Chapter 2

Earth's upper atmosphere, 15 April 2012

The silver aircraft moved at high speed towards the Nevada Desert. Megatron was wasting no time in locating the specimen, as it was imperative that they did not lose track of it. A quick update from Soundwave told him that the GPS signal was still transmitting and that it had moved into a human populated area. Megatron grimaced. He was hoping not to cause any disturbance that would attract the Autobots attention, but if needs be…

Jasper, Nevada, 15 April 2012…

Sitting on a bench opposite the local school, the school which he knew jack, Miko and Raf attended, Alex took a few minutes to analyze the situation, twirling his phone in his hand (it was the only the thing he had on him now, so he would be looking after it from now on).

He was in the world of Transformers Prime. Either that or he was dreaming (surely no dream could look and feel this real). The date told him that it was the day after season 2's "Grill," which meant that Agent Fowler had just delivered his report concerning the recent battle with MECH to General Bryce at the nearby military base. However this was only an assumption, since Alex could not be sure of episode times. School had ended two hours ago so the kids would probably be at the base, along with Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Ratchet was probably at work with his tools as usual, and Optimus? Well, Alex didn't think that anybody knew what the leader of the Autobots did in his spare time. But then there was the question of the bridge vortex that had dumped him here. Whose was it? It couldn't have been a natural phenomenon, so it was either of autobot or decepticon origin. Alex was about to think on that but was then startled at the sound of a sonic boom. Looking up at the sky he could just make out an approaching aircraft coming at high speed, hence the sonic boom. His blood going cold when he could make out the blue cannon perched on top of it.

Megatron.

But before Alex could react he heard the sound of a motorbike engine. Looking towards the sound he saw Arcee and Jack pull up outside the local music store across the street.

Alex didn't have much time to think. He understood immediately that Megatron was probably looking for him and that the cons were responsible for him being here. But how had they managed to track him?

His phone. The built-in GPS.

Quickly turning the GPS off, Alex freaked over what to do. The most obvious action to take was to make contact with Jack and Arcee, but that would prove dangerous as he could disrupt storylines. But he couldn't just run and hide, as Megatron would no doubt find him. The leader of the decepticons would not hesitate to level the small town. Alex had to somehow lead him away from Jasper.

Even if it did mean sacrificing himself to preserve this world's future.

Quickly making his mind up, he turned the phone's GPS back on, zipped it up in his jacket, and started to run towards where Arcee was parked. Jack had proceeded to enter the store while Arcee watched some nearby pigeons. Reaching her and facing her headlights, Alex spoke in a clear voice that resonated with evident fear. "If you want to protect Jack, Miko, Raf and the rest of Jasper from Megatron, You need to tell Orion Pax to head to the canal system right now." Alex stood up. He wasn't sure if Arcee would respond in order to protect her cover, so in a desperate and cruel move, he added "I am sorry about Tailgate and Cliffjumper." And with that, Alex ran off in the direction of the nearest canal. Luckily he did not have to go far as there was one located just behind the school and surrounding houses. Climbing down into the canal Alex made a break for the other side.

He was halfway across when he heard an energon cannon being fired. The force of the shot hitting the ground next to him sent him flying 5 or 6 meters and threw him onto the ground like a rag doll, breaking one of his legs. As Alex's head began to clear from the aftershock, the dizziness was replaced with pain from his limb. With tears stinging his eyes He cried out in agony as Megatron transformed mid-air and walked over to where Alex was laying.

"Well, well," he said. "A human child. This may be easier than I anticipated."

"Please," Alex whispered. "Let him be here…"

"I would introduce myself," Megatron continued. "But I suspect you already know who I am." He reached out to grab Alex.

He was then propelled back by a fist.

Megatron had failed to see Optimus Prime emerge from a groundbridge portal. The force of the punch knocking him to the other side of the canal. Optimus decided not to waste time confronting Megatron, as he would put the human at risk. Lifting Alex gently into his servo's, he ran back through the glowing portal. Before it closed completely, Optimus heard Megatron shouting.

"PRIME! THAT BOY BELONGS TO ME!"

Entering into the Autobot base, Optimus looked down and met Alex's gaze.

"Thanks, Optimus…" Alex managed to say before slipping into unconsciousness.

Optimus continued to gaze upon Alex for a few minutes until Ratchet broke the silence.

"Who is that human?"

Optimus laid Alex on the human medical berth on the upper level and turned to face Ratchet.

"I do not know Ratchet. But whoever he is, we are going to protect him, as it seems that Megatron has great interest in him and that he knows things that put him in grave danger."

"How do you realize that?"

Optimus gazed at the medic.

"Ask yourself. How is it that a human unbeknownst to us is able to call me by my former name?"

To be continued…

Author's note: This my first TFP fanfic so please bear with me. The next chapter may take a while to write as Alex has to now explain himself (this is difficult to write properly). All reviews are welcome as I would like to hear the feedback. Suggestions are also very welcome as input would be appreciated. Thanks!