Hey there again! I know it's been a while, but I have not abandoned this fic yet! Sorry for keeping you guys waiting. I hope this little bit of fun will make up for it.

PART 7

Gazing carefully over his frame, Teletraan 1 examined his new armor with a critical optic. His plating reflected the colors of his protoform beneath, with gleaming metallic bronze covering his stomach, thighs, and upper arms, while Ark orange plates protected his shoulders, forearms, chest, shins, and calves. Other than that, his armor remained rather featureless since he lacked an alt mode, though his orange helm boasted bronze decals not all too different from Prime's own spiked audio caps. He tapped the long slender points, not sure why a bubbly feeling of pure giddiness welled up within him from resembling Optimus Prime even remotely.

Even with new armor though, Teletraan 1 couldn't help but still feel small and slender, delicate even. Though he was taller than a minibot, he was still shorter than Ratchet and Wheeljack, his helm just barely reaching their shoulders. The lack of stature wore heavily on his mind. He was well aware that his frame was not built to be physically strong, but supple and easy to harm. For the Decepticons, it had made hurting him easier. Now, it just made him a target.

Despite his negative opinion of his physical stature, Teletraan 1 still found he was glad to have a bit of protection now. He trailed his fingers along his plating's seams, getting to know his appearance to the best of his ability.

"Feel okay Teletraan?" Wheeljack finally spoke up, having been waiting for the mech to get himself adjusted.

"Yes, the armor is quite light and comfortable," he paused, "Unless you were asking about my mental state…"

At that, Wheeljack chuckled warmly, "Nah you got it, don't worry. Why don't you walk around the room a bit and make sure nothing hitches?"

Nodding shortly to the engineer's request, Teletraan 1 carefully took a few steps forward. Walking was a strange experience for the small mech. Every piston and cable shifted and flexed in accordance to his thoughts, and he couldn't help but marvel over how seamless it all was. He had never walked before in his life, yet his body behaved as if he'd been doing it for centuries.

One of his knees hitched however, the armor plating rubbing against the joint just enough to hamper his movement. Perplexed, Teletraan 1 stopped, examining the joint as he tried to move it again.

"It would appear the metal is pressing against the bearing of my knee joint," the bronze and orange mech lifted his gaze to Wheeljack.

Without a word the friendly inventor went to his side, scanning over the offending knee but didn't dare touch it yet. Teletraan 1's reactions to touch were unpredictable, and getting the armor on the poor bot had been far more challenging that anyone had originally anticipated. Ratchet for one, had finally resorted to drugging Teletraan 1 after his cowering and shivering had gone on for an hour straight. At the moment however, Teletraan 1 appeared deceivingly calm about Wheeljack's close proximity to his person.

"Well, looks like an easy fix to me. Hold still for just a moment and I'll have it adjusted in less than a second," Wheeljack lifted his gaze back up to the mech, making sure the bot wouldn't flip out on him again. So far, he remained calm.

"Understood," Teletraan 1 managed, logically aware there should be no issue with a simple adjustment. His frame though was already beginning to tense and coil though, old panic rising up from depths the bot had no understanding of.

Sensing this, Wheeljack glanced up at the mech, "Hey Teletraan, can you tell me how many hours you've been awake since you got here?"

The nervous bot blinked, all thoughts suddenly revolving around the irrelevant question.

"Honestly I am uncertain, considering there were several times I stirred in and out of consciousness during the night but I did not keep track of the time. My apologies, but I cannot give an accurate number."

By the time Teletraan 1 finished speaking, Wheeljack had finished tweaking the plating around the small mech's knee. The small mech took a moment to realize what had just happened, before a slow smile grew on his features.

"Thank you Wheeljack," Teletraan 1 looked at the inventor gratefully. The distraction had worked, and the bot could now walk around without any trouble. He tested it again, and a feeling of pure delight soared up from within his frame.

"Just take it easy, or else Ratchet will have my head," the inventor chuckled.

Said medic had left while Wheeljack had been installing Teletraan 1's armor to attend to a few new patients in the med-bay, namely the terror twins Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. There had been mentioning of a prank gone wrong, but beyond that Teletraan 1 couldn't remember any of the following conversation thanks to being drugged during it.

Fixing his golden optics on the door, Teletraan 1 frowned softly to himself. Thus far, the only bots he had been in any sort of contact with were Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Smokescreen. Considering the sorry state he was in when he first encountered Prime and the others, he hardly counted it as a proper meeting. Logically, he knew that his sensitivity to being touched meant he was better off being kept away from the masses, but another part of him wanted to get to know the bots he'd silently watched over for so many millennia.

"Heya, Teletraan," Wheeljack spoke softer than he usually did, which to Teletraan 1's surprise captured his attention faster than his regular tone would have. He privately wondered why.

"Yes?"

"You know Optimus requested to meet one on one with you. Ratchet wasn't sure you were up to it, but I said you were. What do ya think?"

At first all Teletraan 1 could do was blink stupidly at the engineer, before slowly the meaning behind Wheeljack's words hit him. Instant elation surged into his spark, the unexpected high making him smile like a child who was about to meet their hero.

"I am up to it," he said the words almost too quickly. Excited as he was to talk with someone else other than Ratchet or Wheeljack, caution quickly slipped through him like a knife, cutting some of his elation down to size, "But…what does he want to say? I have never held conversation with Optimus Prime…"

At that, Wheeljack released a soft chuckle, "Relax, the big guy's just like the rest of us. Less grouchy than Ratch of course, but that just makes it better."

"Oh," Teletraan 1 frowned thoughtfully, before he finally nodded in acceptance, "I would like to meet with him. I believe I have wanted to for some time now actually."

"Well great, we'll get that set up then right after we scan you an alt," the inventor pulled out some holographic specs, but paused, "Do you want to fly or stay on the ground? Your designs are compatible either way."

Thinking for a moment, the answer was fairly clear from the get go, "I would like to remain on the ground."

"Okeydokey then! Let's set these suckers up," the finned mech quickly lined up a varying selection of ground alternate modes, some bulky and slow, others sleek and fast. He pushed a few holograms aside, opting for the more reasonable small cars that would suit his build. He slowly narrowed it down ever further, before at last he plucked the exact vehicle he desired. Looking at it from a logical standpoint, his choice simply met his particular build's needs, but another, deeper part of him was simply drawn to the quaint design.

"I would prefer obtaining this as my alt."

"Ah, the Lenham Le Mans Coupe. Good choice, not too many of those lying around," Wheeljack examined the specs, and made sure it was compatible with Teletraan 1's size. After a moment, he made the hologram large.

"Go ahead and scan, your frame will do the rest."

He hesitated, not entirely sure how to activate his body's scanner. He stared at the coupe's design hovering in front of him, wondering if like walking, he'd simply have to will the action. Much to his surprise, it was a very similar sensation. His scan quickly swept over the car's design, and his armor altered supplely, molding into a new form. His body tingled all over until suddenly, the change ended, and a strong feeling of contentment passed through the orange mech.

Before he could stop himself his frame folded in on itself, and he transformed, his compact vehicular form running softly in the center of the room.

"Oh," Teletraan 1 simply sat there on his wheels, too stunned to move. He took a moment to gather himself, testing his sensors and scanners, and noted how different his perspective was so close to the ground.

"Great job Teletraan, now try shifting into gear and driving around a bit," Wheeljack encouraged lightly, his expression rather pleased.

Not wanting to keep the inventor waiting, Teletraan 1 quickly did as he was told, finding it was second nature to shift his form into drive and roll forward. He made a slow circle around the room, hesitant of his body's new capabilities. He had little idea how fast his form could go, or if the room was even large enough for him to move at any decent speed at all.

"Looks good to me Teletraan! We'll have to convince Ratch to let you outside so you can break your new form in," Wheeljack watched the newly built mech drive around with a certain amount of pride; mostly because the armor hadn't exploded after scanning an alt.

"I would much appreciate the opportunity," the orange mech changed back into his bipedal form, dizzy for just a moment before he smiled at the engineer, "I am anxious to…try it out."

"And I'm anxious to see what you can really do," Wheeljack clapped his hands together, rubbing them in a way that made Teletraan 1 slightly uncomfortable, but for a reason he couldn't pin down.

"Now, let's get that meeting set up with Prime!"

Suddenly Teletraan 1 felt like his tanks had been filled up with cement. As excited as he was to talk with the leader, the anxiety simply thinking about what he was going to say was overwhelming. He struggled to smile, but only managed a grimace instead. Wheeljack however failed to notice, as he was already setting up an appointment.