CHAPTER SIX: RECOVERY
"During our fight against the Decepticons on Earth, I never had the chance to visit that planet; I had to remain on Cybertron and coordinate the defense of our home, should any remaining Decepticons take advantage of Optimus' absence. After the fight on Earth ended, we never had reason to go back there, since Megatron's attack was spreading to so many other worlds; all I had to go on was my Orion's description of that beautiful blue planet, and the kind people that dwelled there. I guess seeing the change here came as a bit of a shock – almost twenty Earth-years isn't much to us, but it's a long time to most humans – but it gladdened my spark to see that light still dwells in humanity – both "normal" and "superhuman" – in the face of this wave of suspicion and mistrust...and this could not be more evident than in young Peter's case. He has been through so much for one so young, and it is unfair for him to face more still. But this is war...and both Optimus and I know all too well how fast war makes people grow up..." – Elita-One, Autobot Second-In-Command.
Watson residence, Queens, New York, November 13, 2007
The very instant he had detected the Decepticon power-signature, Roller shed his backpack-disguise, racing towards the main exit, bumping into the door. Shaking off the minor jolt to his systems roller extended his grappling-claw; with careful precision, his claw grasped the uncoupling mechanism, and turned it, unlocking the door and zipping out...just as Soundwave drove off, with Mary-Jane trapped inside.
Roller gunned his engines, racing after the Decepticon Commander, trying to get close enough to tag him with a tracer...but he had been built for maneuverability and stealth, not speed.
As Soundwave darted in and out of the endless stream of cars, Roller gunned his engine for all it was worth, darting out of the way of incoming cars, racing right under them; thankfully, Soundwave hadn't detected him, so there was still a chance...
...and then Roller's engine hit its maximum output; he had pushed it for all it had, and Soundwave was still accelerating. If he kept pushing it, he would overheat...
A familiar shadow suddenly darted overhead, chasing Soundwave. Roller quickly pulled to the side, initiating his emergency cool-down protocols, letting Peter handle things from here...
XXXXXXXX
The trip to Queens had taken far too long, as far as Spider-Man was concerned. The instant he'd figured out what Megatron's real plan was, he'd felt sick to his stomach. 'How could I have been so stupid?!' he berated himself; Megatron had gotten them all to fight the battles he wanted them to fight...suckering them into missing his real objective.
MJ.
Just as he was only a few blocks away from MJ's house, his spider-sense flared. He looked down...and his eyes widened in horror as he saw Roller chasing after a vehicle-mode Soundwave...and he could just see a flash of ruby hair in the passenger's seat..!!
Firing a web-line, Spider-Man changed direction in mid-air, diving towards the customized corvette, and landing on its hood, glaring into his windshield. "Pull over, scrap-head!!!" he roared, smashing his fist into the glass, cracking it. He pulled back and punched again, trying to get MJ out of there; one more punch would do it...
The Corvette rapidly swerved, almost making him lose his balance, before popping its hood, tossing him off. Spider-Man was sent flying into the air, before he fired a web-line, pulling himself onto Soundwave's roof. "I said, pull OVER!!!" Spider-Man roared, punching through the roof.
Suddenly, something grabbed hold of his foot and tripped him up, nearly sending him falling into the street. Looking up, Spider-Man caught sight of Rumble, climbing out of Soundwave's back window, his red optics narrowed in anger. 'Aw, man, I forgot; this guy never rolls alone...'
As Rumble swung at him, Spider-Man darted to the side, and then quickly caught himself before he fell off...right before Rumble back-kicked him right in the chest, exactly where he'd slammed him, earlier today. Spider-Man almost doubled over...and then was painfully righted as Rumble kneed him in the back where Barricade had thrown him against the wall. With uncanny swiftness for a being made of metal, Rumble caught him in a choke-hold, and started to compress.
As dots clouded Spider-Man's vision, his thoughts turned to MJ...and focused him like a laser. He slammed Rumble dead in the face with an elbow-strike, once, twice, three times...bupkiss; he wasn't letting go. Then, just before his oxygen supply ran out, he twisted his wrist and fired a web-glob right into Rumble's face, causing him to let go, cursing in pissed-off-binary, trying to get the web off, as Spider-Man gasped, gulping oxygen into his previously-deprived lungs. Recovered, Spider-Man got up, ready to stick it to Rumble...but the Decepticon mini lashed out blindly, knocking Spider-Man off the roof. Spider-Man quickly fired a web-line, snagging Soundwave's rear bumper, slowly pulling himself towards the Corvette...
...and then Rumble tore the web from his optics, saw the web-line...and chuckled evilly, before he popped a glowing blade out of his wrist, and neatly severed the line in one swipe.
Spider-Man's line instantly went slack, as he hit the pavement, watching as Soundwave drove off with the woman he loved...and then his spider-sense flared up, as he fired a web-line and pulled himself to the sidewalk, just managing to evade an incoming car.
Dropping to the sidewalk, Spider-Man groaned, in both pain and despair. 'Boy, did I ever blow it...' he thought glumly. Not only was MJ in Megatron's clutches, the Decepticons were only inches away from getting hold of the AllSpark...
He suddenly felt something bump into him; looking down, he saw Roller there, looking up at him with his single electronic eye. "Hey, Roller." he said glumly. "I couldn't catch Soundwave; I messed up..."
"Megatron fooled us all, Spider-Man." came Optimus' voice through Roller's radio. "Right now, the important thing is rescuing Mary-Jane." At that, a panel on Roller's back chassis opened up, revealing a high-tech map, with several blinking Autobot crests shown on it. "Meet us at these coordinates; we have to figure out a way to locate Megatron and the Decepticons. Prime out."
As Optimus ended the transmission, Spider-Man shook himself out of his funk; blaming himself wouldn't help anything. "Well, little guy," Spider-Man said, "we'd better get going!" Roller beeped in agreement, before he shifted into backpack-form. Strapping Roller over his shoulder, Spider-Man fired a web-line and swung off, to meet up with the Autobots.
XXXXXXXX
U.S. Congress, Washington, D.C.
The very instant he had read the briefing, Secretary of Defense John Keller stormed into the Senate chamber, where the Senate was just concluding its meeting. As he strode in, John glared at Senator Robert Kelly, a fairly tall, lean forty-something man, with greying brown hair, and green eyes framed by glasses, clad in a grey business suit. "I assume that this little clusterfuck was your idea, Senator."
Robert looked uncomfortable. "I'm...not sure what you mean, Mr. Secretary..."
"Oh, no?" John said. "The President has just ordered the deployment of Sentinels in the New York City area!"
Robert smirked. "Well, there you have it, sir."
"I wonder who advised him to do something like that." John snapped, sweeping his glare across the entire Senate. 'Sheep, the lot of them.' he thought. Robert had played on their panic, as he always did, and bamboozled them into backing his plan.
"Mr. Secretary, after today's attacks, the Sentinels are our best defense against these...machines." Robert answered.
"Kelly, do you honestly think that the Sentinels stand a chance against Megatron and the Decepticons?" John exclaimed. "Which brings me to another point: you recommended that the Sentinels be used against not just the Decepticons, but the Autobots, as well!"
"Mr. Secretary, this whole incident came about because both Autobots and Decepticons decided to use our planet as a battleground." Robert said. "Despite the President's rejection of the latter recommendation, the Sentinels' presence should make it clear that they are not welcome here."
"Are you insane?!" John shouted. "The Autobots are just about the only allies we have against the Decepticons!!"
"Both factions of these machines are a threat to our species' survival, Mr. Secretary." Robert retorted. "Not unlike mutants."
It was only then that John understood the smarmy bastard's agenda. "And once this crisis is over, you plan to have an army of Sentinels at the ready." he said. "You son of a..!"
"Mr. Secretary, this order came from the President; if you wish to contact him, feel free to do so, but he's already been moved to the Presidential Bunker, so it will be difficult. For now, this session is adjourned." With that, the entire Senate began to head out of the chamber.
Turning, John strode out of the chamber. Now that communications were back up, he had to get word to Fury of this development; he didn't trust Kelly as far as he could throw him..!
"Mr. Secretary?"
Turning, John spotted a lone man, around the same age as him, with balding brown hair, blue eyes, clad in a black business suit, sitting at a bench in the shadows, a metal briefcase across his lap. "Mind if I have a moment of your time?"
John frowned. "And you are..?"
"Tom Banachek, Director of Sector Seven." the man – Tom – answered.
"Never heard of it."
Tom smiled. "After this is over, sir, with any luck, you never will again." he said. "Trust me, sir: you want to talk to me."
John's eyes narrowed. "Not when I need to brief S.H.I.E.L.D. on this recent development."
"I figured that might be the case." Tom said. "That's why I'll be heading to the Triskelion with you." He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a badge. "My security clearance."
Frowning, John glimpsed at the badge...and his eyes widened. "You have my attention."
Tom smiled. "I have a chopper ready for you, sir; I'll brief you on the way." he said. With that, he headed away, down the hall, and John promptly followed.
XXXXXXXX
Undisclosed location
Sunset was rapidly fading as the black Corvette pulled into the abandoned warehouse district on the east-side wharf. The Corvette glided into the largest warehouse, standing over forty feet tall, as it had once been used to house military vehicles for repair-work. The Corvette came to a stop...and then its passenger-side door popped open, as the car tilted onto one side, unceremoniously dumping Mary-Jane onto the floor.
As Mary-Jane picked herself up, her automatic instinct was to run, but the sheer terror running through her veins froze her to the spot...not that running would have done much good; the very second that the 'Corvette' had dumped her, the mini-Decepticon – Rumble – had stepped out of the back seat, keeping his weapons trained on her...and filling the warehouse were several vehicles – much larger Decepticons in disguise: the police car that had chased her and Peter, a day ago, a Black Hawk helicopter, an F-22 jet, and another helicopter.
Just then, all four Decepticons transformed, utterly dwarfing her, making her feel even more scared and insignificant than she already was. The jet-Decepticon turned his baleful red optic on her, sneering. "So, this is the little insect that you couldn't catch, before, is it Barricade? You couldn't catch her because of that 'Spider-Man'?"
"Go eat scrap, Starscream." Barricade muttered. "You didn't do much better against those 'X-Men'."
"Our objective was never to destroy the organics." Soundwave said, as he, too transformed. "We simply had to engage the Autobots and the humans, and draw their attention, while we covertly pursued our real objective."
Barricade chuckled. "Still, knocking that little red squishy around was pretty fun."
Mary-Jane suppressed a sob at that; the Decepticons had been playing Peter and the others, all along..!
The other helicopter-Decepticon walked to the side of the warehouse...where the body and head of Frenzy lay. As the Decepticon started to work on him, Frenzy started to chatter angrily.
The Decepticon scoffed. "Well, Frenzy, if you had just been watching your aft, that insect wouldn't have gotten the drop on you."
The Black-Hawk-mech chuckled. "Quit your glitching and let Shockwave fix you, Frenzy; you weren't the worst-damaged, out there. Astrotrain's still salvaging the Constructicons. Put it in idle."
"Yes, my friends; save the anger for the Autobots."
As that metallic voice rumbled from the shadows, Mary-Jane froze, not even daring to breathe, her eyes widening in utter terror. Then, a massively tall, powerfully-built, silver-armored mech strode into view, his handsome-yet-menacing face twisted in a terrifying smile. Mary-Jane knew who it was. There was no mistaking him.
Up until then, Mary-Jane thought she knew the limits of how scared she could get; after getting nearly tossed from absurd heights by a mutated Norman Osborn, and later getting kidnaped by a psychotic clone of Peter, she was pretty sure that was the most terrified she could be...
...but now, as she stared into the red optics of the Transformer known and feared throughout the cosmos as "the Great Slag-Maker," she realized just how wrong she was.
"I am given to understand," Megatron boomed, as his terror-inducing crimson gaze fell on her, "that you were not forthcoming when Barricade first questioned you." His optics narrowed. "Perhaps you do not understand: we require the location of the AllSpark."
Mary-Jane couldn't speak.
Megatron took another step towards her, the ground rumbling as he did so. "And in order to find it, fleshling, we require one of your ancestral artifacts." he continued. "And you will give it to us. Now."
At the mention of the glasses, Mary-Jane remembered just how high the stakes were. Her eyes narrowed, and she shook her head. "No."
Megatron smirked cruelly. "Oh, so unwise..."
"Why?" Mary-Jane retorted. "What are you gonna do? 'Squish me?' You do that, and you lose the only lead you have to the AllSpark!"
'Oh, my God, where did that come from?!' a tiny part of Mary-Jane's mind cried. Then, Mary-Jane smiled to herself; her boyfriend's heroic nature must have rubbed off on her.
"Insolent little organic!!" Starscream thundered, his arm expanding into a missile-launcher. "You will tell us where the AllSpark lies, or we will..!"
Starscream's threat was cut off as Megatron's arm morphed into a massive, long-barreled cannon, as he pointed it at Starscream, inches from his face. "You will do nothing, Starscream, until I order you to do so." Megatron snarled, his optics narrowed. "You serve me for only as long as I allow it, so if you wish to keep your spark in your laser core...use your processors for something other than making a rattling sound in your head."
Starscream scowled at the insult as the other Decepticons laughed, before he accepted the rebuke, re-forming his arm. "As you command, Lord Megatron."
Re-forming his own arm, Megatron leaned down towards Mary-Jane, until his face was inches away from her, causing her earlier terror to come flooding back. "You misunderstand me, Watson female." he said. "I do not intend to so much as touch even one of the keratinized fibers growing from your scalp." Rising back to his fully, terrifying height, he turned to Soundwave. "Soundwave, is Ravage in position?"
"Affirmative, my Lord; Ravage is standing by near the Watson residence."
Mary-Jane's eyes widened. "W-What?!"
"You have left me little other option, organic." Megatron sneered. "Since you are not forthcoming, and since you do not currently possess the artifact, we must assume that it is in your primitive dwelling. Just after Soundwave apprehended you, Ravage infiltrated your dwelling, and is standing by for my orders to commence searching." He smiled cruelly. "And you will notice, insect, that it is very close to the time when your maternal parent concludes her daily function, and returns to your dwelling."
Gasping, Mary-Jane checked her watch. Megatron was right; her Mom would likely get home in an hour..!!
"I think you begin to understand, organic. The most logical holder of the artifact is currently your parent; unless you indicate otherwise, at my orders, Ravage will search the human..."
Megatron's smile became truly evil as he finished his sentence. "...with extreme prejudice."
Mary-Jane was shocked silent, her eyes starting to sting from tears of terror. "You...you wouldn't..!!"
Megatron laughed, a truly horrifying sound. "Maggot, I have conquered many planets, enslaved millions of organics, and eradicated millions more; entire civilizations of your inferior filth have burned at my feet." he sneered. "Ordering the termination of just one won't even disturb my recharge-cycle."
The other Decepticons laughed, in assent of their leader's plot, as Mary-Jane's tears started to flow. "P-Please, don't..."
"Her fate is not in my hands, but in yours, Watson female." Megatron sneered. "If you wish Ravage to search elsewhere, then specify where to search...and remember: to you, she is your caretaker...but to us...well, she's only an organic."
Megatron laughed cruelly. "But I'm a reasonable mech; I'll give you time to process your decision." he said...and then his optics narrowed. "You have one hour before her arrival, organic; one hour." Megatron then turned away from her. "Rumble; remove the insect from my sight."
Rumble let out an electronic grunt of obedience, before he roughly grabbed Mary-Jane's arm, and half-dragged her to a side room, cruelly tossing her in and shutting the door, locking it.
Utterly alone in the darkness, Mary-Jane felt her tears start to well up...before flowing freely down her face. She couldn't let her Mom get ripped to shreds by Ravage...but she couldn't let the Decepticons get a hold of the glasses...she didn't know what to do...
Curling herself into a ball, Mary-Jane started to quietly sob, as she wished that Peter was here...
XXXXXXXX
New York City
Roller's map led Spider-Man to an empty parking lot, far from prying eyes...empty, that was, save for an 18-wheeler, a Pontiac Solstice, a shining, dark violet, high-tech hover-car, two Lamborghinis, a black Topkick, and a 1975 Camaro. As Spider-Man set the Roller-pack down, Roller promptly shed his disguise, and zipped into Optimus' trailer...seconds before all seven vehicles transformed; Spider-Man knew most of them, but the hover-car changed into a female mech he didn't recognize. The female mech smiled pleasantly at him. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Spider-Man."
"Uh...likewise, ma'am." Spider-Man replied. "And you would be..?"
"Elita-One, Autobot Second-In-Command." Elita replied.
"Oh. Right." Spider-Man said, as his tone became serious. "Any leads on Megs' location?"
"None yet, Spider-Man." Optimus replied.
"It's likely that Megatron is still in this city, or we would be able to lock onto Soundwave's signal easily; with all this background interference, it's hard to spot him." Bumblebee said.
"Can't Wheeljack think of something?" Spider-Man asked.
"'jack's still busy helping the Four get Earth's comms back up." Jazz said. "We managed to get the military channels running, but who knows what else Frenzy's little 'present' could do!"
"Plus, the Ultimates are busy getting the Triskelion ready for another attack, and the X-Men are making sure their younger students are safe," Elita finished, "so, at present, we were the only ones close enough and in good enough condition to assist."
Sunstreaker chuckled. "Though 'Hide here is on the border-line."
Ironhide's optics narrowed. "Watch your audio, kid. Ah can out-scrap you and yer brother on any given cycle!"
Elita frowned. "Still, Ironhide, you could have let Ratchet do a better job of patching you." she said. Half-glaring at Optimus, she added, "The same goes for some other mechs..."
"Scrap chips! Ah'm fahne!" Ironhide rumbled. "Just a dent, that's all!"
"Regardless, time is something we do not have to waste." Optimus said. "We must find a way to locate the Decepticons."
"Yeah, while our resident tech-head is playing mad-scientist planet-side." Sideswipe grumbled. "Won't that be fun."
Spider-Man grimaced in despair under his mask...and then a nutty idea came to him. "Maybe technology isn't the solution."
Optimus blinked. "What do you mean?"
Smiling under his mask, Spider-Man knew it was a long shot, but it was better than anything else he could think of. "Just follow me, guys; I'll explain on the way." With that, he fired a web-line, and swung off, as the Autobots quickly assumed vehicle-mode, and followed him.
As Spider-Man swung in the direction of Greenwich Village, a blanket of fog began to blanket himself and the Autobots on the streets below, but that was normal...well, as "normal" as this place ever got.
"Slag, man..." Sunstreaker cursed, "...where you leading us, Web-Head? All my nav-systems just went dead..."
"Same here." Ironhide muttered. "Hope you know what yer doin', kid..."
After a few minutes, Spider-Man released his web-line, touching down in front of a fairly large, stately building...one which most others would never see, as its owner had crafted a spell to keep out all visitors, save a specific few, of which he was one. As the Autobots rolled to a stop, Spider-Man walked up to the door, and knocked three times. 'I sure hope he makes house-calls...' Spider-Man thought; after the first time he'd visited the Doc's Sanctum Sanctorum – namely, after he'd swung in – he knew to use the front door, now.
Several seconds later, the door glided open a crack, and a young Asian man, with dark eyes and a shaven head, clad in black pants and a simple green shirt, stepped out. "Greetings, Spider-Man."
"Hi, Wong." Spider-Man replied. "Hey, is the Doctor in?" He gestured to the parked vehicles. "My friends and I...kinda need his help."
Wong looked past him to the vehicles...and nodded. "I will see if my master is available..."
"That will not be necessary, Wong."
Spider-Man felt his spider-sense give a momentary buzz as Dr. Strange teleported out of thin air, appearing right next to him. Earth's Sorcerer Supreme was tall, and of athletic frame, in his thirties, with short black hair, a thin beard encircling his mouth, and blue eyes, clad in black pants, a blue shirt, and a long red cape – or, as Stephen Strange had called it, a Cloak of Levitation.
"Wong," Dr. Strange said, "you may return to your studies; I will see to our guests." Bowing respectfully, Wong headed back inside the Sanctum, closing the doors. "You needn't hide." Stephen called out. "I know that the seven of you are more than you seem."
'Huh??' Spider-Man thought. 'How did he..?'
"Dude! How'd he know??" Sideswipe whispered.
"Because you just told him, slag-face." Sunstreaker whispered.
"Scrap-heap reject." Sideswipe snapped.
"Motherboard-fritzed glitch-pile."
"Go wax yourself with a power-grinder."
"Interface with an electromagnet, you..."
"Quiet!!" Ironhide barked. "Cog-dammit, you two!! Worse than spark-lings!"
The entire time, Dr. Strange had been suppressing his laughter. "Actually," he admitted, "I sensed life-energy emanating from within your vehicle-forms, and since you were not attacking, I concluded that you were Autobots."
Their cover effectively blown, all seven Autobots transformed. "You could sense our sparks?" Optimus asked, surprised.
"Only faintly." Stephen said. "Still, life-energy is very unique, and even detecting a faint trace in a supposedly-inanimate vehicle is a giveaway."
Ironhide frowned. "Not to mention hearing these two bicker like they'd just come online."
Bumblebee chuckled. "What'd you expect, 'Hide? When they're not bickering, they're pulling some glitched-up stunt...usually on you."
Despite the seriousness of the matter, Spider-Man couldn't help but chuckle. "Autobots, allow me to introduce Dr. Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme." he said. "Doc, Autobots."
Dr. Strange nodded to the Autobots, who returned the gesture. "I gather that the current situation is dire."
"And how, Doc." Spider-Man agreed. With that, he very quickly gave Strange a condensed, 'Reader's Digest' version of the events of the day.
When he was finished, Stephen's eyes were wide. "By the Vishanti...and you say that the Decepticons have captured Miss Watson, but a short time ago?"
"Yeah." Spider-Man said glumly. "And we need to find them. Fast."
"Doctor," Optimus said, "you said that you were able to sense our sparks. Could you do the same for Megatron and the Decepticons?"
Dr. Strange concentrated. "Hmm...I am sensing several clusters of life-energies similar to yours," he answered, "but I cannot discern any difference between them; your 'sparks,' as you call them, do not differ sufficiently between Autobot and Decepticon for me to pinpoint them."
"Great. Back to Square One." Bumblebee sighed.
Spider-Man frowned...and then froze. "Mary-Jane!!"
"Yeah, Web-Head, we know; Megs swiped your spark-mate. We get it." Sunstreaker grumbled.
"Megatron and the Decepticons have Mary-Jane with them! That's what separates them from the other Transformer signatures!" Spider-Man exclaimed. He turned to Dr. Strange. "Doc, is it possible for you to filter out all other Transformer signatures except the one with only one human signature nearby?"
Dr. Strange's expression brightened. "I believe so!" he exclaimed. With that, he began to concentrate, his eyes closing tight, as a small bead of perspiration formed across his forehead...
"There's an old industrial area on the east-side wharf." Dr. Strange said, releasing his focus. "I sense several Transformer life-forces there, as well as a single human life...but I cannot tell if it is truly Miss Watson..."
"Well, it's better than nothing." Jazz said.
"Don't know, Prahm; no 'ffense to the Doc, but what if he's off?" Ironhide said. "What if the human he picked up ain' her?"
Optimus looked thoughtful. "Spider-Man," he said, "would you be able to infiltrate the area and determine if Mary-Jane is nearby?"
"No problem." Spider-Man replied. "How would I let you guys know?"
Elita-One unclipped a small, Walkman-sized circular disc from her side, and handed it to Spider-Man. "This is an emergency locator beacon." she explained. "While you head in, the rest of us will maintain a cautionary distance from the area; if you spot Mary-Jane, activate the beacon," she gestured to the red button in the center, "and we'll move in."
Spider-Man nodded, before he turned to Dr. Strange. "I don't suppose that you'd be able to lend a hand, Doc?"
Dr. Strange nodded, his expression grave. "Though my duty is to defend Earth against supernatural threats, the Decepticons are surely the greatest threat that Earth has yet faced." he said. "I will assist you."
Optimus nodded. "If that is the case, Doctor, I would recommend that you remain on stand-by with the rest of us while Spider-Man locates Mary-Jane." he said. "Your energy-signature is considerably higher than a normal human's; if you assist Spider-Man in infiltrating Megatron's hideout, you could alert the Decepticons..."
"...placing Miss Watson at risk." Stephen said. "I understand."
Optimus then turned to Spider-Man. "We'll follow you to the industrial sector as fast as we can." he said. "If you locate Mary-Jane, wait for backup before you attempt to rescue her; Megatron is not to be underestimated."
"Got it." Spider-Man said, before he fired a web-line, and swung off, heading for the east-side wharf, as Doc Strange levitated into the air, keeping pace with the Autobots as they assumed vehicle-mode and followed.
Within minutes, Spider-Man had reached the abandoned industrial sector, releasing his web-line and touching down, keeping low in the shadows, as night blanketed the rooftops; if there were Decepticons nearby, he didn't want to be spotted. 'Okay,' he thought, 'if I were a psychotic robo-tyrant, where would I hide out?' Glancing into the distance, he spotted a series of large warehouses; it was as good a place as any to start. Crouching low, Spider-Man sprinted across the rooftop, jumping from one roof to the next, heading towards the largest warehouse...
...and as soon as he got within ten feet of it, his spider-sense went insane; a sense of extreme danger radiated through his brain, emanating from that building, as though something monstrously deadly were waiting for him inside.
'Well, at least I know Megatron is here.' Spider-Man thought. Leaping into the wall, Spider-Man started to crawl up, and slipped inside through a crack near the roof. As he emerged into the rafters, he kept as quiet as his namesake, peering down below.
The 'Cons were here, alright; he recognized Soundwave, Barricade and Shockwave, as well as Frenzy on the repair-table, as Shockwave finished his repairs, with Rumble on guard, and he had a fair idea of who the others were: the jet-mech had to be Starscream, and the other 'copter-mech must be Blackout. He didn't see anyone who fit the description of Astrotrain...but he knew who the massive, silver-armored Decepticon had to be.
"It's insulting," Starscream grumbled, "that we have to put up with cowering in this human building..."
"We all know that we had no time to gather sufficient supplies to establish a sufficient base of operations, Starscream, and the Nemesis was engaging the Autobots in the Trentar Galaxy." Soundwave rebuked. "If we wished to reach the AllSpark in time, we all knew we had to make due."
"Yeah, 'Screamer, and once we get the AllSpark, we won't need supplies." Barricade sneered. "If you didn't have your head up your aft, half the time, you'd have realized it."
At that, Frenzy gave a chatter of assent, as Shockwave finished attaching his head to his body...to which the Decepticons responded with uproarious laughter, as Starscream scowled.
The entire time, Megatron had remained distant to the conversation, merely chuckling. "Speaking of which, I believe it is time for our minuscule guest to make her choice." he said. "Rumble."
At his Lord's command, Rumble entered a room to the side...and Spider-Man's eyes widened as he saw the mini-mech drag out a sniffling Mary-Jane.
She was scared to death...but otherwise okay.
As Rumble tossed her at Megatron's feet, Megatron smirked. "Well, organic? Have you come to a decision?"
Mary-Jane sniffled. "I...I..." she whimpered.
Megatron frowned. "What a pity." he mocked. He raised his arm, as a small panel flipped open on his forearm. "Need I remind you of the consequences..?"
Spider-Man had heard enough; he quickly tapped the locator clipped to his waist, letting Optimus and the others know that it was time to move in, as the beacon began to softly beep...
As Frenzy got up off the repair bench, he suddenly perked up, chattering wildly, causing Megatron to stop. "What?" he said. "Someone is here?"
Frenzy babbled in agreement, his head swiveling around, trying to locate the offending noise...and then Spider-Man froze as Frenzy looked up...and uttered one word.
"Parker!!!"
'Uh, boy; the cat's out of the bag.' Spider-Man thought. With his cover blown, he knew he had to act fast, keep Megs and the 'Cons off-guard. Before anyone could react, Spider-Man dropped out of the rafters, landing quickly, before firing a web-line at the surprised Rumble, hauling the mini-mech off his feet, and tossing him into Megatron with all the strength he had, knocking the Decepticon leader back a few steps...giving Mary-Jane the opening she needed. "MJ, RUN!!!!"
MJ didn't need to be told twice; she turned and ran for the door as fast as she could. Snarling, Frenzy moved to stop her, but Spider-Man snagged him with a web-line, yanking him away, and then sending him flying with a jump-back-kick, giving the woman he loved the time she needed to run out the door.
Roaring, Barricade took aim at Spider-Man with his machine-guns...but stopped at Starscream's shout. "Idiot!! You open fire in here, you'll bring the entire structure down on our heads!!"
"Hand-to-hand only!" Soundwave shouted. With that, he stomped towards Spider-Man, trying to crush him under his feet, but Spider-Man leapt away, somersaulting clear as Soundwave tried to grab him, landing on the wall.
"It's time to play every mech's favorite game-show, 'Stomp the Spider!!'" Spider-Man quipped; hopefully, if he made these metal morons mad enough, they'd forget all about MJ, and go after him...which wasn't the best plan, but with any luck, Prime and the others would arrive, soon. As Soundwave turned, Spider-Man leapt low, darting under him, before firing a web-line, tying up his feet; Soundwave turned...and tripped on the web, falling flat on his face. "Oh, too bad; Contestant #1 is out of the running!"
Snarling, Starscream swiped at Spider-Man, who leapt up into the rafters. "Good try, Contestant #2, but no dice!" Spider-Man quipped, as he flipped away. His optics narrowed in rage, Starscream charged at Spider-Man...just as Blackout had the same idea. Spider-Man waited until the two mechs were inches away...and then leapt clear.
Starscream and Blackout crashed into each other, knocking each other to the ground in a thud that shook the building. "And Contestants #2 and #3 are down!" Spider-Man quipped.
Roaring in fury, Barricade swiped at Spider-Man, who flipped away...and landed on Shockwave's back. "How about it, Contestant #4? Feel lucky?"
"No!!" Shockwave cried. "Barricade, you idiot, he's trying to..!!"
Too late.
Blinded by rage, Barricade charged at Spider-Man, who leapt away at the last minute, causing him to tackle into Shockwave, crashing them both through the wall, nearly bringing down the entire warehouse.
"Oh, so sorry; Contestants #4 and #5 are disqualified!" Spider-Man laughed. "Well, thanks...for...playing..." His voice trailed off...as he realized that he had one more big problem.
"Well," Megatron thundered, as he recovered, Frenzy and Rumble flanking his side, dwarfed by their leader, "you must be this 'Spider-Man' insect I've been hearing of."
Spider-Man suppressed his terror as he stood in front of the Great Slag-Maker himself. "And you must be the ringleader of this little band." he quipped. "You know, I thought you might just be the janitor...but I took a wild guess."
Megatron frowned. "Cease your prattling, Parker, or you will receive no mercy."
The use of his real name didn't phase him. "What? You don't like my jokes? Why didn't you say so?" he quipped. "How about a magic-trick? Look, nothing up my sleeve..." He stopped in the middle of his 'routine,' his wrist aimed at Megatron. "...on second thought, I lied; there is something up my sleeve." And with that, he fired a web-glob, splatting it right across Megatron's optics.
Megatron's roar of fury shook the air as he started to pull the glob off. With their Lord momentarily distracted, Frenzy and Rumble closed on Spider-Man. Ducking under Rumble's high-powered punch, Spider-Man suppressed a yell as he felt Frenzy's claws rip into his back; he turned, and threw the Decepticon off of him, tossing him into Rumble. As the two minis charged at him, Spider-Man did a mid-air flip, landing right between the two of them, and did a split-kick, sending them sprawling.
By then, Megatron had torn the web-glob from his optics...and he was pissed. 'And it looks like I've pretty much secured the nomination for 'Dumbest Move Ever'..."
"INSOLENT INSECT!!!!" Megatron roared, as a deadly-looking, serrated metal flail extended from his wrist, before he snapped it with expert accuracy; Spider-Man barely had enough time to dive out of the way as it cleaved the concrete where he'd just been.
As he came up into a crouch, Spider-Man felt his fear melt away; he was fully in the moment. "Listen, Megs...oh, can I call you Megs?" he quipped; Megatron answered with a roar and another flail-swing, which Spider-Man evaded by a narrow margin. "Anyway, Megs, technically, it's not 'insect'; it's 'arachnid'. If you're gonna insult someone, do it right."
As Megatron swung again, Spider-Man fired a web-line and zipped to the rafters. "Since we're on that subject, Megs, I'm really not seeing much 'team spirit' among you guys...but that's always been your problem, right? Two words, Megs: leadership classes. You'll thank me, later."
Megatron's optics narrowed...and then he smiled cruelly. "Perhaps you're right, organic." he sneered. "Then again, I've always followed a particular philosophy, one which one of you described perfectly: if you want something done right...DO IT YOURSELF!!!!"
And he punctuated the sentence with another flail-slash; Spider-Man felt his spider-sense flare, as he leapt out of the way, towards another rafter...
...and in the slowed time-perception of his spider-sense, Spider-Man realized his mistake.
Megatron hadn't been aiming at where he was.
He'd been aiming at where he would jump.
The very second that Spider-Man landed on the adjacent rafter, Megatron's flail cleaved through it, sending him falling...right into the waiting hand of Megatron.
Megatron snarled as he grabbed hold of Spider-Man, glaring at him. "This is my world, organic," he thundered, "AND DON'T YOU FORGET IT!!!"
And with that, Megatron pulled his arm back, and threw Spider-Man across the warehouse, sending him crashing through a wall, flying through the air, to slam into another brick wall.
The first wall had pretty much totaled him, but the second one really knocked him for a loop. As he landed on the ground, Spider-Man's vision began to blur...and then...
...oblivion.
XXXXXXXX
Triskelion
"General, we have contact!"
The instant he heard that message on the PA, Nick Fury headed to the Triskelion's Command Center. "What's the situation?"
The lieutenant in charge quickly gestured to a holographic map of New York, pointing to an abandoned industrial sector on the east-side wharf...where about eight blinking dots were moving about. "We just finished installing the tracking program that Iron Man supplied, sir; we detected numerous Transformer signatures at this location, and just moments ago, they started attacking something."
"Decepticons." Fury muttered.
"That's what we thought as well, sir." the lieutenant agreed. He then gestured to another set of dots nearby, which were approaching fast. "These signatures are the ones that we tracked from the Xavier Institute, sir; they joined up with a couple from the Baxter Building."
"Optimus Prime, and his forces." Fury thought aloud. "As soon as the Ultimates are prepped, I want them out there; if that bastard Megatron is there, I want him taken down!"
"I'm afraid we have another problem, General." another aide piped up, promptly saluting. "The President has ordered the deployment of Sentinels into that battle-zone; they've been instructed to neutralize the Decepticons by any means necessary."
"Dammit." Fury softly cursed. "Try and get word to Prime; if the Autobots head into that hot-zone, the Sentinels might consider them an 'acceptable risk'..!"
"General?"
Turning, Fury saw Defense Secretary Keller there, flanked by two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents...as well as a man that Fury had never seen. "Mr. Secretary?"
John Keller's expression was grave. "General, I think you may want to listen to what Mr. Banachek has to say." he said.
Fury's eye narrowed. Somehow, he knew that he wasn't going to like this.
He hated being right.
XXXXXXXX
New York City
"Peter!! Peter, wake up!!"
Slowly, an incredibly groggy Spider-Man opened his eyes; as he gazed upon Mary-Jane's beautiful face, the first thought that popped into his head was that he had gone to Heaven...
...and then the mind-numbing pain that started in his chest and radiated outwards told him otherwise.
"Ugh..." he groaned, standing up, his uniform tattered, as he remembered everything that happened...and a fresh burst of adrenaline blocked out the pain. "MJ!!" he exclaimed, quickly hugging her close to him. "Oh God, MJ, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, Peter." Mary-Jane whimpered, returning the hug. "I knew you'd come for me...I knew it..." Her expression turned utterly terrified. "But we have to warn my Mom!! They're going to..!!"
Suddenly, a nearby warehouse crumbled into rubble as the terror-inducing form of Megatron stomped through it, with the other Decepticons getting up. "You have caused me an inordinate amount of trouble, insect; it will be my pleasure to eradicate you." he snarled. His malevolent gaze then turned to MJ. "And as for you, female, you have out-lived your usefulness." With that, his arm morphed into a massive cannon, before he pointed it at them, a faint glow emanating from deep within the barrel, growing brighter and brighter, until it was nanoseconds away from firing...
"I summon the benevolent Rings of Rangador!! Repel the evil one!!!"
The incantation lanced through the air, taking form as it flew, forming several mystic rings around Spider-Man and Mary-Jane, creating a powerful barrier, repelling the deadly anti-matter blast; as the smoke cleared, everything in the immediate are had been utterly annihilated, but Spider-Man and MJ were untouched. As the barrier evaporated, Dr. Strange appeared out of nowhere, looking slightly winded. "My apologies, monster," he snapped, "but you won't be destroying these two, today!"
Megatron snarled, as he readied another blast. "You insects are beginning to annoy me..!!"
But he was cut off as a red-and-blue trailer-less 18-wheeler slammed into him, sending him sprawling to the side, as the rest of the vehicle-mode Autobots, minus Elita, surrounded the Decepticons.
Optimus instantly transformed, his face-mask snapping over his mouth, as he drew his twin revolvers, the rest of his comrades transforming and drawing their weapons. "Megatron."
Megatron's optics narrowed, as he stood up. "Prime." he spat. "I should have known you and the rest of your Pit-damned Autobots would rescue these pitiful organics."
"Spider-Man, get Mary-Jane out of here; Doctor, you cover them." Optimus instructed. His optics narrowed, matching his old enemy glare-for-glare. "The rest of you...you know what to do."
Megatron smiled evilly. "It's been so long since we've last had a face-to-face, hasn't it, 'old friend'?" he mocked. He turned to the rest of his forces, and uttered one command. "Decepticons, ATTACK!!"
And then, a fair approximation of all hell broke loose.
Roaring, Barricade charged at the withdrawing Spider-Man and Mary-Jane, but Sideswipe slammed into him, knocking him to the side, giving them time to escape. Sideswipe pressed the attack by opening fire at the Decepticon, but Barricade rolled to the side, evading the shots, before drawing his flails and slamming Sideswipe, utterly demolishing his defense-screen. Before Barricade could close on him, Jazz peppered him with bullets, expertly strafing around him, as every single shot hit its mark, not even touching the nearby buildings. Utterly enraged, Barricade charged at Jazz, but the Autobot gunner leapt to a nearby wall, and leapt off again, somersaulting over the charging Barricade, blasting him from above, before landing behind him; the endless barrage of shots knocked the 'Con off-balance, causing him to crash into an empty warehouse.
Shockwave had promptly assumed vehicle-mode, and gained altitude, trying to get a bead on the fleeing organics...but he was quickly blasted with high-powered rounds from a distance – Elita-One had linked with Optimus' trailer, and was providing covering fire. The blasts forced the Decepticon to drop altitude...right where Sunstreaker was waiting for him. Shots sprayed from his machine-gun, ripping into Shockwave's armor...until Scorponok, having just detached from Blackout, tackled into him, before diving under the ground, scurrying away towards his real target. As Shockwave limped away, Blackout touched down, shedding his disguise, as he armed his rotor-blades, slashing at Sunstreaker, who just barely managed to duck under the slice...
...leaving the tiniest of scratch-marks along his right forearm-panel.
Sunstreaker saw red. "Why, you virus-infested, fragged-up, glitched-out son of a Pit-spawn!! NOBODY touches my paint-job!!!" he exploded, as he quickly switched modes on his weapon, cutting its effective range in half...but more than quadrupling its rate of fire.
High-caliber bullets roared from the Autobot assault specialist's rifle, stopping Blackout's attack cold, forcing him to transform and fly off.
As the Autobots held the Decepticons back, Spider-Man and MJ hurried away on foot, as the good Doctor followed from the air, occasionally deflecting stray shots with his magic; Spider-Man didn't feel well enough to web-sling him and MJ to safety – he'd already been hurt, today, and Megatron throwing him through a few walls hadn't helped. As he took one step, Spider-Man almost fell, holding his side, suppressing a cry of pain. "Peter!!" MJ cried, rushing to his side. "Peter, are you okay?!"
Before Spider-Man could answer, electronic chattering filled the air, as Frenzy and Rumble emerged from a nearby alley, their red optics glaring at him and MJ balefully. Spider-Man suppressed a groan; he couldn't hold them off, not in this state...
"I summon the caustic Rains of Rangador!! Sear my foes!!"
At Dr. Strange's incantation, a torrent of corrosive energy streamed down on the two minis, who erupted in a cacophony of binary agony, as the Rains eroded their armor, before they ran off as fast as they could go.
Spider-Man chuckled wearily. "Thanks, Doc..."
Dr. Strange simply smiled...seconds before the ground shook, as Scorponok erupted from the earth, leaping towards them. Turning, Dr. Strange tried to ready a spell; it would be close..!
Suddenly, a blast of plasma-fire impacted the mini-Decepticon, knocking him to the side, screeching as he dove underground, as Bumblebee hurried up to them. "You guys okay?"
Spider-Man groaned. "Peachy."
MJ looked stricken. "'Bee, Peter's hurt!!"
Bumblebee's optics turned a paler shade of blue as he scanned Spider-Man...before they widened. "Prime!! We've got a problem, here..!"
But the Autobot Scout was cut off as a high-powered sonic pulse sent him flying to the side, as Soundwave closed on them, raising his hands, as he powered up his sonic-pulse-cannon. "Your time has come, organics."
Once again, Spider-Man had to marvel at the effects of adrenaline; with a sudden burst of speed, he darted in front of the Decepticon Commander, firing two web-lines, snagging his two charging hands, before he leapt above Soundwave, twisting into a somersault and pulling the two lines together...forcing Soundwave's hands to clap together.
Soundwave let out a cry of anguish as his own sonic-pulses blasted his hands apart, sending him stumbling as Spider-Man landed gracefully behind him. As the Decepticon Commander sagged, Bumblebee recovered, firing several plasma-blasts at Soundwave, driving him back, as he shifted into his Corvette-form, driving off.
And with his strength utterly drained, Spider-Man fell to the ground, his consciousness fading, as Mary-Jane cried his name, rushing to his side, followed by Doc Strange and 'Bee.
As the jet-form Starscream dove at him, Ironhide opened fire with his cannons; the shots grazed Starscream's hull as the former Air Commander transformed, tackling into Ironhide. "You should have stayed on Cybertron, old mech!" Starscream laughed. "You're fit for only the scrap-heap!"
His optics narrowing, Ironhide met Starscream's charge, and tossed him away. "Ah'll head to the recycling chamber when there ain't no more of you 'Cons left to scrap!!" he bellowed, before decking Starscream with a haymaker, followed by a full salvo from his cannons, driving Starscream back into the air.
As Optimus opened fire at Megatron with his revolvers, Megatron shifted into vehicle-mode, evading every shot as he circled, before diving straight at Optimus. Holstering his weapons, Optimus leapt at Megatron as he flew close, grabbing hold of his wings and holding on for dear spark; his added weight made Megatron lose control of his flight, spiraling down to the ground – an unpopulated area, thank Primus – and crashing.
Megatron quickly resumed robot-mode, as they circled each other, in a brief respite. "So, Prime, you still protect these pathetic organics." Megatron mocked, extending his wrist-flail. "Fool! They are a weak, backwards species; they do not deserve to live!!" And he punctuated the sentence by snapping the flail towards him.
Optimus rolled to the side, dodging the attack and drawing his weapons as he came up. "They deserve to choose for themselves, Megatron!!" he snarled, opening fire.
Megatron laughed, as he leaned to the side, the rounds harmlessly grazing his shoulder-plate. "And what have they chosen, Prime? They fear and despise their own kind; they've killed more of each other in the past hundred of their years than we have of our kind in the past hundred voruns! They poison the very thing that sustains them, and they react with hysteria against their own evolution!" Megatron sliced at Optimus again, grazing Optimus' side as he dodged. Megatron smirked. "They'll kill each other in due time, Optimus; we'd be doing both them and the universe as a whole a favor by eradicating them, now. They actually have a term for such a thing: euthanasia. I intend to put them out of their misery, and mine."
Optimus' optics narrowed. "Over my spark-less body!!" he thundered.
Megatron laughed. "My sentiments exactly!!" he crowed, as a panel in his shoulder opened, revealing a missile-launcher; a salvo of missiles lanced from the launcher, shooting past Optimus...
...and heading straight for Bumblebee, Spider-Man, Mary-Jane and Dr. Strange!!
Optimus' optics widened, as he turned and took aim. He knew what Megatron would do, but it didn't matter. His guns blazed as he opened fire, shooting down every single missile.
"You fight for the weak, Prime!!" Megatron laughed, as he grabbed Optimus. "That is why you always lose!!" And with that, he threw Optimus into a nearby warehouse, which collapsed as Optimus crashed into it.
As Optimus recovered, he answered Elita's worried inquiry via their wireless link, assuring her he was fine...and explained his plan.
As Megatron sliced his flail at him, Optimus caught it; the flail tore into his forearm-plating, but Optimus ignored it, holding on tight. "You fight for yourself, Megatron!" he shot back. "That is why you never win!!"
At that, from her vantage-point, Elita opened fire on their position. Megatron's optics widened, as he tried to pull away...but Optimus held tight...and at the very last second, he popped out his wrist-blade, and sliced off Megatron's flail, before raising his defense-screen to full power.
The high-powered missile-strikes blasted into Megatron, sending him flying across the industrial sector, landing hard...before he got to his feet, retracting his severed, leaking flail, glaring at Optimus, who stood up, shutting off his taxed defense-screen. As Megatron morphed his arm into a cannon, Optimus combined his revolvers into a plasma-rifle, ready to finish this once and for all...
"Prime!!! Web-Head's hurt bad!!!"
Bumblebee's exclamation made Optimus stop in his tracks. Megatron laughed. "Well, Prime? Are you going to let your organic pawn go offline?"
Optimus frowned behind his face-plate; if they tried to fall back, Megatron would pursue them...but if Spider-Man was as badly injured as Bumblebee had said, he needed a med-e-vac, now...
Suddenly, a high-powered thermal shell exploded right in front of them, sending both mechs flying. "WHAT?!!" Megatron roared, as both he and Optimus looked up...and spotted the several dozen humanoid robots flying towards them. Optimus recognized their design...and did not like the implication of their presence.
Sentinels.
Just then, several more thermal rounds impacted their battle-zone; apparently, these Sentinels had been equipped with sabot rounds, if Hound's report had been any indication...and judging from their accuracy, the Sentinels had judged them as collateral damage...but with the Sentinels distracting Megatron, they could safely pull out...and Peter might not have much time..!
"Autobots! Fall back!!!" Optimus ordered, as he shifted into vehicle-mode, and raced towards his comrades. "Sunstreaker, Ironhide, Elita: withdraw with suppressive fire! Jazz, you and Sideswipe pull out! Bumblebee: get Spider-Man, Mary-Jane, and Dr. Strange clear!"
Instantly, the Autobots began to pull back, as Bumblebee carefully picked up Spider-Man and MJ, before hurrying away, while Ironhide and Sunstreaker fired on the Decepticons, coupled with Elita's precision shots with Prime's trailer-platform. Once they were a safe distance, Optimus switched on his radio. "Prime calling Aeon: Priority One!!"
"Aeon here, Fearless! You say it, we'll play it!"
"This is serious, Blaster!!" Optimus snapped. "We need emergency e-vac; we are taking fire, and we have wounded!! Get us up there, and get Ratchet aboard now!!"
"You just said the secret word, Chief! Three, two, one...GOODNIGHT, NEW YORK!!!"
And with that, several beams of light engulfed the seven Autobots, Spider-Man, MJ, and Dr. Strange, 'porting them away.
XXXXXXXX
As he saw Prime and the Autobots 'port away, Megatron roared in pure rage. 'I was so close..!'
"Megatron, we must retreat!" Starscream shouted. "These tin cans are equipped with thermal rounds!"
"Retreat?! From these insults to mech-kind?!" Megatron sneered. "And to think, I thought I had seen the limits of your cowardice."
Starscream scowled at the shot, but Soundwave interrupted his retort. "Your orders, my Lord?"
Megatron scowled at the robotic toys up in the sky. "Today we show the organics the price of insulting us." he snarled. "Soundwave?"
"Yes, my Lord." Soundwave replied, as he armed his machine-gun, taking up a defensive position next to Megatron, covering him as he changed.
Megatron promptly assumed vehicle-mode...before he started to change again; his wings folded inward, becoming stabilizing struts as he touched down; his rear thrusters shifted, expanding outward, becoming charged, morphing into a loading-port; and his nose-cone retracted into his chassis, his gun-arms combining and expanding into a long cannon-barrel.
Fully morphed into cannon-mode, Megatron began to focus, activating his shielding program; it always took considerable effort to use this mode...but it was worth it.
Instantly, a polarized, shielded sphere appeared in the loading-port, before a micro-singularity appeared within it...as the sphere began to fill with pure anti-matter, glowing a brilliant off-white...until the sphere was one-tenth full. The sphere then condensed into the port, which retracted into the cannon, as the anti-matter was forced through a highly polarized pathway, keeping it from interacting with Megatron's inner electronics, until it was forced into the cannon-barrel...where it blasted out of the cannon, blazing towards the Sentinels, shooting past them...and detonating.
Instantly, a massive explosion of white light shook the air from hundreds of miles away, lighting up the night sky, blasting every single Sentinel into nothingness, as well as flattening the entire industrial area. As the shockwave cleared, Megatron smiled to himself.
He loved the smell of burning slag in the morning.
Turning to go, Megatron paused as he saw a robotic head roll towards his feet; one of those toys had survived the blast, and was still functioning...barely. Smiling to himself, Megatron picked it up...and got an idea.
It was time to send a message to the organics.
XXXXXXXX
Command Deck, Aeon, Autobot High-Speed Heavy Cruiser
As the teleporter beam deposited them on the Autobot-sized Command Deck of the Aeon, Optimus turned to see the other two Autobots on bridge-duty, Powerglide – a fairly tall, red-and-silver mech with a silver face-plate, blue optics and red wings extending from his back – and Skyfire – a tall white-armored mech, with a blue visor and white jet-wings on his back – hurry up to them, with Powerglide carrying a mini repair-kit.. "Blaster just informed us of the situation, sir." Powerglide said. "Who's hit?"
"None of us." Optimus answered, as he transformed, gesturing to Spider-Man in Bumblebee's hand.
Skyfire's optics widened. "Primus..."
Just then, Ratchet 'ported onto the Command Deck. "I'm here." he said, walking over. "What's the..?" But he stopped as he saw Spider-Man, automatically doing a medical scan...
"He's crashing!!" Ratchet shouted, automatically shifting into vehicle-mode, his back doors opening. "Get him in here, now!!"
As Bumblebee quickly lowered Spider-Man into Ratchet's mini med-bay, Dr. Strange quickly strapped him in. "I'm a physician; I can assist." he said.
"All right; you're with me. The rest of you, out of the way!!" Ratchet snapped, as his doors closed shut, before his siren sounded, as he raced off, down the hallway towards the medical bay.
Optimus quickly switched on his link to the ship's PA system. "This is Prime to any and all on-board personnel! We have a Class-One Medical Emergency: clear any and all corridors to the med-bay! Repeat: clear all corridors to the med-bay; we have wounded coming through!!"
Sunstreaker's expression turned worried, as his tone turned surprisingly soft. "Hey...the...the little guy's gonna be okay, right?"
Mary-Jane started to sniffle. Optimus noticed her reaction. "Sunstreaker..." he warned.
"Pete's tough." Bumblebee said.
"Plus, Ratch's the best; he's put tons of guys back together, mech, organic, and everything in-between." Jazz agreed. "With that Doc Strange as a consult, Peter'll be online in no time!"
Mary-Jane's sniffling grew in frequency, and Optimus frowned at their casual tone in front of her. "Jazz..."
Sideswipe chuckled grimly. "But I gotta feel sorry for the guy; he's gonna have Ratchet the Hatchet as his physician; Primus help him!"
"Autobots!! IDLE it!!!" Optimus barked...but it was too late.
"Oh my God, it's all my fault!!" Mary-Jane wailed, bursting into tears. "I-I should've been paying more attention and kept Roller with me a-and Rumble, Frenzy and Ravage were after me, today, and Peter tried to stop them and this whole thing started because of m-my stupid pair of glasses and I never got to tell him how much I loved him a-and...and...oh my God he's gonna DIE!!!"
As Mary-Jane broke down, Optimus glared at the other Autobots, while Elita-One uncoupled from the trailer, transforming and walking over to Mary-Jane, kneeling down to her. "Sshh..." she soothed, "...it'll be okay, sweetheart; Ratchet is going to do everything he can to help Peter...but Peter needs all of us to be strong for him, okay?"
Mary-Jane's sniffles started to subside. "O-Okay..." she whimpered...and then she gasped. "O-Oh my God!! Megatron sent that Ravage to my house to find the glasses!! If Megatron sends word to him, he'll..!!"
Optimus' optics narrowed as he instantly understood. "Blaster!" he spoke into his link to the PA. "Have you detected any transmissions from Megatron in the past hour?"
"That's a big N-O, Big O!"
"I want a Level Ten jamming-field up and running five nano-cycles ago! Jam any and all known Decepticon frequencies, and then some we don't know! I don't want Megatron to be able to so much as order a lube-change!!" Optimus ordered.
"You got it, Chief! One Dome of Silence, coming up!"
Optimus let out a sigh of relief...until Ratchet's voice came in over the PA. "Ratchet to Prime. You may want to come to the med-bay."
At that announcement, Mary-Jane suppressed a sob. "He'll be okay, MJ." Bumblebee whispered. "Come on, let's go." With that, he lifted her up onto his shoulder, as Optimus and the other Autobots headed to the med-bay.
Within a few minutes, Optimus and the others emerged into the observation deck overlooking the med-bay. As they stood in front of the window, Optimus saw Mary-Jane peer down at the med-bay from Bumblebee's shoulder...where she saw Ratchet standing over a huge operating table, with Dr. Strange, enshrouded in a glowing aura, hovering next to him, helping him set up several complex surgical tools...and there, strapped to the middle, on a smaller table jutting up from the center, was Peter, his uniform-shirt and mask removed, his torso horribly bruised and discolored, his eyes closed tight.
Looking up, Ratchet saw them. "He's past the worst of it." he reported through the PA. "He'll be fine."
"He was shocking when he got him here; a lot of internal bleeding, as well as a fractured rib." Dr. Strange added. "But we managed to stabilize him, and drain off the blood pooling in his chest cavity; it should be safe to operate now; get that rib back in alignment."
Mary-Jane suppressed a sob. "Will...will he..?"
Ratchet chuckled. "He'll be fine, Miss Watson. This med-bay has been sterilized; wouldn't do to undergo surgery in a contaminated environment, not when organic beings are susceptible to infection. Plus, the Doctor is wearing a bio-filter field; no cross-contamination, here." he said. Then, he frowned, as he looked to Prime. "Optimus, I warned you that this might happen..!"
Optimus sighed. "I know, old friend; I know."
Mary-Jane smiled weakly. "Can...can I talk to him..?"
Ratchet shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Miss Watson; we're just about to put him under..."
"M...J...?"
Mary-Jane's smile grew, as she pressed her hands against the glass, Bumblebee moving closer, as Peter's eyes opened a crack. "Hi, Tiger!" she cooed.
Peter smiled weakly. "...you...okay..?"
Mary-Jane sniffled, shedding a tear of joy. "I am now."
Peter breathed a relieved sigh...before wincing. "Take it easy, son." Ratchet said. "We have to get you fixed up; you took quite a pounding."
Peter groaned. "you...try...against Megatron..."
Sideswipe laughed. "You went up against Megs??" he exclaimed. "And here I thought Sunny was glitched!"
"Hey, how you feelin', Pete?" Bumblebee laughed.
"...not so loud, 'Bee..."
Ironhide chuckled. "He's fahne."
Peter groaned. "...what...now..?"
Ratchet frowned. "Now you sit your aft back and let me do my job."
Peter frowned. "No...have to..."
"Son, in this med-bay, I give the orders, and I'm ordering you to lie down; you're in no condition to do anything."
Sunstreaker smirked. "I'd listen if I were you, shorty. If Ratch so much as does a surface-scan on you, your aft is his until he clears you...and he hates it when you argue with him."
"...Optimus..."
"It's okay, Peter." Optimus replied. "You've done your part, and more; leave things to us, for now."
Elita nodded. "Right now, you have to get better."
Peter closed his eyes. "Okay..."
"Peter?" Mary-Jane called. She smiled. "I love you."
Peter softly smiled. "...love...you...too..." With that, Ratchet administered the anaesthetic.
Dr. Strange turned to Ratchet. "Shall we, Doctor?"
Ratchet nodded. "Let's get to work, Doctor."
As the two physicians began to prep for surgery, Optimus, and the others left the observation deck; as they emerged, a tall, red, yellow and silver mech, with a blue visor resembling sunglasses hurried up to them. "Yo, Big O, we got us a situation, here! Megs just put the word out all over the planet!"
Optimus' optics narrowed. "Blaster, I wanted that jamming field raised..!"
"It's up, Chief! Megs jacked an Earth signal!" Blaster exclaimed.
"Oh, no..." Mary-Jane gasped.
Blaster noticed her distress. "Hey, be cool, little lady; Megs didn't put the hit on your old lady."
Elita's optics narrowed warily. "What did he say?"
Blaster gulped. "Maybe you guys oughtta see for yourselves..." he said, as he tapped a button on a computer terminal in the wall – easily the size of a movie-screen, compared to Mary-Jane.
The screen instantly showed Megatron's fearsome visage; he had used a Sentinel's processor to broadcast all over the Earth. "Organics of planet Earth," he thundered, "listen well! I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons, and I am here to tell you that your existence, as you know it, has ended! We have come to your planet to claim what always should have been ours!" His expression grew angrier, as he held up a component of a destroyed Sentinel. "Your leaders thought that their toys could stop us." he sneered. "Frankly, I am insulted. Your toys cannot stop us. Your so-called 'heroes' cannot stop us. Nothing can stop us. I suggest that, whatever primitive deities your pathetic kind recognize, you begin praying to them for mercy...for you shall receive none from us!!" With that, the transmission ended.
No-one spoke for a few seconds after that. "Oh, scrap." Bumblebee muttered.
"As if things weren't slagged enough," Sunstreaker added, "now Megs had to start a panic."
"We have no time to waste." Optimus said. "Mary-Jane, we need those glasses as soon as possible."
"They have to be here, by now." Mary-Jane said. "My Mom should have picked them up...but if that Ravage is there..!"
"Let us worry about him." Optimus assured her. His tone turned grave. "Mary-Jane, now that Peter is, for the moment, incapacitated, we will need your help."
Mary-Jane took a deep breath; she understood what Optimus was saying. Peter had done his part – and then some – and now it was her turn. Her eyes narrowed in determination.
"What do you want me to do?"
XXXXXXXX
Coming Soon:
With our favorite wall-crawler momentarily out of commission, MJ has to step up to the plate.
Can Spider-Man recover in time to help her?
Will the Autobots finally discover the secret location of the AllSpark?
What are the secrets of Sector Seven?
Find out in "Skeletons in the Closet," coming to your computer soon…
