Hello faithful readers! I'm sorry for any inconvenience regarding this story. I was tired when I posted this the first time. Here is a full summary.
Teletraan 1 has always been a computer. Always under-appreciated, always the silent (or not so silent) helper of the Autobots. But what will happen when a blast from the Allspark suddenly transforms Teletraan into a real Cybertronian? Adventure, romance, and a lot of confusing questions. 1. Just who is this femme? 2. How does she know so much about the Autobots? 3. Why do the Decepticons want her so badly? 4. Why does Optimus have an odd attraction towards her?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. *sniffs* I only own the concept of what Teletraan 1 would be like if she was a real femme.
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I smiled inwardly. I watched as Optimus Prime looked over some old history videos from the Autobot vs. Decepticon war over millennia ago. My smile widened when Ratchet walked in on him and said bluntly,
"What a load of scrap metal. Why do you waste your time with those old history vids?"
I chuckled. Ratchet was never one for tact.
"All the great Autobot leaders learned from the past." Optimus argued.
"Look around, Prime; the Great Wars ended centuries ago."
"But you were there, Ratchet! You saw some action! What were the Decepticons really like?" Optimus countered.
"Trust me kid, you're better off not knowing." Ratchet sighed, his joints creaking as he moved. "Besides, looks like the young bots could use a hand." he commented, pointing towards Bulkhead, who was outside the ship, hanging by his wrecking ball hand.
"Bumblebee! My wrecking ball's stuck again!" Bulkhead yelled. Optimus Prime sighed, his head drooping. I watched as Ratchet and Optimus walked down a hallway, towards the main exit.
"You ever get the feeling that you were programmed for something more than just repairing Space Bridges?" Optimus asked sincerely.
"I got a diagnostics program that could delete that feeling like a bad line of code." Ratchet replied with a small smile. Optimus pressed the exit hatch's release button, and transformed, exiting the ship. I watched through the ship's monitors.
"I don't like heights, Bumblebee," Bulkhead said uneasily.
"Cool your circuits, Bulkhead," Bumblebee said, doing flips and climbing up the mountain of rock, the showoff that he was. "I'm working as fast as I can. And you know there's no bot faster!" he said, firing his stingers at the rock that held Bulkhead swinging over the ground. He stomped on the rock, trying to shake it loose.
"I think I'm gonna blow a gasket," Bulkhead groaned, his metallic face turning green. Bumblebee could be a little gentler with this.
"Try to hold it in a little longer! Agh!" Bumblebee yelled, the rock collapsing underneath him. Bulkhead fell to the ground with a thud, Bumblebee landing on top of him. I giggled. Optimus and Ratchet drove up at that moment.
"All right, what seems to be the problem?" Optimus asked sternly.
"I think the technical term is, bunch of big honking rocks jamming Space Bridge." Bumblebee said, placing his hands on his hips. I outright laughed at this point.
"You know what I can't figure out, is why anyone would want to transport to this Allspark forsaken sector." Bulkhead stated, retracting his hand.
"That's not the point, Bulkhead." Optimus turned. "We have a job to do here. And no problem is instrumatable with the right tools, and a little teamwork." he continued, pulling out his axe and cutting into the rock. "Everyone lend a servo!
"Bulkhead!" said mech was punching through the hard material.
"Bumblebee!" was firing his stingers at floating rock.
"Come on, Ratchet!" who used his electro-magnets to bring the rocks onto the ground.
"You too, Prowl!" said mech was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, where is Prowl?"
Suddenly, a familiar shruiken flew through the air, winging through rock, around Optimus, and back to its owner. Prowl.
"Just have to know the weak spot." he said, sliding off his battle mask.
"Yeah; next time, you might wanna give us a little more warning."
"That would just mess up my timing." the group sighed.
"Young bots. Can't live with 'em, can't melt 'em down for spare parts." Ratchet shook his head. I snorted.
"Why's he so grumpy all the time?" Bulkhead whispered to Bumblebee.
"You'd be grumpy too if you had one servo in the scrap heap-ow!" Bumblebee was cut off. A hand smacked him on the back of the head, sending him flying forward.
"I may have one servo in the scrap heap, but I can still hear!" Ratchet shouted irritably.
"Ok, I know we're stuck out here in the middle of nowhere on a thankless assignment, but remember, we're all cogs in the great big Autobot machine!" Optimus declared.
Prowl facepalmed. "Not this speech again…"
"A machine is stronger as a whole, more than any one component part."
Suddenly, the rock began to crumble around them.
"And together, we can move mountains!"
The Space Bridge suddenly lurched to life, and a surge of light sent the Autobot group flying back, tumbling along the ground.
"Bad choice of words big bot!" Bumblebee yelled. Prime's battle mask shifted over his face, and the grappling hooks attached to his arms revealed themselves. He latched on to a stable rock and swung over to carry Bumblebee to a safer spot. Optimus pulled out his axe and broke a rock that was a little too close for comfort for Ratchet. He brought Prowl to a safe spot, who had been falling towards the ground. Optimus netted rocks that had been headed for Bulkhead, and then launched himself forward, finally using his grappling hooks to shut down the Bridge from a distance. It was an amazing sight.
Everyone's mouth dropped open.
"Impressive." Prowl commented as he shoved Bulkhead's mouth plate back into position.
"Where'd you learn moves like that?" Bulkhead asked.
"I trained at the Autobot Academy." Optimus sighed, embarrassed.
"So how'd an Academy bot end up on a broken down maintenance crew?" Ratchet asked skeptically.
"Yeah! Shouldn't you be leading the Cybertron Elite Guard or something?" Bumblebee asked with a grin.
An eerie blue light shown from a niche in the rock, and I watched as Optimus pulled aside a few boulders, pulling out his axe.
"Uh, I don't think that's such a good idea, boss bot!" Bulkhead exclaimed, panic edging his tone.
"Prime! NO!" Ratchet yelled just as Optimus brought down his axe in one final blow. The mystery object was revealed. I almost had a shut-down.
An orange, blocky object with a blue lined pattern coursing through it with two silver handles on each side emitted the source of the light.
"What is it?"
"I don't know. Maybe we should take it back to the ship so the Doc Bot can check it out." Bumblebee commented, reaching out to touch it.
"Leave it! Or better still; throw it back through the Space Bridge." I agreed with Ratchet. "This thing isn't meant to be found."
"What's got you spooked all of a sudden, Ratchet?" Optimus asked.
I was so busy ogling over the newfound treasure, that I almost missed the Decepticon signal on my radar. I immediately comm. linked Prime.
"Teletraan 1 to Optimus Prime; Teletraan 1 to Optimus Prime! Unidentified space craft entering this sector. Energy signal consisted with Decepticon warship."
"Decepticon? That must be a mistake! The Decepticons were destroyed centuries ago." Optimus said disbelievingly.
"Defeated, not destroyed." Ratchet sighed. "And we're not waiting around for them to find us." he said, transforming. "What are you bots waiting for? An invitation? Load it up, pronto!" Once again, I agreed. The sooner they got back on the ship, the better.
"Wait, Ratchet! Why the sudden urgency? What is this thing?" Optimus inquired.
"There's no time; let's roll!" Ratchet said, speeding off towards the ship. A few minutes later, Bumblebee and Prowl loaded the object onto the ship's floor. "You're the history bot, Prime. Ever hear of the Allspark?"
"Yeah. The most powerful energy source in the universe. It gave the spark of life to all Cybertronians."
"Every bot knows that story." Bulkhead added.
"Well, here's another one. The only way we were able to win the Great War all those centuries ago was by keeping the Allspark out from the Decepticon's hands." Ratchet confessed as the Autobots gathered around it. "So it was sent through a Space Bridge, hidden in some faraway corner of the galaxy, where no one would ever find it."
"So you're saying we found the Allspark? The real Allspark?" Bumblebee asked, optics wide. The ship rocked.
"No; I'm saying it found us!"
"Warning. Space craft approaching. Positive identification as Decepticon warship."
"It's not the only one that found us." Prowl said gravely. The ship was drowned in silence for a few moments. "It's following us!"
"You wanted to see action, kid? Be careful what you wish for." Ratchet said to Prime.
"Hello, we're a repair crew. Please tell me you're not actually thinking of taking on Decepticons!" Bumblebee panicked.
"Not without backup! Patch me to Cybertron command headquarters!" Optimus ordered. I easily complied.
"Wow, when you want backup, you go straight to the top." Bulkhead commented. Optimus' eyes softened, and he smiled a little. Sentinel Prime's face appeared on the ship's screen.
"Optimus Prime. You mean they still let you command other Autobots?" he smirked. I growled.
"Don't start, Sentinel. Just put me through to Ultra Magnus." Optimus said calmly.
"Now how could a third-rank rock buster possibly merit the Autobot's Supreme Commander's attention?"
Optimus' eyes narrowed in irritation. "Display cargo hold visual." I pulled it on-screen. I smirked as Sentinel's eyes widened.
"I'll, uh; I'll put you through right away." Sentinel said sheepishly. He disappeared off the screen. Optimus and Ratchet shared a small smile.
"Ultra Magnus here, Optimus. We're tracking your Decepticon signal. Probably just a lost scout ship. Ever since we drove them off Cybertron, the 'Cons have been wandering aimlessly. They'd never so foolish as to invade Autobot space. Still, I'm sending out a strike force to intercept if necessary. Meantime, you and your bots just sit tight. And Prime, don't try to be a hero; it's not in your programming." Ultra Magnus finished, vanishing from the screen.
"Decepticons still on our tail and closing in fast." Prowl said, watching the radar screen closely. If I had optics, they would have widened. If I recognized the shape of that ship, we were slagged.
"So, uh, why don't we seem 'em?" Bumblebee asked, swiveling his head.
"Teletraan 1, set a course for the nearest Space Bridge." Optimus said, punching in numbers. I easily complied.
"But Ultra Magnus said to sit tight!" Bulkhead interrupted.
"With all due respect, Ultra Magnus isn't carrying the Allspark!" Optimus said finally. "So, we'll make a beeline for a Space Bridge, and blast through whatever debris is in our way."
We suddenly screeched to a halt.
"Uh, Boss Bot? I don't think we could blast through that!" Bulkhead said with rising panic. The ship was easily a thousand times our size. "I've never seen a Decepticon ship up close."
"No one has, and lived." Ratchet said, his voice grim.
"It's a Command ship. I recognize the markings from the history vids."
Both Ratchet and I voiced the same next thought. The name brought chills to my spark, if I had one.
"Megatron." we breathed in unison.
"Megatron!" Bumblebee shouted. "As in the cruel, vicious Decepticon leader, who eats Autobot protoforms for breakfast!" Well, I didn't know about that, but it was fitting.
Meanwhile, on the Decepticon Command Ship…
"Megatron is a fool who's been chasing a ghost for centuries." Starscream ranted, staring at the tiny Autobot ship before him. "I seriously doubt we'll find this 'Allspark' aboard such an insignificant vessel." he sneered.
Oh, if only he knew.
"Traitor!" Lugnut roared. "Megatron is wise, Megatron is bold, and Megatron will return the Decepticons to Cybertron!" Starscream rolled his eyes, it not being the first time to hear this speech.
"And wipe our home land clean of the filthy stench of Autobot tyranny and blah blah blah. Did you memorize that speech, Lugnut? Or is it just hardwired into that thick one-track processor of yours?" Blackarachnia screeched. A bright beam of light left ice on her forearm.
"As usual, Blackarachnia, your demeanor is as unpleasant as that cursed organic mode of yours." Blitzwing drolled, his blue stony face smug.
"Blow it out your actuator, three-face." she replied, and making a fist, shattered the ice off her arm.
"The name is Blitzwing, insect! Remember it! 'Cause it's the last thing your gonna hear before I- express my feelings in song!" his face changed from red to black. "The itzy bitzy spider crawled up the-!"
The Decepticons began to argue at deafening levels, all speaking at once. They didn't notice when the main door opened, revealing the frightening figure of Megatron. They all fell silent when they heard his pounding footsteps echoing across the cavernous space. They stood at attention.
"Starscream, report."
"Energy readings off the scale, my liege; shall I fire on the Autobots?" Starscream hissed.
"Cripple their ship, but do not destroy it." Megatron ordered. "Yet."
"Yes, yes, yes, brilliant strategy, oh wise and great leader." Starscream attempted to suck-up to his superior.
Back on the Autobot's ship…
I gasped as a purple beam of light began to grow from the Decepticon ship, aiming at us.
"Teletraan 1! Evasive maneuvers!" Optimus shouted over the wailing alarms and radar. We narrowly avoided the first shot fired at us. "Activate emergency defense system; Codename Omega!"
I hated to say what I was forced to say.
"I'm sorry; this function has been disabled in compliance with Cybertron's ongoing effort to conserve Energon."
"What?" Optimus said, shocked, just as the ship was knocked to the side, the Autobots flying towards their right.
"We're all gonna die, aren't we?" Bumblebee groaned. I swear, that mech could joke to the end. I thanked my lucky stars we hadn't been hit yet.
"Warning: Asteroid field, initiating ultimate-!"
"Override!" Optimus interrupted my report.
On the Decepticon ship…
"I've got a match on that energy reading. If it's not the Allspark, it's something just as powerful." Blackarachnia said seductively.
"I volunteer to deploy a breach for the Autobots." Starscream bowed before Megatron.
"I didn't spend the last four million solar cycles searching the galaxy just so you could lay your greasy wings on the Allspark!" Megatron said lowly, grabbing his second in command by one wing and hauling him up to his height. "I will harvest the energy into the ultimate weapon, and crush the Autobots for good!" Megatron dropped Starscream to the ground, and walked away as Starscream rubbed his sore wing.
"Well, I'll just be fixed, then." he groaned, eyeing the large dent disdainfully. He then hurried after his leader, who had just opened the hatch towards the Autobot's ship.
"What do you want now, Starscream?"
Starscream patted Megatron on the back. "Only to wish you luck, my liege."
"I do not believe in luck." Megatron spat, transforming and leaving the ship.
"Neither do I."
Autobots…
I watched with growing horror as the looming figure of Megatron grew closer.
"Is that… Megatron?" Optimus asked with disbelief, zooming in on the camera view finder.
"You never said he was so big." Bulkhead commented.
"You never said he could fly!" Bumblebee muttered.
"Huh? Guess he wasn't coming at us." Bulkhead said uncertainly, when Megatron passed by the ship. 'I wouldn't count on it…'
Suddenly, the ship lurched, and I could see from cameras that Megatron was trying to weld a hole in the ship's hull.
I watched the transformation I'd seen happen so many times take over Optimus' face. I would have smiled, under different circumstances. First, there was that look on his face. You could see that he was about to give up, that there was no hope. Then, his jaw suddenly set, his optics narrowed, and that gleam I loved so much entered. His eyes said that it wasn't the end. He wasn't going to give up without a fight.
"Ratchet! Seal the hull bridge! Prowl! Hold the ship steady! Bulkhead, Bumblebee! Guard the Allspark! I'll hold off Megatron!" Optimus took control.
"But, we're repair bots!" Bumblebee shouted. "We're not programmed for this kind of action!"
"Then consider this an upgrade." Optimus said, steel in his voice. He took control of the ship's outer 'arms', grabbing the Decepticon leader, attempting to haul him off the outside of the ship.
Then, I heard something I hadn't before. A soft beep. A beep that was slowly gaining tempo. 'It couldn't be…'
A massive explosion occurred, and my thoughts were confirmed. The heart of the blast was Megatron. The ship began to fall, everyone getting jostled.
Decepticons…
Starscream cheered as he watched the explosion and the downfall of the ship and the Decepticon leader.
"Yes! Right, solemn face, solemn face." he turned and walked back to the main room to give the Decepticons the horrible news.
Autobots…
"Warning. Hull breach. Sealing patches Alpha, Omega, and Esperon." I desperately tried to put out the fire leaking into the ship. "Warning. Planetary impact imminent." Curse my vocal programming. I wanted to say a million things. I'm sorry I failed you. I'm sorry you never got to really meet me.
I'm sorry it had to end here.
"Joint manual override!" Optimus commanded.
"Can you even do that?" Prowl asked. Optimus didn't reply, instead, he directed the ship bouncing across the asteroid's surface, jostling the ship. A Space Bridge appeared in our vision.
"Hey! What's that thing doing?" Bumblebee pointed at the now-glowing Allspark. The ship glowed blue, pointing an enormous beam at the Bridge, activating it. We drove into it. Thankfully we did, otherwise, we would've imploded along with it.
Decepticons…
"This is a dark day in Decepticon history. May the legacy of our fallen leader Megatron live in our memory cores, for all eternity. As I appoint myself new leader, I solemnly pledge to-!" Starscream's speech was cut off as he turned. "Where's everybody gone?"
Several space pods launched from the ship, leaving Starscream to launch into the brilliantly blinding light that seemed to appear in front of the Decepticon's ship.
Autobots…
We teleported to a strange planet, with blue and green swirling around it.
"Prowl, Ratchet! Everyone alright?" Optimus asked, concern coloring his tone. "Bulkhead, Bumblebee! Report!"
I screamed. The shadowing figure of Megatron rose up behind Optimus. He easily threw the Prime against the wall.
"The Allspark," Megatron breathed. "Where is it?"
Prowl and Ratchet attempted to help, but got knocked aside for their efforts.
"I grow impatient."
Optimus, that gleam in his eyes again, grappled the lever that just might save us all.
"Artificial gravity disabled." I said in relief. Optimus kicked out of Megatron's grasp.
"Good thinking, Prime!" Ratchet praised. "Putting us on equal footing, so to speak."
"Hey, who turned off the – oof!" Bumblebee got knocked into by Bulkhead, who muttered a 'sorry, my bad.'
Bumblebee tumbled head over heels right into Megatron.
"You know, you're even uglier from this angle!" he said snarkily. Megatron pulled out a sword and lashed out at Bumblebee. "Scarier, too!"
Prime's axe appeared, and he latched himself onto the wall.
"Everyone in position for a concentrated act on my signal!"
Suddenly, Prowl shot out towards Megatron.
"Prowl, no! Wait for my signal!" Prime shouted, reaching out, but his hand passed right through Prowl's foot, and he seemed to flicker. Meanwhile the real Prowl jumped out from behind and stabbed Megatron's gun with his shruikens, effectively slicing off the barrel. "Ok, the decoy was a nice touch, but once again a little warning would've helped!"
Bulkhead bumped into Optimus from behind, sending him tumbling forward.
"Would it kill you bots to say something like 'head's up' or I don't know 'watch out' or-"
"Incoming!" Ratchet yelled. Megatron was launched back into the ship's controls, sending it into hyper-drive. Everyone went sliding backwards, and Optimus slammed into some crates. It didn't help; mind you, that Megatron chose that time to step on him.
"Bring me the Allspark and I may spare your miserable Autobot lives." Megatron growled. When Optimus didn't answer, his sword came crashing down towards him, but Prime extracted his axe, deflecting the blow.
Fortunately, the Allspark chose that time to start glowing, diverting Megatron's attention. Optimus took advantage of that, lengthening his axe to hit the docking tunnel's open button.
"Warning. Docking tunnel deployed."
Optimus and Megatron got sucked into the tunnel, Prime bracing himself with his axe. He kicked Megatron out into the hot atmosphere with a grunt, delighting in the sound of Megatron's screams of agony.
Meanwhile, in Paw Paw, Michigan…
Young Isaac Sumdac tinkered with his inventions late at night, and heard the thump as a meteoroid crashed to earth. The teenager quickly grabbed a flashlight and dashed outside to see. He was shocked to see it was the head of a giant mechanical being.
Another meteoroid zoomed by, but Isaac remained unaware. The Autobot's ship had yet to land.
"Warning. Planetary impact imminent."
"Everyone to the stasis pods." Optimus said wearily. I quickly opened them. Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Prowl and Ratchet climbed in.
"What about you!" Bumblebee asked.
"Not until I've steered us clear of this populated sector!" Optimus growled, fighting for control of the steering. Just before the ship hit Lake Erie, Optimus' pod closed. I sent them all happy thoughts.
'Sweet dreams.' I though sarcastically. "Initiating emergency stasis."
If only I could join them in the sweet bliss of unconsciousness. But no; I had to wait for 50 years to pass by; unaware of what was happening above me. It was infuriating, at least at first. Eventually, I fell into what was as close to stasis as I could possibly manage. Time mattered little to me, and my only hope was that someday, something might happen.
Anything seemed better than this.