Given to Fly

Deus Ex Machina

They bumped their fists and ran to their respective guardians.

​​​​​​​Optimius opened the door for Marty as she climbed in.

"You're early," he noted. "Was detention cut short?"

"You could say that," Marty told him as she buckled up.

Optimius rolled away from the curb. "Martha, you know better than to undermine your teacher."

Marty stared out the window. "What if I told you me and Miko were wrongly punished? We were defending ourselves."

The cabin rumbled with something akin to a sigh. "Little One, your sense of justice is commendable, but you should not grieve your teachers with trouble."

"They asked for it," the girl mumbled. They were almost at the base now.

"And what would your uncle say if he knew of this?"

Marty snapped her attention to the console. "Okay, first of all, that's low. Second of all, I'm pretty sure as long as I don't go to jail he doesn't care."

Optimius hummed as they rolled into the base. "And you're sure that is his standard?"

Marty shrugged. "He and my dad used to get in all kinds of trouble. I'm pretty sure he's just glad I solve most my problems on my own."

Marty hopped out as Optimius parked. Once he transformed, she could see his gaze. "Well, perhaps my standards are higher than your uncle's," he said.

Before Marty could respond, Bulkhead rolled in and let Miko out.

"You sound like my parents," she groaned.

"Well, aren't they Japanese?" Bulkhead asked as he transformed.

"They may speak a different language, but you say the same things," Miko said with a pointed finger.

"Because we want the best for you," Bulkhead argued. "And that means making sure you go to school, not jail.

"Uh-oh," Jack had a grin as he looked between the two girls. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing you've never done," Marty snapped back as she climbed the steps to the catwalk.

As Bulkhead explained why Miko needed to care about her future, Optimius tried the same with his charge.

"Martha, it's imperative that you take your education seriously," he said. "Your path has not yet been determined, but your teachers are there to offer wisdom and understanding."

Marty looked up at him. "I hate to break it to you, Optimius, but I'm pretty sure most of the teachers are there because they have to be. I think one of them had a hangover this morning."

Optimius had no response, but Bulkhead did for his charge.

"Why would you want to be like me when you can be a-a medic like Ratchet?" He asked Miko.

"I'm detecting a fresh Energon pulse from the nation called Greece," said Ratchet. "An ancient city – Quite historic, I believe."

"Ancient Greece, huh?" Bulkhead had a mischievous gleam in his eye. "Oh, field trip."

)()()()()(

"I don't see why I have to go over my homework with you," Marty said as she sat on the couch. "I'm an 'A' student, it's my mouth that gets me in trouble."

Optimius looked over her shoulder as he stood behind the platform. "From what I have learned of Earth, it's important to have a clean record."

"But I don't even know what I wanna do," Marty argued.