TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED - KALEIDOSCOPE
Chapter 2: Transform and Roll Out, Part 2
Flying through the space cleared by the Nemesis, Megatron made a beeline towards the Autobots' ship, transforming back to robot-mode as came close.
The Autobot saw the menacing figure approach on the bridge's main monitor.
"Is that… Megatron?" Prowl breathed.
Ratchet nodded solemnly.
"You never said he was so big." Bulkhead stated.
"You never said he could fly." Bumblebee half-shouted.
Megatron sailed past the Autobots' ship, and suddenly… he was gone.
The Autobots sat bracing for impact, blinking in surprise when none came.
"Huh." Bulkhead blinked. "Maybe he wasn't coming for us."
The very next second, the bots had to hold on tightly as something impacted with the ship.
On top of the ship stood Megatron, his Fusion Cannon projecting a continuous beam in order to melt a hole through the ship's hull.
Looking at the ceiling of the bridge, it was apparent to the Autobots that he'd be through in just a matter of seconds.
"Ah! Wheeljack! Seal the hull breach!" Ratchet shouted as he began giving orders.
"Already on it." He replied, his hands a blur on the console.
"Arcee, hold the ship steady!"
"Roger that." The femme replied, her actions mirroring Wheeljack.
Ratchet's console opened to reveal two handlebars as he continued to bark orders.
"Bulkhead, Bumblebee, guard the AllSpark! I'll hold off Megatron! Prowl, be ready to back me up if needed!"
"Roger." The ninja-bot saluted as the other two youngsters made their way towards the cargo bay.
"B-but… We're repair-bots!" Bumblebee halted in the door leading off the bridge. "We're not programmed for this kind of action!"
"We don't have time for reformatting you now, kid! Just consider this an upgrade!" Ratchet said and began to work with the handlebars.
Atop the ship, two portals opened to release a huge grapple-crane each. They extended out to their full length and as Ratchet manipulated the handlebars, the cranes moved to grab Megatron, catching him off guard.
Megatron immediately attempted to wrestle free of the grapplers hold on him. His strength was so intense that Ratchet had to use all the force he could muster just keeping the handlebars in place.
The battle of strengths ended without warning however as the device Starscream had placed on Megatron's back began blinking fiercely and then detonated, exploding with enough force to rock the Autobots' entire ship.
The Autobots were tossed around from the impact and the ship cringed over, a large column of smoke and debris trailing from the damaged hull.
In between the fire and smoke, the only sign left of Megatron was his severed right hand, still clinging on to the ship by itself.
Aboard the Nemesis, still standing at the port Megatron had exited; Starscream saw the Autobots' ship spiral downwards in a trail of smoke.
"Yyyess!" Starscream celebrated with glee, pumping his fist.
He quickly regained his posture however as he turned and began walking towards the bridge.
"Right-right... Solemn face. Solemn face." He muttered to himself with poorly repressed glee.
The Autobots' ship kept losing altitude as the smoke still ran thick off from it.
"Warning. Warning. Hull breach. Sealing hatches Alpha, Omega and Epsilon." Teletran-1 reported as several damaged areas were sealed off with metal doors.
On the bridge, turrets extended from the walls and began blowing foam at the ceiling to snuff out the fire caused by the explosion.
"Warning: Planetary impact imminent." Teletran-1 reported as the ship was now on a collision-course towards one of the larger asteroids.
Struggling to get back to his console, Ratchet barked at the computer. "Go to manual override."
"Can you even do that?" Prowl asked from his position on the floor, raising a figurative eyebrow.
"Oh, you'd be surprised at what this ship can do." Wheeljack groaned with pride as he was steadied on his feet by Arcee.
A sudden jolt rocked the ship however, and Wheeljack was sent wheeling over.
"Ah, Wheeljack!" Arcee eeked.
"I'm alright!" He called jovially off-screen as Arcee ran to help him again.
A manual steering appeared on the main-console and Ratchet grabbed hold, using all his might to divert the ship's trajectory from direct collision course.
Even still, the ship was unable to clear the asteroid completely and went skimming across its surface until it ran off its edge, flying towards a Space Bridge mounted on a lone stationary asteroid.
In the cargo bay, Bumblebee and Bulkhead were doing their best to secure the large comatose robot (and by default, the AllSpark) to the wall.
"Hurry, Bulkhead!" Bumblebee groaned as he secured the cables. "We've gotta finish before the next impact sends this guy flying."
"Yeah, I know! That'd be a pain. Um... No offense, man."
The comatose robot made no reply.
"Um, Bumblebee. Look!"
"What? …oh."
The two bots backed away nervously as the AllSpark container suddenly began glowing brighter and brighter with each passing second.
"Hey! What's that thing doing?"
Bumblebee's question went unanswered as blue light exploded from the AllSpark, enveloping the entirety of the ship.
Its light then shot forward through space and into the Space Bridge, activating it just in time for the Autobots' ship to enter and disappear through a sphere of dark blue energy.
The Space Bridge continued powering up however, and within seconds it exploded from the overload, enveloping the surrounding area in a slowly expanding explosion.
"This is a dark day in Decepticon history." Starscream spoke as he watched the explosion from the bridge of the Nemesis. "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 came to a halt as he turned away from the window to address his fellow officers, only to find himself the sole occupant of the bridge.
"Hey… Where's everybody gone?"
At that moment, several smaller ships shot out from the stern of the Nemesis, racing away as fast as they could.
Back on the bridge, Starscream looked back out the window and realized all too late that the explosion from the Space Bridge was still growing and was now overtaking the ship.
Starscream could do naught but scream futilely as he and the Nemesis disappeared in a sea of light.
In an area of Space a long, long distance away; a sphere of dark blue energy appeared and dispersed, leaving behind the Autobots' ship. It drifted onwards on its slow momentum, heading towards a blue and green planet in the distance.
On the ship's bridge everything was a mess with plumes of smoke rising from several short-circuited consoles and the Autobots themselves strewn haphazardly.
The first to make it to her feet was Arcee, rubbing her head in pain before she took in the situation.
"Ratchet! Prowl! Are you alright?" she called as she went over to them.
"Grmm. I've been better." Ratchet groaned bitterly, but softened as he was helped up by Arcee. "Thanks."
"Yes… Thank you." Prowl mumbled softly as he was helped up as well.
"Bulkhead! Bumblebee! Report! Is the AllSpark alright?" Ratched called as he activated the com-link on the main-console. He then looked around the bridge in bewilderment. "And where the scrapheap is Wheeljack?"
Neither question was answered because in the next instant, a large shadow rose in the smoke behind him, sharp red eyes glowing ominously.
"Ratchet, look out!"
"Huh? AGH!"
Ratchet was grabbed by the neck and thrust against a wall. As his optics regained focus, he saw a towering figure holding him with his left arm, the other arm naught but a metallic skeleton that ended at the wrist.
"Grgl… Mega…tron." Ratchet gargled, futilely trying to pry himself lose from the overlord's iron grip.
"The AllSpark. Where is it?" Megatron demanded sinisterly.
"Let go of him!" Arcee shouted as she and Prowl dashed forward to assist.
As she leaped through the air, Arcee made to grab the swords mounted in the kibbles on her back, but was cut short as Megatron swung around and knocked her out of the air by using Ratchet as a battering ram.
"Unfh!" Arcee groaned as she crashed harshly into the floor.
"Arcee!" Ratchet called in alarm before Megatron swung around again, this time leaping over a low attack from Prowl. Megatron quickly came down again and pinned Prowl helplessly beneath his foot.
Ratchet could do nothing but stare in shock as Megatron had downed his allies without effort. He was then banged against another wall as Megatron once again got into his face.
"I grow impatient." The large Decepticon threatened in a calm, sinister voice.
"Ghk." Ratchet gurgled as Megatron grip around his neck tightened.
The thick atmosphere was shattered as Wheeljack suddenly climbed into view from behind a console on the other side of the bridge.
"Urgh, is everyone alright? What's the status?" he exclaimed while rubbing his head.
He then blinked and took in the situation.
"Oh…" he stated slowly as he saw Megatron and Ratchet staring back at him. "That bad, huh?"
"…" Megatron and Ratchet blinked.
"Well then… I guess it can't get any worse if I were to suddenly do this." Wheeljack smiled and cheerfully flipped a lever on the console he was leaning over.
"Artificial gravity disabled." Teletran-1 reported, and the next moment the robots suddenly began to float off from the floor.
Ratchet took the opportunity to brace his back against the wall and kick Megatron in the chest, freeing himself from the overlord's grasp.
"Good thinking, Wheeljack!" Ratchet called as he floated upwards. "This puts us on even footing, so to speak."
"Heh-heh, well what do you know… You CAN compliment people." Wheeljack smirked as he floated, spinning lazily.
"Don't think it'll become a habit." Ratchet snorted as he twisted around. Ratchet's feet began to crackle with electricity as he activated a magnetic field, enabling him to stick to the ceiling.
Across the room, Megatron resumed some footing by jamming his skeletonised wrist into a small gap in the ceiling structure.
Before anyone could make a move, the bridge door opened, allowing Bumblebee to float in. The yellow bot flailed in the air as if he was trying to swim through water.
"Hey! Who turned off the… Oufh!" He managed before something knocked into and sent him tumbling forward.
"Sorry. My bad." Bulkhead called from the bridge door.
Bumblebee came to a stop as he clanged into a larger figure. He backed up slowly, finding himself looking up the imposing Decepticon overlord.
"You know what? You're even uglier from this angle."
Megatron sneered, non-amused, and reached onto his back to produce a double-edged sword.
"Yow! Scarier too." Bumblebee exclaimed as he narrowly dodged the sword in his weightless state.
As Bumblebee did his best not to get sliced into pieces, Prowl suddenly shot through the air with his jetpack, flying towards Megatron.
"Prowl, no!" Ratchet called, unable to do anything but look on in horror as Megatron turned and sliced cleanly through Prowl's body. ..A little too cleanly in fact.
Prowl's body instantly dissolved, revealing to have been a holographic distraction which allowed the real Prowl to sneak behind Megatron. Wielding one of his shuriken in his hand - its alternate form being a cutting-disc, or a "chakram" – Prowl slashed forward, slicing off Megatron's skeletonised arm at the shoulder.
Electricity sparked from the amputated limb and Megatron growled in agony. Now that his "footing" had been severed, he was once again drifting weightlessly through the bridge.
"Sweet trick, man!" Bumblebee smiled as Prowl landed next to him, crouching on the wall.
"Hn." Prowl responded in his typical, non-committal fashion.
"Indeed it was, but don't get cocky, people! Make sure to keep out of his reach." Ratchet called as he moved around on the ceiling.
"I say let's do the opposite." Prowl retorted as he gripped chakrams in both hands. "We mustn't let him have a moment's respite."
"Darn it, Prowl, he may be injured, but this is still slagging Megatron we're facing! We can't just – Kid, listen to me!"
Ratchet's orders fell on deaf ears as Prowl was already rocketing towards Megatron again.
Megatron blocked Prowl's charge with his sword, but the force of the clash made them both fly apart, with Megatron drifting right towards the waiting Bulkhead.
"Hnh! I've got him!" Bulkhead called out as he grabbed around Megatron to restrain his arms and body.
Prowl on his end landed expectedly in a crouch on the main monitor and immediately rocketed back towards the overlord.
"He's defenceless now!" Prowl called as shot forward. "Everyone, this is our chance!"
In his wake, Arcee and Wheeljack made to follow, weapons at the ready.
"For sparks sake, stop right now, Prowl!" Ratchet called franticly but in vain.
Megatron on his end smirked as he watched the incoming Prowl.
"You should've listened to the old bot, cyberninja. I may be injured, but I am Megatron. I —"
The thrusters under Megatron's feet roared to life and he quickly looped forward, causing Bulkhead to rocket off his back and straight towards Prowl.
Prowl twisted in the air, managing to bypass the larger Autobot by a hair. However, this left him distracted and he received a thruster-powered roundhouse kick to his head as Megatron finished his sentence.
"— am NEVER helpless!"
Prowl's was sent crashing into a console, breaking it into pieces. Megatron wouldn't let up and flew towards him like a missile, his sword aiming towards the prone Autobot in a large overhead swing.
Groggy from kick, Prowl's vision returned just in time to see something pink come between him and the charging Megatron.
*CLANG!*
"UHNG!" Arcee grunted as she intercepted Megatron's blade with her own twin short-swords, her legs planted heavily on the floor under the force despite the lack of gravity. Accustomed with fighting physically stronger opponents, she had aimed to deflect the blade to the side rather than blocking it head-on.
Megatron was just too strong however, and as his blade crashed into the floor instead of Prowl, one of Arcee's swords drifted through the air in pieces… as well as something more.
"AAAah!" Arcee cried out in pain as her right hand had been cut in half from the base of her thumb to her index finger, and her arm had cracked and splintered under the pressure.
"Arcee —" Prowl breathed in horrid realization.
Arcee gritted her teeth together and attempted to give Prowl a reassuring smile over her shoulder. That she went so far as to even perform such an action just made Prowl feel worse about himself.
"Impressive, little Autobot." Megatron remarked, giving credit where credit was due. "Never before have such a diminutive warrior been able to deflect my blade in close combat. And never again…" he finished ominously as he raised his sword to strike again.
"Get away from her!" Ratchet roared and crashed into Megatron like a missile, having used his wrist-magnets to grab onto structure ahead and slingshot himself forward.
The overlord flew towards the far-end wall but was able to break his momentum with his feet-thrusters.
He was about to boost himself forward again when electric voltage shot into the exposed circuitry of his right shoulder. Gritting his teeth in pain and anger, he turned to the right and saw Bumblebee with his stingers sparking.
"Don't you know it's rude to hurt a lady?" Bumblebee smirked, but his eyes were angry.
He made to charge against the yellow youngster, but found himself suddenly immobile and unable to control his momentum.
Looking behind him he now spotted Wheeljack, the scientist smirking as he wielded the "weapon" that had just extinguished Megatron's thrusters.
"Fire-extinguishers: A must have for any spacecraft bridge." Wheeljack stated.
Megatron was floating in the air, close to the bridge-exit. He slowly turned his head back and forth to watch five of the six Autobots surrounding him in a wide half-circle, weapons at the ready.
"You're a persistent little bunch." Megatron sneered.
"Urgh… Hang tight, guys! I'm coming!" Bulkhead groaned as he pulled himself up from where he crashed earlier and made to climb over a console. As he did, he ended up switching a lever and the ship began to rumble.
"Uh-oh…"
All the control-screens lighted up and the ship's rocket-turbines roared to life, causing the ship to roar forward through space, rapidly heading towards the blue and green little planet.
Even though the artificial gravity had returned, the sudden increase in speed caused everyone to fly against the back of the bridge. But while Ratchet, Wheeljack and Arcee crashed into the wall, the three younger bots went sailing through the bridge door, careering through the ship until they crashed into the cargo bay.
As Bumblebee gingerly tried to get up from where he'd crashed into a stack of containers, something large came down upon him and crushed him against the floor.
"Now bring me the AllSpark and I may spare your miserable Autobot lives." Megatron threatened as he stood over him, pinning him down beneath his left foot.
"Little buddy!" Bulkhead called in alarm from further back in the cargo bay.
Instantly, the massive Autobot was on his feet and charging.
"You get away from him!" he roared and with a throwing motion sent his wreaking-ball flying forward.
Megatron ducked under the wreaking-ball and cocked his leg before he kicked Bumblebee towards the charging Autobot. As Bulkhead skidded to a halt in order to secure Bumblebee with his free hand, Megatron made to move forward but was halted as Prowl delivered a kick to the back of his head.
Stumbling, the overlord corrected himself against a stack of containers and whirled around to deflect Prowl's shuriken with his sword. He grunted in alarm as he was once again caught off guard and struck in the back, this time by Bumblebee's stinger.
"You just don't know when to quit!" Megatron snarled as the three youngsters charged him from all sides.
Deflecting and blocking most of the attacks, Megatron swung his sword low, cutting into Bulkhead's right knee. As the large Autobot stumbled over and fell, Megatron by-stepped him and lashed out against Bumblebee, sending the small bot flying through the air and crashing into the far off wall.
Prowl, now the only Autobot standing, leapt towards Megatron as he let several shuriken fly, but Megatron deflected the throwing-stars expertly with a few quick sword swings and then punched Prowl in the chest.
As Prowl crashed into and collapsed on the floor, Megatron took the moment to survey the cargo bay. Noticing something in the corner of his optic, he turned towards a wall where a blue light was shining, its source obstructed by the various stacks of containers spread across the room.
Mesmerised by the glow, Megatron made his way towards it, knocking aside the containers rather then walk around the stacks. Bulkhead attempted to get up and stop him, but fell down groaning in pain as he put weight on his damaged knee.
Knocking the last stack of containers aside, Megatron finally had clear view to the AllSpark as it sat glowing in the lap of some totalled robot strapped to the wall. While the robot was of no consequence, Megatron paused as he drank in the sight of the item he had sought for so very long.
It was but a second, but a critical second none the less as on the other side of the room, Bumblebee got to his feet and acted on impulse, slamming the switch mounted on the wall behind him.
"Warning: Docking tunnel deployed." Teletran-1 reported as the ship was now roaring through the stratosphere of the blue planet. As the docking tunnel extended out of the ship, its corresponding door in the cargo bay opened, causing everything that wasn't mounted down to instantly begin being sucked out by the vacuum.
Beginning to slide towards the door, Bulkhead grabbed the dazed Prowl and transformed his free hand into a buzzsaw used for construction work. With it he quickly cut into the floor, turning it off when it was deep enough down to serve as a holding point for him.
Megatron had no such luck however and flew backwards across the room, roaring in anger and disbelief as he watched the AllSpark remain mounted to the wall and out of his reach.
Bumblebee did his best to keep his grip on the wall, but as Megatron crashed against the edges of the gate as he was sucked into the docking tunnel, the tremors caused Bumblebee's grip to slip and he was sucked into the gate as well.
"In hindsight, maybe this wasn't such a bright move after all!" Bumblebee hollered as he hung horizontally in the gateway, clinging on for dear life.
Hearing a metallic screech and clang behind him, Bumblebee looked down the docking tunnel and saw that Megatron had grid to a halt by using his sword on the tunnel wall.
"This guy's like something from a nightmare…" Bumblebee breathed amazed as the Decepticon overlord was now actually working his way back up.
He turned his head back towards the cargo bay and hollered.
"Bulkhead! Give me a hand!"
"Hang on!" the large Autobot called back as he secured Prowl under the buzzsaw-arm he had wedged into the floor. He then aimed the freed arm towards the docking tunnel and let one of his wreaking-balls fly.
"Whoa-whoa! Not at me! Not AT me!" Bumblebee screamed as the wreaking-ball shot straight towards him.
Letting go of the ledge, he was able to twist around the wreaking-ball in the air and grab around the cable trailing it. Megatron however had no room to dodge and the wreaking ball hit him straight in the chest.
Clinging onto the wreaking-ball cable, Bumblebee watched wide-eyed as the overlord fell out of the ship and ignited in the stratosphere, screaming all the way.
As Bulkhead reeled the cable in, Bumblebee pulled his feet up as the gate suddenly closed without warning.
"Oof!" Bumblebee grunted as he and the wreaking-ball fell to the floor when the vacuum-effect cut off.
Blinking, Bulkhead relaxed and pulled up his buzzsaw from where it was embedded in the floor.
"What in tarnation is going on here?" Ratchet hollered as he stood in the gate of the pathway leading back to the bridge, his hand resting on a control-switch on the wall.
"Boys, are you alright? Where's Megatron?" Arcee called as she came running into the cargo bay, sword ready in her one good hand.
"Uhnn, yeah. We're alright." Prowl said, rubbing his acing head while Bulkhead helped him to his feet.
"We're also glad to announce that that the Big Bad has flown the coup." Bumblebee grinned as he got up as well.
"What about the AllSpark?" Ratchet pressed. "Did he take it?"
"Don't worry, Doc-bot. It's safe." Bulkhead replied and gestured to the wall where the damaged robot sat.
Sure enough, the AllSpark was still sitting snug in the robot's lap.
"Good thing that guy's got such a tough grip." Bulkhead commented as Ratchet visually relaxed.
"We have the AllSpark and we got away from the Decepticons." Bumblebee stated, summarizing their situation. "Heck, Megatron's probably gone for good! Looks like we're all in the clear!"
Bumblebee's wide smile froze as Teletran-1's voice was heard over the speakers.
"Warning: Planetary impact imminent." The ship's computer reported.
"… Oh, give me a slagging break." The yellow bot muttered deflated.
Down on the blue planet, some distance outside the city called Detriot, a young human boy of Indian descent sat in a satellite dish and telescope-adorned barn, tinkering with electronic equipment.
Suddenly, he spotted a streak of light flash across the night sky and crash just a short distance away from his home. Running out with a flashlight, the boy headed towards the crash site and followed a deep trail in the ground leading across the field.
When he finally came to the trail's end, he adjusted his flashlight and gasped as he stared into the gigantic face of an unresponsive Megatron.
The Autobots' ship was hurtling through the night sky, ablaze like a proverbial fireball and descending at alarming speeds.
Inside, the bridge gate opened and the bots came running in.
"What the heck are you doing, Wheeljack? At this rate we'll crash!" Ratchet called as he approached the robot at the main-console.
"Ghh! It's no good, Ratchet!" he replied as he struggled with the steering. "We're coming in too fast. I can't get the ship to level!"
"What?"
"Guys, look!" Bulkhead called and pointed towards the front.
Through the front glass a city could be seen, and the Autobots' ship was heading straight towards it.
"Oh, that's not good." Wheeljack commented with a misleadingly calm tone. "That is extremely very not good."
Ratchet snapped to attention and leapt forward, grabbing the steering together with Wheeljack.
"Arcee, get the kids to the stasis-pods!" he shouted over his shoulder as he and Wheeljack struggled.
"Ratchet…!"
"We're going to crash in just a few cycles, so hurry!" Ratchet snapped, cutting her off.
"And we need to make sure the ship steers clear of this populated sector." Wheeljack added, grunting in effort.
Arcee lingered in place for half-a-second before she grit her teeth in determination.
"You two better make it to the pods as well, or I swear I'll fix you up JUST so I can tear you both apart again!" she called, and with that she whirled around and led the younger bots off the bridge. Bumblebee sent the two older bots a last nervous glance over his shoulder before he exited.
"Hehe." Wheeljack chuckled when they were alone on the bridge. "Gotta love a girl with some proverbial steel bearings."
"I swear, Wheeljack; if I weren't busy right now, I'd kick your blasted tailpipe in!"
The ship roared like a comet above the city, getting closer to clipping the taller buildings by the second.
"Pull, you strutless fool!"
"I'm pulling, I'm pulling!"
Groaning in effort, the two bots finally managed to pull the steering back and the ship's nose rose. The ship was still going down, but now it would at least go clear of the city and hit the ocean instead.
Locking the steering, the two bots gave each other a brief nod and then left the bridge.
Running back through the ship, they entered a room with several giant capsules propped up against the wall. Through the capsules' transparent doors, the other Autobots could be seen inside in what could be described as a sleeping state.
Ratchet and Wheeljack wasted no time and hurried to climb inside two stasis-pods themselves.
"Initiating Emergency Stasis Lock." Teletran-1 sounded and the pods activated fully, the robots disappearing from view as the insides of the pods froze over.
Seconds later, the Autobots' ship crashed violently into the ocean and sank like a stone, disappearing into the dark, dark depths.
…
And thus, 50 years passed.
END CHAPTER 2
Author's notes:
And there the 2nd half of the first episode is done.
The next chapters will take longer to get out, but bear with me, will you? ^^
Bulkhead's buzzsaw is a feature his "Leader-class" toy has so I decided to throw it into the mix since it seems like a resonable feature.
Next Chapter: Sari, Captain Fanzone and Police Drones, oh my.