Prowl pulled up a live feed of the car spot where Bumblebee was with one of their mini probes; she turned her head to face Optimus.
"We got a life fed of the location, ma'am," Prowl announced.
Optimus walks forward, looking around at the scene. The area was entirely populated, yet still possible to bring the scout back. As Optimus surveyed the area, she noticed the black racing stripes of her scout and pointed to it.
"Move the drone over to that position; keep it out of sight," Optimus explains.
"Yes, ma'am," Prowl nodded as she moved the drone over her position.
"Any idea on getting her back?" Cliffjumper asked.
"Yes," Optimus answers, "I will explain it to Ironhide once she returns,"
"Why Ironhide?" Cliffjumper asked.
"She's quite capable of doing curbside and keeping Bumblebee safe if any Decepticon attempt to get to her," Optimus explains.
Right on queue, the roar of a truck gets their attention. As they turned to the tunnel, a black topkick truck drove into the base and transformed. Ironhide had a short ponytail which was a greyish-blue color. She had a small hair bang going down the left side of her head, which was red. She had a military-like scarf around her neck, armor around her chest, and her shirt much like a crop top with long pants connecting to armor down her lower leg. She also had two large cannons, one on both arms; Lio noted that she was pretty toned, seemingly more buffed than the others he meant.
"Man, this rock has some prime energon sources Pr-" Ironhide paused as she looked towards Lio, sitting on a crate, "Who's she?"
"He," Optimus emphasized, "Is our guest and recruit. Lio Convoy,"
Ironhide quirks a brow, then parrots, "He?"
"Like the humans opposite sex," Cliffjumper explains.
"We have those?" Ironhide questioned as she placed her hands on her hips, staring at Lio, who looked at her.
"Allegedly," Prowl drawled, "He claims to be from the future, of a different universe where we were all mechs, as he puts it,"
Ironhide clicks her tongue and laughs, "Right, so did Bumblebee return?"
"No, we did find her, however," Optimus explains as she faces Ironhide. "Bumblebee is currently hidden, and I need you to head to her locate and ensure she's safe until we can bring her back,"
"How did she get there?' Ironhide asked.
"We don't know," Cliffjumper shrugs. "Yet we know she's there,"
"What about the other kid?" Ironhide asked.
"Hot Rod is still unaccounted for," Prowl answered without turning around.
"I will take over looking for any deposit of energon not picked up by our scanners and scouting out what's around us while you're gone," Optimus told Ironhide, "Do not speak or attack in front of the car spot. Your main objective is to sit and observe; if Decepticons do appear, lure them away. Do not engage unless they are openly attacking the car spot."
"Got it, ma'am," Ironhide nodded; she turned to Ratchet, who opened a groundbridge.
"Prowl, command falls to you," Optimus tells her as she transforms and drives out of the base.
"Understood," Prowl says,
"So, do you still not believe in Lio's origins?" Cliffjumper questioned.
"Do you?" Prowl retorts.
Lio glanced at the pair as Cliffjumper and Prowl spoke about his origins. Lio turns his attention back to the wall, thinking about his current situation. He's stuck here for all he knows, and while Lio can't fully remember why Lio's here, Lio knows he should help the Autobots win the war. Yet he can't do that when they don't trust him and his origins. It was a mistake attacking Optimus and her Autobots, yet the Predacons creating a clone to fool him isn't that out of place. It is something he would expect, yet he was wrong.
Lio figured that he could gain their trust through action instead of getting them to believe something they won't. With the time they're in, they don't think time travel is impossible, but none of them know how the war will end or who will come out on top. For them, the future is not certain; the one he speaks of is not certain. Prowl picked up on an energon reading, small but still worth checking out, as she thought of who would go on the scouting run, and Prowl turned her attention to Lio as Ratchet approached him.
"Lio, how are you feeling?" Ratchet asked.
"Better for sure," Lio answered, "Still trying to come to terms with what's happening. Why do you ask?"
"Before you get sent on any mission, I need to see if your systems and weapons are field equipped," Ratchet explains.
Lio nodded as he stood up, "I don't have that many weapons on me, but they do pack a punch,"
"We'll see if the weapons survived the trip here and didn't change," Ratchet told him; Prowl walked over to them before she could move.
"Ratchet, can that wait? I need Lio to assist Clifjumper on a scouting mission," Prowl says. "They shouldn't get into any skirmish,"
"Knowing Cliffjumper, I'm sure that they would get into a skirmish," Ratchet drawls as she placed a hand on her hips,
"If that does happen, it would be a good way to see if my weapons are effective against your enemies," Lio cuts in; he then looks towards Prowl, "So, what's the objective?"
XXXXXX
"I picked up on Decepticon activity in this area; energon was on the move in this area," Prowl explains, "I suspect that they're building something there, or they're moving energon out of the mine,"
"What if it's the local lifeforms that are moving it?" Lio asked.
"Doubt it, they wouldn't be able to find it; even if they did, it's not like they have the right tools to harvest it," Cliffjumper explains.
The groundbridge opens as Prowl steps before Cliffjumper, "I cannot stress this enough. Your being sent on a scouting mission, do not engage the enemies, report your findings here, and we'll deal with it accordingly. Make sure you watch him; as for you," She points to Lio. "Follow Cliffjumper's directions while you're on the mission,"
"Yes, ma'am," Cliffjumper salutes with a smirk while Lio nods and walks through the groundbridge.
Leaving the portal, the pair found themselves in the foliage of a forest; Cliffjumper grumbled as she moved the leaves out of her path. Lio walks forward while Cliffjumper puts her hand in front of his legs.
"Wow, wow, slow it down, big girl."
"Guy"
"Yeah yeah," Cliffjumper waves it off, "We meant you a few cycles ago, so any terms for males will be gradually added; anyways, you can't just start walking normally on a scouting mission; your footsteps are as loud as primes,"
Lio looks at her, then stomps his feet on the ground; this time, no sound is present as he did. "Right, shall we get back to it?"
"How?" Cliffjumper rubbed the back of her head.
"Feline stealth," Lio answered; Cliffjumper shook her head and took the lead as Lio slowly followed behind her.
Making it to an opening, Cliffjumper gestures for Lio to stay in the foliage as she hides behind a rock. The pair looks forward, and indeed there were Decepticons, carts of energon crystals, and boxes of energon. Two notable Decepticons were watching the troopers as the miners were working. Much like Starscream, a seeker with gold and black colors, she had jet kibble around her body, short black hair, and aviation headphones on. A scowl rested on her face as she stood on the cliff, looking over the drones.
The next Decepticons was a Eurkin and the leader of a combiner team. The predacon Razorclaw, Cliffjumper, couldn't help but chuckle at the sight and thought of the irony of the situation. Much like Lio, Razorclaw had the kibble of a robotic lion around his body, some patches of fur but not a lot, mainly around her shoulder and foreleg. Singular large blasters were on both shoulders; she was in more trible-like clothes, with a large hostel for her sword on her left thigh. Her chest plate resembles the face of a lioness.
"Man, big cat bots are so annoying," Cliffjumper grumbles.
"You know I'm a big cat, right?" Lio narrowed his eyes at the smaller bot, though there was a smirk under his mouthguard.
"B-But I didn't mean you! O-or in that way, buddy!" Cliffjumper blustered. "I-I meant, like, her being able to smell and hear better is annoying! And she leads a very aggressive pack!"
"Just messing with you, but shouting isn't a wise idea," Lio told her.
"Well, luckily, we're out of earshot and look. You have a perfect rival," Cliffjumper points to Razorclaw, "Another lion."
Lio looks towards her with quirks and a brow, "Why does she have a mane?"
"a mane?" Cliffjumper asked.
"Around her chest, those markings. Her clothes look lion-like, and the painting shows a mane," Lio says, "Mains are for males, and y'all don't have those."
"Oh right, those are tattoos that are supposed to be like a sun around the lion, something ego related for her," Cliffjumper says. "Anyways, I don't like seeing the cons with that much energon while we ration what we have,"
"Cliffjumper, this is a scouting mission; we're not meant to engage," Lio explains.
"I know, I know," Cliffjumper says, "But Prowl did give me command, did she not,"
Of course, Lio suspected that would be held over his head; he knew Prowl didn't mean it like that but also knew there was possibly no changing Cliffjumper's mind. He won't let her fight them all off alone; they might tear her apart if he allows that. Lio shakes his head, then turns to face Cliffjumper.
"This is against Prowl's order, but having known you for an hour and your little interactions, I know there's no talking you out of it…." Lio says, "So I can't allow you to fight each of them alone,"
As they talked, Razorclaw sniffed the air; she then turned her attention to the hiding Autobots, pointing her blasters toward them; she fired four shots in their general direction. Two blasts hit the ground between them, launching both of them away from one another. The last two sent Lio out into the open.
As he attempts to rise, a sword pointed under his chin; he stares Razorclaw in her optics. Razorclaw quirks a brow, Novastorm walking up to her side while vehicon troops rushed forward and took aim at Lio.
"An Autobot has found our location; think she is the only one?" Razorclaw grunted. "And, she has a very different build to her body. No type of fat or bounce on her body."
"She does," Novastorm answers, placing a hand on her hip, "Spitting image of Optimus though, she's probably a fan. And she looks like another lion type. Anyways take her out,"
"No, she's not worthy enough to be killed by me or worthy enough to be an opponent," Razorclaw says as she walks away.
Novastorm rolled her eyes and pointed her blaster at Lio, "Lazy cat," She muttered.
Lio dashed up, punching her in the stomach; Lio grabbed hold of her arm, moving it towards a vehicon as she attempted to blast him. Lio quickly turns around, doing a spin kick across her face.
"Kill him!" Novastorm shouted to the vehicons.
Lio dodged the oncoming fire by the Vehicons, quickly moving behind a rock as he took out his hand-held three-barrel blaster; he looked at it, then the vehicons.
"Hopefully, this is still strong, but those are drones, so it shouldn't matter," Lio mutters to himself.
Lio rolled out from behind the rock, taking multiple shots at the Decepticon troopers. As the bolt hit the vehicons, they took steps back or fell before the fire took them down. Three shots did them in; one of the vehicons rushed behind him, attempting to tackle him; Lio turned around, activating two golden blades from his wrist, he stabbed the vehicon in her chest.
"At least these are strong," Lio mutters as he pulls out the blades and dodges another blast from a vehicon.
XXXXXX
"He could hold them off for a while, a couple of troopers, Novastorm, and Razorclaw. Novastorm isn't even that strong of a seeker, so he should be good," Cliffjumper mutters as she climbs the mountain. As cliffjumper made it to the top, she looked over the edge grinning as she noticed vehicons looking at the skirmish ahead of them.
"That is an odd looking cybertronian," One of the vehicons says.
"Yeah, where is her breast? Or hips, or curves…." Another says, "Pretty muscular, though,"
"She doesn't even have anything sexy, no ass, no nothing. Though still active, hotter than anything else," The first vehicon says, "Should we help."
"No, we already have an important job to do now; watch over this place and make sure she doesn't try anything." The second one answers.
Cliffjumper leaps into the air, aiming her blasters at the two Decepticons; she does a spin as she flies overhead, gunning the two down. Cliffjumper lands between the troopers as they fall.
"Easy as always," Cliffjumper grinned as she slowly walked inside the entrance, vehicons were rushing out, having heard the blaster fire. Cliffjumper rolled into view, blasting the troopers down Cliffjumper quickly rushed inside; the ones fighting Lio couldn't possibly listen to them, given their fight.
With the area somewhat clear, Cliffjumper quickly walked around the base, examining the interior of the cave, it was still under construction, but the walls and ceiling were not bare. Instead, they were replaced with metal, having the same interior as one of their outposts. Cliffjumper looked at several crates of energon, special boxes with different energon inside of them; the label was other. Medical boxes were scattered around the base, new equipment had never been seen before, and something important was built within the mountain.
"This looks rather important," Cliffjumper grins as she pulls out a grenade. "But before I decorate this place myself. Maybe I should take some of the energon for us,"
XXXXXX
Red bolts of energon flew through the sky as Lio avoided each of the vehicons fire. Lio dodged each bolt, closing the distance with one, he stabbed the vehicon in the chest, and pulling his blaster out, he shot her in the face. Another hits him across the chest with her blaster as she attempts to shoot him, but Lio cuts the blaster in two; Lio then rounds house her. As the trooper fell, Lio leaped out of the way of another blaster fire; he turned and rapidly opened fire at the Vehicons chest; as the vehicon fell, Novastrom blasted towards Lio right as the trooper fell, and Lio quickly attempted to open fire, Novastorm kicks the gun was kicked out of his hand. Novastorm grabbed his face, slamming him into the ground as she spun around. As Lio's head hits the ground, she flies forward, pushing Lio through the ground, he knees her in the stomach, getting her to let him go, and he blasts onto his feet.
"I'll kill you!" Novastorm shouted as she blasted towards Lio.
Lio dashed to the right, kicking the Decepticon in the back; she swung her arm back to hit him; Lio caught her arm, then flipped her over his back. Novastorm blasted Lio in the stomach; he stumbled back as she leaped into the air, quickly turning to face Lio and getting ready for another attack. Lio quickly came in low, uppercutting her stomach, and a gasp cut short as she was hit in the face by Lio... Novastorm flew back, avoiding another strike; she blasted toward Lio, kneeing him in the stomach; she punched Lio in the beginning, then went for a kick.
Lio grabbed her foot, then pushed her leg back; as she lost her footing, Lio punched her in the stomach and fell.
"And now, she's worthy," Razorclaw unsheathed her sword again, pointing the blade towards Lio's.
Lio looks at Razorclaw; he activates both of his blades and waits for Razorclaw to make the first move; she dashes towards Lio going his neck; Lio quickly blocks the hit, then he goes on the offensive, slashing at Razorclaw, going for her chest, pelvis, and shoulders, she stops each strike thrown her way with her sword. Lio takes a step back, then lung forward, aiming to thrust his blades into her chest; she blocks the strike, and he backhands Lio.
He falls onto his back, planting his hands on the ground above his head. He pushed himself into the air as Razorclaw rushed forward; as he pushed himself into the air, he spun, performing a spin kick; she blocked the four strikes and went to grab his leg. Lio pushed himself back, landing on his feet; Razorclaw throws her sword towards Lio, who blocks it, throwing it behind him.
As the sword flew into the air, Novastorm flew up and caught it; she blasted down, slamming the sword down, aiming to cleave Lio in two; he turned around and leaped to the left, the blade cutting off strains of hair and bits of his armor. As Novastorm landed, she threw the sword to Razorclaw and blasted towards the left, slamming her fist into Lio's side. He grunted as he grabbed her face, attempting to slam her down; Lio moved aside as Razorclaw tried to cut him in half.
XXXXXX
"Okay, this should be enough," Cliffjumper grins.
She placed several grenades on a few raw energon crystals. Cliffjumper had taken what she could from the base, moving some boxes into the forest, where they would bridge back to the floor. Cliffjumper rushed out of the entrance, sliding to a stop at the edge; she looked down at Lio, attempting to fight off the two cons.
She grins, activates her last grenade, throws it inside, and rushes to the forest.
XXXXXX
Lio roars as he uppercuts a vehicon; Razorclaw has gotten Lio into a headlock while Novastorm is at his side blasting him; before she can hit him with a more vigorous attack, an explosion catch their attention. Novastorm and the few remaining vehicons turn their attention towards the source of the blast. Novastorm eyes widened, and she quickly rushed to the source with the vehicons. Razorclaw grunts, letting Lio go to join her ally; the moment he felt her grip loosen, Lio grabbed her arm and then slammed her into the ground. Looking up, Lio noticed Cliffjumper gesturing him to follow her. Lio lets go of Razorclaw as he holds his blaster, then flies towards Cliffjumper.
"Wait, you can fly?" Cliffjumper asked.
"Yes," Lio says as he pockets his blaster.
Cliffjumper nodded as she walked over to a tree; she picked up two energon crates, gesturing for Lio to help her. Lio walked over to her, noticing four more boxes that he picked up. Cliffjumper requested a groundbridge, and they entered; as they walked through, Prowl stood waiting for them, arms crossed.
"Oh, frag," Cliffjumper mutters.
XXXXXX
"My instructions were cheer," Prowl says. "Scout out the area and report your findings, not attack them,"
"But to be fair, Lio attacked, I didn't," Cliffjumper says with a smile; Lio quickly turns to face her while Prowl turns her glare towards Lio. "But then again, he was defending himself; we were scouting out the base, and Razorclaw picked up on our scent and attacked. They caught Lio, and while he held them off, I went inside their base."
Prowl placed her hands on her hips. "When the Decepticons attacked, why didn't you call for an emergency groundbridge instead of engaging,"
Lio looks at the two, then clears his throat, "When they attacked, Cliffjumper blasted further away, and with the heat on me, she would've had to jump in to engage. Plus, I'm sure she learned something important from the distraction I provided…and I can't call any of you; I was on my own,"
Prowl turns her gaze onto Lio, a cold chill running down his spine. "Lio, you are not an Autobot, nor one of us. You have not gained anyone's trust nor told us your origins. Most importantly, you have not gained my trust,"
Cliffjumper steps before him, "But he's right, Prowl. I wouldn't have been able to fend off Novastorm and Razoredge with a squad of vehicon. As for what I found, it appears that the Decepticons are creating a bunker. Inside I found several; crates of energon and medical supplies,"
Prowl quirks a brow, though it was hard to tell with her visor. She sighs and rubs her forehead, "You two, put the energon into storage. Lio, report to Ratchet once you're done."
Prowl leaves the two behind, and Lio sigh; Cliffjimper nudges his side.
"Chill out, Prowl may be cold and all, but she's nice when you get to know her….somewhat." Cliffjumper grins, "Now come on, let's put this away.
As they left, Prowl returned to the monitors, accepting a call from Ironhide.
"Prowl, I made it to Bumblebee location, so far nothing out of the ordinary is going on," Ironhide says
"Good, Remember what Optimus says, do not engage. Watch and report any updates," Prowl answered,
"Got it, Ironhide out," Said Ironhide.
XXXXXX
Learning of Sector 7, Starscream figured it would be wise to create a facsimile to infiltrate Sector 7. Finding an agent to replace them with a facsimile was easy, with Sector 7 finding Decepticon technology to use it. Knowing that they won't entirely pass up the opportunity to meet them if Starscream is current, the Autobots are not in league with the humans, meaning the Decepticons could get to them first and make the Autobots the villains.
Inside the lab, a scientist was looking over the body of a vehicon; the facsimile walked into the observation deck to face one of the higher-ups—agent Seymour Simmons, standing there as he watched them work.
"Sir, sir," The facsimile says.
"What is it?" Simmons asked without turning around.
"I've made contact with one of the aliens," He says.
Simons quirks a brow; he turns around to face the agent, "You serious? Did you get in contact with one of them? How?"
"Yes…well actually, they contacted me, but it would appear that after retrieving one of their own, they managed to make contact," He says, "It would appear that they're much more intelligent than we thought, so what do we do?
Simmons rubs his chin, "If they would want to meet up, a place set up a location for us to meet at, isolated from any inhabited area. I will round up a greeting party. We can't be too safe around them,"
"Yes sir," The facsimile grins and walks away.
Starscream smirks as she rubs her hands together; she turns to Soundwave, which displays the location she picked.
"Excellent," Starscream finger tends as she looks at Soundwave. "I don't want them to know about all of us, and you're perfectly fine in the dark as of now, Soundwave. I want Knockout and Barricade to go to the location and set up a…beneficial arrangement."
Soundwave nodded as she walked away. Having contacted the pair, Knockout and Barricade walked into the bridge.
"Ah, Barricade, Knockout. I need you two to meet up with a group of humans for me," Starscream grins, "I found Sector 7 and placed a Facsimile within their ranks, and now a meeting is set up with them, and you two will speak with them first."
"That's breaking the infiltration protocol Starscream," Barricade sneered.
"Breaking? I would like to see it as a unique modification. As this planet is unique, and they already seemingly know of our technology," Starscream would grin.
Barricade held off the growl of agitation for Starscream. "Phase two is stirring up existing conflicts among the humans, not getting them into conflict with the Autobots, and what will this accomplish?"
"It'll keep the Autobots off our back, and we may get in close, find all the tech they hold, and destroy them all. Our Facsimile would be left, and they will not only get a promotion, but they will blame the Autobots,"
"Sounds very convoluted," Knockout would mutter to herself.
"Ah, but it's not. These humans are inferior to us; however, with the right push and assistance, we can find the Autobot resistance and crush them. Soundwave here could maybe even connect to their satellite so the Autobots won't call for reinforcements," Starscream grins. "Now, this is not up for debate. You two will arrive first, then the likes of me."
"All of us?" Knockout folded her arms.
"No, we must make ourselves seem more…scarce than it is. You hardly look like a fighter in their eyes. This is not up for debate; now prepare yourselves," Starscream says, "Earlier NovaStorm reported that the bunker was damaged. Luckily they didn't find the energon mind below, nor her."
"Was it wise to move her there that early?" Knockout clicks her tongue, "My medical area isn't even completed in that base,"
"It's better to have her there so whatever energy she has would be hidden by the energon," Starscream answered, "From what was said, they just assumed it was a regular staging base; they probably don't even know who's all here, or that our warship is in orbit. They also mentioned that the weird bot Barricade faced off with was there, attacking them before the base went up. Guess it's more important than I thought, but it won't halt our process. Now get moving!"
A/N, And chapter 2 is up! Sorry for the long wait; life and college were getting in the way, but that's life! Anyways, I wanted also to mention that I saw the Rise of the Beast trailer.
IT WAS LITTTT!
I wrote a saga based on the movie before the second trailer. You see, my ideas, which would blend communities such as IDW and such, along with connecting them to other arcs, I was closer than I thought; of course, it was different.
All of my Transformers stories would've had that added in it…well, mainly the story with Lio cause.
Also, can I get a "Make Lio cannon" In the comments, please? He needs to appear in a cartoon, or comic, like how they changed the maximals in other stories. They could do the same to Lio, or well Leo Prime.