Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia XI, Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

--Earth--

    “Guess no adventures in space for us, huh?” asked Jack Darby as he and the others watched Metroplex lift off into the sky.

    “No complaints from me,” muttered Verity Carlo. “I’ve had enough danger and excitement to last me the rest of my life.”

    “Welcome to my world,” grunted Fowler. The former Sector Seven agent was staring at a device in his hands. After messing around with it for a bit he looked up to Bumblebee, one of the four Autobots who had been assigned to watch over the humans. “We should probably get these kids back to their families. I’ve still got Agent Gonzales' number and I don’t think she was in on Red’s plot; you can drop us off there and I’ll handle things from there.”

    “Tommy and I are probably going to need a place to hide as well,” said Charlie Watson. “I don’t think it would be safe for us to go back to Santa Cruz in case Onyx is still operating there.”

    Fowler nodded. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you guys all sorted out.” He then muttered under his breath, “Then I’ve gotta sort myself out....”

    While the humans began making calls to get things arranged for themselves, Bumblebee looked over to Sari who was standing by her lonesome. Without hesitation he carefully made his way over to her, taking a knee to be closer to her eye level.

   “Hey,” he said quietly. “Everything all right with you?”

    Sari sighed, not making eye contact with the Autobot as she shook her head. “I don’t even know what I am anymore.”

    “Yeah, I heard about all that,” Bumblebee said, awkwardly rubbing his neck. “Listen, I know it may not seem like it now, but you will find your place in the world. It might not be what your people would define as ‘normal,’ but… who can even define ‘normal’ these days, anyway?”

    Whether his words had any affect on Sari, Bumblebee could not tell. Before he could say anything further, he noticed that Grimlock was staring off into the distance, his posture stiff and defensive. Bumblebee followed his gaze but saw nothing but empty desert. They were located in the deserts of Washington State, far away from any known civilization. What it was the Dinobot was getting apprehensive for, Bumblebee could not tell.

    While he knew Grimlock wasn’t exactly the type you would want to bother, Bumblebee decided that present circumstances allowed for him to ask the question: “What’s wrong?”

    Grimlock did not move or break his gaze as he answered in a low growl: “Scorponok.”

    Bumblebee seized up at the mention of the Decepticon’s name. Sideswipe and Strongarm also looked over to them with tense expressions.

    “Did you say Scorponok?” Sideswipe asked. “Why did you say Scorponok? You can’t just say that name without—”

    “He’s coming here,” Grimlock replied, rolling his hands into fists.

    “How can you tell?” asked Miko Nakadai, having overheard the Dinobot. “Do you guys have a sixth sense or something?”

    “Grimlock just kinda has a sensor for bots he really, really hates,” Sideswipe answered. “Trust me, he and Scorponok go way back....”

    “How close is he?” Strongarm asked the Dinobot.

    “Too close.” Grimlock then turned around and pointed at the other Autobots. “Get the humans away from here. As far as you possibly can.”

    “Are you sure you can handle him by yourself?” Bumblebee asked.

    “Of course.” The Dinobot reached behind his back and drew out a massive sword, which instantly became alight with flames. “Because me, Grimlock, king.”

    “I say that’s all the reassurance we need,” Sideswipe said before transforming into his car form, opening his doors to let Jack, Raf, Miko, and Verity in. Strongarm followed suit and allowed Fowler, Charlie, and Tommy into her SUV form. As the two Autobots revved up their engines, Bumblebee turned back to Grimlock one last time.

    “Just radio us if you need help.”

    “Won’t need it,” Grimlock grunted. “But appreciate it. Now go.”

    Knowing there’d be no use in arguing with the Dinobot, Bumblebee converted to his car mode and picked up Sari. Once he had joined Sideswipe and Strongarm, the three of them drove off in the direction of the closest city.

    No sooner had the trio left that Grimlock felt the ground begin to rumble. Tightening his grip on his sword, the Dinobot assumed a battle-ready stance just as a giant purple and green robot-scorpion burst out from beneath the earth. It thrust its stinger tail in Grimlock’s direction only to be bashed aside by the flaming sword. Two large claws then grabbed the Dinobot by the legs and lifted him off his feet; before Grimlock could react, Scorponok threw him back down into the ground, kicking up a blinding cloud of dirt.

    The sound of gears shifting and metal clanking reached Grimlock’s audio receptors as Scorponok assumed his robot form. The large Decepticon loomed over him with a wicked grin on his pale faceplate, red visor gleaming with malice.

    “Oh, you have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do that,” Scorponok chuckled. “It’s been how long, again, since our last rematch? Two years? For me, it’s felt like an eternity.”

    Grimlock grunted as he struggled to lift himself up, only for Scorponok to pin him down with a foot to the chest. “Thought... you... dead,” the Dinobot managed to get out.

    “You only wish,” Scorponok replied. “See, that’s the thing about me and all of my operations: I’ve made it so that I am near impossible to kill. You may destroy my body a thousand times, but you can never destroy my mind.”

    “Try me.”

    Scorponok laughed at the Dinobot’s bravado. “You haven’t changed one bit, old friend. But I have, in so many ways.”

    With that, the Decepticon made a gesture with his claw and Grimlock’s entire body shut down, entering stasis lock. Removing his foot from his old rival’s chest, Scorponok set his sights on the three Autobots that were making their getaway. One of them, he knew, was carrying his quarry; the others could be easily dealt away with should they pose a problem.

    Unashamed of the giddy grin that had now materialized on his face, Scorponok returned to his scorpion form and dug himself into the ground once more.

--The Lost Light--

    “This is insane, Swerve.”

    “It’s working, isn’t it?” Swerve replied with a cheeky grin.

    “It’s still insane!” Velocity shouted over the sound of metal hitting against metal.

    The two of them were standing in the gestalt-sized opening that had been torn open by the newly-made combiner. Comprised of First Aid and his fellow Protectobots, the gestalt – which had dubbed itself “Defensor” – had just tore a path through the Lost Light and was now in the middle of a struggle with the four Destructons. While it had succeeded in drawing the murderous machines away from their crewmates, Velocity wasn’t exactly confident that the combiner would last long against Lord Imperious and his goons. Especially if the stories she had heard from the likes of Brainstorm and Getaway were anything to go by....

    While Swerve continued to watch the battle with excitement – letting out a loud cheer when Defensor slammed Bruton into a wall – Velocity made her way back to the medbay to check on the remaining patients. Hoist and Nickel were in the middle of fixing up Grapple and Crossblades respectively, which only left Crosscut to be attended to. As she made her way over to the silver Autobot, Velocity noticed that Cannonspring was back online, regarding her with tired optics.

    “Hey,” she said quietly as she got to work on Crosscut. “You should go back into stasis lock; you’re too weak to remain functioning like that.”

    “The Enigma,” Cannonspring said weakly. “Where is it?”

    “Being put to good use,” Velocity replied. “Now rest. That’s an order.”

    “I don’t have much longer,” the gray mech croaked. “I want you to listen to me carefully.”

    This was enough to get Velocity’s attention. She stopped what she was doing to look at Cannonspring; even Crosscut was looking at the former combiner part with interest.

    “You must stop the Liege Maximo,” Cannonspring went on. “He has been playing us all for fools. We have all been deceived.”

    “We’re kinda preoccupied with the Destructons at the moment,” Crosscut muttered. “Can’t he wait?”

    “You don’t understand,” Cannonspring coughed. “It’s all connected. The Destructons, Liege Maximo, the Grand Architect… they’re all working towards the same goal. If only I had seen it earlier....”

    “Is there anything you can tell us about them? How we can stop them?”

    “The Enigma… you will need it… to bring together the five. Only together can they—”

    Without warning, Cannonspring let out a scream as his body convulsed again. Velocity rushed over to his side, but by then the gray bot had already seized moving; his optics had gone dead. She didn’t need to check his energon readings to know that he would not be moving again.

    “Not exactly what any of us needed to hear at the moment, is it?” Crosscut remarked.

    Velocity frowned and was about to return to Crosscut when Swerve came skidding into the medbay. The once-excited minibot was now looking utterly terrified.

    “Not good! Not good!” he was saying as he dropped down and hid under a repair slab.

    “What is it?” Velocity asked. “What’s happening now?”

    “One of the Destructons – I think it was Lord Imperious – did something to Defensor... and now he’s on his way here!”

    “Who? Defensor or Lord Imperious?”

    “Both of them!”

    “I didn’t need to hear that either,” Crosscut muttered.

*  *  *

    It was amusing in a way, thought Lord Imperious Delirious as he watched the combiner known as Defensor squirm and thrash before him. Clearly the Autobots had thought they had turned the tide upon discovering the unique capabilities of the Enigma of Combination; indeed, the gestalt had stood its own for a moment or two against the four Destructons. But once the initial shock of running into a combiner had worn off, it did not take long for Lord Imperious to devise a way to turn the Autobots’ “secret weapon” against them.

    As the combiner was physically made from the bodies of five Autobots, it made sense that its mind was much the same way; five individual minds joined to control this behemoth of a machine.
Fortunately for the Autobots, the five components of the combiner had worked together long enough to cooperate with one another without complications. Fortunately for Lord Imperious, this gestalt mind was still fractured enough for Lord Imperious to manipulate.

    It had only taken a small dose of his abilities to conjure hallucinations in Defensor’s mind, causing the combiner to imagine all sorts of threats surrounding it. With enough goading, he would be able to push the gestalt in the direction of its Autobot comrades and allow it to tear them apart while being none the wiser as to the truth. It would be a delightful watch for him; it had been quite some time since he had gotten this much entertainment from his victims.

    As Defensor began to lumber towards the other Autobots, Lord Imperious began to follow it, intent on watching their gruesome demises up close. He didn’t get far when he sensed Medusa approach him from behind. With an impatient sigh, Lord Imperious turned around to regard his serpentine comrade with a slightly annoyed look.

    “What is it? Can’t you see—”

    “Vexus has just contacted me,” Medusa hissed. “He says that we are about to have unwanted company.”

    Lord Imperious tilted his head. “Where? Here on this ship?”

    “Outside the ship.”

    Lord Imperious let this sink in for a moment before saying, “Has he dealt with the captain yet?”

    “He says he has the captain and the rest of the bridge crew in his grasps but is awaiting your orders as to what to do with them,” Medusa replied. “Shall they be converted into additional Dire Wraiths to add to our ranks or simply disposed of?”

   “Oh, why must I decide everything for everyone,” Lord Imperious bemoaned to himself. “Tell him to do as he pleases but to not take too long. Now, what kind of unwanted company are we talking about?”

    Medusa grimaced as she said, “The titanic kind.”

    Lord Imperious once again took a minute to process her answer. Once he had, he felt himself lighten up as a brilliant thought crossed his mind. If this meant what he thought it meant... oh, the fun he and the others could have.

    “Excellent,” he said with genuine excitement. “I feel that this is going to be a good day.”