All was quiet as Starscream walked on the unknown planet with his group of grunts. There was nothing here. This search mission was useless. Why did Megatron send him out here of all places? He had been told that there was something important here, but didn't specify what. Megatron seemed excited when Soundwave showed him something in private. He was sure that whatever was here would give them an advantage over the Autobots.
"Have you found anything yet?" Starscream asked a nearby grunt who held a scanner.
"There's something up ahead. Organic life," the grunt said while pointing at a cave in the distant. Starscream frowned as he walked up to the cave. Something about it didn't feel right. Why would Megatron be interested in organic lifeforms? This was odd.
Starscream paused at the cave entrance and turned to the was no way he was going in there.
"You go on ahead. Let me know what you find," he grumbled, crossing his arms as the grunts went in.
Things hadn't been going well back on earth. It seemed Megatron was becoming more and more desperate for some kind of advantage over the Autobots. He was getting tired as well. Hopefully whatever was in this cave was going to be of some help. Maybe he could somehow use it against his master and take control as the rightful Decepticon leader. He chuckled darkly at the thought.
"Sir? We found something," a grunt said after what felt like an eternity.
"Well, what is it?" Starscream asked, turning to look at the grunt. He froze when he saw what was in his arms. An egg.
Melody hummed a happy tune to herself as she drove down the highway. She was having a great day. It was friday and she had received her report card. All A's. She was sure she would get some kind of reward for that. She giggled softly and thought of what she was going to tell her parents when she got home.
Something up ahead caught her attention. An abandoned red sports car on the side of the road. Curious, she slowed down and parked her motorcycle nearby. Why was such a pretty car abandoned here? It didn't look damaged as she approached it. She wondered if there was anything important inside. That would make her day even better if she found something good like money inside.
She was surprised when she pulled on the door and found that it was unlocked. She paused for a moment. She had heard stories about giant robots who could transform into machines like cars or planes. Was this one of them?
"Of course not," she murmured to herself as she began to search the car. She had been reading too many conspiracy theories. That couldn't be possible.
She found nothing after a few minutes. Melody sighed softly as she sat in the driver's seat.
"I wish I could go for a drive in you," she said while turning the wheel and imagining what it would be like to drive this car.
"Wish granted," a voice crowed as the seatbelt suddenly wrapped around her waist. Melody cried out in surprise as the car came to life and began driving off.
"What the hell is going on?" Melody demanded as she struggled against the seatbelt. It wouldn't budge.
"You've been chosen for a special procedure, girl," that voice said as it drove down the highway. Melody could feel dread setting in. The conspiracy theories were right. This definitely wasn't going to end well for her. There had to be a way to free herself. Her arms and legs were free. Melody let out a cry as she moved to kick the window as hard as she could.
"You really need to stop that. You'll scratch the glass," the voice scolded.
"Fuck you," Melody growled, kicking harder on the glass.
The car suddenly stopped. Melody cried out in pain as her head came into contact with the wheel. She blacked out and was suddenly yanked out of the car. She fell on the ground and groaned upon hitting the cold pavement. A strange sound filled the air and she tried to look up when heavy footsteps filled the air.
"Little shit. You scratched my window. That's expensive," that voice muttered. Melody's head was pounding. The last thing she saw was a massive figure standing over her before she blacked out.
Megatron paced back and forth, waiting for his subjects to return. He was growing impatient the more he waited. The news of this new weapon gave him a sliver of hope. He had heard rumors about this weapon and didn't think they were true until now. Soundwave had pulled up all available information about this weapon and as Megatron read, he grew more and more eager to obtain it.
"What is taking Starscream so long?" He grumbled as he glared at the open ground bridge. Soundwave had reopened it hours ago, but no one had returned yet. Megatron was almost tempted to go in before he heard angry cries in the air. He turned and saw Knockout approaching with some grunts. They all had struggling humans in each hand.
"We have some test subjects, my lord," Knockout crowed, showing him the crying human he was carrying.
"Let me go, please! My parents have money. They…They'll give you anything you want!" The girl cried. The other humans said similar things, but they were ignored.
Megatron smiled a cruel smile as he walked over to Knockout. If what he read was true, then these insignificant humans were going to suffer greatly. He looked forward to watching that.
"You're not going anywhere, little ones. You're all going to help me create something wonderful," he crowed.
"The…The authorities will find out! You won't get away with this!" A young man yelled. The grunt holding him growled and gave him a squeeze, silencing him. Megatron chuckled darkly at that.
"Knockout, contain these subjects. Make sure they're…comfortable and if they complain, punish them however you want," Megatron crowed.
"Of course, my lord," Knockout smiled as he and the grunts left. One of the humans let out a deafening scream, but it was quickly silenced. Megatron shook his head and and turned his attention back to the portal.
Another hour had passed before Starscream finally returned with the grunts. They each had an armful of strange looking eggs.
"We found what you wanted, Master," Starscream said while handing him an egg. Megatron took it and observed it. He could see something moving within. He held it to the light and got a better look of what was inside. It looked…like some kind of spider.
"How many eggs did you obtain?" He asked, turning his attention back to Starscream and the grunts.
"We gathered twenty eggs that were still viable, my lord," Starscream replied.
"Excellent. Knockout is getting the test subjects ready. Let's not waste any more time," Megatron said as he led them to where Knockout was getting the humans ready. He took another look at the tiny lifeform in the egg and chuckled darkly.
Melody sobbed softly as she sat in the large cage with the others. This was a nightmare. It had to be. In a few moments, she would wake up in her bed or in the middle of history class. The pain in her head felt too real for this to be a nightmare though.
"What's going to happen to us?" A small girl whispered, looking over at Melody with tear-filled eyes. This was Alice. She had seen her at school a few times. Most of the kids here were from the local high school. There were ten of them along with five adults. The adults were trying to figure out what to do, but it didn't look like they were getting anywhere.
"I….I don't know," Melody murmured.
"If I have to tell you fleshies to be quiet one more time, you're getting another shock," the one named Knockout muttered while activating what looked like an alien stun gun. Melody looked over at Todd who froze when he saw the weapon. There was a bad burn on his side from when he was shocked. He had quickly learned his lesson when he tried to fight back.
More footsteps filled the air and Melody looked over to see more of those giant robots walk in. The massive one who looked like he was in charge smiled cruelly at them as he approached. He was holding something strange in his hand. It looked like a giant flesh-colored egg.
"I'm sure you humans are wondering what's going on. Well, I'll-"
"Who are you and why are er here?" Alice spoke up. An angry red glare from the massive one made Melody's blood run cold and caused Alice to back away in fear.
"I am Megatron and you're going to be my first test subject," the one named Megatron growled as he walked over and opened the cage. One of the adults rushed over and hid Alice behind her.
"She's just a kid. She didn't know any better. Leave her alone," the woman pleaded. The other adults agreed and did the same, but they were effortlessly pushed away with one quick swipe. Alice backed herself into the corner, crying softly.
"This will be all the more painful if you resist, little one," Megatron said as he grabbed her. Melody only watched on in horror as Alice was pulled out of the cage.
"Watch closely, humans. Something amazing is about to happen," Knockout crowed as he pulled up an operating table that was much too big for a human. Megatron placed Alice on the table along with the strange egg.
"The egg will hatch and you will take a look inside," Megatron said. Some of the other robots surrounded the table, watching on curiously. Melody tried to get a better look and saw how Alice nervously approached the egg. Something about this filled her with dread.
"I don't like the looks of this," one girl muttered as she watched.
Alice's mind was racing as she gazed at the egg. What was she supposed to be doing? She had touched it and shuddered at its slimy texture. Was it going to hatch? What was going to happen when it hatched? She didn't want to see what would come out of the egg. It was probably some disgusting creature more terrible than the ones surrounding her.
"Nothing...Nothing's happening," she murmured, looking up at her captors.
"Give it a moment, girl," the one named Knockout said.
As if on cue, the top of the egg opened, looking like an alien flower. Alice gazed at it in disturbed curiosity. She didn't want to look inside. When she didn't move, she was pushed forward by Megatron.
"Take a look, little one," he said.
Alice let out a heavy sigh as she inched forward and stood before the egg. She looked in and saw a mess of something vile within. She wanted to run and vomit, but she could feel all eyes on her. As she kept looking, she saw something move and dared to take a closer look. A hiss filled the air and the last thing she saw before everything went dark was a skeletal fleshy hand jumping at her face.