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…

56. A Bite from the Sky! A Flying Shark!

A/N: Morning, everybody! Welcome back to Transformers MHA! Well, it's been a couple weeks and I believe that, after thinking it over, I have come up with the perfect casting for Sky-Byte's voice. Admittedly, there were several other ideas, but as I wrote the chapter, this person just kept popping into my head the more I wrote for Sky-Byte. So, without further ado…

Sky Byte – Voiced by Mark Hamill

I know! Quite the choice to end up with, but what ultimately clenched the decision for me was… probably not what you think. As we all know, Sky-Byte is a threatening yet comedic character. And while yes, Mark Hamill IS very famous for playing the Joker, it was actually his performance as Skeletor that sealed the deal for me. Granted, I haven't WATCHED the new Masters of the Universe show, only clips, but that deep, gravely tone mixed with the comedic undertones is just perfect for Sky-Byte. So, that being said, let's get into the chapter, shall we? This is…

Chapter 56: A Bite from the Sky! A Flying Shark?!

…..

As they walked out of the hospital side by side, Izuku and Kyoka couldn't help but let out a few giggles after what they'd just heard. Of course, the news of Tenya's hand was disheartening, but Shoto's own thoughts on the matter helped lighten the mood significantly. "Hahaha! Oh, god, "The Hand Crusher"." Kyoka wiped her eyes, having cried after laughing so hard. "I think he's gonna fit in pretty well with the others." she mused as she smiled up to Izuku. "He may not act like it, but he's as much of a goofball as the rest of us."

Izuku raised a brow down at her, wearing an amused smirk. "Hah! Goofball? You?" he shook his head. "Hah, no way. You're probably the most confident, calmest and coolest person I know."

"Oh, you KNOW that's not true, Izuku." Kyoka nudged him with her elbow. "I'm socially awkward as hell, like you, remember?"

"Well, maybe, but you're at LEAST a lot cooler than me."

Rolling her eyes, Kyoka sidestepped in front of Izuku, blocking his path. "Okay, now you're giving me WAY too much credit."

"Ah, come on, would ya let me give you at least ONE compliment?"

"I… hah…" Kyoka trailed off, rubbing her neck sheepishly. "Sorry. I guess I'm just not used to getting praise like that… at least not from someone other than my parents." Just then, though, she remembered something that made her gasp. "Ah! Oh god, that's right!"

Izuku tilted his head. "Hm? What's up?"

Clearing her throat, Kyoka explained nervously. "Er, um, well… let's just say I might've promised my parents something that involves you by mistake." Seeing her friend even more confused, the purplette took a deep breath, bracing herself for the announcement. "They… want you over for dinner after internships are over." She clapped her hands together and lowered her head. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier! A-And I basically got you into it by accident!"

Blinking in surprise, Izuku was taken aback by the news… but he wasn't as terrified as he'd thought he'd be. "…Okay."

"…OKAY?!" Kyoka's head shot up, staring at him incredulously. "What do you mean "okay"?!"

"I said "okay"." Izuku shrugged. "I mean, it was bound to happen eventually, right?"

"B-B-But, how're you not as nervous as I am about this?!" Kyoka reached up and shook his shoulders. "My dad is gonna try and kill you but not really because he couldn't hurt a fly! He's gonna act like a total doof trying to be intimidating and you're not worried about the secondhand embarrassment?!"

Rubbing his neck with a sheepish grin, Izuku started hesitantly; "Uh… Kyoka, I did kinda just confronted the Hero Killer and live to tell the tale." Once again, all he could do was shrug. "Compared to that, I'm feeling a lot more confident about meeting your parents." He could tell that Kyoka didn't like that, her eye twitching in frustration directly at him. "I-I mean, if it makes you feel any better, I could bring my mom, too! M-Maybe she'd make things a bit more comfortable?"

Kyoka pursed her lips, wanting to chew him out for his unexpected nonchalant behavior. …But then she realized something. 'Kyoka, THIS was your goal, remember? Wanting him to have the confidence that asshole Bakugo took away from him for all these years! SUPPORT HIM!' She took a calming breath and relaxed, clearing her head. "Hah… you know, that might actually be a good idea. Inko's a sweetheart and I can't imagine my dad acting out if she's there."

"See? It's a win-win!" Izuku said with a thumbs up. "Everything will be fine, I promise."

"Hm, I really hope so." Then, for the second time that day, Kyoka went in and gave Izuku a hug, much to his surprise. "Thanks for the pep-talk, Green Bean. And again, sorry for dragging you into this."

And just like that, Izuku's confidence took a hit, feeling himself trembling in place a little at the sudden affection. As much as he tried to muster it back up, he couldn't prevent the blush that appeared on his cheeks… but he managed to return the hug all the same. "A-And again, it's n-no problem." he stammered out. "You can count on me to make sure this dinner goes smoothly."

"Hm, I'll hold you to that." Kyoka pulled away, remembering something else. "Oh, and my mom wanted me to find out your favorite dish so that she could make it for you."

Izuku's eyes lit up at that. "Oh, that's so nice! It's katsudon, by the way."

"Ah, why am I not surprised?" Kyoka winked. "I'll keep that in mind…" She trailed off when she noticed All Might, Fowler and Gran Torino coming over to them, the trio walking up from behind Izuku. "Oh boy, I think you've got some business to take care of, Izuku."

"H-Huh?" Spinning around, Izuku was met with his two mentors and Agent Fowler, leading him to stand up straight. "Oh, hi everybody! H-How'd your conversation go?"

Toshinori cleared his throat awkwardly. "A-Ahem, it, uh… it went fine, young Midoriya. But now… we need to talk with you." His gaze traveled over to Kyoka with an apologetic bow of the head. "…Alone. Sorry, young Jiro."

"Oh, that's fine, I totally get it." Kyoka assured with a wave. "Buncha mentor-protégé stuff going on, I'm guessing. It's okay, I've gotta get back to Snake Eyes anyway."

Hearing that, Gran Torino perked up, giving the young lady a grin. "Ah, so YOU'RE the friend that the kid mentioned was interning with Snake Eyes, eh? Guess that makes sense." He gave her a thumbs up. "Don't worry, from what I hear of the man, you're in good hands with him."

Kyoka nodded back down to him. "Oh, don't worry, I know that by now…" She made a point to narrow her eyes at Fowler. "Better LATE than never, that is."

"Oh, for the love of—I TOLD you that you shoulda come to me in the FIRST place! I—" Fowler cut himself off before he could go into a full tirade, raising his hands to back himself off of the conversation. "No, don't take the bait, Bill. She's JUST tryin' to get under your skin."

With a cheeky grin, Kyoka snickered; "Hehe, yeah, I am. And it worked." That earned a grumble from Fowler before she went back to Izuku, giving him a light smack to the shoulder. "Anyway, I've gotta get back to my internship."

Izuku raised a fist with a small grin. "Of course, I understand. Tell me about it when we get back to school?"

The purplette winced a little as she gave him a fistbump. "Eh… might have to wait 'til we're back at base. Secret hero team and all that, ya know?" All the same, though, she gave him one last wink as she turned to leave. "But don't worry, I'll fill all you guys in, for sure. Between the two of us, we'll have a whole damn lot to share."

"Hah, no doubt about it." Izuku affirmed with one last wave. "Bye, Kyoka. Have a safe ride back!" And with that, Kyoka went back toward the woods, leaving the four men to themselves. "Phew, okay, so what'd you guys wanna… talk about?" But when Izuku went back to the three older men, he was met by their smirking faces, making him fidget uncomfortably. "Uh… what?"

Gran Torino shook his head with a slight chuckle. "Haha, ah… young love." He rubbed his finger underneath his nose as he began reminiscing. "Takes me back."

"W-W-WHAT?!" Izuku broke out into a massive blush and began whipping his arms around, frantically shouting; "N-Not so loud! She might hear you!"

But Toshinori deadpanned at that. "Kid, she can hear pretty much anything. Why're you panicking about this?"

At that, Izuku stopped and brought his arms down, gulping down his anxiety and collecting himself. "Urp, um… sorry. I guess that WAS a bit over the top…"

"Hm, well, at least you aren't denying your feelings for her." Fowler pointed out with a knowing grin. "So hey, progress, am I right?" Izuku's shoulders sagged and he let out a massive sigh, which Fowler got a laugh out of. "Hahaha! Ah, kid, chin up. Trust me, I've been there, and I know it ain't easy." He gave Izuku a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Just be honest with yourself and her an' you'll be fine."

"Easier said than done." Izuku bemoaned, throwing his head back toward the sky. "Especially with the kind of secrets I have to keep…"

All Might pursed his lips at this, stepping forward to set his own hand on his protégé's shoulder. "Young Midoriya… have you considered bringing young Jiro into the fold?" This question brought Izuku's attention straight to his mentor, prompting Toshinori to continue. "Because I must warn you; once she knows, there's no going back. She's liable to be a target to any enemy you make… or any previous enemies that might crop up."

"For once, Toshinori's got a point, sonny." Torino affirmed with a serious gaze. "Love is one thing, but letting others know the secret of One for All… that's a risk you need to be willing to take." He craned his neck down slightly. "After all, not everyone who knows isn't as lucky as yours truly. Many villains who know are very unforgiving about it… including one in particular."

When Gran Torino said that, Izuku could see both Fowler and All Might's demeanor change, their grave expressions matching one another. "…W-What does he mean by that, All Might?" he whispered.

"…It's time, young Midoriya." Toshinori replied… right as Optimus Prime pulled up in his vehicle mode. "The time has come that I tell you the full story behind One for All. But to do it, we'll need to go to a more secluded location." He craned his head back toward the Autobot leader. "Prime?"

"Understood." Optimus' holoform nodded down from the driver's seat, opening his passenger side door to let them in. "Climb aboard. There is an abandoned factory nearby that we can use as a meeting spot."

"Huh? Meetin' spot?" Gran Torino piped up as Fowler and Izuku both stepped into the cab. "Whaddya mean "meetin' spot"?" He waved his cane at his old pupil. "Toshinori, I want answers!"

All Might froze up and raised his hands defensively. "A-And you'll get them, Gran Torino, sir! I promise! But we need to go to the meeting spot so that I can explain properly. Trust me, you'll be filled in on everything." After a moment's hesitation, Gran Torino let out a grumble and proceeded to make his way into the cab as well, leaving Toshinori to sigh in relief. "Hah… this is going to be a VERY long conversation."

…..

Back in the woods, meanwhile, Kyoka had managed to find the invisible craft that she and Snake Eyes had arrived in, following the sound that the cloaking device was making. It was very subtle, almost inaudible by the human ear. But her jacks were able to hone in on it without much difficulty, leading her to knock on the side of the craft so she could be let in. Within moments, the back hatch opened and she stepped on, seeing Snake Eyes in the captain's chair upon entry. "Hey." she greeted.

Snake Eyes sent her a salute before extending his hand, which she understood immediately. "How'd it go? Pretty well, actually. The guys are all alive, so there's that." The mute ninja followed up with a curt nod, though he then gestured for her to go on. "Hm? Um… I had a short conversation with Izuku before I left, but that's pretty much—huh?" Much to her surprise, Snake Eyes was giving her two thumbs up, along with an eager nod. "W-Wait… you wanna know more about HIM?!" He responded by pointing at her, leading Kyoka to point at herself. "AND ME?! …Oh god, don't tell me you're—"

*RING-RING* *RING-RING*

The duo's attention was brought to the ship's console, leading Kyoka to give a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god. Saved by the phone." She reached out and pressed the blinking button, answering the communicator. "Hello?"

"Kyoka!" came Jinx's voice from the other end. "Good, you're back. I was honestly expecting you to take a bit longer."

"Hey, Jinx." Kyoka replied. "Yeah, I didn't wanna take too awful long. Izuku and the boys need time to rest after everything they've been through."

"I can imagine." Jinx agreed… only to take on a slyer tone with what she said next. "So… how IS your boyfriend doing?"

Kyoka's jaw fell to the floor as Snake Eyes put a hand over his mask, almost as if he was holding back a laugh that would never come out. But that didn't last very long as the Earphone Jack user SLAMMED her hands on the console and yelled; "HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND! Gah! I swear to god, you people are reading WAY too much into it!"

But Jinx didn't let up, laughing a little at the outburst. "Hmhm, are we, though? I didn't want to mention anything, but you screaming his name after seeing him on TV kind of tipped us off."

That made the purplette wince, realizing her own error. 'Gah, dammit all. I've gotta keep those emotions in check.' Taking a steadying breath, Kyoka calmed herself to the best of her ability and got the conversation back on track. "C-Can we not talk about this right now? We were just about to leave… hey, wait a minute." She leaned in closer to the speaker. "How the heck were you planning to talk with Snake Eyes if I wasn't here?"

"Text to speech, of course." Jinx answered, with Snake Eyes giving a single nod. "It's the most predictable way, sure, but it's the easiest."

Kyoka facepalmed. "Right. What WAS I thinking? Well, anyway, we'll see you soon, Jinx."

"Indeed, you will. And when you get back, you'll be just in time to meet some very special guests."

That made Kyoka to a doubletake, snapping her head toward Snake Eyes in confusion. The only thing he did was put a finger to where his lips were under his mask, indicating that he wasn't about to divulge anything. "…What kind of special guests are they?"

Jinx answered with confidence; "Ones who are very eager to meet you. Though I suggest you be on your best behavior with them, okay? We'll see you soon! Jinx, out." With that, the call ended, leaving Kyoka with more questions than she had answers.

"Ugh… you people really like to keep secretive, don't ya?" Glancing over to Snake Eyes, she saw him give another nod, tapping his chest for emphasis. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. Keeping things close to the chest comes with the territory. But I think we've ALL had enough of secrets, don't you?" But Snake Eyes shook his head, flexing his hands out and waving them around with a certain flair about him. "…Are you saying it's a surprise?" Giving another thumbs up, Snake Eyes confirmed her statement. "Eh, well, not exactly a big fan of those either… but I'll humor you."

To that, Snake Eyes started the ship, its engine kicking on though keeping surprisingly quiet as it rose into the air. Once it was above the tree tops, it quickly dashed off toward the north, flying at high speeds through the sky over Hosu City. The ride was mostly silent for a little while until Kyoka spotted Mt. Fuji below them, prompting her to marvel at the sight. "Woah… ya know, you never really get a sense of scale for something until you see it from above."

Snake Eyes was about to respond… but then something caught his eye on the radar. Something was approaching from behind them and fast. He snapped his arm over and firmly pushed down on Kyoka's shoulder, making her sit down. "W-What the—" *BOOM* "AAAAGGH!"

Whatever had appeared on the radar, it had struck the ship from behind, making several alarms start blaring as the cockpit lit up with red, flashing lights. On top of that, a warning screen came up, showing that one of the engines had been destroyed. "WARNING. WARNING." the computer announced. "Engine Failure Detected. Ship Descending Rapidly. Evacuation Recommended."

"Evacuation?!" Kyoka screamed as Snake Eyes slammed his hand on a large, red button. "H-How do we do tha—AAAAAAGGH!" Screaming again, Kyoka felt her stomach get left behind as her seat was suddenly ejected from the top of the ship, shooting straight up through the top. Snake Eyes wasn't far behind as the duo went falling down just as abruptly as they flew up, though thankfully several parachutes came bursting out the back of their chairs as they descended.

As they were gently brought down to the ground, however, they both stared on in stunned silence as their ship went plummeting toward the base of Mt. Fuji, exploding in a brilliant blast of flame. "…Well, at least we didn't have anything important on there!" she called out to her mentor, which he nodded at.

Before long, both of them had made landfall, and they unhooked themselves from their seats immediately. After feeling herself over, Kyoka quickly deduced; "Hah, okay, no broken bones. You?" Once again, Snake Eyes shook his head, giving her a salute. But then, his head shot up toward the sky, which made Kyoka do the same. There, they saw something fast and noticeably bright green go rocketing through the air. It seemed to be some sort of… missile, or torpedo, and it was flying straight over the forest where they had landed.

"…That was not a normal projectile." Kyoka concluded, looking to Snake Eyes for further instruction. "What do we do?"

Observing the torpedo flying off, Snake Eyes motioned for Kyoka to follow him, though he also put his finger up to his mask again. This time, though, Kyoka knew it had a different meaning; keep quiet. The punk rocker understood completely and pressed her lips together firmly, keeping as silent as she could while hastily following her mentor through the foliage. 'Wish we'd gotten around to stealth lessons before this…'

Thankfully, the torpedo hadn't diverted from its course as they tailed it, only doing so as it came in for a landing in a small clearing. The duo managed to make it just in time, though… as the projectile transformed. Its outer shell suddenly split cleanly down the middle, extending out on a set of gold armatures to become a pair of jet-propelled wings. And, on the inside, was the body of a small, draconic like creature, with most of it the same lime green as its wings. There were gold details throughout, mainly on its small legs, its teeth and the horns at the back of its head, with some bits of magenta on its face, body and tail that unfurled out of its rear.

Hiding behind a pair of large trees, Kyoka held back a gasp as she saw the Decepticon symbol on its chest. 'I knew it! A Decepticon Mini-Con!'

Letting out a shriek, the dragon-like Mini-Con landing on a sturdy branch, as if waiting for something. But the moment it roared… something came bursting out from the ground, taking Kyoka and Snake Eyes aback. As it happened, it was yet another Mini-Con, though this one was MUCH different. It's main color was purple and it had a short body with some green detailing along its back, along with six, green, bug-like legs. Its tail was long and curved, propped up above its head with a massive stinger. At the front of its body was a small head with a pair of red, segmented optics and a mouth full of silver, mandible-like teeth. Finally, on each side, it had a set of powerful pincers that snapped quickly as it emerged. There was no doubt about it; this Mini-Con was a scorpion, and on its back, the Decepticon symbol was emblazoned as well.

"…God, I hate today." Kyoka muttered to herself… only for the ground to start trembling every few seconds. It was a feeling she was all too familiar with, though, and the fact that she heard mechanical whirring getting louder and louder only affirmed her thoughts. "Dammit, footsteps." Sliding down the back of the tree, Kyoka motioned for Snake Eyes to do that same. "Lay low." she whispered.

Snake Eyes obliged without question and stayed low to the forest floor, with both of them keeping an eye out in the clearing for whatever was coming. Kyoka's lips parted in astonishment as, just past the tree line, a large, dark figure came skulking forward, its features obscured partially by shadow. Its only defining feature were the blood red optics that shined through the dark. Both on its head… and on its chest.

With a dark chuckle, the Decepticon gave the green dragon praise. "Hmhmhm, EXCELLENT work, Dragonus." he said as he pat the Mini-Con on the head. "We can't have any pesky organics intruding on our hard work, now can we?"

The Mini-Con, Dragonus, let out a content growl at the affection, only for the scorpion bot to start chittering and waving its claws around to get Sky-Byte's attention. "Rrrikikikik! Rrrikikikik!"

"Hm? What's that, Sandsting?" the Con questioned, to which the Mini-Con pointed off toward the west with its stinger tail. "MOR organics, you say? In that direction… I see." He nodded down to Sandsting affirmably. "Yes, I agree. They should be terminated as well. We cannot risk any of these fleshlings locating our quarry before WE do." He craned his head up to the Dragonus. "Both of you, pursue the little nuisances while I continue the search. Regroup with me once they've been disposed of."

With a dutiful nod, Dragonus leapt off the branch and flew into the air, compressing into his torpedo mode within seconds. Following suit, Sandsting brought his claws and stinger together to transform into his torpedo mode, taking to the skies after his comrade. Kyoka and Snake Eyes stared after the Decepticon as he trudged back into the forest, leading the former to whisper; "We need to get to whoever they found before they do and get them out of here."

Snake Eyes agreed without hesitation, motioning for Kyoka to follow him. With surprising speed, the ninja darted off straight into the woods, with Kyoka mimicking his running form to try and keep up. It wasn't easy, especially since she wasn't as graceful as he was about dodging foliage and her footsteps weren't as silent, but she managed to keep up. They kept their eyes skyward, following the exhaust trails that Dragonus and Standsting left behind, until eventually…

"AAAAAIIIIEEEE!"

A high-pitched scream alerted the duo, making it very clear that there was someone up ahead. "Oh crap! Pour on the speed!" Kyoka shouted, prompting Snake Eyes and her to go into a full sprint. Thankfully, they caught sight of a struggle going on just through the trees, and they made it just in time to see… something that neither of them were expecting.

"Get away from my protégé, Decepticon scum!" With a flying kick straight over their heads, the arriving pair were astonished to see Edgeshot slamming directly into Sandsting, forcing the Mini-Con to transform and land on the ground below.

"Sir, with all due respect, I know how to handle a situation like this!" The sound of a familiar voice made Kyoka's head snap around, her eyes widening when she saw Momo on the forest path. The Creation user had just used her Quirk to create a large cannon, which she shot at Dragonus immediately. Unfortunately, the blast missed, and Dragonus transformed to start breathing fire down at her. With a gasp, Momo unzipped her top and created an oversized shield, protecting herself from the flames.

"M-Momo?!" Kyoka exclaimed.

A gasp escaped Momo's throat and she spun around, staring in disbelief at the sight of her best friend in front her. "Kyoka?! What in the world are you doing here?!"

"That's what I should be asking you! AH! DUCK!" Reaching out, Kyoka brought Momo's head down just in time to avoid a divebombing Dragonus, the Mini-Con roaring angrily at both of them. "Ugh! But we can talk later! Momo, there's a Con in these woods searching for something. I don't know what, but he had these little pests shoot our ship down earlier!"

Momo brought her hand to her lips in shock. "Oh my gosh, so THAT'S what we saw fall out of the sky!" She called out to her mentor; "Edgeshot, sir! Things have gotten more complicated!"

The Ninja Hero was darting his way through the trees using his Quirk, becoming so thin that every shot that Sandsting fired from his stinger missed. "I can see that. We need to regroup immediate—GAH!" Unfortunately, Edgeshot had spread himself too thin, which gave Sandsting the perfect opportunity to transform, rocket up, and then change back into scorpion mode to snap his pincers on Edgeshot's razor-thin body, bringing him down to the ground.

"NO!" Momo cried out, rushing to her feet to help her mentor. "Edgeshot, hang on—AH!"

"Get down!" Kyoka tackled Momo down just as Dragonus flew at them again, avoiding the dragon Mini-Con's assault.

Compressing himself back to his normal shape, Edgeshot attempted to free his leg from Sandsting's pincers, but the Decepticon simply hissed and kept applying pressure. Edgeshot was about to use his Quirk again to cut through the scorpion bot's claw… but someone beat him to it. Rushing forth into battle, Snake Eyes leapt up over Edgeshot and stabbed his sword directly into Sandsting's pincer, making the Mini-Con cry out in pain and back off immediately. As their burrowed into the dirt, Edgeshot breathed a sigh of relief, only to crane his head up to see Snake Eyes offering him a hand.

"…Hah. You were always one to make a dynamic entrance, brother." Edgeshot breathily laughed as he took Snake Eyes' hand, standing with a smile beneath his mask.

Needless to say, both Kyoka and Momo were shocked. "…Brother?" they echoed.

But Kyoka was snapped out of her stunned state when Snake Eyes snapped his fingers, the ninja then pointing down to where his ears were and then down to wrists. The purplette's eyebrows rose in realization. "Wait… are you giving me permission to use my Quirk?" Snake Eyes gave a thumbs up, which made Kyoka smirk intently. "Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this." Plugging her Earphone Jacks into her wrist-mounted speakers, Kyoka rolled onto her back just as Dragonus came diving down at them again.

"Hey, Puff the Magic Dragon! Get a load a' THESE tunes!" Thrusting her arms up, Kyoka let loose a massive sonic blast, which not only propelled Dragonus back upward, but also made him cry out in agony. His audio receptors were in so much pain that he was forced to transform back into torpedo mode, blasting off in the opposite direction. Shooting up from underground, Sandsting followed immediately after.

With a sigh of relief, Kyoka sat up and pumped her fists high in victory. "Woo-hoo! Those Mini's ain't taking US down!" She jumped to her feet and then helped Momo stand up, the duo smiling at one another. "Now what in the HELL are you doing here, Yaomomo?"

"Hah, well, Edgeshot and I WERE doing some stealth training in the forest…" Momo explained, her eyes trailing over to her mentor as he and Snake Eyes came over. "But as you can imagine, things didn't go as planned. When we saw your craft get blown out of the sky, we thought someone was making explosions out here with their Quirk since it came out of nowhere, so we followed the source. And then…"

"Yeah, Decepticon Central." Kyoka shoved her hands into her pockets, furrowing her brow at the situation. "Those little pests somehow detected our ship even though it was cloaked. Not sure how, but I'm betting that their master has something to do with it."

"A safe guess, to be sure." Edgeshot concurred, sharing a glance with his "brother". "So, I see that you've finally managed to recruit someone from U.A., brother. I hope you know the risk you're taking when it comes to this…" He received a nod from Snake Eyes, who gave a so-so hand gesture.

Kyoka clarified further for him. "It was a… bit of a rocky start with a LOT of misunderstandings. But by the time things got cleared up, things were a LOT better." She sent a smile over to Snake Eyes, raising a hand to him. "And now, G.I. Joe know about the Transformers… at least I assume Fowler's told them everything by now."

"Hm, well, I suppose THAT was only a matter of time." Edgeshot shrugged. "After all, government secrets can't be kept from OTHER government secrets for long."

Momo narrowed her eyes at her mentor suspiciously, placing her hands on her hips. "Speaking of secrets… what exactly did you mean when you called Snake Eyes "brother" before, Edgeshot, sir? Mind filling us in a little?"

Kyoka did the same face at Snake Eyes, leaving both men somewhat sheepish. "Yeah, I don't think I heard Jinx mention anything about you having family, Snake."

"A-Ahem, well, that's because we are not TECHNICALLY family." Edgeshot clarified, all while Snake Eyes pointed to the Arashikage symbol on his shoulder. "Hm, exactly. When it comes to Snake Eyes and I…" Pulling up his sleeve, Edgeshot revealed the same, red, six-lined symbol on his arm, which matched Snake Eyes' perfectly. "…Our past is something that we cannot forget."

"Woah… you two were part of the same ninja clan?!" Kyoka and Momo both beamed in awe. "That's so cool!"

"Yes, VERY cool." Momo concurred. "…Though I have to ask, Edgeshot, sir. If you were once part of a ninja clan, then how did you become a hero?"

But Edgeshot raised a hand, flicking his sleeve back into place. "Questions that can be answered AFTER we get out of this situation." He directed his attention back to Snake Eyes. "Our own vessel isn't far from here, but I feel it's more imperative that we try and contact the Autobots first. Optimus must know of this." Snake Eyes was all too quick to agree, gesturing to his "brother" to take the lead. "Right. We should start moving." He glanced back to the students again. "Girls, be sure to stay with us. We cannot be sure how fast this Decepticon is, so we need to keep up the pace."

Both girls nodded at him without question. "Yes, sir." they echoed.

"Excellent. And remember; a good ninja always sticks to the shadows, no matter how broad of daylight it is." Edgeshot and Snake Eyes directed their gaze towards the darkest part of the woods, pointing it out to the girls. "Now, let's move." Following their lead, the girls leapt into the deep foliage after their mentors, sticking closely behind.

…..

Back further in the woods, though, the Decepticon torpedo Mini-Cons both came into a harsh descent when they finally found their master… to the point where they crash landed right beside him. "Ah! What?!" Sky-Byte whirled around to see Dragonus and Sandsting both damaged, the former's audio receptors sparking a little while the latter kept his injured claw close to his body.

Instead of being concerned, however, Sky-Byte glared down at the two of them. "What happened?!" Sandsting hissed and chattered out a reply, which the Predacon simply sneered at. "What? Armed and dangerous?!" He pointed directly at their wounds. "These tiny things did this to you?!" The Mini-Cons nodded hesitantly up to Sky-Byte, leading him to dramatically facepalm. "Uuuugh, words cannot DESCRIBE how disappointed I am. Very well, I shall do it myself. Come, NOW."

With his firm order, both of his followers transformed and attached onto his back, only for him to transform… and then dive down underground. From there, a massive, jagged fin came bursting out and surged forward as Sky-Byte began swimming through the rock and dirt. "If you want something done RIGHT, you do it yourself."

…..

As all of that was happening, though, Optimus had just arrived at the abandoned factory in Hosu that All Might had mentioned, entering the spacious building and pulling to a stop. From there, he opened his doors and allowed everybody to disembark. Once Toshinori, Izuku, Fowler and Gran Torino were all out and settled, "Orion" leaned his head out and gave the Number One Hero a nod. "Alright, my friend. I'm ready when you are."

"Right. Lemme just close the garage door." Sucking in sharp breath of air, All Might buffed up into his Muscle Form and firmly pulled the large door shut, only to immediately let that breath go and poof back into his skinny self a second later. "Hah, there. Now no one should see us here." He walked back over and was immediately met with Gran Torino's curious scowl, the old man raising a brow up at him. "Okay, it's time for some explanations."

"Yer darn right." Torino waved his cane. "Just what is going on here, Toshinori?"

"Hah… Gran Torino. You've done so much to help both me and Young Midoriya with One for All." Toshinori began, bowing his head to his old teacher. "And for that, I couldn't be more grateful, especially in lieu of my first master's death. So, with that in mind, it's time that we let you in on another big secret that we've recently taken the burden of keeping from the world. That includes myself, the Top Ten heroes of Japan, Young Midoriya, the U.A Staff and a handful of students, and of course, Sector Seven."

The old hero tilted his head, his curiosity growing. "…Go on."

All Might took that as the go ahead, giving a nod to Optimus. "It's time, my friend. Show him what you're truly made of."

His words made Torino snap his eyes over to Prime, who unhooked his trailer and drove forward. "Gran Torino… the man who trained All Might himself… allow me to properly introduce myself." With that, "Orion" suddenly flickered out of existence, eliciting a gasp from Gran Torino. "You see, I am no man. Rather, I am MUCH more than meets the eye…"

*Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt*

In mere seconds, Gran Torino's frustration was replaced with complete awe and amazement as Optimus Prime transformed before him, the Autobot commander standing tall as he peered down at the small human. But then, Prime came down and crouched to one knee, lowering his head so that he and Torino could see one another. Even still, Torino himself was stunned. "W-W-What the… what in the world?"

"Gran Torino, sir." Izuku piped up, wearing a smile as he stood next to his mentor. "Allow me to introduce you to a good friend and teacher of mine…" He craned his head up to the Autobot. "…Optimus Prime."

"It is a true pleasure, Gran Torino." Optimus greeted with a bow of his head. "I have heard much about you from All Might, and from what I've observed, your reputation is not unfounded."

"I-I—uh, wha—who—GAH!" Torino threw his head back, trying to collect his thoughts before he threw himself back and thrust a finger up to Optimus. "What in the heck are ya?! Some sorta giant walking, talking, government experiment?!"

The Prime wasn't fazed by the outburst, but clarified all the same. "Haha, no, not at all. I am an autonomous robotic organism from the planet Cybertron. Also known as an "Autobot"."

Blinking twice in shock, Torino uttered; "…An alien. I'm talkin' to a giant alien robot." He raised his cane with an uncertain look. "…Am I dreamin'? I should probably check…"

"Ah-ah, y-you're not dreamin', Gran Torino, sir!" Fowler insisted, grabbing the head of the cane before Torino could start hitting himself. "Trust me, this is very real." He set his sights up to Optimus, confidently telling the old-timer. "Optimus Prime and his Autobots have been hiding out on Earth for some time now, and they've been quite the help to us in that time."

"There's MORE of you?!" Gran Torino exclaimed, now fuming as he waved his cane up at Prime. "Just what in the hell is goin' on here?!"

With a brief chuckle, Optimus obliged. "I would be happy to explain everything…" And from there, that's exactly what he did. It took about twenty minutes to cover everything, but by the end, Gran Torino was much calmer, having time to digest all of the information that Optimus was expositing to him. Eventually, though, Optimus came to the conclusion; "…And that brings us to today… or rather yesterday as we assisted in the battle with the Nomu with M.A.S.K. leader Matt Trakker at the helm. And now… here we are."

"Huh… well, that's quite the tale, Optimus Prime." Torino nodded, hopping off the box he had seated himself on during the recounting. "I have to admit, in all of my years of fightin' criminals and bein' a hero, I never once thought I'd meet an ACTUAL alien. But I suppose there's a first for everything. And as for you…" He glanced over to Toshinori, Fowler and Izuku, the three of them freezing up a little. But then, he gave them a short grin. "Thanks fer lettin' me in on the secret. I appreciate the trust that you put in me and I swear, I won't breathe a word of this to anyone."

With a deep sigh, Fowler placed a hand to his chest in relief. "Hah, phew! Well, I'm glad to hear that, sir."

Toshinori agreed as well. "Yes, thank you, sir. I'm glad that this secret is in safe hands."

"Heh, well, it's in a TON of safe hands, then." Torino said with a scoff. "Considerin' how many people KNOW about it." He placed his hands on his hips with a questioning gaze up to Optimus. "I mean, really, you people gotta keep a tighter lid on this an' stop bein' accidentally discovered. Hell, I'm surprised these "MECH" people you mentioned haven't come out and said anything."

Optimus wasn't about to argue that. "As am I, though I suspect that's because they would not want to risk their own secrecy. Intelligent alien robots living amongst humans in disguise WOULD be quite the news, but the longer we can prevent that from happening, the better."

"For sure." Izuku said. "Hopefully Todoroki and Mirko finding out will be the last incident we'll have for a while, at least."

Torino huffed and turned fully to the young man, stamping his cane on the ground. "Hmph, right. But now, it's time for some OTHER important business." Izuku tilted his head, prompting Gran Torino to go on. "Kid, there are several things about One for All that you haven't been made aware of yet, and that's exactly what we're here to do… right, Toshinori?"

Izuku was taken aback, whipping his head up to his mentor. "Wait, what? …All Might, you were keeping something about One for All from me?"

"N-Not without good reason, young Midoriya." Toshinori insisted, raising a reassuring hand. "Believe me, I intended on telling you this from the very start, but… I wanted to make sure that you were ready to hear it." He wore a grim expression as he clenched his hand into a fist. "After all, you already know how much of a burden One for All is to bear… but with that burden comes many other things as well… including those who'll wish to bring you down."

Steeling himself, Izuku asked; "You mean like… enemies?"

The Number One Hero gave a grave nod. "Yes. I've made many over the years… but one in particular needs to be talked about. And, after watching how amazingly you've progressed with One for All over these past several months, I think now, you're ready. …Though you might wanna take a seat for this."

Finding a bunch of old steel crates, the four men all sat down, with Optimus using an old, rusty truck for his seat. Once they were all settled, Toshinori rested his arms on his knees, leaning toward Izuku with intent behind his gaze. "Now… the Quirk you have is unique, and you know that. But in order to understand the enemy I'm about to speak of, you must first know One for All's origin. You see, it was actually derived from another odd Quirk, a power that's very old."

"It used to be something different?" Izuku said incredulously.

"Yes. And the name of that Quirk is… All for One." Almost all at once, All Might, Fowler and Gran Torino's features darkened, giving Izuku a feeling of foreboding. "It allowed its user to take Quirks from others. And the user could keep the Quirks for himself or give them to someone else."

That made Izuku lean in, astounded by the very idea. "What? You mean… this Quirk could steal powers?"

"Exactly." Gran Torino confirmed, both hands planted firmly on his cane. "This was back when Quirks were just startin' to show up. Before society had figured out how to deal with the people who had the fancy new powers."

"When Quirks first appeared, suddenly it was hard to say what it meant to be a "normal" person anymore." Toshinori continued. "Laws and human rights were hotly debated. Civilization's progress stalled. And society itself… decayed."

Izuku peered up toward the closest window, staring into the sky. "If superpowers had never appeared, then humans would be taking interstellar holidays by this point." His attention went back to the three older men. "I remember hearing that from someone famous on TV."

"That would be one Isaac Sumdac, if I recall." Fowler verified. "And he makes a good point. Science and technology stalled along with civilization, at least in certain terms." He craned his head back to All Might. "Though that's not exactly what we're here to talk about."

With another nod, All Might went on again. "Hm, right. You see, during that chaotic period of change, there was one person who managed to rally many people together. He went by the name of his power; "All for One". He stole Quirks from others, and then, with his overwhelming abilities, he spread his influence all across the country. He manipulated people to serve his purposes, and committed evil acts with little resistance. In the blink of an eye, he became the leader of villains, and ruled over Japan."

Optimus folded his arms over his chest, reminded of a certain other tyrant who had overtaken Cybertron over the course of millennia. "He sounds concerningly similar to Megatron… and I cannot decide whether they would be allies… or enemies in that regard."

Izuku was visibly shaken by this point, though, remembering several murmurings he had heard in the past. "I-I've seen plenty of rumors about this online, sure, but… isn't that all made up?" he asked with a shake of his head. "It's not mentioned in any of our textbooks…"

"'Cause it's the kinda shameful history that people wanna ignore, Izuku." Fowler explained further. "Besides, when a person gains great power, they like to show it off to everyone they can. And that includes All for One."

"How does this all tie together, though? And what about One for All?"

Toshinori answered Izuku's queries with a very solemn visage. "I said that All for One could give Quirks to others, remember? He made people trust him or submit to his will by altering their abilities." His head fell as his voice took on a more uncomfortable tone. "But apparently, there were many poor souls who couldn't bear the burden of the Quirks they received. They became like mindless living dolls, incapable of speaking… just like the Nomus."

A gasp escaped Izuku's throat, only for All Might to lift his head back up. "Meanwhile, some Quirks actually evolved as they passed on. Some even combined with other powersets. This evil man had a Quirkless younger brother. He was small and sickly, but he had a strong sense of justice. They couldn't have been more different. It pained the brother to see All for One's deeds, so he kept resisting him. But then, All for One transferred a Quirk to his sibling, one that would allow him to stockpile power. We don't know if it was a gift he was giving his brother or if he just wanted to force him to submit."

"…Don't tell me." Izuku uttered.

"Yes. Eventhough everyone thought he was Quirkless, turns out the brother DID have a Quirk." All Might affirmed. "Though even he didn't realize this to be the case. He had a useless power that only allowed him to pass down Quirks." Spreading his arms out, Toshinori declared; "So, the stockpiling ability merged with the brother's power, and that is how One for All came to be." After a long pause to let the revelation settle with his pupil, Toshinori brought his arms back down and sighed. "I always found it ironic… that justice so often spawns from evil."

But Izuku stood straight up out of his seat, left with even more questions. "Wait, hold on! I understand how One for All came about now, but… this bad guy must be long dead at this point. So why're you bringing him up now?"

Standing up himself, Toshinori went over and placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder. "One who steals Quirks has no limits. Anything's possible. There are Quirks that halt aging, after all. He probably has something like that… or maybe even multiple." He brought his hands behind his back and turned around, craning his head down toward the floor. "The symbol of evil seemed pretty much immortal, with the state of the world at the time and their huge difference in combat abilities. The younger brother decided to trust this new Quirk to future generations. Even though he couldn't defeat All for One, he hoped that One for All could continue to grow in power, until it was strong enough to stop his older brother."

"…And then it was your turn, right?" Izuku asked.

"Yes. And I managed to defeat All for One… at least, that's what I thought." Toshinori lifted up his shirt, showing off his scar. "That's how I really got this wound. The "Toxic Chainsaw" story was completely made up so that people wouldn't know what REALLY happened." His grip tightened around the hem of his shirt as he brought it back down. "But even then, All for One somehow seems to have survived, and is now the brain behind the League of Villains."

"Which surprises the hell outta me!" Fowler exclaimed, standing up as well. "Considerin' that you literally blew half of his head off."

Hearing that made Izuku's jaw drop. "W-Woah, hold on, WHAT?! All Might, you did that?!"

With a curt nod, the Number One Hero confirmed it. "Yes. I've only taken two lives in my Hero Career, young Midoriya. The first was All for One…" He glanced over to Optimus briefly. "And the second was Dropkick. I somewhat regret the latter, but certainly not the former. …But again, he's somehow back in action now, so I guess it was all for naught." Moving toward a nearby window, All Might gazed out over the afternoon sky, breathing a shaky sigh. "So, now you know. The entire purpose of One for All is to defeat All for One. And one day… you might have to fight against him. I know it's a lot to take in, but—"

"I'll do it!" Izuku proclaimed, taking everyone in the room off guard. With a clenched fist, he approached All Might from behind, his expression resolute. "All Might, I'll do whatever it takes, no matter how impossible it may be."

"Izuku, your statement is a brave one, but please, think this over." Optimus encouraged, reaching down to place his hand on the boy's back. "Your progress with One for All has been exceedingly well, to be sure, but you are far from ready to face such an immortal threat."

But the Quirk inheritor wasn't deterred, facing the Prime with his unwavering resolve. "I know, Optimus, believe me, I do. But after hearing all of this… it's just made me all the more determined to master One for All. To do more training. If I have to face this All for One someday, then I want to be as ready as I can." He directed his focus back to All Might, who hadn't moved a muscle. "Besides… we all know that All Might doesn't have a long time left as a hero. So I want to make sure that I learn everything that I can from him, you, and everyone else." He wore a smile as he approached the Number One hero. "As long as you and Optimus are with me, All Might, I feel like I can do anything! So please, continue to train me, and we'll make sure that All for One is defeated for good this time. Right?"

Silence. Toshinori made no move to say anything after Izuku's self-assured speech. Instead, his features were etched with… sadness? Concern? Perhaps a combination of both? Izuku couldn't fully tell, but it was obvious that his mentor seemed distressed about something. "…All Might?"

'…Come on, All Might. You NEED to tell the kid.' Toshinori mentally kicked himself, knowing that there was still something crucial that he was keeping from his protégé. 'He deserves to know. He SHOULD know… but…' Right when he was about to open his mouth to speak, though…

*RING-RING* *RING-RING*

The duo gasped and Izuku looked down to his pocket, taking out his cellphone. His eyebrows shot up when he saw the Caller ID. "Kyoka? …Er, sorry, I-I've gotta take this."

"N-No, go ahead, I understand." Toshinori encouraged, though not before giving Izuku a pat on the shoulder. "And young Midoriya… thank you." After Izuku gave him another smile and a nod, he went off to answer the call, leaving Toshinori to sag his shoulders in shame. He couldn't go through with it.

And Optimus could tell. "There is something else that you are keeping from him, All Might." he said quietly so that Izuku couldn't hear. "What is going on?"

"I think I know." Gran Torino deduced, strolling up next to his old pupil. "His words are still on your mind after all these years, aren't they? The ones of your old sidekicks?"

Fowler pursed his lips, knowing exactly what Torino was speaking of. "Sir Nighteye's vision of the future. …The one he said where you would die at the hands of an unspeakable evil—"

"Stop." Toshinori whipped around, silencing Fowler before he could go on. "Young Midoriya doesn't need to know about that. …Not right now." His eyes shifted back toward his student sadly. "I don't want to break his spirit, now when he's gained so much of it."

"What is this prediction you speak of, All Might?" Optimus questioned, kneeling down before the three men. "And who is "Sir Nighteye"?"

"It's a very long story, Optimus." Toshinori ran a hand through his hair. "Let's just say that Nighteye is someone who I don't speak with often anymore… not after—"

But before the hero could elaborate further, Izuku suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, rushing over to them in a panic. "OPTIMUS!" The quartet set their sights on the boy, who was quite visibly worried as he raised his phone up to the Autobot commander. "It's Kyoka and Yaoyorozu! They're in trouble!"

The Prime's attention was immediately brought to the phone, taken aback by the news. "What? Let me speak to them, please."

Wasting no time, Izuku put his cellphone on speaker and said; "Okay, you're on!"

"Optimus! Optimus, are you there?!" Kyoka's voice came hastily from the other end.

"I am, Kyoka." Optimus drew his head closer, making sure they could hear him. "What's going on? Are you and Momo alright?"

"We are, but things aren't too good here. We're with Snake Eyes and Edgeshot, but we're stranded in the forest around Mt. Fuji."

Momo piped up next. "We're being hunted by an unknown Decepticon and his torpedo Mini-Cons. We managed to fend off the Mini-Cons, but we have a feeling their master won't be far behind if they went back to him."

Fowler smacked his forehead in frustration. "TORPEDO Mini-Cons?! Is there anything you bots DON'T transform into?!"

"Torpedo Mini-Cons…" Optimus reiterated, thinking of who the Decepticon in question might be. "Kyoka, were you able to ascertain any physical characteristics of the enemy?"

"Not much." Kyoka admitted. "Only that he's got a large crest on his head and one big claw hand. Plus, his voice is pretty creepy."

As much as Prime didn't want to concede, that wasn't much to go off of. Still, whoever their enemy was, they needed to get to the mountain and rescue their comrades. That much, he DID know. "Alright, I want the four of you to stay where you are and remain calm. We will be there as soon as we—"

*KRA-CHOOM*

"AAAAAH!" Without warning, a loud noise followed by the girls screaming put the five on high alert.

"Kyoka?! KYOKA!" Izuku cried out.

"What is happening?!" Optimus called through the phone.

They could hear the sound of rapid footfalls, meaning that the girls were likely running for their lives. But even so, Kyoka managed to answer before their call cut out; "I-IT'S A SHARK! A GODDAMN FLYING SHAR—ZZZZCHT."

Optimus' optics widened in horror at what that meant. "A flying shark… oh no." Standing up and reaching for his helm, the Prime activated his commlink and contacted the base immediately. "Red Alert, this is Optimus, we have a situation! Open a GroundBridge at my location and prepare a team to go to Mt. Fuji! Kyoka and Momo are in danger, I repeat, the girls are in danger!"

Izuku's worry was ever-growing the more he heard the desperation in Optimus' voice. "Optimus, w-what's going on?!"

"Kyoka and Momo are dealing with a considerably dangerous Predacon, Izuku." Optimus explained, directing his gaze down to the boy and All Might. "And it is imperative that we reach them before he destroys them all. I think it'd be best if the two of you go to Mt. Fuji ahead of me and help as much as you can."

Furrowing his brow, the Number One Hero nodded in agreement. "Of course, Optimus, consider it done!" Buffing up once again into his Muscle Form, All Might set his eyes down to his pupil, offering a hand. "Young Midoriya, it'd be best if you hitch a ride with me. We'll be at Mt. Fuji in less than five minutes."

Reaching out, Izuku grasped his mentors' hand in solidarity. "Right. I'm with you, All Might. Let's go save them."

"Hm. But uh… just hop on my back this time, okay?" All Might pointed sternly down to the student. "And no weird faces this time. Please."

The reminder couldn't help but make Izuku wince, the memory of his first encounter with All Might making him feel slightly uncomfortable. "Y-Yeah, of course." For good measure, he made sure to put his helmet on. "No problem." With that, All Might raised the garage door back up and he and Izuku blasted off into the sky with a single leap, leaving Optimus, Fowler and Gran Torino behind.

Just then, the GroundBridge opened directly next to the Autobot leader, prompting him to peer down at the two men. "Agent Fowler, I believe it would be best for you and Gran Torino to return to the hospital until further notice."

"This Con really THAT big a deal, Prime?" Fowler questioned with folded arms over his chest.

"He is a very serious threat, I assure you." Prime asserted as he stepped closer to the portal. "He is one of the Decepticons' most intelligent tacticians… as well as one of Megatron's closest and most loyal allies."

…..

Back at Mt. Fuji, things weren't going all that well for the four humans, who were currently sprinting for their lives from a giant metal shark that was somehow swimming underground. "That's IT!" Kyoka shouted between breaths. "I am DONE trying to figure out Transformers! They can turn into pretty much ANYTHING for all we know!"

"Wouldn't surprise me!" Edgeshot concurred as he and Snake Eyes tried everything in their power to try and slow the beast down. Snake Eyes threw caltrops and smoke bombs in the Predacon's face while Edgeshot sliced down massive trees with his body to try and stop it, but the malevolent metal fish seemed hellbent on continuing his pursuit, crashing through everything head-on. He even used his Mini-Cons to his advantage, using them as extra propulsion. "This thing is unstoppable!"

"Very nearly—AH!" Momo suddenly stumbled, tripping over a tree root and crashing directly on her knee. "AAUGH!"

Kyoka gasped and went to turn back. "NO! Momo!" Before she could, though, Snake Eyes leapt in and grabbed hold of her just as the giant shark came bursting out to the dirt, throwing them and Momo away to opposite sides of the forest path. As they tumbled into the grass, Kyoka struggled against her mentor, intent on saving her friend. "Gah! Snake Eyes! Let me go! I've gotta get to her!"

"MWAHAHAHA!" However, Kyoka stopped thrashing as a massive shadow loomed over her and Snake Eyes, bringing their sights up to the massive, flying shark. His head was a bright cyan color while the rest of him was a darker blue, with several sections of his body having exposed mechanical bits all throughout. His lower jaw and dorsal fin was silver while his underbelly and the fins on his tail were bright yellow. His blood red optics glared down at them, a sinister grin forming along its jaw as he… made a statement in the format of a haiku;

"Pathetic human

beings… COWER before me!

SKY-BYTE, TERRORIZE!"

A massive bellow came from his throat as the self-proclaimed Sky-Byte transformed, his jaw splitting in half as it and his underbelly extended out, forming his legs and feet. His entire back split down the middle and folded in on themselves, the panels propping up on the robot-mode back instead. Meanwhile, the entire rear of the shark separated into two chunks; with the main tail part becoming one clawed arm while the portion behind the dorsal fin transformed into the other arm, a pair of mounted guns popping out for good measure. The shark's nose flipped inward, exposing a purple spark crystal with the Predacon symbol on it as it shifted up to form the robot chest. Finally, the dorsal fin revealed itself to be attached to Sky-Byte's head, which rotated 90 degrees to reveal his permanently grimacing visage to them all.

Kyoka gasped and crawled backwards on her hands, putting more distance between her and the Predacon. Snake Eyes did the same, though he quickly drew his sword in self-defense. "Stay back!" Kyoka aimed her wrist-mounted speakers at Sky-Byte, ready to plug her jacks in. "I'm warning you! I'm friends with the Autobots, ya giant fish stick!"

"Hmhmhm, oh, I know that already." Sky-Byte brushed off with a sinister chortle. "I overheard your conversation before I decided to drop in." Using his claw hand, the Predacon scratched his chin with intrigue. "So, Optimus Prime himself is on this planet, eh? How interesting… I wonder if Lord Megatron knows about this yet or if Starscream's withheld that information." But he shook his head, getting back to the more important matter before him. "Ah, something to ponder later. For now, YOU insolent fleshbags must be dealt with."

Seeing something out the corner of her eye, Kyoka briefly glanced down and, to her relief, saw Edgeshot moving in silently to help Momo get away, the Fold-a-Body Quirk user whisking her off quickly. "L-Listen, man…" Kyoka brought her sights back up, raising her hands to try and appeal to Sky-Byte. "If you're upset that we hurt your little guys—"

"HA! No, of course not!" Sky-Byte stomped his foot angrily. "My Mini-Cons knew what they were getting into, and they failed! So now, it's up to ME to bring the lot of you down. Pfft, which should be easy, honestly." He craned his head around toward his back, where his minions were still attached. "I mean, seriously, HOW did you two have trouble with such teeny-tiny—" *BWWWAAOOOMMM* "GAAAAAAHH!"

Within two seconds of getting hit, Sky-Byte stumbled away, his hands flying up to his audio receptors in pain. All the while, Kyoka smirked with satisfaction. "I think you get the point now, don't ya?!"

"WHAT?!" Using his claw, Sky-Byte rummaged around the sides of his head, making sure his audio receptors were still functional. Thankfully, they were, though an annoying, high-pitched ringing persisted after the attack. "Grr… why you—You will pay DEARLY for that!" Aiming his forearm guns at the duo, Sky-Byte let loose a volley of laser fire upon them, forcing Kyoka and Snake Eyes to scatter.

Leaping behind a rock, Kyoka breathed hard, trying to keep her cool as her mentor managed to outrun the blasts. "Hah… hah… this is NOT what I had in mind when I was hoping these internships would be exciting."

"I know, right?"

"AH!" Kyoka gasped and whirled around, somehow having missed Momo and Edgeshot behind the rock with her. The Ninja Hero was currently wrapping a bandage around Momo's leg, no doubt one that she created herself. Crawling closer, Kyoka put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Momo sighed and looked down to her knee. "I will be. Thankfully not broken, but it is slightly sprained."

Kyoka pursed her lips and gave a reassuring squeeze to Momo's shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get back to base soon and we can have Marissa take a look at you."

"Hopefully." Edgeshot said with uncertainty. "With any luck, Optimus is moving fast with this."

Giving him a confident nod, Kyoka replied; "He's gotta be. He and Izuku aren't gonna waste any… time?" Out the corner of her eye, Kyoka caught something moving at high speeds through the sky, bringing her head up and squinting to try and make it out. "Wait, what the… oh boy." Her mouth curled into a joyous grin as the figure began to descend, prompting Momo and Edgeshot to turn their heads up as well. "…Yeah, I think we'll be good."

*THOOM*

With a landing that shook the ground around them, All Might slammed down into a crouch, allowing Izuku to leap off his back and immediately rush over to the group. "We are here! Ready to lend a hand!" the One for All user proclaimed with his signature grin.

"Kyoka! Yaoyorozu!" Izuku slid next to his friends, spotting Momo's injury before removing his helmet. "Oh no, what happened?!"

Momo sent the greenette a soft, reassuring smile, raising her hand to him. "I-It's okay, Midoriya. I wasn't hurt by the Decepticon. I just fell and tore my knee up a little… and sprained it."

A sigh escaped Izuku's throat. "Oh, thank goodness. I'm glad to hear that." He then directed his focus over to Kyoka, giving her an awkward grin. "Hey, uh… long time, no see?"

"Heh, very funny, Green Bean." Kyoka rolled her eyes, lightly jabbing Izuku in the shoulder with her fist. "But let's save the humor for when we're NOT in this crappy situation." She peeked past the boulder they were hiding behind, which prompted Izuku and the others to do the same. Snake Eyes was still successfully keeping Sky-Byte's attention on him, but the second that the Predacon transformed back into his shark mode, she knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up forever. "We've gotta help Snake Eyes. He's good, but I don't know how long he can hold Sky-Byte off."

"Hm, message received." All Might stated, standing tall with his hands firmly on his hips. "Just leave things to me! You kids wait here for the GroundBridge. I'll deal with the Decepticon." One mighty leap later and All Might was in the fray, making it to the massive, metal shark in a single bound. "Surprise! UTAH… SMASH!" The Number One Hero delivered a massive uppercut to Sky-Byte's chin, forcing him to change back into robot mode as he clattered into a bunch of trees. Landing on his feet, All Might dusted off his hands, all while Snake Eyes approached from behind him. "So… you must be the infamous Snake Eyes." All Might extended his hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you."

Snake Eyes reciprocated the gesture, but it wasn't long until Sky-Byte came bursting out from under the logs, growling in frustration. "GRRAH! What is this planet?! Are all humans THIS persistent?!"

All Might threw his head back and laughed. "HAHAHA! Oh, trust me, my deceptive visitor, you'll find that many of us heroes are VERY persistent."

"Heroes? What are you—AH!" A gasp escaped the Predacon as his head snapped around, staring off into the distance. Not too far away, he saw a craggy stone outcropping near the volcano… and something was shimmering on the side of it. 'That's it!" he thought before glowering back down at the humans. "Bah, I don't have time for this!" Sky-Byte jumped out of the log pile to start running on foot. "I need to resume my search! Farewell, fools!" *Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt* Transforming back into shark mode, Sky-Byte flew straight into the air, heading directly to the outcropping.

"Oh, no you don't!" All Might pumped his legs and went after the Predacon, shouting down to Snake Eyes; "Take care of the children! Optimus should be bridging here very soon!"

Giving a thumbs up, Snake Eyes went straight for the boulder that his comrades were hiding behind, finding Edgeshot and Izuku already aiding Momo up to her feet. "Okay, slowly. Take it easy, don't put too much pressure on it." Edgeshot encouraged, with Momo giving him an apprehensive nod.

Kyoka went over to her mentor, bowing to him with a small grin. "Hah, I'm glad to see you safe, master. Nice work." Snake Eyes returned the bow before nudging his head toward Momo, which Kyoka reassured him on. "Don't worry, she'll be okay. We've just gotta hope that—"

*CHOOM*

"Hah, I am SO glad that they're fast with that thing." Everyone spun their heads toward the GroundBridge portal as it opened up on the forest path, where Optimus, Jazz, Windblade, Bumblebee and Bulkhead all came charging out. "Guys!" Kyoka waved them down, the Autobots wasting no time getting over to them. "Great hustle."

"Well, what'd ya expect?" Bulkhead slammed his fist into his palm. "We aren't about to let ya become fish food."

But Windblade let out a gasp, approaching the humans and kneeling down to check on her partner. "Momo! Oh, Primus, you're hurt! What happened?! Did Sky-Byte do this to you?"

"N-No, no, Windblade, I'm fine, really." Momo insisted. "I just tripped up and I hit my knee pretty bad. I'll be okay."

"Hah, well, that's good to hear." Jazz said, though he was still quite serious as he asked them; "Now, where's Sky-Byte?"

Izuku pointed off toward the outcroppings in the distance. "All Might's following him to the mountain. He mentioned that he was searching for something, but we don't know what."

Optimus narrowed his optics at the mountain, intent on following them. "I see. Well, whatever it is he's looking for, we cannot allow him to find it." He craned his head down to his scout. "Bumblebee, aid Izuku and the others in getting back to base. We will follow Sky-Byte." Bee gave a dutiful salute and transformed into his Beetle mode, allowing Izuku and Edgeshot to help Momo into the back while Snake Eyes and Kyoka took the front seats. Once all doors were closed, Bumblebee zoomed off into the portal, allowing it to close as Prime pointed toward the mountain. "Autobots, Roll Out!"

…..

Meanwhile, Sky-Byte had made it to his destination, his jetting around the outcropping as he scanned for what he saw before. "Come on, come on, I KNOW I saw it!" But it didn't take him long to locate the shimmering object, his optics widening with excitement. "Haha! YES! Terrorize!" Bellowing out a roar, Sky-Byte changed back into his robot mode, aiming his arm guns at the massive rock. "I'll have you in just a moment…"

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Letting out a gasp, Sky-Byte rounded about to see All Might come sailing directly at him, the hero pulling a fist back for a heavy strike. "You won't be getting anything today, Decepticon cur! TEXAS… SMAAAASH!" Thrusting his fist forward, All Might let loose a burst of powerful wind that threatened to crash into Sky-Byte… but the Predacon's Mini-Cons jetted him straight upward, which instead meant the wind struck the outcropping and blew a large chunk of it into pieces.

…And this included what Sky-Byte was looking for. Not one, but TWO Mini-Con panels fell down toward the earth below, prompting both the Predacon and All Might to make a beeline for them. "HAHA! You fool!" Sky-Byte taunted. "You've handed them to me on a platter!"

"NO!" All Might hollered, propelling himself forward with a pump of his arms. Thankfully, this made him fast enough to intercept… one of the panels. The second was quickly grabbed by Sky-Byte's claw hand and he stored it in his chest compartment immediately, before the Con thrust his normal hand forward to take the other from All Might.

The two struggled against one another for it, but it was obvious that All Might had the stronger pull. "Grah! Let… GO!" Sky-Byte insisted.

"Not in a million years!"

"I have the time, human! I MUST have this—" *POW-POW-POW* "AAGH!" Letting out a yelp, Sky-Byte was forced to let go when a laser blast grazed his hand, making him pull back in pain.

Down below, the Autobots had arrived on the scene, all of them aiming their weapons at the shark bot. Bulkhead's cannons were glowing intensely, having been the one who fired first. "Back off, Pred! That's our pal you're messin' with!" the green Autobot warned.

Optimus came forward, lowering his rifle while defiantly swiping his arm at the enemy. "Sky-Byte, stand down!"

Astonishingly, Sky-Byte did so, allowing All Might to return to the Autobots with the Mini-Con panel in tow. All the same, however, the Predacon sent a grimacing grin down to the Autobot commander. "Well, well, WELL! If it isn't the one and only Optimus Prime. It's been eons, hasn't it?" He once again set his hand to his chin, leaning forward in intrigue. "And here many of us thought you were offline! I suppose Megatron was right, though; never assume the favorable outcome unless you see it with your own optics."

Prime furrowed his eyeridges back at him. "I could say the same about you, Sky-Byte. Last we saw you, one of our best led you straight into a supernova… and sacrificed himself in the process."

"Pfft! Please, you think a simple trick like THAT could get rid of me?! Never!" Sky-Byte rebuked, holding his head up high. "Hmph, that Autobot was a fool to think he could do ME in in such a manner."

"Shut your yap about him, Con Scum!" Jazz snapped.

"He was a close friend of ALL of us!" Windblade added, clearly upset about the subject. "He went out like a hero and it's a disgrace to his legacy that YOU survived and not him!"

Sky-Byte began coughing at that, a nervous tone heard in his voice. "A-Ahem, well, i-it matters not! I've gotten what I came for." He flashed his obtained Mini-Con panel at the group, nudging his chin down to All Might. "You can keep that other one. A single Mini-Con is all I need. It'll make an excellent bargaining chip to integrate myself into the Decepticon crew."

"NO!" *Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt* Windblade transformed in a flash and flew straight at Sky-Byte, intent on stopping him. "I won't let you!"

But the shark bot simply huffed at the attempt, producing a large, black sphere from behind his back. "Apologies, but this IS farewell. Fortunately, one always comes prepared with an escape plan…" Before Optimus could shout a warning to Windblade, Sky-Byte threw the sphere down and it collided with her, producing a burst of light and smoke that blinded everyone in the area temporarily. "Adieu! Until we meet again, Auto-dolts! HAHAHA!"

By the time everyone's vision cleared, Sky-Byte was nowhere to be seen… and Windblade had nosedived right into a mount of dirt. Shifting back into robot mode, the City Speaker clenched her metal teeth in frustration, punching the ground in front of her. "GAH! Damn it all!" She stood up as the others regrouped with her, bowing her head to her leader. "I'm sorry, Prime… I couldn't reach him in time."

"And I must apologize as well." All Might frowned while presenting the panel to Optimus. "I was only able to retrieve the one. Sorry, Optimus."

"It is alright, my friend." Optimus assured, plucking the tablet up with his fingers. "While the outcome IS unfortunate, we should be grateful that we were able to save this one." His gaze was directed back toward the sky, scowling to where their Predacon adversary once was. "Still, there IS much that we need to be concerned about. If Sky-Byte intends on joining Starscream's crew… then the conflict on Earth is about to become much more problematic." Reaching up to his commlink, the Prime contacted the base once more. "Red Alert, bridge us back. …We have much to discuss with the team."

…..

A/N: And there you have it! Sky-Byte has successfully made off with a Mini-Con while the Autobots have secured one of their own. And thankfully, Kyoka and the others managed to survive their encounter with the fearsome Predacon and his Mini-Con partners. Which, yes, DO actually exist in the Transformers canon. Dragonus and Sandsting are both on the wiki and everything.

However, that's FAR from all that happened in this chapter. We also got Gran Torino finding out about the Autobots… as well as Izuku finding out the origins of One for All and the existence of All for One. I know, this happened AFTER the internships were over, but since All Might was already here, I figured that now would be as good a time as ever, considering that Gran Torino would probably urge him to divulge the information to Izuku. …But even still, it seems the topic of Sir Nighteye's prediction is still being kept under wraps. Could be a while before THAT becomes known to Izuku…

Oh, and also, we've found out that EDGESHOT used to be in the Arashikage clan with Snake Eyes in the past! That certainly explains how the two know one another, though the question does still remain as to how Edgeshot became a hero after the clan was disbanded. Which we WILL be finding out soon, I can assure you. But speaking of questions… what about those Mini-Cons. Well, we'll just have to wait and see, because…

And now, the Preview! With Sky-Byte hightailing it to the Decepticons' base of operations, he makes his case to the crew as to why they need him. Of course, Starscream is VERY uncertain about letting someone so loyal as Megatron into the group, but Unicronus does not hesitate to let the shark in, especially with such a peace offering. Back at Autobot base, meanwhile, the team regroups and decided their next move now that Sky-Byte is on Earth… along with explaining why it is they're so concerned about his presence. Thankfully, though… they're also about to receive a bit of extra help when the Mini-Con they have reacts to… Red Alert?! And what about this surprise that Jinx mentioned earlier!? Next time; Meeting New Faces. Go Beyond and… Yo Joe?! Thanks for reading, everybody and I'll catch you all next time! Stay safe out there, and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!