"So, you really know nothing about that thing?" Blurr questioned quickly, Marissa nodding despite being unsure whether or not he could actually see her.

         "Just that it calls to your guy's sparks. I hope I didn't ruin anything when I took it to a jeweler's shop so I could wear it as a bracelet in Mission City." She ran her fingers across the cool metal, watching as threads flickered like moving glass and plasma. 

     Upon observing it, she had realized the closer it was to a Cybertronian (or Velocitronian), the more obviously it moved. It still did very little and warmed only slightly with Marissa's touch, but the show had become enthralling to watch. 

         "Yup, and the closer we are too it the stronger the feeling." The speedster would have nodded. "Not a lot to go on but we could have less."

         :We could also have more.: Knockout complained. :Let's not forget it releases a little more energy when the human femme touches it.:

         "It does?" Marissa marveled at the idea, taking the thing off her wrist and placing it in front of her face on the padded floor. "I thought I'd be rather insignificant in this whole debacle."

         :To be frank you probably are.: The cherry colored mech continued. :You don't appear to be getting weaker so it's most likely not syphoning your energy, however, as it seems the most exposed on the top, it could be a cry for help.:

     Confused at the hypothesis, the two's human charge asked for clarification. Blurr tried to explain it politely but Knockout spared little as he insulted her. In short, the device doesn't like being touched by alien hands, especially hands that secrete oil and sweat. She was, basically, a grubby, disgusting alien lifeform and the thing on her wrist felt threatened. That's why it had not called to the sparks of others until after she picked it up. Marissa asked if it still called to their sparks now that it was off her wrist, to which both claimed that it did. 

         "What if I just- maybe I woke it up." She decided to make her own hypothesis, one that wasn't so insulting. "Or maybe I boosted its signal. Humans are literally balls of living energy and electricity. Just by standing next to a radio we can either disrupt the signal or boost it. My dad's old dial radio can't be past a six-foot radius of someone without going to static."

         "That's a thought." Blurr agreed. "You humans do have an electric field."

     Knockout muttered something about said field being rather insignificant. He didn't think such a small amount of electricity could possibly boost the strange device enough to affect all sparks on earth, however, Marissa had a point. But then why didn't it have a signal when surrounded by the number of putrid humans in Mission City? Surely that would have been more of a boost than one smelly little farm girl.

         "How long has it been since we left Starscream and Barricade?" Marissa questioned after a short silence. She wasn't surprised when Blurr answered with the measly time of an hour.

         :We'll be stopping at this power plant so I can take a look at Blurr's comm.: Knockout explained. :If it's reparable without too many resources than we can contact the Autobots.:

         "So, you guys can repair each other too?" 

         "Knockout is better than most," Blurr admitted, "considering he's a field medic."

         :And surgeon.: The vain mech was probably grinning.

     The woman in Blurr's subspace blinked. The narcissistic and egotistical, cherry colored sportscar: a medic? He had no signs of holding one repair item for any such occasion, God forbid such an occasion arises. He didn't sound like a doctor either, he wasn't serious enough. Her first line of thought was along the lines of 'I'll believe it when I see it', but she only hummed. If that was the truth than she didn't want to be under his scalpel because she made him mad for insulting him. 

     When the trio finally stopped, Marissa was allowed to see them both in their alternate forms. Knockout had clearly appreciated human design, being an Aston Martin, while Blurr remained in his strange, alien model. The only way the woman could describe it was the Batmobile crossed with a dolphin and a plane. When they transformed, Knockout immediately cursed at the state of his dented form, fretting over his forearm's dented doors and the unfortunate broken head light. Blurr only shook his angular helm and sat on a concrete building before the mech stopped his fussing and started working on the other's comm. 

     The human in their presence was quite fascinated as Knockout completely removed a panel of Blurr's head. She noted Blurr was already tapping his pede not five minutes into the procedure while Knockout meticulously picked through the wiring and gears. The red mech was completely focused, serious and silent. Marissa knew he took his profession seriously, then, and Blurr was in good hands, however impatient he may become.

     The blue mech apparently complained about Knockout's pace, leading to the doctor stopping his work altogether after Blurr moved one too many times. Several words were passed between them, of which their charge couldn't understand anything before Knockout was allowed to continue. 

     To keep his helm steady Knockout held the strange fin at the top and worked with one servo. Marissa noted it was a slower process but if Blurr wasn't used to sitting still than she understood why he'd be so impatient. Once the process was over with, Knockout left the mech alone and fretted over his finish in whatever language he spoke. Marissa took the opportunity to speak with Blurr without the vain medic's comments.

         "If it makes you feel any better, my brother doesn't like sitting still for very long, either." She shrugged. "He hates doctor visits too."

     To this, the blue mech laughed. 

         "Sounds like my kind of guy." The quick tone had slowed enough that the human femme could understand. "He like going fast too?"

         "Oh, sure." Marissa nodded. "He works at a garage to repair cars, and he plans on getting an old Mustang in the future. Though he'd rather work on Formula One racing cars." She watched as the now standing mech paced and tapped the panel Knockout had removed earlier. Nothing seemed to be happening as the mech frowned. "How does your communication system work, anyway?" The woman decided to ask. "I didn't see a button."

     There was a short silence before Blurr answered, meaning he was concentrating more on his message.

         "There's all sorts of comms." He stated, still with two digits pressed to his helm lightly. "Mine reads the energy signature from two digits, others have a magnet inlaid, some have a button like you said."

         "Those who can handle multi-tasking have the coding to simply think and a message can be sent." Knockout informed as he ran a buffer along his arm. Where he got it, Marissa wasn't sure. "Or a call can be made but that's not very common."

         "What's the most common?" Her interest was genuine, but also she wanted to see if Knockout was anything like Barricade when answering curious questions.

         "Most common is actually the magnet." He explained, seeming bored. "The energy from two digits isn't always reliable when low on energon and a button is easily tampered with. The coding has only been used on roughly five bots that I know of: four because I installed it and the fifth because I've seen him use it. Though It's been a long time since those statistics were made."

         "Well, who are they?"

         "Primus, you are a little pool of never-ending questions, aren't you?" The mech rolled his optics before glaring, but despite the insult, he continued. "The one I saw was the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. The four I had installed myself were Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave and Shockwave. You know one of them."

         "Let's hope he's the only one of them you meet." Blurr transformed. "Put the buffer away, we need to get out of here in case whoever found my transmission isn't a welcome party."

         "It worked?" Marissa watched as the glass on Blurr's form moved up, and the viewing hole expanded so she could hop in.

         "Sort of," he admitted, "I could only send a broad transmission. It's roughly coded but if a 'Con smart enough receives it, they'll know where we're going. The Autobots know me well enough to understand it."

     Knockout hid the buffer wherever he retrieved it and transformed. The trio was back on the road within seconds, unknowing of whether or not Blurr's transmission would get them the help they wanted. They hoped so, despite Knockout's complaints of having enemies on both sides. 

)-/\-(

     Far behind them, an Autobot squealed at the news he had received, making Sam jump from his half-asleep dream.

         "What is it? 'Cons?" He questioned, but Bumblebee was too excited to properly use his radio. Instead, the young mech opened a comm link to everyone, and forwarded the transmission. 

         :You have got to be kidding me. Blurr and Knockout?: Ironhide complained.

         :Who's Blurr?: Sam heard Miles question.

         :Another Velocitronian.: Ratchet informed. :He had been missing in action for eons and was pronounced offline near the height of the war. It's a good thing he is with Knockout, then. We may have gained two allies, despite one's questionable aura. Blurr may keep the other in check.:

         :But is my daughter safe?: Shane demanded clarification on the matter.

         :The transmission Bumblebee received claims that Starscream was wounded,: Optimus spoke, :that means Barricade is the only one pursuing them. I believe your daughter is safe for the time being. We must make haste, and intercept our long lost friend.:

         "Another Autobot!" Mikaela cheered after the comm was closed. "Why does that make you grumpy, Ironhide?"

     The heavy hitter huffed.

         "Blurr is fast, sure, but in everything. You can't hardly understand him when he talks. You can't nearly hit him, either."

     Mikaela merely laughed. Of course her guardian would be perturbed by the fact he couldn't hit his target. From his disliking of the mech so far, she guessed this Blurr character was a prankster like Bee tended to act. 

         "I won't ask about Knockout then."

         "A good thing." Ironhide gave his curt approval as they turned, following the coded directions given by Blurr as to where the two speedsters were headed.

     Shane Faireborn and William Lennox sat in tense silence. Lennox wondered if he should say something, as he had little to do except search through the internet and government files for meteors and alien sightings outside of the U.S.A. It was slow going, so why not try to make conversation again? However, Shane didn't seem all that talkative after their first conversation. The father was merely brooding over the safety of his daughter. 

     There was no way she felt safe going 600 MPH down a highway meant for speeds far lower. She could be freaking out silently and politely. Or asking to go faster in fear of being caught by her two abductors. As he thought, he realized she wouldn't complain about the speeds as long as she was no longer being threatened with getting her arm pulled off like he had heard before the two monsters left their home.

         "I'm sorry if I came off as rude." Shane suddenly spoke, earning Lennox's attention. "I'm worried for my daughter, as a father should worry, but I should not take that out on those trying to help me."

     The officer in the driver's seat shrugged.

         "I'd be worried too if it was my own daughter." His statement earned a melancholic expression from the other passenger. After mulling it over, William understood what Ironhide had meant earlier on their journey. "She's my world, I can't imagine her being in any more danger than she might already be just by my being here."

     Nodding, the older father heaved a heavy sigh. Closing his eyes, he thought of his wife and her tears before he left to chase after his daughter and her captors.

         "When this is done," Shane hummed, "how about you stay for dinner sometime? An apology isn't an apology without one of my wife's cheesecakes. Marissa makes a delicious roast, as well. Bring the three kids too, they'd get along with my boy Lucas, I bet."

         "How many kids do you have?" Lennox chuckled.

         "Three." the pepper-haired man answered with a soft but proud smile. "Jesse is my oldest. She lives in Mission City. It was attacked by terrorists- uh- well, that's what we were told. Knowing it was you guys doesn't make it better but at least we know the truth."

         "Glad she was safe, then." Lennox cringed.

         "She makes a good living with her hair salon, so she's not in need or anything." The man chuckled. "That wasn't near the attack site, so she'll get back on her feet soon enough. Lucas is the second born. He lives in town working at an auto shop. How many have you had?"

         "Just the one, Annabelle." The Colonel informed with a soft smile. "She was born after I was deployed. I wasn't able to see her until after being attacked by alien robots."

         "Thank God you lived to tell the tale." Shane nodded. "Children are a blessing. Let's pray no harm comes to either of ours."