The forest was thick enough to conceal him from detection, but his biggest challenge was keeping up while navigating around trees without further injuring his left arm and right hip.

After 25 minutes, they reached their destination. Alexandra ran until she reached her house door, while Optimus moved to the back, placing her belongings on the balcony. He was considering telling her she'd beaten her time from the previous day when he detected Sam being dropped off by his friends. Optimus quietly retreated to the forest. Sam dramatically slammed the door open,

"The party is home!" 

"Whatever, loser!" 

Grabbing a snack, he made his way upstairs for a quick shower. When he came out, Alexandra was waiting.

"What's up, little sis?" 

Alexandra placed one hand on her hip, and the other was holding her bathing supplies,

"Why are you showering? You never shower when you get home. Mom usually has to remind you,"

Sam rolled his eyes at her,

"It's not really your business, thank you very much."

She followed him, leaning against the doorframe,

"What? Got another hot date or something?" she teased.

He rolled his eyes as he quickly pulled his Call of Duty shirt over his head.

"No, just hanging out with the guys. I won't be back 'til late. Tell Mom and Dad not to wait up. If Maze randomly pops up, tell her not to follow me again," 

He slipped on his shoes, grabbed his Gamer snap-back, and messed up Alexandra's hair as he walked past her.

"Later, shorty," 

Alexandra huffed, 

"What about Ro-"

"I am here, Alexandra,"

Alexandra shrieked at the small robot next to her, 

"Oh, you scared me, Rover,"

The small robot nodded at her, 

"I can tell. Sam already told me earlier that he was going out with his friends. Do you want to play a game?"

Alexandra's eyes brightened, 

"Yeah! Let's go!"

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It was 2:37 AM, and a group of teenage boys sped down a long stretch of road, music blasting, not realizing how fast they were going. The driver glanced to the side,

"Yo, dude, when am I turning?" 

"The turn isn't for a while. Just keep going straight!"

Trees and street signs zoomed by as the driver missed a sign warning about wildlife crossing. The headlights caught the deer too late. The driver slammed on the brakes and jerked the wheel.

"OH SHI...!"  

The truck flipped—once, twice—flying high before smashing into a tree, crumpled and disfigured, smoke rising from the wreck.

Optimus was awakened by the sound of metal tearing apart. He scanned the area and detected the crash near Alexandra's house. With the cover of night, he quickly headed toward the scene. The sight of the wrecked vehicle caught his attention, his scanners picking up the scattered flammable gas.

He acted fast, tearing the roof off the truck and finding four teenage boys, seatbelts thankfully intact. Optimus sighed in relief,

'Thank Primus for that,'

He carefully removed the seat belts and reached for one of the boys—Call of Duty shirt.

"Sam..." 

A spark ignited nearby, and he hurriedly grabbed all four boys, holding them close as the truck exploded. The force pushed him forward, but he landed safely, shielding the teens. Quickly patching into the local emergency system, Optimus made the call.

"911, what's your emergency?"

"There's been a car accident on Black Fox Road, approximately 12.7 yards north of mile marker 72. Four teenage boys need medical attention."

As Optimus listed their injuries, he extinguished the flames using his fire truck abilities. 

"Please hurry," 

Optimus then ended the call. He gently laid the boys on the ground, placing emergency flares around them. Sirens approached, and as Optimus was about to retreat, he heard a groan. Sam was stirring, looking in his direction. Optimus quickly hid in the shadows as the EMTs arrived. Sam's eyes lingered where Optimus had been before he passed out again.

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"Is he going to be alright?" 

Sam heard a female voice, it sounded like his mom's voice. He then heard an unfamiliar voice, 

"Yes, his wounds could have been much worst. A broken arm, dislocated shoulder, and a slash to the chest are minor considering what could have happened. He can thank his seatbelt for that. He and his friends were lucky that someone was there to pull them out of the truck. If they would have stayed there, they probably wouldn't have made it out alive."

"Is there any word yet on who made the call?" 

Sam identified that authoritative voice as his father's voice.

"He moved!" 

Sam immediately recognized the other voice. It was the easiest to make out,

'Now that's my little sister,'

"Sam, can you hear me?"

Sam opened his eyes for the first time. He blinked several times. He looked around the hospital room and saw his parents and younger sister, along with a doctor. He nodded at him once he saw the guy in a white coat.

"Good, now I'm just going to ask you a few questions." 

The doctor asked him the usual questions for someone who had just been in a car accident. Sam was one of the luckier ones. His friends were pretty banged up compared to him. He was also the first one to wake up from the accident.

Once the doctor had everything he needed to know, some officers came in and asked him a few questions. Most of them revolved around every detail about how the accident happened. They also wanted to know if Sam had remembered anything after the accident, such as the stranger who pulled them out of the vehicle. Sam told the cops that he was knocked out after the accident. He told them how he sort of remembers hearing the sirens, and that was it. They thanked him for his time and left. Tony winced as he looked at his angry father,

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" 

Ron Witwicky immediately glared at him,

"Hell yeah, you're in trouble."

Judy slapped Ron's shoulder,

"Ronald, he was just in an accident. Cut him some slack." 

Judy then turned to her son, 

"No, you are not in trouble. Don't think about that right now. You need to focus on getting better." 

She caressed his scarred face. Ron grumbled,

"But Judy," 

Judy glared at Ron, and he raised his hands in surrender, 

"Fine, but M-"

That was when the door burst open with a furious Mazikeen entering, 

"SAMUEL WITWICKY!!!!"

The four Witwickys flinched at her yell. Sam looked away from her fierce glare, 

"He-"

"DON'T HEY ME! WHAT W-"

Judy grabbed her elbow,

"Mazikeen! He just woke up!"

Mazikeen glared at her mother before walking closer to the bed,

"I told you to bring Rover with you! He would have been faster at getting help. You know those friends of yours-"

Sam sighed, 

"I know I know, you always tell me! You don't like my friends I get it. Anything else?"

Mazikeen sighed and squeezed his hand, 

"Take better care of yourself, Sammy. I won't always be th-"

"You keep saying that. But you aren't there,"

Mazikeen sighed, 

"Just because you don't see me-"

"Doesn't mean you aren't there, I know. Just. Give me a break, yeah?"

Mazikeen sighed and nodded,

"I'll check in later. Bye,"

Alexandra frowned, 

"Bu-"

Mazikeen smiled and ruffled her hair, 

"I'm a phone call away, squirt,"

She then left, and Sam sighed, 

"I need to apologize..."

Alexandra crossed her arms, 

"Y-"

Judy immediately shook her head, 

"No, you don't. Just focus on healing,"

Alexandra and Sam looked at each other, aware of how tense the eldest Witwicky's relationship with their mother was.

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Sam was released from the hospital the next day with a cast on his arm and a sling. So far, he was the only one from the accident that was permitted to leave. It was a quiet trip back to the house. When they did get home, Sam went straight to his room. Something was bothering him, and his family could see it. His mom sought to make it better by cooking his favorite meal.

Alexandra ran upstairs to her brother's room,

"Sam,"

When she got no answer, she knocked, 

"Sam, it's me."

When he didn't answer, she opened the door. She saw him sitting in his computer chair, looking out the open window. The light breeze made his hair sway a little. Rover was right next to him lying down,

"Mom is making your favorite, lasagna. It'll be done soon."

He was quiet for a bit, but then he nodded, 

"Okay, thanks. Please shut the door on your way out." 

Alexandra left sadly and went to help her mom with dinner. It was an uncomfortably quiet dinner. Sam was bothered by something, his parents were silently arguing, and Alexandra was just there awkwardly eating. Sam went to bed early that night; nobody thought anything of it.

After finishing cleaning up the kitchen, Alexandra went to her room and looked at Leonardo, 

"What's wrong with him, Leo? That's not the Sam I know and love."

Leonardo shrugged from his spot on the ceiling fan, 

"He just went through a life-changing event. He could have died. Give him some time; he's probably still in shock."

"You're right, but how long until he'll get better again?" 

She turned the fan on. This made Leonardo hang on for dear life as the wings on the fan started moving faster and faster.

"Waaaaoooo!" 

Leonardo was sent flying onto Alexandra's bed. He then dizzily replied, 

"I don't know. Optimus might have a better answer. I mean, it's not like he hasn't gone through life-threatening situations." 

Giving up on keeping his balance, he fell back onto the pillows.

"True, it's been a while since we last talked anyway. I'll ask tomorrow." 

Now that Alexandra thought of it, she hadn't talked to him since the day of the accident right before her run. He just might know something about this entire situation.

"Oh! What about that droid you said your older sister made, Rover?"

Alexandra shot up from the bed with a grin, 

"Yeah! Maybe Rover can help him! I'll kidnap...I mean...borrow Rover tomorrow after talking to Optimus!"

Leonardo smiled proudly, 

"Yeah,"

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Sam had been lying in bed, unable to fall asleep. He looked at the clock. It was 2:20 in the morning. Giving up on the idea of falling asleep, he decided to visit the place where he almost died. He got up, but Rover immediately looked over at him and jumped onto his shoulder cautiously, 

"Where are we going?"

Sam sighed,

"I want to check something...I can't sleep, so we are heading over to find the person who saved me,"

Rover nodded, 

"Alright,"

It was a good fifteen-minute walk to the site. The full moon illuminated the tire marks on the road and the damaged tree.

The October night was a little chilly and breezy. Sam shivered in his thin pajamas. He turned to return home when something in the trees caught his eye, and Rover patted his cheek to notify him that he was no longer alone,

"Hello... is anyone there?"

No answer.

"Well... if someone is there and that person happens to be the one who saved my friends and me, I want to say thank you." 

Sam waited for a long moment, but nothing happened. He shivered again. Rover glanced at him in concern but nodded his head to leave.

Sam nodded back to his little friend and turned to head back home when, for just a second, he saw what had been disturbing him ever since the accident. He could have sworn he saw some really big thing with eyes that glowed yellow. That was all he really remembered. He remembered seeing them when the roof was ripped off the car. And again, he saw those eyes looking directly at him for a moment before their owner got him and his friends away from the explosion. He most vividly remembered those eyes looking at him when the sirens from the emergency vehicles could be heard in the distance.

Now he had just seen those eyes again, in the same spot he saw them before he lost consciousness.

"I know you're there. I can see your eyes."

The owner of the eyes did not move. They just kept on staring at him, at his eyes, into his soul.

Optimus gazed at Alexandra's brother from his kneeling position, seeing a small robot on his shoulder too, which he assumed was Rover. His scanners picked up Sam's body temperature, telling him that the boy was cold. Optimus pulled out a blanket, given to him by Alexandra. With his right hand, he held it out, far enough for Sam to see it, but not enough to see his hand.

Sam cautiously walked up to the blanket, eyeing the eyes that watched him from high up. He looked at the blanket and recognized it. It belonged to Alexandra.

"How did you get this?"

Rover crossed his arms, 

"Show yourself!"

Optimus wasn't sure what to say, which seemed to be happening more often than not. He looked away from Sam.

"Hey! I said, 'Where did you get this?' Don't look away from me," 

Optimus turned his attention back to him, not liking his tone,

"Your sister gave it to me."

Sam was surprised at what he heard. Yeah, the news was stunning enough, but the voice was what really shocked him. He actually stumbled backward from the powerful voice. He tripped on his own feet and squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for impact, which would definitely hurt his sore body. The impact never came. Instead, he felt the blanket wrapped around him, while Rover yelped out as he fell.

Optimus had lunged forward and caught Sam; he just happened to have the blanket engulfed in his hand to soften Sam's fall. But now, Optimus' upper body was exposed. Sam saw the huge mechanical creature that saved him from a world of pain.

"What... is... Oh... MY..." 

"Please don't do that," 

Sam went silent. Optimus whispered,

"If you let me, I will explain everything."

Sam responded with a nod. Rover sighed and climbed back on his shoulder to make sure Sam knew he was with him.

Optimus took Sam and Rover to his shielded base. There, he introduced himself and told the two how he and Alexandra met several months ago. He explained his crash landing, the night in the rain, how Leonardo was now alive, and how he was the one who saved him. He briefly mentions the Civil War, which leads to his telling Sam and Rover that he is an alien. He transformed for him to prove that point.

Sam thought he had seen that fire engine before, and it was always only when Alexandra was around. Sam then had another thought.

"So, what's the deal with you and my sister?"

Optimus transformed back into his robot mode and lifted an optic ridge,

"What do you mean?"

"Like, why do you stay around? If you're an alien, shouldn't you be trying to get back to your people?"

"I've been trying to contact them. Your technology is not strong enough to reach them. I am stranded here, unable to call for assistance."

Sam pondered over what he recently heard. 

"Then why stay with Alexandra? Why not try to make contact with the government? They could probably help you better than my sister can. Especially my older sister, Mazikeen would freak out and geek the fuck out,"

"Put yourself in my 'shoes,' If you were on an alien planet, would you want to make yourself known to that world's most powerful military? You don't know the government's stance when they learn of your existence. You couldn't defend yourself against its entire military force if it stood against you. They wouldn't know what you were, so what's to stop them from doing tests on you when they can overpower you? On top of all that, you aren't even at your full strength. You are injured and weak." 

Sam, who was now nervous, went silent. He hadn't thought about it. Optimus obviously knew what he was doing, and he had a lot of time to think about it. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Optimus' soothing voice,

"Please forgive me; I had no right to use that tone with you." 

Alien or not, anyone could hear the apology in his metallic voice. Sam gave him a half-smile.

"Oh, it's cool, bro; don't sweat it. You probably need to let off steam, and that's not easy for you because of your size." 

Optimus nodded in response. Bro... 

"Well, Sam, now that you know, you must realize that no one can know of Leo's or my existence." 

His voice had taken on a more business-like tone.

"Your secret is safe with me." 

Sam looked around, suddenly realizing he had no idea where he was. 

"Um..."

Optimus extended his hand,

"I'll take you to your house. Hop on," 

Rover pointed his hand at Optimus, 

"Just so you know. Sam is under my protection. He is my human you can not steal him from me,"

Sam smirked and patted Rover's head, and Optimus nodded, 

"I have no intention of stealing Sam from you,"

Sam wobbled on, making sure to keep his injured arm safe from harm. He used the metal fingers to help him. Once Sam was secure, Optimus headed for the house.

"You know...Maze can be trusted. She's a fucking genius, I bet she could help you more, she may be a military commander, but she's loyal,"

Optimus sighed, 

"I understand, but as I mentioned, I am not sure I should trust someone in your military,"

Sam sighed, 

"Alright, just think it over, yeah?"

Optimus nodded. When they reached their destination, Optimus put Sam back on the ground. Sam had one foot in the house when he turned his upper body to the Autobot,

"Are we gonna tell Alexa about me meeting you tomorrow?"

He got a noiseless nod from the leader of the Autobots.

তততততততততততততততততততততততত

Despite it being a Saturday, Alexandra woke up early the next morning. She rolled out of bed and sluggishly walked to the kitchen. While eating her cereal, she saw a note from her parents saying how they both left for work and that she needed to take care of her brother until they got home later that night.

"No, duh." 

She rinsed out her bowl and went back upstairs to check on Sam. He was fast asleep with Rover next to him recharging too. She went back downstairs to watch TV in the living room, but saw that someone had beaten her to it. Leonardo was in there watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Alexandra shook her head as she approached, 

"Seriously?"

"Yerp,"

"Scoot over before I sit on you." 

They watched an episode and a half before they heard large footsteps approaching from outside. Not long after that, the room was lit up by a yellow light. Alexandra turned to see Optimus' eye in the window.

Alexandra got up from where she was sitting and went outside, she smiled up at him, 

"Morning," 

Optimus dipped his head in response. He was getting better at Earth greetings too.

"So hey, I had a question involving..." 

'Sam,' 

She totally forgot he was there. He could see Optimus! 

"Ah, you need to go! Sam is upstairs..." 

She didn't get to finish. She heard the door open behind her and looked to see her brother come out of the house.

"'Sup, Optimus. Oh, morning lil sis; didn't see ya there. I was too busy looking up at our tall friend." 

Sam spoke rather casually. Too casually for Alexandra, 

"You know about him!?" 

'What is this?' 

"Whoa, take it easy. Yeah, I know about him. He explained everything to me last night." 

Sam had Alexandra sit down on the porch steps. He told her about last night and about the night of the accident. After Alexandra was brought up to speed, Sam glanced at her, 

"So why didn't you tell me about him sooner?"

"I didn't know how you would react. You could have told Maze, Mom, and Dad, and that could have ended badly. I didn't want to take the chance." 

She wrapped her arms around her legs.

"I guess that makes sense. Well, you can trust me. I'll help keep him a secret." 

He gave his sister a side hug.

"Thanks."

"It's the least I could do. I mean, it's not like he saved my life or anything."

"True,"

Rover ran over to them, 

"ME TOO! Don't forget about me!"

Alexandra laughed and picked him up, 

"Oh! Rover meet Leonardo!"

Leonardo immediately raised his servo, 

"High-five mini brother!"

Rover shrugged and raised his small hand, 

"High-five!"

It was adorable to see the two mini robots high-fiving. The two might not come close to being the same tech-wise, but they immediately bonded. Rover did not care if he was an alien, as long as the two aliens helped him in protecting the youngest Witwickys, he would help them keep their secrets, even if it was to his creator.

𝐶𝑦𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛 – 𝐷𝑒𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑜𝑛 𝐻𝑄 (𝑊𝑒𝑒𝑘𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟)

"Slag! Blackout is on to me. He thinks I had something to do with our leader's disappearance, and he is usually never wrong. Frag head, he is too loyal for his own good. Oh well, to keep him off my tail I guess I'll have to keep sending him on suicide missions until he dies. The only problem is that he is so slagging great at fighting and staying alive. The big lug nut won't die." 

Starscream was talking to himself, which he often did. 

"I need to cover up my trail. If he can't find me guilty, then Soundwave undoubtedly will."

Starscream had been giving the Decepticons communications officer a heavy workload, but Soundwave was quickly getting it done. Starscream worked diligently to cover his tracks. After some time, he was successful. He felt confident sleeping at night, knowing that the Decepticons were now his to control and no one could blame him for Megatron's absence. But of course, someone always had to ruin his good mood.

"Commander Starscream," 

Barricade started, but didn't finish because he got slapped across the face by Starscream. Starscream screamed in the scout's face,

"It's Lord Starscream! Lord! Get it right!" 

Barricade gave the seeker an irritated look. Primus, he wanted to teach Starscream a lesson, but that wouldn't get him anywhere, except the brig. 

"Lord Starscream," 

he spat that too, 

"Soundwave picked up an encrypted Cybertronian message from an uncharted part the universe. He says it could possibly be Megatron."

"What!" 

Starscream screeched. 

'How could he have possibly survived his wounds??'

"Where is Soundwave?!"

Barricade escorted the current decepticon leader to the decepticon communications officer. Soundwave turned away from the computer screen upon their arrival.

"Show him what you got, Soundwave." 

Barricade hissed as Starscream pushed past him. Starscream glared angrily,

"What do you have involving Megatron?!" 

Soundwave in response turned back to the screen and pointed at a picture of a Milky Way galaxy. Where his finger pointed there was a pop up. It was heavily encoded in ancient Cybertronian. The symbols were from both autobot and decepticon origin. The only ones who knew of this ancient Cybertronian were Megatron, and Optimus Prime. It had to be from one of them, but which one.

Starscream didn't want to chance it being Megatron, 

"I'll go and investigate. If it is our leader, I will bring him back to us. If it is Optimus Prime, then I will do what Megatron failed to do and destroy him." 

He then turned on his heel and prepared to leave.

Once Starscream left, Barricade looked at Soundwave, 

"Can we trust him? He has a history of trying to get rid of our true Lord, Megatron."

Soundwave replied using a recording of Starscream, 

"I'll go and investigate." 

Then he played back Barricade's voice, 

"He has a history of trying to get rid of our true Lord, Megatron."