Once Human, Part 2
In the dead of night, Starscream flew to the location his Seeker team told him about. If what they said is true, then there was a new Autobot, just prime for capture. Were he to take in an Autobot prisoner, Lord Megatron would give him great praise and, he hoped to Primus, the next chance to lead when he goes on his next voyage.
Starscream was surprised when he saw three familiar-looking jets bolt past him, nearly throwing him off his path with the sudden turbulence. He entered hover mode and turned around.
"What are they doing!?" Starscream yelled out as he re-entered jet mode and flew for them, "They better have a good excuse for abandoning the Autobot!"
Eventually, Starscream arrived at a plateau cliffside, shielded by forest. Starscream transformed before flipping and landing on the ground, his look akin with his Seeker soldiers, but with dark-red and silver colors and a taller, yet thinner stature.
But he was pristine. His Seekers had many scratches and scorch marks on their armor, and Slipstream was even missing a back wing. Slipstream and Thrust were groaning in pain and sat down, while Thundercracker looked over all of them.
"What in the Allspark happened to you three!?" Starscream demanded an answer from his Seekers.
"He got away!? You said you had him! How could three of you lose to him!?"
Starscream yelled out at his three Seekers. What could one Autobot do to put them in this state?
"It wasn't just him, Lieutenant Starscream. Other Autobots ambushed us. Ironhide and Optimus Prime."
"The Prime!? Oh, by the Allspark, no. What of the unknown Autobot? Did you recognize him?" Starscream questioned.
"No. I doubt he's even a soldier. He barely put up a fight," Slipstream answered.
"Though he didn't look the part. That 'bot took a massive beating," Thundercracker said.
"If Ironhide wasn't there, that 'bot would be scrap!" Thrust added.
"Enough!" Starscream yelled out before rubbing his optical ridge, "Everyone return to base. Soundwave alerted us that Megatron is returning soon, so we cannot miss that. Go to the medbay and fix yourselves up immediately. If anyone asks you how you got injured, say it was a training accident! That goes for you, Slipstream. You look like you've been through a rust storm."
Slipstream almost looked offended, but kept her words in her mouth piece.
"Tomorrow, we will take another look at that Autobot facility and see if there's anything to show to Megatron. The last thing I need is to show up empty-handed. Now move!"
"Yes, Lieutenant Starscream!" They all said.
Starscream then transformed and flew off, with the other Seekers following shortly after.
Autobot Hideout - Unknown Missile Silo
"If their servos take lives, take away their servos. If their processor can only think of destruction, then deactivate their processor. If their choices lead to mass death, take away their choice. A race that annihilates their own planet, can no longer be trusted with free will. So I create you… to serve a grand purpose."
"Save all Cybertronians…"
Suddenly, Jasper opened his eyes, estranged by that odd dream. The voice altered every time it spoke, sounding more and more determined each time. But it didn't matter. It was a dream, and he was awake.
"You're up. That's good."
Jasper turned to the voice, his vision still blurry, and all he could see was a silhouette of a man. Perhaps he was a doctor, as Jasper could not recognize the off-white room he was in.
"Yeah, that's a relief. Care to tell me what happened, doctor?" Jasper asked.
"When I first saw you, you looked like you'd been through a war. I've seen soldiers turned to scrap on my table with less blaster wounds than you. But what surprises me most is that you've repaired many of them on your own. Which is impossible."
Wait… soldiers? Blaster wounds? Repaired? What is he…
Jasper focused his vision, and went wide-eyed upon seeing the red-and-white robot holding a strange tool in his hand.
"Don't look so panicked. You're safe here. I'm Ratchet, I'll be your doctor today."
"No… No, no, no, no!"
"Sorry, but I'm the only choice you've got," Ratchet said, slightly annoyed.
Jasper got up in a hurry, almost losing his balance.
"Wait, slow down! You haven't fully repaired yet!"
Jasper grabbed a random metal plate, and looked at his reflection… It was still metal. It was still not his.
"My body… what the hell happened to my body!?"
"I do not know, but what I do know is that I made no modifications to i– hey!"
Ratchet yelled out as Jasper barrelled through the room's exit and scurried down the hallway. Ratchet watched just as he turned a corner, and held his finger to his audio receptor.
"This is Ratchet. The patient is awake, and has escaped the medbay. He's heading for the silo room."
Meanwhile, Jasper was running. For just a second, he thought it was all a dream. A horrible nightmare. But it was not. He was still a robot! Why!? Why was this happening to him!?
Jasper kept turning corners, sliding into walls due to his great weight. He wanted an escape. He wanted to go somewhere familiar. What he would do after that… He struggled to think about it.
Suddenly, he found himself in a massive room. One wall was overtaken by large high-tech monitors and keypads, with a large, dark metal tunnel embedded in the center. Another wall had a protruding office room of regular size, with the floor below it holding many amenities. There were many openings leading to more hallways, with one being in the ceiling, looking like it was meant to fit a massive missile.
A silo. Maybe it could lead to the surface!
Jasper rushed for the silo opening, but got stopped when a familiar-looking black pick-up truck came from one of the hallways and transformed into Ironhide. He held his arms out defensively as he blocked Jasper's path.
"Easy, big guy. Let's not do anything stupid."
Just as well, another vehicle came from the same hallway Jasper exited: an ambulance. It transformed into Ratchet, who held out his hand.
"Careful! His processor must be scrambled!" Ratchet said about Jasper.
Jasper looked back and forth between Ironhide and Ratchet, before hearing a massive engine roar to his side. A large semi-truck with a blue-and-red color scheme drifted in front of him, transforming into the large figure of Optimus Prime. His face was as stoic now as it was back in that fight.
"Comrade, calm down. I understand that this must be a lot for you to understand, but you're now on Earth. You must have been shot down by the Decepticons when you were in space, but now you're with us, the Autobots. You're safe."
Jasper almost had it with this sci-fi talk, and blurted out, "No, I am not from space… Optimus." Jasper struggled to say such a strange name.
"See that? He's scared of us. Punk's probably a Decepticon that defected," Ironhide pointed out.
"No, no, no, no! I am not a Decepticon, I am not an Autobot like what those jet freaks called me, and I am not a… a Cybertronian, whatever that is!"
Ratchet scoffed quickly before asking, "Oh, now, really? Then what planet are you from?"
Finally, a question Jasper could answer.
"I am from Earth! I am a human!"
Those words echoed throughout the room, leaving the three Autobots speechless.
"Wow…" Ratchet finally said, "His processor must be really scrambled."
Decepticon Warship - The Nemesis
Starscream and the Seekers were flying as fast as they could to the Nemesis's runway. Just as they would have hit the runway, they transformed to land on their feet, with Starscream doing an extra flip compared to the other Seekers.
"Remember what I said! Get to the medbay before–"
Starscream couldn't finish his sentence as the ground beneath them jolted upward. The Nemesis was flying upward, heading for space.
"Ah, scrap. Get moving!" Starscream ordered.
"Yes, Lieutenant!" The three Seekers saluted him before heading inside the Nemesis.
Starscream then headed into the control room, grumbling to himself until Soundwave noticed him.
"Soundwave, I heard the news. When will our Lord Megatron arrive?" Starscream asked.
"Once we reach this planet's exosphere," Soundwave said in his modified voice.
"So soon? But we don't even have all the Decepticons here to witness his return. The least I should expect are the lieutenants, yet they're not even–"
"Laserbeak, return."
Starscream involuntarily yelped while ducking as he heard a shrill pass over his head. The small, pterodactyl-shaped Decepticon named Laserbeak flew towards Soundwave and folded into a flat box as it entered Soundwave's open chest compartment.
"Hahaha! Don't blow a gasket, Starscream!"
Starscream turned around once hearing the loud voice, followed by deafening metal footsteps, as Brawl made his way into the room. This green-and-brown bulky Decepticon had his arms crossed, revving the tank tracks on his shoulders while cracking his servos. Starscream could only groan as he saw the tank Decepticon still stretching, always itching for a fight and to use those twin tank cannons on his back.
"Brawl, I'm surprised you got here so fast. I expected you here in another three orbital cycles," said Starscream with a sarcastic smirk.
"I was already here, waiting for you. So maybe it was you that's slow," Brawl said plainly.
"Like I could be slower than an overgrown turtlebot!"
"Careful now, Starscream, this turtlebot has cannons!"
Just as it seemed that Brawl and Starscream were about to get physical, a circular saw came from the hallway to buzz in-between the two of them, forcing them back.
"If either of you lugheads damage each other, I will refuse medbay entry to the both of you!"
Starscream and Brawl turned to the deep yet honeyed voice of their ship's doctor, Knockout. His mostly-red color scheme with black-and-gold art was as smooth and shiny as ever. Starscream groaned, as he could never understand how the Decepticon doctor would ever choose to be a ground vehicle, much less a high-end civilian one that required so much maintenance to look 'good' only to other humans.
Knockout's circular saw weapon reformed into a regular servo, "Speaking of, I saw your Seekers looking quite damaged in there, Starscream. Care to tell me why you're making me work hard?" Knockout asked, almost annoyed.
Starscream shook off his surprise, "A training accident gone awry, is all."
Knockout raised an optical ridge, "...Very well."
"We have arrived."
Everyone turned to Soundwave as they jolted once again. The Nemesis had stopped. They were here.
Every Decepticon flooded the Nemesis's runway, with Starscream, Brawl, Soundwave, and Knockout in front representing the Aerial, Ground, Communications, and Scientific divisions of the Decepticons.
Starscream stared up in the dead, desolate space above Earth, and saw the space bridge uncloak. It was a massive construction built into a hollowed-out asteroid, the internals filled to the brim with space-time technology. A once-relic of a bygone era, rebuilt to serve the Decepticon cause.
"Activating space bridge," Soundwave said.
The space bridge opened,swirling and growing like a whirlpool, until the green portal reached the edges of the asteroid. Starscream looked up and gulped in anticipation, but there was nothing for a nano-cycle, then another…
Until an alien jet, twice as large as Starscream's alt mode, flew through the portal with incredible speed. It curved its path to nosedive into the Nemesis's runway, and transformed just in time to crash feet first in front of all the Decepticons.
The Decepticon leader rose from his knee, his large, sharp, and menacing figure of grayish-silver imposing hesitation in all that saw him. He outstretched his sharp claws which slid off each other, with one arm equipped with an imposing black fusion cannon, known well for its devastating firepower. But the most notable part of his visage were his glowing red eyes right underneath his helmeted faceplate, with a stare that made everyone shrink out of instinct.
"Decepticons!" Said Megatron in a rough and fear-inducing voice, "After three years, I have returned!"
"All hail Lord Megatron! All hail Lord Megatron!" All the Vehicons chanted at once.
Starscream looked upon Megatron nervously. Hopefully, he got what he wanted.
Autobot Hideout - Unknown Missile Silo
"A human? This Bot believes he is a human?" Ironhide said, bewildered.
"Believe me, I think it sounds insane as well, but it doesn't make sense. I've read his vitals, and though there were some outliers, he has not one unit of biological matter in him," Ratchet said, looking over the datapad of Jasper's body.
Optimus Prime looked over at Jasper, sitting in the corner of the room just pondering.
"It may well be a trauma response. I have seen Bots react to trauma by retracting into themselves, creating new personalities and forgetting the worst parts."
Ratchet asked, "I see what you mean, Optimus, but a human? Trauma can manifest in many ways, but never have I seen it manifest into a human personality. He would have to have been here for a long time to adopt that as his response."
Ironhide added, "But if he was here for a long time, then where's his alt mode? He still looks like he's in his protoform. And when I asked him to transform into his alt mode, he asked me what that was. This guy is really messed up in the head."
Ratchet pondered, and said, "Actually, I think it's stranger than that. He's not a Cybertronian who thinks he's a human. I think he believes he's a human that is no longer in his own body. He asked me what happened to his body, and I thought he meant if I changed it, but now… this may be a more rational manifestation of this delusion."
"It's either that, or those 'Cons decided to make soldiers out of humans." Ironhide said jokingly.
"Ha! Like Megatron would ever consider using humans for anything! Optimus?" Ratchet looked to Optimus.
Optimus was still looking at Jasper, who was scratching the top of his helm while taking in more of his surroundings.
"Optimus, you don't think he's…" Ratchet lingered.
Optimus broke the silence by approaching Jasper, causing him to look up.
"Jasper Judge? How long ago were you put in this body?"
Jasper's optics widened, and he said, "Finally… Those monsters took my body just last night… I think… What's the date today?"
"In the Earth calendar, it's April tenth." Optimus answered.
"Oh, so barely a day ago. Damn it… wait… 'Earth time'? What exactly does that mean? Who… no… what are you?" Jasper asked.
Optimus pondered before saying, "We are autonomous robotic beings that hail from the planet of Cybertron. We are Cybertronians."
"Aliens… oh, God, Zane won't let me live this down…" Jasper whispered, before realizing something, "Then why are you here? And why did those other… Cybertronians attack me?"
"We are Autobots, here to protect Earth from our enemy, the Decepticons. We have been locked in constant civil war with them for eons. And unfortunately, the war came here. They may have believed you were one of us."
"What?... Why? What could my planet even have to offer giant robots?"
"Energon. The fuel that keeps Autobots and Decepticons going," Ratchet said, plopping down a cube of blue liquid down in front of Jasper, "Drink this."
Jasper looked at this strange liquid, and asked, "This is Energon?"
Optimus answered, "Correct. And due to the war, an Energon shortage began. Soon enough, the fighting left our planet barren. Uninhabitable. So we came here, where Energon stockpiles still remain."
Ironhide added, "And while we'd simply extract it, the Decepticons would hollow out this rock for every last unit. By then, Earth would be like Cybertron: dead and empty."
"How has Earth not heard of this? How is this not a crisis for everybody!?"
Ratchet scoffed, "Like there's much humans could do. Even your greatest weapons would look like child's play compared to what the Decepticons have."
"Fuck… " Jasper whispered before taking a drink, recoiling at the taste when he remembered it was Energon, "Damn! This tastes like static… though it is fulfilling."
As Jasper kept drinking it, Ratchet cocked his head, "'Taste'? You think you can taste?"
"I can… or at least, I used to. What, your people don't taste?"
Ratchet responded, "We don't. At all. So why do you think you can?"
"What?... Because I'm human, damnit! What, you don't believe me?"
"You certainly don't have the body, so… no. I don't believe you." Ironhide answered.
"But it's the truth! What can I do to make you believe me!?" Jasper said.
"We can't entertain this… Optimus, tell him what he is." Ratchet asked Optimus.
Optimus pondered, almost finding an answer. However, the consoles sounded off with an alert, the screens flashing green.
"Scrap… it's Jackson and Aiko. I'll sound them in," said Ironhide as he walked to the consoles.
"Jackson? Aiko? Who are they?" Jasper asked, confused.
No one answered as one monitor opened a feed to the outside, revealing a helipad surrounded and covered by foliage. Jasper could then hear it: the whirring of helicopter blades. A military personnel chopper landed on the helipad, with two people exiting it as it powered down. Two human people.
Jasper got excited before Ratchet bumped his arm, "Keep your mouthpiece shut, okay? You can't just go around saying you were a human, okay? Let Optimus give them time to grasp your… situation."
Then, back in the large silo room, a door opened high up in the scaffolding. The two humans walked through, one man and one woman.
The man looked like a grizzled military man in his thirties, with a five o'clock shadow and a short haircut. He was in a green outfit that mostly covered his well-trained and muscular body. He would make a good bodybuilder if not for the slight gut on him. He looked displeased, but hid it well. He was Jackson.
"Prime, is there an issue we need to talk about?" Jackson said in a calm manner before Jasper could say anything.
"Agent Jackson, there is no–"
The woman interjected, saying, "Don't even try! We've heard the reports, Prime."
The woman, undoubtedly Aiko, was a woman of Asian descent, but was barely a few inches shorter than Jackson. She sounded older than him by about ten years, though she looked younger. Her short, black hair was wrapped tightly in a bun, fully showing her truly disappointed expression.
Aiko continued, "You know the rules, Prime. Stay in disguise in public and deal with the Decepticons accordingly. That's all we ask. But now I've heard that several unknown jets carpet-bombed a part of the forest, and several sections of said forest look like a battlezone. Not to mention that three of our pilots are in the hospital because of that damn Starscream!"
Jasper's head perked up upon hearing that familiar name.
"Division Major Aiko, we have been investigating a potential Energon mining site the Decepticons could be using. Though now I believe that they were also investigating this site as well," Prime said in response.
"A bold choice. That site was rather close to civilization. If they are willing to go to such lengths, perhaps it means that, after three years, he has returned," Jackson said as he stared right at Optimus.
The Autobots stayed silent upon hearing the possibility, but Jasper was confused.
"What? Who is he talking about?" Jasper asked the room.
Optimus turned and answered, "Megatron. The leader of the Decepticons."
Jasper recoiled upon hearing that. The leader of those monster robots? He still remembered being on the receiving end of his lackeys, so he feared to wonder how much worse Megatron would be.
In his pondering, he didn't realize that Aiko's attention was all on him.
"And just who is your new friend, Prime? It's rude not to introduce guests."
"My mistake, Division Major Aiko. This is–"
"Miss Aiko, my name is Jasper Judge. They saved me from Decepticons. I know this may be hard to believe, but I was human taken against my will and placed in this body. I don't know where my original body is, but I want to get it back as fast as I can. Please, you gotta believe me."
The two humans were silent upon hearing that, all the while Ratchet sighed and shook his head.
Decepticon Warship - The Nemesis
Starscream walked down the Nemesis's hallways and towards the medbay. He was summoned to be specifically there, and he thought he could also check up on his Seekers to see how they were.
The last thing he needed was for him and his team to look weak, especially now that Megatron is back. After three years on his exodus, he returned, no doubt with new technology or weaponry that could win them the war. But Starscream was heavily concerned, hoping that his efforts for all that time of finding new Energon mines and sites would be well-praised.
Finally, Starscream reached the medbay doors. They opened to reveal a large, clean room of gray, filled with several slabs of metal for rest, and tools for medicine. On three of those metal berths, Starscream saw Slipstream, Thrust, and Thundercracker resting, yet saw no one working on them.
"Fascinating."
Starscream turned to see Knockout looking through a microscope instead of repairing his team.
"Knockout, good doctor, care to explain what you're doing instead of repairing my Seekers?" Starscream asked, until his shoulder was grabbed from behind.
"He is following my orders," Megatron said from right behind Starscream, "Something that you struggle to do."
Starscream resisted the urge to jump back, saying, "W-why Lord Megatron, I did not see you there. What did you order the good doctor to do?"
Megatron exhaled and relented, letting go of Starscream's shoulder.
"Knockout is analyzing what I acquired during my exodus."
Starscream's interest peaked, and he asked, "Yes, Lord Megatron, and what did you get? A new weapon of mass destruction? A technology long-forgotten?"
Megatron guided Starscream over to Knockout's table, and gestured toward… a small statue. It was of a familiar and strange figure, sitting cross-legged and holding a cup outwards with both hands. Its helmet piece was adorned with horns that extended towards the cup, and appeared almost… hollow.
Starscream was confused, almost offended. This could not be what Megatron brought back.
"Uh, my Lord… what exactly is this?"
Megatron gave a low laugh at Starscream's question, saying, "This is an effigy that I've acquired from the dark side of one of Cybertron's moons. From a temple ruin of those that worshiped the Destroyer… Unicron."
Starscream's face lit up, and he realized why the figure was familiar. It was a common item of worship by the Cult of Unicron, who would offline many in his name.
"I see… and why, by chance, did you take the effigy?"
"Most certainly not for worship!" Megatron yelled out, causing Starscream to recoil.
Megatron then took a syringe full of liquid Energon, and put it near the top of the Unicron effigy's helm piece.
"When I arrived in the ruins of the Cult of Unicron, I discovered little of worth at first. But deep within, in a room of worship and bodies, I found this at the center. From the ceiling, a weak Energon leak poured right into this effigy's helm," Megatron then slowly injected some Energon into the top of the effigy's helm, letting it flow into the headpiece, "Undoubtedly going on for eons, this Energon leak was converted slowly but surely, until the cup had long overflowed and flooded the floors…"
Starscream looked upon the effigy to see it… dripping something purple into the cup. Something that he read from his optics as Energon… but not exactly, as his scanners almost scrambled upon even looking at the substance.
"...Megatron… What was the Energon converted into?" Starscream said, concerned.
Megatron looked back at his second-in-command, and simply said, "Dark Energon."
Starscream continued staring at the cup slowly filling with the purple variant.
"Dark Energon… so it is real…" Starscream said, amazed at the discovery, "Legends give Dark Energon other names… that it's the blood of the Anti-Spark… That it's the blood of Unicron…"
"Oh, ha! Like this is the blood of a fake destroyer God," said Knockout, drawing both Megatron and Starscream's attention, "I mean, uh, it can't be his blood if it can be made without him, right? Anyways, this Energon is strange. It's very volatile, more so than regular Energon. I would need to do some experimentation before even thinking of using it on our troops."
"Make this your top priority, Knockout. The sooner we can weaponize this, the faster we can use it against the Autobots." Megatron said, a grin on his face.
Starscream attempted to leave the medbay, until Megatron called out, "As for you, Starscream… You can explain why your Seekers are here. And do not lie to me."
Starscream shrunk in the presence of the looming Megatron, glancing at his injured Seekers, and gulped.
Autobot Hideout - Unknown Missile Silo
"You? A human?... You must understand, my big friend, that that is a tough pill to swallow," Jackson said, his head cocked to the side.
"But it's the truth. I am a human, but something abducted me and put me in this body. I want to find it and get it back, but I can't while I'm being held here."
Aiko looked at this with bewilderment.
"You don't trust him, do you?"
Aiko looked to Ratchet, his arms crossed.
"I trust him as far as I can throw him…" Aiko said doubtfully, "... Where did you find him?"
"In the forest near some human town. He was being chased by 'Cons, got damaged pretty bad during it… though he certainly doesn't look the part…"
Aiko sighed, before looking to the Prime, who seemed to be pondering. Was he… considering it?
"You're not believing this, are you, Prime?" Aiko asked.
Optimus simply turned to the two skeptics, and asked, "What do humans know that Cybertronians do not?"
Aiko was caught off-guard by the question, before answering, "Nothing. You learned everything about us that was on the internet."
Ratchet shivered before saying, "Still the biggest regret in all my eons."
"But we cannot learn everything from the internet. Humans have entire concepts, relationships, that we never had." Optimus asked.
"Like what? Brothers? Sisters? Children?... Parents." Aiko realized, "If he were human, he'd have parents that we could talk to."
"Right, parents. Those are like your makers, correct? But you need… two of them?" Ironhide said, slightly confused, "I can't remember. Your human language is confusing sometimes."
Just then, Ratchet had a realization, "Yes… this Jasper could talk to his parents." Ratchet looked down to Aiko, "Division Major, can you activate the landline?"
Jasper was sick of arguing his humanity to everyone. Be they made of metal or flesh, they didn't seem to believe him, and it was driving him mad.
But suddenly, the Military woman, Aiko, made a suggestion to him. A test, she called it, to see if he really was human. Jasper was elated at the chance to prove himself correct, but what he wasn't expecting was a little landline phone in front of him, with the humans on one side of a table, and the Autobots right behind him as he sat on the ground.
"You have parents, right, Jasper?" Aiko asked.
"Y…yes, of course." Jasper said, in an obvious tone.
"Can you call them right now? Do you have their number?" Jackson asked.
"Uh… yeah, I still remember it," Jasper said. He was thankful he still bothered to memorize some phone numbers.
"Okay… you're going to be speaking to them, then." Aiko announced.
"...Wait, what?" Jasper said, confused.
"You heard me. Speak to them. But do it as you would normally. If you try and say anything about where you are right now, I'm terminating the line." Aiko said, adamant.
"I don't even know… okay, fine."
Before Jasper could say anything more, the medic Ratchet connected a datapad to his head via a cable.
"Don't mind me," Ratchet simply said.
Jasper looked back at the phone and nearly crushed the phone when reaching out his metal hand to it.
Jackson intervened, "Why don't you let me type in the number?"
Jasper relented and told him the full number and, slowly but surely, the landline started ringing. Jasper hoped as hard as he could that one of those two would bother to answer the phone.
Suddenly, a click was heard.
"Hello? This is the Judge residence, who's talking?" A female voice answered from the speaker. It was his mom.
Jasper sighed, "Mom, I–"
Jasper shrank away when his mom loudly shouted, "Oh my God, Jay! It's been forever since you called us! How are you!?... Why are you answering from an unknown number?"
"Oh, uh…" Jasper hesitated before answering, "Uh… battery's dead?"
"Hun! Is it another telemarketer? 'Cause I'm not buying any more of that crap they're selling!" A loud man's voice joined in, and Jasper sighed. It was his dad.
"No, dad, it's– Hold up, not buying any more? Dad, you're not letting idiots on the phone sell stuff to you, are you?"
"Of course not," His dad said, and Jasper didn't buy it, "Hey, why are you calling, Jay? Where are you?"
Jasper was about to say something, but paused as he looked at an Aiko whose finger was hovering over the landline's switch.
"Uh, well, you see, I–" Suddenly, Jasper felt a shock to the back of his head, "Ow!" Jasper turned around to Ratchet, looking down at his datapad.
"Are you okay, son?" Jasper's mom asked, concerned.
"Uh, I'm at a job interview! That's where I am! I just wanted to tell you that, guys!" Jasper finally answered.
His mom couldn't sound more elated, "Oh, good for you, son! Even if you don't get it, the fact that you're trying makes me proud of–"
"Wait," Dad asked, "You told me that you'd only start interviews when you graduated. So that means…"
Jasper was confused, until he made the realization as well, and realized just how screwed he was.
"You graduated and didn't invite us to the ceremony!?" Dad shouted over the phone.
"Uh, Dad, I can explain! You guys are always talking about how you hate to travel, I didn't want to–" Jasper was panicking.
"Seriously, son!? We told you, no matter what, to invite us for your ceremony! No matter what!"
"It's fine, I still got it on camera, I–"
Jasper couldn't continue. He knew to expect a tirade of yelling, and that nothing he'd say would stop the next hour from being consumed by it. But he didn't have an hour.
"Oh, uh, the interviewer's calling my name, gotta go!" Jasper then pressed the landline's switch, accidentally crushing it with his digit.
"Sorry… in reality, I should have expected that to happen. Was that enough of a conversation for… you… guys?"
Jasper looked around only to find mostly stunned faces, human and Cybertronian alike.
"What?" Jasper asked, confused.
Jackson answered calmly, "They knew you… but most importantly…"
"I deactivated your U.T.M., yet you could still talk to them." Ratchet said, completely amazed.
"... What?" Jasper said with a confused face.
Ratchet continued, "A… A U.T.M. means a 'Universal Translation Module'. It's what all Cybertronians have that allows us to speak with other races. If we didn't have it, we'd only be able to speak our native language, Cybertronian. But when yours was deactivated, all we heard was… was…"
"English," Optimus said, his optics wide, "Which means you really are a human."
Silence filled the room. The truth was revealed. Some were surprised, some were horrified, but only one was relieved. Jasper. Finally, they believed him.
Decepticon Warship - The Nemesis
In the Shooting Range room, Knockout was tinkering with a heavy ion cannon on a table. Though it was hilarious, Megatron's berating of Starscream for losing a battle was getting too distracting, and he had to do his testing in a more quiet setting.
"Doctor, you called!?"
Knockout almost dropped his tools upon hearing Brawl's exclamation as he entered the room. Maybe summoning Brawl of all 'Cons wasn't the best choice.
"Yes, Brawl, I need you to test something out," Knockout said.
"Really? That's what you called me here for? To test some dull invention?" Brawl asked, his enthusiasm suddenly gone.
"It's a new type of ammo that should hopefully be a better upgrade than–"
"Where's the weapon?" Brawl said right over the doctor's shoulder, surprising him.
"Here, take this," Knockout handed Brawl the cannon along with standard Energon cartridges, "I need you to fire these regular Energon cartridges for a baseline."
"Got it," Brawl then immediately aimed the cannon to a wall nearby Knockout.
"Shoot at the target, not my finish!" Knockout said, holding up his servos.
"Oh, right."
Brawl headed to one of the windows of the room, looking into the section of the room with a heavy amount of soot and scorch marks. He pressed the button near the window, and a door opened to show a mere dummy bot entering the room. The walls then scanned him with red light, forming a different chassis and exterior of the dummy bot. It formed into a perfect Ironhide, every detail just right down to the optics giving off a death glare.
"Why do you always choose Ironhide for the bot?" Knockout pondered.
"He thinks he has the most firepower. Ha! No one blasts better than Brawl!"
"What about Megatron?" Knockout asked coyly.
"... No Autobot." Brawl corrected.
In a moment of slight frustration, Brawl fired the cannon right at the fake Ironhide. The blue blast hit the bot dead between the optics, forcing the helm to bend back from the force. The bot's neck then straightened out to reveal a simple scorch mark.
Brawl sighed, "Looks about normal. Why even test this?"
"Here."
Knockout handed Brawl more Energon cartridges, but Brawl noticed something off with them, as they contained something purple, not blue.
"What in Primus's name are these?" Brawl asked, confused.
"Dark Energon cartridges." Knockout said simply.
"What the… What even is that?" Brawl said, looking at the cartridges in confusion.
"That's what we're finding out. So load them in and shoot that bot."
Brawl still had questions, but relented and reloaded the cannon with the purple cartridges. The usual blue lights of the silverish cannon slowly turned purple, and glowed brighter than before.
"... You sure this is safe?" Brawl asked.
"Yes, certainly," Knockout lied while he took a step back, "Now stop asking questions and fire."
"Fine," Brawl exclaimed before whispering, "For a doctor, your answers are complete scrap."
Casually, Brawl then fired the cannon. It recoiled upward heavily as a bigger ion blast colored a violently volatile purple was shooting right for the dummy Ironhide. In an instant, the fake Ironhide's head was partially vaporized, and the blast then hit the wall behind it, disintegrating a part of it. Alarms blared from the sudden room breach, while the dummy Ironhide's head and the wall still kept disintegrating and turning purple at a slow pace.
Brawl's mouthpiece hung open, as did Knockout's. Brawl looked down at the strained ion cannon, and gave a hearty laugh.
"Scrap, Knockout, this stuff is great! Do you have any more!?"
"Incredible…" Knockout took a closer look at the damage as it stopped disintegrating, "Megatron will be most pleased."