The scene before everyone was like a panel out of a bad comic book. Before them bantered a large blue and white Autobot who called himself Sentinel Prime. He was bickering heatedly with Optimus, the insults being traded with increasing fervor. Jazz, decked in full Leadership glory complete with sash, stood on one side with his head of Elders, Ultra Magnus. Two smaller members of the Elite Guard - twins named Jetfire and Jetstorm - watched the whole scenerio with their equally unamused elder. Ratchet, prowl and the other Earth bound Autobots stood around them. Mitch stood beside Eerrel who held the reins to Mitch's pack mount. The way everyone -including the pack dragon - watched the pair bicker reminded her of a crowd watching a tennis game.

'If you hadn't grabbed that last bit of glory we wouldn't have BEEN in that situation.' Sentinel griped.

'AND WE ASKED YOU TO GO BACK!'

'Why the slag would I have wasted my time for that piece of -'

'Wasted YOUR time? If you had gotten off your-'

Jazz leaned closer to one of the twins.

'Should I be worried?'

'I have been told,' the orange twin said in a distinct russian accent , 'they have always bickered like this.'

'Good lord.' Mitch muttered. 'I've met Horus and Sekmeht in a bad mood and this is just as bad.'

'Just minus the beer tainted red.' Eerrel added.

'How... do... we get them to stop?'

Mitch looked up at Jazz's version of Ultra Magnus when he spoke. She'd just met the mecha but understood why he held the position he did. He carried an air of calm, contained power about him that hummed very differently from the other Ultra Magnus that stood in the crowd. They had the same look but their outlooks were different as was the way they carried themselves. The other big difference was that while the Elite Guard version was a great military leader and hero, Jazz's version was closer to a shaman or pope than a president. He was also younger than Optimus' version.

'Pray'n ain't gonna work. I already tried that.' Mitch said with a frustrated frown. 'When in doubt, do it yourself.' She scratched her head, then gleaning an idea from a movie she saw, dug through her pack dragon's supplies. She pulled out a metal tea cup. When the two mecha didn't break off their argument when she banged it loudly on the mecha beside her, she aimed it carefully and hucked it as hard as she could. It landed loudly and quite squarely on the side of Sentinel Prime's head.

'Hey! Who's the wise guy who did that?'

'NOW that we have your undivided attention,' Mitch stated with annoyance, 'can we PLEASE continue back to the ship and get on with our meeting?

'You Threw that THINg at me!'

'Aw, for chrissake, Sentinel!' mitch snapped. 'We hear you already. Shuddup and get moving!'

'I don't have to listen to this! '

'You will if you don't want a face full of avatar riding your skid plates to your proverbial Pit and back.'

'Ultra Magnus! I refuse to let that.. That.. ORGANIC talk to me like that!'

The Elite Guard version of Ultra Magnus motioned for the Prime to move.

'I would listen to her' he said calmly. 'The solution she's offered us is important to all of us.'

Sentinel Prime gave Optimus an angry glare but he turned and practically stomped up the ship's ramp to the loading bay. Mitch lit a match and ignited a cigarette as she watched the large mecha go. Following him came two of the Elite Guard carrying the Allspark. She took several puffs while the others started up after them, a satisfied smirk curling around her fangs. The humans were the last ones on the ship, a small army of humans in black suits following everyone up until only she remained. Satisfied no-one was going to follow up after her, she dropped the cigarette and ground it dead with the heel of her boot.

The ship was actually Jazz's small shuttle, Asylum 5. The ship had passed though the dimensional warp gates with ease, a feat that had spooked the Elite Guard badly when the strange looking vessel had arrived and the crew looking for their version of Ultra Magnus. Good thing Blaster, Jazz's shuttle captain, was a smooth talker and excellent with laying on the charm. Even Better that Prowl and Optimus Prime had been there to explain the whole situation to Ultra Magnus personally. Jazz had needed more time to persuade the Council of Elders but his Magnus had agreed to come. It had taken several days to organize scheduals and in Sentinel prime's case, convince him that the organic life forms of earth were not going to turn his insides out. Then the Interdimensional Policing Agency, basically the real source of the Men In Black rumors, got involved. Thankfully they knew about her dealings with unpredictable Gods and for whatever forsaken reason had demanded to attend the Allspark meetings. Things had become painfully complicated after that, a fact that still gave Mitch headaches.

Now that they were together Mitch swore she was going to strangle Sentinel before the organic crawlies he feared even breathed on him.

Once inside the ship, Jazz lead everyone to the main council room, a comfortable but sparsely decorated room near the middle of the ship. Trellis was by the door with the rest of the security officers, his weapons at the ready. The jet twins gave the numerous officers a curious stare as they filed in.

'Forgive the extreme security measures.' Jazz said as he almost threw himself into his seat and tossed a leg up onto the conference table. 'Humans have a weird sense of security and the guy before me based a lot of our current protocol on the Inderdimensional Policing Agency's policies.' He motioned towards the far wall where drinks and food lay. 'Munchies? I think we've got it all. Human, energon, avatar. Some weird stuff I've never heard of, specially order from Ethanania, Eerrel.'

'OOH! Grubzies!' the bird lady squeaked when she recognized the weirdly wrapped food. She easily trotted up the spiral staircase that connected the food table to the floor.

Jazz smiled and grabbed a cup of green liquid he had already poured for himself.

'Prowl - you'll want to try this stuff later.'

Mitch skipped the stairs that allowed smaller organics access to the conference table and instead floated to the row of seats already set up at the table head. She took a seat across from Jazz, easily laying back in the chair. Trellis was ordering several individuals into position and whispering commands into his wrist comm. She watched the head security officer pace about and when everything was in place he took a seat by the door.

'So.' Mitch began, using her avatar's loud voice to her advantage. 'The Allspark.'

Elite Guard Ultra Magnus had already taken a seat, his war hammer snapped into the weapon clasp built into the table edge. The jet twins, already with plates piled high with exotic energon, took their seats beside him. The others did the same as Mitch began her speech. Jazz's idea of an important meeting was usually pretty relaxed. He had two rules. Lots of food and as folks digested you gave them the bad news.

'What are we going to do? Magnus... Elder.' She bowed in Jazz's Council head's direction. He nodded back.'You've already been briefed. As have you, Elder of the Guard.' She bowed slightly in the Elite Guard Elder's direction. 'I don't like the idea of merging the Allspark and Matrix myself. Infection of universes is a messy business and if something goes wrong, I'd hate to see the single source of your planet's creation energies die with our plans. As Teppy is hard to predict I don't know how to handle this. All I can do is pass information on. ' She shrugged.

'Jazz?'

The Autobot commander looked up at his Head of Council.

'I'm not sure what to do either, 'Magnus' he said. He took his straw and swirled the green fluid as if playing with a thick slurpee. He took several sips before continuing. 'Way I see it is if we don't, we're damned. We screw up and... Well, you know we can survive as a species without the Creation Matrix. But from what Prowl's helped me understand, his Cybertron can't.'

Sentinel, looking bored, had his head on the table. Jazz leaned over to grab a square of low grade energon from off his plate, only to have the Prime snatch it back and toss it back where it came from.

'And WHY do we need to do this?' he said, annoyed.

'Her God's creating a new universe to prevent an energy taint from taking over everything.' Eerrel said, taking a seat beside Mitch.

'If we lose the Allspark we lose Cybertron.' the twin named Jetstorm said.

'If we don't join the Matrix and Spark energies the infection that Prowl and Sari had could potentially wipe out everything.' Jazz leaned back in his chair and stirred his drink again. 'We don't combine them and your version of Megatron will use the infection to take over absolutely everything.'

'The choice is obvious to me.' Mitch said with a sigh. 'I hate it either way. Pros - we can successfully kick Megatron's arse across the multiverse if we combine the energies. New universe. New Cybertron. Or Cybertrons. I don't know. Every universe is different. The combined energies can protect both universes from that damnable infection Sari and Prowl had and nothing dies.'

She sighed deeply as she thought. The others around her had already started to settle and were quietly eating.

'Cons. The energy taint doesn't take and the infection happens anyways. Just because a God has plans doesn't mean another God won't butt in and make everyone's lives hell. Or... this universe's Allspark dies and your home, Elite Elder Magnus, dies out. Not only the planet but your whole species. Or Megatron finds the Allspark before we can merge energies and everything goes to hell anyways.'

'An option, though,' Eerrel cut in, 'is if we have to, we can move some of Elite Elder Magnus' peoples cross dimensions if something does happen to the Allspark. It's a huge responsibility to bear and a decision can't be made immediately. It's hard enough to move people from one city to another, but an entire planet?'

One of the suited humans stood. He was handed a mic by a co-worker, which he clipped to his collar.

'While do like the ideas of having you alien visitors coming for a sunshine tan in my world, I don't think a city full of your vehicles would be much appreciated by the human population.'

Mitch smiled.

'Point taken, J.'

'You guys-' he waved a dark hand around to point at the mecha around him, '-are awfully big to hide in a subway.'

Council Elder Ultra Magnus thought silently as the noise around him swelled and died as the points were discussed.

'If things don't work, I will open my home world for settlers.' he said finally.

'Prowl.' Elite Elder Ultra Magnus said. 'You said your systems changed when you crossed. Please tell us how. What you tell us will influence my decision.

Prowl stood.

'It's not much different from what I was. I just... I can't describe everything I feel. Different urges.' He passed a half hidden glance at Jazz. 'Electrical fields are easier to sense.'

'The pluses?' his elder asked.

'The senses are sharper. And...'

'And?'

'We'll have the ability to reproduce without the need for the Allspark. Or protoforms, if I understand Jazz correctly.'

Elite Guard Ultra Magnus drew back with mild surprise.

'Then why not move us and let this infection take over?'

Mitch shook her head.

'Because if it takes over here it will take over everywhere. Once it takes over here it may not stick to just corner of the multiverse. There's hundreds, perhaps thousands of other mecha based universes similar to yours and if your worlds die, there won't be any Cybertron-like worlds left anywhere. It's not just Cybertron, either.'

'Who cares. Save ourselves first!' Sentinel Prime snapped.

Mitch continued on, ignoring the blue Prime.

'Other Earths, other species. We're talking entire dimensional ecosystems. Usually when a God decides to play silly buggers with their creation it's because it's become obsolete. Well, I think Teppy's finding your worlds' energies too good to destroy and plans on keeping what he can. Then again, as I've said so many times in the past, Teppy is pretty frigging hard to understand. Who knows what that oversized cat is thinking. As far as I'm concerned, he's forcing all of you -'

She suddenly shut up, feeling as if A large jaguar had just bitten her. She knew Teppy had heard her and was telling her she'd already said too much.

She sat down and grabbed a chunk of cheese off Eerrel's plate in frustration. Popping it in her mouth, she chewed it violently.

The crowd around her started arguing. Prowl was leaning on the table. Every so often he and Jazz would pass stares that Prowl would then avoid. Right before her eyes she could see one of Teppy's predictions unfolding.

What had the jaguar God shown her? Prowl would be a parent.

Mitch sat up. JAZZ was his mate? Mitch shook her head. Her stomach churned with the sudden realization of the vision. The Jaguar God's laughter only goaded her anger further.

That's when the entire ship lurched sharply, causing everything to roll. Jazz grabbed his drink and slapped a hand over the rim before more of it could land on the humans around it. Trellis was already on his feet, shouting and receiving orders from his co workers.

The cry he received from the hall was less than perfect.

'Decepticons! We are under Decepticon attack!'

Both versions of Ultra Magnus were on their feet, the Elite Guard Elder yanking his hammer from the clasp at the table and the Council Elder pulling a large staff from seemingly nowhere.

The jet twins were already out the door, their accented voice clear above the clammer of the ship. The humans dispersed equally fast, many of them grabbing alien weaponry from a throng of boxes. By the time everyone dispersed there was only Prowl, Jazz, Mitch and Eerrel standing in the conference room. Trellis was still outside the conference room door.

'Orders, brother?' he asked his sibling.

'Prepare for take off.' Jazz yelled back. ' We are not letting those bastards ruin everything.'