Chapter Forty-Three
Phase Three?
Back at the Autobot Base,the others had heard Fowler's shouts and there being no response from the Prime meant only one thing.
"Optimus is down!" Pandora cried in despair.
"And MECH's gonna grab the Dingus!" Kemeko stated.
"We need to think of something quick!" Donatello said sternly as he began trying to think of something.
"You mean like a phase three?" Kemeko guessed.
As she said that, Monalisa's image came up on the screen as she called the base and Ratchet picked it up.
"Ratchet!" she cried "Optimus is down!"
Ratchet's optics widened as that fact was confirmed and everyone else in the base were horrified.
"What happened?" he asked.
"A Con knocked him with a tree truck and sent him flying off the cliff! He's unconscious but Leonardo's with him." Monalisa reported "Also that Silas guy has figured out Phase Two! He's on his way to catch the train!"
"No!" Splinter cried in fear.
"That's bad!" Donatello muttered as he narrowed his eyes as he thought hard on a plan until Monalisa spoke again.
"Ratchet, I need you to Bridge us back to base, I think I got an idea!"
"Very well Monalisa." Ratchet said, "I'm locking onto your co-ordinates."
"Thanks Ratchet!" Monalisa said and hung up.
Back in the clearing, Monalisa hung up her shell cell and turned to see Michelangelo running towards her with Fowler in tow.
"You got a plan love?" Raphael asked hopefully.
"I think so." Monalisa said then looked down at Leonardo who was still trying to rouse Optimus.
"Leo!" she called "We're heading back to the base!"
As she said those words the ground bridge vortex appeared behind her, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Fowler.
Leonardo looked up.
"You guys go!" he called "I'll remain here with Optimus!"
"But Leo..." Raphael said.
"Just go!" Leonardo shouted "Don't worry about me! I'll be alright! I'll stay with Optimus until he wakes up!"
Monalisa frowned as she didn't want to leave her adopted older brother and leader behind, but she knew how stubborn Leonardo was, so she nodded and gestured with her head to get her mate, adopted younger brother and Fowler to follow her.
They ran through the vortex and soon found themselves back in the base.
"My children!" Splinter cried seeing them.
"Mum! Dad! Uncle Mike!" Pandora said with relief, yet she noticed Leonardo wasn't with them.
"Where's dad?" Kemeko asked in a panic.
"He's with Optimus!" Raphael reported.
"He chose to stay with Prime until he comes to!" Monalisa said.
"Very loyal of your brother." Splinter said in a proud voice, yet he was worried about his eldest son still out there.
Ratchet and Donatello instantly turned to Monalisa and asked her about her plan.
"What's your thought on Phase Three?" Donatello asked.
"Look guys." Said Monalisa "If MECH wants the Dingus, they'll have to get on that train."
"True." Donatello said as he thought about it.
"But what if we get on first?" Monalisa suggested taking out her fans "And be ready for them when they try and take it!"
Raphael smirked as he heard that.
"Music to my ears babe!" he said taking out his sai.
"Shell yeah!" Michelangelo grinned taking out his nun chucks.
"Count me in!" Pandora crowed brandishing her claws and holding up her bladed tail.
"Absolutely not!" Ratchet immediately objected and everyone looked at the Autobot Medic in shock.
"What?" Michelangelo gasped.
"Hello! The United States of Meltdown! Lives are at stake!" Pandora spoke up.
"Yes. All of yours!" Ratchet stated, getting confused looks from the Hamato Clan.
"You want me to not only bridge you into a confined space, but one travelling at ninety miles per hour? I can't even count the number of ways that could go wrong!"
"Like what?" Pandora challenged folding her arms.
"Mass displacement trauma! Twisted limbs! Metal burn!"
Everyone gave Ratchet a weird look at that last one given they weren't made of metal.
"Well maybe not the last one." The medic said then shook his head getting back on topic.
"Regardless, it is nearly impossible to fix Ground Bridge coordinates on something moving at that speed!"
"Would it help if we had access to the train's coordinates?" Donatello asked as he typed commands into a laptop he had on the raised platform and the coordinates for the train that contained the DINGUS appeared on the large screen before them.
"Well…" Ratchet pondered, as he was reluctant to do this but knew it was the only option right now.
Meanwhile Silas's helicopter had caught up with the train and he and his mercenaries were now ready to seize what they came for.
"Immobilize them." Silas instructed.
On that command one of the agents from the helicopter fired an immobilizing bullet at the train.
Leaving a trail of smoke behind it, the bullet flew towards the train and landed on the front part.
As that happened, the central structure settled into the main structure and sent electrical shocks all through the train.
Inside the cargo carriages, the soldiers inside didn't even see what was coming at him and as the voltage spread through the train and it struck them and they collapsed from the voltage, it wasn't very high, but it knocked them all out cold.
Not long after those electrical shocks had passed through the train, a Ground Bridge opened in the same carriage as the Dingus and Monalisa, Raphael, Michelangelo and Pandora jumped through it.
As they did, they saw the passed-out soldiers which horrified them, yet Pandora went over to the nearest one and checked his pulse before nodding to her parents and uncle that he was still breathing which relieved them.
Kemeko, Donatello and Splinter remained behind so they could keep in contact with them.
Monalisa had her shell-cell activated so she could maintain contact with Ratchet, Donatello and Kemeko back at the base.
"We're in." Monalisa spoke into the phone.
"I read you, sis. The cell phone com-link patch works!" Donatello replied from the Autobot base.
"Great!" Monalisa grinned then looked at Michelangelo and Raphael who went to the side to open it and as they did, they saw Silas's Helicopter land on top of it and they turned to Monalisa to inform her to which the Lizard Lady spoke into her shell cell.
"Donnie! MECH's landing on top of the train." She reported.
She could hear the worry in Donatello's voice as he spoke to her giving her instructions as he typed into his laptop on the other side.
"Hang in there! In about twenty seconds you're gonna come up to a fork. Brace yourselves." He warned.
Monalisa grabbed the side of the train and advised the others to hold on given Donatello's instructions.
As the train approached the fork, the MECH Helicopter attempted to land on top of it, yet as Donatello successfully changed the fork, so the train went in the opposite direction, the Helicopter missed its target to land almost causing it to lose control, but the pilot was able to steady it.
Silas frowned.
"What happened?" he demanded getting rather agitated at what had been happening to keep him from getting to the Dingus.
"Hacker." The pilot answered before pressing a button on the controls.
"Former hacker." He added as he circled back around to chase after the train once again.
Back at the Autobot Base,the train monitor that was occupying the big screen and Donatello's laptop was suddenly replaced with a moving picture of cross bones and a bomb with a lit fuse which made everyone look at it in surprise yet before they could even wonder what was going on, the internal bomb went off and fried his laptop, causing it to literally smoke.
"Whoa!" the brainy turtle cried out, as he had to shield his face from some of the sparks that jumped out.
"Damn! This was brand new!" he said looking at his ruined laptop.
"Well that went up in smoke." Kemeko said without thinking to which Donatello gave a glare at his human niece.
"And what have I been saying all along about earth technology?"
Ratchet commented.
On the train, Raphael looked out to see where the helicopter went, and he saw it had caught up to them again and was attempting to land on top of the train.
"Damn, these guys just don't quit!" he growled.
The group saw that the helicopter had already caught up to them and was once again attempting to land on top of the train car.
He turned to the others yet as he did, they heard the Helicopter land on the train then some sparks appeared as someone was attempting to cut into the roof.
"Aww shell!" Michelangelo said yet Monalisa glared and took out her fans whilst Pandora readied her claws and her tail blade readied like a scorpion's tail.
She had decided that Mr Swinger wasn't the best weapon to use in a confined space.
"They're gonna get a big surprise when they come through there!" the hybrid hissed.
Raphael followed his mate and daughters' example and took out his sai and Michelangelo did the same with his nun-chucks.
Meanwhile, Leonardo had been with Optimus whilst the Prime had been knocked out and was still hitting his face guard to rouse him.
"Optimus! Optimus!" he shouted.
Just then, Prime let out a groan as his optics opened and he saw Leonardo standing there next to his face.
"Leonardo?" he asked groggily.
"Oh thank Goodness." Leonardo said in a relived voice then he jumped as he heard a few blasts above him then saw the figure of a Decepticon fall by the edge of the cliff.
"What happened?" Optimus asked as he shook his head and fully woke up.
"A Decepticon knocked you out with a tree trunk!" Leonardo explained.
"Where are your brothers, sister, and Agent Fowler?" Optimus asked as he remembered Raphael, Monalisa, Michelangelo and Fowler.
"Ratchet transported them back to Base." Leonardo reported then he along with Prime saw on the horizon down in the rocky valley the train they had hid the Dingus on disappear around the bend, with MECH's helicopter on top of it.
"Mech figured out Phase Two!" Leonardo remembered going pale.
Optimus frowned but before he could say anything, Leonardo's shell cell rang to which the Blue masked turtle picked it up seeing it was Donatello.
"Donnie?"
"Leo! We got a situation!"
What is it?" Leonardo asked.
"Raph, Mona, Michelangelo and Pandora are on the train!" Donatello reported.
"They're what?" Optimus asked, his optics widening.
Leonardo's eyes narrowed as he listened to Donatello telling him about what had transpired and how MECH was now on top of the train with the helicopter.
"When they fried my laptop, we lost the access to the train data! We can't bridge them out of there without the co-ordinates."
"Oh shell!" Leonardo said looking at Optimus whose eyes narrowed.
"We'll get them out of there." He said picking Leonardo up and getting to his feet then placing the blue masked turtle on his shoulder the Prime started to make his way down the rocks to get to the tracks.
Leonardo held onto Optimus's neck cables.
"We're heading there now Don!" he said.
Oh dear! MECH are still pursuing the train containing the Dingus, and Raphael, Monalisa, Pandora and Michelangelo are now on the train guarding the weapon ready to fight if they need to.
But now Prime's woken up, he and Leonardo are on their way to assist...