"Now if he happens to give you a pat on the shoulder, which might happen in a comfortable conversation, you say..?"

"Frag off, human; that is my fleshiness you are violating! Get your own!" Max sighed from his position on Overshot's servo, his motorcycle brought along for the ride. Where they were headed, he did not know, but he had been trying to give her a crash course on human conversation so that she would not lose the estate claim because of terrible social skills. So far, it had not been successful.

"I know this may come as a shock to you, but humans don't particularly fuss over the fact that we have flesh instead of metal," he sighed.

"I do not get why not. It is beyond nauseating to even think about. I would not survive a lifetime in that type of body," she spoke, shaking her helm.

"Yeah, well, a lifetime for you is the entire history of my planet so... I wouldn't either," he laid back onto his hands, watching the sky around him slowly change in colours as the sun began to set. "I'm going to have to get home soon,"

"Is there someone waiting for you?"

"Yeah, actually," he admitted.

"Are you not an... adult?" she questioned which he scoffed at.

"Well, I am, I guess. I'm still dependent of my parents though. I'm still studying, I don't actually have a job yet. Well, I did, but I lost it," Overshot hummed in thought.

"I would not hire you either,"

"Hey!"

"Now, from what I understand, a 'parent' is one half of the genetic material that a human is made of and it comes in pairs. It is not the same as merely half-cloning because certain genetic markers are not present in all generations. In retrospect, each person is a mutation of generations and generations of hybrid creations before them. Therefore, each human is a unique type of abomination," she nodded with certainty, Max looking up at her: lost. He was about to retort when he just stopped and sighed.

"Yeah, sure. That's exactly what it is," he sighed.

"And the genetic material fused together to create the new generation comes from the 'mother' and 'father', who both carry very different roles in the process. It is interesting that at each human's birth that they can be assigned their role in the future reproduction cycle already. Although, with transformers not involved in the production cycle, we can focus on more things that are important. That is probably why your species is still so primitive. With your short lifecycle, it makes sense that you have to constantly worry for your future generations," Max just look up at her with a tired expression and fell onto his back on his servo.

"That's not... by assigned role, do you mean gender?" he questioned.

"Yes, that would be your labels I believe. Female and male, with each having a set of features," she spoke, shrugging her shoulder pads.

"Actually, no. That's just all stereotypical. Whatever gender you are assigned at birth, isn't necessarily the gender that you are," he tried to explain.

"Oh?" was all she said, interested.

"Some feel more like a girl but were born like a boy, and some feel more like a boy but was born a girl. Some don't feel like either and some feel like both. It's a very complicated thing and many normal people don't get it either," Overshot's optical ridges narrowed.

"Ah. I understand. Your species goes on the presumption of what role they are assigned at birth in the reproduction cycle to be 'set in stone' and not adjustable. During the development of human civilisations, they split the species into two halves and now it is a conservative mind-set that cannot easily change," Max sat up at this with arms spread open.

"Exactly!"

"How captivating...we do not have that problem in our society. Although we have Cybertronians resembling your 'genders' as well, being femmes and mechs, it is completely interchangeable. Since we have bodies that can adapt and change accordingly, we can easily change our framework. We do not have genders, but to you it might seem as if we do," Max hummed in interest at that.

"I bet if humans could change their gender that easily like you can, then we wouldn't have such a huge gender problem in the first place," he grumbled.

"See? Primitive species," she shook her helm at him. "We are almost at our destination,"

"Which is where, exactly?"

"Under a mesa. It is my energon repository. I will need to consume some of it if I hope to deliver a believable human performance tomorrow," Max scoffed at this.

"Maybe I need some of that stuff then too. I don't feel I can deliver a believable human performance either," he sighed dramatically, falling onto his back with the back of his hand on his forehead.

"I will require more... terrestrial tutoring before the sunrises," Max sighed at her words.

"Yeah, I thought so too; but that doesn't change the fact that I need to get home,"

"I will accompany you," Max practically bolted into a sitting position.

"Are you mad?! I don't have a garage even big enough for your panther form!"

"Then in my holoform, then. I will leave my real body at the depository and return with you on your..." she cast an eye to his motorcycle in her servo. "Bike. I will build you a new one when I have the equipment," she sneered.

"Yeah, you better," she narrowed her optics at this.

"On second thought, I owe you nothing, human," she spoke with hidden amusement.

"Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that!" he stopped when she started to chuckle.

"We have arrived," he seemed confused since the area did not seem like it lead to a cave but after she dug away soil from the base, he saw the glimmer from metal inside the structure.

"Neat," he commented. "Is there enough oxygen in there?" Overshot shrugged as she headed in.

"Let us find out," Max quickly became sceptical. She had to place her body lights on to light the area as she headed inside, careful not to injure the human in her hand. She at least had the foresight to leave the motorcycle outside.

Inside the cube the size of the mesa, Max open gasped at the glowing crystals that seemed to go on endlessly.

"Oh wow! Is that..."

"Energon. Unrefined and raw," as she spoke, she let him down onto the bottom of the cube. "This should not take long," transforming her arm into her plasma cutter; she began to work on an energon crystal until it was a more manageable size. Throughout the process, Max kept staring at her arm in wonder. His eyes went even wider when the spike at the end of her... ponytail opened up and grabbed at the crystal, instantly liquefying and flowing through her fuel lines.

"What even is that?" Max questioned, starting at her ponytail.

"What is what?" she questioned, not looking back to him as she broke down more crystals before passing it to her ponytail.

"Your ponytail. It looks like a large tentacle or something," raising an optic ridge, she turned to cast him a confusing look. "At the back of your head," he spoke, slapping the back of his own head in demonstration.

"It is the tail from my beast mode but it doubles as a secondary energon line. It is more suitable for unrefined energon. I will create energon cubes from the crystals when I have constructed the necessary equipment," Max just nodded, trying to imagine how her transformation shifts the appendage from her helm to her lower back. Like does it roll down like a snowball or does it reattach and fly into position before attaching again? His eyes basically began to cross as his mind blew up at the thought. "I am finished," she announced.

"Great, so can we go now?" she nodded, a cheer escaping the boy.

"Move outside of the mesa. I will seal the entrance from the inside and project my holoform outside," Max nodded and headed through the pathway out of the mesa, Overshot sending a light down the path so that he could at least see. He reached outside, the pathway being covered behind him as Overshot moved the soil back in place. Not long after, her cyan-haired form appeared outside the mesa as the hologram come to life before solidifying. She lifted her own human arm and hit it with her other arm's fist, satisfied at how solid it felt.

"Do I appear real?" she questioned, dramatically stretching out her arms and turning around. "No transparent areas?" Max looked her over, trying to intently focus on her question and not how weird it was that she could project her conscious into a solid hologram.

"Yeah, looks better, just..." he peered down at her outfit which mirrored his outfit he wore the day before which had consistent of a motorcycle jacket and jeans. "That's not going to cut it if you want to buy a mine,"

"Then what do you propose?" she asked, strutting a hip out in annoyance.

"We'll do some research at my place. Come on," he spoke, lifting his motorcycle up and pulling the helmet tied to it off. He held the helmet out to her and in response; she sent him a nasty glare.

"You do know that this form is not in any danger, right?" he sighed.

"Yeah but if you didn't wear it, then my manhood will be put into question if people see us and forbid that ever happening," he rolled his eyes. She scoffed.

"Wear your own helmet, but I understand your concern," her form flickered and a helmet solidified on top of her head. "It is part of the holoform now, so best to not let it separate," he nodded, pulling his helmet on and getting onto his bike. After a moment of grumbling, Overshot got onto the bike behind him.

"You're going to need to hold on,"

"I do not need to do anything," he shrugged his shoulders.

"Suit yourself," as soon as he pulled away and gained intense momentum, Overshot felt how easily her human body could be flung around and had to latch onto Max to keep her from flying. She heard him snicker.

"Silence your amusement, terrestrial!" he shook his head and headed in the direction of the town. The town, the mine and the depository formed the three corners of a triangle, the distance between each roughly the same. In the middle of the triangle was nothing but more canyon landscapes, which in itself was a blessing as it offered more cover.

"So do you plan on moving the depository to the base when it's time?" Max decided to start a conversation on the way.

"No. If the base were ever discovered, it would be better to have the basics of my survival at an off-scene location. I will make scheduled trips to bring resources to the base for refining," she answered with a nod.

"Why does it need refining? You could use the energon pretty well just now,"

"It is in an unstable form, and during the refining process, the amount of energon able to be consumed is tripled. The crystals are extremely dense and it would be a waste to use them carelessly. On that depository alone, I should be able to thin it to an estimate of five stellar cycles," she explained.

"And a stellar cycle is...?"

"One rotation of a planet around its local sun. It is difficult to compare Cybertron's to Earth's time differences, but I should be able to make accurate calculations with a few more solar cycles,"

"And a solar cycle is...?"

"One rotation of a planet around its own axis. I appears as if I will have to teach you basic terminology if we ever hope to work together," she sighed heavily.

"Says the colossal alien trying to blend into human society,"

"For survival. I would never do this willingly," he shook his head in response.

"Who knows? You might like it,"

"Do not dwell on that idea, human,"

He rode up his driveway, Overshot peering over his shoulder at his house. She hummed in thought.

"Wealthy," she noted.

"My dad's a big machinery contractor," was all he answered, pulling out keys from his pocket and pushed a button. The garage door opened in response.

"Dad is synonymous to father?" she questioned, removing her arms from around his body and held onto the slow-moving bike herself.

"Yup," he answered simply, pulling the bike into the garage next to another luxurious car. Overshot growled at the sight.

"Will I have to meet this biological aspect of your being?" he sighed, closing the garage and the two of them dismounting the bike.

"Hopefully not. He keeps to himself in his office, but if we happen to run into him..." he trailed off, turning to face her. She raised an optic ridge, or in this form it would be an eyebrow, at him in question. "You need a human name," she vented in disbelief.

"You are insufferable,"

"You're going to need one for tomorrow anyway," he spoke, peering through the door into his house. Seeing no movement, he waved Overshot over and they entered what she assumed was the kitchen.

"Is my designation not suited enough?" he shot her a look in disbelief.

"Yeah, no. Overshot isn't exactly your typical human name. Besides, if you want to stay hidden on this planet then you shouldn't try to reveal anything about your existence. That includes your name," he led her through the dimply-lit house. She did not try to analyse her surroundings but noted that it was all... organised.

"What do you suggest then?" he shrugged his shoulders in response as they headed up to the second floor.

"I don't know. I think you should have a tough name. I feel if it were any other way, you would reprimand me,"

"What do you know? The human has the capacity to learn,"

"Yeah, well, adapt or die I guess," he opened a door for her and stood to the side to enter. She shifted her gaze from the door toward him in question. He openly groaned at this. "Right. Common curtesy doesn't apply to you," he entered through the door and waved her in, Overshot growling in response.

"Do not herd me like your cattle," Max only shook his head and closed the door behind her.

"The contractor tomorrow will probably be courteous when you first meet him and a good indication if your interview is going well is if he remains like that," he spoke, moving over towards his computer and logging in. Overshot remained in the middle of the room, circling around to peer at her surroundings.

"For how luxurious your house looks, you have a particular... taste," she commented, the dark colours surrounding her almost overwhelming. It reminded her so much of any Decepticon base. She nearly grew nostalgic at that thought but knew she had to force those kinds of thoughts down. There was no time to focus on what was no longer here.

"Yeah, well, just a thought; but I don't think you'll fair well with other types of people," he spoke from his position in front of his computer.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're an intense and intimidating alien criminal. There's not many people who would help you," he brought up some references of business outfits, scrolling through them while keeping Overshot's figure in mind.

"Do not beg for my consideration,"

"I'm not, I'm just saying it better me than someone else," he stopped momentarily, his mind drifting as he seemed to have a specific person in mind. "Anyway, I think this will look good," he pointed to a picture, Overshot heading over to peer at the photo. She smirked.

"Is this what you would wear to be 'formal'?"

"It's what you'd wear if you were going to buy businesses with pocket money," nodding, she configured her holoform to adapt to the business suit. She glanced into his mirror with a triumphant look.

"I do admit that the concept of clothes makes no sense to me, especially since it does not offer protection like a transformer's armour; this suits my aesthetic," Max chuckled at her word, spinning in his chair to face her.

"Hey! You learned a new word!" she frowned at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Aesthetic. Hey, you're learning something as well,"

"I downloaded all of your internet's dictionaries and assessed the most qualified word to express my emotions. Stop reprimanding me here, human," but he just shook his head, turning back to his computer.

"I'm going to do some searching on my phone for your name, but in the meanwhile," he pulled up a video and moved out of the way for her to see. "You can watch these," she glanced at the title of the video to see that it was a tutorial on social skills.

"You are not serious,"

"Believe me, I am," he stood up and grabbed his phone, moving towards the door.

"Where are you headed?"

"To greet my father and get some dinner," he sent her a questioning look. "You do know humans need to eat, right?" she scoffed at this.

"Of course I do. I have learned of your species' bodily cycles and the inconvenient waste disposal method. Primitive," she shook her head, Max chuckling awkwardly at that.

"Yeah, sure. I'll be back," he headed out into the hall and towards his father's study. He peered open the door and peered at the desk. Nobody was there. Frowning, he quickly headed to his father's bedroom and checked in there. Sure enough, he was fast asleep.

"What's the point of being strict about my curfew if you're not going to stay up?" he shook his head as he headed to the kitchen, searching the internet for names that might suit Overshot. He thought that he'd know it if he saw it, having seen the life model already.

He made dinner by throwing pre-made food into the oven and sat himself on the counter, scrolling through websites. As soon as he spotted one name, he immediately closed the other sites and smiled triumphantly. He had been correct.

After grabbing his lasagne, he headed back towards his room. On entering, he was struck with an interesting sight: Overshot was walking around with a prim and proper look on her face, hands moving in a gentle manner as if conversing comfortably.

"I do say, Mister Tucker, your suit hugs your form just nicely," Max sighed loudly and went to sit on his haunches, head shaking. Overshot stopped and looked at him, scowl on her face.

"What?" she demanded.

"You're trying to buy estate, not flirt with the British ambassador or something!" she titled her head at him in confusion. He stood and walked over.

"This is going to be a long night," he shook his head.

"Do you not need to recharge?"

"And let you lose the estate tomorrow which might end with me having to spare more of my time to find you a new place? No way. I like the idea of that place. It isn't too close to my personal space. Besides, I'm a college student. Who is sleep? I'm not acquainted," he fell back into his seat and swirled around to face her, lasagne in his lap. "I think I found your name, FYI," she frowned at him.

"FYI..? What is the name?" after taking a bite and swallowing, he awnsered.

"Artemis,"

"Artemis?"

"She's a goddess,"

"Well I can see where you got the idea then," he shook his head.

"She's a hunter or something,"

"Exactly what I am not,"

"It's just lore. Go with it. It fits, trust me,"

"If you say so,"