Transformers Prime: Heart of a Gladiator

Chapter 2

The 'Cons decided to retreat before more reinforcements showed up. Bumblebee turned around and to notify  Raf that the coast was clear.  Raf pulled on Monica's arm to pull her out of hiding.

"Raf, no." she hissed

"It's alright, he's my friend. Trust me."

Not sure what else to do, she swallowed and got up. Bumblebee bent down closer to their level as Raf was first to approach him. "I'm sure glad to see you."

Raf seemed to completely trust him. He really was his friend. Monica slowly stepped closer, staring at the robot with a skeptical look on her face. "He really won't hurt us?"

"No way!" Raf assured her "Monica, this is Bumblebee. He's my guardian."

Bee reached out a finger for her.  He clearly wasn't a threat. She placed her tiny hand on him and couldn't help but smile. "Incredible."

Bee made more beeping sounds. "He says you kinda look like me." Raf translated cheerfully.

"You can... understand him?"

He nodded "Bee can't talk like the others. Most can speak our languages."

"So this one protects you from... other robots?"

"They're called Decepticons. Like the ones that attacked her." He looked over at the Autobot lying motionless on her side. The three of them gathered beside her.

"Bumblebee is an Autobot. I knew that she was an Autobot too by that symbol on her chest." Raf explained to his sister.

"Autobots aren't dangerous She wanted to protect us." Monica concluded. She frowned, reaching out to touch her "Is she... dead?"

Bee noticed the gash in her shoulder. It was deep. A shoulder wound like that is painful but not usually fatal. There was barley any  energon spilling out, which wasn't a good sign. She was running on practically nothing. She needed medical attention.

"He says she's unconscious." Raf translated.

Bee explained the situation to Ratchet through the communication link. "Are you sure it's an Autobot?" his voice asked. Bee assured him that this wasn't just a random Autobot. He knew exactly who she was . . . And so would the rest of the team. "Alright. I'm sending a ground-bridge."

"He's going to take her to base." Raf told his sister.

"How is he-?" Monica was cut off when a huge energy vortex appeared out of nowhere. Her jaw dropped. "Raf, what is that?"

"Ground-bridge to base" He said.

"What, like teleportation?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but yes."

Bee asked Raf to bring his sister back to base. They would both needed protection moving forward. Raf nodded "He wants us to go first."

"What?" Monica gasped.

"Don't worry. I've done this before." He said, tugging on her hand.

Monica wanted to draw a line. Just the idea of teleportation was crazy! There was no telling what would happen and that terrified her. She wanted to take him home. That would be the responsible, older sister thing to do. But Raf seemed so sure about this. He did say he's done this before. Plus, she wanted to see the other Autobots for herself. 

Monica followed her brother into the ground-bridge. There was a white light that got brighter and brighter. Her bones felt like they were vibrating until suddenly they were someplace else. Just like that. 

It seemed to once be a Cold War missle silo, converted into Autobot Outpost Omega One. The first thing she noticed was the Autobot symbol on the floor. Somehow, that made her feel a little more at ease. Behind her, Bee appeared, carrying the Autobot bridle style.

"Put her on the table over there." A voice said. Monica looked up to see another robot, staring right back at her. He was red and white and carrying tools in both hands.

"Rafael?" He looked at him, wondering who this stranger was and why she was here.

"It's okay, Ratchet. She's my sister. The 'Cons saw her too"

He nodded once and didn't question further. There was an Autobot to be examined. Details about his sister could wait. "Optimus will want to speak to you both."

"Okay." Raf replied, then looked at his sister. "Ratchet's their medic. C'mon follow me." He led her upstairs so they could watch from the upper level.

Monica bent down to watch beside her brother, placing one hand on the railing. "I'm guessing you've been here before, huh?"

"A lot of times, actually." Raf admitted

She glanced at Bee, then Ratchet. "Where did they come from?"

"From a planet called Cybertron. But the war between Autobots and Decepticons destroyed it."

"So they came here?"

Raf nodded "They live off something called energon and a lot of it was hidden away on Earth. That's what brought them here. The Decepticons will do anything to get to it first. Whenever we have a run-in with the 'Cons, it's never friendly."

Monica didn't say anything. "But the Autobots are on our side." Raf went on in a more cheerful tone. "They protect human kind. If it wasn't for them, I don't know what we'd do."

She took a minute to absorb everything he just told her. Aliens. They were actual aliens. She always believed that there was life outside Earth. She believed that there had to be something else out there... But she never expected any of this.

"Protect human kind." She repeated. "Does human kind know about any of this?"

"The Autobot base is a government secret. Well, except from me and you... and Jack and Miko."

"Yeah, I had a feeling they were in on this."

She looked up when she heard heavy footsteps. Her eyes widened when a red and blue Autobot appeared, the tallest of them all. "That's Optimus Prime. He's the Autobot leader."

Optimus approached the table, looking down at the unconscious Autobot. "It is her." He confirmed.

Ratchet nodded once. He had put a brace around her shoulder. The damage was nothing too serious. "Only a minor injury. It's the lack of energon that caused her to shut down. Her body is exhausted. She'll need a full recharge in order to restore normal functioning." He paused "Perhaps, we should consider first. Times have changed, Optimus. She may not be the same Autobot you once knew."

"You know who she is?" Raf spoke up. Optimus looked at him. His eyes shifted to Monica who slowly stood up.

"Her name is Luna. She was a well-known gladiator on Cybertron. And she was also a loyal friend of mine. We lost contact during the war."

"She's been with my sister for days." Raf said "Tell them, Monica."

All optics were on her now. She tensed. "I- I thought it was just a regular car when I bought it."

"She never transformed?" Ratchet asked

"Um. I'm not sure. It- she was always right where I last parked. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary."

"Where did you first find her?" Optimus questioned

"Bob's Used Car Lot" She blinked, realizing that wasn't a very helpful answer. "Uh, it's near my college in California. I drove home just this morning... Then things got crazy when I picked up Raf from school."

"'Cons came after her." Raf explained, looking down at Luna. "She wanted to protect us. I think we can trust her."

"I agree with you, Rafael." Optimus decided. He turned to Ratchet. "She is in need of our help, old friend."

The medic nodded. He knew Optimus cared about her. "I'll need a fresh supply of energon, stat."