The hum of low rock music echoed through Mikaela's garage as sparks danced off a welding torch. She was in her element—grease on her cheek, her arms deep in the belly of an old Camaro she was rebuilding for a client. Outside, the sun dipped beneath the horizon, turning the sky into a canvas of orange and deep violet.
Zayden leaned in the doorway, watching her work, a quiet smile on his face. He'd helped earlier, tuning the exhaust alignment and running diagnostics through a modded tablet he'd built using a combination of Earth tech and a few… Omnitrix-level enhancements.
"You always like working this late?" he asked.
Mikaela glanced over her shoulder. "Engines don't care what time it is. They just want to be heard."
He walked in slowly, ducking under a low beam and brushing against a dusty "Chevy Rules" sign nailed crookedly to the wall.
"You really do treat them like living things," he said, admiring her hands as they moved like a surgeon's.
She laughed. "Well, they've got souls. You just have to know how to speak their language."
Zayden felt a flicker in his core—words like that hit different when you actually knew machines that could think and feel.
Suddenly, the Omnitrix pulsed beneath his jacket sleeve. Soft, but steady. A presence was near.
> "Alert. Cloaked Cybertronian signature detected within 40 meters," NEX whispered into his neural interface.
Zayden's eyes narrowed.
"Someone's watching," he muttered.
"What?" Mikaela asked, tightening a bolt.
Zayden moved casually to the garage door and flicked off the main lights.
"Just thought you might like some mood lighting," he said with a grin.
Mikaela smirked. "Wow, bold move."
But he was already switching to infrared vision through the Omnitrix interface, scanning the street outside.
There—just for a second. A flicker of movement behind a row of trash bins.
> "Signature matches Decepticon scout-class. Probable designation: Scrapcoil. Purpose: Surveillance."
Zayden clenched his fist.
Not tonight.
---
Outside, Scrapcoil slithered across the pavement. The Decepticon was smaller than most, with long limbs, camera lenses for eyes, and a jittery movement pattern. His design was built for recon, not combat. But what he lacked in firepower, he made up for in stealth.
He perched on the garage's roof, extending a satellite dish from his back to transmit data—
CRASH!
The side of the building exploded outward as a green flash lit up the alley.
Gearwolf emerged from the dust cloud, claws bared, glowing green lines tracing down his body. His stance was low, primal. Hungry.
Scrapcoil squealed and leapt backward, limbs flailing.
> "Target identified! Omnitrix wielder! Engaging escape protocol!"
Zayden didn't let him run.
He lunged with a roar, slamming Scrapcoil into the pavement. The Decepticon screeched as metal dented beneath Gearwolf's grip.
From inside the garage, Mikaela heard the blast.
She grabbed a wrench and sprinted outside.
"What the—?!"
She froze.
Two metal monsters—one sleek and feral, the other gangly and sparking—were locked in a brutal struggle just outside her garage. Her jaw dropped as the green-lined wolf-creature swiped at the smaller one with unnatural speed.
Was that… Zayden?
---
Scrapcoil hissed and triggered a sonic pulse from his chest. Gearwolf staggered, clutching his ears.
The Decepticon took the opportunity to flee—scrambling up the wall like a spider and vanishing over the rooftops.
Zayden reverted instantly, the Omnitrix steaming as he dropped to one knee, panting.
Mikaela stood frozen in the doorway, wrench in hand, eyes wide.
"…Zayden?" she whispered.
He looked up slowly, sweat dripping from his brow. "…Hey."
"What the hell was that?!"
He stood shakily. "Okay. This is gonna be hard to explain."
Mikaela stepped back, pulse racing. "You're not—what are you? Some kind of alien?"
"No! I mean… yes. Sort of. Not exactly." He rubbed his temples. "Okay, bad start."
She dropped the wrench. "Start talking. Now."
Zayden held up his hands. "Alright. You remember how you said machines have souls?"
She nodded hesitantly.
"Well… some of them have hearts, too. Real hearts. Living ones. And they don't all come from Earth."
Mikaela's brows furrowed. "So those things I saw… they're aliens?"
"Yeah. Cybertronians. Robots from a war that's about to come to Earth. That thing tonight? Just the beginning."
She stared at him in disbelief. "And you're—what? One of them?"
"No," he said softly. "I was just a regular guy. But then… I woke up here. In this world. With this." He showed her the Omnitrix. "A device that lets me become… other things. Alien forms. Hybrid lifeforms. I'm trying to protect this planet before it all goes sideways."
Mikaela blinked. "That's insane."
"I know."
"But also… kinda hot."
Zayden coughed. "Wait, what?"
She stepped closer. "So, lemme get this straight—you've got superpowers, you fight alien robots, and you help me fix motorcycles like a normal guy?"
He nodded.
She smirked. "You just became a lot more interesting."
Zayden let out a long sigh of relief.
"…I really thought you were going to hit me with that wrench."
"I still might," she teased. "But only if you lie again."
Fair enough.
---
Later, they sat on the garage roof under the stars. Mikaela sipped a soda. Zayden stared up at the sky, watching for shadows that didn't belong.
"So what now?" she asked.
"Now?" Zayden looked at her. "I get stronger. I train. I learn. Because the war's not waiting, and I have a feeling the next enemy won't run so easily."
"And me?"
He smiled.
"You're the first person I trust here. So if you're willing… I could use someone watching my back."
Mikaela bumped his shoulder. "Just try not to blow up my garage again, Wolf-boy."
"No promises."
They both laughed.
But in the quiet space between, something unspoken sparked to life.
Not just trust.
Something warmer.
Something real.