Armageddon Z 14
The World of the Primes.
Optimus Prime found himself there some time after giving his life to restore Cybertron. An act he never once doubted.
"This would be so much easier if only we could use Rodimus Prime instead," Micronus Prime said. "You must apply yourself Optimus… to this and all things. You know a threat is coming that you must face, and you are nowhere near ready."
"I was able to send the message to Bumblebee that sent him to Earth," Optimus said. "If this Rodimus can do a better job, then by all means, use him."
"We can't," Micronus sighed. "Vector said something about pulling him so far out of his time stream would fracture the space time continuum. I don't understand half of what he says… I think he watches too much Dr. Who."
"What do you expect of me?" Optimus said.
"As I said, I expect you to apply yourself. We are training you to fight gods!" Micronus said. "You need to be able to focus more on the other world. Eventually you will be able to transition between the two realms. You had a special bond with Bumblebee… that should have made the connection you established to talk with him easier. Who else were you close to?"
Optimus stepped away from the small Micronus who was standing on a simulation of a hill, and gazed into a simulation of a lake. "My old friend Ratchet."
The reflection in the pool changed from Optimus to showing an image of Ratchet engaged in a heated discussion with Agent Fowler.
"Yes… you have a great deal of history with that old medic," Micronus said.
"He grew so much in our time on Earth, and now he has found a new purpose," Optimus said. "The old wrecker, Bulkhead."
The pond reflection changed again to show Bulkhead and Wheeljack standing in front of a squad of raw recruits.
"Your bond with them isn't quite as strong… they too seem to of found their place in the new world," Micronus said.
"Yes," Optimus agreed. "Arcee and Smokescreen were later additions to our group."
The pod flickered again to display Arcee, Smokescreen and the former Decepticon Knock-Out aboard a small strike ship orbiting one of Cybertron's moons. The ship scanners displayed schematics of Airractnid and various Insecticons.
"They too have found a new mission," Micronus said.
"I am not needed in this new world," Optimus said. "You speak of a new threat on the horizon, I am confident they can handle it without me. You speak of gods… we've already faced Unicron. There is nothing left to fear."
"Unlike so many Primes, you place too little value upon yourself," Micronus said. "I use to think that was an admirable trait. Didn't you have any other connections?"
"So many of my friends are long gone. It was such a dreadful war," Optimus said.
"Yes, it was. But what kept you going?"
"The humans. We had to protect them from the Decepticon menace we brought to their doorstep."
"Just generic humans, huh? If that was all it took, I would have you trained already."
"There were the children…"
The reflection rippled and he saw Raf sitting at his computer, typing away. Optimus was pleased the young one had improved so much after the shock he had experienced. It rippled again to show an image of Miko and Jack sneaking a kiss before running off out of his view. He couldn't help but smile at the image. And then the image shifted again…
"She doesn't look like a child," Micronus said, "Still, I'm not an expert on humans."
"No," Optimus said, "that is…"
0oOo0
"Nurse Darby, this place is no longer secure," Flint said
June Darby, the mother of Jack Darby, quickly packed her medical supplies back up into her bag. "And why was it such a good idea to retake DC? The Zombie capital of the United States?"
"There is a reason, Nurse," Flint said. He fired his shotgun into the head of a passing zombie businessman. "Lets go."
Flint, with Nurse Darby and the freshly unretired Grunt ran from the steps where they had taken cover and moved over to the next one.
"Your gun isn't helping," She hissed at him.
"Here's the need to know part of the mission we didn't tell anyone before we got here," Flint said.
"Finally," Grunt said.
"Well?" Nurse Darby asked.
"Somewhere in this city is a zombie with a case strapped to his wrist that contains the nuclear launch codes," Flint said. "We thought he was safe in Norad, but it seems he got a nip and never left DC. We need to recover those codes before Cobra figures out they're in the wind. The last thing we need is a nuclear holocaust to go along with the zombie one."
"And Cobra would do it too," Grunt said, "if just to take out the competition."
"Okay, no more complaints," Nurse Darby said. "What do we know?"
"He was last seen on his way to a briefing with the president," Flint said.
"So, with luck, he's still somewhere around the White House?" Nurse Darby said.
"Exactly," Flint said.
"I always wanted to clean up Capitol Hill," Grunt said.
"Just remember the routine," Flint said. "Fire then move. Don't stay in place long enough for them to zero in on you."
"Right," Grunt said, "Good tactics for zombies, but not so much if Cobra has sent in any BATs to do what we're doing."
"We'll blow that bridge if we come to it," Flint said.
Grunt popped his head up to look around, "It's getting busy out here, boss." He ducked back down. When I fire, go directly over to that building, then cross the street."
The other two nodded.
Grunt stood, fired several rounds from his M-16, then followed Flint and Nurse Darby as they ran over and then across to avoid the zombies that had just been summoned by Grunt's gunfire.
"This isn't working," Darby said.
"Agreed. Might be an okay system for small towns or sparsely populated areas, but this is fast getting to be more than we can handle."
The three Joes felt they were the finish line of a marathon, the way the zombie hordes were strolling towards them.
"I see a gap between the groups that leads directly up the White House front lawn," Grunt said.
There were more zombies than they had counted on, and they were having to make their mad dash from a lot further than they had wanted. The only positive was that they wouldn't need to stop for the metal detectors.
"Go, go, go!" Flint said, and he lead the mad dash across the streets and lawns for their goal
Darby was directly behind him, running as fast as she could, and much faster than she would have thought possible before her military training. "Don't forget to look for anyone carrying a briefcase."
Grunt was directly behind her, he kept training his rifle on the groups of zombies that were approaching them. To his credit, he did not fire.
The zombies were everywhere around them. Maybe it was the sound of their labored breathing, or the sound of their boots against the pavement as they ran, but the gap between the zombie hordes began to close in around them.
They just weren't fast enough; they weren't going to make it. They accepted that. They may not go down shooting, but they were not going to go down easily…
That was when it happened, and incident so strange, it didn't make it into any of the after-action reports.
It came out of nowhere, literally. A massive red truck drove out of thin air, carving a clear swath through the advancing zombies, giving them a chance. The truck transformed into the massive warrior, Optimus Prime, standing over them, laying down covering fire that atomized zombie after zombie.
"Move, now!" Optimus shouted.
Nurse Darby ran with the others, but her face turned to grin at the massive robot she owed her life to. "They told me you were dead!" she said.
Optimus looked down at her, and wished he had a response for her, but now was not the time. He continued to lay down covering fire to give the three Joes a clear path. Soon mortar fire was added to his covering fire, as Short-Fuse and other Joes started firing mortars from the White House's front steps.
"Good luck, June Darby," Optimus Prime said and then he faded away, making the rest of the humans wonder if he had ever been there.
oO0Oo
"Well done, Optimus Prime," Micronus Prime said. "You see how easy it was when you were so driven to help. That drive is what we must hone for the task ahead."
"Thank you, Micronus Prime," Optimus said.
"For what?"
"For allowing me to transition to the physical world to help her."
"But, Optimus Prime, I didn't do anything," Micronus Prime said, "That was all your own doing."
