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…

39. Students A Through B

A/N (Important, Please Read): Heyo, everybody! It's once again that time of the week; New Chapter time! Though this time, I want to preface this with a fairly important announcement. Those of you who're following my Ben 10 RWBY story likely already know about this, but starting in two weeks' time, I'll be returning to that story, BUT… I will also be simultaneously updating THIS story as well. We're gonna be shifting to a bi-weekly schedule after Chapter 40, so I just wanted to give you all a heads up about that so that you're not confused once that happens. So, with that bit of information out of the way, let's begin, shall we? This is…

Chapter 39: Students A Through B

…..

The next couple of minutes had involved a lot of processing from those who had just arrived, along with plenty of explaining on Flare Up's end. The Autobot scout had been rather sheepish as she relayed her report to Optimus Prime, who simply listened politely as she did. All the while, the four 1-B students were standing with their new Mini-Con friends, though Itsuka was standing at the front and staying resolute for their sake. Whatever the outcome of all this was, she'd be ready to defend her new friend, no matter what.

However, while that was going on, the returning 1-A students were staring at the quartet in utter bafflement. Eijiro, for his part, couldn't believe that his rival from the Sports Festival was standing in Autobot Headquarters right now. "…Tetsutetsu?"

Momo rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Sure enough, she wasn't. "Kendo?"

Denki felt his cheeks heat up at the sight of a certain vine-haired girl, though how she was HERE of all places just baffled him. "Sh-Shiozaki…"

Mina, on the other hand, was less shocked and more curious as to how this all happened. She took it in stride much better than her friends as she pointed to Setsuna. "And you're… Tokage, right? You guys are from Class 1-B…" She raised a brow at them. "So… what're ya doin' here?"

Immediately, Denki, Momo and Eijiro all fell to the floor at Mina's nonchalant attitude, while the 1-B students felt their jaws unhinge. That was unexpected, and Mina's friends were quick to point that out. "Mina! Would you PLEASE take this seriously?!" Momo exclaimed, extending a hand to their unanticipated guests. "I think you're missing the point that now we have FOUR MORE people who're in the know about the Autobots!"

"Yeah, we're SUPPOSED to be keeping their existence a secret, remember?!" Eijiro added.

"Uh…" Itsuka raised her hand. "If it helps… we all kinda got into this by accident."

That made Denki and the others do a double take, with the other Autobots all intently listening. "W-Wait, seriously?"

"Indeed." Ibara affirmed. "We had absolutely no intention of finding out this secret. Rather, we managed to get roped into all of this by complete happenstance." A blush of her own came to her face as she looked at Denki in particular. "That being said… just how long have you all known about the Autobots, Kaminari?"

Denki scratched the back of his head, glancing away. "E-Er, well, you see… we kinda got pulled into this by accident too."

"Pretty sure that's the case with ALL of us." Izuku piped up, interjecting himself into the exchange. "After all, if I hadn't found Bumblebee on Dagobah Beach last year, none of this would be happening…" He craned his head up toward Prime, who had just finished hearing Flare Up out. "But I don't think that we've got anything to worry about here, honestly."

Kyoka nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it could've been WAY worse, that's for sure."

"I do not doubt either of those statements, you two." Optimus assured, his optics shifting back to Flare Up. "In fact, after hearing your end of the story, Flare Up, I believe it's safe to say that none of you are at fault for how this came about. Accidents happen, that much is clear." He turned fully to the Autobot scout. "After all, we were unable to detect your presence on Earth when you arrived, and as a result, we did not properly contact you. In a way, the fault also lies with us as well. That aside, your dedication to protecting those humans and the Mini-Cons is certainly commendable, and for that, I thank you."

Sideswipe raised a finger. "Though to be fair, you really COULD have tried comming the base first, so—" CLANK! "AGH! And THERE it is!" He snarled as he whipped around to Strongarm, the cadet having chopped the back of his head. "The whole reason I took the mission in the first place."

"Well, you aren't exactly making the situation better, punk." Strongarm retorted, whispering harshly as she yanked him away from Flare Up. "Flare already feels bad about this happening, so don't go around making it worse for her."

Sideswipe raised his hands. "Hey, I'm just saying, maybe this all could've been avoided if—urk!" Just then, from behind, he was grasped around the neck by Bulkhead, the Wrecker giving him a rather stern look.

"Sideswipe, normally I don't take sides in these skirmishes… but I think it's best if you don't bring up the "What If's" right now." Bulkhead narrowed his optics and stated plain and clearly; "Leave the past in the past and focus on what happened."

The Autobot warrior gave a groan, rolling his optics. "Alright, fair point." With that, he was let go, leaving him to rub his neck irritably. 'Still, wouldn't surprise me if Flare DID forget to do that.'

'HOW DID I FORGET TO TRY COMMING THEM FIRST?!' Flare Up berated herself in her own head, smacking her helm repeatedly. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid! Ugh, there you go again, Flare, jumpin' in without thinkin'. Ugh! I just wish I could—'

"Flare Up?"

"H-Huh?!" Shaken out of her stupor, Flare Up craned her head back up to Optimus, who was now standing in front of her. "O-Oh, sorry, Optimus…" She craned her head back down sadly. "If… you feel the need to reprimand me for almost costing the mission, then I won't argue with you. I deserve it."

However, Optimus reached out, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Flare Up, none of this is your fault, and I don't want you to shoulder it all on yourself. As I said, the fault lies in several factors here. And even then, I do not want this moment to be dampened by the negatives."

That made Flare Up raise an eyeridge up to him. "What? What do you mean by that?"

Beneath his faceplate, Optimus Prime smiled as he took his hand off Flare Up's shoulder, extending it for a handshake. "Flare Up… welcome to Earth. It is an honor to have you among us." He craned his head toward the rest of the Autobots and the humans before them. "And I'm certain that the rest of the team thinks the same, so please, make yourself at home."

"…Thank you, Optimus Prime, sir." Flare Up returned the handshake with a bow of her head. "I promise, I'll try and think ahead more in my time on Earth. You can count on it!"

"I appreciate your commitment." Prime returned, their handshake ended. "I hope to see that same enthusiasm when it comes to taking care of the Decepticons, as well."

To that, Flare Up winked and gave a two-fingered salute. "Oh, you can definitely count on that!"

"Excellent. Now… I believe it is time to address our other new arrivals, too." Optimus brought his attention over to the four 1-B students, the teens all shifting nervously in their spots. Once the Autobot leader started making his way toward them, they all stiffened up straight, though they were met with a surprise when he crouched down in front of them. "Hmhm, no need to be so anxious, young ones. Everything is fine, I assure you."

The four glanced at one another when he said that, with Itsuka biting her lower lip. "U-Um… okay. I-I'm Itsuka Kendo, Class 1-B's Class Representative." She bowed fully in respect, which her friends followed suit with.

"My name is Optimus Prime." The commander returned the bow. "We are Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"Autobots, yeah." Itsuka confirmed. "We were pretty much given the lowdown on everything before you arrived."

Tetsu rubbed the back of his head. "Man, to think that a bunch of alien robots would be fighting a secret war HERE on Earth of all places."

"And we pretty much got caught up in all of it thanks to finding those guys over there." Setsuna nudged her head over to the Street Action Mini-Con Team, who were standing behind them in support. "Not to say I regret it or anything, but still, this definitely wasn't on my to-do list for today."

Optimus' attention was brought up to the Mini-Cons in question. "Yes, you are the ones who found these three." With a smile that was conveyed by his optics alone, Optimus brought his hand up to them. "And I must sincerely thank you for that. If you all hadn't found them first, the Decepticons likely would have found them instead, and have them reprogrammed for evil. We are in your debt."

That made Ibara's eyebrows shoot up. "W-Wait… they can do that?" She covered her heart in shock. "H-How abhorrent!"

"Indeed, Lady Ibara." Sureshock affirmed, her optics visibly worried. "Unfortunately, while we're inside of our stasis panels, Mini-Cons are very susceptible to being reprogramed."

"In the wrong hands, we can be made into hardcore deviants." High Wire's clip-shaped hands balled up in anger. "It makes me so mad to see Decepticons just use us for our power and not appreciate us for it! That's why we trusted the Autobots to take us off world and find us a better place to live…"

Grindor crossed his arms with a huff. "Psh, yeah, Cons are the worst… but it looks like our new home's attracted even MORE of 'em."

"And what's worse is that the Cons already have some Mini-Cons of their own." Sunstreaker said, delivering the bad news with a lowered head. "I'm sorry… but Jetstorm, Sonar and Runway were corrupted."

That made the Street Action team do a collective double take. "W-What?!" High Wire exclaimed. "The Air Defense team's been corrupted?!"

Bulkhead furrowed his eyeridges with a heavy sigh. "Yeah… though now they call themselves the Air Assault team."

"But we will free them, High Wire." Optimus placed a hand over his chest windows. "I swear upon my very spark that ALL Mini-Cons will be free from Decepticon control. And once they are, we will continue our efforts to find you a new, permanent home."

"…Thank you, Optimus, but you can hold off on that." High Wire assured, he and his team now sharing determined expressions. "We Mini-Cons have already tried to run from the war, but it's obvious that didn't work. If the Decepticons want to keep trying to use us, then I think it's time we fight back." He nodded to each of his teammates and, all at once…

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk!

…They formed up into Safeguard, much to the shock of everyone. Most shocked were Eijiro, Momo, Denki, and especially Mina, the pink girl's jaw having dropped to the floor in stunned silence. "D-D-Did those three just COMBINE into one robot?!" Momo exclaimed.

Denki threw his hands up and turned away. "That's it, I give up, nothing about these guys can surprise me anymore."

Safeguard raised a fist and placed it over their chest, smiling up to Optimus. "Rest assured, you can safely say that Safeguard is with you. The three of us will do whatever it takes to free our kind and keep them out of the Decepticon's clutches. You have our word."

Optimus brought his hand down, with Safeguard placing his own smaller hand in it. "Your words humble me, Safeguard. I will do my best to uphold my word as well." He craned his head back toward the 1-B students. "And what of you all? Now that you know our secret, you all will likely be targeted by the Decepticons as well."

"We… will?" Tetsu asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Yes, and thus, it would be ill-advised to leave you unguarded. Which means—"

But just then, Mina hopped up in front of Optimus, having recovered from her stupor with a wide, beaming smile. "Which means you're gonna have to stick around! Eee-hee-hee-hee! Oh, this is so exciting! More members to add to the Cyber-Squad!"

The whole group, Autobots, Mini-Cons and humans alike, stared at Mina incredulously at that. "Uh… "Cyber-Squad"?" Kyoka repeated.

"I don't think we ever agreed to that." Izuku added.

"Well, I thought it up right now, so HA!" Mina booped Izuku on the nose before whirling back to the 1-B students and Safeguard. "But don't you guys worry about a thing! I'm gonna make absolutely sure that you and your Mini-Con buddies feel nice and at home here with all the rest of us!"

But Itsuka raised a hand to her. "Woah, woah, hold on just a sec. We haven't even agreed to anything yet." She gestured toward herself. "I mean, sure, I'm all for joining up, but what about them?" Her hand extended back to her classmates. "They could possibly still have a chance at having a somewhat normal life after this, right? No need for even MORE people to get caught up in—"

"Aaaactually, that might not be possible." Mei interrupted, doing some math on her calculator. "Given the fact that all three of you managed to make the Decepticon second-in-command angry with your interference, I'd say that all you have…" She held up the calculator with a smirk. "About a ninety-five-point-three percent chance of being targeted."

The four teens all eyed one another warily, not exactly trusting the math at play. "Uh… what about the other four-point-seven percent?" Setsuna asked.

"Always gotta leave room for error." Mei threw her calculator on the work bench behind her and leaned in toward them, her eyes gleaming with about as much excitement as Mina's. "And besides, it's not like you guys can just walk when you KNOW about this place."

Mina nodded wholeheartedly. "Eeyup! Your guys' fate pretty much got sealed when ya came through the GroundBridge."

"…Crap, she's right." Itsuka grimaced, facing her friends with an apologetic gaze. "Guys, I'm sorry that you had to get caught up in this mess, really."

However, Setsuna simply shook her head. "Ah, don't be, Itsuka. Honestly, I'm completely fine with it." Her eyes shifted between Ibara and Tetsu, both nodding back to her with confidence. "And these guys are, too, so we're pretty much in it for the long haul."

"YAY!" Mina and Mei exclaimed before both started chanting; "One of Us! One of Us! One of Us!" The 1-B students couldn't help but wince a little at their support.

"Ahem…" Optimus coughed in his hand, bringing the chanting to a halt. "While I appreciate you girls' enthusiasm for our new arrivals, I believe it is imperative that we also focus on HOW they will be protected." Optimus' optics shifted between them and Safeguard. "Thankfully, to my understanding, it would seem that these three scanned your respective modes of transport, correct?"

Ibara nodded up to him. "Yes, that's right… though they are slightly different."

"I doubt our parents would notice, honestly." Setsuna shrugged. "I mean, they're not THAT different."

Tetsu deadpanned at her, thrusting his hands toward Grindor's knees. "Tokage, Grindor has thrusters."

Ibara winced, placing a finger to her cheek. "And my scooter is white, not orange…"

"O-Okay, maybe there's SOME things that they'd notice." Setsuna admitted before reaching over and patting Safeguard on the leg. "But we can figure out all that stuff later. Heck, maybe we can tell our parents that we bought some new top-of-the-line models or whatever. But get psyched, guys! We're gonna be helping out in a freaking WAR effort!"

But if anything, that got Safeguard confused. "Um… Setsuna, there really isn't much to be excited about when joining a war." They gave the four 1-B students a serious expression. "Believe us when we say that, if you dedicate yourself to this, there will be no going back. You must be prepared for any hardships that may come, because they WILL happen."

"Oh… yeah, you've got a point." Setsuna nodded.

Safeguard separated back into the three Mini-Cons and High Wire set a hand to her shoulder. "But you can be sure that we're gonna protect you three, no matter what, okay?"

Sureshock bowed to Ibara in respect. "I would be absolutely honored to be by your side, Lady Ibara."

Ibara smiled and nodded in approval. "Yes, of course. Sureshock, the honor is all mine."

"And my man Tetsu's gonna be in for the ride of his life, bro." Grindor extended a fist to the Steel Quirk user. "Hope you're ready, man."

"Oh-ho, I'm MORE than ready!" Tetsu solidified his fist into metal and returned the fist bump with vigor. "Bring it on!" He wore a toothy grin as he set his sights over to Eijiro and Sideswipe. "Besides, the fact that Kirishima's here gives me even MORE reason to stick around." He set a determined glare on the Hardening user, raising a fist. "After all, I've got a feeling that training with the Autobots is how you were able to beat me in the Sports Festival. And I wouldn't be a real man if I just let that happen again!"

And, just like that, Eijiro could feel himself getting pumped up, to the point where he hardened his arm and ran up to Tetsu, clashing it with his. "Oh yeah? Well, I'll give you this; you're right 'bout the training part…" He leaned in, returning the same determination. "But you're dead wrong if you think I'm just gonna let you get ahead of me."

That made Tetsu bellow out a laugh. "OH-HO! We've got a funny man, here!" He briefly eyed Sideswipe. "Guess you really managed to light a fire under his ass, eh… "Sid"?"

Sideswipe just smirked right back. "You bet. And my man's gonna come at ya TWICE as hard in next year's Sports Fest, you can count on it."

"Hey, not if I make sure Tetsu's ahead of him, bro!" Grindor shouted out, running up to Sideswipe's leg and jumping up and down. "You just wait! I'm gonna make sure he hardens up to the MAX!"

"Ha! Is that so, Peewee?" Sideswipe poked Grindor on the head. "Eijiro's gonna get harder than you can even comprehend!"

Grindor slapped his hand away and shouted; "Who're you callin' Peewee, Hefty Bot?!"

"Twinkle Toes!"

"Two-Ton Tower!"

"Microbot!"

"Gargantu-Aft!"

As the two went back and forth, Eijiro and Tetsu's competitive spirit immediately died down as they winced at the jabs being sent back and forth. "Uh… maybe we wanna stop this before it gets outta—" CLANG-CLANG! Like clockwork, Strongarm and Sureshock both chopped their respective teammates on their necks, sending them clattering to the ground. "…Thanks." Eijiro sighed.

Strongarm sighed as well. "You're welcome…" She shook her head in disapproval. "Punk Mechs."

"I know, try having to COMBINE with him." Sureshock facepalmed.

As that was happening, Denki was slowly side-stepping his way over to Ibara, just out of her line of sight. This was it; his chance to actually make some proper conversation with her. 'I was gonna see if I could do this after school on Thursday, but if this isn't a blessing in disguise, I dunno what is.' With that thought in his mind and his blush under control, Denki finally stopped just a few feet away and cleared his throat. "A-Ahem, so uh… Shiozaki, I gotta ask… how're ya handling all of this?"

Ibara blinked and spun around… which was almost like slow motion for Denki as he watched her vines-hair whirl around with her. "Oh, Kaminari… I-I will admit, it WAS a lot to take in at first…" She gave him a confident smile. "But I'm fairly certain that I feel much better now that everything has been settled. Though I must admit…" Her sights then settled on Sunstreaker. "I had absolutely no idea that your Autobot friends were actually AT the Sports Festival, right in front of our very eyes!"

The yellow Autobot chuckled to himself, placing a hand on his chest as he began to boast about it. "Hehe, well believe it, little miss, because check this out…" Sunstreaker then backflipped into his vehicle mode, landing on the ground with a THUD before his holo-matter avatar appeared in his driver's seat only a second later. "Sunny" got out of the Lamborghini and gave Ibara a wave. "Sup, girl?"

"Oh… my goodness." Ibara covered her mouth with her finger tips. "That… was amazing." She turned her head to Sureshock curiously. "Can you do that, Sureshock?"

"Unfortunately, no, Lady Ibara." Sureshock brought her hands together, rubbing them anxiously. "Us Mini-Cons are capable of many things, but creating holo-matter avatars is not one of them. It's a shame, because Mini-Cons such as us would benefit greatly from having them."

Denki gave a shrug at that. "Eh, I don't think it's THAT big of a loss. I mean, you guys can COMBINE into a freaking tower of power. That's just too freaking cool."

Sureshock went from nervous to happy in a split second. "Hm! Very true! You're very kind, Mr. Denki, thank you."

Ibara couldn't help but smile sweetly to the young blonde, tucking a stray vine behind her ear. "He does have a way of words, that one…" She trailed off and turned her head away, blushing profusely without noticing that Denki was very much doing the same.

Up above, Flare Up couldn't help but snicker a little at the scene. "Hehe, aw, isn't that just adorable? Haha!" *tap-tap* "H-Huh?" The red and orange femme spun around to see who had tapped her shoulder… only for her optics to widen at the sight of a certain Cityspeaker standing before her.

"…I've been waiting since we got back for this moment." Windblade stated plain and simple, holding her arms out to Flare Up. "Might've taken a while, but… welcome home, Flare. It's been so long."

"AAAH! WINDY!" Flare Up practically screamed in delight as she pulled Windblade in for a hug, going so far as to lift her up off the ground and spin her around excitedly. "Ahaha! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it! How in the frag did I not notice you?!"

"Haha, I don't know, I'm kinda hard to miss." Windblade laughed as Flare Up set her down, impressed by her strength. "But it's really good to see you, Flare. Primus, has it really been over five hundred stellar cycles since we last saw one another?"

Flare Up gave a wink. "Actually, it's been five-hundred and seventy-two stellar cycles, but hey, who's countin'?" The two femmes laughed in unison before Flare Up put a hand to Windblade's shoulder. "But seriously, it's absolutely smashing to see you, luv."

Windblade placed her hand over her friend's. "Hmhm, same here." In the corner of her optic, however, she suddenly caught sight of Momo approaching from behind, which made her gasp in realization. "Ah! Oh right, I should introduce you two!" She stepped around and extended a hand down to her partner. "Flare Up, I'd like you to meet my best human friend and partner, Momo Yaoyorozu. And Momo, this is Flare Up. She's my best friend from Cybertron."

The two locked sights with one another, with Flare Up giving a greeting smile. "Well, 'ello there! Nice to meet ya, Momo." She squatted down and offered Momo her hand. "Any friend of Windy's is a friend o' mine!"

"Oh, well thank you!" Momo returned the gesture, placing her hand on Flare Up's finger. "It's an honor to meet someone who's such a close friend of Windblade's. Do you two go far back?"

The scout responded with a wink. "Oh, you don't know the half of it. We pretty much emerged on the same day as protoforms, an' from there, we were knit together tighter than a mesh sealer! Hahaha!" But then, her mirthful expression became one of sullenness. "But then, well… the war broke out an' we were separated into different squadrons based on our specialties. Not to say I didn't like the team I was assigned to, far from it, but…" She craned her head back up to Windblade with a sad smile. "It's almost like losin' a sister, ya know?"

"…I kind of wish I could." Momo said sympathetically. "Unfortunately, I'm an only child. I would have loved to have a sister, though. But even then, I can see how much of a bond you have with Windblade, so I can definitely understand what you're talking about." It was then, however, that Momo noticed that Itsuka was standing silently off to the side, no doubt not wanting to interrupt the moment. …But at the same time, Momo wasn't about to let her do that. She smiled and waved the redhead down. "Kendo! Hello there."

Itsuka did a doubletake as the raven-haired girl came over, trying as hard as she could to make herself NOT look flustered. "O-Oh, hello, Yaoyorozu."

"Hmhm, please, call me Momo. Or Yoamomo if you're so inclined." Momo gave her a bright, bubbly smile, taking the redhead even more off-guard. "Everyone here does, after all."

"O-Oh, okay. Yaomomo it is, then." Itsuka returned the grin. "I think that's actually a really cute nickname." The two girls giggled a little before Itsuka asked; "So, how long have you known about the Autobots?"

"Since the USJ incident, actually." Momo pointed over to Bumblebee, who noticed and sent her a wave from across the room. "It happened when Midoriya, Kyoka and I were separated from the others. Bumblebee and Windblade both came to our aid and let me tell you, I was fairly stunned."

Itsuka nodded with a shaky smile. "Heh, yeah, I'll bet. Though thankfully your first experience didn't involve getting chased by Decepticons down the freeway." She smirked and raised a brow up to Flare Up, the scout rubbing her neck sheepishly. "Me? Yeah, not so much."

"OOH! Then WE have something in common then!" Both Momo and Itsuka yelped as Mina popped up between the both of them, the pink girl beaming at the redhead. "The same exact thing happened to me, Kirishima, Kaminari, Iida and Ochako when WE found out about the Autobots!"

That made Itsuka's eyebrows shoot up. "W-Woah, hold on, really?"

All of a sudden, Setsuna came over with widened eyes of her own. "No way! That's gotta be a crazy coincidence!"

High Wire, standing behind her, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It DOES seem awfully lucky that similar events managed to happen like that. Granted, it's a rather twisted sense of luck, but still."

But Mina wagged her finger at the green-haired girl with a knowing smirk. "Ah, but see, I don't think so. They often say history repeats itself for a reason…" She offered a wink to the 1-B girls. "So I think it was fated that you guys found out about the Autobots, too!"

"…Fated?" The two girls were left perplexed by Mina's words.

Momo, with a somewhat irritated face, went over and pushed Mina's head down gently, much to her chagrin. "Don't worry, she often gets like this. Mina's our resident conspiracy theorist. To be honest, it's hard to keep her under control sometimes."

"Hmph…" Mina pursed her lips, giving Momo a soft glare. "Psh, "conspiracy theorist" she says." She pushed her head back up and raised a finger to the rich girl. "Well, lemme ask ya this; WHO was it who guessed right when she said that shapeshifting aliens had come to Earth after the meteor shower? Oh right, that was ME!"

Bulkhead couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Hehe, well, ya gotta give her credit for that one, Momo. She DID guess right on that one."

"Haha! See?" Mina held her chin up proudly. "Bulkhead gets it."

With a resigned sigh, Momo facepalmed. "Yes, and that kind of worries me."

Just then, Mei raised her hand up toward Optimus, her excitement clear in her voice. "Oh yeah, hey Prime! How'd the mission go? We heard you said it was a success, so… where's the relic?"

"Yes, I was just about to ask that myself…" Red Alert chimed in with a slight head tilt toward Prime's trailer. "I didn't see any of you bring anything in, so is it inside the Combat Deck?"

Optimus nodded to him. "Indeed. Also, on a related note, the Combat Deck itself worked surprisingly well, you two. Excellent job in constructing it."

"Heh, was there ever any doubt?" Mei smirked while nudging Red Alert's leg with her arm, earning a proud chortle from the medical engineer.

"So, what's the new piece of Cybertronian bling, Prime?" Jazz inquired further, stepping over to the trailer. "Somethin' powerful, I'm bettin'."

"Well, for one thing… it wasn't a relic at all." Optimus strolled over himself, placing a hand gently on top of the trailer as every Autobot and human focused on the wheeled box. "Rather, the coordinates led us to a message from Maccadam that was sent to Earth WITH the relics, one that was placed in a certain spot so that I could find it… along with the TRUE objective it was leading us to."

Kyoka scratched her head. "Uh… Mac-who?"

"Maccadam…" Red Alert repeated in awe. "An old bot who ran an oil house in the Autobot capital city. Somehow, he was gifted with the ability to see premonitions of the future, and he often used this ability to give bots hints to what was to come for them."

Izuku blinked at that. "A bartender… with the ability to see the future." He placed a hand on his forehead. "Yeah, the fact that I'm not shocked about that at all is very telling to just how used to this stuff I've become." Getting back on track, he smiled up to the Prime. "Well, Optimus, don't leave us in suspense, show us what you found!"

"Hmhm, Izuku, it isn't a matter of what, I found… but who I found." Optimus gave the top of his trailer a pat, willing the doors open as a ramp extended out and to the ground out the back. "Come out, old friend, and come meet your new teammates!"

As if on cue, a small engine could be heard revving before tiny drone car came whizzing out the back of the trailer, practically launching off the ramp and skidding across the floor, its six metal wheels leaving sparks along the floor. The tiny blue buggy had a flashing red light on its rear, leading the teens and other Autobots to all focus straight on it.

"WOAH!" Flare Up exclaimed. "Comin' through!"

"What the…" Itsuka started, only to be cut off when the parts of the buggy started shifting.

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk!

The front end of the buggy flipped out with its front tires and front seats, which then separated into two separate legs. Then, the two other sets of wheels extended outward, revealing a pair of arms that slammed down on the floor so the tiny robot could stand up. Finally, a flat-topped head poked out from the top of the new bot's torso, revealing a grin and a pair of yellow optics. The stylized "M" logo on the center of his chest, as well as the port on his midsection told everyone all they needed to know…

"ANOTHER Mini-Con?!" Tetsu shouted. "No way!"

Setsuna glanced over to High Wire in shock. "Huh, friend of yours?"

High Wire, for his part, was left completely stunned, along with Grindor and Sureshock as well. "He… H-He's our leader!"

"Ah, I see—HUH?!"

The new Mini-Con, who was noticeably slightly bigger than all the rest, approached the group with open arms in greeting. "Haha! High Wire! Sureshock! Grindor! I thought those voices seemed familiar." He folded his arms over his chest with a small smirk. "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I wanted to make a grand entrance, if you know what I'm saying."

"R-Roller!" Sureshock cried gleefully as she and her team approached him, crowding around with their arms stretched back toward him. "You're here! By the Maker, you're well and truly here!"

"Haha! Talk about luck!" Grindor laughed as well. "To think, all four of us would be found on the exact same day!"

Roller nodded down to his brethren. "I know. I'm very glad that's the case." He spotted the 1-B students, as well as Izuku, Kyoka and Mei staring at them, to which he nodded back. "And I believe I have you all to thank for helping them escape the clutches of the Decepticons. Excellent work!" He went up to the kids, jerking a thumb to his chest. "My name's Roller, and I'm the leader of the Mini-Cons." He glanced back toward Optimus over his shoulder. "Which also makes me Optimus Prime's partner Mini-Con."

"Holy crap! Seriously" Kyoka whipped her head up to the Prime happily. "Optimus, that's so cool that you found your old partner!"

Izuku was quick to agree. "Yeah, congratulations, Optimus." He then extended a hand toward Roller himself. "And it's nice to meet you, Roller. My name is Izuku Midoriya. Welcome to Autobot Outpost Omega-1."

"Ah, so YOU'RE the one who Maccadam mentioned in his message!" Roller shook Izuku's hand enthusiastically. "Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Midoriya."

"I-Izuku's fine." The greenette's face flushed in embarrassment before realizing what Roller said. "W-Wait, hold on… Maccadam mentioned me?"

Optimus cleared his throat, the commander feeling somewhat chagrinned that Roller mentioned that before he wanted. "Ahem, yes, he did. I was going to mention it to you later in a more private manner, but… he said something about keeping an eye on your Quirk." He raised a single eyeridge. "As well as something about an… inner knight within you."

And just like that, Izuku jerked his head back, incredulous at that term. "…Um, "Inner Knight"? What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"I am unsure myself, honestly." Optimus admitted with a shrug. "That being said, Mac has always been known to speak in riddles often, so it could possibly be a metaphor."

Kyoka, for her part, was rather intrigued by this. "Hm, inner knight, huh?" Immediately, her mind went straight to picturing Izuku in a suit of sterling silver armor, holding a long sword while a green cape billowed behind him. …It was hysterical. She had to suck in her lips and put her hand over her mouth as she convulsed, her laughter almost too much to contain.

Izuku sent her a deadpan grimace. "Hey… what's so funny?"

"Hehehe—I'm sorry!" Kyoka's apologized as she busted out laughing. "I-It's just that… haha, the thought of you in a suit of armor is just something I cannot picture without it seeming SO out of place."

The One for All inheritor folded his arms, feeling a bit irked at that. "And what's THAT supposed to mean?"

"Well… no offense, dude, but ya do kind of have a baby-face..." Eijiro pointed out, making Tetsu snicker a little.

Izuku's head snapped over to her, jaw agape. "H-Huh?! Kirishima, you too?!"

That sent Setsuna and Mina both cackling madly, mainly at his expression. "Hahaha! Oh—OH, this is too rich!" The Lizard Tail Splitter user went over and pat Izuku on the shoulder without hesitation. "H-Hey, don't worry, my fellow Greenie. I think you'd look pretty cool as a knight."

"Yeah, Midori, you'd rock being on a horse!" Mina added with a cheeky thumbs up.

While their support was appreciated, Izuku still couldn't help feeling a little called out. Was his face REALLY that childish? "…Thanks, I think." Shooing those thoughts away, though, Izuku went back to thinking about what Maccadam said. "But back on track… why would Maccadam say something like that in the first place?"

"Again, I cannot be entirely sure." Optimus placed a hand to his chin, pondering why himself. "Though considering he said so in relation to your Quirk… I believe the two aspects could be connected."

Momo nodded in agreement. "Hm, yes, that is a fair assumption. After all, Midoriya's Quirk is quite unique. The only one I can think of as being similar is All Might's and we all know that's why he took Midoriya under his wing." She craned her head to the Quirk inheritor in question. "Perhaps what Maccadam could be referring to is… your inner hero?"

Now THAT made much more sense to Izuku. "Oh! Yeah, you have a point, Yaoyorozu. That COULD be the case…" The very next second, however, Izuku gasped as he remembered something. "Oh, shoot! I forgot!" He pulled out his phone and began going through his contacts. "I need to call All Might and tell him about what happened today!"

"H-Hold on a second…" Itsuka stepped over to Izuku, rather shocked at the information going around all at once. "Are you saying that YOU'RE being trailed PERSONALLY by All Might? And that he KNOWS about all of this?!"

"Well… yes." Izuku nudged his head toward Bumblebee. "He and I were the ones to find Bumblebee on Dagobah Beach. If that didn't happen, none of us would be here right now." He sent her a knowing smile. "Plus, I'm pretty sure I said that ALL of UA's faculty are in the know about this, so it should come as no surprise, right?"

The 1-B students all gaped at Izuku before Tetsu realized something else; "HOLD ON! Is THAT how you were able to just dominate the Sports Festival?! Because you were trained by ALL MIGHT himself?!"

"Pretty much. Well, All Might AND Optimus helped train me." But Izuku raised a finger to them. "I mean, to be fair, I did came close to losing plenty of times yesterday. A lot of it came down to sheer luck, if I'm being honest."

"LUCK?!" Tetsu threw his head back and his hands went to his hair, viciously roughing it up. "You've gotta be kidding me! We've got basically All Might 2.0 in our grade and he won with mostly luck?!"

"Psh, nah." Kyoka scoffed. "Most of it was him. He just had a little luck on his side."

That made Izuku scoff as he dialed up All Might. "Heh, tell that to Todoroki and Shinso. They were this close to knocking me out." He brought the phone up to his ear, his finger going to his lips briefly. "Now shh, I've gotta break the news to All Might gently…" The moment he heard a click on the other line, he started with a friendly; "H-Hey, All Might, how're things—"

"YOUNG MIDORIYA!" All Might shouted in relief. "Thank goodness, I was wondering when you would call."

"A-All Might? What's going on? Is something wrong?"

He heard a grunt from the Number One Hero as he heard something crunch on the other end, likely something getting thrown. "You could say that! I've been getting reports of all sorts of chaos across southern Japan. First it was about a freeway accident near Musutafu involving a motorcycle and—funnily enough, a pair of dark, suspicious-looking cars." Those words made Izuku flinch. "Not to mention people hearing explosions in the nearby mountains as well, along with sightings of lasers blasting into the skies above not long after. Young Midoriya, are you at Autobot Headquarters?"

Izuku swallowed and answered. "Y…Y-Yes."

And that was all that All Might needed to hear. "Hm… and I wonder, have you perhaps engaged any Decepticon forces in Japan today?"

"W-Well, not directly…"

"But there IS something going on. I can tell just by the tone in your voice."

The boy winced at that. 'Damn, he's good.' Izuku took a deep breath and made his case. "All Might, there's a reasonable explanation for all of this, I promise you. There were three Mini-Cons that woke up from stasis in the mountains and we had to pull off a quick rescue mission."

"Oh! I see, that does sound important." All Might approved. "Did you succeed? And what about Optimus and the others? Have they returned successfully as well?"

Izuku nodded. "Yes to both. But… well, let's just say that something ELSE happened. Something pretty big… that you'll have to bring Aizawa and Mr. King over for."

There was a long pause on the other end before All Might muttered; "…Don't tell me."

For a response, Izuku pulled the phone away from his ear… and held it up to the 1-B students with an apologetic gaze. "I think it's best if you rip the band-aid off now. Trust me, better sooner than later."

With a begrudging agreement, Itsuka steadied herself and spoke into the phone. "H-Hello, All Might, sir… this is Itsuka Kendo of Class 1-B. Um… me and my new friend Flare Up were the ones involved with the freeway incident, sorry."

"Y-Young Kendo?! A-And who's this Flare Up?"

"Uh… hey, it's Setsuna Togake, too!" The Lizard Tail Splitter user greeted. "Along with Tetsutetsu and Ibara Shiozaki here as well. You, uh… wanna know why the Mini-Cons in the mountains activated in the first place, Mr. All Might?"

"…Oh good lord." All Might sighed on the other end. "All of you, stay put… I've gotta get your homeroom teachers."

…..

One half hour full of dread later, the sound of an approaching car engine could be heard coming through the woods just outside the Autobot base, where everyone had been gathered together. From the forest path, a small crimson car could be seen rolling down toward the group of Autobots, Mini-Cons and humans, and up in the sky, they could all see All Might falling straight down at them. Needless to say, the sight made the 1-B students all shake apprehensively, the four feeling beads of nervous sweat trailing down their foreheads. As a result, High Wire, Sureshock and Grindor were also quite anxious, though the Mini-Cons still stood by their human companions firmly.

Kyoka leaned over to them and whispered; "Don't worry, this is just the hard part. And I doubt it'll be that ba—"

"KENDO!" Everyone flinched the moment Vlad King practically burst out the driver's side of the car, the fanged Blood Quirk user having nearly kicked the door off. "Tetsutetsu! Togake! Shiozaki! Just what in the blasted hell is going on here?!"

"Oh god, we're dead." Tetsu leaned forward, cradling his head in his hands. "It was nice knowing you guys."

Eijiro set a hand to the Steel user's shoulder in support. "C'mon dude, straighten up an' face it like a man! Everything will be fine, like Jiro sai—" But then, from out the driver's side, Aizawa stepped out… and he did not appear to be in a good mood. On the plus side, his bandages were all off, and he only had his arm in a sling. But the BAD part about that was that he was using his Quirk on all of them, disabling their own Quirks as his eyes glowed red and his hair stood up on end to make for the scariest glare ever. And it was just to reinforce the fact that they had nowhere to run. "…Nevermind, we're dead."

Ibara cried out, her hands flying up to hide her face. "Oh, tell me when it's over!"

"H-Hey, we're not goners yet, Shiozaki!" Denki reassured, steeling his own nerves so he could support her. "It's going to be okay, I promise."

But apparently, Aizawa managed to hear that. "Don't start making promises you can't keep, Kaminari." Eraser Head deactivated his Quirk, but kept his scowl about him as he and Vlad approached, with All Might landing next to them soon after. "So… care to tell us what exactly happened for all of THIS to have occurred?" He made sure to gesture to the four 1-B students to accentuate his point.

"M-Mr. Aizawa, please, this was all a big mistake." Izuku pleaded.

That made the Erasure user narrow his eyes at the boy. "Is it? Because given your track record, Problem Child, we might as well reveal the Autobot's existence to the whole WORLD if these "mistakes" keep happening."

"N-Now, now, let's not get too heated here." All Might stepped in between the two. "After all, keeping a secret as big as the Autobots is far from easy, that much I know." He turned to his protégé with a hopeful if desperate smile. "Now, Young Midoriya, if you would please explain what happened from the beginning."

Izuku was about to do so… but then Itsuka side-stepped him and took the reigns instead. "If you would, All Might, sir, I'd actually like to explain for myself and my friends. I promise, I'll be sure to tell you nothing but the truth."

Aizawa and All Might were taken aback by her boldness, but Vlad was more than ready to approve. "Hm, I'll allow it." he nodded to his fellow teachers. "Miss Kendo here is a very truthful and dependable student. It's the reason I decided to appoint her as Class Rep in the first place." He crossed his arms, giving the redhead an expectant gaze. "Well, Miss Kendo, you have the floor."

"Thank you, sir." Itsuka bowed, taking a deep breath before she started. "So, it all started like this…" And from there, over the next several minutes, Itsuka explained their situation to the three adults, with Tetsu, Ibara and Setsuna chiming in with extra details if so inclined. By the end of her long-winded explanation, Itsuka had to take another breath before making her conclusion. "And so, there you have it. Basically, this all boils down to just a TON of flukes happening all at once and everything just being out of our control." She glanced over to Aizawa in particular. "None of this was Midoriya's fault. There was just a ton of mistakes made that we had no idea of foreseeing."

Aizawa hummed at that. "Hm, I see… and you'll stand by all of that?"

"Of course, sir!" Tetsu stood up straight, putting on a brave expression.

"If you're to blame anyone, blame us for sticking our noses where they didn't belong." Ibara added confidently.

Setsuna grinned as she pointed out; "Plus, to be fair, if we hadn't rescued those Mini-Cons, the Decepticons would've gotten them instead, so if anything, we helped out more today than anything, hehe—oof!" She was elbowed in the ribs by Itsuka almost immediately.

"But that's not the point here." Itsuka straightened up before giving a full bow to the adults. "The point is that, if you're going to place the blame on anyone, put it on us. Not on any of them." The rest of her friends bowed as well. "We're ready to receive any punishment you have in mind."

Vlad raised an eyebrow at that. "Punishment? Who said you were getting punished?!" At that, the quartet snapped their heads up incredulously. "This isn't school, you kids aren't getting punished for anything. Of course, as your teacher, I am concerned for all of you, but outside of school we have no jurisdiction to give you any sort of penalty."

Even Aizawa agreed with this. "Hm, the most we can do is give you a slight reprimand for your actions, but in reality, the main concern here is that you're all safe." He set his sights up toward Flare Up with a cocked brow. "And I'm hoping that the Autobots can KEEP you safe from here on out."

Flare Up offered a smirk back to the teacher. "Heh, you got any idea who you're talkin' to, mate?" She jerked a thumb toward her chest. "If ya don't, the name's Flare Up, an' I'm pretty much a natural when it comes to protectin'."

"Hm, well, if your protecting is as any good as you getting into trouble, I'll have nothing to worry about that." Eraser Head's remark made Flare Up puff her cheeks irritably, but he ignored it to address Optimus instead. "All jokes aside, I want you to put a FIRM lid on this, Prime. I think that you and I can both agree that there can't be any more room for error here. If incidents like these keep happening, then humanity will likely find out about you all sooner rather than later."

Optimus gave a single nod back. "You are correct, Mr. Aizawa. It is best if we make certain that events like these never happen again." His optics trailed over to his medic. "Red Alert, effective immediately, I want the planetary sensors being monitored at all times in preparation for any Autobot signals approaching Earth." He raised a single finger, adding; "And if they have a live comm-link, be sure to contact it."

Red gave a salute. "Of course, Optimus. Should I detect any, I'll be sure that you are the first to know." He turned to Springer with an uncomfortable look. "Hopefully those situations won't result in something similar to Springer's situation, though…"

Springer himself couldn't help but wince. "Ah, yeah, that's right. The Cons managed to hijack our comm and that's how they were able to latch on to me and make the ol' switcheroo." He placed his hands on his hips, lowering his head in thought. "Damn, could they do somethin' like that again?"

"Eh, I doubt it." Windblade shook her head. "Knowing Starscream, he only had one Shifter among his crew… and you made sure to blow him up, so they can't pull the same trick twice."

"And even then, we'd know to be on the lookout for somethin' like that." Bulkhead furthered, smashing his hand into his palm. "Con Scum won't be settin' foot in OUR base again if I've got anything to say about it."

All Might threw his head back, giving a hearty laugh. "Ahahaha! Well, I'm certainly glad that this situation was resolved relatively easily. However, the question remains…" His attention was brought back to the 1-B students. "Now, I'm fully aware that you all have formed very fast bonds among the Autobot ranks…" The pro eyed the Street Action Mini-Cons and Flare Up next. "And in turn, those who you have formed bonds with have sworn to protect you. But I must ask, are the four of you comfortable with this? Remember; this is a change that will affect your lives completely, both in and out of school, so be mindful of your choice."

Itsuka, Ibara, Setsuna, and Tetsu all looked to one another before collectively nodding, not even having to think about it. "All Might, sir, we're willing to accept those risks." Itsuka extended her arm over toward the 1-A students and Mei. "If these guys can help keep a secret, then so can we. There's a lot riding on the line here, and I promise that we won't disappoint you."

"I certainly hope not." Aizawa groaned. "Otherwise, this is liable to turn into a giant mess."

Vlad grimaced slightly at his fellow teacher. "Have a little faith there, Aizawa. After all, unlike your students, mine don't get into trouble often, so this is a rarity for them."

The dark-haired man furrowed his brow back to his taller colleague. "Are you insinuating something, King?"

"Oh, goodness, no." Vlad shifted his eyes away.

"It certainly sounds like it."

"Well, it isn't."

Optimus made a point to raise his volume when he spoke up; "AHEM, if we could please avoid getting into senseless quarrels, perhaps we can focus on what is truly important?" The two men reserved themselves to silence after that. "Thank you. Now, Mr. King, for the safety of your students, I will arrange for their guardians to do what I have Bumblebee and Arcee doing for Mr. Aizawa's; picking them up directly after school. Is that suitable for you?"

"It is. So long as they're safe, that's all I care about." Vlad approved.

Flare Up's optics lit up in excitement, whirling around to her human friend. "AH! You hear that, Itsuka? I'm gonna be pickin' you up from now on! Isn't that great?!"

"Haha, yeah, it does. Just so long as I'm able to get to my shift on time on the days I need to work." Itsuka reminded.

Momo's eyebrows rose up at that. "Oh, Kendo, I had no idea that you had a job. Where do you work?"

"At one of the McRonald's in Musutafu. The one near the business district." Itsuka wore an amused grin and giggled a little. "Hehe, to be honest, I actually started working there so that I could save up for my dream motorcycle…" She then pointed to Flare Up, who was also giggling at the situation. "But guess who LITERALLY transforms into my dream bike, complete with the correct color scheme? Haha!"

"HA! No way!" Denki and Eijiro laughed as well. "That's some crazy coincidence."

Mina tilted her head to the 1-B representative. "So wait, if you've technically got your dream bike now… is there any reason for you to keep working there?"

"Uh, yeah?" Itsuka raised a brow. "Money's still money, Ashido."

The pink girl gave a shrug. "I mean, I guess, but I'm just sayin', you could have WAY more fun here at the base with us if you freed yourself from the SHACKLES of the fast-food industry…"

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm going to have to take a pass." The redhead declined. "Once I graduate and go pro, then I'll resign, but until then, I like being responsible at my job. And besides, it gives me something to do that makes me money, so I'm not complaining."

Mina, Eijrio and Denki all stared incredulously at her. "Wow… you and Iida would have SO much to talk about."

"Oh, hey, that's right!" Tetsu piped up. "You guys mentioned that Iida and Uraraka know about all this too, right? Where are they?"

Arcee decided to answer that one. "Well, Ochako's currently back at her apartment with her parents. They decided to come visit, so she's spending some time with them." She wore a happy grin and placed a hand on her chest. "In fact, I will be accompanying the three of them to dinner tonight, so that should be fun."

"Aw, that's so cool!" Kyoka said. "Glad to hear 'Chako's having some quality time with her mom and dad." But then, her expression faltered when she remembered the state that their other friend was in. "As for Iida, though…" She turned to the 1-B students. "I'm sure that you guys've heard about the incident with Ingenium, right?"

"Oh, my word, yes." Ibara affirmed worriedly. "The Hero Killer has struck again… and Ingenium, he is Iida's brother, is he not?"

Strongarm pursed her lips, remembering what had occurred at the hospital earlier that day. "Yes… and unfortunately, he won't be able to walk again. The news was passed to Tenya just today and… he's still trying to cope." Seeing the concern of the 1-B students, Strongarm directed her attention back to the Number One Hero. "All Might, did Tenya get home safely after lunch?"

"He did, I saw to it." All Might confirmed, his voice taking on a somber tone. "I gave him some words of encouragement, but… I could see a darkness behind his eyes, and when he smiled at me… I could tell that it wasn't genuine." He gave his students a single nod. "All of you, please watch over him. Your class rep is in a very delicate state right now, so it's important that he be surrounded by friends come Thursday."

Izuku and the others all returned the gesture. "Of course, All Might. We'll be sure to be there for him."

The hero set a hand on his protégé's shoulder. "Thank you, Young Midoriya. I'm certain that he will appreciate it." His gaze settled back on the 1-B students. "As for the four of you… there is much that I have to fill you in on, but that can come at a later date. I'm sure that you've had your fair share of excitement for the day, so perhaps tomorrow would be better."

"Um… okay?" Itsuka muttered in confusion. "Not sure what that means, but if you say so, All Might, sir."

Aizawa let out a heavy breath, placing his hands in his pockets. "Alright, so now that we've got everything cleared up, is there anything ELSE that we need to know about? Anything important?"

"Oh, actually, there is!" Flare Up chimed in again, getting everybody's attention. "It's somethin' REALLY important. In fact, it's a very vital piece of information that I've been waitin' for the right time to tell you all."

With everyone's interest peaked, they gave Flare Up their undivided focus. "Well, don't leave us in suspense, Flare!" Sideswipe urged. "What's goin' on?"

Before she answered that, Flare Up held up a single finger to her comrades. "Okay, just a word of warning; you might wanna find a seat, because you're gonna be blown away with the info I've got." After the teens sat themselves down, along with a few Autobots joining in, she began to divulge what she knew. "Okay, so not long after I got Optimus Prime's message, I received another transmission from quite the unexpected source… Kimia."

All at once, several Autobots gasped in shock. "K-Kimia?" Arcee uttered.

"Zrtk—Holy Toledo!" Bumblebee's hands shot up to his head. "Zkrt—Where the heck did THAT come from?!"

"Okay, immediate question right off the bat." Setsuna raised her hand. "The heck is Kimia?"

Optimus provided her answer just as quickly. "The City of Kimia was an Autobot controlled settlement back on Cybertron. It was a scientific colony that provided both invaluable technology for the Autobots and a reliable stronghold during the war thanks to the massive walls and protective Energon Grid set up around it." He lowered his head a bit as he recalled further; "However, in the latter days of the War for Cybertron, the Decepticons finally found a way in… but we were all left stunned when the city itself was gone as soon as they discovered it."

"Woah… seriously?" Kyoka asked. "How does a city just up and disappear?"

Red Alert shook his head. "It doesn't, which is what left all of us baffled. At first, we had thought it had blown up given the scorched land where it once was. But it was far too clean for that to have been the case. There was no cloaking device either, so we had ruled it out as an unsolvable mystery…" The medic raised an eyeridge to Flare Up. "Which is why I'm questioning how you were contacted by it, Flare Up. You're absolutely sure on that?"

Flare Up nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, you betcha! And they received Prime's message, too, and they said they'd make a beeline straight for Earth as soon as possible."

"Hold up, a beeline?" Jazz repeated. "Ya make it sound like the city's floatin' through space or somethin'." But then, the first lieutenant saw Flare Up's cheeky grin… and that's when he put two and two together. "…You can't be serious."

"Oh, I am!" Flare Up winked. "Guess who managed to get the city airborne an' into space before the Cons could even THINK to attack it?!"

All at once, Red Alert's jaw fell open in realization. "…Of course. Only HE could manage to pull off such a thing." And before anyone knew it… Red started laughing, placing a hand on his face. "Hahaha! Brainstorm, you stupid genius! How in the world did you do it?!"

Windblade narrowed her optics suspiciously. "Yeah… how DID he do it, Flare?" Her two-wheeled friend felt slightly nervous as the City Speaker's fingers fidgeted at her sides. "I've got a sneaking feeling I know the answer, but please, enlighten us if you can."

"Uh… hehe…" Flare Up stammered. "T-Turns out that when the City was a Titan all along, you can get creative—"

"I KNEW IT!" Windblade's wings burst out from her back, their VTOL fans spinning and glowing in her frustration, much to everyone's shock. "That short-wired brainiac decided it was a good idea to mess with A TITAN'S T-COG?! Does he have any INKLING of how temperamental those things can be?! How in the world did he do something like that WITHOUT a City Speaker's help?"

Strongarm stepped up behind the red and black femme, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Woah, woah, Windblade, let's not fly off the handle too early, here. Remember, it's Brainstorm we're talking about."

Optimus joined in trying to calm Windblade down. "She is correct, Windblade. Knowing Brainstorm, I'm certain that he knew the risks in performing such a feat. However, given that the Titan managed to take to starship mode successfully, it's safe to assume that the Titan itself is unharmed." Her gaze was brought up to him and he kept going; "I do not approve of Brainstorm's actions. However, even you must recognize that this is the best case scenario."

Windblade pouted, still upset, but less so after being talked down. With a small grumble, she retracted her wings and stormed off. "Grr… when that bot gets to Earth, I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind…" But as she was leaving, she noticed that Momo was staring at her worriedly, which made her instantly do a one-eighty. "O-Oh, sorry, Momo. I… may have gotten a bit carried away there. It's just that when it comes to the safety of Titans, it's something that I'm very passionate about as a City Speaker."

"Oh, it's okay, Windblade, I totally understand." Momo assured. "But… a Titan? A Transformer that can become an entire city and even a starship… is now coming to Earth?"

"Sure is!" Flare Up confirmed with a thumbs up. "Pretty exciting, in'nit?"

"If by "exciting", you mean VERY concerning." Izuku clarified. "Optimus, what're we going to do? A Cybertronian city arriving ON EARTH is going to be really problematic."

All Might echoed Izuku's thoughts. "I agree, young Midoriya. Optimus, what are we going to do once this Titan arrives?"

Optimus closed his optics in thought before he raised his head up to the sky, with several others followed suit. They had no idea how long it would take for the Titan to arrive, nor did they know any place on Earth where it would be able to land without attracting human attention. For the first time in a long time, Optimus Prime was at a loss for ideas. "…I certainly wish I had an answer for that."

…..

A/N: Well… this could prove to be problematic. Indeed, the events of Chapter 16 are coming back into play! The Autobot Space Colony of Kimia IS indeed on its way to Earth, complete with a crew of Autobots and aliens in tow. …Just how the heck ARE the Autobots gonna handle this without a huge, planet-wide commotion of a TITAN arriving on Earth? And how long WILL it take for the colony to make it here in the FIRST place? Well, we're just going to have to wait and see, won't we?

Until that happens, though, we've got plenty of new faces to get to know. Flare Up, the Street Action Mini-Con Team, Roller, and the four 1-B students are now all in on Team Prime and the big secret. More allies, for sure, but still, Aizawa's got a good point. Probably best to try and keep a cap on this so that incidents like these don't happen again. In short; Monitor… EVERYTHING! But hey, at least the whole meeting with the teachers proved to be not as bad as they thought it would be, so there's that.

But of course, this chapter was mainly setting up some of the new dynamics between the 1-A students and the 1-B students, with some obvious results. Tetsu and Eijiro continue to develop their friendly rivalry, Itsuka and Momo end up hitting it off even WITHOUT both going to the same internship, Denki and Ibara's relationship continues to be planted, and… Setsuna and Mina are already becoming buddies. God help us all. Of course, we'll be seeing how Ochako and Tenya will react to the new arrivals in time, but until then…

And now, the Preview! After a chance meeting between Ochako and Itsuka, we return to school where it's time for everyone in Class 1-A to see the results of the draft. Some get more offers from pro agencies than others, but all the same, EVERYONE will be going in for an internship, so… it's time to set up those code names! Of course, Izuku and the others already have theirs from the rescue mission, but hey, some reaffirmation is in order. Next Time; Get Those Names! Why is All Might suddenly acting very frazzled?! Thanks for reading, everybody, and I'll catch you all next time. Stay safe out there, and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!