A/N: Morning guys! Once again, it's that time of the week! Time for a new chapter for your reading pleasure. And I have to say, you guys were pretty spot on with your guesses in the reviews as to what this chapter would center around. Of course, a lot of you probably HAVE seen Transformers Prime, so that's no surprise, but what IS a surprise is a little twist I've added, which will be seen in this chapter. With that said, let's not delay any further! This is…

Chapter 10: It's All Greek to Me

…..

Several days had passed since the Decepticon's initial appearance in Japan, and the Autobots had been on high alert ever since. Of course, they made sure to take the time to help train their new human allies in preparation for the Sports Festival, but at the same time, they were still focused on finding out where the Cons would be next as well. And most of all, they were hoping to find out the location of their ship as well… though unfortunately, their initial attempt had been… unsuccessful.

…..

~Two Days Ago, South America~

Optimus, Strongarm, Sideswipe, Jazz and Windblade were making their way through one of the densest, most humid forests that any of them had set foot in, and to put it lightly; none of them were all that happy about it. For the life of them, they couldn't figure out why in the Pit the Decepticons would ever station their base in a place like this, but they pressed forward nonetheless. They kept their weapons drawn, ready for any Con that felt lucky enough to ambush them.

"Strongarm," Optimus spoke up, "how much further?"

Having taken the lead, Strongarm held up the tracking device in her hand, which was closing in on a strong signal. "Not much further, sir. According to my tracker, we should be getting close to—"

"GYAH!"

"AGH!" Strongarm spun around and aimed her crossbow up… only to see that it was only Sideswipe. The red bot had fallen over after sinking in a rather mucky bog, which only made Strongarm groan and roll her optics. "Sideswipe, really? We're trying to be stealthy here!"

Snapping his head up, Sideswipe glared at the cadet and pointed at her. "Hey, YOU try watching your footing with ground like this! It feels like walking through proto-matter!" The other Autobots gave him incredulous stares, making Sideswipe cough in his hand. "Er, I mean… not that I would know what that feels like, it's just—"

"We get the analogy, Sideswipe." Windblade reached down and pulled Sideswipe out of the muck, using her fans help lift him. "Just be a bit more observant and we'll make it through this."

"Hah, yeah, thanks." Sideswipe said as he wiped the grime off his legs. "Betcha Sunstreaker's glad he's not here right now. He'd flip out at all this grime."

Up ahead, Jazz couldn't help but snicker. "Heh, true that. An' let's be glad that Bulkhead didn't come with too, otherwise he'd probably end up where you were."

However, right at that moment, the tracker began beeping to life, garnering Strongarm's attention. "Ssh! Guys, quiet down. …We're close." The Autobots all kept their heads and weapons up as they worked their way through the tree line, coming closer and closer to its edge before finally stepping out into an opening.

Sprawling before them was a large, open field, one with a massive boulder at its very center. …And nothing else. No spaceship, nothing that appeared to be a base of some sort, nothing. Naturally, this left the Autobots confused. "…Uh, Strongarm? You sure that thing ain't busted?" Sideswipe asked.

"W-What? No!" Strongarm brought the tracker up and pressed a button, reaffirming her stance. "The tracker says that the signal's coming from this location." She started forward until she stopped right at the boulder, where the tracker began sounding off VERY loudly. "Ah-ha! See? I told you!"

"Uh… Strongarm?" Windblade piped up.

However, the cadet seemed to be ignoring her as she worked her way around the boulder. "This massive rock must be a front for some sort of secret underground base. All we have to do is break it open and we'll have Barricade and the others in stasis cuffs."

Jazz cleared his throat. "Uh, yo, Strongarm!"

"Good think I pack explosives for just such an—"

"Strongarm." Optimus said firmly, finally getting her attention. The Autobot leader reached up and pulled two objects off the boulder. One was a data pad, while the other… was the tracer. "I believe that this was the tracer you placed on Barricade, wasn't it?"

Strongarm's optics widened and she sprinted up to him, procuring the tracer with a look of frustration. "GAH! No! You can't be serious!"

Sideswipe came up and peered closer to the data pad, noticing that it had something on it. "Oh hey, this thing's got a message! Hm… "Nice Try. Next time, find something that sticks. Hahahaha. Now go boom. Love, Frenzy.". Huh, whaddya think it means?"

Right at that moment, though, the data pad's screen changed from blue to red… and a countdown in Cybertronian numbers began rapidly going down. Optimus' optics widened and he immediately yanked the pad back from Sideswipe. "Duck and cover!" He tossed it as hard as he could back at the boulder while the other Autobots followed his command, diving straight to the ground. The moment the pad struck the boulder, it exploded in a brilliant display, causing the massive rock to shatter into a million pieces.

Once they were sure they were all in one piece, the Autobots rose up, with Strongarm appearing less than pleased. "…It means we've been played."

…..

~U.A. High, Present~

And thus, that mission was a bust, and to make matters even more pressing… they hadn't heard from the Decepticons SINCE that day. To the kids, that might not have been a bad thing, but Optimus and the other Autobots were certainly very concerned. "If the Decepticons have gone silent, that cannot mean they're up to anything good." the Prime had concluded. "We must be ever vigilant, which is why I will be having Arcee and Bumblebee remain in proximity of U.A. for the duration of the day from here on out. To ensure your protection."

So, there the eight teens were, sitting in class near the end of the day waiting for the final bell to ring. …And noticeably to the rest of their classmates, they were exhausted. Mina, Denki and Ochako were both slumped over in their chairs while Tenya's legs wobbled even as he sat, and what's more, Eijiro's arms appeared to be quite sore and almost as red as his hair. Kyoka's jacks were also visibly sore and Momo's complexion was somewhat green, though she at least kept herself composed. The only one who didn't seem too bad was Izuku, though he did have a couple bandages on his face and hands.

Finally, the final bell of the day rang, and Mr. Aizawa glanced down at his class. "Alright, class is dismissed. Remember, while your training is important, you must also keep up with your school work, so be sure that your Hero History report is done by Monday, alright? And keep in mind; Midnight's filling in for Bookworm's history class for the rest of the year after last week's… unfortunate incident when the false alarm happened."

All of the students awkwardly glanced to one another at that last part. "How were WE to know he'd get underfoot of every single student in that hallway?" Hanta Sero whispered.

"Point being, she's gonna be a LOT tougher on you in that class than Bookworm was, so be sure you do well." The mummified teacher awkwardly picked up his sleeping bag and nodded to the rest of the class before headed out the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, sir." The class said respectfully to him as he left. Once he was gone, though, Tooru Hagakure spun around in her seat toward the rest of the class, though her main focus was set on the eight most tired of them all. "Okay, I GOTTA know what's up with you guys!" the invisible girl said as her clothes jittered around. "Just what the HECK have you all been doing and why is it messing you up so badly?"

In the seat in front of her, Mashirao Ojiro also faced the others, concern written across the tailed young man's face. "Yeah guys, I know that we've gotta train, but you all seem to be taking it either to a level beyond where we're at or you're just overdoing it."

"Kinda seems counterproductive, honestly." Tsuyu added as she stood up from her seat, placing a finger to her chin. "I mean, we're all going at it hard, but not THIS hard. You guys should seriously consider dialing back a bit."

"HA! Speak for yourself, Frog Eyes." Katsuki bolstered as he too stood up, instantly getting the attention of everyone in class… for better or for worse. "Whatever kinda training they're doing, I bet it doesn't even compare to the stuff I'm pulling off." He sent his glare toward Izuku, making the Quirk Inheritor flinch. "'Specially you, Deku. I've got no idea what kinda training you're doing, but I'll tell ya right now, it's gonna get you nowhere!"

While Izuku shrunk back, Kyoka was already on the counterattack. "Is that right? Well, if you really ARE doing more intense training than us, then why aren't YOU covered in injuries, Ass Hat?" She reached over and pointed to the greenette's bandages. "After all, if Izuku's getting hurt like this, then you must be too."

Bakugo snarled at the remark, but glowered back as he answered; "Please, if you think I'm gonna get injured like that loser, then you've got another thing coming. I'm just that damn good! Plus, I'm not some frail nerd!"

"Alright, line's being drawn RIGHT there!" From the back of the class, Kaida stood up and stormed up to Katsuki, her glare meeting his mere inches away from his face. "I'm willing to take a lot of things, but calling someone a loser and a "frail nerd" is out of the question!"

If anything, though, this only made Bakugo grin manically as he raised his hands, which started creating tiny explosions in anticipation. "Oh, you wanna go, Scale Belly? I'd be more than happy to oblige!"

CRACK! The entire class gasped at the sound of a hard whipping noise, all of them spinning their heads around to see none other than Midnight standing in the doorway. She had changed out of her hero costume for the day and instead was in a pair of snug jeans and a white shirt under a navy-blue jacket. The only part of her hero attire she currently had out was her flog, which she had struck against the wall.

Her blue eyes bore into Katsuki and Kaida, making them freeze up. "That will be QUITE enough! I believe the school's rules made it very clear that there's to be no fighting in the classroom." Midnight strode over to the duo, her poise confident and purposeful. "I initially came in to wish you luck with your history papers, but to be honest, I believe the two of YOU might need some extra work to make up for what I just witnessed."

"WHAT?!" both students exclaimed before Kaida tried explaining. "B-But, Miss Midnight, I was trying to STOP—"

"Ah-ah, I don't want to hear a word about how it happened." Midnight silenced. "What I want is a hand-written apology from BOTH of you by tomorrow's class. Is that understood? Or should I inform Principal Nezu about this?"

Kaida and Katsuki glanced at one another irritably… before both decided to just roll with the punches they were given. "…Yes, Miss Midnight. We understand."

"Good, now I believe it's time for everyone to head home." The R-Rated Hero raised her hand and pointed toward Tenya. "However, young Iida, I would like you and Yaoyorozu to gather Midoriya, Jiro, Kaminari, Kirishima, and Ashido and meet me outside. I would like to discuss your rather… haggard states at the moment.

The eight teens all glanced to one another nervously before Tenya swallowed and nodded. "Y-Yes, Miss Midnight. As Class Rep, I will see to it."

As Tenya began gathering them up, the rest of class then left… though not before Izuku saw Bakugo giving him one of the worst glares he had ever given to him. And he had a good idea why, too. 'Why is it that he always blames ME for everything that happens to him?' he thought in fear… but also with a bit of respite.

Soon after, the group of eight teens proceeded outside and gathered at U.A.'s front entry, all of them lining up in a row as Midnight addressed them. She was walking back and forth in front of all of them, taking in their rather sorry dispositions. "Now, I don't know what happened back in that classroom." Midnight paused as she saw that Denki was practically asleep on his feet. "But I did overhear enough to learn that apparently…" CRACK!

"GYAH!" Denki let out a gasp as Midnight cracked her flog in front of his face, waking him up. "THE ANSWER IS TWENTY-FOUR!"

The others either deadpanned at the electric blonde, or in Kyoka and Mina's case, snickered to themselves. Midnight shook her head disapprovingly and sighed. "You all may be overdoing it with your training."

Ochako yawned a bit and scratched the back of her head. "Well, I guess you COULD say that…"

"We HAVE been putting in a lot of effort lately." Momo added, hugging her arms around herself.

Midnight placed her hands on her hips and raised a brow. "Now, I'm all for you kids giving it your all for the Sports Festival, but I hardly approve of wrecking your bodies for the sake of it. Just what kind of training HAVE you been doing?" Unbeknownst to her, though, Midnight's words caused the teens to shudder, all while vivid memories of yesterday came back to haunt them…

…..

"Come on, Tenya, I wanna see TWO-HUNDRED full laps before the sun goes down! Pick! Up! The! PACE!"

"You wanted real combat, Eijiro?! Well you got it, so don't back down now! Keep getting harder and maybe you won't be driven into the ground!"

"Let's go, Mina! I've seen Rainmakers burn through an Autobot stronghold faster than what you're doing to that mountain! We gotta get your corrosive strength through the roof!"

"Yo, those jacks of your ain't gonna get jacked overnight, Kyoka! I wanna see that boulder get cracked in one go! Put yo' back into it!"

"Time to turn that chubby tummy into muscle, Ochako! GET BUFF, CREAMPUFF!"

"Eat and create! Eat and create! Come on, Momo, I didn't have Sector Seven bring this snack machine over for nothing!"

"AHAHAHA! Dance my Denki puppet! DANCE!"

…...

The kids had quickly found out that Auto-Boot Camp wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. As the others all trembled at the memories of their ordeals, however, Izuku didn't seem all that shaken by the experience. 'Honestly, it was pretty similar to All Might's regimen and how he trained me.' At the same time, though, he did feel bad that his friends weren't exactly prepared to go through that type of training, so he spoke up for all of them. "Ah, heh, w-we kinda found an online training plan and… we've been having a bit of a hard time keeping up with it."

'Yeah, says you.' his classmates all thought pointedly.

Midnight hummed to herself, placing a hand thoughtfully to her chin. "Hm, I see… this wouldn't happen to be the "All American Dream Plan", would it?"

Izuku's eyes widened considerably at that. "W-Wha—How did you—"

"You wouldn't believe how many kids come across that plan on the internet and try to follow it to the letter." A smirk came to Midnight's face and she licked her lips. "Usually it's the second years who try to emulate its success to try and better themselves in areas that they failed in their first year, so I'm quite surprised that a bunch of first years are going through such… mmm, painful and grueling, exercises." The teens saw a glimmer of excitement in her eye. "You all wouldn't happen to be masochistic, would you?"

"N-N-NO!" Eijiro shouted, his face heating up. "Miss Midnight, you've got it all wrong!"

Tenya began chopping the air profusely as he shouted at the top of his lungs; "Please, Miss Midnight, this is absurd and completely unfounded! We only wish to give our best for the Sports Festival and that's all!"

A slight sadness took over Midnight's features and she hung her head a little. "Drat, well, there goes that idea." She shook her head and put her smile back on. "Well, nevertheless, I suggest that you all should lighten up on your regimen, otherwise you'll all be wiped out on the day of the Sports Festival and won't be able to do anything. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Miss Midnight!" The group echoed.

"Excellent, now you're all free to—" BEEP-BEEP! "Hmm? Ah!" Midnight gasped at the sight of a certain yellow Volkswagen Beetle coming down the street, accompanied by a pink Lotus Elise and a big, green Hummer H2 pickup truck. And behind the wheel of the Beetle, she saw the object of her ongoing affection… and it was clear that he had seen her. "Oh, yoo-hoo! Brian!"

Immediately, "Brian" pumped the gas and screeched to a halt near the curb. He was going to back up… but then he remembered that "Sadie" was right behind him and he didn't wanna rear end her. Thus, he had to face the music the moment he saw Midnight come sauntering up to him, putting a noticeable sway in her hips. "Zkrt—Hello—zkrt—Midnight."

"And hello to you, too!" Midnight greeted cheekily, making bedroom eyes at the young blonde as she leaned into his open driver's side window. She made absolutely sure that her cleavage could be seen as well, just for that added touch. "I haven't seen you in over a week, cutie." She reached up and ran her finger across his jawline. "Have you been avoiding me?"

"Zrkt—Yes—zrkt—I mean, no! Zrkt—I mean—zkrt—perhaps—zrkt—maybe, I—"

A giggle escaped Midnight's throat as she leaned in even further, getting right up in Brian's face. "Oh, you're such a silly boy. Relax, I'm only teasing…" As she got closer, Brian could feel the heat of her breath against his face, which made him tremble much more. And it only got worse when she started tracing her finger along his chest. "You're so cute when you're nervous, it turns me right on. By the way, I never DID give a proper "thank you" to you for aiding our students in the USJ incident. Maybe I could interest you in a little… something?"

As this went on, the students all couldn't help but feel their jaws go slack at what was going on. "…You can't be freaking serious." Denki uttered with tears streaming down his face. "How in the heck is Bumblebee of all people getting hit on by Midnight?! Do you know what I'd give for someone that smoking hot to—" Jab! "GYAH-HAH!"

"Shut it, Kaminari." Kyoka admonished. "Now's not the time to be thirsty. Also, be careful and make sure to call the bots by their human names…" The purplette trailed off when she saw Arcee and Bulkhead's doors open up. "Speaking of which…"

Back with the young scout, he and Midnight's eyes were locked as the R-Rated Hero's lips were mere centimeters away from his own. "C'mon, Brian, why don't I take you out on for a night on the town? I could show you some sights that I guarantee you've NEVER seen before."

"Uh… ahem? Excuse me, ma'am?"

And just like that; snap! The moment was ruined by a single word. "MA'AM?!" Midnight pulled herself out of the window and spun around toward the deep voice, glaring angrily at its owner. "I will have you know, sir, that I am NOT a… ma'am?" But the woman's voice was lost as she gazed upon the sheer size of the man before her, suddenly feeling incredibly small in comparison.

He was an African American man and had to be about seven feet tall, his body-builder-like form comparable to someone like All Might or Endeavor. He wore a dark green tank-top, which only allowed him to show off his rippling muscles even more. The man also had on a pair of green and brown camo pants with black combat boots, making him appear all the more imposing along with his thick, black beard and mustache combo and bald head. The large man was taken by surprise at her outburst and immediately apologized. "O-Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to offend or anything, really. I… uh, are you okay?"

Never before in her life was Midnight ever this intimidated while also being turned on as well. Granted, she had a thing for ALL forms of man, whether they were large and in charge like this specimen before her, or meeker and inexperienced like Brian was. The fact that this man was very apologetic as well was also earning points for her, so there was that. "Oh, I'm perfectly fine, mister… um…"

"Buck." The man answered. "Buck Hudson of the United States Military. I'm Brian's legal guardian."

The teens saw "Buck" briefly glance over and smirk toward them, which immediately tipped them off. "Hehe! Looks like Bulk's finally decided on his own holoform." Mina giggled. "And I gotta say, seems like Miss Midnight's already been charmed by him."

"At this point, I think she's charmed by pretty much ANY man, Mina." Momo said with an eyeroll.

Midnight clasped her hands together and smiled up to him. "Oh, how splendid! Glad to finally meet someone who's close to Brian." Her togue came out to lick her lips lustfully again. "I must say, you must be quite the capable guardian if you have a military background, Mr. Hudson."

"Er, well, I—"

"Ahem." Midnight did a doubletake at the sound of a young, female voice, whirling her head around to see a pink-haired young woman standing off to the side with her hands on her hips. "Buck, I don't mean to interrupt, but we kinda need to pick up these kids and get going or else we'll be late for… ya know, the thing?"

This piqued Midnight's interest, and not in a good way. "Um, excuse me, but we were having a talk here." She strutted up to the young woman and pointed right into her face. "So who're you to just come in and say when our conversation is done, missy?"

Arcee's holoform wore an irritated expression as she reached up and pulled Midnight's hand away from her. "Well, if you MUST know, my name is Sadie, and I'd rather not have you harassing my friends at the moment when we have somewhere to be!"

"Harassing?! Honey, do you not know flirting when you see it?"

Sadie's face scrunched up and she tilted her head. "…Flirting? With your body?"

Just as quickly as she was annoyed, Midnight was now very confused. "Um… yes? Girl, have you never flirted with a guy before?"

"Well, er… not exactly, but—wait, why am I even talking about this?!" Sadie slapped her forehead and whirled around to the teens, ushering them to get into the vehicles. "Guys, there's been a change in plans for today's training. We all need to meet up at the grounds to go over what's going to be happening."

"Oh, are YOU in charge of their training?" Midnight placed her own hands onto her hips with a defiant stare. "Well let me tell you something, Sadie, I just got done talking to these children about how they need to tone it back a bit on their training for the sake of their wellbeing. If they train any harder, they could collapse in the middle of class!"

The pink-haired young woman shifted her eyes back and forth between Midnight and the teens, seeing that they did seem pretty tired. Sadie pursed her lips while considering the teacher's words. "Okay, I do see your point there…" All the while, she thought to herself; 'Darn, we should've taken in their stamina compared to ours.'

Eijiro raised his hand up to Sadie reassuringly. "Ah, don't worry about it, Sadie. We're fine, honestly. After all, the harder we train, the better we'll be for the festival, right?"

But Buck stepped in, shaking his head. "Nah, your teacher has the right idea, Eijiro. Maybe it's time we let up a little bit. Honestly, we probably shouldn't have started you off on such an intense regimen." He faced Midnight once more and gave her a nod. "We'll make sure that we lighten their load when it comes to training going forward."

"Good to hear." Midnight said with a smile. "Now, I'd hate to keep you all waiting, so you're free to go…" Just as suddenly, though, Midnight spun around on her heel and bent back over into Bumblebee's window, putting her face extremely close to his holoform once again. "And I will be seeing YOU later, Brian." She gave him a wink and lightly poked his chest. "But keep my offer in mind, would you? I think we'd both do well to get to know each other a little better."

For some reason that not even she herself could figure out, Sadie's eye began twitching, her irritation growing by the astrosecond. And while she wasn't a hundred percent sure, she knew that it must've had something to do with Bumblebee's proximity to Midnight, and so she had to break it up NOW. "Okay! So why don't we load up and roll out, huh? Sound good to everyone?"

"W-Wait, hold on." Izuku halted. "What about Hatsume? We should probably wait for—"

"I've BEEN here, Muscles!" The group gasped at the sound of Mei's voice, the inventor sticking her head out of Bulkhead's back window irritably. "Now would you kindly move things along?! We're burning daylight and the others are waiting!"

"How… how did she…" Kyoka began asking before shaking her head. "It's Mei, don't question it. Let's head out, guys!" With that, all eight 1-A students climbed into their own rides, their drivers following suit. Before driving off though, Kyoka sent one final wave to Midnight. "We'll see ya tomorrow, Miss Midnight! And thanks for saving our butts from being trained to death!"

Midnight chuckled at that as she waved back. "Think nothing of it! And I can't wait to see your history reports on Monday!" She saw her students' faces all suddenly do a one-eighty, their smiles deflating in a matter of moments as the cars all drove off. "Hehehe, bet THAT will keep them from training so hard."

…..

"Okay, so… did anyone ELSE forget their history reports?"

Mina's question caught Denki and Eijiro off guard, along with Bulkhead in the driver's seat. The only one who didn't seem to be paying attention was Mei, who was tinkering with a new invention of hers. "Uh, Mina, we've had this assignment since Tuesday." Eijiro emphasized. "How did you just forget it?"

"Yeah, I mean, I'm usually a slacker and even I remembered it." Denki added.

Eijiro deadpanned over to him. "Dude, let's be honest, that's only because you wanna please Miss Midnight so badly."

"I mean… I won't deny it, but at least I'm getting my work done, right?"

Mina whipped around to him with a desperate gaze. "Ah! Kaminari, come on! Whose side are you on?! You and I are pretty much at the same academic level, but you'll do the work just because a pretty older woman in dominatrix gear motivates you to?!"

Denki put his hands behind his head and smiled in satisfaction. "Hey, you'd be surprised what the power of a beautiful woman can make a guy do. I got my report finished yesterday."

Eijiro and Mina's jaws dropped simultaneously. "DUDE! When did you have TIME?!" Eijiro ran his hands through his hair in shock. "I'm not even done with MINE yet and you got yours done in three days WITH all the training we've been doing?!"

"I feel so betrayed." Mina whined with her head low.

In the driver's seat "Buck" shook his head. "I'll never understand the kind of power that physical attraction gives you humans. On Cybertron, the way your built doesn't factor into romance, at least not as much as most organic life." His concentration focused back onto Mina with a furrowed brow. "But Mina, if you knew about this since Tuesday, you really should've worked on it more."

"I know, I know!" Mina brought her legs up to her chest, trying to find some form of comfort. "It's just with all the training going on and the Decepticons attacking, it just all slipped my mind. Now I've only got THREE days to get it done! How am I going to do that?!"

"Well, you've been paying attention in class, haven't you?"

"Ugh, as best as I can." The pink girl rolled her eyes. "But that doesn't exactly come easy to me either."

But then, Eijiro smiled as he remembered something. "Hey, don't you remember what Midoriya and Yaoyorozu said the other day? About how they'd help us study whenever we'd need it?"

Just like that, Mina gasped and her smile returned ten-fold. "Ah! Oh my gosh, Eijiro, you're RIGHT! I could ask one of THEM to help me out on my report! I'm sure that they must've gotten theirs done, so they've gotta have SOME advice to help me out!"

Bulkhead nodded in approval. "Ah, see? Now THAT'S where having friends comes in handy. Especially ones who get good grades. Just… make sure you don't copy their work, okay? Even on Cybertron, plagiarism is NOT a good thing."

"Ah! Bulkhead, how could you?" Mina said with a pout. "And here I was thinking you thought of me higher than that."

"Just making sure my bases are covered, Mina." Bulkhead grinned. "As your guardian, not only do I have to protect you, but from that little stunt you pulled a few days ago, I need to keep your head on your shoulders…" He raised a knowing brow over to her. "Am I right?"

"…You win this round."

But then, without warning; "EUREKA!"

"AGH!" Everyone in the Hummer jumped in their seats before whipping around toward Mei, the mad inventor wearing one of her manic grins. "Hatsume, what the hell was that about?!" Eijiro exclaimed.

"Oh, sorry Spikes!" Mei's smile didn't faulter as she raised up the small machine she had been working on. "But I think I finally got my latest, most cutest baby to finally work!" The other three teens focused in on said "baby", which was actually a small, spherical machine that had a pair of satellite panels on its sides. It had a thruster on its bottom and an antenna sticking out of its top, but its most notable feature was a large lens in its center. "Isn't it just adorable?!"

The trio eyed one another before Denki asked the obvious. "Uh, I mean… it's cool, but what IS it?"

"This is my Satellite Kamera Yielding Selected Positions of Yonder." Mei answered while holding the device up. "Otherwise known as; "S.K.Y.S.P.Y.!"

"Really had to stretch for that acronym, didn't ya?" Bulkhead deadpanned.

"Hush, Bulkhead! And watch!" Mei pressed a button on the back of the Sky Spy and its panels folded out to the side, all while a burst of energy came out from the thruster. Nothing in terms of combustion, though, more like some sort of… energy waves that allowed it to hover in midair. "I got the idea after what happened a few days ago, specifically when you snuck off into that battle, Mina."

The pink girl crossed her arms in a huff. "Gee, thanks for that."

"No, no, this is a GOOD thing, trust me!" Mei pushed the Sky Spy around in midair, though the device readjusted itself every time it did. "See, with this baby, we can watch Autobot-Decepticon battles from far away! Heck, the signal it transmits is so strong, we could even watch missions happening all the way back at base!"

Bulkhead's eyes shifted back to the group in surprise. "Woah… if that's true, then it must be able to do a ton of other stuff, too. I think you'd better show that to Optimus when you get the chance, Mei."

Mei gave a thumbs-up at that. "Oh, you betcha! I bet he's gonna love it!"

…..

Several minutes later, the three Autobots pulled off the road and drove along the hidden path to Outpost Omega-1, with all of them pulling in to the base immediately much to the confusion of the teenagers. But the Autobots didn't stop there as they beelined it for the GroundBridge control room, where the rest of the team just so happened to be waiting. Though surprisingly, aside from Optimus, Windblade and Red Alert, all of them were in their alternate modes. The teens stepped out of their rides and Izuku raised a curious brow to Optimus. "Uh… hey, Optimus. W-What's going on here?"

"Yeah, what's everyone doing in vehicle mode?" Kyoka questioned.

"Remember how I said that there's been some changes to today's training?" Arcee piped up. "Well, this is it."

Optimus nodded at that. "Yes, Arcee is correct. I'm sorry, children, but I'm afraid that we'll have to postpone today's training until further notice."

"Aw, what?" Ochako said sadly. "But why? Did something bad happen?"

Windblade leaned over and shook her head. "Quite the opposite actually, Ochako. See, Agent Fowler told us a couple days ago that he and Sector Seven were working to locate the place where their predecessors had found the GroundBridge." The City Speaker smiled and winked to the girl. "And believe it or not, we might actually HAVE something."

This made the teens' eyes light up with interest. "Woah, are you serious?!" Mei grinned back. "That sounds amazing! What did they find?"

"First of all…" Red Alert turned toward the large main console and typed in a command, bringing up an image on the large, holographic screen. It appeared to be of a huge, empty cavern, though this place was much more than just that. "What you all are seeing right now is a large cavern located in the nation of Greece. And according do Sector Seven this is the GroundBridge's origin point, so hopefully we'll be able to find some clues as to how it ended up on Earth there."

"Ah, oh my gosh, Greece!" Momo gasped, beaming in nostalgia. "I LOVE Greece. My family and I went there one summer during middle school. It's a lovely country."

Tenya nodded over to the raven-haired girl. "Hm, yes, my family actually went once as well, though in my case, it was elementary school." He placed a hand to his chin while inspecting the image further. "Well, if that truly is where the GroundBridge had been before, could there possibly also be some energon there as well?"

Red Alert nodded back affirmably. "No "possibly" about it, Tenya." After typing in yet another command, a different image came up on the screen, though this one was much more interesting. "You see, Fowler said that he sent two teams to investigate certain points where he suspected the origin point to be, and while they did end up finding it, the other team ended up unearthing this..."

On the screen was an image of not only a small energon deposit, but a large mural that seemed to depict several people; at least seven men and five women lined up side-by-side. After staring at the image for a few moments, Izuku pointed up to it with an ear-to-ear grin. "Hey! I-I think I know what that's depicting. They're the Twelve Olympian Gods!" He began indicating all of the figures one by one; "There's Dionysus with the grape vines in his hair, a-and the woman wielding the bow is Artemis… oh, and there's her bother, Apollo holding the lyre on her left."

"Hey, Midoriya's right!" Momo affirmed as she too began to identify the Gods of Olympus. "That's Ares, the angry one in armor, and next to him with the owl on her shoulder is his sister, Athena. The crooked man must be Hephaestus and I'm guessing the woman who seems disgusted by him is Aphrodite."

"Hermes is the one in the air with the wings on his sandals." Tenya picked up from there. "And then Demeter standing amongst the plants and crops." His attention was then drawn to the very center of the mural. "And there's Hera and Poseidon on either side of their king, Zeus, who's in the middle." However, Tenya's brow furrowed at what he saw Zeus holding. "Wait a moment…"

"Hm? What's wrong, Iida?" Izuku asked.

"Midoriya, Yaoyorozu… have you ever seen Zeus holding a sphere of some kind?"

The duo's eyes went right to Zeus' hand, and indeed, the Lord of the Sky was shockingly portrayed in the mural as holding something other than his signature lightning bolt. The god had some sort of large ball in his hand, though what it was, neither Momo or Izuku could figure it out. "Huh… you're right." Momo put a hand to her chin. "Just what is that?"

"That would be the object of OUR intrigue, Momo." Red Alert answered as he zoomed in on the sphere. "Whether the ancient Greeks knew it or not, they painted a Cybertronian artifact into this painting; the Energon Harvester."

Denki placed his hands on his hips with a smirk. "I'm guessing it's exactly what it says on the tin, right?"

"Indeed." Optimus nodded. "The Energon Harvester is a device capable of draining energon and storing it… though it isn't only able to drain normal energon crystals." The Prime's metal brow furrowed seriously. "It can also drain the energon from any Cybertronian as well. Meaning in the wrong hands…"

Eijiro's eyebrows rose up as Optimus' words resounded with everyone. "In the wrong hands… it can be a weapon."

"Exactly, Eijiro. Which is why if the Energon Harvester is anywhere in that vicinity, we must retrieve it before the Decepticons do. With all that said, I believe now is the time to depart." Optimus set his optics over to Red Alert and gave him a nod. "You may fire up the GroundBridge when ready, Red Alert."

Without any hesitation, Red Alert pulled the lever and activated the GroundBridge, prompting the rest of the Autobots to start rolling up onto the platform. Off to the side, the group of 1-A students and Mei all stared after them, feeling somewhat bummed out. "Well, I hope you guys have fun on your Cybertronic archeology trip." Kyoka muttered. "Sounds like it'll be a lot of fun…"

"Woah, now hold up, Kyo." Jazz said as he suddenly came to a halt. "Just when was it EVER stated that we were leavin' you guys in the dust?"

The nine teens all did a double take at what he said. "Wait, hold on, seriously?" Denki smiled hopefully. "You'd REALLY take us on a trip to Greece for the afternoon?!"

"Well, yeah." Sunstreaker reaffirmed. "Think of it as our way of making up for the lack of training today."

"And the fact that we… may have been overdoing it on the training in the first place." Sideswipe admitted.

Strongarm rolled up to the students. "Besides, there's going to be several Sector Seven agents at the dig site, so if there's a Decepticon attack, you can always go with them." She then opened her doors, inviting them inside. "So, come on, who's ready to go on an adventure through the ancient world?"

A collective cheer rang through the whole base as the teens practically rushed toward their respective guardian Autobot. Though before she climbed into Bulkhead's passenger seat once again… a certain thought occurred to Mina. Her eyes drifted back to the mural on the holo-screen and before long, she had an epiphany. "AH! That's it!"

Bulkhead's holoform perked his head up at her shout. "Hm? What's "it", Mina?"

"Bulk, I think I've got the perfect idea for my Hero History report!" Mina buckled herself in as she explained. "You know how Yaomomo and the boys talked about those being the Greek gods in that painting? Well, the gods also often had offspring who went on to be famous heroes. So, what I'm thinking is that I could do a report on how the ancient Greek heroes continue to influence our modern hero society today even after thousands of years!"

"Hm… now that's not a bad idea at all, Mina." Bulkhead approved.

"And the best part is that I'm betting NO ONE else thought about it in our class." Mina rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Since ancient Greek stuff is all Pre-Quirk, no one's going to focus NEARLY as much on that subject. I've gotta get Yaomomo and talk this over with her ASAP."

Once everyone was ready, the Autobots all lined themselves up on the platform, with Optimus and Windblade standing up front. The City Speaker transformed into her jet mode, hovering in midair as she awaited the command. "Ready when you are, Optimus."

The Prime nodded and started forward, raising his arm with his signature rallying cry. "Autobots… roll out!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Optimus transformed into his truck mode and went through the portal first, followed closely by Windblade and the other Autobots in one of the strangest convoys anyone ever did see. And, within a few short seconds, the vortex opened up for them on the other side, allowing them to emerge in what appeared to be some sort of massive quarry.

Of course, it wasn't just ANY quarry, but a huge dig site with people working hard to unearth the ruins that were at the very center of it. Thankfully, all of the vehicles were black and had the signature "S7" logo on the side, so they knew that these weren't just normal everyday people at work. And that was none more apparent than who ended up meeting them the moment they came out of the GroundBridge.

Not too far away, a pair of small, black buggies came driving up to them, with Agent Fowler riding in one while Agent Burns rode in one of his own. Fowler stepped off his first and strolled over to the group. "Prime, glad you all could make it…" He then spotted all of the teens riding in the other Autobots as well. "...Though I see you brought along some unexpected tag-alongs."

"I felt that the children should be allowed to see this, Agent Fowler." Optimus elaborated. "After all, they're just as much a part of this as we are. And of course, with your people here, I trust that they'll be in safe hands."

"Hm, well, I can't fault that logic, I suppose." Fowler admitted before spreading his arms out. "In any case, welcome to the big dig. I'm guessin' you got our message of both our big finds, so what do you wanna see first?"

"Well, Agent Fowler, I actually thought it best to have our team split off into two groups to investigate both points of interest." Prime continued before performing a turn toward the rest of his Autobots. "Jazz, Arcee, Bumblebee and Strongarm, you all will follow me and we'll be investigating the GroundBridge's origin point. Meanwhile, Bulkhead, you will be taking the others to find out the mysteries behind that mural."

Strongarm audibly sighed in relief. "Oh, thank Primus, I'm NOT in the same group as Sideswipe."

The red Lamborghini groaned at that. "Oh, come off it, will ya?" With his engine vrooming, Sideswipe moved right over toward Agent Burns. "Yo, Burns, ya mind showing us the way to the painting? The sooner I get away from Strongarm's nagging, the better."

"Sure thing." Burns nodded. "Just be sure that everyone's in their designated groups before we ship out."

After hearing that, Momo's head perked up and she opened up Arcee's door, leaving Mei in the back seat. She looked to Arcee's holoform with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Arcee, but if it's all the same to you, I'd actually like to check out that mural. Not every day you get to see a genuine piece of history just recently unearthed, you know?"

"Oh, of course!" Arcee grinned back. "Go on ahead, I've got no problem with you wanting to see something that significant to Earth history."

"Thanks! I'll see you guys later." Momo waved to Arcee and her group as she made her way over to Bulkhead's, sliding into the large Hummer's backseat with Mina. And much to the pink girl's surprise, the moment Momo got in, she suddenly became VERY excited, her eyes and face practically lighting up. "Ready to see something that no one else has in thousands of years, Mina? Hehehe, I can't wait!"

Mina blinked, still trying to process the other girl's astonishingly happy mood. "O-Oh, yeah, of course. …You must know a lot about Greek stuff, Yaomomo."

"Oh, it's one of my favorite places in the world!"

"I'm sure… say, do you think you could help me out with something? It's actually sort of Greek-related."

Without warning, Momo got right up into Mina's face, more excited than ever. "Oh my goodness, yes! Whatever you need help on, I'm more than happy to assist! So, what's on your mind?"

Mina broke out into a nervous sweat as she began tapping her fingers together. "Hehe… well…"

…..

Several minutes had passed since the Autobots had split up, and Prime's group was already making leeway toward their destination. Granted, it wasn't exactly the smoothest of rides since they were going through a rather bumpy and claustrophobic tunnel, but they were still getting ever closer. Izuku and Kyoka had to brace themselves in Bumblebee's seats as they rumbled along while Tenya and Ochako had a relatively smoother ride inside of strongarm… though Ochako herself was still shaking slightly.

"W-What if there's some sort of cave-in and we get stuck?" the brunette worried as she began fiddling with her hair. "O-Or what if the tunnel actually collapses ON to us, or—"

"Ochako." Strongarm interrupted, bringing the Gravity user out of her headspace. "Do you happen to have a fear of closed spaces."

"Uh… hehe, maybe a slight phobia." Ochako emphasized. "Let's just say that a pantry with a magnetic lock isn't the best place to play hide and seek as a kid."

Tenya glanced over to her, keeping a hold of the handle above Strongarm's door. "That sounds awful, Uraraka. I'm sorry that had to happen."

A small tinge of pink came to Ochako's cheeks, embarrassment beginning to take hold. "Ah, it's really nothing major. I'm WAY over my fear… at least when it comes to cupboards." Her brown eyes trailed upward toward the tunnel's ceiling, focusing in on the stalactites that were pointed down toward them. "Now, massive caves that could fall on top of us? Completely different."

"Well, don't worry." Strongarm assured. "If anything happens, Red Alert can just get us out with the SpaceBridge. Remember, it can home in on us anywhere on this planet, so take heart in that, okay?"

Ochako took in a deep breath, resolving herself with a small bit of confidence. "O-Okay, that actually does make me feel a little better." She smiled and placed her hand on the dashboard. "Thanks for the pep-talk, Strongarm."

"Anytime." Not long after that, though, the tunnel began to widen before opening up all the way into the mouth of an absolutely enormous cavern, one that had an underground river running through it. What's more, they could see tiny, glowing blue crystals sticking out of random places on the walls, and Strongarm knew exactly what they were. "Hey, do you guys see what I see?"

"Yes, more energon!" Tenya adjusted his glasses to try and see it better. "Although, this doesn't seem to be as big of a deposit as the one we found the other day."

"Actually, you might want to take another look." Strongarm came to a stop, as did everyone else, opening her doors for her passengers to disembark. Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Once they were out, she and the other Autobots all transformed, with the cadet moving over toward what seemed to be a huge stalagmite. "See this?"

Izuku, Kyoka and Mei joined Ochako and Tenya to get closer to the massive rock… only to see that it wasn't what they had initially thought it was. In reality, this "stalagmite" was actually a huge, grey crystal, one that had absolutely no light to it whatsoever. But given what all of the other crystals in this cavern were, it stood to reason that this had to be… "Is that… energon?" Izuku asked.

"It looks… dead." Kyoka noted.

"Indeed." Optimus confirmed, walking over to the dull crystal. "It stands to reason that this only reinforces my theory; that whoever left the SpaceBridge here must have used the Energon Harvester to power it, draining the Energon in this cave system in order to do so."

Tenya crossed his arms and raised a single brow. "Well, that theory definitely holds water, but I do wonder… if there WERE Cybertronians on this planet in ancient times, then where exactly did they go?"

"That's a question we still need to find the answer to." Jazz interjected, taking a few steps further into the cavern. "An' the best way to find those answers is to start investigatin'. Yo, Fowler! You said that this place was where your people found the GroundBridge, so you think you can give us a good idea of where it was?"

Fowler came over and ushered the others to follow him. "More than that, Jazz, I can show you exactly where it used to be. C'mon, this way." The Autobots and U.A. Students all followed after Fowler, going a fair distance into the huge cave system before coming across a certain spot which immediately intrigued the entire team. It appeared to be a big, spacious indent in the cave's solid rock floor, one that was vaguely angular and just so happened to be the exact length and width of the GroundBridge platform. And if that weren't enough, there was a hole in the wall that ended abruptly after about three yards. No doubt it was where the GroundBridge's tunnel used to reside. "Well, how do you like that for a find?" Fowler smirked.

Jazz whistled as he walked over to the large tunnel, tracing his fingers across its outer edge. "Yep, definitely screams "GroundBridge set-up"." He nodded over to Prime, who was also inspecting the visible ridges in the ground. "So what now, OP? Doesn't seem to be much else here."

"Hmm…" Optimus hummed in contemplation before making his decision. "I believe there's much more to this place than what we're seeing. Jazz, run a search on your sonic radar."

"You got it. Step back everyone, I need my space fo' this." The rest of the Autobots and humans stepped away from the lieutenant before he suddenly leapt up straight into the air, taking some of them by surprise. "Woo! Let's drop the BEAT!" He flipped in the air and came down in a hard stomp, which let loose a huge sonic pulse from his foot that reverberated through the floor, spreading out to the entire cavern.

"Woah!" Ochako recoiled, making sure that she was close to Strongarm as the ground shook. "What was that?!"

Arcee moved her optics down and gave a smile to the brunette. "Don't worry, Ochako. That's just how Jazz activates his radar." She pointed over to Jazz, who was now looking at a holographic radar on his arm. "It allows him to find things that might not be so obvious in the area."

Jazz paced back and forth as his radar did its thing, before ultimately stopping in front of a big wall… that just so happened to be covered in massive boulders and other debris. "Heh, well whaddya know?" He did an about face and jerked his thumb back toward the huge stones. "I'm detectin' another hollow space behind this wall here, Prime. Seems to me there must've been a cave-in that separated that room from the rest of the place."

"Excellent work, Jazz." Optimus nodded in approval. "Alright, Autobots, let's get this wall taken care of." Before any of the humans knew it, the Autobots all began to work on removing the massive boulder wall, with some even breaking out their weapons to batter against the boulders and loosen them up. Prime used his axe while Bumblebee and Arcee used their Stingers and swords respectively, while Jazz and Strongarm relied on their fists and feet to do the talking.

"Man, they're going at it pretty hard, don't ya think?" Izuku asked.

"Well, I can hardly blame them." Tenya shrugged. "This is quite the lead, you know."

Before long, the Autobots had successfully cleared the massive wall… in that the rubble had gotten so loose that it managed to finally give way. "Ah! Everyone, get back!" Arcee shouted, prompting everyone to clear the way as the boulders came tumbling down. The Autobots all covered the humans as the mini-avalanche went on, though it thankfully stopped mere moments later. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, pretty sure." Kyoka said before peering toward where the wall had once been… and her eyes widened considerably. "Uh… you guys might wanna look at that."

Everyone craned their heads back around… and were astonished by what they saw. It was a hidden alcove… which housed the remains of what had to be a small, desolated Cybertronian base. The large monitor up above the main console was cracked and there were several tools and trinkets strewn about the place, though what everyone noticed was that… there was something sitting in the main control chair.

"Uh… what's that?" Ochako whispered nervously.

Optimus narrowed his optics and strode forward, taking point as the other Autobots and humans followed slowly behind. The Prime reached out and spun the chair around… revealing a dead Cybertronian body.

"AH!" The teens shouted as Agent Fowler gasped. "W-Who the heck is that?!" Mei screamed.

"At ease, everyone." Prime said with a raise of his hand. "This bot has long since passed." The Autobot commander reached out and placed his hand on the bot's helm, taking note of the rust that had gathered. "Poor soul must have been the one stationed here. Who knows how long he's been—wait." Optimus peered lower and saw that there was a massive wound in his stomach, and it was then that the cause of death became evident. "…He fell in the line of duty."

Izuku, Kyoka and Ochako all gasped, the latter covering her mouth in shock. "W-What? How?"

"Yeah, I mean, there doesn't seem to be any signs of a struggle." Izuku added.

The Prime shook his head. "I'm not too sure, Izuku. It is quite puzzling."

"Well, i's… quite the find, I'll say that much." Fowler shrugged. "So, what now?"

Optimus craned his head over toward the console, putting his hand on it to test the buttons. "Hmm… Bumblebee, I need your assistance." The little yellow bot was surprised by the order, but nonetheless went straight over to Optimus. "I need you to give these systems a jumpstart with your stingers. With any luck, they may still have enough energon to run for at least a few cycles."

Bumblebee gave him a salute. "Zrkt—You got it, boss man!" The scout moved down onto his knees and took off some of the metal paneling on the console, locating the main power core. Bumblebee's hands then folded in and were exchanged for his stingers before plugging them into the core, and it wasn't long before the others could hear the sound of the device charging right up."

"Ah-ha! Incredible!" Mei exclaimed, lacing her fingers together. "It's amazing just how long Cybertronian tech can last!"

The Prime nodded down to his friend. "Good work, Bumblebee. Now, let's see if we can't find any evidence as to who this bot was…" With the screen glowing brightly, Optimus typed in a command, hoping to find any sort of log files. It wasn't long before he spotted something interesting, and sure enough, the moment he opened the file, it was what he was looking for.

…Though at the same time, it wasn't a pretty sight. The moment the video began, they saw the now-dead bot struggling to even speak, let alone move with the gaping wound in his midsection. He was confined to his chair in the exact position he was sitting in, and it was clear that these had to have been his final moments. "Augh… ugh… Padlock's log. I-I'm not going to give a date this time since… well, things aren't exactly going well, and I'm afraid there's not much time left for me." The bot focused his green optics straight into the camera, shaking his head sadly. "We couldn't have foreseen this attack… the Decepticons finally found us on this planet."

The Autobots all stared on in shock, with Arcee's hand going over her mouth to stifle a gasp. Strongarm pursed her lips while Jazz balled his hands into fists. "Should've known." The lieutenant grumbled.

"They came at us from the sky, and… a-and we were outnumbered ten to five." Padlock shook his head and smashed his fist against the console. "Everyone… is gone. Wind Dagger, Camshaft, Downshift, Overdrive… all gone." Everyone could hear Padlock's voice crack and he held his face in his hands for a short while, trying to compose himself.

The humans were left utterly speechless by what Padlock was saying, and it was then that the gravity of everything hit them all at once. "Robots… who can get hurt." Tenya muttered.

"Robots who feel." Ochako whispered.

"Robots who can…" Izuku swallowed hard as he forced out the last word; "…die."

Padlock took a deep intake before pressing on. "And… and I'm going to be joining them in the Well of All Sparks soon, too. After giving them a proper burial and disposing of the Decepticon filth… I've come to accept my fate." He suddenly began hacking and coughing up energon, leaving the viewers all the more uneasy. "HACK-HACK! B-But I can at least rest easy knowing that everything that we worked for is still here. My brothers didn't die in vain. While our search for the Ark has been unsuccessful, we still protected the GroundBridge just as we promised. And this…" Padlock pulled up a small data disk and a much larger pylon-shaped device, holding both shakily. "These are still intact, waiting for the day their proper receiver will arrive." The bot leaned closer to the screen, placing the disk and the pylon into a storage container inside of the console. "…Optimus Prime."

A chill went through the entire group, including Optimus himself. The Autobot leader leaned in closer to the screen, intently listening as Padlock continued. "I hope that one day you will be able to find this. What I'm storing away for you is a special message and data that could give the Autobots an advantage to win the war. But these also must not fall into Decepticon hands, so…" the green-eyed Autobot pulled out his firearm and aimed it at the top of the entryway. "I'm going to seal myself in here just to make sure it's hidden. The GroundBridge may be found, but this data is FAR more important." Padlock's optics began to flicker as his finger pulled on the trigger. "Please Optimus… if you ever find this… for the sake of all of Cybertron… keep this secret safe."

With that, Padlock pulled the trigger and caused a massive cave in, slumping over in his chair as the boulders sealed him into the alcove. And with that, the message cut to static, leaving everyone with a hollow, harrowing feeling. "…By god." Fowler lowered his head. "Poor soldier took a secret to the grave with him."

"He did, and I commend him for his bravery in the face of overwhelming odds." Optimus reached over and placed a hand on the fallen Autobot's shoulder. "Thank you, Padlock. The sacrifice that you and your team made will not be in vain."

"So, wait… that means that there were OTHER Autobots here on Earth before Bumblebee got here." Kyoka deduced. "If that's the case then… who sent them?"

"I'm unsure of that myself, Kyoka." Optimus admitted before reaching for the exact spot that Padlock had hidden the valuables. He opened the compartment up and retrieved the data disk and the pylon-shaped device, holding it securely in his hands. "But I believe that these will give the answers that we need." Prime craned his head down to Fowler. "Special Agent Fowler, I require a trailer to take Padlock's body back to the base. We will be sure to give him a proper hero's funeral."

The agent nodded whole-heartedly. "Of course, Prime. Will do." He turned around and pulled out a walkie-talkie from his pocket. "This is Fowler, I need a flatbed down here, on the double."

Izuku walked up to Optimus, eyeing the two objects in his hands closely. "So… what do you think those are, Optimus?"

"Once again, Izuku, I am uncertain." Optimus said with a shake of his head. "It could be a number of things, but the only way to find out is to get back to base. Autobots, once we get Padlock out of here, we'll regroup with the others. Let's hope that their excursion isn't as harrowing as our own."

…..

"So you mean to tell me that you FORGOT your history report."

Mina shrunk back under Momo's scrutinizing gaze, twiddling her fingers sheepishly. "Hehe, w-well, "forgot" is a strong word. I think a better way to word it is… erm… it just slipped my mind?"

Momo facepalmed and sighed. "Mina, U.A. might be a school for heroes, but it's still high school. It's not going to be an easy breeze like how normal middle school was."

"She's got a point, Mina." Bulkhead piped up. "If anything, being a hero school sounds like it's a lot harder."

"Gee, thanks for the reminder, Bulk." Mina's voice dripped with sarcasm as she shook her head. "And Yaomomo, I get it, I honestly do… it's just that the stuff that they expect us all to learn is so hard!" The pink girl saw her friend's eyebrow move up. "…I mean for me. Of course, it'd be a sinch for you. You got in on recommendations after all."

Momo coughed into her hand at that. "Ahem, I will admit that my prior education was on a bit of a higher level, but that shouldn't be an excuse for why you aren't doing the material." She reached over and grasped Mina's shoulders. "Mina, I'm going to help you, but I expect you to take all of this one-hundred percent serious. No shirking on the work, no distractions, nothing of that sort will be tolerated in this three-day crunch, okay?"

"…Okay." Mina nodded, putting on a serious face. "I'll make sure to give it my all… even if my brain hurts by the end."

"Just keep reminding yourself; a little mind-numbing curriculum is better than getting a flunking grade." Momo gave her a smile and pat Mina on the shoulder. "Besides, you've chosen a fun topic to write your paper on, so I'm sure you'll get through it."

Mina gave her a thumbs up. "Oh, you know it! So, where do we start?"

"We start right now." Bulkhead interjected again before coming to a halt, opening his doors for the girls. "Time to unload, ladies. We're here."

A gasp escaped Momo's throat before she grabbed hold of Mina's wrist. "Come on, let's go!" Mina yiped as she was dragged out by Momo, the two girls being met by Eijiro and Denki soon after. The area was practically littered with Greek pillars, some intact, though they were mostly destroyed. Windblade soon came down for a landing and transformed, followed by the Lambo Twins and of course, Bulkhead. Agent Burns then pulled to a stop in his buggy, only to be intercepted by Momo. "Okay, so where's the mural? I've been dying to see it!"

"Hehe, okay, hold your horses." Burns chuckled as he pointed over to a nearby ridge. "The mural's down there, right in the center of that ancient atrium we dug up. The energon should be down there as well."

"Excellent." Windblade nodded. "Let's check this out." With that, everyone made their way over to the ridge, seeing that it was indeed the top of a set of seats that formed a semi-circular atrium.

"Woah, now THIS is awesome." Eijiro commented, reached down to brush his hand against the ancient stone. "Can you believe that people used to sit on these things? It's crazy!"

Denki shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess it's neat, I suppose. Though honestly, I'd rather NOT think of big assemblies. Reminds me too much of school." Eijiro and Momo couldn't help but roll their eyes as Denki's attention went straight for the opposite side of the place. "But ya know what DOES get me going? That!"

Everyone's eyes went up and they gasped at the sight. The mural was MUCH bigger than expected, being about thirty feet in length and ten feet in height. Momo could feel her jaw drop at the sight of all the Greek gods represented on the stone slab, and her lips quickly turned up into a huge grin. "EEEE! This is so amazing! Come on, let's get a closer look!"

The humans and Autobots carefully followed Momo down the steps, though before she got within twenty feet of the mural, Agent Burns rushed up and stopped her. "Woah, woah, let's not get too hasty, Miss Yaoyorozu. Remember; this is a dig site, and that mural is still an ancient artifact. We gotta be careful not to damage it in anyway, agreed?"

"Oh, yes, absolutely." Momo nodded. "I'll be sure to keep my distance."

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker stopped as well and used their optics to zoom in on the painting, taking note of the craftsmanship. "Woo, man, and here I thought Cybertron had some crazy ancient stuff. These people used STONE for this kinda stuff!" Sideswipe commented.

"Well, obviously." Sunstreaker shoved his brother lightly. "Organic planets are kinda like that, bro."

Sideswipe instantly went to push back, but was stopped by Windblade. "Okay, okay, let's not get riled up here boys. Remember, we've got a job to do." She pointed up to the mural, specifically to the Energon Harvester in Zeus' hands. "Now, let's get to work finding that artifact."

"Oh, I am afraid zhat vill not be possible, fraulien." Everyone froze in place as they heard the sound of an engine come to life. And what's more… it came from behind the mural. The group took several steps back after seeing a black and silver hearse come rolling out from behind the stone slab, pulling around and to a halt before…

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk!

The vinyl top of the hearse suddenly came quite lose before falling limply against the vehicle, whose back section extended outward to form a pair of legs. The doors of the vehicle unfurled and became armor on the robot's arms while the front wheels became its shoulders. As more panels separated, several unseen red details became more prominent on the robot, with four sets of guns emerging from his shoulders as the hood folded down and became the robot's chest. Finally, the robot's faceplated head came out, his piercing red eyes landing directly on the Autobots while the vinyl cape on his hips flowed in the wind. "Guten Taag, Autobots. Fine day we're having, is it not?"

The four Autobots were astonished by who was standing before them. "Flatline?!" Windblade took out her Stormfall Sword while the other bots prepared their firearms. "What're you doing here?"

"Okay, I give, who the heck is he?" Eijiro asked as Burns backed the teens up to a safe distance.

"He's the Decepticons' main medical officer." Sideswipe elaborated. "And also purveyor of bad mojo."

"Hmph, vell, zat isn't exactly how I vould vord it." Flatline placed his hands behind his back with a small bow of his head. "I prefer to think of myself as a medic who uses unconventional thinking to heal the injured."

Sunstreaker narrowed his optics at him. "Yeah, by experimenting on 'em like lab rats! I'd say you're crazy, but at least you're not as bad as Shockwave."

"I vill take zat as a compliment, my good chap." The Decepticon medic shook his head disappointedly. "But alas, I spoke ze truth vhen I said zat you vill not find ze Energon Harvester here. Mein freund and I arrived several cycles ago und searched everywhere around here. And nothing! Nothing here even remotely resembled ze harvester."

Bulkhead furrowed his metal brow at Flatline suspiciously. "Wait… who's this friend of yours?"

"If that isn't million credit question?!" The humans all yelped at the sound of the big, booming Russian voice while the Autobots all felt a chill go through their systems. All except Bulkhead. He kept his glowering face on him as he and the others turned around to see an absolutely MASSIVE Decepticon, one who had to be even bigger than Optimus, or even Starscream! He had a green and blue color scheme and had rather wide shoulders, with huge legs that had treads wrapped up in them. His helmet was dome-shaped and had a pair of sharp, curved horns sticking out the front, and he had a pair of cannons sticking up out of his back behind his head.

Bulkhead sneered as the con's name escaped his mouth. "Blastwave."

His red optics focused down onto Bulkhead with a jovial grin. "AHAHA! Bulkhead! It has been very, VERY long time!"

"Not long enough if you ask me."

Blastwave smirked at that. "Aw, did you not miss your old wrecking friend?"

"Like rust in my undercarriage." Bulkhead snapped back.

Mina eyed up to Bulkhead with a raised brow. "You know that bruiser?"

The big green Autobot glanced down to her with a distasted face. "Unfortunately. We have a history."

"And YOU have new pets! Tell me…" Blastwave reached over and practically yanked a pillar out of the ground, hefting it up over his head with ease. "Do they play… CATCH?!" With all his might, Blastwave threw the pillar at the humans, and while Eijiro hardened himself up to intercept the projectile, Bulkhead got to it first, punching it right out of the air.

"Everyone, get back!" Bulkhead aimed his arm cannon at Blastwave and began shooting at him, though the bruiser simply charged forward nonetheless while aiming his shoulder cannons down to fire back. The Autobots scattered while Burns led the children off to the side, all as Bulkhead and Blastwave charged directly at one another. BAM! The two slammed right into each other and began grappling, with neither one letting up. "Urk, you think I'm just gonna let you hurt my friends, Blastwave?! Like how you did to everyone ELSE back then?!"

"Ah, those were good old days. But remembering those days gives Blastwave processor ache, so he's just going to KILL YOU NOW!" Blastwave socked Bulkhead right in the gut, and to everyone's surprise, he lifted the rotund Autobot over his head as easily as he did to that pillar. He faced the mural and grinned wildly in delight. "Now I shall CRUSH you, COWARD!"

Momo's eyes widened in horror. "NO! Someone stop him before he wrecks that priceless artifact!"

Fortunately, her cries didn't fall on deaf ears… though the one who did stop Blastwave was the last person she had expected. "Blastwave, no! Stop!" Flatline rushed in front of the Decepticon munitions expert with his hands raised, making Blastwave pause. "Vait just one moment, if you vould." Flatline did an about face and used his optics to take a picture of the mural, specifically of Zeus holding the Energon Harvester before he nodded back to Blastwave as he slipped away. "Alright, you're good. Proceed vith ze smashing."

Blastwave through his head back and laughed. "AHAHAHA! GLADLY!"

"Oh no, ya don't, big guy!" Before he could react, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker came hurtling in on either side of Blastwave, with the red brother going for his legs on one side while Sunstreaker toppled his upper half on the other. All four bots ended up collapsed on the ground, but on the upside, this allowed Bulkhead to escape.

"Ah, thanks fellas!" Bulkhead brought out his mace and rushed toward Blastwave, dealing a swift uppercut to the bruiser to send him sprawling back even further.

Windblade got in on the action as well, going after Flatline with her sword. The doctor responded by bringing out a concealed arm blade and parrying her strikes with his own, the two clashing multiple times a minute. "Gah, you know, Flatline, I'm surprised at you. Maybe if you had kept on the straight and narrow, you'd still be a respected medic in the Elite Guard back on Cybertron."

Flatline merely scoffed at that. "Bah, zhose schweinhunds NEVER recognized my genius! I could have made revolutionary discoveries zat could turn mechs into GODS if zhey had just allowed me to perform my experiments in peace!"

"You mean your unethical, inhumane experiments that involved taking bots apart and putting them back together?" Windblade snapped back. "Yeah, can't imagine why they denied you!"

"Hmph, genius is never appreciated in its time. But enough of zhis already!" Flatline pulled his other hand into his arm and out came a large chainsaw weapon that had red energy blades in it, which he quickly activated and swiped at Windblade's open spot. The City Speaker managed to get out of the way… only to be kneed right in the gut by Flatline, which he followed up by tossing her into a nearby stone wall. He reached up to his comm and spoke; "Zhis is Flatline, ve have what ve came for. Open ze SpaceBridge NOW!"

Not too far from where Bulkhead and Blastwave were fighting, said SpaceBridge opened up, taking Bulkhead off guard. "Huh?! What the—" BAM! "AUGH!"

With a strong right hook from Blastwave, Bulkhead was sent stumbling to the ground again, the Decepticon laughing at his enemy's misfortune. "Ahahaha! You are beaten! Not big surprise!" He saw Flatline approaching him and smiled eagerly. "Come doctor! Let us finish them off!"

"No need, mein freund." Flatline denied. "Ve got vhat ve needed, after all." He faced the Autobots and gave them one last wave. "Auf wiedersehen, dummkopfs! It has been fun, but I'm afraid ve have to say farewell. Blastwave, leave them vith one last parting gift, vould you?"

"Ahaha! Of course!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Before anyone knew it, Blastwave had transformed into an absolutely huge tank, his arms forming the main turret while his cannons moved to become its twin barrels. His main body became the very center of the tank, with his chest forming some sort of huge cow catcher on the front while his legs unfolded and unfurled to form the treads on either side. Blastwave took aim at the Autobots and hollered; "DIE, COWARDS!" before firing off two massive shells at them, causing a big explosion that sent the Autobots flying back.

"Sideswipe! Sunstreaker!" Eijiro and Denki shouted as the dust started to settle, the two rushing over to their guardians.

"Windblade!" Momo sprinted over to the City Speaker, putting her hand to her cheek. "A-Are you alright? Speak to me!"

"Ugh… that was NOT pleasant." Windblade muttered as the Lambo Twins began to stir as well. "W-Where's Blastwave and Flatline?"

Momo craned her head around… but could see no sign of either Decepticon or the SpaceBridge. She let out a sigh and her shoulders slumped. "…They're gone."

"Bulkhead!" Mina screamed as she also ran toward her own guardian, the green Autobot actually managing to sit up. Her expression was angry, but also full of determination. "Ugh! I couldn't stand those two! They made us all look like dummies!"

With a groan, Bulkhead rubbed his head against his helm in frustration. "How do ya think I feel?" His optics went over to where the SpaceBridge had once been, glaring as his fists shook with anger. "But I'll tell you this; this ain't over, not by a LONG shot."

"Well, look on the bright side! It could've been worse, right?" Sideswipe stood up and went over to the mural, patting his hand on the stone slab. "After all, the pretty painting's all nice and intact—" Crack! The young Autobot snapped his optics wide open and they shot down… to see that he had accidentally chipped off a whole corner of the priceless ancient artifact. And within moments, he felt several glares directed straight to him. Momo in particular appeared to be extremely livid. "Uh… hehe…" Sideswipe gently set the corner piece on top of the slab and stepped away from it post haste. "…I'll shut up now."

…..

A/N: Who else but Sideswipe, right? Well, at least it COULD have been worse. Blastwave would've destroyed the entire thing if the Autobots weren't quick enough, so there's that. But the fact still remains that the Energon Harvester isn't where the Autobots nor the Decepticons were hoping it would be, so if that's the case… where COULD it be? Also, yes, in this version of events, it's Bulkhead and BLASTWAVE who have the history, which will actually be EXPLAINED unlike his rivalry in Breakdown in Prime. Oh, and for those asking why I'm not just USING the Prime version of Breakdown, it boils down to one reason and one reason only; Future Stunticon Plans.

But with that said, it seems that compared to Bulkhead's group, Optimus' own half of the team had… some better success, even though it IS a morbid sight to see. Seems that there was indeed some Autobots before the current team came to Earth, though why they were there at all with a GroundBridge of all things remains a mystery. …At least until we see what's the deal with those data storage objects that were meant for Optimus himself. Wonder what's on them? …Also, if you recognize the Autobots I used for that small past team, you are a true Transformers super fan.

And finally (yeah, I went in reverse in comparison to the sequence of events) Midnight has returned to the story! And she's STILL thirsty as hell for Bumblebee's holoform. Hehe, I've been eager to get back to THIS little subplot, and I can't wait to show you what I have planned for it. But yeah, Midnight may have her kinks, but she doesn't screw around when it comes to her job as a teacher. Which only gives Mina all the more incentive to get that Hero History report done. Let's see if she's able to pull it off! And oh yeah, Mei's just over here making the Sky Spy. Did you really expect anything less from her?

And now, the Preview! After the Autobots and humans return to the base, they have a small eulogy for Padlock before getting right to business; find the Energon Harvester's true location and secure it before the Decepticons do. In the process, though, Optimus decides to activate the message left for him… and is absolutely stunned by what—or rather, WHO—he's greeted with. Eventually, they find out where the Harvester is… but find out quickly that getting it will be easier said than done. Next time; Heist at the Museum. Prime's past comes back to him while the Decepticons send a TANK BOT on a late-night stealth operation! Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see you all next time! Stay safe out there and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!