A few weeks passed since Optimus, Windblade and Ratchet left from Earth with the Alchemor, taking with them most of the Decepticons and Fixit's Mini-con family. It were one of those times when the team was relaxed.

Grimlock and Sideswipe were watching TV with Russell. Strongarm practiced shooting with her Decepticon Hunter. Drift was meditating along with his students. Denny was with Fixit trying to figure what to bring to their new improved base.

Bumblebee however was looking up to the sky, lost in his thoughts. Now that the Alchemor has left, would there be even need to be an Earth Base at all?

"Everything okay, Bee?" Denny asked.

"I'm not sure." he said. "We did put every criminal in the Alchemor in stasis, and our pods are always checked twice, but…"

"Don't forget there are one or two Cons still around. But I understand. Things have been calm… even for our level."

"Well, even with this calm… I can't stop but to have this feeling that something is coming. Something really bad."

Meanwhile, in a small ship that landed right on the lake, the mentioned threat was preparing something.

"I do not have words to thank you for freeing us from stasis." Steeljaw approached him, his legs free and fixed.

"You may thank me once we get rid of the Autobots." He said, his raspy voice sure of their success. "They really think remaining on Earth will save them from us? So gullible..."

"The Autobots are a big nuisance to our plans. Since you have been here before me, you may know exactly what I mean."

"Oh, yes, I do, Steeljaw… better than you may think." the mysterious Bot's red optics narrowed.

Right about that time, a message was received by the command center. Everyone stop their activities and came closer.

"It's a call from Ratchet."

"Put him on the screen." Bumblebee ordered.

"Hello, Bumblebee. I have to be quick. We are not currently in Cybertron. Things have been pretty bad for all of us." The medic bot didn't wasted time. "An old enemy is arriving on Earth, and he took some of the Alchemor's prisoners with him."

"What?!"

"This happened awhile ago, actually. But only now we have found the opportunity to warn you. The attack was fast and direct. We could barely make it."

"So much for peace and calm..." Sideswipe pointed out. "But is Windy okay?"

"We are ALL okay, thank you very much." Ratchet answered. "Optimus is however worried something may happen to you or any of your team members. He believes in your leader capacity, but he knows as well how you, or better saying, all of Team Prime, suffered because of him."

"Who is it, Ratchet?"

Right then, the connection started cutting out, and the image disappeared, but not before it showed something entering the room, Ratchet were.

"We lost contact!" Fixit tried reestablishing without success.

"Ugh. Typical." Russell pointed out. "This kind of thing always happens to superheroes."

"Alright team, we have our mission. We may not know who our enemy may be, but if this army he's bringing is from the Cons we have once faced, we may have a chance to win."

"No kidding. We kicked their sorry skidplates many times. This is gonna be so easy." Sideswipe said .

"OH YEAH!" Grimlock said, hitting his fits together. "Time for a big welcome beatdown!"

"I captured a signal on the lake. Curiously, right where once the Alchemor was." Fixit thought. "It's like somehow this enemy knew we were around."

"Then, as Grim said, we will give them a welcome beatdown. Autobots, let's rev up and roll out!" And so the team departed, ready to face whatever enemies were waiting for them.

Team Bee was still on the way to their coordinates, while Fixit informed any new that was coming.

"Anything new, Fixit?" Bumblebee asked.

"Not yet, sir. The communications with Cybertron have been erupted-corrupted-disrupted!" Fixit said, glitching. "I tried finding the problem in our own devices, but they are working properly."

"Remember, Ratchet said they weren't on Cybertron. What could have happened that would make them keep distance?" Strongarm wondered.

"Keep trying, Fixit." Bumblebee stated. "The sooner we know who we are dealing with, the sooner we can get ready."

Soon the team arrived to the lake. Luckily, Denny and Russell gave them a boat to get them near the ship. It wasn't big as the Alchemor was, but still pretty intimidating.

"Okay, we need a well-planned strategy. We do not know how many Cons are we dealing wit-" Drift tried to make up a plan, but Grimlock stepped forward.

"Okay, Decepticons! You come out with your hands in the air! Or claws, or whatever you got!" He said. Bee sighed and facepalm.

"And the impatience spoke louder." Strongarm pointed out. Then out of nowhere they heard a very familiar laugh. At least to Bee, it was familiar.

"The cycles pass… but you Autobots never change..." Bumblebee's optics widened hearing that voice.

"No...It can't be..."

Right then the ship revealed itself and the door of the ship in front of them opened, and out of the dark inside...

"Starscream!?" Bee was shocked to see, from all the possible threats, HIM.

"Well, what do we have here? The bumbling scout and a team of little losers." the flying con mocked.

"How is that possible? Last time I heard from you, you were attacked by Predaking and your own Predacon clones." Bee pointed out.

"Oh… I am so glad you asked." Starscream showed clear delight. "I've been waiting to tell this story..."

It's true the Predacons have caused me quite a hard time in Dark Mount, but I have found myself a way to annihilate them, get them off my pedes.

"They chased you off, right?"

"They're gone!" Starscream growled. "Anyway..."

"This leads me to my primary chase at the moment. I have found a hidden lab in Dark Mount, where there were seven peculiar Mini-Cons in experimentation tubes, unlike many I've ever seen.

Megatron's records said that they were captured in their youth, and genetically modified. Able to connect with Bots AND Cons, they provided a "power surge" to their hosts, and further, take control of their multi-functions.

Megatron's theory said that if all seven combined into a single host, they would provide a power beyond even one of a Prime."

"However, they escaped once I freed them. Those clever little toasters." He stepped aside, and Steeljaw approached him. The team looked angrily at him while they prepared their weapons.

"Tell me if it isn't a destiny thing… just the Bot I wanted so long to rip apart."

"I should have guessed you were here too."

"I have promoted an attack at the Alchemor, and freed some comrades to fulfill my duty." Starscream ordered. "Along with the allies I have made, we will find these Power Surge Mini-cons, and nothing will stand in our way."

Immediately an army of cons appeared, ready to attack, although they weren't so many as they expected.

"Okay, this might be a bit more complicated than I thought..." Sideswipe commented.

"Why don't you just shut your mouth?" Strongarm argued. It seemed like every single time he pointed that, he attracted problems.

As they attacked with the weapons provided by Starscream, Steeljaw prefered fighting with his bare claws against Bee. the two of them pulled out a good fight, while the team struggled to remain in a defensive position.

Drift called for his mini-cons, who attacked the best they could, before being thrown overboard.

"Anyone saw what was that?" The youngest Mini-Con commented. The attack was so fast he barely saw what hit them.

"They just don't stop coming!" Grimlock used his brute strength to keep the Cons from coming.

"Their fire power is too big! Lieutenant, we can't hold on much longer!" Strongarm said, before she was thrown into the lake.

"Strongarm!" Grimlock rushed to help her.

"We must retreat, now!" Drift informed. Bumblebee didn't want to leave. He didn't want let Starscream get away, neither Steeljaw, but the bounty hunter was right. Soon as Grimlock and Strongarm were on the boat, Bumblebee and the team retreated immediately.

The cons cheered for their won of the battle, but Steeljaw looked over to Starscream.

"We have won the battle, but they will return." Steeljaw was more than ready to follow them.

"We are more than capable of taking them down, Steeljaw. You will not be seeing a stasis pod so soon." Starscream assured. Steeljaw looked over to him.

"That was THE Starscream? He looks nothing like the images in my database" Fixit said, as he analyzed the images, and the team recovered from the humiliating lost battle.

"But now that he's here, the entire planet is in danger," Drift noted. "We saw among the cons he freed precisely old enemies we know well. And those allies he called seemed like bounty hunters."

"And they have more firepower than before. Starscream was one of Megatron's fierce warriors." Strongarm pointed out.

"And a coward in his own right." Bee added. "He was powerful, but always hid behind someone bigger than him! Like any Con do..." Bumblebee's hatred was visible. "He has a lot of nerve coming back here after what he pulled. I should have guess someone like him would be so persistent!"

Grimlock and Drift were the first ones to think… that Bee's aggressivity against Cons was higher than usual. Strongarm and Sideswipe also started to look worried.

"Sir, we are all upset, but don't you think it's not exactly a good time for venting?"

"It's just the truth, Strongarm! We have to get him, and make him pay for his crimes. Once a Decepticon, ALWAYS a Decepticon!"

"Is that what you think?!" Grimlock's voice intruded the chat, making Bee turn around in surprise. "That all Decepticons are the same?! Even those that became Autobots?!"

"Uh, I guess he didn't said that, Grim..." Russell tried defending Bumblebee, but it was useless. Grimlock started walking away.

"Grim, wait! I didn't meant that… I was just..." Bumblebee tried to explain himself.

"I think you were very clear to me." Grim was stern as never before, his stare leaving Bee shocked. Drift looked at him while and left too.

"Sir… you really think like that?" Strongarm asked. "Y-you always told me that every bot deserves a chance..." The cadet was disappointed.

"I was just… I mean..."

"Man, that was bad… even for me." Sideswipe said before he and Strongarm left, leaving Bumblebee alone to regret what he said. Denny, Russell and Fixit just stared, not knowing what to say.

Meanwhile, Steeljaw walked by the ship's hallways with Starscream.

"Not meaning to disrespect you, Starscream, but the way you referred to the called Power Surge Mini-Cons is in my view a most inappropriate one."

"Don't be a Knock Out. Ugh, it just boils my processor to remember this name as well..." The flying Seeker commented.

"I'm just saying… Mini-Cons are beings like we all are. Where I lived… there were many packs of them… most lived in Luna-1, sure, but-"

"You have spoke enough." Starscream signalized him to stop. "I do not care about this past things… the future is what matters now." After this, he noticed the Wolficon looked over to his weapon. "Now… tell me more about these… Decepticon Hunters."

Steeljaw agreed silently, feeling suddenly, that they didn't had that much in common anymore.

Back to the scrapyard, a ship was seen by Fixit. Russell and Denny, who were concentrated on the worried Bumblebee, looked over to see the arrival. As the tractor beam brought down a familiar face, the three knew they had to warn their leader.

"Lieutenant?" fixit called him out of his thoughts "I guess someone's here to see you."

Right behind him stood who were inside that ship: Optimus Prime.

The three observed as Optimus and Bee talked. Lubricant slid from Bee's optics, as he confessed what he did. There was no way for him to hide how spark broken he was.

"Oh, Optimus… what have I done?" Bee lamented. "I never meant to hurt Grim, o-or Drift. They are different from Starscream, they..." Optimus made him a signal to stop.

"You really believe ALL Decepticons can never have a change of spark and find out how wrong they were?" Optimus asked.

"...no." Optimus smiled, and lift up his face, wiping gently his tears.

"I do understand your frustration, and your reasons. All of our team during the war had this same feeling of hatred due to the war we were living."

"I know..." Bee held the Prime's hand.

"But remember what I always told you… especially before sacrificing myself for the sake of the future generations."

"Every sentient being has the right of change..." Bumblebee said out loud, remembering the words Optimus had told him and the others many times. The Prime smiled. "How could I forget?"

"Sometimes anger not just blind us, but also makes us forget. I know from experience… when I thought we lost you forever."

"Oh, father..." Bee leaned his head over the Prime's chest. "I don't know what else I can do… what if they never believe me again?"

"Father?" The two of them looked over to their "audience".

"But didn't you told me father means..." Fixit wondered.

"Fixit… you still don't know all about Earth customs." Russell said, with a chuckle. "Especially a thing called adoption."

"I would be lying if I told you Optimus was only a leader to me. He and the team gave me a home when I most needed." Bee admitted, rubbing his helm. "They were my family… he was my father… even though we rarely called each other like that. They really adopted me."

"The pressure of the war made these opportunities rare. However, never we showed uncaring for each other. We were a family… and no matter what, we will always be." Optimus pointed out. "And so will your team."

"Optimus is right. We're still here, Bumblebee." Russell tapped his leg. "And they won't be mad at you forever."

"You just need to tell them how you feel and apologize." Denny said. "It's really easy."

"If only one was hurt maybe… but I hurt EVERYONE." Bee shows his doubt.

"The team is not available in any com-device. They apparently have turned off their own aud-aud-aud-aud-audios!" Fixit pointed out.

"Then I guess I'm on my own this time." Bumblebee stated before started to leave, while Denny, Russell and Fixit looked after him.

"You are not intending to-"

"I need to find out what Starscream truly intends to do." Bee said. "I'll try not to cause more trouble than I already have. If I don't come back… tell the team I'm sorry."

They all watched as Bee left. He didn't even said he needed them alert in case he needed support… as if he decided he had to solve this on his own now. Optimus however knew this would not end well.

In the nightfall, Bumblebee sneak quietly to the lake. This time, he tried an alternative route, entering the ship through the other way around.

"I'm risking myself entering by my own… but won't be able to face my team after what I did. not now." He spoke with himself, before hiding quickly as he saw Overload and Kickback by the hallway.

"That weapon is huge. What you think it would do to Earth?" The grasshopper-like Con said, while petting his recent acquisition: the brown unicorn plush he needed so much.

"Knowing Starscream from war, he will keep us away from spoilers. He is the kind that prefers a plot twist that truly surprise the audience."

"I don't get it." Kickback commented, and Bee took while they were leaving to keep going forward. However, he didn't knew something was following him.

Bumblebee saw many cons reunited in a hallway, and then saw Starscream and Steeljaw walking forward.

"Fellow cons, our triumphs day has finally arrived! For much long I have dreamed of leading our glorious kind to the position they deserved!" the flying Con vangloriated. "We have in our hands a device that will serve well to our objective towards this planet!"

"A world of Cons, where we can wonder in peace without having all… taken away from us." Steeljaw proclaimed

Bumblebee heard his words and noticed the hesitation. 'Taken away?'

"The Earth is just our first stop, young Wolficon!" Starscream chuckled evilly. "But before we can have Earth, we must destroy the wall in our way… Autobots like Lieutenant Bumblebee!"

Then, Bee was attacked from behind and pushed forward by Groundpounder. He looked up to see a legion of cons staring at him.

"I doubted he would be so foolish of coming here on his own, without Optimus Prime to save him." Steeljaw pointed out. Bee was then grabbed by his arms by Overload, as his Decepticon Hunter was grabbed by Starscream.

"By the way, thank you for bringing me the power I needed. At least one more is needed to find the Power Surge Mini-Cons and destroy this worthless planet!"

"What?" Steeljaw looked at the Seeker. "Starscream, what are you saying? The Autobots can't harm us here, for they love this planet as much as we do!" With this, the seeker started to laugh.

"You really meant that, didn't you? You are honestly the only Con who cares for this worthless Earth!"

"What?" Steeljaw's optics widened.

"I don't love this planet. I want it and all its meddling life to die!" Starscream glared. "If it vanishes, no Bot will miss it."

"But… I thought you would-" Bee observed as Steeljaw looked terrified, and all the others joined Starscream's side, one of them pushing Steeljaw aside.

"Silence! You know nothing, Steeljaw!" Starscream looked at him. "I honestly cannot understand what of so fascinating you see in this pile of dust!" Then he looked at the Decepticon Hunters in his servos. "With these in my hands, I will track and extract all the Dark Energon I can get from Earth's undergrounds, and after they help me track my precius Mini-cons, i will have power to destroy this planet!"

"No..." Steeljaw gasped.

"What's the matter, Steeljaw? Things did not went according to your plan?" Starscream laughed maniacally. Bee looked at Steeljaw's horrified face: he sure was NOT expecting that.

The Wolficon couldn't contain his anger. He charged against Starscream, but the Seeker aimed both Decepticon Hunters' beams, throwing him against a wall. Steeljaw was put to his knees, holding his chest in pain.

"Away with them both! " Starscream smiled truinfently. "But gently, my comrades, gently… I have plans for these two..."

Bumblebee stated at the shocked Steeljaw, as they were being taken away by Thunderhoof. The wolficon breathed deeply, his optics locked in a shocked stare. Bee didn't even had words to reply.

To be continued...