Chapter 3: The Autobots

Tony and his friends followed the giant red and blue robot through the swirling green vortex. When they reached the other side, they all found themselves dizzy and disoriented.

"Whoa," Rhodey said, "I think my bones are vibrating."

"You're not the only one, Rhodey," Tony said uncomfortably.

The green vortex disappeared, revealing a short tunnel.

"Error," the Iron Man Armor's onboard computer said, "Unable to connect to Armory server. Switching to internal server."

"That's weird," Tony said.

Tony and his friends stepped out of the tunnel and found themselves in what appeared to be a large military-grade emergency bunker, but with large, green, and transparent computer screens. They also saw four other giant robots; a silver and sapphire blue fem-bot, a large, emerald green robot, a yellow robot with black stripes, and a white robot with orange stripes and an irritated look on his face. Each robot had the same symbol as the red and blue robot had. Also (much to the surprise of Tony and his friends) there were three other kids; a fifteen-year-old Japanese girl with pigtails, a twelve-year-old redheaded boy with glasses, and sixteen-year-old boy with black hair.

"What's with the new kids, big guy?" the Japanese girl said.

"I rescued these children," the red and blue robot said, "They were put in harm's way, and so I brought them here."

"Optimus," the white robot with orange stripes said, "I have never doubted your decisions before, but why?"

"Okay," Tony said, "Will someone please explain to us what the heck is going on here?"

"Of course. Now that you know of our existence, you must now know our secret as well," the red and blue robot began, "We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, but we are more commonly known as Autobots. My name is Optimus Prime."

"Okay," Tony said, "and who are they?"

"They are my team. This is Ratchet," Optimus said, now referring to the white robot with orange stripes, "my team's second-in-command, medical and science officer, and my oldest friend."

"Nice to meet you, Ratchet," Tony said. Ratchet didn't answer, he just mumbled under his breath.

"This is Arcee, one of Cybertron's finest warriors and scouts," Optimus said, now referring to the sapphire blue fem-bot.

"How's it going, kids?" Arcee asked.

"Not bad," Rhodey said, "unless you count nearly being vaporized."

"I know what you mean, kid," The large green robot said.

"And who are you?" Rhodey asked the green robot.

"This is Bulkhead," Optimus continued, "before joining my team, he was once a member of highly trained Autobot mercenaries known as the Wreckers."

"And this is Bumblebee, our scout" Optimus said, now referring to the yellow robot with black stripes.

Bumblebee didn't say anything, he just gave out some whirrs and beeps.

"Why is he talking like that?" Tony asked.

"Bumblebee lost his voicebox in the line of duty," Optimus said.

"Okay, and who are the other kids?" Pepper asked.

"This is Jack, Miko, and Rafael," Optimus said as he pointed out each of the kids, "the other Autobots are their guardians. They protect them."

Tony was still confused. He didn't know what to do at this point. He had a million unanswered questions going through his mind. Eventually, he settled on one.

"Okay. If you guys are from another planet, the why are you here?" Tony asked.

"We are here to protect your world from the Decepticons," Optimus explained, "They are the ones who tried to destroy you."

"Okay," Tony said, "and why are they here?"

"A fair question, Tony," Optimus said, continuing his story, "They are here because our planet is uninhabitable. Devastated by centuries of civil war."

"Why did the war happen?" Rhodey asked.

"The war began over control of Cybertron's government," Optimus continued, "but it eventually evolved into a war over the control of our world's supply of Energon, the fuel, ammunition, and lifeblood of all Autobots and Decepticons alike. The combat was fierce, and endured for centuries. In the beginning, I fought along side one whom I considered a brother, but in war, ideals can be corrupted. And it was thus that Megatron lost his way."

"Wait," Tony said, "Who exactly is Megatron?"

"Megatron was the leader of the Decepticons," Optimus said, "But he is gone now."

"What happened to him?" Pepper asked.

"His pride would not allow him to accept defeat," Optimus continued, "When my team and I destroyed the Decepticons' Space Bridge, Megatron perished in the explosion."

"Then shouldn't the Decepticons have left Earth by now?" Tony asked.

"I wish that were so, Tony," Optimus said, "Even without their leader, the Decepticons have not been defeated yet."

"After Megatron's demise," Ratchet said, jumping into the conversation, "his second-in-command, Starscream, became their new leader, therefore the Decepticons are still active."

"And while Starscream is no Megatron," Optimus said, picking up, "He is far from being predictable."

"Well, we're glad to help anyway that we can," Tony said, "but we really need to get home now."

"Yeah," Rhodey said, "If we don't get home before my mom does, we'll be grounded for a month."

"Very well," Optimus said, "You will be returned to New York. Nevertheless, the question of your safety remains. Therefore, we will monitor you, and if any Decepticons appear, we will be there to assist you in anyway we can. Take this communicator and use it whenever you need our assistance."

Optimus handed Tony a small communicator.

"Thanks Optimus," Tony said.

"Ratchet," Optimus said, "Activate the Ground Bridge."

"Right away, Optimus," Ratchet said.

Ratchet locked onto the coordinates for Rhodey's house in New York, pulled down on a lever, and activated the Ground Bridge. Tony and his friends walked through the swirling green vortex and returned home.

"Well that was weird," Pepper said, "but man was that cool!"

"At least it's over," Rhodey said.

"No, it's not over," Tony said, "This is just the beginning."

The Next Day

The Mandarin's Throne Room:

"What do you mean you haven't been able to locate the source of the two cars?!" the Mandarin shouted at his lackey.

"Master, we haven't been given enough time to search," the ninja kneeling before the Mandarin said, "and the symbol has not appeared anywhere we have looked."

"Very well," the Mandarin said, "I myself will locate the ones who broke into Stark International and tried to destroy Iron Man, using the power of my Makluan Rings."

The purple gem ring began to glow until a purple sphere encircled and finally engulfed the Mandarin. When the sphere dissipated, the Mandarin was gone.

Chapter 3 complete. Next Update: Chapter 4: The Decepticons

Me: Well, I know it's a little late in the evening, but I really wanted to get the chapter done. I know it's not much, and there are a lot of things I left out, but I hope you still enjoy it. I don't own any of these characters.