In the arid Martian wastes, Finn and Jake fight against a small group of Decepticon offshoots seeking to reignite the dreaded army. Finn is combined with the Transtector Afterburn in rover mode, while Jake utilized the mecha Bullhound to survive Mars' inhospitable atmosphere. The Decepticons took hostage Thundercracker; an ex-Seeker-turned-film-director, in a large energy cage. "Get me outta here! Get me out!" Thundercracker screamed as he bashes on the energy field. Afterburn fights against Crumplezone; a black-and-green Decepticon with a muscle car alternate mode.
Afterburn holds an enlarged Night Sword as he slams Crumplezone onto a boulder. "Cyber Key Power!" Crumplezone exclaimed. A giant red key flies from space and into Crumplezone's back, deploying a pair of shoulder-mounted missile launchers. Afterburn leaps back before Crumplezone fires two missiles towards him. Just before the missiles could hit, Johnny destroys them using a holographic grenade launcher resembling a stag's head.
"Nice save, Mayor!" Afterburn thanked Johnny with a thumbs up. This is Johnny Tezuka, mayor of SpaceX Mars City, a pre-war human colony on Mars. Standing behind Johnny are a group of brave warriors to defend the innocent, the defenceless, the adorable, and the pathetic: The Courageous Battlers, a team of seven who defend Mars City from anything that can threaten it and its people. They come from all walks of life within the city, as well as specializing in many fields. Everyone in the team is formed from people with a long history of friendship, so their camaraderie and trust will never waver.
The orange-coded, special weapons sub-team is formed by the couple Janette; an Amazonian woman with dark skin, and George; a rugged Samoan man with history defending the city. The blue-coded tactical team comprises of husband-and-wife Sergeants Brian and Josephine Kirkman, who used to lead several military wings. Uniformed in red, Antonio Vasquez and Bonita Spina are two slightly-disgruntled, but close-knit advanced engineering specialists who develop and maintain tech for the team. They are led by Mayor John Tezuka, the current leader of Mars City who is known for hundreds of scientific breakthroughs in his years as a scientist, and continues his innovation to this day.
The Courageous Battlers are equipped with form-fitting, colour-coded astronaut suits and hologram projectors able to create weapons and tools. Antonio takes aim at Crumplezone with a holographic, yellow rocket launcher, firing a direct hit, knocking off Crumplezone's giant bottom jaw. "Eat that, ugly!" Antonio exclaimed with a strong Spanish accent. "It's funny, 'cause you blew his mouth off!" Bonita added, speaking with a voice that not at all sounds like that of a smoker. Elsewhere, Janette straight-up throws a red motorcycle Decepticon; Ransack, at a larger purple Decepticon with a military assault craft alternate mode.
The larger Decepticon smacks the smaller Decepticon away into a canyon. "It's over, Thunderblast. This can end peacefully if you free Thundercracker and come with us." Afterburn spoke. "No chance, humans! You may have wiped out my soldiers, but not me!" Thunderblast rebuked with a valley girl accent. "Cyber Key Power!" she screamed into the sky. A giant blue key emerges from space and flies into her massive missile launcher, flipping open the barrels and revealing an even bigger missile inside the launcher.
As she takes aim, Afterburn covers the Courageous Battlers with his own body. When Thunderblast fires her massive missile, Bullhound slides into the path of the missile and mounts a trailer over his armoured shoulder, deploying his own missile launcher array. Bullhound's missiles fire and destroy the Decepticon's missile before he merges his fist with the weapon, forming an even bigger fist towering over himself. Thunderblast looks up at the towering appendage in fear and swears, "Oh slag." before being crushed by the giant yellow fist. Bullhound lifts his fist to reveal a naked Thunderblast; her alt-mode pieces fallen off, revealing a slim, feminine body lying unconscious on the Martian sand as Afterburn detains her with massive handcuffs.
Brian works at a Transformer-scaled console at the energy cage and frees Thundercracker. "Thanks for saving me. I couldn't stand being with those posers." Thundercracker thanked Brian. "It's all in a day's work for the Courageous Battlers." Brian answered. "Nice work, team. The day is saved thanks to us." Johnny spoke to his team. "We all deserve a break from all that. I'll cook up those sous-vide steaks I brought." Jake said.
The heroes return to Mars City with their quarry in tow, flanked by Thundercracker in his Cybertronian Tetrajet mode. They travel to the Courageous Battlers' base of operations in the heart of the city; Rocket Tower. They drop off the Decepticon prisoners to Autobot officers outside the tower, and Thundercracker follows. "Once again, thanks." Thundercracker waved at the heroes as they drive into the tower's hangar. Later at the tower's penthouse balcony, the heroes celebrate their victory with karaoke and dancing as Jake grills his steaks.
"One ribeye, fresh off the grill!" Jake announced. George swings by and grabs the steak and hands it to Janette. "A big, juicy steak for my big juicy lady." George spoke as he presented the steak to her. "Oh, you!" Janette giggled. Entering the balcony from an elevator is Simon.
"Hey, guys. How'd the mission go?" Simon asked them. "I slammed a robo-chick with my new mega-fist-thing. What about you?" Jake answered. "I spent time around the city. For a moment, I thought I was actually on Earth before the war. I also checked out the library and researched the city's history between the outbreak of the war and today." Simon spoke. "Spare me the details. Also, here's a T-bone." Jake said as he handed Simon a steak. Johnny checks his watch and stands from his picnic table.
"Sorry, there's something that I need to take care of downstairs. I'll be back in a few minutes." Johnny said as he walked to the elevator. "You still weirded out about these guys?" Jake asked Simon. "Yeah, I am. These people, they have the exact same names and appearances as the Courageous Battlers from the Bravest Warriors cartoon. Although, they deviate a little from the source material. For example, Tony and Bonnie aren't as close, or even look that good in the cartoon compared to these guys. George and Janette have both eyes, and George so far doesn't have a holo-hook. Most of all, Johnny doesn't have a brain dome and doesn't look like he's worshipping an Eldritch entity." Simon spoke. "You got any theories?" Jake asked. "As I said before, all this is too much to be a big coincidence. It's hard to say this soon without proper information, but maybe there's some Truman Show stuff going on." Simon answered.
As Johnny descends down the glass elevator to the underground portion of the tower, he passes by a massive supercomputer surrounded by hundreds of servers. Displaying on the supercomputer's massive monitor is footage of every single citizen of Mars City, operating electronics and information to control their lives without their knowledge. But that's not important, as Johnny passes by the computer to go even further down. He arrives at the very bottom where he enters a room made into a dark shrine, decorated with indigenous Martian artefacts depicting one entity: GOLB. He prostrates before the altar and looks up to the dreaded idol glowing red.
"Master, you have returned! I have been waiting for your arrival so long! For a year I have been without your guidance, but I am still loyal! Please, bestow upon me your divine command!" Johnny begged. As soon as the altar glowed, it dimmed down until the idol shone no more. "Wait, wait! Don't leave me again, master GOLB! I need you!" Johnny begged as he shook the idol. He ceases and stands back, shocked at the sudden departure of GOLB's essence. "Why… what has happened to GOLB this past year?" Johnny wondered.
After festivities were done, Finn, Jake, and Simon left Rocket Tower as the Courageous Battlers wave goodbye. "Goodbye, Voyagers. We'll be sure to visit Earth soon!" Brian waved. "Make sure to bring something good with you!" Finn said before he enters Afterburn in rover mode. He drives it into Bullhound's trailer before they all depart through a spacebridge. They return to Hub City and park in front of the Hub Dome where Minerva waits for them.
"Hey, mom. The Mars adventure was as success." Finn told Minerva. "We got you a souvenir." Jake said as he handed Minerva a red rock. "It's a rock." he added. "Oh, thank you, Jake. It's not everyday one gets to analyse Martian basalt." Minerva thanked Jake. "I'll check back at the university. I have a couple papers to grade." Simon said.
"Not so fast, Petrikov. I have another mission for you all." Minerva said. "Another universe to explore?" Finn asked. "Yes, and this time something came from the other side first." Minerva confirmed. She takes the three to the underground lab where the "something" is being held; a small blue-and-red creature sitting in the middle of a large glass dome. "Hey, little guy! I'm back with some friends!" Minerva greeted the creature as she knocked on the glass.
The creature stands up and turns around, revealing a blue cat-like creature with a ladybug shell. "Hi, I'm Catbug!" the creature exclaimed with the voice of a child. "Catbug?!" Simon exclaimed as he got up against the glass. "You recognize this guy?" Finn asked Simon. "He was in Bravest Warriors! It's was my all-time favourite cartoon as a kid!" Simon answered.
"The same show you think is connected to a conspiracy in Mars City?" Finn asked Simon. "Yeah! He's their mascot, just like BMO kinda is to you guys." Simon answered. "Hey, new friends! Could you help me get back to my friends? I dimension-shifted and I can't get back." Catbug asked them. "Of course, Catbug. We'll take you back." Simon answered. Minerva opens the glass dome and Catbug runs towards the adventurers.
"What're your names?" Catbug asked the adventurers. "I'm Finn, and this is Jake." Finn introduced himself and Jake before Simon steps in. "I'm Simon, and I'm a big fan of the Bravest Warriors. I'll make sure you get home." Simon introduced himself to Catbug. "Aw gee, thanks mister!" Catbug thanked Simon. They take Catbug to the spacebridge arch on the surface where it is powered up by the attending Minervabots.
"Nice portal! Are we going home through there?" Catbug asked Simon as he piggybacked on him. The adventurers enter the portal. Seconds after, Alvin arrives at the scene with Theodore in tow. "I heard the voice of Sam Lavagnino as a kid! Has anyone seen a cat-bug-hybrid, a talking muffin, or a bear cub anywhere?!" Alvin screamed. "He just left with Simon." a Minervabot informed Alvin.
The adventurers arrive at a lush field on an Earth-like environment. "Where are we now?" Finn wondered. As they look around, they look to see a familiar city beyond the horizon. "Are we on Mars City?" Finn wondered. "Not Mars City. We're in NeoMars City; home to the Bravest Warriors!" Simon exclaimed in excitement.
"We're in the park! Our super-secret hideout shouldn't be too far from here, but I shouldn't tell you that." Catbug said. "Don't worry, I know where it is. Follow me." Simon said to his friends. They walk a short distance from where they arrived and soon arrive at the side of a lake where a couple jetties stood. "This is their super-secret hideout? Is it underground, or something?" Jake wondered. Simon picks up a rock and throws it towards the lake, only to bounce off in mid-air.
"It's invisible, and a giant robot." Simon said with a smile. "Probably shouldn't've done that." Catbug said with a frown. "Why not?" Jake asked. "Oh yeah, I might've tripped an alarm." Simon said before they are caught in a laser snare. "I can get us outta this!" Finn assured. "Stay where you are, intruders!" a young man's voice exclaimed. "*GASP* It's them; the Bravest Warriors!" Simon exclaimed excitedly.
To be continued…