Tailgate



Tailgate is an Autobot scout, not so much for his skill (for he is mediocre at best) but for two unrelated reasons. First, his hood conceals a ridiculously powerful iron-cobalt magnet, which he can use to tailgate closely beside other vehicles and travel far into enemy territory without fuel. Second, his bizarre idées fixes make him extremely poor company for other Autobots.

Nobody knows where Tailgate got his screws knocked loose. Some say he was traumatized in a hazing ritual that went terribly wrong; others think it's simply the length of the war taking its toll. At any rate, he began causing problems soon after arriving on Earth, proclaiming speed limits to be an affront to liberty, and attempting to liberate "enslaved" household appliances from their alleged slavemasters. Nothing the veteran Autobots could do would dissuade him from his mad quest, or convince him of non-sentient machines on Earth. Eventually, it was decided to make him a scout, with strict orders not to break cover for any reason.

Still, every time he sees a bicycle chained to a pole, his spark burns hot with righteous anger. "Some day, my brothers will wear no chains," he thinks. "Some day, we shall break free!"