A/N: To my SpiderGuest, thank you! I couldn't think of a way to bring Pete into the story, and now you've given me the answer! And to Phoenix Warehouse Productions, I never actually said that Hound won't be showing up. I was saying that Hound isn't Sam's acquaintance that's going to be arriving and act as Primus' signal that Jack can tell his story. Besides, so far as I know, Hound only showed up after Chicago, and remember, in my universe, they lost in Chicago. Will he be showing up? Doubtful, but possible. Now, italics is either radio communication or Bee talking in person, while bold italics are Bee's radio comms, which I will gladly state is not completely my own. They are based off Elhini Prime's translations from her story From Dusk to Dawn: Daughter of Ivorras, Ward of Primes, one part of a long series that merges the Beyverse and Prime, along with an alternate universe of her own creation. I hope you enjoy my explanation as to why the Corticle Psychic Patch is illegal, and why Cybertronians can't just hack each other's minds to force them to switch sides.

More Than Meets the Eye

Chapter VII: Patch Job

July 31, 2012-Autobot Outpost Omega One

Two weeks after Thor returned to Asgard, Ratchet was messing with the frequency of the sensors when he discovered the Nemesis somewhere near the Mongolia-China border, as well as a distress signal on the same frequency. Naturally, Optimus opted for the 'humanitarian' mission over the attack, and he bridged over with Ratchet, just in case. Then, without warning, Ratchet called "Ratchet to base! Raf, activate the groundbridge, and Arcee, keep the others back! We have trouble." Mere seconds later, and Ratchet was helping Optimus back, and set up a makeshift medbay in the hangar. "What happened?" Arcee demanded.

"The derelict was a plague ship, and Optimus made contact with the infected Energon, I'll need to scan him to know what the plague is," Ratchet explained. In the time it took for Ratchet to get his medical scanner, Optimus had begun to look sick, as the area around his eye looked like it had started to rust, some of it with a blue tinge, while his optics sparked, like a light bulb would when it was dying. "Cybonic Plague," was Ratchet's diagnosis. "It's only contagious if contact is made with the infected Energon."

"What was a plague doing on an Autobot ship?" Miko demanded.

"For the same reason we'd do the same a few hundred years ago," Jack explained. "In order to contain the plague, and save those who hadn't been infected."

"He's right, the virus wiped out millions on Cybertron during the Great War," Arcee agreed.

"Cybonic plague was engineered in the Decepticon biological warfare program, by Megatron himself," Ratchet continued.

Raf asked if there was a cure, but Optimus had to explain that they didn't. "Okay, so we don't have a cure, but would Megatron really create a plague without an antidote? What if he or one of his more useful lieutenants were infected?" Jack asked. It was rare, but there were definitely times where having an RN for a mom was useful.

"It's not like we can ask him, Jack," Bulk countered. "Megatron's pushing up lugnuts, remember?"

"And we have the coordinates of the Nemesis," Jack countered. "If the ship's database doesn't have it, then Doc Knock should, right?"

"Jack's got a point. Bee, you want to come with me?" Arcee asked. Instead of answering verbally, Bee simply walked to the bridge and punched in the coordinates.

"Arcee, hurry," Ratchet stated. Arcee nodded as her and Bumblebee drove into the bridge.

For the next few minutes, all they could do was listen to the comms. "Let's start with the lab."

"Arcee, there's Knockout. Can't we take him now?" Bee asked.

"No, first we check the database, then if we can't find it, we take him." A few minutes passed before Arcee stated "I'm in the database." Thirty minutes passed uneventfully before Arcee reported "If it's here I don't see it."

"Are you certain, Arcee?" Ratchet asked.

"I've searched every file. There's nothing!"

"Have you tried searching for ghost files?" Raf asked, offering his expertise on hacking.

"Done that. And before you suggest it, Ratchet, I have used a redundant quantum algorithm. I've scanned the entire database three times using every method I know!"

"Arcee, I really think you should look at this," Bee stated. Jack subconsciously leaned forward, eager to learn what Bee had found.

Arcee snapped at him before apparently following him. Ratchet demanded to know what was going on, just before Arcee gasped in shock. "It's . . . Megatron. He's alive."

"What? But you said he was at ground zero of the blast!" Jack cried out.

"Well, I'm staring right at him, partner. Good news, Megatron isn't exactly staring back. He's critical, hooked up to life support. Time to finish this once and for all."

"Wait!" Jack cried out. "Arcee, don't kill him! We need Megatron alive!"

"What?! Give me one good reason."

"I think he could save Optimus."

Ratchet was quick to agree. "By the All Spark, of course! Does he display brainwave activity?"

"Spiking hard. His sick mind is still at work."

"Perfect!" Ratchet exclaimed. "If a cure exists, then Megatron may be the only one who knows it. You must enter his mind, and find it."

"Enter Megatron's mind? Ratchet, are you out your fraggin' mind?!"

"The Decepticon lab should have all the equipment you need for a Corticle Psychic Patch."

"No way! Ratchet, you must be glitching! A patch job is illegal, you know that!" Jack's eyebrows raised at that. Ratchet was one of the most by-the-book guys he had ever met, and he was suggesting something that was illegal? He must be desperate! Jack on the other hand was as calm as he could be. He knew that either Bee or Arcee could find what they needed, and on the off chance that they couldn't, then he could. His hand subconsciously moved over his spark chamber, where he kept one of Sam's most prized possessions. He knew it would work, but he couldn't guess as to the potential side effects of using it in another universe.

"I also know that it may be the only way to save Optimus! We don't have time to figure anything else out! One of you must try this!" Ratchet yelled out. "I will not allow Optimus to pass, knowing Megatron will outlive him!"

"Listen, Ratchet, I would lay down my life for Optimus, anytime, anywhere. But a mind/body split, especially with the patch-"

"I'll do it."

"You will?"

"Are you sure, Bumblebee?" Raf asked worriedly.

"Bee's the best scout there is," Bulkhead said, just as Arcee reluctantly agreed.

While Bee and Arcee set up the Corticle Psychic Patch, Jack decided to ask "Hey, Ratchet, why did the Autobots declare the Patch illegal in the first place?"

"To understand that, you need to understand something about the Cybertronian mind. Our minds are unlike any other in all the cosmos. Our short term memory and general knowledge are a part of our CPU, our brain as you might call it. But our long term memories and personal or special knowledge, like my medical skills or Megatron's gladiatorial skills are a part of our spark, which is basically a combination of our mind, heart and soul. When the Autobots first discovered the Corticle Psychic Patch, the High Council was intrigued, until they discovered what it did. Shockwave, the main Decepticon scientist had discovered a way to patch into the knowledge buried in our sparks, something that had been forbidden ever since the days of the Thirteen original Primes.

"Optimus and the others could instantly see what would happen if Shockwave continued on this particular line of research, and immediately ordered the Wreckers and several other heavy hitters to attack Shockwave's laboratories and destroy all his research."

Bulkhead spoke up then. "Yeah, I remember that mission. Optimus ordered everything destroyed, no matter the cost. It was the first time he had ever given such an order, and it was the first time that the Wreckers ever had any backup for a mission. Well, actually it was more of a campaign than a mission. We must have hit labs all over the planet!"

"Why? What could Shockwave have done with the research?" Raf asked.

"From the very beginning of the war, Megatron sought a way to force Autobots to switch allegiances to him. And for a time, it seemed he had succeeded in creating a computer virus to do just that." Jack recoiled in horror at the thought of such a virus. Megatron could force him and the others to become Decepticons? "Fortunately, there is a built in safety system to prevent such measures. When our knowledge and memories move from our CPU to our sparks, they are purged of anything foreign, anything that we did not add ourselves. As a result, Megatron's viruses were never anything more than a short-term gain. If any of us were to switch sides, it would have to be of our own free will." Jack breathed a sigh of relief at that, they were safe. "But with the Corticle Psychic Patch tapping directly into our sparks, that safety system was completely bypassed. The High Council knew that if Shockwave could continue his research, Megatron's dark dreams could finally be realized. That is why Optimus ordered the all-out assault on Shockwave's laboratories. Because so long as Shockwave could continue his research, we were all at risk. Fortunately we managed to destroy it all, so far as we know anyways. While the list of material to use the Patch is available, there is nothing on how it works, or the theory behind it," Ratchet finished.

Just as Ratchet finished his explanation, Arcee called out "Ratchet, we're ready."

"Initiate the Corticle Psychic Patch," he ordered. Instantly, a new screen showed up, and they could see and hear everything Bumblebee could.

The scene they saw was mostly fiery pits on a metal world, with a very hellish look. "So, where is that?" Jack asked.

"I'm not sure, but it reminds me of Kaon," Bee answered, with Raf quickly providing a translation. Ratchet told him to hurry, but just then, Bee stumbled upon Optimus of all people! Ratchet was quick to explain that it was nothing more than a figment of Megatron's imagination.

Then Megatron's dark laughter filled the audio. "Optimus Prime, your Autobot armies are defeated! Bow before your new master."

And with typical Optimus optimism, the image responded "Never, Megatron! One shall stand, one shall fall," he finished, activating his sword.

"So be it," Megatron agreed. And with a single swipe of his sword, Megatron defeated the image.

"That never happened!" Bulk shouted, quick to object to Megatron's imagination.

"Bulk, of course it didn't happen!" Jack told him. "This is Megatron's mind, and he's in a coma. What we're seeing is his mind keeping itself occupied by fulfilling his greatest dream, defeating Optimus. Which means . . . that really is Megatron!" Jack was shocked to realize. "Bee, get out of there!"

"What? Why?" Bee asked, with Raf quickly translating. At the same time, another Optimus had been created from a pile of rocks to confront Megatron.

"Think! If Megatron realizes that you aren't one of his dream constructs, he will wake up! Megatron will come out of his coma, and then we'll have to deal with him again!" Jack explained, absolutely terrified of the idea.

But it was too late. For while Jack had been talking, Bee had instinctively jumped to the defense of the Optimus construct, and Megatron was now attacking Bee directly. But because Bee was real, the attacks had no effect on him, and Megatron had realized it. "You are not wearing phase displacement armor. Your eyes track my movement so you're not a hologram. And I do not believe in spirits. So tell me scout: what are you?"

Then yet another construct of Optimus appeared to challenge Megatron, along with Bulkhead and Bee. "Too late," Jack stated, absolutely worried about his friend, yet convinced that nothing could be done to save him.

"Well, this is weird," Bee stated to Megatron. Then he ran over to his double and waved his servo in front of it's optics. "Hello! Anybody home?"

Megatron yelled in frustration before destroying all the constructs with a few shots. "You are real, they were not!" he realized. "Heh, a corticle psychic patch. How unexpected from an Autobot. But if this is my subconscious, what are you doing inside my head?!" he demanded.

Suddenly, Starscream and Knockout's voices came through the comms. They were discussing Megatron's condition with Soundwave, but Jack only focused on a few key phrases. "Deathless slumber forever," "Megatron may never wake," "Megatron is lost to us," "Show him mercy," "A simple throw of the switch," "Quick, painless, compassionate."

Ratchet explained what the consequences would be. "If Megatron perishes, Bumblebee's spark will remain separated from his body, forever."

"We'll lose both Bee and Optimus?" Jack asked, positively terrified at the possibility. That was just how it started in Sam's world! "Bee, get out of there!"

"But what about Optimus?" Bulkhead asked.

"I'd rather lose just Optimus than Optimus and Bee!" Jack yelled, his fear getting the better of him.

But Bee wasn't going to leave, and Megatron continued speaking with him, completely unaware of the conversation his second lieutenant and chief medical officer were having. "The only way you'd be able to enter my mind is via corticle psychic patch. But the question remains: what happened to me?!" After a few seconds of silence, he remembered. "The spacebridge explosion! And yet, if you're in my head, then I am not one with the Allspark. So tell me, scout, do I still function?!"

Bumblebee had decided that he was not leaving without the cure, so he decided to hurry it up. "Yes, you still function, but I need the cure for the Cybonic Plague."

"Cybonic Plague? Someone besides myself is . . . Is unwell?" Bee gave a nod, and Megatron figured it out. "Optimus! He is the only one that you would go to such lengths to save! Such irony! After ages of endless battle, the mighty Optimus Prime is felled by a simple virus from the distant past. And what makes you think I would save the life of my oldest enemy?"

And out of another irony, Bee found the answer thanks to Megatron's constructs of Optimus. "To get what you want most in the universe."

"Oh? And what is it I want most, scout?"

"To destroy Optimus yourself, by your own hand."

"Did you not see? I do destroy Optimus by my own hand, at will, whenever I desire!"

"Yes, I saw. But what glory is there in destroying an illusion? If you let the Plague destroy Optimus, you will never get the chance to do it yourself. History will always remember how the Undefeated Gladiator of Kaon couldn't defeat Optimus, and let a virus do it instead. They will always wonder which of you was better, the Last of the Primes, or the undefeated gladiator turned revolutionary?"

When Raf translated, leaving out the end, Jack had to admit that Bee was extremely impressive, and cunning to turn Megatron's pride and ambition against him. And Megatron agreed. "After our deep history together, to not watch the Spark ebb from his eyes with my very own-"

"Would be a crime in and of itself,"Bee finished.

"Well played, scout." Then, Megatron revealed the formula, and both Jack and Ratchet were quick to capture it and download it to their files. "The chemical formula for the cure you seek, not that I expect you to know how to read it." Bee reached for it, but Megatron pulled it back. "Not yet. And how am I supposed to accomplish terminating Optimus as you propose, while I am trapped here in this perpetual dream? Once you release me from this prison, you will have the cure. You must guarantee my recovery, or Optimus fades to gun metal grey. The real Optimus."

Jack grinned as he called his partner. "Arcee, mission accomplished, we have the formula. Get Bee out of there, now!" Within minutes, the duo were back, and Arcee was giving them a debrief, which ended with her saying that the last thing she did before leaving was to shoot Megatron's life support system. Jack couldn't believe it. Megatron was gone, this time for good? It seemed too good to be true! And mere hours after that, Ratchet had synthesized the cure for the Cybonic Plague and cured Optimus. Everything was perfect . . . a little too perfect, as Jack noticed that during the celebrations, Bee's eyes shifted, almost as if he wasn't in control of his own body. Well, Sam owed Bee, big time, so Jack decided he would start working on that debt by watching over Bee for the next few weeks, just in case there were side effects of the Patch job he had done.

August 9, 2012-Autobot Outpost Omega One

A few days after they saved Optimus, Jack and Miko were shocked to learn that the Patch had had an unsavory affect on Bee. During the extraction process, Megatron's spark had been extracted as well, resulting in Bee carrying not only his but also Megatron's spark, and when Bee was powered down in an attempt to heal what Ratchet believed was merely a tired mind, Megatron used the opportunity to take over Bee and revive his body, meaning now Megatron was back at full strength. And now it appeared as though he was out to reanimate the late Skyquake, something Miko would have normally been excited about, yet she was surprisingly quiet about it. "That's not like Miko to not want to go," Jack stated. "Remember how she reacted when she learned about the zombie-cons the first time?"

"She's definitely up to something," Raf agreed.

As Arcee activated the bridge, Miko made her move and ran for the bridge. "Making a break!" Jack called out as he and Raf ran after her, with Jack catching her arm just before she went through. "It's not safe! The zombies will be even more dangerous than what we saw on the Nemesis!"

"I don't care! I'm not gonna miss my first zombie-con throw down!" Miko stated, wrenching away from Jack, and dropping her phone in the escape.

"Miko," Jack grumbled, good naturedly, while wondering why his partner hadn't shut down the bridge after the Bots had left. Jack was a little exasperated by Miko's escapes, and was convinced that she was an adrenaline junkie. But Jack and Raf followed her anyways, just as curious now that it was clear that they were going anyways. However, when they arrived, they were shocked to see not Megatron, but Starscream attempting to raise Skyquake.

"Let's see some fight of the living dead, already!" Miko called out.

"You're crazy, you know that?" Raf asked.

"Hey, I totally missed out last time! This might be my only chance to take some snaps," she countered before reaching for her phone, only to realize it was gone. "My cell phone! I must have dropped it back at base."

"Well, since we're already here," Jack started, before handing her his own phone. "Just make sure to give it back after you have your photos, okay?"

"You made me lose my phone, and you think offering yours is going to fix things?!" Miko yelled out. Jack would have argued, but he didn't want to waste the time. Then two ground bridges activated at the same time. Ratchet instantly ordered the three of them into their bridge, and they did so without argument, though Miko was probably doing so only to reacquire her phone. But during the trip, the bridge exploded, blowing the trio out of it, and back to the canyon with the Autobots. "You two okay?" Jack asked once he had gotten up.

Raf and Miko both said they were fine, just as Bulkhead got up in front of them, asking what had happened. After the other Autobots got up, Ratchet replied "I can't be certain. But if two ground bridges sent to the same coordinates cross streams, the feedback could have caused a system overload."

Miko sarcastically replied to Ratchet's theory, but it was Bulkhead's response that scared Jack. "The kids made it through, right?"

Raf was totally confused, but Jack instantly started thinking. When Ratchet said that there was no sign, and Bulkhead ended up accidentally putting a foot through Miko, he started to get an idea, but it wasn't until Ratchet said that they had probably been bridged to an unintended destination that it came together. "Guys, we're in another dimension," Jack explained.

"You mean like an alternate reality?" Raf asked.

"No, that's completely different. An alternate reality is like the Mirror Universe in Star Trek. Those are our bots, this is our Earth, it's just that we've ended up in a . . . shadowzone because of the overload. We can see and hear our normal dimension, but anyone in that dimension can't see, hear or touch us; the only things we can touch is each other, since we're in the same phase, and the ground. The question is, what else ended up in here with us?" Jack got his answer when an enormous Seeker zombie-con rose up in front of them and went after the Autobots, to no effect. "Guys, I think we're in trouble. As soon as I start shooting, run, understand?" The two nodded, and Jack started shooting at Skyquake's neck, the bullets hitting their target, though they didn't do much damage. Skyquake noticed what Jack was doing and charged at him with a roar, or rather, charged at him with all the speed your average zombie could muster.

The trio quickly started running in an attempt to escape Skyquake, only being delayed by the fact that Raf tripped, forcing Jack to help him up, and Miko needing to retrieve his glasses in such a way that it basically confirmed his suspicion of her being an adrenaline junkie. Who else would deliberately run under a Decepticon's feet when they could easily avoid them? Especially when Jack was shooting at it with Energon enhanced bullets, which apparently had a tendency to explode. Fortunately, Miko managed to escape Skyquake as did they, since, as Miko stated when they stopped, zombies are very slow, and that stayed true even with 30 foot tall zombies. But just as she stated it, a noise started coming from somewhere near them.

Make this count, let's go

When we move, we camoflage ourselves

We stand in the shadows waiting

"Is that your . . ?" Raf asked.

"PHONE!" everyone realized at the same time. Jack was quick to open and answer, hoping for Arcee, but he was answered by nothing but static.

"Gee, imagine that, the fourth dimension has lousy cell phone reception," Miko grumbled.

"Fifth," Jack automatically corrected her before he realized something. "Guys, the phone rang! We have a signal, but whatever's caused us to come here is also keeping the Bots from hearing us. Which means, while we can't talk to Arcee or the others, we can write to them!"

"Text me!" Miko immediately offered. "If my phone's back at base, maybe they'll see it!" Jack quickly typed out a text message for Arcee, finishing it just before Skyquake found them, forcing them to run again. "Déjà vu," Miko called out a few minutes later. When Jack asked what she meant, she replied "This doesn't look familiar to you? Dude, we just ran one big circle!" she finished, just before they ran into something . . . a something that turned out to be the arm Starscream lost before the bridge exploded!

"Now that we can use," Jack stated, referencing an earlier idea Miko had about eliminating Skyquake. "Come on, let's get it turned so we can hit Skyquake," he ordered. They had just moved it into place when the zombie lumbered into sight. "We have one shot, we need to make it count," Jack stated as he moved to the other side in order to balance the arm and hide his own transformed arm. Once they had Starscream's arm aimed correctly, Jack turned to Miko and said "When I give the signal, pull his pointer finger." Skyquake then turned towards them, and after he took three more steps, Jack called out "Now!" and Starscream's missile as well as Jack's own projectile went flying at the zombie. Both hit the zombie, causing an enormous explosion. When the smoke cleared, Skyquake fell to the ground, his spark chamber completely destroyed, while his own arm fell off and was instantly reanimated, giving chase to the trio, again! "Ah, come on!" Jack growled out as they started running.

Unfortunately their situation never got better, as they eventually ended up right back where they started, again. Jack was starting to get frustrated, was there no way out of this maze? Just then, Starscream appeared, calling for Skyquake to come to him. "Great, so even if we manage to escape the shadowzone, we will have him to deal with!" Jack grumbled. Suddenly, an idea came to mind, and all it needed to work was a little good timing on Ratchet's part. And sure enough, Ratchet came through, as mere seconds after Starscream's arrival, a ground bridge opened up. While Miko was excited that their plan had succeeded, Raf was more worried about the proverbial rock and a hard place. "Raf, don't worry, I have a plan," Jack said with a grin. "Get ready to go through the bridge when I give the signal." All three were prepared to run, as Jack watched the arm scurry towards them as fast as it could go. "Wait for it, wait for it, now!" Jack called out as the arm reached within 150 feet of them. They were quick to jump through the portal, passing right between Starscream's legs, while Skyquake's arm also passed through, but it hit Starscream, forcing the Seeker to deal with it, while the trio of kids escaped with Optimus, who appeared mere moments later.

August 9, 2012-Darby home, Alamo, NV

With school starting in a few days, Jack decided to look into what Raf had uncovered on SHIELD. What he was shocked to find was that SHIELD was basically an intelligence organization that dealt with threats that the government wouldn't, and those that the common people weren't ready to deal with yet, like the Hulk and Abomination creatures that had destroyed Harlem about a month earlier. They also had a presence in the mutant community, though it was fairly minimal now, unlike how it had been until Magneto's attack on Nixon in the seventies. Their sister agency, SWORD was much the same, though they focused on the threats from beyond Earth, like the Decepticons and any threats from Norse cosmology like the Destroyer. Unfortunately, due to the lack of belief in any life beyond Earth, SWORD was pretty under funded, meaning the only training facility for the two organizations was controlled by SHIELD. But that wasn't going to stop Jack. Using the backdoor Raf had placed, he signed himself up for online classes with the SHIELD Academy of Operations. While he didn't agree with their methods, he certainly believed in their goals and he knew that he wanted to join once he had graduated high school. Within minutes, his application had been filled out and accepted. In no more than four years, he would be an agent of SHIELD.

A/N: And now you get an idea as to where the future is heading for this fic. I certainly hope that you stick around. And know that there will be a sequel to this focusing on Agents of SHIELD and the accompanying movies, where possible.