Chapter Text
4 Million Years Ago - Earth Orbit
“Decks 9-12 have gone offline! Weapon platforms 4, 9, and 15 have been destroyed!” A gruff-voiced red and grey robot says as he taps away at his console, continuing to monitor the situation. “Engines are going critical; a few more hits, and we’ll be scrapped!” A smooth-voiced black and white robot with a blue visor for eyes slides a few holograms around, each bearing flashing red symbols. “Optimus! We’re receiving a transmission from Bumblebee!” A red and white robot says, his voice sounding old and scratchy. The one referred to as Optimus was a giant red and blue robot, his lower face covered by a face shield. He looked over to the one who addressed him. “Patch it through, Ratchet,” he says, his voice stoic and strong.
“Optimus! Wheeljack and I managed to reach the central power station, but we’ve got company- SCRAP! *KABOOM* It’s the Constructicons! They managed to get on board! *ZAP ZAP CLANG* We’ve managed to scrap Bonecrusher, Scavenger, and Longhaul, but * KABOOM ZAP ZAP ZAP* Sunstreaker, Bluestreak, and Gears are down! Not sure how much longer we can hold out! We need- *KABOOM KSSSSSSSSH* ” The last explosion cuts off the transmission. Optimus clenches his fist with worry for his brothers. He turns to the red and grey robot. “Ironhide, reroute power from the destroyed platforms to the engines.” he then turns to the black and white robot. “Jazz, are any Autobots near the central power station?” He asks. Jazz taps away at his monitor. “Yep! Looks like Sideswipe and Arcee are a few clicks away!” he says. Optimus turns back to Ratchet. “Patch them through,” Ratchet nods and opens the comm system.
~-~
Deck 7
“Sideswipe, Arcee, this is Optimus. Bumblebee and Wheeljack have engaged the Constructicons in the central power station. They require assistance; head to their position immediately.” The Autobot leader commands. Sideswipe looks to Arcee and nods. “Roger that, Optimus! We’re on our way!”. They both start sprinting towards the power station, hurdling over debris and fallen containers that litter the halls due to the attack. “Think we’ll make it in time?” Arcee asks, her voice filled with worry, to which Sideswipe answers with a confident smile, “For sure, no way am I leaving my little buddy to get scrapped.” The two make it to the door of the power station and take cover on the sides; Arcee holds up her hand and counts down with her fingers, and upon zero, they both rush in.
“I'm going to enjoy melting that yellow chassis off of you, Autobot!” Mixmaster says, readying a volley of acid aimed directly at an injured Bumblebee. Hook stands over a restrained Wheeljack, his hand changed into a blade. “I'm going to make a wonderful masterpiece out of you,” he says with a haughty voice. “I don’t think so, Decepticreeps!” Sideswipe yells as he and Arcee charge them. Arcee fires her blaster, hitting Mixmaster’s acid tank, causing it to explode and cover the Construction in his own acid. “AAAAAH!” he screams in agony as it begins to melt right through him. Some of it sprayed onto Hook, who was clenching his face in horror. “MY FACE! MY PERFECT FACE!” he screams out. Sideswipe runs forward as his hands change into blades and slice right through Hook’s midsection, cutting the Construction in two and terminating his spark for good.
“Boy, you two sure have great timing,” Wheeljack quips as he gets to his feet and rolls his shoulder joints. “Just glad we made it in time. You ok, Bee?” Arcee asks, extending a hand to the scout, who takes it and gets pulled up. “Yeah, nothing Ratchet can't fix. Glad you got here when you did; Mixmaster kept saying he’d melt my voicebox,” he says, shuddering at the thought of losing his voice. Sideswipe went to check on the downed Autobots; their sparks were extinguished for good, but at least the cons lost more. “Hey, where is Scrapper?” Bee asks, and everyone immediately goes on alert, looking for the Constructicon leader. “RIGHT HERE, AUTOBOTS!” the Constructicon yells.
Scrapper stood before the main generator, his blaster aimed towards it. “You may have taken down my men! But we’ll send you all to the scrap yard with us!” he says, getting ready to fire. However, he never gets the chance to pull the trigger as a blaster bolt flies right through his head, and he falls to the ground, going offline permanently. “Not on my watch, pal,” Prowl says as he drops down from the maintenance accessway, his hand changing back from blaster mode. “Prowl! Good! You’re back! Did you get everything ready?” Wheeljack asks as he goes over to his toolkit and rummages through it. “Everything’s set; the cons won’t know what hit them,” Prowl says, giving a thumbs up.
“Wait, what are you guys planning?” Sideswipe asks with a questioning look. Wheeljack looks up and pulls out a remote. “Well……”
~-~
The Nemesis - Bridge
“Lord Megatron, Constructicon life signs have been terminated; the Ark’s generator is still functional,” the synthesized voice of Soundwave says from his seat. An arrogant laugh fills the bridge. “Ha! Of course, they failed; had I been sent instead, the mission would have succeeded!” Starscream says cockily. “Illogical, your chances of succeeding where they failed is less than .01%,” Shockwave says in his cold and calculated tone. “Hear that Starscream, you’d do even worse than they did!” Skywarp says mockingly as he and Thundercracker laugh at their commander. “Why, you little-”” ENOUGH!” The thundering voice of Megatron silences the room. “Despite their failure, the Autobots are still on their last legs. Combaticons! What is our current situation?” He asks, addressing the crew in the front of the bridge. “We’re staying right next to them, no problem,” Vortex says as he handles the controls. “Mostly, the gravity of the planet below us is starting to affect our stabilizers,” Blastoff explains. “Shields are nearly depleted, but we should be able to hold,” Swindle states. “Heh, our cannons are ripping their puny ship apart! Few more hits to their engine, and it’ll be bye-bye Autobots!” Brawl says as he cracks his knuckles. “Our victory is assured, Lord Megatron. Multiple decks have gone offline, and nearly all their weapon platforms have been destroyed!” Onslaught says with a salute.
“Good, continue to press the attack! Today, we rid ourselves of Prime and his precious Autobots once and for all!” Megatron says commandingly as he slams his fist down on his armrest. ““YES LORD MEGATRON!”” The Decepticons shout in unison as they continue their assault on the Ark.
~-~
The Ark - Central Power Station
“So you plan to blow up the cons by firing our engine core at them? What happens when we lose it? We crash down into the planet below and get stranded, that's what!” Sideswipe says, dragging his hand down his face as he continues to run the plan through his mind. “Better stranded than dead, Sideswipe; Optimus has already approved of the plan,” Prowl says, to which Sideswipe groans; if Optimus okayed it, there is not much he can do about it. “We should probably let Optimus know. Arcee, can you tell him? My comm unit got busted,” Bee says as he looks at his friend. She nods and activates her comm. “Arcee to Optimus, we’ve secured the power station, and Wheeljack filled us in; what are your orders, sir?” she asks.
~-~
Bridge
“Once Wheeljack has finished rerouting the power, come to the bridge. We’ll need all remaining hands available,” he orders, and after getting an acknowledgment, the line shuts off. Optimus turns to Jazz. “What’s the status of our team at the engine core?” he asks.
~-~
Engine Room
“Have I ever told you how much I hate this” Cliffjumper says as he taps away at the central console. “No, you haven’t said that repeatedly since we’ve been here,” Mirage says sarcastically as he shuts off more emergency locking systems. “Just making sure your audio receptors are still functioning with all these explosions,” Cliffjumper remarks as the room shakes violently again from the Decepticon bombardment. “Maybe if you spent less time arguing and more time redirecting the power flow, we wouldn’t have to hear them anymore,” Mirage chides back as he continues to work, getting a glare from the smaller red Autobot. Arguing with each other was typical for the two Autobots; it helped distract them from the direness of their situation, especially seeing as they were the only members of their team to make it to the engine room. Huffer, Brawn, and Windcharger got shredded by cannon fire after the shields fell. Trailbreaker stayed behind when there was a hull breach and used his shield to let everyone get through; in doing so, he sacrificed himself as he got blasted into oblivion. They needed to finish this and succeed so they could survive so their brothers didn’t die in vain.
“You two almost done?” Hound asks as he guards the door, finger on the trigger and barrel aimed dead ahead. “Just about……done! We’re good to go! Call it in!” Cliffjumper says, and Mirage nods. “Mirage to Optimus! Come in, Optimus!” Mirage calls in. “This is Optimus. Is the engine core ready for ejection?” their leader asks. “Affirmative! Is Wheeljack done on his end?” the blue bot asks. “Wheeljack here! We’re good to go! Everyone better haul chassis to the bridge!” the inventor says over the radio. The engine team nods to each other and transforms, hightailing it back to the bridge.
~-~
The Nemesis - Bridge
“Lord Megatron, I’m detecting a power spike in their engines; they might be trying to make one last desperate attempt to get away,” Swindle says as he rechecks his scanners. “They can try all they like; no one escapes my wrath!” Megatron says, turning his attention towards Brawl. “Brawl! Increase power to cannons! I want that Ark to be atomized!” he commands, much to the Combaticon’s excitement as he happily complies with the destructive orders of his leader. “This move seems highly illogical; I cannot comprehend what the Autobots hope to achieve,” Shockwave says, trying to run the current variables through his head. “What does it matter? The Autobots are doomed regardless of what they try,” Starscream says to the scientist, who merely clicks his voice box at the commander’s comment. The Autobots had something planned, but he couldn’t tell what it was.
~-~
The Ark - Bridge
The ship began to shake violently as the cannon fire from the Nemesis intensified. The bridge crew struggled to brace themselves as the ship jerked violently. “Those Cons are really hammering us! If we’re gonna do this, we gotta do it now, Prime!” Jazz says as he tightens his grip on his console. Just then, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, Arcee, Sideswipe, and Prowl stumble through the door. “Thank Primus, we made it!” Sideswipe says as he gets to his feet. Optimus looks to the new arrivals. “Get to your seats and brace yourselves!” he orders, and they all comply, heading over to various empty consoles and seats and locking themselves in place with their braces. “Jazz, where is our engine team?” Optimus asks, the Autobot Lieutenant quickly checking for their location. “They’re nearly here, Prime! Just a few clicks away!” he says.
“Hound to Optimus! Launch the core! The ship is tearing itself apart!” Hound says over the comms, the sounds of tearing metal and explosions filling the background. “Can you make it in time, Hound?” Optimus asks. “It’ll be close! Really, really close! But it won't matter if the ship blows up! So launch it now! We’ll be ok!” He says before the comm cuts off. Optimus clenches his fist as his optics narrow; while he would rather wait and ensure all his remaining comrades are secure, he knows that the right call is to do what Hound says. With a deep exhale, he looks to Wheeljack, “Launch it!” the inventor does as he’s told, pressing his remote.
The ship's backside opens up, and the engine core is ejected, its trajectory aimed right for the heart of the Nemesis. The Decepticons were in for a rude awakening.
~-~
“Alert! Autobots have ejected their engine core. Trajectory calculated. Destination, Nemesis,” Soundwave says, widening the optics of all the Decepticons on the bridge. “BRAWL! BLAST THAT CORE NOW!” Onslaught says as the demolition expert taps away frantically at the targeting system.
“It's no good! Turrets can't get a lock fast enough!” he says, slightly panicked. “Lord Megatron! The Ark is being pulled down by the planet’s gravity! They’re getting out of range!” Swindle yells. Megatron slams his fist and yells, “NO! I WILL NOT BE DENIED!!!!!”.
The engine core hits the ship, and a massive explosion rips through the Nemesis from the overcharged core. Every system begins to go haywire as the Decepticons scramble to regain control, but all their efforts are for naught as their ship gets dragged down by the forces of gravity.
~-~
The Ark - Bridge
“WE’RE GOING DOWN FAST!” Ironhide grunts as he and Sideswipe try to regain control, but it is impossible with their engines terminated. “Scrap! Hound and his team haven’t made it back yet!” Arcee yells as she tries to adjust the stabilizers. “They’ll make it! Don’t worry!” Bumblebee says, attempting to stay positive. The door opens, and the remaining three Autobots slide onto the bridge. “By the Primes, that was close!” Mirage says as he runs to one of the open seats, the other two following suit. “Glad you three made it! Lock in and hold on!” Optimus commands.
The Ark continues its rapid descent through the planet’s atmosphere, their destination, a large terrestrial landmass. “Scrap! This is going to be a rough landing!” Sideswipe says, his voice sounding strained as he did his best steer. “BRACE FOR IMPACT!!!!!!” Optimus shouts as their ship crashes violently into the side of a mountain, the collision so intense even those locked in their seats get thrown around. The impact causes everyone’s emergency stasis lock to engage, and in an instant, the Autobots shut down, with no way of knowing when they’d wake up again.
Meanwhile, The Nemesis crashed into the planet’s ocean, water flooding the ship and sending the Decepticons into stasis within a watery tomb. Megatron utters that he will have his revenge before the lights in his eyes shut off, and with that, the two factions slumber, awaiting the day they will reawaken and reignite their war on a new world.
~-~
Present Day - Japan - Musatafu - Qui Gon Park
“GET HIM!”
“QUIT RUNNING, DEKU!”
“WE’VE GOT TO PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE!”
“PREPARE TO DIE YOU QURIKLESS FUCK!”
A green-haired boy runs through the forest as fast as he can, tears streaming down his face as he flees, the only thought on his mind being escape. Today was just another day in the life of the quirkless 17-year-old Izuku Midoriya. In a world where everyone has a superpower, those without are treated as less than dirt. Today a bunch of kids was pissed off at him for doing better than everyone on the last exam; after all, if the inferior quirkless freak beat them, then what would that say about their own ability. Izuku never bragged about his scores and never showed them off, but that didn’t matter because his peers figured he was looking down on them.
He knew if they caught him, it would be one of their worst beatings; his body was riddled with scars. He was Aldera’s resident test dummy so everyone could practice their quirks despite it being illegal, but no one cared, not the teachers, not the parents, and not the police. All he could do was run, hide, and hope to get away this time. As he ran, he saw the opening to a cave entrance and ducked inside, making his way as far back in as he could, trying to find a place to hide. He saw a spot behind a rock formation, which was narrow and on the edge of what looked like a bottomless pit. He was a little scared to hide here as one slip, and he’d go tumbling down, probably to his death, but he knew that heroes never let fear control them, so he took a deep breath and began to shimmy along the ledge, pressing his stomach flat against the rock as he hid.
He hears the shouts of his bullies as they run past the cave, continuing to shout for him to quit running. Izuku waits for about 15 minutes before taking a deep breath. By this point, his bullies had to be long gone so he could return home and not run into them again. He began to shimmy off the ledge, but to his misfortune, the ledge crumbled, and Izuku fell backward, descending into the deep and bottomless abyss below.
Izuku saw his life flash before his eyes.
His friendship with Kaachan when they were little. The day his friend’s quirk came in. That day, he went to the doctor and was told he was quirkless, and his mother's words apologized to him when he asked if he could be a hero. The beatings and abuse done to him by Kaachan and his flunkies over the years because of his lack of a quirk. The disdain his teachers had for his very existence. Then Izuku realized how alone he was; Kaa-Kat-Bakugo wasn’t his friend, his teachers wanted him gone, and his mother never encouraged him, though he could never hate her because she always cared for him. He began to close his eyes as he thought of his mom, how she’d be alone now because he was about to die. How he wishes he had told her about what had happened to him. How he wishes he could say he loves her one last time.
Izuku wouldn’t be a hero; he knew that now. It was just a silly dream of a stupid kid. He regrets not doing so many things, never making friends, never getting a date, never having any hobbies, and never getting the chance to go to the U.A. Maybe in another life, he’ll have the opportunity, and maybe he’ll finally get a quirk.
Izuku clears his mind with one last exhale, ready to accept oblivion and whatever may come after.
However, fate had other plans.
Izuku crashed into an underground lake; the shock of the impact stunned the boy as he struggled to get his bearings. He frantically swam to the surface, his vision fading due to his lack of oxygen. With one last burst of strength, he sprang out of the water and took a very loud and deep breath. He went to shore and pulled himself up, coughing out the water in his lungs. After hacking up all the remaining water, Izuku took a few moments to get his bearings. He was luckily, the lake saving him from becoming a spalt mark. He slid his backpack off and was thankful that he got a waterproof one after an incident where his bullies tossed his old one in the school pond. All his stuff inside was okay: notebooks, schoolwork, a first aid kit, and his phone. He looked up at the dark hole above him; he was really far down; how would he get out? He couldn’t see any way up but could contact someone for help.
When the idea crossed his mind, Izuku pulled out his phone, but to his dismay, he got no signal; he was way too far underground, so calling for help was clearly out of the question. It was then that he realized he could see; there should be no light this far down, so why was he able to see? The answer to his question was a strange crystal vein running along the floor. It had an almost electric glow, being so thin but radiating enough light for Izuku to see his surroundings; it was strange, though; he’d never seen anything like it.
As he approached it, he could feel a faint warmth; he then realized how cold it was down here, and his soaked clothes were no help. Maybe if he followed the vein, he’d find a more giant warmer crystal so he could dry off or perhaps find a way out? It was not like he had any other direction, so he followed the crystal vein further into the cave.
After what seemed like 30 minutes of walking, Izuku arrived in a large open cavern and saw a beautiful sight before him; the entire cave was full of blue crystals, and the temperature of the cave felt like a warm kotatsu, which is what Izuku really needed right now. He walked further in, entirely enamored by the incredible sight before him. He’d only seen places like this in sci-fi and fantasy movies, and it was all untouched. He was the first human to witness this sight, which made the boy smile.
As he continued his exploration, he felt so enraptured by the cave. What kind of crystals were these? How had this been the first time anyone found this place? How long has this been here? So many questions raced through his mind, but he was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as he smacked into a..metal…wall? Izuku had fallen onto his rear and rubbed the side of his face; he looked up to see what he had run into and saw a gigantic orange metallic wall before him. What was this thing? How did it get down here? Is there a way out? Why does it look so advanced? Once again, Izuku’s mind raced with questions as he inspected the wall. He noticed a ventilation shaft big enough to fit a person standing up straight as he looked it over. Cautiously, Izuku approached the vent. He saw that the cover, or what seemed to serve as a cover, was loose, and so with his, unfortunately, abysmal strength, he gripped it tightly and pulled it off. It fell onto the cave floor with a loud echoing clang, making Izuku wince and cover his ears from the unpleasant noise. When the echoes died, Izuku shook his head and entered the vent.
Footsteps echoed through the gigantic vent, the only other sounding being Izuku’s muttering as he had an abundance of questions as to just what he had found. The further he got, the dimmer the light from the crystals became; luckily, Izuku still had his phone, and though he couldn’t call, he could use its flashlight. He turns it on, illuminates the path before him, and continues forward. After several more minutes of walking, he found an opening and approached it. Walking through, he exited the vent and arrived in what looked like a hallway made for giants. The hall was gigantic, like you could fit three All Might’s standing on each other's shoulders or next to each other; why was it so big? Who or what was supposed to move through here?
He looked around and saw debris scattered all over the floor; the walls were damaged and had wires sticking out; the metal surfaces looked warped in some places and shot up in others. Izukuhad had only seen sights like this in the images of devastating villain attacks; it looked like someone had fought a war here. He continued down the hall, footsteps echoing throughout; he passed the large debris, the only light source being his phone’s flashlight. After several minutes, he comes across a large door that seems left ajar. Seeing no other way forward, he slips through the crack, the cold feeling of the metal touching his skin making him shiver a little. Once he slipped through, he glanced around the room. He saw what seemed to be gigantic monitors and consoles, so this was some kind of control room, but then he saw a sight that would forever change his world.
GIANT ROBOTS!
He nearly dropped his phone when he saw them. Shining his flashlight around the room, he noticed 12 in total, each in different shapes and sizes, all looking like they hadn't moved in centuries. His mind raced with even more questions: what were these robots? Who built them? Did someone build them? How long have they been down here? The mysteries of this cavern seemed to grow more and more with each discovery, but Izuku was willing to see just how far this rabbit hole goes. Looking around some more, he noticed a loose panel in what seemed to be the central console. He approached it and managed to pry it loose. He saw a few detached wires inside, appearing to spark with some life. “Maybe if I…” he muttered as he reached for the wires and began to connect them, hoping that would do something.
Once the wires connected, the ship sprang to life; the consoles booted up, and the lights turned on, revealing a more shining, almost gold-like interior. Symbols flashed on the screens, but they were in a language Izuku couldn’t recognize. Suddenly, a panel opened, and a tiny drone floated out of it, lights flashing as it made a sound that seemed to be a mix of computerized beeps and mechanical chittering. The drone approached him, appearing to observe him; Izuku stuck his hand out to touch the drone, but before he could make contact, a yellow laser light shot out at him, making his body tingle. The light seemed to scan him, moving over him several times before finishing and making noise again.
“Ahagdhsaasks Translation Complete - Local Language Acquired - Basic Knowledge of Local Planet Acquired - Initiating Awakening Protocol,” The voice from the computers said as it suddenly spoke perfect Japanese. It then flew up and shot out multiple lasers, each tagging the robots in the room. The largest of the bunch seemed to stir awake first, his eyes sparking to life with a radiant blue; he groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. “Teletran….status report?” he asks groggily. “Ship Offline, Flight Capability Impossible, Current Planet Earth, Time Since Crash 3,694,832 Meta-cycles,” the computer explains, making the optics of the giant robot go wide. “So we’ve been here for a long time..why were we not reactivated sooner?” he asks. “Wiriing disconnected during the crash; reactivation was thanks to the native standing right before you,” The computer explains, making the giant robot turn his attention to Izuku, who is standing as still as a statue.
The robot stood up from his seat, footsteps heavy against the metallic floor. He crouches down in front of Izuku and extends a hand. “Greetings, I am Optimus Prime, Leader of the Autobots. You have my thanks for allowing Telatran to come back online,” he says appreciatively. Izuku fumbles over his words as his brain tries to communicate. “ah- uh- ah -I y-you’re welcome!” he sputters, incredibly overwhelmed by everything. “Oh man…I feel like I just did the tango with a refinery transport,” says a black and white robot with a blue visor over his eyes.
“You up too, Optimus?” he asks. “Indeed I am Jazz,” Optimus says, looking at the rest of the robots, “and it seems the others are also waking up.”. “Not one of my best landings, that's for sure….” a red and black robot says. “I’ll say, feels like my joints are all rusted up,” a gruff-voiced grey and red robot says as he gets up. “Any injuries,” a red and white robot says, his voice sounding older than the rest. “Does pride count?” a yellow robot says as he tries untangling himself from some wires with the help of a black and white robot with red horns on his head. “Don’t think so, Bumblebee, but hey, at least you’re not as bad as Cliffjumper and Mirage over there,” he says jokingly, pointing to a blue and red robot that is trying to untangle itself from a mess of wires and their own limbs. “When I get outta here, Prowl, I’m gonna rip you a new audio port!” the red one growls. “Quit squirming! You’re making it worse!” the blue one chides. “Hang on, you two, I’ll get you out!” A white and silver robot with a faceplate over his mouth says as he walks over with what looks like a power saw. “C'mon, Wheeljack, let them get out themselves; maybe they’ll finally stop bickering all the time,” an army green robot says as he gets helped up by a blue, feminine-looking robot who chops him on the head. “Don’t listen to Hound; he only has bad ideas- hey, what's with the organic?” she points out, making everyone stop what they're doing and turning their attention to Izuku.
Izuku’s panic only intensified now that all eyes were on him; he was speechless as he looked around frantically. Were they going to hurt him? No, the big one was nice to him. But what if that was just an act? What if they realize he’s quirkless and hate him!? “This organic is the reason we function once more. Had he not repaired Teletran-1, we would still be in stasis,” Optimus says stoically. The other robots seemed to nod and continue to help each other out as Optimus turned his attention to Izuku. “What is your name, little one?” He asks. Izuku starts to stammer again before taking a minute to calm down and speak clearly. “Uh- um- I-Izuku Midoriya,” he says. Optimus nods. “A pleasure to meet you, Izuku Midoriya. I am certain you have many questions,” he says, to which the boy nods frantically.
“Y-y-yes sir- uh- um- wh-what are you? Where did you come from? Why are you here?” he asks in quick succession. Optimus makes a gesture for the boy to sit, and he does. Then, Optimus begins his explanation. He tells him of Cybertron, once a peaceful and prosperous world, until pride and a lust for power divided the planet, engulfing it in a brutal civil war. He spoke of Megatron's atrocities, his quest for absolute power, and how he and his Autobots fought against the Decepticon regime. He told him of how the war became so brutal that it resulted in the biggest casualty of all, their planet's very core, cutting off their supply of life-giving energy. He told Izuku how they were forced to flee their planet and how the ship they were on, the Ark, was the last vessel to escape. He spoke of how, in their escape attempt, they were pursued, and the ensuing battle resulted in their ship crashing down to Earth and how the crash resulted in them being put into stasis till he had fixed Teletran and allowed them to wake up. After this explanation, Izuku was starstruck. He was talking to real aliens on an alien spaceship, and he found them and woke them up, him, the quirkless Deku. However, one question did come to mind, a very worrying question.
“If you crashed on Earth, did the Decepticons crash here too?” He asks, making the Autobots freeze up and ponder his words. Optimus strokes his chin, thinking over the inquiry. “It’s possible, Teletran-1. Can you determine the status of the Decepticons from local data?” he asks. Teletran began to monitor the local networks it managed to access and process data. “Likelihood of Decepticons crashing on Earth 100%; however, no activity detected, the likelihood they too are or were in stasis 80%,” the computer states, making many Autobots sigh in relief. “That's good; we may have been awoken first,” he says, the Autobots nodding to his words.
Optimus turns his attention back to Izuku. “Well, I believe we’ve told you everything. Before I ask you about your world, I’ll allow the others to introduce themselves,” he says, gesturing to his crew. “Yo, what's up, little dude! Names Jazz, I'm big bots second in command,” the black and white Autobot says, sending a finger gun Izuku’s way. “Names Prowl, field commander and Prime’s left hand,” the red-horned Autobot says with a salute. “Names Ironhide kid, chief tactician, and best damn fighter of this bunch,” the red and grey Autobot says. “Chief Medical Officer Ratchet,” the red and white Autobot says. “Sideswipe, best pilot this side of Cybertron,” the red and black Autobot says with a cheeky grin. “Wheeljack, Chief Engineering Officer and part-time inventor!” The silver and white Autobot says, the panels on his face lighting up as he speaks. The short yellow Autobot walks up and waves. “Names Bumblebee, resident scout!” he says. “Mirage, infiltration expert,” the blue Autobot says; the red one next to him grumbles, and he smacks him on the backside of his head. “Yeah, yeah, names Cliffjumper, gimme a con, and I’ll clobber 'em,” he says grouchily. The military green Autobot walks up. “Names Hound; good to meet you, kid!”. Finally, the female Autobot walks up. “Hey kid, names Arcee; I keep these idiots in line,” she says, gesturing to Mirage, Cliffjumper, Hound, and Bumblebee, who all give an indignant shout of ”” HEY!”.”
“Well, now that you’ve met the crew, tell us about your world, little dude,” Jazz says, sitting on the floor before Izuku. So, Izuku tells them everything he knows about Earth. About how 200 years ago, people developed powers and how society now consisted of heroes and villains who fought each other, much like the Autobots and Decepticons, only less of a war. He told them about All Might and how he was their greatest hero, and they all seemed impressed. The explanation appeared to be going well till Sideswipe spoke up. “So, if everyone got crazy powers, do you got one?” he asks. Izuku freezes up, realizing that this is going to come up eventually. Would they not care about him if they learned he had no powers? Of course, they would! He is a quirkless Deku! They’d be more interested in someone with powers! He takes a shakey breath and looks up at the Autobots. “n-n-no…” he says sadly. “Oh,” Sideswipe says nonchalantly, making Izuku do a double take. “Ok? But- I'm quirkless! Don’t you think I’m worthless! I'm probably the most interesting human you’ll meet!” He says, tears streaming down his face. “Izuku,” Optimus says, making the human turn his attention to him. “One's power does not determine one's value; it is the spark inside that determines who they are,” he says, putting a giant finger to Izuku’s chest.
Izuku lets loose his tears at Optimus’ words, the Autobots observing him curiously. “Is it normal for your species to leak fluids via their optics?” Ratchet asks, to which Izuku nods and sniffles. “I-it called crying; people do it when they're sad or really happy. Oh- um - I’m crying because I’m happy I- no one ever told me my quirklessness doesn't matter before!” he says between sobs, making the Autobot’s optics go wide at the implication; before them was someone who never had anyone tell him he had value before, what a cruel world they’ve found themselves on. Arcee approaches him and carefully picks him up into a hug, cradling the boy in a motherly fashion. “There there, little guy, it's alright,” she says as he continues to cry. “How does he feel? Is he squishy?” Wheeljack asks, only receiving a pointed glare from Arcee, making him back off.
After a few minutes of sobbing, Izuku settles down, whipping his eyes. “I- um- th-thank you, Miss Arcee,” he says gratefully, making the fembot smile. “No problem, kid,” she says happily. “Hey, I got a question,” Hound says, raising his hand; Izuku nods to let him know he can ask. “You seem to like these hero guys a lot, so…do you wanna be one?” he asks. Izuku pauses at his words and thinks he does want to be a hero, but everyone has told him no…still..maybe…” Y-yeah, but….everyone says I can’t without a quirk,” he says, looking downtrodden again. Arcee whacks him on the head. “Look what you did; you made him sad again, bolt brain!” she chides as Hound puts his hands up defensively. “Why do you wanna be a hero, kid?” Prowl asks, making Izuku turn towards him. “W-w-well…I-I wanna be a hero that lets people feel safe when they see me, so they know that when I'm there, everything will be alright…and I want to help people like me…without quirks, let them know they can do whatever they want…r-regardless of what others say,” he says meekly.
“I dunno about ya’ll, but I totally dig his reason,” Jazz says cooly, giving Izuku a thumbs up. “Yeah, sounds heroic to me,” Bumblebee says encouragingly. The Autobots nod in agreement, and Optimus points at Izuku. “If I understand correctly, your heroes are protectors, and if you truly intend to live by your words, then yes, you, Izuku Midoirya, can be a hero,” Again, the tears burst from Izuku. Finally, someone said those words to him. Finally, someone believes in him. He can do it. He will do it. He will be a hero!
One problem though
“Um…..how am I gonna get out of here?” Izuku asks. “Oh yeah…. that's a problem…um, Teletran, any ideas?” Sideswipe asks. The computer processes for a few moments. “Construction of a turbo-lift is the optimal idea,” it says robotically. Wheeljack nods and grabs his toolkit. “Well, time to get to work then; wait, how did you get down here anyway?” he asks. Izuku then explains how he fell through a hole and explains the crystals but is interrupted by Ratchet. “You said blue crystals? Could you show us?” he asks. Izuku nods and has the Autobots follow him. He gets to the vent he entered. They get to work and cut through the wall, allowing them to exit their ship for the first time in millennials, and before them is a sight none of them thought they'd see ever again. “By the Primes! Raw energon!” Wheeljack says, quickly rushing to the nearest crystal cluster and examining it. “I haven’t seen this much energy since the Golden Age! This is a veritable miracle!” he says excitedly. “Ok, that's great and all Wheeljack, but how’d it get here? Pretty sure Energon is not naturally occurring on this rock,” Cliffjjumper says. “Perhaps it's due to a fuel leak in our ship?” Mirage points out. “What? That's stupid, Mirage; how would that explain it?” Cliffjumper retorts, and the two start to butt heads again, only for Arcee to forcefully separate them. “No, no Mirage may be onto something, considering we’ve been crashed here for a million years, and assuming the Energon in our fuel reserves did leak out, then it's likely that it got absorbed into the terrain and due to the heat and pressure caused by the sediment buildup it allowed for the crystallization of raw naturally occurring Energon to form and grow due to the planets natural geothermal heat” Wheeljack explains, making most of the other Autobots look at him dumbfounded. “Um, for those of us who aren’t scientists?” Hound asks. Energon went into the rock, the rock got pressurized, the pressurized rock turned into crystal, the crystal became energon, the Energon grew,” he says in an attempt to simplify it. “Works for me, so we won't run out of juice for a while then,” Ironhide says with a satisfied grin.
“In all likelihood, yes, though I’ll need to run some tests to make sure it is safe for consumption; the last thing we need is another artificial energon incident,” Ratchet says, extracting a sample and walking back into the ship “I’ll be in my office should anyone need me” and with that the medic is gone. The rest of the Autobots continue to walk through the cave, eventually reaching where Izuku had fallen. Cliffjumper lets out a whistle. “Man, and they call ME Cliffjumper; the kid might be worthier of my namesake than I am,” he says sarcastically. “Wheeljack, can you construct a Turbo-Lift with our current resources?” Optimus asks. Wheeljack takes out a few measuring instruments and crunches the numbers. “Pretty sure, might take me 2 Cycles if I work nonstop and have help,” he says as he begins to write up some blueprints. “Very well, then consider this your first task; get whoever you need to assist you. In the meantime, Izuku Midoriya, I would like to speak with you on a few matters,” Optimus says, and the Autobots all salute, half of them going to help Wheelljack and the other half going back to the ship to do whatever needed doing there.
Izuku and Optimus returned to the Ark and walked the ruined halls, the heavy footsteps of the Autobot reverberating through the metallic corridor. “I must ask you, Izuku Midoriya, would your world take kindly to our presence? From what you have described, they seem rather set in their ways,” Optimus inquires. Izuku thinks, for a few minutes, would people be okay with aliens existing? Especially such an advanced species as well? It would show how stagnated society has become due to quirks…but many people might take offense to it… governments might try to kidnap them. “I see; then perhaps it would warrant us to keep our presence hidden,” Optimus says, making Izuku realize he muttered all that out loud. “S-s-sorry, Mr. Optimus…I-I know my muttering is kind of annoying,” he says, looking down at his feet. “Do not apologize for speaking your mind or for your habits. They make you, you, Izuku Midoriya,” Optimus says sagely, making Izuku cheer up a little. “Um, Mr. Optimus? How would you guys ‘keep your presence hidden’” Izuku asks. “We have a method that we will show you soon; I will need to consult with Teletran to acquire everything we need. Now I have another question for you. Do you plan on letting anyone else know of our existence?” Optimus asks, and Izuku thinks about that question. He has no friends whom he could tell, so no….but he might have to tell Mom, seeing as by the time he got out of here, it would be tomorrow…if he understood what Wheeljack meant by cycles. “I um….I might have to tell my Mom…” Izuku says, making Optimus quirk an optic. “What is a Mom?” he asks, making Izuku chuckle as the boy realizes how different these aliens are from him.
“A Mom is like an um- a caretaker but one that you’re genetically related to…unless they adopted you, which is like they still take care of you anyway…I’m not really sure how to explain it honestly ehehehe….” Izuku chuckles nervously while Optimus nods in understanding. “Well, it seems this Mom is important to you; therefore, I’ll allow you to reserve judgment for who knows our secret,” Optimus says, making Izuku smile; no one had ever trusted him like this before; it was an incredible feeling.
Optimus had stopped walking, and Izuku bumped into his leg, landing on his rear; when he got up to see what the AUtobot leader was looking at, he noticed several lifeless robotic bodies lying down before them; Ratchet looking them over with Arcee and Sideswipe helping him. “Wh-wh-who are they?” Izuku asks. “These were our brothers who…did not make the journey with us…we lost them in our attempt to escape Decepticons,” Optimus says somberly as Izuku looks at the bodies with slight horror. These were dead bodies; he was looking at dead bodies..the Autobots were machines..living machines, but they could die just like people…it brought a harrowing sense of reality into the boy. He then saw a group of similarly colored robots, all lime green and purple with a different purple insignia. “Are they Autobots too?” Izuku asks.
Sideswipe turns to see who he's pointing at and shakes his head. “Nah, those are Decepticons, or they called themselves the Constructicons. We wasted them during the fight, but not before they took out several of our own. They were a bunch of sadistic pieces of scrap,” Sideswipe says with venom in his voice as he walks over and kicks the bisected body of a Constructicon. “Sideswipe. There is no need to desecrate the dead any further. Though they were our enemy, we should still treat them with the same reverence we would our own dead,” Optimus says, making Sideswipe sigh and nod at his leader's words. Zuku was a little awestruck by Optimus’ sentiment. From what he understood, the Decepticons were comparable to Earth’s villains; he’d seen reports of villains sometimes dying in hero fights and had witnessed their remains often treated with little sanctimony. The Autobots were larger than life in many ways, and it depended on his fascination with them even further.
He stayed and watched as the Autobots placed their dead in what seemed to be pods of some kind, like the ones you'd see in a sci-fi show; then again, everything he was looking at could be attributed to such a genre. They even put the Constructicon remains in pods; Optimus intended to treat his emeny with just as much reverence as his brothers. Optimus then looked at all the pods and said d,” Till all are one.” his optics looked saddened, the same expression on the faces of Ratchet, Arcee, and Sideswipe. He walked over to Arcee and looked up at her. “What does that saying mean?” he asks. However, before she could respond, Ratchet answered him, “It a saying as old as Cybertron itself, when we die, our sparks return to the planet's core, and eventually, when the last Cybertronian falls, all sparks shall become one,” the doctor says, Arcee and Sideswipe nodding to his words. Once again, Izuku was fascinated by the Autobots.
Later, Izuku sat in the bridge and watched the Autobots go about their repairs and turbo-lift construction. He wrote down a few observations in a notebook he once would use for heroes but now labeled Cybertronian Analysis Vol 1. He had written down the origins of the Cybertronians, the names of the Autobots he met, and a few basic sketches of them. However, all of the excitement of today had finally caught up with Izuku as he let out a yawn; his eyelids grew heavy as he laid down and drifted off to sleep in Optimus’ command chair. The Autobots paused what they were doing and observed the sleeping Izuku. WHeeljack tried to get a closer look to scan him, but he was shoved away by Arcee, who kept blocking the inventor's many attempts to study Izuku.
As Izuku rested, Jazz and Hound went to work at their terminals, eventually summoning up a Teletran drone. “Alright, Teletran-1, get to work and find us some new wheels!” Jazz said with the flick of a finger gun as the drone flew off and out of the cave, heading out into the bustling Japanese city.
1 Day Later,
“Hey Izuku, time to wake up,” the faint voice of Arcee could be heard as someone was nudging him awake. He opened his eyes and saw the female Autobot gently poking him out of his slumber. “Good, you’re awake; how did you sleep?” she asks. He rubs his eyes and looks around. “It really wasn't a dream….” he murmurs, getting an amused chuckle from Arcee. “Nope, now cmon and get up; Wheeljack finished up the lift,” she says, helping him get out of the command chair and into the cavern.
Once they arrive, they see a massive elevator-like structure, the once stone walls now lined with Cybertronian metal. Wheeljack put his hands on his hips, a proud look in his optics as he watched Izuku’s eyes widen at the sight. “Pretty great, right? Now we can get you outta here and see what the surface looks like!” Wheeljack says excitedly. That is enough to bring Izuku out of his transfixed state: “W-w-wait! Y-you can't go walking around! What if someone sees you!” He says worriedly. “Fret not, Izuku,” Optimus says as he walks up behind him. “We Cybertronians are capable of becoming Robots in Disguise,” he says. “AUTOBOTS! TRANSFORM!”
With that cry, all of the Autobots change into their vehicle modes.
Optimus turned into a red and blue big-rig truck.
Jazz turned into a white and blue Lamborghini.
Ratchet turned into an Ambulance.
Prowl transformed into a police cruiser.
Ironhide turned into a red and grey truck.
Wheeljack turned into a white van with red and green stripes.
Bumblebee turned into a Volkswagen Beetle.
Sideswipe turned into a red and black sports car.
Hound turned into a military jeep, and
Mirage turned into a blue Chevy with white accents.
Cliffjumper transformed into a red Camaro.
Arcee transformed into a navy blue motorcycle.
Izuku’s eyes had now bulged out of his head; the Autobots had turned into vehicles! VEHICLES! THAT WAS SO FREAKING COOL!
“Yo, check out the sound system these Earthlings got!” Jazz says as subwoofers pop out a panel on his rear end. He starts blasting some pop music. “I dig what these Earthlings are putting down!” he yells. “TURN THAT RACKET OFF!” Ironhide yells at him, and he quickly puts the speakers away before turning back into robot mode, the others all joining him.
“I- how- what-?” Izuku was stumbling over his questions. “Transforming is an integral part of our biology; all Cybertronians are capable of it, and it has advantages on planets like this. We can hide in plain sight while we search for the Decepticons and make the repairs the Ark will need,” Optimus says as Izuku takes in all this information. “Woah…” is all Izuku can say, making Sideswipe, Bumblebee, and Hound chuckle at the human's amazed stupor. “Don’t worry about it, Izuku; you’ll get used to it eventually,” Bumblebee says encouragingly. “Wait…you mean I’ll get to keep seeing you guys?” Izuku asks, making all the Autobots quirk an optic. “Well, yeah? You’re the only human we know; someone gotta help us assimilate,” Hound says, giving Izuku a thumbs up. Izuku smiles brightly, happy to receive all this encouragement and assurance that he’ll get to keep coming back here; now he just needs to….
“OH CRAP! I gotta get home! Moms probably freaking out! Quick! Let's get going!” Izuku says, running over to the lift. Bumblebee, Arcee, and Optimus follow him; the others all stay behind and wave goodbye as they lift the lift to the surface. When they arrive, Izuku is back in the cave he had fallen down from. “Wait…how are we gonna hide the lift?” Izuku asks. Bumblebee chuckles and asks Izuku to follow him. They exit the lift, Bee turns him around, and he suddenly sees the lift is no longer there. “What? How?” he asks, and then he sees Arcee sticking her head out from thin air. “Holograms, no one will know to be any the wiser,” she says, walking through the illusion with Optimus in tow. They all exit the cave, and Izuku is greeted by the bright sun, shielding his eyes, having been underground for the whole day. “Man… it's so…green!” Bumblebee says, looking at the trees.
“Will you be able to get home on your own, Izuku?” Optimus asks. The boy looks up at him and nods. “Yeah, I um…I’ll see you guys later! Don’t get seen!” he says as he runs off, the Autobots watching him leave. “So now what, Optimus?” Arcee asks. “For now, we await his return; in the meantime, we will continue making repairs to the Ark,” he instructs, and the two nod, following him back into the cave to return to their base of operations.
Later - Midoriya Apartment
Izuku ran up the stairs to his apartment, silently cursing. His mom had sent him hundreds of texts and calls asking where he was. He had so much to explain, but he just needed to get back to her and let her know he was alright. He came to his apartment door and opened it up; as he did, he heard the sobs of his mother, and his heart clenched; this was his fault for worrying her, but he would make it right.
“Mom?” Izuku says as he walks into the apartment and sees his crying mother on the couch. She immediately turns to him, gets up, and tackles him into the biggest bear hug she could. “MY BABY!!!!!!!” she wails as tears flood from her eyes. “I WAS SO WORRIED! YOU DIDN'T COME HOME! YOU DIDN'T RESPOND! I THOUGHT SOMETHING AWFUL HAPPENED!” she said as she frantically checked him over. “Are you hurt? Why are your clothes so dirty? Where have you been? Do you need a hospital?” she asked at a rapid-fire pace. “Mom, Mom, I'm ok, I'm really ok,” he says, pulling her into a hug. “Oh, my poor baby…..I was so worried…” she said, clutching onto him for dear life.
“I know, Mom, I know and….and I'm sorry I worried you…I have so much to tell you about where I’ve been since yesterday and other things…but just know I'm ok now,” he says reassuringly. His mother looks into his eyes and sees something she hasn't seen in her son's eyes in a long time, hope. Whatever happened, his eyes no longer looked dead and hollow as they had for the past several years. She wanted to know just what happened to her baby boy to suddenly cause this change in attitude. “I'm just so glad you back- oh, you must be famished! Did you eat?” she asks, and Izuku shakes his head. She immediately gets up and heads into the kitchen. “I’ll cook some Katsudon. Can you call Mitsuki and let her know you are okay?” she asks, and Izuku nods. Despite his tumultuous relationship with Bakugo, his Aunt and Uncle were his favorite people, and he loved them to death.
So he called up his aunt, letting her know he was ok. She, in her usual fashion, cursed him out over the phone, but it wasn't malicious; he knew that was just how she spoke. His uncle also got on the line and was glad to hear he was okay, though he said more mildly as he was the more passive member of the Bakugo clan. After hanging up, he eats at the table with his mom. He didn't realize how hungry he had been due to all the excitement of the last 24 hours, so he wolfed it down. Once they were both finished, Izuku helped with the dishes and sat back at the table with his mother.
“So…Mom… it's hard to explain what exactly happened yesterday, but…I was being chased by some um…bullies from school, and well, to explain what's next, we need to go somewhere…um to Qui Gon Park…so um..c-can we go?” he asks. Inko sits silently and thinks momentarily before grabbing a coat and some shoes. “It must be something if you need to show me, Izu… let's go,” she says. Izuku gets up and walks out with her, and the two make their way to the park.
Qui Gon Park
“We’re almost there, Mom,” Izuku says as he leads his mother to the cavern. “Izu dear, why are we going into a cave?” she asks worryingly. “It’ll sort of make sense in a second, Mom…or maybe not fully, but um, you trust me, right?” he asks. His mother nods. “of course I do, dear,” she says reassuringly. Izuku nods back and leads her to the end of the cavern. “Ok, so…don’t freak out,” he states as he sticks his arm through the projection, disguising the turbo-lift. His mother lets a slight shriek, “I-Izuku! Y-your arm!” she says, her voice filled with panic. Izuku pulls his arm out and grabs onto her. “Mom, mom, mom, it's ok. What you just saw was my arm going through a projection, there…. there's something on the other side, just follow me,” he says as he grabs her hand and leads her through, and suddenly she finds herself in a large metal elevator with technology looking like it came out of a sci-fi film. “I-Izuku? What is this?” she asks. “The start of my explanation,” he says as he presses a button, allowing the elevator to begin descending.
“Yesterday, I was running from bullies….I hid in this cave, but the lodge gave way, and I fell.” his mother gets a look of horror on her face. “Luckily, there was a giant lake at the bottom, and I landed there. I crawled out, wandered the cave, and well…you’re about to meet some um…new friends I made,” he says as the elevator finally arrives at their destination. In the short time he was away, the Autobots had already made some upgrades to the cavern, the walls now adorning some light fixtures so the cave wasn’t lit up by Energon veins.
However, these were not the sights that drew his mother’s attention; no, it was the sight of Optimus Prime’s towering figure standing before them. The Autobot leader crouched down and extended his hand. “Greetings, you must be Izuku’s mother; I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots,” he says. “I-I-Izuku…what…I…is he a..robot? Is…is that a quirk?” she asks nervously. Izuku shakes his head. “No, Mom, they’re um…they’re aliens,” he says, and Inko's eyes widen. She steps back a little and takes a few deep breaths. “Aliens…aliens are realimtalkingtoanalienohmygodmysonmetaliensohmygod!” she starts going into a mutter storm, so Izuku quickly taps on her shoulder to snap her out of it. “Mom, they’re great; you’ll like them a lot,” he says encouragingly, guiding his mother back to Optimus. Inko shakily extends her hand and places it on Optimus’ large cybernetic palms. “H-hello..I-I am Inko Midoriya, Izuku’s mother,” she says nervously. “A pleasure to meet you, Inko Midoriya; please follow me; these others would like to meet you and see Izuku again,” he says, standing up and guiding them further into the cave.
Thus, Inko met the Autobots and warmed up them quickly. Optimus had told her the tales of their origins, and she shed several tears at how tragic it was for them to lose their home. She got along the most with Ratchet, who, after bringing up his position as the crew’s doctor, bonded over their shared background in the medical field. The Bots seemed to love Inko and enjoyed her company as much as Izuku, so humanity was batting 2-0 right now regarding friendliness; after conversing with the Autobots for a while, Inko had decided to get everyone's attention to ask something of her son's newfound friends.
“I…I know my son asked you if he could be a hero, and I’m certain you said yes. He asked me the same question a long time ago, and all I did was apologize, but…that wasn’t the right thing to do. So Izuku, I believe you can be a hero,” she says as she looks into her son's eyes. Izuku begins to tear up and runs towards his mother and hugs her, letting his tears fall after finally hearing the words he had wanted to hear for so long. As she comforts her son, she turns to the Autobots. “Optimus, everyone, I have a favor I’d like to ask of you,” she says, and Izuku looks up with teary eyes. “Please, help my son fulfill his dream, train him to become a hero,” she requests, making Izuku tear up even more. Optimus turns to his comrades and nods. “It would be our honor, Inko,” he says, and Izuku bursts with even more tears. “thaaaank youuuuuu,” he says through his happy sobs, and the Bots all laugh a little at the adorableness of the display.
Thus began a grueling 10 months of hard training, but by the end, a new hero would emerge, a hero of two worlds, a hero who would end a war spanning the galaxy.
This is the story of The Cyber Hero: Greenbolt.