"No matter how hard it tries, darkness can never snuff out the stars, only hide them."

★☆★☆★☆★☆★

"So," Simmons begins, holding up a plastic baggie containing Sam's phone. He pulls it from the bag and faces the students, "LadiesMan217. That is your eBay username, right?"

Toby rolls her eyes, groaning loudly at the horrible account name.

"Yeah, but, you know, it was a typo and I ran with it," Sam explains, earning a louder groan from the young woman between him and Mikaela.

"It's so clearly not a typo, Sammy," she gives him an expression of annoyance.

"What do you make of this?"

Toby barely manages to restrain herself from throttling the boy beside her as her fingernails dig into her palms at the sight before her. A video plays on the small screen of the phone, displaying a very pixelated version of Bumblebee in a scrapyard, lighting up the clouds with what appears to be a beacon. Sam's squeaky, puberty-affected voice describes his car 'transforming'.

"Is that you?"

"Yeah," Mikaela speaks before Toby can say anything inhumane, "that sounds like LadiesMan."

"Last night at the station, you told the officer that your car transformed. Enlighten me."

"Well, here's what I said, okay? 'Cause this is a total misunderstanding that my car had been stolen," Sam desperately tries to dig out of the hole he's in.

"Really?"

"From me, from my home, but it's fine now because it's back! It came back!" Toby struggles to resist the temptation to hit the boy upside the head.

"Well, not by itself," Mikaela corrects him.

"Well, no," he agrees.

"Because cars don't do that; that would be crazy."

"Don't look at me, Simmons," Toby raises her hands in a display of innocence upon seeing the agent's glare set on her. "I have nothing to do with this."

There's a brief pause before Simmons decides to speak. "So what do you kids know about aliens?"

Dead silence fills the car, no one daring to say a word.

"Oh, you mean, like a Martian? Like what, E.T.?" Sam laughs nervously. "No."

"It's an urban legend," Mikaela adds on.

"They fly around in UFOs though. Like in 'Independence Day,' remember?"

"Will Smith, right?" Toby cocks her head as she strains her memory, "That was a good movie. But I know nothing of them."

"Is that so? Then how come you were measured for a number that only an alien could have?" The agent jabs an accusing finger in her direction

"Simmons," the woman laughs in confusion, "I'm as human as they come; I'm sassy, sarcastic, and take no scrap from anyone, despite preferring the whirring of engines to conversations with others."

"Enough!" Simmons snaps at the mechanic. He pulls out his badge and displays it cockily to the trio, "See this? This is an I-can-do-whatever-I-want-and-get-away-with-it badge."

"Oh, here we go..." Toby rolls her head back with a groan.

"I'm gonna lock you up forever."

"Oh, God. You know what?" Mikaela rolls her eyes in annoyance, "Don't listen to him. He's just pissy 'cause he's got to get back to guarding the mall."

An amused chuckle fills the SUV, deep and throaty from the admiration contained within. A low whistle follows soon after, a grin accompanying it.

"She's got you there, bolt head."

"You, in the training bra," Toby scowls with disgust upon hearing Simmons' words, "do not test me. Especially with your daddy's parole coming up."

"What the hell, man?" Toby growls at the agent. "That's low, even for you!"

"What? Parole?" Sam looks between the agent and his crush, both worried and confused.

"It's nothing," Mikaela's voice cracks as she attempts to deny the man's revelation.

"Oh, grand theft auto, that ain't nothing?"

"You know those cars my dad used to teach me to fix?" Sam nods slowly. "Well, they... they weren't always his."

"You stole cars?" Toby questions, though more interested by the fact that the preppy girl beside her can fix cars rather than the thievery involved.

"Well, we couldn't always afford a babysitter, so sometimes he had to take me along."

Toby goes quiet, thinking the situation over in her head. Consciously deciding that actions are better than words, she places her hands on the girl's knee in silent acceptance. The look she gives Mikaela is pitying but kind, though it turns violently threatening towards Simmons as he grins triumphantly.

"She's got her own juvie record to prove it! She's a criminal! Criminals are hot."

If it were not for the awkward position Toby sat in, she would've broken his nose with a devastating kick to his facial features. However, unable to do this, she sinks back into the car seat with a frighteningly foul glare.

A muted beeping catches the woman's attention and she grins wickedly as it gets louder. "Buckle up, folks."

Something massive slams into the windshield, effectively spinning the car around as everyone is thrown from their seats. Much to her displeasure, Toby lands between the front seats, knocking her into Simmons as he tries to grab hold of something.

"It's big! It's big!" The driver cries in terror, attempting to see the cause of their crash as a blinding light floods the shattered windscreen.

"Shut up!" Toby pushes herself back into her previous seat, fingers grazing a mild scratch oozing blood from her wrist.

A pair of servos crash through the windows and grip the roof of the vehicle with bitter remorse. The young woman cackles with glee while the others shout in terror as the servos begin to lift up. The metal of the roof creaks and groans in protest to the sudden and unwanted weight of the car. Only when her head cracks against the roof of the car does Toby truly realise the situation.

"Lean forward! Shift your weight to the front!" The metal groans once again before crumpling like paper in Optimus' servos as the car falls free. Toby screams in shock at the unexpected weightlessness and clutches the seat below her in hopes of staying upright. The car slams into the road, causing the group to holler in surprise. Given a moment to recover, they look up to see their reason of crashing. The young woman grins wildly at the massive figure, chuckling darkly at Simmons' unfortunate luck as the floodlight goes out.

"You a-holes are in trouble now," Sam leans forward to speak directly to the agents in front, a smirk playing on his lips. "Gentlemen, I want to introduce you to my friend, Optimus Prime."

The Autobot leader scans the agents with a sour expression. "Taking the children was a bad move," he growls, making Toby shudder as she imagines having his anger directed at her. Multiple agents run out from their stopped vehicles, pointing their guns at the Prime.

'What the hell is a minuscule bullet gonna do to a giant robotic organism that could theoretically take a mine?'

"Autobots, relieve them of their weapons."

Toby watches in amused fascination as the Autobots swing out from beneath a nearby bridge, shaking the ground as they land. Ironhide is the first to greet the mass of agents, and his cannons fire up in anticipation, their bits spinning eagerly at the thought of bloodshed.

"Freeze!" He shoves the barrel of his guns closer to the men and forces them back a bit.

Jazz reaches his servo out and twitches his digits slightly. "Give me those!" The guns fly out of the hands of the agents and land in the Autobot's outstretched servo.

Hands shoot up in a display of surrender, and Simmons tries to calm the situation, much to Toby's amusement.

Optimus brings himself to his knees, leaning forward to inspect the Sector Seven agents, his gaze lingering on Simmons.

"Hi there," the man's voice raises a pitch, easing a scoff from the woman behind him.

"You don't seem afraid. Are you not surprised to see us?"

"Look, there are Sector Seven protocols, okay?" He stands slowly, hands high above his head, "I'm not authorised to communicate with you except to tell you that, I can't communicate with you."

"What he means is that he's not surprised to see you," Toby informs Optimus, twiddling around with something in her fingers. "They've encountered aliens before. Though, unfortunately, I don't know who; could be Autobots, could be Decepticons—I have no clue."

Simmons shot the woman a glare, attempting to shut her up before she can say much else. She shrugs, a pleased smile stretching her lips, and grabs the seat in front of her to stand—her handcuffs falling off her wrists.

"How do you know this?" Mikaela tilts her head curiously.

"As I said; I was a nosy child," she grins and hurls herself out of the car wreck onto the glass strewn concrete. "Mom encouraged it. Dad? Dad wanted me out of the way."

"Get out of the car," Optimus demands calmly, though loses his temper as the agent takes his precious time.

"Me? You want me to—"

"Now!" Toby jumps several feet in the air at the Autobot's dramatic change in tone, landing her on Ratchet's pede with a squeak.

"Sorry, Ratchet," the woman slides off and smiles apologetically up at him before joining up with the children.

"You weren't supposed to hear all that," the girl picks Sam's handcuffs hastily, looking desperate and sorry for herself. "Sam, I have a record because I wouldn't turn my dad in. When have you ever sacrificed anything in your perfect little life?"

"Kid," Toby pats Mikaela's shoulder, shooting a death glare at the boy, "if he doesn't accept your past or even try to understand it, I'll be here for you."

"How did you get your handcuffs off?"

"Ah, now you see, I work with a lot of small wires and parts, which is why I was handcuffed with my hands in front; so they could see what I was doing," the mechanic twitches her fingers cheekily.

"You've caused these guys a lot of trouble, haven't you?" Mikaela asks with a smirk.

"You have no idea," Toby grins wickedly, "ready to cause some more?"

"What is Sector Seven?" Sam demands, storming over to a muttering Simmons. "Answer me!"

"I'm the one who'll be asking the questions, not you, young man!" The agent roars in fury.

"How'd you know about the aliens?" The girl nods to the Autobots around them.

"Where did you take my parents?"

"I'm not at liberty to discuss it," Simmons states.

"Answer their questions, bolt head!" The young woman growls and watches with great amusement as Sam reaches into the agent's suit pocket, looking for an item she very much wants to destroy.

"Hey, you touch me, that's a federal offence."

"Oh, yeah?" Sam smirks as he pulls out the badge. "The do-whatever-you-want-and-get-away-with-it-badge, huh?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I've got dibs on that!" Toby jumps up, scaring Sam out of his Witwicky wits.

"What, on this?" The boy looks puzzled as he holds up the badge.

"Yup, 'had dibs on it for several years now," she snatches it from his stiff fingers and examines it with mock interest before throwing it harshly on the ground. A satisfying crunch sounds from beneath her shoe, causing the woman to grin triumphantly.

"Great, brave now all of a sudden, with your big alien friends over there."

Toby laughs hysterically at Simmons' 'observation', earning her some concerned looks from Autobots and humans alike. When she finally calms down enough for words, she saunters closer to the agent with a wild grin, causing him to back away slightly.

"Listen here, bolt head," she leans forward, jabbing a finger to Simmons' chest and invading his personal space. "I would take you on with or without my good friends here. Besides," she pats her shorts pocket, "why use an alien gun when you can use your own?"

The agent gulps nervously, only regaining his courage when the woman turns away. "You're just like your mother; she was always getting into things she shouldn't have, causing trouble wherever she went. But she was a worm, a para—"

A gun barrel presses against the temple of the man, the unusual source of power whirring angrily at his insults. Toby's bright blue eyes appear to turn black, the shadows of her layered hair deepening the lines of her face. Her lips draw back in a furious snarl and her body tremors with immense withstraint.

"I don't want a man's blood on my hands, so don't give me a reason to spill it," the sound that leaves her lips is so inhuman, that even the Autobots step back.

"N-n-now," Simmons begins, hands shaking in fear, "w-we wou-ldn't w-w-ant to-to do an-anything rash, would w-we?"

"Shall we find that out?" The whirring gains volume and Ironhide finds himself trying to ease the woman away from her target.

"Easy, there, Toby. Shoot and you're worse than him," he kneels to be closer to her level, voice soft.

"Am I?" She tilts her head to regard the weapons specialist, but keeps her eyes locked on the quivering agent. "My mother was a happy woman, 'Hide. She worked from home to care for me, while my father was away for months at a time, but we were happy. Then one day, this fragger of a glitch decided to stick his big nose in where it shouldn't be and tear it all apart. I was nine years old when he started confiscating all of my mother's private work; all her creations, all her blueprints, and all her written quantum theories. He took my father's attention from our family and made him stay away longer. Imagine if all that happened to you within a year. You'd get stressed. You'd get anxious. You'd get sick."

Silence follows her words, only broken by a quiet sniffle from the woman.

"Mom got sick, very sick. She stopped working, she stopped laughing, she stopped singing. She never stopped smiling," Toby chokes a laugh, hardened demeanour gone, replaced with red eyes and a shiny nose, tears falling down her cheeks, "and she made sure I was comfortable even if it pained her to breathe. I was eleven, only three days after my birthday, when it happened. He is the reason that I watched the light fade from my mom's eyes!" Anger burns in her eyes as her body stiffens, pressing the gun harder to Simmons' head, causing an immediate reaction among the humans. Ratchet moves into a position that he can pick up Toby if he must, but does not suspect that he will need to. The gun falls to the concrete with a clatter as the woman's hand falls to her side, tears streaming down her face. "But I won't do what you did to me."

Ratchet offers his servo to allow her to escape the infuriating man, but she ignores him, her features twisting with rage and her knuckles popping as her fingers curl into fists. The woman spins on a dime and draws back her arm, muscles straining with contained strength. Her fist collides with the agent's nose, causing a satisfying crunch. Before the man can stumble, her free hand grasps his jacket and hauls him closer to her.

"That was for stealing my blueprints," she punches him again and releases her grip, "and that was for insulting my mom."

"Toby," Ratchet warns, earning a surrendering sigh from the woman as she backs away from the situation and hops on his open servo.

Simmons holds his nose gingerly as blood runs down his face. "You little—"

"It would not be wise to antagonise her further," the medic informs the agent, sensing Toby's blood pressure spike as he places her on his shoulder.

"That is true," the woman crosses her arms, looking unimpressed.

"She's a wild animal!"

"That is also true," she snarls. "If you say another word to me, the only thing you'll be wanting for Christmas is your two front teeth."

"Remind me never t' piss ya off," Jazz shuffles uncomfortably at the feral grin he receives.

"Don't worry, you'll be duly informed beforehand."

"That's a lil' reassurin'," the lieutenant shifts on his pedes, feeling unsettled.

"Where is Sector Seven?" Sam questions the now injured Seymour Simmons.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He growls, still holding his nose.

Toby opens her mouth to speak but shuts it upon watching something hit Simmons on the head. He rubs the spot it hit curiously before being drenched by some kind of liquid. The woman snorts with laughter as she realises that 'Bee is the cause for the agent's sudden misfortune as the 'bot 'pees' on him. Though she suspects that the liquid is more likely to be a lubricant of sorts.

"Bumblebee, stop lubricating the man," Toby grins widely as she hears the mild amusement in Optimus' voice.

She watches from her perch while Sam and Mikaela handcuff the agents together in a long line.

"Alright, tough guy, take it off," the girl gestures to Simmons with a hand on her hip.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your clothes, all of it, off," Mikaela narrows her gaze at the agent.

"For what?"

"For threatening my dad."

Toby would have laughed, she really would've, but her attention is on the agent beside Simmons. For whatever reason, one of his hands rests inside his jacket, almost like he's hiding something. However, she tears her gaze from the suspicious man to watch Simmons unbutton his dress shirt.

Her eyes glint mischievously upon seeing the Superman-style 'S7' logo printed on his undershirt. A mocking wolf whistle pierces the night air as the moonlight reveals Simmons' Hawaiian print underwear.

Several eyes shift to look at Toby as she chuckles at the agent's humiliating position. She shrugs silently and pulls out her phone to remember the moment, angling the flip phone camera to only capture Simmons in all his glory.

"Ratchet," Toby taps the medic's shoulder to gain his attention, "if you could put me down, I would greatly appreciate it."

Ratchet checks her blood pressure quickly and nods when he deems her calm.

"Thanks."

She slides onto his servo and waits patiently while he lowers her to the ground. Toby jogs over to the to kids, eyes locked behind them. Just as they turn away from the handcuffed agents, she pounces forward and snatches something from an agent's hand.

"Sorry y'all had t' hear that," she begins, holding the phone to her ear, "but I'm afraid the show's over for t'night."

She picks up her gun from the ground and spins to face the curious faceplates of the Autobots. The phone clicks, ending the call, and she rotates her finger to gesture to everyone.

"Alright, folks, we've gotta wrap this up! The fez'll be on our tailpipes in a sec'!"

"She's right! We have incoming!" Ironhide informs Optimus before crouching low to the ground with a cannon on the cement. The blast flares blue, a shockwave knocking the incoming cars off course as their wheels slide on the tarmac.

"Toby!" Ratchet calls the woman. "Up you get."

Toby holds his digits tightly, trying to keep her balance as he transforms into his alternate mode. She finds herself in the passenger seat of the medic's first responder vehicle form, clutching the seat nauseously. The seatbelt clicks into place and the woman shifts her grip to hold it instead.

Ratchet drifts into an empty alley, struggling to evade the helicopters now in pursuit of his neon behind. The woman shuts her eyes as physical laws seek to claim her from her seat.

"Left!"

"What?"

"You heard me! Sharp left!" She curses loudly as Ratchet misses the turning, "Doc! You've got to listen to me! I know these streets like the back of my hand!"

The medic growls at the nickname, and turns right into another alley. A dead end. Toby curses again and fights the seatbelt off her, causing Ratchet to shake his alt to keep her from standing.

"If you're not gonna listen, let me drive!"

"What on Cybertron do you mean?"

"I'll explain later, just give me the wheel!" She hits the medic's steering wheel harshly and throws herself into the driver's seat, "Forgive me for this."

Ratchet doesn't get a chance to respond as the woman twists his wheel and forces him to take a sharp right onto a street running below the highway. Sirens call out from behind them, urging Toby to forcefully direct the medic between civilian vehicles. Seeing a familiar exit, she spins Ratchet around a city bus and takes him down an abandoned street, the houses and apartments empty of residents.

Garbage flies into the air as they zoom down the dusty avenue, the black cars not ceasing in their attempts to capture the two runaways.

Toby changes Ratchet's gear and spins him between two houses and through the overgrown backyards. Repeating the process several times, the pair are rewarded with the sound of fading engines, but the relief is short lived when the medic realises where they are.

"Are you insane?"

"Quite possibly," Toby grits her teeth as her protector readies an argument. "Look, Doc, I know what I'm doing."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes!" A growl escapes her throat. "There's a drainage pipe in the canal where we can hide until they're gone."

"You're speaking as though you've done this before."

"Of course I have!" She snaps, silencing the medic. "Anything to do with mechanics and cars; I've done. And that includes street racing."

Something collides with Ratchet's passenger door, throwing the woman into his driver side door as glass rains down on her. Her head cracks against the metal, knocking her unconscious with blood running down her forehead. The medic growls through his radio and rams the attacking vehicle, sending it spinning off the road in an act of revenge.

"Toby," he calls the woman, unable to scan her in his current situation. The only reply he receives is a small groan, though he vents in relief and tightens his seatbelt around her.

"Now I understand why distracted driving is frowned upon," her voice is weak, but still holds her humour. "You're gonna have to weave through the buildings until you lose them, I can't act as your GPS."

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck. My vision won't clear and it feels like someone's drilling a jackhammer into my skull," Toby holds a shaking hand to her head, wishing the pounding sensation will go away.

"You may have a concussion; I will scan you when we stop."

The woman hums softly, wincing as the medic goes over a pothole and the hammering in her head flares angrily.

★☆★☆★☆★☆★

Another chapter completed! The following ones might take a while though, I have to copy them from paper.

If you guys have any thoughts you want to share about Toby, or what you think my plans for her are, feel free to comment!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Drag0nRider out!