Chapter 10

A/N: I just own this story, not even the current OC is mine.

Telepathy

Bumblebee's speech

/comm link/

July 24, Arctic Circle

"Are we there yet?" Bumblebee whined as he and Bulkhead patrolled the freezing landscape.

"No, we're not there yet, but it should be just over this ridge," Bulkhead answered. Going to the edge of the cliff the two Autobots slid down and looked at the scanner. "I don't get it; these readings are off the meter?"

"Bulk, I think I got something." Walking over to where he was they saw a large silver pod frozen into the ground.

-.-

Autobot Base

The two patrolling the arctic sat on medical berths as Ratchet defrosted them and their vehicles. "I told you Doc we're fine," Bulkhead said removing the tube again.

"The only way to ensure that is by enduring standard defrosting procedure," the medic said pushing him back down. "You know prolonged exposure to subzero temperatures can cause permanent system damage."

"Ratchet? Have you learned anything more about our arctic find?" Optimus asked.

"Not yet, the pod can't be opened while it's frozen solid.

July 25

"Arcee and I will search for clues to explain the origin of the pod," Optimus said as the bridge activated behind them.

"Only until your sensors sound. Remember once your core temperature drops into the blue zone system failures aren't likely, they're imminent," Ratchet reminded.

The Zeta beams activated. "Robin—B01, Kid Flash—B03, Emerald Lantern—B02, Aqualad—B04, Miss Martian—B07, Superboy—B08."

"Who's ready to party?!" Wally shouted.

"Shouldn't you be in school already?" Ratchet grumbled.

"We still have another week or two!"

"Hey Arcee, weren't you going to show me that recipe?" Megan asked.

"Sorry, my turn for exploration duty," she replied.

"Can we go?!" Erica, Wally, and Robin asked.

"Arctic exploration."

"Nevermind!"

"The Arctic? I've never seen snow before," Superboy said.

"I would invite you all to join, but the conditions are too extreme, even for us," Optimus said looking down at the clone.

"I understand."

"But, I will bring you back a snowball," he said, getting the boy to somewhat smile.

They watched as the two titans made their way through the bridge before Ratchet closed it. "Transport complete," he said just as the controls malfunctioned. "By the All Spark."

"So, what do y'all think we should do today?" Wally asked.

"Video game tournament."

"I like the way you think!" Wally said speeding over to the rec room. Tossing himself on the couch he turned on the station and put in Mario Kart. "Hey Megan, you wanna play? I promise I'll go easy on you."

"Sure thing!" she said grabbing two remotes and handing the other to Superboy as Aqualad grabbed the last one.

"Bulkhead! Bumblebee! Here now!" Ratchet said and the two shrugged before leaving the room.

"Wanna go look around till they're done?" Robin asked.

"Sure, I want to see if we can get into any of their rooms this time," she grinned before they slunk away.

"You can't boss us around just because the boss is out," Bulkhead said as they came up to the medic.

"I need some heavy lifting the groundbridge is down."

"Did they make it through alright?"

"They made it through just fine, but it's bringing them back that concerns me. So, remove those panels," Ratchet instructed.

In another part of the base Emerald and Robin stood in a hall lined with several doors. "So, which room do you think is Optimus'?" Robin asked.

"Hmm…not sure, let's try this one," she said going up to one door. Pressing the button, she was surprised to see that it wasn't locked for once. Going inside they saw a few pictures of Arcee and Cliffjumper. As well as a few more with Cliff, other members of the team, and Cybertronians they didn't know. There was western paraphernalia on the walls: some books, a cowboy hat, and a few movies—mostly westerns—were strewn across a desk. "I think this is—was Cliffjumper's room."

"Yea…" Robin said closing it quietly. Behind them a clang sounded and they both turned and raised their hands.

"We weren't snooping around!"

Seeing no one there they sighed and looked around for the source. Seeing a screw on the floor near some boxes they laughed slightly as Erica picked it up. "I can't believe we were scared of a little screw," she chuckled. At that moment scuttling sounded around them, but they couldn't see where it was coming from. "Hello?" They slowly began backing up only to cry out as they tripped over something. Looking up they fell back as a small creature with big anime eyes and large head with an incredibly small body stood before them.

It scuttled up to them, looking at them curiously. "He, he…where did you come from?" Robin asked.

They stood up with a laugh as it got closer. "The Autobots never said anything about pets," Erica smiled holding up the screw. "Fetch?" The tiny creature jumped and scuttled around. Tossing it, it raced after.

"Don't eat it!" Robin said as they heard a munching sound. It just turned and looked at them, the screw completely gone. "Or you can?"

It ran back over and nuzzled their legs. "So cute!" Erica said holding it. Going back to the rec room they saw that they guys were still playing. "Look what we found!"

"OH MY GOSH! IT'S ADORABLE!" M'gann said flying over.

"What is it?" Kaldur asked.

"No clue, we found it outside of Cliffjumper's room," Robin said. They all jumped as the lights went out, turning back on they saw that their game was gone.

"I WAS WINNING!" Wally shouted at the TV.

"C'mon, let's go show the Bots."

Ratchet reached into the control station and pulled out one of the panels staring at the massive chunks missing from them. "We most definitely have a problem, but what could've caused this?"

"Or that?" Bulkhead asked as the lights flickered again.

"Might be the main grid. Hopefully not a substation malfunction," Ratchet sighed.

"Hey! Look what we found!"

"We're busy—AH!" Ratchet screamed and rose to his feet as he saw the thing in Erica's arms. All three pulled out their weapons and backed away.

"Hey! What's wrong?!" Kaldur asked in shock, never once had he seen any of the Autobots react like that.

"Scraplet! SCRAPLET!" Bulkhead shouted.

"What's a scraplet?" Superboy asked.

"The most dangerous vermin to crawl upon the face of Cybertron," Ratchet snarled.

"This? Are you kidding?" Wally scoffed.

"You're huge and he's, well, tiny," Erica said.

"You have no idea about the damage that tiny thing can do!" Bulkhead snapped while 'Bee nodded.

"He wouldn't hurt anything," Robin said as the scraplet woke up.

Looking around it saw the three Cybertronains before it. Its jaws opened to reveal a terrifying set of rotating, dagger teeth and it lunged at them. Both Bumblebee and Bulkhead shot at it, but the blasts just knocked it back and forth. It eventually got close enough to jump, landing on 'Bee's leg and starting to eat through the flesh. Trying to knock it off, it just began going at his arm, using his other hand he swiped it off and hurled it across the room. The small creature began going back towards them, but was crushed by a green hammer.

"Easy Em," Robin said stopping her as it was already flattened.

After making sure it was dead they ran over to where Ratchet was checking over 'Bee's leg. "I'm so sorry," Erica said.

"It's fine," 'Bee winced as Ratchet began stitching his leg.

"Is he gonna be alright?" Superboy asked.

"It's just a minor flesh wound, he'll live," Ratchet said.

"Now do you believe me? All scraplets do is eat anything metal, especially things with living metal!" Bulkhead said.

"Well, bug squashed game over, right?" Wally asked.

"Hardly, when it comes to scraplets there's never just one," Ratchet growled. "And I fear I know how they got in here." They went into the hangar where the pod sat, ripped open. "It's a trap. A scraplet trap."

"An empty scraplet trap," Bulkhead whimpered as 'Bee hid behind Emerald. Despite the fact that all three Autobots were now in their vehicle armor.

"Most likely ejected into space eons ago. Only to wind up in the arctic where the temperature kept them in stasis," Ratchet continued.

"Till we brought the thaw," Superboy said.

"Now they're wide awake and ready for brunch," Robin said.

"How many?" Kaldur asked.

"At least a thousand," Ratchet replied. "The system and groundbridge damage are sure signs that their infestation is well underway."

-.-

Arctic

Optimus climbed down a cliff face, stopping as his sensor went off. "Arcee? What's your status?"

/My sensor's going off. Guess we should call for pick up before things get chilly/

"Optimus to base. Core temperature has reached the blue zone. Prepare to activate groundbridge," he said only to look in the direction of his comm-link confused as all he got was static.

-.-

Base

"Ratchet to Optimus do you read?" Ratchet asked. "We have a situation! …The scraplets have gotten into the comm-link system. If we don't eradicate these vermin immediately, they will reduce the entire base to a scrapheap!"

"I say we book out of here and let them keep it!" Bulkhead said.

"Evacuation is not an option. If we don't get the groundbridge back online, Optimus and Arcee will never make it back," Ratchet said.

"I've already contacted the League about the situation. They said Superman should be there to help them as soon as he can," Robin said and the medic nodded knowing he was referring to the Fortress of Solitude.

"Bulkhead! You never run!" Superboy said.

"You haven't seen a swarm of these things devour someone. I have. They pick you apart from the inside out, going for the small juicy pieces first, vein by vein, circuit by circuit! Till there's nothing left! And I mean nothing!" Bulkhead snarled. "…Not even your bones."

"You have to let us help," Kaldur said.

"We're not made of metal," Megan said.

"Yea, the scraplets can't hurt us," Wally said.

"Typically, I find your lack of protective metal to be your least engaging quality. But it seems to be an advantage under these extremes," Ratchet said.

"Good, we can pair off, one Bot two people," Kaldur said. "Megan and I can watch you back as you repair the groundbridge."

"And we go on a bug hunt," Emerald said as the other two shuddered.

-.-

Arctic

"Optimus to base. Do you read?" Optimus tried again. A pained grunt reached his audios, turning he saw Arcee fall to her knees and helped her up.

"Are you sure a nice long drive wouldn't help?" Arcee asked.

"The nearest temperate climate is too distant Arcee. Attempting to reach it would expend too much energy and hasten the freezing process. Until Ratchet sends help, and he will, our best bet is to seek shelter and insulate ourselves," the Prime responded.

-.-

Base

"We get to be your body guards for once, how awesome is that?" Wally asked as he and Superboy walked in front of Bulkhead.

"Robin said they found the first one here, right?" Bulkhead asked just as the lights went out. "AHHHH!"

"Did you just scream like a little girl?" Wally asked as Superboy rubbed his ears.

"Uh no…maybe…can we talk about this later?" Bulkhead growled as they continued. Hearing scuttling, he jumped slightly, aiming his blaster around nervously.

"Take it easy," Superboy said finding the large man's fear unsettling.

At that moment, more scuttling sounded and Bulkhead fired at the roof. Dozens of cables fell on him and he began screaming a flailing wildly. "OH MY GOD! GET THEM OFF ME! AHH!"

Wally slowly raised his camera and snapped a picture. "Bulkhead, you're fine it's just a bunch of cables," he said.

"Oh…right, cables," Bulk said calming down and pulling down on one. The cable fell and scraplets began to land on him. "AHHH!"

-.-

In another part of the base, Emerald, Robin, and Bumblebee peered around a corner. "Don't these things ever stop eating?" Robin grumbled as they walked over to the vent cover that was clearly eaten through. Going to the cover, 'Bee nudged them out of the way and ripped it off, they all aimed their weapons inside, but slowly turned around as clanking came from behind them. The vent on the floor was hurled off as a horde of the small beasts lunged out.

-.-

"How's it going?" Aqualad asked as Ratchet continued working.

"I've repaired the damage conductors, rerouted the central conduits, but the groundbridge still won't receive power!" the medic said slamming his fist down in frustration.

Hearing scuttling the two teens looked around. On the wall, a small group of scraplets crawled before looking up and seeing the medic. They hopped off the wall with their massive jaws open wide and had small wings flapping rapidly behind them.

"They fly?!" Miss Martian exclaimed as she shot into the air. Using her telekinesis, she forced some to crash into each other as Aqualad used water whips to take out more, but even then, some managed to slip through to attack the medic. "RATCHET!" She forced them off, but they just kept coming back at him.

"FIRE EXTINGISHER!" Ratchet pointed.

Running over, Aqualad pick up the red canister before pulling the pin and spraying the small animals. As they froze the small bodies fell off and Ratchet sighed in relief.

"Ratchet, get the patch kit," Bulkhead said as the others stumbled in. "'Bee and I are leaking energon like—WHOA!"

The flying demons shot towards the fresh meat. Bulkhead punched the ground hoping to crush them, but stopped once he realized he was still being gnawed at. He screamed as 'Bee fell backwards as he tried to get them off. Emerald and Robin immediately began attacking the small creatures on their friend; Superboy and Kid Flash rushed to help Bulkhead as Megan and Kaldur dealt with Ratchet's.

-.-

Arctic

"Arcee, wake up!" Optimus ordered as he noticed his SIC was falling asleep in their small shelter.

"J-Just resting my eyes," she replied looking up tiredly.

"The longer we remain alert, the longer we remain alive," Prime informed.

"What do you suggest? Wait…how about a game?" she offered. "Let's play: Who Screwed Thing Up Back at Base."

"Our predicament could be the result of a simple malfunction," Optimus stated.

"Caused by Bulkhead!" the woman declared. "Let's see…no comm-link, maybe even no power. The Big Lug probably tripped over a cord; he's never been too graceful. Remember when we first arrived on Earth, and he walked into those powerlines? 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 on size alone."

-.-

Base

"That it?" Wally asked as he removed his goggles.

Around them a giant groan sounded throughout the base. "Hardly," Ratchet sighed, "these were just scouts."

"Frag," 'Bee groaned setting his head down.

"So the rest of them know you're here?" Robin asked a little worriedly.

"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 stated.

"Then we can use it to send the scraplets anywhere on Earth," Emerald said.

"Why not the arctic? We already know they don't do cold," Superboy suggested.

"Given the body mass of the scraplets, subzero temperatures should freeze them on contact," Ratchet muttered. "So, think Ratchet, think! If the groundbridge is still down, then there must be a breach in the energon fuel line!"

"If we weren't breaching, then one of us could go patch it," Bulkhead said as 'Bee tried to get up but fell back in exhaustion.

"Where do we find it?" Aqualad asked.

"And how do we fix it?" Megan added.

-.-

After getting their instructions Miss M, Aqualad, Wally, and Superboy ran down the halls slowing as they came to a hall filled with the vermin that attacked their comrades. "Remember, we're not made of metal," Aqualad reminded.

"Here's the breach," Superboy said carrying the metal plate over. Aqualad helped the clone position it over the breach and Megan got to work. As they finished the patch the scraplets flew past them.

"They're getting ready to feed!" M'gann exclaimed.

-.-

"So, if we get…when we get the groundbridge working; do we send the creepy crawlies out, or bring our guys in?" Bulkhead asked.

"Optimus and Arcee will be fresh meat. If we bring them in first the scraplets will have no reason to leave," Ratchet replied. "We'll need bait."

"Where are we going to get that?! Emerald snapped. "Those monsters already helped themselves to everything in here!"

As she said that, the vents burst open and the Auotbots pressed themselves into the floor staring up at the thousands of techno-organic eating monsters flying above them.

"You just had to say something," Wally sighed. "OW!"

"Shut up," she growled as he rubbed his cheek.

-.-

Arctic

Optimus and Arcee lied close together, partially covered in snow as their energy began to slowly die out. "You know the worst part about this?" Arcee asked. "After battling Cons all these years; being shot at, smacked down, blown up; this is how our sparks go out?"

"Arcee," Optimus said struggling to lift his head. "This may not be the finish that we had planned…but if this indeed the end…if we are to become one with the All-Spark…"

"It was an honor to serve with you, Optimus Prime," she said taking his hand.

-.-

"RATCHET ALL SYSTEMS GO!" KF shouted as he ran in. Emerald flew over and used a makeshift claw to activate the bridge.

On the other side of the bridge Optimus slowly looked up in relief to see the glowing blue vortex. Slowly getting to his feet he helped Arcee to hers.

Back in the base Bulkhead looked between a downed Ratchet, and a probably unconscious Bumblebee. "Bait huh?" he muttered rising to his feet and started waving at the little pests. "Ready for the main course? WELL COME AND GET IT!" He began running through the bridge, much to the team's horror.

Optimus and Arcee slowly stumbled towards the bridge, neither able to stay up on both feet for very long. Seeing a familiar figure Optimus sighed as he saw Bulkhead coming to help.

"GET DOWN!" the wrecker shouted before falling into the snow himself, allowing the scraplets to pass overhead.

Seeing the incoming projectiles, Prime used his own exosuit to shield Arcee, both flinching back as the frozen scraplets collided off them.

"Sorry I'm late!" Superman said flying over as the clouds began to clear. Looking around he saw all three Autobots looking at him irritatedly and there was a gigantic pile of small creatures around them. "What did I miss?" Bulkhead just ignored the Boy Scout and put Prime's arm over his shoulder. Getting the memo, Superman flew over to Arcee and tried to support her much like Bulkhead, but due to the exosuit he had a hard time figuring it out.

Getting back in base Ratchet had Arcee transform out of her armor before having the Man of Steel set her on one of the medical berths and attach a defroster to her as he finished attaching an IV, energon bag, blood bag, an oxygen mask, and several monitors to Bumblebee. He then attached an IV to Bulkhead, before checking on how well Optimus and Arcee were warming up.

The Prime sat wrapped in more blankets than he'd ever care to be in again near his son's bed, as Bulkhead and the team leaned on the wall behind him. "Superman, how is Arcee's bio-circuitry status?"

"It's rising."

"Emerald, keep a close eye on Bumblebee's electro-pulse monitor. Wally, check Bulkhead's distal brachial stitching," Ratchet ordered.

"It's steady," Emerald said as Optimus discreetly peered at it.

"Looking good here Doc," Kid smiled.

"Perhaps you should get some rest yourself old friend," Optimus said as the doctor sat down next to him. "You saved quite a few lives today."

"It wasn't all my doing," Ratchet answered. "We're just fortunate that this infestation happened in summer."

"Our human friends may not have the same abilities as us, but they are strong," Optimus agreed.

"AHHHHHH!" Emerald screamed kicking the side of 'Bee's bed making him wince as he curled up slightly and glared at her angrily through half-lidded eyes.

"Scraplet!" Robin and Wally said holding crowbars.

"SPIDER!" she screamed flying off.

As she flew off her cousin dropped his bar as he walked off, while the others just stared after.