Transformers MHA, Arc 2: Earthrise

by The Omni-Remnant

After a rather intense adventure and the U.A. Sports Festival approaching fast, Izuku and his friends have two important things to do; improve their Quirks in time for the festival… and hide a bunch of giant alien robots. That proves to be easier said than done, especially when enemies on Earth and from beyond the stars end up coming for them…

65. Of Speed and Science, Part 3

A/N: Hey there, everybody, how's it going? Well, with this chapter, we've come to the end of our little 3-part story in space with the Kimia crew. And I've gotta admit, this was a lot shorter than I thought it would be. A blessing in disguise, possibly? Well, there's really only one way to find out, eh? No lengthy preamble this time, let's just go for it! This is…

Chapter 65: Of Speed and Science, Part 3

…..

"AAAAAAAHHH! Run, boys, RUN!"

The halls of the Kimia Space Colony were filled with unbridled carnage as a massive beast came storming through, its gelatinous body leaving the walls covered in goopy, disgusting slime. Anyone who just happened to be walking through, be it Cybertronian or organic species, were left either screaming and running themselves… or were unlucky enough to be absorbed into its body. The insectoid alien that served as the beast's "head" buzzed threateningly as it went after its main targets; Brainstorm and the Protectobots.

And for his part, Groove was asking the most obvious question; "Man, remind me WHY we don't just transform?!"

"No transforming in the halls!" Brainstorm raised a stern finger. "It's already gonna cost me a fortune to get all this slime cleaned up, you have any idea how hard tire marks are to get out?! The labor costs are gonna go through the roof!"

Hot Spot let out a sigh and shook his head. 'Cheapskate.' All the same, he decided to follow up with a question of his own; "Then what DO you expect us to do, sir?! We need a plan!"

"Oh, trust me, I've got a plan!" the Headmaster said confidently. "We've just gotta get to a nice open area where YOU boys can go all out." He set his optics back toward Hot Spot. "And I'm pretty sure you know what I mean."

The Protectobots were all taken aback… though Blades seemed to have an eager smile about him. "You mean…"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, gentlemen." Brainstorm affirmed. "And right now… we need the big boy."

"S-Sir, while your assessment IS accurate, I'm afraid there may not be an area near us where we'd have enough room to do so!" First Aid spoke up. "If we were inside one of the science spheres, then perhaps, but the main ship has very few places where a combiner can stretch its limbs!"

That made Brainstorm ponder a bit more, though the sound of a loud shriek quickly brought him out of his thoughts. "It's closing in!" Streetwise warned. "Any closer and we will surely get absorbed!"

"Grr…" Rook turned his body and aimed his wrist cannons at the bug-slime monster, shooting at its head without any hesitancy. "Gah! I TRIED to take the pacifist route with you, monster! But when you keep threatening us, then all bets are off!" If anything, though, the blasts only made the beast's anger grow, and its pursuit grew even faster. Rook felt instant regret. "…Okay, that probably wasn't the best idea."

"YA THINK?!" Blades snapped, taking off his chopper blades to wield as a pair of swords. "That's it! Every bot for himself!"

"Don't you DARE go off on your own, Blades!" Hot Spot ordered. "We're almost—"

"HEY!" The sound of a certain voice brought their attention back ahead of them… where they saw Glyph and Proxima at the end of the hall, where it split off into an intersection. The two of them were waving them down and shouting; "Here! Get over here, quick!"

The seven bots all eyed one another briefly, wondering what this was all about. "Think they have a plan?" Groove asked.

Brainstorm smiled beneath his faceplate. "Oh, I'm sure they do! C'mon boys, one final stretch!" And so, the Headmaster and the Protectobots gave one last push to make it to the intersection, all while Glyph took out her ice gun and took to the center of the hallway.

Proxima's gaze was full of concern for the smaller femme. "Are you sure you'll be okay, dear?"

"…Hah." After taking a deep breath, Glyph looked back at her superior and winked. "Don't worry, ma'am! I've got this!" A few moments later, Brainstorm and the others successfully ran past her, leaving her to stare down the terrifying beast for the second time today. 'This time's gonna be different, though.' With one flick of the switch, her ice blaster was switched to a different mode. She aimed toward the ground and pulled the tigger, bringing her arm up as she did. "ICE WALL!"

On cue, a massive wall of ice appeared in front of Glyph in less than a second… and a loud *THOOM* was heard on the other side as the Blark-Barg smashed its head straight into it. The tired Autobots couldn't help but stare at the display in astonishment, many of them impressed with it as well. "Well… that was certainly one way to stop it." Streetwise surmised.

"Heh, pretty cool way if ya ask me." Blades joked as he sheathed his swords. "Eh? Eeeehh?"

First Aid deadpanned at his teammate's… attempted witticism. "Bad puns aside, the beast has been incapacitated… for now, at least." He placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "This should give us ample time to come up with a new plan."

Brainstorm approached the medic with an outstretched hand. "D'ya still got that net, First Aid?"

"Well, um… no." First Aid shook his head. "I'm afraid the monster absorbed that one… OH! But I do have a spare one in my lab. And it isn't far from here, either."

Clapping his hands together, Brainstorm pointed at him. "Okay, good!" Craning his head toward the others, the head scientist relayed his orders. "Alright, everybody, listen up! Your new job is to make sure that the Blark-Barg stays HERE while First Aid and I retrieve that net. Blades, I'll need your help, too."

"Gah, man!" Blades threw his hands up. "Why me?! I wanna be part a' the action!"

"Because your alt. mode is the most suited for something like this." Brainstorm explained. "Besides the fact that it won't leave skid marks, you can actually fly above the Blark-Bark and get it trapped in that net. You ARE one of the best fliers on this ship after all."

With his ego successfully pampered, Blades put on a prideful smile, rubbing his knuckles against his chest plate. "Hehe, well, not to toot my own horn, but—"

Brainstorm quickly yanked him by the arm. "Great, you'll do it then! We'll be back soon!"

But even as they went, Blades was still protesting. "H-Hey! I haven't agreed to anything! Wait! WAAAIIT!"

"…So, where does that leave us?" Rook questioned, only for a loud BOOM to resonate from the other side of the ice. The group jumped in fright, but the wall held up… though not without a few small cracks. "A-And is that wall gonna hold?"

"Not forever." Glyph shook her head. "It's ice, after all. But… I may have a plan on how we can make this easier for everyone involved." She gave the group a very stern stare. "I will warn you, though, it's very bold."

Groove stuck his chest out, pounding it with his fist. "Ha! Bold is my middle name! …If I had one. What's the play, Glyph?"

"I need to get on top of that thing." the cryogenics officer reloaded her weapon. "And you all are gonna help me get there."

The four remaining Protectobots gave her a questioning look. "Uh… how?" Hot Spot was answered with Glyph pointing a finger that directed itself straight to the very top of the ice wall, which continued to shake as the Blark-Barg slammed its head into it. "Ah, I see." Just then, the ladder on his back began to unfurl and extend upward, the bucket raising itself higher and higher. "I understand the assignment here."

"Excellent!" Glyph put on a determined smile, nodding to Streetwise, Groove and Rook. "And you three—I need you to run interference."

"I believe that is code for "distraction", correct?" Streetwise guessed.

Groove pursed his lips in frustration. "Gee, what was your first clue, cop bot? Hah, well, c'mon, let's get this over with. If we're gonna die, might as well do it in style."

Glyph rolled her optics and lightly knocked him on the head with her ice gun. "Oh, get over yourself. You'll be fine."

"Agh! Hey, I—WOAH!"

The small Protectobot didn't have time to protest as Rook scooped him up and placed him on his shoulder. "Ah, don't worry about it, lil' buddy. We'll make it through this and then laugh about it at Swerve's Bar later." On that note, he bowed his head to Glyph and offered her Hot Spot's latter. "Ladies first."

"Thank you!" With that, the three Autobots began climbing up, with Groove begrudgingly along for the ride. And once they reached the top, they were met with the sight of the Blark-Barg ramming its "head" against the wall continuously, yet somehow the ice on that side was still holding up surprisingly well. "Alright, you guys ready?"

"Affirmative." Producing a triple-barreled shotgun, Streetwise took aim, while Rook did the same with his wrist cannons. "Awaiting your signal."

It was at that point that Groove felt it necessary to point out; "Uh, guys, don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a SCOUT. And all my weapons are dinky!" He pulled out a small bludgeon that seemed to be made from his exhaust pipe. "So how the heck am I supposed to hurt it with THIS?!"

"Ah, that's the fun part…" Glyph reached down, plucked Groove up by the tire on his back… and move so he was hanging right above its head. "Have fun!"

"W-W-Wait, Glyph, let's talk about this, let's—YAAAAAHH!" But it was too late. Glyph unceremoniously dropped Groove straight down toward the Blark-Barg, the small bot spinning through the air as he tried to get himself stable. Once he did, though, he found that he was actually in optimal striking position… and just like that, his turbo-chargers started revving up. "Heh… Hehehe! Alright then! We're gonna play it like this?! FINE!" He raised his pipe bludgeon over his head, screaming; "SEE YOU IN THE PIT, GLITCH!"

*PING*

…It was less the impact of the pipe and more of Groove's whole body that managed to throw the insect monster for a loop, becoming dazed and confused as he landed between its eyes. Its segmented oculi was completely filled with Groove, who smiled nervously and laughed. "Ah, hehehe… hi."

"SCRYYAAAAAUUUUGGGHH!"

"Now! Let 'em have it!" On Glyph's cue, Rook and Streetwise shot down at the creature, careful not to blast into any of the slime pods full of people. Just as she had hoped, the beast directed its sights up to them, which allowed her to sneak back to perform HER part of the plan. Shooting her weapon against the wall, Glyph created a path of pure ice that she leapt on, the tires in her heels rolling her along as the path went down and around the Blark-Barg. Its attention was still on the Protectobots, though, and that was exactly what she was hoping for.

'Means I'll be able to do… THIS!' Once she was behind it, her aim changed and she instead began to freeze over the slimy "body" of the beast, completely coating it in a layer of ice except for its main body up top. When she was done, she transformed and rolled up to the top, procuring Groove from his precarious spot. "See? Told you I had everything down."

The scout sighed as Glyph entered robot mode and helped him up. "Hah… well, ya coulda gave a bot a little warning, eh?"

"Well, think of that as payback for messing up my experiment from the previous decacycle."

"Y-You're still mad about that?!"

"Not anymore." Her answer made Groove fall flat on his face, much to her amusement. "Hmhm, alright, boys! We're clear here!"

At her word, Streetwise and Rook jumped down and landed on the ice next to them, taking positions on either side of the Blark-Barg as it kept struggling. "You're sure it can't get out?" Rook questioned, keeping his cannons trained on it.

Glyph raised a finger to him. "Actually, we WANT to get it out."

And with that, the Protectobots were understandably MUCH more concerned about where this was going. "Pardon me if this comes off as harsh, Glyph, but… what in Primus' name are you thinking?!" Streetwise exclaimed

"Okay, I know it sounds crazy, but if your net has any hope of working, we NEED to separate the alien from the pods." she explained. "Not only will we be able to free the people easier, but it'll also allow us to incapacitate the threat once and for all."

Putting his hands to his hips, Groove countered her argument. "Nice idea in theory, but I think you're forgetting…" He thrust his arms up to the Blark-Barg's wings, which were still buzzing around at rapid speed. "That thing could just fly off at a moment's notice! There's no way we'd be able to catch—"

*SSSHHHHCCHHKTKTKT*

Without saying a word, Glyph sprayed a light coating of ice over the insect monster's wings, freezing them in place. Then, with her hand balled into a fist, she shattered both wings off of its back, making it shriek in pain. The three Protectobots were left slack-jawed and speechless at the act, though Rook was eventually able to find the words. "…Glyph, has anyone ever told you that you can be a bit… um… merciless?"

"Tap-Out isn't here, Rook." Glyph replied, her optics twitching a little. "I'm relying purely on survival instincts right now."

That answer was satisfactory for Streetwise. "Fair enough. Let us pull the Blark-Barg free then." He and Rook reached down and grabbed either side of the beast, and on the count of three, they pulled at it with all their might. They had to give it a few good tugs, but eventually…

*POP*

The Blark-Barg was yanked out from the top and sent tumbling down the ice-covered slime, landing flat on its belly. Its whole body convulsed erratically, trying to acclimate to the fact that it didn't have wings to fly away on while also trying to warm up. Eventually, it tried to scuttle away quickly… but then a new noise entered the hallway from behind the ice wall.

*WOOM-WOOM-WOOM-WOOM*

Glyph, Rook, Streetwise and Groove craned their heads up to see none other than Blades come flying in overhead in his Cybertronian helicopter alt. mode, with First-Aid hanging off one of his landing skis. And as promised, there was another special net hanging from his underside by a rope as well, the two flying straight over to the Blark-Barg with intent to use it. "Great work, everyone!" First Aid called out. "And excellent timing!"

"Alright, time to wrap this thing up!" Blades announced, hovering directly over the insectoid predator's head. The monster tried scuttling away, but Blades wasn't about to lose it, staying right on its tail. "First Aid, now! Drop it!"

"Understood!" Taking out a medical saw, First Aid sliced clean through the rope and the net dropped, stopping the Blark-Barg in its tracks. It immediately tried to struggle its way out again, but quickly found that wouldn't work as the net began constricting around it, tightening so much that eventually, it couldn't move a single muscle. The only think it could do was buzz helplessly in place while the Autobots celebrated their victory. "Hahaha! Yes!" First Aid cheered. "We've done it!"

"HAHA! Nice!" Blades lowered his teammate to the ground before transforming back to robot-mode himself, giving him a high-five. "Gotta admit, didn't think your idea would work at first, First Aid, but man, did you prove me wrong!"

The medic rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Ah, shucks. I-I was just determined to keep this creature alive, is all."

The others came over and Rook gave him a hearty pat on the back. "Heh, well, ya certainly did, buddy. Nice work!"

"VERY nice work indeed!" Everyone's heads snapped back toward the mountain of ice to see Brainstorm, Proxima and Hot Spot climbing over it, the three jumping down to join them. "Haha, this is amazing!" the Kimia's Headmaster came over to observe the Blark-Barg closer. "A perfect specimen to conduct experiments on. I'll have a special containment unit prepared immediately!" Brainstorm set his sights toward the frozen slime. "…Now we just gotta get all of those people out."

"I'll work on thawing them all out." Hot Spot offered. "Then we'll get them to medical to extract them from their pods…" The Protectobot Leader turned to his team and nodded to all of them. "As for you all, good job, team. I'm… sorry I wasn't much more help aside from being a ladder…"

But Glyph shook her head with a smile. "Oh, don't worry, Hot Spot. You did still contribute, so this was still a team effort!"

"Yeah, boss, don't be so hard on yourself." Groove asserted before leering slightly at Glyph. "Besides, at least YOU weren't being thrown around all over the place by a crazy femme."

The blue mini-bot immediately turned an ireful optic down at him. "I beg your pardon?!"

Thankfully, Proxima got between the two and separated them before a fight could break out. "Alright, that will be ENOUGH. The ship has been saved and the alien has been secured. Let's just be thankful for that, shall we?" Both Groove and Glyph huffed and turned away from each other, keeping their arms crossed over their chests. "Hah… I can only hope that things on Velocitron are going this well."

"Ah, I'm sure they are." Brainstorm assured as he and the Protectobots started hauling the Blark-Barg away. "Apelinq's probably getting that whole thing taken care of as we speak! Now c'mon, drinks at Swerve's Bar are on me!"

…..

"APELINQ! AUGH! I thought you said you had this—ACK—taken care of—OOF!"

The Maximal gasped as Tap-Out was thrown into a wall by one of the combiner's massive clawed hands, which continued to swarm around them en masse. Their plan had been so simple, but in hindsight, none of them could've prepared for how the Junkions would respond. They now had not just the Queen, her two commanders, and their army of clones to deal with… but also a bestial combiner the likes of which none of them had ever seen. The moment Junkasaurus had been formed, it had wasted no time in trampling all over the foundry, intent on crushing any bot in its way.

And all the while, Axlegrease and her two advisers laughed at their misfortune. "HAHAHAHA! That's right, ya lil' scraps! Get ready ta be Junkasaurus' next meal!"

Tap-Out could barely move, his body embedded in the wall by the sheer force of the blow. Thankfully, though, someone was there to help him out. "Not if I have anything to say about it!" Override called out, her engine revving as she closed in on her target. She used an upward slope like a ramp and propelled herself at Junkasaurus' head, transforming into robot mode to deliver a hard kick to it.

"GRAAAAUUUUGHHH!"

As the Junkion combiner staggered away, Override wasted no time pulling Tap-Out free. "You okay there, Autobot?"

"Heh, yeah, thanks." Tap-Out rubbed his head. "Damn monster hit me right in my blind spot."

Override offered a smirk. "Well, why don't we offer it the same courtesy?" Almost immediately, Tap-Out returned the grin, and the Velocitron leader armed herself up by taking off her vehicle mode's rear portion with the spoiler and thrusters. With very minimal concentration, the femme began to glow a brilliant red and the energy around her blasted into the sky, opening a vortex were a certain light inserted itself into the weapon she was holding.

"Override! Cyber Key Power!"

From either side of the piece, a pair of long, white gun barrels swung out, each one tipped with red at the ends. The Junkasaurus was still collecting itself, so she quickly took aim and blasted it near the back of its jaw, blowing off quite a few pieces in the process and making it bellow out in pain. "Haha! Alright!" Override nudged her chin down to Tap-Out. "Now, you go for one of its limbs!"

"On it!" Tap-Out brought his brass knuckles out and dashed straight for its front leg, jumping up and clinging onto what he assumed to be the connection point. And, much to his surprise, the only thing that was actually connecting the leg to the body… were the hands of the Bike Junkitron itself, along with a few loose wires. '…Ya gotta be scrappin' me.' He shook the thought from his mind, resolving to deal with it later. "Eh, this'll just make thing's EASIER!" Punching with all his might, Tap-Out successfully made the hand lose its grip and several wires came undone as a result, sending the Junkasaurus toppling onto its face.

The limb that was broken off was forcefully returned to robot mode and Tap-Out went straight for its face, hammering and pounding it into flattened scrap within seconds. "Hah… hah… well! HAHA! Guess that's at least a little comforting!" He lifted the Junkitron's body up to the Junkion commanders, all of whom seemed unimpressed… or still crazed in Crashbar's case. "This Junkasaurus thing ain't a REAL combiner! It's just a buncha bots holdin' onto one another like a hodge-podge mountain of scrap! If you think this thing can—"

"Crashbar?" Axlegrease spoke up as calmly as she could.

"Hehehe, yes my queen?" the Junkion bike bowed.

"Bring in another of your drones." she ordered. "Looks like Trashmaster's gonna need a LOTTA 'em today."

With another manic laugh, Crashbar obliged. "Heeheehee! Of course! Don't worry, Trashy! Anotha' one's comin' your way!"

As if on cue, another Junkitron came bowling past Tap-Out, transforming and connecting to Junkasaurus' torso. "GRUUUUHH… THANKS…" The combiner—or, that is to say—Trashmaster replied as the monster stood back up.

Out in the main battle, many of the combatants had observed the whole thing go down, and Apelinq was very interested by the development. "So… this Junkasaurus isn't a REAL combiner after all. More of a… Super Mode of sorts for Trashmaster." His optics darted across the beast's body, taking note of all the connection points. "The drones hold on and Trashmaster makes special connection points where he can control their every movement with his own processor. Fascinating."

"Gah! We can find time to be interested later, big guy!" Moonracer advised as she and Blurr joined him, the three of them surrounded by Ransack, Crumplezone and Dirt Boss. "Right now, we're in a pretty tight sitch!"

But Blurr simply shrugged. "Ha! Moon, are you serious right now?" He peeked over his shoulder and sent her a wink. "You do know who you've got by your side here, right?"

Moonracer responded with a deadpan stare. "Yes, and I'm terrified."

"Well don't be!" Blurr widened his stance, prepared to book it. "Because I'm gonna run circles around these fools!"

"HA! Not gonna happen a second time, ya speed-demon wannabe!" Dirt Boss barked. "Boys! Let 'em have it!" On his cue, the three troublemakers all brought out their Cyber Key powers, each activating their own double-barreled blasters of various sizes. "Eat PLASMA!"

"Time to get down an' DIRTY!" Ransack yelled as he shot off as well.

Crumplezone stomped the ground, unleashing the power of his Barrier Bazooka. "Say NIGHT-NIGHT, chumps!"

Moonracer narrowed her optics and was about to meet the challenge head on… but then Apelinq transformed into beast mode and brought out his hoverboard, hoisting her up on it by the arm. "W-Wha—hey!"

"Sorry, but this is an attack worth dodging!" Sure enough, Blurr was of the same mind, dashing away just as Apelinq flew up. The result was all three blasts meeting in the middle and creating a dome-affect after shock, resulting in a huge crater where they once stood. As they flew, though, Ransack and Crumplezone kept their fire concentrated on them, while Dirt Boss was busy trying to catch Blurr. "Wanna teach these two idiots a lesson?"

The teal femme smirked eagerly. "Oh, you know it. Toss me, big guy!" Stepping into his hand, Moonracer allowed Apelinq to huck her straight down at Ransack, the smaller bot's optics widening as she reared her hammer back. "FOUR!"

"W-W-Wait, I—" *CLANK* "AAAAIIIIIEEEE!" Too late. The rocket-powered hammer sent Ransack sailing over the foundry's walls, much to Crumplezone's horror.

"NO! Little buddy!" The green galoot was about to round about on Moonracer for revenge… but was met with Apelinq instead.

The Maximal's eyes were sparking with red energy, teeth and fists clenched tight. "Would you like to join him?"

"…No?"

"Too bad." Bringing his fists together, Apelinq swung his arms and strung Crumplezone straight in the jaw, careening him right after his motorbike compatriot. Belting out a powerful roar, Apelinq beat his chest and started to cut loose, leaping and bounding all across the foundry while wrecking every Junkitron drone in his wake.

…..

~Several Miles Away~

Across the desert sands, a trio of bots were driving their way toward the Foundry where the Junkions had made their hideout. They had just gotten through a successful day of shakedowns and were prepared to report the results. At the head of the pack was a black, while and pink Cybertronian dragster, and flanking her were two very large yet fast trucks with large wheels, nearly identical to one another in all but color scheme. The one on the dragster's left was grey, red and purple while on the right was a white, blue and red one. "We're almost there, boys!" the dragster shouted in a rough yet feminine voice. "I'm sure the Queen will be VERY pleased with our results today."

The white truck let out a despondent sigh in a rather posh voice. "Crasher, prey tell, how much longer do we have to put up with this nonsense?"

"Yeah, I mean, I get that you're tryin' to make her happy so she won't slag us an' all." the grey truck continued in a much gruffer voice. "But this is gettin' ridiculous."

It was then that the dragster spun into a stop and transformed, becoming a rather rough and tumble femme. And while her face was pink, her yellow optics guaranteed that the two came to a full halt in fear. "Okay then, Heatseeker, why don't YOU come up with a plan to overthrow these chumps?" Crasher directed her sights to the other truck. "Or maybe YOU'VE got something Skidmark? I'm open to options!"

Clearly sensing her hostility, the duo transformed, revealing their robot-modes to be just as near-identical as their alt. modes; huge tire shoulders, truck bed becomes the legs, front end into the chest and door wings on the back. The only real differences were some details in their helmets, but other than that, completely identical. "O-Okay, let's be civil, shall we?" Skidmark beseeched. "There's no reason for such unnecessary quarrels."

"What my bro said." Heatseeker stood with his brother in solidarity. "Besides, it could always be worse. We COULD be Dirt Boss and got stuck with… uh… what's that?"

"Huh?" Crasher's audio receptors suddenly started picking up loud yelling… coming from the sky. She craned her neck up, but almost instantly regretted it. Because nothing could've prepared her for what happened next—

*THOOOOM*

The stillness of the dessert night was undone by loads of shouting and sand getting kicked up everywhere, the trio finding themselves buried by… their own comrades. "Augh! OH! Oh Primus, they're everywhere!" Ransack started compulsively itching himself as sand poured through his joints… without realizing that he was on top of Crasher. "Get 'em off, get 'em off!"

"Grr… HEY!" Crasher picked him up and punted him down the nearest hill, leaving to helplessly roll away. "Get your grimy gaskets offa me, ya worthless gear-grinder!"

Across the way, both Heatseeker and Skidmark were at the mercy of Crumplezone's rear end as he crushed them under his heavy chassis. "Ach, good sir!" Skidmark cried indignantly. "What is the meaning of this! Remove your posterior from our backs AT ONCE!"

Peering down, Crumplezone's optics widened and he quickly did as he was told. "W-Woah! Sorry there, guys! Didn't mean to squish ya!"

"Hah… Crumplezone, where in blazes did you come from?" Heatseeker asked as he and his brother stood up. "Ya aren't meant to fly, bolts-for-brains!"

Crumplezone put a hand to his neck sheepishly. "Er, yeah… 'bout that… we maybe under attack at the Foundry." That earned a doubletake from the trio, especially Crasher. "I-It's true! A buncha bots, includin' Override, are over there right now fightin' the Junkions! A-Apparently, they got help from a visitin' group a' Autobots to find our location."

That gave Crasher pause. "…Autobots, eh?"

"W-Well, what should we do?" Skidmark inquired. "Shall we go assist in the battle?"

"Bah! You kiddin', brother?" Heatseeker waved off. "I say let the bots scrap those walkin' junk piles. As far as I'm concerned, they're doin' the job WE wanna do FOR us."

Hearing the two sides of the argument, Crasher ultimately made her own choice for the tie breaker. "You know what? …I'm actually with you on that one, Heatseeker." The grey bot's optics widened in surprise as Crasher made her way up the next dune, where she could see the foundry just off in the distance. "That "Queen's" gonna learn that when you mess with a Velocitronian, you'd better be ready to put pedal to the metal and commit."

Skidmark cleared his throat. "A-Ahem, a very sound argument, Crasher, but… w-what about all of our monetary gains?"

Crasher smiled as she placed her hands on her hips. "Well, we'll just take what's left from 'em when they're tired out, of course. Might not be as much as what the Queen was supposedly promising us, but it's still gotta be a TON." Her sights focused back on the foundry, where she could see the flames growing higher than usual. "All we gotta do is ambush the place while everyone's still in recovery mode, kick 'em out and then take the place for ourselves! AHAHA!" The group began joining in on her nefarious laugh… all without noticing something shooting across the night sky and toward the foundry itself.

…..

Back at the battle, Blurr was running circles around Dirt Boss, the latter's temper growing more and more by the second. No matter where or how fast he fired, the purple bot couldn't hope to hit the blue speedster. "Hehehe, well DB, guess your thugs weren't all they were cracked up to be, eh?" Blurr quipped as he went in for a kick.

Dirt Boss tried to dodge, but of course, Blurr was too fast to avoid as well. "Gah! Th-Those two lug nuts were useless anyways! I'm better off on my own—AUGH!" A swift punch to the back sent him sprawling onto his chest, causing him to let out a rageful bellow at his enemy. "GRAUGH! Would you just STAY THE FRAG STILL?!"

"You know as well as I do that's just not possible, my friend." Kicking it into high gear again, Blurr began running around Dirt Boss in a tight circle, so fast that the wind started to pick up around him. "Now let's see how ya like THIS move!"

Before long, the collected wind formed a small yet incredibly strong tornado that sent Dirt Boss flying into the air, much to his shock. "W-What?! What is this?!"

"This is your all-expense-paid trip outta here!" Putting just a bit more speed into it, Blurr managed to propel the screaming Dirt Boss out over the foundry walls. Not as far as either Ransack or Crumplezone, but enough so that he wouldn't be a bother for a while. Blurr came to a stop and rested his hands on his knees, intaking air after the exhausting feat. "Hah… hah… later, DB!"

Toward the middle of the battle, on the other hand, Knock Out, Breakneck, Wildbrake and Clocker found themselves surrounded by a bunch of Junkitron drones, all of which were armed and quite dangerous. Of course, they had their own weapons, but they also found themselves vastly outnumbered, so none of them knew exactly what their chances were. Knock Out and Breakneck specifically weren't sure if the old man and the child would be able to hold their own. "Kid, old timer, you all stay back." Breakneck advised, taking out his hammer.

Knock Out stepped up and brought out his drill and circular saw as well. "Yes, leave this to the two of us. Find a safe place to—"

"Oh-ho, no way, junior." Wildbrake refuted, taking out his weapon again. "I ain't 'bout to be no pushover! CYBER KEY POWER!" The bright yellow blade unfolded from the engine piece and he swiped it at an incoming Junkitron, cleaving it in two. "This old bot's still got some fight left in 'im! Clocker, look alive!"

"Yes sir!" The orange and blue bot took out what appeared to be the entire rear part of his alt. mode spoiler, which of course meant it had its own secret to hide. "Cyber Key Power!" Just like his mentor, the shard of light inserted into the back of his weapon and the two wing parts flipped up, allowing a pair of dual blasters to come flipping forward. Clocker took aim and shot straight through a line of Junkitrons, blasting them into bits. "Take THAT, ya heaps of scrap!"

Both Knock Out and Breakneck were… admittedly impressed with the display. "Hmph, wish I could do that…" the medic grumbled, but quickly focused back on the battle when another Junkitron tried to jump him from behind. "GAH!" Swinging his tools about, he effortlessly vivisected several of the drones at once, while Breakneck smashed them well and good with his mighty hammer. "Hah… try and get the jump on US will you?"

"Not gonna happen." the larger bot shook his head, raising his hammer for another strike… but then… *CHR-KLINK* "AH! What the—" Breakneck's optics widened when he saw that a large, rusty hook had latched itself around his hammer arm, effectively holding him back.

"Ah-ah, can't have ya doin' that, mate." Scraphook chided, approaching the duo from behind. "After all, the fun's just gettin' started!" The Junkion general took out a large shotgun weapon and went to blast Breakneck in the back… only for the blast to bounce harmlessly off of his heavy-armored plating. "…Oh."

"Yeah, "oh" is right." Yanking his arm back, Breakneck pulled Scraphook into his clutches, holding him up by the throat. "Did you seriously think that any ol' normal weapon could hurt ME, aftshaft? GRAH!" With a powerful swing, Breakneck tossed Scraphook back across the foundry, just in time for Crashbar to see.

If anything, though, the Junkion just kept laughing in his insane, kooky way. "Hehe… hehehe… HEHEHEHE! Well, that looks like FUN don't it? Maybe it's time I take a crack at this!" Crashbar unholstered a cobbled-together grenade launcher from his hip and loaded it up, the weapon rattling around as he pulled the stock back. "Hahahaa! BOMBS AWAY!"

After he fired off five shots, the group of Velocitronians quickly took notice, and Knock Out wasted no time giving the order; "AGH! Everybody, MOVE!" Not needing to be told twice, the group scattered and the floor was bombarded with explosives, fire and smoke billowing up from where they once stood.

"Ah! I love the smell of brimstone in the mornin'!" Crashbar beamed.

"It's evening, you dunce!" Clocker fired back, though the Junkion's explosive expert was quick to roll out of the way.

"Hahaha! Ah, what's the point, you're all 'bout to be scrapped anyways, so ya won't be able to tell night an' day anymore anyways!" Reaching onto his back, Crashbar pulled off a MASSIVE tire, one lined with long, red spikes and had a pull-string motor built into it. With a delightful giggle, Crashbar slammed it onto the ground, set a foot on it to keep it stable, and then went to pull the string. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

*VVRRRRMMM*

And just like that, the tire went off like a shot, with Crashbar plugging his audio receptors in anticipation. Thankfully, though, everyone had the same response when it came to whatever this was, and that was to get the FRAG out of its way. Knock Out, Breakneck, Clocker and Wildbrake all booked it at a moment's notice, the tire bounding across the foundry and instead making its way toward Apelinq instead. "HEY! Maximal!" Knock Out shouted. "Watch yourself!"

"H-Huh—WOAH!" Apelinq reacted accordingly, ducking his head just as the tire was about to hit him… but then it came rolling back around as if it had a vendetta against him. "Gah! What is this thing's deal?!"

"I dunno…" Moonracer said with an eager glint in her optic. "But I wanna HIT it!"

Blurr swiftly ran over and stopped her from doing so. "I would highly advise against that, Moon. Would rather NOT get blown up today!"

"That thing's gonna blow up at some point!" Breakneck exclaimed. "Is there anyway we can stop it?!"

Seeing the carnage happening from her hiding place, Botanica analyzed the wheel's path and speed. The trajectory was expectedly erratic, but at the same time… it seemed to be following whatever bot was in its way. 'So, it is a heat-seeking explosive… I believe I can do something about that.' Using her powers, she crafted four hard-light turrets and placed them in the archway she was hiding under, ready to enact her plan. All she needed was the bait… and the perfect bot just happened to land right next to her. "Tap-Out!"

The green mini-bot's head was practically spinning after getting flung by Junkasaurus, but nevertheless, his attention snapped back to his teammate when he heard his name. "H-Huh? Botanica, what's up?"

"I require you to lead THAT thing over here." Botanica pointed toward the wheel, which was bounding after Knock Out at the moment.

Tap-Out grimaced at the idea, but spared the botanist a glance. "I'm assumin' you've got a plan?"

"Of course."

"Hah, well, hope it works." Tap-Out transformed and drove straight over to Knock Out, shouting; "Hey, doc! I'll take that tire off your hands!"

"HAH-HAH-HAH! PLEASE DO!" Knock Out panted, ducking his head so the explosive would follow the Autobot instead. "Anything to save my paintjob!"

As frustrating as that reason may have been, Tap-Out just swallowed his comments and swerved back over toward Botanica's trap, driving through the archway while the femme programmed her turrets to all take aim at the tire. Then, once it was in rage, they all unleashed powerful energy beams that whittled down the tire bit by bit… until it was nothing but a wheel with nothing to give it traction. The engine sputtered out and it fell over, allowing Botanica to disable the explosive without difficulty. "Hm, and that takes care of that. Thank you, Tap-Out."

The Autobot brawler sent her a salute. "No prob! Anything to rain on those Junkion's parade."

Crashbar, however, could tell that something was wrong. "W-Where's the kaboom?! There was s'posed to be a bot-scrapping KABOOM—AUGH!" From behind, Breakneck came in and hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out.

"Ugh, what a pain in the aft." he grumbled.

The whole team, minus Override who was still fighting Axlegrease, regrouped with one another after that, still fighting their way through dozens of Junkitrons all the while. "Are we even CLOSE to finishing these guys off?!" Moonracer shouted.

"Well…" Blurr pointed up to Junkasaurus, who had fully recovered and was stomping its way over to them. "I think that speaks for itself."

"GAH!" Without any warning, Override suddenly came hurdling straight over Junkasaurus and crashed down in front of them, taking them all aback. "AUGH!"

The blue speedster then added meekly; "…Also that."

Neither Knock Out or Breakneck hesitated to run toward their leader, the former immediately tending to her injured state. "O-Override! Hold on, stay with us!"

But Override seemed more agitated than relieved, yanking her arm away before Knock Out could do any fixing on it. "Ugh, I'm fine, boys…" Her expression hardened as she whirled back around, glaring at Axlegrease as she sauntered under Junkasaurus toward them. "It's HER who'll need to be fixed up once I'm done."

"HA! Big talk, sheila!" Axlegrease balked, twirling her hook weapon around as Junkasaurus lumbered forward slowly. "You lot might a' did a number on my men, but take a gander!" She thrust her hook out toward the battered heaps of scrap… where the active Junkitrons were putting themselves back together with the parts of deactivated ones. "Hahaha, ya see?! Completely modular henchmen! Guarantees I'll always have some, even if there's less of 'em! Scraphook! Crashbar!"

"Present, my Queen!" Scraphook announced… while carrying his unconscious teammate. "Crashbar, though… not so much."

The Junkion Queen irritably grimaced. "Ugh, why am I not surprised? Ah well, we don't need 'em to finish THESE sods off!" Thrusting her hook forward, Axlegrease gave the order; "Junkasaurus, SQUASH 'EM! Once an' for all!"

"GRUUUUHH… MUST… SQUASH!" Junkasaurus went to raise a leg to the team… but was cut off when a new sound entered the area.

*WOOOOO-WOO-WOOOO*

…A train whistle. Something that Junkasaurus didn't know until it literally HIT him in the face from the sky. *CRASH*"GRAAAUUUGHHH!"The group of bots watched as the pseudo-combiner was sent toppling over, all while the three Cybertronian bullet trains kept chugging along… on a track made of hard-light through the air. Needless to say, it was an astonishing sight for Velocitronians and Junkions alike, but for the Autobots, their celebratory moods could not be contained.

"HAHAHA! YES!" Tap-Out pumped a fist. "Team Bullet Train!"

Botanica clapped her hands together in relief. "Hah, they made it! They actually made it!"

"And just in time!" Apelinq voiced as well, just as the three large Autobots came rolling into the foundry on their track.

"Alright, team!" Railspike announced. "End of the line! Transform!" At the front, the leader of Team Bullet Train entered robot mode, then Rapid Run, then Midnight Express, the trio towering over nearly everyone else. Those just seeing them for the first time were instantly left gobsmacked by their sheer size, being able to look Junkasaurus in the eye while it was on all fours. Railspike nodded down to the group and apologized; "Sorry we're late! Maintainin' the hard-light track in outer space took a lotta concentration!"

Midnight Express took up his rifle and aimed it at the Junkions. "But we're here now! And we're ready to put these ruffians in their place!"

Kneeling in front of Override, Rapid Run offered his assistance. "You good there, ma'am? Any vitals damaged?"

"N-No, I'm fine, but thank you." Overrride stood up and gave a nod of her own to the team. "Sincerely, thank you. I think we might've been overwhelmed eventually."

Railspike gave her a thumbs up. "No trouble at all, ma'am. Just doin' what we do best. An' speakin' of which…" He eyed the Junkasaurus as it rose to its full height, actually taking to its hind legs as another bike Junkitron came in to add some stability… in the form of a massive tail. "Somethin' tells me it's time we get to doin' that. Whaddya say, boys?"

"Oh, I've been itchin' for this for the past millennia, bro." Rapid Run agreed. "Let's do this!"

"Indeed. Time to take out the trash." Midnight Express put his weapon away. "Or, in this case, the junk."

Axlegrease clenched her metal teeth in ire at their remarks. "Oh—OH! So we've got ourselves a trio of BIG SHOTS 'ere, eh? Ya think you can actually take down Junkasaurus?!" The beast roared behind her, accepting the challenge. "Well then, BRING IT ON! Let's see what ya got!"

Narrowing their optics, the three brothers concentrated on their unity and commonality, returning to a familiar feeling that they hadn't accessed in a long time. "Very well. You asked for it." Rail Spike retaliated. "Let's GO!"

"TRIPLE FUSION MODE!"

What happened next had to be seen to be believed. Midnight Express' head tucked into his body as his lower torso compressed into his chest, his waist plate flipping up as his entire BODY was now just an entire waist and legs. His arms tucked into the large panels on his shoulders, which would now serve as long hip guards.

Rapid Run came next, his head folding into his vehicle mode cockpit before the entire thing rotated up, allowing his waist to rotate around and then fold into where his torso once was. His legs folded down, acting as a set of heavy back panels, while the front of his train mode rotated a complete 180 degrees and shifted out, the tip of the train then hinging downward to form the robot's midsection.

Finally, Railspike's head shifted into his body and the canopy on his chest raised up over where the head once was… revealing a completely NEW head that was MUCH larger. It had a blue, streamlined helm with the clear green canopy serving as a visor, its red optics shining through. Railspike's huge shoulders came together, forming the front end of the train… which would also serve as the combined mode's chest. Then finally, his legs shifted forward and a pair of hands popped out of his feet, becoming a pair of powerful arms instead.

All three segments stacked one on top of the other and before everyone's optics, a HUGE Combiner robot was formed, its voice booming as it proclaimed its name;

"TRIPLE POWER! RAIL RACER!"

*THOOM* Rail Racer's landed shook the very foundation of the foundry, and if no one was completely astounded before… they certainly were now. "Um, I'm sorry, WHAT?!" Blurr shouted.

"And might I add; THE FRAG?!" Moonracer agreed.

Tap-Out raised a hand up to the three-piece Combiner. "Femmes and gentlebots, allow me to introduce you to… Rail Racer! One of the most dependable Combiners you could ask for! Say hi, big guy!"

Rail Racer raised two fingers down to the Velocitronians and greeted them with; "'Sup?"

Clocker was practically shaking with excitement. "A Combiner? An ACTUAL Combiner?! I-I've never seen one before!"

"Take it in, lad, it's quite the site to behold for the first time." Wildbrake nodded.

Back with the Junkions, though, they were… much less thrilled to say the least. "Oh… oooh no." Axlegrease's bravado seemed to have been taken out of her in one fell swoop. And for a very good reason. 'SLAG! I didn't think those three'd be a COMBINER! Trashmaster's powerful, but he ain't got no chance against—'

"GRAAAUUUUGHH!" Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything before her bestial teammate charged forward, raising his claw at the gestalt. "JUNKASAURUS SMASH DUMB TRAINS! JUNKASAURUS DESTROY EVERYTHING!"

"Gah! Trashmaster, you dumbaft!" Axlegrease admonished. "Don't just go chargin' in!"

But even with her warning, Junkasaurus was dead-set on scrapping Rail Racer, bringing down its mighty claws to their shoulders. …Even so, Rail Racer wasn't about to go down that easily. They raised their own arms up and caught the monster's massive hands, pushing back as hard as they could. "So, that's how you want this to go, eh? Fine then!" Pulling themselves back, Rail Racer used Junkasaurus' weight against him and sent him hurdling over their head, kicking their legs up into the pseudo-combiner's stomach area so that he'd get thrown onto his back.

Junkasaurus roared and struggled to get back to a vertical base, only able to do so with one strong lurch of his legs. "GRAAHHGG! NOW I'M MAD!"

"And we've seen well enough." Rail Racer reached behind their back and pulled out a rather large blaster that was made up of Railspike and Midnight Express' weapons put together, taking aim at Junkasaurus' shoulders as he once more charged at them. "Sit down!" *POW* With a single blast, Rail Racer shot straight through Junkasaurus' shoulder and severed the arm completely, making Junkasaurus recoil. *POW* *POW* Two more shots rang out and like before, more of Junkasaurus' limbs fell. Now left without both arms and only one leg, the pseudo-combiner was unable to hold his balance and ultimately crashed into the floor in a heap of parts.

Neither Axlegrease or Scraphook could believe how fast that was. Sure, they had expected the REAL Combiner to be fairly powerful, but not THAT much! "Trashmaster!" Axlegrease ran into the pile of scrapped Junkitron drones and started digging for her subordinate, though thankfully it didn't take long until she uncovered him. He sat up from there, rubbing the back of his head in pain. "Gah, what the bloody pit were ya thinkin', mate?!"

"…Sorry." Trashmaster apologized. "I thought I could take him."

"Well, obviously not." Scraphook said, lugging Crashbar over as well… before all four of the Junkions were confronted by Rail Racer looming over them. "…Uh oh."

The Combiner, who was now flanked by the Autobots and Velocitronians, placed their hands on their hips as they glowered down at the Junkion miscreants. "We suggest you all surrender yourselves." Rail Racer narrowed their optics. "Effective immediately."

Axlegrease balked at the idea. "HA! Or else what? Junkasaurus or no, we still outnumber you lot!" She snapped her fingers and, proving her point, all of the Junkitron drones assembled at her side, with Trashmaster standing up as well. "We can keep goin' 'til the wheels fall off if we wanted!"

Override stepped in to add her two shanix. "Yeah, well, that won't be the case for long." She raised her hand up to the side of her head. "See, I called up the authorities way before we even infiltrated this place. This whole battle? It was just a distraction to keep you scrapheads preoccupied and give them time to get here…" Right as she mentioned that, the sound of sirens could be heard out in the distance, which took the Junkions aback. "Ah, and speak of the Fallen, there they are."

"GAH! Dammit all!" Scraphook snapped before looking to his Queen for answers. "Whadda we do now, Axlegrease?!"

As much as she didn't want to concede defeat, even Axlegrease had to admit that there were very few ways out of this situation. …But there was ONE way. "Hah… well, at least we tried." She reached down to her hip and pulled out a remote, putting every Autobot and Velocitronian on guard. "But guess this planet just wasn't meant to be. Never comin' back 'ere again. Time to bust this joint!" She clicked the button in the center of the remote and… nothing seemed to happen. That is, not at first.

Eventually, the very ground beneath the foundry began to rumble and shake, and before long… something began to emerge just outside of the facility. From the red sand, a huge spacecraft started unearthing itself, having buried itself thanks to its strange spiral-drill shape. It was mostly silver with a golden tip, and easily towered over the foundry and even Rail Racer. Once it stopped and was fully above ground, the bots couldn't help but stare at it dumbfoundedly. "…Uh, was anyone else expecting that?" Knock Out questioned.

"No, not really." Apelinq said… before noticing the rear exit of the foundry was now fully open and the Junkions were making a break for it. "H-HEY! They're trying to get away!"

"They will not!" Rail Racer activated the jet boosters on their back, propelling themselves forward thanks to the wheels on their feet. They practically plowed through several Junkitrons, reducing many to nothing but bits and pieces as they closed in on the four main Junkions.

Following him was Blurr, the speedster going straight for Axlegrease and her top cronies as well. "You guys aren't getting away that easily!"

"Blurr! Wait!" Override shouted. "Don't get in the way!"

Unfortunately, that's ultimately what happened. Seeing Blurr getting in their path, Rail Racer gasped and pumped the breaks on their jets… a bit too abruptly. They ended up tripping over their own feet as a result and toppled onto their chest, and while they did crush more Junkitrons, the Queen, her cohorts, and a handful of drones were able to escape through the foundry's rear exit. Blurr was still in hot pursuit, though, and he managed to zip out in front of them to block their way to their rocket ship. "You guys aren't going anywhe—ACH!"

The speedster was left clammed up when Trashmaster used his huge claw weapon to latch onto his head and yank him out of their way, sending him tumbling across the desert. "Shut it, kid. You're just in the way."

"But thanks for helpin' us escape, though!" Scraphook cackled, throwing Crashbar's unconscious body onto the ship as his comrades all hustled aboard.

"Yeah, kid, we owe ya one!" Axlegrease saluted him before the doors closed. "You're a real pal! HAHAHA!"

Blurr barely had time to stand back up before the rocket took off, spinning up into the heavens like some demented drill. "NO! Damn it! BLURR!" …And judging by Override's reaction, he could tell that she wasn't happy with him. He trepidatiously turned around and immediately saw her stomping her way toward him, where she reached out and grabbed him by the collar. "WHAT THE FRAG WAS THAT?!"

"I-I-I was just trying to—"

"To what? HELP? The Combiner had it handled! We would've had those Junkers in custody by now!" Override gave him a firm push back onto his aft as she glared down at him. "But no, you had to play hero again and mess everything up! Do you have ANY idea how bad this is?!"

"B-But didn't you hear her? She said she'd never come back again to Velocitron!"

At this point, Breakneck and Knock Out came over as well, the duo looking down at him in disappointment. "Maybe, but that won't stop them from trying the same thing on OTHER planets, kid." Breakneck furthered. "Maybe if you didn't think Velocitron was at the very center of the universe—or rather, YOUR universe—you'd realize that."

Knock Out glanced over to Override, an idea entering his mind. "Perhaps it's time for Blurr to learn that, don't you think?" This earned a confused gaze from the Velocitron leader until he whispered his plan to her, which made the femme intrigued.

"Oh… that would be interesting." Override turned around and went over toward the Apelinq and the other Autobots. "Give me a moment. I'll be right back."

Blurr could do nothing but watch in worry and confusion, all while Moonracer and Clocker joined him. "I… I-I just wanted to help."

Moonracer wore a sympathetic face as she reached out to touch his shoulder. "I get it, Blurr, really, but… there's times when help isn't really necessary." Her sights traveled over to Override and the Autobots, who were caught up in conversation. "…What do you think they're talking about?"

Pulling his knees up to his chest, Blurr buried his face in his legs. "Probably my punishment. Maybe I'll have to clean the gunk outta their ship's engines by hand."

"Eugh, I hope not." Clocker voiced. "I wouldn't wish that even on my worst enemy."

It wasn't long, however, until the group of bots came back over to them, with Override placing her hands on her hips while giving Blurr a stern gaze. "Alright, after discussing it with the bots here, we've come to a decision. Blurr, as punishment for your obstruction of justice, you are to serve as a member of the Kimia's crew." The announcement immediately earned widened optics and open mouths from the younger bots. "It will serve as an educational experience for you. By the time you return to Velocitron, you will hopefully learn how be able to work with others instead of going it solo and flying off the handle like you did just now."

"W-WHAT?!" Blurr shot up to his feet in disbelief. "Y-You're BANISHING me from Velocitron?!"

Override shook her head. "Not entirely. You can come and go with no problem. But as a bit of incentive…" The leader turned her back toward him. "…Consider yourself banned from partaking in any races until you improve as an individual. Become a team player by learning from the Autobots, and then you'll be allowed back in."

If anything, that only sounded worse to Blurr. "W-WHAT?! That's a bunch of SLAG!" He stomped a foot down in protest. "You can't just take that right away from me!"

"I can. I'm the leader of this planet, remember?"

Tap-Out ran over to his friend, gently holding him back. "N-Now c'mon bud, it's not all that bad—HEY!"

"IT IS THAT BAD!" Blurr snapped, yanking his arm away. "I'm banned from racing, Tap-Out! And I have to join you guys on a dumb spaceship that probably has no room TOO race! This punishment is worse than being imprisoned!"

"Kid, listen up." To Blurr's astonishment, it was Wildbrake who came forward, offering a consoling smile. "I know that this punishment seems harsh, but if I'm gonna be quite frank… you need this." He craned his head toward Clocker and Moonracer. "In fact, I'd say a lot of you young bots might need this. You kids have experienced almost nothin' BUT Velocitron since you were created. Maybe it's time for the younger generation to go out an' experience what the universe has to offer."

Both Clocker and Moonracer seemed excited… while Knock Out and Breakneck were visibly concerned. "D-Does that mean…" Clocker started.

"We could go WITH Blurr?!" Moonracer exclaimed.

However, Override pumped the breaks on that. "Woah, woah, hold on there…" She focused on the old bot first. "Wildbrake, I understand where you're coming from, but I assigned Clocker to you for a reason, remember? He's still far too young to be going anywhere outside of Velocitron."

Clocker slumped forward in disappointment, but Wildbrake gave a relenting shrug. "Eh, fair point… but I still think it'd be good for at least Moonracer to accompany Blurr. Some positive reinforcement for the lad could do him wonders, and a close friend would be the perfect way to do that."

"Ahem! Don't WE get a say in this?!" Knock Out demanded. "We are Moonracer's guardians, after all! We should get the right to say whether or not we'd want her to venture out into such dangerous unknowns!"

The response from Moonracer was… understandably predictable. "Oh, COME ON!" She balled her fists at her sides and shouted at Knock Out indignantly, taking him aback. "Knock Out, I know you're worried about me, but I'm a grown-aft femme! I am more than capable of handling myself, and you know it!"

"M-Moony, I just—"

"I am not a youngling anymore. I can do this!"

Before Knock Out could say any more, Breakneck put a hand on his shoulder, speaking his peace. "Endura… I know that this isn't what you want to hear, but… I agree with her. Our dear Moonracer has outgrown our nest." He sent her a supportive smile, which Moonracer returned in full. "And now, it's time we allow her to fly."

As much as his partner's words frustrated Knock Out… he knew himself that those words rang true. "Oh… gah, you're right. I'm just being a stubborn ol' tailpipe at this point. Moonracer… you may go."

The young femme immediately gasped and let out a joyous shriek, rushing forward to give her guardians a hug. "AAAAAAHH! Thank you! Thank you both so much!"

"Er-um, y-yes, of course!" Knock Out steadily reciprocated the embrace along with Breakneck, careful not to scratch his paint. "J-Just… be sure to come back alive, promise?"

"Promise!"

As he watched the little celebration, Blurr let out a sigh to himself. 'Well… I guess it won't be ALL bad. At least I'll have a friend with me.' His sights then traveled back to Override, who was back to talking with the Autobots. 'Still… you want proof that I can be a team player, Override? Fine then, I'll do it. I'll show ALL of you that I can do it.'

Extending her hand to Botanica, Override shared a handshake with the scientist in gratitude. "Thank you again for taking him on such short notice. I hope you and your crew can straighten him out."

"Oh, think nothing of it." Botanica waved off. "And do not worry, we have very proactive ways of maintaining discipline onboard the ship. Blurr will learn much on board, I am certain."

"I hope so. Now, let's set you guys up with the parts that you need, huh?" The Velocitronian leader was about to lead the Autobots into the foundry to retrieve the parts… when her commlink suddenly went off. "Hello? Override here."

"Ah, commander, glad I could get in touch with ya."

The mech's voice from the other end was one Override recognized well. "Officer Clampdown. Always good to hear from you. I take it you have something to report?"

"Yep. While those Junkion punks managed to get away, we WERE able to apprehend six suspects just a few clicks away from your location. We've got Crasher, Skidmark, Heatseeker, Ransack, Crumplezone and Dirt Boss all in custody."

Clampdown's news served to put a smile on the leader's face. "Excellent work, officer. I'll leave them in your hands. …Oh, but one more thing."

"Name it."

"Have Road Rocket and Laser Cycle meet me here in the morning…" Override shifted her optics over to Blurr and Moonracer, who were talking with Apelinq, Tap-Out, Botanica and Team Bullet Train about their upcoming excursion into the great unknown. "…I might have a new assignment for them."

…..

~Meanwhile, on the Kimia~

The positive energy within the establishment known simply as "Swerve's Bar" was infectious as the crew of the Kimia celebrated their victory. No longer would the ship be terrorized by the insectoid, pod-making monster, and soon, they'd be back on their way across the galaxy toward Earth. At the very center table, the Protectobots, Proxima, Glyph and Brainstorm himself sat with drinks hoisted into the air. "A toast!" the Headmaster announced. "To our successful plan, our pursuit of science, and our continued voyage across the cosmos!" His words earned a cheer from the entire bar before he turned to the bartender at the counter, a shout and stout bot in red and white armor plating. "Swerve! One round of drinks for everyone in here, on me!"

"Haha, comin' right up there, chief!" Swerve saluted, though he also leaned over the counter and ushered him over. "Oh, but uh, before that, I've got some news for ya."

Intrigued, Brainstorm went over with drink in hand. "Oh? What is it?"

Reaching under the bar, Swerve pulled out a rather hefty communicator and handed it to him. "Apelinq's patched into the ship's commlink. He says he's got an important call for ya."

"Ah, excellent! Thank you." Brainstorm picked the comm up with one hand, still keeping hold of his drink. "Apelinq, my star pupil! Tell me some good news, because I've got some for you…" After a second or two of chatter, the Headmaster nodded. "Uh-huh, you've got the parts! That's great, SPECTACUTLAR even. And on our end, we've got that Blark-Barg locked up tight! That glitch ain't goin' anywhere, hehe. Get back to the ship pronto and join the celebrations!" He took a sip of his energon… right when Apelinq told something ELSE to him.

It was news so shocking that it immediately caused Brainstorm's optics to bug out and he spit out his drink, doing a doubletake. "W-Wait, WHAT?!" His outburst brought the entire bar's attention to him. "You're bringing two—no, wait, FOUR more bots to the Kimia?! On who's terms?! Override's?! W-Well, I demand an override! Do you have any idea how many mouths we already have on this ship?! And I JUST took Soylent Green off the menu for cryin' out loud!"

"…Oh dear." Proxima facepalmed. "If it's not one thing, it's another…"

"The rest of this journey is going to be quite the interesting one." Glyph deadpanned.

…..

A/N: *insert Wah-Wah-Wah sound effect here*

And thus we come to the end of this 3-Part event. I hope you all enjoyed it, because I certainly did. Really felt like it was necessary to take a small excursion away from the main plotline for a bit and focus on what these guys were doing. Plus I wanted to establish more of their characterization here instead of waiting until they showed up on Earth, so again, I hope you guys liked what you saw of them!

But uh… yeah, not really much I can say for this chapter since a lot of it was mostly conflict between respective parties. Though I WILL point out that I intentionally only had ONE Combiner Team actually form their combined mode here. I've been eager to get to use Rail Racer, so I prioritized him being the one to do so, but don't worry, the Protectobots WILL get their time in the limelight. And besides, they don't NEED to combine in order to show their worth, as seen in how they helped Glyph pretty effectively take down the Blark-Barg.

Oh, and yeah, we got a few more Velocitronians here, namely Crasher, Heatseeker and Skidmark (the latter two being Stunticons from RID2015). We also heard Clampdown as well as a brief mention of Road Rocket and Laser Cycle… the latter two of whom will probably be seen later on if you picked up on what Brainstorm said at the end. I've got some ideas for them, if you couldn't tell.

But of course, how could I forget… SWERVE! Yep, the Kimia is the home of Swerve's Bar in this universe, and as such, prepare to see a fair bit of shenanigans. No idea who he should be voiced by, though, so I'm gonna have to think on that.

And yes, the Junkions escape to fight another day. Could we see them pop up on Earth? Quite possibly. Though if they show up, they'd definitely wanna make sure it's not at the same time as the Kimia crew… if they can manage that. But, with all that said…

And now, the Preview! We're back on Earth and internships are officially over. The gang are sad to say goodbye to their mentors, but also eager to get back to school and show off what they've learned. However, for a certain duo, one massive, intimidating event looms over the horizon; dinner with the parents. Will Izuku and Kyoka be able to survive this… or will fate have other, more sinister plans? Next Time; Bittersweet Goodbyes. Thanks for reading, everybody and I'll catch you all next time! Stay safe out there, and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!