Just a note: with this chapter, we bring this Episode of "Sari and Transformers:Prime" to an end. We will pick the story up in Episode 4.

Raf, Sari and Miko were sitting in the Outpost Omega One raised area one Saturday morning. Raf had brought in one of his favorite Blu Ray movies, "Captain America: The First Avenger", and the three were camped out on the sofa with popcorn and sodas.

Jack walked by and rested his arms on the railing. "Hey! Good movie!" He remarked.

"Yeah, but I mean, how real is this, anyway? How can getting injected with something turn you into a super soldier?" asked Miko. Everyone turned to look at the Japanese girl, giving her a "Say what?" look.

"Uh, Miko? Isn't that kinda what happened to you?" said Jack.

Caught off guard, Miko could only say, "Well, uh, it's…nevermind," and grabbed some more popcorn.

"I'd love to get injected like him," sighed Raf. "I'd be able to do the same kinds of things you guys do – protect people, keep my family safe, help out…"

"Raf, you do help out!" Said Sari. "Look at what you did, figuring out how to get the bridge working, to get me home to my Dad! You did that – no one else!"

"I know," he replied, "but I would still love to be able to do the amazing things you guys do, like Captain America does."

"Well, I can tell you one thing, Raf," said Miko in between mouthfuls of popcorn, "you do NOT want to get supered-up MY way! That royally sucked! What's more, I'm not even human anymore – I just resemble a human."

"Hey, at least you resemble a human," Jack smirked. "Look at me!"

Miko rolled her yellow Predacon eyes. "That doesn't count, Jack! You'll be back in your Technorganic body in a couple of months, and then you can go back to being half-human."

"Well, at least you can sit there and stuff your mouth with popcorn," he countered. "You know how much I'd love to be able to do that right now?" He sighed.

"OK, guys," said Sari, "enough of this back-and-forth, 'who's more human / who's less human'. Let's just enjoy the movie, shall we?" And they got back to watching, chatting about the action scenes. Raf however, sat quietly, engrossed in the story.

"Vince! You're back!" Squealed Sierra.

"Hey, babe! Wanna sign my body cast?" He gave her a marker. "I already put a dotted line for ya." She took the pen and signed her name.

"How you feeling?"

"I'm doin' OK." He looked around nervously. "That crazy chick anywhere?"

"Oh, Miko? No, she keeps away from us. Probably on advice from her lawyer or somethin'."

"Good, good. Hey! Meet me at the burger joint after school. That skinny kid's not there anymore."

"Sure, Vince! Oh, hey, look over to your right." And Vince turned his wheelchair to see Raf. As usual, he was carrying a load of books.

"Heh! He doesn't see us. C'mon, let's have some fun. You wheel me along, and see if we can trip 'em up." And giggling, Sierra wheeled Vince over until they were right in front of Raf. As he walked along, she suddenly turned his chair so that Vince's footrest tripped Raf, sending him sprawling onto the floor, books flying everywhere.

"Oopsie!" Laughed Vince. "Gotta watch where yer goin', little guy!" Sierra snickered.

Poor Raf was so angry, his fists balled up! His face got beet red in anger! He pushed his glasses back up his nose and started walking up to Vince, but the bully reached over and grabbed Raf's collar. "Uh uh! Watch it, Einstein! I may be in a cast, but…"

"Hey!" A voice came from behind. "Let go of him!" said Miko.

"Oh geez, Vince, it's her!" said Sierra. Vince's eyes got big! He let go of Raf. "Get me outta here, babe!" And she wheeled him away.

Miko bent down and helped Raf pick up his books. "Are you OK, Raf?" He looked at her, his face full of anger and anguish. "You see? You see what I mean? I can't defend myself!" He grabbed the books from her hands. "Thanks," and fighting back tears, walked away.

"Now, tell me about this Japanese girl, Mr. Vogel. She goes to your son's school, correct?"

"Yes, yes. And she hangs out with some real losers, I'll tell ya that!"

Levichev took a drag on his cigarette. "Losers. Interesting. Tell me more."

"Well, there's this skinny kid that works at the KO Burger. Some future there is in that, huh? And there's a little brainiac kid. I mean, what, 12 years old? He's not even supposed to be in high school!"

"They hang together, eh? Socialize?" He said, making a circle with his pen.

"Yeah, yeah! My son says they're inseparable, like some kind of clique." Levichev took notes. "I see."

"Oh, and here's the weirdest part: they're dropped off and picked up by an ambulance!"

"An ambulance? Why do you suppose that is?"

"Beats me. Maybe one of their mothers drives it."

"But, they all ride together."

"Yeah. They sit on the front steps of the school until this ambulance comes up. Oh! Sometimes it's not the ambulance."

"Oh?"

"Sometimes they get picked up separately. At least, that what Vince or his girlfriend Sierra tells me."

"When that happens, who picks up who?"

"Let's see…the skinny kid rides a motorcycle; the "Little Einstein" – that's what Vince calls him – gets picked up by this yellow car; and the Japanese b****h, that's the one you're gonna get, right?"

"Mr. Vogel, isn't that why we're here?" Levichev smiled.

"Oh, yeah, of course! Anyway, she gets picked up by this big green all-terrain vehicle. I guess her parents do some camping or something."

Levichev wrote all this down. "Very good! This helps us tremendously. My organization is very skilled at going after these kinds of people – these types that can change into these…creatures." He got up to shake his hand. "You've been a tremendous help to us. I can assure you, we will handle this situation."

Vince's dad got up and heartily shook Levichev's hand. "Thank you, Mr. Levichev! Thank you very much!" And the General led him out of MECH's temporary facade office. After he had left, he got on his secure phone to the Board of Directors. "I have just received what looks to be some good intelligence regarding our prime volunteer. I shall make arrangements for his transport to the MECH facility. Operation 'Agent X' will be underway shortly. Yes sir. We should be able to proceed immediately."

"All rise."

Miko stood up with her Unit:E lawyers. Her parents and host parents stood behind her, as well as Sari and Agent Fowler. An Autobot-size tent was constructed adjacent to the courthouse with audio-visual equipment. Seated in front were Optimus, Dataminer, and Ratchet, with the rest of Team Prime behind them. On the prosecution's side, behind the State's attorney sat Vince and his family.

After the perfunctory introductions, the Judge addressed the young Predacon. "Miss Nakadai, the purpose of this hearing is to review and discuss the particulars of your case, which include the charges of assault and battery on fellow student Mr. Vince Vogel, after which I shall declare a recess so that I can consider all the evidence, after which I shall render judgment."

"How do you plead?"

"Not guilty, your Honor."

Vince's father shot up from is chair. "What?! She's guilty! Look at what she did to my son!" gesturing to Vince in his wheelchair.

The Judge banged her gavel. "Order! Mr. Vogel, you will restrain yourself, or I will have you removed from this courtroom!"

After things had calmed down, Doris Eddy, Unit:E's lead attorney, presented her arguments. She demonstrated how Miko was wounded by Shockwave's Predacon, presenting the hospital discharge papers. She then brought forth the findings from the exo-geneticist and the laboratory tests that showed how Miko's DNA was permanently altered as a result of the Predacon infection.

"Your Honor, Miss Nakadai had received an infection from this creature, called a Predacon. The infection altered her genetic structure, proceeding in stages, as depicted on this display." One of her assistants placed a chart which showed the five stages of the CNA infection, and what each stage does to the victim.

"As the chart shows, in the second stage of the infection, the victim suffers from uncontrollable rage. It is at this point when she was confronted by Vince, and…"

"Objection! The defense is introducing unsubstantiated medical evidence. Can Ms. Eddy provide proof of this so-called infection?"

"Sustained. Ms. Eddy, do you have documented proof of the existence of this infection?"

"I have, your Honor." And she brought forth medical reports from Miko's physical examinations prior to her infection, in order to contrast them with her current medical records. She also had a copy of an eye examination that Miko had to undergo prior to becoming an exchange student, as well as a current eye exam.

"Miko, please come forward so that the Judge can examine your eyes," said Doris, and she also invited the attorneys for the State to come to the bench.

"She could be wearing contacts," said the attorney for the prosecution.

"Not according to this medical report," said Doris.

The State's attorney suddenly took out a pocket flashlight and flashed it back and forth in front of Miko's eyes. "Hey!" she complained, putting her hand up.

"It's all right, Miko," said Doris, "let him do it."

To everyone's surprise – except her lawyer – everyone around the Judge's bench observed how her slitted irises opened and closed in reaction to the bright light, thus proving that they weren't contacts.

The Judge then examined Miko's "before" pictures, which showed her with normal brown eyes. She also read Unit:E's report, which detailed how her genetic structures have changed.

"It says here, Miko, that you have other physical changes as a result of this infection?"

"Yes, your Honor."

"Might I see another?"

"Uh," she looked to Doris for guidance, who explained, "some of Miko's changes can cause her clothing to rip, or fire to come out of her mouth; but, Miko, just change your hands." And with a yellow flash, Miko's hands became Predacon claws.

"Miko, let everyone in the courtroom see your Predacon claws," said Doris, and Miko held her arms up for all to see.

The people in the courtroom gasped! The Judge's eyes got big, looking at Miko's claws. She took off her reading glasses and sat back in her chair.

"So this CNA infection caused irreversible mutations in Miss Nakadai."

"Yes, your Honor."

"Then I will allow defense's contention that there is indeed such a disease as a CNA infection. Prosecution's objection overruled."

"Thank you, Miko. You can change back to your hands," said the Judge, and Miko complied.

"However, I have two questions: What evidence is there, other than speculation, that this CNA infection is the direct cause of Miss Nakadai's sudden violent behavior? And second, if this infection was the direct cause, what guarantees can defense give the State that she no longer possesses these violent tendencies?"

"Your Honor, with your permission, I would like to address your first question by introducing a subject matter expert."

"Proceed."

"The court calls the Autobot known as Dataminer." And from outside in the tent, Dataminer stood before the tall Autobot podium. He was sworn in, and began to speak of the historical evidence he'd gathered about the Autobot Hounder.

"The stages of the infection which Hounder suffered through, your Honor, exactly match those which young Miko Nakadai had gone through. Tragically, not enough was known at the time about how to cure him. We, all of us, are eternally grateful that this was not the case with our friend in court today. She was cured of the horribly violent effects of the CNA infection by our two Cyber-Ninjas, Jazz and Sari."

"So it is your opinion that at the time she struck Mr. Vogel, she was suffering from the effects of the second stage of this infection?"

"Yes, your Honor. As was the case with Hounder, the second stage brings not only uncontrollable rage, but markedly increased strength. It took three of our strongest Autobot soldiers to contain him."

And I see from the police report that it was in fact, Mr. Vogel who first assaulted Miss Nakadai," the Judge observed.

"Uh, oh…" said Vince under his breath.

"Now, even if we are to assume that the CNA infection is what drove Miss Nakadai to her…Cybertronian-enhanced assault on Mr. Vogel, it still leaves unanswered the issue of whether in fact, she is cured of these violent tendencies. What evidence is there that this aspect of the infection is permanently purged from her body? What assurances can be offered to this court and the State of Nevada that she won't attack with such savagery again?"

"Mr…Dataminer, is it? Are you able to speak to this concern?"

"Your Honor, all I can authoritatively attest to is the fact that with regard to the Autobot Hounder, our Cyber-Ninja Master Yoketron had realized – sadly, after the fact - that certain blocks would have been needed to prevent a re-infection and mutation to the final stage of the disease. Sadly, this had not been done in his case, and the final result was an irreversible transformation to a fully-developed Predacon. He became a minion of the Predacon race, and escaped our planet in search of his master, known to us as Predaking."

"And this will not ever happen to Miss Nakadai?"

"No, your honor! The Cyber-Ninjas succeeded in erecting blocks which prevented the irreversible transformation."

"Who are these Cyber-Ninjas?"

"They are here in the court, your Honor," said Doris. "They are Sari, who is here inside, and Jazz, who is outside with the Autobots."

"Very well. I would like to question them at this time. Thank you, Mr. Dataminer, for your testimony."

"My pleasure, your Honor." And Dataminer sat down.

"The court calls the Cyber-Ninjas Sari and Jazz." And Sari came up to the bench, and Jazz stood before the Autobot podium. They were sworn in.

"Sari, you are a human?"

"I am a Technorganic, your Honor," she replied. "I am half-human, half-Cybertronian. My Cybertronian half is the same race as Jazz'."

"And you are a Cyber-Ninja. Explain to the court exactly what that is."

"Cyber-Ninjas are a special subgroup of the Autobot security apparatus. Our duty is to guard our planet's most valuable technological secrets, be protectors of Autobots and other species, and sentinels on long-distant missions."

"As protectors and sentinels, you possess special, extraordinary powers?"

"Yes, your Honor."

"And in your capacities as Cyber-Ninjas, you and Jazz used your powers to rescue Miss Nakadai from these malignant effects of the CNA infection?"

"That is correct."

"How, exactly?"

"Through the use of specific Cyber-Ninja skills, which incorporate strict discipline, meditation, and the use of our Spark."

"The use of your what?"

"Our Spark. The Spark of a Cybertronian is our lifeforce. If I may?"

"Certainly." And Sari stood up before the bench. With a blue flash, she transformed into her "bot" mode. She pointed to her glowing, pulsating Technorganic Spark Chamber – which in Technorganics is more outwardly visible than in Autobots.

"This is my Spark Chamber, your Honor. It houses my Spark, which is a physical entity that is safeguarded inside every Cybertronian's body. If something were to harm my Spark beyond repair, it becomes 'extinguished'."

"You would die?"

"Yes."

"So, through strict discipline, Cyber-Ninjas are able to harness the energy of their Spark, to accomplish things which, normal Cybertronians cannot?"

"Correct."

"Any particular skill you might be able to demonstrate to the court?"

"One skill is called 'Processor-Over-Matter'. It is a technique that allows me to manipulate my physical surroundings."

"You have my permission to proceed." And Sari turned back to the assembled group, and caused Doris' table to ascend.

"Objection, your Honor! This could be some kind of parlor…" And Sari caused the Prosecuting attorney to rise up in the air! "Whoa! Put me down!" And she lowered him down slowly.

The Judge laughed. "Objection overruled. That's enough, Sari, thank you. And you may lower the defense attorney's table as well." Doris' table returned to the floor.

"Now, explain to the court how you rescued Miss Nakadai."

"Miko had already gone through the fourth stage of the CNA infection, and had partially mutated into a Predacon beast. The 'MikoPredacon' – that is what we called it, had attacked Branson Army Base."

"Just one moment, Sari. You referred to this 'MikoPredacon' as an 'it'?"

"Yes, your Honor. As Dataminer had mentioned, once the infection reaches stage two, the victim begins to lose control of themselves as the Predacon bestiality begins to take control. By stage four, the infection had completely overwhelmed Miko's mind, and locked her consciousness away. She was no longer in control. The entity which was then in command of this 'MikoPredacon' creature was not Miko, but a savage servant of the Predacon leader, what Dataminer referred to as 'Predaking'. That is why I referred to the 'MikoPredacon' creature as 'it'."

"I went with two other members of Team Prime, along with a special-ops team of Autobots known as Dinobots to the Army Base to confront the beast. At the time, we weren't certain that the beast actually was Miko. But if it was, I was going to try and rescue her from its clutches. Once it was contained, I used another Cyber-Ninja technique called Circuit-Su to paralyze it."

"Objection, your Honor," said the Prosecuting attorney. "With all due respect, this is a fantastic story – and I use that word 'fantastic' in the literal sense! Does defense have any evidence that all of this actually took place?"

"Actually, your Honor, we do," said Doris. "Unit:E has video of the very incident that Sari describes, downloaded from one of the Autobots. With your permission, I will play back that video to the court."

"Objection overruled. Proceed, counselor." And Doris played back the video recorded from Jack's optics. It showed an aerial recording looking down, as Sari and Jack flew above, and Bulkhead and the Dinobots battling MikoPredacon. Everyone gasped when they got a close-up view of the beast!

They listened to the audio. All the bots were on top of the beast, holding it down. Grimlock yelled,

"Little girl bot! Come quick!"

And they saw Sari land. They heard MikoPredacon roar in anger

"I'll kill you all!"

and Grimlock tell it

"You hurt no bot!"

Mrs. Nakadai began crying, watching this. "My poor daughter!" she said quietly. Then, it showed Sari approach the beast and touch its Spark chamber, at which point it went limp.

"It's alright now," Sari said in the video. "I've paralyzed it." The bots let go, and she sat down in lotus position, closed her optics and began to meditate.

"Pause the video," said Doris. "Sari, explain what you were doing at this point."

"We were not completely sure that this was indeed Miko. I went into Cyber-Ninja meditation to see if I could find any trace of Miko inside."

"What do you mean, find any trace?" asked the Judge.

"Miko's consciousness had been locked away by the Predaking entity that had taken over her body. Using my meditation skills, I was able to detect a faint trace of Miko's EEG pattern inside the beast's processor – its mind. That was how I knew this was Miko."

"Thank you for the explanation. Proceed with the video."

After a few seconds, Sari announced,

"This is Miko. I recognize her EEG pattern, although it's very, very faint."

"Oh, my God," said Jack.

"Oh, Miko," said Bulkhead. "Is she still in there, Sari?"

"Let me try to find her," Sari replied.

Doris interjected: "Now your Honor, at this time, several minutes will transpire, and it will appear that nothing is happening. However, Sari is locating Miko's consciousness, which had been locked away, and once she found it, she battled the forces that were imprisoning her, rescuing Miko from its clutches." The video showed Sari unmoving, optics closed, in Lotus position, while the bots stood by.

Suddenly, a yellow glow enveloped the MikoPredacon creature. It grew brighter, until the beast's features became vague. The bots all stepped away from the light. The bright envelope suddenly flashed, and started getting smaller and smaller, until it assumed a more human form. As it dimmed, it began to take on a human shape. Finally, the glow faded away, and Miko was present before them, in tattered clothes. She opened her eyes and pushed herself up. Sari opened her optics.

"Miko?" said Bulkhead, with a big smile on his face.

"Hey, Bulkhead," she said timidly.

"Hi, Miko," Sari smiled.

Miko jumped up and hugged Sari.

"Oh, Sari! Sari! You saved me! Oh, God! Thank you, Thank you!" She sobbed on her shoulder. Sari gave her a big hug.

"Welcome back, Miko."

The courtroom broke out in applause! Even Vince was moved. "Holy geez!" He said in response. The Judge banged her gavel. "Order! Order!"

"So, Sari, you rescued Miko, but this was not a cure, I assume?"

"No, your Honor. This was only a rescue from the fourth stage, similar to what Dataminer had said Master Yoketron did for Hounder. Miko's infection was going to return, and proceed to the fifth stage, and had not Jazz and I intervened, she would have permanently mutated into a Predacon beast and be lost to us forever."

"Curing Miko from the fifth stage required the efforts of two Cyber-Ninjas: both of us to battle the Predaking, who by the fifth stage had grown even more powerful in the victim's body; one of us to rescue Miko, and the other to implant cybernetic blocks to prevent the Predaking from ever returning."

"Let me stop you, Sari. Are these 'cybernetic blocks' as you call them, what prevent Miko from ever reverting back to the violent tendencies she previously demonstrated?"

"Yes, your Honor."

"And who did which task?"

"We both battled the Predaking, and once he was sufficiently weakened, I went searching for Miko to rescue her, while Jazz drove him away long enough to erect the blocks."

"Now, was your rescue of Miko the same as before?"

"It was similar, but the result was not the same, your Honor. When I rescued Miko from the fourth stage, she was still human. But after rescuing her from the fifth stage, Miko was no longer human, she was permanently a Predacon, as Unit:E's documents show. When Miko came back after the fourth stage, she returned to her human body, but when she came back after the fifth stage, she returned as a Predacon, except that she was now in full control of her Predacon body."

"But she is here in court, and I am looking at her. Except for her eyes, she appears human to me."

"Miko can assume the form of a human, but her default form is that of a Predacon."

"Can you show us your Predacon form, Miko?"

"Your Honor, there would not be enough room in this court," said Doris. "Perhaps outside."

The Judge looked at photographs of post-stage five MikoPredacon. "Oh, yes, I see. Perhaps some other time, Miko."

The Judge then turned to the audio-visual display. "Jazz, you have been patiently standing there, listening to Sari all this time," said the Judge.

"Sari has been doing an excellent job, as usual, your Honor," said Jazz. Chuckling could be heard in the court.

"Indeed, she has. Now I turn to you. Explain these cybernetic locks to me, where they are in Miss Nakadai, and how they keep this Predaking out."

"When a Cyber-Ninja goes into meditation, we enter into a realm known as 'transwarp', which is an interdimensional buffer zone. It gives us passage to other areas of consciousness and enables us to manipulate both physical and non-physical entities. This is how, for example, Sari was able to levitate the table, and the Attorney for the State."

"It was through transwarp that Sari and I entered the fifth-stage MikoPredacon's consciousness, where we battled the Predaking, and Sari was able to locate and rescue Miko. Two locks needed to be placed: the realm threshold before Miko's processor, and the realm threshold before her Spark."

"Hold one moment, Jazz." The Judge re-read Unit:E's report on Miko's genetic modifications. "As a result of Miko's CNA infection, she now has a processor in place of a human brain, and a Spark in place of a heart. It is in these two locations where you placed the locks?"

"Correct, your Honor."

"And the Predaking can never break these locks?"

"No, your Honor. In the transwarp realm, a Cyber-Ninja is more powerful than the Predaking. Miko will never again be under his influence."

"But according to Unit:E, and Sari's testimony, she is a Predacon," the Judge retorted. "I understand what Sari said about her rescue after stage five, but Predacons have been described thus far as savage beasts. How do you reconcile this?"

"Miko is a Predacon, but she is in full control. When Sari and I were done, we came out of meditation, and although Miko was cured, she was still in a Predacon body. However, she was then the same Miko as before her infection and remains so."

"If Unit:E has a clip of that moment, I would like to review it," said the Judge.

"We do, your honor, said Doris, and motioned for the video specialist to play the tape from Outpost Omega One, beginning at the moment of her release from Predaking. It showed the Dinobots and Bulkhead battling the now full-sized MikoPredacon, with Jazz and Sari on the floor in Lotus position.

Suddenly, the Predacon stopped fighting. A yellow glow enveloped it. The Dinobots and Bulkhead let go and stepped back. The glow continued to brighten, and all the bots lifted their servos to shield their optics. Then there was a bright flash, and the Predacon had shrunk to half its size, with pink and purple armor!

"What the…?" said Vince.

The pink and purple mini-Predacon blinked its optics and looked around. In Miko's voice, it said,

"Uh, this is weird."

The T-Rex Dinobot growled angrily at the mini-Predacon. Miko looked at him and in a timid voice, said,

"Uh, hi?"

The Dinobot assumed an attack stance, and roared at Miko! She backed away, tripping over her Predacon tail.

"Whoa, whoa! Hey! Can someone cool this guy's jets?"

A few in the courtroom laughed. The Judge suppressed a chuckle. "That's enough, thank you," she told the Unit:E team. "I will assume the issue with the T-Rex bot was resolved?"

"Yes, your Honor," said Jazz, smiling.

"Alright, court will adjourn for one hour while I make my deliberations," and she struck her gavel.

During the recess, Miko went outside to the Autobot tent to thank Dataminer for his help.

"Oh, you are most welcome, my dear! Let's hope it makes a difference!" And every bot wished her well.

Going back into the courtroom, she was approached by Vince. "Hey, Miko?" He started, "I didn't know about all that stuff you were goin' through, and, uh, well, I'm sorry I yanked your hair and everything."

"Ah, forget about it," she said. "I'm sorry I beat the cr… I beat your up. I swear to you, Vince, it wasn't me. I hope you'll get better."

"Forget about it, the docs say I'll be OK." And he wheeled his chair back to where his Dad was sitting. "Hey, Dad? Don't do all that stuff to her, OK?"

"If that's what you want, son. After this is over, we'll drive to that Levichev's office and tell him."

"All rise!"

The Judge returned to the courtroom. "There were several issues to be carefully considered here. The first was Miss Nakadai's culpability with regard to her excessive response to Mr. Vogel's initial assault. This culpability hinged on whether in fact the defendant was in full possession of her faculties at the time. If we are to assume the reality of this CNA infection and the stage at which she was in, then indeed she should not be held responsible for her actions. To address that, we have to rely on the testimony of the Autobot Dataminer, and after hearing his explanation of the historical records regarding this disease, I am in agreement with defense's argument that Miss Nakada was not in full possession of her faculties, and I therefore judge her to be not criminally liable for the charge of assault and battery."

Miko and her family were relieved to hear this!

"Then there is the matter of the permanent nature of this infection, and whether it can lead to future incidents like the one for which she has been accused. To address that, we have to rely on the testimony of the Cyber-Ninjas Sari and Jazz. After hearing their explanations of how Miss Nakadai was rescued and cured of this infection, I am in agreement with defense's argument that she is no longer under the influence of this disease."

"Case dismissed." And she banged her gavel.

Everyone on the defense's side was overjoyed! Miko's parents and host parents hugged her! Sari gave her a big hug. "Congratulations, Miko!" Agent Fowler, Doris, and the entire Unit:E team came over to congratulate her and her family.

She went outside and was congratulated by all the bots.

"Wonderful, my dear!" Said Dataminer. "I am so very happy for you! Now remember, I want to see you quite often in my office. I do so enjoy chatting with my Technorganic friends," he smiled.

"You got it, Dataminer!" said Miko.

Optimus came forward. "Miko, I believe there is a trip awaiting you."

"Cybertron?!" She said excitedly.

"We will discuss things with your parents and host parents," he smiled. "Ironhide and Sideswipe are looking forward to having you join them."

"Yes!" Miko pumped her fist!

Afterwards, Mr. Vogel and Vince went to the office where he'd met with General Levichev. "I'm gonna tell him the deal's off, Vince." They turned the corner.

"Huh? What gives?"

"What's the matter, Dad?"

"What…? This is where his office was! I dont' get it!"

"This place? It's a Middle-Eastern restaurant! You sure you've got the right location?"

"Dammit, Vince! Of course I do! I swear, this was the place!"

After the courtroom hearing, Jack and Arcee took a ride out to their "secret" spot. Sitting on their flat rock, they held servos and talked about the recent events.

"Isn't it great about Miko? She's free from all those legal worries!" said Jack.

"And she's free to travel to Cybertron for her training," said Arcee. "Optimus wasn't going to let her go until this matter was cleared up."

"She's gonna love it, especially the melee training from Sideswipe," Jack chuckled. "I think, of all of us, she's just about the most 'melee' fighter we've got."

"She's certainly got that Wrecker spirit, eh?"

Jack suddenly grew silent. "Arcee tilted her head and looked into his optics. "What's the matter?"

He sighed. "It's Raf. I'm worried about him."

"Raf? What's wrong?"

"He just feels…I dunno…'small'".

"Well, he is."

Jack chuckled. "No, that's not what I mean. He sees the rest of us changed, and getting these…powers, and he feels left out."

"Oh…I see what you mean. I don't know what we can do, except, let him know how much we appreciate him."

"Sari tried that, reminding him about how his genius with computers got her home, but he still felt down. I wish I could do more for him."

Smiling, Arcee put her arm around his shoulder. "You're a good friend, you know that, Jack?"

Slightly embarrassed, Jack reached up and absentmindedly attempted his 'hair-comb' habit on his helm. "Oh, I just care about him, you know?"

Watching him do the 'hair-comb' thing on his smooth Autobot head, Arcee giggled and kissed him. "You're a compassionate guy! It's one of the things I love about you."

"Hey, Raf, Ratchet's got June tied up with medical stuff in sick bay while he and Bulkhead are working on making the space bridge bigger, and Optimus needs me to go investigate an Energon deposit with Sari and Arcee. Would it be possible for your Mom to drop you off and pick you up tomorrow?"

"Oh, I'm sure it's no problem, Bee, let me talk to my Mama." He went to check, and came back on the phone. "She said no problem. When will you be back?"

"Tomorrow's Friday, so things should be back to normal after the weekend."

"Sounds good, Raf! Jack can be by in his Hummer Saturday morning to bring you to the base. I'll see you Monday morning!"

"See ya, Bee!"

The bell rang, and the kids bounded down the stairs as they ran away from school, overjoyed at the weekend escape. Raf sat on the steps waiting for his Mom. Opening his backpack, he took out one of his science fiction novels, and before long, was happily lost in a universe far, far away.

Then, everything went black, as he collapsed onto the sidewalk.

"Alright, Bulkhead, let's test the bridge out. This has got to be ready for Miko tomorrow!" The big green bot walked out of the bridge tunnel while Ratchet checked all of the controls. He pulled the lever. Suddenly, sparks flew out of the console.

"What the…? Bulkhead, did you complete all the wiring?! I've got a short circuit!"

"I thought I did. Power it down and I'll check again."

Ratchet powered the console down, shook his helm and sighed. "I wish Rafael would get here. He's late!"

"Well, his Mom's driving him, and she's a slow driver," said Bulkhead from inside the tunnel. "Give her time."

"Oh, found it!" And Bulkhead connected the wiring.

"You realize once we're done here, we've got to complete the wiring on the enlarged tunnel on Cybertron. This one will be our model."

"I know, I know," grumbled Bulkhead, walking out. "Give it a go." And Ratchet pulled the lever again. This time the tunnel lit up and the console came to life. "Well, that's much better!"

Suddenly, the comm lit up. It was Raf's mother. "Ah! It's about time!" said Ratchet. He opened up the comm. "Yes, Mrs. Esquivel?" But she was practically unintelligible, crying and babbling! "What's that? I can't understand you!" In the background, Ratchet heard Miko's voice. "Gimme the phone!" Finally, Miko came on.

"Ratchet? Something's going on! Raf's gone!"

"What? What do you mean, Miko?"

"I mean, his mom came to pick him up, and I just happened to be leaving detenti – uh, coming out of school at the same time she pulled up. I was walking toward my bicycle. We found his glasses on the sidewalk, but no Raf. I ran back into school to change out of my clothes so I could get out my wings, and I flew around looking for him. I didn't see him anywhere! His mom is freakin' out here!"

June came out of sick bay. "What's going on?"

"Rafael is missing. Miko flew around the vicinity of the school looking for him, but he's nowhere to be found."

June ran up to the console. "Miko! Call 911! I'm on my way!" She looked at Ratchet. "Tell Optimus, and bridge me to the school!"

Raf's been abducted by MECH, to be their "volunteer" for the Agent X project. Will Team Prime find him before he succumbs to their procedure? We will pick this story up in Episode 4.

Thanks for reading. Please review.

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