Arcee and Bumblebee were on a mission scouting for energon. Arcee had insisted on not leaving Bee's side, and everyone wordlessly understood and agreed, which proved to be a good thing when the two stumbled upon an injured Cybertronian.
"Hey, Magnus...tell Ratchet to get the med bay ready," Arcee commanded.
"I'm right here, you know!" Ratchet responded from the base.
"Just do it. There's an injured bot out here," Arcee stated.
"Who? Is there any identification? Do they have an Autobot mark?" Ratchet asked.
"They're too beat up to tell. You can see for yourself once you bridge us back," Arcee responded as she watched Bumblebee kneel next to the bot before grabbing it by the shoulders and furiously shaking the poor thing. "Bee! Cut it out!" The bot started to twitch and wake up.
"Where am I?" It asked.
"Just outside of Jasper. C'mon. Let's help you up," Arcee offered her hand to the unknown bot.
The bot had to lean on Arcee as they walked through the ground bridge and back to base. Arcee had to force her to accept the help, which had proven to be quite the annoyance.
"Who's that?" The bot asked, staring at something that Arcee didn't care to look at at the moment.
"What?" She asked.
"Who's that?" The bot repeated, this time pointing at Ratchet, who was finishing up readying the med bay.
"That's Ratchet. He's our Medic," Arcee explained. "I have to warn you about him, though...he's pretty grouchy."
"Like you?" The bot asked, to which Ratchet laughed out loud despite himself before cringing in annoyance that he had laughed again.
"Okay, I'll give you that one," Arcee replied. "But only because you're new and would probably break down if I didn't."
"Noted!" The bot exclaimed with a wide grin.
Immediately after being patched up by Ratchet, the bot shot up and tried to play basketball with Bulkhead and Bumblebee.
"Be careful! I just patched you up!" Ratchet exclaimed.
"It's fine! I'm just playing around!" The bot responded.
"Autobot-" Ultra Magnus started.
"What's an Autobot?" The bot questioned.
"What is your name?" Ultra Magnus asked, ignoring the interruption. The bot went silent, as if the question should've been complicated.
"Don't have one, I guess," she admitted with a crooked grin, as if her situation was funny.
"You don't have a name?" Bulkhead questioned. She shook her head.
"No...I guess it just slipped the humans' minds," she stated.
"Why would humans give you your name?" Ratchet asked.
"Because they made me," she admitted.
"Say what?!" Everyone shouted, which seemed to really scare the bot.
"I was made by humans...'cause they wanted to recreate you guys. I'm just one of many attempts," she admitted.
"Seriously?! Where're all the other ones?" Bulkhead asked. The bot looked sadly at the ground.
"They were destroyed. Or they destroyed themselves," she responded.
"Who's the new bot?" Jack asked as he, Miko, and Raf entered the Autobot base, having been picked up by Bumblebee. The bot hid behind Ratchet.
"H-Humans?!" She screeched.
"Yes. Do you have to be so loud?" Ratchet asked.
"Sorry. They just...scare me a little, I guess," she admitted.
"That's fine, but I can't stand here forever, I have work to do," Ratchet pointed out. "Besides, they're more friendly than what you're probably used to."
"I'm Raf," Rafael introduced himself with a smile. The bot slowly and cautiously approached the children, kneeling to get a better look at them.
"Aww! You're actually kinda cute!" The bot exclaimed with another crooked smile.
"I'm Jack Darby," Jack introduced himself coolly. The bot smiled warmly at him, but didn't get the chance to speak before Miko cut in.
"My name's Miko! What kind of car are you?! I mean, what do you transform into?! I bet you're a convertible, or maybe an ATV!" She wondered aloud. The bot's smile faltered, but only for a moment.
"Your guess is as good as mine. I don't even know my own name, let alone any transformations," she answered.
"You don't have a name?!" Miko shouted.
"No. Maybe you kids could give me one?" The bot responded.
It was about an hour later when a name was finally given to the bot. She and the kids were standing outside and looking around for cool rocks.
"I've never really seen the sun before..." the bot admitted.
"Yeah, just don't stare. The brightness'll burn your eyes out," Jack absentmindedly warned.
"It looks like it has arms," the bot pointed out.
"They're called sunbeams," Raf explained.
"Cool! I like that name!" The bot exclaimed before rushing back into the base.
"Hey, wait!" The kids called.
"I have a name!" The bot shouted as she entered the base, startling almost everyone. "It's super cool!"
"I think you'd like any name," Ratchet pointed out.
"Probably! I'm Sunbeam now!" She admitted. "Are there any games to play? I don't think kids would be able to play with that..." Sunbeam pointed at the giant ball of scraps.
"Video games...and a few board games," Raf replied.
"Okay! You kids pick a board game and Ratchet and I will play with you!" Sunbeam exclaimed.
"Why're you dragging me into this?!" Ratchet questioned.
"You insulted my new name. It's only fair," Sunbeam remarked.
"I didn't—" Ratchet started.
"Well, we're gonna continue our scouting mission, since it was interrupted. Have fun kids," Arcee decided aloud.
"I'm gonna join. We could cover more ground that way," Bulkhead caught on, leaving with Bumblebee and Arcee.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Ratchet questioned. The humans and Sunbeam looked at him expectantly, already having chosen a game to play.
"Looks like you're stuck with us!" Miko exclaimed. Ratchet glared at the exit ramp.
"I have the sneaking feeling that that was the idea," he retorted.
"Hey big blue guy! Wanna play with us?!" Sunbeam questioned. She didn't get an answer.
"He's not too talkative," Jack admitted.
"Hmph, well he could at least look at me," Sunbeam pouted.
"Don't be a child. That's their job," Ratchet said, pointing at the kids.
"So how do you play this?" Sunbeam asked.
"You role these dice, then move across the board. You have to try to have as much property and money as possible," Raf explained.
"Alright! Let's do it! Youngest first!" Sunbeam exclaimed, pointing to Raf. He rolled a seven and read a chance card, which insisted he pay Miko for her birthday.
Miko rolled a six and bought Central Avenue. She handed the di to Jack, who rolled an eleven. He bought St. Charles Place.
It was Sunbeam's first turn when the other players realized something important about their new friend. She rolled the di and moved seven spaces, picking up a chance card as she had recalled Raf doing.
"Um...it says....to pay the bank for...something," Sunbeam said.
"That's not what it says," Ratchet pointed out, reading the card over her shoulder.
"It's not?! Well that is news to me!" Sunbeam pretended to be shocked.
"Do you not know how to read?" Jack asked.
"Of course I know how to read, I just....can't see the words on this little card very well..." Sunbeam lied.
"Ratchet could read it, and he's larger than you...and farther away," Miko deadpanned. Sunbeam huffed.
"Fine...I never learned to read. I would've taught myself, but the thing about that is: you gotta be able to read in order to teach yourself something. So I was pretty much screwed," she admitted.
"I can teach you to read!" Raf exclaimed. "I helped teach my siblings, so I know a thing or two about teaching!"
"Okay! Hey big blue guy! I'm gonna learn to read!" Sunbeam shouted with a crooked grin. He just nodded in response. "Why're you ignoring me?!" She questioned, getting ready to fight. Ratchet sat her back down.
"Okay...let's not start fights on your first day...especially with teammates," Ratchet suggested.