So I've finally gotten around to uploading all my old fan fics to this site. Just letting you all know that this was written AGES ago, and my writing style has changed a bit since then, so check out my later fan fics as well to see how I've improved. Oh, and one IMPORTANT THING: This is the G1 version of the show, but it takes place in contemporary times, so even though it's around the second season of the show, it's 2008, not 1984, okay? (Yes, 2008 was when this was written-shows how old it is. XD )
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If a person were to travel to the state of Oregon, nothing would seem amiss…at first glance. Birds chirping; blue skies; the sun blazing down across the red, desert landscape. But if one were to talk to the folks around these parts, they'd tell you otherwise, for they learned first hand that looks can be deceiving. Soon after, the world learned of the visitors that came to us, and received the same lesson that in this universe, there's more than meets the eye.
Now, who are these visitors? One needs to get out more if he or she hasn't at least heard of them before. Everybody has seen them at some point or another, be it the news, or on rare occasions, in the flesh. However, in the metal might be a more appropriate term, for these visitors are not organic. They're robots.
Yes, robots, and no, they're not imported from Japan. In fact, they're not even from this planet. They come from a world far, far away; mechanic al giants who found our planet quite by accident, actually. Or should we say, crash landed. In a dormant volcano they rested for over four million years, until an eruption brought them back to the world of the living.
The Earth knows these beings as the Transformers, who have the uncanny ability to moonlight as vehicles, should they choose to. Some chose to be trucks and cars; others would rather be planes and jets, but that's about where the similarities end. One must be wary, however, for not all these machines studied "E.T. 101". They all can think and feel just like humans, and with that, brings good and evil.
The ones who remained on the road as cars are known as the Autobots, who believe that freedom is the right of all sentient beings. Loving and heroic, they have aligned themselves with the Earth's populace, going so far as to make many personal human friends as well. Our comradeship has shown the 'Bots that, like them, we're more than meets the eye.
The ones who decided to be planes and jets are known as the Decepticons. Seated on the other end of the spectrum, they're cold, ruthless, evil, and want nothing more than to take over the universe. They take what they want, suck it dry, and leave destruction in their wake. It is this that brings them to butt heads with the Autobots again and again.
It's also for that reason that the 'Bots had to be on constant alert. Snuggled deeply in the volcano where they laid offline for so many years, their gargantuan cruiser, the Ark, hummed softly in the late hours of the morning. Human friends, Spike, and father, Sparkplug, had gone out for the day. Thankfully, they weren't around to hear the awful explosion that ripped through the peaceful quiet like a knife through butter. And naturally, the Ark's residents were not pleased to have their rare serenity disturbed.
The one name that was screamed and echoed by all revealed the culprit, "WHEELJACK!"
The ambulance, known as Ratchet, came barreling down the orange corridors, with police car, Prowl, following close behind. Arriving at the science lab, the CMO and tactician pried their fingers into the vertical crack, and with a heave, pulled open the doors. The smell of smoke and burnt metal assaulted them as thick smog poured out of the entranceway. The two mechs slowly entered the black, foggy abyss.
"Alright, what in the Pit did you do this time?!" Ratchet yelled to the air. He swiped his hand to cut a path through the smoke, ready to strangle his intended target, despite his status as a healer.
"Just makin' some science is all", came a voice. A similar, blocky hand tore through the smoke, revealing resident scientist, Wheeljack, "Although, we had a little…um…"
"Accident?" Prowl finished.
"You call this little?" asked another voice. The smoke was hugging the floor at that point, leaving the yellow, Volkswagen Beetle, Bumblebee, visible, "You could've blown us halfway to Cybertron!"
"Got that right", a red Lamborghini quipped. Everyone turned to see Sideswipe striding into the room, with 18-wheeler, Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, following close behind.
"Well, well; the gang's all here", Wheeljack chuckled; his head fins flashing as he spoke.
"We're all here because we want to know what caused the explosion", Optimus replied.
The smoke had dissipated at that point, and everyone, except Optimus and Prowl, was staring down poor Wheeljack like gun slingers in a saloon. With that, the scientist strolled over to a nearby table, and presented them an odd looking device. It looked like some sort of gun; Transformer-sized of course. But what was strange about it was the bowl-shaped thing around the barrel, making the gun itself look like a satellite dish…or a very warped-looking daffodil. Sensing a lecture coming on, Sideswipe crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. The others followed suit and took comfortable positions.
"I was testing out this", Wheeljack explained; shoving the gun forward for emphasis, "Everybody knows that magnets affect computer stuff, so what this thing does is send out magnetic fields to disrupt any and all electronic devices. There's no limit to what we can do, but right now, I'm hopin' that we can use it against the Decepticons. With this baby, those creeps can be blown into a full state of confusion!"
"What about the safety?" Prowl interjected, "Assuming that this device will affect the Decepticons, won't it affect us too?" The others nodded in agreement.
But Wheeljack was quick to answer, "Good question, which is why this dish thing is around the barrel". He pointed to the mentioned area, "Another magnet of the same frequency lines the inside of the dish, which repels the first magnet on the barrel. This way, the dish points the magnetic field in one direction, so it only affects what you point it at."
Sideswipe stared off into space, trying to fathom what the scientist said, while the rest of the group nodded in satisfaction. Ratchet, however, took a quizzical look at the device, "Does this thing have a name?"
Wheeljack puffed out his chest and answered proudly, "I call it; 'The Magnetic Field Disruptor and Inducer'."
The red, Lambo prankster came around from his daze and rolled his optics, "Oh yeah, that rolls off the vocal transmitter nicely. Why not call it…'The Magna Ray'?"
When Ratchet had inquired about the invention's name, Prowl stepped over to an iron pillar in the middle of the lab, where he noticed the source of the smoke. Sitting upon this pillar, was a charred, melted, smoldering mass of metal and plastic. One of his optics widened, which was the equivalent of raising an eyebrow, and he waited for a pause in the conversation, "I'm curious as to what you tested this device on".
That remark got Sideswipe's attention. He leaned in over Prowl's shoulder, squinting his optics as he examined the aforementioned piece of scrap, "Looks like a boom box…"
"Correction", Wheeljack said, "it was a boom box".
Bumblebee interjected, "Correction; it was Spike's boom box, and man, is he gonna' be mad when he finds out…" He trailed off from there, shuddering at the thought of his best, human friend making the discovery. He felt compounded with even more guilt when he'd have to tell him that Wheeljack convinced him to get the boom box as a test, which explained the Beetle's presence in the lab in the first place.
The scientist tried to remain optimistic, "Well, I still got a few glitches to work out; radio was probably too little and couldn't take it. But that's no problem; I'll make him a new one."
Sideswipe all but interrupted that idea, "And blow the kid's head off?! Thanks, but we'll just drive him out to buy one." The others, save for Wheeljack, couldn't help but chuckle at that.
"I suppose it could be worse", Prowl replied, "It could have belonged to Jazz."
The tactician's statement caused Optimus Prime to join in the conversation, finally, "That reminds me; has anyone seen Jazz? I wish to speak to him." The group pointed to the open doorway, which led down the hall towards Jazz's quarters.
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1, 2, 3 o' clock, 4 o' clock rock
5, 6, 7 o' clock, 8 o' clock rock
9, 10, 11 o' clock, 12 o' clock rock
We're gonna' rock-around-the clock tonight
The classic 1950's song that started the genre of rock n' roll poured from two, large amplifiers seated on the floor. Bill Haley and His Comets weren't alone, however, for a Southern, almost Cajun voice, sung right along with them. That voice belonged to Jazz, the stylin' Porsche, and resident saboteur of the Autobots. He was currently sprawled out on his recharge birth; hands behind his head and legs crossed; his raised foot kicking in time to the beat.
Being as how he could turn into a car, that meant he had a radio, and radio equals music. He couldn't stand silence, so he'd usually have it playing constantly in his head, sometimes even in the middle of a battle. But it was rare when he got a chance to just sit down and do nothing but listen to it. When he realized he'd have one of those moments, he asked Sparkplug if he could borrow one of his CDs, and the mechanic gladly let him. His human friend used Teletraan-One to burn a CD of the best songs he knew, and a good majority of them were from the 50's. Oh sure, Jazz could have easily played something in his head, but the radio only played so much, so it was nice, once in a while, to play songs the stations didn't offer.
Put your glad rags on; join me hon'
We'll have some fun when the clock strikes one
We're gonna' rock-around the clock tonight
We're gonna' rock, rock, rock 'till broad daylight
We're gonna' rock, gonna' rock around the clock-tonight
By the time he got to the middle of the stanza, Jazz's singing trailed off, and he felt content to just smile and hum. He slowly closed his optics and let the music carry him away. Compared with most Transformers, Jazz had a meager field of vision. But his blue visor wasn't the only thing aiding him, for what he lacked in sight, he made up for in hearing. He could detect any sound, no matter how minute, and with this skill, he was a valuable team member to have.
He had the sound turned low on the speakers, so as not to disturb his comrades. But between the metal echoing the sound waves, and his said listening skills, the volume might as well of been turned on full blast. His audio sensors reveled in the beat, so much that he almost didn't notice Optimus Prime enter his quarters. When he felt an offbeat vibration in the music, he knew someone was walking down the hall, but he didn't bother to look.
When the clock strikes 2, 3, and 4
When the band slows down, we'll yell for more
We're gonna' rock-around the clock tonight
We're gonna' rock, rock, rock 'till broad daylight
We're gonna' rock, gonna' rock around the clock-tonight
The "clock", however, never reached five, for suddenly, the music stopped. The dead silence hit Jazz like a ton of bricks, and because he was so lulled into the previous tempo, the abrupt stop actually made him jolt. "Hey, who killed da' music?" he asked, optics widening.
His question was answered when he saw his Superman-colored leader standing in the doorway. The end of a plug dangled on his pinky finger as a pair of bright, blue optics stared into a shiny, blue visor; a visor that hid the pained optics of said wearer. "Didn't mean to cut your song short", Prime apologized.
" 'S okay", Jazz replied as he jumped off his recharge birth, "I kin' play ma' music anytime. Whatcha' need?" He swaggered over to Prime and stood at attention; a subliminal apology for his inattentiveness earlier. He also didn't feel it best for his leader to take any more steps in his quarters. It's better for soldier to come to leader; not vice versa.
"I was trying to find you because I have a special assignment for you", Optimus explained. He put his hands causally behind his back; signaling the saboteur he could remain at ease, "Just recently, the public has been sending out reports of Decepticons in areas around the city limits. However, all these occurrences have happened in the early hours of the morning, so we don't know for sure if the reports are credible or not."
"Ya' think dem' 'Cons are tryin' moreava' sneak approach?" Jazz suggested, "Maybe they're tryin' ta' avoid a fight wit' us."
Optimus rubbed his chin, "Maybe…right now, I need you to go out and patrol the city. Check if everything seems to be in order, or if anything is amiss. Report back to me as soon as you can."
The black and white Porsche proudly saluted his leader, "You got it!" With that, Jazz left his quarters. He paraded down the hall; humming a tune in his wake, until a terrible odor decided to give him a full circle, slap in the face. With heightened hearing came heightened smell as well, and his sensory relays weren't happy at the moment. He followed the smell long enough to know where it was coming from, then held his nose in disgust. A burnt metal odor was spewing from the science lab. Remembering the explosion earlier, he strolled into the room, and heard Wheeljack's familiar grumbles. Jazz called out, "Hey, what died in 'ere?"
The scientist spun around at the voice, "A boom box and my pride. I've been tryin' to get this new invention a' mine to work, but with little luck."
The saboteur took a long look at the satellite/daffodil contraption, "Oh yeah, I heard ya' was workin' on somethin'. What's it called?"
"The Magnetic Field Disruptor and Inducer", Wheeljack answered.
One could almost see the giant question mark that popped over Jazz's head, "Uh…why not call it…'da' Magna Ray'?"
Wheeljack could do nothing but stare at him; did Sideswipe have another brother besides Sunstreaker he was unaware of? "Um…yeah. Well, I still gotta' work out some glitches; been meanin' to test it out in the field…"
This gave Jazz an idea, "Say, Prime jus' sent me out on a mission. Why don't I take da' Magna Ray with me? I kin' test it out for ya'."
The scientist's optics lit up at that idea. It would certainly give him ample time to get more work done, "Good idea". He passed the gun off to Jazz, "The thing's a giant magnet, really. But the dish thing will protect ya'. Try it out on electronic stuff and tell me what happens, okay?"
The Porsche stored the device away, "You got it. Be back later."
With that, Jazz strode off and made his way out of the Ark. After taking in the desert scenery, he promptly leaped into the air and transformed. Instead of an alien robot, a stylish Porsche, sporting a number "4" on the sides, hit the ground. With the human hologram activated, the windows down, and the stereo blasting, the music connoisseur sped off down the highway.
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AN: Well, here we go! The start of Guitar Hero! (But it won't be 'till way later you'll find out how the title comes into play.) And as for WJ's explanation of the device...well...part of that with the magnets and stuff I actually learned in my physics class. The stuff he says about magnets affecting eletronics IS true! I figured I should try to apply at least SOME credible science to make this thing more believable. So, what does Wheeljack's invention do EXACTLY? How is Jazz gonna' test it out? Stay tuned for part 2!