(MIRRORVERSE)
--
"RRRGH. This doesn't add up. Why and how did those idiots go to the other universe?" Rodimus Magnus snarled, pacing up and down his chambers. "Those idiots in the Science Wing know NOTHING." Upending a table, he continued his pacing, ignoring the dismayed Twins now soaked in the oil they had set on that table but a few moments ago.
"Sir, may I say something?" Jetstorm asked, intimidated by his leader's rage. "Perhaps the fugitives are looking for help."
Rodimus was silent before turning to the blue mech, a warm and friendly expression on his faceplates. "I am intrigued by your theory, Jetstorm. Go on." He commented.
"Well, uh, it would make sense, sir," He responded, still unsure of his master's temperament. "I mean, if I was branded a fugitive, I'd look for help where no one knew who I was. Since, well, EVERYONE knows those three HERE, they'd need to go some place that don't even know they exist, like that other universe you were talking about."
"Right…" The Magnus replied quietly. "But still, what are they planning?"
"Uh, Sir?" Jetfire spoke up. "I'm sure I'm too young to know this, but one of the soldiers I befriended during training told me there were FOUR fugitives back then. What ever happened to the fourth?"
"Oh, that one." Rodimus snarled. "Nasty little snot named Blurr. He was one of Ultra Magnus' top captains. I heard he was captured…Wait. That's it! It's coming back to me…I remember reading a report from a spy saying Blurr was captured and his spark incarcerated. As for his body, well…" He smiled humorlessly. "We all know what happens to a bot's body when their time's up. Primus, you two managed to figure all that out in one conversation! I should slaughter the entire Science division right now, the useless slugs that they are!"
"Do we get a reward?" Jetstorm asked, trying to wipe the oil off of his chassis.
Turning to the Twins, he smiled fondly at them. "Of course you two get rewards! Both of you pack up your belongings! I'm moving you to better quarters AND doubling your earnings. Now get out of here and enjoy the rest of the day off! You've earned it."
As the cheering Twins left, Rodimus turned from the door. Such good pawns, and so easy to please! Still, they bended too easily to his will. Perhaps a few more years of hardening would do the trick. One of them would have to replace him as Magnus one day, after all.
--
"Well, if I hadn't seen it with my own optics, I never would have thought it was possible."
Ratchet had been requested to do a physical on Sunstorm by Quicksnipe. What he found was that, three days after Starscream had dangled the mission in his face, the orange flyer had made a full recovery. All the medical experts except for Quicksnipe were dumbfounded.
"I feel GREAT!" Sunstorm practically shrieked. "Now, where's Starscream with that mission?"
"Starscream's currently out surveying the space bridge with Megatron and that other guy, Dirt Boss." Ratchet replied. Turning his back on the younger mech, he continued, "They won't be much-" WOOSH. "-Longer?" Looking back, he saw that Sunstorm was long gone. "Primus, he's fast sometimes. Kids these days, I swear…"
--
The orange Seeker skidded to a halt, panting, in front of the Decepticon leader and his second in command. "Alright, Starscream, pay up!" The mech insisted.
"Huh?" The Second in Command looked at his brother curiously. "Pay up with what?"
"THE MISSION!" Sunstorm snarled. "I'm all better now, so it's mission time! Hand it over!"
"Well, truth be told, Sunstorm, the mission, well…" Starscream began in an embarrassed voice.
"Yeah? YEAH?!"
"…isn't ready yet."
There was a long silence.
"WHAT?! I SPENT THREE DAYS RESTING AND HEALING AND BEING BORED! How can the mission NOT be ready yet?!" The orange flyer exploded.
"Calm down, Sunstorm! We just need to get this space bridge running, that's all." Starscream explained. "Besides, we didn't think you'd be ready for another Earth week!"
"Well, I'm tired of peace! I want ACTION! ACTION, I SAY!" The mech snarled. He took a breath to say more, but something smacked him from behind, making him topple like a load of bricks.
"Primus, this kid needs a mouth clamp." A quiet voice snarled.
"Ah, Mr. Dirt Boss." Megatron said, finally speaking up. "Have you finished you evaluation of the space bridge?"
" 'Ah have, Megatron." The smaller mech replied. "No need for the 'Mr.' though. Now, as far as ah can tell, this thing isn't a complete load of organic slag. However, ye'r missing a few components, plus an operator fer the dang thing."
"Our operations mech was…recently captured by the Autobots." Megatron explained.
"Well, go git 'im! Or do I have to go over there and drag him out myself?" Dirt Boss asked testily.
"We don't even know where the new Autobot base is!" Starscream protested. "Even if we did, we have no idea how many are still in their forces!"
"Well, it's a good thing ah know the answer to both of those problems!" Dirt Boss relied, jabbing his thumb into his chassis. "Ye can't be a master builder without gettin' hired by good and evil societies alike! They asked me to renovate their livin' space and their labs, and I just got done with it not but a few stellar cycles ago!"
"So…you know where the base is AND its full layout?" Megatron asked.
"Yep."
"Why didn't you mention this before?!" Starscream yelled.
"Well, you didn't ask. 'Sides, I don't tell just ANYBOT the secrets to my designs. If you want to know how to get there, all I want is one thing."
"And that would be?"
"Protection! If I spill the 'Bots location, they'll come after me, and an old mech like me wouldn't stand a chance. So all I want is some protection, and we've got us a deal."
"Deal."
"Great! Now, I heard two of my former students are holed up here. I'd like to know where Mixmaster and Scrapper are."
--
(Animatedverse)
"Ugh, it's so filthy on this planet!" Wasp complained. "I swear, I've had to wash myself at least twice today…"
"Quit complaining, Wasp." Sentinel growled. "Listen, I've been thinking: Optimus has been acting a little…odd, don't you think?"
"What do you mean?" Wasp asked.
"Well, he ran through at least twelve puddles of mud this morning while on a drive, and he didn't even flinch!"
"So? Mud's disgusting, but he's been through worse."
"You know him! He's a slaggin' organic-hater! He'd scream like a femme back on Cybertron if he got even CLOSE to mud! Besides, haven't you noticed he's not obsessed with his cleanliness?"
"Huh. That's true. I expected him to wash himself off at least FIVE times a cycle…Something isn't quite right here…" Wasp muttered.
"We'll have to keep an optic on him until we REALLY know what's going on."
"OI!" A yell made the two jump. "What do you two think you're doing?! Laying about like SLUGS! On your peds, on the double!" Optimus swaggered in, glaring at the two mechs.
Sentinel and Wasp exchanged a look. "Say, Optimus," Sentinel said casually. "I forget. We're on this planet to FIGHT the bad guys here so we don't have competition in our universe, right?"
"Naw, Sentinel!" Wasp snorted, understanding where Sentinel was going with this. "Remember? We're here to gather info on this new plane so we can harness all its resources and steal all their energy for ourselves!"
"Well, I still say we're here to eliminate the competition!" Sentinel growled.
"Gather energy!"
"Beat up locals!"
"Gather energy!"
"RRRGH. This is getting us nowhere!" Wasp growled. Turning his gaze towards Optimus, he asked, "Well, leader, we're at a disagreement. Which one of us is right? Surely you, of all bots, would know."
The local mech stared at the two. Uh oh. Had they seen through his disguise? This had to be a test of some sort. He knew Sentinel HAD to be lying, but what about Wasp? Still, it would make sense to eliminate resistance and potential opponents…Shaking his head, he yelled, "You both are idiots! I told you two could pursue those side missions after we're done here! Now stop wasting my time and get out there." He was making this up, of course, but still, it was worth a shot.
Both bots were so surprised by his answer that they followed his orders without argument.
--
Later that night, Sentinel was awakened by his com link beeping. "Huh? Who is this?" He asked sleepily.
"Three guesses, aft face, and the first two don't count for slag."
"Optimus?" He asked, fully awake now.
"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I'm posing as the local Prime, and I swear, it's tough."
"You're telling me," Sentinel commented. "Looks like you and Local Prime switched places."
"WHAT?!"
"Yea, he's leading us now."
"Unacceptable! He'll have to be eliminated."
"Yeah, but how?"
"Hmmm…Think you guys could attack some very public spot in this wretched city tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but why?"
"Trust me, I've got a plan."
--
(MirrorVerse)
"Uh, h-hey, Sensei Dirt Boss." Scrapper said as pleasantly as he could. "How's it going?"
"Yeah, uh, we were just looking for you." Mixmaster added. They both fell silent under their teacher's gaze.
"You two were always terrible liars." The smaller mech snorted. "Now, tell me, how's it working for the Decepticons?"
"Huh? Well, it's good, I guess…" Scrapper replied. "Why?"
"Cuz…I'm going to be staying here for a long time."
Mixmaster gulped nervously. "A-and how long would that be, Sensei?" He asked.
"…Well, quite possibly for the rest of my life."
--
Rodimus Magnus sat at the head of a long table, glaring down at the bots seated on before him. "Its official: I have the RIGHT to dispose of ALL of you right now. My bodyguards managed to figure out what those fugitives are up to while they left you pile of parts scratching your helms in confusion." He said in a deathly calm voice. "However, I'm sparing your miserable lives. Do any of you know why?" Smiling evilly at the terrified silence before him, he continued, "I will need your so-called 'intelligence' to detect any stray Transwarp wave we can find and capture its energy for ourselves. No matter what goes on in other places, our main concerns are with the Decepticons in THIS universe. Even if those bumblers manage to recruit willing soldiers, so what? We outnumber them, and we outgun them, so they are not a threat…so far."
"Sir, if I may?" Perceptor spoke up. He seemed to be the only bot unafraid of the irate leader.
"What is it, Perceptor?" The mech asked without looking up.
"The fugitives are more of a threat than you may have first thought."
"WHAT? Blasphemer! You'd better have proof to back up your insubordination!"
"My teams have been detecting randomly occurring Transwarp 'hotspots' popping up all around the area. So far, nothing serious has made it through them, just a few piles of junk. We're working on a program to predict where the spots will occur, but the fugitives could use these spots to their advantage. All we need are interception squads in case anything actually makes it through."
"Hmmmm…" Rodimus growled. As much as he hated Perceptor, he had to admit: he did his job, and well too. "Very well. I'll allow ten squads to be at your disposal. I MAY increase that number if you prove your theory correct."
"Thank you, sire." The red mech replied, sitting back down.
"Now, on to more pressing business…We are in need of a bot from the Decepticon Stockades, but he will be well guarded. So, we'll need a Jail Break squad." The assembled bots murmured among themselves. "Silence! Now, these bots will only need to be in there long enough to retrieve the bot we need and get out with the LEAST amount of damage possible. Both my body guards have volunteered for the job. We need two more bots to go. I can't believe I'm going to ask this, but does ANYBOT know anyone who would be at least remotely useful on this mission?"
"Um…" A younger femme raised her hand. "I do."
"Hmmm?" Rodimus looked up. "And you are?"
"My name is Glyph, sir." She responded. "I have a friend who might be able to help."
"And their designation would be?"
"Her name's Arcee, sir."
Rodimus snorted with laughter. "Arcee? She was a traitor killed long before I was Magnus. I believe she used to work with a mech named Ratchet."
"She was a traitor, yes, but her memories have been modified to make her loyal to the Autobot cause." Glyph explained. "She'd be perfect for the job."
"I'll see 'bout that." Rodimus growled in a dismissive voice. "If she's as good as you say, Glyph, we won't need a fourth member of the group."
--
"So, we'll have to do it…" Megatron murmured.
"Primus, Sunstorm's going to be bursting out of his chassis when he gets word of this." Starscream answered quietly. "A real jail break! We can get our captured comrades back and destroy the Autobot's Holding Areas to boot."
"Who else is capable of doing this while we hold down the fort?" Megatron asked.
"Quite possibly Ramjet or Quicksnipe. Still, I'd like to send those two ninjas, Jazz and Prowl along, to be safe. Primus knows how well those fiends can defend against our Seekers now."
"Right. Also, get Soundwave to update those security codes. We can't be too careful. I'm sensing that those 'Bots are read to make a move."
--
(AnimatedVerse)
The Local Prime awoke to find that his teammates were gone.
Looking around frantically, he found a note scribbled on the wall of the cave.
'Dear Optimus,
Went to go cause mayhem in the city .Feel free to join us as soon as you finish reading this.
Sentinel and Wasp'
"Oh Primus…" The mech gasped, transforming and speeding out of the cave.
--
As soon as Local Optimus got into the heart of the city, he followed a trail of destruction headed towards the Autobot base. Soon enough, he caught sight of the mechs smashing buildings and terrorizing the humans.
"WHAT THE SLAG do you two think you're doing?!" Optimus snarled.
"Just…Venting frustration, Optimus, old buddy!" Sentinel answered.
"Yeah! Did you really think we'd stay sane sitting in that cave for cycles on end? Hardly!" Wasp added, zapping a building into rubble.
"Guys, we have to fall back! Otherwise…" The wail of sirens made the mech freeze.
Oh slag. His teammates! They were coming this way! But…who was that leading them? Another fire truck?
"Oh, look! The local townies!" Wasp laughed, blasting at the advancing vehicles.
--
Mirror Prime snarled under his breath. If Wasp hit him and messed with his paint, there'd be slag to pay!
"Autobots, transform and roll out!" The 'fake' Optimus yelled, as the others transformed around him.
"Whoa. Sari was right." Bulkhead gasped. "Look, there's two Boss-bots!"
"Be careful," Mirror Optimus growled, drawing his weapon. "There's no telling what these fakes could do."
"Hey, who are YOU calling a fake?!" Local Prime snarled back. Turning to his team, he said, "Guys, you're being tricked! It's me, the REAL me! I've been spying on these two the whole time!" Meanwhile Mirror Wasp and Sentinel exchanged glances, but tried not to look terribly surprised.
"Liar!" Mirror Prime responded angrily, lunging at his opponent. Meanwhile, Bulkhead and Ratchet advanced on Mirror Sentinel, and Bumblebee and Prowl attacked Mirror Wasp.
As the separate fights went on, both leaders had a snarled conversation between blows.
"So, thought you could take up my position, huh?" Mirror Optimus asked. "My men know all about you, faker!"
"I should be asking you the same," Local Optimus responded. "My men are smart enough to figure you out as well!"
"Well, no one's confronted me so far! Your men are dumber than they look!" Mirror Prime yowled, giving his opponent a swift kick to the fuel tank. The move sent the local Prime sprawling. As he tried to get up, the Other Optimus stomped on his back and slapped a pair of stasis cuffs on him.
"Oh no!" Came the automatic cry from Sentinel. "Our leader's been captured!"
"Run away! Run away!" Wasp yelled, transforming and zooming off, with Sentinel right behind him.
"That's right, you run away!" Mirror Prime called after them. Turning back to the Local bots, he said, "Let's get this fake to the space bridge and send him back where he belongs. I assume it's working…"
"Yeah, we got it up and running a few Earth days ago." Bulkhead replied, giving the mech a confused look. "You should know. You were there, after all."
"Well, uh, I mean, you know how space bridges are. Very finicky sometimes." Mirror Optimus answered nervously. His counterpart must have been there when the space bridge had gone online.
"Psh, y'got that right." The green bot chuckled.
--
(MirrorVerse)
Rodimus, the Twins and Perceptor were gathered in the Cyberninja dojo, awaiting the arrival of Arcee. She had agreed to demonstrate her abilities for them.
"Are all femmes this late, sir?" Jetfire asked innocently.
"Sometimes, kid." Rodimus replied quietly. Suddenly, the screen door flew open, and a pink femme stalked into the room. She nodded at the assembled bots and drew two energy blades from the sheaths on her back. Eyeing a few practice dummies in the corner, she struck, once! Twice! Each move was carefully done, yet she showed no effort whatsoever. Landing with her back to the dummies, she strode up to the four mechs. Sheathing her swords, she asked, "When do I start?"
The mechs peered behind her, optics wide with awe. The targets had been reduced to shreds, and there were huge gouges in the wall. The outline of the two stuffed mechs stood out of the chaotic mess.
"Well, looks like we won't need a fourth after all." Rodimus said, smiling at the deadpan femme. "We start n a few days. Don't be late."