"Look out!" SilverStorm yelled pushing Bumblebee out of the way of an air brigade missile fire. Bumblebee grunted as the two fell to the ground.
"Scrap!" She cursed, as she rose to a standing position helping Bee to his feet.
"Optimus we need to retreat, we can't fight like this much longer."
Optimus heard SilverStorms plea in his com link as he fought hand to hand with Megatron. He wasn't sure how long his team and the Decepticons had been fighting, it felt like hours since a reprieve. Megatron slammed a fist into Optimus's gut, causing him to stumble backwards.
"Out of focus Prime?!"
Optimus regained his posture, he was tired, and he knew his team was too. He unsheathed his sword swinging it at Megatron. Megatron's sword catching his, Optimus pushed hard, desperately trying to knock Megatron off balance.
"Give this up Megatron!"
Optimus growled at the warlord. Megatron merely chuckled with a huff as he pushed hard against Optimus. Optimus felt his feet beginning to give out beneath him as Megatron slowly but surely overpowered him. He caught glimpses of his Autobots fighting their hardest as the Decepticon forces bore down on them. Optimus suddenly released his tension against the warlord, ducking and diving out of his way as Megatron fell to the ground.
StarScream and Arcee were engaging one another as Bulkhead fought off Breakdown, StarScream sneered at Arcee as he swung his sharpened claws at her.
"Your forces are weak."
Arcee ignored his comments, her frustration mixed with exhaustion were beginning to weigh her down.
"Not as weak as you!"
She lunged forward planting a heavy blow to StarScream's chest, the seeker stumbled backwards.
"You'll pay for that!"
He aimed and launched a missile at her, Arcee's eyes widened as she dove out of the way.
SilverStorm and BumbleBee were still fighting back the vehicon forces when a sudden blast sent them all flying backwards. SilverStorm pushed herself back up to a standing position, her audio receptors rang and buzzed, as her vision was slightly blurred. She managed to make out BumbleBees form as the scout rose up, he wobbled slightly putting his hand to his head. SilverStorm shook her head, her anger was building.
"Optimus we have to retreat now!"
She practically yelled into the com link.
Optimus jerked his head to the side as SilverStorms voice hollered into his ear. He growled angrily at Megatron as he dodged a hit,
"Autobots retreat!"
He ordered his team as he managed to get past Megatron and ran to join his team members.
Megatron hissed as Optimus ran past him, though he would never admit to defeat he to was tired of this fight.
"Decepticons fall back!"
He demanded his troops.
SilverStorm fell to the back of the team as she fought off the troops trying to gain on them. StarScream dove out of the sky knocking her away from the team as the two struggled together, rolling across the ground.
"You idiot!"
She hollered as StarScream smirked swiping at her.
Optimus hadn't caught the incident behind him, a ground bridge opened in front of them as Optimus ushered his team in. He turned, noticing SilverStorm was now a few yards away, desperately trying to get away from StarScream.
"SilverStorm!"
He hollered to her.
SilverStorm heard Optimus call to her, she dodged StarScream only to have him grabbed her wing and throw her backwards.
"This fight is over StarScream!"
She nearly pleaded with the seeker to end their skirmish.
Megatron noticed StarScream was battling SilverStorm as a ground bridge to his ship appeared behind them.
"StarScream I order you to retreat!"
StarScream let out a low growl before letting go of the Wielder and diving into the portal. SilverStorm rose quickly making a running start toward Optimus and her portal home. Suddenly she felt something pulling her backwards. She grunted as her feet began to slide backwards. The portals whined loudly, it felt like her whole being was being sucked away. She fell to the ground grabbing at it, trying to crawl her way forward. She looked up to see Optimus running for her.
"Optimus help me!"
Optimus ran down the hill toward SilverStorm, the two portals were dueling each other for energy and SilverStorm power was adding to the battle as they seemed to be draining her power and pulling her into themselves. Optimus reached out,
"Grab my arm!"
The whining had grown louder, the force of power cause Optimus to brace himself against the current.
SilverStorm reached out trying to grab Optimus's arm, she was so close when a sudden burst of energy from the portal rang out and she was sucked in.
Optimus fell backwards in shock as the current subsided and the whining stopped. Dust rose in the air as silence fell.
"No"
SilverStorm tumbled through vortex, rolling over herself as the portal seemed to be intent on destroying her. When it finally spit her out, she found herself miles above the ground in the sky. She desperately tried to flap her wings,
"Come on!"
The ground came to faster and faster as she flapped her wings vigorously. Her one wing having been damaged in the tumble through the vortex, refused to cooperate as she tried to keep herself from hitting the hard ground. She managed to slow herself down just enough to not hit the ground hard though she hit it hard enough causing her to come to a rolling to a stop. SilverStorm breathed heavily as she quickly rose to a standing position, scanning the area around her.
"Where in the Pit am I?"
She wondered a few more feet looking around the open plain she had landed in. She reached to her com link.
"Optimus come in…Optimus do you read me...Does anyone read me?"
She grunted angrily as the coms only answer was static.
Her damaged wing was hurting and the toll from her experience was beginning to ebb on her. She shook her head trying to remain conscious as her knees gave out beneath her. She crashed to the ground putting her hands out in front of her to stop herself from falling flat on her face. SilverStorm sat back on her legs looking up into the sun,
"Help."
She whispered as she fell backwards into unconsciousness.
….
Ratchet worked quickly on the computer, desperately trying to pin point where SilverStorm could be.
"I don't understand, shouldn't she be in the shadow zone?"
Optimus looked to Jack, Miko, and Raph.
"Perhaps, though the teleportation seemed different this time."
Optimus felt scared, he was worried to death about SilverStorm, he had no idea where she was…or if she was even ok.
…
Unbeknownst to SilverStorm a young pair of eyes had watched her fall from the sky, they starred at her in bewilderment as she crashed into unconsciousness. Turning quickly and heading back into the woods, he ran as fast as his cheetah legs could carry him.
"Optimus! Optimus!"
Cheetor nearly ran straight into the gorilla.
"Whoa Cheetor slow it down!"
Optimus held his hands up, Cheetor panted,
"Sorry but you got to come see this!"
With that Cheetor turn and ran back through the woods, stopping a few hundred yards ahead to yell back to the Maximal leader.
"Well, are you coming or what?"
Optimus shook his head, at the young cheetah.
"Rattrap, head back to base. Let Rhinox know we will return shortly."
Rattrap clicked annoyedly,
"What do I look like a messenger?"
Optimus didn't have time to respond as the rat had already scurried off in the direction of the base. The gorilla leader made his way after Cheetor.
"A little respect around here wouldn't hurt nobody."
He murmured to himself as he cut through the forest coming out into the clearing to find Cheetor walking around a femme body. Cheetor cocked his head as he walked around sniffing her.
Optimus slowly approached,
"What...or who is it?" Optimus looked over the limp body, Cheetor shrugged
"I don't know, I think it's an angel. I saw her fall out of the sky from some sort of swirling green thing. Her wings are damaged see."
Optimus nodded, surveying the damage on the femmes body. He paused when he saw the Autobot insignia branded on her shoulder.
"Cheetor look."
Optimus placed his hand on her shoulder,
"Whoa! An Autobot?"
Cheetor was surprised and confused,
"I thought they were extinct?" Cheetor questioned, Optimus nodded,
"As did I."
Optimus looked up into the hot sun, the femmes armor was hot to the touch. No doubt a combination of the sun and the damage done to her internal systems.
"Quickly let's get her out of this energon field…and the sun"
Cheetor nodded as Optimus transformed into bot mode,
"I'll fly her back to base, keep pace with me."
Cheetor again nodded as Primal lifted the femme into his arms and took flight into the sky.
Cheetor ran beneath them,
"An Angel!" he panted as he ran.
…
Optimus laid the femme gently on the examination table, his arms burned slightly from carrying her hot armor.
"Why aren't we putting her in the healing chamber?"
Rhinox question when Optimus stepped back.
"Not yet, I want to run a scan on her first."
Rhinox put his hands on his hips,
"What in the name of Cybertron for? She is clearly damaged."
Optimus started typing on the computer as a scanner ejected from the ceiling,
"Cheetor said he saw her fall from the sky out of some kind of portal. Besides Autobot biology is different than ours."
Cheetor nodded, still in his beast form.
"Besides I think she's an angel!"
Dinobot and Rattrap looked at each other before giving Cheetor a glaring look.
"What?"
Cheetor shrugged as Rattrap shook his head,
"An angel really?"
Cheetor nodded, "Makes sense! She has wings!"
Rattrap just shook his head while he waved his hand. Cheetor rolled his eyes as he transformed standing next to Optimus.
"What's the word big bot?"
Optimus shook his head,
"I was right her biology is different than ours…to different. "
Cheetor whispered to himself,
An angel…"
Optimus shook his head as the scanner deactivated,
"I don't know about an angel, but she is defiantly not from our time. Perhaps she time traveled from the past or another dimension entirely."
Everyone was silent and still as they starred at Optimus, Optimus just rolled his eyes.
"Is it so strange? We time traveled, didn't we?"
Rhinox nodded slowly with a shrug.
"Guess that's true."
SilverStorm heard voices, not voices she recognized but a name, Optimus. She laid still listening to the conversation, his name again but a voice she did not recognize answered. This was a Decepticon trap, she reached her hands up over the shoulders kicking her legs under her, back flipping off the table energizing her hand in a defensive stance.
"Freeze cons!"
The Maximal's stood in bewilderment as SilverStorm glared at them. Her hands were illuminating a blue light,
"Deceptions? We are Maximal's can't you tell your symbols apart?"
SilverStorm furrowed her eyebrows, she focused her gaze on Dinobot and then to the others, a symbol branded them though she had never seen it before.
"What in the Pit is a Maximal?"
Optimus stepped forward, SilverStorm stepped back raising her hands higher. Optimus put his hands up and pointed to himself and the team,
"We are Maximal's, decedents of Autobots."
Rattrap couldn't help but quip in with his usually comments,
"Well most of us anyway."
He turned his smug look to Dinobot, whom simply growled his reply.
SilverStorm didn't move, she barely blinked.
Optimus ignored Rattraps antagonizing,
"Tell us who you are?"
SilverStorm was silent for a moment, taking in her surroundings.
"I am SilverStorm Pax, second in command to Optimus Prime. Also…his sister."
Everyone stood in stunned silence, except for Optimus.
"In other words, you're not from this...dimension."
SilverStorm kept a confused look, she had suspected so from the beginning when she landed.
Optimus stepped forward a bit more causing SilverStorm to flinch,
"Easy." He murmured to her, keeping his eye on her hands.
"My name is Optimus Primal. My ancestor is Optimus Prime. And no one is ever recorded in our history by the name SilverStorm…That I know of anyway. Plus, Cheetor told us that you fell out of the sky from some vortex."
SilverStorms eyes slid over to the bot with the cheetah print armor, she had to guess it was him of whom the bot before her spoke. She slowly lowered her hands as her mind began to clear.
"Two ground bridge portals when they cross streams they create a portal to the shadow zone but with my power it must have amplified that factor sending me here. Wherever here is."
Rhinox stepped forward, "Earth. A very early earth."
SilverStorm came to her full height, her hands deactivated as they now were handing clenched at her sides.
"Ok say I believe you, where can I locate two ground bridges?"
Optimus shook, shrugging as he spoke.
"Ground bridge portals are a thing of the past. The technology as long been forgotten and replaced with transwarp drives."
SilverStorm rubbed her head,
"This can't be happening. What do…transwarp drives run on? Like what fuels them?"
Optimus shrugged,
"Not sure really, a transwarp cell is responsible for its propulsion and navigation."
SilverStorm felt her spark grow heavy,
"Please tell me you all at least know what energon is."
Cheetor laughed his amusement,
"Of course we do, this planet is loaded with the stuff! There's even an energon field that if we are out in it for too long in bot form it could deactivate us."
SilverStorm raised an eyebrow,
"Energon field?"
Dinobot nodded along with the others,
"It is invisible, though its affects can be felt."
SilverStorm stood for a few minutes looking around the ship.
"I don't feel anything."
Optimus looked to Rhinox who responded,
"That's because of our rectifier coil. It keeps the energon field from coming into the ship."
SilverStorm was more confused now then ever, she nodded pretending to understand.
"Right got it."
She walked past the Maximal's toward the elevator that led outside.
"Where are you going?"
Optimus stepped in front of her. SilverStorm let a low growl of annoyance escape her,
"Outside."
She stated flatly. She had to clear her head this was all too much. Optimus side stepped to keep himself in front of her. SilverStorm was growing more and more agitated as Optimus blocked her exit.
"Move!"
She lowered her voice to deep tone, she narrowed her eyes at him. Optimus didn't budge.
"It is dangerous out there, no doubt your arrival was detected by the Predacons and…"
SilverStorm cut in at the mention of Predacons.
"Preds? You have Predacons here!?"
Her eyes were wide as history replayed in her mind, the enormous beasts. They had been extinct for centuries but Megatron's scientific department had created clones and sent them to earth to protect his energon reserves. Her thoughts were interrupted when Optimus spoke.
"Yes…"
He eyed her suspiciously,
"How do you know of Predacons?"
SilverStorm shook her head,
"Yes they were enormous beasts, they are practically indestructible."
Dinobot scoffed and he crossed his arms. Optimus rolled his eyes at him and he kept his attention on SilverStorm.
"I see, well Predacons here are…"
Dinobot had heard enough,
"I am a Predacons by descent."
SilverStorm almost laughed, the bot was taller then the others but not much taller then herself.
"You?"
She turned her gaze back to Optimus,
"Dangerous? I can guarantee you that I can take care of myself."
This time SilverStorm was not taking new for an answer as she used her height to Optimus to her advantage. She had about 6 inches on him as she forcibly moved him out of the way and jumped out the elevator. Optimus sighed as SilverStorm launched herself down the shaft.
"That's just Prime."
SilverStorm breathed in the fresh air as the wind blew steadily. Her spark was heavy as she gazed into the evening sky, tears formed in her eyes.
"Primal can be a bit…agitating at times."
SilverStorm whipped around nearly knocking into Dinobot in the progress.
"What do you want?"
Dinobot came to stand next to her.
"I understand how you feel."
SilverStorm scoffed,
"How could you possibly understand?"
The tears were threatening more then ever to spill over, she longed to be home. She missed her brother, her home, her family.
"Like I said I am Predacons by descent, I switched sides but even though I am now a "Maximal" I still am not. I can say I am whatever I want but the truth is I am a Predacons, always have been and always will be."
SilverStorm looked over at him,
"Our families or heritage doesn't define us. You choose your own path."
Dinobot let her words sink in as the two of the stood in the fading evening light.
The peace of the evening was soon disrupted by a loud bang and the shaking of the ground. Without a second thought Dinobot converted into his beast mode. SilverStorm looked to the direction of where the loud blast came from. She caught sight of beings coming toward them, they dodge in and out of the rocks firing blasts in her direction and at the Maximal's who had come out when the noise began. SilverStorm jumped back as a blast landed directly in front of her.
"Enough of this!"
She bent closer to the ground as she felt her power returning, a sudden surge ran through her as she let out a radial blast. The Predacons were thrown back and with terror ran for the hills. SilverStorm sighed as the Maximal's approached her.
"I feel the field, but not in the way you described."
She opened and close her fists, she felt a strong pull. She could sense the energon nearby. Without another word she turned and began to follow the pull.
Optimus shrugged to his team as they trailed behind her, they walked for a good distance when SilverStorm stopped suddenly causing Rattrap to run into Cheetor.
"Hey kids! Watch it!"
Cheetor ignored him as SilverStorm walked over to the ridge edge. Looking down they spied the massive pile of energon below. SilverStorm lowered herself into the pit gently. Her one wing was still damaged and of no use as she made her way through the energon crystals. The energon was different looking, not blue but more of a white with electricity flowing through it. She held out her hands as she could feel the energy being absorbed into her. The Maximal's stood watching as SilverStorm walked through the crystals,
"What is she doing?"
Cheetor whispered, the only response he got with Optimus telling him to shush. Cheetor sat down, bored of watching her walking around he jumped down into the pit to walk with her.
"What are you doing?"
Cheetor asked as SilverStorm seemed to be entranced in what she is doing. SilverStorm paused her steps breathing in deep,
"This energon is different then the energon on my home world but something about its properties, its reenergizing me. Replacing the energy, I lost during my transportation here." She turned to see the others sitting on the hill watching them.
"Didn't know I was so interesting."
Cheetor purred and laughed,
"You are different. Plus, you totally kicked pred butt!"
SilverStorm sighed,
"With all this energon there has to be a way for me to create a portal home."
She looked around her at the massive pile of crystals,
"Is there any technology here that can be converted into a portal?"
Cheetor shook his head,
"Not that I am aware of."
SilverStorm hands shook, she had never felt so defeated. She felt hopeless.
"You might want to join your friends on the ridge and tell them to step back."
Cheetor eyed her suspiciously but did as she said. Optimus approached the cat.
"What's wrong?"
Cheetor's face was creased with confusion.
"She said to get back."
Optimus looked over the edge of the ridge as the energon began to whine, the ground began to shake. Optimus backed away nodding to his team to follow suit.
SilverStorm felt the power surging in her as she began to yell her frustration. Her power exploded from her in pulsing waves as the energon around her imploded. The loud bang rang out as a bright light caused the Maximal's to cover their eyes from the light.
When the had subsided Optimus slowly crept over to the ridge. He scanned the burnt area. Small fires burn on the brush nearby.
"Is she dead?"
Cheetor crouched low to the ground. Optimus didn't know as they made their way down the ridge side. Everyone looked around. It would have appeared the Autobot was evaporated.
SilverStorm gasped in the air as she looked down below her, she had managed to absorb the whole explosion, she smirked to herself as she lowered herself to the ground.
"No, not dead."
Cheetor hissed and coiled back startled by SilverStorm sudden appearance.
"I have absorbed the whole explosion, I believe with this amount of energy surging through me I can create my own portal home."
Optimus looked at her, SilverStorms body was shaking from the absorption, her eyes glowed brightly. He watched as she breathed deep and sent a wave of energy out. A portal appeared for a moment in front of her. She turned to face the Maximal's.
"I pray you win your war, and may you be spared the pain of loss and grief."
With that SilverStorm flew into the portal, her damaged wing miraculously healed from the energy absorption.
Optimus and his team shielded their eyes as the portal vanished with a whine. Rhinox looked over to Optimus,
"All this energy activity is no doubt going to attract the Preds, we should get going."
Optimus nodded, though the events that had just happened still whirled in his mind.
Cheetor walked alongside Optimus back to the base,
"Think we will see her again?"
Optimus shook his head,
"I don't know Cheetor, I don't know."