Battle Lines

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

The Earth, a shimmering sphere in the void of space. A shining blue world, teaming with life and energy. Unbeknownst to the majority of its inhabitants, the human race, they are no longer alone. The Transformers have arrived.


In the deserts of New Mexico, several miles away from an American military base, a sleek, red-and-silver colored jet lanced through the air at subsonic speeds. After a few short minutes, it slowed and transformed.

Starscream looked at the surrounding landscape, content that no one had noticed him, then looked to the small scanner on his arm.

"Now, according to these readings, the Mini-Con pod should be right about here," Starscream noted to himself. Activating his wing blade, he said, "I'd best get started then."


Elsewhere, Mt. Saint Hilary silently stood: the shadows of the approaching sun further cloaking from view the Ark, the ship and temporary base of the Autobots. Outside the ship, two lone figures silently checked over the ship.

"Well, looks like we made it through intact," Smokescreen noted. "We can take off again whenever we want."

"Don't expect it to be too soon, Smokescreen," Red Alert reminded him. "Remember, we've still got a job to do here on Earth. We can't just up and leave."

"I remember, Red," Smokescreen replied. "I may be a little light-headed, but even I don't forget the important stuff."


Within the Ark, another Autobot, Scavenger, silently checked over the sensor grid. His young charges, Hot Shot and Blurr, were out on recon in the nearby area, leaving him inside the base with his commander, Optimus Prime, and the three Autobot-partnered Mini-Cons; Sparkplug, Rollbar and Jolt.

Suddenly, the sensors on his console beeped, alerting him to something on the scanners. As he quickly brought the anomaly up onscreen, Optimus Prime walked up to him and asked, "Something wrong?"

"Possibly," Scavenger replied. "Teletran 1 just picked up a Decepticon in a desert region several parsecs south of here." Turning to Optimus, he asked, "Should I call back Hot Shot and Blurr to investigate?"

Optimus took one look at the screen, studied it, and replied, "No. I'll go myself. Ask Sparkplug to wait for me in the gate room with my trailer. I have an odd feeling I may be needing it."


Starscream smiled to himself as he pulled his Energon blade from the ground, having already cut a circular pattern into it.

"Now then, how to handle the excess rock," he noted to himself aloud. "Right now, I wish Megatron had instructed Thundercracker to accompany us. His sonic cannons would've been useful at this point."

With a slight sigh, Starscream simply stomped at the ground, rendering the cut earth to rubble. He then lifted his foot and fired off with his jets at maximum burn, either reducing the remaining rubble to dust or blowing it out of the large hole. When he stopped, he looked down to see a large portion of a Mini-Con stasis unit exposed to the air.

"Here's hoping I get lucky," Starscream noted, looking into the large, artificial pit.

Suddenly, the roar of an engine from behind caught his attention. He turned and looked to see a modified semi-trailer, a yellow sports car literally linked to the back portion of the cab, roaring towards him. It halted, and the cab disconnected from the main body and transformed into a large, familiar robot. The sports car followed suit, transforming into a small, familiar Mini-Con.

"Optimus Prime," Starscream noted in greeting. "As I live and crunch data. It's been a long time."

Optimus extended a hand, and replied, "Too long, Starscream." As Starscream reciprocated, he said, "You of course remember Sparkplug."

"Of course," Starscream replied, the handshake ending. Turning to the Mini-Con, he asked, "How have you been, Tiny?"

Sparkplug smirked, and asked, "Will you ever stop calling me that?"

"Maybe, given time," Starscream replied. He turned to Optimus and asked, "I take it your ship's computer detected me."

"Yes, through an uplink with the human spy satellites," Prime replied. "Although I was a little surprised to find you here, Starscream."

"I've managed to get in fairly close to Megatron since the Uprising," Starscream explained. "Close enough that he trusts me not to shoot him in the back by myself. Probably a reason why he only brought Thrust, Demolishor and Cyclonus with him and myself when we came. He doesn't how many of his troops are more with me than with him."

"So, only five Decepticons," Sparkplug noted. "And only four that we really need to worry about."

"If I can manage it, perhaps only one," Starscream noted. "But in order for me to keep Megatron off my back, I need to persuade him to look the other way for a while."

"Meaning you'll need the Mini-Cons in this pod," Optimus noted.

"Exactly," Starscream replied. "I know I'm asking a great deal Prime, but I feel that for now, it is for the best. Besides, I'll need all the help I can get if Megatron takes things too far."

Optimus looked at Starscream for a moment, then at Sparkplug, evaluating his options. Making his decision, he turned to Starscream and replied, "All right then. The Mini-Cons in the pod are under your protection. But if any of them are harmed..."

"We'll just have to hope it doesn't come to that," Sparkplug noted, jumping into the hole.

Both Optimus and Starscream looked to Sparkplug in surprise.

"Sparkplug..." Optimus began before being interrupted.

"These things were built so that only a Mini-Con or something similar could open them," Sparkplug replied. "If whoever's in here is online before they reach Megs, they'll have a smaller chance of being reprogrammed. Besides, this way you two don't have to ask me to open it up and see who's inside."

Optimus simply nodded while Starscream smiled and replied, "Thanks, Tiny."

"No problem, Screamer," Sparkplug replied, keying in a series of commands to the pod's door panel.


Meanwhile, Hot Shot and Blurr returned from their recon duty, having mapped and recorded countless details of the nearby city of Portland.

"Well, Blurr, what do you think?" Hot Shot asked.

"I'll say this for the humans, they know how to build cities," Blurr noted. "Granted, it's no Iacon, but it's still pretty good."

"Well, look who's decided to come back," Smokescreen said jokingly, walking up to the pair with Red Alert. "You kids find out anything on your sightseeing trip?"

"Enough to know our way around that human city," Hot Shot noted. "So, where're Optimus and Scavenger?"

"They're inside, checking over some readings," Red Alert reported. "It's possible that they may have confirmed the location of another Mini-Con stasis unit."

"Well, good news for our team," Blurr said. "Assuming the Decepticons don't get to it."


At that very same pod, Sparkplug worked silently at the primary console within, bringing his fellow Mini-Cons out of stasis. After a second, a Laserbeak unit was deployed and flew out of the small unit.

"Well, that's a good sign," Sparkplug noted to himself. He looked up from his worked, walked over to the nearest pod, gently put his hand to it, and said, "Here's hoping, old friend."

Within a few minutes, the Laserbeak unit returned to its slot, and transmitted the data it had collected to the individual units.

"Artillery units, mostly long-range," Sparkplug noted. "Guess all Laserbeak noticed was the military base nearby."

His thoughts were interrupted by the hiss of a stasis pod opening. Sparkplug turned to find himself staring at a gray, black and blue-green colored Mini-Con. Its lone optic bar came online, and he asked, "Sparkplug? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Sparkplug replied, offering a hand. "Welcome back, Leader-1."

"It's good to be back," Leader-1 responded, accepting his friend's hand. As he stepped out of his pod and ended his greeting, he asked, "Who else is up?"

"Rollbar, Jolt, the Street Action Team," Sparkplug listed, "and in a couple minutes your pod-mates."

"Fair enough," Leader-1 replied. "Next question; why are we up?"

With a slight sigh, Sparkplug replied, "Long story. I'll explain once everyone else is up."


Elsewhere within the Nemesis, the Decepticon starship, Starscream's absence had not gone unnoticed.

"WHERE IS HE?" Megatron yelled, smashing his hand into a wall and creating a very large dent.

"Megatron, sir, please try to relax," Thrust pleaded to his commander. "I'm certain Starscream had a clear, logical reason for leaving the base. Perhaps he was going out in search of a Mini-Con stasis unit."

"Most likely to find them for himself," Megatron posed. "When he returns, Mini-Cons or no, he shall be dealt with, oh yes..."


Within a few more minutes, Sparkplug and Leader-1 had revived the other five Mini-Cons in the pod.

"Sparkplug, what the slag is going on?" Knock-Out roared, pointing an angered finger at the yellow Cybertronian.

Knock Out was quickly held back as Wreckage ordered, "At ease, Knock Out, he's one of ours. Sparkplug's got good reason for bringing us back online." Wreckage turned to Sparkplug and asked, "You do have a reason, don't you?"

"Yes," Sparkplug replied. "Guys, I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Start with the bad, please," Blackout replied.

Sparkplug cleared his audio emitters, then began, "A couple days ago, some of this planet's natives were exploring a few caves in a large mountain. They didn't know that one of the pods was in that mountain, and they accidentally brought it online, and in the process activated a distress call." Lowering his head, he continued, "Megatron was among the first to pick up on it."

"Megatron's here?" Crumplezone asked. "Wonderful."

"Hold it, soldier, Sparkplug said there was good news," Wreckage reminded him.

"And there is," Sparkplug replied, brightening up a bit. "Megatron made a mistake. He brought Starscream with him. Besides that, Prime and several other Autobots are here. They managed to recover myself and the other occupants of my pod."

"So Prime's here, as well as Starscream," Leader-1 noted. "And I take it unless Megatron gets himself a few new Mini-Cons, he'll tear Starscream apart."

"And Starscream's the only thing keeping the Decepticons from attacking the local population," Sparkplug added. "Six billion or so organic beings, all about our size. They'd be easy pickings for Megatron, assuming they don't vaporize him with a nuclear weapon or three."

"And we are the ones left with that glorious assignment," Leader-1 realized. "Wonderful."

With those words, a flurry of arguments erupted amongst the Mini-Cons.

"We can't just hand ourselves over to Megatron!" Knock-Out exclaimed.

"If we do not he could attack the locals," Crumplezone replied. "Do we really want that?"

"But he'll rewire us, reprogram us!" Knock-Out added.

"Who says he will if Starscream's there," Blackout pointed out.

"What makes you think we can trust Starscream?" Knock-Out retaliated.

"Because," Bonecrusher interjected, having been silent this whole time, "we can."

Knock-Out looked to his teammate in irritation, but eventually turned to his commander and replied, "Okay boss, I'm in. But I want Screamer's word he'll get us to safety with the Autobots if the Decepticons begin making direct attacks against humans."

"He'll easily do that," Sparkplug replied. "C'mon guys, we've got a job to do."

One by one, the seven Mini-Cons exited the pod. Standing above them at the rim of the Cybertronian-made hole were Optimus Prime and Starscream.

"Glad to see you're all okay," Starscream noted, kneeling down and offering his hands to the various Mini-Cons, bringing them up two at a time. "Leader-1?"

"This is all of us, Starscream," Leader-1 replied. "And Sparkplug's explained the situation to us. We'll go along, but if Megatron attacks the humans directly, the deal's off."

"Understood," Starscream replied. "Now then, let's make sure he can't easily notice my deception, shall we?"

With those words, he knelt down before the six new Mini-Cons. As Sparkplug stepped away and Leader-1 stepped forward, twin beams shot out of Starscream's optics into Leader-1's optic bar. After a couple seconds, the download ended.

"A programming mask?" Optimus asked.

"My way of making it appear that they've been reprogrammed where they really haven't," Starscream explained. "It won't be much, but it'll be enough from a technical point. You'll need to act the part of reprogrammed Mini-Cons, however."

"We should be able to handle that," Crumplezone replied as Blackout received his download.

As Starscream finished with his second one, he turned to Optimus and noted, "You and Sparkplug had best return to your base and give the other Autobots the relevant details. It'll be a little hard to explain if they detect an Autobot in the same area as my retrieval point, even harder being you."

"Understood," Optimus replied. "Take care, Starscream."

"You too, Prime," Starscream replied as Optimus, Sparkplug and the trailer warped out of the area. Turning back to the Mini-Cons, he asked, "Now then, who's next?"


As Optimus and Sparkplug materialized in the Ark's warp room, Scavenger, Rollbar and Jolt stood waiting for them.

"Well?" Scavenger asked. "Where are they?"

"Call in the others," Optimus ordered. "There's an interesting new wrinkle that just came up."


In Portland, the local human population continued on with their normal, daily lives, unknowing of the conflict beginning to build between the alien machines already in their midst. One, however, was on the verge of discovering that conflict and those taking part in it.

"Diana?" a voice asked. "You still with me?"

Diana Masters shook her head slightly, then said, "Sorry, Kelly, just thinking about a few things."

Her friend and tablemate, Kelly Bongartner, shook her head slightly. "You worry too much, Diana. You need something."

"I have a hobby, Kelly, you know that," Diana replied, gingerly taking a sip from her coffee.

"I'm not talking about your Anime," Kelly replied. "What I mean is, you need a love life."

"I don't exactly have time for one," Diana noted. "Between Mesopotamia and mobile suits, there is no space for men."

"Dictionaries aside, there is space for them," Kelly replied. "What about that archaeologist friend of yours, Jones?"

"He wouldn't have the time," Diana noted. "He's always somewhere out in the field digging up something. I doubt it'd last."

"Still, you can't just sit and wait," Kelly noted. "You're in your mid-twenties now, you should at least be meeting people."

At that second, Kelly's cell phone went off. She quickly answered it and said, "Kelly here." After a couple seconds, she replied, "Okay, be there in ten," then shut off the phone. Downing the last of her coffee and picking up her things, she explained, "The life of a television news reporter."

"The things you see," Diana replied with a touch of sarcasm. "Take care of yourself, Kelly."

"Later, Diana," Kelly replied, rushing off to hail a cab and leaving Diana to her thoughts.


Starscream had been expecting Megatron's anger. He just did not expect him to be this angry, as he found himself slammed arm-first into a bulkhead.

"You left the ship!" Megatron bellowed, slamming Starscream into the wall once more for emphasis. "On your own! Without my direct authorization! Are you purposely trying my patience, Starscream?"

"No, Megatron," Starscream replied, feigning weakness. "I merely wished to make certain that we claimed a group of Mini-Cons for ourselves, before the Autobots got their hands on them. I thought one lone Decepticon would be less noticeable than the entire group."

Megatron looked to his lieutenant, considering his options, then said, "You do have a point, Starscream." He let go of his lieutenant, who slid quickly to the floor, and continued, "I will let it slide, this time. However, in the future, you will not leave this base without an escort. Is that clear?"

"Crystal, sir," Starscream replied.

"Good," Megatron said. At that point, he turned his attention to the Mini-Cons and said, "Now then, Mini-Cons. Who do you serve?"

At that point, the six snapped to attention, saluted, and replied, "Hail Megatron, true leader of the Decepticons! We swear our loyalty to you!"

Megatron smiled slightly as Starscream thought to himself, They're laying it on a little too thick...

"Wonderful," Megatron replied. "Now then, the choosing." He pointed to Crumplezone and said, "You shall go to Cyclonus." Pointing a finger in the general direction of Blackout and the Land Military Team, Megatron said, "The four of you shall go to Demolishor." He then walked over to Leader-1, gingerly picked him up, and said, "And I think you know where you are going, yes."

With those words, a compartment opened in Megatron's leg. He tossed Leader-1 in, and the compartment silently closed.

"I feel better already," Megatron noted, a triumphant smile on his face. "Now then, Starscream, I want you to modify Cyclonus and his new Mini-Con to aid in their connection. We must boost the arsenal as best we can. In the meantime, I shall begin plotting...strategy, yes."

With those words, Megatron exited the chamber.

"Whoa," Cyclonus noted. "You really sizzled Megatron's circuits there, Starscream."

As Demolishor helped him to stand, Starscream pointed out, "Yes, but it would've been worse had I returned empty-handed, now wouldn't it?"

"You still took a great risk," Thrust noted.

"A calculated risk, one well worth it," Starscream replied. "Now then. Demolishor, you're going to be stuck with the four of them for a while, I suggest you get acquainted. Cyclonus, you, Crumplezone and I have a date in the repair bay."

As Starscream led Cyclonus and his new Mini-Con out of the chamber, Thrust muttered to himself, "Starscream will be the destruction of us all," before exiting through another door.

Finding himself alone with his new Mini-Cons, Demolishor said, somewhat uneasily, "Anyway, I'm Demolishor. And the four of you are?"


As Starscream led Cyclonus and Crumplezone into the repair bay, Cyclonus began, "Anyway, I'm excited about this whole deal, Crumplezone. I can't wait to take you into battle and start kicking Auto-butt!"

"Whatever," Crumplezone replied.

Cyclonus looked to him in slight surprise, and as Starscream started up the equipment, he asked, "Why do you say that?"

"The Autobots have done nothing to me, and I doubt they have done anything truly heinous to you," Crumplezone pointed out. "I was reprogrammed by Starscream to be loyal to Megatron and his cause, and by extension of that to you. Thus, I will fight if ordered, I will Powerlink, and I will do what is needed for the cause. However, that does not mean I will enjoy my work."

"He brings up a few good points, Cyclonus," Starscream pointed out. "Now, Crumplezone, climb onto the examination table and transform please."

Crumplezone did as requested, and Starscream began a thorough scan of both Crumplezone and Cyclonus. Starscream studied over the results, and said, "According to these scans, the best point for a possible fusion would be where your chest currently is, Cyclonus. It should serve to give your vehicular mode a bit more firepower." As he pulled out a few small instruments, he said, "Just relax a bit, I'll be done in a few cycles."

"Uh, Starscream," Cyclonus asked, "why are you fighting for Megatron?"

Starscream simply smiled, and replied, "A favor to an old friend."


Within his quarters, Megatron silently went over the situation in his head. The Autobots had six officers and a Mini-Con each. He had four others with him and six Mini-Cons in his own arsenal. The sides had evened out a bit now, yes.

He turned his attention to the blue orb spinning silently outside his window. On that planet, concealed beneath layers of rock, was a potential army, power waiting to be harvested like raw Energon crystals. He could almost taste it. There were only two clear obstacles in his path: the Autobots, and the inhabitants of that spinning globe. The Autobots, especially Prime, would present a problem at this stage of the game. The fleshlings, however, were another matter entirely, nuclear weapons be damned.

"Let us begin the harvest," Megatron noted, a grim smile crossing his face.


"And we're done," Starscream announced.

Crumplezone detached from Cyclonus as both transformed into their respective robot modes.

"Didn't hurt a bit," Cyclonus noted. "And the power, it was incredible. It was like being on an overload of Energon."

"Don't be too impressed," Starscream warned. "Power alone doesn't win battles."

"A very true statement, Starscream," Megatron noted as he entered the repair bay. "I assume you have completed modifications?"

"I just finished them," Starscream replied.

"Excellent," Megatron noted. "For I have a mission for Cyclonus."

"Yeah boss?" Cyclonus asked, snapping to attention.

"You and your Mini-Con are to scout the human settlement near the area where the first Mini-Con pod was found," Megatron explained. "It is very, very likely that we will find the humans who found the first few Mini-Cons in that area."

Starscream's optics widened slightly as he listened.

"Once you have found them, chase them away from the settlement," Megatron continued. "Once we have done so, we can capture those humans and any Mini-Cons with them."

"And if they don't have Mini-Cons?" Starscream asked, his head tilted slightly to indicate curiosity.

"We can use them as a bargaining chip with Optimus Prime," Megatron replied. "He won't risk a few measly human lives just to keep the Mini-Cons, no. He'll either hand them over to us, or I will crush them in my own two hands."

Crumplezone's optics narrowed slightly in anger, though he refrained from vocalizing it. Starscream, meanwhile, tried his best to maintain a neutral expression.

"Now, Cyclonus, snap to it!" Megatron bellowed.

"Yes, Megatron!" Cyclonus replied, rushing out of the chamber. Crumplezone followed, albeit reluctantly. Megatron then exited, chuckling as he went.

Once Megatron exited earshot, Starscream slammed a closed fist down on the console, leaving a slight dent. "Megatron, you're taking too many risks."


Back on Earth, a young boy in his early teens wheeled along on a strangely built bicycle. The boy's name was Rad, and the bicycle was in reality a Mini-Con by the name of High Wire. The two silently wheeled along one of Portland's many streets, heading towards a small McDonalds in the distance. Awaiting them were two other teens, Carlos and Alexis, and High Wire's comrades in the Street Action Team, Grindor and Sureshock.

"Hey guys," Rad said, stopping High Wire as they approached.

"We were beginning to wonder when you guys would show up, Rad," Carlos replied. "What took you?"

"Traffic," Rad answered. "So, we all ready to show the guys around?"

"We've been ready," Alexis answered with the slight nudge of a complaint. "So, where are we going first? There's no way we could take the guys into a mall or store."

"A park or two should more than suffice," High Wire noted, keeping her voice as low as possible. "Earth is no Cybertron, but it does have a certain beauty of its own."

"Okay then, a park it is," Rad replied. As he was about to turn High Wire in the direction of the nearest park, he stopped and asked, "Hey guys, you hear that? Sounds like a helicopter."

"Probably just a news chopper checking on traffic," Alexis noted, having already taken her place on Sureshock.

Her internal sensors registering the incoming, Sureshock said, "Would a news chopper head directly towards us at a low altitude, or have an Energon-based power core?"

"A Decepticon!" Grindor realized, Carlos already locked into place.

The words were barely in the air before Cyclonus, Crumplezone attached to act as a second cockpit, began trundling towards them.

"Well, what do you know?" Cyclonus asked. "Less than a megacycle on the job and I find what I'm looking for! Now don't make any sudden moves, little ones, and maybe you'll be okay!"

"Roll for it!" Grindor commanded.

In an instant, the group of humans and Mini-Cons shot off, moving as far away from Cyclonus as they could.

"Well, things are getting more interesting!" Cyclonus replied. "Okay kiddies, let's see what you can do!"


Nearby, Diana sat, nursing her coffee. Maybe Kelly's right, I do need something more in my life than just cartoons and essays. But can I really take time out for something like that?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Rad, Carlos, Alexis, and the Street Action Team zoomed past.

"What in the...?" Diana asked herself. "What are those three doing?"

Cyclonus immediately answered her question, zooming past her overhead.

"Running from a combat chopper," Diana said, answering her own question. "Whoever that is, they have another thing coming attacking my students." She rose to her feet, set a generous amount of money down on the table, and rushed away to her car yelling, "Keep the change!"


Swiftly weaving into an alley, the kids and their Mini-Con companions took a minute to catch their breath.

"Did we lose him?" Carlos asked.

"Doubtful," Grindor said. "His readings are higher than normal, though. The 'Cons must've found Mini-Cons of their own."

"Wonderful," Sureshock noted. "How are we supposed to hold them off?"

"Right now, I think heading outside of city limits would be a wise course," High Wire suggested. "If it comes down to a fight, we'll at least minimize casualties."

"And if it does come to that, you kids need to run and hide," Grindor ordered. "No telling what the 'Cons will do to you kids."

"Oh, don't worry," Cyclonus said, appearing behind them at the entrance to the alley. "We aren't going to hurt them! Really!"

"Like we should believe you," Sureshock replied as the alley's other entrance was blocked by the familiar form of an SUV. "What the...?"

The right side front passenger door opened, and Diana leaned out and called, "Kids! Get in!"

"Ms. Masters?" Alexis asked.

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Alexis!" Rad called as he rushed towards the car, taking High Wire with him. Carlos, Alexis and the other Mini-Cons followed in turn, piling into the vehicle before rushing off.

"Well, things just got a lot easier," Cyclonus noted, rising into the air so that he could fly over the buildings and follow them more easily. "Cyclonus to Megatron, come in!"


"...I've located three of the Mini-Cons!" Cyclonus continued over the radio. "They're in a human ground transport, one apparently built for uneven terrain."

"Excellent, Cyclonus," Megatron noted. "Chase them outside the city. We will be happily waiting for them."


"Okay kids, I want a few explanations," Diana continued, driving them through Portland. "First of all, why is there a combat helicopter chasing after you three?"

"It's kind of a long story," Rad replied, unsure of where to begin.

"You'd better make it fast then, considering the guns on that thing," Diana replied, keeping her eyes on the road but checking the rear-view mirror every couple seconds.

"Well..." Rad began.

"Perhaps we'd better explain it," Grindor said as he, High Wire, and Sureshock transformed, settling a little more easily into the car than before. As if in response to Diana's wide-eyed stare, he continued, "Easy, miss, we aren't going to hurt anyone. I'm Grindor, and this is High Wire and Sureshock."

"We're Mini-Cons, from a planet called Cybertron," High Wire continued. "We left there around four million Earth years ago to escape the tyranny of the Decepticons."

"And they're flying that thing?" Diana asked.

"No, one of them is that thing," Sureshock replied. "We aren't the only ones on our planet who can transform between robot and vehicle."

"Transforming alien robots," Diana said in near-disbelief. "Well Carlos, maybe you were right about that alien thing."

"Right now, I kinda wish I hadn't mentioned it," Carlos admitted.

"Miss Masters, we need to get out of the city!" Alexis chimed in. "If that thing decides to shoot us, well, you kinda get the idea."

"Sadly," Diana replied. "Hang on, we're out of here!" As she sped up, she asked, "Just out of curiosity, how many of those things are here?"

"At least four, including him," High Wire replied. "Thankfully, they aren't the only ones who have an interest in us..."


"So Starscream's on our side?" Hot Shot asked. "That makes things a little easier."

He and the other Autobots stood in the central control room aboard the Ark, discussing Optimus's meeting with Starscream from earlier.

"I don't know, Optimus," Smokescreen noted. "How do we know that we can trust Starscream? For all we know, he might just be leading us into a trap."

"Smokescreen has a point," Blurr noted.

"You two seem to be forgetting that Starscream fought during the first Civil War," Red Alert reminded them. "He deserves at least the benefit of the doubt."

"But what if the Decepticons torture them, or use them against the humans?" Hot Shot asked.

"Even if Starscream allowed it to happen, Megatron isn't stupid enough to risk a direct assault against this world," Scavenger noted.

"Besides, I have Starscream's word that if a Mini-Con comes to harm, he'll immediately get all of them to us," Optimus noted.

"And you trust him?" Blurr asked.

"I do," Optimus replied.

There was an uneasy silence after that, until Blurr finally said, "Then there's nothing we can do, is there?"

"Except trust Optimus's judgement," Smokescreen replied. "Not too hard, considering."

"So, what's the plan?" Hot Shot asked.

"We make certain that the Decepticons don't take many more Mini-Cons," Optimus noted. "For their protection, ours, and Starscream's."

"Understood," Blurr replied with a nod. The other Autobots did likewise.

Suddenly, Sparkplug's voice boomed over the intercom, "Optimus, we're picking up a transmission from the Street Action Team! A Decepticon is chasing them and the kids out of the city towards our position! And the other four just showed up nearby."

"They're going after the kids?" Hot Shot asked. "Those rust-plated..."

"Easy, Hot Shot," Optimus ordered. "Sparkplug, get Jolt and Rollbar. We're going to need every hand we can get. Autobots, roll out!"


As the SUV rolled through the rocky area surrounding Portland, Diana milled through what she had just learned. Ancient robots from another planet were being chased around by other, much larger robots, and she had just gotten herself involved.

Well, Kelly said I needed something to do with my spare time, she noted, turning the SUV sharply to avoid a large rock.

In the car with her, the kids and Mini-Cons held on for dear life as the SUV turned and banked through the rocks before beginning to slow down. As it stopped, the kids looked around in shock.

"What are we stopping for?" Carlos asked. "Put the pedal to the metal already!"

"We can't go any further," Diana admitted, her hands falling limply off the wheel. "We're out of gas."

"And out of luck," Alexis noted. "Look!"

Rushing towards them were Megatron, Starscream, Thrust, and Demolishor, all in their vehicle modes. As they approached, Megatron fired his cannon, blasting away several of the surrounding rocks and allowing himself a clearer view of his prey.

"Excellent work, Cyclonus," Megatron said, coming to a stop. "Now then, Decepticons, transform and attack!"

One by one, the five gathered Decepticons transformed into their robot modes and stood menacingly over the four humans and their Mini-Con companions.

Watching from the SUV, Rad could only think of one thing to say: "This is bad."

"Oh man, we're gonna die!" Carlos practically screamed.

Noticing a glimmer in the distance, Grindor shot back, "Oh no we aren't."

Megatron, however, had not noticed, and swiftly called out, "Now then, puny fleshlings, leave or perish under my feet!"

"Still picking on beings smaller than yourself, Megatron?" a voice called out. "Are you too afraid to stand optic to optic with your enemy?"

Recognizing the voice, Megatron turned around, the other Decepticons following him, and bellowed in a mixture of anger and surprise, "Prime!"

Sure enough, the six Autobots rolled towards the five Decepticons at top speed in their vehicle modes, Optimus Prime leading the charge. Powerlinked to Optimus, Scavenger and Hot Shot were Sparkplug, Rollbar, and Jolt.

Well, this is getting a little better for us, Starscream thought to himself with a small smile.

"Autobots, transform!" Optimus ordered.

Within a few short seconds, the six Autobots had transformed to robot mode, their weapons at the ready. Sparkplug remained latched onto Optimus Prime's trailer, while Jolt and Rollbar had already Powerlinked with Hot Shot and Scavenger, either as a close-range weapon or as a simple power-boost.

"Well, well, Optimus Prime to the rescue as usual," Megatron noted. "However, you aren't going to have an easy time of it, no. You see, you no longer have the advantage in Mini-Cons. Leader-1, Powerlink!"

With those words, the compartment within Megatron's right leg opened, allowing Leader-1 to exit, jump up, and transform into a cannon emplacement, latching onto Megatron's right arm in the process.

"Now then, let us begin," Megatron noted, taking aim. Firing the first salvo, he proclaimed, "Decepticons, attack!"

As the Decepticons opened fire with every weapon at their disposal, the Autobots jumped out of the way, taking cover in the rocky landscape. As he pulled out his rifle and pistol and started firing back, Optimus ordered, "Red, get the kids and the Street Action Team to safety! We'll cover you!"

"On it, Optimus," Red Alert replied, transforming back into vehicle mode and wheeling towards the SUV containing Diana, the kids, and the Street Action Team.

"And these guys are?" Diana asked as Red Alert came towards them.

"The Autobots," High Wire answered. "They're more concerned with keeping us alive than with using us as weapons like Megatron."

"So they're on our side," Diana noted. With a smile, she added, "At least someone is."

At that second, Red Alert wheeled up next to them, opened his various doors and hatches, and called out, "Everyone, quickly!"

"You heard the robot," Diana ordered as she and the kids quickly unfastened their seatbelts and rushed out of the SUV.

Within a few seconds, most of the human occupants had piled into Red Alert. Rad was about to enter himself, however, but he soon noticed that the Street Action Team was staying behind. "Guys, c'mon!"

"No, Rad," High Wire noted. "This is our fight. We have to stay."

"But...!" Rad said before being interrupted by Diana putting a hand to his shoulder.

"They'll be fine," Diana noted to him. Turning to the three Mini-Cons, she said, "Just try not to wreck my car, okay?"

"Sure thing," High Wire replied.


As Red Alert got the kids and Diana to safety, the battle had seemingly split into five separate confrontations instead of one large fight. In one corner of the battlefield, Starscream had pulled out and extended his Energon blade and was engaging in one-on-one combat with Scavenger, who simply held back the blade with his hands.

"Tell me Starscream, how long do you think you can keep this up?" Scavenger asked.

"As long as needed!" Starscream called in reply.

"Do you really think you can get by with this?" Scavenger asked. "Siding with Megatron, gathering the Mini-Cons, keeping them as you are now?"

"A 'bot tries not to think of the consequences of failure," Starscream replied with a smirk.

With a returning smirk, Scavenger noted, "I hope you succeed, then."


Meanwhile, a one-on-one battle waged between Blurr and Thrust. As Thrust darted overhead, Blurr fired off round after round in an attempt to shoot him down.

Reveling in the apparent lack of accuracy from Blurr's attacks, Thrust chuckled and cried out, "Foolish Autobot! Do you honestly think you can hit me from down there?"

His arrogance ending as one of Blurr's attacks hit home, Thrust fell slightly, disoriented.

"I think so," Blurr noted.


Meanwhile, a similar fight raged between Cyclonus and Hot Shot.

Cackling to himself, Cyclonus called out, "Hey, Auto-brat! You aren't the only one with a Mini-Con now! Crumplezone, Powerlink!"

With those words, Crumplezone dislodged himself from Cyclonus's chest, transformed back into tank mode, then linked onto Cyclonus's right arm, offering him an additional means of fire. As Crumplezone finished, Cyclonus took aim and fired off, blasting down towards Hot Shot.

Hot Shot, however, quickly dodged the attacks, quickly finding cover behind a large rock.

"Okay, obviously he's learned from last time," Hot Shot noted as Cyclonus continued firing down on him and Jolt.

"You didn't expect anything less?" Jolt asked in return. "Listen, you have any long-range weapons?"

"Only my primary cannon, but I doubt it'd be strong enough to take him down," Hot Shot replied.

"Let me take care of that," Jolt replied, dislodging himself from Hot Shot's arm and instead latching onto a secondary Powerlinx point on Hot Shot's back.

With Jolt in place, Hot Shot leapt out from behind the rock, flipped up his cannon and called out, "Hey, rotor-back! Got a surprise for you!" In an instant, Hot Shot had fired a missile, sending it rocketing towards Cyclonus.

"That's nothing!" Cyclonus called back, firing a missile from his right arm.

The two missiles impacted, blowing each other up. The blast, however, was enough to knock Cyclonus from the air and to the ground, temporarily off-line.

Dislodging himself from his 'partner', Crumplezone looked at Cyclonus, then to Hot Shot, and gave a thumbs-up and said, "Not bad, kid."


"Blackout, Bonecrusher, Knock Out, Wreckage, Powerlink!" Demolishor called out, the four Mini-Cons under his command quickly transforming and linking up to him, before partially transforming himself back into vehicle mode to that he could unload his now substantial arsenal upon the Autobot before him.

"Not bad," Smokescreen noted, clearly unimpressed. "Add a couple scanner modules and you'd actually have a potential threat there!"

"Potential threat!" Demolishor asked in disbelief. "Here's your potential threat, you walking scrap heap!"

With those words, Demolishor opened fire, sending numerous missiles and several supercharged bullets towards Smokescreen. Smokescreen, however, quickly transformed to vehicle mode and sped away, avoiding the bullets but keeping the missiles on his tail. After weaving between several large rocks, Smokescreen swiftly turned around, directly facing the missiles, then flipped up a small radar dish on his cab. He sent off a volley of radio waves, scrambling the missiles' targeting systems and sending them back to their owner.

"Oh no!" Demolishor cried out, transforming totally back to robot mode and quickly firing at the missiles with his handguns. Thankfully for Demolishor, he was able to destroy the missiles with ease. His defense complete, he gave a small "Whew" in relief and blinked his optics.

Demolishor's relief was short-lived as a long wire ended by a hook coiled its way around his legs, the hook catching onto the remaining portion of the wire. Demolishor barely had time to notice as the noose tightened itself around his legs, causing him to collapse to one side. Demolishor hit the ground, knocked offline.

With a slight chuckle, Smokescreen added some slack to his line, freeing Demolishor's legs, before re-coiling it back into his chest cavity. "They don't make Decepticons like they used to."

As Smokescreen spoke, the Land Military Team and Blackout disconnected themselves from Demolishor and took a brief look at Smokescreen's handiwork.

"'Bot has a point," Bonecrusher noted.


Meanwhile, Optimus Prime continued weaving between rocks, taking shots at Megatron with both his rifle and his pistol while Megatron continued firing Leader-1 at him, blowing apart rocks with every shot.

"Prime, you are beginning to amuse me," Megatron noted with a slight chuckle. "However, I did not come here for entertainment, no. Leader-1, engage secondary Powerlink!"

With those words, Leader-1 dislodged himself from Megatron's right arm before landing on the ground. Meanwhile, Megatron himself seemed to spring up, his back and cannon flipping around to the front and forming a rotating turret unit. Megatron's chest then fell back into place as a dual missile launcher clicked in on the turret. Finally, Leader-1 seemed to leap up into another Powerlinx point, his cannon units pointing straight ahead.

"Now then, Prime, the game ends!" Megatron bellowed, unleashing the full fury of his Full Assault Mode upon the surrounding landscape.

With rocks crumbling and the ground ripping apart around him, Optimus Prime quickly agreed, "You're right, Megatron, the game is over. Sparkplug!"

From his position with Prime's trailer, Sparkplug quickly transmitted a set of orders to the trailer, willing it to move towards Prime, who thankfully was not that far away.

"You honestly think that little pile of scrap is going to help you to defeat me, Prime?" Megatron asked, quickly turning his sights on the large trailer wheeling towards them.

As Megatron opened fire, however, several banks of jets activated throughout the trailer's underside, sending it into the air.

"That and your ego, Megatron!" Optimus shot back, jumping into the air and beginning an alternative transformation of his own.

"What the...?" Megatron asked.

As he watched, Optimus Prime himself transformed again, only into a large torso unit with arms. Meanwhile, Sparkplug dislodged himself from the trailer as it split apart into a large base before folding up again into a massive pair of legs. The two parts combined into a larger body, much larger than Megatron himself. As Sparkplug reconnected himself into the larger Prime's shoulder, a head popped into position. "Super mode, online!"

Megatron, meanwhile, smirked. "Very impressive, Prime, you just wasted several seconds making yourself a larger target!"

"Except this target shoots back!" Optimus Prime returned as several guns deployed themselves from his new legs and a group of missile banks opened up in his right shoulder. He then leveled his rifle and pistol, both of which seemed much smaller than before, and took aim.

"Whoever said I was complaining about that?" Megatron noted as both he and Optimus Prime opened fire onto one another with everything they had.


As both combatants fought, the gathered (conscious) beings around them watched with a certain degree of awe.

"Geez," Diana noted from her vantagepoint with the kids and Red Alert. "Are those two always like this?"

"Not always," Red Alert replied. "This is actually pretty tame."

Giving the fight a sidelong glance, Diana noted, "I'd hate to see a wild one."


Meanwhile, the exchange of fire continued. Both Optimus and Megatron remained standing, neither attacker seeming to gain the upper hand on the other. However, the battle was beginning to strain both of them as the Street Action Team watched from a position in the rocks.

"This isn't going well," Sureshock noted. "Prime's good, but I don't think he can keep this up forever."

"Nor do I," High Wire agreed. Turning to her comrades, she asked, "So then, shall we step in?"

"Not just yet," Grindor replied. "Wait for the right moment. It's more dramatic that way."

Both High Wire and Sureshock looked at their masculine teammate, then sighed and noted, "Men."


Meanwhile, as Sureshock had noted, the battle was taking its toll. Megatron, built for combat and armored to stand up to most forms of assault, weathered the blasts from Optimus well. Optimus, meanwhile, was built along slightly different lines. With each successive blast came a high degree of wear on his armor. However, much to his credit, Optimus stood up to each blast, standing firm in the attack and not backing down.

Finally tiring, Megatron noted, "It appears we are evenly matched so far as this goes, Prime." With a grin, he then said, "It is time I switched gears, yes."

With those words, Megatron simply fired off one large blast from his fusion cannon, tearing directly into where Optimus connected to his trailer. The massive blast, augmented by Leader-1 and despite Optimus using his arms as a shield, was more than enough to tear apart several parts of Optimus's armor and separate him back into trailer and robot.

As Optimus slowly transformed himself back into robot mode, several large scorch marks on his legs and torso, Megatron walked forward, transforming back into normal robot mode and aiming his cannon directly at Optimus's chest.

"Now!" Grindor said, much to the relief of his teammates, as Optimus managed to reach a kneeling position.

The three members of the Street Action Team rushed to Optimus as Megatron reached point blank range.

"It appears the end has finally come, Prime," Megatron noted, an arrogant grin on his face. "I would've waited an eternity for this. It's over."

"That's the thing with you, Megatron," a voice noted. "It's never over."

Megatron wheeled to one side to find the Street Action Team assembled at his feet.

"Are those three loco?" Carlos asked from his position with the other kids, Diana, and Red Alert. "What are they doing?"

"Making a point," Red Alert noted.

"Street Action Team, merge to form Perceptor!" Grindor called out.

As one, the three Mini-Cons leapt into the air, changing forms as they did so. Sureshock seemed to split in two, transforming into a pair of legs. Grindor transformed into a different version of his skateboard mode, only with the opposing ends separating and folding either into arms or into flight jets. As Grindor and Sureshock connected, forming a near-complete body, High Wire transformed and linked up, forming a backpack and head.

The Mini-Con Gestalt, now fully formed, kicked on his flight jets, blasting upwards and landing a powerful punch to Megatron's robotic jaw.

Taken by surprise and off-balance, the large Decepticon fell to the ground on his back with a deafening thud. As he struggled to stand, Perceptor landed on his chest and pointed a finger directly towards him, accenting his next words:

"Listen well, Megatron," Perceptor began. "No dictator, no invader can hold an imprisoned population by force of arms forever. There is no greater power in the universe than the need for freedom. Against that power tyrants and dictators cannot stand. The Quintessons learned that lesson once. It is time you learned it. Even if it takes a lifetime, we shall be free."

Megatron growled, then looked around. The only Decepticon under his command left standing was Starscream, and he did not want to owe Starscream any favors. Besides that, most of the Autobots were perfectly capable of taking aim and firing on him. Finally, he said, "It shall not be my lifetime, Mini-Con. Decepticons...retreat."

As Perceptor lifted off, Megatron seemed to fade away, recalling himself to the Nemesis. Having only regained consciousness a few milliseconds ago, Demolishor, Cyclonus and Thrust were barely able to warp out in a similar fashion.

Sharing a slight smirk, Scavenger let go of Starscream's blade and the two stood upright. "You'd best get going," Scavenger noted.

"I will," Starscream replied. "Give my regards to Optimus."

With those words, Starscream warped out.

With the battle over, the Autobots and their Mini-Con partners quickly gathered around their injured leader. As Scavenger helped Optimus to stand, Hot Shot asked, "Optimus, sir, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Optimus noted. "No injuries Red can't patch up. Are the kids safe?"

"They're just fine," Red noted as Rad, Carlos, Alexis and Diana walked up to the gathering. "Although it isn't just the kids who asked for help, as you can see."

Looking up at the large robots surrounding her, Diana could not help but note, "Amazing. Forgive me for saying all this, but you guys are incredible."

"We aren't that incredible, Miss...?" Optimus replied.

"Masters," Diana replied. "Diana Masters. I'm one of Rad, Carlos, and Alexis's teachers."

"An educator," Smokescreen noted. "Not a bad job."

"Depends on what you teach," Scavenger added with a smile.

Returning the smile, Diana noted, "History, in my case." Turning to face the gathered assembly, she noted, "And you're all...Autobots, right?"

"Correct," Optimus replied, kneeling to the ground to more easily converse with the six-foot-tall human at his feet. "I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. You've already met Red Alert, our team medic."

Red Alert and Diana exchanged nods in introduction.

Optimus then continued, each team member nodding as he went, "This is Scavenger, my second in command, Smokescreen, Hot Shot, and Blurr."

"And I'm Sparkplug, Optimus's Mini-Con partner," the small yellow robot noted, making his presence known. "That's Rollbar, Scavenger's partner, and Jolt, Hot Shot's partner. And you've already met the Street Action Team."

As Perceptor landed and separated into his individual parts, Grindor noted, "Sorry that took so long."

"Somehow, I don't think the kids minded too much," Optimus noted. Rubbing his back where Megatron had blasted him, he noted, "But you didn't have to cut it so close."

Grindor managed a nervous chuckle while both High Wire and Sureshock gave him sidelong glances, shaking their heads in irritation.

"So, any more questions?" Optimus asked.

With a chuckle, Diana answered, "Too many to count."

"We'll answer them all in time," Optimus assured her. "For now, however, I think the day's been long enough."

The End