A/N: I feel as though I need to make one thing clear. Right now, I'm putting Ultimate's chapters on my profile, as he will be deleting the story on his account.
Since these chapters are now mine, I am changing things if and when I see fit. So, if a chapter doesn't need changing, it is going to be pretty much the same to the original. I will be writing my own chapters from 30 onwards, 'cause it wouldn't make sense to have the story start mid-way through at chapter 30.
Mini rant over.
Let's get on with the show.
Ben 10: Prime Force
Chapter 10: Convoy
…
It was early afternoon at Autobot Outpost. Team 10 had just finished training in the SAFE and were now relaxing in the human center. Ratchet was (A/N: did he do anything different in show, lol) standing by the computer terminal, typing away at whatever he was working on. Gwen was sitting by the human computers, working on a recent class assignment while Ben and Kevin played video games. Both of them were relieved to finally get some down time.
Ben was in the process of beating Kevin again at their racing game… until a loud, angry man boomed over the intercom.
"PRIME!"
The trio cringed from Fowler's yell. Ben turned to see Optimus and Arcee stepping into the command center.
"PRIME!" Fowler boomed again.
"Special Agent Fowler, to what do we owe…"
Optimus was unable to finish as Fowler interrupted, "Who else?! Cons!"
"I chased them off with some hard ordinance but not before they blew me out of the sky" continued Fowler.
"Again? Ha" Kevin smirked, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
Kevin and Ben abandoned their game and walked over to the get a better view of the monitor, where a live video feed of Fowler was being broadcasted. He appeared to be in the cockpit of a fighter jet.
"They tried to make a smash and grab for the D.Y.N.G.U.S."
"The what?" Arcee asked, raising an optic brow.
The African-American agent sighed before he explained, "Dynamic Nuclear Generation System aka the D.Y.N.G.U.S." Fowler pressed a button which brought up a video feed of the D.Y.N.G.U.S in the cargo bay of Fowler's jet. The device was shaped like a large metal cube with a door on the side, and was strapped down to prevent it from moving. "It's a prototype energy source that I was delivering to the coast for testing".
Ratchet snorted. "That's absurd. Why would Starscream bother with such primitive technology?"
Team 10 couldn't help but roll their eyes at Ratchet's statement, even though he had made a far point. Why would that stiletto healed coward try and steal an Earth energy source?
"I'm guessing to make a big bad primitive weapon of mass destruction!" Fowler retorted. "If this baby were to meltdown it would irradiate this state and the four next door".
"Hmm… that sounds like a good enough reason to steal it" Ben commented.
"Huh, did Agent Fowler say what state he was currently in?" asked Kevin.
"I'm a seating duck here, Prime. I need you to spin up your bridge and send the D.Y.N.G.U.S to its destination before the 'Cons come back for it." Fowler said.
"I'm afraid such an option is out of the question" Optimus replied, "If there were to be an accident during transport in the Groundbridge vortex, the radiation of which you speak could propagate through the groundbridge vortex and harm all fifty states… and beyond."
Fowler looked to the side for a second, clueless of what to do. "You got any better ideas?"
A smile formed on Optimus's faceplate. "That I do, Agent Fowler" He then looked to Ratchet. "Ratchet bridge Bumblebee and Bulkhead back from patrol. Arcee help me ready my trailer".
Ben raised a brow at that latter part. 'Trailer? What trailer?"
Later, at Fowler's location, Optimus Prime was currently in his vehicle form: a red long-nose Peterbilt. However, there was one more addition; attached behind him was a silver coloured trailer with bright blue highlights. Bulkhead and Bumblebee were also in vehicle mode and parked behind their leader.
Agent Fowler had just climbed into Optimus and sat down at the driver's seat. The agent looked at the dashboard and rubbed his hands gleefully, intending to take hold of the wheel, but the wise Autobot leader was quick to stop him.
"No need, Agent Fowler," Optimus offered. "I will handle the driving".
The former Army Ranger furrowed his brows as he slumped back in his seat, arms folded across his chest.
"This is gonna be a long trip" muttered a disappointed Fowler.
Optimus started his engine, Bulkhead and Bumblebee following swiftly.
"Autobots roll out!" commanded Optimus.
The red and blue truck took the lead as he drove toward the nearest road, a green SUV and yellow custom muscle car following in his wake.
Autobot Outpost
At least thirty minutes into the drive, Optimus, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead were driving down a two-lane road in a mountainous, forest terrain. Their signals could be displayed moving down a line on a map that depicted the road.
"We're locked onto your coordinates, Optimus. Paring any complications, you should reach the drop-off point by sundown." Ratchet informed.
"I still don't know why you guys couldn't just let me take the ding-ugh…"Ben trailed off, forgetting the name of the energy device.
"The D.Y.N.G.U.S," Gwen finished.
"Yeah, that's it," continued Ben, "I still don't get why you couldn't just let me take the thingy to its destination. I wouldn't have minded".
"Ben, like Fowler said, the D.Y.N.G.U.S is an experimental energy source, and if it were to meltdown it could wipe out four states. We can't run the risk of damaging it" Gwen reasoned.
"Gwen is absolutely right" Ratchet agreed.
"Besides," Kevin added, "I don't think Jet Ray or any of your other flying aliens could lift something that heavy anyway."
Ben subtly rubbed his chin in thought. "Okay, okay I can see your point".
"Eh, don't worry about it, Ben. The 'Bots can take care of this. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?" Kevin said.
Ben and Gwen immediately looked at him with daggers, confusing the ebony haired teen. "What?"
"Dude, you never utter those words out loud!" said a slightly panicked Ben.
"I… I don't understand," admitted a bewildered Ratchet.
Gwen turned to him. "Trust me you'll probably find out why we're getting on to Kevin about what he said soon".
Somewhere in the Rockies, Optimus, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead drove along the road in that order, staying a close to the speed limit. However, an old rusty white truck ahead that was going very slow and looked to be on its last legs, caused the vehicle trio to slow down.
An annoyed Agent Fowler slammed his palm down on the horn repeatedly, urging the truck to move over.
"Move it, gramps!" yelled the agent.
After another round of honking the loud horn, the white truck conceded and pulled off the road, allowing the Autobots to drive past. But despite that, Agent Fowler continued to honk on the horn.
"Agent Fowler, is that really necessary?" reprimanded Optimus, his tone indicating he was obviously exasperated.
"Ah don't tell me you're one of those textbook drivers" Fowler replied, folding his arms over his chest.
…
Flying high in the air above the Autobots location was a green military chopper. The two occupants inside were dressed in tight military green, combat suits. The pilot, had a mask with yellow goggles, while the other next to him was broad, strong built man with a clean shaved head and a scar on his face. All in all, he was an imposing figure.
The scared face man spoke into his wireless headset. "They're transporting it in an unarmed civilian truck," He paused for a second, watching the yellow car in the back get in front of the big rig. "Send in the ground units".
…
Back in the cabin of Optimus's vehicle mode, Fowler was relaxing in the driver's seat, keeping his hand on the wheel to add to the illusion that he was driving; but, in actuality, he wasn't.
"You know… you're really saving my bacon, Prime." Fowler confessed.
"I am proud to be of service" The Autobot leader admitted through the radio set.
"Of course, it's not like I would've needed your help if you and the 'Cons stuck to tearing stuff up on your own corner of the galaxy." retorted Fowler, his tone becoming more irritated. "Same goes to those strange, human-alien friends of yours, what with them crash landing in the middle of Nevada, and them bringing another potential threat to Earth".
Obviously, Fowler was mentioning Vilgax. Team 10 had told him and the 'Bots the full story of how the ambush from Vilgax led to both them and Vilgax getting transported to this universe. No sightings of ol' squidface had come up yet, and Fowler was hoping it would stay that way.
"Are you suggesting no evil existed on this world before we or Team 10 arrived?" countered Optimus.
"Well… uh… it was… a different evil. How about some radio?" Fowler offered. "You seem like a Nashville sound kind of guy".
However, before the agent could touch the radio system, he spotted a green helicopter in the rear-view mirror. The former Army Ranger immediately recognized the chopper as the same one that shot his jet out of the sky.
"That's the one! That's the 'Con that shot me down! Who is he? Wingnut? Dingbat? Sky-guy?"
"Watch your rear-view" Bulkhead warned over a handheld radio.
Right on cue, a squad of green sport-cars appeared out of nowhere, and surrounded Bulkhead on both sides and behind him.
"Feeling a little constricted here without the use of my fists here, boss" Bulkhead said over his com-link.
"Remain in vehicular mode unless the situation requires so" Optimus ordered.
Suddenly, the car on Bulkhead's passenger side zoomed out in front of him, but another green sports-car from behind filled the void on the empty side. The Wrecker was now completely boxed in.
"A whole team of 'Cons," deduced Agent Fowler.
"What? I'm not picking up anything. They must be utilizing a new form cloaking technology" Ratchet summarized over the com.
The sports-car on Bulkhead's passenger side picked up speed until it passed Optimus and Bumblebee and got it front of them. Then, another car from behind accelerated forward until it evened out its speed with Optimus's, driving right by his driver side.
Fowler stared at the green muscle car, expecting it to transform into a robot and tackle them off the road. However, he and Optimus were met with quite a shock. The sunroof on the car opened up, and out from it came a man clad in a tight green combat suit, wearing a mask and yellow goggles to conceal his face. He was holding a strange high-tech gun and pointing it straight at them.
"Pull over!" He yelled.
"Well I be dipped!" Agent Fowler exclaimed in dumbfounded matter.
Autobot Outpost
Ratchet stood by the terminal whilst Team 10 stood in the human area, looking up at the three monitors in interest of the developing situation.
"Our assailants are not Decepticons. They are human" Optimus informed.
"Human?" Ben and Gwen looked at each other, both startled.
"Oh please, taking on the 'Bots… ha… they're road kill" Kevin remarked.
Somewhere in the Rockies
Up from the chopper, the scarred face man looked on with stern, no nonsense expression. "Gentlemen, stop their engines" he said calmly but with a hint of malice.
The soldier pointing the gun at Optimus prepared to fire; however, the Autobot leader was quick to respond. Prime turned into them, thus sending the green sports-car off the road, an audible explosion could be heard behind them as the soldier had fired and missed.
As Optimus corrected himself, Fowler held on tightly to his armrests. "Who are these guys?!"
"Autobots, maintain your cover, and apply minimal force… disbarment only" Optimus ordered through his com-link.
Another sports-car that was boxing in Bulkhead accelerated forward, driving alongside Optimus. The sunroof slid open, revealing a masked man aiming a high-tech rifle at the Optimus. Bumblebee saw this and immediately acted. The scout got on Optimus's right side and slowed down considerably, causing the green sports-car to run into Bee's finder.
As a result, the green car swerved out of control. To add insult to injury, the vehicle's passenger side, back tire hit a large boulder off the side of the road, thus causing the car to flip over. After rolling on its side three times, the car came to a stop on its roof.
The imposing, scared face man in the chopper watched on with a bit of surprise. "Those are not civilian drivers" he pointed out.
Along the mountain road, a set of sharp turns could be seen ahead. Optimus's tires screeched loudly against the pavement as he made each curve. Fowler appeared dizzy from all the turning and it seemed he was close to losing his lunch.
"Could use some air," Fowler mumbled.
Optimus rolled down the window, allowing Fowler to stick his head outside. Suddenly, the agent spotted another car driving alongside the Autobot. This time though, one of the occupants opened the door and jumped onto the back of the truck, the area where the trailer hitch was located.
"Prime bare right!" Fowler warned.
Optimus took his advice and bore to the right, slamming into the car and running it off the shallow cliff. Nevertheless, that man was still on Optimus, and doing something back there.
"Agent Fowler, that human is intending to separate me from my trailer. I will need you to handle him" Optimus said through the radio.
"No problem, big guy".
The African-American agent opened the door and climbed out on the step. Fowler slowly and carefully moved along the side of the truck. When he reached the back, he saw a man attired in a combat suit and wearing a full mask that covered his face and a pair of yellow goggles, whom appeared to be using some sort of torch to melt the trailer hitch.
Fowler, not wasting a moment, grabbed the man by the shoulder and caused him to drop the torch. The Autobot's liaison held the man from his neck, close to the edge of the truck.
"You're gonna tell me everything I wanna know…"
He was unable to finish his sentence as the unknown man pushed against Fowler and jumped off the side of the vehicle. Seeing nothing else he could do, Fowler carefully moved across Optimus and got back in the cabin. As soon as he was back in the driver's seat and buckled up, a transmission came in through Fowler's handheld radio.
"I sure hope you treat the D.Y.N.G.U.S better than you do your captives" The voice was male and sounded cold but also sophisticated in a sinister way.
Fowler looked out the window, seeing that the green chopper was still hovering over them. He realized that whoever was speaking was riding in that helicopter.
"Special Agent William Fowler of the United States government, identify yourself!"
"I am Silas, but of to greater consequence to you, we are M.E.C.H, Mechanics of Evolution and Cybernation of Humanity. Fair warning, we'll be helping ourselves to your device, even if it means inflicting casualties."
"Is that so?" Fowler snarled. "Tell me Si, what's the market price for a D.Y.N.G.U.S these days?"
"What makes you think we intend to sell it, Agent Fowler?" retorted Silas.
A moment passed, Silas looked down to the convoy of vehicles. "There's a war brewing between the New World Order… and the newest. The victor will be the side with the most innovated technology" Silas said under his breath.
One of the remaining MECH ground unit vehicles drove up behind Optimus's trailer. The sunroof of the car slid open, allowing a MECH soldier to pop out and aim an advanced firearm at the trailer. Taking quick aim, the foot-soldier fired three, high-tech projectiles that attached to the trailer's clamp. Seeing that the projectiles were securely attached, he pressed a red button on the side of his gun.
Suddenly, as the clamp-like projectiles dug deeper into the metal, intense electricity danced from one to the other. A few seconds later, the clamp on the trailer was blown off, causing the door to automatically slide open, revealing the D.Y.N.G.U.S inside.
The MECH soldier placed his weapon down as he cautiously climbed out of the high-speed car through the sunroof.
"So, Si… you think MECH has the most radical tech?" Fowler said in the radio.
Unexpectedly, a blue and pink sports-bike zoomed out of the trailer, its rider wearing a full leather jumpsuit and helmet. The back tire of the bike made impact with the hood of the MECH car, smashing it and startling the driver so much that the car swerved off the road, flipped over, and went up into flames.
Meanwhile, Silas and his pilot watched in shock at what just occurred. "Definitely not civilian drivers," commented the pilot.
Silas only scowled.
"Ha! Later Si," Fowler mocked before cutting off the transmission.
"Agent Fowler, do not take your Silas likely. Megatron preached the very same ideology before plunging Cybertron into the Great War that eventually destroyed our world" Optimus advised.
"Optimus, prepare for phase two. Five miles south of your current position will be the rendezvous point" Ratchet notified over the com-link.
The Nemesis
Inside the bridge of the Decepticon flagship, Starscream was listening to an Autobot transmission that Soundwave, the Decepticon spymaster, picked up.
"Five miles south of your current position will be the rendezvous point" Ratchet's voice played back, but had a dark metallic undertone to it.
"So, the Autobots have left the confines of their base, and sound otherwise engaged" Starscream noted. 'And there is no evidence that their super-powered human friends are with them' He thought. "Which means they will never see us coming," The leader of the Decepticons turned around to face his squad of Eradicons, a scowl ever present on his face. "Find them and turn them into scrap!"
The purple and black drones placed their right servos over their spark chambers, and replied simultaneously, "Yes, Lord Starscream".
Starscream grinned sinisterly.
Somewhere in the Rockies
The band of Autobots continued driving down the mountain road. Bumblebee and Arcee were up in front of Optimus whilst Bulkhead remained in the back. Up ahead, Fowler spotted two tunnels that ran through the mountain. One was for the road; the other was for railroad tracks.
Despite the hold up with MECH, it appeared they had made it on time. The freight train they were scheduled to meet up with was just fixing to enter the tunnel.
"There's our destination point." Fowler mentioned.
"Autobots, keep a tight formation" Optimus commanded through the com.
Arcee was the first to run off the side of the road and into the ravine where the train tracks were placed. The Autobots quickly drove into the tunnel, driving alongside the freight train. Nevertheless, the MECH cars were still chasing their tail.
To solve that problem, Bulkhead transformed to the robot mode, shifted his servos into blasters, and fired at the roof of the tunnel entrance. As a result, rocky debris collapsed from the roof and fell in front of the entrance, promptly blocking their assailants from getting in. Bulkhead smirked in satisfaction before transforming back to vehicle mode and racing to catch up with the others.
…
Silas smirked. "Tactical error, only one way out,"
He watched as the Autobots drove out of the tunnel, up the ditch, and back onto the road. The former colonel was preparing to initiate another attack before something unexpected transpired. A squadron of six unknown, purple and black aircraft surrounded the chopper, and then shot forward.
Fowler saw the incoming aircraft as well. "Air support?! Ours or theirs?"
"Optimus you have incoming!" Ratchet warned.
Seeing the Decepticon air threat, the Autobots immediately pulled off the road and into a clearing in-between some mountain cliffs. The Eradicons, in V formation, discharged a folly of missiles at the Autobots. This totally took Silas and his pilot off guard.
"Military fire on one of their own?!" Silas stated in shocked tone.
Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Arcee outmanoeuvred the missiles; however, given Optimus's size and mass, he didn't have the manoeuvrability as the others. Instead, he took a sharp turn ahead at the curve ahead, causing too much strain on the trailer hitch. Consequently, the hitch broke as the trailer disconnected from Optimus.
"Sir, the D.Y.N.G.U.S!" The pilot shouted.
The missiles made a direct hit, thus leading the trailer to go up into conflagration, reducing it to scrap metal. Silas and the pilot looked on confused. They had expected some sort of radioactive explosion with the force of over twenty nuclear bombs, or at least some sort of radiation reading, but there was nothing.
"Sir, I'm not picking up any radiation, the D.Y.N.G.U.S didn't meltdown" The pilot informed.
"No… it did not" Silas replied calmly, deep in thought.
Back to the ground, the Autobots came to a screeching halt at the edge of a steep cliff, just as the Eradicons transformed mid-flight and landed right in front of them. It appeared the 'Bots were left with no other options.
"Agent Fowler, if we are to survive, it has become absolutely necessary to drop our cover" Optimus stated.
Instantly, the red and blue semi-truck broke apart and shifted into the bipedal form of Optimus Prime. Fowler was standing in his left servo, looking woozy and ready to hurl. Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Arcee followed Optimus's example and transformed into robot mode, ready to fight.
Meanwhile, as this was taking place, Silas continued to observe from his chopper, growing more shocked and impressed after each passing second.
"So, the rumours are true. Living technology stands before us," Silas then sneered. "Though perhaps, not for very long".
Optimus and the 'Bots stared down their Decepticon foes with disdain. The Autobot leader placed Agent Fowler on top of a boulder, well away from the battle to come.
"Remain here," instructed Prime.
"Will do," Fowler complied, not even thinking of arguing against that request.
"After a long road trip," continued Bulkhead, "it feels good to get out of the car, stretch my legs, and kick some 'con tailpipe!" The wrecker slammed his fists together for emphasis and transformed his right hand into a mace.
The 'Bots and 'Cons then charged at each other head on. Optimus and Bulkhead used their superior strength to easily submit their opponents. Bumblebee used his boxing style of fighting to dodge attacks and knock out his adversaries while Arcee used her speed and agility to send quick punches and powerful kicks to subdue the 'Cons.
Meanwhile, back in the MECH chopper, Silas continued to watch on with inward fascination of the fighting machines. Though he didn't show it, he was awe-inspired from these transforming robots. However, he still had a mission to accomplish, recovering the D.Y.N.G.U.S.
"Sir, if the D.Y.N.G.U.S wasn't in the truck…" the pilot trailed off.
"Yes, that…" Silas replied, snapping out of his muse.
He then activated his radio link, connecting with Agent Fowler's communicator. "Special Agent Fowler you live a charmed life walking amongst titans".
'If you thought they were impressive, just wait until you see Team 10." Fowler mused.
Fowler held the radio up to his hear, and responded, "Come on down and I'll introduce you."
"In good time, however, I am still wondering how the D.Y.N.G.U.S could've vanished into thin air without a trace" Silas replied.
His attention was focused on a digital screen that showed a purple dot moving along a railroad. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what happened to the nuclear device.
"Now if you excuse me, I have a train to catch" Silas said as he shut off the transmission.
Back on the ground, Agent Fowler was shocked that this Silas figured it out. He turned around to watch as the green military chopper flew off, heading in the general direction of the freight train. Fowler quickly shifted channels to Optimus's com-link.
"Prime, Silas got wise to phase two".
Optimus had just finished beating the stuffing out of a few 'Cons, but as soon as Fowler called in, he momentarily lost his concentration on the battle.
"I understand,"
Out of nowhere, Optimus received the end of a tree trunk to the helm from an Eradicon. Caught off guard by the attack, Optimus stumbled backwards until he fell off the cliff. He rolled on the rock face shortly before colliding with the hard, rocky ground on his front-side. The red titan attempted to get up, but it was in vain, he was in too much pain.
"Prime! Do you read me?! Prime!" Fowler shouted in the radio.
After receiving no response, Fowler knew that Optimus was down. And with MECH gearing to steal the D.Y.N.G.U.S, he was left with no other option. He switched channels to connect with the Autobot base.
"Fowler to base, Prime is down. I repeat, Prime is down, and MECH has gone after the train!"
Autobot Outpost
"Fowler to base, Prime is down. I repeat, Prime is down, and MECH is fixing to steal the D.Y.N.G.U.S!"
Ratchet and Team 10 were surprised with how things were developing. It appeared that whoever this MECH group was, they were not messing around. Nonetheless, it seemed as if the Autobots could handle them alright. Nonetheless, they can't handle the 'Cons and protect the D.Y.N.G.U.S all at once, especially with Optimus out of commission.
"That's not good. Not good at all," Ben commented. He then turned to Kevin with a hard glare. "See what I mean when I say you should never say 'What could possibly go wrong?'!"
Kevin rubbed his neck sheepishly and only shrugged.
"Guys, this is serious! Optimus is down and MECH is fixing to snatch the D.Y.N.G.U.S." Gwen reprimanded.
"Base, I need you to send in Team 10 to guard the D.Y.N.G.U.S.; the Autobots are still preoccupied with the 'Cons" Fowler continued.
The three super-powered teenagers looked at each other, all realizing the importance of this situation.
"Not on our watch. If MECH wants the D.Y.N.G.U.S, they have to get on that train." Ben replied.
"So, we get on the train and run some human-on-alien interference, huh?" Kevin smirked and then popped knuckles. "Sounds good to me".
"Absolutely not! Not only do you want me to bridge you into a confine space but one moving at ninety miles per hour?! I can't even think of what could possibly go wrong: mental trauma, twisted limbs, metal burn…"
The alien trio looked at Ratchet blankly.
"Well…maybe not the last one" The medic muttered. "Regardless, it is nearly impossible to fix groundbridge coordinates on something moving at that speed."
Kevin sat down at a computer and frantically typed on the keyboard. A few seconds later, he replied, "Would it help if we had access to the train's travel path?"
Suddenly, a map of the train's position showed up on the middle screen. Ratchet lifted an optic brow and answered, "Well…"
It didn't take long for the MECH chopper to catch up to the freight train. Silas grinned at how easily it will be to take the D.Y.N.G.U.S, now that the Fowler and the 'Bots were out of the way.
"Immobilize them," ordered Silas.
A MECH soldier in the back opened the chopper door and aimed a high-tech firearm at the train and fired. The projectile clamped on to the side of the main engine and discharged a large amount of electricity that not only cut off the engines but also travelled down the length of the train.
Inside the box car that held the D.Y.N.G.U.S, was a single soldier guarding it. The soldier was cut by surprise when a painful amount of electricity surged from the metal floor and into his body. After a few screams, the man collapsed to the floor unconscious.
Ten seconds later, a swirling green portal opened up inside the box car. Exiting from the vortex were Ben, Gwen, and Kevin. They saw the D.Y.N.G.U.S on the far side of the car and a man lying on the floor. Seeing the down soldier, Gwen immediately ran to his side to check for a pulse. She exhaled deeply, relieved that he was alive.
"Is he okay?" Ben asked, concerned for the man's health.
Gwen nodded. "Yeah, he'll be okay, he's just unconscious".
Kevin walked over to the right-side door of the box car and pushed it open. The Osmosian teen poked his head out to see a green chopper hovering right over them. He could see three men attired in full grey and green combat suit along with mask and goggles that covered their facial identity, preparing to slide down a rope and get on the roof of the train car.
"Get ready, they're about to board" Kevin said.
"Let them, we'll just kick their butts" Ben replied, confidence in his voice.
All of a sudden, they looked up to see a torch cutting into the roof. Kevin pulled the unconscious soldier out of the way whilst Ben and Gwen back up, gearing up for the fight to come. Once the flaming torch had cut a full square piece, it fell to the floor, allowing the three MECH soldiers to jump in. The trio was armed with advanced looking firearms, none of which Team 10 had seen before.
After getting the unconscious American soldier out of the crossfire, Kevin took his stand along with Ben and Gwen, who were staring down at the three MECH minions. Said minions were rather confused as to why there were teenagers guarding the D.Y.N.G.U.S.
The leader of the trio pressed a button on his ear piece. "Commander Silas, there are three teenagers guarding the D.Y.N.G.U.S. What are your orders?"
"Kill them. Leave no witnesses".
The trio looked at each other shortly before aiming their weapons at Team 10.
"Orders are orders," the leader said.
A millisecond after they pulled their triggers, Gwen threw up a mana shield over her and her friends, thus deflecting the bullets. The MECH trio immediately ceased fire and backed up, shocked at what happened. Kevin touched the side of the train car and absorbed the metal, coating his body in greyish-red armour.
"Yeah, you guys won't be able to fulfil those orders" Kevin retorted.
When Gwen let down the shield, Kevin charged into action and tackled one of the MECH soldiers to the ground. Meanwhile, Ben swiftly activated the Omnitrix and slammed down the dial. The two other MECH foot-soldiers were forced to cover their eyes from a blinding emerald light.
After the flash of green, floating in Ben's place was a blue and white jellyfish-like creature. It had four tentacles hanging below him while two others were used for arms. It had no facial features, only two green eyes. The Omnitrix dial was positioned on its chest.
"Ampfibian," Ben yelled in an underwater voice.
Though the masks and goggles were covering their faces, anyone could tell they looked shocked. "W-w-what the hell are you people?!"
"Language" Ampfibian mocked.
The floating jellyfish-like creature flew towards a MECH soldier, wrapped its tentacles around him, and delivered a powerful shock; but not too powerful to kill. He screamed in agony before shortly passing out. Gwen then took out the third soldier by sending a folly of punches and kicks before he even knew what happened. Team 10 piled up the unconscious bodies of the MECH men. The Anodite teen then tied them together with a Mana rope.
"That was pretty easy" Kevin remarked.
"What did you expect from low-life terrorists, especially from earth" Ben retorted with sarcasm.
…
Inside the cockpit of the MECH chopper, Silas and the pilot were stunned, awed, and shocked at what they witnessed. The three MECH agents had cameras installed into their masks so that Silas could monitor them to check in on their progress. Silas watched as three human teenagers with strange, powerful abilities took down his agents with ease.
Though those living machines were something to marvel at, the discovery of these humans and their powers was extraordinary. How is it that these humans have super-powers? How has no one ever heard of them? What other abilities do they have? How serious of a threat do they posse to MECH? Not knowing the extent of their enemy's abilities, Silas was left with no other option but a tactical retreat.
"Retreat," He ordered the pilot.
As the military green chopper picked up speed and gained altitude, Silas picked up a rocket launcher-like device from beside his chair and placed it on his right shoulder.
"Combat rule number one: never leave the enemy with the spoils."
After opening his side window, he held up the weapon and fired it. A missile-like projectile ripped through the air and gained distance far in front of the train. After ten seconds, the projectile collided with the ground over a mile away, destroying a large section of the tracks in the process.
…
"Uh, guys, MECH just took out the tracks up ahead" Gwen, who was looking out the door, said in a fearful tone.
"We need to get out of here fast, the soldiers too" Kevin responded.
"We leave the D.Y.N.G.U.S here to meltdown and destroy four states. We've got to stop this train!" Ampfibian argued.
"How?" Kevin asked.
Ampfibian was silent for a moment, pondering on a possible plan. His green eyes widen as soon as it came to him.
"I have an idea. Kevin, you're with me. Gwen, you stay here and guard those MECH guys".
Gwen nodded in understanding.
Ampfibian quickly wrapped two of his bottom tentacles and around Kevin's arms and flew out of the box car and over the roof of the train, heading straight towards the engine.
"So, what's this plan of yours, Tennyson?" Kevin asked with a raised metal brow.
"You'll see," rasped Ampfibian.
Reaching the front of the engine, Ampfibian laid Kevin down and slapped the Omnitrix dial. After another flash of green, standing in Ampfibian's place was a being comprised of greenish-blue crystals and wore a green and black outfit.
"Diamondhead,"
Diamondhead turned his hard, determined gaze forward. He could see the large crater and the ruined tracks in the distance. He knew that he needed to stop or at least slow down this train pronto.
"Speed bumps should do the trick" Ben stated.
The Petrosapien lifted up his right hand and fired several crystal shards way in front of the train. As soon as the shards hit the ground, they grew in size and mass until several rows of large crystals took up the entire track. Diamondhead took a knee and grabbed Kevin's right arm.
"You better hang on tight" Diamondhead suggested.
Seconds later, the train shook violently as it struck the first crystal speed bump. The front of the train became dented and heavily damaged after impacting with the other four crystal masses. Though Diamondhead's crystals slowed the train down, it was still going too fast.
"We're still going too fast" Kevin noted as he and Ben both stood up. "Got any better ideas?"
Diamondhead thought for a second and quickly came up with another alternative. He fired a few crystal shards into the train engines roof. Suddenly, the shards grew until they became a large mass of green, crystal rock. Attached to the rock mass was a rope of crystals connecting to Diamondhead's right hand.
"Perhaps an anchor will help." Ben said as he threw the crystal mass over the side.
The diamond anchor dug deep groves into the ground and it was slowing down the train; however, it still wasn't slow enough. As Diamondhead held on tightly to the crystal rope, he looked at Kevin.
"Kev, can you hold this?" He asked.
The Osmosian teen nodded and took hold of the diamond rope. To keep himself from getting pulled off, Kevin used his powers to grow spikes from the bottom of his feet, allowing his feet to dig deep into the train's roof, not unlike cleats into grass. Satisfied that Kevin could hold it, Diamondhead let go.
"What are you going to do?" Kevin inquired, gritting his teeth as struggled to hold on to the rope.
The teen hero walked up to the front of train before responding, "I'm going to get big."
He once again tapped the Omnitrix dial. In the wake of the third emerald flash was a twelve-foot-tall, bipedal dinosaur-creature with rough, brown and beige skin. The Omnitrix disk was present on the being's chest.
"Humungousaur,"
Humungousaur, with his back facing the train, dug his hands deep into both sides of the engine as he lowered his feet to the ground, right outside the rails. Ben closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as agonizing grunts emanated from the depths of his throat. The friction between the ground and Humungousaur's feet was very painful; nevertheless, Ben had to endure it. In response, Humungousaur pushed his feet deeper into the ground whilst his grip on the train tightened to wear the metal exterior began to bend.
Between Humungousaur up front digging his feet into the ground and Kevin holding a diamond anchor that was also digging into earth, the train's speed began to drastically decline. After another few hundred yards, Humungousaur and Kevin finally brought the train to a stop, with only a couple meters away from section of destroyed track.
Humungousaur let out a long, deep exhale before collapsing to his hands and knees, just inches away from the crater. Kevin too let out a long sigh before jumping off the roof of the train and to the ground.
Before both teen heroes could say anything, the horn of a semi-truck caught their attention. They turned around to see Optimus in vehicle form pulling up beside them. He then shifted into robot mode and looked at them with concern. After regaining consciousness, he quickly took off to catch up with the train. He was relieved that Team 10 had kept MECH from making off with the D.Y.N.G.U.S and stopping the train.
"Ben, Kevin, are you alright?"
"Ugh," Humungousaur slowly stood up. His feet and legs were still hurting, but he could deal with it. "I'm gonna need to soak my feet in ice for a week. Other than that, I'm good".
"I'm okay too".
Optimus smiled underneath his mask.
The trio's attention was then grabbed by the green helicopter hovering high above them.
…
"Well played visitors." Silas commented. "But MECH still has home-field advantage and trust me we will level that playing field" He looked at the screen that showed a digital scan of Optimus. "Even if it means we have to take you apart, to see what makes you tick."
The leader of MECH then switched videos to that of Gwen summoning a mana shield, Kevin absorbing the train car's metal, Ampfibian shocking his agents, then Diamondhead firing crystals shards and finally Humungousaur stopping the train. He knew that he had only seen a taste of what abilities those three humans had. Surprises were still to come from the 'Bots and these humans, especially that shape-shifting one.
Silas grinned sadistically. "And rest assured we'll know the secrets of your strange, human friends as well…and perhaps learn the key to harnessing their powers".
…
Optimus, Humungousaur, and Kevin watched as the green chopper flew away, high into the sky.
"I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of MECH." Ben noted disdainfully.
"Indeed, we haven't." Optimus agreed.
"So," Kevin continued, "what do we do about those MECH agents?"
"MECH agents?" implied Optimus.
"Yeah, three of Silas's minions jumped aboard the train and tried to steal the D.Y.N.G.U.S. Don't worry though, we took care of them, and Gwen is watching over them" Humungousaur explained.
Optimus nodded.
"As for those guys," Ben turned back to Kevin. "We'll let Fowler take care of them. Maybe he can get some information out of them while they're in custody" Humungousaur answered.
"Optimus, are you and Team 10… intact?" Ratchet asked hesitantly over the com-link.
"Indeed, Ratchet. Crisis averted. However, the world we live on is much different than we could imagine… one that has forged its own Decepticons… in human skin." Optimus stated with a grave tone.
A/N: Just a small note, I'm skipping Deus Ex Machina, because I didn't find this episode all that interesting in the show and getting straight to Speed Metal, one of my more favourable episodes in the series.
Please leave your reviews, suggestions and questions in the review box. Until next time…