Transformers MHA, Arc 2: Earthrise

by The Omni-Remnant

After a rather intense adventure and the U.A. Sports Festival approaching fast, Izuku and his friends have two important things to do; improve their Quirks in time for the festival… and hide a bunch of giant alien robots. That proves to be easier said than done, especially when enemies on Earth and from beyond the stars end up coming for them…

9. After the Battle

A/N: What's going on everybody? Another week, another new chapter as always. Another shorter one this time, but considering everything we just went through with that Decepticon battle, I think it's fitting for a short aftermath. With that said, let's get into it! This is…

Chapter 9: After the Battle

…..

As the Groundbridge activated back at Outpost Omega-1, Mei and Red Alert stood in front of the portal, watching it in anticipation for whoever would be coming through. Agent Fowler had also arrived several minutes ago, though he stood off to the side with his arms folded patiently. Before long, though, the first of their allies to return came through, with Izuku leading the way with his classmates by his side. Mei's eyes brightened up and a gasp escaped her throat, the inventor immediately rushing up the steps to mee them on the platform. "Haha! You guys made it back!" She zipped right up and slung an arm around Momo and Kyoka's shoulders. "AND you aren't mincemeat! This is fantastic!"

All of the teens visibly cringed at that, with nervous smiles across their faces. "Uh, gee… thanks Mei." Ochako chuckled awkwardly.

"Are any of you injured?" Red Alert asked as he took a scan of them. It didn't take him long to find something that was out of place. "Hm, Izuku, your finger…"

"O-Oh, yeah… that's right." Izuku muttered.

Kyoka whipped her head around and gave him an incredulous stare. "What do you mean "that's right"?! Dude, how can you forget that you broke your freaking finger?!"

With his good hand, Izuku scratched his head sheepishly. "Hehe, w-well, we were so caught up in the Decepticon attack, I-I guess it just slipped my mind…"

Kyoka sighed and shook her head. "Izuku, what the heck are we going to do with you?" Just then, both Marissa Fairborne and Jacob Burns came walking through as well, and it was then that Kyoka remembered; "Hey, Marissa, you've got a Healing Quirk, right?" She jabbed her thumb over to Izuku. "Think you could heal Celery Stick's finger over here?"

"D'oh, Izuku, did you break it again?" Marissa asked sternly, only for Izuku to shy away a bit. The medic sighed and shook her head. "You know, you can't keep relying on me or the nurse at U.A. to keep healing you every time you break your bones. Come here."

"S-Sorry." Izuku apologized as he showed her his finger, allowing her to start using her Quirk on it. "I just wanted to make sure that Frenzy was taken care of."

That caught Red Alert's attention. "Wait, Frenzy? Then that would mean—"

"Burns! Fairborne!" The two Sector Seven agents stood at attention… or as best of an attention as Marissa could do with her still healing Izuku's finger. They saw Fowler come storming up the steps, and he wore a look that didn't seem all too pleased. "What in the name of Bunker Hill happened out there?! I lost contact with your chopper ten minutes ago!"

Burns addressed Fowler with a salute. "Our apologies, sir, but the chopper was taken down by a Decepticon… while we were in it. Windblade managed to save us, though, sir."

"Hm, is that right?" Fowler pointed to Burns with a furrowed brow. "That was an expensive piece of equipment, Agent Burns. Hope you know how much it costs."

"Ha! Oh yeah, hey Fowler." Kyoka spoke up, getting his attention. "I wouldn't be too concerned about the cost of your bird if I were you. I'd be more concerned about the fact that your boy Burns over here arrived on the scene and practically GAVE it to the enemy."

"H-Hey!" Burns shouted indignantly. "That's not—"

But Fowler raised a hand. "At ease, Burns." He faced the kids again and raised a brow. "What exactly do you mean by "he handed it to them"."

Tenya suddenly raised his hand, explaining the situation with his usual stiff movements. "To put it simply, Agent Fowler, once the Decepticon saw your helicopter arrive on the scene, she saw it fit to scan the aircraft and take on its form as her own disguise." He gestured over to Agent Burns, who had his lips pursed in frustration. "As such, I think it would've been prudent to have had your operatives formulate a better plan than simply issuing an ultimatum to the Decepticons right off the bat."

"You WHAT?!" Fowler whipped around and stuck a finger in Burns' face. "Burns, you KNOW better than to issue ultimatums like that to an enemy that dangerous!" It was at that time that All Might had stepped through the portal as well, which led Fowler to use him as an example. "What if All Might hadn't arrived in time, huh? What then?!"

Recoiling a bit, All Might's grin became a bit timid as he scratched his cheek. "Um, pardon me, but… what are we talking about here?"

"Ah, nothing much." Kyoka said with a toothy smirk. "Just watching someone's ass getting grilled for screwing up, hehe…"

Off to the side, Izuku couldn't help but blush. Not at Kyoka's comment specifically, but at the mirth in her voice as she said it, along with the way she smiled victoriously. Sure, the reason for it was because she ratted someone out… but he had to admit that what Burns did was kind of bullheaded, so he couldn't blame her for that. Still, the way she smiled, the joy in her voice and the intensity in her violet eyes… it was almost too much for him.

"Izuku, you alright?" The greenette was stirred from his thoughts as Marissa smiled down at him… and something told him that she knew exactly what was going on. "Something caught your eye again?" she winked.

"A-Ah!" Izuku faced away from her, sweating profusely. "I-I-I don't know what you're talking about, M-Marissa."

"Haha! Kidding, kidding." Marissa waved off before letting go of Izuku's hand, its finger now fully healed. "There ya go, all better!"

Izuku collected himself and raised his hand up. "Hah, gee, thanks Marissa, I—" flop Izuku stared blankly as his healed pointer finger fell limp, before eventually losing all feeling in it all together. "…Oh, y-yeah, that's right. Your Quirk heals, but it also makes body parts go numb for a while afterward."

"Yep, give it about a minute or so and the feeling should be back." Marissa assured.

Just then, the Autobots began to make their way through the portal and into the base proper… or at least, a few of them. Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Arcee came strolling through first while Optimus Prime slowly brought up the rear. The Autobot leader appeared to be visibly quite tired, which Agent Fowler noticed right off the bat. "Prime! What happened out there? You look like you were on the bad end of a beating!"

Optimus sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "No need to concern yourself, Agent Fowler, I am… er…" Before the Prime could finish, though, Red Alert came walking up onto the platform, the medic quite visibly perturbed. The moment Red Alert came to a halt in front of him, Optimus began searching for the right words to say… "Um… I can explain?"

"Lift. Now." Red Alert sternly pointed over to the nearby truck lift, which had been repurposed into a medical bed for the Autobots.

Prime's shoulders sagged a bit and he nodded. "…Of course."

As Optimus and Red Alert made their way over to the lift, Agent Fowler raised an eyebrow over to the other Autobots. "Would someone mind explaining to me just what the heck is goin' on with Prime?"

Arcee glanced over and watched as Optimus laid himself out on the left, while Red Alert began setting up a machine with several tubes attached to it. "Well, turns out Optimus might not be AS healthy as we thought."

"See, when a bot's in stasis, they rely on conserving their own energon reserves to stay alive." Bulkhead explained. "But, if left in stasis for too long, that energon begins to lose its power. It's why we gotta keep consuming energon, so that we don't lose that power." His optics went back over to the Autobot leader as Red Alert began hooking up several tubes to his body. "And given how long Optimus has been out for, it's safe to say that his levels are dangerously low."

"He could barely hold himself in a fight with Starscream, which usually doesn't happen." Arcee went on.

Momo folded her arms and eyed Agent Fowler. "Probably doesn't help that he was kept frozen for a long time, which probably stalled a lot of the energon circulating through his body."

"Oh hey, problems leading back to Sector Seven, what a shock." Kyoka deadpanned.

Fowler sighed and placed a hand to his forehead. "Okay, could we maybe STOP pointing fingers and maybe address the more important factor here? Is Prime gonna be okay?"

Red Alert craned his head over as he finished installing the last of the tubes into Prime's body. "He will be, once I give him a proper infusion. Thankfully I just finished refining the small cache of energon we found a few days ago into liquid form." He set his gaze down to his leader and shook his head. "Still, you really should've told me about this, Optimus. Your internal systems should've been screaming at you that your energy levels were low."

"My apologies, Red Alert." Optimus sighed again. "For some reason, they weren't telling me anything, so I thought the feeling would pass soon after I awoke."

"Your internal warning systems might've sustained some minor damages as well, then." Red Alert deduced as he stepped over to the machine, placing his hand on a large switch. "Once we get done with the infusion, we'll open you up and take a look."

Eijiro tilted his head at the large machine. "So, will the infusion take long?"

"A about ten to fifteen cycles, at most. Or rather "minutes" in your Earth terminology." the medic assured. "It's completely harmless and Optimus can remain conscious throughout the duration." He set his sights back to Optimus and gave him a nod. "Whenever you're ready, Optimus."

Prime sent a thumbs-up back to him. "Fire it up, old friend." With that, Red flipped the switch and the machine whirred to life, and before long, the humans and Autobots watched as the bright blue liquid energon went flowing through the clear tubes and into Optimus' legs, arms and chest. They could see his body parts begin to glow as the infusion took place, and Optimus took in a deep breath. "Ah… yes. Already I'm starting to feel better."

"Well, that's good to hear." Izuku smiled while Bumblebee gave a happy buzz.

"What a relief." Ochako agreed, placing a hand to her chest.

Denki placed his hands behind his head and spoke up. "Yeah, I'm glad that's the case. But uh, if we could go back to the battle, just who the heck was that girl Decepticon anyway? The one who scanned the Sector Seven copter?"

"Oh, that's easy." Arcee answered, bringing up her arm to project a holographic image of the aforementioned femme. "Her name is Swift. Like Barricade, she's a top ranked Lieutenant in the Decepticon ranks, known for her quick wit, her silver tongue, and her sarcastic personality." She pressed a few buttons on the holographic display, showing a full-body shot of Swift along with a few other images. "She's a master at seven types of Cybertronian martial arts, including Metallikato, and has a special power that allows her to channel energy into her hands, allowing for powerful blasts. And as you can imagine, she uses this ability effectively in close-quarters combat as well."

Tenya put a finger to his chin, pondering this information. "I see, so it stands to reason that this is a Decepticon that we should stay FAR away from."

"Any Decepticon is one you should stay away from." All Might emphasized, unknowingly making a certain pink girl flinch. "Though I will commend you on your actions in defeating the small one. You all effectively used your Quirks against a dangerous enemy like a true team, but I must still emphasize that you keep away from the bigger Cons. We don't want to be taking any unnecessary risks, understood?" He received a united; "Yes sir!" from the teens, though it was then that he finally took notice that one of them appeared to be upset. "…Young Ashido?"

"Eep!" Mina flinched and snapped her head up, an anxious feeling overtaking her. "Y-Yes, All Might?"

The Symbol of Peace extended a hand to her. "You seem to be upset about something. You haven't said a word since we got back to the base, after all."

Mei also leaned in over to her fellow pink-haired friend, her usual hyper smile replaced with a concerned frown. "Yeah, I noticed that too. Mina, is there something wrong?"

Mina sucked her lips in apprehensively and tapped her fingers together. "W-Well, you see…"

"Do you want me to break the ice?" Bulkhead asked, raising a metal brow to his partner. "If you can't, that's fine, but either way, this needs to be—"

"N-No… thank you, Bulkhead, but I'm fine." Mina replied before taking a deep breath and walking over to the truck lift, craning her head up to the Prime. "…Optimus?"

The Autobot Commander could hear the nervousness in her voice, and it was clear that something was very wrong. He craned his head down so that he could see her through the grating on the lift. "Yes Mina? What is it that's troubling you?"

Tears began to brim Mina's eyes and she lowered her head in shame. "I-I'm sorry… but I broke the promise we made to you. A-About not getting involved with Decepticon battles." Her arms hugged around her own body as she let the truth out. "I just… I wanted to see an awesome fight… so I hid in Bulkhead's backseat. I… I did try to get out when he transformed, but I couldn't make it and I ended up inside him when he went into battle. I… I-I'm so sorry, I really am."

Optimus continued to gaze down to Mina as she continued to sob and break down, but briefly, he put his attention to Bulkhead instead. "Bulkhead… I assume you've already informed her of the repercussions of such an act? How it affects her own safety?"

"I did." Bulkhead nodded.

"Hm, good. Please, bring her up here." Bulkhead was slightly confused, but he did was the Prime asked, scooping Mina up and setting her onto the lift. The pink girl was slightly confused at first, but was even more stunned when Optimus began consoling her, his hand gently rubbing her back. "Mina, you were very brave to tell me of your mistake. And for that, I commend you greatly and I forgive you." He saw her eyes widen in surprise. "But let this be a lesson to you; a Decepticon battle is to be taken with the utmost seriousness. It is not a game, nor is it something to be taken lightly. Do you understand?"

Mina blinked her eyes and rubbed away her tears with a sniffle. "Y-Yeah… I do now."

"Good. Now, can you assure me that you will not be involved with a Decepticon conflict from here on out?"

A smile reappeared on Mina's face and she gave Optimus a thumbs-up. "You've got it. And… thank you, Optimus."

"You are very welcome." Prime watched as Mina gave his hand a hug before going back over to Bulkhead, allowing him to bring her back down to solid ground. "Well, now that we know for sure that the Decepticons are on Earth, it is time to formulate a plan on how to handle them."

"Right. With so many energon caches on Earth, it's only a matter of time before the Decepticons find one of them." Arcee pointed out.

Red Alert raised his hand to the group. "By the way, that reminds me… what happened with the energon cache we detected? The Decepticons didn't find that, did they?"

Bumblebee shook his head and began speaking with his radio. "Zrkt—No way, Jose! Zrtk—We beat the snot outta them—zrkt—before they found it!"

"He's right." Izuku confirmed. "Jazz, Windblade, Sideswipe, Strongarm and Sunstreaker all stayed behind to mine some of it. They should be coming back once they've gathered a good amount."

"Hm, I see." Red Alert nodded. "If that's the case, though, we should probably establish some sort of guard around the place. If the Decepticons are willing to find and mine energon caches and they locate that one, we may be at risk of losing one of the bigger sources of energon we have."

"Now THAT, I can take care of." Fowler said as he lifted up his phone. "I'll get some of our top Sector Seven agents on the case. Ones with Quirks that'll be able to handle the Cons should they decide to snoop around there again." He craned his head over to Jacob with a furrowed brow. "Agent Burns, you think you can make up for your little stunt today by leading this mission?"

At that, Burns straightened up and saluted to his superior. "Sir! I will NOT let you down this time, sir!"

"I certainly hope not. Now, what about mining? Can energon be unearthed by human tools or is there a specific way to get 'em outta the ground?"

Optimus raised his head slightly to set his optics onto the agent. "Don't worry, Agent Fowler. Any form of excavation equipment will be able to successfully mine energon." He furrowed his metal brow seriously. "However, it is highly recommended that you be careful with it. Energon can be very volatile, and if there is an accident, it could cause a chain reaction that would result in a catastrophic explosion."

Fowler nodded and made a note of that on his phone. "Got it. I'll get some of our top digging Qurik users on it."

Izuku's eyes couldn't help but brighten up at that. "Woah, you guys have special operatives who have specific Quirks for different situations? That's so amazing!"

"Hm, well of course." Fowler said proudly. "Given the field we're in, we gotta make sure we recruit people with several unique Quirks for the job." He pointed to the young greenette and added; "That's the best part about the military, kid. Unlike regular law enforcement, we don't have rules that constrain Quirk usage. The police may let the heroes do the heavy lifting when it comes to villains, but when in the heat of battle, ya gotta use every asset available, and that includes Quirks."

Marissa placed her hands on her hips and raised a brow to her superior. "That may be true, but at the same time, we don't discriminate when it comes to people who're Quirkless either. Everyone, Quirk or no Quirk is able to enlist. Isn't that right, Agent Fowler?"

Izuku's eyebrows rose up in surprise, his sights darting between Marissa and a somewhat sheepish Fowler. After a few seconds though, he was able to put two and two together. "Wait… so does that mean…" Izuku's eyes widened as the revelation hit him. "Agent Fowler, you're Quirkless?!"

There were a round of surprised gasps from the teens before the Symbol of Peace gave a hearty laugh. "Ah-haha! Well, cat's outta the bag, eh Bill?" All Might said as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Indeed, Young Midoriya. The veteran you see before you is one hundred percent without a Quirk! Pretty astonishing, isn't it?"

"Hmhm, well, I wouldn't say it's TOO surprising, All Might." Fowler said as he shrugged off the massive hand. "But yep, I'm as Quirkless as the day I was born."

"Man, who would've thought?" Denki admitted as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean, I don't think anyone would imagine such a high-ranked guy like you would be without a Quirk."

"True, a lot of guys at the top do have plenty of flashy Quirks that've earned them fame. But that just means I had to work my ass off to get where I am today."

Kyoka pursed her lips as she glanced at Izuku and then back to Fowler, seeing the former with a contemplative expression. It seemed like Izuku wanted to ask a question… and she had a pretty good idea what it was. At the same time, though, she knew it would take a lot for him to ask it himself, so she nudged him in the side and whispered; "Go on, ask." Izuku gasped and faced her, prompting her to smile at him. "It's okay, I'm sure he'll answer."

Izuku stared into Kyoka's eyes for a few seconds after, a self-assuring feeling beginning to wash over him. He returned her smile before putting his serious expression back on. "U-Um… Agent Fowler?" The special agent returned his attention to Izuku, allowing him to continue. "I… I-I heard that a lot of Quirkless kids get bullied. Were you ever… you know…"

"Was I ever picked on in school for havin' no Quirk?" Fowler finished. "Oh, hell yeah I was. In fact, people being Quirkless was a lot more common in my school than most places. I was raised in Washington D.C., and you wouldn't believe the amount of Quirkless kids in my class alone. We got bullied to hell and back, but thankfully the teachers weren't tolerant of it." He didn't notice Izuku's small flinch at his words. "But with that said, even though the words hurt and the sticks and stones even more, I vowed to show those punks just what I was made of. So right out of high school, I enlisted, and I don't regret it."

Momo smiled and clasped her hands together. "Wow, that's very inspiring, Agent Fowler!"

"Those hooligans sound utterly deplorable!" Tenya exclaimed. "I'm sure that you showed them."

Fowler scratched his chin and chuckled. "Hehe, well to be honest, I haven't really thought about 'em in a LONG time. After I joined the military and earned my stripes, I stopped caring about what they said about me." He pointed at the kids with a serious face. "But let me just tell you kids this; making fun of people for not having a Quirk is NEVER okay."

Ochako furrowed her brow and raised her fists up. "Oh, you don't have to tell us that, Agent Fowler."

Mina mimicked her while steam billowed from her nostrils in ire. "Yeah, no doubt about it! Bullying is NEVER okay, but those kinds of idiots are just the worst!"

"Just you wait!" Mina suddenly slammed her fist down on a nearby metal surface, her grin having come back. Though this time, it seemed much more maniacal. "At some point, I'm gonna make a baby that'll teach all of those bullies a lesson!"

The group couldn't help but wear nervous looks at the mad inventor's words, but Fowler took it in stride all the same. "Hah, well that's good to know. …Though that last part may be taking it a bit too far, I'm glad you all acknowledge that bullying is never a good thing." Out the corner of his eye, Fowler noticed that Izuku's head was hanging low, and it was at that moment he knew that question wasn't just something that came from nowhere. '…God, kid. I probably should've figured since All Might gave you One for All. I'd better pull him aside soon and have a real talk with him about it…' He glanced over to All Might, who had also set his gaze over to his protégé. 'And something tells me I'm not the only one.'

"Hey, uh… so what happens now?" Eijiro piped up. "We know for sure that the Decepticons are on Earth, so that means they'll probably go after some of the energon caches too, right?"

Optimus raised his head up and nodded to the boy. "That's correct, Eijiro… and it is quite unfortunate." He laid his head back down and stared up to the ceiling. "It means that the war is practically starting all over again, only this time on a planet that is far more fragile than Cybertron."

"Hey, whaddya mean by "fragile", Prime?" Eijiro raised his fist and hardened it up. "Pretty sure All Might just showed us that humanity's a lot tougher than the Decepticons were expecting."

But the Prime simply shook his head. "And I do not doubt that. But what I mean is that the environment of Earth is more fragile." He glanced out the window to see all of the greenery just outside. "Rather than the surface being made of metal and clustered with cities, of which can be repaired with the right resources, Earth's natural organic fauna are delicate, and cannot be simply fixed."

"Prime's got a point." Bulkhead agreed. "If the Decepticons were to rain asunder on this world, they'd probably scorch the entire planet so much that it'd take millions of years for things to fix themselves." The green Autobot clenched his hand into a fist. "It's now become all the more important for us to keep this planet safe."

"W-Well, it could always be worse." Ochako reminded. "I mean, didn't Starscream say that Megatron wasn't with them? That's a plus, right?"

Arcee gave a small sigh. "Well, that does seem to be the case… for now at least." She folded her arms in apprehension. "But still, we shouldn't count out a sudden arrival from Megatron just yet. After this encounter, I have no doubt that Starscream will report it and—"

"Zrkt—Do you remember—zkrt—who you're talkin' about?!" Bumblebee pointed out through his radio. "Zkrt—Star—zrkt—scream—zrkt—is a bold-faced liar! Zrkt—He's WAY too proud of himself—zkrt—to report a single loss to—zrkt—Megatron!"

Izuku brightened up at his friend's words. "Hey, Bumblebee makes a good point. If I had to guess, Starscream probably won't take the loss well. But given how much he said he hates Megatron, there's no way he'd inform him about it this soon… hopefully."

"I suppose that is all we can hope for, Izuku." Optimus figured before changing the subject. "But let's not dwell on this for too long, shall we? After all, we still have your training for the Sports Festival to think about." The teens all saluted up to Prime and gave a unanimous; "RIGHT!" before the Autobot leader moved his gaze down to All Might. "Which reminds me, All Might…"

"Hm? Yes, what is it, my friend?"

"I wanted to speak to you about Izuku's training. I believe you would like to hear what I have in mind for it given that you are his mentor."

All Might beamed up to Optimus, giving a salute of his own. "Ah-ha! Why of course! The fact that you wish to help Young Midoriya in his training is greatly appreciated. So once you're up on your feet, we can talk."

"Thank you…" Optimus relaxed himself as the procedure continued, feeling all the more energized with each passing moment. Still, the commander couldn't help put all of his focus on the upcoming conversation… along with revealing a certain fact to the Symbol of Peace. 'I hope he takes me knowing about One for All as well as Izuku did.'

…..

The moment Starscream began to stir, his optics snapped open and he thrust himself up off of whatever surface he was laying on, crying out in shock. "GAH! W-What—where, how, who—" CLANG! "GAH!" All of a sudden, the Air Commander was forced back down onto the flat surface, which he just realized was a metal slab… inside of the medical bay of the Darksyde. He had been sat back down by a duo of Vehicons, who were immediately on the receiving end of his glare. "What is the meaning of this?! How did I get back here?!"

"Now, now, do not move yourself too much, Herr Commander." Starscream grumbled at the sound of Flatline's voice, the Decepticon medic strolling into view with a data pad in his hand. "You took quite ze blow to ze cranium down zhere. Und your vitals are through ze roof!" The doctor tapped his chin as he went over the data again. "But, zhen again, it could alvays just be your normal vitals. Given how frustrated you are, I vouldn't be surprised."

Starscream sneered and pushed the Vehicons away, removing some of the wires that were attached to him as well. "I think you'll find that I am quite well, doctor."

Flatline gave a small chuckle. "Hmhm, zat's not vhat Swift thinks. She believes zat you should stay vithin ze medical bay for a few decacycles and zhen maybe—" He was cut off when he heard the sound of Starscream's Null Ray powering up near his audio receptor, leading him to slowly turn his head to see Starscream aiming at point blank range. "…Uh, hehe, b-but if you vish to leave vhenever you like, zat is also an option, hehe…"

"Thank you, good doctor." Starscream lowered his weapon and narrowed his optics as Flatline. "Now tell me, where exactly IS Swift?"

"She is on ze bridge." Flatline said before Starscream immediately headed toward the door. "We vere expecting you to be out for some time, so she wanted to wait until you voke up before contacting Lord Megatron."

Starscream paused as the doors slid open for him, his fist clenching in frustration. "…That call will be belated, sorry to say." And with that, he stepped out of the medical bay, leaving Flatline to contemplate exactly what that meant.

"Oh dear, zhis does not look good…"

"Hey, doc!" Flatline's head snapped around to see Frenzy kicking and thrashing against his own bed. "Now that the boss is up, uh…" The Mini-Con held up his hands which were still trapped in glue, along with his buzzsaw. "YA MIND GETTIN' ME OUTTA THIS?!"

Through the hallway, Starscream marched his way toward the bridge, a deep scowl lined across his features. No Vehicons dared approach him should they incur his unbridled wrath… though that didn't stop a certain larger Decepticon from making his approach. "STARSCREAM!" The Air Commander halted at the sound of the familiar bellowing voice of Blastwave, the indominable oaf stomping his way toward him with a snickering smirk. Makeshift was also standing off to the side, making sure that he was safely out of range. "I hear that YOU were made big fool of by the Autobots and little organic man!" Blastwave threw his head back and laughed. "AHAHAHA! Oh, that slaps me on the knee!"

Starscream just clenched his fist even harder. "Blastwave, I have no TIME for this—"

"Oh, did little baby Screamer soil diaper?" Blastwave taunted. "Because I smell nothing but the foul odor of shame from you! Hahaha—DOH!" WHAM! Without warning, Starscream suddenly punched Blastwave in the nether regions and, with all his might, hefted him up and over his shoulders before slamming him into the floor head-first. And, with no other words, Starscream continued his march toward the bridge.

"…I could've told you that'd happen." Makeshift spoke up.

Blastwave raised a finger and uttered "Worth it." before collapsing in a heap.

It wasn't long before Starscream finally made it to the bridge, where he saw Swift and Barricade both facing away from him. But the moment he entered, the two turned around and eyed him warily. "You sure got up fast." Barricade commented.

"I'm known to rebound quickly." Starscream waved off as he approached Swift, stopping just inches away from her face. "Especially when it involves making plans that I was not aware of."

Swift scoffed and shrugged her shoulders. "Pssh, not really sure what you're talkin' about, but by the way you just FLIPPED Blastwave, I get the feeling you're not too happy…" She reached up and grasped his pointed chin while speaking in a baby voice; "Does Sweamy wanna tell me what's the mattewr?"

"Do NOT patronize me, Swift!" Starscream swiped her hand away before pointing a finger directly at her. "Flatline already told me about your plan to contact Megatron as soon as I awoke. But let me tell you, that will not happen!"

"Woah, woah, woah, FIRST off, I'm willing to take a lotta scrap, but you batting my hand away like that ain't one of 'em." Swift lit her hand up with green energy again as a snarl took over her lips. "And secondly, that wasn't even my plan to begin with. I just relayed the message to the doc and that was that."

Starscream's optics narrowed further. "Really? Well if you were just doing that… then that leaves only one candidate who could have given that order."

Swift deadpanned and placed her hands on her hips. "Gee, how long did it take ya to figure that out, boss?" Right at that moment, the bridge doors opened again, and a certain shadowy figure with a glowing red visor entered the room. "Oh hey, speak of the devil."

Starscream growled and whirled around, facing Unicronus head on. "Hah, good, you're awake. Didn't take too long at all." The general folded his arms, a small smirk being seen within the shadows. "I'm guessin' that Earth wasn't gonna be as much of an oil cake-walk as ya first thought, eh Starscream?"

"Silence, fool!" Starscream dismissed immediately. "I was simply taken off guard, is all."

"You underestimated the Symbol of Peace's power." Unicronus corrected. "I guarantee that there's a reason he got that name in the first place, an' I'm guessin' it's not because he's the weakest hero on this planet." He tilted his head as he watched Starscream fume, quite literally as puffs of steam began coming out of his head. "Now, now, ya don't wanna overheat your processor, do ya? Let's just calm down for a sec an' see if Lord Megatron's willing to spare a few—"

"NO!" Nearly everyone in the room was taken aback by Starscream's the sudden outburst, though the only one who didn't flinch was Unicronus himself. The general instead tilted his head, leading Starscream to collect himself and clear his throat. "Er—um, I mean… no, that will not be necessary." He turned his back to Unicronus and stepped further onto the bridge, gazing out into the starry abyss of space. "After all, this was only but ONE loss to the Autobots. A single mishap needn't require us to immediately send for back-up." In his mind, Starscream added; 'Especially via Megatron…'

Barricade decided to jump in. "Okay, so what do we do now then?"

The Seeker hummed in contemplation before inspiration struck him. "Oh! Oh-hoho, wait, that's it!" He began typing in commands on the primary control panel and a holographic map of Earth's globe came up, focusing in on Japan. "It's very simple, really." He pointed up to Japan, highlighting it in red. "We know that the Autobots are on this island nation. As such, it would stand to reason that they must also be based there as well." He balled his fist in determination. "So, I say it should be a priority to find this base and destroy it by any means necessary."

Swift pursed her lips and nodded, impressed with her commander's thinking. "He makes a good point. Besides, those islands are pretty tiny, so finding them should be a piece of oil cake."

"You think so, hm?" Unicronus said skeptically. "Alright, I'll admit, that IS a decent plan. But you forget one thing, Starscream; our energon reserves are already low as it is. If we wanna stand a chance against the Autobots, we're gonna need to find at least a decent cache to keep our crew up to snuff."

"Hmph, a simple task that even a protoform can accomplish." Starscream balked. "Computer, run a scan of the planet for any and all energon deposits." The Darksyde's computer did exactly as it was told, and within a few minutes, the words "Scan Completed" flashed across the screen. "Hm, yes, very timely. Now, show all deposits on the global map. There's bound to be at least a SOME energon he… he… here?"

Starscream felt his jaw go limp, hearing the sound of his gasping subordinates and Unicronus behind him. For on the holographic global map, there were now several blue dots lining across every inch of land, and even a few in the oceans as well. It seemed that no matter where they looked, there was just another place where energon deposits seemed to be. "…By Trion's beard." Barricade whispered.

"Sweet Solus Prime, that's a LOOOOT of energon." Swift agreed.

An insidious smirk worked its way to Unicronus' face. "Heh, well no wonder the Autobots are here. If the Ark really DID crash on this planet, it would make sense why since the place is practically littered with energon deposits!" He craned his head over to Starscream and gave him a nod. "Well, take your pick, commander. Which one should we go to first?"

"Well you don't have to be condescending about it, you know." Starscream snapped before noticing something. There were definitely a few deposits in Japan, to be sure… but at the same time, there was a specific one toward the western half of the nation that had caught his eye. "Wait… you MUST be joking!"

"Huh? What is it?" Barricade asked.

Starscream thrust his hand up and pointed to the cache he found. "This deposit! It's in the VERY same exact location where we fought the Autobots!" Both hands flew up to his helm as the realization hit him. "Scrap! That must be why Prime and the scout were even THERE in the first place! Gah, I cannot believe this!"

Swift raised her hand. "Well, I can. If ya had just decided not to shoot first and lay on your usual schtick when you got there, maybe ya would've got the chance to ask just WHY they were in that cave."

The Seeker pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled in frustration. "Ugh… g-gah! Whatever! The past is in the past." He glowered at the globe and continued. "No doubt the Autobots and their allies must be setting up defenses around that area so they can safely mine that deposit. In which case…" Starscream spun the holographic globe until it he saw a land mass that made his optics widen… until his smirk returned once more. It may have been on the opposite side of the globe from the Autobots, but with the number of huge deposits, it was too good to resist. "Oh… THIS will do nicely. Decepticons, we are headed to… er, to…" He pressed a button on the console again. "Computer, what is the name of this place?"

"Canada, commander."

"YES! Decepticons, set a course to… CANADA! AHAHAHA!"

…..

It had been about half an hour since the humans and Autobots had returned to base, and in that time, Windblade and the other half of the team had returned with about as much energon as they could carry in their arms. Which, as it turned out, was actually quite a bit. The teens had all marveled at the huge, glowing crystals as the away team set them down in the base, with Windblade saying; "Well, it's a start, but there's still plenty more where that came from."

"Item of note; it's crucial that on any future mining projects, we bring carts with us." Strongarm suggested. "It'd make things a lot easier…" She glared at Sideswipe out the corner of her optic. "…And far less annoying."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Sideswipe snapped back sarcastically as he pulled out his jackhammers. "But as the bot who did most of the digging, how WOULDN'T I find it annoying to have to carry a lot of it back?!"

"Ah, c'mon Sideswipe, it builds character!" Jazz assured, patting the large crystal that he had carried back himself. "And it helps build discipline, too."

Sideswipe deadpanned and rolled his optics. "Thanks, but I think I get enough of THAT from just hearing Strongarm prattle on about protocol all day." He smiled in satisfaction when he heard Strongarm growl at him before shifting his gaze over to his brother. "Ain't that right, Bro? …Bro?" He scanned the area before finding Sunstreaker… and in hindsight, he probably should've seen this coming. "Oh… yeah, of course."

The yellow bot had sat down on a bench in front of a large mirror and shifted his hand for his buffer, going right to work on getting the scratches out of his paint. "Don't you worry, old friend. I'll have ya spic and span by the time we're done here." Sunstreaker hummed a happy tune as he began buffing himself, much to everyone's chagrin.

"…Okay, I like Sunstreaker and all, but why does he treat his paintjob like his baby?" Denki asked.

"Well, let's just say that Sunny used to be a pretty famous model back on Cybertron." Sideswipe explained. "Always sporting the shiniest new rims or the latest model engine. And he always wanted to look his best for his fans… and the femmes." That last part made Sunstreaker flinch, which Sideswipe was hoping for. "So, he's made sure to keep his paint up to snuff." He rolled his optics and scoffed. "Though if you ask me, it hasn't gotten him very far."

Sunstreaker picked up on that immediately, though. "Oh, really? And I'm sure your street racing attracted ALL the femmes, huh?"

Strongarm snickered off to the side. "Oh, you bet. I'm sure they were ALL swooning every time I cuffed you and hauled you off to the precinct."

Sideswipe narrowed his optics at the duo… but his scowl was replaced with a victorious grin mere moments later. "Well, I may've gotten arrested a few times—"

"Several times."

"BUT I can at least be assured of one thing; I DID get one femme to chase after me."

"Pfft! HA! Yeah sure." Strongarm scoffed. "And who exactly was the poor unfortunate—" The cadet cut herself off when she noticed the smirk Sideswipe was giving her… and it didn't take long for her to add things up. "…I'm going to kill you. Sunstreaker, HOLD ME BACK!"

Doing as he was told, Sunstreaker leapt up and put Strongarm in a fell nelson as she scrambled toward Sideswipe, his brother doubled over and laughing at her all the while. Sunstreaker glowered at Sideswipe, unimpressed. "Are you EVER going to grow up?"

"As long as it still annoys the crude oil outta Strongarm, probably not." Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Sideswipe transformed into vehicle mode and zoomed away, taking off out of the base entirely. "I'm goin' for a drive now, catch ya later!"

"SIDESWIPE!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Strongarm transformed and her siren immediately began blaring, all while Sunstreaker was violently thrown to the floor. "You won't be getting away from me!"

"Strongarm, wait!" Tenya hollered. "You're only—" SCREEEEECH! However, his words were left on deaf audio receptors as Strongarm peeled out of the base, taking off after Sideswipe. "…proving him right."

Eijiro facepalmed and grumbled in frustration. "I swear, sometimes I think those two are practically MADE for arguing with each other." It was then, though, that the spikey redhead noticed that Ochako, Momo and Mina were all smiling after the two Autobots, leaving him confused. "Uh… girls? Everything okay?"

"Oh yeah, WAY more than okay." Ochako winked.

"We're just looking at this from a different point of view, hehe." Mina giggled.

Eijiro blinked confusedly at their words. "…I'm afraid I don't follow."

Momo giggled a little as well before raising a single finger to her classmate. "You know, Kirishima, sometimes when a boy really likes a girl, they relentlessly pick on them just to get their attention." The Creation Quirk user set her gaze back outside to where Sideswipe and Strongarm left. "And a part of me can't help but feel like that's exactly what we're seeing here with those two." Ochako and Mina were quick to nod in agreement.

At this point, it wasn't just Eijiro who was giving them an incredulous stare. Kyoka, Denki, Tenya, and even the REST of the Autobots all joined in as well. They honestly couldn't believe that the trio had managed to reach THAT conclusion. "…Ya know, I think if either Sideswipe OR Strongarm had heard that, they'd show you guys no mercy." Kyoka piped up.

"Yeah, gotta agree with her on this one, ladies." Jazz agreed. "Ain't NO way Sideswipe an' Strongarm have a thing for each other."

"And if that somehow happens, I think the universe will just end." Windblade added. The City Speaker began scanning around the area, searching for any sign of her leader, but to no avail. "Uh, by the way… where's Optimus? I expected him to try and at least break that fight up."

Jazz crossed his arms and tilted his head. "Hey, yeah… an' where's Bee?"

"Oh, they and Midoriya went off somewhere in the base to talk to All Might." Denki answered. "Something about the training he's getting to help use his Quirk and all that." The blonde glanced down the nearby hallway, where the aforementioned quartet had gone down. "Wonder how all that's going?"

…..

"Alright, I think this room is about as private as we're going to get." All Might said as he and the others entered the Autobot's new training room, closing the door behind him. He was honestly still a bit taken off guard that Optimus had wanted to speak with him personally about Izuku's training, but then again, he wasn't too surprised either. After all, it was likely that the Prime had caught on to the fact that he and Izuku had "similar Quirks" and wanted to compare how he had trained Izuku to compare how his training regimen would go. 'I must still be careful, though.' All Might noted in his head. 'I must not let him catch on about One for All.' The Symbol of Peace saluted up to Optimus with his signature grin. "So, Optimus, what is it that you wanted to discuss about young Midoriya's training?"

Optimus faced down to All Might as Izuku and Bumblebee watched on, the Quirk Inheritor visibly nervous as he had an idea of what would happen next. "Well, All Might, there is… something that I wanted to make clear with you before we start."

"Why of course! Fire away!"

"…I know about One for All."

"HAAAAAKK!" The moment Optimus said that, All Might was shocked to his very core. So much so that he started hacking up blood into his hand while Izuku and Bumblebee ran over to him in concern.

Optimus immediately lowered himself down as well. "A-All Might! Are you alright?!"

All Might coughed a few more times as his eyes widened, still in disbelief of what he heard. "You… you what?"

"I… I managed to connect the points fairly easy." Optimus admitted. "I noticed that Izuku's Quirk wasn't exactly suited to his own body, and that the force of his power contained the exact same type of energy that yours did back when we fought Shatter and Dropkick." Optimus raised a hand to the Pro Hero. "Also, I don't want you to get the idea that Izuku himself told me, because he didn't. He was just as surprised as you are now when I told him I knew. …Though admittedly, he didn't cough up his internal fluids."

"Hak-hak! Ergh, yes… please forgive me for that." All Might pleaded, wiping what remaining blood was on his face. "Unfortunately, it's a result of a rather gruesome injury that I sustained long ago."

"…Is that steam also a side effect of the injury?"

All Might's eyes widened and he glanced down to his body, which was indeed beginning to steam up once again. "…Oh no."

Izuku reached up and placed a hand onto All Might's arm, trying to reassure the man. "U-Um, All Might, considering that Optimus already knows about One for All… maybe he should know about this, too."

"…Hak-hak! You're… you're right, young Midoriya." With a heavy sigh and his shoulders slumped, All Might nodded his head. "It's probably for the best that Optimus be let in to this fold completely." He craned his head back up to look Optimus right in his optics as the steam began to overtake him. "Be warned, my friend. What you're about to see… isn't pretty."

Optimus immediately took notice in All Might's change in cadence as the steam wafted away… and when he saw the man before him, his optics widened in complete shock. Where the mighty, muscle-bound man with the swept back blonde hair had once stood… was now an anorexic skeleton of a man with sunken in eyes, thin limbs and a messy mane of blonde hair. However, he still knew that this had to be the same person. "…All Might."

"Please, call me Toshinori." the thin man replied as he practically swam in his hero costume. "At least in this form, anyway. No one else can know about my condition, so it's best if you call me by my real name while I'm like this."

"By the Matrix… this injury must have been considerably severe."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." Toshinori went to lift up his shirt, revealing the massive scar where the hole in his body once was. It was enough to make Optimus actually gasp. "Yeah, like I said, it's not pretty. My whole stomach was destroyed and my lungs were nearly shot, too."

Optimus peered closer to the injury, still in disbelief that the man before him was even still alive. "…How long ago did this happen?"

"About five years ago." Toshinori answered. "Got it in a pretty nasty fight with a dangerous villain." He lowered his shirt as he continued. "Since then, I've only been able to be All Might for about three hours at a time, though recently, it's gotten shorter. My time as the Symbol of Peace… is soon going to be coming to an end."

The Prime let that fact sink in before nodding to him again. "I see… hence why you passed on your Quirk to Izuku."

Toshinori smiled a skeletal grin, moving his sights over to Izuku, who was still visibly saddened. "Yep, I'm training him to be my replacement, the next Symbol of Peace." He reached up and ruffled Izuku's hair, catching him off guard. "He's proven to be a fast learner, and has shown no hesitation in wanting to be the next holder of One for All. I'm quite proud of him."

"Ah, shucks All Might." Izuku rubbed his neck sheepishly.

"I know, I know, kinda mushy, but it's true, young Midoriya." Toshinori winked with a thumbs up. "You've done very well so far, and going forward, I know you'll do even better…" He moved his sights back to the Prime before him. "Especially if you have the help of this guy, right here."

Optimus chuckled at that. "Hmhm, well I certainly hope so. Though I feel that I must tell you that my finding out about One for All wasn't completely by guess work, and it has to do with why I specifically wish to help train Izuku…" Prime reached around and opened his chest panel, which once again enveloped Bumblebee, Izuku and Toshinori in a brilliant blue light.

The Symbol of Peace was taken aback by the object that Optimus pulled out of his chest… namely because he could feel the power radiating from the very center of it. And if felt… somewhat familiar. "What… what is that?"

"This, Toshinori, is the legendary Matrix of Leadership. Wielded by the first Prime, Prima, this sacred object has been passed down through the lineage of Primes before me, storing and collecting their knowledge and power for the next generation to harness." Optimus explained, lowering the mystical object down to their level. "And it is because of the Matrix that I wish to help train Izuku, because the power within it is very similar to One for All."

Toshinori was left awestruck by the brilliance before him. In fact, it was almost like the crystalline core of the Matrix was… calling out to him. He reached up and placed a hand on its outer casing, and immediately, his eyes widened. The hero's vision was taken over by large voice with a shooting beam of energy going from point to point, changing colors with each star it struck. He had visions like these before, so he knew that it was One for All… but rather than ending at the eight point like it usually did for him, it went on to the ninth… before then going on further toward a bright, blue light. It was then that several, multiple voices began speaking all at once in his mind, which made the Symbol of Peace gasp and recoil in shock.

"All Might!" Izuku went over to him, concerned for his mentor. "A-Are you okay? What happened?"

With a shaky hand, All Might put his hand to his forehead in shock. "I… I-I'm not sure. I had a vision about One for All and then… voices. Lots of voices, speaking all at once." He shook off the daze in his head and rose back to his full height, his eyes focused on the Matrix as Prime returned it to his chest. "I mean, granted, since I took on one for all, I've often had visions like this from time to time… but this was different. It was almost like… like there were multiple conversations going on in my mind, and I couldn't make out any clear one."

Optimus put a hand to his chin in thought. "I see… I too have had visions from the Matrix in the past. This is an interesting discovery."

Toshinori raised a brow at him. "You don't think… that the past wielders of both the Matrix and One for All…"

"Were speaking to one another?" Optimus finished. "That is one possible theory."

Off to the side, Bumblebee scratched his helm and piped up. "Zrkt—But—zrkt—Optimus—zrkt—don't you think that's a bit farfetched?"

"I've heard plenty of far stranger things in my time, Bumblebee, believe me." Optimus assured. "Something like that cannot be ruled out. After all, it is through the Matrix that I was told that a similar power to it was somewhere here on Earth."

The Symbol of Peace hummed to himself, scratching his chin in contemplation. "I see… well, if the Matrix and One for All are truly that similar, then I suppose there's only one thing to do." He faced Izuku and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Young Midoriya, I want you to intently listen and learn all that you can from Optimus. I'm sure that he has millennia of combat experience that he can teach you. Of course, I'll still help wherever I can, but if he can assist in helping you harness One for All, then you should definitely go for it."

Izuku smiled and balled his fist with conviction, his mentor's words resonating with him. "Of course, All Might. I had no intention of doing otherwise."

All Might smiled back at his protégé whole heartedly. "Good boy, now make sure to give it your all." It was then, however, that Toshinori noticed his watch, along with the time getting close to seven o'clock. "Oh, geez! It's later than I actually thought!"

Izuku glanced down and saw the time as well, making him yelp in shock. "AH! Oh my gosh, we've all gotta get home soon! Some of us might miss curfew!"

"Hm, I see." Optimus nodded. "It would seem we still have much to learn about human customs. Very well, we will pick up our training tomorrow." He pointed down to Izuku with a serious gaze. "But be warned, Izuku, I will not go easy on you, especially now that I've been fully reenergized."

"I wouldn't expect you to, Optimus." Izuku said with a raised fist. "And can't wait for it."

"Excellent. But before you all go, there's one more thing I wish to know…" His optics shifted back to All Might in curiosity. "Are there any others who know about your true appearance?"

Toshinori raised a hand up to the Prime. "Only a few people, and even fewer know about the truth of my Quirk. Principal Nezu and Agent Fowler know about it, along with a few select others. Pretty much all of the U.A. Faculty knows about this form, along with some of my top people at my Tokyo agency… and maybe Windblade as well considering she saw me at the USJ last week."

Optimus' eyeridges rose at that last part. "Hm, well, that's unexpected. I may have to ask her about that."

Izuku piped up next. "A-And there's also Kyoka. She also saw All Might at the USJ, so—"

"You guys talkin' about me in here or what?"

"GAAAH!" Izuku jumped and spun around when he felt a certain pair of jacks tickling the back of his neck, only to be met with a laughing Kyoka Jiro. The girl was holding her gut as she cracked up, much to Izuku's chagrin. "Gee, thanks for giving me a heart attack." Izuku deadpanned.

"HAHAHA! I'm sorry!" Kyoka reached up and put a hand on Izuku's shoulder, partly for reassurance, but also for support. "I just couldn't resist."

"Young Jiro!" Toshinori exclaimed. "H-How long where you standing there?"

Kyoka raised a brow to the blonde man with a smirk. "Just got here, actually. I noticed the time and I had a feeling that Izuku would wanna leave before any of us broke curfew."

Izuku sighed and shrugged. "Hah, well I can't fault you there, Kyoka. Yeah, I think it's about time we get going." He set his sight over to Bumblebee and waved up to him. "Hey Bee, mind giving us a lift home?" Bumblebee buzzed in approval and the three began walking over to the exit… where they were intercepted by Agent Fowler coming in as well. "O-Oh, hi Agent Fowler."

"Midoriya, Jiro." Fowler acknowledged. "Excellent work today. Takin' down that smaller 'con, I mean."

The Earphone Jack user simply shrugged, her smirk ever present. "Yeah well, someone had to pick up the slack for Burns' dumb decision-making."

Fowler rolled his eyes at that. "Yeah, yeah, sure. Just don't let it go to your heads, okay? Last thing we need is for another little stunt like the one Miss Ashido pulled today." He received a grimace from her before waving his hand. "Now go on, it's late. You should get home soon so you can be ready for school tomorrow."

"O-Of course, Agent Fowler." Izuku stammered as he led Kyoka away. "Will do."

"Good… oh, and Midoriya, about what you asked me earlier, I…" Fowler saw Izuku stop and crane his head around… and while he wanted to bring up the subject now, the worried look in Izuku's eyes made him hesitate. While he DID want to talk about it, he now recognized that now wasn't the best time, especially since it was already so late. "…You know what? Let's talk about it another time. It's way too late to get into a topic like."

Izuku swallowed in relief, his throat feeling dry from nervousness. "R-Right. We'll see you later, Agent Fowler. Bye." With that, the duo went off… but he couldn't help but notice the stern glance that Kyoka was giving him at the same time. "…Y-Yes?"

"You know you'll have to talk about it at SOME point, right?"

Kyoka's question made the greenette let out a nervous breath. "Y-Yeah, I know. It's just… not right now. I don't know if I have enough confidence for that, at least not with other people."

The purplette sighed and reached up, slowly grasping Izuku's shoulder in support. "Okay… but you know I'm here for you if you wanna talk, right?"

"Of course." Izuku answered immediately, his smile returning. "Always."

Back in the training room, however, Fowler walked up to All Might, giving him a serious stare. "Please tell me you know that question wasn't a coincidence, right?"

"You mean that he asked if you were bullied for having no Quirk in school?" Toshinori replied. "Yeah, I've got a feeling that's no coincidence at all." He stared after Izuku and Kyoka as they walked off with Bumblebee, his eyes focusing on his protégé in concern. "In truth, I've had my suspicions about young Midoriya's middle school life when I met him a year ago. He never told me any big details, nor did I ever get privy to it out of respect." The man lowered his head. "But… he seemed like such a meek child back then. The type who you'd typically see get picked on by the bigger kids."

"Really?" Optimus asked. "Hm, you would never know that looking at him now, I'll say that."

Toshinori nodded up to him. "Well yes. Through our training and making friends with Bumblebee, young Hatsume and young Jiro, his confidence and physical prowess have grown substantially…" He trailed off as he saw the aforementioned group turn a corner, disappearing from view. "But still, there are things that worry me about his time back at Aldera Junior High… and I think I might have a hunch about what… or who might be the cause of it."

Fowler crossed his arms and lowered his head. "I see. Well, hopefully he'll remember what I said. I wanna have a conversation with him about it and see if he'll open up to someone who also used to be Quirkless…" He raised a brow over to All Might. "After all, I can only assume he was just like you when you were starting out."

"Fairly similar, yes, only he hasn't taken to One for All as naturally as I did." All Might emphasized. "He's got a lot to learn still, though I know he'll do well with the Quirk to make it his own."

"One can only hope." Fowler agreed before setting his sights up to Optimus. "Now Prime, there's somethin' I've been wantin' to talk to you about, too."

Optimus tilted his head slightly, his interest piqued. "Yes, Agent Fowler? What is it?"

"I've been having my people track down exactly where they dug up the GroundBridge to see if we can crack down on any more Cybertronian stuff that might've gotten left behind… and I think we've got a lead." Fowler couldn't help but smirk at the astonished expressions on Prime and All Might's faces. "So, in about a few days, how does a trip to Greece sound?"

…..

A/N: Well, there's some interesting info! Fowler's tracking down the origin point of where Sector Seven found the Autobot's GroundBridge! Wonder what sort of secrets could be lying in wait for them in Greece? Well, we're gonna have to wait a little longer to find out. With that said, though, it seems the Autobots are getting their bearings together in light of this Decepticon attack, planning around what would happen if the Cons decide to home in on any energon the bots might find first. But, as we've seen, it seems like Starscream has already homed in on a certain nation that has a TON of energon. Never before has anyone been so hyped about going to Canada. But as always, he's gonna avoid calling Megatron for assistance like the plague. Classic Starscream.

But hey, at least Prime's better now that he's had that infusion, and not to mention, Mina admitted to her mistake of sneaking into battle. Thankfully, Optimus was very understanding while also making sure that Mina knew the gravity of her mistake. And if I may make a note here; something that's always bugged me about modern depictions of Optimus, specifically in Prime, is that he's always portrayed as a jaded commander who seems very distant from his team. It's more like he's a symbol rather than a compassionate leader, which is something I loved about the original depiction of Optimus. I hope to convey more of that depiction in this story, especially the fatherly aspect that he displayed when comforting Mina here.

Also, we had a pretty big revelation; Fowler's Quirkless! And needless to say, Izuku's pretty surprised by that. So much so that he let down his defenses a little bit and asked if Fowler was ever bullied. Seems that Fowler, All Might and Prime might've caught on to something there, so let's see where that goes, shall we? But speaking of All Might, he's now officially let Prime in on the secret of One for All… and the comparisons between it and the Matrix grow further with that mysterious encounter. Just what did Toshinori hear? Well, we'll have to wait and see to find out. But until then…

And now, the Preview! A few days pass by until Friday comes along, and after a rather interesting day at school, our heroes get the word of an impromptu field trip to Greece! It's time to find out why the GroundBridge was found there in the first place… but at the same time, it seems a certain medic and munitions expert are gonna be swinging by for a visit. Next time; It's All Greek to me! What do the Autobots find… and why does Prime seems to be so shocked by it?! Tune in next week to find out, but until then, thanks for reading everyone! As always, stay safe out there, and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!