The entire city of Detroit was coated in white; an unexpected snowfall brought in from the lake and dumped onto the streets, rooftops and awnings.
Most of the civilians were able to find shelter before the worst hit, but there always were those who thought they could make it, those that told themselves 'It's not that bad out there,' the ones who were then stranded on the side of the road or their cars plowed into drifts that seemed to just appear out of nowhere.

Fortunately, the Autobots were able to get out of the plant to lend aid, though it wasn't exactly what they'd wanted to spend all night doing.

"Do we look like Rescue Bots...!?" Bumblebee mumbled under his breath as he yanked a small sedan loose from a drift. "There are so many other things we could be doing right now if people just stayed out of this stuff."
He jumped as a snowball smashed into his back, and whipped around to look at Bulkhead.

"What? I didn't do anything." Bulkhead lied, avoiding his friend's gaze and hands behind his back.

"Keep focused, Team." Optimus looked off in the distance, to where the sky was beginning to lighten once more, dawn stretching to pull itself out from under the covers of night. "...We're almost finished."

Things had been mostly quiet these days, which was just fine for Optimus. There were minimal criminals to deal with, no Decepticons threatening mankind, and finally, no looming presence of the Decepticon Leader Megatron.
Optimus still bore a few scars from that final confrontation, but he'd gained something more important to him: He'd gotten out from under the events that had transpired all those stellar cycles ago; he wasn't remembered as the Academy washout that 'barely' made it to Prime, he was remembered as the bot that finally ended Megatron's tyranny.

It wasn't the fame that he'd wanted from it, but rather the freedom, the burden of that fated trip off of his shoulders and letting him become more than just a maintenance bot.

The only bot who still hung onto that day was Sentinel. He'd never let Optimus forget that day. Elita One was gone, only Black Arachnia. After the events on Dinobot Island, Optimus had heard news that a large spider had been spotted somewhere in Africa. The two may never see each other again, she may not even want to see him again, but it at least gave Optimus comfort that she was still functional; perhaps one day, she would learn to forgive them and come back to their side, but that was to be on her terms, not his.

"And once again..." Bumblebee looked around the street, "...Prowl has disappeared."

"Prowl, you sleeping in one of the drifts again!?" Bulkhead hollered.

They searched the area for a few seconds, before a black head peeked out of one of the drifts, shaking snow from his head. "There he is."

Prowl pulled himself loose of the drift, walking on all fours down from the top before taking a seat. "My apologies for dozing off again... It's just-"

"Instinct, we know." Optimus interrupted.

The bots had all nearly had spark attacks when Prowl suddenly showed up at the plant as a cat one night. He'd been reformatted by the Allspark, reborn into a being that resembled the organic life he'd loved so much, while still being fully mechanical: A black panther, still as quiet and stealthy as he'd been before, if not even more so.

Sentinel had almost shot the ninja the first time he saw him, thinking he was one of Black Arachnia's techno-organic experiments, and even after explaining the situation, the Elite Guard still kept his distance.

But the transformation had brought with it some cat-like instincts, like hissing when startled and being awake all night with long naps during the day. While this meant he'd been plenty of help during the night, his energy was now spent and he was falling into one of his slumps.

Optimus nudged the cat-bot back up to his feet before his comm. link beeped. "Professor Sumdac?"

...Sentinel Prime is here at the Spacebridge. Professor Sumdac whispered quickly, He does not want to talk to me.

Optimus groaned, "Tell him to meet us at the plant and we'll be there shortly..." He muttered, "Come on Team, Sentinel's given us an unexpected visit."

"Joy..." Bumblebee muttered as they all met up and then transformed into vehicle mode.

"Autobots, roll out."

________________________________________________________________________

Jetfire was bored, not that he'd outwardly admit it in front of Sentinel Prime. He'd made that mistake once before, and was given the job of scrubbing every inch of the Steelhaven's exterior as 'something to do.'

He could feel that his twin was the same, but there was also a hint of humor sifting through their bond, as if Jetstorm was keeping himself occupied by thinking of something funny.

Sentinel Prime and Jazz stood a little ways ahead of them, the Elite Guard standing a good ways from the piles of white that had covered the entire city. Jazz however, was investigating the substance, running it through his hands and then watching it melt against his plating.

"Tiny, frozen crystals of liquid... Crazy...!" He whispered.

Jetstorm inched slowly closer to a pile of the white, taking a feel for himself. "...I was seeing small organics throwing it at each other."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Sentinel muttered, "And you're supposed to be at attention!"

Jetstorm returned to his position beside his brother, and Jetfire felt a pulse of irritation come through the bond. The orange jettwin gave his brother a smile, and Jetstorm finally smiled back.

For as long as the two had been under Sentinel Prime's command, they'd idolized him, fawning over his stories of battle and valor. But the longer they were with the Elite Guard, the more they began to question just how much of those stories were complete fantasy or partial fabrication. These days, Optimus seemed to be a better role model to idolize than Sentinel.

"It's about time!" Sentinel announced as Optimus and his team came rolling up from elsewhere in the city. "When I come for a surprise inspection of your base, I expect you to be present!"

"We were busy protecting civilians, Sentinel." Optimus transformed into bot mode, poking a finger to Sentinel's chestplate. "Something you could be doing a better job at."

"Are you scolding me, Optimus!? Or have you forgotten that I outrank you!?"

"How could I forget? You never stop bringing it up. You should have come and helped, Sentinel." Optimus offered with a false smile, "We could've used your plow to help clear the streets."

"His chin would've worked too..." Jetstorm mumbled, and Jetfire slapped a hand over his mouth to keep from bursting into laughter.

The bots all then turned as Sari came flying in from down the street. "Morning Guys!" She greeted with a smile, and then a frown and narrowed eyes as she looked at the visiting Prime. "...Sentinel."

Sentinel groaned, "I know you're all for co-op engagements with the natives Optimus, but does the Techno-Organic have to be here too...!?"

Optimus rolled his optics as Sari gave a pout, but lifted a hand to stop her from giving a retort. "Sari is as much a part of our team as any of the rest of us." He informed, "So yes, she will be here too."

"I am seeing no problems with the tiny half-bot femme being here..." Jetstorm whispered to his twin, "...She does keep our visits less boring."

"Agreed, Brother..." Jetfire replied, both returning to standing at attention when Sentinel looked their way. "...The organic things of this planet are not all bad, right?"

"Right..."

"Let's just get your surprise inspection over with," Optimus faked a smile, "So you can then go right back to the fully-mechanical streets of Cybertron."

"Yes. Let us." Sentinel turned to the jettwins, "Jetfire, Jetstorm, stand on guard outside of the base in case we are attacked."

"Sir yes sir!" The twins announced, and then watched their superior officer follow Optimus and his team into the plant. As soon as the door was closed however, the orange jettwin broke formation and bent down, scooping a handful of snow into his hands.

"What are you doing, Brother?" Jetstorm inquired, yelping as his brother then tossed the handful at him, the projectile exploding against his armor with a soft thump. "Hey!"

"Sentinel Prime did not say we could not be having fun while we guard, did he?" Jetfire teased, and after a moment Jetstorm's lips curled into a grin.

"Yes... And the likeliness of any attacking is small...You are going to be beaten down with the cold, frozen whiteness!" He announced as he grabbed some snow as well. "No mercy!"

________________________________________________________________________

By the time Sentinel came anywhere near the outside, the twins were both worn out from their snowball fight and their systems were suggesting they seek some warmer surroundings.

They returned to their guard stations as the doors opened again, and their team and the Earth-Assigned team exited back out into what Optimus had referred to as snow. Both primes were muttering about something under their breath, but Optimus had a slight smile on his faceplate where Sentinel's was a scowl.

"Everything is being in order?" Jetfire inquired, and earned a nod from Jazz.

"We're leaving." Sentinel ordered, and then transformed into vehicle mode. Jazz followed, and then the twins followed suit, taking off ahead of the ground-bound members of their race to return to Sumdac Tower and it's Spacebridge.

"Are you thinking that something is troubling, Brother?" Jetstorm inquired.

"What are you meaning, Brother?"

"I do not know... I am just feeling like something is going to be happening...And not a good something."

The pair landed on the rooftop of Sumdac Tower, transforming into bot mode. "Are you feeling more detail about this...'Bad Something?'"

Jetstorm shook his head, "It is like a darkness, growing slowly and reaching at me."

Jetfire placed an arm around his brother's shoulders, "I will not be letting it take you, Brother."

"Neither will I be letting it hurt you...But what is it? I am not knowing...!"

It took the other bots several minutes to reach the rooftop via the elevator, which left the two bots alone and pulsing reassurance between each other.
Jetfire did not like how much distress this bad feeling his brother felt was affecting him; his brother had always been the one to take on the protective role, even back before they were the test subjects of Project: Safeguard. Now, it seemed that Jetfire had the chance to be the reassuring one.

"You couldn't have waited for us...?" Bumblebee muttered as they marched out of the elevator.

"But we did wait on you." Jetfire responded, "We are still here, are not we?"

"Why are we even being here anyways?" Jetstorm mumbled, "We were not even needing to help with anything."

"Well as always, it's been a pleasure..." Prowl purred as he took a seat beside Bulkhead, "...Such a shame you had to leave so early."

"Keep your attitude to yourself, Organic-Moder." Sentinel hissed at the cat-bot, only to have Sari fly up into his face.

"You be nice! He saved the galaxy, and that includes your sorry a-"

"That's enough bickering, Sari..." Optimus interrupted, gently tugging Sari back from out of his rival's faceplate. "...We'll be seeing each other again soon, I'm sure."

Sentinel's optics narrowed, "I've got my eye on you, Optimus...On all of you."

Professor Sumdac looked relieved when the Spacebridge portal was activated and the orb of energy began to expand; finally the annoying Prime was leaving them alone for a little while.

However, that relief was quickly replaced by concern as the controls began to crackle with electricity and alarms began blaring from it.

"What's going on?" Bumblebee asked, looking to the human at the controls.

"The controls are malfunctioning! I cannot control the Spacebridge's energy output!"

The orb was continuing to grow, but its surface was shifting color, going from swirling blue and green to streaks of purple pulsing through it and bursting off like solar flares.

"In other words..." Jazz reported, "GET DOWN!!!"

The Spacebridge projection then exploded, shooting energy out in all directions and the bots were thrown off of their feet and across the rooftop. A deafening BOOM shook the air and from the street below, a ring of purple and white light shot out across the sky before dissipating.

The bots remained still for a few moments, giving pained moans and groans as they eventually encouraged their bodies to move again. Pieces of the Spacebridge's arch were littered across the rooftop like confetti, some stabbed into the concrete just inches from one of the disoriented cybertronians' armor.

Optimus lay on his back, staring up at the smoky sky for just a moment before rolling over onto his hands and knees with the loud creaking of metal. "I'll be feeling that later...! E-Everyone alright...?"

There was a general murmuring of confirmation from the bots, and Optimus saw Sari's energy shield flickering as she held it up to defend her father from the debris. Her hands were trembling, and the shield finally flickered out of existence and the techno-organic collapsed into her father's arms.

"Sari!" Professor took his daughter's head into his hands, worry crossing his face until she lifted a hand to pat his shoulder.

"I'm fine...!" Sari panted, giving a weak smile. "Just need to...rest for a second."

Optimus gave a sigh of relief, the organic and semi-organic members of the team were unharmed; however, a sudden cry brought his attention back to the others.

"Brother!?" Jetfire asked, looking around the space. "Brother, where are you? Brother!"

The other bots all looked around as well, but the blue jettwin was nowhere to be seen. "Jetstorm!?" Optimus called.

"...You don't think he got-" Bumblebee was cut off by Prowl putting a hand over his mouth.

"Don't stress Jetfire out further..." The cyber-ninja hissed, and then turned back to the junior officer. "I'm sure he's alright, Jetfire. We'll keep looking..."

Jetfire's optics were wide with fear as he searched the area for his sibling, "Brother, where are you!?" He cried.

Sentinel tapped his comm link. "Jetstorm, report!" There was nothing but static. "Jetstorm, report! This is no time to be playing around!"

"Maybe he was transwarped somewhere." Bulkhead suggested, giving a look at what was left of the Spacebridge.

"But none of the rest of us were!" Bumblebee argued, "Why would it only be just him?"

Jetfire paused and looked around, placing his hands over his chest plate and spark. "Brother...I am feeling him...But I don't see him, and it is faint."

"Can you track him, Fire?" Jazz asked.

Jetfire looked thoughtful, but shook his head. "No...I cannot track where he is...He is hurting..."

"But we have no idea where he is. Brilliant." Sentinel growled, "One of my soldiers is missing and we have no idea how to find him!"

"We'll find him, Sentinel." Optimus insisted, "First, we need to figure out what caused him to disappear in the first place." The Prime got to his feet, "Ratchet, help Bulkhead evaluate the damage to the Spacebridge controls. Everyone else, search this base from top to bottom for any sign of Jetstorm."

Jetfire was up and moving long before Sentinel got into his usual argument with Optimus over who was in charge and should be giving orders. He limped across the rooftop, searching anywhere that his brother might be behind or under, all the while using his spark to feel if he was getting closer.

"Brother... Brother, please be okay..."