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…

11. Heist at the Museum

A/N: Welcome back once again, everybody to Transformers MHA! Today, we've reached the second of this 2-part "Energon Harvester" storyline and let me tell ya, we've got some pretty exciting stuff in store for us today. And for those of you who've watched the original episode this is based on, you'll be in for quite the surprise, because… well, things go a bit different, I'll just say that. With that said, let's get into it! This is…

Chapter 11: Heist at the Museum

…..

When the kids and the Autobots returned to Japan, none of them would've ever expected to be having a eulogy be the first thing they do. Thankfully, it wasn't for any of their teammates, especially since the mission did end up a lot more dangerous than they had expected. But still, the moment those on Bulkhead's team saw that Prime's group had come back towing a dead Autobot along with them, needless to say, there were pretty stunned. Still, after a brief explanation, everyone willingly gathered at the front of the base, to pay respects to the long deceased Autobot.

Optimus stood beside the Autobot's body, which was laid down along the flatbed trailer as if it was an open coffin. He cleared his throat and spoke, his tone somber but respectful. "Autobots, we are gathered here today to pay our respects. For on this day, we were granted with the revelation that we were not the first of our kind to come to land on this planet in search for the Ark." He craned his head down toward the resting Autobot beside him. "I did not know Padlock personally, nor did I know of Wind Dagger, Camshaft, Downshift or Overdrive. But what I do know is that they gave their lives in the line of duty in order to keep this planet from being discovered in the far distant past, so that the Decepticons would not be able to locate the Ark."

Everyone kept their heads down as Prime spoke, though Mina, Denki, Eijiro and Momo couldn't help but stare at Padlock's body in silent shock. After hearing of what the Autobot had gone through with his team all those centuries back, it was a pretty stunning revelation to all of them, for sure. To think that someone would risk their lives to make sure that something was kept safe… it sounded like something that a true hero would do.

"And you can rest assured, Padlock, that your actions will not be forgotten." Optimus placed his hand on Padlock's chest, lowering his head down mournfully. "May you find peace within the Well of All Sparks, and join your brothers within the ever-growing collective whole. Till all are one."

"Till all are one." The Autobots repeated, taking the kids by surprise.

The children weren't sure what to do at first, so they simply repeated the Autobots. "Till all are one." At that, the Autobots all set their optics down to them, giving the children thankful smiles for their contribution before Red Alert stepped forward.

"Alright, Optimus, it's time." the medic placed his hand on Prime's shoulder.

"Yes, of course." Optimus stood up and transformed into his vehicle mode, backing up toward the hitch of the trailer to connect it to him. Once it was on, Prime pulled ahead and addressed his team. "I will now bring Padlock's body to Sector Seven, where it will remain stored until we one day return to Cybertron. Once I return, we will go over the data that he and his team kept safe for us, understood?"

"Yes, sir." With that, the Autobots watched on as Prime drove into the base and Red Alert activated the GroundBridge, sending him straight to Sector Seven's base. From there, the team was left to reflect on the deceased Autobot, as well as the weight of his sacrifice.

"Man, I didn't think that something that happened so long ago could affect you guys so much." Eijiro noted as he craned his head up to the Autobots. "I mean, you didn't even know who Padlock and his team were before today."

Windblade shook her head. "Maybe not, Eijiro, but that doesn't mean that what he did for us doesn't deserve any less respect." She glanced over to the control console, seeing the data disk and data storage pylon sitting there. "Whatever Padlock and his team were in charge of guarding, it's obvious that it was critically important to keep out of Decepticon hands, which is why they were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice."

Arcee balled a fist in determination. "They may have given their lives, but we'll make sure that whatever their mission was, it won't be in vain."

Izuku rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah… b-by the way, that leads me to ask… what did Optimus mean by that? You know, the "till all are one" thing?"

"That, Izuku, is essentially a truncation of an ancient proverb written in the Covenant of Primus." Red Alert piped up, stepping away from the GroundBridge controls. "It is written that when a Cybertronian passes on, their sparks all go to the Well of All Sparks, where they join all of the other sparks in the afterlife where they become one."

"In modern times, the proverb's been reused and repurposed by bots like Optimus." Jazz added. "In hopes that someday, maybe the Autobots and Decepticons can end the war peacefully." However, the lieutenant also sadly shook his head. "Sorry to say, though, that may not be all that possible right now."

Kyoka twirled one of her jacks in her hand as she listened intently. "Woah, that's actually pretty neat." But then, something started to connect in her brain. "Hey, wait… the Well of All Sparks…" She eyed Windblade curiously. "Windblade, didn't you tell us something about an "Allspark" when you first came to Earth?"

Momo snapped her fingers as she recalled what the City Speaker said as well. "Oh, yes! I remember that. You told us that the Allspark is what GIVES Cybertronians their sparks, and thus life itself. Does that have anything to do with this Well that you're talking about?"

"Hm, how very observant." Windblade nodded. "Good to see you're paying attention. But yes, the Allspark and the Well itself are connected heavily. It was actually the Allspark's resting place before it was launched from the planet, and from there, it extended its power throughout all of Cybertron so that new Cybertronians could emerge from the planet. But once a Cybertronian goes offline, their sparks go back to the Well, and thus, return to the Allspark as well."

"So FASCINATING!" Mei exclaimed as she wrote all of this down on a notepad. "Not only are Cybertronians mechanical, but they're SPIRITUAL as well! I just keep finding out more and more stuff about you guys, this is just too cool."

Mina nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, no kidding. It's super amazing!"

Denki couldn't help but smirk. "Heh, well look at you, Ashido! You managed to NOT get bored during a history lesson!" He gave her a sly wink, pointing finger guns at her. "Maybe you're not AS doomed as you think you are with your assignment. If you concentrate like this, you should have it done almost as fast as me—" Denki abruptly cut himself off at the sight of a red-faced Mina, the pink girl's features etched with fury.

Sideswipe leaned down and whispered; "Dude, take a cue from me and shut up. I've seen Strongarm like that enough times to know that you're about to be a dead man."

"Then why do you KEEP bugging her?" Denki asked.

"Because I KNOW I'll survive. You on the other hand—" CLANG! "D'oh!" CRASH!

Sideswipe was immediately cut off, Strongarm having conked him over the head. "Wanna BET you'll survive, punk?" She directed a warning gaze down to Denki. "But he has a point, Denki. You shouldn't really say something like that in the first place, really."

"…Yeah, you're right." Denki's eyes went back to Mina and he bowed apologetically, even though she was facing away with her arms crossed in a huff. "Sorry about that, Ashido."

"Hmph, you SHOULD be." Mina emphasized. "You've gotta get a hold of that ego of yours, ya know." Denki lowered his head even further while Mina directed her sights up to Bulkhead, giving him a smile… though he didn't seem to be paying much attention to what was going on. "…Uh, hey Bulk, you okay?"

"H-Huh?" Bulkhead was snapped out of his stupor, his optics moving down to meet his partner. "Oh, yeah, I'm… I'm doing fine, Mina."

But Mina could recognize that tone of voice anywhere on any person, and it usually meant that they weren't fine. She put her hands on her hips and raised a brow at him. "Forgive me if I don't believe that. What's got you bugged, big guy?"

Bulkhead grimaced a bit. He probably should've guessed that Mina would know SOMETHING was up, but he didn't think she'd find out this soon. With a heavy sigh, Bulkhead relented. "Okay, okay, everything's not TOTALLY okay. I just… I really was hoping I'd never see Blastwave again."

"Zkrt—I heard you guys—zrkt—have a history!" Bumblebee said through his radio.

"Hey yeah, what IS up with all that, Bulkhead?" Mina asked. "What did Blastwave do to earn that much hate?"

"Trust me, nothing good." Bulkhead sat down in front of the children as he started recollecting the events. "Long before the war on Cybertron started, I was a laborer, construction. I could build stuff, I could break stuff, that was that. But often times, I'd find myself going to the gladiatorial arena, mainly because combat was always an interest of mine."

Mina smirked at that. "Lemme guess, it was because you wanted to break stuff for fun, not because you HAD to, right?"

Bulkhead made a so-so gesture with his hand. "Eh… kinda. Breaking stuff on the job WAS fun, but I always wondered what it'd be like to have something actually fight back." He shook his head as his shoulders slumped. "Never would've guessed that I'd really get my wish when the war broke out, but here we are. In any case, Blastwave was one of these gladiators and one day, I actually met him by chance. I got to talk with him about my interest in the fights and he and I hit it off real well. Heck, he even suggested that I could be a gladiator."

"Woah, seriously?!" Eijiro grinned widely at the prospect. "Bulkhead, that sounds freaking awesome! I'd LOVE to be a gladiator of some kind. Did ya take him up on the offer?"

The green bot's hand went to the back of his head. "Well, here's the thing; I kinda couldn't. See, on Cybertron back in the day, the government had this rule called "Functionism", which was basically; "your alt mode dictates what your role in society is". And well, back on Cybertron, I was a construction vehicle, so I couldn't be a gladiator."

The teens all couldn't help but sour at the idea. "Wow, that sounds… really awful." Ochako said with a slight grimace. "I know that I would probably hate being told what my purpose in society is based on my body type."

"And a lot of Cybertronians DID hate it, Ochako." Bulkhead assured. "Which is when the next part of the story comes in." Bulkhead's hand clutched the edge of the GroundBridge platform just a bit harder as he continued. "I ended up telling Blastwave about my concerns about the whole gladiator thing and he ended up telling me about one of his fellow gladiators, one who was originally a miner who actively changed himself so he could BE a gladiator."

"Well hey, that's cool!" Denki said with a thumbs up. "If it was that simple, why didn't you just do that?"

"The gladiator's name… was Megatronus."

And immediately, the electric blonde deflated at the familiar name. "Oh… that's why."

Bulkhead nodded to him. "Yep, the bot who changed his alt mode and went against the grain of Cybertron to bring about change to the planet's society… would go on to have his ideals twisted. He shortened his name, founded the Decepticons and, in the end, started the War for Cybertron." The former construction worker shook his head in disapproval. "And unfortunately, Blastwave was among those who agreed with his ideals, though I have a feeling it was mostly for the destruction he got to cause."

"So, I suppose that is why your animosity for him is so strong then." Tenya concluded. "Because you were once friends and he betrayed you, yes?"

"For the most part… but it's what happened shortly AFTER the war started that earned him a special place on my "Bots I Intend to Scrap" list." Bulkhead's fist clenched in ire as his scowl deepened. "You kids may have heard this before, but back on Cybertron, there was a city-state known simply as "The Crystal City". It was the pride of every construction worker on Cybertron at the time, including the head foremen on the project; the Constructibots. They were some of the best bots to work with, and some of my closest friends. Particularly a couple bots named Scrapper and Mixmaster."

There was a long pause before Kyoka hesitantly asked; "…Were your closest friends?"

With a heavy sigh, Bulkhead pressed on. "Yes, "were". Because shortly after the war broke out, the Constructibots were ambushed by Blastwave in a raid on the Crystal City. We all thought they were dead, but in reality, they were all captured and their processors were reprogrammed by the Decepticons, and they used them to destroy the rest of the Crystal City the following day." The kids wore astonished faces as Bulkhead kept his head lowered. "That was probably one of THE lowest points the Autobots had ever been in, and THAT was the day that my grudge against Blastwave was sparked."

Everyone was left in stunned silence as Bulkhead finished his story, some of them even left slack jawed. "Wow… that truly sucks." Eijiro grit his teeth. "Like, god, it's a freaking shot in the gut!"

"I know, it's not a pleasant memory." Bulkhead assured. "But it's what keeps me going in this war, because once it's over, my hope is that we can rebuild the Crystal City to be better than ever before." He ended up grabbing a tool off the platform and began squeezing it in his hand. "But first, I gotta make sure that Blastwave is out of the picture. He WILL regret what he did that day, mark… my… words." CRUNCH!

And just like that, the tool was crushed… and Red Alert immediately snapped. "BULKHEAD! I needed—hmph!" The Autobots stared at Red, taken aback as he covered his own mouth and turned away. "No, NO, Red Alert. Remain calm, you are NOT your mentor." He took a deep intake and moved his way over to Bulkhead, swiping the broken tool from his grasp. "Give me that."

As Red Alert walked away, Mina couldn't help but grin knowingly to her partner. "You know, for someone who's apparently good at building, you're REALLY good at breaking things easy."

"Hah, yeah, it's a blessing… and a curse." A few moments later, though, the GroundBridge opened back up and Optimus came striding through, receiving everyone's immediate attention. "Well, Optimus, is he good and secure?" Bulkhead asked.

"He is, Bulkhead." Optimus nodded. "Padlock has been put into a special chamber and will be waiting for our return to Cybertron… if that day ever comes."

"So, uh… what exactly will you DO with his body when you return it to Cybertron?" Izuku asked.

Arcee placed a hand over her chest. "Well, just as all sparks return to the well when one of our kind dies, our bodies are meant to return to the planet as well. Remember, Cybertron itself is made of living metal, so when a Cybertronian dies, often their bodies are brought to the pools of proto-matter they originally emerged from, where they merge back with it." The pink Autobot furrowed her metal brow in contempt. "Though considering what happened during the war, the planet's been littered with so many bodies on both sides, it's unfortunately become a common sight, mostly from the Decepticons."

Sunstreaker crossed his arms, also visibly disgusted. "They don't care enough about THEIR allies, Vehicon or otherwise, to bring them back and give them a proper send off. Damned war mongers."

Before things could get too heated, Optimus raised his hand, calling for peace. "Now, now, let's not dwell on this thought. Yes, the Decepticon's actions are abhorrent, but if we wish to put an end to them, we must be willing to focus on what lies ahead in hopes we can bring an end to this war sooner rather than later." Prime walked over to the control console and plucked up the data disk, laser focused right onto it. "And what lies before us now regards this data disk."

Jazz strolled up and tilted his head up to his old friend. "You ready for this, OP? There's no tellin' what sorta message was left on that."

"If Padlock's words are to be believed, then this may be the key to helping us get a foothold in the war." Optimus glanced down and sent his friend a reassuring gaze. "In that regard, it is best that we take the chance. We may not get another like it."

"Well in that case, fire it up, Big Bot." Sideswipe encouraged, with the other Autobots and humans all nodding in approval.

Optimus returned the gesture and set the data disk on the ground, pressing the small, blue button in its center. Within seconds, the disk began to move and reshape itself, until it became a dome-shaped light projector that lit up with a blue light. From its lens, the projector began displaying some sort of holographic image, though it was quite staticky at first. But after a few moments, it cleared up… and the Autobots were all left utterly speechless at what they saw next.

The projector began displaying the visage of a tall robot in the center of the room, though he was unlike any Cybertronian that the human teenagers had ever seen before. No part on him seemed to resemble any sort of vehicle, instead being made up of smooth armor that came in dark magenta and royal purple colors. Among these were strong, pointed boots, rounded shoulder pads that had some thin spikes sticking out of them, and most prominently, a long cape with a high collar draped over his shoulders. And with that, it was then the teens noticed… this bot was old. Like, REALLY old. His head crest was two-pronged and looked like a heavy brow while his face was adorned by something no one had ever expected…

"Does… does that bot have a BEARD and MUSTACHE?" Kyoka wondered out loud.

Immediately, Mei began jotting down notes, though she too seemed quite confused. "Important note; Cybertronians can grow facial hair… somehow."

As the girls spoke, though, the Autobots remained in stunned silence, all of their jaws having gone slack while their optics were as wide as they could be. Even Optimus seemed to be perturbed by the holographic bot, which was cause for Izuku's concern. "Uh… guys? E-Everything okay?"

Tenya raised a brow to the elderly hologram. "Do you all… know this gentleman?"

"…Yes." Optimus muttered, his voice breathy and in disbelief. "This Autobot… was once my mentor." All at once, the humans were flabberghasted by Prime's words, a collective "WHAT?!" ringing out throughout the room. Optimus nodded and went on. "Yes. He was my teacher during my days as a data clerk in the Iacon Hall of Records." The Autobot drew closer, so that he was standing optic to optic with his mentor. "…Alpha Trion."

"Hello, Optimus." Alpha Trion spoke, making Optimus flinch at just how casual that was. A chuckle escaped the old bot's throat as he smiled. "Hmhm, did I startle you? I was told by Maccadam that you would be before I started recording this."

At that, Optimus grimaced at his teacher's "joke", and he shook his head. "Ah, Trion… even in death, you continue to keep me on my diodes."

"Wait… he's dead?" Mina asked, only to be glared at by a few of her friends. "W-What?! It's a simple question!"

"Unfortunately, yes, he has passed on, Mina." Optimus said as he stared at the holographic elder. "He died a long time ago during a Decepticon raid of Iacon. He must have created this message before that."

Trion's face took a more serious disposition as he continued again. "If you are seeing this, then that likely means that the inevitable has happened; I have passed on to the Well of All Sparks and have become one with the Matrix." He raised his hand up to Optimus. "But do not fret, my student, because while my life may have been forfeit, I believe you will be quite interested by my final act. As you know, I was always a more neutral force within the war, given my age and preference for knowledge over combat. However, as the war went on, Mac and I have had several discussions on how to preserve Cybertron's future, and how the planet could heal when the time comes." He raised a single finger as his smile returned. "In the end, we both decided that if we wished for Cybertron's future to prosper, the answer lied… within the past."

Sideswipe pursed his lips in annoyance. "And already, the old mech's lost me." CLANG! "OW! Really?!"

"Hush and listen." Strongarm hissed. "Let Alpha Trion explain himself."

"No doubt you have already met Padlock and his crew." Trion continued, making everyone cringe all at once. "And I have full confidence that he has told you all about the data storage unit that he has with him. But, for the sake of clarification, I will still inform you of what is inside that cannister." Optimus' optics shifted down and he picked up the cylindrical device, staring at it with intrigue. "What you have been given is a device that houses several encrypted codes, which in reality are coordinates to a variety of ancient Cybertronian artifacts that I had sent to that planet you're on."

Once again, there was a collective "WHAT?!" that echoed through the base, though this time, even the Autobots were astonished by what they'd heard. "You're kidding." Arcee whispered.

"Trion sent Cybertronian artifacts tor Earth… way before we ever even KNEW about it?!" Jazz exclaimed. "And he didn't even tell anyone 'bout this?!"

Optimus let this revelation stew in his mind for a few moments, all while trying to understand Trion's motives. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a reason… at least not until Alpha Trion himself explained. "You might be wondering why I did this in the first place. Well, to put it simply, I fear that Iacon's safety will not last much longer, and in turn, the secrets that the Hall of Records keeps are in jeopardy of being discovered by the Decepticons."

At that moment, several dots began to connect in Prime's mind. "So that is why the Decepticons found nothing in their raid on the Hall of Records. Alpha Trion sent them away before it even happened."

"Almost like he KNEW it would happen." Bulkhead added. "Pretty smart move."

Trion furrowed his metal brow. "These artifacts are far too powerful to fall into Megatron's hands, Optimus, which is why I sent them to this planet. They are in a place where Megatron would never think to search… but I also have a feeling that there is much more to this planet than meets the eye." Alpha Trion began stroking his beard in contemplation as he explained. "As you know, not too long ago, Cybertron received a transmission on a secure channel from that corner of the galaxy, one that was unmistakably Autobot in origin. At first, I didn't know what to think… but then, I recalled that you sent the Ark on a special mission in search for Energon, and I had a feeling THAT is where our Autobot allies could very well be."

The children were all surprised at that and set their sights to Optimus and the others, who reaffirmed Trion's words. "Indeed, that part is true. It's what tipped me off to the Ark potentially being in this sector of the galaxy in the first place." But then, he shook his head once again. "However, the message was too intelligible to make anything of it. We still have no idea when or who sent—"

"Fortunately, I was able to isolate the message and decipher some of it." Alpha Trion continued, interrupting Optimus and taking him by surprise. "The message is still mostly indiscernible, but a few words are at least able to be heard now. I will play it for you, and I have left it within this data disk in hopes that you can sort out the rest." With that, Alpha Trion's form disappeared, replaced with a holographic screen that had an audio analyzer line running across it.

"Huh… well that's awesome!" Mina smiled. "I guess this means you guys are one step closer to finding the Ark!"

Windblade was also smiling at the prospect. "Yeah… or at least whoever sent that message."

It was then that the message began to play, with the line zig-zagging across the screen every time any sound was heard. "KSSSSSH—And so—KSSSSSH—our message—KKSSSSSSHH—asteroid—KKSSSSSHHH—face of catastrophe, with courage and—KKSSSSHH—RAAAAAAHH!" And just like that, the message was over… and the Autobots and humans had NO idea what they had just heard.

"Well that was… interesting." Strongarm remarked.

"And completely baffling." Sunstreaker grimaced. "I couldn't make heads or tails of that at ALL. Something about an asteroid?"

Arcee placed her hands behind her head. "I think so… and the voice doesn't sound all that familiar either. The message is still REALLY garbled."

Just then, Alpha Trion came back, wearing an apologetic face. "As you heard, I wasn't able to decipher much, but it IS a start. Hopefully you all will be able to find out the origin of this message, because as of now, the fate of Cybertron hinges on the Ark and those artifacts being found." He nodded toward Optimus, his former pupil staring right back at him. "Optimus, I wish I could be there to assist you in your search… but unfortunately, I already know that my time is almost at an end." He closed his optics as the message came to its end. "But know this; I shall always be with you through the Matrix. You carry a vast well of knowledge, Optimus, and I know you shall use it wisely. Farewell, my student, and best of luck."

With that, the message came to an end and the projector transformed back into the data disk, with Optimus leaning down to pick it up. He stared at it momentarily before softly clutching it in his hand. "Thank you… my dear friend." Prime stood up and offered the data storage unit to Red Alert. "Red, I believe you are proficient in deciphering encrypted code, are you not?"

"I am, and I'll get to it right away, Optimus." Red Alert took up the cylinder and made his way over to the control console, preparing for the work ahead of him. "Just get me a few cycles of prep work and I'll get started."

"Thank you, old friend. Your contribution is much appreciated." Optimus directed his gaze back to the disk before going to Jazz with it. "And as for the message, I will leave it in your care, Jazz. With your experience in audio, I have no doubt you will be able to crack this in due time."

"Oh, you know it, OP." Jazz grinned as Prime passed the disk along to him. "I'll give it my best shot, I can tell ya that."

Optimus smiled beneath his faceplate. "Hm, that is all I ask of you, Jazz. Thank you." With a bit of a sigh, the Autobot leader looked back to his team and the humans, pressing on with other business. "Now, I believe we should discuss our findings today…" Prime punched in a command on the console and brought up the image of the Greek mural again, focusing in right on the Energon Harvester. "Or more accurately, what we did not find."

Momo spoke up, guessing at what he meant. "You're talking about the Energon Harvester, right? If so, then you're right, it wasn't in the place we thought it would be." She rubbed the back of her head as she thought over what exactly went wrong. "But I still don't understand it. I mean, I thought for sure that it'd be somewhere, but if neither Flatline or Blastwave found it before we did…"

"Hold on just a minute!" Mei piped up, a particular thought hitting her. "If those two bozos couldn't find the Harvester before any one of US did… then do you think that the Harvester might've already been found?"

Tenya's eyebrows rose up as the thought made sense to him as well. "That actually does make quite a bit of sense. There are several ancient findings all across Greece, so perhaps our Harvester could already be in a museum somewhere."

"I'll say that's a pretty clean argument to make, Iida." Kyoka granted. "But that leaves us with one problem… where do we start searching? There are like, hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of museums all across the globe." She placed her hands on her hips as she thought over their options. "So it's not like we can just go searching through every single one until we find it…"

The entire group was left in silence… that is until Izuku set his sights up to the screen. He concentrated on the Energon Harvester and Zeus holding it, taking note of the pose he was in. The god of the skies held it up in a lofty position, almost like… he was a statue. Izuku's eyes widened and he let out a gasp. "AH! That's it!"

Everyone was taken aback while Izuku pulled out his phone, going straight to his web browser to search something up. "Huh?! What's "it", Green Bean?" Kyoka asked.

"Something that we've been missing, Kyoka." Izuku smiled with excitement. "Something that's been staring right at us this whole time. Back in the day, Greeks would often depict something in several different forms, whether it be on a mural, pottery… or even in statues. If you type in "golden orb" and "Greek god", you get this!" Izuku held up his phone… and his classmates were all stunned by what they saw. It was indeed a statue of the Greek god, Zues in the exact same pose as he was on the mural… and in his hand, he held the Energon Harvester.

The Autobots were all astonished as well, and Optimus was quite impressed. "Izuku, brilliant thinking. I must admit, I had not thought of using something as simple as your internet to search for the artifact."

Izuku smiled brightly at the compliment. "Heh… gee, thanks Optimus. Alright, so it says this artifact is located in a museum in… Jasper, Nevada in the United States"

"Wow, can't get much more of a nowhere-sounding name than that." Denki muttered.

Izuku put his phone away, eyeing the blonde seriously. "Well, no matter where it is, we may wanna get moving fast. If we can find the Harvester this easy with an internet search, the Decepticons probably can too."

"Woah, hold up there now." Jazz held up his hand. "Slow yo' role there, Izuku. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves with the "we" stuff."

"I'm sorry to say, but Jazz has a point, Izuku." Optimus agreed. "I deeply appreciate your locating the Harvester, truly, but from here, I believe it would be best for us to handle the situation from here on."

A collective sound of disappointed rang through the group of teens as they all deflated in disappointment, aside from Tenya, who was understanding. "Of course, Optimus. After all, we ALL remember what happened a few days ago regarding surprise Decepticon attacks…" The spectacled young man eyed Mina in particular. "Isn't that right, Ashido?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Mina rolled her eyes. "Trust me, I know it's a bad idea to get involved with Decepticon fights now… besides, even if I WANTED to go, I can't." She set her sights over to Momo with a hesitant glance. "After all… ugh, I've got my Hero History report to work on."

"Indeed, you do." Momo went over and placed a reassuring hand on Mina's shoulder. "But don't worry, Mina, I'll help you through it, no problem. Hey, maybe I could even come over to your place and help you there?"

Mina gasped in excitement, clapping her hands in approval. "AH! Yes, yes, YES! Or even better; we can make a SLEEPOVER out of it!"

This immediately caught Ochako's attention as well. "Ooh, that sounds so much fun! Maybe I could join in? I'll even help you guys out if you need it."

"Hmm… well, I don't see too much harm in it, I suppose." Momo admitted with a smile. "Just so long as we get some actual WORK done in the process, okay?" She raised a single finger to Mina with a knowing look. "Don't get too distracted now, otherwise we'll never get this project done by Monday."

A slight groan escaped Mina's lips as she hung her head low. "Yeah, I get ya… still, can't wait for it!" The pink girl snapped her head over to Kyoka and Mei with her grin returning once again. "What about you ladies? You wanna come over?"

Kyoka held up her hand, nervousness written across her features. "Uh, no thanks, I think I'll take a pass on this one. I'm… not really much for sleepovers."

"And I've still got a lot of work to do on my S.K.Y.S.P.Y. here before she sees any use." Mei said as she held up her little satellite. "But hey, maybe next time!"

As the girls talked things over about their sleepover, though, Izuku's concentration was still on Optimus as he voiced his concerns. "Um… Optimus?" The Autobot leader craned his head down, giving Izuku his full attention. "While I understand that you don't want us to get involved in case the Decepticons DO show up… how do you plan on actually GETTING the Harvester? I mean… you'd have to essentially steal it, which for one, is a criminal offense."

"Yeah, but that aside, it'd also kinda be hard for you to do." Eijiro continued, gesturing up to the red and blue bot. "I mean, it's not like you guys are SMALL or anything."

"You are right on both accounts, boys." Prime confirmed. "Which is why I have an idea on how we can procure the Harvester efficiently and without conflict. And, if by chance we ARE intercepted by Decepticons, I also have a plan on how the Harvester can be safeguarded while making it seem like it hasn't been taken." Optimus directed his focus over to Red Alert once again. "Red, I'm afraid we'll have to hold off on deciphering the artifact coordinates for now." Red Alert peered over his own shoulder as Prime asked; "Right now, I must request that you make a near-identical replica of the Energon Harvester. Think you can do it?"

The team medic couldn't help but grin slightly at that. "I'm a security officer, a trained field medic, and a crude engineer." He lifted his multi-tool hand and a welder came out of the tip. "I can have a replica ready within a few hours, sir."

Tenya crossed his arms in contemplation. "Will that be enough time? Should the Decepticons figure out where the Harvester is, they could show up literally at any moment."

However, Optimus shook his head. "Worry not, Tenya. The Decepticons won't risk retrieving the Harvester in broad daylight, especially if it garners a hero's attention. They would likely strike at nightfall, in which case, we'll be ready for them." Optimus directed his sights to Jazz, giving him a nod. "Jazz, contact Agent Fowler… and tell him to bring a few heroes along for the ride."

…..

~Nevada, Five Hours Later~

The city of Jasper, Nevada wasn't what one would call a particularly exciting place to live. Granted, it HAD seen a rise in popularity given the fact that popular veteran heroes such as Cow Lady had originated from the place, plus its proximity to Las Vegas definitely helped with tourism. But for a city overall, it was still a relatively quiet place. But thankfully, that also meant that crime rates and Villain activity compared to other places in the States were relatively low, which is why the curator of the local museum always felt comfortable closing the place and leaving only one night guard there.

The curator himself, an elderly gentleman with a pair of beetle pincers sticking up out of his head, was making his way toward the front desk, where the guard was already sitting. "Ah, well Jeremy, I'm out for the night."

"Yep, getting to be about that time." Jeremy affirmed, the middle-aged brunette setting down his newspaper to give a nod to his boss. "Have a good night, Mr. Scarab sir."

"Yes, you as well—hm? Wait a moment…" Scarab peered over to the front of the museum to see four figures come strolling through the door, piquing his interest. "What in the—"

"Gah, really?" Joseph stood up and turned on his flashlight, shining it through the dimly lit foyer at the four people. "Hey, didn't you read the sign? The museum's… closed." However, the guard's jaw dropped the moment he saw just who was standing in the museum, and Scarab wasn't too far behind in that regard.

Across the room, they saw four people. In the lead was an African-American man in a pale blue three-piece suit who was holding a manilla folder in his hand. He definitely looked like someone official, but it was the people who were BEHIND him that really piqued the duo's interest. One of them was dressed in what could only be described as ninja garb with a long red scarf around his neck, his hair in an angular style. And on either side of him was a man in a blue jumpsuit with wooden gloves, boots and a helmet along with a woman in a purple and white skintight suit with fake horns attached to her mask. They were heroes… but not just ANY heroes.

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Jeremy exclaimed, his sights right on the ninja. "That's… that's Edgeshot! The Number 5 Pro Hero from Japan!"

"Oh, I see him alright." Scarab nodded. "Though I don't think I recognize the other heroes."

"Hah, that's easy." Jeremy pointed over to the wood-clad hero. "That's Kamui Woods. He's been on the scene for about a year now and he's made a big name for himself. Started his own agency already and everything. And her…" The guard couldn't help but smile in a goofy way at the sight of the VERY beautiful woman. "Ahem, th-that's Mt. Lady. She's uh… a gifted hero, to say the least. The press loves her."

Scarab deadpanned at his employee's behavior. "Hm, I can't imagine why. Stay here, Joseph. I doubt she would appreciate being drooled over." The old man straightened his tie and made his way over to the group, addressing the unknown man in front first. "Good evening, all."

"Evening, Mr. Scarab." The suited man pulled out a badge from his pocket and flashed it at Scarab. "My name is Special Agent William Fowler of Sector Seven."

"…Never heard of it. Also, how do you know my name?"

"Not supposed to. Let's just say we're a more secretive branch of the government in charge of keeping the world safe from the more unseen threats." Fowler put his badge away and pointed to Scarab. "And I know your name 'cause it's on your tag."

Scarab's eyes widened and his head snapped down, realizing his mistake. "Oh, erm, yes, of course."

Fowler gestured to the heroes surrounding him. "I assume that you're familiar with my associates?"

Scarab nodded, though he also raised a brow at the suspicious behavior the man was exhibiting. "Why, of course I am. After all, who ISN'T familiar with one of the world's finest heroes?" He craned his head over to Edgeshot curiously. "I must say that this is quite the unexpected visit, though. Tell me, what business do you have at my museum?"

Edgeshot stepped up and bowed in respect to the curator. "Our apologies for the sudden intrusion, Scarab-san. We realize it is quite late, but a matter of utmost importance has been dug up, and we have a bad feeling that it could involve your museum." He waved his hand over to Kamui and Mt. Lady. "My team and I just happened to be in the area, so Agent Fowler here recruited our services."

"Really? And what IS this important matter?"

Fowler brought up the manilla folder and pulled out a sheet of paper, handing it to Scarab immediately. "This is what we meant. We intercepted this rather disturbing letter today and I think you should take a look at it."

"Hm…" Scarab mumbled skeptically… but all signs of any skepticism were lost the moment his eyes laid on the paper. It was a note, one whose words were put together by cut-out letters from various pages of magazines. Scarab couldn't help but gasp. "I… y-you cannot be serious. Th-This HAS to be a joke of some sort."

"No jokes here, sir." Kamui assured. "We've run it by several people and we can confirm that this is legit."

"Oh god…" One of Scarab's hands went up to a beetle pincer, rubbing it in apprehension. "I-I've only seen these kinds of criminal notes in documentaries and the like…" His eyes scanned over the words as he read them aloud;

"Jasper Museum;

The Golden Orb, 9:00 p.m., Friday, May 20th.

We don't care what or who we go through, it WILL be ours.

Clock's ticking."

Agent Fowler stepped up and looked the old curator right in the eye. "Sir, this is a serious situation. Do you have any idea what they may be talking about when they say "Golden Orb"?"

Scarab nodded immediately. "O-Of course. They must be talking about the huge sphere that the statue of Zeus is holding. The statue itself was found only a few years ago, but the sphere it was holding has always perplexed us. It's not REALLY made of gold, it's just metal so… I-I have absolutely no idea WHY these criminals would want to steal it."

"Well, that's where we come in. Our team recently made a discovery over in Greece that undoubtedly relates to this Golden Orb." Fowler explained, bringing up his cell phone to show Scarab the mural that had been recently dug up. "I've got a feeling that whoever these villains are, they got wind of this and might be thinking this orb has some sort of significance."

Scarab took a closer look and his eyes widened at the sight of the painting, zeroing in on Zeus in particular. "By god, you… you may be right! …Though I can't say that these villains are the SMARTEST individuals, whoever they are." He waved his hand irritably. "Even THEY should know that those old legends are just that. If they seriously think there's some sort of godly energy in that bauble, then they're insane."

"In most cases, that's very true, sir." Kamui nodded. "Sometimes, villainy just cannot be explained."

"Well then… w-what do we do?"

"Worry not, sir." Edgeshot raised a hand. "That's exactly what we're here for; to prevent these villains from stealing it." He narrowed his eyes slightly. "However, I highly suggest that we remove the orb from the museum floor before the time they specified they'd be here, just to make sure it's safe."

Scarab thought the suggestion over for a moment before coming to a conclusion. "You make a good point, Mr. Edgeshot. Come, we'll get a lift and you all can help me take it down."

Fowler nodded to him. "Of course. Meanwhile, I think it's best to have one of our people stick with your head guard incase anything goes down." Fowler set his eyes over to Kamui. "Woods, you think you can stick around? Maybe get some eyes on the security cams?"

"A good idea, Agent Fowler. I'll see about that." Kamui went straight over to the front desk and addressed the guard. "Would it be possible for us to take a look at the security cameras? There could be multiple points in this place where the villains could make their entrance."

Jeremy immediately stood up and saluted to the hero. "Of course, sir. Come on, I'll take you the security room and we can scout things out from there." And with that, the duo walked off down a long corridor, with Kamui giving a salute to his teammates.

'Alright, phase one is complete.' Fowler thought to himself before moving his gaze up to a large antique clock that was on the wall, which still kept time quite accurately. It was 8:30, so they still had plenty of time. He nodded to Edgeshot and Mt. Lady before going back to Scarab. "We've got thirty minutes to do this, so let's make it count."

"Of course." Scarab went over to the front desk, procuring a set of keys before ushering the group to follow him. "This way, quickly!"

…..

Kamui Woods had to admit, he felt a little dirty for what he was about to do. The reason that he had become a hero in the first place was to prevent things like this from happening, not to actively take PART in them. But here he was, about to pull off an honest to goodness heist with his new HERO team; The Lurkers. It was almost enough to make his skin crawl, but he had to keep reminding himself that this was for the greater good.

'Remember, Woods, if the Decepticons get their hands on that Energon Harvester, they'll have one of the most powerful tools imaginable in their arsenal. We have a replica ready, so it's like we're not even stealing it at all… technically.' With that thought in mind, he came to a stop as Joseph also halted right in front of a room. "So, I take it this is the security room?"

"Yep, sure is." Jeremy took his keys out and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal several monitors lining the walls all over the place, displaying the footage from each and every security camera in the building. Jeremy strode in and sat down in a chair, keeping his sights glued to the many screens. "From here, we'll be able to see any suspiscious activity that might be going on." However, he couldn't help but wear a massive smile at the prospect of this. "Oh man, I'm terrified but excited at the same time!" He wore a sheepish face as he bowed his head to Kamui. "I-I'm kind of a huge fan, you see."

Beneath his helmet, Kamui frowned in sympathy for the poor man. "I'm very flattered…" He saw Jeremy go back to the screens, which he took as his cue. '…Which is why this will be even more painful for me.' From his back pocket, Woods took out a small spray bottle, which had a caution label that read; "WARNING: PLANT SPORES".

With a small sigh, Kamui reached down and sprayed the contents of the bottle directly at Jeremy, who perked his head up in confusion. "H-Huh? What was… oh… sswhat tha heeeck?" THUMP! Kamui cringed the moment Jeremy's body hit the floor, the guard now effectively out cold.

"My apologies." Woods sat down and began typing in commands, concentrating intently on his goal. "Let's see, it should be… ah-ha! There!" After finding the controls he was searching for, Kamui began shutting down all security cameras across the entire museum, making sure that no one would be the wiser to any of this. He reached up to the comm in his ear and spoke into it; "Mt. Lady, my half of phase two is complete. How goes things on your end?"

…..

As Woods was doing his part, Fowler, Edgeshot and Mt. Lady were patiently waiting for Scarab to bring the lift around, which proved to be a bit of a longer wait than expected. Finally, though, the curator came rolling back around to them, driving the mobile scissor lift platform. "Sorry for taking so long. Usually the staff are the ones who handle these things." Scarab apologies as the heroes and Agent stepped onto the lift. "But since they've already left, I had to remind myself how do handle it."

"It's alright, sir, it's no problem." Fowler assured. "Now, let's get to that sphere."

"Yes, of course. Hold on to something…" With a push of a lever, the lift began moving forward and before long, they were in the section they needed to be in. Fowler, Edgeshot and Mt. Lady immediately saw the statue of Zeus… and their focus was directly on the sphere in his hand. It was then, however, that Scarab took note of something. "Say… you've been awful quiet there, ma'am." Mt. Lady perked her head up curiously as she was addressed. "Is there something the matter?"

Edgeshot was quick to cover for his teammate, however. "Oh, yes, I probably should've mentioned. Mt. Lady doesn't speak English, sir."

Scarab saw Mt. Lady give a shrug and a sheepish nod, and he immediately began apologizing himself. "Oh, I see. Well, sorry for pointing that out, ma'ma. I was just confused as to why you hadn't spoken is all."

Mt. Lady smiled and waved her hand to Scarab assuringly… at least until she heard Wood's voice in her ear; "Mt. Lady, my half of phase two is complete. How goes things on your end?" The heroine's kind smile instantly turned into a knowing smirk as she eyed Edgeshot, giving him a double wink as a signal. And, with a single nod, Edgeshot raised his hand… and then delivered a chop to the back of Scarab's neck, knocking him clean out.

"GAH!" Fowler gasped, recoiling as Scarab's limp body fell right into him. "Ugh, seriously?!" He hefted Scarab over his shoulder before bringing him off of the platform, setting him gently onto the floor. "Next time, maybe give me a bit of a WARNING next time, Edgeshot?"

"My mistake, Agent Fowler." Edgeshot bowed again. "I had assumed you knew the signal."

The Sector Seven agent narrowed his eyes over to Mt. Lady. "Well maybe I WOULD have if it had been a bit clearer."

"Hey, I had to go with something subtle, didn't I?" Mt. Lady argued as she put her hands behind her head. "Besides, what's done is done, so now we can get the Harvester, replace it with the fake one and then everything'll be hunky-dory when they wake up, right?"

With a heavy sigh, Fowler threw his hands up in defeat. "Okay, sure, whatever. Let's just get this thing outta here already. Preferably WITHOUT any more surprises."

…..

Outside, meanwhile, Optimus Prime came rolling up into the museum's empty parking lot, hauling his trailer behind him. Following his lead were Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Arcee and Windblade, the three ground-based Autobots breaking off from behind Prime while Windblade flew up toward the museum roof. Prime pulled off to the side and came to a halt, unhitching his trailer and making it prop up on its stands before going back toward the front of the museum. "Autobots, confirm positions."

"Westward, ho." Arcee sounded off, pulling to a stop on the museum's left side.

"Zrkt—the BEAST from the EAST!" Bumblebee piped up from his radio.

Bulkhead came to a stop behind the museum and called out as well. "Southside covered."

Finally, Windblade landed on the roof, transforming into robot mode. "And topside secured. We're all set, Optimus."

"Good. Maintain your guard." Optimus advised. "By now, Agent Fowler and the Lurkers should have entered phase three of the operation…" Through the large, glass front of the building, Prime could see several different exhibits being displayed in the foyer… as well as someone moving quickly on the inside. He zoomed his sights in and saw that it was none other than Kamui Woods, the wooden hero coming to a stop the moment he saw Optimus. Prime flashed his lights and Kamui held his hand up high, making sure he could see him. "I have a visual on Kamui Woods. Things seem to be going according to plan." With a quick thought, Prime activated his commlink to contact the team inside. "Agent Fowler, do you read?"

Fowler replied almost immediately. "Loud and clear, Prime. The curator and night guard have been successfully knocked out and we're workin' on gettin' the Harvester outta here."

Optimus was quite thankful to hear that, even if he DID feel bad about the humans having to be subdued for this plan to work. "Excellent. Once you have the Harvester in hand, we must act quickly. I will have Red Alert bridge Woods and Mt. Lady to the base with the Harvester, and then the rest of us will work on replacing it with the decoy that Red made."

"Sounds like a plan." Fowler acknowledged. "Just keep your optics peeled for the Decepticons, alright?"

"Of course. We have Jazz, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Strongarm on standby back at base should things get—" Woo-Woo-Woo! "…Oh no."

Behind Optimus, a police siren could be heard, accompanied by flashing red lights that approached the Autobot leader without hesitation. And the Prime's fears were only confirmed when he heard a sinister chortle come from the patrol car. "Hmhmhm, well, well, you recover pretty quickly, don't ya, Prime?" Barricade said with nefarious intent. "Good to see ya runnin' on all six wheels, but… I'm afraid a certain someone's gonna make sure that doesn't last very long."

"GRAAAAAAUUUGH!" Optimus moved his rearview mirrors and, to his shock, he saw Blastwave approaching the museum quite rapidly in his tank mode, the massive Decepticon barreling down on him. "Take THIS, Prime!" BLAM! From one of his barrels, Blastwave shot a missile that flew right toward Optimus, prompting the commander to transform.

However, rather than dodging the projectile, Optimus instead grabbed hold of it with both hands, knowing full well that if it continued, it would likely blow the museum to smithereens. Prime dug in his heels as the missile dragged him along the pavement, bringing him all the way to the museum's steps before… CRACK! The missile's propulsion stopped just as its tip hit the glass window, creating a huge fracture across it. Prime glanced over his shoulder, seeing a stunned Kamui Woods staring back at him. "Go, Kamui! Warn the others!"

The hero nodded without question and made a break for the adjacent room where the rest of his team was, and Optimus put his attention back toward Barricade. However, Barricade was nowhere to be seen. The officer had just disappeared… at least until Prime directed his gaze down. "GRAH!" Barricade lunged up and stabbed a shock prod right into Optimus' chest, catching him off guard.

"AAAUGH!" The intense pain that Optimus felt made him lurch forward, leading Barricade to step back and allow the Prime to fall to his knees. But without wasting any more time, Barricade leapt onto Optimus' back and stabbed his shock prod down into the back of Prime's neck, making him holler in pain even more.

"Hehehe, how does it feel to get stunned, Prime?!" Barricade smirked maliciously.

Blastwave couldn't help but laugh on the other side of the lot. "AHAHAHA! Yes, very good! Bring Prime down to his knees!"

"Not so fast, Decepti-creeps!" From either side of the museum, Arcee and Bumblebee came speeding toward the battle, their focus directed on Blastwave. "Leave Prime alone!"

"BAH! Who sent all of these babies to fight?!" Blastwave brought his turret up and fired a tank mortar at Arcee, which, while she was able to avoid the full blast, it was still enough to send her flying and make her transform. The pink femme was sent tumbling as Blastwave moved his turrent toward Bumblebee, firing at shot at him that sent him skidding out of control. The two bots ended up colliding with one another, ending up in a massive heap much to Blastwave's amusement. "AHAHAHA! Tiny bots no match for Blastwave! Blastwave will crush you all to tiny pieces!"

Bumblebee transformed into robot mode, his head and optics spinning before noticing that Arcee was underneath him, also seemingly hurt. "Zrkt—Arcee! Zrkt—Are you okay?!"

The intelligence officer held her helm as she sat up, still reeling from the blast. "Ugh, depends on what you mean by "okay"." She shook her head, getting back her concentration as her optics zeroed in on the Decepticons. "But we can't give up now! Let's take them on!" Bumblebee agreed instantly and helped her up, the two readying their weapons.

"HA! You think you can best BLASTWAVE?!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! The brutish Decepticon transformed and beckoned the Autobots to come at him. "Well then bring it, little bots! Hit me, I dare you!"

"With pleasure!" The two Decepticons did a doubletake at the sound of Bulkhead's voice, and were even more surprised to see the green Autobot come lumbering his way over the TOP of the museum with Windblade right by his side.

As she jumped down, the City Speaker brought out her wings and her fans began spinning, generating a pair of powerful blasts that were sent right toward Barricade. "Get OFF of him!" Windblade hollered, blowing Barricade off of Optimus within seconds. She dashed straight to Optimus' side and set a hand to his shoulder. "Optimus, are you alright?"

"Urk… ah… I will be, Windblade." Prime reassured. "I was simply taken off guard."

"Grr, not this again!" Barricade reached up and activated his commlink. "Doc, we need that back-up here, pront—augh!" The officer was cut off when a sharp kick was delivered right into his back, courtesy of Arcee. He was then met with Bumblebee as the little bot drove straight at him and transformed, socking him right in the head.

Arcee shook her head as Bumblebee grouped up with her and Windblade. "Sorry, Barricade, but we're not letting you get THIS Cybertronian artifact!"

Barricade had to resist his growing smirk. 'Oh, if only they knew…' He glowered at the three instead and reached behind him, pulling out a certain familiar saw weapon. "Frenzy! I need ya, partner!" He tossed Frenzy up into the air and he transformed, landing on the pavement beside him.

"HEHEHE! What's the plan, boss?!" Frenzy cackled as he brought out his own shock prod.

"You hold off the bug, I'll hold the others off until Flatline arrives and—GYAAAAAH!" Unfortunately, Barricade found no time to completely relay his plan as Windblade blasted him off with her wings again, sending him half way across the parking lot.

"He really DOES talk too much." Windblade smirked as Bumblebee buzzed in agreement. "Now c'mon guys, let's show these Decepticons what we're made of!"

Arcee nodded wholeheartedly, crossing her blades in anticipation. "Right behind you, Windblade! HYAH!" The pink femme leapt directly toward Frenzy with her blades drawn, the little bot narrowly ducking out of the way… only to run right into Bumblebee.

"Ah, man! This ain't fair!" Frenzy complained, though it wasn't long before his crooked smile came back. "But hey, at least this makes things more interesting! AHAHAHA!

Meanwhile, Bulkhead sneered toward Blastwave and brought out his mace. "HEY! Why don't you pick on a bot your own size?!"

"Going to be hard when you are GIANT MECH!" Blastwave bolstered as he retracted his own hand and brought out a massive hammer, charging toward Bulkhead within seconds. "Run, Bulkhead! I'm coming for you!"

With his own battle cry, Bulkhead met Blastwave head on, reeling his arm back for a massive hit. As expected, the two collided their melee weapons and sent a loud BANG through the air around them, even creating a small wind ripple that shook some surrounding trees. From there, the two began striking blow for blow against one another, their weapons connecting several times in various parts of their bodies. Still, while both bots were battered, neither gave an inch… at least not until Blastwave socked Bulkhead right in his midsection, allowing him a few key seconds to pick him up.

"AH-HA! What did I say?! Giant mech ALWAYS WINS!" A guttural grunt came from Blastwave as he tossed Bulkhead away, throwing him toward the museum where the green Autobot crashed directly into one of the pillars in the entry way. The structure was knocked down immediately, which managed to break the glass entirely… and set off the alarm. The fighting paused as both Autobot and Decepticon's snapped their heads around, a mild panic beginning to set in. "…Oops."

…..

Back inside the museum, Fowler, Edgeshot and Mt. Lady had just gotten the Energon Harvester out of the Zeus statue's massive palm, and lowered the lift back down so that they could get the artifact out of there. However, they were all surprised by the alarm going off right at that moment. Needless to say, Fowler was more vocal in his shock than the others. "What in the blue blazes is goin' on?!"

"Decepticons!" The three whipped their heads around to see Woods come sprinting into the room, jabbing his thumb over his shoulder. "Th-They just got here! One of them tried firing a MISSILE into the museum!"

"Oh, fantastic." Mt. Lady sarcastically uttered. "NOW how're we gonna get this thing out of here?!"

Kamui pointed down the hallway. "I saw that the loading docks are down in this direction while I was in the security office. Maybe we can cut out the back and keep the Harvester hidden there while we provide the Autobots with back-up."

"A sound strategy, Kamui." Edgeshot concurred. "Let's move, everyone!"

The heroes and Sector Seven agent pulled away from the statue and made their way down the hall, driving the lift toward the loading dock. Once they entered, they disembarked from the platform, with Kamui using his Quirk to lift the Energon Harvester off with them. "There! An exit!" Mt. Lady pointed toward the large garage door at the end of the large hallway, one that was opened just slightly. They all started sprinting toward the exit, and just as they came within twenty feet of it… they heard a familiar sound.

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk!

From under the garage door, they saw two pairs of legs come strolling into view, one with wings on the back of them while the others were quite slender and sleek. Kamui's eyes widened hopefully. "Ah-ha! Windblade! Arcee! They've come to help!" Unfortunately, though, the moment a single hand lifted up the garage door, the wooden hero proved to be sorely mistaken as two sets of red optics peered through the entry, sending a chill through everyone.

"Sorry, wrong answer." Starscream smirked. "Try again."

Edgeshot took a step back, trying to stay resilient as the red optics pierced through his soul. "Is… is that…"

"Starscream!" Fowler shouted. "Everyone, get back!" The humans all turned to run, but were cut off when a green energy blast cut them off, creating a massive fire that stood in their way.

Swift crouched down and began crawling into the loading dock, shaking her head at the humans. "Ah-ah-ah! Not today, organics. See, you've got something that WE want, and just an FYI…" She reached out and blasted at Edgeshot and Mt. Lady, forcing them both away as she grabbed a hold of the Energon Harvester, clenching so hard that she broke through Kamui's wooden grasp. "We TAKE what we want! Hahaha!"

"GYAAAAH!" Woods recoiled and pulled his arm close to his side, cradling it as he slowly reshaped it into his normal hand. Unfortunately, he didn't have long to try and collect himself before he was swatted away, colliding with Mt. Lady and Edgeshot as Swift then made a grab for Agent Fowler.

"Augh! Hey!" Fowler attempted to struggle in Swift's grasp, but to no avail. "Put me down, you big, green—AAACK!"

But Swift cut him off right there, giving his midsection a slight squeeze. "I would choose my words a bit more wisely if I were you. Remember, I can always tighten my grip more." Swift pulled herself out of the loading dock and smirked as she held the Energon Harvester up in victory. "Haha! I've GOT it!"

YOINK! Before she could fully celebrate her victory, however, Starscream plucked it from her grasp, wagging a finger at her. "Ah-ah, it is I who has it, Swift. Remember; all objects of power are to be handed off to your commanding officer."

"Oh come ON, seriously?!" Swift snapped. "Who came up with that rule?!"

"Me, just now." Starscream grinned nefariously as he stared at the Harvester, all while his giddiness continued to reach a fever pitch. "~Who wants to drain some energon? I do! I do!~ Heeheehee!"

Swift couldn't help but deadpan at her commander's singing. "Yeah, REAL mature of you, Screamer. Now c'mon, our boys are getting their afts handed to them out there."

Starscream was about to argue against her for telling him what to do… but then a thought occurred to him. "Why yes… you're right." His sights went back to the Harvester as his smile continued to grow. "That said, I believe that we should give a demonstration to show the Autobots exactly what they're dealing with now…" His optics then shifted down to Fowler, who was glaring right back at him. "And we have the PERFECT bargaining chip as well…"

As quick as a flash, the Decepticons flew up toward the roof… just as the Lurkers came running out of the loading dock. "Crap! They have the Harvester!" Kamui clenched his fist. "AND Agent Fowler!"

"But not for long." Edgeshot narrowed his eyes. "Lurkers, let's show them what we can REALLY do."

…..

Back out in the front, the fight was still going on, and Flatline was observing the proceedings from a hill not too far away. "Vell, I can't say zat zis vas unexpected." The doctor shook his head as he watched Barricade and Frenzy getting battered by greater numbers, all while Bulkhead and Blastwave continued to pummel one another. "Thankfully, zhere doesn't seem to be any humans or heroes on ze scene yet, even vith zat blasted alarm going off…" It was then, however, that he noticed that Optimus was just getting back up, leading him to transform into his hearse mode. "But I suppose zhat contributing to ze battle vouldn't be TOO out of ze question."

In the parking lot itself, Optimus was finally starting to gather his bearings, tingling in his neck and limbs beginning to subside. But, just as he stood up, the revving on an engine came to his audio receptors and he spun around, seeing Flatline come barreling toward him. Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! "Stay DOWN, Optimus! Doctor's order—urk!"

The medic was cut off immediately as Optimus grabbed him by the head, his hand covering nearly the entirety of Flatline's face. In one swift motion, Prime slammed the Decepticon medic back-first over his knee before pushing him further toward the ground, embedding his head into the asphalt. "Sorry, what was that again, doctor? I seem just fine."

"Ugh… vould you like a second opinion?"

"No thank you." CLANG! Optimus kicked Flatline away and then pulled out his energon axe, ready to give Bulkhead some back up. He approached Blastwave from behind and prepared to swing, but a split second before he brought his weapon down…

"ENOUGH!" The unmistakable shrill tones of Starscream echoed throughout the entire area, bringing the whole fight to a halt as Autobot and Decepticon alike whipped their heads up toward the top of the museum. There, Starscream and Swift stood tall and confident, the duo each carrying something in their hands that made the Autobots feel their insides twist. The Seeker commander held the Energon Harvester… while Swift kept the still struggling Agent Fowler in her clutches.

Optimus reached his hand out desperately. "Agent Fowler! NO!"

"Oh, but YES, Optimus Prime." Starscream assured. "As you can see, I clearly have the upper hand in this scenario." He aimed his Null Ray at the Autobots as he went on. "Now I suggest you Autobots step AWAY from my troops. Otherwise, your little human ally here… well, Swift will make sure he's in pieces before he hits the ground!"

"Uh… EW!" Swift's confidence was replaced with a grimace right away. "If you think for a second that I'm gonna get fleshly innards all over my hands, you've got another thing coming."

"Grr… fine! Then just fry him or something with your powers." Starscream grumbled. "I don't care."

The Decepticon femme's smile returned in an instant. "Works for me!" She lit her hands up with green, pulsating energy again and drew it near Agent Fowler, all while keeping her eyes locked on the Autobots. "So, what's it gonna be, Auto-bums?"

Prime's optics moved between his troops, who all seemed very unsure of what to do at this point. However, while the Energon Harvester WAS important… Fowler's safety HAD to come first. If the Decepticons were to ever take a human life because of their war, he knew he'd never be able to forgive himself because of it. "Autobots… lay down your arms."

"What?!" Bulkhead exclaimed. "Optimus, you can't be—"

"The safety of Agent Fowler is paramount in this situation, Bulkhead." Prime stressed as he put away his energon axe, setting his Ion Blaster on the ground at the same time. "Comply with their demands, that's an order."

As much as Bulkhead didn't want to do it, he knew that when Prime got this serious, there was no argument to be had. Reluctantly, he put his mace away while the other Autobots all disengaged with their enemies as well, allowing the Decepticons to draw back. "Alright, you got what you wanted, Starscream." Bulkhead admitted. "Now let Fowler go!"

"Oh, I will, Autobot." Starscream smirked as he and Swift dropped to the ground. "…But before I do, I think I should—GYAH!" Without warning, Starscream's arm was suddenly sliced off, though by what, no one could see. "AAAAAAUGH! MY ARM!" CLANG! The appendage fell to the ground and the Energon Harvester was sent rolling out of it… and the very next second, Edgeshot appeared, his body returning to its normal state.

"How sad." Edgeshot shook his head. "So blinded by your own pride that you should let an enemy get the jump on you. It's disgraceful."

Starscream narrowed his optics at the Number 5 Pro and started forward. "YOU! You have made a GRAVE mistake, little hu—MAN!"

"What the—WOAH!" Suddenly, Starscream and Swift suddenly tripped after taking a few steps forward, courtesy of a rather large bunch of branches that had suddenly grown out across the front of the building.

Agent Fowler was sent tumbling as a result, though he was quickly caught by Kamui Woods in a large, wooden basket. "Sorry to keep you all waiting. We had a fire to put out."

"Hah, great timing." Fowler grinned. "Thanks for the save."

"No problem, now let's get you out of here…" Woods whirled his head around toward the Energon Harvester, which was quickly rolling away. "And someone get that artifact!"

Pretty much all at once, Autobot and Decepticon alike started after the Harvester, with Blastwave barreling straight for it. "IT IS MINE!" CRASH! But before he could close in, Bulkhead rammed him full on from the side, taking him down to his knees. "AUGH! NO!"

Barricade and Flatline were also intercepted as well, by Arcee and Windblade respectively. The two femmes had tacked them both to the ground and they were left in a scuffle, though thankfully, they weren't the only Cons left. "FRENZY!" Barricade exclaimed as he held Arcee off. "Get that artifact!"

Frenzy sprinted forward and got in front of the rolling harvester, keeping his hand up. "Don't worry boss, I've got it! I've got—" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! BAM! "ACK!" However, once again, he got rammed, this time by Bumblebee in his vehicle mode.

That left Optimus Prime in pursuit of the harvester, which did NOT sit well with Swift at all. "Oh no! I didn't come here and get tripped up by WOOD just to see the Autobots get that thing!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! In the blink of an eye, Swift transformed into her Apache helicopter mode, flying toward Optimus with surprising speed before unleashing several missiles at the Prime. Optimus had only barely enough time to glance over his shoulder before the missiles struck him right in the back, eliciting a pained yell as he fell to the ground. Swift flew over him and transformed, grabbing the Harvester with her confident smile restored. "Hehehe, how does THAT feel, Pri—" TWOOM!

The ground shook mightily as a pair of massive purple boots slammed down on the ground behind swift, a huge shadow casting over her. The Decepticon lieutenant turned around slowly and craned her head up… to see the small, human woman that she and Starscream had just terrorized moments ago. Only now, she was the size of a combiner. Mt. Lady wore a proud and somewhat vain smile as she met Swift's optics. "Oh, honey… let me know how THIS feels!" THWACK! In one go, Mt. Lady punt kicked Swift straight across the entire parking lot, sending her straight over the museum.

"Hah… thank you, Mt. Lady." Prime said as he stood up.

"No prob, it's what I do, ya know?" Mt. Lady twirled a lock of her hair, her pride evident in her voice.

"Now, where's the harvester?"

And all at once, panic took over the blonde woman's features. "…Oh crap."

PEW-PEW-PEW-PEW! "STAY BACK!" The entire group's attention was drawn back to Starscream, the Decepticon commander shooting his Null Ray so that both humans and Autobots would stand clear of him. And what's more, he had actually caught the Harvester, which had been sent flying WITH Swift. "Stay back, ALL of you!" Starscream bellowed. "It is I who has the Harvester now, and it's going to STAY that way!"

"Zrkt—NO WAY!" Bumblebee announced as he came driving onto the scene, with Frenzy still holding on to him for dear life. "Zrkt—You're not getting away with this—zrkt—Star—zrkt—scream!"

"Bumblebee, NO!" Optimus cried out. "Don't get too close!"

Starscream's insidious smile returned ten-fold. "Oh yes… you're small, so you will make a fine demonstration!" The Seeker held up the Energon Harvester and activated it, the sides of the orb protruding slightly as its core began to light up in a brilliant blue. "Watch helplessly as your scout succumbs to the Harvester, Autobots!" And just like that, a bright beam of light shot out of the Harvester right toward Bee… but it didn't hit him.

"Bee, get away!" Bulkhead knocked Bumblebee off course, sending him and Frenzy away as he took the Harvester's beam directly. "AGH! AH!"

"BULKHEAD!" the Autobots all echoed.

Starscream, however, seemed nonplussed about it. "Hm, you're a bigger one… but I suppose the more energon the better!" The commander gave a small shrug. "Still, this could take a while. Decepticons, hold off the Autobots and heroes while I drain this fool dry."

And so, they did just that, with some Cons engaging with the Autobots while others blocked Edgeshot and Woods from coming any closer. Mt. Lady was about to come join the battle to break through the defenses, but gasped as a missile just narrowly flew by her head, leading her to see Swift having come back in her vehicle mode. "You're gonna pay for that, you GLITCH!"

As chaos reigned throughout the whole lot, Starscream looked on as the Energon Harvester continued it work. But, too his surprise, Bulkhead actually tried to start moving. He was sluggish in doing so, but he had still managed to shakily get to his feet. "Ha! How surprising! Not many can stand after getting hit with something like this. Still, your efforts are—" THUMP! Starscream cut himself off when Bulkhead took a step forward. And then another. And then another, before going into a full walk. The commander's optics widened as he tried to back up, but the museum prevented him from going any further. "W-Wait! No! What are you doing?!"

"…What I do best." Bulkhead closed the distance between them and reached up, grabbing the Harvester with one hand while reeling back the other. "BREAKING THINGS!" WHAM! The green Autobot punched Starscream right in the face, slamming him down into the museum's steps as he pried the Energon Harvester from his grasp. "And just to make sure you DON'T get this thing again…" He clenched his hand and the Energon Harvester crumpled, making Starscream's spark drop.

"NO!" The Seeker could do nothing but watch as Bulkhead threw the Energon Harvester high into the sky, and within seconds, the artifact exploded in a brilliant wave of blue energy. The Autobots, Decepticons and heroes all stopped their fighting and just watched as the light faded from the night sky, with Bulkhead falling straight to his back. "NO! I was so close!"

"Not close enough, I guess, eh, Screamer?" Swift muttered before seeing a GroundBridge opening up near the parking lot entrance. And not even a second later, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Strongarm and Jazz all came revving onto the scene, transforming into robot mode and pulling out their weapons. "And we've got company!"

Blastwave held his ground, though, even in the face of oncoming fire. "We shall FIGHT!"

But Flatline immediately shot the suggestion down. "Nein, mien freund! Today, ve have lost, but zhere vill be other opportunities for us later."

Barricade nodded in agreement, catching Frenzy at the same time. "Doc's right, let's drive!"

Starscream clenched his fist hearing this… but he was down an arm and had to get immediate repairs, so he saw no other option. "Grr. FINE! Decepticons, tactical retreat!" Once he said that, a GroundBridge of their own opened up and all of the Decepticons went through, though Starscream paused as he picked his arm up from the ground. "Autobots! You may think you're all that… BUT YOU'RE NOT!" With that final declaration, Starscream leapt through the portal, leaving the team behind.

"Bulkhead!" Optimus and the other Autobots immediately sprinted to Bulkhead's side, their optics filled with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Ugh… define "alright"." Bulkhead groaned as he sat up weakly, with Jazz and Strongarm helping him up. "Huh? W-What're you guys doing here? We never called for backup."

"We got worried when you guys didn't call in for the Harvester's pick-up at the designated time." Jazz answered. "So we took our own initiative and decided to jump on in."

Sideswipe crossed his arms in disappointment. "But of course, we get here JUST as the Cons got beat." He glanced over to Strongarm irritably. "Would've been here SOONER if someone wasn't so adamant on waiting it out."

Strongarm sighed and rolled her optics. "Alright, fine, I was wrong on that account." Her focus went over to Bulkhead, ignoring Sideswipe's victorious fist pump. "Still, what actually happened to you? You look so… drained. Oh Primus, don't tell me."

Bulkhead chuckled and nodded his head. "Yep, got hit with the Harvester. But don't worry, I took care of it." He craned his head up to the sky, watching as the residual energy continued to dissipate into the sky. "We won't have to worry about THAT artifact getting into the wrong hands anymore."

"And perhaps it's for the best." Optimus added. "The Harvester certainly would have been useful to us, but there would still always be the concern that it would end up in Decepticon hands if we were not careful." He nodded to Bulkhead as he set a hand on his shoulder. "You made a sound decision, my friend, and for that, I thank you."

"Hey, don't just thank me, Prime." Bulkhead said as he craned his head down to the heroes and Agent Fowler, with Mt. Lady shrinking down to her normal size. "Make sure you give props to the humans, too. They definitely did their parts in this operation."

"Indeed, they did." Optimus crouched down and extended his hand toward the group of four. "Agent Fowler, Edgeshot, Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, thank you all for your assistance in this fight."

Mt. Lady brushed a hand through her hair proudly. "Ah, it was no big. That copter lady had it coming to her, seriously."

Edgeshot raised his hand. "Think nothing of it, Optimus. For the sake of protecting our world, it was the least we could do." The Ninja Hero extended his own hand and returned the handshake, with Fowler joining in as well.

"Agreed, one-thousand percent." Fowler then bowed toward Edgeshot and Kamui respectfully. "And thank you guys, too. If you guys hadn't rescued me, my goose would be cooked right now."

Woods and Edgeshot bowed their heads back to him. "You're welcome, Agent Fowler." Kamui pointed over to Optimus' trailer. "But now that the chaos is over with, I think we should get to replacing the harvester with your decoy. …Along with preparing our story for when the curator and security guard eventually wake up."

"Indeed, we should." Optimus agreed before walking over to his trailer and pulling the fake Harvester out, which indeed looked exactly like the real one did to a T. Still, as he handed off the decoy to the humans for them to bring inside, Optimus couldn't help but think to himself; 'Could all of the Cybertronian artifacts on this world be as dangerous as the Harvester?'

As the minutes ticked by, Windblade came over and placed a hand on her commander's arm, breaking him out of his trance. "Optimus, the Lurkers and Agent Fowler have finished up. I think it's time we take our leave."

"Hm? Ah, good. Thank you, Windblade. I will be there in a moment." Prime craned his head up to the sky one final time, wondering exactly what his mentor had sent to this planet. "Alpha Trion… I hope you knew what you were doing sending these artifacts here.I know there's a reason for everything you do… but for the sake of humanity, I pray that the Decepticons don't find any more of them." He faced his Autobots and raised an arm, garnering their attention. "Autobots, our work is done here. So let's transform…" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! "And roll for home!"

…..

A/N: See? Told you things would be going a bit different than the original episode. Granted, a similar outcome happened, but as you can tell, the Autobots took advantage of the fact that they have more allies than just the kids who can help them out in situations like this. Thus, the first reappearance of the Lurkers, ladies and gents! Also, Fowler isn't on retreat in this version of events, so he's able to help formulate and execute a plan to help get the Harvester easier instead of having them just sneak in to get it.

Unfortunately, as you could've expected, the Cons DID show up and interrupt the plan, including Starscream who, in this version of events, wasted no time in wanting to demonstrate just what the Harvester was capable of. However, once again, he ended up underestimating the heroes, and ended up paying for it by losing an arm, courtesy of Edgeshot. But what's more, even when he got the Harvester back, he STILL didn't expect Bulkhead to be able to withstand its force and break it, so yeah, Starscream's own arrogant hubris lead to his downfall once again. Overall, a pretty successful mission!

That said, though, there do indeed seem to be more Cybertronian relics on Earth… courtesy, of course, by Alpha Trion. Optimus' own mentor seemed to have gotten wind that Earth would be pretty pivotal in the Autobot/Decepticon war thanks to that message they got before his passing, so it seems the Autobots have yet another new mission on this planet; to make sure that none of these relics fall into Decepticon hands. But just how many are there? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned to find out. Also… what OF that message that supposedly came from Earth regarding an asteroid? And who could've sent it? Guess we'll have to wait and find out!

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention Bulkhead's association and falling out with Cybertron's resident Master Builders, would I? No wonder Bulk hates Blastwave's guts so much. And of course, wouldn't be a proper homage without at LEAST mentioning Jasper, Nevada. See if you can find any MORE Easter Eggs I've hidden, hehe…

And now, The Preview! With the Energon Harvester destroyed, life keeps going on at the Autobot base with the students continuing their training. Sunday rolls around, and that means that the kids have the whole day off to spend at the base. However, the Autobots have also made a rather recent discovery, one that leaves them all a bit… cold. And more importantly; afraid. Next time; Scrapheap, Part 1! The Autobots never mentioned anything about PETS! Thanks for reading everybody and I'll catch you all next time! Stay safe out there, and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!