A/N: Well, here's the next chapter, and let me assure you, this is never going to be abandoned or put on hold! It may take me some time between chapters, but I am always working on this, writer's block or no! Now, here's a response to my reviewer dragoncraft. First, good catch with Bulkhead! I can't believe I made that mistake and have since fixed the numbers. When it comes to the number of scraplets, Jack figured out the worst case scenario. As for how Jack knows about Hydra, hello! Hydra is a part of world history in their reality! Everyone learns about Hydra, the Red Skull and Captain America when they study WWII, or did you forget the Captain America museum seen in Winter Soldier? Whether this will have enough MCU events to count as a crossover, I will leave up to your judgement. Also, this will become a two-part series, only the second part will be after Transformers Prime is finished, so that may give you a hint towards the future. And to my guest RJP, what are the Monsterbots? I thought I'd heard of every kind of Transformer, but apparently I was wrong. What are they from?

More Than Meets the Eye

Chapter V: Blackout

June 5, 2012-Autobot Outpost Omega One

"By the AllSpark, Jack, what are you doing?!"

Jack nearly shot to the roof when Ratchet spoke. "Ratchet, don't do that! I'm in the middle of some very delicate work!"

"Yes, I can see that, but what kind of work could you possibly be doing with Energon? And is that gunpowder you're working with?"

Jack decided to keep working as he answered the medic. "I'm going to find out the effects of Energon has on gunpowder, if any. Will it give the bullets more range, better piercing power, do more damage, or is it simply too dangerous? If it can do any of those things, then my gun will do even more damage to the Cons on the rare occasion that I see them." During that time, he had taken the mixture he currently had and refilled one shell with the Energon-enhanced powder and mixed a stronger version. He continued the process, enhancing each shell by one more drop of Energon than the last. Jack hoped to find a way to infuse the bullets with Energon, but he had already learned that Energon tended to be as sensitive as gasoline, if not more so when it came to heat. What he needed was a stabilizing agent, or some kind of container, something that he could place the Energon inside and then place inside the bullet, allowing him to reseal the bullet with the Energon inside. Hmm, that could work . . .

He was just about to try something when Bulkhead showed up saying "Because we want the best for you, and that means making sure you go to school, not jail."

Oh, there was no way he could let something this good pass! "Uh oh, what'd you do? Is it something serious?" he asked Miko.

Unfortunately they decided to ignore him, and he learned nothing blackmail worthy. He was just about to go back to his work when Ratchet stated "I'm detecting a fresh Energon pulse from the nation called Greece. An ancient land, quite historic I believe."

"No kidding," Jack added. "That looks like it's coming from Delphi, the ancient home of the Oracle, a woman who was believed to be able to tell the future under the direction of Apollo, one of the Olympian gods." On hearing that, Bulkhead showed his cunning side by inviting Miko, clearly hoping that the ruins of Delphi would inspire her to write her History report.

While they were gone, Jack immediately went back to work. Thanks to his CPU's internal database, he quickly came up with a substance that would both hold up to the heat of the molten lead yet still allow the Energon to explode on impact. He wouldn't be able to synthesize it at the base, or at least, not while the Bots were watching anyways. So, he went back to his original task: mixing Energon and gunpowder, until Bulk and Miko returned after a mere fifteen minute absence.

Immediately Miko went into a rant about Bulk and his apparent rivalry with some Con called Breakdown, and how they discovered a fresco that seemed to depict a Cybertronian device. When Ratchet uploaded Miko's picture of the fresco, Optimus confirmed the original assessment. "It is indeed an Energon Harvester, a powerful tool created by the ancients to remove Energon from any source."

Jack shuddered at the mention of the device. Sam knew all too well what an Energon Harvester was; it had been because of one of those devices that his Optimus was killed, and he had become an international fugitive. Fortunately this version seemed to be much smaller, which led Jack to a terrifying conclusion. "Optimus, if the Harvester removes Energon from anything, and Energon is your life-blood, then it could be extremely dangerous, couldn't it?"

"Indeed Jack, in Decepticon hands, the Harvester would be a terrible weapon." It seemed for a minute that since the image had been destroyed, then the problem was taken care of, until Raf did a search on the internet, and found the Harvester in seconds, inside a museum. If he could do it, then there was no doubt that Soundwave could do the same. Optimus recognized the threat as well and gave one command in response: "Contact Agent Fowler."

Unfortunately, all they got was his voicemail, causing Ratchet to say the funniest thing ever: "I hate talking to machines." Jack only barely kept himself from laughing at that, wondering what he thought he was doing when he was talking to other Cybertronians.

Optimus had a completely different reaction. "Without Agent Fowler's direct aid, we will have to confiscate the Harvester on our own."

Jack couldn't believe his ears. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Confiscate the Harvester? Are you crazy?" Raf agreed with Jack, though he was against the illegal part of it.

"I do not wish to break Human law, but once the Decepticons learn of the Harvester's location, they will not hesitate to obtain it by any means necessary. We must act covertly."

"So you're just going to go to the museum, ignore the security, and remove the Harvester? How is this a plan?" Jack demanded.

"No problem," Miko answered. "We're small enough to sneak in, and we're not a government secret! Besides, they'll probably figure that a mutie did it."

"So you'd be willing for a mutant to pay for our crime, when it's possible to make it look like no crime was committed?" Jack demanded. Turning to Optimus he stated "We can simply make a replica of the Harvester, take it with us, and switch our copy for the real thing, and no one would know the difference."

"Sounds easy enough, let's do it," Bumblebee agreed, with the others turning to Ratchet. When Optimus turned to Ratchet, he answered "I suppose I could create a believable replica before the museum closes."

As Ratchet made his forgery and Miko was forced to work on her history report, Arcee decided to ask a question. "Jack, what are 'muties'? I've never heard the term before."

Jack bit back a growl before answering. "That is a pejorative term for a new species that is appearing on Earth. The proper term is mutants, a race of humanity that has abilities beyond that of average humans, some of them can be quite dangerous, if they wish to be. There have been rumours of them for hundreds of years, but they didn't come into the public eye until about forty years ago. Ever since, there has been a lot of debate about them, and even a proposed Mutant Registration Act, which would force mutants to reveal themselves, and what their so-called 'power' is. It's pure discrimination the likes that our country hasn't seen in more than fifty years." Jack's support for mutants was one of the few things he knew was purely him, with no input from Sam, as his world didn't have mutants, and Jack had been a supporter since before his dad died.

"Jack is the supporter of mutant rights at school," Raf said, explaining Jack's passion for the subject. "Some of the kids actually wonder if he is a mutant because of how strongly he supports them." Jack nearly growled again at the suggestion. Why would he need to be a mutant to support them? Honestly, he wondered why so many people were against mutants, nearly everyone dreamed of having a special gift when they were kids, something that would make them super, mutants were just the lucky few who did. But then again, he somewhat suspected that some of the anti-mutant protesters were simply jealous.

June 5, 2012-British Museum, London, England

A few hours later, the trio and the forgery were ready, and as soon as the team was in place, they bridged in. Optimus gave them the 'all clear' signal, and they moved in, allowing Miko to take a picture of what the camera should see and placing it in front of the camera. (Why they didn't just have Raf hack the cameras, Jack would never understand.) They had just switched the forgery for the real thing when . . . a missile hit the glass?! Where had that come from? It was only then that Jack realized he had missed the spark songs of . . . was that two Decepticons? Scrap, not good! "We gotta go, now!" Jack insisted. They delayed just long enough to grab Miko's phone, but that was long enough for Bulkhead to get thrown into the red 'Con and for the two of them to hit a pillar, setting off the alarm.

Jack and Raf continued to ride in the lift, while Miko ran ahead to watch for more 'Cons or security, and just as they were about to make good their escape, Miko was grabbed. Jack and Raf attempted their escape, thinking that Arcee was waiting for them, but instead it was Soundwave, who instantly took the Harvester. When they retreated to base, Jack vowed to never leave his gun behind again, he got into too much trouble with the Bots without it.

June 9, 2012-Worthington Peak, Nevada

Fortunately for all, the Harvester incident ended easily enough for all involved. Miko was let go the next morning with a warning to watch the time and the Harvester was destroyed, and the only damage done was a severe drainage of Bulkhead's Energon, which was replaced easily enough due to the Energon found at Delphi, which was quickly mined by the Autobots. At the start of summer vacation (Jack's last at Alamo High,) a few days after the Harvester incident, Vince learned why you never insult a femme's looks as Arcee smoked him in an impromptu street race. That one race was the beginning and end of Jack's racing career-he had enough memories of street races that turned deadly thanks to Sam, and Vince learned the hard way how dangerous they were, as he ended up in the hospital the day after his race against Jack with a pair of broken legs, bruised ribs and a concussion due to another race.

Now though, Jack was relaxing on Worthington Peak, hoping for a peaceful day with no Cons or missions. Him and Arcee had been planning on a relaxing drive until Ratchet called in with a mission, leaving Jack on the mountain. He didn't mind, as it would allow him not only to relax for the first time in months, but also because he was going to do some self-study. Sam had explored just how much of him was Cybertronian, and if he could transform as soon as he realized he had changed; Jack had not. Now though, since he had now spent several months with the Autobots, he knew he needed to know the full extent of his abilities as a Transformer.

"Okay, let's start this easy," Jack told himself, focusing on changing his legs into their robotic form. The change came as easily as breathing, and he was shocked at the change: he now stood about ten feet tall, most of that in his legs, which were now huge, and armoured. If the rest of him was armoured like his legs, Jack could only imagine what his vehicle mode would look like, presuming he had one. (Based on the small wheels in his ankles, he took it to be a good assumption.) Taking the change nice and slow, he changed his arms next, and was shocked at how bulky his shoulders became! Turning his head to examine his arms, he was shocked to find two more enormous wheels, and the armour was much like the amour on his legs.

Well, now he had to see what he looked like, and finished the change. When it was complete, he was probably within a few feet of Bulkhead's height, and obviously built just as large as him, and he had an extra two wheels in his side. "So this is how they see the world. This is amazing!" Jack stated in awe. His optics could see so much better than his human eyes ever could. He fell in love with his Bot mode then and there. Curiosity now burned within him, and he decided to examine his vehicle mode. But he had yet another shock as his mind asked Tumbler or cycle? Curious, he chose the cycle, wondering how his would differ from Arcee, which he now held as the most perfect motorcycle on Earth. When that change was done, he instantly knew he was smaller, probably no taller than three feet, but probably a good nine feet in length, and publicly armed. Curious.

He quickly switched to the 'tumbler,' and quickly examined himself. "Now this is the embodiment of cool," Jack said with pleasure. The tumbler resembled nothing so much as Megatron's tank mode from Sam's memories, but this was radically different, designed much like the F-117 Nighthawk fighter, all black and angled, not one rounded edge on the entire vehicle outside of the wheels. This thing was power and cool given form, and he loved it.

Blackout had not had much to do since his reawakening by Starscream, and mostly stuck to scouting for Energon, and keeping an eye out for other Cybertronians. Standing orders: either recruit them to the Decepticons, or kill them. He preferred it when they tried to fight. Unlike so many others, he enjoyed fighting, he liked the war, and he would do anything it took to prolong it. As he patrolled the desolate region called the American Southwest, he spotted the first thing that gave him hope that this place wouldn't be as boring as he feared: another Cybertronian, who wasn't a Decepticon. And even more interesting, he was of the military caste. This was going to be fun!

"Blackout to Commander Starscream, I have found a Cybertronian. Moving in to engage," he messaged, just as he dove towards the mech. But before he could even get low enough to transform, the mech changed and shot at him! He only barely managed to dodge the bolt of green plasma, after which he quickly changed and raised his arms. "Peace brother, I only wish to talk. My name is Blackout, and I come with an offer from Lord Megatron."

"Yeah, you say 'peace,' I kind of think you mean the other thing, Decepticon," he spat out. "I'm not interested in hearing your recruitment speech, my sympathies lie with the Autobots, especially after what Megatron just pulled a few months ago." Blackout blinked at that statement; what did he mean? "What, didn't you hear? Megatron poisoned Cybertron with Dark Energon in order to raise an army of . . . I believe the popular term is zombiecons, and all for the sole purpose of conquering Earth."

"Earth is a storehouse of Energon deposits. I'm sure Megatron-" But the mech wasn't having any of it, as he threw a punch at Blackout before he had even stopped speaking, hitting him square on the jaw. "Okay, if that's the way you want to do things, then so be it!" Blackout yelled before activating his blades. But the soldier only activated his own blade, one that glowed with Energon. The two duelled with the blades, neither gaining a clear advantage until the neutral activated the strangest weapon Blackout had ever seen . . . and shot him! "Right, that's it. No more kid gloves," Blackout growled, and he started shooting himself, giving him the opening he needed to release his pet.

"Not bad, Con, but you lose," the neutral stated. Blackout cocked his head in confusion, and the mech nodded behind him. Cautiously, he turned and was shocked to find Arcee only a few hundred feet away. Snarling, he changed and flew off, while signalling Scorponok to keep an optic on the mech or try to find the Autobot base, but to be careful. Blackout and Scorponok were both deadly, but neither cared to go up against the vicious femme ninja.

Scorponok followed his orders, but by the time he surfaced, the mech was gone, and only a human mechling remained. He conversed briefly with the femme, before they groundbridged out. With both his mission objectives failed, he signalled Blackout for his own bridge, and returned to his master.

June 9, 2012-Autobot Outpost Omega One

"-He was good, Optimus, very good. If I hadn't noticed the fact that he wore no insignia, I'd have guessed him one of our best. As it is, he must have been part of the military caste. And he was fast, like greased lightning fast. By the time I got there, he was gone, and there was no trace of him. Anything else, you'll have to get from Jack," Arcee said, finishing her report to Optimus.

"And what do you have to say about him, Jack?" Optimus asked.

"Blitz, his name is Blitz," Jack started. He hadn't had so much as a single idea for his Autobot name until Arcee mentioned how fast he was. Greased lightning? Really, Arcee? "He seems to be on our side, I think he's just waiting to figure out the situation here before committing. Also, he's not afraid to fight dirty in order to win, he shot at the PaveLow Con before he could even land."

"PaveLow?" Optimus asked.

"A Hammer PaveLow MH-53J helicopter, one of the largest and potentially dangerous the US has ever made. I know, my dad helped design it," Jack answered.

Optimus and Arcee blanched at that, or at least, as much as a Cybertronian could. "Blackout," Optimus stated.

Jack asked who he was, and Arcee stated "He's one of the worst monsters to come out of the war, and one Megatron's most loyal and dangerous soldiers. He's even more dangerous than Skyquake, mostly because of his partner or pet, Scorponok. He once fought Optimus, and nearly won. If Blackout really is here, we will have to be even more careful than ever before."

A/N: Okay, sorry for the delay, but the Muses are terrible taskmasters! Now, the mutant issue will be showing up again, though how often will be up to you. I currently have only one encounter planned though, so if you want more, let me know what you want. (FYI, this takes place in the pre-DOFP storyline, i.e. the original X-Men movies.) If you wish to know what Blitz looks like, look on Google Images for Tumbler Transformer, and you'll find it, I can guarantee it. (Just ignore the bat symbols, as he doesn't have those.) His vehicle modes are based off the Dark Knight vehicles, naturally, and he has two arm weapons: one shoots a plasma shell similar to the plasma torpedoes from Star Trek Online, while his other is a rail gun, the same weapon that takes out Devastator in Dark of the Moon. I know that the PaveLow is a Sikorsky in the real world, but in this, Hammer made it, and added a few more weapon systems to it. Now, I have a question for you: in my take, Tunnel Vision will be ending minutes before the Battle of New York begins. Do you want the team get involved in the battle, or no? I plan for them to join in, but I listen to my reviewers. Also, how would you like for Thor to land in Jasper instead of Puerte Antigua in the next chapter? Review with your answer!