Chapter 10 Highlight: Ultra Magnus

Even in the midst of a universal war, there are rules and regulations to follow and abide by. Two associations handle the matter of rules on either side: the Autobot Security Council and the Decepticon High Justice. Together the associations formed the Altihex Accord which was perhaps the only mutual agreement between the Autobots and the Decepticons. In order to be certain that all those who break the rules are tried and condemned, enforcers were established to bring the convicts to justice. Those that have the tasking of doing so, have the authority to investigate all sides of the Universe… including enemy bases. And the greatest of all the enforcers was Ultra Magnus, the last survivor of the long-extinguished Magnus Council.

Ultra Magnus was the wisest and most dedicated enforcer of the Altihex Accord to the point in which even the Decepticon leader respected him for his devotion. In an effort to escape the war after he viewed the destruction of Iacon, he sought out the members of the Autobot Security Council to become an enforcer who worked behind the lines of the war. Becoming an enforcer was not an easy task: he was tested various times by both sides of the Altihex Accord, had to undergo military training from the skill-assessing Autobot Ironhide and the brutal Decepticon Grindor, and had to be in isolation for an entire stellar-span. As a result of completing every test with the highest score of all the enforcers tested, Magnus was accepted as a full-time enforcer.

Since he was the best, unchallenged enforcer, Ultra Magnus was given the opportunity to have a partner with one of the part-time enforcers. And he became partners with the old and cranky, Ironhide, who later became his best friend. Ironhide served the Altihex Accord secondary to his duties as a battle-hardened Autobot warrior, but neither Magnus nor the members of the Altihex Accord cared. What the enforcer cared about, however, was his friend's safety whenever he left to do battle with the callous Decepticons.

Long before Cybertron ceased to exist, Cybertron's greatest and only Prime was killed in a collision within the VII Astral asteroid field which plunged the planet into chaos. Many Cybertronians view the untimely death of Magneto Prime as one of the reasons Tribulation befell Cybertron; unaware to them, this would become one of the leading factors of the civil war that would later ravage the planet. Without a Prime to strictly enforce the laws of the old system, the other Magnus' who were consumed by their greed for power, instituted the brutal caste system and corrupted the entire planet within a few short stellar-spans. Ultra Magnus was "The Last Champion of Cybertron" as many had referred him to during his time as a Magnus. He strongly supported the worker class' rights and worked hard to diminish the hated and appalling caste system that had been incorporated into their civilization.

Whenever the Magnus Council and their corrupted followers would address the Cybertronian castes, it seemed the only way to have them pay heed was if it was Ultra Magnus who would speak to them. He respected every Cybertronian, viewing them more important than Energon, and immediately when a struggle occurred, Ultra Magnus was there in the middle of it, trying to establish solutions. Out of the fifty members of the loathed ruling council, he followed the Code of the Sparks- an ancient code created by the very first Prime, Vector Prime- to the letter while the other Magnus' pursued their own evil agendas.

Being the only Magnus ever to leave the sacred Halls of the Primes, Ultra Magnus had seen and viewed every event on the entire planet. When rumors of new leadership of Kaon reached his audio receptors, he made his way to the Badlands and encountered the newly empowered Megatron personally. Ultra Magnus agreed to the upset gladiator's terms, accepted his rule, and established a mutual agreement with the violent Gladiator Pits commander. Although he gave the Council's "blessing" for ruling, deep down he knew that this was a start of revolution that would overtake the planet.

Over the past few stellar-spans, the number of convicts he had brought in exceeded forty, most of them over the account of treachery or running illegal black market trades. They included the Autobot Tracker and Decepticons Swindle, Ramjet, and Lockdown. Now the main reason behind most of the arrests he made was due to the Cybertronians becoming "mentally compromised" as the members of the ASC and the DHJ referred it as. Such ones convicted of having this condition were a Decepticon femme named Trackdown, and the suffering-obsessed Decepticon Carnage.

Ultra Magnus and Ironhide were present at the court martialing of ex-Autobot sniper, Grindcore. It was hard to conceive that out of all the Autobots, the one to smuggle weapons and information to an unknown anomaly was Grindcore. Before the betrayal was discovered, apparently the sniper had been meeting with an unknown being- possibly of Decepticon affiliation- and has supplied it with over two hundred weapon prototypes and over four thousand military secrets. When they came to arrest him, he killed more than thirty Autobot security officers with the least remorse until Ultra Magnus and Ironhide prevailed and subdued him.

Everyone who knew Grindcore thought they had him all figured out; how he prove them wrong! Several prosecutions laid against him seemed to have stirred insanity within his processor and he began ranting about the Universe, Harbingers, and other things that did not comprehend in any of the Autobots' circuitry. Then he started chanting in a foreign language before translating it into their language. It went as follows:

"A stone that had been established for millenniums will be crushed and discarded into oblivion.

Once this is complete, another stone will replace it and will not be broken by any force."

As a result, the members of the Altihex Accord passed him off as mentally compromised and banished him, leaving him on a desolate planet in the middle of nowhere. But the team that had deployed him there vanished a few cycles after relaying a panicked transmission long after dropping their cargo. It was all becoming a mystery and Ultra Magnus began to question whether or not the struggle was intensifying. Insanity began to overcome the Cybertronians one by one, especially the Decepticon known as Carnage.

"Crazy slagtard, eh Magnus?" Ironhide scoffed as he and the Autobot enforcer proceeded away from the military court as another Autobot- this one named Whirlwind- was passed off as mentally compromised and sentenced him to banishment, "It makes me wonder wut is goin' on…"

Ultra Magnus nodded, "It causes me to begin to conceive that some other force is at work… perhaps one of supernatural capabilities…"

"Magnus, I'd be careful if I were you; talk like dat will git you banished like all the others."

"Ironhide, hear me out. Grindcore, the top Autobot sniper and one of the most loyal Autobots, suddenly is considered a traitor and is passed off as mentally compromised? And Whirlwind, a dedicated officer later is as well? Some other force must be act work or some kind of virus of some type that re-engineers circuitry… I really don't know. But I am certain that there must be something behind all this."

"Huh. I must concur with you; Grindcore is no idiot, ev'ryone knows dat much."

The two friends walked back to the Autobot Security Council headquarters, continuing their in-depth conversation about the betrayals, the loyalty of the Autobots, and the possibility of an unknown force at work within the Cybertronians. Ultimately, Ironhide decided that the long-lasting war could make anyone go insane to the point where they do the unthinkable; Ultra Magnus had to agree with him.

"Well, who're we gonna bust a cap on today?" the old veteran enquired as Magnus viewed the list of wanted Autobots and Decepticons, "Lit's see 'ere… Autobots wanted: Chromedome… and Decepticons wanted: Banzaitron, Diveplane, Echelon, and Quasar."

After reviewing the list, his friend responded, "We're going after the Decepticon Banzaitron."

"Banzaitron? 'Bout time… if Megatron didn't tell de Decepticon High Justice to pass a warrant fer his arrest soon, I bet dat lil' slagtard would have taken ov'r the Decepticon leadership mantle. Hmm… he's in de Tyrest District an' he has his own lil' posse o' followers. We'd best be careful."

Ultra Magnus nodded, knowing that any and all Decepticons to have a warrant for their arrest passed by Megatron were exceedingly dangerous. As he began to read the datafile about Banzaitron, he noticed the mayhem-wreaking Barricade walking over to the wanted list.

"So Magnus," the Decepticon replied with a smirk, "Which datafile will you be closing next?"

"I plan on arresting Banzaitron."

"Good! I always wanted to see that treacherous scrap-pile in a laser-sealed cell of a maximum security prison."

"I thought you were with de other 'Cons who mobilized down to Klatos VII…" Ironhide raised an optic.

"Yeah, but they are just lazing about again… so I came here to do some hunting. Oh, by the way, Magnus, Carnage appears to have escaped custody, considering he's down on Klatos VII, running the slave operations there, and being the damned fool he always is."

"How the Pit did that 'Con manage to escape the Altihex prison fields, not to mention the inescapable cell I personally escorted him to? Something is not right…" Ultra Magnus was deeply confused, "No one has ever escaped without being spotted in the process."

Barricade shrugged, "Beats me, but as far as I'm aware, he has changed faction… neither Autobot nor Decepticon, so the damned mech claims."

Surprisingly enough, neither Barricade nor Ironhide revealed any hint of hostility between each other- but that was one of the prerequisites of a part-time enforcer. If an enforcer was allied with a certain faction and served with that said faction, hostility was to be left on the battlefield and in its place, a neutral state of mind. When serving as an enforcer, one always had to bear in mind to leave all battle-related conversations with the faction they serve. Barricade was highly skilled with keeping his true emotions hidden when he worked as an enforcer, and Ironhide normally was cranky… so this rule did not really apply to him.

"Would you like to accompany us to the Tyrest District, 'Cade?" Ultra Magnus checked his Atomized Energy Repulsion shotgun, "Three is plenty of company for me."

"May I never hunt again if I turn down this generous offer, Magnus!" Barricade grinned.

A hearty laugh escaped Ironhide's orifice, "Primus, if dat lil' feller Hot Shot knew about de Altihex Accord enforcers, he'd do anythin' to git in 'ere to talk with ya, 'Cade."

"Vector Sigma… I'd resign from my enforcer duties if that ever happens."

All three enforcers laughed together as they headed for Ultra Magnus' space vessel that was located on the Southern Space Docks. Named the Lithium, it was designed by Ultra Magnus to attain hyper-light speed and appear highly stealthy in design… no wanted fugitive could ever be safe for his inescapable grasp. Equipped with Psi-Class hypersonic turbo-thrusters and about thirty assault barrage cannons, the interlocked ubarium armour-plated vessel could even survive a supernova explosion.

"This appears to be a superlative vessel; I cannot consider any other vessel to be compared with the sleek and magnificent design of the Lithium. No feature is questionable besides the alias; therefore, I want to comprehend why you had dubbed such a designation for this vessel."

"Thank you very much, but the reason why I dubbed it the Lithium is because the main composition of the fuel source it uses is lithium."

The enforcers boarded the space vessel and in less than two millicycles, they were en-route to the Tyrest District with one purpose in mind: arresting Banzaitron. After they bring him in, he would be handed over to the Decepticon High Justice and from there sent to Chaar for punishment; Barricade hinted at it being execution.

"I understand that there are certain regulations that must be pertained at every cycle when on duty as an enforcer, but I must open a conversation regarding events and circumstances that reflect on matters outside of the duties of an enforcer, if I may." Barricade spoke boldly, knowing the consequences if he were to do so.

Both Ironhide and Ultra Magnus exchanged confused glances, and finally the latter spoke, "Considering that the two of you originate from opposing factions, I deny all conversation that reputes any form of military topics."

"The conversation that I wish to start highlights other events or circumstances that do not necessarily mirror a militarized point of view." After receiving a nod of assurance from both mechs, he continued, "I am unsure if you are already aware of that interesting energy signature that was detected several solar-cycles ago; are you familiar with this?"

"Personally, I have detected this anomaly and was wondering what paradox of time constraint and universal harmony could have created this. Yes, alongside with my duties as an enforcer, I took the liberty to investigate further into the matter and I discovered the inconceivable."

"Which was?"

"Whatever type of energy this anomaly is, it is radioactive to the point of Psion-level waves."

"Primus… dat's moar powerful dan any Cybertronian weapon dere is!" Ironhide exclaimed, "De only known form o' Psion waves is Alpha-class fission-fusion plasma… another words: Biotetronic plasma."

"Affirmative, but the readings of this form is nearly one hundred times stronger- in a way like supernova power but with Psion waves instead."

"And the interesting part of this is the recent detection, which leads me to hypothesize the probability of it being created recently…" the Decepticon enforcer leaned back in his seat.

"Or born." Ultra Magnus interrupted him.

"Now where de Pit did ya git dat load o' scrap, Magnus? Everymech knows dat such a bonding doesn't exist..."

"I've been around the galaxy and most races birth their offspring… thus our ignorance to this form of reproduction has blinded us in understanding most races. The unintelligent species go through the lesser forms of reproduction."

"Vector Sigma! Why are we talking about where younglings come from?" Barricade growled, "That is completely irrelevant to our current conversation. 'Sides, I don't give two scraps about that. Point is, this new energy form must have been created very recently and I doubt that any being can possess such power."

"In a Universe like ours, any event or circumstance is possible; however, it may not necessary apply to every scenario that can be conceived. Recently, I have decided that it would be prudent if one was to begin to understand the complexities of the Universe, they should consider every aspect possible. I have recorded information in the log entries of my science field journalism… one contains what I have learned of Psion-level radiation waves."

"If I could get my servos on that energy, I would use it as the energy for my shock cannons that I am attempting to create a prototype for…"

"We have arrived, my friends."

Using a wormhole to travel to the Tyrest District, the Lithium soared down into the murky atmosphere of the planet known as Faruk. Out of all the planets in the Universe, Faruk had to be the most disgusting planet of them all; even the flora and fauna were appalling in appearance. And just as hideous as his very Spark, Banzaitron liked it and made it his covert base of operations.

"Dis planit reminds me o' de hauntin' stories I wood hear when I was jist a Sparklin'," Ironhide gazed at the way the plants all appeared to be dead, "Magnus, why'd ya not say dat dis feller was a psychopath?"

"Banzaitron is a twisted creature of darkness just like Carnage, so I'm told," Ultra Magnus readied his Atomized Energy Repulsion shotgun, "He's highly skilled, but not enough for me."

Following Magnus' lead, Barricade loaded his Hypertension Concussion shotgun, ready for a hunt. He really enjoyed his weapon until he saw what Ironhide was holding.

"What the Pit is that?"

"Oh dis?" Ironhide enquired, "Dis is mah self-designed vibranium-shielded R-Infiniti Accelerator X-9400 Ultrasonic Nuclear energy wave cannon. Why d'ya ask?"

For a moment there, the Decepticon enforcer thought he would spring an oil leak as his red optics widened in shock. Why do the Autobots always get the good scrap? He contemplated, scowling with jealousy.

The two followed behind Ultra Magnus, remaining on either side of his shoulder plates, with their weapons at the ready. Several Decepticons watched them closely from the shadows and remained hidden for they knew that no one was to interfere with Enforcers of the Althihex Accord.

"Prime Enforcer Ultra Magnus," a large Decepticon which had a peculiar chassis construction- short legs and huge arms with hands mounted on his towering elbows- queried, "What brings you to the Dominion of Decepticon Warlord Banzaitron?"

"I have a warrant for the arrest of Banzaitron from the Decepticon High Justice. According to the Accord, you must let me pass."

"Devcon is not stupid, Enforcer." A dark Decepticon equipped with an Ursa-class giant torso-mounted cannon and two Theta-class energy blades, snorted, "Although he may look it."

The former Magnus glanced over every interesting feature about Devcon and felt remorse to the 'Con for having such a complicated chassis, "Do explain what happened to him."

"The name's Wreckage, Enforcer, just so you know. Devcon used to be known as a Decepticon with the alias of Clipback until he underwent experimentations done by the mad Shockwave. The result is what you see, and we began to call him Devcon- 'dev' for devastation and 'con' for Decepticon."

"I almost feel sorry fer de big feller…" Ironhide stated, "Hmpf! To think dat Shockwave tortures 'is own teammates an' makes 'em into monsters."

"Banzaitron is in his tower as usual," Wreckage added, ignoring Ironhide's last statement, "And he will not allow you to capture him easily… but that's just Banzai for you."

"Thank you for your cooperation."

All the Decepticons stood aside, letting the Enforcers pass, abandoning their orders to protect their master Banzaitron from all, even if it meant Megatron. Although his team was handpicked by him personally, not one of them was willing to challenge Ultra Magnus to a duel. They had heard stories that he was unstoppable and had never faced defeat.

Ultra Magnus pushed open the gates with his strong hands and called out loudly, "Banzaitron! I am Ultra Magnus and I am a duly Enforcer of the Altihex Accord. I possess a warrant for your arrest passed down directly from the Decepticon High Justice. We can either do this my way or the hard way."

"Did he already forget that we have accompanied him here?" Barricade asked Ironhide.

"Nah! He does dis intimidation speech ev'ry time. It just defines him."

"Megatron is not too thrilled with your performance lately, Banzai, you know. The warrant for your arrest comes directly from him."

Three rockets hit the floor and knocked them all off their feet as the Decepticon Banzaitron leapt from his pedestal and attacked them. A heated brawl ensued as the three Enforcers tangled with the rogue Decepticon. Ironhide back-flipped over the treacherous Decepticon, shooting him numerous times in the head, but Banzaitron's helmet was constructed of yittrinium and withstood every shot. In return, the evil mech levelled the aging Autobot warrior with a shock-striking punch in the torso that put him out for the count. Next, the swift Barricade transformed into his car alt-mode and fired a barrage of uranium-depleted bullets into the right tread-covered leg. Crippled, the large robot swung wildly with a huge Energon-axe, missing the Decepticon enforcer but taking out a pillar that was stabilizing the pedestal he was on. Unsupported, the pedestal collapsed on top of poor Barricade, crushing him under thirty tons of metal and stone. Despite the best collective efforts of Banzaitron, one opponent remained standing: Ultra Magnus.

"Give it up, Autobot trash!" Banzaitron's voice was hoarse and deep, "You cannot defeat me! I am the unstoppable Decepticon warlord and soon to be the new leader of the Decepticons! In all my war campaigns, I have never been defeated and, therefore, I shall defeat Megatron once I have crushed your head!"

Ultra Magnus raised an optic, obviously challenging this statement and fired a single blast from his Atomized Energy Repulsion shotgun into the Decepticon's chest, "Just to warn you, I am no Autobot. I fight as dirty as any Decepticon and as valiant as any Autobot.

"You fired a pathetic weapon like that at the mighty Banzaitron! HA! That merely tickled!" While laughing manically, the plasma-like matter that had been released from the weapon, enter his chassis, surrounded all his vital systems, and repulsed all the energy that was flowing to them. Immediately Banzaitron fell over in stasis-lock.

"They always get so overconfident that they never seem to contemplate the meaning of 'atomized energy repulsion', thus leading to their defeat." The Prime Enforcer put stasis cuffs on the unconscious mech to restrain him after the effects of the AERS wear off.

Using an Energon repair ray to revive Barricade and Ironhide, Ultra Magnus then threw the defeated 'Con over his shoulder and paraded out of the tower triumphantly. As the three Enforcers transported the unconscious Banzaitron to their space vessel, the Decepticons rejoiced and cheered, for they could finally leave the disgusting world of Faruk. Barricade gave them specific instructions to rendezvous with the other Decepticons on Klatos VII before he returned to the Lithium.

"Damn Magnus, now I understand why they say you're the best of the best at what you do." He helped secure Banzaitron in the prisoner bay.

"Indeed. Ironhide, lock coordinates for Altihex. We do not want to keep the Decepticon High Justice waiting for much longer."

"Right-o, Boss!" Ironhide did what he was ordered to.

Despite the two "factioned" Cybertronians engaging in conversation like the best of friends, Ultra Magnus silently ignored them as he pondered the recent discovery of the new energy source that lay beyond the Gridder Mark. Entering a state almost like "sleep mode", he attempted to visualize the reason behind the sudden appearance of the energy source that vibrates so powerfully, they could sense it billions of parcycles away. Ultra Magnus had the ability to see beyond the reaches of their Universe and could- to an extent- perceive upcoming events.

He saw a vegetated, little-populated planet that was barely technologically advanced with intelligent canine species dominating it. Specially-empowered canines manipulate the very elements of the planet to defend themselves and protect the ones they love. Kingdoms had been erected to establish authority over the inhabitants. A dark shadow lingering over a snow-covered palace, then suddenly was shattered by a blinding light. And a female canine of royal descent gave birth to a small pup with an interesting marking on the bottom of its paw. Within the pup was specially-enhanced adrenaline that was surrounded by Psion-level radiation waves.

"By the AllSpark…" he muttered as the Lithium entered a wormhole, "This child has the ability to affect the entire Universe with its off-the-scale power within it. And to believe that the Decepticons had created the ultimate weapon! If that power was ever to leave the child, Primus help us all…"