RID 2015 FAN: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it! And no, this is very new so definitely not a ghost here.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and followed this fic so far! I'm so glad everyone seems to enjoy it!


CHAPTER 3
Even More Questions

"Sam Hill, and these scans came from a kid?"

Those words weren't exactly what Bumblebee was looking for from William Fowler. The by now older liaison to the Autobots was staring at the schematics from one of Fix-It's scans in wonder. Did this mean that the government had done this without his consent? Or this really was the work of Decepticons? "So you have no idea what this is?" Fowler shook his head. "This is the scans of a fourteen year old boy I watched transform from a Cybertronian to a human..."

Fowler's eyes bulged, staring at Bumblebee. "That's not possible..."

"Apparently it is," Bumblebee replied as he put his hands on his hips. "We just finished doing some research on him an hour ago. And it looks to everyone involved that he's somehow a hybrid - half Cybertronian, half human. And since that's not exactly possible through normal means."

Fowler immediately threw his hands up, already catching on. He took a step away from the computer screen slowly, crossing his arms. "Wait, you think we had something to do with this?" Bumblebee looked unsure of himself as the man spoke up. "I definitely had nothing to do with it. I mean... I'd think they'd tell me if they did. But I don't know for sure, after Ratchet left - you know I was out of the Autobot game for a while."

Bumblebee's doorwings lowered a bit. Of course, this was not helping at all. But it did make him feel assured that if this was the humans, none of his friends would have been behind this. "Well, until we're sure who's behind this. I'm requesting you get us temporary custody," he shook his head, being as blunt as he could. "Whoever did it was sparkless. What this kid's going through he'll need us to get through. Since no one prepared him."

"What he's "going through"?"

"He's hit our version of "puberty"," Bumblebee explained. "This whole thing happened because he transformed for the first time. Usually, we transform into our alt modes for the first time. But he activated his Cybertronian form for the first time instead... And that'd dangerous. You usually can't control your transformations, and any number of things could happen."

Fowler frowned - that didn't sound good to him clearly. But it was true, they had no idea when to expect Cole's next transformation, or what it would bring. He'd already unknowingly activated his weapons systems, after all. And they'd all seen how well that went. "How bad are we talking?"

"Enough to spook his foster parents," Bumblebee explained. "Or do damage... Apparently he activated his weapons systems without trying. Blew a hole in the wall of his school."

Fowler's eyes bulged, definitely understanding the scope of it all now. He scratched his chin a little, looking to be deep in thought. No doubt, there was a huge liability issue in letting Cole stay there. And Bumblebee had the feeling the boy wouldn't be too thrilled either. But at the moment, without answers as to how Cole was made, or any point of reference on how this new species worked... It was generally in everyone's best interest to keep Cole in Autobot custody.

At the very least, it meant they could help him control his transformations and answer his questions.

There was a deep sigh that erupted from Fowler's lips. "Alright, I'll see to it some forms are drawn out. I'm guessing you don't want this getting out until you know the full story?" Bumblebee nodded affirmatively. "That's a tall order, gotta at least tell my higher-ups."

"I have no problem with that," Bumblebee explained. "But until we know who created him. I think it's best you keep it between yourself and your superiors."

"I could probably get the "temporary custody" under Denny Clay," Fowler admitted. "As long as my higher-ups know we can keep it hush-hush then. While we investigate, anyway. If it's something to do with our government. It shouldn't be too hard to find out."

Bumblebee relaxed, that was definitely a relief. Though he also knew that he, and the other Autobots, would be launching their own investigation. Though more than likely it would be into the Decepticon possibility. If only because the last thing they wanted was to stir the pot of distrust in the government. "Thank you, Agent Fowler," Bumblebee replied. "If it makes you feel any better, you're not the only one who'll have to keep this from your government. For the time being."

"Not keen to tell the high council, huh?"

The warrior shook his head, definitely not keen on that. The new High Council may not have seemed corrupt, but he didn't know much about the mechs and femmes at the moment. And given that, he had no idea how they'd react to this. And he'd need a tactful way to approach it before he said anything. "Not until we know more... This is going to change things. Maybe everything," Bumblebee admitted. "I don't think it will cause trouble... But I can't be sure that they won't react badly."

"Especially if it was Decepticons that made him."

Yes, Bumblebee had to agree, especially if he were created by Decepticons.


Cole started to get nervous when they didn't let him go.

So when Bumblebee reappeared again at Fix-It's lab, he knew he wasn't going anywhere soon. Even before the tall, friendly looking yellow robot spoke, he knew that he was staying there. But he didn't fully know why, or whether or not he should be afraid. "So I guess I'm not going back to my foster home," Bumblebee tilted his head slightly in confusion. "It's almost sundown and you haven't come back with either of my foster parents."

The mech rubbed the back of his neck slowly. "Yeah, I don't think going back to your foster home is an option right now, Cole," he explained, trying to come off gentle as he said it. "That transformation wasn't the first or last time you're going to do it. And I want you to stay with us a little while... Learn to control it, learn to adapt. And then maybe we can talk about it."

"'Maybe'?" Cole questioned.

"Well, something like this... This is going to change a lot of things, Cole," Bumblebee explained honestly, taking a seat on one of the Transformer-sized berths to his side. "There's never been anything like you before. And once you're out there, someone's going to recognize you from that street."

Cole was starting to understand his point. They really did need answers, at least if Cole was going to resume normal life. Sure, they had established he was a hybrid of Cybertronian and human. But they hadn't established how he was made, why he was made, or what he was capable of. And that, at the end of the day, could scare a lot of people. "Well, I guess that's OK. I'm used to only being in one place a short time anyway," Cole explained. "I'm only ever in a foster home a year at a time."

Bumblebee looked perplexed by that. "You mean to tell me your foster homes only keep you one year?"

"Well, yeah. Every year, on my birthday, I get moved," Cole replied. "I'd only even been with these foster parents a few weeks... My birthday is October tenth."

Being it was November first, Cole could tell Bumblebee was even more confused. Cole didn't get why either, he'd always assumed that was how foster care worked. Wasn't it? "What? I'm in foster care. That makes sense, right?" Cole asked.

Bumblebee's doorwings drooped a bit in response. As if he were embarrassed to have to correct him. "We have a friend, Jack, who does foster parenting. And that doesn't sound like what he and his mate, Sierra do," he admitted, honestly. "In fact it sounds really strange, Cole."

That caused a pit to form in his stomach. He'd always felt like it all wasn't right, admittedly. Even if he'd assumed this was what foster care was like it was always strange. Anticipating leaving every year, the lack of connection with any foster parents... It was really just weird when he looked at it objectively. "I... Don't know what to say," Cole shook his head. "That's the only kind of life I've known. I was put in foster care when I was born."

Bumblebee gave a look that said "Of course you were." Cole simply rubbed his knees, unsure of what to say any more. The more he talked, the more his strange life seemed to be picked apart. "Well, it sounds like that sucks. So maybe you can think of this as a vacation!" Cole looked up in surprise, smiling a little at the enthusiasm in Bumblebee's voice. "And maybe a chance to make a connection with a part of yourself you didn't know about."

Licking the sides of his lips, Cole looked away for a moment. "Well I guess... But I don't know," he admitted. "Don't you have more things to worry about than this?"

Bumblebee looked as though he was trying not to laugh. He crossed his arms a little, and with a bit of a cheeky look on his face. "Well, not really. Considering this isn't exactly a small matter," he explained. "We have Decepticon fugitives to handle. But we still have time to handle training you. There's so many of us."

Of course, Cole had to remember the fact he was an anomaly now. Something totally unknown to the word until now. Not just a nobody from... Wherever he was actually born. "Alright," Cole replied as he stood up. "So when do we start? Because I'm pretty sure you don't want me blowing stuff up in here like I did back at school."

The Autobot smirked a little at that - perhaps finding humor in the joke. Or perhaps, Cole guessed, being polite. "Well I suggest we start tomorrow. You've had enough to take in today," he explained. "Right now, how about we just get you settled in? Should we be getting anything from your foster home?"

Cole wasn't really sure if he had anything he wanted from his old foster home. He didn't have a lot of things he owned, an iPod he got one birthday was at school, maybe some clothes, something which he did need. "Well my clothes are there. And I need my backpack from school... I have an iPod there."

Bumblebee, perhaps really starting to grasp how little he had to his name gave a small frown. But really, Cole wasn't looking for pity. "Well, alright. First thing I'll do is go find Fowler and see about getting those," he noted. "Then we'll go bring you to your room. I told our friend, Denny about you. And he'll be giving you somewhere to stay, if that's OK."

"I guess," Cole put his hands in his pockets. "He's not creepy or anything, right?"

Another chuckle came from Bumblebee. "Hardly, he's a dad himself," he replied honestly. "So don't worry too much about that. Everything's going to be fine."

And Cole really hoped he could trust him about that.


This kid had a really hard life.

Everything about him, Bumblebee noted, seemed strange. At least when it came to how he was raised. He absolutely knew that his foster care experience nearly screamed of a staged act - at least on the side of the adults. And his lack of any real possessions only made it stranger. It was like this boy had not had a single sole that really cared about him, and was simply being used by someone. It was a suggestion that made his tanks churn as he wondered just what he had gotten himself into.

The more he thought about it, the more lonely that existence sounded. Like Cole stood as an afterthought in so many people's lives, simply shuffled from one place to another. Something Bumblebee, having been a war orphan that lived on the streets for much of his life before joining the Autobots, knew too much about. And it made his spark go out to the boy more than he probably realized.

A part of him hoped that maybe he just read the situation wrong. Maybe Cole was in some different foster care program he'd never heard of... But at the same time, he knew that wasn't true. And if that was the case, and whoever had created him was behind his life... Well, they had to be pretty fragged up to do this to a kid.

"Lieutenant?" Bumblebee jumped, pulled from his thoughts by Strongarm as he stood looking over Cole's schematics one last time on the computer before recharge. "Are you OK? You're usually in recharge by now."

Bumblebee shifted a little, then turned to her with a nod of his head. "I'm fine, Strongarm. Today's just got me thinking about a lot of things," he admitted, placing his hands on his hips. "Cole in bed finally? I know Denny was having trouble convincing him to go."

"Yeah, I think he finally did," she replied. "Do you still want two people on patrol tonight, just in case?"

Bumblebee nodded his head. "Better to be safe than sorry. If we were able to detect him, so were any rogue 'Cons," he explained. "I'd rather not be surprised if one of them decides to come looking for him."

"Understandable. Sideswipe and I will take first watch," Strongarm replied. "Get some rest, sir. If you're going to start training him in the morning, you'll probably need it."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, cadet," Bumblebee nodded. "But thanks. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, lieutenant."

To be frank, Bumblebee was glad she'd interrupted him. Maybe now he could get his processor off of all of this long enough to get some recharge. After all, all of these mysteries would still be there in the morning.


A/N: Don't worry - if you wanted to see Cole and Denny interact I plan for some of that next chapter! Anyways, hope you all enjoyed.