Given to Fly

This was my favorite episode when I was younger

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As Marty stepped out of Bulkhead's vehicle mode, the first thing she noticed was Optimius and Arcee standing in front of the ground bridge portal. It seemed they were heading out on a mission, which explained why they couldn't pick up Jack and Marty respectively.

"Miss us, doc bot?" Miko asked.

Ratchet saw her and groaned. "Shouldn't they be in school?"

"On a Saturday?" Miko asked. "We have the weekend off to spend with you." She smirked.

Ratchet rolled his eyes as Marty and Jack walked up to their guardians.

"We weren't expecting to carpool." The older boy said. "What gives?"

"Tag team, Jack." Arcee explained. "It's our turn for exploration duty."

Marty put her hands in her jacket pockets as Jack tried to guilt trip his guardian.

"Oh, too bad." He said nonchalantly. "It's a beautiful day for a ride. Would hate for you to feel guilty for leaving me indoors."

Arcee smirked. "Arctic exploration duty."

"Indoors where it's warm." Jack walked off to stairs just as Raf walked over. Marty recognized the excited gleam in his eyes.

Marty looked up at her guardian. "The arctic, huh?"

"I've always wanted to see snow." Raf said with a smile.

"Not much in the desert." Marty added.

"I would invite you to join," Optimius told the two. "but the conditions are much too extreme, even for we Autobots."

Raf's expression fell. "I... understand."

Marty felt a twinge of sympathy for the boy. Then again, she also had a small desire to see the snow.

Optimius and Arcee were about to step through the ground bridge when the former halted, turning around. "But, I will bring you back some snowballs."

Marty found herself smiling. "That'd be awesome."

Optimius nodded to her before him and Arcee disappeared into the ground bridge. When it closed, Ratchet made a startled noise and sparks crackled. Marty chalked it up to human tech problems as she and Raf walked up the stairs.

"So, what should we do today?" Miko asked.

Bee buzzed excitedly, bringing up his hands to mimic holding something.

"Video game tournament!" Raf translated. "Last one standing wins!"

"Bulkhead, Bumblebee! Here! Now!" Ratchet ordered.

Bee buzzed a groan as they walked away. Raf waved to him as he reached for a controller, but Miko already snagged it.

She plopped down next to Jack, waving the controller in his face. "Prepare to be destroyed."

Jack shrugged her off. "Yeah, not really my thing, Miko."

"Oh? Scared of loosing? To a girl?" She batted her eyelashes innocently, prompting Marty to roll hers.

Jack stared at her for a solid minute before grabbing the controller. "Bring it!"

They focused on the screen, the sounds of their racing game echoing through the base. Marty slipped her ear buds in and plugged the into her amp before grabbing her guitar. She noticed Raf walking away towards one of the many tunnels, but didn't think to much of it.