USS Montana, Pacific Ocean
Everyone was left speechless at what they were looking at, suspended over the deck of the battleship. Sprawled out over the deck of the USS Montana was a large mechanical beast that was a cross between a shark, deep sea angler fish, and piranha. It was one of the four that assailed the ship along with 3 bigger monsters. It fled, but was ultimately found bobbing in the ocean, as if it had succumbed to its wounds. Seizing the opportunity, Spike ordered the metallic carcass fished out of the ocean, dragged out via a crane and sprawled out onto the helipad near the stern.
Professor Sumdac and Lieutenant Diaz were currently performing an autopsy on the metal monster while also making sure it was truly dead. Noah had cracked open its head and looked through the wires, while Issac observed the motors and servos that served as joints.
"I like to think myself as a wiz with electronics," Diaz began with a sigh as he rubbed some sweat from his face. "But I'm genuinely stumped here. I've never seen circuitry like this before. Not to mention the lines filled with this glowy blue stuff."
"Please do be careful, Lieutenant!" Issac warned at the mention of the blue substance. "Whatever that substance may be, it is rather flammable."
"Copy that," Diaz nodded as he now took extra care to keep any and all sparks away from the blue fluid. "Any other warnings I should know about?"
"Well, from some preliminary tests, I found that it can carry an electrical charge," Issac explained. "It is a most peculiar substance, but unfortunately, I am no chemist."
"Well, neither am I," Noah nodded. "But I don't need to be one to guess that this is the stuff it was running on. There's lines of this stuff all throughout the body."
"Almost like veins and arteries…" Spike hummed as he looked at the robotic corpse with an inquisitive eye. "Professor, have you found an engine or power core running this thing?"
"Something along those lines, Captain," Issac answered as he walked over to a section near where the torso would be on the body. "I've noticed here that there are a series of cables and fuel lines leading both in and out of this chamber here, but when upon further inspection…" The portly professor opened up the panels in question to reveal a hollow chamber with two prods, almost as if something were to be inside. "If there is meant to be a heart of sorts, it should be here, but it is not."
"Rather complex engineering, don't you think?" Spike pondered aloud. "Almost as if it was built to be alive."
"That doesn't make sense though," Diaz piped up, done tinkering with the wires he was working with. "If you're building a war machine, why put together this weird facsimile of life? To top it off, this is definitely not Russion, North Korean, or Chinese."
"Maybe it's aliens?" Sari piped up, appearing as if from nowhere, giving Noah a good startle, while Issac was used to her shenanigans. "Think about it. This stuff is way more advanced than anything my dad could build, and is made with stuff we've never seen before."
"Oh Sari, I doubt that is the case," Issac gently dismissed, not convinced of the story his daughter was trying to weave.
"I won't dismiss the idea outright though," Spike admitted, earning a few looks in his direction. "Okay, let's rewind back to the end of that battle. Those shark things were clearly trying to kill us. Next thing you know, that giant comes out of the ocean and takes out the last one, yet didn't lay a finger on us. Something tells me there's 2 parties at play here."
"Okay, but if it is aliens, why did they come out of the ocean instead of, say, the sky?" Diaz pointed out. The lieutenant had a valid point, but then Professor Sumdac remembered something.
"That swell in the water yesterday…" Issac muttered. "Captain, you said there were no recorded earthquakes in that time frame that could have created a tsunami. Maybe it was an impact wave?"
"Possibly," Spike hummed as he rubbed his chin. "Whatever the case, let's not get ahead of ourselves. At the very least we deduced that there are 2 parties involved. That much is certain. One side wanted us dead, the other lent a hand and saved our skins. Now begs the question: Who are the parties involved?"
Jasper City Limits
A fresh and custom decked Lamborghini Gallardo cruised down one of the open roads that crisscrossed the small town of Jasper before coming to a slow stop along the side of the road.
"Are we meeting your buddies here?" Daniel asked as the doors opened for both he and Mikaela to step out.
"No, but I thought you two might want to see the show," Hot Rod answered, a touch of amusement in his voice. "Take a look at the sky."
Daniel looked around to see what he meant, seeing nothing but black sky dotted with stars, until he noticed something out of place. Right in the middle of the sky, there were what appeared to be 8 comets burning through the night, flying almost in a formation. The comets looked like they were getting closer, flakes of burning debris breaking off as they hurdled toward the earth. Eventually they came close enough that they whistled overhead and generated several sonic booms in the process, rattling both Daniel and Mikaela's bones.
The comets soon impacted in various spots across a vast area around the town and beyond. The humans were left in awe at the sight before Hot Rod opened his doors and honked his horn, prompting the two to get back in.
Colliding with the desert earth, a massive asteroid engulfed the surrounding sand in fire, glassing several clumps of it in the process. When the smoke and dust finally cleared, the asteroid was revealed to have a completely metal exterior as well as several lights shining from it. The mass soon began to unfold and shift before taking the form of a massive humanoid form. Surveying the area, the metal giant took note of a highway not far from his location and discretely walked over to where it was. From there, he could see several vehicles driving by. As he saw each one pass, he shook his head as he could not find one that suited him.
That was until a roaring truck engine caught his attention, and a custom tailored Kenworth W900 with several additional marker lights as well as a red and blue flame paintjob drove by. Pleased with the option presented to him, he immediately scanned the vehicle before it could escape. The driver did not notice the blue beam sweep across his vehicle as the Giant soon transformed into an exact replica of the truck in question before driving off.
An asteroid had collided several kilometers outside of a small military base. Out of the comet came a large and bulky frame. Taking note of the military base, the wrecking ball of a giant glanced at a truck that was coming his way – A Terradyne Gurkha – which suited his bulky frame perfectly. A quick scan, and a replica of the same truck drove away. By the time military personnel got to the crash site, they were wondering where the object had gone, and failed to notice the new set of tire tracks that drove away from the scene.
Another metal asteroid crashed within the vicinity of Bobby Bolivia's car lot. By the time the metal giant transformed from his confines, he surveyed the used car lot and shook his head with a look of disgust. He then noticed a Porsche dealership not too far away before walking over to it. Upon seeing the selection, the giant could not help but grin as he spied a silver Porsche Boxster with blue and red stripes. A bright flash of light engulfed the vehicle before what looked like a carbon copy drove off.
Over by Jasper High School, a metal giant with bright blue eyes emerged from his crater. He did a quick check to make sure he did not accidentally cause any property damage. His surroundings placed him right in the center of a track field. He quietly issued an apology to the owners of the area as he swiftly got out of sight of the area, and deftly leapt over one of the chain-link fences. In the parking lot of the school, he spotted a Chevrolet Camaro with a yellow paint job and black stripes. Within the next moment, the giant was gone, along with a fresh skid that matched the tires of the present Camaro.
A young girl was awoken by a sudden flash of light that entered her room. Excited, she removed a little pouch that read "My Tooth" embroidered on the side. As she took a step outside to where the backyard pool was, she saw that the pool was steaming and the water level was lower than it should be. Out from the pool emerged a large metal giant that crushed the side ladder as he dragged himself out, chlorinated water running off his metallic frame. The giant paid no need to the small child as he wandered off. The girl, not knowing any better had to ask a question.
"Excuse me, are you the tooth fairy?" She asked, hoping to get an answer from the retreating giant.
"Hey, sweetheart! What are you doing out here by yourself?" The girl's father exclaimed seeing her daughter out in the pool yard without supervision. His attention was then brought to the pool in question as he saw the damage that was done. "Holy God, What happened to the pool?!"
The Giant proceeded to hide behind the trees as the young one's parents came forth. Upon reaching the front yard, he was pleased to see that they possessed a red GMC Topkick with extended smoke stacks and a roll cage on the grill. Giving the vehicle a scan, he assumed the vehicle mode and rolled out.
Outside the vicinity of Jasper Hospital, yet another Metal Titan emerged from his crater. His impact had unsettled several ambulances whose car alarms and sirens had been going off. Giving what sounded like a disgruntled sigh, the giant scanned one of them – A Ford F-550 ambulance custom tailored for search and rescue operations in rugged terrain – and drove off as soon as he could, if only to avoid tormenting his audio receptors further with the cacophony that he had accidentally created.
By the time the giant left, one of the nurses from within the hospital quickly ran through a large key ring of fobs and hit every single one of them to silence the offending vehicles. She breathed a sigh of relief as she ran her hand through her black hair, trying to calm the headache from so many sirens going off at once. She had to stifle a gasp when her eyes saw a crater in the parking lot. Nothing looked damaged beyond the pavement, but she knew better than to leave such a matter be. Objects from space could be irradiated, and so she quickly ran back inside to inform her superiors about what she had found, yet failed to notice that the crater was completely empty.
A local street race was revving on the opposite side of town. The event was going to be canceled due to the large asteroid that came in the direction of the track, but fortunately for the drivers involved, the asteroid had missed by miles, and thus the illegal event carried on. Unbeknownst to both the drivers and spectators, a metal giant surveyed the race, and spied a bright red Dodge Viper. Giving the vehicle a scan before it could get away, he then transformed and drove off, leaving the illicit event to its devices.
Of all the metal giants that emerged, this one was by far the shortest, and held a certain feminine shape to it. Emerging from her crater, she found that she was right in the middle of a motorcycle dealership of several different brands. Eventually her optics settled on a Yamaha YZF-R1 with a dominantly cyan paint scheme with white highlights. She scanned the vehicle and transformed into a copy of the vehicle in question before driving off.
Hot Rod swerved off-road as he began driving towards one of the large mesas that surrounded the town. Despite the rugged terrain, the drive was smooth as butter for the passengers inside, though Daniel was a touch bit worried what such rough terrain could do to his finish.
"Don't worry about my finish," Hot Rod stated, surprising Daniel. "Relax. I actually can't read mines, but the wincing on your face kinda made it clear. It'll take more than a few desert rocks and shrubs to scuff me."
Daniel sighed as he slumped down in his seat. He then took note of a large mesa with a massive gap in between coming up ahead, and wondered if that was their destination. The crevice was large enough and level enough to serve as a parking garage, but was found to be unusually foggy. It may be due to the fact that this portion of the mesa received little sunlight, but Daniel was not an expert on thermodynamics, and brushed the thought aside. Eventually, Hot Rod slowed down to a gentle halt and opened his doors.
"We're here," Hot Rod declared as both Daniel and Mikaela stepped out. They looked around and saw nothing but rock, as well as the fog that surrounded the path through the mesa. Eventually a low rumble of a truck engine drew their attention forward as the fog in the distance began to glow. A few seconds passed before a red and blue Kenworth W900L emerged from the fog, its paint job interspliced with flames, and instead of the typical brand badge on the bonnet, it was the exact same badge that was found on Hot Rod's steering wheel. The same one that he had shone through the clouds last night as a signal.
Both Daniel and Mikaela turned around as more engines revved as more vehicles arrived. It was an odd assortment, ranging from a GMC Topkick, to a Porsche Boxster, to even a Yamaha YZF-R1 with no driver, amongst 3 others. Their attention was returned to the Semi Truck that slowed to a halt and stopped right before them.
Here, the nose of the truck broke apart and began to fold into itself as several other parts of the cab broke away and rearranged themselves. Eventually the transformation revealed the head where 2 bright blue optic sensors whirred with untold wisdom and a facemask hid beneath his helm revealing an aged faceplate that denoted years, if not centuries, of experience. Eventually the other vehicles present – Hot Rod included – began to transform around them. The Porshce Boxster leapt up and performed what resembled dance moves before landing on his feet, while the F-550 ambulance clicked and clattered with the sound of gears as he stood up. The Yamaha YZF-R1, despite its initial volume, now stood over twice the height of either human and merely folded her arms. By the time everyone had transformed, the former Semi Truck slowly knelt down to greet the humans, his movements punctuated by a subtle pneumatic hiss.
Daniel was scared to be sure. The last time he was up close with a giant robot was one that came from a raging cop car that nearly killed him, but this one was different. He was calm, and bore no rage or malice. He could not be certain, but he felt that there were several emotions permeated behind those blue optics that defined the robot's eyes. He then spoke.
"Are you Daniel Richard Witwicky, Descendant of Archibald Amundsen Witwicky?" The titan inquired in a calm and baritone voice.
"He knows your name…!" Mikaela whispered in awe of what she was seeing.
"Y-Yeah?" Daniel answered, finally mustering his voice after a few seconds of stunned silence.
"My name is Optimus Prime," The titan introduced himself. "We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron."
"But you may refer to us as Autobots, for short," The ambulance added, his voice not as baritone as his colleague, but just as aged if not moreso.
"Autobots…" Daniel echoed, taking note of the same badge each Autobot held. The same badge he had been seeing since his day at that used car dealership.
"'Ey, little guys. What's crackin'?" The Porsche Boxster greeted as he took a casual seat on a nearby rock.
"My first lieutenant, Designation Jazz," Optimus introduced.
"This looks like a cool place to kick it," Jazz declared as he leaned back in his rock chair.
"Okay, if you guys are from another planet, how'd you learn to talk like that?" Daniel asked. Hot Rod, so far was a decent guy, albeit a touch easy to offend based on what happened after Mikaela's comment, and here we have an Autobot who sounds almost like a DJ.
"We've learned Earth's languages through the world wide web," Optimus explained as he gestured a hand to the former GMC Topkick. "My weapon specialist, Ironhide."
The crimson mech in question wiggled his fingers and flipped out 2 large forearm-mounted cannons that hummed to life. "You feelin' lucky, punk?" Ironhide threatened with a southern accent, making Daniel feel very uneasy.
"Easy, Ironhide," Optimus warned.
"Aw, don't worry, Prime," Ironhide shrugged as he powered down his cannons, earning a sigh from Daniel. "I meant no harm. Just wanted to show off my cannons is all."
"Our medical officer, Ratchet," Optimus resumed introductions with the ambulance next in line.
"Ugh, I'm registering an intensified pheromone output from the male there," Ratchet sputtered in disgust. "It's as if he wants to interface with the female."
Mikaela awkwardly scratched the back of her head, not wanting to say a word, while Daniel nervously whistled at the blunt comment.
"Our young scout, Bumblebee," Optimus resumed introductions, dismissing the awkward moment caused by Ratchet's outburst, and directing attention to the bright-eyed Camaro in question, who did not speak, but buzzed like a chiptune.
"Nice to meet you guys."
"Um, what?" Daniel hummed in confusion.
"Right, they can't understand me." Bumblebee slumped, looking a touch bit saddened and annoyed.
"He can't speak?" Mikaela guessed aloud.
"I'm afraid not," Ratchet explained solemnly. "His voice box was severely damaged in battle, far beyond what could be repaired."
"Yeah, well lack of voice aside, the kid is as bold as brass where it counts!" The green Terradyne Gurkha bombastically exclaimed, earning a look from the two humans. "Oh. Uh, guess I forgot to wait my turn for introductions. Heh."
"Continuing with said introductions, this is our heavy weapons expert, Bulkhead," Optimus continued, not missing a beat and rolling with the conversation. "Over here are our resident warrior and stealth specialist respectively; Sideswipe and Chromia."
"Hey there," the teal motorcycle that was Chromia casually greeted with a small wave.
"You know, I didn't think humans would be this small," Sideswipe commented as he knelt down to get a better look at Sam and Mikaela.
"Yes yes, their size along with their fleshiness are among their less desirable traits," Ratchet commented dryly, earning looks from every Autobot present as well as the humans. "...What?"
"You already know your guardian, Hot Rod," Optimus concluded introductions with a gesture to the bot in question.
"Autobot Elite Guard at your service," Hot Rod introduced with a bow and grin.
"So you're my guardian?" Daniel asked, enjoying the situation, but having a hard time believing this is real.
"Exactly," Hot Rod nodded. "You have one of the best of the best watching your back."
"If you're part of the Elite Guard, where are the wings on your badge?" Sideswipe spoke up in a tone that expressed his doubt.
"I had them removed to keep my profile low," Hot Rod answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "I knew there were a few 'Cons here on this planet, so the last thing I needed was to paint myself as a bigger target than necessary."
"He's got a point there," Bulkhead added, earning a disgruntled huff from Sideswipe.
"So, why are you here?" Mikaela asked, the question burning in her mind as the introductions went through.
"We are here looking for a Conduit of the Allspark," Optimus answered. "And we must find it before Megatron."
"Mega-What?" Daniel asked, not catching the name in its entirety. Optimus said nothing as he brought his hand out, and from underneath the plating of his forearm came a disc-like object that settled within his palm. The center of the disc began to glow and a holographic projection of a large planet made entirely of metal was shown before the two It was an awe-inspiring sight to see such an illuminated sphere of metal.
"Our planet was once a peaceful world many millions of years ago," Optimus began to explain before the hologram shifted to the form of a silver mech with a large cannon mounted to his forearm. On his torso was a badge not unlike the Autobots, but it was far more angular and sinister-looking. His faceplate was the complete opposite of Optimus, holding centuries of scars that have been repaired over time while his blood-red optics bore an untold malice, even through such a holographic projection, that was enough to make both Daniel and Mikaela shudder. "All of that changed when Megatron – Leader of the Decepticons – waged war against the Autobots. Many who defied them were destroyed, and in time, warfare had finally consumed our homeworld, and both sides were forced to make exodus."
The hologram shifted with various images of battles fought over the metallic planet, the mass exodus of several spacecraft in an effort to take refuge among the stars, and finally another shot of the planet, only it was cold, barren, and devoid of life.
"Many millennia long before the war, our own ancestors had sought to colonize worlds," Optimus continued as the hologram then shifted to an image of a large cube, completely made of metal and etched all over in various alien glyphs. "One such method for doing so was a device called a Conduit, which housed a portion of the Allspark. Megatron knew this, and had sent several warriors across the galaxy in an effort to find it. One that was eventually discovered by Captain Witwicky."
"My great great grandfather!" Daniel exclaimed. So the giant ice man his ancestor had supposedly unearthed was real after all, and was an agent searching for this device.
"An accident that ended up intertwining our fates," Optimus continued. "We cannot be certain of all of the details, as we suspect the warrior crash-landed before retrieving The Cube, but we do know that the Decepticon's navigation system was triggered, and had embedded the coordinates of the Cube's location on Earth upon your ancestor's glasses."
"Wait, how'd you know about his glasses?" Daniel asked?
"Craigslist," Optimus answered flatly.
"If the Decepticons find the Conduit, they'll likely use its power for its initial purpose to cyberform this planet," Ratchet suggested. "Or worse yet, use it to transform the machines here into a new army."
"And the Human race will be extinguished," Optimus finished as he stood to his full height. "Daniel Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth's survival."
At that statement, all of the Autobots stood at attention before Daniel, some more casual than others. This was big. Bigger than he ever thought possible. A civil war from another world had come to his own, and his family legacy was instrumental in preventing wholesale extinction of his species. He had always wanted to enlist in the Military when he became of age and serve where he was best needed, just like his father, but never could he have expected something like this.
"Please tell me you still have those glasses," Mikaela shakily said, genuinely hoping that Daniel did not end up pawning off something that could save Humanity.
High Earth Orbit
Flying high above Earth's atmosphere, and well out of view of any satellites that are orbiting the planet was a massive warship that was armed to the teeth and adorned in several sharp wings. Within the ship's bridge, the viewscreens displayed the Earth in view. The bridge had only viewscreens as opposed to windows to the outside, as the latter would be a tactical fallacy. Several Decepticons rummaged about their duties at the helm, all while under the keen and watchful optics of the silver titan at the center. As he observed the planet, he could not help but sneer in disgust, which revealed shark-like denta that could crush bone if he so chose. Megatron held a great distaste for organic life forms, so easily crushed by the likes of himself and his kind.
The door at the back of the bridge opened with a hiss, letting in another Decepticon. While not as imposing, this one still bore malice to those witness to his visage, as his sharpened wings pointed right up from his back. Along his arms were a pair of long-barreled guns of sorts, and his digits were long and claw-life, sharp enough to cut through steel.
"Report, Starscream," Megatron ordered in a deep and gravely voice that demanded it be followed.
"Barricade has lost the Human, Master," The winged Decepticon now known as Starscream answered in a smooth, yet gravely voice of his own. "The Autobots have stalled his pursuit."
"I do not want excuses, Starscream," Megatron growled, causing the winged Decepticon to shrink back. "And what of the Autobots?"
"W-Well, separated and alone we could not detect them," Starscream explained. "As they were able to shield themselves enough alone, but now that they have regrouped, we can now pinpoint their exact location. Shall I send a strike team to terminate them?"
"No," Megatron denied, leaving Starscream a touch bit confused. "We cannot draw attention to ourselves, lest the human population grow wise to our presence more than they are. Despite their primitive technology, they have managed to wound Ravage, and terminate the Sharkticons under Onslaught's command."
"Even so, the humans rely on their primitive datanet to maintain communications," Starscream retorted. "Soundwave could send the frequency to his virus to effectively shut them down."
"All in due time," Megatron nodded. "But we must not forget that the Autobots are not to be underestimated, especially Optimus Prime and his top lieutenants. For now, we shall observe, and see if the human organization known as 'Sector 7' will lead us to the Conduit. Head to the planet's surface with a detachment, and acquire suitable vehicle modes to maintain cover. Once the cube has been located is when the order may be given..."
"I understand, Lord Megatron," Starscream bowed before exiting the bridge.
"What we achieve with the Conduit will only be a Prelude, Optimus," Megatron muttered to himself, his grin deepening. "With my replenished numbers, the Autobots' days will be numbered..."
A/N: The Autobots have arrived! And we also get an explanation to what the namesake of the story is at last. I won't like and say I didn't have the track for this moment from the movie playing on loop in my brain, because I sure as well did. Points to anyone who can figure out who the nurse was. Given the locale and the roster, I did have to switch up the scene quite a bit, and I think it turned out for the best. As for why I made Optimus a Kenworth W900L instead of a Peterbilt 379? I personally think the sun roof on the sleeper makes it look cooler, almost like a double decker cab. Personal tastes. It was also a challenge to find a fitting vehicle for Bulkhead, since I didn't want to default to a Hummer. And of course, Megatron is here!
Now onto another note, I may post a fresh Discord invite down the line, so stay tuned and keep yer optics peeled if you see it. I hope this was a good read. :)