The streets of Antihex, even during the day, showed the divide leftover from the Great War. Cybertronians with red and blue optics glared at each other like a battle for territory. Homes were boarded up as protection from invaders. Bars filled with alcohol and high-grade were flourishing as the sun began to set.
Jace observed this from the driver seat of Starshot's alt form while the female recruit from the day prior, Lea Reed, sat in the passenger seat. Jace was glad he brought along these two recruits, since they did get a bit of a beating before.
"My mom always told me I wasn't allowed to go to Antihex. I see why now," Lea said, looking around with wide eyes.
Starshot pulled up to the scene of the crime: a parts store with its front windows cracked out. The owner, an older blue and white mech, stood outside, fretting to a neighbor. Jace and Lea got out of the car and Starshot transformed.
Jace walked up to the owner. "Hello sir, I'm Jace Pax. We're here to investigate your break-in," he explained. "Can you tell us when happened?"
The store owner stared down at Jace, as if unamused by his size. "About time," he scoffed. "A gang breaks into my home and steals my children, and it takes a whole day just to respond?"
Lea stepped forward. "Sir, we're sorry it took so long, but could you repeat that? They stole your children?"
The store owner stared down at Lea the same way he stared at Jace. "Yes! They didn't take a single part, but they stole my two sons, Aquastreak and Silverstorm!" he yelled.
Jace was stunned. Optimus said nothing about a kidnapping. "Mind if we have a look inside?" he asked. The owner nodded and motioned to the door.
Starshot held it open for the two humans (most buildings in Antihex were not human-friendly) and they went inside. There were large chunks of glass on the inside as well but, like the owner said, all of the parts were still in their spots.
Jace noticed that there were a few dents in the wall. "There seems to be signs of a struggle. But why would they want to kidnap two mechs?" he wondered.
"It's those damned Decepticons, I'm telling you," the store owner said, walking into his store. "I was once a high-ranking Autobot general during the war. Now, I'm reduced to owning a parts shop and watching my children get kidnapped."
Jace looked sympathetically at the mech. Many of the generals from the Great War had returned to live mundane lives, and it seemed as though this mech was being thrust right back into it.
"Sir, we promise we will do everything we can to get your sons back," Jace assured. The mech nodded and glanced sadly at a family photo sitting near the cash register. "We're going to head back to base now and I will let Optimus know of what is going on."
Jace moved for the recruits to leave and he followed them. But when he got out, he noticed a girl sitting near the store, as if she was waiting for him. The girl seemed a few years younger than Jace and had long dark red hair, pale skin, and bright green eyes. She wore a long sleeve dark purple dress, tights, and brown shoes.
"You're Jace Pax, aren't you? Son of Optimus and Virimus Prime?" she asked.
Jace stopped and waved for the other to get ready to go. "Yeah, that's me. How may I help you?"
The girl lifted up from the side of the store and walked towards Jace. "I'm Abigail Riley. I'm the daughter of Antihex's leader, Aiden Riley," she explained. "Surely you've heard of what happened with the leader of Antihex?"
Jace couldn't say he had. When the leaders for the different cities were being assigned, he was just a young child. His mother and father didn't tell him much of politics, especially for Antihex.
Abigail sighed. "Sounds about right. When the leaders were chosen, there were 4 leaders: three Cybertronians and one human, my father. When the city got out of hand, the Cybertronians left. My father is very prideful and loves New Cybertron, so he doesn't want to tell Optimus or Virimus that he cannot handle it. But it is very unsafe here without constant military support," she said.
Jace nodded. "I will definitely tell my parents about it, but I can't promise anything at the moment," he said. It was a common response that his parents had taught him to tell people when they asked him for things.
Abigail looked around to where the nightlife of Antihex was beginning. "It's not safe at Antihex at night. I invite you and your friends to come back to my home. There's a Decepticon uprising and my father knows all about it. It could help with whatever you were investigating in there," she offered.
Jace looked to the red eyes appearing and realized that, if something were really bigger about this, their lives could be in danger. "Thank you for your hospitality. I believe I will take you up on that offer," he said.
Starshot was already transformed into his alt form and Lea was already inside. Jace held the door open for Abigail to get in, then got in himself.
"We're headed to the home of the leader of Antihex. This is his daughter, Abigail, and she has offered us stay at her home," he explained to the recruits. The others agreed with their commanding officer. Abigail gave them directions to her home and they were off.
The Riley household was a bit better than the other homes on Antihex. It was fenced in and there was a shield protecting it. The home was dull colored and had no windows. When they got there, Abigail gave a code that let them enter.
The home was obviously built for Cybertronians, since the front door was huge. Abigail pressed a button which caused the door to open and welcomed the three soldiers in. Starshot used his holoform: a man with short black hair in a military uniform.
"Abi? Is that you?" a voice called out. In walked a man with short gray hair wearing a gray suit with a black belt. "Oh? Guests?" Then he recognized Jace and rushed forward to shake his hand. "Oh, Jace Pax! It is such an honor to have you in my home! Welcome, welcome," he greeted, feverishly shaking his hand.
"Dad," Abigail scolded. Her father quickly backed up and released his hand. "I met them in the city today. It was getting dark, so I offered them a home for the night. Also, I was hoping you could tell them about Nitroblade."
Aiden froze and looked around, as if scared to use his name. "Please, come to the sitting room. I will explain more there," he said, and led them to a nearby room. In the room was two couches where everyone sat.
"Nitroblade is a Decepticon, plain and simple," Aiden explained, looking to the ground. "He fled Cybertron during the Great War and never reunited with the Decepticons on Earth. Somehow he found his way to New Cybertron and was able to enter the planet. Since then, he has been gathering ex-Decepticons for a new uprising. They believe that the Decepticons should be the rulers of New Cybertron, not the Autobots. Many times he has stood outside of my home, threatening to kill me and my family. Lately our crime rate has been up and many of the victims blame Nitroblade and his followers."
Jace had never heard of Nitroblade before, and he was very surprised. How had a report of a Decepticon leader not been brought to the attention of the capitol?
"Have you filed a report on this mech?" Jace asked.
Aiden shook his head. "No, I have instead sent many police forces out to find him. This is not that large of a matter to concern the Primes with," he explained. Well there was that pride Abigail spoke of.
"Sir, there are two young mechs missing and this man is the lead suspect. If there is an uprising being planned, this needs to be brought to the Primes immediately," Starshot commented.
Aiden's eyes widened. "Two mechs… are missing? I did not know of this," he said.
"Probably because your people went straight to the government instead of to you," Lea said. Jace sent her a stern glare, even though it was true.
Abigail stood up, sensing the tension between the recruits and her father. "Perhaps I can show you to your room for the night," she said, a little upset at how they treated her father. Jace, understanding, nodded.
Abigail took them to three rooms, all side by side. First she showed the recruits then showed Jace to his own room.
"I'm sorry for the way my soldiers acted," he said, sitting down on the bed.
Abigail leaned against the window. "That's alright, I understand where you're coming from. This is why I'm begging you for help. My father was a leader back on Earth, but I don't think he knows enough to run a large city such as this," she said.
"So I'm guessing you were born on Earth?"
"I was born in Norwich, England. I lived there until I was five, then we relocated here. Can't you hear the accent?" she asked with the chuckle, exaggerating the accent at the end.
Jace laughed at her. "Yeah, I imagine so!" he joked. "I was born on Earth too, in Alaska. I came to New Cybertron when I was only a couple of months old, but because of my rapid growth, it was like I was two years old."
"Oh, that's right, you're half Cybertronian and half human. How does that work? You look like a human, but are you completely human?"
Jace shrugged. "Well, it's sort of like that. We are mostly human, we just age differently. We start by growing rapidly, but then the aging slows down. I was born by the merging of sparks with my mother and father so, now that I am fully matured, I will age at about the rate of one human year per ten human years. So I have ten times the life of a usual human. But as for my siblings and cousins, who were conceived in a more human way, they will mature at a rate of about one year to five years, so five times the length of a human. Not exactly Cybertronian life span, but much longer than a human," he explained.
Abigail moved to sit next to Jace. "So, you're already fully matured?"
"Exactly," Jace said. "We mature by about 22 years of age. I am actually 24 years old, but I still look 22. And I won't really age up until I'm really 32. My cousins are both already fully matured and my brother just recently matured. My sister is still growing, though." He then put his hand behind his head. "I'm sorry, I went a little too in depth than needed."
Abigail chuckled. "No, it was a good explanation! Thanks for sharing," she assured. She then stood up and walked out of the room. "Well, I'll leave you to your sleep. Night, Pax," she said, then left.
Jace kept smiling when she left but finally decided to settle into the bed. He sent a message to his parents telling them that he would report in tomorrow morning. He then fell into a deep sleep.
Jace woke up early the next morning and woke up his recruits. As they were walking to the front door, Abigail greeted them, still in her pajamas.
"Thank you all for staying, I wish you luck with solving what is going on," she said, opening the door.
Lea and Starshot left the house but Jace stayed behind. "I'll let my parents know what's happening and request more help for Antihex," he assured her.
Abigail surprised him a huge hug. "Thank you so much!" she said. She then realized what she was doing and quickly backed away, her face turning red. "S-Sorry," she apologized.
Jace chuckled. "I'll see you around, Abi," he said, and left. He climbed into Starshot's alt form and they made their way back to Cybertropolis.
Leaving Antihex, Jace could see the various red optics that stared him down.
When they finally got to the capitol, Jace sent his two recruits back to training while he went to his father's office. When he walked in, Amarith was sitting at her secretary desk. She told Jace that they were waiting for him and that he could go in. Inside was his parents, Ironhide, Bumblebee, and Aaron.
"Welcome back," Aaron commented as Jace walked inside. Jace nodded at his cousin and sat down next to him.
"So, Jace, what did you find out in Antihex?" Brooke asked.
Jace looked to his family members. "There is a Decepticon uprising forming in Antihex. The extent of their influence is unknown but it is there. They say that the leader is some Decepticon named Nitroblade. As for the break-in, the owner said that no parts were stolen, but they stole his two sons," he explained.
Brooke froze and put a hand to her mouth. She couldn't imagine what would happen if Jace and Lucas were stole. Optimus, in his holoform, squeezed her hand reassuringly.
"And why have we not heard of this uprising before?" Ironhide asked.
"The leader of the city thought he could handle it on his own. I actually spent the night at his home after meeting his daughter. It seems as though he does not want to let anyone down and wants to prove that he can handle it on his own but he cannot," he explained. Aaron elbowed his cousin at the mention of 'daughter'.
Bumblebee put his servo on his helm. "We should send some military support to Antihex, just to be safe," he suggested. Everyone agreed with him.
"We have a few units we could send that way," Ironhide commented.
Optimus nodded to Ironhide. "Ironhide, you will be in charge of this investigation," he ordered.
This made Jace stand up in protest. "Wait, dad, what?! You put me in charge of it!" he objected. Optimus looked at his son with a stern look.
Brooke put her hand on Optimus' to calm him from reprimanding Jace. "It's just that this mission is proving too dangerous. We thought it was a simple break-in but now with the possibility of a Decepticon uprising, we need to give it to someone who has faced Decepticons before. This is the real deal," she explained.
"Mom, please. Let me take this! I'm mature and I will be the next leader of New Cybertron, so I need to have some sort of training!" Jace protested. "Decepticons are going to be here forever, whether we like it or not. But this is a new generation of Decepticons, meaning it's time to bring in the new generation of Autobots!"
The older generation looked perplexed. Jace did have a point and since the Hide and Pax children will be leaders one day, it was time for them to have some experience.
"We will allow you to take over investigations with Lucas, Aaron, and Anka. But you are all required to report in with us whenever you acquire a new lead," Optimus ordered. Aaron and Jace could do nothing but smile. Their first real mission!
"We promise we won't let you down!" Aaron assured.
With that, Aaron and Jace left the room and went quickly to collect Anka and Lucas. Meanwhile, Amarith watched her brother and cousin leave the room, upset that she wasn't included in the mission.