Cobra Armageddon Z 2

Scrap Yard

Russell closed the gate, as the Dreadnaught Thunder Machine and its' motorcycle escort parked in the central clearing.

"Welcome back," Denny said. "How are things out there?

"You guys are really lucky, ya know?" Torch said, "This is such a great place to live."

"I know!" Denny said.

Buzzer walked to the back of the thunder machine, and pulled out a medium sized bag. "Here's your mail."

"Everyone will be glad to hear that the mail has finally gotten here. You have been running a bit late," Denny said.

Metal Wrecker, her head encased in a solid steel mask, got out of the Thunder Machine. "Not everywhere is as peaceful as it is here," she said. "Delays happen."

Denny noticed a pile of scrap on the back of the Thunder Machine. "Are you guys here to trade as well?"

"We certainly have," Zartan gestured towards the pile of scrap and junk in the back of the Thunder Machine. It included a lot of useful pieces. Plates that could be hammered out into plows, pipes that could be used in an irrigation system. Yes, Denny would be able use it.

"Looks good to me," Denny finally said. "You have a shopping list?"

"About the list," Metal Wrecker said, "line number 5 reads six Hawaiian shirts. He wants those in pastel colors."

Denny swore, "Im going to be stuck wearing these red and yellow ones forever aren't I?"

"Your own fault for not paying attention to the list."

"I think I have most of this stuff here," Denny looked the list over. "I'll need to go into town for some of these items… like pastel shirts. Football Mace… What the hell is a football mace? You know what? Ill just figure it out."

If Metal Wrecker was amused, it did not show through the battle worn mask.

"So feel free to look around while I'm gathering what I can from here," Denny said, "you may fine more that interests you."

"OH!" Thrasher yelled from across the yard, "I want this for the Thunder Machine."

Metal Wrecker's head shook from side to side, then started to wander around too.

Thrasher kept holding his prize, giggling like an idiot.

"Lookit—He's got a bloomin sports car!" Ripper said.

Curious, Metal Wrecker looked too. It was a fancy sports car, red with Japanese writing on it. It was a nice car.

Metal Wrecker found another car on a different row, this one was a police SUV, with a strange red symbol on the side that Metal Wrecker found oddly familiar.

"Yeah, somebody traded these cars with us for food, do you believe it?" Russell said, rapidly moving between one group of Knocks and the next.

"But is that all it is?" Dragging her fingers across the hood of the vehicle, Metal Wrecker said, "Don't you have anything to say? I have ways to make even cars feel pain."

In the command center, Denny worked quickly before the Knocks found something they shouldn't, or worse, try to buy something they shouldn't. "Hey, Fixit, can you find any data about a football mace."

"Certainly," the minicon said, and began dredging through trillions of gigabytes of data both from his Cybertron Database as well as the internet. "Hmmm… I'm not coming up with anything on the combination, but I will see what I can come up with.

"Thanks Fixit, now I can focus on the rest of this list… Cajun spices… That is going to be a tricky one.

Elsewhere, Metal Wrecker found herself in a section of the yard that few customers ever actually reached. On one side was a pile of large tubes with huge glass doors on them, which would have struck Metal Wrecker as odd, but she was instead fixated on a police SUV parked in the area. Like the red sports car, she reached out and touched the red robotic face painted on it's side. "Strange… why are you here?"

Suddenly, Metal Wrecker's attention was fully fixed on something on the far end of the row. She walked towards it, slowly, and with deliberate purpose.

"Hey, Denny!" Metal Wrecker called, "Get over here!"

Gasping for breath from moving so quickly, Denny rushed over to her, "Yes? Did you find something of interest? The rollercoaster track could be very useful for someone in your position."

"Where did you get that?" Metal Wrecker demanded, pointing to a stack of blue glowing cubes.

"Um…" Denny stammered, he could really use Russell and one of his crazy explanations right about then. "Movie props!"

"Doesn't matter; we're taking them," Metal Wrecker said, then called out, "Zartan! Gather the boys, we are taking these, now. The rest of the list can wait."

Seemingly appearing from nowhere, Zartan approached, "The others aren't going to like that."

"They… will… understand," she said in a threatening manner.

"Wait!" Denny said, "I can't let you have those. We haven't even discussed payment yet. Your stuff is usually good, so I haven't pressed the issue so far, but those… cubes are a special item for a client."

"I would prefer to be decent and respectful about this. A fair exchange of goods," Metal Wrecker said, "but I need those cubes, regardless of the cost."

Zartan took a step back, literally fading into the background. Elsewhere in the junkyard an instinctive call to arms sounded. Buzzer, Ripper, and Torch each readied their signature weapons, while Thrasher and Heart Wrencher made for the Thunder Machine. Metal Wrecker stood her ground.

"Look, please, anything else. I'll even give you a discount, but I need to keep those cubes," Denny said, hoping that Russell was smart enough to keep his head down. Suddenly it seemed as if the design of Metal Wrecker's helmet was oddly familiar, like he had seen it before. Now that was going to bug him until he figured it out.

"I need them more," Metal Wrecker said.

There was a sound of shifting metal. "I cannot let you do that," Strong Arm's female voice said, "I may not be able to arrest you for violating any Cybertronian laws, but I'm certain that theft is against the law here too." Strong Arm had transformed, and now stood behind Metal Wrecker with her weapon leveled at the tiny human,.

"Come on, you guys are good customers," Denny said, trying to diffuse the situation, cant we work this out?"

"Dad!" Russell cried out. He was held firmly by Zartan who had an arm around the boy's neck, with a pistol pointed at his head.

"Yes, surely we can come to some sort of an arrangement," Zartan said.

"If you harm him," another voice said, this one coming from the red sports car, now in the robot mode of Sideswipe, "you won't live long enough to take that Energon."

"Release the boy, Zartan," Metal Wrecker said.

"But he's our best bargaining chip!"

"Release the boy, or the Autobot will be the least of your worries," Metal Wrecker left no question for doubt in her voice.

Zartan lowered the gun. "Fine, so how are you going to handle the situation?"

"With ease." Metal Wrecker thumped her fist hard against her chest. From nowhere, metal plates grew and encased Metal Wrecker in a suit of armor that brought her head to head with Strong Arm, and more importantly, foot to head, as a Metal Wrecker delivered a kick to Strong Arm's face.

Sideswipe charged in, leaping over the humans to engage Metal Wrecker directly, but a backhanded blow smashed him into the stack of stasis chambers before he could even touch down.

"These odds hardly seem fair," Metal Wrecker said.

The armored Metal Wrecker felt rather than saw the two spinning disks coming towards her. She jumped and spun in the air, delivering two kicks that sent each of the spinning minicons flying into different parts of the scrapyard.

"Perhaps you should count again," Drift said, standing on top of a wall, holding his sword at the ready.

"No," Metal Wrecker said, "I counted you."

Drift leapt high into the air, coming down sword first at the armored human.

Metal Wrecker caught the sword between the palms of her armored hands. "Your blade is rather dull, has someone not been polishing it correctly?" she said, then wrenched the sword off to the side, throwing Drift along with it.

"Master!" Jetstorm called. Of Drift's two minicons, Jetstorm was the one who landed closest.

"I am fine, pupil," Drift said, "Do not let this distract you from the battle at hand."

"Punching time!" Grimlock made the mistake of announcing his attack.

Metal Wrecker's foot swept out in a graceful circle, sending the charging dinobot into a less than graceful fall face first into the ground.

"You know," Buzzer whispered to Zartan, "I can go after their joints, then Torch and Ripper can tear them down to slag."

"I admire your spirit," Zartan said, "but the little lady got herself into this mess, let's see how she plans to get out of it."

One by one, the Autobots regrouped, forming a circle around the armored human.

"So, how do you guys want to handle this? Two at a time, or all at once?" Metal Wrecker asked. "Either way is good with me."

"Enough talk," Grimlock shouted, "Lets get to punching!" The green dinosaur charged forwards.

"That wasn't the plan," Strong Arm shouted.

"Just roll with it," Sideswipe said, springing into action.

Sideswipe's blow landed, but his excitement was short lived when he realized all his blow did was to help place her in a perfect position to block Drift's next attack, almost as if Metal Wrecker had planed it that way.

Drift and Sideswipe backed off, giving Strong Arm an opening to fire with her Decepticon Hunter.

"That's enough!" Bumblebee's shout carried a seldom heard air of authority. Everyone, bot or human paused and looked up at the yellow Autobot standing on the wall.

"Bee?" Metal Wrecker said, "do you want to throw down too?"

"Miko? Is that you?" Bumblebee asked.

"What gave it away? Did I go too far in using the Wrecker symbol for my helmet's faceplate?" The young Asian woman pulled the helmet off, revealing the older face of one of Bumblebee's oldest human friends.