Barricade hated to wait. It wasn't in his programming. He especially hated waiting in his alternate form because he couldn't stretch his legs. With this in mind, why was he waiting in his alternate form in a Fort Worth alleyway?

Barricade's motor let out a hiss of disgust. Two measly insects, which made up six billion of the earth's population, were the reason. Starscream didn't tell him why they needed the two, and Barricade didn't care to learn the answer. The police car was certain Starscream had a glitch in his central processing unit, and kidnapping the two only cemented his speculations.

Suddenly he heard female voices floating down the street, interrupting his musings, and Barricade turned his audio sensors up to listen. "All I'm saying, Lily, is that this street is too quiet for downtown at 10 PM," the voice said. "You know how busy it usually is." Barricade felt his front bumper slightly curl down in response to the voice. Why Optimus Prime ever felt he needed to protect those insects was beyond him. Nonetheless, he needed to accomplish his orders, and he pulled out of the alleyway with a purring motor.

Starscream had told him the two females would be in what humans considered passed for a learning institute, and Barricade's motor backfired in a snort as he mentally scoffed. Humans lived for such a short period of time that they could hardly consider themselves educated at the end of their life spans, much less the ages of the insects attending "universities." 18 earth years was barely a blink of an eye compared to his race. Barricade alone was older than Earth itself, and the Autobot weapons specialist Ironhide was easily three times his age.

Suddenly the shorter insect - designated Lily, Barricade realized – with long brown hair and green eyes looked back at him and Barricade silenced his engine, freezing in place. The last thing he wanted to do was report that they escaped because he wasn't careful. Those were youngling mistakes and Starscream would have his central processor on a silver platter.

"Savannah?" Lily asked, meekly tapping the taller insect on the shoulder. The ditzy-looking blonde beside the shorter insect looked at her. "Uh, do you get the feeling something's watching us?"

"You've been watching Nightmare on Elm Street too much," Savannah said. "What do you think is going to happen to us? Freddie Kruger got your tongue?" Barricade performed a quick Internet search to locate the insect's reference and almost snorted. "Look, just because it's dark out and no one's around doesn't mean you automatically have to assume the worst. It'll be fine."

"I know that. Remember, I am older than you by six months." Savannah snorted but looked around again just the same. Barricade remained frozen, not wanting to attract any more attention from the two insects. They continued to walk up the street, unknowing of the danger behind them. Barricade's front bumper smirked and he turned on his engine, prowling up the street behind them.

The insects continued to walk for several streets with Barricade trailing them. The shorter insect, the Decepticon noted, was rather paranoid and relied heavily on the taller insect designated "Savannah" to calm her. Weaklings, all of them, he thought. Barricade finally couldn't stand to wait any longer and lurked closer behind them. Suddenly the more paranoid insect looked right at him and Barricade felt his spark quicken in its case.

"Savannah, do you recognize that police car?" she asked. Savannah looked back at Barricade and tilted her head curiously.

"Considering that the entire Fort Worth police fleet looks like that one, can't say I have," the insect said. Barricade's engine let out a whistle of relief and both insects looked at him. "On the other hand, seems like it's been following us, the creep. Officer, is there a problem?"

Barricade didn't bother to turn on his holo-form projector and give them the relief of seeing one of their insect brethren. Instead, he transformed and smirked upon seeing their shocked faces. The short insect grasped the taller insect's upper arm with its hand before spinning around and running. "That's right," Barricade said with that same smirk. "Run like the insects you are."

He gave them a minute-long head start. After all, he could track them down with his heat sensors if they strayed too far, and what was the fun of catching somebody without the chase? He walked lazily in their general direction, relishing their tiny human screams as they heard his steps boom like small aftershocks on the concrete below him. They scurried across the downtown landscape, panicking.

Barricade located them on the first floor of an abandoned parking garage, hiding in a stairwell. He tore it apart, concrete and dust falling around the insects as they screamed feebly. Then suddenly his computer noted that his heat sensors had gone offline. When Barricade looked back towards the insects' last location, they were gone. Barricade cursed and transformed back to his alternate form, which he grudgingly admitted covered distance more easily.

After a few minutes of searching, he found them at the corners of what the insects had labeled "Commerce Street" and "4th Street" next to a construction site. He transformed back to his original form and started to pick them up when suddenly he heard sirens wailing from a couple of blocks away. Barricade panicked, making a youngling mistake. He froze and the insects escaped his hand. He paid them no heed because an offensive, highlighter-yellow vehicle careened down the street as it transformed, angry sirens shrieking. It was that blasted Autobot medic, Ratchet. Barricade hissed unconsciously.

"I would tell you to put the humans down, Barricade," Ratchet said dryly in his smooth bass timbre, "but it appears that you've done the hard part for me. Thank you; it was very kind." He smirked.

"You are not welcome, Auto-brat," Barricade said with a growl. He noted the insects hid behind the banana-colored buffoon, although he had no idea why. The medic was known across Cybertron for his hair-trigger temper. Barricade's weapons systems powered online and Ratchet's circular saw powered on in response, cutting through air with a whine. Barricade's battle computer said that the best was to fight, and he punched the medic in the chest with full intentions of ripping out the ambulance's spark.

Intense pain blossomed in his left arm and several messages flashing across his optics told him the medic had severed a main energon line and Barricade cursed as the line stained the street with a vibrant, shimmering blue. He threw a blind punch at the lemony vehicle and sneered when the medic fell into a crouch, circular saw raised above his head towards the Decepticon.

"What do you want with them, anyway?" Ratchet asked.

"Ask Starscream," Barricade replied. "You know as well as I that he won't trust me with that information." A little half-truth never hurt anything.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you." The medic cocked his head slightly to the side as he stood. Arms wrapped around each other, the insects still cowered behind the medic's massive legs. Barricade's upper lip component curled in distaste. He was about to strike at the Autobot when an engine roared through the streets behind him, heading straight toward him. Barricade quickly turned to the side, raising both his right fist and his left mace in an effort of self-protection.

The massive black truck burned rubber as it spun to a halt in the middle of the street. The truck then transformed, and once again Barricade cursed Primus for his bad luck.

"Hello, Ironhide," Ratchet said. "Look who decided to join us this fine Texan night." Barricade's spark fluttered rapidly. If he made it through the night alive, then his boss had another thing coming to him the next time the police cruiser saw Starscream. Barricade closed his eyes as he heard the sound of a cannon on-lining itself, and then he heard no more.

When she was sure the police cruiser wouldn't get up again, the "insect" 19-year-old Savannah Thompson peeked out from behind the yellow medic's foot. "Uh, what exactly is going on here?" she asked, frightened after her adrenaline high had subsided.

"For some reason," Ratchet said as he turned to look at her, "he wanted to steal you and your friend. We are from the planet Cybertron, and we are called Autobots. My name is Ratchet-"

"The name's Ironhide, kids," the black truck interrupted, "and you'd best not forget it."

"-but the Cybertronian that Ironhide just off-lined is a Decepticon. They aren't what you would consider model citizens and would kill any human in a second. Don't hesitate to run from them."

"I think we followed that advice pretty well," Lily said. "I'm Lily and she's Savannah. Do you have any idea why he wanted us?"

"I do not," Ratchet said.

"Our leader might, though," Ironhide said. "His name is Optimus Prime. He has what humans would call a 'heart of gold' and won't mind helping you."

"Well, then," Savannah said, grinning impishly. "Take us to your leader."

The two aliens exchanged glances with one another and Ratchet turned to the two humans. "I've already called him over on our internal communication systems. He should be here shortly."

The purring throb of a diesel engine floated through the quiet night. "That would be him," Ironhide said. He turned toward the approaching mass in the shadow of an alley. "Hello, sir." A massive sapphire blue semi-truck with scarlet flames painted on the side appeared from the dim.

"You rang?" a baritone voice asked, hints of a tease in his tone. "If one of you could load Barricade onto my truck bed..."

The two assisted their leader with the task as Optimus and the teenage girls alike looked at each other, though the girls couldn't tell the alien was watching due to his transformed state. "He must be huge if he's a semi," Savannah murmured.

"It's really a matter of opinion," the leader said, drawing a small squeak of surprise from the taller girl. "You are actually quite tiny from my perspective."

"I'm not sure to take that as a compliment or not," Savannah said.

"I'd take it as a compliment," Lily said. "After all, it's not like a War of the Worlds thing going on here. Considering they fought off that one there-" She jerked her head in Barricade's direction. "-I think it's safe to say that they're pretty harmless."

"You do realize what they did to get him in that situation..." Savannah said, trailing off ominously.

"I can assure you we are here to protect mankind," Optimus said, "but I'm afraid that the two of you will have to come with us so I can explain all that is happening in privacy. Which of us would you like to take back to our temporary headquarters?"

Lily was suddenly reminded of the technique she had used on her neighbor's children when she was babysitting them, letting them pick out something to retain some control while at the same time having no control over the outcome. The girl tried to stifle a snort of wry disbelief; the alien leader was treating them like a bunch of human toddlers.

"Uh..." Savannah tried to reach a decision as she turned to her small friend, who was in her own world. "Lily?"

"Hmm? Oh. Ratchet," the shorter girl said, smiling sheepishly at the other two. The one they called Ironhide shrugged.

"No skin off my back," he said.

"I will meet you there," Optimus said. He pulled out into the street and drove away from them with Barricade safely concealed underneath a tarp. Ratchet transformed into a Hummer again and popped open the doors.

"Get in," he said, and Savannah jumped into the passenger seat.

Well, are you getting in?" she asked her friend impatiently.

"I can't sit in the driver's seat," Lily said with a sheepish smile. "It's too weird." She opened the backseat door and launched herself into the backseat, promptly falling back on her rear end. She looked up at the vehicle in slight confusion. Ironhide laughed from behind her and extended a finger, which she used to pull herself to her feet. She whirled around to face him with her right hand firmly planted in her hip. "What are you laughing at, Iron-butt?"

The alien stared at her, indignant. "You had better get inside before he does anything about that comment," Ratchet said from his alternate mode. He sounded suspiciously like he was trying to cover up his laughter. Lily pulled herself into the vehicle without incident and eased the door closed.

"Can you feel it when I close that?" she asked. "I don't want to hurt you."

"You aren't," the sentient ambulance replied as he pulled out of his parking space with an offended Ironhide on his heels. "I can feel it, but it's a gentle pressure. Almost numb, in fact. A bit like someone squeezing your shoulder, I suppose."

"That's fascinating," Lily murmured, mostly to herself.

The three beings traveled the remaining portion of the trip in silence, and Lily had to laugh when they saw what building they were pulling into. "The stock show grounds?"

"It is about 70 feet tall and most often not used this time of year," Ratchet said. "In addition, we can blend in if there is an event. It's quite handy, although the amount of dirt in the main arena leaves something to be desired."

"I'm sure it does," Savannah said, shuddering.

"All right, out now so I can transform." He popped the doors open and the two girls exited the vehicle just in time to see him transform. Several others of his kind milled around the building, with many huddled over a downed alien. "Prime, we're here!"

One of the huddled stood up to his full height and began to walk to the trio. Lily found herself holding her breath; Savannah was right. He was huge, hovering at roughly 30 feet tall. Wow, she mouthed to Savannah. The girl was staring at Optimus with wide eyes. He knelt to their level with a whirring of gears.

"My name is Optimus Prime," he said to the two. He held out a finger for them to shake. "This is shelter for the Autobots, whom call me leader. Ratchet, Ironhide, how much have you told them about us?"

"He said you were from the planet Cybertron and explained the difference between Autobots and Decepticons," Savannah volunteered. "Ratchet said we should run from the Decepticons or we'd be squished."

"Or vaporized," Lily added cheerfully.

Optimus vented air through his ventilation chambers in a Cybertronian equivalent of a sigh. "There's more to it than that, I'm afraid," he said. "We have been in war for an extremely long time. 5,000 vorns to be exact, which I believe translates into 83 million human years. Before the Decepticons became our opposing faction, they simply revolted against the poor working conditions my predecessor as Prime had installed. By the time I became Prime, they had become drunk with power and their leader Megatron decided their new goal would be conquering the universe. They started with Cybertron."

"That's horrible," Lily said softly. "I'm sorry."

"You could do nothing about it, little one," Ratchet said. He gently rubbed a comforting finger down her spine and she turned her head to rub her cheek against it. She squeezed his finger with her hand. "The war is long in the past, though the threat remains."

"Why did Barricade want you two, anyway?" another alien from the huddle surrounding the Decepticon asked.

"That's what we were going to ask Optimus, actually," Savannah said. "I have no clue. We're freshmen in college and rather puny freshmen at that. I can't see why they would want a sorority sister and a bookworm who spends every waking moment in the library." Lily ignored the jibe – she was used to it by now.

"I'm not sure," Optimus said slowly. He stood from his crouch and stretched. "Are your parents involved with anything that Decepticons could find interesting?"

"You don't think they're going after our family, do you?" Lily yelped, jumping slightly. Ratchet's hand kept her from falling backwards. "This can't be happening!"

"Regardless of your disinclination, it is," the scarlet robot beside Optimus said.

"My father is in the US Air Force," Savannah said. "Don't see what my mother would have to do with the situation, though."

"My parents work as scientists with a private lab here," Lily said. "They work with weapons. I really hope this doesn't have anything to do with them..."

"Did someone say weapons?" Ironhide asked, walking over from his previous conversation with a bright yellow Autobot. "I'm the weapons specialist here. If this involves new technology of any kind, this is my field, Prime."

"Figures," Lily muttered. Louder, she added, "I'm not sure what kind of technology it is. My parents didn't talk about it. Dad did give me...well, crap."

"What?" Savannah asked.

"I just realized I had this on me the entire time," Lily said, pulling a small pistol out of her purse. "Not that I think it would do much good, but at the very least it could cause a distraction. This was what Dad gave me."

"Could I see that?" Ironhide asked. Lily nodded and gave it to him. He squeezed the trigger.

A flash of white light filled the entire coliseum and Lily dropped to the floor with her hands over her ears. Shards of glass, cubes of concrete, and metal fragments crashed around her. Then, just as soon as it had begun, the chaos was over. She looked around and coughed as the dust stirred up from the impact of debris entered her lungs. Several of the aliens had fallen to their feet, curled in little balls to protect themselves, and were only just stirring to rise.

Savannah was first to speak. "What the hell was that?" she asked.

"You think I would know?" Lily countered. "You know my parents. They wouldn't tell me anything about work."

Ironhide was dumbfounded and stared at the device in his hand. "I'm not doing that again," he said.

"You think?" the yellow bot he had previously been conversing with hissed from the other side of the room. "You damaged my paint!"

"Forget your slagging paint, or I'll give you something worse to complain about!" Ratchet exclaimed in exasperation, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Lily, I believe I've found your long-lost twin," Savannah quipped.

"Well, I've found yours too," Lily said with a sigh. "You're too high-maintenance for your own good." She yawned.

"Prime, if I could have your attention," a robot with a mild-mannered voice said to the leader. "We need to move out soon if we don't want the other humans to discover what happened in here."

"You're right, Prowl," Optimus said, inclining his head in the newcomer's direction. "We will need to find a new place, however, where we can hide. Not to mention the matter of protection for Lily and Savannah we need to clear up."

"If I may suggest something," Lily said. Everyone turned to look at her. "We're going to college at TCU. It's located downtown and isn't too far of a drive from here, and they have huge parking lots where you can hide. Plus you would be able to keep an eye on us from there."

"It's settled, then," Optimus said. "We'll follow you to your university and then hide among you, protecting. Ironhide, Ultra Magnus, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker will be Savannah's guardians. Ratchet, Wheeljack, Preceptor, and I will be Lily's."

"Sir, that is inadvisable," Prowl said. His black door-wings, the word "Police" written across them, stiffened high on his back in alarm. "You really should be free to come and go. A guardianship will only serve to weigh you down."

"Yes, but it's a risk I'm willing to take," Optimus said, "and if they really are after Lily, then I would like to keep an optic on her myself. The rest of you will patrol the area and hide out wherever you can. Transform and roll out!"

A/N: Transformers do not belong to me although my OCs Lily and Savannah, as well as the plot do. And if you're wondering why I chose Texas for this story, it's because Fort Worth has some awesome history. Look it up sometime - it truly was the wild west. I hope you enjoyed and I'll be posting more soon.