On Earth, Optimus Prime and his Autobot crew try to make the best of their situation. They have befriended the Ericsson family of Cullen, Missouri, which is where their starship, the Ark lies after crash landing in the woods of Ericsson Farms some forty two years ago. Now, the Autobot Bumblebee's human partner, John Richard, the son of the farm's owner Richard Ericsson, is going through some trouble at school. What will he do to solve his problems? Can the Autobots help their human friend?
John Richard was sitting down to eat his lunch of some fried chicken strips with seasoned potato wedges and a cookie next to his two best friends, Jessica and Harris. "Hey guys. So, how do you think you did on that science test?" He asked his friends, trying to strike up a conversation. Before his friends could respond, two brutish boys walked up and the larger of them grabbed all three of John Richard's chicken tenders in his massive hand and bit out of them all at once, sloppily chewing as to allow John Richard to see them being ground up between his dip-ridden teeth. It was Joey Slick (which isn't actually his real last name), and John Richard had been the target of Joey all throughout the week. "Hey leave my friend my friend and his food alone!" He stood up for John Richard, but as Harris climbed up onto Joey, his friend's assailant slung him off and he tumbled onto the students sitting behind him. John Richard bolted out of his chair and the lunchroom exploded into a frenzy as students witnessed the beginning of a fight. He swung his fist at Joey and landed a blow on his nose. Joey recovered from this and then he punched John Richard hard enough he fell on the floor, knocking him out cold.
"THAT'S ENOUGH, BOTH OF YOU!" Shouted a stern voice from the doors into the hallway. It was one of the vice-principals, Mr. Orson. "The rest of you, get back to class!" He commanded. Later, John Richard woke up in the office, the school nurse holding an ice pack over his black eye.
"John Richard, I hope you know why you're here." said the school's main principal, Mr. Ross.
"No, no idea at all." John Richard replied, sarcastically. His school had a strict, no-fighting policy, and anyone who was involved in a fight would be suspended for two weeks, regardless of who was to blame.
"You're being suspended for two weeks for fighting in the lunchroom. I know how much of a problem Joey has been for you, your teachers have told me, but you can't let him get to you. Just shrug him off." Mr. Ross said to John Richard.
"The only problem with that, Mr. Ross, is that it's kind of hard to shrug off someone who's on you like the clothes on your back." John Richard muttered.
"You two will have all the time you need to settle scores. Just don't do it here on this campus." Mr. Ross replied, firmly as he escorted John Richard out of the door. John Richard was sullen as he and Bumblebee drove home that afternoon.
"What's the matter, John Richard?" Bumblebee asked his friend. John Richard gave no response, he felt that talking would only make it worse. Bumblebee dropped John Richard off at the farmhouse, then continued on to the road worn by the Autobots' wheels from the Ark. John Richard dragged himself into his home, where his mother then greeted him.
"John Richard, we need to talk." She said to her son. He knew what she was going to tell him about.
"I know, I know. The fight at school today, you got a phone call from the principal." John Richard moaned, tiredly. His father then walked in from the kitchen with a soda can in his hand.
"Ah, yes, your mother was just talking to me about the phone call from the school we got today." He said "Do you know how much trouble you're in? Really, take a guess."
"It'd probably be more if Mr. Orson didn't interrupt us. Joey's fortunate I didn't knock his teeth out with a lunch tray. And it would've been worth it." John Richard fumed. Richard was having none of his son's insolence.
"Go to your room. We're not through with this conversation." Richard said, masking the anger within him. John Richard trudged up the stairs where he then secluded himself in his bedroom. Richard, however mad at his son he may have been, was still concerned. John Richard was a nice, young man with good grades and a perfect discipline record, until now. Richard needed a way to restore his son's confidence, and thus he jumped onto the ranger and drove out to the Ark. He gave a toot of the horn to signal his presence to the Autobots as he then drove in. Optimus was standing around the hologram table with Prowl and Jazz when Richard drove up.
"Richard, it's nice to see you, my friend." Optimus greeted Richard. The Autobots' human friend parked his ranger out of the way and replied,
"Hey, Optimus, where's Bumblebee?"
"Bumblebee is currently in the barracks. I can summon him if you would like." Optimus answered Richard.
"No thanks, I'll get him myself." Richard responded, and with that, he drove away. When Richard found Bumblebee in the barracks, he was surrounded by Smokescreen, Inferno, Ironhide, Skids, Arcee, and Hound. He was wrestling with Cliffjumper.
"If he beats you, it's 200 transform-ups!" Ironhide jokingly called as Blumbebee held Cliffjumper to the floor, causing his opponent to tap out.
"Good one, Cliff." Bumblebeee said as he helped Cliffjumper up. "At least you lose with grace!"
"Except next time there won't be any losing for me!" Cliffjumper declared.
"Hey, Bumblebeee, I'd like your help on something!" Richard called. Bumblebee turned around and answered,
"Oh hi, Richard. What's up?"
"My son, John Richard has gotten into trouble at school for fighting. He never really learned because him and his brother, Robert never really fought. I'd like to ask if you can teach him how." Richard explained. "I mean, if anyone can teach you how to fight, you can." Bumblebee was flattered. He had, after all, graduated at the top of his class from Autobot Scout School, making him a subject matter expert in hand to hand combat.
"I'll see what I can do." Bumblebee said, confidently. The next morning, John Richard woke up, expecting that now he was at home, his father would put him to work on the farm, but Richard had other plans for his son. He hadn't that much to do on the farm anyway. John Richard walked in to get some breakfast when Richard cme to see him.
"You know when I said we weren't through talking yesterday evening? Yeah, I talked with Bumblebee, and he's agreed to teach you some of his knowledge of fighting. Joey started that fight, and by golly I didn't raise my son not to finish it." Richard said.
"Um...okay? Do you want me to do anything on the farm after we're done?" John Richard asked.
"You won't have time." His father answered. John Richard was somewhat pleased with this, and soon enough, he and Bumblebee were at the Ark in the training arena.
"Alright, John Richard, your dad is counting on me to teach you how to fight. I understand you're having some problems at school, right?" Bumblebee asked.
"Yeah." John Richard said, affirmatively. Bumblebee set up a holographic training dummy.
"Alright, first lesson of Scout School HTH combat-expect the unexpected. Show me what you've got!" Bumblebee said. John Richard swung his fist at the dummy, but it dodged him and then grabbed his arm, flipping him over.
"UOOFF!" John Richard groaned. Bumblebee helped him to his feet.
"Alright, maybe we should get to the dummy later. I think I'll have to just simply show you, first." He determined. Bumblebee walked John Richard through the motions of hand to hand combat, practicing punches, blocks, and kicks. John Richard copied Bumblebee's every move as he taught him. Even when he wasn't with Bumblebee, he practiced his knowledge to cement his muscle memory. He punched one of his pillows propped on his desk chair in his room, sacks of feed in the barn, and even a couch cushion held by Robert. His brother felt the blows of John Richard's punches as he punched the cushion.
"Good grief, John Richard. I'm almost scared for Joey."
"Don't be. He doesn't deserve it!" John Richard growled as he then landed a finishing blow. Without thinking, John Richard punched the cushion so hard it knocked Robert off his feet, then he tripped and fell over the coffee table. Sylvia walked into the living room and saw what had happened after hearing the noise. She then realized what was happening and walked away as to leave her son to his devices. Meanwhile, in an abandoned warehouse in a run-down section of town, a meeting was about to occur. Joey Slick walked in and looked at a piece of paper.
"This looks like the place." Joey said as he walked into the warehouse. There, a grey M1 Abrams, a yellow and purple Humvee, a red, white, and yellow Bugatti Veyron, a blue EF-111 Raven and a dark blue Ford F250 Super Duty sat. Joey was perplexed until a bellowing voice came from one of the vehicles.
"Decepticons, transform!" Commanded the voice. The four vehicles then transformed into Megatron, Swindle, Knockout, and Breakdown. Joey was terrified, he had seen the news reports of the Decepticons.
"You...you guys are the Decepticons! I've heard about you!" Joey exclaimed.
"So you have, fleshling. I want to make a deal with you." Megatron explained. Joey was afraid as he pulled out his phone and was about to call 911, but Soundwave caught him and deployed Laserbeak off his wing, who transformed into his bird mode and fired a blast from his eye beams which blew Joey's phone apart.
"Hey, I just got PUBG on that!" Joey exclaimed. Laserbeak returned to Soundwave and Megatron said,
"You will not speak of this meeting to any fleshling! Now, do you know these three?" Soundwave projected from his visor a hologram of John Richard, Jessica, and Harris.
"Yeah, I go to school with them. I got suspended for fighting that one." Joey answered, pointing at John Richard.
"Excellent. My intelligence officer has informed me that they are partnered with the Autobots Bumblebee, Arcee, and Skids, respectively. Is that true?" Megatron asked Joey. Soundwave then projected holograms of Bumblebee, Arcee, and Skids in robot and vehicle mode. Joey studied them and recognized the Autobots in their vehicle modes.
"I recognize those vehicles, too! So, what do you want me for?" Joey asked Megatron, impatiently. Swindle stepped forward and opened a tray in his chest compartment, where he then spread out Cybertronian weapons of many shapes and sizes.
"Yes, yes, come one, come all, to the grandest selection of weapons in my inventory!" Swindle announced, grandly. Before him, Joey saw an array of retractable mini-fusion cannons, wrist blades, laser pistols, grenade launchers, machine guns, mortar rifles, and shoulder missile pods.
"I take it that this John Richard seeks revenge upon you? If we give you these weapons to destroy him, you will act as our operative to gather information on the Autobots. Do we have a deal?" asked Megatron.
"Deal!" Joey agreed. Joey was taken by knockout and then affixed to his body was a Cybertronian exo-skeleton and mounted the weapons Joey chose. The next day, John Richard was scrolling through his Twitter feed on his phone when he saw a video that caught his attention. He clicked on it and heard Joey's voice. "Hey, John Richard, we're not done yet! Meet me tonight at the park! I'm gonna enjoy putting you six feet underground!" John Richard wasn't scared at all. He had been preparing two weeks for the rematch between him and Joey, and wasn't going to cower from it. That night, lots of people were gathered at the park to watch John Richard and Joey settle their score. Joey waited for a few minutes. "I bet he won't show up!" He chuckled, but he was wrong. A yellow Mini-Cooper with black stripes pulled in and out of it stepped John Richard. The car then transformed into Bumblebee.
"Stay back, Bumblebee, this is my fight." John Richard told his partner. Bumblebee stepped back into the ring of people, then Arcee and Skids arrived with Jessica and Harris to watch the fight. John Richard cracked his knuckles and popped his neck, as did Joey, and the two then shook hands. A hush descended over the crowd. The two then raised their fists. John Richard threw the first punch, knocking Joey square in the jaw. Bumblebee watched intently as John Richard levied blow after punishing blow upon his opponent. He was pleased with how well he had picked up on his combative training from Autobot Scout School. The crowed was awed at John Richard's fighting prowess, but Joey was only warming up. He then took off his jacket and revealed his new upgrades.
"With these upgrades, you never stood a chance!" Joey boasted. He then activated his mini-fusion cannon and it charged up to fire a blast at John Richard, but Bumblebee jumped in to save his friend.
"Sorry, John Richard, but this is our fight now! He's somehow gotten his hands on Cybertronian weapons!" Bumblebee said. Skids and Arcee ran to help as a battle ensued. Joey chuckled to himself.
"I didn't expect your tin-can friends to step in, but I'm gonna like this!" He said as he fired a blast from his fusion cannon, but Arcee deflected the blasts with her swords, then Skids fired a salvo of rockets from his shoulder launchers. Joey activated his shoulder mounted mortar rifle and fired precise bursts of micro-mortar shells which blew up the rockets in midair. Joey then activated his portable shield projector, which cast a protective energy screen around him. The three Autobots and John Richard battled with Joey and attacked with all their might, but when they finished, Joey retracted his shield and retaliated, but he was beginning to tire.
"Megatron, now!" Joey said into a wrist communicator on one of his gauntlets. A few seconds passed until Megatron, Swindle, Bludgeon, and Breakdown rolled in and transformed to their robot mode, then Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp streaked in and landed in robot mode as well.
"Decepticons, attack!" Megatron roared and the Decepticons charged into battle. Bumblebee quickly radioed the Ark for backup.
"Optimus, this is Bumblebee! We're under Decepticon attack and Megatron's leading it! Bring help as quick as you can!" Optimus was already on top of the situation as he and the rest of the Autobots were preparing to depart.
"Autobots, transform and roll out!" He called, and all of the Autobots changed to their vehicle modes and they raced to help their friends. Back at the park, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Skids all battled Megatron and the Decepticons. Skids fired his twin machine guns at Breakdown, Arcee clashed against Bludgeon with her swords, while Bumblebee battled Megatron. Despite his size, Bumblebee put up quite a fight against the Decepticon leader. He fired blast after blast from his gauntlets at him, only for Megatron to deflect the shots with his sword and swung at him until he could finally land a killing blow, but Arcee stepped in and blocked his attack with her swords.
"FALL, AUTOBOTS!" Megatron shouted, but a blast of an air horn signaled that Optimus Prime and the Autobots had arrived to help. In quick succession, the Autobots transformed to their vehicle modes and opened fire on the Decepticons. Megatron saw the familiar shape of his enemy and was indeed pleased. "Optimus Prime, we meet again, at last!" He said, excitedly.
"Megatron!" Optimus said as he stood his ground.
"Remember that name, Optimus. It's the last one you'll ever hear! I'll crush you with my bare hands!" Megatron declared as he lunged at Optimus and they then fought one another in savage combat as their forces battled around them. They clashed with swords, blasted with lasers, and bashed one another with their fists, and while Optimus was holding his own, Megatron was winning the fight. He punched Optimus in the chest so hard he was sent flying back, plowing through the grass of the park. John Richard, Bumblebee, Harris, Skids, Jessica, and Arcee ran to Optimus to try and help him as Megatron then paced forward.
"Optimus, get up! Please!" John Richard exclaimed, then from the rubble, some of the teenagers who came to watch the fight began to chant,
"Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! Op-ti-mus! " Optimus then reached inside himself and with all his strength he got up to face Megatron once again. Megatron, knowing Optimus was down, fired a fusion cannon blast at Optimus, but Joey then ran to the rescue and activated his shield, protecting Optimus from the attack.
"WHAT!? We had a deal, fleshling!" Megatron shouted, furiously.
"I know, but I've figured out why you're called 'Decepticons' now! Everybody, attack!" Joey replied, and with that the Autobots unleashed a devastating torrent of firepower on Megatron. He deflected the shots with his sword and reflected a laser blast back at Hound, Smokescreen, and Cliffjumper, then he shouted,
"Decepticons, retreat!" The Decepticons rapidly pulled out of the battle and retreated to the safety of the Nemesis. The humans then cheered and clapped with joy for the Autobots' victory in the battle. John Richard and Joey then shook hands once again and he thanked his former enemy.
"Thanks, Joey. You saved us all."
"No problem, buddy." Joey said. John Richard was surprised as the two then gave one another a firm bro-hug. Joey then asked Ratchet to remove the exoskeleton he had been implanted with, returning him to normal. Coincidentally, the day both boys returned to school, the lunchroom was serving chicken tenders again. John Richard sat down with Jessica and Harris, then he was joined by Joey. Instead of taking his chicken tenders, Joey put his on John Richard's tray.
"What's this all about?" John Richard asked.
"I'm not that hungry today. Besides, would you three like to come and grill some burgers tonight at my place?" Joey replied. The three then obliged their new friend, and now, John Richard and Joey are very good friends.
Aboard the Nemesis, Megatron and Soundwave were scheming. "That fleshling, Joey Slick, betrayed us, and even worse, he did not gather a single shred of intelligence on the Autobots!" Megatron growled.
"If I may, Megatron..." Soundwave said. He then played a clip from the internet of the fight between him and Optimus Prime while the human teenagers were cheering Optimus on. "...Optimus Prime promised he would protect humanity, these humans seem to be encouraging him. Optimus is well known for his charismatic leadership of the Autbots, and has successfully rallied them against us. If we can capture Optimus Prime, perhaps the Autobots will be so demoralized by our holding him hostage that they will pose no threat to our attack on Kansas City." He explained. Megatron stroked his chin. He knew that Soundwave was right, and to defeat the Autobots, Megatron had to break their will to fight.
"Excellent, Soundwave. I certainly will add that to our...itinerary." Megatron said. Now, Megatron was well on the way to fulfilling his goal of defeating Optimus and conquering Earth. He simply had to reach out and grab it...