A/N: Because I am sentimental and I'm not sure if anyone actually LIKED this, I have decided to repost it. Pls enjoy!

Nikki rarely did any solo missions anymore. She didn't mind. She'd grown comfortable with having others around almost constantly. She always (usually) had the option of being alone if she needed or wanted to be, and she was never bored.

She had no idea how it happened. It just sort of...did. In all honesty, it probably stemmed from her need to repay a debt she both likely already had 4 times over and never would finish repaying.

Someone else gave her a second chance. She gave others a second chance. She never expected that to turn into a team, or a family. (And really, didn't they mean virtually the same thing, given time and opportunities?)

Laserbeak was her partner. Had been since Day 1, would be till one of them checked out. Maybe both. Only two people out of the billions she'd met knew her better than he did. They were near telepathic on the field, knowing how, where, and when the other would move, dodge, and strike. He had her back, she had his. Sometimes they were Siamese twins, and sometimes they were polar opposites, but they were inseparable.

Knock Out was the semi-sane one. Sure, he had crazy ideas that he (sometimes) did on his own, and she chided him for it. Sure, she had crazy ideas that she (sometimes) did on her own, and he chided her for it. There were also crazy ideas that they both did, and someone else had to do the disciplining. He was the voice of reason for her and Laserbeak more often than not, and they were the ones who encouraged him to come out of his shell and live a little.

Ravage was one of her closest confidants and loyal friends. He was the serious balance to her lighthearted jokes, the one who followed them into danger shouting 'This is a bad idea!', and the one running with them away from the danger shouting 'I told you this was a bad idea!' She helped him with his trust issues and realize the rules could be bent a little. He was the one who helped her with her self-confidence issues and realize that not every rule was meant to be bent or broken.

Soundwave was the silent guardian. He stood by her and with her, even when he knew it would end badly. He offered advice and a sympathetic audio when she needed it, and sometimes advised her when she didn't. She was never one for being guarded but didn't seem to mind him doing it. Long as he wasn't too excessive, of course. She got him to open up a bit more and be a part of the team (both teams, sometimes to his chagrin when Barton zipped down the halls with Frenzy and Rumble in tow, and Stark and Ravage in pursuit).

Frenzy and Rumble were the psycho little cousins she was protective of, and if anyone messed with either of them, when the twins were done with them, she would go after the idiot (as would literally everyone else on the team, but it was an unspoken rule that she got third shot at the poor moron, after Ripclaw, who seemed to adopt them as her own brothers). She did her best to curb their destructive tendencies (sometimes), and they did their best to get her involved with every prank they could.

She and Megatron were kindred souls. Both had things they wouldn't talk about to anyone, save each other on nights where he couldn't slip into recharge because his processor was too busy remembering all the terrible things he'd done, and she couldn't sleep because of nightmares. Both had done awful things that they regretted, and both were trying to make up for it. She seemed much more mature when holding a conversation with him (50% of the time), and she was one of the few people who could get him to act anything close to immature.

Ripclaw was a very independent femme, and she sometimes had a tough time accepting the fact that she needed help. Nikki, having already gone through that, helped her through it. She and Nikki got close because they could both relate to being alone, being overprotected by everyone else, and being a bit overprotective themselves.

She hadn't asked for it, couldn't have seen it coming, didn't plan for it, and wouldn't have changed a thing. This was Nikki's team, and she wouldn't trade it for the world.