A Ghost in the System

4 million Years BC at the bottom of the ocean off the west coast of Africa

"Raw Energeon right through your twisted spark!" Depth Charge the Maximal grunted as he drove a blade of raw energon into the chest of his mortal enemy Protoform X or Ramage as he had become known over the course of the beast wars. Depth Charge stood was just over 11.5 feet tall at the head, with sharp red eyes, blue, yellow and silver chrome metal making up his body with his alternate form being a manta ray "Take it! Take it straight to the pit you sickening piece of slag!" Depth charge ensured his face was mere inches from Rampage's as he hissed out the final word to his enemy.

Rampage paused and the hands holding the blade of energon simply let go catching Depth Charge by surprise but a moment later he thrust the blade forward as Rampage laughed. The resulting explosion from the destruction of Ramage's supposedly indestructible spark was enormous. The Decepticon Warship the Nemsis seemed to be destroyed in the blast and the maximals Optimus Primal and Tiger Hawk flying over the ocean thought the ship was destroyed "He's done it! Depth Charge has done it, it's all over!" Optimus declared in happy relief as it seemed the beast wars were now finally over.

Back at the Maximal base Rattrap the maximal's scout and resident pessimist cheered "Ain't I always said that fin head was one of my favourite people?!"

However, Tiger Hawk then drew Optimus' attention to metal bits that was now floating on the surface "But I'm afraid that Depth Charge has paid the ultimate price" after Optimus and Tiger Hawk flew away the remains of Depth Charge and Rampage sunk down to their watery graves. Over time the metal remains were covered by the shifting of the ocean bed, the water deep enough to hide them from human eyes. 4 million years passed but the secrets once safe from curious humans were not safe from humans who'd developed quirks. The dawn of quirks made more of the world accessible for study and one day a person with a deep-sea quirk stumbled upon the remains. Soon pro heroes and other humans were called in, the mystery of what they'd uncovered left the world confused as they pulled the bits of Rampage and Depth Charge from the water. Few Scientists could even identify the metals used to make the bits but soon this became a mystery that was more of a curiosity in an age of super powers.

However, as the bits gathered dust, they were also passed around till they found their way to a new museum in Musutafu, Japan for scientific oddities. It was on the very day that the pieces of Depth Charge went on display that a group of students from a local Junior High school was brought in for a tour, the group included a green haired 13-year-old boy named Izuku Midoriya.

"And in here we have what's become known as Atlantic space junk" the guide said as Aldera's class was brought into the room. The bits of space junk were assembled on two massive tables with each piece given a number "Now these pieces were dragged from the bottom of the Atlantic 150 years ago...to date no theory has been offered to explain how they came to be there but one thing scientists do agree on is they were both involved in the same explosion leaving us fewer pieces of the purple object... questions?"

Izuku Midoriya making notes in his book raised his hand but his teacher snapped "Don't waste the man's time!" The tour guide looked a bit surprised but shrugged as the teacher said "Quirkless"

"Oh okay" the tour guide said as he added "Are there any real questions?"

The class laughed as Izuku let his head fall but not everyone else in the room thought it was funny. The head of depth charge had survived the blast and one eye began functioning unnoticed by anyone, the spirit of Depth Charge stood overhead frowning as he said to himself "Despicable" he lowered himself down, the ghost following Izuku through the Museum as the tour went on but the ghost was invisible to all including the green haired boy.

Izuku tried to take notes as the tour went on but one blonde haired boy in the back of the class couldn't allow that as Izuku noted down something about a magic sword that had been found in England, the boy walked up behind him and grabbed his note paper "Dumb nerd" Katsuki Bakugo hissed as he tore the paper up "When are you going to give it up?"

Depth Charge watching growled "What the hell is wrong with that creep?" he saw the unconfident look on Izuku's face and his eyes grew softer "Poor kid" Depth Charge always focused more on justice even if other transformers thought he was just obsessed with revenge "Why are they signalling him out?" Depth charge wouldn't have to wait long for his answer as Izuku walked round the kids kept laughing and calling him names but one name kept coming up "Quirkless?" Depthcharge asked as he didn't know much about human biology but he was pretty sure he'd never heard the term Quirk which was another word the humans kept using "So I must be in a different time line than the one I know?" Depthcharge guessed as a human with the head of a duck walked in "One where humans have changed?" Depthcharge thought a bit more and mused "So quirkless must mean that kid lacks a change and the other kids must have them but those kids look normal?" However, it was at that moment the tour guide left the kids to their own devices as Izuku walked over to check on Depth Charge's remains, Depth Charge's spirit moved back into his own head for the express purpose of looking into the eyes of the boy who'd drawn his interest and he gasped to himself "My word...Sureshot!" Depth charge smiled to himself as he remembered a friend from the doomed colony of Omicron, Izuku had the eyes of his long dead friend and he wanted to reach out but the kid was drawing "Sureshot...ha...some things never change"

However Izuku was mumbling "Looks like that maybe the head and I guess that's an arm, a leg..." Izuku reached forward and began to move the parts around the table "Maybe this piece here and this piece here..." while Izuku was doing his thing neither him or Depth Charge noticed the explosive blonde walking up behind him till Bakugo spun him round "Ka-chan!"

"Look nerd when they said we could touch the exhibits they weren't talking to a Deku like you!" Bakugo hissed as his palms popped with explosions giving Depth Charge an answer to his earlier thoughts and questions but the transformer's ghost was blinded by rage "Now why don't you..."

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM!" Depth Charge snapped however his voice issued from the head part of his remains and Bakugo looked scared as Depth Charge added "Well that got your attention... now leave that boy alone, you creep!" Bakugo and his gang turned to run to another room but Izuku stared in wonder at the head of Depth Charge "Man those kids and that teacher need to get a life. How pathetic do you have to be to pick on a powerless kid?"

"Ye...Yeah" Izuku gaped at the now glowing head "Who or what are you?"

"Oh, you're still here?" Depth charge asked but then he realised "Oh I see... whoops. Well my name is Depth Charge, I'm a maximal from the planet of Cybertron...yeah doesn't matter"

"How are you talking?" Izuku asked slowly as he grabbed his jotter and began writing down notes on what Depth Charge was saying.

"Magic. I have no idea!" Depth Charge hissed as he added "Now if you don't have any more stupid questions..."

"I have a lot of questions!" Izuku exclaimed with a smile born of his curiosity and Depth Charge spirituality facepalmed at that "Are you a robot with a quirk? If so, are you from outer space!? Oh, wait you said you're from a planet called Cybertron? Huh so why were you at the bottom of the ocean?! And are you..."

"By the matrix kid, you can ask a lot and nothing at the same time" Depth Charge said as he sighed "Well I guess I do have a quirk...as a transformer I can change my form but that's not that special for my kind, we are robots in disguise after all. Yeah obviously. As for why I was at the bottom of the ocean that has to do with the purple bits over there..." Izuku pointed to the other table "Yeah that was Protoform X or Rampage as my allies and enemies knew him... I blew him up and kinda took myself with him..."

"You did what?!" Izuku screamed in horror "Why!?"

"Because I was looking for justice for him eating my friends" Depth Charge deadpanned

"Oh!?" Izuku said as he added "Sorry that was just very... blunt?"

"Yeah, I got that a lot from Optimus and the other Maximals" Depth Charge laughed as he sighed "So...can I ask why do your... friends have an issue with you being quirkless?"

"I'm useless" Izuku answered with a sullen look on his face.

"What a load of slag" Depth Charge hissed "Look kid your only useless if you believe their nonsense plus what kind of self-respecting teacher thinks a student is useless? If I could shake my head I would"

"It's because I want to be a hero" Izuku said suddenly and Depth Charge felt his ghostly eyes widen "They say a quirkless person can't be a pro hero since we lack power...

"Then all you have to do is gain power" Depth Charge Interrupted "Simple enough. If I remember my history right my ancestors the autobots once did this headmaster thing... maybe we could do something similar?"

"What do you mean?" Izuku asked slowly.

"Why is it always the smart ones who can't see simple solutions sitting right in front of them!" Depth Charge snapped then cooled off and he said calmly "What if I gave you, my power?" Izuku's brain seemed to short circuit but Depth Charge groaned as he added "What I'm suggesting is you and I become partners"

"Partners?" Izuku asked as he thought it over but paused his excited thoughts for a moment and asked "What's in it for you?"

Depth Charge paused and said in an honest tone "To be honest 4 million stellar cycles in what I can assume is some weird status form gives a being amble time to think" he looked to the remains of Rampage "I spend so many cycles hunting X to get justice, revenge... whatever you want to call it that I never stopped to grieve those I lost. Worse of all I lashed out against my fellow maximals and even hurt the ones who were trying to help me... when Cheetor thanked me for saving him, I told him to go chase a mouse and hit him... what kind of maximal can't even appreciate a thank you!?" Depth charge added sadly "I wish I could say I was sorry to both Optimus and his team but that chance has slipped me by"

"So, you want to change?" IZuku asked as he thought over Depth Charge's words more critically "You know it probably won't be possible?"

"I'm aware of that!" Depth Charge suddenly snapped but paused "Sorry about that... I guess I'm still a creep"

"No...I was out of line" Izuku said as he looked down "But I believe you when you say you want to change"

"You do?!" Depth Charge said in surprise

"I can't explain it but you remind me of Ka-chan in some good ways"

"That's the blonde kid, isn't it?" Depth charge asked sounding thoroughly unimpressed by the comparison to the explosive hot head "I guess I got to ask why?"

"I don't know how to explain it but you seem similar in some ways" Izuku said as he decided to change the topic "So how would I gain your powers? I still don't know if it's possible"

Depth Charge thought about it and said "My spark has long been destroyed but there may be a way to turn you into a copy of me or to find some alternate path ...yes it's possible" Depth charge then looked to his remains "You see the large piece that looks like the head of a fish?" Izuku nodded "Poke the eye on the right side, it should open a small panel where plans for my body exist... most primitive computers should be able to analyse the data..."

"Wait primitive computers?" Izuku asked as he had thought "What do you mean by primitive?"

"This is the 21st century, right?" Depth charge asked but saw Izuku shaking his head "Okay any computer should still be capable and I know you lot have computers"

"Ok" Izuku said slowly as he poked the eye and indeed a small compartment opened, he gingerly fished out what looked like a pen drive from the slot and gulped "Can I ask why is your teach so familiar?"

"The autobots" Depth charge said in a deadpan tone "Yeah the autobots and decpticons were having their little disagreement on earth so human technology advanced due to the interaction"

"Why have I never heard of it?" Izuku asked slowly.

"What part of robots in disguise do you not understand?" Depth charge asked back as he shook his spiritual head "I'm done spoon feeding you answers... besides sounds like the peanut gallery is coming back"

Indeed, as Izuku pocketed the device Bakugo and his goons ran back in with the teacher who glared at Izuku "Mr Midoriya! I thought I told you to behave!" Izuku shrugged as Depth Charge felt his annoyance only grow but Izuku just nodded as his teacher chewed him out "And I hope you learn where your place is!"

Depth Charge finally had enough with that line "HIS PLACE ISN'T TO BE A PUNCHING BAG FOR YOUR SHIT!" the teacher spun round as the voice from Depth Charge's remains bellowed in complete disgust "YOU CALL YOURSELF A TEACHER! YOU'RE A BULLY THAT EVEN MEGATRON WOULD DESPISE!"

The teacher stepped back in shock but wheeled on Izuku "Mr Midoriya! How dare you!?"

"NO! HOW DARE YOU!" Depth Charge yelled as he added "HOW IN THE NAME OF PRIMUS DO YOU THINK IZUKU HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS! I'M JUST SICKENED BY YOUR BEHAVIOUR! GET OUT! I CAN'T STAND THE STENCH OF YOUR DESPICABLE ACTS! YOU UTTER CREEP!"

The teacher, Bakugo and the other people left the room in stunned silence as Izuku turned "Depth Charge...you shouldn't have done that?" Izuku asked as he picked up what he assumed to be Depth Charge's face. He could see a face in the metal and the eyes revealed a being who'd spend his life in pain but he still glared at the head.

"Can you say what I did was wrong?" Depth Charge asked as Izuku shook his head "I just did what any autobot or maximal would have done" he then joked "And if anyone asks just say it was your quirk... how are they going to prove otherwise?"

"Well actually..." Izuku began but he could sense that was sarcasm and paused "Thank you"

"Meh it was nothing... go on get home and use that data I gave you" Depth Charge said as he then added "And become a hero you can be proud of" as Izuku ran out, Depth charge's ghost smiled to himself and shrugged "I'm sure he's related to that Una kid in some way" the ghost faded away leaving the spare parts of his body behind.

When Izuku reached home later that day he pulled out the pen drive like device, he gulped as he turned it over in his hands as he sat at his laptop, the device was shiny dark blue in colour and he sighed as he pushed the device into the appropriate port on his computer but a moment later his computer began to glow "What's going on?!" Izuku gulped as he tried to see what he could do but it was like his computer had a mind of it's own as different search engines opened up and a million and one searches were done "Huh?!" Izuku wondered if he'd made a terrible mistake but then the computer stopped.

"Hmmm so that's where I am?" the voice of Depth Charge sounded from the computer as suddenly an icon appeared "Hey Kid sorry for coming along for the ride but... well, I'd rather hang out with you than a bunch of random humans poking my remains" the icon looked like Depth charge's head but it was undamaged and it moved around the screen "I just did some research to see if there's a way to give you my power... uh good news bad news time"

"Okay what's the good news" Izuku asked slowly as he rubbed his chin.

"It's possible but will require a sacrifice" Depth charge said sadly as his icon's expression changed to a more somber expression "You'll need to give up your social life"

"What social life?" Izuku deadpanned

"Hahaha yeah sorry but your amount of free time will become next to nothing" Depth Charge joked as he then took on a sombre tone "To begin we'll need to rebuild my body and find you an alternate mode..."

"Wait! What did your entire body look like when you were alive?" Izuku asked as Depth Charge smiled and revealed an image on screen of his robot form in perfect condition "Wow...it looks strong" Depth Charge nodded "So will I look like that?"

"On reflection I actually think it may be a better idea to have us create a whole new Maximal for you to become... based on an animal that is more to your liking" Depth Charge said in a cheerful tone "Besides it'll be cool regardless"

Izuku thought long and hard till he sighed "What animal would you recommend?"

"I'm biased so I'd suggest an animal that is aquatic but that may limit you" Depth Charge said as he added "But my data is mixed with Transmetal technology so it's possible we could turn you into a transmetal maximal... still may prove tricky since the transwarp wave that caused that effect passed 4 million years ago and the transmetal driver... Blackarachnia had it last to my knowledge but I'm not sure what happened to it"

"So, it may not be possible?" Izuku asked unsure if this was going well.

"Bridge we can cross when we're ready" Depth Charge said "For now I need to do some research into where we can build your new body or I suppose armour is the more appropriate term... meh details details" he smiled and said "Get some rest kid. Your life is about to get very busy"

Izuku smiled to the screen and breathed out a single word "Thanks"

Depth Charge knew the struggle ahead would be great but hopefully Izuku could become a hero that even Optimus Prime would recognise as a great hero. He watched Izuku get into bed and the lights turned off with the computer still on so Depth Charge could begin his research.

Author's Note: Hi, hope you enjoyed this little trip into my crazy story, this is a side project compared to the other What if Deku stories I've been working on. To be totally frank I'm not sure if there will be a chapter 2, this is more being released to get rid of the anxiety in what I've done, if people like it, I may start releasing my other work. As for where this idea came from, to be honest Depth Charge has been one of my favourite transformers since I was a wee kid, Rattrap is probably a bigger favourite of the beast era but Rattrap on Cybertron makes his role as a mentor character much harder.

Now I have three important questions, more picking the brains of the readers here, sorry. First if Izuku does build himself a maximal body what animal do you think he should change into? (For my own thoughts I did consider using an extinct animal but I'm not sure) Also feel free to suggest a name for the maximal with the animal. Second should I make it transmetal or save that for a later point in the story? Third do you want other beast wars characters to appear? Bear in mind that I'm not sure I can include Maximals or Predacons who appeared in Beast Machines, that maybe too hard to justify and with bots like Dinobot, Tigerhawk, Rampage, Inferno and Quickstrike as options I don't see any reason to complicate matters (And bear in mind those 5 are just examples).

Also, small note regarding questions like Depth Charge's height, they're guesses based on rewatching beast wars and information found there or from searches I've done...so not sure if they're perfect.

Hope everyone has a grand day!