With the nanite swarm amuck, emergency crews arrived at Sumdac Systems in a haste.
Firefighters pulled scientists and civilians out of harm's way, police cordoned off the area, and swat units prepared some heavy artillery to combat the threat. The last to arrive was Captain Carmine Fanzone, leader of Chicago PD's major crimes unit. He got out of his car: a nice but filthy Chevy camaro, and looked over the scene, shaking his head.
"This is why I hate machines." He grumbled before pulling a bullhorn out of his backseat.
Turning it on, the chief officer barked his orders. "Alright, SWAT units, drive that thing away from the civilians! Emergency crews, let's get those people evacuated now!"
Officers laid down some cover fire on the technological monstrosity as others ushered everyone to safety. Two officers literally had to drag Isaac out, the CEO struggling to get back into the building.
"My daughter might still be in there!" He cried out, reaching frantically to the destroyed building. "Sari! Sari!"
His shouts were drowned out by the creature reaching out and grabbing two police cars, literally eating them and growing larger. The officers retreated, still firing on it as it continued moving forward.
…
The hangar doors were easily ripped open, providing the Autobots with access to the outside world. From there, they could see an army of emergency vehicles surrounding the area.
"We need to get out there and stop that thing." Orion stated before making a point. "If we go out there armed, we could endanger civilians and make the situation even more dangerous."
The mechs agreed before Ironhide asked. "What do you suggest?"
"There are multiple vehicles for us to scan and take the appearance of. Choose one and move through the crowd undetected."
"Robots in disguise?" Hot Rod remarked. "I like it. Wait, what about Windblade and Grimlock?"
A trio of jets flew towards the beast, firing upon it.
"Question answered." Windblade said, gleefully. "Time to stretch my wings."
"Good for you, but Grimlock?" Hot Rod reiterated.
Grimlock thought for a second before reluctantly sighing. "Guess I'm gonna have to stay here." He wanted some action but his alt form running amuck would give him away. Thanks to his time as an experiment, his T-cog was only able to scan creatures of organic or inorganic origins. And on Earth, he hadn't found one he could format himself with.
"Everyone except for Grimlock, scan a vehicle." Orion instructed. Seeing a semi-truck, the commander scanned it before transforming into it.
Windblade scanned one of the jets, morphing into its visage with her color scheme.
Prowl noticed a police car, which he figured fit him so he decided to scan it.
Ratchet saw an ambulance driving by in a hurry, and scanned it.
Bulkhead witnessed a SWAT truck driving by, the driver too focused on his route. Thinking it would fit him great, the wannabe Wrecker scanned it.
Ironhide was looking for a vehicle that fit him. A parked pick-up truck was his choice and turned into it.
Nearby was a carshop and the star attraction was a Porsche, something Jazz liked and scanned.
Cliffjumper saw a muscle car and decided it would fit him. Transforming, he added his horns in front like decor.
Hot Rod, Sideswipe, Mirage, and Wheeljack each scanned a sports car.
A parked motorcycle caught Arcee's attention. She scanned it, transformed and activated a holoform. The holoform took the shape of a female biker who's face was concealed by the helmet.
Bumblebee saw Fanzone's yellow camaro and scanned it. Reformatting himself, he gained a magnetic flashing light on his hood.
"I'll see if I can find that Sumdac human and figure out what we're exactly dealing with." Wheeljack volunteered.
"I second that." Ratchet agreed, deciding to drive with the inventor.
"I'll stay with Sari," Hot Rod offered. "Keep her safe and assure her dad that she's okay. It might convince him to listen to Wheeljack and Ratchet."
"Sounds good." Orion replied. "Autobots, roll out!"
The car-based Cybertronians drove, or in Windblade's case flew, out of the hangar and towards the rampage, while Grimlock hung back in the hangar.
"Maybe there's something in the Teletraan-1 I can use for a potential alt mode." The bulky gray-yellow mech thought aloud.
…
Firetrucks were shooting massive jets of water at the monster, trying to do something against it. The thing merely reached out, taking hold of the hoses and using them to pull the fire trucks into its embrace. By now, just about everyone was retreating, save for Fanzone and a platoon of SWAT units.
"Bring out the big guns!" He ordered. Heavy armored officers came rushing forward, armed with missile launchers. They aimed at the beast as Isaac came running over.
"Captain, wait!" He begged, "You don't want to attack this creature!"
"Watch me." Fanzone told him before lifting his bullhorn a second time. "Fire!"
The missiles fired, hitting the nanite monster and absorbing it. For a moment, nothing happened, save for a rhythmic beeping emanating from inside the beast. Then, the bombs went off, causing the creature to explode into clumps of writhing metal.
"Well, that wasn't so hard." Fanzone remarked.
Unfortunately, that's when the beast began pulling itself together, much to everyone's horror. As the nanite beast returned to its original height and appearance, the Autobots came rolling up to the scene.
"Whoa." Hot Rod let out. "That thing is a lot bigger in person."
"There's my dad!" Sari called out, pointing out the windshield at Isaac.
"On it!" Hot Rod said, rushing over to him.
Isaac turned and saw the red Lamborghini coming towards him. The CEO gasped in fright and braced for impact before the car stopped and opened its door to reveal Sari.
"Dad, get in!" Sari insisted.
"Sari!" Isaac exclaimed and got in. "Where have you been?! You have no idea how worried I've been about you!" He admonished as he hugged his daughter.
"Yeah… Sorry about that. It was kinda my fault." Hot Rod spoke, revealing himself to be the Lamborghini. Isaac gasped as the flaming decal Autobot drove off with the two humans inside.
"You… you're one of the Autobots." Isaac realized.
"Dad, it's okay." Sari insisted and explained. "They want to help. They just need to know what's going on and how to shut down your nanobots."
Though still reeling from the fact that he was inside an extraterrestrial being that was capable of replicating a regular everyday Earth vehicle, Isaac snapped back to attention. "The nanobots I used were defective." The genius explained. "They identify anything that's not one of their collective or made of an unfamiliar material as an invading threat has been neutralized."
"Wheeljack, you get that?" Hot Rod asked, having his comms on for the whole team to listen to.
"Yes! That means if we don't stop this nanobot monster from consuming, it will move on to devouring the city!" The inventor Autobot replied.
The Autobots were in shock before Orion spoke up. "Ratchet, Wheeljack, what's the best way to take this thing down?"
"A simple override command would shut this thing down and reduce it to metal shavings." The medic answered. "Unfortunately, all of your computer systems are still dead."
"I should be able to come up with something in my lab." Isaac replied.
"Hot Rod, transfer the professor over to Ratchet and Wheeljack." Orion commanded. "Those three will work on the code while the rest of us protect the civilians."
"Roger that." Hot Rod replied. With that, the red cadet drove towards the tower with the medic and inventor following behind. While they drove off, the other Autobots faced the creature.
"Autobots, transform!"
On command, the Autobots transformed into their robot modes. The surrounding emergency crews all stared, the bullhorn dropping out of Fanzone's hands. "When this is over, I need to have a talk with Sumdac about his robots." He muttered.
The Autobots then charged forward towards the monster. Cliffjumper and Jazz made attempts to blast with their rifle and shield-blaster, Ironhide unloaded his cannons, Prowl threw his shurikens, Mirage fired a precise shot, and Arcee added her own blast to the array of moves only for the nanite monster to be unfazed.
Bulkhead heaved his wrecking ball only for the impact to start absorbing the weapon along with the tethered wannabe Wrecker. Bulkhead started to panic as Ironhide and Bumblebee went to help keep him planted.
"Orion, I'm in trouble!" Bulkhead called out.
Orion ran over to the three and tried pulling Bulkhead free, but the creature's pull was just too strong.
"Sideswipe, we could use a servo over here!" Orion called out.
"On my way!" Sideswipes said, zooming over. He drew his blades and slashed the cable. Bulkhead, Ironhide, Bumblebee, and Orion fell back as the delinquent came to a stop.
"Thanks, kid." Orion acknowledged.
"Better to have Bulkhead than have the creature devour him." Sideswipe said.
"Alright, everyone." Orion started. "Seeing as it's impervious to all of our attacks, we need make a coordinated strat-"
Mirage zoomed in with his pair of rocket boosters, interrupting his commander's speech.
"Mirage! We're a team, remember? We need to be able to depend on each other." Orion chastised the former high cassette class bot.
"Sorry, but there's only one bot I depend on." Mirage told him. "Me."
The sleek bot evaded a few tentacles from the beast but soon was overwhelmed. The creature then pulled Mirage towards it, absorbing the Autobot into itself.
"Mirage!" Orion let out before activating his comms. "Hot Rod, drop off Sari and Professor Sumdac and fet out here! We need backup!"
[Copy that, Orion. On my way back.] Rod answered.
…
In the tower, Isaac, Sari, Wheeljack and Ratchet rushed into the first lab they could access that was big enough for the two Autobots. The scientist quickly plugged himself into the mainframe, accessing the nanobot files. When he went over then, he let out a curse.
"Primus, these things are advanced." The inventor lamented.
"What's wrong, Jackie?" Ratchet asked.
"I was hoping I'd be able to send them the override signal wirelessly, but with how low tech they are, it'll have to be uploaded manually."
"Manually?" Sari repeated. "As in, someone needs to literally inject the monster with it?"
"Only definition for manual." Ratchet said. "But something tells me that's not the worst part."
"Do I want to know?" Sari asked, already dreading the answer.
"The only way to deliver the override is to upload it directly into its central processor." Wheeljack explained. "Which, according to these scans, is inside the creature itself."
"I'll work on an uploader." Isaac declared, already grabbing pieces of machinery and cobbling them together. "I'll leave the override command into your hands."
"Right." Both Autobots said and went to work. "Let's hope the others can hold out in the meantime."
…
Hot Rod came speeding out of the tower towards the creature and other Autobots. When he saw a distinct lack of Mirage and that Bulkhead was down a hand, he realized how grim things had gotten.
"What happened to Mirage?!" He asked, transforming and shooting at the beast with his blasters on stun mode.
"That thing gobbled him up." Windblade told him. Hovering in the air, she unloaded a few clips.
"I've got his life signature, but it's faint." Jazz stated, firing his shield-blaster.
"Then we have to get him out of there!" Rod exclaimed.
"Unfortunately, the best we can do is hold it off until Wheeljack and Ratchet finish the override code." Orion informed him.
The nanite monster shot more tendrils that Orion sliced. However, each slice resulted in the tendril growing two more. Bulkhead held back as Ironhide and Cliffjumper laid down heavy firepower to the best of their ability. One tendril grasped Jazz's shield-blaster and entered a tug of war, Prowl helping the saboteur. Sideswipe tried to cut down the tendrils but each was growing back like Orion's attempt. Bumblebee's stingers and Hot Rod's blasters continued to fire but their efforts were not having the slightest effect. Arcee's acrobatic skills were coming in handy, but she was shortly growing tired. Even airborne, Windblade was avoiding tendrils.
"We're not even scratching this thing!" Sideswipe let out.
"How much longer until Ratch and Jackie are done?" Jazz added.
At that moment, Ratchet and Wheeljack came driving towards them. They transformed mid-drive, walking a few steps with the medic holding a rudimentary device.
"We got what we need!" Wheeljack announced, "All we need is for some-"
The monster shot out several tendrils that wrapped around the inventor's frame. "Jackie!" The Autobots shouted as they saw their friend get devoured like Mirage.
"We need to get this override command into that monster now!" Ratchet stressed, drawing his buzzsaw and slicing an incoming tentacle.
Orion quickly analyzed the creature. "We need someone small and fast to get that thing in there." He deduced. They all turned to Bumblebee, who realized.
*I can't do that* Bee chirped, afraid for his life.
"We can do this if we work." Orion reassured, handing him the device. "Windblade, Hot Rod, Arcee, aid Bumblebee. The rest of us will draw its attention."
Bee still was shuttering but Hot Rod snapped him out of it.
"Bee, listen to me!" Hot Rod. "You wanted to be a scout, remember? Scouts are nimble, agile!" The flaming decal bot was not making up lies this time as he spoke the truth. Bumblebee realized that Rod had a point and nodded.
"I saw a structure that looked high enough." Windblade stated. "I can give you a lift." Bee nodded and hopped onto the femme seeker. Arcee and Hot Rod drove off after them.
"Starting to wish we stayed in the hangar." Rod remarked quietly.
"What was that?" Arcee asked.
"Nothing!" The flaming decal bot said, gunning his engine.
Ratchet activated his magnets and fired at the creature, trying to anchor it to the ground. Ironhide emptied his ammo nonstop, but the shots were barely phasing the nanite creature anymore. Sideswipe, Cliffjumper, and Jazz avoided several tendrils but they were caught in the grasp soon and pulled in slowly. Prowl tried his hubcap shurikens but they made the same progress as Ironhide's ammo.
"This thing doesn't quit." Orion remarked, cutting a tendril off.
This time the tendril was quickly repaired, a second one wrapping around the commander's ax hand.
"Status update!" Orion called out.
[Bee is currently gaining speed, ready for take-off in 10 nanoclicks.] Arcee relied.
More tendrils shot out, grabbing Bulkhead and Ironhide next. There were so many, they were being lifted off their feet.
"Really wish we had Grimlock right now!" Ironhide shouted, trying to pry the tendrils off him.
[Almost there, Commander Pax!] Windblade relayed. [5 more nanoclicks!]
"Those are nanoclicks we might not have!" Orion replied, struggling to hold his ground with the remaining Autobots.
Jazz, Sideswipe, and Cliffjumper were pulled into the beast just as Bumblebee came shoting out of the garage. He charged right over the barrier, transforming and holding the device over his head.
*Eat this you, son of a-*
The nanite monstrosity swallowed him in a single bite, cutting him off. Seconds after, a bright light shined throughout the creature before it turned white and fell apart, the nanobots now lying dead in large piles of dust. The previously consumed Autobots dropped as well, hitting the pavement hard.
"Gonna feel that one in the next solar cycle." Cliffjumper admitted, rubbing his joints.
Bulkhead's missing hand landed right in front of Wheeljack, making the inventor raise it. "Bulk, I believe this is yours?"
The green bot grabbed and hugged it. "I'll never let you go again."
Ratchet rushed into the dust pile, helping up the previous devoured bots. "Is everyone alright?"
"We're fine." Jazz said, "But Mirage needs a check-up. He was in there the longest."
The medic nodded as he and Orion went over to Mirage, who was still lying on the ground covered in dust. As they approached, the sleek bot lowered his face mask and spoke with a weak and staticky voice.
"Wh-what ha-happened?" He wheezed out.
"Your teammates just saved your spark." Orion confirmed. "Still think you're the only bot you can depend on?"
Mirage was about to answer but his optics dimmed and he fell back. Orion gasped, then noticed sparking underneath the dust covering him. Brushing it off, Orion was horrified to see a massive hole in Mirage's chest plate, his spark exposed.
"Can you fix him?" Orion asked Ratchet.
"Not here." The medic admitted, "And with the ship's systems still offline, I don't have the proper equipment."
"What about Professor Sumdac?" Wheeljack asked as Windblade, Hot Rod, and Arcee joined up with their crew. "Considering we just stopped his monster, he's sure to let us use some of his stuff."
"It's our only option." Orion decided. "Hot Rod, Bumbleebee, Windblade. Load Mirage onto my alt form. Wheeljack, help with Bulkhead's servo for now. Everyone else, head to Sumdac Tower. We'll join you when we can."
Orion transformed into his semi-truck alt mode. The cadets loaded Mirage as best they could, being extremely careful not to jostle him. While they did that, the emergency crews began gathering once more. A few began lifting their missile launchers, but Fanzone held out a hand.
"Stand down." He commanded.
"But sir," one of the officers interjected. "Those robots-"
"Just saved Chicago from a potential disaster." Fanzone interrupted. "Besides, one of their own is wounded. Let them pass."
The officer obliged, lowering his weapon as the Autobots made their way towards Sumdac Tower.
…
Upon seeing the state of his team and Autobots respectfully, Grimlock rushed over to help with Mirage's condition anyway he could. Isaac reacted similarly, handed over control of his lab to Ratchet and Wheeljack.
Both human and Autobot inventors managed to repair Bulkhead's hand and Ratchet focused solely on saving Mirage.
Sari stood off to the side with other Autobots, standing next to Hot Rod. They all watched in worry.
"Is Mirage… is he gonna be ok?" Sari asked.
"Well, he's not ready to join the Well of All Sparks yet." Ratchet answered.
Sari didn't know what that was so she looked at Hot Rod in confusion.
"When we go offline, our sparks are sent to the Well of All Sparks." Hot Rod explained.
"So robots have a heaven." Sari surmised. "Wow."
"Yeah, I suppose." Hot Rod replied, not sure what this heaven concept was.
After a minute, Isaac looked at his and Wheeljack's work on Bulkhead's servo. "There you go. How does it feel?" Isaac said, wiping his brow.
"Better." Bulkhead replied, closing his hand over and over. "Thanks to you two."
"Glad you like your servo, Bulk. But I wish we could do more." Wheeljack lamented, glancing over at Mirage.
"I should have been there." Grimlock said, feeling disappointed.
"I may ask, why weren't you?" Isaac questioned.
"It's due to my alt form." Grimlock explained. "I can't take the form of a vehicle like the others. My alt mode is a beast due to being experimented on." He clenched his own servos, remembering the pain. "I was put through the Pit and back, tortured everyday."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." Isaac lamented, understanding why Grimlock was against the idea of being probed.
Ratchet continued working with Mirage, taking some jumper cables from his chassis and hooking them up to Mirage's circuits.
"Circuit damage is worse than I thought." Ratchet reported. "I don't know if I can stabilize him."
As he said that, Sari's key suddenly began to glow. It pulled her forward, eliciting a yelp from her as she struggled to stay on her feet. Once she reached where Mirage was laying the key turned around her neck and aimed right at the massive hole in the ninja-bot's chest.
"What's it doing?" Windblade asked, gesturing to Sari.
"I'm not an 'it', I'm a 'she' and it's not me." Sari insisted. "It's the key. I think… I think it wants to help Mirage."
The Autobots all looked at each other in confusion, then Orion bent down to pick Sari up. He placed her on Mirage's chest plate, then stepped back. With space, Sari allowed the key to pull her closer to Mirage's wound before slipping it off her neck. It began to glow, the end shifting until it was a perfect slot in Mirage's chest. Closing her eyes and turning away, she slid the glowing key into the slot, giving it a turn.
Suddenly, Mirage's entire form was glowing. Sari pulled the key out in shock as the former high cassette class's body began to pull itself back together. Metal stretched out to cover the wound, wires connected, and his optic sensors brightened.
Everyone's jaw hinges nearly came undone as Mirage sat up, looking completely unscathed and without any signs of damage.
"What… what just happened?" Mirage asked.
"I think this org- no, Sari just saved you." Orion answered, though his tone was anything but sure.
"How?" Ironhide questioned. "The only thing capable of such tune-ups is-"
"The Allspark." Ratchet finished. "Somehow, that key has been charged with Allspark energy itself."
"Now I see why you're so protective of it." Isaac realized.
"Yeah." Sideswipe agreed. "Now what? Are you going to send us back to the hangar?"
"No." Isaac replied, shaking his head. "I have a far better option in mind."
…
Later, the Autobots were assembled in front of a large collection of reporters, both human and robotic. Cameras were flashing wildly as Isaac addressed them all.
"Today, I would like to extend my personal thanks to the Autobots." Isaac announced. "Who's heroic efforts saved our fair city from almost certain devastation. On behalf of the city of Chicago, and the entire human race, I am proud to say thank you and welcome."
The Autobots all stood there, accepting the massive applause from everyone in attendance. Orion subtly turned to the former and current Elite Guard members.
"Is this what being a hero was like after the war?" He whispered.
"Meh. More or less." Ironhide answered, folding his servos to look tough.
"Plus, the Decepticons didn't leave us much to cheer about." Ratchet added.
"Wow, I could get behind this." Hot Rod said, feeling overconfident.
"Easy there, Rod." Arcee chided, "Don't let your processor overheat with pride."
Grimlock looked around, "I don't even know why I'm up here."
"You're one of us, Grim." Jazz said, placing a servo on the experimented mech. "Autobot, through and through. Relax, I'm sure the organics will come to like you." That made the gray-yellow mech smile.
"And now, I would like to extend an extra thank you to the leader of this band of heroes, Orion Pax." Isaac continued, much to Orion's surprise. "His decisive leadership and quick thinking saved not only my life, but my daughter's and the entire city. Chicago couldn't ask for a more capable bot."
Orion was surprised by the declaration but the clapping from the attendance and his team made him snap out of it.
"But… I'm no hero." Orion admitted lowly.
"Orion, listen to me." Ratchet said, "I'm the next oldest bot here but even I see you as leader material. Like Magnus or Zeta, maybe even more. Don't let your doubt cloud your processor."
"Well said, Ratch." Jazz added, "Without your leadership, we wouldn't have been able to coordinate a strategy."
"You're a leader." Ironhide said. "No question about that. Forget what Zeta Prime said." The rest of the Autobots unanimously agreed.
Orion took in everything. They were right. There was no Zeta Prime here to tell him who he was. This was a fresh start, a clean slate, a chance to be judged on what he- what they do now as opposed to their past.
So, the leader put on a smile, accepting the title as leader.
…
A few days later after the nanobot incident, the Autobots were milling about the hangar. They had returned after the press conference, though this time the doors were left wide open for them, a clear invitation to come and go as they pleased. It also meant that Sari could visit them whenever she wanted, something she was taking advantage of.
While she would occasionally lend the services of her key to getting the ship's systems back online, she spent most of the time hanging out with Hot Rod. On her latest excursion riding inside Hot Rod's vehicle mode, she told him to pull into a local fast food called Burger Bot.
"This is how we humans 'fuel up'." Sari described before sticking her head out the window to speak into the drive through. "I'd like a big bot burger, a large fry, and a chocolate robo shake please."
"That'll be $10.95." An automated voice declared. "Will that be cash or credit?"
"Credit." Sari answered. "Sumdac, Isaac."
The fast food sign suddenly opened up, revealing it to be a massive robot, one that produced Sari's desired meal for her.
"Credit accepted. Have a burger-ific day."
Sari snagged her food, smiling. "Now that I've got my fuel, let's swing by the hangar." She insisted. "We need to pick up the others."
"Right." Hot Rod replied, driving off. "Why exactly do we need the others?"
"Just trust me." Sari insisted. "You'll love it."
…
At an abandoned assembly plant, the Autobots were escorted inside by an excited Sari. She was grinning from ear to ear as she showed them around.
"I figured you guys wouldn't want to spend the rest of your stay on Earth cooped up in that hangar." She rationalized. "Sure, it works for repairing your ship but you're gonna need a home base. That's when I remembered this place. My dad got it in a merger years ago. He doesn't know he owns it."
"A remote base." Ironhide said, "No one will think to look for us here."
Bulkhead simply fell back in a pile of metal, ready to lounge. "Anywhere I can power down for a few nanoclicks is ok by me." He commented.
"You said it, Bulkhead." Grimlock agreed, lounging on another metal.
Wheeljack found a room filled with Earth tools and objects. "Oh! I can make some new inventions now!"
"Don't go blowing up a majority of your inventions this time, Jackie." Cliffjumper stressed.
"No promises!" The inventor called back.
Orion took a moment to take in their temporary base and addressed Sari, "Thank you, Sari. I'm sure with a little repair work, we can make a proper base out of this building."
"And as a plus, we all can have our own spaces." Hot Rod pointed out. "I finally don't have to share a quarter with Bulkhead!"
"Hey!" The wannabe Wrecker let out.
*It's true, Bulk* Bumblebee admitted, *You have tendency to take up most space*
"Sorry, big guy, but things can get cramped bunking with you." Hot Rod added. "Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna pick out my new room." He quickly transformed into vehicle mode, zooming into the plant.
Bee followed in next before Bulkhead followed. "Hey! Wait for me!"
"As long as Sideswipe is in my sights, this will satisfy me." Prowl firmly stated.
"You are never going to loosen up and let me just be on my own, are you?" Sideswipe bitterly said.
"You are still serving your community service." The cop recalled, "Just because we are on a different planet doesn't mean you are off the clock."
"Whatever." The delinquent said and just went into the plant.
"There's a court out there." Jazz commented, "Looks like we will be able to spar and keep our skills sharp."
"Works for me." Arcee said, "Felt like my aim was off after 50 stellar cycles of stasis."
"Here's to that." Windblade agreed, "Need to stretch my wings some more. Think I got a cramp in my wings."
Mirage wandered off, finding a room that was mostly taken up by a massive tree. He stared at it, his optics zooming in on a small nest tucked into one of the branches. In the nest, several chicks tweeted and whistled, snuggling up against their mother. Mirage gasped in wonder as Sari came walking in.
"Oooh, I didn't realize this tree was here." She said with a wince, "Maybe you can cut it down and use the wood to fix the roof or-"
"No." Mirage cut off. "I like it this way."
Sari looked confused, but just shrugged and walked off, leaving Mirage to admit the tree. As he did that, Ratchet dropped a crate full of tools and supplies from the Teletraan-1 he salvaged. He looked around the plant, his optic ridges furrowing in annoyance and exasperation.
"Terrific," Ratchet griped. "This place is gonna need a ton of work if it's gonna be a proper base. And guess which bots are gonna do all the work?"
"Easy there, Ratchet." Orion told him. "We're all gonna pitch in for the repairs. Besides, this is only temporary. Once Teletraan-1 is operational once again, we'll be headed back to Cybertron."
"If they haven't written us off as offline." Ironhide begrudgingly said.
"In case you've forgotten, Pax, Teletraan-1 is nowhere near close to operational." Ratchet pointed out bitterly, "It'll take quartexes to get that ship airborne again, much less fit for space travel."
"Come on, Ratch." Jazz insisted, "Look on the bright side. The organics welcome use with open arms, and there are no Decepticons in sight. I think things are looking up on us."
…
Meanwhile on Earth's moon, something massive connected with the darkside, kicking up a massive cloud of space dust. As the dust settled, the source of the disturbance was revealed to be none other than the Decepticon warship, the Nemesis.
The ship was in horrible shape, and it didn't take an engineer to know that the ship would not be leaving the moon again. Onboard, the Decepticons pulled themselves to their stabilizing servos.
"What happened?" Starscream demanded. "Where are we?"
Soundwave pulled himself over to the controls, which were just barely functioning. He activated the computer, bringing up navigation. "Location: Organic planet. Far side of solaris galaxy."
"Bah, an organic world." Starscream scoffed, "Just perfect. We manage to finally take control of our careening vessel, only to end up stranded on the other end of the galaxy in a ship that doesn't work!"
Just then, Soundwave noticed something on the computers. "Allspark energy detected."
"The Allspark?! Here?!" Starscream exclaimed, "Where?!"
"Location of Allspark: organic settlement." The communication officer replied, checking the computer, "Autobot signatures matching that of assailants who engaged Lord Megatron."
"Those lowlife glitches are still online?!" Lugnut screamed, full of rage, "They will suffer what they did to our master!"
"You just had to mention that, Soundwave." Skywarp groaned. The last thing the outlier Seeker wants to hear is another one of Lugnut's devoted speeches.
"Patience, Lugnut." Starscream told him. "We'll deal with them in time. But the Allspark takes precedence. Soundwave, dispatch your minicons and a set of Vehicons to see how well secured the Allspark with these Autobots."
"Understood." Soundwave replied. He opened up a compartment in his chest and addressed his Minicons. "Laserbeak, Ravage, Rumble, Frenzy, eject. Operation: Intelligence."
From the compartment sprang four smaller bots. One was shaped like an eagle, another a big cat, and the last two were smaller bots. The four transformed into drones, then flew out of the ship towards their target with five purple planes behind them, each sporting the Decepticon logo.