#tfmirage

Mirage was becoming antsy the more he had to lay low. Optimus had given strict orders that they were supposed to stay hidden and with no human contact. Which was hard when all you wanted to do was transform and stretch your peds. Mirage became grumpy if he couldn’t have any fun and he blamed it all on Optimus, so many times he disobeyed orders. Finding secluded areas to transform and just disrupt his mundane existence. One night you really disrupted everything. Mirage had thought that he had picked the perfect place at night to enjoy some time of freedom, when he spied a figure in the shadows. What you were doing there had completely left your mind when you saw the large mechanical being. With a scream you tried to run away only to be caught and trapped inside the cab of a silver and blue Porsche. No matter how much you tried the handle or kicked the window you couldn’t escape, when the car talked and froze you in your panic.

That’s the night Mirage met you and you met Mirage. While you liked the Cybertronian he was more fond of you and actually having a friend to talk to. He was easy going and made you laugh, though he could be overwhelming at times when he was really wanting to do something. His favorite though was joy riding. Your screams and panicked pleas gave him that jolt he was missing when he drove by himself.

You had met up with Mirage in the same spot as usual. The mech was pacing back in forth, watching you intensely as you sat on your regular rubble strewn spot. You would either sketch or read while he cracked jokes and tried to butt into what you were doing. You could feel his optics staring straight through you, making it hard for you to concentrate. With a sigh you shut your sketch book and turned towards him. He perked up now that he saw that he had your attention.

“What is it Mirage,” you asked. “If you stare at me any harder you’ll melt me with your laser beams.”

“I don’t have those sweetheart,” he chuckled. “But it would be awesome I did!”

“Mirage! Focus please,” you couldn’t help but laugh as he shook his head getting back to the topic at hand.

“I want to go joy riding,” he knew as soon as he asked, you would refuse. Though he did have his ways to make you say yes. You were a sucker if he brought out the water works or the sad optics. You were such a pushover and he loved that about you.

“Absolutely not,” you shrieked. Before Mirage could say anything else, you bolted. He sighed at your futile attempts to escape him. He picked you up from the ground, your protests echoing through the ruined building.

“Relax,” Mirage held you gently. You kicked and fruitlessly tugged at a digit trying to loosen his grip. Mirage held firmly so you gave up while still glaring viciously at him.

“I don’t wanna go for a “joy ride” Mirage! I’m going to die of a heart attack one of these days with your crazy driving!”

“Hey,” he scoffed, “I don’t drive crazy.”

“Oh excuse me reckless then,” you snarled.

“Thank you,” Mirage paused. “Hey!”

“My species is on the verge of extinction every time you take to the road Mirage!”

“At least you’ll be safe.”

“Oh sure that makes me feel so much better,” you threw your hands up and huffed.

The mech didn’t continue to argue with you, wordlessly transforming with you still in his grip. He plopped you into the passenger seat, your seatbelt buckling itself around you with a little extra squeeze. Mirage’s tires squealed as he peeled out, causing you to grip the seat with fingernails dug into the material.

“Loosen up sweetheart you’re hard on the merchandise,” Mirage’s voice came over the radio. His tone echoing with happiness. You kicked the dash in retaliation.

“I’ll show you hard on merchandise Mirage!”

He chuckled darkly and sped up, the acceleration pinning you back into the seat. Despite his teasing, Mirage did go a little easier this time letting you enjoy the ride more than the other times. After the initial anger and fear had left you actually began to laugh. After Mirage made his way back, he did a few donuts before finally coming to a stop. Your hair was messy and your cheeks were flushed when he finally opened the door, letting you out. Your legs were wobbly and walking was rough until Mirage came to your side and you were able to rest a hand on him for support.

“Having fun,” he grinned.

“Oh yeah tons. I love having jello legs,” you snorted making him laugh.

“Wanna go again? I like having you inside of me, holding on tightly.”

“Please don’t say it like that,” you choked. “It sounds weird when you say it like that!”

The large mech knew what he did to you and he enjoyed making you flustered. He also liked making you laugh or hold on tightly when you felt a twinge of fear at his reckless driving. But in all honesty he could never bring himself to hurt you. He had felt so lonely until he found you and now you were making the days worthwhile until Optimus was ready to make a move. Until then Mirage would enjoy the moments he got to be with you. He watched you trying to tug a knot from your hair before scooping up your abandoned sketch book. You noticed him staring again, but this time there was no mischievous look in his optics or features. A touch of sadness could be seen until it melted into his usual cocky look. You shook your head but walked over to him anyway, looking up towards him.

“I’m glad I met you Mirage,” you spoke.

Mirage is absolutely not your typical Cybertronian. As we all know, your average bot will have one alt-mode that they can scan new facets to as they desire, shedding them as they go. Some are even triple changers, able to go from alt to alt. In fact, I think Bumblebee qualifies as a triple changer in this movie. Perhaps something happened between his own film and this one, who knows. But as far as we know, that’s the extent of alt-mode limits.

Mirage is not a fan of limits. In the scene when he was trying to convince Noah to join the Autobots, Mirage was able to flip from alt to alt to alt (then onto another alt) absolutely effortlessly. He’s able to use his t-cog like a freaking Rolodex, spinning up a new one whenever he has a mind to. This is very unusual in of itself, since we don’t see any other bots other than he and Bumblebee taking new alts for the whole movie.

And then there’s his illusion work. I was only a little disappointed that none of his iconic invisibility was used, but the mimicry (which seems to be a page he took out of Hound’s book) is well done and seems to be something he is very comfortable and skilled using. Again, I can’t recall another instance of another Cybertronian having a skill quite like this one, in this or any other movie.

Ah, and let’s not forget the little bit of himself that he peeled off and flipped to Noah, which morphed into a great little handheld weapon. So damn strange.

And then there’s the power armor.

I don’t know if Noah’s handheld helped to integrate Mirage onto his body, but that is without a doubt NOT something we’ve seen before in a Transformers series/movie. There are the exosuits that Spike and Daniel wear in TF the Movie ('87), and Verity's armor in Last Stand of The Wreckers, but those are just fitted suits. The closest thing I can think of is the Apex Armor in TFP, and that isn’t a sentient piece of technology, just something that snaps into place as it’s engaged.

So what’s the point of all this rambling?

I think Mirage is an Outlier.

And not just any Outlier. As we know from the comics, Outliers come in so many shades, and no two individuals are ever the same. But there seems to be no limit to Mirage’s abilities. He is perhaps the most impressive Outlier in any Transformers continuity, or at least one of the very few of his kind left alive since the fall of Cybertron. And perhaps this is the reason for his attitude; after a Cybertronian lifetime of chafing under scrutiny and trying to be made sense of, my man said 'screw it' and invested in himself. Maybe these abilities of his are the reason he’s so willing to throw himself into everything he does, without hesitation or sense of self-preservation. Because he can adapt to whatever situation he finds himself in.

“There are more like you?”

“Like me? Naw.”