Bronze Mettle (MCU/DC SI)

[Xavier Bronze]

I'm in Shazam's library.

Oh great, I forgot about the Winter Solstice. I could have used this time to do something useful. But as soon as I look around and see architecture that would give Escher wet dreams I decide that it's time to leave.

I lie down and get ready to go back.

And then the door slams open.

I sigh, "Shazam, is there a good reason I shouldn't go home?"

The wizard answers, "A visit from an old friend?"

I stand up and look at the newcomer. It's not human. Must be some kind of spirit. It looks like a human-sized meerkat, or maybe a lemur.

It tilts its head, "Stinky? What's happened to you?"

I would say I don't know this thing, but… I actually have a strange feeling that I do.

It, no, he reaches out and walks toward me, "It's been nearly nine thousand years!.Why haven't you visited like you promised?"

I back away a step, "I'm sorry. I don't…" I can't say that. I do know this creature from somewhere… "I don't know who you are."

He jerks backward, obviously hurt, "After all I've done for you?"

This feeling isn't like the one I have with Bo. It's not as strong. But, somehow it feels… More elusive. Deeper? No. Older.

Shazam puts a hand on his shoulder, "Remember how human spirits work. She isn't the same spirit you once knew."

His ears flatten as he thinks about that. I think if I had animal ears they would be doing the same. He recognized me. Does that mean I'm the Avatar spirit reincarnated after all? How many other Avatars have there been?

I give an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry. Maybe we can start over?" I hold out my hand, "I'm Xavier."

He holds his own hand out, but only far enough to touch the ends of our fingers. I take my other hand and direct his to the right place to finish the handshake. He looks confused at the correction at first, and then seems to understand and appreciate the gesture.

He says, "I'm Zhi Hou. You rudely stole from my oasis ten thousand years ago, and then I decided to keep you."

I nod with a smile, "I see. So I'm a pet. That's why you called me Stinky."

He beams, "Yes! You're such a smart human. I always knew I picked the right one."

I laugh, "Compared to you I guess I am pretty stinky. I like it."

He looks like a satisfied cat after it's gotten a headscratch, "You've grown a sense of humor!" And then his joy fades and the ears are flat again, "Where's Raava?"

"Who now?"

His face turns to horror. And then Shazam fills us both in, "Raava is still there. She's weakened from the transfer." Oh right! The 'spirit' half of the Avatar Spirit. Raava must be its name. Her name. How do I know that?

Zhi Hou asks, "Transfer? What do you mean?" He turns to me, "What's happened to you?"

Shazam answers, "It's been nine thousand years. But the last few decades have been especially trying. Most recently, the spirit you knew was forcibly fused onto another from an incompatible universe."

He reels back from me and almost hisses, "You're not Stinky!"

Shazam sighs, "You asked me if your friend would be here, and I spoke the truth. Everything that's left of your friend exists inside her."

He droops like someone just dropped his birthday cake in the toilet, "...Stinky?"

I respond, "For what it's worth, you seem familiar. I don't know from where, but I think I trust you. You feel like a friend, somehow."

He's obviously in mourning, and very conflicted. But he seems to have moved passed denial, "Well... Maybe that's a place to start." He forces a small smile.

I take a step forward and scratch my friend behind the ear in a way that somehow I know he won't mind, "Maybe it could help if you told me about my past lives?"

That idea seems to cheer him up a little, "Well, if you think it might help. But I should warn you, it's a very long story."

 

[Xavier Bronze]

The Legend of Ike: Marley​

Damn it, Xavier. When you invite me along for a run, you can't go full speed. I look around the streets of Metropolis, but I know I'm not going to see her. She just left me in the dust. Maybe this is payback for something.

The bustle of street sounds drop all at once, "You continue to define yourself in terms of others. Even now, after all these years."

I turn to the voice, coming from an alleyway that I'm pretty sure wasn't there a few seconds ago. The alley is much darker than the surrounding city, and I see skyward stretching piles of detritus. Broken down cars on top of dumpsters full of broken lightbulbs. Upside-down buckets of water that are on fire. The longer I look the less sense any of it makes. There's no pattern, no reason that garbage would be organized this way.

And standing in the middle of it all is a dead man. I didn't even recognize him at first, because it's impossible. I saw him die. I buried his body myself.

I take a cautious step closer, "Do I know you?"

He laughs at me, in that same way he always did, "You know damn well who I am. I was the closest thing you ever had to a real father."

I ask, "What about my actual dad? Does he not count?"

He shrugs, "Never did when it mattered. But instead of learning to be your own man, you defined yourself around his absence. You know that's why I left, don't you?"

I shake my head, "You took a bullet to save that refugee."

"Because I thought maybe my death was the kick in the pants you needed to become a real agent, and start asking yourself the big questions. I was old, Ike. I wanted to choose my death so it could be good for something."

I almost laugh, but I'm too angry at whatever this thing is pretending to be my friend, "That's not my name. You've been dead for years. You wouldn't even know that name."

"Well you're sure as hell not Harold anymore. That upstart who first came into my class, making trouble at every turn. Do you have any idea how many strings I had to pull to keep you from getting expelled?"

I shout, "Stop it. Stop talking like you're him! You're not him!"

"But what you never realized was that it was never you getting into trouble that I cared about. It was that it was never your own trouble. Always for a friend. I wanted you to grow up and find yourself. Imagine my disappointment when you just latch onto me instead."

I close my eyes. I can't look at this anymore. I can't listen to this. It's not real. It can't be. This is a nightmare. It has to be.

I wake up in bed.

I sigh, and sit up.

And he's standing in my room, with light streaming through the bullethole that killed him, "I'm sorry, Ike. I didn't come here to gripe. Just the last regrets of a dead man."

I jump up onto my bed, and pull the gun from my bedside table.

He laughs, "I'm already dead, ya numbnut. What are you going to do? Super-kill me? Put that away before you hurt yourself."

My back is pressed against the wall. He's between me and the door, and my comms seem to be offline, "What did you come here for?"

He looks sad, "To warn you. You have so many trials ahead of you, son. Trials that you alone have to face for your own soul. You have a destiny that's been locked away behind all that denial. All of these people you've defined yourself around. Your pa, Jimmy Greer, Cici, myself, and now it's those two next door. Mike and the Avatar. None of us can help you, because none of us are who you are. No matter what you tell yourself."

"Then what can help me? What kinds of trials are you talking about?"

"To both questions, the answer is the same. Your soul. I've come to set it free."

He's walking toward me. I fire. The bullet punches through his chest and hits the wall behind. I fire again, to the same effect. I empty my clip as he approaches me, and then he grabs the gun out of my hand and throws it aside.

And then he puts his hand on the center of my chest, and I can't bring myself to stop him. He starts to radiate blackness, sapping the light out of the room.

"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death, I release your soul. And by my shoulder, protect thee."

And then I start to glow, a brilliant blue light filling all the shadows in the room. I feel a tingle running down my skin as it spreads, and close my eyes to try and process the abundance of sensation.

And then I hear my door open. When I open my eyes the phantom is gone. I'm not glowing, and my partner is hurrying over to make sure I'm okay.

The bullet marks are still on my wall. At least that definitely happened.

My partner looks at the bullet marks and the smoking gun still in my hand, "What was it? What did you see?"

I shake my head and drop the gun on my bed, "Nothing. It was a nightmare. I think that holiday steak yesterday didn't agree with me."

Mike frowns for a moment, and then smiles, "Hey. Merry Christmas Harold."

I force a smile, "Yeah. Thanks. Merry Christmas."

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Elseworlds: Grant Ward, Earth 3​

I've been summoned to a secret facility. A personal message from the Outsider. Terrifying as that is, it's also not something I can exactly refuse.

Ice cracks off the hidden door in the rockface as it slides open. I step inside and take off my goggles and gloves. I take a deep breath of the warm inside air.

I hear running, but the footfalls are too light and too tightly spaced. And then two children, a boy and a girl, chase each other from one door in the hallway to another. They can't be older than twelve.

What kind of base is this?

An adult, an agent comes to greet me.

I point at where the children just were and ask, "Bring your daughter to work day?"

She gives a small, amused smile, "Those are the students. Did the Outsider tell you what we do here?"

I shake my head, "It was a blind assignment. Not my first, but... This may be the strangest."

She starts walking, and I follow, "This is a school the Outsider founded to help bring out the potential of the next generation. Every student here was selected personally by the Outsider. The teachers too. I'm the superintendent." She stops and offers a handshake, "Melinda May."

I take her hand, "Grant Ward. But I'm guessing you knew that." Melinda May? "...You're the Contingency. You're supposed to be dead."

She nods, "That's what they say at the Academy."

"You're a SWORD legend. You killed Nick Fury during the takedown of Hydra. You were part of the Outsider's Inner Circle."

She starts walking again, "Still am. We talked earlier today about your appointment here."

I'm in shock a little from several things about this, "I didn't know I was that important."

She leads me into her office, "You are now. This school represents the future of the Squadron Supreme. That girl you saw? Jean Grey. In a few years she'll become the most powerful telepath on the planet. The boy was Cooper John Barton. He's set to be a future host for the Spirit of Vengeance."

What? "How does he know?"

She seems amused by something, "The Outsider? How does the Outsider know anything? Same way we found Major America, and defeated Hydra. You don't need to know any more than that."

She hands me several student files.

"We want you to supervise combat training when no Squadron members or specialist instructors are available."

Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, Hank McCoy, Hiro Takachiho, Doreen Green, Karen Beecher, Victor Stone… The list goes on. There are dozens of them.

"Some of these students are five years old, or younger. Do we have their parents on site?"

And then I see the part of each file labelled "Acquisition Date". And then I open the file explaining standard enrollment procedure.

Agent May tells me, "The parents are not a concern. As far as the outside world knows, everyone here is dead. Including you, as of this morning."

I can't… I've done so much for SWORD, and they've done so much for me. But this… These are children. They've been forcibly separated from their parents and isolated in the deep antarctic.

She continues, "The present is secured in the Helicarrier. The future is secured right here."

I shake my head, "At what cost? These kids…" I open another file, "Loyalty training? That's another word for brainwashing. It doesn't matter who they'll become in the future. What you're doing here is wrong."

"What the Squadron does is dangerous. They have powerful enemies. And Yellowjacket isn't exactly in his prime. What happens if he dies and there's no-one who can replace him? What happens in ten years when he gets too old to wear the suit anymore?"

I admit, "I don't know! But I can't do this. You know I've never refused an order. But I can't take part in the abduction and indoctrination of children! Not even for the Outsider. I'm sorry."

She remains silent for a second, and then sighs, "I'm sorry too."

She draws a gun. I knock it out of her hand and run out into the hall.

The intercom comes online, "All alert. Intruder attempting to escape near the front entrance. Anyone who helps capture him will receive a full letter grade towards their next performance review."

I realize what kind of students they keep here, "Oh, shit."

A boy materializes in front of me and throws a lunch tray at my face. I deflect it and jump over him. Before I hit the ground I'm struck with the worst headache I've had in my life, and my vision blacks out entirely. I land on my hands and knees, and then the teleporting boy starts strangling me from behind. My hands and knees start to sink into the metal flooring like putty.

I flip the boy over my shoulder, and stand to a run. I still can't see anything, and I think my sense of balance is being thrown off. But at least the floor isn't trying to swallow my feet anymore. I remember the way out, and I can hear the echo of my own footsteps. I hear a turnoff to my left and take it, finally reaching the outer door. ...I have no way of opening this.

I hear the teleporter appear behind me. I quickly spin and grab him, drawing my sidearm and putting it to his head, "Get me past that door."

I hear the same teleporting sound, and suddenly everything is very, very cold. I let go of him and immediately start running. I hear him teleport again behind me. My vision fades back into place as the distance between me and the school increases.

Five minutes later, I'm still running for my life through the tundra. I hear the same teleporting sound and jump behind an ice shelf for cover. It shatters at the force of an explosive, and I'm blasted forward several meters.

I try to stand, but when I put pressure on my leg the pain overwhelms my senses. My leg is broken.

I lie in place. I can't escape. Even if I made it to the mainland, there's nowhere I would be safe. I'm an enemy of SWORD. I'm a fugitive of the Squadron Supreme. Not a single government on earth would give me sanctuary.

I hear a sonic boom. And then a blue beam shoots into the sky, intercepting the heat-seeker they sent for me. The inert piece of metal crashes into the ground just a meter from my legs, and then sits there. It's frozen solid.

A man in full winter gear with some kind of gun I don't recognize emerges from the blinding blizzard snow. He holds a hand out to pull me up, and I take it.

He pulls me to my feet, "We have to go. Caitlin can treat your leg when we get back to the underground." He loops my arm around his shoulders for support and we're on the move.

I have to ask, "Who are you?"

"A concerned citizen, like yourself. My name is Leonard."

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Doctor Quinzel starts moving the spoon closer to my mouth, "Here comes the train. Open wide!"

I knock the spoon away, "Harley, that's not pudding. It's literal shit. I'm not eating that."

She makes a pouty face, which is somewhat redundant when she's already wearing sad clown makeup, "Now now, good children eat their vegetables. No it's not! Would I do that to you?"

"You're insane. So yes. Is Alex out of surgery yet?"

She waterbends a clipboard to herself from out the window across the room, "He's going to be just fine. We did a brain transplant. He just took a spill, that's all. No-one ever gets hurt falling down stairs, everyone knows that."

I nod thoughtfully, "True. I just want to see him again."

I'm woken up abruptly by my comms going off in my ear. Uggh. Why couldn't I have inherited Alex's immunity to hangovers? I'll have to ask Mike what I did after I blacked out last night. The last thing I remember is... the ball drop.

I'm not sure I'll ever get used to dreaming. It's so weird. It's so fucking weird. No-one back on Earth Prime ever talked about just how weird dreams are. But I guess everyone except people like me had dreams in common back on Earth Prime.

I peel my eyes open and answer on comms, "Yeup. What is it?"

Jack laughs, "Still suffering?"

I grimace, "How are you not? I know you drank plenty."

"I know my limits. You have to in this line of work. But I'm afraid we can't give you the day off. You're gonna have to suffer through it. We have our first op together. Report to the hanger in... I'll give you twenty minutes."

I deliberately transmit my pained groan.

Twenty minutes later I'm on my way out of my room, in costume. Bo keeps running out into the hall ahead of me and looking back, impatient at my sluggish pace.

When I get there, he's leaning against his motorcycle, "You're late."

Here's my middle finger, "Are we taking a jet or a helicopter?"

He grins devilishly, "Neither." And then climbs onto the motorcycle, "Hop on."

"You can't be serious."

He looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

I slump where I stand, "Fine." I walk over and climb on behind him, "Fuck you, though."

"Maybe after the mission."

...Huh. I'm surprised he just said that. He's usually more evasive. He always leaves himself wiggle room to avoid admitting that what he's doing is hitting on me, even though it's obvious. But that was completely explicit. I'm usually the one who says stuff like that, and then he backs off before it can go anywhere.

I'm probably just indulging in wishful interpretation. No use overthinking it until after the mission.

I unzip the outer jacket of my costume and slip Bo under to protect her from the wind. My mask works as a motorcycle helmet. But once we're on the road it's still a violently horrid experience. Constant wind and g-forces and I have to hold on for dear life. This isn't fun this time. I'm moving faster than any human being ever should.

We pull off the road in the middle of nowhere. I think Jack is taking these turns sharper than he has to. Another few minutes and we pull over in a dark area under a freeway, and I fall off onto my hands and knees. I feel like throwing up, but I think I already emptied my system sometime last night.

Jack climbs off, and then his motorcycle backs away without him. Did he kick it? That's a neat trick. How does he keep it from falling over?

At least he seems amused by my misery. Bo squirms out through my collar and stretches her dewlap in protest. I stand back up and raise my hand to block the glare of sunshine coming from outside our overpass cover. I take off my mask to rub my eyes.

I tell Jack, "Look, this isn't funny anymore. You dragged me out here at the crack of dawn for a mission, you won't tell me what it is. It better be damn fucking important. I mean, what is it?" I throw out my arms, "Where's the mission?"

He says, "An old friend of mine is coming to meet us. I think it's faster if he tells you the rest."

I struggle to put my mask back on, "A friend of yours? From before you joined SHIELD, or are they an agent?"

He smiles, "Before. But let's just say that without him, I'd never have gotten on SHIELD's radar."

What's this red truck doing? It's driving very slowly towards us. I'd be nervous if I couldn't very easily dodge it if necessary. This must be Jack's friend, I guess.

Bo suddenly leaps up onto me and takes cover from the truck behind my back. Wait, where's the driver? Is it remote controlled?

And then it starts to change. Parts shift aside and slide and pivot on hinges that were hidden just under the surface. Seamless pieces come apart and swing back together in different configurations with different functions. Did Stark build this? It's amazing. I see all the moving parts and wonder how it was driving at all a few seconds ago. Some of those parts used to be the engine. It's transforming into something completely different.

...Is that a face? Oh god. It's humanoid. It's a big red truck that just transformed into a giant humanoid robot. Seriously? Fucking Transformers? I can't handle this with a hangover.

The last few parts click into place, and then it kneels to get its newly formed head closer to mine, "My name is Orion Pax. Our mutual allies have brought you to me, because I am in need of your assistance. An old enemy of mine is on earth, and he must be made to learn that no man escapes the Manhunters."

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Okay. Transformers. Cars that turn into robots. I put a hand to my head to ease the headache through pressure, "Manhunters? Is that what you're called? Your species?"

Where have I heard Manhunters, other than the Martian? Alex knew them. Not the Martians, but they were DC. Weren't they related to the Green Lanterns?

The robot tells me, "Yes. We are the Manhunters. We were constructed billions of years before your planet was formed, by the Guardians of Oa, to serve and protect all sentient life."

Manhunter robots, built by the Guardians. I think I remember them, now, "Let me guess. It didn't work out."

"A Manhunter named Megatronus prioritized the letter of the law over maintaining the peace. His followers slaughtered trillions and caused our entire species to be removed from authority."

There it is, "...Replaced by the Green Lanterns." The Manhunters worked for the Galactus wannabe in that one cartoon.

It's hard to read those expressions but I can tell he's surprised I know that, "Yes. But now my autocons have acquired evidence that Megatronus is on earth. Jack told Arcee about your unique knowledge, and Arcee told me that you might be able to help."

'His' autocons, the autocons are his faction, the faction against Megatronus... "Who's Arcee?"

Jack revs his motorcycle behind me, and Bo scurries around to my front away from the noise.

I turn, "Jack can you not right n…"

...Jack isn't on his motorcycle. Oh, I'm thick.

I look at the motorcycle, and it idles closer to me without a driver, "Arcee."

And then the motorcycle transforms into a robot woman a few heads taller than human-sized. She has a much more discernable face than Orion, even though it's still made of metal. She smiles, "Nice to officially meet you."

I think for a moment, "I've ridden on your back... several times."

She walks past me to stand next to Orion, who towers over even her by about two times, "We can talk about that later. Do you know where Megatronus might be?"

I shake my head, "No. I know pretty much nothing about you guys. Sorry. Wrong movie." Was the red guy called Orion back on Earth Prime? It doesn't sound right, but I can't remember what else it would've been. And wasn't he supposed to be a fire truck?

Jack takes over, "The Destrons, that's Megatronus' people, have been looking for something, scouring the whole system. It's one of seven weapons, ancient artifacts from the Manhunter homeworld. The last time the whole set was brought together, it left their homeworld a baron wasteland."

"Have you checked the dark side of the moon?"

I'm trying to remember anything at all Alex might have known about Transformers, but he only saw the first and third movies. One of them was named Jazz, I think? There was a dinosaur-shaped one. None of that is going to be useful to them. There was an artifact, in the first movie. I remember it spontaneously turned a vending machine into a Transformer. A cube?

"You're not talking about the Infinity Stones, are you?"

Orion answers, "No. Six artifacts of immense elemental power." Elemental you say? "Designed for Manhunters alone. And a seventh that can control the rest. They were forged by one of the first of our kind, using stolen Makluan technology. I've been told you're aware of the Makluans."

Um, lizard people or dragons? "...Not in detail. I know about the rings they made. A few of them are on earth."

"Then you know the devastating power their technology holds. We believe the artifact Megatronus is hunting may be the controller. It cannot fall into his possession."

Okay. Gather your thoughts. Six and one to control them. Makluans aside, that sure sounds a lot like the Infinity Stones, "The Tesseract is one of the Infinity Stones. It was last seen on earth some sixty years ago. It's a glowing blue cube, about ten centimeters across. Any chance that's what he's after?" That would make this easy. SHIELD has it, whether they'll tell me about it or not.

"Among Manhunters one and one alone can wield the power of an Infinity Stone. The Great Defender. And he hasn't existed in aeons." That sounds like a setup for a resurrection.

I raise an eyebrow, "Are you sure? He can't be hiding underground somewhere?"

He successfully stares me down, "Yes."

Arcee explains inadequately, "Thanks to Megatronus, the Defender can't exist anymore. Orion is all that we have left now."

That's an interesting way to phrase that. It makes me think there's a lot more to that story.

But right now I don't care, "Well I don't have any information. Does that mean I can go H.O.M.E. and take a nap?"

Arcee laughs, "Sorry, you're not getting off that easy. You're on the case with us now."

I groan, "What the fuck can I do for you? I don't know anything! You're giant robots!"

Orion contests, "And you are a human of earth. Jack has been one of my most trusted allies for years. And he trusts you."

I turn to Jack, "Look, I appreciate the letter of recommendation. But you've obviously got a team dynamic thing here, and I'd just get in the way."

Arcee asks Jack, "Does she always complain this much on missions?"

He shakes his head, "She's not at her most charming right now. Can we stop somewhere for coffee before meeting with the rest of the team?" I should've figured there'd be more of them. There goes my day.

Arcee transforms back into a motorcycle, "Fine."

Jack climbs on with no hesitation. And then he looks at me expectantly.

I point, "I'm supposed to just forget she's a sentient person now?"

Arcee expresses her annoyance, "Oh, just get on before I change my mind and leave you here."

I let out a frustrated sigh, "Alright."

As I'm getting on, Orion transforms back into a truck, and then the five of us get back on the road.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

After three cups of coffee I'm feeling a little more ready to face the day. We drive for a while longer and then pull behind an old warehouse, with five other assorted vehicles. The yellow Volkswagen must be Bumblebee. That's one I remember.

We get off, I let Bo back out of my jacket, and everyone starts transforming. As they do, I take note of what each of the new ones were before. Ambulance, armored truck, white sports car with blue stripes, and red sports car.

And they're all giant humanoid robots now. They vary a lot in design. Arcee is easily under three meters tall, while Orion is probably over five. Maybe over six. It's hard to judge from down here.

The ambulance has a metal jaw that seems to evoke a goatee, "Did we really need to bring more humans into this?"

No, they didn't.

Orion disagrees, "Every resource we can bring to bear against Megatronus, we must do so, Ratchet. Our failure in this mission could mean the extinction of all life on earth, and a return to one of the darkest times in Manhunter history."

Does this guy always talk in motivational speeches? He makes Gandalf seem as grounded as Arthur Dent.

The armored truck-bot leans down to look at me far too quickly for my comfort, "Hi. I'm Bulkhead." He starts pointing at his teammates, "The old man is Ratchet. Bumblebee, Smokescreen, " The blue and white sports car, "Knockout." And the red one. "You already met Arcee." That's everyone.

I list them back, "Bulkhead, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Knockout, Arcee." Uoh boy, this is a lot at once.

White and blue, Smokescreen steps forward with a definite youthful air that almost reminds me of Alex, "And our fearless leader, Orion Pax. One of the six Primes who defeated Unicron the first time."

I put up my hand, "Okay, if it's not relevant to the mission at hand, I don't need to know your whole planetary history right now."

A big swirly blue-green portal thing opens near us. All the, what did he call them? Autocons? All the autocons turn and watch another Transformer drive through. This one looks like a police cruiser.

The new one transforms into its humanoid form. It's a woman-bot. Why are some of them feminine-shaped? What function do metal boobs serve? They don't actually have gender, do they? They're robots.

Orion addresses the newcomer, "Strongarm. Report."

"Fixit found a lead. He intercepted a destron transmission talking about a ship that crashed here only a few centuries after our planet's destruction. It might have evidence of the location of the weapon."

How many of these assholes are there? I hope no-one expects me to remember all these names later. I really hope I don't have to call anyone's name in the heat of battle.

The police-bot, Strongarm looks at me, "Who's the human?"

Arcee answers, "A friend of Jack's. She's with us."

I would offer a handshake, but I don't want to be crushed, "I'm Xavier. But in the field you can call me Avatar. The gal on my shoulder is Bo." I guess I'm in this now, "Where's this ship you found?"

"Underground, in the region you call the Gobi Desert. We weren't able to intercept the exact coordinates before they changed frequencies."

Orion narrows his eyes dramatically, "Then we must begin searching at once, if we are to recover the information onboard in time. Tell Fixit to open a ground bridge and take Sideswipe to search the northern sector."

Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Orion Pax, Ratchet, Strongarm, Smokescreen, Arcee, Sideswipe, Fixit… What was the red one again? Fuck.

Strongarm runs back through the portal and it closes, only to almost immediately reopen. I guess this is a 'ground bridge'? It's a poor shadow compared to the Bifrost. Still, I'd love to show it to Jane and see what she thought. Seeing this kind of technology in action would make her so happy.

Orion strikes a commanding pose, "Autocons, roll out!" And then he transforms and drives through.

Arcee tells me, "It might be a little less cramped if you ride with someone else this time." Jack nods at me, which I guess means I have to mingle.

When fighting giant robots, armor is good, "Bulkhead. Can I go with you?"

He smiles wide, "Of course you can! It'll be nice to have a *?<#​ again."

That was... It sounded like they do when they're transforming. Mechanical banging and grinding noises. Is that their native language?

Bulkhead transforms and pops his door open. I climb into a compartment inside the body of a sentient being and buckle my seatbelt. Bo hops off my shoulder into the driver's seat.

Sigh. This is my life now.

He asks as we drive through the glowing swirly tunnel into the desert, "So this cutie's Bo? Is she any good in a fight?" The voice just sort of comes from somewhere in the cabin. Hard to pinpoint where.

I cringe slightly, "Probably not at your level. She can breathe fire, but that's about it. If Jack had told me anything about the mission I might have left her at H.O.M.E.." Maybe I should have anyway. I don't want to put her in too much danger.

"I can see a lot of love connecting you two. Maybe she wouldn't want to be left behind."

That's curious, "You can... see love?"

The rear view mirror wiggles as if to nod, "Love, compassion, hope, willpower, fear, greed, and rage. The emotional spectrum of energy that all living things draw from. Manhunters can see the rage of someone about to commit murder, or track the fear in a guilty soul. It was supposed to help us get to the truth. But the destrons use it to see the hope of anyone who opposes them, and snuff it out."

Time to change the subject. I ask, "What was that word you used earlier, to refer to me? Is that your native language?"

He's briefly confused, "What? Oh, did I switch off my translator? Sorry. There isn't really a word for it in your language."

I smile, "No word for the relationship? I know what that's like. What does it mean?"

"Manhunters were originally designed to be supported by a local lifeform. Someone who'd know the lay of the land, advise us and be able to hold us accountable to our actions if we made the wrong call. That's why we look like technology instead of people. But the inconvenience of having to pick a new one every time they died pressured the Guardians into making it optional."

I nod, "And then some of you lost touch with what you were protecting, and then Megatronus happened."

I'm suddenly very aware of how personal this must be for him. This is the tragic history of his people, "Megatronus, the destrons. A sector-wide genocide." He deliberately cheers himself up, "Anyway, the closest translation is 'paladin'. I used to have one, but… She got hurt. And even after she got better, she decided she didn't want to fight in the war anymore. Now the only one of us left with a Paladin is Arcee. But she and Jack are a little more than that."

Oh? "What do you mean?"

Suddenly he screeches to a halt, "We have company. Destrons. Ready to do some wrecking?"

…

That's it. I'm dead, "…Can I think about it a little longer?"

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Alternate Take: I'm So Screwed part 3​

Kill. I incinerate the woman's skull in my hands. Locate next target.

There. A blacksmith hiding behind the furnace in his home. The furnace disguises his body heat. But I feel his vibrations in the dirt. I still sense his blood coursing through his body. Kill. One of my arms turns into a blade, which I drive through the stone wall of his house. Locate next target.

I don't know for certain why I was sent here. But I was. So I do my work.

A teenage boy runs for the woods. His feet leave the ground as he's suspended by his own blood, and pulled back. Kill. I burst the veins, and allow his body to drop. Locate next target.

I walk past the corpses of a lovely dwarven couple, and the daughters they were playing with a few minutes ago, before I killed them.

A woman shoots a crossbow at me. The first two bolts deflect harmlessly off my body. The third stops in the air, rotates, and impales someone else who was trying to escape. Kill. I turn the rock at the archer's feet to sand and let her drown. Locate next target.

A cobbler stands in horror, resigned to watching all his friends die. The courtyard around him peels up at the edges, and in, trapping him. Kill. It compresses into a sphere only the size of my head, and then melts into lava. Locate next target.

Another man steps out of cover, holding an axe. He brags, stupidly, "This is my father's axe. It's made of Uru. It's slain fouler monsters than you! You vile -" Kill.

I rush him, and tear his arms off before he can wind back to swing his weapon. As he screams in pain, I remove the axe from the arm I'm holding, and do a test swing. Good balance. I cleave the man's head off. I'll bring the axe back as a gift for my master.

I look upon the smoldering remains of a village in Nidavellir.

I clench my metal fists. This body was made from the same adaptive material as the Destroyer. It must be tough because I haven't been injured yet. Maybe this axe could've done it. We won't know now.

I reach out with my power and pull down one side of the mountain nearby, causing an avalanche that will cover my work here. We can't have word getting back that Asgard sent one of their weapons to destroy a village of peaceful dwarves.

Falling rocks flow unnaturally around me as I reshape my body to grow wings and summon a gale to lift them. Once I'm out of the danger zone I touch down and transform into a Sleipnir-legged bear. This way I'm less likely to be seen. And if I am, they'll just think I'm some mythical monster escaped from the deep.

Once I'm a few dozen miles away, the Bifrost beam comes down and transports me back to Asgard. I transform back into a humanoid as I cross the bridge to receive my next target from Loki.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Alternate Take: With This Ring part 3​

Wayne Manor is very large. However, there are also ten people living here now. And it either helps or definitely doesn't that half of us have superpowers. We've only been here two days and the kitchen is almost cleared out. Although I think Wally and Superboy can account for most of that. Alfred has adjusted remarkably well to the change, I'd say. He hasn't shot anyone yet.

Right now M'gann is trying to make cookies. Trying. All I see is little pieces of charcoal on a cookie sheet.

Bruce gives her a small smile, "I'm sure they would have tasted lovely. Besides," Crunch. I look and see Superboy chewing on one, "He doesn't seem to mind."

Superboy swallows and looks between Bruce and me, "Is this not what they're supposed to be like?"

His teeth are black from the snack. I tell him, "Dude. Ew."

Kate translates for me, "You've got something in your teeth. Go look in a mirror."

The doorbell sounds through the house. Bruce starts toward the door and I follow him.

Alfred is already there when we get there, "Master Bruce, there's a 'Vision' here to see you."

"Let him in." Vision steps in and bows his head politely to the master of the house, "What brings you here?"

"It's been a few days since your group separated on.. less than ideal terms with my own, and we hadn't heard anything from you. I thought I'd check in."

Bruce's strong stance opposite the most powerful Avenger is impressive, "That's very considerate of you. But we're fine." A metal tray clatters to the floor in the other room, "Just settling in."

Kate comes into the front hall, "Vis!" She runs up and hugs the android. Synthezoid. Whatever. She hugs him with more affection than I've seen her give anyone, "I'm glad you stopped by! We can show you around our new base."

He looks around at the elaborate decor, "It's certainly more.. refined than Mister Stark's."

Alfred perks up with pride at that comment.

Well not that Vision isn't the most interesting thing that's happened in a while, but, standing this close to an Infinity Stone is making me uncomfortable. Where's Colin?

I find him meditating in his room, "Is now a bad time?"

He shakes his head, "No, I was just going over Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. If I'm going to go mad from the Orange light, at least I can steer it in a productive direction."

I nod, "So I take it we're not going back anytime soon?"

He shakes his head, "Star Labs does have access to interplanar travel, but I asked Wally and he says they've never found anything like Earth Prime. I looked into where we appeared, and there is a Bleed rupture. But there's no way to trace that back to Earth Prime either. The most we could do is get to the void between universes. And even that would take an energy source even bigger than my Battery."

I sigh, "So jack and squat."

"Not quite. But the leads we do have are difficult to follow without resources we just don't have access to."

The ground shakes. I question with an eyebrow.

He listens to something his Ring is saying that I can't hear, "There's a pyrokinetic synthezoid in Gotham. It's the Human Torch created by Phineas Horton during World War 2. Although in this universe it's called the Synthetic Man. It's coming this way."

"Can we call the Avengers?"

"They're busy in Latveria."

"I guess it's up to us then."

Bruce opens the door, "The Synthetic Man is attacking the city. Get ready."

We follow him out. By the time the three of us get to the front hall the rest are suited up. A few of them look at us.

Arsenal asks me, "M'Gann says she can set up a psychic communications network we can use in the field as long as we're within her range. Are you going to freak out again if we include you?"

Ugh. I look at M'Gann's face of innocence. Fine, "As long as she doesn't go digging again. My brain, my rules."

She beams, "Of course."

No-one should be that happy. She's hiding something.

Kate looks at Colin, "Still can't transition us all at once?"

He shakes his head, "I don't think so."

Wally offers, "I could carry someone."

Kate rejects it, "No. Even at your top speed, Colin's FTL is faster."

Colin nods and takes Superboy and M'Gann first. Wally disappears with a flash of lightning.

Kate turns to Bruce, "I think you should stay behind this time. Unless you have an anti-robot beam weapon stowed away somewhere."

Colin takes Arsenal and Artemis.

He sighs, "No, you're right. I'll ensure the damages are paid for."

She smiles, "Thank you." Then Colin grabs me and Kate and we're somewhere else. On the streets of Gotham. The nausea isn't too bad this time.

I hear M'Gann's thoughts in my head, **Everyone's linked.**

The Synthetic Man comes into view, held three stories up by a towering whirlwind of fire. I can feel the heat from here.

I'm glowing orange again. Colin must be protecting me. I see Superboy has one too and realize he's shielding the whole team.

One of the archers shoots an explosive arrow that detonates prematurely because of the heat. The android sends a fireball in retaliation, which Artemis easily dodges.

The Synthetic Man speaks as if through a loudspeaker, "Are these children the only ones foolhardy enough to challenge me? I was expecting a superhero."

Wally takes a running jump off a rooftop to punch him, "We'll manage."

His fist passes right through his head, without doing any damage. An orange barrier materializes to block the cone of fire that's sent his way as he falls to the ground.

Colin chastises him, **Phineas Horton invented the density shifting technology that Vision uses.**

The Synthetic Man lowers himself and then lands, "Perhaps. But the most you can expect to do against me is survive. Have you no adult supervision? No-one to tell you when to go home?"

M'Gann throws a car at him with telekinesis, which he simply allows to pass between his molecules, "We are home!"

Superboy charges. The Synthetic Man grabs his fist mid-swing and throws him straight through a nearby building, "I knew the streets of Gotham had rats. But this is a new breed of vermin."

Another volley of arrows from Arsenal and Kate. One of Arsenal's gets through the fire and freezes his right arm solid. But it only takes a second to thaw.

"Human trash. Although since two of you aren't human, I suppose the properly inclusive word is meatbags."

Rapid gunfire hits Synth's chest, and I see a hovering railgun over Colin's shoulder. The shots aren't doing any damage. Colin sighs, **His density shifting works the other way too. He's made himself too tough for bullets to be effective.**

M'Gann comes up with a plan, **If you can get me close, I can disrupt his density shifting with my own, make him weak enough to take a hit. But I'm vulnerable to fire.**

Kate orders, **Colin, shield her as much as you can. Everyone else, distract him.**

I guess it's time for me to do something. I run closer and start thinking about how I'm separated from Alex. I thrust out my hands and no fire comes out. Oh come on! This isn't the time for this!

The Synthetic Man throws a blast my way and a streak of lightning pulls me out of the path. When we stop we're on a rooftop. Wally asks, **You okay?**

**Yeah. Go.**

My power is seriously annoying. I watch my team fighting for their lives, unable to help. I'm even more worthless than Bruce like this.

I throw out my hands again. And again. Fists? Palm first? No. The form has nothing to do with it. It's a mindset. I thought it was anger, but obviously it's not.

**It's initiative. You have to think about what you want to do.** A private message. Not on the team network.

**What are you doing in my head! I told you not to dig again!**

**I didn't. You're kind of broadcasting frustration.**

I look at her up in the sky, surrounded by an orange bubble, **Shouldn't you be focusing on the mission?**

**Colin's doing most of the work.**

The Synthetic Man sees the filament connecting M'Gann's shield to Colin and sends a blast his way. Colin's own shield holds. But Synth gets smart and fires a cutting beam at the filament itself. Colin tries to redirect, but the filament is severed and M'Gann's shield disappears. Wally pulls her out before she gets burned.

Kate thinks at M'Gann, **Bruce is here. Link him in.**

Bruce's mind has a very strong presence, **Everyone listen. The Synthetic Man wants Vision. He came here because Vision was seen on his way to the estate. Ultron's blueprints were largely stolen from Phineas Horton, so it's possible he's looking for an upgrade.**

M'Gann thinks, **Then I have another plan. Get me out of sight.**

Wally complies, **On it.**

And then Vision phases up out of a building. I get a telepathic wink, and quickly realize that's not Vision.

"I believe it would be best if you leave this to me."

Not-Vision fires an orange beam from his forehead. It strikes Synth's chest directly, and he's knocked back almost a meter. The two fly into each other and M'Gann is easily felled. She collapses onto the same roof I'm on. But she keeps her disguised form intact.

The Synthetic Man approaches the prone figure of Vision.

**Now!**

An orange bubble encloses the Synthetic Man. M'Gann changes back into herself and I see the android being telekinetically battered and in some places even shredded.

He phases down into the building below us to escape. Superboy punches down through the roof to follow. But when he jumps down Synth backhands him into the sky. Colin catches him with a levitation field and sets him back down. Arsenal and Kate go in to close range and last a few seconds before the predictable result ensues, and they're knocked away. Arsenal isn't getting back up. Kate is injured.

**Wholeness Rightly Assumed.**

Kate's healed completely, although Arsenal still isn't getting up. If he's dead, we'll deal with that later. Right now there's a killer robot.

Synth turns to Colin and barrages him with a constant blast. His shield holds, but who knows for how long. Artemis fires off a few more arrows, which do no more than the last dozen.

**My Ring is down to 60 percent.**

Superboy tries to punch him, but passes right through again. M'Gann is trying to find an angle that isn't covered in fire. Wally also tries to punch him, with no luck.

Think about what I want to do. I want to help Colin. My hands ignite.

The Synthetic Man looks at me without stopping his assault, "Fire? Against me? Meatbags really are as stupid as father said."

"Maybe. But hey, the line between bravery and idiocy is good intentions. Or something. I'm pretty sure someone said that."

"Then be brave. Do your best. It won't matter. You will die, with all the other meatbags."

I smirk, "Promise?" And then I let loose. Boom. I smile as the world in front of me burns. I could get used to this.

At least a full minute later, I stop. And I look to see the result.

The Synthetic Man tries to take a step on a melted hip, and his left leg shears clean off. He raises a hand at me, only to find the hand is melted too.

Colin lowers his shield, "Thanks."

"Us Earth Primers've gotta stick together."

Kate walks over and puts an arrow through his head. The synthetic eyes fade to dark. She quips, "I guess he couldn't take the heat."

Renegade option​

The Synthetic Man comes into view, held three stories up by a towering whirlwind of fire. I can feel the heat from here.

Let's see what this upgrade can do. I run full-speed into the flames.

And then I jump. And the earth drops out from below me. I hold out my fist and from my perspective the Synthetic Man rockets into it. I barely feel its metal skull caving in by the force of my punch. I fly far past it on momentum, but manage to twist around in the air to see it falling out of the sky.

I crash into the pavement and furrow a trench out of the parking lot. I try to slow myself down, but not in time to stop from totaling a few cars as I tumble to a standstill.

I walk back to the group and see them circled around the dead Synthezoid.

I brush some rubble off my arms, "I take out the bad guy by myself and no-one even bothers to catch me."

 

[Xavier Bronze]

Bulkhead opens his door and my seatbelt unbuckles itself. Bo jumps and glides over me out the door.

I see a giant purple tank approaching us very quickly from the horizon.

"I'm gonna stay in here, thanks."

"I can't transform safely with you in there, and I can't fight like this."

Okay, fine. I jump out and land in the sand and the desert sun next to Bo.

Between the hangover and the sand between my fingers, there's something comfortingly familiar about this.

Bulkhead transforms, and so does the tank. That's a very menacing single red eye that makes up its entire face.

Bulkhead's fist transforms into a wrecking ball, because of course it does, "Shockwave. Is it just you out here?"

An equally menacing deep voice rumbles out in a way that makes me understand why he got the name Shockwave, "No. It is not... just me."

There's someone behind us. I turn sideways, careful not to lose awareness of Shockwave. The other one is smaller than Bulkhead or Shockwave, but still over three meters tall. Gray and silver. The shape of his mechanical head reminds me of Wolverine's hair.

Bulkhead looks between them, defensive stance, "You're working with Steeljaw now? Megatronus can't be too happy about that."

So we have a third faction? It would've been nice to know that before they were attacking me.

Steeljaw speaks with a tone that could either melt butter or cut it, "Shockwave was tired of playing second fiddle to Starscream." Another name I remember! "I recognized his value, and offered him a position more deserving of his many talents."

These two look pretty dangerous. I'm new to judging Manhunter body language, but I'd say Bulkhead's nervous. I think we're probably outmatched.

Bulkhead transforms his hands back into hands and puts them up, "Look, Steeljaw, you want to colonize earth. I want it to stay the way it is. But neither of us can get what we want if Megatronus turns this planet into a husk like ours."

Steeljaw grins and I see multiple rows of metal fangs, "You propose a temporary alliance."

"Just to stop Megatronus from finding the artifact. After that we go right back to pummeling each other."

Shockwave says, "His proposition is… logical."

Steeljaw scratches his chin in a way I have to wonder if it's natural for them to do or not. Would they itch? "Fine. Until we find the artifact's coordinates, we will... cooperate..."

Why do I get the feeling that he's going to betray us before then?

Shockwave tells us, "I'm detecting a weak signal from the crashed ship."

He transforms back into a tank, and Steeljaw transforms into a car. They start driving as Bulkhead transforms and pops his door. I quickly grab Bo and climb in and we follow our totally untrustworthy new allies.

I ask, "Just checking. We're going to betray them as soon as we have the advantage, right?"

Bulkhead agrees, "Not like they won't do the same to us. Steeljaw is about as trustworthy as a deadly poison."

"Can Manhunters be poisoned?"

"If we use the wrong fuel, yeah. We're built to run off of the emotional energy of the universe. But that stuff ain't easy to collect. Nowadays we use a sort of... neutral light. You could call it emotion-less energy. We call it energon."

I frown, "Isn't that just regular energy?"

He explains, "Eh, not exactly. Emotional energy can exist as and, if processed, transform freely between light, matter, plasma, or its natural form in the emotional plane. energon is kind of... static. It's what you get when you pull from the emotional plane without a soul or any other emotional presence to color it."

I'll take that opportunity to learn about soul mechanics, thank you, "So, do you have souls?"

"'Course we do. We're not Skynet. Megatronus didn't turn evil because he's soulless. He just got tired of caring. Orion says he used to be a really nice guy, before the old war. They used to be close."

This is my first serious source of information on the history and state of affairs in space. The Asgardians don't like me because I'm associated with the disappearance of their prince, so I never wanted to risk asking them. They only gave me the coin phone in case of information about Thor anyway. But the autocons like me. And they're out there. And they've been out there for maybe millions of years.

"How does the Green Lantern Corps feel about the Nova Corps? Why haven't they done anything about the Kree?

The rear view mirror turns so that I can see my own reflection, "You know a lot about galactic politics for an earther. Orion doesn't like us telling SHIELD much that they don't need to know."

I cross my arms, "I don't tell SHIELD everything either. And I'm not SHIELD."

He seems to buy it, or just not care all that much, "The Green Lanterns and the Nova get along just fine as long as they stay inside their own territory. Earth is in a pretty fuzzy area at the border of a bunch of different jurisdictions. The GLs, the Nova, the Kree, the Manhunters, and about a dozen others all have a claim to this system. Most people call this whole sector No Man's Land. Like the Wild West of the Milky Way."

So the Guardians don't rule everywhere, "You have your own territory in space?"

"Well yeah. The Guardians weren't gonna let us stay after what Megatronus did. We're lucky they didn't shut us down. We were all banished. They let us bring our homeworld with us, but other than that we had to start over. The Corps leaves us alone, but, we can never go back to our home galaxy." His voice cracks in anger, "All thanks to Megatronus."

I don't particularly feel like immediately asking more questions after that, "I'm sorry, this must be hard for you to talk about."

He sighs, "It was a long time ago." We remain in awkward silence for a second, "We're almost there. Once we're in, watch Steeljaw. You're my backup as soon as he turns his."

I nod, "Got it."

We stop in a part of the desert that looks exactly like all the others. Bulkhead lets me and Bo out again.

I ask, "These are the coordinates?"

Shockwave looks down at the ground in front of us us, "Yes. There's a tunneling device. I'm currently bypassing destron encryption. There is a 79 percent chance we will face immediate opposition inside."

Bulkhead does what I think at a better angle would look like a smirk, "I like those odds!"

The sand where Shockwave is looking parts aside, flowing unnaturally not unlike how water acts when I Bend it. It makes a corridor that slopes down underground, with a metal door at the bottom. Shockwave walks down first. I step in line behind Bulkhead, and I look back to see Steeljaw behind us.

Steeljaw smiles charmingly, "You're looking the wrong direction. The enemy is ahead."

Uh huh. Right. I nod and turn back, but keep my ears peeled behind me. Bo turns around on my shoulder and watches Steeljaw. I smile and give her a pet. Thanks for watching out for me.

A prehensile cable extends from Shockwave's arm and interfaces with a panel beside the door at the bottom of the tunnel. The door snaps open all at once. I ready myself for combat, but no-one emerges. So we press forward.

It's dark inside. But not pitch black. The metal is etched with what looks like circuitry lines, faintly glowing blood red.

This ship must be huge. These hallways are big enough for the Manhunters to stand and walk comfortably. If I had to guess they'd probably be just as comfortable driving. Maybe even two lanes wide. Like a road. And this isn't a main hall. We turn onto another similar hallway. There must be a whole network of them. I can see the end of the corridor we're in. But it's far enough that I can't judge how far it is with any accuracy.

How hasn't this place been discovered? Wouldn't it show up on seismic imaging? Being in the desert might help with that, but it wasn't buried very deep. It seems like it would have been uncovered by someone, or the wind.

Shockwave points his giant arm cannon into one of the side doors, "Why aren't we facing greater resistance? Where are the destron forces that found the vessel?"

Bulkhead is on edge, "I don't know. But I've got a bad feeling they knew we were coming."

I say, "How long would it have taken for them to get what they needed? If they knew we were coming could they have already left?"

Bulkhead grunts in thought, "Maybe. But why would they leave all this Manhunter tech just lying around for us to harvest and use against them? It's not their MO."

I ask, almost dreading the answer, "Is a bomb their MO? Could they have rigged the place to blow?"

And Steeljaw is immediately driving away. I'll take that as a yes.

Bulkhead transforms, "Get in. Shockwave. Where would the engine room be in a ship like this?"

I grab Bo and climb in as Shockwave transforms too, and we're on our way, "Close. We may only have minutes to deactivate the destruct sequence."

I add, "Or less. Should we take Steeljaw's lead and just leave? They probably destroyed the evidence we were looking for anyway."

Bulkhead disagrees, "No. They might have left something behind. Right now this is our only lead toward finding the weapon. And maybe they missed something Shockwave or Ratchet can use."

"Have you called the others yet?"

"Too risky. The destrons cracked our communications last week and they've been monitoring everything."

Shockwave backs me up, "Logic dictates that the destrons planted the transmission that I followed here. They are already aware of your position and likely course of action. Additional risk from making contact is negligible compared to the assistance that your allies could provide."

He's obviously not happy about the idea, "Alright. I guess if it can't make things any worse."

Why is Shockwave still here when his leader skipped out on us? Is he just smarter? Braver? It makes me wonder why Steeljaw's in charge. Then again, he does seem like quite the silver tongued fox.

We enter a cavernous room with pulsating lights running through the wall circuitry, all collecting in a central pillar that is making a very unsafe humming-buzzing sound. That must be the engine.

Shockwave transforms and interfaces with it the same way he did the door, "The energon feedback will become critical in one-hundred and fifty seconds."

I get out of Bulkhead and ask, "Can you stop it?"

"The energon must be drained into a compatible conduit or containment module, or the release would be even more devastating than the destruct sequence."

"What does that mean?"

Bulkhead sighs, and transforms, "It means one of us is gonna have to eat all the raw energon in the ship."

Shockwave turns expectantly to Bulkhead, pulling a cable out of the engine and handing it to him.

I can't fucking believe this, "Can't you just send it back into the rest of the ship? Or both of you take it so it isn't as deadly?"

Bulkhead takes the cable and plugs it into the back of his neck. His seams and joints start to glow the same faint red as the ship, "It ain't deadly. At least at first. ...Ratchet'll fix me up as soon as we get back."

I'm... not convinced. I don't think he is either.

He groans in pain and bends over as the engine drains free of its light. A glowing red liquid drips from his eyes.

Bo grrs. The stone latch on one of my water pouches clicks open at a covert hand gesture.

Shockwave points his arm cannon at Bulkhead's head, "Your sacrifice will not be in vain."

And at my command a stream of water flies out to intercept the barrel of the charging weapon. As soon as it splashes against the end, I freeze it.

The extra weight throws off his aim, and the shot only hits Bulkhead's shoulder. Bulkhead immediately retaliates with a wrecking ball to the eye-face, which cracks the lens and sends him sprawling back. Shockwave reaches out for balance and grabs the engine column. I feel the air sizzle with static right before red lightning arcs throughout Shockwave's body and out to the surrounding floor. I urgently hop back several steps to get further out of the danger zone.

Bulkhead labors to stand and unplugs himself from the ruined engine. We look at the smoking heap of humanoid metal.

 

[Xavier Bronze]

I ask, "Is he dead?"

Bulkhead shakes his head, "No. Energon discharge. He'll come back online in a few minutes. We have to deal with him before he does."

"So... Lock him up? Kill him?"

The eyebrow-equivalent parts of Bulkhead's robot face narrow in a very human expression of anger, "As much as I'd love to turn this mad scientist into scrap, we still need him. He knows destron systems. He might be able to recover something Ratchet can't. Let's get out of here, I can lock down the engine room from the outside."

I frown, "Couldn't he just start up the self-destruct again?"

Bulkhead starts limping towards the door. His injured shoulder is dripping some kind of fluid, "And then we leave, and he only blows himself up."

I have to hurry to keep up because of the size difference, even when he's limping. One stride for him is over three meters. On the other end of things, Bo scurries ahead faster than either of us, and then looks back expectantly.

When we're all out of the engine room he smashes the console and the door closes. Then another even thicker door that runs floor to ceiling.

We hear cars approaching and prepare to fight. Except Bo, who seems unconcerned until I glare and gesture for her to get behind me. I'm not sure the three of us could take even the smallest Manhunter right now. He's poisoned and injured. I'm a squishy human. And I love Bo, but there isn't a lot for her to do on this mission.

Luckily the vehicles that turn onto our road are ones I recognize. Ratchet, Bumblebee, and… The red sports car. Fuck.

Bulkhead puts away his wrecking ball fists, "Ratchet! Bumblebee!" Say the red one's name!

The red one chides him, "I'm here too, you know."

"Shut your speaker-hole, destron." He's a destron? I thought he was a, what's-it, autocon. Maybe he used to be one.

Ratchet confirms my theory, "Bulkhead, as much as it pains me to admit it, Knockout has been a... faithful ally for several years. He is an autocon." Ratchet looks like he might gag.

Knockout is very pleased with himself, "You got that right."

Ratchet sees Bulkhead's injuries and steps forward, "Let me take a look at that."

Bulkhead shrugs him off, even though he's still leaking, "Don't bother. I'll be fine until we get back to base."

Ratchet growls concernedly, "Bulkhead."

Bumblebee's parts bang and grind against each other in a rhythmic way. Oh wait, that's the same language Bulkhead slipped into.

Ratchet sighs and nods, understanding the garbled mechanical noises, "You're right, Bumblebee. Where is the engine room? I need to start decrypting the ship's computer."

I point with my thumb over my shoulder, "We just locked Shockwave inside."

Ratchet strokes his chin thoughtfully, "Hmm. Now that we outnumber him that might be to our advantage. He could help me uncover any information the destrons might have left behind."

I bare my teeth, "That was the idea, but he might not be too happy to help us, since we... shoved him into the engine and knocked him out."

His jaw drops, "You what! You knocked out Shockwave?"

Bulkhead laughs, "She saved my spark. I would've been scrap if she weren't there."

I smile at him.

Bumblebee says something that sounds like an autotuned rotary saw in an echo chamber. I don't think I like that language.

Knockout points an arm cannon at the locked engine room door, "My pleasure."

The door is completely untouched after the third blast.

Ratchet sees the sparking remnants of the wall panel, "Bulkhead, did you absolutely have to smash the console?"

He flexes a shoulder, "No. But I wanted to make sure it stayed closed."

Ratchet starts digging through the fragments of the panel, "Hold on..."

After a few seconds, the door snaps open, Shockwave standing awake and ready to fight on the other side. Knockout looks like he's about to adjust his aim before he realizes he's already pointed at Shockwave, where the door used to be. Bumblebee makes sounds that sound angry, I think.

Bulkhead snarls at Shockwave, "You're outnumbered, destron. Your only option is to work with us. Unless you want me to finish what Avatar started."

Shockwave lowers his weapon, "No need. I will cooperate, on the condition that all information recovered will be shared equally."

Ratchet growls, "Absolutely not!"

Bumblebee puts a halting hand in front of Ratchet, and makes more Manhunter-speak noises.

Knockout says, "You're right. As long as we stay ahead of Megatronus, it's worth the risk of helping Steeljaw."

I agree, "If Megatronus wants to destroy the world, I think it's probably worth it too."

Ratchet makes a frustrated growl of resignation, "Fine. Shockwave, let's get this over with."

This war has a lot of very old grudges.

Several minutes of work later, Ratchet exclaims, "I found it! An old record. A journal of our homeworld's final days, written by the captain of this ship. They were transporting one of the seven Masks of Power to a secure location when they were attacked by pirates, and crash landed. The captain loaded the relic onto an escape pod so that it wouldn't fall into the pirates' hands." He groans, "The pod's location data is corrupted. I'll need a few days to decode it."

Bo scurries over to watch Shockwave curiously as he removes two glowing chip-things from a computer console and gives one of them to Ratchet. What, seriously? We're just gonna let him take a copy? I know we said we would, but we've got him four-and-a-half to one!

Ratchet takes it, "And to the faster decoder go the spoils. A deal's a deal." Seriously?

I catch Bulkhead's eye and gesture for him to lean closer. He does, and I whisper, "Why don't we just lock him in here again and take the data? Or, at least just don't give it to him! I mean what the fuck?"

Bulkhead's voice is unnaturally quiet for his size, so even I can barely hear it, "Shockwave and Steeljaw aren't friendlies. But we can always rely on them to do what's best for themselves. And Megatronus hates Steeljaw almost as much as he hates us. If we stole that data now and went back on our deal, it would throw out any chance of them helping us in the future. That's not something we can afford to do in this war."

Damn, "I guess that makes sense. Enemy of my enemy. Evil is better than apocalyptic."

Shockwave interrupts us, "Manhunters also have superior auditory receptors. You would do well to remember that." Duh. That was stupid of me. Robots. They can just turn up the gain.

I glare at Bulkhead, "Shouldn't you have known that he could hear us?" Bo retreats to her hiding spot on my back. What's she suddenly so nervous about now?

He shrugs, "Sorry. I thought he'd be too focused on whatever it is he's doing."

Shockwave pushes a final button and alarms blare, "'What I'm doing'." A ground bridge opens behind him and he leisurely backs through, with it immediately closing again and leaving us alone.

Ratchet takes one glance at the console Shockwave was working at, "No time! Roll out!"

Everyone transforms into car-mode and I quickly climb back into Bulkhead. As we drive and the seconds stretch on, every one might be the one when this whole place blows. More seconds pass. And more. And I still can't see the door.

The circuitry on the walls glows brighter, and then individual lines start to explode, sprinkling glass-like fragments over Bulkhead's windshield.

I urge him to go faster, "Bulkhead!"

He snaps back, "I'm going as fast as I can! No front-seat driving!"

There's the door! The stick shift moves on its own and I see one of the pedals hit the metal. We abruptly turn and drift out into the sand tunnel. Right after we're out Bumblebee presses the outside panel and the blast doors close.

There's a tense pause of about eight seconds before the door buckles outward at the force of the blast inside.

Knockout asks, "Did we get the information we need?"

Ratchet starts driving up and out of the tunnel, "Yes. We need to get this data back to Fixit for analysis." The rest of the team follow him out and the sand tunnel collapses into the desert behind us as gravity reasserts itself against whatever technological force was keeping it open.

I ask, "How long will the analysis take?"

Bumblebee says something, and everyone else acts like the question has been addressed.

"Guys, I can't understand Bumblebee."

Bulkhead's mirror points at me again, "Oh, riight. Bee's translator got stolen about a decade ago."

Knockout answers me, "With Ratchet, Fixit and my own collective genius, it'll be finished by tomorrow."

Ratchet complains, "Don't be overzealous, Knockout. The encryption on this data is archaic. We'll need at least a day to even decipher the language completely. Not to mention the retrofit we'll need to even access it..."

I take a deep breath as a ground bridge opens in front of us, "During which time I will be sleeping off this hangover."

Knockout asks, "What's a hangover?"