JARVIS: I Was Here First...

"Hah..."

"This is the last one."

Leon let out a long, nervous breath, then willed the system-issued Soldier Boy's Shield, which he had modified and repaired, into the system storage space.

"It worked!"

In the blink of an eye, the shield in Leon's hand vanished, stored away in the system space that only he could access.

Now,

Leon finally understood.

As long as he did not alter an item's general shape—and perhaps retained part of the original—upgrading system-issued equipment was entirely possible.

That way,

the system storage space became far more practical and convenient than before.

With that thought, all sorts of ideas flooded Leon's mind, but he temporarily suppressed them. He climbed onto Jet Glider, ready to head to Gemira for a friendly visit and bring some warmth to the terrorists.

Just then.

The system notification suddenly rang in Leon's ear, and he realized it was already a new day. He could check in again.

[Question: Would the host like to perform today's check-in?]

*System, I'm not asking for much. Just give me an Emperor Colt!*

"Do it!"

[ Ding! Today's check-in has been completed. Congratulations, host, you have obtained "Arcee." ]

[Arcee: A female Autobot from Transformers: Prime.

In an IF timeline, she lost every Autobot companion she cherished and her beloved human partner. With her broken body, she drifted alone through outer space and gradually stopped thinking. Beneath her cold, merciless exterior lay a passionate and gentle heart. Due to her many experiences, she desperately longed for an eternal partner who would never wear out.

After enduring the passage of time, her Spark underwent a mutation. Driven by a certain desire within her heart, she awakened a triple transformation unlike that of ordinary Autobots: Motorcycle Mode, Battle Mode, and Partner Mode.]

[Introduction: Sometimes, there is no need to limit your partner's race too strictly. After all, everyone's tastes are free, aren't they?]

[Note: Arcee is absolutely loyal and will never betray you. However, due to her personal experiences, her emotions may occasionally fluctuate. Perhaps you will need to give her a little more patience.]

"Arcee?"

Leon remembered that she was the only female member of the Autobot leader's guard, as well as the undisputed female lead of Transformers: Prime.

Tall, responsible, resilient, kind, beautiful, and cool—she was probably the ideal girlfriend for most guys. Anyone who had watched Transformers: Prime would find it hard not to love Arcee.

Come to think of it, it was pretty funny.

In his previous life, Leon had spent a fortune on Arcee when he was young.

But...

The Arcee from this IF timeline was way too miserable. She had practically stacked every tragic-beautiful-powerful heroine buff imaginable. Which damned author had made up such a backstory?

And she had fucking stopped thinking...

Could this Arcee from the system check-in have already become a Cybertronian vegetable? Leon felt somewhat worried and immediately summoned Arcee from the system space.

However.

"What the fuck?!"

"This pile of scrap metal is Arcee?!"

Staring at the wrecked motorcycle before him, like an Iraqi battlefield salvage job, its paint so rusted that not even a trace of its original color remained, Leon was dumbfounded.

No one would want this even as scrap metal. It was nothing but rust flakes now, with no recycling value whatsoever.

"Arcee?"

Leon tried calling out to her.

"Bzzzt!"

"Crackle!"

At Leon's call, Arcee's sole remaining headlight began to flicker. But after a burst of short-circuit-like electrical noise, that last headlight exploded with a bang as well.

Arcee seemed to have completely died.

"..."

Leon fell silent.

For the first time, he began to wonder whether the system was doing this on purpose. Fine, it was a check-in reward, but what the hell was this? At least give him a chance to save her.

System, say something!

Leon shouted frantically in his mind. If possible, he naturally wanted to save Arcee, if only as redemption for the countless lives he had slaughtered for her in his youth.

[Warning: The static equilibrium of Arcee's dormant state has been disrupted. Her Spark will extinguish in 25 seconds.]

[Hint: If the host wishes to preserve Arcee's flame of life, place her Spark into any motorcycle with sufficient energy before then.]

As the system finished speaking.

Arcee's broken motorcycle body began trembling nonstop, as though she were on the verge of completely falling apart.

"Her Spark?"

"Could you at least tell me where her Spark is located?!"

Like a midwife delivering a baby for the first time, Leon panicked and fumbled about. But the moment his metal hand touched Arcee's body, she collapsed with a series of clanks into a genuine pile of scrap.

"Uh-oh..."

"I'm sorry..."

Just as Leon thought all hope was lost, a spherical energy body emerged from Arcee's "corpse," its core blue-violet while a dim pink glow radiated around it.

The scene was practically identical to Ultron's birth.

Not just practically identical—it was exactly identical.

Under Leon's astonished gaze.

Arcee's mutated Spark seemed to require no outside help. It automatically dispersed and expanded into spherical informational neural network units, then projected itself through the air toward the closest motorcycle.

That was Leon's ride—Jet Glider 2.0.

As Arcee's mutated Spark completely merged into it, blue-violet arcs flashed across Jet Glider's surface.

Immediately afterward.

Several symmetrical blue-violet patterns appeared across its originally silver-black body, giving it a cool new look. At the same time, the inside of the cockpit, normally unseen by outsiders, gained a few gentle pink accents full of girlish charm.

Now.

It should be called Jet Glider 3.0.

No.

It should be Jet Glider—Arcee.

With an excited heart and trembling hands.

Leon was about to greet the reborn Arcee when JARVIS's somewhat aggrieved voice came through his Bluetooth earpiece.

"Young Master Leon, an unfamiliar intelligent AI has kicked me out of Jet Glider's vehicle system."

"Would you like me to report this to Mr. Stark?"

"No, no!"

"I'm the one who made that intelligent AI kick you out. Whatever you do, don't tell Tony yet. I want to give him a huge shock... no, a surprise!"

Leon said excitedly.

"Very well..."

Because Leon was too excited at the moment, he completely failed to notice JARVIS's disappointment: I was here first...

"Hey, Arcee. Partner Mode."

Leon gave the command.

"Incorrect command."

"Huh?"

"Then... Battle Mode?"

"Command received. Transforming into Battle Mode."

A mature, regal female voice utterly devoid of emotional fluctuation came from inside Arcee's body. The second time Leon heard it, he finally sensed that something was wrong.

Why did Arcee sound even more like an AI than JARVIS, an actual AI?

No way...

Leon had a faint feeling that something was not right.

Accompanied by a series of clanking transformation sounds, Arcee swiftly demonstrated Cybertron's famous black technology—Cybertronian compression technology—right before Leon.

Her motorcycle form, originally the size of an ordinary vehicle, transformed in blatant defiance of physics into a tall female Transformers warrior with long legs, a slim waist, an oval face, and a height of nearly two and a half meters.

Like an enlarged female Iron Man armor, yet also like Gipsy Avenger, the Medium Arc Reactor that powered Jet Glider was embedded in the center of Arcee's chest, seemingly becoming her heart.

Because the indoor hangar was not tall enough, she could only face Leon while kneeling on one knee.

"Hello, Arcee. I'm your new partner, Leon."

The system would make up for every unreasonable detail, so Leon had no psychological burden calling Arcee by name. He extended a hand toward her in friendship.

"Hello, Leon. I am Jet Glider, codename Arcee. It is an honor to serve you."