DISCLAIMER: I own absolutely none of the properties you will see here. All rights go to their respective owners.
Infinity League: No Road Home
Chapter 5: Primeval Throwdown
In the beginning came the beasts, and all that creeps, crawls, and flies...but nature lies.
They're robots in disguise!
"Imbeciles and traitors...that's all that surrounds me..." Megatron thought to himself as he sat upon his throne.
It hadn't been long since his Predacons' latest humiliating defeat at the hands of the Maximals, resulting in their youthful patrol operative gaining a new Transmetal 2 body, almost as if destiny was countering the creation of his Transmetal 2 clone of the late, treacherous Dinobot. It was a continuous cycle ever since both teams of Cybertronians landed here. Even when victory was practically in the palm of his hand, it would always be swept away by Primal and his band of explorers.
His plans were perfect. Foolproof. Even his deceptive mentor, Cryotek, fell victim to his intellect...Unfortunate then that his subordinates were such imbeciles. From the living embodiment of a bad omen that was Waspinator and the loyal yet psychotic Inferno, to bots that were dumber than a sack of hammers, such as Quickstrike or the now deceased Scorponok, failure surrounded Megatron no matter how precise his actions were. Even those that weren't completely inept at conquest still had the drawback of being treacherous filth. First Dinobot, then Terrorsaur, who is also pushing up lugnuts, then Tarantulas, and finally Blackarachnia. In fact, the Predacon renegade was fairly certain that the only reason Rampage hadn't defected yet was because of the leverage he had in the form of half of his specially modified spark.
It drove him to be almost as insane as the aforementioned Protoform X. He did not renounce his old name of Galavar to bare the title of his namesake, the great and powerful leader of the ancient Decepticons, to be trifled by constant failure. He swore, by his very spark, that he will bring the Predacons back to their former glory. That those who made his kind slaves, the Maximals, will be forced to cower once more at the mere mention of the name Megatron. That the Tripredacus Council will bow before him and beg for his forgiveness for vilifying him. But most of all, that his accursed rival, the one that bore that despised name, 'Optimus,' would die slowly by his hands.
And little did he know, a new opportunity had just presented itself.
"UNKNOWN TEMPORAL ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED," the Predacon computer informed.
Those simple words nearly caused the renegade Predacon to shoot up out of his throne in shock.
"Computer, display location immediately!" he commanded.
"EXACT LOCATION UNKNOWN, APPROXIMATE PERIMETER OF THE ENERGY SIGNATURE'S TRAJECTORY NOW LOADING," the computer responded.
The screen before Megatron then displayed a map of the nearby mountain range, a square placed on an area to show where the hypothesized location of this sudden energy source was. According to it, it was somewhere in the middle of the landscape in a thirty-five mile radius.
The Predacon leader placed a hand on his chin in deep concentration, a sinister smirk slowly curving on his face as an idea hit him.
If this mysterious source of energy was indeed temporal like the computer stated, he may very well be able to use it to 'hit the reset button,' so to speak. He wouldn't have to waste time and resources trying to lay siege to the Ark's wreckage. Instead, he could simply travel back in time to the moment his ultimate victory was snatched away from him at the last second...and finish Optimus Prime off before Primal could ever have the chance to merge his spark with that of the Autobot commander. The Maximals would be wiped off the face of reality itself, and the Predacons would finally rule over Cybertron as they should. The mere thought caused the renegade Cybertronian to let out a devious chuckle, followed by one simple word.
"Yeeeesss."
But then, for the second time today, his thoughts would be interrupted by the Predacon computer.
"INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM INFERNO."
An irritable snarl escaped Megatron's mouth before he responded.
"On screen."
The screen before him proceeded to display a feed of the psychotic infantry commander as he and Waspinator continued on their skyward patrol duties.
"Royalty!" Inferno began. "The wasp and I have just spotted something of interest!"
"Whatever it is, it had better be worth my time, Inferno," Megatron warned.
The feed then switched to what it was the two flyers had spotted, revealing to the Predacon commander a small, large-headed human and, more interestingly...
"What? Is that a Gem?!" a baffled Megatron questioned. "Impossible. Pink Diamond and her forces aren't due to arrive here for another twenty-five solar cycles!"
"She appears to fit the description of a Peridot, royalty," Inferno furthered. "A scout, perhaps?"
"Doubtful," Megatron denied. "Why would Homeworld in this era send a Peridot to do a Ruby squadron's job?"
His optics then shifted to the alien's companion.
"And what of the human that's accompanying her?"
"An adolescent, but clearly more evolved than the neanderthals of this time period," Inferno answered. "Interestingly, my scanners are detecting some kind of unknown chemical within her DNA, and earlier, when we spotted them, she started to float off the ground as though she was capable of flight."
"Hmmm..." Megatron mused as he placed a hand on his chin.
It couldn't be a coincidence. The temporal reading and these strangers in a strange land were connected somehow, and he knew that he needed to seize the opportunities that destiny had presented him before the Maximals could thwart him once more.
"What are your orders?" Inferno asked.
"You and Waspinator continue to monitor them from afar," Megatron answered. "Engage them only if the Maximals encounter them as well. If they do, do what you can to bring them back to base."
"Ohhhh, Wazzzzpinator was afraid Megatron would say that!" Waspinator complained, only for Inferno to shove him aside.
"We'll see just what this 'chemical' within that human's DNA is...even if we have to dissect it out of her, Megatron continued. "In the meantime, another...rather interesting development has transpired that will require myself and the rest of the Predacons' full attention."
"Your will be done, my queen!" Inferno responded.
"Ugh..." Megatron groaned before cutting the feed and activating the Darksyde's PA systems. "Predacons, assemble outside the main gate at once."
With that command, the Predacon leader stood up out of his throne and prepared to exit the room, his cortex still buzzing with these strange occurrences and this new path to victory paved before him...unaware that an equally intrigued Tarantulas had witnessed everything.
"UGH! I do NOT want to have to walk all the way over there!" Buttercup angrily complained. "What did that stupid portal do to me?!"
It had been about an hour since the toughest fighter of the Powerpuff Girls arrived at this time period alongside Peridot. Since their arrival, they had spent that time walking through the grasslands towards their destination: The location of the Chrono-Essence. It would've been a much faster process had there not been one major hindrance. Once they had arrived, Buttercup had appeared...unwell in the eyes of her Gem companion. She had trouble getting off the ground, and she seemed to be frequently out of breath. The pint-sized powerhouse chalked it up to the trip to this time period making her sick, but even then, and especially now, Peridot feared that there was far more to it than just a slight case of nausea.
"I take it you don't normally walk this much, don't you?" the tiny Gem asked.
"Used to flying," Buttercup admitted. "Plus, Citiesville kinda ruined walking for me...on top of a lot of things."
"Place was that bad, huh?" Peridot questioned.
"Oh, you have no idea!" Buttercup answered. "It was like...like if-if Detroit, Metro City, and Jersey were just smushed together with a dash of Florida and-and was just dropped right beside Townsvi-"
In the midst of her rant, however, the Powerpuff Girl suddenly erupted into a coughing fit, causing Peridot to flinch in surprise and back away slightly.
"Buttercup, I don't think the trip here caused this sudden ailment of yours," she stated. "I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure you humans' motion sickness doesn't last over an hour afterward or cause you to start coughing."
"Look, I said I-*cough*-I'm fine, okay?" Buttercup retorted. "Just gimme a few more minutes, and I'll be good as new."
The Gem technician couldn't help but roll her eyes at her companion's stubbornness.
"Alright, fine," she replied before muttering "Pretty sure Blossom or Bubbles would've listened to me."
The green-clad heroine simply shot a glare at her fellow member of the League before preparing to continue on their trek...only to then spot something within the tall grass that nearly caused her skin to turn white.
"SPIDER!"
Before Peridot could even say anything, Buttercup used whatever strength she had left to launch herself past her towards whatever was hiding in plain sight. A shocked gasp was heard from within the grass before a powerful punch from the small powerhouse sent what appeared to be a giant black widow spider hurdling up into the air. A stunned Peridot observed the sight, wondering just what kind of lifeform it was and what it was doing in this time period, only for something to happen afterward that made the Gem's jaw drop.
The spider transformed into an orange and black female robot with the spider legs of her beast mode on the back of her arms.
"A CYBERTRONIAN?!" Peridot exclaimed. "HERE?! NOW?!"
The spider-robot then landed harshly onto the ground, looking up at Buttercup as she floated above her, snarling at her attacker in contempt.
"Looks like Savanti sent a few Cons to try and stop us," the Powerpuff Girl surmised. "Well, you scrapheaps messed with the wrong Powerpuff! So get ready to get your metal hiney tossed into the junkyard, you-!"
Her insult was cut short, however, when, of all things, a wolf-eagle swooped down from behind Buttercup and grabbed her with its jaws before flying upward, releasing her as it too transformed into a robot before grabbing her. Buttercup attempted to free herself, but, to her shock, was having a difficult time performing a task that would normally take all of two seconds for her.
"Normally, I wouldn't dare hit a female, but NO ONE strikes my beloved and gets away with it, you brute!" the wolf-eagle shouted.
In retaliation, Buttercup just barely managed to shoot a blast of her heat vision that hit the robot square in the face, causing him to howl out in pain and release his grip to place his hands on his optics. This, in turn, caused the pint-sized powerhouse to fall a good twenty feet to the earth below, causing her to let out a cry of pain the instant she smashed onto the ground.
"Buttercup!" Peridot cried as she dashed towards her, only for a rat with wheels to speed itself in between the two of them before transforming into its own robot mode and grabbing the small Gem.
"Heh, no way I'm lettin' you reach whatever freakazoid your Kindergartens puked out over there," he stated while Peridot struggled to free herself.
"Ugh! Well, when you say it like that, I-MUD IN YOUR OPTICS!" Peridot exclaimed.
She then managed to free one of her hands before tossing mud into the rat-robot's face. The sentient machine reacted by releasing his captive, who instantly sprinted towards her companion.
"GAH!" the robot exclaimed as he started to wipe the mud off his optics.
The Gem technician, meanwhile, made it to the toughest fighter and assisted her back on her feet.
"You okay?" Peridot asked.
"Ugh...Peachy," Buttercup sarcastically answered.
"We need to get out of here and find the Chrono-Essence now," Peridot stated. "More of these things might come for us at any-"
Buttercup, however, immediately noticed something charging towards the two of them and let out a gasp of surprise.
"Get back!" she shouted before positioning herself in front of Peridot.
Then, without warning, a rhinoceros bashed its horn against Buttercup, creating a large bruise on her right arm and sending the pair flying backward. The green-clad Powerpuff Girl immediately placed her free hand on the bruise while Peridot attempted to get back on her feet, only for a roar to catch her off guard. She and her fellow League member turned around to see a mutated cheetah sprinting towards them before transforming into yet another robot for them to fight. As if that wasn't bad enough, out of the corner of her eye, Buttercup saw that the rhino had also transformed and that the other three the two of them incapacitated were behind it.
The five mechanical beings each began to surround the pair, weapons drawn and ready to end this fight, when suddenly...
"Maximals, stand down!"
All parties involved in this scuffle turned their heads towards the source of the voice, which was revealed to be a large orange, blue, and purple-clad robot that flew down towards them. Once this newcomer landed on his feet, it was then that Peridot and Buttercup got a good look at his head, which bore an uncanny resemblance to someone, or some bot, they knew from the present.
"Wait...Prime?!" Peridot gasped.
"Is...Is that really you, Optimus?" a bewildered Buttercup asked.
"Wha-Stand down?!" the rat-bot questioned, completely ignoring the two he was previously fighting. "You do remember that's a Gem down there, right, fearless leader? You know Homeworld ain't exactly friendly at this point. And that juiced-up freak down there's probably some mutant she cooked up out of one of the protohumans here!"
"Call me freak one more time, cheese breath," Buttercup threatened. "I dare you."
"Whoever or whatever she is, she thought Blackarachnia was a Decepticon, Rattrap," the larger robot reasoned.
"Eh, could've always just given her a history lesson or somethin'," the bot now known as Rattrap countered.
"Even so, the fact that these two apparently mistaken me for Optimus Prime says all," the larger machine stated as he approached the two time-traveling heroes. "Homeworld hadn't learned of Orion Pax becoming a Prime at this time, which can only mean one of two things: Either Peridots can predict the future like Sapphires...or neither of you are from this time either."
The group of bots that had ambushed the heroes earlier, known as Maximals, each had a look of shock overtake their face, clearly having not anticipated that there would be even more visitors from Earth's future.
"Oh, for bootin' up cold!" Rattrap complained. "You'd think how many times the fraggin' space-time continuum's rolled over and played dead at this rate that Vector Prime himself would come down just to say 'Hey, knock this slag off already!'"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Peridot interrupted. "Did you say we weren't from this time 'either?' You mean to tell me you all time traveled here too?! And for that matter, who are you guys anyway?! You're all clearly Cybertronian in design, yet most of you are all so...tiny."
"Hey! Speak for yourselves, pipsqueak," Rattrap rebutted.
"Yeah, I mean, aren't you a little short for a Peridot?" the cheetah questioned.
"It wasn't until AFTER what happened to Pink Diamond that we got our limb enhancers, brainiac," Peridot irritably corrected. "Besides, my old ones got destroyed, so it doesn't matter anyway."
"Okay, okay, let's try not to start this all over again," the leader of the robots interrupted. "To answer your question, I'm Optimus Primal. These are Cheetor, Rattrap, Rhinox, Silverbolt, and Blackarachnia. We are Cybertronian as you stated, but we're not Autobots. We're their descendants, the Maximals."
"As for why we're here, myself, Optimus, Cheetor, and Rattrap were in pursuit of a band of fugitive Predacons, the Decepticons' descendants, after stealing one of Cybertron's most powerful relics," Rhinox continued. "We ended up crashing here in this time thanks to our transwarp drives as a result of the ensuing conflict."
"So, now that we gave you two a little history lesson, mind returning the favor?" Blackarachnia requested.
"Would you believe us if we said we're looking for a piece of a dead time lord that was also a giant baby?" Buttercup asked. "And we're also kinda on a time limit since there's this dragon-guy that wants to rule all of time or something?"
"Oh, kiddo, after how we kinda pissed off a buncha aliens for ruining their little science experiment here, there ain't nothing that surprises me anymore," Rattrap answered.
"And you believe that this 'piece' is here?" Optimus Primal suggested.
"No, we know it's here," Peridot corrected as she pulled up the device Renet gave her and showed the former captain of the Axalon the coordinates of the Chrono-Essence. "Buttercup would have grabbed it already, but-"
"Pfft, Buttercup?" Rattrap interrupted with a chuckle. "What kinda na-"
"Shut up, Rattrap!" Buttercup irritably snapped.
"...Well, that didn't take long at all, didn't it?" Cheetor commented with a smirk.
"Ah, blow it out your tailpipe, kid," Rattrap brushed off.
"...As I was saying, she would have flown over there and gotten it, but something seems to be wrong with her," Peridot continued.
"Well, what seems to be the problem?" Silverbolt questioned.
"I'm not sure," Peridot answered. "It seems like since we arrived, something almost seemed to be draining her of her power. Granted, I MAY have SOME clue as to what's going on if SOMEONE didn't act so bull-headed and just brush it off as something as mundane as motion sickness!"
"Look, Peridot, I told you a thousand times already!" Buttercup retaliated. "I'm fi-"
Before she could finish that word, however, she began to erupt into another violent coughing fit and instantly placed her hand onto her mouth. When she pulled her hand back and looked down to see, to her shock, small droplets of blood on her hand. Noticing her companion's look didn't bode well, Peridot rushed to her side and observed her slightly blood-stained hand.
"...Okay, never mind, something's definitely wrong with me," the toughest fighter admitted. "...Don't even think about saying 'I told you so.'"
"I'll tell you later," Peridot replied in equal concern before turning to Primal. "Do you, by any chance, have any medical supplies?"
"Rhinox might be able to help out with that," the Maximal leader answered before turning to the aforementioned defense specialist. "You, Rattrap, and Blackarachnia head back to the Ark with them."
"Got it," Rhinox responded.
"Wait, what about the Chrono-Essence?!" Buttercup asked. "Savanti could arrive here any moment! We can't just leave it!"
"Cheetor, Silverbolt, and I can go get it for you," Primal answered. "I'll see if I can get in contact with Depth Charge to-"
"BURN, MAXIMAL SCUM!" a sudden voice shouted.
Knowing exactly who that voice belonged to, just by the first word said alone, the Maximals quickly turned towards the source of the noise, weapons immediately drawn while their new friends from another time turned more in surprise than anything else. There, in the sky, was Inferno, descending towards them with his weapon already drawn and Waspinator close behind. The pyromaniac Predacon wasted no time and began rapidly opening fire, not even caring where he was aiming, whilst laughing with psychotic glee at the carnage he was causing.
"Scatter!" Primal ordered.
Heeding their commander's advice, the Maximals scattered about the plains and began to return fire, only for both aerial Predacons to swiftly dodge every laser blast they dished out at them. Noticing one of Inferno's blasts heading their way, Buttercup swiftly grabbed Peridot and attempted to fly out of its path but was only able to jump a few feet in the air, still dodging the fireball that was careening towards them. However, the blast from when it hit the ground still launched the two of them several yards away before landing harshly against the dirt.
"Cheetor, you and Rhinox get Buttercup and Peridot back to the Ark!" Optimus Primal commanded as the guns on his chest continued to fire at his enemies. "We'll hold these bug brains off for you!"
"On it, Big Bot!" Cheetor responded.
He and Rhinox then dashed towards the time-traveling heroes, something that Inferno took notice of.
"Draw their fire towards you!" he ordered Waspinator. "I'll retrieve the Gem and her companion."
"Oh, but Wazzzzpinator always the one to draw Maximals' fire!" Waspinator complained. "Can't ant-bot just-"
His words had fallen upon deaf auditory receptors, however, as Inferno was already flying towards both Buttercup and Peridot.
"FOR THE ROYALTY!" he yelled.
"...Oh, no, sure, Wazzzzpinator should just put his aft on the line, AGAIN!" Waspinator shouted. "Wazzzzpinator not get paid enough for th-AAAHH!"
His tirade was cut short thanks to him being forced to dodge one of Silverbolt's spears.
As the battle continued, Rhinox and Cheetor were able to reach the two time-displaced heroines, Cheetor trying to shoot down Inferno while Rhinox converted to his beast mode.
"Up ya get!" he instructed as Peridot assisted Buttercup onto the Maximal's back.
Once the Powerpuff was hoisted onto Rhinox, Peridot wasted no time hopping up to join him. The muscle of the Maximals then charged as fast as his beast mode's legs could carry him in the direction towards their base, Cheetor transforming and following close behind. However, Inferno wasn't one to give up on his prey so easily, as evident by him cackling as he flew after them.
The Gem technician then noticed Buttercup heaving heavily, no doubt whatever infection she had caught getting worse by the second.
"How far away are we?!" she asked.
"We're a few kliks away as is!" Rhinox answered while veering to the right to avoid a blaster bolt from his pursuer. "If we hurry, we might be able to make it in about ten cycles!"
"Well, if it wasn't for this bucket of bolts chasing us!" Cheetor countered.
"There is no escape, foolish Maximals!" Inferno shouted as he rapidly fired several shots from his weapon. "Your destruction approaches! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
As the two Maximals continued to evade Inferno's manic offensive, Peridot turned towards the other Maximals, who were busy trying to keep Waspinator off her and Buttercup's backs. Though since this was Waspinator, he was less trying to fight back and was more trying desperately not to be blown to scrap yet again. Her eyes weren't on the flying Predacon, however, and were instead on his jetpack. She had an idea, but she needed to time it absolutely perfectly.
She looked back and forth at both Predacon flyers, waiting for the precise moment to strike. Then, once Waspinator was at a specific angle, she thrust both of her arms towards him, concentrating deeply at one of the jetpack's thrusters. Visibly straining from this, she quickly pulled both of her arms back, her ferrokinetic abilities managing to tear the thruster off.
"Wha?!" was all the surprised green-clad Predacon could yelp before being sent flying out of control.
Primal and the rest of the other Maximals immediately stopped firing their weapons as Waspinator began to careen away from them. He could only babble out several frightened exclamations as he tried in vain to fix whatever had happened to him as he flew towards an unsuspecting Inferno. The ant-bot kept laughing like a deranged lunatic as he kept trying to burn his targets to a crisp when Waspinator rammed him from behind and damaged his own flight capabilities. The two of them screamed in terror as they uncontrollably were sent flying away from the battlefield.
"Jumpin' gyros, what was that?!" a stunned Cheetor asked.
"I'll explain later!" Peridot answered as she noticed Buttercup's breathing getting more and more labored by the second.
"Maximals, back to the base!" Primal commanded as he transformed into his jet mode. "Quickly!"
Blackarachnia proceeded to turn back into her spider mode and hopped atop her commander as he rocketed towards the Maximal headquarters. Silverbolt turned back into his own beast mode and followed close behind while Rattrap converted to his Transmetal vehicle mode and joined up with Rhinox and Cheetor. The entire way, Peridot was hoping that it wasn't too late to save her companion.
Once the time-displaced heroes made it back to the Ark's crash sight, Rhinox wasted no time placing Buttercup onto a medical slab and began his examinations, determined to figure out the cause for this sudden illness.
"How is she?" Peridot asked the gentle giant as he continued to examine the ill-stricken Powerpuff, Cheetor, and Optimus Primal standing behind her.
"It's not looking good," Rhinox solemnly answered. "But, the good news is I do believe I've figured out the cause for your friend's condition."
He then proceeded to point to a screen that displayed a unique DNA strand that belonged to the toughest fighter.
"This is what the scanners found in her body," he stated. "Her DNA seems to consist of an unknown chemical compound making up its structure."
"That's the Chemical X that created her and her sisters," Peridot pointed out. "You think it has something to do with this?"
"I do," Rhinox answered. "This 'Chemical X' you speak of, it seems that there's one specific substance that it doesn't seem to react well with."
"And that is?" Cheetor asked.
The Maximal's defense specialist took a few seconds before answering.
"...Raw energon."
Upon hearing his answer, a gasp escaped the Gem's lips while the optics of the Maximals that stood behind her widened in shock.
"That shouldn't be possible," Optimus stated. "Most of the energon here was destroyed by the Vok's Planet Buster. And she wasn't anywhere near any crystals."
"I believe I may have an answer to that, Optimus," Rhinox responded. "Once the crystals were destroyed, the dust fragments may have contaminated the planet's oxygen and nitrogen. Not to the extent that it would affect any of us..."
He proceeded to turn towards his patient, who continued to have trouble breathing as she laid upon the slab, before continuing.
"...but in her case, just breathing in those small fragments was enough to cause a slow but catastrophic reaction."
He then turned his gaze back to the others.
"Since she's from the future, it's likely that it will dissipate within the next couple of millennia."
"You said this was causing some kind of reaction," Peridot stated. "...What kind of reaction?"
To answer the Gem technician's question, Rhinox turned back to the screen, pressing a button on a remote he was holding to show a simulation to her. Said simulation showed a strand of Buttercup's unique DNA being infested with energon particles.
"As I said, the chemical that her genetic structure consists of doesn't seem to react well when under contact with raw energon," he began. "Once they meet, the energon particles seem to infect and weaken it until it causes a complete collapse of the DNA strand."
The simulation then proceeded to show the strand dissolving into nothingness, much to Peridot's horror.
"And if we don't figure out a means to stop this in time, then..." Rhinox continued.
An uneasy pause filled the air with dread for several seconds.
"...Then what?" Peridot asked, fearing what the Maximal would say to answer her.
"...She'll die," Rhinox stated.
If Peridot had a heart, it might have very well stopped upon hearing that. Though she wasn't exactly an easy person to work with, the Gem wasn't about to just let Buttercup die in their trek to locate the Chrono-Essence. She knew that she had both friends and family that were counting on her to bring her back home, and she'd be damned before she lets something like this happen.
"Is there anything that can be done to save her?" Primal asked.
"Fortunately, I believe there is," Rhinox answered. "It'll be risky, but it might be our only shot at saving her life."
Peridot, her panicked state subsiding and giving way for hope, looked up as Rhinox switched the screen to show schematics of a microscopic machine.
"What you see before you is the design I've made for an artificial antibody I was developing before our encounter with the Vok," he explained. "I was hoping it would serve as a solution for our little energon problem, but fate obviously had other intentions, so I scrapped it. However, it was in the final stages of development when I abandoned it. With the right adjustments, it might be able to perform the same task I intended for it on an organic lifeform like Buttercup."
"Well then, what are we just standing around here like a bunch of clods for?!" Peridot exclaimed. "Hurry up and get that thing fired up so we can save her!"
"I can't rush it so hastily, Peridot," Rhinox reasoned as he raised a hand upward in defense. "If I make even one mistake adjusting it, it might end up attacking her blood cells instead."
"Still, as you said, we're running out of time!" Peridot countered, motioning her arms towards Buttercup, whose skin had started to go pale, as she did so. "What if I helped you out? Would that speed things up more reasonably?"
"Hmm..." Rhinox mused, placing a hand on his chin as he did so. "It could, but you do realize that this is far from Gem technology, right?"
"Well, as much as I hate bringing this up, for obvious reasons..." Peridot replied nervously with a hand on her left arm. "During the Cybertron/Homeworld War, we Peridots were assigned with trying to decode Cybertronian technology we stole during our campaigns, so I do know a thing or two about your tech."
"But this is millions of stellar cycles beyond what the Autobots and Decepticons were capable of then!" Cheetor argued.
"Still, she's right," Rhinox stated. "The two of us together are the best chance we have at adjusting the antibody precisely and in a timely manner to save Buttercup's life."
"Then, again, what are we waiting for?" Peridot repeated in a determined manner. "Let's get started."
"We'll leave you to it then," Optimus said. "Good luck."
However, right before both he and Cheetor were about to leave the newly formed scientific dup to their work, Rattrap had been making a mad dash towards the four of them.
"Ay, fearless leader!" he said. "Hope I'm not interruptin' anything, but we just got a call from ol' fishstick a few microquads away."
"Patch me through," Primal commanded.
No sooner had Rattrap obliged did a screen on Optimus' forearm reveal to him the face of the Maximals' most recent addition to their roster, Depth Charge.
"Primal, I've spotted the Preds heading for a location about a hundred kliks from the base," the former Imperial Peace Marshal informed. "Also, my sensors are picking up a strange disturbance within a mountain range in the area they're in. Knowing them, that's probably the reason they're here."
Hearing this caused Peridot's eyes to widen as a thought crossed her mind. One she was inwardly hoping wasn't warranted.
"Optimus, tell him to display the disturbance's coordinates!" she requested.
"Who was-?" Depth Charge attempted to question.
"I'll explain later," Primal interrupted. "Just do as she said."
Obliging with the Maximal commander's request, Depth Charge proceeded to send a map of the mountain range to him, showcasing both where the Predacons were located as well as the coordinates of the disturbance. Primal then lowered himself so Peridot could get a better view of the map. Almost immediately, she grabbed Renet's device so she could compare the location of both the disturbance and the location of the Chrono-Essence. The instant she did so, her fears had been realized.
The coordinates were almost the exact same.
"It's the Chrono-Essence!" she stated. "The disturbance is the Chrono-Essence! The Predacons somehow must know about it!"
Upon hearing this news, Primal's optics widened in horror as a thought came to him.
"Buttercup said that it was the piece of a dead time lord, right?" he questioned. "And that the one you're trying to stop wants to use it to rule over all of time. Meaning that it must hold some means of controlling the space-time continuum. So if Megatron manages to get his hands on it, then...that means..."
"Wait, wait, wait, lemme guess," Rattrap dejectedly interrupted. "...We're all gonna die."
"What?" a confused Peridot asked. "What does it mean?"
"I think it'd be best if I showed you," Optimus answered. "Rhinox, start working on the antibody."
"Already am," Rhinox replied as he grabbed a set of tools nearby.
"Follow me," Primal requested the Gem technician as he began to make his way towards the wreckage of the Ark, Peridot following close behind.
The massive doors to the Autobot spacecraft's bridge opened before the two time-displaced visitors. Beyond them were the bodies of several Autobots and Decepticons. Each of them damaged and in stasis lock, awaiting the day they would finally reawaken. The day their war would be reignited on Earth. Primal was the first to enter the downed ship, Peridot following suit as she took in the sights before her.
As she did so, she walked past the body of a Decepticon all too familiar to her and the rest of the League. One that made her instantly freeze where she stood. There, slumped against a broken piece of machinery, was the original Megatron himself. A chill ran through the Gem's body as recollections of his wrath came back to her, both from the Cybertron/Homeworld War and from his newfound war against the Autobots and the Infinity League. It was then that a thought came to her. One that might be able to put an end to this senseless conflict before it even started. She shifted her eyes from side to side before impulsively reaching for his damaged spark chamber, thinking maybe, just maybe...
"I know what you're thinking, but don't," Primal's voice suddenly scolded, prompting a frightened yelp to escape Peridot's lips. "We don't want to damage the timeline any more than we already have."
"Right, right...Sorry..." Peridot sheepishly apologized.
"In your defense, I doubt you were the only one who thought that," Optimus responded before turning to the bridge's command chair. "Anyway, this is what I wanted you to see."
The small Gem complied with the Maximal leader's request, walking over to see exactly what it was that he was standing next to: The stasis-locked body of...
"Prime," Peridot gasped quietly.
"This is Megatron's endgame," Primal explained. "To kill Optimus Prime before he and the other Autobots awakened to reignite the Great War, wiping the Maximals from history forever...and he came dangerously close to victory once before."
"And if he finds the Chrono-Essence...he'll be able to basically hit the reset button and finish the job," Peridot surmised.
"Or even wipe us out without the need to break back into the Ark to do so," the former explorer added. "Either way, it's absolutely imperative that we find this Chrono-Essence before the Predacons get that chance."
He then looked down at Peridot before continuing.
"Go focus on saving Buttercup. We'll make sure we get you the Chrono-Essence."
The Gem nodded once before hurrying out of the Ark's wreckage, Primal following suit as he activated his COMM's.
"Cheetor, Rattrap, Silverbolt, Blackarachnia, meet me outside the mountain...We're going on a Pred hunt."
Miles away from Mt. Saint Hilary, the Predacons, consisting of Megatron, Tarantulas, Waspinator, Dinobot II, Quickstrike, Inferno, and Rampage, continued their trek up a snowy mountain in their beast modes. A blizzard had ravaged the area for some time, making their expedition all the more difficult for him. But Megatron was not one to allow mother nature to put a stop to his ambitions of glory. Something most of his subordinates didn't exactly see eye to eye with.
"Consarnit!" Quickstrike shouted. "This time-doohicky better be worth me freezin' my blasted servos off over here!"
"I'm one to agree with the Fuzor for once, Megatron," Tarantulas admitted. "You're certain the ship's scanners weren't malfunctioning when it detected this temporal disturbance?"
"Patience, my friends, patience," Megatron responded. "For very soon, we shall finally be free from eons of tyranny courtesy of our Maximal oppressors. Soon, the Predacons will take their rightful place as the true rulers of Cybertron!"
However, just as his subordinates were about to further voice their concerns, the sound of a missile firing caught their auditory receptors, prompting Megatron to turn towards his right. His optics were greeted by said warhead heading straight for him and his Predacons.
"Evasive action!" he commanded.
Not needing to be told twice, the other Predacons quickly scattered about, the missile hitting the side of the mountain they were walking up. The explosion caused a wave of snow to bury poor Waspinator, who hadn't flown out of its path in time, his insect legs jutting out of the freshly made mound. The other Predacons then turned to see Optimus Primal in his jet mode hovering before them, with Rattrap, Cheetor, and Blackarachnia standing atop him while Silverbolt hovered beside their left and Depth Charge to their right.
"Rrrh, Predacons, terrorize!" Megatron ordered.
Each of the renegade Predacon's minions quickly converted into their robot modes as their enemies converged towards them, Primal transforming into his robot mode as they did so. Inferno was the one to fire the first shot, aiming his flamethrower towards Cheetor. However, the mutated Maximal was able to quickly evade the flames and dash towards the pyromaniac, elbowing him right in the jaw once he reached him. Cheetor then quickly fired his blaster at Waspinator as he tried to get the jump on him, causing the green-clad Predacon to be blasted into one of the mountain's cliffside.
Depth Charge, naturally, went straight for Rampage, who had already opened fire with his rifle to try and shoot the former Imperial Peace Marshal. Powering through the onslaught of laser bolts, Depth Charge quickly tackled his rival to the ground, raising his cutlass to finish him off. Unfortunately, Tarantulas had taken this opportunity to fire upon the Maximal with the spider legs of his beast mode, forcing Depth Charge to use one of his manta wings to shield himself. This proved to be exactly what Rampage needed, for the instant Depth Charge focused his attention elsewhere, the failed experiment grabbed onto his enemy's chassis and pulled him towards him, smashing his head upon his face. A disoriented Depth Charge stumbled back, allowing Rampage to get back onto his feet and punch his foe in the face several times.
While that was going on, Blackarachnia and Silverbolt were forced to contend with Quickstrike, who shot several poisonous energy blasts from the cobra head of his alternate mode.
"Ye-haw! Why dontcha ditch that bird-brained varmit and get with someone who can show ya a real hootenanny, sugarplum?" Quickstrike offered in between shooting his targets.
"I'll show YOU a hootenanny, you scoundrel!" Silverbolt angrily declared as he swooped down towards Quickstrike.
But before he could toss one of his clubs at his fellow Fuzor, Dinobot II suddenly leaped onto his back and began swiping his claws madly at his enemy. Silverbolt howled in pain as he began to descend onto the gravel below, crashing headfirst into a large rock. Enraged, Blackarachnia fired a poisoned anchor at Dinobot II, only for him to somersault out of its path and fire a laser blast from his left optic at the former Predacon, knocking her flat on her back.
Elsewhere, Rattrap had taken cover behind a pile of rocks, occasionally poking out to fire upon Inferno and Tarantulas, who were attempting to blow him away. Not long afterward, Cheetor rushed up to take cover alongside him.
"Oh, man! I knew going in outnumbered was a bad idea!" Rattrap complained as he tossed one of his bombs at the duo of Predacons.
"Just keep them busy for a little while longer!" Optimus Primal said via his COMMs device, the bomb Rattrap threw detonating not long afterward, though it did little to stop the barrage of laser fire. "Once I get the Chrono-Essence away from Megatron, we retreat to the base!"
"You better hurry then, boss monkey!" Rattrap said as he and Cheetor returned fire. "Don't know how much longer we can deal with this scrap!"
Meanwhile, Megatron had managed to reach the mountain's peak, his scanners indicating that the disturbance was nearby. The fugitive Predacon wasted no time firing his energy cannon at the snow that surrounded him, causing it to melt away. Then, he saw it. There, just a few yards away, was a helix-shaped object with hourglass shaped strands of DNA shining a bright shade of gold. There was no doubt about it. This was the disturbance his ship picked up. And it was within his reach.
"Yes!" Megatron said. "It is here. My final, ultimate triumph against the Maximals!"
But just as he began to approach the Chrono-Essence, Optimus Primal suddenly flew in from behind the tyrannical Predacon, catching him off guard and tackling him off the mountain peak. The two of them fell several feet downward before landing harshly onto a cliff. Both of them easily shook it off and stood to face each other, Megatron snarling in contempt.
"If you think I'm letting you get anywhere near the Chrono-Essence, Megatron, you're even crazier than I thought!" Primal declared.
"Ah, you certainly seem quite informed about this disturbance, Primal, don't you?" Megatron responded. "Was it your new little friend who told you? Did she tell you = right before her health took a turn for the worst?"
The Maximal leader glared his optics at his enemy upon hearing of his mockery of Buttercup's grim condition.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a shame that she's destined to die so young," Megatron continued.
Those words seemed to be the tipping point for Primal, who exclaimed in anger as he charged towards Megatron. The Predacon leader smirked at the sight before pointing his cannon at his opponent and firing.
Back at the Ark, Rhinox continued to carefully use a pair of cybernetic tweezers to connect a series of wires into the artificial antibody while Peridot connected several chips into its circuit board. Despite her determined outlook on the outside, inside, the Homeworld Gem was a nervous wreck. One minor miscalculation could make the situation Buttercup was already in even worse, even though this was the toughest fighter's only chance of survival.
"Alright, now just connect that last chip into the circuits and..." Rhinox instructed as his assistant continued her work. "...There! Alright. Now there are just a few more wires I need to connect, and it should be ready. In the meantime, I need you to ready a syringe for the transference."
"On it," Peridot responded before dashing to a drawer nearby the slab Buttercup laid upon.
Due to the fact that the compartment was built with a Cybertronian, albeit a smaller Cybertronian, in mind, Peridot still fell a bit too short to reach it. So, she resorted to using her ferrokinetic abilities to open the drawer. As she started scrounging for the syringe, the tiny Gem heard her communicator going off, prompting her to angrily grab it to answer it.
"Peridot, I've got good news and bad news," Renet, from the other side, informed. "Penn and Ford got the Chrono-Essence from their time period, but Savanti has the one from Chun-Li and Jet Jaguar's. Have you and Bu-?"
"Renet, now's not a good time!" Peridot interrupted as she continued searching through the drawer. "I can't explain much, but something's happened to Buttercup."
"What?" a concerned Renet asked. "W-What happened?"
"We've arrived in a time period where raw energon's contaminated Earth's atmosphere," Peridot explained. "And we only just now found out that it's toxic to her! She She's going to die if I just stand around!"
"Okay, okay, then focus on that," Renet replied. "Savanti hasn't arrived in your time period left, so there's still time to get the Chrono-Essence once you're done."
"I'll contact you if I have any updates," Peridot stated, finally managing to locate Rhinox's syringe.
"Understood," Renet said before shutting off her communicator.
Peridot was about to jump back down to the floor, only to hear the sound of her companion erupting into another coughing fit.
"Just hold on a bit longer, Buttercup!" Peridot said. "Just a few more minutes, and you'll...uh...n-not be dying anymore!"
"Your...Your bedside manners are terrible...you know that?" Buttercup wheezed out in an unenthused manner.
"Dang it, Buttercup, I'm a technician, not a doctor!" Peridot countered. "I barely know how the human infrastructure even works!"
"*sigh* S-S-Sorry," Buttercup replied.
"I ca-! Wait, what?" Peridot asked, only just now realizing she had just heard Buttercup, of all people, apologize. "...Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!"
She then used her abilities to propel herself onto the large slab to face the pint-sized powerhouse eye-to-eye.
"Don't you start getting sentimental thinking it's the end on me!" she scolded. "No one's dying on my watch!"
"W-W-Well, j-just in case..." Buttercup groaned. "If...If something happens...Blossom, Bubbles, the Professor...tell 'em...t-tell 'em I...*cough* *cough* J-Just tell 'em, okay?"
"I know what you want me to tell them...and you can tell them yourself when we get back," Peridot answered before hopping onto the floor, using her abilities to have the syringe hover over her. "Rhinox, is this what you need?!"
The Maximal's defensive specialist had just finished wiring the antibody together, allowing him to look up and towards his Gem assistant.
"Yes! Now, bring it here, quickly!" Rhinox answered. "The antibody should be ready now."
Peridot quickly scurried back to Rhinox, thrusting the syringe towards him. The Maximal grabbed it and began to make a few adjustments to the needle before positioning what seemed to be a giant laser towards the antibody.
"Just need to reconfigure it for Buttercup's physiology, and we're good to go," he stated.
The laser fired a beam at the antibody, causing it to shrink down to an almost microscopic level before falling back down to the table below. Rhinox then quickly opened the syringe's barrel, allowing the antibody to fall inside. With their weapon against Buttercup's ailment now complete, Rhinox wasted no time rushing over to Buttercup, jabbing the needle into her now weakened shoulder and pushing the antibody into her body. Once it was inside, Rhinox pulled the needle out before he and Peridot turned to a large monitor nearby.
"Now the moment of truth," Rhinox said.
The monitor activated, showing a POV of the antibody as it traversed through Buttercup's bloodstream, all while an anxious Peridot watched, hoping her and Rhinox's efforts weren't for not.
"So far, so good," Rhinox commented. "It doesn't seem to be going after her blood cells."
Not long after he had said that, a mass of energon leaching off a DNA strand was shown before the two of them. A few tense seconds passed without any reaction from the antibody, causing Peridot to fear the worst. But then, the antibody fired what appeared to be a laser at the energon mass, causing it to completely disintegrate and dissipate into nothingness. The sight caused a smile to beam on Peridot's face as the antibody attacked more and more energon, all while Rhinox breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yes!" Peridot cheered. "We did it!"
However, almost as if the universe was countering this celebration, the monitor fizzled to footage of Cheetor, who was obviously making a distress call, still crouched behind the mass of rocks as the sounds of a fight raged on around him.
"Mayday! Mayday! Cheetor to the Ark! Cheetor to the Ark!" the Transmetal-2 Maximal said.
"Cheetor!" Rhinox greeted in a worried tone. "What's going on out there?"
"The Preds have us completely pinned down!" Cheetor reported. "We can't take much more of this!"
"Did you guys get the Chrono-Essence?" Peridot questioned.
"No, and even worse, ol' bucket-headed Megs is gettin' awfully close to it!" Rattrap answered.
"Optimus is trying to keep him away from it, but we can't go in to give him any reinforcements with these slag-heaps blasting away at us!" Cheetor added.
"Hold on, we just now finished our work on Buttercup," Rhinox replied. "I'll get there as soon as-"
His words were interrupted, however, by the sound of something, or rather, someone, shooting up to the ceiling and crashing through, causing both Rhinox and Peridot to flinch slightly. The two of them turned to see Buttercup was no longer lying upon the slab and that there was a large hole right above where she once was.
"...Well, that was a speedy recovery," Peridot said.
As that transpired, Waspinator, away from the other Predacons' assault on the Maximals, had just finished putting himself back together after Cheetor had blasted him away. The Predacon was about to fly off to rejoin the battle when his optics caught something approaching the mountain from afar. He narrowed his optics to try and get a better look, seeing that it was, in fact, Buttercup approaching him at top speed.
And she did NOT look happy.
"Huh?" Waspinator said as he scratched the top of his head. "But fleshy-bots cannot fly."
Meanwhile, the other Predacons approached the rock pile the Maximals had taken cover at, their weapons ready for the instant they poke their heads up.
"Haha! Like rats in a trap, fellas!" Quickstrike commented.
Suddenly, the sounds of metal clanging echoed throughout the air, prompting the five Predacons to cease their approach in bewilderment. Then, almost out of nowhere, a screaming Waspinator was hurled towards them, landing harshly right in front of them. The five looked down and saw their fellow Predacon was covered in dents and burn marks. Waspinator then raised a quivering hand up, index finger pointed upward.
"...In...coming..." he muttered before his arm completely fell off.
Then, without warning, Buttercup barreled through the clouds and landed right on top of Waspinator, the impact sending the other Predacons flying backward and earning Megatron's attention after he had punched Primal away from him. The Powerpuff Girl's green eyes glared right at the five downed Predacons as they picked themselves back up, a look of utter bafflement in their optics. The Maximals, meanwhile, peeked their heads out of the rock pile they had been pinned at, also completely flummoxed as to what had transpired.
"Don't just stand there, you fools!" Megatron barked before pointing his cannon down at Buttercup. "Obliterate her!"
The five Predacons each raised their weapons at the pint-sized powerhouse, who didn't even so much as flinch at the sight of five giant robots preparing to unleash a barrage of laser fire her way...The same couldn't be said for the still downed Waspinator.
"NO, WAIT!" he shouted. "WAZZZZPINATOR STILL-!"
Unfortunately, his allies didn't heed his warning. Instead, they opened fire on the green-clad Powerpuff. Once the first bolt made contact, the resulting explosion coated her in flames as the Predacons continued their relentless onslaught, both Tarantulas and Inferno cackling maniacally while the Maximals observed in horror.
"Oh, she's toast!" Rattrap exclaimed.
"Don't worry," Peridot's voice suddenly said via his and the other Maximals' COMM's, causing them to jolt in surprise. "All that's gonna do is make her angrier."
The Predacons only ceased when their weapons began to overheat, convinced that the flames will give way to a pile of ashes. However, once the fires and smoke faded, a small silhouette was revealed, much to their shock. Sure enough, Buttercup was still standing atop a now soot-covered and groaning Waspinator. She was completely unscathed from the attack and continued to glare at them before casually brushing some dust off of her shoulder.
"...My turn," she sneered. "Let's see, who do I start with?"
She then began to point one at a time at each of her opponents.
"Eeny, meeny, miny...YOU."
She pointed right at Quickstrike as she said that.
"Wha-wut? Why me?!" the Fuzor asked in terror.
Buttercup then bent down and grabbed onto Waspinator's leg.
"...Oh, no," the unlucky Predacon moaned. "Why universe hate Wazzzzpinat-OOOOOR!"
His attacker bolted towards Quickstrike, his leg still in her arms, and proceeded to swing Waspinator at her target, smashing their heads together and sending the Fuzor flying backward. Not content, Buttercup tossed Waspinator away and flew towards Quickstrike, unleashing a series of devastating punches and kicks to his face. A powerful uppercut then sent Quickstrike flying away, prompting Buttercup to turn her attention towards Inferno. Unfortunately, said pyromaniac had already started to douse her in flames thanks to his flamethrower, all the while laughing at her supposed misfortune.
"Foolish human!" he exclaimed. "All enemies of the royalty shall burn!"
However, right as he assumed he had burned the Powerpuff to cinders, Buttercup burst out of the flames and delivered a sucker punch to Inferno's right cheek, causing his head to spin around uncontrollably as he stumbled back. In the process, he had managed to drop his weapon, allowing Buttercup to quickly grab it and use her laser eyes to melt it to slag. Next to try and oppose her was Rampage, who had transformed into his tank mode and aimed his cannons right at his newfound enemy. But Buttercup was quick to act, flying up to the murder-happy Predacon and bending the cannon of his tank mode until it had pointed right at him right before he opened fire. This caused the energy bolt to instead hit the bent barrel, the resulting explosion sending Rampage flying backward as he transformed back into his robot mode.
Next came Tarantulas, who charged towards Buttercup with his buzzsaw weapon at the ready. The Tripredacus' agent lunged the saw blade of his weapon down at the pint-sized powerhouse, only for her to grab it with her bare hands and pull it away from its owner before kicking him right at his jaw. The power of the impact managed to knock Tarantulas flat on his back before Buttercup slammed his weapon against her knee, causing it to snap in two. However, no sooner had she done that did Dinobot II lunge towards her from behind and slash his claws against her back, causing her to cry out in pain. Enraged, Buttercup attempted to slam her elbow against him, only for the Transmetal clone to leap back to avoid it.
"Now, let us see how you fare against a TRUE warrior!" he declared as his adversary turned to face him.
The clone was the one to make the first move, firing his laser optic at Buttercup, who instantly flew upward to avoid it. Unfortunately, it had managed to hit Waspinator right as he tried to approach the green-clad Powerpuff in his wasp mode, blowing him away. Buttercup then tried to land atop Dinobot II, only for him to quickly dodge the offensive, which resulted in a small crater forming where the Powerpuff Girl landed. Dinobot II attempted to counter with a kick, only for Buttercup to punch his leg out of the way before headbutting him right in the gut. The Transmetal Predacon stumbled backward a bit as Buttercup shot her laser eyes his way, leading Dinobot II to react by shooting his own laser optic at her. The two beams collided, resulting in a brief struggle for dominance. Fortunately, it was clear that Buttercup's offensive was stronger, for her lasers managed to overpower Dinobot II's, resulting in them hitting him right in the face. The clone yelled in pain as he was blasted right up against the side of the mountain.
"Hoo yeah! Go Buttercup!" Peridot cheered as she and Rhinox continued to observe the battle from the Ark. "Sock it to 'em!"
Seeing the surprisingly cheerful Gem before him caused Rhinox to raise a mechanical eyebrow slightly in bewilderment.
"Are all Peridots secretly this hyperactive?" he asked.
"Just the good ones," Peridot boasted.
Back at the battle, the other Predacons attempted to charge towards Buttercup in all directions. However, right before they could reach her, the Maximals jumped out of their cover and charged towards them, opening fire upon them and forcing them to cease their attack and fall back.
"We'll keep these clowns busy!" Cheetor said as he blasted Inferno. "Go help Optimus get the Chrono-Essence!"
Nodding once, Buttercup rocketed towards the top of the mountain, allowing Depth Charge to fire an energy disc from his chest right at Rampage now that she was out of his line of fire.
While that was going on, Optimus Primal had managed to slam Megatron against the side of the mountain, only for the renegade Predacon to fire his cannon up at the mountain's peak, allowing a small avalanche of snow to descend towards them. Megatron then flew away and let the snow pile on top of Primal right before he could make his own escape. Smirking deviously, the Predacon leader ascended towards the Chrono-Essence once again. But just as his prize was at his reach, he felt something pulling him back from behind and tossing him towards a nearby cliff. Megatron crashed onto the cliff roughly, causing him to grunt in pain just as Buttercup landed in front of him, glaring daggers right into his optics.
"Rrrr, I have come too far just to be thwarted by a child!" Megatron angrily declared as he got back onto his feet.
"I remember a certain other bucket-headed junk pile saying just that before my sisters and I ran his shiny, metal butt outta Townsville," Buttercup retaliated. "Guess some things never change with Mega-Dorks like you."
The Predacon snarled in contempt at the metahuman before him, unwilling to take such disrespect lightly.
"Beast mode!" he shouted.
Megatron then ran towards Buttercup, transforming into his Transmetal t-rex mode before the jaws of his beast mode clamped down on the green-clad heroine, forcing her to use her arms and legs to force them open. The force of Megatron's jaws was great, causing Buttercup's limbs to tremble slightly. Fortunately, she had faced Megatron head-on, thus allowing her to fire her laser eyes down his mechanical throat. The Predacon leader roared in agony, freeing Buttercup from his grip and allowing her to fly towards the Chrono-Essence once again. Unfortunately, Megatron followed suit, catching up with her before headbutting her away from it, though she was able to fire her laser eyes at one of her opponent's thrusters, causing him to veer away from the Chrono-Essence as well.
"No!" Megatron yelled.
The renegade then transformed into his robot mode in an effort to correct himself. Just as he did, though, Buttercup tackled him towards the cliffside where he and Primal previously did battle. The attack was perfectly timed, for Primal's fist shot out of the snow mound and landed right at Megatron's face before he landed, causing him to be sent hurtling against the mountainside. Buttercup then assisted the Maximal leader out of the snow mound before the two of them approached a now outnumbered Megatron.
"Whadya say we make this Jurassic bozo go the way of the real dinosaurs, Optimus?" Buttercup questioned.
"I'd say that's just Prime, Buttercup," Optimus Primal answered as his chest cannons deployed.
With those words spoken, the former explorer fired his weapons, the blast sending Megatron flying upward. Buttercup followed this by flying up to him and slamming her heel onto Megatron's chassis, causing him to be sent plummeting back down to the cliffside. The instant he landed, Optimus began to deliver a series of powerful punches to his rival. Not long afterward, Buttercup joined him until he was backed up against the mountain wall. Then, together, the duo uppercut Megatron right in the jaw, rocketing him back up as he screamed in both aggravation and pain. The Predacon landed on the mountain's top, much to Primal's horror.
"He's going to get the Chrono-Essence!" he stated.
"Oh, no, he's not," Buttercup sneered.
Before Primal could question what she meant, she zipped up and above the mountain right as Megatron attempted to crawl his way towards the Chrono-Essence. The toughest fighter then began to spin herself around at a rapid pace until a powerful, green tornado was formed around her.
Back down the mountain, Blackarachnia was busy firing the lasers on her spider legs at Quickstrike when she noticed the tornado forming above her.
"Uh, guys?" she said. "The forecast isn't looking too good all of a sudden!"
Seeing what she meant, the other Maximals quickly ceased their fighting and made a full retreat, Silverbolt and Depth Charge changing into their aerial alternate modes and allowing the others to hop on top of them to get away. The Predacons attempted to give chase, only for the tornado's force to begin to pull them towards it. One by one, they began to fly backward with great speed despite their efforts, sending them screaming towards the harbinger of their latest defeat.
Megatron, meanwhile, continued to inch himself closer and closer towards the Chrono-Essence despite the winds trying to pull him away. The source of his ultimate victory was right in front of him, and he was not about to give it up so easily. However, right as he was about to grab it and claim it for himself, Optimus Primal's hand reached down and grabbed it. Shocked, Megatron looked up to see his enemy standing before him, feet planted against the ground firmly to prevent him from being pulled towards Buttercup's tornado.
"Time's up, Megatron," he said.
With that, Primal reeled his right leg back and kicked Megatron square in the face, causing him to let go of the mountain, the winds carrying him towards the tornado behind him.
"No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!" he cried as his hand reached out towards the Chrono-Essence, all while he and his minions were pulled into the tornado.
With all seven Predacons at her mercy and swirling inside, Buttercup repositioned her tornado to where it pointed away from the mountain, causing the time-displaced Cybertronians to shoot out of the top of the funnel and be sent flying back towards their base. With her opponents taken care of, Buttercup stopped spinning and allowed the tornado to fade away. She watched as the Predacons flew further and further away, all while screaming in terror, and smirked to herself as she crossed her arms.
"Team Predacon's blastin' off again!" she mocked.
Elsewhere, the other Maximals observed Buttercup's victory from afar.
"...So, uh, think we got any positions for her to fill?" Rattrap asked. "I'm kinda thinkin' about taking an early retirement anyway and, uh..."
Cheetor and Blackarachnia simply glared at the Maximal spy before he could finish.
"...Yeah, yeah, 'shut up, Rattrap,'" he sighed.
With the battle now won, the Maximals and Buttercup returned to the Ark, Peridot having already informed Renet of their victory. Now that they had acquired the Chrono-Essence, it was time for the duo to be sent back to Skyward Tower, though not without saying their goodbyes, of course.
"Thanks for your help, Primal," Peridot said as she and Buttercup stood behind a time door Renet had summoned.
"No problem, Peridot," the Maximal leader responded. "I do wish we could help you out in your fight against Savanti, but obviously, we can't leave the past until Megatron's been taken care of."
"Well, we wouldn't want to risk any damage to the timeline by bringing you guys with us, anyway," Peridot defended.
"'Sides, I'd say you guys helped us out plenty by getting us the Chrono-Essence before he could," Buttercup added,
"Oh! Before I forget, here," Rhinox cut in.
The Maximal defense specialist knelt down and handed Buttercup a small, USB-like stick.
"Give this to your Professor," he advised. "Inside's the schematics for the antibody Peridot and I used on you. Best to have your sisters vaccinated too."
"Got it," the pint-sized powerhouse replied. "Good luck, guys."
"Good luck to you, as well," Primal responded.
With that, Peridot and Buttercup advanced through the time door, stepping back into the halls of Skyward Tower instantly before said door faded away.
"We're never gonna be able to get this into Bubbles, you know," Buttercup stated as she held up the drive she was given.
"Huh?" Peridot asked. "Why?"
"She's still terrified of getting her flu shot, that's why," Buttercup answered.
"Eh, we'll find a way," Peridot shrugged.
The two of them then began to walk down the halls, intent on giving Renet the Chrono-Essence, when Buttercup placed a hand onto her shoulder.
"Hey, uh...thanks, by the way," she muttered.
"What was that?" Peridot asked, smirking slightly. "Didn't catch that."
"Thanks! Okay?" Buttercup repeated irritably.
"Hey, anything for a friend," Peridot responded genuinely with a smile.
Seeing this, Buttercup couldn't help but give the former Homeworld Gem a smile back. Even though the two rarely, if ever, saw eye-to-eye, it was nice to know that they would still have each other's back.
"...Oh, by the way, I told you so!" Peridot quickly said before running off.
That was enough for Buttercup's smile to fade quickly.
"Why you..." she uttered before flying off after her.
Meanwhile, back in the past, Tarantulas had managed to sneak away into his secret lair as his 'allies' continued to lick their wounds back at the Darksyde. The spider Predacon had just finished uploading a backup of his consciousness into a drive and was now disconnecting the back of his head from his computer before pulling said drive out. He then placed the drive into a spherical, metal container and began to walk towards a small hole in the ground. The Predacons' latest defeat at the hands of a time-traveling metahuman had reminded him to be ready for even the most unexpected of outcomes in his quest to coax the Great War into an outcome he desired and his mission to be rid of the Vok once and for all. And as such, he needed to have a plan in place should he fail.
"It's like they say...better to be safe than sorry," he said to himself as he placed the container into the hole.
And so, chuckling with psychotic glee, he placed a large rock atop the container to hide it, leaving it for whoever should discover it and allow his plans to continue...even in death.