Imma Bee Pt 3

******
Imma Bee Ch. 3

The awkward silence had stretched between them for what felt like hours as they stood at their places without moving. Prowl was running an internal scan as a way of making sure that what he was seeing was real. The last couple of weeks were rather stressful, especially with the lack of results from their fruitless searches; not to mention the wild speculation that came of it. Surely he had to have accidently slipped into recharge. There just no logical way that Bumblebee, their Bumblebee, the same obnoxious young minibot that couldn't sit still unless his life depended on it, was sitting right there in front of him being unnaturally quiet AND half organic!

Alright… He came back. Now what? Prowl, the most think before you act bot he had ever known, had reacted just like Bumblebee had hoped he wouldn't, but he didn't repeat his actions a second time either. That was a good sign, right? It meant that he had recognized him somehow, right? So now what should he do? This wasn't exactly one of those crazy stories you tell to a pal you were visiting for the solar cycle. Even Bumblebee found it difficult to think of something to say after- Wait a nano… He spoke? HE SPOKE!! He had actually spoken just now!

He hadn't even thought about it! Could he do it again? He should be able to do it again. "Bzzzt! Mmmzzz?" Okay that was awkward. Try it again. Try harder! "Hzzz Hizzz HI!" He did it! He got it that time! "HI!" The loud pitch started the other bot into jumping and had the techno-bee humming happily.

Prowl, shook his head in disbelief. His optics sensors weren't glitched after all. "What the spark happened to you?" The scout was in fact much taller than before. That was fur-covering parts of his body, and insect like appendages in the form of antennas, wings, and legs. "You've become part organic!"

"Hi-hi!" The long lost scout answered, humming happily that he had been able to make a verbal response, even though it wasn't the proper one.

The ninja bot was slightly put off by the second greeting. "This must be why you've disappeared all this time." It made sense. He must have been bot-napped, experimented on and altered, and he just now must have escaped. "What happened?"

"Hi!"

"Did someone did this to you?" The black and gold Autobot asked, ignoring the third unnecessary greeting.

"Hi!"

All right, this was getting nowhere fast. "Why are constantly greeting me?" Is he trying to make this difficult? Or was his processor impaired by the trauma of his mutation? "Tell me what happened to you."

O-oh… Um, how exactly can he explain when he's still having trouble actually speaking? "Bzzz…" After a moment of thinking, the only indication of his dilemma was his drooping antenna and his sad frown. "… Hi…?"

Prowl stared at his mutated companion as realization slowing began to dawn on his processor. "… You… Can't… Can you?" To this, the response was a simple sad nod of the helm. "Unbelievable. The one time I need you to run your vocal capacitor and you're literally unable to." The irony of it all was just unbelievable! Any other time this would have been a dream come true for the ninja bot but now… He needed this information, otherwise he and the others wouldn't be able to help. "Wait here. I'm going to the med-bay to see if Ratchet might have something to fix it so that you can explain."

Bumblebee decided it was best to stay in the room where it was safe. At least Prowl was a nature lover and would be able to protect him if the others overreact. Besides it wasn't so bad in here. There was plenty of room, and he could stand up to his full height in there. Not to mention it didn't feel as stuffy with that big hole where the tree was growing. It sure looked nice with its big leaves cradling all those tiny little flowers within them… The smell of them was quite relaxing… Inviting really… He couldn't help but move to get closer to the little blossoms. They just looked so… tasty.

******
30 Nano-clicks later

Prowl had been searching through Ratchet's med-bay for who only knew how long. He found a variety of tools and equipment, but nothing that looked like it could fix a voice synthesizer. Although he did manage to find a familiar device he had seen the old medic use to fix his own oral processor through the use of ultra sonic wavelengths. Perhaps if he set it to the right frequency, he may be able to readjust whatever was interfering with the scout's oral capacitor and get him talking again. With this in mind, the cyber ninja mind his way back to his room while trying to find the frequency on the pen-like device. By the time he thought he figured it out, he was back at the entrance of his room.

What he found was Bumblebee rummaging through the foliage of his dear tree. "What are you doing to my tree?!" His loud shout started the insect bot and had it turning to see him advancing of it. "Wha-?" The ninja-bot suddenly flinched when the techno-organic suddenly flared its wings and unleashed and threatening sounding buzz. 'Something is wrong…' His processor raced along with the growing uneasiness of being advanced on by a possible threat. 'That bizarre light pattern in his optics…' There was no way that could possible be normal for the transformed minibot. 'He's not in his properly functioning processor…' The behavior of pure aggression expressed by the flaring of those transparent wings and the very loud buzzing was purely animalistic. "Bumblebee. It's me, Prowl." The ninja spoke softly as he back away from the huge creature until he suddenly found himself boxed into his wall. "Can you process what I'm saying?" The angry sounding buzzing and the rather intimidating way the techno-organic had raised to his new full height made it clear that the scout didn't recognize him at all. 'Relax… Be still…' It was an act of intimidation. Perhaps if he made himself appear as docile as possible, he could convince that he wasn't a threat of any kind.

The large insect couldn't recall ever seeing such a bug before. From the looks of it, it was some kind of shiny black beetle. It certainly had a lot of gull interrupting 'her' feeding like it did. That strange sound it made was a rather weak threatening display too considering it stop short when it realized how smaller it was compare to 'her'. Least it knew its place well enough to submit when 'she' asserted 'her' dominance. Still… Best not to take any chances. Not recalling exactly how 'she' came across this cozy little hide-away or the pleasant flowering tree in it, but 'she' liked it and wasn't about to give it up.

The techno-organic had somehow gotten an electric charge to form around his body. A clear act of intimidation, but he has yet to make any attempts to point the visual stinging weapon at the slim Autobot. 'He is determining my intentions…' That should mean that he wasn't planning to attack. Yet. "It's alright. I'm not an enemy." This statement was answered by a twitching on antennas in his direction. 'Fascinating…' The cyber ninja stood very still as those things were made to wave and flutter around his person in an almost searching manner. 'He's acting exactly like what the Earth insect would do in the present of a stranger…' The nature loving bot had heard of this. How organic creature used sent in order to identify each other. 'He's using his antennas to determine wither I'm friend or foe…' He only hoped that whatever he smelled like would trigger a sense of familiarity in the insect-bot otherwise he may be running for his life soon.
Curious, most other bugs know to leave an area once the chain of command was established. Why was this one still here? The scent it gave out seemed vaguely familiar, like they've been in contact before. Was this a suitor? Couldn't be. It was far too small. So what was it? A drone? Couldn't be, 'she' hadn't even constructed 'her' hive yet. There's got to be some reason why it smelled so… Suddenly a new scent made itself known. It came from somewhere on the intruder… and it was mouth watering.

Thinking that he'd have better luck understanding what was going on is he researched his data backs, Prowl quickly and without moving, searched through his files for anything he knew about Earth bees and their behaviors. "Hmm…?" His search was temporarily halted in favor for wondering why the half-insect was suddenly so interested in his chest region. The insect-bot kept studying it from different angles and his antennas have gotten very active around that particular spot. 'He's detected the energon cube in my subspace… That's it…!!' Food. In the presence of the dominant insect, nourishment is offered as a tribute of respect. "Hungry?" Since it was made pretty clear who the dominant one was in the room, the black and gold Autobot carefully un-subspace his emergency ration and offered it to the techno-organic. "Here. A gift. For you." Those thin feelers fluttered around the cube for a few nanos before Bumblebee opened his mouth and allowed his long glossia to stick out. Prowl watched the thing carefully as it dipped into the energon and somehow began to slowly drain the continents of the cube. "Fascinating."

******
Autobot Base: Living Room

She couldn't believe it. Sari just couldn't believe it! She lost him. She had actually lost him. How does anyone lose a robotic bee the size of a small house?! It's like… losing a pet elephant or something! Why did she take her eyes off him the moment the base came into view?! He must have woken up from his bee moment and freaked out at being up so high and in the open. Probably felt like some weird reverse falling dream. Either that or he had been so anxious to get home and get out of sight that he just reacted out of impulse. The robotic teenager was only too glad that the base seemed to be empty.

"Bumblebee?!" If the Autobots were tending to a problem in the city, then it should give her some time to find Bumblebee. "Where'd you go?!" She had already searched his room, the rec room, and most of the factory, but so far she hadn't been able to locate him anywhere. "Bumblebee?!"

Yet despite all her caution, she had, in fact, been discovered. "Sari."

The small techno-organic turned with a start at the sound of the voice. "Prowl!" She was certainly not expecting him of all bots to be there. He's usually the one to go out and look for clues in the most unlikely places when strange things happen to the Autobots. "I-i-i didn't know you were here." Yet, he didn't, at the moment at least, seem to have noticed that there was a giant bee roaming somewhere around… Maybe he hasn't see Bumblebee yet. "Um, ah, did you hear anything from Bumblebee today?" Maybe she got lucky she could guilt him into leaving on a patrol just so he wouldn't have to see her 'disappointed' face. "Did he come back yet?"

It has been the ninjabot's experience that whenever the youngest of their little family was caught up in something, so, in like, was the other most youngest. "Actually, yes." Yet there was the chance that she was in the dark about all of this as well. He better test her just in case otherwise he'll have to get her to leave the base none the wiser about Bumblebee's current condition. "In fact he's in my tree, pollinating my flowers."

"Oh, that alright I'm sure he-" Just then, she realized what the motorcycle robot had actually said. "Oh. Oooooh… Yeah…" She responded sheepishly after realizing that her fellow techno-organic had in fact been found.

Just as the black and gold Autobot had suspected. She did know about the scout being techno-organic. "Mind explaining exactly what happened?" Maybe now he can get some much-needed answers.

"Not at all." The response was given with a forced grin, which soon wavered. "Except, I don't really know what happened…"

Soon enough, the two had begun to walk back to the cyber ninja's room, while the young teenager begun explaining the events that had led to this moment. Or, rather, what little there was of it. They found that Bumblebee had transformed into his organic mode and was fluttering around the higher branches poking and licking at the flowers. The huge bee-bot had heard their approach, turned to stare for a few seconds, before disregarding them in favor of feeding some more. For which Prowl had been grateful for since he didn't have another energon cube to bribe the insect bot with should he get hostile again.

******
Autobot Base: Underground Chamber

The moment Sari had seen those strange white rings around her friend's optics again; she pointed them out and told of what had happened at the park. Apparently this 'trance' was triggered in the presence of his organic side's natural food source. If this was so then the ninja bot figured that the best way to bring the scout around again was to separate him from his tree and place him in an area that would conceal his presence from the others for now. There was only one place in the base that would do. The underground lab Soundwave had secretly constructed last winter. Hopefully with any luck the darkness and coolness of it would encourage the organic half to retreat into itself and allow Bumblebee's own programming to take over.

The giant techno bee scurried around its new environment in utter curiosity. 'She' knew those two little bugs had been up to something when they began leading her away with more flowers to offer but she had never expected to be lead to such a huge burrow! The tunnel they were in was long and traveled a fairly good distance from the entrance. From what 'she' could smell it's has been abandoned for some time with only very faint familiar scents lingering.

"And that's it." Sari finally stated after her long explanation and answering what she could of the ninja bot's questions. "He's been hiding in my room ever since."

Prowl had only been able to pondered in some disappointment. "And he still won't tell you what had happen to him?" The story had less answers then he had hoped and raised even more questions.

"It's not that he won't…" The teenager face was down casted at this part of the explanation and soon glanced at her friend, whom at the moment seemed to be dancing with joy. "He can't… He can't talk anymore." He had simply zipped along from wall to wall, and up and over said walls exploring everything. "He tried, but all he does is buzz." Apparently his new organic half was just as curious as his robot half if not more so. "We had to play charades in order to communicate and even then I still couldn't figure it out."

Without a doubt this had to have been the giant bee's lucky day! There were no signs at all that the burrow was occupied or that there had been a previous hive there at all. It was quite spacious that 'she' was positive that 'she' could fully stand in it on 'her' back legs and still have room to move! 'She' really must find time to wonder about how she did that particular trick. Not, that 'she' didn't mind growing larger than 'she' was for it was quite useful, but it was odd. Could be it be some kind of defen- OH! There was a second tunnel at the far end of the room! And from the smell of it, it led right to outside! 'She' could use it to sneak her way back in if the first entrance was blocked off or being examined by and intruder! How perfect! Simply perfect! It's settled! 'She's' going to build 'her' hive right here!

Prowl had been studying his transformed teammate throughout Sari's explanation. "I see." Strange. Coming down here seems to have had the opposite effect of what he had been hoping for. The larger techno-organic was simply humming with energy and excitement at being underground. Could he have gotten the species confused with another insect? "Hmm, I don't believe that's entirely true." He'll have to figure that one out later. Right now he had more pressing matters to think about. "He had been able to greet me, if somewhat awkwardly." He'll have to find a way for scout to communicate with them so that they can at least collaborate with each other in case something happens. "It could be that his voice synthesizer was damaged when this was done to him." Perhaps if he practices with him enough his network would adapt and allow some new form of verbal response. Yet, what in the world could have possibly done this to him in the first place? "This bares every possible trait of Meltdown's work. However, it doesn't make sense that he would use Bumblebee as a test subject." Human test subjects were his way of experimenting and using one of them in that manner would be the last thing he'd ever try to do. "He detests all machines and it's not his style to leave something like this half way. No, this is the work of another."

"Whoever it is, they had him scared stiff." Sari had thought of Prometheus Black before but disregarded the idea for the exact same reasons. "He didn't want to leave the tower at all and wouldn't even consider coming to you guys for help at first." She glanced at the techno-bee again when she realized it suddenly stopped moving around and settled itself in the middle of the room. "I've only just managed to get him to come outside, but when he did he started acting weird whenever we'd fly over any place with flowers. I had to lure him here with a full bouquet of roses."

"It would appear that he's acting on the nature of his organic half." Prowl watched the large bee rub his new front insect legs together while secreting some kind of substance onto them. "As I recall, bees, tend to gather large quantities of nectar and pollen in order to store it for nourishment during your colder seasons."

"So, what, he's making honey?" Although it did make sense, Sari was pretty sure that what was oozing out of the bee-bot's mouth was NOT honey.

"Perhaps." He had to lower his head to think about it considering he had never seen actually honey before. "Or something similar to it." The motorcycle bot again glanced over at the large techno organic to find that the bee had actually shaped the substance he had secreted into a hexagon with an evenly shaped cavity in its center. "He is obviously creating something." Not able to recognize the exact purpose of the action, Prowl made a mental note to reeducate himself further on Earth insects later.

Throughout all of this, the large techno-bee had kept busy by placing, positioning and molding her wax balls into the proper shape for the beginning of a comb. 'She' knew those other two bugs had been having some kind of conversation this entire time. 'She' just wished 'she' could understand what they were saying. They would make such awkward and unrecognizable sounds, and frail their limbs around with no real pattern to them. It's a miracle 'she' had been able to understand a simple 'follow me' request in that odd form of flowers being offered and pulled away when 'she' got closer. For that matter why were they helping 'her' to begin with? They obviously weren't of the same species, yet the certainly weren't any species 'she' had ever encounter. The bigger one didn't even try to drive 'her' away when 'she' helped 'herself' to its flowers and the tiniest one had been determine to lead her to this nice tidy burrow.

Meanwhile, Prowl's earlier statement didn't sit too well with the red headed teen-bot. "There aren't that many places in Detroit that could possibly give him enough flowers to do that." If he couldn't get enough nectar to eat then his organic-half would starve, right? He couldn't possibly survive if that happened!

"He is still able to consume energon, so I don't believe he's in any danger of not having enough nourishment to sustain him." That at least they could take some comfort in. It should lessen the amount of times the new 'bug-former' would have to venture out to search for substance and reduce the rick of being seen by anyone.

"Hmmm…" Well that was some good news at least. Now if only there was a way to get her friend to start acting normal again. "When do you think he'll snap out of it?"

"Not sure." The cyber ninja had hoped that the insect-bot's normal logic sensors would have rebooted by now. "With any luck, he'll revert back to normal once his organic half is satisfied with its work." It didn't look like there was much else either of them could do until then, so it was probably best to leave and figure out a way to keep the others. "Well… As normal as he usually is… was…" All right, now he's beginning to act like the normally obnoxious minibot. He better end it now before things get a little too. "I think I should stop."

"Yeah." Sari had stated once she realized were that last comment was going. "Ya, should." And with that the two decided it was best to go and leave the large techno-bee to it's own devices.

As the two friends began to walk away, the huge bee turned to look at them. 'She' just couldn't understand those two. They go through all that trouble to bring 'her' here, and then gave 'her' a few perfectly good reasons to stay, and they don't even try to communicate to 'her' what their reasoning was for all of it. Honestly, these two have got to be the slowest pair of insects she had ever came across. It's as if they had their antennas severed off at some point and were too lethargic to think straight. Then again, the ones they do have were pretty short… Oh well. They obviously didn't seem to mind that she had claimed this burrow and was building there, so 'she'll' just mind her own wax and let them see themselves out. 'She' had a lot of work to do and couldn't be bothered by the odd and foolish pair.