Aboard the Nemesis, Megatron stepped into a large room that housed the Insecticon Hive. "Who is the fiercest among you?" The warlord asked.
"There is no greater ferocity than an Insecticon Hive. But if you were to choose one among us, I am Hardshell." Hardshell the Insecticon landed behind Megatron. His helm was covered in scars. "You will retrieve something for me, Hardshell. And annihilate everything that gets in your way!" Megatron ordered.
3 Insecticons flew through a Ground-Bridge, with Hardshell walking through last. "Divide, and do not hesitate to conquer." Hardshell ordered.
"Jack, Miko, and Elsa will accompany Arcee and Bumblebee." Optimus said. "Yes!" Miko said. "Initiate transport and triangulate coordinates of the other 3 relics." Optimus said to Ratchet. "That was some trick, Miko." Bulkhead said. "You mean swiping intel from right under Megatron's nose? Just doing my part for Team Prime." Miko said, and Bee's horn honked.
"Oh, gotta go, Bulk. I'll tell you all about it when we get back." Miko ran to Jack, Elsa, Bee, and Arcee, and entered the scout. "Wait up!" She called.
"Take care of her, Bee." "Take care of him, Miko." Bulkhead and Raf said at the same time. "Bye-bye." Anna said. The Ground-Bridge opened, and Jack, Miko, Elsa, Bumblebee, and Arcee drove through.
"Bulkhead, Cyclonus, Jetfire, Chromia, prepare for departure." Optimus said. "You four are headed for the equator." Ratchet said. "I'll prep for troptical weather Wrecker style." Bulkhead said. "As long as I'm not frozen or roasted by the Sun first." Cyclonus joked.
The Ground-Bridge reactivated. "Rafael and Agent Fowler will be your communications and transportation hub." Optimus said. "I can haz cheezeburger. Guh!" Agent Fowler rambled. "Communications, huh?" Jetfire asked.
"Be on your guard, Autobots." Optimus said. The four Autobots walked through the Ground-Bridge and emerged on the other side near a volcano. "Augh, what is that stench?" Chromia asked as she waved a servo. "Smells worse than the Decepticon barracks," Bulkhead said. "This is a good place to hide a relic." Cyclonus said.
The Autobots started walking around. "Base, we can't find any sign of the relic. Can you reconfirm coordinates?" Bulkhead asked. "Triangulating your positions, Bulkhead. You're all at the correct location." Raf said as a woozy Agent Fowler stumbled by. "Need coffee." He groaned.
"Then the coordinates are wrong, 'cause there's nothing here." Bulkhead said. A faint noise got their attention. "But something's coming." Bulkhead said. An Insecticon flew towards them, and they fired at it. The Insecticon collided with Bulkhead and threw him into Cyclonus as it transformed into Hardshell.
Hardshell attacked Bulkhead, but the Wrecker pushed him off. "Leave it to Megatron to send a bug to do his dirty work." Bulkhead said. "You know a thing or two about dirty work yourself, Wrecker." Hardshell said. "Do I know you?" Bulkhead asked.
"I know your kind as I have crushed more than a few Wreckers in my time." Hardshell said. "There is a problem with bugs your size. They make a bigger mess when you squish them." Chromia said. Bulkhead roared as he readied his maces and hit Hardshell, but the Insecticon caught his mace, hit him back before tossing Bulkhead into the ground.
The Autobots shot Hardshell, but he punched Bulkhead and Cyclonus, then backhanded Jetfire. One of Chromia's podshots hit one of Hardshell's mandibles. The Insecticon howled as the mandible fell off. Hardshell fell to the ground, unmoving. "I hate bugs." Cyclonus said. Bulkhead looked at the direction Hardshell was facing. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Jetfire asked.
"Let's go." But as he and Chromia transformed into their ground vehicles as Cyclonus and Jetfire transformed into their jet modes and they took off for the direction Hardshell faced.
"Ratchet, the virus is coded. Commencing upload." Raf said. "Raf, we have a beat on the relic." Bulkhead said. "Raf's busy. I'll take it from here." Agent Fowler said. "Fowler? How was your beauty sleep?" Bulkhead asked. "Fine. Dreamt, I finally got a little respect from you." Agent Fowler said.
"Keep dreaming." Bulkhead said. "What's your status?" Agnarr Fowler asked. "Came up empty to provided coordinates. But I figured an old lava flow might have carried the relic downhill." Bulkhead said. "Wouldn't that just burn it up?" Agent Fowler asked.
"These relics survived interstellar transport. I'm sure they can withstand molten, oh scrap." Bulkhead said. "What is it?" Agent Fowler asked. "I'm leaking Energon. Insecticon hit me hard." Bulkhead said. "Insecticon?" Agent Fowler asked. "Probably knocked a gasket loose. Nothing to worry about. Trust me, he's in way worse shape than we are." Bulkhead said.
Hardshell groaned as he woke up and his Insecticon allies came to him. "The Wrecker and his Autobot friends left me alive. The last mistake they will ever make." Hardshell transformed, and they flew for wherever the Autobots were.
"I found something." Cyclonus said. He and Jetfire transformed near the Iacon Relic as Bumblebee and Chromia joined them. "There you are." The Wrecker said. He pried the lid off and fell onto his back. "You okay, Bulkhead?" Cyclonus asked. "I'm fine. At least I got the lid off." Bulkhead said.
The Autobots looked inside the container, and their expressions turned to fear when they saw a Synthetic Energon colored crystal that emitted smoke funes like Dark Energon. "I thought I'd never see this again." Jetfire mumbled. "Uh, oh. Base, we have a problem." Chromia said on the comms. "Chromia, what is it?" Agent Fowler asked. "We found the relic. It's a cache of Energon." Chromia said. "That's good, right?" Agent Fowler asked. "No, no, no, not this kind. It's known as Tox-En." Bulkhead replaced Chromia.
"Um, did the Iacon Database say that there were 3 other canisters here?" Cyclonus asked. "I don't know. Why?" Agent Fowler asked. "Because I think these are all Tox-En containers." Cyclonus said. He shot the lids off of the other canisters, careful not to detonate the Tox-En. Cyclonus, Jetfire, and Chromia looked inside the other containers, and low and behold, it was all Tox-En.
"Yep. This is all Tox-En. This stuff causes nausea and dizziness upon contact. Prolonged exposure weakens us to the point of paralysis. And then, it snuffs out our Sparks." Bulkhead explained to the human. "Well, what are you guys talking to me for? Get far away from that 'Tox-En' pronto. If it's as deadly as they say, the 'Cons won't want it either." Agent Fowler said.
"No, they'll want it even more. During the war for Cybertron, Megatron figured out a way to refine raw Tox-En. Turn it into a weapon of mass destruction. I witnessed an entire unit wiped out by the sickness. No way we can leave this stuff for the 'Cons to find and abuse." Bulkhead said.
"So bring those canisters back here. Raf, open a Ground-Bridge." Agent Fowler said. "Forget it, even if we had a safe place to store it, the stuff's way to potent to risk exposing to the rest of us." Chromia said.
A giant flapping noise got their attention. "We're gonna have to dispose of these Wrecker style." Bulkhead said and held up a bomb.
The Insecticons found a pod. "There." Hardshell said. The Insecticons transformed. One of the bugs pushed the other two away and ripped open the canister, revealing the Tox-En.
The Insecticon reached inside. It failed to notice a bomb strapped to the deadly crystal. "No! Wait!" Hardshell warned, but the bomb exploded, blowing away the Insecticons and harming the one that tried to grab it. Sickly green crystal shards were embedded into its neck.
Hardshell leaned in for a closer look, then backed away in fear. "Tox-En!" He gasped.
"Wait, you guys are carrying it? I thought that stuff was toxic." Agent Fowler said. "These crystals are. But we needed to out some distance between us and the bugs." Bulkhead said. He, Chromia, Jetfire, and Cyclonus were carrying the poisonous crystals.
"Well, what now?" Agent Fowler asked. "We're gonna get rid of these steaming piles the only way we can. We're gonna lob them into the volcano." Bulkhead said. "What about your insect problem?" Agent Fowler asked.
"This isn't the first time we eluded an enemy patrol, you know." Bulkhead said, then spat Energon onto the ground to lure the enemies away. "Let's do this." Cyclonus said.
The poisoned Insecticon weakly howled. "Lord Megatron, the object we seek, it is Tox-En." Hardshell said. "Exactly how much is in your possession?" Megatron asked. "None, my lord. A few Autobots -" Hardshell started. "Are you not the fiercest Insecticon?" Megatron asked.
"Wait, you're moving away from the volcano?" Agent Fowler asked as he observed the signals move away from the volcano. A few drops of Energon were behind them.
Hardware and the Insecticons flew around. "Below." Hardshell said when he spotted a trail of Energon. Hardshell touched one of the drops and put it in his mouth-plate. "Yes. The Wrecker leaks from his wounds." Hardshell said.
"Find him. His accomplices must be with him as well." Hardshell commanded. The two Insecticons transformed and followed the trail. Hardshell transformed and followed.
Chromia, Cyclonus, and Jetfire had to carry the dangerous Energon crystals in bot mode, while Bulkhead was struggling to carry his crystal in Jeep mode. Since he is a Wrecker, he had more strength than them.
"You left a false trail, huh? I once pulled that trick when I got separated from my unit behind enemy lines." Agent Fowler said. "When were you ever behind enemy lines?" Bulkhead asked.
"I wasn't always a 'Bot-sitter." Agent Fowler said. "Next, you're gonna tell us your mother doesn't tuck you in at night." Cyclonus groaned. "Not since basic training." Agent Fowler said. "Training as what? A rodeo clown?" Bulkhead asked.
"You've been spending way too much time at monster truck rallies with Miko. I was an Army Ranger. We could wreck with the best of them." Agent Fowler said. "Who knew you and I were so much alike." Bulkhead said.
Optimus contacted the monitor. "Rafael, has Agent Fowler regained consciousness?" Optimus asked. "Stand by, guys. I'll be right back." Agent Fowler said. "I'm here, Prime. What's your situation?" Agent Fowler asked. "I require access to a research facility at my current coordinates." Optimus said. "Let me make a call." Agent Fowler said as he grabbed his phone.
The Autobots strained as they tried to carry the Tox-En crystals up a steep slope, but the poisonous crystals were weakening them, and they slid down while dropping the Tox-En crystals. "We... must push on." Cyclonus groaned. "This is a dirty job that only we can do." Bulkhead said as they picked up the toxic crystals. "Come on." Jetfire said. Transforming was useless due to the toxic crystals now.
"This is an emergency: Our satellites have detected dangerous solar flare activity. I need that entire station evacuated immediately. Do you hear me? Get out of there now!" Agent Fowler lied to the workers in Antarctica.
"Base is clear, Prime. Try not to wreck the joint." Agent Fowler said. "Many thanks, Agent Fowler." Optimus said. The monitor returned to Chromia, Bulkhead, Cyclonus, and Jetfire. "Fellas, how are you holding up?" Agent Fowler asked.
"Any word from Miko?" Bulkhead strained. "Don't worry about her. You guys need to focus on your own mission." Agent Fowler said. "Right. We need to rest. Just for a minute." Jetfire groaned.
"I know it's tough, but you guys need to stay the course." Agent Fowler said. Bulkhead fell forward while still gripping his own Tox-En crystal. "Bulk..head!" Chromia almost whispered. Bulkhead stood up, then fell onto a rock. The other Autobots fell from the effects of the Tox-En as well.
"Guys? Guys? Guys?! Guys?! Guys, answe me, you rust buckets." Agent Fowler said. "We're here, ranger." Cyclonus groaned. "Ah, you had me scared, fellas." Agent Fowler said. "W-We... can't do it." Bulkhead groaned.
"I do not want to hear that kind of talk. Especially from the likes of you. We all know you guys made it through worse." Agent Fowler said. Bulkhead started remembering the Scraplets, Starscream sucking his Energon out, his battle against Breakdown in the Arctic, getting blown away by the Ground-Bridge when Starscream raised Skyquake, getting knocked out by Breakdown in Kamchatka Russia, almost getting crushed whole protecting Miko when the Energon mine collapsed, Dreadwing's bomb strapped to his chassis, getting torn apart by Scraplets. "Not worse than this. Not even Scraplets." He groaned.
"Look, soldiers, you four know as well as I do there is a mission and the reason why you take the mission." Agent Fowler said. "Honor, duty." Bulkhead said. "Family. Which is why you guys need to do whatever it takes to finish this job and come home safely." Agent Fowler said.
Bulkhead remembered the times he had with Miko. "You're right, Fowler. We gotta dig deep. For the other 'Bots, for Miko." Bulkhead said as he rose up. The other 3 slowly did so as well. They slowly climbed the mountain.
"There is no logic to his movements. His trail is meant to lead us astray. To find the Wrecker, we must not follow, anticipate." Hardshell snickered as he looked at the volcano.
The Autobots slowly climbed to the mouth of the volcano. The lava was solid enough to walk on, but the center was still molten. There were lava cracks everywhere. "Almost there." Jetfire said.
"That's right, soldiers. Dump those rocks and come on home." Agent Fowler encouraged. His phone started ringing. "Fowler. Miko, what is it? What in the sam Hill? I'm in the middle of a crisis here, and you want me to... uh, put him on the line." Agent Fowler said.
Chromia, Bulkhead, Cyclonus, and Jetfire weakly crossed the smoldering pit. "Wrecker! Autobots!" Hardshell boomed as he landed and transformed. "Put down the rocks and allow us to put you all out of your misery." Hardshell said.
The other two Insecticons surrounded them. "We're not done yet." Cyclonus said. Bulkhead threw a grenade and blew an Insecticon into the rocky wall of the volcano. Hardshell howled and ran at them, only for Cyclonus to thrust his Tox-En crystal into Hardshell's neck. "Fair warning, we're contagious." Chromia said.
Hardshell groaned and fell down. The other Insecticon transformed and flew at them, only for Jetfire to blast it away, and he planted his Tox-En crystal onto the Insecticon. "Hold this." He said, and the Insecticon weakly howled.
"Mr. Vogel, this is Special Agent William Fowler of the United States government. You are hearby deputies as an honorary agent for the Department of, uh, Interstellar Relations." Agent Fowler hung up and contacted the Autobots. "Guys, you still with me?" He asked.
"We're in the scrap, and you put us on hold?" Chromia asked weakly. "Bulkhead, I want you to know Miko's safe. Mission accomplished." Agent Fowler said.
Bulkhead, Chromia, and Cyclonus drop their Tox-En crystals to battle Hardshell. Bulkhead and Hardshell punched each other as the poisoned Insecticon removed Jetfire's Tox-En crystal, and it tumbled into the magma in the center, destroyed.
"Stay down. Contact the warship for a containment unit." Hardshell commanded. Bulkhead punched him again, but Hardshell punched him down. Bulkhead roared in pain as he gripped his helm, and his vision became blurry.
"Bulkhead, guys, do you read me?" Agent Fowler asked as Ratchet entered. "Ratchet, come here!" Raf said happily.
"Guys, please respond!" Agent Fowler said. "The Iacon Database?!" Ratchet gasped. "It's downloading into our mainframe!" Raf said. "Answer me, soldiers!" Agent Fowler ordered. Ratchet laughed. "Rafael, you are a genius." He proclaimed. "Will you keep it down?!" Agent Fowler demanded.
Chromia, Bulkhead, Cyclonus, and Jetfire could barely move. "Your Sparks are mine, Autobots!" Hardshell sneered then howled angrily and pounded his servos into the ground. Bulkhead grabbed Hardshell and threw him next to the last 3 Tox-En crystals, right next to the center.
Bulkhead pushed Hardshell's helm closer to them. "You want a taste of this? Do ya?" Bulkhead asked. Hardshell pushed him up and struggled to stand. Bulkhead readied his mace and hit Hardshell closer to the center. Cyclonus, Bulkhead, and Chromia raised the last Tox-En crystals. "Catch!" Bulkhead yelled.
They threw the crystals at Hardshell, and he roared as he and the Tox-En fell into the lava. The Autobots stood up and approached the center. They watched the last of the Tox-En in existence dissipate into the magma. "Fowler, mission accomplished. But you may have to tuck me in." Bulkhead said.
"Raf, open the bridge, now." Agent Fowler said. The Ground-Bridge opened. Cyclonus, Jetfire, and Chromia entered. They didn't know Bulkhead was lagging behind, nor that Hardshell had survived. The Insecticon climbed up the hot wall, dripping with magma. He howled as he pointed his cannon and shot Bulkhead in his back, sending him flying through the portal, right into base.
Everybody was shocked. No!" Ratchet gasped.