Plans are being made! By many sides towards a single point! Be sure to review!
(Unknown Location, the Darksyde)
The Decepticon survivors were recovering after escaping Saturn's moon. Aboard the Darksyde, they were working hard to fix the damage done to the warship during its escape from the Terrorcons. Tidal Wave was presently in his alt mode, having taken damage during the evacuation and couldn't fit in robot mode anyway. Those that weren't were patrolling the ship, manning the turrets, checking the dark matter drives or simply lounging around, wondering what would happen next.
Inside the command bridge, Megatron was surrounded by his officers as he sat on his chair. Around them were Decepticons at their stations, looking over data and systems. Flatline stood beside Megatron's right, working on repairs for the Decepticon leader and ensuring no damage had been done to the Fusion Cannon.
Shockwave spoke first. "Using the Vehicons to hold back the attack, we have over a thousand of the drones, most of which are Jet and Car-Vehicons. For Deceptions we have over seven hundred, though most are being treated for damage. Out of the five hundred Orbital Assault Fighters, only a hundred remain. We were fortunate that we decided to stash most of our energon reserves near the hangar, we still have enough that we are not in imminent danger." Reported Shockwave.
"What about the Thunderwing and the Terrorcons? Are they pursuing us?" Megatron asked.
"Negative. Scans indicate they have not left the moon." Soundwave reported. "However, we are blocking our signal at the moment and monitoring all transmissions passing by."
"On a side note. We've managed to intercept Autobot communications." Fracture brought up. "It was fuzzy but appears that Quintessa did indeed survive. She has allied herself with an entity called Thanos." The femme finished
"Thanos?" Megatron asked.
"According to intel, he is the sole survivor of a race called Titans. A warlord, Thanos has conquered numerous worlds, wiping out half the population of each planet he invades." Barricade explained. "Word is that he's been looking for the Infinity Stones."
"The Infinity Stones…Objects of cosmic power." Megatron mused. He remembered the Fallen telling him of those items. How a race, the Celestials, tried to use on to conquer Cybertron in ancient times and failed. Neither he nor Megatron had any real interest in them, since Cybertronians could not use the stones in return for resistance against their powers. Then why would Quintessa be working with him…unless it was to use the Infinity Stones to kill Unicron. "Could the stones be used against Unicron?" Megatron asked Shockwave.
The Decepticon Scientist/Assassin mused, calculating the possibility in his CPU. He soon said, "If Unicron was at full power, the Infinity Stones would not affect him as he is a primordial being. However, in his current condition, the stones could be used to destroy him. It is most likely in return for helping Thanos retrieve the stones, he will help Quintessa kill the Chaos Bringer and then conquer Cybertron. Unicron is a major threat for whatever goal the Titan has." Shockwave explained.
Megatron growled lowly. He did not care if Unicron was killed, taking those insects with him. However, the idea of Quintessa ruling Cybertron did not please the former High Lord Protector, not after her lies to him. Unfortunately, the Decepticons were in no position to fight both the Great Deceiver and Mad Titan on their own. Megatron knew there were forces on Earth and possibly elsewhere that would defy the two. And with the threat of Thunderwing and those Terrorcons, Megatron would have to make some unorthodox decisions. "Set a course for Earth. It is time Optimus and I had a long talk." Megatron ordered.
The Decepticons did not question their lord. They immediately got to work as they carried out his orders and informing the troops. Megatron looked at Shockwave, the second-in-command guessing his leader had more orders. "Bring Shatter and Dropkick here. I have a mission for them. And I believe it is time we initiate Operation: Trypticon."
"As you command my liege." Shockwave bowed. The one-optic Con walked off, contacting his brother and Astrotrain, whose assistance he will need.
(The Moon)
Flying towards Earth's moon was Sky Lynx, a large white, blue and red Dinosaur-like Autobot who could transform into a Space Shuttle, while his lower half could detach and become a blue and red crawler transporter. Aboard him were Sunstreaker, Bob, Daytrader, Grindcore, Hoist and Trailbreaker. The team had been sent to search for the Moon team after contact had been lost.
"We have arrived" Sky Lynx said in a regal tone.
The large Cybertronian landed near the remains of the base. Bits of the facility were floating in the void of space, no signs of life whatsoever. Either way, Sky Lynx opened his door for his passengers to step out. Sunstreaker frown as he scanned the area, trying to pick up any energon signatures.
"Anything?" Grindcore asked as Hoist and Trailbreaker went to check out the base. Meanwhile Daytrader was picking up anything useful he could find.
"Nothing" Sunstreaker replied. Bob was beside him, shuffling his claws against the moon's sand. "Either they're hiding their signatures or…"
"Hey!" Trailbreaker shouted, getting everyone's attention. He and Hoist were beside a large pile of debris. At the very bottom you could see what appeared to be a crack in the floor. However, this one was completely straight, not something made from numerous explosions. "I think we found something." Trailbreaker said as he and Hoist began moving the scraps.
The other Autobots headed over to help out while Sky Lynx transformed and remain on standby. After a few minutes of moving stuff to the sides, the Autobots were greeted with a round door that was similar to the one Sentinel had been hiding behind during his decades of stasis lock aboard the Ark. And there was the same button present, which Sunstreaker pressed.
As the door retracted, it revealed the members of the Moon Team. They were all badly damage, with Bumper, Hubcap, Rollbar, and Dune Runner in stasis lock, while Camshaft, Smokescreen Red Alert, Slap Dash and Arctus were still online.
Camshaft's optic shuttered when he saw who it was. "About time you guys found us." He said as he body gave off sparks.
"Sorry about the delay. A lot of stuff happened." Sunstreaker said as the retrieval team helped their friends. The ones in stasis were moved first and taken to Sky Lynx, who had supplies Hoist could use to treat the wounded. The other moon team members were helped up after.
"Grindcore, try to see if you can get the communication tower back online. I'm sure Optimus will want to make contact with Cybertron as soon as possible." Ordered Sunstreaker.
"Ugh, what about the ones who attacked us?" Camshaft asked as Trailbreaker helped him up.
"They attacked the human city New York City but left soon after." Sunstreaker answered. "Right now, we need to get back in touch with home."
A few minutes later all the members of the Moon team were inside Sky Lynx, resting in recharge. Grindcore and Daytrader were working on getting the communication tower back up. Meanwhile Hoist spoke to Sunstreaker. "Their wounds aren't as serious as we feared. But they ones who were found in stasis will need to remain in recharge for a bit longer."
Sunstreaker nodded while absentmindedly scratching Bob's antennas. "Well at least they'll make it. I'm more concerned with the others on Earth. The report that Nova left with a small group aboard the Ark based off some vision makes me worried."
Grindcore had finally succeeded in repairing the communication tower. The moment it came back on, the satellite began giving off a ping every five seconds. "Hey looks like we're getting a message from Cybertron."
Appearing on the screen were Cybertronian letters forming sentences. To any other species it would look like gibberish, but the Autobots were able to read it as clear as day. What they read made them grim. "We need to re-connect this to Earth, now." Sunstreaker ordered.
(Nova's Group)
Having been convinced that the vision was given to him by Primus, Nova Prime decided to set out and find the place that said vision showed him. With the Autobots needed on Earth, Nova took only Evac, Ramhorn, Cogman, Sqweeks (who had been sent by Izabelle to keep an eye on Adam) and the Guardian Knights. Despite it being loss to their fighting forces, the group had taken the Ark, Omega Supreme's built in space-bridge drive perfect for making a long distance travel short.
As the large Autobot was preparing to activate the spade-bridge, Nova looked at the others. "This is the place I saw." Nova began as he activated a hologram from his right palm. It showed the same neutron star in the vision. "Does anyone know what this is, besides the obvious?" Nova asked.
Stormreign got to one knee as he examined the hologram. His optics shuttered as his memory core processed the image. "If my memory is correct, than that is Nidavellir, home of the Dwarves. It is a part of the Nine Realms."
"The Asgardians and Dwarves were close allies with the Dynasty of Prime. The dwarves especially held great respect towards Solus Prime, the sole femme of the Thirteen and the greatest blacksmith in Cybertronian history." Cogman added.
Evac rubbed his chin. "You think something of hers might be there?" He asked.
"The only thing I can think of is her forge. It is a powerful hammer that was used to forge many of the relics of the Thirteen, as well as other objects such as the Sun Extractor." Stormreign answered. "If the hammer is truly there it could provide us a key to stopping the Mad Titan, the Deceiver and perhaps even Unicron."
"Then our course is set." Nova declared. "Omega, take us to Nidavellir."
"Confirm. Setting in coordinates for Nidavellir. Preparing space-bridge in three…two…one." The large Cybertronian bellowed. The space in front of him distorted and turned into a vortex that sucked in the Ark.
(Earth, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, the Proudstar)
"Got to say Clint, it's good to see you again." Steve said as he shook hands with Hawkeye. Strapped to his left arm was his signature shield, given to him by Nick.
The Avengers that were on Earth had assembled on the Proudstar. With them were the Autobots and NEST soldiers as well as their military vehicles. It had taken them a while to get everything inside the Guardian Knights' ship, as it was not made to act as a massive transport craft. But, with a little creativity from Wheeljack and the Wreckers, they had managed. All that was left was to pick-up Hawkeye and Ant Man, the former who was already aboard. And speaking of humans, there had been some debates of whether the Yeager family should be brought to Wakanda or not. While they could not provide any actual support, it would be risky to leave them alone back at the castle. Instead, they were moved to Autobot city, along with Canopy and the sparklings. The city's security system would be more than enough to protect them and/or buy them time to escape should the enemy try to use them as hostages.
Cade had first resisted this idea, saying he could help. But Optimus countered that with most of the Autobots on Earth protecting Vision, they would need someone they could trust to protect the sparklings, the future of the Cybertronian race. The Autobot leader had also given the human male an item that would be useful for protecting Cade's family and the young Cybertronians. It was shaped as a white circular device but Optimus claimed it would transform into invulnerable armor. With these words, Cade caved in and agreed to stay behind.
"Yeah well, when you told me that Ross got arrested, my house-arrest removed and the fate of the universe was at stake, not like I could say no." Hawkeye said back in the present. "Besides, now I can tell my kids when I get home that I flew on a giant robot alien ship."
Chuckles were passed around when the door bay of that floor of the ship opened up. Flying in was Stratosphere, who had gone out to pick up the last Avenger, as well as Landmine who had been with Simmons and Dutch. The large Autobot landed without a problem, opening his doors so the Buggy Autobot could drive out. In the back seat were Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne. Both were in their suits as they exited Landmine, whom promptly transformed into his robot form. He planned to return to Diego Garcia where Simmons was in Autobot City.
"Scott" Rogers called out, getting the man's attention. The former thief had been looking around the Autobot's ship in awe.
"Cap" Scott said as he shook Rogers' hand. "This is…this is…wow…" Ant-Man murmured as he continued looking at the Proudstar's interior. Just an hour ago he had been working with Hope and her parents in gathering Quantum energy for Ghost, a former enemy whose existence had become unstable. Then that weird man Simmons had appeared, announcing that the warrant for Hope, Hank and Janet had been dropped, but required Scott for a mission regarding the fate of the universe. Then Landmine transformed to show that Simmons was telling the truth, freaking Scott and the Pym family out that somehow caused Scott to get hit by quantum energy that turned him into a baby, a child, teenager, an old man and back to his proper age.
"First time on a space ship?" Rogers asked jokingly.
Scott nodded. "Definitely" He replied. Ant Man then gestured to Hope. "By the way this is Hope. She decided to tag along."
"Captain" Wasp greeted as she shook Rogers' hand.
"Nice to meet you, Hope." Rogers said in return. "Follow me and I'll explain to you what is going."
Not too far away from the Avengers, Nick Fury was sitting on a metal chair. Watching the heroes interact, the former Director of SHIELD decided was fiddling with a pager in his right hand. It was displaying a symbol of a golden star with red and blue around it.
Hill, seeing this, commented, "I thought you said that we wouldn't need her."
"That was before I knew we were dealing genocidal galactic warlords, evil alien robots and the possibility our planet will be destroyed." Nick replied.
"Friend of yours?" Natasha asked, spotting Nick and Hill.
"You could say that. Knowing her she'll be here in a few hours." Nick said.
Meanwhile in the command center of the Proudstar, Optimus was speaking to Prowl and Jazz about where they were heading. "According to Captain Rogers, Wakanda is a country more advance than any other human country on Earth. They are also the source of the metal Vibranium, which is hailed as the strongest metal on the planet. Was Wheeljack able to learn anything after scanning the captain's shield?"
Prowl nodded. "According to his results, the metal is indeed foreign to Earth, but that wasn't what surprised him. At its molecular core, this Vibranium is in fact Cyber-matter." Prowl reported.
That made the Prime and Saboteur look in surprise. Of all the possibilities, they had not expected cyber-matter. "Whoa, for real, Prowl?" Jazz asked.
"Wheeljack was positive. The cyber-matter appears to have been heavily altered so that it can absorb vibrations. That is how it indestructible, by absorbing kinetic energy. He theorized that it would be quite useful in negating earthquakes." Prowl explained. "However, Wheeljack said that the alteration was too precise and too grand to have been done naturally, which can only mean…"
"The change was done deliberately." Optimus finished. He rubbed his chinplate and had a thoughtful look in his optics.
"Something wrong sir?" Prowl asked.
"Nothing…except this all reminds me of something I had read from Alpha Trion's secret pile of data logs." Replied Optimus. "If Wakanda and Vibranium are related to it, then this can only be fate that we are heading there to remove Vision's Mind Stone."
The loudspeakers came to life. "We have arrived at Wakanda. Now making contact with their capital. Standby" Announced Crosshairs.
(Wakanda, the Golden City)
As the Proudstar hovered over the city's main airfield, several Dragon Flyers flew out, surrounding the Cybertronian vessel. They were not there to attack or capture, but merely hovered in place and to assure to citizens. The Autobots were moving about the airfield or standing inside the Proudstar. Some were looking around at the buildings while others had their optics on the Dragon Flyers. Meanwhile on the ground several Wakandan Royal Guards had already set up position as they helped NEST transport their tanks and vehicles off the ship while keeping an eye on the guests. The Avengers were walking in one group. Approaching them was T'Challa, the King of Wakanda and current bearer of Black Panther. With him was the Dora Milaje, with their general, Okoye, beside the king.
"This place is quite impressive. Kind of reminds me of Cybertron before the war." Wheeljack noted as he stared at the buildings and Dragon Flyers with interest. The inventor/scientist blue mech had been busy with upgrading some of the Avengers' weapons and armor, such as adding micro-missile pods on the back shoulders of the Hulkbuster that they had brought.
"This Vibranium they've used does indeed have similar properties to Cyber-matter. You might be right Wheeljack." Ratchet noted.
"I'm more interested in their weaponry. According to Rogers, their weapons are sonic-based." Ironhide noted.
Hound raised a browplate. "You mean like that slagger Soundwave? Ugh, just thinking of the creep sends shivers over my circuits." The commando said.
Back with T'Challa, his General spoke up. "When you said you were going to open Wakanda to the rest of the world, this is not what I imagined." Okoye commented.
T'Challa seemed amused by her words. "What did you imagine?" He asked.
The Dora Milaje General shrugged. "The Olympics. Maybe even a Starbucks." Okoye suggested.
Chuckling, T'Challa looked at the Avengers. His eyes then drifted towards Optimus, who was following behind the humans. With him were Prowl and Ironhide. Naturally a few Wakandians were a bit nervous at the massive Cybertronians, but did their best to hide it.
Optimus got to one knee as he approached the king. "Greetings, King T'Challa. I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. It is a pleasure to meet you." The Prime greeted.
T'Challa bowed his head in return. "Greetings to you as well, Optimus Prime. It is an honor to finally meet the fame Autobot Leader."
Nodding, Optimus then said, "I know that we are pressed for time, but I was hoping to discuss with you about your people's technology, about its origins to be exact."
The King of Wakanda nodded before turning towards the Avengers. "So, how big of an assault should we be expecting?" T'Challa asked no one in particular. He began leading the group to the Medical Center where his sister was waiting.
"Big, very big your majesty." Banners answered. "Even with the firepower we brought, I'm not sure if it's going to be enough."
"Don't worry. You'll be having us for support, including the Royal Guard, the Milaje, the Border Tribe…" T'Challa explained.
"And one washed up old soldier." Bucky Barnes added. The former Hydra Assassin, now equipped with a new Vibranium arm and carrying an M249 SAW in his right hand.
As Rogers and Bucky reunited, Vision was brought to Shuri's lab. Ratchet decided to accompany as well as Wheeljack. Meanwhile, inside the Proudstar's control room, Crosshairs was making some adjustments as he parked the massive ship. Then suddenly the ship's radar began picking up two energon signatures. Frowning, the paratrooper zoomed in on the sources and could only say, "Scrap!"
(Wakanda Medical Center)
Rogers, Natasha, Wanda, Banner, T'Challa, Okoye, Nick and Hill had moved to the Wakanda Medical Center, to be more precise Shuri's lab. The princess of Wakanda and T'Challa's sister had Vision lie down on a table. Then she brought up a hologram of his brain, allowing Shuri to examine it and the Mind Stone inside Vision's head and its connection with hiss functions. Also present were Ratchet and Wheeljack. To be more precise holographic images of them since they were too big to fit in the room.
"The structure is polymorphic." Shuri commented as she examined Vision. Beside her was Banner while Wheeljack's holographic head looked at the android's brain behind her.
"Right. We-we have to attach each neuron non-sequentially." Banners replied.
"Why didn't you just reprogram…" Shuri began only for Wheeljack to cut her off.
"…the synapses to work collectively?" The Autobot finished.
"Exactly! Finally, someone who understands." Shuri complimented, very happy to have someone of equal intelligence.
"Because we didn't think of it?" Banner answered awkwardly as he was being ganged up.
Both Shuri and Wheeljack gave him flat looks. "I'm sure you did your best." That was all Shuri said as she got back to work.
"Can you remove it?" T'Challa asked, clearly not understanding what the three were saying.
"There are about two trillion neurons in Vision. Removing them isn't going to be easy." Wheeljack commented.
"He's right, brother. This will take time to dissemble them." Shuri said to T'Challa.
That's when the coms came to life, alerting the Avengers, Wakandians, Autobots and NEST. "Head's up you lot. The ship's scanners are picking up two energon signals approaching, just entering the country. They're definitely Decepitcons." Crosshairs announced.
"Impossible" Okoye said as she checked her Kimoyo Beads, showing no visuals. "Our satellites are detecting nothing in our borders."
"Because your technology was never designed to work on Cybertronians." Optimus said as a holographic image of his head appeared in the room. "Crosshairs, can you tell what they are doing?"
"From the looks of it, the two are just flying about. They just sent a message saying they want to speak with you." Crosshairs replied. "Want the flyboys to down them?"
"Hmm…this is unlike Megatron. Tell them to land at the airfield. I will meet them there." Optimus ordered. He then looked at T'Challa. "Your highness, I apologize but can you please tell your forces to hold their fire until I speak with these Decepticons."
T'Challa frowned. Naturally he was uncomfortable of letting possible hostile forces so close to the city. However, he could tell that Optimus would never endanger civilians. "Very well, but permit me to accompany you as you converse with these Decepticons."
(Back at the airfield)
The allied forces all watched as a red McDonnell Douglas Boeing AV-8B Harrier II and a blue Bell AH-1 SuperCobra flying over them. They had their weapons ready but made no move as Optimus and T'Challa walked towards the open part of the airpads. Behind them were their escorts who stayed at a respectful distance but were ready to act.
Spotting the Prime, the two Decepticons did a dive just a few meters away from them. Before they made contact with the surface, the Harrier and SuperCobra transformed into a Chrysler Neon and Chrysler Pacifica respectively. Once they were close enough, the red vehicle transformed into a femme and the blue was a mech. Their red optics shined dangerously as they scanned the 'welcoming committee' before focusing on Optimus.
"Greetings, Optimus Prime. I am Shatter." The red femme introduced herself before gesturing to the blue mech. "And this is my consort, Dropkick."
From the back, Hot Rod spoke up. "Attends une minute, didn't Kup put you down back in London?" The French speaking Autobot asked as he looked Dropkick's new frame.
The blue con growled but was stopped by Shatter. "The past is not what we came to speak of." She said.
"Then why are you here in Wakanda?" T'Challa demanded.
Unlike Optimus who got down to one knee as a sign of respect, neither Cons did that. "That is none of your concern, human." Shatter hissed.
"This is the monarch of the country you have entered, Decepticon. It was by his mercy you were not cut down before we could have this discussion." Optimus said, earning a nod of gratitude from the Black Panther. "Now, what is your purpose here?"
The two Decepticons looked at one another, before Shatter shifted her optics back to Optimus. "Lord Megatron wishes to discuss a temporary truce against…a common foe." She announced to the surprise of the Autobots and NEST present.
And there it is! Sorry for the long wait, summer courses were a pain. Now I have my last courses this fall. Anyway be sure to leave a review!