New Life - TF Fanfic

Bumblebee didn’t know what to expect when he woke up.  He was almost afraid to open his eyes and look on his former body as a near lifeless shell.  He had reassurances from Ratchet that he would be able to access his Camaro form at any given time through the link he had with it, but it was still a scary thought to be something much smaller, much more vulnerable.

His new body could easily be destroyed by one accidental blast from his own cannons.  Ironhide’s cannons wouldn’t even leave a trace of him behind.  He was told that his consciousness would immediately return to the Camaro in the event of his body being destroyed, but there was always a small possibility that he couldn’t.  His Spark could easily be extinguished at a moment of carelessness.  He began to shiver, either from the thought or from the cold invading his form

Calm down, Bumblebee.  Everything is going according to plan.  You’re doing fine.

Ratchet?  What about Optimus?  Is he okay?  Is everything okay with Optimus?

I’m right here, Bee.  A gentle touch caressed his cheek, moving away blond and black hair from sensitive skin.  Stay calm.  Your vitals are jumping everywhere.  It’s all right.  Ratchet says that you can wake up now.  Wake up, Bumblebee.

“Wake up, Bumblebee.”

It was the voice that made the young Autobot opened his eyes.  The voice that sounded so young and gentle but unmistakably Optimus’s.  Sky blue eyes blinked open, watering a bit at the bright light that shown down on him.  A shadow was cast over him and his eyes focused on the face above him.  Red bangs hung slightly in front of crystal blue eye while dark blue hair framed the young face, the red tips brushing delicate ears.

“Optimus?”  Bumblebee was startled at the voice that came from him, sounding much younger than he expected.

The man chuckled, brushing back another long lock of blond hair away from Bumblebee’s face.  “Welcome back, my warrior.”

oOo

Bumblebee huddled under the thick blanket draped around his shoulders, the thin long sleeve t-shirt and jeans doing nothing to protect him from the cold, it seemed like.  Everything felt so new and different.  His movements were quick, but it felt so slow.  He could easily handle tiny things but could no longer feel his strength.  It was disconcerting nonetheless.

From his perch upon the hood of his Camaro, Bumblebee watched as Optimus and Ratchet talked over another human form on the table.  The form had pale skin and shoulder length white hair, looking like an albino human.

oOo

”What happened to you, Ratchet?”

A small form looked up at Optimus, long, red bangs brushing his shoulders and mixing with equally long white hair as the man turned to look up at his leader.  “It’s a technology that the American government had from a different alien race.  I was working with them for a while.”

The human walked around to the back doors of the Hummer, opening them and pulling out a gurney and presented his three large comrades with a blank, expressionless body.  “The body that I’m walking around in now originally looked like this form here.  There is a wireless connection from my vehicle form to here.”  He pulled away his hair and Bumblebee could see the circuitry that arched around his neck and worked its way up to his right ear.  “I can easily transfer myself to and from this form because of this, only if I’m in a hundred mile radius of the vehicle.”

“What if the Decepticons find you?” Bumblebee asked.  “You’re vulnerable like that.”

“I just merely transfer back to my vehicle form.  I might lose this body, but that is an acceptable loss.  This body is also stronger than a human, has the same computing power as my vehicle form, but more agile if anything.  I can blend in easily as long as I cover up the access points, but even nowadays, people would probably accept it as tattoos.  In all essentials, I’m human.”

Ironhide eyed the medic, appearing wary of the motionless body at his side.  “What are the risks of actually doing this?”

“You can stay online during the process, but it’s very disconcerting since I will have to be making connections with your larger form.  You can go offline if you wish.”

“I’ll try it,” Optimus said, sounding intrigued.

“I volunteer too!” Bumblebee said, becoming vaguely uneasy when the others looked at him in surprise.  “It’ll be a good chance for me to study the culture if I can blend in easier.”

Ratchet nodded, pulling his hair behind his shoulders and tying it back quickly.  “There will be a few things I’ll need to prepare, and we’ll get started.”

oOo

“You okay kid?”

Bumblebee looked up at the tall, muscular form standing beside the car.  The man was a small bit taller than Optimus’s human form and had steel gray hair spiked up, his equally gray eyes watching the blond carefully.  Ironhide had undergone the procedure shortly after Bumblebee and had adapted much quicker to his smaller form.

“Are we really going to be able to bring Jazz back?”  Wetness streaked down his cheeks and Bumblebee wiped his eyes, looking to the blank human form that was going to be the new form for their fallen comrade Jazz.  This had been happening for the past hour since Ratchet and Optimus started discussing the possibility and the blond wasn’t sure what was happening.

“The body is enough to house a Spark until it grows and able to transfer back to his vehicle form when it’s fixed and it’ll be Jazz in there.”

The blond shivered violently and nothing seemed to help.  “I can’t stand this.  I’ll be back in a while.”

Under him, the engine of the Camaro rumbled to life and Bumblebee slid off the hood and got into the driver’s seat of the vehicle.  He wasn’t sure what had happen, but his mind felt odd for a moment before he could feel the ground beneath his tires again.  The wind felt wonderful against his hood and seemed to calm him.

He didn’t know how long he drove, but when sky blue eyes opened again, he was sitting in front of Sam Witwicky’s house, the domestic area feeling abnormal around him after being the base.  Slowly, Bumblebee got out of the Camaro, the blanket wrapped tightly around him, and walked up to the door, knocking on the wood.

The door opened to reveal an older woman with a slightly confused look.  “May I help you?”

“Mrs. Witwicky?  Is Sam home?”

The woman studied him for a moment before they looked behind him, focusing on the yellow car.  They widened as they looked at the young male.  “Bumblebee?” she asked softly.

“Yes ma’am,” he nodded, one hand reaching up to wipe the wetness from his cheeks again.

Judy pulled the young man in, a comforting arm around his shoulders.  “I’m not sure what’s going on but Sam and Mikaela are up in his room.”  She led him up the stairs and knocked on the door before opening it.  Mikaela was sitting in front of the television, a game console controller in her hands, and Sam looked up.  “You three play nice,” she said with a soft smile before shutting the door behind Bumblebee.

“Sam?” Bumblebee asked uncertainly, pushing blond and black hair behind his right ear.  The slightly exposed circuitry tingled at his touch but he ignored it in favor of focusing on his friend.  “I think we can get Jazz back.”  He voice was choked and cracked at the end of the sentence and Sam’s eyes lit up in recognition.

“Bumblebee?” Sam asked, getting up from the floor.  Mikaela stopped her game and looked back at the blond, surprised.

The Autobot nodded.  “Why are my cheeks wet?” he asked, wiping the skin of his face with a sleeve this time.

Sam froze, looking like he wasn’t sure what to do but Mikaela stood up and reached him quickly, enveloping him in a hug.  Something in Bumblebee broke and the blond broke down, crying in Mikaela’s arms and letting everything go.  When he was finished, he found himself curled up on Sam’s bed, Mikaela sitting near his head and soothing back his hair while Sam rubbed his back gently.

Softly, Bumblebee told his friends of what was happening, starting off with how Ratchet disappeared for a while and came back human and how he, Optimus, and Ironhide went through the procedure to connect themselves to the human like bodies.  He ended it with how their fallen comrade had a high possibility of coming back.

“Why are you crying?” Sam asked.  “It’s a good thing Jazz will be around, right?”

“It is.  Isn’t crying a sign of sadness?”

“And happiness,” Mikaela said.  “This could just be a release of emotions.  Sometimes it’ll build up to the point that you can hide it anymore.”

“Oh,” was all Bumblebee said, falling into a thoughtful silence.  This went on for a bit until someone knocked at the door, startling Bumblebee into falling out of the bed.

He stood up slowly and opened the door, blinking when Judy presented a plate of cookies to him.  “Here’s a snack for you three.  Call if you need anything, okay?”

Bumblebee gave her a smile.  “Thank you.”  The door shut again and Bumblebee took a cookie before handing the plate off to Sam, studying the food in his hand.  It was still warm and the chocolate chips were a bit gooey and Bumblebee was slightly amazed at the fact that his skin was sensitive enough to feel the slight temperature and texture of the cookie.

After a moment, he took a bite and sky blue eyes widened in wonder.  “Why is this so good!?”

Mikaela and Sam laughed.  “It’s called sugar and carbs, Bee,” the girl answered.  She eyed Bumblebee for a moment before giving him a grin.  “I think the three of us should go clothes shopping.”

“Clothes shopping?” Sam asked, his voice cracking at the end slightly.

Bumblebee watched them, nibbling on his cookie a bit more.  Clothes shopping didn’t sound that bad.

oOo

By the time the blond got back to the Autobot base, he had a new plate of freshly baked cookies from Mrs. Witwicky and a back seat full of shopping bags.  He got out of the car slowly, stretching slightly stiff muscles.  He had yet to actually try driving while in his human form and when he left his body, the muscles tended to stiffen.

“Are you okay?”

Bumblebee was startled by the voice, looking up to see Optimus walking over to him with a worried expression.  “Yea.  Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Ironhide said that you left while crying earlier.”

“I’m okay.  Just needed to go visit Sam.  He likes the new form, by the way.  He and Mikaela want to visit to see the rest of you.”  He looked at the outfit the leader was wearing, the same type of shirt and jeans Bumblebee wore earlier.  “And probably take you clothes shopping when she sees you.”

“Is that what happened to you?” Optimus asked, amusement in his voice.

Bumblebee grinned.  He still wore the same jeans, but his top was a simple short sleeve black t-shirt with a single yellow stripe down the left side.  Yellow arm warmers covered his arms, with twin black stripes working down the yellow fabric.  They bought a few more when they discovered more circuitry on Bumblebee’s right arm, a small section about mid-bicep and an odd one here and there on his lower arm.

“I have a new wardrobe thanks to her.”

“Should I fear this event?”

“Nah.  I’ll be there.”

Something behind Optimus that caught Bumblebee’s eye and he leaned to the side to get a better look.  The older man moved out of the way and gently pushed the blond towards it.  On the bed like table was young man, looking older than Bumblebee but not by much, with dark mocha skin and silver white dreadlocks, blues and reds weaving through the hair.

When Bumblebee got closer, then man’s head turned a little and clouded iridescent eyes looked to him.  “B’blebee?”

“Yea, it’s me.”  The blond gently took a hold of the hand on the sheets, smiling even though he could feel the tears again.

“I’m still outta it.”  The man smiled at him.  “Lookin’ good kid.  Was told you took out a ‘Con.”

“With some help.”  Bumblebee laughed as he wiped away the tears.  “Its good to have you back, Jazz.”

“Good to be back…  I think I’ll sleep for a while longer.”

“All right.”

The man smiled sleepily and closed his eyes, falling into a restful slumber.  The sensors in Bumblebee’s hands automatically registered everything about the man that it could catalogue, from the temperature of the skin to the man’s heart rate.  Everything was compared to the statistics of a normal human and with the information of biodroids that Ratchet gave them and the youngest Autobot was satisfied with the results.

“What are these?”

Bumblebee looked up and saw Ironhide pulling the plate of cookies out of the passenger seat of the Camaro.  Bumblebee grinned.  The blond knew a lot of humans because he actually had an interest in studying them, but Ironhide only knew the bare minimal facts.

“Eat some.  I got them from Mrs. Witwicky.”

The older man pulled a cookie out from under the protective plastic and bit into it.  It wasn’t as fresh as Bumblebee’s first cookie, but they were still good.  Gray eyes widened and Bumblebee wondered if that was the same expression he had at his first taste.

“What the hell are these!?” he asked, shock and awe in his voice.

“Sugar and carbs, ‘Hide.  Save some for the rest of us, will you?”

The man had a guilty look and he set the plate down after taking another cookie and quickly wandered off.

Optimus chuckled.  “Are they really that good?”

“Yes.  You need to try some!”  Bumblebee went over to grab the plate and came back, holding one out to his leader.  The older man took the cookie, biting off a piece.  A small smear of chocolate decorated his lower lip and Bumblebee’s eyes were transfixed to it for some odd reason.

Optimus wiped away the bit of chocolate with his thumb and licked it off and Bumblebee felt heat rushed to his cheeks.  “It is pretty good,” Optimus agreed, giving Bumblebee a grin before turning to the back of the room where Ratchet calling his name.

Bumblebee took a few deep breaths, trying to figure out what was going on with him.  The keyword “hormones” came up on his mental search and Bumblebee frowned.  What did hormones have to do with anything?

“Bumblebee!” Ironhide called.  “We need your help over here!”

“Sure!”  The blond set the plate down and walked over to his comrade, deciding to figure out the whole thing later.  Nothing much could come from it, right?