…
"Whew…"
"This is the last step."
Leon took a steadying breath. With a thought, he attempted to store the newly reinforced Soldier Boy Shield—originally system-issued—back into the System Storage Space.
"It worked!"
In the blink of an eye, the shield vanished from his hand and reappeared within the Storage Space, accessible only to him.
Now—
Leon understood.
As long as the equipment's fundamental structure and identifying features remained intact—so long as it retained its "core identity"—system-issued gear could be upgraded without losing its Storage compatibility.
That drastically expanded the practicality of the System Storage Space.
Ideas flooded Leon's mind, but he forced them down for now. He mounted the Jet Glider, ready to pay another visit to Gulmira and "deliver some warmth" to the Ten Rings.
Just then—
The system notification chimed in his ear.
Right. A new day had begun.
Time to sign in.
[Prompt: Would you like to perform today's Daily Sign-In?]
'System, I'm not asking for much. Just give me something top-tier.'
"Sign in!"
[Ding. Daily Sign-In complete. Congratulations, Host, you have obtained: "Arcee."]
[Arcee: A female Autobot from Transformers: Prime.
In this IF timeline, she lost all the Autobots she cherished as well as her beloved human partner. With a shattered body, she drifted alone through deep space until she gradually ceased cognitive function. Beneath her cold and detached exterior lies a passionate and gentle spark. Due to her experiences, she longs deeply for an eternal partner who will never deteriorate.
Her Spark mutated over the passage of time. Driven by an inner desire, she awakened a unique triple transformation unlike standard Cybertronians: Motorcycle Mode, Combat Mode, and Partner Mode.]
[Description: Sometimes, you don't need to be overly strict about species boundaries. Personal preferences are free, after all.]
[Note: Arcee is absolutely loyal and will never betray the Host. However, due to her personal history, emotional fluctuations may occur. Patience is advised.]
"Arcee?"
Leon remembered her well—the only female member of the Autobot team in Transformers: Prime, and undeniably the series' leading heroine.
Tall, resilient, responsible, kind—and effortlessly cool.
It was hard not to love Arcee.
Ironically, in his previous life, Leon had been quite the fan.
But…
This IF-version backstory was brutal. The tragic stacking was absurd.
Ceased cognitive function?
Please don't tell me she's basically a Cybertronian vegetable…
Concerned, Leon summoned Arcee from the System Storage Space.
And then—
"What the hell?!"
"This pile of scrap is Arcee?!"
Before him stood what looked like a battle-damaged, rust-eaten motorcycle that had seen one too many wars. Its original paint was completely gone beneath layers of corrosion.
This wasn't even worth selling as scrap.
"Arcee?" Leon tried.
"Bzzzt— crackle—"
Her single remaining headlight flickered weakly. After a short-circuiting sputter, it exploded with a pop.
Silence.
Leon stared at the lifeless wreckage.
For the first time, he questioned whether the System was messing with him.
'System, say something!'
If possible, he genuinely wanted to save her. Consider it redemption for all those fictional "deaths" he'd watched her endure back in the day.
[Warning: Arcee's dormant state has been destabilized. Her Spark will extinguish in 25 seconds.]
[Instruction: If the Host wishes to preserve Arcee's Spark, insert it into any sufficiently powered motorcycle unit before termination.]
As the notification ended, Arcee's broken chassis began trembling violently.
"Spark?!"
"Where is it exactly?!"
Panicking like an inexperienced midwife, Leon rushed forward. The moment his hands touched her frame—
Clang.
The entire motorcycle collapsed into scrap metal.
"Uh-oh…"
"I'm sorry…"
Just as Leon thought it was over, a spherical energy core emerged from the wreckage.
Its center glowed blue-violet, surrounded by a dim pink halo.
It looked eerily similar to Ultron's birth sequence.
Under Leon's astonished gaze, the mutated Spark expanded on its own into a spherical data-neural network and projected toward the nearest motorcycle—
The Jet Glider 2.0.
As the Spark fully integrated, blue-violet arcs of electricity rippled across the Jet Glider's frame.
The once silver-black body now bore symmetrical streaks of blue-violet along its exterior. Inside the cockpit—normally unseen—soft pink accents subtly appeared.
This was no longer the Jet Glider 2.0.
It was—
Jet Glider: Arcee.
Heart pounding, Leon opened his mouth to greet her rebirth—
Only for J.A.R.V.I.S.' voice to sound through his earpiece.
"Master Leon, I have been forcibly removed from the Jet Glider's onboard system by an unfamiliar intelligent AI."
"Would you like me to report this to Mr. Stark?"
"No, no!"
"That AI is mine. Don't tell Tony yet—I want to give him a big surprise."
"…Understood."
Leon, too excited to notice, completely missed the subtle hint of melancholy in J.A.R.V.I.S.' tone.
I was here first…
"Hey, Arcee. Partner Mode."
"Command invalid."
"Huh?"
"…Combat Mode?"
"Command accepted. Transforming: Combat Mode."
The voice that responded was mature and cool—yet eerily devoid of emotional fluctuation.
More robotic than J.A.R.V.I.S.
That couldn't be good.
With a series of mechanical transformation sounds, Arcee demonstrated Cybertronian compression technology in full display.
The motorcycle frame shifted and expanded, defying physics as it transformed into a tall, long-legged female Cybertronian warrior nearly three meters in height.
She resembled a sleeker, more refined Iron Man armor—yet also something akin to a Jaeger from Pacific Rim.
The Jet Glider's Mid-Size Arc Reactor now sat embedded in the center of her chest, glowing like a heart.
The hangar ceiling wasn't high enough, so she knelt on one knee before Leon.
"Hello, Arcee. I'm your new partner—Leon."
The System handled continuity logic, so Leon felt no awkwardness speaking her name directly as he extended his hand.
Leon…
New partner…
For a fleeting second, a flicker of pain passed through Arcee's prism-like mechanical optics.
After a brief pause, she reached out and shook his hand.
Her tone remained cool and perfectly flat.
"Greetings, Leon. I am the Jet Glider, designation Arcee. It is an honor to serve you."
"…Oh."
Leon rubbed his chin.
Such an emotionally distant response felt… underwhelming.
Was this an upgrade? Or a downgrade compared to J.A.R.V.I.S.?
"Whatever. Let's link up with Tony first."
"He's probably getting impatient."
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