Hot Rod drove through the mountain range called the Appalachians, stopping as he reached a strange lump poking out of the embankment. It didn't blend in with the rest of the countryside, and looked as though something had been there long enough for dirt to build up around it and grass to grow. The Autobot shifted to robot mode, a visor coming down over his optics.
"Let's see, uh… ah. Stasis pod, deluxe class," he remarked, looking over the readout. "Looks like I was right. Placed aboard passenger vessel Exodus! Yes, it's here!" The visor retracted, and he was fully prepared to dig out the pod when he heard a car approaching.
Chapter 2: Recovery, Part 2
Hot Rod hid, letting out an exhale as the pickup truck simply drove right by. Then, in the opposite direction, a teenage boy on a skateboard was coming down the road. The Autobot instantly recognized him as the punk who tagged that Decepticon mug on him.
How did that kid know about the Decepticons anyway?
He swerved into the path of the pickup, who screeched to a stop. But the boy didn't adjust his path, plowing right into the front of it. Hot Rod looked away, not wanting to see how that kid would get hurt, but was surprised when he saw the boy completely unscathed, and a huge dent in the front of the truck.
"Oops, did I do that?" he called playfully, skating off once more.
Okay, this kid was definitely working for the Decepticons. And he was headed in the direction of the city. Hot Rod jogged his memory banks, wondering what business he could have going there, before he remembered the human.
The human who had witnessed the fight between him and Starscream.
Oh scrap.
Without another moment's hesitation, Hot Rod scrambled to the road and tore off in the direction of the city.
Matt invited Anna over that evening, so he could tell her what he had seen. As he paced in his living room, thinking of what he should say, he could see his girlfriend's car pulling into the parking lot. Pleased to see her for a number of reasons, he all but stumbled down the stairs, running out the door only to be tripped up by some unseen obstacle. Anna had gotten out of her car by that point, and hurried over to him.
"Are you alright?" she called out, but never got an answer as some teenager arrived.
"Matt Summers, right?" He rubbed at his right wrist. "I'm gonna need you to come with me."
"Hang on, who are you?" the brunette groaned.
"Just someone who wants to talk to you about your friend, Hot Rod." Matt froze, and Anna seemed confused. "Hey, just tell us what we wanna know about the Exodus, and you can go free. Otherwise…" To the surprise of both of them, he pulled his right hand off, some type of weapon emerging from beneath it. "...I'll take you to someone who will make you talk."
At that moment, Matt heard the screeching of tires as a vehicle tore into the parking lot, one he recognized as Hot Rod. The Autobot slammed into the teenager's side, sending him flying. The doors opened up, and Matt ushered Anna inside. Hot Rod sped away, leaving the teenager behind. As they drove along the road, the redhead spoke up.
"Okay, so, Matt. What just happened?"
"Sorry about that, didn't mean to startle you." This made the redhead jump, hitting her head on the roof of the car, as a voice came from the radio. "I'm Hot Rod. That punk back there worked with the Decepticons, and whatever they wanted can't have been good."
"The car… it's talking."
The brunette sighed, wishing his girlfriend had the chance to be introduced to this more gently. "Anna, this is Hot Rod. He's a robot that can transform into a car."
Anna nodded, taking this information in. "So… Hot Rod-"
"Yep."
"That's gonna need some getting used to, but, um, I heard that kid talking. He said something about the Exodus?" Both passengers gripped the dash as their ride screeched to a stop in the dirt. "I take it that means something."
"Yep. The Exodus is a passenger ship. Long story, I'll tell it on the way."
Hot Rod turned around, driving in the direction of the mountains.
On his homeworld of Cybertron, Hot Rod and many others stood in the Iacon dome, watching as the Autobot's commanding officer stepped forward, addressing a crowd of fellow Cybertronians. Many looked like they used to have insignias that had been removed, but the crowd had no side in the conflict.
Optimus Prime easily stood over most of his subordinates, with a powerful red and blue frame and a stern expression. But even with all his strength and authority, his tone was gentle as he addressed the crowd.
"Citizens, I've called you here with grave news," he began, the crowd going quiet. "I've received word that Cybertron's Energon reserves are being used up faster than they can be replenished. My scientists predict that at our current rate of consumption, Cybertron will run out of Energon within the next two deca-cycles."
This got the crowd talking once more, a lot more vitriol than before. "Your war will be the death of us all, Prime!" one of the neutrals jeered. "Why did you even oppose the Decepticons in the first place?"
"Would you rather live under the thumb of tyranny?!" another snapped.
"At least we wouldn't run out of our lifeblood!"
The crowd all argued with each other, Hot Rod watching as his leader's shoulders sagged dejectedly.
"QUIEEEET!" one of the other Autobots bellowed, the dome going quiet as a tomb. "He wasn't done. It's rude to interrupt, you know."
As he went back to his place, as Optimus continued. "To keep you safe from the conflict, we have created spacecraft to evacuate anyone wishing to leave. Anyone wishing to depart should return to the dome by 13 hours tomorrow."
The crowd changed their tune, now much more supportive. One of the Autobots crossed their arms dismissively, catching the attention of the others.
"I don't think letting these characters go is a good idea," they sniffed. "We could use them to bolster our numbers."
"That is a choice they should make for themselves, Speedstar. The Decepticons wouldn't let them have that choice."
"He's got ya beat there," remarked Hot Rod, as Speedstar kept the rest of their thoughts to themself.
"...the transports were all sent through a space bridge, with Optimus personally acting as escort for the Exodus. That one was attacked by the Decepticons, which coincided with the space bridge breaking down."
"And the space bridge is…?" questioned Matt.
"...Matt, what is a bridge for?"
"Crossing? Oh, I get it now, it's like some type of portal across space."
Hot Rod screeched to a stop once more, which once again nearly sent his occupants into the window. He opened the door, signifying that they should get out, transforming once they did. Back at where the stasis pod was, the robot tore away at the grass and dirt, while the humans checked over the pod for some kind of access panel. Anna eventually found a seam that didn't match up with the rest of the pod, brushing away dirt to find a panel.
"I found it!" she called, Hot Rod walking over. "So, we pull this thing open, push a 'wake up' button, and Bob's your uncle. That's the jist of it, right?"
"First, I don't know what an 'uncle' is," replied the Autobot. "And second, yes, that's the jist of it."
He gripped the edge of the panel, pulling it away to show a nine-button keypad. The buttons were huge compared to the humans, but they looked small when Hot Rod pressed at them. He first pressed the top right button, then the middle left, and the center. A hiss came from the pod, the lid flipping open and the robot inside being revealed. Their optics opened, rising up out of the pod and looking around. They then turned to Hot Rod and the humans.
"Oh, I'm not alone," the stranger said, voice feminine. "And the locals are here. Uh…"
"Universal greeting," suggested Hot Rod.
"Oh! Bah-weep granagh wheep ni ni bong." At the confused expression of the humans, and the fact Hot Rod was nearly doubled over in laughter, she realized she had been duped. "You must think you're very funny."
"I'm not funny, I'm Hot Rod. That's Matt and Anna, and you're on Earth."
"Earth? But we were due for Andromeda." Looking around, the robot spotted a cougar, scanning the animal with her eyes before transforming into a mechanical facsimile of it. "My name's Mountrek. What happened to the Exodus?"
"Long story short, it got attacked at the same time the space bridge went kaput. I was hoping to use your pod's computer to figure out where it is."
Mountrek agreed, the two looking through the pod as the humans watched.
In the apartment complex parking lot, Solon was on his knees looking for his right hand, which had been knocked aside when Hot Rod arrived. He finally found it underneath a parked car, but it was slightly too far away to reach with his left hand.
"Solon, report. Where is the human?" came the voice of Chopblock through his comm.
"He's gone, Chopblock. Autobot came in and swept him away."
"Why aren't you tracking them down?"
"I'm trying to find my hand," retorted Solon. "I kinda need that."
"I swear, worm, if it weren't for your mentor…"
"Hey, I've almost got it. Then I can find that human and-"
"Forget about it," said Chopblock. "Beater's found something, we may need your assistance here. Sending you the grids, don't make us wait."
Rolling his eyes as the comm switched off, a magnet in the teenager's wrist switched on, dragging the hand along the ground until it reattached. Standing up and dusting his hand off, he went back to his skateboard and headed in the direction of the transmitted coordinates.
At Mountrek's stasis pod, the two transformers had set up some sort of computer, the humans assisting with the smaller steps. As the computer powered up, a holographic map appeared, blue and orange optics scanning it intensely.
"Okay, we've figured it out," said the neutral, turning to Matt and Anna. "The Exodus emerged somewhere above the area of Central America, ejecting its stasis pods as an emergency measure. The ship lost control approaching these mountains, and crashed nearby."
"Alright, so… that's good," said Anna. "Maybe there we can find the rest of the pods."
"Maybe we will, maybe we won't," shrugged Hot Rod. "We'll never know till we find it."
"The map says it's very close, underneath that road there."
As the map was switched off, the Autobot looked to his new companion. "Listen, Mountrek, I know you wanted to get away from the whole conflict, but I could use your help in tracking down the ship."
Mountrek shook her head decisively. "I've given you all the help I can," she responded. "Right now, I intend to carry out my original goal, to live on a new planet until the war comes to an end. I hope you find
With that, the neutral shifted back to a cougar and ran into the mountains. Hot Rod didn't seem happy to watch her leave, but didn't stop her.
Solon found Chopblock and Beater in the mountains close to their base. The latter Decepticon wasn't a looker; parts of his face had been ripped off and never replaced, his vehicle mode looked like it was covered in dents, and his bodywork was filthy.
"Alright, what is it?" he began, stopping as he saw just what it was.
It was a massive robot, a transformer if that Decepticon insignia meant anything. Not as tall as Chopblock, but a lot bulkier. It actually made the teenager shiver.
The tall Decepticon laughed as he saw that. "Glad I found something that'll silence you," he jeered.
"It's remarkable, he still functions," said Beater, his voice sounding like a garbled radio. "Bring me an Energon cube, I want to see if we can awaken him."
"Just who is this anyway?" asked Solon, watching as the Energon was poured into the robot's chest.
"This is our leader," replied Chopblock, the stranger's optics glowing a dark purple, slowly rising to his feet. "This is the strongest of the Decepticons, the most powerful Cybertronian in existence, this is Megatron."
Megatron said nothing for a moment, looking down at his hands and flexing them. "I live," he said at last. "Yes… Yes, Megatron lives!"
Now that Megatron's been unearthed, things will begin picking up and the main conflict will be revealed as we reach the end of the beginning. This series will feature mostly original characters, as you may have guessed, but I will have a few preexisting bots sprinkled in eventually. Until then, let me know what y'all think!