Chromia looked at the discomforting scene before her. Her sister, one of the strongest and toughest bots she knew, brought to her knees over someone's death. She ran over to her sis, hugging her when she was close enough, and held her as she cried. They sat there as the other bots looked on in both remorse and pity knowing how close Arcee was with her now deceased partner.
Eventually, Arcee was able to regain her composure and stood slowly with the assistance of Chromia. Chromia looked into Arcee's optics in reassurance but only found an emotionless glare returned to her. Arcee then broke away from Chromia's caring grasp and walked angrily towards Fowler.
"How…?" Arcee's voice growled as her anger built.
Fowler was startled by Arcee's sudden calmness and demeanor, "We have a video of Jacks' fate… If you all are willing…" he looked towards Arcee sympathetically before continuing, "and able… to watch."
Arcee shot him the deadliest glare she could manage before speaking, "If you think, for one second, that I will back down now." venom rising in her voice as she spoke, "Just wait till I'm done with whoever did this."
The other bots looked towards Arcee as she stood unmoving, like a statue. They all shared a glance at each other that simply said 'we will avenge our comrade, but we must not kill the perpetrator' All of the bots stood behind Arcee, resolute in their conviction. Chromia stood next to her sister before whispering, "I'll aid you however I can."
Fowler looked at each bot of Team Prime, including the newbie, and simply nodded before walking over towards Ratchet's workstation. He inserted a thumb drive he had gotten from his pocket into the nearby computer and selected a specific file to broadcast.
A video feed appeared on the screen next to Ratchet's workstation and the bots glued their optics to observe what happened.
The feed opened on a warehouse-like building, stockpiled with supplies they believed the humans used for their various needs. As the camera spun around slowly, revealing more bags filled with microscopic rocks piled near the center of the room, they heard a voice, "The amount of funding these guys get must be insane." They recognized the voice to be Miko from her enthusiasm.
Suddenly another voice emerged from the feed, "Oh, you don't know the half of it." the camera panned around and suddenly focused as Silas had appeared on the screen. The bots furrowed their optical ridges while Arcee's optics narrowed on her target.
Silas continued with a sinister tone, "You two thought you could break in here, knock out my men, sneak into our depot, and get out without anyone the wiser?" Then the bots heard another voice that they recognized, however it was deeper and more coarse than usual, "True our plan wasn't as great, however, you're crazy if you think we would back down now." They only knew one human that would respond in that way, Jack.
Silas replied slightly, "You're outnumbered, what can you achieve in this position?"
The camera then panned to Jack as he whispered, "Get ready to duck." they saw the camera move as if the person with it nodded.
The bots anticipated what may happen next when suddenly Jack's arm flew out revealing a gun he had concealed. Arcee noticed that the technique was one she taught him, however she hadn't the emotional freedom to comment nor react.
They watched as the ensuing firefight cornered both of the humans as they attempted to retaliate against their aggressors. The bots watched anxiously as the Miko captured the entire fight. But then they heard Jack's voice over the fight as Miko crouched behind their cover.
"Miko. When I give the order." The camera frantically moved so Jack was in view, "You need to run out of here as fast as you can, return to where we came from, and call evac."
The bots studied the image before them, their first real view of Jack and his face. Without a doubt, they knew he was weathered. His eyes had dark bags beneath them, and his shoulders struggled to stay up. Arcee was perceptive enough to notice how his hair had grown.
Chromia had taken this time to study the features of this 'Jack' person. She noticed that he was an organic being much like the small beings on the platform next to her. She then looked to her right and saw Arcee's dream struck face as she stared at the screen.
One thought crossed her mind as she looked back towards the screen, 'Is this who Arcee fell for during the war?'
The bots then heard Miko exasperatedly ask, "What about you?"
Arcee looked at Jack's eyes through the screen filled with emotions of hope. she felt as though he were returning her gaze. She thought the entire idea of him being gone was a hoax until she noticed her partner's face morph into an accepting, but serious, expression.
"I'll be right behind you." Jack stated with conviction. The bots looked on as they knew what that saying carried, and how often most of them had heard it before.
"Ready?" Jack asked while the camera panned towards a door. "Now!" Jack yelled out; the camera began to shake violently as Miko began to run.
The bots watched in awe as she bashed through a door, pushing two guards to their feet, climbing atop a dumpster and jumping a fence, before she continued to run. The feed was filled with panting as Miko became winded during her running.
Eventually the camera halted abruptly and turned back around, almost frantically searching for something, then it panned back to the facility. Everyone waited in silence as they watched with hopeful optics, wishing to see Jack once more.
Then, the facility erupted in a raging inferno.
The mech's shoulders dropped slightly while Chromia went over to comfort Arcee, who's optics seemed to dim, in a hug. The feed ended abruptly as the line 'end of tape' suddenly flashed on the screen. Fowler yanked the thumb drive out of the computer and allowed the screen to return to its normal green overview of systems.
"Soooo…" Smokescreen started hesitantly.
"So what?" Bulkhead remarked.
"What... Uh… What do we do now?" Smokescreen continued, hesitancy building as he waited to be reprimanded.
Arcee glared towards Smokescreen, "What do you mean 'What do we do now'?" She started coldly.
Smokescreen looked back at her, "Well, what's our objective? Our plan of attack?"
Arcee just stood there, glaring at Smokescreen with enough intensity to cut him in two. Ratchet noticed the tension in the room rising and decided to step in, "Our plan has not changed, we are to eradicate these vermin from Earth in order to prevent further losses."
Bulkhead followed Ratchet's remark, "We need to prevent the possibility of our teammates being taken away from us."
Arcee glared at Bulkhead, "Aren't you lucky then?" she spat out. Chromia walked over to Arcee slowly before she put a hand on her shoulder, an attempt to calm her nerves to prevent Arcee from striking at her friends.
Wheeljack spoke up, "Well then, if we are going to have a plan of attack," He calmly spoke, "Perhaps we should have a temporary commander for the time being."
The bots looked at one another, each nodding as their decision became clearer and they were all in silent unison. They all focused their attention on Ratchet, who found himself staring at all of their faces.
"Wha... Me?!" Ratchet stated confusingly.
Bulkhead noticed Ratchet's hesitancy before replying, "Well of course you, no better choice here."
Ratchet looked around before asking, "And how do you all figure that?"
Wheeljack unexpectedly replied with reason, "Well, you know the lay of the land, you can assess the enemies' forces, and you know how to use our strengths after witnessing our numerous battles."
Ratchet put his hand to his chin, "Well… when you put it like that, I suppose that is the most logical step." He then lowered his hand and looked at his old team, "Only if you all agree with this answer though."
Arcee took one step forward before stating, "There is no discussion required about this." While emotionally absent, she spoke truthfully, "No one here would contest this decision."
"Well then… I suppose our first order of business," Ratchet started as he turned towards the platform, "Is to investigate and research our enemies."
Fowler stepped forward with a newfound confidence, "I've got three possible targets ready whenever the team is."
Arcee stared at Fowler, waiting for her who she could give the wrath she had been building up for the last mega-cycle (Hour). "Let's hear it Fowler, give us our targets." Arcee clenched her fists as she finished speaking.
Ratchet looked towards Arcee, "Remember, this is a team effort. We will operate in strike teams to tackle every base simultaneously." Ratchet turned towards the rest of his team before continuing, "Now, I'm going to assign a newbie to accompany each pair of seasoned warriors, in order for them to gain experience in combat on Earth against human opponents."
Arcee sighed, realizing she would have to teach a new rookie like she had with Smokescreen. Chromia's eyes lit up as she saw this opportunity as a new bonding experience with her team. Bulkhead and Wheeljack looked at one another wondering who they could conform towards being a wrecker. Bumblebee and Smokescreen shared a look as they knew their combined experience would hopefully be enough to train a rookie.
"Now then" Ratchet started as he raised his left hand to the right of his head, "All autobots. Report to the command center." He radioed to the other bots that had been roaming around.
10 Minutes Later…
"Alright, what exactly are we here for?" Knockout started as he walked into the room, "I was in the process of setting up my lab." He then stopped as he noticed the grim expressions on the bots of Team Prime.
Ratchet then announced, "Starting today, there will be strike teams that run a variety of missions." He paused looking over everyone before continuing, "And we will be issuing new bots to those with experience on Earth amongst humans."
"About time." Hound responded enthusiastically.
"Firstly," Ratchet started, "Bravo team, Bumblebee as squad leader, combined with Smokescreen and Windblade." The two soldier class bots bumped fists before welcoming their new recruit.
"Secondly," Ratchet continued, "Team Romeo, Bulkhead as team lead, paired with Wheeljack and Hound." The wreckers shared a chest bump as they welcomed the newbie to their chaotic mess.
"And finally," Ratchet looked over to the last 4 bots, "Team Usurper, Arcee will be team lead, paired with Chromia and Moonracer." The sisters shared a look before sighing and shaking the hand of their newest assassin.
"Wait..." Knockout started, "So what am I supposed to do?"
Ratchet looked over at the ex-con, "I need you here. Your skills are far too valuable to be spent in the field, and far more useful as a scientist than a warrior." Knockout looked at Ratchet wearing a growing grin as he valued his unusual praise and stayed quiet.
"Now that everyone understands the dynamics" Ratchet began, looking around at the teams he now led, "I'm going to be searching for leftover mines that may have excess amounts of energon." Ratchet then stood proudly, "I suggest you all take some time to get acclimated to your new members." With that, Ratchet walked over to his workstation and began searching for energon signals.
The teams dispersed in their respective groups, humans included, each trying to prod their new members for what their talents are.
Arcee looked towards Chromia before whispering, "I'll leave the socializing to you." Chromia looked back before giving a solemn nod. She knew her sister needed some space to decompress.
Chromia led their new recruit away and began to stir up a conversation with her as Arcee walked in another direction. She left the base, transforming into her alt mode as she sped off.
5 Minutes Later…
Arcee followed the road then made a distinct change in direction towards a familiar spot. She continued driving through the desert until she came upon a dirt path that had been freshly dusted after years of no activity. She continued on this path until she came out to the top of a mesa outcropping.
She transformed back to her bipedal mode and walked over to the edge of the outcropping. She sat down, leaning back while placing her hands on the ground, and stared at the sun.
She sat there, wondering what she would do now. 'Your absence pains me, I wish you knew that…' she thought as she looked to her left, where her partner usually sat when they came here. 'You shouldn't have gone before I could tell you...' she paused, 'How much I care about you…" she continued, 'But I will avenge you... If it's the last thing I do...' she concluded.
'Your enemies will suffer for what they did to you' she cleared her mind of forgiveness. 'I will ensure that you hear their screams as they struggle to fight' her mind started darkening. She narrowed her optics, 'I have my first targets now, all there is to do is execute them.' She looked down to her left, seeing an illusion of Jack as if he were still alive, like he was still the same human as back then.
She closed her eyes, 'We'll meet again, partner' she closed her thoughts.
Somewhere In Southeastern America, Inside A Forgotten Nuclear Bunker…
A man clad in the blackest leather jacket, adorned with red lines striking down the sleeves that ended around his wrists, and pouches all across his body full of equipment, stood above a platform looking out towards a squadron of soldiers cloaked in clothes of mixtured green and black.
The man wore a mask that covered the entirety of his head. His left hand once made of flesh was replaced with a cybernetic implant. His left shoulder braced a metallic shoulder pad as his right was bare.
Around his forearms, there were chains that clipped into his sleeves. The chains were attached to a pair of Kamas at his sides respectively. Along with all manner of throwable weapons like flashbangs, explosive, and incendiary grenades.
The man stretched his arms outward before speaking, "My comrades!" he shouted, "The time has come for a new faction to rise against the tyrannical."
He lowered his arms to his sides before pacing, "The enemies have returned, but we will not falter. We will rise against the ideals of M.E.C.H. We will fight back against the rebels of Autobots."
"FOR WE!" He began, "ARE!" he paused as he caught his breath, "K.I.F.O.R!" he exclaimed as the squadron before him roared in synchronized will.
The man then stepped away from the platform, climbing into a mech that had an opened chest plate. As he finished stepping into the mech, the chest closed, and the eyes of said mech lit up in a swirl of red and blue. The man pressed some controls from a pad on the inside of the mech and it began to step forward.