Scraplets. Vicious little things. Flying fucking Cybertron pirahnas.
Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Skyquake found a container full of the little bastards out in the Arctic while searching for some Energon.
It's been a few days since Skyquake was found by Prime. He's been settling in rather well, considering the circumstances. Arcee doesn't trust him, but that's understandable. He gets along with Bulkhead well, considering he's practically Decepticon Bulkhead… if that makes sense.
He seems protective of Bumblebee. Almost like an older brother would their younger brother. He's taken quite a liking to the Bot.
He and Ratchet have an understanding of sorts. He respects Ratchet's work, doesn't irritate him when Ratchet's busy. In return, Ratchet helps Skyquake catch up since he's been under.
Fucking guy has been on the planet since the dinosaurs hit. He's missed a lot, both on Earth, and on Cybertron.
Let's just say he's got a bone to pick with Megatron after finding out what the scumbag did to his planet.
Anyway, today was a rather stressful day. That Scraplet container? It was the Arctic tempurature that kept the bastards under.
At the base? Little fuckers thawed out, busted out of the container. Nearly stranded Optimus and Arcee to freeze in the Arctic when they knawed on a fuel line. Fucked up the bots quite a bit too.
Didn't help that the little bastards can fucking fly!
Me and Talida were the… MVPs, of sorts. My ice breath came in real handy, froze the things on the spot, and Talida's powers decided to kick in all at once. One of them was ice blasts from her hands.
Good thing, in my opinion. I can't be in two places at once.
Hell, even Krystal ended up helping today. The fact that we ain't made of metal was our advantage.
To be quite frank, is was a good thing it was Saturday. Otherwise, none of use would've been there to help.
I can only imagine what would've happened then.
In the Arctic, not many would find anything other that freezing cold winds, the likes of which no human could survive in for long, and endless mountains of ice and snow.
The Autobots were not most.
"Are we there yet?" Bumblebee beeped impatiently as he followed Bulkhead.
"No!" Bulkhead answered. "We're not there yet!" He said, slightly irritated as he looked ahead at Skyquake. "You got anything, Skyquake?"
"According to the scanner, our target's just past this ridge." Skyquake answered. "Hopefully, whatever it is is worth it."
When they reached the edge of the ridge, the three Autobots slid down, one after another. At the bottom, Skyquake checked the scanner again.
"The readings indicate our target should be just in front of us." He informed, approaching a gap in the ice just in front of them.
And when the three spotted what was held within the ice, they were admittedly surprised by the Cybertronian pod inside.
"I told you, Doc! We're fine!" Bulkhead protested as he removed the defrost cables to his chest and stood up.
Ratchet immediately pusheed him back down. "The only way to be certain you're fine, Bulkhead, is to endure standard defrosting procedure!" The medic argued.
"Protocol is in place for a reason, Bulkhead." Skyquake advised the wrecker. "Though I'm no more a fan of this than you are, it's better than risking permanent system damage."
"I guess…" Bulkhead grumbled, though he complied.
"Ratchet, have you learned anything more about the arctic find?" Optimus questioned his friend as he approached.
"Not yet." Ratchet answered. "The pod can't be opened while it's frozen solid."
"Prime, are you going back out there?" Skyquake asked, turning to the Autobot leader.
Optimus nodded. "I plan to, assuming the ice doesn't melt in the next few hours." He explained to the recent arial bot.
Skyquake's appearance had changed moderately since he'd first come to the Autobots. His optics had since been recalibrated to a blue hue, and the Decepticon insignia had been tattoo'd over with an Autobot one.
Also, thanks to his new vehicle form, his robot mode had altered slightly. Because of the sheer size of his thrusters in vehicle mode, they became a jetpack of sorts when he transformed into robot mode.
But overall, his general appearance stayed the same.
"Perhaps I can accompany you if I've finished defrosting by then." Skyquake proposed. "I know I'm not completely trusted, and that's understandable. I want to prove that I want only to help."
"Look, we all trust you, Greenbird." Bulkhead assured as he turned to the look at the juggernaut. "Arcee is the only one who can't see past the Decepticon history."
"As much as I love my spark mate, Bulkhead is correct." Optimus answered with a sigh. "Arcee has had a rough history, and she is not so quick to believe anyone can change." He admitted as he walked up to Skyquake. "But I assure you, you are a valued and welcome addition to our team, Skyquake. And I'd much rather you stay here. Arcee can accompany me when she returns from picking up Jack and Talida."
"Please, Prime, I must insist." Skyquake urged. "I've been resting for over a millenia. I'm more than ready to be out on the field."
"Come on, Skyquake!" Bumblebee beeped, looking towards the bigger bot. "Just take a break! How can you want to be out in that anyway?"
Skyquake looked at Bumblebee for a moment, before he sighed. "Fine… I shall stay behind."
3 Hours Later
"Arcee and I will search for any clue that may explain the origin of our arctic find." Optimus explained as he stood in front the Groundbridge.
"Only until your sensors sound." Ratchet instructed. "Remember, Optimus, once your core tempurature drops into the blue zone, system failures aren't likely, they're imminent." He warned his leader.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the horns of Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Arcee could be heard coming down the tunnel.
Turning to look towards the tunnel entrance, Arcee came speeding into the base, Jack gripping the handlebars as Talida held his waist. Bumblebee had Raf, and Bulkhead had Miko, Clark, Amy, and Krystal.
As the three bots came to a stop, Miko was the first to exit Bulkhead. "Miss us, Doc Bot?" She asked as everyone exited the bots so that they could transform.
"Shouldn't they be in school?" Ratchet asked with a sigh of annoyance.
"It's Saturday, Ratch." Clark chuckled. "You're stuck with us all today."
"Skyquake!" Krystal cried out in excitement as she ran towards the ariel bot, who smiled as he crouched down, holding out his hand for her to hug.
"Hello, Krystal." Skyquake greeted as he softly ran his thumb across Krystal's head.
"Did you have any missions today?!" She asked excitedly as she looked up at the juggernaut.
"I went out into the arctic with Bulkhead and Bumblebee to recover an Energon signature." Skyquake explained. "We discovered a pod of Cybertronian origin, covered in ice."
While Skyquake kept Krystal occupied, Clark turned to look at Optimus. "Hey, what happened today, Optimus?" He asked the Autobot leader. "You weren't there to pick us up today, we had to call and hitch a ride with Bulkhead."
"Oh, don't act like you didn't enjoy the time we had to ourself." Amy said suggestively, walking up to Clark and slipping under his arm, wrapping her arms around his side.
Clark chuckled. "No argument there." He admitted, and Amy jumped slightly when his hand wandered down south.
"Clark!" Amy exclaimed, slapping his chest playfully.
"To answer your question, I am going out into the arctic to look for clues to a recent find there." Optimus answered, ignoring the couple's antics. "Arcee, you will accompany me."
"Yes sir." Arcee answered as she walked up next to Optimus, hugging her spark mate with a smile.
"The Arctic?" Raf asked excitedly, running up to the two. "I've always wanted to see snow!"
"I woud invite you to join, but the conditions are much to extreme, even for we Autobots." Optimus admitted, to Raf's disappointment.
"I understand." Raf said, nodding in understanding.
"But I will bring you back a snowball." Optimus promised, glancing back towards Raf with a smile.
"That would be awesome!" Raf said as the two walked through the Groundbridge.
"Have you really never seen snow, Raf?" Amy asked, looking down at the boy in surprise.
Raf shook his head. "No…" He admitted.
Clark smiled, and pat the the boy's back. "Tell you what, later today, if you're up for it, we'll get you and winter coat and I'll take you to Alaska. Play in the snow for a bit."
"Really?!" Raf asked hopefully.
Clark chuckled. "Sure kiddo."
"Transportation complete." Ratchet announced as Optimus and Arcee made it through.
And that was when the Groundbridge controls went nuts.
"What's going on?" Clark asked as everyone turned toward the controls, which were flashing and sparking like crazy.
"I'm not sure!" Ratchet admitted as a control lever exploded, launching off the console…
… directly for Talida.
"TALIDA!" Jack called in horror. Talida's hands flew up to her face on instinct to block the hit.
Everyone watched in shock as the lever stopped in front of Talida, mid air, inches from her hands.
"Holy shit…" Clark muttered in surprise as everyone watched in disbelief.
Hesitently, Talida opened her eyes when she felt no impact, and her eyes were glowing a bright blue. Slowly, she looked back towards the handle, which was now floating in the air. Testing a theory, she moved her hand, and the handle moved with her.
"Whoa…" Raf gasped as everyone watched the display in complete surprise.
"Talida?" Jack asked in surprise.
Suddenly, a pair of bright blue beams, similar to Clark's own heat vision, blasted from her eyes, severing the handle in half.
"WATCH IT!" Bulkhead shouted as the lasers just barely missed him by a hair.
"Sorry!" Talida exclaimed, clamping her eyes shut at the two halves fell to the floor with a metallic thud.
Opening her eyes, Talida reached down to pick up the two halves, only to jump back in surprise as two torrents of fire suddenly blasted from her hand, each one hitting one of the halves of the handle.
When the torrents ceased, everyone was surprised to find that one half of the handle was completely frozen solid.
The other one was completely melted, along with the area around the floor.
"Since when can you do that?" Miko asked in confusion, still somewhat shellshocked from the display.
"This is great!" Ratchet suddenly exclaimed, throwing everyone for a loop, especially with the wide smile on his face. "Talida, your powers have kicked in!"
"Really?!" Talida gasped in excitement. "Sweet!" She turned towards Jack and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing her in his excitement.
"Ew, get a room!" Miko exclaimed, averting her eyes at the site of her two friends kissing, only for Talida to snap her head towards Miko, her eyes glowing blue as she glared at the transfer student. "On second thought, PDA is very encouraging!"
"So, what are gonna do today?" Krystal asked, looking towards Jack and Talida.
"Talida needs to start practicing with her powers." Ratchet instructed. "The more she practices, the better she can control them."
"I'm with Ratchet on this one." Clark agreed, looking at Talida. "You need to get some control over those abilities. Take it from someone who's had his for most of his life."
Talida nodded. "Alright." She turned to Jack with a smile. "I'll see you in a bit." She said, giving Jack a kiss.
Jack smiled. "Good luck, Lida."
"How about a video game tournament? Last one standing wins!" Raf proposed.
"MARIO KART!" Krystal immediately shouted, bolting up to the human area.
Clark glanced towards Amy with a chuckle. "Good thing we got Talida and Krystal's Switchs." He said as he moved up towards the human area, Amy in tow.
"BULKHEAD, BUMBLEBEE, SKYQUAKE, HERE, NOW!" Ratchet ordered the other Autobots.
"You can't boss us around when the boss is out!" Bulkhead objected. "You know that ever since he's joined us, Optimus has been leaving Clark in charge!"
"I need some heavy lifting done, the Groundbridge is down." Ratchet cut in quickly, to the three Autobots horror.
"Did Prime and Arcee make it through?" Skyquake asked in worry.
"They made it through just fine." Ratchet assured. "It's bringing them back that concerns me. Now, remove those panels, Chop chop." He ordered. "And for the love of Primus, do not tell Talida unless we know for sure there's a serious problem!"
In the hallway, Raf found himself pretending he was in the Arctic.
"Temperatures sub-zero and dropping… gotta get… back to base!"
This is what he'd ended up doing after being the first one to lose at the video game tournament.
Turned out Krystal was very good at Mario Kart, and she'd lapped them all plenty of times.
In his imaginary game, he'd failed to notice Talida as she left the training room, accidentally running into her in the process.
"Oh, hey Raf!" Talida greeted with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"I ended up being the first to lose in a video game tournament. So I came in here to occupy myself." Raf explained.
"Oh." Talida said. "Well, we can go play some games in my room for a bit if you want." Sje offered as she put a hand around his shoulders, smiling.
"I thought Ratchet said to practice with your powers?" Raf asked in confusion.
"I can't keep training all day, Raf." Talida said with a laugh. "I'll tire myself out, and I want to see Dad and Arcee return anyway."
"Well, okay…" Raf obliged, smiling up at Talida. "Thanks!"
"Hey."
Both of the two jumped as Clark came up behind them. They turned to look at him, and he had a rather concerned expression on his face.
"Hey, Clark. What's up?" Raf asked the man. "I thought you were winning the tournament!"
"I was." Clark nodded, looking at the two. "I pulled out. You two heard anything out of the ordinary?"
Raf and Talida looked at each other for a moment, before looking at Clark.
"No." Talida answered as she and Raf shook their heads. "Why?"
Suddenly, the sound of clanging metal seemed to rang out, and Talida and Raf both snapped to the source behind them, as they and Clark spotted a loose screw on the floor.
"Something like that." Clark answered as he walked past the two to the screw, crouching down to pick it up. "I'm hearing the sound of whirring machinery and falling metal all over the base, and I'm trying to figure out what the hell it is."
"Where did that come from?" Raf asked in confusion. Clark looked up into the roof, trying to see what it could be. He activated his X-Ray vision, but other than where the screw used to be, couldn't see anything past that because of the base's lead shielding.
Then the sound echoed out behind all of them.
They all snapped around at the source, and found quite an unexpected site. Rather than a loose screw again, there was a little machine, resembling a ball with sider legs attached.
"Where did you come from?" Raf asked somewhat nervously, before laughing as he admired the little creature, which came closer to Raf with cute little bright blue eyes. "I didn't know the Autobots had pets!"
"I don't think they do, Raf." Clark said as he came up behind them, glancing towards Talida. "Do you?"
Talida shook her head. "No. But we can start." She said, looking towards the little creature, smiling as she crouched down and rubbed it's head softly. "Because this little guy is so cute!"
"If you say so." Clark said with a chuckle. He noticed the little guy eyeing the screw in his hand, and he held up with a small smile. He waved it side to side, and the little creature's eyes followed. "Wanna play fetch, little buddy?"
Almost as if it understood, the little creature began jumping up and down in excitement, chirping happily.
"I'll take that as a yes." Raf laughed.
Clark chuckled as he reared his hand back, lightly throwing the screw for the little guy to go get. "Go get it boy!"
The three watched as the little creature ran up to the screw… before eating it, rather than bringing it back, causing the three's eyes to widen.
"What the hell?!" Clark exclaimed.
"No, don't eat it!" Raf shouted at the little guy.
"You'll choke!" Talida finished.
As if to prove them wrong, the little guy finished the screw and ran back to the three, looking up at them, as if to ask for more.
"Or not…" Clark muttered, before chuckling as Raf picked the little guy up. The little creature seemed content in Raf's arms as it fell into stasis mode.
"Let's go show Ratchet and the others!" Raf suggested as he began moving towards the main area.
"Krystal's gonna love that little guy." Clark remarked with a small smile.
"How are you so good at this?!" Miko exclaimed in annoyance as Krystal pretty much wiped the floor with all of them at Mario Kart.
"Do not try to beat Krystal at a racing game." Amy said with a laugh as she watched the game play out, having been the latest one to lose. "It's a lost cause."
"I can tell!" Jack exclaimed as Krystal hit him with a blue shell in the game… as she lapped him for the third time.
Suddenly, the power flickered out for a second, but it was a second long enough to knock out the TV they were using to play the lastest round on.
"Aw… it wiped out the game!" Krystal moaned in disappointment.
Ratchet looked aorund as he examined the the panel, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Skyquake hovering around him.
"We most definitely have a problem." Ratchet muttered. "But what could have possibly caused this?" He asked as the power restarted once more.
"Or that?" Bulkhead spoke up, refering to the power surge as he looked around.
"Must be the main grid." Ratchet guessed. "Hopefully, it isn't a substation malfunction."
"Hey, guys!" Raf's voice entered their audio processors. "Look what we found!"
"We're busy!" Ratchet huffed rather agressively as he glanced up towards Clark, Raf, and Talida.
And then he let out a bloodcurdling scream as he laid eyes on the little guy in Raf's arms.
Once the other three got a good look too, all hell broke loose as the four Autobots jumped to their feet, Skyquake pulling out his minigun as Bulkhead and Bumblebee both deployed their blasters, all of them aiming towards Raf in pure terror.
"Hey!" Miko shouted as she and Amy sprinted towards the group, Jack holding Krystal up at the human area.
"What the fuck's wrong with you?!" Clark shouted as he jumped in Raf and Talida, spreading his arms protectively as Miko and Talida pulled Raf back some, while Amy got between Clark and the group, glaring at the bots.
"Scraplet, SCRAPLET!" Bulkhead shouted, waving his blaster frantically as he looked fearfully towards the little guy in Raf's arm.
"The fuck's a Scraplet?" Clark asked.
"The most dangerous vermin an Autobot or Decepticon can ever encounter." Skyquake said, mirroring Clark's stance for the other Autobots.
The group looked at them in disbelief.
"Are fucking kidding me right now?" Clark asked, looking at the group in disbelief, standing up straight..
"This little guy?" Amy asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You're giant robots!" Miko pointed out dryly. "Scrappy here is… teeny." She held her thumb and index finger together for good measure.
"You have no idea the damage that teeny thing can do!" Bulkhead retorted in terror.
"Aw, he wouldn't hurt anything." Raf said with a shake of his head as the Scraplet in his arms awoke.
And locked it's gaze on the Autobots.
Everyone looked on in surprise as a large set of teeth, for it's size anyway, became clear as it opened it's mouth, whirring mechanically and chomping quickly, rythmically, as the thing jumped from Raf's hands, gunning it towards the Autobots.
Skyquake, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee all opened fire on the little monster as it crawled towards them, panic spreading through all of them as it got closer.
And then it jumped onto Bumblebee's leg.
"GET IT OFF ME, GET IT OFF ME!" Bumblebee beeped in terror as everyone watched in horror as the little thing began eating the surface metal up Bumblebee's leg, creating a pattern of sorts up the poor scouts leg. Bumblebee was completely terrified. He managed to snag the scraplet off his leg, attempting to crush it in his grip.
Instead, the scraplet ate right through Bumblebee's hand, and began eating up his arm as the terrified scout panicked.
Talida immediately shot her arm forward, and yanked the Scraplet off of Bumblebee with her telekinesis. The little thing came flying away from the Autobots, but it was undeterred.
Immediately, it was standing up, more than ready to go after the mechs in front of it once more…
Until Clark's foot slammed down on top of it with immense force, completely crushing it to dust and cracking the floor under his foot in the process.
Clark looked up towards Bumblebee in concern. "You alright?!"
"I'm sorry, Bee!" Raf exclaimed as he ran past Clark to his guardian.
"I'm fine, Raf." Bumblebee beeped with a nod as Skyquake helped him to his feet. "Thanks Clark."
"Bumblebee says thank you!" Krystal called out to her father.
"Not a problem." Clark said as he turned to Ratchet. "Is he alright?"
"Only a mesh wound." Ratchet reassured. "He'll live."
"Now to you believe me?!" Bulkhead exclaimed as he turned towards the humans. "All Scraplets do is dismantle machinery and eat anything metal! Especially living metal!"
"Well, Clark made sure the thing was dead." Amy said, glancing towards where the Scraplet used to be standing. "So we're fine, right?"
"No." Skyquake answered in place of Ratchet. "Scraplets have a hive mind, similar to the Earth creature you call bees." He explained. "If there's a Scraplet in our base, it's not alone."
"Skyquake is correct." Ratchet nodded. "And I fear I know how they got in here."
It didn't take long to examine the storage pod that had been recovered from the Arctic, and Ratchet's fears were only confirmed.
"It's a trap." Ratchet confirmed. "A Scraplet trap."
"Uh, an empty Scraplet trap." Bulkhead added nervously as he observed the empty pod.
"Most likely ejected into space eons ago, only to end up in the Arctic, where the temperature kept them in stasis." Ratchet guessed, examining the trap once more.
"Until we brought the thaw." Jack realized.
"Now the damn things are probably knawing on anything in the base." Clark assumed, horror flooding his features.
"It's a wonder we didn't encounter any on the way here." Amy remarked, glancing around the room, suddenly expecting a bunch of Scraplets to start pouring into the room.
"Now they're ready to feast on any metal they can find." Talida gasped.
"Including the bots!" Raf gulped in horror at the thought.
"How many are we talking here?" Miko questioned nervously.
"Thousands." Ratchet answered gravely. "And the power malfuctions and Groundbridge damage are sure signs that their infestation is well underway."
"Ratchet to Optimus, do you read me?" We have a situation!" Ratchet attempted to get in contact with Optimus over the comlink, but all he got was static. "The Scraplets have gotten into the comlink system! If we don't eradicate these creatures immediately, they will reduce the entire base to a scrapheap!"
"Well I say we bug out of here let them keep it!" Bulkhead voted, utterly terrified at the prospect of the Scraplets.
"What?!" Amy snapped her head towards Bulkhead in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"
"Bulkhead, Dad and Arcee are still out there!" Talida objected to the wrecker's idea. "We can't leave!"
"We have to get the Groundbridge online, and we have to do it now!" Clark said firmly.
"Evacuation is not an option." Skyquake proclaimed, catching everyone's attention. "With Optimus and Arcee in peril since they are now stuck in the Arctic, our only choice to eliminate the Scraplets and repair the Groundbridge."
Ratchet nodded. "Skyquake is right. If we don't get the Groundbridge online stat, Optimus and Arcee will most certainly perish."
"They will?" Jack asked in horror as he held Talida in his arms, looking at her in concern.
Miko turned her gaze towards Bulkhead. "Bulkhead, you never run!" She exclaimed.
"None of you have seen a swarm of these things devour a bot!" Bulkhead retorted fearfully. "I have! They pick you apart from the inside out, going for the small juicy bits first, fuse by fuse, circuit by circuit, until they're nothing left! NOTHING! Not even your optics." He proclaimed.
"Fear's justified, but we can't leave, Bulk." Clark said with a shake of his head, turning to look towards Ratchet. "Let us help. All of us."
"All of you?" Ratchet questioned in disbelief.
"We're flesh, not metal, Ratchet." Amy explained. "We could all walk through a sea of the things and they'd ignore us."
"Yeah!" Raf nodded in agreement. "The one I found left me alone completely."
"They won't hurt us, we can watch your back!" Miko said.
"Can I help?" Krystal asked, running up to her father. "I want to help keep the bots safe!"
Clark and Amy looked at each other for a moment, before Clark glanced down at Krystal. "You're gonna stay with somebody, but yeah, you can help."
"Yes!" Krystal shouted, more than happy to finally pitch in.
"Typically, I find your fleshiness to be your least engaging quality." Ratchet admitted. "But it would appear to provide an advantage under these extremes." He decided.
"Good." Talida nodded. "So we pair off."
"There's four bots and seven of us." Clark noted, glancing around.
"Me and Talida can watch your back while you repair the Groundbridge, Ratchet." Jack proposed.
"And we go on a bug hunt." Miko said, glancing towards the others. Skyquake looked uneasy, but Bulkhead and Bumblebee completely shook with fear, more than terrified.
"Optimus to base, do you read?"
Optimus and Arcee's sensors had already gone off earlier, and the two were desperately trying to contact base. In the meantime, they were attempting to find shelter, in order to insulate themselves, hopefully stave off hypothermia… or the Cybertronian equivelent anyway.
He heard a soft thud behind him, and Optimus turned to find Arcee had collapsed to a knee. Turning to his spark mate, he moved to help her, pulling her to her feet as he noted that she was nearly unconcious.
"Are you sure a nice, long drive wouldn't help?" Arcee asked. "I hear from Talida that Miami's beautiful this year." She joked lightly as she dusted snow and ice off of her body.
"The nearest temperature climate is too distant, Arcee." Optimus objected. "Attempting to reach it would expend to much energy. Our best option would be to seek shelter and insulate ourselves." He suggested, before notiing that she'd lost conciousness in his arms. "Arcee, stay with me."
"Optimus…" Arcee mumbled slightly.
"Come on, Arcee, open your eyes." Optimus begged, his voice breaking slightly. "Stay with me sweetspark, please. Please stay with me." His voice broke some towards the end, but it seemed to work, as Arcee regained conciousness, though only some.
"How long was I out?" She asked, a little groggy.
"Come one." Optimus urged gently, ignoring the question. "We have to get to shelter."
The two continued to stagger through the bone chilling winds and sub-zero temperatures in the hopes of finding some sort of shelter. They needed to survive.
For their family.
"I get to be your body guard for once!" Miko gushed rather excitedly, considering the situation. "How cool is that?" The teen was armed with a crowbar, more than ready to pound any scraplets she found into dust.
Bulkhead kept his cool as best he could, which admittedly wasn't that well, considering he twisting back and forth, frantically checking each side of him in the hopes that a scraplet wouldn't sneak up on him.
"Raf, I'm the first one here… right?" Bulkhead asked through the comlink, his voice letting his nervousness show.
And then the lights went out.
And the most girlish scream Miko had ever heard echoed through the hall… from behind her.
When the lights came back on, Miko turned around. "Did you just scream like a little girl?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No…" Bulkhead denied… poorly. "Maybe… can we talk about this later?" The wrecker begged, more than embarrassed.
Miko let out a shrug before turning around, and the two continued their search.
Though not for long, as they heard more metallic clanging from nearby, which only served to fuel Bulkhead's terror.
"Take it easy, Bulk." Miko tried calming the wrecker. "Just take it easy. Everything is going to be-"
Miko didn't get to finish as Bulkhead's terror got the best of him at the sound of more moving metal, swinging like a madman as he shot at the wall and the ceiling… only to have a bunch of cables flop down all over him, sending the wrecker into a panicked frenzy as he let out a scream similar to the first.
Miko could only watch the site in disbelief as Bulkhead flailed around. "Okay… wish I hadn't seen that." She muttered, before looking at Bulkhead. "Bulkhead, you're fine, it's just a bunch of cables!"
At her words, Bulkhead seemed to break free from his panic attack, as he took in that it really was only a bunch of loose cables.
"Oh, right, cables." Bulkhead laughed sheepishly, gently tugging on one of cables to reassure himself.
And then a scraplet fell on him.
And then two more.
And then Bulkhead was screaming in pain and terror as an entire swarm toppled down on top of him, to Miko's horror.
Raf and Krystal both accompanied Bumblebee on his search for scraplets. They all scanned the hallways, looking for any sign of a scraplet. Raf was armed with another crowbar, and Krystal had a small mallet.
"Look at that vent…" Bumblebee beeped as he noticed an air vent that had been made a scraplet meal.
"Don't these things ever stop eating?" Raf asked as they moved towards the vent.
"Why do they have to eat metal anyway?" Krystal grumbled as they all prepared for scraplets.
Bumblebee ripped off what remained of the vent as both Raf and Krystal let out cries, more than ready to start smashing scraplets. But they didn't see anything. Not at first.
Then the metallic clanging that signaled the screlats could be heard from within the vent.
"That's scary…" Krystal couldn't help but remark nervously.
There fears became warranted when a swarm of scraplets all jumped out of the floor from behind them, rather than the vent, their teeth bared and ready to eat as they crawled towards Bumblebee. Raf and Krystal both attempted to keep the beasts away from the bot as he began shooting, but they al knew….
There were too many of them.
In another hall, Skyquake scanned everything around him, Clark and Amy both accompanying him.
Clark's fists were clenched, ready to crush scraplets that he may have come across. Amy was armed with a wrench that Clark tended to carry around in his back pocket as they scanned the area with Skyquake.
"Even I have to admit, this is more than a little unsettling." Clark remarked as he scanned around the place.
"Can't you hear them, Clark?" Amy asked as she glanced towards her fiancee.
"No. Not through here." Clark said with a shake of his head. "Wherever the little fuckers are, they're being quiet."
"That is a tactic they tend to use." Skyquake said, an uneasy tone in his voice as the juggernaut scanned the hall. "They ambush their prey, in order to take their meal before they can fight back."
"It'd be easier if I could see them." Clark muttered. "But this whole place is lined with lead. I can't even see into the air vents."
"Keep your guard up." Skyquake ordered. "You never know when they may strike."
Suddenly, the telltale clanging could be heard coming further down the hall. All three of them tensed as they moved towards the source, almost instantly knowing what it was coming from.
They came across a loose wall panel along the hall, and the clanging seemed to be coming from behind it.
Skyquake prepared his blaster as Amy's hands tightened around the wrench.
Clark glanced at Skyquake, who nodded, before the man moved to grip the panel, ripping it off.
Horror flooded through all of them as an entire herd of scraplets, feasting on a pair of pipelines, turned their little blue eyes up in their direction.
And then the screaming started.
In the main area, Talida and Jack were standing guard, scouting for any scraplets as Ratchet worked quickly and desperately to fix the Groundbridge. Jack was armed with the last crowbar, and Talida was using her abilities, both of her hands lit up with scorching hot and ice cold fire, her eyes glowing blue.
"Thank god your powers kicked in today, right Lida?" Jack smiled slightly as he glanced towards his girlfriend.
Talida nodded. "It honestly feels a little weird, being able to do this stuff now." She turned towards Ratchet. "How's the progress, Ratchet?"
"I've repaired the damaged conductors and re-routed the central conduits, but the Groundbridge still won't recieve power!" Ratchet answered, slamming his fist into the ground in frustration.
Suddenly, they heard the horrific sound of clanging metal. Both Talida and Jack were on high alert now, Talida ready to shoot as Jack held up the crowbar, ready to attack. By chance, their eyes wandered up towards the vents at the ceiling of the base.
And they were horrified at the site that awaited them.
An entire horde of scraplets were wandering around on the ceiling.
"Why does cute and cuddly always equal evil?!" Talida shouted, bringing her hands up to shoot in case the scraplets noticed Ratchet.
Which they did.
One caught Ratchet in it's gaze, and it bared it's teeth, leeting out a horrifying screech as it alerted it's bretheren to the presence of a meal, before it jumped off the wall.
And began flying.
"Whoa!" Jack said as he and Talida jumped back in surprise. "They fly? YOU NEVER SAID THEY COULD FLY!"
The horde began to converge on Ratchet, the medic backing away in terror, before they swarmed the poor bot, beginning to feed as Ratchet crumpled to the ground in agony.
"RATCHET!" Jack and Talida both cried out as they rushed to begin trying to provide relief.
Jack was slamming the crowbar into any scraplet he could as Talida began making use of all of her powers, freezing, burning, and melting scraplets as she tried to keep them off the medic.
But it wasn't working well.
"JACK! THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER!" Ratchet exclaimed, frantically pointing to said extuingisher.
"USE IT ON THE SCRAPLETS!" Talida reinforced.
With a nod, Jack frantically ditched his crowbar for the fire extinguisher, immediately getting it ready for use as he bolted back to Ratchet.
The combined efforts of Jack and Talida cleared the scraplets off of Ratchet quickly, leaving the little monsters dead, but they still had the rest of the horde to deal with.
And as if to spite them, fate decided that was a good time for the other Autobots to return, injured.
"Ratchet, we require a patch- BY THE ALLSPARK!" Skyquake cut himself off as he and the others noticed the swarm above the main aread of the base as the scraplets began to swarm the others.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me!" Amy shouted out in frustration as she and the other humans began to attempt to help their Autobot friends.
Clark glanced towards Talida and Jack, seeing that they were making progress with just a fire exstinguisher, and got an idea.
"Everyone hold on!" Clark shouted as he bolted to the center of the base. "It's gonna get cold in here real fast!"
No body could keep eye or optic off what happened next.
Taking a deep breath, Clark exhaled.
A massive cloud of gale force winds shot out at the scraplets, freezing them on contact as the temperature in the main area dropped rapidly as a side effect of Clark's feezing breath.
The site was unreal. With just a breath, Clark had taken out nearly the entire horde, hundreds of scraplets falling to the ground, dead and frozen solid.
It seemed as if Clark didn't even need to breath, his breath completely turning the ceiling of the base white and freezing any scraplet still on the wall to it, as he gut off most of the entrances for the scraplets.
When Clark finally ceased, only a few scraplets remained as the ice cold winds of Clark's breath evaporated into nothing.
"Holy shit…" Amy muttered as she looked at her fiancee. "That's insane."
Clark shrugged with a sigh. "Never had a reason to use it like that till now." He admitted, before he shook his head. "But don't relax yet. That ain't all of them."
And deep down, everyone knew, he was right.
There were still more in the base.
After much searching, Optimus and Arcee had managed to find some sort of shelter, hiding under an overhang of ice.
They knew it wouldn't be much. Any warmth they could maintain was needed. If they didn't get back to base soon…
Neither of them wanted to think about it.
Optimus turned to look at the femme next to him. Arcee had curled up into a ball in an attempt to preserve some warmth, but he she seemed to have fallen asleep.
"Arcee." Optimus spoke gently. "Wake up."
Arcee didn't respond, sending a surge of fear through Optimus, as he rested an arm on her shoulder, gently shaking her.
"Just resting my eyes." Arcee muttered, causing Optimus to sigh in relief as she rubbed her optics.
"The longer we remain alert, the longer we remain alive." Optimus reminded as he wrapped an arm around Arcee in an attempt to provide some warmth.
"What do you suggest?" Arcee asked, glancing towards Optimus. "Wait, how about a game? Let's play Who Screwed Things Up Back at Base?"
"Our predicament could be the result of a simple power malfunction." Optimus explained.
"Caused by Skyquake." Arcee spoke, her tone rather angry. "No comlink… maybe even no power. The Con probably sabotaged the base's power supply." She assumed, glancing up towards Optimus. "I knew Skyquake would be trouble. He probably killed the others already."
"Arcee, not only would Skyquake have to deal with Clark, making such an event unlikely, but Skyquake has been taking much effort in furthing our cause." Optimus said, glancing towards his spark mate. "I'm aware that his Decepticon past is not something you're able to simply forget, but he has been a good comrade since his arrival."
"Isn't that how infiltrators work?" Arcee asked rather rhetorically.
Optimus sighed. "Arcee… Skyquake's views have been shaken. Megatron is not the mech he was following anymore, and Skyquake only seeks to end this war peacefully."
Arcee sighed. "Skyquake was the leader of the Combaticons, Optimus." She recalled. "They've caused us so much trouble, cost us so many comrades during the war."
"I know this, Arcee." Optimus nodded. "But Skyquake is trying to right his wrongs. Who are we to deny him that chance?"
"I still think you give him too much credit." Arcee admitted.
Optimus sighed as he turned away. In time, Arcee would see that Skyquake meant well.
It may just take a while.
Back at the base, Clark, Talida, and Jack finished off the remaining scraplets in the main area as Miko, Raf, Krystal, and Amy checked on the others.
"Did we get them all?" Jack asmed nervously as he listened to the moans of pain from the Autobots.
"Not even close." Clark answered grimly.
As if to confirm the fear, the sound of scraplets could be heard echoing down the hall.
"Oh come on." Talida groaned in exhasperation.
"Those were just the scouts." Ratchet revealed.
"You gotta be fucking kidding me." Amy let out a sigh of frustration as she spoke.
"There's more?!" Krystal exclaimed in annoyance. "Come on!"
"Those were just scouts? We're screwed!" Bumblebee beeped sadly as he slumped back down.
"To make matters worse, the rest of them know we're here." Skyquake spoke with a grunt of pain. "It's only a matter of time until they come to feed."
"And if we allow ourselves to become their next meal, Optimus and Arcee will surely perish. We must get the Groundbridge operational." Ratchet declared as he resituated himself.
"Then we can use it to send the scraplets anywhere on Earth!" Raf realized as he looked at the others.
"The Arctic!" Clark exclaimed, grinning towards the twelve-year-old. "You're a genius, Raf!"
"One stop shopping!" Miko remarked with a grin of her own.
"As Clark has confirmed, sub-zero temperature's freeze scraplets on contact. So think, Ratchet, think!" Ratchet grumbled to himself. "If the Groundbridge is still down, there must be a breach in the Energon fuel line." He gasped in realization.
"If we weren't breaching, one of us could get back over there and fix it." Bulkhead proposed.
"Allow me to…" Skyquake proposed as he tried to stand to his feet, only to collapse back to a knee in pain.
"No, you stay here, Skyquake." Clark ordered, before turning to Ratchet. "Where's the fuel line?"
"And how do we fix it?" Amy added, moving to stand next to Clark as the kids gathered around as well.
"I know how." Talida revealed. "Come on, I'll take you to the fuel line."
Talida led them to the fuel line with ease, while Clark basically kicked any and all scraplets in their way.
"We ain't metal. Bastards won't touch us even if we stomp on them." Clark reminded as they followed the fuel line.
"There's the breach!" Jack shouted when he noticed it. "Come on, we have to work fast! How do you fix it, Talida?"
"First off," Talida spoke as she began the instructions.
"So, if we get- WHEN we get the Groundbridge open, we send the creepy crawlies out and bring our bots in…" Bulkhead summarized.
Ratchet's optics widened as he had a horrifying realization. "Optimus and Arcee will be fresh meat! If we bring them in first, the scraplets will have no reason to leave! We need bait…" He warned them.
"Where are we gonna get bait?!" Bulkhead exclaimed in agravation. "The scraplets have already helped themselves to everything in here!"
Skyquake was silent as the others conversed, his gaze staring down the hall where the scraplets could be heard, before slowly moving his eyes towards the Groundbridge.
"Keep going, the metals are almost fused." Talida instructed as Jack worked on the pipe.
Just as they finished, the scraplets began swarming into a vent on the ceiling, and they all realized what was about to happen.
"They're getting ready to feed!" Raf exclaimed.
"The Autobots!" Krystal shouted worryingly.
"We have to get back, now!" Amy exclaimed.
"Let's go!" Clark said as he bolted off towards the main bay, the others following.
"RATCHET, FIRE UP THE GROUNDBRIDGE!" Clark yelled as he sprinted back into the main area, the others right behind him.
"IT'S FIXED!"
Ratchet struggled, but he pushed himself to his feet, leaning against the railing as he put his hand on the Groundbridge controls.
"Groundbridge… activated…" Ratchet announced as he flipped the lever, before he collapsed once more.
The amount of relief that flooded through Optimus when the Groundbridge swirled to life in front of them was a feeling that pleased him immensly.
"Arcee, they did it." Optimus spoke softly as he gently shook Arcee awake from her slumber.
The Groundbridge was opened, but most of the Autobots were too weak to even stand.
Except one.
Skyquake glanced up towards the swarm of scraplets at the ceiling, before forcing himself to his feet, fighting through the pain.
One good thing about Skyquake, he could take a lot of punishment.
Slowly walking towards the Groundbridge, he heard Bulkhead speak up next to him.
"Skyquake? What are you-"
"Keep Ratchet and Bumblebee as low as possible." Skyquake ordered as he turned to face the horde above.
"Skyquake, what the hell are you doing?!" Clark exclaimed as he looked at the juggernaut.
Skyqauke began waving his arms around, gritting his teeth as he tried to get the scraplets' attention. "Ready for your next meal, vermin! Come and get it!"
The scraplets all turned their gazes towards Skyquake, completely ignoring the other Autobots as Bulkhead pushed Bumblebee and Ratchet down, using his body to shield them.
Once they started charging, Skyquake turned around, and began running through the ground bridge as fast as his injured body could. He could feel them hitting his back and beginning to eat away at his chassis as he ran through.
Weakly, Optimus and Arcee shuffled towards the Groundbridge, both of them completely weakened from the time spent in the Arctic.
When Arcee collapsed to a knee, Optimus moved back to help her to her feet as the two trudged to the Groundbridge once more.
When Skyquake suddenly came barreling directly towards them through the Groundbridge.
"GET DOWN!" He shouted to the two, tackling both of them to the ground.
Both Arcee and Optimus felt an immense pain wash over them as Skyquake took them to the ground, but both of them appreciated the gesture when they spotted he horde of frozen scraplets flying over the three of them.
Once there were no more scraplets left, only then did Skyquake shakily climb to his feet, freeing Optimus and Arcee from his weight.
And it was then they all took in each other's appearance.
"I'll warn you now…" Skyquake spoke. "The base is… not in the best of shape." He admittedly sheepishly.
Back at the base, Arcee and Bumblebee sat on berths as Jack, Talida, and Raf watched over them. Bulkhead sat next to Ratchet and Bulkhead, cables attached to his chest as Miko monitored his own vitals. Skyquake sat across from Bulkhead, Krystal sitting on his shoulder as Clark monitored his vitals.
Leaving Ratchet and Optimus to Amy.
"Jack, report biocircuitry readings." Ratchet instructed.
"Levels are rising!" Jack reported without fail.
"Excellent. Rafael, keep a close watch on Bumblebee's electropulse monitor." Ratchet began instructing everyone. "Miko, check Bulkhead's interface patch. Talida, keep an eye on Arcee's temperature and spark pulse readings."
"It's steady!" Raf observed.
"Looking good!" Miko announced.
"Arcee's temperature is still below normal range, but her sparkpulse is reading strong and steady."
Ratchet's eyes wandered up towards Skyquake. "Clark, do the same for Skyquake."
"Temperature's normal, so is his sparkpulse." Clark reported.
"Maybe you should get some rest, Ratchet." Amy proposed. "You've done a lot today."
"It wasn't all my doing, Amy." Ratchet said with a shake of his head. "We're just fortunate that this investation happened on a Saturday."
"Our human friends may be small, but they are all strong." Optimus complimented.
"You scared me, Sqyquake." Krystal said quietly, tucking her knees into her chest from her position on Skyquake's shoulder.
"I… apologize, little one." Sqyquake said softly. "It was my intention to help, not scare."
"Well, like my mom says… at least your okay." She said, smiling at the arial bot, before her eyes widened and she looked at Optimus. "Oh, Optimus! Tally has powers now!"
Optimus' optics widened at the childs words, and she turned to look at Talida. "You do?"
Talida smiled. "Yep! Telekinesis, fire, ice, and laser eyes!" She listed off.
"The ice one came in real handy today!" Clark remarked with a chuckle.
"Yes it did." Jack said with a smile as he leaned over, kissing Talida's temple with a chuckle.
Suddenly, an earpiercing shriek echoed through the base from Miko, and everyone got ready to attack.
"Scraplet?!" Jack asked as the other humans got ready to attack.
"SPIDER!" Miko screeched, jumping up and down in terror. "Is it on me?!"
As everyone watched her jump and hop away, Bulkhead simply asked one question.
"Did she just scream like a little girl?"