The moment Bumblebee’s team arrived on Earth, everything felt… different. The open sky, the organic terrain—it was nothing like Cybertron. But there was no time to take it in. They had work to do.

That work, however, took an unexpected turn when they stumbled upon the half-broken stasis pod.

It was ancient. The metal was battered, barely holding itself together, with deep scratches and rusted seams. A faded Autobot insignia clung weakly to the front, barely recognizable. Yet, despite its condition, faint energy readings pulsed from within—someone was still inside.

Before Bumblebee could answer, Strongarm had already drawn her blaster.

“This could be a security risk,” she stated firmly.

“Strongarm, stand down,” Bumblebee ordered.

But she wasn’t listening.

Her optics narrowed. With a sharp glare, she fired.

The blast struck the pod with a loud crack, sending sparks flying as metal groaned in protest. A high-pitched hiss followed as the internal mechanisms fought to compensate.

Bumblebee spun toward her. “Seriously?!”

Strongarm didn’t even flinch. “I was eliminating a potential threat.”

“You don’t shoot at unknown Cybertronians without my go-ahead!” Bumblebee snapped, optics darting to the pod.

Sideswipe, arms crossed, smirked. “Oh yeah, great job. Maybe next, we can shoot at ourselves and call it a tactical exercise.”

Before Strongarm could argue, a deep mechanical groan filled the air. The pod’s locking mechanism disengaged with a sharp clunk.

A tense hush fell over the team. The door creaked open, steam curling from the edges as a figure slumped forward inside. Their armor was dull, their frame sluggish from centuries of stasis.

Then, their optics flickered online.

Sideswipe tensed. “Uh… Bee?”

Bumblebee took a step forward, servo hovering near his stinger blaster.

“We might have a problem.”