Healed [Sequel to Burned](Transformers Prime)

Chapter Ten | The Ropes

"Where do you wanna go?
How much you wanna risk?
I'm not lookin' for somebody with some superhuman gifts,"

»«

"-now stoplights will get you sometimes," Dana spoke as she spun Chromia's wheel, turning the corner and slowly speeding up as they cruised down the short street, an entire course set up just for the two new ground vehicles. "Green means go, yellow means slow down, and red means stop. Sometimes, you can't slow down in time when it turns yellow; don't worry, just breeze through. Now, if you try to go before it turns red, and it turns red by the time you are passing through the intersection, you might get in trouble."

"So I'll have to time it right." Chromia noted, earning a nod from her human instructor.

"Correct." Dana came upon the intersection, letting the Autobot try to brake for herself. The light turned yellow while they were still a good distance away from the intersection, and the blue Elentra Coupe carefully braked and stopped right before the white line.

"Why do we have to stop?" She asked.

"Normally, other vehicles are waiting their turn, so when we stop, they can go," Dana explained. "Obviously, we're practicing right now, so there is no one here waiting to go. But, even in an empty section, you are required by law to remain stopped until the light turns green."

"Ah, I see." Chromia settled, waiting patiently for the light to change. "Are there many stoplights?"

"Yes, almost at every intersection," Dana noted, "except those that are in the middle of nowhere; and even those are lucky if they get a stop sign."

"Why do intersections not just have stop signs?" Chromia questioned.

"Well . . ." The young woman stopped for a moment as she tried to explain, "it would help prevent accidents. Some people will just blow through a stop sign with disregard to everyone else. And it's less confusing - if two people stop at the same time, and they are not aware that the one on the right goes first, it could cause problems. Not to mention it probably saves time."

"Do cities get very busy?"

"Extremely. Morning traffic and mid-afternoon are the worst times. Occasionally a fifteen-minute drive could end up taking an hour."

"Surely there is a more efficient way of doing things."

"Probably." Dana shrugged. "I just don't have an idea."

They carefully went around the course another time, and once Chromia decided she was comfortable, she let Dana out at the "start" of the course, the woman standing next to Agent Fowler as they had Chromia go through the course on her own, three times.

"She's doing really well," Dana complimented as the femme stopped for "pedestrians."

"Better than Arcee her first few times," Fowler could not help but chuckle a little, seeming to be rather fond of the memory, "or Cliffjumper, for that matter. They were some of the angriest drivers I had ever seen. Ratchet wasn't much better; actually, he was worse. Good thing he stays in the base most of the time."

Dana laughed. "He's not that bad," she grinned, "at least not when I'm in the front seat."

"That's because he likes you," Agent Fowler waved a hand. "He doesn't like anyone else."

The intern flushed a little at the statement, trying to hide it by changing the subject a little bit.

"I bet Megatron will be a real doozy."