Zayden stood in the middle of the garage's main lot, eyes fixed on the sky. A faint shimmer, nearly invisible to the naked eye, drifted across the stars like a ripple in water. It was there for only a second—but to someone trained by Blurr and attuned through the Omnitrix, it screamed danger.
"That's no satellite," he muttered.
Bumblebee beeped in agreement from the corner, his radio crackling static as he scanned the skies with increasing urgency.
Mikaela leaned on the hood of a beat-up Camaro. "If it's another Decepticon ship, how come it hasn't attacked?"
Zayden narrowed his eyes. "Because they're waiting. Studying. Same way I would."
He tapped the Omnitrix, calling up a map of recent Cybertronian frequencies. One stood out—an encrypted, bouncing signature flickering in and out like Morse code.
"Someone's jamming signals, but not all of them," he said. "Whoever it is… they're not with the Decepticons."
Just then, the garage lights flickered. The ground rumbled faintly.
Zayden's senses sharpened. "Incoming."
A sleek blue motorcycle burst through the shadows, her form shifting midair as she transformed into a bipedal Cybertronian before her wheels even hit the ground. She landed in a crouch, sharp-edged armor gleaming beneath the moonlight.
Her visor retracted, revealing intelligent cerulean optics and a confident smirk.
"Nice place," she said. "You always greet guests with satellite scans and awkward stares?"
Zayden blinked. "Arcee?"
She winked. "In the metal."
---
Arcee was a sight to behold—sleek, agile, lethal. Her humanoid build made her more relatable than many Autobots, her movements smooth and calculated, like a dancer with hidden blades.
Mikaela tilted her head. "So… a bike?"
"Not just any bike," Arcee said proudly. "I'm fast, flexible, and twice as deadly as anything Megatron's crew can throw at you."
Zayden smiled, arms crossed. "I've read the encrypted files. You went missing after Chicago."
"Missing's a strong word," she replied. "I went underground. Airachnid nearly deleted me. Had to fake my death and scatter my signal."
Zayden's expression darkened at that name.
"She's building something," Arcee continued. "Gathering old Cybertronian tech and splicing it with organics."
"We've seen the Deceptoid drones," Mikaela muttered.
Arcee nodded. "Those are just test runs. She's after more than domination—she wants evolution. She wants to become something no universe can resist."
Zayden glanced at his Omnitrix. "She thinks I'm the final key."
"And she's not wrong," Arcee said quietly.
---
Later that night, the group gathered inside the garage's war room—Ratchet grumbling from his corner while Bee projected a rotating holo-map of Earth. Arcee leaned over the table, her sharp fingers tracing a region deep in the Rockies.
"Last signal I tracked came from here," she said. "Hidden Cybertronian vault. Guarded by ancient constructs called Phaseguards—programmed to annihilate intruders, Autobot or Decepticon."
"What's in the vault?" Zayden asked.
Arcee gave him a long look. "Blueprints. Not just for weapons. For forms. Tech that allows transformation of machine into flesh. Partial organics."
Mikaela's eyes widened. "Wait… that's how—?"
Arcee met her gaze. "That's how I got this."
Her hand shimmered, circuitry crawling along her arm as her plating folded back and skin grew in its place. Her human form materialized—tall, curvy, with dark blue hair and bright blue eyes. She looked human… but there was a slight glow beneath her skin.
Zayden's heart skipped.
She noticed.
"Don't fall in love just yet, pretty boy," she teased. "I can still snap you in half."
"I'll take my chances," Zayden grinned.
Mikaela raised a brow. "You two flirting already?"
Arcee chuckled. "What can I say? I like tall, smart, reckless types."
Zayden laughed. "Guess I'm your type and your problem."
---
The team decided on a plan: Arcee and Zayden would infiltrate the Rocky vault together while Ratchet and Bee monitored from a safe perimeter. Mikaela would stay back and coordinate extraction if things went wrong.
As they loaded up for departure, Arcee stepped beside Zayden, arms crossed.
"You've got good instincts," she said. "But instincts don't mean much if your heart's not in the fight."
Zayden looked at her. "I'm all in. I just don't want to become something I'm not."
She smirked. "Then don't. Just become more of who you already are."
She stepped forward, surprising him by placing a hand on his chest.
"I can feel it. You're not just some lucky human. You're the Omnitrix's choice. That makes you dangerous. And it makes you needed."
Zayden's voice dropped. "And what if I lose myself to it?"
Arcee tilted her head. "Then I'll be there to pull you back."
A moment of silence passed between them.
Then she added, "Or punch you so hard your DNA resets."
He laughed. "Now that's reassuring."
---
That night, as the sky thundered in the distance and winds rolled across the open desert, Zayden stood at the cliff's edge near their launch site, watching the stars with renewed focus.
Arcee walked beside him in her human form, arms folded.
"Don't think too much," she said. "Just act when it counts."
Zayden glanced at her. "You always this good at motivating people?"
"No," she said. "Only you."
He looked at her, surprised.
She looked back.
The tension wasn't combat anymore.
It was something else.
Zayden cleared his throat. "You ever, uh… kiss anyone in that form?"
Arcee's eyes sparkled mischievously. "What do you think?"
She leaned in slightly.
Then stopped just short.
"Let's survive tomorrow. Then ask me again."
---
Above them, deep in the clouds, a Decepticon scout drone locked onto their signal and silently transmitted coordinates back to a massive warship cloaked in Earth's orbit.
Inside its hull, Airachnid smiled coldly.
"The Savior walks with the blade," she hissed. "Soon, he'll kneel."