Epilogue: All's Well That Ends Well

Later on, when Heatwave returned, he had quite some stern words for Wrangle and the twins. He had also told Hot Shot, Whirl, Wedge, Laserbeak, and Strongarm to wait outside his office, where he was speaking severly to the trio of young Decepticons while Kup and his troops looked on. Quickshadow and Chase had joined the other bots at the firehouse after sending the bomb to the Island of Misfit tech from Doc Greene's laboratory.

"Words can't even begin to describe how angry I am with you three." he scolded. "I can not believe you would have the gall to frame another student for a crime she didn't even commit! And all because you wanted revenge for what she did to you so many years ago in the past?! What the hell were you three thinking?!"

"Listen here, Big Red, she brought it all on herself." said Wrangle. "I told her what would happen if she ratted me out to Prowl for what I did to her. I was only staying true to my word."

Hot Shot could hear everything that was going on between his father, Wrangle, and the twins, and he was most annoyed with what he just heard Wrangle say to Heatwave.

"Wow..." said Hot Shot. "Are those guys delusional? Or are they just stupid?"

"Probably both." replied Wedge with a chuckle.

"Yeah, you're right." Hot Shot agreed.

Inside the office, Heatwave continued to berate Wrangle and the twins.

"You three have certainly caused a lot of chaos here very recently." he told them. "And because of that, you are hereby expelled from this Academy. I will not be inviting you three back. Kup, get these hooligans out of my sight. And make sure their parents and/or guardians know what they've been up to."

"Right." nodded Kup. "Alright, boys, let's go!"

With that, Kup and his troops escorted Kup and the twins out of the office and to the Space Bridge to take them to back to Cybertron. Hot Shot and his friends watched with disdain as the three Decepticon delinquents were being dragged away.

"Good riddance." huffed Hot Shot.

Just then, Heatwave came out of the office, and he looked upon Whirl with a smile.

"Well, Whirl, those three won't be bothering you anymore." he said.

"Thank you, sir." said Whirl.

Later, once all the Senior and Junior Rescue Bots were reunited at the Academy, Heatwave and the rest of the senior bots as well as Whirl were gathered in Heatwave's office, where they were speaking to her. They were very regretful of their prior actions against her.

"You have our most humble apologies, Whirl." said Chase. "We were wrong to accuse you of stealing the Matrix of Leadership and were far too hasty in our initial judgement."

"It's okay, Chase." smiled Whirl. "I forgive you all. But...am I still expelled, though?"

"Nope." said Heatwave. "Once we learned the truth about what happened, we revoked your expulsion. That being said, we are inviting you to rejoin our ranks."

"And I am inviting you to rejoin my side as my mentee." Chase added.

Heatwave held out Whirl's Mul-T-Cog badge to prove that he and his colleagues were being legit.

"So, what do you say, Whirl?" he asked.

Whirl knew that this was an offer far too good to refuse.

"Yes, sir!" Whirl grinned.

Whirl enthusiastically took the badge and re-attached it to its proper place on her chest. She then saluted the senior bots and left to meet up with her friends. Heatwave and the other senior bots watched her leave with big smiles on their faces.

"I knew she wouldn't say "no"." said Heatwave.

Meanwhile, Whirl had met up with Hot Shot and the rest of the junior bots in the lounge, and they reacted jubilantly to hearing of her choice to rejoin the Academy.

"It's good to have you back, mate." said Brushfire.

"Indeed." added Medix. "And, Whirl, I apologize sincerely for believing you were guilty."

"So do I." agreed Wedge. "I know I already apologized to you, but I wanted to make it official this time."

"Apologies accepted." said Whirl with a smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some unpacking to do."

With that, Whirl left as Hot Shot and his friends watched on with glee.

"Boy, I'll tell you what, it sure is nice to have Whirl back." said Hot Shot. "And that things are starting to return to normal."

"Say, you know, I'm curious, what's gonna happen to Wrangle and his buddies?" asked Slash.

"Dad says he's letting Optimus and the High Council deal with those guys." Hot Shot replied. "I'm sure they'll think of a suitable punishment for them."

Meanwhile, on Cybertron, Wrangle and the twins had been brought before the High Council to be tried for their crimes, and Optimus was now handing down the verdict.

"Wrangle, Blitzkrieg, and Rippounder, the High Council finds you three guilty on all charges." he said coldly. "The penalty is fifteen meta-cycles in prison. Escort them out."

Upon hearing this, Barricade, a former Decepticon who had since become chief of security at the High Council Chambers in addition to a beat cop, and who just so happened to be the twins' uncle (and the source of the footsteps from the prologue), escorted his nephews and Wrangle out of the room.

"Come along, you three." Barricade said. "The big house awaits. And don't even think of trying anything stupid!"

Wrangle just scowled as he and his friends were being taken away.

"It's not fair!" he whined to himself. "Why is it that the good guys always win in these kinds of stories?! Who's even responsible for these scenarios anyway?! Well, it is what it is, I suppose..."

Meanwhile, back on Earth, several days later, Hoist had finished a new painting and had called the other junior bots into the lounge to unveil it.

"Is everyone ready?" Hoist asked.

"Yep." nodded Hot Shot.

"Sure am." added Whirl.

"Affirmative." continued Medix.

"You bet." agreed Wedge.

"Uh-huh." said Brushfire.

"Oh, yeah." finished Slash.

"Okay, here goes!" said Hoist.

Hoist then pulled the cloth off his newest painting, which showed all the junior bots sharing a group hug.

"Aww, that's so sweet!" grinned Whirl.

"Thanks, Whirl." said Hoist. "I'm calling it "Best Friends Forever"."

"Very fitting." said Medix.

Just then, the Rescue Alarm sounded.

"Looks like we'll have to continue looking at the painting later." said Hot Shot. "Duty's calling."

And so, Hot Shot and his friends raced to the Ground Bridge, happy to have overcome one of the greatest challenges they've ever had to face and pleased to not have to worry about Wrangle and his buddies ever again.

The End