Ben 10: Prime Force

Chapter 8: Scrapheap

Northern Greenland

In the barren, frozen wasteland that was the arctic, Bulkhead and Bumblebee could be seen pushing forward, fighting against the strong freezing winds of an arctic storm. At the front, Bulkhead stopped momentarily to check the Energon detector. It appeared they were getting closer to whatever was detected.

"Are we there yet?" asked Bumblebee.

"No, we're not there yet," replied Bulkhead, "but it should be right past this ridge, 'bee".

The two Autobots approached a steep slope and carefully slid down it all the way to the bottom. Their heavy metallic feet hit the icy ground with an audible thud. Bulkhead looked at the detector again, and was surprised to see the results.

"I don't get it. These readings are off the meter." Bulkhead said.

"Hey, over here," Bumblebee motioned to the left. "I think I see something".

Bumblebee and Bulkhead only had to take a few steps before they did indeed come across something. Looking through a patch of ice that was clear enough to see through, there was a large metallic pod buried deep within.


Autobot Outpost

After recovering the artifact from the arctic, Bulkhead and Bumblebee were now seating on low concrete platforms in the medical ward. Connected to their chests were two tubes pumping in some type of liquid to warm their systems.

Bulkhead ripped off the tubes and proceeded to get up. "I told you, doc, we're fine".

In response, Ratchet pushed Bulkhead back down. "The only way to be certain you're fine, Bulkhead, is to endure standard defrosting procedures." He scolded. "You know prolonged exposure to subzero temperatures can cause permanent system damage".

"Ratchet," The baritone voice of Optimus spoke out. The medic turned to see him and Arcee walk into the command center. "Have you learned anything more of our arctic find?"

Ratchet shook his helm. "Not yet," He then walked towards a terminal that showed a live-feed of the pod in another room. "The pod can't be open while it's frozen solid".

Meanwhile, inside the room, puddles of melted ice spilled across the floor around the massive pod. Suddenly, the metal artifact began to shake, breaking off partially melted ice in the process. Cracks in the metal exterior began to take shape near the top of the pod.

Without warning, something forceful slammed into the cracks from inside. After a couple more rounds of hitting, a small silver claw sprung out from the newly opened hole.

Later, in the main ops center, Ratchet inputted a set of coordinates in the groundbridge controls before he pulled down the lever. The rings of the tunnel lite up as a bright, swirling greenish-blue portal opened at the end. Optimus and Arcee both stepped forward to the groundbridge.

"Arcee and I will search for any clue that may explain the origin of our arctic find." Optimus explained.

"Only until your sensors sound," continued Ratchet as he typed commands on a device. When he finished, he turned to Optimus and Arcee. "Remember, once your core temperature drops into the blue zone…" He paused as he pressed a button, causing the Autobot symbols on Optimus's arms and on Arcee's winglets to bleep and blink blue. "…system failures are likely, and imminent".

All of a sudden, the sounds of engines could be heard down the main tunnel, growing louder by the second. Finally, Bulkhead and Bumblebee in vehicular mode drone into the command center. Right behind them was a white Lamborghini Aventador, with green number 10's on the doors, and a familiar green hourglass symbol at the front of the bonnet.

When Bulk and 'Bee came to a halt, Kevin exited from Bulkhead's SUV mode while Gwen stepped out of Bumblebee's muscle car form. As soon as Kevin and Gwen stepped out, Bulk and 'Bee shifted back to their bipedal form. The white Lamborghini followed swiftly as its body broke apart, and shifted into the robot mode of Skidmark.

After waking up in the morning, Team 10 had decided to go to Jasper to eat breakfast and hang-out for a bit. When it came afternoon time, Bulkhead and Bumblebee went to pick them up.

"Did you miss us, doc-bot?" Kevin joked with a smirk.

Ratchet groaned in response. "Shouldn't they be in school?"

"Check your calendar Ratchet, it's Saturday, which means no school" Gwen replied.

"And neither of us has to work today, so… looks like you're stuck with us… for the entire weekend" Kevin added with a mischievous grin.

Ratchet only groaned once more, prompting Kevin and Gwen to snicker a bit.

"Although I like transforming into Skidmark," said Ben, "I wasn't expecting to drive myself to base today. What gives, Arcee?"

He was curious as to why she didn't show. She was always there to pick him up.

"Fact team, Ben," Arcee responded as she stepped forward, putting her servos on her curvy hips. "It's my turn for exploration duty".

"Eh, too bad" Skidmark shrugged. "It's a beautiful day outside. Wouldn't want you to feel guilty for leaving me indoors," Ben smiled astutely, hoping she would get his drift.

"Arctic exploration duty," clarified Arcee.

"Indoors where it's warm then," The white Cybertronian replied, pointing to the human area.

He then slapped the Omnitrix dial, and in a familiar flash of emerald, Skidmark shrunk down and transformed back to Ben. The brunette then proceeded up to the stairway, just as Optimus and Arcee stepped through the groundbridge portal.

"Transport complete," Ratchet noted.

Unexpectedly, sparks and smoke flared out of the controls as the screen went dark, causing the groundbridge to shut off.

"By the All-Spark!" exclaimed Ratchet as he examined the damage.

As Team 10 reached their usual hang-out area, they walked to the railings where Bulkhead and Bumblebee were standing.

"So, what should we do today?" Kevin asked.

"The SAFE?" implied Gwen.

"Nah, we've already over done that" Ben point out.

"We could have a video game tournament" Bumblebee suggested, while pumping his fists.

"Yeah, a video game tournament, last one standing wins" Gwen translated.

"Oh, you guys are so beat" Ben grinned, knowing that he had the advantage, considering he has played more times than any of his friends.

"Bulkhead! Bumblebee!" Ratchet's cranky voice called out. "I need you over here".

The green Wrecker and yellow scout walked to Ratchet's position, by the groundbridge entrance, the later slumping his shoulders in doing so. Team 10 looked at each other bewildered and shrugged before turning their attention to the couch, which now had a coffee table, TV set, and a video game console set up in front of it.

"Alright, who wants to be my first victim?" Ben grinned as he grabbed a game controller.

"We'll see about that. Best two out of three" Kevin replied, taking hold of the second controller.

Gwen was about the get the third controller, until she noticed that it wasn't there. She looked around the table and TV set, but was unable to locate the missing device.

"Hey, where's the other controller?"

"Hmm…" Kevin pondered; he then remembered where he placed it after he got the game set for the base. "Oh, it's my room, by my bedside."

Gwen nodded "I'll go get it".

The auburn-haired teen then stepped down the stairway and progressed down the main corridor of the silo, leaving Ben and Kevin to engage in a racing game.

Meanwhile, Bulkhead and Bumblebee ambled towards Ratchet. "You can't boss us around while the boss is out." remarked Bulkhead.

Ignoring Bulkhead's comment, Ratchet got straight to the point. "I need some heavy lifting. The groundbridge is down."

Both Bulk and 'Bee's optics widened in surprise and fear.

"Did Optimus and Arcee make it through okay?" Bumblebee asked worriedly.

"Optimus and Arcee made it through fine, it's getting them back that concerns me" answered Ratchet. He then motioned towards the entrance of the groundbridge tunnel. "Now remove those panels… chop-chop!"

After retrieving the third video game controller from Kevin's quarters (and placing it in her pocket), Gwen was walking down the corridor, back to the command center. Suddenly, the sound of metal hitting the floor made her freeze. She looked around, seeing nothing. She then heard the distinct sounds of metal skittering.

Gwen closed her eyes and concentrated. When they reopened, her eyes were illuminating a lustrous pink. The Anodite teen tried detecting for any mana or Cybertronian spark signatures, but found none. Cutting off her powers, she looked around once more.

"Hello?" She called out.

The only response she received was silence. All of a sudden, a screw hit the concrete and rolled across the floor over ten yards ahead of her. Gwen stepped to it and picked up the steel made rivet, looking at it curiously.

The Anodite girl walked forward, but only to trip over something and fall. She thankfully caught herself with her hands, lessening the impact. Gwen turned over and was met with quite a sight. Apparently, what she had tripped over was a four-inch-tall metal creature that stood on four, stubby legs and had two stubby arms; it also had a bulbous head, and two purple optics.

Gwen stared at the small peculiar creature inquisitively, while getting back up to her feet.

"Whoa, where did you come from?" asked Gwen, although not expecting a response.

The creature took a few movements back as it seemed to examine Gwen with its big purple eyes. It then came back forward cautiously.

"Hmm…the Autobots never mentioned anything to us about pets".

Gwen then got an idea, she opened the hand that still had the metal rivet, and looked back to the tiny metal being.

"You wanna play fetch?" Gwen inquired, while slightly shaking the bolt side-to-side.

In response, the little robot jumped up-and-down and skittered around in a circle, all in a playful matter.

Gwen smiled then reared back and threw the rivet down the hallway. "Go get it boy!"

The bulbous robot moved its stubby legs quickly as it promenaded to the piece of metal. Unexpectedly, the sounds of electric whining were heard as the robot started chewing up the bolt.

"W-wait, you're gonna choke!" She protested.

However, she was mistaken as the robot easily devoured the entirety of the rivet, before it skittered back towards her.

"Or…not,"

Immediately, the little creature closed its optics as it nuzzled up against Gwen's leg. The red-haired teen couldn't help but smile at the sight. She then started moseying back to main ops center, the metal being right by her side.

"Wait till the guys see you" Gwen stated as they turned the corner.

But out of her knowledge, down the corridor she found the creature, there was piece of machinery on the wall that looked chew up, and was throwing off a mess of sparks.

Back in the command center, Ben and Kevin were still engrossed in their racing game. The score was one-to-one; winner takes all on this race.

"Come on, come on, you want some?" Ben muttered; his attention still fixated on the TV screen.

At the end, Ben's car crosses the finish line first, just barely though. His eyes widened as an elated expression took hold on his face.

"Oh! In your face!" bragged Ben.

Kevin's mien turned into frustration as he had to endure Ben's taunting. As the jacket clad teen started a victory dance, the lights in the room went off before coming back on.

"What the?" said Ben. "Oh great… power failure."

"Aw," Kevin replied, pointing towards the TV screen filled with static. "It wiped out our game".

With that said, Kevin got up from the couch with a satisfied smirk whilst Ben stared in disbelief.

"B-But… I was winning!" He yelled.

He eventually got over it and followed Kevin down the stairway, stepping to where the three Autobots were gathered up.

Meanwhile, in front of the groundbridge tunnel, Bulkhead and Bumblebee had already removed the panels, exposing the multitude of computer motherboards underneath. Ratchet leaned down and removed a particular one, one that had a peculiar set of bite marks on it.

"We most definitely have a problem" Ratchet noted as he held up the chewed-up motherboard, and examined it. "What could've caused this?"

Once again, the lights up top flickered on-and-off a few times before returning to normal.

"Or that?" added Bulkhead

"It might be the main grid." Ratchet insinuated. "Hopefully it isn't a substation malfunction".

"Hey guys!" Gwen's shouted in a cheery tone. "Look what I found".

Turning his gaze away from the masticated computer board, Ratchet looked at Gwen with an obvious annoyed demeanour. "We're busy" Suddenly, the medic's optics widened significantly as they spotted the little bulbous robot Gwen found, resting in her arms. "AAAAHHH!"

Bulkhead and Bumblebee soon saw the creature too, and in response, they reflexively backed up while the wrecker and scout deploying their blasters, training them on the robot. Expressions of fear and anxiety were plastered on their facial plates.

Seeing their reactions, Ben and Kevin quickly stepped in front of Gwen, blocking the line of fire. Team 10 was totally surprised from how the 'Bots were reacting.

"Whoa, whoa what's with you guys?" inquired Kevin.

"Scraplet! Scraplet! SCRAPLET!" Bulkhead screamed, shaking his blaster uncontrollably while doing so.

The trio's eyebrows both raised in confusion.

"What's a Scraplet?" Gwen asked.

"The most dangerous vermin to ever crawl upon the face of Cybertron," Ratchet answered with a visage of apprehension.

Team 10 paused for a moment, absorbing this information. They looked at each other and then turned their gaze to the Scraplet in Gwen's arms, looking at it in disbelief.

"This?" Ben chuckled a bit. "Are you kidding me?"

"You guys are giant robots!" Kevin added as he looked back at the Scraplet. "Scrappy here is…tiny".

The three Autobots still had trepidation written on their faces, not convinced whatsoever.

"You have no idea the damage that TINY thing can do!" Bulkhead argued; his body (as well as 'bee's and Ratchet's) were shaking in fear.

"Ah, he wouldn't hurt anything" Gwen said dismissively.

Trying to prove a point, Gwen removed her arm from around the Scraplet's head, causing its purple optics to flutter open. The small machine immediately focused its gaze on the three Cybertronians standing before him.

Suddenly, to the shock of Team 10, the Scraplet's mouth opened wide, revealing a set of sharp metal teeth that rotated around like a drill, and produced an electric grinding noise. The Scraplet jumped out of Gwen's arm and skittered across the floor, on a straight path to the Autobot trio.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee both took aim, but due to their shakiness, they both messed. The Scraplet jumped onto 'Bee's leg and started eating his shin plating, causing the yellow scout to fall down. Team 10 stared in shock as the little robot chewed up a trail on Bumblebee's yellow shin-guard.

Bumblebee grabbed the Scraplet, intending to crush it; however, it ate straight through his servo. In outright fear, he swiftly slapped the creature away. After rolling on the floor a few times, the Scraplet quickly regained its bearings, and was fixing to charge after Bumblebee again.

Suddenly, a pink energy disk collided with the Scraplet, reducing it into tiny fragments. Gwen's mana lite hands then returned to normal as she rushed to Bumblebee's aid.

"Whoa," remarked a stunned Kevin. "I did not see that coming".

"I'm sorry, Bumblebee!" apologized Gwen.

"It's alright, Gwen. Don't sweat over it" Bumblebee replied.

Gwen turned to Ratchet, worry on her mien. "Is he going to be okay?"

Ratchet scrutinized Bumblebee's wound for a couple seconds before looking back at Gwen.

"Only a mesh wound, he'll live" Ratchet assured.

"Now do you believe me?" continued Bulkhead. "All Scraplets do is disable machinery, and eat anything metal…especially living metal."

"Well…bug crushed so…game over, right?" Ben asked as he and Kevin stepped closer.

"No. When it comes to scraplets, there's never JUST one" Ratchet paused, turning his helm towards the main corridor. "And I fear I know how they got in here".

The present occupants at base were inside the room where they had left the large, metallic pod to thaw. The ice was gone and flowing into drains on the concrete floor. Ratchet was examining a large hole in the middle of the pod; it appeared to have been forced open from within.

"It's a trap. A Scraplet trap," Ratchet clarified.

"Um… more like… was a Scraplet trap." Bulkhead said anxiously.

"It was most likely ejected into space eons ago." Ratchet explained. "Only for it to wind up in the arctic, where the sub-zero temperatures kept them in stasis".

"Until we brought them to thaw," noted Ben.

"Now they're wide awake and ready for munch" Kevin added.

"So…how many are we talking about?" Gwen asked.

"Thousands," Ratchet answered. His demeanour then became grimmer as he continued, "The power malfunctions and groundbridge damage are sure signs that their infestation is well underway".


Arctic

The cold, blistering wind continued to blow hard across the arctic region, carrying loads of icy mist and snow along with it. Currently, Optimus Prime was carefully climbing down very steep icy slope. As he continued his trek downwards, the Autobot symbol on his arm started blinking blue and emanating a series of beeps.

He pressed a finger digit to the side of his helm to activate his com-link. "Arcee, what is your status?"

From the top of the ice mesa, Arcee was proceeding to climb down until the symbol on her winglet went off too. "My signal is going off. Guess we should call in base before things get chilly" Arcee replied.

"Optimus to base, our core temperature readings have reached the blue zone. Prepare to activate the groundbridge".

All he received through the com-link was static, which took him by surprise. Their situation then began to sink in, and Optimus soon realized that if they couldn't contact base, they would be in serious trouble.


Autobot Outpost

"Ratchet to Optimus, do you read me? We have a situation" Ratchet spoke into the terminal.

All Ratchet received was static. Not a moment later, the images and depictions on the three large monitors up front disappeared as the screen turned into frizzle.

"The scraplets have gotten into the com-link system" Ratchet stated, slightly slamming his servo on the keyboard out of frustration. "If we do not eradicate these creatures immediately, they will reduce this entire base to a scrapheap!"

Team 10 stood by the railings on the platforms nearest Ratchet, whilst Bulkhead and Bumblebee stood behind Ratchet.

"Well I say we bug out of here and let them keep it!" Bulkhead responded fearfully.

Kevin turned to Bulk with a raised brow and a look of disbelief. "Really, dude?"

"Evacuation is not an option." Ratchet argued, his expression becoming more and more serious. "If we don't get the groundbridge back online stat… Optimus and Arcee will perish."

"W-w-what?" Ben stuttered, his eyes becoming wide from this dreadful realization.

"Bulkhead, you never run" Kevin stated.

"Kevin, you've never seen a swarm of these things devour a bot…I have." Bulkhead paused for dramatic effect. "They pick you apart from the inside-and-out. They go inside for the small, juicy bits first. Fuse by fuse, circuit by circuit, until there's nothing left. And I mean nothing! Not even your optics".

Team 10 looked at each other, now knowing that these things were indeed a dangerous threat to their robotic friends. Ben didn't have to ponder long on this situation. Optimus and…Arcee were out there in the arctic, possibly dying right now. If they don't dispose of those metal eating creatures soon… then Optimus and Arcee will surely die.

"Okay… now that doesn't sound good." He paused for a second as he demanded, "You have to let us help".

"Yeah, we're not made of metal. The scraplets can't hurt us" Gwen added.

Ratchet hummed as he held his chin with his right servo in contemplation. "Typically, I find your fleshiness to be your least engaging qualities. But under these extreme circumstances it would appear that your organic bodies and… other abilities… will provide us with an advantage."

"Okay then. We'll pair off. One bot, one of us," The brunette said. "I'll watch your back while you repair the groundbridge".

"And we become pest control" Kevin grinned before he and the others looked at Bulk and 'Bee.

The green Wrecker and yellow scout looked at each other, and shuddered uneasily.


Arctic

At the bottom of a frozen valley, in-between high mesas on both sides, Optimus and Arcee walked at a slow pace, leaning forward to fight the strong wind. The red and blue titan placed his digit to his helm again.

"Optimus to base, do you read?"

Again, all he received was static.

He then heard an audible thud hit the ice. Optimus turned around to see that Arcee had collapsed to her knees. The wise leader came to her side and helped her up.

"Are you sure a nice drive would hurt? I hear Miami is beautiful this time of year." The blue femme quipped, but was still shaking at the core.

Optimus shook his head in disagreement. "The nearest temperate climate is too distant, Arcee. Attempting to reach it would expend too much energy…and hasten the freezing process." He then stared forward, but was lost in his thoughts. "Until Ratchet sends for us, and he will, our best option will be to seek shelter and insulate ourselves".


Autobot Outpost

Bulkhead and Kevin were currently walking down a corridor; the former having his right arm blaster deployed while he had a flashlight in the other. He turned his head in each direction tentatively, being on the lookout. Kevin, however, walked casually, not really bothered by anything at the moment.

"I get to be your bodyguard, huh? It's about time we started getting some more active roles around here." Kevin commented.

"Gwen said she found the first one here, right?" inquired Bulkhead.

Right on cue, the lights in the hallway went off, blanketing the duo in darkness. The green Wrecker couldn't suppress the urge to do what Kevin definitely never expected.

"AAAAHHHH!" He screamed girlishly.

A second later, the lights came back on. Kevin glanced at Bulkhead with an 'are you serious?' expression.

"Did you just scream like a little girl?"

"No," He replied defiantly. But his defiant mien soon faltered into nervousness. "Maybe… ugh… can we talk about this later."

Kevin's brow rose before he then shrugged his shoulders, and continued down the passageway. Bulkhead and Kevin soon reached an intersection and turned right. The messy haired teen glanced behind him, only to see his friend was still shaking and looking around him constantly.

"Keep a sharp eye out, Bulkhead" Kevin advised.

All of a sudden, Bulk's audio receptors picked up on the distinctive sounds of metal skittering. He shined his flashlight to the ceiling, trying to see through the apparatus of cables and machinery running along it.

Kevin, who took no notice of the slightly metal skittering, looked back, and said, "just remain calm, big guy".

Unsurprisingly, Kevin's words went ignored as the hulky Autobot fired a couple shots into random spots in the ceiling. As a result, a folly of metal cables collapsed from the ceiling and swayed across Bulkhead's body.

"AAAAWWWW!" Bulkhead shrieked, trying desperately to knock the cables away.

Kevin gazed on in disbelief. "Okay… wish I hadn't seen that" He noted. Kevin's demeanour then grew more serious. "Bulkhead! You're fine! They're just a bunch of cables".

The wrecker stopped, taking a second to examine the cables, and realized that Kevin was right. A sheepish smile grew on Bulkhead's face as he pushed them off of him.

"Uh…whoops," Bulkhead stated embarrassedly.

Suddenly, audible metal skittering could be heard, and before the duo knew it, a swarm of scraplets rained down from the hole in the ceiling all over Bulkhead's body.

"AAAWWWW!" screamed Bulkhead, swiping his servos across his arms in an attempt to get the scraplets off his body.

Without thinking, Kevin rushed to the wall and touched a metal pipe running up and down the wall. His body was instantly covered in dark silver metal. Kevin morphed his right fist into a sledge hammer and the left one into a baseball bat.

"Hang on, big guy!" Kevin yelled while leaping into the air and onto his huge left arm.

The Osmosian teen started smashing scraplets with his hammer arm and swiping them away with his bat arm. For a while, it appeared that Kevin was winning. He had successfully either destroyed or knocked away most of the scraplets teeming on Bulkhead. Nevertheless, the victory was short-lived as the other scraplets honed their optics on Kevin.

They could see that he was pulsing with colour, much like Bulkhead. In response, their mouths opened wide as their serrated teeth began rotating like drills and swarmed all over Kevin as well. The metal covered teen was knocked off the green Autobot and onto the ground by the hordes of scraplets swarming over his body.

Kevin let out painful cries as the little creatures bit into his armour. Barely a few seconds passed and the scraplets had already devoured most of Kevin's metal skin on his chest, torso, and legs. He tried kicking them and swiping them off, but they quickly returned to continue their feast.

"AAAWWWW! They're eating me!" shirked Kevin as he kicked across the floor.

"Kevin! They eat metal! Absorb something else!" Bulkhead managed to say before he continued screaming.

A freight train of realization hit Kevin. Smiling sheepishly, he replied, "R-right…I forgot".

The Osmosian hastily dropped his metal armour, much to the disappointment of the scraplets. After coating his body in concrete armour from the ground, Kevin morphed both hands into baseball bats and jumped back onto Bulkhead, smashing and hitting the little creatures.

As the number of the swarm lessened, Bulkhead regained a bit of his composure and started blasting at them. While he was shooting, he glanced back at Kevin with a smirk. "Did you scream like a little girl?"

Kevin's brow furrowed from aggravation and embarrassment "Not a word, to anyone".

In another part of the base, Gwen and Bumblebee ambled vigilantly down a corridor. Bumblebee had his blaster deployed and was scanning around him regularly. Gwen held out her right hand and lit it up with mana, providing some light in the dim lite corridor.

However, she was also trying to see if she could actually track the scraplets. Unfortunately, it was proving to be futile. She later summarized that since the scraplets were machines and had no sparks like Cybertronians, her mana would be unable to trace them.

The duo approached an intersection and turned down another corridor. At the end, they could see a large circular vent, big enough to where a Cybertronian could crawl through. They promenaded towards it cautiously. Upon reaching it, they could see places in the vent that looked to be chewed out.

Bumblebee motioned for Gwen to step aside, which she did. The scout shifted his blasters back to servos, grabbed hold of the vent, and pulled it off the wall. As soon as he did, Bumblebee re-deployed his weapons whilst Gwen lit up her hands with mana.

After a couple of seconds, 'Bee lowered his guns as Gwen lowered her arms; both stared into an empty shaft. Suddenly, they could hear the familiar sounds of electric drilling. They glanced behind them to see the noises were coming from a vent in the floor.

Without warning, the vent was immediately devoured by a group of scraplets. The hordes flew into the air and swarmed towards Bumblebee. Immediately, Gwen threw up a mana shield that stretched from wall-to-wall and floor-to-roof. The bulbous head creatures pinged off the shield, but continued relentlessly to get through.

"Bumblebee, I'm gonna open a port hole so you can fire at them. I'll keep this shield up as long as I can" Gwen said.

The yellow Autobot nodded in understanding. He stepped toward the shield to see a port hole, big enough for him to stick his blasters out, appeared before him. Bumblebee speedily put his cannons in the opening and began shooting away at the scraplets.

Back in the main ops center, Ratchet was kneeling by the opened panels in front of the groundbridge, working frantically on repairing it. Ben stood to the side with his arms folded, occasionally looking around the massive room for any sign of Scraplets. He had been standing there for over fifteen minutes, and was becoming impatient.

He looked over to Ratchet. "How's it coming over there?" implored Ben.

"Hmph… I repaired the damaged conductors, rerouted the central conduits, but the groundbridge still won't receive power!" Ratchet answered, venting his anger by punching the floor.

Ben was about to respond until he heard the sounds of metal skittering. He immediately turned around, searching for the source. His eyes looked up to see dozens possibly hundreds of scraplets crawling on the wall. Their purple optics soon honed in on Ratchet's metallic form.

In response, their mouths opened wide while their teeth started spinning. To Ben's shock they jumped off the wall and began soaring towards Ratchet.

"They fly… you never said they could fly!" Ben yelled.

The medic didn't have time to respond as the mass of scraplets swarmed over him and began eating away at his armour. Ratchet fell to the floor, shrieking as he tried to swipe away the scraplets, but there were just too many.

Ben's eyes widened, seeing as he was in deep trouble. He quickly pressed the Omnitrix faceplate and scrolled through the playlist. When he found the head icon he wanted, he was attempting to press it before a few stragglers from the swarm collided with his back, causing Ben to stumble and fall over.

As he caught himself, out of Ben's knowledge the Omnitrix list scrolled past the alien he chose and onto a different one. Without looking, the brunette tapped the icon, and as soon as the core popped out, he slammed it back down.

A bright flash of green consumed the command center. As the light died away, standing in Ben's place was what appeared to be a nine-foot-tall, orange, bipedal tailless tiger. Its chest and shoulders were broad as its arms were incredibly muscular. Protruding out from the top of each hand was a long black claw.

"Rath," roared Ben.

Rath looked himself over for a second, his angry expression intensifying. "Let me tell yah something new Omnitrix, after months of working right, why do you have to mess up now?!"

"Ben!" screamed Ratchet as the scraplets continued to overwhelm him, and gobble down parts of his metal armour. "Do something!"

Rath turned his gaze back to Ratchet, and narrowed his green eyes at the bulbous headed creatures. "Right," muttered Rath.

Rath bent his knees and leaped high in the air over a thirty-yard distance and landed on Ratchet's squirming form. Angry grunts emanated from the Appoplexian as he swiped away, kicked, or crushed the scraplets with his bare hands. Rath was taking a toll on them, considering at least dozens of crushed scraplets were scattered across the floor; however, there are just too many for Rath handle alone.

Still standing on Ratchet's chest, Rath crushed two scraplets in his hands and swipes away a few trying to eat at the medic's midsection. Even though Rath had held the lot of them off, the CMO of Team Prime's body was still covered in bite trails and missing parts in various places.

Rath growled furiously as the hordes of tiny machines continued to advance on him and Ratchet. "Let me tell yah something Scraplet swarm, designed specifically to devour metal, Rath does not appreciate it when you try and eat Rath's friends. It makes Rath angry, I mean angrier… ugh whatever!" yelled Rath, pointing an accusing finger at swarm.

"BEN!" screamed Ratchet as he knocked a few scraplets off of his arms, only for them to come back and resume their eating. "For the love of Primus, please turn into something more useful!"

Rath glowered, but didn't make any snappy comeback. "Fine," he growled. "Rath was through with them anyway".

He slapped the Omnitrix dial on his chest, and in a flash of green, Rath was replaced by another transformation. This alien stood six feet tall and its skin was primarily yellow and black. It has two crab-like claws for hands and its shoulders are broad and form an arch. The being's head is shaped like a skull, has a yellow eyebrow-like crest, and levitates in-between the arch of its shoulders.

"Lodestar," Ben shouted, his voice now sounding scratchy and metallic.

(A/N: This is Lodestar from Omniverse, so keep in mind his mouth moves when he talks.)

Lodestar examined himself for a short moment. "Alright, I can definitely work with this!" He then turned his gaze to the swarm of scraplets devouring Ratchet.

He immediately held out his right claw, and promptly, green magnetic waves emitted from them. To Ratchet's shock and utter relief, the scraplets were pulled away from his body. Using his magnetic abilities, Lodestar was able to extract all the scraplets on Ratchet and magnetize them together in a big Scraplet ball.

The Biosovortian then glanced the other way to see more Scraplet hordes coming straight for them. Holding out his other claw, Lodestar magnetizes them too and is able to pull them into the ball he already has made. Now, floating in the air is a massive sphere of scraplets, stuck together with no way out.

Ratchet grunted painfully as he rolled over on his front, and used his arms to steadily lift himself up. He stared at the Scraplet ball with wide optics.

"H-h-how did you… do that?"

Lodestar turned to him, while still keeping his arms out. "Simple. I just used my magnetic personality." Ben looked back and narrowed his eyes at the destructive, little creatures. "Now, I believe it's time to end this petty skirmish".

Lodestar crossed the magnet waves from both claws, and as a result, the magnetic pull began to easily rip apart the scraplets. One by one, dozen by dozen, the little bulbous head creatures were reduced to scrap from the extreme magnetic forces. Soon afterward, Lodestar released the ball, causing hundreds of dead scraplets to pile up in the command center.

The yellow and black Biosovortian looked at the pile with a smug grin. "Ha, problem is solved"

Just as he finished his statement, another multitude of scraplets swarmed into the room from the air, and flew in circles above them. Lodestar's mouth dropped a bit, shocked to see this swarm outnumbered the last by hundreds.

"Of course, I could be wrong." Lodestar admitted.

Hearing the sounds of footsteps, his attention was then drawn to the main tunnel entrance. Bulkhead was limping out with scraplets bites all over, and portions of his armour gone. Bumblebee was next; however, he had a lot less injuries than Bulk did. Gwen stepped in, and behind her was Kevin, attired in concrete armour.

"Ratchet, get the first-aid kit. I'm leaking Energon fast" Bulkhead then glared at Bumblebee, who merely shrugged. The former clearly jealous that he didn't have as many bite marks as he did.

Before anyone could remark, the swarm of scraplets from above came soaring down, heading on straight paths to the three Autobots. Lodestar held out his right claw trapped most of them in a magnetic ball like last time. The others were left to handle the rest, which despite Lodestar's efforts, was still a good sum.

Seeing the incoming threat, Gwen hastily held out her hands, and summoned a dome of mana to cover her, Kevin, and the Autobots. The scraplets bounced off of the shield, but still continued their onslaught.

Gwen glanced behind her. "Guys, I'm gonna do the same thing I did with Bumblebee. I'll open port holes in the shield that will allow you to shoot at them." She then turned to look at Kevin. "Kevin, since you're not covered in metal, I'm gonna let you out and offer Ben a hand in destroying these things".

Kevin nodded in agreement. Quickly, Gwen opened a door in the shield which the Osmosian instantly rushed out of. She closed the opening and made port holes for Bulkhead and Bumblebee to step forward and begin firing at the scraplets.

With Lodestar's magnetism, Gwen's mana, Kevin's concrete armour, and the 'Bots firepower, the massive swarm's numbers began to dwindle.


Arctic

High speed winds continued to gust across the arctic landscape, carrying snow and sub-zero chill factors with it. Optimus and Arcee were both taking shelter behind a lift in the ice that protected them from most of the freezing winds. Though it did provide relief from the arctic gusts, they were still cold, and their armour was starting to freeze over in places.

Optimus glanced to his left to see Arcee had her legs pulled up to her chassis, and her helm resting on her knees. He could tell that she was sleeping.

"Arcee, wake up." He said sternly.

Arcee's helm shot up, starting to regain a bit of her wakefulness. "Huh… uh… oh, sorry… just resting my eyes," complied a fatigue Arcee.

"The longer we remain alert, the longer we remain alive" Optimus stated.

"Would do you suggest?" asked Arcee. "Oh wait, how about a game? Let's play… who screwed up back at base."

"Our predicament could be the cause of a simple malfunction" Optimus suggested.

"Caused by Bulkhead," continued Arcee. "Let's see… no com-link and maybe even no power. The big lug probably tripped over a cord, he's never been too graceful" The blue femme paused as she pulled her legs even closer to her body. "Remember when we first arrived on Earth, and Bulkhead walked into those power lines?" She chuckled a bit in remembrance of that memory. "Who knew he could dance like that?"

"Bulkhead may be too… large for this world, but his inner strength is without bounds. One should not be measured by size alone" Optimus said astutely.

The two were left in silence; Arcee sat there, taking in Optimus's wise spoken words.


Autobot Outpost

The battle with the Scraplet horde had lasted ten minutes. Thanks to Gwen's mana shield, Bulk, 'Bee and Ratchet had avoided sustaining more injuries. And thanks mostly to Lodestar, Kevin, and the 'Bots firepower, they successfully managed to eradicate all the scraplets. Lodestar had just finished gathering up a few stragglers and using his magnetic powers to crush them.

Gwen let down her shield to her body rest, the 'Bots followed in example as they slumped down on the floor, leaning against the human platforms, and groaning in pain. After making sure all the scraplets in the room were dead, Lodestar transformed back to Ben while Kevin let down his armour.

"Did we get them all?" asked Ben.

To answer Ben's question, the skittering sounds of thousands of metal feet could be heard emanating down the multiple corridors of the base.

"Hardly," scoffed Ratchet. "These were just scouts."

"Oh no," Bumblebee whined, letting his head fall back.

"So…the rest of them know we're in here?" Bulkhead asked weakly.

"And if we allow ourselves to become their next meal, Optimus and Arcee will never make it home. We must get the groundbridge operational" Ratchet replied determinedly.

"Then we can use the groundbridge to send them anywhere on Earth." Gwen offered.

"Why not the arctic?" suggested Ben. "You told us that they don't do cold"

"And if that doesn't work, you could always go Big Chill." Kevin added, referring to Ben.

"Hmm… given the body mass of the scraplets, sub-zero temperatures should freeze them on contact. Now think Ratchet… the only way the groundbridge could not be receiving power… is if there's a breach in the Energon fuel line" Ratchet concluded, his face lighting up from realization.

"If we weren't breaching," Bulkhead noted. "Problem is how do we get one of us back there to fix it?"

"Tell us where it is and we'll take care of it" Ben demanded, his, Gwen and Kevin's faces portraying seriousness.

Team 10 walked down a narrow corridor that had a huge pipe running down the right side. This was the Energon fuel line that provided power to the groundbridge. They made sure to walk carefully, not to disturb the groups of scraplets littering the hallway. Kevin especially made sure to be cautious around them.

"Remember, we're not made of metal…" Ben paused as he looked at Kevin with a sly smile. "Unless of course you absorb some metal Kev then you're pretty screwed".

Unexpectedly, Kevin shuddered, recalling the incident that happened earlier with Bulkhead and a swarm of scraplets. Both Tennyson cousins glanced at their Osmosian friend sceptically.

"Kevin, you okay?" asked Gwen.

"Y-y-yeah, I'm fine." His eyes then caught something ahead. He pointed towards it, and said, "There's the breach."

They looked forward to see blue liquid leaking out of the bottom of the pipe. Team 10 rushed forward and examined the gash. Kevin knelled in front of it and placed his hands on the pipe. He closed his eyes and he concentrated. Miraculously, the metal around the gash began to expand until it was promptly closed, sealing the breach.

"There, good as new." Kevin smiled.

"Now we need to get back to the command center before the scraplets do." Ben said.

Suddenly, a flying horde of scraplets passed by the trio and resumed down the corridor at fast speed.

"They're getting ready to feed!" Kevin shouted.

"Oh no they're not," Ben stated.

He swiftly activated the Omnitrix, scrolled through the library until the found the alien he wanted, and slammed it back down.

A flash of emerald engulfed the corridor, when it died down; standing in Ben's place was something Gwen and Kevin did not expect. It was a four-foot-tall blue lizard-like reptile that stood on four feet. Its legs, back, and arms were attired in tight black clothing while its white shelled chest was exposed, with the Omnitrix dial on it. Four pointed, blue spikes started from his head and went down his spin. Its reptilian face was blue and had black streaks around its green eyes.

"Articguana,"

(A/N: This is Articguana from Omniverse)

The blue lizard immediately leaped forward at an incredible distance and height. In mid-air, Articguana inhaled deeply and exhaled a blast ray of cold. The bluish-white breathe caught up to the back of the swarm, and instantly froze them. However, a good number of scraplets escaped the freeze ray and were still heading towards the main ops.

As soon as Gwen and Kevin caught up, Articguana turned back and said, "You guys stay here and crush these frozen bugs before they can thaw. I'll take care of the rest".

Leaving no room for argument, Ben ran down the hallway at a quick speed the Anodite and Osmosian didn't think he was capable of.


Arctic

Optimus and Arcee continued to lay in the snow, losing their energy rapidly; both coming closer to death by the minute.

"You know the worst part, after battling 'Cons all these years, smacked down, shot at, blown up… this is how are lights go out?" Arcee said weakly, slowly inching towards unconsciousness.

"Arcee," Optimus said gravely. "This may not be the finish that we had planned. But… if this is indeed the end, if we are to become one with the All-Spark,"

Arcee reached out her left servo and placed it over Optimus's larger servo. He, in turn, turned his hand upside, able to hold hers tightly.

"It's been an honour serving with you, Optimus Prime" Arcee proclaimed.

The femme, at that moment, believed that this was the end. There were so many things she wanted to do and see. For example, would Team Prime finally end the war with the 'Cons along with their newest additions in Team 10? Would they ever live to see Cybertron restored to its former glory? And… more personally… how would her relationship with Ben turn out?

Would it remain as a friendship… or perhaps… grow into something else?

Well, it appeared that Arcee will never get to know. Sadly, she shut off her optics, awaiting her fate.

'So many things I wanted to do and see…but at least I'll be reunited with my sisters, Tailgate, and Cliffjumper in the All-Spark.' Arcee thought.

Her thoughts then drifted to Ben. Even though she had only known him for a couple of weeks, Arcee could already feel some connection with him. She didn't know what is was, but she had hoped to find out later down the line. Unfortunately, that moment would never come.

'I'm sorry Ben…' The blue femme said inwardly, just before she passed out.


Autobot Outpost

Articguana rushed into the command center from the main corridor. He looked up to see the humongous Scraplet swarm flying in circles overhead Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Ratchet like hungry vultures. The Polar Manzardill quickly jumped all the way from the floor to the railing of the human center.

He looked up and narrowed his eyes at the metal eating vermin.

'No time to open the groundbridge and send these things through. No need though, I can already produce temperatures colder than the arctic anyway.' Ben thought.

"Time to cool these pests down" Articguana quipped.

Ben reared back his head as he inhaled deeply, and finally exhaled another ray of sub-zero temperatures. The freezing blast reached the scraplets position at the top of the ceiling. In seconds, the top of the mesa and rafters was instantly covered in deep sheets of ice. The Scraplet swarm was promptly frozen within the ice, locked in stasis, each and every one of them.

"Now that was cool." Ben remarked.

"Ugh…" Ratchet groaned as he struggled to get to his feet. "T-the breach?"

Articguana eyes widened, he was so focused on the scraplets he forgot to tell Ratchet the rupture in the fuel pipe was sealed.

"The breach has been fixed; fire up the groundbridge now!"

The fatigue medic steadily got to his pedes and pulled the lever down, only to collapse face forward. At that moment, Gwen and Kevin sprinted back in the main ops room. Their attention was drawn to the icy ceiling above for a moment, and then averted to the working groundbridge.

Articguana leaped off the railing and right at the entrance of the portal. Gwen and Kevin rushed up behind him and stopped, staring at the vortex with anxious and worried miens. A minute passed, and nothing came through. Ben was starting to get really apprehensive.

"Something's wrong. I have to go get them!" said Articguana.

"No, wait!" Gwen asserted, pointing towards the swirling colourful portal.

Like a miracle, Optimus and Arcee slowly limped through the bridge, both covered in snow and ice and appeared to be fairly weak. Team 10 couldn't help but smile out of relief, though they were both closed to freezing to death, they were still alive. The same could be said for the other Autobots who could've been eaten today, if it weren't for the super-powered trio.

Hours later, (after the scraplets had been swept up and disposed of) Team Prime was in the medical ward, recovering from their injuries, whether it be frost bit or Scraplet marks. To hasten the recovery process, Ben had turned into Upgrade and merged with the medical equipment. Gwen tried using her mana to help heal the 'Bots, but as was expected, her powers had no effect in healing them. Though the Autobots were sentient, they were still machines and made of metal.

Currently, Upgrade was merged with a piece of medical equipment plugged up into both Arcee and Bumblebee, who were lying on berths. The upgrades made to the machinery allowed him to help both 'Bots in unison. Kevin was typing on a laptop that was hooked up to Bulkhead, while Gwen was checking on Bumblebee's status.

Bulkhead leaned against the wall whilst Ratchet and Optimus sat on concrete slabs along the human platforms, monitoring Team 10's work.

"Check bio-metric readings," ordered Ratchet.

Kevin studied the results on the computer screen before turning back with a thumbs-up. "Levels rising, doc,"

"Excellent," Ratchet then turned his gaze to Gwen and a black/green piece of machinery with tubes connecting to Arcee and 'Bee. "Upgrade, Gwen how are Arcee and Bumblebee statuses?"

"Core temperature returning to normal and vitals are stabilizing" Upgrade diagnosed.

"Yep, though I can't help heal you guys, I can still tell when your bodies are getting better, and they are" Gwen informed.

"Good work," Ratchet appraised.

"Perhaps you should get some rest, old friend." Optimus advocated. "You saved a lot of lives today".

"It…wasn't all my doing." Ratchet replied modestly, looking at Team 10 as they continued working on the rest of the team. "We are just fortunate that this infestation happened on… a Saturday."

"Though our friends may be small, they are still strong" Optimus asserted humbly.

"Yes, and their… unusual abilities did give us quite an advantage over the scraplets. If it weren't for them… well… then you and I wouldn't be here having this conversation." Ratchet implied.

Optimus was silent for a moment, pondering over a specific topic. "Hmm…perhaps it is time that I consider allowing our three young friends into the field. Though it will put their lives in danger, they have proved themselves time and time again that they are ready for the challenge".

Ratchet smirked. "Starscream and the 'Cons better watch out then".


A/N: Chapter 8 is done and dusted. I'm sure Ben could've easily gone Big Chill or even Ultimate Big Chill and stopped the infestation quickly, but where's the fun in that?

Please leave any comments, suggestions, and critique in the review box. Until then…