Chapter 23

tox-en

It was one year after Optimus, jazz, Tony and Steve returned from Cybertron. Ratchet had modified the ground bridge to be able to be used to get to different planets currently they could go to Cybertron and Beyond but doing so would result in the ground Bridges destruction. After a mission to reclaim a biological weapon that was stolen, it ended with multiple civilians losing their lives. The government introduced the Sokovia Accords, something that if signed would relegate the Avengers To only being able to assist if the government allowed. There were small disagreements between Tony and Steve and it almost got to the point of a full-blown Civil War happening between the Avengers but eventually The two Avengers both agreed to not sign The Accords Due to The extra experience fighting the Decepticons together, And knowing that if the Avengers fell apart the entire world Would more than likely fall under control of the Decepticons, Resulting in all the Avengers needing to go into hiding, And Tony losing Stark Industries. Luckily he managed to keep as much wealth as he needed Being about three quartersAnd of his totally wrong.

This wasn't the main concern of Optimus right now because the biological weapon that the Avengers had reclaimed was tox-en, A biological weapon produced by the Decepticons. He had thought they had destroyed everything related to tox-en. But it appeared the recipe had survived. Now they had to locate Where exactly it was being manufactured and destroy it.

Optimus Stood staring at teletraan 1, A brand new AI that both Ratchet, Bruce Banner, and Tony had been working on for months It rivaled both Jarvis and Ultron combined, As it Continued to scan the vial that Once held the tox-en.The Avengers had given them the volume after transitioning the tox-en To a Similar vial And giving it back to the government. The fact that the US government had access to a Cybertronian Bio weapon made by Decepticons, Concerned Optimus This implied that the government not only knew of The Cybertronians but had Allied themselves with the Decepticons Making it even more imperative That the Autobots stayed hidden.

Optimus was grateful That the Avengers provided them With the original vial After the Avengers removed the bio weapon and placed it in a similar vial Before returning it to The government, Something Optimus was very against but understood why it had to be done.

Lately the Decepticons had been making themselves more prominent Setting up more Energon mines, Working with small human organizations, The Decepticons were gearing up for something big Optimus only wished that he knew what. The Autobots were spread thin, All the others were out on missions Only Optimus remained.

Finally teletraan 1 Had finished analyzation Of the vial. It led back to A specific location in Nevada called Area 51 Knowing this Optimus contacted the Avengers and Natasha Romanoff the Black Widow, Answered just the Avenger he needed, "Natasha, I bring news,"

"What is it Optimus," Natasha Asked, Knowing from the tone of Optimus's voice it wasn't great news.

"Analysis of the vial you provided A location In Nevada Known as Area 51," As Optimus said that a diagram of Area 51 appeared On teletraan ones screen.

Upon hearing this Natasha said "Area 51 is where the government conducts all its top secret experiments it makes sense that if the government would work with the Decepticons it would be here,"

Optimus nodded before making his request, "I'm asking you to infiltrate Area 51 and figure out what's going on in there,"

In response Natasha nodded And said, "You Can Count On Me Prime," And then the communication between the two ended.

A few short hours later Natasha was Hiding behind a boulder And just beyond the boulder was Area 51 Guards were everywhere In her head Natasha thought that if she was discovered any hope For The Avengers to smooth things out with the government would be gone. But she knew for a fact she wouldn't be caught.

Area 51 Was surrounded by a chain link fence Which she guessed was electrified. Natasha Jumped Up and over the electrified fence and landed with a roll, With her pistols raised. Upon seeing no one Natasha put her back up against a building as she heard footsteps coming closer, It was only a few seconds but it felt like an eternity Natasha activated her new invisibility cloak Compliments of ratchet As two guards Walked right by, Pausing right in front of her Before moving on. Natasha released a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding in.

Natasha continued Through the base avoiding guards, And avoiding detection. Natasha was starting to get frustrated Because There was no evidence anywhere of the Decepticons even interacting with these people. And then finally She saw What appeared to be the president Walking towards a certain building. It was a small building But had tons of security. And if there's one thing she had learned throughout all her years as a spy, The building with the most security is usually where you want to be.

Natasha reactivated her invisibility cloak as she ran towards the rapidly closing door And slipped right in just in time Inside was nothing but a long hallway that led to a singular lone elevator That had already left without her Hacking her way into the mainframe she managed to get the doors open, Below her was a massive fall, a few feet in front of her were the ropes that held the elevator up, Getting a running start She made a massive leap And barely grabbed on to The Rope And began sliding down. When she reached Reached the bottom She was surrounded by Darkness The only light came from the elevator door she had taken to get down here, she searched around in complete darkness Until she found what felt like a vent Confirming that it was in fact a vent She kicked it open And fell into the brightly lit interior of the elevator, She got to her feet and walked through the open elevator doors And was greeted by A large Warehouse, Large boxes were All over the place. And as Natasha got close enough to inspect one of the boxes she saw the Decepticon insignia. It was true the US government was working with the Decepticons.

In the distance two voices could be heard, Natasha snuck closer to the voices and listened in. "So the arrangement still stands,You continuously provide us with tox-en, And we assist you with locating your Autobots," The president said Seemingly talking to someone.

"Very well Mr President,"A Deep, Gravelly and menacing voice said. From a huge screen That Blurred out whoever's speaking face The Voice sent chills down Natasha's spine, She felt cold. That voice She didn't know who it belonged to but what she knew Is that it wasn't Safe to be there anymore.

Natasha ran towards The elevator And jumped up through the vent she had opened and closed it right behind her And then the elevator shuttered As it began moving upwards. Natasha looked upwards at the rapidly closing ceiling knowing that there was no way out.

In a moment of desperation Natasha kicked the vent back open And fell into The elevator Landing right behind the president And two guards, Before any of them had a second to react or even turn around, Each of them were out with three quick punches.

When the elevator finally reached the top and she walked out of the building she was stupidly careless and was spotted by A group of guards patrolling the area with one sounding the alarm.

Now she had to escape on the most heavily defended places on Earth With the entire facility after her, She made a desperate Rush To try and Escape With bullets whizzing all around her Kicking up dirt with every impact.

While running She contacted Optimus Prime, "Optimus I need an Evac now," She shouted into the comms. And almost instantly a ground Bridge opened And out came Updraft Flying above The entire base before making a U-turn and performing a Strafing run on the base Knocking back several soldiers but not killing any Before parking directly in front of Natasha and opening up his back door.

"Sorry I'm late, did I miss anything,"Updraft joked as Natasha jumped in.

Natasha smiled and said, "You didn't miss much." as Updraft lifted back into the air And flew back into The ground bridge that brought him here.