TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED – KALEIDOSCOPE

Chapter 12: Fire Convoy – Part 4.


«Whrr-Tschzz-Tschzz-Tschzz-Chk!»

«WHRR-TSCHZZ- TSCHZZ- TSCHZZ-CHK!»

With the strange mechanical whirrs that were the trademark of the Cybertronian transformation-process, the red fire truck twisted and contorted as it rose up from the ground and over the smoke.

The rear of the truck's cab split and clicked forward on each side, deploying hands and becoming thick arms mounted on a torso composed by the front-portion of the driver's house. The drivetrain and rear suspension split, turned and unfolded underneath the torso – taking the appearance and function of powerful legs that planted themselves heavily into the ground. And finally, the signal-lights sitting atop the truck's roof were pulled back to allow a helmet-clad head to rise up in its place.

The blue helmet was vaguely reminiscent of a fireman's headgear, but more important was the face underneath it. Where earlier had been charred metal and exposed skeleton-like structure were now unmarred features; a blue face with a robust jaw framed by the dark blue helmet's metallic white cheek-guards.

One could imagine the robot's facial features would look quite amicable, handsome even, if not for the grim and determined expression he wore.

As shining blue optics narrowed upon the human standing before him, two additional plates emerged from the helmet's cheek-guards and connected at the center, creating a protective mask over the robot's lower face.

"Pyro Goblin!" Optimus boomed, "You and I have unfinished business!"

And hovering in the air on the sidelines, the orange flying cameras were circling the scene in front of the tunnel – their lenses carefully trained on the robot as the city of New Detroit acquired its first documented footage of a Cybertronian…

Of a "Transformer".


"Oh." Pyro Goblin uttered after seeing the facemask click into place and hearing the robot's words.

Slowly, he began to chuckle before spreading his arms out in positive joy as he welcomed his earlier opponent.

"Oooh-hoho, I didn't recognize you there for a second, but it's you! It's you!"

The robot remained standing in front of the tunnel entrance as the super villain settled down and started taking in his new form.

"Hmm, I don't know how you did it, Autobot, but you're back on your feet and with a spanking new look to boot," he commented in an appraising tone, "- I like~. Red and blue really suits you," he declared jovially.

His body then assumed a predatory stance.

"But you know what would make it even better? Some hot-looking flames!"

Optimus was quick to bring out his axe to block as Pyro Goblin blasted him with a thick stream of fire using his gauntlets.

"Thanks, but no thanks," he droned, unamused.

The idea had been bad enough when it came from Sari this morning,

With a shout of exertion, the robot cleaved through the flames and lunged forward, charging his smaller opponent.

Pyro Goblin leapt back to avoid an empty-handed strike that dug into the pavement as it tried to grab him, and then propelled himself further with his gauntlets to avoid being smacked by the back-end of the axe. The gust of wind that the giant weapon produced as it soared past worked to the villain's advantage as he let it push him back further through the air.

The Cybertronian made to pursue, but as Pyro Goblin slid backwards across the ground on his feet, he let loose a salvo of small but quick fireballs. The orbs detonated harmlessly against Optimus' body, but they each produced a surprising amount of smoke that soon enough had his entire form obscured.

Pyro Goblin dashed through the smokescreen, taking advantage of the fact that their massive difference in size would make it easy for him to anticipate his opponent's position in the smoke while he himself would be that much harder to locate. Moving around carefully, he eventually spotted Optimus silhouette amidst the smoke, facing the other way as the robot attempted to locate him.

Pyro Goblin brought his arms forward and started charging up his gauntlets, but suddenly an unnatural wind kicked up from the center of the smokescreen. Optimus had once more extended the handle of his axe as well as ignited its rocket-nozzle, and was now using both hands to twirl it around in the air like a helicopter-rotor.

As the smoke was blown outwards, dispersing, Optimus was quick to spot Pyro Goblin behind him and the villain was forced to abandon his attack – changing it from a forward blast into a downward thrust that rocketed him away as Optimus immediately swiped after him with the end of the axe's elongated handle.

As the villain tucked in his legs and spiraled backwards through the air on his momentum, Optimus released his left hand from the axe-handle and fired a grappler-claw from the back of his forearm.

Pyro Goblin repelled it mid-air with a quick blast of flame, but immediately as the singed claw started to retract, Optimus held the axe sideways and followed up with the second grappler.

It was just as easily deflected, but Pyro Goblin wasn't expecting a third attack to follow in its wake. Even as the first grappler was still being reeled in, the sideof Optimus' left forearm split open to deploy a large nozzle that sprayed a thick liquid.

The villain was shot out of the air by the liquid and landed with a splash, sliding across the ground in an undignified, messy heap.

Shaking his head, he pushed himself onto his knees and took in the thick substance he'd been covered in.

"Fire-retardant foam?! Again?!" he exclaimed, shaking his arms to discard the foam from his body. He then stood up – the end of his gauntlets lighting up with flames once more as he called over to his opponent, "Boy, you're really taking this new fire truck image of yours all the way, huh?"

Optimus stared back across the field, letting both grappler-claws retract fully into their compartments before storing the axe behind his back. Once his right arm was free, a foam-cannon was deployed on it as well.

"I guess you could say that," the robot replied coolly.


From the moment the metal titan had emerged from the tunnel, the police officers had watched the ensuing battle inside their barricade in shocked silence, trying fruitlessly to close their unhinged jaws.

Sure, they had heard the stories from their colleagues who had witnessed them in person during the CMX-event, but actually seeing a Cybertronian – particularly one as imposing as this one – was something few of them had been prepared for.

Fortunately, there were some among them who'd already had that experience.

"Alright, people; Snap out of it!" Lander called into his radio. "Get your act back together and prepare to back him up!"

"*Krzzt* Which one do you mean?!" an officer from somewhere in the crowd questioned over the transceiver.

"Which one do you think?!" the usually laid-back man barked back, causing his men to wince from the static, "The one that isn't trying to burn us all to crisps! Now stop twiddling your thumbs and get into position!"


Multiple blasts of fire hurtled forward before they were intercepted by white foam that snuffed them out mid-air.

Stepping back with impressively light and agile jumps, Pyro Goblin achieved some distance from his opponent and released a much larger blast. The robot however was undeterred by the wall of fire coming towards him and used the spray from his foam-cannons to stop it dead in its tracks. Not even waiting for the resulting smokescreen to clear, Optimus charged forward – emerging through the black fumes like a bat out of hell before descending upon his enemy.

The two participated in a dangerous dance across the clearing as one tried to detain the other. Rocketing over one hand as it tried to grab him and sliding underneath the other, Pyro Goblin was so ridiculously quick and acrobatic that Optimus looked like a person trying to catch soap bubbles in the wind.

...Or if you want a less poetic example; someone trying to catch a rabid squirrel.

Finally, Pyro Goblin leapt onto the right hand as it came for him and proceeded to make a mad dash up the rest of the arm. There he vaulted over the robot's shoulder, delivering a quick blast of flame to the side of Optimus' face as he went by.

Optimus let out a short cry and staggered slightly from the blow before turning after the villain. The smoke around his head dissipated, revealing the right side of his helmet and mouthplate to be slightly blackened and his right eye screwed shut.

"Ooh-hohoho, this is an unusual treat," Pyro Goblin laughed as he landed on the ground in a somersault before bouncing up and around to face Optimus' direction, "I so rarely get asked for a second dance."

Optimus glared silently while rubbing at his sore optic.

"Come now, metal-man. Surely you haven't run out of steam already?"

"Enough of your games, Pyro Goblin," Optimus declared, aiming his arm-cannons forward, "Your craziness ends here!"

"Stop calling me crazy!" the man suddenly exploded.

Caught off guard by the villain's violent mood swing, Optimus watched silently as Pyro Goblin proceeded to stomp at the ground like a child throwing a tantrum.

"I hate being called crazy!" he screamed, "Crazy, insane, mad, I can't stand it! It's so rude – an insult – both to me and the poetry, the beauty that is fire! That's why I burned down my Quack-Shrink's office!"

At the end of his rant, Pyro Goblin breathed heavily with slumped shoulders before twitching and half-turning away as if something had just occurred to him.

"Wait…" he said, bringing up a hand to his jaw in thought, "Did I set fire to it before or after he called me that? You know, I can't really remember…"

"FIRE AT WILL!"

"Wait, what?"

Focused as he'd been on his new playmate, the sudden assault from the sidelines caught Pyro Goblin flatfooted. The villain staggered back as laser-fire peppered against his armor, reeling from each blow.

Optimus was startled as well and took a half-step back before looking towards the source. Most of the Police had gathered at one of the intact flanks of the barricade and were now pressing their opportunity, shooting like there was no tomorrow.

The Cybertronian noted that they also seemed to be taking measures not to catch him in the crossfire, judging by the way they were positioned.

"Concentrate your fire on those oversized gloves of his!" one officer with his visor up called into a transceiver, the colored spectacles on his face allowing Optimus to recognize him as the man he'd met in the tunnel.

"Ghaa, that stings!" Pyro Goblin exclaimed, bringing up his arms to shield himself. While his armor protected him, it was clear that the body underneath was still taking some punishment.

Finally, his armor and gear started to gain cracks from the onslaught, but that was also when he managed to get his wits back together. Pyro Goblin's lit up the ends of his gauntlets and slammed them together with a large clang. This created a large and intense flash of light that washed over Optimus and the officers, causing them all to halt and wince.

"Aah! I can't see!" one of the policemen exclaimed.

The SWAT officers were all momentarily incapacitated, placing a palm over their visors or falling to their knees as they lamented their loss of vision.

"A flare. Blast it all, he got us with such a basic trick!" Lander complained, his eyes screwed shut.

"I'm bored with you boys in blue," Pyro Goblin called out as he used both gauntlets to build up a concentrated fireball half his own size. "I've got something better to play with now, so all you little peons can go get lost!"

Raising his arms up in front of him, he fired his attack in an unexpected fashion. Rather than launching the sphere, it destabilized between his gauntlets and erupted, launching a dozen smaller fireballs into the air which then proceeded to rain down upon the law enforcers from above like a meteor shower.

The falling clumps of flame tore through the remainders of the barricade, throwing the blinded officers around like ragdolls. The vehicles around them were decimated and blown to pieces, adding to the onslaught.

"Gya-HaHaHaHaHa-Haaaah!" Pyro Goblin cackled madly, "Goodbye, losers! Now it's just me and you, Auto-bleurgh!"

The villain's gloating was brutally cut off as Optimus attacked. Since his right eye had already been screwed shut at the time, the Cybertronian had partly managed to recover his vision and used the end of his weapon's extendable handle to strike from afar – sweeping it low and hitting Pyro Goblin like a hockey puck. The man was sent tumbling across the ground spluttering obscenities before disappearing in a cloud of dust and debris as he impacted against the wall on the far side of the tunnel entrance.

"You're too loud for your own good, Pyro Goblin," Optimus said as he retracted the handle, using his free hand to rub his optics once more for good measure.

He made to pursue his opponent but halted mid-step, suddenly hesitant.


Surrounded by an inferno of burning wreckages, a small number of SWAT officers were doing their best to pick up their wounded and retreat to safety. One of the armored men who managed to stand under his own power was Lander. The man's penchant for wearing colored glasses had protected him from being completely blinded by Pyro Goblin, thus allowing him to see and escape the brunt of the villain's subsequent attack.

Most of the other officers however were groaning and wheezing as they lay haphazardly spread around him; prone across the ground or collapsed over wreckage. And all the while, the flames surrounding them grew ever closer.

"We've got to carry the wounded out of here! Even the gear won't protect them for long," Lander shouted as he steadied an injured colleague by placing the man's arm over his shoulders, "Where are the firemen with the extinguishers?!"

"Sir, most of the remaining equipment was destroyed in the attack!"

"A lot of our men have been boxed in by the fire!"

"Sir, I still can't see!"

Lander grit his teeth. "Blast it all. We're in a bad spot here…"

The ground shook from heavy steps, prompting Lander and his colleagues to look ahead and up. With the tall flames and smoke surrounding them on all sides, they could hardly see more than the dark outline of the metal giant towering above them. Blue glowing eyes flashed on the shadowy giant's face.

Seeing the black figure raise his arms and deploy weapon-like contraptions from his forearms, one of the standing officers pulled out a handgun in panic.

"Stand down," Lander immediately prompted, extending an arm in front of the nervous man. "We can trust him."

"Don't move," Optimus called with authority. He then used his deployed nozzles to douse the area before him with fire-retardant foam.

Once the spot Lander occupied had been put out, Optimus took a wider stance and gradually trained his arms outward to cover a larger area, working his way from the sides and towards the back of the barricade.

Rather than extinguish everything, Optimus focused more on putting out selected spots in an attempt to work quickly. Finally, he leaned over and cleared away car-wreckages by hand, providing the officers who had been boxed in clear paths to retreat through.

As the evacuation began in full, Optimus addressed Lander directly.

"I owe you for earlier in the tunnel," he said, "Now get your men out of here! Hurry-GHA!"

His actions had left him unguarded and he knew it, hence the rushed nature of his actions. As a fireball impacted against his backside, Optimus turned in a stagger and attempted to steady himself, only to receive another blow into his chest.

"ARGH!"

As the metal giant fell to one knee clutching a smoking chest, Pyro Goblin stood on the other side of the clearing and began to cackle – his armor sporting superficial cracks but still intact.

"Ah-hahahaha, this is too much! *Cough-Cough!* Ow. It hurts to laugh…"

As he slowly made his way back across the clearing, he continued to taunt loudly.

"This fight is turning out just like earlier, Autobot! Turning your back on your opponent two times in a row? You really aren't made for this sort of thing – are you?!"

"Kuh!" Optimus half-snorted, "I'm not so sure about that."

The robot slowly removed his hand from his chest, the smoke dissolving between his fingers to reveal a slightly scorched but otherwise undamaged torso.

"What?!" the villain exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm afraid it'll take more than a few cheap shots to take me down this time!"

With that declaration, the kneeling Cybertronian pulled out his axe and dashed forward.

The rocket-nozzle on the back of his axe flared to life and he brought the weapon down upon his opponent in a swipe that cleaved through the asphalt. Pyro Goblin was once again able to dodge, but had to keep moving as Optimus followed up with several more strikes – ducking underneath a thrust from the axe's handle and then using his gauntlets to rocket himself away from a giant hand that came slamming down in an attempt to grab him.

As the metal giant pulled his hand back, shattered concrete trickled out from the clenched fist making an intimidating sight.

"Hmph! Okay, so you aren't as brittle anymore," Pyro Goblin called as landed at a slight distance, "All it means is that I'll have to put more "oomph" into it!"

The villain's oversized gauntlets began to hum in an ominous manner and he brought them together to shoot a fireball that shined an intense white color.

Optimus held forward his axe to shield himself, but was caught off guard by the sheer concussive force the fireball released as it detonated. Though unharmed, Optimus was knocked backwards off his feet and into the inner lines of the ruined police barricade.

Sitting there amongst the wrecked vehicles, Optimus raised the ridge of one optic as he noticed that the blade of his axe had been slightly singed.

"Khee-hehehehee!" Pyro Goblin cackled, "How'd you like the side-effect of my gear, Autobot? This is the result of cranking up my fire-plasma generators to full power! I don't really like using this setting that much since the flames immediately melts and incinerates things instead of burning them, which is no fun… It just doesn't have the same beauty, you know?"

Another blinding white fireball was gathering at the end of his gauntlets.

"But then again, I never expected to come across something that could take it! "

As the fireball was sent flying, Optimus grabbed one of the burning police cars surrounding him and hurled it forward through the air. The car met the fireball halfway and was instantly destroyed, leaving little more thick smoke and few bits of molten debris in its place.

"Gha! Hey, that's my trick!" Pyro Goblin complained as his opponent was obscured from sight by the resulting smokescreen.

He made to go around the black clouds, but froze as a weird mechanical noise sounded followed by the rev of an engine. Seeing the outline of a large vehicle approach through the smoke, Pyro Goblin rocketed away just in time to avoid being clipped down by the fire truck storming forward.

As he had used his supercharged flames to boost himself, Pyro Goblin was sent careening wildly through the air, just barely managing to right himself up in time before landing in an unsteady stagger.

"Ugh! Ow! This is another reason I don't like this setting… Hey! Where are you going?!"

The fire truck in question was still driving, heading across the clearing at high speed.

"Don't you run away, Autobot! Our ballroom dance isn't over!" Pyro Goblin called, firing several blasts as he ran after his prey.

Optimus swerved between explosions as he drove, but continued on his course towards the tunnel entrance.

..Right where his trailer was waiting.

"Sari! Miss Junk-O! Now!"

"We're up!"

"It's pronounced "Yun-ko", darn it!"

In response to the robot's call, Sari and Kelly came running out from where they'd been hiding in the tunnel, behind the fire truck trailer. Sari immediately leapt onto a small platform mounted on the trailer's side and began flipping switches and levers on a control panel whilst Kelly grabbed the end of an unfurled hose and dragged it with her towards the front of the trailer, her soaked pant legs producing sloshing sounds as she moved.

Once there, Kelly heaved and tossed the hose into the air with an exaggerated roar. The throw didn't exactly send it high due to the length of the hose weighing it down, but it was more than enough.

Optimus transformed back to robot-mode as he drove and slid across the concrete on his feet the remaining distance, snagging the hose with his grappler launcher as he approached. Then, once he'd reached the trailer, he leaned down and grabbed hold of the roof-mounted water cannon and started connecting the hose to it.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I won't let you!" Pyro Goblin roared, charging up a large fireball with both gauntlets before letting it loose.

The shining orb bathed the tunnel entrance in a radiant white light as it sailed through the air, causing Kelly to backpedal with a comical look of panic on her face while Sari, releasing a grunt, used her entire bodyweight to pull down a lever on the fire truck.

The trailer began to hum and Optimus turned to face the incoming attack.

Holding the cannon like an oversized handgun, Optimus met the white fireball with a thick and super-pressurized stream of water. The fireball resisted the opposing force for a split-second, but it was eventually punched through by the water and dispersed, reduced to nothing but small embers raining around the tunnel entrance.

"Woot!" the two girls cheered, embracing one another in triumph.

Pyro Goblin wasn't feeling quite so ecstatic however.

"Whu-wha… what?"

The hunchback stood there, his arms sagging listlessly as if he couldn't comprehend what he had just seen.

He then clenched his fists and began to shake with an all-consuming rage.

"..I won't accept this," he mumbled before aiming his arms forward, "I WON'T ACCEPT THIS!"

With a roar, the man threw his gauntlets together and thrust them forward, pumping out an intense and massive stream of white fire. Optimus responded in turn with a torrent of water and the two attacks collided midway with a hissing shockwave.

The two streams pushed back and forth at the centre, fighting for dominance whilst scorching clouds of steam rose into the air between them where they met.

"Everyone, fall back!" Lander bellowed as the clouds came rolling across the ground towards where they were picking up the last of their colleagues. "If that stuff hits us we'll be boiled alive! Move, move, move!"

Likewise, Kelly carried Sari with her and took shelter behind the trailer.

The two combatants in the clearing stood steadfast as their attacks remained locked in a stalemate, effectively canceling each other out.

"Ooh~ What fun! I could dance like this for hours," Pyro Goblin called over the roar of the two attacks. "Thing is though, given the fuel to power ratio – in order to combat the heat and density of my fire-plasma youhave to go through your reserves a lot quicker than me!"

Between them, the torrent of water was slowly starting to loose ground.

"And you'll have to excuse me, but I'm not going to allow you to be a bad sport and find a fire hydrant to plug into!"

Optimus snorted behind his mask.

"Don't worry!" he called back. "I've already worked my way around that!"

"Come again now!?"

"You see, Pyro Goblin, behind me there are hoses running from my trailer all the way to the bottom of the tunnel. The tunnel you flooded!"

"Uh-Wha?!"

"Maximum Pressure!"

Immediately the trailer rumbled louder as its pumps started to work at full capacity, causing the aforementioned tubes running down the slope to coil and spasm like they were snakes.

The water torrent blasting from Optimus' cannon exploded in girth and intensity, and slowly but surely began to push back the stream of fire, reclaiming whatever ground it had lost.

Then, with slow deliberate steps, Optimus began to move forwards himself. With the two streams close to equal, it now boiled down to the physical strength of the two combatants where Optimus had the obvious advantage.

"Ghh. Khaa," Pyro Goblin grunted in exertion as he staggered backwards a little.

Step by step the water inched forward, overtaking the white hot fire.

"I can't accept this! Fire is beauty! Fire is the heart of creation!"

"As I'm to understand – for organics, so is water!"

Finally, Pyro Goblin's legs buckled under the pressure, allowing the torrent of water to punch through the remainder of the flames and blast into the villain head on, engulfing him.

The man was thrust backwards and pummeled across the ground under the H2O onslaught, but came to a sudden stop as something ensnared his leg. Before he could react, he found himself reeled back against the flow of the torrent and out into the open air at the end of one of Optimus' grappler-cables – sailing towards the robot whom discarded the water cannon in favor of brandishing his axe.

"He's not going to…?" Kelly gasped worriedly from where she peeked out behind the trailer.

A flash of light marked the traversing of the axe past the flailing human. Sari, Kelly, Lander and the rest of the police looked on in shock as momentum continued to carry Pyro Goblin through the air until he crashed and bounced across the ground behind Optimus.

Optimus half-turned, the grappler-claw retracting into his arm while he regarded the motionless body lying on the ground in a growing pool of dark liquid. A few seconds passed and then…

"You crazy trash-can!" Pyro Goblin snapped at the robot as he gingerly propped himself up. "I thought you were going to cut me open!"

"I did."

"Huh?"

Belatedly the villain noticed the pool he sat in, the dark fluid leaking out through a deep gash in the lump on his back and spreading out towards small fires surrounding them.

"Oh poo…"

In an instant the liquid lit ablaze, causing Pyro Goblin's fuel tank to erupt from the inside. The man became a human torch and began running and screaming in panic as his compromised gear no longer protected him from his beloved flames.

"Gyaaaaah! It's gotten inside my suit! Put me out, put me out, put me out, put me ooouuut!"

The panicked villain finally tripped and crashed onto his face on the ground. Fortunately for him he was shortly surrounded by several officers whom proceeded to douse him with their handheld extinguisher-cannons. The flames were put out in seconds, leaving one foam-covered figure wriggling listlessly on the ground.

"Uugh… This… This is so totally uncool right here," he moaned defeated as he weakly brought up a hand to wipe the white foam off his visor.

With the villain down and out, Optimus turned and walked back towards the tunnel, kneeling down as his two assistants meet up with him halfway.

"You did it!" Sari laughed as she ran and hugged the offered metallic hand. "You took down that fruitcake!"

As Sari smiled up at him while embracing the fingers of his right hand, the look in the robot's optics seemed to hint that he was smiling back behind his mask.

"I couldn't have done it without you, Sari. Truly…" he replied softly before looking up, "And I owe you thanks as well, Miss Junko. Thank you for protecting her."

The police woman scratched her cheek with one finger as she fidgeted awkwardly before the metal giant.

"Um, yeah… Don't mention it," she chuckled dryly before gaining an exhausted look about her, "Please… I beg you..."

The woman has had her fair share of rough experiences this day.

Turning his head with a mechanical whir, Optimus watched from afar as four policemen cuffed Pyro Goblin's hands behind his back – a task made somewhat difficult due to his huge gauntlets – before hauling the foam-dripping villain to his feet. The odd air about the robot as he observed the criminal being taken away caught Sari's attention, making her tilt her head to the side in confusion as she looked up at him.


Finally a semblance of order was starting to settle down over what had been nothing short of a battleground, allowing the "clean-up" process to start. New fire trucks had arrived together with several ambulances, a couple of crane cars, tow trucks and a heap of Sumdac robots.

As the firemen put out the remaining fires, the crane and tow trucks began salvaging what remained of the vehicles used to construct the barricade. A good number were past the point of repair however, and any leftover debris on the ground was picked up and handled by disposal droids that looked like giant steel trash cans with arms and wheels.

Meanwhile, EMTs in cyan-colored uniforms with yellow highlights patched up and tended to the wounded officers – mostly providing on-the-spot care like bandaging a limb or treating a burn, as fortunately only a minority required to be carried away on stretchers.

However, sitting on the back of one special transport was someone who had bigger difficulties than most in removing their gear for medical treatment.

"Ow-Ow-Ow-Ow! Watch it! You're going to tear my head off!" the cuffed criminal whined as a few officers worked on unclasping his helmet.

"Oh, stop your whining and take it like a man." Lander shot back as he forcibly tried to pull the thing off.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Pyro Goblin protested, the villain's voice loosing its artificial modification as they finally managed to remove the helmet. "Just because I'm a criminal doesn't mean that's any way to talk!"

Lander stood in front of the villain with the pumpkin-like helmet in his arms as he and the other officers, as well as the EMTs stared stupidly.

"..What?" Pyro Goblin finally asked. The super villain's true face was thin and slender with sharp eyes, jagged shark-like teeth and just a hint of freckles while short black hair with red highlights framed the face in sharp, spiky locks. What had rendered the policemen into silent shock however was the fact that…

"You're a WOMAN?!"

"What's THAT supposed to mean?!" Pyro Goblin screamed back into Lander's face, the cuffed woman towering over him as she got to her feet to glare at him. "When have I ever suggested otherwise?! How rude!"

When the mask had been on, his – or rather, her extremely long and thin body made it understandably difficult to identify her as such given the fact that any tell-tale curves could be assumed to be caused by her protective gear.

Lander twitched slightly. Suddenly some of the villain's flirtatious attitude earlier made a little more sense. Kinda, sorta.

It didn't make her any less creepy though.

"Heh. The Captain won't believe this," Kelly snorted, having observed the unmasking from a distance as she directed the clean-up process.

Her attention was called away as one of the SWAT officers came running up to her.

"Lieutenant! Lieutenant!"

"Yes? What is it?"

The man paused for a second with his hands on his knees as he attempted to catch his breath.

"It's… It's the Autobot, ma'am. It suddenly disappeared."

An owlish blink. "…Come again?"

"It disappeared, ma'am! One second it… he and the girl were there, and the next… they were gone…"

Kelly felt her temple throb. "H-How… Just HOW do you manage to loose track of something that huge?! I mean, it's not like he can… hide in… plain…" she trailed off.

She whirled around and called out to the officers running back and forth between the vehicles.

"Hey! Did any of the fire trucks leave?!"

"Only one, ma'am. Don't worry. We have more than enough of them now," one of the men paused to reply, followed by one of his colleagues nodding in agreement.

Kelly's face froze in a grimace for a second before she brought up her hands to pull at her hair as she shouted into the air. "You MORON!"

"E-Excuse me?" the policemen around her responded in synch.

"Nothing! Talking to myself!" she continued to bark, ignoring the confusion on their faces as she stomped away like an angry ogre, heading towards the prison transport vehicle.

Speaking of which, the extremely tall woman still stood there complaining at the officers.

"You coppers should be ashamed of yourselves! Not only are you all philistines, but you also have absolutely no concept of how to treat a lady. The AUTOBOT was more chivalrous than you lot!" Pyro Goblin ranted to her audience. The officers around her were spellbound – more by the absurdity of the situation rather any actual point she was trying to make, mind you. "And another thing…!"

"Oh, give it a rest!" Kelly roared as came stalking up to the group with an angry twitch on her forehead and all but kicked the surprised super villain inside the police van.

"Gyaa-ha!"

«THUMP»


Using the roof of a tall building as vantage point, two large but lean figures carefully studied the area in front of the tunnel from afar.

Arcee's eyeshield was down as she let her gaze wander across the scene; numbers and diagrams appearing in her vision as she systematically scanned the vehicles below one by one.

"All readings are negative," she finally said as she retracted the eyeshield up under her helmet and turned towards her ally. "There's nothing down there but ordinary Earth vehicles."

"It looks like we just missed him then," Prowl concluded, crossing his arms. "But it should only be a matter of time before we manage to track him down."

Shadows flickered, and the next moment the rooftop was deserted.


Elsewhere in a secluded back alley, Optimus stood next to his trailer – running a finger down his mask as he took in his new appearance in a large dark window.

With a mental command the mouthplate split at the middle and retracted, allowing him to study the face underneath. The reflection looking back was obscured by shadows, but Optimus himself was apparently able to make out what he needed to.

His glowing optics narrowed into a dark glare.

"Optimus~."

Putting aside whatever had been on his mind, Optimus turned to see Sari come running into the alley while carrying two large plastic bags.

"*Huff-huff* Sorry for the wait," she breathed as the 'bot knelt down in front of her.

"Have you successfully reacquired your… "grocery"?"

"The most important stuff. We can get the rest tomorrow."

"Um, sure…" Optimus replied before looking away somewhat uncomfortable. "Sari… I…" he attempted awkwardly before catching the child looking up at him with a positively mesmerized expression. "What is it?"

"What?" the child blinked, "Oh, sorry. I was just looking at your face," she answered bluntly. "Is that how you used to look?"

"Yeah. More or less."

"I like it," Sari declared with a child's honesty. "And you know, Pyro Goblin had at least one thing right; red and blue does look good on you. Not that I'm, y'know, giving that loony any credence beyond that," she trailed off.

"…"

"Optimus?" the girl attempted as the Cybertronian remained unresponsive.

"I'll help you," he said suddenly.

"What?"

"The Autobots. I'll help you find them so you can meet your friend. It's the least I can do before I leave."

"Whoah, leave? What are you talking about? You can't leave!"

"Sari, I mislead you. Lied to you. I'm no Autobot. I'm an outcast. A soldier who went AWOL long, long ago."

His head sagged and his optics looked away.

"Does… Does that mean you and Bumblebee are enemies?" Sari asked carefully.

"Yes… Maybe… I don't know," he admitted, "it's complicated."

"Well all I know is that I almost lost you today," Sari exclaimed forcefully, "And I don't want to be alone again. I'm sick and tired of being alone! And I can tell that you feel the same!"

"…"

"So please…" she continued, loosing steam, "Don't go anywhere. I don't want you to."

"Sari…"

"And you said it yourself that what you did – whatever it was – was the right thing, It was also a really, really long time ago. Who knows? Maybe things have changed."

Optimus gave a bittersweet smile as if doubting the possibility but still wanting the humor the child. Then his optics caught the AllSpark-key hanging on her chest and his expression hardened.

"It's complicated, Sari. You wouldn't understand…"

"Then EXPLAIN it to me," she huffed. "All of it – no lies this time. Can you at least do THAT before deciding on your own if it's useless or not?"

The two entered a stare down, challenging the other silently as a tense mood settled between them.

A mood that was promptly shattered as a rumbling noise echoed throughout the back alley.

«Ghrum-Blrrrr!»

"Wha, what's wrong?" Optimus asked as the girl in front of him sunk to her knees clutching her stomach. "Is your engine stalling?"

"Yeah… I never did get that Big Bot burger…" she muttered. "Look, can we do this back home? Right now I just want to get something to eat."

The girl's stomach grumbled once more in consent.

Optimus twitched and looked down at the child with a strange look before snorting good-naturedly, followed by a soft baritone chuckle.

"What?"

"Nothing, Sari, you're right," he laughed softly. "…Let's go home."

Shortly afterwards, the advanced fire truck, trailer and all, left the discreet alley and drove off – navigating through the sparse traffic of the city's older roads.

The grey clouds hanging above the city finally started crack open, giving a peak of afternoon-sunshine that sparkled across the surface of the river as Optimus drove alongside it, heading towards the old abandoned factory district.

Inside, Sari sat in the passenger seat next to her grocery bags, reclining back as she attempted to sooth her stomach as well as revel in how comfortably spacious it was compared to Optimus' previous alt-mode, kicking her legs a little for good measure.

"By the way, Sari," Optimus voice sounded from a flashing panel on his dashboard as something occurred to him, "Didn't you say earlier that you had expended your monetary resources?"

"Not to worry. I got it all covered," Sari said with a grin and fished underneath her sweater to display a brand new wallet.

"Don't tell me you stole from one of the police officers…" he asked in a flat tone.

"Oh, no-no-no. I know better than to do that… Well, now at least," she waved off. "No, my victim this time was someone entirely more deserving."


"You missed a spot." the Burger Bot robo-clerk pointed out as he supervised the young man mopping the restaurant floor.

Henry Masterson gritted his teeth and gave the robot a murderous glare over his shoulder. As he predictably received no reaction in turn, the man adjusted the orange apron and cap he was wearing and grudgingly set out to cover the gestured spot with his mop whilst muttering obscenities under his breath.


Masterson wasn't the only one in a foul mood. Even with the clean-up procedure in front of the tunnel reaching its final stages, Lt. Kelly was still stomping around glaring daggers at anything and everything that she saw – even going as far as delivering a frustrated kick to one of the Trash Bots in her path.

As her colleagues watched her be chased around by the subsequently malfunctioning drone, a tow truck made its way out of the tunnel entrance with a banged-up, yet all things considered surprisingly intact police car in tow.

As the tow truck left the crime scene behind, no one noticed the blue sparks of energy that briefly arched across the police car's body.


Epilogue:

Today the super villain Pyro Goblin – now identified as the woman Emberly Perona – was finally apprehended after an extended battle with Detroit's finest as well as the Autobot known as "Optimus".

As proven in our footage, the Autobot risked himself to not only stop the villain's reign of terror, but also in aiding our police force when they needed it – possibly saving several lives. We have been informed that all the injured officers are now in stable condition and are expected to make full recoveries.

Meanwhile, the fact that we've finally managed to catch one of the Autobots on tape has opened the proverbial can of worms as the media is all ablaze discussing these transforming metal giants. As we've yet managed to interview one, any theories and opinions regarding their extraterrestrial origins remains unanswered. Regardless, there is no longer any denying their existence or their heroic nature as they have saved our city for the second time in just as many weeks.

This is Lester Black reporting for News 44 who will continue our efforts to uncover the details regarding Detroit's new superheroes.

The following days, New Detroit was abuzz with people eagerly discussing the subject of the "heroic Autobots" as Optimus' public debut and defeat of Pyro Goblin were broadcast time and time again.

But it wasn't only the normal citizens who were glued to their screens.

At the bottom of Lake Erie, the crew of the Orion kept close attention for anything that could help their search for their wayward "ally". Likewise, sitting in his office high above the city streets in the enormous Sumdac Tower, the business tycoon Porter C. Powell pondered how he could spin this phenomenon to his own favor.

And then there was Prometheus Black whose intentions were still uncertain, thinking about how this would affect his own plans.

And eventually, the images of Optimus would be watched from even higher still…


"*Snoore* Obey, my loyal Decepticons… I am your leader… zzz… Why yes you're right, soldier… It is indeed an honor to get to polish my boots…"

«BEEP BEEP BEEP!»

"Zzzz – Hn, huh?!" Starscream exclaimed as he woke with a start. As the 'bot had been resting his weight on a propped up arm while he slept seated in Megatron's throne, the sudden movement caused his elbow to slip off the arm-rest which in turn sent the entire mech crashing forward onto the floor.

"Wha-What?! Who dares?!"

Pulling himself up from his undignified sprawl, Starscream was quickly awake and alert as he registered what had disturbed his slumber. One of the bridge's panels was now blinking with a positive reading.

"An energy-signal?" he mused out loud as he sat himself back in the throne and activated the bridge's main monitor.

The image on the screen zeroed itself in, picking one galaxy out of many, then one specific solar system and so on, finally ending on the image of a single planet in space.

"Hmm. An awfully remote sector. Still, it looks promising…" Starscream noted to himself. "Extremely promising."

A sinister smirk spread across the Decepticon's face as he watched the monitor image of the round blue Earth.


The round white moon shined upon the night sky above Blackgate Prison, a maximum-security facility meant to contain the more extreme criminals of New Detroit.

Inside a small dark room, a lone lamp hanging from the ceiling provided the only illumination as two people sat around a table facing each other.

"Fer the last time," Captain Fanzone growled whilst slamming a fist onto the table. "Who hired you to target Sumdac Systems?!"

Sitting across from him was a lanky woman wearing handcuffs and a prison uniform. She also wore a couple of band-aids on her hands and face, and one could also barely spot bandages around her neck and wrists underneath her uniform.

"My, aren't we feisty today," Pyro Goblin chuckled. The woman was absentmindedly massaging her left forearm whilst balancing her chair on its rear legs. "Under pressure from the higher officials? Heh, I almost feel responsible."

Fanzone moved as if he wanted to lean over the table and throttle the villain, but froze in his tracks and settled back down in his chair ever so gingerly, glaring holes in the woman.

"Aw, don't look at me like that, Captain. People might start getting ideas. And while I appreciate your rugged charms, I…" she paused for effect, "have a different flame in my life!"

Fanzone's eyebrow twitched violently as Pyro Goblin clasped her hands and looked away, playing the part of a lovesick teen – sparkles in her eyes and everything.

"Well didn't I dodge a bullet…" Fanzone muttered before speaking up with clenched teeth, "Look. Personally I'd be happy to see you rot in prison, but the DA's office is willing to offer leniency regarding your sentence – if you just Give. Us. A. Name."

Pyro Goblin let out an amused hum.

"I see. The good Mister Powell is certainly exerting his influence, huh? Nevertheless, I have nothing to say to plebeians who won't appreciate my artistry, so they can take their offer and be gone. Be gone I say," she huffed, snootily waving away an imaginary crowd.

Fanzone's right eye twitched once more in frustration.

"Is that all you've got to say?" he asked dangerously.

The woman made a show of rubbing her chin in thought while she looked at him.

"Hmm, there is one thing…" she began, leaning forward over the table in a conspiratorial manner. "That pillow you're sitting on looks pretty comfy. Is it actual feathers or synthetic?"

"THAT'S IT!" Fanzone roared, jumping to his feet before instantly regretting it. The man leaned on the table as he rubbed his sore posterior with the other arm. "Guards! Take her back to her cell!"

Immediately, two prison guards entered the interrogation room and hauled Pyro Goblin to her feet, securing her from each side. A slightly comical sight as due to no longer standing hunched forward thanks to her absent fuel-hunchback, she towered over both of them.

"I hope you like yer fire-proof cell," Fanzone tossed as he collected the large pillow on his chair. "Specially designed to ensure a loony like you won't get any opportunity to practice her "artwork" anytime soon."

Pyro Goblin looked back over her shoulder as she was led out of the room.

"Well, you know how it is, Captain. Genius is never recognized in its own time."

A short while later, Pyro Goblin was led down a long high-security passageway. Blaring klaxons signified the opening and shutting of thick enforced doors as they went along, making their steady journey towards the prison cells.

"Stop fidgeting!" one of the guards suddenly barked as he tightened his grip around the arm he was holding.

"Oh lighten up," Pyro Goblin responded as she kept rubbing her forearm. "I just got a tattoo so I can't help that my arm's a little tender. See?"

Pulling back the sleeve, the woman held up her arm to display a tattooed illustration between her bandages, located on the inside of her left forearm.

"…I don't get it," the other guard stated. "What's it supposed to be?"

Pyro Goblin let slip a soft, melodious chuckle.

"Flames are art and poetry in motion in one." she hummed to herself. "But an important factor of all art is the choice of canvas."

The two guards looked at one another in confusion as the woman continued humming in her childishly playful tone.

"And this," she added with a gleam in her eyes, "has the potential to become my greatest masterpiece yet."

On her forearm was a colorful and stylized tattoo of Optimus' masked face in the process of being devoured by vicious flames.

END CHAPTER 12


Author's notes:

Aaand we're done.

This storyline took a few chapters more than I planned, but when it came down to it I didn't want to skimp out on the fight-scenes. On that note, I would like to know how you felt about them, especially considering future Decepticon-encounters.

And dang it, Kelly. I originally wanted to avoid making her the butt of too many jokes like her RID-counterpart – as in Animated that's one of Fanzone's roles – but she's just so much fun to mess with. To anyone concerned though, she and Lander will mostly serve as Fanzone's supporting cast (something I felt he could need) with the exception of certain minor storylines I have planned which were the main reason I needed characters like them in the first place.

Anyway, exams and similar stuff are approaching so I have no real perspective over when I'll be able to put up another chapter. However, I'll try my best to ensure it won't take another half-a-year like it did between chapter 10 and 11.

I might not succeed, mind you, but the important thing is that I'll try.

Next time:

The Autobots butt heads with Optimus. Meanwhile, Starscream arrives to Earth.