Adverse Camber

Rapid Run’s footsteps echoed down the central corridor of the Aktirak as he sprinted towards the med-bay. There was a charge of excitement pulsing through his systems; he knew it would all be over soon.

“Sirs!” Rapid Run coughed as he burst into the med-bay, “Midnight Express has maintained a stationary lock on the spark. It’s in Alaska, at the exact same position as Megatron.” The Autobot didn’t need to be told what to do next, and he ran back towards the bridge at full speed.

“So this is it, then,” Fire Convoy said to Ultra Magnus. “You still with me?”

“All the way,” Magnus replied. “The sooner we complete the deal with the Vok and have Star Saber removed from power, the better.”

“Saving two planets and defeating two monsters at the same time?” Fire Convoy laughed. “Optimus Prime will be proud of you.”

“There’s a lot to be done first,” Magnus said sternly. “It’s not going to be easy getting the spark from Megatron, and we have to consider that this could very well be a suicide mission for a lot of the Autobots.”

“I don’t have to make some kind of speech, do I?”

“No,” said Bumblebee. “No, I don’t see the family resemblance.”

Star Saber let Optimus Prime’s unconscious head drop down and strode across to the mini Autobot. “If he could answer, I’m sure he’d be only too happy to confirm it.”

“I think you’re full of shit.”

“Ah, that’s right, I wondered when the humanisms would start showing up,” Star Saber hissed, his eyes narrowing. “And such bravado. You always used to be so meek, Bumblebee.”

“I’ve had to do a lot of growing up.”

“I am uninterested in your life story, Autobot,” Star Saber slowly wrapped his hand around the upside down Autobot’s neck. “But I assure you, your death story will be so much more interesting.”

The Autobots disembarked onto the cold ground, the frozen rocks scratching at their feet and the snow coating them in fear. As they lined up side-by-side, Fire Convoy prepared to address them. He felt cold and weak, as if his entire immune system had been drained out of him. A lesser Autobot would have given up, but Fire Convoy was determined to defeat Star Saber at any cost.

He regarded his troops. Some he knew well: Wildride, Mach Alert, Pitstop, and Tow-Line. Others he didn’t have much time for: Wedge, Midnight Express, Hightower, Rapid Run, Dredge, Heavyload, and Railspike. And there was Ultra Magnus and his cadets, all of whom he hardly knew at all. Ultra Magnus looked down at his cadets, smiling at Sideburn and noticing the absence of Oilslick. Speedtrap gave Magnus a look that said he’d explain it later.

“The future’s at hand,” Fire Convoy began, “here with us, here where we stand. We’ve saved this planet, and now it’s time to come full circle to complete our mission and retrieve the spark of the original Megatron. It will give us the key to defeat Star Saber and liberate our homeworld. We will no longer be considered criminals or outcasts. We’ll be heroes.”

Fire Convoy considered Speedbreaker’s fate, how he died while saving Sideburn’s life. “We all know the power of pain, but we’re Autobots and we get back up to fight again. Are you with me?”

The assembled Autobots unholstered their weapons. (“Hey, Speedtrap,” Sideburn said, in an attempt to emulate Speedbreaker. “Does my bomb look big in this?”)

Ultra Magnus took a step forwards. “We all are.”

Fire Convoy lifted his arms and tapped the Autobot insignia on his left shoulder, and then turned towards the Megabolt Station. For the first time, he truly felt like a leader, and he hoped he wasn’t foolishly leading his Autobots to their deaths.

Star Saber released his grip from Bumblebee to answer a communication. “The Autobots have launched their final attack on Megatron,” a voice crackled.

“Excellent,” Star Saber purred. “It’s only a matter of time now Bumblebee. It’s all falling into place.”

The ex-Imperial pressed the neuro-enhancer into Optimus’ neck, bringing him back online. “Not long now, brother,” he said.

Optimus didn’t answer him.

“You should be proud of me, Prime,” Star Saber boasted. “Using the timing of the Vok’s visit to add that extra layer of insidiousness to my revenge-plot. I knew Fire Convoy would jump at their deal, that they would take me away from Cybertron if he did what they asked. And then the timing of Ultra Magnus’ attack on Perceptor.”

Star Saber turned to Bumblebee. “Funny how it all started with the suicide of your best friend.

“And as soon as my plot has reached its conclusion, then both of your fates will be—“

“Sir!” Star Saber’s communicator crackled again. “The Autobots have begun firing at the walls of the citadel. Looks like Sideswipe is in command.”

“I will deal with this, myself,” Star Saber said, walking out of the room.

The scene was a battlefield before the fight had even begun. Megatron was surrounded by the corpses of his Predacons and there was a lifeless human submerged in the remains of his old body.

The Autobots launched their attack from all angles, firing their weapons at Megatron. He didn’t seem to feel any pain, and shrugged it all off, laughing.

“Pitstop, look!” Tow-Line called out. “It’s David.”

The two Autobot medics dashed towards the human. “Give him an electrical charge to start his heart again,” Pitstop said. “But not too much, we don’t want to cook him.”

Tow-Line applied a charge from his fingers onto David’s chest. “I’m not sure this is going to—”

A blast from Megatron’s spark fusion tore into Tow-Line, knocking him away from the human. Mach Alert fired at Megatron from the other side, hoping to distract him.

Pitstop picked up David and his Cryotek cannon and raced over to Tow-Line. “Magnus, this might be useful,” he said, tossing the cannon at him. The medic began emergency field repair on both David and Tow-Line. “And for Primus’ sake, can someone please give me some cover!”

“Wildride, I need some strategy,” Fire Convoy shouted, jumping away from another of Megatron’s blasts that ripped into the ground where he was previously standing.

“Well, basically,” Wildride said, “we’re all mag-clamped to a proton missile that’s headed straight for the smelting pool.”

“Okay,” said Ultra Magnus. “Bullet Team, try to keep Megatron distracted. Build Team, I think hit and run tactics will help us here. Try to weaken him. The rest of us can just—“

“Blast the slag out of the camp bastard!” Fire Convoy finished.

Optimus Prime and Bumblebee remained as they had been, strung up and helpless. “He’s going to kill us, isn’t he?” Bumblebee asked.

Optimus didn’t answer but considered all that Star Saber had done up to this point, all the sick and evil things he had done just to get revenge: Subverting the Autobots, poisoning their command structure, cyberforming the Earth, and attempting to destroy all those close to Optimus.

“Are you scared?” asked Bumblebee.

“Terrified.”

Speedtrap lay on the ground, clutching at the side of his abdomen. His left arm was missing, as was much of the armour on the left side of his torso. He’d taken a direct-hit from Megatron. Exposed circuitboards sparked in the snow, and the small Autobot convulsed violently. Pitstop dashed over to him, skidding on his knees, ready to help.

“It’s just a flesh wound, Speedtrap,” Pitstop laughed, trying to keep Speedtrap from losing consciousness. The medic replaced the battery pack on his welder and leant in close to his patient.

Pitstop flinched as Speedtrap grabbed his arm. “Stop,” he said.

“What?”

Speedtrap activated a hologram of a green-blue robot that Pitstop didn’t recognise. “Her name’s Botanica,” Speedtrap told him. “It was the first and only time I felt true love.”

Speedtrap arched his back suddenly. Pitstop deftly disconnected neural pathways to ease the pain. “But she was taken from me,” Speedtrap continued.

Pitstop stayed on his knees by Speedtrap’s side, knowing full well where the conversation was headed. “No way, Speedtrap, I’m not giving up on you.”

“Please let me die,” Speedtrap pleaded. “So I can be with her again.”

Pitstop shuffled backwards, away from his dying patient. He silently nodded down at him, stroking his forehead. Speedtrap blinked back at him, before the medic was called by Ultra Magnus to help Rev and Mach Alert, more victims of Megatron’s power.

Speedtrap drifted away from the cold and the noise of battle to a future time. It was the far future – or his distant past – and the humans had returned to retake their planet after the reformatting. A war between the Maximals and humans broke out, and Botanica was killed. Rattrap couldn’t deal with it, so fled to the past and his pre-Beast Wars identity, putting on his “enforcer” act so no one would realise.

Speedtrap died while the snow fell.

“Good for you, Bumblebee,” Star Saber said with mock-pride, “I think you’ve single-handedly started a civil war.”

“As long as it ends in your death, I don’t really care right now.”

“A logical ending to the story, my friend, and one that a lot of people probably want to see,” Star Saber pushed against Bumblebee’s chest, making him swing, painfully, on the grappling hook. “But it ain’t gonna happen.”

Bumblebee cried out. He wanted to keep a brave face in front of both Optimus and Star Saber but the pain was just too much to bear.

“Very soon, now, Optimus,” Star Saber laughed. “According to the transmissions from my deep cover agent, Megatron has defeated all of Fire Convoy’s force. He and Ultra Magnus will have no choice now but to merge, and my revenge will be complete.”

“What have you done to them?” Optimus Prime asked, his anger at last getting the better of him. “What have you done to Ultra Magnus?”

“It’s as I told Fire Convoy after you birthed him and he refused to die,” Star Saber rasped. “There are worse things than death.”

Megatron’s only injury was a small dent in his left shoulder. It was caused by Landslide, the Build Team’s combined form. But he dealt with him. He dealt with all of them. The Autobots lay scattered around Megatron, either dead or very close to it. Pitstop tried the best he could but eventually succumbed to Megatron’s fury.

The Predacon leader laughed and turned towards his Megabolt Station, preparing for his trip back to Cybertron where he could assimilate every spark of every Maximal and every Predacon there.

Ultra Magnus crawled over to Fire Convoy, leaving a trail of coolant in the snow. Fire Convoy was near death, weakened by the cold. He had dreamed of a glorious demise, but he didn’t even get the chance.

“We’ve got no choice,” whispered Ultra Magnus. “If we merge, we’ll have one last chance to beat Megatron.”

Fire Convoy shook his head.

“I know you don’t want to, but it won’t be for long. Pitstop says it’s just my body forming armour over yours, that’s all there is to it.”

“Okay,” said Fire Convoy. “The end result will outweigh the means.”

“Ready?”

“Do it.”

Ultra Magnus reached out his hand, and Fire Convoy grabbed it and pulled Magnus down towards him, reaching for his other hand. Ultra Magnus’ entire body split open, encasing Fire Convoy in dense body armour.

But the merge didn’t end there. Pitstop was wrong, it wasn’t just a simple case of Magnus being a suit of armour, it was permanent bonding. As the physical combination neared completion, the subroutines that Star Saber had installed into Ultra Magnus’s body began to execute. Ultra Magnus’s chest locked down over Fire Convoy’s, and a physical channel opened up between them.

The subroutines commanded Ultra Magnus’ spark to move through the channel towards Fire Convoy’s spark. The two sparks dissociated into a mass of swarming nanomachines, which became mixed up and churned in a psychological tempest. Ultra Magnus and Fire Convoy were two sides of the same coin, the utter opposite of each other in almost every aspect of their personality. The nanomachines coalesced, joining together in a new order, the Vorcodes encoded on them forming an entirely new sequence. A new spark reformed. Ultra Magnus and Fire Convoy were gone and a new personality emerged, trapping them both in a personal hell.

The unnamed warrior stood up, as if coming online for the first time but with the broken memories and depolarised personality of Ultra Magnus and Fire Convoy. He surveyed the ruined Autobots, lying on the ground before him, and then he saw Megatron watching him, not quite believing that he was right about the familiarity of the sparks of his enemies.

“Well, that’s just prime,” he said to Megatron.

Star Saber should have been happy. He should have been dancing down the corridors of his citadel, master of all he surveyed; Optimus Prime, his brother and former Autobot ruler, broken and desolate, with his soul stripped bare. He should have felt masturbatory that his grand plan had worked. The reader had turned the last page of the last chapter of his revenge-plot and all should have been right with his world.

Except that’s not how he felt at all. Of course, he was relieved to have finally rid himself of Fire Convoy, the seemingly immortal offspring of Optimus Prime. That thought, more than all that Star Saber had ever experienced, scared him. He couldn’t kill Fire Convoy, and he succeeded in removing him from his independence and merging him permanently with Ultra Magnus. He should have been happy. But no, it still wasn’t enough. Murdering nearly seven billion humans by cyberforming the Earth, and everything else along with it still didn’t quench the hatred he had for his brother.

He would have to do what he should have done so many years ago, and kill Optimus Prime.

There was no sound except for the howling Arctic wind that whistled around their audio receptors. Megatron stood motionless, teeth clenched, staring in anger at the unnamed Warrior that stood before him. Sideburn had severed the link between Megatron and the power of his sparkfusion, using David’s Cryotek cannon. Somehow it had destabilised the circuitry that interfaced with the sparkfusion. The Warrior had smiled proudly at Sideburn, at his ingenuity and his courage. Megatron did not smile, and snapped the cadet in two.

The two robots, destined now to become archenemies, stared hard at one another, eager to start the fight. The unnamed Warrior put aside his internal turmoil, the jarring, grating personality clash within in his mind, so he could focus on the task at hand.

Megatron flexed his hands, opening them into stretched palms, and then balling them back into tightened fists again.

It was the Autobot who made the first move.

The Warrior ran forwards and punched Megatron in the face with his right hand, sending the Predacon to the ground, onto his hands and knees. As Megatron rose to his knees, the Warrior leant back and kicked him in the jaw, knocking him backwards. The Warrior swapped legs and moved to kick Megatron in the back, but the Predacon grabbed the Warrior’s right foot and twisted his leg, spinning him around and sending him to the ground. The Autobot rolled over onto his back. Megatron dived forwards to elbow the Warrior in the face, but he rolled out of the way. Megatron’s elbow crunched against the rock. The Autobot got to his knees and grabbed the back of Megatron’s head, slamming it into the ground. He then locked his right arm around Megatron’s neck, squeezing hard.

Megaton scrambled his left hand through the snow, finding a loose rock. He brought the rock up, smacking it into the Warrior’s head and forcing him backwards. The Warrior was dazed from the blow. Megatron jumped up and walked around behind the Autobot, grabbing the back of his head, lifting him upright on his knees. Megatron stepped round to the Autobot’s side and kicked him in the face. The Autobot toppled over, and Megatron delivered a second kick to his abdomen, flipping him over in the air. The Warrior stumbled up to his feet. Megatron ran towards him swinging his right arm from behind him directly into the Autobot’s stomach. The Autobot keeled over, clutching his stomach.

The Autobot suddenly sprinted forwards, still bending over, and tackled Megatron, throwing him onto his back. The two robots grappled, and Megatron pushed the Autobot down and moved to get on top of him. Kneeling on the Warrior’s thighs, Megatron slammed his fist down onto his face. The Autobot freed his left leg and moved it up in front of Megatron’s chest and locked it under his arm. The Autobot squeezed his legs together, trapping Megatron between them. He then flicked his back to the side, sending Megatron over and into the ground. They both shifted to their feet, but Megatron was quicker, grabbing the Autobot from behind in a headlock. The Warrior elbowed Megatron twice in the abdomen, and then turned around, freeing himself. The Autobot clutched at Megatron’s arm with both hands and twisted it. Megatron lost his footing and fell, taking the Autobot with him.

Bumblebee was so tired. He was weak, out of energy, and feared he would never leave the room alive. Optimus Prime drifted in and out of consciousness. For all the time Bumblebee had been strung up, his leader had been a hell of a lot longer.

He failed to notice Star Saber slip into the room, brandishing his sword. “Endings never really fulfil expectations, do they Bumblebee?” Star Saber said.

“Well, you’re still alive, so I guess you’re right.”

“So close to death, and still so sarcastic,” Star Saber tapped the end of his sword. “It’s like pressing in the last piece of the jigsaw, or removing the last piece of your opponents’ players from the board. You know you’ve won, but you still feel empty.”

“Sounds like you have some personal issues to resolve.”

“Oh, I do,” Star Saber said, pointing his sword at Bumblebee’s face. “And you can expect resolution very soon.”

Optimus Prime faded into the conversation. “What have you won, Star Saber? I’m still here, you cannot crush my spirit.”

Star Saber pointed to the three monitor screens. “I noticed. A daily ritual of my favourite scenes from the cyberforming, and still your soul won’t die.

“Maybe it might, when I share the wonderful news that Ultra Magnus has been removed from existence.”

Optimus Prime’s optics burned with anger. “What did you do to him? Is he dead?”

“No, not dead. But he might as well be, it’s really a fate much worse than death.”

Megatron rolled backwards over his head, his claw flipping out from his left wrist. He swung his left arm around in a wide circle, slashing at the Warrior’s face. The Autobot yelped in pain and stepped back, touching the wound. Oil trickled down from his cheek and onto his fingers. Megatron went to stab him again, but the Autobot reacted quickly, grabbing the Predacon’s left arm behind his claw and pushing him away with his other hand. They both spun round so that the Warrior had his back to Megatron.

Megatron slashed at the Autobot’s back, cutting through his armour. The Autobot stumbled forwards trying to block the pain. The Predacon stepped forwards, stamping his foot down into the wound. The Warrior fell forwards onto his face. Megatron leapt into the air, ready to stab the Autobot in the back of the neck. The Autobot quickly flipped over onto his back and grabbed Megatron’s left wrist with both hands. The claw stopped at the Autobot’s optics, scratching its delicate surface.

Megatron pushed down and the sharp edge of the claw cracked the surface of the lens. The Autobot pushed back, and slowly managed to turn Megatron onto his side. The Warrior summoned all his strength and snapped the claw from Megatron’s wrist and rolled away, taking the claw with him. The robots got to their feet, the Autobot holding up the claw like a knife.

The Warrior held the claw up to his cracked optic and flicked it towards Megatron. It landed between the Predacon’s legs, embedding itself into the snow. Megatron looked down at it and the Autobot used the distraction to charge forwards and deliver a brutal punch into Megatron’s stomach. The Autobot twisted around and punched Megatron in the face. He swapped hands and punched Megatron again. And again. Megatron staggered back from the successive blows and the Autobot struck him again, this time in the chest. Then again, an uppercut to the Predacon’s jaw. Again to the chest, and then again to the face.

Megatron brought his knee up to the Warrior’s elbow before he could punch him again. The Predacon then punched the Autobot in his neck and swung his arm again to punch him a second time. The Autobot threw himself backwards, lifting both legs into the air. He kicked Megatron in the back of his neck and they both fell to the ground.

The two robots paused for a heartbeat and then ran towards each other. The Autobot ducked down and held his arm out to the side. Megatron ran into his arm and the Autobot grabbed his chest, throwing him backwards and onto his side. Megatron got up, but before he realised it, the Autobot had charged towards him, jumped into the air and pushed both feet into his chest. Megatron’s chest caved in from the force, partially exposing the spark held within. The Warrior spun round and landed on his chin. Megatron tried to get up but the Autobot charged at him again ready to kick him in the chest. The Predacon, on his knees, grabbed the Autobot’s right leg and pushed him back. He then punched the Autobot’s thigh, giving him a chance to return to his feet.

Megatron swung his arm wide, punching the Autobot in the side of his head, spinning him around. Megatron got the Warrior in a headlock, but was promptly head-butted in the nose. The Autobot broke free from his grip and threw his fist into Megatron’s face. Megatron watched as the Autobot cartwheeled towards him, slamming his heel into his forehead.

Star Saber had maintained Optimus Prime’s energon levels at a steady 14% for the last twenty years. But the news of Ultra Magnus’s demise brought forth a new power source. Fuelled by anger, Optimus Prime flexed his tired muscles, pushing hard against his shackles, and with one almighty shrug, broke free.

In a fluid reaction, Star Saber jabbed the end of his sword into Bumblebee’s face, right between his optics. “If you move another inch, Prime, then so do I,” Star Saber threatened.

Optimus froze in his tracks, his massive hands open, his arms bent slightly at the elbows, and his arms hanging at his waist. He could hear the explosions of his Autobots’ attack on the citadel, but knew in his heart it all was all too late.

“Never mind me, Optimus, just get the bastard!” Bumblebee hissed through gritted teeth.

Star Saber pushed a little on the sword and Bumblebee groaned in pain. With his free hand, Star Saber wagged his finger at Optimus.

Optimus Prime was out of options.

In one final, fluid, brutal attack, the Warrior sprinted towards Megatron, jumping high into the air, slamming his fist down onto the Predacon’s head. The Autobot punched the Predacon in the face one, two, three times in succession. Megatron tried to punch back, but the Autobot grabbed his fist, pulling him towards him and lifting his leg onto their arms. With his knee rested on their linked arms, the Autobot kicked Megatron twice on the back of his head. Megatron stared blankly out of his optics, desperately trying to remain conscious. The Warrior jumped up and delivered the final blow, a forceful roundhouse kick that connected to Megatron’s jaw. The Predacon was thrown into the air, his back arching, and oil spewing out of his mouth. He fell to the ground, as if in slow motion. The back of his head met the frozen rocks on the ground with a sickly crunch.

The Autobot groggily rose to his feet and grabbed the cuff of Megatron’s shoulder, lifting his other fist, ready to beat him again. Megatron’s optics flickered and the Autobot realised the fight was over.

“Got it,” he said shakily, ripping into the Predacon’s chest and removing the spark of the original Megatron.

“You should have attacked, Optimus,” Star Saber laughed. “I was going to kill Bumblebee anyway.”

Optimus moved forwards, and Star Saber lowered his head, preparing to deliver the murderous blow. Bumblebee braced himself, ready for death. Optimus squeezed his optics shut tight.

The sword suddenly fell from Star Saber’s hand, and Optimus opened his optics when he heard it clang on the metal floor. Smoke poured from Star Saber’s mouth as he was disassembled piece by piece. Two ghost-like entities wrapped their hard light tendrils around Star Saber’s limbs, suspending him in mid-air and ripping him apart.

Optimus blinked in disbelief.

Star Saber fell crashing to the ground in dismembered chunks, bouncing on the hard metal floor. Bumblebee shrugged in relief, and watched the Vok remove the Autobot overlord’s head from his shoulders and obliterate it into a million shards of dead metal.

Optimus, still focusing on the spectral aliens, hugged Bumblebee, safely removing him from the grappling hook.

With their side of the bargain complete, the Vok disappeared in a brilliant flash of ice blue light, leaving Optimus and Bumblebee looking at Star Saber’s remains.

Optimus Prime put his arm around Bumblebee. “Finally, it’s over,” he said.