Starscream was pleased with the awed silence of the police station. Maybe they would take him seriously now. He thought for a moment and gave them some time to process his request.

He walked over to the others and stood behind Jazz. Drift and Wheeljack were on either side of the young officer. They looked at each other then at Starscream. The officer shook with fear and shock as he stared at his commander. He gasped quietly when he felt the barrel of the gun against the back of his head.

"You have one hour to fulfill my request, or he's next." Starscream sneered and cocked the gun. The screen went black and a clock appeared as a count down.

"Well that should hurry things along." Starscream sighed and walked off to his computer. The Insecticons kept watch as the three leaders spoke in the corner. Jazz stared at Magnus as he continued to shake, but tried not to. Wheeljack looked at him and furrowed his brow.

"Jazz... you're alright." He said gently and the young man nodded slowly. One of the thugs got irritated and told him to stop freaking out. Another gang member laughed and they started to mock him.

"Knock it off!" Wheeljack boomed and kicked them both in the back of the knees. They grunted and punched him hard a few times then walked off a ways. The soldier glared at them as blood leaked from his mouth. He winced and looked at Jazz who was still shaking and staring at Magnus.

"Jazz... Jazz look at me." Wheeljack said seriously and the officer finally glanced at him. "I've been in a few hostage situations before when I was overseas." He said and the young man looked at the others.

"Don't focus on them..." he mumbled and the young man nodded slowly.

"Wheeljack.... I don't... I don't want to die..." he whispered. "I... I thought I wouldn't be afraid... but..." he trailed off and looked at Magnus. The soldier glanced at the commander then at the traumatized officer. Wheeljack hesitated then put his bound hands over the young man's head. He then hugged him tightly and made him look away as he shook.

"I won't let them kill you." Wheeljack promised and glared at Starscream. Drift watched them then looked to the clock. He hoped his children would be alright.

~

The officers stared at the digits when they came up, then looked at each other with horror. The mad man wasn't kidding. Chief Burns and Ironhide just stood there, rooted to the floor. Heatwave snapped out of it and narrowed his eyes as he looked at the others.

"Get to work! Find your teams and get out there to find them!" He shouted then assigned them to go to certain areas. Once they were gone he walked over to Rodimus and Strongarm.

"Don't..." the young man muttered and looked at him as tears filled his eyes. "Don't say anything... there's nothing you can say... just..." he rasped and buried his face in his sisters hair. Heatwave thought for a few minutes then gently gripped his shoulder. He then went to Chief Burns and gripped his shoulder to snap him out of it.

"We'll bring them home." The firefighter said seriously. The chief simply nodded then shook his head to focus.

"Let's get our boys back." He said and they turned to leave. They stopped though and noticed Ironhide hadn't moved. He was just staring at the clock.

"He's gone..." he finally whispered then looked at them with an unreadable expression.

"He's gone..." he rasped and stared at the floor. "First Optimus... now Magnus..." he mumbled. The other two men looked at each other then at him. Chief Burns walked over and set a hand on his shoulder.

"Ironhide... it's not your fault." He said calmly and thought for a moment. "I need you to do something... go visit Smokescreen at the hospital." He suggested. The man furrowed his brow and looked at him.

"I... don't... understand why..." he mumbled and looked at him. "How is that important?" He asked quietly.

"Trust me." The chief said as he smiled a little. Ironhide stared at him blankly for a moment then nodded slowly. He left the station in a daze and didn't realize he was at the hospital until he pulled up to it.

He sat there for a few minutes and wondered why he was here. Maybe the chief just wanted him off the case. He sighed forcefully and parked then went inside. But why was he visiting Smokescreen? He didn't really know the young man. He continued to think until he got to the room. He stopped just before the door and rubbed his face tiredly. Was he supposed to bring something?

He couldn't remember and got to the doorway before he froze. Sitting in the chair next to the sleeping officer, was Optimus. The cop just stood there as he stared and his eyes widened. Was he hallucinating now? The father felt as if someone was watching and he furrowed his brow. He looked to the door and blinked a couple times in surprise.

"Ironhide?" He asked and smiled a little. The other man shook his head slowly as his friend stood up. They were both surprised to see the other alive. Optimus had felt his partner died before he got help. Ironhide figured his friend died in the explosion. He had been devastated because he felt it was his fault. If Optimus hadn't felt the need to save him, he wouldn't have been stuck in the building.

"O... Op... Optimus..." he rasped quietly and shook his head in disbelief. The father smiled sadly as his friend walked over to him. Ironhide hesitated then touched his shoulder.

"Y... you're real... and you have a beard." He muttered as he furrowed his brow with confusion. Optimus chuckled softly and hugged him tightly.

"I missed you too friend." He whispered quietly. Ironhide blinked a couple times then hugged him tightly as he choked back a sob. He couldn't believe he was alive.

~

Heatwave was on his way out when he saw Soundwave walking around in the lobby. He frowned deeply and walked over then pulled him aside.

"You need to get out of here Sounders." He said seriously. "Not everyone knows you're on our side now." He muttered. His brother shook his head and showed the video on his phone.

"How did you get that? You know what, never mind... why are you here?" He asked quietly. Soundwave just stared at him blankly then looked to the countdown.

"No." Heatwave said seriously and narrowed his eyes. "You're not going to run off and play hero." He said and gripped his shoulders then turned his brother to face him. Soundwave glared at him then looked at Strongarm and Rodimus. He stared at his brother again and gave him a pleading expression. Heatwave stared blankly then let go as he sighed shakily.

"Fine..." he mumbled and furrowed his brow. "But go to the computer room and help us find them first." He said seriously. Soundwave nodded once and smiled a little then took off. Heatwave watched his brother go and hung his head. He couldn't let him get hurt.

Soundwave walked around the halls aimlessly as he looked for the computer room. He heard someone coming and tensed in fear. He kept his head down as he tried not to be seen by anyone.

"You looking for the computer room too?" Someone asked and he hesitantly peaked at the person. He relaxed a little as he stared at Bumblebee. The officer smiled a little as the silent man nodded slowly.

"I'm trying to find Fixit. I figured he'd probably be there." The cop said and led him down th he hall. Soundwave tensed and hung his head every time someone passed them. Bumblebee watched him intently but didn't say anything. They got to the area and saw the man sitting in front of a computer as he typed. Grimlock was behind him watching intently.

"I brought some help." Bumblebee said seriously as he walked in. Fixit looked up and blinked in surprise.

"I know you... you saved me from the fire. S-S-S-Soundwave." He stuttered and the man nodded slowly. They heard something fall over and looked to another computer.

"Wait... you're Soundwave?" A boy asked as he looked up and fixed his glasses.

"Raf? What are you doing here?" Bee asked as he smiled brightly and walked over.

"Hey Bee! Fixit called me and asked if I could help him hack." He grinned as the cop picked him up and hugged him tightly.

"Ah! I missed you little brother!" Bumblebee chuckled and squeezed him, making the boy laugh.

Soundwave just stared at them blankly then looked at the other two. Fixit grinned and motioned for him to sit at the empty computer. The silent man smiled a little and sat by him then narrowed his eyes as he got to work. He glanced at the officer and got distracted as he thought of him and his brothers. He shook his head and continued working.

Bumblebee put the boy down and watched him work. Raf hadn't seen the video, but was simply given what he needed. No one wanted to expose him to that horror. A few minutes later they were letting the computers run the tests of their possible results. Soundwave sighed forcefully and rubbed his face tiredly as he leaned back in his chair.

"Jack told me what you did." He furrowed his brow and looked at the young boy. He gave him a confused expression and the boy fixed his glasses.

"Jack... you saved his life twice... him, Piper and Orion." He said quietly. "I also have heard about you from... well a hackers perspective. They said you're the only one that can do what you do." He smiled slightly. Soundwave just stared at him blankly. Did this boy see him as a hero? How? He hadn't done much good in his life.

"I..." he trailed off and thought for a few minutes. "I... don't-" He stopped suddenly when the results came up. Raf looked at the computer and his eyes widened in surprise.

"We did it!" The boy yelled and hugged him tightly. Soundwave blinked in surprise then grinned as he stared at the screen. His smile faded a little as he memorized where they were.

Raf ran off to tell the other as Fixit and Grimlock cheered excitedly. Soundwave watched them then silently slipped away. He was going to try and get them out of there.

~

Steeljaw watched as Shockwave typed a few things then walked off. The young man had a bad feeling as he watched the scientist. He heard him talking to someone then head downstairs to gather the men. He knew things were going to get really bad really fast.

He walked over to the corner of the room where his brother was chained to a chair. He had an IV in his arm and his breathing was ragged. Steeljaw stared at his brother then looked to where Shockwave had gone. He knelt by his brother and carefully took the IV out.

"Steel... jaw..." Blitzwing rasped weakly and wheezed as he opened his eyes a little. "Plea... se... free... me..." he begged as tears filled his eyes. He hated being drugged to the point where he couldn't function. The doctors always did this to him to control him. Steeljaw hated the fact that people hurt his brother. He was the only thing he cared about.

"I'm sorry..." he mumbled as he worked on freeing him. "You have to get out of here and find somewhere to go... stay hidden until I can find you." He muttered then put an envelope in his pocket.

"I'm... too... tired..." he rasped weakly and his brother helped him up.

"I know... it should wear off soon..." Steeljaw muttered and put his arm over his shoulders then made his way to the back door. He kept glancing around to make sure Shockwave didn't see him.

"You... fear... him..." Blitzwing rasped weakly and looked at his brother. Steeljaw narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything as they went down some stairs. He got outside and kept looking around then went through the maze of alleyways. Blitzwing was slowly getting stronger and started to walk more on his own.

"They... they'll take... me back..." he mumbled and sat against the wall as he rested. Steeljaw crouched by him and sighed shakily as he set a hand on his head.

"Then... don't get caught." Steeljaw mumbled and looked back to their hideout.

"You... have... to go..." Blitzwing rasped quietly and winced a little. "Don't worry... I won't... go anywhere..." he whispered and smiled a little. Steeljaw hesitated then gripped his shoulder.

"I'll be back... I promise." He whispered then hugged him tightly before running off. Blitzwing winced and closed his eyes as he tried to rest. Steeljaw went back a little later, but his brother was gone.