Witwicky Residence

A convoy of 6 Black SUVs with discrete police lights drove down the neighborhood street. The lead pulled up to the curb just outside of the Witwicky house and out stepped several men in suits, one of which had short curly hair and a certain quirky energy to him, for lack of a better term.

"Alright, get to work scanning the area!" The man ordered as he twirled a finger to indicate everyone to get to work, and get to work they did, pulling out all manner of unusual equipment while the man approached the door and rapidly pressed the doorbell while looking through the mail slot. Eventually, Carly answered the door expecting more headaches from Judy and Ron, but was surprised to see someone else. "Carly Wikity?"

"It's Witwicky," Carly corrected. "And you are?"

"We're the government: Agent Seymour Simmons, Sector 7," The man introduced as he flashed his badge.

"Never heard of it," Carly responded, somewhat confused.

"Never will," Simmons countered flatly. "Your son's the great great grandson of Captain Archibald Wickity, is he not?"

"On my husband's side, yes." Carly answered, feeling rather off-put by this man's attitude as he stepped forward. "And again, it's Witwicky!"

"May I enter the premises, Ma'am?" Simmons requested as he walked in regardless, punctuating his last word with a dramatic head turn.

"Hold on, what is all this?!" Carly demanded as Simmons's men began analyzing her house and taking samples of plants. "Where's your warrant?!"

"Already showed it to you," Simmons answered with a quick flash of his badge. "Your son filed a stolen car report last night, and we believe it to be a matter of national security."

"National Security?" Carly echoed. That caused alarm bells in her head to ring. She could only assume this agent and whatever 'Sector 7' was, was after the Autobots. Of course the government would have a deep-seated interest in extraterrestrials. She then began to wonder if the Decepticons the bots mentioned were behind the attack in Qatar, but didn't want to jump to conclusions.

"That's right, national security," Agent Simmons confirmed. He then turned his attention to some of the agents outside. "I want samples of that vegetation!"

"Oh for the love of…" Carly sighed as she watched several agents dismantle her garden. "How can I be sure you're actually with the government?"

"Captain Jameson 'Spike' Witwicky, former Navy Seal, commanding officer of the only Montana-class Battleship ever built, and namesake USS Montana. is he not your husband?" Simmons inquired, stopping Carly dead in her tracks.

"Okay, solid case there," Carly relented with a sigh. She then immediately winced when Simmons pulled out a pen light and shined it into her eyes.

"Have you experienced any flu-like symptoms?" Simmons inquired. "Aching joints? Fever?"

"No, what're you going on about?" Carly shot back.

"What's all this?" Daniel exclaimed as he and Mikaela exited the stairwell and saw Carly being interrogated by the suit with the flashlight.

"How're you doing, son?" Simmons greeted with a smile akin to a used car salesman. "Is your name Daniel?"

"Yes?" The boy in question answered.

"Well, I'm gonna need you to come with us," Simmons demanded.

"Alright, that's crossing the line," Carly cut off as she stepped in front of the agent. "No one is going anywhere."

"Ma'am, I am asking politely… To back off," Simmons calmly requested.

"Look, I don't know who you people are," Carly started. "But I'm gonna call up my liaison to get the facts straight."

"Oh we're gonna get the facts straight," Simmons countered. "We'll get them straight with you, your son, and this whole little operation you've got going on here."

"What operation are you on about?" Carly asked. She had suspicions as to what he meant, but one could hardly call that an 'operation.'

"That, Ma'am, is what we're gonna find out-"

"I think, direct contact," An agent cut off Simmons and offered a not-so-subtle whisper. Simmons pondered that for a moment before taking a silver device from the agent which unfurled with 4 antenna-like attachments that each glowed with a blue hue.

"Son, step forward, please," Simmons ordered, his tone now far more serious as he held the device up to Daniel. Daniel did as he was told and nervously took one step forward. The gauge on the device began to beep aggressively and Simmons's eyes widened at the readout, looking at the device and then Daniel, and then the device again. "14 Rads… Bingo! Tag 'em and bag 'em!"

"What the?!" Carly exclaimed as she, Daniel, and Mikaela were cuffed and forcefully escorted out of the house. "If you hurt my son, I'll kick your ass!"

Carly was then taken into the same SUV as Daniel and Mikaela and the three were sat in the middle, with Simmons in the front passenger seat. As they drove along, Simmons held up a sealed evidence bag containing a cell phone as well as a glock with the safety on.

"So, would you care to explain to everyone, your mother included, why you were carrying a firearm?" Simmons inquired, holding the device from the grip between his fingers. "And more importantly, why the magazine was found empty?"

Carly then looked at Daniel with an outraged look on her face, now wanting an answer for herself.

"I, uh, was being chased by some ugly company," Daniel explained. He was going to go about by telling the truth, but kept his skirmish with Reflector withheld until further notice. "I-They were right outside the house earlier today, and I didn't feel safe without it at the time. I wasn't left with any other choice in the end."

"Uh huh," Simmons nodded, not convinced by the story. "I'll be sure to bear that in mind for later. Now, what do you make of this?"

Simmons pulled the cell phone from the evidence bag, and upon closer inspection did Daniel realize that it was his cell phone. The agent then flipped open the device and played the recording taken last night when Hot Rod was signaling the Autobots.

"That's… Can you blame him for not feeling safe?" Mikaela lightly defended with a small shrug.

"Last night at the station, you told the officer your car transformed," Simmons explained while punctuating the syllables of the last word. "Enlighten me."

"Y-Yes, I did say that, but at the same time, I didn't feel sane in the head," Daniel explained, falling back on his mental crisis story, to which Carly nodded along. "My car was stolen, but I had to assume what I was seeing was a hallucination."

"His great great grandfather was crazed, so maybe it skips generations," Carly offered. "We both think he should get a mental evaluation just to be sure."

"I kinda agree with those two," Mikaela nodded. "Because seeing cars turn into robots is 2 blocks past crazy!"

Mikaela began laughing, to which Carly and Daniel followed along, as well as Simmons.

"So what do you kids know about aliens, huh?" Simmons suddenly stopped laughing and got to the point, cutting off the faux laughter from the trio.

"Uh, are we talking Martians?" Daniel asked. "E.T.?"

"I mean, we're in the same state as Area 51," Mikaela added. "You probably know all about the conspiracies there."

"Uh huh. See this?" Simmons began as he flashed his badge. "This is an 'I-do-whatever-I-want-and-get-away-with-it' badge. I'm gonna lock you up forever!"

"You know what? Don't listen to him," Mikaela dismissed. "He's just pissy because he has to get back to guarding the mall."

"You, in the training bra, do not test me," Simmons warned. "Especially with your daddy's parole coming up."

"Parole?!" Daniel and Carly echoed in shock.

"I-It's nothing!" Mikaela hastily dismissed.

"A grand theft auto? That ain't nothing?" Simmons continued on. Mikaela then frowned with a sigh.

"You… You know those cars I helped my dad repair?" Mikaela began with a regretful and shaky tone. "They… They weren't always his…"

"Y-You stole cars…?!" Daniel whispered in outrage.

"We couldn't always afford a babysitter, so… he usually took me with him," Mikaela admitted looking down at the floor, her story out in the open.

"She's got her own juvie record to prove it!" Simmons added. "She's a criminal. Criminals are hot." While Simmons added the pressure to his interrogation, he failed to notice the gauge he used on Daniel was going off the hook. "Now it'd be a real shame if your old man had to rot in jail for the rest of his natural life. It is time to talk!"

"WHOA!"

Immediately the driver slammed on the brakes, just shy of crashing into a giant metal leg with red and blue flames painted on. This caused the entire convoy to screech to a halt as a blinding light engulfed every vehicle present. A blade with vibrant blue traces then cut through the car roof, prompting everyone to duck their heads as it carefully cut the struts and glass causing it to shatter, but fortunately none of it onto the occupants inside. Once the roof was separated from the rest of the vehicle, a giant metal hand picked it up and tossed it aside. The lights dimmed down from torso-mounted floodlights to reveal Optimus Prime as his left hand was shifted into a combat sword before it folded back to reveal his original left hand. Daniel was very much relieved to see the Autobot leader stop their impromptu trip and could not help but smile.

"Okay, It's time to talk," Daniel began. "But I hope you don't mind if some friends of mine join in. Agent Simmons, meet Optimus Prime."

"Taking the children was a bad move," Optimus declared, his voice as baritone as ever. The agents soon got out of their cars and drew several submachine guns and aimed them at the titan standing before them. "Autobots, relieve them of their weapons."

Immediately it was revealed that they were still inside Jasper City Limits near the service ditch. At Optimus's command, The remaining autobots rolled in and surrounded the Sector 7 convoy.

"Freeze!" Ironhide demanded while Simmons hastily pleaded for them to back off by saying 'Whoa!' repeatedly. Bumblebee, Sideswipe, and Bulkhead kept their weapons trained on the agents who now turned their guns towards them.

"Gimme those," Jazz declared as his hand shifted into a dish and electromagnetically pulled every gun away from the agents, leaving them disarmed and stunned. "You'll get your toys back after the session is over."

"Whoa…!" Simmons finished, while the remaining Autobots disengaged their weapons, with the exception of Ironhide, who kept his cannons out just in case. Hot Rod then walked up to the roofless SUV to check up on the occupants.

"You folks alright?" Hot Rod inquired as he knelt down, looking at the passenger section of the vehicle.

"I'm good," Daniel answered, followed by nods from both Mikaela and Carly.

"Glad to hear," Hot Rod nodded before giving a small glare to Simmons and backing away.

Optimus then knelt down to the broken vehicle to be more eye level with Agent Simmons and gave the man a somewhat inquisitive stare.

"Hi there," Simmons greeted lamely.

"You don't seem afraid," Optimus deduced. "It would stand to reason that you knew of our existence for some time."

"Look, there are S7 protocols, okay?" Simmons explained. "I'm not authorized to communicate with you except to tell you I can't communicate with you."

"Get out of the car, bub," Ironhide ordered, stepping up to the rear of the vehicle, still brandishing his cannons.

"Me? You want me to-"

"NOW!" Ironhide bellowed, cutting off Simmons's stammering.

"O-Okay! I'm getting out! I'm getting out, you see?" Simmons complied as he and the other agent stepped out. "Very nifty how you put us down without really killing us."

"You have your protocols, we have ours," Chromia responded. "We have a policy to not harm indigenous life forms of planets we cross paths with."

As Simmons stepped out of the car, as did Daniel, Mikaela, and Carly. Mikaela was quick to act and began picking the locks on their handcuffs with a bobby pin she had in her pocket. Once her wrists were free, she began work on Daniel's wrists and finally Carly's.

"So you're good with handcuffs too, huh?" Daniel commented with the tiniest hint of disdain.

"You weren't supposed to hear that," Mikaela retorted with hurt in her voice. "I have a record because I wouldn't turn my dad in. But when have you had to sacrifice anything in your perfect little life?"

Daniel now looked down in shame. If last night was a case of wrong place and wrong time, that probably extended far more in Mikaela's sense, now that he thought about it.

"I think you might appreciate my family's motto," Daniel added lamely before his attention was brought back to Simmons.

"Big guys, big guys with big guns-" Simmons yammered on.

"You want some answers?" Daniel began. "First off, I wasn't lying about ugly company, and this guy here saved my skin," Daniel explained as he gestured a thumb to Hot Rod, earning a sigh of relief from Carly in the process. "I was attacked by this drone that split up into 3 smaller ones, so that's where the ammunition from the magazine went. You also asked what I knew about aliens?" Daniel merely gestured to the Autobots around him. "Now, can you tell us what Sector 7 is?"

"First off, thank you for the honest answers," Simmons began calmly. "Second, I am the one who asks questions around here, NOT YOU, YOUNG MAN!"

"Really now?~" Carly said as she walked up to Simmons and reached into his jacket.

"Hey! You touch me, that's a federal offense!" Simmons threatened.

"'Do-whatever-you-want-and-get-away-with-it' badge," Carly responded as she flashed Simmons's own badge at the agent. "I've met government agents with more tact than you, honestly."

"Sure sure, suddenly all brave now that they've got their big metal friends watching over 'em," Simmons muttered.

"So, where's Sector 7?" Daniel asked, changing up the question a bit.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Simmons retorted in spite. Ironhide then snorted and then spat out a large glob of oil onto Simmons's back, causing the agent to stammer forward from the impact. "HEY! That was uncalled for!"

"He's not wrong," Chromia sighed.

"Eh, not really," Bulkhead added with a small chuckle. "Considering he's been a real pain in the tailpipe tonight."

"Alright, tough guy. Take it off," Mikaela demanded Simmons. "Clothes. Off."

"What?!" Simmons shouted. "For what?!"

"For threatening my dad," Mikaela answered flatly. Simmons was tempted to fight back, but remembered the 9 metal giants surrounding him.

"Little lady, this is the beginning of the end of your life!" Simmons spat out as he removed his suit jacket and undershirt, revealing a tank top with the symbol 'S7' on the chest in reference to a certain superhero. "You're a criminal! Face facts: It's in your gene pool." Simmons then left his pants, to reveal Hawaiian boxer shorts. On the plus side, he was now free of oil-soaked clothes, but he would not say that out loud.

"Alright, now get behind the pole," Mikaela ordered as she cuffed Simmons to the pole as well as the remaining agents.

"I will hunt you down without any remorse!" Simmons threatened the group as they walked away. He then turned his attention to the agent next to him. "We've got to alert everyone."

"They already know," The agent stated as he revealed an active phone in his sleeve. "Colonel Bishop is moving in now."


Several more SUVS accompanied by a squadron of 4 EC-130 helicopters led by one UH-60 Black Hawk began approaching the autobots. Sat next to the pilot in the right seat was a gruff man with a gray flat top and a serious scowl on his face.

"Colonel Bishop, we have 9 NBEs in sight," The left pilot announced. He then noticed Hot Rod amongst the group. "It looks like NBE-02 is with them."

"Scatter them," Colonel Leland Bishop ordered. "We wrangle the slowest one."


"Oh, this is not good," Hot Rod muttered as he saw several Sector 7 vehicles on approach.

"Optimus, Incoming!" Ironhide declared as he charged one of his cannons and slammed the barrel down into the pavement, creating a white hot shockwave that melted and popped all of the ground vehicle tires on their way. "That bought us some time."

"We still got the rotor boys to deal with though," Jazz pointed out. "Best we split up."

"Agreed. Autobots, Transform and roll out!" Optimus declared, each Autobot reverting to vehicle mode and driving off in opposite directions. Optimus remained in robot mode and swiftly knelt down offering a hand to the trio. "Up you get."

"You sure about this?" Daniel questioned as he, Mikaela, and Carly climbed aboard and nestled themselves within the crooks of the Autobot leader's shoulders.

"I have outpaced enemy air patrols before," Optimus explained as he began to run on-foot away from the helicopters and deployed a mask to shield his faceplates. "Hold on tight."


"They're splitting up as anticipated, though one is running on-foot," The pilot observed. "The 3 civilians are positioned on-top."

"They are of no concern," Bishop dismissed coldly. "Have the gunners ready to restrain it. We take this one alive."

"Yes sir," The pilot affirmed slowly, clearly not liking his superior's blatant disregard for civilian life. "Gunships, form up and keep the target in sight."

"I'm reading 40+ rads from target," An agent called out through the radio. "He's moving down the street now towards the old industrial district."

Despite the haste he was making in outpacing the helicopters, Optimus took care to not crush the pavement behind him, as he knew that would make tracks. The Autobot leader quickly made his way around the corner of a dilapidated building. By the time one of the helicopters made their way around to see where Optimus was, they were shocked to see that the 10 meter tall metal giant was completely gone.

"I've lost him! I don't have his IR Signature!" One of the pilots reported over the communications channel. "I've lost him. Nowhere in sight."

"Spread out. It couldn't have gone far," Bishop ordered. He then turned to his pilot. "Comb over the service ditch."

A few miles away from the meeting point, Hot Rod had lost the Sector 7 agents with ease by heading back to town. Jazz had elected


to do the same and the two regrouped on the town's edge. Suddenly, Hot Rod had a sinking feeling that something was going to happen. Electing to act, his tires began to screech as he went full throttle and drove off.

"Hot Rod, Where the Pit are you going?!" Jazz exclaimed over the comm link as Hot Rod drove back to the site of the incident. "Do you want to get yourself captured?!"

"I know the risks, Jazz!" Hot Rod retorted. "Something tells me the humans are in trouble."

"The humans are trouble! That's why we split up!" Ratchet added as he was listening in for updates.

"I'm not abandoning my assignment so easily…"


Bishop's Blackhawk helicopter proceeded to fly nice and low over the town service ditch. A spotlight swept over the surface of the ditch for any signs of Cybertronian life. Eventually the helicopter flew under a highway overpass. Unbeknownst to the pilot and commanding officer, a red and blue mech had suspended himself in between the structural members of the overpass, all while keeping all of his vehicle mode's lights shut off to avoid detection. Holding on to the crooks of his shoulders were Daniel and Mikaela holding on to the right while Carly was on the left.

"Easy, you three," Optimus said in a hushed whisper.

The Autobot leader kept a watchful optic on the helicopters passing below. The humans did their best to keep themselves secured to Optimus's metallic frame, and with several sections to find purchase to hold on to, this was not difficult. The Blackhawk soon made another pass underneath the bridge, likely scanning for any possible clues. The power of the rotor's downward thrust managed to catch Mikaela and Daniel and suck them down. The Witwicky was quick enough to grab Mikaela's wrist with one hand, and a portion of Optimus's pauldron with the other.

"DANIEL!" Carly cried out from her position behind Optimus's helm

"HANG ON!" Daniel yelled to Mikaela as he held on for dear life.

"I'M SLIPPING! I'M SLIPPING!" Mikaela screamed while her grip was failing. Eventually, Daniel's grip on Optimus finally gave in. "NO!"

"Hold on!" Optimus called out as he dropped legs down in an attempt to catch them. Unfortunately for the Autobot leader, the two teenagers could not get purchase and were merely nudged away.

"I got you guys!" Hot Rod cried out as he swiftly transformed to robot mode and deftly caught both Daniel and Mikaela in his hands, all while skidding atop his chestplate. Once he came to a stop, the Lambobot let out a vent of relief as he saw his charges in one piece and put them down onto the ground. "You guys alright?"

"Nothing feels broken," Daniel answered, catching his breath. "Nice catch."


"NBE-02 spotted, sir," The Blackhawk pilot declared. "Gunners are moving into position."

"Have them restrain it once they have a clear shot," Bishop ordered. "And call over the containment crews."


"Oh Scrap!" Hot Rod exclaimed as one of the helicopters fired a bolo harpoon at his wrist. It did not hurt, but now they had him tethered.

"Stop!" Daniel pleaded, raising his hands defensively at the helicopters, but his pleas fell on deaf ears as a second helicopter snagged Hot Rod's other wrist. Eventually, his ankles were snagged, and as the helicopters moved, one rope tugged one ankle, spinning the Autobot and tripping him.

"Get out of here!" Hot Rod pleaded to the teenagers as he was being restrained. The shutters on his optics widened when he saw several SUVs drive up behind them, and several armored agents emerged with various equipment. "Oh no."

"Get down on the ground!" One agent ordered over a loudspeaker as the rest closed in on Daniel and Mikaela to pin them down and restrain them.

"He's not fighting back!" Daniel shouted as several agents began blasting Hot Rod with liquid nitrogen to subdue him. "Let him go!"

Hot Rod began to lose strength as the subzero temperatures began to affect him. While he struggled with the bolo harpoons, he began to shiver. Daniel could only watch as the pained expression on Hot Rod looked at him as he was being frozen over. Daniel had enough and was able to wrestle himself free from the agent who pinned him down. He raced over to one of the liquid nitrogen handlers and tackled them, ignoring the biting cold he was assailed with. That was all he could do until 2 other agents finally reigned him in and a third then approached Hot Rod before he fell into an unconscious stasis. He had a grizzled look with a scar running along his right temple.

"Long time no see, Hot Rod," The agent greeted as Hot Rod tried to remain conscious, immediately recognizing the man.

"S-Sure has, Agent B-Burns," Hot Rod shivered out.

"I make no promises, but I'll see what I can do to secure your release," Jack Burns offered. "Until then, orders are orders."

Hot Rod no longer had the energy to say anything after that, but gave a small exhale as his optics dimmed and he fell into cryo stasis.

Over by the SUVs, Daniel and Mikaela were once again cuffed and were greeted by Agent Simmons, now adorned in a bullet-proof vest and a fresh pair of pants, all while wearing a content look on his face.

"Happy to see me again?" Simmons asked the boy rhetorically, not caring for the answer at the moment. The agent then turned his attention to the others around him. "Put him in the car with his little criminal friend. I want that thing frozen and ready for transport!"

"What of Mrs. Witicky?" One agent pointed out, noticing one missing figure from this whole ordeal.

"We'll bring her in if she turns up," Simmons decided.

The agents then proceeded to air lift Hot Rod onto a flatbed truck and tarp him over, all while keeping liquid nitrogen blasted onto him to keep him frozen. Eventually the operation had cleaned up and all that was left was the glasses Daniel had dropped during his fall. Once the agents were out of sight, Optimus began a slow descent from the scaffolding of the bridge he was nestled in. The other Autobots soon regrouped with Sideswipe and Bumblebee transforming first to greet their leader.

"Optimus? Are we just gonna stand here and do nothing?" Sideswipe questioned as he slid down the ditch to the level surface at the bottom.

"There's no way to free Hot Rod without harming the humans," Optimus declared as he reached ground level, surveying the ground.

"What about my son?" Carly questioned, distraught that her son was taken from her.

"Those guys might be jerks, but I don't think they'll harm Daniel or Mikaela," Bumblebee chirped.

"Bumblebee is right," Optimus agreed. "They are not likely to harm him."

"And yet they're allowed to harm one of ours?" Sideswipe protested.

"Hot Rod Knew the risks," Jazz countered as he slid down the ditch as well. "Plus he saved their skins once again, didn't he?"

Carly had to admit that Jazz had a point, and for that reason alone, Hot Rod had more of her respect. Sideswipe said nothing while Optimus found what he was looking for. He knelt down and gently picked up the ancient spectacles, which fortunately did not have any further damage to them. As he examined them, beams of light shot forth from his optics, refracting through the lenses, only for a distorted image of the globe to come into view. Upon seeing this, Optimus vented a reluctant sigh.

"The code is illegible," Optimus declared somberly.

"Now hold on a sec," Jazz interrupted. "I might not be Blaster, but I know a thing or two about cryptography. Hit it again, Boss Bot."

Optimus complied and illuminated the glasses once more. Jazz analyzed the distorted image and nodded.

"Uh huh. Whatever Con wrote this code saw to it that it could only be read with proper UV exposure," Jazz deduced.

"Meaning?" Carly asked.

"It can only be properly read during daytime," Jazz explained. "I've seen that kind of trick before."

"Very well," Optimus nodded. "We shall examine the glasses when the conditions are right. In the meantime, it would be best to relocate."


High above the skies of Jasper, an F-16 fighter jet orbited the outskirts of the town. No pilot was present, but the jet itself had observed everything that went down between the Autobots and Sector 7.

"It would seem Lord Megatron's assessment held some weight," the voice of Starscream rumbled through the vehicle. "One of the Autobots has already been captured."

"-Don't forget that I am also with the human female that was captured,-" Reflector's voice came through the comm link. "-When we reach our destination, I will search however I can.-"

"Excellent work, Reflector," Starscream applauded. "Should you find the cube, report immediately so that we may mobilize."


A/N: Ey! New chapter! Just like you'd expect, Simmons is an ass at this point in time. Also, because I didn't want to follow the footsteps of Bichael May too closely, I got rid of the "lubrication" gag (what function is that supposed to serve, anyway?!) and replaced it with something else. Also, new faces turned up under Sector 7's payroll! What could this mean in the future? Especially since Carly Witwicky is still in the care of the Autobots. Cliffhangers aside, I hope this was a fun read. :)