We were on a bus. By luck, or cosmic irony, we managed to catch one of the few still operating in that half-deserted city. The engine growled irregularly, as if protesting against still being in service, and the damp smell of rain seeped through the poorly sealed windows.
Airachnid was visibly uncomfortable. Sitting next to me, she squirmed like the seat was made of broken glass. Every five seconds, she let out a groan or a curse in the Cybertronian tongue.
She huffed loudly and crossed her arms, muttering something that sounded like a death threat directed at the bus upholstery.
"It's impressive," I commented, staring out the window. "You've survived a galactic-scale conflict, but a bus seat defeats you? I thought I understood Cybertronians by now."
She shot me a murderous glare but didn't reply. Maybe out of exhaustion… or because she knew I was right.
Truth is, I couldn't stop watching her. She was… different. Not physically, though it was obvious she now had a human body far too attractive for my own good, but in behavior.
She seemed more… human. Fragile, even. Not fragile as in weak, but in emotionally transparent. Without the mask of the assassin queen, without the threatening stares or that air of superiority. Just someone uncomfortable in a strange world, trying to understand how to breathe in a body that wasn't made for her.
"Could this be the real Airachnid?" I wondered. "Or maybe just an unfiltered version of her? I don't know, but I can't deny she's a lot cuter like this."
I didn't know. But the question lingered in my mind, echoing in silence alongside the constant hum of the wheels splashing through puddles on the asphalt.
After long, uncomfortable minutes, Airachnid finally found a… "suitable" position. If you could even call it that. She was practically upside down, her head dangling into the aisle while her legs rested on the backrest of the seat.
I made an almost superhuman effort to keep my eyes fixed on the window. The position she'd assumed, utterly oblivious to human decency, revealed curves and details that could only have been designed by some cosmic entity with a cruel sense of humor.
"This is torture, it has to be…" I thought, trying to keep my composure. I wasn't sure if it was intentional provocation or just her complete disregard for any notion of human etiquette. Probably the latter.
She looked at me upside down, her purple eyes glowing with curiosity, and asked something that completely derailed my impure train of thought:
"How did a human manage to find out who you are? You strike me as the paranoid type with secrets."
She wasn't wrong. I had done an excellent job hiding my existence for over 300,000 years. Blending into historical civilizations was practically an art form… or a hobby.
I sighed. The answer was so absurd it almost sounded like a joke.
"Albert Einstein."
She blinked slowly.
"Albert… who?"
"The greatest mind this planet ever produced." I crossed my arms, remembering that old bastard with his mocking gaze. "That sly genius figured it all out. Did the math, connected the dots, and one day just showed up and said, 'You're not from here, are you?'"
Airachnid stared at me for a few seconds, then let out a small, mocking laugh.
"And you think I'm dangerous." She seemed even more curious now, clearly waiting for me to continue.
I explained to her that, during World War II, Albert told me Germany was dangerously close to mastering the use of nuclear energy as a weapon.
"They were way ahead in nuclear research. Working with conductors and radiation detectors until, by chance, or fate, I don't know, one of the scientists detected anomalous signals coming from Africa. And that's how they found the AllSpark cocoon."
Airachnid furrowed her brow. Her eyes revealed she was absorbing every word with fascination and a touch of almost childlike curiosity.
"The cocoon was the spark that kickstarted the creation of nuclear bombs," I added, recalling how radios of the time broadcast the brutal end of the war with the attacks on Japan. Humanity discovering fire for the second time and burning everything around them.
"Albert, of course, was horrified. He never wanted science to be used that way. But he told me an organization, whose name he never revealed, recruited him to study the cocoon and some of its… side effects."
I paused, remembering Einstein's sarcastic look, always somewhere between genius and cosmic prankster.
"And the most absurd part? He discovered on his own that the cocoon was just an empty shell. And more than that, he managed to track me. Using some method that even I still can't understand."
Airachnid looked at me, half incredulous, pretty much the same reaction I had back then.
"He joked that there was no way that much power could just grow legs and walk around…" I smiled, a bit embarrassed. "Or… could it?"
I sighed, leaning back against the bus seat while she stared at me in silence.
"That's why he was a genius, Airachnid. And that's also why… he scared me."
Airachnid fixed her gaze on me and asked:"And what else happened? Did Einstein tell anyone else about you?"
I sighed again, staring at the blurred landscape outside the window. "No… Albert was smart. He knew what that knowledge meant. He trusted science, but he didn't trust men." I hesitated before concluding, "The nuclear bomb was the ultimate proof humanity wasn't ready to evolve beyond its own limitations. It only reinforced my conviction: I must never interfere with human technological development."
She raised a brow with that look that said 'hypocrisy detected', and retorted:"But, whether you like it or not… the nuclear bomb is still, in a way, your responsibility. The cocoon was in Africa, right? You left it there."
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, sure. Because it's totally predictable that nature would just keep it untouched forever, right? It was just a chunk of metal buried underground. Like dinosaur bones!"
She frowned. "Dinosaurs? What are dinosaurs?"
"Think of them like Predacons, but with fewer scales, more teeth… and made of flesh. Also, they have a great movie, by the way." I muttered the last part under my breath. "You really need to catch up on the basic knowledge and customs of this planet."
"You turned me into a human. A basic knowledge pack was the least you could've given me. I didn't even get that." She looked at me, clearly annoyed but also… strangely intrigued by the topic of dinosaurs.
I sighed and turned to her. "Dinosaurs were gigantic creatures that ruled this planet for millions of years. Basically monstrous lizards. Some had teeth big enough to crush a human like chewing gum."
Airachnid blinked, surprised. "Interesting… if they were still alive, I would have liked to hunt them."
"Ah, that's why you're suddenly so interested. You just wanted to imagine the hunt." I couldn't help but notice how she smiled perversely at the thought.
Airachnid then glanced down at the layer of dust beneath the seat with an expression of pure disgust, like every speck was a personal insult to her existence. She hadn't noticed it until now and was clearly a little annoyed.
"Humans live like this? In vehicles this… filthy?"
"If it's any comfort, this one's actually clean by average standards," I said, trying not to laugh.
"How much longer do we have to stay on this bus?"
"Until we reach the next city. It'll take a few hours. After that, more road until the cocoon. I can feel its presence resonating with the awakened state of the AllSpark inside me, but… it's far. Very far."
She crossed her arms, sulking, and muttered, "It's a shame I can't use my new ability right now."
I remembered how I'd personally installed that function in her, a special upgrade that allowed her to generate a contained space bridge using her legs as the anchor points for the teleportation field. Practical, incredibly advanced… and ridiculously energy-hungry.
"That trick drains too much energy for a Cybertronian, even for a Prime," I explained. "Space bridge technology was always operated by massive structures powered by Energon reactors. If you tried using it frequently with your own vital energy, it'd be suicide."
"Tch. So I'm stuck on this… rusty human contraption."
"For now, yeah. But look on the bright side: you're getting the full human experience. You've already been drunk, you've felt physical discomfort, and now you're on public transport. The package is almost complete."
She shot me a death glare, but didn't answer. Which, honestly, worried me more than any comeback she could've made.
"I hate this human form… fragile, uncomfortable, limited…"
"Don't feel bad about that," I said with a faint smile. "I promised I'd show you the talents of humans. Sure, we screw up a lot, but sometimes we create incredible things too."
She raised a brow, skeptical but curious.
"Like what? It's definitely not this hard seat or that weird smell… what is that smell?"
"Something way more interesting than collecting alien carcasses as horror-movie trophies."
At that moment, her eyes narrowed, and she tilted her head slightly, a strangely attractive gesture with her in that position.
"Horror movies?"
Her reaction made me grin even wider. I already had the perfect idea for when we reached the next city.
"You're gonna love it," I said, crossing my arms and staring out the window. "The full human experience… with popcorn and a few scares."
She looked skeptical, but definitely intrigued.