Chapter 20-Linkage part 1

"Leave me alone! What do you asshats want from me?" A desperate teenage girl cried out into the night.

"We want you to eat dirt, you filthy abomination!"

Mila, a teenage esper with pink hair and butterfly wings, was running for her life through one of the more rundown areas of her hometown. The bigotry she faced was nothing new for her, but these people took it to a completely different level. There were three of them, all wearing green uniforms with the emblem of "The Human Front" on their shirts.

Running desperately through the dirty back alleys in an attempt to escape her pursuers. But it was in vain.

"Over here! She's heading around the back!"

"Good, that means she's got nowhere left to hide!"

Mila's lungs burned and her legs hurt from running so much. She had been running for almost twenty minutes straight, but these guys were really persistent.

Seeing that they were coming at her from both sides of the alley, Mila was forced to run into a smaller, adjacent alley where garbage piled up. It led her straight into a dead end. She was exhausted and trapped, cornered by anti-esper zealots. They closed in on her, wielding metal bats and brass knuckles. Mila wasn't sure if they were going to beat her or kill her, but either way she had to escape.

"End of the line, esper scum!" One of the men said. "Time to face punishment for your crimes against humanity!"

"What the hell did I do?" She shouted.

"You were born!"

It was hatred of the worst kind. Hatred with no reason other than just to hate.

"Just cooperate and we'll make it quick, you freak."

"Like I'll trust anything you say." Mila flexed her wings and gathered up what strength she had. "These wings aren't just for show you know!"

Mila flapped her wings and took to the air. She aimed for the nearest rooftop, where they wouldn't be able to follow her. As she neared the rooftop, she didn't see one of the men point a hunting rifle at her and got off three well-aimed shots. The first two missed, but the third hit the upper part of Mila's left wing. Pain erupted across her back as she lost altitude and fell to the ground.

Unable to at least slow her fall, Mila struck the pavement hard with a dull thud. She landed on her left side, breaking her left leg on impact. Half-conscious and in extreme pain, she saw the angry men surrounding her.

"Please…d-don't." Mila begged, blood dripping from her mouth.

"Save your breath. The Human Front shows no mercy for any nonhumans!"

Mila coughed as the pain set in and her world started to spin. Her vision became blurry as the men closed in.

"We're going to show the freaks of this town that humanity will not bend, not even in the face of our leader's death!" The HF member cracked his knuckles. "And you're going to be an example of what's coming to this town!"

As he raised his bat to hit her, something hit him in the back and he was jolted by a strong surge of electricity that knocked him out.

"Tom?!" One of his partners exclaimed as the man dropped like a rock, unconscious and paralyzed.

"That is absolutely no way to treat a lady, gentlemen!"

Further down the alley where they came from stood a bright pink and violet robot no taller than a child. She had wings on her back and an orange face plate with wide blue eyes that glowed in the darkness. It was a Minicon, and in her hands was the blaster she just fired at the man.

"Step away from the girl and no one will get hurt." She commanded.

"I-It's one of the aliens from TV!" Stammered the other HF goon. "Those Autobots!"

"I am a minion, but you were close enough." The femme said.

"Stay out of our way, alien! This is our business!"

"Anything that happens in this part of town is my business, good sir." She growled and charged her stun gun. "Now step away from her. I will not tell you again!"

"Screw this!" The man who shot Mila pointed shit shotgun at her. "I'm not afraid of no alie—"

Another pink and white femme descended from the rooftops and kicked the man in the back, slamming him into the ground. His friends moved to help him, but the femme leapt up and dropped kicked another man in the chest before backhanding the last guy across the jaw.

"And stay down you filthy racists!" The femme growled.

"Falcia, what did I say about using excessive force?" Her leader sighed.

"No one's going to care about a few wounded HF assholes, Combusta." Falcia said, kicking one of the men in the head.

Combusta shook her head and looked at the third member of their group. "Twirl, how is she?"

Twirl, the pinkest femme out of the bunch who also had an aerial alt mode, was gently cradling Mila in her arms, running a scan across her body. "She's not going very good. Her leg and arm are broken and her wing is damaged."

"Falcia, call the police and ambulance right away." Combusta ordered. "I'm going to give Redline a call."

XXXXXX

"A-Are you sure we should be doing this, Rodimus?" Asked Justine in her usual demure tone. "Won't you get in trouble?"

"Nah, it's totally fine." Rodimus waved her concerns off. "Besides, as long as no one knows, we're not in trouble."

The odd pair were spending a nice Saturday morning at the lake outside of Tranquility doing some fishing. Justine's mother wouldn't care too much that she was gone, so the girl wouldn't be missed if she was gone all day, as depressing as that sounds. Fishing was something that Rodimus thought would suit Justine well, providing a nice, calm environment away from her crappy daily life. The fresh clean air would do her some good.

For Justine, spending time with Darren and Brianna and Rodimus had begun to have an effect on her. Her skin looked healthier and less pale, her posture was straighter and her voice was a bit louder and her stammering was almost gone. Having friends was changing her for the better and Justine loved spending time with them. It made the crap she went through at school seem trivial, and the training sessions helped her get more in touch with her powers.

"So how are you doing? I heard your school got attacked." Rodimus said.

"I'm doing fine. The s-school's closed down because of the attack. But not everyone's t-taking it well after seeing that man kill the HF leader." Justine said. She shivered when she remembered how fast and merciless that terrible man had shot down Crane without hesitation. The same man she somehow managed to beat within an inch of his life. "It was terrifying."

"I bet it was, but you all got out in one piece. Maybe not unscathed, but still in one piece. And let's be honest, that bastard Crane had it coming to him with his racist rhetoric, the dusty old gasket." Rodimus said. He shook his fishing line and frowned. "Stupid fish. Bite already!"

"H-How is Gina?"

"She's recovering smoothly. Gina's actually had worse injuries but she's made it out after some rest. She said thanks for the save by the way. Gina owes you for that."

Justine blushed, not used to having someone thank her. "I-I'm just glad s-she's doing fine." She said.

They sat in silence for the next several minutes, just enjoying the peace and waiting for any fish to bite. Which never happened, much to Rodimus's ire.

"How are things going with your powers?" Rodimus asked. "I hear you're practicing a lot."

"Things are g-going well. I have better control over my powers and they d-don't flare up as much. Darren has been a l-lot of help in testing out what I c-can do."

"Show me."

"H-Huh?"

"Show me what you can do?" Rodimus grinned. "Do something miraculous. I want to see if Darren is a good teacher."

"A-Are you sure? What if something goes wrong?"

"Justine, Darren went through the same thing you did and he's practically a pro at this point. If he can do it with no one to teach him, then so can you."

Justine hesitated for a moment but nodded and got to her feet. Taking a deep breath, she focused her telekinetic senses over the water in her line of sight. The water rippled and churned as Justine telekinetically took control.

Rodimus gaped as the girl proceeded to levitate the entire lake with her powers without even looking winded. Darren only displayed this level of power under extreme circumstances, when he was pushed to his limits. Justine's power was naturally strong, if a bit uncontrolled, but her training didn't make her as explosive as she used to be. Rodimus knew she was strong, if only she knew this too.

Justine levitated the water into a large bubble that hovered several feet above their heads in a perfect sphere, and not a drop fell from the bubble. The sunlight caught the bubble at the perfect angle and Rodimus could see the fish swimming inside.

"Holy slag, that's amazing." Rodimus laughed. "I knew you could do amazing things, but this is on another level."

Justine smiled, slowly lowering the bubble back into the lake, dispersing it and causing large waves to ripple outward across the water. But before she could say anything, Rodimus got a call on his comm.

"Yeah?"

"Rodimus, Optimus wants you back at the Ark for a mission." Tomahawk said.

"It's about damn time. I'll be right there, Tomahawk." Rodimus said and looked down at Justine. "Sorry, but I've got to head back to work. You want a ride home?"

"Y-Yes please." Justine nodded. She packed up her things as Rodimus transformed to vehicle form and hopped inside. "Rodimus?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." She said with all the honesty she could muster.

"You're very welcome, Justine."

XXXXXX

Rodimus entered the command center with his usual flare, giving everyone a smile even though he wanted to give Prowl the finger just to piss him off.

"Hello dear friends, comrades…Prowl." He said. "What do you have for me today?"

"Good news, actually. We've finally located some of the remaining Minicons." Sparkplug said. He brought up a map of the New York State. "Teletran-1 just a hit on a couple of Minicon sightings in a small section of New York City called Esper Town."

"Esper Town?" Rodimus repeated.

"It's what they call a part of the city that's home to the majority of the city's esper population. It's been under attack by HF radicals following the death of Melanie Crane." Prowl said.

"That's nice and all but what about the Minicons?" Asked Mirage.

"The Minicons have been taking vigilante action since the HF attacks began. One HF member who escaped arrested started crying about being attacked by 'alien monsters'." Sparkplug said. "We need a team to investigate these sightings and bring our friends home."

"Hmm." Rodimus crossed his arms. "What if they don't want to come with us? They seem pretty comfy helping out those espers."

"Ridiculous," Prowl said. "Why would they want to stay with the humans? They'll be better protected here with their own people."

"Not everyone chains themselves to duty like you, Prowl." Rodimus frowned. Prowl gave him a look but Rodimus sent one right back. "I'm not apologizing."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there, Rodimus. Right now we must confirm that there are Minicons in Esper Town and figure out how they've activated without us detecting their signals." Optimus said. "Sparkplug will be going along with Rodimus, Mirage and Bumblebee. We must act quickly before word of this reaches the Decepticons."

"And I should mention that this mission requires covert surveillance. I know this is asking too much from you, but try to keep a lid on the heroics, will you? Find the Minicons, and get out. That's it." Prowl said sternly. "Esper Town is a hot bed of activity we don't want or need to get involved in right now, so watch your backs."

"Please, Prowl, you must not know me very well if you're telling me that." Rodimus laughed.

XXXXXX

DNAgent was a company born from the fires of the rise in esper births. At the time of its founding, there weren't many independent non-government groups researching espers before Providence was created. They were the ones who learned about the intricacies of the meta-gene, how its activation and mutation was dependent on environmental factors and such. They were the first ones to create devices capable of resisting and restraining espers, from psi-shielded helmets to inhibitor collars, it was all born from their quest for knowledge into the genetic anomalies called espers.

Gowthrain and Sherisha Iceron were the power couple running DNAgent from the top. They alone spearheaded humanity's growing conflict against espers, be it providing the ERD with equipment designed to fight and contain espers or some of their lesser known projects.

"Incredible, Madison, simply incredible!" A scientist laughed, gazing up at the talos with a wide grin.

"Please pick your jaws off the floor, gentlemen, we have company." Rufus Madison said.

Madison was a former talos pilot in the Osean Army who served two tours of duty before returning home. His exceptional skills as a pilot had made him a must-have for many military contractors, but the loudest of those companies was DNAgent. They required him to test out not only their line of prototype talos units, but also try out some of their more…private projects that were officially off the books.

DNAgent's larger R and D program was something that would probably get them shut down if the government ever learned about what they were doing. Many of their newest technologies were based off the powers and abilities of espers who were snatched right off the streets. People who wouldn't be missed for a variety of reasons. Being so deeply involved with DNAgent's secret weapons' testing department, Madison heard about the experiments performed on espers to study the intricacies of their powers. He tried his best not to focus on the unpleasantness of it all so he could properly do his work. It wasn't like he could just up and say no to Gowthrain and Sherisha.

As Madison hopped out of his talos and pulled off his helmet, he was approached by a woman. Her name was Kennedy Ross and she was the head of this secret arm of DNAgent. Ross was a beautiful woman in her prime and she aged well, sporting few wrinkles and long golden blonde hair that hung over her left eye. Her maroon dress hugged her slender form and it was hard not to eye the rest of her as she strutted through the testing chamber like a supermodel.

"How goes the testing, Madison?" Ross asked.

"It's going smoothly, ma'am. This is the fifth test we've done today and all systems are going well." Madison said.

Ross smiled and led him over to a couch on the side away from the platform where the scientists were studying the talos.

"I've heard that the talos is remarkable, especially in your hands, Madison." She said, crossing her legs. "You wield it with uncanny skill. You've mastered its weapons systems in no time."

"Thank you, ma'am. I'm just drawing upon my experience as an Army talos pilot to do what comes naturally to me." Madison said.

"I see, and I hear you also gave it a little name—Leviathan. Fitting name for the type of resources we used in its construction." Ross said. "Answer me honestly, Madison, because it may determine what direction we end up taking this project. If you found yourself in a life or death situation with a horde of renegade espers, do you think you can handle it?"

"Definitely. I am very confident in the Leviathan's abilities." Madison nodded.

Ross almost smiled at that. It was just what she needed to hear.

"You say that with such confidence." She said. "Allow me to pose that question another way. Say instead of finding yourself in such a situation you were put in that situation. Try and imagine how you would handle yourself if you were tasked with actually thrusting yourself in the middle of an all-out esper conflict, one where innocent humans were at risk. Could you, with the talos you wield now, take on this conflict and resolve it by any means necessary?"

"I…I certainly hope so." Madison said anxiously. "Forgive me, ma'am, but I'm not sure I follow you."

"Let's see if I can make this a little clearer." Ross tapped her fingers on her knee. "Do you know why we experiment on espers?"

"No, though I try not to think about it."

"It's because they're aberrations, Madison, a threat to society. If you give humans power, there's a fifty/fifty chance they'll abuse if selfishly. Give humans superpowers and they'll use it to terrorize, blackmail and commit all kinds of atrocities. Espers lack the empathy we humans have because they're not human. They seek to dominate us and so we must strike back." She explained. "DNAgent seeks to aid humanity against these…genetic mistakes, while at the same time using those sub-humans to make more sophisticated technologies to better our societies."

Madison nodded, since Sherisha explained it to him in a similar manner.

"These are volatile times, Madison. Humans face threats from space and our oceans. Aliens use our planet as a battleground for their wars, nonhumans control the world's oceans, and Karaba is growing stronger by the day. We must send them a message that humanity will not stand for it any longer."

"What are you asking of me, Ms. Ross?" Madison asked.

"Madison, I need you to carry out a very special trial run." She said.

"What kind of trial run?"

"The kind that will test the limitations of our prototype." Ross said. "A live fire exercise against the people who murdered my leader," She put a hand on his arm, staring him in the eyes. "Our leader."

A look fell over Madison's face, the look of a hardened soldier. No one knew that he was a secret supporter of the Human Front, as people associated with that group were kept a close eye on to ensure that their rhetoric did not cause any unrest within the ranks. Madison supported the ideals the Human Front preached and fought hard to stay true to them even while in the military.

And with the death of the Human Front's leader, the warriors of man needed another symbol to rally behind. He stood up and held a fist to his chest.

"I am willing to do what it takes, ma'am. If the human race needs me, you can count on me to step up!"

"Glad to hear it, soldier." Ross said. She stood up and patted his shoulder. "My people are already working on setting something up. And rest assured, when it all comes together, the esper threat will meet the beginning of their downfall."

XXXXXX

In the dead of night on a nameless street, three unmarked black vans pulled up into a vacated lot. They formed a closed in lane near a wall so no casual observers could see what was going on. Once they were all parked and safely out of sight, the side doors opened up and several groups of men rushed out.

"This is a disaster. We should've been in phase 2 by now!" One of the men growled.

"Blame the gene freaks! They jumped our boys before they could do their part." The other man said.

"Shut it, both of you! Ms. Ross tasked us with a job and we're going to do it." The ringleader, a veteran member of the Human Front, hissed. "Now listen up. Intel says that this place is a hot spot for espers in this part of town. Spread out and hunt down any that look—"

The dark parking lot was suddenly illuminated by a bright light that blinded everyone, forcing them to cover their eyes. Though that did little to help as they were seeing stars and were practically half-blind.

"Where the hell did that light come from?"

"Is it from the cops?"

"Up there!" One of the men shouted, pointing to a nearby rooftop. "Look!"

Everyone looked up to see two figures standing on the roof right above the parking lot. One was a tall, very muscular young man with bright red hair and dark brown eyes, wearing a tight black and red muscle shirt with black jeans. Standing next to him was a young woman who also sported a firm, toned body with black hair partially tied into buns atop her head and gray eyes wearing a sleeveless silk shirt and silk pants with sneakers.

"You guys picked the wrong side of town to mess with!" Said the redhead. "I suggest you crawl back into your soccer mom vans and drive back home before Lyn here blows your sorry asses all the way back to the West Side!"

"Or don't. You're welcome to ignore my friend here and see what happens." Lyn said, her arms crossed. "Go ahead. Try us."

The ringleader cursed. This was what he was trying to avoid.

"Damn espers!" One of them growled.

"Is this that neighborhood watch they were talking about?"

"Who the hell cares? That bitch burned my hand!" The man with the burnt hand yelled. "Fuck the plan, let's kill these freaks!"

The rest of the HF group took out their guns and other weapons to fight. They weren't about to cowed by two espers. The young man, Gar, rolled his eyes and dimmed the aura his body was giving off.

"Want me to waste them, Gar?" Lyn asked.

"Not yet," Gar said. "I've got the boys coming in."

"Come on down here, you freak!" One of the men shouted.

"Yeah, even with your powers we still outnumber you!" Yelled another man.

Gar smirked. "You sure about that?"

The men then heard the roar of multiple car engines before a group of small vehicles drove out into the open to surround them. The vehicles were half the size of actual cars; the first one was red, the second bright yellow, and the third was sky blue. Then the cars began to change, transforming into tiny robots with guns in their hands.

"You want to reiterate that?" The red Minicon said.

The HF men paled, but their ringleader simply spat in the Minicon's direction.

"So now you've involved the aliens. You espers make me sick!" He growled.

"Same here, buddy. You're not exactly easy on the optics yourself." The Minicon quipped.

"Redline, Flat Out, Servo, cover your eyes. We're going to flash them." Gar said through their radios and nodded to Lyn. "Do it."

Lyn grinned and looked at the ground where the energy spheres she planted at the criminals feet while they were blinded still sat. A snap of her fingers was all it took for the spheres to explode right under them. The small but powerful energy bursts made them men jump and curse, allowing for the Minicons to attack. The three mechs rushed in and subdued them with a few well aimed punches and kicks that brought them down.

It was all over in two minutes. All the HF members present were tied up and forced to the ground by the Minicons. Lyn allowed Gar to carry her down to the parking lot, with Gar's body looking like a missile cloaked in light as it took to the air. He set Lyn on the ground and landed in front of the captured agents.

"Listen up, bozo, half of the espers in this area want to tear you apart for what your sheep did to Mila the other night. Now if you don't want me handing you off to some of my more violent friends, I suggest you come clean."

Despite his trembling, the zealot didn't budge. "I've got nothing to say to you. We are the Human Front! We'll never give in to you or your alien buddies!"

Gar growled and nodded to Redline. The Minicon walked up to the man and punched him hard in the face, knocking him out cold. The other HF members immediately clamped up.

"If that's how you want it, then that's how you'll get it!" Gar said. "This is Esper Town, our turf! And anyone who starts shit on our turf will either be limping home or won't go home at all!"

XXXXXX

Esper Town was a small collection of city blocks nestled in some of the less safe parts of New York City. It was its own self-contained world, dominated and run by espers. They had their own community complete with laws and authorities to enforce them. That made this small area an oasis in a sea of anti-esper fervor. Espers could live a semi-normal life apart from humans, but still have access to the basic amenities. It was a tight-knit community that kept a low profile, except when humans looking for trouble ventured into their territory.

"Those filthy bastards!" The Minicon Falcia cursed. "How can anyone call themselves a decent human being and doing this?"

"Tone it down, Falcaia, Luan said that Mila's going to be okay." Flat Out said.

"Don't tell me to calm down! Those bastards need to get what's coming to them!" Falcia growled. "Those fools want to send a message? Then let's send them one of our own!"

"Not until we know what they're planning. This attack was clearly supposed to be the start of something else they're planning for Esper Town. They were meant to provoke us." Combusta, leader of the Sonic Assault Team, said. "And please use your indoor voice."

Falcia scowled and crossed her arms, plopping down onto an old couch that had seen better days.

Redline sighed and looked out to the river on the other side of the train tracks their little hideout was located near. Having a retrofitted base under a bridge by the river wasn't exactly his idea of a stable command center, but it was the best they could do under these circumstances.

A year ago, Redline's team—the Super Stunt Team—and Combusta's Sonic Assault Team had awakened from their stasis panels in the Hudson River. By some stroke of fate, their panels had landed in the same general rea together, though trying to find each other without being seen by humans was a pain.

The wayward Minicon Teams had reunited in Esper Town, accidentally stumbling upon the area's neighborhood watch leaders, Gar and his little sister Shelia Silvear. After an explanation of what they were, where they came from and how they crashed onto Terra, the Minicons became quick friends with the young espers for formed the neighborhood watch.

Esper Town's neighborhood watch was an unofficial group dedicated to protecting their home from threats both outside and in. Gar and Shelia were the founders and co-leaders. They both had the same powers, a rarity among espers, able to generate light from their bodies and fly at high speeds like missiles.

The other members were close friends of the Silvear siblings. Lyn Hua was an orphan who was adopted by the head of the local dojo; her power was the ability to create energy plasmoids that often looked like multi-colored streamers or "fireworks". Luan Chisato was Gar's girlfriend, and she could phase her body through solid objects at will. Carla could alter her body's sub-molecular structure under her skin, which she could shed to reveal a new layer of varying properties, like wood, crystal or steel.

Together they were a formidable force against anyone who started trouble, and this was made possible with the assistance of the Minicons.

"I just got word from Impulse. He also found some HF goons starting trouble near the edge of Esper Town. This is definitely being coordinated." Servo said.

"I thought these guys were disbanding after that old guy's death." Twirl said, spinning around on a loose bar stool she found in the junkyard.

"Most of them, yes, but someone's started to gain support from some of the more radical elements of the HF, the morons who form esper hunting death squads and the like." Redline said. "They're not as big as they like people to believe, but they're still dangerous."

"Perfect. More work for us." Falcia grumbled.

Redline turned to Combusta. "Any updates on the Autobots?"

"No signs that the Bots or Cons have noticed us, but I'm afraid with our activities becoming more public, it will eventually draw unwanted attention on Esper Town…and us." Combusta said.

"Who cares about the Autobots? Let them fight on their own turf and kill each other for all I care!" Falcia said.

"The whole planet's their turf. Kinda hard to avoid it now." Servo said.

"One thing at a time, people." Redline cut in. "What's Gar going to do about these HF people?"

"He threw them into the river to swim away after hanging them off a bridge by their feet in their underwear." Flat-Out chuckled.

"But there are still a lot of people who are out for blood. Mila's going to make a full recovery, but almost every esper in the area wants the Human Front's heads." Twirl said, looking rather put out by the escalating violence. "You don't think it'll actually get to that point, do you?"

"Don't be stupid, Twirl, of course it's going to turn into a fight." Falcia said harshly. "The real question is if this place is going to survive the chaos."

XXXXXX

Rufus Madison was preparing for what could be the most important test flight of his life. After his conversation with Ross, preparations were being made to take development of the Leviathan talos, a talos reverse-engineered from a captured Atlantian gigas, complete with its advanced weapons systems.

In the main prep area, many of Ross's most dedicated and loyal scientists and technicians were running last minute tests on its systems. It was a tedious process but for equipment this advanced, it was necessary. Madison himself had been waiting on standby for over half an hour, growing more impatient by the minute.

"How much longer?" Madison asked impatiently.

"We're almost done, Madison." One of the technicians said. "We're making sure all vital systems are running smoothly."

"Well hurry it up! Ms. Ross will be here any moment." He urged them.

It was close to launch time and the stress was fraying his nerves. As a former talos commander, he was used to heading into dangerous missions that could mean life or death for his team. Only he was going up against espers, who were far more unpredictable than some terrorist cell out in the desert.

As the Leviathan's OS was upgraded and loaded up, Ross entered the room with a newspaper in hand.

"Ms. Ross," Madison greeted. "It's almost time for launch."

"That's good timing, because we've had an unfortunate development."

Ross tossed him the paper. The front page headline read Esper Retaliation and just below the test was a picture of a couple of HF members chained to a light post, beaten and humiliated. They were hanging in only their underwear and someone had spray painted them to add further insult to injury.

"Those deviant monsters!" Madison growled. "How did this happen?"

"No need to concern yourself with the details. All you need to know is that this occurred in a lawless patch of land in New York City where espers live by their own laws and shun humanity." She said. "They call it Esper Town and in the wake of this incident, the entire esper community is up in arms. They plan on marching down the streets, unleashing untold destruction on innocent humans."

"And you want to use the prototype to stop them?" Madison surmised.

"By any means necessary." Ross nodded. "This is not just a test, Madison. This is a mission. Your success or failure here could determine the fate of human affairs in the country."

"I understand, ma'am." Madison nodded resolutely. "As the Mad Dog of Osea, those monsters will fall just as quickly as those Azadistani terrorists did!"

Ross smiled at the former soldier's dedication and left the flight deck to watch with the other scientists. Madison quickly boarded the talos and closed the cockpit hatch as the wires and tubes were unhooked from the machine.

The Leviathan was designed to be flight capable using an advanced propulsion system that, like the rest of the talos, was reverse-engineered from Atlantian aircraft flight systems. The foldable wings on the back allowed for the ability to glide and fly as one saw fit. Previous tests showed much progress, and this will be the final test as it flew off into battle.

A series of sirens went off as the blast shielding went up to protect those present from the ensuing ignition. Ross watched silently at what she hoped would be the first proper assault against those marauding espers…and maybe even work her way up to the cybertronians too.

"Opening launch tunnel. T-minus 30 seconds to ignition."

Madison moved the Leviathan into position as the penal above him slowly slid open to reveal the clear blue sky. He checked his fuel readouts and switched the talos to flight mode, folding out the wings and stabilizes. One of the technicians began the countdown.

"Ignition in 5…4…3…2…1."

A press of the button was all it took for the boosters in the Leviathan's legs and back to fire. The thrust was powerful, enough to lift the talos off the ground and once it gained sufficient height, Madison directed the nozzles to move him forward. Leviathan took to the skies and left the testing range.

Once he was gone, Ross and her associates let out a temporary sigh of relief. Their job was over for now. They created a talos from the fusion of Atlantian and human technology. Now it was all up to Madison.

"Let's see how those fools in the ERD react to seeing someone do their job for them the way it's supposed to be done. Gowthrain and Sherisha will have to go forward with their anti-esper weapons program after seeing the Leviathan in action." Ross grinned to herself. "Let this be a message to all espers that this world belongs to us, and we won't tolerate their existence anymore!"

XXXXXX

"I told you this was going to cause some trouble for us down the line," Luan crossed her arms as she angrily stared at the Silvear siblings. "But does anyone listen to me? Noooo."

"We had to make a statement, Luan. Those HF bastards crossed the line and needed to be taught a lesson." Gar said, scarfing down his hot dog

"Yeah, ever since Crane's death, those people have been getting really riled up." Shelia said. "We're just showing that we won't take their crap anymore."

Luan sighed and looked at the people walking down the streets, living their lives the best they could with the circumstances. Around ninety percent of Esper Town's inhabitants were espers, and a small percentage were humans. She had been protecting her home ever since her powers first manifested, and so far, nothing this extreme had ever come up. A sign of turbulent times.

"Look, I'm just worried that we might end up turning this place into a warzone. The last thing we need is the ERD getting involved." She said.

"Even the ERD knows better than to get involved with this many espers, unless we've actually committed a crime." Gar said. "And since they're not here…"

"We're safe!" Shelia grinned.

"In any case, I got a call from Redline. He said that he and his team chased off another HF death squad on the other end of Esper Town." Luan said. "But I'm worried about how much the pigs are squealing. Someone's bound to notice the Minicons."

"Yeah, won't all this talking attract the Autobots too?" Shelia asked her brother.

Gar frowned at that. He had grown close to the little band of Minicons sine their awakening, as had his friends. They've worked closely together for almost a year now, and it wasn't until the Autobots revealed themselves that he seriously considered the possibility of them leaving.

"If Redline, Combusta and the others want to join the Autobots, then it's fine. We can't force them to stay." Gar said. "But if they want to stay, then that's fine too."

"And if the Autobots come knocking?" Luan questioned.

No one could say anything to that, but the three espers had a good idea that such a confrontation could turn ugly. Then Luan's phone rang and she flipped it open to answer it. "Yeah?"

"Luan, this is Impulsor!" The Minicon said through the phone. "I'm flying above the area and I'm seeing a lot of stuff happening!"

"Wait, what?" Luan exclaimed. "Good stuff or bad stuff, Impulsor?"

"Neutral edging into bad. Look down the street."

Gar, Shelia and Luan looked down the street to see a massive collection of people marching. It was a massive group of espers. There were hundreds of them, some of which looked human and others that didn't. There were so many of them that they stretched from one end of the street to another. Some espers were even using their powers to overturn cars, break windows and start fires. It looked like a full blown riot.

"Oh my god." Gar said.

"Well, Falcia was right about one thing," Shelia gulped. "This place is definitely going to become a warzone."

Not gonna lie, I have chapters up to 24 already completed and just sitting in my profile waiting to be posted. I got into a mad frenzy and completed almost five chapters in a single week. Things get a hella crazy from 22 onwards. Oh and, I'm sure you remember the Minicons in this chapter being from the short but sweet Transformers Armada jap comic series Linkage, or at least remember the eternally hot Stella Holley from it. Be sure to check out this story and others on the official Transformers Titan website on WordPress. Thanks for reading, please leave a review and stay safe everybody!