Author's Note: I decided that instead of publishing all my various Transformer one-shots as individual stories, I make a collection. These short stories can be of any universe, feature any character, be set on Earth or on Cybertron… you get the gist.

I'm also open to suggestions. Do you want to see a certain character or scenario? I'll see if I can get my muse to write it for you. But I won't make any promises. I'm still quite new to the Transformer fandom and therefore not yet familiar with all the different continuities out there.

General Disclaimer: I wished I owned the Transformers. (A sleek ride like Bumblebee would be especially great. xD) Sadly, I don't have that much luck. I therefore only borrowed the mentioned characters and promise to return them to their respective owners afterward. However, some might not be too willing to leave… xD

Title: Mission Accomplished?

Summary: Mission directive: obtain. Method: whatever is acceptable. Warnings: don't be disappointed if it didn't work out.

Characters: Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Prowl, Ratchet; Colonel William Lennox

Universe: life-action movies

Point in Time: set some time after Dark of the Moon

Genre: Humor

Rating: PG, K+

Warnings: some swearing

Notes: This story was inspired by my sister telling me about her personal experience when trying to obtain the toys of Bumblebee and Ironhide.

The mission had been a complete success – if one ignored the tiny little fact that half the city got destroyed. Despite what Prowl had said over the comm when they reported in, it hadn't been their fault. The Decepticons had engaged them first. If it hadn't been for them, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe might never have needed to intervene and the city would still be standing like before the battle.

Shoving the thought aside, Sideswipe raced alongside his brother down the interstate. They were on their way back to the base for a more detailed debriefing. They were still approximately fifty miles out when Sunstreaker suddenly left the interstate to one of the resting places.

What's up? Sideswipe asked over their twin bond while promptly correcting his course and following the golden Corvette off the highway.

Just needing to stretch my legs, Sunstreaker replied. I also think I caught something organic in my ventilation system. Again. It's bugging me.

Sideswipe grew a little wary. Certainly, the resting place was surrounded by lots of trees which looked dense enough to provide plenty of cover for them to transform to their base modes, but two Corvettes vanishing in the bush when there was no visible way inside would certainly raise suspicion with the humans in the resting place. Usually, Sideswipe wouldn't give it a damn what these puny organics said or thought. Getting out of his alt-mode for a change would be wonderful, but after the city's destruction during their last mission and Prowl's fury over the comm, he didn't want to make Prime's second-in-command any angrier than he already was. Therefore, he shared his concerns with his brother in the hope to convince him to stay put.

Sunstreaker didn't reply for some time, while parking in one of the far corners of the resting place and activating his hologram as soon as he killed the engine. A young man with blond hair got out and slowly walked around the Corvette once, giving it a thorough look-over. Once the circle was complete, the blond man frowned, regarding the yellow Corvette's bumper suspiciously with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

The identical though silver Corvette had parked right next to the golden car. There was no one getting out of it. Sideswipe kept a close tap on Sunstreaker through his scanners. Did you find whatever bugs you?

No. In this form, it's impossible. I just can't reach it.

Well, leave it to the Hatchet then. He'll make sure you're bug-free again in no time.

The blonde's face grimaced. Don't remind me. I'm not really keen on seeing the Hatchet. Remember the last prank we played on him? He still hasn't forgiven us.

The silver Corvette shuddered visibly, the engine giving a whining sound, like it was about to die by being strangled. I nearly all forgot about it. I still bear the scars from that encounter.

Grunting in agreement, Sunstreaker's hologram wandered around the car again, deep in thought. He was pulled out of it, however, when the voices of three little kids reached his audios.

"My lord! You cannot engage him alone. Wait!"

"KADABAMM! Take that. I will never give up until you're all dead."

"BOOM! That will teach you to encounter mighty Megatron! Hahaha!"

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's attentions were caught immediately when they heard the name of their archenemy. They quickly scanned the area for the presence of Decepticons, but they were the only Cybertronians within a ten-mile-radius. So they focused on the kids running around the resting place and engaging in battle. A close-up visual then showed the brothers that the kids were only playing with what looked like toys – of Starscream, Megatron and Ironhide.

Sunstreaker's holoform's head whipped around to Sideswipe who had finally activated his own hologram. Together, the two made their way over to the kids.

"Hey, squishies," the blonde greeted them and the kids looked up, surprised at being addressed like that. "Where did you get these?" He pointed to the figures in their hands.

The oldest boy pointed to the building behind them. "From in there. Mom and Dad bought us the King Box, and the toys were a surprise."

Determined to see these toys from more up close, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker went into the fast food restaurant.

I suppose we'll have to get us such a King Box too, Sideswipe mused over the twin bond. But I'm not in the mood for the greasy organic stuff…

Sunstreaker nodded absent-mindedly, not really listening to his brother. He was scanning the display for this 'King Box.' Eventually, he laid eyes on it.

"Hello and welcome to Burger King," a young brunette greeted when the queue in front of them cleared and it was their turn to order. "How can I help you?"

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker shared an apprehensive glance, then Sunstreaker ordered, "We take the King Box."

"Of course," the brunette answered immediately. "Do you want to share or do you each want your own?"

Blinking in surprise that she even needed to ask, they both responded in unison after a moment, "Each our own."

"Do you want to take the food or eat here?"

"We take it."

"All right. Any wishes as for the menu?"

Unprepared what a King Box entailed, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe glanced around. Luckily for them, a father with son ordered the very same King Box right then a few counters down. Enhancing their audios to maximum power to listen to what the man was saying, they proceeded to order exactly the same. It wasn't the food they wanted the King Box for, after all.

And finally, the brunette asked the most important question: "Any wishes as for which toy you would like?"

"I want Sunstreaker," Sunstreaker said, while at the same time Sideswipe blurted out, "Sideswipe of course."

The brunette was caught in surprise at the responses. She blinked a few times, her eyes otherwise wide open, and gaped at them, her mouth opening and closing without a sound coming out of it. They had seen such an expression before: with fish. "Um… I'm not quite sure…" she began, hesitantly.

The brothers shared another look. What do we do now? Sideswipe asked.

Sunstreaker was about to shrug when he caught the boy on the other counter say, "I want the blue one please," and the servant react immediately, producing the demanded toy. Realization hit immediately: Colors, those were the key!

"I take the yellow one," Sunstreaker said, turning back to the brunette.

Following his brother's example, Sideswipe said, "And I take the silver one."

The brunette smiled. "Of course. Two King Boxes coming up in a moment. Please wait just a second." She turned around and went to put together their orders before quickly coming back. Pushing some buttons on her cashier display, she then gave them the price.

Naturally, they had no money on them, but Sunstreaker quickly made some hologram bills and coins. They would vanish as soon as the Corvettes were out of range, but no one would detect the cheat before they were long gone.

With their King Boxes cradled against their chests protectively, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe made their way back to the cars. The bug in Sunstreaker's ventilation system was long since erased from his processor. The brothers' minds were intent only on their precious toys. But they didn't want to play with them in a resting place. No – they needed them sound and safe in their shared quarter. So they quickly started their engines and drove back onto the highway to get back to the base as quickly as possible. They reached their goal in less than half an hour, with many speed signs ignored. Luckily, they hadn't drawn attention of the local police force.

The attention of one another, particular police cruiser was bad enough.

"Where the slag have you been?" Prowl demanded as soon as they were inside the main hangar and transformed into their bipedal forms. He stood right in front of them, his stance threatening. Every 'bot was well advised to stay on the enforcer's good side.

"We've… we had to take a break," Sunstreaker lied. "I got a bug in my system. I needed to get rid of it."

Raising an optic ridge, Prowl asked, "What sort of bug? Did you tinker with your calibration again?"

Looking affronted, Sunstreaker replied, "I'm not stupid. It was an organic bug, you know, these little beetle thingies…" He trailed off when he caught Prowl's icy glare.

"The both of you, report to the med bay immediately. Once Ratchet clears you, I want your thoroughly detailed reports on that mission within a joor. Do not try to weasel out of it or you'll be grounded for a vorn to the brig – and I mean it."

"Yes, sir," the brothers said grudgingly when the second-in-command turned around and walked back to his office.

The encounter with Ratchet was even less pleasant than anticipated. Like Sideswipe had guessed, the CMO was still very much put out with them for their latest prank. Since Sideswipe didn't need any medical checks, he had hoped to escape the Hatchet's clutches, but Ratchet only needed to threaten him once with welding his aft to the berth if he tried sneaking out while he looked into the organic bug in Sunstreaker's ventilation system. Not wanting to endanger their playtime with their counterpart toys, he quietly endured the waiting and subsequent check-through.

But once they were cleared, the brothers hurried to finish their reports and hand them in to Prowl.

And finally, they found themselves in their quarters. Alone. Taking out the King Boxes, they eagerly went to inspecting the content. The food was long since squished to unrecognizable chunks, but the toys were still in one piece and appeared unharmed.

Only they weren't what Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had ordered.

…

"Prowl, I think the twins are up to something. When they were in the med bay, they were unusually quiet and withdrawn. Neither tried joking or distracting me – if you don't count the episode where Sideswipe tried sneaking out on me. It was… a pleasant change, but it has me worried," Ratchet reported to the second-in-command later that day over their energon rations.

The enforcer nodded pensively. "I know what you mean, Ratchet. Normally, they would do anything to get away from their duties like writing the reports. But today they handed them in long before their deadline was over. I have never before seen them in such a state."

"Well, my medical scans showed nothing unusual with their processors or sparks. Whatever it is, it has nothing to do with their health status."

Mulling that over, Prowl eventually suggested, "Maybe we should survey them. Didn't the humans install surveillance cameras into each of our quarters that can be activated any time?"

…

"What the slag?" Sideswipe began, incredulously staring at the toy he held in his hands.

Sunstreaker made a noise that sounded like he had been shot and was now seriously injured. "You at least got something… decent."

Glaring at his brother, Sideswipe snapped, "Decent? I got fragging Shockwave! How is that decent?"

Holding up his own toy, Sunstreaker replied, "Better than the Hatchet. Look at that! Bad enough he's a pain in the aft every orn in reality. Now I have him as a toy in our quarters too." He shuddered at the thought, his engine revving once.

Sideswipe vented a sigh and put his toy away, then proceeded to look up the toys on the Internet. After a moment, he sighed again. "You know, they never made toys of us," he told Sunstreaker. "They only got Prime, 'Bee, Ironhide and the Hatchet. How unfair is that?"

"No toys of us?" Sunstreaker demanded, looking it up himself. Apparently, his brother was right. "But they made some of Megatron, Starscream and Shockwave?" he asked disdainfully, his engine revving again in anger.

The brothers shared a long look before their shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Fragging humans," Sunstreaker grumbled while he flicked the Ratchet-toy under his recharge berth.

…

Watching the live feed of the twins' quarters' surveillance camera in the communications center with Colonel Lennox (who fought very hard to hold back his sniggers), Ratchet and Prowl mentally face-palmed at the sight on the screen. Two of the Autobots' best melee warriors were freaking out because of human children toys? That was something one doesn't get to see every orn, so all three silently vowed to themselves to never ever forget about it.

It proved useful too.

"We have this feed to blackmail them with from now on to the Pit and back," Prowl said, an uncharacteristic smirk gracing his usually unreadable faceplates. "You get that one recorded, don't you?" he asked Colonel Lennox.

The human soldier grinned. "Every second of it."