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…

17. Team Bonding

A/N: How's it going, everyone? Another Friday afternoon, another update, and lemme tell ya, this chapter has quite a bit going for it. Before we get started though, I just wanted to address something that's been brought up in the comments quite a bit, namely how things seem to be leaning more toward the Transformers side of this crossover. Rest assured, I've seen what you've all been saying and I'm listening loud and clear; the MHA characters WILL be seeing more action as the story goes on. That said, I do kind of have a reason why I'm focusing more on the Transformers side, mainly because I wanted to get some time in handling this whole cast of characters before we start digging into some MHA storylines like the Sports Festival and what not. Believe me, the MHA side of things WILL pick up as the story progresses. Heck, this next string of chapters will be having the teens pick up a more active role all together, so how about we get right into things, shall we? This is…

Chapter 17: Team Bonding

…..

"No… nuh-uh… oh, PIT no."

Bulkhead sighed in exhaustion as he swiped through the images on screen. On the one hand, having his best buddy on Earth was FANTASTIC. Sure, when he arrived two days ago, things hadn't gotten off to a good start with that Decepticon impersonator, but since then, it's been nothing but an awesome time all around. He and Springer had managed to catch up properly, and the latter had been more than willing to tell stories of his past exploits to the kids. Made up for the whole incident in spades. Heck, even his Mini-Cons were getting on great… aside from the occasional gas leak from Sawback.

But then came the snag; finding an appropriate vehicle mode FOR Springer. Or rather, vehicle modes. That would be an unprecedented chore considering he wouldn't just need two vehicle modes, but both had to be able to transform into each other, and they had to be compatible with HIS body type. And that's where they hit a roadblock; NOTHING FIT!

"Ugh, I can't believe there aren't ANY cars on this planet that could feasibly transform into copters!" Springer threw his hands up in defeat, turning away from the monitor. "We've been at this for HOURS and we STILL haven't found anything that can fit my body type."

"I know." Bulkhead rolled his optics. "Makes me wonder how Shatter and Dropkick got that lucky with THEIR vehicle modes."

"Having trouble, boys?" The two Wreckers perked their heads up to see Windblade and Jazz moving over to them, the former raising an eyeridge with her hands on her hip. "Still not finding anything?"

Springer groaned and shook his head. "It's pointless. No ground vehicle on this planet FITS me. Found plenty of choppers, but the kinda cars that humans drive around in are… puny."

Jazz folded his arms and chuckled at his expense. "Heh, well, maybe you're just not lookin' in the right place? Have ya tried military hardware?"

"I thought we were supposed to be robots in disguise." Springer emphasized. "Doesn't scanning a military vehicle… kinda defeat that purpose?"

Just then, from the opposite side of the room, Optimus entered, overhearing the conversation. "Normally, I would agree, Springer. It is important to keep our cover among humans, and military vehicles are very conspicuous. However, I will admit that in your case, an armored car and attack helicopter are both not easy to hide." He raised his hand to the monitor. "If you cannot find anything pedestrian to scan, then feel free to delve into military vehicles."

"Hm, well thanks, commander." Springer nodded. "I appreciate ya givin' me the okay on that one. …Still, even with that, I bet findin' a good alt mode for me won't be a walk in the park."

Bulkhead came up and gave him a pat on the back. "Ah, don't worry, Springer! We'll find a disguise for ya. Promise." HONK-HONK! The bots all perked their heads up at the sound of incoming horns, directing their attention to the main entrance to see Bumblebee, Arcee and Strongarm all come rolling in. The three Autobots pulled to a halt and all at once, their doors opened and the students came piling out. "Ah, there you guys are! I was wonderin' when you'd all get here."

"Three-thirty every day, Bulk!" Mina winked as their rides transformed into robot mode behind them. "You really should know the times by now." She craned her head up and gave a wave to Springer. "Heya there, Springs! How's it goin'?"

Springer grinned and saluted back to her. "Eh, I'm doin' alright, kid. How was your day at Local Educational Facility?"

The 1-A students all stared at him incredulously at that wording. "…Uh, Springer?" Izuku asked. "It's called a "school", just so you—"

"Oh, I know. I just wanted to keep you all on your toes. Haha!" The students all either groaned or rolled their eyes at Springer's joke, though the Wrecker made sure to apologize for it. "Heh, I know, I know, bit of a dumb joke. But hey, on a planet like this, it's important to stay entertained."

Kyoka smirked and placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, so we're a form of amusement to you, now? Bulkhead! Your friend's picking on us!"

The group of Autobots, aside from Optimus, all laughed at her comeback, especially Bulkhead. "BAHAH! Oh man, see, Springs? I KNEW you'd fit like a glove around here."

Denki took a quick glance around the room, seeing that everyone was here aside from his and Eijiro's own buddies. "So, uh… I'm guessing Sides and Sunny are out on patrol, huh?"

"Indeed, Denki." Optimus nodded. "They should be back soon, though, so worry not."

Eijiro put his hands behind his head. "Man, those guys always get to go do cool stuff without us. Kinda wish WE could get in on that, too…" But he ultimately shrugged it off. "Ah well, always next time… so, what've you guys been up to? Anything interesting?"

"Psh, yeah, sure." Springer rolled his optics, making his sarcasm clear. "If you call scrolling through your internet to find at least two fitting vehicle modes "interesting"."

"Hm, I see." Tenya placed a hand to his chin in thought. "So, you're having trouble finding a disguise for yourself. I suppose that COULD be fairly difficult, especially with all of the different kinds of vehicles there are on Earth."

Ochako offered a smile up to the tall, green bot. "Don't worry Springer, I'm sure you'll find an Earth vehicle that'll fit ya eventually. We've got all SORTS of different shaped cars here."

"Yeah, but here's the thing; that's DOUBLY hard in my case." Springer crossed his arms and leaned up on a nearby wall. "With my body type, I not only have to find a good ground-based vehicle, but a reliable flight mode that both me AND that other vehicle can fit into."

That got several of the teens confused, though Izuku, Kyoka, Momo and Mei had at least some idea of what he was talking about. In particular, Mei's eyes widened when she realized what Springer meant. "Wait a second… Springer, does that mean you're a Trip—"

"RUFF-RUFF!"

"GYAH!" SLAM! Before she could finish, however, Mei was suddenly tackled to the ground out of nowhere by Sawback, the wolf Mini-Con having pounced onto her from behind. She landed flat on her back and grunted as the mechanical canine's weight was felt on her shoulders, and she was met with his muzzle in her face as he panted and happily wagged his tail. Within seconds, he started licking her, which she had to curb by lightly pushing him off with some soft pets. "Hahahaha! Aw, Sawback, good to see you too, boy."

"AH! Sawback!" Mina beamed happily, causing the wolf to snap his head up and immediately bound over to her. Within seconds, she received the same treatment as Mei did. "AHAHAHA! Oh, such a good boy! Did you miss us? Oh, I bet you did!"

One by one, the Mini-Con quickly went around and gave everyone else a similar greeting, with some of them managing to stay on their feet as he slobbered their faces. "Ugh, as much as I love that dog…" Kyoka muttered as she wiped herself with a rag, "he's a bit TOO enthusiastic when we come here from school."

"Ah, I think he's awesome!" Denki shrugged. "He reminds me of my dog that I've got back home…" He glanced down at Sawback as he sniffed at his shoes. "…Which I think he might smell."

"And he's so adorable!" Momo reached down and gave the metal wolf scratches behind his ears, making him kick his rear leg against the floor. "Are you ready for some playtime, boy? Are you? Oh, I bet you are!" She craned her head up to Springer curiously. "By the way, where's Fangblade? She hiding again?"

Springer pointed up toward a window. "Nah, she's right over there." The teens set their sights on the window and saw the Smilodon Mini-Con resting on the sill, her front paws crossed while one of her rear legs hung down from it. Her optics were closed and she was purring contently. "She's basically been there all day, really. She's a bit more of a night prowler."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Izuku nodded. "Cats really like to hunt mostly at night, after all." He set a determined smile over to Optimus and balled a determined fist. "Speaking of which, Optimus, I've been working super hard on working on my new "Full Cowling" ability, day and night. I think I might be ready for any new challenges you have to throw at me."

Beneath his faceplate, Optimus smiled at the resolute young man, recognizing his readiness. "That is good to hear, Izuku. Perhaps today may be a good time for us to—" WOAM! WOAM! WOAM! WOAM! Everyone was on high alert immediately as the base's alarms went off, with even Fangblade waking up from her little nap. "…Or perhaps it may have to wait."

"What's goin' on?" Springer asked, his hand going for his swords. "We under attack?"

"Negative!" Red Alert assured, poking his head into the room. "It's just the proximity alarm. Agent Fowler is here."

Springer raised an eyeridge. "Agent who?"

"He's our liaison on this planet." Arcee explained. "And serves as our connection with Sector Seven, who've helped us keep our secret on this planet since we got here."

"Hm, so the feds are here, huh? Well, guess this is as good a time as any to get MORE introductions outta the way. Sawback, Fangblade." The two Mini-Cons growled affirmably and transformed into their disk-shaped pod forms before zooming up and plugging into Springer's shoulders, the Wrecker immediately making his way toward the door. "Well, what're we waiting for? Don't wanna keep this Fowler guy waiting."

The other Autobots watched him leave, all of them wearing incredulous looks. "Bulkhead, don't take this the wrong way, but…" Strongarm started warily, "but Springer seems a bit… erm…"

"Zrkt—Impatient." Bumblebee finished. "Zrkt—Like, totally antsy."

Bulkhead rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish laugh. "Hehe… yeah, Springs doesn't exactly do patient all that well." He gave a shrug up to Optimus. "He's the type to go all in and get things done… especially when it comes to meetings with higher-ups."

Prime nodded back down to him. "It's understandable, Bulkhead. I am well aware that the Wreckers haven't exactly had a good track record of being cautious."

"That I will not deny." Bulkhead agreed. "Now c'mon, let's get after him before he gets even MORE restless." The group of Autobots and humans, minus Red Alert, went outside, and were immediately met with the sight of a Sector Seven helicopter coming in for a landing… and Springer wore a somewhat annoyed expression. "Uh… Springs? You okay, bud?"

"Oh yeah, fine." Springer assured as he continued staring at the somewhat small chopper. "Totally not reminded of the fact that NOTHING on this planet seems to fit me." Bulkhead sighed and shook his head in defeat. There was just NO pleasing him, was there?

The helicopter came to a landing and its side doors slid open, allowing not just Agent Fowler to come out… but as it happened, Agents Burns and Faireborne were with him as well. The kids all smiled at the sight of the latter in particular. "Merissa, hey!" Kyoka shouted over the propellers as they slowed. "How's it been?!"

"Hi guys!" Merissa returned as the three agents came up. "Things have been pretty good, actually!"

"Wow, we haven't seen you guys in a while, huh?" Mei mentioned. "It's been what, over a week?"

Burns gave her a nod of his own. "Round about. That's why we decided to tag along. Figured we owed you a visit…" He craned his head up to Springer with a small grin. "Plus, ya know, we wanted to meet the newcomer, too." The blonde man sent a salute up to the Wrecker and greeted him; "Welcome to Earth, space traveler."

"Yes, welcome." Fowler hailed as well, all while going up to Springer and extending his hand. "Name's Special Agent William Fowler, and these're my associates."

"Jacob Burns."

"And Merissa Fairborne." The brunette bowed her head slightly. "We hope you've been enjoying your time on Earth so far."

Springer shifted his optics between the trio of agents before reaching down with his index finger to shake Fowler's hand. "Yeah, uh, it's been… interesting, to say the least." He bowed his head back to them as well. "It's a pleasure."

Fowler raised a brow up to him. "Hm, right back at ya. And trust me, we've already heard about how "interesting" your arrival was from Prime." He saw Springer sour somewhat after that. "Trust me, I get it. I've had to deal with a few criminal shapeshifters myself back in my day, and yeah, it's not fun."

The green bot was slightly confused, but only for a second. "Ah, yeah, right. You humans have powers too. I have to keep reminding myself about that."

Fowler sent him an eyeroll and a small chuckle. "Heh, well, MOST people have powers, yes. Or "Quirks" as we call 'em most of the time." He placed a hand over his chest to emphasize his point. "But around twenty percent of the human population actually DON'T have Quirks, and I happen to be one of 'em."

Springer's metal brows rose up in intrigue. "Hm, well, that's news to me. Man, I should probably study up more on how this planet works."

"Ah, don't sweat it." Merissa waved off. "You're new here, you'll get used to it. So, I'm guessing that you came here by yourself, Springer?"

"Well… not exactly." Springer flexed his shoulders forward and called for his partners. "Alright guys, show 'em your stuff." And just like that, the indigo and crimson disks popped off again and started flying around the whole yard, spinning around rapidly with their saw blades deployed. The agents gave a startled gasp as the disks went sailing over their heads before coming back around toward the ground… and before their eyes, the discs transformed into a blue robotic wolf and red sabertoothed cat.

With their jaws slack and eyes wide, the agents could only stare at the two robot animals, baffled by what they were seeing. Momo offered them a bright smile and asked; "Surprised? Don't lie, you definitely are."

"Aren't they so CUTE?!" Mina exclaimed.

Neither Fowler, Merissa or Burns responded immediately, their minds still trying to comprehend exactly what was in front of them. They were… tiny Transformers… that were disks… that became robotic animals. "D-D…Dog?" Burns muttered.

"And CAT?!" Merissa furthered.

"What in the name of George Washington's TEETH are these things?!" Fowler exclaimed. "It's one thing to come to terms with the whole "humanoid robots transforming into vehicles" thing, but… household PETS transforming from… Beyblades?!"

"The heck is a "Beyblade"?" Strongarm whispered.

Arcee could only shake her head. "I have no idea."

Tenya cleared his throat and he explained. "Well, Agent Fowler, for one thing, these are no mere domestic cat or dog at all." He placed a hand on Sawback's head, making the wolf bot perk up a bit. "Sawback here is a robotic wolf…" he then gestured over to the sabertoothed cat, hoping that she would snap at him. "While Fangblade is a Smilodon… or in layman's terms, a "Sabertoothed Tiger"."

Springer knelt down and pet both of his partners on their backs. "And they're my Mini-Cons. These little guys live on Cybertron's moons, and at times, they're known to grow attached to us larger bots… figuratively AND literally."

"Oh… well that's interesting!" Merissa brightened up as she approached Fangblade, reaching her hand out to her. "Hi there, pretty lady…"

"Wait, Merissa, DON'T—"

"MYAAARRRR!"

But Kyoka's warning came too late as Fangblade mewled and snapped at her, making Merissa scream and pull her hand back. Burns was quick to put his body in front of her for an added layer of protection. "Woah, woah!" he glowered at the large cat, who glared right back at him. "Bad, BAD kitty!"

Momo sighed and went up to Merissa, who was close to hyperventilating as she held her hand close to her chest. "Sorry, Merissa. Fangblade isn't exactly… the friendliest of Mini-Cons. She's been with us for two days and none of us have been able to lay a finger on her without her lashing out." She gently grabbed Merissa by the shoulders and lead her over to Sawback, who was sitting dutifully with his tongue lolling out of his mouth while he panted. "Now, Sawback is a completely different story. He's a VERY good boy, aren't you?"

"RUFF-RUFF!" Sawback barked as his tail started wagging.

"Well… alright." Merissa hesitantly reached her hand out to Sawback and settled it muzzle… and thankfully nothing happened. A sigh of relief escaped Merissa's throat and she slowly started running her hand back and forth against the wolf's face. "Hah, thank goodness. Good to see that at least ONE of them is well be—HAVED!" SLAM! And within seconds, Sawback had reared up and tackled Merissa to the ground, licking her just as he had done with everyone else just a few minutes prior. "Agh! Oh! Haha! S-Stop! No, please! HAHAHA! I-I'm ticklish! AHAHA!"

Springer couldn't help but grin a bit at the sight. "Yeah, that's pretty much his usual greeting. You get used to the slobber… eventually."

"Better getting slobbered on than bitten, right?" Jacob said as he eyed Fangblade, who curled up on the ground while still keeping her eyes on him. The agent made an 'I got my eye on you' motion with his hands, hoping that his warning came across to the robot animal. "So, Springer, how're you enjoying Earth so far? Seen some sights around Japan, I'm guessing?"

The Wrecker just rolled his optics again. "Psh, if ya count the wide-open ocean, the local woods and THIS place, then yeah, I've seen some sights." He folded his arms and leaned up against a nearby tree. "Haven't been able to find any vehicle modes that fit me or work well with my transformation scheme. Your planet's vehicles really don't suit a Triple Changer like me."

"Ah-HA!" Mei exclaimed. "I KNEW it!"

"Woah, that's actually pretty sweet!" Kyoka grinned. "Finally, a Triple Changer that's NOT trying to kill us."

Izuku couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Hehe, yeah… kinda shocking that all of that happened almost two weeks ago now. Time sure does fly."

And all of THAT got the student's attention VERY quick. "Wait, back that up a bit." Eijiro jumped in. "Did you say… "Triple Changer"?"

"Does… does that mean you have MORE than just two modes?" Denki questioned further.

"Heh, it sure does." Bulkhead affirmed, going over to Springer to give him a pat on the shoulder. "Yep, ol' Springs here doesn't just have ONE vehicle mode, he's got two; one land, one air."

This made the students all virtually stunned, aside from, of course, Izuku, Kyoka, Mei and Momo. The Sector Seven agents were also surprised, but a bit less so since they too had seen something like that first hand. "Wait… you mean like how Shatter and Dropkick were?" Fowler guessed. "You're tellin' me that you're able to do that too, hot shot?"

Springer gave him a single nod. "Pretty much."

Mina's jaw was on the ground by that point. "WHAT?!" She snapped around to the agents and her friends. "You mean you guys KNEW about this awesome thing before?!" And just like that, Mina whirled around toward the Wreckers as well. "And you guys didn't even BOTHER to mention it until now either?! WHY NOT?! That's probably THE most awesome thing ever!"

The two bots and the humans eyed one another before all giving the same answer; "You didn't ask." Mina facepalmed at that.

Ochako placed a finger to her lips, mulling over the whole thing. "Wow, two alt modes, one robot…" the brunette mused. "Wonder how that's able to work?"

"I believe I can shed some light on that." Optimus stepped up to provide the answer. "Triple Changers aren't exactly your typical Cybertronians. They are very rare, and in some cases, can be quite unstable. Many triple changers who emerge from Cybertron have some oddity to them, whether that be a special ability, their size differing compared to normal Cybertronians… or their sanity being fractured due to the contrasting nature of their alternate modes." The Prime crossed his hands over his chest and moved his head down. "And many wonder why most Triple Changers are Decepticons."

"Well, I'm now DEMANDING that we see this triple changing in action!" Mina stated, marching up to Springer to make sure he knew she wasn't fooling around. "C'mon, Springs! Let's see what you've got!"

Springer glanced back and forth between every human there… and they were all staring at him expectantly, many of them with intrigued smiles. With a small chuckle and a shrug, he resigned to the girl's demands. "Eh, sure. What the heck?"

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk!

With a small leap, Springer started to transform, with his head tucking into his chest panel as it came up and over his collar piece. His arms and shoulders rotated and folded into one another to make the front fenders of his vehicle mode before compressing against his chest, which formed the hood and grill. His midsection shifted inward as his legs rotated around, folding back to form the rear of his vehicle mode as a pair of small tailfins folded out from either side. The dark green panel on his back shifted down, revealing a small, blue cockpit. With everything now in place, Springer landed on the ground in his Cybertronian armored car vehicle mode, his engine revving up nice and loud. "So, pretty cool right?"

All at once, everyone became awestruck at the sight. "Woah! So THIS is what a Cybertronian vehicle is like?" Eijiro beamed.

"Awesome!" Ochako smiled as well, taking note of how the front of the vehicle was much wider than the rear, though it still appeared quite sleek despite its armored look. "It's so different from anything I've ever seen…"

"Yeah, and it's REALLY cool!" Mina nodded. "So, how's this supposed to turn into something that flies?"

Springer backed up a bit to give him some more room to do his thing. "Alright… don't blink!"

Tschzz-tschzz-whrr-tschzz-chk!

All at once, nearly every part of Springer's vehicle mode began shifting and moving, particularly the rear and side sections. The back of the car split, flipped and rotated all of its parts until they became what appeared to be the tail of a helicopter, with the rear fins and wheels forming the tail's rotor. The fenders meanwhile shifted back so that the sloped front ends were BEHIND the grill of the vehicle instead of in front of it, and a pair of stabilizer wings folded out from the sides as well. On top of these stabilizers, Springer's weapons folded out as gun emplacements… and even more surprising, his swords actually came out from the top of his alt mode to form the propeller blades. Within seconds, the Cybertronian armored car became a Cybertronian attack helicopter, which took to the air immediately upon completing his transformation.

"Well, how d'ya like THAT, Mina?!" Springer strafed around the group, seeing their jaws slack once again. "Pretty sweet or what?"

Mina's hands flew up to her head in disbelief. "Oh. My. GOD! That is SO FREAKING AWESOME!"

"Dude, it's freaking badass is what it is!" Denki clarified.

Fowler scratched his chin in thought. "Now that, I won't disagree with, young man." He raised a brow up to Springer as he hovered overhead. "Though that said, I guess now I can see why you're havin' such a hard time finding Earth-based vehicles to turn into. I don't think I can name ANYTHING on this planet that could change from a car into a helicopter so easily… aside from a few vehicles in OUR possession, maybe."

"Wait, seriously?!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Springer transformed back into robot mode and landed in front of the agents with a TWOOM!, making the earth shake beneath him. "Well what're you waiting for? Take me to whatever compound you have and I'll scan something, no problem!"

"Woah now, slow your roll there, soldier." Fowler raised his hand. "I said "maybe". I'll have to take a look at what we've got before settin' you up with anything. …But, on the chance that we don't, there COULD be another option for you as a "disguise" of sorts."

The Autobots and students all became quite confused at this. "Agent Fowler, to what are you referring?" Optimus inquired.

The agent reached into his jacket and pulled out a small device, what appeared to be a hologram projector of some sort. "I'm talking about this…" He pressed a button and a logo came up on the tiny projector, an acronym that read; "M.A.S.K.". "Sector Seven has a sister division that's in charge of making all of our military hardware and vehicles. We call it the Mobile Attack Strike Kommand division, or "M.A.S.K." for short."

"Okay…" Springer tilted his head and folded his arms. "So what does this "M.A.S.K." have to do with me?"

Fowler pressed the hologram projector again and the image changed to that of a large truck. "M.A.S.K. is the foremost innovator when it comes to combat vehicles, especially ones with concealed weaponry or… "gimmicks" if you will. They can take your average semi-truck…" With another click of a button, the truck's image started to move and shift until a whole bunch of hidden weaponry was now on display, leaving many surprised. "And have it become a tank in everything but appearance."

"Woah… that's not as impressive as transforming robots, but still pretty cool." Mei admitted.

Jazz lowered himself down to take a closer look at the schematics for the weaponized truck, finding it to be somewhat familiar. "Woo, now THAT'S a load-out… but I can't help but feel like it looks kinda familiar…"

"Well… M.A.S.K. and Cybertronians may be closer to one another than you think." Fowler elaborated. "Remember; Bumblebee over there wasn't the ONLY one who landed on Earth all of those years ago."

Many Autobots were surprised for a moment, but Bumblebee seemed particularly astonished. "Zrkt—Red—zkrt—wing?!"

"Wait, so… does that mean that humans in the past managed to study Redwing's remains and THAT'S how they made this "M.A.S.K." division of yours?" Windblade asked. "That seems… a bit morbid, now that I think about it."

"Trust me, if they had known about you like how we do today, I doubt they would've done it." Fowler assured. "I'm sorry if this is a bit much for you, but I figured you all should know."

Optimus raised his hand. "Worry not, Agent Fowler. It's all in the long, distant past. Though with that said, I'm surprised that your findings haven't gone public by now. Your species would be far more advanced by now if the government had let Cybertronian technology become used by civilians." The Prime tilted his head toward the Sector Seven agent. "So tell me… why is that not the case?"

"With the arrival of Quirks, all other scientific studies were put on hold to discover just where they came from and how they worked." Fowler explained further. "It's only recently where more and more of this reverse engineered Cybertronian tech is starting to get out into the wild, mostly to help heroes create new and improved support gear. Though M.A.S.K. is still in possession of most of it."

Springer leaned forward, trying to get back on topic. "Okay, so again, I ask; what does this M.A.S.K. division have anything to do with me?"

"Well, if you were paying attention, M.A.S.K. deals with creating unique military vehicles that can be used in any situation." Fowler went on. "Be it land, sea, or air, they can come up with something for it. Heck, they provide the boys overseas with their vehicles all the time." A small sigh escaped him as he recalled one of their creations. "Ah, the Skystriker is STILL a work of art."

"So what you're sayin' is that you think THEY have something that I can scan?"

Fowler shook his head with a knowing smirk. "Nope, probably not…" He pointed up to Springer with a raised brow. "But YOU my friend, would fit in quite well among M.A.S.K.'s line-up of vehicles."

"Think about it; M.A.S.K. pretty much specializes in converting vehicles already." Burns pointed out. "Granted, they've never made anything on the scale of true triple changing, but if we say that you're the first ever type of hybrid land and air vehicle to ever be made by them, then I think we can get away with saying that your alt modes can be something that COULD be made on Earth." He wore a sly grin and placed a hand over his chest. "In fact, I'm a personal friend of the squadron's leader. He and I were stationed in the same platoon in boot came. I'll just give Trakker a call and we'll get you set up."

Springer put a hand to his chin, thinking over the proposal. "Hm… ya know, now that I think about it, that doesn't sound half bad." His optics moved back over to Optimus. "I mean, sure the Cons would see me coming, but if I can get away with the PUBLIC thinking I'm a "normal" vehicle made by the military, I think I'd be pretty set. Whaddya think, commander?"

Optimus hummed to himself, thinking it over on his own. "Well… it would be taking a slight risk." He focused down to Agent Fowler once again. "However, if this "M.A.S.K." unit of yours can successfully convince the public that Springer is one of their experimental creations, I see no harm in at least trying it."

"That's just what I was hoping to hear." Fowler nodded in approval as he jabbed his thumb to Springer. "Trust me, Prime, setting your boy up as a M.A.S.K. vehicle will be as easy as pie."

Off to the side, Kyoka couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Well, hopefully it'll be as easy as someone who actually KNOWS how to make a pie." That earned a grumble from Fowler, which was what she was hoping for. "But hey, if you think this idea will work, then we're not about to stop you."

"Yeah, I actually think it sounds pretty good myself." Bulkhead concurred as he gave Springer a fist bump. "Better than just searching endlessly for vehicle modes, right?"

"Heh, no kiddin'." Springer knelt down and gave the Sector Seven agents a thumbs up. "Thanks for hookin' me up. I'll try my best to fit in with your M.A.S.K. guys."

Fairborne gave him a salute. "Hey, it's no problem. Given what you had to go through when you got here, I just imagine it's one last thing you've gotta worry about."

It was then that Springer furrowed his brow, his mind going back to a couple days back as well as his capture. And subsequently, he was reminded of who had visited him in his cell that day. "…Yeah, you've got a point there." He stood up and faced the Autobots once again. "Which reminds me… we've gotta talk about somethin'."

The bots were all instantly put on edge by the tone of Springer's voice, with Bulkhead being particularly concerned. "Springs? What do you mean?"

"Everything okay?" Windblade asked.

"Not exactly." Springer shook his head. "There's somethin' that I need to tell all of you, something I neglected to say when I escaped from the Con's ship." His hand reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I honestly wanted to spill it after I got here, but I didn't wanna bring down the mood after everything that happened, you know?"

Optimus nodded in understanding, but kept his own serious demeanor about him. "Of course, Springer. What is this news you wish to share?"

"…You all might wanna brace yourselves." Everyone, even the kids and Sector Seven agents, were all intently focused on Springer as he told his story. "When the Cons locked me up in their holding cell, I got a couple visits. One of 'em was from Starscream, but the other one…" He sighed and balled up his fists. "The other Con that visited me… was Unicronus himself."

….

Meanwhile, across the world in central Canada, Starscream was practically ecstatic with how things were going so far. His brothers had only arrived the other day and they had settled in rather well. Of course, the fact that they had brought Shadow Striker and Nightra were also happy little bonuses, but his main concern was making sure that Skywarp and Thundercracker had all the commodities they needed. He had to butter them up somehow, after all. How else was he going to convince them to join in his crusade in overthrowing Megatron?

But now, he had called them to the bridge to discuss something rather important with them. "Brothers! Now that you have made yourselves at home here on the Darksyde, I believe it's time for both of you to adopt your own Earth disgiuses. And lucky for you…" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Starscream transforming to his F-15 mode, sitting idle so his brothers could scan him. "I happen to have the perfect one at the ready! Well, go on now, don't be shy."

Skywarp and Thundercracker stared at Starscream for a second, turned to one another, and then echoed a unanimous; "Nah."

They waved off their brother and immediately started toward one of the bridge's consoles, much to Starscream's bafflement. "N-Nah? NAH!?" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! "What do you mean "NAH"?!"

"Starscream, we may be brothers, but that doesn't mean we have to share EVERYTHING with you." Thundercracker emphasized.

"We already share the same body type." Skywarp said as he began inputting commands into the console, linking up to Earth's internet in order to find some suitable alternate modes for them. "The last thing we want is to share your jet mode."

"Something similar? Sure." Thundercracker shrugged. "But not the exact same thing."

The air commander sneered at that. "Oh sure, I offer you a free vehicle mode on a silver platter and without even a thought, you BOTH turn me down!" He huffed and folded his arms, facing away from his brothers. "Some family you are."

But Skywarp recognized this game. Starscream was an avid player of it, even in their early days. Being the middle sibling to come out of their emerging pool, Starscream had ALWAYS vied for attention. And as the eldest, Skywarp quickly caught on to his brother's vein attempts to do so. "Ah, go whine about it to your Sparkmate."

"Swift is NOT my Sparkmate!" Starscream quickly denied. "I KEEP telling you this! In fact, I'm fairly certain she might have an attraction to Barri—"

"WOAH, WOAH, HEY!" Without warning, Swift suddenly barged into the room and clamped her hand shut over Starscream's vocalizer, giving him a warning glare. She shifted her optics around, making absolutely certain the police bot wasn't there. Swift narrowed her gaze and growled; "If you let that get out across the ENTIRE base, I will never forgive you."

And just then, a familiar voice suddenly sounded out from out of nowhere. "Yeah, you tell 'im, chica." In a glitchy flash of purple, Nightra suddenly appeared from out of nowhere, her cloak having deactivated. Swift and Starscream were both taken aback as the magenta femme smirked at them. "After all, you never know what could happen if that info leaked into the wrong hands, hehehe…"

Swift's aggression immediately went straight to Nightra, pointing her finger to her in ire. "Nightra, I swear to Primus, if you plaster ANYTHING related to that on the computers in this ship, I will—"

"Hey, hey, don't worry 'bout it, comprende?" Nightra assured. "Tranquilo, I know WAY better than to do something like that. I'm not THAT evil, after all."

A small sigh escaped Swift's intakes and she nodded. "Good, glad we're clear on that."

"…Though that doesn't mean that Shadow won't know about it, too." Nightra pointed up toward the aforementioned Shadow Striker, who was hanging from the ceiling by her grappling hook. She was upside down and had the wire tied around her leg, leaving everyone surprised.

Shadow descended down toward the others, her face directly in front of Swift's. "Ah, amor… such a lovely feeling, is it not?" She unhooked her grapple and did a flip onto her feet, the wire coming undone from her leg. "It is a feeling zat I believe I once felt long ago… but now, I can hardly recall zat time."

"And lemme guess, you're gonna say something overly dramatic, like; "and now I feel nothing", right?" Swift deadpanned.

"Au contraire…" Shadow Striker shook her head as she pulled out one of her weapons; a red, dual edge energy blade. "I used to believe zat… but on our travels through space, I learned something when we happened upon a colony of giant spiders…" She gazed into her blade as she recalled the memory. "As I observed zem, I initially thought zey had no emotion, zat zeir hearts never beat. But after further study, I found out ze truth." Quick as a snap, she snapped her arm up and the point of her blade met with Swift's forehead, much to her shock. "At ze moment of ze kill… zey are never more alive."

"…So you're saying that killing Autobots makes you feel good?" Swift asked. "Cause, like, how good are we talkin' here? It's not something weird like a euphoric feeling, is it?"

Shadow Striker pursed her lips and scoffed. "Cherie… I do not know wether to encourage you or slap you." She sheathed her blade and placed a hand on Swift's shoulder. "Ze point of what I am trying to say is… good luck, and don't let him slip away."

"Uh… thanks, I guess." Swift shrugged.

"Well, while YOU guys were talking about that…" Skywarp piped up. "I think I just found a couple of great jet modes for TC and I." He jabbed his thumb toward the screen, leading the group of Decepticons to see two jet models on it. One was called a "Shenyang J-11" while the other was a "MiG-29 Fulcrum". They seemed fairly similar to Starscream's F-15 Eagle mode, but at the same time, they both had very telling differences from one another.

Thundercracker was eying the MiG in particular. "Ooh, now THAT looks pretty fast." His onboard scanners analyzed the form of the jet, broke it down into blue prints in his processor, and the information went straight to his T-Cog. Within moments, Thundercracker's armor shifted into parts of the MiG-29, fully acclimating himself to his new vehicle mode. "Hehe, alright!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! And just like that, Thundercracker had transformed into a blue, black and silver version of the Fulcrum, with red and white pinstriping on his wings and tail fins. "Oh-hoho, yeah, now THIS fits."

Nightra whistled in approval. "Woo, frag yeah, dude! You're lookin' good!"

Skywarp went back to the screen, focusing in on the J-11. "Guess this means I'm taking this one then…" He scanned the jet and went through the same process as his brother did, before then transforming into a black, purple and silver version of the Shenyang J-11, complete with his own purple and white pinstriping. "Hm… yeah, this'll do just fine."

"Oh man, boss… you can pull off ANY look, I swear." Nightra continued with a sly smirk.

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Skywarp transformed again and sent her a serious glare. "Alright, enough kissing up, Nightra." He nudged his head over to the console again. "Shouldn't YOU maybe find a vehicle mode for yourself? And Shadow, what about you? Have you found anything?"

"Non, Skywarp." Shadow Striker denied. "Not yet."

Without wasting a cycle, Nightra slid right up to the console, popping a few gears in her knuckles before typing away into the console. "Well then, let's get searching! There's gotta be somethin' on this planet we can fit our chassis into…"

"PHRASING!" Swift shouted.

Nightra glanced over her shoulder and gave Swift a wink. "Oh trust me, I KNOW what I said."

Swift facepalmed and groaned. "Warp, is this what you had to deal with EVERY day for the past three centuries?"

"Don't remind me." Skywarp grumbled.

"Ah-ha!" Nightra piped up just a couple seconds later, taking everyone off guard. "Found something!"

"Already?!" Starscream shouted. "You can't be serious! HOW?!"

The hacker scanned the vehicle she found with a small chortle. "Hmhm, when you're a hacker working on a primitive world's low-tech web, you get good at finding something really quick." Nightra's body began to change as well, with her shoulders, doors and legs all changing to accommodate her new vehicle form. "Now, let's take this mamacita for a spin!"

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk!

Nightra's breastplate moved up over her head as it retracted into her torso, forming the hood of the vehicle. Her shoulders compressed into her sides as her arms folded into the undercarriage, all while the tires in her shoulders rolled free on the ground. Her legs moved up to become the bed of her new truck mode as her back formed the roof and her door wings took their rightful place. Once all was said and done, Nightra had transformed into a Hyundai Santa Cruz, and she was LOVING it.

"Ahaha! Oh yeah, baby." she revved her engine up loud. "Now THIS is stylish."

"Oh yes, how great." Starscream said, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Yet another Decepticon who decided that rolling is far better than flying."

With a loud screech of her tires, Nightra spun around toward the air commander. "Hey, you guys got YOUR way of getting around, we've got ours. Not that hard to figure out."

"Hmm…" Shadow Striker went over to the console next, typing in a few commands of her own. A few moments later, she ended up stumbling across something that piqued her interest greatly. "Oh… now zat is a disquise worth taking on…" Shadow scanned the vehicle on the screen, and once again…

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk!

She transformed, with her head folding into her chest as it widened out to form the front of the car. Her arms swung back as the panels on her forearms became the car doors, and the tires on her back folded down into their proper places. Her entire body swung up into the car as her back moved up to become the roof, with her legs folding up to become the entire rear of the vehicle. Her spoiler then shifted back into its correct position on the car, completing her transformation. By the end, she was an entirely purple Lamborghini Aventador, a disguise that she was VERY happy with.

"Ah… fantastique." the sniper sighed.

"Ugh, do we seriously only have FOUR Decepticons around here capable of flight OUTSIDE of the Vehicon armada?!" Starscream protested.

Swift reached over and gave him a pat on the back. "Might wanna get used to it, Screamer. But hey, look on the bright side, the Autobots only have TWO air-capable soldiers compared to us."

"Well, I suppose so… but still, is it too much to ask for more WINGS around this place?"

…..

A long, uncomfortable silence had overtaken the Autobots after Springer had told them about his experience onboard the Darksyde… and how he had ended up meeting one of the most mysterious Decepticon generals to ever enter the war. Whoever this "Unicronus" was, however, the gravity of his presence was completely lost on the humans. The 1-A Students, Mei and the Sector Seven agents were just left confused after Springer had finished talking about him, so of course, they felt the need to ask.

"So, uh… who exactly IS Unicronus?" Ochako asked.

"A-And why does he sound like such a big deal?" Izuku added.

The question easily took Springer off guard, raising a metal brow up to Optimus. "…You didn't tell 'em?"

Optimus craned his head down slightly. "No, I… I was hoping I wouldn't have to. Not this soon, at least…" He set his optics down to the group and began to explain; "But, I suppose there is no point in delaying it now. Children, Unicronus is a Decepticon shrouded in complete mystery. No one knows where he came from or why he joined the Decepticons… but what everyone DOES know is that because of him, they were able to capture several sizeable victories in the later days of the War for Cybertron."

"He's captured Autobot strongholds, eliminated several powerful garrisons of troops, and all while knowing pretty much our exact movements ahead of time." Windblade went on. "He's part of the reason why we fled Cybertron in the first place, because we were on the receiving end of so many attacks from him that we couldn't keep up."

"Holy crap… this Con must be the real deal, then." Kyoka concluded. "But what do you mean he's "mysterious"?

Arcee was the one to answer that. "That's the scary part; no one has ever seen what he looks like."

"He's never ONCE been seen on a battlefield." Jazz went on. "He calls all his shots exclusively behind the scenes." He lowered his head with an irritated expression. "It's both really strange AND extremely frustrating."

"And any bot who HAS seen him has never come back to tell the tale…" Strongarm craned her head over toward Springer. "At least, until now."

But the Wrecker shook his head. "Yeah, but even then, he kept himself hidden in the shadows. It's almost like he didn't WANT me to see his face… that is, not until he could offline me."

Tenya placed a hand on his chin at that, finding the point intriguing. "Fascinating… it's almost like he didn't WANT you to know what he truly looked like until your true final moments." He raised his hand stiffly and proclaimed; "Truly, this Decepticon is a genuine villain!"

"Exactly. He's probably the worst Decepticon out there aside from the Big Four of Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave, and of course, Megatron." Bulkhead summarized. "…And now apparently, he's on Earth." He tilted his head toward Springer again curiously. "And for some reason he knows you on a personal level?"

All Springer could do was shrug. "Believe me, Bulk, I wish I had some answers. But outside of some wild guesses, I couldn't tell ya why."

"Well, ain't THAT just swell?" Fowler sarcastically quipped. "Not only do we gotta deal with the Con's second in command, but NOW we've got one of their best strategists to deal with, too!"

Izuku furrowed his brow grimly. "I have to admit, this really isn't the best news. Who's to say this Decepticon can't figure out exactly where we're hiding right now?"

Optimus nodded down to the two in understanding. "Izuku, Agent Fowler, I understand your concerns. But rest assure that we will do everything in our power to make sure that we all remain safe, even from Unicronus." He extended his hand toward the base. "And, if it makes you feel better, it's safe to say that being on this planet gives us an advantage over Unicronus already."

Momo's eyes brightened up as she realized what Optimus was saying. "Hey, yeah! Prime has a great point." She raised a single finger, explaining to her friends; "Considering Earth must be FAR different from Cybertron, plus the fact that the base is cloaking all of the Autobots' signals, Unicronus probably has no idea how to go about planning against whatever WE may have planned."

"…Which means that we essentially have the home field advantage!" Mina realized with a big grin of her own. "Haha! That's awesome! They can't stay one step ahead of us if they have no idea what we're gonna do!"

"Whew, now THAT is good news." Denki sighed in relief.

"But that doesn't mean we can't relax either." Eijiro noted. "If Unicronus is as dangerous as you guys said, then we'd better be on the look out if he ends up making some sort of plan."

Once more, Optimus gave a nod. "Precisely. And more importantly, it's now more imperitive that you children stay safe…" He set his optics over to Arcee and Bumblebee. "Thus, I believe it best if the both of you stay around U.A. High for the entire school day from now on, just as an extra precaution."

The duo straightened up and saluted. "Yes sir, Optimus, sir. We'll be sure to keep an eye on the school, just in case."

"Zrkt—You can count on us!" Bumblebee affirmed.

"Excellent. Now, I believe it's time for training to start—"

"PRIME!" Everyone's heads whipped around toward the base, only to see Red Alert standing in the doorway with a serious demeanor about him. "All of you, come in, quickly. I've found something that all of you will want to see." The Autobots and humans all eyed one another curiously before following the medic back inside, gathering into the main console room as he pointed his laser tool at the screen. "Look at this."

Up on said screen, there was a series of Cybertronian characters, ones that were unreadable to the human eye. This left the kids and agents confused, but the Autobots themselves were taken off guard. "Wait… are those coordinates?" Strongarm asked.

Red Alert smiled proudly. "Indeed, they are. You're looking at the result of several hours of hard work to decipher a single string of Cybertronian code from that data pylon."

Merissa's eyebrows rose in interest. "Wait, you mean the one you found in Greece last week? The one that Optimus' mentor left for him?"

"The very same." Red Alert confirmed.

Optimus moved closer and couldn't help but grin beneath his faceplate. "Excellent work, Red. This may only be the first in a vast variety of relics hidden on this planet. Very well done."

Meanwhile, the students were still trying to make heads and tails of the series of random squiggles, but none of them could understand them. "Uh… so what exactly are these supposed to mean, dude?" Kyoka questioned.

"Yeah, this just seems like just a bunch of scribbles to me." Izuku concurred.

"Hm, well, perhaps they'd be more familiar if you saw them like this…" Red Alert pressed a button and the characters instantly chanced to ones that were MUCH more comprehensive to read. They were now easy-to-read Earth numbers, and what's more, they were set up in a familiar pattern. "Better now?"

Mei gasped in realization. "Oh my… those are longitude and latitude coordinates! This should get us the EXACT location of where that relic is!"

"Exactly." Red Alert nodded before punching them into the main console's Geo-Locater. "And it seems like they lead to… here." A large map of the world popped up on screen before it zoomed in on the United States, specifically the southern portion. Immediately, a small blip appeared on the map, signifying exactly where the coordinates lead. "According to this, the relic should be just a few miles outside the city of… Austin, Texas."

Strongarm was visibly befuddled after hearing this. "Okay, no offense to you guys, but humans have the STRANGEST names for their cities."

"What, are we supposed to think that "Polyhex" and "Iacon" are normal by our standards?" Denki retorted.

"…Fair point." Strongarm conceded before turning her attention back to the main topic. "Is there anything significant around the relic's location? Anything that could risk our cover being blown like a small town?"

Red Alert did a search on the coordinates through the internet, and he came up with a result instantly. "Well, it seems this was the location of a large rock quarry at one point. However, it was abandoned many years ago after an Earth villain attack." He faced the Autobot team with a shrug. "Going by what I've found, it doesn't seem like that place doesn't see much activity anymore, so you all should be fine."

"Good work, Red Alert, and thank you." Optimus bowed his head briefly to his old friend before going over to his first lieutenant. "Jazz, organize a retrieval unit. We're headed after that relic on the double."

"You got it, Prime." Jazz saluted as he addressed everyone behind him. "Alright, listen up! Whoever wants to head out an' help get this relic home, step up now."

Bulkhead was the first to offer his help, slamming a fist into his hand. "I'll come along! Since this thing is in a quarry, you guys might need help if it's buried…" His face lit up as he shifted his optics over to his best buddy. "Hey, Springs, you should come along, too! It'd give ya a chance to stretch your legs and get outta this place for a bit. Whaddya say?"

Springer chuckled and eagerly stepped forward. "Oh, I thought you'd never ask. Anything to see something different." The Wrecker moved his sights up to Optimus. "That is, if the commander sees it fit."

"Of course, Springer. We would be honored to have you accompany us." Prime approved.

"Well, you heard the chief, guys." Springer turned toward Sawback and Fangblade, the two Mini-Cons standing by his foot. "We've got work to do." The robotic animals roared in approval and transformed into their disk-like forms, plugging onto his shoulders unquestioningly.

Arcee glanced down toward Bumblebee, offering him an inviting smile. "Hey Bee, why don't we go, too? It's been a while since we were out on a big mission like this, right?"

Bumblebee's optics lit up in excitement. A chance to spend more time with Arcee? Of course he would take that chance. He gave her a thumbs up and spoke approvingly through his radio; "Zrkt—Sign me up! Zrkt—Let's get moving!"

"As much as I would like to come along, I think I'll sit this one out." Windblade waved off as her attention went down to Momo. "I promised a certain someone today that we'd do some more combat practice."

"Yeah, same here." Strongarm echoed as she looked to Tenya and Ochako. "These two have some of their own ideas that they wanna show me, too. It's gonna be a busy day for training, I can say that much."

Optimus nodded to both of them. "I understand. Best of luck to all of you in your training." He craned his head down to Izuku with an apologetic gaze. "But on the topic, I must apologize, Izuku. As much as I myself would like to continue our training, I'm afraid this must take priority."

"O-Oh, it's okay, Optimus." Izuku assured. "Trust me, I understand. We'll train more when you get back."

"Yeah, go get that relic." Kyoka encouraged. "We'll see ya when ya get back with it."

At that, Springer's face scrunched up in confusion. "You guys make it sound like none of you are comin' along. What gives, huh?" He tilted his head toward Optimus again. "They're a part of this team, too, aren't they? What's the harm in bringing them on a little relic hunt?"

Bulkhead stepped in before Prime could answer. "Uh, Springs, I think you're forgetting something; the potential of Decepticons showing up." The big green bruiser's sights went down to Mina, who wore a somewhat guilty face. "Let's just say that there've been some hairy situations before where the Cons showed up without warning… and the kids nearly ended up in the crossfire. We can't afford take that chance."

Much to everyone's surprise, however, Springer just gave a shrug. "Ah, please. As far as I'm concerned, you guys are worried over nothin'. From what I've seen and heard, they've been able to defend themselves pretty well against the Cons with those powers of theirs. Plus, those Cons are pretty much a bunch of bolt-heads anyway. Heck, if I can get away from 'em, anyone can." He placed his hands on his hips somewhat defiantly. "So again, I ask; what's the big idea leavin' some of 'em behind if they've got nothin' else to do?"

"You can't be serious, can you?!" And once more, before Prime could answer, Fowler suddenly piped up. The Wrecker's attention was brought down to the agent as he stormed up to him, his ire directly squarely at him. "What you're suggesting isn't only reckless, but completely insane! You're asking CHILDREN to step into a potential warzone! They've only JUST started their hero training! Bad enough that they had to deal win an unexpected villain attack on their school, but you ACTUALLY think that they'd be able to hold their own in a battle if it breaks out?!"

Springer bent forward so he could return Fowler's glare. "Well, if these kids can take out a single Vehicon by working as a team, then I'd say they probably can." He immediately took note of the teens' nervous expressions and went to reassure them. "Hey kids, I get it. You guys feel bad about killin' a Vehicon. But take it from someone who's had to do that to SEVERAL of them; you shouldn't be ashamed of having to defend yourself, especially not in war."

The students all eyed one another awkwardly before Mina piped up. "Well, yeah, we get that. But… it's not exactly what a HERO would do."

"Exactly." Merissa piped up as well. "These kids aren't trying to become soldiers, Springer. They WANT to be heroes. And unless it's for an absolute last resort, heroes DON'T kill."

"Well, alright then." Springer abdicated… seemingly. "Then we'll bring 'em along and they won't have to KILL the Vehicons. If they get into trouble, they can use their powers to defend themselves." He jerked his thumb toward himself and the Autobots. "WE'LL take care of the hard stuff."

Fowler sighed and facepalmed. "You REALLY don't get the rules regarding Quirks, do you?"

"I've been on this planet for all of two days, fleshy." Springer said with narrowed optics. "If you wanna enlighten me, feel free, but I'll probably make an argument against it otherwise."

"Enough." Prime commanded, putting an edge in his voice to get everyone's attention. "This argument has gone on far enough…" He furrowed his metal brow at Springer. "I appreciate your vouching for the children to come along, Springer… and I can concede that you make several valid points. However, the safety of the children must also be taken into account."

Fowler threw his hands up in appreciation. "THANK YOU! Finally, a level head in all this…"

"…Which is why I will allow it, but ONLY if Agent Burns accompanies us as well."

And just like that, Prime's statement was immediately thrown into question. "WHAT?!" all of the Sector Seven agents shouted while some of the teens were intrigued at the proposition. "Prime, what in the SAM HILL are you talkin' about?!" Fowler bellowed.

Optimus' tone was contrastingly calm as he explained; "I'm afraid that Springer does bring up some considerable points, Agent Fowler. I initially didn't want the children too involved with this conflict myself, but with Unicronus of all Decepticons on Earth… it is imperative that the children be able to defend themselves successfully against the enemy." He raised his hand in understanding. "I know that you, and likely the U.A. faculty, will have your objections. However, if the children wish to keep assisting us here on Earth, they will have to learn not just to defend themselves, but to work with us as a unit."

"But Optimus… they're just KIDS." Merissa implored. "They can't—"

"Merissa, w-with all due respect…" The agents whirled around in shock as Izuku stepped up, taking even his fellow students by surprise. "You guys said it yourself; we're the same kids who dealt with a villain attack at our school." He pointed between himself, Mei, Momo and Kyoka. "A-And on top of that, us four managed to help take down Shatter back at the docks." Without wasting a beat, he gestured over to the rest of the group. "And as much as I hate to admit it… we DID take down that Vehicon… AND subdued Frenzy."

Kyoka nodded as she stepped in as well. "Izuku's right. We've been able to handle most challenges that the Decepticons have thrown at us. And every time, we've come out on top." She jerked her thumb over to Burns. "Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, having Buzz Cut over there come with is actually a smart decision."

Burns narrowed his eyes at the remark. "Hey!"

Eijiro came up as well, balling his hand into a fist and hardening it. "Point is, we don't wanna stand back on the sidelines. Not if there's anything we can do to help. Hell, if that relic really IS buried in a rock quarry, I can name SEVERAL different ways my Quirk can be used to help."

"Yeah, mine too!" Mina nodded. "I've been melting rocks the entire time I've been training here! The least I could do is put it to good use."

Fowler pursed his lips as the kids made their arguments… and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he could appreciate their tenacity. "…Burns?"

"Yes sir?"

"If you so much as let a HAIR on these children get hurt, you WILL be hearing it from me."

The agent couldn't believe what he was hearing from his superior. "Wait, that's it? You're seriously going along with it?!"

"As an experiment." Fowler emphasized. "Whether or not this'll be a regular occurance is up in the air. But like Prime suggested, you're in charge of the kids' safety on this mission." He pointed to Izuku, Kyoka, Eijiro and Mina, who were all smiling hopefully. "At the first sign of any Cons, I want ALL of you to get outta there. And if it DOES come down to it, use your Quirks for defense only. Understood?"

"YES, SIR!" the four echoed as their friends cheered them on in victory… aside from Tenya, who still seemed unsure of this.

"You're certain that this is what you wish to do, Midoriya?" the bespectacled teen asked. "This could be far more dangerous than even you could expect."

Izuku sent his friend a sympathetic grin. "Believe me, Iida, I know the risks of something like this. But Prime said it himself. If the Decepticons have someone THIS dangerous on their side, then it's important we learn the ropes of defending ourselves against them."

"Besides, we may not even SEE any action at all." Kyoka pointed out. "Getting the relic could be so easy that we'd get it outta there before the Cons even show up."

"And if they do, we'll just bridge back." Mina winked. "We'll be fine, Class Rep, don't worry."

With a small sigh, Tenya's shoulders slumped, relenting to his friends' wishes. "Very well, just… make sure you come back alive."

"Be safe guys." Ochako agreed. "And bring back that relic!"

"I'm locking the coordinates into the GroundBridge now." Red Alert announced over by the metal platform. Within moments, he had the vortex open, inviting the Autobots to drive through. "This should take you directly into the quarry. Keep in mind; the relic won't just jump out at you. You'll have to search carefully."

Optimus and the others readily stepped onto the platform, the leader giving Red a nod. "Thank you, old friend. We shall return…" Just then, Springer stepped up next to him, and Prime eyed him seriously. "I sincerely hope that your arguments hold truth, Springer."

"…If they don't, I'll take full responsibility if anything happens to the kids." Springer offered. "Trust me, I'd hate anything to happen to 'em, but this is somethin' they need to experience…" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! With that, Springer transformed into his armored car mode, just as Eijiro was moving up onto the platform. "Yo, Spikes!" The redhead stopped just as Springer opened his canopy. "You wanna lift?"

Eijiro broke out into a huge, toothy smile. "Would I?!" He hopped up onto the vehicle and slid into the cockpit, with the glass cover lowering down as he took his seat. …And he was greeted with a bunch of flashing gizmos inside that left him clueless. "Woah… so THIS is what riding inside a Cybertronian vehicle is like."

"Pretty neat, huh?" Springer activated his seatbelts, which crisscrossed over Eijiro's chest. "Now hang on, little man. It's time for you an' Mina to get your Wreckin' legs."

"Oh-ho, bring it ON!"

Once everyone was transformed and the humans were all loaded up, Optimus gave one last request to Red Alert; "Inform Sideswipe and Sunstreaker of the situation upon their return… and have them on standby incase we're in need of backup." Red Alert saluted to him as Prime raised his arm, giving his signature command; "Autobots… roll out!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! The six Autobots and five humans drove through the GroundBridge immediately after, leaving the command center in an uncomfortable silence following the vortex's closing.

"…So, any bets on how long it'll take before this all goes horribly wrong?"

"Not HELPING, Kaminari!"

…..

ANK! ANK! ANK! ANK!

Back at the Darksyde, Starscream and the others were all caught off gaurd when a loud alarm suddenly started sounding off throughout the whole place. Skywarp, Thundercracker, Shadow Striker and Nightra all transformed back into robot mode as a red light started flashing as well, which only made Starscream more annoyed. "Oh, what NOW?!"

At that moment, Unicronus entered the room, bringing everyone's attention to him. "Look alive, people. The Autobots are on the move!" He made his way past the group, with Starscream giving him the stink eye as he entered in more commands into the main console. Within seconds, he brought up a map of the globe, showing that several Autobot signals had suddenly popped up in the southern United States. "And they're pretty close, too. So, what do you boys think?" He faced the new Seekers and raised a questioning brow. "Think you two're ready to get yer servos dirty?"

Skywarp wore an eager yet nefarious smirk, reaching for his dual shotguns. "Oh, yes… I've been waiting for this. It's time to scrap Optimus Prime… for good."

"Let's just get this done and over with." Thundercracker said as he took out his Pulse Rifle. "Whatever their game is, we gotta put an end to it, preferably without revealing ourselves."

"I would THINK that'd be obvious, Thundercracker." With another exasperated sigh, Starscream stepped up in front of his brothers and placed his hands on his hips confidently. "In any case… SEEKERS! Our time has come! Let us show exactly what these Autobots what we're capable of as a unit!"

As the Seeker trio left, Swift, Shadow Striker and Nightra all stayed behind… though the copter femme was quick to share a sly grin with the two. "So… I just got a new observation probe up and running. You gals wanna see if they screw this up or not?"

"Oui."

"Oh, pit yeah."

…..

Down south, meanwhile, the GroundBridge opened up at the rock quarry site, and the Autobots came rolling out seconds later. Prime, Jazz, Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead and Springer all pulled to a halt to let the humans disembark, before then transforming into robot mode themselves. "Alright, everyone, gather up!" Burns belted out, taking the students by surprise. "Now that we're on site, you kids are to stay within my line of sight at all times. I won't be having any clowning around while we're here, is that clear?"

Kyoka couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Psh, the only clown around here is you." She muttered.

"What was that?!"

"Sir! I was just complimenting your buzz cut, SIR!"

Burns grimaced at Kyoka as she smirked right back at him, all while Eijiro and Mina did everything they could to hold their laughter back. Admittedly, Izuku, Bee and Arcee were trying to keep it together as well, but they were more subtle about it. "This isn't a joke, missy." Burns chastised. "You heard both Fowler AND Prime, while we're on this mission, you're to abide by the rules."

"Ugh… you're lucky that I actually respect Prime's orders, bucko." Kyoka groaned as she and the others walked off.

Prime and Izuku hung back, however, while Burns let out a short, frustrated growl. "Grr… I can't BELIEVE that girl." He snapped his head between Optimus and Izuku, his arms out at his sides. "Is she SERIOUSLY still upset with me about what happened a couple weeks back?"

"If it's one thing I've learned about Kyoka, Agent Burns, it's that she doesn't just let things go so easily." Izuku pointed out.

"But WHY?! We're all on good terms now, so what is there to be mad about?"

Optimus crouched down, deciding to add his two cents to the conversation. "Agent Burns, if I may. I realize that you believe that simply helping to free me and take down Shatter and Dropkick has made up for what you have done… but you still threatened the safety of Kyoka and her friends."

"I know, and I apologized for it." Burns emphasized.

Prime gave him an understanding nod. "I'm sure you have. But take it from someone who has had to gain the trust of several soldiers in this war; it isn't something that's simply given, it's earned." He set his sights over to Kyoka, the punk rocker still storming off with the others. "And speaking of experience, certain individuals are harder than others to do that with."

Burns pursed his lips and lowered his head slightly, mulling over that thought. "…Well then, what do I do?"

"That, I do not know." Optimus admitted. "That is up to Kyoka to decide." The Autobot Commander rose to his feet and started after his team. "Now come, we must locate that relic." Izuku followed after Prime dutifully, with Burns bringing up the rear as he let that piece of advice stew in his mind.

The team of bots and humans traveled further down into the quarry, essentially moving down deeper and deeper into a huge, rocky hole in the ground. Thankfully, they had at least some pathways to stay on, and there were several cave systems that broke up the monotony of the terrain. Arcee had taken point in the lead, holding onto a tracker that had the exact coordinates of the relic programmed in. "We're getting close, boys!" she called back as the beeping on the device picked up. "We should be directly on top of it in a few clicks…"

"Ooh, I can't WAIT to see what we find!" Mina exclaimed with a jump for joy. "What do you think it is? Some kind of ancient tool? AH! Or maybe a powerful weapon!"

"Or maybe it'll be a bauble that has no practical use." Bulkhead pointed out. "Let's keep our expectations from reaching too high, Mina."

Jazz swiftly approved of Bulkhead's thinking. "Bulk's right. These relics haven't seen use in centuries, so I'm bettin' that a lot of 'em might not even work no more." He gave the pink girl a small shrug. "We may get lucky, we may not. Who knows, really?"

Mina scoffed and folded her arms. "You guys are no fun! I still hope it's something super-duper cool!"

Springer gave a laugh and sent her a thumbs up. "Haha! Now THERE'S some optimism. Ya love to see it." He lowered his hand down and offered it to Mina for a high-five. "Up top, Mina!"

"Woo! You betcha, Springs!" CLANG! "…Ow."

Everyone got a good laugh at that before suddenly, the tracker began beeping and buzzing through the roof, leading Arcee to raise her hand. "Woah, woah, settle down, guys! We've got a hot one!" She showed the tracker to everybody, showing that the signal was in the direct center of its radar. "Take a look. We're right on top of it!" Arcee stepped away and started moving around, trying to home directly in on it. "Let's see… it should be somewhere right…" The intelligence officer wandered right next to a rock wall and the device went absolutely crazy, leading her to grin victoriously. "HERE! Everyone, start digging!"

"Alright!" Eijiro hardened up his arms again, eager to get to work. "Let's get to it! Midoriya, you in?!"

"Right!" Izuku began focusing on One for All, letting it flow throughout his entire being as he too smiled eagerly. 'One for All… Full Cowling!' Quick as a flash, Izuku was right up on the wall and started lifting up rocks and boulders as if they were nothing, taking everyone by surprise.

If anything, though, this just got Eijiro more pumped. "Ha! Alright then! Let's go!" One by one, everyone started pitching in, with Mina and Burns melting some of the rocks away with their respective quirks while Prime, Bulkhead, and Springer did a lot of the heavy lifting. Kyoka used her jacks to crack some of the more embedded stones, allowing Jazz, Bumblebee and Arcee to blast them away with ease.

However, as he and Izuku were working away on their end, Eijiro stopped when he heard a metallic CLINK! "Huh?" He pulled his hand back… and was met with something gold, black and silver, and most importantly; metallic. "Haha! Guys, we've hit it!" The Autobots and other humans stopped abruptly to gather around the boys, while Izuku worked on removing more debris from around the metal piece. "We found the relic!"

"Excellent work, boys!" Optimus praised as he zoomed in on what they found. As more and more of the relic was revealed, however, the Prime's optics widened. Even from just the very end piece of this relic, he recognized it without question. "…Unbelievable."

"What is it, Prime?" Kyoka asked. "What'd we dig up?"

Optimus reached out and touched the metal, feeling its finely forged surface beneath his fingertips. "Kyoka… this is none other than the Skyboom Shield."

There was a momentary pause before Mina admired the relic. "Ooh, cool name! …A bit much for just a shield, but hey, it's still awesome!"

"Oh, this is no ordinary shield, Mina." Arcee stated. "The Skyboom Shield is said to be made of every single fiber of the finest metals that Cybertron has to offer all put into one nigh-indestructible package." She reached out and ran her hand over the shield herself. "It's said that nothing short of a Class 10 explosion can crack the surface of this weapon, forged by the great Solus Prime herself."

"Hm, impressive." Burns acknowledged. "So, let's keep digging and get it out of here, pronto."

But Springer wagged his finger down to the special agent. "Heh, who said we had to keep diggin'? Now that we know what we've got, we can get this relic out without any hassle…" He reached down to his hip and pulled off his cylindrical grenade, tossing it in his hand with aplomb. "It's like I always say; one grenade, one shot. All we gotta do is get clear and I'll handle the rest."

Everyone eyed each other warily, unsure of the Wrecker's plan. "Are ya sure, Springer?" Arcee asked. "I mean, if we're not careful, who knows what could happen with all this debris? Not to mention you could send the shield sky high."

"Not if I place it correctly." Springer said with complete self-assuredness, even giving a wink to Arcee. "Trust me, this ain't my first rodeo. I may be a Wrecker, but I'm also a trained demo-expert. If we blow a hole in this rock an' get the Skyboom Shield out, we'll be back at base before the Cons even know we're here." He looked to the Prime for approval. "So, whaddya say, commander? Wanna give it a shot?"

Optimus thought it over for a moment, taking in all of the variables. If they transformed into vehicle mode and had the humans say inside them, there was less of a chance of them being hurt. And of course, the fact that Springer had suggested getting as far away as possible beforehand had shown that he did know what he was talking about. "Hm… blowing the shield out of the ground WOULD expedite the process. Very well, Springer, we'll try it your way." He craned his head down to the humans by his feet. "And you all should stay inside of your respective guardian when the blast goes off, understood?"

"Of course, Optimus." Izuku acknowledged. "We'll be sure to play it safe."

"Very good. Autobots, retreat to a safe distance—" Prime cut himself off when a familiar sound came to his audio receptors… and he now felt very much on edge because of it. He recognized the sound of a GroundBridge opening up anywhere, and sure enough, when he lifted his head skyward, he saw the vortex spiraling above them. "…Oh no."

Eijiro and the other humans all gathered up, their eyes widened at the sight. "That's not one of ours… is it?" he said as a sense of dread took hold.

SHEEEOOOOM! As if to answer his question, a certain white, red and blue jet came shooting down from the GroundBridge, followed immediately by about seven jet black aircraft that everyone recognized immediately. Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! All at once, the black vehicles all transformed into Vehicons, and at the top of the ridge above them, Starscream transformed and landed with a THOOM! "Ah-HA! So THIS is where you all are!"

"Starscream!" Bulkhead bellowed, bringing out his mace.

Everyone started to unsheathe their own weapons as well, with Jazz aiming his Subsonic Repeater up at the Seeker. "Should've known ya'll would be on top o' all this!"

"Can't ya just leave us alone for ONCE?!" Mina snapped.

"Are you even LISTENING to yourself, human child?" Starscream admonished. "It's not in a Decepticon's nature to let anything alone, especially regarding Autobots." He scanned his sights across the group, raising an inquisitive metal brow. "Now, what exactly IS the reason for you being here? Seems like a long way from home if you ask me—oh…" It was then that he caught sight of the Skyboom Sheild sticking out of the rockface, piquing his interest instantly. "Ooh, now what do we have here? Another relic from Cybertron? How exciting!"

Prime pointed his Ion Blaster at the air commander with a warning glare. "Starscream, you would do well to leave now, or else we WILL be required to use force if necessary."

Starscream gasped mockingly before trembling in place. "Ah! Oh no! Optimus Prime has given us quite the stern warning! Whatever shall we do?" Just as quick as he started, Starscream flipped the switch and went back into serious mode. "…I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll be taking that relic, whatever it is, and WE will do so by force… by any MEANS necessary."

"Psh, please!" Kyoka rolled her eyes. "You and a handful of Vehicons? The Autobots have beaten you against these kinds of odds before, so what makes you think you'll succeed this time?"

A smug grin overtook Starscream's features as he raised his hand. "Because, puny Earth female, I have brought something new to the table. …Family." SNAP!

BOOOOM!

The instant Starscream snapped his fingers, an absolutely MASSIVE sonic boom came blasting through the area, reverberating through the ground, the air, and through everyone, humans and bots included. But no one took the brunt of it more… than Kyoka. "AAAAAAAUUUUUGHH!" The purplette wailed in agony as she was brought to her knees, her hands desperately covering her ears and Earphone Jacks. Sudden and loud noises were something that she always had trouble handling, and this was no exception. "GYAH! Too loud! TOO LOUD!"

"Kyoka!" Izuku rushed over and held onto her, despite the pain that had reached his own ears. At that moment, a pair of shadows went zooming over their heads, accompanied by the sounds of even more jets flying overhead. The group snapped their heads up and were greeted by the sight of a blue MiG-29 Fulcrum and a black and purple Shenyang J-11 passing by overhead, before both jets circled back around and transformed. And what the humans saw next made them to a double take. "W-Wait… WHAT?!"

"There's THREE Starscreams now?!" Mina exclaimed. True to form, the two new jets resembled Starscream almost identically, the only difference being in their faces and choice of alt mode. Plus, their weapons were also different, with the blue one carrying a rifle of some sort while the black and purple Seeker carried a set of shotguns. "As if ONE wasn't bad enough!"

The black and purple one raised his guns at the group. "Oh trust me, there's only ONE Starscream… thankfully."

The blue one cocked his weapon and lowered a red visor over his eyes. "But trust me, you're gonna WISH we were just more Starscreams by the time we're done with you."

The Autobots continued to stare in utter disbelief, leading Izuku to ask; "Optimus… w-who are they?"

With his optics still as wide as can be, Optimus couldn't help the bewilderment as he said their names. "Skywarp… Thundercracker?!"

Starscream chuckled as he raised his hands, presenting his brothers to the group. "Hmhmhm… how do you like us NOW, Autobots?"

…..

A/N: Starscream's ALWAYS gotta be about the theatrics, doesn't he? Well, can't say it isn't effective, especially considering how Thundercracker and Skywarp made themselves known. Wonder how our heroes are gonna handle the main Seeker trio…

With that said, we've got quite a bit going on in this chapter, don't we? We've got Springer trying to find two alt modes for himself and subsequently revealing that he's a Triple Changer to the kids! What's more, Springer got to meet Fowler, Burns and Fairborne in this chapter, too, along with introducing his Mini-Cons to them as well. Along with that, Fowler provided a potential solution to Springer's vehicle mode woes by offering him to go "undercover" as a M.A.S.K. vehicle as well. Bet you weren't expecting that, now were ya? I always liked how Hasbro incorporated M.A.S.K. into being a part of the Transformers universe and here, that's no exception. Better than searching endlessly for two vehicle modes that fit one another, that's for sure.

…Though at the same time, it seems like Springer hasn't exactly endeared himself to Fowler, what with him wanting the kids to take up a more active role in the team. Though Fowler's arguments ARE understandable, especially given how dangerous the Decepticons can be. Still, with the Autobots now aware of Unicronus being on Earth, things may not be as safe as they had once thought they were. So, time for the kids to see more action… albeit in a hopefully safe manner.

But also, we got to see the new Cons take up their own Earth vehicle modes without much hassle! Skywarp and Thundercracker get two jets that are very similar to the F-15, but are just different enough to make them distinct from Starscream, while Nightra takes on a small truck model and Shadow Striker gets a sleek, newer model Lamborghini. Wonder what Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are gonna think about that?

And then of course, there's the relic of interest for this go-around; the Skyboom Shield! Out of all the things introduced in Armada, it always surprised me that the Star Saber and the Requiem Blaster all got retconned into being ancient Prime relics in the modern series… but not the Skyboom Shield. It just feels like that part of the trinity is being left behind, and to that, I say NAY! So, here it is, the same shield, only now it's not three Mini-Cons combined to form a weapon, but a whole piece, just like the Star Saber and Requiem Blaster. Now the question is… will the Autobots be able to get it? Or will the Decepticons actually win?

And now, the Preview! The battle in the rock quarry gets underway as the Autobots and Decepticons clash over the Skyboom Shield. Of course, the humans make a break for it, but they quickly find themselves intercepted by several Vehicon soldiers. Ultimately, this forces their hand… they'll have to fight to preserve themselves. Next time; Seeker Assault! Thundercracker's sonic booms and Skywarp's teleportation are REALLY hard to deal with! Thanks for reading, everyone, and I'll see you all next time! Stay safe out there, and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!