[ti]Ep 2.5[/ti]Viva Las Vegas!

[Hot Rod]

     So the nerdy kid wanted the windows down? Awesome! Here he thought he would have been shrieking to slow down- or at least go the speed limit- but there he was, enjoying himself. So of course Hot Rod would oblige him if he wanted to have the window down to enhance his experience. Both of his windows went down a couple of inches, just enough to let the wind in for the sensation of having it whip around the kids without having to get them screaming to understand what the other was saying. 

     "Five? Kids, how fast of a car have you two BEEN in? Five is like.... nothing. I got the speeds to make that sort of deadline without a problem." Hot Rod's holoform was grinning as if he were ready to take on a challenge of speed versus time, and if their ears were in tune enough they definitely would have heard it in the way he spoke. No holoform required for that one! "The show shouldn't take too long, anyway. Just a quick browse to make sure there's nothing new and more interesting than me then we can scoot right along."

     While Hot Rod didn't so much need to see the cars at the show when he knew full well that he pretty much outranked all of them, it was still sort of neat to see what custom things the humans had to offer. Afterall, his designation was HOT ROD, so he had to make sure to keep up appearances by staying ontop of the newest trends. Couldn't have some earth-bound schmuck getting the best of him when he was the one with the name and honor to uphold! 

     "I wouldn't be against visiting the place when it's all shut down. I'm sure they don't have all the high tech gadgets and gizmos the 'Cons do, so it would probably almost be insulting to sneak past their security. Some part of me almost wants to think that after hours is when they pull the good stuff outta the back room, since I've seen just how protective humans can be of their secrets. If we do that, though, we gotta make sure Optimus doesn't find out. Last thing I need is for him to give me the ol' Pops treatment. I hear he's a good bot but kinda big on the 'we are visitors on this world and need to honor the rules set forth with blah blah'." The final part Hot Rod lowered his voice as though to try and sound like Optimus, though somehow did it without a mocking tone. As much as he hated rules and enforcer types alike, he still held Optimus on a level of respect that was required to give to the leader of the Autobots... even if he did disagree with some things their leader did and said. Not like he had much of a say so with how things should go, considering his age in comparison to the others who had rank and an actual right to speak up. He just broke the rules and pushed the envelope just enough that he didn't get himself killed. Live to die another day, right?

     "Anyway. Lets get this party started. You kids up for some sort of travel music? I usually crank up the hard rock stuff, but, since you're my guests, I'll let ya'll fight for it. Just this once."

[Raf Esquivel]

Raf grinned when the wind started to whip his hair around. It was wild at the best of times, but when the wind got into it, it made him look like some weird anime character. He laughed.

A part of him almost felt a little guilty having fun. Like he wasn't being faithful to Bumblebee, but...even Raf liked going fast. When he wasn't in danger of flying out the window or something, and as long as he was well buckled in. Besides, Raf knew he really needed to...well...lighten up some. Sometimes he got tired of always being the nerdy one. And this was something he liked. If only Bumblebee would relax a little more around him and really race! It would be so great! Raf would love to go racing with Bee, watch Bee outpace all the other cars! Raf was completely confident that Bumblebee could go faster than Hot Rod if he wanted to. Bee could do anything!

"Music would be good," Raf said, smiling, "As long as it doesn't make our ears bleed." Raf was fond of some rock. Maybe not the heavy metal stuff that Miko liked, but he enjoyed good music!

He laid back in the seat, and closed his eyes, letting his face get buffeted by the wind.

[Miko Nakadai]

The wind suddenly wooshing in through the open windows felt amaaaazing! Her hair didn't whip around quite as much as Raf's messy mop, thanks to the fact she kept it mostly tied back. It did lift her bangs just a little though and kept them out of her eyes, so that was always a plus!

“Five is nothing?” She scoffed, repeating Hot Rod's comment as if doubting him, before her lips curved into a grin - and she got that mischievous twinkle in her eye as she thought of something. Any other bot knew that particular look as bad news, but Hot Rod seemed the type to like a challenge – and he'd already boasted about having the speed to do it so why not let him eat his words!

“Betya can't!” There was no way! And she was taunting him into proving it.

Speed wasn't everything – and it seemed he was forgetting about human rules and regulations, speed limits... traffic... Oh man if they got stuck in a traffic jam she would die laughing. Or if they got caught speeding? They'd all be totally grounded!

Wait, was that even a thing for Cybertronians?

Still, her attention shifted quickly as he commented about visiting the museum after hours. Oh man she had kind of been joking about sneaking in, but if he was up for it... They'd have the whole place to themselves! They could take as long as they wanted in there, Raf would probably appreciate the quiet as well!

“Dude I so won't tell Optimus if we do that!” She sounded excited at the very thought that it'd possibly be a thing to begin with. As if she'd tattletale on them! She didn't want to get in trouble! Plus if they kept their mouths shut? Maybe they could do more fun stuff later on since Hot Rod seemed to be up for pretty much anything.

Raf was being a little quiet in the back there, she realized. Uh oh - maybe he was talking and due to the wind she couldn't hear him, and so she'd quickly crane her neck and turned around some in her seat to look at him – not wanting him to feel left out! But nope, she heard him loud and clear as he replied to Hot Rod, and that comment about no ear bleeding made her pull her bottom lip into a playful pout.

“Awww, but that's the best kind!” She laughed, turning back around so she was facing straight ahead – not wanting to get motion sick or something when they were out having fun! “But fiiiine, since I got the front seat you can be in charge of music. As long as it has guitars!”

She'd look at the holoform beside her and threw up a metal salute. Raf not actually picking anything probably meant he was fine with Hot Rod's first comment - and so she'd go with that!

“Bring on the hard rock!” She grinned at this, before settling back into the seat. At least Raf liked some decent music, and she could tolerate rock at least. It was probably for the best that they didn't play her kind of music come to think of it, they would no doubt bring enough attention to themselves due to Hot Rod being so flashy – the last thing they needed was reason for more of it.

[Hot Rod]

     "Bet I can't? Kid, what do you normally ride around in? A tank?" Hot Rod figured that had to be it, since she had doubts that he could actually make time. He wouldn't have been surprised to be honest, considering that some of the bots at base did seem to carry more weight behind them than speed. Hot Rod could hold his own fairly well but... yeah, it was nothing compared to some of the others. Oh well. He'd just have to show Miko a thing or two.

     "Listen, Miko, Raf. You two just sit back and be prepared to be colored impressed. There's a reason the big wigs wanted me dead, and it's not only cause of my good looks. You happen to be ridin' in the fastest mech to ever come out of Nyon." It was a large enough boast, and it actually wasn't a lie. He had been created to outrun those who were chasing down his fellow city dwellers, and had knowledge of just how fast some of the enforcers and hunters were. They made sure he wouldn't get caught unless he did something entirely reckless- which meant if he was captured, it was either his own fault... or on purpose. "They hated that they could never catch up to me, so ya think some silly human vehicles with no intelligence of their own will be able to get close if I don't want 'em to?"

     Hot Rod scoffed some, as if just shrugging off the challenge. Sure, he was down for one, but questioning his speed was almost too comical to take seriously.

     "I've traveled enough highways to dodge and weave through traffic jams and get outta the sticky stuff. Only thing we gotta worry about is Pops findin' out. But hey, if neither of you will tell, I'm sure I can... take some short cuts."

     Hot Rod continued to drive, pushing on the gas just enough. His scans didn't pick up anything for miles, so a little extra speed wasn't gonna hurt them. Thirty miles over what they had been doing seemed like a good middle ground. While driving he turned on his radio and the music started to pour out from his speakers. It wasn't loud enough to make their ears bleed, as per request. He'd judge what Raf was able to take by playing some Skillet first, then move on to something else based on the kid's reactions.

'(Who's gonna stand up, who's gonna fight?)
The voice of the unheard
(Who's gonna break these chains and lies?)
Love is the answer
I gotta speak it, believe it, that's how I feel inside
(I) I (I), can't, can't sit here quiet

You can take my heart, you can take my breath
When you pry it from my cold, dead chest!'

[Raf Esquivel]

Rafael listened as Miko and Hot Rod spoke. He really wasn’t sure wandering around inside a museum after hours was a good idea. A lot of them had security alarms and cameras, and that would be a great way to get into all kinds of trouble. Not to mention if he got home late, his momma might start asking questions that were hard to answer.

He did not want to be told he wasn’t allowed to come back for a few days because he was late and didn’t tell anyone.

Raf cleared his throat, and spoke up, opening his eyes, “Bulkhead isn’t a really fast vehicle, but he’s very strong and a really good fighter.

But Bumblebee is really fast! I keep hoping he’ll take me racing with him sometime. He’s the best scout ever, and he’s no slowpoke!”

Raf felt he owed it to Bee to make sure Hot Rod understood he wasn’t the only fast one around the base. In his heart, Raf was sure Bumblebee could take Hot Rod any day!

Rafael leaned back in the seat, and closed his eyes, letting the wind ruffle his hair and blow on his face. When the music started, he thought it was going to be too loud and probably horrible. As much as he cared for Miko as a friend, he thought her taste in music was just awful.

But what was coming out wasn’t that bad. It had a good flow to it, and he was enjoying it. He liked the sensation of being pushed back gently in his seat as Hot Rod sped up. The seat still felt a little odd to him – he was much more used to Bee’s backseat, but it didn’t feel so weird now.

It wasn’t bad.

[Miko Nakadai]

“Not quiiiite a tank but still, betya can't!” she grinned, not letting this drop. “And yeah, what Raf said! Bulk isn't fast but speed isn't everything, he's as tough as they come! Bumblebee is fast though, maybe you and him should race sometime!” conveniently leaving out the fact that Bee totally got in trouble for racing once before with Jack. That was only because a loser got kidnapped though, and that totally wouldn't happen again if it was just the two of them!

Maybe they could coax some of the other speedsters around the base to join in, then again a lot of them seemed to be really serious and probably wouldn't be up for something as silly and reckless as racing. Honestly though, racing wasn't really her thing, not unless it involved Monster Trucks and heavy metal music, but it seemed to be popular among some Autobots. Still though, she'd watch and cheer along if a race did end up happening! Any excuse for fun!

“Whoa are you really? That's pretty badass, dude!” okay if he had a title like that, maybe they would be able to make it there in time, but a part of her really wanted to sneak in after hours – just because that sounded way more fun than seeing it normally.

“Just watch out for cops, Fowler will lose his mind if you get a ticket! But don't worry – I wont tell if you don't!” She wasn't a snitch – if she ran to Optimus and told them what they'd gotten up to? They'd never be allowed to do anything fun ever again!

She'd lean back as Hot Rod sped up, and would grin as the music started to play. It wasn't as loud as she liked, but hey it would work!

“Awwwyeah!”

Anything with a guitar was fine by her, and she'd start to air-guitar along in the front seat. She knew this song, and would sing along – loudly.

[Hot Rod]

     Silence fell as the music took over, and Hot Rod processed what had been said thus far.

     Fastest mech to come out of Nyon.

     Even though he held that title still, it didn't really mean much of anything to anyone who hadn't experienced the city themselves. Nyon didn't exist anymore, and the 'fastest mech to come out of Nyon' had been the one to cause that. But the human children didn't need to know that, nor did anyone else for that matter. As far as they knew, it fell to the same fate as the rest of the of Cybertron. Zeta Prime probably had someone write the actual report on how it had fallen, as the price on Hot Rod's head had drastically increased the moment everything fell to ruin, but no one at base had indicated they knew anything and Optimus hadn't addressed him, so either they didn't know or didn't care. Whichever way was fine with him.

     The humans definitely didn't know, and they certainly weren't going to find out from him.

     Fowler was a name he had heard before in passing- a warning issued to anyone who dared to try and do anything stupid. He had been told that of all humans to be aware of pissing off, he was one of them. If Fowler found out, Optimus would as well, and scrap traveled downhill from there with you at the bottom. Hot Rod hadn't heard of any repercussions of poor behavior that had followed that he would necessarily be afraid off so he just shrugged off the idea of being struck cold in the spark with fear. 

     As said before, the cops had to catch him first. Humans didn't stand a chance.

     Hot Rod would wait until the song was done before he would speak again. A polite thing to do, but it was more that he didn't feel like ruining a good song with conversation.

     "Race? I highly doubt Bumblebee could keep up! No contest." Hot Rod slowed down a hair as they came to an intersection four-way stop, but after a quick scan he drove right through it and returned to his previous speed. "Not to say that I doubt his abilities at all. If scouts were slow or not skilled they wouldn't have survived very long, so the fact he's still around after all this means he's earned his metal more than once. Of course, my people knew that both sides had that going for them and had to take all of it into account when they made me- I had to be faster because I was made to outrun both factions. I wouldn't be here today if that weren't the case."

[Raf Esquivel]

Raf continued to let the wind buffet his hair as he listened to the music.

In Raf’s mind, there was simply no way Hot Rod was faster than Bee. Bee was amazing, and the best at everything! He was faster, quicker, braver and more awesome than anyone else in the base, with the exception of Optimus being braver.

Maybe.

But Raf was simply raised to be too polite to actually argue with someone, especially about something like telling someone they were second best, so he just kept quiet in his simple adoration of his best friend, and listened to the music.

He did speak up to agree with Miko, though.

“Fowler is very….concerned about things,” Rafael said in his general polite manner, “He has a lot of responsibility and his bosses get really upset if the Autobots or even the Decepticons reveal themselves.”

He fell silent for a minute. He couldn’t imagine being responsible for trying to cover up the truth every time something went wrong. Eventually, no one was going to believe his stories.

Something suddenly surfaced in his mind, something Hot Rod said that didn’t make a lot of sense.

He opened his eyes and leaned forward to talk, yelling a little so his voice could be heard above the music.

“What do you mean outrun both factions? Why would you have to run from the Autobots?”

[Miko Nakadai]

Miko was having the time of her life. There was something so totally awesome about blasting down a road at dangerous speeds, wind wooshing through your hair with awesome music playing the only way she knew how – LOUD! Her eyes closed as she continued to air-guitar along with the music, hitting every note perfectly as she sang along.

Then the song ended, and she'd settle back in the seat once more. Whew!

“Bee is pretty fast! I don't think I've ever seen him go super fast though, I think the dude is holding back!” she grinned at that. Was Bee the fastest Bot at the base? Well that she wasn't sure of, but that's what racing to find out was for, duh! He did seem to stick to the rules unlike this guy, so who knew what he was capable of! Still though, she knew Raf and Bee were like bestest buds so she'd try to defend his honor some – if only for Raf! “No contest? I think you're all talk!” she teased - it was usually those who boasted the most that couldn't follow through, although she did have to give Hot Rod credit – what she'd seen so far? He was pretty fast. A friendly race did sound like fun though, and even if it would probably get them into heaps of trouble if they actually did it? She'd make a mental note to bring it up whenever she could until they finally relented and gave in.

The next song started, and she didn't recognize this one – although she heard Raf yelling from behind them over the intro. She'd wanted to ask the same thing, and so would follow on with questions of her own – leaning forwards to turn the volume down just for the moment, just so they weren't drowning out Raf with epic guitars.

“Run from both factions? Dude were you like some super secret spy or something? Like an undercover agent?!”

Whoa that was cool.

[Hot Rod]

     "So basically this Fowler and his bosses are a bunch of funsuckers, huh? If they're so big on wanting to stay tight-lipped about the existence of giant, transforming robots, I'm sure they must have been REAL happy when you kids found your way to the base, huh? Bet that went over super well."

     The kids seemed surprised by the fact that Hot Rod had made the statement of outrunning both factions, given that they mentioned it with the same tone of curiosity laced with their question. Miko, of course, took it a step further, leaving Hot Rod to laugh some about the secondary question she had for him. He turned down the radio some, figuring that if they wanted to actually know it would be easier to talk about if they weren't all trying to shout over the music.

     "I guess you could call it 'secret operative', but not really. There wasn't anything secret about what I did, and definitely nothing undercover about it." Hot Rod paused as he slowed down and scanned the area, making sure they were clear of 'unwanted visitors' of the enforcement kind before speeding back up. Twenty over was a decent clip to get where they needed to go in time. "You kids do realize that the wars on Cybertron weren't limited to Autobots and Decepticons, right? There were other groups, not fancy enough to have large followings or powerful leaders to keep everything in line, but there were others. They called themselves various things but they were all classified as some form of insurgent, or pain-in-the-aft, as the Higher Ups like to say."

     "Whereas you had the Neuts who preferred not to get involved in the fights of either side, you had the insurgents who were quite the opposite. They didn't want to join either side, and they fought like corned animals against the oppression from the two main sides. That's where I was- top of my game, fastest mech the insurgents had. My city was the hot bed for most of our activity. We sure made some enemies outta the Decepticons and the Autobots, lemme tell ya. We did everything from intercept their energon deliveries to sabotaging their communication arrays. No task was too big or too small for us. We were some hot stuff, and the thorns in their sides..." The flashy vehicle's speed slowed some and his voice quieted as he thought to himself for a moment after letting himself trail off. "at least... until the city was leveled and we were forced to disperse. As far as I know I'm the only one who originated outta the city who made it out in one piece... or at least, the only one still functioning today."

     Honestly, he didn't know if anyone else had managed to escape the downfall of the city. With the traveling he had done he hadn't met anyone from Nyon, or at least no one that he recognized. No one really spoke aloud about being from there, at least not until things had settled and they were no longer considered wanted outlaws... at least to the majority of Cybertron. Hot Rod made a clearing noise and sped up again. 

     "And that was your Cybertron History Lesson for today. As for our destination, I think if we keep at this pace we should arrive with more than enough time to hit up everything we want to, probably with time to spare. So if you come across anything that you wanna stop and see on the way back, make sure to let the driver know so I can at least kick it into high gear to make sure we get the full package outta this trip. Who knows when I'll be let outta my cage again in case word of this excursion gets back to Optimus."

[Raf Esquivel]

Rafael leaned back as Hot Rod continued to speed down the highway, enjoying the feel of the G’s pushing him back in his seat. The car wasn’t as comfortable as Bumblebee’s interior…but it was ok.

As he listened to Hot Rod, though, Raf started to get an unpleasant feeling in his stomach.

The things Hot Rod was saying about the Autobots made him very uncomfortable.

Raf understood that in wars there were people who didn’t want to fight, and left or ran away. He didn’t really blame them. Not everyone wanted to fight. Before he had met the Autobots, he would never have thought he was capable of doing half the things he was. Meeting Bee and the others had shown Raf he had a little core of bravery inside that he hadn’t known about. When something needed to be done, it needed to be done, and there was no sense in running away. And if something you cared about was in danger? You fought to save it.

Not everyone could do that, though, and that was ok.

But there were words Hot Rod was using that made Raf feel very uncomfortable in his middle.

“Oppression from the two main sides…”

Oppression?

The Autobots?

That couldn’t be right. The Autobots were good! They wouldn’t oppress anyone. Bumblebee wouldn’t be an oppressor, and neither would Optimus! Optimus didn’t even want to hurt humans in MECH! How could he oppress anyone?

“-made enemies outta the Decepticons and the Autobots…”

Hot Rod had been an enemy of the Autobots?

Raf fell quiet, looking out the window as the scenery flashed past. He suddenly really regretted coming on the trip.

[Miko Nakadai]

“Aaah Fowler isn't so bad. Least not anymore!” Miko grinned. “When he first found out we knew about you guys though? Hoo boy! Not happy!” she waved a hand, scoffing. “No big deal though, your secret is safe with us!”

She wouldn't tell anyone, EVER, about the Autobots. No way – the last thing she ever wanted to do was put Bulk into any kind of danger! Even if she knew he could totally kick anyones butt, she didn't want to draw attention to them and risk him being sent away somewhere.

She knew things were about to get serious when the music was turned down. That was something her host parents did when she was in trouble, and so she'd sit back in the seat a little – waiting for whatever it was.

She didn't know there were others involved in the wars – she just assumed it was Autobots, Decepticons and then the Neutrals who made up the rest. The word 'oppression' made her quirk a brow, blowing a huff of air to get a stray strand of hair from her face. She related that word to the Decepticons, knowing that some of them didn't have a choice in the matter of which side they were on – but the Autobots? They were all so nice!

So he'd been a Neutral – well, an insurgent. Working against the Decepticons and the Autobots? She knew Optimus was forgiving, but whew... Maybe he'd ended up realizing what he did was wrong and joined them? His city being leveled probably didn't give him much of a choice, especially if he was on his own – and at least he'd picked the right side at the end. If he'd picked at all?

Things were quiet then. An awkward air had filled the interior of the vehicle. Hot Rod had been so loud and peppy and now his voice had quietened some and his speed had fallen, too. Raf was silent back there – even Miko found herself at a loss for words. How do you even reply to something like that? Sorry your city was destroyed and you lost everyone you knew?

Maybe. But before she had a chance to really reply, Hot Rod cleared his throat and sped up again – talking once more.

“I think we're gonna make great time with the speed we're going!” she was cheery again, trying to push past the awkward and sad. “I hope you're ready to see sooo much cool stuff, Raf!” she grin, swiveling around in the seat to look back at him – the fact he was so quiet was worrying, but maybe once they were doing the weird sciencey stuff he'd perk up again.

With a scoff at Hot Rod's last words, she'd turn back around again to face the front and laughed.

“Dude, Optimus isn't gonna find out about this, don't worry!” Optimus had enough going on right now than to keep track of what they were up to, and so Miko wasn't worried at all.

[Hot Rod]

     Hot Rod could tell by the way the kids reacted that they didn't know as much about the Autobot history as they apparently had been lead to believe. It was easier to tell one side from the other now, but back then it had been different. Back then the lines had been blurred, and everyone outside of one group to another were the enemy. It was a fight for survival. No one could trust anyone. Heck, sometimes one couldn't even trust themselves. It wasn't so black and white as it was now, at least to those on the outside. For these human squishy types who hung around, the Autobots were the peacemakers- defenders of truth and justice and all that sugary sweet stuff. To someone who was a little more criminally influenced? The Decepticons were the way to go.

     Hot Rod knew this because Hot Rod had been that type. He had been that one from the outside looking in, who could have gone either way. If he hadn't witnessed what he had, or heck, even if he had and it hadn't bothered him as much as it did, Roddy could have been sporting a Decepticon badge instead of the Autobot one. If he hadn't heard the stories of the great Optimus Prime in the Academy, he could have still been swayed. 

     Was there a possibility now? Not like he had a badge-

     < "Hey, what's got you so down, kid? You were excited about the trip just a few minutes ago! Perk up, or else I'm gonna make you sit shotgun with the windows down and the music blaring. Or maybe your friend would be cool with sitting you on the hood?" >

     That was Hot Rod's idea of fun, but... then again, for the sciency-type kid in the backseat, it probably wasn't. He seemed much more content with having his eyes shoved in a microscope than anything to do with the race track. Hot Rod vented, the sign coming out strong through his speakers as he kept the music at a minimum. It could still be heard, but just barely. He figured a conversation may be in order, just... a matter of finding something that he could actually talk about that Raf would be down with discussing since the last one didn't quite go over so well. 

     < "Sorry about bustin' your bubble there, Raf. Um... look. I know I can say things that kinda throw blood in the water, but that's just the way I am. No filter. Sometimes it goes over well, sometimes not. So how about this. I'm your ride for the next few hours, so shoot me some questions that the others haven't been able to answer and I'll see what I can do. I don't know how much about Cybertron the others have been able to tell ya, and I'm guessing with the Cons on the loose they probaby don't have time to sit down for a Q and A." >

[Raf Esquivel]

Raf was quiet as they continued to speak. He was still mulling over what had been said.

The more he thought about it, the more he thought he could understand a little. While young, Raf wasn’t so young that he thought that Good and Bad were really set in stone. He understood, and had read enough, to know that the world could be a lot more grey at times. If a hungry person stole food, was that good or bad? Stealing was wrong, but if you were hungry and had no way of getting food legally, were you supposed to starve to death?

It wasn’t that that was making Raf feel uneasy. It was who Hot Rod was talking about. Yes, sometimes people did bad things, but….

The Autobots?

Optimus?

Bumblebee?

It didn’t make sense. They weren’t the type to do bad things to people who didn’t want to take sides….

…were they?

When confronted with something that Raf really didn’t understand…not simple things like code. Code was always simple. It was either on or off, it either worked or it didn’t. People, on the other hand, were very confusing. And when Raf had to think hard about the ways people interacted….he preferred just…thinking. Sometimes questions made things more difficult if you asked them before you really knew where you yourself stood. How you felt.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Hot Rod. It was just that Hot Rod was too new to Raf. Too unknown yet.

He wanted answers, yes. Answers to questions, like… did the Autobots really do things that weren’t…fair or decent? Were they once bad?

He wanted answers from Bumblebee.

“That’s ok,” Raf spoke up, trying to make himself sound chipper, “I’m just enjoying the ride. Don’t worry if I get quiet….I’m always quiet. Just ask Miko.”

Raf leaned back in his seat, gazing out the window at the scenery rushing by.

[Miko Nakadai]

Raf going quiet back there all of a sudden was worrying, but it hadn't really reached super levels of concern for Miko just yet. He was a quiet kinda guy, and he might've been out of his comfort zone is all, what with the blasting of music and speeding at super fast speeds! Then again she didn't know what he got up to with Bumblebee, maybe they raced home from school like this all the time!

Eh, she'd ask him about it later to check if he was okay – not wanting to put him on the spot in front of Hot Rod and make things super awkward. She turned to offer him a weak smile though, before turning back to face the front – she didn't want to get motion sick by swiveling around too much!

“Whoa whoa!” she cut in after Hot Rod spoke, “If anyone is sitting on the hood it's totally me!” she'd spoken without thinking, then laughed as her thought process caught up to her. “Actually second thought, the speed you're going that probably isn't smart at all! I can hear Bulk nagging me from here about it! I'd totally be game for letting Raf sit shotgun on the way back though! It's only fair!”

Sadly, her thoughts weren't going down the same track as Raf. She'd taken Hot Rod's words at face value, her immaturity compared to Raf coming into play a little there. Bulkhead was her hero and while she knew he'd kicked all kinds of Decepticon butt, the thought of him doing bad things to people who didn't want to take sides, or being anything other than the Deceptibutt kicking badass she knew him as? Didn't cross her mind at all.

Maybe she was just naive. The Autobots were the good guys!

Hot Rod's words made her nose wrinkle. It wasn't that they didn't have time for Q and A.. she'd asked Bulk plenty of questions about things (mostly butt-kicking stories!) but they seemed to put a filter on their answers. Even when she begged for the juicy and gory details, the stories and replies were super toned down.

It was kinda annoying in a way, she could totally handle the truth!

Maybe.

“Aw, yeah – Raf is always quiet!” she nodded, confirming the small but chipper words from the backseat. “I'm sure once we're at the Museum he'll talk more than I am!” she grinned.

She didn't want the next few hours to be sat in silence though, that would be totally awkward – so she gave a huff, blowing a strand of hair from her face before turning to look at the Holoform beside her. Question time! Something easy to start.

Or, hopefully easy, anyway.

“So if you weren't part of the Autobots or Decepticons – what made you join the Autobots in the end?”