Chapter Text
Everyone gathered around in Doc Greene’s lab as he introduced his latest invention. The sleek device was propped up on a stand. The Doc had Graham’s full attention, while Kade picked at a string on his shirt. Chase stood prepared for something to happen at any moment. Doc’s devices had a tendency to cause havoc.
“I call it the Personifier Raygun. Working title, of course. It can turn anything, animal or object, into a human. Allow me to demonstrate.” Doc picked up the device, looking down the sights. He aimed carefully and precisely at a wooden chair. With a quick, purple zap, the chair soon grew legs, and arms, and a nose, and a mouth.
Chief chimed in, skeptical. “What exactly is this going to be used for, Doc?”
“Excellent question. And quite frankly, I have no idea. Once something is turned into a person, it will only have the abilities that it had prior. For example, this chair may look like a person, but it cannot have complex thoughts.”
The room was silent, though it was obvious what everyone was thinking.
Doc scratched his head. “Yeah… maybe this one is best fit for the ‘Best Left Forgotten’ section.” He zapped the chair back to its original form. “I’m sure we’ll find a use for it someday.”
Professor Baranova walked into the room with luggage in hand. She wore a straw hat with flowers around the band. “Ezra, are you ready to go? The ferry leaves in fifteen minutes.”
“Oh! I nearly forgot. I haven’t even packed yet. Say, would you all mind taking the Personifier Raygun to the Hall of Inspiration for me? We’ve been planning this vacation for months!”
The chief smiled. “We’d be happy to.”
Doc ran around like a chicken with its head cut off as he searched for his suitcase. Flustered, he shoved his clothes into the case and zipped it shut. As he ran off towards the exit, he yelled, “Thanks, Charlie!”
The crew examined the many pieces that went to the device. While the raygun itself was lightweight and easy enough for one person to carry, there was a charging stand, attachments, and many larger pieces of which nobody knew what they did. Graham offered the easiest solution, which was to strap a piece to each of the bots in vehicle mode. Blades could carry another by his winch.
Once they arrived at the Hall of Inspiration, the bots began carrying the parts into the “Best Left Forgotten” section. Blades carried the raygun itself into the room. Just as he was about to place it on a shelf, he looked up to see a giant wooden crate toppling down on him. He reacted just in time to leap out of the way, though the raygun flew out of his grasp. With a clank, it fell to the floor. An explosion of purple light flooded the room. Blades blinked his eyes. He looked up as the shelves towered over him. What had just happened? Three other figures appeared before him. A dark, brawny figure, donning a red fire helmet. Beside him was a more slender build, wearing a police uniform. He was more pale, and his black hair was neatly slicked back. The final form was chunkier, but kind-looking. He had a lush beard as well as dark, fluffy hair.
“Who are you? And what did you do to my team?” Blades accused.
“Blades?” The one wearing the fire helmet questioned.
“It seems the device has turned us all into humans,” the one wearing the police uniform deduced.
“Ohh!” Blades exclaimed. He pointed to the one wearing the fire helmet, “Okay, so I’m guessing you’re Heatwave,” then to the one in the police uniform. “You’re Chase… and you’re Boulder.”
Boulder nodded. “Seems right to me.”
The Burns family rushed in to see what had happened. Their expressions all turned to shock when they saw that their team of Rescue Bots were no longer bots.
Graham adjusted his glasses. “What on Earth…”
“Blades dropped Doc’s device. And now we’ve all turned into humans.” Heatwave shot an accusatory glare.
Dani’s attention was drawn towards the one with curly, ginger hair. He wore an orange hoodie and jogging pants. She could immediately tell that one was Blades.
Boulder intervened before Heatwave and Blades could banter. “The device has a reverse switch. We should be able to switch it on and it’ll turn us back.”
“Except there’s one problem.” All eyes turned to the chief who was examining the device. He picked it up and pieces dangled, only being held together by wires. Heatwave growled at Blades, who put his hands up defensively. “Doc doesn’t get back from his vacation for another three days, so it looks like you all will be stuck like this until then.”
As they all walked out of the Hall of Inspiration, they came to a realization.
“Wait, how are we supposed to get back to the station?” Kade asked.
They exchanged looks.
“I guess we’re taking the bus.” Dani said.
They arrived at the station. The sky was orange from the glow of the sunset. They were greeted by Cody.
“Hey guys. I just got back from saying bye to Frankie. Where have you all– woah…” Cody stopped in his tracks. The bots were gone, and had been replaced by four complete strangers. Though, they didn’t seem like strangers at all. Cody took a closer look, before he put it all together. “Wait a minute… Doc’s new invention! Frankie told me about it. It can turn anything into a human. This is so noble!”
The chief smiled at his son’s excitement. “Doc asked us to deliver it to the Hall of Inspiration and there was a bit of a… mishap.”
Heatwave scoffed. “Only because someone can’t keep a hold of stuff.”
“It wasn’t my fault!” Blades shrieked. “That wooden crate came toppling down on me!”
The chief shook his head. “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. Right now we need to figure out what we’re going to do about rescues for the next three days until Doc gets back to fix the device.”
“We could use the old rescue vehicles.” Dani proposed.
“It’s going to be strange riding as a passenger.” Boulder said.
“I suppose that’ll do.” Charlie responded.
“Umm, is it normal for your stomach to feel like it’s on fire?” Blades questioned, his hand on his stomach.
Dani laughed. “I think that’s called hunger.”
“Ooh, does that mean I can eat frozen yogurt again?”
“Yes. And you can have as much as you want because now you’ve got your own stomach to ruin.” She smirked, knowing all too well he would eat too much fro-yo and end up with an upset stomach.
The chief scratched his head. “Guess I’m cooking for nine tonight.” He headed upstairs to start preparing the meal.
The bots, getting used to their human bodies, headed down to the bunker. Everything seemed so novel, despite being the same place they’d been used to for years. The ceiling looked as far away as the sky. Chase picked up the book he had been reading. He almost dropped it on account of the weight difference. Boulder picked up his paint brush, which was much easier to hold with human-sized hands. Blades launched himself onto the couch. He stretched himself across it as if it were a throne.
Everyone continued with their normal routines except for Heatwave. The rest of his team was soaking up the new experience, but Heatwave’s mind was elsewhere. He worried about how his team’s new state would affect rescues. Humans are much more delicate than autobots, and if anything happened to one of them…
“Dinner’s ready, everyone!”
Everyone went outside where foldable tables were set up. The Burns’ dining room wasn’t big enough for nine people, so while Charlie made dinner, Cody and Graham set up their temporary dining spot. The sweet but savory aroma of tri-tip steak filled the air. The platter displaying it was filled with juices. Everyone took their seats, gawking at the center dish. Each was served a portion, as well as a side of salad and corn. Blades could hardly wait to try it. Everything the humans ate looked so incredible to him. He often wished he could eat their foods, and now he could.
“Mmm! This is the best thing I have ever tasted!” Blades shouted with his mouth full. “This is better than frozen yogurt." He gasped mid-sentance. “Do you think they have tri-tip flavored frozen yogurt?”
The chief chuckled. “I’m glad you like it, Blades.”
After everyone had finished their meals, the bots followed Cody down to the bunker where he set up places for them to sleep.
Boulder yawned. “This tired feeling is very strange. It almost feels like being low on Energon.”
Cody fluffed a pillow. “You’ll feel better in the morning when you’re well rested.”
Chase chimed in. “Might I ask, how does one perform sleep?”
Cody thought for a moment. “I don’t really know. I guess you just close your eyes and try to relax. Maybe try counting sheep.”
“Do you have any sheep that we may borrow?” Chase asked sincerely.
“Not real sheep. Fake sheep. Like in your imagination. You count sheep and it’s supposed to make you sleepy. It never works for me though.” Cody finished setting up the final bed. “Alright, you guys are all set.” He began walking towards the elevator. “Good night, you guys.”
They all laid down and attempted to fall asleep. Blades thought he would stay awake forever because he was so excited to be a human. He fell asleep in a few minutes though. Boulder fell asleep soon after. Chase and Heatwave stayed up the latest. Chase was struggling to figure out how counting imaginary sheep fell into the equation. He soon gave up on it and succumbed to sleep. Heatwave laid there thinking about how rescues would go. As the leader, it was his job to protect his team. He just hoped that nothing bad would happen to them before Doc got back. Not only that, he disliked feeling weaker. If he wasn’t able to hold his own out there, there was no way he would be able to protect his team. Eventually he was taken over by sleep as well.