Detroit was going through a nasty phase as all the trash bots were beginning to malfunction, and instead of picking up the trash around town, they just tossed it all over the place.
"Something is truly rotten in the city of Detroit. Trash-bots all over town are malfunctioning due to a contract dispute between city hall and Sumdac Systems. Acting chairman, Porter C. Powell, had this to say:
"'Until this contract is settled, Sumdac Systems is not required to service this city's trash-bots.'
"In the meantime, garbage is piling up, and tempers are flaring up all over Detroit."
"I believe Detroit is in need of a new approach to waste management," Powell clicked off the television then turned his chair to face the two Sumdac Systems scientists. "Dazzle me."
One scientist dumped a pile of garbage onto the freshly polished floor, and the second poured an orange serum onto the pile.
"As you can see, we've managed to work out the kinks in Professor Sumdac's old nanotechnology," a scientist said. The orange serum dissolved the garbage. "Repurposing these old nanobots into trash consuming microbots. And the best part is: we can manufacture these at a fraction of the cost of the old trash-bots! Gehuhu."
"And charge the city even more for them. I'll make a tidy little profit and be a hero to boot."
The Autobots assisted in cleaning up the city and were currently working at the docks. Optimus drove backwards with a trailer full of garbage. Optimus then dump most of the trash onto the small boat. Then, some rather stubborn garbage got stuck and blocked off the rest of the trash. The other Autobots, minus Ratchet, then started pushing the trash out.
"This is even less dignifying than repairing space bridges. Not to mention extremely unpleasant to the old factory sensors," said Prowl.
"Not only that, it smells bad," said Sari.
Moonracer looked at Elita. "You know, when I was going to be stationed here, I never would have imagined that I would be spending my time dumping trash in a barge."
"Trust me, normally, things are a lot more fun on this planet," said Elita. "Though I admit that this job stinks, literally."
"Well, .that maybe, but this is still a good opportunity to mend some strained Earth-Autobot relations," said Optimus as he transformed to robot mode.
"Yeah, who knows? Once they start trusting us again, they may even start liking us again, too," said Bumblebee positively.
Meanwhile, Ratchet used his magnets to lift any metal out of the garbage pile. Amongst the trash was an old green car.
"HEY, THAT'S MY CAR! Put it down now!" A short old man shouted at Ratchet.
"Yeah, yeah." Ratchet sighed. He turned off the magnets, causing the car to plummet into the water.
"You…you…! You're going to pay for that! You lousy alien machines! You going to pay, I swear!" The man said.
"Hey! YOU'RE the one who parked your car under a trash heap!" said Ratchet stomping his foot
"Now listen up, you overgrown vacuum cleaner! That trash wasn't there when I parked it!" the man said. Ratchet then used his magnets like pincers and lifted him up toward his face.
"And how is that my fault?" Ratchet asked.
"HEY! YOU PUT ME DOWN NOW! I KNOW MY RIGHTS! AND I'M CALLING THE COPS OR A TOWTRUCK!" The man yelled.
"Maybe liking us is too much to ask with Ratchet around," Bumblebee sighed.
"Is he always this friendly?" Moonracer asked, leaning towards Elita.
"And believe it or not, this is the funniest he's been for a while," said Elita.
Fanzone then arrived with a microphone in his hand.
"You! Quit harassing the Autobot!" Fanzone yelled through the microphone as he pointed at the old man. "You put down the citizen!" Ratchet reluctantly set the man down. "The city will cover the damages to your vehicle, sir. Now I suggest you go about your business."
"This isn't over tin can!" The old man barked. Ratchet merely raised an eye and then pinched his magnets together. The old man then ran off.
"And you, my Autobot friend, could stand to work on learning some people skills," Fanzone suggested.
"There's nothing wrong with my people skills!" Ratchet retorted.
"No, you make Capitan Fanzone look like the friendly one," Sari commented.
"HEY!" Fanzone and Ratchet yelled in unison.
"Sari's right, Ratchet," said Optimus. "No amount of good deeds can make up for a bad attitude. I think it might be a good idea for someone to work with you on projecting a more pleasant disposition. As luck would have it, this would be a perfect opportunity to give Moonracer a chance to know the city better."
"Lucky me," Moonracer muttered.
"I pity the poor glitch who gets stuck with that job," Bumblebee giggled with Sari. The laughs suddenly died when they saw the other Autobots looking at them. "He means us, doesn't he?"
"What are you smiling at?" Sari asked, noting the smile on Prowl's face.
"Apparently, there is one job less dignifying than hauling trash," Prowl responded.
"And it looks like that job is at capacity. Let's transform and roll on home," Optimus noted.
Optimus, Elita, Bulkhead, and Prowl then transformed into robot mode and drove away. Bumblebee looked from Sari to Ratchet before transforming to vehicle mode and drove away. Moonracer then quickly followed suit, leaving Ratchet alone with Sari. Ratchet then transformed to vehicle mode himself and opened a door for Sari. At that moment, Sari's key started to glow, but no one noticed.
"Will you get in already?" Ratchet demanded.
"Ah ah. What's the magic word?" she smiled.
"NOW!" Ratchet yelled.
"It's going to be a long day," Sari sighed. She stepped into Ratchet and drove off.
Not long after they left, the garbage pile on the scow glowed in bright, blue energy. A beam of light shot upward, and emerging from the garbage pile was a mech with the TV like head.
"I am—!" he began but stopped, "Uhh, what am I?" He reached into the bin on his back and pulled out a nutrition label. "Oh yeah! Uh, I am High-Fructose-Corn-Syrup-Partially-Hydrogenated—No, that doesn't sound right." He threw away the label and continued pulling out an array of items. Among them were a lamppost and a toilet.
"There must be something in here in here that can tell me what I am," he said and pulled out a bra. He looked at it confusingly and then threw it away. "Eh, not my size."
"Can't anyone help me find out what I am?" he yelled to the heavens. Just then, the sky answered him, and a blimp flew by, displaying an advertisement for the Detroit Police, and he began to read it out loud.
"'Detroit Metro Police Department. We're Here To Help.' Sounds good to me!" he cheered and skipped out of the junk pile onto the docks. He ran off and began his search for the Metro Police.
At the Decepticon, Lugnut just picked up an AllSaprk energy signature.
"Ah, I'm picking up a new AllSpark energy signature, my liege!" Lugnut called to Megatron.
"No doubt another fragment has surfaced," Megatron concluded. "Retrieve it at once, Lugnut. Before the Autobots get their filthy hands on it."
"Death itself cannot deter from your grand and glorious plan, oh wise and noble Megatron!" Lugnut cheered.
"Just…! Go…" said Megatron with his eye twitching angrily.
"Yes, my liege!" Lugnut scurried out of the mine and flew towards Detroit.
The new mech was walking through the streets of Detroit, following the large blimp. Of course, this meant that he was walking through the middle of the road, causing people and cars to swerve out of the way.
"Move it, ya worthless wreck!" a man's car skidded out of the way.
"Outta the way ya walkin' pile-a-garbage!" another man just barely avoided hitting the mech. The mech looked down the street at the Angry Archer being chased by the Metro Police.
"Forsooth! Thou sheriffly knave shall ne'er catch the Angry Archer!" he cheered with two filled sacks in his hands.
He believes the mech's legs, and seconds later, the police car tried to do the same but only ended up crashing into the mech's legs. Pieces of the car began flying in different directions, and the mech grabbed the car door.
"'Detroit Metro Police,'" he read, "Help at last!" He ripped the roof of the police car and grabbed the lieutenant and the driver, lifting them up to his face. "Uh, hi. I was hoping you could tell me who I am. I mean, you are here to help, right?"
"You are interfering in police business," the lieutenant said. "Please disperse!"
The Angry Archer had been watching everything while hiding behind a large pile of trash he saw a massive opportunity within the mech.
"Good show, oh dilapidated delinquent!" the Archer cheered, "Now kindly dispose of yon interloping law enforcement and leave us to make our getaway!"
"Right! Dispose," the mech then tossed the policeman to the ground, "And getaway!" He then ran towards Archer and grabbed him, tossing them into his garbage bin. "I don't suppose you can tell me who I am, funny, green man?"
"You are my…partner in crime! They call me the Angry Archer."
"They call me the 'Worthless-Wreck-Walking-Pile-Of-Garbage.'"
"Oh really, a bit of a mouthful. Perhaps we should just call you 'Wreck-Gar' for short."
At the same time, Bumblebee, Moonracer Ratchet and Sairi were stuck in a traffic jam.
"Move it already! Don't you humans have anything better to do?" Ratchet barked at the traffic jam.
"You really should try to be more patient with people," Sari suggested.
"I'd be a lot more patient with them. If they'd just get out of my way!" Ratchet roared.
"Cool your crankcase, Ratchet. That's why these things are for," said Bumblebee and put on his emergency siren. Some cars moved out of the way and cleared a path.
"Now that's more like it," Ratchet smirked as he and Moonracer, who also put on emergency sirens, followed him.
"Aren't you kind of missing the point about acting friendlier to people?" Sari asked.
"I can't exactly smile in vehicle mode, can I?" said Ratchet.
"Still, you could try loans impatience," Moonracer suggested.
"Somebody help me!" A man said, running onto the road in front of Ratchet. "My wife is about to have a baby, and our car broke down! We need to get to a hospital right away!"
"What do I look like? A taxi service for unprocessed protoforms?" Ratchet asked.
"Actually, you are," said Moonracer.
Ratchet just merely grumbled.
"This is an emergency. Not to mention a chance for you to practice acting friendlier," Sari reminded
"This is going to be some acting job," Bumblebee muttered.
Ratchet opened his doors so that the man and woman could get inside him.
"Remember, the most important thing is to keep the mother calm," said Sari.
"CALM? Why wouldn't she be calm?" Ratchet asked, then drove away perhaps a little too fast.
Elsewhere, Angry Archer was trying to teach Wreck-Gar the art of thievery, but he wasn't really getting lessons.
"Let's try this one more time. Shall we?" said Angry Archer rubbing his temples. Wreck-Gar nodded. "We steal from the rich. And give to the poor. Namely ourselves."
"I am Wreck-Gar! I steal from the rich!" Wreck-Gar snatched the Archer's jewels and tossed them into his backpack.
"Give me back those jewels."
"Okay!" He pulled out some screwdrivers, wrenches, and hammers.
"Not tools! Jewels."
"Okay!" Wreck-Gar pulled out a handful of spools and let them pour on Archer's head.
"Those are spools. I want jewels! You know? Those sparkly things."
"Righty-o!" Wreck-Gar handed Archer a lit stick of dynamite.
"NO!" Archer yanked it out of his hand and put out the fuse. "What ho?" Archer looked out the alley to see an armoured car approaching and then pulled out an explosive arrow. "Our query approacheth. Now help me knock over yon armoured coach."
"I am Wreck-Gar! I knock things over!" Wreck-Gar stood up, pulled out a car axle, and charged out of the alley and after the armoured car.
Ratchet sped through the streets and skidded through corners sending all his passengers rolling across the floors.
"Spike Honey? Could you please tell the driver to SLOW DOWN?" the woman asked
"Carly, there is no driver. There's only a little girl," he said, looking through the window.
"What!" she said.
"WILL YOU HUMANS KNOCK OFF THAT RACKET? I'm trying to figure out which one of these buildings is a hospital," Ratchet demanded.
"What's going on?" The man shouted.
"Let! Us! OUT! NOW!" The wife demanded.
"Way to calm them down, Ratchet," Sari commented.
"Will you two pipe down? There is absolutely NOTHING to panic about!" Ratchet barked. It was at that moment that Wreck-Gar rushed towards an armoured vehicle and struck it with his wheel axle. It started to come towards them. "Except that…" Ratchet turned just in time to avoid the truck's crash landing. The rover skidded to a halt. "There. What did I tell you? We're perfectly safe."
Then Bumblebee and Moonracer transformed into robot mode.
"That guy doesn't look too safe to me," said Bumblebee pointing at Wreck-Gar, who was running down the street towards them.
"I am Wreck-Gar! I knock things over!" said Wreck-Gar running right past them and began hitting anything inside with his wheel axle.
"I don't know who this guy is, but he seems missing a few logic circuits," said Moonracer.
Ratchet opened his doors and practically tossed the man and the women out onto the street before transforming to robot mode.
"So you want to play rough, do you?" Ratchet challenged.
Ratchet then used his magnets to lift out Wreck-Gar's wheel axle out of his hands and throw it down the street. It just barely avoided hitting the couple, who was now shaking in terror.
"I don't know much about these things, lady, but I think you're supposed to breathe or something," said Sari. Before the three Autobots could take on Wreck-Gar, the Angry Archer's magnetic arrow snatched away a canister out of the armoured car.
"I know not what this reciprocal contains but me think it must be valuable. Now give them everything you've got!" Angry Archer said.
"Right! Everything I've got!" Wreck-Gar said and began throwing random items from within his backpack at the Autobots. "Here, have this toilet and this engine block!" Ratchet caught the toilet but was knocked down by the engine block. "How about a nice boiled side of beef?" Bumblebee caught the beef and used it to bounce away the rest of his gifts. "Or how about this car door." Moonracer jumped out of the way to avoid a car door.
"Ratchet, take the humans to the hospital. Moonracer and I will take care of the junk-bot," said Bumblebee.
"Since when do you give the orders, kid?" Ratchet demanded.
"We're Autobots. We're supposed to protect life remember?" Bumblebee reminded.
"Don't tell me how to protect life! I've been protecting life since before you were, you came online!" Ratchet said.
"You know exactly that bad attitude that's giving us such a bad name with the humans!" Bumblebee retorted.
"Autobots? Protect life?" Wreck-Gar curiously observed. "Right!" Wreck-Gar ran to the couple. "Greetings, life! I am Wreck-Gar! Wreck-Gar the Autobot!" Wreck-Gar pulled an Autobot insignia out of his backpack and slapped it on his chest. "I will protect you!" The two screamed in terror.
Moonracer then rushed over towards him. "Get away from them!"
"We're supposed to be working on our people skills! Remember?" Bumblebee retorted.
"You're also supposed to catch the bad guy!" Sari reminded. Wreck-Gar overheard Sari and looked at the Archer swinging away.
"Right! Catch bad guy!" Wreck-Gar said and ran after the Angry Archer.
Moonracer just blinked. "Okay, not exactly how I thought this day would go."
Then she, Bumblebee and Sari ran after Wreck-Gar while Ratchet approached the couple.
"Well, don't just sit there. You still want that ride or what?" Ratchet asked in an angry tone.
"We'll call a cab!" They said at the same time.
"Hmph. Not even a thank you. And they call me rude," Ratchet muttered.
The Angry Archer was currently sweeping across the city with Wreck-Gar hot on his trail.
"I am Wreck-Gar the Autobot!" said Wreck-Gar running past the Angry Archer and then facing him. Seconds later, he slammed right into him and fell into his hands. "Must catch the bad guy!" Wreck-Gar threw the Angry Archer high into the air, causing him to drop the canister and land in Wreck-Gar's backpack. "He's going! Going!" As the Angry Archer was coming down, he grabbed onto a flag pole, fired an arrow, and swung away.
"Nungh, now how'm I supposed to catch him?" Wreck-Gar complained.
The Autobots and Sari then arrived, unsure what to make of Wreck-Gar.
"What are you? What is he?"Bumblebee asked.
"I don't know, but he's giving off a ton of AllSpark energy," Sari answered as her key glowed brightly in response.
"I am Wreck-Gar! I give off a ton of AllSpark energy!" Wreck-Gar said and then began to glow himself.
"So what? An AllSpark fragment brought some junk pile to life and made some new kind of Autobot?" Bumblebee exclaimed.
"I am Wreck-Gar! I am some new kind of Autobot?" said Wreck-Gar.
"Just like a newly formed protoform, he's got no idea who he is or what he's supposed to do," said Moonracer. "If he's calling himself an Autobot, perhaps we should help him."
"I am Wreck-Gar! I am kind myself an Autobot!" said Wreck-Gar.
"Listen up, scrapheap," said Ratchet walking up to Wreck-Gar and ripping off his Autobot symbol. "You're not an Autobot and never will be an Autobot. You're only good for one thing: GARBAGE!"
"I am Wreck-Gar! I am only good for one thing GARBAGE! I must deliver garbage to all!" Wreck-Gar said and then transformed into a garbage truck and dumped a huge pile of garbage on the four of them. He then drove off down the street, dumping a trail of trash along the way.
"You just have a way with words. Don't you?" said Sari sarcastically.
"As if this city doesn't already have a garbage problem," Moonracer grumbled.
Lugnut was currently flying over the city, trying to trace the AllSpark energy signature.
"The AllSpark energy signal is spiking!" Lugnut exclaimed. He scanned the street below and saw a garbage truck driving across the city, dumping huge amounts of trash. "That vehicle is not worthy to carry Megatron's AllSpark fragment!"
"Garbage for all! Come and get your garbage! Only slightly used!" said Wreck-Gar as he drove into a military base. Lugnut then transformed into robot mode and slammed a huge mace into the ground.
"Human! The AllSpark fragment! NOW!" Lugnut demanded.
"No 'human' here," said Wreck-Gar as he transformed to robot mode. "I am Wreck-Gar! I am only good for one thing: GARBAGE!"
"Are you…an Autobot?"
"I am Wreck-Gar! I am not an Autobot and never will be an Autobot."
"So you…you must be a Decepticon!"
"I am Wreck-Gar! I must…be a Decepticon!" Wreck-Gar slapped a Decepticon symbol onto his chest.
"OH! ALL HAIL MEGATRON!" Lugnut cheered to the sky.
"All hail Megatron!" Wreck-Gar cheered with a stop sign in his hand. "Uh, wh-what's a Megatron?"
At the same time, the Autobots returned to the crime scene to help out with the injured. Ratchet used his magnets to rip off the armoured car's door and lifted up the driver, who was struggling.
"Will you hold still?" Ratchet barked, then he saw the looks on Bumblebee, Moonracer and Sari's faces and then quickly forced a smile. "Uh-I mean- are you alright, sir?"
The three of them smiled until Sari saw a white and red limo pull up, and Porter C. Powell stepped out.
"What are you doing here?" Sari growled.
"That's one of my trucks. It was delivering a canister of trash-eating microbots to be demonstrated for the Mayor when the driver tripped the silent alarm," Powell answered.
"Well, it looks like he was too late, Mr Powell. Your sample's gone," said Fanzone.
"I've got a pretty good idea who's got it," said Bumblebee.
"Such a shame that he's not here to give it back if only someone hadn't chased him off," said Moonracer narrowing her eyes at Ratchet, who looked rather uneasy.
"Hello? Powell kicked me out of my home. Remember? Why should we do him any favours?" Sari stubbornly reminded.
"Because microbots and an AllSpark fragment can't possibly mean anything good," Ratchet answered.
"Then we had better find him before things get worse," Moonracer suggested and then turned to the trail of trash on the road. "Fortunately, he left at the trail to follow."
A few moments later, they began following the trail of trash.
"My key is getting hotter; we must be getting closer," said Sari, then her key pointed right. "Make a right."
They turned to the right into a military base. They saw Wreck-Gar standing at the centre, now wearing the Decepticon symbol on his chest.
"Hello! Would you like some garbage?" Wreck-Gar asked as they transformed a robot mode.
"Just hand over the microbots, and nobody gets hurt," Bumblebee said. Wreck-Gar searched and then started going through his backpack.
"Microphone. Microscope. Ooo, microfiber!" Wreck-Gar said, pulling junk out. Ratchet then grabbed his shoulders.
"Listen up, you rusting hulk of scrabble circuitry!" Ratchet roared as he shook Wreck-Gar by his shoulders. Lugnut then transformed into robot mode right next to Ratchet.
"That is no way to address a servant of the great and wise Megatron!" Lugnut roared, raised a fist, and transformed it into his P.O.K.E attack. He held the pressure pad close to Ratchet's face, and Wreck-Gar stared at it curiously.
"Ah! The universal greeting!" said Wreck-Gar and stood to attention. Then he raised his left hand and began the recital. "Bah, weep. Gragnah wheep Ni ni bong!" He held his hand out in a high-five and moved it towards Lugnut's punch.
"LOOK OUT!" Ratchet yelled, grabbed Sari, and ran away from the base, followed closely by Bumblebee and Moonracer. A huge explosion ripped through most of the military base, and Lugnut and Wreck-Gar emerged from the rubble.
"Gah! Those accursed Autobots will pay for their insolence!" Lugnut shouted.
"Right!" Wreck-Gar said and pulled out a cash register with steaming meat inside it, "Cash, check, or charbroiled?"
"ATTACK!" Lugnut said, smacking the register out of his hand.
"Which kind of tack would you like?" Wreck-Gar said and pulled out a handful of different items, "Thumbtack? Carpet tack? Uh, income tack?"
"Ugh, never mind. I'll destroy the Autobots myself!" Lugnut said and transformed into vehicle mode, he took to the sky, but Wreck-Gar jumped on his back.
"Would you like to try our special of the day?" Wreck-Gar said and pulled out the microbot canister that had begun to leak. He read the label. "Warning biohazard. Property of Sumdac Systems. Why that doesn't sound that bad at all." Just then, a small drop of microbots fell on Lugnut's tail.
Lugnut immediately screamed in pain as the microbots burnt into his tail. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF MEGATRON? GET IT OFF ME!"
"Right! Get it OFF YOU!" Wreck-Gar said and pulled out a drill and started to disassemble Lugnut's tail until it fell off with Wreck-Gar holding onto it as it plummeted while Lugnut flew wildly with no other tail to stabilise his flight.
"Guess that takes care of both our problems," Bumblebee smiled.
"Not really if those AllSpark infused microbots could eat through that Decepticon armour," said Ratchet.
"Imagine what they'll do to downtown Detroit," Sari realised.
Wreck-Gar and Lugnut's tail then crash-landed in a pile of garbage on a large scow that was making its way to shore.
On the said shore, the Mayor and a group of people were waiting to see the demonstration that Powell had promised.
"This demonstration better be good," said the Mayor's secretary looking at the Mayor. "You're approval ratings have plummeted since this sanitation dispute began."
"Um, Mr Mayor," Powell hurriedly stepped out of his limo, "I'm afraid we've hit a little 'glitch.' We'll have to postpone."
"Wait, is that garbage pile getting smaller?" the secretary pointed at a nearby garbage scow. The audience cheered as garbage was devoured by orange microbots. The Mayor raised a brow. "Mayor Edsel is impressed, Mr Powell."
"Why, yes," said Prowell, somewhat stunned. "Well, he should be. Now, does Sumdac Systems have a contract to clean up the rest of the city, Mr Mayor?"
Wreck-Gar finally forced himself free of the garbage. Then he heard a sound in the distance. Several people on shore were clapping and mistook it for cheers for him. "They cheer for Wreck-Gar! I am only good for one thing GARBAGE! Fear not, good people! YOUR GARBAGE IS COMING!"
The Autobots followed the scow above the water using a bridge.
"If that scow hits the shore, it's bye-bye Detroit!" Bumblebee exclaimed.
"And who knows when it will stop," said Moonracer.
"We have to stop it!" said Sari.
Ratchet then transformed into robot mode. "No, I have to stop it. It was my bad attitude that set this whole thing in motion. So I'm either going to make it right. Or get eaten by microbots to save the humans."
He then transformed back into vehicle mode and drove off the bridge, landing on the scow. He then transformed back into robot mode and quickly turned towards Wreck-Gar.
"Wreck-Gar! We need to keep the scow from reaching shore! And hope those microbots don't know how to swim," said Ratchet looking down to see the microbots had stopped eating trash and were now eating the boat.
"No! I am Wreck-Gar! I am only good for one thing. GARBAGE!" said Wreck-Gar, pressing a lever to increase the speed. "I know what I am now. And it's all thanks to you!" Wreck-Gar felt a tear of oil coming to his optics.
"Get away from those controls, you malfunctioning slagheap!" Ratchet roared and used his magnets to throw the lever in reverse.
"I am Wreck-Gar! I am a malfunctioning slagheap!" said Wreck-Gar pushing the lever back into high speed and breaking it.
Then suddenly, the scow began picking up speed heading towards the shore even faster now.
"YOU GLICHT HEAD! YOU'RE GOING TO DESTROY THE WHOLE CITY! YOU WOULDN'T DARE DO ANYTHING THAT STUPID!" Ratchet yelled.
"I am Wreck-Gar! I dare to be stupid!" said Wreck-Gar proudly as his optics glowed red, "I WILL DESTROY THE WHOLE CITY!" Wreck-Gar jumped in front of Ratchet and stared him down menacingly.
"All right you! You've forced me to make the ultimate sacrifice," said Ratchet. "To do the one thing that requires more courage than anything I've ever had to do in my Autobot career. I—" Ratchet then extended his hand, "—apologies!"
"Come again?" Wreck-Gar said, confused as his optics turned back to normal.
"I take back every mean thing I said about you," said Ratchet placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't let others tell you what you are. You can be anything you what to be."
"You mean…I could be…a hero?"
"Yes, and you can start by saving this city from being consumed by a swarm of out of control microbots," said Ratchet pointing to the half-eaten scow.
"Yes! I am Wreck-Gar! I AM A HERO!" Wreck-Gar shouted to the heavens.
He yanked off his Decepticon symbol and slapped on an Autobot insignia. He pulled out a vacuum cleaner, attached it to his backpack, and started to suck up the microbots. He finished sucking them up just as the scow became a floating heap of metal. Wreck-Gar stood proudly until his backpack started to shake and rattle, and an orange glow came from inside.
"Thank you!" said Wreck-Gar waving before he fell into the lake.
"Wreck-Gar!" Ratchet called. He ran to the edge as a beam of blue light shot upward. "Don't worry, kid! I'll pull you out!" He used his magnets to lift him out but only found several scraps of metal. The scow then bumped into the shore.
"Ratchet! You did it! You saved the city!" Bumblebee cheered.
"You're a hero!" Sari agreed.
"He's no hero! He destroyed my microbots!" Powell accused.
"Which were moments away from destroying the city," Moonracer glared.
"In that case, the mayor refuses to sign your sanitation contract," The secretary said.
"That's it!" Ratchet roared and grabbed the Mayor, his secretary and Powell. "Listen up, you organic meat bucks! Either you settle this garbage dispute HERE AND NOW! Or I dump the lot of you in the river! GOT IT?"
"Well, I suppose we can service the malfunctioning trashbots," Powell sighed. The Mayor nodded.
"And I suppose we can renew your contract with a small increase," said the secretary.
They then shook hands, and everyone cheered, and Ratchet mistook it for cheers for him.
"What do you know? They like me. They really like me. Guess I got away with words," said Ratchet smiling. Sari merely put her head in her hands.
"You could say that," said Moonracer shaking her head.
At the bottom of Lake Erie, Wreck-Gar was buried up to his shoulders in sand. His optics jumped open, and he looked around at the fish swimming uncaringly around him.
"Fear not, fellow creatures of the deep! I am Wreck-Gar! I am a hero!" said Wreck-Gar. He then tried to get up but found he was stuck. He struggled with his head and shoulders but couldn't free himself. "Uhh, excuse me, could one of you lend me a hand? Or a fin? Anybody?"