In the Metroplex Jack and Raf were busy erasing a photo of Bumblebee on the conspiracy website. "Just remove Bumblebee, and replace him with…" Raf said as he switched out the Bumblebee photo for a short video of a tap-dancing monkey.
"The tap-dancing monkey strikes again." Jack remarked before he and Raf did a high-five.
Windblade stood next to Bumblebee with a teasing smile, "Bumblebee, the scout who managed to snag information right under Megatron's Chassis, but gets caught on human camera," She commented with a brow.
Bumblebee gave a sheepish look. "I don't know why I'm the only one the media kept seeing." He said while rubbing his head.
"Bumblebee's sightings on the worldwide web are no laughing matter." Ratchet scolded while working at the main console.
On the other side of the base, Miko was teaching some yoga to Bulkhead as a way to help the dark-green Wrecker recover better.
"Seven, eight, nine…" Miko said as the two of them did leg exercises.
"Why can't I just drive from now on?" Bulkhead asked in complaint.
"Because your legs will atrophy if you choose not to use them." Ratchet replied.
"Ugh." Bulkhead groaned.
"One, two, three…" Miko counted as the two get back to exercise.
"Give it time, Bulk." Ironhide assured as he walked in with Elita, Prowl, and Hot Rod. "You took a major dose of that Tox-En, and that blast from Hardshell really did a number on you."
"You should be grateful you are still online," Elita said to him. "And making progress."
"Yeah, well right now I feel like just a walking pile of scrap," Bulkhead complained.
"A walking pile of scrap that can still punch a Con's head off." Hot Rod added with a smirk as Bulkhead groaned. "What? It was a compliment."
Just then, Jazz spotted something on Raf's computer. "Wait, that's that?" He asked as the two zoomed in on a picture of a meteor, but after getting close rage, it revealed to be a Cybertronian pod.
"A Cybertronian escape pod?" Raf asked in surprise, which got the other Bots' attention.
"Here in Earth's Atmosphere?" Ratchet asked in surprise.
"Rafael, can you put that on the monitor? Prowl asked the little boy.
"Already on it." Raf nodded as he put the image on the monitor.
"Autobot or Decepticon?" Acree asked.
"Impossible to tell given the image resolution." Ratchet said as the image was too blurry to tell which fraction it belongs to.
"In any event, this merits investigation." Optimus said to them seriously.
"Could be a trap, and we're down one Bot." Arcee said.
"You think we should reach out to Wheeljack or Grim?" Hot Rod suggested.
"I can hear you!" Bulkhead called out with an annoyance.
"I don't care if Bulkhead isn't combat ready. After that revenge stunt he pulled with Miko and Grimlock, Wheeljack can stay rouge." Ratchet objected.
"And I think Grimlock still needs time to get himself together." Elita stated. "After his incident with the Beast Rage, he needs more time before he's ready for the field."
"An Autobot may be in distress. Ratchet, bring your medical kit." Optimus instructed, preparing for the mission. "Ironhide, monitor the Groundbridge controls."
In a wooded area, Optimus, Elita, Bee, Arcee, Windblade, Prowl, Hot Rod, and Ratchet exited the Ground Bridge with their weapons ready as they saw a trail of energon and the escape pod at the crashed sight as they walked towards it cautiously as Acree wipe the smug off and saw a Decepticon symbol on it.
"It is of Decepticon origin." Optimus said seriously.
"And the con inside blew his way out." Acree added with a serious look.
"Who would be strong enough to even blow a hole from a Decepticon escape pod?" Hot Rod questioned before laser shots were fired as the Autobots turned and saw a battalion of Decepticons and Insecticons firing at them as they returned fire and backed away as they manage to hit a couple down.
"You just had to say it, didn't you, Hot Rod?" Windblade questioned as she block some shots with her sword.
"It was supposed to be just a metaphor!" Hot Rod called as they took cover.
"All those cons came out of one small pod?" Prowl questioned with a brow at the amount of Decepticons that are here.
"The humans refer to the phenomenon as a 'clown car'." Ratchet said as he ready his sword.
"No, escape pods can only hold up to three or four Cybetronians at a time," Elita stated. "These Decepticons are likely here to investigate the pod, like us."
"And we happened to be caught in the middle." Acree finished as an Insecticon fired at them before transforming into bot form and charged at Optimus, who blocked its attack and slashed his blade to it before blasting it back and blasting another Insecticon away.
Another Insecticon rammed into Ratchet, pinning him against a boulder and transforming. Before the Insecticon could strike Ratchet, Arcee sliced off its extra appendages with her wrist blades and the bug-like Cybertronian grabbed her in retaliation. Hot Rod jumped in and kicked the Insecticon back as it left go of Acree as she landed on her feet while Elita, Prowl, Windblade, and Bumblebee came up beside them and blasted the Insecticon down while still facing the Decepticon battalion.
Then suddenly, "Coming through!" The Autobots turned and saw a sleek red hover car driving straight for them before it transformed into a young red Cybertronian with four spikes on his arms and a helm styled like a red hair style. "Whoo-hoo! Finally, something to stretch my legs!" He cheered with an exciting smile as he swiftly avoided the laser shots.
"Sideswipe, get back!" A female voice yelled as a Cybertronian hover police car drove by and knocked down some more Vehicons as she transformed into a young blue and white female Cybertronian police officer. "Protocol states that we should engage the enemy together!" She said with a firm look as she held up her blaster and fired at the Decepticons.
"Psh, come on teacher's pet, this is what we've been waiting for!" Sideswipe told the femme before more laser fire came in from behind them, "About time you showed up, Smokey." He added with a grin as coming out from the trees was a white male Cybetronian with blue and red details.
"Down in front!" the white Cybertronian told them as he ran past the new duo and charged ahead into battle, jumping on one Vehicon and started shooting at some more cons.
"Smokescreen, Regulation 3-41 states that squad leaders must inform their teammates on the course of action." The female cybertronian told him.
"I don't think the Cons care, Strongarm!" Smokescreen pointed out as he kept firing at the Decepticons.
"Friendlies?" Acree asked as she and the other Autobots looked in surprise by this new comers.
"Wait, I think I know that bot." Hot Rod said as he squinted his eyes at Smokescreen.
An Insecticon landed and was about to tackle Smokescreen, but he backflipped away as he fired at the Insecticon, but his shots hit the energon trail, which lid up and made it's way to the pod, which made their eyes widened.
"Oh Scrud," Sideswipe said in panic.
"Fall back!" Optimus ordered as the Autobots and three new ones rushed up behind the boulders just as the pod exploded, taking out the Decepticons in the explosion as the smoke lit up as some blue flames were around the field as Smokescreen, Strongarm, and Sideswipe looked around while the two Mechs smiled.
"Whoo! Too hot for ya, cons?!" Smokescreen cheered with a smile.
"Now that's what I call a blaze of glory!" Sideswipe quipped.
"Property damage? Not regulation." Strongarm said with a frown and her arms crossed.
"Friends of yours?" Ratchet asked the other Autobots.
"Not at all." Bumblebee answered.
"Never seen them before." Arcee added.
"Me neither." Windblade admitted.
Hot Rod however, raised a brow before he gave a surprise look. "Wait a minute…" He muttered.
Prowl shared the same expression as his optics widened. "It can't be." He muttered as Smokescreen, Strongarm, and Sideswipe went towards them.
"Torching that energon leak. Pretty good plan, right?" Smokescreen asked with a proud look.
"That wasn't a plan, it was a stray shot." Strongarm said with a look. "That nearly fried us all to melted scrap."
"Ah, don't be just a killjoy, Arms." Sideswipe said with a smirk. "It worked out in dealing with the cons, didn't it?"
"Thank you, fellow Autobots." Optimus spoke up, which surprised the three new bots as they turned and saw him walking towards them. "Your… valors are to be commended." He complimented as the three bots looked at him in awed.
"Whoa!" Sideswipe said in awed.
"Sweet Solus Prime." Strongarm muttered with her eyes widened.
"I… I don't believe it! You're Optimus Prime!" Strongarm said with a smile as he turned to the others. "He's Optimus Prime!"
"We know." Acree dully said.
"Yes, yes, yes." Ratchet naturally said.
"Already been established." Prowl said.
"Sure has." Windblade said with a brow.
"We've already met." Bumblebee added.
"And wait… that's Elita One!" Strongarm added as he saw Elita. "The Elita One! Optimus Prime's Second in Command!"
"I see you heard of us." Elita said with a smile. "What are your names, soldiers?" She asked as the three new Bots then gave salutes.
"Smokescreen, sir,!" Smokescreen said.
"Strongarm, Ma'am!" Strongarm added.
"Uh… Um… Sideswipe, Ma'am?" Sideswipe said a bit with a sheepish look.
"Wait, Smokescreen?" Hot Rod asked with a smile, which made Smokescreen turn to him as his optics widened.
"Hot Rod!" Smokescreen declared with a smile, "What are you doing on this rock?"
"Hehe, you will be surprised how many bots there are on this planet, Smokescreen. And it's like a bot magnet." Hot Rod said as he stepped forward as he and Smokescreen shared a bro handshake. "Glad to see you're still online, buddy."
"And nice to see my favorite thrill seeker is still kicking." Smokescreen said with a smile while the other Autobots looked on in surprise.
"Wait, Hot Rod, you know these bots?" Windblade asked in surprise.
"Only one of them." Hot Rod said as he gestured to Smokescreen. "Everyone, say hi to Smokescreen. We used to hang out together back on Cybertron and race each other before the war. And I'm glad you're here on Earth, with two other Bots."
"It's an honor to be here, especially with Optimus Prime and Elita One, and my old buddy." Smokescreens said with a smile.
Strongarm then turned to Prowl, and gasped, "Officer Prowl!" She realized before rushing up to him and saluting, "Good to see you, sir."
Prowl looked at her before he gave a small laugh. "Cadet Strongarm. You little rookie, still following protocols?" He asked in amusement as Strongarm lowered her arm.
"Yes sir," Strongarm answered, "After all an, Officer who doesn't follow the rules,"
"Can never lead the law," Prowl finished.
"That is correct, sir." Strongarm nodded.
"Prowl, you know her?" Elita asked with a brow.
Prowl chuckled as he placed a hand on Strongarm. "This is Strongarm. She was a rookie cadet in the enforcement law back on Cybertron. She can never go anywhere without her law book." He joked while Strongarm gave a sheepish chuckle while rubbing her arm.
"Pfft, everyone getting to know each other except me." Sideswipe muttered with his arms crossed.
"That because you used to be a street kid, punk." Strongarm said with a look.
"Oh, yeah, well, at least my street smarts helped slip past those cons," Sideswipe shot back with a smirk.
"If you even follow my plans on strategic attacks-" Strongarm tried to say.
"We would've lost our energon a bit quicker, teacher's pet." Sideswipe retorted, which made Strongarm growled as she went up to him and they started hitting each other with their hands.
The Autobots looked on weirdly at this as Smokescreen gave a groan. "Sorry, but they don't see optic to optic most of the time." Smokescreen apologized.
"We can see that." Acree said with a brow.
"Okay, okay, you two. Break it up." Prowl said as he rushed up and separated the two young bots.
"Now what?" Ratchet asked as they turned to Elita and Optimus. "It's not like we can just bring them back to base or Metroplex." He pointed out.
"What? Why?" Hot Rod questioned as he turned to them.
"Wouldn't be the first time an ally turned out to be a plant." Acree said, remembering the time when Makeshift replaced Wheeljack so he could infiltrate their base and discover their location.
Optimus eyed the three bots while Strongarm and Sideswipe turned away from each other with their arms crossed before he turned to Smokescreen, and saw an Autobot symbol with wings on the side on his shoulder, as he recognized it.
"I see that you've received your training from Cybertron's Elite Guard, Smokescreen." Optimus noted.
"True enough. Though it wasn't much more than a boot camp by the time I joined." Smokescreen admitted. "Never even got a proper graduation ceremony."
"There was a war going on." Acree reminded him.
"Hey, all I ever wanted was to be a soldier, serve the Autobot cause. But what I got was security detail at Iacon." Smokescreen said in complaint. "At least I had Strongarm and Sideswipe to keep me company at the time."
"Yeah, it was kinda boring." Sideswipe complained with a shrug.
"The Iacon Hall of records was just as important as going out to the front lines, you two." Strongarm reminded them with a look.
"The hall of records, of all places? Optimus, Elita, do either of you not find this highly suspicious?" Ratchet questioned protestingly.
"That does not prove anything, Ratchet," Elita said with a look. "We mustn't judge the past for any bot."
"Smokescreen, Strongarm, Sideswipe, what were your assignments inside the hall?" Optimus asked the three bots.
"Guarding Alpha Trion in what turned out to be the final days of the war," Smokescreen answered.
"You three served under the Master Archivist?" Elita questioned, surprised to hear the name of her and Optimus's old tutor.
"Yeah, wasn't all that thrilled at first. Watching the back of an old Bot instead of kicking Con tailpipe." Sideswipe said while punching his hands together, until he noticed everyone giving him a lot of looks. "Sorry. But the big A turned out to be a great teacher, and a true friend." He said with a bit more respect for the older bot.
"He was the one who petitioned Halogen and the high council to make you a Prime, Optimus sir." Strongarm finished, which was enough for Optimus to make his decision.
"Ironhide, activate the Ground Bridge to Metroplex." Optimus said through the commlink.
"That's it?" Acree questioned Optimus in surprise. "That's all you need to hear before inviting them to the party?"
"If Alpha Trion shared this information with these three, it's because he considered them trusted allies," Elita told them, "And in these times, every blaster we can get is precious, they come with us."
Soon all the Autobots met in the Groundbridger hanger, along with the kids, to meet the three new bots. Miko herself was especially excited, "Sweet! New bots! What's your stories!? Where'd you three come from?! How'd you get here?! How many blasters you three are packing?!" She asked excitedly as she met up with Raf and Jack as the three new Autobots looked at them in curious.
"So these are the lifeforms we're supposed to protect?" Sideswipe questioned with a brow as Strongarm got curious and leaned close to them.
"I believe they are, what they call, humans." Strongarm said as she raised a finger and gently poke Raf, who chuckled.
"H-Hey! Cut it out." Raf said with a chuckle.
"Are they all like this?" Smokescreen asked the other Autobots after seeing how excited Miko was.
"No, mostly just Miko," Moonracer said with a slight smile.
"But, I too share Miko's' fascination with how you came to arrive on Earth." Ratchet said.
"In a Decepticon escape pod." Arcee added, still a bit suspicious.
"Don't mind her, Arcee's always been a bit of a Skept-bot," Windblade told them with a small grin at Arcee, who gave her an annoyed look.
"We can see that." Smokescreen said as he turned to the others. "The main thrust of combat operations was at least twenty clicks from the Hall of Records, so things have been pretty quiet. But the situation went downhill fast." He said he remembered the day vividly.
"The Cons launched a massive surge that wiped out the last line of defenses surrounding Iacon. Strongarm, Smokescreen ,and I were the only things left to hold them back, and let me tell you, we were pumped. I mean, this was our chance to see real action for the first time, to prove ourselves!" Sideswipe said before slumping, "Until everything went black after the front door exploded right in front of us."
"The Decepticons took us prisoner and dumped us onto a transport ship." Strongarm continued "But we managed to slip past the guards and jumped into an escape pod. Apparently, it was a long-distance pod, and it knocked us into stasis."
"Next thing we knew, we're hitting solid ground. Hard." Smokescreen finished.
"The Nemesis must have picked up the pod's beacon and guided it to Earth." Ratchet theorized.
"Which would explains Smokescreens, Strongarm, and Sideswipe's welcoming committee," Crosshairs added as Acree gave a chuckle.
"Heh, bet those Cons were disappointed not to find one of their own inside." Arcee quipped.
"Smokescreen, Strongarm, Sideswipe, do any of you know Alpha Trion fate? After the fall of Iacon?" Optimus asked hopefully about his old mentor.
The three rookies gave regretful looks, "I'm sorry sir, while we were making our escape we overheard the guard mention that Alpha Trion was decommissioned on sight," Strongarm told him sadly.
"And that was the last we saw of him." Smokescreen added with his head down.
"They even said that he went down like a true bot." Sideswipe finished as Optimus and Elita looked at each other with sad expressions as Elita placed a servo on Optimus's shoulder to comfort him.
That's it, our life story." Smokescreen spoke up. "Not exactly the glory I envisioned for myself…until now. Being here with Optimus Prime? I knew I was destined for great things."
"Still chasing that dream, Smokescreen?" Hot Rod asked with a small smile.
"You know it," Smokescreen said, "Plus, with all of us together, how hard will it be to end this war?" He asked before they heard groaning sounds as they turned and saw Bulkhead coming in while limping with Fixit beside him.
"Take a good look, noobies." Bulkhead grumbled with a look as he limped towards them. "This is how hard."
"Oooh, you must've been in an intense fight," Sideswipe commented with a cringed look.
"Smokescreen, Sideswipe, Strongarm…" Optimus spoke up as the three turned to him. "I would suggest you take some time to become acclimated to your new surroundings. A tour of the Autobot base and Metroplex is an excellent start."
"Sure thing!" Miko cheered before she heard a groan as she turned to Bulkhead before she changed her mind. "I mean, the Autobots here in Metroplex offer a very informative tour, especially Jack for the Autobot base."
"I got Metroplex covered." Grimlock said as he walked into them. "I'll show these new bots around. And Jack, you cover the Autobot Base, right?"
"Y-Yeah, sure." Jack said with a surprised smile as the three young Bots shared curious looks.
At the same time, inside the Harbinger, Starscream was checking the same information source that the children saw recently.
"This is what the natives call the Information SuperHighway? It's just a trillion gigabytes of data, none of it useful." Starscreangroaned as he continued passing images, until he stopped on the one of the dancing monkey. "Though, some, oddly engrossing." He commented with a chuckle.
Starscream kept moving through the net before he got a beep on a construction area. "What is this?" He questioned before he saw something that looked like Energon, but it was red as he smirked and gave a chuckle. "Ignorance lifeforms have no idea what they've uncovered; Red Energon." He said with a smirk as he placed a claw on the screen and held the Apex Armor. "If I could possess its power, not only will I be stronger, but also faster. Significantly faster." He said with an evil smirk.
On the Metroplex, Grimlock was showing Smokescreen, Sideswipe, and Strongarm around. "Here, the Autobots have been using Metroplex as a base after the big guy's energon levels are low after he made sure the Autobots managed to blast off from Cybertron." Grimlock said with a smile. "While he's not punching, he's definitely homey."
"The Metroplex, we are inside one of the Cybertronians Titans that aided the Autobots in the great war." Strongarm said in awed.
"You said it, Strongarm." Smokescreen said with a smile. "Seriously, I only heard and read about them, but to actually be inside a titan, it's amazing."
"But shouldn't he be helping us fight the cons?" Sideswipe questioned. "I mean, he's a titan for Primus sake."
"Like I said, the big guy doesn't have much energon in him." Grimlock said with a shrug. "Lost too much in the war. Right now, he's taking a powernap to keep his spark from going poof."
"Well, that's a bummer." Sideswipe said with his arms crossed before Strongarm elbowed him, which he grunted as he gave a shrug.
"Have some respect, Sideswipe." Strongarm said firmly to him.
"Anyway the Bots not only use it as a base, but also to keep some relics from getting into the Cons' hands." Grimlock added with a shrug.
"Relics?" Smokescreen questioned.
"Some of them are here, others are in the Autobot base." Grimlock answered. "It's mostly a race before the Decepticons get either one."
"What kind of relics?" Sideswipe asked.
"Well, I don't know much, but one of them was Tox-En." Grimlock said with a shudder, which made the three bots backed away a bit. "That's how Bulk got weak. That, and an Insecticon blasted him."
"Is there any Tox-En left around?" Strongarm asked cautiously.
"Nope. It's all gone. Dropped into a volcano." Grimlock assured as the three sighed in relief. "Well, next stop, Autobase." He said with a smile.
A bit later, after Ground Bridging to the Autobot Base, Jack was giving the three bots a tour with the relics they retrieved. "Phase Shifter, Immobilizer, Shield Generator. This is where we store the Cybertronian relics we found buried on Earth. The most dangerous and powerful ones are on Metroplex for extra precautions. The Enigma of Combination, Spark Extractor, you name it." Jack explained as Smokescreen looked to one of the vaults. "And talk about a small universe because most of them came from-"
"The Iacon Hall of Records." Smokescreen finished as ehe saw the Phase Shifter inside a vault. "I remember these." He said as they continued forward.
Sideswipe looked into one vault, as inside it was Aircanid's stasis pod, "Whoa, what kinda relic is she?" Sideswipe question in slight surprise.
"The kind you don't wanna mess with." Jack said as he continued the tour while the three Bots looked at Airachind in disturbed.
Back in the base's main room, Bulkhead wasn't very happy about Smokescreen, Strongarm, and Sideswipe becoming part of the Autobot as the others tried to ease him up.
"If you wanted to replace me, you should've called Wheeljack. I could've lived with that." Bulkhead said, crossing his arms in frustration.
"Ease up with grumpy jealous bot routine, Bulk," Jazz told him, "The kids aren't your replacement." he assured.
"For one thing, they're too green." Acree stated.
"Well, Bulk as green as they get." Miko said to them, gesturing to Bulkhead's color.
"What Arcee means is Smokescreen, Sideswipe, and Strongarm still has a great deal to learn." Ratchet explained.
"And once you get them trained, then what, Huh? They're in, I'm a doorstop!" Bulkhead stated angrily.
"Bulkhead, your place with us is not in jeopardy. But there is no dispute that we have long required additional firepower. It is essential that our team learns to work with our new recruits, not against them." Optimus told him.
"So stop acting like sparkling who lost his ball bearing and start acting like a seasoned wrecker, or the only mission you'll be doing is scrubbing the barracks of Metroplex from top to bottom by hand with a rag," Elita said firmly as Bulkhead flinched and leaned backwards intimidated while the femme leaned up to his face, "Understood solider?" She questioned.
"Y-Yes ma'am." Bulkhead muttered before he gave a frown. "But let's hope the hot shot's blasters are as big as his mouth. How hard can it be?" He muttered about Smokescreen's words earlier.
"Hey everyone, check this out." Raf said as he brought out an image on the monitor.
"Ugh, don't tell me it's another Bumblebee sight." Ratchet said annoyingly, only to become surprised once he saw the image. "Oh my…"
As it turns out, the image they were looking at was the same one that Starscream found earlier with the Red Energon being their main interest.
"Is that what I think it is?" Jazz asked.
"Red Energon." Optimus identified.
"Here, on Earth?" Windblade asked in disbelief.
"Huh, what are the odds?" Hot Rod commented.
"What's Red Energon?" Raf asked.
"An extremely rare and volatile form of Energon. Refined into fuel, it provides the power of hyper-speed." Ratchet explained.
"We must have Agent Fowler clear the dig site of all human presence, in the event we are not the only ones who have discovered it's location." Optimus added.
"Now you're talking." Smokescreen replied as he, Sideswipe, Strongarm and Jack returned. "Let's scramble up some Cons' circuits."
"Yeah, I like to beat some cons!" Sideswipe said with a smirk.
"Given your limited field experience, I believe further training is required before you are both battle ready." Optimus told them.
"What?" Sideswipe asked.
"But sir, with all due respect…" Strongarm began to protest.
"Furthermore, we Autobots live on this planet as robots in disguise. You three will need to obtain an Earth-based vehicle mode." Optimus instructed to them.
"In order to maintain a low profile, if that's possible for any of you." Arcee finished with a suspicious look before Hot Rod elbowed her. "Hey!"
"Drop the doubt act, Acree. We're past that." Hot Rod said with a look, "How do you know if someone's got the right stuff if you don't give 'em a chance."
"The kid's got a point." Prowl said to them. "And I know Strongarm. She'll prove herself in the field. But only if she gets a vehicle for this planet. Because Cybertronian vehicles are not Earth-Based."
"Understood, sir." Strongarm said with a salute.
"If you're talking wheels, bring 'em on." Smokescreen said eagerly.
"As long it's got speed and style, I'm down." Sideswipe said with a shrug.
"Looks like it is possible," Hot Rod said gloatingly to Arcee, who crossed her arms as she turned away with a huff.
At the dig site, a Ground Bridge appeared in the middle of it and Starscream emerged from it.
"The Red Energon is mine, humans! For you are powerless in the face of the mighty Star-" However, Starscream trailed off when he noticed the workers and Red Energon were nowhere in sight. "What? Where is it?!"
Somewhere else, Jack, Smokescreen, Sideswipe, and Strongarm were hiding behind boulders next to a highway as some cars passed by. "Nope." Smokescreen said with a shake of his head.
"How about that one?" Jack asked as he gestured to a truck.
"Nah, more Ratchet's speed. Don't you think?" Sideswipe asked with a shrug.
"That looks good," Jack said, pointing to a cement mixer.
"Yeah, if we were Constructicons," Strongarm retorted. "We need vehicles that fit our modes."
"And this the best your planet has to offer?" Smokscreen asked with a brow.
"No. But this is Jasper." Jack said boredly as the four kept watching.
"We feel for ya, buddy." Sideswipe said tiredly as they kept watching for the perfect vehicle mode.
At nighttime in a boarding dock, a Ground Bridge appeared and Optimus, Elita Arcee, Bumblebee, Crosshairs and Jazz drove out of it before they transformed with their blasters out.
"I don't see the Red Energon." Crosshairs admitted while looking around.
"Up there." Bumblebee said, pointing upwards.
The other Bots followed gaze and saw a large crate hanging from a crane, with a bright red glow emitting from inside.
"Fowler couldn't have a crane operator lower the thing?" Arcee asked rhetorically.
"The humans must have been preparing to transfer the meteor to a cargo ship when they received his evacuation order." Optimus deduced.
"Run along home, Autobots." Starscream's voice spoke as the Autobots looked forward and saw him standing in front of them. "That Red Energon has my name all over it." He said as he put on the Apex Armor and armored up with a smirk as the Autobots glared as they stood ready. "And I am more than willing to fight for it." He added as he took a stance with a smirk.
"The Apex Armor," Elita said seriously.
"Oh scrap. Of all things, it has to be that thing with Screamy." Crosshairs muttered as he ready his pistols.
"Secure the Red Energon and have Ratchet bridge it back to base." Optimus informed the Autobots as they rushed up, but Elita remained with Optimus. "You should go with them, Elita."
"I left you alone with Starscream and that armor once," Elita reminded him with a firm look as she ready her blaster. "I won't let that happen again."
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Starscream taunted with a smirk. "Well, then, prepare to die together." He said as he charged at the two leaders, which Optimus put on his battle mask as he and Elita fired at him, but he was unfazed as they tried to throw a couple of punches, but Starscream grabbed them and tossed them hard to a wall. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten our last encounter, Prime?" He taunted with a smirk.
The others are climbing the crane while seeing that Optimus and Elita are at a disadvantage. "Scrap, that armor's too tough!" Crosshairs griped.
"Keep moving, guys." Acree said as they continued climbing before Starscream saw them and walked towards them.
"Optimus, is something wrong?" Ratchet asked as he and the others were listening from the base.
"Starscream and has come for the Red Energon. And I fear he will not be deterred in his quest." Optimus said.
Jack, Sideswipe, Strongarm, and Smokescreen then arrived at the base and they overheard the sit.
"Great news! We got our wheels!" Sideswipe announced.
"No time, kid." Ironhide said to them. "Starscream came in and is fighting the others now."
"Starscream?!" Smokescreen asked in surprise before he gave a serious look. "We heard stories about that stiletto headed creep back on Cybertron." He added with a glare. "Send us in."
"Yeah, we'll teach that con who's boss!" Sideswipe said as he slammed his fist together.
"Wait, this isn't some average con we're dealing with, it's Starscream." Strongarm said to them. "Even if he's not as dangerous, the three of us aren't experienced enough to even fight him."
"She is correct." Ratchet nodded. "And when Optimus requires backup, he will ask for it."
"Aw, come on, we got our V-Mode and everything!" Sideswipe complained.
"Yeah, we're suited up and ready to roll!" Smokescreen added.
"Dat dat dat! What part of further training did you not understand?" Ratchet questioned rhetorically. "At least one of you gets it." He said as he turned away back to the console.
"But I'm not sure what help the rest of us will be," Windblade spoke up, "Starscream is wearing the Apex Armor, anything we throw at it, it can take."
"So are we supposed to fight against something that is immune to anything it's touched by?" Jetfire questioned as Smokescreen heard what he said and started thinking.
Back with the team, Starscream was now climbing after them, following them. "The higher you climb, the harder you fall." Starscream taunted as the team managed to reach the top as Crosshairs and Bumblebee stayed behind and fired at Starscream while Jazz and Acree rushed to the Red Energon as Starscream gave another laugh as the shots bounced off him. "Autobots, such slow learners." He taunted.
Back at the base, Ratchet was trying to contact Optimus for the mission's progress. "Optimus, what is your status?" Ratchet asked.
"Ratchet, they need me. I can do this!" Bulkhead told him, desperate to get into the action.
"No way, Bulk." Windblade said to him. "You're still recovering."
"Elita? Acree? Bumblebee? Jazz? Crosshairs?" Ratchet asked, trying to get anyone online.
"Scrap! Comms are down!" Firestar realized.
"Oh man, what do we do?!" Grimlock panicked.
"Perhaps this may be their opportunity after all-" Ratchet tried to say, but only saw Sideswipe and Strongarm there, but Smokescreen was gone.
"Uh, where's Smokescreen?" Prowl questioned.
"Wait, where's Hot Rod?" Jack asked next as they noticed Hot Rod wasn't with them as well.
Hot Rod opened up one of the vaults and took out the relic holding it; the Phase Shifter, "Just what we need," He said, walking out with Smokescreen waiting for him. "You sure this will work?"
"Trust me, Hot Rod. It will." Smokescreen said with a serious look.
"You two there!" Ratchet called out as the two bots turn and saw him walking towards them. "What in the name of the Allspark do you think you two are doing?" He questioned as Hot Rod and Smokescreen gave serious looks.
Back at the battle, the Autobots are still climbing up the crane while Bumblebee and Crosshairs keep blasting at Starscream. "Fall, Screamy! Fall!" Crosshairs exclaimed before Starscream swatted them away as they held onto the crane's supports.
"No, You fall." Starscream taunted with a smirk as he walked past the two and walked up to Jazz and Acree, who tried to reach the Red Energon as Starscream towered over them. "Time to unload some more dead weight." He quipped as he reached out to the two Autobots.
But the two Autobots looked up, which Starscream followed as they saw Elita and Optimus climbing up the crane while the moon was behind them before the two leaders jumped from the crane with their fists raised and double-punched Starscream, making him lose his balance and fall before he grabbed the crate, which broke open.
Starscream grunted as he reached for the Red Energon, but so far, only grabbed a chunk out before he fell. "No!" He cried out before he screamed and crashed into the shipping crates.
"Invincible, but not good for speed." Elita muttered as she and Optimus grabbed the rope and started pulling the Red Energon up, but then the crane shook as they looked down and saw Starscream shaking the crane.
"Watch your step, Autobots!" Starscream taunted with a chuckle as he lifted up the leg of the crane and began to tilt it, but then a Ground Bridge opened up behind him. "Huh?"
Coming out of the Ground Bridge was a white, blue and red Indy 500 McLaren MP4-12C race car with a 38 symbol coming out. "Apparently, no one defined low profile for him." Acree said, already figuring out who that bot is.
Smokescreen transformed into his robot form. Starscream put down the crane as he addressed their new foe. "So, the Autobots have a new recruit." Starscream said.
"And you must be Starscream. I thought you'd be taller." Smokescreen replied as Starscream growled.
"This will not end well." Jazz muttered.
"Smokescreen, stand down!" Optimus called out. "You are no match for Starscream's Apex Armor!"
Any last words, Smokescreen and Luke?" Starscream asked.
"Just four: kiss your armor goodbye." Smokescreen answered as the phase shifter activated, now on his wrist.
Smokescreen charged against Starscream, jumped and kicked Starscream. But this time, the effect was different: Smokey passed through the armor and kicked Starscream out of it.
"A phase shifter?" Starscream asked in disbelief.
"Now that was a plan!" Smokey said triumphantly as the armor collapsed.
"Heh, not bad for a Rookie," Crosshairs commented.
Starscream got alarmed at seeing that now he will get hurt. But also saw the piece of red energon next to him, so he stood up. "You aren't the only one sporting a fancy wrist mounted device." Starscream said as he aimed one of his missiles at the crane. "Think fast!"
And he fired the missile that impacted on the crane, which hit the rest of the Red Energon, causing a huge explosion. "No." Smokescreen said as he covered himself from the rubble.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Starscream grabbed the red Energon and left. But when the smoke cleared, they could see the Autobots without damage on top of the rubble.
Smokescreen looked relieved before he walked up to the Apex Armor to pick it up.
Back at base, the Autobots regrouped as they gathered around Hot Rod and Smokescreen. "Wait, Hot Rod, so you let Smokescreen use the Phase Shifter?" Windblade asked in surprise.
"Yeah. And it was mostly Smokescreen's idea to borrow it so he can use it on Starscream and kick him out of the Apex Armor." Hot Rod said while gesturing to his friend. "He just needed me to get it since I knew the code to unlock the vault."
"And Doc here thought I was trying to steal it." Smokescreen said as Ratchet snatched the Phase Shifter from him.
"Only until you explain your plan, which I then sanctioned. It's called protocol." Ratchet said to them with a firm look.
"Ratchet is correct. Standard procedure must be observed by every member of this team." Optimus agreed, making Smokescreen lower his head. "However, I believe we must also commend Smokescreen. You've proven to be a quick study by choosing to play strategy above bravado." He said as he placed a servo on Smokescreen's shoulder.
"There's gonna be no living with him now," Acree whispered to the others.
"While this may lack the pageantry of a proper Elite Guard ceremony, I wish to welcome you, Sideswipe, and Strongarm to Team Autobots." Optimus announced to the three as the rest of the Autobots looked at them proudly.
"W-Why… Thank you, sir." Strongarm said with a smile. "I am honored."
"Sweet." Sideswipe said with a smirk.
"Say, Sideswipe, Strongarm." Prowl said with a smile. "We saw Smokescreen's vehicle mode. What vehicles did you choose for yourselves?"
"Sure did." Sideswipe bragged as he then transformed, which is a red sports car with a japanese letters on the hood. "Now this is more my speed."
Strongarm then turned into a police SUV as her sirens went off. "What do you think, sir?" Strongarm asked.
Prowl gave a proud smile. "It suits you, Strongarm. Nice pick." He complimented as they heard grunting sounds before they turned and saw Bulkhead limping towards them.
"One of the newbies did alright." Bulkhead said sadly, looking at the Apex Armor the team brought back.
"Don't worry, Bulk, they got nothing on you," Miko assured as she rushed up to Bulkhead, but he turned and limped back where he came from. "Seriously, once we get that leg of yours back in shape, the old newbies are gonna learn quickly with the top wrecking ball around here." She encouraged me.
But Bulkhead said nothing as he kept limping away. "Bulkhead?" Miko asked in concern as she watched Bulkhead walk off in silence as they all gave concerned looks, seeing Bulkhead feeling low on spirit for not helping his team.
And there we go, Smokescreen, Sideswipe and Strongarm have joined the TFP:AU storyline.
Thanks to Smokescreen, the bots now have the Apex Armor to their relic collection but will our rookies mix well with the rest of the team?
Stay tuned, as Bulkhead struggles to assert his place on the team while an old foe of the Autobots returns to add something new to the Decepticons' artillery in, "The Human Factor".