SEVEN: BUG BITES
Savage Land
Wheelie sighed to himself as he traced a finger in the dirt. With Grimlock and the others speaking privately with Primal and T-Wrecks, and Swoop being tended to by Maximal medics, Wheelie had been left on his own. Sitting in a small alcove away from most of the camp, he watched as the Maximals moved about their home, observing that a majority of them preferred their beast modes over their robot modes. He also found himself watching the humans that also appeared to live at the camp, moving around on massive feline steeds.
As planets went, Earth was hardly the strangest Wheelie had ever been to. Ever since he had taken on that fateful scout mission, he had been to his fair share of strange and bizarre alien worlds, from the treacherous plains of LV-117 to the divided battlefields of Zeotopia. Between all that and the horrors he had witnessed while in the captivity of the Quintessons… nothing really fazed him anymore. In fact, what he saw here in this “savage land” was somewhat of a breath of fresh air; for one thing, nothing was trying to kill him.
Still, though, his spark yearned for something… more. He wanted to explore the rest of this strange land and see what it had to offer. But he did not want to do that without at least informing Grimlock and the other Dinobots, and he wasn’t sure how much longer they were going to spend planning for their attack on the Predacons’ fortress. And even then, would they bring him along for it, or would they tell him it was simply too dangerous?
Wheelie was used to being underestimated. During the war, he had always been overlooked and it was only when the Autobots’ forces had been spent and dispersed across the galaxy that he had finally been selected for a mission. Of course, it was that mission that had left him stranded on an alien world and isolated from the rest of his comrades. For all intents and purposes, he likely would have been considered killed in action. Yet ever since returning to the known world, it seemed as if no one had even noticed his absence. Certainly, no one had approached him and expressed their gratitude upon learning of his survival.
Would they, then, notice if he were to simply get up and leave the camp without a word? He didn’t plan on traveling too far; he would just poke his head through the trees and see what wonders there were to behold. He was a scout, after all. Wasn’t scouting what he was made for?
Without much of a second thought, nor even a single word, Wheelie got up to his feet and began to head into the wilderness that surrounded the Maximal camp. Just as he had expected, no one noticed him or tried to stop him.
He hadn’t gone too far when his scanners suddenly pinged, having detected a signal. Wheelie was surprised by this, having not expected to find anything that his sensors would have picked up. As he was about to check the results of the scan, he heard the rustling of foliage and he immediately froze where he stood. He did not dare turn his head or move a single servo, instead relying on his internal sensors and scanners to determine who or what exactly was stalking near him… and whether it had spotted him.
As it turned out, he did not need either of those things to find out the answer.
“Well, well. What do we have here?”
Feeling his energon run cold, Wheelie slowly turned around and found himself facing a brown Velociraptor. The saurian beast bared its teeth as it leaned closer towards him, a threatening hiss emitting from its voice box. Wheelie maintained a brave face as he brought out his trusty slingshot and held it up between him and the velociraptor.
“Stay back, you dangerous beast,” the Autobot warned. “Or you will find that I will not be a delightful feast.”
The raptor snorted. “You’re not impressing anyone with your sense of bravado, Autobot.”
From behind the velociraptor came several other dinosaurs, among them being an orange triceratops that regarded Wheelie with a sinister glare. “What’s that you got there, Dinobot?”
“Something that’ll lead us straight to the Maximal camp, Guiledart,” the velociraptor replied. “I already have their scent.”
The triceratops let out a rumble that sounded close to a chuckle. “Then there’s no time to waste. Let us alert Tyrannocon and the others. Then, we can begin our attack!”
While Guiledart and the others took their leave, Dinobot converted to his robot mode and grabbed Wheelie, hoisting him up in the air and causing him to drop his slingshot. The small Autobot struggled against the Predacon’s grip but quickly realized it was futile. Instead, all he could do was meet the Predacon’s glare with a defiant look.
“You may share their name,” Wheelie warned, “but your actions will only bring shame.”
A baleful look was the only response he got.
Hoover Dam
The mustached man that was Prowl’s holomatter avatar stood in the interior of Hoover Dam. More specifically, he was in the secret base known as Area 52, which Sector Seven had used to house the so-called “Ice Man” many years ago. Accompanying him was the avatar of Optimus Prime (a middle-aged human male based on the Terran stereotype of what was known as a “trucker”) along with a team of officers and soldiers from the Earth Defense Command. The rest of Optimus’s team had been ordered to wait outside, keeping an eye out for any unusual activity.
The main focus of their attention was the ruins of a cryogenic chamber located deep within Area 52, where the Ice Man had once been held. Even after thirty years, the site was cordoned off and the wreckage of what had occurred still remained. Among the debris, a keen and knowing eye could identify the remains of what appeared to be a Cybertronian being… and even keener optical scanners would be able to discern the resemblance those remains bore to a certain Decepticon leader.
The holomatter avatar of Optimus Prime stepped around the chamber, staring at what remained of the Ice Man’s disembodied head and marveling at how much it resembled Megatron. Although his avatar bore no emotional expression due to the limitations of the holomatter, Prowl could tell that Optimus was dealing with conflicting emotions. He knew he would have been.
“How exactly did the Decepticons destroy this Ice Man?” Optimus finally asked after a long moment of silence.
Seymour Simmons, one of the EDC agents that had come with them to Hoover Dam, let out a sigh. “We believe they hacked into our systems in order to mess with the cryogenic chamber. Whatever they did caused a reaction that led to… this.” He gestured widely to the chamber they were in. “Lost a lot of good men that day… men that were never remembered due to the secrecy of it all.”
“Do you happen to have a visual of the Decepticons who were involved?” Prowl asked.
Simmons frowned. “We don’t, actually. But I remember seeing them. A rogue agent of ours had actually made contact with them and they even formed a little alliance, giving them access to our systems. It was probably through that they were able to find out about NBE-One, destroy him, and then erase any evidence of their existence. I recall one of them being red, and the other being blue. Both turned into juiced-up muscle cars.”
“What was the name of this rogue agent?”
“Doctor Powell. And before you ask, they killed him as well.”
Powell. Prowl recalled hearing the name from Sari Sumdac; a man by the name of Porter C. Powell had worked for her father’s company before forming a secret alliance with Cobra and Machination. While Prowl knew that humans could share names without necessarily being related, the fact that two humans by the name of Powell had been involved in duplicitous affairs connected to the Transformers was certainly an intriguing fact, even if it was coincidental.
Or was it?
“Did Doctor Powell have any relatives?” Prowl asked.
“Probably.” Simmons glanced at him. “You’re thinking he’s related to that Porter Powell fella who’s been causing you guys problems?”
“It’s something worth investigating, I’m sure. It might be nothing, but at this point, we can’t risk letting details get away from us.”
“I’ll see what I can find out.”
Prowl nodded his thanks before looking back over to Optimus. The Autobot leader’s avatar had turned away from the head of the false Megatron to look at the team’s military commander, Captain William Lennox.
“Is it possible to have this head relocated to another facility?” Optimus asked.
Lennox regarded the giant metal cranium. “Maybe. Would take some time and resources. Plus I would have to get approval from Director Faireborn.”
“If you can, that would be helpful. There might be a chance we can access this bot’s processor and extract data from his memory banks.”
“I’ll make the call,” Lennox said.
“Good. Until then—”
Before he could finish, Optimus let out a cry of pain. His avatar did not display any expression before it suddenly winked out of existence. Without a second thought or a single word to their human companions, Prowl ceased transmitting his avatar and returned his processor to his actual body. The large chamber faded away and was replaced with the Nevada desert where he and Optimus had parked their alternate modes. The Autobot leader himself was still in truck mode, and Prowl transformed to his robot mode as he rushed over to him.
“Prime!” Prowl exclaimed. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Can’t… access… functions,” Optimus grunted. “Can’t even… transform!”
Prowl frowned as he wracked his mind over what could be the cause for Optimus’ condition. Looking around, he spotted Expanse nearby, still in his jet mode. “Expanse,” he radioed the large blue Autobot. “Are you experiencing any difficulties?”
A pained groan was what Expanse uttered in response. It was that moment that Prowl’s enhanced sensors (something that came with the new body Tarantulas had given him) alerted him to the presence of two other Cybertronians within the general area. The telltale sound of a gun going off gave him only a split-second to react in time, performing a backflip in order to avoid the projectile that had been fired straight at his head.
Landing back on his feet, Prowl brandished his throwing stars and turned around to see two mechs standing in front of him. One of them was a large blue bot whose armor suggested a crane alternate mode, whereas the other was a small white bot with a body-type similar to Bumblebee’s original form.
“Nice moves, Cyber-Ninja,” the latter said with a sly smirk. “Too bad they won’t do you much good for long.”
Prowl’s optics narrowed behind his visor. “I know you…. It’s Bug Bite, isn’t it? You were affiliated with the Secret Order.”
“Been keeping tabs, I take it?” Bug Bite sneered. “You must be one of those Secret Service bots. One of Prowl’s goons, right?”
“I am Prowl.”
“Ah. Well then, there you go.” Bug Bite looked up at his larger companion. “Shoot him again, Mudflap.”
His face a blank canvas, Mudflap aimed his blaster at Prowl. Before he could fire, Prowl hurled one of his throwing stars and one of its blades went straight into the barrel of the gun. Mudflap pulled the trigger at that moment and the resulting explosion sent the bulky bot flying off his feet, landing on the ground several feet away.
Bug Bite scowled at his fallen comrade before turning back to Prowl. “No matter. I’ve got other tools up my cyber-sleeve.”
“Like your cerebro-shells?” Prowl asked. “I know about those, Bug Bite. I know everything about you.”
Bug Bite glowered at him. “No, you don’t.”
He then pulled out a pronged device, which he began to point at Prowl. The Autobot ninja reacted by throwing his last star, which spun through the air and struck Bug Bite in the arm, causing him to drop the device. Prowl then charged towards him and delivered a jumping kick, knocking the mercenary to the ground. As he kept Bug Bite pinned in place with his foot, Prowl used magnets built into his hands to summon his throwing stars back to his hands, keeping them ready in case Bug Bite tried anything, or Mudflap got back up.
“Can you undo what you just did to Prime and Expanse?” Prowl then asked.
“It’ll wear off after another few cycles,” Bug Bite grunted. “I just needed the Big Bot disabled long enough so I could get my quarry. I wasn’t counting on you being a pain to handle.”
“And just what is your quarry?”
“Are you seriously asking me that question? Surely you Autobots should know by now just what it is he’s capable of.”
Prowl frowned. “It’s Expanse, isn’t it?”
Bug Bite rolled his eyes. “Someone give this mech a prize. Of course it’s him, you fool. You think I would pass up an opportunity to capture a bot like him.”
“How did you even manage to find him?”
Bug Bite smirked. “Well, I didn’t necessarily know he was here, per se. I was actually here to investigate a little something that an old friend of mine told me about long ago… although I take it you being here means you already know about it by now.”
“The false Megatron.”
“You’re on a roll today, aren’t you?” Bug Bite chuckled. “Of course, if my hypothesis is correct, you might have bigger things to worry about than two little mercenaries.”
“What do you mean? What hypothesis?”
A wicked grin crept upon Bug Bite’s face. “How about instead of me telling you, you let me show you.”
“I don’t think you’ll be in any position to do that,” Prowl said.
“Tell that to her.”
Before Prowl had a chance to react to Bug Bite’s words, he felt a sharp blade slash across his back. Letting out a pained cry, he removed his foot from Bug Bite’s chest, allowing the small white bot to get up and shove him to the ground. A silver and black bot then materialized in front of Prowl, having deactivated some sort of cloaking shield, and pointed a yellow energy blade at Prowl’s neck.
“Excellent work as always, Nightbird,” Bug Bite said. “I knew I could count on you.”
“Shut up and do whatever it is you came here to do,” Nightbird muttered. “Doubledealer is going to notice our absence eventually.”
“Oh, don’t worry. By the time we’re done here, we won’t even need to worry about Doubledealer.” Bug Bite chuckled darkly. “That much I can assure you.”
He then picked up the pronged device that Prowl had knocked out of his hands earlier and pointed it at Expanse. Prowl watched helplessly as Bug Bite fired a cerebro-shell that implanted itself into the blue supersonic jet’s hull.
“That’s part one.” Bug Bite then turned in the direction of Hoover Dam. “Now, for part two.”
Savage Land
As soon as they had heard the sound of roaring and gnashing teeth, Grimlock, his Dinobots, and Primal’s Maximals came charging out of their meeting place to see the battle that was now unfolding in the camp.
“So much for planning ahead,” T-Wrecks remarked.
Grimlock disregarded him as he went charging into battle, with Slag and Snarl running alongside him in their beast modes. Setting his sights on a brown and red Tyrannosaurus, Grimlock let out a deafening roar as he charged headfirst into the Predacon, knocking them away from two smaller Maximals. At the same time, Slag locked horns with an orange Triceratops and Snarl grappled with a matching Stegosaurus with green scales.
As Grimlock locked his jaws around his opponent, the other Tyrannosaurus let out an enraged roar before lashing out with its tail, hitting Grimlock hard enough to cause him to let go. The Predacon then let out a chuckling sound from its maw.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the legendary Grimlock himself. Long have I been waiting for this battle.”
“Tyrannocon!” T-Wrecks came running in to stand beside Grimlock in his beast mode. “Only you would be so bold to lead such an impulsive attack! Does the Tripredacus Council even know you are doing this?”
“They will when I deliver them your heads!” With another roar, Tyrannocon transformed to her robot mode, adopting a form similar to T-Wrecks’ own robot mode. She raised her tail cannon and fired at the spot between the two Dinobot leaders, causing them to both jump out of the way to avoid the blast.
Converting from his alternate mode, Grimlock unsheathed his large sword and charged again towards Tyrannocon. He swung his blade at her, which she caught with the maw of her beast head—now serving as her right arm—and used its teeth to shatter the blade into pieces. Taken aback by this, Grimlock took a step away from his opponent, staring at the remains of his weapon.
“As you can see,” Tyrannocon chuckled, “I came prepared.”
She then pointed her tail cannon at him again and fired straight into his chest. The blast sent Grimlock flying off his feet and crashing into Sludge, who had been on his way to aid his leader.
“You are rusty, old man,” Tyrannocon taunted. “So much for the legendary warrior I’ve heard so much about.”
“He’s just getting warmed up!” T-Wrecks retorted as he charged towards Tyrannocon and collided with his Predacon counterpart.
While the two Tyrannosaurs continued to battle it out, Grimlock recovered himself and got back to his feet, with Sludge taking position behind him. Scanning the battlefield, he spotted the rest of T-Wrecks’ Dinobots fighting with Predacons that shared similar beast modes. Joining Slag in his battle with Guiledart was the gray-plated Triceradon, who fired at the yellow Triceratops with her cannon. Providing aid to Snarl in his fight with Saberback was the golden Striker, who helped his Autobot counterpart counter the Predacon’s sword strikes.
Meanwhile, the rest of the Maximals were doing what they could to fend off against the rest of these “Dinocons.” Rhinox fired his gatling guns at a purple Styracosaurus; Airazor grappled in the air with Terrorsaur; Rattrap scuttled from a green Dimetrodon; and Primal was locked in combat with a brown and gold Velociraptor.
“Huh,” Sludge grunted. “Not much to this attack, eh?”
“There always more,” Grimlock growled back. “This just them warming up.”
At that moment, he spotted Slash running across the battlefield in her beast mode, avoiding attacks from the various Dinocons. When a green Spinosaurus tried to jump at her from the side, Grimlock swiftly moved in and kicked him, sending Undermine flying.
“Gotta be watchful of surroundings,” Grimlock muttered to the younger Dinobot.
“Wheelie…” Slash transformed to her robot mode, a pained expression on her face. “Can’t find Wheelie. Lost his scent. No idea where he is.”
“Knew I should have had him stay with Sky Lynx,” Grimlock growled to himself. A thought then crossed his mind and he accessed his internal radio. “Sky Lynx, this is Grimlock. Can you read me?”
Static clouded Sky Lynx’s response. “Barely. It appears I am dealing with some bothersome interference. Where are you?”
“At Maximal camp, dealing with Predacons. Need your help. Sending you coordinates.”
“Predacons, you say? Well, I certainly know how to deal with….” Sky Lynx trailed off for a moment. When next he spoke, his voice was much quieter and with a sense of dread. “Oh, no. No, it can’t be….”
“What is it?” Grimlock demanded, but no response came from the other Autobot as static roared into his ear.
Slash appeared to pick up on his distress as she looked up at him in concern. “Is… everything all right?”
Before Grimlock could answer her, his audio receptors picked up a keening, buzzing sound in the air. It was distant and faint, barely decipherable over the sounds of battle… but it was a sound that was all too familiar to him.
“No,” he muttered.
Sludge frowned. “No what? What’s going on?”
The buzzing sound was growing louder by the second. It wasn’t long before it could not be ignored and all of the combatants, Maximal and Predacon alike, were able to hear it. Everyone paused in their separate battles to look up in the direction of the sound, which was coming from deep within the forest.
Sludge’s expression paled. “That… that’s not what I think it is, is it?”
Bursting out of the jungle came a swarm of identical looking wasps and bees, differentiated only by their various color schemes. Led by a large one of their number in black, red and light blue, the swarm descended upon the Maximal camp, indiscriminate of whether their targets were Maximal or Predacon.
Seconds before they bore down on their victims, only Grimlock was able to utter their name.
“Waruders.”
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