CHAPTER FOUR
--Luna 1--
"Subjects C-01 and D-16 have been stabilized. Proceeding with Operation: Guiltaur."
"Excellent. Subject D-70 has been stabilized. However, Subject C-LG05 is resisting the process. May require neutralization."
"Do whatever is necessary. We cannot afford any setbacks at this stage."
Cyclonus could hear the voices but could not see their source. In fact, it was more like he could feel their voices rather than literally hear them. As someone trained in a variety of linguistics, he sometimes could not tell the difference.
"Spark extraction of Subject D-70 is a success. However, unidentified program detected in central node of brain module."
"Purge it. We can take no chances."
Galvatron. He had been separated from the Galvatron virus... and now they were about to destroy it. Could it be that simple? Could someone like him be eradicated so easily?
"Deploying Vehicon frame BR-07 #955. Preparing Subject D-70 for conversion."
No! They were trying to turn him into a drone. He could not allow that. He was a hero of the Silver Age, not some mindless pawn. He would resist. He would--
"Spark insertion complete. Beginning conversion."
The second he could feel any part of his body, Cyclonus lunged forwards. Cables snapped as he broke free of his restraints and grabbed the silver and gold robot in front of him. The robot lacked any facial features to express with but sounded sufficiently distressed as it bleated: "Alert! Subject D-70 is loose! Repeat: Subject D-70 is--"
Cyclonus silenced the robot as he grabbed a point on its helmet and pulled, tearing its head off. The other robot, identical in design, turned in alarm as it stood in front of what had been Cyclonus' original body. The blue visor that took up its face began to flash repeatedly.
"All Terrorbots to Sector Nine. All Terrorbots to Sect--"
Cyclonus ended the bot as quickly as he had the first. Once the Terrorbot had been dispatched, he began to scan the lab -- or whatever this room was -- for Whirl. It didn't take him long as he heard a crash come from outside.
Stepping out of the lab, Cyclonus saw a third Terrorbot writhing on the ground, missing both of its arms. Standing over it was a massive tank drone colored in yellow and green. As the Terrorbot whined its alarm, the tank drone grabbed the silver bot and tore out its innards, crushing its laser core.
At that moment, a second Vehicon emerged, colored in blue and propelling itself on a pair of rotor blades. Cyclonus immediately set his sights on the helicopter drone.
"Whirl?" he said tentatively. "Is that you?"
The Vehicon glanced at him and narrowed its eyes. "Are you talking to me?"
"Now is not the time for jokes, Whirl. We need to--"
"Whirl? Who's Whirl?" The Vehicon scoffed. "Such a trite name. It doesn't even begin to match the ingenuity of Rotorbolt."
Cyclonus frowned. "You mean, you're not...?"
"Wait, are you thinking of that blue Autobot they brought in?" Rotorbolt gestured to the tank drone. "Then this giant lug nut might be whom you're looking for."
Cyclonus turned to the tank drone in surprise. "Whirl?!"
"Pulverize," the Vehicon replied in a dull monotone.
"Poor thing," Rotorbolt said, feigning pity. "He fought so hard, yet they still managed to convert him. He answers to Tankor now, by the way."
Cyclonus stared gobsmacked at what had once been his fellow Lost Lighter. As much as he had loathed Whirl, he could not believe a personality such as the ex-Wrecker's could be overridden so easily. And if that were the case... were all of the Vehicons once ordinary Cybertronians? Had they been slaughtering their own kind this whole time?
And what about the Terrorbots? Were they of the same nature? And who in Primus' name could have been behind all of this?
"Ahem."
Snapped out of his thoughts, Cyclonus returned his attention to Rotorbolt, who hovered impatiently.
"If it's all the same to you, I think we should get going. I feel that we're about to get overrun soon."
Still reeling from his morbid epiphany, Cyclonus simply nodded in agreement.
* * *
"I don't like the sound of those alarms."
Scamper frowned as he and the others climbed off the drill machine, having emerged into an empty, white-walled space. He listened to them for a moment before shaking his head. "Don't worry. It's coming from Sector Nine."
"How can you tell?" Tailgate asked.
"Every sector has its own siren, and they all sound different from each other. Makes it easier and faster to get to the root of the problem."
"So how did Metroplex end up on Luna One?" Rung asked. "Is the Circle of Light still here as well?"
"They're being held in the brig," Scamper said. "As for how we ended up here... well, I don't know how else to put this so...." He turned to face the others. "Basically, Luna One destroyed Junkion."
"Come again?" Brainstorm asked.
"Luna One came and destroyed Junkion with a superlaser. We all tried to escape on Metroplex, but we got pulled in by some kind of gravity beam."
"So, wait...." Rewind tapped his helmet. "Are you saying someone... piloted Luna One to Junkion? And installed a superlaser?"
"You think it did it all on its own?" Scamper dryly replied. "Of course someone piloted it. It's how it's been missing for so long."
"So who's piloting it then?"
Before Scamper could answer, another alarm sounded. This one was louder and different than the first. Brainstorm and the others all grimaced.
"Is that the alarm for our sector?"
"No," Scamper murmured. "That's the one for the front gate...."
* * *
"Intruders!"
Elita-One dove for cover as the flying Vehicon fired upon the ground. Unlike the drones they had dealt with earlier, these were full-fledged Decepticon soldiers... and it didn't take long to figure out who was bossing them around.
She heard the energy net launch before seeing it and quickly stepped to the side as it shot past her. She then turned around to see a tall, black and green bot stride towards her, brandishing a hook from his right arm.
"You're a feisty one," Lockdown muttered. "Must say, Prime has a good taste in sparkmates."
Elita smiled humorlessly as she raised her gun. "So nice of you to say so."
She fired her gun, only for the bounty hunter to dodge the blast. Lockdown then charged towards her, replacing his hook with a chainsaw. Raising the blade, Lockdown prepared to cut Elita down....
From behind the bounty hunter, Impactor rolled up to the fight and transformed, launching a harpoon from his arm. The sharp end impaled Lockdown through the back of his neck and emerged from the other end.
As Lockdown cried out in agony, Impactor began to reel in the cable, pulling the Decepticon towards him. Just as the Wrecker leader drew his gun, Lockdown suddenly around and grabbed onto the cable, orienting his chainsaw as the harpoon continued to retract.
"No!" Elita raised her gun, ready to blast Lockdown's head to smithereens. However, before she could pull the trigger, an energy net launched from behind and ensnared her, rendering her immobile.
As she lay their helplessly on the ground, she could only watch as everything else fell apart: Getaway, Nautica, and the others were all taken down with energy nets; Wreck-Gar and the Junkions were blown to pieces; and Impactor laid lifelessly on the ground, a lengthwise gash ruptured across his body.
Lockdown retracted his energon-stained chainsaw as he pulled out the harpoon from his neck, sputtering oil and energon everywhere. He tossed the weapon to the ground before turning to his now-assembled Titan Hunters.
"Right then," he growled, his voice laced with static. "Let's bring them in. They want to see Boltax so bad? Then let's take them to him."
He then glanced back at Elita, smirking mirthlessly.
"Welcome to Metroplex, Autobot. Hope you enjoy your stay."
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