Zilla was enjoying the little bath that Bulkhead and Bumblebee were giving him. Ratchet had given them an ointment that mixed well with soap. It was supposed to be good for washing off infections and helping wounds close. Zilla's body was already repairing damages itself, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"How did we get suck doing this again?" Bulkhead asked.

*Beep* *Beep*

"Oh. Right. Cliff left," Bulk remember. 'Where'd he go?"

"Something about taking a drive," Arcee responded, holding a hose for when the two of them finished rubbing Zilla. "I think he went to that human town near the desert. Jasper, I think."

"I think that's the name. How do you think he's doing?"


Jasper...

Throughout his life, Jack wanted some excitement. Jasper was a small place where almost nothing happened. He would have always liked to be a part of something.

But not like this.

"Who's driving this thing?!"

"I am. Now keep quiet until we get to safety kid."

Jack frowned. "Who said that?"

No answer came. The car just continued to drive itself while Jack tried in vain to get the door open.

Only now, it was going to get harder to stay calm.

Jaspers's streets were usually quiet and empty. The same could not be said of its freeways. There were always dozens of cars on any given lane, and each of them had a place they needed to be.

Unfortunately for them, none of them seemed to be running for their lives. So a red dodge challenger swerved and sped past as many vehicles as it could, causing commotion and confusion to the normal drivers. The same occurred with the purple race cars that were rushing right behind it.

The purple cars were getting closer. And the closer they got, the more Jack's confusion and desperation increased.

"Would someone tell me what the hell is going on?!"

"You'll get some answers soon kid. I promise. I just need you to trust me."

"Trust you? I can't even see you right now. Who are you?!"

"You've already seen me, kid. I'll explain more when I can."

The voice stopped speaking after that. Leaving Jack alone inside a self-driving runaway car trying to figure out if he would even make it out alive.


"Cliff's been gone a while. Are we sure he's alright?" Arcee sprayed the lotion and soap off of Zilla while she questioned her two companions.

Bulk and Bee both shared a look.

"We know he went out to get some air. Do you think he got into trouble again?"

*Beep* *Beep*

"Yeah, it would be a weird coincidence," Bulk agreed.

"But we're talking about the Decepticons. Do you think they would turn down any opportunity to take shots at us?"

Both Bulk and Bee shared a concerned look. Arcee was the one that called out to Ratchet.

"Ratchet. Do you have a location on Cliff?"

"I have locations on everyone," Ratchet said as he took his attention away from analyzing Zilla's date on his tablet. He pressed some buttons on the main monitor to display Cliffjumper's location. "He's still at Jasper. And he's... moving very fast at the moment."

His optics widening, Ratchet took notice of how rapidly Cliffjumper's dot on the monitor was moving. And while there were no hostiles detected nearby, everyone present had an idea of why he was rushing.

So did Zilla.

His massive orange pupils opened instantly, and his throat produced a rumbling growl as he prepared to get up. His limbs were preparing for both standing and digging, but Arcee wouldn't allow it.

"No! Zilla, you need to stay here!"

His eyes falling on the blue Autobot, Zilla produced a low and confused moan.

"Zilla, Jasper is a human residence. If you show up there, you might stop the Decepticons, but you'll also reveal yourself to the humans. And we can't have that?"

Zilla began to whine at the order. He didn't understand the fear of whatever humans were, and he was concerned about the red Autobot. He had saved him from danger before, and he wanted to do it again. And Arcee had to make sure he didn't endanger himself from that desire.

"Bulk and Bee, you two go. I'll catch up once I've calmed Zilla down."

Not wanting to waste any time, Bulkhead and Bumblebee both nodded and waited for Ratchet to turn on the groundbridge. Once it was fired up, both Autobots ran through, hoping their friend hadn't kicked the bucket just yet.


Jasper...

Playing with cars by himself wasn't how Raf liked to spend his afternoons, but he didn't have any other options. It wasn't like he had any friends to spend time with anyway.

"I'll be home in a few minutes mama. I'm close, so I won't be long now. Bye."

Control in hand, Raf would have been happy to just spend the next few minutes just playing peacefully. His toy car was working just the way he wanted it to, and he was glad for that. He would have liked to just enjoy the fruits of his labor.

But that was when the red car suddenly appeared.

It jumped over the ledge just above him and landed just a meter away.

Once the car was on the ground, the driver's door opened. Out came a dizzy-looking teenager who seemed to have trouble standing up.

"Um, hi?" Raf waved politely, hoping there might be a good explanation for what was going on.

"Oh. Hey kid." The teenager spoke shakily, clearly not recovered from whatever stunt had just been pulled. He tried to walk around the car, his legs still a little wobbly.

Things got even crazier when two more cars jumped into the empty drainage canal. Only these two did something that Raf didn't think would be possible for at least another fifty years.

Both purple cars transformed mid-air. Their mechanical bodies shifted into a humanoid form, resembling fighting toy robots more than the vehicles they had been moments before. They landed on mechanized feet, staring down both Raf and the other teenager.

Raf was feeling what he was sure was a similar fear to the teenager. Neither of them had any idea what was going on. And neither of them had any clue as to what to do.

Thankfully(?), they weren't alone in this. The red challenger the teenager had driven in was able to transform as well. It turned into another humanoid shape behind the two boys, only this one had horns on its head. Interestingly, one of the horns was broken.

"Kinda glad you two came after me," the red robot said as it cracked its metal knuckles. "I could use some payback."

Without another word, the red robot charged at the two purples. And it immediately began to clobber them. Raf noticed how much energy and passion was being put into each hit, with the red robot purposely going for areas like the head and neck.

Clearly, this was a personal fight.

"We need to get out of here."

Before Raf could protest, the teenager grabbed him by the arm and began to try and lead him away. But just as the two of them were making their way to a storm drain, a bolt of light exploded on the ground in front of them.

Raf and the other boy fell back to the ground, and they could hear the massive footsteps as one of the purple robots stomped toward them.

"Get behind me kid."

"My name is Raf."

"Jack. Now stay behind me."

Jack stood up and kept his position in front of Raf. He had no idea how he was actually going to protect the kid, but he wasn't about to abandon him.

Thankfully, neither of them would be dying at that moment.

A new car appeared out of nowhere. A yellow muscle car entered the canal. Within seconds, this car also transformed into a robot. A yellow robot that flew through the air and landed a fist on the purple machine's face.

Knocking the enemy to the ground, the yellow robot spoke. And Raf could understand what it said.

"Cliff? Are you alright?"

"I'm good Bee. Glad to see you here."

"Am not alone."

Another car soon appeared. A green armored van tunneled its way towards the group.

And Jack, not wanting to risk human safety any longer, grabbed Raf and led him away once again.

"Wait..."

"No waiting. We need to go now."

Jack grabbed Raf by the arm and led him down the drain. They were able to safely escape.


The fight, Cliffjuper had hoped, would go well.

Instead, the Vehicons gained an edge by pulling the same trick as before. While Cliffjumper focused his energy on trying to keep one of them down, the other took its chance to shoot Cliffjumper in the back. The sting of the blast gave Cliffjumper's focused enemy the chance to bash him in the face and throw him back.

Thankfully, Cliffjumper wasn't fighting alone this time. Bee and Bulk were pulling their own weight.

Bulkhead especially was putting his weight to good use. He smashed his body against the closest Vehicon, knocking it to the ground. And while it was down, Bulk grabbed it by the legs and slammed it down on its face.

Bee was using his more maneuverable body to make quick work of his opponent. When the Vehicon tried to punch bee, the scout quickly dodged the hit and grabbed the arm. Using the force of the hit against the Vehicon, Bee tripped it and threw it.

Unfortunately, both of these Vehicons were more stubborn than the norm. The moment they got back up, they got back on the offensive.

Taking out their blasters, both Vehicons got back-to-back and started blasting the three Autobots. The warriors could only hold up their arms for defense, being pinned down in the open.

But that changed when Cliffjumper heard a roaring engine approaching. Smirking and knowing what to do, Cliff knelt down on one leg.

Arcee in her motorcycle form used him as a ramp to tear through the air.

Flying for a few moments, Arcee landed on top of the two Vehicons. Hitting them both on the head was enough to make them both get knocked down.

Transforming once she was on the ground, Arcee unfurled her blaster and aimed it at the two enemies.

"I'd recommend giving up."

Lifting up their heads, the two Vehicons took stock of the situation. They were surrounded on all sides by four Autobots. Each of them had their blasters out and aimed. And all of them were willing to shoot.

There was only one thing they could do now.

Transforming back into cars, the two Vehicons hastily retreated. And none of the Autobots bothered to stop them from running away. They were more concerned with looking after their own.

*BOOP* *BUZZ*

"I'm alright Bee. Just have to take a breather."

Cliffjumper took a moment to sit down on the floor, hoping that none of his circuits were hit too bad.

"This is the second time they've come after you, Cliff. You think something is going on?" Arcee asked.

"Maybe they're intimidated by my good looks?" Cliff suggested.

'We're serious about this Cliff,' Bulk interjected. "This is the second time you might have died if we hadn't come to help you."

"I had to stop Zilla from coming to help you again. Couldn't risk him being seen by the humans."

*BEEP*

"I left him some fish and told Ratchet to give him more. Turns out the food is a good way to keep him distracted."

That was certainly information that would be useful in the future. But there was something else on Cliffjumper's mind he needed to clear up.

"You guys can go ahead. I need to check and make sure..."

Looking around the canal, Cliffjumper's optics widened when he realized that the two humans were gone.

"Bee, you got here first. Did you see where the two humans went?"

"Humans?" Bulk questioned.

"I had to take a passenger to keep the Decepticons from hurting him. And there was another one here. They were both boys."

*BOOP* *BUZZ*

"And you don't know where they are."

This was a problem. Cliffjumper might hope that the two boys might be able to keep a secret, but he wasn't sure. And while transforming mechanical aliens might not be something that humans could readily accept, the mere chance that their existence might be exposed was an issue none of them wanted to deal with.

"How are we going to tell Prime about this?"


Elsewhere...

"You want to run that by me again Prime?"

"While on an excavation to search for more Energon, Cliffjumper was attacked by Decepticons. Zilla was able to arrive in time to save my soldier. And his new ability drove off the Decepticon warship."

Deep down, Fowler was glad to hear that Cliffjumper was alive. While he wouldn't call any of the Autobots his friends, per se, they were the best chance the world had at beating back the Decepticons. Without the Bots, the Cons might have already taken over the world. And losing one bot might bring the planet one step closer to that nightmare scenario. So keeping the red cowboy alive was a good omen.

What wasn't so reassuring was the ability the creature could reportedly use.

"You're telling me that Zilla can breathe fire now?'

"Not fire. At least not natural fire," Ratchet explained, standing next to Prime. "Analysis of Zilla's throat and Cliffjumper's report would suggest that Zilla's attack is more akin to concentrated radiation. A beam of pure energy with destructive potential."

That didn't sound very reassuring.

"How is the lizard able to do that? The Godzilla we had tear up new York couldn't do it."

"No. It couldn't. Current evidence suggests that Zilla's species, whatever it is inevitably called, evolves further with each generation," Ratchet explained. "Its existence was already caused by mutation. It's possible that the parent was only in the beginning stages. With each new offspring becoming stronger than their predecessor."

That was worrying. But it was also an issue that could wait. If the Autobots were keeping Zilla under control, then he could put that issue on the backburner for now. He had another topic that needed discussion.

"Going back to Cliffjumper's attack, are we sure it was the Decepticons? It couldn't have been some other faction of rogue Cybertronians?"

"No such factions exist, Agent Fowler. The warship bore the Decepticon insignia. And it used Vehicons as cannon fodder. It's clear who is going after the Energon."

"I thought they left the Earth after the first time we drove them back. Why would they come back now?"

Fowler could hear Optimus sigh from across the screen.

"To be blunt Agent Fowler, I have doubts that they ever left. A world this valuable is something they would never leave behind."

Rubbing his face, Fowler felt the new lines growing under his eyes. And the worst part was, that their conversation wasn't even close to done.

"Since you managed to explain your doomsday prophecy to me Prime, I ought to get mine out of the way."

Fowler could see Prime and Ratchet sharing concerned looks over the screen.

"A few days ago, some reporters started taking note of missing fishing boats out in the Jamaican sea," Fowler explained. "Normally we wouldn't care too much about a small tragedy like this. But the concern started after a survivor jumped ship and made it to shore. And he started telling a story."

"What sort of story?" Prime asked.

"The kind that involves giant tentacles and unnatural sounds."

It didn't take long for both Autobots to infer what Fowler was saying.

"Optimus, this isn't our problem," Ratchet immediately argued. "If there is another creature in those waters, we had nothing to do with it. Its cause is human radiation. We already have our hands full with the Decepticons."

"And you think they're not gonna take notice?" Fowler rebutted. "Arcee's pet blew a hole in their warship. Do you really think they're gonna let something like that slide? What's to stop them from trying to get a creature for themselves?"

Ratchet's optics widened. That was a point he hadn't considered. And it was one that made Optimus clench his fist.

"That is a possibility we must prevent. The Decepticons will doubtlessly try to enslave any such creature if they find it useful for their cause. And not only will that be an affront against liberty, but it would also spell disaster for humanity as well."

Optimus focused exclusively on Fowler.

"Is there any more information you can share with us? And what exactly would our role entail?"

Fowler was glad that Optimus was a logical person.

"When it comes to you Bots, I and the rest of the boys aren't expecting much. But Zilla..." Fowler waited a moment, letting the connotation sink in. "You guys are big, but these monsters could just step on you. For this, we're going to need to fight fire with fire."

Both Autobots knew that Fowler was right. If there were more strange creatures being born in the world, then Zilla was the best living chance of fighting them.

"Arcee is not going to like this."


This is where I will stop for now. Zilla's first fight with a being of his caliber is about to begin.

Also, I don't I will include the HEAT team in this story. I already have a lot of characters to juggle, so they might have to sit this one out.

Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you think, and I will see you all next time.

Bye!