Black Canyon Road, California
When the Autobots were first granted refuge and a home on Earth by the United States government, it was at a location some distance from Barstow, California. The existing military infrastructure in the region made it possible to keep an eye on the aliens, and its relative proximity to the Witwicky family's home meant Bumblebee never had to drop entirely out of daily contact with the rest of his people. It had another advantage, as well- the local roads were seldom of interest to the Highway Patrol, who more often focused their attention southward or west of town. Nevertheless, just to be on the safe side, the human brass at Autobase had made a few phone calls when they caught sight of Bumblebee pulling up to the gates and the Twins rolling out to meet him. Sometimes it just didn't pay to take chances.
The human brass were wise.
"Give me, give me the speed I need
I want more life, don't need this state to last-"
A smudge of brilliant red flared down the winding road, unwitnessed by any save a family of startled roadrunners. Close behind, almost too close to follow, came a streak of blinding gold; a little ways after, one of yellow and black, its engine gunning for all it was worth.
"I want more to burn, I want more to break
so give me the speed I need-"
"Nice place you found here, Bumblebee!" called Sunstreaker to the trailing Camaro. "Not too bad, for organic engineering!"
"My own movements feel so strange
Are we all insane, or is it only me?"
"Got to hand it to you, Bee," Sideswipe added, "you always did know how to find the good roads."
"Even if you can't keep up with us on them-"
"Sunstreaker! Not his fault!"
The gold Aero laughed, dropping his speed down a tad. "No offense, Bumblebee," he said.
"Believing, believing the free will-" The blaring music fell back into the background as Bumblebee mustered the volume to speak. "None taken," he answered. "I get my job done."
"No kidding." Sideswipe rounded a particularly narrow curve in the road, cutting his speed in preparation for the climb ahead. "I've been going over your records since you got here."
The music switched reflexively. "Check my records, check my facts, check if I paid my income tax-"
"We're your mentors, we're allowed," Sunstreaker answered, unruffled.
"Sorry," Bumblebee answered, creeping forward. Sunstreaker had always been the heavier mech, and on steeply inclined roads like this, it showed. "Considering what happened in Mission City-"
"Yeah, about that."
A human would've held his breath. Bumblebee merely went silent.
"You did an incredible job, Bumblebee," said Sunstreaker. "All of you."
"The odds were stacked against you from the start," Sideswipe added. "To make it out alive like that-"
Bumblebee couldn't help but shiver inwardly, remembering. "But Jazz- the Allspark-"
Sunstreaker's horn let out a rude, blattering sound that echoed off the hillsides around them. "Who were you up against, Bumblebee? Huh? Combat monsters. Flyers. Mechs with kill counts too long to keep track of. You're still here."
Bumblebee was still silent, save for his engine's rumble.
"Besides," Sideswipe noted, "I couldn't help but notice you took a lesson from your old teacher."
The puzzled sqwarnk? of Bumblebee's horn in response startled a family of coyotes otherwise long since used to ignoring what happened on the roads nearby.
"Giving the Cube to the human boy? Looks like I taught you to gamble after all."
"Oh."
As they reached the crest of the hill, Sunstreaker signaled to his twin, and the two Aeros pulled to a halt. Bumblebee followed suit, silently grateful for the moment's respite, but still puzzled nonetheless.
"What my brother's trying to say," Sunstreaker finally said aloud, "is that we're proud of you. You did good."
"We all tried to-"
"Not 'you all'," Sunstreaker said, a little more firmly. "You. You're the one we raised, not them. It's you we're proud of."
It wasn't often that Bumblebee was genuinely struck speechless, but this was one of those times.
Sideswipe laughed. "Nice one, Sunny. Knock the sparkling for a loop, why don't you."
"I'm not a sparkling!" Bumblebee protested. "Not in centuries!"
"Prove it, then," said Sunstreaker. "Catch up with me."
The gold Aero gunned its engines, rocketing off down the hill. Bumblebee let out a rasping, hissing laugh and followed after.
The human brass were wise.
"Give me, give me the speed I need
I want more life, don't need this state to last-"
A smudge of brilliant red flared down the winding road, unwitnessed by any save a family of startled roadrunners. Close behind, almost too close to follow, came a streak of blinding gold; a little ways after, one of yellow and black, its engine gunning for all it was worth.
"I want more to burn, I want more to break
so give me the speed I need-"
"Nice place you found here, Bumblebee!" called Sunstreaker to the trailing Camaro. "Not too bad, for organic engineering!"
"My own movements feel so strange
Are we all insane, or is it only me?"
"Got to hand it to you, Bee," Sideswipe added, "you always did know how to find the good roads."
"Even if you can't keep up with us on them-"
"Sunstreaker! Not his fault!"
The gold Aero laughed, dropping his speed down a tad. "No offense, Bumblebee," he said.
"Believing, believing the free will-" The blaring music fell back into the background as Bumblebee mustered the volume to speak. "None taken," he answered. "I get my job done."
"No kidding." Sideswipe rounded a particularly narrow curve in the road, cutting his speed in preparation for the climb ahead. "I've been going over your records since you got here."
The music switched reflexively. "Check my records, check my facts, check if I paid my income tax-"
"We're your mentors, we're allowed," Sunstreaker answered, unruffled.
"Sorry," Bumblebee answered, creeping forward. Sunstreaker had always been the heavier mech, and on steeply inclined roads like this, it showed. "Considering what happened in Mission City-"
"Yeah, about that."
A human would've held his breath. Bumblebee merely went silent.
"You did an incredible job, Bumblebee," said Sunstreaker. "All of you."
"The odds were stacked against you from the start," Sideswipe added. "To make it out alive like that-"
Bumblebee couldn't help but shiver inwardly, remembering. "But Jazz- the Allspark-"
Sunstreaker's horn let out a rude, blattering sound that echoed off the hillsides around them. "Who were you up against, Bumblebee? Huh? Combat monsters. Flyers. Mechs with kill counts too long to keep track of. You're still here."
Bumblebee was still silent, save for his engine's rumble.
"Besides," Sideswipe noted, "I couldn't help but notice you took a lesson from your old teacher."
The puzzled sqwarnk? of Bumblebee's horn in response startled a family of coyotes otherwise long since used to ignoring what happened on the roads nearby.
"Giving the Cube to the human boy? Looks like I taught you to gamble after all."
"Oh."
As they reached the crest of the hill, Sunstreaker signaled to his twin, and the two Aeros pulled to a halt. Bumblebee followed suit, silently grateful for the moment's respite, but still puzzled nonetheless.
"What my brother's trying to say," Sunstreaker finally said aloud, "is that we're proud of you. You did good."
"We all tried to-"
"Not 'you all'," Sunstreaker said, a little more firmly. "You. You're the one we raised, not them. It's you we're proud of."
It wasn't often that Bumblebee was genuinely struck speechless, but this was one of those times.
Sideswipe laughed. "Nice one, Sunny. Knock the sparkling for a loop, why don't you."
"I'm not a sparkling!" Bumblebee protested. "Not in centuries!"
"Prove it, then," said Sunstreaker. "Catch up with me."
The gold Aero gunned its engines, rocketing off down the hill. Bumblebee let out a rasping, hissing laugh and followed after.