A/N: Now we're getting into the real meat of the story. The last few chapters were just for introductions and set up for the story.
Let's get into it!
Ben 10: Prime Force
Chapter 4: Darkness Rising Part I
…
It was evening in the northern Canadian wilderness. The sun was beginning to set in the west with a band of beautiful, warm colours in its wake. The landscape is comprised of trees, hills, and mountains as far as the eye can see. Suddenly, a dark ominous shape appears out of the late evening sky. This ship was the Decepticon warship: The Nemesis. It came to a stop, mid-air over a large, jagged mountain peak that is now an extinct volcano.
Without warning, a long, yellow tube expanded from the bottom of the Nemesis and descended into the jagged opening in the mountain top. Littered at the bottom of the mined cavern were huge blue crystals of raw Energon. Squadrons of Vehicons operated drills to dig further for more deposits while others collected the Energon unearthed and placed them in hovering storage platforms.
Once the tube stopped, a pair of sliding doors opened to allow its two occupants to step out. The first out was slim silver seeker with red highlights called Starscream. Following behind the seeker, at a leisurely pace was a tall, broad silver mech, the leader of the Decepticons, Megatron.
Starscream proceeded down a metal walkway towards a viewing platform that overlooked the entire mining operation.
"Of the Energon deposits we have located while you were away, Lord Megatron…this one by far is the most significant." Starscream notified. "The drones have been mining without pause since your absence, and have amassed quite a stockpile." Starscream stopped before looking over the catwalk and pointed towards a random drone mining an Energon crystal "You there, fetch me a sample".
"Starscream," A deep voice of authority called out, causing the arrogant mech to freeze with fear.
Megatron stepped out of the dim light, and gazed down towards his second-in-command with a look of authority and minor irritation.
"Now that I have returned, I will be the one to issue commands" Megatron declared as he continued walking down the pathway.
"I…understand, Lord Megaton." Starscream replied in somewhat disappointed tone. "Then, as your humble servant, should I ready the spacebridge? To bring forth the Decepticon army you have surely gathered in your three years in space?"
"My army will come." Megatron then glanced back at Starscream with his blood red optics. "But my time away has yielded a more…intriguing means of materializing them".
"A solidified form of matter that the ancient texts referred to as…the blood of Unicron,"
The silver warlord then held up his right servo that grasped a purple glowing shard that had a violent haze billowing off of it. Starscream stared at the amethyst matter with wide optics and a slightly gapped mouth for a short second as he walked around his master to get a better look.
"Unicron the Destroyer," Starscream stated rather than asked. "But…it is said that his blood carries his Anti-Spark."
"Plucked from cosmic shores…gaze upon Dark Energon" Megatron tightened his grip on the purple shard for emphasis.
"Legend tells that it has the power to revive the dead" Starscream stuttered at the latter part.
"We only require cadaver to be certain. Are you willing to make the ultimate sacrifice?" Megatron asked with an expression of anticipation.
Starscream slightly chuckled as his tapped his razor, sharp talons in a timid matter. "That may not be necessary." The slender grey mech then gestured to an elevator platform in front of them. "If I may Lord Megatron".
Right on cue, the platform stopped as a few Vehicons stepped off, pushing a floating table with a red Cybertronian mech that had a huge gash going through his chest. On the table was the beaten, scarred, dead form of Cliffjumper.
"Consider it a welcome home present," Starscream grinned.
Megatron's triangular, shark teeth were revealed as his smiled sadistically upon the sight of the dead Autobot.
Autobot Outpost Omega-1
Back at the Autobot base, it had been a couple of hours since Team 10 and the Autobots introduced themselves. Now that Arcee and Bulkhead had returned from patrol, Optimus figured it would be best to have a little discussion with their new friends.
Ben, Gwen and Kevin were in the human area, gathered around the railing so that they may be more eye level with the Autobots. Optimus Prime was standing in front of the superhero trio, discussing the current situation.
"And since you now know of our existence, I fear the Decepticons may soon learn of yours as well" Optimus conjectured.
"Not a problem." Ben replied in a 'not so worried' tone. "It's not like we can't handle ourselves."
"Though that you three may have…unearthly abilities…I feel it would be best if you have an Autobot guardian with you outside the base." Optimus offered. "You can never be too careful."
Kevin glanced over at Bulkhead whilst Gwen looked at Bumblebee, both smiled.
"Fine with me," Kevin grinned.
"Me too," Gwen added.
Ben took a quick glance at Arcee. The femme turned the other way, trying to avoid his gaze. The Omnitrix bearer sighed, getting the hint that Arcee really wasn't fond of him. However, they were in another universe, and had nowhere else to go and no way of getting back home
But these Autobots were kind of enough to let them stay with them until they could discover a means of getting back to their home universe. Ben was grateful for it, and he was confident he could trust these apparently sentient machines.
The hero took another quick glance at the blue femme, realizing that it would take some time before the femme ever came around.
"Optimus," Ratchet whispered audibly. "Are you sure allowing these children to stay with us is wise. I mean, they are more in danger here than anywhere."
"Children?" Ben said, glaring at the medic.
"When they are not in… super-powered mode… they are as fragile as any other human. If they ever get underfoot, they will go… squish." Ratchet continued.
"Then for the time being Ratchet, we must watch where we step." Optimus complied with a bit of humour.
Before another comment could be made, the computer panels began to blink as an alarm blared through the main ops centre.
"What's that?" Kevin asked edgy, recalling the similar incident on the Rustbucket hours ago.
"It's the proximity alarm. It means somebody is coming in from the top of the mesa." Bumblebee explained.
Gwen turned to her cousin and boyfriend and translated, "Proximity sensors. Someone's coming up top".
Ratchet went to the terminal to see what set of the alarm. He sighed frustratingly as he turned his helm to face the others.
"It's Agent Fowler".
"I thought we were the only humans who knew about you guys" Ben said confusingly, with a raised brow.
"Special Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to your worlds government. He usually only visits when there are…issues." Optimus explained. "It would be best if you would not meet him at this time".
The trio nodded their heads in understanding.
Ben tapped the Omnitrix faceplate, allowing the holo-ring to pop up. He quickly scrolled through the playlist until he found the alien he wanted. He pressed the head icon, causing the plate to slid back, and let the core pop out.
Out of reflex, Ben slammed down the dial. Green light consumed his body as the Gwen, Kevin, and the 'Bots had to cover their eyes and optics.
"Ghostfreak," An eerie, raspy voice called out, after the light died away.
The Autobots stared in awe and shock at what had transpired. Hovering in Ben's place was a pale, ghost looking being that had black cracks around its body and a singular green in eye in one of the cracks on its head.
"Incredible," Ratchet muttered, wide eyed.
Gwen crossed her arms as she glared at Ben annoyingly. "Was that really necessary?"
The Ectonurite turned to Gwen and replied, "Not really, I just wanted to see their dumbfounded looks."
Ghostfreak hastily grabbed Gwen and Kevin by the shoulders. Ben made them and himself invisible and intangibly. They phased through the concrete floor which provoked some gasps from the Autobots. Ghostfreak phased through out of the silo wall close to Ratchet's work centre and made him and his friends tangible once more.
As soon as the medic's optics spotted them he let out a relieved sigh, seeing that they were okay.
"We'll hide here until he leaves." Ghostfreak informed eerily.
Optimus nodded in response.
A moment later, the elevator doors in the human centre opened, revealing a rotund, African-American man wearing a blue business suit. He had an expression of solemnity and irritation on his face.
"Seven wrecks, thirty-four fender-benders, a three-hour traffic jam," Fowler continued as he stepped out of the elevator and towards Optimus. Ratchet and Bulkhead stepped away from the railing in the process. "And on another note, numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown make and a black and yellow custom muscle car." Fowler paused as he shot a quick glare at Arcee and Bumblebee, who looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.
"Now, anything you want to get off your tin-chest, Prime?" Fowler asked harshly.
Optimus narrowed his optics at the agent annoyingly, although he suppressed it very well and put on his best, professional mien. "We have the situation under control, Agent Fowler" He assured.
"They're, back aren't they?" Implied Fowler, ignoring Optimus's previous response.
"If you are referring to the Decepticons, I fear they never left. Your planet is much too valuable to them".
"Is that so?" Fowler raised a brow. "Then maybe it's time I wake up the Pentagon?"
"Hear me Agent Fowler," Optimus continued. "We are your best, possibly your only defence against the Decepticon threat."
"Says you?" He countered, not convinced.
"Hey fleshy!" Bulkhead shouted.
He was getting pretty annoyed with Fowler's attitude towards his leader. "Did anyone get splattered on that freeway?! Team Prime knows when to use force." The Wrecker then ripped off a mechanical arm mechanism off of Ratchet's lab table. "And how much to use it," He then crushed the arm for emphasis.
"Bulkhead, I needed that!" Ratchet yelled.
Ghostfreak, Kevin, and Gwen couldn't help but giggle at the comical scene.
"Enough!" Optimus ordered, before turning his attention back to their liaison. "Military involvement will only lead to catastrophe. Perhaps you can condone for widespread human casualties Agent Fowler, I, however, cannot."
Ben looked on impressed by Optimus's words. It was beyond a shadow of a doubt that Optimus really did care for the safety of Earth, and would do everything in his power to defend it. The trio, at that moment, had discovered newfound respect for the Autobot leader.
"Then do us both a favour Prime and handle this…UNDER the radar." Fowler replied as he proceeded back to the elevator. Before the doors closed, he added, "Or I will".
As soon as the doors shut tight, Ghostfreak grabbed Gwen and Kevin and flew back to the platform, and slapped the Omnitrix dial, turning back to Ben in a flash of green light.
"He seemed like a ray of sunshine." Ben commented with a smirk, eliciting a few snickers from Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Kevin.
"Yeah," Bulkhead agreed. "And pretty big bearings…for a human."
"Agent Fowler is only concerned for his world. As he should be," Optimus stated wisely.
Decepticon Energon mine
Megatron walked up to the platform where the scarred, deceased form of Cliffjumper laid. The Dark Energon shard was still held tight in the warlord's grip.
"Let us see if the legends are true" Megatron hissed as he stabbed the purple shard into the red mech's chest.
All of a sudden, Cliffjumper's body began to glow a bright amethyst as darker violent mists seeped out of his body. The Dark Energon chunk sunk into the Autobot's spark chamber. Without warning, the optics of the once dead Cybertronian opened back up.
However, instead of a bright blue, they were a dark purple. The same type of violent colour illuminated out of the Cliffjumper's joints and seams. Suddenly, the zombie-bot shot its helm up as it let out savage like growls.
It continued growling, snarling, and pulling against its binds. With newfound strength, the former Autobot easily broke the bonds on its wrists and then its ankles. It jumped off the platform and quickly spotted two Vehicon troopers standing forty yards away.
It threw up its head once more a roared violently before charging at the drones. It tackled the one to the left with great force, and began to punch it repeatedly in the face. Before the drone could fight back, the red mech grabbed him by the face and crushed it, off-lining it in the process.
The second Vehicon deployed its blaster and cut loose a barrage of energy blasts at the Dark Energon infected Cybertronian. Cliffjumper's attention was immediately drawn to the other drone firing at him, its blasts did nothing but enrage the walking-dead Cybertronian further.
It snarled ferociously as it charged the other Vehicon and began to pummel it to death, never pausing once.
Megatron and Starscream stood back and watched. An expression of horror, fear, and shock was plastered on the seekers face. Megatron, on the other hand, looked on in interest.
"That's your plan!" Starscream screamed with trepidation. "Bring Autobots back from the dead to attack us?!"
"That is no longer an Autobot." The Decepticon leader corrected calmly. "Just a mindless beast that's only instinct is to destroy anything in its path."
After the red mech finished killing the two troopers, it turned its gaze to the silver brute that was Megatron. It threw up its arms and let out a battle cry before storming towards the warlord. Starscream ran in the other direction, putting as much distance between him and the undead Autobot.
Meanwhile, Megatron stood stationary with not an ounce of fear. As soon as the zombie-bot got within range, the former gladiator deployed his sword and sliced it diagonally across Cliffjumper's body. It stopped and stood still for a short moment, until the front half of Cliffjumper split away from the lower half.
Both halves fell over the ledge, however the upper half held on to the edge with one servo.
"There Starscream, now you see. This is the key to my vast, indestructible army. Savagery, untamed powers, the ultimate weapon," Megaton announced as he stepped towards the ledge, seeing that the snarling Cliffjumper was still attempting to get back up. The warlord promptly kicked the former 'Bot in the face, letting it fall hundreds of feet down into the cavern below "Once I learn to control it".
Starscream looked over with a sadistic grin adorning his facial plate.
Autobot Outpost
Ratchet stands by the computer terminal, searching for any possible Energon spikes that could pop up anytime. Suddenly, a new signature appeared on screen. The medic analysed further to see that it was originating from the Northern Canadian wilderness. And to his shock, there is a profile picture of a familiar red mech right next to the signal.
"Blasted Earth tech!" Ratchet exclaimed. "Cliffjumper's signal just popped back online."
Team Prime stepped closer whilst Ben, Gwen, and Kevin came to the railing nearest to Ratchet.
"Wait…who's Cliffjumper?" Gwen asked.
"How is that possible?" Optimus inquired, ignoring Gwen's question.
"It isn't." Ratchet answered. "It's another bug. The system's chalked full of them!"
"If there's any chance that Cliff is still alive" Arcee stated with a smile, a sense of new-found hope.
"Ratchet, activate the groundbridge" Optimus commanded.
The gruff 'Bot walked to the groundbridge controls, entered the coordinates, and pulled down the lever. Suddenly, the tunnel carved into the side of the mesa wall, flared to life as greenish-blue light consumed the passageway.
"Hey!" Kevin called out. "What can we do, big man?"
Optimus looked at Kevin and then Gwen and Ben. True, these three had super-powers and could be helpful, but Optimus did not want to risk any of them getting hurt. Besides, this mission is only search and rescue.
"Remain with Ratchet," Optimus replied.
"Uh," Kevin sighed as he gripped the railing, so tightly that it actually bended in his grip.
"Uh," Ratchet vented annoyingly.
"Autobots," Optimus said. "Roll out!"
Optimus collapsed into his red / blue Peterbilt mode and zoomed through the portal first. Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee transformed into their vehicle modes and followed swiftly.
"W-what just happened?" Ben asked dumbfounded.
"I sent them to the designated coordinates via the groundbridge." Ratchet explained.
"What's a groundbridge?" Gwen inquired with intrigue.
Ratchet vented a heavy sigh as he continued. "It is a scale down version of spacebridge technology. Since we do not possess the means or the Energon required for intergalactic travel…"
"You're stuck here" Kevin finished. "On Earth".
"With the likes of you, yes" Ratchet replied. "But I engineered the groundbridge to allow travel from here, to anywhere on this planet."
"Does it work for humans, or…meta-humans?" Gwen queried.
"Naturally," Ratchet replied with a hint of pride.
"So, it's almost like a Hyper-Space Jump Gate, only limited to Earth." Ben summarized.
Ratchet raised an optic brow. "I'm afraid I do not know what a…Hyper-Space Jump Gate is."
"It's like our universe's version of a spacebridge." Kevin explained simply.
"So…you can travel to any point across the globe in just seconds with this machine." Gwen said. "Wow, that's pretty cool…and efficient."
"Indeed," Ratchet then stepped forward with a smug grin. "In fact, allow me to transport you three to any destination of your choosing, free of charge".
Gwen simply glared at the medic. Ben and Kevin took a step back, knowing that look all too well.
"Watch it, Ratchet." She warned as her eyes lit up with pink.
Ben couldn't help but snicker as Ratchet slowly stepped back. But unexpectedly, another thought entered Ben's mind. It had been bothering the green-eyed teen since it transpired: when the Omnitrix scanned Bumblebee. It had been bugging Ben since they arrived at the Autobot base.
Though the Autobots seemed to carry human like traits, he was confused why the Omnitrix would scan one of them. From what he knew, the Omnitrix only scanned unknown, sentient organic DNA. Although these transforming machines seemed sentient… how could they have DNA?
"Hey Ratchet, I've got a question." Ben said.
"And I bet I have an answer." Ratchet replied as he proceeded back to his terminal.
"Right," Ben rolled his eyes. "I was wondering if you Cybertronians have something similar to DNA".
"Why the sudden interest?" Gwen probed, raising an eyebrow.
"Because, earlier today, while Arcee and 'Bee were fighting those Decepticon troopers, the Omnitrix wouldn't let me transform until it scanned Bumblebee" Ben explained.
This had caught Gwen, Kevin, and even Ratchet's attention. The former two looked at Ben confused.
"Wait, the Omnitrix scanned Bumblebee? How is that possible?" Kevin asked. "I thought the watch only scanned unknown organic life-forms".
Ben rubbed his chin as he contemplated on this predicament. "I know. That's what I thought too; which is why I asked in the first place."
"Well, to answer your question, yes. We Cybertronians have what is called CNA or Cyber Nucleic Acid. It is the building blocks of all Cybertronian life." Ratchet enlightened.
"Like DNA," Gwen whispered. Her brows furrowed as her mind began to connect the dots. Once she got it figured out, she turned to her cousin. "That explains why the Omnitrix scanned Bumblebee. It detected the unknown genetic code of a sentient being".
Ben looked to the floor for a moment as he soaked this all in. "Hold on, that means that it doesn't matter if it is organic or not. As long as it has some sort of genetic code, and has sentient traits, the Omnitrix will scan it." Ben summarized.
"Wait! So that means Tennyson can turn into one of them guys now?" Kevin added. "Cool".
"You," Ratchet pointed at Ben. "Turning into one of us… Primus help us all" He sighed.
Gwen and Kevin couldn't help but snicker at the ole gruff medic whilst Ben looked on in bewilderment.
"What? What's wrong with me turning into one of them?"
The auburn-haired girl looked at Ben incredulously for a second, but said nothing.
Several minutes later, Ben and Kevin climbed down from the human platform and began to walk around the command centre, examining the room and getting a feel to where everything was. They had already walked through the med-bay and Ratchet's lab and were heading back to the human platforms. As the duo walked through the massive room, a piece of machinery on a wall grabbed Ben's attention.
The brunette walked over to it and studied it for a few seconds. It had all sorts of buttons, wires, and holes where computer boards could be seen inside.
"Hmm...what's this thing?" Ben asked as he proceeded to touch a button.
"Broken. Don't touch" Ratchet replied bluntly as he walked back to his computer terminal.
Ben stared at the medic's back for a second as he outstretched his hand back to another button on the machine.
"Don't touch that either!"
Ben scratched his head in confusion as Kevin walked up behind him.
"Anything in here we can touch?" Kevin quipped.
Before Ratchet could retort, a red error message appeared on his monitor. Prompting him to let out a frustrated sigh.
"Ratchet, how come you guys are using human computers?" Gwen inquired.
"It certainly wasn't by choice. It was handed down from the previous owners when we inherited this former missile silo. I make modifications where I see fit" Ratchet explained.
Right on cue, multiple beeps sounded out as all of the monitors, large and small were littered with red error messages. Ratchet vented out another annoyed sigh as he hung down his helm.
"Hmm...I think I can fix that" Gwen said. The red-haired girl then turned her gaze to Kevin. "Kevin, get up here".
The black-haired teen rushed to a yellow ladder and climbed up. He strolled over to a set of human size computer consoles that Gwen was already by and took a seat.
"Really no.? You know this is complex technology. I mean, it isn't a child's toy" The medic stated unconvinced.
However, Gwen ignored him and continued to type on the keyboard as Kevin watched what she was doing. Before she finished, Kevin told her to input a few extra codes she left out. Once he was satisfied with it, he told her it was good to go as she pressed the 'Enter' button.
"Now try," Gwen said.
Ratchet looked up and was meet with quite a shock. The error messages vanished and were replaced with green check mark icons before the screen returned to normal. He looked back at the duo to see their smirking faces directed at him.
"When you've dealt with alien tech as long as I have, fixing human computers is a walk in the park" Kevin grinned as he leaned back in his chair.
"Duly noted," Ratchet muttered.
...
Later, the occupants at Outpost Omega received an emergency groundbridge request. As Ratchet pulled down the groundbridge lever, Ben, Gwen and Kevin gathered by the railing to watch as the groundbridge tunnel came to life.
Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Optimus zoomed into the base, in vehicle mode, and at high speeds. But what really caught the trio's attention was the bright blue conflagration tailing the Autobots. As soon as Optimus exited the portal, Ratchet quickly closed the groundbridge.
The red and blue titan transformed and skid across the floor thanks to his momentum. Team 10 could see soot, burnt marks, and scratches all over the Autobot warriors. However, it appeared to be nothing more than superficial.
"Cutting it a bit close," remarked Ratchet before he became more serious. "How 'bout Cliffjumper?"
Optimus, 'Bee, and Bulk looked down solemnly. Ben, Gwen, or Kevin didn't need to ask as they could already see the answer on their facial plates. It was clear, whoever this Cliffjumper was, didn't make it.
Optimus took a step towards Arcee, who was hugging her chassis and looking at the floor.
"Arcee, what did you see?"
She hesitated for a moment, but eventually regained a bit of her bearings. "Not Cliff…at least…not anymore," She paused. "He was mutated, butchered…like one of those 'Con experiments during the war" Arcee tried fighting back tears.
The Amazon warrior then fell to a knee as she rested her head and arms on a concrete cube.
"Arcee, are you okay?" Bumblebee asked concerned.
The blue femme held up a hand. "I-I'm fine. Just… a little dizzy,"
Ben, Gwen, and Kevin both looked on in confusion. It didn't take long for all to suddenly click into place. Their eyes widened at this new, stunning revelation.
"Robots, who get dizzy," Kevin noted.
"Robots with emotions," Gwen added.
"Robots…, who can die," Ben finished.
They realized then that these Cybertronians… despite being made of metal and wires… were actually more sentient than they previously thought; they were human, in their own way.
Ben walked to the railing closest to Arcee and gazed down on the femme. He noticed Ratchet examining something on her right gauntlet. It was some sort of purple goo with a violent haze billowing off of it.
"What is this?" Ratchet muttered as he stared at the goo longer.
"Don't know. Cliff was covered in it, leaking it" Arcee replied.
Without warning, the sounds of beeping and whirring caught everyone off guard. Ben immediately realized that source of the noise was emanating from his left wrist. He pulled up his jacket sleeve. What Ben saw was surprising to say the least. The Omnitrix was fluctuating between flashing green, yellow, and purple while at the same time beeping and whirring uncontrollably.
"Well… whatever that stuff is, it's messing with the Omnitrix" Ben pointed out.
The orange and white 'Bot took a scalpel from his subspace compartment on his waist and took a sample off of Arcee's wrist.
"Go take a decontamination bath, now" Ratchet advised.
Bumblebee helped Arcee up and aided her to the decontamination room. Ben's attention was still focused on the Omnitrix, and why it was acting weird. The moment Arcee exited the room, and Ratchet placed his sample in his lab, the watch deceased it's bleeping, whirring, and flashing before it returned to normal.
'Okay, what was that about?' Ben thought. He looked at the watch faceplate for a moment before averting his attention to the concrete box where Arcee was previously seating. The teen hero realized that whatever that purple stuff was, it was what was screwing up the Omnitrix. 'But the question was, why? What could it be, that could make the Omnitrix meltdown like that?'
Ben tried thinking up possible reasons, but none really came up.
He then turned his gaze to where Arcee had exited the room. He couldn't help but feel sorry for the blue femme, even though she didn't like being near him. Whoever this Cliffjumper was, he obviously he cared for him deeply. It would explain the hostility she had towards Ben. She was simply upset over losing someone close to her.
Ben decided he would confront her later about it, now was not the time.
'I'll let her be for now. She's already been through a lot. She just needs this time' Ben thought.
The Nemisis
High in Earth's atmosphere, the Decepticon warship was flying through thick, banks of clouds. It was late evening and the colour of the clouds was turning to a dusty pink whilst the sky became darker. Inside the ship, Megatron and Starscream were situated in a big room with a pillar in the centre with some sort of force field surrounding it.
Resting on the pillar was a humongous chunk of Dark Energon sprouting out of some sort of rock at the bottom. The amethyst light lite up the room whilst the hazy mist billowing off the crystals was sucked into multiple vents above the platform.
The silver warlord strolled around the pillar, gazing up the Dark Energon crystals. He had been examining the dark substance without pause ever since he had it transported aboard his vessel.
Meanwhile, Starscream kept his distance down the pathway as he debriefed his master on the events that occurred at the Energon mine.
"I do not think you have to worry about further Autobot interference, Lord Megatron. Not with Prime's spark extinguished" Starscream said.
"And how sure of this statement are you Starscream?" Megatron implied, not turning his attention away from the violent rocks.
"I destroyed the mine. As you instructed" The arrogant seeker replied.
"Optimus is not easily destroyed. We have millennia worth of battle behind us to prove it" Megatron retorted as he returned his gaze upon the Dark Energon.
"Perhaps you should take a break, Lord Megatron. I fear too much contact with the Dark Energon could…adversely affect you."
"Or perhaps Starscream… I have simply not allowed myself to have enough contact." Megatron responded as he plucked off a shard from the formation of Dark Energon crystals.
"Wait! Lord Megatron, no! Not your spark chamber, you do not know what it will do!" Starscream protested.
However, the seeker's screams went ignored as Megatron stabbed the purple shard deep into his chest. Suddenly, a loud growl emanated from the depths of Megatron's throat. Bright purple light began to illuminate from the seams and joints of Megatron's body. As seconds passed, the warrior's structure started to shake rapidly.
Starscream looked on in horror as he took a few cautious steps back from the scene.
Without warning, another louder growl exited out from his mouth as his once red optics turned a bright purple.
Autobot Outpost
The command centre was empty with the exception of Ratchet. Last night, Ben, Gwen, and Kevin had left for Jasper along with Bulkhead and Bumblebee to pick up a few things, mainly food. But while they were in town, they kept in mind to search for jobs, until they then remembered that they don't exist in this universe, so applying for a job would be difficult.
Optimus and Arcee had both returned to their quarters. The latter had immediately gone to her room after washing herself off. As far as Ratchet knew, she was still in their sulking over today's recent event. But the medic couldn't blame her. Who could?
But now, it was early morning and everything was quiet as the rest of Team Prime and the latest human additions continued to sleep in their respective quarters. Ratchet had decided to take this time of peace and quiet to his advantage and study the purple substance he scraped off Arcee the day before.
Ratchet looked through a microscope, examining the purple goo he removed from Arcee's wrist. He looked up from the device and stared at the monitor that showed an enhanced image of the purple substance.
"Hmm" the mech pondered "the base elements of this goo are unlike anything I've ever encountered. It must've been extremely concentrated to have affected Arcee so rapidly".
Using a set of Cybertronian size tongs, the cranky medic then removed the glass slide from underneath the microscope. On the slide was a singly droplet of the same amethyst goo.
"However, results are slow coming without the proper tools thank you very much, Bulkhead." He complained as he proceeded to another part of his laboratory.
Just as Ratchet stepped away from his work bench, out of his knowledge, a small droplet of purple fell to the floor. The drop of goo landed on the same robotic, grappler device that Bulkhead had previously crushed.
Unexpectedly, the purple substance seeped into the mechanical arm through the seams. After a few seconds, the grappler hooks began to flinch as purple light shone out from the device's seams and through a hole in the palm of the mechanical hand.
Suddenly, the grappler tool came to life and began to crawl around on the floor much like a spider. It scurried across the base floor, searching for its first victim.
A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. This is a crappy place to end the fourth chapter. I hope you enjoyed this newest instalment to the story.
I promise the next chapter will be more action packed and thrilling. More aliens, more fighting, a hint of Ben / Arcee at the beginning (not much mind you as she's still grieving over Cliff and the fact that she and Ben are still kind of iffy with each other), and more of the awesomeness we all love.
I'll see you happy folks next time.