A/N: Good morning everyone, and welcome to yet another early upload for Transformers MHA! Man, I'm on a roll with these early uploads lately. First Ben 10 RWBY last ween and now this one. But then again, I knew exactly how I wanted both of these chapters to go, so I guess that helps a lot. But anyway, we're not here to talk about that! It's time to see how this whole two-parter is gonna wrap up, so let's take a gander, shall we? This is…

Chapter 48: Have I Got a Deal for You! Part 2

…..

"UUUUUUUGGGGHH, I can't BELIEVE this!"

Hours. Kyoka's group had been searching for literal HOURS and none of them had yet to come across the relic, whatever it was. There was no sign of any sort of shrine or a hideaway or whatever the relic could've been hidden in, and the punk rocker was VERY quickly over all of it. She had been walking for a long time and her feet were screaming at her to stop. "GUH! It feels like we've been at this for DECADES!" Kyoka exclaimed, her hand flying up over her eyes.

Above her, both Jazz and Windblade weren't exactly impressed with the young girl's complaining. "…Kyoka, it's been two hours." Windblade stated.

"And we've been WALKING that whole time!" Kyoka snapped, sitting up as she pouted up to the City Speaker. "We're humans with muscles, not robots with struts. We get tired, we need a break."

"While I'm not as frustrated as her about this, I do have to agree, Windblade." Momo concurred, lifting her leg to flex her sore ankles and knees. "We should stop for at least a moment to rest and gather our bearings, because we're obviously not getting anywhere with our current method of searching."

Windblade hummed in thought before Jazz piped in himself. "I think Momo's got a point there, Winds." Though he also spared an unimpressed frown down to his own partner. "And while I don't exactly approve of her way of expressin' her frustration, Kyo's right, too. We'd better let these gals rest a bit before they collapse or somethin'."

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Jazz and the others were right. They were getting nowhere fast with how they were searching, so it was probably best to put a pause on that for now and switch up their tactics. Plus, they had sent Airazor ahead to scout from the air, so it was probably better to wait until she came back with any news. 'Would've liked to go myself, but even I'll acknowledge that a bird in the mountains is a lot less conspicuous than a jet.' Giving a sigh, Windblade nodded in approval. "Alright, let's wait for Airazor, then. Hopefully she'll have better luck than us."

Kyoka smiled and pumped a fist. "Yes! Thank god." She propped herself up against a nearby tree as she took out her phone, going straight to her GPS. "Now, let's see if I can get an actual read on our location… wait, NO bars?!"

"It's the mountains, Kyoka." Momo deadpanned. "What did you expect? Bad enough that the commlinks aren't working, AGAIN."

"Hey yeah, what's that about, anyway?" Kyoka asked the bots. "Doesn't that mean there's some sorta signal jammer? …Wait, you don't think the Cons are here, do you?"

Jazz shook his head. "Unlikely. If they were, they for sure would've swarmed us by now." His hand went to his chin, scratching it ponderously. "Still, this whole situation DOES have a real "Con" stench, don't it?"

"EEEYAAAAARRK!"

Everyone's sights were suddenly drawn up to the sky as the unmistakable screech of a falcon echoed through the mountain range, and before long, Airazor swooped down from high above the trees. The very second she landed, Windblade met her with a nod. "Airazor, glad you made it back. Find any sign of the relic?"

"Unfortunately, I haven't, Windblade." Airazor said as she maximized into robot mode, where everyone could see that she was quite worried. "But I'm afraid that we have a bigger problem on our hands now."

The group's undivided attention was given to the bird bot, with Windblade's lips tightening. "What is it? What's the matter?"

"As I was passing through back toward where we split up, I came across Arcee's group… and they were being led into the deep forest by a pair of suspicious bots." Seeing their interest piqued, Airazor pressed two fingers to her temple and began projecting a screen from her optics, which showed the footage of what she saw just moments before. "Here, this is what they looked like."

Little by little, the image zoomed in on the group that were leading Arcee and Flare Up into the woods… and it didn't take long for the Autobots to recognize the pair of troublemakers. "…Oh, you've gotta be fraggin' me." Jazz uttered.

Windblade curled her lips in distaste. "Swindle? AND Skullcruncher? Now they're here?!"

But down below, Kyoka had taken notice of what Swindle had in his hand; Izuku, Ochako and Itsuka all trapped in an energy sphere of sorts. And what was worse, Bumblebee was heavily injured and being carted off on Skullcruncher's back, no doubt hurt by the Decepticons in question. "AH! No! They have Izuku, Bee and the girls!" She narrowed her eyes at Jazz. "I TOLD you there were Decepticons here!"

"Okay, I'll take the L on this one." Jazz conceded. "But of all bots, I wasn't expecting those two scammers."

"Scammers?" Momo questioned.

"Swindle prides himself on being a salesman first and a Decepticon second." Windblade explained. "If he can make a deal off of it, you can expect to see him appealing to the highest bidder, be it Autobot or Decepticon. Thankfully, that means it's unlikely that he'll actually HURT our friends, seeing them as potential buyers."

Kyoka snapped her finger up to Bumblebee. "Oh yeah?! Well tell that to poor Bee!"

"That was probably Skullcruncher's doin', actually." Jazz elaborated further. "He's an old bot who's also a scam artist, but he's… well, a LOT more prone to Con Tendencies than his smooth-talkin' protégé."

Windblade folded her arms. "Thankfully, Swindle's generous enough to repair any bot Skullcruncher rips apart, if only to gain the good graces of his customers. But still, the fact that he wants to make any sort of deal with them is sending up a LOT of red flags."

The raven-haired Creation user tilted her head. "Okay, so what would he want them to buy?"

Airazor cleared her throat, bringing everyone back to her. "Well, as much as I don't want to fear the worst…, considering that he just so happens to be in this area…"

"…He could've found the relic." Windblade finished with a harrowing chill coursing through her spark. Her eyeridges furrowed toward the Maximal, her voice carrying an extreme amount of weight behind it. "Airazor, I need you to show us EXACTLY where you saw them headed. If the relic is potentially dangerous, there's no telling what Swindle could do!"

"Of course. Everyone, follow me!" Jumping into the air, Airazor transformed back into beast mode and flew high into the sky, with Windblade transforming after her.

Jazz, with a quick breakdance, transformed into vehicle mode as well, opening his doors for the girls. "C'mon ladies, this just turned into a rescue mission!"

…..

Meanwhile, Izuku Midoriya could feel his head pounding as he returned to consciousness, and the fact that he still had his helmet on didn't help that much. 'Ugh… whatever that Decepticon sprayed me with is really giving me a—WAIT!' Izuku's eyes snapped open and he went to sit up, realizing the situation he was in… only to feel a ton of weight pushing down on him. …Though at the same time, it was oddly soft. "GAH! What the—" Reaching up, he deactivated his helmet, allowing himself to get a better look at what was weighing him down… only to be met with Ochako and Itsuka's faces, their bodies pressed directly against his as they were still unconscious.

Instantly, Izuku's cheeks lit up as red as a tomato, letting out a little yelp before bringing his hand up over his mouth. 'Don't panic, Izuku, don't panic! You just gotta… scooch your way out of this.' He started an attempt to do so… when the two girls began to stir anyway. "EEP!"

"Mmph, h-huh?" Ochako rubbed the haze out of her eyes, just barely able to make out Izuku. "Deku?"

"W-Where… where are we?" Itsuka muttered. "What happened?" However, once both girls were fully conscious, they took notice of their rather… precarious position on Izuku's body. After a few seconds, both of their complexions became as red as his and they shot off of him, Itsuka giving an embarrassed scream as she hid behind her hands. "AAIIEEE! I-I'm sorry! I am SO sorry, Midoriya!"

"D-D-Deku, I-I had no idea what the heck was happening!" Ochako stammered, flailing her hands around in a panic. "I-I promise, I don't know HOW we ended up like—"

"U-Uraraka, it's okay!" Izuku ensured, still a bit flustered, but more collected now that they were off of him. "Honestly, it is. I'm just glad the two of you are okay." Both girls moved their heads away sheepishly, though they kept their eyes on Izuku as he stood up. It was only then that the three of them noticed… they weren't on solid ground. Instead, they were standing on some sort of hard light floor… which curved up and over their heads.

Seeing this, Itsuka stood as well and tapped against the glowing walls, causing a ripple affect through the whole thing. "W-What is this?"

Izuku craned his head upward, seeing some sort of disk-shaped device hovering over their prison. "If I had to guess… we're trapped."

Ochako popped up to her feet, balling her hands into fists as her prior embarrassment was completely forgotten about. "That Decepticon! It's his fault we're in here! …Where ever HERE is." She peered through the clear energy field to try and take in their surroundings. They seemed to be in a ship of some sort, and along the walls were weapons as far as the eye could see. Granted, Ochako had no idea what a lot of these guns and blades did, but she had been around Cybertronian weaponry long enough to know they could do some damage.

"Whoever this ship belongs to, they're quite the collector." Itsuka noted. "Think it's that Skullcruncher guy's boss that he was talking about?"

"Very likely." Izuku agreed. "That yellow bot who knocked us out… he seems to be the brains of the bunch."

Her eyes full of worry, Ochako turned to the others. "Wait. Arcee, Flare Up and Bumblebee… what do you think happened to them?"

Izuku pursed his lips, pondering that himself. "Well… if that Decepticon managed to capture us, he probably used our lives as a bargaining chip to get the Autobots to surrender." Izuku raised a fist and began charging up Full Cowling, ready to bust them out of here if it was the last thing he'd do. "They could be on the ship as we speak… but don't worry, I'm gonna get us out of here!" He reared his hand back and thrust it straight into the wall… only for the kinetic energy to be absorbed and redirected back at him, blasting him straight into the other side of the sphere. "GAH!"

"Deku!" Ochako and Itsuka rushed over, seeing Izuku clutching his arm. "A-Are you okay?!"

"Ugh… I-I think so." Carefully removing his glove, Izuku gave a sigh of relief, thankful that didn't break his hand. "But I think it's gonna be tougher to get out of here than I thought."

Itsuka nodded, giving the energy sphere around them a frustrated look. "Well, we certainly know that brute-forcing out way out of here isn't going to work…" She craned her head up toward the device that was projecting the sphere itself, gritting her teeth slightly at its annoying position. "Grr, what's worse is that we can't get to that projector thingy from here."

"So… we're stuck here?" Ochako asked.

"Until one of the Autobots manages to rescue us?" Itsuka sighed. "…Maybe so."

…..

Not far away on the bridge of the same ship, Arcee and Flare Up were both glaring daggers at the Croctobot who was keeping watch over them. …Or at least, was keeping a semi-watch over them. Skullcruncher was currently reclining in his pilot's chair, comping down on a smoking Cy-Gar as he chortled away at whatever he was reading on that data pad of his. Of course, given any other opportunity, both femmes would've taken the opportunity to jump him and take him out. But, given that Swindle was working on repairing Bumblebee, they weren't about to chance that if it meant risking the safety of their friend.

…But that didn't make Skullcruncher's laughing any less irritating for them. "BAHAHAHA! Oh-hoho, BOY, Thundertron! You an' your crew just keep surprisin' the pit outta me." With a delighted grin, he turned around in his seat and showed his data pad to the ladies. "D'ya see this headline recently?"

"We haven't had any sorta Extranet connectivity since coming to this planet." Flare Up dryly replied. "Whaddya think?"

"Ah, no need to get yer tail pipe in a twist. Here." Skullcruncher stood up and walked over, showing the headline to them.

Arcee placed her hands on her hips as she read it aloud; "Star Seekers Continue to Plunder the Milky Way." She grimaced at the rest of the article. "As the ragtag group of former Decepticons sail across the star systems, they continue to pillage planets of their treasures and conquer them one by one. Often, once they're done with a planet, that leaves MORE Decepticons to easily come in and finish what they started. And unlike the Star Seekers, they take no prisoners." Her optics narrowed up at Skullcruncher. "Are you telling me you're proud of this?"

The Croctobot smirked at her question. "Eh… little bit. Thundertron an' I go way back. Used to be a team o' treasure hunters before he went an' founded the Star Seekers." He flashed his sharp teeth and scoffed. "Heh, best part is we never know when we'll run into each other, so whenever we do, we make a game outta who can get the best treasure first."

"An' if you go after the same one?" Flare Up questioned.

"We FIGHT for it, like good Decepticons do." Skullcruncher balled a fist with a laugh. "Haha, just like the good ol' days. Hah… kinda wish Swindle would learn to pick up on that. Kid's got the soul of a good con-bot, but he cares way too much about the deal and not about fightin' for what you got."

"…Isn't the actual DEAL really important, though?"

Skullcruncher hastily nodded. "Oh, well yeah, 'course it is! But the kid lacks any sorta fightin' spirit, an' I'm tryin' to drill that into him. After all, if you're not willin' to fight for what yer sellin', then what's the point?"

Arcee scratched her helm, failing to see the point of his words… but nonetheless agreed to make sure they didn't spur his wrath. "Um, I suppose I can see what you're saying… from a certain point of view."

But then, Flare Up shrugged. "Eh, me personally? Not gettin' it." Arcee glared daggers at her for that remark. "…What?! Just bein' honest! I mean, Swindle's part o' the Combaticons, ain't he? Shouldn't he already be used to fightin'?"

"Er…" Skullcruncher grumbled. "…Let's just say there's a reason why he left Onslaught and the others a long time ago. Bah, I don't expect you Autobots to get it. Yer all goodie-two-peds anyway…" The Croctobot trailed off as the door to the bridge opened, and in walked Swindle wiping some energon off of his hands. The femmes set their sights onto him as Skullcruncher approached his boss/protégé. "Well, kid? How'd he come out?"

"Well, I bring very good news for the ladies over there." Swindle spoke with his usual salesman smile, which only served to disconcert Arcee and Flare Up all the more. "Your little yellow friend has had a very quick and very successful surgery. Thankfully, a lot of his usual parts were intact and the ones that needed replacing were fairly inexpensive. So you know what? I'm gonna let him have this tune-up free of charge!"

Almost all at once, everyone in the room shouted; "FREE?!" before Skullcruncher lunged forward and got right in Swindle's face. "Kid, what the FRAG are you doin'?! We usually pinch the very last shanix out of any repair!"

But Swindle merely rolled his optics. "Skully, Skully, haven't ya heard of the term "sweetening the deal"? I'm tryin' to win these lovely ladies over, ya feel me?"

"Kid, ya can't go around bein' nice to every pretty femme ya see, we TALKED about this!"

"Hey, hey, I'm not nice to EVERY pretty femme. Remember that rich girl on Sonorosia that I scammed outta her entire fortune for a bogus "magic rock"? Haha, best trick I ever pulled, honest to Primus." Swindle clasped his hands together as he circled around Skullcruncher, making his way over to Arcee and Flare Up. "Oh, but I wouldn't do that to you, ladies! Consider my free repair a thank you for hearing me out and following me back here. So, are you ready to listen to my deal I've got going?"

Glancing toward one another, Arcee and Flare Up were certain that they'd end up regretting this very soon. But still, it was better than being hunted down by Skullcruncher, and with any luck, Airazor would be bringing back-up soon. So, until then… they might as well. Giving a sigh, Arcee gave the go-ahead. "Alright, Swindle, we'll bite. What exactly are you trying to pawn off on us?"

"I'm GLAD you asked!" Swindle exuberantly jogged back over to the door, which opened for him once again. "Come and follow me, I've got a LOT of excellent product to show you." With Skullcruncher bringing up the rear, Arcee and Flare Up followed the salesman through the ship's small hallways, before then arriving in another room filled with TONS of treasures. The two Autobots couldn't help but go wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the amount of valuable technology and artifacts from different planets that were lining the walls, all of them from different alien planets.

"Woah… you sure got a lotta stuff to sell." Flare Up said, impressed at the massive stash.

"Oh-hoho, no, no, no, miss, you're mistaken." Swindle corrected. "This is my personal collection. I might be a salesman, but I'd be stupid to sell ALL of the stuff I come across." He pointed to a certain weapon on the wall… one that was very familiar. "You see that baby?"

"Th-That's… that's…" The very sight of the large, black firearm made Arcee and Flare Up's sparks grow cold. It was a weapon that EVERY Autobot feared… and with good reason. "That's a FUSION CANNON!" Arcee screamed.

Flare Up zipped to the other side of the room in fear. "How in the bloody, Primus-damned FRAG did you get that?!"

Swindle couldn't help but chuckle at their reactions. "Hmhm, surprised? I know, it's unexpected, but let's just say that Megatron doesn't need to have ALL of the power at just HIS fingertips." The Combaticon reached up and pat the Fusion Cannon on its barrel. "This little baby is my insurance policy, to make sure that no one steals my product… or for any Con searchin' for me, it serves as a warning to leave and not speak of my whereabouts to anyone."

"Wow… you really don't want anyone knowing where you are, do you?" Arcee stated.

The Con's expression soured. "Let's just say that, if the wrong Decepticon caught wind that I was here, then my business would be kaput. Would rather not let that happen, thank you."

"Which brings up the question; what ARE you doin' on Earth?" Flare Up asked.

The salesman's eyeridges rose at that. "Huh, is that how it's pronounced? Hm, I thought it was "Eee-arth".

Skullcruncher could only shrug. "Eh, still sounds stupid to me."

"Ahem, well, as much as I'd rather not risk the chance of a Decepticon platoon finding me, I had caught wind that this sector of the galaxy was getting very lively, so I decided to take a little jaunt this way and see what I could find." Extending his arms out, Swindle grinned to his guests. "And whaddya know it? I end up coming across all of you Autobots! Along with some interesting finds not three mega-cycles after I landed here in these moutains!"

Instantly, the two femmes felt their energon run cold at what that likely meant. "I-Interesting finds?" Arcee repeated.

Swindle's smirk increased. "Ah, I had a feeling you were also on the hunt for this treasure. Which is why I'm lucky I ran into you. Come with me to the next room over, please." Strolling past Swindle's collection and into the adjacent room, the Autobots were greeted by even MORE weaponry lining the walls, including several repeats. There were also some select pieces of general technology that all seemed incredibly complex, leaving Arcee and Flare Up with little idea of how they worked. "Welcome to my "For Sale" Room! And in here, I have exactly what you're searching for…" Swindle went over to a table and took up a long, black box, presenting it to the two before opening it up.

And inside was something that left the bots speechless. It was… a metal feather. But not just any metal feather; it was a feather from the wing of the Beast Titan Eukaris herself, its golden sheen shining brightly even through the lit room. At the tip, however, it was modified to have a metal point that glowed bright blue, which gave it the great distinction of being a writing tool. "Blimey…" Flare Up whispered. "Is that…"

"Alpha Trion's Quill!" Arcee exclaimed, taking a step forward only for Swindle to immediately close the box. The pink femme snarled up at him. "Swindle, do you have ANY idea how significant that artifact is?!"

"Oh, believe me, I do." Swindle affirmed, holding up the locked box with admiration. "The great sage Alpha Trion used this very Quill to write down every single solitary piece of Cybertronian history in the Iacon Hall of Records. The same one that your leader, Orion Pax, worked and studies in under the watchful gaze of Trion himself." He put the box in two hands again and spun it around playfully, which only further angered the intelligence officer. "Which is why I'm hoping that Prime will pay BIG bucks for this, his mentor's prized possession."

"It BELONGS in a MUSEUM!" Arcee roared back.

Skullcruncher gave a shrug, blowing out smoke from his Cy-Gar. "Haha, an' maybe it will… provided you bots'll pay the right price for it."

At this point, Arcee's engine was revving BIG time, her optics flickering from blue to yellow as her anger began to boil over. But Flare Up was, for once, the calmer mind in this scenario, and quickly tried to calm her friend down. "Woah, woah, easy there, luv, let's not overheat, 'kay?" Flare soothed the savage beast that threatened to come out of Arcee until she was calm again, leading the scout to narrow her optics at Swindle. "Listen, as much as we don't wanna pay Swindle's price, if it gets us that relic an' US outta HERE, then we've got little choice."

"Hah… you're right, I suppose." Arcee conceded, raising her nose up to the con-bot. "What're you asking for it?"

"Oh, not much," Swindle shook his head… but kept his slag-eating grin, "just a measly 10,000 shanix."

…And Arcee's optics flipped to yellow again. "TEN-THOUSAND?!"

Flare Up yelped as she quickly held Arcee back, her flailing arms threatening to wring Swindle's neck. "Arcee, NO! Down girl!" She peered past her shoulder, giving Swindle an incredulous gaze. "But seriously, are you daft?! We're refuges who've been bouncin' from planet to planet! We barely got any shanix to our names!"

"Ah, but that doesn't mean you don't have ANY, right?" Swindle inquired as Skullcruncher chortled next to him. "I'm sure if ALL of you Autobots pull together what you've got, I'm sure we can come to an agreement."

Arcee was practically thrashing by now, heaving deeply trying to break free. "Y-You have NO shame, you money-grubbing scrap collector?!"

"Hey, none a' this is scrap, lady!" Skullcruncher refuted, giving a knowing grin over to his boss. "If ya want some proof a' that, why not show 'em what ELSE we found, kid? Ya know… try to "sweeten" the deal?"

Swindle brightened up at the idea. "Oh, yes, that's right! Alright, ladies, here's the new deal; I'll cut down the price of the Quill to 9000 shanix. And in return…" Swindle pressed a button on a nearby console, which opened up to reveal… three Mini-Con panels, which snapped Arcee out of her rage and made Flare Up gasp. "I'll throw in these three Mini-Cons that we found along the mountain range for a measly 300 shanix… each."

The ladies glared upon Swindle in disgust. "THAT'S STILL TEN-THOUSAND SHANIX!" screamed Arcee.

"Ah, technically it's 9900 shani—"

"DON'T CARE!"

Flare Up, still holding Arcee back, gave a sneer and asked; "Wait a nanoclick… you said you weren't in the traffickin' business!"

"Human trafficking, I'm not in human trafficking." Swindle corrected, gesturing toward the green panels that were protected by a force field. "Mini-Cons, though, I have less shame in selling into humble servitude to a potential buyer. After all, they live to serve, don't they?"

"NOT like this!" Arcee belted out. "They're partners, not slaves! Even if you don't like to think it, Swindle, you're one of the WORST Decepticons out there!" She reached down and managed to pull out one of her energy swords, even with Flare Up holding her in place. "We're taking the Quill, AND the Mini-Cons! You're not getting ANY deal out of us!"

Swindle's smile diminished considerably, but not enough to go away completely. With a simple shrug, he turned away and hummed. "Hm, well, if that's your final answer, then suit yourselves. Really wish we could've taken the diplomatic approach to this, but obviously, I made a mistake going after you first." Swindle raised a hand, pressing his fingers together. "Hah, guess I'll hafta make a new deal with your boss." *SNAP*

The very second Swindle clicked his fingers, two metal slabs rose up from the floor on the other side of the room, with crackling energy tethers shooting out of all four of their corners. The tethers slinked around Arcee and Flare Up's wrists and ankles, making the two gasp before they were forcibly pulled back and SLAMMED onto the slabs fairly hard. "AUGH!" Arcee cried as she dropped her energy sword, all while Skullcruncher approached her.

The Croctobot picked up the blade and then held his palm out, activating a magnet in his hand that attracted all of the duo's weapons. "Sorry 'bout this, ladies, but when a deal goes sour, we can't take chances."

"But thankfully this can be salvaged." Swindle pointed out, setting the Quill's storage box back in its protective container, along with returning the Mini-Con panels back into the console as well. "Because now that I have you and your little yellow friend, Optimus Prime is bound to pay out the WAZOO for your safety, the Mini-Cons AND the artifact!"

However, Flare Up wore a superior grin at Swindle's postulating. "Ha! That's what you think, but I can get outta 'ere in a jiffy!" Her energy core began glowing and Flare Up blinked in and out of existence briefly… but then she received a very painful shock from her energy shackles, eliciting a bloody scream. "GYAAAAAHH!"

"Flare!" Arcee whipped her head around, her glare finding its way back to Swindle. "You are SO going to pay for this, Swindle!"

"Hmhm, oh no, Arcee, Optimus is gonna be payin'. Quite the hefty price, might I add." He approached the intelligence officer, slowly bringing a finger up to her cheek. "Gotta say, I've heard lots a' stories 'bout your latent anger, Arcee. You're famous for being one of the friendliest bots around, but push the wrong buttons and—" *CHOMP* "EEP! Ah!"

Arcee had bit at his finger, and she wasn't happy that he managed to pull away in time. "THAT. That is what happens when you cross ME the wrong way."

"Gah, well, good to know you're just as barbaric as the other Cons say you are." Swindle waved the pink femme off, ushering for Skullcruncher to follow him. "C'mon Skully. Let's find out where Prime is so he can buy his glitches back." With an affirming grumble, Skullcruncher followed, leaving the two Autobots in the room with little hope of excape.

Flare Up hung her head low, her joints aching after the intense shock. "Hmph… I'm sorry, Arcee. I can't help but feel this is my fault."

But Arcee shook her head, her optics flickering back to blue as she gave a heavy sigh. "No, no… for once, this is on me. If I hadn't told the kids to go and find help, they wouldn't have run into Swindle. …And I once again let my temper get the better of me here and now." She glanced toward her friend with a sympathetic gaze. "So don't feel bad for yourself, Flare Up. I'm the one at fault here."

Pursing her lips, Flare Up sighed and put on a hopeful smile. "Well, if anything, we've still got some hope, right? Airazor should be 'ere soon. An' with any luck, she an' her team can break us outta this place."

"Yeah…" Arcee brought her sights toward the storage units holding the Quill and the Mini-Cons, a feeling in her spark telling her that something wasn't right. "…Hopefully."

…..

Meanwhile, outside of the Cybertronian ship, Jazz, Windblade, Kyoka and Momo were hiding in the foliage surrounding the clearing it was in, staring intently at the large craft. Up above, Airazor was circling around the space ship, taking note of every angle before going into a deep dive toward the ground. She darted through the tree tops and transformed as she landed, crouching low next to the others. "Okay, this ship is quite heavily fortified." The birdbot explained, pointing up and toward the rear of it. "However, there IS a ventilation shaft on the upper back that is small enough for a human to possibly climb into."

"Wait… why's there a vent in the first place?" Kyoka asked, tilting her head. "You guys don't really need to breath air, right?"

"You'd be surprised how many corrosive gasses are out in space, Kyo." Jazz enlightened. "And a lot of 'em can affect Cybertronians… or even Cybertronian tech, which I'm sure Swindle's got a LOT of in that tub."

Satisfied with the answer, Kyoka gave a nod. "Hm, good enough for me. So, shall we get this little breakout started?"

Windblade furrowed her eyeridges at the ship. She wasn't exactly all that thrilled about having to send Momo and Kyoka ahead of them… but doing anything else risked them getting caught by the two Cons, and they couldn't afford that right now. "Hah, yes, we should." She reached down and clasped a hand on the girls' shoulders. "Now listen closely; here's what you're going to do; you'll search for Bumblebee and Izuku's team, free them, and then spring a surprise attack on the Cons. With any luck, that'll allow you or one of the others to find the ship controls and then open the hatch for us to come in and bring Swindle's entire operation crashing down on him. Am I clear?"

"It's a sound plan, Windblade." Momo said with a smile.

"We'll do our best!" Kyoka gave a thumbs up.

"Alright… Airazor, bring them up." At Windblade's word, Airazor transformed back into her beast mode and lowered her back down for the girls to climb on. Then, as swiftly and quietly as possible, the falcon Maximal flew them up to the rear of the ship, where she tore off the vent and lowered them into it.

Before they left, Airazor whispered; "Best of luck, ladies. We'll be waiting for you." Giving an affirming nod to her, Kyoka and Momo ventured deep into the vents, wherein Airazor flew away before she was discovered.

Thankfully, these vents were much larger than both girls were expecting. They had been dreading to crawl through a tight, cramped space, but miraculously, these vents were big enough for them to both walk and stand side-by-side without worry. Still, they were still dark, so Momo created a flashlight as they pressed further in. "Hm… hopefully we don't end up lost." the Creation user expressed her worry, shining her flashlight across the walls. "We don't exactly know where we're going, after all."

"Uh, Yaomomo?" Kyoka moved her jacks up, flexing them for emphasis. "You forgetting who you're with? With me around, we'll find the others no problem." Seeing her friend's smile of realization, Kyoka grinned back and plugged a jack into the metal wall. "Just give me a sec. With any luck…" The punk rocker closed her eyes, concentrating on the sound vibrations going through the ship… until she heard the unmistakable sound of voices.

"Will we ever get out of here? Ooh, it's starting to feel REALLY claustrophobic!"

"It's okay, Ochako. I'm sure that Arcee and the others must be working on our escape."

"Yeah, and if anyone else notices we're missing, they'll have to send out a search party."

Kyoka brightened up when she heard those voices, especially that last one in particular. 'Found ya, Green Bean.' She unplugged from the wall, motioning for Momo to follow her. "Come on, they're this way!" Taking the lead, Kyoka dashed through the cubic tunnels, assured that Momo was following thanks to the light. After making several turns, they made it to a rather large grate that led into a room below, light shining through as the voices became much clearer.

It was very apparent that Ochako distressed as she argued; "Yeah, but what if this ship's got some kinda cloak or something?! A-And what if Arcee and the others are captured too?! W-We may never get out of here!"

Momo furrowed her brow, eyeing the screws holding the grate in place and creating a screwdriver with the appropriate head. "Not on our watch. Kyoka, be ready to lift and move this." Kyoka gave a nod to go ahead, wrapping her jacks around the metal piece as Momo unscrewed the panel.

Once they were all out, Kyoka yanked the large panel off and set it to the side, impressed by her own strength. "Hah, wow, knew all that tensile strength training with Jazz would be worth."

"Excellent work." Momo commended, creating a very long rope and tying one end around the panel. "Come on, down we go."

Down below, Izuku gasped and called out to whoever made that loud, clattering sound. "HAH! Wh-Who's there?! Come out and show yourselves!" Not one moment passed before he spotted something out of place; a new hole was in the ceiling where a ventilation grate was supposed to be… and he broke out into a happy smile the moment he saw who was descending down from it by a rope. "Hah-HAHA! Kyoka?! Yaoyorozu?!"

Ochako and Itsuka's eyes widened in shock before they two were all smiles, standing up as the girls made it to the floor. "You're here!" Ochako exclaimed, tears welling up in her eyes. "H-How did you find us?!"

"Airazor spotted all of you in a bit of trouble from the sky!" Kyoka explained, making her way toward the center table that they trapped on. "Arcee had her come and get us."

"Don't worry, we're going to get you out of there." Momo promised, though her tone became more uncertain the longer she stared at the forcefield prison they were in. "…Somehow."

But Kyoka was much more confident. "Oh, we will. And I know exactly how!" Kyoka plugged her jacks into her wrist-mounted speakers and blasted out a cacophonous burst toward the ground, pumping her legs at the same time to do a sound-boosted jump onto the table. She jogged up to the forcefield generator and immediately stuck her jacks into it with a self-assured smirk. "Let's see how this Swindle's tech feels about THIS beat!"

*BWOOOMM*

Letting lose another burst of sound, the generator instantly started convulsing, sparking and rattling about, destabilizing the mechanics inside and causing the sphere trapping the other three students to disappear completely. With the device fully disabled, Kyoka tossed it away… only to be met with a grateful hug from Ochako. "AH! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! I was worried we'd never get out of there!"

"Woah, woah, easy 'Chako, you're good." Kyoka gave the brunette a pat on the back, attempting to soothe her. "Everything's gonna be okay." She set her sights onto Izuku and Itsuka, the two also smiling at her gratefully. "So, you guys ready to screw over Swindle's plan?"

"Is THAT his name?" Itsuka asked. "Hmph, perfect name for a Decepticon."

Izuku's expression soured. "Hm, I had a feeling I didn't like him. He seemed really smarmy."

"From the sounds of it, he is." Kyoka confirmed. "But before we find Arcee and Flare Up, we gotta make sure Bee's okay. That Croctobot ripped off his arm according to Airazor, so—"

"WHAT?!" Izuku shouted, activated One for All in a split second before zipping around and putting all three girls onto his back, his concern for his friend outweighing his sheepish tendencies. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?! Come on, let's go!" The One for All user dove down, scooped up Momo and put HER on his back as well, and then zoomed out of the room, the girls all crying out in surprise.

…..

"Zrkt—All by myself~ Don't wanna be… all by myself… anymore~"

Bumblebee often found himself doing this when he was upset; playing power ballads to help try and cheer up. It had been a recurring thing ever since Kyoka had shown him the wonders of expressing himself through music, and for the most part, it really helped. …But in this situation, things seemed bleak, no matter what kind of music he played. He even tried playing "Hearts on Fire" to try and motivate himself to break the cufflinks holding him onto the medical table… but he wasn't strong enough to break them.

Hanging his head low, Bumblebee thought to himself; 'Ugh, there's no amount of montage music that can get me outta this one. I need a miracle.'

But then, almost as if to answer his plea, he heard a faint; "Bee!" from outside past the door, making his head perk up. There was no mistaking it, that was Izuku's voice.

'…Primus, thank you.' Bee pumped the volume up on his speakers—though not too high as to not risk Swindle catching on—and let Skillet do the talking for him. "Zkrt—I need a Hero~ to save me now!~ A Hero to save me just in time~!"

Not two seconds later, the door to the med bay opened, revealing a relieved Izuku, Ochako and Itsuka… and surprisingly, Kyoka and Momo as well. "BEE! You're okay!" Izuku dashed up to the medical table and jumped up, latching into his robot friend by the shoulder. "Hah, I'm glad to see you alive, partner."

"Zrkt—Pleasure doin' business with ya—zrkt—now let's get the HELL outta here!"

The girls slowly walked in as well, with Kyoka noting how Bee's arm seemed totally fine. "Huh, they did a surprisingly good job fixing you up, Bee." the punk rocker tilted her head. "But… if I'm being honest, that doesn't make much sense."

"Yeah, you'd think they'd just let you die." Itsuka agreed. "Why would Decepticons repair you?"

As Izuku tore off Bumblebee's metal shackles, the yellow bot dropped down to the floor, rubbing his sore joints. "Zrkt—I'm the freakin'—zrkt—collateral. Zrkt—They think they can use me as a bargaining chip?!"

Hearing that, Ochako tightened her lips and stomped her foot. "Oh, that is SO mean! It's one thing to keep us trapped, but using poor Bee to bribe our friends?! That's completely messed up!"

Momo gave a resolute nod at that. "Exactly. Which is why we should make our way to the others and set them free as well." Everyone's eyes were trained on her as she explained the plan. "Then, we need to find the opening controls for the primary hatch, which is when Jazz, Windblade and Airazor will storm in so we can overwhelm Swindle and Skullcruncher all at once."

"Zrkt—I like this plan! I'm excited to be a part of it!" Bumblebee agreed as he jumped in the air and transformed into Beetle mode. Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt! "Zrkt—Now, let's do it, to it, eh?" He opened his doors and allowed everyone to climb in, with Izuku and Kyoka taking the front seats while everyone else climbed in the back. "Zkrt—Get ready ya couple a' mooks! Zrkt—YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET STUNG!" Bee quickly drove out of the medbay and practically zoomed through the ship, his tires screeching all along the way.

It didn't take long for them to reach their destination, though, as at the very end of the hall, they came upon a room and were greeted by two things upon entering; one being a wall that was absolutely chockful of weapons. From blasters to swords to axes and even flails and maces, all of them appearing incredibly advanced. And the other thing? "Arcee?!" Ochako gasped.

"Flare Up!" Itsuka shouted as well, the two girls climbing out of Bumblebee as he pulled to a stop.

On their own slabs, Arcee and Flare Up were astonished to say the least. "K-Kids?! Bee?! How did you—WHERE did you—"

Arcee was cut off as Kyoka chuckled, she and Momo climbing out of the car followed by Izuku. Bumblebee transformed as the Earphone Jack user proudly twirled her jack around her finger. "Hmhm, as a certain someone would say… the cavalry is here!"

Flare Up threw her head back and gave a laugh. "Haha! Indeed they are!" She grinned over to her pink friend. "There, ya see? Nothin' to worry 'bout!"

"Hah, I guess not." Arcee admitted with a sigh, only to eye her electric cuffs with trepidation. "Although, it won't be easy getting us out of these energy restraints."

Bumblebee transformed into robot mode, shaking his head as he brought out his stingers. "Zrkt—ah-ah, don't forget about me!" The little yellow scout circled behind the two slabs and located their energy generators, only to stab his stingers directly into them and start draining the energy all at once. It didn't take long for the restraints to dissipate and allow Arcee and Flare Up to drop to the ground, in which everyone gave a victorious cheer.

"Haha, woo! And thus, everyone is a-okay!" Kyoka gave a thumbs up.

"Zrtk—Uh, Houston…" Getting everybody's attention, Bumblebee stepped out from behind the slabs… where everybody saw that his arms were glowing a bright blue and had energy sparks dancing across them. "We have a problem."

A brief, stunned silence permeated through the room as Arcee raised her hands to her yellow friend. "Bee… don't panic. But if you don't let that energy lose… you may blow up."

"WHAT?!" the humans all shouted.

"I said don't panic!"

Flare Up's hands flew to her helm as the terror began to set in. "B-But his stingers can't possibly expel that much energy all at once! They'll blow up WITH him!"

Arcee's optics darted around the room, hoping that there would be SOMETHING in there to help them in this situation. "Um, uh, well then…" Then, her sights landed on a certain weapon that was hung on the wall. It was on the short side, but it was also fairly hefty-looking, shaped like a cylinder with four prongs on its barrel. It also lacked a handle, but that didn't stop Arcee from going over, taking the weapon off the wall and bringing it over to Bumblebee with a hopeful grin. "We'll just use this!"

"Uh… what is it?" Itsuka asked.

"Your standard-issue plasma cannon." Arcee proclaimed as she slipped the non-lethal end of it over Bumblebee's arm, and from there, it began integrating into his systems. The prongs even rotated and took on a new yellow coloration to match his own. "All of the warrior-class bots on Cybertron use them. Alright now, Bee, I want you to concentrate all of that energy into your cannon and shoot it straight up through the ceiling."

Izuku's brows furrowed in concern. "B-But won't that alert Swindle and Skullcruncher?"

"Yes, and we'll only have a cycle at most to make a plan." Arcee admitted. "But it's better than all of us blowing up with Bumblebee, right?" She received a collective nod from everyone, prompting Bee to do the deed. "Okay then. Let it loose, Bee."

Closing his optics, Bumblebee brought all of the collected energy into his right arm, the plasma cannon rotating as the prongs extended outward to compensate. "Zrkt—Fire in the hole!" Bumblebee whipped his arm up and…

*BWAAAAAAMMM*

Everyone ducked as a massive beam of blue light punctured the roof and blasted through the hull of the ship. It wasn't anything that the bots could easily climb out of, but they could just barely make out the blue of Earth's sky through the hole. The group blinked, shocked at how powerful the plasma beam was. "…Bee, I think it's safe to say you got one HELL of an upgrade." Kyoka smirked.

"Zkrt—Please, hold your applause." Bumblebee said as she shifted his new weapon into his arm. "Zrkt—At least until—zrkt—we get the HELL outta here!"

Ochako raised her hand to ask a question. "Yeah, about that, should we keep looking for the relic once we're out of here? I-I don't think it's exactly safe to search the mountain anymore."

Arcee brightened up at the inquiry as she stepped over to the console, searching for a certain button. "Oh, don't worry about that, Ochako. We won't have to go far…" She pressed the button Swindle had before and, from out of the console, the box containing the relic emerged, along with all three Mini-Con panels. "Tada! One relic and some very worth-while bonuses."

Bumblebee and the humans were flabbergasted. "You're joking." Momo uttered. "He found the relic AND three Mini-Cons on this mountain?"

"This Swindle guy is either really good at his job or gets extremely lucky." Izuku stated.

"Speakin' of, we should probably come up with a plan before they get 'ere, right?" Flare Up pointed out.

Taking up the relic, Arcee turned to Bumblebee with it, intent on handing it to him. "Right. Bumblebee, I want you to take this along with Ochako and Itsuka. You three will stand next to the door and wait until Swindle and Skullcruncher get here." She craned her head down to the brunette and redhead, who nodded in solidarity. "Once they come through, you'll take them and get to the front hatch, letting the others in."

Bumblebee gave a salute. "Zrkt—I won't let you down, princess." But the moment that came out of his radio, the little bug flinched in realization, spinning around in fear as Arcee's own optics shot open, also somewhat flustered.

"O-Oh, um… good." Arcee cleared her throat, failing to notice Kyoka, Momo and the other girls all snickering at the little moment. "As for the rest of us, we're going to face them down here. Izuku, you, Kyoka and Momo will work on getting those Mini-Cons up and at 'em. We can't risk Swindle corrupting those three and forcing them to work for him."

"Really? You're sure you don't want us to go with Bee and the others?"

Arcee shook her head. "No. We got into this mess because I sent you away. I was still anxious about your ability to take on Decepticons." Her gaze hardened and she shook her head. "But now I see that was a mistake. You all are more than capable of fighting Cons on your own here, so please, help us now." She also addressed Ochako and Itsuka as well. "And if one of the Cons follows you… give 'em hell."

The two neighbors balled their fists eagerly. "Will do, Arcee." Ochako affirmed.

"Good… now everyone, get in your positions." With that, Bumblebee, Ochako and Itsuka grouped up near the door while Izuku, Kyoka and Momo hid for the time being, the three ducking under the console as Arcee and Flare Up stood ready.

As she heard footsteps approach, Arcee motioned to make a fake grab for the Mini-Cons, just in time for Skullcruncher to knock down the door and roar at her; "NOT SO FAST!"

"Ah! Oh no!" she pulled her arms away, holding her hands up in the air. "Looks like we've been caught!"

Swindle managed to squeeze past his larger companion and glowered at the duo. "Yes! Yes, you have!" He gave Skullcruncher a sideways glance. "And while I'm not a fan of causing even MORE damage to my ship, at least a DOOR is fixable. But THIS?!" Swindle snapped a finger up to the gaping hole above. "Do you know how much time and labor this is gonna cost me to get this thing at least SOMEWHAT spaceworthy? On THIS planet?!"

"Ah, lil' spit an' polish'll fix 'er right up, good as new!" Flare Up shrugged with a knowing smirk. "That an' about thirty tons a' parts, give or take."

Swindle narrowed his optics at the two, without noticing Bumblebee, Ochako and Itsuka tip-toeing out of the room. "That blast came from INSIDE the ship. I don't know how or what caused it, but I do know that it has something to do with you being free!" Swindle raised his arm, pointing his mounted cannon at the pair. "So come clean; how did you get out?"

But, before the ladies could defend themselves, Skullcruncher's head perked up, a scent catching inside his nose. "Snf-snf… hold on a sec. Somethin' smells off. Somethin' like…" He whirled around and caught sight of Bumblebee and the girls, clenching his teeth at them. "THAT!"

"AAAH!" Itsuka and Ochako screamed, only for Bumblebee to scoop them up in his arms and transform into Beetle mode, his tires screeching as he drove off.

"WHAT?!" Swindle exclaimed in disbelief. "H-How did HE get free?!"

Flare Up and Arcee shared a fistbump and a victorious smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know? Oh, an' also…" The orange and red femme blinked in and out of existance, appearing behind Skullcruncher and procuring her and Arcee's weapons off his back. "I'll be repossessing these, thank you!"

The Croctobot gasped and went to swing at her, but she was gone in an instant. "W-Wha—HEY!"

"Skully, forget them! I'll handle these ladies." Swindle pointed after Bumblebee. "You just get them before they escape!"

"Right! BEAST MODE!" With another powerful roar, Skullcruncher transformed into his crocodile mode and stomped out, charging after the Beetle and his passengers through the rest of the ship.

Swindle took a deep breath, pulling an energy blade off his hip while readying his cannon for a powerful blast. Over his shoulders, a set of energy turrets rose up, and from the center of his chest, a mini gatling gun popped out, leaving him quite armed and dangerous. "You ladies should've taken our deal when you had the chance!"

Taking her swords and gun back, Arcee armed herself as well, with Flare Up spinning her own pistols in hand next to her. "Yeah, still no. We're leaving here with that relic, whether you like it or not!" Arcee and Flare Up charged, the former lashing out with her energon swords while Flare Up blinked in and out, drawing fire from Swindle's turrets as the bot himself clashed his blade with Arcee's.

"Hmhm, you like to think so, don't you? Well too bad, because I—AH!" It was only then that Swindle noticed that, along with the Mini-Cons, the container holding the Quill had been opened up as well… and taken. "AAAUGH! W-Where is—How did it—" The con-bot cut himself off when he realized; "…The BUG! When Skully gets his hands on him, he's gonna—AUGH!"

Flare Up, having outmaneuvered his turrets, got in a kick to the back and sent him stumbling. "Ah, yeah, no. Not THIS time." Taking aim, Flare Up fired directly at his back, knocking both turrets off and causing them to fire at the walls… and as a result, destroyed a lot of his product.

"HAH! NO!" Swindle cried out, suddenly forgetting about the battle and rushing over to the walls, opening his chest and taking off as many of the untouched and undamaged weapons as he could. "It's okay, it's okay, I can still sell a lot of these!" He said hurriedly as he shoved them into his chest compartment, putting them in his subspace storage.

…At least he WAS until Arcee kicked him straight in the head. "Focus on the battle, not your junk!"

…..

Back in the weapon's room, while the ladies had Swindle distracted, Izuku, Momo and Kyoka took the opportunity to go forward with their part of the plan; to get the Mini-Cons up and out of harm's way. "Alright, we ready?" Getting a nod from both girls, Izuku ushered them to get on his back, where he then carried them both up to the console with one mighty leap. The trio landed directly in front of the Mini-Con panels, striding toward them with purpose.

"Okay, so how did Ibara and the others say they awakened the other Mini-Cons?" Momo asked.

"I think she said they just touched the panels and they woke up on their own." Kyoka mentioned as she drew closer to the one on the right with an outstretched hand. "So maybe…" Gently, she placed her palm upon the metal plate and it began glowing, eliciting a gasp from her. "Hah! Alright, this is it!"

Izuku and Momo looked to one another, sharing a nod before going to the center and left most ones respectively, putting their hands on them and watching as they all glowed in unison. And then, in a brief flash of light, the Mini-Cons emerged…

Before Izuku stood a mostly black Mini-Con with blue arms and red feet, with door panels hanging off his arms. There was an Autobot symbol split in half between his two legs, which also had headlights on his knees. His head was blue and somewhat angular, with a red visor and silver faceplate giving him an emotionless countenance. And behind his head was… just the entire rear of a car, complete with spoiler and two large rear wheels settled over his shoulders.

Kyoka, meanwhile, stared directly at a mostly blue bot with a bulbous chest and equally round shoulders… as well as very large three-fingered hands. He had some yellow detailing on his wrists and his face was mostly red, with a square-shaped helm and chiseled jaw contrasting against his somewhat curved physique along with his long, lanky legs. He also had an aircraft tailfin folded up on his back, which had an Autobot symbol on it, as well as a red visor, which glared deep into her soul.

Finally, Momo was confronted with an absolute UNIT of a grey Mini-Con, one who was very blocky in build. From his legs to his arms to the MASSIVE blue pylons on either side of his head that were riveted with yellow bolts. Also, he had machine gun barrels installed on each shoulder, and on his legs were an Autobot symbol and… fire hose? His helm was a bit more rounded, oddly enough, with a dark grey faceplate and—of course—red optics.

Overall, these three were… VERY threatening, which made it kind of hard to believe that they were ALL Autobots. They remained unmoving for a moment, which also was a bit off-putting to the teens. "Uh… are they even alive?" Momo muttered.

"Now what do we do?" Izuku whispered.

"I-I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Kyoka scanned her eyes across the three bots. They all SEEMED to be online, but they weren't responsive. However, she also noticed that they seemed to have a very militaristic vibe to them… which gave the punk rocker an idea. She stood up straight and put on a serious expression, belting out; "Alright, men! I want names and ranks!"

The black and blue Mini-Con was the first to perk up, and he immediately stood at attention with a salute. "Ma'am! Lieutenant Checkpoint present!"

The next was the grey one, who surprisingly had a very young-sounding voice. "Officer Anti-Blaze, reporting for duty, ma'am!"

"An' Sergeant Scythe, at yer service!" The blue Mini-Con with the large hands saluted as well, sounding to be the oldest of the bunch and coming with a Texan accent. "We are the Mini-Con Council, the Emergency Response Team! What're yer orders, ma'am?"

"…Ooh, I think I'm liking these guys already." Kyoka remarked.

"I can't believe we keep getting lucky with all these high-ranking Mini-Cons." Momo said, putting a hand to her chin.

Izuku simply shrugged at the stroke of luck. "Well, better not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I say." He gazed at the three Mini-Cons hopefully. "So, you think you guys could help us?"

Anti-Blaze tilted his head. "What seems to be the situation?"

Kyoka pointed directly over to Swindle, who was firing upon the two femmes with everything in his arsenal. "Men, our enemy is THAT Decepticon over there. He intends on destroying our friends and has already held us against our will." She paced back and forth in front of the trio, keeping herself up straight with her hands firmly behind her back. "What we need is something to bring him down hard and fast. So, my big question to you three is… do you have any weapons on you?"

The Emergency Response Team all eyed one another silently… only to break out into uproarious, jovial laughter. The humans were left confused before Scythe explained. "BWAHAHA! Do we HAVE weapons? Ma'am, we ARE weapons! C'mon boys, let's show 'em what Weaponizer Mini-Cons can DO!" Scythe then jumped up, his head folding into his chest before it folded upward, his arms shifting out on a pair of black, wing-shaped struts. Then, his legs folded up into the cavity his chest was once in, only for his arms to then rotate on the struts so that they slotted into his new undercarriage, his fingers straightening into six gun barrels. Landing on the control panel, Scythe was now a dual gatling gun, leaving the humans slack-jawed.

"Let's do it!" Anti-Blaze agreed, his legs rotating back and folding up to become the front of his vehicle mode as a black panel on his chest folded up over his head. His arms rotated 180 degrees so that the machine gun barrels pointed downward… and then his entire pelvis separated from his torso, his entire lower half folding up onto his back. It was then revealed that there were two entire missile racks in his waist and upper body, which extended out as he landed on the console.

"OOOH-HOHOHO!" Kyoka laughed extatically as she jumped up onto Scythe, manning the gatling guns. "I really, REALLY like these guys!"

Momo went over and stood behind Anti-Blaze, placing her hands on either side of him. "I-I'd rather stay BEHIND you, if that's alright."

"Hm, time to bring out the big guns!" Checkpoint sounded off, leaping into the air as his legs also folded back, and a small handle emerged from his right knee. He pulled his left arm to his side and he extended his right arm out as the entire right side of his body shifted up, bringing the rear of his car mode and his head with it. His head shifted into the vehicle mode bulk before it swiveled up and locked into place, becoming the barrel of a large, hand-held gun which had a tire as its muzzle.

…And then Checkpoint clattered to the console's surface because there was no one to grab him. The humans stared blankly at the immobile Mini-Con for a moment before he piped up; "Um… I think I could use a bit of assistance."

"O-Oh, right, sorry!" Activating One for All, Izuku used Full Cowling to heft Checkpoint up as best as he could, despite how awkward it was. He managed to sling the weapon up over his shoulder, using Checkpoint's arm-turned-grip to balance him. "Okay, I-I think I got it!"

"Good, now be sure your aim is true, young organic." With Checkpoint's advice in mind, Izuku closed one eye and shifted himself, making sure the Mini-Con's barrel was aimed directly at Swindle.

The moment Arcee ducked under Swindle's energy blade, that's when Izuku gave the word. "Now! FIRE!" Checkpoint didn't waste a second taking the shot, and thankfully, the blast struck the con-bot in the shoulder, toppling him over with a loud scream.

"AAAAUGH! My arm! Where did that—" Swindle cut himself off when he saw three little organics on the control console… and they were all wielding Weaponizer Mini-Cons. "…Scrap."

Flare Up and Arcee were left taken aback and yet extremely excited at what would come next. "Do it, luvs!"

Kyoka pumped a fist in the air, giving the order; "Now! Fire at will, men!" And just like that, all hell had broken loose. Scythe's gating gun barrels spun so fast that they were only barely visible, unloading round after round across the room and blowing up weaponry every which way. Anti-Blaze set forth not just blasting with his machine guns, but he pretty much let loose all of his missiles at once, making Swindle scream and duck for cover before one of them could hit him. And of course, Checkpoint kept up his own onslaught, with Izuku bracing him up the entire time.

"AAH! No, no, NO! MY PRODUCT!" Swindle cried, seeing his precious collection of weapons go up in flames. "Stop it! STOP IT!"

"THIS is for kidnapping our friends!" Momo snapped as Anti-Blaze unleashed another round of missiles.

"AND for being a money-grubbing asshole!" Kyoka added, watching as Scythe continued his warpath of destruction.

All of a sudden, there was a loud BOOM that reverberated through the entire ship, and the two femmes had a feeling that wasn't from any of the Mini-Cons. "…I think the Cavalry's here." Flare Up remarked with a knowing grin.

Arcee nodded. "Yep, and that means it's time to take our leave." She and Flare Up moved quickly over to the door, which slid open for them. "Guys, come on!" the intel officer ushered for them to follow. "We've gotta get out of here!"

Giving a thumbs up, Kyoka gave the okay. "We're right behind you! Alright, men, it's time to roll out!"

"Hehe, we hear ya loud an' clear, ma'am!" Scythe responded as his barrels stopped spinning and rotated upward, the barrels splitting off to transform into a pair of spinning VTOL rotors. From his back, the tailfin then folded down, revealing his vehicle mode to be a tiny Osprey helicopter. Kyoka yelped and held on as Scythe became airborne, flying straight out the door. "C'mon boys, let's get the frag outta this place!"

"Right behind you, sir!" Anti-Blaze agreed as his legs folded down from his back, his body becoming whole again before his arms rotated up. Momo was surprised to see that his vehicle mode was actually a stout little grey fire engine, with the hose pointed forward on top of his tiny cap. "Miss, I advise you get on and brace yourself!"

The Creation user swallowed, but did as he asked despite her apprehension. "R-Right, of course." Securing her grip tightly to the top of his truck mode, Momo nodded and Anti-Blaze sped straight off the edge of the console, eliciting a scream from her lips. "GYAAAAAAH!" They landed on the ground safely and sped through the door, though Momo didn't stop screaming.

That left Izuku and Checkpoint, the former glancing to the large weapon in his grasp. "So, how about you?"

"Feel free to toss me down, young man. With your strength, I've got a feeling you can follow me easily." Checkpoint assured.

"If you insist! GAH!" With impressive strength, Izuku threw Checkpoint off the edge and down to the floor, the Mini-Con's body returning to its normal shape aside from his legs, which stayed folded up. Checkpoint pressed his arms close to his sides, forming the doors of his small car mode as his head folded in again… and that was it. When Checkpoint landed, he was now a black and blue police car with a red siren light on top and red windows. Izuku leapt down after him and landed on his roof, crouching down against the car's spoiler as it zoomed through the doorway.

Arcee and Flare Up went to follow the others, but Swindle shot up before they could, his features contorted in utter rage as his merchandise burned around him. "You… you ruined EVERYTHING! AAAUGHH!" Before he could even blink, though, Flare Up grabbed Arcee, zipped out of the room, and then forcibly closed the door behind them, locking it for good measure. "GYAH! NO!"

"I think a "yes" would be more fitting here." Arcee gave a fistbump to her time-jumping friend. "Nice one there, Flare."

"Thank you very much! And, just to be on the safe side…" Now that they were in Swindle's personal collection room, Flare Up rushed over and wrapped her arms around the Fusion Cannon, taking it right off the wall. "I think we should confiscate this for good measure. Far as I'm concerned, NO ONE else should have somethin' like this."

Arcee wasn't one to argue that. "Heh, right. Now let's roll!"

…..

As that was going on, toward the front of the ship, Bumblebee had just arrived at the entry dock, and it didn't take long for him to locate the access hatch and the control switch for it. His tires screeched as he pulled to a stop, where Ochako and Itsuka immediately got out before he transformed back into robot mode. "Zrkt—Okay ladies—zrkt—we've got very little time. Zrkt—I'll distract—zrkt—big, green an' ugly—zrkt—while you get that door open. Zrkt—Sound good?"

The Gravity Quirk user sent Bumblebee a salute. "You got it, Bee!"

"We won't let you down." Itsuka gave a thumbs up, only to hear the approaching, thunderous footfalls of a certain Croctobot coming from the nearby hall. "Oh boy, here he comes! Ochako, let's get this going! I've got a plan, so listen here…"

The two girls whispered among themselves while Bumblebee went back toward the hall, where the piercing glare of Skullcruncher could be seen slowly approaching from the darkness. The mighty robo-croc belted out a roar, and a bright green energy started collecting in his maw, before it shot out straight at Bee. Bumblebee countered by bringing out his new plasma cannon and shooting at the beam, creating an explosion that sent smoke and dust flying through the room. "Grr… Skullcruncher, Terrorize!" Entering robot mode, Skullcruncher swiped his tail-lance through the haze, skulking forward with a deep scowl. "So you made off with one a' our weapons, eh? I'll teach ya what it means to steal from US, bug! GRAH!"

"Zrkt—You wanna play rough?! OKAY!" Bumblebee dodged just in time, charging up his cannon for an even bigger blast. "Zrkt—Say hello to my little friend!" *POW* Skullcruncher howled painfully, the blast striking him directly in the knee and forcing him down into a crouch. The pain was so distracting that he missed Bumblebee closing in, and got kneed in the side of the head for his troubles.

Back at the switch, Ochako and Itsuka were holding onto each other as they floated straight up, the former making use of her Quirk while Itsuka prepared hers. Growing her right hand, the redhead set a determined gaze onto the control panel and reared her fist back. "Alright, let's get outta this dump!" *CRASH* Itsuka punched the switch, lowering the entry ramp and breaking the controls.

Skullcruncher shook the daze out of his head just in time to hear alarms going off, his head snapping to the ramp just in time to see the girls drop down to the floor. "Grr, oh no you don't!" Bumblebee tried to intercept, but he was swatted to the side, Skullcruncher barreling to the girls with hands outstretched. But, right as he was about to close the distance… *BOOM* "Wha—WOAH!" A massive tremor rocked the ship, tripping Skullcruncher up and allowing the girls to run away.

"W-What was that?!" asked Ochako.

"I don't know…" Itsuka shook her head as the ramp lowered all the way down… and a red and white blur came zooming in. "But I think we're about to find out!"

Skullcruncher groaned and stood up, but then… *WOOSH* "H-Huh—WHAT?!"

The Croctobot staggered back, seeing a certain City Speaker fly right into the ship in her jet mode, with Jazz hitching a ride on her back. "Ey-yo, Skullcruncher!" the lieutenant called out as he and Windblade careened straight at him. "How 'bout you sit DOWN?!" Jazz leapt off of Windblade, rearing his fist back and punching Skullcruncher in the jaw. Windblade kept going and rammed directly into Skullcruncher's midsection, blowing him back even further into a bunch of metal crates that came crashing down on top of him, with a particularly heavy one landing on his head.

"G-Guh…" Skullcruncher went to stand as Windblade transformed in front of him, but he was completely out of it. "Y-You… won't… get away…"

"No, I think we will." Windblade activated her turbines and blasted Skullcruncher with wind energy, making him fly right back into the pile of crates and knocking him out cold. Dusting off her hands, Windblade retracted her wings into her back, standing proudly with her fists on her hips. "And that takes care of that."

"Windblade! Jazz!" Ochako and Itsuka rushed up to the two with Bumblebee right behind them. "Hah, right on time!"

With a soft sigh, Windblade knelt down to greet the duo. "Hah, I'm so glad to see you two safe. But… where're the others?"

"Oh, don't worry, they're alright." Itsuka winked. "Just taking care of Swindle. By the way, what shook the ship just now?"

Jazz chuckled and jerked his thumb toward the back of the ship. "Heh, well, let's just say Airazor's makin' sure that Swindle and Skullcruncher won't be goin' anywhere any time soon. Ain't no way Swindle's gonna take his scams anywhere after this."

Just then, from the hall on the other side of the room, Arcee and Flare Up came rushing out… with Izuku, Kyoka and Momo all ahead of them riding on very tiny vehicles. "Haha, guys! There you are!" Kyoka greeted as she and Scythe flew over their heads and out the ramp. "C'mon, let's blow this pop stand!"

Windblade and Jazz were left astonished watching the three humans head out of the ship, with Bumblebee, Ochako and Itsuka all smiling victoriously. "Uh, I'm sorry, but… Mini-Cons?!" Windblade exclaimed. "Since when?!" …And then she noticed exactly what Flare Up was carrying in her arms. "And where the PIT did you get a fragging FUSION CANNON?!"

"Explain later, LEAVE NOW!" Flare Up insisted.

"Yeah, we need to get out of here before—"

Arcee was cut off when, from the hall, the voice of Swindle yelled in pure, unbridled rage; "GET BACK HERE, YOU GLITCHES!"

"…Okay, yeah, we should get going." Windblade concurred, leading the way out of the ship with everyone else following behind her. "Sure hope these start working now." Touching her hand to her audio receptor, Windblade activated her commlink, in suspense for an answer. "Hello base, come in base!"

"WINDBLADE!" Red Alert replied almost instantly, much to everyone's relief. "I've been trying to get a hold of all of you for HOURS! What in Primus' name is going on over there?"

Smiling triumphantly, Windblade sighed and responded; "It's a long story, Red, but everything's fine. We—" *POW* "AH!" The City Speaker just managed to avoid a blast from Swindle, the con-bot standing atop the rampway and hobbling his way down with his cannon pointed right at the group. "We need a GroundBridge! Now!"

"But I—"

"NOW, RED!" Her insistence proved fruitful as a swirling vortex opened up for the team not two seconds later, motivating everyone to jump and drive through as Swindle kept frantically firing and shouting at them to stop. Before she herself went through, though, Windblade took the opportunity to do something she learned on Earth. She raised her fist… and stuck her center servo up at Swindle. "As the humans say; suck on THAT, dumbass!"

Swindle's optic twitched as Windblade ducked through the portal, and he was about to scream bloody murder at her… only for Airazor to come swooping down and land on his back, pinning him to the ground. The falcon Maximal lowered her head, narrowing her optics at him. "I've left you with a little parting gift, you opportunistic grifter. Hope you enjoy your stay on Earth!" With that final insult, Airazor swooped up and flew into the portal, which closed right behind her.

His metal teeth clenched in ire, Swindle was about to curse the lot of them… before an explosion from behind caught his attention. The once-proud con artist spun around and was left utterly dismayed, seeing the engines of his ship go up in flames before the entire thing went lopsided, losing one of its stabilizers. Swindle fell to his knees, watching as Skullcruncher abandoned the burning ship. "…I'm ruined."

Swindle fell face first into the ground, his anguished cries muffled by the mud in his mouth. Seeing this, Skullcruncher could only make a single conclusion. "Welp… guess this means we're not getting' that shanix."

…..

Across the world, meanwhile, Stain was completely in control of this farce of a fight. Right from the beginning, Shigaraki had been careless and foolhardy, overconfident in his ability to take him down. But the Hero Killer was quick to put him in his place, kneeling over his body. "So, you want me to be a part of your crumbling little league…" he said with disdain. "But you won't accomplish anything if you don't have conviction and desire. Without those, you'll always be an aimless weakling. Achieving nothing. After all…" At present, Stain had one of his blades buried in Shigaraki's shoulder, and the other was stabbed into the floor beside his head. "…That's how you got here."

"Heh… hey now, you're being a little rough aren't you?" Shigaraki breathed huskily, his eyes shifting to his attendant. "Kurogiri, take him back."

However, Kurogiri wasn't moving either, even though he was standing straight up against the bar. His shirt sleeve had also been cut into, stained with blood from the wound. "I'm sorry, Shigaraki, but I cannot move. It must be the Hero Killer's Quirk at work." he deduced.

"The word "hero" has lost all meaning in this society." Stain continued on, monologuing at the others' expense. "The world is overrun by fakes and criminals like you who chase petty dreams. …They must all be purged." He went to bring his sword closer to Tomura's neck… but the skinnier man managed to grab it with his bare hand, wrapping all five fingers around the blade.

"What do you think you're doing? If you touch this palm… I'll kill you." Slowly, Stain's blade became brittle and started to rust, cracks forming inside the tarnished blade. "You sure talk a lot, "Hero Killer". Conviction? Maybe I don't have anything as loaded as that." The sword broke and turned to dust when Shigaraki tightened his grip, taking Stain aback. "If I had to choose a desire though… yeah, that'd be killing All Might. If this world wants to worship trash like him, I'll destroy their beloved Symbol of Peace, and then crush them while they're in shock!" Stain leapt back as Tomura whipped his hand up at him, taking his other blade out of the villain's arm. Shigaraki grabbed the wound and winced. "Hmph, you should learn not to play with knives. We don't have a healer in our party, ya know."

Narrowing his eyes, Stain had to admit, he had a better feel for Shigaraki now after hearing that. "I see your nature. It seems our goals fundamentally oppose each other. However, this wasn't in vain." A small grin lined his scarred features. "We both agree that we need to destroy the present."

But Shigaraki simply waved him off. "I'm over this. Leave, drop dead. I'm the kinda person you hate the most, right?"

"I was testing your motives. People always show their true colors when on the verge of death. It's abnormal, but there is desire, a warped sprout of conviction inside of you." Tilting his head, Stain grew intrigued. "How will it bloom in the end, I wonder… maybe I'll let you grow. If you don't turn out well, I'll take care of you later."

"You think you can get rid of me?"

Right then, Kurogiri started to move again, flexing his hand as he regained feeling. "Hmph, I'm free…"

Shigaraki faced his attendant, raising a hand to him. "Kurogiri, someone as crazy as this would be nothing but a problem for the League of Villains. I want him gone."

"Please reconsider." Kurogiri attempted to appeal. "This man would be a great asset if he joins us. I'd say this was a success."

But Stain wasn't about to continue this sham of a meeting. "My business is done here. Now, you will return me to Hosu…" He licked his lips eagerly. "There are still several false heroes I must attend to there."

Kurogiri wasn't too thrilled about having to do this… but the tension between the Hero Killer and Shigarki was as clear as day. "…Very well." He opened a portal behind Stain and the killer stepped through, leaving the small League to themselves. 'I certainly hope this isn't something we come to regret…' The spectral man glanced over to Tomura, who went over to a nearby cabinet for medical supplies. '…Especially not you, Tomura Shigaraki.' Setting his eyes upon the photos, Kurogiri picked up the one depicting the black-haired gentleman with the bushy mustache, wondering just who he could be. 'Still, there are other mysteries to be solved as well. Let us just hope that, whoever these people are, they will not get in our way.'

…..

A/N: And of course, just like in the main show, Shigaraki and Stain separate on bad terms. Not shocking, but definitely necessary for the story going forward. But still, they definitely seem to be onto something concerning the Autobots, so time will tell if they end up figuring out the secret sooner or later.

But, more on the topic of the main chapter itself, Swindle's business has gone up in flames, it would seem. Or at least, his ship containing all his product has. That should teach him not to mess with the wrong Autobots, especially when there's an important artifact at stake. And yes, the Quill IS an actual Cybertronian artifact that belonged to Alpha Trion. We'll be learning more about it in the next chapter, so look forward to that!

That said, though, it wasn't JUST the Quill that Swindle had in his possession. Behold, THREE NEW MINI-CONS! And I'll just say this right now, these Mini-Cons are very special to me personally. Scythe, Anti-Blaze and Checkpoint were actually some of the few Mini-Cons I actually had as a kid, and I'm telling you guys right now; I took them almost EVERYWHERE I went. Little vehicles that became robots AND weapons? Yeah, you can only guess why I loved 'em. These little guys are very near and dear to me, so of course, how could I NOT include them in this story when we've got Mini-Cons going around left, right and center? But, if you're wondering who I would have voice them… well, you're gonna have to tune in next time to find THAT out.

But, all the same, with their help and a successful break out plan executed by Kyoka, Momo and their team, the day has been saved and Swindle and Skullcruncher are now trapped on Earth… and at risk of the Decepticons finding out where they are. We'll definitely be revisiting this plot point later on, but right now… it's time to enter the next act of the story.

And now, the Preview! After a mission briefing and handing over the relic to Optimus Prime, as well as introducing the new Mini-Cons to everyone, it's finally time for everyone's internships to begin! We'll be seeing several of 1-A's students (and even some of 1-B's) arrive at their respective Hero Agencies to begin their week of intense training by pros… though two in particular are gonna receive a bit more focus. Because when Izuku arrives at Gran Torino's… he's met with a very disturbing sight indeed. And of course, it's time for Kyoka begin her infiltration plan into Snake Eyes' Agency. Will her covert plan succeed… or will the ninjas catch on a bit too quick? Next Time; Internships, Begin! …Wait, what does Agent Fowler know?! Thanks for reading everybody and I'll catch you all next time. Stay safe out there, and remember…

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!