A/N: How's it going, everybody? Welcome back to Transformers MHA Month, and hoo boy, this one's a doozy. I really put my nose to the grindstone on this one, especially to get it out on time this week. So I don't think we need to waste any time here and we can just jump right into it. But to round out this cast of Joes… well, I'll admit, these two don't follow the theme of WWE Superstars like the last couple. They're more along the lines of Jinx where they have "conventional" voice actors, but I think it's fitting for who they are. So with that said…

Budo – Voiced by Eric Bauza

Quick Kick – Voiced by Ashly Burch

Okay, now let's get started! This is…

Chapter 60: Rocks Fall, Everybody Flies

…..

So far, the battle in the Rockies had been going… not terrible, but not exactly great either. At least, from the perspective of those still at Autobot HQ. Red Alert, Mei, Longarm, Roller and the rest of the Mini-Cons were all gathered at the main computer, watching the holographic screen intently as the Sky Spy continued to capture the conflict at multiple angles. The imagery flying by could be a bit disorienting, but they still managed to make out everything that was happening. Optimus and Shoto were fending off Sky-Byte rather well, Bulkhead and Springer were practically plowing through Vehicons with little issue, with aid from Roadblock and Wild Bill respectively, and Strongarm was successfully leading Momo, Edgeshot and Setsuna against a small group of Vehicons

Still, there were several areas of the battle where things weren't going so well. Mina had joined Eijiro, Tetsutetsu and Denki against another squad of Cons, with Crust, Gang Orca, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker leading the charge. However, things were taking a downward turn for them as several Vehicon jets came in from above, bombarding them with laserfire with Thundercracker and Skywarp at the head of the pack. Furthermore, Red Alert could see that Blastwave and Flatline were quickly approaching Bulkhead's group, meaning they'd have more trouble soon.

And of course, there was what was happening with Swift, the Decepticon lieutenant having retrieved two other Mini-Cons and was now Powerlinked with them, giving her a "Super Mode" as she had dubbed it. "Scrap, I was afraid a' this!" From the back, Scythe had spoken up, his fellow councilbots all perturbed by the sight. "Of all the teams she could've come across, it just HAD to be the Destruction Mini-Cons?!"

"…I take it that's a bad thing, right?" Mei questioned.

"You're darn right, it's bad." Checkpoint affirmed, waving his hand in front of his face. "Dualor and his lot are nothing but troublemakers, causing messes everywhere on Cybertron even BEFORE the war broke out."

Anti-Blaze clenched his fist. "It was all we could do to apprehend them and bring them with us aboard the Ark… for their own good." He craned his head over to Roller, who simply kept his head down and his arms crossed. "Let's just say that Dualor doesn't exactly have much respect for Roller."

"And he never did." Roller affirmed, shaking his head. "We never saw eye to eye on most cases, but leaving Cybertron was the last straw for him. Ultimately, we managed to bring them in… but even with his hatred of bigger Cybertronians, it doesn't surprise me that he'd willingly join the Decepticons at this point."

"W-Well, what do we do?" High-Wire asked. "Should we get down there and help?"

Grindor was more than ready to agree with his leader. "Yeah! Those guys could be in deep trouble! They need Safeguard!"

Despite her trepidation, Sureshock was quick to concur with her brothers. "Indeed. I know that Lady Ibara isn't down there with them, but she would be rightly upset if either Tetsutetsu or Setsuna were to be injured, or worse." She looked up to Red Alert imploringly. "Please, Red Alert, we must go and—"

"Now hold on." Red interrupted, raising a hand down to the Mini-Cons. "Before any of you go flying off the handle, keep in mind that your size and stature don't lend well to massive warzones like what's happening over there." He lowered his arm as the smaller bots kept listening. "Of course, your abilities are great, but you could also be at risk to a Decepticon coming to snatch you at any point. To say that I'm hesitant to send you in is an understatement."

However, Roller wasn't about to back down. "Then send us right into the thick of it—where the larger bots are fighting." He jogged and leapt up to the computer console, typing in a command that made the Sky Spy turn back to Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's group. "Look here; those guys are being bombarded by airstrikes, so sending myself and the Street Action team with Prime's trailer there would be the best place to start."

Scythe briefly transformed into his Ospreay helicopter mode to fly himself up next to his leader, going back to robot mode to point toward Strongarm's group. "Yeah! An' have US bridge over to the cadet. We'll get 'er all armed up an' ready to take on Swift." He nodded down to his teammates, who both gave him a thumbs up. "The Destruction Team ain't the ONLY sad sacks who can make a "Super Mode" outta themselves, hehe."

Red Alert hummed at this, thinking it over. But then Mei finally put in her own two cents. "Red… I know it's a risk, but it's one we've gotta take." She put up three fingers. "We've already lost three Mini-Cons to the Decepticons, but we can't let them take that energon. Worse yet, if that battle winds up getting too CLOSE to the energon…"

"The entire Rocky Mountain Range AND our allies will be blown sky-high." Red Alert concluded, giving a short sigh. "Mei, once again, you make a surprisingly logical point."

"It's what I do!" the inventor beamed with a salute.

"Alright, Mini-Cons!" Red called out, waving his hand out toward the GroundBridge. "Be ready to roll out. Remember; no diverting too far from our Autobot allies. Do what you can for them while also making sure yourselves are protected as well."

All of the Mini-Cons saluted back to him as well. "Understood, Red Alert!" High Wire acknowledged. "And thank you!"

Once Roller had retrieved Prime's trailer, towing the comparatively large box on his own hitch, he and the other Mini-Cons gathered on the GroundBridge platform. "Alright, so we're all clear on the plan. Street Action team, load into the trailer. We'll see about giving the Decepticons a bit of a surprise with it." Doing as they were told, High Wire, Sureshock and Grindor filed in one by one, closing the door behind them. "And Scythe, best of luck against the Destruction Team."

"Aye-aye, sir!" Scythe, Anti-Blaze and Checkpoint all saluted back. "We'll see to it that they learn a lesson they won't soon forget!"

Once both teams had been sent to their respective locations, Red Alert let out a deep sigh, silently hoping for the best. 'It's a long shot, to say the least. The Vehicons numbers are MASSIVE compared to our forces. Of course, our human allies are surprisingly strong, but something to turn the tide would be—'

*BZZZT* *BZZZT* *BZZZT* *BZZZT*

"Ah!" Red was jolted out of his thoughts as the base's warning systems went off, the alarm blaring through the whole place.

"Red Alert!" Mei exclaimed from the computer. "It's a red alert!"

The medic felt particularly peeved hearing that, but wasn't about to berate her at the moment. "Unwanted wordplay aside—what in the PIT is going on now?!" He ran over to the console and began inputting commands, silently praying it wasn't the base's perimeter sensors. 'We certainly don't need anyone discovering this place at a time like this…'

Thankfully, it wasn't the perimeter sensors as he had feared. …No, it was much more worrisome. The base's systems had picked up on—of all things—an approaching Cybertronian signal in the upper atmosphere, leaving Red Alert baffled. "What? A Cybertronian life sign? And it's descending toward the planet at high speed…"

"Is it Autobot or Decepticon?" Mei questioned.

"I can't say for certain." Red shook his head. "There's no indicator… nor can I connect to any comm signal from this mysterious individual either." Noting this, Red Alert switched over, intent on calling Optimus. "Base to Optimus, do you read me? Come in, Optimus!" Unfortunately, all he got was static and not much else, causing him to slam his fist against the console. "Blast! Too much energon interference where they are. I can't warn them like this."

"And we've already sent the others through!" Longarm exclaimed, throwing his hands up his head in a panic. "Oh, what're we going to do?! What CAN we do?! Oh, this isn't going how we were—" *CLANK* "OW! Jeez! What was that for?!"

Mei had resoundingly hit Longarm upside the head with a wrench, only to then grab him by the shoulders. "Pull yourself together, man! We're not out of the woods yet! I'm sure that the Autobots and our friends will pull through! Right, Red?"

Though his answer was less emphatic, the medic nodded all the same. "…Yes, Mei, you're right. We need to have faith in the others that they can overcome the Decepticons…" His gaze zeroed in on the incoming signal, however, feeling a bit of apprehension in his core. "Still, let us hope that whoever this signal belongs to is more friend than foe."

…..

Back in the Rockies, things hadn't been going too well for Kirishima's group. Granted, it hadn't started out that way. Himself, Tetsutetsu, Mina, Denki, and Setsuna had all gathered up with one another, their group being led by Gang Orca, Crust, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. And thus far, they had been able to overwhelm the Vehicon's ground forces fairly handily. …Unfortunately, that all changed very abruptly when the Jet Vehicons came in to play. An entire armada of them had quickly dove in and began bombarding them with laserfire, forcing the team to quickly make a tactical retreat behind a massive rock outcropping for cover. They were all fairly tough, but none of them had any easy way to reach the jets.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were laying on covering fire from where they were hunkered down, but the twins were lamenting being pinned in such a way. "Gah, scrap!" Sunstreaker cursed. "If one of 'em would just get low enough, we could pull out our patented "Jet Judo" on 'em!"

"I'm pretty sure they've caught on to that by now, bro." Sideswipe grimaced, peeking out again briefly to fire another few rounds. "Sad to say, we might've become predictable!"

The humans flinched as the boulder they were hiding behind got hit again, shaking the entire ground in the process. "Gah! Well, can't we do SOMETHING?!" Denki exclaimed. "Otherwise, we're gonna be here for the entire… oh god."

"W-What?" Sunstreaker spun around, not liking the sound of that. "Chargebolt, what's going… Primus dammit." There were now several ground-based Vehicons driving straight at them from the back, all of them bringing out their roof-mounted blasters. "Guys, get ready to run!"

Gang Orca took umbrage with that. "Sunstreaker, I—"

"Orca! Take the kids and RUN!" Sideswipe asserted, his shoulder-mounted missile moving on its own to take aim. "We'll hold the line!"

"No way!" Eijiro hardened his entire as much as he could, not intent on abandoning his friends. "We're not just gonna abandon you! We're gonna FIGHT! RIGHT, REAL STEEL?!"

Tetsutetsu followed suit, his metal body shining as his Quirk was pushed to the extreme. "You bet your ass, Red Riot! LET'S FREAKING GO!"

Mina summoned two globs of acid in her hands, not ready to back down either. "Right! A real Wrecker doesn't run! I'm sticking with you!"

Next to her, Setsuna began to separate her body into several pieces, floating up into the air all around them in a sort of protective barrier. "I'm still not sure how affective my Quirk will be against these guys…" she admitted. "But if there's anything I've learned over the course of the internship, it's that a real hero isn't afraid to take chances if it means saving the day!"

"These idiots are gonna be in for a SUPER shock." Denki emphasized, his entire body beginning to course with his signature electricity. "About THREE MILLION VOLTS worth, to be specific!"

Off to the side, both Crust and Gang Orca stared at their protégés with pride, the former wearing a wide grin and nodding in approval. "We taught 'em good, Gang. We taught 'em REAL good." The orca man gave a simple hum in agreement.

Despite themselves, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker couldn't help but be moved by their friends' resilience. "You guys… are idiots." the red Autobot choked out, putting on a wild smirk. "And I mean that in the nicest way possible!"

"Yeah! You're OUR idiots!" Sunstreaker accentuated, cocking his blaster to charge it up again. By that point, the jet Vehicons had circled around and began another descent on them as well, so the yellow bot only felt it necessary to say; "Whether we get through this or not, it's been a pleasure fighting with you all! NOW LET'S GO! TILL ALL ARE ONE!" On his cue, the group all began charging at the Vehicon horde approaching them, all roaring in unison… only for something unexpected to happen.

Cutting off their path, a GroundBridge opened up, allowing not just the Street Action Mini-Con Team come through… but also Roller hauling Prime's trailer. The Mini-Con leader unhooked himself, transformed, and then called out; "Combat Deck! Transform and activate forcefield!" Following his command, the trailer changed into its battle platform mode, its turret raising up from inside to take aim and start blasting at the Vehicons while the forcefield was cast over the whole area. With the group now protected, Roller hopped up onto the Combat Deck and placed his hands to his hips. "Haha! Right on time! No thanks are necessary guys, it's all part of the… um… you okay?"

Much to the Mini-Con's confusion, the students, heroes and even the Lambo Twins were absolutely slack-jawed and gob smacked, as if they couldn't believe what had just happened. Sunstreaker's shoulders slumped down and he put a hand to his helm. "Well… that took the wind outta my sails."

"Roller, what the frag?!" Sideswipe threw his hands up, clearly irritated. "We were just about to go into battle all "sacrifice for the greater good" here!"

The teens didn't seem too happy about this either. "Yeah dude, seriously?!" Eijiro clenched his sharpened teeth. "I was psyched up and now I feel totally bummed!"

"W-We're sorry!" High Wire apologized, though he and the others were still quite confused. "W-We just saw that you all were being overwhelmed back and base, so we thought you could use some backup!"

Mina let out a groan and dropped her acid blobs to the ground, doing a double facepalm afterward. "Roller, guys, we appreciate the thought… but maybe get here a bit SOONER so that we don't hype ourselves up with the whole "true heroism" moment?"

Setsuna brought herself back together with an irritated grimace. "Yeah, pretty sure the battle was gonna be pretty epic."

Grindor and his team were feeling pretty bad at this point. "Aw, man… sorry guys."

"B-But perhaps there will still be an opportunity to do so!" Sureshock encouraged. "After all, the Combat Deck can't possibly take out all of these Vehicons on their own—" *THOOM* "AH!"

The group let out a collective gasp as Skywarp came crashing down onto the forcefield, sending a ripple through the barrier. Though the fact that he wasn't able to break it entirely left him irritant, the black and purple seeker taking out his shotguns. "Heh, oh please, DO fight back." Skywarp requested, aiming point blank at the barrier. "It'll make your deaths all the more satisfying…" *BAM-BAM-BAM*

The shots rang out one by one, exploding against the forcefield and severely weakening it with each blow. The kids covered their ears while Crust and Gang Orca grumbled at the Decepticon, the former thrusting out his hands. "HEY! Knock that crap off!" Crust let loose a barrage of his shields into Skywarp's lower leg, some even piercing through his armor while making him stagger back.

"And have some of THIS! GRAAAAUUGH!" Gang Orca charged outside the forcefield and SLAMMED himself right into Skywarp's wounded leg, taking the Seeker down.

Still, Skywarp quickly reminded everyone that he wasn't alone. "Augh! Thundercracker! I need some heat taken off me!"

"I'm on it!" Spinning around, the team were met with the sight of the blue Seeker divebombing onto them, transforming and slamming feet-first onto the forcefield. By this point, the barrier was beginning to sputter and power down, leading Thundercracker to smirk. "Hm, so it's got a set amount of damage it can take. Should be no problem…" He raised his hand and called out; "Sonar! Runway! Jetstorm!"

From the cloudy sky, the Air Assault Mini-Con Team dove down, flying directly toward Thundercracker's hand. "Oh no you don't!" Sideswipe shouted, tacking the Decepticon away and causing the Mini-Cons to miss.

"H-Huh?! HEY!" Runway and her teammates whirled around in midair, flying in to help their partner. "Get off of him, you—AH!" But, much to her shock, the Street Action Mini-Cons all jumped on top of them, bringing them down to the rocky ground where they were forced to transform. "Augh! You idiots!" Runway began grappling with High Wire, with Sonar giving chase to Sureshock while Jetstorm and Grindor threw hands. "Do you have ANY idea how pointless this is?!"

"Not really, no!" High Wire denied. "But if we can't convince you guys to come back to the good side, then we're gonna hinder you from helping the bad side as MUCH as possible!"

Jetstorm groaned at the sentiment. "Primus, you guys really ARE scrap-for-brains!"

Grindor threw another punch, managing to hit him in the chest. "Yeah? Well, it's better than being a bunch of mind-controlled puppets!"

"Exactly!" Sureshock agreed, sliding to a halt in order to trip up her pursuer. "And one day, we WILL make you see that!"

"Grah!" Sonar was able to avoid falling, though, transforming into his aircraft mode before ramming straight into Sureshock. "This is pointless! You wanna go one on one? Then let's do it! Runway! Jetstorm!"

A devious smirk appeared on the Mini-Con leader's face. "Good call, Sonar! Jetstorm?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm gettin' there!" Grabbing Grindor's next punch, Jetstorm transformed into his tiny Concord mode and rammed into him as well, jetting straight toward Sonar and Sureshock. "How ya enjoy this, bro, because I sure will!"

"Yes… we ALL will!" Runway changed into her own jet mode and did the same with High Wire, the six Mini-Cons all colliding with one another in a massive pulse of pure energy.

Once the resulting light died down, both teams were revealed to have combined, Safeguard forcibly so, resulting in the Mini-Con combiner being disoriented. "Uuughh… w-where are we?"

"You're in OUR world now, Safeguard!" Floating up into the air of their own volition, the Cybercalibur swung its glowing blade down in a long arc, intent on splitting Safeguard in half… but then, something unexpected happened.

Flying in from out of the blue, Setsuna's upper half came into the battle, carrying Tetsutetsu with her to make a stand against the sentient sword. "Real Steel! This is your stop!"

"Thanks, Lizardy!" Tetsu acknowledged before being thrown into the thick of things, using both of his metal hands to catch the incoming strike from the Cybercalibur. "GRAH! No way, not happenin', guys!"

"WHAT?! No, stop this!" The Air Assault Team shouted, jerking themselves around to release Tetsu's grip. "This is not your battle, human! Get out of our way, or suffer the consequences!"

But Real Steel didn't budge, remaining firm no matter how hard they lurched. "Gah! Yeah, about that, ya kinda lost my sympathy when ya tried to kill my pals! Well, guess what? I'm not gonna let ya!" He snapped his head around and shouted; "SAFEGUARD!"

"Uh…h-huh?" Safeguard perked their head up, gasping at the sight. "Tetsutetsu! Go, you must leave—"

"And let YOU guys get destroyed?" Setsuna asked, floating her upper half down next to the combiner's head. "Heh, as if. We're not leaving you guys hanging."

"Setsuna… you too?"

From behind, Denki, Eijiro and Mina all came in as well, all of the students regaining their fighting feeling. "Yeah, and don't forget us!" the Electrification user said with a thumbs up. "Like I said, I'm ready to charge these Decepti-Creeps!"

Eijiro practically went barreling toward Sideswipe, who was still in the midst of his struggle with Thundercracker. "Yo, Sides!" Red Riot shouted as he hardened up again. "Save some for me!"

"And me!" Mina went in and approached another band of Vehicons, their numbers significantly whittled down thanks to the Combat Deck. Surprisingly, though, many of the Cons all flinched at the sight of her. "…Oh, you remember ME, don't you?" the pink girl realized, grinning wildly as she brought more acid into her hands. "Well, who wants a piece of me FIRST, huh?!"

All at once, the Vehicons screamed in terror and fled, much to Skywarp's chagrin. "HEY! Get back here you cowards!" Growling beneath his breath, he rolled onto his stomach, kicking Crust and Gang Orca in the process. "GRAH! I've had it up to HERE with you pesky organics and your damn Quirks!" Bringing his shotguns out, he aimed directly for Mina and let loose a volley of blasts, taking her off guard.

She was given no time to move out of the way… but thankfully, she didn't need to. Safeguard, now back to their senses, leapt in and activated their own forcefield, causing the lasers to ricochet off harmlessly into the air. "Then allow US to give you something else to be annoyed by!" they exclaimed.

"Haha! Alright!" Tetsu laughed. "Nice work, Safegua—AUGH!" Unfortunately, taking his eyes away from the Cybercalibur was costly, as Thundercracker managed to get back to his feet. Sideswipe had been tossed aside, and the blue Seeker was able to retrieve his Mini-Con weapon without hinderance.

He lifted the sword and narrowed his optics at Tetsu, still hanging on to the end of it. "…I suggest you let go, human. For your own sake."

But Real Steel wasn't about to back down. "Oh, sure, and then I'll just surrender while I'm at it." he shot back sarcastically. "Yeah, fat chance, Square Head!"

Thundercracker sneered, lifting the blade and Tetsu high into the air. "I warned you—AH!" Before he could do anything, though, he gasped as Setsuna's upper half floated directly in front of him, taking him by surprise.

"Hey! Wanna see somethin' cool?!" she snapped at him.

"…I'm afraid of what your definition of "cool" is." Thundercracker admitted.

That made Setsuna grin wildly. "It's THIS!" All at once, every single body part on the green-haired girl began to pop off of her, separating at each, individual joint. Fingers went flying, her head hurdled right into Thundercracker's face, and to top it all off, even her hair, eyes, nose, mouth and ears all detached, the parts spinning wildly around as she went; "OOGA-BOOGA-BOOGA!"

"GYAHAH!" Effectively spooked, Thundercracker stumbled away from Setsuna… only to be tripped up by Sideswipe.

Tetsutetsu tuck and rolled as he landed, sliding up next to Eijiro. "Haha! Nice one, Lizardy!"

"Thanks!" Setsuna reattached her fingers and hand, giving a thumbs up. "Now go kick his butt!"

"Gladly!" Sideswipe obliged, charging up his rifle. "Boys, let's do this!" Eijiro and Tetsu roared in approval as they all charged a Thundercracker, though the Seeker was getting back to a vertical base fairly quickly.

Across the way, Sunstreaker, Safeguard, Mina, Denki, Gang Orca and Crust were staring down their own opponent, though Skywarp was definitely not amused by what was happening. "This is so fragging humiliating…" He crossed his arms and activated his powers. "Let's see handle THIS!" In the blink of an eye, Skywarp disappeared, but Chargebolt had an inkling of what he was going to do.

"Safeguard!" he shouted. "Cover everyone!" The Mini-Con combiner wasted no time in obliging, allowing Denki to build up his lightning. Sure enough, Skywarp reappeared and was about to set off his Death Barrage… but was instead met with an absolutely MASSIVE discharge. "Indiscriminate Shock; THREE MILLION VOLTS!"

The only thing that Skywarp and any remaining Vehicons could see was a blinding yellow light, and had a sudden tingly feeling that he knew was only a prelude for what was about to happen. "Oh, holy—SCRAAAAAAAPPP!" The black and purple Seeker writhed in absolute anguish as the electricity coursed through him, short-circuiting his systems and leaving him in stasis lock, dropping to the ground with a massive THUD. The other Vehicons followed suit, their visors shutting down

Once it was all over, Denki stopped and stood motionless, all while his team celebrated the victory. "WOO-HOO! Nice one, Kaminari!" Mina applauded.

"Yes, very well done, Chargebolt." Gang Orca praised, walking up behind the young man and giving him a pat on the shoulder. "I see our training has done wonders for your power output! You should be proud. …Chargebolt?"

It was only then that Denki's head moved up, allowing the others to see his zonked-out expression. "Heeeeee…."

The group deadpanned all at once. "…Welp, guess he needs more training to handle three million." Sunstreaker deduced.

"If Kyoka were here, she'd definitely have some sorta quip ready." Mina uttered, watching as Denki went around giving two thumbs up. "…Wonder how she and the others are doing, anyway?"

…..

Little did the pink girl know that Kyoka was still trying to process what she had just seen. She'd seen quite a few different Quirks of all types in her time, be they subtle, outlandish and just plain strange. However, for Kamakura, this was probably the first ever time she could label a Quirk as genuinely… upsetting to see. Not for the fact that it was underwhelming or anything, no, it was anything BUT that. Instead, it was upsetting… for her stomach. She had just watched the redheaded man who she'd been living under the same roof with for the last week change from a 5'8" relatively handsome dude… into an 8-foot-tall, green insectoid creature with large orange eyes, stag beetle horns, mantis forelimbs, and grasshopper legs—which was where the extra two and a half feet largely came from. And it was…

"EEEEEWWW!" Frenzy grimaced, staring in horror as green, gloppy goo continued to fall off of Kamakura where his insect parts had emerged. "That is DISGUSTING! And that's saying something, coming from me!"

"What. The absolute. SLAG?!" Barricade shouted. "You humans keep getting grosser and grosser every day I'm on this fragging planet!"

Kyoka pursed her lips, hating what she was about to say before it even left her mouth. "…As weird as it is to agree with a Decepticon… yeah, I'm at a loss. Kamakura, WHAT THE HELL?! Why didn't you tell me about… THIS?"

The insect creature that was Kamakura had to step around in order to look at her, moving as if he was on stilts. "Ah, yeah, sorry about that." he apologized, rubbing his clawed hand on the back of his armored neck. "I was saving this for your last day with us, but I guess now's as good a time as any."

The purplette had no clue how to respond to that at first. "I guess I'm… surprised, at least."

"It's uh… quite the noteworthy Quirk, that's for sure." Jazz muttered.

"Zrkt—Attack of the Killer Creeps!" Bumblebee announced through his radio. "Zrkt—Coming to a theatre near you!—zkrt—Just watch out for the—zrkt—AAAAAIIIIIEEE!"

On the flipside, Starscream was less surprised and more repulsed. "AAAUGH! KILL IT! KILL IT!" Raising his Null Ray, the Seeker commander blasted down at Kamakura, but the Joe craned his neck back up to Starscream. Then and there, much to Kyoka and Izuku's shock, from between Kamakura's stag beetle horns came a bolt of green lightning that shot straight up, colliding with the null blast and causing an explosion, which sent Starscream reeling back.

"Excuse me, SIR." Kamakura's voice chattered, his mandibles clicking together threateningly. "We're TRYING to have a conversation! I will get to you in a MINUTE."

"…H-How the…" Izuku was completely stunned and bewildered by what just happened. The man who he'd just seen transform into a bug monster… had ALSO shot emerald lightning out from his head. "Kamakura… how did you DO that?!"

"Hmhmhm…" Tiger Claw chortled, crossing his arms as he walked up next to Izuku. "You're supposedly the big Quirk expert around here, Izuku. I would've thought you'd figured that out yourself." He raised a clawed finger to the boy. "After all, if you've studied Quirks, then you know how most of them come about, right?"

The greenette nodded, though he was still processing it all in his brain. "Well, yes. Most people inherit Quirks from their parents, usually only one. Though if the parents' Quirks are compatible enough, sometimes they mix together to make one REALLY Quirk, like Kacchan's." He snapped his head back toward Kamakura. "B-But… how in the heck does an insect Quirk and an electricity Quirk even MIX?!"

Budo shook his head. "They shouldn't, but that's where Kamakura is unique. He's in the five percent of people who've managed to inherit BOTH of his parent's Quirks. So essentially…"

"…He has two Quirks." Izuku finished.

"BINGO!" the insect man affirmed. "We've got a winner! …Though the trade off to that is that I can't have one without using the other." He gestured down to his body. "If I want to use my electric powers, I've gotta be in my insect form. So as a result, I've settled on calling my Double-Quirk "Lightning Bug"."

Izuku's eyes lit up in sheer amazement. "That is SO COOL!"

For her part, however, Mirko was still puzzled by the Double-Quirk, wondering why it sounded so familiar to her. 'Lightning and insect powers…' Her eyes darted between the various insect parts on him as well. 'Stag beetle, mantis and grasshopper. Kuwagata—Kamakiri—Batta. I swear, I've heard something like this before!' She growled and hit her forehead in frustration. "GRRR! Think, brain!"

Barricade stomped the ground, growing impatient. "HEY! If you're done with the exposition, can we get BACK to the actual fighting?! Frenzy! Let's tear that bug to ribbons!"

"Ya took the words RIGHT outta my mouth, Barricade!" *Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt* Frenzy leapt up into Barricade's hand, transforming into his saw mode and immediately started up, the blade spinning rapidly as Barricade closed in. "Time to be slice and diced, ya freak of nature!"

"If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that." Kamakura lamented with a shake of his head before waving his arm at the group, ushering them to get away. "Everyone, stay at a safe distance! I'm gonna unleash… the Lightning Swarm." The Joes led Izuku, Kyoka, Mirko and Marissa away as Kamakura raised his fists up high, beginning to collect a significant amount of electrical energy in his stag beetle horns. "GRAAAAAAAUUUUGGHH!"

"W-What is he doing?!" Starscream got to his feet and charged in, not wanting to find out. "Stop him before he does—"

*CHYOOM-CHYOOM-CHYOOM-CHYOOM*

But it was too late. Just as Starscream and Barricade had gotten within ten feet of the mutated man, several arcs of green lighting shot out from his horns, blasting out in all directions and forcing the Decepticons back. The bolts arced up into the air and—much to Izuku and Kyoka's astonishment—actually started taking a defined form. They weren't exactly solid forms, but they had shape to them… specifically, they were all the spitting image of Kamakura. He had created lightning-based copies of himself… and there were at least THIRTY of them in total all high up in the air.

"…Why am I not surprised?" Jazz said, mostly to himself as he placed a hand to his helm.

"Yep, definitely familiar." Mirko resolved, only to clutch her head between her hands. "NOW WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER IT?!"

Starscream, though, wasn't impressed. "Hah! You think a bunch of incorporeal clones can stop—" *ZAP* OW! *ZAP-ZAP* "Gah! OUCH! Stop it!" The clones were all zipping down and going straight for his and Barricade's exposed joints, along with any other chinks in their armor. Though for what reason, Starscream didn't know. "What is your GOAL here, creature?!" *ZAP* "EEYOWCH!"

If Kamakura could smile at this point, he would've. "Oh, you'll find out. Kekeke… now…" He threw his head back and shouted; "LIGHTNING SWARM!"

Then, all at once… the lightning clones all went darting around, almost too fast to see as they attacked Starscream and Barricade at every angle. The Decepticon duo tried to mount a counter attack, but found out that the clones couldn't be stopped thanks to their intense speed. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get a pin on any of them, and it wasn't long before they were both brought to their knees after so many painful shocks.

"Augh! ACH! For Primus' sake!" Barricade and Frenzy both ducked down, gritting through the constant pain. "STOP IT!"

"Only if you say please…" Kamakura teased, crossing his mantis arms.

Having been brought down to eye-level with him, Starscream scowled and spat out; "Never!"

The mutated ninja could only shrug. "Suit yourself." The stag beetle horns began generating more electricity… only instead of moving outward, the energy actually moved into the mantis limbs on his arms, creating powerful weapons for him to use. "SHOCKING SCYTHES!" With a loud battle cry, Kamakura lunged at Starscream with his grasshopper legs and swiped across the air commanders face in an X-shape, leaving a visible scar and eliciting a painful wail from him. Then, the electricity flowed into Kamakura's leg as he bounced even further up, all while Starscream staggered away. "ELECTRO-KICK!" Once again, he struck Starscream right in his head, a massive bolt of lightning surging through the Seeker and bringing him down.

With his systems now fully on the fritz, the only thing Starscream could do was lay on the ground and convulse, unable to overcome the tiny jolts that were going through his body. "Th-Th-This… i-i-isn't… F-F-FAIR!"

Kamakura landed in a widened stance, prepared for anything incase the Decepticon got a second wind. "Maybe not for you. But when it comes to Quirks, anything's fair game. Which reminds me…" He nudged his head over to his comrades. "I suggest you deal with Barricade over there while you've got the opportunity!"

"O-Oh, right!" Izuku affirmed, bringing his helmet back up as he, Kyoka and Mirko all gathered together, with Bumblebee and Jazz right behind them. "Let's go!"

"Just be careful!" Marissa shouted after them. "Remember, my healing gets less affective if you injure yourself repeatedly!"

"Ah, don't worry 'bout it, girl!" Mirko waved off. "This won't take long! Yo, Earphone Jack! Jazz! Make sure he doesn't go anywhere!"

*Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-ckt* Transforming into vehicle mode, Jazz's deployed his speakers, aiming them at the downed Decepticon. "Way ahead o' ya! Kyo, let's bust some tunes open on Barricade!"

Kyoka climbed onto Jazz's rear and planted her feet firmly against the trunk and extended her jacks into the speakers, plugging them in. "On it!" Once they were both set, the duo unleashed a MASSIVE sonic attack onto him and Frenzy, who once again screamed at the NEW type of pain they were experiencing.

"Argh! PRIMUS, I SAID MAKE IT STOP!" Barricade growled… only to be met with Mirko and Bumblebee right in his line of sight. "H-Huh?!"

"Don't worry!" the Rabbit Hero shouted over Kyoka's soundwaves. "It'll stop in two seconds!" Leaping high into the air, Mirko spun around in a somersault and then extended her leg, falling straight down into Barricade's head. "LUNAR ARC!" She heard the Decepticon cop let out a grunt as he fell… straight onto Bumblebee's incoming fist.

"Zrkt—SAYONARA, SUCKAAAA!" With one clean uppercut, Bee watched as Barricade landed in a heap, leaving Frenzy to try and run away.

…But Izuku wouldn't let that happen. With Full Cowling crackling around his body, he rushed right in front of the Mini-Con, arms crossed and wearing a glare behind his helmet. "And where do you think YOU'RE going?" Frenzy yelped and spun around… but was immediately grabbed by the twin guns on his back and thrown straight over Izuku's head, the One for All user SLAMMING him straight through a nearby boulder. Then, with a 15% power punch to the head, he knocked Frenzy out cold, no fuss needed. "Hm, I think I proved my point."

Mirko bounced over and placed a hand across her protégé's shoulders. "Great work there, kid! A nice, effective KO." She craned her head back toward the Joes, wondering what'd be next. "So, what's the next move?"

"Hah, well, we should… wait…" Duke trailed off as his wolf ears perked up, hearing something from off in the distance. "…Hey, Earphone Jack, you hear that too?"

Unplugging herself from Jazz's speakers, Kyoka also picked up on it, even over all of the laserfire surrounding them. "Hey, yeah… what is that?"

Duke chuckled and gave a wink. "THAT is the sound of the cavalry arriving."

This piqued Hawk's interest. "Hah, really? Let me take a gander…" With a single blink, the general's pupils and irises suddenly dilated to extreme proportions, becoming more… animal-like as he stared off into the wide blue sky.

"Woah… that his Quirk?" Mirko inquired.

"Aye, it's his "Bird's Eye"." Scarlett explained as Hawk kept scanning the horizon. "It lets him see quite a fair distance further than any normal human. Comes in handy on the battlefield, that's for sure. How'd ya think he earned the name "Hawk"?"

Just then, Hawk let out a short laugh and his eyes went back to normal, all while smiling to his crew. "Everyone, ya might wanna prepare yourselves. We're about to have a LOTTA company." There was a moment's pause, and in that moment, everyone else could hear what Kyoka and Duke heard; the sounds of high-speed jets soaring overhead. "In three… two… one."

*SHHHHYYYOOOOOM*

Izuku, Kyoka and Mirko couldn't help but duck as, high up in the air, a squad of seven jets came blasting onto the scene, with several Decepticons also taken off guard. "WOAH!" Izuku stared wide-eyed up at the seven aircraft before they broke their formation, which is when they all began to bombard the Cons with their missiles and other weapons. "What're those? I don't think I've ever seen jets like them!"

"Probably because you haven't." Duke confirmed, pointing up to the soaring eagles. "Kids… meet the G.I. Joe Skystrikers! One of the best damn birds the United States has ever built."

Jazz returned to his robot mode, whistling at the impressive sight. "Wooo… those're some pretty impressive fighters for human engineering."

Hawk picked it up from there. "They oughta be. Commissioned by G.I. Joe and designed by M.A.S.K., the Skystriker is one of the most versatile aircraft ever made; taking aspects of both the F-15 Tomcat and the F-22 Raptor and hybridizing them together into one magnificent bird." He reached down to his hip and pulled out a small communicator. "And the squadron is led by undoubtedly our best pilot for the job." Putting the comm close to his mouth, he called up to said pilot; "Ace! 'Bout time you showed up."

"Haha! Sorry for the hold up, general!" Ace exclaimed from the other end… all while one of the Skystrikers flew directly over their heads and did a barrel roll, where they could briefly see the pilot—presumably Ace himself—wave down at them. Once the plane was back to its correct orientation, the craft sharply pulled up into an incoming armada of Jet Vehicons. "But better late than never, right? YO JOE!"

"Keep it up, soldier!" Hawk encouraged. "We'll win this one yet!" He nodded over to his fellow Joes, the Autobots, the students and Mirko. "Come on, all of you! There's still plenty of work to be done! YO JOE!" All of them echoed the battle cry and followed the general into battle, ready to bring down more Vehicons.

…Although, before he left, Tiger Claw took a moment to pause in front of Starscream's head, taunting the Seeker with an aggressive pat to his own back. "Pleasure doin' business with ya, Screamer."

Kamakura hopped over and added; "Here's some advice; if you want something done right… do it yourself."

As the duo left, Starscream grit his metal teeth, seething with rage. "Th-Th-This… c-c-cannot… continue!" He forced himself to stand and shot straight into the air, intent on bringing the Skystrikers down even through the pain he was enduring. "I WILL blow these meatbags out of the sky, even if I DO have to do it myself!"

…..

As that was happening, Strongarm, Momo and Edgeshot were in the thick of the action across the battlefield, bringing down countless Vehicons in their wake. Not far away, Bulkhead and Springer were also digging right into the carnage, with Roadblock and Wild Bill still riding along with the two Wreckers. However, the quartet's ammo-fueled rampage was brought to a brief stop when the Skystrikers came zooming in from overhead, which also gave Strongarm and the others pause as well. "Hah… seems that the cavalry has arrived." the Autobot cadet concluded.

Wild Bill raised a fist and let out a; "YEE-HAW! YEAH! 'Bout time Ace showed that smirkin' mug a' his!"

Momo couldn't help but stare up in awe, impressed by the fleet of jets. "Oh my… some of yours, I assume?"

"Yes ma'am!" Roadblock confirmed, putting a hand up to his forehead to block the sun as he gazed up at the jets. "Skystrikers are comin' in hot!" …But then, he caught sight of something barreling toward them out the corner of his eye, making him gasp. "AH! An' somethin' else, too! Bulkhead, on your six!"

The Wrecker rearranged his rearview… and knew that this wouldn't end smoothly from what he saw. "Uh-oh. BRACE YOURSELF!" *Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt* Lurching to his left, Bulkhead transformed and grabbed Roadblock, rolling to his back and then onto his feet with surprising speed, avoiding Blastwave in the nick of time. Strongarm and the others also took off in opposite directions, all while the Decepticon munitions specialist blasted wildly at them.

Suffice to say, Blastwave wasn't too pleased. "AAUUGH! Bulkhead! Get back hear, tiny coward!" *Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt* With a powerful stomp, Blastwave entered robot mode and immediately took out his X-18 Scrapmaker, leveling it toward the green Autobot and letting loose an onslaught of bullets. "GYAAARAHRAHRAH!"

"Duck and cover!" Edgeshot shouted, darting behind a boulder while Strongarm picked up Momo and took her with her.

"Sweet Christmas!" Roadblock shouted as Bulkhead ducked behind a rock, taking him along with. Keeping a solid grip on Ma Deuce, Roadblock stood with his back against their cover, asking; "This dude always like this?"

"Pretty much!" Bulkhead brought out his arm cannons, ready to counter attack. "You think you can make a few dents in 'im without getting hit?"

Roadblock's smirk increased as he hefted up his M. 12 Browning machine gun, giving a confident nod. "You know it! But how's about we call in some air support?" He reached up to his ear comm and contacted their teammates. "Bill, Springer, mind takin' some heat offa' us?"

"Oh, yer damn right we can!" Wild Bill obliged, him and Springer flying in and unloading more ammo at Blastwave, garnering his attention. "Hey! Big guy! Can ya aim that thing WITHOUT screamin' like an angry two-year-old?!" Bill taunted through Springer's onboard speaker.

"Might wanna listen to 'im, Blastwave!" Springer jeered as well… without noticing what else was happening below. "Otherwise, you're gonna—" *CHOOM* "AGH!" To both of their surprise, Springer was hit directly in his tail strut by a missile, one that came from below and caused him to start losing altitude fast. "We've been hit! Mayday! Mayday!" *Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt* Not wasting a second, Springer transformed into robot mode, grabbed Bill from his cockpit, and slammed into the rocky terrain shoulder-first, protecting the Joe and taking the brunt of the impact.

"BAHAHAHAHA!" Blastwave guffawed, turning to his good friend. "Nice shot, doctor!"

Stepping out from behind a boulder, none other than Flatline emerged, his arm raised with a small rocket launcher sticking out of his forearm plating. The weapon retracted and he gave a sinister chortle. "Hmhmh, vell of course, mein freund! I vas not about to sit idly by vhile zese dummkopfs overvhelm you. Now… shall we practice medicine?"

"Da! It's good to finally have upper hand!" With his X-18 Scrapmaker at the ready, Blastwave leveled it at his Autobot opponents again, ready to unleash a maelstrom of bullets. "Say "nighty-night", babies! AHAHAHA!" However, before he pulled the trigger… something unexpected happened.

Right between them and the Autobots, a GroundBridge opened up, taking the two Decepticons aback. "Vhat ze…" Flatline and Blastwave slowly approached the vortex in hesitation… only to be ran into by three tiny vehicles that made them stumble back. "Ach! V-Vhat is going on?!" Flatline charge for the GroundBridge, but it closed before he could make it, leading his frustration to boil over. "GAH! NEIN! We were so close to getting into ze Autobot's headquarters! It vas RIGHT ZERE—AH!"

Driving directly underneath him, Checkpoint and Anti-Blaze knocked the Decepticon medic off-balance, sending him down onto his chest. "Yeah, well, you're never gonna get there." Checkpoint shot back. "Enjoy being losers!"

"HEY! You cannot do that to doctor!" Blastwave was about to shoot at the tiny bots, but Scythe suddenly flew in and landed right on top of his head. "H-HUH?! What?! Get off!" Reaching up, Blastwave tried grabbing at him, but whenever he was close, Scythe merely used his gun fingers to shoot at the Con's hands, much to his irritation. "Grrr… STOP NOW!"

"Sorry, big guy, but you're in OUR WAY!" Scythe kicked himself off Blastwave's head and transformed into his helicopter mode, flying his way across the battlefield to where Strongarm, Momo and Edgeshot were hiding out. "Cadet! We've got a problem!"

"S-Sergeant Scythe, sir!" Strongarm saluted right as Checkpoint and Anti-Blaze rolled onto the scene. "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Checkpoint and Anti-Blaze assumed robot mode and the former pointed up to her. "You're darn right, something happened! Remember that Mini-Con that Sky-Byte snagged the other day? Turns out, it was a member of the Destruction Mini-Con Team… and Swift managed to find the other two right here on this mountain."

The news was not well met by the others. "The Destruction Mini-Con Team?" Edgeshot shook his head. "That sounds like the WORST Mini-Cons for the Decepticons to come across."

"It gets worse." Anti-Blaze asserted. "Swift convinced them to all Powerlink with her, and now she's got a Super Mode that's gonna wipe out Arcee, Flare Up and Windblade if we don't—"

"Windblade?!" Momo shouted suddenly, taking Anti-Blaze by surprise as she rushed up and slammed her fists on his chest. "Anti-Blaze, you should've led with that! We would've been gone ten seconds ago!"

Strongarm stood up and echoed Momo's statement. "She's right! We need to get to them before they're all turned to scrap!"

It was then that Scythe rotated in midair, turning to the large ridge all the way on the other side of the battlefield. "It's not gonna be easy, cadet. They're ALL the way up there, and Shadow Striker's there, too. They may have the numbers, but with Swift in Super Mode, they might as well have FOUR Cons up there." He swiveled back around to the police bot. "The only way we're gonna even the odds… is if WE all Powerlink with a bot to give THEM a Super Mode."

"I see." Strongarm nodded in understanding. "Who'd you have in mind." There was a long pause as none of the Mini-Con Council took their optics away from her… leaving the police cadet feeling a tad nervous. Momo and Edgeshot were also looking to her expectantly as well, leading Strongarm to point at herself. "W-Wait… ME?!"

With an amused chuckle, Checkpoint wagged his finger at her. "Hehe, NOW she gets it. YES, you! Who else better to wield all of us in battle?"

Shaking her head vehemently, Strongarm denied this. "B-But I'm just a cadet! How would you even know—"

Anti-Blaze cut her off. "Strongarm, listen, I know it's a lot, but let's face it; if the war hadn't broken out, you'd have probably been promoted to officer by now." This made the young bot do a double take as the grey Mini-Con continued; "Sure, you're a stickler for the rules, but that can be ironed out with time. What's important here is that you've gone through an entire WAR. You've more than proven yourself to be able to Powerlink with us."

"I… I-I…"

"Strongarm, please!" Momo shouted, bringing the cadet's attention down to her. "You're being given a chance to match a devastating force! One which, might I remind you, is currently threatening our friends."

Edgeshot only reiterated those thoughts. "She's right. The time for hesitation has passed. We must act now if our allies are to survive. Don't you agree?"

After taking another moment to let everything settle in, Strongarm tightened her fist as her expression hardened. The weight of the task ahead of her was great… but if it meant saving her friends, she NEEDED to take that chance. "Alright. Let's do it." She whirled around to Bulkhead, who was helping Springer up to his feet while Roadblock and Wild Bill grouped up. "Can you two handle this from here?!"

The two Wreckers and Joes, despite their weariness, weren't about to go down so easily. "Haha! You betcha!" Roadblock pumped a fist into the air. "Go help the others! We've got this from here."

"Good luck, Strongarm!" Bulkhead encouraged. "We're all rootin' for ya!"

Taking a deep intake of air, Strongarm nodded back to him. "Right! But be sure to call for backup in case—"

"Ha!" Springer balked, finally managing to get to his feet. With a flex of his arms, he launched Sawback and Fangblade from his shoulders, the Mini-Cons prepared to get into the mix of things. "Don't you worry, cadet! We've got all we need right here. After all, Wreckers don't call for backup…" He and Bulkhead smirked to one another before speaking in unison; "THEY CALL FOR CLEAN UP!" They slammed their fists together and charged into battle against Blastwave, Flatline, and the returning Vehicons, with Roadblock and Wild Bill providing covering fire.

"…Okay, let's go!" Strongarm picked up the Mini-Cons as Edgeshot brought himself and Momo onto her shoulders, with Scythe flying alongside her. Peering up into the sky, she found exactly who she was hoping to see in just a few seconds. "AIRAZOR! I need a lift!"

After using her talons to slice off a pair of Vehicons' wings, the falcon Maximal was more than happy to oblige. "Of course, Strongarm!" Swooping down, she opened her claws up and grasped onto her teammate by the shoulders, hoisting her up into the sky with relative ease. "I assume we're headed to the battle on the ridge, yes?"

"Right! Our friends need our help!"

"No need to tell me twice." Letting out a powerful screech, Airazor hoisted the group up with all her strength, flying toward the conflict as fast as she could. "Come! We stoop to conquer!"

…..

At said battle, things had quickly fallen out of the Autobot femmes' favor. Swift Powerlinking with the Destruction Mini-Cons was something that they couldn't have taken into account, and it took all of their abilities combined just to hold her off. Flare Up was darting around the battlefield, peppering in any shots that she could take. Unfortunately, though, Dualor's twin blasters made sure that those shots were obliterated before they could even hit Swift, thanks to their swiveling, multi-directional nature.

"HAHAHA! Nice try there, speedy!" the copter bot derided. "But you won't be hitting ME with those weak-aft shots!"

Meanwhile, Windblade and Arcee were much more direct in their approach, brandishing their energy blades against Swift's own melee weapons. But again, the overwhelming difference in power was too considerable to be ignored. Windblade's Stormfall sword was no match for the durability of Drill Bit's drill, which was only made more powerful thanks to Swift channeling her energy through it. The same could be said for the buzzsaw that Landslide's bucket wheel transformed into, countering Arcee's more rapid strikes with the sheer speed at which it spun.

"And YOU two!" Swift continued, swinging her weapons wildly with an equally mad glint in her optic. "You actually believe you've got what it takes to take on ME? The all-powerful SUPER SWIFT?! Dream on!"

Getting knocked back for what felt like the fourth or fifth time, Windblade could only come to one conclusion. "Hah… hah… Arcee, Flare, this is getting us nowhere!" the City Speaker swiped her hand, ushering them back to her. "We need to pull back and think of a different—"

"There's no time—GAH!" Arcee's argument was cut off when Swift suddenly lurched back, causing her to stumble forward… right into a kick in the gut from the Decepticon lieutenant. She was sent hurdling down to Windblade's feet, who immediately knelt down to help Arcee up. "Grr… we can't waste time make a new plan! Every moment we stay here, the more Jinx and Quick Kick are put at risk!"

"Ah, luv…" Flare Up spoke as she blinked in next to the two, pointing one of her pistols in the human's direction. "I think they're doin' just fine on their own."

Peering over briefly, the Autobots saw that was indeed the case. Jinx and Quick Kick had been forced to fall back initially, but Shadow Striker was quick to follow after them. Much to the contrary of what Arcee thought, though, the two martial artists were doing quite well fending off the assassin. It helped that her main weapon was still jammed, so she couldn't shoot at her smaller targets, but even then, Jinx and Quick Kick were so swift and limber that they managed to run circles around her.

"RAGH! You pests! Hold still!" Swinging her machete down, Shadow Striker went to slice Jinx in two, but the kunoichi easily avoided it with a powerful leap. Taking aim with her own energy pistol, Jinx let loose in rapid succession, blasting Shadow in the face and making her cry out at the stinging pain. "GYAH!"

"Kenzie!" Jinx called out. "Time to make due on your promise!"

"Oh-ho, yeah!" Quick Kick leapt into the fray herself, perching herself on the overwhelmed Shadow Striker's knee. "Let's see how ya like THIS, sniper lady!" Balancing on one foot, Quick Kick brought her other leg up… and then… "YYYATATATATATATAT!" Her entire leg became a blur as she kicked Shadow Striker's joint, going at speeds that even the other Autobot femmes couldn't comprehend. And even more surprisingly to them, her knee was actually damaged, covered in dents and gouges within seconds.

And then, when Shadow Striker tried to get Quick Kick off… *SCREEE—CHOW* "AAAAUUGHH!" Her leg snapped, with only a few metal ligaments keeping it from falling off entirely. Shadow Striker crumpled to the dirt below, clutching her broken limb as Kenzie did a backflip away from the Decepticon. "GAAAH! PRIMUS ABOVE! HOW?!"

This managed to make Swift gasp… and her shock quickly turned into anger as her optics changed from red to green as her power began to ramp up. "You… I'll make you ALL pay for that!" Her cannons aimed forward and they sent out a MASSIVE blast of energy at the Autobots, who managed to get out of the way before they became dust in a crater. "No one—human OR Autobot—does that to my teammates and gets away with it! Do you HEAR ME?! I WILL—" *CLANG* "AGH!"

The lieutenant was too caught up in her own self-aggrandizing, however, to notice Strongarm and Airazor coming in, the former kicking her in the back of the head before her Maximal ally let her go. Strongarm set her Mini-Con and human allies down, allowing Momo and Edgeshot to run straight for Windblade and the others. "Windblade! WINDBLADE!" the Creation user called out in her sprint.

"Hah… Momo? Edgeshot?" the City Speaker propped herself up, her sights darting between them, Airazor and Strongarm. "H-How did you…"

"The Mini-Cons told us of your plight." Edgeshot explained. "We've come to lend you a hand…" His gaze trailed over to see Jinx and Quick Kick making their way to them as well, wherein he also saw the injured Shadow Striker. "…Though it would seem that you've managed to handle at least one of your adversaries."

"Hah, give all the credit to those two, Edgeshot." Arcee nodded down to the ladies in approval. "Nice work, you two exceeded my expectations, that's for sure."

Quick Kick flicked her hair back with a prideful; "Hmph, she wasn't SO tough."

But Jinx quickly dissuaded the egocentric statement. "Don't go patting yourself on the back too much, Kenzie. Remember Snake Eyes' lesson in how pride cometh before the fall?"

"…Okay, yeah, fair." Mackenzie admitted, though she still kept her smile about her. "Still, it was totally wicked!" But then, she took notice of Strongarm not too far away, her curiosity piqued as the Mini-Con council surrounded her in their vehicle modes. "…Uh, Arcee? Are we about to see what I think we're about to see?"

Arcee, Windblade and Flare Up all simultaneously smirked at the sight before them. "Oh… I definitely think so." At that moment, Airazor came in and Maximized into robot mode, landing next to the group. "Very well-timed there, Airazor." Arcee commended.

The Maximal bowed her head to her. "Thank you. But now, it's up to Strongarm to finish the rest."

Swift, for her part, just sniggered at the sight before her. "Hehehe, REALLY, now? You think that the CADET can defeat ME? The most powerful Decepticon on this planet right now?" She leaned forward with an insidious smirk. "I don't think so! Prepare to PARISH, Auto-glitch!"

"…Protocol 10463; if a criminal is showing signs of deadly force, an officer is to pacify the threat by any means necessary." Strongarm nodded down to the Mini-Cons and all of them transformed into their weapon modes… before they all glowed with a bright blue energy that made them float into the air around her. "This definitely qualifies."

"Mini-Con Council!" Scythe announced, "…POWERLINK!" The leader of the council attached himself to Strongarm's left forearm, his dual gatling guns spinning with intense energy. Anti-Blaze in his missile rack mode attached directly next to Strongarm's head, just next to her shoulder. And finally, the Autobot cadet grabbed hold onto Checkpoint's blaster mode, her body enveloping into the same blue aura as her battle mask and visor slid over her face.

"Strongarm… SUPER MODE!" Slamming her foot onto the ground, Strongarm created a massive fissure that made Swift leap up, floating in the air as she glared down at her adversary. "Swift, you have the right… to be brought to justice."

Swift threw her head back and cackled once again. "HAHAHA! You can TRY! Let's do it!" The two opponents shouted at one another as both flew into battle, colliding in the middle with equally potent strikes. And then, in a flash of blinding light…

…..

*CHYOOOOOOM*

A massive pillar of light erupted from the battlefield, catching Optimus Prime's attention. He and Shoto had been holding off Sky-Byte and his Mini-Cons rather well thus far, but the sudden burst of energy was enough to put a pause on nearly all the fighting going on. The group stared off in that same direction as the pillar disappeared, devolving into smaller bursts of blue and green energy that were just visible over the ridge obstructing their view. "…Well, that was unexpected." Shoto piped up.

"Very." Sky-Byte smirked knowingly. "Perhaps this means that Swift has found those other two Mini-Cons she's been searching for… and Powerlinked with all three! Hahaha!"

Optimus' eyeridges furrowed. "If that is indeed the case… then that is all the more reason to keep PUSHING!" In an unexpected move, Optimus whirled around with his arm extended and hit Sky-Byte right in the head with the back of his fist, sending the Predacon straight down onto his back.

"GRRAAA!" Scrambling to his feet, Sky-Byte brought his dual arm cannon forward and opened fire on the Prime, who took up his Ion Blaster and returned the favor as he closed in. Growing considerably more irritated by the second, Sky-Byte lurched forward and brought his arms up, grappling with Optimus once again. "Do you ever know the meaning of the words "GIVE UP", Prime?!"

"Only on the day that my spark stops beating, Sky-Byte!"

"Congratulations! That day shall soon come! Dragonus! Sandsting!"

Without needed to be told twice, the two Mini-Con torpedoes transformed and few away from Shoto, to the latter's confusion. "H-Huh? Optimus! Watch out!" The Half-Cold, Half-Hot user attempted to send a wave of ice after them… but they were too fast.

Optimus was only able to turn his head before it happened; being struck in the side by the two projectiles and sent hurdling into a large rock wall, causing bits and pieces of it to come down and partially bury him. Sky-Byte gave a laugh as his two Mini-Cons attached to his back. "Hahaha! Oh, Prime…" He leapt into the air and transformed into his beast mode, narrowly avoiding Shoto's ice wave. "I cannot believe you BOTH are so gullible! This was my plan all along, Prime!"

"Agh… what?" Prime grunted.

"You see, I knew we would be met with resistance the moment we arrived!" Sky-Byte explained, his sharkish features twisted into a conniving smirk. "I had anticipated that once you saw our troops ALL coming to this place, you subsequently would do the same to KEEP us from the energon. BUT… this is not ALL of our troops by a long shot. Because while we're keeping your Autobots distracted here, our mining team is slowly inches their way closer to the energon! MWAHAHAHA!"

The Prime couldn't believe it. How could he have fallen for such a simple diversion? "No…" He reached up to his commlink and attempted to call the base. "Red Alert! We—" *tschzchzchzzz*

This only made Sky-Byte laugh even more. "Hmhm, yes, it would seem that our commlinks do not work here. Apologies, Prime, but you're not getting any more backup—"

*Blip-blip* "Prime?! PRIME!"

Both Sky-Byte and Optimus were taken aback when all of a sudden, Jazz's voice rang out from the latter's commlink. "Jazz? Jazz, go ahead! What's the situation?" He briefly glanced back to Sky-Byte. "…It would seem that short-range communication is still active."

"We just got a HUGE new problem on our hands, boss bot!" Jazz continued. "Starscream's rip-roarin' mad and he's headed straight for the energon!"

Hearing this, Sky-Byte brought a fin to his chin. "Hm, not exactly IN the plan, but I'm certain that Starscream will—"

"And he MIGHT be a tickin' time-bomb!" Jazz warned, taking all of them aback. "His body's sparkin' with electricity 'cause of Kamakura's Quirk! If he gets too close to that energon, we're ALL gonna be payin' the price for it!"

This changed Sky-Byte's attitude completely. "NOOOOO!" With both of his Mini-Cons going into full throttle, the Predacon practically shot across the battlefield in the air, intent on stopping the foolish Seeker before they cost them their lives. "That IMBECILE! What does he think he's DOING?!"

"Sky-Byte, wait!" Optimus stood up and shook off the debris, craning his head down to Shoto. "Come, we must make haste!" The boy gave a single node as Prime transformed, allowing Shoto to climb into his cab so they could pursue the flying shark.

…..

As that was happening, Jazz, Hawk and their group were also in hot pursuit of Starscream, the Seeker jetting himself over toward the energon field as fast as his body would allow. Thankfully Seeker's initial plan of shooting down the Skystrikers hadn't gone so well, his systems still on the fritz after Kamakura's assault. As a result, he was now flying with an injured arm and part of his wing blown off by a Skystriker's missile, though he still kept flying at a high speed all the same.

"Good god, he's REALLY determined to get that energon, isn't he?" Duke noted. "He could come crashing down at any moment, but he's still goin' for it!"

"All the more reason to stop him!" Jazz asserted before shouting to the Seeker. "STARSCREAM! Just give it up! You're not gonna make it at this rate!"

But Starscream wasn't having any of it. "SHUT IT! I WILL have that energon, even if it kills me! I must NOT fail!"

Izuku frowned at that, turning to his team for advice. "Okay, anybody got any ideas on how to bring him down?"

"I could probably reach him if he were a bit lower." Kamakura said. "But at his current height, I'd only be just short of reaching him."

"Well then, I think our safest bet is another pass over by the Skystrikers." Hawk recommended, taking out his communicator once again. "Ace, you there? We need you to target Starscream and bring him straight down this time."

Ace responded immediately; "You mean the bot that just tried to scrap us? Sure thing, Hawk, we'll… w-wait, what the—AH!"

The sudden shout from the Joe took everybody off guard, with Hawk calling out to him in concern. "Ace? ACE! What's going on up there?"

"I-I don't know! Something just flew over our heads!"

"A Decepticon?" Budo questioned.

"Negative, it came from higher up! Almost like it fell straight out of the stratosphere, I—wait! It's coming back and—AH! AAGH!"

The screams were much louder this time, and more frantic, leading Scarlett to gasp. "Oh no, Ace! What the hell is happenin'?!"

Almost as if he heard her question, Ace answered for them; "I-It's… it's scanning my jet with some sorta green light! I—" *Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chkt* *BOOM* Everyone paused at the familiar sound of transformation ringing out through the comm, followed by a MASSIVE sonic boom that echoed throughout the area itself.

"AUGH!" Kyoka covered her ears, as did Duke and everyone else. All of them could hear the sound barrier being broken, but the two with enhanced hearing were the most affected by it. "Gah, well, it's a Transformer, alright!" Kyoka shouted… only to then notice something out the corner of her eye. "AH! Watch out! Incoming!"

"W-What?!" Izuku shouted, his ears having popped from the sonic boom. "Kyoka, what's—AAGH!" Unfortunately, Izuku was left vulnerable to Sky-Byte's sudden descent, the shark Predacon biting down on the back of Izuku's costume with his teeth before pulling straight up into the air, leaving the others to gawk at what just happened.

"IZUKU!" Kyoka screamed. "NO! Sky-Byte, you son of a bitch!"

Bumblebee immediately went for a mad sprint after the two, transforming into his Beetle mode to pursue faster. "Zrkt—GET BACK HERE—zrkt—YOU NO GOOD SACK OF—zrkt—TUNAFISH!"

High above, Izuku was left reeling as he was hoisted higher and higher in Sky-Byte's maw, struggling to break himself free. "H-Hey! Gah, let me GO!"

"Hmph! Not a chance, bug." Sky-Byte growled back. "Now that I have you as a hostage, the Autobots will surely think twice about trying anything against me! And with that problem solved, it's time to resolve another. TERRORIZE!" Transforming into robot mode as he reached Starscream, Sky-Byte held Izuku by the scruff of his costume, blocking the air commander from going any further. "Starscream! What in the PIT are you doing?!"

"Hah… hah… what does… it look like?!" Starscream huffed and puffed, not intent on stopping. "I am… going to… protect that energon…"

"With WHAT? Your lifeless body?!" Sky-Byte admonished, flying closer to the Seeker to grab him by the shoulder. "You look as if you're about to go into stasis lock! Leave and report to Flatline for repairs, I will oversee the energon!"

Now in an arguing mood, Starscream made his case quite clear; "Let me get one thing straight with YOU, Sky-Byte!" he said whilst shoving his finger against the Predacon's nose. "YOU are not in charge here. You may have orchestrated the plan, but I am the commander! I get final say in what I can and cannot do!"

Sky-Byte shoved Starscream's hand away. "Even if that means blowing up our GOAL along with you?! Starscream, your body is convulsing with overcharged electricity! You need to be seen by the doctor! I will NOT tolerate—wait, do you hear that?"

His optics widening, Starscream heard the familiar sounds of jet engines, and in the distance, he could see them approaching. "Oh… scrap. More of G.I. Joe's aerial assault craft! We must… wait." His sights zeroed in on one craft in particular that was flying much higher than the others… and it seemed to be taking an abrupt downward turn toward them. And, as it closed in, they could see that this Skystriker was actually MUCH different from its fellows.

For one, instead of being a sterling grey color, it was pure white, with red detailing along the nosecone, cockpit, wings and tailfins. On its underbelly and wings, it also had four gun emplacements that were a shiny metallic red… which began to light up the closer it got to them. And last, but certainly NOT least, the jet had quite the noticeable addition attached to its topside; a large pair of long thrusters that boosted its speed even more.

But even then, that's not what Izuku had focused in on. What HE noticed first and foremost… was the big, prominent Autobot insignia, emblazoned near the tip of the nose cone for all of them to see. And from there, the mounted guns on the jet opened fire upon the Cons as a voice belted out vengefully; "SSKYYYYY-BYYYYYYTTTEE!"

"W-Wha—NO! AAAGH!" Sky-Byte screamed and raised his arms, inadvertently tossing Izuku into the air. "I-It's impossible! How did he—AAH-HAH!" The Predacon yelped as he and Starscream were forced to get out of the Autobot jet's way… all while its canopy opened up to catch Izuku as he fell.

"Haha! Gotcha!" The very second Izuku landed in the pilot's chair, a pair of seatbelts strapped themselves over the boy's chest, harnessing him in nice and tight. "Hold on to your aft, fleshy! You're about to go on a wild ride!"

Inside his head, Izuku was confused and panicking, not knowing how he was still alive. The lack of a helmet and the proper flight suit meant that he should've been experiencing several G's at this point and—at most—fall unconscious. But… he was alright. The pressure in the canopy felt completely normal. "I…I-I… what?! How am I not—"

"Dead? Great question, answer later!" The Autobot jet performed a barrel roll, causing Izuku to scream as they circled back toward Sky-Byte and Starscream. "Right now, it's time for us to get some payback on that sorry excuse for a Sharkticon! RAAAGH!" His thrusters going into overdrive, the Autobot blasted after Sky-Byte and Starscream, who were attempting to flee as far as they could.

Back on the ground, Kyoka, Jazz and the others could hardly believe what they had just witnessed. "That… that guy saved Izuku!" the purplette beamed excitedly, whipping her head up to her partner. "Do you know that guy? …Jazz?"

Both Jazz and Bumblebee, however, could only stare on in silence at the new arrival, their processors struggling to comprehend it. It was him. There was no mistaking it. That voice, the attitude, the way he flew, it all lined up. It was only when a loud horn blared, signaling the arrival of Optimus Prime, did the two snap out of it. The Autobot commander pulled to a stop, let Shoto out, and transformed, jogging the rest of the way over. "Jazz! Everyone! Is everything alright?"

"We saw Midoriya get scooped up by Sky-Byte." Shoto grimaced. "Is he—"

Jazz raised a calm hand, a smile slowly forming on his features. "Oh, don't you worry 'bout Izuku, man. He's in the best hands possible." He then eyed his leader, nudging his chin up to the sky. "Prime… take a look at who showed up."

Craning his head up, Optimus quickly saw what Jazz was talking about… and he was left in the same state of disbelief as they were. "No… it cannot be…"

"Zrkt—Houston, we have—zrtk—THE BEST THING EVER!" Bumblebee exclaimed, jumping high in celebration with a fist pumped into the air.

Sky-Byte and Starscream, meanwhile, were NOT having the best time. The Seeker's thrusters were starting to fail him, and their opponent was approaching fast. "P-Please! Wait!"

But the Autobot jet was having none of it. The time… was now. "TRANSFORM!"

*WHRR-TSCHZZ-TSCHZZ-TSCHZZ-CHKT*

All of a sudden, several parts began to shift around Izuku, the entire cockpit and nosecone of the jet collapsing into the front intakes in order to form a broad, white chest piece, with the Autobot symbol situated inside a piece of the canopy that was left exposed. He was subsequently ejected from the craft, only to be caught by a hand that emerged from the underbelly, with a second arm doing so a second later.

The sides of the jet rotated out, revealing themselves to be large legs with the underbelly guns on their sides. A pair of black feet folded out as the legs met to form the pelvis, which was locked together by the chest folding up and on top of it. It was then that the arms locked in place as well, the rear, circular intakes of the jet acting as the robot's shoulders. The guns from the wings also moved onto the forearms.

Said wings of the jet compressed in toward the main body as the tailfins flattened out, allowing the twin thruster pack to rotate 180 degrees so that they were facing upward on the robot's back. In addition, the main thrusters and folded tailfins shifted down slightly, making for a more compressed backpack.

Finally, the head shifted up and into place… and there was only one thing that Izuku could think of when he saw this Autobot's visage; '…Macross?' Indeed, the Autobot's resemblance to the old mechs of Macross was almost uncanny, right down to the aerodynamic head shape, the V-shaped visor, and the tall, black fins that stuck up on either side of the head. The one other noteworthy feature was the Autobot's blue head crest, which stood out amongst the white and red of his color scheme.

Once he had transformed, the Autobot BLASTED past the two Cons, flying high above them while taking out a long-barreled blaster with his free hand. "Haha! Ah, man, feels good to really get flyin' again!" His attention shifted down to Izuku, who was holding on to one of his fingers for dear life. "You okay there, fleshy? Nothing damaged?"

"N-N-N-No…" Izuku stuttered, both in mild fear and complete amazement at this Autobot. "Who… who ARE you?"

"HA! Who am I?" The Autobot threw his head back with a laugh before catching sight of an approaching Jet Vehicon over his shoulder. He responded by casually aiming his blaster behind his head and taking a single shot, clipping its wing and sending it careening to the ground. With a confident tone that could instill awe and respect into anyone, the Autobot went back to Izuku and introduced himself;

"You can call me Jetfire! Second-in-command of the Autobots."

…..

Voiced by Scott McNeil

A/N: WOO! HE'S HERE, PEOPLE! He's FINALLY here! Jetfire in all of his awesome, badass glory! You guys have been anticipating his arrival for quite some time now, and I hope this Armada homage does NOT disappoint! …Well, I should say that his ARRIVAL is an Armada homage. Visually, his appearance is 1-to-1 the Thrilling 30 Jetfire toy, right down to the transformation scheme (save for the cockpit on his back). And yes, the G.I. Joe Skystriker in this universe IS based on that same toy.

And, if you couldn't tell already, this is the more heroic Jetfire that's rarely seen in adaptations of the character. Most times, Jetfire is—irritatingly—a pacifist scientist who doesn't want to fight in the war, which mainly stems from his first appearance in the G1 cartoon as "Skyfire". But come on, let's face it; if you grew up in the 2000's then you know JETFIRE as one of the coolest Autobots around, thanks in no small part to Scott McNeil's amazing voice. Sure, the dubs for Armada and Energon weren't the best, but at least it had so many Transformer vets from Beast Wars to make 'em tolerable, and Scott's no exception!

But erm… yeah, Jetfire's arrival is honestly the really BIG thing in this chapter. The rest of it's just a big ass battle with a bunch of little things peppered throughout. We get to see a lot of the combatants utilize their Quirks quite effectively (namely Kamakura against Starscream and Barricade), and the Mini-Cons come in to help out against the Cons as well, including the Council Powerlinking with Strongarm to give her a Super Mode of her own! And judging by how she clashed with Swift, safe to say we're gonna be in for quite the battle next time. Oh, and we got another Joe introduced! This time, it's Ace! But I'll save his voice for next time. Speaking of which…

And now, the Preview! The battle—and subsequently, Transformers MHA Month—concludes with Jetfire showing his stuff, along with Strongarm and Swift battling it out while the conflict begins to centralize toward Prime and the others. It's a fight to the finish to see who'll get the energon! Next Time; Sky Commander: Jetfire! Wait, what's happening with Roadblock?! And why's Jetfire GLOWING?! Thanks for reading, everybody, and I'll see you all next time! Stay safe out there, and remember…

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!