The next morning as Vaughan walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, she saw Spike talking on the phone with someone as he made breakfast.
"No way, are you serious Chip? That's awesome! I'll even bring Bumblebee with us. Okay, see you later. Bye."
"Chip? So after almost two months of summer vacation, now you give your buddy Chip a call to come see me?" Vaughan teased. "Talk about cutting it a little too close Spike, I leave in a week."
"Well in my defence, you, me, and my dad were helping giant alien robots who were protecting our planet from another group of alien robots who were trying to blast us." Spike grinned.
"Point taken." Vaughan replied as she sat on the kitchen stool, pouring some milk.
"Anyways, Chip called because he was inviting us to check out where he works. A government science lab!" Spike said.
Vaughan nearly spit ticked all over the boy when she heard that. She knew that Chip was a genius, but he's THAT BIG of a genius? Working in a government lab?! "Shut up!"
"I know! He even asked if the Autobots wanted to check it out, and since Bumblebee is stopping by today I figured we let him tag along with us."
News about the Autobots and Decepticons were really starting to spread on the news lately. In fact the U.S. Armed forces and the Autobots had secretly formed a partnership with each other. Vaughan and Spike hang out with the Autobots practically everyday and they didn't know a single peep about it! It was only until Optimus quietly brought it up to the girl as she and her family were leaving the base yesterday with her mother going back home without her.
In facts the news has been so big nobody even talked about Vaughan's new song yet. Dubstep was taking a strange turn in the news lately. This made Vaughan wonder... Did her father hear the news?
"So what's the game plan?" She asked.
"Well, Bumblebee is meeting us here and then we're picking up Chip on the way over to his work." He explained.
"Got'cha, I should go get ready."
Once, she drank another and more improved glass of milk, Vaughan went back upstairs, showered and got dressed for the day. She wore her everyday clothes, her new shoes her mother got her, and... Something else.
Just before she was about to leave the room, she looked over at her desk to see a necklace she left there. She looked at it, picking it up and holding it close to her face. Her fathers dog tag. She placed the chain over her head and put the necklace on.
She thought how he would have loved to see something like the place Chip was working at. He was a bit of science know-it-all too.
Once he reached downstairs, Spike was putting his yellow boots on and opening the front door to see Bumblebee in his vehicle mode. "Great timing Vaughan, 'Bee is here."
"Then let's stop stalling and go!"
The two teens left the house and piled inside Bumblebee. Spike got in the driver seat while Vaughan hooped into the back seat to allow Chip to take the front when they picked him up.
"Good to see you still hanging around Vaughan." Bumblebee greeted as he began driving down the road.
"It's good to still be around Bumblebee." Vaughan smiled.
"Where to Spike?" Bumblebee asked.
"First to Central Boulevard to pick up a friend, then off to the Mission City Science Lab." Spike answered.
"You got it."
************
Once the three of them picked up Chip from his house, Vaughan and the boy genius had a lot go catching up to do. While on the ride over to the lab, the two chatted about school, what they did in the summer, the whole deal.
After a few minutes, the lab came into view and Bumblebee pulled up to the security check point at the entrance to the lab.
The security guard stepped out of his office and greeted the three teens, smiling. "Hi there Chip!"
The three of us waved back at the guard as he opened the gate and allowed us inside. Once we were in the outside courtyard, Bumblebee stopped allowing the three to get out.
"Chip, Spike, good to see you guys." Said the guard as he walked towards them. "And a nice to meet you Ms. Witwickey."
"You can call me Vaughan." She replied.
Then Bumblebee transformed into his robot mode, standing beside the trio of humans. "No welcome for me?"
"Well I've never met an Autobot before!" The guard said with surprise. "Follow me now, let me get you through our security doors."
The entrance to the lab were to giant green doors that were locked with a pass code. The guard typed it in and the doors slid open. The four of them proceeded inside and followed Chip as he led them to his work area.
The place was huge! It was filled with computers and all sorts of equipment.
"Wow Chip, what are you some kind of V.I.P.?" Spike asked with a tease.
"Aw come on Spike!" Chip replied with a slight blush.
"I have to admit, this is pretty impressive." Vaughan said.
"Welcome! Please come in." Spoke up a voice.
Chip led the humans and Autobot over to a scientist who was working at one of the computers in the station. "So what do you guys do here?" Vaughan asked.
"We're working on a anti-matter formula." Chip answered.
"No way!" Vaughan exclaimed.
"Yes way. In fact, our anti-matter formula wouldn't have been competed without Chip's help. It would still remain a mystery if he hadn't." Said the scientist.
"And here I thought you were just another pretty face." Bumblebee joked.
Vaughan, carefully, nudged Bumblebee in the arm teasingly, making sure not to hurt herself in the process. The Autobot grinned at the girl as he shrugged. The scientist began typing away ate the computer as he brought out a disc. "I asked you to come by today so I could give you this." He explained as he handed the disc to Chip. "It will let your home computer work with the computers here, anytime and anywhere."
"That's so cool!" Vaughan said.
"Can't wait to test it out." Chip said with glee.
********
During the drive back to the city, Vaughan and Chip continued their long conversation of 'catching up' and finally Vaughan brought up her Dubstep music and its connection to the Autobots.
"So you created a new genre of music from a strange signal that showed up on your laptop out of nowhere?" Chip asked.
"Yep. Thanks to those hacking lessons you taught me, they worked perfectly." Vaughan answered.
"And now they are taking the music world by storm? Wow Vaughan, I have got to say I am pretty impressed. I knew you were into music since Spike told me, but this is a whole new level." Chip replied.
"I know right?" Vaughan exclaimed.
"She was glad that Prime and the others were okay with her distributing it to the public." Spike added.
"Yeah. Jazz told me how you were having a meltdown about it before." Bumblebee chuckled.
"It was not a meltdown Bumblebee!" Vaughan defended. "It was a slight panic."
"Like there's a difference?" Spike teased, who received a playful slap on the head by his older cousin. Thank goodness Bumblebee was doing the driving and not Spike.
"So I guess that means you're kind of famous now Vaughan." Chip said.
"I guess. My songs have been featured on the radio a few times, and I was in the newspaper. But nothing on the news channel or request for interviews. I mean who can blame them? Practically the only way to reach me is by my YouTube channel. No personal information." Vaughan continued.
As they continued driving down the road, a large bird flew over by them. It looked so familiar. "Man, that bird is coming in low." Chip said.
"Wait a minute.... I don't think it's a bird." Spike warned.
Vaughan rolled down the window and took a glance outside her window and looked up at the sky. She saw the black and red bird make a wide U-turn and it came soaring for them, firing lasers out of its eyes.
"It's Laserbeak!" Vaughan yelled. "Metal to the pedal Bumblebee!"
"Don't have to tell me twice!"
Bumblebee accelerated down the street, the force of the speed pulled Vaughan back in her seat. 'Great. First Trailbreaker and now Bumblebee.'
Once they entered the city, Laserbeak was still hot on their trail. He flew just over head of the large buildings of the down town area, which was surprisingly calm this morning.
"Hide in the underground parking Bumblebee!" Spike suggested.
"Good idea."
Bumblebee made a hard turn as he looped down a tunnel and into the parking lot. Vaughan scotch her way out of her seat in Bumblebee and ran for the entrance of the lot. She pressed her back against the cold cement painted wall as she peeked outside, looking up at the skies.
"I don't see him!" She called.
"Me must have bailed when we went under." Bumblebee replied. "But did he want with us?" Vaughan made her way back to the Autobot as he rolled down his window to allow the girl to join in on the boys conversation.
"Maybe he was after the CD." Chip suggested.
"If they got their hands on it, they could get access to the lab from anywhere!" Spike said.
"Including their secret hideout." Vaughan added.
"Change of plans Chip. Looks like we're taking you home early." Bumblebee explained.
"So much for lunch at Harveys." Vaughan muttered as she climbed back in Bumblebee.
"So what's our game plan?" Chip asked as Bumblebee pulled out of the parking lot.
"I'm contacting Optimus Prime for back up. In the meantime Chip, you stay in your house where it's safe. The Decepticons might try to go after you again, and they don't know where you live so that gives us an advantage." Bumblebee explained.
"I'll stick around with him, just in case the 'Cons do try to jump him." Vaughan suggested.
"Are you sure Vaughan?" Spike asked with concern.
"I'm sure. Besides, a friend of yours is a friend of mine." Vaughan replied with a grin.
Spike smiled and nodded in understanding as he focused his attention on the road, redirecting Bumblebee back to Chip's house. Once pulling up to the lot, Bumblebee allowed the wheel chaired boy and Vaughan to exit before speeding off with Spike.
"Do you have a computer we can use to see what's in that disc?" Vaughan asked.
"It's in my room, follow me." He replied.
Vaughan followed Chip inside his one story house. It was a cute little bungalow house, the outside paint was yellow with a bright brown roof. Once inside his room, Chip wheeled himself over to his computer desk and popped the disc inside the hard drive as Vaughan walked up next to him, the screen coming to life.
"Let's see what this thing has in store." said Chip.