"Hey, it’s Mikaela Banes!"

I grew up under the hood of a car—literally. My dad was a long-time car thief, and when he couldn’t find a babysitter, he took me along. That’s how I learned to hotwire, fix, and steal cars before I could even drive. When he got caught, I refused to turn him in, and that decision gave me a criminal record. Because of that, I kept my skills under wraps, never letting my boyfriends know that I could probably rebuild an engine better than they could.

Then, there’s Sam Witwicky. We went to school together since first grade, but I never really noticed him—until he gave me a ride home in his Camaro. Turns out, that car wasn’t just any car. It was Bumblebee, an Autobot. One crazy chase, an alien war, and a Decepticon battle later, I found myself wrapped up in a fight much bigger than anything I’d ever known.

Sam and I went through a lot together—dodging Decepticons, running from secret government agents, and helping save the world more times than I can count. I even strapped an injured Bumblebee to a tow truck and drove him straight into battle. Not bad for a girl who was once just the “hot one” in a car thief’s garage.

In the end, I don’t let anyone define me. I’m not just the girl who works on cars, or the girl who stood by Sam through an alien war—I’m Mikaela Banes. And trust me, I know my way around more than just an engine.