I woke up, my mind hazy and my body weak. I raised my head a little and looked around. I was lying in the back seat of someone's car, naked by the feel of things, but covered with someone's jacket. It fit real well, actually, despite it not being mine (I usually have to buy shirts in triple-extra large, or get from the Big & Tall section), although it was a trifle short at the hem, and the stretchy fabric was just this side of being too tight. I wasn't too surprised, though - I was six-six, after all. Someone had clicked a seat belt over me, and I felt a vague sense of gratitude to that person for being so thoughtful. But where were my clothes?

I heard two women talking from the front seats. Fighting my light-headedness, I felt like I was waking up from a deep sleep, and struggled to wake myself up. I couldn't recall what happened, but as I slowly came back from sleep, it was useless trying to recall anything. So I tried to concentrate on the voices near me instead, maybe pick up more information that way. After a while, I was able to decipher the talk a little bit. Two women. And after a little while, I realized that one of them was Susan. That woke me up.

Feeling like my body weighed a ton, I nevertheless tried to sit up, ducking a little bit to avoid hitting the roof. I unclicked the seat belt, instinctively wiped my hair away from my face, straightened up slowly and looked around. I saw the cars on either side of us, the trees and a few buildings whizzing past. I looked forward and saw Susan at the wheel, but where was the other girl?

We occasionally passed underneath some green highway signs and, judging by how fast we passed them, Susan was driving at a pretty fast clip. I clutched the jacket closer around me and leaned forward, grabbing at Susan's seat back to steady me.

"Hey, Suzy-baby," I croaked almost right into her ear. "So, where we goin'?"

"Ahhh!" Susan screamed, and leaned away from me.

"Huh? What! What's wrong?"

"Who are you? Stay away!"

"Susan, it's me! What're you..."

"How'd you get in my car? I..."

"Susan? What's wrong? It's me!"

"Betty! Who is this? How'd she get in?"

The other girl I heard Susan talking to responded. "I don't know Ms. Susan, but..."

"Susan!" I said. "It's me! What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Stay away, I said! I don't know you!"

"What?"

"Ms. Susan," the other girl said. No one else was inside the car. She must be speaking from some two-way radio. "Your friend is not in the car anymore," she continued, "only this person."

"What! Where'd Ron go?"

"Dammit, Susan! I'm right here!"

"You're not Ron! Shut up!"

"What?"

Susan smacked me on the front of my shoulder to push me back to the rear. I fell backwards hard, the wind whooshing out of me. "Ow!"

She held what looked like a pepper sprayer on me as she kneeled on the driver's seat facing my direction.

"Susan! The car! Don't let go of the wheel!"

"Shut up!" I could see her hand with the pepper spray tremble. She was really scared. Somehow, the car kept on going straight. She looked at me, and then at the back seat. Keeping the pepper spray trained on me, she looked down at the back's footwall area, looking to see if someone was there.

"What have you done with Ron!"

"Dammit, Susan, it's me!"

"Hah! You crazy bitch. How can you be Ron?"

"I'm me! I'm Ron!" I gestured, thumping my chest emphatically.

Susan looked at me disbelievingly.

"Really," she said dryly, sarcastically.

I looked down at where she was looking, which was at my hand on my chest, and I noticed my hand. It was so skinny, and awfully white, not to mention the long nails shaped into light-pink almond ovals. And then I noticed how my chest looked and felt.

I then belatedly started paying attention to the sensation of the jacket on my skin. I looked down and pale-yellow, almost silver-colored hair obscured the periphery of my vision. I brought out my other hand from under the jacket that was covering me, and I brought the hair closer to my eyes. Long silvery-yellow hair... I was so confused.

I then lifted away the jacket covering me a little bit and peeked underneath.

I fainted.

-----

I woke up again after what felt like days. And I was now sitting up and in the passenger's seat in front. It was pushed all the way back so I could have room. surprisingly, Susan's car was comparatively roomy.

I also noticed that the jacket that was draped over me before I was now wearing: my arms were now in the sleeves with the cuffs turned down, and it was zipped up. Though it was a bit tight, the fabric of the jacket stretched a bit, so it felt okay. And I noticed it emphasized my new breasts. Good God... But at least it was zipped up. That gave me a secure kind of feeling, even though the hem barely covered my ass. I tugged it down a bit.

I tried looking around but it was dark outside, the bright highway lampposts whizzing by at regular intervals. I saw Susan at the wheel looking at me, almost studying me. I smiled nervously at the attention, and gestured to the highway. "Pay attention to your driving, Suzy-Baby," I mumbled. I finally noticed: my voice...

She nodded but kept on looking. Oddly, though, I didn't care about her driving as much as I should have. Well, it's her car - who am I to tell her how to drive. And who cares if she wraps us around some lamppost? Why was it that I didn't care?

I looked at my hands. They were half-obscured by the sleeves, which extended almost to my knuckles. The cuffs seemed to have been unbuttoned and unfolded so that they were now long enough to reach past my knuckles. I pushed them back and marveled at my long and lithe fingers, soft, sleek, slim arms and strawberries-and-cream complexion.

I took a hank of hair and brought it in front of me. The platinum-blonde hair was so pale, it looked like it was silver, or maybe chrome would be more appropriate, given how... bright it was.

As I was feeling that soft hank of hair, I was looking at my other hand. It was so thin! I looked at the shiny, slightly pink nails and marveled at how precise they were shaped. They were very hard, too, like little chits of hard porcelain or thick acrylic plastic, and clear, shiny nail polish seemed to have been applied on them. I tapped them on the dashboard and heard the hard clicking of porcelain on linoleum.

"What are you doing," I heard that disembodied voice of Susan's phantom companion say.

"Nothing," I said. "Just passing the time."

I looked at Susan, who was still staring at me. "How different am I?" I asked.

"Very," she said. I could hear the awe, or whatever it was, in her voice. "You're sure you're Ron?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Watch the road, Suzy-baby."

Susan waved that away. "Let Betty take care of the driving," she said, and continued staring.

"Betty?"

"Betty, say 'hi' to Ron."

"Good evening, Captain McKenzie," the accented voice said. "I am Betty."

I nodded to myself. Yep, it's from the car. "So your name really is Betty, huh?" I said.

"Yes, it is. It has been ever since Ms. Susan got me from the car dealer's lot."

"From what?"

"Ronnie," Susan interrupted. "Betty is the car. Believe it."

I looked at Susan. After a long while, I nodded. "I was gonna say, 'bullshit,' but I know it's probably true. Look at me, for God's sake, and that thing back at the restaurant... look at me..."

"Yes, Ronnie. Look at you..."

I shrugged. Reaching up, I flipped the sun visor down. I looked in the little vanity mirror in there and saw my face for the very first time.

Good God...

I saw my heart-shaped face. My almond-shaped eyes were like sparkling dark-blue pools of water in the middle of shiny white marble. The bright, platinum hair, the smooth strawberry-alabaster skin, the small, slightly-upturned nose, the startlingly-red lips framed by my oh-so-fair face...

"Good God," I said again, for the umpteenth time. And my voice! "Good God..."

"Ron? Ronnie? Dammit, don't faint on me now!"

At her sharp rebuke, I sort of snapped awake.

"Okay, okay," I said. "I'm fine." I looked down to escape the image in the mirror, and was confronted with my jacket and my pants-less condition.

Underneath the ladies' designer jacket, I could see the unmistakable outline of a pair of breasts.

"I got boobs," I said softly.

"Yep," Susan said. "Pretty ones, too, I think." I could hear the giggle in her voice.

I squeezed my eyes as I felt the sting of tears. "Boobies..." I whispered.

"Ronnie, don't," Susan said. "It'll be all right. Trust me." I was so ashamed that I couldn't stop crying. She reached over and held my left shoulder in a light, friendly grip. "It'll be okay."

"Sure it will, Susan," I agreed. But I couldn't stop the tears.

Susan unbuckled and reached over to hug me.

"We'll find out what happened, Ronnie. The people in Fort Lewis will know what to do." That gave me hope. At least something I could focus on. I did my best to put this aside for the moment, until I could understand it better. For a soldier like me, having a goal, a mission... okay, don't think about it for now. Focus on the mission.

"Fort Lewis?" I mumbled against Susan's shoulder. I need some more details.

"That's where we're headed. It's where we're going to get you some help, and to find out what this is all about." She told me everything that had happened since the restaurant, up to her encounter with Sergeant Boone.

"I hope they really can help us," I said, referring to the people in Fort Lewis. Like most of the people in the military who had some info about NEST, I knew that Fort Lewis was their sort-of base of operations.

Susan nodded. "It shouldn't be long now," she said. "Betty, how long?"

"We shall be there in less than an hour, Ms. Susan," Betty responded.

"How are we doing for gas?"

"We have more than enough. Incredibly, we have only used up less than two percent of my tank."

"How much is that?"

"Under half a gallon. It seems my gas mileage has improved as well." I could hear a hint of pride in her voice.

"Why do you say that, Betty?"

"Well, that would mean my mileage is now about fifty-two times better. About nine hundred miles to the gallon. My exhaust emissions have also been reduced to zero."

Susan giggled. "Wow! That's incredible, Betty. We're gonna save a ton of money on gas."

"Better call the EPA," I mumbled against Susan's shoulder.

Susan giggled some more, pulled back and gave me a kiss. That felt wonderful.

"How do you feel?" she said.

"Physically? Pretty good, actually. Though a little light-headed."

"Low blood sugar, probably. You haven't eaten anything since lunch at the restaurant." She tried getting something from the back seat but I wasn't letting her go. She giggled, kissed me again and pushed me away a little bit so that she was able to reach for whatever was in the back.

"Betty and I stopped at a 7-Eleven an hour ago, and I got some snacks." She handed me a couple of large paper bags from the back and a Big Gulp from the car's drink holder. Smelling the food, my mouth started to water.

Susan sat back in the driver's seat and watched me in obvious delight as I inhaled the food. I don't know if it was hunger, but everything tasted so good! The texture of the fries was incredible - salty and crunchy, yet soft; the hotdogs were rubbery but filled with a taste that reminded me of the best beef casserole I ever tasted, and it contrasted so well with the pillow-like and subtly-sweet taste and feel of the bun. After finishing off the hotdog and fries, I made short work of the bag of Doritos and the two apples that were in the 7-Eleven bag, including Susan's half-finished Cheetos. The chips and the apples were both crunchy, but whereas the chips gave a feel of incredibly tasty bits of wood, after the initial crunch, the apples would transmute into something akin to a sweet and tangy bed of mush. I let out a moan that sounded like I was having incredible sex or something, which wasn't too far off the mark - it was like a taste orgasm or something. Susan was looking at me goggle-eyed.

I picked up the Big Gulp and sucked on the straw until there wasn't any liquid left in the big cup. It was like drinking at some effervescent fountain made of spicy-sweet crystals! And I never even thought you could taste crystals.

I gave a loud, long belch, and when I noticed Susan looking, I blushed in embarrassment.

"Ummm..." I said. Susan broke down and laughed. I love it when Susan's happy.

I licked the orange powder of the Doritos from my fingers. "Any more?" I said.

"Dearie, you finished off everything!" She laughed some more. "You were real hungry, huh?"

I shrugged. "I guess. Susan, it just tasted so good!"

"Well, rein in your appetite for a bit 'coz, according to this iPhone, we're almost there. Just twenty or so minutes away."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The iPhone screen changed - there was an incoming call.

"Yes, Sergeant Boone," Susan said after swiping the answer key. "What is it?"

"We're right near the mountain entrance, Ms. Blu," a slightly tinny voice answered. "One of the Autobots will be leading us in. Be sure to follow him in."

"Right."

After a few minutes, the other Autobot following us - the blue Shelby Mustang GT500 - zoomed over and cut in in front of us. Susan, or rather, Betty, expertly followed the VW and the Mustang, and as the sun was rising, we drove into Fort Lewis.

At the gate, a big tank barrier lowered into the ground and allowed us to pass. I looked into the rearview and saw the Humvee. following us closely.

After a bit, the car led us into the entrance of a big rectangular building whose backside was buried into the side of the mountain. As soon as we cleared the entrance, big blast doors rumbled downwards and big, stadium-style lights clicked on.

The car led us to a big blue semi truck parked in the middle of the floor of what felt like nothing more than a big, empty high-vaulted airplane hangar. I knew my vehicle recognition book well enough to know that the semi was a blue Freightliner Argosy flat cab-over truck. It had a shiny blue-and-silver paint job that made it obvious this wasn't really used for hauling stuff. It seemed to be more of a showpiece or racing truck rather than a utility truck, which made it look out of place in a military camp. But then a Freightliner was out of place in a military camp regardless.

Betty pulled up near the truck. The Shelby and the coupe peeled away and drove up a concealed ramp, going who knows where. The truck left us and the people in the Humvee.

Susan looked at me. "What now?" she asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess we wait for someone to fetch us?"

People got out of the Humvee and went to us. Susan rolled her window down and spoke to the soldier standing outside her car door.

"What now, Sergeant Boone?" Susan asked.

The soldier saluted. "Yes, Ma'am. Ultra Magnus will be taking care of your debrief in a moment. Would you mind stepping out of the car?"

Susan and I looked at each other. I shrugged again, opened my door and stepped out. Susan did likewise.

As I stepped out, I was reminded I was naked (save for Susan's designer jacket) because the slick concrete floor was cold against my bare feet. Also, I got the feeling that I had gotten taller as well since I had more trouble getting out of the car.

I went around to Susan's side and I automatically reached for her hand. It felt inappropriate now, when it didn't before, but somehow it fit. "Old habits," I thought to myself. "Will I need to change those?"

We stood there together and looked to Sergeant Boone. His companion, a taller lanky fellow, was dressed in military fatigues just like him. Both held assault rifles in a loose carry-stance. The tall soldier gestured at me.

"I thought..."

"Shut up, you idiot," Boone replied almost angrily. "Just shut your trap."

The tall guy whistled.

"Stop embarrassing yourself and shut up, dammit!" Boone turned to face Susan. "Ummm, Ma'am, we just wanted to know that you're okay. We'll leave you now to give you some privacy, so you can have a private discussion with Ultra Magnus, but we'll be right over there if you should need anything." He pointed to a shadowy part of the big enclosed hangar, right against the wall.

"When is he coming down, then?"

"He's already here, Ma'am." He nodded towards the truck. He and his friend stepped back, saluted and went back to their vehicle. In a few moments, they had moved and parked their Humvee beyond the oval of light that was aimed down at us, and we could barely see their vehicle.

We belatedly noticed that there were two folding chairs and a desk placed in front of the truck, but no one was there.

"Wonder where this Ultra Magnus character is then," Susan said. "Let's check the truck."

I remembered the stories of my friend Bill. Major William Lennox, or "Wild Bill" to his army ranger friends, was one of the more active officers assigned to NEST and the Autobots, and he had told me some stories about them, a few of the stories were even about the famous Optimus Prime.

"Ummm, no need, Susan," I said. I pointed to the truck.

"Yeah," she said, misunderstanding my gesture "But apparently he doesn't want to come out. Let's check inside the cab."

Before I could answer, the sound of gears and electric motors reverberated in the enclosed space, and we saw the big truck start to change - hidden panels on the semi opened and closed, and big metal components folded out of hidden compartments.

Susan shrieked and clutched at me. Instinctively, I grabbed her, shielding her with my body.

But in moments, the weird sound of gears stopped. The truck had re-formed into the figure of a big, robotic man in blue wearing a blue helmet.

Susan looked at the big humanoid robot, as slack-jawed and dumbfounded as me.

"Greetings," the big robot rumbled. "My name is Ultra Magnus. I am the leader of the Autobots."

I looked up and saw how tall he was. He stood at least three stories tall, his helmet almost scraping the ceiling. The smokestacks had relocated over to his arms and shoulders. The tall stacks emphasized every move of his arms, and it didn't seem to bother or hinder him. In fact, despite the blockiness of the robotic body, his movements were fluid and natural.

"Umm, hiya," Susan said, and waved a little awkwardly.

So this was the great Ultra Magnus. He didn't disappoint - he was tall and powerful looking, and exuded an air of authority that made one want to trust him. I had this impression that I wasn't really looking at a robot but at a person. A person in a robot suit, perhaps, but a person nevertheless. I wanted to get closer to examine him.

As I moved forward, Susan pulled me back by my hand. "I just wanted to take a look," I said.

"It's all right, young lady," Ultra Magnus said. "Do not be afraid. I mean no harm."

"Are you sure?" Susan joked.

"Susan!" I exclaimed and squeezed her hand for emphasis. "Be good."

"Ow! That hurt."

I ignored her. "I apologize for my friend, sir. It's the first time for us to meet an, ah, Autobot... ummm, face to face... Sir..."

"No need to apologize for Ms. Blu, young lady. I was told of what she has gone through today. But I am at a loss as to who you are. We were actually expecting someone else to accompany Ms. Blu."

"I'm Detective Ron McKenzie, sir." I saluted crisply, although I had a suspicion that I looked ridiculous in a jacket and no pants. "Metropolitan PD. I used to be a captain in the Marines and worked with Major Bill Lennox."

"Major Lennox is a good friend of Optimus Prime and myself. I know him well."

"Optimus Prime?"

"He was the leader of the Autobots, but he had to... leave. With the Autobots' consent, I assumed leadership. We all miss him." His sadness came through his voice.

"But I do remember all of the... adventures we had with the major."

I grinned at that, recalling all the stupid things he used to do, and sometimes even involving me in them.

"But I am confused. I was told that Captain McKenzie was a male human..."

I looked down and did not know what to say. I could understand why I was embarrassed, but I felt ashamed as well... Why?

"No, I'm Ron McKenzie, sir."

"Are you..."

Susan squeezed my hand. I looked at her and she smiled encouragingly at me, and leaned up to give me a kiss on the cheek.

"She is, Mr. Autobot. Trust me. We don't know what happened. But it's true. She IS Ron McKenzie."

"That is difficult to believe, Ms. Blu," Ultra Magnus rumbled. He gestured at the chairs, and Susan and I sat down. Hyper-aware of my trouser-less condition, I crossed my legs at the ankles the way I saw many girls do. And I finally understood why they did it that way. The feel of my legs sliding against each other - it was different, to say the least.

Susan dragged her chair closer to me, which gave me a lot of comfort. I held her hand as we settled down. Ultra Magnus sat down on the cement but he still towered over us. Still, we appreciated the gesture.

"Betty," Susan called. Her little banana-yellow beetle started up and pulled up just beside her.

Susan patted her right front fender. "Thanks, honey," she said. Betty flashed her lights once and went into idle.

"What?" Ultra Magnus said, surprised. Of course, the Autobot didn't have much facial expression but the surprise in his voice at Betty's response to Susan was obvious. Susan shrugged.

Ultra Magnus stared at Betty. Betty's idling was very smooth and quiet, it was hardly audible. I tried to smell her exhaust and was surprised to find out that she didn't make any.

Ultra Magnus continued to look at Susan's car for a while, but he forced himself to look back at us. The questions he wanted to ask were obvious, but he didn't ask them. "You must have an interesting story to tell," he ended up saying. "I am listening."

So we told him everything that happened since the beginning, right from when Susan received the package from that "girl." We took turns telling him what had happened, and Ultra Magnus sat, seemingly very relaxed, except at certain points where he hunched forward and peered at us intently. (We didn't see much expression on the silvery metal robot face because of the goggles over his eyes, but we felt it.) He was very interested in the delivery girl, the little cube made of black volcanic rock that the Venus De Milo thing called her "treasure," and the transformation of Betty from a normal car to a self-aware vehicle, and what happened to me, of course.

"Can I see the rock the delivery person gave you?" Ultra Magnus asked.

Susan reached into her shirt's front pocket, but found the pocket torn off.

"Oh no," she said, suddenly remembering. "I forgot. I think I lost it. I tore my blouse when I caught it on Ron's shirt. Was it important?"

"How did you lose it, exactly?"

"I lost it back in the restaurant. I was afraid I would loose my bag so I kept it in my blouse pocket, but when I leaned over Ron as I was cleaning him of that goo, my blouse got caught on a piece of metal or something in Ronnie's shirt. I suppose it fell out when my pocket tore." She scratched her head. "Was it that important?" she repeated.

Ultra Magnus looked at us for a moment, shrugged and told us to continue with our story. So we did.

After our stories petered out, Ultra Magnus leaned back. "Well," he said. After a moment, he stood up and walked towards Betty.

Betty revved up and moved to our back.

"Ms. Susan," Betty quavered. There was nervousness in her normally assured-sounding, posh, German-accented voice.

Susan stood up. "Hey!" she said, and protectively stood in front of Betty. "What're you doing?"

"Stand aside, Ms. Blu," the big Autobot said. "I will not hurt your friend. I promise."

She put a protective hand on Betty's hood as the little Volkswagen cowered. At least it felt like she was cowering. It was slightly ridiculous - Betty was so much bigger than Susan, yet she went behind her for protection. Although I didn't think Ultra Magnus would hurt Susan or her car, I had to go with my lady. I stood as well to back Susan up.

Ultra Magnus held his hand up. "Stand down, you two. I will not hurt you or your friend. I swear. But I have to do something."

Susan and I looked at each other.

"Betty," Susan said. I think we can trust him."

"Are you sure, Ms. Susan?"

"As sure as I can be, honey. Don't worry, I'll be here." She patted Betty's hood again.

Ultra Magnus came closer. "Don't be afraid, young one," Ultra Magnus said, and gently put his hand on top of her roof. After a bit, Ultra Magnus's goggled eyes lit up with a bright white light. It was obvious that he was doing something, but we were blown away when a 3-D image came out of Ultra Magnus's eyes and floated in the middle of the air.

"How did you do that?" I asked, amazed.

"All Autobots can create recordings of anything that happens around them that is within their sensors' range," Ultra Magnus responded.

"You mean Betty's an Autobot?"

"Perhaps. I am not sure yet."

It was like several video vignettes being run in reverse order - not literally in reverse, just scenes arranged in reverse chronological order. Scenes of how we got here were projected first - arriving in Fort Baxter, and then our long trip going to the fort, then it cut to a chest-high view of the road, and then it cut to another view of the inside of the car as seen from above. The video slowed at that point, and we could see Susan and the new me sitting in front chatting. The video flashed several vignettes back and we saw me sitting in the back, leaning forward and talking to Susan. Susan hit me on the shoulder and I fell back. After our video images talked some more, the recorded video showed me fainting. Unfortunately, there was no sound.

At that point, it flashed several scenes backward again until we saw me - the original me, lying back on the seat, sleeping, covered by Susan's jacket and belted down by the seat belts.

Ultra Magnus put his hand to the side of his helmet and the view changed to a close-up of my head and jacket-covered shoulders. At which point, the view moved forward - not as fast as a fast-forward video, but still faster than normal.

In the three-D video, we could see my face change from my original face to the face I now had, like a transformation scene from some movie. My features changed like clay under the expert hand of some invisible sculptor, cheekbones and forehead changing as if being kneaded and then smoothened. In spite of myself, I was amazed - so this was what happened to me.

The shot changed to a close-up of my left hand sticking out from underneath the jacket. Like my face, my hand changed, this time the fingers looked like they were being pulled like taffy, changing my thick and knuckley hand to one with long, graceful and lissome fingers.

As I watched, I unconsciously touched that hand, feeling the narrow bones underneath and the softness of the skin.

The shot changed back to one of my face again. My features seemed to be done changing. As I watched, my naturally swarthy complexion started to lighten in patches. The blotchy color change seemed to start from below the neck up, implying that there were also changes that had happened lower down. And as soon as the color change smoothened out and completed my skin's transformation to a smoother, strawberries-and-cream complexion, the hair on my head, eyebrows and eyelashes started changing. My short wavy, black hair, which was longer than before became distinctly straighter and verrry much longer, and as it did, the color also changed - the change seeming to happen one random strand at a time. And in the time-lapse video, the change finished in less than a minute, changing me from a swarthy, masculine man with a crew cut-style haircut to a platinum-headed, fair-skinned Nordic beauty, with long, platinum lashes and pencil-thin barely-there eyebrows.

I felt a hand on my face - Susan was using her fingers to wipe away the wetness on my cheek. I took her hand and smiled at her a little sadly. She wiped the rest of my tears away with her other hand, and gave me a hug.

"So," Ultra Magnus said softly and not unkindly, "you are indeed Ronald Charles McKenzie."

"Can you turn it off?" Susan said.

"Of course." Ultra Magnus took his hand off Betty's roof and the floating pictures disappeared.

I swiped my hand across my eyes and sniffed back more tears. "Why did this happen to me?" I said. "How? Can it be reversed?"

"That is difficult to answer, Captain. I will need to ask some of my fellow Autobots to help determine that." He put his hand against his head again. "Rachet. Perceptor. I need you two in the encounter arena."

"Now, Magnus?" we heard a cultured, slightly-British-sounding Autobot voice say. Or maybe upper crust Boston. "I am in the middle of a project and..."

"Now, Perceptor," Ultra Magnus said, sounding a little exasperated.

"Of course, Ultra Magnus. I will be there in moments. Did you copy, Rachet?"

"Wilco, Perceptor," another Autobot replied. "Be there in less than five. I'm just coming in but I should be there shortly."

"Excellent," Ultra Magnus replied. "Be here as quickly as you can."

He then turned to us. "I am still unsure of Captain McKenzie's case," he said to us, "but it is clear what has happened to your car." He gestured to Betty, like you would a pet dog. "Betty, come here."

Betty revved her motor nervously, and nudged Susan's chair with her right fender. Susan patted her on her right headlight. "It's okay, Betty," Susan said. "He's okay. Go to Ultra Magnus."

The car pulled back and then slowly approached the big Autobot.

After she parked near him, Ultra Magnus leaned forward and looked her over. He was about to put his hand on her hood but Betty backed away sharply and revved her engine threateningly.

"Betty!" Susan exclaimed and stood up, clearly intending go to them. "Stop that!"

"It's all right, Ms. Blu," Ultra Magnus said to Susan, and turned back to Betty. "Don't be afraid of me, young one. I am a friend. Come here."

After a bit, Betty inched close, and allowed Ultra Magnus to touch her.

"Do not be afraid, Betty. I am your friend." Ultra Magnus turned to us, but kept on patting and stroking Betty on her hood.

"Five or so years ago," Ultra Magnus said to us as he tried to calm Betty down, "we Autobots were involved with that incident in New York that I am sure you have heard about."

"The one that practically destroyed...?" Susan asked.

"Yes," he said.

I knew a little bit of it, and nodded to Susan, confirming what he said.

"The rumors were true, then - you guys were part of that. Wow..."

"Indeed. But that is not what I wanted I to talk about. The AllSpark - the source of our civilization - was destroyed. And a few years later, after our... misadventures that culminated in that incident in New York, two of our human friends, Sam Witwicky and Kae Banes, found a shard of the AllSpark, just like that fragment that was delivered to you and Captain McKenzie, and just like that larger fragment that facsimile of the Venus De Milo statue had." (He had made the same connection with the statue that Susan had.)

"So that was what that thing she was holding," I said. "But it was a cube, not some broken shard."

"Yes, indeed. From what we saw, and what you told us, that fragment is a much larger piece than any other fragment we have found. And because it was a cube, I can't help but think it's like an echo of the AllSpark."

"Echo?"

Ultra Magnus shook his head. "I will explain later."

"You have other pieces?"

"Yes. Small slivers and pieces only. They are all under secure lockdown at a secret installation. But it seems we missed two other fragments - yours and the statue's.

"In any case, our friend Sam found that even small pieces of the AllSpark can still do what the intact AllSpark was meant to do."

"Which is?"

"Primarily - to bring machines to life..."

"Huh?"

"My species, as you see, are essentially sentient robots. We do not dispute that. We are indeed robots - mechanisms designed to be tools. The original Autobot-type robots were non-sentient machines, built by our original makers on Cybertron to be all-purpose tools, much as you humans make your machines, while the original Decepticons were weapons and military equipment, such as your tanks and fighter planes. But by the mystical energy of the AllSpark, each of these mechanisms were transmuted into our ancestors - beings with independent minds and intelligence, even souls you might say, as well as the ability to transform. Later on through the millennia, through the AllSpark, our ancestors were able to convert more machines into our brethren. It is the AllSpark that made it possible to create our civilization of sentient mechanical beings.

"Through the AllSpark fragment, the biomechanical statue that you encountered let the AllSpark energy loose upon your vehicle, and though it intended to destroy it, it was unable to, and inadvertently created a new sentient mechanical."

"You're saying Betty is an Autobot?" I asked.

"Not necessarily an Autobot. A Cybertronian, to be sure. Betty will have to pick which side she is on, eventually, but there is no need to for now."

"How about the KSI robots? Aren't they alive?"

"Yes, but they are essentially deactivated Cybertronians given new robotic bodies made by KSI. The KSI robot, Galvatron, for example, was essentially a KSI robot imbued with Megatron's essence. Dr. Joshua Joyce called them zombies. Betty, on the other hand is truly a new entity, with a newly-born mind and essence."

Susan stood beside Betty. "Hear that, Betty? Now we know."

"Yes, Ms. Susan," Betty responded.

"Can she change into a robot like you, Mr. Ultra Magnus?"

"I believe she can, Ms. Blu," Ultra Magnus said. "But she will need to discover how on her own, just like any newly-born Cybertronian. This is a momentous time for us. Imagine - Betty is the first newly born, fully sentient and fully functioning mechanical in over a million years.

"That’s because, due to the millennia-long civil war between the Decepticons and the Autobots, the AllSpark was lost amongst the stars. The Decepticon known as Megatron stole the AllSpark and we and Megatron's Decepticon brethren have been looking for it ever since.

"A few years ago, we and the Decepticons traced the AllSpark to your world. It was a lucky break in our centuries-long search. Both we and the Decepticons arrived on your world at roughly the same time, searching for the AllSpark, and we waged war yet again for possession of the prize. But the AllSpark was lost to us again, this time permanently, as Optimus had decided to destroy it to deny the Decepticons access to it, and prevent them from creating an army that could subjugate your world as well as many others."

"But then..."

"Indeed, Captain. In doing so, Optimus had also condemned our race to eventual extinction. But we still believe that it was a small price to pay to halt the advance of the Decepticons. However..."

"However?"

"When Sam Witwicky, our first Human friend, showed us that there were still fragments of the AllSpark that still had the energy of life, we searched the entire area of New York - the place where the AllSpark was destroyed, and we were able to recover the piece that the Decepticons had, plus a few other pieces. Perceptor and our other Autobot scientists studied them, and eventually made some intriguing new discoveries. We now think that it is possible for us to create a new AllSpark from the fragments that we had."

"It's not easy to make one?"

Ultra Magnus seemed to stare at me, trying to get my measure.

"No, it's not."

Just then, another humanoid robot entered the big chamber, followed by a futuristic little orange car.