Energon is Thicker Than Water (RID2015 Fanfic)

1. Patrol Gone Wrong

The morning had started out fairly normal. The bots had gotten out of sleep mode and checked up on the scanners for any possible Decepticon signals. Nothing so far. Bumblebee had seemed to be in some discomfort, but had thought little of it.

"Just a little stiff from sleep." he'd insisted.

In previous months, the lack of Decepticon activity had made the team antsy, but now it felt somewhat likely. The only known Decepticons on Earth were Steeljaw, a group of Vehicons that were waiting for Megatron's return, and possibly some other cons like Flamesnort that had been here on Earth for ages and had no idea that the war had been over for years.

Still, they knew Steeljaw would make a move eventually, and so into afternoon, Bumblebee, Cadet Strongarm and Sideswipe had gone out on patrol, leaving Fixit with the scanners, and Drift and Grimlock to keep an eye on the Scrapyard in case Steeljaw made a move against their home base again. Denny and Russell were still cleaning up from the last attack.

"Ah..." Sideswipe sighed. "...It's so good to get out on the open road and just drive! Taking Denny to the grocery store and back just isn't enough."

"Surprisingly, I agree with Sideswipe. I was getting what the humans call "Cabin Fever" just sitting around going over the police codes."

Sideswipe pulled closer to the police bot. "You, getting tired of studying? Are you sure you're not coming down with Brain Rust!?"

"Lay off her, Sideswipe." Bumblebee ordered as he pulled up between them again. "We all needed a drive."

"Are you certain you're alright, Lieutenant?" Strongarm inquired. "You've been lagging behind a little."

"Like I told you Strongarm, I'm fine. My wheels are just a little stiff from lack of use, that's all... If you're so bored, Sideswipe, you can always head back to Cybertron."

"Are you kidding? Cybertron's gonna be even more boring than Earth! At least here I don't have to worry about scraplets, or getting pulled over by some trigger-happy cadet..."

"That was one time, Sideswipe!"

"And several times here! Remember when Clampdown locked us up in that shipping container?"

"How can I forget? I was stuck chestplate to chestplate with you for hours...!"

"Enough...!" Bumblebee grumbled. "That was the past. We need to keep looking forward and not worry about past offenses."

"Remember when Optimus suggested we become ambassadors of Cybertron to Earth?" Sideswipe inquired. "How long do you think it'll be before they make it official and we can expose ourselves to the rest of the humans?"

"Probably some time, Sideswipe. We can't just jump in there, they'll think we're dangerous and will retaliate."

Sorry to bother you, Lieutenant... Fixit's voice apologized over the comms. ...But the scanners seem to be picking up another cybertronian signal near your position.

"Decepticon?" Sideswipe asked.

Unclear...The signal keeps flickering in and out, and I can't identify it.

"We'll look into it." Bumblebee informed. "Thanks, Fixit."

He looked ahead as the road split into two in front of them. "Strongarm, you and Sideswipe take the left side, I'll take the right. We'll radio each other if we find anything, and please...try not to break anything."

"Will do." Strongarm replied, then she and Sideswipe pulled away from Bumblebee as the fork got closer, then disappeared behind the trees.

Bumblebee gave a hard sigh, somewhat glad the two teenagers were gone for the time being. He wasn't about to tell Strongarm that the discomfort wasn't in his wheels, but rather his chest. A faint, but persistent pressure and throbbing behind his chest plate that wouldn't go away. As the road turned, the density of the trees between him and his teammates increased, until he was no longer able to hear their voices or wheels turning on the pavement.