Bumblebee's arm extended from beneath his chassis, pointing first at Bella, then at himself, as if asking Charlie Watson what he should do.
You're already exposed—what's the point of hiding now?
The young girl didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She nodded gently.
With a series of whirrs and clicks, Bumblebee stood upright. He was careful as he rose, seemingly worried about breaking through the ceiling. Like a puppy, he positioned himself next to Charlie, keeping his distance from the haunted pickup truck.
"This is unbelievable!" Root whispered in amazement.
Shaw emerged from the pickup. She circled Bumblebee, examining him from every angle.
Then she shook her head—this guy was nothing like her!
"Those two who were chasing you should be from your species too. Anything you want to say about them?" Bella asked.
"Enemy! Bad guys! They tried to kill me!" Bumblebee's car stereo erupted with a jumble of short phrases, interspersed with music and narration.
Didn't the divine blessing during the last car repair fix his speech system? Bella glanced at her two companions, Shaw and Root.
Both of them found this mode of communication rather exhausting.
"Do you understand our language? Can you use our computers? Maybe you could type what you want to say and play it back?" Root suggested.
Bumblebee made what looked like an adorably dim-witted gesture of realization. He looked around, then selected a computer.
His finger extended a probe, directly writing data through the computer's external port.
To appear more mature, Bumblebee deliberately chose a rather deep electronic voice.
"Hello. My memory module is severely damaged. My past memories are still being restored. My name is Bumblebee right now."
That was the name she'd given him. Young Charlie Watson clenched her fists excitedly, drawing strange looks from Bella and the others. She stuck out her tongue sheepishly.
Bumblebee continued: "I'm not from Earth. I came here for some mission, but please rest assured—I absolutely, absolutely won't harm Earth or you humans."
"I can vouch for him!" Charlie Watson raised her fist, as if adding credibility to her companion's words.
Bella remained noncommittal. "Earth has good people and bad people. Simply refusing to kill will put you at a severe disadvantage. But that's not our main concern right now. Tell us about those two who were chasing you. Can they track us here? Do they have technology to trace you?"
Bumblebee pondered this question for a long time.
His memory loss was severe, and even with his memories intact, just looking at his size made it clear—among the Autobots, he was basically the little brother...
His deep voice was filled with uncertainty.
"Probably? They should have a few more tricks up their sleeves than me..."
That "a few more" probably meant a huge gap. Bella had originally wanted to rest for a while, but hearing they could track him, she immediately tensed up.
They definitely couldn't let the enemy corner them at home—that would be far too passive.
Magic was a comprehensive skill. Using it purely for attacks was crude. She wanted to leverage the versatility of her abilities to turn the tables.
"They can track you, but can you track them? Do you know their current location?" Bella asked.
Bumblebee's mature composure completely crumbled. He sat on the ground and shook his head in a helpless, almost childlike way.
Bella thought for a moment, then looked at Root. "Earlier I held back because of the military presence, and I wasn't fully prepared. Can you track those two now? We need to strike first and take them out."
"Let me search." Root returned to her computer, constantly cross-referencing various data and controlling several key intersection cameras, searching for traces of the two injured Decepticons.
"They should have returned to McGannon Air Force Base. I can't see inside the base... wait..."
This "wait" lasted ten minutes.
Root suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha—this is hilarious! The military seems to be trying to capture those two injured guys! They're requesting orders from higher-ups. This is too good!"
Bella wasn't surprised. The U.S. military might seem foolish in many films and TV shows, but they weren't stupid at all.
For decades, profit-driven thinking had seeped into every level of the system—including the military. When you were strong, they'd share with you. When you weakened, they'd try to monopolize everything.
This mindset had screwed over countless superheroes and do-gooders, but today it worked in Bella's favor.
Bella gestured for everyone to step back. She took out Apple of Eden #3 and asked:
"Number Three, that one we injured together earlier—can you control her mind?"
Apple of Eden #3 hesitated for ten seconds. "??? Are you testing me? That's an alien, isn't it?"
Bella nodded readily. "Right. So I'm asking you—with your abilities, can you control her?"
The Apple was stumped. There was no precedent! We were created by the Isu to control humans—who takes us to control aliens?! You're making this difficult for me!
"I've honestly never tried... I don't know the answer."
Bella had always felt that turning enemies into allies was the highest form of combat. Throwing fireballs in people's faces—that wasn't magical enough!
She figured they could try it out. If it didn't work, they'd adapt.
Time to act.
Shaw was seriously injured and stayed at the base to rest. Root handled information processing.
Charlie Watson strongly insisted on joining the operation, but Bella refused.
She'd be a liability—more mascot than help. Unlike the original timeline's trip to the abandoned power station, they were now heading to an air force base to cause trouble. Bringing the girl would be sending her to her death.
"Stay here and think about your parents. If you really have nothing to do, help me fix the car." Bella pointed at the nearby pickup.
Shaw had supernatural car repair abilities, but that required energy expenditure.
If someone helped with repairs, that energy could be saved, and it would give Charlie Watson something to do.
"We'll be back soon! Bumblebee, let's go!"
Bella commandeered Bumblebee and left San Francisco in a flash.
At that moment, McGannon Air Force Base near San Francisco was extremely lively.
Earlier, the Decepticons had landed in Texas, and the military went there to discuss cooperation.
Now, seeing two injured Decepticons return, the military's attitude changed instantly. After some perfunctory pleasantries and confirming they were truly injured, they turned on them without another word!
The base commander didn't mince words: share everything you know, or we dismantle you and study you ourselves.
How disgusting! The two injured Decepticons were furious! Could you humans be any more despicable? You're worse than us!