The repaired Harbinger hovered above a human base, and Optimus was hosted in one of the warehouses as Agent Fowler came in with a strong vehicle. "Prime, what we have here is an experimental all-terrain, expeditionary, fighting vehicle designed by the finest engineers in our M.A.S.K. division." Agent Fowler said.
Thank you, Agent Fowler. This will most certainly do." Optimus said. He scanned the vehicle without Agent Fowler getting himself scanned this time around.
The next day, in the bridge of the Harbinger, a Ground-Bridge activated. "Return trajectory fluctuations have been stabilized." Raf said. "Ultra Magnus, we are ready to receive." Ratchet said.
A blue semi-truck that was similarly designed to Optimus' old truck form came through. Bee grabbed an Energon canister from the truck, and it transformed into Ultra Magnus. "We didn't find much else in the rubble of the former base." The commander said.
Wheeljack came through next with a ball of twisted metal. "You call this 'not much else'?" He asked sarcastically. He launched the ball at Bulkhead, and it bounced off his chassis. Jack grabbed Elsa and pulled her away before the metal ball crashed into the entrance to the bridge next to them.
"Wheeljack! You could have caused serious damage!" Ratchet reprimanded. "To me and Jackie!" Elsa added. Agent Fowler stood up in the hall outside the bridge. "What in the Sam Hill?" The door opened, but the metal ball blocked him from entering the bridge. "A little help here?" He asked. "What were you thinking, soldier?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"I was thinking Bulk could catch that lob." Wheeljack said. "Allow me to make myself clear. As Optimus Prime's Second in Command, I have no intention of tolerating Wrecker behavior." Ultra Magnus said. "Some things never change." Wheeljack said sarcastically.
"Jackie." Bulkhead warned. "Need I remind you that it was Optimus Prime himself who assigned me to command you Wreckers back on Cybertron and get you lose cannons under control? An effective combat unit begins with discipline. If you won't accept that, feel free to choose the path of least resistance as you did before." Ultra Magnus said.
"If my ship weren't a twisted wreck at present, or the Harbinger had escape pods, I'd do that, sir." Wheeljack said. Everyone stared at Magnus. "Ah, so, any word from Optimus?" Ultra Magnus asked. "He's investigating recent Decepticon activity. Hopefully, an Energon mine. At least Starscream was courteous enough to leave some cubes here for us. Too bad we had to remove the Dark Energon Elsa put in the power core and repaired the ship to prevent it from gaining sentience and killing us all." Chromia said.
Optimus flew through the air and spotted a hole in a mountain. He flew down. The hole was too small for him, so he transformed and drove in.
"How rad would it be if you all had jetpacks or could fly like Optimus, Cyclonus, and Jetfire?" Miko asked. "Quite rad, Miko. But the Forge has been depleted of its power to do that." Ratchet said. "Now, it's only good for pounding out things." Bulkhead said.
A familiar car, but with a blue and gold paint job, drove into the bridge. "Smokescreen?" Arcee asked. Smokescreen transformed. "Ah, what gave me away?" Smokescreen asked. Arcee stared at him. "Come on. Robots in disguise, right?" Smokescreen asked.
Ultra Magnus approached him. "Where have you been, soldier?" He asked. "Scanning new war paint. Thought it'd be proactive to follow Optimus' lead and Bumblebee's." Smokescreen said. Bee buzzed. "Now, you can look your best while carrying those empty cubes into the ship's vault and stacking them." Ultra Magnus said.
"Yes, sir." Smokescreen said. "I was nearly a Prime, but somehow I'm still a rookie." He grumbled. Ratchet heard him. "What was that about a Prime?" He asked. "Uh, no, time. Time to stop acting like a rookie." Smokescreen said. "Smokescreen was the only one who went back. If it weren't for him, Optimus might not be with us today." Arcee said.
"Arcee, we were under the strictest of orders. The three of you had your human partners to protect. But we are fortunate that Smokescreen is inexperienced enough not to have followed protocol." Ratchet said.
An Energon mining drill moved aside. "There. I can see it." An Insecticon said. It then reached in. "Abandon the excavation. Now." Optimus said. He drove forward. "Attack!" The Insecticon ordered. Optimus fired three missiles and blew three Insecticons away. Another fired, but Optimus ran it over.
He then transformed, grabbed the other Insecticon, and ran it to the ground. He then changed his seevo into a cannon and blasted the Insecticon through its Spark-Chamber.
The last Insecticon tried to grab the object inside the hole, but a tiny piece broke off. The Insecticon transformed and retreated through a hole in the ceiling. Optimus looked at the object.
Raf activated a Ground-Bridge, and Optimus came onto the Harbinger. "Optimus, did you find Energon?" Ratchet asked. "No. But I did uncover this." Optimus held the object and placed it on one of the terminals in the bridge.
"It can not be." Jetfire mumbled. "Be what?" Jack asked. "The ancient remains of a Predacon." Optimus said. "Though it remains unclear why such a skull would be found on your planet, its presence reveals all too much about the Predacon which Megatron recently sent in pursuit of us." Raf said.
"You mean that dragon-bot we put on ice?" Miko asked. "Except that Predacons have been extinct since, well..." Ratchet trailed off. "Sinc eyesore most life began on Cybertron." Smokescreen said. "They're like Earth's dinosaurs." Raf said. "Which means for you guys, running into one would be like us meeting a T-Rex." Jack said.
"So then what were dinobots?" Miko asked. "Totally different." Bulkhead said. "With Megatron's seeming new interest in the excavation of prehistoric skeletons, and a certain scientist back among the Decepticon ranks," Ratchet started. "It would stand to reason that Shockwave cloned the beast from one such find." Optimus said.
"And now Megatron's looking to clone another." Ultra Magnus said. "What makes you think Buckethead would stop at just one? Even when he can summon a blizzard at will?" Wheeljack asked. "We could have a wintery beast wars on our hands." Bulkhead said. "And if Shockwave only requires a single strand of cna from which to clone a beast," Ratchet started. "He already possesses what he needs to engender this one. Autobots, we must become beast hunters." Optimus finished.
"One thing still doesn't follow: Predacons went extinct on Cybertron. So what would their bones be doing here?" Smokescreen asked.
"On Earth? I mean, isn't it just a little preposterous?" Starscream asked as Shockwave scanned the bone fragment. "They are not the remains of Predacons, Starscream. But rather, the remains of Predacon clones. For you see, our revent Autobot hunter wasn't the first bestial super-soldier Shockwave ever attempted to breed from prehistoric matter. During the war for Cybertron, I sanctioned the dispatch of a small army of these Preda-clones to Earth to unleash the beasts on unwitting Autobot forces stationed here. Once they accomplished their mission, the surviving Predacons held sentinel on thos very world for ages to come, guarding the Energon reserves they had managed to secure while awaiting my arrival. Of course, our reunion here was much delayed, and it would seem we lost the beasts to the ravages of time." Megatron said.
"But not their endo-matter, from which I am logically able to extract their very cna." Shockwave added. "Another scavenger hunt? How logical would it be to locate all the dusty remains of your former pets?" Starscream asked. "You are not suggesting that I would send my creations to a distant planet without first having them micro-chipped?" Shockwave asked.
"Well. Well, I was. But, seriously, you did?" Starscream asked.
One of the terminals on the bridge displayed the images of the Predacon that the bone came from. "From our historical texts." Ratchet said. "But those are metal versions of creatures from our Greek mythology and medieval literature." Jack said. "Not dinosaurs." Anna said. "It would stand to reason that Predacons did indeed walk upon this Earth in ancient times, as they seemed to have been the basis for much of Humankind's folklore. Illustrating once again that the pasts of Earth and Cybertron are inextricably linked." Optimus said.
Night fell. The Harbinger continued to hover above the military base. The kids were all fast asleep on one of the terminals. Elsa and Anna were leaning on Jack's sides. Miko and Raf slept next to them. Optimus approached Ratchet on the other side of the bridge, who was working on something on the blue terminal. "Synthetic Energon?" Optimus asked. "Indeed. I am concerned that without access to any Energon reserve since our base was destroyed, our ability to deal with impending crises will be severely hampered. We're already burning a lot of Energon keeping the Harbinger airborne." Ratchet said.
"A wise decision, old friend." Optimus said. "Just, please manage your expectations. I am working with even more rudimentary hardware than before." Ratchet said.
Agent Fowler came into the bridge. "Prime, satellite surveillance has picked up two signs of Decepticon activity. One near an oil field outside of El Paso, the other near the Hebrides bluffs in Scotland." He said as Miko woke up first. "So don't forget to pack your kilts." Agent Fowler finished.
"We must divide our resources. Ultra Magnus, lead the Wreckers to the bluffs." Optimus commanded. "Yes, Optimus." Ultra Magnus said, then stepped forward and asked, "What's a kilt?"
Optimus awkwardly looked at him, then at Agent Fowler. "Agent Fowler can at times be oblique. I find it best to simply nod and mobilize." He said. "Bulkhead, Wheeljack, let's roll." Ultra Magnus said.
Ultra Magnus then stopped. "Optimus, I know there are many emotions tied to the Forge." He said. "This is no time to stand on ceremony." Optimus said. Ultra Magnus left the bridge and came back a few minutes later with the Forge of Solus Prime. "I would be honored to put this to some practical use." He said.
A Ground-Bridge portal opened up onto a highway at El Paso, and Optimus came through with Smokescreen and Bumblebee. "I will search this quadrant." Optimus said. His jetpack activated, and he flew away. Bee and Smokescreen transformed and took off down the road. Optimus scanned his area and kept flying.
Smokescreen and Bumblebee enter the oil fields and transform, guns drawn. They move around the oil harvesters, wary of Decepticons. "Hey, Bee, have you ever thought you might want to be a Prime?" Smokescreen asked. Bee buzzed in confusion.
"Not now, but, someday." Smokescreen said. Bee buzzed and walked forward. "Warrior. You and me both. But I've seen you in action. Optimus knows you can scrap with the best of them. Why won't he just promote you from scout already?" Smokescreen asked. Bee buzzed again.
"Your choice? Hmm. So why wait?" Smokescreen asked. Bee buzzed again. "Guess it would be more meaningful to graduate back home on Cybertron. You're one patient guy. I should take a cue." Smokescreen said.
They heard drilling. They peaked around the corner and saw a drill tunneling into the ground. Up above, Vehicons watched the Autobots move around.
Their cannons powered on. Bee and Smokescreen nodded at each other, then ran to opposite crates as the Vehicons fired. Bee shot one down. Smokescreen moved across his hiding ace and shot a Vehicon down from the building. Another Vehicon fired at him, and he hid again.
Two other Vehicons charged at Smokescreen as he fired back then disappeared when an oil harvester blocked their view. When it lifted up, Smokescreen was gone. They looked around, and Smokescreen jumped down from the harvester and threw a Vehicon into the other, and one of them tumbled onto an oil rod.
Smokescreen pointed up, and the Vehicon looked up right before it was smashed by the harvester. Bee dodged a Vehicon's shots, then shot it apart. He kicked another Vehicon. It got up, and he hurled it into the ground, then aimed his cannons accidentally at Smokescreen. "Like I said, you got nice chops for a scout." He said.
They heard footsteps, and Shockwave emerged from the hole with the Predacon bone. He aimed his cannon and fired. The shot hit the ground behind Smokescreen and Bumblebee and knocked them forward. They fired back, and Shockwave wildly fired and hit an oil harvester.
The harvester exploded, and oil rained down as more harvesters exploded from the chain reaction. Bee and Smokescreen ran away, but an explosion blew them away. "How epic was that?" Smokescreen asked as he recovered.
Shockwave appeared above them in his tank mode and retreated as Smokescreen, and Bee transformed and chased after him. Shockwave turned his cannon around and fired. Bee and Raf dodged the shot as Shockwave drove onto the highway. He didn't see Optimus flying at him until he turned around and fired.
Optimus dodged the podshots and returned fire. The shot forced Shockwave to transform, and he dropped the Predacon bone. "And that's why he's a Prime!" Smokescreen said. Optimus circled around them. Shockwave recovered as a Ground-Bridge opened, and Soundwave came through.
The spy-master shot at Bee and Smokescreen. "Soundwave." Smokescreen said. Shockwave ran for the bone as Soundwave shot at Optimus. The Prime saw the Decepticon scientist grab the bone and run for the Ground-Bridge. Bee and Smokescreen chased after him.
Bee transformed and kicked Shockwave into the air, and Smokescreen kicked him into the road. Bee grabbed the bone, but Shockwave didn't let go and bashed the scout into the rail with his cannon. Smokescreen fired at Shockwave and dodged his podshot. He looked at the bone, but Shockwave shot him away.
Soundwave deployed Laserbeak as he kept shooting. "Enough!" Optimus said and grabbed his minigun. He fired, one shot hit Soundwave in his wing, but Laserbeak grabbed onto Optimus' back, extended his small tentacles, and electrocuted Optimus.
Optimus hit a pillar holding the highway up as Laserbeak departed, and Optimus hit the ground below. Soundwave transformed and ran to the edge and saw Optimus on the ground.
Shockwave threw Bee into the ground and readied his cannon until Smokescreen grabbed onto wire for the cannon, but Shockwave flung him aside. Shockwave ran at Smith and raised his cannon, but Smokescreen activated the Phase Shifter, and Shockwave fell through him.
Small grabbed the Predacon bone and pulled, but Shockwave wouldn't let go. Bee grabbed another part of the bone, and he and Smokescreen pulled. Shockwave still didn't let go until the bone snapped into three pieces. The smallest piece fell towards Optimus below.
He activated his thrusters and flew at the bone. Soundwave saw and activated a Ground-Bridge in front of Optimus, and the bone fell into Megatron's servo. "No." Optimus gasped as the portal closed. "We have all that we need." Shockwave said. Laserbeak returned to his master and Soundwave transformed.
Smokescreen and Bumblebee fired, but Soundwave and Shockwave retreated into the portal, and it closed. Optimus landed in front of the Autobots. "A single strand of cna." Smokescreen said and held the Predacon bone fragment.
Shockwave started scanning the bone. "Shockwave. I understand that you engaged Optimus Prime in the field." Megatron said. "Only in order to secure the specimen, Lord Megatron." Shockwave said. "I believed that you had perished once, my most prized engineer." Megatron said and held the bone.
"And I highly doubt that Project Predacon can be completed without you." He finished. "I shall leave the fetching of bones to Starscream and confine myself to my laboratory in order to accelerate results." Shockwave said. "Excellent. For I am rather impatient to witness my army of beasts trample humankind underfoot." Megatron said.