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…

14. The Lone Wrecker

A/N: And we're back, everybody! Welcome back to Transformers MHA and the start of the next 2-part story. Of course, looking through the comments last week, I can see that a lot of you got the guess right on who would be showing up in this chapter. I felt like this character would be a good substitution for Prime Wheeljack since I've already characterized him in his classic mad inventor persona, so with that said…

Our new Autobot's voice will be provided by one Troy Baker. Think Hawkeye from Avengers Assemble.

Alright, let's begin, shall we? This is…

Chapter 14: The Lone Wrecker

…..

It was Tuesday, and believe it or not, the team were still partially reeling from their experience on Sunday. The Scraplets had certainly left their marks on the base, in more ways than just one. Not only were there several bite marks strewn around the place, but the GroundBridge was still not quite up to snuff. Often times, whenever Red Alert would use it, it would spark and sputter without warning, which only served to aggravate the medic. Of course, he had promised Mei that he'd help her rebuild her Sky Spy, so to add all of the GroundBridge issues on top of that… well, it was more than a little annoying.

Thankfully, it wasn't all bad since Mina had passed her assignment, which the pink girl was VERY thankful for. "Hey, I might've gotten a B, but it's probably the highest freaking grade I've ever GOT!" the Acid user said with a proud smile.

Momo couldn't help but facepalm when she heard that. "Let's try to fix that shall we? BEFORE midterms and finals, if possible."

After they had gotten out of school, the students spent their whole afternoon getting back to what they were used to; training with the Autobots. Thankfully, Agent Fairborne had used her Quirk on Tenya after the whole ordeal with the Scraplets, so he was feeling back in tip-top shape. …And that meant he was back to his usual self. "Come now, everyone!" He exclaimed while moving his arms in his usual stiff, choppy fashion. "We have less than a week left until the Sports Festival and those Scraplets threw us off our game! We MUST get back on the ball A.S.A.P.!"

For most, that came pretty easy… but for Izuku, he was effectively stuck. It had been hours since their training for the afternoon started and at the moment, the inheritor of One for All was sitting on the couch inside the base with icepacks on his legs. 'Damn… I can't believe I STILL can't get a hang of this new way I've learned to use One for All.' He grimaced as he sat up, deeming his legs well enough to move. 'I've been able to get it so that my bones don't break by only using five percent, so why do I still feel like I can't control it at all? Sure, I can still make air blasts with my fingers—mental note; think of a name for that move—but I still end up sore after using it. I can't keep doing the same thing and expect to get a different result. What good of a hero would I be if I end up sore after fighting crime? Man, I just wish I had an epiphany or someth—'

JAB! "EEYOW!" Izuku jumped out of his seat and came back down hard, rubbing his arm before seeing Kyoka standing right next to him.

"There, feel better?" the purplette smiled.

"K-Kyoka!" Izuku scooted back in surprise. "H-How long have you been there?"

"Long enough to hear your muttering." Kyoka wiggled her jacks and winked at him. "You've been going for a solid thirty seconds, so I thought I'd snap you out of it."

Izuku sighed and his shoulders drooped, feeling embarrassed as Kyoka sat next to him. "I really need to keep my thoughts from coming out of my mouth. It's probably gonna come back to bite me someday."

Kyoka chuckled and leaned back on the sofa. "Well, maybe. But hey, at least you weren't talking about something TRULY embarrassing." She quirked a brow and smirked to the boy. "Then I'd never let you live it down." Izuku groaned and Kyoka gave out a laugh, patting his back in reassurance. "I'm kidding, I swear… mostly. But back on topic, still sounds like you're having a hard time with your Quirk?"

"Yeah… well, kinda." Izuku shrugged. "I've got it mostly down, but… it feels like I'm MISSING something to make it work completely. I've asked All Might and Optimus, but they aren't completely sure either."

The punk rocker pursed her lips, tapping them in thought before an idea popped into her head. "Hmm, well… maybe you just need a different perspective on things. An alternate point of view that could help ya along."

"Okay, where would I get that?"

Kyoka stood up and offered him her hand, which he took and steadily got to his feet. "Consider this; your Quirk is having an effect on your body, right? Well, who better to go to than a doctor when it COMES to your body?"

"Wait… you think Red Alert could help me?" Izuku asked, incredulous by the answer.

"Wouldn't hurt to give it a try." Kyoka encouraged as she led Izuku down a nearby hallway, going straight for Red Alert's med lab. "Besides, humans and Cybertronians are both humanoid in shape. How different could our bodies BE, really?"

Izuku couldn't help but deadpan at that. "N-Not to be rude, but you DO realize what you just said, right?"

The purplette abruptly stopped and her face scrunched up a bit, only now realizing what came out of her mouth. "…Okay, so I'll admit, I WAS kinda reaching there. But hey, ya never know unless you try, right?"

A chuckle came from Izuku's throat. 'How is it that she's THIS cute when she isn't even trying to be—AAAUGH! Brain, FOCUS! Now's not the time for that!' Shaking away that thought, even if he didn't want to, Izuku nodded and nervously pointed down the hall. "Y-Yeah, you're right. Hehe, let's head to Red's lab and see if he's got any advice."

"See? Now THERE'S the spirit." Kyoka gave her best friend a thumbs up.

And like that, the two were off toward Red Alert's lab, though when they got there… they came into contact with something they weren't expecting. Almost quite literally, as when the door opened for them… WOOOSH! "AAH!" The duo yelled in unison as something came flying by their heads, zooming around the room faster than they could even see. "W-What the heck?!" Izuku's eyes snapped up and saw an orangish-yellow blur, one that was making some sort of strange noise as it zipped around.

"SOMEONE STOP IT!" Mei's voice sounded through the whole room, alerting the two to her and Red's presence. They were actively chasing the thing around the room themselves, though their attempts were… "ACK!" CRASH! …Unsuccessful. Mei ended up tripping and falling over a tool of some sort, knocking over a container of spare parts. "Oops!"

"Mei, be careful." Red Alert warned as he swiped his hand for the flying object, only getting nothing but air. "There's delicate parts in this room and I don't want either you OR them damaged."

"Sorry, Red." Mei apologized before noticing Izuku and Kyoka's presence. "AH! Muscles, Jackie! Please, lend us a hand! The Sky Spy is out of control!"

Kyoka whipped her head up again, keeping her eyes on the Sky Spy. "Got it. Izuku, help me with this." The boy nodded and joined her as she kept her sights trained on the flying invention, her jacks raised in preparation and keeping an ear out on its sound. Finally, the Sky Spy changed course again and came rushing right back to the duo, which made Kyoka brace herself. "NOW! Hold on to me and don't let go!"

Izuku was taken aback by the order, but he had no time to question it. He grasped Kyoka by the shoulders firmly and held her in place as she extended her jacks, wrapping them around the Sky Spy. He then sent five percent of One for All coursing into his legs to keep him grounded while the device flew right past them, though Kyoka was quick to pull it back with her jacks.

"Ugh—urk!" Kyoka winced as the Sky Spy pulled on her earlobes, her hands moving up to pull back on the jacks with more force. "Oh no you don't, Zippy!" She tugged the jacks downward and sent the device to the floor. "Mei, turn it off, NOW!"

"Right!" Mei moved right up and flipped a switch on the back of the Sky Spy, deactivating it and its thrusters. The three humans all sighed in relief and Mei sent a thankful smile up to the duo. "Thanks you guys. We did NOT expect that to happen." She craned her head over to Red Alert, the tall bot peering down to all of them. "Well Red, I guess we need to do a bit more tinkering with the energon flow."

Red Alert nodded in agreement. "Right, it would seem that too much power is being sent to the propulsion systems." He picked up the device and scanned it with his visor, which gave him a reading just a moment later. "Perhaps diverting the power to the newer features could help substantiate that."

"W-Wait, you're using energon to power that now?" Izuku asked.

"That's right!" Mei gave a thumbs up. "Red Alert told me that using energon would be MUCH more efficient than just using the normal battery I had beforehand. Energon makes it so that the hover function doesn't drain the whole thing within half an hour, plus it'll be a sinch to refuel once it's gone dry."

"The only problem is getting it so that the energon is evenly distributed through the whole thing." Red Alert said as he opened up the device, showing the new tubing that was pumping the energon throughout it. "Too much energon in one area will cause it to overload and eventually short out the circuitry. In a small device such as this, the key is to make it so that the energon is powering an equal amount in each essential part. Make sense?"

Kyoka hummed to herself, interested in how the whole thing worked. "Yeah, actually it kinda does. Pretty neat, eh Green Bean? …Izuku?" She glanced to her left and her eyes widened at the sight of Izuku… just staring at the Sky Spy. His eyes were the size of peas and his lips were parted, almost as if he was in awe of the device while also lost in his own mind. "Uh, Izu—"

"THAT'S IT!" Izuku suddenly shouted, taking everyone off guard as he reached for Kyoka's arm. "C'mon, we have to tell Optimus and All Might!"

"Wait, tell Optimus and All Might wha—AAAAH!"

The purplette had no time to ask as Izuku pulled her back down the hall, trying to keep up with him while also no tripping over herself. "Thanks for all your help, guys!" Izuku called back while waving to intelligent duo. "I won't forget this!"

Mei and Red Alert were left flabbergasted at what they just saw, the former scratching her head. "Uh… you're welcome?"

…..

"Well, Optimus my friend, I feel like I must commend you!" All Might said, smiling up to the Autobot leader. The rest of the Autobot team, along with the other teens, were all gathered up in the control room after having finished their daily training, resting up after a few rather intense sessions. All Might himself had only recently arrived, the Symbol of Peace wanting to see the progress that was being made. "You and your Autobots have definitely given these children a great experience in training them. I mean, just look at 'em!" All Might waved his hand over to the six 1-A students… and they were all lying about, trying to recoup after their training. "You don't usually get to see THIS level of exhaustion out of first years! AHAHA!"

Mina narrowed her eyes at the number one hero, all while perched on Bulkhead's shoulder. "Gee, thanks teach."

"Yeah, I just LOVE when my bones feel like jelly." Denki muttered. "Didn't Midnight request that you guys take it easy with the training from now on?"

Arcee crossed her arms, thinking back to her rather… confrontational first meeting with the flirtatious U.A. teacher. "I will admit, she did make a good point." the intelligence officer admitted. "But I can assure you that we HAVE made the necessary calculations to ensure that we aren't pushing you over the edge like we were before."

"I suppose these past couple of days HAVE been a bit easier than last week." Momo agreed, though she was still holding her stomach as it gurgled in pain. "Ugh, but I still can't say that it's not difficult."

"That's the whole point, kiddo." Windblade grinned while gently patting Momo's back. "You guys wanted the best training we could give you, so we're doing just that." There was an audible groan throughout the room, making the City Speaker chuckle.

"Ah, don't be so discouraged, kids!" All Might said as he raised a finger. "If anything, you should count yourselves lucky! If you keep this type of training up, then the Training Camp this summer should be a breeze for you!" Just as he said that, everyone's attention went directly to him, the students in particular appearing to be quite stunned at the news. "…Er, did I say that out loud?"

"TRAINING CAMP?!" The students echoed one another as they all abruptly stood up at the news. "All Might, sir, what exactly do you mean by "Training Camp"?"

The hero's smile became a bit nervous as he coughed into his hand, though thankfully no blood came out of it. "Ahem, w-well, erm… ah, what the heck? I already let it slip." He pointed directly to the kids, an air of seriousness in his usual smile. "But don't go telling any of your other classmates about this, alright? Aizawa will have my head if he finds out about this." The students all nodded simultaneously, urging All Might that he had their word. "Alright, U.A.'s annual Summer Training Camp happens at the end of every spring semester. It takes place over one week and allows students to strengthen their Quirks exponentially in preparation for the trials ahead. And considering who runs the camp, let's just say that you're in for quite the test."

Eijiro was quick to smile widely at that. "Woah, that sounds awesome! So who DOES run the camp?"

"That, you'll have to find out on your own." All Might raised his hand. "I can't give away TOO much, you know. But rest assured, your bodies will be brought to the breaking point there."

"…So kinda like what we've been put through with Auto-Boot Camp?" Ochako guessed.

"Correct! Why do you think I said the camp could be a breeze for you?" All Might placed his hands on his hips and offered one final piece of advice. "But be warned, the heroes who run the camp may not be as forgiving as the Autobots, so make sure you strive to do your best. But before you worry about that, keep your goals set on the Sports Festival."

Optimus nodded in approval. "Sound advice, All Might. After all, the event is still less than a week away, so—"

"OPTIMUS!" Suddenly, Izuku's voice cut through the entire base, bringing everyone's attention to him as he and Kyoka ran in. Or rather, Izuku ran in while pulling Kyoka along side him, the girl only barely keeping up. "ALL MIGHT! I've figured it ou—AH!" CLUNK! Unfortunately, Izuku wasn't paying attention either, so he ended up tripping over a large pipe. He and Kyoka were sent stumbling to the ground, with Izuku letting out an "oof!" as Kyoka fell on his back.

The punk girl winced, groaning a bit as she directed her sights down to the boy below her. "Could've told you that'd happen, Celery Stick."

"S-Sorry." Izuku apologized.

Kyoka grinned and ruffled his hair. "No prob, just please, don't freak out on me like that again? Also, thanks for breaking my fall."

A light blush appeared on Izuku's cheeks, keeping his gaze down sheepishly. "N-No problem…"

"Young Midoriya! Young Jiro!" The duo's eyes were brought upward as All Might and Optimus came over to them, with the rest of the Autobots and their classmates moving closer as well. "What in the world is going on here?"

"Yeah, you came in here faster than a cyberbat out of a smelting pit." Sideswipe remarked.

"Oh, y-yeah, right." Izuku was helped up by Kyoka as she got off of his back, and the greenette was finally calm enough to articulate his thoughts. "All Might, Optimus, I think I might've finally figured out something related to how I'm using my Ouirk!"

Optimus' eyeridges rose up and All Might did a doubletake, their attention squarely on their student. "You don't say? Well, that is certainly fantastic news, Young Midoriya!"

"Indeed, it is. But what exactly did you figure out, Izuku?" Optimus inquired.

An excited smile overtook the young inheritor's features as he raised his hands. "The answer was so simple that it might as well have been staring me in the face this whole past week! You know the project that Hatsume's been working on all week?" He motioned his hands to his chest to emphasize his point. "Well that's ME! I'm the Sky Spy!"

And just like that, everyone around him seemed lost all at once. Optimus and All Might both tilted their heads in confusion as the other Autobots all wore bewildered expressions, glancing toward one another in an attempt to figure out what he meant. Even his classmates were befuddled by his strange words. "Zrkt—I don't get it." Bumblebee admitted.

"Uh… but you're not the Sky Spy." Bulkhead pointed out. "You're Izuku."

Eijiro approached Izuku with a skeptical eye. "Bro, you feeling okay? 'Cause you're kinda talkin' crazy on us here."

"Yeah, no offense, but I think your brain's been fried like the rest of us from training so hard." Denki added. "And I'm usually the only one who gets that."

But Izuku waved his hands in denial. "W-What? No, guys, I'm not crazy or delusional! I know I'm not really a machine, trust me. I'm just comparing myself to the Sky Spy."

"Oh… well then why didn't ya just say that in the first place?" Sunstreaker asked.

Bumblebee raised a finger straight into the air. "Zrkt—AH-HA! …I still don't get it."

Izuku chuckled and pat Bumblebee's foot in assurance. "It's okay, Bumblebee, I know it's a bit confusing. But trust me, I get it now." He raised his hands up and smiled, the pieces falling into place in his head. "I understand what I've been missing with my Quirk. Up until now, I've just been summoning my power when I need it, in the places I need it. Like flipping a switch, almost. But if I do that, my reaction time gets slower and my muscles still get hurt. Which means…"

The young man widened his stance, bending his knees and raising his fists as he started to concentrate. "I shouldn't be turning the switch off!" he continued as One for All began to flow up through his legs and through his entire body, from his torso to his arms and all the way up to his head. Veins of glowing red energy spread throughout his limbs and face, his power beginning to build up all throughout him. "I just have to leave the power on the whole time." his voice strained, still trying to concentrate. "Imagining the energy that was focused into one place… spread throughout my entire body! Like how energon flows through the Sky Spy!"

The students, Autobots and All Might all watched in stunned silence as they saw the red veins on Izuku's body suddenly disappear, replaced as sparks began to generate from his form. Before long, the sparks began full bolts of green energy, which began bouncing on and off Izuku's body. As this happened, however, Optimus couldn't help but smile in pride beneath his faceplate. 'Quite the unexpected way to visualize your power, young man, but no doubt, it's helped you in spades. Well done.'

"Woah! That's insane!" Mina exclaimed, her eyes watching the energy bounce around Izuku's body. "Where the heck is all this power coming from?!"

"It's incredible." Momo put a hand to her chin, fascinated by what she was seeing. "I don't think I've ever seen a Quirk be used like that in my life."

"Midoriya is just full of surprises…" Tenya grinned in approval.

Ochako's eyes brightened up and she pumped a fist into the air. "Haha! Alright! Way to go, Deku!"

Off to the side, Kyoka couldn't help but furrow her brow at that. Ever since Izuku had given Ochako permission to call him "Deku", it was hard getting used to someone using that name in a non-hurtful fashion. And even then, a part of her was still bugged that she wasn't the only one who had a nickname for him anymore. 'AGH! Get a hold of yourself, Kyoka!' She mentally slapped herself, realizing how stupid she was sounding. 'You're acting like a petty bitch! You don't have exclusive rights to nickname him!' Kyoka shook her head before giving a supportive smile to Izuku. "Yeah, not bad, Broccoli Boy. I think you've really put everything together here!"

Instead of responding, though, Izuku's voice continued to strain as he kept the power going, raising everyone's concern. "Uh… Izuku?" Jazz lowered his head down inquisitively. "Can ya even MOVE like that, man?"

"I-I… I think so." Izuku muttered. "Maybe."

"Well, I must say that this is all quite amazing, Young Midoriya!" All Might beamed, placing a hand on his student's shoulder. "If this new form of yours truly is one that has gotten a hold of your Quirk, then I think it's about time we do a little test run to see what it's capable of!" The Pro Hero's grin became eager as his eyes began to shimmer. "Tell me, you think you can move around enough to face me in a little spar?"

Needless to say, the 1-A students were caught completely by surprise by that statement, including Izuku. "M-M-Me and YOU in a one-on-one spar? Are you serious?!"

"Of course! After all, I've been wanting to test your strength in a proper fight at some point when you learned to get a handle of your Quirk." All Might widened his own stance and raised his fists. "Of course, I wouldn't go at you full-force. I doubt even at your current level, you'd be able to defeat me. But a simple spar would be no problem. So, what do you say?"

There was a slight apprehension forming in Izuku's stomach… but at the same time, his excitement levels were through the roof. Going against ALL MIGHT in a spar was something he could've only DREAMED about as a kid. A smile of his own came to Izuku's features and he nodded to his mentor. "Alright… b-bring it on—"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Before any sort of spar could start, a loud alarm suddenly sounded off from the main control console, bringing everyone's attention to it. "Ah jeez, what now?" Arcee asked as Jazz made his way over to the console and started typing in some commands. "I really hope it isn't Cons, because after the whole Scraplet mess, the last thing we need right now is to deal with them."

"Well, you'll be happy to know it ain't Cons, Arcee." Jazz noted before craning his head over to Optimus. "But Prime, ya might wanna look at this." Optimus moved closer, peering at the screen as Jazz explained. "We've picked up a signal on a restricted band. Seems like it's comin' from a starship inside this solar system."

"Can you get a fix on it, Jazz?" Optimus asked.

"Heh, does a techno-cat bite?" With a few more inputs, Jazz eventually managed to focus in on the signal… and when he read it on the screen, he could hardly believe his optics. It was an Autobot insignia… and it was headed towards Earth. "Woah, no way! That's an Autobot ID Beacon! Prime, someone's got yo' message already!"

Izuku's head perked up in intrigue. "W-Wait, message? What message?"

"The one I sent out into space the day after our debacle with Shatter and Dropkick." Optimus explained. "I sent it out on a secure, Autobot-only signal, in hopes that any other Autobot stragglers out in the galaxy would find it and come here to join us."

That got everyone's interest piqued. "Wait… so that means that not ALL of the Autobots were on the Ark?" Denki scratched his head. "Does that mean there's even MORE out there?"

Strongarm nodded down to him. "That's right. There were several Autobots that left Cybertron, but weren't part of the Ark's exploration team. They left to go fight Decepticons elsewhere in the galaxy, namely on Cybertronian colony planets." Her brow furrowed as she focused back on the screen. "However, there ARE cases where Decepticons send out false distress beacons. Optimus, sir, I advise using heavy caution."

"Of course, Strongarm." Optimus agreed before activating the open channel. "Unknown vessel, this is Autobot Outpost Omega-1. Identify yourself."

There was a bit of static before a voice rang out, one that was undoubtedly male and had a rather sardonic tone to it. "Sheesh, tell me how you really feel, huh? I've had warmer welcomes from Decepticon combat brigades."

Immediately, Bulkhead's optics widened, stunned at who it was. He knew that brand of sarcasm anywhere. "Springer?!" Bulkhead grinned as he lurched forward, almost causing Mina to fall off his shoulder as he closed in on the comm. "Haha! You ol' Con Crusher! What're you doing all the way out here?!"

"HA! Bulkhead?!" the bot, apparently named "Springer", replied. "By Trion's beard, is that really you? Hey, what's with all the security?"

"The rock we're on is crawlin' with Cons." Bulkhead explained. "How soon can ya get here and even the odds?"

"Sometime tomorrow, if I put metal to the pedal!"

Mina's eyes lit up, both excited and curious about Bulkhead's buddy. "Oh man, another bot's coming here? That's so cool!" Bulkhead gave her a nod, making his own excitement clear.

"Springer…" Optimus pondered, finding the name familiar. "I know of him by reputation only." He sent his gaze over to Bulkhead, hoping he could assure him that this was indeed his friend. "Can you verify his voice print?"

"He is one THOUSAND percent the real deal, Optimus." Bulkhead guaranteed.

Seeing the certainty in Bulkhead's optics, Optimus nodded to him and spoke back to Springer once more. "We will send landing coordinates, Springer. Safe journey."

"See ya soon, buddy!" Bulkhead added as Jazz went to sign off. "I'll make sure you get a proper welcome."

"Heh, I look forward to it. Springer, out." And with that, the commlink was shut, allowing everyone to process just what was happening.

Momo clapped her hands together happily. "Well, this is certainly exciting, isn't it? Another Autobot arriving on Earth."

"Indeed, I didn't think we'd see any more until we found the Ark." Tenya furthered.

Kyoka smirked up to Bulkhead, her arms crossed as she saw how thrilled he really was. "Well, don't leave us hangin', Bulk, who's the boyfriend?"

That got a BIG laugh out of the Autobot bruiser. "HAHA! Ah, Springs and I go WAY back. We used to be part of the same war unit; the WRECKERS!" He smashed his fists together for emphasis. "Which means the Cons are gonna wish he'd never found us."

And THAT made Mina all the more interested. "Ooh, the "Wreckers", huh? Sounds awesome! Tell me more!"

"Yeah, me too!" Eijiro jumped in, his toothy grin wide as he was eager to learn more. "Sounds like something that's right up my alley!"

"Hehe, I'd be happy to tell you guys all about it, but I think it's best to wait for tomorrow when Springs actually gets here." Bulkhead recommended. "Trust me, when he gets here, we'll be able to tell our wrecking stories in FULL detail, and then you'll get a good idea on what it means to be a Wrecker." His optics shifted over to the nearby clock on the wall, noting the time. "Besides, it's getting pretty late as is."

All Might hummed in agreement. "Hm, yes, you make a good point there, Bulkhead." He craned his head down to his pupil with an apologetic smile. "I'm truly sorry, Young Midoriya, but I believe our little spar will have to wait until tomorrow."

The Quirk inheritor couldn't help but feel his shoulders slump slightly. "Oh, y-yeah, that's fine. I understand." But still, he smiled as he remembered; "B-But hey, tomorrow we've got our Hero Training class, so maybe I'll get to use it then?"

"Hmhm, yes, we'll see." All Might raised a finger to his student in a show of support. "But remember; some things may be best left a secret when it comes to the Sports Festival."

Kyoka couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that. "Wait, seriously? Are you saying you don't want Izuku to take advantage of this new… whatever it is he's figured out until the festival? Seems kinda counterproductive if you ask me."

"Ah, but think about it, Young Jiro." All Might pointed out. "Any advantage you have would be kept close to the chest, wouldn't it? Plenty of other athletes do in with any other sport, afterall." He waved a hand to the rest of the 1-A students. "Besides, everyone likes to keep certain techniques to themselves, and you, Young Midoriya, have already shown a potential new advantage to seven of your classmates. Perhaps you may want to keep that in mind for the rest of the students in your class, eh?"

"All Might makes a good argument, Midoriya." Tenya concurred. "There are some techniques that not even I have shown to any of you… aside from Strongarm."

"Trust me, he's got some neat moves." Strongarm vouched.

Izuku pondered over the advice and found himself quickly seeing what his friends and mentor were talking about. "Y-Yeah, you guys make some good points. I'll be sure to keep this… whatever it is on the down-low in school, at least for now."

"Well, I might not fully agree with it, but I guess I can see what you're all saying." Kyoka acknowledged before a small yawn came out of her, the purplette stretching her arms up as the exhaustion of the day began to come over her. "Well, in any case, I think it's about time we all cleared out."

Ochako couldn't help but yawn a little herself. "Yeah, we've got a big day tomorrow anyway."

Bumblebee suddenly transformed and opened his doors up, inviting the kids to climb in. "Zrkt—Well don't just sit there and stare—zrkt—let's whisk you off to slumberland."

Before long, all of the students, including Mei, had gathered up and gotten into their respective rides to go home. Once Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee left and the other Autobots had dispersed, Optimus set his sights down to All Might inquisitively. "So, I feel I must ask… has he made significant progress in your eyes?"

"Far more than I thought he would make in this time." All Might replied, his smile bright and full of pride. "Admittedly, I took to the Quirk much faster than he had, but still, this is definitely a good pace. Now my only hope is that he'll be able to acclimate to this new ability well. I've never used One for All in such a way, so to see him do something completely unique with it… it's exciting to see." He craned his head up to Optimus one more time. "And I have you to thank for helping his progress along, my friend."

"Ah, think nothing of it." Optimus waved. "I simply imparted my own wisdom onto the boy. He discovered this new form on his own. And I look forward to seeing him utilize it in the future…" The Autobot commander shifted his attention back to the command console, seeing the Autobot symbol moving closer and closer to Earth. "Tomorrow will be quite the exhilarating day, that's for certain."

…..

Meanwhile, half way across the world, a certain Decepticon Air Commander was NOT all too happy. "Guh, I cannot FATHOM all of this, Swift." Starscream groaned as he skulked along the hallways of the Darksyde, with Swift walking much more casually behind him. The Decepticon officer was currently reading a data-pad, encroached in the intergalactic news that it had to offer. All the while, Starscream just kept rambling, mostly to himself. "We've been on this planet for over a DECACYCLE now and we've yet to really best those Autobot pests."

A chuckle was elicited from Swift's vocal processor. "Heh, you sure you're not just getting annoyed by the locals again?"

"No!" Starscream denied with a huff. "…Well, okay, maybe a little bit. How is it that we found the motherlode of energon in most polite nation on this planet?! These fleshbag "Canadians" with their well-mannered dispositions and strange accents make me ill!" He balled his hand into a fist, which shook violently. "Ooh, it just makes me want to annihilate those Autobots and their human pets even more!"

"Yeah, I'd say that they're more "allies" than "pets" at this point, considering one of them blasted you into a boulder by using nothing but a single air punch." Swift smirked, earning a grumble out of her commanding officer. "Oh, oh, or how about the one that managed to cut off your arm with his entire body? Now THAT was—"

"Silence!" Starscream swiped through the holographic datapad, making it dissipate and earning her full attention.

"Hey! I was reading that!"

Swift brought the datapad back up, earning an eye-roll from Starscream. "Oh please, what could you POSSIBLY be reading that's more important than this?"

The green femme raised an eyeridge and presented the pad to him. "Uh, try reading some news around the galaxy." Starscream narrowed his optics at the pad as she explained. "There are literally DOZENS of other Decepticon brigades that're having luck taking out Autobot outposts across the cosmos."

"Psh, please." Starscream scoffed. "As if I need to keep tabs on the progress that… er…" He searched through the article before pulling out two random names. "That Thundertron and Cannonball are doing! Those lowly space pirates are NOTHING compared to our high standards in the Decepticon ranks."

Swift pointed back to the article, deadpanning at her supposed leader. "Uh, the sacking and pillaging of an entire Autobot colony they pulled off with the Seacons is HARDLY something to just sneeze at. If they can do that, surely WE can take out just ten Autobots no problem."

"Of COURSE, we can!" Starscream asserted. "We just need the right opportunity to—" BWAM! BWAM! BWAM! A loud alarm suddenly started blaring through the entire ship, annoying Starscream even more. "Oh, what NOW?!"

"Hey, Screamer!" Unicronus' voice suddenly rang through the ship's speaker system. "You need to come to the bridge ASAP. We've picked somethin' up from deep space that you're gonna wanna hear."

With a disgruntled groan, Starscream made for the bridge with Swift hot on his trail, the duo arriving to see Unicronus standing near one of the consoles. "Well, general, we're here." Starscream said expectantly. "What have you to report?"

"I've intercepted a signal from this solar system, Autobot in origin." Unicronus explained, turning so his blood red visor bore into them. "It was on a restricted band, so I was able to home in on it."

"Ooh, intriguing." Starscream smirked. "Were you able to locate their base through this?"

The general shook his head. "Nope, that's still a no-go. The damned thing is too heavily shielded, even to find through something like this. But I HAVE been able to isolate the conversation that the Autobots had with the bot who sent the signal." A malicious grin came to Unicronus' face. "And trust me, you'll wanna hear it."

Unicronus pressed a button and let the conversation play; "Springer?! Haha! You ol' Con Crusher! What're you doing all the way out here?"

"HA! Bulkhead?! By Trion's beard, Is that really you? Hey, what's with all the security?"

"The rock we're on is crawlin' with Cons. How soon can ya get here and even the odds?"

"Sometime tomorrow, if I put metal to the pedal."

"I'll see you soon, buddy! I'll make sure you get a proper welcome."

Unicronus cut the conversation there, his optics meeting Starscream's knowingly. "I know you an' I don't usually meet on the same page, but… you thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?"

Starscream's lips curled into a nefarious grin as well, bringing his hands together as his fingertips drummed on one another. "Oh, I think I am. But we haven't much time." He turned to a dark corner of the room and called out into the shadows; "Makeshift, I know you're here. It's time to play our hand."

From the darkness, Makeshift's bright yellow optics opened and he stepped forward, bowing his head to the two commanding officers. "Hmhm, how may I be of service, Commander Starscream?"

The Seeker's smirk increased while Unicronus raised his arm, his hand glowing purple as he began sending tech specs into Makeshift's mind. Before long, the shadowy Con's optics changed from yellow to purple as his spikey body began to change shape all together… until it became a completely different form entirely. "I believe it's time we execute our OWN proper welcome..."

…..

Before the team knew it, it was Wednesday afternoon, and as far as they knew, Springer was still scheduled to arrive that very day. After school had come and gone, the teens wasted very little time in getting into Arcee and Bumblebee and making their way toward the Autobot base, with the yellow bot in particular relieved that there was no sign of Midnight anywhere. If the R-Rated heroine had spotted them, he probably would've been stuck for a while.

"You REALLY get nervous around Miss Midnight, don't ya, Bee?" Ochako noted, the brunette having hitched a ride in the Volkswagen for a change.

"Zrkt—Ya think?!" Bumblebee's holoform circled his finger next to his head while crossing his eyes. "Zrkt—That woman is—zrkt—CUCKOO! CUCKOO!"

However, Tenya simply waved his hand. "Oh, come now, Bee. Miss Midnight is simply… much more flirtatious than your average person."

With a roll of her eyes, Kyoka shook her head. "Gee, stellar observation there, Iida." She reached up and pat Bumblebee's shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry about it, Bee. Sure, it's a bit weird, but Midnight doesn't mean any harm by it. I mean, it's not like that something bad will happen if she keeps it up. You just gotta let her down easy… preferably without telling her you're a giant robot from outer space."

"Zrkt—Wow, thanks—zrtk—I feel SO much better." Bumblebee deadpanned, making everyone laugh as they approached the base.

After their arrival, about an hour went by without much happening. Apparently, Springer's ship was still a short ways away from the planet, so they were forced to pass the time by training and other activities, all while Bulkhead paced about the whole base. It was clear that the rotund Autobot was antsy, and his human partner was quick to call him out on it. "Bulk, I don't think I've EVER seen you this stoked!" Mina beamed.

"Oh, you'd better believe it, Mina." Bulkhead affirmed. "Trust me, you're gonna LOVE Springer. We were like brothers! And tonight…" He raised his fist into the air. "We're gonna PARTY!"

Her excitement levels now thouroughly through the roof, Mina clasped her hands together and bounced in place. "Haha, awesome! I can't wait!"

But, right at that moment, their next arrival made his appearance with a loud; THWOOM! At the front entrance, All Might stood tall with his signature grin and his hands on his hips. "I AM HERE to greet the newcomer!" he announced loud and proud.

"Eh, a bit early with that one, All Might." Sideswipe remarked, gesturing to the others who were just standing around. "Springer's not even here yet."

A sheepish look overtook All Might's features as he rubbed the back of his head, slightly embarrassed by the ordeal. "O-Oh, right… of course, hehe. Either way, apologies if anyone was waiting on me. I got held back by Principal Nezu to attend a short meeting."

"That's quite alright, All Might, you're actually right on time." Optimus assured, waving a hand toward the main console. It showed the Autobot signal closing in on planet Earth at ever-increasing speeds, which could only mean one thing… "Springer is nearly here, so I suggest that everyone be on standby for his arrival. Red Alert?"

The medic gave Optimus a salute as he pressed a few buttons on the GroundBridge terminal. "GroundBridge is cycling up—" ZZZZKT! "Gah!" Red Alert took a step back as some sparks spat out of the control module, all while letting out a frustrated grumble. "Urgh, blasted Scraplets. The equipment hasn't been the same since the infestation."

Next to him, Mei's lips turned up into a sneer. "Ugh! I HATE those little bugs! Even when they're gone, they STILL find ways to make me mad."

"So, lemme get this straight, Prime." Eijiro spoke up, garnering Optimus' attention. "We're having Springer land halfway across the world and then bridging him here?"

Optimus nodded down to him. "Yes, Eijiro, as a precautionary step. We can't risk revealing the location of our base, just in case the Decepticons are tracking Springer's ship."

With a small shrug, the spikey redhead placed his hands behind his head. "Hm, yeah, I guess that makes sense…" He trailed off as another topic came to mind. "Hey, Bulkhead? So what exactly IS this whole "Wrecker" business anyway?"

"Hey yeah, I haven't been able to stop thinking about that since last night!" Mina jumped in as well, grinning up to her partner. "C'mon, Bulk, quit holding out on us!"

"Hehe, okay, okay, I might as well give you the gist." Bulkhead relented as he finally sat down, taking a seat on the GroundBridge platform as the students all gathered up to hear what he had to say. "So, here's the basics of the Wreckers; we were some of the best of the best that Cybertron had to offer in terms of combat prowess and plain ol' grit. We took on the jobs that no ordinary Autobot was capable of doing, and we did 'em with a pretty rough an' tumble mindset."

"Oh my… sounds rather dangerous." Momo noticed.

Bulkhead sighed and leaned forward a bit. "You don't know the half of it. A lot of us weren't afraid to put our lives on the line to accomplish the kinda jobs we were saddled with, though." He became slightly crestfallen at that part. "Sure enough, I've lost plenty of friends over the years of being a Wrecker. Pyro, Guzzle, Ironfist, Leadfoot, and many more. It's actually part of the reason why I left the Wreckers to join Optimus' main crew… I was gettin' tired of seein' my friends die."

The students also became slightly downcast after hearing that. "Woah… can't imagine how hard that must've been for ya, Bulk." Denki empathized.

"Yeah… bein' a Wrecker can be exciting, but it's also a dangerous job." Bulkhead's saddened face became a smile as he stood up again. "But hey, at least I know now that some of my old pals may still be out there somewhere, so—"

BWAM! BWAM! BWAM! Right at that moment, the base's sensors began to go off as the team's attention was drawn toward the control console, as well as the screen. Much to their shock, several Decepticon signals had appeared directly behind Springer's, and they were closing in fast. "Bogies." Windblade clenched her fist. "And they're zeroing in right on Springer."

"CON SCUM!" Bulkhead belted out. "Come on, we gotta get moving!"

…..

Across the planet in the Sierra Nevada desert, said Decepticon bogies had managed to catch up with Springer's ship, the green and yellow spacecraft growing ever closer to the ground. The Cons open fired on the ship, which began bobbing and weaving out of the way… only for a stray shot to hit it in its rear. The ship went careening off course immediately, and nosedived straight toward the ground… where it exploded in a brilliant display. The Vehicons all transformed and landed, their weapons at the ready in case the Autobot inside survived. Things were still for a moment… before several energy blasts came firing out at them, even hitting one directly in the head and taking it off line.

From out of the twisted, burning wreckage stepped a tall Autobot with mostly lime green color scheme and a rather angular build, his barrel-chested physique giving him a dynamic look. Said chest was flat, and it angled off toward his midsection, while his shoulders were sloped near the front to look like wedges. These angles on his shoulders and abdomen were painted yellow, which was also true for the thrusters he had near the small of his back. The rest of his back was actually a darker green, same for the armor plating on his forearms and the "belt" he had on his waist. His lower legs below his knees meanwhile, were actually a blueish grey color, which was the same for the wheels that were on his legs and inside his shoulders. Also, his chest, legs, shoulders, and even his back were practically covered in paint chipping and battle damage as well, no doubt souvenirs from the battles he had been in.

His shoulders, however, also housed two oddly-shaped things clamped onto the tires as well. They appeared to be disks, or even pods of some sort, though what they were for wasn't exactly clear. The one on his left shoulder was indigo with white detailing in its center while the right one was red with black detailing, meaning they stood out from him as plain as day.

The bot's helm was actually a somewhat odd shape, with a duel crested silhouette with an additional single crest at the top of his head. It was mostly lime green aside from the air intakes near his jawline, which were dark green while the vents themselves were also yellow. The metal of his face was a pale green and he wore a cocky smirk.

"If you're tryin' to ruin my day…" Springer said with narrowed eyes, "you're gonna have to try harder." The Wrecker raised his plasma blaster and started shooting at the Decepticons again, though his enemies were quick to fire upon him as well. In a split second, he began running around his enemies, drawing their attention away from the wreckage before stopping to pump his legs. And then… SPRONG! With a leap that left the Vehicons astonished, Springer jumped right overhead and then landed right in the middle of them, where he started going hand-to-hand.

"GYAH! HAH!" With a swift punch and kick, he quickly sent two Vehicons packing, and in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, he grabbed one of the Con's arms and then chopped it off at the shoulder with his bare hands. He used it like a club to get the other ones away from him, and at that point, the Vehicons were fairly sure they had sprung oil leaks.

"Heh, you Cons have gone soft on me." Springer reached behind his shoulders and pulled out a pair of twin, dual-edged blades, closing in on the Vehicons to finish the job.

But, little did he know that there was a shadowy figure watching the whole thing… and he was ready to strike.

…..

"Come on, Red!" Bulkhead hastened, eager to get to the battle as he, Jazz and Windblade waited on the GroundBridge platform. "We're missing all the action!"

After making a few adjustments, Red Alert finally managed to get the GroundBridge open, giving the group a nod. "I'll get the sickbay ready."

"HA! Who for, the Cons?!" Bulkhead guffawed. "This is SPRINGER we're talkin' about!" With that, he and his compatriots ran through the vortex, emerging on the other side only to be greeted with the hot desert air. …Along with the smoke wafting up from the twisted, burning remains of Springer's ship. For a moment, Bulkhead feared the worst, but those fears were quickly quenched the moment he heard fighting going on.

Sure enough, not too far away, the big Autobot saw his best friend fighting off the last of the Vehicons, stabbing his twin swords through its gut with swift efficiency. Jazz gave an impressed whistle as he saw the Con fall to the ground. "Shew! Nice moves!"

"Hehe, I taught him that." Bulkhead chuckled.

Springer perked his head up and looked back, seeing the Autobots all gathered and waiting for him. His optics focused onto Bulkhead and sent him a knowing grin while sheathing his swords. "Ever think I might need a hand?"

"Ha, what? And spoil the show?" Bulkhead retorted.

Windblade placed a hand on her hip and pointed to Springer's left. "You missed one, hot shot." Without even sparing a glance, Springer lifted his left arm and brought his plasma blaster out in his right hand, literally shooting from the hip as the Vehicon got up… only to have a new hole through its chest a second later. Windblade blinked before grinning in amusement. "Heh, never mind then."

Springer came to a stop in front of them, shifting his optics from one bot to the other. "If this is all ya got, then the planet's in worse trouble than I thought." he remarked.

And it was at that point that Bulkhead stopped holding back. With a burst of speed, he went right up to Springer and scooped him up in a big bear hug. "HAHA! SPRINGS!" Jazz and Windblade couldn't help but smile at the sight, though it was obvious that Springer was feeling just a bit cramped.

"Haha! Watch the finish, ya ol' wrecking ball. I'm already scuffed up as is." Before long, the two green bots separated and bumped fists. "Still, it's good to see ya, Bulk. Been way too long. So, you gonna introduce me to your teamies?"

"Oh, right, of course." Bulkhead lead him over and extended a hand to his other friends. "Springs, this is Jazz. He's Prime's right-hand bot."

Jazz sent Springer a two-fingered salute. "What's good, man?"

Springer returned the gesture before Bulkhead went on; "And over there is Windblade, she's—"

"Woah, woah, hold on, I think I know this bot." Springer interrupted, stepping closer to Windblade with a knowing grin. "You're the famous City Speaker, ain't ya?"

"That'd be me, yes." Windblade nodded.

"Hah, incredible." Springer extended his hand. "You were the talk of Cybertron for quite a while. It's a true honor."

Windblade was pleasantly surprised, but she welcomed the handshake. "Oh, I see. Well, it's very nice to meet you as well. But hey, why don't we save formalities for back at base, huh? No telling when more Cons might show."

Bulkhead stepped up and gave Springer a hearty pat on the shoulder. "Yeah, Windblade's got a point. Besides, there's plenty of other people that I want ya to meet back at base."

Just then, the GroundBridge opened a few feet away, and Springer was quick to agree. "Heh, well lead the way then." With that, the four Autobots ran into the vortex, and within seconds, they were back at base. Springer's eyeridges rose up at the sight of the place, his optics scanning the environment around him in intrigue. "Huh, so this is the place you call home, huh? Doesn't seem like much…"

"Well, not in comparison to most Autobot strongholds." Bulkhead admitted. "But hey, at least it's cozier than some of the holes we had to hunker down in back in Con territory on Cybertron, am I right?"

"Heh, too true…" Springer trailed off the moment he heard a chorus of "oohs" and "ahs" coming from his flank, and he turned around to see not just more Autobots… but a bunch of organics as well. And they were all staring up at him. "Uh… I guess THIS is the rest of your team, eh, Bulk?"

The rotund Autobot came up and put an arm over his friend's shoulders. "You're darn right. Everyone, meet Springer. Springs, this is the crew!" One by one, Bulkhead introduced the younger set of Autobots, with all of them providing their own introductions as well before he finally got to the smaller creatures. "…And these guys are our human allies here on Earth."

"I-It's nice to meet you, Springer." Izuku said with a greeting smile. "My name is Izuku Midoriya." He raised a hand up to his classmates. "A-And these are my friends…" Again, one at a time, everyone got a chance to introduced themselves to Springer, before finally, only Mina was left.

"And Springs, I want to personally introduce you to my OTHER best buddy! Mina!" Bulkhead thrust his hand down to the pink girl, as if he was formally presenting her to his friend. "And believe me, she can Wreck with the best of us!"

Mina couldn't help but smile at that as she waved up to Springer. "Hiya!"

Springer knelt down and nodded to her. "A pleasure. So tell me…" He nudged his head over to his pal. "You keepin' Bulkhead outta trouble?"

"Heh… honestly, HE'S the one who's gotten ME out of trouble." Mina shrugged.

"Ah, so YOU'RE the troublemaker in this scenario." Springer smirked before eyeing Bulkhead again. "We're gonna get along just fine." However, at that moment, he heard a set of thunderous footsteps approaching from behind, and Springer craned his head up just in time to see the Autobot leader himself standing before him. "Optimus Prime… it's a privilege."

Beneath his faceplate, Optimus smiled and returned in kind. "Likewise, soldier. What have you to report from your long journey?"

"Been bouncin' from rock to rock." Springer said as he set his sights back to the Autobots. "Searchin' for signs of friend or foe. And now… I find both."

Prime nodded in understanding. "We are few, but we are strong. We have suffered heavy setbacks, but through them, we have grown." He extended a hand to Springer. "And we would relish welcoming a new member into our fold."

Springer stared at the hand before chuckling a bit. "I'd be honored." He shook Prime's hand… before then noticing the tall, muscular and blonde man standing next to Prime's foot. "Woah, hold up. Who's the beefy human?"

"Ah, a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Springer!" All Might waved. "I am All Might, the Symbol of Peace and Number One Hero in all of Japan." He raised his hand up to the Wrecker as well. "Please, allow me to formally welcome you to our planet. It's great to have you here."

"Ah, please, the pleasure's all mine." Springer assured as he gently shook All Might's hand. "Honestly, it feels great to just finally have a stable place to crash. And I'm lookin' forward to getting to know all of you."

"Then let's get this party STARTED!" Bulkhead exclaimed before slapping Springer across the shoulder again, the two bots laughing it up before they bumped chests.

"Oh joy…" Red Alert murmured.

Springer chuckled before stepping a short distance away from Bulkhead. "Hehe, well, a party definitely sounds awesome, but I think I can do ya one better, Bulk. Check out what I raided from a Con outpost." He reached under the armor plating of his chest and pulled out… something. From down on the ground, it looked like a small, glowing trinket, but within seconds, it expanded out into a large, energy cube that had several smaller cubes on each of its eight corners. Springer tossed it up and began spinning it on his finger, much to the astonishment of the bots. "Do I have your attention now?"

"HA! No way!" Sideswipe beamed. "It's Cube!"

"AHAHA! Springs, you've just made this party even BETTER!" Bulkhead shouted with pumped fists.

The humans were only left more baffled by that statement. "Well, yeah, we see it's a cube, but what exactly IS it?" Denki asked.

Sunstreaker waved down to them and shook his head. "No, no, it's LITERALLY called Cube! And it's only THE most popular sport on Cybertron!"

Judging by their expressions, the humans were surprised to say the least. "Woah, no fooling?" Kyoka questioned further. "I didn't think you guys HAD sports, honestly."

"Well, you never asked, now did ya?" Arcee winked, leading Kyoka to roll her eyes.

Ochako's eyes brightened up as she gazed curiously at the Cube. "Say… you don't think it's possible for HUMANS to play Cube?"

The Autobots eyed one another before Springer gave a shrug. "Well, I don't see why not. The Cube's lightweight enough to where you probably COULD lob it around, so I guess there's not much else to do but try."

A resounding cheer went through the base before Red Alert spoke up. "Ah, ah, before we get TOO ahead of ourselves here, I suggest you take that OUTSIDE, maybe far toward the beach." he advised as he typed in a few commands on the GroundBridge control panel. "Mei and I will be performing some maintenance on the GroundBridge for a while and I would appreciate it if it didn't get wrecked in the process."

"Of course, Red Alert. We will get out of your wiring post haste!" Tenya raised his hands and began motioning toward the front entrance. "You heard the bot, everyone! Let us proceed single file to the beach and see just what this "Cube" game is all about!"

Everyone proceeded toward the exit, though Ochako and Kyoka were quick to take notice of Izuku, All Might, Prime and Bee moving off in a separate direction. "Uh, hey Deku? Aren't you gonna join us?" Ochako asked.

"Ah, s-sorry guys." Izuku apologized, his hand sheepishly rubbing his neck. "I already dedicated myself to training my new ability with All Might, remember? I think I'm gonna be a while…"

"Oh, yeah that's right." Kyoka recalled before going over and nudging his arm. "Well, good luck, and I wanna see the end results once you're done, 'kay Green Bean?"

"Hm, right, will do." Izuku nodded one last time before going off with his mentors and his partner, leaving the others to head over toward the beach.

But, just before he himself walked out the door, Springer took note of the GroundBridge, scanning over the impressive machine with his optics carefully. "Hm, I gotta say, that's a rather impressive piece of machinery you've got there, doc." The Wrecker spoke up, earning him Red Alert's attention. "You build it yourself?"

The medic was quick to deny that, however. "Hah, no, I wish." Red began typing in more commands into the control panel, all while Mei handled some wiring nearby. "In reality, this was left here for us eons ago by past Autobots who visited this planet."

"Hm, I see." Springer noted. "So, if it needs maintenance… does that mean there's somethin' wrong with it?"

"Well, for the most part, it works. But unfortunately, it was recently damaged and I haven't liked the way it's been sounding as of late." Red Alert gestured to the GroundBridge arch as he continued inputting commands. "I've put it in shut down for now while we work on it."

Springer raised an eyeridge. "…And if you need to use it?"

Red quickly shook his head. "Not possible right now. I can't disrupt the process without causing irreparable damage. It'll take a few hours before we're able to use it again… give or take."

"Hm, I see." Springer nodded before starting back toward the beach, where no doubt everyone was waiting for him. "Well, best of luck with your repairs, doc!" As he stepped away, however, "Springer" wore an insidious smirk. Things were going VERY well.

…..

"Haha! See, what'd I tell ya, Starscream?" Swift laughed as she followed her commanding officer down the darkened hallway, the two going toward the prison cells. Said cells weren't used all that often, but now, they had a very special guest occupying one of them, and Swift was VERY pleased with that news. "I knew you'd be able to execute a good plan when the right opportunity came up… ya know, eventually."

"Save me the sarcasm, Swift." Starscream waved off. "The plan at the moment is only a partial success. Makeshift HAS successfully infiltrated the Autobot ranks, but we lost his signal the moment he stepped through their GroundBridge." He clenched his fist in frustration. "The Autobot base is no doubt heavily shielded to prevent us from locating it. But, no matter." The duo approached a certain prison cell being guarded by two Vehicons, which they stopped in front of briefly as the doors slowly opened. "I have complete faith in Makeshift."

As the doors opened, their prisoner was on display for them to see. Hanging by powerful, heavy shackles from the ceiling… was Springer. The real Springer. The Wrecker's head hung low as a groan escaped his vocal processor, no doubt only just coming back online. Swift smirked as she and Starscream approached him. "Hehe, yep. Our inside bot is already in enemy territory. And he's wearing your look, Mr. War Hero."

"…Tell Megatron that he's fragged in the head if he thinks Bulkhead won't sniff out an imposter." Springer shot back.

Starscream gave a sinister chuckle as he moved in toward Springer. "Oh, I would, but he isn't here right now." He smiled nefariously. "If you couldn't tell, I lead this sect of Decepticons. Megatron isn't even on Earth."

Springer threw his head back and laughed. "Ha! Well that explains a lot. 'Specially the stupid plan."

Immediately, Starscream glowered at the Wrecker before raising his Null Ray up at his face. "Why you INSOLENT little—"

"Woah, woah, hold up there, boss." Swift reached up and yanked his arm down, shaking her head at him. "Could we maybe NOT fly off the handle on our prisoners? He could still be useful."

Starscream grit his metal teeth, wanting so badly to take out his anger on the Autobot… but in the end, he saw Swift's point. "…Yes, you are correct, Swift." The air commander leaned in, meeting Springer optic-to-optic. "And worry not, Makeshift is good at keeping up appearances. He may only fool your friends long enough to open their GroundBridge from within, so that we may finally learn the location of the Autobot base." Starscream waved his hand up and pointed to the ceiling. "And from there, my strike team shall be sent in… to stain its floors with the spilt energon of Optimus Prime."

Springer glared at the Seeker for a few more seconds before smiling knowingly. "Hm, well, good luck with that." The genuine tone he used got him the exact reaction he was looking for; Starscream trembling with rage and aggravation.

"…Oh, you're good, Autobot." Starscream and Swift turned around to leave, but not before whispering to the Vehicon gaurds; "Keep a close eye on him. He's a wrecker, which means he's very crafty."

With that, the massive doors closed, leaving Springer locked up tight in his prison cell once again. He sighed heavily and shook his head. "Jumped, shackled and chained… in other words, so far, so good." In reality, Springer had been in several situations like this before, so he knew how to get out of them pretty well, too. This time would be no different… and it also helped that he had a bit of extra assistance in this situation as well. He glanced toward the crimson and indigo disk-shaped pods on his shoulders, his lips moving up into a grin. "That Decepti-creep may have my face… but there's a couple things that Shifters like him just can't replicate. Hope you're ready… because we're gettin' outta this dump."

…..

A/N: Hmm… quite interesting. Just what does Springer have up his sleeve to get out of this situation? And just what ARE those pod things he's smiling at? Well, I have a feeling that a some of you will already have a good idea, but of course, you'll have to wait until next week to find out the answer.

With that said, if you couldn't tell, Springer is based pretty heavily on his War for Cybertron: Siege Voyager Class figure, which, controversial take here, I actually kinda like better than the Thrilling 30 on. I know that the IDW design of Springer is very VERY popular, and even to this day, the Thrilling 30 toy is still pretty awesome. It's just that I think that Siege pulled off probably the best looking G1 styled Springer ever and I REALLY wanted to use his design. Of course, this is gonna make it a bit difficult in terms of disguise, but worry not! I have a plan for that!

But that's not ALL that happened in this chapter, now was it? For one… indeed, Izuku's epiphany about One for All finally happened, and a lot earlier than in the original story. Now instead of a microwave… he's visualized himself as Mei's Sky Spy. He just seems to find the weirdest analogies to make, doesn't he? Now he's just gotta get some practice in with Full Cowling and he'll be set for the Sports Festival! Let's see how things go there THIS time. And, in addition, Bulkhead's given us some insight on the Wreckers and their rather epic yet tragic history. But will this situation be any different? Or will the imposter manage to slip up?

And now, the Preview! Springer starts setting his plan into motion… but not before a surprise visit from a certain Decepticon general. Meanwhile, things back at base seem to be going smoothly… though Bulkhead starts to take notice that things don't seem right with his "old buddy". What'll be the straw that breaks THAT camel's back? Well, stay tuned to find out because… wait, how does Unicronus KNOW Springer?! Thanks for reading everyone and I'll see you all next time! Stay safe out there, and remember…

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!