A/N SLAG. What's up with me? I need to get back into gear!
Oh, and people MAY or MAY NOT have a hard time distinguishing Mirror bots from regular bots. Anyone with "Mirror (name)" or "Other (name)" isn't from the normal continuity.
(MIRRORVERSE): Takes place in mirrorverse
(RegularVerse): Takes place in the normal continuity
--
(MIRRORVERSE)
"Megatron, we've got problems!"
"What?" The young leader looked up at the larger screen before him, which was riddled with static. "Shockwave, what's going on?"
"T-They're after me!" The panicked spy yelped, "Primus, I've never seen anything like them!"
"Shockwave, stay with me! Who or what are they?" The Decepticon leader tried to calm the mech, but his words fell on deaf audios.
"Sir, I'm in deep! Please, send back up!" A loud crash, and a gasp from Shockwave. "N-No! They-They've…but how-?" There was a scream, and the screen went black.
"Slaggit!" Megatron snarled, slamming his fist into the arm of his chair. What were those blasted Autobots doing? He'd lost some of his best soldiers in the last few decacycles ALONE! What force of nature was taking out his best troops? First Blitzwing, then Lugnut, and now Shockwave! When would this madness end?
"Sir?" The Decepticon turned to see Bumblebee poking his head into his chamber. "Is this a bad time?"
Sighing, he muttered, "No, Bumblebee, it isn't. What do you have for me?"
"Well, sir, we just got word back from Sunstorm. He said he'd flown into some unexplored territory and, well…" The younger mech approached the mech's computer and inserted a disc he'd been holding. "Just look." On the screen, a picture was materializing. When it was clear enough for him to see, Megatron gasped. Onscreen were two shadowy forms and their build looked shockingly familiar.
"Those…They look like flying bots!" He exclaimed.
"Yes, sir, they are." Bee went on, "Sunstorm said they came out of nowhere and tried to ram into him. He managed to lose them, but he sustained heavy damage. He's in the Med Bay now."
Megatron did not answer. How had those Autobots gotten the technology to create such monstrosities? Autobots, with a few exceptions, didn't fly. Everyone knew that. Still, were these strange bots responsible for the disappearances of his best lieutenants? How could that be so? Judging from the picture, they couldn't be much older than Bumblebee…
"Sir? Everything alright?" Bee's voice broke through his train of thought.
"Hmm? Ye, I'm alright, just a little troubled by this turn of events…" Megatron responded. "You are dismissed."
As soon as Bee had left, Megatron went back to looking at the file. Who were these freaks?
--
"Yoo hoo! Boss! Ve're are back!" A voice rang through the dilapidated Autobot base. Since the fall of Ultra Magnus, the Autobots had, for the most part, dispersed, but a few had stayed true to the new leader, Rodimus Magnus. As new leader, the former Prime had made it his goal to reestablish the old regime Ultra Magnus had set up. He was not new to leading, but still, he wasn't used to commanding so many bots at once, but PRIMUS, it felt good to be Top Bot.
As the red and orange mech sat on the throne that had once belonged to Ultra Magnus, he gazed down at his newest bodyguards. Both had been rejects that his Chief Science Minister Perceptor that had deemed unfit to live. The two, according to their creator, were supposed to be prototype flying Autobots that had gone wrong. As he was about to dispose of the experiments, Rodimus had stopped him, seeing potential in the two…After some alternating under his supervision, he soon found them to his liking, and had deemed them ready to be tested. They had preformed beyond his wildest expectations. Pleasantly surprised, he'd taken the two as bodyguards, although he regarded them like sons. Primus, he'd even named them when they had been activated…The orange one was Jetfire and the blue one was Jetstorm.
"Well, you two are back early." He said in the same fatherly tone his former leader had used on him. He knew that the former Magnus had handpicked him as an heir, and he was DAMN proud of that. He also knew that had he not been chosen, Ultra Magnus would NEVER have looked at him twice. The memories of him bossing around the other younglings under his mentor's gaze were still fresh…
"Yes, Boss, and look at what we are dragging in like cybercats!" Jetfire grunted, heaving the unconscious form of Shockwave before his leader.
"He was fun to chase, yes! But still, we almost lost him…" Jetstorm added sullenly. "Had he not tried to contact his leader, we would have lost him in the ruins."
"Aww, don't be too hard on yourself, Jetstorm," Rodimus said cheerfully. "You caught him, that's all that matters. Now, get this load of scrap into the Stockades and go enjoy yourselves. You've earned the rest of the day off."
"Really?" They asked at the same time. "Yes sir!" Saluting together, they dragged the Decepticon off to join his captured comrades.
Chuckling, Rodimus watched them leave.
One of them would make an excellent Magnus. Yes, only ONE of them. Well…The one who had the bearings to kill the other, anyway.
"Rodimus Magnus, sir!" A black mech staggered up to the throne, panting.
Growling, the mech asked, "What do you want? Be quick!"
"We-We've got a lock on the locations of traitors Sentinel Prime and Wasp and we've got them surrounded."
--
(AnimatedVerse)
"Guys, I'm telling you, first there was a signal, the next klik it went up in smoke!" Bumblebee demanded. He'd actually had been paying attention on Monitor Duty for once, and that's when he'd noticed the energy spike. It had lasted about a second, but the energy levels had been astronomical. What had caused it, he wasn't sure, but he had to tell the others about it.
"Were did frequency originate from?" Prowl asked.
"Well, when it was up, it looked like it was somewhere in the forest regions of Detroit. But that was like, maybe thirty Earth minutes ago."
"Still, we'll have to check this out. Autobots, transform and roll out!"
--
He couldn't believe that had worked.
The figure, still smoking from his recent warp, looked around. Strange, organic plants surrounded him, and unfamiliar sounds assaulted his audios. Letting his gaze fall, he noticed his comrades hadn't risen yet. Kicking the smaller green mech, he snarled, "Wasp, you slug! Get up!"
The Mirror Wasp groaned, his blue optics coming online. "Up yours, Optimus…" was the weary reply. "I'm still tired from the warp…"
Mirror Optimus snarled, and turned on the larger blue mech. "Sentinel, get your aft up! We haven't got time for recharge!"
Sentinel looked tiredly up at the red and blue mech and, with minor protests, got up and took a look around. "Primus, is this really the other Earth?" He asked, awe in his voice.
"Yeah. Disgusting, isn't it?" Mirror Optimus spat. "Once we enlist the local villains, though, that'll all change."
"Guys, I may be tired, but I can sense someone coming." Mirror Wasp grunted, getting up and stretching. "We'd better get out of here."
--
Prowl leapt from branch to branch, constantly aware of everything around him. So far, nothing was coming up. "Bumblebee, are you sure you saw the signal come from here?" Prowl asked via comlink.
"Positive, Prowl! Keep looking!" Bee snapped.
Sighing, Prowl continued on his way, still scanning for anything unusual. Primus, this was… Stopping, he saw Optimus walking towards him "Prime? I thought you told us to split up."
"Well, I finished with, uhh, my part of the forest so I tried to find one of you guys." The mech replied, shrugging. "Why don't I just stick with you while we wait for the others?"
"Um…Alright." Prowl answered. Was it just him, or was his leader's attitude more…laid-back than usual? And what was with his Autobot insignia? It was purple!
Wait. "Uh, Prime? Why is your insignia purple?" Prowl asked.
"What?" Mirror Optimus asked innocently. "It's not purple. You need to get your optics checked."
"My optics are fine, Optimus, now please answer my question."
Mirror Optimus really didn't feel like killing this Prowl copy. It'd be too suspicious if he disappeared. "Well, I'll answer your question if you answer mine."
"And that would be?"
"Um, that organic thing over there. What is it?"
Prowl turned around. "I don't see anything."
"Well, keep looking. I've never seen anything like it before." Optimus replied, uprooting a bush covered with red berries and splattering them over his insignia. Tracing the white parts out with his finger, he tossed the bush away and said, "Oh, there it goes. You just missed it. Anyway, see? My insignia's not purple, it's red."
Prowl's glare made the message clear: He wasn't being fooled that easily. Still, no sense in provoking this 'Other Optimus' until he knew exactly how to take him down. "Hmmm…Perhaps you're right, Optimus. I guess I just need some rest."
"Well, uh, I'll just take a look around here and I'll meet up with you back at the bas, alright?"
--
"I'm telling you, Boss-bot, the signal was coming from here!" Bumblebee insisted again.
"Well, whatever was here is probably long gone by now…" Optimus sighed. "Alright, I think it's about time we headed back." All of a sudden, Optimus could have sworn he saw something in the corner of his optic. "Bumblebee, I need to go check something out. Go meet up with the others." Bee nodded and drove off. Drawing his ax, he stepped quietly into the brush.
Taking a quick scan of the area, he blinked. Nothing was coming up…"Primus, I'm getting paranoid." He muttered, turning back…and bumped into a familiar blue mech. Stumbling back, he looked up into the startled faceplates of Sentinel.
"Optimus, there you are!" Sentinel snorted. "Listen, Wasp's already found us a good hideout, and we couldn't find you! Where have you been?"
The local Prime was speechless. Since when had Sentinel returned to Earth? Since when did he hang out with Wasp, the so-called Autobot traitor? "I…Uh…" He stuttered, still confused. That's when his optics fell on the mech's insignia.
A purple Autobot sign.
Immediately, everything came together. This must have been the Sentinel Prime that Sari encountered in the Mirrorverse. But how had he gotten here? His thoughts were interrupted by the Other Sentinel's voice.
"Optimus? Hello? You ok?" The blue mech asked with genuine concern in his voice and optics.
"I…I'm fine, Sentinel," Optimus responded. "Just a little tired, so I guess I'm not running with all cylinders…"
"I told you that warping lag would catch up with you." Sentinel replied.
Ah. So that's how these strangers had gotten here. A modified transwarp. That explained the sudden energy spike Bumblebee had picked up earlier.
"Uh, right," Optimus said. "Why don't you lead the way back to the hideout? I could use a few cycles of recharge."
"Alright, but keep it down. The last thing we want is the locals finding us." Sentinel explained.
As Optimus followed the doppelganger as silently as he could, he realized acting as the Other Optimus was going to be tricky. Hadn't Sari said that the Mirror versions of all the bots were almost the complete opposites of the ones in this universe? In that crazy, mixed-up plain of existence, Autobots had been evil, and Decepticons had been good, as he recalled. If that was the case, he'd have to act completely out of his nature in order to fool these imposters.
"Here we are!" Sentinel announced. The "hideout" was little more than a cave in the side of the cliff. "Not exactly home sweet home, but it'll have to do as a temporary residence."
'Are you slagging kidding me?' Optimus thought. The old Decepticon base was maybe less than a mile from their current location! Why hadn't Mirror Wasp found that place?
Following Sentinel into the cave, Optimus saw two blue optics gaze at him from the back of the cavern. "Wasp, we're back!" Sentinel called.
" 'Bout time too." The green bot responded. "Don't tell me Optimus wandered off. I swear, I'm the only one who does any work on this team."
"Oh yeah?" Optimus retorted. Now was probably a good time to practice being his Mirror self. "Listen up, greasegrinder, while you were sniffing around this cave, I found a much BETTER hideout."
Wasp glared at the mech. "Oh really? Lead the way then, Boss." He spat out the last word in a contemptuous manner.
--
Meanwhile, Mirror Optimus had just met up with the rest of the team. Perhaps this strange new planet wasn't so bad. The oil here, at the very least, was tastier than the slop back home. However, taking on the role as the Local Optimus was going to be far more difficult that he first thought.
"Uh, Boss bot? You ok?" Bumblebee asked.
"Bumblebee, I feel fine! Whatever makes you think something's wrong?" The leader asked.
"Um, well, considering you just drank half your weight in oil, I just assumed you weren't feeling ok."
--
Rrrrgh. This is WAAAY short, but I need to work on a few other things.