A/N (Important, Please Read): Hey guys! Apologies for the delay on this chapter, but let's just say that this week has been… a LOT busier than I anticipated. Particularly on Easter where I wasn't able to do much of anything writing-wise. So yeah, this chapter's coming out on Saturday as a result… and that might be a trend in the future. It's already going on with Ben 10/RWBY, but I don't anticipate it to happen AS much with this story. But my point here is, expect some Saturday uploads as we go further into the final arc.

With that said, though, on a lighter note… it's time to FINALLY introduce Megatron's away team! And well… probably best to get the big one out of the way here… but I'll save his proper name for when he actually shows up, so for now, here are his initials and who he's being voiced by;

S.W. – voiced by Mark Swint

And just from that alone, you can probably guess as to what incarnation I'm basing him on. So, let's get to meeting him and his crew, shall we? This is…

Chapter 92: Cons of War

…..

Deep within the Canadian wilderness, nighttime had fallen upon the Darksyde not too long ago, shrouding it under the dull, eerie light of the crescent moon. It had been a rather ominous night so far, which, for the Decepticons, meant that it was a good omen. And they couldn't have been proven more right when they picked up the signal of an incoming scout ship. This, of course, was the first sign of the impending arrival of their back up… though to their astonishment, they were in pursuit of an Autobot craft. So, Starscream sent Sky-Byte out to retrieve the Decepticon stragglers and return them to the ship, where he stood outside waiting for their arrival.

With him were the rest of the crew, as per his bidding. Even Unicronus had emerged from the ship, a rare sight… even if he was still obscured by the shadows of night time. After a while of waiting and idle chit-chat, the Cons were greeted by the sound of approaching thrusters, bringing their sights upward. There, they saw their Sharkticon ally come diving down from above… and on his back were a trio of even MORE Predacons. "You had better THANK me for this!" Sky-Byte snapped, undulating his body to kick the three off of him before getting right in Starscream's face. "If it were under ANY other circumstances, I wouldn't have rescued these three buffoons!"

The Seeker commander peered past Sky-Byte, noting the trio as they rubbed their heads all at once. "Ah, well if it isn't your loyal squadron!" He sent the robot shark. "…What a fun coincidence."

"Grrr!" Without much fanfare, Sky-Byte Terrorized into robot mode, scowling directly into Starscream's optics. "I swear, Starscream, if we didn't have to IMPRESS our reinforcements, I would've left these three to ROT with the Autobots!"

"Aw, c'mon boss! Don't say that!" Dark Scream implored as he and the others also Terrorized, with he and Slapper rubbing their hands eagerly while smiling up at him, hunched over in subservience. "This'll be just like old times!"

"Huhuh, yeah!" Slapper nodded eagerly. "Just give us the word and we'll get whatever ya need done for ya!"

Gas Skunk, meanwhile, wasn't so quick to be sycophantic. "Ugh, will you two get a grip?" He approached Sky-Byte, his green optics glaring against the latter's red. "Listen, Sky-Byte, I know how much you dislike us, but just so you know… we never lost hope that you were alive." He jerked his thumb back toward his team. "We joined up with Megatron's away team specifically because we wanted to go out searchin' for ya. And in that time, we've gotten a LOT better at what we do."

Scratching his cheek, Slapper uttered; "Guh, for the most part, at least. Sometimes things get a bit too big fer us ta handle…"

"But we still give it our damnedest!" Dark Scream said, pumping a fist into the air.

With a short sigh, Gas Skunk crossed his arms over his chest. "Point being, we didn't come here to specifically annoy you, Sky-Byte." He raised a hand, clenching it into a fist. "We're here to CRUSH some Autobot skulls. Ain't that right, boys?!" He received a collective; "YEAH!" from his comrades, both of them striking a dynamic pose behind the skunk Predacon.

For his part, Sky-Byte… was actually mildly impressed. "Hmm… well, I will say, it WAS impressive that the three of you managed to hold off such heavy hitters for as long as you did." He raised his chin to the three, stating; "Very well, Gas Skunk, I'll hold you to what you say. However, I hope to see less shenanigans and more getting scrap done during your time here. I assume that you can wrangle Dark Scream and Slapper into doing that, yes?"

"Hmph, it's what I do." Gas Skunk affirmed, only to shift his attention toward the other Cons. "On that note… BOYS! Salute!" On his command, the two Preds followed his lead in saluting toward Starscream. "Predacon Infantry Team reporting for duty, Commander Starscream, sir!"

"Ah yes, welcome, gentlemen." Starscream reciprocated with arms outstretched. "We've been expecting you for some time now."

"…Though admittedly, a bit sooner than expected…" Nightra muttered, only to get elbowed in the side by Shadow Striker. "Gah! Dalé!"

Gas Skunk got a good chuckle out of that. "Hah, yes, well… let's just say Megatron wanted us to get here double-time. And well, far be it from us to disappoint him."

The two other Seekers stepped forward, with Skywarp asking; "Alright, so where's the rest of 'em? The anticipation's killing us." He made sure to lay the sarcasm on that last part.

"Hehehe, oh, don't worry… they're around." Dark Scream looked up, with Slapper and Gas Skunk following suit. The rest of the Cons all craned their heads up as well, at first seeing nothing but the starry night sky… but then, they noticed it began to distort in odd ways. And a few seconds later… *VWOOOM* Darkness. There was nothing but complete and utter darkness as a MASSIVE Decepticon Warship appeared overhead. It easily had to be at least FIVE times as big as the Darksyde, leaving many of them stunned.

Within moments, a set of panels on the underside of the ship shifted open, and all of the Decepticons stood at attention, waiting for their compatriots to descend. …However, that wouldn't be the case. Because instead, a tractor beam shot down over all of them and began taking them up into the ship instead. "GAH! What the frag?!" Swift exclaimed.

"OOOOOH NOOOO!" Blastwave hollered, flailing through the air to try and get away. "Blastwave is no good with flying!"

"What's going on?!" Barricade snapped at the Predacons. "Tryin' to abduct us or something?!"

"Heh, nah." Gas Skunk snickered. "The boss just thought that you guys would want a taste of what a REAL base looks like. He couldn't imagine just how cramped that dinky ship of yours must've been."

Unicronus wasn't the least bit amused. "Hmph, the Darksyde got us by JUST fine, thank you."

Slapper gave a croaking laugh at the notion. "Huhuhuh, maybe, but lemme tell ya, THIS is gonna be a HUGE upgrade for all of ya. An' besides, you'll still be able to Bridge between here and your old digs."

Once the group were brought into the warship proper, they floor closed beneath them and the tractor beam deactivated… dumping them all unceremoniously into the hard surface. "GAH!" they collectively yelped, with only the Predacons and Shadow Striker making a perfect landing. "Vas zat REALLY necessary?!" Flatline shouted indignantly.

"Would all of you stop humiliating yourselves?" Shadow Striker said, rolling her optics. "We should at least try to make a good first impress… oh." The assassin stopped her admonishing and immediately stood at attention, locking her sights on whoever was walking toward them. "Madame… it has been far too long."

"Ah, Shadow Striker, you're looking well."

All at once, Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp all stiffened up. That voice… they knew that voice. In fact, they might've known it a bit TOO well. Slowly, the Seeker trio shakily craned their heads back toward the Con who was approaching them, and sure enough… it was her. Standing over them was yet another Seeker, only her body type was slightly different than theirs. She was shorter and lither than their stockier frames, and featured curvier surfaces in contrast to their angular dimensions. Her torso was mainly purple, with the cockpit on her chest being a bright teal. Her legs were the same shade of teal as well, while her arms and feet were as black as her helmet. The femme's fingers were slim and sharp, ending with pointed tips. And she had thruster high-heels and purple lips to add a further feminine touch. As for her helm, it was similar to the other Seekers, only again, a bit slimmer to fit her smaller head.

Her red optics darted down to the trio, giving them a sly smile. "Ah, my darling brothers. It's so good to see you again."

"S-S-SLIPSTREAM?!" Thundercracker, Starscream and Skywarp scrambled to their feet, wearing expressions of fear, anger and annoyance respectively. "What the SLAG are you doing here?!" Starscream bellowed.

"I-I thought you were still on Cybertron!" Thundercracker stammered, taking a step away from his sister. "Megatron sent you here with his away team?!"

With a throaty chortle, Slipstream brought a hand to her lips in amusement. "Hmhmhm, oh, yes, he did. In fact, I requested to accompany this squad to Earth when I heard just how much of a pickle you three were in." She craned her head toward her eldest brother. "Skywarp, I'm surprised you haven't been able to reign them in. Usually you're good at that."

The dark Seeker simply crossed his arms and scoffed. "Psh, missed you, too, little sis. Didn't exactly miss the patronizing, though."

Slipstream simply smiled and nudged her brother in the side. "Oh, come now. You know I love you. And that goes for you, too, Thundercracker." She strode over and reached up, giving her youngest brother a pat on the head despite his fearful trembling. "Besides… you two aren't to blame for this complete lack of competence…" Her gaze drifted toward her second older brother, their glares unrelenting. "So tell me, Starscream… how does one of the most successful Decepticon squadrons become so inept at handling a gaggle of misfit Autobots?"

"…Urmptimurs Prim…" Starscream muttered, his fists shaking at his sides.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I SAID Optimus Prime!" The Seeker Commander reiterated, his eyes glowing more intensely. "We would've had these Autobots wrapped up without issue if they didn't have Prime with them! Week after week, month after month, it's been nothing but a game of cyber-chess, and it doesn't help that we haven't had as many reinforcements while THEY get a new arrival seemingly every few WEEKS!"

There was a short pause as Starscream vented heavily, his frame huffing and puffing with every breath. Slipstream hadn't so much as flinched during his tirade, however, instead planting one hand firmly on her hip as she cocked it to the side. "So, basically… you've been getting screwed so hard that your aft can't handle it." She shook her head, clicking her metallic tongue. "Tsk-tsk, some things never seem to change, do they?"

On that note, Swift stormed up and ignited her hands, sliding between the Seeker siblings while glaring at Slipstream. "Watch it, glitch! I dunno where you get off on insulting OUR commander, but he's been trying his damnedest to get us back on track!" She clawed her hand and brought it up to Slipstream's face. "So back off before I make you."

Once more, Slipstream wasn't fazed, instead shifting her optics up to her brother. "Why, Starscream, is THIS the "loyal lieutenant" you've told me about? Hmhm, she certainly is quite the spunky one."

"Y-Yes, indeed she is." Starscream stated, regaining some of his confidence to support Swift. "And she is quite capable of following through on her threats. …So I would take her advice to spark if I were you."

"Hm, very well." Slipstream noted before shifting her attention back to the green femme. "It's evident that you're an avid supporter of my brother…" She leaned forward, keeping her voice low so that only they could hear one another; "But just so we're clear… you speak out of turn to me again, and I will not tolerate it. Understood?"

Instead of complying outright, though, Swift simply smirked and shrugged it off. "Psh, whatever "sissy". You don't intimidate me."

"Oh, but I should… especially considering who I have under my employ."

As it happened, however, there was someone who WAS keeping a keen audio receptor out on their conversation, and that was Swindle. "Don't fall for her threats, Swift, she's just good at intimidating bots." the conman stated out loud, bringing everyone's attention to him.

Skullcruncher wasn't too cool with that, though. "Kid, what're you doin'?!" he admonished harshly. "You're already in hot oil here, any more provokin' and they're gonna set that bomb off in yer head!"

"Skully, at this point, I don't really give a frag." Swindle shrugged off while glancing toward Unicronus, the one in possession of the detonator. "If someone wants to blow my head off for speaking on behalf of this crew, then they're free to do so."

"…I'll allow it." Unicronus conceded, though not without a small smirk. "Mostly because I wanna see where this goes."

On that note, Slipstream gave a laugh of her own and strut her way over to Swindle, raising her chin up at him. "Oh-ho, so the deserter wants to speak his mind, hm? Do you really want to test me when I can tell Megatron about whatever it is you're about to say to me?"

Even still, Swindle didn't budge an inch. "At this point, I've got nothing to lose. My stint in trying to run a business to benefit from the war blew up in my face… literally. I was forced to scrape by with an alliance with humans only to ultimately be captured. And now I've got a bomb in my head if I step out of line." He raised his arms and declared; "At this point, just make me Onslaught's brain-dead minion, because at least THAT would be better than having to witness your Femme Fatale intimidation tactics. Oh, and Megatron? As far as I'm concerned, he can KISS my shiny metal—"

"TRAITOR!"

The thunderous roar that shook the entire room made Swindle clamp his mouth shut, and nearly all of the Decepticons were left trembling as the floor beneath them shook. That shaking, as it would happen, was because of another Decepticon arriving on the scene. And this one… was MASSIVE. He towered over ALL of them, with huge shoulders that had jet engines built into them, and arms so huge that they were as long as Barricade was tall.

Overall, his main color was dark green, with purple parts on his chest, down his abdomen and ending at his waist area. He had three fingers on each hand and two toes on each foot, with the cockpit of his vehicle mode split open to make his pectorals. The tail of his alt. mode laid flat against his back, and as for his head… it was incredibly different from any other. It was low and jutted out, giving him a hunch, and he had one large, singular red optic with four smaller ones on each side. His jaws were also like that of an earth turtle, without any lips to speak of.

As he approached, he zeroed in on Swindle in particular as he shouted; "Megatron is WISE! Megatron is BOLD! Megatron will ensure the EXTINCTION of the Autobots! And—"

"And then spread the Decepticon empire to the stars, bringing the whole galaxy to its knees! GAHAHAHA!" Blastwave guffawed as he went over to the larger Decepticon with his arms outspread. "Lugnut, comrade! It has been too far long!"

The larger Con's largest eye zoomed in on Blastwave, only to then burst out into joyous celebration as well. "AH-HAH! Blastwave!" The duo clasped their arms against one another in greeting. "It is good to see you! Still bringing destruction to all who stand in your way?"

"To the best of my ability!" Blastwave grinned… only for it to faulter in the next second. "…Although, things not do so good recently…"

Lugnut gave a supportive pat to his friend's shoulder. "Worry not, my fellow. Through our combined strength, we shall show the Autobot filth that the MIGHT of Megatron's followers CANNOT be denied!" On that note, both Lugnut and Blastwave raised their arms, hollering; "YAAAARRRH!"

"…Dear lord, is this what we're in for now?" Slipstream shook her head.

"Slipstream, the GLORY of Megatron CANNOT be understated!" The large Decepticon insisted, placing a hand over his chest. "We put our lives on the line to spread his glorious cause EVERY single cycle! We should be eternally grateful to him for BISECTING that tyrant, Sentinel Prime, and leading the revolution that has seen our success spread to the farthest reaches of the galaxy!" Lugnut's gaze zeroed in on Swindle and Starscream as he pointed to them. "…But YOU! The two of you have lost sight of our leader's incredibly magnificent goals!"

However, neither Con were put off by Lugnut's boisterous brown-nosing. "Hah! Is that what you believe?" Swindle balked.

Starscream shook his head with a short chortle. "Hehehe… Lugnut you could not be further from the truth. It's not that we've lost sight of Megatron's goals… it's just that we have different ideas in mind of how to go about them."

Slipstream deadpanned and pointed between the two. "Ah, yes, those being "profit margins" and "thinking you can do better"."

"Oh, I don't THINK I can do better." Starscream emphasized, leaning forward with a cocky grin. "I know I can do better."

"RRRAAAAAAAHHHH!" It was too late for Starscream to realize that he had just said that out loud, and by the time he did, Lugnut had already pulled his fist back. His hand then transformed, his fingers shifting back and onto his arm as a big, red button emerged from his wrist, with a container filled with what had to be forty tons of explosive charge behind it. He was about to bring the explosive blow straight down onto Starscream…

*BWEEEEEMM*

…Only for him to be stopped when his entire arm got frozen over. At first the group were surprised, but then the sound of more approaching footsteps caught their attention. "Lugnut, if you vould please not use ze POKE inside ze ship…" an icy cold German accented voice piped up. "…zat vould be greatly appreciated."

The Decepticon before them was tan, purple, built tall and strong, and covered in so many vehicle mode parts that it was tough to tell what went where. His chest had a jet's cockpit on the front while a tank barrel stuck out the back. In kind, a pair of tank treads stuck out the back of his legs… while on his shoulders were a pair of tiny purple wings. His chest was covered in red and silver details and in one hand, he carried a purple rifle that was billowing with icy air. Meanwhile, on his back, he had a jagged, deadly looking sword. His helmet was bright yellow and block-shaped, sticking out from the rest of him. Though his features also seemed… strangely out of place, as his face was a cold blue color, with a sharp chin and one optic shaped like a monocle.

Lugnut grumbled and punched the ice off of his arm, transforming it back to normal. "Grr, very well… but I will STILL not stand for this insubordination!"

Sky-Byte waved the big bot off, hoping to prevent a fight from breaking out. "Hey, hey, let's not fly off the handle here. Remember, we're all here to do the same thing; bring in Autobots an' get back to Cybertron with Prime in custody." He craned his head over toward the purple and tan Decepticon, sending him a toothy smirk. "But why am I not surprised that you're here, Three-Face? Makes sense that Megatron would wanna send one of his most wacked-out berserkers to help pull this off."

The Con sneered and his icy cold complexion shifted rather quickly… and literally. *whrr-chkt-tch* All of a sudden, the Con's face spun around inside of his own helmet, rotating to one that somewhat fit better inside of his blocky helmet. This once had a square jaw and was colored sterling silver, with a blood red visor that glowered at Sky-Byte relentlessly. "Ze name is BLITZWING, you sharp-toothed sauerkraut! Remember it! Because it is ze LAST name you vill ever here before I—"

*whrr-chkt-tch*

Just then, Blitzwing's angry face spun around again… changing to a third expression that sent a chill through everyone. This last face's complexion was pitch black and had a jagged mouth and eyes that resembled those of a jack o' lantern, with a red light shining through from the back of his head. However, for as terrifying as his appearance was… his tone was eerily jovial as he continued; "—express my feelings in SONG!" He stuck two fingers up and began swaying side to side, all while taunting Sky-Byte by singing; "~Baby Shark! Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo! Baby Shark! Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo~"

"Why you little!" Sky-Byte snarled and he charged forward, intent on strangling Blitzwing there and then, with his Predacon followers desperately holding him back.

"W-Woah, boss, slow down!" Gas Skunk insisted.

"Yeah, ya JUST we ain't tryin' to start fights!" Slapper insisted.

At that point, Starscream's optic began twitching as he spun around and pointed at his sister. "Would you get him to SHUT UP already?!"

Slipstream sighed and shook her head. "I can't. Once he gets going, it's nearly impossible for him to—"

"KRAAWW!"

"ROAROARRAAAWR!"

The sound of two metallic, animalistic cries took the Cons off guard, but by the time they found the source, they were set upon by laser fire and forced to separate. The main targets were Blitzwing and the Predacons, though, with both parties forced to the floor. "Gah… what the…" Sky-Byte muttered, only to then see what had shot at him.

Propped on all fours in front of the group was a black and silver cyber-jaguar, its yellow optics glaring daggers at him as if daring him to do something while the guns on its hips were aimed at him. Up above, on the other hand, was a black and red robo-condor with a yellow beak and two silver laser blasters on its back, flapping its wings as it shrieked at the Cons. "KRAW! KRAAAW!"

"Grrrr…" the cyber cat growled.

"Hahahaha, uh-oh!" Blitzwing's crazy personality laughed jovially before it shifted back toward his icy cold personality. "…It vould seem zat we are now in trouble."

Barricade eyed the three-faced Decepticon warily. "Ya think?" Just then, however, he started feeling a ruckus going on in his chest, and before he knew it, Frenzy ejected himself and sprawled onto the floor. "F-Frenzy?! What're you—"

"Relax, Barricade!" Frenzy shot the "okay" sign up to his partner. "I've got this…" He stepped over toward the feline and bird, both of whom began to relax at the sight of him. "Haha! Ravage, Laserbeak! It's been too long!" The pair of beast Mini-Cons both cried out in happiness seeing their old friend, and immediately went over, nuzzling and perching on him respectively. "Guess you two're the ones ACTUALLY keepin' a lid on things, eh?"

"Hmph, as per usual."

Once again, the arrival of a new voice immediately drew everyone's attention across the room, where they saw the leader of Megatron's personal away team enter. The bot was mainly blue in color, with white armor on his forearms, waist and his shins. He had red line detailing around his wrists and knees, and his chest had a clear black window with gold around the edges. Beneath this window were a set of silver buttons in his abdomen, while is shoulders had what appeared to be audio screens built into them, which fluctuated as he played foreboding musing from his speakers. On his right shoulder was a cylindrical cannon with eight blaster barrels, while a communications array was mounted on his left shoulder. He also had four tires to him; two on his back and two in his legs.

As for his head, it was rather angular, with a diamond-shaped head crest in the center that pointed down the center of his face while two fins jutted out from either side. It somewhat gave him a "glare", even though he only had a V-shaped visor rather than actual optics. There were silver vents on either side of his silver faceplate, leaving him without any visible facial features… if he had any to begin with.

Starscream's optics narrowed at the warship's commanding officer, saying his name under his breath. "…Soundwave."

"Oh boy…" Swift muttered as well. "Here we go…"

Soundwave crouched in front of the group of Mini-Cons, reaching a hand down to them. "Frenzy." he greeted. "It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

"Haha! Soundwave!" Frenzy raised his own hand, smacking Soundwave's in a high five. "It's good to see ya! How've things been?"

"Fair. Those two have missed you, that's for sure." Soundwave reached up, pressing a button on his left shoulder near the radar dish. "…And so has this one."

All of a sudden, the window on Soundwave's chest opened up like a hatch, and out of it launched a rectangular object, which in actuality, was a data disk. But once it had ejected, it transformed into a small robot, its legs folding down from the sides while its arms unfurled from inside the disk. Its chest had silver detailing across the pectorals while on its back were a pair of silver blasters that were similar to Laserbeak's. However, once the robot's head popped up… it was incredibly clear that this bot was a near-exact reflection of Frenzy, with a similar helm and face. The only difference was in the color scheme; Frenzy being red and black… while this bot was blue and purple.

And in an instant, Frenzy was all smiles as he greeted his counterpart. "RUMBLE!"

"'EY, FRENZY! HAHAHA!" The duo went in and clasped their hands across each other's' shoulders, laughing as Laserbeak and Ravage called out in celebration. "How's it goin', bro? You doin' okay in your new digs?" Rumble asked in a heavy city accent.

"Oh, psh, for sure." Frenzy said, slipping into the accent as well as he jut a thumb toward Barricade. "Lemme tell ya, bro, Barry 'ere is one helluva partner. I can guarantee ya that."

Soundwave nodded in approval. "Hm, I'm glad to hear it." Approaching the crooked cop, he nodded to him. "I appreciate you taking Frenzy under your wing, Barricade. I was hesitant when he said he wanted to have a chance of scenery, but I can see that I left him in capable hands."

Barricade responded with a salute. "Thank you, Soundwave, sir! I'm glad to have had the opportunity, and I hope that Frenzy and I can cause even more grief for the Autobots soon enough."

"I'm certain you will." Soundwave nodded, only for his attention to shift toward the lead Seeker and high-ranking general. "For now, though, I need to have a little conversation with your leaders…" With their optics locked, Soundwave and Starscream approached one another, standing so that they were parallel in front of their subordinates.

"…Soundwave." the Seeker muttered.

"Starscream." the Decepticon Communication Specialist regarded back, his vocoded voice reverberating through the room. He craned his head slightly to acknowledge Unicronus as well. "General." He received a gruff grumble from the dark Decepticon in response. "Been a while. Heard you've been having some trouble recently."

"If by "trouble", you mean whatever you've heard from Megatron, then I fear you might be misinformed." Starscream countered, raising his chin. "We are not nearly in as bad of a spot as you think we are."

Soundwave stared blankly at his cohort for but a moment before listing off what he knew. "That so? Then, let's see… failing to take an enormous cache of energon, allowing more and more Autobots to come to this planet and unite with Prime's team, being outmaneuvered and even BEATEN by mere organic creatures—"

But Starscream cut him off right there. "They are NOT "mere organic creatures", I can assure you of that. I'm assuming that Megatron neglected to inform you that they have superpowers?"

"Superpowers?" Slipstream repeated, placing a hand on her hip skeptically.

"Oh yeah, these creatures can fly, throw acid, use lightning, and ALL kinds of other crazy stuff." Nightra assured, bringing up her holographic display to show them footage of the humans in action at the Sports Festival. "Take a look at these kids…"

From there, the new Decepticons were left surprised by what they were seeing. Many of these adolescent organics were doing things that were barely comprehendible to them. Using vine-like hair to ensnare enemies, creating animal parts out of their bodies from out of seemingly nowhere, and two of these humans in particular were going at it so hard that it caused a MASSIVE explosion in the stadium that they were fighting in. By the end of the b-roll footage, the four Cons were now firm believers in what Starscream was claiming. "…By Primus." Blitzwing uttered, placing a finger on his chin. "Perhaps zis vill be more of a challenge zan we initially thought."

Even Slipstream had to admit when she was wrong. "My, my… quite the stunning display. I'd almost call if beautiful… what are these creatures again?"

"Zey call zemselves "humans", and their powers are known as "Quirks"." Flatline explained. "I have been attempting to study zis species since we arrived on zis planet, however, ze origins of ze Quirks remain quite ze mystery." The Decepticon medic brought up his own holoscreen, bringing up several case files that seemed to have blacked out information. "Also, many events in recent history seem to be redacted, almost as if ze governing bodies of zis vorld do not wish for ze public to remember something that happened…"

"BAH! It matters not! No organic creature could EVER hope to withstand our might!" Lugnut raised his fists in defiance. "Because we not only have our superior strength, but we have the MIGHTEST weapon of all! The greatness and GLORY of MEGATRON! RAAAAAHH!" Before anyone knew it, Lugnut and Blastwave were chanting and pumping their arms into the air, much to everyone's chagrin.

"Ugh… I am already over zis…" Shadow Striker scowled.

"Same here, sister." Swift concurred.

Just then, however, Skullcruncher cleared his throat, hoping to get things back on track. "AHEM, uh, not to be interruptin' the whole "Decepticon Unity" thing, but ain't we forgettin' somethin'?" He shifted his optics over toward Starscream. "Like, ya know, that fact that we're s'posed to be meetin' up with MECH in HALF a Decacycle?"

The Seeker commander threw his hands into the air. "Gah, scrap, that's right! We need to get down south fast!" He spun toward Soundwave, pointing at him. "Listen, now that you've abducted us, perhaps you could make this ship useful and get it to the city of "Detroit, Michigan" as fast as possible. We have human allies who are keen on meeting you and showing what they have to offer."

The revelation took Slipstream by surprise. "Oh? Starscream, you didn't mention that we had our OWN organic Quirk users…"

"That's because we don't." Starscream deadpanned. "…At least, not yet. However, I AM making progress on that front."

"Alright, so what DO we have?" Soundwave countered, lifting his arm so that Laserbeak could perch on it.

"What we have is a Quirkless militia who are intent on conquering the world through technology." Swindle explained, entering the conversation. "And let me tell you, what these people have is so advanced that it can actually give superpowers to people who DON'T have them." Once more, he saw the new Cons' interest pique, to which the con man smirked. "So then, shall we get moving? We don't want to be late to the meeting, after all…"

Soundwave sighed and ushered them to follow him. "Very well. This way to the bridge." As he led the way, though, he quickly found himself in the company of Starscream once again, the Seeker wearing an amused smirk. "…What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just wanted to say that… I expected more top-level reinforcements than just the four of you, a gaggle of Predacons, and your Mini-Cons." Starscream was immediately snapped at by Laserbeak for the remark. "Gah! Watch your bird, will you?"

"He does what he wants." Soundwave dismissed, scratching Laserbeak under the chin. "In any case, we DO have more. We have an entire fleet of Vehicons of differing classes aboard this ship, for one. And secondly… there are still six more Cons on their way here."

Starscream's optics widen at the revelation. "Six… wait, you don't mean…"

"Hmhm, we ended up finding a group of straggling Autobots out in the middle of space on the way here." Soundwave explained. "They should be here in the next day or so… then the Autobots will have a TRUE reason to fear us."

The notion made Starscream's smile return, steepling his fingers in anticipation. "I do not doubt that for a minute. Now I can hardly wait for the Autobots to once again face… complete and total devastation."

…..

Detroit, Michigan. Once known as the automotive capital of the world… now known as the automaton capital of the world. You couldn't go anywhere in this city without seeing some form of man-made robot walking around, and it was something that was unique to this city alone. And it was all thanks to the leading tech giant of the city; Sumdac Systems, which specialized in two things; robotics and support gear for superheroes. Of course, the robots themselves were relatively simplistic, but when it came to crime levels in the city, Detroit was one of the safest in the world, second only to many of Japan's major cities… for obvious reasons.

However, just because the city was safer than most didn't mean that it lacked a seedy underbelly. Because on the outskirts of the city, three of its most prominent villains were driving together to get to a rather momentous meeting. …Well, technically they weren't "villains" so much as they were considered "terrorists", mainly due to their lacking Quirks. But even so, that didn't stop the Society of Unconventional Villainy from referring to themselves as such. "So… you think we're gonna see somethin' good tonight?" Nanosec asked as they neared their destination.

"Verily." said the Angry Archer, who sat at the wheel. "Considering that Mr. Black hast been toiling tirelessly on this project for months now, I doubt that he is about to present a failure to us, Silas or the Decepticons."

"Exactly." Penelope Sutton piped up in the backseat, filing down her nails all the while. "Like, I've been helping Mr. Black out with this thing, and lemme tell ya, I think we've got a winner on our hands."

Nanosec placed his hands behind his head and shrugged. "Well, if ya say so. But somethin' else I'm curious about… has this Quirk enhancer been tested yet? Does it have any weird side-effects or crap like that?"

Professor Princess paused at that, sparing a quick glance up to her colleague in the front seat. "That… we don't know yet. This'll be the first time it's been tested." She saw him look back to her incredulously, to which she put her hands up. "H-Hey, listen, Mr. Black wanted to test it on himself, but I told him that it was a bad idea. If this serum ends up having bad side-effects, then the last thing we want is for him to turn into… I dunno, I pile of sludge or something."

"Indeed." the Archer concurred. "Better to have some other poor soul suffer a gruesome fate rather than our generous benefactor."

"…Eh, fair enough." Nanosec accepted as they arrived at their destination. At first, it appeared to be just a random rockface in the middle of nowhere, but a few moments after stopping in front of it, the large "stone" split apart and revealed a hidden entrance into an underground bunker. The three drove in onto an elevator, which took them down deep into M.E.C.H.'s base of operations. They disembarked their vehicle as several agents went every which way around them, likely busy with preparations for their other guests.

It didn't take long for them to find the leader of the operation, who was busy staring up at a holographic screen with his usual grimace. "Yo, Silas!" Nanosec called out. "We're here."

The military man sneered slightly, clearly irritated as he turned toward them. "Good. You are the first to arrive… you weren't followed, correct?"

"Nah, made sure our tracks were covered." Penelope assured with a wink.

"Good. now hopefully our other guests won't be long either." Silas scanned his sights across the group, noting one prominent absence. "Colossus Rhodes didn't come with you?"

The Archer shook his head. "No, he told us that he would be accompanying Mr. Black to this assembly. They should be here shortly, I assume."

Silas furrowed his brow with a scoff. "Hmph, hopefully. The fact that this meeting had to be expedited is already not sitting well with me." He took a deep breath and folded his arms over his chest. "Still, I do somewhat respect the hustle that Megatron strives for. It's evident that defeating this sect of Autobots is his top priority."

Penelope tilted her head. "Think we'll actually hear from the big guy himself finally? Maybe have a little chit-chat?"

"We will see…"

*ANK! ANK! ANK! ANK!*

All of a sudden, a loud alarm began blaring throughout the base, and within seconds, one of the M.E.C.H. agents came up to Silas with a salute. "Sir! We've just detected a massive unknown vessel. It just… i-it appeared from out of nowhere, sir."

"Speak of the devil…" Silas regarded before nodding to the trooper. "It's the Decepticons. Let them in." Without hesitation, the agent began spreading the word around, and before long, a set of heavy steel doors opened up across the expansive room.

There, the humans watched on in silent awe as the Decepticons all strode in, and they were even more astounded by all of the different bots they were seeing. At the front of the pack were the Seekers, Swindle and Skullcruncher, all very familiar. …But with them was another blue bot they didn't recognize, which piqued Silas' interest. That bot was, of course, Soundwave. Then behind them were Shadow Striker, Swift, Nightra and Barricade, followed by Unicronus, Flatline and Blastwave. The Predacons came in afterwards before finally, Slipstream, Lugnut and Blitzwing brought up the rear.

The latter three were glancing around the place, with Slipstream being thoroughly… underwhelmed. "Hmph, meeting in a dingy old bunker like this? Not exactly what I'd call impressive."

"I'd argue zat it doesn't necessarily need to be "impressive"." Blitzwing reasoned, observing his surroundings carefully. "From my view, it seems to be quite ze practical location—" *whrr-tschzz-chkt* "A place to formulate plans to OBLITERATE the enemy does not NEED to be fashionable!" *whrr-tschzz-chkt* "HAHAHA! It just needs to be fancy enough to get ze job done! Und zat job is causing as much destruction as possible! AHAHAHA!"

As the crazed Decepticon switched between his three faces, Lugnut meanwhile took note of the puny creatures who were all focused on them. "HMPH! These diminutive beings… are you CERTAIN that they are worthy to serve the immense might of Megatron?!"

"Trust me, Lugnut…" Starscream assured, peering over his shoulder. "Believe it or not, there is FAR more to them than meets the eye." His attention shifted downward and he crouched to meet with Silas and the SUV. "Greetings, everyone. I am pleased to see that you have all made it. I apologize for having to… advance this meeting sooner than expected."

Silas put on a straight face, hiding his slight annoyance and getting straight to the point. "It's alright. Would rather get this meeting done and over with instead of having to wait two weeks on some sort of plan." His gaze shifted toward Soundwave. "I suppose THIS is the leader of the away team you've told me so much about?"

Starscream put on his own fake smile and gestured to his cohort. "Indeed! Silas, allow me to introduce you to Soundwave, the Decepticon's lead communication's officer."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Silas, leader of M.E.C.H." Silas reached a hand up to Soundwave… who simply gazed at him with a straight stare. Raising a brow, Silas asked; "…Not a fan of shaking hands?"

"…Sure, I suppose." Soundwave kneeled in front of Silas and offered his index finger… only to pull it away before the human could even grab it. From his speakers, Soundwave played what could only be described as "wah-wah" music as he taunted. "Oh, sorry, too slow."

While many of the Decepticons snickered at the display, Silas scowled at Soundwave before his sights snapped toward Starscream. "Does he think that this is a game?"

"U-Uh, eh… hehehe… one moment, please." Starscream scrambled to take Soundwave by the shoulders, pulling him aside. "What are you doing?!" the Seeker whispered harshly. "Are you trying to undermine everything I've worked for here?"

"Hmph, these humans are inferior." Soundwave deduced. "I've yet to be convinced that their aid will be needed. If they can prove me otherwise, then they will earn my respect."

Starscream's optic twitched, his frustration growing by the second. "Need I remind you that Megatron HIMSELF told us that working with these humans will be essential to evening the odds against the Autobots and their heroic allies?" He reached out and grabbed Soundwave by the collar strut. "If you mess this up for us, what will you have to say about it to him?"

"…Very well, then." Soundwave said exasperatedly. He turned around and gave Silas a slight bow of the head. "My apologies. I was simply testing your resolve. I can see now that you're someone who takes things quite seriously, Mr. Silas. You are clearly one who doesn't tolerate foolishness, which I respect."

Silas seemed to calm down when he heard that, if only slightly. "Hm… I see. Well, your way of "testing" is quite unorthodox… though I suppose I've yet to understand everything about you bots. I'll accept this, for now." He folded his arms across his chest as he continued. "Because from my understanding, Starscream tells me that your crew are the best of the best."

A light chortle escaped Slipstream's throat, the femme Seeker inspecting her sharpened nails. "Hmhm, we certainly try." She shot Starscream a knowing look. "Certainly better than most, I can assure you." Just as she predicted, her brother grumbled back at her, which made her smirk increase. "And from what we've heard of you… your research has brought about something intriguing." Slipstream's optics shifted over across the room… where a large mech was currently docked. It certainly wasn't Cybertronian, she could tell that much, but she could see that it was engineered to function like one, complete with helicopter parts strewn across its frame. "…You wish to mimic us."

"As they say; imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Silas assured. "Swindle even aided us in designing the mech suit."

Clearing his throat, Swindle laughed nervously as the other Cons eyed him. "Ah, hehe… yes, it's true. B-But, as you can probably tell, it's not completed yet. Because there's only ONE thing that could even HOPE to power a suit this advanced…"

*whrr-tchzz-chkt* "Energon." Blitzwing deduced, returning to his icy calm state. "Ze design, while not completely Cybertronian, shares many similarities to our biology. …Though I do wonder how you intend on making it transform vithout a T-Cog." He saw Swindle give him a cheeky grin, and at that moment… he knew. "…You have one, don't you?"

Opening his chest compartment, Swindle procured a small, sphere-shaped device, one that was covered in thick ridges and had a glowing center. "Several, actually. All carried on my person. You'd be surprised how many bots are willing to sell their ability to transform just to get their mitts on something valuable."

"Grah, I knew you were sick, Swindle, but carrying internal organs around… is begrudgingly impressive." Lugnut admitted, even though he didn't want to. "You truly ARE a Decepticon."

"Finally, someone says it." Swindle grinned as he went over and placed the T-Cog in the mech suit's chest. "Now all that's needed is some energon and we can have this baby up and running!" He raised a brow down toward Silas. "Though of course, that's only PART of the reason why we're here. Has Mr. Black not arrived yet?"

Silas grumbled, bristling with irritation. "No, not yet. And it's beginning to wane on my patience." He glanced over to the SUV, who narrowed their eyes right back at him. "I swear, if he doesn't show up in the next ten minutes, I'll—"

*WHAM*

"You'll do what?" The arrival of a deep voice brought everyone's attention across the room, where Colossus Rhodes had just slammed the door in… and imbedded it into the concrete wall. He strode straight up to Silas, his massive form dwarfing him and the other humans.

"…Well, he's certainly different." Barricade noted.

"No, really?" Nightra whispered sarcastically.

Silas raised his chin at Rhodes, not intimidated by the least. "…You're late."

Despite his own annoyance, Rhodes lowered his head apologetically. "Yeah, sorry about that. On such short notice, Mr. Black had to make sure he was fully prepared for this meeting." Bringing his head up, Rhodes' attention went toward the Decepticon group. "He also wants to let you all know that it's been a nightmare to rearrange his incredibly busy schedule to attend this meeting and show you what he has to offer."

Starscream gave a slight chortle and raised his hand. "Hmhm, I'm certain that this serum he has is going to be impressive no matter what it does. Whether it enhances a human's Quirk…" He smirked back toward his fellow Decepticons. "…or transforms them into piles of sludge. Hehehe…"

Many of the Cons laughed as well, but Unicronus simply huffed and waved his hand. "Could we just get on with it?" he said dully.

"Hmph, fine! Decepticons, and esteemed members of M.E.C.H., I present to you… our boss." Rhodes and the other members of the SUV stood at attention as someone else began to make their way in. "Mister… Prometheus Black."

The crowd bore witness as a tall, slender man came… sashaying through the doorway, a spring in his step and a confident grin on his lips. He was tanned from head to toe and his blonde hair was styled into a mullet with sideburns… though with the top of his head thinning, it wasn't exactly a flattering look. His clothes, however, were incredibly clean and fancy. He wore a full white suit with a black undershirt and grey tie, with matching platform shoes. Hanging over his shoulders was a large, grey trench coat, with its sleeves swaying to and fro as he walked. Finally, he wore a set of reflective black shades over his eyes, giving him an air of mystery.

"Hmhm, Colossus Rhodes, I thank you for the introduction." He said, speaking in a Hungarian accent. "But there is no need for such theatrics… not when time is of the essence." Despite his serious tone, he kept his smile as he approached the leader of M.E.C.H. "And Silas! Oh, good to see you in person again. It's been a hot minute, hasn't it?"

'Not long enough.' Silas thought to himself. He chose not to dwell on it, though, instead extending his hand toward his benefactor. "Mr. Black, so good of you to… grace us with your presence."

"Ah, I'm sensing some hostility." Prometheus reciprocated the handshake, though not without shaking his head. "But we shouldn't be trying to bite each other's heads off! Come now, this should be an exciting day! Because today, we break through the boundaries that we've been so desperate to knock our way through!" He then spun around and reached out toward the Decepticons with a flashy pose. "And we owe it ALL to our new allies! Haha, and what a colorful bunch you are! Always a big fan of blue, black and purple."

The statement gave the Cons pause… but eventually, they realized he spoke the truth. "Eh, he's not exactly wrong." Gas Skunk commented. "Cons DO mostly come in those colors."

Swift clicked her metallic tongue at that. "Tch, a little splash of green never hurt anyone…" Lugnut, Skullcruncher and Blastwave nodding fervently.

"Or tan, either…" Swindle added, with Blitzwing humming in agreement.

"AHEM, we're getting off topic." Starscream asserted. "…Besides, I'm more partial to red and whitish-grey." Moving on, he knelt down in front of Prometheus, eager to speak with him. "But more to the point, it is good to finally meet the face behind the screen, Mr. Black."

Straightening his tie, the blonde man replied; "Hmhm, please, no need for formalities, my extraterrestrial friend. "Prometheus" will do just fine." He craned his head around, staring at the large robots in awe behind his shades. "And I must say, you've brought quite the gaggle of comrades with you! You weren't kidding when you said you'd be getting reinforcements."

"I hardly joke, good sir."

"Hm, yes, my big brother's usually the BUTT of them. Ahaha!" Slipstream quipped before giving a haughty laugh, which Starscream grimaced at.

"BACK to the POINT." The Seeker commander emphasized, his optics shifting back toward Black. "I'm assuming that you've brought the serum for us to… observe it's affects?"

Prometheus flashed his teeth and reached into his inner coat pocket. "Oh, did I ever! BEHOLD!" From within the big coat, he procured a vial full of glowing, green liquid, seemingly radiating pure power. "I present to you; Prometheus Black's Quirk Enhancing Serum!" He jostled the vial, making the liquid slosh around on the inside. "This little miracle was born from DECADES of research on the Quirk anomaly and how it affects a human being's genetic makeup, right down to the very last atom!"

Hearing this, Flatline approached, wanting to inspect the contents closer. After doing a quick optical scan of the vial, he was left taken aback. "…Mein gott. Herr Black, your serum has an incredible number of mutagenic properties. Do you have any idea vhat it could DO to a carbon-based organism?" He paused for a moment before smiling beneath his faceplate. "…Hmhmhm… I like ze vay you think, good sir."

"Oh, well I'm certainly glad to hear that." Prometheus performed a quick spin and wiggled the vial around a bit more. "And let me assure you, it's going to be quite the spectacle once it works its magic."

Nanosec rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Oh-ho, and we can't wait to see it happen! So, Mr. Black, who's gonna be the lucky contestant?"

"Hmhm, well, I can promise you this, Mr. Sexton; the first person up to bat for this serum's first test is QUITE the tough individual." Prometheus explained as he strode over to his Society of Unconventional Villainy, stopping directly in front of Rhodes. "In fact, he may be even tougher than YOU were back in your prime, Colossus Rhodes!"

The giant man balked at the idea. "Hah, I highly doubt that."

Professor Sutton leaned in with a cheeky grin. "So do I, buuuut… I wouldn't mind seeing if this guy can prove us wrong."

The Archer waved his hand around wildly, voicing his approval. "Verily! Now dost we have the good chap here or not? The anticipation is becoming too much to bear, I tell you!"

"My thoughts exactly." Unicronus voiced as well, his patience wearing thinner with each passing moment. "Could we just get on with this, please? Time is precious and we're wasting it here when we COULD be out putting more plans into motion."

"What's wrong, general?" Soundwave inquired sarcastically. "Excited to jump the gun on another mission?"

Gritting his teeth, Unicronus stormed forward and practically slammed his forehead against Soundwave's, though the communication's officer responded by pressing right back so that they were in a pushing war. "You know what, Soundwave?!" the dark Decepticon bellowed. "You might've just got here, but I've already had enough of your condescending attitude!"

"Well, maybe if you hadn't flagrantly failed in such a spectacular manner, then I wouldn't be so condescending." Soundwave brushed off brazenly. He pushed Unicronus away from him and gestured down toward Prometheus. "Now, if you're willing to exhibit some patience, then we can watch Mr. Black present his findings for us." Unicronus was about to rush Soundwave again, but this time, Sky-Byte and Blastwave held him back, to which Soundwave leaned over to Starscream. "And here I thought YOU would be the most annoyed by my presence here."

The lead Seeker sighed and shook his head. "You and me both." He bowed his head toward Prometheus regretfully. "My apologies for our general's brashness. Please, feel free to begin your presentation."

The blonde man gave another chuckle. "Ahah, oh, it's no big deal. We ALL have to work with THOSE kinds of people…" He glanced over toward Silas with a knowing smirk. "Now, don't we?"

"Mr. Black, for all of our sakes, please just get to it already, would you?" Silas insisted. "Where's this guinea pig of yours, anyway?"

"Oh-ho, now THAT is actually the good part, Silas… because it's someone that you know very, VERY well…" Prometheus' statement made Silas furrow his brow in confusion, though he didn't get an immediate answer as he just started to monologue again, addressing everyone else instead of him. "Little known fact about Silas, everyone… he once served in the military, and of course, when you're in the military… you end up in a platoon."

Silas' eyebrows shot up at that. "…What?"

"And, coincidentally, the hitman that I made the offer to was actually FROM your old platoon! And he actually volunteered to be a part of this project." Mr. Black winked at Silas. "Especially once he heard that I was backing you, my friend."

At that point, Silas' mind was racing a mile a minute, trying to comprehend everything that he was being told. "B-But that's impossible. I made sure to cut off every tie I have to that world. I faked my death to start this whole operation!"

Just then, however, a low snicker could be heard from across the room. "Heh… an' you thought that'd be enough to convince us you were gone, colonel?" With his eyes wide and astonishment etched across his features, Silas whipped around… where he saw another man come walking in. He was Caucasian and just as big as Silas with similar musculature, though he appeared to be a bit younger. Even so, just like Silas, he bore his own scar, though his went over his eye. …He also had a steel plate embedded on the right side of his bald head. He wore a white muscle shirt and black pants with matching shoes and gloves, a set of dog tags hanging from his neck.

Needless to say, Silas was rendered absolutely stunned. "…It can't be."

"Can it, though?" the bald man smirked, making his way toward him. "Heh, you got old, colonel."

Lugnut leaned forward, his audio receptors perking up at that last word. "Colonel, you say? A superb position of power…"

"…Uh, okay, so who's this guy?" Swift piped up.

"…Lieutenant Otto Augustine." Silas said, managing to regain his composure a bit. "Call sign; "Octopunch"."

Decepticons and Humans alike all wore confused looks at his explanation, which only raised more questions. "Er, okay… so like, why's he called "Octopunch"?" Penelope inquired. She got her answer quick when Otto grinned to her, raising a gloved hand before taking said glove off… and revealing that he didn't have fingers. Instead, four of his five fingers were tiny tentacles, leaving only a normal thumb. The group stared dumbfounded at the hand before the young professor stated; "…Gross."

"Hey, you asked, little missy." Otto shrugged off, removing his other glove for good measure. "But yeah, as Mr. Black so eloquently told you, I was once in the same platoon as this ol' wardog here." He gave Silas a salute, though the smirk he wore belied the serious gesture. "Silas here was my acting sergeant before he got promoted… though of course, that ain't your REAL name, now is it?"

Silas narrowed his sights on Otto. "And if you know what's good for you, Otto, you'll keep it that way." He shifted his gaze around to the surrounding M.E.C.H. agents, who all watched the scene intently. "You've already let too much slip."

Otto raised his hands, abdicating to his former superior. "Heh, whatever you say, old man." He reached out and bumped Silas' chest with his fist. "In any case, it's good to see ya. S'pose you're still chasin' our little dream, eh?"

"Our dream?" the Archer piped up.

Silas sighed, elaborating on what his old comrade meant. "Yes… our dream. When I was a young man in the military, I shared a platoon with a bunch of… well, misfits, for lack of a better word." He sneered as we went on, venom dripping from his voice. "Though they liked to call us… "Pretenders", because the entire platoon had Quirks that most people would see as "useless" or "lackluster" compared to those with incredibly bombastic powers… meanwhile, I was just Quirkless."

"And you still ended up ranking higher than ALL of us." Otto grinned. "We respected ya for it, too. Even with all of OUR dumb powers combined, we couldn't hold a candle to you."

"From there, we resolved to show our contemporaries that, even without impressive Quirks or even none at all, "The Pretenders" would be able to overcome any challenge set before us." Silas continued, a hint of pride in his voice. "…And we did. While I climbed the ranks from Sergeant to Colonel, my men would go on to undertake some of the most dangerous operations ever seen."

"Operation Rattlesnake, remember that one?" Otto asked.

"Hmph, Cobra Commander certainly didn't see THAT one coming." Silas mused. "Though of course, if the Joes saw me now, they'd likely treat me as bad as Cobra."

Otto raised a finger and pointed at his old commanding officer. "And THAT is exactly why I wanted to offer my services… in fact, we ALL did." Seeing Silas' eyebrows rise up, he explained; "Heh, yeah, the boys are ALL in on this. Bomb-Burst, Skullgrin, Submarauder, I've got 'em all on speed dial and they're ready to help out…" His eyes moved back toward Mr. Black. "…Pertaining that this serum does what it needs to do."

Prometheus was quick to assure the former lieutenant. "Oh, I think you'll find that it WILL, Mr. Augustine. Now, are you ready to begin?"

Without hesitation, Otto nodded, raising his arm. "I am. Do it."

"Wait, Otto." Silas grabbed his former subordinate by the arm, sternly staring straight at him. "Are you sure about this? Once that serum goes into you, there's no going back. And besides… I thought you didn't care about having a useful Quirk anymore. We proved them ALL wrong."

"Heh… Si, this ain't about the Quirk anymore." Otto asserted. "This is about doing what it takes to get the job done." He gestured up toward the Decepticons. "Look at them. If we're fighting enemies who're exactly like them, then we'll need to be on an even playing field. And besides…" He shifted his focus down toward the serum in Black's hand. "This has more to do with proving that technology is superior. Be it with cold steel, or biotech, I can assure you…" He locked eyes with Silas once more. "…The Pretenders will still come out on top."

With a steely expression, Silas sighed and moved away, just as Black poured his serum into a syringe. "…Very well. Best of luck, old friend."

Holding his arm back out, Otto set his sights out to the Decepticons. "Esteemed visitors from the outer space… are you ready to see what Earth biotechnology is capable of?"

"We are." Soundwave said expectantly with his arms crossed. "And I'm expecting something incredible."

Behind him, the rest of his team were more skeptical than anything. "Hmph, I'm personally not expecting much." Slipstream commented. "If this doesn't work and we came here for nothing, I'll be sorely disappointed."

*whrr-tsch-chkt* "AHAHAHA! And hey, if it doesn't work and ze little one dissolves into a pile of goo, at least we'll have a good laugh about it!" Blitzwing blurted out, leading to several incredulous stares from the humans.

…Lugnut promptly hit his cohort over the head, knocking him out cold. "Apologies. My compatriot is completely mad. Pay him no mind."

"Hah, aren't we ALL a little mad?" Prometheus waved off before returning to Otto, bringing the needle over his arm. With a single nod, Otto gave him the go-ahead, and he plunged the needle into the man's skin. Once the serum was completely inside, Mr. Black pulled the syringe out and took several steps back, giving Otto some room. "And now… we wait."

After a few moments passed, Otto flexed his tentacle fingers, finding that… nothing felt all that different. "Hmph, I don't feel a thi—AAAAUGH!" Just then, an immense pain suddenly overtook Otto's entire being, forcing him onto his knees as his fingers gripped the cement floor, sticking to it with their suction cups.

"Ah! There it is…" Prometheus clasped his hands, grinning from ear to ear. "Just as intended."

"He's supposed to be in agony like this?" Silas questioned.

"That's just the mutagen doing its part. Watch…"

As Otto thrashed around across the floor, his clothes began to rip apart at the seams, his body growing and changing into something… FAR more monstrous. His pants and shoes were the first to go, his legs growing a hard, ridged teal green armor over them as his feet changed shape all together. He now had two clawed toes on each foot, with a third toe sticking out of his heel. His upper body, meanwhile, became a dark maroon color as his skin became thick and muscley, just like that of an actual octopus. While his arms remained mostly normal, the tentacles on his fingers disappeared… and instead sprouted out of his biceps and back, with two on each arm and one from each shoulder blade.

Finally, his head grew incredibly large and bulbous with veins popping out all across the top. His facial features also became more monstrous, with a mouth full of sharp teeth that had tusks growing out from his lower lip. His eyes glowed bright yellow, and the metal plate on his head now had skin growing over it. By the time he stopped writing in pain, Otto had completely transformed, much to everyone's astonishment.

"It… it worked." Prometheus whispered before throwing his hands into the air in celebration. "AHAHAHA! It WORKED! I KNEW that it would—huh?" All of a sudden, Otto lunged to his feet and scowled at the entire crowd, his breathing hard and heavy as he locked onto Mr. Black. "…Oh, that might not be good."

"GRAAAAAHH!" All at once, Otto "Octopunch" Augustine sent all of his tentacles out and snatched Prometheus Black up, whipping him around through the air before slamming him against the neatest wall. "YAAAAHH! COME ON! Who's next?! I'll take on EVERY LAST ONE of you SONS OF BITCHES!"

…..

A/N: Well… that certainly could've gone better. But we're gonna have to pick this up next time. I initially wanted to end this chapter a bit differently, but as I said before, I pretty much lost out on a day of writing and I'd rather not delay this chapter any more than I have to.

But okay, so, LOTS to go over with this one since we've got a TON of new villains introduced in this chapter. Let's start off with the Decepticons, shall we, because I'm sure those guys are who you all are the most excited for. And first off, we gotta start with Soundwave. As I mentioned at the top, he's voiced by Marc Swint, and as a result, he's based directly off of his Cyberverse incarnation. No changes whatsoever, this is MY personal favorite incarnation of Soundwave. Yes, even over Prime. I know Prime's a favorite, but Mute Soundwave just never completely clicked with me. He was VERY competent, sure, but almost EVERY incarnation of Soundwave is. And as for his crew… let's go through them, shall we?

Slipstream – voiced by Laura Post

Lugnut – voiced by David Kaye

Blitzwing – voiced by Bumper Robinson

Rumble – voiced by Tom Kenny

Laserbeak and Ravage – voiced by Dee Bradley Baker

And there's the lot! Though as Soundwave stated, this isn't his ENTIRE crew. There's still a few more who've yet to be revealed. But as you can probably tell, these big classic characters are all Transformers Animated alumni who've been given the Generations makeover in the past. Lugnut is based directly off of his 2010 toy, Blitzwing is pretty much his Thrilling 30 toy, and Slipstream is also based on her Cyberverse incarnation… in every way but her voice. Here, she's voiced by Laura Post, and I've based her pretty much around Emma Frost from Marvel Rivals. Because why not add a femme fatale to the Decepticon ranks? One who can get under Screamer's skin?

But of course, we can't forget the role that M.E.C.H. is playing in this chapter, and that brings me to one Mr. Prometheus Black. He's here, folks! Yet another Animated Alumni joining the cast… though don't expect him to start melting down anytime in this arc. …But that said, he's not alone, having brought in one of Silas' old military buddies as a volunteer for his Quirk enhancing serum… which brings me to the subject that's probably the most shocking change I've made to Transformers lore here; The Pretenders.

I think I can safely say that a majority of the fanbase ain't a big fan of the Pretenders, at least conceptually. Because design-wise, the Pretender Shells are awesome… they just do not fit in with Transformers at all. And that's exactly why I've taken inspiration from Animated AGAIN, and this time, they're the direct result of Prometheus Black's experimentation. But instead of him just mutating anyone who crossed him (like his lawyer), he's enhancing people's Quirks to the point where they mutate, as we've seen with Octopunch here. So yeah, now he's TRULY giving birth to villains… though as you cans see, they're not exactly the most stable. On that note, though…

And now, the Preview! As the villains work on getting Octopunch wrangled, we cut back to Autobot base where Roadbuster has just arrived… and he shares his dire warning with the rest of the team. As you can imagine, none of them are happy with the news, and Optimus instructs them to be on their toes while the Autobots work on a plan to counteract this new threat. …However, little do they realize that Unicronus already has a plan ready, which he shares with his fellow Decepticons, the members of M.E.C.H… and Megatron himself. Next time; Conflict on the Horizon. …Wait, the kids have to do WHAT back at U.A.?! Thanks for reading, everybody, and I'll see you all next time! Stay safe out there, and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!

P.S. No, I do not regret having Blitzwing sing "Baby Shark". Lol.