CHAPTER FIVE
Earth
“Carl… Carlos… Carlton… Casper… Charles… gah, I knew I should have gone in a different order.” Death’s Head lowered his datapad to look down at the human male at his feet. “What was your name, again?”
The man offered no response, most likely because he was already dead. Realizing this, Death’s Head shifted his attention to the human woman that had been with the man he had just killed, who was staring at him with wide, terrified eyes.
“His name was Christopher, wasn’t it? Sorry, not Christopher. Christian? Crispin? …Cristiano?”
The woman did not answer him, continuing to gawk at him in frozen terror.
“And it’s ‘Grey’ with an ‘e,’ yes? Not ‘Gray’ with an ‘a?’ Because I made that mistake once and it… well, it ended up like this. So I suppose it doesn’t make much of a difference, no?”
Knowing that he was not going to get any sort of answer, Death’s Head turned away from the woman and looked back at his datapad. He scrolled through the list of names for what had to have been the hundredth time, looking for any that stood out to him. He had lost track of the time it had taken him so far to do this blasted job, and he was nowhere near halfway through the list. Sooner or later, he would have to ask Lord Gyconi for better information; this list was simply not doing it.
As the many, many names containing the word “Grey” zipped by—Greyback, Greyfur, Greyson—the scrolling list stopped on one “Jean Grey.” For some reason, this name gave Death’s Head pause; he felt as if he should know that name, even though he had never encountered a “Jean Grey” in his life. Still, he would have to get to them eventually. Might as well start with them now.
Putting away the list, Death’s Head activated his wrist device once more and everything around him warped away in a flash of light.
Sigma VII
“So… this thing we’re looking for… what exactly is it supposed to look like?”
Krok and the remaining Scavengers, along with Swindle’s crew and Gigawatt, were in an abandoned Decepticon compound on Sigma VII. Nearly 140 years ago, it had been the site of multiple experiments involving transwarp technology, which was ultimately shut down due to the lack of progress. Although Krok had not been involved in the project, he had known a few ‘Cons who were and thus had learned all the juicy details that he otherwise would not have been privy to. And yet, none of them had said anything about a Transwarp Blaster….
“Zapmaster and the others gave me a description,” said Nickel, poking her head into crevices that the larger Decepticons were unable to fit through. “The Transwarp Blaster is made up of three Mini-Cons: Boom Tube, Jump Drive, and Starburst. They’re supposed to be red, blue, and green, respectively.”
“Red, blue, and green. Got it.” Gutcruncher shoved aside a deactivated generator and it fell to the ground with a loud crash. “Don’t worry,” he said to the others. “That wasn’t red, blue, or green.”
“We don’t need to waste our time doing this,” Spacewarp muttered. “Foldspace can scan for Mini-Con spark signatures and find them in no time.”
“Huh?” said a small rover attached to Spacewarp’s arm. “Did someone say my name?”
Spacewarp glared at her companion. “Have you been scanning for spark signatures?”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to!”
“Oh, for Primus’ sake….”
While the two of them bickered, Krok and the others continued their physical search for the three Mini-Cons. As he looked behind a computer station, Krok heard footsteps approach him and looked over to see Gutcruncher stepping up to him.
“Hey,” the green and orange Decepticon said to him. “It’s Krok, right?”
“Yes?” Krok answered tentatively.
“I don’t know if you remember me. From Hydrus Four.”
“I try not to think about Hydrus Four,” Krok muttered, returning to his search.
“Yeah, I don’t blame you,” said Gutcruncher. “It was an embarrassment for both sides, I think.”
“If there is a point to this conversation, please get to it because I have absolutely no interest in speaking to you.”
“Hey, I was just trying to make small talk!” Gutcruncher retorted. “Decepticon camaraderie and all that. Besides, if you hang out with those other losers, then maybe—”
Krok whirled on him and jabbed a finger into his chestplate. “Listen here,” he growled. “The only thing you and I have in common is a purple badge and a single shared experience. We are not on the same level and I have absolutely no desire to associate with you outside of this job.”
“Okay, okay!” Gutcruncher raised his hands and backed away from him. “Sheesh, what crawled up your tailpipe and died?”
While Gutcruncher stalked off, Krok returned to the search, though he found difficulty in focusing on it. All he could think about was what he was going to do after all this was done; without Misfire and the others, he no longer had a crew, and he strongly doubted that Spacewarp would want him to stick around any longer now that he could no longer provide her with said crew. He suppose he could ask Swindle if there was an opening for him, but he knew that making any sort of deal with that con artist would not end well for him.
Honestly, the worst part about it all was that he felt that he had failed the bot for whom he had formed the Scavengers in the first place. It was because of Thundersaur’s dying wish that Krok and Spinister had rescued Misfire—then known as Flyhigh—and inadvertently formed a crew of wayward Decepticons, with an unwilling Crankcase and an eager Flywheels joining them. Now that the other four, as well as Fulcrum, were all dead, Krok could not help but feel that it had been all for naught. He didn’t even want to think about what Thundersaur would say to him if he were to see him now….
“Guys… I think I found something.”
Krok was snapped out of his thoughts as he and the others looked over to Trickdiamond, just as she pulled out a multicolored device from out of a crevice.
“That’s it!” exclaimed Nickel. “That’s exactly what they described!”
“Well, that was easy,” muttered Headlock. “So now what?”
Gigawatt said nothing as he walked over to Trickdiamond, extending his arms for the Transwarp Blaster. Trickdiamond gave him a wary look before handing the Mini-Con weapon over to him.
“How exactly does this thing work?” she asked. “I mean, I know the name ‘Transwarp Blaster’ should make it obvious, but….”
“I’m going to fire it at you all so we can end up in Axiom Nexus,” Gigawatt said bluntly.
“What?!” Gutcruncher exclaimed. “I didn’t agree to getting shot at!”
“Don’t worry, it’s non-lethal. You won’t feel a—”
“Like scrap I will!” Gutcruncher drew his gun and pointed it at Gigawatt. “I knew we should have slagged you when we had the chance! You’re an Autobot, aren’t you? You’re just trying to kill us!”
“I swear I’m not!” Gigawatt protested. “Please, don’t shoot! If you damage the Transwarp Blaster, it might—”
“I’ve heard enough!” Before anyone could stop him, Gutcruncher fired his blaster repeatedly at Gigawatt. His shots struck both the Transwarp Blaster as well as Gigawatt and a blast of blue and white energy burst from both of them, consuming the Decepticons in a blinding light.
Earth
Fulcrum probably should have seen this coming. In a post-war world of (albeit fragile) peace, it was easy to forget that there was a time where Autobots and Decepticons were always trying to kill one another. Sure, they weren’t exactly the best of pals now, but at least it was feasibly possible to put a ‘Bot and a ‘Con in a room together without one or both of them ending up as a scrapheap on the floor.
Whoever this Ultimate X-Spanse fellow was, he clearly was not familiar with such a world as he currently had Fulcrum pinned to the floor, energy claws pointed at the K-Con’s neck. Colored in the same blue and yellow as the other X-Men or whatever they were called, X-Spanse was unlike any Cybertronian Fulcrum had seen before. On the bot’s chest was a yellow chestplate shaped like the letter “X” with a red glowing light in its center while his optics were covered with a yellow band and red visor. Were it not for how he was currently reacting to Fulcrum’s presence, Fulcrum would have thought this bot was a Decepticon. Clearly that was not the case….
“State your business, Decepticon, before I obliterate you and scatter your atoms!” Ultimate X-Spanse growled.
“I made a wrong turn,” Fulcrum replied, keeping his eyes on the claws at his neck. “If you let me go, I will gladly leave and find my way back home.”
“As if I’m going to believe that,” X-Spanse growled, his red visor glowing brighter. “You’ll have to do better than that if you want to keep your life.”
“Charming. Y’know, I’d expect this from one of my fellow Decepticons. Not an Autobot like you.”
“I’m not an Autobot. Not anymore. I left that life behind when I—”
“Yeah, I really don’t care. Look, I really don’t want any trouble. If you could just let me go, I will leave and you’ll never have to worry about me again.”
“I don’t buy it,” grunted Logan, standing by with the other X-Men. “I’m starting to think Magneto sent him after us.”
“He hasn’t done anything yet, though,” said Jean Grey. “You would think that if he was here to kill us, he would have done so by now.”
“That’s exactly what a fella like Magneto would want us to think. Lure us into a false sense of security and then bam! Just like that.”
“Okay,” Fulcrum said. “Can I just say that I have no idea who or what a Magneto is? Would you even believe me if I said that?”
“What do you think, bub?” Logan retorted.
“Where are you from then?” asked Cyclops. “How did you get here?”
“I don’t know!” Fulcrum exclaimed. “I was with my… with my friends on Hedonia when some bot came up to us about something called the Crossover. Then he exploded and… and now I’m here.”
“You expect me to believe that?” Ultimate X-Spanse snapped. “That’s it; I’ve heard enough of your lies. Prepare to—”
“Wait!” Beast jumped away from the others, his arms raised high. “Let us not be so hasty, my large metal friend! Perhaps there is some merit of truth to his story.”
“He’s a Decepticon, Beast,” X-Spanse muttered. “Decepticons never tell the truth.”
“What exactly is a Decepticon?” asked Jean Grey. “You haven’t really explained to us what you robots are about.”
Fulcrum stared at X-Spanse incredulously. “You mean you haven’t even told these guys? I would have thought that would be something you’d want to clarify right away—”
“Silence!” X-Spanse snapped. He paused for a moment before letting out a sigh. “You do raise a fair point,” he said to the X-Men. “When you first met me, I was admittedly… evasive to your questions about my origins.”
“You told us you were from a planet called Cybertron,” said Jubilee. “That’s about it.”
Fulcrum wasn’t sure if it was normal for humans to talk in expository dialog, but he was appreciative of it at the moment. Thankfully, Ultimate X-Spanse seemed to be in a similar mood as he nodded while pulling away from Fulcrum, though he still kept his glowing visor trained on the K-Con.
“Yes, I am from Cybertron. I was part of a faction of my kind known as the Autobots, who fought against the evil forces of the Decepticons.” He gestured to Fulcrum. “If the emblem on his body is anything to go by, this bot right here is a Decepticon.”
“But the war is over!” Fulcrum said. “There’s no need to destroy me or my kind anymore!”
Ultimate X-Spanse scowled at him. “What are you talking about? The war isn’t over.”
“Yes, it is! It has been for over a year now! Where have you been for all this….” Fulcrum trailed off as a question suddenly struck his mind. “Wait,” he murmured. “What year is it?”
Ultimate X-Spanse frowned. “What year? You mean the Earth year?”
“No, no. The Cybertronian year. What’s the current cycle?”
The X-Bot’s frown deepened. “The cycle? Er… surely you would know that.”
Fulcrum smirked. “Humor me.”
“I… I… no.” X-Spanse shook his head. “No, this is some sort of trick, isn’t it?”
“How is it a trick? I’m just asking a simple question. What’s the current cycle?”
“I….” X-Spanse clenched his fists as he glared at Fulcrum. “I’ve lost track of the time. My chronometer no longer works properly. Last I remember, it was Cycle 9679.”
“9679?” Fulcrum frowned. “But that’s… that was over 130 years ago.”
“Like I said, I’ve lost track of the time. Now then….” X-Spanse raised his clawed hand again. “Are you done playing with my mind or—”
“Professor!”
Before Ultimate X-Spanse could finish his statement, a bunch of other humans in garish getups barged into the room. Leading them was a dark-skinned woman with white hair and an equally white uniform, who approached Professor Xavier with a serious look.
“We’ve detected a strange occurrence in the Antarctic region. We believe it may be originating from the Savage Land.”
“The Savage Land?” echoed Professor Xavier. “Then we should better investigate. Ultimate X-Spanse, can you take Scott and his team there?”
“What about the Decepticon?” Ultimate X-Spanse asked, gesturing at Fulcrum.
“You can take him with you if you prefer. Can he fly like yourself?”
X-Spanse looked at Fulcrum. “Can you?”
“Uh….” Fulcrum cleared his vocal processor. “Not really. Although my alternate mode is easily transportable.”
“Good. Let’s see it then.”
Here we go, Fulcrum thought as he transformed, his armor plating extending and folding around him. Within minutes, X-Spanse and the X-Men were staring at rusted bomb laying where Fulcrum had once been.
“Wow,” muttered Logan. “Never thought I’d feel sorry for a robot.”
No comments:
Post a Comment