Time and Time Again

We're Better Than the Others

They weren't siblings, nor would they ever be. Sure, they shared a bond, but that didn't mean they had to be related.

When the Aerialbots onlined and transformed to root mode, they came face to face with Optimus, Hoist, Wheeljack, Ratchet, Blaster, and Ironhide. The non Aerials noticed that two of the fliers didn't have the traditional mech built, but femme frames. One of the two was black and red with an orange faceplate and the other was red and white with a gray faceplate. The blue and red mech, whom they learned was Optimus, spoke up, having failed to introduce the others that came with him, and then when he stopped, expected them to speak up, to which they did, one by one. "Hi! I used to be a courier ship, but now I think I'm Silverbolt?" The grayish mech with red and yellow accents said in a questioning manner. "And I'm Air Raid!" Stated the red and white mech next to him. Next was the red and white femme next to him. "Geez! What is this place? Who are you guys?" "Who are you?" Optimus asked. "Oh, right. I'm Firaflight," she told with a cutesy smile. "I'm Skydive," the black and red femme told and moved out of the way so they could see the last one. "I'm Slingshot. Used to be a speed shuttle. Now I'm the fastest, smartest, hottest jet you ever saw!" He exclaimed. "Now let's get back to Earth," Optimus said before being stopped by Alpha Trion, having taken over Vector Sigma for the time being. He told them that the key that Megatron has could doom the planet. The Autobots had been unaware that the Decepticon guardian of Cybertron, Shockwave, had been listening to their entire conversation and knew of the Aerialbots. Once the Autobots left, he informed Megatron of what happened.
--
When they were on Earth, Optimus said, "Welcome to your new home." However, before anything else could be said, Omega spoke up saying they should evacuate because he was going to explode. "Do as he says!" Optimus exclaimed. The Aerialbots were the first ones to leave the rocket. As soon as the last mech entered the Ark, Omega exploded.
--
As Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Sparkplug worked to rebuild Omega, before the Aerialbots joined them, the five fliers had been in the rec. room. It was empty, save for the team. Skydive noted a set of blue optics belonging to Air Raid staring at her. "What's up with you?" She asked. Air Raid immediately looked down. "Nothing, it's just that..." Is he seriously being shy and timid right now? He was all cocky and loud earlier when they were fighting the Centurions. "I think you're really beautiful," he muttered under his breath. Her helm turned to look at him, barely seeing his faceplate and the blush. "What was that?" She asked, having not heard what was said. The others hadn't heard either and were generally curious as to what he had to say. Looking up at the black and red femme, Air Raid said in a louder voice, "I said I think you're really beautiful. Happy now?" He then turned away and crossed his arms over his chestplate, huffing and blushing more. That made Skydive's optics widen and a blush spread across her cheek plates. She then latched herself to the impulsive mech and smiled brightly. "Thank you Air Raid!" The red and white mech sputtered a bit and looked at the femme, earning short laughter from Slingshot and Firaflight. Silverbolt just smiled at the scene that had played out in front of him.
--
Later on, after having beat Menasor and gotten rid of the key to Vector Sigma (and finding out that Silverbolt is afraid of heights), the Aerialbots were able to go and meet the other members of the Autobot team on the Ark. As Firaflight made her way to the main deck, she noticed that there were multiple sets of optics on her. It was almost as if they hadn't seen a femme before. One mech stopped her in her tracks. She looked up at him. "What's a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?" He asked. Firaflight noticed that the coloration of his armor is mostly white with hints of blue and red, mostly the latter. "Who're you?" She asked. In the time she's been here (which was what, a month maybe?), not once had she seen him or his frame type. "My name's Skyfire," he said. "What's yours?" "Firaflight," she told. "Well Firaflight, it's nice to meet you," Skyfire said with a smile. A smile crossed Firaflight's faceplate and she nodded. "Likewise Skyfire." "Are you new here?" He couldn't help but ask. At that, Firaflight nodded. "Yeah, the rest of my team and I were created around a month ago," she informed. "Were you now?" Another nod from the aerial femme. "If you want, I can introduce you to them," Firaflight suggested. Now it's Skyfire's turn to smile. "Yeah, I'd like that." Smiling more, Firaflight got a hold of Skyfire's servo and dragged him to the rec. room where the other four are. Once she spotted four sets of wings at one of the tables, she dragged Skyfire over to them. "Hi guys!" She greeted. Four sets of optics look at her, one hidden by an orange visor Skyfire noted, along with another femme. "Hey Firaflight," the grayish flier greeted. "Who's your friend?" The other femme asked, referring to the shuttle. Skyfire looked at her to see she's holding the servo of the red and white mech sitting next to her. "Skyfire," Firaflight said before he could even get to it. "Yeah, that's my name," he said. "What are all yours?" "Silverbolt," the grayish mech started, "And I'm the leader of the Aerialbots." "Skydive," said the femme. "Air Raid," said the mech of which his servo Skydive is holding. "Slingshot," the visored mech finished. "What do you transform into?" Skydive couldn't help but ask. "A shuttle," Skyfire informed. "So I can be used for interstellar travel." "Like Omega Supreme," Firaflight pointed out. A soft chuckle escaped the taller mech. "Yeah, I suppose so."
--
Slingshot approached the bigger flier. "Silverbolt..." Said aerial looked at the visored flier. "What is it Slingshot?" He asked. The small flier seemed to have trouble saying what he wanted. Silverbolt was patient enough to wait for him to find his voice. "Would you mind if I called you big brother?" Slingshot finally managed to ask. A soft smile crossed Silverbolt's faceplate. "Of course not. Go right ahead." That made Slingshot smile. "Thanks big brother," he said and hugged Silverbolt. Smiling more, Silverbolt hugged back. "Anything for you, little brother."