The Loud House
Rise of the Titans
Chapter 3: Worlds Collide
It was nighttime in Royal Woods, Michigan, and a large, blue and white tour bus with a Decepticon logo was pulling back into the bus garage after another day of long trips from taking people from one place to another. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime began his narration…
My name is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, or…what is left of them. Seven years ago, we fled Cybertron, as it fell to the Decepticons. Our enemies followed us, and in search of safety, I led as many as I could here…Earth. Now, we live in hiding, disguised, knowing if we are exposed, the people of this world will seek to capture and destroy the last of the Autobots.
As Optimus Prime narrated this, a Peterbilt 589 semi-truck with a red front and blue back, along with a white stripe on its sides, followed the bus into the bus garage. Once the bus pulled in, the bus driver promptly got out, got back in his car, and left the garage, having completed the work day.
So, to find a way home, I have turned from prey…to hunter.
Then, the semi-truck, which was revealed to have an Autobot logo on its grill, drove up closer to the bus in question. With all the humans having fled the area, the truck transformed into his robot mode, revealing himself to be none other than Optimus Prime himself, who was on the hunt for a Decepticon hiding among the many busses parked there.
*As a quick note, for this Optimus Prime, this is supposed to be ROTB Optimus, not Bayverse Optimus. Basically, just picture the same ROTB Optimus Prime, but with the truck mode of Optimus Prime from the first Michael Bay Transformers movie.
"You cannot hide, Decepticon", Optimus Prime said in a sinister tone. "I came for your ship", he said as he walked in front of all the busses parked around him.
Then, all of a sudden, all the busses' began flashing their lights and honking their horns, meaning there was some sort of disturbance in the area. Growing more irritated, Optimus Prime clenched his fist and turned around, ready for the Decepticon to attack him.
"Give it up…and I will not destroy you", Prime said as he used his iconic mouth plate.
With Optimus Prime ready for the Decepticon to attack him, he heard what sounded like an engine heading for his direction from behind. However, as soon as he turned around, one of the busses drove in and slammed itself right into Optimus! But Optimus Prime was a tough customer, and the Autobot leader had his feet planted to the ground and as he held the bus back from running him over. Then, using his sheer strength, Optimus lifted the bus with his arm while the bus kept trying to run him over. With his strength, Optimus Prime was able to throw the bus back. In doing so, the bus transformed into his robot mode, revealing himself to be a rather large and intimidating Decepticon. He appeared to be taller and somewhat bulkier than Optimus, and he had what looked like an insectoid head with red eyes and a Decepticon symbol on his forehead. This large hulk of a Decepticon was known as Transit, one of the handful of Decepticons who followed the Autobots to Earth long ago.
"Hello, Optimus…", the sadistic Transit said before blasting Prime with his gun.
Thankfully, Transit's shots missed, and Optimus kicked a bus at his attacker, but Transit was quick enough to jump over it and run towards Optimus! Optimus Prime was able to get a few hits on Transit, but not enough to do any real damage. Using his immense strength, Transit wrapped his large arms around Optimus and picked him up, hoping to throw him as hard as he could. But while Transit may have been stronger than Optimus, Optimus was a much better fighter, and he was able to release himself of Transit's grasp, causing the Decepticon to fall to the ground.
With Transit downed, Optimus Prime grabbed him by his head, and aggressively dragged it through one of the other parked busses.
"Where is it?!", Optimus asked, referring to Transit's ship before throwing him to the ground.
Even still, minimal damage was done to Transit, and he was able to quickly get back on his feet, rip a light post from its stand, and use it as a weapon against Optimus. Eventually, Transit was able to use the light post to throw Optimus into another one of the busses, and before Optimus could react while downed, Transit attempted to shove the post through Prime's own metallic flesh. However, Optimus grabbed onto the post with a tight grip, preventing any damage from being done, and then, he crafted one of his arms to where one of his iconic Energon blades appeared from it, and with his weapon, Prime used it to whack the post out of Transit's hands, and then used it to slice Transit's arm clean off!
"Aaaaargh!", Transit groaned in pain as his arm was cut off.
The pain from the loss of his appendage ended up causing Transit to fall back on the same bus Optimus fell on earlier.
"Aaaaaah!", Optimus screamed with anger as he leaped up into the air, and used his blade to cut straight through Transit's metal hide as hard as he could, even cutting through the bus behind the Decepticon. "This is your last chance", Optimus said as he removed his mouth plate. "Where is your ship?"
"I destroyed it…", a now much weaker and dying Transit replied, "…to leave you with no possible escape!"
Then, in a fit of rage, Optimus Prime blasted Transit so hard that the large Decepticon got blasted through three busses behind him, not yet killing him, but wounding him even more. Wanting nothing more than to end another dangerous Decepticon, Optimus Prime walked closer with his arm crafted into his blaster instead of the Energon blade. Before he would aim to kill Transit, Optimus Prime placed his foot on Transit's chest.
"No…wait…", Transit begged. "My ship…was destroyed…but I know of…another way…to go back to Cybertron…"
Optimus stared at him for a moment. "Explain…quickly…", he said in a sinister tone.
"Earlier, when I had those…miserable parasites inside me…I was taken to a museum…in Pittsburgh… It was there, that I saw it…the Transwarp Key…", he said as he displayed a hologram of it with his optics.
"This cannot be…", a shocked Optimus said.
"Not like it matters…", Transit chuckled as he stopped the holographic presentation. "Lord Megatron has already taken over Cybertron. The Decepticons…have won, and the Autobot resistance has all but completely crumbled. You may as well just stay here on this miserable planet…"
Having enough of dealing with Transit, Optimus Prime used his blaster to shoot him in his face, killing the Decepticon in an instant. Immediately after Optimus shot Transit dead, he began to think about his action. It was true that he did go back on his deal, that if Transit gave him a way home, he'd let him live, however, Optimus knew that Transit was a dangerous Decepticon, and he did not want to risk leaving him alive where he could be a danger to humans.
Sometime later that night, Optimus Prime dragged Transit's corpse to a river bank in Royal Woods, where he threw the dead Decepticon into the water, causing him to descend all the way to the river floor. To add onto this, Transit was not the only deceased Decepticon there. There lay other dead, nameless Decepticons on the river floor, meaning that Transit was not the first to fall to Optimus Prime during their time on Earth. Truth be told, the thought having to kill so many other bots, along with hiding their bodies at the bottom of a river made Optimus sick to his own spark. He did not like having to do this over and over again, but he knew it was necessary. He did not want Decepticons to be roaming around the planet, endangering both humans and his Autobots, and on top of that, he was smart enough to not leave Transit's corpse lying in the bus terminal, for it would not take long for it to be found by humans, which could result in the American government growing suspicious. Regardless, with Optimus Prime gaining potential knowledge of the Transwarp Key, he knew what he had to do. This could be the Autobots' last and only chance of returning to Cybertron and taking the fight to the Decepticons once again.
That morning, in a small, cute town in Royal Woods, there existed a house known by many as the Loud House, home of the Loud family, which was comprised of the parents, Lynn Sr. and Rita, as well as their ten daughters, along with their only son, Lincoln, who was also the middle child of the family.
You see, in this crazy family, the Loud sisters are more than known for their individual quirks and personalities. You have Lori, the oldest, who is an expert golf player and probably spends too much time on her phone, Leni, who is not the brightest bulb, but she is an expert when it comes to fashion, Luna, an aspiring rocker and musician, Luan, who has an infatuation for clowning and over-the-top pranks, Lynn Jr. who probably has a win in every sport under the sun, Lucy, an expert in the dark arts and has a talent for holding funerals, Lana, a great mechanic and lover of exotic animals, Lola, the glittery pageant queen, Lisa, the smartest, quite a feat for a four-year-old, and Lily, the youngest in the family who was still just a baby.
However, today was a crazy day for the Loud family, for with such huge personalities the sisters had, all of them had special talents that made them stand out (bar Lily, who is just a baby). As such, all nine of them had some special activity going on today, and with such a hefty order for the parents, both Lynn Sr. and Rita were freaking out.
"Okay, okay…just stay calm…", Lynn Sr. tried to calm himself down. "Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic!", he couldn't help but well…panic.
"Mom, Dad, relax…", Lincoln smiled. "Watch, I've been planning for this for awhile now. I've got this".
"Lincoln, are sure you know what you're doing?", Rita asked her son.
"Relax, Mom. If anyone can handle this, it's Lincoln", Lori said as she and the other sisters smiled, knowing that Lincoln does indeed got this.
In the Loud House, Lincoln Loud is known as "the man with the plan", and with this, anytime any of his sisters are in need of something, he is always there to help them whenever they need it. Because of this, all of his sisters knew that even with their chaotic day ahead, Lincoln would find a way to ensure they all get what they want, no matter the cost.
"Alright, everybody line up at the door and I'll make sure you're ready go!", Lincoln happily declared as he went just outside the door with several of his sisters' items in hand.
"Golf clubs for Lori".
"Thanks, Lincoln".
"Dress for Leni".
"Thanks, Linky!"
"Guitar for Luna".
"Thanks, bro!"
"Mr. Coconuts for Luan".
"Thanks, Lincoln!"
"Soccer ball for Lynn".
"Thanks, Stincoln!"
"Poem book for Lucy".
"Thanks, Lincoln".
"Tool kit for Lana…"
"Thanks, Linc!"
"Pageant baton for Lola".
"Thank you, Linky!"
"And a probably very dangerous chemistry set for Lisa…"
"Thank you, male sibling", Lisa smiled before her and the other sisters hopped into the family van, also known as Vanzilla.
"Alright, I think that's everything", Rita smiled as her and her husband walked out the door while she carried Lily in her arms.
Before they left, just for funsies, Rita ruffled Lincoln's hair a bit. With this, the family set course for the sisters' activities with Lynn Sr. driving the van. Given that there were so many activities going on today, the family's timing needed to be perfect, and they had to make sure they did all the activities in the correct order. Thankfully, with Lincoln on their side, he was able to make sure everything went exactly as it should, with the entire family relying on him to navigate them from activity to activity.
With Lincoln's help, the family was able to cheer on the sisters throughout all their activities, such as Lori's golf tournament, Leni's fashion show, Luna's rock concert, Luan's comedy show, Lynn Jr.'s soccer game, Lucy's funeral for the fallen, Lana's mechanics in fixing up a race car, Lola's pageant performance, and Lisa's science presentation. To no one's surprise, with what strong talents they all have, all the sisters were able to win first place in their respective activities, with Lincoln helping display the first place trophy in each picture, even if it meant he couldn't be in them with whatever sister had won.
At that point, it became nighttime again, and to celebrate, the Loud family went to the restaurant owned by Lynn Sr., Lynn's Table. When they arrived, all the sisters went in, chanting, "We are the Louds, Loud and proud!" over and over again. After they left, Lynn Sr. and Rita wanted to take some time to catch their breath after the busy day.
"Whew, now that was quite the crazy day…", Rita said. "We couldn't have done it without you, Lincoln".
"Yeah, you sure do know how to keep the old fam running, kiddo", Lynn Sr. agreed.
"Hey, just doing my part to help out my sisters", Lincoln smiled.
"Well, they're very lucky to have someone like you in their lives", Rita said.
Shortly after, Lincoln, holding Lily, along with the parents, made their way into Lynn's Table, where they met up with the other sisters, still chanting "We are the Louds! Loud and proud!", repeatedly, where Lincoln sat at the table with them while Rita held Lily.
"Aw, look at all of you girls with all your trophies!", Rita gushed at her daughters' achievements.
"Oooh! We should take a picture for the old wall of fame!", Lynn Sr. smiled as he pulled out his camera. "Alright, everyone smile and pull out those trophies!"
Hearing this, all the sisters happily obliged and pulled their trophies out.
"Get my good side!", Leni smiled.
"I only have good sides", Lola added.
Unfortunately, with all the trophies being swung around in the scuffle, Lincoln was forced to dodge them all as he had no trophy for himself to pull out. "Whoa, hey, watch out!", Lincoln yelped as he dodged the trophies. Then, Lynn's trophy happened to hit Lincoln right in his face, causing him to fall out of the booth he sat in with his sisters.
"Everyone, squeeze in!", Rita smiled.
"Sisters!", all the sisters smiled for the picture.
"Hey, guys wait for me!", Lincoln begged, even though his plea fell on deaf ears.
"Look, it's the Loud sisters!", one of the customers said.
"No one kicks a soccer ball like that one!", another customer added.
"I just downloaded one of that one's songs on Spotify!", said another customer.
Then, with all the hype surrounding the sisters, all the customers of Lynn's Table rushed to greet and take pictures of them. However, in doing so, they all trampled Lincoln to the point where he was booted from the crowd, unable to get back to his family. Lincoln couldn't help but look on as he was hurt that his family excluded him like that, and how he felt like it was his fault because he wasn't special like his sisters.
"Ugh, enough loudness. Scoots out!", declared the notorious Scoots as she scooted across the restaurant, in which she ended up running into Lincoln, resulting in both of them getting outside the restaurant. "Hey! No free rides, bum!", she said as she forced Lincoln to get off the scooter.
"Wait! Girls! I wanna be in the photo!", Lincoln begged as he tried to get back in the restaurant, which was locked.
"You must be so proud of your girls", a female customer said to the Loud parents.
"You're ding-dang-darn tootin'!", Lynn Sr. cried.
"They are very special", Rita agreed.
Back outside, Lincoln couldn't help but feel even sadder. His sisters were practically basking in all the attention that he would give anything to have just a piece of.
"No trophy, no photo. Looooserrrrr!", Scoots laughed as she scooted away at top speed.
"Did you guys hear? We're gonna be in the newspaper!", Lynn Jr. smiled.
"The lady wants to interview us on T.V.!", Lola added.
"Most likes ever!", Lori bragged.
"Let's go home so we can put these trophies on display!" Lynn Sr. declared.
"Yeah!", the sisters agreed.
Lincoln sighed. "I wish everyone thought I was special…", he sniffled as he was getting closer to crying.
Feeling sad and defeated, Lincoln walked away from the restaurant along the sidewalk, as he thought about his life, and how he couldn't help but feel like nothing in comparison to his sisters. And to make things even worse for him, a paper flyer happened to blow right in his face. When Lincoln took a minute to look at it, he saw it was titled "The Loud Sisters", with a picture of Lincoln's ten sisters, along with what looked like Lola pushing him out of the picture.
Lincoln eventually reached the gas station known as Flip's Food and Fuel, where he sat on the bench and looked at the picture again. He sniffled. "Why can't I be special like my sisters…", he couldn't help but cry and let the tears flow. "I'm a failure to my family…"
"Hey, can't you read the sign?!", Flip yelled. "It says 'no loitering'! Beat it, Loud!", he yelled before using his broom to push Lincoln away from the gas station.
Lincoln then walked away from the gas station and over to the next block, which was a place known as Carl's Cars and Cranks, obviously referring to another place that Flip ran under a different name. Just wanting to be alone, and knowing that the place was closed, Lincoln took his time to walk among the cars parked there to think about how much of a failure he thought himself to be.
Simultaneously, Optimus Prime was driving down the same road, in which he seemed to be in a hurry for some reason.
"Calling all Autobots. Calling all Autobots", Optimus Prime spoke over the Autobot intercom system.
Meanwhile, in another part of Michigan around Royal Woods, a large, red pickup truck with a yellow stripe on its sides was driving along the highway. If you haven't figured it out yet, this truck was the Autobot weapon specialist, Ironhide. "About slaggin' time", Ironhide spoke as he sped across the other cars on the highway.
In another part of town, a white Humvee ambulance with a red stripe was driving in, also known as the Autobot medical officer, Ratchet. "I read you, Optimus. I take it something has come up if you're calling this important meeting".
"Indeed, old friend", Optimus replied. "A way home".
As Lincoln continued walking across the car lot, he kept trying in vain to pull the car doors open, hoping to find a car where he could just sulk in for a little bit. Eventually, much to his surprise, when Lincoln came across a modern, black and yellow Camaro, the door happened to open. Not thinking too much of it, Lincoln hopped in, closed the door, and promptly placed his hands over his face.
Before the Loud boy could begin thinking, however, he heard a voice speak over the radio of the car. "Calling all Autobots! Calling all Autobots!", the voice spoke.
"Wait, what?", Lincoln questioned.
However, when this was broadcasted, two cars with bright headlights began to slowly drive up to the car Lincoln was in. One car was red with a single yellow stripe and another was gray with red markings on it, both bearing the Decepticon insignia.
"I thought this place was closed…", Lincoln said as he shielded his eyes from the bright headlights.
Then, before Lincoln could comprehend anything, the yellow Camaro sped as it backed out of the parking lot, and drove as fast as it could, away from the other cars. The Camaro eventually sped by Flip with the two other cars behind it.
"Flip! Help!", Lincoln yelled in desperation.
"Hey, was that boy stealing my cars?!", Flip yelled as he saw the cars speed by.
The cars then sped by Lynn's Table, where Lincoln tried to beg for help again, but was unsuccessful with all the attention surrounding his sisters.
"Slow down, slow down, slow down! Gah, which one's the break?!", Lincoln exclaimed as he tried to stop the car, but to no avail.
Then, the red car slammed itself into the Camaro, but the Camaro fought back by slamming itself into the red car, doing more damage to it than the red car did to him. Regardless, minimal damage was done and the chase continued.
"I need to call Dad!", Lincoln said as he pulled out his phone. "What? No signal? There's always good wifi here!", Lincoln pondered before quickly being sucked back into panic mode. "Oh, God, slow down, slow down, slow down!"
"Hey, kid, this might be kinda scary for you, huh?", the Camaro spoke in a youthful voice to Lincoln.
"Wait, what, did you just talk? Surely, I imagined that", Lincoln said.
"Look, if it were up to me, you wouldn't be in this situation either, and my boss is definitely gonna fire off my rivets when he finds out", the car spoke again. "The name's Bumblebee, I'm an Autobot, and those guys are Decepticons. What's your name?"
"Why would I tell you?! This has to be a dream", Lincoln said.
"Nope, it's all real kid. But, as a serious note, I promise to keep you safe from those goons chasing us. You just gotta trust me, okay?"
"Well, I don't really have any other option right now, so…okay…"
Eventually, Bumblebee led the two Decepticons chasing him to the junkyard in Royal Woods. Once he was in far enough, Bumblebee stopped driving and opened the door so Lincoln could get out. "You might not wanna inside for this part…", Bumblebee said.
Immediately, Lincoln got out of the car and landed on the ground. The two other cars then pulled up in front of Bumblebee, and much to their surprise, both of them transformed into their robot modes! The red one was called Dead End and the gray was called Wildrider. Both of them belonged to the Decepticon subdivision known as the Stunticons.
"Ah, look, little Bumblebee's made a human friend!", Wildrider teased.
"I wonder how it feels to squish him!", Dead End took a step closer.
With the two Stunticons about to close in, Bumblebee transformed into his robot mode, and placed his large, yellow foot in front of Lincoln.
*Side note about Bumblebee: I know he has the Camaro mode he had in the 2007 Transformers movie, but this Bee shares his robot mode design with his ROTB counterpart, just with different Camaro car parts since this is in the modern day.
"Leave the human alone!", Bumblebee demanded.
"Why should we?", Dead End asked.
"He's got no part in this! Just let him go!", Bumblebee yelled.
"Sorry, but he's an accomplice now, and with that, he's gotta go", Wildrider said as he pointed his gun at Lincoln.
"Oh, now you don't!", Bee said as he pointed Wildrider's gun elsewhere, resulting in the blast hitting a nearby junk pile. "Hey, kid! Run!"
"Uh…okay!", Lincoln agreed as he ran away from the giant robots fighting.
"Wildrider! You handle the bug, I'll take care of the human!", Dead End smirked as he went after Lincoln.
"Aw, scrap!", Bumblebee yelled as he shot Dead End with his blaster multiple times, resulting in the Decepticon falling over and Lincoln continued running away.
Unfortunately, with Bumblebee's distraction, Wildrider was able to get a hit on him, but Bee took it like a champ and clashed hands with his opponent.
"So, the little scout's got his voice back", Wildrider taunted. "I look forward to ripping it out so I can present your spark to Lord Megatron!"
"Yeah, well, maybe sometimes, I like to talk with my fists instead!", Bumblebee said as he punched Wildrider in the face.
Bee then attempted to use his knife to cut Wildrider, but the Stunticon grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground before placing his foot on his chest.
"Why don't you just give up?", Wildrider asked. "Cybertron has finally submitted to Lord Megatron's rule. You'd be much better off just giving up. You might actually survive that way".
"An Autobot never gives up!", Bumblebee shot back. "We'll never let Cybertron fall to the hands of a tyrant!"
"Is that so? Isn't that what Cliffjumper said before Dropkick killed him?"
"Aaaaaaaaah!", Bumblebee yelled in a fit of rage as he stabbed Wildrider in the foot, causing him to yell in agony.
During the skirmish, Dead End saw that Bee was distracted, and with this, he resumed his pursuit of Lincoln, hoping to tie up the little loose end. By that time, Lincoln found a large pile of junk to hide behind and avoid the Decepticon, but he could tell Dead End was nearby, evident by the large footsteps, along with the Stunitcon's taunting.
"Oh, little human! Come out, come out, wherever you are…!", Dead End yelled. "Are we playing hide and seek? Because I'd be happy to teach you the Decepticon version, hide and go shriek!"
"All I wanted to do was be in a photo. How did I end up in this situation?!", Lincoln whispered to himself. "This has to be a dream. There's no way I just met talking vehicles who transform into robots who fight each other…"
As Dead End hunted for Lincoln, Bumblebee continued his fight with Wildrider, where after Wildrider got stabbed in the leg, Bumblebee took the offensive while Wildrider was on the defensive side, given his wound. Bumblebee repeatedly punched Wildrider in the face, wounding the Decepticon more and more. At one point, it seemed like Wildrider was about to escape, Bumblebee stopped him by using his knife to slice his leg clean off!
"Aaaargh!", Wildrider groaned as he fell to the ground, unable to escape. "You little insect!"
Bumblebee planted his foot firmly on Wildrider's chasse. "I'll give you one chance, Decepticon", he pointed his blaster at him. "You can escape now, and crawl back to whatever hole you came from so you can get fixed up, or I'll kill you right here and now. Trust me, if it were up to me, I'd go with the first option".
Wildrider chuckled a bit. "It's funny really. Here you are, an Autobot, acting all high and mighty, as if you're oblivious to the fact that we won the War for Cybertron. You really are dumber than you look, insect. Oh, and I expect Dead End is probably making sport of your human friend right now…hehehehehehe…"
"I'm sorry, Decepticon", Bumblebee said before shooting Wildrider in the face, killing the Decepticon in an instant. "Hang on, human, I'm coming", he said before running after Lincoln.
Further into the junkyard, Lincoln could feel Dead End was getting closer to him with the Decepticon's footsteps growing louder. However, Lincoln saw there was an outpost nearby.
"Yes!", he whispered as he ran to the outpost. Thankfully, he made it before Dead End spotted him, or so he thought.
Just when he thought he was safe, Dead End used one simple swipe of his hand to destroy the outpost and grab Lincoln to lift him up to his level.
"I've got you now, meat bag", Dead End taunted.
"Let me go, you creep!", Lincoln yelled as he struggled to break free.
"Hehehe, I like it when my prey fights back", Dead End smiled. "Now, hold still while a pop that puny head of yours".
But then, right before Dead End could kill the innocent boy, both him and Lincoln heard the sound of a motorcycle engine coming at them. When Dead End looked behind him, he saw the light of the motorcycle, and he could see it was driving at him. Once the motorcycle was close enough, the two-wheeler drove up on a mountain of junk, and when it was in the air, it transformed into a female, red, white, and pink Autobot who kicked Dead End right in his face, causing him to drop Lincoln.
"Aaaaaah!", Lincoln yelled as he fell. Much to his surprise, he discovered that the female Autobot caught him.
Even though she's a robot, it was obvious she was quite the looker.
"Whoa…who are you…?", a frightened Lincoln asked.
"Name's Arcee, kid", Arcee replied. "I take it you already met my friend".
"Your friend? Oh, you mean Bumblebee", Lincoln said, still super shook up.
"Yeah, now, stay put. I'll handle our little problem here", Arcee said with a gentle smile as she put Lincoln down. "Don't worry, Bee and I will protect you".
"Grrrr…I should have known that bug would have called for backup", Dead End growled as he got back up.
"First of all, Bee never called for backup. I was just passing by when I saw he was getting into a skirmish. And secondly, you Decepticons never surprise me, always calling us foolish names and picking on those weaker than you because you're too scared to pick on someone your own size", Arcee taunted.
"That's it!", Dead End raged as he charged at Arcee.
Even though Arcee was smaller and thinner than Dead End, her agility proved far superior to the Decepticon's blind rage. Dead End tried to wrap both his arms around her, but missed when Arcee jumped from her feet, to her hands, and back and forth to clear some distance from her and her attacker. With some distance cleared, Arcee whipped out her blasters and fired them at Dead End. With Dead End not being quick enough to dodge them, he got hit with multiple blast wounds, but he was still able to stand on his feet, all be it in a disoriented state. With Dead End disoriented, Arcee charged at him and kicked him in his face again, sending him back even more.
"Alright, I've had enough!", Dead End yelled. "I'm gonna make sure you suffer for that…"
Then, before Dead End could do anything, Bumblebee leaped out from behind and tackled Dead End to the ground, where he wasted no time in driving his knife into his head, killing the other Decepticon easily.
"Two-nothing, Bumblebee", he said after he killed Dead End. "Oh, hey, Arcee".
"Bee, I had him", Arcee smiled.
"Sorry, but you know what the Earthlings say, first come, first served", Bumblebee said. "Speaking of which, I have a little situation on my hands…", he pointed at Lincoln.
"Yeah, I got that sense…", Arcee said.
Bumblebee slowly walked over to Lincoln.
"Ah, please, I just wanna go home!", Lincoln begged, still traumatized after the run-in with the giant robots fighting.
"Hey, it's okay…", Bumblebee said while crouching down. "We're not gonna hurt you…"
With this, Lincoln slowly walked closer to Bumblebee, and eventually, the Loud boy gently placed his hand on Bee's finger.
"See? Everything's okay, little guy", Bumblebee said in his gentle voice. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot earlier. The name's Bumblebee, and this is my friend, Arcee".
"Hey, uh, sorry what's your name?", Arcee asked.
"Oh, yeah, I guessed I never introduced myself…", Lincoln said as a smile formed on his face. "My name's Lincoln, Lincoln Loud… It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"'Lincoln Loud'…has a good catch to it, huh?", Bee complimented him.
"Thanks! I always thought I had an interesting name", Lincoln smiled.
"So, care to tell us about yourself, Lincoln?", Arcee asked.
"Well, I'm the only boy in my family, I'm really into comics, oh, yeah, and I have ten sisters".
"Ten sisters?!", Bumblebee exclaimed. "No offense, but how do you even survive?"
"I find my ways, besides, I always like to help them out whenever I can, you know, since they're all super special in their own ways…", Lincoln's voice got a little sadder.
"Well, I think you're a pretty cool guy, Lincoln", Bumblebee said. "Say, how about we take you back to your family?"
"Oh, really? You'd all do that?!", Lincoln asked, getting excited.
"Of course", Bee smiled.
"Well, not to be that bot…", Arcee frowned, "but you know we can't just have a human walking around who knows about us, Bee. Besides, with the Decepticons meeting him, both him and his family could be in danger".
"Scrap, hate to say it, but you're right", Bumblebee agreed. "Hey, Lincoln, you don't think your family will be too worried about you, will they?"
"Hmm, I doubt it", Lincoln said. "They're pretty busy with their own things right now…"
"Alright, well, we should probably meet up with the others before Optimus Prime wonders where we are", Arcee said.
"Sounds good to me", Bee agreed.
"Wait, Optimus who?", Lincoln asked.
"Don't worry, kid, you'll find out soon. For now, how about we enjoy a ride when we're not getting chased by Decepticons?", Bumblebee said, trying to make Lincoln as comfortable as possible.
"Sure! Why not!", Lincoln smiled.
Shortly after, Bumblebee, with Lincoln inside him, along with Arcee were driving towards the Autobots base. Thankfully, it didn't take them too long to get close. During the drive, with Lincoln's curiosity, Bumblebee decided to give him a little history lesson.
"So, let me get this straight…", Lincoln said. "You and Arcee are part of the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, and you fled your home called Cybertron because the Decepticons, who are led by this guy called Megatron, enslaved it, and all of you have the ability to transform into vehicles?"
"You say that like it's weird", Bumblebee said.
"Well, it kind of is…", Lincoln smiled.
"Hey, do you mind if I bring something up?" Bumblebee asked.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well, it's about when we first met. When you climbed into my seat, it looked like you were about to cry about something, and I didn't see your huge family around anywhere".
"I'd…rather not talk about it…It's personal stuff…", Lincoln frowned.
"Look, I get it. I understand if you don't wanna talk about it, kid. And, I know we just met, but if there's ever anything you want to get off your chest, I'm here if you wanna talk, okay?", Bumblebee said.
"Sure…thanks…", Lincoln smiled a bit.
"Heads held high, boys, we're almost there", Arcee said over the com link.
Soon enough, both Arcee and Bumblebee drove into an abandoned building, where once they were inside, and Bumblebee let Lincoln out of him, both him and Arcee transformed into their robot modes.
"Looks like we're the first ones here", Arcee said.
"Yeah, I imagine the others aren't too far behind", Bumblebee added.
"I hope so. I just know that if I'm here too long, my family will realize I'm gone, and they'll get worried", Lincoln said.
"Don't worry. We'll make sure that you get home safe and sound to your family as soon as we can", Bumblebee reassured him.
"Thanks, Bee", Lincoln smiled.
Then, their conversation was interrupted when they all heard the sound of engines drive closer to them.
"Looks like the gang's here", Bumblebee said with enthusiasm.
"Oh, boy…", Lincoln braced himself.
As they heard the engines coming closer, first, Ratchet pulled into the building disguised as a Humvee ambulance, where he subsequently transformed into his robot mode, holding a both a shocked and somewhat angry look on his face upon seeing a human present.
"And what…in the AllSpark…happened here…?", Ratchet asked, trying to maintain his composure.
"Well, I can explain…", Bumblebee said, but not before another Autobot pulled in.
This one was Ironhide, disguised in the form of his large, red pickup truck. Right when he pulled in, he transformed into his robot mode and immediately whipped out his arm cannons. Ironhide's look looked comparable to Ratchet since their helmets looked similar, but Ratchet had a red crown on his head while Ironhide had a red crest in the center of his, on top of the fact that Ironhide was noticeably taller and bulkier than Ratchet.
"We appear to have a vermin infestation. Shall I terminate?", Ironhide asked as he pointed his cannons at Lincoln.
"Ironhide, easy", Bumblebee said, signaling him to put his cannons down. "You know Optimus told us we don't harm humans, right?"
"Well, we don't want to risk our cover being blown. Just saying…it's an option…", Ironhide said as he put his cannons down.
"Ironhide, you know he can hear you, right?", Arcee pointed out.
Then, before Bumblebee could explain anything, all of them heard the sound of the iconic truck engine approaching them, followed by Optimus Prime revealing himself by pulling in and transforming into his robot mode. Optimus was noticeably taller than the other Autobots, which could not help but make Lincoln feel intimidated as he walked closer to him.
"You brought a human here?!", Optimus yelled as he kneeled down to Lincoln's level.
"Oh! Hey, Optimus!", Bumblebee exclaimed. "Look, I assure you, there is a reasonable explanation for this".
"Bumblebee, you are a very capable scout and warrior", Optimus Prime said. "And with that I expected you to follow the protocol of remaining in disguise". He then picked up Lincoln with his large hand. "Who are you, human?", he asked Lincoln as he took his mouth plate off.
"Um…I'm nobody! I'll act like I never saw anything! I just wanna go home…", Lincoln said to Optimus, hoping he'd let him go on account of him not telling anyone of what he saw.
"Ratchet…", Optimus said as he neared Lincoln to the Autobot medic.
Ratchet then used his optics to scan Lincoln to uncover his information. "Lincoln Albert Loud, fifth grade student at Royal Woods Elementary School, middle child of ten sisters, and aspiring magician".
"Bumblebee, do you care to tell me how you and Lincoln came into contact, and why you brought him here?", Optimus asked in an irritated manner.
"Optimus, Bumblebee already explained it to me", Arcee said. "By the time Lincoln was inside him, and you sent out your message, the Decepticons tried to ambush him, and we all know Ratchet still needs to fix that broken lock of his".
"Hmmm…I will deal with this situation later", Optimus said as he gently placed Lincoln on top of one of the wooden beams of the building.
"Now, speaking of your message, why did you call us here, Optimus?", Ironhide asked.
"A good question, old friend", Optimus Prime said. "One night ago, I engaged the Decepticon known as Transit, where before his death, he revealed to me the location of a long-lost relic to space and time…the Transwarp Key, now located in the museum of place called Pittsburgh".
"Hold on. Am I the only one who's suspicious of the fact that this was a Decepticon who told you this?", Arcee asked.
"A concern that I held myself", Optimus replied. "With the uncertainty of Transit's word, I investigated the area myself, and found that he indeed spoke the truth", he said as he displayed a hologram of the Transwarp Key in the museum with his optics
"It cannot be…", Ratchet marveled. "The Transwarp Key was thought to be lost for so long to the point where many thought it was simply non-existent".
"I can't help but ask, what exactly is this Transwarp Key?", Bumblebee asked.
"The Transwarp Key is said to be an item of great power, hailing from the now destroyed planet, Maderan. With it, it grants its user the ability to open a bridge across space and time to Energon-rich planets including…"
"Cybertron!", Arcee spoke.
"Well, what are we waiting for?", Ironhide asked. "Why don't we just invade the museum, take the Transwarp Key, and leave?"
"Not gonna lie, Ironhide's got a point", Bumblebee agreed.
"Use your head, Ironhide!", Ratchet said. "If we just walk in, cause collateral damage, and take the Key, the humans will hunt us down, and dismantle us for spare parts. I doubt Earth will ever be as hospitable as it is now".
"Not that it would be much of a loss. No offense…Lincoln", Ironhide said, trying to remember Lincoln's name.
"Ratchet is right, Ironhide", Optimus said to his first lieutenant. "We need to find a way to retrieve the Transwarp Key undetected…"
Just then, as Lincoln was climbing down from the beams, the Autobots heard a loud thump as he fell to the ground.
"Ow! Well, that hurt…", Lincoln groaned a bit.
"Alright, hear me out…", Bumblebee began.
"No", Optimus Prime said with a blank expression.
"Wait, but you didn't know what I was gonna say yet", Bee retorted.
"I know what you were going to say, and it's a bad idea", Optimus replied.
"Wait, what's a bad idea?", Lincoln asked.
"Having you sneak into a museum for us. No pressure", Ironhide answered.
"Wait, what? Is this so you guys can get home with that, uh…Transwarp Key…?", Lincoln asked.
"Yeah, are you in?", Bumblebee asked.
"Look, I don't know…", a nervous Lincoln frowned. "I get that you all have some kind of war going on, but I don't think I should be involved. Don't get me wrong, the experience was great and all, but I really think I should just go and pretend this never happened…"
"Aw, come on…", Bumblebee begged in a playful manner. "Look, how about this? If you help us get the, uh…"
"Transwarp Key", Ratchet pointed out.
"That", Bumblebee continued. "Your family can sell me!"
"Wait, what?", Lincoln questioned.
"Think about it. If you take credit for finding this…", Bee said as he transformed into his Camaro mode, "…I'm sure your parents can sell it, and since you'll probably end up with a lot of money!"
"Well, yeah…if my sisters don't try to hog all of it…"
Bumblebee transformed back into his robot mode. "Well, even still, this is a pretty expensive car, so, you'll still get a lot of money. You could use it to be a magician like Ratchet said you wanted to be".
Lincoln thought for a moment. If he could tell his family that someone gave him the expensive Camaro, there's no doubt they'd pay him a good portion of the money, and with that money, it could finally help Lincoln pursue his dream on being a master magician, so that he may finally be special like his sisters.
"Hmmm…", Lincoln kept pondering to himself.
"And, not to put too much pressure on you, but you might just be our only hope of returning to Cybertron and winning this war, Linc", Bumblebee added.
"Alright…I'm in", Lincoln said as a little smile formed on his face.
"Alright!", Bumblebee cheered as he offered to give Lincoln a fist bump. "Come on, gimme a fist bump".
Happily obliging, Lincoln gave Bee a fist bump while the other Autobots watched with mixed expressions.
"And what about leader, Optimal, or uh…", Lincoln asked.
"Optimus", Optimus Prime corrected him in a stern manner.
"Don't worry, Prime and I are old friends. You let me worry about him", Bumblebee reassured Lincoln.
"Given my knowledge on the ages of you humans, how do you plan on convincing your family for you to even go to the museum, and how do you even plan on sneaking in there without getting caught by the authorities?", Ratchet interjected.
"Don't worry, in my family, I'm always known as the master of convincing. I'm sure I'll find a way somehow", Lincoln said. "And don't worry, Clyde and I have practiced similar things before".
"Do you think you could convince them by tomorrow?", Optimus Prime asked in a stern manner.
"I feel like I could, um…Optimus, right?"
"Yes", Optimus replied. "But let it be known that I do not like this plan, as I do not believe we should put our fate in winning this war in that of a human. Hopefully, you will convince me otherwise, Lincoln".
"I hope so too…" Lincoln sighed, growing tired of how Optimus didn't seem to be a huge fan of humans. "Anyway, I think I should probably get back to my family now".
"Oh, yeah, we don't want them to kill you before you can help us", Bumblebee joked. "But before you go, you should take this", he said as he threw something over to Lincoln.
Lincoln took a moment to examine the yellow, metal item he held in his hands, which ended up wrapping around his wrist.
"it's a com link", Bumblebee said. "You can use that to keep in contact with me, keep me updated on your progress", he gave Lincoln a thumbs up.
"Cool. Thanks, Bee", Lincoln smiled at his new friend.
"Optimus, are you sure about this?", Ratchet whispered to his leader.
"No", Optimus answered.
"I do have one question, though", Ironhide said.
"What is it, Ironhide?", Optimus asked back.
"What's a Clyde?"
So, an author's note about his chapter. As far as the Autobots go, all of them have the alt modes they had in the 2007 Transformers movie (bar Arcee, who had her motorcycle form in Revenge of the Fallen). However, as far as designs in robot mode go, they share more similarities with their Rise of the Beasts counterparts. In Ironhide and Ratchet's case, the share their robot mode designs from the Bumblebee movie, just with the car parts of their vehicle modes. To sum up, these Autobots are from the Knightverse, but I gave them different alt modes since this takes place in the modern day and I didn't want them transforming into vehicles from the 90's. Also as far as personalities go, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Arcee, are pretty much the same as the Rise of the Beasts counterparts, while Ironhide has his Bayverse personality and Ratchet shares similarities with his Transformers: Prime counterpart.