Hello all! I've been tinkering with this series for awhile now- it was going to be a comic, but then I found out I don't like making comics, so it made the jump to prose series. Lemme know if you find any errors so I can correct then and not look like an illiterate dingus! Character design art thread can be found here, go ahead and give it a look if you want help picturing the characters Table of Contents: Episode 1: Arrival To Earth IACON, CYBERTRON “Pardon me! Excuse me! Coming through!” A white Cybertronian car with black and teal highlights zipped along a Cybertronian roadway... at least, it was SUPPOSED to be a roadway. The various mechs and femmes proudly strutting across it in their robot forms obviously hadn’t gotten the memo. “Oh come on, I already asked nicely three times!” Tigatron sighed. “Fine.” The car shifted into a robot of average height and build. His face resembled that of a cat, giving away that he was from planet Animatron. Tigatron walked up the steps of a building and entered. He was met with the sight of a short, stocky gray and black mech sitting behind a desk. “Mister Tigatron. Here to see Highbrow?” “That I am, Longarm,” Tigatron nodded. “Is he available?” “That depends, are you here to visit or for business?” he asked. Tigatron shrugged. “Um... both?” Longarm sighed and rolled his optics. “Alright, go on in.” The mech nodded. “Thank you.” He turned to the right and started down a hallway until he came to a door and knocked. “Enter,” came the reply as the door slid open. Highbrow looked up from his desk and smiled. “Ah, Tigatron, great to see you!” Tigatron nodded. “Highbrow, it’s been awhile. How you been?” “Oh, can’t complain,” the green mech nodded. “But are you here for pleasantries or-” “Yeah, yeah,” Tigatron handed him a datapad. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you WEREN’T happy to see me,” he chuckled. Highbrow returned the laugh. “Nonsense, just getting the unpleasant part out of the way.” he glanced down at the datapad. “Hm, reported Decepticon activity in a class-5 planet?” “Yeah, thought I’d come over here in person instead of just send a message,” Tigatron explained. “Higher-ups want a team deployed to and stationed on that planet ASAP.” Highbrow scratched his chin and nodded. “I see. You know, I think I have just the team for this job...” ------ LegoTFGuy presents TRANSFORMERS: ATHENIA Season 1, Episode 1 Arrival to Earth ------ UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, EARTH Several miles from the nearest human civilization, a Cybertronian ship touched down on top of a large rock formation, a cloaking field activating to make the ship look like part of the rock. Part of the rock slid away and a landing ramp extended to the ground. “Team Athenia, welcome to Earth!” The red and orange mech who had spoken walked down the ramp. A much smaller bot clad in teal armor followed behind him, whipping her head around to take in the sights. “Wow, so this is an organic planet! It’s so colorful!” she cheered. A lanky gray and tan colored mech only slightly taller than the tiny teal bot followed next. “Moonracer, as someone who lived on an organic planet populated by bots, it ain’t that great.” “Rattrap, don’t curb her enthusiasm,” a gray and black mech at least twice as tall as Rodimus stated as he too exited the ship “Oh yeah, ‘cause you know all about enthusiasm, Skydive,” Rattrap retorted. “Both of you knock it off,” a bulky white and red femme stated from behind them. “Let Rodimus talk.” “Hm?” Rodimus turned to face his crew. “Oh, uh, right, thanks Red Alert.” He cleared his audio processor and spoke in a more serious tone. “Okay team. I’ve already briefed you on this mission, but I’m pretty sure at least half of you weren’t listening-” he threw a glance at Rattrap, who only shrugged in response. “- so I’ll say it again. Two Earth days ago the Cyberton Planetary Commonwealth was alerted of possible Decepticon activity in one of the cities. Per the Decepticon Response Act, Team Athenia has been deployed to investigate and, if needed, defend the local life forms.” “And if we don’t find anything?” Moonracer asked. “Given how the sighting was unconfirmed, we’ll be here for one Earth month- about 30 Earth days- at least. If we haven’t found and sign of Decepticon activity by then, we will return to Cybertron.” “What’s say we DO find somethin’?” Rattrap inquired. “Then we’ll stay here until we’ve captured all of the Decepticons,” Rodimus answered. “Hm, stay on crummy organic planet, but might get the chance to bust up some ‘Cons. Sounds good to me,” Rattrap stated. “Since we’re the first Autobot Field Team to be deployed to this planet there isn’t a proper base set up,” Rodimus continued. “As such, we will be using the Athenia as our base of operations.” The bots replied with series of groans. “I know, it’s not the BEST ship in the Autobot fleet-” “I hit my head if I don’t duck through at least half of the doorways,” Skydive complained. “That’s ‘cause yer freakishly tall,” Rattrap countered. “So? I’m from Aerion, everyone’s tall there.” Red Alert sighed. “It’s going to be a long Earth month...” “Also, question,” Skydive continued. “If we’re supposed to be in hiding, how will we hide the Athenia?” “There isn’t a base here, but there is a hanger hidden in a nearby rock formation,” Rodimus explained. “...then why did we land here?” Rattrap inquired. Rodimus’ eyes darted around as he tapped his fingers together. “We, uh, may have had a slight technical issue that forced us to land before we could get to the hanger.” Skydive groaned and turned to walk back to the ship. “I’ll get my tools...” “We seriously have to live in that piece of junk for...” Rattrap tapped his chin. “How long is an earth day again?” “A little over nine Megacycles,” Red Alert replied as she watched Moonracer, who was in turn observing a bird. “Hmmm, let’s see, that’s thirty days of nine Megacycles, which is...” Rattrap counted on his fingers for a bit. “Way too dang long. I’m gonna set a countdown timer.” “Knock it off, Rattrap,” Red Alert scolded. “Things could be worse.” One of the Athenia’s booster rockets then let out a loud sputter that caused nearby fauna to flee in terror. A string of curses originating from Skydive could be heard. “...I should know better than to say things like that,” the medic sighed. ------ “There, how’s that look?” Moonracer beamed. “Wow, pretty good actually,” Rattrap replied as he examined a part of the Athenia that had been painted camouflage colors. “But, uh, where did you get the paint?” “If you mash up the plants here you can make paint! I read it on their Wireless Data Network!” Rattrap nodded. “That’s... actually pretty cool, not gonna lie.” The Athenia then shuddered as its natural cloaking feature activated, turning it invisible, and Moonracer’s paint with it. The diminutive femme slumped over. “Awwww...” “Too bad, kid,” Rattrap shook his head and placed a hand on her shoulder. “At least it can be a backup if the cloaking field ever fails. The Athenia’s cloaking field then began to shimmer, giving away its location. Skydive’s voice came over their comlinks. “Rattrap, Moonracer- there’s some kind of gunk on the side of the ship interfering with the cloaking field. Can you clean it off?” “Uh, sure thing,” Rattrap replied, throwing a glance over to a pouting Moonracer. “Belay that.” Red Alert’s voice also spoke over the comms. “We have possible Decepticon activity ten clicks East.” “You heard her, bots- time to give out new alternate modes a test-run!” Rodimus said, also over the com-channel. “Autobots, transform and roll out!” “Copy that, Rodimus!” Rattrap then folded over, head retracting and arms and legs merging together until he had taken the form of a motorcycle. Moonracer followed suit, her arms morphing into doors, torso into a cab and legs into the rear of a smart car. “Hey Rattrap, when you’re talking over comlinks why do you say ‘copy’ if you understand and don’t actually want them to say it again?” “Not a clue, kid. Not a clue.” Rattrap revved his engine and took off through a clearing, Moonracer following. The cloaking field of the Athenia shimmered as a pickup-truck with a camper back and an ambulance emerged from the ship’s ramp. Above, a fighter jet rocketed out of an access hatch on the top of the ship’s hull. “There’s a path up ahead that leads to a highway- we can take that straight to the location of the energy signal,” Rodimus’ voice stated from within the pickup truck. “Just make sure to get in the lane going the same direction we’re heading.” “I know how to drive, Rodimus,” Rattrap sighed. “We had road systems on Animatron.” “Well, you obviously don’t know that the kind of vehicle you are usually has a human driver,” Red Alert chimed in. “Slag, almost forgot.” A holographic rider shimmered into existence on top of Rattrap’s bike mode. Its helmet and clothing were made to resemble Rattrap’s robot mode. Under the visor a dark-skinned human face could be seen, sporting an eyepatch over the same eye Rattrap was missing. “Better?” “Well you don’t look like a possessed Earth vehicle, so yes,” the medic replied. The gaggle of vehicles soon located the dirt road, and the highway shortly after. “Skydive, keep an optic out for any Decepticon activity in the area,” Rodimus ordered. “Already on it, sir,” came the reply. “Isn’t that usually his job anyway?” Moonracer asked. “Yeah, but I’m the leader. I’m supposed to give those kinds of orders,” Redimus insisted. “Think you can order these humans to move a little faster?” Rattrap inquired as he tailgated a large SUV. “He can’t, but I might be able to.” Red Alert then switched on her lights and sirens. The seas of cars and trucks in front of them began to part, clearing a path for them to get through. “All right, Red!” Rodimus cheered. Now moving much faster, the Autobots began to close in on the energy signal. ------- BLACKROCK RESEARCH AND ENERGY PLANT, EARTH A massive explosion took out a large chunk of a building, forming a giant hole in the wall. Two large bipedal beings stepped through the opening- a taller, green and blue one, and a much shorter muted-yellow one. “Whoops, didn’t realize those tanks were explosive,” the taller mech stated. “I was just hoping to use my acid to burn through the wall.” “It’s of no consequence,” she shorter robot stated flatly, holding up a green canister. “We have secured the objective.” “Right.” the taller mech raised a finger to the side of his head and clicked his comlink on. “Acid Storm to Pretender, Oil Slick and I have secured the objective.” “Copy that, Acid Storm,” came the reply. “Sending a ground-bridge portal now.” “Negative,” Oil Slink interrupted. “The integrity of the human facility has been compromised. We’ll retreat to a safer location before opening a portal.” “Understood. The Ground Bridge will be on standby for when you’re ready.” “Good call,” Acid Storm stated. “It’s the logical choice,” Oil Slick replied. “We should get some distance even before we fly to minimize risk of compromising the mission.” “Sounds good.” Acid storm began to walk to the edge of the compound’s perimeter when he felt several tiny objects begin to pin against his wings. Turning around he saw a squad of armored humans firing projectiles at him. “Heads-up, their security finally showed.” Oil Slick tucked the canister into his backpack. “Do not return fire, your weapons-” “Might further bring down the building, I get it. These guys aren’t doing slag for damage, anyway. Let’s just go.” ------ “Rodimus, I have optics on the targets. Two Decepticons attacking a human facility.” “Understood, Skydive,” Rodimus replied. “We’re two clicks out yet. Do your best to stall them without blowing your cover.” “Copy that, sir.” Skydive navigated his jet mode into a thick cloud layer before transforming. He pulled out a device that extended into a sniper rifle and peered through the sights. He was met with the image of several humans futilely shooting at a duo of Decepticons. Squinting, he scanned over the Decepticons’ forms to determine the best place to fire at ti incapacitate them. During this, his sights fell on the larger Con’s face. Skydive’s eyes widened as he slowly lowered his gun. “No, it can’t be...” ------ “We’re almost at the location,” Red Alert reported. “Okey bots, listen up,” Rodimus started. “This is a heavily populated area and we need to keep our presence on this planet a secret. Try to draw them away so we can engage them without risk of being caught.” “Rodger!” Moonracer replied. “Copy that,” Rattrap stated. The research plant came into view, as did the Decepticons, who were already a fair distance away. Rodimus opened his comlink channel. “Skydive, those Cons are making a break for it!” “I have optics on them. There’s no way they can-” A swirling blue vortex opened a short distance from the Decepticons. “...slag it.” ------ “Ah, there we go,” Acid Storm said as he closed his comlink channel. “Let’s get off this stupid-” A missile suddenly dropped from the sky between the Decepticons and the portal, exploding on impact with the ground and leaving a crater. Acid Storm and Oil Slick were thrown back, landing hard on the ground. “Gah! That actually hurt!” Acid Storm sat up. “Humans must be sending their air battalions. We need to get out of here fast.” Loud sirens started blaring nearby. The Cons looked back to see a string of vehicles headed for them. “Acid Storm to Pretender, we got incoming. Requesting back-up.” “Affirmative, back-up is en-route.” Seconds later, a large gray pickup truck with faded blue trim launched out of the portal, horn blaring. “Ah got these Auto-brats, y’all high-tail it back to the Pretender!” the truck said as she nearly ran over the approaching vehicles, forcing them to scatter. “Thanks, Offroad!” Acid Storm replied as he and Oil Slick stood fully up. “More projectiles incoming,” Oil Slick reported. Acid Storm looked up to see more missile headed for them. “SLAG!” He grabbed Oil Slick by the arm and engaged the rocket boosters in his feet, making a break for the Ground Bridge Portal. Missiles slammed into the ground and exploded around him, requiring him to zig-zag back and forth. The last projectile landed behind him, knocking him off course and sending both bots sprawling on the ground. Groaning, he sat up to see two of the approaching vehicles still heading for them. “New plan- I’ll hold off the humans, you head for the portal!” Oil Slick nodded as he shifted into a quad-rotor drone jet, taking off for the portal. Acid Storm gazed skyward and shifted into his attack jet mode, thrusters roaring as he became airborne. ------ “Scrap, scrap, scrap.” Skydive tried to get sights on the Decepticon heading for the Ground Bridge Portal, but the Seeker was blocking him. He thought about taking advantage the fact that he was still under cloud cover... No. He needed to make sure this particular Decepticon lived to fight another day. Reaching to his left wrist he clicked a button on a gold device, activating a small cloaking field that rendered him completely invisible. Acid Storm roared past him, completely unaware of his presence or the fact that he was already leaving. ----- Offroad’s engine roared as she drove at speeds that doubted few humans would even attempt. In addition, true to her name she had decided to skip the highways and instead head down a rough gravel road. Her truck mode was more than capable of handle the rough terrain, unlike the two smaller human vehicles tailing her. “Catch me if yah can! Which you can’t!” she laughed. “Moonracer, we’re never gonna catch her like this,” Rattrap stated over the comms. “Then what should we do?” the smart car inquired. “As a matter ‘a fact, I have an idea...” In her rear-view mirror, Offroad saw one of her pursuers pull back. “Ha! Givin’ up already? Can’t say ah blame yah!” she howled. “You ready?” Rattrap said from his spot behind Moonracer’s car mode. “Ready!” “Okay, on three. One, two, THREE!” Engine revving, he transformed and jumped at the same time, his momentum launching him up to the top of the smart car. He landed on her roof and pulled out his grenade launcher. “Eats explosives, ‘Con!” Hoisting up his weapon, he let out a flurry of projectiles that rained down on the truck. “Wait, you’re Autobots?!” Offroad’s surprise slowed her reaction time, preventing her from avoiding Rattrap’s explosives. They went off all around her, some striking her directly. Her truck form flew sharply to the left and flipped over, shifting into robot form. Rattrap leapt off of Moonracter, allowing her to transform and leap out of the way of the tumbling Decepticon. The two Autobots skidded to a stop, watching as Offroad did the same, albeit much more harshly. Offroad groaned as she reached up to her head and switched on her comlink. “Offroad to Pretender... these aren’t, humans, they’re Autob-” The ‘click’ of a weapon being loaded caused her to freeze and look up. Sure enough, she was staring down the barrel of Rattrap’s grenade launcher. “Shaddup,” Rattrap stated simply. ------ THE ATHENIA “Well, that was an eventful first day, right guys?” Rodimus stated with a large grin on his face. “No offence, sir, but you didn’t actually do any fighting,” Skydive reminded him. “I thought this was supposed to be a simple recon assignment,” Rattrap grumbled as Red Alert worked on his left hip. “OW! Careful!” “Well, maybe next time you’ll tumble when coming to a stop from a high speed, and not damage your joints.” the medic stated. “I had fun!” Moonracer beamed. “I got to help fight a real Decepticon! A BIG one!” Rodimus sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Rattrap makes a good point, though,” Skydive brought up. “We didn’t expect to see any real Decepticons here. And these guys aren’t common crooks- they had a Ground Bridge system and were able to call in backup. That means they’re both organized have a base somewhere.” The team leader nodded. “Good points, I’ll be sure to make note of them in the incident report. You think you’ll be able to get anything out of our new ‘friend’?” Skydive twisted a Butterfly knife around his fingers. “Let’s find out.” ----- THE PRETENDER, EARTH ORBIT “So, let me see if I understand everything. You were assaulted by humans that may or may not have actually been Autobots, and Offroad was captured.” “Y-yes sir,” Acid Storm nodded. “But the objective was secured.” “True. You did your part, and you did well. It was not your fault that Offroad was aprehended.” Acid Storm relaxed, his shoulders and wings sagging down slightly. “Of course, sir.” “We’ll just have to hope her tough demeanor persists through interrogation. You are dismissed, Acid Storm.” The seeker saluted. “Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!” He then made his way out of the room. “Strika, suggested course of action.” A bulky maroon, lavender and gray femme stood at attention. “Per your policy, Offroad does not know the full extent of our plans. The Autobots will only be able to extract a portion of our agenda from her. Freeing her takes second place to continuing the plan.” “Of course. Begin scanning the planet for further signs of Autobot activity.” “Scan is already underway, sir,” Strika nodded. “Excellent. You may resume your work.” The mssive femme-bot nodded again before turning back to a computer terminal. “Sir, I have analyzed the sample we retrieved,” Oil Slick’s voice said over the com channel. “Results?" “It matches the data from Jhiaxus’ journal of Ore-13, AKA Forestonite.” A large, sinister grin spread across Blundgeon’s skull-like face. “Excellent. Continue with Phase 2 of the operation.”
O_O only on TFW2005 can you figure out a way to mix G1 (IDW or otherwise) and Animated into one story
A yellow blur shot down a highway at incredible speed, nearly causing nearby cars to run off the road. It swerved between the two lanes, dodging and weaving through the other vehicles. At one point the blur came to a spot where both lanes of the road were taken up by large trucks, with no way to pass unless one went off-roading. If the witnesses were able to perceive things at a much, MUCH slower speed they would see a six-wheeled racer with a similar look to a Formula One racer. The racer then morphed and stretched into a tall, lanky purple and yellow robot with wheel-feet and leapt over the trucks, tire-feet grazing the tops of their trailers. Once clear of the vehicles, the lanky robot shifted back into a racer and continued its ultra high-speed journey. -------- TRANSFORMERS: ATHENIA Season 1, Episode 2 Caught in a Rattrap ------- THE ATHENIA, UNDISCLOSED LOCATION ON EARTH THUNK THUNK THUNK “Okay, let’s give this a go...” Rattrap held up a small remote and pressed a button. A very scratched and scorched drone began to walk towards the ammunition crate he had just hidden three bombs behind. The drone knelt down and reached into the crate. Rattrap held up his gun and pressed a switch, causing his bombs to detonate. They blew up the crate, which in turn blew apart the drone. Limb segments flew in every direction, the robot’s torso making its way back to Rattrap and clocking him in the head, sending him sprawling. “Hm, more den enough,” he groaned as he tried and failed to sit up. “Bet I could blow through dat crate with just TWO bombs.” The sound of small metal steps heralded the appearance of Moonracer. “Uh, Rattrap? Are you okay?” “Yeah, just doing some testing,” he replied. “Really? Because we heard an explosion ten cycles ago and haven’t been able to contact you since.” Rattrap’s single working optic blinked. “...must’a got hit harder den I thought.” Moonracer held out a servo and helped Rattrap to his feet. “What are you even testing?” “Trying ta’ get back into the swing a’ shootin’ bombs everywhere. It’s kinda my thing.” The young femme frowned. “‘Back’ into it?” The demolitions expert absentmindedly spun the chamber of his grenade launcher. “You could say I’m a bit... out of practice.” “You seemed fine the other day when we were fighting those Decepticons,” Moonracer shrugged. “That was just general grenade-shootin’. Anyone who knows how the math behind arcs of semi-physical energy projectiles can do that.” He lifted the gun and fired a few projectiles across the room. “What I’ve been trying to get back into is the trap-laying I’m known for.” “Well, good luck!” Moonracer beamed as she turned to leave. “Thanks, kid,” Rattrap nodded as he re-focused his attention on the training room. “I just need to get the ol’ cogs turnin’ again, and everything should work out juuuuust fine.” Pressing the button on the remote, he sent out another testing drone. Once in place, he detonated the bombs he had just placed, again blowing the drone apart. One of its legs flew towards him, but this time he was ready and sidestepped it- “HA!” -only for the drone’s disembodied head to fall straight down onto his cranium, again sending him sprawling. “Frag.” ------ A door slid open on the far side of the darkened room, casting slightly more light on Offroad then the lamp mounted above her. Her scowl turned to a smirk when a tall Autobot walked through the opening, closing the door behind him and returning most of the room to darkness. Skydive loomed over her. The Autobot’s frame was silhouetted in the darkness, though his yellow optics shone brightly. “Hello. I believe we’ve met before.” The Decepticon studied her captor, her eyes lingering on his barely-visible chest logo. “You’re on a’ the Aerialbots, ain’t ‘cha?” Skydive nodded. “And judging by your symbol, you’re a Stunticon. One of them, anyway. Motormaster never could keep a stable team for long, could he.” Offroad couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. “Yah got that right.” Her frown returned. “Oh, I see how it is. Yer tryin’ t’ get on mah good side so’s you can get information outta me! Well it ain’t happenin’!” “Not my intention at all,” Skydive replied. “I just found it funny that out of all the bots to come across on some random organic planet, it happened to be one I’ve already met.” “It ain’t THAT crazy. Us Decepticons are practically an endangered species anymore. Run into any group of us an’ chances are at least some of us will be familiar.” “Oh, that reminds me.” Skydive whipped out his knife and held the point to Offroad’s neck before she knew what was happening. “Those Decepticons from the energy plant- who were they?” The fem-bot mere chuckled. “Where is your Ground Bridge located?” She laughed again. Skydive whipped the blade around, tearing a large gash into her right shoulder. “SLAG IT!” Offroad winced. “I’m not playing around here.” Skydive’s optics narrowed. “I only need you to be able to talk. As far as I’m concerned, your limbs are completely-” Skydive’s comlink pinged. Hesitating for a second, he raised a hand to his helmet. “Kinda BUSY here.” “We have a lock on another Decepticon energy signal and need air support,” Rodimus’ voice replied. “Are they a flier?” “Well, uh, we’re not actually sure-” “Then WHY do you need air support?” “Skydive, we need backup. Report to the bridge NOW.” The Autobot hissed through clenched teeth. “Yes, sir...” Offroad sneered. “Sounds like yer leader ain’t able to keep his troops in line much more than Motormaster.” Skydive swiped his knife again, this time shattering the vehicle-mode window on her shoulder. “Okay, that was just unnecessary,” Offroad huffed as the door closed behind Skydive. ------ “So, what are we lookin’ for here, boss-bot?” Rattrap’s vehicle mode pulled up next to Rodimus’ “Earlier we picked up- Rattrap, your holomatter.” “Oh smelt, right.” A holographic rider shimmered into existence on Rattrap’s cycle mode. “Remind me again why you didn’t tell me about that the first time we went out?” “I, uh, thought your alt mode was a drone of some kind,” the truck replied sheepishly. “Rodimus, I’m not picking up any Decepticon Energy Signatures,” Skydive reported over his comlink. “We’re... not looking for energy signals,” Rodimus admitted. “If there’s not an energy signal then what the heck are we looking for?!” Skydive exclaimed. “We intercepted reports of a strange yellow blur shooting through the streets- nothing like anything that’s been seen on Earth.” “So it might not be a Decepticon at all,” the Aerialbot sighed. “It might not, or it might! That’s why we’re investigating!” Rodimus stated. “Mhmm.” Skydive sighed again. “So what’s after this, are we investigating some human’s malfunctioning household appliances to check for Mini-Cons?” “Enough, Skydive.” Red Alert interrupted. “So, we’re looking for a yellow streak?” Moonracer asked from behind Rodimus’ truck mode. “Yes, most likely a large, yellow object moving at ultra-high speed,” Rodimus confirmed. A large, yellow object moving at ultra-high speed suddenly rushed by them, nearly running them off the road. “Call me crazy, but I think that was it,” Skydive observed. “I’d say you’re right! Team Athenia, commence pursuit!” Rodimus ordered. Red Alert turned on her sirens, parting the traffic ahead of them. The ground-based Autobots sped up. “Skydive, how far ahead is the bogie?” Rodimus asked. “About two miles,” the jet responded. “Two miles?!” “Three now. Four... five...wait, it turned into that industrial area up ahead.” “Red Alert, get on the coms with our human contacts and tell them to evacuate that Industrial sector,” Rodimus ordered. “We have human contacts?” Moonracer asked. “Well sure! How else do you think we entered the atmosphere of a heavily inhabited planet without being plaster all over their news sources?” the maroon truck replied. "You just haven't met any because they haven't really been relevant to our mission yet. "I... guess that makes sense?" Moonracer replied. “Well, we won’t have to worry about that here- the industrial sector ahead is fully automated,” Red Alert reported. “If the Decepticon activity continues to ramp up on this planet, the humans won’t be so eager to replace themselves with machines,” Skydive grumbled. “Right- Moonracer and Rattrap will head to the North, while Red and I will go south,” Rodimus ordered as the Autobots turned into the industrial sector. “Skydive, keep watch from the skies.” “Affirmative,” Skydive replied. “Oh, and Rattrap?” “Yeah, boss-bot?” “We might need you to trap something.” Rattrp shifted to his robot form and readied his launcher, flashing a grin. “Das what I’m here fo’.” “I saw the blur in the northeast quadrant,” Skydive reported. “Uh, at least, I think I did...” “Good work, Skydive.” Rodimus and the other switched to their robot modes, the leader drawing his bow and pulling back the string. A Laser-arrow materialized, ready to be fired. “Be on your toes, Autobots. We don’t know what this yellow blur is- GAAAH!” The yellow blur flew by, causing Rodius to fly forward. He landed with his chestplate on the ground, legs awkwardly bent back and hanging over his head. “Rodimus, I just saw the blur head towards- oh, nevermind.” “Thanks, Skydive,” Rodimus huffed. Rattrap pointed his launcher in the direction the blurr had gone. “Alright, buddeh, no-one hits my leadah an’ gets away wit’ it!” “Oh really?” Rattrap whirled around to face the voice behind him, only to be met with empty air and a brief whoosh. “Rattrap, behind you!” Moonracer leapt into action, activating her arm-blades. Rattrap swung around again, this time firing his grenade launcher widely. Rodimus, having gotten back on his stabilizing servos, armed his bow. Red Alert swapped her hand out for a welding torch, ready to use it as a weapon rather than a repair tool. The events that happened next could only be perceived if one could slow down their perception of time to a small fraction of what is considered normal. A set of maroon fingers wrapped around one of Rattrap’s grenades, spinning it around to be facing back towards the demolitions expert. The same hand then grabbed Moonracer’s arm, pulling her towards Rodimus and spinning her around to face him. Finally, it grabbed another one of Rattrap’s projectiles and positioned it at the head of Red Alert’s welder. The owner of the hands then folded their arms, returning to normal time in order to properly enjoy what was about to happen. The first grenade blew up inches from Rattrap’s toro, sending him flying back. The second knocked Red Alert back as well, also damaging her welding torch. Moonracer suddenly found her blades lodged in the shins of her leader. “GAH! WHAT THE SLAG?!” Rodimus exclaimed, nearly dropping his bow. Moonracer’s optics widened as she pulled her blades from Rodimus’ legs. “Uh... I can explain?” As rodimus continued to recoil from the pain and Rattrap and Red Alert pulled themselves together, the sound of metallic clapping could be hear. “Bravo, bravo, encore!” a snide, sarcastic voice came from a lanky yellow and red robot with wheels for feet. “And whatever else they say, I was never one for theater. My interests center more around...” In an instant, he had moved to a position behind Rodimus. “...racing!” Rodimus whirled around and drew his bow, by by that time the mysterious newcomer had already relocated himself. “And just who the smelt are you?” Rattrap inquired, rubbing at the newly formed scorched mars on his armor plating. “Who am I? WHO am I?” the bot cackled as he spread his arms. “I am none other than Dragstrip, nine-time Velocitronian Grand Prix winner, former member of the Stunticons, and the fastest bot to ever live!” “So you were that yellow blur that’s been zooming around,” Rodimus concluded. “I was right, it WAS a Decepticon.” “Mmm, yes, technically,” Dragstrip nodded. “Back in the racing days the Cons were my sponsors. Unpopular as that might have been, I can’t argue with the results...” He disappeared in a yellow blur, letting loose a series of ultra-high speed punches that knocked the four Autobots back to the ground. “HAHAHA!” He pumped a fist in the air. “Can’t hit what you can’t see! I win again!” Dragstrip suddenly howled in pain and fell to his knees. Craning his neck, he found a spot on his right leg where an energy shot had blasted through his armor. Looking around he saw nothing, until a thought occurred to him. Looking skyward, his scanners picked up a faint Cybertronian energy signal, masked by the clouds. “Smeltin’ fliers,” he grumbled before disappearing in a blur again, this time moving deeper into the industrial sector. “Skydive to Rodimus, are you guys okay?” “Define ‘okay’,” Rodimus groaned as he sat up, bringing a servo to his dented faceplate. “We’re all alive, but that Decepticon did a number on us.” “And with only one punch!” Moonracer grumbled. “How is that even possible?!” “Skydive, stay here and try to keep an optic on Drasgtrip’s whereabouts,” the team leader stated. “The rest of us need to get back to the Athenia for repairs and to plot our next course of action.” “Awww no.” Rattrap shook his head. “I ain’t goin nowhere ‘til I got dat Con caught an’ bagged like a cheap off-world souvenir.” “Rattrap, he took down all four of us in an instant,” Red Alert stated. “He caught me off guard! This time I’ll be ready!” He raised his grenade launcher. “And Skydive got a hit on him, so we know he vulnerable if we take him by surprise!” “At the least, Rattrap could keep him busy while the rest of you make repairs and come up with a plan,” Skydive stated over the comlinks. Rodimus sighed. “Fine. But if things get too rough, you make it back to the Athenia double time, you hear me?” “Loud and clear, sir!” Rattrap gave a salute with his free hand as he watched the other three Autobots shifted back into their vehicle modes. “So, do you have a plan?” Skydive inquired. Rattrap chuckled. “Oh, I gots a few ideas...” ------ “Dragstip’s still slowly wandering the area,” Skydive reported. “I think that shot I got on him did some real damage to his leg. If you’re going to spring something on him, now’s the time.” “Hold yer horses, flyboy, I’m still settin’ up.” Rattrap fired a few more concussion bombs from his launcher, placing them around the inside of a large overhead door frame deep in one of the buildings. “So, dis guy said he’s a Stunticon. You recognize him?” “Mostly just as Menasor’s arm, but yes, I’ve seen him before,” the Aerialbot replied. “He’s... well, lets just say things could have been a lot worse with him.” Rattrap placed a small device on the floor of another overhead door, this one connecting the building to the outside. “How so?” “His speed powers derive from extended use of Red Energon, but he didn’t get them in full until after he left the Stunticons. Imagine what would have happened if the Decepticons had a super-speed augmented combiner.” That though was enough to make Rattrap pause. “Sweet merciful Primus...” “Yeah, I know... oh smelt, Dragstrip’s headed your way.” Rattrap’s single good optic widened as he leapt back into action, bolting deeper into building, past where he had set up his grenades. “Got it. One incapacitated ‘Con comin’ right up.” He pulled a small device from his arm and waited. Dragstrip flew through the door faster than the bare optic could track, tripping the motion sensor. The device Rattrap held lit up- the instant it did, he activated the switch on his launcher, detonating the bombs on the second doorway. “HA!” He peeked his head out from his hiding spot, but his smile fell when he was greeted with only a damaged doorway. “What?! Where is he?” Rattrap tapped his chin in thought. “I calculated the distance he’d cover based on Skydive’s report of his speed, that SHOULD have taken him out!” “Did you account for his rate of deceleration from the turn before the outer door?” Dragstrip asked from behind Rattrap. “I did, but I may have miscalculated how much he’d-” Rattrap’s optic widened. “HEY!” By the time he whirled around, Dragstrip had already left. “FRAG!” “Didn’t go well?” Skydive asked. “Watta you think?” Rattrap grumbled. “Well, time for Plan B.” ------ Rattrap gazed on the shattered, scorched remains of the cage-like device he had rigged up. “Okay, maybe Plan C will work better.” ------ The demolitions expert’s head popped up from beneath a pile of hastily painted wooden planks. “Plan D. Plan D is the way to go!” ----- “Okay, maybe plan E?” ------ “Plan J! Plan J HAS to work!” ------ “No better plan than Plan M!” ------ “Plan P! It’s gotta work!” ------ Rattap peekaed out form behind the large wooden crates he was behind at the fake doorway that had been painted onto one of the factory walls, which was labeled with a sign that read ‘Free Red Energon!” “You... really think that’s going to work?” Skydive inquired via comlink. “Of course not. That’s why it’s Plan Z,” Rattrap sighed. “But I’ve tried everything else already. Maybe he’s dumb enough to fall for it?” “...I suppose now would be a bad time to mention that part of his powers is an unlimited supply of Red Energon?” Rattrap’s eye twitched before he threw up his arms and screamed. “SLAG IT!” Dragstrip suddenly appeared in front of him. “Ready to give up and declare me the winner?” The demolitions expert sneered. “Never!” The ex-Stunticon shrugged. “Suit yourself.” He turned to face the wall painting. “‘Free Red Energon’. You know I have an unlimited supply of the stuff, right?” Rattrap sighed. “Yeah, I know...” With a gust of wind, Dragstrip was gone again. “Okay, Skydive, I’m giving up,” Rattrap admitted. “But you just said-” “I KNOW what I said!” He threw his arms out to his sides. “But I tried every stinkin’ trick I know an’ he STILL gets away every time!” “Gets away? What are you talking about?” Rattrap raised an eyebrow and threw a glance skyward, hoping he was looking in the general direction of the elusive Aerialbot. “Divey, in case you ain’t noticed, every one of my plans has failed. It’s no good.” He slumped over and hung his head. “I just can’t trap like I used to.” “...you mean this isn’t all part of your plan?” “Plan?” Rattrap looked skyward again. “What ‘plan’? Other than the three dozen that just failed spectacularly.” “You’ve managed to keep a hyper Decepticon who could run anywhere in the world within the same four-square-klik area for the last two megacycles,” Skydive explained. “You’re on the brink of trapping him.” “Huh, I hadn’t thought a’ that.” Rattrap tapped his chin. “But why’s he stayed here for so long when ‘e could run off anytime he wanted? He’s beaten every trap I’ve thrown at ‘im, and-” Rattrap suddenly looked up. “Wait...” Some of Dragstrip’s words echoed through his head. “-four time Velocitronian Grand Prix winner- I win again!- Ready to give up and declare me the winner?” “DAT’S IT!” “What’s it?” Skydive asked. “I know how to take dis guy down,” Rattrap beamed before cupping his hands over his mouth. “‘EY DRAGSTRIP! YOU WANNA RACE?” Dragstrip suddenly appeared in front of him again. “You? Want to race ME? HA!” “Yeah. Dis’ll be my final challenge- you beat me in a race, I declare you th’ winner,” Rattrap explained. Dragstrip rubbed his chin. “Oh, I DO like the sound of that.” “Buuuut if I win, you gotta turn yerself in,” rattrap continued. The Decepticon laughed. “So no risk to me then! You got yourself a deal. Where’s the finish line?” “Meet me back here in one megacycle and I’ll have a track set up.” “Alright then, one megacycle it is,” Dragstrip nodded. “In the meantime I’ll take a few laps around the organics’ roadway system-” “Ep, ep, ep, hold it right dere.” Rattrap held up a finger to the Con’s face- or at least, as close as he could get considering the height difference. “If I get werd dat you been runnin’ th’ local lifeforms off th’ road again, I’m gonna scrub th’ whole thing and consider dat a forfeit on your part.” Dragstrip sneered and his optics narrowed behind his visor, but then he relaxed. “FINE! I’ll take some back-alley streets. But if those crappy, outdated roads kills my tires I can;t be held responsible for what I do next.” Rattrap narrowed his one good optic. “ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT, I won’t touch the organics!” Dragstrip huffed. “Just make sure the raceway you prepare is a good one, Autobot.” “Oh, I can guarantee you’ll have a blast with it,” Rattrap grinned. Dragstrip stared at him silently. Rattrap frowned. “Figure a’ speech.” “Right, sure. I’ll be back in one megacycle to claim my victory.” Dragstrip transformed into a 6-wheeled Formula 1 racer before speeding off, leaving the Industrial Sector. “A race, huh?” Skydive spoke up. “You do realize you have no chance of beating him.” “Das what I’m countin’ on,” Rattrap chuckled. “Oh, can you do me a favor? I need somethin’ from back at base....” ------ INDUSTRIAL SECTOR, 1 MEGACYCLE LATER Rattrap stood still, arms folded. Behind him sat Rodimus, Red Alert and Moonracer in vehicle mode. The sound of a racecar engine drew their attention to the left, where Dragstrip pulled up in his own vehicle mode. “Your friends joining in the race?” the Decepticon asked. “Naw, dey’re just ‘ere in case you beat me bad enough dat I need medical attention,” Rattrap replied. “Dis race is between you an’ me.” “Pity, more contestants would mean more victory for me. Ah well, you’re definitely going to need their help when I’m through with you.” “Rattrap, are you sure about this?” Moonracer asked. “Ey, I’ve tried everythin’ else in my book, might as well try takin’ a page from his.” Rattrap shifted to his bike mode and rolled up to the white line painted on the ground. Dragstrip did the same. “Tell you what, I’ll make this interesting,” Dragstrip stated. “I’ll keep my Red Energon turned off, just to show you that I can beat you without it!” “Sounds like fun,” Rattrap replied. “On my mark,” Rodimus stated. “Ready, set... GO!” Both vehicles took off like rockets, tearing down the alleys between the factory buildings. They dodged and weaved through obstacles, around barrels and over makeshift bridges. “Interesting track you cobbled together here, Autobot,” Dragstrip admitted. “Not near as good as me, but not bad. You ever been to Velocitron?” “Nope, can’t say I ‘ave,” Rattrap replied as he swerved around an oil slick. “Good, it would be sad if they’re what inspired you because this doesn’t even come CLOSE.” They continued racing, the finish line coming into view- it was inside a large, secluded building. “Well Autobot, it’s been fun, but this is where I WIN!” Dragstrip suddenly jerked to the left, ramming into Rattrap and sending him flying off the course and into a pile of wooden crates. The yellow racer crossed the last several meters between him and victory in less than a second crossing the finish line and reverting back to his robot mode. “YES! I WIN! In your FACEPLATE, Autobot!” He then realized there was a large gold object on the far end of the room. “Hello, what have we here?” Walking closer, he saw a tall, shimmering trophy. “It’s no Planet Cup, but it’ll do.” Rattrap pulled himself out of the broken pieces of crate and held up his launcher, positioning his finger over the detonator. “Enjoy th’ prize, cheater!” CLICK The trophy in Dragstrip’s hand suddenly exploded into a raging fireball. Dragstrip reflexively activated his Red Energon flows, slowing time to a crawl. He began to run away from the trophy-bomb, only to find that the rest of the building was also exploding around him, the fire closing in on him faster than he could run. “Oh slag.” Outside, Rattrap grinned as the condemned building he had found on the premises erupted into a ball of flame. Chunks of metal and wood flew in every direction- he was sure te step aside and avoid one particular piece of scrap. The other three ground-based Autobots rolled up behind his and switched to their robot forms, followed by Skydive descending in his own bot mode. “Nice work, Rattrap!” Rodimus stated. “That you, sir,” Rattrap nodded. “I just played on ‘is obsessive desire to win everything, and it ultimately led to his-” A familiar yellow blur shot from the burning wreckage of the building, snatching Rattrap and disappearing into the distance. The other Team Athenia members, frozen in shock, could only stare in the direction they had gone. Moonracer was the first to speak. v“Was... that part of the plan?” ------ BLACKROCK RESEARCH AND ENERGY PLANT Rattrap suddenly found himself dangling above a large, glowing device, being held be only his neck. “I thought you’d play fair, Autobot,” a very scorched and VERY angry Dragstrip growled. “Guess I was wrong. Won’t make that mistake again.” Rattrap looked down. “What exactly is dat?” “Some kind of human power plant running off experimental energy, I don’t know,” the Decepticon shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. All I know is that I while you got the drop on me before, I can DEFINITELY outrun the explosion that will result from me dropping you into this thing. And do you know what that means?” Rattrap sighed. “Lemme guess- it means you win.” Dragstrip’s sneer widened as he nodded. “I ALWAYS win.” The Autobot returned his smirk. “Not this time, you don’t.” Rattrap’s armor shimmered, turning from gray and brown to white as his head shifted into that of a training drone. Its chest opened, revealing an energy core, which began dumping bolts of electricity into Dragstrip. The Decepticon screamed as the bolts surged through his body, locking up his joints. “I saved one last trap, just fer you!” Rattrap voice said from a speaker in the training drone. “Let me know when the stasis lock sets in so I can send my buddies to-” Dragstrip suddenly began to fall, his paralysis preventing him from balancing on his wheel-feet. He teetered forward, falling over the side of the catwalk and plunging into the power core below. “Ooooh, dat wasn’t supposed t’ happen...” Rattrap’s voice said from the training drone just before it and Dragstrip disappeared into the core. ------ Rattrap watched as the computer he was sitting at lost contact with the remote-training drone. “Dat’s gonna be a bit mor’ collateral damage den I hoped...” ------ “Waddaya mean th’ power plant is fully intact?” Rodimus smirked. “Are you complaining?” “No, not at all.” Rattrap waved his hands. The other Team Atheia members had arrived back at the base after examining the power plant. “I just didn’t expect th’ place t’ still be standin’ after a Decepticon fell into th’ core.” “Apparently Dragstrip just kind of disappeared before he hit the core,” Skydive explained, pulling up security footage on one of the view monitors. Sure enough, while the training drone overloaded and exploded, Dragstrip seemed to just phase out of existence. “Best guess is that whatever that core’s made out of adversely affected his Red Energon flows. His molecules likely went so fast that he just vaporized.” “Vaporized...?” Rattrap repeated slowly. “I... didn’t mean to...” “It’s not your fault, Rattrap,” Rodimus assured him. “You couldn’t have predicted that Dragstrip would pull that power plant plan. Wow, that was hard to say...” “I guess you’re right.” Rattrap nodded slowly. “And either way, your trap worked!” Moonracer added. Rattrap smiled. “You’re also right! I’m back in th’ game! Look out Cons,or you;ll get caught... in a RATTRAP!” “By the way, that was the last training drone,” Skydive stated. “Just thought I’d tell you now.” “Did’ja HAVE t’ kill th’ mood?” Rattrap sighed. “After you made that terrible joke, yes.” Skydive turned for the exit. “Now, I have a Decepticon to resume questioning...” ------ THE PRETENDER, EARTH ORBIT “Analysis complete, sir,” Oil Slick reported. “That was fast,” Bludgeon replied as he looked over the smaller bot’s shoulder. “That is because there was not much data to analyse. One-half megacycle ago Dragstrip attempted to drop the Autobot Rattrap into the core of the Blackrock Energy and Research Plant.” “NOT what I meant when I told him to keep an eye on the place,” Bludgeon grumbled. “The Autobot turned out to be a rigged drone that attempted to shock Dragstripinto stasis, but the result was him falling into the core,” Oil Slick continued. “Where, from what I can tell, the modified Forestonite core reacted with his Red Energon.” “Which caused him to vanish from existence,” Bludgeon finished. “Precisely.” Oil slick turned back to his computer screen. “Though Dragstrip’s loss is a critical blow to our strategy, as his unique super-speed would have been a useful asset, the results of his accident will be useful when further researching the Forestonite.” ----- BLACKROCK RESEARCH AND ENERGY PLANT Dragstrip shoot his head, standing up slowly. “What the slag hit me?” He looked around to see he was still in the power plant. “Right, the Autobot was a decoy and it knocked me into the core.” He looked at his hand, noticing something different. Glancing down, he saw his yellow and red armor had changed to black, blue and gold. “Well, that’s... unusual. What did that core do to me?” He ran back to the industrial sector, where he found the other Autobots standing around in robot mode. “Smelt this, time to finish you all!" Drawing his fist back, he let it fly full force into Rodimus’ face. Nothing happened. “What the slag?” He tried again to no avail. “I’m moving several thousand kliks per megacycle!” Another punch, no result. “How are you not damaged?!” Frowning, he focused on turning his Red Energon off. However, he didn’t feel any different. Looking up, he saw some flying organics still frozen in the air. “No... NO!” He ran to the nearest organic city. All of the vehicles on the roadways were completely frozen, and while he could touch them, they didn’t move. “NO! Turn off, slag you! GO SLOWER!” The world around him remained completely frozen. “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
