Chapter 26-War Dawn
Megatron held a shard of Ore-13 energon in his hand with a scowl on his face. The magenta colored energon was warm in his palm, but that warmth died when he crushed the shard in his hand.
"Are you telling me that you seeded twelve other worlds with energon just like Terra," Megatron growled at his one eyed scientist. "Without informing me?"
Shockwave, who had been silent following his explanation to the nature of his Regenesis Plan, nodded. "Yes, Lord Megatron. The existence of the energon on this world and others is due to an ore I created and sent here at random about four million years ago."
"Ore-13." Nightshade said.
"Yes, one of thirteen ores I sent out into the cosmos. So far, this energon is the only one f the thirteen to have stabilized." Shockwave said, his tone not changing one bit. "It was to see other worlds with energon so our energy crisis could be solved."
"And you didn't think to tell me about this? Your leader? Your king!" Megatron shouted in Shockwave's face. The scientist didn't even flinch from Megatron's burning glare.
"If I did, would you have listened?" Shockwave asked.
His question made both Megatron and Nightshade pause.
"Would either of you have listened, have spent more than two nano-kliks from your war games to even consider the possible salvation of our species?" He went on. "Would you have listened to me like you have listened to Thunderwing?"
"You're out of line, Shockwave. Thunderwing was suggesting untested body modifications with organic matter. You didn't even try to inform us of your plan." Nightshade said.
"As I recall, Thunderwing had went to great effort to inform every one of the declining health of our planet, and the depletion of energy, caused in part by our abuse of the Underbase stream." Shockwave replied. "No one listened, and here we are. You two would have half-listened to my proposal before shuffling me on to some military project while you two forget about it entirely. I simply made the logical choice—"
Megatron's fist slammed into the wall near Shockwave's head and the warlord nearly headbutted the scientist in his rage.
"Don't talk to me like your half-wit subordinates!" He shouted. "You do not take action behind my back Shockwave. Not now, not ever! Do you understand?"
"Yes, Lord Megatron, I understand." Shockwave said, bowing his head. "My apologies for the secrecy."
Megatron knew better than to trust Shockwave's word—or his loyalty—at face value. But still, he needed Shockwave's skills, and so he let him off with a warning.
"This discussion is over." Megatron said, pushing Shockwave aside to walk to the door. "Continue repairs on your ship and—"
"Forgive me, my lord, but that is not all I have to report."
Megatron sighed and turned back around to glare at Shockwave. "My patience is thinner than Starscream's common sense, Shockwave. What is it now? Did you find a way to create clones from Predacon fossils or something?"
'That sounds like an interesting idea.' Shockwave thought. "No, my lord, but I have been working on a project that might give us an edge in this war."
"That's easy to say, harder to do." Nightshade said. "What is it?"
Shockwave turned his single yellow eye onto her. "Why, a portable space bridge of course."
XXXXXX
Justine's brow furrowed as she tried to change the huge mass of water floating before her into a block of ice. It required a bit too much concentration just to keep this amount of water aloft, and trying to freeze it nearly made her lose control of it.
"You look like you're having a fun time."
Justine screamed and lost her control of the water, letting it fall back into the lake with a big splash. Justine managed to keep herself from getting wet and spun around to glare at a grinning Brianna.
"Brianna, don't scare me like that! You know how volatile my powers are. I could have hurt you!" Justine admonished. Brianna chuckled and walked over to Justine.
"Don't worry, Justine. I'm made of sterner stuff." She said and looked at the lake. "I take it you're doing some solo practicing?"
"Yes. Darren hasn't been able to come to our sessions lately because of some family issues, so he just leaves me set goals to accomplish on my own time. I still practice whenever I can, even at…home." Justine hesitated to call that dirty old house she slowly began to loathe a home when it felt nothing like it. "I've been doing wonderful in my training, but lately I've gotten stuck with things like freezing water in midair."
"Only you would consider that to be difficult, but not holding thousands of gallons of water aloft in the air like it's a feather." Brianna said. Justine blushed and looked away.
"I just have a lot of raw power to burn, that's all." She mumbled.
Brianna smiled at the girl. Just a few months ago the girl was absolutely terrified of her powers. Now she was lifting boulders and large quantities of water with little effort and reconstructing entire car engines (she had no idea where Darren got it from) from memory. Justine looked a bit healthier too, and didn't walk around with a slouch anymore. She still wilted a bit under the whispers and teasing from the other girls, but there was something else in her expression as well. A growing urge to tell her bullies off. Brianna just hoped she didn't start throwing punches.
"Freezing water shouldn't be too hard for someone as powerful as you." Brianna said. "What's the problem?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'm trying to do too much at the same time." Justine sighed. "Darren can freeze water in the blink of an eye and even more!"
"Darren's a pro at this who's been practicing since he was a wee tyke. You're still a bit of a novice at this Justine." Brianna said and stepped closer to her. "But I think your problem is that you're trying too hard. You're forcing it to change instead of just letting it flow. Come on, try again."
Justine nodded and focused on the lake again, compressing and levitating hundreds of gallons of water in one giant orb that slowly lifted into the air. She was about to ask Brianna what to do next when she felt a pair of hands rest on her shoulders and start to rub them.
"Just relax and let it flow. Don't try to force it." Brianna whispered into her ear. Justine's heart picked up in pace and she felt a blush form on her cheeks. "Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and let it happen."
Trying to calm herself, and failing miserably at it, Justine followed Brianna's instructions. She raised her hands and clenched her fingers, visualizing the water molecules slowing down and the liquid freezing over. Opening her eyes, Justine smiled as she saw the water slowly turning into ice at her command, its ripples freezing over until a giant block of ice was hovering above the lake.
"There you go!" Brianna said softly, smiling down at her. "You've got it. See, I told you it would work."
Justine smiled and leaned back into Brianna's touch, letting the warm feeling in her chest grow. With a wave of her arms she turned the ice back into water and let it fall back into the lake. This time, Justine didn't care about getting wet from the spray of water in her lovesick daze.
XXXXXX
'It's not a date. It's not a date. It's not a date.'
Annie chanted this to herself as she and Brittany sat at a table in the back of a café that she sometimes went to afterschool. It was quiet, there were never too many people there, and the atmosphere was nice a calm. Perfect for a regular outing between two girls…who were friends.
Still, for all her internal denials of this being a date, the two girls were rather dressed up for what was supposed to be just them hanging out. Brittany wore a pink dress with her long hair held back with a white headband, and Annie was rocking black jeans, a sleeveless gray blouse and a matching jacket (a necessity to ensure her bones didn't rip through her clothes again.
The two had garnered quite a few stares on their walk to the café. A girl covered in spotted fur and her partner who had bony spikes sticking out of her head. They were a curious sight to see. At least no one gave them shit for it…yet.
"I had no idea you went to a place like this." Brittany said.
"Why are you so surprised?" Annie asked grinning.
"Because I was expecting you to take me to someplace loud, like a music store or something?"
"Not on a first date." Annie snorted. She blushed furiously at her wording and tried to correct herself. "I mean…not a date-date! Just…"
"Annie," Brittany placed her soft hand over Annie's right one. "It's a date."
Annie blushed, but still held Brittany's hand, secretly enjoying the feeling of her soft fur.
Brittany glanced at Annie's missing arm, still in the process of regrowing slowly. "So you're going to have your arm back soon."
"Yeah, Ratchet said that it's a side effect of my powers. Growing bones continuously from my skin causes wounds, so my body heals them to keep myself from bleeding out." Annie said. "He thinks that it's possible that I can heal from basically anything."
"That's awesome. In a few more days you'll be back to normal."
Annie nodded. "Yup. At least…what counts as normal for us."
Brittany rubbed a clawed thumb over the small bony plates growing out of Annie's knuckles. She didn't ask, but she had a feeling that having those bones slowly grow through her skin hurt Annie every time. Even now Brittany still had no idea how to return to looking like a regular human, not that she minded. She was taller, stronger, looked prettier than most of the other girls in her class. She felt powerful, and her abilities made her feel…more confident in herself in a way. And the not so discreet looks Annie were throwing her way was a plus too.
"So how are things going for you?" Annie asked. "You haven't had any problems with anybody, have you?"
"No, aside from the occasional whispers and thinly veiled insults, no one's bothered me." she said. Annie smirked.
"Of course not. No one would screw with a girl sporting teeth and claws that can rip through flesh like scissors through paper." She said and took a bite of her sandwich. "Those HF douchebags like to talk shit, but after Crane got snuffed out those cowards are running around like headless chickens."
"But Annie, what about that registration law?" Brittany asked. "I heard more and more people are pushing for the law to be passed."
Annie frowned, having also heard about that. Senator Cordell was trying to pass an esper registration bill that would force espers to register with the government, no matter their age. So far, espers could willingly register, but the bill made it mandatory, meaning that espers who didn't register could be arrested. President Flagg refused the proposal on the grounds of it being unconstitutional, but with people like the Iceron couple of DNAgent supporting the bill, it seemed like it would become a reality more and more every day.
"Don't worry about that, Brit. The president's a hard ass who won't see that trash bill passed. It'll cause too many problems for him." Annie said.
"I guess…" Brittany said, still a bit unsure.
"Come on, finished up so we can hit the mall. I think some tunes might…."
Annie trailed off as she and Brittany saw a crowd of people passing by the window. They shared a look and quickly got up for a closer look. Heading outside, they saw a large crowd forming in front of Tranquility's town hall.
"What's going on?" Brittany asked.
"It's a protest." Annie said grimly.
So much for having a nice, calm day out with a friend.
XXXXXX
The device in Shockwave's hands was a long, high tech pillar with a dark red power core in the center of a metal cylinder. Megatron didn't know what it was, but clearly to Shockwave it was of great importance.
"I take it you've heard of the incident with the Order and their attempts to subvert us?" Shockwave asked.
"Of course. That witch Ember cost us both Monstructor and Sixshot." Megatron said angrily. He still had dreams of ripping that harlot to pieces with his bare hands, but apparently the Autobots stole even that victory from him at their prison planet, Garrus-9.
"I studied the technology used by the scientist, Kopesh. He had invented many interesting devices. A phase displacement gauntlet, a portable photon shield generator, and a temporal displacement cannon. Bu among them was a portable teleportation device they used to travel between worlds."
"A type of space bridge?" Nightshade noted.
"Something similar, but they operate on different principles. I could not exactly replicate the technology the Order used, but I was able to reverse-engineer the science behind it." Shockwave held up the pillar in his hands. "These pillars can transport us between distant locations in a nano-second, but unlike the ground bridge, range is no issue."
"So I could transport troops from the moon to Terra without any issue?" Megatron asked eagerly.
"Yes, my lord." Shockwave nodded. "The pillars create a wormhole between two points for travel. Four could move an entire army. Hundreds could transport a whole fleet of warships."
"Outstanding." Megatron breathed. "Can you travel to other worlds?"
"Possibly. The field test I had performed showed that interplanetary travel within a star system is possible. I'm still working on pan-galactic transport."
"Instantaneous and untraceable travel." Megatron grinned.
"How many pillars did you make?" Nightshade asked.
"Hundreds." He answered.
"Keep up the good work, Shockwave. Your invention might give us a chance to bring the Autobots and this world to its knees." Then his smile went away. "But first we need to regain our stride. The Autobots' alliance with the humans is more troublesome than ever after their invasion. We need to break their unity, shake the humans' faith in the Autobots and put the pressure on them."
"If you mean to sabotage them in some way, my lord that may not be the most logical course of action. The humans are aware of our tactics for infiltration and subterfuge. They will be less eager to lame the Autobots for anything knowing that we might have a hand in it." Shockwave informed them.
"Yu have a point, Shockwave, but I was thinking more along the lines of agitating burning embers so they may explode into an inferno."
"Like what we did with Atlantis and Osea?" Nightshade suggested. Megatron nodded.
"Yes, if we are to properly combat the Autobots, then we have to do what our people have had a difficult time doing—adapt. And to do that, we need to take advantage of the one thing the Autobots have over us," He turned to Nightshade. "The human factor."
"You're actually taking a page out of Starscream's book?" She said, a little shocked that Megatron was even entertaining the idea.
"Starscream had the right idea, but his methods were lacking imagination and intuition as they always do. For all the humans who fight against us, there are always some willing to ally with us to eliminate their enemies despite the danger we pose to them."
"So you're saying we should ally with some human nation that's more sensible than sensible?" She said.
"I was thinking of something more along the lines of…" Megatron's grin turned devilish. "Superhuman."
XXXXXX
It seemed like all the espers in Tranquility had gathered in front of town hall as they held a massive protest. Some were holding signs while others flashed their powers wildly, showing that they were proud of what they were. Annie and Brittany stood on the sidewalk watching the crowd chant their motto.
"What do we want?"
"EQUALITY!"
"When do we want it?"
"NOW!"
"I've never seen something like this in Tranquility." Annie said, shocked at seeing such a large gathering of espers in the town. "I had no idea this many espers lived in town."
"They must be protesting the registration bill." Brittany said.
"What are you two doing here?" Someone spat behind them.
The girls turned to see Malcom standing there with two other HF members beside him.
"Malcom, haven't seen you around lately." Annie grinned. "Still helping your little butt buddies murder innocent people?"
"I wasn't part of that mess, Annie." Malcom growled. "And what's this I'm hearing about you being…one of them?"
"Not that it's any of your damn business, but yeah, my powers just popped up a few days ago." She said. "Not by choice, mind you, but apparently little details like that go over your heads."
"I told you to stay away from them, and now you're an esper too! Your life's over now, and it's only a matter of time before your brother and sister become espers too!" Malcom shouted.
"Being an esper isn't a disease you racist bastard!" Brittany yelled at him. "You're born with it, whether you like it or not!"
"Watch your mouth you spotted bitch!" One of the men shouted.
Annie didn't even feel the pain as she raised her arm and fired a bone spike from her palm. The spike left a deep cut in his cheek as it sailed past his shoulder, making him and his companions jump back in fright.
"Call my girl a bitch again and the next one is going in your eye." Annie growled.
"You…you monster!" Malcom stammered. "You're no different from the rest of those freaks using their powers to oppress us!"
"The only monsters here are you all!" Brittany hissed, baring her teeth.
"We'll teach you freaks a lesson!" A female HF member threatened, taking out a metal pipe.
Annie was hardly impresses as she took out a long, curved bone spear right out of her spine and held it up. "Mine's bigger."
Their altercation drew some attention from some of the protestors, who quickly ran to their aid. "Hey, leave those girls alone!"
"You HF bastards have caused enough trouble in this town already!"
"Murderers!"
"Break it up!" A police officer yelled nervously, hand on his gun. "I said—"
Everything suddenly turned white as an explosion erupted right where the cop was standing, blasting the girls and the HF members off their feet. Annie hit the ground, dazed and disoriented and around her the espers charged at the small HF group, overpowering them and brutally assaulting them. Annie looked away as she heard Malcom's screams in the chaos and tried to stand up.
"We've got to get out of here." She said and yelped when someone fired a high pressurized stream of water dangerously close to her hand, leaving a deep gash in the concrete. "Hey watch it! I lost one arm already asshole!"
"Sorry!"
Annie looked around, seeing the protestors start to go out of control, destroying and attacking whatever they could in a chaotic display that was sure to not help their case at all. But she didn't care about that. All she was worried about was finding Brittany. "Brit! Brit, can you hear me?"
Something slammed into the side of her head and she stumbled forward a bit before spinning around to face her attacker, the bleeding gash already sealing shut.
"You espers…" Malcom whimpered, holding a jagged pipe in his hands. His clothes were torn and blood, and he had two black eyes as well as a cut on his chest and a bruise forming on his left arm. "You all…you all should just die!"
"You started this when you attacked us with your posse of inbred hicks!" Annie said.
"Shut up!" Malcom raised his pipe to attack her, but a spotted figure slammed into him, pinning the boy to the ground.
"Stay away from her!" Brittany growled at him, her face partially morphed into her animal form. Malcom nearly peed himself on the spot and she got off him, satisfied he was going to stay down.
"Wow that was hot." Annie said. Brittany ran over to her and pulled her up with one hand.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine, Brit. Healing factor, remember?" She grinned. Then she and Brittany ducked as a car was sent sailing over their heads.
"We need to leave before someone levels the entire street." Brittany said.
"Let's hide inside a store or something. Maybe we can wait it out—look out!"
Annie pushed Brittany aside as a gunshot ran out and her head titled back as a bullet hit her in the forehead. Brittany screamed as Annie fell back into her arms limply. The shooter was a bald HF member who insulted her first.
"You genetic freaks. It's because of you that Crane's dead! The world will be better off using your bodies as compost!" He roared and pointed the gun at Brittany. "You're next you spotted—"
Two large footsteps rumbled behind him and a large shadow fell over the man as he gulped and looked up. The large form of Bulkhead loomed over him, his blasted pointed right at the man.
"If I were you, I'd drop that gun and run as fast as you possibly can." Bulkhead growled. "Because I'm seconds away from blowing your ass to hell and back."
XXXXXX
Annie gurgled as Debbie dragged her into a constricting hug. "I swear Annie, I don't know how you get yourself into these situations!"
"Breathe…breathe…" Annie croaked.
Bulkhead had driven the girls back to the Radcliffe residence to escape the riot. A quick examination from Debbie revealed that the bullet hadn't even pierced Annie's skull, but the impact had knocked her out cold momentarily. Though shaken by the events, Brittany and Grindor were relieved to see that no lasting damage was done.
"How did you survive that? I know you heal fast, but fast enough to survive getting shot in the head." Grindor said.
"I think my skull thickened instinctively when the bullet hit me." Annie rubbed her now smooth forehead. "I always knew I had a hard head, but damn."
"Only you would get into a riot, Annie." Debbie sighed and turned to the TV where they were covering the protest turned riot. "Speaking of riots…"
"What happened after I was knocked out?" Annie asked. "Did the riot break up?"
"Mostly. Bulkhead's arrival caused a lot of people to scramble. Then the ERD division from the city a few miles away arrived and broke up the rampaging stragglers." Brittany said. "I think the mayor might request the ERD o set up shop here to avoid another incident like this."
"More pressure on the super-man. That's nice." Annie frowned.
"You hush up. You had me worried sick, Annie, and you're going to take it easy for now." Brittany said firmly.
Annie smiled and held the cheetah girl's hand. "I will, don't worry."
Darren looked between the two girls with a grin. "So when's the wedding, you two?"
"Shut it!" Annie shouted with a blush.
XXXXXX
"Preparations are nearly completed for the upcoming League of Nations summit." The news announcer said. "With nearly every invitation confirmed, the event promises to be the largest single gathering of world leaders in history."
Alice Cordell and her aid Cecelia Irene watched the news as the screen switched from the announcer's bland face to an aerial shot of Liberty Island.
"The leaders of over two hundred nations will discuss issues ranging from the Autobot/Decepticon war and future space programs, to the esper phenomenon and the growing threat of the esper terrorist growing in strength."
Irene heard Cordell hang up the phone and turned back to her. The interior of the limo was silent, completely blocking out the sounds of traffic and event he car engine. Cordell loved traveling like this. She considered it the god-given rights of her job. And she used her rights as often as she felt needed, which was quite often.
She stared at the phone. That call with President Flagg had gone almost exactly as she had expected. Sometimes things went well, sometimes they went poorly, and other times they just didn't go at all.
"Well," Irene said. "What was his opinion?"
Cordell shrugged and leaned forward to pour herself another glass of scotch. "He's the president of the Osean Republic. He doesn't have an opinion. He smiles, he waves, he shakes hands."
"Isn't that what you do, ma'am?" Irene asked.
Cordell shot her aide a sharp looked and down her glass of expensive scotch. Irene had been rather sharp tongued lately. If she didn't shape up, Cordell would have to talk to her about her attitude. The last thing she needed was a problem with her staff.
"Our esteemed President would rather help those aliens tear our world apart than save our species from extinction." Cordell said. "This time, it's not up to him. It's up to me and the Senate."
"Have you thought about a demonstration of some kind?" Irene asked. "Maybe use the League to our advantage. The whole world will be watching."
"I'm only interested in Oseans." Cordell said, her voice harsher than she intended. She caught herself. "Let the rest of the world deal with espers in any way they damn please. Besides, only Oseans can vote for me."
She laughed and took another sip, then decided to go on. "What is this world coming to? Alien robots, sea people, rabid superhumans. They're all trying to wipe us our and take our world, and people like us are the only ones who see that. We're the ones left to clean up their mess and the ones they cry to when our "allies" stab us in the back and leave us in the dust."
She stared into the eyes of her aide. "Someone needs to preserve mankind's interests, and that's what people like me are needed for."
Cordell glanced out the window as the car drove through the vacant factory district, which was dead at this time of night. This wasn't the route to the hotel.
"Hey, where the hell are we?"
Cordell turned to her aide, waiting for an answer. Instead, her heart went cold as Irene's body flickered and disappeared…like a hologram. The same happened to the driver, who also disappeared, but the car still drove on its own.
It took a moment before Senator Cordell realized her situation. Then she realized she was in a cybertronian. Possibly a Decepticon.
"HELP! HELP!"
She screamed and kicked at the door, but her cries went unheard in the soundproofed car. The vehicle drove through the factory district and came to a stop in front of a production plant. It pulled to a stop and abruptly shoved Cordell out into the cold, hard ground.
Cordell scuttled back as what she thought was her luxury Government Issue car broke apart and reconfigured into a 15 foot tall robot with armor blacker than midnight. She scrambled back, but heard heavy footsteps stomping behind her. Looking up, she saw another Decepticon with red armor walking up to her.
"Senator Alice Cordell? I'm Knockout, nice to meet you on this nice autumn night." Knockout said.
Cordell glared up at him, not wanting to show fear in the face of an alien. "My, aide, Irene…and my driver…"
"Oh, they're both quite dead. My friend Nightrider here took care of them." Knockout said. "They died quickly, though, so that's something."
"So now you're going to kill me?" Cordell spat. "It won't do you any good, alien."
"You misunderstand. We aren't going to kill you. You're just a little…present to a future business partner." Knockout knelt down over her to show her how eager he was. "And they're the kind of people someone like you should not run into at night."
For the first time since beginning her political career, Alice Cordell was afraid for her life.
XXXXXX
"Preparations are nearly complete for the upcoming League of Nations Summit. With nearly every invitation confirmed, the event promises to be the largest single gathering of world leaders since the Gulf War."
Annie let out a bored grunt as she lounged across the couch channel surfing to pass the time. Darren and High Wire were out, so it was just her and Grindor keeping the peace. As she was watching the news coverage on the world leaders' summit, Annie lifted her regenerating arm to study it.
Two days had passed since the riot in town square, and her arm had finally grown past her elbow and to her wrist. Her hand, or what had grown so far, was little more than a fleshy stump with tiny little appendages that would be her fingers at the end. It looked a bit creepy, but Annie got used to having a little baby hand.
The doorbell rang and Grindor yelled from the kitchen. "Annie, get the door!"
"You do it!" She yelled back.
"I can't show myself to anyone!"
Rolling her eyes, she stood up and headed over to the door. Opening it, she was greeted by a very beautiful woman with long, wavy mahogany hair and sea green eyes wearing a low cut blue and white blouse and tight jeans with sandals. Annie immediately thought this woman was hot, but then wondered why she looked sort of familiar.
"Hello, can I help you?" Annie asked.
"Good afternoon, I'm Leesa Sumeragi, the head of the Providence Foundation." The woman greeted her.
"Wait, you're…" Annie's jaw dropped and she heard Grindor transform in the kitchen. "Holy…"
"Glad to see I've got a fan." Leesa smiled. "May I come in?"
"S-Sure? Come right in!" Annie quickly ushered the woman inside and led her to the living room. "Do you want anything to drink?"
"No thank you, I won't be here long. I was passing through the area when I heard about the riot and came to investigate." Leesa said.
"What's there to look into? Espers throw a riot, HF hicks get involved, things go boom, and here we are." Annie said.
"And from what I've heard, you were also involved in that riot." Leesa said, catching Annie off guard.
"Huh? How did you—"
"There's video footage of a man shooting a girl at point blank range." She said. "That girl just happens to be you."
Annie looked away and crossed her arms. "Yeah, but I was only there by coincidence. I was hanging out with a friend when the protestors came up the street."
Leesa nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, what is your power?"
"I grow bones out of my skin and I heal really fast." When Sumeragi's eyes drifted to Annie's regrowing hand, she added, "No, you can't ask what happened to it."
"Wasn't thinking of it." Sumeragi reached into her bag and pulled out a brochure. "I came here to make you an offer, Annie. I want to offer you a place at my school."
"Say what?" Annie blinked. She took the brochure and looked it over. "You want me to enroll at the Providence Institute?"
"Yes."
"But that's in New York!"
"We accept students from across the country and even abroad. If you're worried about leaving your friends…"
"No, that's not it." Distance didn't matter much when you could ground bridge from Osea to Edo in a day. "It's just…why me? I've never applied to the Institute and I'm doing just fine at the school I'm at now."
"You're not the only esper I'm offering this to. It extends to your brother, and even your friend, Brittany." Sumeragi sighed and sat back. "I'm sorry for springing this on you out of nowhere, but things are getting hostile for espers like us. Senator Cordell's disappearance and the massacre of her staff has caused the entire country to be on high alert. Regulations threated the freedom and rights of espers and even children like you aren't safe."
"So you're having your people go around to try and recruit new students to protect them?"
"Providence's mission is to help support espers and enforce peace between them and humans. We can't do that with the country about to implode around us."
Annie bit her lip and looked at the brochure. Sumeragi gave her a pat on the shoulder and stood up to leave.
"I can tell you are a strong girl, Annie. Something like this won't keep you down." Sumeragi glanced at the skateboard sitting in the middle of the kitchen. "And somehow…I know you won't be going through this alone."
Sumeragi left the house, leaving Annie to think on her words. Grindor transformed and walked over to the couch.
"That was a surprise." He said. "Are you going to take up her offer?"
"It doesn't cost much to enroll there, Grindor. And…I might need professional help with my powers." Annie said.
"Ratchet's not professional help?"
"No offense to Ratchet, but he's not an expert on esper biology." Annie said. She sighed and turned to Grindor. "You saw how bad that riot was, Grindor. Brittany's kidnapping, the HF rallies, this. Decepticons or nor, Osea's falling apart and we need to defend ourselves."
Annie ran a hand down her face and grabbed the phone. "I'm calling Darren and Debbie. We need to talk about this."
Outside Sumeragi was in her car smiling at the house. Satisfied, she started the car and drove off.
"Looks like I picked a keeper." She said to herself. Now time will tell if Annie was willing to take that extra step.
XXXXXX
"Dad, we have a situation."
That one sentence ruined Dreyas Lehnsherr's entire evening. He had been enjoying a nice dinner with his wife following a war meeting to assault one of Yuktobania's illegal esper training camps when his eldest daughter, Jane, ran into the dining hall looking more worried than she had ever seen her before.
"What is it, Jane?" Magda asked. "Can't you see we're busy?"
"I'm sorry, mom, but we just got a message…from the Decepticon leader."
Dreyas straightened up with a hard look on his face. "Explain.
"He says he wants to meet in the Badlands in northeast Osea, near Alaska. We're welcome to bring about two dozen soldiers with us while he comes alone with his lieutenant."
"He's only bringing one of his troops?" Magda questioned.
"Megatron knows he's more than a match for us. Taking along his second in command is nothing to him." Dreyas said. "Still…it couldn't hurt to hear what he has to say."
"You don't think this will turn into another disaster like that meeting with OZ?" Jane asked.
"I'm willing to give the Decepticons the benefit of a doubt that they're smart enough to cover their tracks, unlike OZ." He replied. "Megatron wouldn't contact us of his own free will unless he had something to offer. Let's see what he has to say, shall we?"
XXXXXX
"Providence?" Darren said, making sure he heard correctly. "You want to enroll at the Providence Institute?"
"I never said I'd enroll. I just wanted to run the idea by you two." She said.
"Annie, we grew up in Tranquility. This is our home, we have friends here. We can't just up and leave when we have a perfectly good school right here." Darren said.
"Except it's not normal, and everything's not fine. Brit was just kidnapped by HF members weeks ago and there was a riot at Town Hall a few days ago. This town never had these problems until this whole shit with the registration bill started." Annie replied. "And what friends? The only friends we have are Gina, Kevin and Penny."
"What about Brittany and Justine?" He countered.
"Brit already knows our situation, and Justine…she's your friend, Darren, though I'd watch myself around her if I were you.'
Darren shook his head and looked to Debbie, who hadn't said anything on the subject yet. "Debbie, please tell me you can make her reconsider."
Debbie sighed and looked at Darren. "Darren…she might have a point."
"Seriously? She wants us to leave our home!" He exclaimed.
"I know, but this town is not as safe as it used to be. Kidnappings, riots, Decepticon attacks. Nowhere's safe for two esper children." Debbie spotted the rebellious flash in Darren's eyes and stood up. "I'm not saying I'm going to ship you two off to some boarding school, but Darren, you know that it's getting too dangerous here. If something like that riot happens again…"
"We can protect ourselves! I'm not leaving my home just because Annie wants to meet her role model!" he shouted.
"You just don't want to except that your perfect normal life is over!" Annie yelled. "Look around you, bro. Everything's falling apart and espers are receiving the short end of the stick! Don't group me with you just because you're still ashamed of what you are!"
Darren snarled. "You piece of—"
"Stop it, both of you!" Debbie raised her voice. "Let's just have dinner and go to sleep. We can talk about this tomorrow."
Darren glared spitefully at Annie. "I'm not hungry."
Annie and Debbie watched him march away to his room and shared a worried glance. As bad as things already were, neither of them realized that things were about to get much worse.
XXXXXX
Hidden underneath an electromagnetic bubble that protected them from satellite coverage, Dreyas, Magda, and his youngest daughter Debra arrived at the discussed meeting point with six talos and twenty Karaba soldiers. Another esper, a voluptuous pink skinned woman named Moisha, was standing by their side, her powers allowing her to create wormholes in the blink of an eye. She was their instant escape plan if things went sideways with the Cons.
"This could be a trap, you know." Magda advised her husband.
"What purpose would making enemies of us serve? No, Megatron wants something else." Dreyas said. "Something he's willing to speak with us about in person."
He looked to his youngest daughter, a young woman of nineteen with short dark indigo hair and a tan complexion, sharing her father's amber gold eyes. Of Dreyas's children, only Debra inherited his magnetic powers, a rarity among espers, and he considered this to be some divine sign that she was destined to lead Karaba after him.
"Debra, keep your eyes and ears open. While I speak with Megatron, reach out with your senses to ensure that the Decepticons have kept their word." He instructed her. "Remember your training. Even with my power, I can only hold one or two of them at a time. I'll need your help to combat anymore."
"Yes, father." Debra said, taking a deep breath. Dreyas smiled and patted her back.
"Sir, two heat signs approaching our position." A soldier reported.
"Right on time." Dreyas hummed.
In the distance, two shapes could be seen. One a large battle tank and another a giant robotic raven. The Karaba talos got into position as the two Decepticon leaders approached them. Once they were at a respectable distance, they transformed to their robot modes.
For some Karaba members, this was their first time seeing a cybertronian transform in person before, and even Debra couldn't hide her awe as she watched two ordinary vehicles convert into towering robots. Megatron completed his transformation first and stepped forward.
"Greetings, Karaba," Megatron said, standing tall and proud over them. "I'm sure you all know who I am. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons and this is my lieutenant, Nightshade."
Nightshade stood behind Megatron and gave them all a curt nod.
"I am Dreyas, leader of Karaba." Dreyas introduced himself, not intimidated by Megatron's size. "This is my wife, Magda, and my daughter Debra."
"A pleasure." Magda said shortly. Debra just nodded to them politely.
"Now that we have our introductions out of the way, could you please tell us why the Decepticon warlord known for preaching biomechanical dominance over all organics would want to meet with us?" Dreyas said.
"Apologies for requesting a meeting on such short notice. I come with an offer that I believe will be beneficial to both of us in the long run." Megatron began. "An alliance between the Decepticons and Karaba."
"An alliance?" Dreyas raised his brows at that. He wasn't expecting that from the warlord.
"It has come to my attention that the Autobots have been causing their fair share of grief for you over the past few months. Their alliance with Osea, one of your primary enemies, has made things rather difficult for your organization." Megatron said. "We can help you turn the tide. Our vast resources can turn Karaba into a war machine the likes of which hasn't been seen since ancient times."
"And in return we help you fight the Autobots." Dreyas stated. Megatron nodded.
"As a united force. The Autobots are held back by politics and public relations, catering to the humans who would turn on them when the situation doesn't go their way. That will greatly limit them on the field, especially when it comes to fighting in urban areas."
"As intriguing your offer is," Magda said. "We haven't forgotten your crusade to wipe out all organic life in the galaxy, or your intent to conquer this world. Our world. You can see the conflict of interest there, don't you?"
'She's a sharp one.' Nightshade thought.
"Oh, we've thought of this too. We Decepticons seek to make this galaxy a place for all Cybertronians to rule as the dominant lifeforms. But there are a few exceptions." Megatron walked up to the couple and knelt down to them. "Here's our offer. Join us, and not only will we allow you to rule this planet, we will also allow you control over your entire star system."
"That's a lot of space to have to yourself." Nightshade commented.
Dreyas stared at Megatron, who stared right back at him with equal intensity. "I know you're already doing this to gain even ground with the Autobots after they ran you out of your own home. Why go to us when there are whole nations that can provide you with so much more?"
Megatron was silent for a moment before giving his answer. "We are alike, Dreyas Lehnsherr. We are both revolutionaries who have forged powerful movements with the goal of changing the world. However whereas I was stopped by my nemesis and dragged into a neverending war that destroyed my world, you still have a chance to make things better with Karaba. You don't want to see your world become a smoldering rock, do you?"
"Of course not, but even us joining forces would be difficult to fight both the Autobots and Osea." Dreyas replied.
At this, Megatron grinned. "I have experience in hitting my enemy where it hurts. Together, we can drive a wedge between the Autobots and their human pets in a way that they'll never recover."
He snapped his fingers and Nightshade stepped forward. "And to show you how serious I am, here is a little gift I'm sure you'll be happy to have."
Nightshade opened her hand and dropped a woman onto the ground at Dreyas's feet. Though she was a bit dirty and her clothes were ragged, the espers of Karaba immediately recognize her as Senator Alice Cordell, the anti-esper politician.
Cordell, after blinking the sand from her eyes, paled when she saw Dreyas and Magda standing over her.
"Do with her as you see fit." Megatron said, knowing he already had them.
Dreyas grinned sadistically at the frightened senator. "I intend to."
XXXXXX
"I'm sorry, Prime, but there's been no sign of Decepticon activity on our end either."
Optimus's face darkened further as he listened to Colonel Barnett's unsettling news. "I haven't gotten any reports from Atlantis either. The Decepticons haven't made any major movements in almost two weeks and it has me worried."
"They're planning something, that's for sure. The ARA's hard at work in searching for them, but for the Cons to be quiet for this long is unsettling. It has the generals at the Hexagon all wound up too." Barnett sighed. "This is driving everyone up the wall, especially with the whole esper issue about to blow up."
"All we can do is keep looking for them and be prepared for a surprise attack. Megatron has suffered a major defeat and this will force him to get creative. And that makes him dangerous." Optimus said.
As if on cue, Teletran-1 began alerting Optimus to a new threat. "Alert: Decepticon signals detected."
"Speaking of Megatron," Optimus muttered. "What's the situation?"
"We've got Cons attacking a major oil refinery in Yuktobania. They're attacking in bulk, so the local military's got its hands full." Barnett said.
"We're on our way, Colonel." Optimus got up and ran over to the door. "Teletran, have Jazz's team head to the coordinates of the oil refinery."
"Understood." Teletran-1 said. "Be advised, there is another Decepticon attack at a hydro-electric plant in Leasath."
"What?" Optimus stopped in his tracks. "Teletran, are there any more attacks going on?"
"There are none—Decepticon attack reported at the geothermal power plant in Valendar."
"What's going on?" Optimus scowled and ran down the hall. "Damn it, Megatron, what are you planning?"
XXXXXX
"Here comes the cavalry." Wreckage sang gleefully as he spotted the Autobots running out of the ground bridge.
"For once in your pathetic life, be serious, Wreckage!" Starscream growled.
"Both of you shut it!" Darkshadow hissed and took out her ion blasters. "Our guests have arrived."
Darkshadow was leading the raid on oil refinery deep within Yuktobanian territory. With the plant being located in a location not very kind to military vehicles, it gave them clearance to cause enough damage to attack the Autobots.
Down on the road leading to the refinery, Ironhide, leading a team consisting of Wheeljack, Bulkhead, Cliffjumper, Mirage and Skyfire stormed the area right out into the open.
"What's the plan, Ironhide?" Bulkhead asked.
"Divide and conquer, we split up their forces and waste them. Mirage, once we get close enough, sneak into the refinery and free any hostages inside." Ironhide said, taking out his twin plasma cannons. "Skyfire, handle the Seekers, and for the love of Kup, don't blow up the plant."
"Oh sod off, you red bugger." Skyfire grumbled and transformed to jet mode to fly on ahead.
"Why are they attack an oil plant of all places?" Mirage asked.
"Because they probably got tired huntin' for actual energon?" Cliffjumper shrugged. "Who the hell cares? Let's just waste them!"
Darkshadow grinned when she saw the Autobots coming their way. "Finally. Starscream, you're with me. Wreckage, Thundercracker, Skywarp, handle the rabble. Fracture, watch the hostages."
"Yes, sir!" Her team said and transformed to their alt modes.
Darkshadow smile and transformed too. Everything was going according to plan.
XXXXXX
A strike team consisting of Arcee, Moonracer, Bumblebee, Tomahawk and Jazz trudged through the dense Aztecan rainforest in their alt modes to reach the dam just a few miles away from them. Few words were traded as they moved at top speeds to reach their destination.
"If they attack the dam, then they're probably going to use the water flow to generate more energy in the power plant." Jazz said. "Crank it up to the max in the process."
"If that happens, they'll cause the damn to burst from the increased water pressure." Arcee said.
"And cause a flood that's wipe out any communities located along the riverside." Tomahawk said.
"Why attack this place now of all times?" Bumblebee asked.
"Honestly, Bee, they probably got cock now with Shockwave on their team. Hate to see what ol' one eye's got planned for us this time." Jazz replied.
As they passed through the forest, a pitch black femme hid in the dense foliage, leveling her sniper rifle at Tomahawk. The ever silent Nightrider waited for her laser sight to lock on before pulling the trigger and firing a pulse blast that hit Tomahawk in the side of her alt mode.
"Scrap!"
"Tomahawk?" Arcee called out.
"Sniper!" Tomahawk got another hit to her tail rotor. "Go on, I'll take care of it!"
As Tomahawk fired her rockets at the hidden Decepticon to flush her out, the team continued on toward the dam. When they heard the deafening sound of rushing war, and saw the massive structure up ahead, they knew they were close.
"We're almost there. Keep moving!" Jazz said.
As they got within eyesight of the bridge, they heard a loud horn blaring from the trees before a large purple and white bullet train came speeding out of the trees. It plowed through the group, smashing right through them and knocking them away like bowling pins. Bumblebee crashed through a couple of trees before transforming and landing in the dirt face first.
"Ow," Bumblebee groaned. "Anyone catch the number of that train?"
"Shape up, Bee. We've got more incoming!" Jazz said.
Two jets, one blue and one purple and brown, flew down from above. They transformed and landed on the ground with their weapons drawn.
"This is going to be fun." Blitzwing grinned.
"Brace yourselves, Autobots." Dreadwing took out his laser cannon. "This is going to be a rough mission for you all."
XXXXXX
"Why do I always get stuck with the hot shots!" Hound yelled as he was thrown onto his back by an explosion that went off near him.
"Stop acting like Kup, Hound, it's unbecoming of you." Rodimus said. He helped Hound up and got off a few shots at Demolishor and Knockout, who were guarding the checkpoint leading to the power plant.
"Never use the word 'unbecoming' ever again, Rodimus. It makes you sound like something you're not." Hound grunted.
"And what's that?" Rodimus asked.
"Smart." Sideswipe said.
"Oh go to hell." Rodimus growled. He looked up and saw a bright light falling down on them. "Incoming!"
The Autobots scattered as a giant green particle beam tore into the ground near them. Hound rolled to his feet and pointed his rifle at Shockblast, only to have a glowing silver arrow hit the ground near him, tossing him aside like a toy robot.
"You dimwits talk too much." Nightshade said.
"Speak for yourself!" Rodimus lunged at Nightshade, who grabbed his arm and flipped him over her shoulder into the ground. "Ow! That went better in my head."
"Moron." She frowned and pointed Gandiva at his head. Rodimus slid a blade out of his wrist and slashed the back of her leg.
She flinched back in pain and he rolled away to get to his feet, facing her with a grin.
"You mad?" He quipped.
"Shut up." Nightshade growled and charged at him.
XXXXXX
Aboard the Enlightenment, Shockwave turned to Feint, who was coordinating the mobilization of their teams.
"How are things going, Feint?" He asked.
"All teams have engaged the Autobots on multiple fronts. No sign of Optimus Prime, though." Feint reported.
Shockwave nodded. "Good. Inform Lord Megatron that it's time."
"Copy that."
XXXXXX
The entire harbor around Ellis and Liberty Islands crawled with security as the leaders of nearly every major nation gathered for the opening ceremonies of the international peace conference to be held on Ellis Island.
The water was dotted with police boats. Underwater sensors guarded the islands, and three different security satellites provided constant surveillance of the entire area. The Osean secret service and the FBI were responsible for all the world leaders' security, working with each government's security agency. As far as they were all concerned, not even a fly could get near these people without them knowing about it.
Queen Tyr of Atlantis and her daughter Princess Aspen stood out like sore thumbs along the dignitaries, their scaled blue and green skin a sharp contrast to the human skin tones. Still, they held themselves with dignity and grace to show that they were strong, far stronger than they appeared.
"All this for a shallow attempt at sowing unity among our nations, even though such a thing is basically non-existent." Tyr muttered.
"Mother, please be nice." Aspen whispered. "They're just trying to reassure the people that we are united against a common enemy."
"That's a nice sentiment, when we're all not trying to subvert each other with smiles on our faces." Tyr said. "Not even an alien invasion can stop human nature, Aspen. Remember that."
Everyone quieted down as the Secret-General of the League of Nations to the podium.
"Thank you all, men and women of our world's nations, for taking the time to come together today for our first international peace conference. I understand things have been difficult and even frightening these past few months with so many revelations about our world and the universe coming to light, but as long as we stand united as inhabitants of planet Terra, we are strong and unbreakable."
Her speech was cut short as three police airships exploded simultaneously in the air behind the museum. The leaders, secret service agents, and water-bound police units were immediately on alert as the air in the courtyard behind them swirled and crackled with energy. In a flash of light, a group of white armored espers emerged from the swirling vortex, and leading them was none other than Dreyas.
"Greetings honored leaders of humanity." Dreyas smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you today."
The agents all took out their guns, which all exploded as Dreyas clenched his hand. Having easily disarmed the SS agents and disabled their communications with an electromagnetic field, Dreyas manipulated the TV cameras to face him and his wife, who also appeared beside him with a woman kneeling beside her with a bag covering her features.
"I'm going to make this quick, seeing as the military is probably mobilizing as we speak." He said. "You all know me as Dreyas Lehnsherr, leader of Karaba and known terrorist leader, but from this day onward, the world shall know me as Dreyas, leader of the superior race who shall inherit this world and surpass the human race!"
The world leaders all huddled together as the Karaba soldiers pointed their weapons at them to keep them in place. Aspen growled but Tyr had her stand down. The odds were against them this time.
"Maria Gonzales, you preach that you come together in peace to unite against the dangers to your world, but the truth is that all you people came here to do was plot and scheme. Peace isn't even an afterthought on any of your minds as you all continue to play your political games and discuss new ways to exploit or kill espers. How many of you have committed crimes against my people who have done nothing wrong?" He demanded of them. "Yuktobania with their forced induction of espers into their military; Joseun with their enslavement and experimentation on espers from poor communities; Belka, who dissect and harvest esper organs to reverse-engineer their powers into genetic weapons?"
His words made several men and women curse and sweat, while others were openly disgusted about what he was describing. Dreyas smirked and continued.
"And let's not forget about Osea, the leading nation in esper discrimination and subjugation. Talks of registering us like criminals or deporting us have passed through their senate's lips more than once, while the Human Front runs around unopposed lynching, raping, terrorizing our kind with little, if any, consequences. Children beaten and murdered, teenagers forced to run from their homes, adults hunted down and imprisoned when all they want is help in controlling their powers. Well I say no more!"
Dreyas turned to the cameras that were broadcasting his message to every television across the world. "For decades we espers of Karaba have fought in the shadows, but now we have gained enough numbers to fight mankind on equal ground. And to show you how serious I am…"
Magda pushed the woman forward and pulled the bag off her head, revealing a severely bruised, beaten and bloodied Alice Cordell. Dreyas flexed his arm and the mesh on his bicep extended down his arm to form a long, thin blade. Without another word, he slashed his blade across Cordell's neck and cleanly severed her head in one strike.
The senator's body collapsed as her head rolled across the ground, horrifying the crowd. Dreyas flicked the blood off his blade and glared at the leaders before turning back to the cameras.
"I declare war on all of humanity. I declare war on the Autobots who turn a blind eye to our suffering. I declare war on anyone who takes up arms against me!" He roared. "Karaba will conquer this world and others, with the help of our new allies!"
A ground bridge opened up behind him, and Megatron walked out with Shockwave, a grin on his face.
"Together, the Decepticons and Karaba shall be a united force against tyranny! A Brotherhood that upholds freedom from oppression. Together, we shall forge our own future!" Dreyas bellowed and raised his fist in the air. "The revolution has begun!"
XXXXXX
At the same time as this announcement, locations all over the world suddenly exploded.
The oil refinery in Yuktobania erupted into a towering pillar of flames as gallons of oil ignited from the detonation of phase charges scattered throughout the facility. The human hostages inside were incinerated almost immediately, and Mirage, who was trying to sneak inside, was blasted back outside by the powerful explosion that sent him tumbling down the cliff side.
At the dam in Leasath, the bombs Dreadwing layered across the structure from one end to the other detonated, completely destroying the power plant and blasting holes along the dam. Dreadwing led his team in a retreat to leave the Autobots to their fates as the dam slowly broke apart, completely falling apart as water burst forth and flooded the river below.
The geo-thermal plant was destroyed in its own miraculous fireball, blasting apart the cliff it sat on and causing a landslide that grew as more of the surrounding earth crumbled away. Nightshade flew into the air and fired an arrow into the weakened cliff, further causing more damage and tearing apart the foundations keeping the plant in place.
Hound's team watched in horror as the ground collapsed in a massive rock slide that was double what it should have been had Nightshade not caused the chain reaction.
The loss of power in the region would be the least of Ozark's problems.
XXXXXX
"Primus above…" Optimus breathed, getting notifications from Teletran-1 on multiple fronts. He saw the news coverage, and was caught by surprise by Karaba's sudden declaration of allying with the Decepticons.
"Prime!" Prowl ran up to them. "Prime I'm getting reports of multiple explosions at power plants and refineries across the world. I can't get a hold of our strike teams!"
"Megatron." Optimus growled and ran down the hall to get to the ground bridge. "Prowl, Ratchet, Armorhide, you're with me. Lifeline, remain in contact with Colonel Barnett and try to contact the field teams!"
XXXXXX
"Lord Megatron, police airships are approaching." Shockwave announced.
"Then we should be off." Dreyas smiled, pleased with the day's victory. "We've made our message clear."
A ground bridge appeared behind the group and Magda and her team entered the portal with Shockwave. Megatron and Dreyas were about to follow them when they heard a bellowing war cry.
"MEGATRON!"
Megatron grinned as Optimus appeared out of his ground bridge with his team behind him. "You're late to the party, Prime. But you're just in time for the grand finale."
Soundwave remotely activated the plasma charges the Karaba agents planted in the Ellis Island museum in secret, and the entire building exploded in a pillar of red hot flames with such force that most of the Autobots were completely thrown off their feet. Optimus merely stumbled but did not stop his charge at Megatron.
"You go ahead, Megatron." Dreyas said. "I've got this."
"Very well, Dreyas." Megatron threw a grin as the enraged Prime. "Until next time, Optimus."
"You will not get away, Megatron. Not this time!" Optimus roared and drew the Star Saber.
"Says who, Autobot?" Dreyas reached out with his power, entrapping an approaching airship in a magnetic field and pulled on it.
The giant grey airship found itself caught in the Karaba leader's magnetic grip and was dragged towards the ground…right on top of Optimus.
Optimus didn't notice the airship until its massive shadow fell over him. The aircraft slammed to the ground right behind him and tipped forward, flipping over itself before descending on Optimus. He saw the flaming skeletal structure of the airship and fell over. Heat licked at his armor as the airship's frame engulfed him, and all he could see and hear were the flames all around him.
Dreyas smirked as she saw the airship crash to the ground and entered the ground bridge, leaving behind the most destruction he's ever caused since the early days of Karaba's formation.
"Is everyone alright?" Lifeline asked, limping over to the frightened but mostly unharmed leaders.
"We're fine, they didn't touch us." President Flagg said, making sure his wife was okay.
"Aspen, help me put out the fire!" Tyr and Aspen ran towards the burning airship and controlled the water from the river to douse the intense flames.
"Prime!" Prowl ran over to the smoldering wreck and looked for his leader. "Prime, where are you!"
"Rah!" Optimus burst from the flaming wreckage covered in severe burns that warped pieces of his armor. He stumbled and fell to his knees, completely in pain all over his body, which only angered him even more.
Optimus looked around at the chaos left in Karaba's wake. Burning police airships and patrol boats, terrified and horrified political figures, a nation in panic from the chaotic broadcast. All of this in a single hour.
"Optimus Prime!" President Flagg called up to him. "What the hell happened here? Where are your Autobots?"
Optimus said nothing. All he could do was stare at the destruction Dreyas and Megatron left behind.
Megatron had just changed the rules, and now he was playing for keeps.
And this is the part where the Decepticons start steadily rising. Two seasoned revolutionaries teaming up, one of them an alien warlord taking advantage of the most controversial topic on the world stage. It's only going to get worse for the Autobots from here on out. Next chapter we focus on the children as one girl takes advantage of her great power and sparks a tragic series of events that will have further ramifications for espers all over the country. Be sure to check out the official Transformers Titan website on WordPress. Thanks for reading and please leave a review!