I do not own Transformers of any kind and any of their characters. The origin is different than that of WFC/FOC, but similarities remain. You'll get what I mean as it progresses.

Now this is my first Transformers fanfic. Just wanted to let everyone know that.

Enjoy.

Chapter 01: Who is Jack Darby?

In a poorly lit room with numerous electronic devices arranged in almost every corner, men in secured hazmat suits diligently proceeded with the task presented to them. Before them, floating in a vat of blue liquid, was the esteemed leader of MECH, Silas. Most of his body was gone, crushed from the last bout he had with the Autobots and Agent Fowler. All that remained was most of his torso and left arm. Next to his tube was a large berth with a drape covering what was obviously a much larger body.

The men turned to the one in charge, who gave the signal to proceed. With one pull of a switch, the room was lit from a brilliant blue light from Silas' tube. Even with their protective visors shielding them, the light nearly blinded the men and women of MECH. The body to the side thrashed about but was restrained to the berth…

One Week Later

/…so I'll be there in a few minutes,/ Arcee replied over the phone.

Jack Darby. Normal human kid with not so normal friends. He stood outside of Jasper High, bag at his side as he waited for his friend/guardian/partner Arcee to arrive and pick him up. Arcee is a sentient machine called a Cybertronian, alien from the planet Cybertron. But any native on Earth who knew of them called them Transformers. Due to certain circumstances, Jack was placed under the guard of Arcee for nearly a year now and though he resented it at the start, he now relished it. His life outside school and his job had become adventurous. Yes, highly dangerous with the chance of him getting killed by Cybertronians referred to as Decepticons, but it had its perks. After all, he was the first and only human to set foot on an alien world. Sadly only those of a select few knew if such a feat.

For now, he was back to his mundane life of school and his part time job at the KO Burger. As much as he wanted to use a popular Star Wars reference to describe it, he figured it wasn't worthy of such high praise. The only issue now though was his ride was running late. Arcee had been called off for a scouting mission for an energon deposit, the life blood and power to any and all Cybertronians. Earth surprisingly had a good bit of it, but most fell into the hands of Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.

Jack gave a smile and said, "No big deal 'Cee. I can afford to be a little late." He wasn't worried about loosing his job for being late. He had arrived many times after his shift started when dealing with the Bots or Cons and still continued to hold his position. Mostly because no one wants to work at KO Burger and finding replacement employees was difficult. "I'll see ya when you get here."

/Later Jack./

Flipping his phone shut, Jack dropped it in his bag and simply sat on the curve, leaning back on his hands. He simply watched the rest of the students of Jasper High disperse and ride off to do who knows what. Some had afternoon jobs like him, others simply goofed off and ran on mommy and daddy's money to do as they pleased. Of course Jack didn't have that luxury and had to earn his spendings.

"Hey Jack," a smooth, sweet voice spoke.

Turning slightly, Jack caught the sway of cheerleader hips as Sierra approached, book bag strapped to one arm and two books cradled to her chest. She gave a smile as she turned to face him as she passed, her car parked almost perfectly behind her. Jack had at one time been crushing on the girl, but as time passed, he didn't see her in that light anymore. Not that he wasn't friendly to her. At least she noticed his existence more. Maybe it had something to do with giving her a ride that one time?

"Hey Sierra. Heading home?"

She gave a shrug. "Not quite yet. Meeting some friends at the mall." She glanced around and then back to Jack. "Where's your bike?" Was that slight concern in her voice?

Jack gave a shrug of his own. "Mom wanted to borrow it for today," he replied casually. Wouldn't be the first time he used that excuse. "It stops her from getting an early mid-life-crisis maybe."

Sierra gave a soft giggle at the remark. He mentally apologized to his mother. "You want me to give you a lift?"

Jack blinked at that. He wasn't expecting Sierra to offer him a ride… but Arcee was on her way. With a sigh, he shook his head. "Sorry. I'll have to take a rain check on that. I'd just gotten off the phone with her a second ago. She'll be here any minute."

Sierra for her part almost, ALMOST, looked disappointed, but perked up almost instantly. "Maybe another time then?" she asked, head titling to the side slightly.

"Sure!" Jack answered, not realizing he was smiling.

Sierra smiled back. "Well, see ya later, Jack." She gave a wave and turned to her car, digging for her keys in her pocket. Jack meanwhile watched her hips sway as she drew closer to her ride.

"Hey Dork." The magic was instantly shattered by two words.

Jack's head sunk as the bane of his existence spoke behind him. Jack glanced to the side, seeing the overly decorated muscle car that belonged to said bane of existence. He just had to sit next to Vince's car.

"What do you want, Vince?" Jack asked, not bothering to look back at the jerk. After befriending the Autobots and having many, MANY, close calls with any and all Decepticons, Jack was no longer intimidated by a simple school bully. Jack had stared Megatron in the face. Even sparing his life when he, a insignificant human, had the chance to finish him off. When you've done something like that and lived to tell the tale, someone like Vince was far below any kind of threat.

"Just making sure my favorite KO Burger employee was working tonight. Want to make sure you remember to make my order fresh."

The thought of serving the guy food irked Jack to no end. Took every fiber of his being to not bash the guy's head in with his motor cycle helmet. "Whatever you say Vince."

Vince was about to retort about Jack brushing him off, but both boys paused at the sound of a loud engine roar. Jack wasn't familiar with it, considering he was more familiar with Arcee's but Vince had a good idea considering he was familiar with muscle cars himself. Around the corner, pulling into the school parking lot was a sight to behold. Rolling in was a two door conversion Dodge Charger, 2009 model with a shaker hood and wide body kit. The grill in the front was custom, giving it a slightly modern Cuda look. Wheels were powder coated black with a blue line running the rim. The whole car was murdered out, a term used for a vehicle that was entirely blacked out from the paint job to the tent of it's head and tail lights. What other color there was came from the blue line on the rims, blue brake calibers, and a single, pulsing blue light that ran back and forth within the grill.

Upon pulling into the parking lot, facing the two boys, fog and headlights began to flicker, along with two others inside the grill. Obvious sign of an unmarked police vehicle, but Vince had never seen one with such work done to it. An interceptor model maybe? Heavy work had to have been done for the engine to make that loud of a roar. Made his car sound like it meowed when he put his foot down on the gas.

But none of this went through Jack's head. His thought process went into an entirely alien direction. Though the car was a human make, it screamed something entirely different. Not to mention it was just sitting there looking at them. When the car gave one good rev of its engine, Jack found himself slowly standing up. Vince held a look of awe, but Jack was beginning to sweat. He glanced around, and saw some straggling students had stopped and looked. Sierra was sitting in her car, phone to her ear when she was looking to the intimidating Charger. Even a teacher who was about to climb into her car had paused. But Jack still saw no sign of Arcee.

Taking a risk, Jack took up his bag and slowly turned to leave. /Freeze Jackson Darby./

Those who did know the boy all turned and looked in his direction. Even Sierra paused from talking on her phone.

And freeze he did at the voice that bellowed out of an unseen intercom. His blood ran cold and to add to his horror, he heard the tell tale sign of armor plating shifting and reconfiguring. He looked to Vince and saw his look of awe turned to one of horror.

Snapping around, Jack caught the end of the transformation. No longer was there a highly customized vehicle, but a massive humanoid machine. Legs and arms obviously were made from the sides and rear of the car, shifting and breaking to give an armored muscular look. The hood making up the chest with an obvious blue Decepticon badge in the center of the Shaker. A head formed and shifted, almost resembling Optimus Prime, till a mouth guard slammed shut under a pair of green optics. His height nearly placed him at the same level as Bulkhead, another friend and member of the good faction of Cybertronians called the Autobots.

Screams erupted from all the witnesses around them and Jack took that as his cue to start running. He dropped the dead weight of his school bag and made a sprint for the school itself. He could feel the thud of the ground as the Con gave chase.

Managing to cross the distance and make it back into the school Jack looked back in time to see the Con's arm burst through the glass doors, swiping at air in order to grab him but Jack was out of his reach. That didn't stop him from running though. Being the good guy that he is, Jack had to lure the Con away from the other civilians. But his mind raced with the thought of what this Con was doing. It wasn't normal. Never had one changed in public with so many eye witnesses. And to openly address him?

Rounding corners and running down long halls and nearly into the janitor, Jack came out into the gymnasium. He was only a basketball court away from the back doors that lead to the football and baseball fields. From there, he'd have to jump a fence and hope he could find a place to hide. Moving into a dead sprint for the doors, Jack wasn't prepared for the side wall to burst open, destroying the court bleachers and the locker rooms. Jack was thrown through the air. His side impacted the smooth floor and he slid nearly ten feet. Coughing out the dust he inhaled, Jack looked to see the Con ripping open the ceiling in order to make room for his entrance. Jack didn't wait and got back on his feet, barely missing the hand that reached down for him. He shoulder rushed the door, bursting back outside and continuing his mad run for the fence.

He had a long run ahead, but pushed on, even with his legs starting to burn. He felt something run down his head, and thought it was sweat till it got in his eye. Wiping it away with his sleeve, he saw it was blood. Must have taken a blow to the head when the Con came through the wall. Worrying about it later, Jack focused on his escape.

He managed to pass the football field, nearly to the baseball field, when he heard that familiar roar and looked to his side to see the black muscle car speed up next to him. The driver door swung open and slammed into Jack, knocking him off his feet. He hit shoulder first, his body rolling over like a rag doll till he was on his back. Had he hit the grass, it would have been fine, but unfortunately he had landed on the pavement portion that surrounded the field, and was bruised and bloodier than before. His signature gray shirt was torn, leaving him with the long sleeve he wore underneath.

The black muscle car drifted around, transforming midway, using its momentum to roll onto one knee in a crouch before upriting and marching towards the downed human. Left hand switched to a blaster, but he did not aim as he approached Jack.

Though his vision was slightly blurred Jack saw the Con approaching, and though in pain, got up and started to run again, but only got a few feet before the ground beside him exploded. The Con had fired a warning blast to stop him, but the attack was enough to throw Jack through the air once more, and turn his world black…

OOO

Arcee knew there was trouble the minute she saw police and emergency vehicles in the school parking lot. Her holographic rider, Sadie, didn't move a 'muscle' as Arcee rolled in, and took in the site before her. Nothing was out of the ordinary till she spotted the gaping hole in the front of the school. Further scanning allowed her to spot Jack's bag and bike helmet lying on the ground not too far from the bully Vince's car. The boy was there along with that girl Sierra talking with police, pointing in any direction as he gave his statement, which was the same testimony as every other eyewitness in the area. Each one saying a black car changed into a robot and started chasing one of the students. Didn't take a genius to figure out what they were talking about.

No longer wishing to waste time, Arcee peeled out of the barking lot, racing towards the school with a quick sweep for any energon signatures. She didn't bother to go around any of the civilians, banking on the idea that they would simply get out of her way. Which they did.

At first she found nothing on her scans till she detected a sudden spike in energon levels. One that all but shouted a blaster had been used nearby. She turned sharp, rear tire tearing a trench into the grass and dirt before she moved to circle the school. Coming in hard around the corner she saw the perpetrator. It was a Con she had never seen before but that wasn't going to stop her. He was hunched down examining something on the ground and to Arcee's horror, it was a prone human body. The Con rolled it over and she saw it was Jack, eyes closed and a trail of red running along side his face that could only be human blood.

Seeing red herself Arcee increased her speed. She transformed, and the second her feet hit the ground, she leapt into the air with her momentum hurling her high. Not wanting to risk hitting Jack, she decided to come in with a kick instead of using her blasters. As she came down, heel ready to take the Con's head off, Arcee was not prepared for the sudden movement of the unknown as he spun around, arm outstretched to grab her leg. Using her own momentum against her, as well as his own, the Con spun Arcee around and threw her towards the school.

Her back crashed into the school wall, part of it collapsing over her but not enough to impede her. She immediately stood up, blasters at the ready only to pause as she saw the Con stand with Jack held firmly in his hand. His other hand held up to his helm. "I have the target." The voice sounded young like Smokescreen's, but a firmness that reminded her of Prime. "Open a bridge." He spared a glance at Arcee, green locking with blue, as the familiar swirling vortex of a Ground Bridge burst to life behind him.

"No!" Arcee cried, charging towards the Con, intent on getting Jack back.

The Con watched on, before turning and simply walking into the bridge. It closed long before Arcee could reach it, ending the battle long before it even began and taking away Arcee's partner…

OOO

Arcee had long last returned to base after calling in an emergency bridge. Ratchet of course was furious till he heard the report from Arcee that Jack was taken by a Decepticon. An emergency was called and all members of Team Prime arrived, taking in Arcee's debriefing of what events took place. The other two children, Raf Esquivel and Miko Nakadai, were present and none too thrilled about what had happened with Jack. Raf was obviously upset but trying to hold back what sad emotions that were building up. Miko was doing her best to keep him upbeat, but even she was beginning to crack.

Ratchet was silent, eyes darting across the floor as if finding an answer there. Bumblebee and Smokescreen looked lost, hands clenching and unclenching into fists. Bulkhead and Wheeljack of course were giving their two scents about finding the nearest Con and pounding him for information. Optimus was silent, but the look on his face said otherwise.

"Arcee," the Autobot leader called.

Quickly, the femme looked to her leader. "Sir?"

"Were there any distinguishable markings on this new foe?"

Arcee shrugged, shoulders sagging in defeat. "Asides the obvious Decepticon insignia? Nothing. But he was fast despite his size if that's anything to go by."

Bumblebee gave his part into the conversation with a series of beeps. Bulkhead nodded his head to what the scout said to the group. "I was thinking the same thing. This Con just reveals himself in a public area, not caring who sees him, and goes straight for Jack? Even Megatron doesn't have his goons do that."

"And if he did, Megatron would have already sent whatever message he is trying to send," Ratchet said, speaking up after being silent or so long.

Smokescreen scratched as his chin, putting the pieces together himself. "So… what? An outside job maybe?" Everyone looked to him, and he found himself the center of attention. "I mean… maybe it wasn't the Cons, but just this one. A solo job."

"Like a personal thing?" Wheeljack asked, then turning to Arcee. "Who did Jack, and I quote human slang, 'piss' off this time?"

Arcee narrowed her optics at the wrecker. "Like I said, I've never seen him before. Face was shielded too. Couldn't get a look at his face." But she paused, optics examining the floor in thought till they snapped back up. "But I did hear his voice. Recorded it into my data banks." A panel on her arm popped open, her dainty femme fingers dancing across the controls before plugging it into the pain computer.

/I have the target. Open a bridge./

She played it again two more times before unplugging it. She looked to the group to see if anyone could recognize the voice, but no one could place it.

"He still mentioned a bridge!" Raf called, getting everyone's attention. "That means it had to be the Cons. They're the only ones other than us to have a Ground Bridge system."

Wheeljack pounded a fist into his open palm. "That's all I needed to hear. Just give us coordinates to the nearest energon cache that Megatron has and we'll beat some answers out each and ever Con we come across. Right Bulkhead?"

The large wrecker narrowed his optics. "Yea."

"Now just hold on," Ratchet spoke, stopping the two from doing something reckless. "We can't just simply run off half-cocked for this. Jack's life could be on the line."

"If a Con has him, his life IS on the line, Ratchet," Wheeljack retort, pointing a digit at the old medic.

Placing a hand on Ratchet's shoulder, Optimus stopped his old friend from continuing the argument. "I am afraid Ratchet is correct, Wheeljack. Until we hear otherwise, we must not provoke Megatron from doing anything rash."

"So that's it? We wait and see?"

No one liked it. Everyone wanted to do something, but there was nothing any of them could do.

Arcee blinked and looked to Optimus. "June."

It didn't slip the Autobot leader that June Darby, Jack's mother, was going to have to be informed of the situation. He had hoped that something would come up. A message from Megatron or a clue as to Jack's whereabouts for them to properly think of a rescue. But neither presented itself. "I will inform Mrs. Darby of the situation personally," Optimus announced, turning to Ratchet. "Open a ground bridge just outside the city."

"I'll come with you," Arcee said, stepping up next to Prime, who looked down to her. "He was my responsibility. I should be the one to talk to her."

Optimus nodded, and looked to the rest of the team. "Until we hear otherwise, we are on high alert. Wheeljack." The wrecker perked up upon hearing his designation. "I want you in the skies intercepting any communications that the Decepticons broadcast. If Jack's name is mentioned, I want to know about it."

Wheeljack gave a nod. "You got it Prime." He wasted no time running off to get to his ship, Bulkhead watching his long time buddy head off.

Optimus returned his gaze to the group. "Bulkhead, Bumblebee." Both moved to attention as Prime addressed them. "You will escort your charges back home, but remain in the area for surveillance purposes. The Decepticon in question is not afraid to show himself and wouldn't hesitate to attack either in the open."

Bumblebee gave a quick beep and nod, before moving over to gather up Raf. Bulkhead gave a nod. "You got it, Prime. Come on Miko." The larger wrecker scooped the young teen girl up gently in his hand.

The familiar swirl of the ground bridge erupted before them. Transformed, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were the first to leave with the children, followed by Optimus and Arcee. When the bridge was closed, it left Smokescreen and Ratchet alone.

The newest addition to their ranks looked to the old medic. "What do you think?"

Ratchet shook his head, hand to his chin in thought. "I honestly don't know. If the world was aware of our war, it'd be expected. But Megatron has never been this open with attacking the children. At night perhaps under the cover of darkness, but in daylight?"

"So maybe I was right then? An outside party being involved I mean."

"Maybe. But we most hope its not."

"Why's that?"

"Cause if you are correct, we have no idea what to expect."

OOO

The four Autobots and two humans soon separated upon reaching Jasper. Optimus drove silently with Arcee trailing behind him. It wasn't long before they road up on the Darby residence, the sun beginning to set in the distance. A familiar black car was parked in the driveway, and at the door was none other than William Fowler, their connection to the US Government.

"Oh this isn't going to be good," Arcee remarked, seeing the US Agent at the front door, and not alone.

June was their, and already she was visibly upset. Fowler looked to be trying to calm the woman down, but she wasn't having any of it. When they both noticed Optimus and Arcee rolling up, it took some convincing for June not to approach the two. Getting her to stay at the door, or to go inside, Agent Fowler moved down the drive and greeted the two. For obvious reasons, neither changed into their bipedal forms.

"Prime," Fowler greeted.

"Agent Fowler," Prime returned the greeting. "I assume you are aware of the situation."

"You bet Lady Liberties toga I do," He remarked, hands on his hips. "A Con up and transforms in broad daylight in front of a high school, and attacks one of their students." He gave a shake of his head. "Find that a bit hard to miss. Not to mention a blue motor cycle speeding around as well," he added, looking to Arcee as she pulled into the driveway, close to June, who still stood at the door, arms wrapped around herself. "I came here when I heard it was Jack. Figured I'd break the news to her, knowing your team would be on the case." Taking a breath, he let his arms drop as he looked to June. "Speaking of which, has there been any word?"

"None so far."

"This isn't typical Con work, is it?"

"Not on this planet."

Fowler sighed, scratching his brow. "Fortunately, eyewitnesses gave us a description of the licenses plate, and make and model. One student was very thorough in the cars look. Must have been a car buff. And we've got all footage from the campus security cameras."

"That will be a big help in identifying the kidnapper," Optimus remarked, 'looking' to June as she continued to stare down at her feet.

"Identify? You mean you don't know who it is?" Fowler asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

Optimus shifted his 'gaze' to the agent. "Arcee had a brief engagement with the Decepticon. She said it was one she had never seen before."

"Great, a new Con in town," Fowler said with a roll of his eyes.

"And so far his motives are unclear."

Arcee 'looked' to June, her Sadie hologram flickering as 'she' turned to the older Darby. "June, I want to apologize…"

June shook her head, still looking down at the ground. "I don't want to hear it," she said, hand brushing a tear away. "I just want my son back." With that, she entered the house, the door slamming behind her.

It was short, but her message was heard. Arcee slowly rolled back out of the driveway, and took off down the road, far faster than what she should be doing in a urban neighborhood. Prime watched her disappear around the corner from his rearview mirror. Fowler watched as well and then to Prime. "Shouldn't you go after her?"

"I could not catch her even if I tried. And Arcee needs some time to be alone."

"And what about you?"

Optimus was silent for a few seconds before answering. "I will remain here to watch for any suspicious activity. Rafael and Miko are also under surveillance in case this new Decepticon decides to strike again."

Fowler nodded and looked to the Darby home. "Very well Prime. But I'll send a team over in a few hours to relieve you. In the mean time, the school security footage should be coming over to the base. I'll go over it myself and present anything I find useful."

"Thank you, Agent Fowler."

The old agent gave a nod before going to his car. Shortly departing, Optimus was left alone to watch after June Darby…

OOO

A day went by with nothing new. The school was closed for repairs, while a cover story was presented to the public. The story presented said a gas line had gone off and caused the damaged to the school, and had caused the hallucination of a giant robot. When it came to the whereabouts of Jack Darby, it was simply stated that the young man was caught in the blast, and had to be immediately hospitalized to take care of his injuries.

Of course the story was hard to swallow, especially for the ones that were present, but those outside of it seemed satisfied. Unfortunately a teacher was fired due to claims of hysteria involving the supposed 'giant robot'.

Fowler to his word, worked over the footage to find any details that were of use and took his findings back to the Agency to match anything they had on record.

Wheeljack was still gone in the Jackhammer, following Prime's orders to monitor any and all Decepticon frequencies that he could tap into for clues to Jack's whereabouts.

Since the school was closed, Raf and Miko returned to the base trying to act like nothing had happened. Both found that difficult to do. Raf, having a copy of the footage and images of the Decepticon, ran a program to try and match the images on the net. Anything that could give them a lead, no matter how small. Miko though couldn't bring herself to do very much. When playing a game, she would pause to look at the second controller, then simply turn the game off. She didn't even give her guitar a second look. With Jack missing, the normal eccentric Asian girl seemed drained. This of course worried Bulkhead, who would try and cheer the girl up with tales from his time on Cybertron, but she hardly showed her usual spark, metaphorically speaking of course.

Optimus took his time again to personally watch over June Darby till he was relieved by Fowler's men. Other than that he was back to aiding Ratchet in searching for more Iacon Relics. As for the old medic, he was quieter than usual, keeping focus on his work.

Smokescreen did his part going on patrols while Arcee followed her own route, though hardly saying a word to anyone.

As for the Decepticons, they were quiet. Uncomfortably quite. If it was indeed them behind Jack's kidnapping, they would have sent a message. Either coded, in the return of Jack's body. But neither came. And that sent a chill up everyone's spine.

OOO

Nearly three weeks pass and there was still no word of Jack. The school was repaired enough to allow students to return. And not much changed, if anything at all. Everyone acted like he wasn't gone, or they just didn't care. Only a few did notice, but didn't say anything. They were mostly the ones who had seen the Decepticon chase after Jack, and they didn't want to be sent to the nearest mental hospital for telling stories.

Sierra, knowing that Jack tended to hang out with Miko and Raf, approached asking about his condition, considering he was 'caught in the blast'. They could only tell her that Jack was sent to an out of state hospital that had better facilities to tend to his wounds.

The routine didn't change for anyone tied to Jack, except June taking some time off while the search for her son continued. She hardly left the house and looked like a wreck when she did. No one could fault her. Arcee would at times tail her in order to keep and eye on her, while Prime took her place at night till he was again relieved by Fowler's men.

Nothing changed, until…

OOO

It was fairly quiet in Chicago, aside from normal mundane human life. Everyone went about their business like any other day. Right then it was lunch time, so most if not all were stuffing their faces with much needed nourishment in order to progress through the day.

The only thing to stand out was the sudden appearance of a green/blue vortex that just emptied out into the middle of an intersection. This of course caused everyone to freeze up on what they were doing, followed by mass hysteria as everyone on the street did their damnedest to get away from the unknown green swirl. A few piles up even occurred upon their attempt to get away. None were prepared for what came out of the vortex though.

First came a dark gray, almost black helicopter which quickly took to the sky and hovered over the vortex. Following it was an unidentified jet of sorts with sleek, sharp angles that gave it a stealth look. It took to the air and circled the city.

On the ground followed out green military tank, along with a blue armored truck and tan colored Hummer H2 with a gun placement on the roof. Last to follow out were two large diesel trucks. One had an attached trailer with large gun placements while sporting similar sand color scheme as the Hummer, while the second was a black and gray Peterbilt with red tinted windows and a chrome trim. Once the black semi truck was through, the portal vanished as quickly as it appeared.

Silence fell with only the sounds of the helicopter and the circling yet high above. Most were left stunned by the event, and watched on silently till each vehicle made a distinctive sound that very few recognized.

Each machine began to break down and shift into a new form, rising up on bipedal legs. Arms formed and shortly each one sported a humanoid head with it's own unique flair or design. From the sky, the stealth fighter and helicopter did the same, with both crashing down to the earth at either side of the grounded vehicles. The tank and artillery vehicle were tallest of the group, with the armored truck and Hummer being the smallest. The black semi shifted and formed last, stepping to the front of the group as it's head formed, again resembling a certain Cybertronian that only a select group would know. Out of all of them, one had a distinctive female design. This was the one which formed from the stealth fighter. As the bipedal black semi stood at the forefront of the group, the female moving to stand at his side, hand resting on his shoulder while the other rested on her hip.

No move was made and all was quiet till the authorities and news crew began to arrive on the scene. Though pointless, the police warded off any nearby civilians while news reporters began to set up. A perimeter was set a few meters back, and some officer actually drew weapons to ready if force was needed in some way. Granted their weapons would do little to no damage at all.

When all was set, and no move was made, the semi mech again approached with the femme seeker at his side. He stopped only a few feet from the edge of the perimeter. "Citizens of Earth," he spoke, red optics glancing down at the cameras aimed at him and his group. "My designation is Scourge, leader of the Combaticons."

OOO

Back at Autobot HQ, all were silent as they watched the main screen, seeing the arrival of these new Cybertronians who appeared in the middle of Chicago. The only ones present were Ratchet, Raf, Miko, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee. Smokescreen and Arcee were on patrol while Optimus went to scope out a possible Energon deposit.

"Combaticons?!" Ratchet shouted, his jaw having already hit the floor in surprise. "I've never… and to show up in the open?! Do they not… I mean…" Needless to say, he was almost speechless.

Bulkhead gave his head a scratch, a little lost and confused on what was going on. "Never heard of them myself. But the one in front…"

"Looks like Nemesis Prime!" Miko shouted, leaning over the back of the couch they frequented when visiting the base.

"But," Raf started, looking up to Miko. "He actually called himself Scourge." He turned back to the screen, noticing the similarities to Optimus and the fake Prime they had dealt with some time back, but there were obvious differences. While Optimus ad a much sleeker, smooth build, this one was a little more boxy but never the less a still imposing figure. Height he may have been equal to Prime. Looking at each one, Raf blinked as one did look highly familiar. "Is that Breakdown?"

Bulkhead immediately examined each one closer, and sure enough there was Breakdown, standing next to the one that had changed from the Hummer. His missing eye he once sported was repaired, leaving only a distinct scar running down his orange face. "If Breakdown is with them, that just means they're Decepticons with a different name." He looked to the Autobot medic. "We need to call the others…"

"Wait, there's more," Raf said, focusing entirely on the screen.

OOO

"People of Earth," Scourge continued, raising his hands slightly, but not enough to a threatening gesture. "We come here, openly, to ask for asylum on your planet." He paused, watching each one chatter amongst themselves. "We come from the planet Cybertron. An entire machine world, as opposed to your world which is entirely organic. Our species was once great, but civil war broke out long before your people left caves as shelters." His hands fell to his sides, head hanging down. "We still fight to this day, across the stars. Two warring factions; Autobots and Decepticons."

Scourge briefly looked to the seeker beside him, her head lowered slightly with a lost look on her features.

He turned back to the cameras once more. "Unfortunately the war isn't just in the stars anymore. Its here on your planet." Gasps echoed amongst the men and women standing before the group of Cybertronians, many whispering amongst themselves. "Secretly, your governments have been withholding the knowledge of this war from you, to keep you safe. But my colleagues and I believe it shouldn't be this way."

"How long!?" one reported shouted, gaining attention from the black armor Combaticon. She stepped back a little when his red eyes landed on her.

"We are not sure. But there has been some evidence that shows both factions have been present on your planet for some time now." He turned again to the one in blue. "This, is Breakdown. He himself has been present on your planet for, by your terms of time, a few months now."

"Its true," Breakdown spoke, stepped past the seeker and up to Scourge. "I was a member of the faction called the Decepticons, till I was abandoned and left for dead."

OOO

Everyone back a the base was a little shocked by the openness of this Scourge. He had presented a summary of the war openly to the human populace, even stating the government knew all along and did not tell them that aliens were present on their planet, much less a civil war. But this matter not to Bulkhead, as he narrowed his eyes and pointed at the screen. "That is not Breakdown," he stated, his hand falling to his side in a fist.

Ratchet arched a brow. "And you know this how?"

"I've fought the guy for a long time. I know his moves, the way he walks, AND the way he talks. And that isn't his voice."

"He does sound familiar," Raf said, scratching his head. "I can't place it though"

OOO

"Scourge and his team found me. Repaired me. I owe them a great deal and so left my life as a Decepticon and joined them. And I am willing to give any information asked of me to prove of what is happening here on your planet."

"Who are the leaders of these factions?!" another reported shouted.

"What are their intentions?!" came another.

Breakdown nodded to the first. "The leaders of the Autobots and the Decepticons are called Optimus Prime, and Megatron, respectively of course. The Autobots are a force you can trust, however. They have fought many long, and hard battles to ensure that Megatron and his lot do not succeed in their quest of dominance."

"Dominance?!"

Scourge nodded his head, hand resting on Breakdown shoulder. "Yes. Megatron started the war on our home world, and has continued to the point our species may be endangered. All for the selfish goal of ruling all."

"And this Optimus?"

"The only thing standing in his way, along with his small team of Autobots." With a blink, Scourge looks past the gathered onlookers and noticed several black vehicles approaching. As they stopped, men in black suits emerged and moved through the crowd. He looked down another street, seeing the same thing, and then up into the air as he took notice of black helicopters circling the area, pushing back any news choppers that were flying too close.

OOO

"Looks like the Feds showed up," Miko commented, eating a bag of popcorn. From where she procured said bag, no one knows, nor asked as they hadn't noticed.

"Hopefully this won't end badly," Ratchet commented, already hovering over the controls to the ground bridge in case he needs to send Bulkhead to deal with any impending collateral damage. "I've called the others to return to base."

Too late, however, as the men in black moved in, forcing the camera men to shut off their devices. The screen shook as a brief scuffle unfolded and then promptly went to an emergency broadcast.

A screech of tires caught their attention as Smokescreen all but drifted into the room, immediately transforming into robot mode. "What'd I miss?!" He looked to the screen, his body sagging as he saw he was late. "At least tell me you recorded it."

"Of course!" Ratchet said. "If Prime hasn't heard it over the radio, he'll need to see it for himself, though I'm quite sure any and all news broadcasters are going to be replaying the events over and over."

"That's right," Raf said, looking to Ratchet. "They can't block them all. And there are way too many people who saw them. There's no way they can cover it up."

"True." Smokescreen looked to Ratchet. "How long till the boss bot shows up?"

"He is currently on his way now. Should only be a few minutes."

"And Arcee?"

"She…" Ratchet squinted at the screen. "Huh. That's funny. She hasn't moved from her present location."

"And where's that?"

OOO

Arcee stood, looking down at the pile or rocks that was stacked to pose as a headstone. Upon the top of that stack was a broken metal horn. She had been doing this a lot now for the past three weeks, visiting the last physical memory of an old friend. Why, she couldn't answer. Maybe to find an answer to what she has to do now? It had been too long since Jack's abduction and they still had no clue as to who had taken him and why. And there was still nothing from Megatron, who would have by now revealed what he had done to Jack if had actually taken him.

Arcee hoped he was still out there. Alive somewhere. But that worried her as well. How was he treated? Was he being tortured? Experimented on? She shuddered at the thought, her arms embracing herself. "I don't know what to do, Cliff," she said, staring at the pile of rocks. "I had started to fall into a slump when you were taken from us. Jack helped me out of it but now he's gone." Her head dipped down slightly. "Is it me? Am I cursed to have any partner I team with end up disappearing or dying on me?"

"You mustn't blame yourself, Arcee," Optimus Prime spoke, slowly stepping up the hill to greet her. He had taken his time when approaching, letting her speak with the long past spirit of their former team mate. When Ratchet informed Optimus that Arcee hadn't moved from her position, he diverted his course to the one place he knew she would be. "And Jack wouldn't want you to do so either."

"But it is my fault. I should have been there." She didn't even bother to address her leader, still focusing on the rocks. "First Tailgate. Then Cliffjumper. And now Jack."

"I was the one who ordered you out on that mission," Optimus stated, stepping beside her to cast his own gaze at the grave. "The blame falls on me as well, if you continue to think you are the only one at fault. I myself could have easily taken the mission myself."

Arcee shook her head. "No. You were needed to continue the search for Iacon Relics."

"Even still, I should have assigned another to the mission, or to accompany Jack. If not myself." He placed a hand on her shoulder, feeling her lean into it slightly. "We will find him. And the one who took him. I promise you this."

OOO

As the MiB and police continued to push the civilians back, one MiB man approached, tucking away his glasses as he stood before the group of robotic aliens. "Excuse me," he addressed, hands clasped together in the front. He was an older gentleman by Earth standards with peppered hair combed back. A life of action and strife in his eyes, but not a sign of fatigue in his stance. As if he was still in his prime.

Scourge and Breakdown both turned to the man. The Prime look-alike slide his face shield aside, showing again a much similar face, but held a slight distinctive youthful appearance. "Yes?"

"I'm Agent Eugene Kay." Scourge gave a nod to the man. "I'm part of a 'disclosed' agency of the US government that is tasked with dealing with extraterrestrials such as yourselves," he said, gesturing to the group. "An associate of mine works along side the group called the Autobots. Now I'm sure he would have informed me of any new arrivals, so I'm guessing you didn't let anyone know."

"The need for secrecy was to insure the Decepticons did not try and interfere."

"And the Autobots?"

The pause that followed the question last only a second or two. "We have our reasons."

Kay arched a brow at the answer, and then glanced back at the area behind him. "Gave the people quite a show. Not to mention spilling a whole lot beans." He turned back to the towering robot. "Care to explain?"

The one who had changed from a truck himself, the big one sporting the large cannons on his back stepped forward, brushing past the 'Tank-bot' and 'Hummer-bot', each step shaking the ground beneath their feet. "We don't need to answer to you," he stated in a deep voice, slight ting of something like an Australian accent to it.

Scourge held a hand up, gesturing to the bot he had it. "Steady, Onslaught."

Kay arched a brow at the large Combaticon, then looked back to Scourge. "Why the spill, Scourge?"

"We felt the people deserved to know," he stated as he turned back to the agent.

"You decided that on your own. When Optimus and his people came, they spoke with our people first. They didn't make a grand appearance in one of our larger cities."

"We do things differently," the female spoke. She looked away, causally looking to her fingers like a human would should their be any dirt under the nail. She saw Kay looking at her, brow arched. "The names Take-Off, by the way."

"Charmed," Kay remarked, turning his focus back on Scourge. "So what is your plan, Scourge? You said you are looking for asylum here."

"That is correct."

"And what do you plan to do here? I'm sure asylum can be given but what do we get out of the equation. We gave it to Prime on the grounds he keeps the Decepticons at bay, which he has so far, though barely."

"I'm sure Optimus Prime has done so without handing over any knowledge of advanced technology."

"In the ways of medical, perhaps. He has stated he wouldn't hand over anything that could possibly be weaponized."

"And if we were to?" Breakdown asked, a small smirk forming on his lips.

Kay wagged a finger at the former Con. "Don't think I've forgotten about you." Said wagging finger stopped to point. "How do know you can trust him? We've got reports given by Prime and his team on this one, and some dates back before his arrival on earth from the one called Bulkhead."

"He has earned our trust," Scourge simply stated.

"How so?"

"Locations of possible energon deposits that Megatron hasn't tapped into yet and the ones he has."

Kay nodded in understanding. Energon being the life blood of their people, it stands to reason that if one decided to give knowledge as to where you could find such deposits, they could possibly be trusted.

"Now do you want weapons or not?" Breakdown asked, crossing his massive arms. "I'm sure your people would like to have an edge against the Decepticons. Prime can't be everywhere at once and his numbers are small in comparison."

"You would now, wouldn't you," Kay remarked, eying the Con. He didn't take the bait as he thought, watching Breakdown simply stand there with a grin. "It's not my call to make, however. I'll need to talk with my superiors and see what can be done." He took out a PDA, stylist poking away at the screen before holding it up to the giants before him. "See these coordinates? Meet us there in three days to talk about a trade. Asylum for technology."

Zooming in, they took down the coordinates, saving it to their databanks. Instantly behind the group, a ground bridge appeared. 'Tank-bot' was the first to move through, followed by Onslaught, 'Hummer-bot', and 'Chopper-bot'. Breakdown, still smirking, turned and left as well, arms still folded across his chest.

Scourge gave a nod to the agent. He turned slowly and moved to the vortex, Take-Off moving quickly to his side and putting her arm around his. Kay arched a brow at that, watching two giant robots walk off, arm-in-arm like some kind of couple. Slightly disturbing.

OOO

"That's not him," Arcee stated, looking at the frozen image of Scourge. "Not nearly as big. Built more like 'Bee or Smokescreen." Said scout beeped at the mention of his name.

"And his Alt-mode wasn't a truck from what eyewitnesses said," Ratchet said, scratching his chin. "But what worries me now is his motives. He's given us away, Optimus. The world knows we exist and that we are on their home planet."

"Unfortunately all we can do is wait," their leader spoke, staring at the image of Scourge. Most specifically the insignia that graced his shoulders similar to the Autobot one that Prime had, as well as his fellow Autobots. It resembled Scourge's face with the face shield closed. "So far these Combaticons have shown that they wish to make peaceful relations to the humans."

"That's a good thing though," Smokescreen said. "I mean, we don't have to hide as much anymore, right?"

"Telling small groups is one thing," Ratchet said to the young bot. "But the entire world as a whole? Can lead to mass hysteria. They saw them transform. How long before people start poking their cars to see if it'll change, or worse, out of fear start to destroy any motor vehicle they come across that acts funny. Paranoia could blossom from this."

"It was planned at one point should the war end, we would reveal ourselves to the human populace," Optimus noted. "To form an alliance of our species and to help man span beyond their home. To show them they are not alone."

"But now these new bots did it for us," Arcee said, crossing her arms. "And asking for asylum? Are they wanting to stay out of the fight?"

"If it is their wish, they have a right to it."

"I'm not buying it," Arcee said with a shake of her head.

"Neither do I," Bulkhead said as he entered the room, Miko sitting on his shoulder, eating another bag of popcorn. "That Breakdown wasn't the same. He was different."

Optimus looked to the wrecker. "Are you positive?"

"I bet my spark on it. That isn't Breakdown."

Optimus sighed, turning to address the group as a whole. "Imposter or not, he is affiliated with this new faction. If they are seeking asylum here on earth, we will respect their wishes. If they choose to aid or interfere with any of our operations against the Decepticons, we will deal with them accordingly."

"They don't seem to like the Cons much," Mike pointed out. "Maybe they'll help us take'em down!" She added with a zealous thrust of her fist, nearly spilling her popcorn.

"But they don't seem to overly fond of us either," Arcee pointed, looking to the over excited youth. "Even though Megatron and his lot started the war, these new guys seemed to lump us in with them."

That bit of information didn't settle well for team Prime. They were fighting hard to end the war, and to think possible civilians from their own home would accuse them alongside the Decepticons for its continuity.

OOO

As Scourge exited the event horizon of the ground bridge, Take-Off removed her arm from his, but not before dragging the tips of her fingers up to his shoulder and across his chest, sultry look on her face as she moved past him and on to another location within the ship. The Prime look-a-like watched her leave, optics briefly settling on the sway of well balanced hips before looking to the work being performed in the main bridge room. MECH soldier and engineers scurried across the room, making quick work to get the downed ship back full functionality. The rest of his team had broken off to do whatever they seemed fit to do to pass the time till they were to meet with the Agent about their exchange. Silas, or rather, Breakdown, stood to the side conversing with some of his technicians about the retrofit of the ship, once called the Harbinger.

He looked up, seeing the ships lighting had been repaired. It was hard to deal with flickering lights in light shades of purple. How Decepticons could do it was beyond him.

Scourge approached Silas/Breakdown, standing at attention before his superior. "Sir."

The former human turned mech turned, a smile gracing his face. "Scourge, you did a fine job out there. I was pleased with your performance."

"Thank you sir," he replied with a nod. "I was beginning to worry I hadn't performed to your expectations."

Silas/Breakdown placed a hand on the taller bots arm, leading him away from the teams quickly working over the ship. Even more wore working diligently in the halls, performing patch works along the walls and inner workings. Some doors would stick, requiring a bit of Cybertronian brute force to push them along. Such an occasion was performed by the 'Tank-Bot', Brawl, who was prying open a formerly locked room with his immense strength. Once the door was open enough, a large team of soldier and technicians rushed in to begin work of repairs.

"How long till the ship is functional, sir?"

"It'll be some time. We were lucky the ground bridge was till intact, just low on power."

As the two passed another corridor, Scourge took notice of the 'Hummer-Bot', Swindle, with Take-Off. She was leaning against the wall, arms crossed while Swindle seemed to be trying to put the moves on said femme. She didn't look to pleased. When he moved too close to her liking, she simple placed a single digit to his forehead, and pushed him aside to walk away. This caused the black armored mech to snicker slightly.

"But we were fortunate that we found it, along with the array technology that lye within."

"Hey Boss!" Swindle called in a slightly weaseley tone, catching up to the two. His height placed him at least to the same level as Breakdown, if not a little shorter by a few inches, in human measurement. The two turned to Swindle, seeing him look to their true leader, hand on his hip. "I was wondering, could we get out of here for some fresh air? You know, stretch our wheels or something. Not like we're human anymore, this place feels cramped."

"And allow or enemies to locate us?" Silas/Breakdown barked, glaring at the Combaticon. "This ship shields our signatures, so neither the Autobots or the Decepticons can find us. We step away from the shielding, they will notice the odd energon signatures in this area and come to investigate." He pushed a finger to Swindles chest, causing him to backup slightly. "I will not have our plans jeopardized because you are feeling a little claustrophobic!"

"Sir," Scourge said, stepping almost between the two. "If I may suggest, maybe just being outside the ship, within the shielding. There is a limited range but is safe from detection." He rotated his shoulder slightly. "Even I have to admit, it is uncomfortably cramped compared to the outside. We not need to go anywhere."

Silas/Breakdown glared at Scourge, but relented. Even he was still adjusting to his new form, even after so many weeks of putting it to good use. "Very well, but you know the limit. Take a break. We have three days before we meet with our new 'allies'. During that time, I'll have our teams work up a dampener of some kind to shield or signatures so we can progress beyond the shield."

With that, Silas/Breakdown left the two. Swindle of course was overjoyed, hating being stuck in tight areas. Yes, the halls were big enough for at least for two of them to walk side by side with a little room to spare, but with so many MECH soldiers and technicians running around, you had to be careful where you stepped.

Before Swindle could move, he found his shoulder in the iron grip of their 'leader' and thrust against the wall. Scourge glared down at Swindle, red optics burning into his blue. "Don't think I do not know your past, Swindle. I know you were a former arms dealer."

"How else do you think Silas got all the good stuff?" Swindle said, glaring back at Scourge before being slammed again against the wall.

"Know this, you make any attempt to contact any of your old 'friends' without Silas' orders, I'll personally rip out your artificial spark. We just begun our objective, we do not need you risking it's exposure."

"I get it, I get it!" Swindle said, hands up in defense. He wasn't about to piss off Silas' right hand man. "But even you have to admit, this place is cramped…"

"What is going on here?" spoke a slight Japanese accented voice.

The two turned to see the 'Chopper-Bot', Vortex, as he approached, face still completely shielded. His stance looked tense, like he was ready to spring into action should a fight break out.

Scourge released his hold on Swindle, giving the Combaticon a glare before looking to Vortex. "Just reminding Swindle of the rules. And on another note, Silas has said we can step outside for some air but within the limits of the shields to keep our signatures hidden."

Vortex said nothing, continuing to stare at the two. He then gave a nod, and turned into the direction of the recently completed airlock that lead outside the ship. Swindle glared at Scourge from the corner of his optic then followed after the mysterious Combaticon.

"That was pretty entertaining for a second," a feminine voice spoke from behind. Scourge looked back, seeing Take-Off stroll over to him, stopping just a foot away with a hand on her hip. "I was actually hoping you'd put a few dents into him." She frowned, thinking of that disgusting smirk he kept giving her earlier. "Wish I had done so myself."

"Silas would have been displeased if I'd put my foot up his, and I quote the Cybertronian term, 'aft'," he said with a bit of amusement in his tone. "We can't afford our team to break over one's personal greed."

"Cause we're above those things now, right? Immortality, strong robotic bodies." She dragged a sharp digit over the red glass portion of his armor. "But we could use a good waxing now and then. Keep up a good shine." She gave a sultry smile, yellow optics locking with red. "Play your cards right, big boy, and I'll let you wax the right parts."

An abrupt, and obviously fake cough, caught the two's attention, Take-Off frowning as she noticed Brawl standing beside them. "Not to interrupt," he spoke, slight southern accent to his voice, "but I heard something about fresh air?"

Scourge gave a roll of his eyes. "Within the shield's limits," he gave as a short reply. Brawl passed, making sure not to step over the technicians scurrying around them. Scourge had forgotten that they were surrounded by the MECH soldiers, and looked down, taking notice that some were looking away. Though their faces were covered, their fidgeting and trying to look like they didn't see anything gave him the impression they had been watching Take-Off's little display towards him. "Do you all mind?"

Take-Off gave a little bit of a giggle, taking careful steps past Scourge while still dragging a finger across his armor. "Offer still stands. We do have three days before our big meeting, after all. And I'd like to look my best."

OOO

Silas entered the brig, passing recently repaired cells. Energy fields were being tested to how much they could yield in case they were to capture any enemies, or subjects for testing. Couldn't be too sure of what the future holds. Moving further back into the holding area, past a set of automatic doors that slid apart as he approached, he came in as Onslaught delivered another devastating blow to the rooms current captive. When he noticed Silas approach, he stopped and turned to his commander.

"Sir," Onslaught said with a nod.

"How's our guest doing?"

"Running his mouth as usual, sir," Onslaught said with a bit of detest to the downed Con.

Silas shook his head and approached, hands held behind his back. "You mustn't anger him, Starscream. It's not good for your health."

The former second in command of the Decepticons, slumped against the wall, arms bound by reinforced restraints that locked him to the wall. When they had discovered the Harbinger and all its treasures, they were surprised to discover it was the hideout for the former Decepticon. He tried to act high and mighty, boasting this and that with overly drawn speeches of grandeur, threatening to squash them beneath his heels. That was till Silas as Breakdown came forth and showed he was just a dangerous as the seeker himself. A fight ensued but Silas was a formally highly trained soldier with his own set of skills, and easily out bested Starscream with Breakdown's immense strength.

Starscream coughed, a bit of energon leaking from the corner of his mouth and left optic. "So I've noticed," he drawled, barely lifting his head at Silas/Breakdown. "I hope the information I gave you was helpful." He was being sarcastic of course.

"Very much so. And I hope there may be more you can enlighten us."

"I told you everything I know. To know more, you'd have to ask another Cybertronian, Decepticon or Autobot."

"That is true," Silas said, scratching his chin. "But then we wouldn't have any further use for you," smiled, seeing Starscream gawk at his remark. "I'm sure we could find some use of your body once your spark is removed."

"No! I… I could still be of use!"

Silas waved for Onslaught to follow. The hulking brute looked down at Starscream with a growl and then followed his leader. The doors slammed shut behind them as they passed. "Are we really going to remove his spark, sir? I doubt we have any volunteers who would willing take up his form. Maybe a women perhaps, considering his… shape?"

Silas gave a laugh at the notion. "True. But I think we have some use for him still. He's told us much of his view of Cybertron's history. Not to mention the Decepticon side of the war."

"What of the Enforcer we hired?"

Silas frowned. "We made a deal with him. And he came through with hardly a problem."

"But he was spotted in broad daylight."

"The ends justify the means. He still retrieved Jackson Darby and brought him to us. I upheld my end of the bargain by leaving him be." He paused to think. "But asking him for a history lesson from his point of view wouldn't hurt so much. I'll contact him later and arrange a meeting to get a report of his own history on the Transformer's home world."

The two rounded a corner, avoiding a small transport of materials that moved past to another section of the ship. "What's the word on the other half of the ship?" Silas asked.

"It'll be another week before it's completely uncovered from the forest. And maybe another after that to transport it here. From there, reattaching the two halves will take at most a few months if we continue at our current speed of repairs. But we have to take in the human element on board, sir. Shifts and rests between our men are required." He paused, looking down at said humans who worked diligently at their assigned tasks. But his enhanced vision and scans told him that many were showing rough signs of fatigue and exhaustion. "I hate to say it, but we perhaps showed ourselves as Cybertronians a bit too soon."

"Not necessarily," Silas commented. "They don't know where we are, only that we have a ground bridge at our disposal. And with our dampening shield active, they can't find us. Not to mention Starscream admitted he never reported the Harbinger's location to Megatron. So if they do come looking for us, they'll find it very difficult to do so." He glanced to Onslaught. "What of the status of the other Protoform we found aside the other six?"

"Still working on the repairs, sir. Seemed Starscream was going to use it as a means for spare parts, but our arrival cut him short on the matter."

"How long till it is ready?"

"Parden, sir?"

"Though this body of Breakdown's is strong, I need something better. Something that could match even Megatron in strength."

"Then I propose we collect data on both factions leaders, sir. To build a proper form to match either, we will need to see the limits of their strength. Which means we will need to engage them on combat."

Silas shook his head. "Not the Autobots. But perhaps along side them for now. We've already made it clear we were 'aligning' ourselves in a way with the Autobots and against the Decepticons." He stopped, a small grin forming in his face. "I do believe we are in need of more energon, correct?"

Onslaught blinked behind his visor. "Sir?"

"Think it's about time we started showing our hand against Megatron and his Decepticons."

To Be Continued…

So what do you think? Long enough? Needed to be longer? Got you intrigued about what is going on? A cookie to the one who can figured out the reference in this chapter's title.

As for what is going on, or how the Combaticons became what they are, will be explained in later chapters. I know that the Prime series ties into the games of War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron, and that the Combaticons were in the second game, but for me to do this, they weren't there. The did not exist till this fic. Maybe make it as the Constructocons. And no, there will be no combining into one massive badass. It was cool in G1 and some other series, but since they didn't do anything like that within the Prime series to start with, I'm not doing it in this fic here. Sorry if I upset anyone, but there will be no Bruticus. But for now let your speculations fly. Jack is on the back burner for now so he won't be seen for some time. Maybe by chapter 3. And I had to give Sierra a break. Everyone wants to make her out to be some high school whore. But lets face it, she wasn't really. She was just like any other popular school girl. Didn't mean she slept with everyone, so I wanted to give her a break in this fic. Let it show she had something of a nice side to her, if briefly considering she only played a small roll here. She may make more appearances in the future.

Who the 'Enforcer' was that took Jack is however an OC of my own, but he won't be focused on till later.

Now I'll explain Take-Off. Yes, I know the original Take-Off was male and wasn't part of the team. That was Blastoff. But the name to me didn't stick with the alt-mode I had in mind. I hear Blastoff, I think of a space shuttle. Takeoff, I think of a jet or plane. So I went with that. Plus I wanted a female on the team. Was going to be Vortex, but changed my mind.

Now I wanted to do something slightly different here compared to other fics of the Prime series. Everyone seems to do a pairing for Arcee and Jack right from the start of the first chapter. Not saying its possible, but to right then and there to have them confessing their love for one another kinda unsettles me, so I'm going for a different approach. Now I'm not knocking on those who do. It's your fic, you do as you please. I still end up reading them anyways to see how they go… not to mention some certain 'scenes' between the two characters. You guys know who you are. :D

Now for the voices of the 'Combaticons' I made some celebrity choices, much how in the first episodes Cliffjumper was voiced by Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. And I am going to state that I HATED that they offed him in the first episode so they could obviously push a partnering between Arcee and Jack. Shit pissed me off. Not to mention having his voice played by the Rock was awesome. And Cliffjumper was one of my favorites from the G1 series, so to have him only in for a short time then offed really annoyed me.

Unnamed Decepticon = Sam Witwir

Scourge = David Boreanaz

Onslaught = Hugh Jackman

Vortex = Ken Watanabe

Take-Off = Angelina Jolie

Swindle = Steve Buscemi

Brawl = Nicholas Cage

Tell me what you think of the actors I chose.

Now why the Combaticons since it interferes with the timelines involving WFC/FOC? I wanted a group who seemed military-like to build a third faction. And I remembered the 'Decepticons' from RiD series some time back, and so I replicated that here. A third group outside the two standard that could possibly be friend or foe to either. And come on, a great way to bring back Scourge with a slight TP flare to him. I loved his look and wanted to bring him back not as Nemeses Prime. That story was done in that episode.

And yes, he portrayed himself as the leader of their group, but all for face value. Look at Breakdown. You really going to take him serious compared to Scourge or Onslaught if he approached and said he was the leader?

Anyway, reviews fuel and feed me to continue so please drop a few. I know there are possible grammar errors. I am aware of this. And if you've read my crossover 'When BioWeapons Collide', you'd know I don't really care. Not looking to win any fan fiction awards.