Author's Notes: I'm glad you've been enjoying my tale so far; here we have the next exciting chapter for this story, one of my reviewers asked a specific question regarding a certain character. I know they frown upon answering reviews here, but I just thought I'd offer a little sneak peek as it where; in regards to the SHIELD agent now being host to a certain Symbiote, let's just say she's in for a lot of Carnage in her future. LOL
And so without further ado...
Six lime green and purple construction vehicles charge across a non-descript looking landscape with The Transformers logo in the background and combine into Devastator clashing his fists in the air above his head... "We now return to The Transformers."
Optimus Prime entered the central repair bay of the Ark and swiftly made his way to the side of the nearest operating table where Ratchet was working on Jazz; the black and white Autobot glanced up with a slight smile.
"Hey Optimus; no need to worry, we'll be back online in no time flat." He stated; Prime smiled, or rather approximated the gesture and turned to Jetfire who was crouched in a corner of the room where Sparkplug their human friend was offering his mechanical expertise in welding his armor plating back on.
"Megatron has the engine; and although it will take some time before he can discover its' secrets I fear we may not be able to save the Earth this time." He admitted; Jetfire shook his head and offered a tiny wince as Sparkplug slipped.
"Don't move." He grumbled; Jetfire sighed.
"You want me to get to Cybertron; see if Omega Supreme is up for a little trip." He surmised; Optimus nodded.
"Back up may be necessary; if possible get the Technobots reformatted with Earth styled modes, or as close as their superstructures can handle and get them here too. We're going to need all the help we can get." Prime stated; Ratchet glanced up from his repair work on Jazz.
"What about Ultra Magnus?" He wondered. "Should we take him away from his job as leader of the Cybertron based Autobots?" He questioned; Prime shook his head.
"Magnus is our only hope should we fail; if that's the case I'll ensure the Matrix is passed on to him." Prime announced. "Besides Landmine and his Pretenders are still on reserve status, what's left of them; I'll have Ironhide contact our lunar outpost on Titan and hope that Thunderwing doesn't intercept our transmission." He added turning to leave; a hand stopped him, glancing back he saw Ironhide and Hound, both of whom had serious expressions on their faces. "What is it?" He asked; Ironhide glanced slightly to Hound and then he took a step closer.
"Ah know yah don't like involvin' humans' in our war Prahme, but that man who helped us with the Oil Platform situation might be able to offer some insight into this." He whispered so as not to be heard by the others; Prime shook his head.
"I'd gladly accept the help, if we knew where he was; he's not staying at Starlight Mansion anymore though and Primus only knows where he is now." Prime finished before striding out of the room to prepare a message for Landmine and Ultra Magnus; there was a lot to do if they were going to stop Megatron from tapping into the powers of the Infinity Engine.
The Source laughed as the Consort tugged on the mirror shattering its' shadowy tendrils and rendering it completely opaque; observing the events surrounding Rutherford was next to impossible, but watching those of the Cybertronians proved more then enough for the time being.
"They did it; now that it is back on the surface we can snatch it up without any problems." He exclaimed eager to end their little game; the Consort shook her head.
"It is not that simple; we must await the proper alignment of the heavens, as I told you before we began all of this chaotic fun." She reprimanded; seemingly growing cold and distant in her tone, almost as if she was the one in charge and not the other way round.
"Now then; why not enjoy ourselves, I've been meaning to gather more forces for the chaotic swell that must be unleashed." She said with a twisted smile of pleasure; the Source grinned like a chesire cat and produced several finely crafted onyx chess pieces, each one represented a former pawn or one who had not yet become one.
"I believe these should suffice; the Symbiote has found a new host, a female too." He informed with an eager though deranged glint in his eye; she cooed softly as she straddled him caressing his cheek with one dark tendril of shadow magic.
"You know all the right things to say." She teased; he laughed once more and kissed her, biting her lip in the process, soon everything would come out exactly as they had planned and then the Universe would be theirs to control.
I stretched as Rogue and I entered my room; she'd taken so much to the whole sharing a bed thing it felt a little strange when she wasn't there, my session with Emma Frost had proven less then stellar and my head was hurting a little from the mental peep show of sorts. Rogue smiled as I climbed into bed; she was sitting up with a book in hand, I returned the gesture and lightly brushed her cheek with a kiss.
"Ah'll get tah sleep when Ah'm tired; that impromptu nap this afternoon really threw my sleep cycle for a loop." She said; I nodded and settled down closing my eyes slightly.
"All that excitement today; maybe my dreams will be plagued with adventures instead of nightmares." I mused with a small smile; Rogue glanced briefly to me, and then surprisingly put her book down.
"Al; there's somethin' Ah want tah tell yah." She said softly; I sat back up thinking this to be important, she brushed a stray lock of auburn hair from her eyes and stared down at the blankets not really seeing them. "Nobody has ever been told this; mah parents probably don't even care anymore if they're alive, but… Ah want yah tah know the name Ah was born with." She revealed.
"Rogue I…" I began only to be silenced by a glance; her nervous fear and yet loving adoration were both crystal clear in her expression and I knew she had to do this, the Fanboy inside was giddy with excitement; nobody knew her real name… Well unless you counted the tacked on name of Marie from the X-Men movies, but the comic most likely had a different name in mind.
"Annalisse." She revealed in a hushed tone. "Mah name is Annalisse, the last name ain't important." She added; I smiled warmly at her and clasped her nearest hand.
"Your name is lovely Rogue… Annalisse." I returned; she let out a nervous breath and moved to kiss me, once we parted I had to cover a sudden yawn. "Good night my fair lotus, your secret is safe with me." I stated before flopping back into bed and promptly falling asleep; Rogue shook her head at it and then returned to her book, at least until she felt a little mental calling.
"Rogue; is he asleep?" Emma asked telepathically.
"Yes." She said aloud trusting the other woman would still hear her, the mental presence grew until Jean, Scott, Ororo, Logan, Remy, Bobby, Piotr, Jubilee, Illyana, Kitty, Hank, The Professor and Banshee were felt in a sort of telepathic meeting of sorts.
"Then let's get this over with; we may not be able to tell Kilowatt anythin', but at least we can see what's what and maybe help him learn ta listen." Logan grunted internally; it was a little odd feeling the X-Men team inside her mind, of course Jean and the Professor were lending their telepathic gifts to Emma so she wouldn't be too strained bringing them into his sub-conscious mind and the dreams he was no doubt experiencing.
"This is exciting; thanks for including us Professor." Jubilee said; Rogue sighed and smiled at the amount of care that was in the young teens voice, Al had really become something special in his own way to each of the X-Men.
"Wait a minute; where's Kurt?" Bobby wondered; the Professor cleared his throat, mentally and brought everyone to attentiveness.
"Kurt chose not to participate; and it was his own prerogative, we can not fault him nor force him to help if he finds it morally wrong to force entrance into Al's mind like this." He explained. "That being said; let us begin, I caution you do not touch anything even if it looks like he is in danger. We do not know what damage it could cause." Xavier warned; and then once again Rogue felt herself entering Al's subconscious mind and journeying towards whatever strange dream he was experiencing now.
I stood on the ridge overlooking the valley; the craters which pockmarked this land were spouting raw energy blasts caused by the native Energon crystals, Energon existed on Earth in its' natural crystalline form eons before mankind walked its' surface. What became of those pockets of Cybertronian lifeblood were unknown to me, but I wasn't here for the scenery; this was unlike the other dreams in a sense, I felt that something was about to happen.
And then the massive sonic boom ripped through the sky and I found myself drawn to the heavens; twin beacons of fiery red light streaked across the stratosphere as mighty war vessels breached the Earth's atmosphere and began to descend to the surface fulfilling their role in the grand scheme of things. The golden hull of the first ship could just be made out as it spiraled down out of control until it collided with the ancient Volcano; the maw exploded with molten lava and ash quickly covering over the massive hole gouged open by the crashing ship.
"Impressive isn't it?" A voice asked; I turned now to find surprisingly a very familiar being.
"Depends." I remarked. "I doubt you've ever seen it." I added; the being curled his lip and smiled revealing razor sharp metallic fangs.
"Not when I was alive, but now that I'm one with the Matrix I can witness many historical events first hand." He stated in kind; I smirked at that and turned back to the heavens, wondering if perhaps two different ships would come crashing down any moment now. "Too early for us; for them, it was another million years before the Axalon and our stolen vessel crash landed." He pointed out; I nodded acceptingly and turned back to him.
"So tell me Dinobot; are you real or a dream?" I wondered; the Predacon turned Maximal smiled yet again and pointed to the heavens.
"Do you honestly believe these are dreams?" He asked deflecting my question effortlessly; I shrugged, but didn't bother saying anything more. "You're starting to listen, but no matter what you won't understand until it's too late; you're going to have to be closer to them… To him, closer to the Matrix." He said; I nodded and sat down, my size contrasting largely now that I had shortened myself. Of course Dinobot had always been taller then me; those rare few instances I'd experienced moments of the Beast Wars on the Holodeck had made me well aware of that.
"I've been getting flashes; partial visions of doom and destruction, I have a sneaking suspicion I know someone else is behind it… Primus or Unicron?" I asked; Dinobot snickered and shifted into beast mode, it was stranger still sitting next to a Velociraptor.
"Both and neither." He replied; I nodded again and reached up briefly to pat the Maximal's muzzle.
"Forgive the presumptuousness, but it's been a long time since I've had the comforting presence of my Ravage." I stated by way of apology; the Maximal spirit inclined his head and then glanced briefly behind us as if seeing something or perhaps someone.
"Your comrades do you justice; if they are concerned enough to venture forth into such tumultuous dreams as those plaguing you." He noted; curiously I glanced behind us as well and smiled warmly at the sight of the X-Men standing there, some of whom looked a little unnerved by this chain of events.
"I would suggest you contact your sister if you have further questions; however I doubt she'd tell you, she knows the delicate balance of maintaining the temporal course of events." He added before the sky began to darken and a storm seemed to roil up from nothingness. "I must leave now; being disconnected from the Allspark even for this brief a time may cause irreparable consequences." He finished and then he vanished; I climbed to my feet a newfound understanding beginning to take shape, a giant approached from the roiling clouds, the familiar image of Megatron his fusion cannon gleaming as it caught the sun's last fading rays. I felt strange all of a sudden; and then my dreamlike form seemed to change, one minute I was dwarfed by Megatron and the next I was equal in height to him. Glancing down I found a body fashioned of metal; the familiar emblem resting on my chest, and a strange throbbing presence deep within, I had become appropriately enough an Autobot, to be specific a Prime.
"Prime!" Megatron cried aiming his weapon at me; I smirked as I rose my optics to take in the menace, no longer did I feel fear.
"Well; this is certainly new." I commented as weapons ports opened up on my shoulders and hips; the experience was decidedly alien, missiles exploded from within and collided with Megatron. "One must stand, one must fall." I recited raising a mighty cannon in one hand; Megatron growled and charged me, he punched me once across the face and then I leapt aside glancing back to make sure I didn't step on the X-Men… In doing so I discovered the alien presence of metallic wings jutting out from my back.
"Transform!" I cried out; though it was unnecessary as I altered my dream shape into a massive aerial form reminiscent of a Nasa space shuttle combined with a fighter jet. Megatron's armor cracked; and changed color until no longer was I facing the tyrannical leader of the Decepticons, but the insane upgrade form of Galvatron.
"You will not stop me Human!" Galvatron cried; I felt strange as I smirked at that, without a face the expression was indeed quite alien… This was what it felt like to be a Cybertronian; and it was extremely cool, suddenly the dreamscape began to tremble and I could sense a change coming over it.
"Rogue." I called out shifting back to robot mode and landing next to X-Men. "I'm sorry; I'm afraid we're going to have to cut our alone time short, but maybe you'd care to join me for the road trip out to Oregon… It appears that if I am to be rid of these incessant and alien dreams I'm going to have to contact some old and perhaps new allies." I finished before the dream completely changed and I lost all sense of awareness of my surroundings; the X-Men vanishing as mysteriously as they'd appeared.
"Ah'll gladly go with yah." Rogue said to the sleeping form gently caressing his cheek; the others had all left and were most likely dissecting this new information, Al shifted in his sleep slightly and then returned to his Borg-like rigidity. Rogue turned back to her book after briefly kissing his lips; apparently strange events would forever surround the man she'd fallen in love with.
The following morning after breakfast I found myself surrounded by the X-Men team; we were in the study or the den or whatever you wanted to call it, they seemed intrigued by what little they'd learned in their unsolicited romp through my sub-conscious mind. I couldn't blame them for being so worried; I was acting really weird of late, and the nightmares seemed to have changed from the first couple that I experienced when they first started up at Starlight Mansion. As if these dreams weren't connected to my gifts at all; and that was probably true, I was beginning to suspect that someone was trying to contact me, someone extremely important yet for the life of me I couldn't figure out why.
"So you gotta take off again Kilowatt." Logan quipped as usual the first to speak; or at least as more usual then most times.
"Yes; it would appear that your sub-conscious has told you all it can without aid from the Autobots." The Professor agreed; I nodded at that as I slumped into a recliner Rogue in my lap as was more usual then not of late, she smiled encouragingly at me and offered a tiny kiss on the cheek.
"Ah'd follow yah tah hell and back if Ah had tah." She said; as always more nervous in front of her long time teammates and friends whenever they were around, I smiled at that gratefully and stroked her auburn tresses.
"I am most curious to know what exactly is so important that you would require this Matrix to help you, just what is the Matrix exactly?" Hank asked curiously; his scientific mind ever seeking new knowledge, I chuckled at that.
"Explanation impossible." I said in a dry monotoned tone of voice. "Comprehension of the Matrix; not within this unit's databanks." I added before cracking up. "Sorry; the kid in me likes to play you know." I apologized.
"Think nothing of it, but what do you know of the Matrix; even if you don't comprehend it you must know something if you trust this dream so readily." Hank countered; I nodded at that and assumed a straighter pose as I began to enter teacher mode, or perhaps more accurately lecture mode.
"The Matrix is the shortened term for the Autobot Matrix of Leadership; in most continuities, I.E alternate universes this artifact is represented by a tiny blue jewel or crystalline structure. Perhaps raw Energon crystal; I'm not sure exactly, it is commonly held within the chest manifold of the current Autobot designated Prime, the leader chosen by the Matrix or the Ancients or the Council or any number of alternate means." I began pausing to take another deep breath. "Its origins are unknown; the common belief system states that the Matrix is the last vestiges of the life essence of Primus; creator God of Cybertron and father of the Transformers race. It is also said to hold the wisdom of those who came before; all of the past leaders wisdom and knowledge are contained within the vessel." I paused again giving time for my words to sink in. "It is sometimes known as the Creation Matrix; for with it the Autobot leaders have access to the Allspark or Matrix, the Cybertronian equivalent of an Afterlife. Using it Prime, whoever he may be; can generate new Sparks, the very life essence of a Cybertronian and instill it within a new body. This is usually how new Autobot warriors are created; though alternative means include accessing the Vector Sigma super computer at the center of Cybertron and using it to instill new life into Autobot or Decepticon." I continued smirking slightly at the words I was sharing with the X-Men; mainly because I doubted anyone would have ever thought they'd get to learn so much about the Autobots belief systems and hierarchy. "There is a legend surrounding the Matrix; that when the chosen arrives he shall light Cybertrons' darkest hour by harnessing the powers of the Matrix to destroy the Chaos God Unicron and thus save all of creation from his twisted ways." I finished for an extra flourish, but also because it was hard not to spill the beans about everything I knew; I like sharing especially when it was a subject I was so passionate about.
"Wow." Bobby gasped; eliciting another smirk from me.
"A rather impressive history indeed; I wonder though, is it true?" Hank mused; I shrugged.
"Who can say; I'm quoting stuff that references several different continuities, and the conflicting histories of those old universes are highly suspect at times… Hell one of them has several different origins for the Constructicons alone, but I blame that on the writers who didn't keep as detailed a bible around as the people in charge of shows like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe or Jem and the Holograms." I returned with an indifferent tone; several members of the team eyed me dubiously as if I'd just born a new head or started spewing fire.
"He's talking about cartoons?" Emma exclaimed; she didn't know everything about me just yet, even with her little trip into my sub-conscious.
"Comics, Toys Technical Specifications and Biographies and about three separate versions of Historical information gathered by certain fans, comic book companies and official sources." I added for my own benefit; Rogue giggled and rubbed my chest openly.
"Yah sure are one strange man, but Ah love yah all the more because of it." She cooed; I blushed slightly and cleared my throat.
"Any other questions?" I wondered glancing amongst the others.
"Not that I can think of." Hank returned; Remy shifted in his position and flicked one of his cards between his fingers.
"Well now Mon Ami; perhaps you'd like to explain the names Unicron and Primus, seein' as how you look like you're burstin' ta share some of this stuff." He noted; I grinned slightly and shook my head.
"Sort of, but I doubt you'd be interested in geek talk; and besides we do have to pack if we're going to Oregon." I began and then I snapped my fingers as a sudden thought surfaced. "Besides I called a certain garage out there back when I was at Starlight Mansion; and I promised I'd be in to see about some of those old Auto parts, you know to help fix up those beat up junkers in the garage." I added turning to face Scott who squirmed a little under the sudden reminder of our long ago discussion.
"You never really had to help fix those." He reminded; I shrugged a wide smile crossing over my features.
"What can I say; I like to help out, and unfortunately for you I don't like to leave a job unfinished… At least not anymore." I amended hinting at my past life on Earth Prime; in which I wasn't known for my punctuality or hard working nature.
"Well then Ah'll go start packin'." Rogue began climbing out of her comfortable seat, which just so happened to be my lap; that's when the phone started ringing. Or to be more accurate; my watch started ringing, and seeing as how only two individuals knew the number right now I wasn't looking forward to this.
"Hello Q." I stated confidently after activating the watch.
"Wrong baby brother." A familiar female tone corrected with a laugh; my eyes widened considerably and I glanced down at the watch face.
"Syn? How'd you get this number?" I blurted; the woman laughed again and I could hear giggling in the background.
"Come now baby bros. surely you haven't forgotten about us already; even with your little trip to Cobra Island." She pointed out; I slapped my forehead theatrically and shot a sheepish grin at the watch as though she could see me, but then her words hit me.
"How did you know that I was taken to Cobra Island?" I demanded; Syn sounded decidedly less amused as she answered me.
"That's part of the reason why I called; are you alone?" She asked; I glanced up to remind myself that the X-Men were still around.
"No." I replied honestly; she made a tsking noise and then started talking in a language I was shocked to hear coming out of her mouth.
"Then we'll have to speak in code; I don't want you to seem impolite, but I also can't mention you know what openly." She stated in perfect Klingon; I shook my head utterly astounded and stifled the urge to laugh.
"You got more then you bargained for." I noted also speaking in Klingon; of the assembled host of characters around me I suspected only Hank might know what we were saying. "Still it would be better to speak in private." I added once more in English. "I've got a big enough geek reputation as it is, if you'll excuse me." I said speaking to the others; the Professor nodded and indicated that I should use the empty living room.
Leaving the others I smiled warmly now as thoughts of my time at Starlight Mansion came back to me.
"Sister dear why ever have you called; as if I didn't suspect." I teased smirking despite the fact she wouldn't be able to see me.
"So; you've finally figured out what those dreams are trying to tell you." She surmised eliciting a shake of my head.
"Not as such, but I know now that they're attempts at communication." I returned; she sighed softly and I could tell she was frowning slightly.
"Yes, well as you're so fond of pointing out; temporal prime directive and all that." She said in a sort of subdued tone; I chuckled at that, trust Syn to use my own arguments against me.
"Well; it explains why you were so concerned for me those last couple of days, and why the dreams changed halfway through." I noted musing to myself now.
"Changed?" She repeated puzzled; I nodded and moved to take a seat.
"Yes; the usual prophetic aspect of my dreams, at least a small percentage of them, disappeared after the first two or three. After that it was always just warnings of dire intent; as if somebody else had changed the channel, so to speak." I clarified for her sake; she hummed to herself briefly.
"Well I still can't tell you who's trying to do the contacting, but that's not the only reason I called." She said sounding as if she was passing the receiver to someone else; perhaps Nancy or one of the other girls wished to talk to me, but that didn't make sense because she made it seem like she might slip out the fact she was a holographic computer.
"Hi Daddy." A tiny, timid and frightened sounding though no less familiar voice greeted next; I nearly screamed with the amount of excitement and shock I was experiencing.
"Amy; daughter, you're still there?" I exclaimed confusedly; she giggled a little and I felt a brief mental touch.
"Yes Daddy; Q and Roma made it so I could stay here with Jerrica, she was so nice in letting me stay. I didn't want to tell you right away because of… I didn't want you to worry about me." She admitted; I smiled fondly, my daughter wasn't as far away from me as I'd thought and now I could see her whenever I got the chance.
"Oh Amy, you didn't have to hide that; I wouldn't worry about you when you're with my sister and Jerrica, not to mention everybody else including Vixen." I stated warmly; she giggled again and then I felt another brief contact, one of loving embrace and a tiny peck on the cheek.
"Daddy; please be careful, I don't want Megatron to take you away from me." She pleaded; I grinned at that and sent a brief fond thought her way while the tiny connection was still open.
"Not to worry little one; I've had experience in dealings with Megatron, and I'll have Rogue to protect me." I assuaged her fears with a chuckle; Amy giggled once more and then I felt her sending me a private message of goodbye.
"You really don't have anything to worry about." Syn said next having reclaimed the receiver; I nodded at that and brushed the watch face gently as if I could touch the both of them. "Take care baby brother; let the Matrix guide you on the path to safety." She added before hanging up; I smiled at that and clicked off my watch phone, they cared for me so much it made perfect sense that they'd break their silence now. Well; there was still a lot of packing to do, and once we left I'd need to figure out the best way of once again approaching the Autobots, but I was confident nothing could possibly go wrong this time.
To Be Continued; How touching, I look forward to the reviews this chapter will garner; especially concerning some of the revelations. And so I leave you at the end of another chapter with one more of the so called, Commercial Bumpers.
Once again a Porsche races across the landscape and converts into Jazz firing his pistol off-camera at an unseen threat as The Transformers logo floats in the background. "The Transformers will Return after these Messages."
