Transformers Prime

Rise of the Maximals

Preface: So here I go again, lets hope I can continue this plot bunny. This is a post Prime Movie AU with a few.. minor tweaks. Prime didn't sacrifice himself, and Megatron didn't quit being a Decepticon.. he fled to parts unknown to recover from his possession.

I'm also time skipping a few years into the future. Raf is fresh out of high school and taking online college courses. Miko and Jack are sworn in as government agents (mostly a formality.) Autobots have been busy rebuilding and the Decepticons have been in hiding. The Predicons have been.. aloof. Only occasionally being spotted but not really interacting. I'm be bringing in some familiar G1 faces/personalities.. Like Wheeljack being back to his quirky mad science thing.

Disclaimer: I do not own transformers or the characters from the show, I only own my OCs and the plot.

Rating: T, but probably more geared to young adults. The story will touch upon transgender stuff, some violence, Adult topics/situations (but no depictions), Language and large amounts of ham.

If you find any lemons, please put them in the bin at the front desk. Lemonade will be served shortly after. Limes will be fired from a cannon, and flames will be used to warm my toes.

Chapter 1

Jack sighed heavily as he Leaned against the side of the building that had been recently labeled as "New Autobot City Headquarters." Miko was, as usual, late to pick him up. She was probably taking the newest arrival on a unnecessary tour of the Military base slash home away from home on Earth. He smiled a little at the memory when Arcee came back with the news. There were building the city as a sort of embassy, that would be permanently linked to another city on Cybertron via Spacebridge. The US government almost didn't want to let them, but Prime was able to negotiate a reasonable compromise. Namely there are a lot of bots already headed to Earth, who need repairs and fuel before they can head back to Cybertron, space bridge or not. Secondly, there are many dangerous Cybertronian artifacts still littered across the world that need collecting, cataloging and possibly quarantining. Though Prime did sweeten the deal by handing over some communications tech. NASA was rather happy from what he heard.

Which brought Jack to his current situation. Perceptor had come out of hiding a few months ago, and was just now stationed here for the purpose of analyzing some of the lesser known items they've uncovered. The timing of his arrival couldn't be much better. Just this morning the satellites noted an anomaly at the ruins of Darkmount, and they should have been on their way half an hour ago!

Mercifully, Miko and Perceptor finally arrived. The latter had taken the odd choice of a half track research truck as his alt mode, but at least it had plenty of room inside as the door popped open. "I apologize for extended tardiness. However, Miko insisted that we acquire some form of sustenance for you and her for your consumption upon arrival at our destination." Percepter spoke blandly.

Jack smirked at Miko who seemed unamused as he got in and buckled up. "Percy wont let us eat on the ride over." She huffed.

"Can you blame him? I've seen you eat. Even Bulkhead wont let you do that." Jack grinned. "Anyways, we're lucky that whatever the satellites are picking up isn't really moving, so we don't need to be in too much of a hurry. So don't try and break any speed limits."

"Although Miko has attempted to encourage me to violate your speed safety regulations, I can assure you it is not my inclination, nor advisable to do so with my current choice of Alternate form." Perceptor droned.

"He had to pick a vehicle design that can barely get to highway speeds.." Miko grumbled. "You know you sound like a speak and spell when you talk, right?"

"I was unaware of this coincidental occurrence. However, my speech is a result of the deletion of algorithms that construe tone and emotion in my voice. The crude, but educational device I have now researched by utilizing your planets.. rather remarkable information network, sounds like me because of its primitive design and programming."

Jack blinked. "Why would you delete that? Wouldn't that affect your personality?"

"In order. To optimize my data processing ability, and no. My personality remains intact as the programming only acts as a form of translator between my spark and my mind." Percy responded quickly.

"Don't get him started about the mind and spark thing... he can go on for hours and hours about it." Miko grumped as she looked into the bag of take out food.. reaching in to snitch a fry.

"Please do not consume fuel while inside my interior, Miko." Perceptor reminded.

Jack chuckled. "So, how are you liking Earth?"

"It is endlessly facinating. And difficult to surmise where to begin analysis. However, more pressing matters concerning Darkmount are of a higher priority. At minimum, it will be an excellent example of a Cyberformed area, with the intact non-Cyberformed terrain and lifeforms nearby to use as a sort of reference point for future understanding. I am certain that the termination point of the Cyberformed area will be exceedingly interesting to analyze."

"I'm.. sure it will be.. Ah here's the checkpoint." Jack replied as he and Miko dug out their ID badges.. and flashed them to the guards when they came to the window.

As the gate was being opened one of them spoke. "Hazmat suits are in the shed, if you think you need them. But I'm told you shouldn't if you just avoid falling in the glowing blue stuff."

Miko rolled her eyes as Jack responded. "We're well aware the dangers of exposure to Energon. No need to remind us."

"Very well, Agent Darby. You may go now." The man waved him through the gate.

The remainder of the ride continued on in silence, until they arrived at the ruined tower's base. Miko hopped out and cheerfully yelled "finally!" as she dug out a burger and some fries before handing out the remainder to Jack. Perceptor then transformed and began surveying the area. "Fascinating. What exactly were the details of the anomaly?"

"Thats the odd part, something about an increase in heat and nighttime florescence. Flyover didn't reveal anything obvious, so we needed an expert to take a look at it. For all we know, there could be a weapons cache cooking off underground." Jack supplied as he dug out his PDA and pulled up the report before sending the file to Perceptor's datapad.

"Hmm, certainly unusual." Perceptor said as he glanced at the data and committed it to memory. "Also unusual.. I'm seeing a very flat base level.. with no apparent entrance to the substructure. Considering the height Darkmount possessed, it should have extended fairly deep underground, and have access ports for the lower levels." Perceptor paused abruptly as he looked from one side to the other. "Are you certain the previous measurements are accurate? The radius of Cyberformed matter at the base is larger than reported by at minimum 3 feet."

"Well if they used the satellites to measure it.. it could be off by around that much.. but we weren't there when they did the measuring." Miko supplied between gulps of burger.

Perceptor nodded after a moment and resumed his examining and scanning of the ruin. "Just as I suspected.. there is a deeper structure.. but no entrance."

Miko squeezed between a twisted hole in the ruing to join Perceptor in his examination of Darkmount's ground floor. "Maybe they sealed it up intentionally?"

"Possible. And not unlikely. Especially if Shockwave was indeed stationed here. He had a preference to having multiple secret labs."

"So its likely theres a secret entrance somewhere around here? Do you think the readings we got earlier indicate it being used?" Jack asked as he stumbled in after Miko.

"Again, possible, but also likely he made it as an emergency storage. Having to blast his way in would also prevent other Decepticons from snooping where he did not want them. However, I do not think the readings indicate an active lab." Perceptor supplied.

"So what now?" Jack asked.

Perceptor paused a few moments before replying. "Well, the most straight forward solution.. is to target an area where the plating is thinnest and open a hole with an energetic weapon. Please stand back."

The millisecond Jack and Miko got behind cover, Perceptor fired his shoulder mounted weapon at the floor.. cutting a s very precise hole before giving it a brief kick to knock the 'plug' free. "How very fascinating."

"What do you see?" Miko asked as she approached to peek down the hole.

"I am uncertain. The machinery is unfamiliar.. however something very similar to Synth-En is coursing through the pipes which extend..." Perceptor paused to jump down the hole. "For several miles before the curve of which terminates the distance at which I can measure them."

"That shouldn't be right.. the Omega Lock only struck this spot... this sort of expansion shouldn't be here." Jack frowned.

"Unless the cons were really good about building tings quickly." Miko added.

"Analysis of the wall structure indicates a different possibility. That the purpose of the machinery is to expand the tower's base infrastructure. Further analysis is needed to know for certain, as well as an exploration into the length of the tunnels. The increase of heat could be a result of a still actively expanding network. I would suggest ground penetrating radar to map out the number and extensiveness of the tunnels. Though I highly recommend avoiding damage to the pods along the tunnel walls.. they seem to be reservoirs of Synth-En" Perceptor droned as he pulled himself out of the hole. "In the meantime, I will take some soil samples for further research before we depart and make our report."

"Got it, we'll wait by the shed then." Jake sighed as he walked away. He just knew something bad was going to come from this.

Meanwhile, miles away, at a place called Windchester Ranch, Joan Maher was stuck in a conundrum. She had come out all this way, to take pictures of farm animals and wildlife to sell in her stock photography store. Today, one of her friends, Seth Windchester, mentioned that they got a bit of weird looking stuff growing in the back corner of their land, and that it might make for an interesting picture. Of course, now that she was there, she wasn't sure if she should call the CDC, or fish and game.

Seth, for all his good points, wasn't terribly bright sometimes. Just because his cows weren't dead, didn't mean it was harmless... or normal. But he never was someone who openly said much about himself or other people, and more than willing to jump to someone's defense if he felt that they needed it. Case in point, herself. He never said a word about how she dressed when she was still in the early parts of transitioning from a man, hell, he chewed out more than a few he caught talking about her behind her back. Simple man he may be, but he had a way to cutting through to the core of things and smashing people with their own logic. It was like her mom used to say, "You can't be smart at everything."

Still. Seth was right, it was interesting to look at. Strange, metallic looking plants jutting up from the ground, surrounding a large pool of swirling yellowish fluid.. tiny blue trickles running down into it and sinking below the yellow. For a moment, she was reminded of the bright colors found in Yellowstone, but the weird metallic stuff didn't match up. What was more, she could swear she saw something swimming in the yellow murk.

"How long, has this been here, Seth?" Joan asked.

"Oh about... three years I reckon. Didn't have the yellow stuff at the time.. but it bubbled up on its own eventually. I didn't find out about till I drove over it with my four wheeler. Pop just told me not to mess with it, who knows what got buried out here by unscrupulous folk years ago." Seth replied. "As long as its not makin' the cows sick, he told me best not to talk about it. Last thing we need was a bunch of guys in suits shutin' us down for something that isn't even an issue. It sparkles kinda pretty at night though. I think its some kind of mineral thing.. but the 'net isn't much help in findin' out."

Joan nodded and crept closer, setting her tripod down. "I swear theres something swimming in it."

"Could be a turtle, or a catfish... I've seen catfish drag themselves over land to nearby ponds before." Seth offered. "I don't know how, the stuff isn't exactly pleasant to touch.. the blue stuff burnt my fingers good, wasn't about to touch the yellow."

"Got any mason jars you can spare? I kinda want to get some of this to take home.. if anything it might look interesting in a dark room... I also got a old friend who still talks to me.. he's a chemist now, he might be able to tell me how to find out what it is." Joan noted.

"I got a question though.. I see the blue runnin' into the yellow.. but ain't they supposed to make green? I never got why the stuff isn't green." Seth asked.

Joan shrugged. "Maybe the blue is just that much denser than the yellow stuff? Maybe theres something in the yellow thats metabolizing.. err eating whatever makes it blue? I don't really know."

Seth looked at Joan thoughtfully and then shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. Like how oil floats on water or something. I'll go fetch a couple of jars." Seth added before climbing on the back of his four wheeler.

Once Seth had sped off she took a moment to readjust the falsies she was wearing inside her bra.. the ride over there had jostled them out of position.. and it was starting to get uncomfortable. Once re-adjusted, she went back to examining the weird metallic plant like things. She could almost swear she could see a hint of circuitry inside them. "So very strange.. Maybe some undiscovered species of life bubbled up a couple years ago." She muttered to herself. She did faintly recall the glacier that broke off and let out a gusher of primordial ooze.. that hit the news years ago.

Joan was well entranced with taking a picture of one of the more 'flower like' growths whens he heard the distant rumbling of Seth's four wheeler.. followed by a splash of something in the yellow fluid. She turned around to try and spot what it was.. but it had vanished.. save from a ripple in the 'water' and a few yellow droplets that had briefly tingled as the struck her skin.

"Oh hey, I also got this ol' turkey baster we're gonna throw out. You can use to get some of tha' stuff without dippin' the jar in... Be cleaner anyways." Seth offered as he unscrewed the lids to the jars.

Joan smiled. "That'll work just fine. Thanks Seth." She grinned as she used to to 'slurp' up the fluid and deposit in the jars. And after about half an hour, she had half a jar of the blue, and a whole jar of the yellow. If only because the blue was only in trickling lines that were hard to suck up with the baster.

"You want a ride back, you want to walk?" Seth asked as he help Joan put her camera stuff back in the bag.

"I think I'll ride.. I don't want to be in this heat any longer than I have to." Joan nodded.

"Can't blame yah." Seth nodded as he saddled up and waited for Joan to get on. If'n you ever need anything, don' hesitate to call, okay? Me an Debbie worry about you sometimes, ya know?"

Joan smiled. "I will, that goes the same for you too." She chuckled as they started to round Seth's house and pull up to where she got parked. "So what brought that on this time?"

"Ah.. you know.. McGruger runnin' his yap about shit he don' know. Even Father Matthew has had about enough of it. I swear he actually got him mad last Sunday!"

Joan blinked, she wasn't really a church person, but she did know most of the folks who attended, and has met Father Matthew more than a few times. Father Matthew has the easy going attitude and patience of a saint. Getting him angry was about as easy as setting fire to an iceburg. "Do I want to know how?"

".. Not really. McGruger said some downright awful things.. that have no business being said, let alone repeated. I thought he could get better with time.. but.. he's only gettin' worse every day. Somthin' eatin' that man up inside. You don' hate like tha' without reason yaknow? Sheriff's worried he's gonna do something rash.. either to himself or someone else. I don' think he knows about.. Yaknow... that. But that don' mean he wont try and hurt other people just because." Seth supplied as Joan loaded her car up.

"I'll be careful, Seth. Say hi to Debbie for me when she gets home from the diner." Joan smiled as she climbed into her car and started up. Seth waved as Joan drove away.

Deep beneath the Earth, in a cramped room filled with monitors and machinery... a single screen flickered to life. ::Suitable test subject identified. Target Marked. Tracking Target. Beginning Phase One of backup protocol 90-66 Beta 01. Initialize Program: Key of Vector Sigma. Awaiting Authorization code.::

A seeming eternity passed before the screen flickered again. ::Remote access identified. User: Shockwave. Authorization code: Confirmed. Program initialized. Locking terminals.:: And with that the terminals went dark again, even as other machinery started to hum to life. Somewhere across the stars, Shockwave stared at his monitor screen. If he had lips, he would be smiling. "Your move, Perceptor."

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