TRANSFORMERS: Bumblebee's Boy

TROUBLING ISSUES

CHAPTER 1
Troubling Issues

"Boy, what the hell are you thinking?"

Trevor Ridley cringed at the harsh voice that greeted him as he entered his father's auto repair shop. If there was one thing about his father, it was the fact that despite his loving, soft nature, he had a temper you wanted to fear. The boy sighed as he pushed the Comaro the rest of the way into the garage, and stopped, looking up at the man. Joseph Ridley was tall and stocky, with blond hair, and green eyes, just like his son. If it weren't for the fact the man was so ripped, it could have been easily like looking into the future for Trevor. "Dad," Trevor began, holding his hands up. "Before you explode on me, just hear me out."

"I'm this close to bankruptcy, Trev. You can't be buying this," Joseph motioned to Bumblebee with a look of utter confusion. "Is she a '77? For God's sake, kid, this had to have cost you somewhere around five grand-?"

"Twenty-five dollars," Trevor retorted, his eyes meeting his father's. "Every last penny I earned from doing my odd jobs. They were gonna scrap it down at Chet's, but I saved it," He grinned a little, his eyes lighting up at the man. "I was thinking I could clean it up, giveit a fresh paint job," Joseph circled around the Autobot unsuspectingly. "He's not much, but this is it, dad. My first car."

Joseph patted the hood slightly, his eyes looking down at his son. "Kiddo, Comaro parts are hard to find," Joseph replied, he shook his head. "We can keep it here if you really want to try. But I can't make any promises," He replied, his eyes locking with the disappointed ones of Trevor. "Trev, I know you don't get it. You're only fifteen, you can't possibly understand." He paused a long moment. "But some day, I'm not going to be here to support you even with what little money I make. So we need to save what money we have."

Trevor looked sadly at the Comaro, kicking the wheel slightly. His father approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder, and pulling him in to a hug. Neither seemed to notice as the side-view mirror moved for a better look at the two. "I just thought, I don't know," Trevor looked up at him. "It felt like this one was special dad, like it was... Different," He watched it carefully. "Maybe we could turn it into a racer, you could teach me just like-."

"No," Joseph replied, a firmness beyond words in his eyes. "It's bad enough we have one set of medical bills to pay for," He replied, his voice going a little hoarse. "What with your mother and all," He said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'm not letting you in that death trap of a sport, over my dead body." He then added, pointing slightly. "Please tell me you didn't break your leg pulling that thing. I don't have the money to afford a new one."

As Trevor sat on the stool, Bumblebee's interest only peeked. Quickly, he rolled up the left leg of his jeans and revealed a prosthetic, much to his surprise. Did humans not come born with two legs? Had he been born without two legs? Did he get them amputated as the web search he made suggested? "It's all there in one piece, dad," Trevor replied, patting the mechanical leg for emphasis. "Come on, I'm tough, no stupid car is going to break me."

"I just want you to be careful," Joseph replied. "That's all I'm asking." A ringing quickly got his attention. "Crap, that's my four o'clock hoping to get his bug," He muttered under his breath, turning to Trevor. "See just how bad what we're working with is, we can talk about this later."

Trevor sighed, turning back to the Comaro, which he gave a quiet look over. He still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about this car. Like an unknown force that seemed to ooze from it. "Yeah, well," Trevor began to speak. "Dad doesn't know everything. I bet if I could make you into a racer, I could enter you. We could make a ton of money..."

After a moment, the boy frowned, and shook his head. "Who am I kidding? Who's gonna put a kid with one leg behind the wheel?" Trevor muttered under his breath as he rolled down his jeans slowly. "I'm just crazy, heck, I'm even talking to a car for the second time today," He laughed at himself as he carefully lifted up the hood. "Chrome, nice... Somebody really did a bang-up job making you into something of a speed demon, didn't they?" He then muttered quietly. "Why not fix you up then too?"