Outside Alamo Nevada…
A white race car with blue trim and red 38s on the side sped down the highway. It was Smokescreen. Really, who else? Could it be?
"Energon signal's gettin' stronger." Smokescreen said over his communicator. "About five clicks due north."
"Smokescreen, you're going too fast. If you get pulled over for going over the speed limit, who knows what'll happen?" Bumblebee buzzed.
Smokescreen, full of himself, had this to say to 'Bee: "What do you mean, speed limit?" He asked. "I have a gauge in here that goes to 150. If the humans who designed my vehicle form didn't want it to go that fast they shouldn't have given me the option." Smokescreen sped up. Ignoring the fact that he was heading right for an RV. And not just any RV. The Rust Bucket 2.
Max saw the race car heading for him. He honked the horn. When the race car saw the Rust Bucket, it was too late to turn. Both Max, and the car's driver slammed on the breaks at the same time. The race car skidded in circles, while the Rust Bucket rolled off the side and of the road. Max was okay, as was the interior, but the body work on his mobile home would have to be redone.
Max unbuckled and grabbed a blaster from the glove compartment. He got out using one of the emergency exits. That was in the roof. He walked over to the car that had caused him to flip over.
"Hey, Indy 500!" Max yelled. He was uncharacteristically mad. "When I'm through with you, you're gonna need more than a pit crew to put you back together!" Max aimed the blaster at the race car and prepared to fire.
The car transformed into the Autobot Smooksecreen. Smokescreen bent down to Max's eye level. "Bring it!"
Max was unable to comprehend how one of Prime's men could be so reckless.
"Who's the tough guy now, huh?"
Max fired a bolt from his blaster above Smokescreen's head.
"Still me, punk." Max took aim at Smokescreen's head.
Bumblebee honked his horn as he drove to try to get Max to not kill smokescreen, or the other way around.
Bumblebee transformed into his robot mode. "Smokescreen, that's Max, Jack's grandfather." Bumblebee whired. "Sorry about him Max. I did try to warn him."
"Relax, Bumblebee." An overly relaxed Smokescreen said. "I'm just messin' around."
"Yeah, well, you're messing around could've gotten me killed!" Max shouted. "Smokescreen, stay here, if that's possible for you. Bumblebee, we're heading to the base. Prime's gonna want to know about this."
Later…
Jack was at the base when his grandfather arrived in Bumblebee's vehicle mode. The wrecked Rust Bucket 2 was brought there as well by a recently recovered Bulkhead. Smokescreen was getting his ass chewed out by several of the members of the team. Max had left earlier with June, who came to pick up her dad to take him to get some X-rays to see if anything was broken.
"Smokescreen, what the hell?!" Jack yelled after hearing what had happened. "My grandpa would have died and you say you were messing around?"
"In my defense, he didn't."
"Yeah, and in my defence, when I beat the crap out of you as Four Arms, I won't get in trouble when you bleed out, cursing your mother for the day of your birth, and when your final breaths leave your mouth, you will regret the day you crossed the wrong Jack."
"At least it was Max who saw him and not someone who we don't know." Bumblebee whirred.
Since Jack was done with his anger that he had directed toward Smokescreen, it was now Ratchet's turn. "Is this what you learned while serving Alpha Trion?!" Ratchet yelled. "I highly doubt that he would have condoned such irresponsible behavior."
"Remember day one, blowing your cover is not okay." Arcee berated. "And and if that's bad, then almost getting a human killed is worse."
"Sorry, guys." Smokescreen admitted. "I know I really messed up."
Jack turned into Heatblast. "Like hell you do!" He flung a fireball at Smokescreen's back. "You f-ed up."
"While Jack, Ratchet, and Arcee are correct," Optimus said. The stoic leader of the autobots got between Heatblast and Smokescreen. "I believe that we are all equally responsible for this incident, including you Jackson."
"Us?" Arcee was mad.
"How?" Asked Ratchet.
"Why lump me with the bane of my existence?" Heatblast asked.
"We weren't even there." Bulkhead buzzed. "Well, 'bee was."
"Oi!" Bumblebee elbowed the large green Autobot.
"Optimus, you have three seconds to explain yourself." Heatblast charge up a fireball and looked at Smokescreen.
"Seeing as our most recent efforts have been so intensely focused on averting crises that we have overlooked simple matters, such as teaching Smokescreen how to best function on this planet." Optimus explained. "It is an oversight that must be corrected."
Being a kiss ass, Smokescreen had this to say."Optimus, I'm honored to train under you and will do whatever it takes to make things right, to make you proud."
"Perhaps the best way for you to learn about the human world - is from a human." Optimus said.
Arcee didn't know what to think of what Optimus said. "Smokescreen gets his own partner?"
"Pah-lease!" Ratchet said. This next line lead to the greatest reaction shot I've ever seen. "Isn't having three humans here enough?" Everybody looked at Ratchet like he just said Hitler was alright. However, nobody mentioned the fact that Gwen, Kevin, and possibly Wash also know about the autobots.
"I was referring to one already among us." Optimus explained, motioning to Jack.
"Um sure, Optimus. Um, robots in disguise, traffic laws, don't beat down non super powered humans, I can bring Smokescreen up to speed. And if I can't, there's always plan B." Jack said, not wanting to disappoint Optimus.
"We've all put in curbside duty." Bulkhead explained. "It's part of the gig."
Jack climbed down a ladder. When he got to the ground, Smokescreen spoke to him. "Then let's go for a drive, teach."
Jack got in Smokescreen's vehicle mode before he drove out of the base.
"Optimus, with all due respect, Jack is the worst choice to partner with Smokescreen."
"How so Arcee?"
"They're polar opposites. Jack is mostly calm and collected, only charging in head first when he absolutely needs to." Arcee explained. "Whereas smokescreen always charges in head first."
"I do not see your point Arcee.",Optimus said.
"How many pictures of Jack has Raf had to scrub from the Internet? None. Meanwhile, Smokescreen, in all his wisdom, chooses a vehicle mode with screaming double "38s" on the doors, making him an easy target. He's gonna be the death of at least one of us. I just know it. Omnitrix or not, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't more than concerned about Jack's safety."
"Nonetheless, the fact remains that our new recruit is in need of instruction. I believe that Smokescreen's spark is in the right place and that he now understands the necessity of protecting humanity."
Alamo, Nevada…
Smokescreen's vehicle mode came to a stop light. Jack to this time to quiz him. "Let's review." Jack began. "Light's green?"
"Green for go." Smokescreen responded.
"And yellow?"
"Go faster!" Smokescreen sped up.
"Whoa, whoa! Smokescreen!" Jack panicked. He wants to activate the Omnitrix, but he was holding on the the steering wheel.
When the next stoplight turned red, Smokescreen hit the brakes. "Ha ha ha! Just messin' around!" Laughed Smokescreen.
"Oh ha ha." Jack sarcastically chuckled. Jack heard the engine of a car whose driver he'd rather not anger. "Uh-oh." Jack tried to hide.
"What is it?" Smokescreen asked. "Cons? Alien?"
Jack rolled up the window. "Just someone from school I'd rather not talk to."
The car's driver saw the top of Jack's hair.
"Drive!" Jack ordered.
"Red light, teach. No can do." A hamburger was thrown at Smokescreen's window. "Seriously?"
"Just let it go." Jack said.
The light turned green. "Are you kiddin' me?" Smokescreen said after he started driving again. "Where's your self-respect? We gotta stand up for ourselves.
"We also have to follow Optimus' rule."
"It's not just about protecting humans you can't harm them, either, even though we make exceptions here and there." Jack explained.
Smokescreen just found a loophole. "Who said anything about harming?"
Back at the base…
Jack and Smokescreen were laughing as Smokescreen drove into the base. Jack got out Smokescreen before he transformed.
"I am so posting this tonight."
"Arcee! Arcee, check out Miles' car!" Jack wanted to show Arcee what he and Smokescreen did.
"The beta bully?" She saw the photograph, which was a black muscle car that had hot rod flame details, however, the car was covered in fast food items.
"Hey, Miles, did you want fries with that?" Jack and Smokescreen continued to laugh. "Or maybe an ice cream cone?"
"Let me get this straight." Arcee was disappointed with what Jack did. "So you taught Smokescreen everything he never needed to know about fast food?"
"He passed driver's ed." Jack said. "Work hard, play hard."
"Uh, yeah. No humans were harmed in the making of these photos. Honest." Smokescreen walked off.
The Nemesis…
Soundwave had just accomplished something important.
Megatron looked at the screen that was Soundwave's face. "You have decoded the next Iacon coordinates? Excellent, Soundwave!" Megatron held what resembled on of the relic containers. "Then it is time to beta test our decoy."
Back at Autobot outpost omega-1…
Optimus was hard at,work decoding the Iacon archives. "I am nearly finished decoding the next Iacon coordinates."
The autobots' scanners detected something. "You may not need to complete your task, Optimus..
Optimus looked at the screen. "An Iacon-locator beacon."
"It seems the Decepticons have already excavated the next relic."
"Ratchet, triangulate coordinates and activate the ground bridge." Optimus commanded.
Ratchet went over to the vp ground bridge control panel. He put the coordinates in and pulled a lever. The ground bridge vortex opened. Arcee, bulkhead, and Bumblebee joined him
"Bring on the Cons!" Bulkhead pound his fist together.
Optimus noticed that one of the autobots wasn't here. "Where is Smokescreen?"
"Out training again with Jack."
Optimus thought this over. "We cannot wait. Autobots, transform and roll out!" The autobots drove through the ground bridge.
At the location of the relic…
As the Decepticons searched for anything of value, they moved massive chucks of rock, which w
Is what the insecticons moved. After mining for quite some time, the deception miners had made s discovery.
One of the miners found something buried. "Lord Megatron!"
"I certainly hope that our new acquisition is of Decepticon origin." Megatron saw what his underling had found. It was a sword that was stuck in the rock. He was both horrified and surprised. "It cannot be. Power of this magnitude must never be allowed to fall into the hands of Optimus Prime, no matter what." Megatron approached the handle of the sword and tried to pull it out. "Come out!" Megatron grunted as he tried with all his might to removed the sword." Enraged, he plaster the rock with his fusion cannon, which threw up a lot of dust. When the dust cleared, Megatron found that them sword and the rock it was in was undamaged. "Huh? The rock is impermeable!" Eg strong came to a realization. "The relic is emanating a protective shield! It will only respond to the power of a Prime. We will remove it if we have to take the entire mountain!"
Back at Autobot outpost omega-1…
Ratchet picked up another signal. He tried to contact Optimus.
"Optimus, I just picked up a second Iacon-locator beacon." He didn't make contact. "Optimus, do you read?"
At the location of the 'relic'...
"No sign of Cons." Sighed a disappointed Bulkhead.
Arcee looked at a scanner that was supposed to help the, find the relic.
Above them flew Soundwave, who was projecting the Dummy Iacon locator beacon, as well as a jamming field that made contact to and from the autobots below impossible.
Back at Autobot outpost omega-1…
Smokescreen came soaring into the base. He came to a stop, opened up his cars and transformed. They were laughing.
Jack to a break from laughing to say something. "Oh, dude! My old boss is gonna freak!"
"That thing we stuffed in his tailpipe what's it called again?" Asked the juvenile delinquent Autobot.
Jack and Smokescreen,said,the same thing. "Pizza!" They continued to laugh.
Ratchet wasn't in the mood for humor. "Will you two keep it down?" He wanted silence. "Arcee? Bulkhead? Can anyone hear me?" He asked.
"Ratchet, what's going on?" Asked Jack.
Our sensors detected a second Iacon-locator beacon, but I can't reach Optimus." Explained ratchet.
"I'll go." Smokescreen volunteered.
"Alone?"
"You have a better option?"
Ratchet didn't have time to argue, so he just said: "Fine." He rushed over to the ground bridge controls and opened up the ground bridge.
"He says 'fine' but I don't think he really wants me to go alone." Smokescreen said.
At the location of the relic…
The ground bridge portal opened and out stepped Jack and Smokescreen.
"I just pulled a 'Miko'." Jack face palmed.
"Let's go grab a relic."
Jack and Smokescreen ran up to a collection of rocks that allowed them to see what the decepticons were digging up. "Whoa! It's a sword!
"Not just any sword. That looks like the Star Saber, a legendary weapon forged by Solus Prime, as lore would have it." Smokescreen said. "It's rumored to wield the power of the Matrix."
"I'm gonna make Optimus proud."
Jack saw the Decepticon Tyrant. "Not a good idea."
"And why's that?" Smokescreen asked.
"Because Megatron's here." Was Jack's reply.
"The Dark Lord himself." Smokescreen thought up a plan. "He won't know what hit him." Smokescreen was about to attack.
"I'd call him the less scary cybertronian Vilga- Smokescreen, wait. Something isn't right."
"And what's that?"
"It's kinda like how Vilgax tried to take the Omnitrix from me, basicly, why doesn't Megatron just take the Star Saber?"
"Germaphobe?"
"Be serious, it's more like he can't move it. We need to wait for backup." Jack said. He selected one of his aliens to use. He was going for Jackwolf, but got Grey Matter. "Aw man!"
"You heard Ratchet." Smokescreen picked up Grey Matter. "Backup's not available right now." Smokescreen jumped out from his cover with the Galvan in his hand.
"Enough!" Megatron shouted as miners and insecticons worked overtime to remove as much rock as they could. "Commence transport!" A single cable came down from the Nemesis and attached itself to the boulder. Energy bolts were being fired at the decepticon mining operation. Megatron was unaware of who Smokescreen was. He was avoiding the blaster fire from the decepticons, and taking a few more of them out with his own blaster. "Who in the pits of Kaon is that?" Megatron demanded to know after seeing this new Autobots.
Smokescreen got up to the Star Saber and grabbed it. He tried to pull it out. "Scrap! It's really in there tight." Unknown to him, Grey Matter crawled out of his hand and onto the rock. Smokescreen was shot in the back.
"Scrap! What do I do? What do I do?" Grey Matter panicked. "I got it! Since I wield the Omnimatrix, I should be able to do this." He touched the Star Saber, causing it to glow very faintly green. The sword shrunk to a size of about ten inches, which allowed Grey Matter to easily pick it up. Grey Matter saw the decepticons surrounding Smokescreen. "No! No, this can't be happening!" He got his cellphone out of his pocket, since strangely, it shrunk with him. He dialed the base. "Ratchet, you gotta get Optimus here now." Grey Matter panicked. "Smokescreen went for the relic he took me with him and I'm Grey Matter right now and I have the relic in my hands. I-it's called the "Star Saber."
"Where in the name of Cybertron are you? And did you say "Star Sab-? Oh, my." Ratchet realized what Jack and Smokescreen had found.
"Jack!" Ratchet hung up. The Omnitrix dial on Grey Matter's back blinked red. "Oh no! Not now!" Grey Matter was turned back into Jack. The Star Saber went from being a ten inches to about eight feet, which Jack could hold like it was foam and plastic.
Back at the base…
Ratchet had to get the autobots to Jack's location. "Optimus, please respond!" Again, he got no reply. "I can see that you're alive, Optimus. Why won't you answer me?"
At the location of the 'relic'...
Arcee was beginning to lose her patience with the scanner. "Every time we get close to the beacon, the signal moves."
Bulkhead was hoping for a fight. "All this legwork is giving me itchy fists!"
Optimus was humble enough to admit defeat. "It seems we have been led astray by a Decepticon trick."
A ground bridge opened Ratchet ran out of it.
"We have a situation." The medic said.
Back at the site of the Star Saber…
Megatron looked over at the Star Saber to see if it was still there, only to find that it was missing. "Where did it go?!" Megatron demanded to know. "Bring him to me." He ordered. The Vehicons brought over the half conscious Smokescreen. "What is your name, Autobot?" Megatron asked.
"Why? Who wants to know?"
"Smokescreen!" Jack shouted. "I got it!"
"What?! Impossible!" Megatron turned his attention to Jack, who held the Star Saber. "Only a Prime could wield its power. No matter, when I'm finished with you, the Decepticons will have both the Star Saber and the Omnitrix."
"Good luck buckethead." A bolt of green energy went from the Star Saber to the Omnitrix, instantly recharging it. Jack activated the Omnitrix and selected Heatblast. He transformed and got what he wanted. And keeping up with the theme of the Star Saber changing to match Jack's form, the blade turned into flaming metal. Heatblast saw the change to the Star Saber and smiled. "Ah yeah. I'm all fired up!" He charged at the decepticons, slicing them apart with his flaming blade. He then twirled around and unleashed a massive slash which just a apart and melted the vehicons that tried to get him.
Several insecticons surrounded Heatblast. He jumped and projected himself onto one of them. Jack stabbed the insecticon's jugular, causing it to die of of both Energon loss and third degree burns. As another insecticon approached the dying bug beetle, Heatblast took the star saber and threw it into its face, piecing its processor, killing it instantly. He the. Jumped over to that insecticon and grabbed the star saber. He then jumped to another one.
While Heatblast was preoccupied with fighting the decepticons. Megatron fired at him and tried to get him off of his soldiers, but that wasn't going to happen. Heatblast used his small stature to his advantage. Megatron had a hard time hitting him, meaning that most of his shots either missed, or hit the insecticon.
Megatron gave up trying to shoot they Pyronite.
"Lord Megatron, shall we stop moving the rock that the Star Saber was stuck in?" Asked a vehicons miner.
"No. We might have a use for it."
The Omnitrix timed out, reverting Heatblast back into Jack. Seeing the being that had killed three of their brethren reverted into a human. The insecticons attacked Jack. Jack ran, the adrenaline in his system allowing him to run faster than normal. Jack saw that the Omnitrix had recharged. He placed the star saber on his back before activating the Omnitrix and turning into XLR8. The star saber once again changed as well, going from a broadsword to a slightly oversized dagger. XLR8 dashed ahead of the Insecticons, then came zooming back. He held the Star Dagger to his left as he ran around one of the insecticons. When he stopped on his shoulder. The insecticon seemed alright, but when it tried to move, it fell apart into a pile of Energon and bits of metal. While XLR8 admired his handiwork, one of the insecticons that was still alive slapped him and sent him flying against a rock wall. XLR8 was knocked unconscious. He was reverted back to being Jack. Jack regained consciousness and managed to drag himself to a small cave, where he collapsed.
"Now, where were we?" Asked Megatron. He pointed his fusion cannon at Smokescreen.
Megatron heard blasters firing. He looked to see Bumblebee and Bulkhead charging at him
"Where's Optimus?!" Megatron panicked. Megatron then looked to see Optimus running in the direction that Heatblast had gone.
Optimus ran through ranks of Decepticons, ranking, blasting, or cutting through any and all Decepticons that got in his way.
"Keep Prime from the relic!" Megatron ordered as he and several jet vehicons took flight and pursued Optimus.
Smokescreen deployed his plaster and got ready to shoot down a few of the vehicons, but he didn't when he neared a plaster charge up that sound like it was very close. He turned to see a vehicons with a boater pointed to his head.
Before the vehicons could pull the metaphorical trigger, it was shot and killed by Bulkhead.
"I got your back." Bulkhead said, repaying him for the backup the rookie gave him back when Cylas showed up.
Arcee looked to see Optimus fighting off a couple insecticons that had been trying to tear open a rock.
They were trying to get to Jack. The thing is, Jack was in the middle of something right about now.
He was seeing only a blinding white light all around him. When it faded, he saw a Cybertronian that looked very ancient. "Jackson Tennyson, bearer of the Omnitrix."
"That's me, I think." Jack was unsure of what to make of this guy. He tried to activate the Omnitrix, only to find that something very wrong was happening to it. It was shifting its appearance. It randomly changed from looking like the Ultimatrix that his fire self wore, its current appearance, its original appearance from when he first found, and then finally to a white watch with a square shaped black faceplate with a green X. "Okay. This is pretty weird. Where am I? And who are you?"
"I am Alpha Trion, and as to where you are, that is not a question I can answer Jackson, for this is not a place, merely a plane of existence."
"Okay Alpha Trion, why am I here?"
"To receive a warning. The road ahead will be a turbulent one. It will be either you or Optimus that will decide the fate of the not only the earth, but that of Cybertron in the near future. But before that, you will have to advert a greater crisis. The destruction of the universe itself."
"What?!" Jack panicked.
"Do not worry young hero, the crisis may not be looming upon you for many years. And before I send your spirit back to the physical universe, give the Star Saber to Optimus. In his hands, he will use it to defeat the Decepticons."
Jack awoke. He found that all his wounds had healed. He looked up to see Arcee stabbing her blade into the visor of one of the Insecticons.
"Arcee!"
"What could you possible have been thinking?!" She furiously asked.
Jack guiltily sighed. "I wasn't. Where's Optimus?" Jack asked.
"Jackson, you need something?" Optimus asked as he fired at Megatron's vehicle mode.
"Catch!" Jack threw Optimus the Star Saber.
When the last of the Primes caught the weapon, it emitted a blue glow. It grew to its original size.
Megatron saw this from the air and flew back to the nemesis.
"Drop the mountain on them!" Megaton ordered. When he got to the command bridge. The trapping hook that had the were, very large boulder up detached, causing the rock to fall. It landed about nineteen hundred feet ahead the autobots, and was rolling towards them. Optimus for some reason had his back turned to the boulder.
"Optimus, retreat!" Arcee screamed as she grabbed Jack and ran for the massive rock.
"Now!" Bulkhead shouted as he and the others did the same.
Optimus turned right before the Boulder got to him. He swung the sword up, cutting the mountain sized rock in half. Both halves stopped rolling, which prevented the Autobots from getting crushed.
"Did he just?" Asked a dumbfounded Bulkhead.
"He did." Whirred Bumblebee.
"No way." Jack said. In his mind, he saw Optimus as the only one who couldn't be beaten. Even Vilgax would have a hard time pulling that off.
In the nemesis, Megatron had the greatest solo reaction face ever.
Optimus ran up. He spun around, building up energy. The Star Saber unleashed a massive wave of energy that hit the retreating Nemesis.
"It can do that?" Asked smokescreen.
"You're still asking questions?" Jack said.
The nemesis almost crashed, but pulled up just in time.
"We Decepticons now face our darkest hour." Megatron said.
Back at Autobot outpost omega-1…
"How epic was that?!" Asked an excited smokescreen as he and the others entered a ground bridge. "I-I saw it with my own optics." He imitated what Optimus did. "But I still don't believe it."
"You know what I don't believe?" Asked a furious Arcee. "That after everything you've been told, you still put a human at risk."
"A-Arcee, it wasn't his fault. It was kinda mine. I shouldn't have g-"
"Don't you even start with me! We'll talk tomorrow!" Arcee snapped. "Send Jack home."
Ratchet did as Arcee told him to do. A ground bridge opened.
"Green for go." Smokescreen said to Jack before he entered the ground bridge.
Jack then got a phone call. He answered was from his grandfather.
"Jack, it's Animo. He's escaped. I'll stop by your house to pick you up."
"Okay grandpa." Jack hung up. "Off to go fight Animo, again."
When Jack walked to the vortex, he vanished. The portal shut off after that.
"We've been in need of another Autobot in our ranks, not another child."
"Look, Arcee, I was wrong, and I'm sorry again. And if you need to kick me off team Prime
"Disregard for human safety" Optimus placed the blade of the star saber into the floor of the base. "or anyone's safety will not be tolerated. Do you understand?"
"Fully, sir."
"We must never lose sight of the fact that upon this Earth, we are titans," Yeah, prepare,to downgraded to slightly above average status Optimus. "and such power must be used wisely." The star saber started to flow blue. Optimus held up the star saber, his face level to the hilt.
"Whoa!" Bulkhead didn't know what was going on.
Neither did Ratchet. "Optimus, speak to me! Optimus!"
"I am receiving a message."
"From who?"
Optimus paused for a bit. "Alpha Trion."
Years later, again...
The Storyteller from an earlier chapter continued telling the group of children the stories he had found that were about Jack Tennyson.
"What people forget is that Jack was made an honorary prime by Optimus when he gave Jack the Key to Vector Sigma. But the ignorance of both the Autobots and Decepticons could be overlooked mainly due to that being a tiny detail that neither side thought would be important." The Storyteller explained.
One of the children, an alien known as a Revonnahgander spoke up. "Storyteller, did you ever meet Jack 10?" He asked.
"Well young one, as a matter of fact, I did. However, at the time I had no idea that I was in the presence of a legend."
"What did you and Jack do?" A cybertronian child asked. "Did you help him beat Vilgax?"
"Not exactly, he and I had a rather underwhelming encounter. You see, I was imprisoned in a place known as incarceron. Not because I committed a crime, but because I annoyed emperor Mileus. He and a few of his allies were traveling to find the creator of the Omnitrix and just happened to stop by where I was kept captive. And as to why he was looking for the Omnitrix's maker, well, that is a story for another day."
Chapter end.