Chapter 1: Enter The Protectobots
A.N. Well, here it is, ladies and gentlemen. This may as well be my last chapter story of the year. This one has been in my head for quite some time now, and I was planning to do this last year, but I was never able to get it straightened out in time, largely due to figuring out things related to the story and whatnot. Alas, here it is now. Normally, this is the part where I say to enjoy the story, but first, there are some things about the story I should explain:
1. The Protectobot lineup in the story will match the one from the Earth Wars game, where Groove is replaced with Rook.
2. Hot Spot will be identified as "Hot Zone", another name for the character, as mentioned on his page on the Transformers Wiki.
3. To avoid confusion with Rescue Bot Blades, Protectobot Blades will use the name "Fly-Up", the name he was to be given with the Protectobots' cancelled G2 toys.
With those three things cleared away, it's finally time to start the show, so sit back, relax, and enjoy.
One day, Hot Shot was outside on the basketball court having a one-on-one match with Heatwave.
"Hot Shot's got the ball!" Hot Shot said as he dribbled the ball toward his end of the court. "He cuts across the court, side-stepping the opposition! The basket is in sight!"
Right as Hot Shot said that, Heatwave appeared and made an attempt to disrupt Hot Shot's move.
"But Heatwave, a.k.a. "Dad", makes an attempt to steal the ball!" Heatwave said.
Hot Shot, undeterred by his father's move, quickly made a decision.
"In response, Hot Shot executes a jump shot!" he said as he shot the ball and watched it fly towards the basket. "It's looking good!"
Hot Shot then observed the ball landing on the rim of the basket, which the ball began to circle around.
"Rimshot!" he said. "Will it go in?"
As Hot Shot watched with anticipation, the ball fell through the hoop.
"Yes!" cheered Hot Shot. "Hot Shot scores! And the crowd goes bananas!"
Heatwave shook his head in amusement.
"You're just about as good at this game as you are Cube." he told his son.
"Thanks, Dad." said Hot Shot as he reclaimed the ball.
Just then, Heatwave heard his comm ringing and answered it.
"Heatwave here." he said.
Although he couldn't hear what was being said on the other end, Hot Shot noticed Heatwave becoming increasingly happy and excited, as if the individual he was talking to was an old friend.
"Who is Dad talking to?" the young Rescue Bot wondered.
Eventually, Heatwave's conversation with his caller drew to a close.
"Alright, see you soon." he said as he disconnected his end of the comm link.
"Who was that, Dad?" Hot Shot asked.
"Oh, just someone I know." his father replied. "And, by some extension, you know him too."
Hot Shot was perplexed at what Heatwave was saying.
"What are you talking about?" he asked.
"You'll find out soon enough." winked Heatwave. "He's coming to the Academy today, and he's bringing some friends."
"Oh, cool!" smiled Hot Shot. "It's always nice to see new bots around."
"Indeed it is." agreed Heatwave. "Come on, let's round up the others and get ready to greet them."
"Okay." nodded Hot Shot. "But shouldn't we finish this game first?"
"Oh, sure." laughed Heatwave. "No sense leaving it unfinished."
Later, after Heatwave and Hot Shot finished their game, they, along with the rest of the bots, gathered by the Ground Bridge to greet their visitors. None of the bots failed to notice Heatwave smiling from one audio receiver to the other.
"I've never seen Dad so happy before." Hot Shot said to Whirl. "At least, not like this."
"Yeah, me neither." agreed Whirl. "It's like he has Antillian bumble-puppies in his system."
Just then, the Ground Bridge glowed its green aura, and everyone watched with surprise as five bots came through it, followed by five more bots that looked to be around the same age as the Junior Rescue Bots. The first five bots were the Autobot sub-faction known as the Protectobots; Hot Zone, their leader, Streetwise, Rook, First Aid, and Fly-Up. The minute Heatwave and Hot Zone's optics met, they came towards each other and embraced, laughing merrily as if they were two friends that hadn't seen each other for a very long time.
"How are you doing, Heatwave?" Hot Zone asked excitedly. "It's so good to see you!"
"Right back at you!" grinned Heatwave. "Say, you still remember our secret handshake?"
"Hmm, I don't know." teased Hot Zone. "Let's see, shall we?"
With that, the two bots proceeded to do two fist-bumps, one with their left hands and the other with their right hands, followed by them touching their elbows together and finally them doing a chest-bump. The two laughed as they completed these moves.
"Looks like I still remember it." said Hot Zone.
Heatwave then turned to his fellow Rescue Bots.
"Rescue Bots, meet Hot Zone and the Protectobots." he said.
Everyone went about greeting their visitors.
"Say, Heatwave, how long have you known Hot Zone exactly?" asked Hoist.
"That's a good question, Hoist." said Heatwave. "I've actually known Hot Zone much longer than I've known any of you. As a matter of fact, he's actually my brother."
Needless to say, the room was immediately filled by surprised gasps.
"So, if he's your brother, then that means..." Hot Shot began.
"That's right, Hot Shot." Heatwave nodded, finishing his son's sentence. "Hot Zone is your uncle."
"And I suppose this makes him my brother-in-law." added Quickshadow.
"It would seem so." agreed First Aid.
Hot Zone then beckoned the younger bots with him and his group and introduced them as their own batch of recruits, the Junior Protectobots; Patch, Copper, Quench, Sky-High, and Reach, the first two he introduced as his own son and daughter. Hot Shot and the rest of the JRBs immediately made themselves known to the Junior Protectobots. At least, Hot Shot, Whirl, Hoist, Medix, and Brushfire did.
"So, I guess this means we're cousins." Patch said to Hot Shot once they were all acquainted. "Since your dad and ours are brothers."
"It sure does." nodded Hot Shot.
Wedge, however, wasn't saying anything. He just stood there staring at Patch with his jaw hanging open.
"Man, she's beautiful!" he said to himself.
Hot Shot then looked at his newly found uncle.
"What brings you guys here, Uncle Hot Zone?" he asked.
"Well, Hot Shot, your cousins and their friends have been doing so well in their training as the next generation of Protectobots that we decided to bring them here to Earth for a vacation." Hot Zone explained.
"You sure made the right choice." said Boulder. "Earth has so much for you to see and learn about."
"In fact, we have an Earth Museum right here in the Academy." said Brushfire. "You blokes wanna see it?"
The Junior Protectobots accepted the offer with open arms, and both groups of junior bots ventured out of the Ground Bridge Room while Heatwave and the rest of the Senior Rescue Bots began taking the Senior Protectobots on a tour of the rest of the Academy. As he and the other junior bots went on their way, Wedge found it hard to keep his optics off of Patch.
"Gee, I just met her, but something about her is making me feel something I haven't before." he said. "I can't wait to get to know her more."
End Of Chapter 1