"You're speeding..."

Sideswipe groaned as Strongarm pulled up next to him. "It's only five over, Strongarm. Like...Every human on the road does that."

"Still counts."

The red sports car sighed, looking around their surroundings briefly.

To their right and the east, stood the cliffs that broke off into the sea. Chilly air blew down from the north up ahead, and two their left were fields, dotted periodically with houses and less sparsely with trees. Clouds were rolling in with the wind, bringing with them the possibility of rain. He'd have to check in with Fixit for a definite forecast.

Flashing lights ahead caught his attention, and for a brief moment, he thought Strongarm had gone ahead, but found she was still driving close beside.

A blockade had formed on the road ahead, and as they reached up to it, they saw the reason... The pod. Humans had parked their cars alongside the road, standing as close as they were capable of going, trying to get a glance and photos of the find. Parents held their kids up on their shoulders, and some men had their female companions on their shoulders as well.

"Officer Rider." Strongarm greeted, recognizing the officer at the front of the blockade.

Officer Rider looked to them, and the faintest hints of a smile appeared on his lips under a bushy mustache. "Ah...Our extraterrestrial experts have finally arrived."

Strongarm and Sideswipe transformed into bot mode, the crowds all watching with amazement. The wonder and intrigue of their alien visitors was still fresh, especially in the children's eyes. Sideswipe waved at the little humans, gaining giggles and happy gasps in return.

"Did anyone witness the crash?" Strongarm inquired, passing around the blockade.

"Most of the populace were evacuated from the vicinity. So far, we don't have any witnesses to the crash itself. Those that remained here however all describe a very loud noise shortly after the pod landed. Like a scream."

Strongarm and Sideswipe stepped towards the pod, examining it's condition. If it had been in one piece when it landed, it wasn't anymore. The front had been peeled open like a banana, glass from the view port littering the field for hundreds of feet and smoke still pluming from the wreckage.

"Whoever was in this pod, they're gone now..." Strongarm murmured. "...But this was definitely an escape pod from a Cybertronian ship."

"This looks like a single-bot pod, so we should be looking for one bot." Sideswipe expressed. "Unless we're talking about a bot and minicon."

Strongarm nodded, and then scanned the area for any more clues. She did find grass crushed down by large feet, but they only went a few hundred yards before disappearing. "Scrap...Looks like our mystery-bot can go airborne."

"Well that's not helpful." Sideswipe muttered, running his fingers over the metal of the pod. He paused as his fingers ran over an anomaly. "...Hey, take a look at these marks on the floor."

Strongarm returned to his side. "...What about them?"

"Two long, deep pairs of gouges in the metal... Looks like claw marks to me. And groups of three more on the walls. Whoever was in here has some decent hardware on their hands and feet."

Strongarm nodded. "We can see if Fixit can use that to identify them."

"And this."

Sideswipe pointed to the top, where several minor scratches were worn. "...How big was this bot...?"

Strongarm left her comrade to ponder things, tapping her comm-link. "Strongarm to Fixit, we've located the pod, but it's empty. Whoever was in it left in a hurry."

We already have an idea of who was occupying the pod.

"How so?"

Please return with the pod, and then I'll explain. Sending you a Groundbridge now.

Strongarm nodded. "Pack it up, Sideswipe. We've already gotten a lead back at base..."

________________________________________________________________________________

Bumblebee looked up as the light came down from the ship hovering above the Scrapyard, still holding Flashdrive in his arms.

He was surprised when two bots left the ship, lowering themselves down to the ground before the light faded. Primus, he was in so much trouble...

"Optimus, Ratchet. What a surprise." He greeted.

"We apologize for the lack of warning that we were coming, Bumblebee." Optimus informed. "But the situation was far too important to delay much longer..."

Bumblebee felt his frame begin to heat up as the Prime's optics moved down to the virocon in his arms, still fast asleep. "...And I see there are things you have kept from us as well."

Ratchet stepped forward, optics narrowing a little as he pointed to Flashdrive. "...How long has she been here?"

Bumblebee couldn't keep optic contact with the medic. "...Three months or so?" He murmured.

He knew Ratchet was peeved, but he didn't look up even as the medic came up to him. "...And you didn't tell me this before now...!?"

Bumblebee rolled his optics. "Well no...I mean, I was going to...At some point."

The lieutenant winced as Ratchet gently but firmly whacked him on the side of the helm. "Okay, I deserve that. But you were busy with council stuff, and I didn't want to bother you."

"Oh yeah, that's a valid excuse...! What if something had happened? You could've gone offline!" Ratchet hissed.

"Yeah, but nothing happened, so..."

"Bumblebee's been going great as a dad, Ratchet!" Grimlock informed. "He even cleaned up Flashdrive when she was puking this morning without even flinching!"

"Thanks for the support, Grim..." Bumblebee looked back to Optimus. "I wasn't sure how you all would react. I mean, I wanted to wait until Knockout gave his findings to the Medical Council back on Cybertron, and then things just got busy and I didn't want to bother all of you with it."

Optimus smiled a little. "Do not apologize, Bumblebee. It is still a very mysterious and confusing process to many."

"I still want to do a full diagnostic on you." Ratchet informed.

"Yeah, sure..." Bumblebee smirked, but it faded as he remembered what Optimus had said. "Wait, what's the situation that you didn't have time to warn me about before?"

Optimus' face turned solemn once more. "...Shockwave has returned to Earth."

All the bots froze.

"Shockwave? The Decepticon Scientist?" Fixit asked.

"Indeed. We are not certain why he's come, only that he stole an Autobot ship and hijacked the Space Bridge to come here with a team of bounty hunters, and two prisoners."

"Who are the prisoners?" Bumblebee asked.

"Currently unknown." Ratchet replied. "Since Shockwave no doubt is aware of your presence here on Earth, he and the hunters will be attempting to prevent themselves from being located."

"That being said..." Drift intercepted. "...It is highly unlikely that Shockwave or his hunters were occupying the pod that we detected coming down in Earth's atmosphere."

"Maybe it malfunctioned and jettisoned on its own?" Grimlock suggested.

"Or the prisoners escaped in it and are here on Earth somewhere." Bumblebee looked down as the humans came up. "Denny, can I borrow one of your boats for Flashdrive to sleep in?"

"Take your pick, Bee." Denny informed.

As Bumblebee left the clearing, Strongarm's voice came through the comms. Strongarm to Fixit. We've located the pod, but it's empty. Whoever was in it left in a hurry.

"As it turns out, we already have an idea of who was occupying the pod."

How so?

"Please return with the pod, and then I'll explain. Sending you a Groundbridge now."

The portal was open for a few minutes before Sideswipe and Strongarm came out of it, dragging a wreck of the pod through it and into the clearing. "I'd hardly call it a pod anymore..." Sideswipe muttered.

Bumblebee stepped back into the clearing, overlooking the condition of the pod. "By the Primes...This is a mess."

"Authorities said that witnesses heard a loud screaming sound not long after the crash, and the view port glass was flung much further than someone kicking it loose." Strongarm informed. "Some sort of sonic-based weapon?"

"That'd be my guess..."

It was then that the pair noticed the medic and Prime standing there, and stood at attention. "Optimus Prime, Sir!"

"At ease..." Optimus informed, allowing the bots to relax.

"Okay, here's the short story. Shockwave is here on Earth somewhere with a group of bounty hunters. He also had two unidentified prisoners that we figure escaped and used this pod here to reach Earth."

"So you don't think the occupant is a threat?"

Bumblebee's eyes narrowed. "I never said that. I mean, look at these clawmarks... Fixit, come analyze this for me."

The minicon rolled down and Bumblebee held him out to scan without having to climb into the wreckage.

"Deep marks on the walls and floor...Some lesser marks in the ceiling..."

Fixit pulled out a tablet, imputing the information into it for a moment and collecting a sample of the energon left on the floor. "Whoever was inside here was injured. No doubt one of the prisoners was wounded trying to escape."

"But how could two bots fit in this thing at once?" Sideswipe asked.

"Desperation is a powerful thing, Sideswipe...Regardless, we need to locate these missing occupants and identify them, and do it before Shockwave and his goons find them..."