Note: I don't own the song lyrics in this Chapter.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Doppelganger Fight
Back on the Decepticon Warship, the real Wheeljack was currently making a stand against the Decepticons.
Starscream glowered as he watched how Wheeljack had destroyed most of his task force.
The furious Seeker fired a missile from his arm at Wheeljack and the missile landed at Wheeljack's feet.
The force of the explosion was enough to knock the Autobot wrecker back.
However, he managed to land on his feet, then raced back towards the battle, slicing and dicing any Decepticon who tried to attack him!
Then Wheeljack jumped into the air, bouncing off a fallen con, and brought both of his fists down on the face of Starscream before the Seeker could make a move.
Standing up straight, the wrecker looked towards the advancing Decepticons wondering whether to use Starscream as a living shield or just finishing the Con off, yet his thoughts were interrupted as he saw a Ground Bridge vortex open behind him.
Seeing the vortex, he guessed it had been opened by Makeshift ready for the Decepticons to storm the base.
"Well, well…" Wheeljack remarked with a smirk as he came up with a plan.
Back at the Autobot Base, Michelangelo continued to struggle against the grip Makeshift had on him as the disguised Decepticon approached the Ground Bridge vortex still holding him hostage.
The Hamato Clan and Bulkhead were having even more trouble keeping their anger in check. Pandora had stopped crying and was glaring daggers at Makeshift.
"You hurt my favourite uncle, I'll...I'll..." she raged under her breath, but she knew very well she stood no chance against the Decepticon as he was a giant and had metal armour her claws and tail blade couldn't scratch, and he could easily squash her or kick her with his huge pedes.
Makeshift moved back some more as Ratchet stepped towards him hoping at some chance to grab Michelangelo and the other Autobots could attack the disguised Con as well as stop the brigade of the enemy coming through.
"Let's get this party started." Makeshift proclaimed triumphantly! Thinking he had one over the Autobots and any moment now Starscream's army would come rushing in!
Just then, some running pedes could be heard, and to everyone's amazement and shock, Wheeljack jumped out of the portal! Swords drawn and ready to fight!
He kicked Makeshift in the back, causing him to fall to the ground and slide into a wall near the raised platform making him see stars.
However, this action made Makeshift drop Michelangelo and he went flying through the air!
Everyone watched in horror, but to their relief, Bulkhead caught the turtle in his hand! He then swiftly placed the youngest ninja turtle onto the raised platform and at once his family ran to him.
"You okay Mikey?" Raphael asked concerned.
"I think so!" Michelangelo said then winced as he felt Pandora hug him tightly as she began to cry in relief and at once Michelangelo hugged her back.
"I love you Mikey!" Pandora sobbed "Oh Shell I was so scared!"
"There there sweetheart." Michelangelo soothed "I'm alright."
Monalisa stroked Michelangelo's cheek.
"Thank you for saving Pandora." She said, "You're such a wonderful brave Uncle!"
The rest of the clan agreed as they congratulated Michelangelo on his noble action.
At the same time, they looked at Wheeljack, the REAL Wheeljack who stood up and placed his swords on his back.
"I'd shut that hole before the stink comes through." Wheeljack reminded them.
On the Decepticon Warship, Starscream wiped the energon from his mouth from where Wheeljack had socked him, and he looked towards the still open Ground bridge as well as some of the Decepticons who had been knocked down getting up and shaking off stars.
Narrowing his optics, Starscream bellowed to his troops.
"ENTER THE GROUNDBRIDGE NOW!"
He wasn't giving up! Not Now! Not when he was so close to discovering where The Autobots were hiding.
Immediately, the remaining Decepticon troops made a run for the open Ground Bridge vortex, running as fast as they're legs would carry them.
However, just as they were at the entrance, the portal closed and Starscream screamed in frustration.
Back at the Autobot Base, Makeshift stood up and pulled his swords from his disguised body as he and Wheeljack began circling each other.
Bulkhead stepped forward, wanting to make the Con pay for impersonating his friend as well as almost hurting Pandora and Michelangelo.
He moved to assist Wheeljack but was stopped by his friend's sword blocking his path.
"Ugly is mine." Wheeljack proclaimed.
"Dude, he just insulted himself." Pandora pointed out only for Raphael to shush her as he along with the rest of the Hamato Clan watched the fight about to take place.
The mutants and their human friends instantly jumped as Wheeljack and Makeshift went for each other, swords clashed, and sparks flew from the weapons.
Kemeko hugged April as she watched whilst Pandora clung onto Michelangelo with her mother standing behind her and holding her shoulders whilst Raphael had his arms around Monalisa's waist.
Casey meanwhile bounced with his fingers crossed as he watched, and Donatello stood next to him trying to make sure the Real Wheeljack was the one he was watching. He didn't dare blink just in case.
"Which one's the real Wheeljack?" Kemeko asked nervously as she couldn't tell due to how Makeshift was an exact mirror image it was impossible to tell one from the other.
Michelangelo tried to follow their movements but couldn't keep up.
"Uh…I lost track!" he cried worried.
As Ratchet watched, he almost jumped out of his armour when Optimus came through on his earpiece.
"Ratchet? Come in Ratchet!"
"Optimus!" Ratchet said in a low voice, feeling slightly relieved that Donatello's message had gotten through to alert him and Leonardo.
"Is everything alright?" Prime's voice was heard.
"We got a situation..." Ratchet said, not taking his eyes off the brawl between Wheeljack and the disguised Makeshift, like Michelangelo he had lost track of which was the real Wheeljack.
"Can you Ground bridge us back?" Prime asked.
"No." Ratchet replied gravely "We can't use it right now..."
"I'll put metal to the pedal." Optimus replied, "Leonardo and I are not far away."
Ratchet turned to looked back at the fight as Makeshift and Wheeljack clashed swords, then Makeshift managed to knock one of Wheeljack's swords out of his hand and ran at him, but Wheeljack managed to claim one of Makeshift's swords, using them throw him to the ground and point one of his swords at the disguised Decepticon who glared up at him.
The Hamato Clan and the other Autobots were unsure whether to cheer with joy or feel fear until Bulkhead spoke up.
"That's my Jacky!"
Only he knew how his best friend could fight and pull off a manoeuvre like that.
Wheeljack retracted his face plate and put his swords away.
"You, hit the switch!" Wheeljack instructed Ratchet, who nodded in response.
"It's time to take out the trash."
Wheeljack looked at Bulkhead and gestured to Makeshift with his servo.
"All yours buddy." He offered to which Bulkhead grinned.
As that happened, Ratchet opened the Ground Bridge to the previous Co-ordinates above the Decepticon Warship.
As it appeared, Starscream glowered and turned to his soldiers who to his fury were backing away from it rather than running through it.
"What are you waiting for?! GO!" Starscream commanded.
The Decepticon forces instantly jumped into action, and the first few ran through the portal.
As the Decepticons were running through the Ground Bridge, Bulkhead held Makeshift's defeated form in his hands and the Autobots and the Hamato Clan watched in amazement as Bulkhead swung Makeshift around twice before throwing the Disguised Decepticon into the Ground Bridge portal with all his strength!
"Yeah!" Pandora cheered as she watched.
"Good arm!" Michelangelo grinned.
"Go Bulkead!" Raphael shouted.
"Nice Lob!" Wheeljack complimented to which Bulkhead looked proud of himself.
On the other side of the Vortex, the first few Decepticons were getting closer, yet as soon as they saw Makeshift flying at them, they started to run back.
When Starscream saw the first few Decepticons run out of the portal, he was ready to accuse them of being cowards until Makeshift came flying out of the portal and landed directly on top of him.
At that happened, the Ground Bridge portal closed and Starscream was frustrated at yet another lost chance to hit the Autobots in the security of their own base. However, he had hoped Makeshift had learnt a thing of two to provide some intel to him about the location of the Autobot base.
"Please tell me that you at least learned the location of their base." Starscream demanded as he got up to his feet.
Makeshift nodded as he got to his feet and swiped the Energon that was leaking from his mouth.
"Indeed, Lord Starscream." He answered confidently. "It is in a hidden bunker just outside of..."
He stopped as he heard a beeping noise in his audios, and he looked down.
Starscream also heard the beeping and to his horror he saw attached to Makeshift's hip a grenade!
No doubt Wheeljack had placed it there before Bulkhead had thrown Makeshift through the Portal!
"Whoa! Back! Back! BACK!" Starscream instructed as he ran away from Makeshift as fast as he could in a panic.
The other Decepticons followed his lead.
However, Makeshift continued to stand where he stood wondering why everyone was fleeing, then he looked down and he realized what was going on, and it was too late for anyone to do anything.
"Oh no." Those were the last words of the Decepticon before the bomb exploded, obliterating him and any Vehicons who stood too close.
Starscream and Soundwave were able to escape destruction by transforming into their respective flying vehicle forms and flying off the ship.
"MAKESHIFT! YOU FOOL!" Starscream bellowed angrily that yet another plan to take down the Autobots had failed.
A couple of days past after the incident with Makeshift and Wheeljack, the REAL Wheeljack had joined everyone at the Autobot base and had wasted no time getting to know the Hamato Clan and their friends, then telling them all about his and Bulkhead's escapades on Cybertron and during the War.
Optimus and Leonardo had returned not long after the battle, and they were appalled to find out what had happened but were very relieved that the real Wheeljack had been able to prevent any damage as well as keep the location of the base a continued secret.
Right now, Bulkhead and Wheeljack, and Bumblebee, along with Michelangelo, Pandora, Raphael and Kemeko were dancing in the main silo to some upbeat music and the song of choice was 'Real Wild Child' by Iggy Pop.
"Well, I'm just outta school, like I'm real, real cool
Gotta dance like a fool, got the message that I gotta be a wild one
Ooh, yeah, I'm a wild one.
Gonna break it loose, gonna keep 'em movin' wild
Gonna keep a-swingin', baby, I'm a real wild child!"
Monalisa, Leonardo, April and Casey sat at the side and watched bobbing their heads to the music along with Arcee and Ironhide watching with amusement, whilst Donatello assisted Ratchet with some work on Wheeljack's broken ship, after it had been damaged by the fliers from earlier, some work was needed until it was able to fly safely.
Yet as he worked, the Autobot Medic kept groaning as the music from the main silo droned in his head.
"It's like a recurring nightmare." Ratchet moaned in frustration.
"Actually." Donatello spoke up "I think a real nightmare would be having Makeshift turn up again, either that or Starscream actually coming through the ground bridge to cause chaos!"
After a while, the party died down and Bulkhead turned to Wheeljack.
"Now that your part of Team Prime," he said excitedly "We need to pick out a vehicle mode for you. I have some ideas."
He elbowed Wheeljack knowingly for that last part.
Hearing that, Wheeljack looked a bit uncomfortable.
"Uh…about that, Bulk… now that my ship's repaired, I'm itching to know…what else I might find out there." He confessed in an awkward tone, not wanting to disappoint his friend.
"What?" a small voice was heard beneath them over the quietened music "You're leaving?"
"But you just got here!" Kemeko added.
"Yeah!" Michelangelo agreed "Why you are going?"
Wheeljack wasn't sure how to answer that as he looked at the saddened Earthlings before him, yet Bulkhead looked at his old friend knowingly.
"Because some bots never change." He answered.
Optimus who had been standing nearby, nodded in understanding.
"Wheeljack, know that you always have a haven here." He informed the departing Wrecker with a warm smile.
Bulkhead wrapped an arm around Wheeljack's shoulder, giving him a brotherly one-armed hug.
"Jacky never stays. But he always comes back." He stated proudly and bumped fists with Wheeljack who smiled and nodded in agreement.
The next day, the Hamato Clan, Bumblebee, Arcee, the Hamato Clan and Bulkhead stood in the Sahara Desert to bid farewell to Wheeljack.
It was an emotional time for everyone, especially Bulkhead and Wheeljack having been reunited only to say goodbye again, yet before Wheeljack said his goodbyes, he turned to Bulkhead.
"You know Bulk, there's room for two, even with a backside like yours." Wheeljack offered, joking about the last part.
"Who knows what we might find out there? Some of the old crew?" he suggested.
Bulkhead's optics lit up, and he was almost ready to accept the offer on having adventures in space with his brother in arms, but then he remembered his duties to Team Prime, along with the Earthlings he had made friends with, especially Pandora and Michelangelo.
He couldn't just leave them, not now, not when they had a great friendship together.
"Sounds like fun, Jackie." He admitted before continuing. "But my ties are here now, with them." He gestured to the other Autobots.
"And with our Earthing Friends." He gestured to the Hamato Clan who looked pleased, especially Pandora and Michelangelo who looked at each other and grinned happily.
Wheeljack smiled and nodded in understanding before looking at the Hamato Clan.
"Anything happens to my favourite Wrecker; I'm coming after you." Wheeljack playfully threatened them.
"Don't to you worry Jackie!" Pandora quipped "We'll take good care of him,"
Michelangelo then took out his shell-cell.
Say cheese!" He said before taking a picture of Bulkhead and Wheeljack standing together by the Jack Hammer.
"Stay safe out there Wheeljack!" Raphael called up.
"Hope you find who you're looking for!" Kemeko said.
"And if you find any of the old crew." Leonardo added "Send them down here!"
"Yeah! Team Prime could really use the help!"
"You got it, guys!" Wheeljack promised with a nod before boarding his ship and soon he powered up the ship and it took off into the skies.
"There he goes..." Raphael sighed as he watched.
"Yeah." Leonardo agreed.
"Shame he didn't stay." Monalisa agreed "I quite liked him!"
"Me too!" Michelangelo agreed.
"Like I said, he always comes back." Bulkhead said looking down at the Hamato Clan before looking up at the skies seeing a line of white smoke where the Jack Hammer had disappeared "Wheeljack always comes back..."
Thank goodness! The Real Wheeljack showed up and managed to get rid of Makeshift, and save Michelangelo as well as the rest of the Hamato Clan and the Autobots from Starscream's evil plans.
Yet Wheeljack decided to continue his adventures in space to find others, will we see him again, I'm sure we will! As Bulkhead says 'Jackie always comes back'.
And this ends the 'Con Job' Episode.
Next time, we move onto the 'Convoy' episode! For those who've seen the show, I hope you like how I write it!
See you all then!