New Life - Part 4 - Realizing
Chapter 4 - Realizing
Word Count: 2291
Rating: PG-13 Work Safe
Realizing
Bumblebee sighed, curling up on the hood of his Camaro and stared at the vehicle beside it, pulling his blanket tighter around himself. The red and blue flames of the semi filled his vision and for a while he let himself forget the world around him, focusing only on the metal below him and the soft hum that filled the air that a normal human wouldn’t notice.
It’s been at least a month since he got his new body, something he appreciated greatly since it let him walk around among the humans and not really be noticed. It’s been almost a week since Prowl showed up with news that the rest of his squad would arrive soon. Bumblebee wasn’t sure what he thought about having the twins running around the area with mischief on their mind or Wheeljack underhand with a potentially dangerous experiment in the works. Ratchet had enough stress on his mind, trying to fix Jazz’s vehicle, but now Prowl was also helping out, the man’s short black hair with red sides easy to pick out from Jazz’s mostly silver dreadlocks and Ratchet’s red and white ponytail.
Bumblebee was asleep when Prowl went through the procedure to connect to a biodroid body, so it took a while for him to get use to seeing a new person walking the place. The man adapted to the new body as quickly everyone else, and now wasn’t found far from Jazz around the base.
Slowly, Bumblebee let himself fall asleep on the Camaro, knowing that the others wouldn’t be up for a while, and hoped that no nightmares would come for the rest of the night.
oOo
“Little one?”
Bumblebee woke with a jerk, adrenaline rushing his system as he slid from the Camaro’s hood and the vehicle instantly began to change to combat mode. Fear filled his mind and he did the only thing that his mind could think of.
Bumblebee ran.
The blond ran for the exit, his mind still half trapped in a hellish dream while he hoped that if anything, he wouldn’t be pursued by the large mech that was standing over him. It was a while before he slowed down and by the time he stopped and looked around, he was standing in the forest that surrounded the Autobot base. His problem was mainly that he didn’t know where the base was in the dense foliage. He could be within five minutes walking distance or five miles away and nothing around him gave him any clues.
Now that the adrenaline in his system began to wear off, Bumblebee felt even more tired than before. Carefully, he leaned himself against the closest tree and transferred enough of his mind back to his vehicle to convert it back to the Camaro form and left it at that. He wasn’t sure who it was that woke him up and scared him, but Bumblebee didn’t feel like dealing with anyone at the moment. If they really needed him, they could contact him through his vehicle.
When that was done, Bumblebee leaned back to take a look at the tree before him. There were a few branches close enough to the ground that he could grab if he did a running jump. Quickly twisting the blanket into a long rope, he tied it over one shoulder and backed up about ten paces before running to the tree and jumping as hard as he could. His hand caught the branch in a firm grip and he swung himself up, grabbing the next branch.
Ratchet said that Bumblebee managed to make his biodriod have a gymnast’s body and the blond had questioned why after he got down from the obstacle course he ran. He was told it was probably because one of his main functions was espionage. A body that can move quickly, flexibly, and reach places that others had trouble with would be a great asset for a spy.
It was also handy for grabbing a cookie or two from under Ironhide’s nose and running off, dodging whatever the man threw at him.
The blond smirked as he got to the tallest branch that he could safely sit on, untying the blanket from around him and pulling it close. It wouldn’t be too bad to watch the scenery around him from his perch in the tree. And he might be able to find the base while he’s at it.
Unnoticed to him, a black and white car pulled off a close by road, lowly edging closer.
oOo
Optimus watched as the pink Autobot listened to everything Ratchet said, her head tilted to one side so that she could keep an eye on the smaller, human form while watching the larger mech form. Arcee had managed to get to the base ahead of her other companions and was now fascinated with the fact that there was a possibility to move among the humans around her and actually go out in daylight. It was harder to be a driverless motorcycle than a driverless car.
“So, the little blond that tore out of the base was Bumblebee?” she asked, looking between the medic and the leader.
Optimus straightened from his slouch, looking at Arcee with worry. “Bumblebee ran off?”
“I guess so. I saw someone asleep on the top of that yellow car and when he woke up, he ran out of here. He even transformed into his normal form, but he made no move to attack or defend either. Pretty strange.”
“Don’t worry, Optimus,” Ratchet said, setting down a tool. “These bodies, while strong, can only run so far before tiring and there’s a tracker on each of us. No earth technology can block it or the link back to the vehicles. If Bumblebee isn’t back by noon, we can go out and get him.”
To prove his point, the medic turned to a row of computer screens and pulled up a few displays. In the middle of one was what Optimus assumed to be the base and there was a small blue dot a bit of a ways from it. Crystal blue eyes watched that dot for a few moments before turning away, but quickly turned back when Optimus heard Ratchet cussing out loud.
At the edge of the screen was a red dot and it slowly began to move its way to the blue one before the entire computer screen froze. “What’s happening?”
“Something’s interfering with the tracker, sir.”
“You said that no earth technology can block it!”
“That isn’t earth technology!” Moments later, alarms began to sound through the base.
Without a second thought, Optimus transferred himself over to his vehicle, feeling the engine roaring to life. He didn’t think to call on the others for back up or to create a plan or that he just left his biodroid body motionless on the floor. He needed to get to Bumblebee now.
oOo
Bumblebee woke from his nap with a jerk, his body quickly balancing despite the sudden movement. Judging from the position of the sun, he wasn’t asleep for long, but that wasn’t the problem
The problem was that he couldn’t seem to breathe. Even though he could feel himself taking in air without a problem, it felt like there was a tight, constricting band around his chest and across the back of his neck. Pain shot through his shoulders and he gasped silently. A sense of urgency filled him and he wanted to get back to the base as quick as possible.
He looked down to see where he should start making his way down but froze when a pair of bright red optics focused on him.
“Barricade!”
“Very knowledgeable for a fleshing!” the Decepticon growled. “Where’s your Autobot?”
Bumblebee was barely out of reach of the large mech, but it didn’t stop the fear from worming its way through him. “Autobot?” he squeaked. “What Autobot?”
“Don’t play stupid! I know there’s an Autobot signal coming from near here. And he won’t be able to call on reinforcement either! I’ve made sure to block all possible contact.”
A quick check confirmed his enemy’s words. He could no longer feel the link between him and his car and no longer had a way of transferring himself back to it. If the small humanoid body he was in gets destroyed, he will be destroyed.
Barricade pushed against the tree suddenly and Bumblebee had to hang on, almost toppling over to the ground far below. “I’m not going to play nice for long, fleshling! Where’s the Autobot!?”
“Right here!”
A pink blur shot through the trees below, tackling the Decepticon and Bumblebee nearly fell as two large hands gently cupped around him. He looked at the hands without comprehension but relaxed when he saw the red and blue paint just behind the hands. Carefully, he stepped out onto the hands, looking over to the fighting mechs. The pink blur had become an Autobot that was half the size of Barricade, but had back up in the form of Prowl.
The Decepticon didn’t like being outnumbered three to one, quickly turning and running off before anyone could protest. Slowly, the constricting feeling wore off and Bumblebee felt relief as his connection back to his vehicle returned.
“Are you okay?” the deep voice rumbled softly.
Bumblebee looked up at his leader, nodding. “Yes sir.”
Optimus brought his hands in closer to his body, Bumblebee balanced easily and moving with the motion. They began their way back to the base, Prowl and the pink Autobot coming up beside them.
“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you, Arcee,” Bumblebee said, looking over at the female comrade.
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have startled you like that.”
The blond smiled at her, forgiving her easily. After all, she didn’t know that it could have possibly been him. So much has changed since they parted ways many years ago.
The base soon came into sight and Bumblebee was surprised when Optimus didn’t set him down once they got inside. Instead, he actually carried the blond all the way to Ratchet’s area. He lowered his hands and Bumblebee carefully climbed off, watching the large mech turn and leave.
Ratchet got his attention and began to ask questions, Bumblebee answering them with only a small part of his attention. Most of it was focused on the unmoving form across the room, blue and red hair fanned out gently on a pillow.
“Are you able to access your vehicle?”
“Yes sir.”
“What made you run?”
“I was startled, sir.”
“The Decepticon saw you like this?”
“Yes sir. He believed that I was a human and that there was another Autobot around.” Bumblebee paused for a moment before turning his full attention to the medic. “Sir? Why are all these things happening? I never ran before. Didn’t have nightmares so often. What’s going on?”
Ratchet looked at him sharply at the word “nightmares” but didn’t say anything until Bumblebee was done talking. “It’s possible the biodroid body. You’re still you, same thoughts, memories, and personality, but the body has a different chemistry than our normal bodies. It might take a while to get fully use to. I know that I’m not but it gets easier every day.”
“Thank you sir. May I go now?”
“Yes, go. Don’t damage anything.”
Bumblebee nodded and walked of the room, ignoring those around him, and went straight for his vehicle, climbing in and starting the engine, leaving before anyone could say anything. Again, he drove for a while, just wanting to get away from everyone in general and finally rolling to a stop on the hill that overlooked the city the Autobots had chose to live near, the one where their adventures on earth had started.
Slowly, Bumblebee let his awareness drift, feeling himself fall somewhere between both of his forms, trying to analyze his thoughts and feelings. The first thing that came to his mind was his leader. The blond frowned, trying to figure out why by sorting what he felt of him.
You would give your life to save Optimus.
I would give my life to save any of my comrades.
You looked up to him.
Any soldier looks up to their commander.
You feel protected when he is near.
Optimus Prime is one of the strongest beings known. Of course I would feel protected near him.
You sleep peacefully when you can hear Optimus’s Spark.
…
You’ve been having strange dreams of your leader…
The blond’s cheeks turned bright red and he was glad that he decided to find a place to himself. He hid his face in his hands as his mind didn’t find a logical reply to that statement. Instead, it tried to bring up said dreams but he forced it back down, refusing to let it get to him.
The next comment shocked him
Bumblebee froze before fully transferring himself to his vehicle, taking off down the road to the one place he knew he could talk to someone. Pulling up into the driveway, the engine turned off and Bumblebee climbed out and walked to the house, nimbly pulling himself up and knocking on the second story window.
It opened and Sam looked at him questioningly. “Why are you outside my window?”
Bumblebee gave him a helpless shrug but climbed in when the window opened wide enough to let him. He looked around Sam’s room for a moment, noting how it didn’t seem to change between visits before focusing on Sam.
“Sam…?”
“Yea?”
“How do you know if you’re in love?”
The human opened his mouth to answer but stopped when he realized what the question was. Despite the situation, Bumblebee is going to remember the lock of shock on the boy’s face.
Word Count: 2291
Rating: PG-13 Work Safe
Realizing
Bumblebee sighed, curling up on the hood of his Camaro and stared at the vehicle beside it, pulling his blanket tighter around himself. The red and blue flames of the semi filled his vision and for a while he let himself forget the world around him, focusing only on the metal below him and the soft hum that filled the air that a normal human wouldn’t notice.
It’s been at least a month since he got his new body, something he appreciated greatly since it let him walk around among the humans and not really be noticed. It’s been almost a week since Prowl showed up with news that the rest of his squad would arrive soon. Bumblebee wasn’t sure what he thought about having the twins running around the area with mischief on their mind or Wheeljack underhand with a potentially dangerous experiment in the works. Ratchet had enough stress on his mind, trying to fix Jazz’s vehicle, but now Prowl was also helping out, the man’s short black hair with red sides easy to pick out from Jazz’s mostly silver dreadlocks and Ratchet’s red and white ponytail.
Bumblebee was asleep when Prowl went through the procedure to connect to a biodroid body, so it took a while for him to get use to seeing a new person walking the place. The man adapted to the new body as quickly everyone else, and now wasn’t found far from Jazz around the base.
Slowly, Bumblebee let himself fall asleep on the Camaro, knowing that the others wouldn’t be up for a while, and hoped that no nightmares would come for the rest of the night.
oOo
“Little one?”
Bumblebee woke with a jerk, adrenaline rushing his system as he slid from the Camaro’s hood and the vehicle instantly began to change to combat mode. Fear filled his mind and he did the only thing that his mind could think of.
Bumblebee ran.
The blond ran for the exit, his mind still half trapped in a hellish dream while he hoped that if anything, he wouldn’t be pursued by the large mech that was standing over him. It was a while before he slowed down and by the time he stopped and looked around, he was standing in the forest that surrounded the Autobot base. His problem was mainly that he didn’t know where the base was in the dense foliage. He could be within five minutes walking distance or five miles away and nothing around him gave him any clues.
Now that the adrenaline in his system began to wear off, Bumblebee felt even more tired than before. Carefully, he leaned himself against the closest tree and transferred enough of his mind back to his vehicle to convert it back to the Camaro form and left it at that. He wasn’t sure who it was that woke him up and scared him, but Bumblebee didn’t feel like dealing with anyone at the moment. If they really needed him, they could contact him through his vehicle.
When that was done, Bumblebee leaned back to take a look at the tree before him. There were a few branches close enough to the ground that he could grab if he did a running jump. Quickly twisting the blanket into a long rope, he tied it over one shoulder and backed up about ten paces before running to the tree and jumping as hard as he could. His hand caught the branch in a firm grip and he swung himself up, grabbing the next branch.
Ratchet said that Bumblebee managed to make his biodriod have a gymnast’s body and the blond had questioned why after he got down from the obstacle course he ran. He was told it was probably because one of his main functions was espionage. A body that can move quickly, flexibly, and reach places that others had trouble with would be a great asset for a spy.
It was also handy for grabbing a cookie or two from under Ironhide’s nose and running off, dodging whatever the man threw at him.
The blond smirked as he got to the tallest branch that he could safely sit on, untying the blanket from around him and pulling it close. It wouldn’t be too bad to watch the scenery around him from his perch in the tree. And he might be able to find the base while he’s at it.
Unnoticed to him, a black and white car pulled off a close by road, lowly edging closer.
oOo
Optimus watched as the pink Autobot listened to everything Ratchet said, her head tilted to one side so that she could keep an eye on the smaller, human form while watching the larger mech form. Arcee had managed to get to the base ahead of her other companions and was now fascinated with the fact that there was a possibility to move among the humans around her and actually go out in daylight. It was harder to be a driverless motorcycle than a driverless car.
“So, the little blond that tore out of the base was Bumblebee?” she asked, looking between the medic and the leader.
Optimus straightened from his slouch, looking at Arcee with worry. “Bumblebee ran off?”
“I guess so. I saw someone asleep on the top of that yellow car and when he woke up, he ran out of here. He even transformed into his normal form, but he made no move to attack or defend either. Pretty strange.”
“Don’t worry, Optimus,” Ratchet said, setting down a tool. “These bodies, while strong, can only run so far before tiring and there’s a tracker on each of us. No earth technology can block it or the link back to the vehicles. If Bumblebee isn’t back by noon, we can go out and get him.”
To prove his point, the medic turned to a row of computer screens and pulled up a few displays. In the middle of one was what Optimus assumed to be the base and there was a small blue dot a bit of a ways from it. Crystal blue eyes watched that dot for a few moments before turning away, but quickly turned back when Optimus heard Ratchet cussing out loud.
At the edge of the screen was a red dot and it slowly began to move its way to the blue one before the entire computer screen froze. “What’s happening?”
“Something’s interfering with the tracker, sir.”
“You said that no earth technology can block it!”
“That isn’t earth technology!” Moments later, alarms began to sound through the base.
Without a second thought, Optimus transferred himself over to his vehicle, feeling the engine roaring to life. He didn’t think to call on the others for back up or to create a plan or that he just left his biodroid body motionless on the floor. He needed to get to Bumblebee now.
oOo
Bumblebee woke from his nap with a jerk, his body quickly balancing despite the sudden movement. Judging from the position of the sun, he wasn’t asleep for long, but that wasn’t the problem
The problem was that he couldn’t seem to breathe. Even though he could feel himself taking in air without a problem, it felt like there was a tight, constricting band around his chest and across the back of his neck. Pain shot through his shoulders and he gasped silently. A sense of urgency filled him and he wanted to get back to the base as quick as possible.
He looked down to see where he should start making his way down but froze when a pair of bright red optics focused on him.
“Barricade!”
“Very knowledgeable for a fleshing!” the Decepticon growled. “Where’s your Autobot?”
Bumblebee was barely out of reach of the large mech, but it didn’t stop the fear from worming its way through him. “Autobot?” he squeaked. “What Autobot?”
“Don’t play stupid! I know there’s an Autobot signal coming from near here. And he won’t be able to call on reinforcement either! I’ve made sure to block all possible contact.”
A quick check confirmed his enemy’s words. He could no longer feel the link between him and his car and no longer had a way of transferring himself back to it. If the small humanoid body he was in gets destroyed, he will be destroyed.
Barricade pushed against the tree suddenly and Bumblebee had to hang on, almost toppling over to the ground far below. “I’m not going to play nice for long, fleshling! Where’s the Autobot!?”
“Right here!”
A pink blur shot through the trees below, tackling the Decepticon and Bumblebee nearly fell as two large hands gently cupped around him. He looked at the hands without comprehension but relaxed when he saw the red and blue paint just behind the hands. Carefully, he stepped out onto the hands, looking over to the fighting mechs. The pink blur had become an Autobot that was half the size of Barricade, but had back up in the form of Prowl.
The Decepticon didn’t like being outnumbered three to one, quickly turning and running off before anyone could protest. Slowly, the constricting feeling wore off and Bumblebee felt relief as his connection back to his vehicle returned.
“Are you okay?” the deep voice rumbled softly.
Bumblebee looked up at his leader, nodding. “Yes sir.”
Optimus brought his hands in closer to his body, Bumblebee balanced easily and moving with the motion. They began their way back to the base, Prowl and the pink Autobot coming up beside them.
“I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you, Arcee,” Bumblebee said, looking over at the female comrade.
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have startled you like that.”
The blond smiled at her, forgiving her easily. After all, she didn’t know that it could have possibly been him. So much has changed since they parted ways many years ago.
The base soon came into sight and Bumblebee was surprised when Optimus didn’t set him down once they got inside. Instead, he actually carried the blond all the way to Ratchet’s area. He lowered his hands and Bumblebee carefully climbed off, watching the large mech turn and leave.
Ratchet got his attention and began to ask questions, Bumblebee answering them with only a small part of his attention. Most of it was focused on the unmoving form across the room, blue and red hair fanned out gently on a pillow.
“Are you able to access your vehicle?”
“Yes sir.”
“What made you run?”
“I was startled, sir.”
“The Decepticon saw you like this?”
“Yes sir. He believed that I was a human and that there was another Autobot around.” Bumblebee paused for a moment before turning his full attention to the medic. “Sir? Why are all these things happening? I never ran before. Didn’t have nightmares so often. What’s going on?”
Ratchet looked at him sharply at the word “nightmares” but didn’t say anything until Bumblebee was done talking. “It’s possible the biodroid body. You’re still you, same thoughts, memories, and personality, but the body has a different chemistry than our normal bodies. It might take a while to get fully use to. I know that I’m not but it gets easier every day.”
“Thank you sir. May I go now?”
“Yes, go. Don’t damage anything.”
Bumblebee nodded and walked of the room, ignoring those around him, and went straight for his vehicle, climbing in and starting the engine, leaving before anyone could say anything. Again, he drove for a while, just wanting to get away from everyone in general and finally rolling to a stop on the hill that overlooked the city the Autobots had chose to live near, the one where their adventures on earth had started.
Slowly, Bumblebee let his awareness drift, feeling himself fall somewhere between both of his forms, trying to analyze his thoughts and feelings. The first thing that came to his mind was his leader. The blond frowned, trying to figure out why by sorting what he felt of him.
You would give your life to save Optimus.
I would give my life to save any of my comrades.
You looked up to him.
Any soldier looks up to their commander.
You feel protected when he is near.
Optimus Prime is one of the strongest beings known. Of course I would feel protected near him.
You sleep peacefully when you can hear Optimus’s Spark.
…
You’ve been having strange dreams of your leader…
The blond’s cheeks turned bright red and he was glad that he decided to find a place to himself. He hid his face in his hands as his mind didn’t find a logical reply to that statement. Instead, it tried to bring up said dreams but he forced it back down, refusing to let it get to him.
The next comment shocked him
Bumblebee froze before fully transferring himself to his vehicle, taking off down the road to the one place he knew he could talk to someone. Pulling up into the driveway, the engine turned off and Bumblebee climbed out and walked to the house, nimbly pulling himself up and knocking on the second story window.
It opened and Sam looked at him questioningly. “Why are you outside my window?”
Bumblebee gave him a helpless shrug but climbed in when the window opened wide enough to let him. He looked around Sam’s room for a moment, noting how it didn’t seem to change between visits before focusing on Sam.
“Sam…?”
“Yea?”
“How do you know if you’re in love?”
The human opened his mouth to answer but stopped when he realized what the question was. Despite the situation, Bumblebee is going to remember the lock of shock on the boy’s face.