Chapter 5
A/N: Hey everyone, welcome back! Good to see y'all again! Glad to be back! So, due to the winter storm, I've had some extra time for writing. Which means I can get more writing done over this time. Remember, I just own the story and a few OCs in it, Emerald belongs to my friend.
/comms/
Telepathy/flashbacks
'Bee talking
Nemesis, July 7, 13:09PDT
"I don't think you need to worry about further Autobot interference Master. Not with Optimus gone."
Stopping his pacing, Megatron turned away from the dark energon meteor and raised a brow towards his second. "And, pray tell, what evidence do you possess of this fact?"
"I destroyed the mines, as you instructed," Starscream answered.
"Optimus is not so easily destroyed," Megatron hissed his red eyes glowing brighter with his annoyance. "We have a millennia worth of battles behind us to prove it." Turning away, the warlord set his palms against the metal of the container holding his newest weapon. His crimson gaze passed over the violet crystals, and talons curled into the metal as fangs were bared. The first test of the experiment went as expected, however, he couldn't test more without sacrificing a few men. And his forces were already stretched far too thin to test the methods of a weapon he wasn't sure how to utilize as of yet.
For now, all Megatron had to go off of was the ancient lore surrounding the rare crystals. And that lore was limited as it was, not to mention there were likely inconsistencies due to perceptions of history and details lost to time. No, all he had been able to confirm so far was the adverse effect it had on their race when exposed as well as the fact it truly could raise the dead. Which in turn answered a few other questions, save for his biggest: How did the ancient rivals of the Primes control their undead armies?
"My Lord, perhaps you should take a break from the dark energon," Starscream hesitantly spoke up. "I worry that too much contact with dark energon might allow its properties to adversely affect you."
Standing straight up, Megatron glanced back at Starscream as a grin began to cross his face. While his traitorous second in command was often a fool and predictable one at that, it was moments like this the coward proved his use. "Perhaps Starscream, I have not permitted myself contact enough." Reaching into the meteor, Megatron yanked a shard from the cluster of crystals.
Seeming to realize what he was going to do, Megatron could hear his commander's protests, but he ignored them as he felt the thrum of the crystal in his hand. It radiated power in a way that made his very spark shiver in excitement. Yes, this felt right.
Without a second thought, he plunged the shard into his chest.
-.-
Jasper
"We're back!" Bulkhead called as he and Superboy hopped out of his truck, looking more roughed up than they had earlier, while holding several bags of clothes in their arms.
"Took you long enough," a grumpy voice called out from the lab.
Before Superboy could retort to the irksome medic, he grunted as a red and yellow blur slammed into him. "Hey Superboy! What's up?!" Kid Flash grinned.
"Uh…the ceiling?"
Green eyes glanced up and the speedster chuckled. "Ha, ha, very funny. Anyways, where've ya been? We've been here for like hours. 'Bee said Bulkhead took you out to get some real clothes, which makes sense as staying in the solar suit thing probably wasn't comfortable. But still, did you have to take that long? Rob, 'Bee, and Em are kicking Aqualad's and I's butts in video games and we need someone else on our team. By the way? What happened? Did you get into a fight with a sales rack?"
Superboy blinked a few times as he tried to process the flurry of what he assumed had been words, however, the speedster was going a little too fast for him to tell. Glancing to the Autobot beside him, he saw the man looking just as confused.
"Uh…Wally, let us go put up SB's stuff first," Bulkhead said raising the bags. "He can catch up with you all in the rec afterwards.
Grateful for the save, the two went to go put up clothes as Wally raced back into the rec where the others sat handing out cards. "What happened to Smash Bros?"
"Eh, got bored," Robin replied. "Anyways, is SB coming?"
Sliding into his seat on the table, he set his head on the table as he watched 'Bee shuffle the cards. "He will once he and Bulkhead put his new stuff away. So what are we playing?"
"Blackjack."
"Oh…Wait! No, no, no!" KF protested slamming his palms on the table as he pointed at 'Bee accusingly. "I remember what happened last time I played with you! You drained my wallet!"
"It took you eight rounds to realize I was hustling you"' 'Bee replied as he began to pass out cards. You were the one who kept digging a deeper hole for yourself. We're actually just playing UNO—by the way, speaking of Blackjack, you still owe me fifty bucks."
The speedster merely groaned as Robin and Emerald began to stifle their laughter at his humiliation. He was never going to live that card game down. And it didn't help his bleeding wallet that 'Bee never forgot a debt. "You are frighteningly competent at gambling."
A smirk crossed 'Bee's face, "Naturally, I learned in the army. No better place to learn bad habits."
"I NEEDED THAT!" Ratchet's familiar shout echoed through the base, causing the other teens to look between themselves as 'Bee began looking at his cards, unperturbed by the angry yelling.
No, the thing that did get his immediate attention was the subsequent blaster shot. Leaping over his seat, 'Bee raced down the hall, battle mask flipping into place as he pulled out a knife and slid into the main room, looking for an enemy as his friends caught up behind him. Instead he saw his father's blaster smoking at a stain on the ground as Ratchet was plastering himself to a wall. "What happened?"
His answer came as something booted up and something in the blaster smudge began to move. "No!" Ratchet snapped leaping over and stomping down on whatever it was quite violently. "Stay dead!"
As he removed his foot, the gaggle of teens could see the sparking pieces of wires and bent metal. "So…what happened?" Robin inquired.
"I'll tell you what happened!" Ratched scoffed pointing a wrench at the broken machine. "The tool Bulkhead broke yesterday came back to life and attacked me!"
"Uh…doc, are you ok?" Wally asked.
"Whatever happened, it is not a dire emergency," Optimus replied. "You all go back to the rec room, we will let you know our findings when we discover the source."
Albeit reluctantly, the teens began to retreat back to the rec room, Superboy now joining after the commotion had drawn him out. However, Bumblebee stepped forwards, kneeling beside the crushed machine. Something about it…felt wrong. "Do you have any idea what could have caused it?"
His father remained quiet, looking at the broken device with something akin to wariness. However, the look vanished as soon as it came, and Optimus's gaze softened slightly. "Don't worry about it Little One, you and I both know that things with science sometimes tend to…have unexpected results. It was most likely just one of those instances. Or do I need to remind you of Perceptor's accidents?"
Bumblebee gave a soft chuckle as he remembered a few of the haywire experiments. "How could I forget?"
Prime shook his head at his son's mischievous grin, he always had in inkling that either is son or a certain group of his favorite babysitters had something to do with some of those mishaps.
Ratchet, meanwhile, remained quiet as he Prime ruffled his son's hair before letting him go off to hang out with his friends. Moments of relative peace like this were few and far between, and the medic was not about to break the family moment. It was only once the youngling was out of audio-distance that he stepped forwards. "Optimus? I take it you have a suspicion as to what caused this?"
"I do," a grave voice replied. "Primus willing, hope, I am wrong."
-.-
Nemesis
While he always knew his master was a fool, Starscream never thought he'd be as stupid as to stab a very shard of essence of the Chaos Bringer himself into his own spark. Now, here he was, waiting for his liege to make a move.
The agonized screams had stopped some time ago, and now Lord Megatron was leaning against the stand, his frame trembling. But Starscream knew better than to check on him, Lord Megatron was infuriatingly hard to kill, a small part of the Vosian wondered if the man survived out of sheer spite.
A loud exhale caught his attention and he turned to look back at Megatron, who was rising to his feet, brushing a few stray black locks back. Standing up straight, Megatron flexed his wrist, seeming to self-assess himself. "Lord Megatron?" he spoke hesitantly.
A dark chuckle reverberated throughout the room, "Are you concerned Starscream?" Turning towards him, the lanky man gulped slightly as darker red-violet eyes looked towards him. "Don't be. I feel better than ever. And now," he turned reaching back into the meteor and yanking out another shard, "I know what I need to do."
Starscream chuckled, trying to hide his nervousness as the warmonger approached him, "And what can I do to assist you, Master?"
"Quit groveling," Megatron snarled, "and await my command."
Starscream went quiet as he felt the heavy steps of his master retreat and grit his teeth, seething quietly. His boots clicked against the floor as he moved to the bridge, soldiers moving out of his way, but not with the reverence they gave Megatron. If only they knew what a fool they followed, a fool that was now running around doing something a rock told him to.
The seeker has never been the most devout Cybertronian, but even he knew better than to mess with things involving the Destroyer. Something Megatron clearly did not understand.
He always suspected the great leader of the Decepticons didn't have a sense of self-preservation. This act just confirmed it. No, the Decepticons needed a strong, wise leader. One who knew what forces were too dangerous to mess with. A smirk crossed his face, yes, he had done well leading the army in Megatron's absence.
Too bad their dear leader could have stayed in deep space.
Moving to turn around, Starscream jumped as he faced a familiar lithe form looming behind him. "Soundwave!" he said, trying to hide his surprise. "I fear that when our Master reached for the stars, he came down with a touch of…space madness. Lord Megatron has not been of sound judgement since his return."
A sharp flare in the electromagnetic field around him was enough to know that Soundwave was not pleased by what his words had implicated. Turning, Starscream stood tall, flaring his own field in a challenge. "Increase global surveillance."
"Quit groveling and await my command."
"I'm not deaf!" he protested. Primus, he hated it when Soundwave did that. But, it was no matter, Soundwave just had to be convinced, that's all he had to do. "But, if Optimus Prime lives, I believe it's in Lord Megatron's best interests that we ensure his enemy's annihilation."
-.-
Autobot Base, 14:45PDT
"Aw man!" Kid Flash whined as he threw his cards to the table as the others chuckled around him.
"Geez, cuz," Emerald snickered, "you're so lucky we're not gambling right now."
"As if I'd ever gamble with him," he pointed at 'Bee accusingly, "again."
Leaning back in his head, the scout interlaced his fingers behind his head as he smirked, "Well, let me know when you're done being a chicken." His smirk only grew wider as the speedster glared at him.
Kid Flash leaned back in his chair, pouting. "Superboy, friendly advice, never, ever, gamble with this ass," he pointed at 'Bee, "unless you want to be broke for the next five years."
"You were the one who didn't notice he was hustling you," Robin snickered.
"Oh, and like you noticed?!"
"After the first few rounds, yes. Why do you think the rest of us tapped out?"
The speedster didn't have a response to that as the others snickered.
"You know…" 'Bee started taking a sip from his cup a smirk on his face, "I'd be more than happy to have a rematch."
Emerald rolled her eyes, playfully smacking his shoulder, "'Bee, stop trying to swindle money out of Wally. He still owes me birthday money."
"Aw come on!" the redheaded boy exclaimed, slamming his head on the table as the others laughed.
"Bumblebee!" Arcee called walking in with her helmet on her hip. "Suit up."
"Dad calling us for a mission?"
"Prime's on recon, Ratchet's with him. He left me in charge," she replied putting her free hand on her hip.
From the far side of the room, Bulkhead peered around the corner, "Why'd he leave you in charge?"
"Does it matter?"
"Well, if you're in charge, shouldn't you stay, to be in charge?"
"Well, when you're in charge, you get to call the shots," she retorted. "So, 'Bee suit up, we're going on patrol."
The scout threw his head back with a groan and he slapped his cards down on the table as he reluctantly got up. "Sorry guys."
"Bulkhead, you're in charge while we're out, try not to blow anything up."
The teens turned to look at Bulkhead who looked at them equally confused. "So…what's on the activity list?"
"Uh…cards?" Superboy said holding up his hand.
The Autobot shrugged, grabbing a chair and taking the hand 'Bee left. Blinking a few times, they watched as his brows furrowed. "Uh…I think 'Bee's cheating again?"
"What?!" KF exclaimed, practically leaping across the table as he scrambled to see the hand. "You've gotta be kidding me! It's UNO! How do you manage to cheat in UNO?!"
On the other side of the table, Robin and Aqualad handed Emerald a few dollars as she smirked victoriously.
"Wait…" Superboy spoke up, noticing the exchange. "Were you guys betting on if he was cheating?"
"No," Robin replied. "We were betting on how long it would take KF to notice."
"Guys! Not cool!"
"Yeah," Bulkhead chuckled, setting the hand down, "This is why I don't play cards with 'Bee. Or a few other people for that matter, I think they're the ones who taught him."
"Oh great, who do I get to thank for this debacle?" the speedster muttered.
"Well, I never met them personally, but they were some of Prime's top officers, I think it might've been the Spymaster, Jazz—" Bulkhead started before an alarm cut him off. Groaning, the man pushed himself out of his chair and walked over to the monitor on the wall. "Proximity sensor."
"Any reason why it'd be going off?" Emerald inquired.
The answer came when an all too familiar shout echoed through the halls of the base, "PRIME!"
"Oh," the ginger girl grumbled. Though once she and Robin shared a glance, a mischievous smirk appeared. "Come on." Waving to follow, the group of teens snuck through the halls after the Autobot, coming to a stop as he entered the briefing room, leaving them to spy in the hall.
"Agent Fowler," Bulkhead.
"Where's Prime?!"
"He's not here, nobody's here, except me of course."
"Well where is he?! Wait, no, let me guess, he's out pancaking a mini mall," the man rambled. "Now, I don't know what language you 'Bots speak on your planet, but Prime promised he'd handle the Decepticons. And blowing a crater in the middle of Nebraska is not what the word 'handle' means in English."
"Didn't he rant about this the other day?" Superboy muttered.
"It's Fowler, he tends to be a little…wound up?" Robin said.
Beside him, Kid Flash snickered, "Yeah, no kidding, he's so wound up I wonder how far the stick up his butt went before it stopped?"
That made several of them snort to retain their laughter.
Unfortunately, their muffled snickers did not go unheard. "What's going on? Who's over there?!"
Reluctant glances were shared before the teens slowly came out from around the corner. "Hi Fowler," Emerald waved.
"The sidekicks? I didn't know we were running a daycare center!"
"And yet we could still kick your butt," Robin replied. "Or do I need to remind you of the last time you tried to 'teach us a lesson'?" Smirking the teen typed on his holopad and pulled up a video on the large monitors; it showed various freezeframes of Fowler, getting his aft handed to him by Robin and Emerald in separate sparring sessions."
"Oh come on! I missed messing with Fowler too!" Kid whined.
"That was a good day," Emerald smiled.
The agent scowled, glaring down at them. "And why aren't you kids training with your mentors?"
"They're grounded," Bulkhead answered.
Agent Fowler smirked at that, "Oh really? And what did the kids do to do that?"
"They were saving me," Superboy growled, stepping forwards. He was daring the insufferable agent to challenge him.
"And who are you?"
"I'm Superman's clone."
This time Fowler went quiet, his brows furrowing as he seemed to try to process what had just been said. "What…"
"We blew up a building in the process," Emerald deadpanned.
"The Cadmus building," Fowler nodded. The new revelation seemed to have quelled his temper for the time-being. "I'll have to let my superiors know, it won't sit well with them knowing the bad guys might be trying to clone more of our best men." The agent gave them a nod, "Alright then, just make sure to have the League send in the reports. And let me know when he's decided on an identity so I can get that going."
"Will do."
"Oh, and Big Butt, don't forget this time," Fowler said as the door closed. Riding up the elevator to the top of the mesa, he slid into his helicopter, flipping the toggles and starting the engines. The wind roared in his ears as the blades began to spin, and he put on his headset before taking the controls. "Sir, this is Agent Fowler. I'm in route from the Autobot Base, I'll brief you in person."
