[ti]Ep 2.5[/ti]To Boldly Go (Closed)

[Deleted]

(Set day one, week two)

The park that the Car Truthers had picked was a rather underwhelming place. It had a simple playground, a pair of swings, a slide and one see-saw that been the cause of more than a few sibling arguments. A few meters away sat a trio of wooden picnic tables. Lichen had claimed the undersides of the tables while the tops were marked with the occasional splotch of bird poo. Underfoot some straggly grass attempted to grow in the dirt but it was sparse and sad looking, rather than a nice impressive lawn.

The park didn't see a lot of traffic. The occasional family might walk by, parents determined to expose their kids to that great outdoors thing and give them some time spent away from a screen. Joggers too, usually in the early morning or towards the evening. People trying to get their health fix in. Others came by to walk their dogs.

Today, however, the group that had decided to make use of it were unlike the usual crowds. As the sky began to tint a little orange, a white sedan rolled up to the curb. A number of parking spots lined the street beside the park and the car neatly slid into the first spot.

When it stopped, four people climbed out of the vehicle. The driver, Raf had seen her the week prior, tapping flyers to street poles. Today, the lady was wearing a nice red sundress. A matching big floppy hat covered her straight blonde hair that fell down to her shoulders.

Her assistant was here too, climbing out of the seat directly behind her. There was a similarity in the shape of their faces, siblings perhaps? They had the same hazel eyes and round chins. But in contrast to the driver's bright clothes, he wore a plain dark navy t-shirt and a black pair of jeans.

He also seemed to have gotten a bit of an equipment upgrade over the weekend. Instead of his phone, he was cradling a small silver digital camera in one hand. No doubt his phone battery was extremely grateful for the switch.

There were two other individuals that had climbed out of the car. From the front passenger seat was a short and stocky man. He had an untidy mop of brown hair and wore a pair of green square glasses. Out of them all, he seemed the most invested and proudest of their Car Truther's group. On top of his head perched a grey cap with the group's logo printed on it.

The final member seemed least pleased to be there. The others had immediately got to unpacking the car, hauling out shopping bags filled with snacks and drinks. She'd carried one bag over to the picnic table. Then, reality had caught up with her and she'd made the horrible realisation that she was about to meet other human beings offline over a weird internet conspiracy.

Slowly, she'd trundled over to a picnic table and lay face down in the seat. No amount of calls to help roused her. All that could be seen was the back of her black hoodie and her short, spiky black hair with purple highlights. A pair of heavy boots stuck out on the other end of the bench.

Exasperated, the others had given up on her. Once all the car had been emptied, the driver had set to sorting out the food and drinks with the help of the man wearing the cap. They'd brought some ice and an ice box with them, a plastic one. Oddly enough, someone had seen fit to knit a cover for it. The man sorted the soft drinks into the box while the driver got out bowls for the chips.

The other man had pulled out his camera and set to work, recording material for their exciting documentary. The three active members chattered away excitedly. It was about ten minutes to go to the time they'd set in their email.

[Raf Esquivel]

Rafael was in the school, in the bathroom, changing his clothing.

He had waited until most of the school kids had left for the day, all running out, excited and laughing, while he remained behind, nervous. This mission he was on...his mission...well, his and Bluestreak’s mission...was so important to him. Even if it was just going to check out a group of possible internet conspiracy weirdo’s, it was still important to the Autobots! What if they were a part of MECH somehow, or...or what if they really did have really good proof that there were giant alien robots on earth? Letting Fowler know would be really important, especially before the Autobots or even the Decepticons found themselves on the evening news some night.

He had thought it out, and planned it out before the day came. The Autobots always had to be disguised so they didn’t attract attention, and now he needed to do the same. Not only didn’t he want his classmates to know what he was doing, but he didn’t want to be recognised by the Car Truther people either. If they recognised him at school, they might then recognise Jack and Miko, and that would mean Bee, Bulkhead and Arcee wouldn’t be able to come get them anymore. Worse, if they were always followed, they wouldn’t be able to go to the base anymore either!

Raf had a lot of aunts and uncles all over the world. That meant he was always getting Christmas gifts and birthday gifts from people who cared about him, but didn’t really know him all that well. That meant he often got clothing in whatever style was big now, but not something Raf would ever really wear. As a result, he had a small wardrobe to choose a few choice pieces from for his disguise.

Leaving the bathroom stall and looking at himself in the mirror, he tilted his head.

He looked weird.

Instead of his usual shirt and sweater vest and chinos, now he was wearing blue jeans, a bright green t-shirt and a navy hoodie. The t-shirt had some weird skeleton thing on the front. The jeans were supposed to look lived in but to Raf they just looked oddly old. Raf had spent a lot of time last night trying to tame his unruly hair, either by just combing it down, or giving himself a new hairstyle. He had even tried his sister’s mousse, gel and hairspray. All that happened was that his wild hair had remained upright, hardened in place so that a hurricane wouldn’t budge it. In the end, he admitted defeat, washed it out, and decided on a hoodie to just cover it up. Sadly, there was no way to replace or remove his glasses without leaving him blind, so they had to stay.

Raf took a deep breath, “Ok, you can do this.”

Raf turned, and put his regular clothing into a bag.  He then picked up a long cardboard tube. The tube was almost as tall as he was.

The contents of the tube had taken him a little while to put together, but he had completed it last night in his room.

Now, ready, he put on his backpack, and carrying the tube and bag of clothing, he almost ran down the school hallway, to step outside through the double doors of his school, where he stood, looking for Bluestreak’s alt mode.

[Bluestreak]

Exaust from the the row of school buses wavered the hot, dry air in front of the red brick and buff concrete building. Overhead, the sky was blazing and blue. The afternoon shadows were short; heat ripples rose and spun off the expanse of blacktop.

The silver mech wasn't difficult for Raf to find.

The Nissan had been there a good ten minutes early. Parents had already been scuffling for parking spaces, stuffing their huge suv's and minivans into places that were painted with the careful words pick-up and drop off only. He'd managed to back politely into a space between something best described as a Ford Ludicrous (for the sheer amount of seats and blacked out windows) and a tired violet-painted minivan with more stickers than window space.

Bluestreak's avatar was sitting on his own hood. Well, half sitting, half leaning on his hands. One long leg was braced comfortably against the ground, the scuffed toe of his cowboy boot resting firmly on the warm asphalt of the parking lot. His boot-cut jeans bunched slightly around the knee and then were loose around the cuff. Today he wore a faded grey t-shirt with an equally washed out logo on it; a ring of red, white, and red, surrounding a circle of blue. In the middle there was a flashy, five pointed white star. The muscles in his arms and broad chest were obvious as he leaned his weight back a bit more, watching the flow of students.

His blonde hair flicked up in the breeze but then settled perfectly back into place. Yep, he was one of those people apparently.

"Here to pick up your kid?" the woman asked him.

"Aw, my-"

What if this woman is a friend of Raf's parents, she'll totally know, I'm not then and then I'll get Raf in trouble, or- ah, maybe I should have stayed in the car. I should have stayed in the car. I didn't know parents talked to other parents, I mean I figured it was like an assembly line, open car, bus, kids, everyone drives in and leaves. I should have talked to Bee about this, argh, I wonder what him and Bulkhead do. Probably don't get out of the car but shoot there were a lot of parents out of the car and a lot of adults and kids everywhere so I didn't even think that some lady would like come over and start talking to me, hi nice lady please don't totally make it so I never get to pick up the kids again, this was really fun I just enjoy hanging out, no one shooting anyone.

"My nephew," he quickly offered. Nephew sounded good. Everyone on TV had a nephew. Bluestreak then thought about all the things he'd heard Miko and Jack and Raf talk about. "Picking him up and going out to the mall, then I think pizza. Not sure, just the driver today, following his lead!"

He threw a friendly smile towards the woman, who smiled back from where she waited near the huge black hood of the Ford. That massive car appeared as if she might not carry kids in it, but a posse of FBI agents. Then she nodded and shifted the phone she was carrying in her hand into her jacket pocket. "Off to here, off to there, so many after school activities."

How do I answer that? He didn't know what the kids did after school outside of hanging out with giant alien robots from another planet.

To be safe, he nodded. "Yeah, they're busy," he agreed and then leaned back a bit on his hands. "Off saving the world every day, right?"

She laughed and threw a quick glance to his left hand where it rested on the sleek silver hood. Bluestreak had focused on the doors again because he'd thought he'd seen - oh, he had. It just had taken him a moment to recognize the young man lugging the large cardboard tube out of the school.

Huh. Raf repainted - right right, whoops, he changed clothes for this mission. Well, okay, he had too, he'd changed his shirt. It was the one that Nell once had made so much fuss about. Said it was perfect for him, while she elbowed him in the ribs at Hot Topic. He'd sort of debated between this one and the one of the Catbus. Everyone liked the Catbus.

Raf looked very different in those clothes. Bluestreak wouldn't have recognized him at all if he'd just passed by him on the street. Maybe it was the lack of his vest or those familiar tan pants. Funny how jeans were what every human really seemed to wear and yet they didn't suit Raf at all.

He lifted his hand and waved it. "Hullo!" he called out. Bluestreak's avatar slid off his hood and landed securely on both feet. Then he moved around the side of the car to pop the passenger side open, waiting for Raf and his cardboard tube to make their way across the parking lot.

[Deleted]

"We could have bought better chips," the fellow wearing the Car Truther's cap groused. He had paused while sorting the sodas into the ice box and was glumly eying a bright yellow bowl that was filled with potato chips. "Or pizza."

The driver was emptying another bag into an empty bowl beside him. "Benny," she said, with a great deal of patience. "If you don't want to eat no brand, crappy chips, then stick to the budget next time."

"The budget is waaaay too strict," Benny instantly protested.

"The budget," the driver retorted with the air that this was a well worn argument, "is not too strict. You are way too loose with money."

"No, I'm not!"

"Tell that to those custom printed wristbands. Really Benny, what were you thinking?"

Protectively, and not at all guiltily, Benny snatched a smaller bowl off the table and cradled it to his chest. It contained a few dozen black and white rubber wristbands. All over the sides, they were printed with that awful, awful logo.

"We needed a theme, Heather! And, like, a subtle way to recognise people who are-" he dropped his voice, "you know? In the know. Our buddy truth seekers."

Heather had finished filling the bowl. Unimpressed with Benny's theatrics, she merely crushed the chip bag up in her hand so that she could dump it in a bin. But it was clear she was also wishing that it was Benny's head, not a bag in her hands right now. "Okay but that theme's the reason why we have the ass end range of potato chips and sodas."

Benny didn't seem to hear her. "Maybe we should have got pizza," he said wistfully. "Everyone likes pizza, you can never go wrong with it. Hey, Heather, you reckon it's not too late to get some pizza?"

The other man in the group had settled on the opposing park bench to the final member of the group. He had been filming the very fascinating discussion between Heather and Benny.

"And there's another round of the B and H fight show," he chattered to both the camera and the other woman. "B's fighting a losing battle but I gotta admit, I really like these wrist bands." He raised his free hand and flashed it in front of the lens, proudly displaying the band that sat there. "Honestly though, for B's sake, he better change topic quickly otherwise Heather will try to kill him. Hey Veronica - you listening to this?"

All the cameraman got in response to his question was a muffled, disgruntled 'mmph' from the other side of the table. That didn't seemed to bother him, he kept up a steady stream of narration but not once did he get a response.

A few minutes ticked by. Heather and Benny continued to bicker over the group's finances. Benny was very much Team "Wristbands and Pizza." Heather was staunchly Team "Stop Wasting Our Money Benny. Wait A Second, Are You Recording This, Nicky?"

Benny changed teams to join "I Will Kick Your Ass Nicholas, Don't Think That I Won't," but was quickly booted to Team "Okay Yeah, Heather Will Kick Your Ass. I'll Stay Out Of It And Watch."

Veronica firmly remained Team "Mmph. Bench. Fuck You Guys. I Can't Believe I'm Doing This."

This state of affairs lasted until the first arrival, who was early. A middle aged woman strode down along the sidewalk, then cut across the grass and headed straight for them. She wore a plain red t-shirt and a long black skirt and had an stern look to her face. The lady did not respond well to Benny's cheerful called out greeting of "Hey, uh, welcome to our meeting! You're here about some weirdness around town, right?"

"So you people say," she replied coldly. "I don't believe the nonsense you've being leaving around Jasper."

There was a suspicious, unfriendly glint in her eyes, that took Benny back a moment. He stopped sorting out sodas and straightened up. Benny tried to exchange a startled glance at Heather, who instead turned back to sort out shopping bags, bowing out of the matter, which left Nicholas as the recipient. The cameraman puffed up his cheeks and slowly blew out air, recognising what his other two companions had, that their first customer was one of those.

A non-believer.

Probably one here to cause trouble, judging by her attitude. A local resident annoyed by those who dared to rock their happy existence by suggesting that something other could be happening around their home.

Benny raised his eyebrows at Nicholas and gave a small jerk of his head towards the new arrival.

"Right," Nicholas said, trying to be agreeable. He tucked his camera into a pocket, just in case filming the lady without her permission aggravated her even more, then took a step forward. "That's cool, we're uh, totally harmless." He tried to give a reassuring smile. It was a pretty nice one, his perfectly straight teeth were probably the result of some expensive dental work.

"We aren't going to cause any trouble, harmless - that's us. So you can, um, go about your day, you know?" Nicholas gave a little laugh. Behind his back, Benny smiled and gave his friend a thumbs up from under the table. "Don't have to be here if you don't want to-"

"I'll take a seat right there," the lady interrupted and immediately beelined for the final bench, taking a seat as far away from the group as possible. The woman folded her hands in front of her, rested her chin on them and stared at the ground, completely ignoring the other people.

The smiles dropped off Benny and Nicholas's faces. Heather merely raised her eyebrows and then took over Benny's jobs sorting out the sodas since he'd stopped. Benny stepped around the table as Nicholas turned round towards him, raising his hands helplessly, not knowing what to do about their unexpected guest. The only response Benny had was a similarly confused frown.

Shit.

This was not off to a great start.

[Raf Esquivel]

Raf stepped through the front doors, looking to where he saw Bluestreak’s alt mode. He felt a little alarmed – there were still a lot of people hanging around! And that lady was talking to Blue? Uh-oh, he hoped it was ok.

Moving down the stairs, Raf watched as Bluestreak talked to the woman. He certainly seemed relaxed there. He was lounging on the hood like he didn’t have a care in the world. He really looked like he belonged there.

Optimus should make Bluestreak some sort of...human spy sort of thing. He could do it easily with some extra training.

The only problem was a lot of teen age girls were glancing at Bluestreak a lot as well, giggling and whispering.

Wait....was Bluestreak wearing a Captain America T-shirt?

His backpack on his back, and juggling the cardboard tube, he made his way across the parking lot towards where Blue was parked. He detoured around several mothers standing in a circle and talking about who was supposed to bake what at the latest neighborhood get together. One large woman wearing an extremely vivid dress with palm trees and what appeared to be dancing cows gave him a rather harsh glance as he slipped by, as if trying to place a name to his face. Raf tucked his head a little lower as he slipped by.

Raf couldn’t help but smile as Bluestreak jumped off the hood and waved at him. He waved back, moving quickly towards where Bluestreak’s avatar was holding the door open for him. He tried to keep his head down a little, in case whoever the woman was recognised him. He didn’t think he knew her, but his momma knew a lot of people.

“Thanks,” Raf said, saying little else. He had no idea what Bluestreak had said to the woman – who he was, what he was doing there, anything – so he figured saying nothing was safest.

He fumbled with the cardboard tube for a second, finally managing to slide it into the backseat, before sliding into the car himself, slipping off his backpack and resting it on the floor by his feet.

He wasn’t fond of how the jeans squashed his middle. They were probably just too new and stiff yet, but he felt like his belly was trying to be pushed into his spine. He squirmed a second, finally finding a comfortable position.

He was far too used to Chinos.

AND Bumblebee’s alt mode.

“Ok, let’s go!” he said, trying to sound super eager to be...doing something important to a normal 12 year old.

[Bluestreak]

Apparently, not only was the mech's avatar wearing a Captain America T-shirt, he was Captain Oblivious to the fact that there were teenagers giggling and whispering over him.

The blonde-haired man had shut the door after Raf once he had scrambled in; it didn't take him long to move around the car and settle into the front seat. Even before the avatar was fully seated, he was pulling his seatbelt across his shoulders. He shut the door and then craned around and eyed the tube that was now stuffed into back seat of the Nissan. The sports car really wasn't designed with the comfort of anyone but the driver and one passenger in mind. Maybe a dog. A small dog. Preferably one that didn't shed or need a tiny dog seatbelt.

He raised his brow. "We good?" he asked, and then the car's engine whirred into life. The radio was on, there was a soft twang of country music filling the inside of the Nissan before the volume indicator slipped smoothly downwards without a hand touching the button and became simply a warm background hum.

He flicked on his blinker, waited politely for a car to pass before pulling carefully out into traffic. The silver Nissan was being incredibly careful. There were kids everwhere, cars, so much motion and movement and he didn't think it would be great on his record if he accidentally smacked someone. Bluestreak didn't even think Fowler's ability to cover up anything would work if he did that.

"How was school?" he asked automatically once they'd cleared the area and were headed towards the park. He tilted his head and looked over at Raf with an easy smile. "Was it fun? Did you do a lot of math? Science? I love the building, I'm glad I got to see it up close, schools look different on TV. Hey, what's in the tube back there? Something we need for the mission, or is it something for class? You know, I haven't gone to class in a long time. I think the last one I went to was- well maybe the debriefing for Earth is considered a class but I think I was thinking more like when when I started shooting."

"For fun," he quickly explained. "Target shooting. Not work, honest. Sorry, sort of bounced all over the place. I like your school. People are friendly. Bumblebee and Bulk are so lucky that they get to go and pick you guys up."

A wistful expression drifted across the man's face and then he grinned again. "Neato. Also, hey, that's totally a different outfit than I've ever seen you wear. I'm sort of so used to the vest, I guess? I like it. It's different, great disguise, super good. I'd never recognize you. Well I did, but I wouldn't if I just met you which makes-- okay, that made no sense but you know what I mean."

A pause as the silver mech seemed to adjust his thoughts and get back on track.

"Did you eat?" Bluestreak asked, brow furrowing in concern. "We should be at the park pretty soon. Give us a chance to check it out."

[Raf Esquivel]

Raf sat back, watching as Bluestreak got in and they slowly pulled out. He tried to listen to the country music that came from the radio, not sure if he liked it or not. The only country Raf had ever heard had a lot to do with people cheating on each other and getting drunk in bars and crashing pickups. That didn’t really sound like the sort of music he figured Bluestreak would listen to, but who knew about people’s tastes in music? Bee usually played rock and roll stuff, trying to stick to the stuff he knew both he and Raf liked.

The country music on the radio, however, seemed pleasant and laid back, and it was a pleasant background sound as they moved along the road.

He smiled as Bluestreak started asking a hundred questions. It was nice having someone to talk to about things he considered really normal. Bee asked about tests and stuff, of course, but Bluestreak seemed interested in everything.

“It was good. Sometimes it’s boring, because I already know a lot of the stuff. They wanted to push me ahead to a higher grade, but Momma didn’t want that, said I still needed to learn to “get along with other kids my age”. But it’s not bad.

Math is ok. I really like science, though. Sometimes my teacher gives me extra work because she knows I find some boring, and that’s really great. I get to look up a lot of stuff on my own, do research and find out things on my own. I really like that.
The school looks...yeah, I guess it looks ok. It’s just a building. I’ve seen a lot of other schools, they kind of all look the same inside.

The tube? Oh that...that’s for later. We don’t need it yet or anything.

I’ll...uh...show you when everything is over, later. So..you used to target shoot before the war? I guess that’s why you’re a really good sniper, huh? I heard you were the best. I guess you have to really be still to be good at it.”

In the back seat, Raf peered out the window as they made their way along towards the meeting place, before he looked down at himself, “Oh. Yeah, this is...some clothing my relatives sent me for Christmas and stuff. I wanted to look different in case someone I know shows up. I mean, maybe it’s nothing, but just in case it’s important, right? These Car Truther people, I don’t want them getting used to seeing me around.”

Raf looked at his sneakers. He wasn’t much of a talker, but Bluestreak seemed to bring it out of him, an easy going give and take of information and sharing of experiences.

“Oh, I had a big lunch, and I have some food in my backpack in case I get hungry. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”

He didn’t mention the butterflies in his stomach.

"Um...are you nervous about this?"

[Bluestreak]

The inside of the Datsun had a very neutral smell. As if leather cleaner that had been applied weeks ago and had faded to a soft twinge. Most cars smelled like the people who owned them and gave you some insight into their lives. Like how mini-vans often smelled of stale goldfish crackers and kids, or fancy cars driven by men having a mid-life crisis had the drift of pina-colada air freshener.

Bluestreak's avatar glanced over at Raf. For a moment, the blond-haired man lost a bit of his incessant cheer and sobered slightly. His fingers curled over the steering wheel, his thumb lightly drummed on it for a moment, fidgeting without moving. Then the car let out a soft huffing sigh from the air vents. A cold draft rushed over Raf's legs as the holo-generated man beside him shrugged one broad shoulder. The fabric stretched in a perfect imitation of fabric over skin, and then settled.

"I am," he said honestly. "There's so many things about this world I don't know, and so many mistakes that I can make. Don't want to make any that puts anyone in danger, or gives us away, or- well, all the things that can happen. I just run worst case scenarios sometimes, you know how it is, I'm sure." 

Which was the truth. As much as he hated to admit it, it was one of those things that kept him up at night, especially before an assignment or going into a place he knew there would be conflict. He'd take apart his rifle, clean it, adjust it, then do it again, over and over again even though he knew there wasn't a single thing out of place, that it was calibrated exactly, that it would hit the target it had meant to.

Yet, what if it didn't, he'd think, and do it once more.

Which wasn't the sort of thought he really wanted to share with Raf. It wasn't because he didn't think Raf could handle hearing it, it was more that he simply didn't like to talk about it. Too many things started to run through his head after that and he would lose focus and they couldn't afford that. He had to be human, do human things and he wished for a moment Carly was with them because she would totally march right in and know exactly what to say and what to do. She was like that.

Thinking of her made him steady though. It always helped.

Bluestreak shook himself a little. His avatar settled back into the seat.

"So we just be careful, we keep our eyes open, and you keep me from putting my foot in my mouth..." he said, and this time a chuckle touched his voice. His cheer seemed to flit back over him like a mantle and he shrugged

"So, school!" he offered, raising chipper. "Well, of course you would know a lot of the stuff. I mean, you know a ton about computers and all sorts of programming. I can see how school might be boring. Some of the stuff when I was in training was pretty boring because I already knew a lot too, but-- oh? Get along with kids your age? I dunno, you get along fine with Miko and Jack, right?"

Bluestreak scratched his head and looked puzzled as he dropped his hand back down to the wheel. Age somewhat eluded him with humans. He got that Raf was young, but he really didn't act as young as Miko did sometimes. He was a much quieter soul. Among his kind, the age of your spark often wasn't one of those things that proved your maturity in any way. Heck, he knew a lot of mechs that were older than him who acted like they sure weren't.

He listened and then inclined his head. "My trainers did that for me sometimes too," he admitted. "That's how you know they're good. They gear stuff towards the individual and not towards the whole. Your teacher trusts you to work on your own, too. That's says a lot about you. As for the school?"

"Maybe sometime I can see the inside," he asked. "I like looking around places here. I've never even seen one school here on the inside. Well, just on TV, and -- uh, yeah, I used to target shoot before things happened."

Bluestreak shook his head. The car's windshield wiper flicked slightly in a vehicular shrug that echoed his thoughts. "Honest, it was just was a hobby. Like after work, I'd go and shoot targets, never hunted like Mirage or anything like that. Never thought it would be something I translated over, really."

A sheepish smile crossed the tall man's face. "Aw, Raf, thanks, but I don't think I'm the best, but thank you. I'm not bad! I mean, I'm pretty good, but one of the things I learned a long time ago is that there's always someone better than you out there. Always keep working at it, keep trying new things, listen and learn, and I know that's funny coming from me because I chatter on and on but hey, really, it's the truth. I listen, I really do. I like it when other folks talk and tell me about what they do, and aw, okay on the tube!"

"Secret agent stuff, huh? Hush hush? I knew it, but I totally want to see it when you can let me in on it!"

There was a pause. "Well, the clothes aren't bad...." he offered. "I'm still learning about that too. So many shirts. I did learn that pink isn't really something guys usually wear though! That was helpful." 

(ooc: Sorry about the wait! Was waiting on House and we got stuff straightened out here!) 

[Raf Esquivel]

The young human listened as Bluestreak spoke, taking in his words and tone.

He felt a little better knowing Bluestreak was nervous too. At least he didn’t feel so alone, and didn’t have to worry about admitting being uneasy. He knew Bluestreak would never make fun of him for being nervous, he was just like that, but…it felt better knowing he had company.

“I do that too,” he said quietly, “Run things through my head over and over. A lot. Sometimes I try to think of everything that can go wrong, so I’m ready if it does. But then I just learned that there are always things that go wrong that you can’t think of. Momma…Momma says I worry too much.”

He fell silent for a moment, gazing out the window as they moved.

Things were sort of getting…tense at home lately. Raf knew his parents were seeing differences in him that weren’t there before he met the Autobots. Sometimes he didn’t hear them when they were talking to him, because he was thinking about what had happened at the base that day, or was trying to think of a way to help Ratchet with a problem. His marks weren’t suffering, he made sure of that.

He over heard his Momma talking to his aunt the other day, and she was saying that Raf seemed more sure of himself, more assertive over himself, but that sometimes he seemed distant, and she was worried.

He did not want to worry his Momma. But how could he tell her what he was doing?

And he was having weird nightmares too lately. Dreams about Megatron destroying Jasper and not being able to find his parents or sisters. He was in Bee’s alt form, and just driving through all this rubble and garbage and trying to find his parents. He usually woke up with a bad stomach for a while.

He shook his head, coming back to the present.

“Oh. I think you’re doing really well, Bluestreak. And just wanting to learn is important too! I mean, some guys wear pink, if they want. It’s just not common, is all.”

He paused.

“Do you like Earth music? I’ve never heard what you guys would listen to back on Cybertron. Is your music like ours, or is it more like…umm…I don’t know how to say it without it sounding insulting. Is it like…beeps and stuff?”

Raf pushed his glasses up on his face, looking over at Blue’s avatar.

[Deleted]

Team Car Truthers had a problem. Their problem came in the shape of a grumpy, soccer mum camped out on the edge of a park bench. Their one attempt of engagement via Nicholas had not been successful and the cameraman frankly did not want to talk to the lady again. The woman emanated an icy aura that screamed "Do Not Come Near. Do Not Talk To Me. It Will Not End Well."

It was terrifying. A lot more scary than whatever weirdness was floating around Jasper, that's for sure.

Veronica had roused briefly at the newcomer's intrusion. Her head slowly lifted above the table, a pair of brown eyes peered curiously out from underneath her hood. The others held their breath - Veronica hadn't been any help with setting up the picnic tables but maybe now, this would be her moment to shine. The grumpy lady looked up from staring a hole in the ground and met Veronica's gaze in challenge.

The group's hope was in vain, the moment passed and Veronica merely blinked, unconcerned, then lay her head back down again.

It would not be the first or last time that she would let down her team.

Benny edged closer to Heather and tried to subtly nudge her to go deal with the scary lady. The flat press of Heather's lips together killed any thoughts he'd mustered to try and persuade her to do the job. In fact, the dead expression the driver levelled at him had Benny swiveling right around and taking a step towards the non-believer before he'd even realized what he was doing.

"Um," he said blankly, not knowing what to say. It was so awkward having this woman sit here! She didn't seem to believe them but she wasn't going away. Was she going to sit in on the meeting? It was going to be a problem, he was certain of it.

Benny scrapped together the few manners his parents had managed to instill in him. Maybe if they were nice, she would think about leaving or wouldn't cause trouble. "Hey, do you want anything?" He jerked his head towards the table with drinks and snacks set-up. Also, incidentally the table Heather was at. Genius move. This was why he was the leader of this group!

"We've got some chips and sodas. Not much, I know, but you can um, have some, if you want."

The height of cuisine from a couple of college kids. The peace offering was not met graciously. "I'm fine," the woman frostily informed Benny, scorn dripping from her voice.

"Oookay," Benny backpedalled and abandoned picnic table number three to its icy fate. He shared a commiserating look with Nicholas, who had taken a seat opposite Veronica and was now fiddling helplessly around with the camera strap wrapped around his wrist. Benny had tried but some tasks were destined for failure.

On the other side of the playground, past the swings, a pair of gangly teenage boys appeared. The boys were older than Raf by three or four years and puberty had not been kind to them, pimples ravaged both their complexions. One of them clutched a flyer Raf would recognize, it was identical to the ones he'd seen around his school.

[Bluestreak]

Bluestreak never hesitated.

"I love Earth music," he replied, his avatar glancing over at the young mand in the passenger seat. He reached over and touched the volume knob on the stereo, tapping it lightly with his index finger. Then he drew back and settled his hand carefully back on the wheel in the proper driver position of ten and two.

The mech's blue gaze had become thoughtful. "I always had music when I was working back home. Like, I'd have to go on these long runs to drop off stuff, and I just don't like listening to politics or talk shows. It sort of gets way too heavy for me. Well, I guess it depends on the talk show, but a lot of them get too much on the screaming for me, and let me tell you, Earth and Cybertron are both like that. No idea why they don't call it a yell show, because no one's really talking, except maybe to scream their opinions over each other in an effort to drown out everyone." 

Bluestreak looked up at the street signs. He'd coasted to a gentle stop and let a family cross a crosswalk, giving them plenty of space before he turned.

"As for our music sort of... I don't know. A mixture of everything. I mean, music is music, right? I mean, everything, every planet I've ever been on, you listen long enough to music and you'll find something familiar. No, no, it's not insulting, it makes sense. Sure, it's beeps and electronic wails and stuff like that but we have instruments too. I love stringed instruments and vocals that just blend and not overpower - not so much of an acid guy - so I guess that's why I like your country music a lot. Reminds me of some things."

He brought up his hand to rub the back of his neck and smiled a bit sheepishly. "It's something I can just listen to as background noise, I guess - oh, and we certainly sing, just like you do. I used to go to this one bar, back..."

He trailed off.

"Yeah. I did. There was this mech, he played acoustic, had a great voice. Loved it. But hey, I've also been to dance clubs, and those are a lot of electronic, haha, lots of beeps and boops and screeches. Not really my thing, it's okay. I mean I'm a terrible dancer. Some of these guys can really do some amazing stuff. Fun to watch, but I'll sit at a table and cheer them on."

Bluestreak chuckled and then settled back in the seat. He leaned his hand out the window and let the air flick over the leather bracelet on his wrist; it caught the bead and flipped it playfully as he made a tiny surfing gesture with his fingers. The air caught the palm of his hand and for a second, it lifted up under the pressure like a wave. Like water. He never got why a lot of them were afraid of water; like yeah, sure, you didn't wander out in acid rain on Cybertron but here, it wasn't going to hurt you. Well, okay, you didn't want to get caught in a Nevada flash flood but it was just water.

A few more blocks actually passed before the Autobot spoke again.

"I get it," he said solemnly, nodding his head. "It's hard sometimes, and yea, that's exactly it. You think of everything that can go wrong, so you can know how to fix it if it does- but you're right. Things go wrong you never think of...."

Another hitch; then he seemed to concentrate on reaching out and flicking his blinker. How a car had to concentrate on moving his own blinker was anyone's guess. A soft sigh of air escaped from the car's vents; there was a soft puff that was cold against Raf's legs.

Like an entire city, gone in a night.

Never went away. It never did. It added to all the things that could go wrong, that might go wrong, that did go wrong, and all he knew is that he never wanted anyone to experience what he had if he could help it, especially not someone like Raf or Carly.

There was a tight feeling under his hood. The avatar brought up a hand to rub a bit at his broad chest, and then he caught himself.

"Pink, huh? I like pink, as long as it's an accent color," he said cheerfully. "I saw this show where they painted an entire house pink with purple shutters and you know, it was a lovely shade of pink but that was an awful lot of pink in one place, whooch. Hey though, thank you, I'm trying, and--"

"Oh hey, there's the park entrance," Bluestreak indicated with a quick gesture, as the silver car smoothly took the turn and dropped his speed down to ease his way over a series of speedbumps.

"Good thing my suspension isn't any lower," he joked. "Whew. Let's park, and then I guess we go and see if we can find these folks, right? See anything or anyone that looks like it might be them, Raf?"

[Raf Esquivel]

Raf eagerly listened to Bluestreak talk. He loved hearing about Cybertron. At least back before the war.

Bumblebee couldn’t really tell him much about it. He knew that Bee had been “born” when the war was already underway, so he couldn’t get a lot of information from him. So he loved it when people talked to him about what it was like before the war started.

From what Raf heard, Cybertron was really a lot like Earth. It just showed again how similar they were as two different species. They had jobs and places to live, friends, and hang outs. They listened to music and singers. They had bars.

“I’d like to listen to your music some time. I bet it’s really interesting and cool! Like what we call Techno.”

Raf watched Blue as he spoke, listening to him talk about being worried and concerned. He felt the sigh across his legs, and then watched as Bluestreak’s avatar rubbed at his chest.

Raf frowned a little.

He didn’t know much about Bluestreak. His history. But even Raf understood that war was a bad thing, and people saw things that left them marked. They had had a person come into their class once who talked about special dogs that helped people when they had difficulties. He understood what it was about.

They called it PTSD. And Raf thought maybe that’s what Bluestreak had.

It made the young man feel helpless and sad. Bluesteak was so nice! He chatted and talked, and he was always glad to see you. He never seemed to be in a bad mood, ever.

Raf wished there was something he could do for his friends. They all deserved to be happy.

He was about to say something to try and make Bluesteak feel better….he hoped what was in the tube would help him - but then the Autobot began talking about the color pink, and the next thing he knew, they were there.

Raf sat up higher in his seat, peering over the dash, scanning the area cautiously. He had no idea what they might look like…he seriously doubted they’d look like the stereotypical “men in black” but you never knew!