Autobots, Assemble!

Part 2:

Galvatron Rising

Chapter 1

Pedestrians walked up and down the sidewalks near Avengers Mansion. Some were tourists and subsequently took snapshots on their phones or cameras, while others were natives to the city and barely gave the stately brownstone building with its wrought iron gate a second glance.

None of them would know until later that the famous superhero team now had another new member presiding in the sub-levels underground, and it was highly unlikely that they would know who he was to begin with. His name had been changed, true, but the newcomer was unknown to the world at large anyway. He hadn't exactly tried to flaunt attention the last time he had been on this planet, and the governments of various nations had worked hard to keep his species a secret.

He was no longer Megatron, fearsome leader of the Decepticon army who slaughtered wantonly anyone in his path. No longer would he strive to inflict pain on this world's inhabitants or ally with super criminals. No longer would he kill those who opposed him in combat. He was past that now.

No. That was not who he was anymore.

He was now Galvatron.

"Down that way is Hank's lab. The training rooms are down this way – you can give 'em a go with your holo-form if you feel like it. Tony's armory is down this way. Don't touch anything in there. Ahead is the lift to ground level. I don't think you'll need to use that very often unless you want to just roam the upper halls or something, or if the mansion itself is attacked. That happens more than we care to admit sometimes. Really gets old after a while."

Wasp cheerfully babbled on as she gave Galvatron a tour of the sub-levels, happily pointing down various hallways and explaining what could be found and telling him of past adventures that had happened. He was modestly surprised to know that attacks on the Mansion were so commonplace as to be considered repetitive, boring, and even a little annoying to the heroes. Either the villains were incredibly brave to attack or simply audacious to the point of stupidity.

The little size-changer turned a corner, peeking her head around it and beckoning him to follow. He turned the corner and found her hovering in front of a rather large doorway.

"And this is the Assembly Hall!" she finished grandly. "This is where we do most of our planning and stuff or hold conferences about different things. Mainly with S.H.I.E.L.D. Sometimes with the FF – the Fantastic Four. We need to introduce you to them at some point. We're like besties. And Reed'll flip his lid if he got to see you."

A wall apparatus near the door lit up with lights. A well-enunciated British voice spoke then with a bit of amusement:

"Ah, hello Galvatron. I can see that Ms. Van Dyne is giving you the grand tour. Enjoying yourself?"

The large grey Cybertronian backed up, eyeing the talking wall apparatus with a hint of mistrust. He was a little surprised that the AI had already altered its programming and had addressed him by his new name. When had it done that?

"Oh! and that's Jarvis. He runs all the Mansion's systems for us and the different training room set-ups. Don't let the Ultra Magnus-y attitude fool you – he's really nice and helpful once you get to know him. Actually known to be a bit snarky, too."

"Should you require anything during your stay with us, I will be more than happy to oblige." the AI stated courteously. He directed his attention back to Wasp. "Also, Director Fury is scheduled to meet with the Avengers regarding Galvatron's presence here in a little over two hours. I suggest you conclude your tour by then."

"I'll be done way before then, Jarvis." she reassured him. "Don't worry."

The wall apparatus flashed off as the AI transferred elsewhere in the Mansion. She waved her charge onwards as she zipped past him. There was still so much to see! Oh, this was so much fun!

"Come on! There's a bunch more to see! You'll have to use your holo-form though! Otherwise you won't fit in the halls!"

Galvatron strolled after her. They crossed back through the main docking bay where Stark was already at work with fellow Avengers Vision, Ant-Man, and Hulk building a modified launch pad for the alien's vehicle mode. The three of them waved as the large grey mech went by.

"Do your best to keep up with her." Hank smiled. "Those wings may be little but she can still reach impressive speeds with them."

He nodded and kept following the little female size-changer to the lift. His mind drifted back to all those times he had thought her irritating and bothersome – now, he found her admirably energetic and so full of life and fun that it left him with the ghost of a smile on his face. Even after spending the better part of a day with them he still felt awkward and out of place despite their efforts to prevent such a feeling. They had done nothing but be kind to him, both in word and action. Had Knockout felt the same when they had inducted him onto Optimus's team? Had he been just as surprised?

"Well? Come on then! Let's see that holo-form!" Wasp forced him out of his thoughts. "I didn't get to see it when Warren stopped by!"

"Yes. Give me a moment to activate it." he said. "I will say that modification were made to it by a certain someone. I...think you'll like them."

Wasp patiently waited as he activated the hard-light hologram after shifting into vehicle form. It was best to use a holo-form when in vehicle mode to prevent any kind of fall or tumble from occurring and severing the connection. He also took up less space this way. Wasp hovered eagerly, eyes alight. As she watched, a tall middle-aged man with black hair, black Kevlar body armor, red eyes, combat boots, and a trench coat walked around to the front of the idling alien aircraft. A scar disfigured his right cheek and a bracelet-like device sat on his wrist. On an invisible signal the holo-form spread his seventeen foot black wings for her to see, resulting a high-pitched squeal of delight.

"Huh. Not bad." she observed, resuming a more professional demeanor. "Kudos to the big guy. He's got a good fashion sense. The color coordination is really good. And that armor..." She looked to be near squealing again or drooling. In the end she tackled him in a hug.

"I'm just happy I got another flying buddy! How cool is this?!"

The lift doors hissed open and she walked in, gesturing him in as well. It felt extremely awkward to be in a confined space with her. Wasp helped with that awkwardness by continuing to chatter on until the lift dropped them both off at ground level. He stepped out into the long hallway with its ornate wall lamps, carved corner columns, and polished tile floors. When Stark built a base of operations he went all out. Funding clearly wasn't an issue for him.

She grabbed his hand then and practically dragged him down the hall and into the main foyer. A marble staircase led up to a second floor. Different halls split off into various other rooms. Under his feet, a massive calligraphic "A" in smooth black tile made it obvious who this building belonged to. This place...it was incredible. He actually got a certain Golden Age vibe from the architecture. The building reminded him vaguely of the Iacon Hall of Records – large, grandiose, and elegant. He had the grace to let his mouth drop open.

Wasp saw it and giggled. "You have the same look as Ratchet when he saw this place for the first time. It's funny how easy you Cybertronians are surprised by stuff. I mean, it's just a building. A really, really, really nice building."

This time he actually did smile.

"Tell us what happened, Ratch! Come on! Come on! Tell us! You haven't said a word since you got back!" Miko pleaded at his heels.

"Miko. Lay off the doc." Fowler scolded.

"I...actually kind of what to hear what happened, too." Rafael admitted shyly. "It's not every day that virtually every single superhero suddenly vanishes off the face of the planet for a half a day through randomly occurring spacebridges. Where did those even come from anyway? Soundwave?"

Jack and his mother remained quiet, but it was pretty obvious that they wanted to have a re-cap of events as well.

"It would appear I'm outvoted on this, Fowler." Ratchet smiled. He also couldn't – wouldn't – disappoint Rafael's curiosity. He wanted to see his reaction when he told him who precisely sent those 'bridges and what had come out of them.

He moved closer to them and sat, letting the three kids scramble onto his legs. The adults were content to simply lean against his pedes.

"I suppose it all started when Jane got a conference call from the other Avengers..."

Ratchet went on to explain in vivid detail what had occurred before and after the battle for Cybertron. His audience listened with bated breath during those nerve-wracking moments during the fight when they'd though they were going to lose and cheered at the miraculous recovery and arrival of Onyx Prime onto the battlefield, his screaming roar inspiring valor and courage in the heroes and utter dumbstruck terror in the enemy. Miko personally whooped up a storm when he told of Unicron's defeat by Primus and Amorra's powerful spell of banishment on Surtur and his demons. Rafael grinned and giggled at Optimus and Magnus's predicament of being a landing pad for sparks. Jack merely smiled as the old medic described Winter Soldier's playful antics with his former partner, his dumb shock when the friendly planet had told him to act as a kind of temporary psychiatrist to Megatron, and his later return with the shamed mech.

"Ha! Unicron totally had that coming!" she declared. "Messing with superheroes and 'Bots never ends well for the bad guys – they get their butts totally kicked! I'm betting he actually thought he'd win, too!"

"I actually feel sorry for King 'Con now." Fowler admitted. "That whole thing wasn't really his fault at all. He met his end with a least a shred of dignity, and then Unicron yanks him back to use as a puppet in order to murder his twin."

"And I'm positive the Avengers are being as nice as can be to him, Fowler." June reassured him. "They were forgiving to Knockout, so they'll treat Meg – Galvatron – the same way. And what better way to make up for his mistakes than to actively help them defend Earth?"

"I think that was really nice of them." Rafael noted. "To give him that chance."

A murmur of consent rippled among the five humans. The tween had summed that up perfectly.

Jack idly tapped his hands against his side, his thoughtful expression showing he was thinking over something. "I have a question: Was Primus the one to come up with that alternative? I have this nagging feeling that he just relayed it from somebody else."

Ratchet shook his head. "As to that I have no answer. We automatically assumed it was his idea to begin with, but now that you mention it...Perhaps it was someone else's idea."

"Whose do you think it was personally?" June asked curiously. "Optimus's?"

The medic shrugged. "I honestly have no idea, Nurse Darby. Maybe it was his idea, maybe it was someone else's, maybe it was even the combined idea of multiple individuals working together in his favor. Whoever was responsible, they clearly didn't want Galvatron to know of their involvement."

"So someone who thought he might be upset if he found out?" Jack asked.

Ratchet nodded slowly. "Quite possibly."

Wasp had concluded her tour and had dragged Galvatron back to the launch bay so he could switch off his holo-form. This could have been accomplished from anywhere really, but he couldn't really fault her enthusiasm or her dragging him around. No longer was he irritated by her absurd energy levels. She just wanted to help and getting his spirits boosted, convince him that being a hero wasn't all blasting villains and flying around. Being a superhero was tons of fun! Oh, and it was kind of tradition to taunt Dave whenever he was caught. And tease Carol about being beaten up by Griffin.

"Dave?" he asked cluelessly.

She laughed as they went: "Oh my gosh! That's right! You never worked with him! You have no idea who I'm talking about! Dave's supervillain name is Whirlwind! Duh!"

He nodded. The name Whirlwind sounded rather familiar. Dimly he recalled Soundwave gathering dossiers on the Avenger's various enemies. He thought Whirlwind was one of them, and obviously he was an antagonist of Wasp's, but he had been far more interested in the so called Masters of Evil and their scheming leader: Baron Zemo. They were the bigger threat. In the past when it came to supervillains he had always preferred cunning over brute strength. Physical might could be overcome with the right strategy as evidenced by the incident with the Leader's gamma bomb (he had closely monitored that incident). A battle of wits and cleverness was much harder to win. Loki had proven that a dozen times over.

They arrived back in the main hangar bay. The main frame for the launch pad was undergoing the final touching welds by Vision's and Iron Man's lasers while an enlarged Ant-Man held a few of the plates steady.

"Guys! We're back!" she called out cheerily. "Why didn't you guys tell me his holo-form looked so freaking amazing?! You could've at least taken pictures when Warren dropped by! Seriously, I gotta get the glow stick's number now. I may make him a business partner or something! He's scary good with design!"

"Better to see it for yourself, Jan." Ant-Man grinned.

Tony laughed: "Ha! I'm sure he'd be flattered to hear you say that!"

Jarvis sounded an alarm over the nearest wall apparatus, alerting them that Fury was awaiting their arrival in the Assembly Hall with the others.

"Come on then! Don't want to keep the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D waiting."

Galvatron had been expecting Fury to be physically present at the meeting. He expected wrongly. When he made his way into the Assembly Hall, a holographic screen displaying S.H.I.E.L.D's Director was hovering over the table. Another hologram showed a young woman with black hair in a bob that was clearly not happy.

Fury was already deep in discussion with Captain America and Black Panther, while Ms. Marvel was dealing with the unhappy female S.H.I.E.L.D officer.

"Let me get this straight. You're telling me that a giant, sentient planet who just so happens to be a cosmic-level entity banished Megatron here and told him to help defend Earth?" the woman scoffed. She turned to the Director. "How much credence can we place on that statement, sir?"

"You dare accuse us of lying?" Thor snarled angrily, slamming Mjolnir onto the table. He glanced back when he heard someone enter and saw Galvatron standing quietly near the doorway, looking ill at ease and confused. "Would your opinion alter if you heard it from Megatron himself?"

"Depends." the woman replied testily. "How much trust would you put in someone responsible for an interstellar murder spree and who leveled a small town in a power show? With a resume like that, placing any trust in him seems like a bad idea."

Galvatron winced.

"Stand down, Hill." Fury ordered sharply. "You've said enough."

Agent Hill gave in with bad grace, falling silent with a displeased frown on her face. She barely put up with the Avengers anyway – now they were accepting a war criminal onto their team? This was getting out of hand. At this rate they might as well accept Zemo or the Red Skull onto the roster.

"Megatron? Can you confirm their statements regarding your banishment and long-term assignment? Is what they say true?" Fury continued.

He nodded. "I can, and it is. As recompense for my crimes, Primus banished me to Earth to legally pay back for them. I am to assist in the defense of this world by aiding the various hero squadrons against their enemies, the Avengers notwithstanding. They simply claimed me first. I am also under liberty to rotate between the teams as I see fit. I can assume that such assistance would also extend to the countless heroes working on their own – solos I believe their termed?"

"Did he say for how long?"

"No. It is less about how long I am to assist and more how that assisting impacts me. This decision was mainly to satisfy my own need for punishment. Once I feel that I have paid for my crimes, I will be allowed to return to Cybertron."

Agent Hill snorted but wisely kept her mouth shut per Fury's orders.

"And the Avengers are vouching for you." Fury noted. "I'm not like Hill – I trust them. They've saved our sorry hides more times than I care to admit, almost to the point where's embarrassing. And if they're willing to testify for your good behavior, then I'm willing to leave it at that. So long as you do what you say you will. Are we clear on that?"

"And I will." Galvatron promised solemnly. "You have my word, however much you think it is worth."

Fury nodded. He seemed impressed by the sincerity in his voice. Hill, however, still looked skeptical. It became clear to Galvatron that words alone meant nothing to her without the actions to back them up. To her, he might as well be lying through his teeth.

"Meeting adjourned, then." Fury said.

Both holograms flickered and vanished. A distinct air of hostility now permeated the Hall. Thor and Hulk personally looked ready to go find Hill and pound some politeness into her. Cap sighed and shook his head.

"I should have known Hill would react that way to hearing about this. I'm sorry you had to put up with her, Galvatron. But as Fury's Second-in-Command she had a right to be at this meeting."

"No. Hill was correct." Galvatron said. "Words and promises are hollow without action to give them meaning. With my past offenses, both on my world and yours, she has every right to be mistrustful of me."

"She didn't have to be so rude about it." Ant-Man argued with a surprising amount of heat. "Rubbing it in your face like that was completely uncalled for and unnecessary."

"Her words were harsh but undeniably true, Dr. Pym. None of what I am guilty of can be denied, nor can I alter my past actions. Believe me, if I could I would do so in an instant..."

"I know the past hurt, pal. But here's the chance to make up for your actions." Ms. Marvel pointed out with a smile. "So stop beating yourself up. It's not doing you any good."

"What is past is past and cannot be undone, but from here on out what you say and do will change you for the better." T'Challa said. "Do not let your guilt consume you, Galvatron. You must move past it – accept it and be done with it; otherwise it will continue to plague you."

Hawkeye clapped slowly. "Wow. That was deep even for you, T'Challa."

The Wakandan scowled playfully at him. Clint used sarcasm so much it was often difficult to tell when he was being serious. But despite that teasing note in his voice, there was an undercurrent of earnestness in it. He knew that Panther spoke from experience, having been haunted and revengeful after M'Baku had murdered his father T'Chaka. Sometimes it was hard to let the past go, but once you did let it go you were free to move on with your life.

An alarm began blaring suddenly, red lighting flashing on and off around the Hall. A holographic map displayed a distress beacon coming from a vehicle near the Baxter Building.

"Avengers, the Wrecking Crew have just attacked an armored convoy currently transferring one of their own along with several other captured supervillains. Immediate action suggested if you wish to avoid civilian casualties."

Each Avenger exchanged eager glances. This couldn't have happened at a more opportune time. The Wrecking Crew would be the perfect test of Galvatron's abilities – they were simple, low intellect street thugs enhanced by gamma radiation. Perfect for an initiation battle.

"Time to see what you bring to the line-up, big guy." Hawkeye clapped him good naturedly on the back. "Let's see what you can really do with those holo-form upgrades the glow stick gave you."

Galvatron faltered. How could they be so certain about him already? He was still nowhere near an expert with his wings, had only used his shield and energy blade once against a group of regular armed human soldiers,not genuine supervillains. And he had no idea who the Wrecking Crew was or how to fight them.

"Think of this as a field test, Galvatron." Vision said. "As battles go the Wrecking Crew are not difficult. They are strong but unintelligent."

"We must make haste, Avengers. The drivers of the convoy vehicles can only hold their own for so long." Thor reminded.

Hulk grunted agreement and the Avengers darted out of the Assembly Hall with Galvatron at their heels.