Autobots, Assemble!

One-Shot: Rescuers

Waves lapped against the sandy shores of Griffin Rock, a small but technologically advanced little island off the coast of Maine. At first glance it was pristine and peaceful. However, if one lived there, one knew it was anything but. Daily disasters occurred thanks to the many prototype inventions that littered the island.

These disasters were handled by the Burns family who acted as emergency responders along with their "government issued" vehicles. Only a few people in Griffin Rock aside from them knew they weren't government issued.

They were aliens.

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"Wait. Who's coming to visit, Dad?" Graham asked abstractedly as he worked with Boulder on his engineering homework.

"I got a call this morning from the Autobot medic, Ratchet. Apparently, the Avengers were informed about us and they want to come and visit. They thought that Optimus's team was the only one stationed on Earth. When they heard about us, they got interested." Chief Burns explained.

Dani gave a happy little shriek of delight. "Oooh I can't wait! Those guys are amazing! I've always wanted a chance to fly one of their Quinjets! They're state of the art! And so stylish, too!"

He continued: "They're also bringing a friend with them. Rescue Bots, you might know of him due to his involvement in your race's interstellar feud with each other, so I'm asking all of you right now to be on your best behavior. He's no longer an enemy and he's no longer dangerous."

He eyed both Blades and Heatwave sternly. "That goes for you two especially. Blades, no panicking. And Heatwave – no insults and no picking a fight with him. He's with the Avengers so if you try and instigate something they will defend him."

"Fine." Heatwave sighed resignedly.

Blades gave a silent nod of acceptance. Already the helicopter mech was looking nervous. He was known for being extremely anxious and skittish in nature, as well as for over-reacting. Chief Burns could only hope Blades didn't react negatively to the Avengers' newest addition.

"When are they coming?" Cody asked. "Can Frankie and Doc Greene come and meet them, too? Frankie's always wanted to see a real-life superhero!"

"They should be arriving any minute now. And as for your second question – I don't see why not. Why don't you give them both a call and invite them over?"

Cody grinned and darted into the lift that led out of the fire house bunker.

"Chief, exactly who is coming with the Avengers? I hazard that he is a Decepticon, though that is as far as your verbal evidence allows me to speculate with any definite accuracy." Chase wondered after he was positive Cody was out of hearing range. "Which Decepticon is he?"

Chief Burns gave his transforming police car partner a meaningful look, a look that spoke volumes to the alien law enforcement officer. In return, Chase's own puzzled glance evaporated like fog on a clear morning. It was quickly replaced by one of astonishment mingled with curiosity.

"Ah. I see."

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Just above cloud level a white and red aircraft emblazoned with the Avengers insignia sliced through the skies. Alongside it flew a smaller black and grey form. Hulk kept an eye on the alien fighter jet to ensure they didn't leave him behind. Avengers looked out for their own.

[Why are we headed to this place again?] Galvatron asked curiously.

"Well, for two reasons really. We want to see these 'Rescue Bots' for ourselves – you know, see what they're like. Secondly, we're introducing you in order to help rebuild your reputation. It's always best to start out small." Ant-Man clarified.

Ms. Marvel added: "Yeah, and according to Ratchet these guys weren't really involved in the War to the extent that everyone else was. They're emergency responders, not warriors or soldiers. They'll be a little easier to convince than Autobots who were involved in the fighting."

The aircraft hummed comprehendingly. Idly he adjusted his velocity to perfectly match that of the Quinjet beside him. His onboard scanners registered a landmass in the vast expanse of water below. The Quinjet's scanners detected the same landmass.

Wasp steered the Quinjet down through the clouds and above the water's surface, skimming the aircraft mere feet above the ocean, causing a misty wake to trail behind it.

"Gently, Jan. Gently." Tony gripped his seat. He was regretting his decision to ever allow Jan access to a Quinjet.

Cap was already answering the hailing call that the island was sending them. They simply wanted to know whether the second aircraft they were detecting was with them, to which he replied that yes it was with them. There was no need to for alarm. It wasn't pursuing them – it was just following.

[Alright then. You're free to land at our air field. Or if you want there's a landing pad on top of the fire house you can use instead.] The hailer announced cheerily. [Welcome to Griffin Rock, Avengers!]

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Dani and Blades waved the two aircraft down to land. Unfortunately, the fire house's landing pad was only big enough for the smaller black and grey jet to safely land on. But it turned out that the lawn in front of the fire house was big enough to fit the larger Quinjet.

The female pilot waited for someone to emerge from the black jet. When no one did, she was quick to guess that this was the Decepticon that her father had referenced. The fact that he'd refused to say who this mech was outright had been…weird.

"Uh…hello?" She hazarded. "You can change to robot mode whenever you want, you know. You don't have to sit like that all day."

The black and grey jet seemed relieved. Right in front of her eyes the vehicle changed into the second biggest mech she'd ever laid eyes on, easily standing a full head taller than Optimus. His body was covered in black and grey armor with muddy brown additions that plainly didn't belong on him – they looked almost like rocks or something. Red optics appraised her calmly.

It was then that Blades did the one thing that Chief Burns had explicitly told him not to do:

He panicked.

The skittish helicopter mech gave a little shriek and hilariously tried to shelter behind his partner in vehicle form. His rotors trembled nervously.

Dani smacked a hand to her face in embarrassment before addressing the black and grey jet mech: "Sorry about him. He's a Rescue Bot, but he's a total, complete pansy. Freaks at the littlest things. It's like dealing with a kid some days."

"Hey!" Blades protested.

A faint, fleeting smile flickered across the mech's face. The girl didn't seem scared of him at all, thankfully – she seemed the strong-willed sort, not easily frightened, so it was rather funny that she was partnered with a mech practically scared of his own shadow. They contrasted like night and day.

"Come on, Blades. He's not gonna bite." Dani reassured her partner. "Dad told us he's not dangerous, remember?"

` The helicopter whimpered but dutifully switched out of vehicle mode. He knew exactly who this was and was scared senseless due to the mech's gruesome reputation during the War. But Dani had a point – he hadn't done anything to hurt or scare anyone so far. So…maybe it was safe to give Megatron the benefit of the doubt and at least try to be friendly to him.

Besides, the poor mech was clearly feeling out of place here. And he was rumored to be one of the best fliers on Cybertron…

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Inside the fire house, the Avengers were given a warm greeting by both parties.

Chase had immediately become interested in Vision and tried to speak to him, but the android's shyness had kicked in and he had retreated underground in a blur of green and yellow, taking refuge in the tunnel that ran beneath the building.

"Shy little guy, isn't he?" Boulder commented with a smile.

Wasp giggled. "Shy yeah. But once you earn his trust it's kinda like dealing with a puppy. He looks a little creepy and intimidating at first glance, but he's a real sweetheart after he warms up to you. He gives the most amazing hugs."

"Aww. Want me to go find him? Those tunnels go for miles underneath the island and he might get lost."

"I doubt Vision getting lost will be an issue, Boulder." Chase said. "What we don't want to happen is for him to wander someplace he shouldn't. His phase shifting ability would allow him access to places no one else could reach."

The bulldozer nodded, transformed, and headed down into the bunker via the massive lift built into the floor.

At this particular moment, three figures burst into the fire house. One was Cody Burns. The other two dark-skinned newcomers – a dark haired middle aged man with flecks of grey beginning to show, and a young girl with frizzy pigtails – didn't ring any bells of recognition to the Avengers.

"Oh my gosh! You're actually here!" The girl gasped.

Hawkeye grinned. Fame was really nice sometimes.

"Hey! Where's that 'friend' of yours Dad mentioned? Did he chicken out and leave or something?" Kade asked.

In response, there was a loud THUD just outside the fire house. A big black and grey Cybertronian stood framed in the fire house entryway. Blades hovered next to him, his previous nervousness all but vanished. Dani waved from his cockpit.

"Right there." Hulk grunted with a smug grin. Kade's eyes widened and he backed away towards his partner.

Heatwave himself growled and took up a defensive position in front of the Burns family, Frankie and her father, and his own team. As a Rescue Bot he didn't have anything considered a weapon, but in a pinch his fire hose could be used as such. Now Chief's reluctance to say the Decepticon's name aloud made sense.

The Avengers new "friend" was the most infamous Cybertronian alive – Megatron! Were they completely crazy? Megatron couldn't be trusted!

"Heatwave." Chief Burns warned. The Avengers were already forming a protective semi-circle in front of the black and grey mech. If Heatwave didn't stand down he might end up hurt.

"I'm not taking any chances with him!" The fire truck mech snapped stubbornly. "You don't know what he's capable of!"

The black and grey mech took a step back in the hopes of lowering Heatwave's bubbling aggression. Blades had been surprisingly easy to convince of his change – this mech was obviously going to take a little more work.

He cast a glance at Blades and Dani, a silent request for them to try and convince Heatwave of his new, benign character. Heatwave was plainly not going to listen to him, so perhaps he would listen to his own team mate.

Blades landed and let Dani out before reverting out of vehicle form. "Heatwave, it's okay! We just talked with him and he's totally different. If he were still a Decepticon, he would have tried to hurt someone by now. And he hasn't!"

"He's not 'Megatron' anymore, either. He goes by Galvatron now." Dani supplied.

Heatwave frowned. When it came to anything scary or intimidating, Blades was usually the first to run for the hills (usually accompanied by screams of terror), and no one was more scary or intimidating than the Decepticon leader. So if Blades was alright with him…

The fire truck mech sighed and lowered his hose and the protective semi-circle of heroes promptly disbanded back into their previous loose, relaxed grouping.

He watched tensely as Cody and Frankie approached Galvatron curiously, intrigue shining brightly in their eyes. They'd never seen a Decepticon before and especially not one who had renounced his old life as a killer and vowed to become a protector. Even Graham and Doc Green let their curiosity get the better of them and approached.

"Whoa…You're big!" Cody said.

Frankie laughed. "Cody, he's a Cybertronian. Of course he's big."

"Well his large size and aerodynamic build must mean he turns into some form of flying machine. Just not Earth-based, obviously." Doc Green noted as he examined Galvatron thoroughly. The rocky-looking additions to his armor plating puzzled him – Cybertronian armor was metallic, not carbon-based as these strange additions were.

Graham voiced his unspoken question. "Where did those come from?" He gestured vaguely at his shoulder and head, where the rocky armor additions were most plain.

Galvatron's gaze faltered and dropped.

"Let us put it this way: Those alterations to his armor are a…reminder of sorts of a mistake he made not too long ago." Thor said while glancing at the mech apologetically. "Iron Man tried to remove them but discovered they were melded to his original armor."

"Can't take 'em off." Tony summed up grimly. "I gave it my best shot but….Those alterations aren't going anywhere anytime soon." He shrugged.

Wasp lightly tapped Galvatron's shin with her foot. "Pst! Show 'em your holo-form!" She suggested. A less-than-subtle grin was plastered on her face.

"What's a holo-form?" Kade wondered. Heatwave had never mentioned anything about what they were, nor had any of the other Rescue Bots for that matter.

He jumped when the giant ex-Decepticon folded down into his vehicle mode. From around the other side of the aircraft stepped a human with black hair, black Kevlar body armor, red eyes, combat boots and a dark grey trench coat. There was a scar on his cheek and a strange device sat on his wrist.

"Cool!" Frankie cried. "I didn't know you guys could do that!"

T'Challa smiled. "Ah, but there's more to it. That wrist-mounted energy shield isn't the only thing he has." He turned and winked. "If you would, Galvatron."

The holo-form removed its trench coat. With a rustling of feathers the black wings were revealed in their full glory, the black and silver armor adorning the main wing arch glittering under the artificial lighting of the fire house.

"He's got wings!" Dani exclaimed in shock.

"Noble!" Cody gasped. "Can you use them?"

Galvatron seemed abashed at all the attention he was getting at once. All this shock and awe over a pair of wings? Were they that unusual? Nevertheless, the onlookers' enthusiasm eventually jumped to him whether he wanted it to or not.

"I've only had one lesson with Angel thus far, but…" He said.

He stretched his wings out and with a loud whoosh was airborne, hovering a little unsteadily about ten feet off the floor. He dropped back down after the quick demonstration was done and neatly folded the wings behind his back once more.

Cody and Frankie smiled and clapped. Towards the back, Chief Burns nodded approval. Chase remained silent, content to simply observe the former Decepticon leader.

"Okay, maybe I was…wrong about you earlier." Heatwave admitted grudgingly as the holo-form flickered out and Galvatron switched out of vehicle mode.

The black and grey mech nodded understandingly. "Your mistrust was not unexpected, Heatwave. I have to learn the long, hard way that trust cannot be given – it must be earned. I cannot blame you for being wary of me."

Kade cracked a grin. "Well for an ex-'Con you're okay in my book. Anyone who can get 'Wave trigger-happy with his hose by just standing there….That's impressive."

"Hey, hey!" Blades piped up. "Is it true you used to be a gladiator in Kaon? And that you knew Optimus before the War broke out?"

Dani rolled her eyes at the second question. "Oh come on, that one has to be just a rumor, Blades. There's no way that –!"

Galvatron shrugged. "No, both are true actually. If you wanted to make a name for yourself in Kaon you had to be either a warrior or a politician. I chose the former seeing as I had started as a miner and had no hope of reaching the latter right away. It was in part thanks to those fights that I saw the corruption in our society, but again there was nothing I could do on my own."

Graham smiled. "You needed help. So how did you meet Optimus?"

Boulder silently returned from his search of the tunnels with Vision in tow, the android sticking close to the large green bulldozer. Both knew not to interrupt. Cody and Frankie drew closer to the giant mech, not wanting to miss a word.

"Orion, as he went by then, I happened to meet more by chance than design. He was an archivist in Iacon. I was there for a fight in one of their 'official' arenas.

He turned to face Iron Man. "His natural curiosity rivaled yours, and still does. That's what made him such a superb archivist. Always asking questions, especially about history and culture. He got the culture questions easily through Jazz, who was a cultural investigator."

Tony stared back, comprehension growing in his eyes. "Cultural investigator….No…He was a reporter! Ha!" He broke into laughter. "That explains his people skills. Well, now we totally need to introduce him to Parker."

"That would be the human equivalent, yes." Galvatron agreed. He glanced behind him with a hint of amusement. "But might I say you are lousy at keeping hidden!"

A stifled curse was heard seemingly coming from nowhere. "Aw come on mech! Ya ruined the surprise!"

Kade yelped and hid behind Heatwave's legs. His eyes were round in fright. "H-Heatwave! The air's talking! Why's the air talking?"

The "air" beside Galvatron shimmered like a mirage to reveal a transparent blue, black and white mech with speakers on his legs, a blue band over his optics, and a guitar in his hands. His expression was that of someone annoyed yet entertained nonetheless.

Jazz approached Heatwave and knelt down to address his smaller partner.

"Boo." He grinned.

Kade's scream was probably heard halfway across the island.

Still screaming at the top of his lungs, Kade half-tripped, half-ran for the lift to the fire house's upper floors in a mad panic, all the while shrieking "Ghost! Robot ghost in the fire house!"

Jazz sniggered and playfully waved as the fireman vanished upstairs.

"You know what you are, Kade Burns? Big chicken that's whatcha are!" He teased, mimicking chicken noises and waving him arms like stubby chicken wings. It was a wonder he managed that – he was laughing to the point where optic fluid was trickling out from behind his blue optic band.

Everyone in the fire house broke out laughing. Kade's fear of the supernatural was well-known amongst the Rescue Bots and his family. Apparently the specter had known about it and played it for all it was worth.

Jazz turned his attention back to the one who had blown his cover. "How'd ya even know I was there?"

Galvatron smirked. "Invisible is not the same thing as inaudible, Jazz. I would have thought that as a saboteur you would be a little quieter. Isn't that how you avoided Soundwave aboard my ship?"

Jazz snickered and winked. "Nope. Ducts."

Before Galvatron could get even a startled word out, an alarm began blaring. The four different colored Autobot crests on the wall, each representing a Rescue Bot, were flashing with a sense of urgency. You didn't need to be a hero or an emergency responder to know that that sound almost always meant trouble.

Stark was the first jump into action, hacking every possible piece of surveillance equipment on or around the island with help from both Jarvis and Vision to find the source of the problem. It didn't take them very long.

"A.I.M soldiers in the lab?" He growled. "What could they possibly want?" The inventor turned an inquisitive eye to the island's head scientist. "Is there anything in there or on the computer server that could be weaponized or utilized as a weapon?"

"There is the weather machine, over two dozen tracers, a shrink ray. A few other things." Doc Green admitted. "Trex is still there, but I upgraded his firewalls so that no one could hack him again, or use him to hack the server."

The Avengers knew what the head scientist was talking about thanks to a detailed dossier on the island and its technology. At the very least the robotic T-Rex would keep A.I.M busy until they got there, which would only take a few minutes. That was the beauty of an island – everything was in easy reach.

Cap raised his shield. "Avengers, Assemble!"

"Rescue Bots, rolls to the rescue!" Heatwave proclaimed.

Their human partners tried to get into their respective vehicles, only to find that the doors wouldn't budge.

"Chase?" Chief Burns demanded.

"Apologies, Chief, but this mission is too dangerous for you and your family to assist on." The police car responded curtly. "A.I.M is not a group to be trifled with. Their technology is dangerous and unstable. I have no desire to see you or any member of your family injured."

There was no arguing with Chase when he used that tone. The Burns' backed away from their partners dutifully.

"Cody. Command center." Chief Burns ordered. "Help them any way you can."

The boy nodded. "On it, Dad!" He ran back to the lift with Frankie and Doc Green at his heels.

With a rumble of engines the four emergency vehicles, a black and grey aircraft, and their new temporary human partners exited the fire house. Only Jazz remained behind, knowing his presence would cause too many raised eyebrows, especially with Griffin Rock's notoriously nosey reporter, Huxley Prescott.

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Griffin Rock Laboratory was situated on the slopes of Mount Griffin, halfway built into the rocks to protect it from harsh storms. But it hadn't been built to withstand a full-blown assault from A.I.M. Its glass windows were cracked and smoke billowed out. A.I.M ships hovered above the lab, and down below in the houses near the base of the mountain civilians were in panic.

"Carol, Thor, Galvatron – chase those A.I.M ships as far away from civilians as you can." Cap requested over the Avengers frequency. "We don't want them getting caught in the crossfire. Ant-Man, Panther, Vision, scout ahead with Chase. We need to know precisely what they're here for."

[Consider it done.] Thor replied. He and his two flying comrades each chose one of the three A.I.M dropships.

[Of course.] Panther answered. He, Ant-Man, and Chase snuck their way to a side entrance on the east side of the lab and vanished inside while Vision sank below ground to check the sublevel vaults for A.I.M soldiers.

"Everyone else – inside. Let's kick these A.I.M soldiers out before they can do any more damage to the place."

[Many of the items in there are sensitive in nature.] Doc Green interspersed. [Try to avoid collateral damage if you can, Avengers.]

[We'll be careful, Doc. Don't worry.] Iron Man reassured him. He smirked when Galvatron went nose-to-nose with his assigned A.I.M dropship in an effort to intimidate the pilot into fleeing. He had no weapons in his altered vehicle form so he was relying on its scary appearance alone.

It was surprisingly effective. He could almost hear the pilot shriek as he turned the ship around and fled back over the ocean in the direction he'd come from.

[Nice going, big guy.] Wasp complimented. [But it's not gonna be that easy all the time.]

The black and grey aircraft gave the equivalent of a "well duh" snort. Intimidation only took one so far in a battle. He'd gotten lucky with that pilot – many humans were far braver.

He turned his attention over to the ship that Thor was dealing with. The lightning-summoning Asgardian was getting pummeled by a constant barrage of energy shots from the ship. Ms. Marvel's ship shot past it as it fled, smoking holes in its sides betraying her powerful photon blasts. The energy-manipulator grinned and "kicked back" in the air.

Galvatron was confused at this. "Aren't you going to help Thor?"

She snorted. "Please. He's just letting them hit him to create a false sense of security. Those shots aren't even hurting him. He's simply biding his time for a good enough opening."

Just then the ship's guns apparently ran out of whatever ammo they ran on or shorted out – honestly who could say? – leaving the Asgardian free to strike back unhindered. One lightning bolt later and the third and last A.I.M dropship limped off into the distance.

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Inside the lab was a different story. A.I.M soldiers had holed up in strategic points throughout the extent of the building. Chase's scout group was pinned by an unmanned gun turret erected by four A.I.M goons when they'd discovered the Avengers' involvement.

He activated his comm. link. "Boulder? We are in need of assistance! What is your current position and heading?"

In reply, the stone and metal wall behind them buckled as Boulder slammed it with his bladed scoop. Hulk and Heatwave stood beside him, both looking a little over eager for a brawl.

Two of the A.I.M soldiers near the turret made a rush for it to upgrade its firepower upon realizing they were outnumbered. Heatwave raised his hose and unleashed a torrent of high pressure water that knocked them away from the turret and shorted the device out in the process.

Hulk took his cue and leapt for the malfunctioning turret, raising both fists and slamming them down on the device, crushing it in an instant. The four A.I.M soldiers understood the game was up and fled further into the recesses of the lab where they could regroup with others.

"Oh no you don't!" Hulk bellowed. The green gamma creature leapt again and brought his fists down onto the floor, causing it to rupture from the force and upheave, tossing the fleeing soldiers off their feet and into the air. They fell with soft thuds onto the hard ground, knocked unconscious.

"First rule with A.I.M, Rescue Bots: Never let them regroup. They're a bigger pain in groups than on their own." Iron Man said.

Chase nodded and forged ahead with his scout party.

[Boulder, is there any way you can use your sonar to map out A.I.M's positions in the lab?] Graham demanded over his comm. link. [That way they'll know where the biggest fortifications are – wherever those are might help us find out what they're after.]

"Like the way I located Chief and Chase in the lead mine?" Boulder asked. "Great idea, Graham!"

He lifted his bladed scoop and slammed it down onto the floor, activating his powerful seismic imaging system and waiting for the reverberations to come back and give him a reading. When the first came back rather fuzzy he performed the action once more, receiving a much cleaner image.

"Well?" Blades pressed.

"They're holed up in the Best Left Forgotten section of the vaults! That's where the shrink ray was stored! Doc's shrink ray is what A.I.M is here for!"

Blades whimpered. He remembered the shrink ray and dreaded what A.I.M intended to do with it. But to stop them meant going down there and possibly facing the Scientist Supreme of A.I.M or maybe even MODOK….

"Then let's get down there!" Heatwave growled impatiently. He activated his comm. link and contacted the fliers stationed outside. "Guys, A.I.M is after Doc Green's shrink ray in the Best Left Forgotten section of the vaults."

[We're on our way.] Galvatron said.

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"Where is it? Where?" The Scientist Supreme snarled. His underlings were busy ransacking the place in search of the shrink ray they were there for. So far they had not found it, though they had found many other things that might be of use – the little tracer machines might be handy if they were reprogrammed, but the weather machine was primitive compared to their own pilfered technology; too prone to malfunction.

"Hurry! Before the –"

"Hey! Supreme Bee Keeper!" A snarky voice taunted. "Can't hit what you can't see!"

An arrow zipped past and impaled the floor near to his feet, the head breaking open and releasing a cloud of billowing, blinding smoke. The soldier nearest the Scientist Supreme let out a frightened shriek as he was pulled into the smoke by a shadowy figure, while another cried out in pain as something round and disc-like whacked him in the back of the head.

With a growl of mingled irritation and anxiety the Scientist Supreme whipped out an EMP gun, pointing it randomly into the smoke cloud and firing repeatedly in the hopes of hitting something. Bigger targets were easier to hit, and he knew about the strange transforming rescue vehicles.

The smoke cleared just enough for him to make out one of those "Transformers" as the public in New York had taken to calling them. It was the helicopter mech. He aimed, fired off the EMP gun, and the helicopter yelped and fell with a crash.

"Blades!" Wasp cried. He wasn't offline – just unconscious from the system crash. "Galvatron! Get him out of here!"

In a flash the big mech had slung the unconscious flier over his shoulder and stormed out of the lab.

Heatwave had flown into a rage. His friend had been hurt and this crook was going to pay for that. He had more than enough water in his reserve tanks and was releasing all of it at the Scientist Supreme, forcing the twisted human onto the ground in a flurry of choked coughs.

"Heatwave. That is enough." Chase said upon returning. In his hands he held the shrink ray that A.I.M had come there for.

The fire truck mech didn't look happy about it, but he let the man get back to his feet and hack some of the water out of his lungs. He hadn't meant to hurt him anyway – just put the fear in him. And to give the man good reason to leave, he growled threateningly at him.

But A.I.M's Scientist Supreme was not about to go down without a fight. He knew these particular Transformers weren't armed with weapons, and the EMP gun had been very effective on the flier. The only bad thing was it would take time for the gun to recharge. He would need to resort to other means.

He holstered the EMP gun and brought out what looked like a freaky grenade, tossing it into the clustering of heroes and machines. There was a bang and a bright flash. When the glare died down his opponents were all blinking blindly.

They all cried out iterations of "I can't see!" as they desperately called out to each other to determine their positions in the room.

"Everyone! Calm down!" Cap barked. "That was a flash grenade. Until it wears off use your other senses. Remember what Galvatron said earlier to Jazz? Invisible is not the same as inaudible! Use your ears, not your eyes!"

[Cap's right! You can do it, guys!] Cody reassured eagerly.

T'Challa nodded and angled his head this way and that. His enhanced senses would allow for greater accuracy along with Vision and the Rescue Bots. They would be the ones to determine targets.

Chase and Boulder were the first to succeed. Both folded down into vehicle form and drove right for their target, forcibly backing him into a corner where he would be easier for the others to find. Heatwave completed the vehicular barricade, leaving the man with no place to go.

"Ant-Man! Over here!"

The size-changer stalked his way over to the three vehicles. They moved slightly to let him in. He heard the Scientist Supreme unholster the EMP gun and knocked it neatly out of his hand, the gun clattering to the floor. Just to be sure, he kicked it across to the other end of the room where it slid under the shelves.

"If I'm right, you're out of tricks." Iron Man guessed smugly.

A.I.M's Scientist Supreme snarled angrily. "I told MODOK that coming here was a mistake! I told him!"

"Chase, you got any cuffs in there?" Hawkeye asked. "The flash grenade's effects are wearing off. I'm starting to get my sight back."

"In here." Chase replied, clicking his trunk open and letting the archer take them. "You will need quite a few of them. There are many more A.I.M soldiers scattered around the lab."

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Transporting the unconscious Blades back to the fire house had been the easy bit. Now Galvatron had to deal with a worriedly irate Dani Burns who was currently giving him an audial-full while she waited for her friend to awaken.

"Simmer down lil' lady. He got Blades back here as fast as he could, and he's not hurt." Jazz attempted to calm the pilot down. "He'll come to. Don't ya worry."

At that moment Dani saw the rather hurt expression on the giant black and grey Cybertronian. She felt guilty now. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking this out on you – you helped. You brought him here. I just…I don't want anything to happen to him."

Her guilt vanished when Galvatron smiled faintly. "For someone who would run at the sight of his own shadow in a dark hall, Blades was very brave to join the rest of us in the vaults. He was hesitant – afraid – to and yet he followed us anyway."

He turned and started off to bunker lift. Blades was being kept below where most of the team's medical equipment was, and the remaining members of Dani's family were keeping a close eye on him. "I will see if I can wake him for you."

She smiled and nodded. "I'll come with you."

She jogged after him and joined him on the lift just as it started to lower down. He could detect trace amounts of fear pheromones coming from her, but they were scarcely noticeable. She wasn't afraid – merely anxious.

The lift jolted to a stop and let them both off. Cody and Frankie were up on the only occupied medical berth where Blades was lying. Doc Green was below them on the floor running over the data from a full system diagnostic to ensure that Blades was indeed uninjured. A.I.M was known for packing hidden surprises in many of their weapons and gadgets, often in the form of viruses.

He put Dani up on the medical berth so she could be nearer her friend. Just her presence there seemed to ease the mild tension in the room.

"Blades?" She asked quietly. "Blades, can you hear me?"

A low groan came from the mech as he sat up. "What did that bee keeper hit me with? I feel all woozy."

"You were hit with an electro-magnetic pulse. It luckily didn't fry any of your internal circuitry, but it clearly affected your equilibrium sensors – which is why you feel woozy. Don't move around too much until Iron Man gets back." Doc Green advised. "His knowledge of Cybertronian inner workings far surpasses my own."

"Aw. Thanks, Doc." A voice said from behind. "I'll have Blades up and about in no time."

The armored inventor flew over to the medical berth and set to work on the dizzy mech. Behind him were the remaining Avengers and Rescue Bots, all unharmed. Chase had the shrink ray in his hands which he handed to Doc Green.

Frankie turned her attention to the Avengers. "Trex wasn't hurt was, he?"

"Your robotic watchdog is fine." Thor said. "He is busy checking the lab for any 'gifts' that A.I.M may have left behind. Vision is waiting for the report."

The dark-skinned girl gave a relieved sigh. Trex was like a giant pet dog to her. She couldn't bear to lose him.

"There. All fixed!" Iron Man declared. "Feel any better?"

Blades grinned. "Better than ever! What'd you do?"

"Your equilibrium sensors were a little misaligned to begin with. I just re-aligned them and patched up the minor damage that EMP did to them. Now you shouldn't feel dizzy while flying. That may help with your 'fear of heights' thing you have. Better to be comfortable doing something you aren't used to."

Blades stared at him. "Wow. You're good!"

"No kidding. Even I didn't notice that misalignment!" Dani said. "And I do weekly maintenance on him!"

"Well the misalignment was so minor that I don't think even he noticed it. He probably thought it was his own fear making him suffer from mild vertigo in flight. You have to be around 'Bots for a long time to notice little things like that."

Hawkeye snorted. "What he means is that he learned directly from Knockout and Ratchet. Red's got a little more experience with fliers than the Mr. Grumpy Grills does."

Chief Burns brought the subject back to the shrink ray. "Back to the point. What do we do with the shrink ray? If we keep it here A.I.M might just come back for it at a later date."

"I'll send to specs to Doc for a special holding unit for it once we get back to the Mansion. Keeping that thing out in the open – even in a sealed vault – is too risky. A.I.M is really good at breaking and entering."

"And the A.I.M soldiers?"

T'Challa took over: "We have contacted S.H.I.E.L.D and they are en route to retrieve them. ETA was estimated at around one hour. They have all been disarmed and restrained, and Trex is guarding them. You should have no trouble with them."

"Then I think it's time to get going." Cap said. "We don't want to attract unwanted attention."

OoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooooooooooooOoooooooooooooooo

"You guys better come back to visit again soon!" Cody called out. "Frankie demands it!"

"And you better give me a chance to fly that Quinjet!" Dani hollered. "It's on my bucket list!"

Ms. Marvel waved through the windshield from the pilot's chair in the slowly rising Quinjet. Galvatron elevated off the fire house pad and joined the other vehicle. He couldn't wave like this, but he flashed his glowing purple lateral lines at the tiny group below.

Two engines roared fully to life and their owners flew into the distance.

"You did good." Jazz commented.

"See? That wasn't so bad was it, big guy?" Wasp said over her ID card. "Heck, I think they like you."

There was silence for a moment on the other end. [They…do?] He sounded surprised. They had been friendly to him, that much he had picked up on, but like him? Heatwave's reaction had been almost reassuring as opposed to everyone else's acceptance.

[Yeah!] An all-too-familiar spunky female voice said over the comm. frequency. [They totally like you! Jazz knows what he's talking about!]

"Miko, get off this frequency." He growled. "And Jazz, Stark changes the access codes for a reason. Quit handing them out like treats."