Once, long ago, our people were divided into countless factions. Those who refused to choose a side were swiftly wiped out in the crossfire. A lone warrior came forth with an offer of unity, but it came at the cost of liberty. I opposed him, along with many others, but he refused to stand down. Now, I am afraid that our war has reached another world...

Chapter 1: Recovery, Part 1

Central City, TN

In a parking space in front of a small coffee shop, a maroon sports car sat in the sun. It had flame decals, shiny silver wheels, and a massive yellow wing on its back. Not many people interacted with it, some just stopping to look at it for a while before waking off. Teenager Solon Kitakaze skateboarded up to the vehicle, snickering as he came to a stop. Waiting to make sure nobody else was watching, the teenager reached into his bag and pulled out a can of spray paint. Solon climbed on top of the car and began spraying purple paint over the hood. The paint resembled some sort of face, with four points on top of its head.

"Cons rule!" he cried as he jumped off, landing on his skateboard and wheeling away triumphantly. A few moments later, Solon heard the rev of an engine, watching in delight as he saw the car chase after him. "What's wrong? You upset about your flame job? Well, you'll have to leave your complaints elsewhere!"

As the teenager dove into an alleyway, the car skidded to a stop, engine idling before it turned around and headed back the other way.

Matt Summer and Anna Long were planning to go out for dinner, a nice coffee shop close to the edge of the city. It had been a while since they got to be alone together, so both of them were looking forward to it.

"How long has it been?" asked Matt. "The last time we had a date like this-what was it, two weeks?"

"Maybe longer than that," replied Anna. "I've been up to my knees in work."

"You can say that again. I thought we'd never have enough time for this again."

The two simply smiled, chatting inanely and sipping coffee, until they heard the sound of a helicopter flying overhead. Naturally distracted, they grabbed their cups and headed outdoors, wondering what a helicopter would be doing passing above Central City. As they continued watching curiously, they didn't notice the teen skating away. What they did spot was the sports car covered in flames and slight purple streaks passing by. The car stopped a moment, as though the driver were watching the helicopter too, before it drove off again, seemingly in the direction the helicopter was flying.

"That's not normal, is it?" asked Anna.

"Nope."

It wasn't everyday a helicopter passed over Central City, so that fact took their attention away from the coffee; it wasn't even a news copter, as it had an unusual navy blue and red color scheme. They just went home, promising to meet again in a few days.

Solon looked up from his phone as the massive helicopter entered the base, Chopblock transforming to robot mode before him. The massive robot's yellow visor stared down at the human.

"What?"

"You told me you tagged an Autobot!" the once-helicopter snarled, leering down at Solon. "I looked over that city five times, and I couldn't find anything close to your mark."

"Look, it's not my fault you couldn't find anyone. I tagged the car with an Energon reading. Come to think of it, your scanners are greater than mine, you could have picked up on it yourself."

"The blame isn't with me, worm. If you weren't a valuable pawn, I'd-"

"Enough! Both of you!" The shrill cry made the two stop bickering, a second robot entering. This one had two wings on his back, each one sporting a purple insignia. "Chopblock, your Energon sensors could have easily picked up the Autobot, even if they weren't marked. And Solon, you should have done a better job marking the target."

"Come on, that brand of paint got a five-star review. Stood out nice among those flames-"

"Hold on, flames?" The commander's face twitched with thought, as he came to a conclusion. "Chopblock, you can go scouting for resources. Solon, when the daystar rises you're showing me where you saw this Autobot. I think it would be… beneficial for me to talk with them."

"Whatever you say, 'Scream," said the teen, skating off as he went back to his phone.

Matt drove through the woods, having decided to visit his parents that morning. His father was an aviation enthusiast, surely he had heard about the helicopter flying above the city. Plus, after spending time with his girlfriend, he wanted to spend his weekend off visiting family next.

As he turned a corner, he saw the car from last night sitting at the side of the road. Curious, the brunette stopped his car. The vehicle didn't look like it had any flat tires or other damage, perhaps it ran out of gas? Curiosity getting the better of him, Matt stopped the car, getting out to look over the vehicle. Nobody was inside. He kicked at the tire, jumping as he heard a surprised, groggy groan. Now there was someone in the driver's seat, looking tired. It was a young man, black flame tattoo on his right arm, hair slicked back in an eighties hairstyle. Come to think of it… a lot of his appearance looked like it came from the eighties.

"Whuizzit?" he slurred, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Is… everything okay, sir?" asked Matt. "It's just… you've stopped in the road here."

"Oh yeah. I stopped for a quick nap. I guess I was tired, since I… slept all night."

Matt accepted this, stepping back to his car before they both heard the sound of a jet plane above them. The brunette jumped back as, rather than landing, the fighter jet began to unfold into a massive humanoid robot, landing before the red car with a loud stomp. Matt scrambled backwards, the robot glaring down at the red car.

"Face me, Autobot," he demanded. "I wish to talk."

To Matt's further surprise, the car also became a robot. The massive yellow spoiler ended up on its back, pipes appeared on its arms and legs, and it had a yellow crest on its forehead. Despite being a lot shorter than the plane, it had a very irreverent expression.

"Starscream," he greeted, hands on his hips. "Are we really gonna do this in front of a local?"

"What I have to say is important," said the first robot, Starscream. "Surely you understand how devastating the war has become, Hot Rod. We can no longer live on Cybertron, and we're forced to travel the stars, bringing conflict to every planet we come across. But our path of destruction doesn't have to continue. If you join me, we can help bring an end to this conflict and restore peace for our race."

"With you at the top, no doubt."

"We could rule together, equal in our power. I implore you, join me… and I'll even forgive your actions at Nyon."

This made Hot Rod grimace, standing up a little straighter to look the taller bot in the optics. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh?" The plane bot's "eyebrow" raised in amusement. "Well, if that's how you feel, then tell the local about it."

Hot Rod looked down to see Matt still there, shooing the human away. Needless to say, he understood the message and ran. Then, much to the other two's surprise, the red robot began to play loud heavy metal music, presumably from the eighties as well. "I'll have you know, Screamer, my actions speak louder than words."

With that, he lunged upward, knocking Starscream to the ground in surprise. But the larger mech recovered, slamming his fist into Hot Rod's chest. The red one slid back, but stayed on his feet. He reached back and detached the spoiler, holding it out like a sword. In response, Starscream detached a wing, which had a hilt attached. The two started trading blows, the pipes in Hot Rod's arms shooting flames at his opponent's face. Briefly blinded, Starscream stumbled as is opponent leapt backwards, landing beside Matt.

"Human, get outta here!" he called. "One wrong move and-URK!"

He was cut off as he got tackled, face planting into the ground. Starscream stood above him, wing sword raised. "Never turn your back on an opponent," he warned, but before he could do that a flash blinded him once more.

The red one saw Matt take a picture with his phone, figuring out what caused the flash. Turning back into a car, he turned to face his opponent's legs before flooring it straight at them. Starscream was once again knocked onto his back, Hot Rod tumbling as he hastily turned back to a robot. He was about to stand before his "sword" was knocked out of his hand, the human watching as Starscream now had some kind of blaster where his left hand was.

"I was hoping we could settle this like civilized bots," he began, stepping closer to his downed opponent. "But I see now you must be dealt with for your own good."

"You talk too much."

The smaller robot rose back up, once again hitting Starscream with an uppercut, before grabbing his sword and smacking him again with the flat part of the blade. Next the pipes on Hot Rod's legs began to spew flame, as he charged forward and shoved the larger robot back, pushing him until he was right at the edge of a ravine.

"Foolish Autobot, do you really think I can't just fly once you shove me?"

"Yeah, fly how?" Hot Rod then jabbed his sword into one of Starscream's engines, earning a shriek of pain. "Now have a nice fall!"

With a swift kick, Starscream lost his footing and fell into the ravine, Hot Rod collapsing to his knees right as the song ended. Curiosity overriding everything else, Matt ran forward, skidding to a halt as the robot landed on his side.

"Excuse me, but uh… what was that?"

"Compared to how our sides interact, that was nothing," retorted Hot Rod. "Besides, he's a jerk, I think I went too easy on him."

"So, Hot Rod, is it?" asked Matt, watching as the robot groaned and placed a hand over his face.

"I forgot, you're not supposed to see me," he sighed, continuing on before the human could ask another question. "It's not like a wedding thing, it isn't bad luck if you see me the day before. Basically, we take on these alternate modes in order to avoid detection from a planet's native inhabitants. Robots in disguise, if you want."

"I think I get it," nodded Matt. "So, you're an Autobot, and that… other guy was a Decepticon. What do those mean at home?"

"The Decepticons are a group of tyrants and warmongers, and whatever business they have on Earth can't be good."

"Well, with a name like 'Decepticon,' I bet it's all sunshine and roses."

Hot Rod stood up, reattaching the spoiler to his back. "Anyway, you shouldn't know I'm here, so I'll just go. I won't be seeing you again, local, so laters."

The Autobot fell forward, changing into a car before he could hit the ground and peeling away. At that moment Matt decided he could just call his parents, wandering back to his car, turning around, and driving back to his apartment.

At the bottom of the ravine, Starscream came back online to see Solon standing on his chest, staring impassively down at him with his arms crossed.

"So how was your talk?" he asked, only flinching as sparks came from the damaged engine.

"Get off me, you brat," the flyer snarled, getting to his feet once the human had moved aside. "That Autobot refused my offer. I shouldn't have expected any less, not from the Nyon Butcher."

"Really? Flame job is some sorta criminal?" Walking alongside the massive robot, Solon looked at his phone. "I don't think he knew anything about the Exodus, if that's what you wanted to talk about."

"It's not. I was busy planning my next move. There was some human there, he saw us talking. I want you to deal with him." The human looked excited, before he continued, "Stun weapons only." Solon groaned with disappointment, but hopped back on his skateboard and left regardless. "Wait! Call Chopblock and-oh, never mind."