Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"With great power, comes great responsibility." 

Those were the last words spoken to me by the greatest man I have ever known, God rest his soul. He meant the world to me, he was the only father figure I've ever had my whole life, he was my Uncle Ben... 

Believe it or not, those were the very words that shaped me into the very person I am now. The man my Uncle Ben always wanted me to be. My name is Jackson Darby, my friends and family call me Jack, but the city of New York calls me- 

"Spider-man!!" An armed ski-masked thug shouted out from the dim alleyway. 

Ahh crap, I thought I wouldn't be seen on this perch. Whatever, nothing some good old web shooters and some spider-punches can't fix. With complete stealth now not being an option (and because I'm kind of in a hurry) I gracefully leap down the rooftop perch and land in front of the masked thugs. "Hey fellas! Sorry your friend here had to spoil the surprise so early, but I'm going to have to stop this drug deal. You see, I'm in a real hurry, so if you all could just put down your guns and wait for the police that wo-". 

"SHOOT THE DAMN SPIDER ALREADY!!" The thug Infront of me yells out. Welp, so much for talking it out. 

With that, two of the masked thugs Infront of me draw out their pistols and begin to take aim. Before they could fire however, I shoot out a webline from both my webshooters at each of the thugs' weapons and pull it away from them, catching both thugs completely by surprise. Catching both pistols in each hand, I crush them both using only my pure spider strength, rendering the weapons broken and useless. 

"Come on guys" I say in an almost disappointed tone, "You know that's not how I play. If anything, you should have brought bats and metal pipes, at least then you'd all get knocked out with dignity" I state in a very condescending tone. 

"We can do that bug! Except it ain't you who's gonna do the knocking!" The thug closest to me says in a gruff, threatening voice. All six of the thugs began to find and pick up whatever blunt object they could use as a weapon against me. They never learn do they. With a quick check in my memory, I remember that my Aunt May wanted me back at home specifically by 5:30 p.m. today. Apparently, there's something very important me and her are going to have to talk about regarding my mom back in Jasper. And I came here to stop this drug deal at 5:25...

Yeah, this could work. I've got time.

"Alright Timmy, I'll beat you up and your friends one last time. But after this, it's straight to bed, in a nice and cozy jail cell." I mocked to all the angry thugs. Poor suckers don't stand a chance. 

"AAAHHHHH" One brave and daring criminal comes charging towards me with a metal pipe in hand, ready to strike my head. With one swift dodge to the left the charging criminal misses and I use this opportunity to web-strike him, knocking him out of the fight. 

Two other melee thugs come charging towards me on both sides. With precise timing though, I jump up into the air just high enough that I could perform an air kick to their heads by doing the splits, stunning them and knocking them both away from me. With one thug on the ground, and the other next to a wall, I decide to quickly web up both thugs.

"AAHH, THE HELL IS THIS STUFF!!" The thug next to the wall shouts. One down, one more to go. I turn quickly to web up the thug on the floor.

"UGH, IS THIS STUFF COMING OUT OF YOU!!" The now webbed up floor thug screams.

"Well, I had a nightmare about that once." I said in a casual tone, then I began to shiver slightly at the memory. Yeah... that was definitely one of the worst nightmares I've had of all time. 

"Alright, y'know what! Screw this! I'm out of here" One of the thug's shouts as he made a B line away from the fight. Honestly, I don't blame him, I did just single handedly beat three out of their six guys in less than a minute. The other two remaining thugs must have shared the same testament as the first thug who ran, because they also began to run as fast as they could. Those poor, poor criminals. They must be very scared to get caught, they'll fit right in jail! 

One by one, I began to web yank each thug right into my approaching fist until all that remained was the usual day-to-day sounds of New York City. There still breathing of course, one promise I made to myself aside from the fact that I would never look the other way on any crime was that I also wouldn't kill people just because I had the power to. Whatever crimes they committed would have to be judged by the professionals, not me. With a small sigh and a quick dusting of my hands, I aim one of my webshooters towards a building and zip there as I hear the distance sounds of police cars approaching the scene. I usually call the police for pickups after I've delt with criminals, but I knew that I was already pushing the time limit that I had today when I decided to stop this dealing. Speaking of time... 

I quickly pull out my phone to see that the time was now 5:27. "Shit." I whisper to myself. Maybe if I swing there fast enough, I could make it on time. That would probably be a 1/100th chance since my luck with being on time dropped down basically to 0 since I decided to become Spider-man. But I still had to try.

With one quick motion, I jump off the building I was just on, and I began to swing there as fast as I humanly... spiderly? could. 

Aunt May's House

The time was now 5:30 p.m. and Jack still hasn't arrived yet. Typical 

Ever since her boy turned 14 years old, and since the passing of Ben Parker, God rest his soul, Jack began to arrive late on many occasions, consistently. Even now, when he is 16 years old, he still manages to arrive late. It not only worries the poor woman, but it also makes her wonder if Jack is sticking with the wrong crowd. 

"Now where could that boy be? I told him to come on 5:30 didn't I." she whispered to herself. Aunt May was 40 years of age, only two years older than her sister June Darby. June... the poor woman. It had been a couple of years since she last interacted with her in person. They occasionally talk on the phone, but other than that it has been silent. However, May Parker knew well enough why her sister was in Nevada instead of New York. June spent 19 years of her life growing up in New York, however, that all changed once she was offered some special scholarship in some university located in Nevada. This was one of the best scholarship opportunities she had been given, so with a few calls and some heartfelt goodbyes, June traveled to Nevada to start her academic journey. 

That was when her sister had met her future ex-husband, Garret Darbey. That slimy no-good excuse of a human being.  

June had met him during her junior year of college while she was studying to become a registered nurse. At first, they began to hit it off as friends. Then love began brewing between the two nursing students. One thing led to another and then that was when they started officially dating. After 3 years of dating, they decided to officially get married in Jasper, Nevada. Then, not even a year after their marriage, June became pregnant with a healthy baby boy. Seven years, that was how long their marriage lasted. At the time, everything seemed perfect for the Darby family. That was until that slimebag Garret decided that it would be a great idea to get flat-out drunk at a bar and bring a girl over to his house to show her "a good time". They even did so on the same bed that he sleeps on WITH HIS WIFE! 

June Darby had witnessed it when she came home with her son, Jack late at night. Before she found about her ex-husband's deed, she was trying to spend time with Jack by bringing him shopping and whatnot. The moment that she opened the door to her bedroom and found what her ex-husband was doing, was the moment when the marriage came to an end. They had divorced and that was the end of that. Though May would have been lying if she said that it was easy on her sister. Both June and Garret had been working in the same hospital before they divorced, which granted them a great source of income. However, the moment Garret left was when money became an issue for the poor woman and her son. To prevent Jack's life from getting any harder in Nevada, she decided that it would be best to send the 7-year-old boy to New York, where he could live with his Aunt May and her husband Ben Parker, or Uncle Ben as Jack liked to call him until she could get her life back together. 

June and her son were by no means distant from each other. Though they both miss each other greatly, Jack knew that this was for the best. No matter how unfair it was. 

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Several knocks at the door snap May out of her little journey down memory lane. Looking at the time, it was now 5:35. Late by five minutes. Huh, somehow that was the least late Jack had ever been. 

After a few seconds May had opened the door to see Jack quickly straightening his posture and wiping away the sweat that was trickling down his forehead. "Was he running?" The woman thought to herself. "Hello Jack." Aunt May said in a sweet and soft tone. "Come in, you must be tired from all that running you've had to do." Aunt May said as she began to make way for Jack to enter. 

"What? I wasn't running. Who was running? Couldn't have been me, not this guy." Jack explained rather pathetically as he walked inside his humble abode.

"I'm sure you weren't just running honey, perhaps "running as if your life depends on it" would be the right way of describing how you got here." She said as she chuckled just loud enough for Jack to hear.

"Har Har" Jack said in a flat, unimpressed tone. "So, you wanted to talk to me about something important? Something about mom... right?" Jack reminded her as he sat down on the living room couch. 

"Oh right, yes, you just reminded me" Aunt May said as she quickly began to sit down next to Jack on the couch he was on. She stared eye-to-eye with Jack, trying to find the words to tell him what was to come. "Is... something wrong Aunt May?" Jack said in a rather whispered voice, concern coating the entirety of his tone. "Jack... Your mother wishes for you to stay with her, in Nevada." Aunt May explained slowly as to not shock her nephew too quickly. 

"What!? For how long?" Jack said in a rather shocked expression. Jack had never hated visiting his mom every now and again, but for him to just live there outright. New York was his home, had been for the past nine years. And now, ever since the arrival of a few certain superpowered villains, he couldn't just abandon this city.

"She never specified dear, but you know as well as I do that she misses you more than you could ever imagine. If not for her financial situation, she would have made you stay in Nevada." Aunt May explained to Jack, she wasn't wrong, and Jack knew that. But still, for him to just leave everything behind and go to a different state for God knows how long. 

"Aunt May, I love mom, more than you could imagine... but she can't just expect me to just drop everything I have here and come live with her. I have friends here, a life, and a responsibility." Jack emphasized the word responsibility, kind of nudging towards the fact that he was a masked vigilante with superpowers that worked towards fighting crime. "I know Jack, me and your mother want nothing more than for you to succeed in life and become the man that your Uncle Ben always wanted you to be." Aunt May said softly as she put her right hand on her nephew's left shoulder. "But other than you and me, she has no one else to be with her. No one else to truly love her the way we love her..." Aunt May said, saddened by the reality of how alone her sister must feel. 

Jack stared at his beloved aunt as she said those words. "Shes right." a tiny voice in his head said to him. Jack didn't want to admit it, but his father's sudden betrayal had left his mother depressed and with a broken heart. All the while his "dad" had left with all his fortunes and that whore he found at the bar. Whether Jack liked it or not, taking care of his mother was also one of his many and most important responsibilities. He knew it would be hard, after all he hadn't lived in Jasper for a long while, it would take some time to fully adjust. But when has life ever been easy for Jack Darby. 

Though the thing that frightened him most was that he would have to abandon being Spider-man for a while. Most of his rouges are in the Raft, a tight, maximum-security prison for superpowered evildoers. However, it is a possibility that at least one of them would escape from there, after all it's not like it hadn't been done before. But then again, they are still in prison, and he could use a break from all the web slinging he had to do for the past two years. Maybe, just maybe, this was exactly what he needed. Some time away with his mom, away from all the craziness New York has to offer. God knows J. Jonah Jameson needs some time away from any Spider-man related "menace attacks" as the old editor-in-chief describes it. 

Besides, it's not like he'll leave forever. Maybe a couple of months, two years at most if he feels like coming back to New York when he becomes 18 years old. Hopefully, he won't be burnt-out of being Spider-man by the time he comes back to New York. Depends on the amount of crime brewing in Jasper. "Alright..." Jack sighed. "You should probably make the call to my mom right now, tell her that I'll be coming later this week while I begin packing and notifying my school." Jack explained as he began to get up from his once seated position and walked upstairs, towards his bedroom. 

His aunt simply nodded while sporting a small but supportive smile. But before she made the call, she turned to her nephew. "Jack?" She called out from the couch, causing Jack to stop mid-flight of stairs. Jack stared at her, waiting for her to continue talking. "I am so proud of you Jack, and I know that your Uncle Ben would be too." She said with a soft, comforting voice as she stared at her nephew with watery eyes. 

"I hope he is, wherever he is now. Because if it were not for him, I don't think I would be the same person I am today." and with that, Jack concluded the small heart-to-heart and began making his way up towards his room. Readying himself for his travel back to Nevada, back to his mom. 

Chapter Text

It was a long flight to Nevada, five hours to be exact. Kinda reminded me why I didn't like flying in the first place, I've always preferred web swinging to my destination. Not like anybody else would have to know about that, but that's just my preference. My Aunt May had to come with me on the flight as my legal guardian because I'm still not of legal age yet. 'If only these people knew how many times I've saved them from impending supervillain doom.' I think to myself.

Seriously, I know that Spider-man doesn't take any gifts, but a headline that reads "Thank You Spider-man" would be the least they could do at the Daily Bugle. Instead, it's "Masked Menace Strikes Again!" and "When Will This Menace Stop His Vicious Crime Sprees!". I know old J. J. can be a hothead sometimes, but jeez, he's gonna need to tone the ferocity of the headlines a bit or he might get himself a 'menacing' heart attack!

Speaking of Spider-man related issues, sitting on an airplane seat for five hours isn't the only reason why I hated flights. It was also the fear of being reveal as the masked vigilante. Yes, I brought my costume, of course I brought my costume! It's a part of the job that comes with being Spider-man! Thankfully, I came up with an excuse just in case one of the airport staff saw it in my luggage. I would have explained (Probably in a very pathetic tone) that I wanted to visit my mom and visit the Comic-Con center that was located in Jasper. Then I would have proceeded to go on a small rant on why Spider-man should be represented more often in events like Comic-Con and that a 'Spider-man' themed parade would be most appreciated as a New York city wide event... 

Now that I think about it, Aunt May always said that I was a terrible lair. Thankfully, I didn't need to use that excuse at all since kids and teenagers liked to dress-up as Spider-man nowadays. So, the airport employee checking my luggage thought nothing of the brightly colored costume and proceeded to let me onboard. 'Thank you, Spider-man costume, wearing children' I mentally say to myself. 

Nevada Airline

As I step out of Nevada's airport and make my way towards the taxi that would drive me to Jasper, I suddenly stop and remember to give my Aunt May something to remember me by while I was gone. I turn to face my Aunt May, a small smile stretched on my face. "Yes dear? Did you forget something? Oh, I must have forgotten something haven't I." She quickly accuses herself of being forgetful of something.

"No May, I just wanted to give you something." Before she could question what I wanted to give her, I pull her into a tight, but comfortable hug. It was as if the world around me brightened in color, the noise of hundreds of people walking in and out of the airport vanished for a brief moment. For now, the only thing that mattered was her. "I love you Aunt May, no matter where I travel, you'll never be far off my mind." I say with comfort and passion in my voice.  

I then began to hear small sniffles, I pull away slightly from the hug to look down and see my Aunt May bearing a small smile and watery eyes. "Jack... You are so much like your Uncle Ben, it was as if he never left." my aunt says as she held up her left hand and placed it on my left cheek, caringly. 

"Well, what can I say? I try my be-HONK HONK

The aggressive honking of my taxi driver alerts both me and my Aunt May that I've overstayed my welcome at the airport. "Crap, can't keep him waiting any longer." I say is a give my aunt one last kiss on her cheek and rush to the now impatient taxi driver. "Gotta go! Bye! I'll call you when I get there!" I say in quick succession (at least to my standards) to my aunt as I get inside the taxi. The last thing I saw before the taxi drove off was my Aunt May waving me goodbye. 

'I wonder if she'll do alright while I'm gone' I think to myself as the taxi drives forward, towards Jasper. 

Outskirts of Nevada

Out on the outskirts of Nevada, near a small town named Jasper was an abandoned missile silo. At first glance, it doesn't seem like much, especially since the missile silo blends in very well with the orange, rocky mountains, making it seem more like another mountain rather than a missile silo. However, that was far from the truth.

The inside the missile silo housed six Autobot soldiers, acting as their main base of operations. Cliffjumper, Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, and their leader Optimus Prime were the sole protectors of Earth against the large, brutal forces of the Decepticons. And though their numbers were small compared to the Decepticons, they had proved time and time again that they were very much capable of defending themselves and their new home, much to the Decepticons dismay. 

Inside the Autobot base, Team Prime's medic, Ratchet, looked through their team's energon supply for the month. The disadvantage that came with working in a small team was that they couldn't always mine an energon deposit while the Decepticons were out mining it first, unless they wanted to get into a full-scale battle with 20 or more Vehicons. And with the number of supplies that they have now, that couldn't be an option for Team Prime. 

Ratchet mentally cursed the Decepticons for the situation that they had put him and his team through. They were starting to get low on energon, which meant that someone had to leave base and scout for any signs of energon signals. Walking to the common area, Ratchet prepared to tell Optimus of their current energon situation. 

While walking to Optimus, Ratchet could spot a familiar cherry red colored Autobot sitting atop one of their large (and empty) energon crates. Said Autobot was called Cliffjumper, he was a medium sized cybertronian that sported a cherry red color on all of his armor plates, along with a pair of small, silver horns on both sides of his head. Standing next to Cliffjumper was his partner, Arcee. A small, two-wheeler femme bot that sported a cobalt blue color over most her armor plates along with pink accents on certain parts of her armor. She stood next to Cliffjumper, arms crossed and bearing a smirk across her faceplate. 

"And next thing you know, I'm being charged at by three separate seekers, one of them being Blitzwing of all Cons'!" Cliffjumper explained with enthusiasm, getting even louder when he mentioned seeing Blitzwing. A psychotic and brutal Decepticon solider that could transformer into two different vehicles. As if the Autobots weren't already outnumbered.

"Yeah? So, how'd you win that fight partner?" Arcee said with amusement and a slight raise of her optic ridge. Cliffjumper began to chuckle lightly.

"Well, you see, the funny thing is- Oh! Hey doc, we doing good on our energon supply?" Cliffjumper said, instantly changing the topic him and his partner were just talking about. He could finish the story later. 

"On the contrary Cliffjumper, we aren't, I was just going to ask permission from Optimus to send one of us out to scout for energon." Ratchet explained sternly. Ratchet was always a mood killer, but the Autobots never hated the old medic, despite how grumpy he could get sometimes.

"Well partner? You up for another scouting mission?" Cliffjumper asked as he looked towards Arcee with a smirk.

"I don't know, you were just getting to the good part of your story." Arcee said, both servos now placed on her hip plates.

"Ah, don't worry about it Arcee. I've got plenty more that I could tell you while we scout." 

Both bots began walking towards the exit of their base, getting ready to transform into their alt modes. That was when they were both stopped by their medic. "Ah! Yep, yep, yep." The grumpy medic shouted. "You two will scout for energon after I've informed Optimus." The medic stated.

"What's the deal Ratchet? The sooner we scout for energon the better. And besides, you can inform Optimus while we're scouting." The cobalt blue Autobot said in an impatient, but professional tone.

Ratchet stood there, faceplate stern, but thinking. "Hmm, yes, yes." Ratchet quietly whispered to himself. They were pretty low on energon, so the sooner someone gets sent out, the better for their team. "Fine" the medic ex-vented, "I will allow you both to scout now, but be sure to-HEY!" Ratchet quickly cut himself off as he saw both Autobots before him quickly transformers and drive outside their base. 

"Out of all the stubborn mechs and femmes" the now angry medic mumbled to himself. When they came back, he was going to give them the scolding of a lifetime. 

Darby Residence 

It had been a couple of hours since I arrived at my mom's house. And after what felt like years of hugs and kisses from my mom, she finally allowed me to get settled into my room. 'Man, it's been years since I actually stayed in here' I think to myself. When I come to visit mom, I usually crash here for a couple of days then I make my way back to New York. But now, I'm actually going to have to get used to sleeping here. Not like it's a bad thing though, the bed is comfortable enough. 'The bed isn't the only thing I'll have to get used to.' Oh right... The new school I'm going to. 

I don't know what it'll be like, since I haven't visited it yet, but I sure am gonna miss my old high school. Especially my friends back in New York. Harry, my first and oldest friend. Believe it or not he's the son of a very successful businessman Normal Osborn. And out of everyone he could have become friends with, he chose me. Eddie, older than me by a year, definitely acts as my annoying older brother. I'm still gonna miss him though. And Gwen... 

God, I'm so sorry Gwen... I wish things could have turned out differently for you. It should have been me that day, not you.

I'm slightly shaken out of my current thoughts when I spot my costume from my open closet. 'Right, should probably hide that away. Can't have mom freak out about me being a vigilante.' I get up from my bed and make my way towards my closet. I pull the costume out, but before I could find a better spot to hide it, I take one long look at it. 'Man, now that I think about it, it took me a whole while to create this thing.' 

The costume looked fairly simple, its primary colors were a bright red and blue. The web pattern that ran though the suit was black. The spider symbol at the front of the suit, which is located on the chest area of the suit, was also the color black. The spider symbol was medium sized, all eight of its legs were long and sharp, while the body of the spider was long and thin. The spider symbol on the back of my costume looked identical to the one on the front, except it was slightly larger and it was colored red. The coolest but most difficult part of the suit to create were the eyes of my mask. The eyes were fairly large and white, and the outline of the eyes were medium all around and black. But the coolest part of the eyes was the fact that they could move along with the movement of my eyelids. It took a while to find all the materials needed to make the whole costume, especially the flexible fabric. But man was it worth it. 

Though, it's not to say that putting on this costume only had upsides. There were also a lot of downsides to being Spider-man, I was taught that the hard way... 

Shaking my head, I make a decision not to sulk right now and decide to hide the costume under the nightstand that was next to my bed. 'Hopefully mom doesn't decide to just check under her only son's nightstand. Yeah, this should work.'  And with that, I make my way out of my room and to K.O. Burger. 

I didn't want my mom to stress over having to spend extra money on me, she had more important things to spend her money on. So, I decided to put in a resume at K.O. Burger to work there part-time. The manager accepted me surprisingly fast and just told me to come to work as soon as I can today, he would fill me in on the scheduling and whatnot. I make my way to the garage and open it to find- "Yup, still here." I say, trying hard to hide my disappointment. That raggedy, old bike mom still keeps in the garage. And since I can't just web swing to work every day without it being obvious that I was Spider-man, this is unfortunately the fastest way to go to work. 'If I didn't care so much about being late, I would have just walked to work.' 

Despite my disappointment, I kick the bike stand off and begin to pedal my way towards my new job. 

Destroyed Energon Mine

'I should have came with him.' The blue Autobot thought to herself. 'I shouldn't have split from him. I should have known that the Decepticons would also be out mining for energon.' She mentally cursed herself a thousand times for being so carless. 

Her and her team were in the middle of a huge crater, most likely caused from an energon mine exploding. The same energon mine that Cliff was at....

While the rest of her team looked around for any clues on what might have happened, she stood still, holding one of Cliff's horns on both of her servos. "No." She whispered to herself quietly in a depressed tone as she looked upon the only remaining piece of her partner. Arcee then showed Cliff's horn to an approaching Optimus.

"Ratchet, can you track his position?" The Prime asked to his oldest friend. Ratchet then proceeded to open a miniature data pad on his right arm and-

"No!" Ratchet expressed in shocked and defeated tone. "Cliffjumper's life signal, just went offline..." The medic explained to his team as he tried his best to hold back his own grief. 

At that moment, Arcee had felt her very world crumble before her. She wanted to cry tears of energon, she wanted to scream her voice box out in misery, she wanted to fall to her knee servos and collapse. But at that moment, all she felt in both her neural processor and her spark was... emptiness. 

 This was her second partner, first Tailgate, now Cliffjumper. She didn't know how well she could ever recover from this. She didn't know if she even deserved to recover from this experience. For the first time in years, she felt lost.

K.O. Burger - 2 Hours Later

My first day working at K.O. Burger and its already making me miss web slinging and punching bad guys. Seriously, I've only been working here for two hours and I'm already getting sick off of the heavy smell of processed foods. And the rude customers weren't helping... at all. 'It's ok Jack, boss will let me off a little earlier than usual today since I filled him in on my whole story about getting to Jasper. Just one final customer, and you'll be free to go.' As if right on que, the speaker next to me starts to blink red, indicating that a customer on the drive-through wants to order. With a press of a button, I say "Welcome to K.O. drive in, where every patty is a knockout. May I take your order?" I say in the most flat, tired, and unamused tone of voice that I have ever spoken. 'Seriously, even the fight I had against Frog-man wasn't this boring.'  

"A 2 super combos, some extra fries." the customer on the other end of the speaker says with a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Okay, dos numero 2. Anything else?" Okay, maybe, just maybe this guy won't prove to be a pain in the a-

"Yeah, some advice." 

'Here we go.' I say to myself as my anger starts to build up inside me. "How do I get an awesome job like yours?" The guy on the other end starts to laugh loudly along with his friends. They all laugh just loud enough for me to hear them all through the microphone. 'If I didn't know any better, I would've walked outside to the idiot's car and just venom punched his car engine into oblivion.'  But I know deep down that violence isn't going to solve this problem. Wits will. 

"So that two, were not as funny as we think we are combos, with a side of bite me!" I say, loud enough for all of them to hear.

"What you say?" the asshole on the other end says aggressively. 'Oh right, I'm working at a fast-food restaurant. One wrong move on a customer and as the once famous J. Jonah. Jameson said, "DARBY, YOUR FIRED!!"'. 

Taking in a breath quietly, I say "5.59, at the window. Sir." making sure to put more emphasis on the word sir. But knowing that this douchebag won't leave without having the last laugh, I hold both orders tightly around my hands, making sure that that the thousands of tiny spider hairs on my hands really stick to the bags. Soon enough, the douche in his crappy looking car begins to speed up to the window, faster than any customers would normally do. And just as I had predicted, the idiot tries to grab both bags with one foul swoop. But instead of him grabbing his bagged order freely, the bag ripped open, splashing and spilling his order all over the inside of his car, and on himself. Instead of hearing laughing as they drove off, all I could hear were groans and yelling. Dude was pissed, but I knew he couldn't find a way to blame it on me without making himself look stupid. After all, the drive through did have a small camera that records the interactions between the employees and the customers through the window. 

With that being the last customer of the day, I take off my K.O. Burger work hat and make my way towards the front entrance of the restaurant.  

5 Minutes Earlier

'If Cliffs' gone, standing around here sulking won't bring him back. So unless anyone minds, think I'll get back to protecting humankind.' Those were the last words I spoke to my team before I drove off. I couldn't resist saying it with such venom in my voice box. Because even after everything, after all the energon we lost, after all the countless battles we had to retreat from because of our small numbers, after Cliffjumper... 

Optimus still thinks about the protection of humanity. What good has this dirtball of a planet ever truly done for us? Whatever, I just need to drive is all. Perhaps it could take my neural processor off of all the grief in my spark. 

I continue to drive off into the distance, until I happen upon into a small human town. If I remember correctly, the towns name must be Jasper. What a strange name for a small town out in the middle of nowhere. In order to avoid any suspicions of a self-driving motorcycle, I quickly activate Sadie and drive off further into this town. That was when I caught sight of two medium sized purple cars, definitely Vehicons. "Twins." I mutter to myself. To avoid getting caught by the two scrap buckets, I quickly drive off into the distance, towards the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant.

I quickly park myself near the front entrance of the restaurant and deactivate Sadie to throw off the two Cons' that were just on my trail. My trick seemed to have worked because soon enough, I spot the same two Cons' drive off out of sight. If it were up to me, I would have just transformed and beat the living scrap out of them just for looking at me the wrong way. 'Optimus and his rules.' I mentally scoffed.

Just as I was about to reactivate Sadie and drive off, a black-haired teen walks through the front door, halting me completely. 

'Primus damn it.' I mentally curse the human for unknowingly stopping my escape. The human's phone then started to ring, he brought it out and with a click of a button he answers.

"Hey mom. Yeah, I just got off right now. Yeah, of course I'll be ready for school tomorrow, I got my supplies and everything. No, it's ok mom, I'll just walk home, shouldn't too far of a walk." The human continues to talk, unknowing to the fact that I was starting to get impatient. 'Scrap, hurry it up kid.'

"Be careful? Seriously? This is Jasper." There was silence, aside from the quite mumbling I heard from his phone. 

Then I heard something from the human that I never thought I would ever hear being directed to me. Looking directly towards me, he says "I love you." 

I don't know if this was pure coincidence, but I just happen to stumble upon the most beautiful looking motorcycle on my first day of being in Jasper. It was as if it was calling out to me, telling me to drive it through the outskirts of Nevada at its highest speed possible. Basking in the wind and sunset of Nevada. I may not have liked taking flights, but I always wanted to own a motorcycle like this one day. Yeah, one day I'll own a motorcycle exactly like this, one K.O. Burger paycheck at a time.... 

However, my dreams were soon popped out of my head the moment I heard the sound of girls laughing. I look to my left, and wouldn't you know it, there were two girls staring and giggling at me. "Were you talking to your motorcycle?" one of the girls said, stifling in a laughter with her question. 'Alright, think Darby! You were most definitely NOT talking to a random motorcycle you found.' 

"Whaaaaaaat? Me? No, I was just.... talking to my mom. Shes.... connected to Bluetooth." I say with a tinge of uncertainty on whether or not those girls would buy the excuse. Unknowingly to Jack, said motorcycle was mentally praying to Primus that he could just wrap this up. Arcee knew that the Vehicons would come back, sooner or later. 

Suddenly, everything froze for me. My brain started to vibrate, and I could distantly hear the sounds of car engines roaring. 'Oh no, my spider senses. Why now? Of all places in the world, why Jasper?'  I look around quickly and spot two purple cars facing towards me and the two girls. Those two cars had to be the danger my spider senses were warning me about. "Ah shit." I whisper to myself. Suddenly, as if the motorcycle I was on was sharing my thoughts, its engines also started to roar to life. And the twin cars in front of me started to drive quickly in my direction.

Just as I thought of making the risky move of spider jumping to avoid the collision, the motorcycle suddenly drove itself towards the two incoming cars. I scream in a panic, this thing wasn't even turned on when I sat on it, how is it driving itself!? Just as I thought that I was going to crash into the cars, the cobalt blue motorcycle drove fast, in-between the narrow space created by the twin purple cars. The hell!? A self-driving smart vehicle!?

We continued driving forward, as far and as fast as we could drive away from those twin cars. I was holding onto the handlebars of the motorcycle hard, but not hard enough to break them. I mainly relied on my wall crawling ability to hold onto the handlebars while we continued to speed forward.

Suddenly, an unknown feminine voice spoke to me, "Do not let go!" She ordered.

"Who said that!" I shouted. A self-driving, smart talking vehicle. What a completely normal life you have Jack Darby.

My spider sense starts to tingle again, and I see both twin cars gaining up on us. "Watch out!!" I shout at the femme motorcycle. With a swift boost of speed, she moves out in-between the twin cars just in time to avoid getting crushed. The femme motorcycle drives forward quickly and makes a sharp right turn down the street.

Where? I honestly don't know anymore. I sigh to myself, and this is only my first day in Jasper. 

"Commander Starscream." One of the Vehicons said. 

"Target is in our sights. She is accompanied by a human youth." The Vehicon says, explaining his observation. 

"Destroy them both!" Starscream ordered to the two Decepticon drones. 

Starscream didn't care what species the Autobots have within their care. A friend of the Autobots is an enemy of the Decepticons. And by Primus, he was going to destroy the Autobots. No matter how many centuries it takes. 

The cobalt blue motorcycle quickly drove me into an empty alleyway and came to a complete stop. I got off the motorcycle just as quickly as we escaped those twin cars. "What are you!?" I begin to question the motorcycle.

"I don't exist. Tell anyone about me and I will hunt you down." The motorcycle explained coldly as she stared at me using her headlights.

No. Nuh Huh. I know I am NOT being threatened by a motorcycle of all things. I've fought several superpowered villains before and won. Doc Ock, Sandman, The Lizard, Electro, Tombstone, The Rhino, and many, many armed thugs. And the one thing that I promised myself not to do was to look the other way, on any sort of crime. The last time I did that, I paid the price for it, dearly. There's something very suspicions behind all of this, and I'll be damned if I just look the other way on this. 

Before I could retaliate against her however, my spider senses start to go off again. "We need to leave, now!" I shout to the femme motorcycle.

"What are y- but before she could finish her sentence, she hears the incoming roars of car engines, and they do not sound friendly. "Alright, hop on!" she yells. I quickly oblige and we start to speed off into the streets of Jasper in the hopes of finding a highway to drive through. 

Though we had a headstart, the twin cars suddenly caught up to us again. My spider senses go off again as I distinctly hear the sounds of something mechanical moving. "What the- and before I knew it, they started shooting at us with laser mounter turrets. The urge to jump atop those cars and just rip out their turrets almost gets to me, then I realize that doing so would most likely reveal who I truly am to the public. So, I remain seated and hold on for dear life. 

Luckily, we found a road that led us to a highway, which allowed me to finally speak my thoughts. "Why were those guys shooting at us!?" I ask.

"There is no "us" kid. And those are no "guys"." she replied back. Welp, so much for getting answers. 

Suddenly, the sound of another incoming vehicle entered my ears. At first, I feared the worst, until I realized that my spider senses hadn't activated. With a quick look back, I spot a yellow looking sports car drive quickly next to one of the twin cars and then proceed to slam into it, causing both twin cars to accidently collide into each other and fall behind. "Friend of yours?" I asked with a concerned expression.

"Family." the femme motorcycle proudly stated. 

We proceeded to drive down the highway at 70mph... 80mph?... Whatever, we were driving down the highway at the speed of light. Then up ahead, using my enhanced sight I spot that the highway came to a dead end. Okay, lets weigh our options here. If we didn't slow down, we would crash into the construction site and die. Or we could slow down then be left at the mercy of those twin purple cars (who are surprisingly persistent). Though to be honest, I at least had a fighting chance in option two. However, I was quickly remined that I wasn't making the driving decisions, she was. 

She began to drive towards a ramp at an even higher speed. So, I held on as tightly as I could as I waited for her to ride up the ramp. Just as we were getting closer to the ramp, one of those purple cars began to shoot at us, throwing her off balance and making me lose my grip. Before she could readjust, it was too late, we were already in the air as we rode up the ramp, and I was several inches apart from her midair. Not wanting to break my spine, I quickly used both of my hidden web shooters to web zip back towards her seat. Both web lines made contact with her, and I began to pull myself towards her.  

Cold.... 

The cold feeling of a material that I had the displeasure of feeling before. 

Just a minute ago, I was thinking of possible escape tactics that I could use against the Cons' who were on my tail. But now.... 

'Piece of advise, make yourself comfortable. You're going to be here a while.'

I could hear her. She was laughing sinisterly. Laughing as she slit Tailgate's throat. The energon spilling from him... Primus there was so much energon spilling from his throat. 

And all I could do was watch and do nothing. The webs... The webs were everywhere, it was all around my arms, all around my legs! 

'TAILGATE!!'

The internal scream within my neural processor shook me out of my episode. Where did those webs come from? I must know! Using my rear-view mirrors, I trail down the origins of the webs. They came from.... The human?

But how? I saw as the human pulled himself towards me (with a surprising amount of strength on his end) and sat on the seat of my alt form. No. I'm not just going to ignore that. If this human was in any way related to her, I would absolutely vaporize him, human or not. 

As we landed on the hard ground, I finally came to a stop. Looking around at my environment, we seemed to be below the highway, next to the entrance of some sort of sewer system, away from most signs of human civilization. All the better for me to interrogate this human arachnid. I quickly transform into my bipedal form in front of the human, catching him completely by surprise. 'I don't care anymore, he's seen enough already.' I say to myself. I turn towards him, anger and fury clearly evident on my faceplate.

"How did you do that! Where did those webs come from!" I shout at the human. He's still completely shocked by my existence. I transform my left servo into a blaster, "ANSWER ME!" I yell at the top of my voice box. Suddenly, he began to take some sort of battle stance, crouching slightly and with his fleshy servos balled into fists. Seriously? Was he really risking his own life to fight an alien lifeform he had just discovered existed on his planet? 

Just as I was going to shout one last time, both me and the human hear a "Woah" coming from our right. We both look around to see yet another human child, completely amazed by the scene that was going on before his fleshy optics. This one seemed smaller than the one I was interrogating. He wore optic enhancers, something the humans' called "Glasses" on Earth, he was white, and had brown, spikey hair that pointed upwards. Suddenly, I realized the situation that I had gotten myself into. I had allowed two humans to witness my existence. 'Primus damn it' I mentally curse myself as I quickly transform my left blaster back as my left servos.

I look towards the human that I was interrogating and saw a glimpse of his expression. His optics widened, as if alerted to something, and he began to turn around to look at.... 'Scrap' I mentally curse again. Both Vehicons that I'd previously tried to shake of my trail managed to catch up me again. And this time, there was no running. Both Vehicons leaped down from where they spotted me and transformed themselves, getting ready to offline me and the humans. 'Double scrap.' Whether I liked it or not, I had to protect these humans. Though, I'll make very sure that I question the webslinger after I've scraped these Decepticon drones. 

I fought a 24 ft giant man in a mechanical rhino suit. I fought a once brilliant and bright scientist turned supervillain mastermind with four powerful mechanical tentacles. I fought a man who could shoot out 1 million volts of electricity with a flick of his finger.

But I have never in all my two years as Spider-man witnessed anything like this....  

Me and the kid who had just witnessed the existence of these giant transforming robots were now currently watching said robots beating the living shit out of each other. Punches and laser shots were being exchanged between the rivals, all the while I was standing there, doing nothing. I didn't know what to do exactly. Do I fight the purple robots? Do I fight the cobalt blue robot that sorta saved my life? Or do I just grab the kid next to me and make a B line out of there? 

'The one thing that I promised myself not to do was to look the other way, on any sort of crime. The last time I did that, I paid the price for it, dearly.' The memory of the promise I made myself comes into mind. Crap, I guess I can't just let this one go. Though I wish to God I could.

With a tap on the kid's shoulder, I get his attention. "Listen, you need to run! Find somewhere to hide while this mess gets taken care of." I say to the wide-eyed kid in a commanding voice.

"But what about you?" the kid asks, worry evident on his face.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine as long as I know that your safe too." Unfortunately, the femme robot gets shot on her chest, sending her flying back a couple of feet. 'Damn it! Don't die now!' I mentally worry to myself.

Just when I thought that it would be up to me to stop the twin menaces, the yellow sports car from earlier drives out of the highway, down to where we are and transforms into a giant robot. 'The one day that I leave my costume at home, and this happens.'  I could really do without the reveal of another giant transforming robot, just for five seconds. Just as quickly as the yellow robot came down, he began to throw punches at the unsuspecting purple bots. He was really putting the hurt on them.

After having both purple bots on the ground, the yellow one stepped back a bit, then suddenly tensed up and looked down to see that he had accidently stepped on the kid's toy car. Looking at the kid apologetically, the yellow robot began emitting beeps, as if he was saying sorry to the kid for destroying his toy. 'Really? A robot that speaks in beeps and boops?' I think to myself about the irony of the situation. 

"No problem, really." the kid says back to the apologetic robot. 'Huh, he catched on pretty quickly.' I mentally say as I look at the kid, impressed that he understood what the yellow one was insinuating. Unfortunately, the yellow bot's luck seemed to run out as out of nowhere, he was shot down to the ground. Clearly hurt, the yellow bot struggled to get up as the two purple menaces slowly approached him, guns primed and ready. 'Guess this is my que.' I stepped forward, towards the purple robots. I could always talk to the kid about what he saw after I finish this fight. Right? 

"Hey!!" I yell out. Both robots turned to face me. "I was just wondering if you knew anything about Nevada's driving laws. See, the last time I checked, going on a high-speed rampage through a small town isn't legal. Unless they passed a bill on that or something." I say, clearly trying to educate the two doofuses on Nevada's driving laws. Neither of them looking impressed, one of them began to walk towards me.

Clearly knowing that he wasn't getting closer just to hear me better, I ready myself to jump towards his face and kick it back. When he got close enough, I quickly jumped high, towards his head. Using all the strength that I could muster on both my legs, I pummel both my feet onto his V-shaped visor. I then quickly connected a web line to his face and charged up my right fist with some bioelectricity. With blue bioelectricity coursing down my right arm, I use most of my strength and pull myself towards the unfortunate robot and venom punched him into oblivion. 

The robot was sent staggering back a couple of feet, falling straight on his back. I land back onto the ground just in time to see that everyone present had a surprised expression labeled all across their faces. 'Great...Now I feel like a zoo animal.' Snapping out of his state of surprise, the yellow one began shooting at the only standing purple robot at his back. Because of the unsuspected surprise attack, the once standing purple bot now fell on his frontside, becoming offline. I walk towards the robot I venom punched earlier and took a good look at what I had done to him. His red V-shaped visors were now completely destroyed, and the metal surrounding his visors were heavily bent as well. Strangely enough, he sounded like he was.... groaning? The downed robot took one last look around (If he could even still see) before his head suddenly went limp. 

Taking a sigh of breath, I look around once more to see that all eyes were on me. Even the blue femme bot who was aggressive to me before stared at me with shock. Everyone here clearly knew that a human normally couldn't do what I just did. 'Can't wait to improvise this excuse.' I say to myself while trying to think of yet another stupid excuse. "So, want to explain that as well?" The blue femme bot said while sounding a bit angry.

"Hey, you enjoy your naptime while I took down these bozos?" I mocked towards the now seething femme bot.

"Actually, you only took down one of them." the kid stated, while also unknowingly destroying some of my confidence.

"I could have handled the other one." I joked while slightly chuckling. Looking around, I saw that no one else was laughing. 'Tough crowd.'

 "Listen, I don't have time for jokes. We've been on this planet long enough to know that humans aren't capable of doing what you just did." The stern blue bot explained.

"I.... eat my vegetables?" I say with uncertainty in my voice. What was I supposed to tell them, that I'm Spider-man!? The yellow bot beeped in what seemed like a questioning tone while looking at blue friend.

"No Bee, Earth vegetation isn't capable of super powering humans." the femme bot explained flatly.

"Listen, you shouldn't even be the one asking questions! I had just been on a high-speed chase throughout Jasper, almost had a fight against you, and I had to punch an 18-foot-tall robot all the while revealing my powers to this kid!" I shouted at both robots standing before me.

They both looked at each other, uncertainty stretched across their faces.

"It's.... complicated." the blue bot sighed.

"Yeah, sure. I've heard that before." I said while looking at the blue bot directly into her eyes. 

"Look... you go to an educational institution, right?".

An educational inst?... "You mean school? Yeah, I start tomorrow. Why?" I ask the femme bot.

"I could pick you and the other human up from there and bring you back to base for questioning." The femme bot stated sternly.

"And why would I want you to do that?" I scoffed.

"Because your life and his could very well be in danger." she stated. No, I'm not buying it. I've heard this whole shpeal before. It usually translates to 'Me and my scientist pals are going to dissect and study the source of your powers while twirling our evil mustaches.' 

My phone starts to ring, 'it's mom, crap!'. "Look, I don't need your protection. And I can definitely protect this kid better than you two could." I say as I grab the kid's hand and start walking away from the two bots.

"Now if you don't mind, it's getting late, and I've got curfew." I say as I start to walk away further from the bots. I'm going to get to the bottom of this, without having to go on a stupid high-speed chase. 

As we start walking further from the bots, I turn my head to look at the nervous looking kid besides me. "Hey, you alright kid?" I softly say to him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I think I am." he replies. A nod is all I give in response to his answer.

"What's your name, kid?" I ask him.

"Oh! m-my name is Rafeal. You could just call me "Raf" for short." He says. 

"So Raf? Wanna talk about what you say today?"

I ex-vent as I see the two humans slowly start to walk away. My neural processer is telling me to go after them, but my spark is telling me to leave them be, for now. 

That human.... he's got strength that I've only every seen from other Bots' and Cons'. 'Among other things' I say to myself, quickly remembering the webs he shot from his wrists while shivering slightly at the same time.  

"Okay Bee, we're going to have to return to base to give Optimus our full report on everything we saw today. Including him." I say while staring at one of my oldest and best friends.

Bumblebee beeps in agreement about returning to base. Then asks if we'll ever see the two humans again.

"Knowing Optimus, he'll want us to keep an eye out on those two. After all, there one of the few humans who had ever witnessed our existence." Suddenly, we hear a loud and familiar honk. Turning to the source of the sound, my suspicions were confirmed when I see a familiar green jeep transform into a familiar green Bulkhead. 

I cross my arm servos and frown. "What took you?" I asked the big oaf.

"Traffic." he flatly stated. "Soooo, what'd I miss?" 

Chapter Text

'Jack......' a familiar voice echos out my name.

'Wake up Jack.......' she calls out again.

That voice.... I remember that voice. But it can't be, she's gone. I saw her die.... 

"Gwen? Is that you?" I ask no-one in particular. Now that I think about it, this setting also looks familiar. 

Wait.... Oh God, no. This.... This is the Brookland Bridge. This is where she- 'NO!'  I shout to myself. This'll be different, this time I can save her. I look at myself for a second, 'Good, I'm wearing my costume. No one will recognize me, except for her.' I look around again to see if he is here. He isn't. Looks like Doc Ock was too scared to show his face around me again. I finally take the time to see where Gwen is. She and I were on top of the large stony structure of the bridge, where eight large metallic cables were connected to it. 

'She's near the edge! I've got to hurry!' I say to myself as I run towards her in an attempt to get her off this damned bridge. "GWEN! GET AWAY FROM THERE!" I shout as I get closer to her. She finally seems to take notice of my existence, and she looks at me, fear written all over her beautiful face. 'I can't fail her. I WON'T fail her!'. As I get closer to her however, my spider senses activate, and my ears home in on the all familiar sounds of a bomb getting ready to detonate. Before I could reach her, the bombs detonate, and the force of the explosion pushes her off the bridge. It's happening all over again.... 

'Maybe I can catch her safely this time. I need to try!' I run faster than before, and I jump off the bridge, right where she fell. I'm diving down the air as fast as I could towards Gwen, towards the woman I care so much about. I haven't truly told her how much I love her, how much she truly means to me. But that can wait, right now I need to reach her. 

I aim my right web shooter towards her falling figure. 'Maybe I can catch her with my webs.' I say to myself in a hopeful manner. I press the trigger of my web shooter and- 'Nothing came out!!?' I say in an extreme panic. Shes falling faster now, faster than ever before. 'No, no NO!. This didn't happen before!!'.

I try to dive down faster, but it's no use. Shes too far away.... 

The only thing I could do was watch in horror and despair as she and I fall towards the large body of water. Falling from this height, we are certain to die on impact. 

In a last attempt to save her, I reach my hand out to her, as far as I could humanly do. She in turn does the same thing. "Please!... Please don't go!.... Don't leave me alone!" I yell out. 

It's too late however, as the last thing that I see of her was her gorgeous figure reaching the end of her free-fall and dying on impact. 

"GWEN! NOOOOOOO!" 

My eyes suddenly open in horror as I draw in a loud gasp of air. I stay in my sleeping position, eyes open, until I realize that I was no longer dreaming. I finally make the effort to lift myself off of bed and look around at my surroundings. 'This is my bedroom. I'm in my bedroom. My bedroom in Nevada. I'm not on the Brookland Bridge and Gwen.... She's still gone.' My eyes suddenly get watery, and I press myself to make the effort of not breaking down at six in the morning. I have to be strong, for myself and for my family. Though I wish to God that I could just bawl my eyes out, I really do.... 

Today's Tuesday, which marks the second day of the week and my first day in Jasper High. I couldn't make it on Monday since the school hours were already over by the time I arrived in Jasper. But honestly, I wasn't complaining. I already had to finish a short but boring shift yesterday at K.O Burger. 'Among other things Spidey.' I quickly remind myself about the events that happened after my boring shift. Oh yeah, couldn't forget about those two now, could I?  

Whatever, I'll deal with that problem after school. Walking towards the front entrance of the school, I can see two figures that immediately caught my attention. One of them being a familiar sight, and the other not so much. The kid from yesterday, Raf is his name, and a punk rocker looking girl that was sitting near the front entrance of the school while drawing something on a large piece of sketching paper. 'Huh. Wonder what she's drawing?'. 

Yeah, Raf.... Had to have a long talk with him yesterday about what he saw me do and those giant robots he saw while I was walking him home. He's a good enough kid at least that he promised me that he wouldn't tale on me to others about my alter ego and my powers. Unsurprisingly, he caught on pretty quickly that I was Spider-man. Says that the only other person who could do that was New York's finest vigilante. He's apparently huge fan of what I do, says that he'd watched all possible video sightings of me doing my thing. Raf said that he wished that there were more people like me out in the world, and honestly, it warms my heart to no extent after hearing him say that. 

His genuine awe and love for what I do feels better than what any large paycheck or glory could ever do for me. 

School had been pretty normal today for the most part, though if felt duller than usual without my friends from New York. No one really paid me any piece of mind other than Raf, that punk rocker girl, and some douchey, ginger haired looking guy. The punk rocker, Miko I think is her name, would sometimes sneak in some side glances when she thought that I wasn't looking. 'Must be because I'm new here or something.'. 

As for Mr. Smugface, Vince I think, he knew for a fact that I was new to this school and tried his hardest today to tick me off today. As much as I wanted to tell him off, I knew I couldn't just lash out on him, especially on my first day of school. So, I tried my best to pay him no mind. 'Ok, remember Jack. Great power, great responsibility. Great power, great responsibility.'. I say mentally to calm myself down.

Stepping outside of the school from the front entrance, I look to my right and spot Raf at the far end of the sidewalk waving for me to come to him. Having a sense of obligation towards the kid, I oblige. When I get within speaking range of Raf, he immediately speaks up. "So, what do you plan on doing today, Jack? Are you going to investigate those robots we saw yesterday?" Raf questioned. I made sure to quickly shush him about speaking too loudly about the topic, but not too harshly as to not hurt Raf's feelings.

"Hey Raf? Let's just keep what we saw yesterday between us, okay?" I speak in a hushed tone. "We can't have people freaking out about giant killer robots. It wouldn't solve anything." I explain to Raf. 

"O-oh, right. I'm sorry Jack." Raf said apologetically.

"No worries Raf. Let's just hop-HONK HONK!

The loud honk of a car suddenly draws me and Raf's attention toward the source of the noise. And wouldn't you know it, it was the same yellow sports car from yesterday. 'Just my luck.' I say to myself sarcastically. 

The yellow sports car comes to a complete stop next to me and Raf. It's right passenger door suddenly opens, and a series of beeps emits from the yellow disguised robot. I stare at the car blankly, "Look, we appreciate the gesture, but I meant what I said yesterday.".

Raf suddenly speaks up, "Come on Jack. If he really wanted to hurt us, wouldn't he have done so yesterday while we had our backs turned to them?". He.... makes a good point. And if this robot wanted to pull any sort of trick on us now, my spider senses would have been going off already. Still, that doesn't mean I completely trust this whole situation. 

"So, he wants us to get in?" I ask Raf.

"No, just me. Your ride is over there." Raf explained as he pointed to the small parking space in front of the school. I looked at where his finger was pointed and immediately spot an all too familiar cobalt blue motorcycle. 'Great, they’re both here.'  another sarcastic thought goes off in my head. 

"How do you know?" I questioned Raf as I continued to keep my eyes on the motorcycle.

"He told me." Raf answers blankly. Though, his voice did sound a little muffled then it normally would. I looked back around to see Raf sitting within the yellow car, on the backside seats. Before I could react, the doors suddenly closed, and the yellow sports car sped off into the distance.  

"HEY!" I yell towards the speeding car. 'Damn it, he's going to get himself hurt.' As I started to walk towards where Raf and his new friend had sped off to, I look at the corner of my eye to see that the blue motorcycle was now slowly following me. 'I'll have to see where this goes.' I say to myself as I make the effort to go into the nearest alleyway and turn invisible to see her true intentions. 

Unbeknownst to Jack and Arcee, the punk rocker girl Miko, was hastily following the both of them, trying to get a cool sketch of Arcee's alt form. Unknowing to the fact that what she would find within that alleyway would change the course of her entire life. 

As soon as I entered the nearest alleyway, I camouflaged myself and stuck myself onto a wall, getting ready for the arrival of the suspicious motorcycle. And just as I had predicated, she came to my hiding spot, unable to immediately spot me. "Kid? Kid where are you? Look, you can relax. I just want to talk." She stated. 

"I've also heard that before." I call out, catching her by surprise based on the slight flinch of her alt form.

"Where are you?" she asked while deactivating the human hologram that was sitting on top of her. 

"Uh, just hanging around." I said, failing miserably to contain the stupid pun.

"Look, you don't have to hide. I meant it when I said that I was just going to bring you back to base for questioning." the blue motorcycle said as she started to look around her surroundings for me. 

"If that's true, then why were you getting ready to attack me yesterday?" I questioned, still invisible and sticking on a wall. The femme motorcycle then sighed (robots can sigh!?).

"You... reminded me of someone." She stated, with a tinge of pain in her voice. 'Huh, hope I don't ever have to meet who I reminded her of.' I mentally prayed for myself. 

For some reason, her explanation suddenly caused me to get off the wall and land in front of her, deactivating my invisibility. That made her back off slightly in surprise.

"Anymore tricks you got up your sleeves?" she asked sternly and curiously.

"Yeah, I've got a few more if you're willing to note it down." I joked while walking past her down from where I entered the alleyway. I soon stopped when I heard the sounds of metal shifting and moving. I looked back to see that she was now fully transformed into her robot form while staying in a kneeled position.

"Look, Jack, is it? I know you have a lot of questions. And I know that most of all, you want them answered. But for that to happen, you have to come with me back to base." She explained in a stern voice while looking at me with furrowed eyes.

"Why? So that I could become your spider zoo animal for study?" I retaliated back.  

"No Jack. You may be in danger because you are one of the few, one of the only few who had ever seen us. Which is exactly while Optimus Prime has requested your presence." She stated seriously as she got closer to my figure. I backed off slightly and a question immediately came to mind. 

"Optimus who?" I asked. Suddenly-

"Dude what are you waiting for! Go with!" a girl's voice called out from behind us. 

Me and the femme bot looked at the girl in question, and she looked way to excited for her own good. Wait a minute.... Isn't that Miko?

Only one thing came to mind as I talked in the 'I just got caught red-handed.' tone of voice. 

"Scrap."/"Shit." me and the femme bot both voiced out at the same time. Wait, maybe she doesn't know that I'm Spi-

"And the way you turned invisible like Spider-man was so cool dude!! You have to teach me that!!" she excitedly stated as she started to jump up and down like she was hyper on sugar. 

"Double scrap."/"Double shit." we both voiced again. 

Autobot Headquarters 

"I still can't believe that you're allowing these human civilians to just waltz right into our base." Ratchet groaned from his usual working area. He was never really fond of humankind as a whole, he mostly viewed them as primitive organics screaming at each other over the stupidest things. 

"These humans will be in constant danger by the Decepticons unless we have them under our care." the Prime stated to his oldest friend. "And if what Arcee and Bumblebee reported yesterday was true, then the Decepticons will stop at nothing to terminate Jackson Darby's life." The old medic scoffed at the Prime.

"Surely you of all people don't believe that this human child possesses powers strong enough to destroy a Vehicon in one punch." Ratchet retaliated. 

"I trust the observations of my second-in-command and my scout. They would not have made such report if it weren't true." Optimus said in his usual stoic and reverberating voice while putting his servo on Ratchet's shoulder. Optimus then let go of the old field medic and began to make his way back into his quarters. 

"I'll believe it when I see it." Ratchet muttered under his breath before returning back to his work. He then heard the noises of two familiar engines coming through the entrance of their hidden base. Arcee and Bumblebee have returned with the humans that Optimus Prime has requested to be brought to base, including one additional human that the Prime hasn't mentioned. 

When she mentioned having to be taken to a base, I didn't think she meant something like this. This place is huge! Seriously, I've seen New York warehouses smaller than this place. 

The only thing going through my mind as we drove further into the base was- "Woah." Miko gasped in amazement. 'Yup. Took the words right out of my mouth Miko.'

When we finally drove into what looked like the common area of their base, I spotted two more gigantic robots. The one near some sort of green monitor had a white and orange color scheme over his armor plates. While the other, much larger (Yes, there are robots much larger than the one I'm currently one) robot was near a catwalk. He had a dark green and black color scheme over his armor plates. Honestly, this is unlike anything I had ever seen before. 

When we finally came to a stop, me and Miko got off the blue motorcycle while Raf exited the yellow sports car. Staring before us was the green bot I had seen when entering the base. "I thought there were two." the white and orange bot questioned. 

"Haven't you heard? Humans multiply." the blue femme bot joked. At least I think she joked.... 'Did she think humans performed mitosis!?'.

"I'm Raf." he greeted while looking at the yellow bot.

"I'm Miko. What's your name?" She greeted to the green bot while running over to him.

"Bulkhead." the green bot responded sorta timidly. 'Bulkhead huh. Honestly, it's a pretty cool name.'

She then proceeded to bombard the poor bot with multiple questions, making him look uncomfortable. 

"So, if you guys are robots, who made you?" Raf asked while looking towards the now frowning white and orange bot.

Said bot then scoffed heavily, "Pu-lease!". 'Uh, ok. Rude much?'.

Before any more questions could be asked, me, Miko, and Raf both heard and felt large footsteps coming from behind us. Kinda reminds me when I had my first fight with Rhino, and my second fight, and my third fight.... Seriously, who decides to make a man that gigantic then stuff him into a heavily weaponized mechanical rhino suit! 

Looking behind us, I get a good view of the approaching bot. He is, by far, the largest one out of the other four robots I've met. Looking at the color scheme of his armor plates, I see two all familiar colors. 'Ohhh. Looks like someone's a fan. He's only missing the spider-logo.' I teased at the large red and blue bot mentally. 

"We are autonomism robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron. Also known as Autobots." said the red and blue bot with a deep and stoic voice. Wait.... 

Robotic organisms? From a planet called Cybertron? Are they.... Aliens?

I step towards the larger bot in front of me and decide to finally ask him the question that's been on my mind for the past day. "Why are you here?". 

"To protect your planet from the Decepticons." He stated.

"The jokers who tried to offline us last night." the blue femme bot added in. Are these "Decepticons" of the same species as these guys? Why are they even on Earth to begin with? Were they also living being like the Autobots?.... 

"Wait. A-are the Decepticons also from Cybertron?' I ask the stoic bot.

"Yes, both Autobots and Decepticons are of the same species. Cybertonians to be exact." The red and blue bot stated. His answer hit me like a freight train. D-did I kill a living being yesterday? I-I have to know.

"The Decepticon, that I attacked yesterday, w-was he a living being?" I ask no one in particular.

"You mean the Vehicon?" the blue one said. "Not exactly.". What the hell does she mean by 'Not exactly.'?

She sees the confusion on my face, and with a roll of her eyes she begins to explain. "Vehicons aren't born the way all Autobots and Decepticons are. They're manufactured, created for the sole purpose of being Decepticon foot soldiers and miners. They're sparks were manufactured, and they had minor personality chips installed within them so that they wouldn't be totally mindless." the blue Autobot finishes, then looks at me with a skeptical look and asks me "Why do you ask?".

"I... I just wanted to make sure I that didn't actually kill a living being yesterday." I tell the femme Autobot. For a moment, she seemed surprised by my response, before she returned back to her "Tough guy" face. Deciding to get back on topic, I ask the red and blue Autobot another question. 

"O-okay, why are they here? The Decepticons I mean.". He began to take a kneeling position in order for me and him to have a more eye-to-eye conversation. He began to explain how the planet Cybertron became uninhabitable due to the many centuries of fighting between the Autobots and the Decepticons. It had gotten to a point where their most important fuel and lifeforce, energon, had become heavily depleted and almost barren on Cybertron. As it turns out, Earth has many of these "energon mines" that can be mined and used as their source of fuel and energy. The war on Cybertron was not just a fight for dominance over the control of their entire planet, but dominance over their very lifeforce too. 

He then began to mention someone, a powerful Decepticon warlord that went by the name Megatron. 

This.... This is a lot to process. There have been aliens living amongst us on Earth for years, apparently mining a fuel source that humans somehow haven't even discovered before. And it's been happening right under our noses this whole time. Could this have been for the best of humanity? Would it have been better for humankind to just not know anything about a potential alien invasion? Well, if the Decepticons are mostly here on Earth to mine energon, then why go after humans?

"So, what does Megatron or any of this have to do with us?" I ask large bot in front of me. 

"Megatron has not been seen or heard from for some time. If his return is imminent, as I fear, it could be catastrophic.". Catastrophic? 

"For humanity or for the Autobots?" I ask rather worried. The large red and blue bot began to stand back up.

With a look down, towards me, he simply answers "Both." his tone taking on a more serious depth to it. 

Oh... Oh my God. 

My sudden state of worry about the revelation that I've been told about my planet suddenly halts when I hear a loud "ahem!" coming from one of the Autobots. I turn to look at the blue femme bot who is now crossing both of her arms while putting more weight into standing on her left leg.

She glares at me and says "Alright Jack, we've answered your questions. Now it's time you answer ours." She continues to glare at me, making me suddenly feel more uncomfortable. 

I look around the base to see that everyone, Autobot and human, is now staring intently at me. 'As if I didn't already feel like a zoo animal yesterday.'.

"I-I don't know guys. It's a pretty long story." I say sheepishly as I start to rub the back of my neck, hoping that they would buy the excuse.

"Don't worry, we have all day." the femme bot said coldly as she somehow glares even harder into my skull. 'Damn, if looks could kill, I'd probably drop dead already.'. 

"L-look, I don't even know your names. How can I even trust you with information like this." I say almost timidly to all the Autobots in the room. Dammit, why do I feel so scared right now?

"My name is Optimus Prime, I am the founder and the leader of the Autobots. I believe that you have already met Arcee and Bumblebee from your encounter with them yesterday." the Prime says while pointing to the two bots I met prior. 'Arcee and Bumblebee huh, strange names. Still cool though.'.

Optimus then points to the white and orange Autobot, "His name is Ratchet. He is our team's medic and one of my oldest friends." the Prime proudly states as the medic in question smiles for a brief second before returning to a scowl. Then, turning to Bulkhead, Optimus begins to introduce the big green bot until he gets interrupted by a loud certain someone. 

"His name is Bulkhead!! And he's the coolest and strongest looking Autobot I've ever seen in my entire life!!!" Miko shouts as she begins to show off Bulkhead to us as if he were a famous celebrity. All Bulkhead could do was look at Miko nervously before looking back at us, silently asking for help for his current celebrity situation. I almost want to laugh if not for the fact that I had to reveal how I had gotten my powers, as well as my secret identity. 

Looking back at Optimus, I try to make the decision on whether or not I should just bail out of here. Then I suddenly feel something gently grab ahold of my hand. I look back to see Raf, gently smiling at me, as if he were telling me that everything was going to be alright. His silent support gives me the confidence I needed. As far as I know, most of the people in this room already know about my powers. And the people who haven't seen it, say Ratchet, Bulkhead, and Optimus, have probably already gotten reports of me using my powers to destroy that Decepticon from yesterday. 

Optimus looks like a trustworthy enough bot. After all, he and I do share the same colors. 

"Optimus, do I have your word that whatever I say in this room, stays in this room?" I ask as I wait in anticipation for the Prime's response. He kneels down to me once more and looks at me straight in the eyes.

"Jackson Darby, you have my word that everything said in this room by you will never see the light of day." the Prime says in his deep and reverberating voice, vibrating the bones within my body. I nod and smile at Optimus' response, then I look toward the rest of the room, awaiting their answers too. 

It took a minute before they began to speak up. "Jack, I promise we won't tell anybody. Right Miko?" Raf says as he gives the hyper talkative punk rocker a side glance.

Miko looks at me and smiles, "My lips are sealed dude." she says while making the lips zipping gesture. 'I hope she actually means it.'.

"I think this stuffs' a load of hooey, but I'll keep this a secret if it'll make you feel better." Bulkhead expressed. Ratchet on the other hand scoffs loudly and crosses his arms while turning his head slightly away as to not have me in his line of sight. 'I'll take that as a gesture of agreement.'. I look toward the two remaining Autobots that have yet to answer. 

Bumblebee beeps and nods in agreement to my request, then turns his head towards Arcee to see if she shares the same testament. Arcee looks at Bumblebee for a moment, then looks back at me, uncertainty stretched across her face.

It took a moment before she finally lessened her glare at me and answered, "I won't tell a single spark." she promised, looking a little less tense than before. With that out of the way, I begin to tell my greatest story.

The story of how it all began. 

ESU Science Center - Two Years Ago

Todays the day. Today's finally the day!

My high school finally gets the chance to have a free field trip to ESU's science center! And the top scientists working on neo-genetics are going to be there presenting their newest innovation, including Dr. Kurt Connors. Though, my best friends Harry and Eddie don't really seem to share the same testament. Now that I think about it, neither does most of my classmates.... 

Whatever, it's their loss. I get to know more about their latest genetically modified spider project. I've never really considered myself a full-on "Science nerd", but I would be lying if I said I wasn't interested in the study of neo-genetics. Rumor has it that Dr. Connors is working on another neo-genetics project, one regarding reptilian DNA. The rumors say that Dr. Connors is trying to create some sort of serum using reptilian DNA that could have potential to regrow lost limbs. If that isn't Nobel Peace Prize worthy, then I don't know what is.

"C'mon bro. Don't tell me you actually believe in all of this crap." Eddie says while wrapping one arm around my neck. 'Eddie Brock, always the man of little faith.' I say to myself as I scoff mentally. 

"Dude. Do you really think they'd set up and event this big if it was all just a ruse to get them on the front of a crummy news channel." I scoffed while throwing in a small smirk towards Eddie.

"I'm just saying bro. Genetically modified spiders? What are they gonna announce next, genetically modified horses to make us run faster?" Eddie sarcastically jokes. 'Now that he mentions it, that wouldn't be a bad idea at all.' I mentally note to myself. 

"Y'know, I could make that happen when I become CEO just to spite you, Eddie." Harry says as he suddenly butts into the conversation.

"Yeah, yeah, shuddup." Eddie joking said while removing his arm from me. We all continue to walk towards the exhibit, where they plan on presenting the modified spiders. Me and my friends walk together in a group, Eddie on my left, Harry on my right, and myself in the middle of those two. Though, we seem to be missing one more person in our group, Gwen. 

She would be here with us, joking and laughing if it weren't for that fact that she has an internship with Oscorp. More specifically, an internship with Dr. Connors himself. Yup, she's around my age, only older than me by three months, and she already has an internship with one of the smartest people in New York. She said that Dr. Connors described her to having a bright future ahead of her. And honestly, I couldn't be prouder of her. Though I would be lying if I said that I weren't at least a little bit jealous of her. 

As we finally reach our way to the exhibit, we stand here waiting for the arrival Dr. Connors and his assistant, Gwen Stacy. 'They should be here any minute now.' I say mentally as I begin to take a look at the already set up exhibit. There seemed to be 15 clear, medium sized cases all stacked on top of each other. Each of them containing some small sticks, leaves, webbing, and one small spider either scurrying around their case or just staying still. Now that I have a closer look at the spiders, they all seem to have their own unique color pallets. Some white and pink, some black and red, and the rest were red and blue. 'Huh, that's pretty neat. Wish I could be as stylish as those spiders.' 

Suddenly, we hear a gentle, but loud voice welcoming me and my classmates. "Hello, students of Midtown High! It is a great honor to have you all here today to witness Oscorp's latest innovation in neo-genetics. My name is Dr. Kurtis Connors, and this lovely young lady here is my assistant, Gwen Stacy." the doctor introduced her to us as Gwen began to smile and wave nervously. 

Some girls in the crowd began cheering as she was being introduced. Me, Harry, and Eddie began waving very obviously towards Gwen. She caught sight of me waving at her, and she began to tense a little less. Gwen quietly mouthed "Hi Jack." as she and I made eye contact. My cheeks start to heat up as I continue to make eye contact with her. 'Man, she looks good with a lab coat on.'.

A shoulder nudge on my left side snaps me out of my naughty state of mind, and I turn my head to the left to see none other than Eddie Brock Jr. smirking at me while moving his eyebrows in an up and down motion. "Keep that up and I might just have to wed you two on the spot." Eddie mocked at me.

With a 'tsk' I glare at him a little, "I-it's not like that. Me and Gwen are just friends." I state, feeling a bit bitter on the inside after saying that.

"Yeah, sure. And I'm the pope." Eddie exclaimed while looking back at the exhibit. 

"Thank you, thank you." Dr. Connors said calmly as the claps and cheering died down. "What we have here before you today is the latest, and most promising, neo-genetics project. Genetically modified super spiders." small sounding claps erupted from my group after the revelation. "After six, long years of study and research, me and my team, along with the help of Oscorp, have created these batch of modified spiders in order to help change the course of human biology." Wait, change human biology? 'Could these spiders turn humans into giant spider creatures?'.

"How, may you ask? You see, the venom produced by the spiders are what allow the changes to occur in the first place." the doctor said as he turned on a medium sized monitor to show us a well set up presentation about the spider venom's successful results. "The venom changes the human DNA structure at a molecular level, allowing for some quite fascinating changes such as increased strength, agility, durability, speed, senses." the doctor explained in a professional manner. Though, I could tell that he was trying to hide his excitement about this scientific breakthrough. 

"Imagine what this could do for people who are born with physically inhibiting conditions, or for our soldiers who fight bravely for our country." Yeah, I could imagine a few scenarios, most of them not being very pleasant. "And these 15 spiders are only the first batch of-

"14 sir." Gwen spoke up.

"Pardon me?" Dr. Connors asked politely as he turned to his assistant.

"T-there are only 14 of them s-sir." Gwen nervously spoke to the doctor as she pointed towards the empty case. Dr. Connors went to where she was pointing at to get a better look. Actually, now that I see it, there are only 14 spiders. Where's the 15th?

"Hmm, very strange. The 15th must have been forgotten back at the lab, after all, they are such small creatures." Dr. Connors said as he continued to look into the empty case. "Do not worry yourself Ms. Stacy, mistakes can happen, even to the best of us." the doctor comforted Gwen before he went back to his speech. However, I found myself not really paying attention anymore. I found myself mostly thinking about where that 15th spider could have gone. Is it crawling around in here? That would be pretty cool, and also dangerous.

Hey, what if it bites Harry at some point? Man, that would be hilari-OW!

I suddenly felt a sharp stinging feeling on the back of my neck. I yell out in pain and slap the spot out of reflex for a brief moment. I look back at my hand to see if I caught anything. Nothing....

I felt a tap on my shoulder, I look back to see that Harry was looking at me with concern. "Hey man, you alright?" he asked. I look around me for a brief moment to see that some people were staring back at me, some snickering and laughing. Dr. Connors paid no mind as he continued with his presentation. Though Gwen, she looked at me with concern while trying her best not to seem distracted in front of Dr. Connors. 

"Y-yeah, just felt something painful is all." I say while rubbing the back of my neck. Man, it still feels pretty sore.

Eddie chuckled a bit, "How're you supposed to ask Gwen out when you scream like a little girl." he teased.

Harry then spoke, "C'mon Eddie, you know how he gets when you mention Gwen like that.".

I was about to thank Harry when he spoke again, "If you keep teasing him like that, he'll make me his best man during his wedding." Harry and Eddie began laughing together as quietly as they could. All the while I immediately changed my small smile into a heavy pout.

"Har Har you guys." was all I said before I looked back at the ongoing presentation. 

So much for friends. 

After the field trip was over, I called for my Uncle Ben to pick me up. I was feeling a little dizzy for some reason, so the conversation between me and my Uncle Ben was light on the drive back home. When I returned home, I immediately made my way to my room, not even caring to have lunch. I wasn't feeling hungry, just tired....

As I closed my bedroom door, I immediately took off my hoodie and shirt and slammed myself onto bed, not even bothering to take my jeans off. I'll wear my home clothes later, I.... I just need some rest..... 

I was having a nightmare, there's no way I wasn't. Everything was dark around me, nothing but pitch black for miles. It was cold too, so cold.... 

I looked around for any sign of life. None. None that I could see anyway. 

So, I began to walk forward. Where? I don't know, all I knew was that I couldn't just sit around here in the pitch-black void and do nothing. So, I kept on walking as far up as I could. Each step feeling heavier than the last. I kept walking at a steady pace until I heard a hellish roar of some kind coming from behind me.  

Wasting no time to analyze what had roared at me or if the creature was even behind me at all, I started making a B line out of here. Whatever it was, it kept roaring, and it most definitely was behind me as I heard its hellish roars coming closer and closer to me. I kept running until I fell into a large pit. I screamed in terror as I expected to be flattened the moment I hit the ground. It was until my body landed on something sticky, yet bouncy that I stopped screaming and took a look around. 

I landed on a large spider web, the ones that flies and other small insects usually get stuck on before they get eaten by the spider that made the web. Wait.... OH SHIT!!!! 

I frantically began to move my limbs to no avail. 'I don't want to be eaten alive!! Please don't let me get eaten alive!!' I mentally panicked. Suddenly, I felt the movement of another creature on the spider web. I looked to my right to see a grotesquely large, hairy spider make its way toward me. I'm so dead.... 

I couldn't even move my limbs anymore as I felt my whole body go limp. All I could feel was pure fear as the spider creature finally made its way to me. It began looking at me intently with its many eyes, analyzing its prey/dinner. 

"Uhhhhh, g-good spider?" I nervously worded out. As if I offended it, the spider began to show its large, sharp fangs. Without a second to lose, its fangs dug deep into my abdomen, easily tearing off the flesh and organs of my body. 

AAAHHHHH!!!!- I screamed out in terror and pain as I jumped high out of bed with a cold sweat. It took a second for me to realize that I was back in my room before I looked back at where the beast at striked me. Nothing. No bite wound or slash. 

"Phew." I blew out. Just a stupid nightmare, nothing to be..... 

Why is everything upside-down? It took me a minute before I realized that I was hanging on the celling. I began to panic, I tried to move my hands and feet off the ceiling, desperately trying to get back on solid ground. The ceiling began to chip off, bits and pieces of it falling onto my face. 'Shit! What's happening!? Why can't I get off!?' I mentally panicked. 

KNOCK KNOCK "Jack? Are you alright in there?" My Uncle Ben asked through my closed door.

I had to make up something, and quick! "I-uhh, I'm just changing my clothes Uncle Ben. N-nothing serious, promise!” I shouted out. Please buy it, please buy it, please bu-

"Uh, alright. I was just checking, I heard some grunting in there. I noticed that you weren't feeling so good yesterday, so I thought to check up on you." my Uncle Ben innocently said. Bless this man. Wait! How long have I been asleep!?

"T-thanks Uncle Ben, but I'm fine now. Just had a little headache yesterday." I said in an almost calmed tone before I heard my Uncle Ben walk off, away from my bedroom door. Okay, now that that's out of the way, time to get off t-THUD! 

My hands and feet suddenly unstuck from the ceiling, causing me to fall onto the cold, hard floor. 'At least I got off.' I said to myself as I started to rub my sore spots. I looked at the large mirror hanging on my door to check for any bruises before I began to take notice of something. H-have I always been this muscular?

No.... there's no way. I'm not a huge gym rat like Eddie, so I haven't been to the gym all that much. So why do I have a six pack!? Now that I think about it, all of my other muscles are larger and more defined as well. T-this has to be a joke, how could I look so muscular? I looked around my room, for any sign of an answer. That was when something colorful caught my eyes. On the floor, next to my discarded clothes, was a brightly colored red and blue spider. The same type of spider that was presented at ESU's Science Center yesterday. It was dead....

Wait, that sharp pain I felt from yesterday. Could it have been from the spider? 'The venom changes the human DNA structure at a molecular level, allowing for some quite fascinating changes such as increased strength, agility, durability, speed, senses.' Dr. Connors' explanation of the spider's special venom plays back into my mind. Making me internally panic. 

"Jack! Hurry up, you're going to be late for school!" my Aunt May shouted from downstairs. 

This.... This is going to be a problem. 

Autobot Headquarters - Present Day

"From then, I began to discover more of my powers." I explained to everyone in the room. "I found out that I was much stronger than before, being able to hold thousands of pounds and punch through stone and metal like it was nothing." Miko and Raf woahed in amazement, listening very intently. Optimus was staring at me stoically yet interested enough to continue listening to my story. The other Autobots were doing the same, especially Arcee, until Ratchet spoke up. 

"Pu-lease!" he scoffed loudly. "Do you really expect us to believe that you gained superpowers from something as simple as a spider bite? And from human technology of all things!?" the medic exclaimed.

"Dude! What's your problem!" Miko shouted at the grumpy medic. "You clearly haven't seen him on the news like we have!" Miko continued. 

"Your human news system can be full of lies and deceit!" Ratchet argued back at the now angry punk rocker. To stop this argument from getting any worse, I shoot out a web line from my left web shooter at a large, empty metallic crate. With all of my strength from both arms, I throw the crate across the room, at an empty part of the base. 

I look back at the Autobots and my human friends just in time to see their shock. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Ratchet looked at me with wide eyes and open mouths. Bumblebee and Optimus' eyes were wide open in surprise and shock as well. Miko and Raf stared at me with the biggest grins I'd ever seen on a human being. Miko was practically shaking in excitement.

"See! I told you he was that strong! In your face!" Miko said, rubbing it in at the still shocked medic. 

"I.... may have underestimated your powers." Ratchet said in a whispered tone. 

"Ok, now that we're done with our show-and-tell, it's time we talk about something that's been on my mind these past few minutes." I say while looking at Optimus. The Prime walked closer to me and once again knelt down to eye level for me. 

"What may that be, Jack?" Optimus questioned. 

"My involvement in your war." I said sternly while looking at Optimus in the eyes.

The Nemesis - Outer Space

Starscream looked intently at the purple monitors located within the main cockpit of the Nemesis. He somehow felt a strong sense of power and leadership over the Decepticons while looking over the main monitors of the Nemesis. It somehow made him feel in control over the large army of merciless Decepticons. That was, until Soundwave came walking towards him slowly, bearing great news for the Decepticons.

It was transmission signals, emanating from deep space. Which meant that his return was closer than ever. Though for Starscream, he wished upon the Allspark that it weren't so. 

"I would hate to waste the energon. Unless you are absolutely certain." Starscream said to the eyes and ears of the Decepticons, trying desperately to gaslight him. 

A simple nod from Soundwave was all it took to dismiss Starscream's attempt. Which rewarded Soundwave with a sigh of disappointment from Starscream. The now disappointed Starscream looked at the Vehicon who was in control of their spacebridge. "Then lock on transmission coordinates and activate the spacebridge." Starscream said coldly to Vehicon solider. 

With a click of a few buttons, the Decepticons' large spacebridge opened with a large green swirl of energy. Emerging from the spacebridge portal was a large, silver and purple colored cybertonian jet. When the large jet finally fully emerged from the portal, the jet began to transform into the large figure of Megatron.

"DECEPTICONS!!!" shouted the mighty cybertontian warlord. 

 "I have returned."

Chapter Text

"WHAT!" shouted the Autobot medic. "What do you mean your involvement?! There is no 'your involvement'!! It is bad enough that we have to keep you three here under our protection." Ratchet continued to shout at me. 

"So, what do you suggest I do? Just sit back and relax while my whole planet goes to hell!?" I argue back at the rude medic. "As far as I can see, it's only the five of you here on Earth versus an entire army of killer robots. You need my help.".

"Yeah dude, don't be such a buzzkill. I'm living a dream come true here, a Spider-man vs. giant alien robots from outer space showdown! And I'm not going to let you or anyone else in this room ruin it for me." Miko says as she stares angrily at Ratchet. Though I don't really agree with Miko's testament, I'm glad someone here is actually sticking up for me. Ratchet looks back at Optimus, begging for his input on the matter. 

Though, Optimus continues to stare at me, clearly seeing the determination on my face. "Optimus, you cannot seriously be considering such a ridiculous request. These humans have no protective shell, if they underfoot, they will go.... squish!" Ratchet exclaims to the Autobot leader.

Optimus simply replies, "Then for the time being old friend, we must watch where we step.". Ratchet looks back at Optimus, shocked, as if he had just spilled his drink. 'Wait, do they even need to drink?' I mentally question their biology. 

"As for your request Jack, I am afraid that I cannot oblige." Optimus spoke calmly.

"What! Why not? You've seen my strength, what more do I have to prove?" I questioned him. 

"It is not a matter of strength Jack. I have made it evident that neither I nor my fellow Autobots here on Earth will be putting any sort of risk on humankind. I do not wish for any human life to be taken because of their involvement in our war." the Prime explained sternly yet gently. Risk? Sorry Optimus, but I'm afraid that it's a little too late for that. 

"Risk? You want to talk about risk?" I questioned the Prime as I began to step forward to him while pointing to myself. "I've been putting myself at risk for the past two years ever since I've gotten my powers! I've been kicked, punched, stabbed, shot at, thrown around, and crushed all the while I was trying to keep the peace at New York!" I shouted at Optimus as I began to list off the many, many ways that I've been hurt over the past two years. 

Everyone in the room starts to visibly become uncomfortable at my loud ranting towards the Prime. I'm not one to usually lose my cool so easily, but if these guys honestly just expect me to sit back and forget about the imminent danger my planets' in, then they have another thing coming to them. 

I stopped walking when I felt I was close enough to Optimus and continued ranting. "You don't get to lecture me about risk Optimus, especially if what you said about the Decepticons is true. If you want to keep Miko and Raf here, fine by me, their safer here then they are out there." I then heard a loud scoff coming from Miko from behind me. Sorry Miko, but it's true.

Arcee stepped up to me from where she was standing for the past minute, bearing furrowed eyebrows and a large frown on her face. "Listen Jack, this isn't just about you. We're all making an effort here to stop the Decepticons, even risking our own lives just to save your skins. Putting your life, or any human's life at risk isn't going to make this any easier for us." Arcee explain in an angered tone. 

I looked toward Arcee, a little calmer, yet still a bit angry. "Your right Arcee." I said to her, catching her a bit by surprise. "This isn't just about me, it never was just about me. It's about the billions of people here on this planet that's been put at risk by the Decepticons. My home, my friends, my family...." I look toward all the Autobots, seeing a bit of sympathy in their gazes. 

"I've never been one to put my own wellbeing first in front of others. I've always felt the need, the obligation, to put myself at risk just so others could live to see tomorrow." my gaze finds itself on Optimus' face, his face full of contemplation. "It's always been my responsibility to take care of others Optimus, even before I got my powers. But now.... Now I have the chance to truly make a difference, for the better." I continue to stare at Optimus. 

"Please, this is my fight as much as it is your own." I say, my voice much softer then when I first started this argument. For a second, Optimus takes his eyes off of me and looks toward all of his fellow Autobots. Their reactions were mixed, some were nervous, some were angry by my request, and others almost looked like they agreed with me.

Afterwards, Optimus laid his eyes on me once more before he gently said, "I.... Will consider your request Jack.". His response put a small smile on my face, while Miko, Raf, and Bumblebee cheered happily at the Prime's response. 

The same couldn't be said for Ratchet and Arcee. Arcee scoffed slightly in anger before crossing her arms and making her way towards an empty crate to sit on, while Ratchet.... oh boy. 

"Optimus! You cannot be serious right now!" Ratchet shouted in disbelief as followed Optimus to the green monitor. "Even if what he said about facing past dangers were true, the primitive human weapons he survived are nothing compared to what the Decepticons have against us!" Ratchet continued to explain to the Prime as Optimus was currently typing on the monitor. 

"Um, Ratchet?" Raf said, grabbing the attention of the seething Autobot medic and Optimus. "Armed criminals weren't the only dangers Spid-Jack was referring to." Raf explained, sounding almost nervous at the thought of putting his own input toward an angry Ratchet.

"What do you mean?" Bulkhead questioned as he stepped forward slightly toward Raf, his footsteps shaking the ground slightly. 

"Uuhhh, hellooo? Ever checked out New York's most dangerous criminals?" Miko said to Bulkhead, as if it were the most obvious thing for alien robots to do. Bulkhead, Ratchet, and Optimus looked at her quietly, confusion and skepticism written all across their faces. 'Wait.... They do know about Earth's most dangerous supervillains, right?'. I began to question myself mentally if the Autobots even cared to research the planet that they were protecting. 

Raf then spoke up again, "Y-you do know about the most dangerous people on Earth.... Right Bumblebee?" Raf then looked away from the three Autobots in front of him to look at his big yellow friend for a response. All Bumblebee could do was shrug lightly and make various noises, as if he didn't know what to say to the little kid. I looked toward Optimus once more, and to my surprise, he was searching for the descriptions of various supervillains that I've fought before within some sort of government database. Ratchet took notice of this and silently began to watch intently at his friend's research.

Once Optimus found the descriptions of various supervillains, Ratchet began to read them in a whispered tone. "Dr. Kurtis Connors, AKA the Lizard. 32 feet-tall and weighs in about 6,000 pounds in his... mutated reptilian form?" Ratchet read in confusion. Optimus went to the next villain's description and Ratchet read once more.

"Flint Marko, AKA the Sandman. Normally around 5'10 ft tall and weighs in about 210 pounds. Though his height and weight can vary depending on the form he takes when he manifests himself into sand using his-For Primus' sake! How have we not been informed of this before!" Ratchet shouts in disbelief at the very existence of these guys. I jumped onto the catwalk next to Optimus and Ratchet, they both look at me as if they knew the question that I was going to ask them.

"H-how long have you guys been on Earth again?" I ask Optimus and Ratchet.

Before both bots could answer, "Five years." Arcee shouted from her seated position. 

......

Better late than never I guess?

Suddenly, the loud sound of alarms started to blare throughout the base, catching me, Miko, and Raf by surprise, but not the Autobots. Bright, green flashing lights accompanied the sound of the blaring alarm, making the whole scene seem much more problematic. "What is that?" I asked to any Autobot in the room. 'My spider senses haven't gone off before, so what's this all about?'.

Bumblebee steps towards me to the catwalk I was currently on and starts making various noises, as if I actually understood what he was saying like Raf did. A shrug of confusion was all I have the poor yellow Autobot before Raf decided to translate for me. "He says its 'proximity sensors' ". Proximity sensors? That means someone or something is coming towards the base. But who could it be?

Ratchet took command of the monitor and quickly pulled up the base's camera system. "It's Agent Fowler." was all Ratchet said before turning off the cameras. 'Agent Fowler? Who the hell is Age-

Before I could finish my thought, the sound of the base's elevator descending enters my ears. Without a second thought, I activate my natural invisibility from where I was standing and waited for the doors of the descending elevator to open. I heard Ratchet gasp slightly behind me before returning to silence. 'Yeah, that catches everyone off guard the first time. Well, except for Miko.'. 

"Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world. He tends to visit usually when there are issues. It is best that Young Miko and Rafeal do what Jack is doing and hide." Optimus explained as the two children in question begin to take hiding spots away from the view of the elevator. The elevator finally stops, opens its doors, and out steps Agent Fowler. 

Looking at this guy, I could instantly tell that he was government, he even has the suit on and everything. He was a dark-skinned, middle-aged man with a bit of belly and an honest to God sharp jawline. Without showing much fear, if not any, and not even saying as much as a "Hello", the man immediately gets to the point.

"Seven wrecks, 34 fender benders, a three-hour traffic jam, and on a particular note, numerous reports of a speeding motorcycle of unknown make and a black and yellow custom muscle car." Agent Fowler says to the alien team without having stuttered or broken a sweat. 

'Oh boy. This'll turn out great.'. 

Honestly, why am I not surprised that the government is involved in all of this. I mean, if there were going to be a team of aliens of any sort, of course they would have to be monitored by the government. But still, it's a little crazy now that I'm actually here to witness it. 

Agent Fowler began scolding Team Prime angrily, even threatening to bring in U.S military forces into play here. But Optimus, ever the stoically calm, tried his best to calm the seething government agent. Optimus reminded Fowler that he and his team were his best, if not his only chance at ever winning against the Decepticons. Now that I think about it, if feel as if humankind would actually have a chance to fight against the Decepticons, if most superpowered people I knew about weren't crazed, selfish maniacs. 

Bulkhead then, rather passive aggressively, made a statement about how Team Prime knows when to use force, and how much force to use while crushing some metallic doohickey as a demonstration. The destruction of said doohickey also caused Ratchet to lash out for a moment at the poor green bulkbot before Optimus ordered them to quiet down. The small infighting set aside, I began to think more on what Bulkhead had stated earlier, about when to use force and how much of it to use. And that got me thinking, maybe we aren't completely different, me and the Autobots. 

Before I really got into crime fighting, I was just a some 14-year-old kid who seemed to be breaking too much stuff for his age. Doorknobs, car handles, lockers, you name it. And I began to truly wonder to myself, how could I even attempt to become a hero if I was just punching jaws off left and right? I realized at that moment that just because I had the strength to overpower others who were weaker than me, doesn't mean that I always should. I should only ever do so in defense of people who weren't able to defend themselves. 

Sure, the Autbots can be a bit destructive at times. But if they really were just crazed giant machines, then humans would have found out about the existence of cybertontians on Earth a long time ago. I snapped out of my momentary monologue to see that the Agent and the Prime decided to wrap up their heart-to-heart. As Agent Fowler made his way inside the elevator, he said "Then do us both a favor and handle this Prime, under the radar. Or I will." was all that was said from Fowler before the elevator doors closed and ascended back into the outside. 'Huh, wish half the people I met were as fearless as that guy.' 

I deactivated my natural invisibility in time to see Raf and Miko coming out of their hiding spots. Seeing that both Miko and Raf were fine, I turned to look toward Optimus. "So.... The government huh?" I questioned the Prime.

"I am afraid so Jack." was all that was said by Optimus before he walked out of the common area and into a hallway. 

I continued to look at Optimus' departure before I heard the sound of somebody climbing a ladder. Looking towards where the ladder would be, I see Raf climbing up off the ladder first and onto the catwalk I was on, then Miko afterwards. Both kids walked towards me, probably wanting to know more about me and my spectacular adventures. "So, do you think Optimus is actually going to allow you to come with them during mission?" Raf asked in his usual innocent tone. 

"They better, I haven't had a good showdown in a minute." I say while stretching my stiff muscles. Honestly, I haven't had a good web swinging around the city either. Jasper's short buildings aren't really 'Spidey traversal friendly', best I could do is web zip my way across Jasper. 

"Ah! Yep, yep, yep. Optimus hasn't decided on your involvement yet. So, do not start fantasizing about joining us until we've heard from Optimus." Ratchet said in an almost condescending tone. 'If I didn't know any better, I would have assumed Ratchet to be a Decepticon by the way he talks down to humans.'. 

Miko suddenly gasps, as if she had an idea come to her mind. "Oh, oh! Do you have your suit with you! Please tell me you have your suit with you! Can I see!!" Miko shouted in rapid succession while jumping up and down in front of me like a kangaroo. I've meet fangirls before, but compared to them, Mikos' on a whole 'nother level. 

"Your suit?" Arcee suddenly chimes in, raising an eyebrow and looking confused. Deciding to play along, I lift my shirt up to allow them to see my brightly colored red and blue costume. Miko and Raf whoa in amazement while Arcee continues to stand there, blank faced and analyzing my suit. 

"Dude! Thats so cool! How long did it take you to make it!? What's it made out of!? Did you make your suit out of your webs!?" Miko continues to ramble on with her questions until I raise my hands up defensively from the barrage of questions.

"Woah, woah, woah. Are you usually like this Miko?" I ask the hyperactive girl. 

"Like what?" Miko asks innocently. Before I could further explain, I hear the sounds of incoming footsteps. I take a look around to see that Optimus was coming back, looking as stoic as ever. 

"Jack." Optimus called out to me as he made his way in front of the catwalk. I walked closer to him, slightly nervous in anticipation for what he has to say to me. I don't know why, but Optimus seems to have that effect on me. Y'know, like how when your mom calls you by your full name, middle included.

"Yes Optimus?" I say as I await his answer. 

"I have made a decision regarding your involvement in our battles." Optimus' statement made all Autobots and humans within the vicinity to stop what they were doing and look towards their leader. Even Ratchet stopped what he was doing on the monitor to listen to the Prime.

"And what would that be Optimus?" I asked, trying to put on a tough face. 

"Although I would never condone the risk of endangering any human life. I have decided that for the moment, I will allow you to accompany us on our battles.". I felt a heavy weight release off my shoulders, allowing me to breath out a heavy sigh of relief. 'Thank God, I really didn't want to have argue more about this.'.

Most of the Autobots went wide eyed at the Prime's decision, except Bumblebee surprisingly. Bumblebee honestly looked a little happier at Optimus's decision, even letting out some happy sounding beeps. I think it's because I saved him back at that sewer system that he feels this way now. Makes me feel a little prouder about myself.

I looked at Ratchet just in time to catch him giving me an angry glare, as if I manipulated Optimus into making this choice. Just as I thought Ratchet was about to scolded me and Optimus for this decision, it was surprisingly Arcee who decided to speak up. "Optimus, with all due respect, this is a bad idea. Jack doesn't even know the first thing about fighting Decepticons. He's just going to get himself killed out there." Arcee tried to plead to Optimus, only for him to give her that same stoic look he gives everybody. 

"I did destroy that one Decepticon near the highway." I tried to plead for myself.

"You got lucky." Arcee snapped back at me in a cold tone. 

"Enough." Optimus commanded.

"This was not an easy decision for me to make. However, my recent searches of Jack's fight against crime suggests that he has fought many powerful opponents, some even ten times his size, and won." Optimus stated to all of his Autobots. 

"So he beat up a couple of fleshies, big whoop." Bulkhead mocked. 'Man, the Rhino would love to meet you Bulkhead.'.

"That is not the only reason I have allowed his involvement." Optimus slowly turned to face me, and he began to explain.  

"Jack, your determination and your willfulness to stand up against the forces of evil in order to protect others is commendable. And your unwillingness to take another's life, just because you have the power too, is most honorable. Your mentality is that of a true Autobot." Optimus said in a proud and gentle voice. I smile gently at the big friendly giant. 'Wow.... That's honestly the nicest thing somebody has ever said to me about my "second job". It somehow makes me feel all the more important.'.

"Although, my recent studies have made me aware of the fact that you have been fighting alone for the past two years." Optimus said as he put on a sterner expression. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that he was about to explain some Autobot ground rules.... He is going to put up some ground rules for me, isn't he?  

"Me and my fellow Autobots here work as a team, which is why you must do so as well." Optimus explained as he pointed to his team while not breaking eye contact from me. 

"Uhm, s-sure Optimus. Just give me the basic rundown and I'm sure I could be ready to go." I say sheepishly while rubbing my neck. Oh boy, this is going to take some getting used to.

"First and foremost, you must follow my command in here, in battle, and during any missions. Second, we are "Robots in Disguise", meaning that we must not allow ourselves to break cover unless absolutely necessary. And since you will be joining us on some of our missions, that means-

"Already got my suit here Optimus." I say while showing Optimus my iconic red and blues. Optimus takes notice of this, and with a nod he continues. 

"Lastly, you must be willing to work with and communicate with the other members of Team Prime." Optimus then moves slightly from my line of sight to allow me a full view of the other Autobots. The members of Team Prime stare back at me with unease. 'Yeah, me too. But if this is what I have to do to help save my planet, so be it.'. 

"Am I understood Jackson?" Optimus said calmly, yet sternly. 

"Loud and clear Optimus." I say back. With a nod of approval, Optimus walks toward his team, who are all currently grouped up near some large metal crates. Except for Ratchet, who was still working at the monitor.

Miko suddenly jumps in front of me and starts shaking me by my shoulders. "YOUR AN AUTOBOT NOW DUDE! THATS SO COOL!" Miko says excitedly. With a couple of rough pats on her shoulder by me, she realizes that if she continued to shake me like that, I would've vomited radioactive spider puke. She finally let's go of me and calms down a bit.

"I-uhh, I guess I am Miko. Though, I hope I don't regret it later." I say while trying to compose myself from Miko's previous fangirl attack. 

"Too late for outsies dude." Miko said with a sly smirk. 

"Blasted Earth technology." Ratchet shouted from the monitor station. 'Here we go again.'

"Cliffjumper's signal popped back online." Suddenly, Arcee went wide eyed and stood up from where she was just sitting.

"Who's Cliffjumper?" Miko asked. Unfortunately, her question goes unanswered as the Autobots continue to discuss about the sudden reappearance of Cliffjumper's life signal. 'Cliffjumper? Is that another Autobot? Thought there were only five of them here.'. 

I was snapped out of my thoughts when Arcee spoke up, desperation evident in her voice. "If there's any chance Cliff's alive!", Arcee looked up to Optimus for any sort of agreement from her leader. 

"Ratchet, prepare a sick bay. We may need it." Optimus and the others began to walk towards a large device mounted on the wall. "Jack, suit up and prepare for a rescue mission." Optimus said as he activated his battle mask. "Woah, didn't know he had a battle mask. So cool!'.

Without hesitation, I backflipped off the catwalk with ease and into a small, enclosed area where no one could see me change into my Spider-suit. In less than a minute, I fully changed into my iconic costume, and I web zipped up and onto Optimus's right shoulder.

"Hope you don't mind me hitching up a ride for a second." I quip. Optimus nods to me then turns his head toward Ratchet.

"Ratchet, activate the ground bridge." Optimus commanded.

With a few clicks of a button and a flip of a lever, Ratchet activates the device in front of us. What's a gr-Woah..... 

The device in front of us actives, and in an instant, a large green swirling mass of energy glows within the ground bridge. 'They have their own portaling system!! God, how conveniently cool is that.'. "Wait! What can we do?" Miko questioned as she and Raf stood on the catwalk near Ratchet. 

"You two will remain here, with Ratchet." Optimus ordered. With a collective groan coming from Miko and Ratchet, me and the Autobots look toward the bright green ground bridge.

"You-uhh, sure this is safe for humans? The ground bridge I mean." I question to no one in particular as I suddenly start to fear being turned into a deformed, radioactive monster out the other side of that portal. 

"Naturally." was all that Arcee said before she prepared herself to go through the ground bridge. 

"Autobots! Spider-man! Roll out!" Optimus commanded as he and all other Autobots began to transform into their respective vehicle modes and drive into the ground bridge. Without a moment to lose, I aimed both web shooters into the ground bridge and quickly slinged myself into the big green portal. 

Watch out Decepticons, here comes the Spider-man. 

Chapter Text

As me and the Autobots continue to travel through the ground bridge, we finally come to a stop as we all, one by one, start coming out the other side of the portal. Surprisingly, I came out of the ground bridge just fine. 'Looks like Arcee was telling the truth.'. I sigh in relief as I realize that the ground bridge hasn't affected me in any negative way. The last thing I needed was to come back to mom as a giant, man eating spider. 

The Autobots all began to transformer back into their bipedal form and turn their hands into blasters, vigilant and ready for any Decepticons willing to fight them. I also look around for any sigh of Decepticon activity. 'Place looks empty, and my spider senses haven't gone off. Yet.'.

I begin to look around our surroundings, and where exactly we are. It's a huge cave of some kind, and judging by some of the unmanned drills here, it looks like there's also been some activity before we arrived. But the thing that caught my eye the most were these huge, bright blue crystals that protruded out of the walls of the cave. Are these the energon crystals Optimus was talking about? He mentioned that they were normally blue, but I never knew they came in crystal form. Especially in that size too. 

"Energon mine." Bulkhead said in surprise as he lowered his blaster. Optimus and the others also began to lower their blasters. 

"And judging by its scale, the Decepticons have been tunneling here for quite some time." Optimus spoke as he slowly walked his way towards cover. Me and the others soon began to follow our leader until we were all hidden behind a huge stone that served as out cover.  

All that could be heard throughout the mine were the sounds of drilling and lasers cutting energon crystals as the Vehicons worked tirelessly into mining every crystal of energon. "Jeez, talk about unpaid labor." I quipped quietly. Though no one even seemed to bat an eye at my hilarious quip. 'Ok, note to self. Autobots are not fans of dry humor.'.

"So, what's the plan?" I quietly asked my team. 

"Get Cliffjumper and scrap some Decepticon tailpipe." Arcee said in a cold whisper as she stared down at the Vehicons with a look of fury. 

"That is NOT a plan Arcee. How are we going to get through all of these guys?" I say in a whispered worry as I look at Arcee, who still has a look of rage toward the Decepticons.

"Aww, what're you afraid of? Getting a boo-boo bug boy." Bulkhead spoke in a condescending whisper. I glare back at the rude, green Autobot and prepare to retaliate before Optimus spoke.

"Enough you two. We are here to rescue Cliffjumper, not bicker at each other like sparklings." Optimus said, disappointed at our behavior. With a look back at the Decepticons that we have to go through, I start to think of a plan for our best course of action. Juding by their looks, they all seem to be just normal looking Vehicons, nothing really special. But what they don't make up in firepower, they definitely make up in numbers. Suddenly, an idea comes to mind.

"Optimus." I say, grabbing the attention of the Prime and his Autobots. "What if I sneak next to a couple of Vehicons and grab their attention. That would allow you guys the upper hand in a surprise Autobot attack. They wouldn't even know what hit them before it's too late." Optimus looked at me for a second, then looked back at the still working Vehicons. 

"Are you sure you can handle them after you've caught their attention?" Optimus spoke, worried for my wellbeing. 

"Please, that's like asking if I can web sling or not." I say as I immediately used my natural invisibility and started to crawl slowly on the ceiling of the mine, towards the unsuspecting Vehicon miners. 

Slowly but surely, I made my way near a group of Vehicons working on extracting a larger-than-life energon crystal. There was about five Vehicons in total, working on extracting that one energon crystal. Using a single web line, I slowly hang downwards into the small group and plan out my next action. I immediately spot my first two victims, a lone Vehicon near what seems to be a busted-up driller, and another Vehicon tapping away at some data pad. The Vehicon on the data pad was closely behind the Vehicon working on the driller but not looking straight at him. Suddenly, a deliciously funny idea then pops into mind. 

Aiming one of my web shooters at the Vehicon working on the driller, I shoot a web shot on his head, which caused the loud sound of web hitting metal to echo through the whole mine. The web shot Vehicon immediately stopped what he was doing and turned around, all the while rubbing the back of his head. He pointed at the unsuspecting data pad Vehicon and began to speak. 

"Unit V-327, what is your problem!" shouted the now seething Vehicon in a deep robotic voice. V-327 looked up from his data pad and stared at the poor driller Vehicon. 

"Whatever do you speak of V-350?" asked V-327 in a robotically raspy voice. 

"You know exactly what I speak of! Ever since I was promoted into commanding this group through energon mining expeditions, you have been gnawing on my tailpipe nonstop trying to demote me!" yelled V-350. Most Vehicons within the vicinity began to stop their energon mining and stared at the two arguing doofuses as they continued to bicker at each other. 'Now this is true comedy.' I mentally congratulate myself. 

"Well perhaps you shouldn't have demoted me into energon statistics duty! I have to stand here looking at you idiot's work for ten hours straight while I type away at some stupid data pad, when I could be BLASTING SOME AUTOBOTS!!" V-327 then threw his data pad onto the ground and harshly pushed his fellow mining leader. V-350 stumbled backwards a bit before regaining his composure and bawling his hands into fists. 

"I'LL DESTROY YOU!" yelled the angry Vehicon miner leader before he threw himself onto V-327 and began punching the poor Con. Most of the other Vehicons began to run towards the two infighters, trying to break up the wrestle. 'This is my que.'. 

I jumped down from where I was hanging and immediately made my way towards a large metal crate filled with energon crystals, completely unseen or unheard. When I finally reached the crate, I deactivated my invisibility and shot out multiple web lines onto the crate. After I finally had a good grip on my webs and the crate, I started to spin myself, getting ready to throw the crate at the now, larger than before group of Vehicons. 

"HEY BOYS!" I yelled, knowing that I've grabbed the attention of all the Vehicons. "You forgot to take your daily intake of ENERGON!" I ended my sentence by throwing the crate at the shocked purple pinheads. The large energon crate made contact with the group, and like throwing a bowling ball at some bowling pins, they all get hit and thrown onto the ground collectively, as a group. 

"Strike!" I shout out while patting myself on the back for performing such skilled throw. Unfortunately, my mental parade gets interrupted as my spider senses begin to tingle. My senses home in on the sound of blasters getting primed and ready. I look about to see around three Vehicons taking aim at my figure, and without hesitation, they begin to fire. Thanks to my spider senses and my superior dodging skills however, I quickly dodge my way out of the blaster fire and web sling my way towards the trio. 

When I got close enough to one of the Vehicons, I immediately perform a powerful swing kick on his face, knocking him backwards onto the ground. The two standing Vehicons stop firing to look at their fallen brethren in surprise. They've obviously never heard of me before. 

Giving them no time to fire back, I quickly jump on one of the standing Vehicons and start crawling all around his body. The confused Vehicon tries to slap me off of himself, only to miss multiple times and hit himself in the process. "C'mon man, if you want to swat off a Spider-man, then you've got to try harder than that." I mock at the confused Vehicon. 

"Hold still, I'll shoot him off." sounded the second standing Vehicon. He primed his blaster and began to take aim at me.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to point your gun at one of your own?" I quip as I made my way on top of the Vehicon's head.

"H-he's on top of my head. Shoot him!" begged the Vehicon I was on top off. 

"That's really not a goo- My sentence was cut off however as I see my aggressor's blaster begin to glow a bright red. Knowing that he wasn't going to listen I backflip off the Vehicon's head just in time to dodge an energon bolt. Instead of the bolt hitting me, it connected to the head of the unfortunate Vehicon, blowing it to bits. 

"Primus damn it! Stand still bug!" shouted the last standing Vehicon. 

"I would, but it's just sooooo fun to watch you dorks fumble.". The Vehicon didn't take a liking to my response, so he began to charge is blaster again. Instead of dodging it however, I aim both my web shooters into the barrel of his blaster and shoot into it until it was fully clogged. The Vehicon looked at his barrel in confusion, then looked back at me and fired. But instead of an energon bolt shooting out, his blaster exploded, taking off his right arm. 

The Vehicon groaned in pain while looking at his now destroyed right arm. Deciding to finally finish this fight, I shoot out two web lines at each of his feet and drag him to the ground. He does just that and falls to the ground with ease due to my strength. "You ever got ground slammed by a spider before?" I questioned the grounded Vehicon. I immediately jump high into the air, above the grounded Vehicon. 

"Cause right now, your about to!" I said as I shoot out two web lines to the ground and pull myself downwards with great force, towards the Vehicon's head. My legs make contact with his head, denting and destroying the front side of his head completely while also causing a small shockwave to occur, shaking the ground and blowing some dust away. I step away from the group of destroyed Vehicons while dusting my hands off after a good day's work. 

"Alrighty, should be able to cross off "Fighting Aliens" off my bucket list." I quip to myself. Suddenly, I notice the group of Vehicons that I knocked down earlier all slowly start to rise up again. 'Uh oh.'.

Just as I thought that I was going to have to face this group alone, I begin to hear the sounds of blaster fire sounding from far across me. Looking past the Vehicons, I see the entirety of Team Prime shooting at the weakened and unprepared Vehicon soldiers. Optimus, with his left hand as a blaster and his right and a huge blade, began to destroy three Vehicons in quick succession. He shoots the first two quickly to the ground while stabbing the third one in his torso. 

Bumblebee and Bulkhead started to attack four dazed Vehicons. Bumblebee ran forwards with both his blasters primed and shot out a barrage of energon bolts at on Vehicon, completely destroying him. Bulkhead decided to go close and personal with two Vehicons, changing both his hands into giant maces. He slammed and he clobbered both Vehicons directly on their head, absolutely crushing their tiny (compared to Bulkhead's head) cranium. Bumblebee and Bulkhead decided to tag team the last standing Vehicon, much to the Vehicon's terror. Bumblebee uppercutted the Vehicon into the air, and at the same time, Bulkhead grabbed the legs of the midair Vehicon and slammed him into the cold hard ground. With that, the tag-teamed Vehicon went limp and became offline. 

Arcee however, she was on demon time compared to the rest of her team. She took on three Vehicons alone using her swiftness and a fast barrage of attacks. Arcee jumped on the first standing Vehicon's head and she began to spin herself quickly while on top of the Vehicon's head, causing it to rip off. She then jumped off her first victim's body and while midair, kicked the severed Vehicon head toward her second victim. The severed head hits the second Vehicon on his head, causing him to stumble back onto the ground. Arcee used that to her advantage by jumping onto the fallen Vehicon and activating a wrist blade on her left arm. With a loud cry of rage, she sliced the Vehicon's chest vertically, then shoved her right arm inside the Vehicon's open chest. In less than a second, she brought her right arm back out, ripping out the poor Vehicon's artificial spark and throwing it to the ground.

Arcee looked to her right to see the last standing Vehicon staring at her in complete horror. Instead of fighting her, the Vehicon began to run the opposite direction of where Arcee was. Arcee simply stood up, transformed her left hand into a blaster, and with a couple seconds of aiming, she shot the fleeing Vehicon's head to pieces. 'God damn, talk about brutal.'. Kind of scary to think that I was almost on the other side of her blaster the first time we met. 

After all the Vehicons in the area were destroyed, we all came towards each other to discuss our next move. Coming closer to Arcee, I saw that both her hands were completely covered in energon. 'Right, energon is like the cybertonian equivalent to blood.' I said mentally as I stared at Arcee's hands in a bit of shock. 

Optimus spoke up first. "Is anyone hurt?" the Prime asked in worry. After seeing everybody shake their heads, he turned to face me. "Spider-man, good job on distracting the enemies. This battle may have been much more difficult if it were not for your distraction." Optimus congratulated. 

"Yeah, and thanks for putting on a show with those two blockheads from earlier. Always love to see Vehicons fumble." Bulkhead also congratulated. 'Huh, finally warming up to me now are you Bulkhead?'.

"The mission isn't over yet. We still have to rescue Cliffjumper." Arcee said, sounding restless despite the scene she was putting on earlier. 

"Agreed. Autobots, there is an entry point towards this end of the mine." Optimus stated as he pointed to the clearly lit entry point. "Perhaps they have taken Cliffjumper hostage over there." Optimus continued. 

Without a moment to lose, we all begin to make our way toward the entry point on foot, except for me. In a huge mine like this, I prefer to web sling my towards things. 

We finally make our way through the entry point and to our luck, there happens to be a bunch of large metal crates stacked on top of each other. A perfect hiding spot if I don't say so myself. Each Autobot and myself included began to hide behind the large, stacked crates. From where we were hiding, it seemed like we were on one of the lowest floors of this mining operation. I could see a bunch more Vehicons, each on different floors, working themselves into carrying as much energon as they could. I turn to where Bulkhead was hiding as I hear a low whistle coming from him.

"Quite an operation they got." Bulkhead remarked. 'Couldn't agree more.'. 

Unfortunately, our stealth advantage came to an end as bolts of energon blasts came flying towards us. With our cover being blown, the Autobots decided that they liked one-on-one fights anyways and transformed their hands into blasters, firing back at the aggressive Vehicons. Since I didn't have a blaster of any sort, I knew I couldn't fire back at the Decepticons. But at the same time, I knew that I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Without looking at Optimus, I shout to him over the loud sounds of energon bolts being exchanged between the two factions. 

"Optimus! I'm going to swing around the Vehicons and draw their fire to me!" Optimus turned his head away from the battle to look at me.

"No Spider-man! It is too dangerous for you to swing out in the open, there are too many of them!" I look back at Optimus, determination sketched on the eyes of my mask. 

"That hasn't stopped me before!". Leaving no room for argument, I shoot out a web line and I leap high from where I was previously hiding. 

"No Jackson!" Optimus shouted to me. 

"Kid's going to get himself killed." Bulkhead said with worry. Bumblebee beeped in agreement with his green companion. 

There were a lot of Vehicons, but most of them were shooting at the Autobots. I can't just let the Decepticons outgun my team without doing something. I continue to web swing around the large firing squad of Decepticons. To draw their attention faster, I decide to shoot out web shots at the Vehicons with one web shooter while using the other one to web swing around.

"What is that thing!?" yelled one of the Vehicons in question.

"That freak came with the Autobots! Shoot it down!". My constant web nagging at the Vehicons soon turns their attention to me, and they all begin firing at me at once.  

"AWW! ALL THESE BOLTS FOR ME, YOU SHOULDN"T HAVE!" I shout at the top of my lungs as I begin to dodge the many energon bolts being fired at me midair. 'This is a LOT harder than it looks.'. 

"GUYS! I COULD REALLY USE YOUR HELP RIGHT ABOUT NOW!" I shout out to the Autobots. Optimus and the others soon realize that they weren't being pinned down by enemy fire. This gave them the advantage they needed to pick off most of the Vehicons one by one. Slowly but surely, the enemy fire on me began to die down, which made me less prone to having to dodge more energon bolts. 

"It's Cliff! I have a visual." sounded Arcee from her firing position. Since there were very few Vehicons shooting at me left, I swung my way onto the cavern walls and stuck myself on there. I looked around the mine to see what Arcee was talking about, then I spotted it. Somewhere, on the third platform from where the Autobots were, I spotted the lying body of a bright red cybertonian. From where I was sticking, it looked like he was.... cut in half? He was also lying in a puddle of a bright purple substance, don't know what it is though. 'Were we too late? Is Cliffjumper already dead?'. 

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I saw Arcee jumping from where she originally was, onto the bright yellow circular platform that laid in the middle of the whole mine. All the while effortlessly dodging some energon bolts aimed at her by the few remaining Vehicons, who were currently being dealt with by Optimus and the others. 

Arcee spotted the lying body of Cliffjumper, and without hesitation, she jumped from where she was and onto the edge of the third platform. She hanged from the edge, trying to get herself onto the third platform. Without much thought on my end, I jumped from where I was sticking and swung my way to help Arcee up. I jumped onto the fourth platform, just above where Arcee was hanging, and I shot out two web lines towards Arcee. The web lines connected to the edge of the platform she was hanging from. 

"Hurry! Grab onto them and pull yourself up!" I shouted at Arcee. She looked at me for a second, then back at the webs hesitantly. Without any argument, she grabbed both web lines and pulled herself up. Using all of my strength, I pulled her small cybertonian figure upwards until she finally made contact with the floor of the third platform. I jump back onto the yellow circular platform in the middle of the mine to get a better view of Arcee. 

Arcee was next to Cliffjumper's body, seeing the state that he was in. At first, she hesitated to touch Cliffjumper's body, but soon she went closer to the lying Autobot to check for any sign of life. Suddenly, energon blaster fire began to rain down near Arcee, I looked to see where the blaster fire had originated and immediately saw two Vehicons perched up together on the fifth platform, trying to get a shot on Arcee. I was about to deal with those two jokers, when I heard the loud sound of something breaking.

I look back at Arcee to see her desperately holding Cliffjumper's arm while he hanged off the edge of the platform. 'No, don't fall now!'. 

Then something unexpected happens. Something I didn't know would even be a possibility during this mission. 

Cliffjumper's body began moving again, but it looked extremely frantic. He then looked up at Arcee, with a bright purple glow emanating from his mouth and eyes, and he started attacking her as he roared out zombie-like gurgling. Arcee was filled with shock and horror at the Cliffjumper's display. Despite this however, Arcee was still desperately holding onto him, as if she didn't care about the red Autobot's current state. Cliffjumper's flailing however, soon proves to be too much for Arcee to handle while hanging onto him. She accidently let go of Cliffjumper, and he began to fall.... 

Time slowed down as I saw his falling figure, my mind drifts back to Gwen dropping from the Brookland Bridge. Her beautiful face, full of fear and terror as she plummeted down.

'No....NOOO!'

Without hesitation, I leaped down and dived toward Cliffjumper. 'My webs should hold out his body weight.'.

I shoot a web line straight at Cliffjumper's torso, then another one upwards on the bottom of a platform. My incredible strength allowed me to hold onto Cliffjumper's body, but I couldn't hold on forever. 

"CLIFFJUMPER!" Arcee yelled out as she peered over the edge, where Cliffjumper had fallen. 

"I-argh! I got him! But Hurry!" I yelled back to Arcee as I kept my eyes on Cliffjumper. His constant flailing isn't making this any easier!

"Just hold on Jack, we're coming!" the amount of worry in Arcee's voice isn't bringing me much comfort. I use as much strength as I could muster up to hold Cliffjumper as steadily as possible. Optimus soon finishes off the last two Vehicons before switching his focus onto my current predicament. 

"Ratchet, open a ground bridge below Cliffjumper's coordinates, quickly!" Optimus commanded as he spoke to Ratchet through his communicator. 

"HURRY!" I yelled out. My grip was beginning to loosen, and Cliffjumper's frantic movement was slowly breaking the web line. Suddenly, a red bolt of energon was shot toward us from our left side. Instead of the bolt hitting me or Cliffjumper however, it had hit the web line, breaking it in half....

Me and the rest of Team Prime watched in horror as Cliffjumper plummeted down, into the middle of the mine, toward his doom. His zombie-like screams could be heard for brief seconds before he finally plummeted, falling deathly silent. Arcee let out a pain-filled sound as she dropped her head low in sorrow. 

I looked at the display, wide eyed while horrible memories came crashing into my mind. Before any more horrible memories were shown in my mind, I suddenly heard the sound of a high-pitched laugh. I look to my left to see who could possibly be laughing at a time like this. Up, somewhere on the fifth platform of the mine, I spot a tall, skinny grey cybertonian with certain red accents on his body and blood red eyes. He was laughing in the most villainous and treacherous way possible while he held out his right blaster. 

After his laughing ceased, he transformed his right blaster back into his right hand. I didn't need to be an Autobot to know that he was a Decepticon. Though, he did certainly differ when compared to Vehicons. I took a closer look at him and realized that he was holding something in his left hand. It looked like.... A BOMB! 

"Starscream!" Arcee yelled out angrily. The other Autobots took notice of Starscream's arrival, and they all collectively stared at the Decepticon with cold anger. 

"Prime! I'd stick around, but I'm squeamish." Starscream remarked as he held out his left hand and dropped the bomb into the middle of the mine, where a huge energon crystal resides. 

My spider senses go haywire as the bomb quickly made its descent down into the energon mine. If we don't get out of here in time, we're all going to get blown sky high! Ignoring the fact that Starscream jumped off the platform, only to transform into a fighter jet midair and fly upwards and out of the mine, I quickly swing my way towards Optimus and the rest of Team Prime. 

"Optimus!! We need to get out of here, the place is going to blow!! I shout in a frantic worry. 

With a nod, Optimus turns and points to a deeper part of the mine. "Autobots, roll out!" Optimus ordered.

Soon, we all begin to travel as far away as we could from the bomb before it detonated. Suddenly, the sound of a large explosion could be heard from behind us as the bomb finally detonates. "Ratchet! Bridge us back! Use the arrival coordinates, now!" Optimus order Ratchet while in his vehicle mode. 

I looked behind me for a second and realized that the flames from the explosion were catching up to me. Arcee took notice of this and shouted at me to get my attention. "Hop on!" was all she said for me to oblige. She slightly slowed herself down to give me a better chance at swinging onto her. I swung my way towards her and leaped onto her seat, and soon, we found ourselves speeding to the now opening ground bridge like never before. 

Thankfully, we made our way through the ground bridge without harm, and we all found ourselves back at base in one piece. With that, Ratchet closed the ground bridge, preventing the flames of the explosion from entering the base. I got off of Arcee and she transformed back into her bipedal form just as the others were. With a sigh of relief, I took off my mask and looked back at the rest of my team. 

"Cutting it a bit close." Ratchet remarked. "What about Cliffjumper?" the medic asked.

The mention of the fallen Autobot suddenly brings despair to the Autobots, including me. We all lowered our heads in sorrow, I closed my eyes as to not let any tears fall out. 'I could have saved him. I could have saved Cliffjumper if the web line hadn't broken.'. I think back to Starscream, the way he laughed manically as he shot the only thing holding Cliffjumper in half. I've experienced something like this before, when someone close to you is in danger, and the only thing you hear are the sounds of your aggressor's laughter. It does nothing but drive you into a fit of rage. 

'Damn you Starscream.' I mentally curse the cowardly Decepticon. 

The silence we fell into gets cut short when Miko decides now is a great time to satisfy her curiosity about our mission. "Was that an explosion? Was there a fight? Can I come next time!?" Miko asked rather too excitedly, further spoiling the bad mood me and the Autobots were already in. 

Arcee stepped from behind Optimus and glared at the curious punk rocker, anger clearly evident in her eyes. "Look-

"Uhh, Miko? L-lets go see what the Autobots have in their storage closet." Raf quickly intruded, preventing Arcee from lashing out in anger at Miko.

"Oh! Do you think they've got guns? Big guns!?" Miko said as she was slowly being pushed away by Raf. 'Well, at least a yelling match between Arcee and Miko was prevented.". 

I looked back at Arcee, she was looking down at the floor while hugging herself. She looked scared, her legs were even shaking slightly. Looking at her now, like this, it brought me nothing but pain, pain that I knew very well about. 

Optimus slowly made his way toward Arcee, along with Bumblebee, Ratchet, Bulkhead, and me. He stared at her sympathetically and saw how hurt she was. He chose his next words very carefully as to not hurt Arcee even further. 

"Arcee, what did you see?" Optimus spoke softly to the shaking Autobot. 

"Not Cliff... At least not anymore. He was mutated, butchered, like something from those Con experiments during the war." Arcee stopped as she suddenly fell slowly to her side, only catching herself on the crates next to her. It was as if she was about to.... faint. Can she do that? Can cybertonians faint?

Me and several others step toward her in an effort to help her, worried about her wellbeing. Bumblebee reached out to her, lending her a hand while letting out what sounded like sorrowful and worried noises. "A-arcee, are you ok?" I ask the distressed blue Autobot. 

"I'm fine, just dizzy." Arcee stated. Though her still shaking frame wasn't fooling anybody. I closer towards Arcee. 

"Arcee, you're not fine. You need help, let Ratchet take a look at you." my voice was filled with so much concern and worry toward Arcee. Honestly, I haven't been this worried for a person in a long time. As far as I could tell, she cared the most about Cliffjumper during our failed rescue mission. It doesn't take a genius to know that those two had history together, and honestly, I regret not being able to save Cliffjumper's life, for Arcee's sake. Looking at it now, I'm sure we all regret the fact that we were too late to save him. 

Arcee looked at me with a painfilled look, and with a sigh of acceptance, she silently sat on one of the crates and waited for Ratchet to do his magic. Soon, Ratchet came to Arcee, holding some sort of scanner that he would use to check up on Arcee. This was only my first mission, and I've already learned so much about the Autobots, maybe even cybertonians in general.

These weren't mindless, programmable robots that followed a set code. These were living beings.

Sure, they aren't like most organisms, but that's to be expected from an alien life form. They're capable of having senses, capable of feeling emotions, capable of having personalities, capable of feeling sick, capable of dying.... 

Maybe the Autobots haven't noticed it, or maybe I'm just crazy. But cybertonians and humans, we are more alike than we realize. 

Looking back at Ratchet and Arcee, I see that she was finished with her examination from Ratchet, only being ordered to take a decontamination bath from the grumpy medical bot. Strangely enough, I see Ratchet walking by me with a large swab covered in the same purple substance that I saw around Cliffjumper. I paid him no mind however as I walk over to see where Arcee has gone, my worry for her was still clearly present. 

"You worry for her?" Optimus asked me in a gentle voice. 

"How could I not? She looks so hurt, I just- Suddenly, I felt a soft brush of metal rubbing against my back. I turned around to see that it was Optimus, in a kneeling position, attempting to comfort me, despite our major size difference. 

"Neither you, nor anyone else on this team could have predicted the outcome of this mission or of Cliffjumper's fate." Optimus spoke softly. 

"I.... I know Optimus." I looked at the ground, not having the bearing to look at Optimus in the eyes. 

"Jack, if you wish to leave us now, then I will ultimately respect your wishes. It is the right of every living being to make their own choices in life." Optimus assured me in a kind and gentle manner. If I was like any other normal person, then I probably would have wanted to leave. But I'm not like any normal person. I have a responsibility to uphold, a responsibility that stems to be far more important than just fulfilling my own personal values. 

With a heavy sigh, I look up at Optimus's bright blue eyes. "Thanks Optimus. But I'm not going anywhere." I say with a bit of confidence. With a nod and a small, but noticeable smile, Optimus stands back up and prepares to make his way to Ratchet. Wait, I feel like I'm forgetting something.... OH SHIT, CURFEW!

"Uhh, Optimus. I hate to bug, but I have to go back home or else I'm sure that the cops will be out looking for me." I said to the Prime before he could make his way to Ratchet. Optimus turns back around to look at me but continues to stand where he is now.

"Hmm, my research of you has also suggested that you have committed many minor crimes such as property damage in New York. However, I assure you that New York law enforcement will not be able to locate you here." Optimus said in a reassuring tone. 'I mean, sure. That was an issue I had to deal with back at New York. But this is different!'.

"No Optimus, I was talking about my curfew time, it's after 10 PM. If I don't return home on time, then I'm sure my mom will file a missing person's report on me." I explained to the confused Prime. 

"Y-yeah, I got to go home too. If I don't, then I'll be grounded for a year." Raf said while gulping slightly in fear of being grounded for that long. 

"Samsies dude. My host parents will freak if I don't come home soon." Miko also spoke up from up on the catwalk. 

"Earth customs, I haven't considered." the Prime whispered to himself. "Though the issue of your safety remains." Optimus remained quiet in thought for a moment before turning to Bulkhead. 

"Bulkhead, you will accompany Miko home.". Bulkhead nods in agreement to his leader, then looks at Miko's excited figure. 'I could practically hear Miko excitement as she's shaking in her boots. She always took a liking to Bulkhead.'.

"Be sure to maintain surveillance in vehicle mode." Optimus reminded the big green oaf.

"Curbside duty, got it." Bulkhead said as he understood the assignment. Miko groaned in disappointment at the news of Bulkhead's actual objective while he stays with her. 'Huh, looks like she stopped shaking in excitement.'.

"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Raf." Optimus ordered the yellow scout as both Bumblebee and Raf stare at each other with a friendly face.  

'Alright, it's just me now. I'm sure I don't need an escort, I could just web sw-

"Arcee, you'll accompany Jack.". Oh.... Well, it could have been worse. It could have been Ratchet.

For a second, Arcee was like a deer caught in headlights as she exited the decontamination bath. However, she quickly composed herself and spoke. "Ohhh, still dizzy." Arcee faked, desperately trying not to get curbside duty with me. 

"You're fine, says your physician." Ratchet remarked from his workspace, while also destroying Arcee's only attempt at avoiding curbside duty. 'Welp, looks like this is happening isn't it.'.

Arrival at Darby Residence - 10 Minutes Later

After today's depressing turn of events, Arcee "volunteered" to drive me home and take charge in keeping an eye on me, in case any Decepticon activity pops up near my home. The drive back to my house was silent, silent and awkward. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was for her, but I decided that it would be best to tell her when we got home. As we finally arrived at my house, Arcee slowed herself to steadily drive herself inside my garage without crashing in. The garage door was already wide open, with the lights turned on and everything. But no sign of my mom's car in our driveway. 

When we finally went inside the garage, I hopped off of Arcee and walked in front of her, putting on a sympathetic face. 'Alright hero, now's the time.'.

"Arcee, I-I just wanted to say. I'm so sorry for your loss." I said with sympathy and sorrow. She revved her engine at my response, then without second though, she transformed into her bipedal form while staying in a kneeling position as to not break the ceiling of my garage. She looked straight into my face with a cold fury marked across her expression. 

"What could you possibly know about loss." she spat back at me with venom in her voice.

I don't know why, but my mind suddenly reminds me of my greatest failures at her response. My failures as both Spider-man and Jack Darby.  

'Uncle Ben! Uncle Ben, I'm here.... It's ok, everything is going to be ok. Just stay with me a while longer! Dad, please don't leave me!' 

'GWEN! PLEASE DON'T GO! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!'

I snap back out of my most traumatic memories. My heart pumps fast in rage, my eyes furrow in anger, and my hands bawl into fists. I point a finger at Arcee, and I retaliate against her. 

"Don't you dare lecture me about what I know and don't know about loss." I said to her in a low, cold voice. She flinches slightly at my reaction and her expression changes to that of slight regret. 

"I've had my fair share of losses too Arcee. And I don't know if I could ever recover from them.... So, don't think that you're the only one with problems in life." I continued as I drew in a heavy sigh after my rant. Arcee continues to look at me with slight sorrow. With a slight drop of her head, she sighs heavily before looking back at me.

"I-.... I'm sorry Jack." Arcee apologized with a tinge of regret in her voice. Before she could continue, we both hear the sound of a car entering my driveway. 'Oh no, mom!'. 

Arcee turns to look at the arriving yellow sedan, and her eyes widen in anger. "Cons!" she yells out before turning both her hands into blasters. 

I quickly point her blasters forcefully down to the ground. "Don't shoot Arcee! That's my mom." I tell her in a frantic whisper. I look back at the driveway to see that my mom's car was already parked. 'Oh shit! She saw didn't she! She's going to worry herself to death!'.

I quickly jog towards my mom, already trying to think of a stupid excuse as she slowly gets out of the driver's seat. "M-mom! Don't freak out, I can explain everything. Just don't get mad." I said to my mom frantically. 

She then glares at me while putting her hands on her hips. "Can you?" she said with a cocked eyebrow and a frown. She quickly started walking towards Ar-.... my motorcycle? Right, she can transform. Kinda forgot about that.

"Jackson Darby, we've talked about this. I already worry myself enough when you're not home, now I have to worry about you driving a motorcycle of all things." mom said sternly as she stood next to the disguised Arcee, completely oblivious to what she truly was. The way my mom worries about me is identical to the way Aunt May used to worry about me back when I was in New York, especially after Uncle Ben's murder. No wonder they're both sisters.

"Mom, I'm 16, I can't be riding a raggedy bike for the rest of my life." I argued back while walking to Arcee and standing next to her. Now that I think about it, if life ever gets too hard for me to afford car insurance, I could probably just web swing my way to work. Maybe pizza delivery can work for me. 

"How did you even afford this?" she asked. 'Uh oh.'

I slowly looked back to face my mom, "Damn it, she's giving me the mom glare.'. With a small sigh, I calm myself and say with a bit of confidence. "I won her in a school raffle contest today." I try to say as convincingly as possible.

My mom just gives me the most blank faced stare any mother could ever give their child. 'Sooo, it's a no go on the raffle ticket excuse.'. I look at Arcee for a moment just in time to see that the rearview mirror closest to me droops in what I assume to be a motorcycle's equivalent of a facepalm. 

"On your first day of school?" mom says flatly with her arms crossed. 

"Y-yeah, crazy right? I-I'm just as surprised as you are." I say with a tinge of timidness in my voice, though I tried not to make it obvious. My mom cocks her left eyebrow ever so slightly at my response. "Look, that's not the point. The point is that I'm not a little kid anymore. You're always telling me to make responsible choices, to always be responsible of myself and for others. Well, I chose her, and I'll be responsible, just like you taught me to be.". My mom's face becomes less stern, with a sigh she slowly walks toward me and Arcee.

She looks at me with a smirk, "Her? Didn't think you'd be bringing girls home just yet." she teased. My face suddenly heats up as I look toward the ground in slight embarrassment at my mom's teasing. 'Damn it, I'm never going to hear the end of this from Arcee.'.

"I-uhh, like to think that she brought me." I respond sheepishly as I place my hand on Arcee's right rearview mirror. 

"Well, I'm finally glad you have a reason to wear your helmet every single time you ride." my mom "asked" sternly while pointing a finger at my face. 'Put on a helmet every single time I ride, got it.' I mentally note to myself for later. 

"You will take me out for a spin every once in a while?" mom asked in a much softer tone. I look at Arcee's vehicle form for a moment, then a second deliciously funny idea pops into mind. 'Sorry Arcee, but it's too good an opportunity to ignore.'

"Well, she is a bit temperamental. But like Uncle Ben once taught me, with any bad girl-" I knocked on Arcee's headlights hard a few times, but not with enough force to do any real damage to her. "After a few weeks, and a good kick in the ass-" This time I slowly made my way to Arcee's rear and gave it a light hard kick with just enough force to create a small metallic bang. "She'll be behaving in no time.".

I end my monologue as I walked towards the door that led to the inside of my house with my mom. All the while, I looked back to Arcee to see that she had her rearview mirrors pointed at me. 'Yup, definitely angry. I'll apologize to her tomorrow morning.'. I gave Arcee a smirk and a thumbs up before closing the garage lights and door, then walking inside my house. 

Finally, a good night's sleep. I really needed this. 

Chapter Text

Darby Residence - 12:00 A.M

*Tsk* 'You and your jokes Jack.' 

As I lay still in Jack's garage while in vehicle mode, I think back to how he made an aft of me in front of his mother. "Head bangs and a kick in the aft huh? I'll have to get back at you smooth operator.'

....

Jack.... I've been nothing but snappy at him ever since I met him at his workplace, I even went as far as to threaten him with violence. When I saw him use his powers for the first time, I was scared, but most of all, I was angry. Seeing him use his powers reminded me of her.

I let my temper get the better of me, multiple times. 'Primus damn my temper.' I mentally curse myself for losing it at Jack. Hearing his story back at base, the story of how he received his powers, it made me realize something. This wasn't something he ever asked for. 

He never asked to have the powers he has now, he never wanted his whole life to be turned upside-down, he never wanted to feel the weight of his world being carried on his shoulders. And yet, this is what his life as come to, being constantly put in danger. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel bad for him. But despite everything, he manages to uphold his responsibilities while putting a smile on his faceplate. Almost reminds me of how Cliff used to lighten the mood during our darkest hours....

Even though I dragged Jack into this mess, he still manages to care for me and my family's wellbeing. He even tried to save Cliff when I couldn't, jumping down and risking his own life to save someone he had never met. If that isn't noble enough, then I don't know what is. 

I think back to Cliff's mangled form, his screams and roars of monstrosity. Whatever that was, it wasn't Cliffjumper, not the Cliffjumper I knew. The Con's had killed him, butchered him, and disgraced his memory. "I swear upon the All Spark Cliff, I'll make every last Decepticon pay for what they did to you.'. I start to remember the Con responsible for making Cliff's mangled body fall toward his doom, Starscream. I've always hated that squeaky suck-up ever since the war started back on Cybertron, but knowing him, he's too much of a coward to have killed Cliff before he mutated. 

So, who could have killed my partner? 

Whoever they are, I'll find them, and I'll end their spark, for you Cliffjumper. And right now, Starscream is high up my list of Cons to offline. 

'Don't you dare lecture me about what I know and don't know about loss.' my neural processor suddenly thinks back to when Jack snapped back at me earlier tonight. Right.... I need to apologize to Jack about what I said to him earlier. 'Among other things.' I quickly remind myself about the other times I've shown him my snappy attitude, which causes me to cringe even in vehicle form. 

It's a good thing he has no school or work on Saturday. All the more time for me to apologize to the mature teen while I drive him back to base. 

With that, I concluded my thoughts and decided to power down for the night. I'll need all the energy I can get for whatever tomorrow brings us. 

Outskirts of Nevada - 7:30 A.M

After Arcee had woken me up this morning with a thoughtful method of getting me out of bed, she decided that it was time to return to base. 'Much to my reluctancy.' Seriously, it's Saturday, sometimes even supervillains kick back and relax on the weekend. But then again, they are sentient alien robots, they probably have no concept on relaxing during the weekends. 

Me and Arcee were still relatively far from base, probably a ten-minute drive until we reach the base. Knowing that I didn't want another silent awkward drive like yesterday, I decide to break the silence. "Hey Arcee? Was it really necessary to rev your engine to its limits at 7:20 in the morning?". 

Arcee's rearview mirrors point to face me as she replies. "Just think of it as payback for that little stunt you pulled on me yesterday." she said slyly. If I was looking at her bipedal form, I know she would be smirking right now. Well, guess I can't blame her, I knew what I was doing. But damn was it worth it.

"Hey Jack." Arcee suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts as she called out my name.

I look at her rearview mirrors and ask, "Yeah? What's up Arcee?". 

"I... I just want to say that I'm sorry for the way I treated you, ever since we met." she said in a quiet tone. 

"Huh, wha- I..." her apology catches me off guard as I manage to fumble my words around like a clown fumbling a juggling performance. Was she actually apologizing to me? Honestly, with the way she acted towards me in the beginning, I thought I'd never hear that from here. But then again, I know that she's not totally heartless, unlike some people I've met. With a heavy sigh, I look back at Arcee's rearview mirrors as she eagerly awaits my response. 

"It's- It's okay Arcee, I forgive you. Just point those blasters at some Decepticons next time, will you?". Arcee's mirrors rise up a bit at my response. 

"You know it, Spider-man." she said that last part teasingly. I chuckle a bit, and surprisingly, she chuckles as well. 'Finally, some progress.'

"I also wanted to thank you Jack. For trying to help us rescue Cliffjumper yesterday." Arcee said softly.

"Even though I failed." I replied sorrowfully. 

"Hey, if you failed, then so did I. We all tried to rescue him that day, but the Cons got to him first...". It was my turn to comfort her as I bring my right and off her handlebar and rub her metallic side softly. 

"Jack?" Arcee questions my gesture. 

"I would have put my hand on your shoulder to comfort you if you weren't in vehicle mode. So, think of this as an alternative." I explained to the confused Autobot. 

"Thats... Thats very sweet of you Jack." Arcee said softly. 

Arcee soon comes to a complete stop after nearing the bright red stop sign. We sit there for a moment, waiting in silence, until Arcee suddenly says, "Tighten your grip, Jack.". 

Confused, I do just that without breaking her handlebars. Suddenly, as if a switch just went off in her head, she revs her engines and speeds off forward as fast as she could. The sudden increase in speed surprises me further when she decides to go all out and lift her front wheel in the air. Her speed was a bit frightening, but that feeling quickly morphed into thrill as we continue to speed forward. 

"Woah! What's with you Arcee?" I ask with thrill in my voice. 

She puts her front wheel back on the road and answers. "Thought you might actually enjoy the ride while you weren't getting shot at." she said with a hint of excitement in her voice.

Nothing more was said as we continue to speed off into the distance, as fast as she possibly could. Now this is a ride I would pay for! Honestly, if I closed my eyes and just let her drive this fast, it almost feels like web swinging through New York again.  

After a couple of minutes or so, I open my eyes again and look in front of us to see that we're already near the entrance of Autobot HQ. After riding through the long tunnel of the entrance, we finally make our way into the common area of the base. Arcee comes to a complete stop, which basically signals me to get off her so that she could transform. I do just that all the while taking off my helmet and setting it aside on a lone, small crate. 

"That was awesome Arcee." I complimented my Autobot guardian. She looked at me for a moment, before smiling genuinely at me. It's almost like her way of saying "You're welcome".

Bumblebee and Bulkhead soon drive into the common area as well and exiting out of their respective guardians are Raf and Miko. 

"Can we go again?" Raf asked bumblebee excitedly. 

"Sweet!" Miko cheered after exiting Bulkhead. 

'Looks like their getting along with them as well. Glad we're finally getting used to each other.'

Our cheers were cut off however when Optimus walked to us slowly, but heavily. I have a feeling he's going to brief us on something important. 

"Autobots, prepare to...." Optimus suddenly stopped his orders to look at me, Miko, and Raf. He looked like he was... contemplating something? After a moment of looking at us, he then looked back at his team and ordered, "Remain here. Ratchet, you'll come with me. Arcee, we'll be outside communications range for some time. So, I'm putting you in charge.".

"But Bulkheads' the biggest, shouldn't he be in charge?" Miko questioned. Bulkhead then knelt down slightly to talk to Miko.

"I-uhh, he never picks me." Bulkhead explained, slightly embarrassed about having to tell Miko that he isn't really "Leadership material". 

 Arcee stepped forward to Optimus, ready to explain her concerns. But before she could talk, I decided to speak up first. "Optimus, with all due respect, you said that we'd be working as a team. Leaving us in the dark isn't going to help solve anything.". 

"Besides, Ratchet hasn't been in the fields since the war." Arcee expressed her concerns after I finished expressing mine. 

"My pistons may be rusty, but my hearing is SHARP AS EVER!" Ratchet shouted from across the common area, where he usually worked. 

"Jack, I know what I have promised to you. But for the moment, it is only simple reconnaissance. There would be no sense into bringing all of us on this mission." Optimus tried to reassure both me and Arcee. But we both had a feeling this "recon mission" is a bit bigger than what Optimus is letting on. However, Arcee was the first to catch on. 

"Then why do I hear an edge in your voice?" she said with a raised eyebrow. Now, it was my turn to raise an eyebrow and look at him.

"Arcee, much has changed in the last 24 hours. We all need to adapt.". With that, Optimus ordered Ratchet to open a ground bridge, to which they both walked out of base and into the green portal. Leaving the rest of us stumped, confused, and concerned. 

"He's not telling us something, I just know it." I expressed to no one in particular. 

"Tell me about it." Arcee replied sarcastically. I look at her, grinning, and decide that it's best to try and lighten the mood in here before we all get crushed by the gloom. 

"Sooo, you guys don't happen to have any card games lying around, do you?" I ask the stern blue bot in front of me. She scoffs with a roll of her eyes and replies to me.

"Really Jack, card games? Whatever, I'm going on patrol. Bee, you're with me." Arcee commanded the large yellow bot, much to his disappointed beeps. Wait, patrol? Didn't Optimus just.... 

"Wait Arcee, I don't like how Optimus is keeping us in the dark as much as the next guy. But I don't think that going on patrol is going to make this any better.". Arcee glares at me for a moment, before sighing and switching to a softer expression. 

"Neither is standing around here and doing nothing. I can't just sit here and babysit, not while the Cons are still out there." Arcee then looked between me and Bulkhead for a moment, before saying, "Uhh... Bulkhead, Jack, you're both in charge while me and Bumblebee are gone.". What!?

"Wait, why is he in charge too?" Bulkhead asked.

"To look over you and the children. And he's a part of the team too, remember?" Arcee quickly reminded him before she and Bumblebee transformed and sped off out of base. Me and Bulkhead exchanged awkward glances at each other before parting our weird eye contact. 'Damn it, my superpowers do NOT include babysitting.'

Bulkhead suddenly spoke. "So uhhh, what's on the activities list? Card games anyone?" he asked awkwardly. Just when I was about to answer, the whole room echoed with the high-pitched sounds of an electric guitar. We all covered our ears except for one particular person, Miko. 

While still covering my ears, I spoke. "M-Miko, can't you tune that thing down a little?" I begged the teen punk rocker. 

"Dude, how else are we going to rock like a band if I lower the volume?" she asked as if it were a genuine question. 

"B-but we aren't a band." Raf quickly reminded her while also covering his ears. 

"C'mon Raf, why so antisocial. You play anything?" she asked in a surprisingly gentle voice to the shy kid. 

"Ummm, keyboard?" Raf replied with uncertainty. Miko nodded and smiled at his answer, then turned to ask me. 

"What about you Spidey, you play anything?". I uhhhhh, don't think I've ever played an instrument in my free time. 

"Does uhhh, does dancing count? I mean one time, I was walking around New York in my Spidey suit and-" Miko suddenly scoffs in disappointment and rolls her eyes.

"Dude, if you're talking about the one with the finger guns, then forget it." she said flatly. 'Yeah.... Was out of web cartilages that time. So, I had to walk down New York to my aunt's house to get them replaced. Dark times....' 

Thankfully, the reminiscing of my awkward dance came to an end when the proximity sensors sounded. 

"It's Agent Fowler, hide!" Bulkhead ordered us. Miko and Raf hid behind Bulkhead's leg while I turned invisible and walked under the catwalk to better hide myself. 

All three of us manage to hide in the nick of time as soon as the elevator doors open. And yet again, without meet or greets, Fowler gets straight to the point.

"Prime!" Fowler shouts out Optimus's name to no avail. 

"Agent Fowler. Uh, he's not here, nobody's here. Well, except me of course." Bulkhead explained to the angry government agent while trying his best to hide Miko and Raf.

"W-well, where did he go? Wait, don't tell me, he's out pancaking a mini mall right now." Fowler said in frustration. 

Agent Fowler kept shouting at the poor green bot, all the while Bulkhead kept fidgeting his left leg, trying to hide the kids. 'Why does he keep moving his leg?" I think to myself. Suddenly, I hear the faint sounds of an electric guitar. I look back to the speakers to see that the wire of the electric guitar was still connected to the speakers, which explains the faint musical noises. 'Shit! That can't be good.'

"So, you tell Prime.... Since when are you Bots electric?" Fowler questions as he had just seen the musical speakers. 'Oh no.'

Hearing two separate sighs of defeat, Miko and Raf slowly reveal themselves to Fowler, who I could tell was not happy about their involvement here. "Contact with civilians." Fowler expressed in a frustrated whisper. 'Well, at least I wasn-'

"Hey Spider-man! The gig is up, you can come out now." Miko shouted next to Bulkhead's leg. 'God damn it Miko.'

"Spider-man? What in Sam Hills is she talking about?" Fowler questioned nobody in particular. 'If I don't show myself, he'll probably think the Autobots turned her crazy.'. With a small sigh, I begin to put on my spider suit. Soon after, I crawl my way up the catwalk, behind Agent Fowler. To add more spice to my reveal, I shoot a web line above me and hang from it upside down. With a loud clearing of my throat, I speak up.

"I think she's talking about me." Fowler quickly looks behind him and flinches at my sudden appearance. However, his frightened expression soon turns into an even deeper anger.

"And contact with the most notorious vigilante. You Bots have really gone off the book this time." Fowler says as he continues to stare at me.

"Hey, that's a little rude don't you think? Have you ever tried taking some anger management classes." I quip to the unimpressed agent. Fowler turns to face Bulkhead and the kids, who are still nervous toward the government agent.

"Care to explain this? Wait, never mind, it doesn't matter. Cause I'm taking those two into federal custody, for their own protection." Fowler said as he made his way down the stairs of the catwalk and towards Miko and Raf. Suddenly, Bulkhead slammed his foot in front of Agent Fowler, causing him to stumble back a bit at the sudden motion. 

"We're protecting them." Bulkhead said without an ounce of fear in his voice. 

"Is that so?" Fowler questioned. I decided to intervene by jumping and landing onto the lower safety rails of the catwalk, closer to Agent Fowler.  

"I wouldn't make him angry if I were you. He'd probably turn you into chewing gum." I warned the agent, though without much sternness coming from my voice. 

"You. I'll deal with you later. First, I'll have to explain this to my superiors at the Pentagon" Fowler then walked towards a small phone booth, ready to make the call. 

"Oh cool, you guys have a phone here. I've been dying to order some pizza." I said as I then shot out a web line at the phone booth and pulled it as hard as I could, ripping it straight from the ground. Fowler looked at the display in disbelief, then wore his usual angry look. 

"This isn't over! Not by a long shot!" Fowler shouted as he stomped his way back up the catwalk, and into the elevator. The doors of the elevator closed and ascended upwards, marking the end of Fowler's visit today. All Bulkhead and I could do was sigh heavily at the encounter. 'This could have gone better.'

"That was too close, right guys?" Miko asked, oblivious to the problems that'll probably happen later on. Bulkhead and I gave her a mean glare, causing her to pull back her smile and cringe where she stood.

Agent Fowler was mad, more so, he was baffled that the Autobots were teamed up with Spider-man of all people. Even though most of New York liked and appreciated what Spider-man has done for them over the past two years, he was still a loose cannon in the eyes of the government. And now, he's gotten himself mixed up in a possible alien invasion that was being kept hidden from the eyes of the public by the government. 

Fowler was going to fix this mess, one way or another. And it'll all start once he arrived at the Pentagon to debrief the situation to his superiors. However, that time will never come. 

Unbeknownst to Agent Fowler at the time, the dangerous ariel minicon known as Laserbeak was stalking him, waiting for the best moment to strike the Agent and take him in alive for questioning back at the Nemesis. 

Compared to Laserbeak, Agent Fowler's fighter chopper doesn't stand a chance. 

10 Minutes Later....

As we all stood in base, contemplating on how we should tell Optimus that we may have pissed off our only liaison to the outside world, the alarms of the base sounded once more. 'He's back again? What does he want this time?'

Bulkhead immediately took notice of this and went to the monitor to see the issue. "It's an S.O.S. from Fowler." Bulkhead exclaimed in surprise. 'An S.O.S.? Could it be Decepticons?'

Bulkhead raised his hands on top of the keyboard of the monitor but was hesitant and maybe even confused on what to do next. This kept going until the alarms stopped, which sorta comforted Bulkhead for some reason. "Did you trace it?" Raf spoke up. 

"No, location scan was incomplete. Oh well.". Wait, did this guy just say, "Oh well"?

"Oh well? What do you mean "Oh well"? We can't just leave him." I shouted at the lumbering green oaf. 

"Fowler's a jerk!" Bulkhead said with furrowed eyebrows. 

"Even so, if the Decepticons have him, then they could be interrogating him for sensitive information." I sternly replied. 

"And Agent Fowler knows your location." Raf then froze for a second and gulped. "Our location." he said in fear.

"Yeah, you've seen how easily he backs down from an Bot. The Cons would totally make him squeal." Miko explained. 

"But we lost the transmission, Fowler could be anywhere." Bulkhead responded. Suddenly, an idea popped up in Raf's head. Without wasting any time, he sat down crisscrossed and opened up his laptop. 

"Maybe I could narrow it down." Raf stated. 

"How? The Decepticons probably threw away all of his belongings, including his cell phone." I questioned the smarter than average kid. 

"Well, about five years ago, the government started microchipping their agents. Y'know, like with how owners do with their pets." Me, Miko, and Bulkhead stare at Raf with a look of confusion. How.... How does he know this stuff?

Raf caught sight of our stares and replied. "What? I saw it on TV." was all he said before he started typing away at his laptop.

"Dude, what kind of TV shows do you watch?" Miko questioned.

"Look, the point is, if I can hack into the Fed's mainframe, then maybe I can pinpoint Fowler's location.". Miko looked baffled, and honestly, so am I. I knew Raf was smarter than the average kid his age, but to be able to casually hack into the government's mainframe was a whole 'nother level. Man, I could have used Raf as a man in the chair back in New York. 

"You know how to hack? Dude, you're like... two years old." Miko in bewilderment. Raf glared at her for a moment before readjusting his glasses. 

"I'm 12... and a quarter." Raf smirked at her at that last part before he got right back to typing away. I have a feeling that he's going to put his skills to more use in the future. 

6 Minutes Later....

A couple of minutes later, Raf finally manages to locate Fowler's coordinates. By the look of it, he's still in Nevada, but we can't take any risks just driving there. A ground bridge will be our best option for getting there quickly and quietly. 'I'm already in my spider suit, so I'm green to go.'. After Bulkhead inputted the coordinates into the ground bridge system, he flipped the ground bridge lever, activating the big green portal. 

"Ok, you guys wait here." Bulkhead ordered. 

"I'm coming with you Bulkhead." I said as I jumped closer to the portal.

"Look Jack, somebody has to stay here and watch Miko and Raf. Besides, I've got this." Bulkhead stated like it was a final decision.

"Unless you plan on rescuing Fowler guns blazing, then you'll need somebody my size to sneak in there. If they manage to catch you by any chance, then they'll never suspect me." I explain my usefulness sternly. 

"But what about Miko and Raf?". I looked back at the two in question. Raf was by his laptop on a human sized table, while Miko was looking at the ground bridge portal with wonder in her eyes. 'They look responsible enough, right?'

"They can handle themselves here. Besides, if they ever need help, then they could just contact us." I reassured the green Autobot. His worries seemed to calm a bit as his shoulders slightly drop to their sides. With a nod of acceptance towards me, we both slowly walk into the ground bridge. Not before Bulkhead stopped suddenly and turned to face Miko.

"Uhh, Miko, you're in charge.". With that, we both walk through the ground bridge and into the other side. As soon as we made contact with ground, I make it apparent to check my surroundings, and so does Bulkhead. 

We seem to near the large, sandy orange mountainsides of Nevada. Yup, it's just sand, sand, and even more sand around here. Wait, that doesn't look like a- OH MY GOD!

To my right, I see what I consider the largest structure I have ever witnessed in my entire life as a human being. That is the Decepticon warship. That thing alone could probably destroy all of New York, within minutes. 

"The whole Decepticon ship bay." I heard Bulkhead whisper to himself. He's probably almost as surprised as I am to see this thing just casually parked here. We both quickly make our way towards a large boulder as cover from the slowly approaching patrol of Vehicon troopers. 

"Alright, what's the plan?" sounded the voice of Miko.... WAIT, MIKO!!

Me and Bulkhead turn our heads to see Miko smiling and hiding behind a smaller rock, all the while shaking in excitement. How did she even- Y'know what never mind, she has her own mysterious ways of surprising people. 

"Miko!" both me and Bulkhead quietly shouted at the sneaky punk rocker. 

Just when I was about to call Raf to open up a ground bridge for Miko, I spot the little genius in question peering behind Miko, looking nervous and timid. 

"Raf!" me and Bulkhead shout in unison once more. 

"What are you two doing here!" Bulkhead quietly shouted at them. Raf was the first to speak.

"I was about to close the ground bridge, when Miko suddenly ran inside of it. I didn't want to close the ground bridge and leave her stranded, so I followed her through it. I was worried for her." Raf said innocently. 

Just when Miko was about to explain her less than logical reason, a lone patrolling Vehicon suddenly appeared in front of the two. The Vehicon soldier pointed his blaster at them and charged his imminent shot. Miko and Raf stared up at the Decepticon troop in horror, and all Miko could say one word. 

"Unwise." Miko said, staring at what she thought would be her death. Before I could act against Miko's aggressor however, Bulkhead was the first to lunge at the Vehicon, slamming him to the ground. Then, turning his left hand into a mace, Bulkhead brought it down upon the grounded Vehicon's head, smashing it to pieces. 

I took this moment to jump towards Miko and Raf, seeing if both teens were hurt in any way. "Are you two hurt?" I asked the both of them. Raf shook his head while Miko just dusted herself off.

"That was so cool! Did you see how Bulkhead just smashed the Con's head to pieces!" exclaimed the thrilled punk rocker. All I could do was facepalm myself while my hand slid down my face. 'This girl is going to be the death of me.'

I perked my head up immediately however when my spider senses began to tingle. I homed in on the sounds of heavily approaching footsteps, I looked ahead of me to see another lone Vehicon approaching Bulkhead from behind him. 

'Bulkhead look out!" I shouted at the unsuspecting Autobot.

Bulkhead immediately turned around to see the same Vehicon attempting to lunge at him, but Bulkhead didn't give him a chance. Bulkhead catched the Vehicon mid lunge and threw him on the ground besides him. The Vehicon quickly got up and tried to grab Bulkhead, but the green Autobot was quick enough to grab both the Vehicon's hands in his own. Soon, it became a contest of strength and power, both cybertonians were struggling against each other. 

"Argh-Spider-man, go! Get inside the ship and find Fowler!" the struggling Autobot shouted. 

"What about you!?" I shouted back at him in question while trying to protect Miko and Raf from any incoming danger. 

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!! I'll protect Miko and Raf while you're gone! JUST GET FOWLER!" Bulkhead yelled as the contesting Vehicon continued to oppose him.

I looked back at Miko and Raf. Raf was scared, but he gave me a smile small, silently telling me that he'll be okay. While Miko just patted my shoulder roughly and pointed at the huge Decepticon ship. 

"Dude, what are you waiting for! Get on there!" Miko reminded me. With a nod, I looked at the nearest mountainside and I quickly web zipped there, making my way toward the Decepticon ship.

There's about eight billion people on the planet, or so I've heard. And yet I'm one of the few people who get to see Spidey in action and witness the most epic showdown between giant alien robots, in person!! If my host parents knew- Scratch that, if my real parents knew, then I'd be locked up at my house back in Tokyo for the rest of my life. But still, this is SO AWESOME!

Me and Raf took our eyes off of Spidey to look back at Bulkhead, who's still going at it with that stupid Con solider. However, without looking at me, Bulkhead shouts, "Miko! Raf! Look away!". 'Huh? Look away? And miss the most epic showdown, no way.'

"Bu-" my sentence was cut off though when Bulkhead shouted at me and Raf even louder than before.

"LOOK AWAY!". Without arguing back, I decided to use my hands to cover Raf's eyes while I continued watching. The shy genius didn't object to the sudden protection of his little eyeballs. Suddenly, the coolest thing that I have ever seen within the 15 years of my life happened before my own eyes. Bulkhead brought up his right hand, and using only his brute strength, he shoved it inside the Con's torso. After one firm tug, Bulkhead ripped out a huge chunk of what I think is his guts, though to me it just looks like a bunch of wires and cables. Still cool though!!

After a second, the Con went limp and Bulkhead released his grip on him, letting him drop to the ground. 

"Cool." was all I could say in an amazed whisper. After that epic display was done, I moved my hands away from Raf's eyes. 'Sorry little bud, this world is too harsh for your innocent eyes.'

Bulkhead began walking towards us, and before I could cheer him on about his finisher, he scooped me and Raf up next to his chest and ran behind another huge bolder for cover. 'What's his deal? Why is he so scared? He can totally take all these guys on!'

Using his left hand, Bulkhead brought two of his fingers near his communicator and spoke into it. "Arcee, we have a situation.". 'Oh great, here comes the nanny of the band.' I say to myself in disappointment. 

At first, her voice on the other side was quiet, I could barely hear it. But after Bulkhead told her where we were and that me and Raf were here with him (Thanks a lot Bulkhead), she began to shout through the microphone. I swear, I think I heard her shout "Miko and Raf are where!!" even through the sounds of their engines revving and roaring. 'I think I'm in trouble.'

"There isn't anybody back at base to ground bridge you here. So, you'll just have to drive as fast as you can." Bulkhead spoke into his communicator. 

"We'll be there." was all Arcee said before she ended the call. 

"Alright Bulk, what's the plan?" I say excitedly. Finally, I get to be right back into the action! 

"The plan is that you two will stay put here while I infiltrate the Con's ship." Bulkhead said as he lowered me and Raf onto the ground behind the same boulder we were just taking cover behind. 

"Aw man. C'mon Bulkhead, why can't you just take me and Raf with you up there." I expressed my disappointment to the coolest Autobot. He groaned before pointing his finger towards the ground.

"Because you'll be safer here then up there. Now stay put. I mean it!". After that, Bulkhead turned around and quickly transformed into a huge monster sized jeep and sped off toward the Con's ship. *Tsk* 'Way to break up the band Bulk.'

I slide down beside the boulder I was leaning on until I was sitting on the ground. I thought me and Bulk were cool, he is my guardian after all. Wouldn't I be safer with him then away from him? With a huff of frustration, I make my decision final. I'm going with him, whether he likes it or not. "Hey Raf, lets follow Bulkhead before we die out here of boredom." I say with a smirk to the little genius. 

"B-but he said for us to wait here.". Aw, c'mon, not this talk again. As much as I want to go with Bulk, I can't just leave Raf here all defenseless and vulnerable. 

"C'mon Raf, we'll just sneak in and sneak out, the Cons won't even know we were there. Besides, we're in more danger here alone, then in there with Bulkhead and Jack." I try to convince Raf to join me. However, before he could even think of an answer, a large shadow covered both our bodies. We looked up to see two Vehicons staring down back at us. 

"Oh scrap." was all I could say before one of the Vehicons quickly grabbed me and Raf. We both tried to wiggle out of the Con's grasp, but his grip was too strong for our human bodies. 

"Bring those two to the brig. They could be allies of the Autobots." the second Vehicon ordered. Soon enough, we were being brought to their ship against our will. This was not how I wanted my day to go.

After a couple of web swings and some mountain crawling, I finally made my way inside the Decepticon ship. For added stealth, I decided to activate my invisibility and crawl on the ceiling of their ship's hallways. It'll be for the best if I don't get caught at all during my time here. I can't use my venom bioelectricity while I'm invisible, and my invisibility doesn't really work best during stressful combat situations. But knowing the Vehicons, they're not going to notice my intrusion until it's too late. 

There's only one problem with this whole rescue mission. Where exactly is Agent Fowler?

I swear it's been ten minutes since I first arrived here, and I still haven't found the grumpy government agent. Could he be on the lower levels? Could he be on the higher? Aww man, this is so time consuming. Suddenly, I hear the footsteps of two separate Vehicon troops walking down the hallway. At first, I pay them no mind, there's no way they'll be able to spot me. That was until I heard one of them begin to talk.

"You heard how that little human was screaming down at the brig." one of the Vehicons said sinisterly. 'Oh?'

"Yeah, as it turns out, energon and humans don't mix.". Both Vehicons began to chuckle at the messed-up joke. 'Shit! They're torturing him.' 

Suddenly, one of the Vehicon troopers stopped walking and placed both his fingers on the helm of his head. "Yes, commander Starscream." sounded the halting Vehicon. "Yes, of course, I'll come right away commander Starscream." the Vehicon ended the call and turned to face the other trooper that was next to him.

"Commander Starscream has requested my presence back at the brig. He wishes for me to retrieve a more powerful stun rod and return with it.". With a nod from the other Vehicon, my unsuspecting guide to the brig walks toward my destination, and I make pursuit. 'If he's getting a new torture device, then that must mean Fowlers' still alive.'

8 Minutes Later....

After a couple minutes of walking to a small armory of sorts and retrieving a nasty looking torture device, my tour guide walks me to the brig that they probably have Fowler locked up in. 'I seriously hope I'm not too late.' 

Finally, we make our way in front of a large mechanical door, to which the Vehicon below me inputs a code, unlocking and opening the door. I quickly crawl my way inside the brig before the door could close. Looking in front of me, I see Starscream in all his villainous glory being handed the new stun rod. And Agent Fowler, who was currently strung up high by some large chains. He looks tired... But if he's still being tortured then that means he hasn't given them anything yet.

"Good. Now get out of here and keep patrolling the Nemesis." Starscream barked out.

With a "Yes commander" from the Vehicon, he walked out of the brig, leaving only me, Starscream, and Agent Fowler in the room. Starscream turned back to face Fowler with a smirk and a treacherous chuckle. 

"Now do you see my dear Agent Fowler. The Autobots have abandoned you, left you to rot. The only one you can rely upon now, is me." Starscream chuckled as he got closer to the broken agent.

"Tell me what I want to know... Or else." Starscream ended his sentence by activating his stun rod, allowing a large surge of purple electricity to light up on the tip of the rod. 'No, not this time Screamy.'

Deciding to finally end this horrific scene, I drop down from the ceiling to the right of Starscream and deactivate my invisibility. My sudden appearance caused Starscream to look my way and gasp in surprise. 

"W-wha, what manner of creature are you? Another insect!?" Starscream shrieked in anger. 

"Arachnid, and I'm putting a stop to this and your weirdly long chin." I mocked at the grey, slender Decepticon. Starscream looked at me for a moment, before he began to burst out laughing. I stood there for a moment, waiting for the ugly Con to finish his laugh track. After a couple of seconds, he ended his laughing by wiping away a fake tear. 

"Oh, you little pathetic bug. If I didn't despise your kind so much, I would keep you for my own personal entertainment." Starscream said coldly. He began to talk toward me slowly, stun rod in hand. 'I don't have time for this.'

I began to charge myself with as much bioelectricity as I could at the moment, allowing its blue energy to course down my body. When I felt that enough was charged into my right arm, I lunged toward the sinister grey Con, aiming straight at his chest. Starscream could only look at me in pure shock for a second before my fist made contact with his chest, creating a loud bang of metal and electricity while sending him flying and slamming into the wall behind him. I dropped down from the heightened punch and looked at the display before me.

Starscream was sliding down the wall he was just slammed into, all the while blue bioelectricity coursed down his grey armor. His chest plate was charred and heavily dented, while small spills of energon were spewing from his mouth. He was groaning heavily in pain and moving around slightly, but he'll still live. 

My body felt so tired after that venom punch, I used up a lot of energy for that punch alone. But I wasn't out of the game yet, I couldn't rest now, not while Fowler and I were still here. I looked at Agent Fowler, who was in awe of the whole display. I jumped on one of the hanging chains near the government agent, trying to get myself on a good angle so that I could break the chains properly. 

"Now that-*huff*, was true patriotic power." the agent attempted at light humor. 

"We can thank Uncle Sam later. Right now, I need to get you out of these chains." I say as I struggle slightly to break his chains properly. There were three long chains tightly wrapped around each of his arms. Should be easy enough, just a tight, firm grip from me should break these chains easily. I start on his left arm, I use one hand to grip and rip the chain off while I use my other hand to hang near Fowler. 

While I try to break the chains, Fowler perks his head up to me. "So uhh, you do this often?" Fowler asked. 

"Ehh, I remember doing something like this a couple of times in New York. Without the giant murderous robot in the room." I lightly joked. 

By this point, I've already broken two of the three chains on his left arm. Before I decided to break the last one, I look at Agent Fowler and begin to warn him. 

"Hey, I'm gonna break this last chain, but that'll mean you'll hang on your right arm for a while. Can you do that?". Fowler looks at his right arm for a moment before looking back at me.

"As long as it doesn't take my arm off, and as long as we get out of here, then I can deal with it." Fowler confidently said. With a nod, I use my powerful grip to break the last chain on his left arm. After it broke, the agent was sent dangling downward by the chains still on his right arm. Thankfully, he didn't fall to his death, and neither was he hurt in any way. Just when I was going to make my way to the chains on his right arm, my spider senses began to tingle. 

I looked back to see Starscream quickly limping his way to me, attempting to slash me with his long, sharp fingers. I jumped and dodged out the way of his slash by jumping forward, overhead of him. While I was behind him midair, I decided to follow up my dodge with a counterattack by quickly web striking the Con's back, sending him stumbling forward and faceplanting on the ground. Starscream yelped loudly in pain while he was being forcefully faceplanted on the cold metal floor. 

I landed behind the Con, striking my signature on-the-ground pose. Starscream planted both his hands on the ground, grunting in pain and struggling to get up. He side-eyed me with anger and snarled.

"You... YOU INSIGNIFICANT ORGANIC!! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!? I AM COMMANDER STARSCREAM, SOON TO BE LORD STARSCREAM. LEADER OF THE DECEPTICONS AND EMPEROR OF DES-".

It was my turn to laugh loudly. The monologuing idiot stopped talking to look at me in disbelief and anger. After I finished laughing, I looked at him with a deadpan expression on my mask. 

"Leader of the Decepticons? Buddy, I don't think you could even lead a parade if you tried." I mocked the egotistical Con. With a loud, angry snarl he quickly stood up and readied his sharp fingers for slashing. 

"This planet will be the first to perish under my rule." Starscream coldly stated as if it were the truth. 

"Yeah, sure thing Screamy. You mind if I call you that right? Ah, what am I saying, of course you do!". I immediately shot out a barrage of web shots at the Con's face, stunning him for the moment. He snarled and tried to scrape the webs off his face with one hand while slashing the air blindly with the other hand. 

I took advantage of his blindness by web swinging around the slashing idiot until I was in a good position to swing kick him in the face. My swing kick knocked him back a few inches, and I quickly followed up that attack with a web strike to his face. I land back on the ground and my fists begin to feel a little sore from punching his metal armor, but I pay the feeling no mind. I can still dish out a lot more attacks for the bumbling moron. 

Since he's still trying to get the webs off his face, I decide that the best attack I could do next was to slingshot myself at him. Making the decision final, I shoot out two separate web lines on the walls besides me and pull myself backwards as much as I could. After moving back a couple of inches, I let myself go, allowing the elasticity of the webs and my strength to push myself forward with great force. However, just before I could reach his face, Starscream was able to move the remaining webs on his face and quickly catch my approaching figure. 'Damn it, no!'

I was caught in Starscream's grasp, his grip getting increasingly tight as he looked at me with a victorious smirk. 

"You humans think that you're the center of the universe. You have no idea." he chuckled villainously. 

"Is it-*argh*, too late to renew my membership aboard the Nemesis?" I quipped at the unimpressed Decepticon. He snarled in anger and tightened his squeeze. "Argh!" I yelp out in pain. 

"I would bring you to Lord Megatron for experimentation, but it would be much more fun for me to kill you." Starscream said coldly. 'Sorry Screamy, not today.'

I didn't want to have to do this, but this psychopath isn't really leaving me any options. Using both my hands, I place one on the top of his thumb and another on the lower part of his thumb. Using all of my available strength, I bend his thumb backwards as far as I could. 'If he's like any other living being, then I know that this has got to hurt.'

I manage to bend his thumb so far backwards that it eventually breaks and snaps in half. Starscream's eyes immediately widen as he began to scream in agonizing pain, losing his grip on me and throwing me to the ground. I land back on the ground on both feet and look back at the injured Decepticon. Starscream was grasping his injured left hand and wincing at his broken thumb. After checking his injury for a while, he perked his head back up and looked at me.

"Y-you... You broke my thumb servo!" Starscream shouted in disbelief. 

"Yeah, thing about spiders Screamy, it's that we usually don't like to be grabbed." I educated the baffled psychopath. 

"You think I'm the only one you're going to be facing on this ship! Just wait until my armada arrives." Starscream threatened. Suddenly, the door behind us opens. I looked back to see a Vehicon standing at the doorframe, just staring at me and Starscream. 'Weird, my spider senses should have warned me about him.'

"W-well! What are you waiting for! Shoot him!" Starscream yelled out. Unfortunately for him, the Vehicon turned out to already be dead as said Vehicon limply dropped on the floor, revealing a battle-ready Bulkhead charging a shot from his blaster. 

Starscream yelped out in shock but immediately changed his demeanor into a sinister expression as he transformed his right hand into a blaster and pointed it at a dangling Fowler.

"Ah, ah, ah. One wrong move and the human gets blown to bits." he threatened as he charged his blaster from across the room. Starscream wasn't near enough to Fowler to shoot him point blank, but he still had a pretty good shot on the government agent. It was something neither I nor Bulkhead could risk happening, so we kept still. 

"Me and your dear Agent Fowler are going to take our leave now. Unless you want him back in meaty little pieces." Starscream ordered. 

"You kill him, and you won't be getting out of here in one piece." Bulkhead threatened coldly. Starscream began to chuckle lightly at Bulkhead's threat.

"You and I both know that your Autobot morals would never allow you to put a human's life at risk. Fortunately for me, I am no Autobot." Starscream clarified. He then looked straight at me.

"And whatever that human is, I assume it also shares your same Autobot weaknesses.". I furrow my eyes and look dead into his eyes. 

"It's Spider-man. And don't forget the hyphen between Spider and Man." I quipped sternly. He replaced his smirk with a scowl and growled angerly. 

"You two will lower your weapons and move away from the door while I retrieve your agent!" he tried to command us. Me and Bulkhead shared a glance at each other, we were both nervous for Fowler's life. However, just when we were about to comply, Arcee jumped down from the ceiling through the hole that served as the only light source in this room. 

She covered Agent Fowler with her metal body and pointed both her blasters at the now terrified Starscream. The Decepticon in question shrieked in fear as Arcee suddenly came down. And now, he was cornered and surrounded. 

"You want to try this again Starscream? Lower your weapon and stand down, before I show you how it feels to sore through the sky without your wings." Arcee threatened in a cold tone. 

Starscream shook slightly at the threat, he slowly transformed his blaster back into his hand and raised them both in the air. Then in quick succession, Starscream jumped into the air and transformed into his fighter jet mode. My eyes widen in surprise at the action while Arcee and Bulkhead began firing at the fleeing Decepticon. The jets of his alt mode began to roar, signifying that he was going to jet boost his way through us, whether we were still in the way or not. 

Before that could happen though, Arcee quickly ran to my direction and once again used her body as cover for my tiny figure. The sound and force of Starscream's jet boost echoed through the room and disappeared into the hallways of the Nemesis. Even with Arcee covering me, I could still slightly feel the push force of his jet boost. If Arcee hadn't covered me, I probably would have been blown to the wall. 

After Starscream fled, Arcee looked up to see if the coast was clear. When it was, she let go of my body and stood back up, looking towards me. I looked back up at Arcee and smiled. 

"Thanks, Arcee." I said with gratefulness. 

"Anytime Spider-man." she teased when saying my "work name". 

"*Argh!* Starscream got away. At least we got Fowler in one piece." Bulkhead said, staring at the still dangling agent. Said agent groaned in slight pain and discomfort.

"Can someone please get me down from here already." Fowler begged. Arcee walked towards Agent Fowler, she grabbed his body with one hand while activating her wrist blade on the other. With one swift slash, she cut off all the chains on his right arm, finally freeing the poor man. Wait, I feel like were forgetting someone. 

"Where's Bumblebee?" I asked Arcee. She looked back at me and spoke. 

"He's with Raf and Miko in a small control room on this ship, protecting them from any potential Vehicons.". 'Wait! What the hell is Miko and Raf doing on the Nemesis!'

"Why are they here in the first place!?" I shouted in shock. Bulkhead walked behind me and began to explain.

"Raf said they were captured by Cons while I was searching the ship for Fowler. Turns out they were bringing them here, which is why I even managed to find this room in the first place." Bulkhead said calmly. Arcee then cleared her throat to grab our attention. 

"Look, we can explain everything once we return to base. For now, we have to book it out of here before more reinforcement show up." she said with a stern look. With a nod of agreement from all of us, Bulkhead looked towards the doorframe and transformed, allowing Fowler to climb in. Arcee also transformed in front of me and revved her engines. 

"Hop on." Arcee said.

"With pleasure." I remarked back. 

Without a second to lose, we sped off quickly through the hallways and out of the interrogation chamber. Arcee opened her communicator and spoke. 

"Bee, we have Fowler. Are the children safe?" Arcee said through the roars of her engine. A few beeps coming from Bumblebee sounded through her communicator in response. "Good, take them and drive out of here. We'll meet you on our way out.". As soon as Arcee closed her communicator, she sped through faster, and so did Bulkhead. 

"I take it Bumblebee said some good news?" I asked the speeding femme. 

"Miko and Raf are safe and unharmed. They had a few close calls though." Arcee said the last part with concern.

"Then it's a good thing Bumblebee was there to keep watch." I comforted Arcee. 

"Well, Bee can't take all the credit. Without you, Starscream would have killed Fowler by now.". I chuckled and patted her side.

"Let's save the congratulations when we go back to base." I chuckled, and soon enough, she chuckled too. Though, it was a bit quieter than mine. 

After a couple minutes of speeding down the halls and a few close calls later, we finally meet up with Bumblebee and make our way out of the Nemesis and into the desert of Nevada. 'Ahhh, fresh air at last.' I mentally thank the sweet breeze of the Nevada desert. 

I wonder if Optimus and Ratchet are still out doing reconnaissance.  

Chapter Text

Megatron has gone too far this time. 

Raising a hoard of undead cybertonian warriors to do his bidding, and with dark energon of all things despicable. I could not imagine a worser fate for those who have fallen before us. 

As Ratchet continues to climb up to my position, I look upon the massive hoard of destroyed and dismantled undead warriors. There were so many of them, and each were as relentless as the next. But I fear that this is not the end of Megatron's scheme. No, this was but the beginning, a taste of something much worse to come. If we do not act to stop Megatron now, then I fear that our darkest hour may be upon us. 

I look down to see that Ratchet is nearing the end of his climb. I bend down slightly to help my oldest friend up and on his feet servos, all the while being mindful of his injuries. Ratchet gratefully smiles at me for a moment, then looks down to the dismantled hoard below us. 

"If this wasn't Megatron's endgame, then what is?" Ratchet questioned with fear in his voice box. I continue to look down upon the dead hoard, knowing very well that this was not the end of Megatron's plan. 

"Whatever his endgame may be, one thing is for certain." I break my optic contact from the hoard to look at Ratchet. 

"Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost.". 

Autobot Base - 2 Hours Later...

It had been a couple of hours since we had raided the Nemesis to rescue Fowler. Since then, we've driven back to base to find that Optimus and Ratchet were already there. Oddly enough, Ratchet was wearing a large metal arm brace when we came back. 'Thought they were just out doing recon.'

That thought aside, we decided to stabilize Fowler here so that he could recover from his less than pleasant experience aboard the Nemesis. After we broke Fowler out of there, he kind of just blacked out. Honestly, I can't blame him. 

From what me and the Autobots could tell, the Cons were really putting the hurt on him. I shudder to imagine what they could have done to Miko and Raf if they managed to lock them up before the Arcee and Bumblebee came to their rescue. Speaking of the reckless punk teen, I tried to get it through that thick skull of hers that none of this was a game. She and Raf could have been tortured to death and that would have been the end of their lives. They were both lucky enough that Bulkhead had already contacted Arcee and Bumblebee for their help, prior to their capture.

Me, Miko, and Raf were on the catwalk, standing next to Fowler on the makeshift hospital bed to check up on him. That was when Optimus and Ratchet approached us, both of them wearing scowl and a worried expression on their faces. Looking at Ratchet's arm brace once more, my curiosity was piqued, and I decided to ask them about their little "recon" mission. 

"What happened to you guys? Thought it was just simple reconnaissance." I questioned the stoic Prime. However, Ratchet was the first to speak on the matter. 

"We engaged an army of undead cybertonian warriors." Ratchet said, seriousness written all over his explanation. Miko instantly perked her head up at the injured medic. 'Somehow, I already know what she's about to say.'

"You guys fought zombies? And I missed it!!" Miko said while looking both excited and disappointed at the same time. 'Yep, called it.' I think to myself while facepalming at Miko's remark. 

Optimus ignored Miko's response, instead he looked at Arcee, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead. All three Autobots dropped their heads down in disappointment at the Prime's gaze, already knowing the scolding they're about to receive.

"Arcee, Bumblebee, you had disobeyed a direct order for not accompanying the children here, where they are safe." Optimus said in a sternly disappointed voice. Arcee dropped her head down even lower and closed her eyes. Bumblebee on the other hand beeped with low, quiet sounds. Optimus then turned his powerful gaze to Bulkhead. 

"And Bulkhead, you have exercised poor judgement in allowing the children to accompany you during Special Agent Fowler's rescue." Optimus said in the same tone he spoke with to Arcee and Bumblebee. In response, Bulkhead looked up at Optimus, wearing a disappointed frown.  

"It.... It won't happen again sir." Bulkhead replied. 

This... This wasn't right. Sure, we all made mistakes at some point during Fowler's rescue, but we all tried to make up for it someway. Everything that had happened during that mission was so sudden, it had completely caught us all by surprise. And besides, if it weren't for those three, Miko, Raf, and Fowler probably would have ended up dead. 

"Wait, Optimus." I called the attention of the giant Autobot leader. He turned to face me with a curious gaze. 

"I know we all made mistakes today, but if it weren't for them, this rescue would have been a failure, just like the last one." I explained, while Arcee lifted her head up slightly to look at me. I looked back at the slightly surprised cobalt blue Autobot, and gave her a small and reassuring smile. 

"Yeah, and it wasn't Bulkhead's fault either, he saved us." Miko sounded. Bulkhead looked at Miko in surprise, probably shocked at how quick Miko was to defend him. 

"And check it out, recon!" Miko said, going into her pocket and pulling out her neon pink flip phone to show to Optimus. Curious, I stepped a bit closer in front of Miko and observed the picture with Optimus. It was a photo of a large computer screen, like the one we have here at base, but purple. It had some sort of equation and incomprehensible text written on it, and whatever it was, it looked important. Optimus hummed curiously for a moment before looking towards Ratchet.

"Ratchet, have a look. It may be of some importance to Megatron." Optimus said, moving out the way of the injured medic. While Ratchet was looking at the picture, my mind began resurfacing back to that name, Megatron. 'I thought he hadn't showed up for a while. Is he already back?'

"As for the rest of you." Optimus suddenly turned his attention back at his team. "Although my point still stands about your reckless behaviors, you have all shown that it has not completely clouded your judgments. In the end, you all prevailed and returned unharmed, as a team." Optimus stated, sounding a bit proud of his fellow Autobots. His encouraging words brought a little light to the atmosphere and to us, prior to the doom and gloom we returned to. 

I smiled a bit at Optimus's kind words, until my train of thought returned. 'Megatron's back.'

"So Optimus, Megatron's already back from his beauty sleep?" I ask with some concern in my voice, trying not to let out too much of my worry. 

"I am afraid so Jack. I had fought him along with his hoard of the undead, prior to us returning here." Optimus replied, conforming my biggest worry. I closed my eyes for a bit and let out a sigh, then I looked back at the Prime. 

"I'm guessing the Decepticons won't take it easy on us now that Megatron's back." I ask, uncertain whether I should try to lighten the mood with quips or if I should be as serious as everybody else. 

"With Megatron's return, the Decepticons will thrive once again under the strength of his iron fist and his leadership." Optimus said in a grave tone. He walked closer to the catwalk I was on and lowered his head to eye level with me.

"Jackson, I am deeply sorry that you and the others had to be involved in our war. I had never wished for our mistakes to be humanity's doom." Optimus apologized in a low, sorrowful tone. 

"It's okay Optimus, if it weren't for you and the Autobots protecting our planet, Earth would have already been history. It's up to people like us to uphold our responsibilities and protect those who can't do so themselves. I'm just glad I'm not doing this alone." I say the last part softly, looking towards my team and my friends. I catch Arcee staring back at me with a soft smile, probably glad that I wasn't trying to bail out of here. 

"Though if I'm being honest, I think Miko is a bit too excited to be involved in all of this." I say, staring back at the Prime. 

"Indeed." Optimus replied. 

"Hey! I heard that." Miko shouted in slight frustration.

Optimus took his eyes off me to focus his attention once more on his team members. "Autobots, you are all dismissed. Ratchet and I will inform you if anything of importance comes to our attention." Optimus sounded in his usual stoic, reverberating voice. With that, Optimus turned to walked towards the hallway and out of the common area, while Ratchet continued to work on studying the picture Miko provided him. 

"Hey Bee, you want to play some video games?" Raf asked the yellow scout with a smile. The yellow Autobot nodded happily and beeped in agreement, all the while Raf chuckled happily at Bumblebee's reaction. Bulkhead stood back up with a restless groan and stretched his arms.

"Finally, been wanting to use the training room for a while. Need to get my punches in y'know." Bulkhead said to Miko as he continued to stretch his arms. 

"Woah, you guys have a training room!? Can I see? Do you use normal punching bags or metal ones? Can I train in there too?" Miko bombarded the stretching green oaf with a sea of questions. Bulkhead stopped stretching and chuckled lightly at the curious teenage rocker. 

"Alright Miko, you can come with. But you have to stay a safe distance away from me. The last thing I need is to accidently step on you while I show you some of my wrecker moves." Bulkhead warned sternly, making sure his words got through to Miko. Miko on the other hand rolled her eyes and gave Bulkhead a lazy salute, all the while smirking. 

"Hey Bulk, mind if I join? Need to let off some steam too." Arcee asked, suddenly appearing behind me. 

"Sure, you could show Miko what you do to the Cons with those wrist blades.". Bulkhead looked back at Miko to see her shaking even more in excitement, until she let out a small gasp and looked dead into my eyes. 

"Spidey, you should totally join in! Y'know, to show off more of your spider moves." Miko exclaimed excitedly while making the same hand gesture I do when shooting a web, albeit with a bit more enthusiasm. At first, I was going to deny that offer, until I came up with competitively funny idea. 

"I don't know Miko, I don't want to wipe the floor with them too much. Might hurt their egos." I chuckled while rubbing the back of my neck, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. Both bots in question look at me wide eyed, until Arcee furrowed her eyes and smirked. 

"That a challenge Spider-man." Arcee teased competitively, walking closer to me with her arms crossed. I scoffed and walked closer to her too, a sly smirk sketched all across my face. 

"I'm just saying Arcee, if you can't handle the spider domain, then I totally understand if you want to back out." I teased her ego even more, staring right into her big cyan blue eyes. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Miko and Bulkhead looking at each other nervously. Probably hoping that Arcee and I don't get too competitive with our remarks. 

Arcee scoffed without breaking eye contact, she then furrowed her eyes even more and extended her smirk. 

"Bring it on, Spider-man."

Arrival at Darby Residence - 3 Hours Later...

Man... That was something else. 

Arcee was swift and powerful for someone her size (At least in cybertonian standards of size). She was by far one of the fastest people I've ever fought, maybe except for Otto and his four mechanical pets. 'That scumbag and him damned tentacles.' I quickly remind myself about the hate that I hold dear to my heart towards that monster. 

I shake my head of those thoughts, quickly thinking about the present time that I'm living now. My thoughts go back to my time in the Autobot's training room, when Bulkhead, Arcee and I were showing off our skills to a very thrilled Miko. Though I could tell that the excited teenage rocker was cheering for Bulkhead the most, especially with those powerful mace attacks of his. 

However, the main event of that day was when me and Arcee sparred against each other in the training room. There were no weapons used, just pure fist to metal fist combat. Though, that didn't stop her from showing how skilled she was in combat, even without her weapons. Yeah... Probably shouldn't have gotten her riled up with my competitive talk. I didn't take it easy on her though, it came as no surprised how hard it was for a cybertonian to land a hit on a smaller, faster opponent. Just ask the Vehicons. 

Neither of us won that day. It turned out to be a draw according to Bulkhead when the sparring match met its 20-minute time limit. Oh well, there's always a next time for rematches. 

"You okay Jack? Hope my skills didn't leave you too speechless." Arcee joked lightly. I snap out of my thoughts and shake my helmeted head for a brief moment before looking at Arcee's rearview mirrors. 

"I'm okay Arcee. Just reminiscing about our little sparring match." I say as Arcee continues to drive down the streets of my neighborhood. 

"Already thinking of another rematch?" Arcee questioned as we neared my house. 

"Maybe. Or we could have another long drive down the outskirts of Nevada." I say slightly thrilled, remembering how it felt to just close my eyes as Arcee raced down the empty road at full speed. 'Man, we've got to do that again someday.'

"Sometime Jack, sometime." Arcee quietly promised. 

We finally neared my house's garage door, and with no sigh of mom too. 'Must be another late shift.'

Arcee quietly drove us inside the garage. Afterwards, I got off and quickly closed the garage door so she could freely transform back into her bipedal form. She did just that, though she wasn't standing completely as to not accidently break the garage ceiling because of her tall height. While kneeling, she did her best to stretch out her arms and her body. Honestly, I feel bad for how cramped it must be for her here. 

"You okay Arcee? Your limbs look a little strained." I ask with some concern in my voice. She looks at me with a neutral expression while she continues to stretch. 

"I'm fine Jack, just stretching out my pistons. Being cramped up in vehicle mode can to that to an Autobot." she said as she stopped stretching and sat down on the ground. I nod and smile at her before turning to my right and walk towards my workbench. It's nothing much, just a large enough wooden workbench that I could use to repair stuff like my webshooters. Speaking of, I slip my sleeves down to check on my web cartilages and-

"Yep, almost empty." I grumbled to myself. I take both webshooters off my wrists and place them down on the workbench. I then proceed to take out some spare web cartilages from a secret compartment inside the workbench and insert them inside my webshooters. 'These things could use an upgrade. 'Maybe I could ask Ratchet... Nah, he'll probably dismiss it as a waste of his time.'

"What are you working on Jack?" Arcee suddenly asked. I look towards her for a moment and see that she seemed genuinely curious. 

"Oh, uhhh, just replacing the web cartilages on my webshooters. Y'know, since I can't produce webs myself." I say, a bit sheepish at the fact that a man with spider powers can't make webs organically. 'Where would it even come out of?'. I slightly shiver at the weird thought. 

"You... Your body can't produce them organically?" she said, raising an eyebrow. 

"No, unfortunately for me. I have to make them chemically, otherwise I won't be able to use webs at all.". Arcee looks down for a moment, her eyes slightly dimming, before returning her gaze to me.

"Tough. Seems like such a time waster, having to replace them all the time." she lightly joked. 

"You have no idea." I chuckled at her remark.

We both share a small laugh together before returning to silence, I refocus my attention on my webshooters. I don't know why, but a part of me reminds myself about something that I've kept from the Autobots, ever since I revealed to them how I got my powers. I never truly told them how I became a Spider-man, why I do the things that I do to protect people, and why I put myself at risk for people that I've never even met. And honestly, it gnaws at me. 

A part of me tells myself that the Autobots don't need to know, that it wasn't any of their business and that we have more important things to worry about. But another part of me, it begs me to reveal to them. They've been protective of me, Miko, Raf, and even Fowler. This wasn't their planet, yet they were willing to put themselves at risk for Earth's protection. The Autobots told me what their intentions on Earth were, and that their cause was not only for the betterment of their planet, but for all living beings in the galaxy. 

The Autobots are trustworthy, they deserve to know the truth, the truth about who Spider-man is. He isn't a hero, at least not a true hero. Just a man who realized that with great power, there must also come great responsibility. 

But honestly, I don't know if I'm ready to tell them all about my biggest turning point in life. At least, not all of them yet. 

I turn my head and glance at Arcee for a moment to see that she was inspecting her left wrist blade. It only took a second for her to catch my glance and look up at me. 

"Is something wrong Jack?" she asked gently, without any animosity. It takes a second for me to realize that whatever thoughts I had in my head had me wearing a troubled expression in real time. I shake my head slightly and reply.

"Th-there's nothing wrong, I'm fine. I was just... thinking about something." I asked with a bit of uncertainty in my voice. 'Damn it Jack, keep it together.'

Arcee furrowed her eyes slightly and talked with a gentle, but stern voice. "Jack, I may not be good with humans, but I know a troubled face when I see one.". The way she spoke kind of reminds me of how my mom, or even Optimus speaks sometimes. With a small sigh, I drop my head slightly and close my eyes, trying to form my next sentence. 'What do I say? Would she even care.'

"If there's something troubling you Jack, anything at all, then you could always talk to me about it. I'm a good listener." Arcee spoke in a soft, caring tone. The gentleness of her tone surprised me enough to make me open my eyes and face her once more. I've known her for a few days to understand that she's usually the type to put on a "tough guy" face in front of everybody. Was I a small exception to that behavior? 

If she cared enough to ask me what was wrong, then maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to tell her. She is my appointed guardian after all, so it shouldn't be too bad for us to open up about certain things, right? Who knows, maybe talking to each other every once in a while could build up our friendship. 

With a sigh, I mentally ready myself to tell her the truth, about one of the biggest regrets in my life and how Spider-man came to be. 'If I was going to tell anyone, then it would be her. She is my first motorcycle after all.' 

"It-I, there's something Arcee... something that's been gnawing at my mind for a while now." I spoke in a low, uncertain whisper. 

"Is it... Is it about us Jack?" Arcee questioned. 

"No. No Arcee, it's actually about me.". I find it a bit harder to speak with every word coming out of my mouth, but I push on. 

"You guys told me your story y'know. Who the Autobots are and why you guys are here in the first place. You've all been trustworthy to me so far.". Arcee stayed silent with a neutral expression, continuing to listen to every word I spoke. 

"So, it's only fair that you guys know my story. Why I even became a vigilante in the first place.". Arcee's expression suddenly changed to one of slight empathy. 

"Jack... If this is something personal, something that hurts to talk about, then I understand if you don't wish to share it with me or the rest." Arcee sympathized, bringing her hand onto her chest plate. 

"I... Thanks, Arcee. But I need to do this, I need to get this off my chest. Otherwise, I'll feel like I'm lying to the Autobots, and to you." I explain softly. Arcee's eyes widen slightly in surprise at the fact that I hold her in a higher regard than the others. 

"If this is what you want Jack, then I'm all audio receptors. I won't tell anyone until you're ready to tell them." Arcee promised with a soft smile. I smile back at her lightly before walking closer to her. With a wooden stool in hand, I set it down in front of her and sit on it, readying myself to vent to her as I stare into her bright, cyan blue eyes.

"When I first got my powers, I was scared. Scared of myself, scared of what my friends would think of me, scared of how my family would treat me. But every day that went by since the spider bite, I slowly managed to get the hang of my powers." I explain carefully to Arcee, already feeling a lump in my throat because of the sore subject. 

"When I felt I wasn't scared of my powers, I began to realize just what I was capable of. Or so I thought." I said the last part in disappointment at myself. Arcee frowned a little at the remark towards myself. 

"The feeling of having something that nobody else had... It made me feel powerful, like I was above everybody else, above my own responsibilities." I explained as Arcee continued to listen, as she promised. 

Arcee felt a little shocked at how Jack explained how he used to behave. She knew many cybertonians who fell victim to their own desires of power and greed, from both Autobot and Decepticon alike. She also knew that humans were capable of experiencing the same wants of desires and the need to assert their dominance over the weak, like she had seen on Cybertron before and during the war. But knowing that Jack also fell to victim to these same desires after he had gotten his powers, it shook her spark a little. They way she had seen Jack in action, seeing him risk his own life to save others, she didn't think that he was also capable of experiencing those same evils. 

"I wanted to experience that feeling more and more, so I decided to use my powers for my own selfish gains. Joining an underground wrestling club was the first step in showing off my strength.". I sighed heavily, remembering how proud I was of myself in showing off my newfound strength. 

"What I didn't realize at the time was that I was slowly distancing myself from the people I grew the closest with. You see, it all started one day when...

Arrival at Parker Residence - 2 Years Ago...

*Tsk* 'God damn teachers. If they weren't there to stop me, then I would have kept beating the shit out of Flash.'

The drive back home from school felt a little longer than usual, as if time itself was stretched out even further. This makes the situation I'm in even more awkward than it already is, with my Uncle Ben silently driving us back home, as he usually would. 

As I sit on the front passenger's seat, I look out the car window to my side and begin reminiscing about today's fight I had with that asshole, Flash. Me and Gwen were just walking down the hall, talking about any plans we could make for each other and minding our own business. That was until that asshole and his douchebag friends showed up at the end of the halls and decided that they couldn't go one day without ticking me off. 

Normally, Harry and Eddie would be there to defend me and Gwen from that prick, but they weren't at school to protect us today. Thankfully, I didn't need them to defend me anymore.

Ever since I got bit by that radioactive spider, I felt a whole lot stronger than I have in my entire life. I knew I could knock his teeth out, but I didn't want to give myself a reason to get suspended, so I tried to ignore his stupid remarks and walk past him. It was until him and his creepy friends started to catcall Gwen in front of me that made me snap at them. They weren't just calling her weird things, they also kept making weird noises at her and even whistling at her like she was some damn prostitute! 

Seeing the way that Gwen started to look physically uncomfortable, it didn't just make me angry, it made me want to bash Flash's head into the lockers. And that's exactly what I did to the fucker. Without even thinking, I grabbed him by his stupid blond hair, and I slammed his face into the nearest locker. I kept repeating the motion until Gwen screamed at me to stop. I still remember seeing his bruised left eye and even some of his teeth missing on his dumb face. He looked scared, as he should be. 

The last thing I remember seeing before I got sent off to the principal's office was Gwen's expression. I thought that she would have been happy at what I did to him, but instead, she looked horrified. Why was she though, I defended her didn't I? Whatever, we'll probably talk about it tomorrow or something. 

The loud noise of my Uncle Ben clearing his throat snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked back to him to see that he was staring at me with a stern expression. Actually, now that I realize it, he wasn't even driving at all. We were parked on our house's driveway, but for some reason he wasn't leaving the car. 'How long have I been thinking for?'

"Umm, Uncle Ben? What's this about?" I asked the stern old man.

"Quite a fight you had at school, didn't you." he replied, not even bothering to answer my question.

"Aww c'mon Ben, you really want to have this talk. I just defe-"

"You bashed a kid's head into a locker, you call that "defending yourself"." my Uncle Ben said, actually using air quotations to make me doubt myself. 

"It wasn't just me, it was Gwen too! They were catcalling her and-"

"That's not the point Jack, the point is that you lost control of yourself, and you decided that violence was the way to deal with him." Ben said in a gruff, stern voice while pointing a finger at me. 

"Well, what was I supposed to do? Just let him trashtalk me and Gwen!? Flash deserved it!" I shout at him. Uncle Ben only sighed in response as he continued to sternly stare at me.

"Look Jack, maybe this Flash kid did deserve to have some sense knocked into him, but that's not what you did. You didn't just start the fight, you overindulged in it. And that's not how me and May taught you to handle these situations." Ben explained in a still stern, but gentler tone. I rolled my eyes and scoffed in response at him. 

"Things change Ben, people change. When are you going to start realizing that I'm going to be doing my own thing someday." I said with furrowed eyes. 

"You're damn right people change Jack. What matters is who you want to change into.". Ben sighed and stayed silent for a moment before he went right back to speaking.

"Listen, you're at a point in your life where you start to make the most important decisions, not just for yourself, but for others. And one of the most important decisions you'll have to make is choosing the person you want to become for the rest of your life." Uncle Ben explained gently, without any of the sternness he showed prior. I huffed with a bit of anger still residing in me, but I continue to listen to him.

"If you have no other choice than to fight to defend yourself or your family, then you fight. But to overindulge yourself in violence and power, is to lose yourself completely. Remember Jack, with great power, comes great responsibility.".

I sit still for a moment, taking in what he had just explained to me. Great power comes great responsibility? What does that even mean? Does he honestly think I can't control myself, like I'll become some sort of serial killer in the future. I'm not losing myself, I'm just recognizing the power that I have over other people. If I show people how strong I really am, then they wouldn't want to mess with me or my loved ones ever again. 'Yeah, that's right, that's exactly what I'm doing.'

"A-are you getting scared of me Uncle Ben? Do you think that I'm going to turn into some maniac and terrorize people's lives? Just quit worrying about me and I'll figure out who I want to become on my own." I argued back in an angered tone. My Uncle Ben's reaction was to heavily sigh as he stared at me in disappointment. 

"I'm just trying to help you son-"

"Well don't! Because you're not my dad and I'm not you're son!" I interrupted Uncle Ben with an angered shout.

....

.......

Silence. 

The silence was somehow the most deafening part of this argument. 

 And my Uncle Ben.... He looked absolutely heartbroken.

The realization of what I had just shouted slowly starts to set in, the regret and guilt of my words instantly colors my thoughts. Before I could even attempt to apologize, Uncle Ben opens the car door and slowly gets up and closes the door, leaving me in the car alone. 'Shit... You really did it this time Darby. You broke your Uncle Ben's heart.'

I sit in the car for a minute, thinking about how I should apologize to him. 'He... He just needs some alone time right now. Yeah, just give him some space and then you could try apologizing to him.'

I finally step out the car and shut the door behind me. Things are tough with Ben right now, but that can wait for now. I have a wrestling match that starts in about three hours, so for now I'll just have to clean my wrestling costume and ready myself for the match. Maybe I use those new webshooters I've been making in the garage.

They've been doing well experiment wise. Perhaps I could use them in today's match. 

Wrestlers Domain - Three Hours Later - 6:30 PM

Yup, a total victory this match, just like the first ten times I've been here. And honestly, it never gets old.

After the usual lie that Eddie needed my help in studying at his place, my Aunt May would drive to his house and drop me off there. From then I would walk all the way to Wrestlers Domain, which is surprisingly close to Eddie's house, just a 15-minute walk. I'd do my usual thing here which really only consists of beating up wannabe wrestling "champions", then I'd walk my way back to Eddie's house and wait until May picks me up again. 

Life is good.

After I completed the match with a flawless victory, I was told by one of the club's staff to meet the manager back at his office for an important chat. 'This "chat" better be about me getting a pay raise. Feels like I've been carrying this place's reputation on my shoulders.'

Yeah... The paycheck isn't much, but 200 dollars a match isn't that bad for somebody my age. Besides, these are only humble beginnings, I'll be making it up the big leagues soon.  

For now though, I'll just tidy myself up in the locker room and have an "important chat" with the manager. I walk towards my chosen locker, and I quickly unlock the small metal lock on the locker handle using a well-hidden key (It was in my pocket). After some change of clothes, which is really just removing my wrestling mask and wearing a grey jacket over my red sweater, I zip up by bag and finally make my way towards the manager's office. 

Speaking of some change of clothes, I really need to think of a new costume. I mean, I really do like the red and blue color scheme, but a red sweater and some light blue jeans just aren't gonna cut it. Seriously, the only appealing part about my sweater is the large black spider symbol I spray painted over it, and that isn't really saying much. Now that I think about it, the red and black sneakers aren't really marketable either. The only thing that I consider cool about my wrestling costume is my mask, which is just a red full head mask with large, narrowed white eyes. 

The mask really brings out the character of my wrestling stage name, The Spider. Yeah, the name is almost as dumb as my costume, but it still makes me feel all predatory and cool. 

I quickly finish up my costume thoughts as I finally reach the manager's office, and with a turn of a knob, I walk myself inside the old sleezbag's office. 

"Heeyyy! How's my favorite wrestler doing on this fine day." Mark greeted in his usual gruff smoker's voice. 

"Pretty good Mark. You got my paycheck?" I quickly get to the point. Mark immediately frowns at his question's dismissal but complies anyways as he hands me 200 dollars in cash. With knowing how Mark can be a cheapskate sometimes, I immediately get to counting if he gave me the correct amount. 

"There's no need for that Jack. Besides, we have something more important to discuss, you and I." Mark's tone gets low all of a sudden, which causes me to glare at him for a moment. 

"What is it, Mark? I need to be home in a couple of minutes." I say in an uninterested tone as I continue to count my money. Mark hums for a moment before clearing his throat and speaking. 

"Well, how do I put this... I've got to let you go Jack." Mark said while grinning. 

"Uh-huh, uh-huh, so when's my next wr-WHAT!" I shout suddenly as I stop counting my money to glare at the grinning sleezbag. 

"What the hell do you mean you've got to let me go!!?" I argue back in a loud shout. 

"It means go, bye bye, good night, shoo." Mark said nonchalantly as he put both his feet up on his desk and laid back on his chair. 'I can't fucking believe this guy.'

"You can't just fire me, I'm the best wrester you have. I won every single match that I've been in ever since I signed up to wrestle in this shithole!" I continued to shout at the greaseball.

Mark stared at me in the eyes, clearly unfazed by my anger. He then began to pull out a cheap looking Cuban cigar from his tux pocket and light it up with an even cheaper looking lighter. Mark took one, long drag from the cigar before he exhaled a large cloud of the cancer stick's smoke. Afterwards, he pointed the cigar at me and continued to explain. 

"And that's the problem kid, you keep winning. Nobody wants to participate in Wrestlers Domain anymore if it means having to lose to you. There's just no competition Jack, and no competition means no business." Mark explained in a loud, gruffy voice. I scoff at cheapskate's statement.

"Bullshit! You just don't want to pay me anymore! You just want to profit off of me while I work twice as hard to make a third of what you earn!" I yell as I point an accusatory finger at him. 

"Listen Jack, it's nothing personal. It's just business. Besides, you can't talk you're way out of this one, I've already removed your name from the contract. So just be a good little boy and scram home already." Mark antagonized as he waved me away and took another drag from his cigar. 'This-This god damned asshole really just fired me for being too good." 

The amount of anger and hate that I felt towards this guy at the moment made me want to grab him by his collar and ram my fist into his face as hard as possible. Deep down though, I knew that beating this guy wasn't an option, unless I wanted to spend the next couple of years in juvie. With a snarl, I turned around and headed out of the door, not before leaving Mark a nice gift on his door. He always wanted a basketball sized hole punched through his door.

"HEY! GOD DAMN KID!" Mark yelled from his office as I was already in the middle of the hallway. Suddenly, my phone starts vibrating. I take my flip phone out and open it to see that Aunt May texted me. 

A. MAY: Can't pick you up myself. Your Uncle Ben is coming to pick you up, so be ready. Love you :)

'Aw, just what I needed, another awkward ride home.' I say to myself as I pray mentally that Uncle ben isn't still mad at me.

As I kept slowly walking down the hall, my eyes immediately catch on to a short, hunched man who's looks just screams "I'm sketchy and suspicious". He was a white guy, probably in his early 40's by the looks of it. He had long, disheveled brown hair running down his head. The guy also seemed to be wearing a large, black jacket, black jeans, and even some black boots. The only other color he was wearing other than black was a dirty stained white t-shirt. 'Yep, just the average New Yorker.'

The sketchy man was slowly walking his way towards the manager's office, opposite to the direction I was going towards. 'Probably another wrestler that's about to get screwed over by Mark.'

My attention to the sketchy man gets interrupted when my phone starts to vibrate again, and this time it was a message from Uncle Ben. 

U. Ben: Just arrived at Eddie's house two minutes ago. 

U. Ben: I asked his parent's if you were there and they said you weren't. 

'Oh shit. Maybe I can fix this.'. I quickly start to text back an attempt at an explanation to him.

Jack D.: I can explain Uncle Ben.

U. Ben: No need. His parent's said that every time your Aunt May drops you off at their place, you would always walk to some wrestling club and stay there for the next few hours.

U. Ben: I already know the location, so stay put while I drive there to pick you up.

U. Ben: And you better have a great explanation for this young man. 

With that, Uncle Ben stops texting me and I close my phone up with a heavy sigh. 'Damn it. I should have known my lie wouldn't work forever.' I mentally curse myself for what's about to come later on. Uncle Ben's probably even more pissed than last time, great going Darby. 

Just when I was going to sulk my way through the halls, I suddenly hear the loud sounds of screaming and shouting coming from both Mark and an unfamiliar voice. I look behind me to see that the same sketchy dude from before was bolting his way from Mark's office towards the elevator that led out of this hallway. In his hands, he was carrying a small duffel bag with a few dollar bills slipping out of it and falling slowly to the ground. 

"HEY! GET BACK HERE ASSHOLE!" Mark shouted at the top of his lungs. Though, the sketchy man didn't listen as he continued running down the hall. 

Holy shit! Mark's getting robbed!

....

Wait a minute, Mark's getting robbed. The same douchebag that fired me earlier for being too good at my job is getting robbed not even a few hours after he did so. Huh, talk about karma. 

I mean, with how scared the sketchy dude looks right now and by how strong I really am, I could just stop this guy from getting away easily. But why should I? If Mark wants to screw me over, then I'll screw him back ten times over. 

Without even hesitating, I walk towards the elevator and push its button, instantly opening the elevator doors for the running criminal to waltz right in.

"Whoops, my finger slipped." I quipped while grinning mischievously. The criminal runs right into the empty elevator and presses the lobby button frantically, but before the elevator doors could close, he looked straight into my eyes and spoke.

"Thanks man, appreciate it." was all the criminal said before the elevator doors shut right in my face. For some reason, I couldn't help but smile at the man's remark. With a heavy heaving sound coming from behind me, Mark finally catches up to the elevator, but not the criminal. 

"What the fuck's wrong with you kid? You just opened the door for that scumbag, and now he's escaped with my cash." Mark said in a cold, gruff voice. I glare back at the greaseball coldly and speak in an equally cold and antagonizing tone. 

"That's the problem Mark, he got away with your cash, not mine. So just be a good little greaseball and scram back to your office already." I spoke while giving him a mean scowl. Mark glared at me in anger for a few seconds before he huffed in frustration and stomped back to his office. 'That's what I thought.'

I turn back to the closed elevator doors and push the button, waiting patiently for the door to open.  

'At least this day didn't go super terrible.'

5 Minutes Later...

I finally make my way through the front entrance and out this shithole of a wrestling club. The sky was dark under the night's influence, and the air was strangely cold today. Uncle Ben should already be here, it should only be a five-minute drive to this place compared to the 15-minute walk I had to go through. God, what do I even say to him? That I've been basically sneaking out to a small wrestling club and fighting dudes twice my size. I mean, I never got hurt, so it shouldn't be too bad... Right?

For some reason, the night sky was filled with the sounds of police sirens. Like, a lot of police sirens. 'Did they catch that guy already? Tough, I really wanted Mark to pay for what he did to me.'

Actually, now that I realize it, the police sirens sounded close, way too close. I continue to follow the sounds of the sirens until I spot a group of police officers surrounding a man who was laid on his back. Some of them looked distressed while other officers were speaking on their walkie talkies. Suddenly, my brain started to vibrate slightly, as if telling me to get a closer look at the scene. 'Must be my powers. I felt this happen before to my head.'

I comply to my senses and start walking forward towards the scene, uncertainty flowing through my nerves like tidal waves. As I get closer, my nostrils start to register the faint smell of a pungent, yet metallic smell. 'That smell... Is that blood?'

My walking speed starts to turn into a fast jog towards the crime scene, and as I got closer, the tingling in my brain became even more frantic than before. My heart starts to pound out of my chest, and my breathing suddenly gets heavier. 'Uncle Ben was supposed to be here. Was he...'

I finally get close enough to the crime scene to see that the man being surrounded was... 

"UNCLE BEN!" I shout in horror at the display before me. 

It was Uncle Ben. He was on the cold floor of the sidewalk and laid on his back with a small puddle of blood dripping from the side of his abdomen. He was barely breathing. 

"Sir, stay back!" one of the officers ordered me, trying to hold me back from my Uncle Ben.

"THAT"S MY UNCLE BEN, I KNOW HIM. PLEASE, LET ME BE WITH HIM." I yelled in despair, almost crying at the thought of not being able to comfort him now. The officer, in a moment of sympathy, lets me go. 

I quickly go on my knees beside Uncle Ben, and I hold his hand onto mine, trying to see if he was still alive. 

"What happened to him!" I asked the officer next to me loudly.

"Witnesses say it was a carjacker sir. He shot this man then took off in his car." the cop next to me explains in a sympathetic voice. I look back down from the officer to check on Uncle Ben.

His breathing could barely be heard, but somehow, I could hear it. His eyes open slightly to look at the sudden grab of his bloodied hand. He looked at his hand for a moment, before slowly turning his head up to look at me. 

"Jack?..." he called out in a quietly weak voice. 

"Uncle Ben, I'm here.... It's ok, everything is going to be ok. Just stay with me a while longer!" I try to comfort him, begging him to stay alive for me. A huge lump in my throat begins to take place as my tears start to fall freely from my eyes. 

"Jack... Son..." he cried out in a weak voice. His body suddenly starts to become limper, as his once bright brown eyes start to close with tears dripping down from them. 

"Dad, please don't leave me!" I begged as more tears start flowing down my face. But my cries and pleading were to no avail as my Uncle Ben, my father, slowly succumbed to his wounds as his breathing completely stopped and his hand went limp in mine.

He's... He's dead....

I could only stare at his limp body in absolute shock and disbelief. I didn't want to believe it, I didn't want to believe that my dad was dead, that I would never be able to hear his voice again, that he would never be able to give me words of comfort and advice. I wanted this all to be just another nightmare, that I would wake up now and find that everything was normal and that Uncle Ben was still alive. 

But the longer I stared at his unmoving body, the more I started to realize that this was no dream. Uncle Ben, he's really gone. 

This realization was my breaking point. I started to sob heavily, tears flowing down my face like a waterfall. I didn't even bother wiping them away as the tears started to obscure my vision. The sounds of ugly sobs were the only thing escaping my mouth, and the feeling of wanting to vomit at the smell of my dad's fresh blood was very evident. However, even though my own despair, I could still hear the sounds of the officers talking to each other and through their walkie talkies. 

"We're pursuing the shooter in a high-speed chase North of 6th Avenue. Send available units for backup, now." an officer ordered through a walkie talkie. 

Shooter?... Uncle Ben's murderer.... 

'Kill him.'

The only thoughts going through my head now were the thoughts of hunting whoever was responsible for this and ripping him apart. My depressed expression slowly contorts into one of absolute anger. I slowly peel my eyes away from my father's laying corpse and I stand up from my kneeling position. With my fists bawled and my nerves filled with determination, I start to run towards the shooter's location. 

I run down the narrow sidewalk of this street, faster than I thought I ever could. My enhanced speed and agility allowing me to run faster than any normal human being ever could. When I found myself to be far from the crime scene, I immediately take off my grey jacket and put on my wrestling mask. My hands were stained in my dad's blood, which began to cover the surface of my sweater and my mask, but I didn't care. 

When I saw that the street around me was empty, I jumped as high as I could onto the walls of the nearest tall building. I latched onto the walls and began climbing it up, trying to get as high as I could to see if I could spot the shooter. I leap over certain obstacles sticking out the side of the wall, either to the side of it or above it. I finally reach the roof of the building, and I run over to the edge to see if the cops were still pursuing him.

In the distance, I see the crashed remnants of Uncle Ben's car near the side of a random building. The front of the car was heavily destroyed, heavy smoke emerging from its damaged front. But even further from that crash were multiple police cars surrounding a decrepit, abandoned looking building. 'He's hiding there, he has to be!'

The only way I can get there in time and reach him before the police do is by web swinging. I practiced web swinging a bit in the past, but not to this extent. I look down at my bloodied hands, a reminder of why I'm even doing this in the first place. 'I can't let my fears stop me, not now.'

With a huff of determination, I step backwards a little before sprinting towards and off the edge of the roof. I felt myself dive down the air for a moment before I brought my right hand up and shot out a long web line to swing on. With one full (and clumsy) web swing I find myself high in the air again before I begun to drop downwards. I repeat this motion multiple times before I found myself near the decrepit building. 

"Come out with your hands in the air. We have you surrounded." an officer shouted loudly through the megaphone in his hand. I knew he wasn't talking about me since they didn't have their spotlights pointed towards me. 

On the far darkened side of the abandoned building, I spot a small open window that looks to be about the right size for a person to fit through. I jump onto the darkened side of the building and crawl my way towards the window, opening it slowly and entering the abandoned building. 

The inside looked a bit bigger than it did on the outside, and by the looks of it, I think this place used to be a warehouse of some kind. The place was dimly lit, it was dark, but not dark enough to obscure my eyesight. I crawled on the ceiling, slowly and quietly, scanning the area for this scumbag. But my search ended early when I suddenly heard the sound of a pistol being cocked. I looked down to see a man standing in the middle of the empty warehouse, pistol by his side, shaking and breathing heavily in fear. 

I couldn't see what he looked like because of how dim the damn place was. But somehow, I knew for a fact that this was the man who had murdered Uncle Ben. 

I didn't want to play the cat and mouse game with this fucker, so without hesitation I dropped down from the ceiling and landed behind the scumbag. He heard the loud thud of my landing and quickly turned around only to immediately catch a fist flying into his face. He screamed out in pain as my punch sent him staggering backwards a few steps. The man clutched his bleeding nose with one hand while weakly trying to point his pistol at me with the other. 

I didn't back down from him as I immediately shot out a web line at his pistol and yanked it towards me. The pistol met my hand, and with one powerful motion I instantly crush the gun into tiny pieces. The murder had seen the destruction of his weapon, which caused him to yelp in shock as he slowly backed away from me. 

"Wha- Wha-, what the hell do you want from me!? I- I didn't do anything!!" he pleaded to me. I said nothing as I continued to walk towards him menacingly. 

For a second, the man fumbled around in his jacket pocket before pulling a large combat knife out. 

"I'm warning you! Stay the fuck away from me!" the murderer shouted, fear clearly outlining his tone. When I ignored him and continued to walk towards him, he made the motion to quickly lunge the knife towards my chest. Before the blade could meet my body however, I grabbed his wrist with a tight grip, preventing him from moving his arm further. He tried to move his hand out of my grip using all of his strength, but to no avail. 

Before he could struggle any further, I decided to grip his wrist with maximum strength and twist it until it looked like a mangled mess. The loud snap of his bones echoed through the empty warehouse, and so did his scream of agony. The man instantly dropped the knife and yelped in pain as he clutched his broken wrist. As he started to back away from me again, the light of the spotlights from outside the warehouse seeps through the window and into the room we were in. 

I finally had a good look of the man, and- Wait.... 

Long brown disheveled hair, white skin, a dirty white t-shirt, black jacket, and black jeans.... 

This... this was the same man from earlier. The same man that I had let get away, the same man that I could have stopped. Here he was, standing before me as my Uncle Ben's murderer.

I couldn't believe it, if I had stopped him, if I had done anything from letting this man run away then Uncle Ben would still be-

"P-please! D-don't kill me. I'm begging you man, JUST LET ME GO!" the now familiar face interrupted with a loud plea. I continued to stand silently in shock as the revelation finally struck me. 

This was my fault, this was all my fault. All of this could have been prevented if I had just.... No. He still needs to pay. He needs to die.  

I snapped out of my moment of shock, and with a primal scream of rage I lunge onto my dad's murderer, tackling him to the ground. My eyes were crazed as I used both my hands and pummeled them into his face. I punched him over, and over, and over, and over again until his blood started to splatter across the floor and my clothes. I stopped my assault to take a look at the man.

He was bleeding heavily from his nose and his mouth, both his eyes were heavily bruised, and several of his teeth were missing. But he was still breathing, still alive. 

No. This needs to end, now. 

I looked towards the knife that I had disarmed from him earlier, and I immediately shoot a web line at it, yanking it into my hand. Knife in hand, I bring it up to his throat, ready to make the killing move on this scumbag, this piece of shit murderer. The pace of his breathing began to pick up as he felt the knife on his throat.

"You murdered a good man tonight. A man who was loved very dearly. So now, I'm going to kill you the same way you killed Ben Parker. Brutally, without mercy." I spoke in a low, cold whisper as I slightly pressed the knife near his throat.

However, before I could take my revenge, I spot something in the reflection of the blade. Whatever it was, it was staring back at me.... 

I looked into the reflection more, trying to understand what was staring back at me. It was a red man with large white menacing eyes, and its head was covered in blood. Somehow, I could feel the rage coming from the reflection, I could feel just how angry it was. And the way its eyes stared into my soul, it felt like I was staring into the eyes of a monster.... 

Suddenly, I realized that I wasn't staring at a creature's face. I was staring into my own reflection... Staring at myself.... 

I didn't like what I saw. 

With a loud gasp of horror, I quickly got off the criminal and threw the knife as far away from me as possible. I began to look down at myself, at my hands. My hands and sweater were covered in this man's blood. 

'To overindulge yourself in violence and power, is to lose yourself completely.' 

Uncle Ben's words from earlier today freely float through my mind, reminding me of what he had tried to warn me about. That was when I had truly broken down. 

"Oh G-G-God. B-Ben, I'm so sorry..." I apologized in a sobbing whisper. My emotions completely overtook me as began to sob uncontrollably, falling to my knees. 

"P-p-please Ben, please for-give me....".

Uncle Ben would have never wanted to see me like this, he always taught me how to be the better man and how to live up to my responsibilities. But I wasn't the better man, I can't be, at least not like how he was. 

I'm a failure.... 

The sounds of multiple footsteps echo through the warehouse, causing me to snap out of my breakdown. 'The police. I have to leave, now.'

I shoot a web line above me and quickly zip myself towards the ceiling, away from the cop's line of sight. Five cops finally arrive at the scene, all of them equally as confused as to how their suspect was taken down. 

"Somebody get a paramedic over here, this man is injured." one of the officers ordered their peers. With all of them distracted, I quickly crawl my way through the window and out of the warehouse, away from the scene. 

'I need to get back home, I need to tell Aunt May what happened....' I mentally say as I find myself clumsily web swinging through the large borough of Manhattan, back to Ben's house. 

Ben.... One of the few people in my life who were willing to put up with me. Now he's gone because of me, because of my selfish actions. But I swear to you dad, no matter how long it takes me....

I'll be better. 

Darby Residence - Present Time

"From then, I tried my hardest to be the better man. To be responsible with my powers and to put them to good use. Though, I still have a long way to go if I want to live up to my Uncle Ben's legacy." I say a bit sorrowfully as I finally conclude the story of how I truly came to be. 

Arcee stared at me with upmost sympathy, and strangely enough, she even looked a little conflicted herself. 

"Jack..." Arcee quietly said, sorrow painting the entirety of her tone. Without hesitation on her end, Arcee brought up one of her large hands and sets it on top of my right shoulder, trying her best not to make me feel uncomfortable. I look up at her and I gently smile, feeling less tense and all the more comforted. 

"If I had known about this earlier, then I wouldn't have-" I silently cut Arcee off from finishing that sentence. 

"It's okay Arcee, there's no hard feeling between us. You probably lost just as much as I have, maybe even more." I comforted her worries in a gentle voice. That seemed to calm her down a bit as her expression began to soften. 

"I'm sorry you have to carry a burden that heavy Jack. I know it must feel tough sometimes, to feel like you have to carry your problems all by yourself." Arcee sympathized in a low tone.  

"Sometimes Arcee, that's what it really comes to. Having to carry the weight of your world on your shoulders, all by yourself..." I say as I drop my head down slightly and close my eyes. 

"Well... Maybe you won't have to face your problems alone, not anymore." Arcee softly suggested. I perk my head up to look back at her, and she was smiling down on me with the most comforting smile I had seen her give. 

"What do you-" 

"You have us Jack. You have Miko, Raf, the Autobots, and... you have me." Arcee spoke truthfully with comfort. 

My eyes suddenly began to feel watery as tears threaten to flow out of my eyelids. It's been a hot minute since I've ever had a shoulder to cry on and vent to about my issues. Usually, I'm the one who needs carry everyone's burdens, I still am. But now, now I feel like I actually have a moment to just... release myself. 

It feels pleasant. 

"T-thank you Arcee. Thank you for listening to me." I say to her with upmost sincerity, trying to hold back my tears. She pats my shoulder very lightly before removing her hand away from me.

"No problem, partner." Arcee said, winking when she said partner. 

Partner? 

Yeah... Partner. That sounds nice. 

I think I'll get used to that. 

Chapter Text

The Nemesis - Outer Space

"Please Lord Megatron, I meant no-ARGH!" Starscream yelped in pain as he was sent staggering back by Megatron's mighty backhand. 

"I ordered you to AWAIT MY COMMAND!" Megatron shouted at his pathetic SIC as he hit him with yet another powerful backhanded slap. This time, Megatron's attack on the grey seeker sent Starscream flying across the room and landing face first onto the cold metal floor. 

Starscream struggled to pick himself up as small electrical sparks began to crackle from the damaged parts of his body. Saying that Starscream was afraid for his life right now would be a major understatement.  

"Instead, your mindless agenda resulted in the disabling of my ship and the delay of my plans!" Megatron said coldly as his large figure towered over the hurt and cowering Starscream. 

"I-it wasn't my fault! If it weren't for the Autobots and the human insect-" Starscream's whining was cut short when Megatron quickly grabbed him by his throat and slammed him into the ground as hard as he could. All Starscream could do was scream momentarily until his body made contact with the ground, again. 

"You would blame the shortcomings of your failure on a HUMAN BEING!!?" Megatron shouted directly into his SIC's faceplate as he continued to pin him to the ground with his hand servo. 

"T-t-the primitive life f-form, he was stronger than I anticipated. He broke off my thumb servo!!" Starscream pleaded, looking directly into Megatron's seething optics in fear. Megatron only growled at his response before removing his hand from Starscream's throat and instead pinning him into the ground with his large foot servo. 

"YOUR THUMB SERVO WILL NOT BE THE ONLY THING RIPPED FROM YOU" Megatron screamed at the top of his voice box, slowly applying more pressure to the foot he has Starscream pinned down on. Starscream tried helplessly to stop Megatron's foot from crushing him, but it was no use. Megatron's physical strength far exceeded Starscream's. 

"My intentions were true master!! I only wanted to rid Optimus Prime from your existence! I DID WHAT I THOUGHT WAS RIGHT!" Starscream pleaded pathetically to the metallic warlord.   

"ENOUGH OF THIS! You have failed me for the last time, Starscream. Now, I will cease your mindless excuses, forever." Megatron said in a sickly cold tone before removing his foot from Starscream and pointing his powerful fusion cannon directly towards Starscream's faceplate. Starscream sputtered in shock for a moment before he had the ability to speak again. 

"Lord Megatron! I will make things up to you, I swear upon the All Spark I will! I-I know how to set your plans back into motion!" Starscream begged in a squeaky, high pitched voice. Megatron stopped charging his fusion cannon and looked at Starscream with a raised eye ridge before picking him up by his throat once more.  

"Explain Starscream.... Quickly." Megatron threatened in a low, cold voice. 

 Outskirts of Nevada - 3:35 PM

Arcee was right.

These high speed rides are much more fun without some Cons shooting at us. 

"Hold on tight partner, this rides' about to get a whole lot faster!" Arcee shouted through the loud revs of her engine, almost sounding excited herself. If she was in her bipedal form, I know she'd be smirking right now.

"Wait, you weren't already going fast enough!?" I shouted back in surprise, my voice sounding a bit muffled because of my biker helmet.

"Not even close." she said back slyly. I gulped for a moment before gripping her handlebars with a bit more strength. 

Suddenly, Arcee revved her engine with even more ferocity, the sounds of which were roaring loudly through the Nevadan sky. And just when I though that this couldn't get anymore thrilling, we started to soar quickly through the empty desert road and onto the rough sandy ground, towards Autobot HQ. 

Thank God that I already have two years experience of web swinging, otherwise I'd probably be vomiting inside my helmet right now. It's not to say that this isn't fun though. In fact, this is probably the most fun I've had riding any kind of vehicle.

Granted, Arcee isn't just some vehicle, but she wouldn't be giving me this ride right now if she didn't already know how fun it was to just soar through a large open space at full speed.

Unfortunately, the fun soon comes to a closing end when I spot the well hidden front entrance of the Autobot base. This prompts Arcee to slow her speed gradually as to not crash into the wall. 

"Aww. Fun's already over?" I say disappointedly. 

"Afraid so partner." Arcee replied back in a less than casual tone. 

She continues to drive at a slower speed until we finally reach the common area of the base. Coming in, I immediately see Miko, Raf, and the rest of the group all in the common area as well. 'Huh, must be something important going on.' I think to myself as I get off of Arcee, allowing her to transform. 

"Umm, hey guys. What's going on?" I asked immediately after getting off. Optimus turned his face from Ratchet's monitor work to me. The Prime was probably about to explain the situation, until Ratchet suddenly sounded from his work space. 

"Optimus, I've pinpointed the location of Megatron's space bridge. High in Earth's orbit." Ratchet said with a bit of urgency. 

"Out of our reach." Optimus remarked stoically. Space bridge? What's Megatron planning?

Optimus see's my confusion and turns to face me once more, without any interruptions. "Megatron has devised a plan to raise an army of undead cybertonian warriors by transporting dark energon via a space bridge." Optimus explain, fists clenched slightly. 

"Doesn't he need dead cybertonians to make that happen? Sending that stuff into the middle of space won't really do much for him. Unless..." I quieted my voice as I began to connect the dots to Megatron's plan.

I don't know much about dark energon, maybe it needs to make contact with the corpse, maybe it doesn't. But from what I could tell, there aren't many dead cybertonians here on Earth. The only other place with enough cybertonian corpses to make an army should be on.... 

"Cybertron." I whisper with a slight quiver in my voice. I look up towards Arcee, my wide eyes full of fear for what's to come. She stares back, her wide eyes full of concern for our future. With a slight furrow of her eye brows, she stares back at Optimus and speaks. 

"There has to be something we can do." Arcee said with stern urgency in her tone. 

"Wait, can't you guys just ground bridge there?" Miko sounded next to Bulkhead's foot. 

"A ground bridge has limited range. Stretched all the way into orbit, it's vortex could snap, and scatter us into the stars." Ratchet explained with exaggerated hand gestures. 

"Since Megatron is likely already in transit, I'm afraid we must take that risk. Reaching the space bridge first is our only means of stopping him." Optimus spoke in a grave tone as he and several other Autobots walked towards and faced the inactive ground bridge. Arcee looked at me once more with a small smile, uncertain about her trip to space. 

"Wait, is there anything I can do to help?" I asked the group of Autobots. 

"Unless one of your powers include surviving in space, then there's not much you can do to help us now." Arcee stated. 'Wish surviving in space could have been one thing given to me by that spider bite.' 

"Oh, well uhh, guess I'll be seeing you later. Right?" I say sheepishly while scratching the back of my neck. Arcee only nods while smirking as response before returning her attention back to the ground bridge in front of her. 

Raf jogs toward Bumblebee to say something to him, to which Bumblebee kneels down to concerned looking genius. 

"Be careful Bee." Raf said with a worried and innocent look in his eyes. Bumblebee spoke in a long toned beep while nodding before getting up and walking towards the ground bridge. 

Miko walks in front of Bulkhead before giving her input on his departure. "I'm so jealous right now." Miko said, sounding thrilled just at the idea of being in space. 

"Don't even think about following me./ Don't even think about following him." both me and Bulkhead said sternly to Miko, making sure our words got through to her head this time. She deflated and pouted in response before walking back next to Raf and me. 

Ratchet manned the ground bridge controls before turning to face a battle readied Optimus and speaking. 

"Optimus, if you leave me stranded on a planet teaming with humans, I will never forgive you." Ratchet said, furrowing his eyebrows and wearing a frown. 

"Until we meet again, old friend." Optimus said without even looking back at Ratchet. 

"Autobots, roll out!" Optimus ordered as he activated his battle mask. All the battle ready Autobots complied, transforming into their vehicle mode alongside Optimus. With the loud rev of their engines sounding in unison, they all began to drive into the ground bridge portal, one by one. 

A couple of seconds after they all finally went through the portal, Ratchet flipped the ground bridge lever down, closing the green swirling portal. Though, I continue to look at the inactive ground bridge, wishing I could help them in some way.

"Hey Spidey, you alright?" Miko asked, tapping my shoulder prior to her question. 

"Huh? Oh, I guess I just... I just don't like being left in the backlines is all. I should be out there with them, fighting against Megatron." I explained, feeling down about the whole situation. 

"C'mon Spidey, you're still a kick-ass rockstar! Besides, they'll be fine. They're more than enough against the big bucket head himself." Miko exclaimed, trying to comfort me.

"How can you be so sure?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Miko rolled her eyes while smirking, then went closer to me and patted me on the shoulder. 

"Because dude, if there's anything Spider-man's ever taught me, its that the good guys always win." Miko said, wearing a proud smile on her face. It was my turn to give her a smile and a pat on her shoulder. 

"Thanks Miko." I said gratefully. 

"No problemo Spidey." she gave a two finger salute before walking up the catwalk, next to Raf and Ratchet. 

For a moment, my mind dwells back to what Miko had just said. "if there's anything Spider-man's ever taught me, its that the good guys always win.".

Suddenly, my mind starts to bombard me with memories of my greatest failures, memories that pain the entirety of my mind and my soul. 'I genuinely don't have the heart to tell her how wrong she is, how these powers don't always bring good things. But I have to keep the hope up for my team, for them.'

With a heavy sigh and a clench of my fists, I shake the horrible memories out of my head, for now. 

I looked up at where Miko, Raf, and Ratchet were. There were all near the green monitor, checking and hearing for any updates from Optimus about the mission. I decided that it was probably for the best to just hear about how well their mission was going, rather than just standing here and doing nothing. So, with a well aimed web line shot, I web zipped my way up the catwalk, directly next to Miko and Raf. 

Raf flinched for a moment at my sudden appearance before sighing a little and looking back at the monitor, while Ratchet didn't seem to care at all. Miko on the other hand woahed in amazement for a second before checking out the webshooters on my wrists. 

"Dude, you have to let me try those some time." Miko said excitedly, still eyeing my webshooters. I scoffed at her playfully before hiding them within my sleeves. 

"Yeah sure. And you'll be getting a broken arm trying to web swing with these things for the first time, before you even use up a full cartridge." I smirked at her playfully. 

"It would be so worth it though!" she exclaimed excitedly with a slight glimmer in her eyes. 

 Suddenly, Arcee's voice through the green monitor, gaining the attention of everybody in the common area. 

"Well, what are they waiting for?" Arcee questioned through her coms, still sounding battle ready. 

"It appears the Decepticons have sustained serious damage to their interstellar navigation system." Optimus explained through his coms. 

"Huh, that's my handiwork. Back when we were trying to rescue Fowler." Bulkhead confirmed. I looked back at Miko for a second to see her wearing a proud but smug look on her face, as if she was silently telling us how much better her Autobot guardian is than ours. 

"Great job, Bulkhead. Without the dish, Megatron will be unable to aim the space bridge at Cybertron." Optimus said, almost sounding a bit hopeful over his usual stoic voice. 

"Which means that for now, the Decepticons are sitting ducks." I remarked. 

"Sitting what?" Ratchet said with a look of confusion. 'These bots desperately need to be taught Earth terms.'

"What Jack is trying to say is that the Decepticons are going to be immobile for a while." Raf quickly followed up on my comment, saving me the time of having to explain an Earth term to a very grump Autobot medic.

"Wait, shouldn't the Cons know where their own planet is? Why not just travel all the way there with their giant space ship." Miko questioned in confusion, gaining Ratchet's attention.

"Because Cybertron is many light years away. Traveling there without any means of a space bridge would take them years worth of traveling until they've finally reached it. And without an interstellar navigation system, even the slightest miscalculation could lead them to catastrophe." Ratchet explained, clearing up Miko's confusion along with mine and Raf's. 

"If Megatron went to the trouble of rendezvousing with his space bridge, then he must have an alternate targeting system. A remote one." Optimus said, figuring out the reason behind the Nemesis's temporary immobility. 

"A remote one, on Earth? Where would he even have a targeting system that advanced on Earth?" I asked to no one in particular. Ratchet huffed in smug annoyance before "answering" my question.

"No where on this planet, that's for sure. I doubt there exists a single radio-telescope dish that powerful to pinpoint Cybertron's location." Ratchet said while wearing a mean scowl. 

"What about a whole bunch of linked radio-telescoped dishes? Like the giant sized array in Texas." Raf suddenly spoke up while typing away at his laptop. His input gained all three of our attention, causing us to observe what Raf was trying to search up on his laptop. After a couple seconds of typing, Raf finally pulled up a clear image of the radio-telescoped dishes in Texas to show to Ratchet. 

"Yep, yep, yep! This is not child's play." Ratchet scolded the young genius for his input. 

"Good thinking Raf." Optimus suddenly congratulated through his coms, surprising both Ratchet and Raf.

"Ratchet, quickly have Agent Fowler alert the array staff to the security hazard." Optimus ordered. The mention of Fowler had us all look towards the still recovering government agent. He suddenly arose from his makeshift hospital bed and pointed at me.

"You! Soldier! Put on some proper red and blues..." was all Fowler said before passing back out on the hospital bed. 

"Uhhh, I don't know Optimus. Fowler's still a bit uhh... out of it." I say a bit sheepishly to the Prime. 

"Well, there has to be something we can do. Because right now, I can't get past the array's firewall." Raf said as he attempted to hack through their firewall to no avail. 

"You believe you could actually keep the Decepticons out?" Ratchet asked as a genuine question. 

"Maybe, if I could get in." Raf replied nervously. 'Get in huh, maybe we could use-'

"Uhh guys? You're forgetting we have a totally awesome ground bridge that can take us anywhere in the world. Why don't we just portal ourselves to the arrays and get Raf in, like "all the way inside" in." Miko suddenly piped up, reminding us of our ground bridge advantage. 

"Yeah, and that way I could log into their internal network on the other side of the firewall." Raf said, his expression changing into one of hopefulness. 

"That's actually not a bad idea. Good thinking Miko." I congratulated her with a thumbs up. 

"No, the risk is too great, especially without our protection. The Decepticons will be there, perhaps even on sight." Optimus warned us through his coms. 

"Optimus, it's not just us three that'll be at risk. If we don't stop the Decepticons somehow, then it'll be the end for all of us." I spoke up to the Prime, fearlessly.

"Yeah, our whole planet's going to get fragged if we don't do something." Miko spoke, gaining the confidence to agree with me. Optimus's coms stayed silent for a while, which made me decide to continue my argument. 

"I know you don't like putting humans at risk, but we have to do this. With or without your protection." I state with a firm tone. 

"Raf?" Optimus asked, wanting to hear Raf's input for this idea. 

We all stared at Raf silently, waiting to know if he wanted to go through with this plan till the end. Raf looked around nervously at us for a moment, until he sighed quietly and smiled at us. 

"I want to give it a shot." he said with newly gained confidence. 

"Good/Sweet!" both me and Miko cheered Raf for his courage while Ratchet just rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes we get it. Just don't let this be a waste of our precious energon reserves." Ratchet spoke firmly, ruining the small moment we were having for Raf. 

"I'm guessing you get invited to a lot parties Ratchet." I mocked at the grumpy medic, to which he huffed in slight annoyance at my remark before returning his focus on the monitor. 

"C'mon Spidey, put on your suit and lets stop a zombie Con uprising!" Miko exclaimed with excitement and confidence. A pinched my brow a bit and sighed before looking back at Miko.

"Look Miko, I know this might be exciting for you, but it's still a life and death situation. We can't just go rushing into things like this, we need to be responsible of ourselves and of others." I warned her with a firm voice. Her excitement slowly deflated and she frowned at me for a moment before speaking up again. 

"You think I don't know that? You think I wanted to put Raf in danger the last time I was with you guys? I might be reckless sometimes, but I would never want my friends to get killed because of me." Miko crossed her arms while furrowing her eyes at me. 

"And that's the mentality I want you to have from now on." I tell her in a stern, authoritative voice while pointing at her. Miko huffs angrily and decides to make the floor the focal point of her glare. 

'Keep it cool Jack. She's a young teenager, and young teenagers don't liked to be treated like children. The last thing she needs right now is for me to treat her like I'm her dad. Just treat her like you would with any normal person.'. With a calming exhale, I decide to continue in a more gentle manner. 

"Listen, you're young Miko, your going to make some reckless decisions whether you want to or not. Trust me, I know a thing or two about being reckless. But at the same time, I can see that you mean well and that you have the potential to be so much more than you are now. So no matter what, never lose your ability to be responsible. It's what keeps this world a better place, and its what makes us good people." I say to young teen in a firm, but gentle voice. My words of advice seemed to have gotten to Miko as she soon looked back up at me, stopping her pout and replacing it with a small smile. 

"Heh, didn't know Spider-man was as good at giving out advice as he is at kicking ass." Miko giggled lightly, which prompted me to chuckle back. 

"I... had a good father figure." was all I said before I heard the sound of the ground bridge opening. I turned towards Ratchet and looked at him, seeing that he was wearing an impatient look on his face. 

"Well? Are you three going in or not." Ratchet asked impatiently, unsurprisingly. 

I looked back at Miko and Raf, wearing a confident smile on my face. "Are you two ready?" I asked them. Both kids looked at each other with neutral expressions for a second before staring back at me with a smirk on their faces. 

"Lets do this Jack." Raf confidently said.  

Two Minutes Later...

After a slightly nauseating trip through the ground bridge, me, Miko, and Raf jump through the green portal and find ourselves near the giant arrays in Texas. I looked to both of my sides to see if Raf and Miko were okay. They both looked a bit pale and nauseated, but they were fine for the most part. 

"Ugh, that'll take some getting used to." I say to no one in particular as I try my hardest not to vomit in my mask. 

'Please for the love of God, don't throw up in your mask. This suit is a pain to clean properly.' 

When the nauseating feeling finally went away, we looked around our surroundings to see that there was nobody to be seen outside the building. 'Weird, no security outside. But what about inside?' 

"Over there." Raf said, pointing to a backdoor that leads inside the building we need to get into. All three of us walk our way to and through the backdoor, closing it shut behind us. 

"Okay, where to Raf?" I ask in an audible whisper. 

"We need to look for a computer room, something I can use to get inside their internal network." Raf replied in an equally audible whisper as he started to lead us toward a computer room. 

As we sneaked our way through the halls, trying not to bring any attention to ourselves incase of any guards or Decepticons, my brain started to tingle ever so lightly. It feels like my spider senses are going off, but at the same time, it doesn't feel like it's alerting me of something, yet. 'Somethings off here, I can feel it. I'll have to stay more vigilant.'

We continue to sneak walk until Raf suddenly stopped moving near a white door. Raf slowly and quietly turned the door handle downward until he was finally able to open the door, to which he then stuck is head in the room to see in anyone was in there. Raf then popped his head back out the room and looked toward us. 

"Guys, in here. I found a computer I can use." Raf whispered to us while waving us inside. Raf went in first while Miko came in second, then I followed last, closing the door behind us. 

"Security sure is lax in this place." Miko remarked. 

"Tell me about it. I've seen abandoned warehouses more secure than this place." I replied, to which Miko chuckled lightly. 

The room we were in was almost completely dark. The only source of light coming from an open computer box that some employee probably forgot to log out of. Aside from the wide desk, small lockers, and big data machines off to the side, this room seems almost completely empty. 

Raf sat on the chair of the desk, and with a crack of his knuckles he immediately got to work on stalling the Decepticons. It was only a couple of seconds of typing later until Raf finally spoke up again.  

"I'm in. And so are the Decepticons." he stated the last part in a worried tone. 

"W-what!/How can you tell?" me and Miko said in a worried whisper. 

"Schematics. With the same alien math Miko took a picture of on their ship. But this time I can download it.". Raf then pulled out a small white hard drive from his pocket and inserted it into the computer chassis next to the computer. As soon as the hard drive was inserted, Raf went back to stalling the Decepticons. 

"The Decepticons are syncing their data to the dishes. But I can sync to them." Raf confidently said. 

"Will the Decepticons know that you'll be doing this? Because the last thing we need right now is a dozen or so Vehicons storming us." I explained in worry for his and Miko's safety. 

"Don't worry, because even if the Decepticons see that I'm in the system, they won't know that I'm in the house." Raf explained nonchalantly. 

I want to feel comforted after what Raf just said, but there's still this nagging feeling tingling my brain. No, this all is easy, too easy. And if there's ever been an aspect of my job as Spider-man, it's that things are never that simple. There has to be something wrong here, otherwise I wouldn't have this light tingle in my brain. 

Suddenly, the blue globe that was being shown on the computer screen turned dark red. 'That can't be good.'

"The Decepticons are locked on to Cybertron, but not for long." Raf remarked as he began to work his computer magic against the Decepticons, turning the dark red globe on the screen back to blue. 

"There, the dishes are pointed away from Cybertron." Raf said with a sigh of relief. 

"Dude, you're totally a wizard with this hacking stuff." Miko congratulated the young genius, to which he chuckled sheepishly while rubbing his neck.  

For some reason, the light tingle in my brain suddenly evolves to its usual frantic vibration, warning me that things really weren't going to be this easy after all. All the noises coming from this room start to sound muffled in my ears as my senses start to hone in on the sound of a metallic slithering coming from outside this room. That noise, it sounds familiar.... 

'No... He can't be here, why would he be here? I haven't seen him for a year. No, it has to be a Decepticon.' 

My eyes suddenly shifted towards the top corner of the room, where a security camera was pointed right at us. 'We're being watched.'

Without even thinking, I shoot out a webline at the camera and yank it from the ceiling as hard as I can, ripping it straight off. Raf and Miko flinched at my sudden action, then both their expressions changed to ones of confusion. 

"Dude, why did you do that? Do you want to get us caught?" Miko whispered in slight frustration. 

"Shhhh, both of you stay quiet. We were being watched, which means that we're not alone." I explained to them firmly. 

"Is it Decepticons?" Raf asked, gulping in fear. 

"Maybe, I'll check it out. Miko, stay here and protect Raf. If anything goes wrong, I want you to grab Raf and run out this building." I ordered the punk teenager without any room for disagreement. 

"But what about you Jack?" Miko asked with concern in her voice. 

"I'll be fine. I'll meet back with you and Raf once I'm done." I told them both with a comforting voice. However, Miko wasn't convinced, she still had that look of worry and concern for me. It's kinda heartwarming to be honest, but now isn't the time. 

"Hey, you said it yourself. The good guys always win, so I'll be fine Miko. I promise." I spoke to her in a gentle voice, trying my best to clear her doubts. She looked at me with worry for a second, before sighing and reverting back to her usual smirk. 

"Just tell me how the fight goes afterwards. I'd hate to miss out on an epic Spidey showdown." she said in her usual excited tone, albeit a bit quieter. 

"Deal." I replied back. 

With that, I quietly made my way out the room and activated my invisibility. 'Now, if I were a Decepticon hacking a radio-telescope dish network, which room would I be in?'

My question was instantly answered when I suddenly heard the sound of a double door opening to my right. I looked towards the source of the sound just in time to spot a large black and purple metallic tenacle slowly slithering down the hall. 'Hmmm. Looks similar in size to Otto's tenacles, but black and purple isn't his color.'

I concluded my analysis and crawled my way on the ceiling towards the open double doors. The still slithering tentacle on the ground hasn't spotted me yet, nor has it found Miko and Raf. So far, so good. 

I finally made my way into the room where the tentacle came from, and.... Holy shit. 

In the room, knelt down next to a large network machine, was a large but slender Decepticon. His armor's color palate was black with some bright glowing purple accents, just like the tentacles. Speaking of tentacles, there seemed to be two of them protruding in front of him, as if they were coming straight out of his chest. 'Huh. So he's 6/8ths of an octopus. Good to know.'

Whatever he was doing to that network machine, he was doing it without moving a muscle-uhh... circuit. 

He hasn't found Miko and Raf yet, otherwise my spider senses would have went off. But that isn't going to last forever, so I'll need to wrap this up ASAP, or else we'll be in some major trouble. 

I continue to crawl my way towards the still Decepticon, positioning myself in front of him so that I could get the perfect hit on him. When I finally made my way in front of the slender Decepticon, my mind begins to wonder whether these Cons just enjoy looking creepy or if its just the way that they were born as I finally manage to get a good look at his face. Or rather, his lack of one. 

His "face" looked more like a small computer screen, displaying images of Earth and a grey looking planet as he continued to hack into the network machine. 'He must be locking on to Cybertron. Because it sure as hell doesn't look like anything in our solar system.' 

I'll need to quickly take this Con out without killing him. 'God, this is so much easier when its just Vehicons.' 

I decided that the best and simplest course of attack was to just slam my legs into his chest via a quick web zip. If I'm right, then the force of the slam should send him backwards and away from the network machine. Afterwards, we'll hopefully have a nice chit chat about him surrendering and about his weird fashion choices. But if it doesn't come to that, then I'll have to keep him at bay until Optimus and the others are finished with Megatron and his space bridge. 

With my thoughts concluded for now, I quickly drop down from the ceiling and deactivate my invisibility. While in midair, I shoot out two separate weblines at the walls of the room and pull myself forcefully towards the creepy Con's chest. A simple look up towards me was all the Con could do before my legs harshly came in contact to his chest.  

Just as quickly as I attacked him, he was sent flying backwards a couple of inches toward the double doors. The back of his huge, knelt figure hit the entrance behind him, severely damaging the wall behind him and breaking the double doors down with just his head. The metallic tentacles that there were previously slithering around this room were now laid limply next to his unmoving body. The Con laid their for a moment, a small but heavy dent on his chest, before positioning himself back up into a kneeling stand.

Then he looked at me, the glare of his empty faced stare sending a small shiver down my spine. 

I change my on-the-ground pose to a normal standing position as I stare back at the Con's reflective face, the lens of my mask furrowing slightly. 

"Now, before you nicely surrender to me, I just have one thing to ask." I demanded sternly to the knelt Con. The slender Con tilted his head slightly in response, as if he were curious, or maybe just confused. 

"What do they call you back on Cybertron? Slenderman? The Con with No Face? Tall, dark and creepy?" I say in a less than serious tone. His response to my very serious question was to move his tentacles from the ground and point then at me. menacingly. 

Suddenly, the small moving wires from the tip of the tentacles began to crackle violently with dark purple electricity. Soon, the darkly colored purple electricity surged and pulsated through both tentacles. This motion was repeating, as if he was silently telling me that those tentacles were going to be my doom.  

Knowing that this isn't going to end in a surrender, I ready myself for plan B.

Keeping him at bay. 

"Can we at least talk about your fashion choices while we fight?" I quipped. 

Without any hesitation on his part, both tentacles quickly lunged towards me. If I were any other person right now, then I'd be terrified. Hell, I'm even a little scared right now. But it's a good thing that I already have some experience in dealing with multiple murderous metallic tentacles. 'Heh, Multiple Murderous Metallic Tentacles. I should start categorizing my own rouges gallery.' 

With quick precision, I front flip and dodge my way out of both the tentacles' first attack. But to my surprise, they both quickly turn back around to face me again and lunge at me once more. I jump upwards and out of the attack once again, quickly following up my dodge with a web zip away and further from those slithering metal monsters. I land back on the ground and quickly observe my surrounding for any large objects I can throw at them. 

To my right, I spot a large but empty metal cart, probably used to carry large devices or something. Without a second to lose, I shoot a webline at the cart, and with one arm I throw the cart into the direction of the tentacles. One of the tentacles grabs the cart effortlessly in a mere second before throwing it back at me violently. I quickly doge my aggressors throw with a side flip before landing back on the floor. 

There isn't much space here for both me and the Con to move, and yet, that doesn't stop us from trying. 

After finishing my dodge, his tentacles make the effort again to quickly shoot themselves toward me. Knowing that I can't play the dodging game forever, I make the risky move to precisely grab both tentacles mid-lunge. I sigh a calming breath as I steady my body and my senses against the approaching tentacles, making sure that my strong instincts are what leads this counterattack. 

As the tentacles finally reach close enough to me, I swiftly bring both my arms up, and with all my strength, I grab both tentacles in each hand and grip them as hard as I can. The force of their fast momentum sent me sliding back a couple of feet, all the while grunting heavily against their relentlessness.

But it doesn't stop me from letting go. 

The tentacle terrors continued to push hard against my strength, trying desperately to grab ahold of me and crush me, but I don't budge.

I can't let him win, I won't let him win. If I let him lock those dishes onto Cybertron, then they'll be no hope for my planet. My team will die, my friends will die, Mom and May will.... No

The thoughts of completely failing my friends and family gives me the strength to keep pushing back against the slender Con's tentacles, no matter how hard he pushes back. The pain of pushing back against both tentacles starts to put a strain on my arms and even my back muscles. The force of their relentless pushing also starts to slightly cave my feet into the rock solid ground, cracking the floor tiles beneath me.

And yet, I don't give up.

I've already failed the people I love twice before, failing now isn't an option for me.

I'm Spider-man aren't I? I'm the apparent hero of New York. I got the suit, I got the mask, I've even got the powers. 

So show this Con that you won't give up. Show him that you're Spider-man.

With that motivation in mind, I push back against their strength with all the force I can muster in my arms as my grip on the heads of the tentacles tighten even further than before. The strength of newfound grip begins to damage the heads, as my hands heavily dent and destroy its metallic plating. I momentarily look back at the Con I was struggling against to see that he still hasn't moved an inch ever since he started his attack. 

The slender Con was still in the same knelt, crouched position that he was in at the start of the fight. And creepily enough, he was just... staring at me, blankly. 

"Y'know-*Argh*, we could just-*Argh* take this outside, Spider to Con. It would be a lot less cramped-*Aghh* for the both of us." I tried to joke through the grunts and pains of my strained arms. The blank faced Con doesn't reply as he continues to stare at me silently while his tentacles do the dirty work. 

Suddenly, I heard the familiar sounds of violently crackling electricity. I look back towards the tentacles to see that their bodies were surging with the same dark purple electricity I've seen before. This shouldn't be too bad for me. I mean, I'm not completely immune to millions of volts frying my body by any means, my previous fights with Electro prove it. But my bioelectric powers do make going up against electrical factors a whole lot easier to deal with. 

Maybe his shock attack might charge up my bio-AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

The only sound that filled the room at this moment were my loud screams of agony and pain as the heads of the tentacles I held continuously shock me with a powerful surge of electricity. My grip instantly weakened as I felt the powerful surge of pure pain coursing through my body. Before I could even attempt to let go of the heads, one of the tentacles instantly released from my grip and started wrapping around my body tightly as the other continued to shock me, painfully keeping me at bay as I continue to scream in agony.

This electricity, this power... It feels otherworldly, different from all the other times I've been exposed to dangerous surges of electricity. I thought that my bioelectrical powers would at least numb out most of the pain, but no, my whole body feels like its being fried alive.  

Soon enough, the torture stopped, but the pain was still ongoing. My entire body feels like its been through the nine rings of hell, almost on the brink of passing out completely. Somehow though, my mind still stays strong enough for me to be conscious and thinking. As for my muscles though....

I try and will myself out of the Con's forceful tentacle grip, but at this point, he had already worn me down. When the Con in front of me saw that I was too weak to fight back, he began to slowly crouch walk towards my injured figure, giving me that blank creepy stare the whole walk through. When he finally got close enough to me, he raised me slightly towards his face, bringing me to eye level. 

*FLASH*

A small flash of white appeared in my vision, causing a slight strain in my eyes for only a moment before quickly disappearing. It only took me a second to realize that he had taken a picture of me using his screen like face as a camera. 

"Did you.... get my.... g-good side...." I quipped weakly. Once again, the Con said nothing in response, not even a tilt of his head. 

Then it happened, the familiar pain of my bones and flesh getting crushed, the feeling coursing all across my body. Except this time, it was happening all so slowly, as if the Con was deliberately doing it just to see me suffer. And as I continue to feel the air within my lungs slowly being squeezed out, all I could do was grunt in pain and stare at the blank faced Con with wide, shocked eyes. 

But when I looked up to stare at the Con's blank face, he wasn't there.

Instead, his figure was replaced with the evil, sinister stare of the man that had caused me so much pain. 

Otto Octavius....

My heart begins to race as my mind frantically wonders whether this was real or just a hallucination. I looked around myself to see that I was even wrapped up in his metallic tentacles. Four large and industrial looking snakes, equipped with strong sliver metal plating. And their claws, just as big and sharp as I remember them to be. 

Suddenly, he began to cackle lightly in a dark and twisted tone. 

"Poor Jackson Darby. You couldn't save your father figure. You couldn't save the woman you loved. And now... You can't even save yourself." he mocked in a sickly manner. 

How did he.... No, this isn't real, it can't be. He never knew who I was, even on that day at the Brookland Bridge. He only knew that Gwen was associated with me. 

"You are mistaken insect. I DO know who you are." he said coldly as he slowly moved me closer toward him, face to face. 

"You. Are a failure." the impact of his words stun me as I continue to stare into his darkly colored reflective goggles. 

"You are nothing more than a boy wearing a mask, pretending to play hero to make up for your personal losses. You are the product of an neo genetic experiment, an experiment that was not meant to be used on the likes of you." Otto spat back at me with immense venom staining his voice. 

"N-no, please.... Just stop...." I whimper out, already feeling defeated. Otto's only response was to laugh mockingly at my pain struck voice. 

However, through the amount of shame and despair coursing through my nerves, there was something hidden within the sea of negative emotions. Something that is normally small and kept under control. Something that I never wish to release under its full potential. 

It was anger. 

Deep, deep anger. 

Pure hatred for those who had wronged me in the past. 

I lift my head up slightly and look towards Otto's grinning face, my eyes furrowed narrowly and my nostrils huffing lightly in anger.

"Let... go of me Otto. Now." I demand coldly. However, he doesn't comply, only continuing to laugh and taunt me in a sickly tone. 

My anger begins to boil further as my body somehow regains a bit of strength, allowing me to wiggle around slightly against my captor's tentacle. With my rising anger, I could even feel the build up of my bioelectricity, slowly but surely charging up within me. 

"I'll show you what I am... Something that I should have done to you on that bridge." I threatened in a quiet fury.

"Oh? And what would that be, boy?" he mocked once more.

The blue familiar glow of my bioelectricity begins to emanate brightly through my chest, pulsating violently as if was going to explode at any second. Strangely enough, there was also the unfamiliar glow of dark purple bioelectricity surging up and down my body, however, it didn't feel bad. Whatever it was, it felt new, it felt powerful, and it felt dangerous.  

"What do we have here? Another flashy display of your powers? Don't you realize that no matter how much you could have tried that day, you never would have been able to save her-" his monologue gets cut short as I scream in pure primal rage while the surge of my blue and purple bioelectricity intensifies further, spreading all across the bodies of his tentacles, including his own. It wasn't over though, I can still feel something painful inside my chest, an immense buildup of pure bioelectricity that needed to be let out.

Not that I could have stopped it anyways. 

With one last cry of rage, I let go of my self control and allow my power to engulf my surroundings. Everything became a bright flash of blue and purple, completely shrouding my vision. The only sounds that I could hear at that moment were the violent sounds of electricity and metallic destruction.

Then, everything went dark.

Chapter Text

Autobot HQ - Present Time

As the battle against the rise of Megatron's undead armada rages on in the vastness of space, Ratchet and Agent Fowler stay put within the confines of their base, helping in anyway they could over the com lines. Though, it was really only Ratchet that could help the Autobots in space, as his vast experience as what the humans would call it "Their man in the chair" served a greater purpose here than out in the field.

To say that Ratchet was worried for Optimus's safety, as well as the others in space was a very huge understatement. This mission needed to be a success, their very survival may very well depend on it. However, the Autobots in space aren't his only concern right now. As of ten minutes ago, he had sent the three humans under their care to another country that was miles away from their base in an attempt to stall the Decepticons from pinpointing Cybertron's location. 

Though Ratchet may seem care very little about the safety of three mere humans, their safety was still apart of his many responsibilities. Especially now since Optimus and the others are away, leaving only him to look after them, much to his disappointment. Just when Ratchet was about to grumble about his predicament (again...), he started to receive a call notification over the monitor.

It was from Miko. 

"Strange. Shouldn't Jack be calling?" Ratchet whispered to himself as he accepted the call request. 

"Ratchet. Ratchet! Can you hear me?!" Miko immediately shouted through the coms, slightly startling the old medic.  

"For Primus' sakes Miko, I can hear you!" Ratchet shouted back at her, annoyed at her sudden shouting.

"We need a ground bridge Ratchet. We heard a big explosion and-" 

"An explosion! What happened Miko? Is everyone alright?" Ratchet interrupted as he questioned the human girl in a frantic worried tone.

"Me and Raf are fine Ratchet. But Jack left us in a room so he could check out the building for any Cons. Minutes later and then BOOM, we heard something exploding inside the building. We don't know if Jack is hurt or..." Miko explained, further worrying Ratchet.

"I'm opening a ground bridge at your arrival coordinates. Quickly, bring Rafael and yourself to the ground bridge before anymore Decepticons show." Ratchet ordered in his instructor voice. 

"I'll bring Raf back to the portal, but I won't be coming back with him. Not until I've found Jack." Miko said, having already making up her mind about her decision. 

"Wha-Absolutely not! You have no one to protect you. If the Decepticons spot you, then you'll be-" 

"I won't leave him for scrap Ratchet. He saved peoples lives a thousand times, this is the least I can do for him." Miko stated, already feeling fed up with her back-to-back with the Autobot medic. 

"I understand Miko, but this is suicide. Optimus's order was to keep you out of trouble, not run headfirst into it." Ratchet exclaimed with his usual war veteran sternness. 

"I'll call you back when I find him." Miko concluded as she immediately ended the call afterwards, leaving the already upset medic puffing steam out of his audio processors. 

"Primus damn these stubborn human teenagers!" Ratchet growled to himself.

Ratchet knew just how defenseless a lone human girl would be against even one Vehicon. So if she were to die because of her now decided search-and-rescue mission, then he would ultimately feel responsible for her death. And as much as Ratchet wanted to just scoop Miko back to base and scold her for hours on end, he knew that he couldn't leave the base for even a moment since Optimus and the others were also depending on him while they continue to hold off the activation of Megatron's space bridge.

So unless Jack is still even alive to protect her, Miko will be on her own....

Giant Dish Arrays, Texas - Present Time

...

.....

After God knows how long I've been out, my brain finally decides that its time for me to wake up from my painful beauty sleep. Though it took some effort, I manage to open my eyelids slightly, trying my best to ignore the pain coursing down my muscles. After opening my eyes, I look around my surroundings to see that I was still in the network machine room, or whatever's left of it. 

Looking around, I saw that the room floor was mostly caked in broken glass, small metal fragments, and stony rubble. Although, the floor wasn't the only messy part. Most of the room was filled with floating dust and stone particles, as if I was witnessing the aftermath of a demolished building. Another thing I saw were the small broken remnants of the large network machine that I had tried to defend earlier, its hardwires charred and destroyed. 'So much for defending...'

Suddenly, a sharp pain jolted through my chest like a mini-heart attack, causing me to groan in pain. It was then that I realized that I was just laying on the cold hard ground, injured and vulnerable. 'Wait. Wasn't something wrapped around my body just a minute ago?' I think to myself as I try to push myself off the ground, but to no avail. 

My arms.... My legs.... They feel so weak, but why? 

What happened? Why does my body feel so numb? Why is everything so quiet now? 

Wasn't- Wasn't I fighting somebody?

Suddenly, a cold shiver ran down my spine as I start to remember everything that had happened before this. From the intense fight that I had against the slender Con, to when I had hallucinated Otto to the point that I freaked out and.... exploded? 

That venom blast.... I genuinely don't know where or how it came to be. I've always had a couple of venom bioelectricity attacks up my sleeves, but I know for a fact that I have never been able to do that, in all my years as Spider-man.

Was it the hallucination of Otto that triggered it, or was this the slender Con's doing? 

If I remember correctly, I saw both blue and dark purple bioelectricity coursing and pulsating through my body before the blast. The dark purple electricity was the same color that originated from Mr. Tall, dark and creepy's tentacles, so it couldn't have been just a coincidence. My usual blue bioelectricity felt familiar at that time, unlike its purple counterpart....

Whatever that venom blast was, it was dangerous and unstable enough to cause this amount of destruction. And honestly, it scares me deeply that I was capable of causing something like this with just my body and my emotions. If its potentially a part of my bioelectricity moves list, then I'll definitely have train myself to control it better.

That is if I can make it out of here before anymore bad guys shows up.

Shit, what about Miko and Raf. Are they still here? No, she can't be dumb enough to check out the aftermath of an explosive fight, especially when Raf is with her in the same building. Right? 

Positive thoughts Jack, positive thoughts. She probably got scared after she heard the explosion and took Raf with her outside the building, just like you told her to do, hopefully...

'Well, there's no other way to know then to check on them. C'mon Jack, pick yourself up!'

I set aside my thoughts for now as I focus on trying to pick myself off the ground, but it was to no avail yet again. When I try to lift myself up with both my arms, they would shake spastically before suddenly losing strength, causing me to fall face first into the ground. The same problem occurred with my legs, not even allowing me to stand up properly. I've never used up this much bioelectricity before, so that's probably one reason why I feel so weak.

But I can't let that stop me, I need to get up, I need to know if Miko and Raf are okay. 

I try to pick myself off the floor with my arms and legs, this time with as much effort as I can manage in my muscles. As I slowly lift myself up to a standing position, my muscle's shaking further intensifies, as if the exhaustion itself was trying to pull me back on the ground. However, I try my absolute best to ignore the grave feeling, instead, I focus on limping my way to where I had last left Miko and Raf. 

'Hopefully, Raf got the dishes to point away from Cybertron before the network machine was destroyed.' I encourage myself as I slowly limp my way toward the destroyed double doors. Unfortunately, after only a few steps away from where I was just laying, my body gives in to the exhaustion yet again, forcing me to fall back on the ground face first. 

"I... I can't.... I feel too.... tired." I weakly whisper to myself. 

'Maybe I can call Ratchet for help, I still have my phone with me.' I suddenly realize as I begin to weakly take my phone out of my suit's pocket. After shuffling in my pocket for a few seconds, I finally take my phone out and open it just to see that the screen was completely shattered. 

"Damn iittt..... It's ruined..." I quietly curse to myself, shoving the ruined phone back into my pocket. 

This is it. This is where it all ends for me.

I don't even know if that slender Con is still alive or not, and if he is, then it'll be a lucky day for him. I can't even bring myself to stand up, how am I going to defend myself if he decides to fight me again? 

It's over for me, there's no getting out of this one. I always knew my luck would run out eventually, yet again, it wasn't really there to begin with. God, how would Arcee react if she were to see me like this? What would my mom think if she were to realize that her only son was found dead in Texas, wearing a Spider-man costume? 

I knew that this job would be the death of me eventually, but I never knew it would end like this...

'Maybe.... if I just close my eyes and rest here for a bit, I'll feel a little better after waking up.' I try to comfort myself as I slowly close my eyelids and lay my head on the cold, dirty ground. Maybe a good nap is all I need right now, after all, my sleep schedule was never the greatest. 

However, only after a few seconds of complete silence, I suddenly hear a gentle voice whisper my name.

"Jack...". That voice... It was all too familiar to me.

It was the voice of the woman that I promised myself to never forget. A voice that I could only ever have the pleasure to hear again in my dreams, or my nightmares. 

It was...

"Gwen?" I whispered back as I started opening my eyes again. 

To my complete surprise, it was Gwen Stacy, in all of her beauty. She was standing right in front of me, only inches away from where I laid. And she was looking down at me with the softest, most gentle smile her beautiful face could ever conjure up. The mere sight of this was enough to make me start tearing up, threatening to stain the inside of my mask. 

She still looked as gorgeous as ever, before the day on the bridge. Her bright blonde hair smoothly ran down her from her head, hanging just slightly below her neck in a beautiful fashion. Her skin was as smooth and pristine as ever while her iris' glimmered with colorfully bright brown shine. And that smile.... it was one of her most prominent and attractive features. Her cute smile always made me feel as if I was the most special person in the world to her.

"G-Gwen. You're here, you're really here..." I reply in a weakly happy tone, trying my hardest to not believe that this was just another hallucination. 

"Of course I am Jack, somebody needs to look after you." Gwen spoke gently, without a hint of animosity in her voice. Suddenly, her smile changed into a concerned frown.

"Jack... You look so tired." she stated, clearly worried for my wellbeing.

"You don't know the half of it." I grunted in pain after feeling yet another sharp pain in my chest. After the brief moment of pain, I looked back up at her and chuckled hollowly. 

"L-looks like I'll be... joining you soon, don't you think?" I weakly asked Gwen. Her response to my question was to replace her current expression with a stern frown while stepping closer to me and kneeling down, getting a better view of my dirtied masked face. 

"Please don't say things like that. You're stronger than you realize Jack, stronger than what most people realize." she said in a soft, encouraging tone. 

"If that's true, then why do I feel so weak? Why do I feel so alone...." I replied sorrowfully. Without a second thought on her end, Gwen placed her hand softly upon my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me. However, what was meant to feel like a warm and gentle touch on my shoulder somehow felt like nothing on my end.

"You are many things, but alone isn't one of them." Gwen spoke soothingly, making me feel warmer inside.

Hearing her voice again, her soothing words of encouragement, it makes me feel so many emotions, all at the same time. Having all of these bottled up emotions being released at the same time, it causes me to embarrassingly sob in front of her. 

"I-I... I miss you Gwen... so much..." I tell her in a sobbing whisper. Gwen lets go of my shoulder, then gently places both her hands on my cheeks and slowly brings her forehead to mine until our foreheads lovingly touch one another. And though I feel nothing physically at the moment, it somehow makes me feel all the warmer on the inside. 

"I love you Jack. I'll always love you, no matter how hard it gets." Gwen says in the softest, most caring voice I could ever have the pleasure of hearing. 

"And- and I'll always love you too... My funny valentine." I replied back in an equally soft and caring voice. 

Our heads continue to touch lovingly as I slowly close my eyelids and quietly savor this sweet moment of peace and love. This was a moment I wanted to last forever.

A moment away from all my troubles, my responsibilities, and my personal battles. 

Unfortunately, our moment of peace was cut short when I suddenly heard the faint sounds of footsteps coming to my direction, causing me to immediately open my eyes and see that Gwen was nowhere in sight. Realizing that my vision of Gwen was just another hallucination caused my heart to immediately drop, sinking me back into the depressing realization that Gwen was still gone, and that she'll never come back....

"Spidey! Spidey, where are you?" a familiar voice shouted from the double doors. 

'Wait, is that Miko? No no no no no no, what is she doing here!' 

Blinking away the tears from my eyes, I perk my head up slightly to see Miko in all her punk rock glory standing in front of the double doors, trying to scope out the room for any sign of life. However, her scoping soon comes to an end when she immediately spots me, probably due to my head movement. 'Or your stupidly bright red and blue costume, dingus.' 

Miko gasps at the injured sight of my figure before running towards me. 

"Spidey! Holy shit dude, what happened? It's like a bomb went off here." Miko asks, surprisingly without much excitement in her voice. 

"M-Miko, what are you doing here? I thought I-I told you to run and take Raf with you if anything bad happened." I grunted to her, trying to ignore the stinging pain. 

"Don't worry dude, I took Raf to a ground bridge before coming back." Miko explained as she started to check my body for any serious injuries. Aside from a couple of bruises and my ripped costume, most of my injures were internal. After realizing this, Miko pulled me to my feet slowly and perched me to her side, acting as my temporary crutch. 

"Alright Spidey, I'm not really good at this type of stuff, so don't *huff* blame me if I'm doing this wrong." Miko said as she slung my right arm over her shoulders for better stability. I only groaned in pain in response to her disclaimer. 

Although it was taking much effort on her part to even carry me like this because of the weight difference, it was still much better than when I was trying to walk all by my lonesome. 

"*Huff* Dude! How much *huff* do you weight!? Feels like I'm carrying *huff* an entire drum set!" Miko shouted through her exhaustion. 

"I- I'm only 170 pounds." I told her weakly, while Miko scoffed in response.

"Yeah right. You sure you're not *huff* carrying any extra weight." Miko mocked with a sly expression. 'Did she just call me fat?' 

"Look Miko, I appreciate this, I really do. But... if this is too much for you, then just let me walk while you get a head start out of here." I tried to convince her, worried that she might get hurt for trying to save me. 

"Dude, you can barely stand by yourself, let alone walk. So save your *huff* breath and let me *argh* help you." Miko argued back as we made our way closer toward the double doors. 

"No Miko, I'll just-"

"Jack! Just shut up and let me help you!" Miko suddenly shouted, clearly upset at my inability to accept help. Knowing that she wasn't going to leave me, no matter what I said, I do as she shouted and stay silent for the moment. 

'Is this what it feels like to have a little sister?' 

'It feels good....' 

As we continue to walk our way out of the room, we both suddenly hear the sounds of metal moving and shifting. Turning behind us to face the source of the loud noise, we immediately spot the large and obvious source of said noise. 'Oh no.'

Standing in a slightly crouched position, feet's away from us, was Mr. Tall, dark and creepy. He looked extremely damaged, but still alive. 

"Oh scrap... Spidey, is that?..." Miko questioned with a bit of fear in her voice. 

"Yeah... He's the Con I fought." I quickly answer her in whisper, as to not immediately reveal ourselves to the standing creep. That is, if he doesn't already know that we're still here. 

'How the hell did I not notice him before? He was just lying in the corner of the room, and I didn't even spot him! Seriously, how injured am I?' 

With both of us looking at the blank faced Con, clearly wide eyed, I took this moment to quickly analyze the state of the injured Con, and just how damaged he really is. By the looks of it, he doesn't really seem to know that we're still here. He's just kinda... staring at the ground for some reason. 'Is he unconscious? Or maybe he's just sleep walking. Do cybertonians even sleep?'  

Putting that thought aside, I try and focus my mind on his damaged body. Most of the armor plates and metal around his arms, legs, and torso were charred, cracked, and even broken. Both his tentacles were even more damaged than his body as they limply protruded from his chest, corpselike and unmoving. The most notable thing about their damage was the fact that the heads of the tentacles were completely destroyed, the only things left being loose, charred wires and a lot of energon spewing from the destroyed portion. And his face... Lets just say that it wasn't exactly blank anymore. 

His screen-like visor showed heavy cracks covering a good portion of his face, like a heavily cracked block of ice. 'Did my new venom blast really do all of that?' 

Suddenly, his dark and damaged visor lit up with random images of what appeared to be the Nemesis. After a couple of seconds later, he lifted his right arm up to the side and pointed the palm of his hand toward a random wall. 

"What? What's he-" PHUM

Miko's quiet question was cut short when a bright ground bridge portal suddenly appeared out of thin air, right in front of where the slender Con was pointing his palm. 'The hell!? He can just summon ground bridge portals out of nowhere!' I mentally panicked.

After the ground bridge portal had fully formed, the Con immediately started limp walking slowly towards the swirling portal, not even attempting to pay us any sort of attention. When he had finally entered through the portal, the ground bridge began to shrink and eventually disappear into thin air, as if it were never there, leaving me and Miko completely dumbfounded. 

.....

"Well, that was creepy." I lightly joked, trying to break the silence. Miko's response was to glare at me with an upset and confused expression. 

"That Con was like, 20 feet tall, and you didn't even see him before I got here!?" Miko said in a questioning shout. 

"Well, I'm sorry Miko. I was just lying on the cold floor in pain because I felt like it." I sarcastically said, coupled with a flat tone.

"Whatever. Lets just get out of here and call Ratchet for a ground bridge before any more Cons decide to crash the party." Miko said as she once again used herself as my crutch to help me walk out the double doors and towards the backdoor of this place.

While we were walking through the halls, I suddenly started to remember why we were even here in the first place. 'Right, the dishes. Should probably ask how that went.' 

"H-hey Miko? The dishes... are they-" 

"It's okay Spidey, they're pointed away from Cybertron. You did a sweet job on distracting that ugly Con. Plus, Raf also downloaded some of the Con's space bridge blueprints, y'know, before the explosion." Miko explained, immediately soothing my worries.  

"Well, at least I'm good for something." I weakly joked as we both started to chuckle in unison. 

"C'mon Jack, lets get you back to base." Miko said with a smile. 

....

God, this suit is going to take ages to clean. 

Decepticon Space Bridge - Outer Space

It had been two waves of relentless fighting between the Autobots and the Decepticons over the activation of the space bridge. Shot after shot, Vehicon after Vehicon, and yet the Megatron still hasn't given up his objective. He almost never does. 

Fortunately for the Autobots, their human allies on Earth had managed to prevent the Decepticons from navigating Cybertron's location. Ultimately delaying Megatron's grand plan of transporting dark energon through his space bridge.

However, this small victory did little to appease Optimus Prime. For he knew better than anyone that Megatron will stop at nothing until he get what he wants. Even if he doesn't manage to win today, then he'll keep on fighting until he eventually overpowers their small group. 

To Optimus Prime, there was only one solution that could completely destroy any chance of Megatron ever transporting dark energon to Cybertron. Unfortunately, that solution would come at a great cost for him and his team. 

As Bumblebee finishes off a remaining Vehicon with a one-punch knockout, he turns to face his leader, his most trusted friend. Even with Optimus' battle mask on, Bumblebee could still make out what the Prime was feeling at the moment, just by the look on his optics. Stepping closer to the unsure looking Prime, Bumblebee began toning out a series of beeps, essentially asking Optimus if there was something wrong. Hearing this, Optimus looked away from the floating Nemesis to face his youngest member. 

"I'm afraid there is, Bumblebee." Optimus spoke in his usual deep and stoic voice. 

"What's wrong Optimus? Is it about Jack and the others?" Arcee questioned from behind Bumblebee as she and Bulkhead began approaching the duo. 

"No, Ratchet has informed me that the children have returned to base safely. The issue we face now... is about this space bridge." Optimus explained, slightly furrowing his optic ridges at the end. 

"What's there to worry about Optimus? Raf got the dishes to point away from Cybertron, so the Cons shouldn't even be trying to activate the space bridge right now." Bulkhead said nonchalantly. Bumblebee beeped in agreement, acknowledging his little charge's intelligence over the Decepticons.    

"I am afraid that it is not that simple Bulkhead." Optimus said as he prepared to explain their next course of action. All the Autobots present stayed silent for the moment, albeit a bit nervously, waiting for their leader to speak first. 

"In order to fully ensure the safety of humanity and our future, we must destroy the space bridge." Optimus exclaimed, earning him gasps and shocked expressions from his team members' faceplates.

"Destroy the space bridge!? But Optimus, its our only way of getting back home." Bulkhead shouted in worry, uncertain if his leader was set on destroying the space bridge. Bumblebee beeped in a low tone, asking Optimus if there way any other solution that they could come up with to stop Megatron.   

"Our numbers are far too small to conduct a full-scale assault on the Nemesis, nor do we have the current supplies and energy to continue stalling the Decepticons. Megatron is many things, if not relentless and brutal. The only way to truly ensure our victory today is with the destruction of their space bridge." Optimus explained in a stern instructors voice, making sure his team understood what little choice they have. 

Optimus saw how his team members still looked unsure about his plan, unsure about the fact that they may have to destroy their only chance of returning home. Seeing this, Optimus knew that he had to convince them, spark to spark. 

"My Autobots, I know what I ask of you is hard to consider, but you must realize the true gravity of our situation. Megatron's technology and supplies far exceeds ours, if he does not win today, then he will eventually make repairs to his navigational system. If that happens before the destruction of his space bridge, then there truly will no hope in stopping Megatron's diabolical scheme. I refuse to allow innocent human lives to be taken because of our destructive war. Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost." Optimus' deep and commanding voice sounded in sympathy and determination. 

The Autobots continue to stand in place as they began contemplating the hard choice that they were going to make. Bulkhead wore a sad frown, trying to come up with another solution that didn't totally involve them just wrecking their way through the entire Decepticon army. Bumblebee fidgeted nervously in place, occasionally toning out small quiet beeps to himself, as if he were trying to convince himself that this was the only way. Arcee however, she wasn't sad or unsure, she was angry. An inner fury being built up against the Decepticons that took so much away from the cobalt blue Autobot. 

With a hard clench of her hand servos and a furrow of her optic ridges, she looked at all of her closest friends and began to speak. 

"Guys, we just lost Cliff to those slagging Cons. So I'll be dammed if I ever let those fragging Cons get another victory over us." Arcee spoke in sheer angered determination, gaining the attention of the other Autobots. 

"A-Arcee?" Bulkhead questioned in slight fear at his friend's sudden change of mood. 

"Don't you understand Bulkhead, this is the best chance we'll ever have at completely shutting down Megatron's plan. That, or he eventually wakes an entire planet of the undead to scrap us." Arcee said in her war veteran voice. Convinced, Bumblebee beeped loudly in agreement with Arcee, while also toning out Raf's major assist for their plan to delay the transportation of Megatron's dark energon. 

"Indeed Bumblebee, since Raf has prevented the arrays from pinpointing Cybertron's location, there is no better chance to destroy the space bridge then now." Optimus spoke in agreement with his young scout.

For a moment, Bulkhead looked around nervously, still unsure about their decision, until he started to remember what was truly at stake. Since Megatron knew that Optimus was inhabiting Earth, he would most definitely have his sights and his weapons pointed at Earth. So it was either their way home gets destroyed, or all of humanity gets overrun by undead cybertonians. And remembering that Miko would also be at risk of dying, Bulkhead decided that maybe a few more years on Earth wouldn't hurt, as he was starting to take a liking to the teenage punk rocker. 

With a small sigh escaping Bulkhead's mouth, he looked back at his team with a smirk. 

"Ahh, what the scrap. What's a few more years away from Cybertron gonna do anyways." Bulkhead said nonchalantly, earning proud smiles from his respective teammates. 

"Good, then let us proceed with the plan." Optimus said as he raised two finger servos to the side of his helm. "Ratchet, there has been a change of plan. To prevent Megatron from ever completing his endgame goal, we must destroy the space bridge. There's enough live energon coursing through it to achieve detonation, but we lack the firepower to ignite it." Optimus explained to his oldest friend.

"If I knew how the space bridge was engineered, I might find a technical way of accomplishing that feat." Ratchet said through the coms. 

"Um, would schematics help?" Raf suddenly asked the medbot. 

"Hmmm. Optimus, I must say, the space bridge is our sole hope of ever returning Cybertron. Are you certain its destruction is the only option?" Ratchet questioned. 

"I am afraid so, old friend." Optimus said in a less then enthusiastic tone. 

"Then by all means, let us light our darkest hour!" Ratchet exclaimed with courage. Optimus then ended his com line and looked upon his fellow Autobots to give them their next objective. 

"Autobots, take your positions and follow Ratchet's command before Megatron arrives. I will stay here and make my stand." Optimus ordered as he began to face the vastness of space, looking for his oldest rival as his team members began to run in the opposite direction. 

Soon enough, Optimus spotted the familiar cybertonian jet form of his greatest enemy, flying towards his position. When the evil warlord finally got close enough to solid ground, he transformed back into his bipedal form midair and dropped onto his space bridge with a thunderous thud echoing on the metal surface. 

"Prime... Your fellow Autobots are wiser than I had anticipated. They know when to retreat, unlike you." Megatron growled coldly, his normally bloodshot optics glowing in a brightly purple fashion.

"I hold no illusion about engaging your army Megatron. But I might derail its objective... by removing its head." Optimus spoke in a stoically cold voice as he activated his right arm blade. Megatron responded by laughing loudly at the battle ready prime, mocking his threat. 

"That is very unlikely, for I am infused with the very might of DARK ENERGON!" Megatron shouted with might and arrogance. 

"But I must say Optimus, I am quite impressed with how your allies on Earth have managed to prevent my communications officer from controlling the dish arrays. Otherwise, the space bridge would have been activated by now." Megatron stated with an evil grin. 

Optimus' optics widened slightly in surprise. Optimus knew just how deadly and skilled Soundwave was in a one-on-one fight, he had a taste of it back on Cybertron during the war. If Soundwave was the one sent by Megatron to hack the dish arrays, then Jack must have already encountered and fought the loyal Decepticon. He prayed that Jack had managed to win the fight unscathed and well, though, the chances of that may be little to none.

"Our numbers may be small, but we are stronger than you think." Optimus remarked to the sinister warlord. The cybertonian warlord laughed once more in a mocking fashion. 

"We'll see about that, Prime. Once I activate the space bridge and awaken my army, I will send them upon this pathetic planet and shred every last piece of hope for your pathetic cause!" Megatron threatened with a mighty fury. Taking no liking to his threat, Optimus furrowed his optic ridges and took his battle stance, scowling behind his battle mask.

"One shall stand, one shall fall." Optimus quoted himself from the many fights he had against his oldest rival, prior to this one. 

Growling, Megatron activated his large right arm blade and quickly ran towards the battle ready Prime, loudly sounding out his battle cry. Seeing this, Optimus in turn ran towards the approaching warlord, his spark full of determination. When they finally approached each other close enough, they both swung their blades at each other, only hitting the bodies of their respective weapons. Optimus immediately followed up with a second attack, swinging his left hand servo into Megatron's faceplate, temporarily staggering him.   

Megatron stepped backwards, stunned for only a moment before looking back and seeing his rapidly approaching enemy running towards him. With quick timing, Megatron swiftly dodged Optimus's blade swing before slashing his own blade across Optimus's chest, destroying the large windows on his pecs. Slightly wounded, the Prime grunted in pain for a moment before returning to the fight at hand.

Megatron immediately followed up his slash with a flurry of blade swings, to which Optimus skillfully dodged until he found an opening he could use to attack back. Using the momentary opening, Optimus roundhouse kicked Megatron square in the jaw, sending his opponent flying backwards and onto the ground. Afterwards, Optimus ran towards the grounded Megatron and swung his blade high in the air before bringing it down with all his might. The sound of metal clashing echoed from his powerful swing, however, Optimus's blade did not meet Megatron's head. Instead, it met the body of his rival's blade, contesting it's durability against the durability of the Optimus's blade. 

"You're a powerful opponent Optimus." Megatron smirked as he then forcefully pushed Optimus's blade away from his and quickly slashed his abdomen.

"BUT NOT POWERFUL ENOUGH!" Megatron screamed in superiority as his opponent staggered back, clutching his new wound.  

Succumbing to the pain of his large slash wound, Optimus shook and knelt on the ground. Megatron laughed coldly as he slowly approached the weakened Prime, his blade ready for the killing blow. Just as he lifted his large blade to deliver the final strike, his SIC suddenly interrupted the moment through the coms. 

"Master?" Starscream called out through the coms, earning him a very angry growl from the warlord.

"Starscream! What is it!" Megatron shouted through his com link, furious that his SIC would dare to interrupt his battle against Optimus Prime.

"I do not mean to question your all-seeing wisdom, but I believe that the Autobots are up to something again. This time, underneath your space bridge." Starscream warned his master with a slight "I told you so" tone.

Realizing what his SIC meant, the monotone warlord chuckled sinisterly for a moment before looking back at Optimus's knelt figure. 

"Ahh, misdirection. You would have made a fine Decepticon." Megatron lightly congratulated as he raised his blade once more. However, unbeknownst to Megatron, the temporary interruption gave Optimus just enough time to plan out his next move.   

"I chose my side." Optimus remarked before quickly raising his already transformed left handed blaster and shooting Megatron directly in his chest, hitting the Decepticon insignia. 

The powerful shot blasted the evil warlord away, causing his figure to float backwards. Changing his right hand blade into another blaster, Optimus began unloading a barrage of powerful energon bolts upon his rival. Although Optimus had not taken the time to properly aim, he had still managed to hit a couple of his shots upon the warlord's arms and chest. Knowing that Optimus was just a distraction away from the true danger, Megatron immediately transformed into his cybertonian vehicle mode and began to take flight towards the posterior side of his space bridge. 

"Not this time, Megatron." Optimus quietly said to himself as he carefully took aim at Megatron's jet boosters, intending to inhibit his flight.

With precise aiming and timing, Optimus shot a single but powerful charged energon bolt toward Megatron's jet booster. Surprisingly, the shot had landed inside the one of his boosters, causing a small but painful explosion which had immediately halted the monotone warlord. 

"*AARRGHH* NO!!" Megatron screamed as he quickly transformed back into his bipedal form while still floating midair in the center of his space bridge. 

Suddenly, the metallic plating of the space bridge around them began to quickly break off and shatter as the bright blue glow of energon shined through the broken pieces. Then came a loud and violent noise which also sounded through the cracks of the space bridge. 

"Optimus, the ground bridge is ready and waiting." Ratchet confirmed through the coms. Knowing that his Autobots had completed their objective, the Prime quickly placed two finger servos on his helm and began to speak through the coms. 

"Good job Autobots. Now quickly, rendezvous to ground bridge and jump through!" Optimus ordered as he began to run towards the direction of the ground bridge. 

As he approached closer to the portal, Optimus saw all three of his present team members intact and running quickly toward the ground bridge. One by one, all four Autobots jumped through the ground bridge as the space bridge behind them began to glow ever brighter, indicating that its end was near. Still floating in the center of the soon to be gone space bridge, Megatron quickly looked around his surroundings to see that the Nemesis was nowhere to be seen. 

"Starscream! Where is my ship!" Megatron loudly questioned through the coms. 

"The blast of the space bridge would be too devastating for the ship to handle, especially at your range! Quickly master, take flight and retreat!" Starscream frantically said to his immobile master. 

"FOOL! The Autobots have incapacitated my ability to fly! Return to me immediately!" Megatron ordered furiously.

"It is too risky my lord! I cannot return to you!" Starscream said, further driving the Nemesis away from Megatron. 

"STARSCREAM!!!" Megatron screamed at the top of his voice box as he was suddenly engulfed in the gigantic blast of the space bridge's explosion, silencing him completely. The blast was so devastating, that a giant blue shockwave originated from the center explosion of the space bridge, reaching and disappearing near the surface of the retreating Nemesis.  

What was meant to be the Decepticon's greatest hour turned out to be their darkest, as their beloved and brutal master had seemingly been destroyed by the blast, finally putting an end to his existence.

However, his death did not mean the end of his sinister legacy. For another Decepticon, one who had longed to become leader of the Decepticons, finally had a chance to rule over the destructive army. And without anyone to stop him, especially someone like Megatron, Starscream would finally be able to rule over the Decepticons as Lord Starscream, Emperor of Destruction.

Autobot HQ - Present Time

Miko, Raf, and Agent Fowler stood by an injured Spider-man on the catwalk, to which the injured vigilante used the same makeshift hospital bed that Fowler used not too long ago as they all eagerly awaited the arrival of the returning Autobots. Ratchet on the other hand stood by the ground bridge controls, knowing that all his teammates had survived the mission based on their healthy life signals. However, the old medbot was also slightly nervous as he anticipated the shocked reactions of his peers when they come to realize that not everyone involved in this mission had come out unharmed. 

Due to Ratchet's major inexperience in human biology, the most he could do was set up a medical bay for Jack to rest on. But based on Jack's harsh bruises and heavily damaged costume, he knew that his injuries were not light by all means. 

Optimus was the first to arrival through the portal, wounded but still standing tall. However, before the Prime could converse with his oldest friend, the sight on an injured Spider-man had immediately caught his sight, making his spark almost drop. 

"No..." Optimus whispered to himself in a grave tone as he quickly but carefully approached the wounded human. 

Soon enough, Bulkhead came through as well and had also immediately set his optics on Optimus and Jack. Miko saw firsthand that her favorite Autobot was still alive and well, to which she gasped loudly in relief, despite the numerous times that Ratchet had tried to reassure her. 

"Bulkhead!" Miko shouted in a happy relief as she quickly ran toward to and hugged Bulkhead's leg. Bulkhead smiled softly and knelt down to carefully pat Miko's back with his large index finger servo. 

Then finally, Bumblebee and Arcee came through the portal together before the ground bridge behind them finally closed and disappeared. Unfortunately for Arcee, she had been met with a sight that she wished to never see while coming through a ground bridge portal. Her optics blew wide open as she laid her sights upon her severely injured partner. 

"Jack!" Arcee shouted in worry and fear as she quickly ran towards Jack, just as Optimus did. 

When she finally approached, she could fully see the extent of her partner's injuries. The chest and arm areas of his suit were slightly ripped and torn off, while the left lens of his mask were shattered but still intact. Overall, Jack's spider costume was completely dirty, the once bright colors of his costume now looked dark and dull. As for Jack himself, his whole body looked stiff, as if he were trying his hardest not to move around too much. Through the ripped parts of his costume, Arcee could see light purple bruises covering the surface of his skin. She didn't know much about bruises or most human injures, however, she knew that most bruises originated from a hard attack of sorts. Which meant that whoever did this really did a number on Jack. 

Though Jack's muscles were stiff and sore, he was still conscious, and upon hearing Arcee's worried voice he slowly turned his head toward her direction. 

"H-hey Arcee... Back already?" Jack tried to joke through the pain. Though, his joke did nothing to calm his still worried Autobot partner. 

"Jack, we need to get you to a human hospital. Your injures are too-"

"No, no, no hospital please..." Jack suddenly interrupted Arcee, catching her slightly by surprise. 

"Why not? No one here knows how to treat your wounds." Arcee questioned with worry. Suddenly, Ratchet went up behind Arcee and placed a hand servo on her shoulder. 

"He explained that his mother works as a nurse at Jasper's hospital. If he were to be brought there, then it would risk revealing his identity to her and the hospital staff." Ratchet explained in a calm but serious tone. Arcee glared at the medbot for a moment before looking back at Jack.

"I-I can't reveal my identity... Please Arcee... No hospital." Jack weakly begged, earning him an unsure but sympathetic look from Arcee. As much as Arcee hated that Jack couldn't get the proper care for his wounds, she also needed to respect his decision, whether it was the right one or not. With a small sigh she nodded in agreement to Jack's request, still wearing an uncertain expression on her faceplate. 

"Ratchet, what happened?" Optimus questioned, trying to keep calm. However, before Ratchet could talk, Miko suddenly intervened and spoke from her side of the story. 

"He found a Con that was hacking the dishes and fought him while me and Raf stayed in another room. I wish I could've taken some killer monkey shots of the creepy Con on my phone, but I was too busy carrying Jack." Miko explained in a less than enthusiastic voice. 

Suddenly, Optimus remembered the Decepticon in question that Megatron had sent to hack the dish arrays. 

"Soundwave." Optimus said coldly, gaining the attention of all Autobots and humans in the room. 

"Soundwave! The kid fought Soundwave!?" Bulkhead shouted in shock, to which Bumblebee also toned out in shock as well. 

"Of all the fragging Cons." Arcee whispered to herself, cursing herself for not being there to protect Jack. 

"Jack, are you certain that you do not want to have your wounds treated at a hospital?" Optimus asked gently. 

"It's alright Optimus, really... Just give me a few days... or weeks." Jack grunted as he felt a sharp sting in his chest during the middle of his sentence. Arcee instinctively reached her large hand servo near Jack, checking if he was truly okay or not. 

Scoffing in amusement, Jack smirked and looked at Arcee's still worried faceplate, placing his hand on top of hers. 

"Really Arcee?... Y'know, there are other partners in the world." Jack joked, knowing that Arcee probably wouldn't react to his joke. To his surprise however, Arcee smirked a bit at his joke before speaking. 

"But you're my first spider partner." Arcee quietly remarked, earning her a big smile from Jack. 

Although this mission didn't go exactly as he thought it would, Jack knew somehow that the rising darkness of Megatron's evil schemes were put to a halting stop. All thanks to the bravery of a small group of robotic aliens who had the courage to stand up against the vast army of Decepticons, who were hellbent on destroying them and Earth.

Jack didn't know where his life would take him from then on, however, he was certain of one thing. 

As long as he was still alive, his job, his responsibility as Spider-man would continue to live on. 

He's just glad that he doesn't have to handle the responsibility alone anymore.  

Chapter Text

Autobot HQ - Two Weeks Later...

Its been two weeks since we prevented an undead uprising and Megatron's apparent death, but that doesn't mean things have slowed down for us. From having to juggle my normal life responsibilities like school and work, to helping the Autobots with certain mission, especially scouting missions. 

For a group of highly skilled alien soldiers, they sure do a bunch of scouting missions, especially for energon. 

Can't blame them though. Its probably hard enough to find a specific fuel source on a planet where your rival faction also so happens to be looking for the same fuel source. However, it wasn't all just scouting missions, at least not for Optimus it wasn't. 

Since the Decepticons are still on Earth, they've been busy trying to take down Optimus and the others, now under the leadership of Starscream. Their first, and probably only biggest attempt at killing Optimus, was awaking a huge Decepticon named Skyquake to do Starscream's dirty work. Though I wasn't there to witness it myself, Raf thankfully translated the whole ordeal to me since Bumblebee, Optimus, and Agent Fowler were there to fight him. 

And based on how I was told the fight ended, its safe to say that Skyquake definitely won't be causing anymore problems. 

Although, there was one Autobot situation that I think I'll never forget. 

"Scraplet! SCRAPLET!" Bulkhead's voice shouted in fear within my memories as my brain starts to reminisce in the horrible memory of our recent scraplet infestation. 

To think that a bunch of baseball shaped pests could cause so much damage to Autobot HQ and the Autobots themselves honestly scares me a lot. It was a good thing that Optimus and Arcee were away in the Arctic while me, Miko, Raf, and the rest of the Autobots dealt with those creepy oddballs. 

'They were freezing their circuits off to death you idiot. How is that a good thing?!' I mentally scold myself. 

Right... I guess it was a stressful day for everybody. 

Sure, the scraplets didn't eat human flesh, but that didn't mean me, Miko, and Raf were left out of the equation. Because of our immunity to the scraplet's eating habits, we had to play "protect the Bots" with crowbars, fire hydrants, and webshooters while Ratchet and I worked on repairing the damaged ground bridge. Which may or may not have been caused by those metallic critters. 

Seriously, it was like fighting a million flying fire ants all at the same time. I had to use up five different web cartridges on each of my webshooters on that single scraplet infestation. Talk about an expensive pest extermination. 

However, it wasn't all relentless fighting and scouting for Team Prime and myself. Ever since the Autobots allowed us to remain with their team and watch over us, we've all had the time to get to know each other better.

Turns out, Miko's taste in Bulgarian heavy death metal music was also Bulkhead's favorite musical preference. Sometimes, me and the team would always catch Miko and Bulkhead jamming it out to some heavy rock music inside the common area, with or without a heavily annoyed Ratchet grumbling at his work station. While other times, they would go out driving on the harsh and rocky terrain of the Nevadan outskirts, or "Dune bashing" as Miko likes to call it. Honestly, it makes me happy to see that big green oaf finally warm up to Miko's thrill seeking attitude. 

Raf and Bumblebee though, they were acting as if they had already known each other for years. And for an Autobot that could only speak in random toned out noises, he sure liked to talk a lot to Raf. About what? Honestly, I'll never know unless Raf translates it to me. Speech difference aside, Raf and Bumblebee's favorite hobby was playing some old racing video game together, whether it be in Autobot HQ or on Bumblebee's internal screen. If I hadn't known any better, I would have assumed those two to be brothers from another mother.

Maybe they are. 

As for me and Arcee, our friendship has been hitting off pretty great so far. Although she's still the same tough faced Bot that I've known ever since we first met, we have been able to make small talk with each other frequently and even tell past stories to one another. Sometimes, she would tell me stories about her time on Cybertron before and during the war, whether it would be about kicking the scrap out of Cons or about small but funny Autobot mishaps. While I would tell her stories about my fights against certain super-villains or just about random crazy events that could only ever be witnessed in a place like New York. 'Ahhh, God bless Now York City and its weird residents.' 

Though, through all the small laughs and chuckles, I could tell she was still grieving the death of her late partner. The way she acts overprotective of me and the slight hidden look of sadness within her eyes says it all. Honestly, its almost as if I can see right through her tough faced demeanor. I try not to bring it up too much with her, because I know just how much it hurts to be reminded of your loses. I'm already drowning in my own grieves, I wouldn't want my friends to drown along with me. 

"Jack? You okay partner?" Arcee asked, immediately snapping me out of my train of thought.

I perk my head up and look at Arcee's standing figure. She had her right hand placed on her hip while giving me a concerned eyebrow raise. It was then that I remembered that we were in the training room, sparring and contesting our strength against each other. 

"Oh, Uhh, Yeah. Sorry, I was just thinking about something." I reply a bit sheepishly. 

"Still planning out your big talk with the rest of the team?" Arcee reminded me that I still had yet to tell the rest of Team Prime about the reason why I became Spider-man. 

"Oh, that? I'm still working on that. Its just... hard, y'know, to open up old wounds, especially to the people you trust. To be honest, I don't think I would have been able to open up to you about Uncle Ben if you hadn't already shown me that I could trust you." I say, a bit embarrassed that I still haven't told the rest of the Autobots about my biggest turning point in life, even after two weeks of knowing them. Suddenly, Arcee changed her expression to a softer one as she stepped toward me and knelt down to eye level with me.

"Jack, no one is pressuring you to tell them. Its never easy to open up any past wounds, big or small. So please, take all the time you need until you feel like you're actually ready to speak." Arcee spoke in a comforting voice. 

My eyes widen in surprise a little at her robotically soft and gentle voice. Sometimes I forget just how soothing her voice sounds when she speaks like that. She's only ever spoken to me like that when I told her about Uncle Ben that night. For some reason, and I honestly don't know why, my face slightly heats up a bit as I suddenly feel myself blushing at her voice. 

'That's weird, I haven't blushed like this in a long while. I've only ever blushed like this when I was around someone like Gwen, but why am I blushing now?.' I think to myself as I try to snap myself out of my weird flustered state. 

"Um, Y-yeah, T-thanks Arcee. I'll keep that in mind." I respond while slightly turning my face away from her, trying to hide my small blush. I could see her change her small smile into a smirk in the corner of my eye as she stands from her kneeling position and rolls her shoulders in unison. 

"Alright, c'mon Jack, lets get back to training. I need to work on my quick time reactions, because I'm not planning on getting out-swifted by my own partner." Arcee said with a slight hint of smugness hidden in her voice. 

"C'mon Arcee, we both know you're faster than me on wheels." I say with a scoff of amusement. 

"Wheels don't count Jack, I need to be fast on my feet servos too." Arcee smirked while she lightly shook her head. 

"Well, in that case, I guess you'll just have to stick with being the second fastest person on this team." I tease Arcee with an unholy amount of smugness in my voice. Arcee scoffs heavily in response, then points her right hand upward and transforms it into a blaster. 

"You wanna test that theory while volunteering as target practice?" Arcee says in a sarcastically humorous voice.

Before I could respond to her though, we both suddenly heard the sound of small but frantic footsteps coming from outside the training room, probably within the hallway that leads to this room. However, before one of us could check out the noise, Miko's figure suddenly appeared near the entryway of the training room. She looked as if she had ran a marathon here by the way she was heaving in heavy breaths, but somehow, she looked excited through her exhaustion. 

"Dudes! You have to check this out! We just found another Bot coming to our planet, and Bulk says he's a wrecker, like him!" Miko exclaimed in heavy excitement before running away from the entrance and back towards the common area. 

The news instantly caught our attention as me and Arcee's eyes widen in surprise, slightly shocked at the arrival of a new Autobot. I turn my head to face Arcee's tall figure and raise an eyebrow in confusion. 

"Wait, there are other Bots out there?" I ask my partner as she turns her attention to me. 

"The masses were scattered to the galaxy when Cybertron went dark." Arcee simply answered as she started walking out the training room. I took note of this and walked up beside her as we both started to exit the training room together. I snickered a bit as we walked, before looking at Arcee's face while wearing a teasingly smug look on my own face. 

"Looks like we'll have to cancel target practice today, huh?" I teased with a shit eating smirk. Arcee tsked, clearly annoyed at my mocking, before responding back. 

"You aren't out of the scrap yet, Spider-man" She playfully warned as we continued making our way towards the common area. 

 The Nemesis - Earth's Orbit

Unbeknownst to the Autobot heroes, the Decepticons had also been able to detect the incoming Autobot signal thanks to the eyes and ears of the Decepticons. As the signal tracked closer and closer to Earth's surface, the new Decepticon leader, Starscream, came up with a devilishly good idea in order to locate the Autobot base and finally end Optimus's spark. 

His idea involved using one of the Decepticon's greatest spies, Makeshift, to take the physical form of this incoming Autobot war hero and secretly infiltrate the Autobot base. As for the real Autobot himself, Wheeljack, he'll be quickly captured upon landing on Earth's surface and imprisoned within the confines of the Nemesis. His fate, whether to be killed immediately upon boarding the Nemesis or tortured to death for information is yet to be determined by Starscream.   

However, the treacherous Decepticon is certain of one thing. The Autobots will never learn of Makeshift's deception, not until it is too late. 

Autobot HQ - Present Time

As we all waited in anticipation for this Wheeljack guy to arrive, Ratchet stood by the ground bridge controls and awaited Wheeljack's landing while Bulkhead excitedly paced around the common area. Bulkhead's excitement was so palpable, it almost outmatched Miko's level of excitement.

Which is honestly a scary thought in on itself.  

However, as Wheeljack's signal got closer to Earth, I started to realize just how far away the Bot had to land his ship from our base until it was safe enough to ground bridge him here. So, intending to question this method, I step closer to the edge of the catwalk and look towards Optimus. 

"Hey Optimus, I know we're just being safe here and all, but is making Wheeljack land his ship on the other side of the world really necessary?" I ask while gesturing to the monitor tracking his signal. 

"I'm afraid so, Jack. We can't risk revealing the location of our base, incase the Decepticons may have be tracking his location as well. The Decepticons have been known to set up traps during situations such as this." The Autobot leader explained, allowing me to understand the full scope of this method. 

I nod at his response before turning my attention to Miko, who had made her way down the catwalk and towards a pacing Bulkhead. 

"Dude, I've never seen you so stoked before! Not even while you were scrapping Cons." Miko said in an excitedly concerned tone. 

"Oh, you're going to love Wheeljack. Me and him, we were like brothers back on Cybertron. And tonight, we are going to party!" Bulkhead exclaimed excitedly while pumping his fist in the air. 

 "Sweet! I'll get the confetti ready!" Miko remarked while pumping both her fists in the air, along with Bulkhead. 

"But, we don't have confetti. Do we?" Raf asked in confusion as he looked towards his yellow guardian for an answer, to which the Autobot scout toned in confusion and shrugged. 

Suddenly, the alarms of the base sounded loudly from the monitor that was tracking Wheeljack's signal, catching the attention of everybody in the room. From the monitor, I could see five red dots approaching towards Wheeljack's location. 

"We've got bogies, they're closing in on Wheeljack's position." Arcee said in her stern war veteran voice. 

"Con Scum! I'll tear them a new one!" Bulkhead remarked angerly. 

Though the situation seemed dire, Ratchet remained calm and quickened his work on opening a ground bridge near Wheeljack's location. 

"Autobots, Spider-man, prepare for battle." Optimus sounded as he activated his battle mask. Strangely enough through, Bulkhead chuckled lightly at his leader's order and turned to face him. 

"That won't be necessary Optimus. Knowing Wheeljack, he's probably already scrapped all five of those Con drones, easily. It should only be a couple of us picking up Jackie." Bulkhead stated nonchalantly. Optimus stood still for a moment before nodding at Bulkhead's request and retracting his battle mask. 

"If you are truly certain of this, then I will only allow Arcee and Bumblebee to accompany you." Optimus said as he stood by Ratchet. 

"You sure your buddy doesn't need any spider help?" I asked the stoked green wrecker. 

"Please, I'd be surprised if he needed my help in fighting a couple of drones." Bulkhead proudly exclaimed. 

Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee then walked their way towards the inactivated ground bridge device and waited as Ratchet continued to work on opening up a ground bridge. What felt like a couple of seconds to everyone in the room probably felt like an eternity to a certain green Autobot as he impatiently tapped his foot on the ground, waiting for the ground bridge to activate. Suddenly, Bulkhead snapped his head towards Ratchet's direction while wearing an impatient expression on his face. 

"C'mon Ratchet, what's taking so long? We're missing all the action!" Bulkhead shouted. Without even replying back, Ratchet finally activated the ground bridge with a flip of a lever, then looked back at the stoked out wrecker. 

"I'll prepare a sick bay, incase-" 

"Incase what? The Cons get hurt too badly? Ha, c'mon Doc, this is Wheeljack we're talking about." Bulkhead interrupted as he, Arcee, and Bumblebee quickly entered through the portal. 

The medbot rolled his eyes and quietly grumbled under his breath, something about not wanting to be called "Doc". 

'Guess Ratchet isn't a fan of nicknames. I'll have to add that to my list of "Things that Ratchet doesn't like". Though, that list seems to be filling up pretty quickly.' 

Seeing as this "mission" probably wasn't going to take too long, I take my eye off the ground bridge portal and look towards an excited Miko. She was slightly shaking in anticipation at the arrival of another Autobot wrecker. If Wheeljack was anything like Bulkhead said, then Miko will definitely have a helluva time with both wreckers. 'And he'll probably join Team Prime while he's at it. God knows we need larger numbers.'

"So, you seem excited, more than usual at least." I said as I stood next to her on the catwalk, already having an idea of what the punk rocker would say next. 

"Excited? Dude, are you kidding me!? I've never been more stoked out in my entire life!" Miko said, wearing a huge smile on her face. I scoff in amusement at the teenage girl's excitement before replying back. 

"Right. Just go easy on the questions when he arrives. Don't want to overwhelm him on his first visit to Earth." I warned playfully. Miko snickered a bit before responding. 

"I'll try. No Promises though." Miko smirked, causing me to smile back at her.

After a few more seconds of waiting, Bulkhead and the rest arrived back through the portal, along with our new guest. The moment they all fully stepped through the portal, Ratchet flipped the ground bridge lever back up, closing the portal behind them. 'Well, not without some technical difficulties he did. Scraplets really did a number on the ground bridge.' 

Unfortunately, what I thought was honestly going to be a normal ground bridge pick up turned out to be the opposite as my spider senses began to tingle. The tingling wasn't as frantic as it usually is, however, it tingled ever so lightly. As if there was a nail slowly being driven into my brain, reminding me constantly that there was at least some form of danger lurking around. 

'This light tingle, I felt it on the day me, Miko, and Raf were near the large dish arrays. On the same day I fought Soundwave.' I remind myself as I lightly clutch my head, the light tingle in my brain already proving to be discomforting. 

I've only ever felt this light of a tingle when my powers sensed the dangerous lurking presence of Soundwave near us. At first, I ignored it, thinking that my powers were just acting up because of my nerves or something. However, that all changed when that light warning proved to be right as I stumbled upon Soundwave, just on the other side of where we were. But its weird, why would it activate now?

There aren't any Cons here, at least not that I know of. And the ground bridge closed behind them, so no one could have gotten through without us all knowing. Is there something on the Bots that came though? Maybe a sticky bomb of some sort? 

Arcee seems to be fine, same for Bumblebee too. Sure, Bulkhead's a large guy, but he was the first to come through the portal, wouldn't the rest of the Bots have seen if something were stuck behind the big guy's back? 

And Wheeljack.... Wait.... Wheeljack. 

My spider senses haven't activated when Bulkhead, Bumblebee, or Arcee went through the portal. But Wheeljack however, only after a few seconds of him stepping through the portal did my spider senses then activate. I don't want to believe it, but I think there's something up with this Wheeljack guy.

My spider senses are never wrong, and the one time I decided to ignore them, I almost ended up putting myself, Miko, and Raf in deep danger. I would have been able to deal with Soundwave earlier if I had just listen to my senses. Now though, I get to make up for my mistake. I just don't know how to approach this problem without looking crazy in front of everybody, especially when Bulkhead here would do everything in his power to defend his friend. 

"Ummm, Jack?... You okay there dude? You're kinda just staring off at Wheeljack. I think its making him uncomfortable." Miko suddenly piped up next to me, ripping me from my deep thoughts. 

I shake my head for a second and look back towards my team to see that everybody in the room was silently staring at me with concerned looks, especially Arcee. While something like this would usually embarrass me to no end, I still manage to keep a serious look on my face as I keep locking my eyes on Wheeljack. The light tingle continues to vibrate within my brain as I stare off, feeling nothing but paranoia towards the new Autobot. 

"Uhh, yeah Miko, everything's alright... I just, I need to talk to Arcee and Optimus about something." I reply, not taking my eyes off of Wheeljack as my light spider sense continued to ring in my brain.  

"Jack?" Arcee questioned while Optimus stood besides her, wearing a slight look of confusion on his face. I finally take my eyes off Wheeljack to look towards Arcee and Optimus. 

"I have to talk to you both privately. It's important." I say as I jump off the catwalk and land on my feet. I gesture my head towards the empty halls of the base, silently telling them that I wanted to talk to them there. 

At first, Arcee and Optimus were hesitant, but after a few seconds they decided to follow me deep into the hallways, curious as to what I was going to tell them. While walking, I could hear that the room broke off the awkward silence, more specifically, Wheeljack broke the silence. 

"What's his problem?" Wheeljack questioned with a bit of venom in his voice. 

"Jack? I... I don't know. He's never usually like that. Maybe he's just not used to another Bot being here." Bulkhead said in concern. 

'Yeah? Or maybe your buddy here isn't who you think he is.' I mentally remark as me, Arcee, and Optimus make our way into the deeper area of the hallway. 

When we finally made our way to a private area, Arcee and Optimus stood tall in front of me, completely overshadowing my figure. Arcee had her arms crossed as she looked down at me with a stern look. While Optimus remained as calm as ever and kept his arms to his side, staring at me with concern. Before Optimus could ask away, Arcee was the first to break the silence between us. 

"So, you wanna tell us why you were staring at Wheeljack so intensely?" Arcee asked sternly as she raised an eyebrow at me. I take a deep sigh and ready myself for my explanation towards the two Bots. 

"Look, I know that what you're about to hear from me might sound insane, but its the truth. You have to believe me." I say as I look between the two Bots. 

"We're all audio receptors Jack. Talk." Arcee said, placing her hands on her hips. 

"Okay, so do you guys remember when I told you that one of my powers included a spider sense a while back?" I watched as the two Bots stood in thought for a second before Optimus spoke. 

"Are you referring to your early warning system?" Optimus asked, to which I nodded back.

"Yeah, but it doesn't just warn me when a threat is incoming close. It can also warn me of a lurking threat, a threat that most people wouldn't really notice until its too late. Just like how my spider sense warned me about Soundwave back at the arrays." I explain while tapping my head, still feeling the light tingle in my head. 

"Are your spider senses going off now?" Arcee asked, more concerned now than stern. 

"Yes, it still is. And the weirdest part is, they went off as soon as Wheeljack stepped through the ground bridge." my response rewarded me with shocked expressions from the two tough Bots. 

"Are you saying that Wheeljack could be a threat to us all, despite him only just arriving a few mere seconds ago?" Optimus said, taking on a more serious expression as he stared down at me. 

"My spider sense is never wrong Optimus. I'd be lying out of my teeth if I said it hadn't saved my life a million times." I stated sternly, trying to keep the situation serious. 

"This is a very serious accusation Jack. Are you certain that your early warning system isn't detecting another threat?" Optimus questioned. However, before I could explain to the Prime, Arcee suddenly spoke. 

"I trust him Optimus. I've been on enough missions with him to see that his senses have always warned us of any trouble beforehand." Arcee grinned towards me, silently telling me that she trusted what I had to say. Hearing this, Optimus hummed in thought for a moment before responding. 

"Very well, if your senses have proven trustworthy before, then I see no reason as to why they would deceive us now." Optimus replied, earning a sigh of relief from me and a small smile from Arcee.

"However, since the others do not yet know of this situation, we must act cautiously towards Wheeljack. For if he is truly a threat to us, then we must not cause a scene that could potentially place any of us in harms way." Optimus warned. 

"What do you think Optimus, could Wheeljack secretly be working for the Cons?" Arcee brainstormed, her face as serious as ever. 

"That could be possible Arcee. I mean, you said it yourself Optimus, Decepticons have been known to set up all sorts of traps. What if Wheeljack's arrival was just another set up created by the Cons to find our base and kill us." I said.

"Although his appearance here may be a Decepticon trap, it is unlikely that the real Wheeljack would change sides, due to his heavy reputation against the Decepticons. The Wheeljack in our base now may either be an altered protoform clone or a skilled Decepticon spy." Optimus said sternly, truly recognizing the severity of the situation that we're in. 

"Either way, we need to take down this Wheeljack fake, before he manages to take any of us out." Arcee stated, transforming her left hand into a blaster. 

"Woah, woah, woah, calm it Arcee. We can't just go all gun metal grey on Wheeljack, not when Bulkhead's there to defend him." I say as I put my hands up defensively, trying to shut down her gung ho idea.

"Then what's your suggestion Jack? We can't just let him freely roam around the base, especially with Miko and Raf here." Arcee said as she changed her blaster back into her hand. 

"I say that we all should keep an eye on him while one of us tries to get him to reveal his intentions. That way, he wouldn't be able to sabotage our base while we watch him, and we'd probably be able to get him to slip up his cover." I explained to the brainstorming Bots. 

"A very well thought out idea Jack, however, we lack a method of breaking his cover. At least an efficient method of doing so, seeing as none of us knows what the real Wheeljack is truly like." Optimus said as he gestured to me and Arcee. Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. 

"Bulkhead knows the real Wheeljack, he knows him better than anybody does in this base. What if we pressure him by asking questions that only the real Wheeljack would know, and if he slips up too much, then there's no doubt Bulkhead would immediately catch on to his true identity." I say as Optimus and Arcee start to nod in approval at my idea.

"Good thinking partner. I think I know just the type of person who specializes in asking a lot questions." Arcee smirked my way, hinting at the idea of using a certain punk rocker to make Wheeljack slip up. I smirk back at Arcee, nodding in total agreement at her idea. 

'Guess Miko gets to ask all of her questions today after all.' 

The Nemesis - Earth's Orbit 

As Makeshift continued his infiltration of the Autobot base while disguised as Wheeljack, the real Wheeljack was hung up high on the ceiling of the interrogation room, unable to escape. His wrists were cuffed by Decepticon electro-cuffs, so no matter how much he struggled, he wouldn't be able to break free of them without somebody disabling them via their control monitor. Luckily for Wheeljack, not only was the monitor in the same room as him, but there also happened to be one Vehicon in the room too, supposedly making sure that their Autobot prisoner wouldn't escape his cuffs. 

Wheeljack, ever the bold, devised a quick but effective plan. Since he knew just how stupid some Vehicons can be, he could their aggression to his advantage by drawing the Vehicon near him and  somehow making him use his own blaster to destroy the electro-cuff's monitor. Though the chance of the Vehicon actually hitting the monitor may seem slim, it was Wheeljack's one and only option at the moment, since he doesn't plan on becoming Decepticon scrap metal anytime soon. 

So, with his decision concluded, Wheeljack started to struggle against his electro-cuffs very audibly, just loud enough to gain the attention of the Vehicon in front of him. After only a few seconds of struggling, the Vehicon became irritated over Wheeljack's grunting and made his way toward his prisoner, blaster primed.  

"You aren't getting out any time soon Autobot! So quit your struggling before I turn you into scrap metal!" the Vehicon shouted as he shoved his blaster directly into Wheeljack's faceplate, trying to intimidate him. When Wheeljack complied and stopped his struggling, the Vehicon removed his blaster and turn around, only for Wheeljack's uncuffed legs to wrap tightly around his neck. 

In a frantic panic, the Vehicon primed his blaster once again and tried to aim it behind him. However, Wheeljack wouldn't allow it as he started shaking the Vehicon violently, throwing off the Vehicon's aim completely. With panic overriding logic, the Vehicon started to blindly fire his blaster, red colored energon bolts hitting the floor and walls of the interrogation room. With a bit of force and patience, Wheeljack finally managed to aim the Vehicon's blaster just enough for one of his energon bolts to hit the monitor, completely destroying it and shutting down his electro-cuffs immediately. 

Now that nothing was holding Wheeljack's weight, his body came down upon the poor Vehicon, completely pinning him to the ground. Wheeljack used this to his advantage as he dug his finger servos around the neck of the Vehicon. With a bit of strength and the right grip, Wheeljack completely ripped the head of the Vehicon right off of it's body, instantly killing the Vehicon. As small sparks flew from the decapitation wound, Wheeljack tossed the head onto the floor and made his way out of the interrogation room. 

Wheeljack knew there would be more coming, and he'd be ready. However, he also planned on getting out of here as fast as he could, which wouldn't be possible without a ground bridge or another ship to take him from here. Luck always seemed to be by Wheeljack's side, his past battles on Cybertron proved that. So why would his luck run out now? 

Wheeljack smirked confidently as he sneakily roamed the halls of the Nemesis, trying to find a way outside to climb to the top of the ship, where he'd knew Starscream and his gang of Vehicons drones would be.

Didn't matter how many Cons there would be to fire at Wheeljack, because at the end of the day, none of those drones were any match to Wheeljack. 

Autobot HQ - Present Time

After me, Optimus, and Arcee devised our plan against the Wheeljack look alike, we all returned to the common area to find Bulkhead telling Miko, Raf, and Bumblebee a story while Wheeljack silently leaned against a large metal crate. Bulkhead seemed to be excited about telling them the story, mainly because it was about him and Wheeljack doing some crazy stuff back on Cybertron, during the war. While Miko and Raf were silently in awe of his story, I stood near them on the catwalk, eyeing Wheeljack with a look of suspicion. 

Optimus stood near Ratchet, whispering something to him. Although I couldn't hear what he was whispering, I had a pretty good idea on what he was talking about as Ratchet suddenly replaced his usual workface with a shocked expression. From then, Ratchet and Optimus would occasionally exchange small glances towards Wheeljack. Arcee on the other hand stood on the far side of the common area, behind where Bulkhead and Wheeljack were standing. 

As she stood there, leaning against the wall, she too eyed Wheeljack with a cold look of suspicion. Needless to say, almost everyone in the room was eyeing Wheeljack in an untrusting manner. 

"And the joint went supernova!" Bulkhead shouted excitedly as he reminisced in the memory of his story. The explosive part of the story earned Bulkhead woahs of awe from Miko and Raf, while Bumblebee toned out a laugh of some sort.

"Yeah, I'm still picking shrapnel off my backside to this day." Bulkhead chuckled as he reached to his backside as demonstration, causing Miko to chuckle at the funny gesture. 

Though I wish I had the mentality to laugh at Bulkhead's story right now, my mind was still preoccupied with the looming threat of this supposed Wheeljack Con spy. When it seemed like Bulkhead finished telling his stories to Miko and Raf, I immediately took that as my que to step in and make Bulkhead continue telling stories, in the hope that Wheeljack would soon have to be forced into conversation too. 

"You finished telling stories already? Shame, I was hoping to hear more from you and Wheeljack. Especially Wheeljack." I suddenly butt in as I jump down the catwalk and walk towards the group. My arrival gained the attention of everyone in the group, including those who were eyeing Wheeljack from a distance. 

"Hm? Oh, umm, I'm good. I'm a bit rocket-lagged after being stuck in a can for so long. Besides, Bulkhead's better at telling stories than I am." Wheeljack shrugged as he silently began looking back towards the ground bridge monitor. His hesitancy to participate earns him a stern frown from me and a sad frown from Bulkhead. 

"Aww, C'mon Jackie! You've been staying quiet ever since I started story telling to the kids. At least them the story of Darkmount Pass!" Bulkhead excitedly pumped his fist as he expected Wheeljack to tell that story at the very least. 

"Sorry Bulk, just not feeling it right now. I was actually hoping for Miko here to show me more of the base, if she doesn't mind." Wheeljack turned down Bulkhead as he turned to face Miko. Before Miko could response however, Arcee spoke up as she walked her way towards the group.

"Sorry Wheeljack, most of the base is still under heavy repairs, since we had that huge scraplet infestation. So you'll have to stay here for now." Arcee said with a stern look, hoping that Wheeljack would buy the excuse. An audibly disappointed grunt was all she heard from the white and red colored Autobot before he turned his attention back towards the ground bridge monitor. 

"Wait, last I checked, most of the base was still-" 

Bulkhead's sentence was cut short as Arcee whipped her head towards the talking green oaf, giving him a mean death glare. The scary sight of her glare immediately shut Bulkhead up as he clamped his mouth shut and looked back at Wheeljack, who was staring at them skeptically. After avoiding a near roadblock in our plan, I face my head toward Miko, who was staring between Bulkhead and Arcee, probably wondering why Arcee had shut him up like that. 

"Hey Miko, didn't you have a bunch of questions you wanted to ask Wheeljack about?" I asked her, smirking to myself as I knew Wheeljack would get pressured into talking, sooner or later. 

"But didn't you say-" 

"It's fine Miko, I'm sure he can handle a few questions. Right Wheeljack?" I cock my eyebrow up at the leaning Autobot, to which he cleared his throat and spoke. 

"Uhh, sure kid. What kind of questions you got?" Wheeljack answered almost hesitantly as he stared down at Miko. Miko gasped and smiled in excitement before asking away. 

"How many Cons have you wrecked? Do you have more kills than Bulkhead? Have you two fought Megatron before? What about scraplets? Oh, oh! Tell me about Darkmount too, that story sounds so sick!" Miko unleashed a barrage of questions unto a completely surprised Wheeljack, catching him completely off guard by the intensity of her questions.   

"That's, uhh, a lot of questions for a human kid." Wheeljack awkwardly coughed as he nervously smiled at the hyperactive punk rocker. 

"See Jackie, now you've gotta tell the story of Darkmount Pass!" Bulkhead spoke as he tried to convince Wheeljack once again. 

"Really Bulkhead, I-"

"Actually, I'd like to hear the story from you too." I suddenly said, staring directly into Wheeljack's face. For a moment, he went silent as he stared back at me, bearing some sort of aggressive look in his eyes. The stare off only continued for a couple of seconds until Arcee decided to butt in as well. 

"I've never fought in the battle of Darkmount Pass, never even heard stories about it. Can you tell us about it?" Arcee said as she glared at Wheeljack, crossing her arms and suppressing a smirk as she knew we had him on the ropes. 

Wheeljack started to get visibly nervous as his silent cool guy demeanor started to change into a timid stand. Just when he thought it couldn't get any worse for him, Optimus's footsteps suddenly sounded from behind us. 

"I would also like to hear about the story of Darkmount Pass, seeing as it wasn't a battle that I had led during the war on Cybertron." Optimus said with his usual calm and stoic demeanor, which somehow made Wheeljack even more nervous than before. Before Wheeljack knew it, he was surrounded by both human and Autobot alike, waiting eagerly for him to tell the story. 

"A-alright, what's going on here?" Is this an intervention or something?" Wheeljack nervously asked no one in particular. 

"We just want to hear you story tell Wheeljack. Unless, you don't actually have anything to say. Which is weird, considering that Bulkhead told us that you were there during the battle." Arcee said a bit coldly as she stepped closer to Wheeljack, slightly furrowing her eyes.

For a moment, Bulkhead was about to defend Wheeljack, until he stopped himself and realized that Arcee may be onto something. 

"Yeah, now that you mention it Arcee... You haven't been telling any part of the stories that I've mentioned today, even though you've been in every single one. Which isn't like you at all Jackie." Bulkhead began to furrow his eyes as well, stepping closer to the nervous Bot.

'Gotcha.'

"I'm not sure I-" 

"Tell it! The story of Darkmount, tell it now!" Bulkhead shouted, interrupting Wheeljack's sentence. Miko, Raf, and even Bumblebee were starting to get nervous, but they didn't dare to intervene between the two wreckers. 

Wheeljack quickly glanced around the room to see that all eyes were on him, even Ratchet from the far side of were they stood. With a deep sigh, he looked back at Bulkhead, eyes furrowed. 

"Fine. You all wanna live in the past? Then I'll entertain ya." Wheeljack said as he then cleared his throat and began to tell the story. 

The story was relatively short, but full of action. The wreckers, Wheeljack and Bulkhead included, were trapped between a Decepticon patrol and a smelting pit. He described the Decepticons within the battle as vicious, energonthirsty, and relentless. Then he told us about how him and Bulkhead fought through the Decepticon patrol and left them all for scrap. When it came to the part where they had to cross through the smelting pit, Wheeljack said that he made the wreckers a way out by using Decepticon corpses as stepping stones to cross through. That's when the story ended. 

Honestly, it seemed relatively true for the most part. And based on everyone else's reaction, he didn't seem to be wrong while telling the story. Though, that didn't mean I trusted the suspicious Bot, not one bit. 

"There. Happy Now?" Wheeljack asked as he looked around the room, seeing everyone's stare. 

"I would've been, if you hadn't missed one little detail." Bulkhead said coldly, which caused Wheeljack to widen his eyes in surprise. 

"I wasn't there." was all Bulkhead said before clenching his fists tightly, stepping closer to the cover blown Wheeljack. Shocked gasps and expressions sounded from Ratchet, Raf, and Bumblebee while me, Arcee, Optimus, and Bulkhead kept a stern face, closely keeping an eye on the suspicious Bot. 

"By the time you were fighting at Darkmount, I'd already left the wreckers to join Team Prime. But you wouldn't know that if all you did was access Wheeljack's public service record." Bulkhead stated as he roughly shoved his hand into Wheeljack's chest, staggering him back slightly. 

Suddenly, my spider sense began to vibrate frantically, telling me that things were about to go south really quickly. I quickly look towards Miko and Raf to see that they were both standing near an agitated and angry looking Wheeljack. 

"Bulkhead, what does that have to do with-AHH!" 

Miko didn't get to finish her sentence as I quickly shot out two weblines from both webshooters onto Miko and Raf's back, pulling them quickly towards me. Both teens narrowly avoided Wheeljack's hand swipe as both their figures came tumbling towards my direction. Wheeljack looked back at me with a surprised anger before being punched in the face by Bulkhead's fist. 

The punch was strong enough to send the Wheeljack look-alike tumbling backwards onto the floor. Soon enough, the Con spy recovered from the hit and stood back up only to be met with blasters pointed at him by every Autobot in the room on all his directions. There was no escaping for him. 

"Ahh... Scrap." was all the Wheeljack look-alike could say as he stared towards the Autobots, hands raised into the air. 

"Alright, cut to the scrap you Con scum. Who are you and where's Wheeljack!" Bulkhead shouted, aiming his blaster directly towards the spy's head. 

"Why, you're looking right at him, are you not?" the Con mocked, though not in Wheeljack's voice anymore. The Con's mocking earned him a warning shot near his head, hitting the wall right besides the intended target. 

The Con gasped loudly in surprise, only to look back and see that Bulkhead was now seething to the core in anger. 

"THE REAL WHEELJACK! WHERE IS HE!" Bulkhead yelled at the top of his voice box. Optimus, while keeping his blaster trained on the Con, walked slowly towards Bulkhead and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Easy Bulkhead, do not let his mocking cloud your judgement." Optimus said sternly, yet calmly at the same time. Bulkhead meanly glared back at the Prime for a moment, only to then soften his expression lightly and look back at the Con.

"You've got five Autobots in a room who are ready to incinerate your aft with blaster fire in a moments notice, and a super powered human who's got more than enough strength to rip your spark out. So I'll give you until the count of five to tell us where you're keeping Jackie, or you'll going to the All Spark as scrap metal." Bulkhead stated coldly as he audibly charged his blaster. 

"I-if I tell you, then Lord Starscream will have my spark!" the Con began to pled, but it came to no avail to anyone in the room. 

"Who're you afraid of more? Starscream, or me." Bulkhead threatened as he walked closer to the Con, shoving his blaster directly into his face. 

"Five... Four.... Three...-" 

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you what you want to know!" the Con suddenly shouted, prompting Bulkhead to remove his blaster away from the Con's face. 

"He's being kept aboard the Nemesis, as Lord Starscream's prisoner." the Con said, which earned him angered grunts and tsks from everyone in the room, except for Bulkhead, who managed to keep a straight face. 

"Let me guess, he's being kept in the brig?" Bulkhead questioned, to which the Con hesitantly nodded. 

"Guess you Cons never learn. Knowing Jackie, he's probably already made his way out the brig." Bulkhead proudly stated, to which the Con beside him scoffed. 

"That is impossible, Lord Starscream-"

I cut what was probably about to be an hour long rant about "Lord Starscream's greatness" from the Con by shooting a large webshot towards the Con's mouth, completely sealing it shut. Although a webshot that large may have costed me an entire web cartridge, it was definitely worth the waste.  

"That outta shut him up. Good thinking Spidey." Miko congratulated, patting me on the shoulder. 

"Autobots, prepare for a rescue mission. Ratchet, Bulkhead, monitored the prisoner while he inputs the coordinates." Optimus ordered, activating his battle mask. 

Bulkhead held the Con prisoner up and walked him towards the ground bridge monitor, keeping his blaster directly pointed behind the Con's head. As the Con passed me, he gave me a cold, venomous look of hatred before I was out of sight. 

'I know, everybody hates it when their mouth's get shut by my webs. But honestly, I can't help myself, it's too funny not to.' I say mentally as I start chuckling to myself. 

Suddenly, I heard small but loud footsteps approaching from behind me, though I know that I'm not in any danger since my spider sense hasn't gone off yet. I look behind me to see Arcee stepping closer towards me, wearing a small but proud smile on her face. When she finally got close enough, she knelt down and spoke.

"Nice save Jack. If he had grabbed Miko or Raf, this would have been a lot harder to deal with." Arcee said proudly, earning a small smile from me.

"It's all in the senses Arcee, all in the senses." I say as I continuously tap my head as a gesture. 

"It always is." Arcee remarked before standing back up and looking towards a now activated ground bridge. 

In front of the ground bridge was the disguised Con facing towards the portal, still being held at blaster point by Bulkhead and Bumblebee. 

"You first, scum." Bulkhead remarked coldly as he roughly shoved his blaster behind the Con's head. 

"Bulkhead, wait up!" I called out, briefly gaining his attention before he looked back at the Con. 

"You plannin' on joining Spidey?" Bulkhead asked. I shook my head and spoke. 

"Not this time Bulkhead, I wanna stay here and make sure Miko and Raf are safe. But that's not why I came here." I said, to which Bulkhead grunted in confusion. 

"Then what for?" Bulkhead asked. I smirked and showed my webshooters. 

"Would you kindly ask our friend here to put his hands behind his back." I request to Bulkhead as he suddenly realized what I was about to do and smirked heavily. 

"Hands behind your back Con, or else you'll lose your head." Bulkhead threatened, priming up his large blaster. The Con complied, putting both hands behind his back while grunting loudly, though his voice was muffled for the most part due to the webs. 

Without wasting any time, I began shooting multiple weblines and webshots from both my webshooters at the Con's hands. Since his hands were so large, it took extra large webs to do the job, but it still proved effective in keeping the Cons hand's tied. 

"There, now he won't try any funny business." I said, dusting my hands off after a hard days work of webshooting. Suddenly, a realization came crashing down onto my head as I remembered that I had forgotten to add the cherry on top of my work. 

Turning back to face the Con, I make my way in front of the muffling doofus and pull out a relatively large white sticky note with writing on it from my pocket. I jump onto the Con's chest and briefly stick there as I slap the sticky note onto the Con's chest, making sure that it doesn't unstick and fall off. Afterwards, I jump off the Con spy and make my way next to Bulkhead and Bumblebee. 

'An artist must always leave his signature on all their greatest works, even on giant murderous Decepticon spies.' 

The Con struggled against the webs, muffling loudly in anger towards me and my webs. His struggling caused Bulkhead and Bumblebee to chuckle in amusement, and surprisingly enough, I hear Arcee lightly chuckle from behind me as she approached towards us. 

Bulkhead soon stops chuckling and says, "You sure these webs are strong enough to hold his hands together?".

"It's held heavier stuff before, but it won't hold forever. So be sure to not keep this guy around for too long." I say as I pat Bulkhead's leg and walk towards Miko and Raf, both of which were snickering and giggling at my Spidey antics. 

"Don't worry Jack, this guy isn't sticking around for much longer." Bulkhead remarked as he reminded the struggling Con that he was still at blaster point by multiple Autobots, quickly shutting him up. 

When Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Arcee were in front of the portal and battle ready, Optimus stepped fourth next to them and spoke in a loud, commanding voice. 

"Autobots! Ro-"

Before Optimus could finish his sentence however, someone, more specifically, another Wheeljack suddenly jumped through from the other side of the ground bridge and landed right in front of us, surprising everybody in the room. This other Wheeljack had two swords drawn, one on each of his hands as energon could be seen dripping down from them. And thankfully enough, this Wheeljack wasn't activating my spider sense at all. 

"There you are." the newly arrived Wheeljack remarked as she quickly sheathed both his swords walked towards the fake, webbed up Wheeljack. 

"Jackie!?" Bulkhead shouted in surprise. The only response he got from the newly arrived Wheeljack was a two fingered salute before he looked to face Ratchet.

"Hey you, I want you to close this ground bridge the moment I throw this junk of metal through it. Got it?" Wheeljack ordered the Doc while strapping a large pill shaped device onto the Con's hip side. Though, I could already guess as to what the device was since I could hear the faint sounds of beeps coming from it. 

Surprisingly, Ratchet didn't grumble at the sudden command, and only nodded in response as he readied himself to close the ground bridge when the time comes. When Wheeljack finally strapped the bomb onto the unlucky look-alike, he looked into the Con's eyes and spoke. 

"You might have my looks, but you'll never have my charm." Wheeljack quipped as he patted the Con's face, to which the Con let out a muffled snarl. 

With that, the real Wheeljack stepped out of the Con's way and gave Bulkhead the honor of throwing out the trash. Bulkhead took the hint almost immediately as he stepped closer towards the ground bridge and started spinning himself quickly while he was carrying the Con by his back plates. After only a few seconds, Bulkhead finally threw the Con into the portal, sending him flying through and out of the portal. Afterwards, Ratchet immediately closed the ground bridge in front of us, finally ending this whole who's who problem. 

The entire room stayed silent, everyone probably trying to process what had just happened in the span of a couple of minutes. That was until the real Wheeljack decided to break the silence. 

"Nice lob." he said, looking towards a happy Bulkhead. 

The Nemesis - Present Time

Victory.

True victory over his Autobot enemies, it was so close, right within Starscream's sharp grasp. Unfortunately for the wannabe Decepticon leader, before him or any one of his soldiers could make it through the portal, Makeshift's large figure suddenly came flying through the portal. His large body knocked anybody in front of his way, sending them flying away from the Autobot ground bridge.

Just as quickly as Makeshift's body was thrown through the ground bridge, the bright green portal immediately shrinked and disappeared afterward, ruining any change for the Decepticons to follow them back to their base.

When Starscream saw this happening before his very optics, he yelled in absolute anger and rage as he began to kick and slash at the dead bodies of Vehicons, which was all thanks to Wheeljack's wrecker skills prior to this happening. 

Suddenly, his optics caught the sight of Makeshift laying on the floor, though he was still in his disguised Autobot form and appeared to have some sort of unknown substance on his mouth and hand servos. Seeing this, Starscream regained a bit of hope, hoping that Makeshift would at least have something useful for him. Starscream immediately began to jog towards to webbed up Makeshift, oblivious to the little surprise that the real Wheeljack had strapped onto Makeshift's side. 

"Please tell me you at the very least know the location of their base." Starscream growled in anger as he finally approached the Decepticon spy. 

However, instead of getting a straight answer from his spy, Makeshift could only reply to Starscream in loud muffled grunts and screaming. Starscream was about to remove the webbing on Makeshift's mouth, when something on Makeshift's chest suddenly caught his attention. It was a small white sticky note, to small in fact for Starscream to read without zooming into the sticky note. Curious, Starscream zoomed his optics onto the sticky note, readings whatever contents was written on it. 

It read, "From Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man!" 

Now knowing that the note was just a calling card, Starscream growled loudly in anger and was about to thrash out on nobody in particular, when suddenly, he began to hear the faint sound of beeping. He silenced himself and listened closely, only to hear the same beeping sound growing faster and faster in intensity and sound. Starscream quickly located the origin of the sound and found that a bomb had been strapped to Makeshift's hip side. 

Realizing that the sticky note was not the only thing left to him by the Autobots, Starscream yelped loudly in terror as he started to run in the opposite direction of Makeshift. Without wasting a second, Starscream transformed into his vehicle mode and flew upwards into the air and away from the Nemesis, leaving Makeshift and a couple of other Vehicons to their explosive doom. Suddenly, a loud and bright blue explosion emitted from Makeshift's position, engulfing the area in blue flames and completely incinerating anyone within the blast radius. 

"MAKESHIFT! YOU FOOL!" Starscream yelled loudly into the night sky. 

Chapter Text

Autobot HQ - Two Days Later...

After the whole who's who deal with Wheeljack a couple of days ago, things began to calm down for us. Well, as calm as things can get for a race of giant freedom fighting alien robots and a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man. 

As I lay, resting on top of my homemade web hammock in the far corner of the common area, I close my eyes and start to remanence about Wheeljack, the real one. Its unfortunate that he decided to "break up the band" as Miko describes it, but if he doesn't want to make Earth his new home, then that's a choice that I completely understand. Wheeljack wanted to continue exploring the galaxy to find other Autobots after the whole spy issue, he even offered to bring Bulkhead along with him.

Bulkhead though, only took one look at Miko to understand where he was truly needed. Despite humans and cybertonians being lights years apart from each other, we really do manage to get along very well. If only the same thing could be said for the Decepticons. 

"You comfy there partner? Sure looks like it." Arcee teased, suddenly breaking me from my thoughts. 

"Hm? Oh, definitely. Its surprisingly comfortable, you should try it sometime." I say as I relax further into my web hammock. With my eyes now open, I look towards Arcee to my left, only to see her visibly cringing for some reason. 

"I... I'm not exactly a web enthusiast Jack, not like you are." Arcee quietly said while rubbing the back of her helm, a trait which she recently picked from me whenever I become sheepish or embarrassed. 

"Aww, c'mon Arcee, I promise it's not as bad as you think it is. I mean, with some time and cartilages spent, I could probably make one big enough to hold your size." I tried to convince, to which she hugged herself and sighed. 

"I just... can't." Arcee said, almost sounding a bit defeated. 

'Why is she so reluctant? Maybe she's thinking of whoever I reminded her of. It's strange though, she still hasn't told me who I reminded her of.' 

Not wanting to turn this moment into a gloomy mess, I opted towards another topic. A fun, but peaceful passing time that me and Arcee usually do together during our free time, aside from sparring against each other in the training room. 

"Y'know what? Hammocks are boring anyways. How about we go on a drive, just the two of us." I said as I sit up from the web hammock and jump down from it, landing in front of Arcee's tall figure.

Her gloomy demeanor quickly changed to one of contemplation, probably thinking about whether or not we could spare some time to go out on a drive. Today was relatively quiet, all things considered. The Decepticons haven't really bothered to make a move on us ever since Bulkhead sent the fake Wheeljack flying through our ground bridge. As for our scouting missions, they haven't really been causing much trouble for us either. Me, Miko, and Raf just got back from school over an hour ago, and the other Bots had already finished their daily scouting mission before picking us up. 

So all in all, today's probably one of the only few days we have where can actually just kick back and relax. 

"Hmmm. I could go for a good drive, now that you mention it." Arcee said as she threw a smirk my way, finally concluding her thoughts. 

"That's the spirit, partner. C'mon, lets go before Dr. House here makes us recite the Autobot holy commandments." I teased at the Autobot Doc, to which he shouted at me without even looking away from his monitor. 

"I heard that! And I told you not to call me that!" Ratchet shouted in a grumbled anger, causing me and Arcee to snicker. 

"WOAH! Spidey, you've got to check this out!" Miko loudly shouted from atop the catwalk, her and Raf staring wide eyed at the TV we had set up there not too long ago. 

"Miko, if its another one of those monster truck-" 

"No Jack, Its the Shocker! He terrorizing New York again!" Raf interrupted with a loud shout, causing me to go wide eyed at the news as well. 

"What! He was put in prison not even a few months ago, how could he have already gotten out already!?" I questioned as I quickly webzipped my way up on the catwalk and near the TV. 

Already, as soon as I lay my eyes on the TV screen, the news channel was already displaying the ruined wreck of a small Oscorp warehouse, huge and small blast holes littering the sides of the building, as well as the roof. After a couple of seconds of displaying the destroyed warehouse, the cameras suddenly cut to a news reporter who was wearing a neutral expression, staring directly into the camera that was pointed at him. 

"I'm here, live by the recent aftermath of a destroyed Oscorp warehouse to which eye witnesses and security say was caused by the known mass criminal, Herman Schultz, also known as, the Shocker. According to security footage taken during his destructive heist, the Shocker could be seen loading up a few small crates of Oscorp technology into the trunk of a black van, after he had dispatched every Oscorp security guard within the warehouse. Based on Herman's recent prison records, many NYPD officers stated that Herman Schultz had been released only a few days prior to this incident due to an anonymous person affording and bailing out the mass criminal. Though the police continues to go on a citywide search for the Shocker, as they have been doing so for the past four hours, they still have had no luck in catching the madman." the news reporter explained as professionally as she could, trying to hide her disappointment at the fact that the bozo hadn't been found and arrested yet. 

I continue to stare at the TV screen, slightly dumbfounded that the Shocker had already been bailed out this early into his prison time. And on all the times that he could have been bailed out, he had to be bailed out while I was gone from New York. 

'Great, just great. I knew I was asking for too much when I hoped for at least one supervillain not to be released back into New York while I was gone.' I say mentally as I start to run a hand down my face in disappointment, groaning while doing so. 

Normally, I wouldn't stress over having to deal with the Shocker. In fact, I almost never stress over having to fight him, since he's quite literally just a street thug wearing some highly advanced energy gauntlets. Sure, he can be dangerous at times, but I was always there to easily stop the guy. But now, things are different.

"The Shocker? Who's that?" Arcee suddenly pipped up from behind me. I turn to look at her, but before I could even explain, Miko suddenly spoke. 

"He's this weird looking villain who goes around New York, dressed as a bumblebee while shooting people down with laser beams coming from his hands. Umm, no offence Bee." Miko nervously laughed, looking towards a confused looking yellow scout. Bumblebee shrugged in confusion while toning out a short beep, obviously not being offended in the slightest. 

Miko's semi-accurate explanation of the Shocker only confuses Arcee even more as she raises an eyebrow at her, then at me. 

"Remember when I told you about my superpowered rouges? Well, he's one of them. He's a thug wearing two highly dangerous energy gauntlets for hire. He wears a brown and yellow battle suit to protect himself from his gauntlet's vibrations. What Miko said about him going around shooting people in New York is true though." I simply explain to my partner. Arcee hums while nodding lightly, finally understanding the answer to her question. 

"Yeah, and while I'm over here in Nevada, he's turning New York into his own shooting gallery. He already destroyed an entire Oscorp warehouse!" I shout in worry. 

"Uhhh, what's an Oscorp?" Bulkhead questioned as he and Optimus slowly walked towards us. 

"It's the biggest multibillion-dollar corporation on Earth, they mainly focus on creating advanced technology, medicine, or artificial chemicals." Raf said as he showed the curious Autobots a Wikipedia of Oscorp. 

"Don't forget about weapons of mass destruction." I quietly scoffed from besides Raf. 

Yeah, it's no secret that Oscorp works on developing advanced military weapons, but not a lot of people know about their more shady experiments. I was lucky enough to learn about this stuff myself, some people can be so talkative sometimes when they think that nobody is listening. 

"Though, I don't think that whatever Oscorp makes can compare to cybertronian technology." Raf said, smiling towards the Autobots. 

"You've got that right." Ratchet scoffed smugly from his monitor. 

"Uh, guys? Are we just going to forget that a dude dressed in a full yellow body suit is out destroying buildings in New York." Miko suddenly reminded us, refocusing our attention back on the Shocker situation. 

"Miko, we're not exactly fit to deal with these sort of things, "Robots in Disguise", remember?" Bulkhead reminded his charge while using air quotations. 

"I am afraid that Bulkhead is right. As much as it pains me to see humans suffering from their own conflicts, we Autobots cannot interfere, not unless we wish to fully reveal ourselves to your world." Optimus explained with a bit of sorrow staining his voice. 

"We were lucky enough to be accepted by your own government without them trying to kill us. But if we suddenly broke our promise and revealed ourselves, then we'd be hunted down for the rest of our time on Earth." Arcee said as she hugged her side with one arm.

For a moment, Miko's usual excitement slightly deflated as she pouted at the Autobots. That was until she suddenly perk up in excitement and gestured towards me. 

"Then why don't we just ground bridge Jack into New York to deal with the Shocker. People already knows he exists, they've even got Spidey merch being sold in New York! Besides, it wouldn't be the first time that Jack had to deal with this bozo." Miko said as she pointed towards the ground bridge. 

"Wha- Absolutely not! The ground bridge is used as a means of transporting ourselves across large distances and back during Autobot missions or emergencies. Not for when Jack wants to play dress up and fight human criminals whenever he so pleases." Ratchet sternly exaggerated at us, earning him a frown from Miko, Raf, and even myself. 

"Take it easy Ratchet, it was just a suggestion." Arcee said as she glared at the grumpy medbot. 

However, what was merely meant to be a suggestion on Miko's part actually sounded like a great idea the more I thought about it. I never thought that I'd actually have a way to fast travel back to New York, at least not in a practical way. Now though, I have a portal that can quite literally take me anywhere in the world in just a few seconds. I can't just waste this opportunity and let people get hurt just because an angry medbot told me not to.

It's my responsibility to use my powers for good, to defend those who can't do so themselves. 

With a huff of confidence and determination, I look towards Optimus and speak to get his attention. 

"She's right Optimus, the ground bridge is the only way that I can make it to New York in time to stop the Shocker, before he hurts anymore people." I say as Optimus turns to face me, his stoic face full of contemplation. 

"I understand Jack, but-"

"Optimus, please... A lot of people could get hurt, or even killed if I don't stop him. Normally, I don't have much of a problem dealing with Shocker, but he's still extremely dangerous compared to a normal human. The police would stand no chance against the guy, that, or many of them would die before the Shocker gets taken down." I explain with a sympathetic tone, hoping that I could convince the stoic Autobot leader. 

Optimus looks at me in contemplation for a second, then looks toward the news channel that is still displaying the Shocker's latest wake of destruction. For a moment, I could see that his eyes became soft with sorrow at the sight of human destruction, until he took his eyes off the TV screen to look back at me. The Autobot leader vented before responding to my plead. 

"Very well, we will ground bridge you to a secluded area of the city of your choosing. When you need to be bridged back to base or to another area of the city, then you must call Ratchet to do so." Optimus said, gesturing toward the surprised medbot. 

"Sweet!/Yeah!" Miko and Raf happily cheered at Optimus's approval, even Bumblebee toned out a few happy sounding beeps at his leader's approval. I smile in relief, happy that Optimus was kind enough to listen and accept my request. 

"Optimus, this is a human conflict. This shouldn't be of any concern to us, at all." Ratchet whined as he stepped closer to Optimus, trying to convince his oldest friend. Unfortunately for Ratchet, the Prime had already made up his mind.

"Though that may be true old friend, we have still taken an oath to defend humanity, whether it be from the Decepticons, or from themselves. If we have to power to defend those who are otherwise defenseless, directly or neutrally, then we must do so. For the sake of peace and prosperity for all sentient life." Optimus said in a proudly heroic voice, inspiring everyone in the room about the great purpose of their responsibility. 

Suddenly, we heard light sniffling coming to our right. We all looked to see Bulkhead staring at Optimus with watery eyes and a proud smile. Realizing that the entire room had went silent, Bulkhead stopped his staring to look back at the rest of us. 

"Dude, are you crying right now?" Miko questioned, a sly smirk slowly forming on her face. 

"What? Can you blame me? His speeches always bring a lubricant to my optics." Bulkhead explained as he brought his finger to his face, wiping away a single stray tear. Miko giggled at her green guardian while the rest of us shook our head in amusement, except for Optimus and Ratchet.  

"Alright, thank you for understanding Optimus. I'll just need to suit up, then I'll be ready to go." I say as I try to make my way down the catwalk, but not before I was halted by my partner's voice. 

"Hold on partner, I'm coming with you." Arcee said sternly, as if she wasn't going to take no for an answer. I look back at her in surprise, shocked that she'd be willing to accompany me on this sort of thing. 

"Arcee, although I am willing to send Jack to deal with this issue, I am not sure if it is a good idea to send you along with him. His mission may risk the possibility of blowing your cover." Optimus warned his SIC with concern. Arcee turned to face Optimus, her face bearing an almost pleading look of concern for me. 

"It's okay Optimus. I'll stay in vehicle mode for the entire mission unless it becomes absolutely necessary for me to transform back. I just want to stick with Jack and keep an optic on him, make sure my partner comes out safe through the mission. Besides, I'm the smallest one here, if anyone's good at keeping their cover then it'll be me." Arcee explained as she looked up at Optimus, gesturing towards my figure and to herself. 

Optimus hummed in contemplation once more, looking between Arcee and me, before concluding his thoughts and speaking once again. 

"You make a good point Arcee, I will allow you to accompany Jack on this mission in vehicle mode. Though, I cannot stress this enough, do not under any circumstances transform into your bipedal form unless absolutely necessary. And if you must transform to defend yourself or Jack, then you must do so without lethally harming a human being. Understood?" Optimus sternly explained to his SIC. 

"Yes sir." Arcee simply responded before turning to face me again, a small smirk sketched on her face. 

"C'mon partner, suit up and prepare. You still owe me that drive, remember?" Arcee teased before walking towards the mounted ground bridge device. I scoff and roll my eyes at her teasing before jumping off the catwalk and making my way towards a secluded area to change into my Spidey suit. 

As I made my way towards the secluded area, I could hear what sounded like a small whine coming from Miko, before she suddenly spoke up. 

"Awww, why does she get to come with him, and not me? I wanna see some in-person Spidey action too." Miko whined as she crossed her arms and pouted. 

"Don't worry about them Miko, they're just doing their own thing. Say, how about we go dune bashing while I tell you some stories about me and Ol' Jackie back on Cybertron." Bulkhead said, trying to comfort his charge with their favorite hobbies. 

"You mean it Bulk?" Miko questioned, her sour expression slowly changing into happiness and excitement. 

"Frag yeah kiddo. Now c'mon, let's go before something comes up!" Bulkhead said excitedly as he faced the base's exit and transformed into his vehicle mode, awaiting for Miko to enter the passengers seat.

I chuckle a bit at the scene before resuming my change of clothes. 

'Heh, maybe someday I'll take Miko and Raf out on a swing in New York. Wouldn't be the first time I had to carry someone while webswinging through the city.' 

New York City - 1 Minute Later...

After a quick change into my usual red and blues, I gave Ratchet some coordinates to a secluded alleyway that's usually relatively hidden from sight. That alleyway also happened to be where I changed into my Spidey suit most of the time back in New York, which is why I consider it such a great hiding spot.  

As me and Arcee came through the portal, the familiar sight of the alleyway slowly comes into view until the entire alleyway could be seen by the both of us. Afterwards, the bright green portal behind us shrank and closed, disappearing into thin air. I would have taken a big breath of fresh air after coming through the ground bridge, if not for the fact that this alleyway always had the potent smell of stinking garbage. 

"Ahh, home sweet home." I remarked while "walking" Arcee's vehicle mode to my left side. Arcee's rearview mirrors pointed toward me, showing the reflection of my bright work costume, along with my face. 

"Never knew that "home" smelled like human waste." Arcee remarked in disgust. 'Right, forgot that cybertontians can also smell too.' 

"Well, we can't all be perfect. I'm sure there had to be some alleyways back on Cybertron that stank as much as this one." I say as I get on top of Arcee's seat and pull her handlebars back, revving her engine. 

"Maybe there were, but you humans have a distinct way of making some things smell like a rusting Quintessons corpse." Arcee teased as we began to drive out of the alleyway and into the streets of New York. 

"Yeah, we sure do. Wait, a Quintess-what?" I suddenly asked, confused on whether she had just made that word up or not. 

"Story for another time, Jack." Arcee concluded as we continue to drive down the street. 

Deciding to just leave it at that, I shut my mouth and begin to strategize about our next course of action. Usually, when things like this happen, I'll either be able to sense it or I'll just happen to be in the neighborhood. However, since I wasn't any where near the crime scene at the time, I wasn't able to prevent his destructive robbery nor am I able to just track him down before he escaped. And even with my traversal abilities, Arcee included, it'll probably take us a few hours before we even find a clue. New York is a big city after all. 

Short things short, I pretty much have limited options on how to find him before he goes on another shocking spree. 

Although, there is one option I am willing to try out first. It'll either be the best option for us or it'll just end up as a big waste of time, and all it involves is me talking to an old ex-crime buddy that Herman used to hang out with, before he became the Shocker.

"So, is there anything I need to know about this "Shocker" clown before you go toe-to-toe with him?" Arcee suddenly asked, pulling me from my thoughts as we drove near an unknown, but secluded area, one that didn't reek of potent garbage. 

"Just that his ego is bigger and more dangerous than his energy gauntlets." I scoffed with a small grin. Arcee lightly chuckled at my remark before parking herself inside of another dim alleyway.  

"Still, if you do happen to get yourself into a sticky situation against the Shocker, then just try to dodge his energy blasts. They may not look like much, but trust me, they do pack a strong punch." I explain as I mentally recall a time where I'd been shot by one of his blasts square on my chest. It obviously didn't kill me, luckily enough, but it still sent me flying thought two brick walls. Yikes.

"It's a good thing I have my spider partner watching my back." Arcee remarked, causing me to smile underneath my mask. 

"You bet, what kind of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man would I be if I didn't?" I rhetorically asked, earning me a small, but audibly playful scoff from Arcee. 

"Alright Spider-man, what's our move? Can't just sit here all day and expect him to come out so easily. Unless his ego makes him stupid enough to do so.", I shook my head at her thought. 

"No, Herman might act like an idiot sometimes, but for a job this big, like stealing some tech from Oscorp, he'll definitely act a lot more considerate until it becomes too late for the authorities to handle. We'll need to find where Herman usually lays low, y'know, like his base of operations, before he decides to make another Oscorp warehouse into his shooting gallery." I explain as I also try to remember the address of Herman's ex-crime partner. 

"You've got a way to find this guy's hiding spot?" Arcee asked, pointing her rearview mirrors toward my masked face. 

"Eeehh, kinda? It'll mostly depend on whether his ex-partner talks or not." I shrug. 

"Ex-partner? What's your plan exactly?" Arcee raised her right rearview mirror, as if raising an eyebrow at me. 

"Well, before Herman decided to start cosplaying as a life sized worker bee, he started off his criminal career as a small time crook. Back then, he would occasionally preform small heists, robberies, and muggings with a few other crooks as his lackeys, one of them being Flint Marko. He's the only one of his partners that I actually know of, so we're gonna have to pay him a little visit and ask him a few questions on where he thinks his ex-partner might be. More specifically, I'll have to ask him a few questions on where Herman might be.".

Arcee lightly revved her engine a bit after I finished my explanation. Confused by the sudden rev, I tilt my head slightly and open my mouth to speak. Before I could speak however, Arcee immediately interrupts. 

"You mean to tell me that you're just going to walk right into the Sandman's front door and ask him about his former partner's whereabouts, without even considering the fact that he might attack you on the spot." Arcee snapped a bit with stern concern in her voice.

Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that Arcee had just put on her stern instructors voice, I'd have felt a little happy on the inside knowing that she cared enough to remember my rouges' villain and civilian names during my story times. Y'know what? Screw it, I'll feel happy about it anyways.

"Arcee, I thought I already told you this, you know that wouldn't the case anymore. Marko's been trying to live normally ever since he decided to step away from crime and rehabilitate himself all those months ago." I tried to sooth her thoughts, to which she just scoffs heavily. 

"You can't blame me for being cautious about him Jack, he's tried to kill you before, what'll stop him from doing so again once he sees you. Do you really believe that somebody with a criminal background like his would just stay clean forever?" Arcee said with a sternly wary voice. 

I sigh and shake my head, "I have to Arcee, otherwise, how can we ever expect people to change for the better.". 

We both stayed silent for a moment, both of us contemplating about my plan and thinking about each other's lingering words. I decide to break the silence between us, in an attempt to better convince her about my plan. 

"Look, I'm not asking for much here, I just need you to trust me and Marko on this. Don't you trust me?" I ask as I place a hand on her vehicle form's metallic side. 

"I do trust you, there's no doubt about that. I'm just... worried that things might go south between you two. Most of all, I'm worried that I might not be able to do anything if something goes wrong, not without the millions of people in this city knowing about my existence." Arcee quietly admitted. 

I stay quiet for a moment, taking in her words mentally as the silence continues. Honestly, I really can't blame her for caring this much, she had just lost Cliffjumper a few weeks ago, someone she considered her partner and her closest friend. That's something she may never be able to get over, which is something I understand extremely well. 

However, I can't let her or my doubts stop us right now, not while the Shocker is out here terrorizing these people. If I have to risk my own wellbeing just to save one person, then so be it. 

I huff out a sigh and place my hand on her handlebar to grab her attention. "Arcee, look at me. I'm not going to get hurt or killed by him, trust me, he's gone clean now. Marko might have an extensive list of past crimes, but that's the thing, he's left it all in the past. Besides, the worst that he'll do once he sees me is probably slam the door shut in my face." I tell her in gentle voice. However, my partner continues to stay quiet, probably contemplating my words of comfort. I frown a bit before continuing my talk. 

"I know that I'm not always the best at making plans, but I need you to understand, this is best shot we've got in stopping the Shocker before he decides to turn up again. So if you really do trust me, then I also need you to trust in Marko too." I say gently with a bit of a louder voice then before. After a couple of seconds of silence, Arcee finally lets out a small sigh before speaking back.

"Fine, I'll trust you on this, and I'll to trust the Sandman not to attack you. But if he does hurt you, then you should be expecting an "I told you so" from me sometime soon." Arcee joked as she revved her engine, waiting for me to tell her our next destination. 

"Wouldn't be the first time I've been told so. And Arcee, thanks for trusting me on this, I know I can always count on you partner." I winked beneath my mask, to which my left lens mimicked. 

"I know I can always count on you too Jack. Now, where to smooth operator." Arcee remarked as she quietly awaited my answer. 

"Some of the details are a bit hazy, but I think that his apartment should be somewhere in Brookland. C'mon, drive and I'll try and point out the way." I said as Arcee began driving out of the narrow alleyway and down the street, towards Brookland. 

10 Minutes Later...

After a couple of minutes and a few wrong turns on my end, we finally made our way near Marko's apartment complex. Driving near the sidewalk of the apartment, Arcee slows her speed to a stop and parks herself on the sidewalk nearest to the front entrance of the complex. I get off of her and put her stand up, making sure she doesn't immediately fall down the moment I leave her. 

"Alright Arcee, this is where we part for now. It'll just be a quick chat then I'll be back here in no time." I say, patting her metallic side as if I was patting her shoulder. 

"Okay, stay safe Spider-man. I'll be keeping an audio processor out just incase something comes up." Arcee said as quietly as she could, as to not attract any attention from any ongoing pedestrian.

I give her a two finger salute before making my way towards the front entrance. However, before I could walk any farther from her, she quietly but audibly clears her throat, trying to grab my attention to her. I turn to look at her while walking closer to her vehicle form. 

"Yeah, what's up?" I whispered. 

"Jack, your suit, are you sure you should just be wearing it out in the open while walking and driving? I know being a "Robot in Disguise" doesn't really apply to you, but it could still attract some attention to us." Arcee warned in a whisper. I scoff in amusement before responding. 

"It might attract a few eyes toward us, but believe it or not, I wouldn't be the first guy to wear a Spidey outfit while driving his motorcycle through New York." I explain, chuckling a bit at the memory of that sight. 

"...What?" Arcee said, confusion sketched in her voice. Before Arcee could question me about the strange sight, I pat her side once more and jog myself towards the front entrance.  

'I shouldn't look too suspicious to others, right? As far as their concerned, I'm just an average New Yorker walking around, wearing a Spider-man costume out in public. I think the only person that could recognize me right now as the real Spider-man is Marko. I'll just have to wait and see.' 

After a quick check in with the front desk worker about which room Marko lives in, I thank the desk worker and make my way up the stairs to the fourth floor, room D-06. Aside from the weird side glance that the desk worker gave me, she didn't really mind the suit all that much. Which kinda just proves my point about how normal some of these things can be in this city. 

Eventually, I find myself in front of Marko's apartment door, and with a small sigh of determination, I bring up my knuckles and knock on his door. It wasn't a hard annoying knock, but it should be loud enough to have warranted his attention towards the door. After knocking the door, I put my hand down and wait a couple of seconds in silence, occasionally tapping my foot on the floor to somewhat occupy myself while I wait. 

'Spider sense hasn't gone off yet. so far, so good.' I thought, secretly hoping that I haven't jinxed myself with that thought. 

Although it couldn't be seen, I could hear coming from the other side of door what sounds to be small footsteps loudly rushing towards the door. And the last I checked, Marko had anything but small footsteps. 

Before I could think any further about it, the door in front of me immediately opened in a full swing, as wide as it possibly could. However, instead of seeing Marko's familiar face, I looked down slightly to see the face of a little girl, her eyes wide in surprise at my appearance. By the looks of it, she seemed to be around six years old, sporting the look of blonde hair tied up into a ponytail, tan skin, green eyes, a bright green shirt with blue overalls, and a height difference that would make Raf seem taller in comparison. 

Copying after her facial expression, my eyes also widen in surprise at her sudden appearance. We both stare at each other in silence, as if we had both just seen a ghost. Deciding the break the awkward silence between us a couple of seconds later, I slowly bring my hand up and lightly wave at the little girl. 

"Uhhh, hi there... Do uuhhh... is your dad here? I need to talk to him." I say, trying my hardest to hide my sheepishness. The little girl's body tenses slightly less as she nodded in response. 

"Great, do I just uhhh... come in or do you-" 

"Are you the real Spider-man?" the girl innocently asked in a cute high pitched voice. 

"Oh, uhhh, yeah, of course I am. And don't worry, nobody's in trouble or anything. I just need a word with-" 

"Daddy! Mr. Spider-man is at the front door! He says he wants to talk to you!" the girl suddenly shouted, catching me a bit by surprise (again). Not even a second later, I could hear the sound of slow but heavy footsteps approaching towards us. 

"Penny, what did I tell you about answering the front door by yourself. There are a lot of creeps and weridos in this city, you never know if-" 

Marko's gruff middle aged voice suddenly stopped the moment he stepped into view in front of Penny and me. More specifically, he stopped talking the moment he saw me standing at his front door. We all stood there in silence once again, frozen, like a deer in headlights. That was until Penny decided to break the silence this time. 

"See, I told you it was Mr. Spider-man." she innocently chuckled while pointing at me. 

"Hey Marko, long time no see, am I right?" I nervously chuckled while waving lightly at my ex-enemy. He continues to stare at me in slight bewilderment, until he took his eyes off of me and looked towards Penny. 

"Uh huh, sures been a while. Hey Penny, why don't you go play in the living room while me and Mr. Spider-man here talk." Marko said in a gentle fatherly voice with a bit of wariness hidden in his tone.

Penny smiled while nodding at her father's request, humming and skipping her way towards the living room. When she was out of eye and earshot, Marko looked back at me, his face replaced with a stern expression. However, he didn't speak, instead, he was eyeing me up and down, probably checking to see if I was actually the real Spider-man and not just some creep who knew his name. Deciding to cut to the chase, I interrupt his observation by speaking to him. 

"Aww, c'mon Marko, don't tell me you already forgot my voice. Or is it the suit you're eyeing suspiciously? Yeah, I know, it looks a bit cleaner than usual, I just had it washed today." I joked while gesturing to myself. Marko huffed gruffly in response before speaking up. 

"Yeah, you're definitely the real deal alright. Listen, whatever you think I've done, I didn't do it." Marko sternly stated while crossing his arms at me. 

"Don't worry Marko, you're not in trouble or anything. I just came by to check up on you and ask a few questions about a certain someone." I explained in my casual voice. 

"With you, there's always trouble." Marko sneered with a straight face. "And questions about who? You know I've been keepin out of crime for months now, just ask my parole officer.". 

I raise both my hands and wave dismissively, "Don't need to, I know you've given that part of you up, which is something I can't say for the rest of my rouges. I just need you to tell me if you so happen to know where Herman usually hides to lay low, because if you hadn't already seen on the news, Herman recently trashed up an Oscorp warehouse while also stealing whatever technology they had there. You remember Herman don't you? You used to work for him before you two... "upgraded" your arsenal.".

"Herman? You mean the Shocker? I never worked for that bozo, I only worked with him before I decided to go solo. And why would you want to know about Herman's usual whereabouts from me? You're the Spider-man ain't ya, just go swinging through New York and track him like you always do." Marko frowned as he started to sound impatient with me being here. 

"It isn't that simple Marko. This time, I don't have a lead on him or where he could be, and I've never been lucky enough to find his place. Also, I'm pretty sure that the police and Oscorp wouldn't like me snooping around at the crime scene right now." I explained, trying hard not to accidently mention the Autobots and my stay in Nevada.

"What? You gettin lazy with your superhero work or something?" Marko joked while grinning. 

"Life gets busy sometimes. You should know a thing or two about that." I remarked as I looked over Marko's shoulder to briefly glance at his daughter, to which she sitting on the living room floor while playing with her Legos. 

Marko took sight of this and also looked back at his daughter. After looking at her for a second, Marko chuckled lightly as he set his eyes back on me, bearing a small fatherly smile. 

"Yeah, I do." Marko gently remarked, to which I grinned back, even though he can't see it. 

"Look, I know that I'm the last person you want to see at your front door, but right now, I need your help. You and I both know that Oscorp tech is some of the most advanced stuff on the market, and I don't know about you, but the last thing I need in my life is a crossover between the Shocker and some Oscorp advanced energy gantlets. A lot of people could get killed if I don't stop him, and right now, you're one of my only few options I have in tracking him down. So, will you help me Marko, just this once?" I say while putting both my hands together in a praying gesture. 

The stern expression that he wore through most of our conversation slowly changed into a neutral expression as he continued to stare into my mask lens. I continue putting up the praying gesture as I try to look as genuine as possible, hoping for him to be convinced. After a while, Marko slightly drops his head down to look at the floor, closing his eyes fully while contemplating my request. Deciding to let him think in silence, I stop the praying gesture and stand here, silently awaiting his answer. Suddenly, Marko exhales a heavy sigh of defeat before opening his eyes back up and raising his head to look at me.  

"I'll... I'll tell you what I know. But you better not make me regret it later." Marko said, glaring at me as he returned back to his usual stern and gruffy self. I mentally fist pump the air in victory before returning my attention back to Marko. 

"From what I remember back when me and the boys used to work with him, most of the time, we would hang together in an abandoned theater down in Queens. But it wasn't just a place to lay low from the cops, no, it was like our entire goddamn base of operations, that place. It was big enough for us to do all kinds of things, like countin up loads of cash, setting up a small armory, and there was even this small room just behind the stage where Herman would build his contraptions and whatnot." Marko explained in his more casual voice. 

"Huh, sounds like a safe haven for criminals. And you think he still might be there?" I questioned. Marko hummed for a second before responding. 

"Eh, maybe, maybe not. As far as I know, I don't think anybody's ever discovered it yet. I remember it being one of the farthest buildings away from most police stations, which is probably why there weren't a lot of police patrolling the area back then. Honestly, knowing Herman, if the place hasn't been busted yet, then he'll have no reason to pack up and find another safe house.".

"Alright, does this place have an address or..?", Marko thought for a bit in silence before suddenly snapping his fingers. 

"Yeah, yeah, its-" 

Marko began telling me the street name and address of the abandoned theater, while I stood in silence, listening to every word and number coming out of his mouth. 

"Now, I'm telling you the address of this joint, but I ain't seeing you writing it down on something. You sure you'll just be able to remember all of that?" Marko asked. I waved dismissively at the ex-criminal while lightly shaking my head. 

"It's alright, should be easy enough to remember. And Marko, thank you for this, you're really saving me a lot of time here." I put my hand up towards Marko, expecting him to shake my hand back. Instead, he stares at it as if he didn't know what a handshake was. Before I could put my hand down, Marko speaks up. 

"This wasn't just for you Spider, I just don't like the idea of that bozo shooting up the streets with Oscorp tech, especially with my wife and daughter occasionally going out. And besides, I don't expect the cops to take him down anytime soon. So who better than you?" Marko rhetorically asked. 

"Awww, so you do care." I teased, which earned me some audible grumbling from the man in front of me. 

"Look, just don't go crying back to me if you don't find Herman in there. Its been a long while ever since I worked with him, so for all I know, he might have just turned up and switched to another joint." Marko warned as he made the motion to closing the door. 

"Well, its good enough for me Marko. Just, don't forget about what you did here today. This information could save a lot of innocent lives." I say as Marko suddenly stood still. Looking at his stern expression, I could almost see a smile forming on his mouth before he huffed lightly and laid his eyes back on me. 

"I ain't no hero kid, that's your thing. I'm just a man doing what he thinks is right." Marko says in a surprisingly quiet, but gentle voice. I smile once again and put my hand over his shoulder. 

"That's hero enough for me Marko." I replied in an equally gentle voice.

Surprisingly, Marko doesn't grunt or grumble gruffy, instead, he grins slightly while nodding once at me. Knowing him, this was probably his way of thanking me without even saying so. Taking the unawkward silence between us as my que to leave, I take my hand off his shoulder and step out of the door frame, facing towards the bottom stairs that lead out of this place. Before I could step away however, Penny suddenly shouts loudly, catching me and Marko's attention. 

"Oh! Oh! Daddy, can I say bye to Mr. Spider-man before he goes!" Penny shouted enthusiastically, causing Marko to chuckle at his daughters sudden behavior. 

"Course you can sweetheart, I'm sure that Mr. Spider-man wouldn't mind that at all. Wouldn't you?" Marko glares at me as he finished his sentence, silently telling me that saying no to Penny's request wasn't an option for me.

As if I'd ever rudely say no to his little ray of sunshine. 

"Of course I wouldn't mind, what kind of masked vigilante would I be if I did." I say as Penny quickly approaches me. Once she was in front of me, I begin to take a kneeling position in front of the adorable mini-Marko, trying to get into eye level with her. Much like how Optimus and the other Autobots kneel whenever they talk to me, Miko, or Raf. 

"Bye-bye Mr. Spider-man, I hope you'll visit me, mommy and daddy on the beach someday. We can build big sandcastles together with daddy!" Penny said with an adorable amount of enthusiasm in her voice. I chuckle at her excitement while placing both hands on top of her tiny shoulders. 

"Of course, we'll build huge sandcastles together, and maybe I can even web swing from them while somebody takes pictures." I say as I try to match Penny's enthusiasm. Penny smiles hard while nodding happily in agreement. 

With that, I take my hands off her shoulders and stand back up. Before walking towards the stairs, I look back at Penny and tell her one last thing.  

"Oh, and by the way Penny, I just wanted to say that you have the best dad in the world. But you probably already knew that, didn't you." I proudly stated, earning me a huge smile from her and a small grin from Marko. 

"Yeah, I know, I tell everybody at school about how cool daddy is." Penny said in an equally proud voice. Marko knelt behind Penny and patted her back gently, earning him a high pitched giggle from his daughter. 

"Well, I better leave now. Tell Emma I said hi when she gets back." I say as I make my leave towards the stairs. 

"Sure thing, Spider-man." Marko tells me as I make my way down the stairs and towards the front entrance of the apartment. 

Opening the front doors and stepping outside, I was met with a warm city breeze and the bright orange glow from the setting sun. I look down from the darkening sky and set my eyes upon a familiar cobalt blue motorcycle, parked still near the edge of the sidewalk. I quickly make my way toward Arcee and sit on top of her seat, all the while kicking her stand off and pulling her handlebars back, the loud sound of her engine revving through the city's street. 

"Hey Arcee, I'm back. Did you get all of that?" I asked, hoping she managed to hear the address through my coms. 

"Yup, already have it inputted into my navigational map. Ready to take this clown down?" Arcee said before driving off from Marko's apartment and down the street, towards Queens. 

"Ready as I'll ever be, partner." I remarked with a smirk. 

Chapter Text

Queens - Abandoned Theater - 12 Minutes Later...

After a couple of minutes of driving and small talk between me and Arcee, we finally arrive at our decrepit destination. By the time we arrived at the abandoned theater, the sun had already completely set, allowing the darkness of the night to fully envelop the sky. Aside from the shining Moon and a few bright stars, the outside was almost completely pitch black.

Even with my heightened senses, this amount of darkness could still prove to be a bit of a problem to me. However, I don’t think the same could be said for Arcee.

‘Should probably ask her if she has a night vision mode in her eyes or something. That’d be really cool.’

“Well Jack, this is the place. My navigational map points to that building in front of us.” Arcee said while inching herself towards the theater, as if she were pointing at something while in vehicle mode.

“Yeah, I see it. It looks like Marko wasn’t lying about the abandoned part either. I wonder how popular this place was before it got shut down?” I said while taking in the view of the front and lateral sides of the building, trying to find an opening that I can sneak through.

Arcee lightly huffed in amusement at my question before responding. “We can think about stage performances after we’ve taken this clown down.”.

“Yeah, speaking of, here’s the plan. I’ll sneak inside of the theater and look around the area for Herman while you stay out here and patrol quietly around the theater. If he really is here, then we can’t risk letting him escape. So, we’ll both have to keep our eyes and ears open for him.” I explain as I get off of Arcee’s seat.

“Sounds like a plan Jack. Just be sure to radio me if anything comes up.”, Arcee then activated her Sadie hologram silently, further cementing her vehicle mode disguise.

I give her a thumbs up, to which she sorta replicates using her rearview mirror, since her Sadio hologram isn’t capable of moving a muscle (Or is it air? Since Sadie doesn’t really have any muscles).

With that, we both part our ways as I jog towards the left side of the theater. Earlier, during my viewing of this decrepit theater, I spotted a relatively small, rectangular window that was located high up on the theater’s wall, almost near the roof. If I could squeeze through it, then it would make for a great and sneaky entry point. Unless I’d like to take my chances and waltz right through the front door before possibly getting shot at immediately.

‘I don’t plan on returning to Nevada with a basketball-sized hole through my chest anytime soon.’

Spotting the rectangular window through the darkness, I stick myself onto the wall and start the crawl up, towards my intended entry point. After a few seconds of wall crawling, I finally reached the window frame. Thankfully, the glass of the window itself was completely gone, which would make my intrusion into the theater all the easier. Before squeezing in however, I decided to take a peek through the window frame and scope out the interior of the theater before making my “grand entrance”.

Looking through the window frame, I could see as to why this place would make a great safe haven for criminals. It’s big, dirty, dusty, run down, ruined, and well…. Abandoned. Speaking of abandoned, the thing that had also immediately caught my attention was the fact that the interior was devoid of any sign of life, at least from where I was looking.

It’s no surprise to me or the police that Herman usually liked to work solo nowadays, but in a place this big, I expected there to be at least some form of activity.

‘Ah well, the less bad guys, the merrier.’

Seeing that the coast was clear, I suck my gut in and prepare to squeeze my body through the tight frame. Squeezing through the window frame, I try my hardest not to let out a grunt, incase Herman was listening for any intruders. After a few long-lasting seconds, I finally squeezed myself into the theater and stuck myself onto the interior wall as I take a better look of the place from the inside.

The inside of the theater was as large as it looked from the outside, probably even large enough to fit a thousand or more people inside, including staff. And if careful, even the Autobots could stand freely inside the theater, even someone as big as Optimus. However, that was probably the only good thing I could say about this theater right now, given its current state of cleanliness and stability.

The housing area of the theater, where people would usually sit to enjoy the show before them, was completely ruined and stain-ridden. Some of the big wooden chairs with red cushioning were either too dirty to be used, broken, or just outright gone. While the large red carpet that parted between the rows of theater chairs was also ripped and dirty. Looking slightly to the left, I could see there was an additional seating area, which started just above the front entrance. It was a large balcony that spanned out to around half a quarter of the entire housing area of the theater, which was supported by four massive pillars made of wood and stone near the ending point of the balcony.

However, to say that the balcony and the pillars were doing better than the rest of the theater would just be a plain lie. The pillars themselves looked old and decrepit, the wood of the pillars were cracked and moldy, while the stone portion was broken and worn out. Now, I didn’t know if it was the paranoia talking or what, but despite the fact that those pillars were still standing, my gut was telling me that if a powerful force were to hit one of those pillars, then their days of standing tall would be over in a heartbeat.

The stage area faired no better than the rest of the theater. The wooden floorboards of the stage looked fragile and old. It could probably hold around ten people before it would crumble under the weight. As for the giant red theater curtains that decorated most of the stage, it now bore a more darkish red color because of the abundance of dust and mold that caked the once bright red curtains.

‘Yeesh, this place needs a remodel ASAP…. Or a demolition crew.’

After fully analyzing the state of the theater’s interior, I crawl up on the ceiling and make my way towards the stage area. Thankfully, the theater’s interior wasn’t as dark as it was on the outside, mostly due to the numerous amounts of dimly lit lightbulbs and small light posts. Although, I doubt that city officials elected to let working electricity run through an abandoned building, especially one this old. So, if the lights are working here, then there must be some sort of generator running electricity through this place. Which means that Herman might actually still be here after all.

When I was finally above the stage, I activated my invisibility and hung myself upside-down with a single web line. I slowly descended myself downwards until I was close enough to the stage’s floorboards. Afterwards, I carefully repositioned myself to stand on the stage, as to not drop my entire weight onto the fragile floorboards all at once. When I finally stood on solid ground, I turned to face towards the backstage, its existence being covered by giant theatrical curtains.

‘Alright, Marko said something about a room in the backstage that Herman used to build his gadgets in. With any luck, I might be able to find Herman in there, catch him with his gauntlets down.’

I walked towards the covered backstage and went through the dusty curtains, wincing as the dust from the curtains dirtied my costume. After quietly patting the dust off my costume, I look around the dark backstage and immediately spot a brightly lit room to my right. The door belonging to that room was wide open, as if somebody had forgotten to close it on their way out. That must be the room Marko was talking about.

“Jackpot” I whispered.

I walked near the door frame and prepared myself to go face-to-face with Herman, checking if my webshooters were in working order or if I had any cartridges in them. After knowing that I was all set for action, I quickly jumped inside the room and pointed my webshooters at…. He isn’t here.

“What?” I whisper to myself in confusion.

Looking around the room, I could tell that this was definitely a workshop of some sort. A workshop that definitely belonged to a certain energy gauntlet wielding maniac.

The most notable things that I could see inside this room was a desk with papers and blueprints stacked on top of it, a workbench with certain tools and devices on its surface, an empty armor stand, and a half-eaten candy bar…. Oh, and there were also several crates filled with stolen Oscorp tech tucked into the corner.

“Double jackpot.” I whispered quite smugly.

Now knowing that this place was the real deal, I bring two fingers up to my left ear and open my comms to Arcee.

“Hey Arcee, I’ve got some good news.” I whispered through the comms.

“Doesn’t sound like good news when you’re whispering through the comms. What happened?” Arcee said, sounding like her usual war veteran self.

“Ok, well, it’s sorta good news. I haven’t found Herman yet, but this is definitely his place. I just found his workshop, its even got all of the Oscorp tech he stole earlier.” I continue to whisper as I walk towards one of the crates and inspect the devices inside them.

Arcee huffed, “At least this wasn’t all for nothing. I think I should owe Marko an apology for doubting him.”.

I chuckled lightly before setting a piece of Oscorp tech back into its crate. “Yeah, I’d love to see his reaction to a 16-foot-tall alien apologizing to him out of the blue. I’d be comedy gold, might even be funny enough to bring this theater back to life.”

I began to chuckle at my own joke, and surprisingly, Arcee began to chuckle through the comms as well.

“It’ll be funnier than your quips, that’s for sure.” Arcee teased while trying to siffle her chuckle.

“Now you’re just hurting my feelings. Anyways, I’m gonna keep searching around the area, I’ll call you when I find something. Later, partner.” I concluded.

Arcee said her goodbye before closing out of the coms, leaving me to my thoughts. Suddenly, my body began to feel a bit tired, my internal systems warning me that I’ve overused my invisible state. Looking around the room one last time, I decided to deactivate my invisibility since I was the only one currently in the room.

‘Alright, now while that recharges, I guess I’ll just have to get back to searching.’

While walking towards the open-door frame, I began to think about other places that Herman could be hiding in the theater. But where else would he even hide? This workshop seemed to be like his go-to room, why else would he keep most of his stuff in there? Unless there’s a super-secret double workshop in the theater that Marko probably forgot to tell me about.

‘You bonehead, where would that room be in exactly, the lady’s bathroom?’ I mentally scolded myself as I walked out of the workshop and into the backstage, facing towards the covered stage.

Suddenly, my spider sense activated as my brain began to vibrate frantically, warning me of an incoming threat. Without any hesitation, I quickly turn behind me to see a large yellow energy projectile coming straight towards me. Thanks to my spider sense, I was able to jump just in time to dodge the incoming projectile. While in midair, I quickly web zipped myself towards a metal perch to gain a high ground advantage.

The energy projectile that had been meant to kill me instead incinerated the red stage curtains, burning a huge hole through it. Knowing very well who that energy projectile belonged to, I looked back at where the shot at originated and called out the culprit.

“Aww, c’mon Herman, do you know how expensive those curtains were?” I joked as the man himself slowly and menacingly stepped out of the shadows of the backstage.

‘Huh, he looks a little different. Maybe he’s trying to get into the theatrical spirit.’ I mentally noted as I immediately recognized some new cosmetics on him that he’d never worn before.

He still wore the same brown and yellow battle suit that he used to protect himself from the energy of his own gauntlets. However, there were also a few key changes about his appearance, like the light brown long coat that he wore over his body, the dark brown cargo pants, and black military boots. It didn’t stop there though. Over the lower half of his battle mask, he wore a brown metallic mouth mask that covered the entirety of his nose, jaw, and both cheeks. The mouth mask was depicted as a menacing looking version of a human’s lower and upper half of their skeletal jaw. The defining features of it being its slim and bony layout as the metal the mask was composed of shined brightly from its reflection of other light sources.

To top it all off, his energy gauntlets were also given a new look. Before now, Herman’s energy gauntlets used to look slimmer and less bulky, as to make enough room for his hands and fingers to move freely. Now however, his gauntlets, which sported a new shiny gunmetal grey color, covered the entirety of his hands and even half of his forearms. The gauntlets he wore now looked much bulkier than before, but somehow, he seemed to be carrying them with ease.

“I told you. My name. Is. The. Shocker!” Herman yelled in anger, his voice sounding more robotic and autotuned through his battle mask.

“You can stop with the stage names, Herman. We’re not preforming right now, remember?” I teased to the already fuming super-criminal.

Herman screamed angrily before pointing both his energy gantlets at me and shooting them. Both gauntlets charged loudly as two separate yellow projectiles came speeding towards my position. With quick agility, I jumped from the perch and quickly web zipped to Herman’s side before swing kicking his left shoulder. After the powerful kick made contact with him, Herman was sent a couple feet back before hitting the ground. I landed back on the floor, striking my usual on-the-ground pose, thankful to the fact that the floorboards hadn’t broken under my weight. The same couldn’t be said for Herman however, as he rose from the small crater of broken floorboards, grunting in both anger and pain.

“H-how did you even find this place? There’s no way you could have found it all on your own!” Herman shouted while charging both his energy gauntlets.

“You’d like to know, wouldn’t you.” I said rather smugly before charging straight towards him.

I fully expected Herman to shoot an energy projectile at me as I bolted towards him, so I prepared myself to quickly dodge any projectile that he’d used against me. However, he wasn’t pointing his gauntlets at me as they kept charging in energy, but instead on the ground, near his feet.

‘What’s he doing? He’s going to blow his own legs off.’

However, as I got close enough to throw a punch at him, both his gauntlets suddenly shot out a circular wave of energy, boosting Herman off of the backstage and all the way into the far side of the theater’s housing area. The shockwave of his blast was powerful enough to knock me off my feet and into the air, throwing me backwards until I crashed into the floorboards. Realizing how Herman felt not even a few seconds ago, I groaned in pain and discomfort as some splinters from the broken floorboards beneath me started to prickle and poke my sides.

“Ugghhh. That… That was new.” I said weakly, lifting myself off the small crater to look at where Herman jumped to.

Knowing the amount of times that Herman had tried to run from me in the past, he’s probably already made a b-line to the front door while I was down. Unfortunately for him, Arcee is going to be out there, waiting for him. He’s going to be running into my partner any seco-

“COME OUT SPIDER-MAN!! I WON’T BE RUNNING FROM YOU THIS TIME!! BECAUSE NOW, I’VE GOT SOME UPGRADES THAT’LL BE SURE TO BLOW YOU TO PIECES!!” Herman shouted at the top of his lungs as he stood in the housing area, waiting for me.

“Ah, shit. Things can never be easy for me, can they?” I mumbled to myself.

Suddenly, the comms piece in my left ear opened, revealing the sound of Arcee’s concerned voice coming through it.

“Jack, I heard blasts coming from the inside. Are you alright!? What happened?” Arcee said as she tried to sound calm, but failing because of the concern showing in her voice.

“I’m doing just peachy, well… not really. I’ve got some good news and some bad news, which do you want to hear first?” I said while staring at Herman’s standing figure.

“Jack!” Arcee raised her voice, failing to hide her frustration.

“Alright, alright. Good news is, I found Herman. Bad news, he’s acting more aggressive than usual, all thanks to a couple of upgrades he installed into his gauntlets.” I explained calmly.

“Okay, just try to hold him off for as long as you can while I make my way inside.”, suddenly, I heard the sounds of metal shifting and moving through her comms.

“Wha- No Arcee, I won’t let you risk your exposure! Just stay out there and wait it out, I’ll deal with Herman myself.” I said, hoping she wouldn’t retaliate any further.

“Did you just tell me to “Wait it out” while you go face-to-face with an upgraded super-criminal alone. You know that’s not what partn- “

Her words were suddenly cut off as my spider sense began to tingle frantically, warranting me to quickly jump off from the backstage. When I landed in front of the stage, I looked back just in time to see three sperate energy projectiles hitting the backstage, causing small but explosive blasts to erupt from the areas they hit.

“Ah, there you are you sneaky motherfucker. Was beginning to think that I killed you back there, was hoping for it honestly. Herman chuckled coldly.

“Jack! Are you hurt!? What’s your status?!” Arcee shouted through the comms in worry.

“Just give me a minute Arcee, I’ll call you back when I’m done.” I whispered into my comms before closing my earpiece off, silencing any chance of Arcee arguing back for now.

‘Alright Herman, now it’s just you and me.’

I began to stand up straight from my on-the-ground pose, furrowing my lens and staring daggers into the idiot before me.

“I’m not just gonna let you walk out of here alive and reveal my hideout to the cops, not while I’m at the height of my career.” Herman threatened while bumping both his gauntlets together, a loud metallic bang sounding from the motion.

“That’s funny, because the last time you threatened to kill me, I beat you so hard you practically begged the cops to be sent to jail.” I teased smugly as I went into my battle stance.

Herman growled angrily at my remark before using both his gauntlets to shoot at me. Although the projectiles were normally large and many, I was still able to dodge them all with ease, even managing to athletically zip away from the blast radius of his projectiles. Unfortunately, he had no opening for me to counterattack him while he shot out his barrage of energy blasts, so all I could do in the meantime was dodge and wait until he stopped firing.

“Wow Herman, your upgrades are so impressive.” I said sarcastically as I hung upside-down on a webline.  

“You haven’t seen nothing yet, bug.” Herman spat out.

Suddenly, he stopped firing momentarily and brough up his gauntlets close to his chest. I cocked an eyebrow in confusion before shrugging it off as a technical difficulty and web zipping my way towards him. However, I was proven wrong as the metal plates on the top of his gauntlets suddenly started to shift and move out of place, revealing two smaller looking cannons that looked primed and ready to fire.

My eyes widened in surprise at the little transformation before Herman pointed his gauntlets at me and started to fire, laughing maniacally while doing so. I dodged out of the line of fire just before I could be turned into Swiss cheese.

‘How many surprises can a guy fit into a pair of gauntlets!?’

The projectiles he shot at me were much smaller than the usual energy projectiles, basically fist-sized in comparison to his default projectiles. To make up for the size difference however, they were shot out at a much faster rate, almost as fast as bullets are shot out of a gun. Those mini projectiles even packed enough heat to create a small blast radius of damage when they came into contact with something, or someone.

Herman continued to fire a barrage of mini projectiles at me relentlessly as I kept swinging and web zipping through the open space of the theater. He stopped firing the moment I took cover behind a chandelier that hung high on the ceiling, just above Herman.

“Before I ask you how much of a dumb motherfucker you think I am for trying to trick me into shooting that chandelier down, I’d like to ask you something. You still feeling lucky about taking me down now?” Herman mocked as he began to laugh smugly afterwards.

I smirked while chuckling to myself before responding to the doofus’s question. “Actually, yeah, I still do.” I remarked before using a good portion of my strength to rip the chandelier’s restraints off, allowing it to drop down freely.

“Oh, you motherfu-“ Herman cut himself off as he quickly transformed his gauntlets back to its default mode before shooting out two large energy projectiles at the falling chandelier.

I stuck myself to the ceiling and watched as both projectiles made contact with the incoming chandelier. Despite the chandelier’s huge size, it was no match against Herman’s energy projectiles as the chandelier immediately blew up into small glass and metallic rubble. The pieces of rubble shot out like shrapnel in all directions, luckily for me, I was high enough on the ceiling for the shrapnel not to reach me.

‘Alright genius, now what?’ I scolded myself.

I can’t just keep dodging him forever, but I also can’t get close enough to him, not if I want to be blown to giblets. Well, if I can’t fight him head on, then I’ll have to use my surroundings to my advantage, wear him out until I find just the right opening to take him down.

Huffing a breath of confidence, I jumped down from the ceiling and swung onto the theater wall, waiting for him to shoot at me. Instead of shooting me however, he aims his gauntlets near his feet and charge them up, attempting to boost himself and slam into me. I quickly jumped from the wall and landed onto the floor before his armored figure could reach me. His boosted jump proved to be both effective in mobility and destruction as he slammed into my previous position, utterly destroying the wall I was on and breaking through it as he landed inside of another unknown room.

It became silent for a moment, before he suddenly shot another energy projectile into the wall, creating an even bigger hole for him to walk through freely. As he slowly walked through the floating dust and rubble, he chuckled sinisterly as he looked at his new gauntlets in awe.

“I should’ve stolen shit from those Oscorp creeps years ago. I feel unstoppable right now!” Herman shouted in triumph, raising both his charged gauntlets into the air.

“Hey, incase you haven’t noticed, I’m still here. You haven’t won anything yet, slick.” I said while eyeing certain objects that I could use to throw at the maniacal super-criminal.

“Well, in that case, I guess I’ll have to fix that then.” Herman remarked as he transformed his gauntlets into quick firing mode.

During his gauntlet’s transformation, I quickly shot out two separate web lines at two different theater chairs and chucked them straight towards Herman. Seeing this, Herman quickly dodged the first chair while the second chair crashed into him, stunning him and sending him backwards a couple of feet. I took this opportunity to quickly web zip towards his new position, but before I could land a strike, Herman immediately sat up and pointed both his gauntlets at me. I quickly dodged to the side and jumped into the air, avoiding his barrage of projectiles as I swung freely around him while trying my hardest to accurately shoot webshots on his face and gauntlets.  

However, the webshots that would have landed on their intended targets ended up getting shredded through the barrage of energy projectiles. Having had enough of this clown’s relentlessness, I quickly thought up of a new plan of attack, one that could get me close enough to actually land a strike on him. Spotting a large piece of the wall that Herman crashed through, I quickly web zipped towards the fallen piece of wall and stuck my fingers onto it, practically gripping it tightly. Thanks to my speed and agility, it took Herman a moment for him to refocus his firing onto my current position. By the time Herman pointed his gauntlets at me, I was already running straight towards him, using the thick wall as a shield while Herman fired upon it, trying to destroy it before I could reach him.

“That wall isn’t gonna save you bug!” Herman loudly remarked through the sounds of his gauntlets firing.

My temporary shield crumbled only after a few seconds, but it didn’t matter, I was already close enough. Before the wall could break and fully reveal my figure, I quickly activated my invisibility in the hope that it would confuse Herman long enough for me to finally close the distance. When the wall finally broke down, I dropped the pieces of remaining rubble and continued to run straight at him. Herman stopped his barrage of projectile firing and tilted his head in confusion.

“What the? Where’d you go-“

Herman’s sentence of confusion was cut short as I deactivated my invisibility in front of him and threw my fist into his face, staggering him backwards. I immediately followed up with another punch to his face, sending him back a couple of inches. Afterwards, I performed a web strike, punching him square in his stomach. I could tell that my web strike knocked the wind out of him as he made a weird autotuned wheezing noise through his battle mask. Herman staggered back slightly after that punch before kneeling down, trying to hold in the pain.

I took this moment to web up his gauntlets tightly in an attempt to disable them and restrain him.

“Well Hermy, looks like you are stoppable after all.” I remarked teasingly as I brought two fingers to my earpiece to tell Arcee the good news.

However, before I could turn on my comms, Herman began to mumble something under his breath, drawing my attention towards him once again. I stepped closer to him and knelt down in front of him, bringing my ear closer to his head.

“You’ve got something to say Herman? Because right now, I’m way past my curfew, so say what you want to say before I wrap this up.” I said, trying to hide an impatient tone.

“I am the….” Herman weakly mumbled.

I sighed before responding to him. “What was that, Herman? Couldn’t quite here you.” I replied.

Suddenly, my spider sense began to go haywire as my sense of hearing honed in on the sound of Herman’s gauntlets charging up.

“I said, I AM THE SHOCKER!!!” Herman screamed as his gauntlets charged to full power.

Unfortunately for me, I was too slow to dodge his surprise attack as Herman shot out a powerful blast from both his gauntlets, completely destroying the webs that covered them prior. This was the same move he’d use to boost jump himself to a different position, this time though, he used the waves of energy to blast me away, sending me flying backwards.

I flew backwards until my back made contact with one of the pillars that supported the balcony area. A huge wave of pain immediately shot up into my back and through my entire body the moment my back landed on the pillar. A groaned heavily in pain as I slid down the pillar and fell face first onto the floor.

That blast… It felt more powerful than anything he had ever used to harm me before. I’m honestly surprised that the pillar I just crashed into didn’t immediately break down, though now, I think I may have just jinxed myself.

“You never should have come here, dumbass. Look at the mess you caused! I’d be surprised if anyone didn’t hear our little scuffle.” Herman said angrily, stepping towards me as his gauntlets charged once more.

I laid chest first on the floor, pain coursing through my backside as I turned my head up to look at him.

‘Man, this is an embarrassing position to be in. And in front of Herman of all people.’

I tried to make the effort to reply with a quip, but all that came out were coughs and wheezes of pain. Herman laughed coldly at my display of weakness, before raising his left gauntlet to my head.

“This… I would’ve waited an eternity for this, Spider-Man.” Herman coldly remarked as the gauntlet raised before me whirred loudly.

My eyes were wide in shock, and the thoughts in my brain grew louder and more abundant as I tried to think of a last-minute plan. I couldn’t punch or kick, and it would take me a minute before I could find it in myself to will myself up and ignore the pain, which was something that I didn’t have the time for right now. The only thing I could do right now is use my venom bioelectricity on him, more specifically, my mega venom blast.

But I haven’t had enough time to actually control that power, its still extremely unstable. What if I accidently kill Herman with the blast? What if the power from the blast brings this whole place down on both of us? We’d be dead on the spot, there’d be too much rubble for us to dodge and maneuver around.

As Herman’s gauntlet glowed brighter than it usually would, the bioelectricity within my body whirrs loudly while coursing down my veins, practically begging me to let loose.

Just when I thought I’d have to unleash my greatest ability yet, the sound of a motorcycle engine loudly echoed through the front of the theater, interrupting the moment and causing both of us to turn our heads towards the front entrance.

‘Oh no, please let it be just a pizza delivery driver on a motorcycle.’

Suddenly the familiar sight of a cobalt blue motorcycle came crashing through the front door, speedily driving towards Herman in an attempt to crash into him.

“The fuck!?” was all Herman shouted in surprise before pointing both his gauntlets at the approaching motorcycle.

When he saw the that the motorcycle didn’t stop her advance, he began to fire upon her with a barrage of large energy projectiles. To Herman’s surprise however, the driverless motorcycle began to dodge all of his projectiles with ease and even some agility (Well, as agile as a motorcycle could get anyways).

“HOW ARE YOU-“

Herman’s yell of rage was cut as Arcee quickly turned backwards and drove her back wheel into Herman’s chest, sending him flying backwards and crashing into the ground. I look at Herman’s lying figure, then back at Arcee in shock as the front side of her vehicle mode faced me. Suddenly, Arcee quickly began to transform into her bipedal form, not caring about whether Herman saw her or not.

“A-Arcee!? H-he’ll see you.” I quickly blurted out while Arcee knelt in front of my lying figure.

“I don’t care about that right now. What you did was incredibly reckless and stupid. You could have died! I could have lost you, I could have lost my partner, again…” Arcee frowned as she said the last part with a bit of sorrow in her voice.

“Arcee… I’m- LOOK OUT!” I suddenly shouted, pointing to where Herman was aiming his gauntlets at us.

Arcee quickly looked behind her to see where I was pointing, and without any hesitation, she grabbed me and booked it towards one of the pillars for cover. The pillars were surprisingly big enough to serve as cover for Arcee, however, their design meant that she had to bring her limbs closer to her sides so that they wouldn’t poke out of cover by accident.

“You’re you working for Spider-Man!? Oscorp?! Octavius!? Only those creeps would have the money and the intelligence to build a monster like that thing carrying you right now!” Herman shouted as he continued to fire upon us.

“Stop shooting and I’ll tell you!!…. Actually, never mind, your small mind probably wouldn’t believe me anyways!” I shouted from our cover, trying my best to speak louder over the continuous sounds of energy projectiles.

The pillar we hid behind was starting to give into its damage, we needed to think quickly and act fast, before Herman ends up destroying all of our cover. Arcee peeked her head out of cover for a bit before immediately returning to cover as one of Herman’s shots almost hit her head.

“Alright, what’s the plan? There isn’t enough cover for us to work with, so we’ll have to think of a way to quickly take him down.” Arcee sternly explained.

“His upgraded gauntlets make him too powerful for me to face head on alone, and you’re too big of a target for him. One of us will have to distract him here, while the other sneaks up behind him and disables his gauntlets.” I explain while standing on Arcee’s palm.

Suddenly, the pillar that we used as cover began to crumble and fall apart. Arcee quickly ran towards the other undamaged pillar and hid there. The balcony on top of us began to tremble and shake as one of its major supports fell. The balcony hadn’t fallen on us yet, but if one or two more pillars were to fall, then there’s a good chance that the balcony would fall down as well.

“I’ll stay here and try to distract him with my blasters while you sneak up behind him. Your powers make you much better at stealth than I am.” Arcee admitted, earning her a small smirk from beneath my mask.

“I’ll hold you on that.” I remarked before going invisible.

Arcee huffed in amusement before raising me up on her hand, towards the bottom of the balcony. I get off Arcee’s hand and stick onto the balcony, thinking of a way to take Herman down while I made my way behind him.

Before his upgrade, I was either able knock him out of a fight with precise timing or just simply web his gauntlets tightly together, essentially forcing him to surrender or else he’d have to risk destroying his own gauntlets. But now, I’ll have to think of a more destructive idea, something that could destroy his gauntlets without killing or seriously injuring him.

Then, it came to me.

What if I use my venom bioelectricity to destroy his gauntlets, somehow direct a lot of my energy into his gauntlets. And if it goes according to plan, then my bioelectricity could overload them, disabling them and turning them useless.

That is, if I don’t accidentally blow his arms off….

As I continued to stealthily traverse behind Herman, Arcee and Herman were trading deadly energy bolts at each other. The former intentionally missing most of her shots as to not kill the latter on the spot.

Though, I would be lying if I said that Herman wasn’t proving to be troublesome to my cobalt blue partner. Because as they continued their fire fight, Herman managed to destroy yet another pillar, forcing Arcee to hide behind the third one. However, the loss of the second pillar caused a large portion of the balcony to tilt downwards, essentially warning Arcee that if she lost another pillar, then the entire structure would fall on her.

I have to act quickly.

“Your size freaked me the hell out when I first saw you! But now, you’re just another tally on my list of kills!!” Herman taunted loudly as he switched his gauntlets firing mode to quick firing.

“Send the cops! Send Oscorp security! SEND THEM ALL!! IT WON’T MATTER, YOU’LL ALL BE DEAD BY THE TIME I’M THROUGH WITH YOU!!” Herman loudly threatened over the continuous sounds of his energy projectiles.

“I’ve faced Cons crazier than you! Do your worst!!” Arcee remarked loudly from behind the crumbling pillar.

Jesus, I’ve never seen Herman this aggressive before. It’s a good thing he’s distracted right now, because now, it’s time to wrap this up, for good.

When I was a couple of feet behind Herman, I deactivated my invisibility and began to charge up my venom bioelectricity through both my arms. As I stepped closer to the psychopathic super criminal, one of Arcee’s energon bolts nicked the side of his torso, completely burning off the upper side of his brown long coat.

“*ARGH* You bitch! That coat was expensive!” Herman yelled as he switched back to his default firing mode and shot out two large projectiles.

Both projectiles hit the pillar that Arcee was hiding behind, completely destroying it. Unfortunately, before Arcee could hide behind the fourth pillar, the weight of the unsupported balcony quickly fell on top of her, knocking the fourth pillar to the ground with a thunderous thud.

Arcee yelled loudly in a pain filled grunt as she quickly shot her arms up, preventing the entire balcony on top of her from crushing her. Arcee was strong, but she couldn’t hold onto something that heavy for long, especially when Herman would be there to shoot a hole through her head.

Herman chuckled coldly as he slowly approached my pinned partner.

“The Spider couldn’t stop me before. What made you think that you’d stop me now? I guess Oscorp didn’t program you to know just how dangerous I really am.” Herman began to charge up one of his gauntlets, preparing to execute her like he would have with me.

“If you’re *argh* trying to scare me, then you’re *agh* failing horribly. So just stop embarrassing yourself already.” Arcee mocked while she continued to hold up the weight of the balcony.

Herman growled and made to raise his gauntlets, but before he could point them at Arcee, I quickly grabbed both gauntlets and began to channel my bioelectricity to them.

“What? WHAT!! What are you doing!?” Herman yelled as he tried to tug away from my grip.

However, my physical strength far exceeded his as I continued to hold his arms in place with ease. The loud sounds of his gauntlets whirring and electricity crackling began to fill our ears as blue bioelectricity started to course through and damage Herman’s gauntlets. For a moment, Herman’s gauntlets began to power up with yellow energy, right before they immediately shut down.

“Why can’t I use them!? What the fuck are you doing to my gauntlets?!” Herman began to tug harder from my grip, but his resistance came to little fruition.

“Don’t worry Hermy, it’s all just improvisation. As long as I don’t accidently blow your arms off, then you’ll be fine.” I explained nonchalantly.

“WHAT!” Herman freaked out, his voice almost cracking.

“Just shut up and hold still.” I said, trying to focus on controlling my bioelectricity.

Soon enough, both his gauntlets began to char heavily as my bioelectricity continuously damaged them. Suddenly, his gauntlets continuously flashed a bright red color, like how a police car would flash their lights when pursuing a criminal.

“Shit! You’re damaging them too much! They’re going to explode! Stop it, please!!” Herman begged loudly.

Taking this as my queue to stop before things go way south, I immediately stop my flow of bioelectricity, and with all my strength, I grip the gauntlets harder than I have before and ripped them straight off of Herman’s arms. The damage that my bioelectricity did to his gauntlets made it easier for me to physically destroy them as they immediately crumbled to the ground in metallic pieces.

Herman knelt on the floor and breathed a heavy sigh of relief, thankful that he still had both his arms intact. However, it wasn’t over for Herman, not by a long shot.

I immediately webbed him up into a tight cocoon, the only part of his body being uncovered was his head. After restraining Herman, I looked back at my partner to see her still holding the balcony on top of her head. Before I could offer her any help, she threw the balcony upwards and quickly rolled out of the way before the balcony could fall right back on her. Afterwards, she stood back up to her full height, and looked down on me, wearing a proud smirk on her face.

“Still think you could have done this without me?” Arcee teased, placing a hand on her hip.

“I guess I deserve an “I told you so” right about now.” I laughed sheepishly.

“That, and more.” Arcee huffed.

“She’s a goddamn robot! Why’re you speaking to her like you’re in a relationship with her!” Herman shouted with a bit of disgust in his voice.

Before I could retaliate, Arcee stepped closer to Herman and picked him up like he was an action figure, all the while she stared daggers into him.

“Listen to me and listen closely. I’ve never taken a human life before, but there’s always a first time for everything. So, if you ever tell anyone about me, I’ll hunt you down and chase you to the ends of the Earth. Got it?” Arcee threatened with extreme, cold animosity.

“W-wait, S-Spider-Man, you aren’t gonna let her kill me… Are you?” Herman said with a shaky voice as he stared at me, practically begging me for help.

Deciding to play along with the scare, I crossed my arms and stayed silent, all the while staring directly into Herman’s eyes. The lens of his battle mask blew open in surprise at my reaction.

“A-alright, alright! I won’t snitch, I promise! Just put me down!” Herman begged. Arcee complied to his request, laying him down on the dirty, rubble-filled theater floor.

“Good, because now we’ve got law enforcement heading this way for you. Which means this is our queue to leave, right Spider-Man?” Arcee looked at me with a cocked eyebrow.

“There isn’t a better time for us to leave, let’s go Arcee. And uhhh…. Stay safe Herman, don’t give the cops too much trouble.” I say while slapping a white sticky note onto Herman’s chest.

‘Can’t forget to leave my signature.’

With that, Arcee blasted a hole through the fallen balcony that covered our exit, then transformed into her vehicle mode, waiting for me to get on. I comply, sitting on her surprisingly comfortable leathery seat as she drove us out of the theater and into the outside world once more.

Soon enough, we heard the sounds of police sirens echoing through the night sky as we drove in the opposite direction of the crime scene. When we were finally far enough from the theater, I decided to break the silence.

“Hey Arcee, um, thanks, for saving me back there. I’m still not used to being the one that needs saving. I’ve been doing this “hero” gig alone for so long, I just got used to it, y’know?” I said with sincerity.

Arcee sighed before speaking. “As much as I want to be mad at you for leaving me out of the fight, I’m just glad that I saved you in time, and that you’re not dead. The last time I left my partner alone to fend for himself… He….” Arcee trailed off, staying silent as we drove down the road.

I placed my hand on her side, trying to comfort her. “I know Arcee, and I’m sorry for worrying you like that. I promise not to do something like that again.” I said gently.

Arcee huffed lightly. “You better not, or I’ll hunt you down.” Arcee teased playfully, earning a small laugh out of both of us.

“Okay Jack, it’s time to go home. I’ll call Ratchet for a ground-“

“Wait! I, I need to do something before we leave, it’s important.” I said suddenly.

“What is it, Jack?” Arcee said with concern.

“I’ll... I’ll tell you when we get there. It’s just, I may as well do it now since we’re already here.” I explained a bit sheepishly.

“Umm, sure thing. Where to?” Arcee said while trying to hide her confusion.

“First, I’ll need to get some roses.” I said.

Queens - Hidden Black Jeep, Near the Abandoned Theater 

As a familiar red and blue vigilante and his cobalt blue motorcycle exited through the front entrance, a pair of men, covered head to toe in a dark green body suit sat in the front side of their vehicle, spying on the two as they made their escape.

Their jeep was completely painted black, which blended in well with the shadows, and their tinted windows made it all the harder for people outside of their vehicle to identify them. The man in the passenger seat brought two of his fingers up to his earpiece and opened his comms.

“Sir, the targets have escaped through the front entrance. Should we pursue?” the passenger side man asked.

“They’ll be no need for that, agent. We’ve got the information we wanted for now, although we’ll need to conduct more secretive patrols in the future. Our scientists need as much information on these metallic titans as we can get.” a man with a deep, authoritative voice sounded through the comms.

“Yes Silas, sir.” The passenger agent said professionally.

“For now, I am certain that Dr. Octavius can work with what you two have brough up today. But remember, our lead scientist will need much more than this in the future. Understood?” Silas said coldly.

“Copy that, sir. MECH Agent-14, out.” Agent-14 concluded as he closed his comms and signaled for his driver to drive them out of here.

Without a second to lose, the driver started the engine and quickly drove away from the crime scene before New York’s finest could arrive to catch them.

Darker days will be ahead for the Autobots, especially for Spider-Man.

Harlem - Harlem Cemetery - 40 Minutes Later...

After luckily finding a floral shop that was still open that this time and buying a bouquet of roses, Arcee drove us to the address that I knew by heart. Sure, it was a long way from Queens, but it was the best resting place we could think of at the time.

When we finally arrived at the front gates, I got off of Arcee and held her by her handlebars as I “walked” her down the graveled pathway. With the bouquet of roses strapped onto a web sling that I put around my neck, I quietly walked down the pathway with Arcee, trying to find where I had last met him.

The atmosphere in this place was beyond gloomy, it was deathly silent, and aside from me and Arcee, this place was devoid of all life. To add to the dark atmosphere, the area was almost pitch black, the only sources of light being small, barely functioning lampposts on the far side of the area.

Finally, the silence was broken when Arcee decided to speak.

“Jack? Where are we?” Arcee asked quietly, oblivious to what a human cemetery was.

“We’re… In a cemetery Arcee… It’s where we bury the dead.” I explained, trying not to let sorrow overtake my tone.

Arcee stayed silent at my response, as if she was speechless, or maybe just confused? I can’t say for sure which one.

Finally, we arrived at the intended gravestone, allowing me to set Arcee near the front of the gravestone and put her stand up. Afterwards, I took the bouquet out of the web sling and knelt on both my knees in front of the gravestone.

The gravestone read…

Ben Parker

1952 – 2003

Loving Husband and Father

“May you find peace in the Heavens above.”

It took a lot of willpower on my end not to just start bawling on the spot. It always hurts to read this, even after two years.

“It’s okay Arcee, you can transform, we’re the only ones here.” I spoke in a quite tone.

Once again, Arcee stayed silent, probably hesitant about transforming out in the open again.

“You won’t be seen by anyone right now, its too dark for humans to see. Trust me.” I reassured her.

After a couple of seconds of silence, Arcee began to slowly transform into her bipedal mode, trying to make as little noise as possible. When she finally fully transformed, she took a kneeling position beside me while trying not to make her presence uncomfortable for me.

“This… This is where we buried my Uncle Ben.” I said in a sorrowful whisper.

Suddenly, the cyan blue light that shined onto the ground from Arcee’s eyes dimmed slightly. I looked back at her to see that she wore a sorrowful frown, while her usually bright blue eyes dimmed down, as if it were reflecting her sadness.

“I’m… I’m sorry Jack, I didn’t know.” Arcee apologized quietly.

“You don’t need to apologize for that. I just… I need to say a few words. It’s been a while since I last visited.” I explained.

Arcee nodded in acknowledgement, giving me the go to continue. I bring a hand up to my mask and pull it off, setting it beside my lap so that I could have a better view of my surroundings.

With a final heavy sigh, I put the roses near the front of the gravestone and began to speak.

“Hey dad, it’s been some time since we last talked. I wanted to do this earlier, but… Life gets busy sometimes.” I ended with a sigh.

“I’ve been trying to make you proud, been trying to live up to your dreams and expectations… It gets hard sometimes, having to put all these responsibilities before me, but still, I’d do it all just to make you proud.” My eyes begin to water, but I hold off the tears and continue to speak.

“I still remember what you said to me all those years ago, y’know, back in your car. It didn’t matter to me much back then, but now, it’s what I live by.” My throat tightens, but I swallow the lump and continue on.

“Do you want to know what I remember the most in that conversation though, because it wasn’t just your advice about great power that stuck out to me. It was…” I trailed off, not able to find it in me to speak any further.

Suddenly, I felt a large, warm metallic hand cover my left shoulder and even a bit of my back. I look beside me to see Arcee looking down on me, a small smile across her face, silently comforting me. Her comforting presence gave me a bit more courage to continue speaking as I turned my head back to face the gravestone.

“It was… When you called me your son. That made me realize just how much you cared about me, a-and I just… threw it at your face.” I started digging my fingers into the dirt, sadness and anger overriding any other emotion.

“Even now, it’s hard for me to understand why you loved me so much, when I was the reason why you were murdered in the first place… Y-you never deserved to die because of me, you deserved so much better, you deserved a better son…” Sorrow stained my voice as small tears began to drip down my face.

“It n-never should have been you to die that day. It should have been me, I-I should have been the one to die, not you.” I suddenly felt Arcee flinch beside me, but I ignored it.

“I-if it weren’t for my selfishness, May would still have her husband, mom would still have her brother-in-law… and I still would have had my father… I’m a failure…”

The sorrow became too much for me as I started to cry on the spot, letting a waterfall of tears flow down my cheeks and onto the dirt that covered my dad. I wanted to just curl up in the dirt besides Ben’s gravestone and cry myself to exhaustion, but my movement was prohibited when Arcee suddenly wrapped her large arms around my figure. The size difference made it awkward, but she tried her best nonetheless as she pulled me closer to her metallic torso in a comforting manner.

I couldn’t hold myself back as I wrapped my arms around her torso and hugged her back, all the while crying loudly and mumbling gibberish. It was surprising how warm she felt, it was almost as if I was hugging another human. The hug felt alien, sure, but it was very comforting, nonetheless.

“Your father would be so proud of you, Jack. Because whether you know it or not, you represent everything good about humanity. You represent courage, bravery, strength, kindness, and most of all, you show us that power doesn’t have to define who we are.” Arcee whispered soothingly, her soft robotic voice easily calming my depressed state as we continued to hug each other.

“B-but I-“

“Shhhhh. You weren’t the one that killed him, and as far as I’m concerned, he would have wanted you to live on. He would have wanted his son to live.” Arcee spoke soothingly as she began to stroke my hair with one of her fingers.

The sensation of her soft metallic fingers added onto the comfort as I began to relax even more on the spot. At this point, my tears had already stopped flowing, and I found myself laying still with Arcee in a comforting hug.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry for breaking down like-“

“Don’t be. This is a moment of grief, and there’s nothing to be ashamed of for crying about the loved ones you’ve lost.” Arcee said calmly. I smiled a bit at her reassuring words before looking up at her face and speaking.

“Arcee… What would I do without you.” I said with a grateful smile.

“I’m sure you could manage without me, Jack. Primus knows you deal with your problems much better than I do with my own.” Arcee said, wearing a gentle smile on her face.

“I’m just glad that you were here for me today, partner.” I said, hugging her tighter than before.

“It’s what partners do best, we stick together, even through our darkest moments.”

Chapter Text

Location Unknown – Inside Optimus’s Cargo Box – Two Days Later…

‘Uugggghhhh. I haven’t felt this sick ever since I practiced web swinging for the first time.’

I try to get a hold of myself (and my stomach) as I sat crisscrossed on top of a large yellow and silver colored box with a small nuclear symbol embedded on its side. Believe it or not, it’s the way that Optimus drives that makes me feel sicker than the literal nuclear energy source that I’m sitting on top of right now. And being inside the confines of Optimus’s cargo box doesn’t make this feel any better.

“Jack? Are you okay? You look a bit… rough there.” Arcee suddenly asked, slightly pulling me out of my sickened state.

‘At least I’ve got my partner here to keep me company.’

“I’m- *mphh* peachy. I’m just feeling a bit car sick, that’s all.” I replied, a pain in my stomach almost interrupting my sentence.

“Seriously? I’ve literally seen pictures and footage of you swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper with ease, and you’re telling me that being driven in a semi-truck makes you feel rocket lagged.” Arcee said flatly.

“It’s not that. I guess it’s just the way that Optimus drives that makes me feel sick is all.” I said while lightly clutching my stomach.

“He’s driving 30 mph. That’s just the normal speed limit.” Arcee scoffed.

I huffed loudly before responding. “Well, I don’t know what to say. Big cars and small spaces equal bigger problems. It’s a human thing, you wouldn’t get it.” I said as I crossed my arms.

“Oh, is that so?” Arcee said, her bright cyan eyes changing expression as she cocked her eyebrow.

My eyes, along with the lens of my mask opened in shock at the realization of what I had just said.

“Well- I- I didn’t mean it like that Arcee, its just-“

Suddenly, Arcee’s expression changed into a playful one as she began to laugh lightly.

“I’m just pulling your tailpipe Jack. Though, I would be lying if I said that we cybertonians didn’t have our own version of feeling “car sick”.” Arcee said with air quotations, another trait she picked up from me and even from Miko.  

“Oh, right, almost forgot that you guys have to shrink and cramp yourselves to actually transform into something.” I say sheepishly.

“Mhm, it especially does wonders for our joints and pistons.” Arcee replied sarcastically. “Though, for me personally, I wouldn’t mind feeling cramped for a few hours if it meant I was able to joyride with you.” Arcee smirked happily at me.

 “Now that would be a ride you wouldn’t catch me feeling sick on. The way you drive so fast, yet so elegantly, it almost makes me feel like I discovered the beauty of web swinging all over again.” I say with a bit of awe in my voice.

Arcee cocked her eyebrow once more, this time, with a playful smirk plastered across her face.

“Trying to hitch yourself on another joyride with me, smooth operator?” Arcee replied with an almost seductive sounding tone.

I cut off whatever words I was about to say next as I sheepishly turned my head to look away from her, all the while blushing under my mask. If it weren’t for the fact that we’re on a mission, and that I was wearing my Spidey suit right now, then Arcee probably would have been able to spot my blushing face by now.

‘Why am I feeling this way? Was it because of the way she spoke? Am I?... No, me and Arcee are partners, and she’s my friend, nothing more.’ I thought to myself, feeling a bit bitter at the end for some reason.

“C-c’mon Arcee, that’s like asking if I’m the real Spider-Man or not. Maybe if we’re lucky, we could probably drive around the Nevadan outskirts for an hour or two after this mission before my curfew hits.” I said, trying to shake off my blush.

“Yeah, “If we’re lucky”. Let’s just hope the Cons don’t raid our convoy and steal the DNGS from our hand servos. If that happens, then we’ll never hear the end of it from Fowler.” Arcee said as she gestured over to the nuclear box I was sitting on.

Right… the DNGS (Yes, that’s actually its name. Shut up.). The whole reason why me and the team are here in the first place.

Apparently, before this whole convoy trip happened, Fowler was delivering the DNGS to the drop point himself via a jet plane, until he was shot out of the sky by an unknown Decepticon. Afraid that the Decepticons might make another attempt to steal it again, and since transporting a nuclear device through an alien ground bridge would prove to do more harm than good, Optimus opted to deliver the DNGS himself in vehicle mode. With the protection of his team of course, along with Fowler’s supervision in the driver’s seat.

While Bulkhead and Bumblebee were ordered to drive outside, near Optimus’s frontside and backside. Me and Arcee were ordered to stay inside of Optimus’s cargo box and guard the DNGS, incase any enemies managed to open the cargo box, and because Arcee and I were the only ones small enough to actually fit inside of it.

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re worried about Starscream and his merry band of drones. Even if he does pick a fight with us today, he’ll probably lose again, just like the first couple of times he tried to kill us.” I reassure Arcee nonchalantly.

“Starscream might not be the fiercest Con out there, Primus knows that, but he has his moments. If we let our guard down now, then there’s no telling what that little scraplet might do, like you humans say, “under our noses”.” Arcee spoke in her war veteran voice, her eyes and mouth as stern as ever.

“Hmmm, well… You do make a good point. Still, even you’ve got to admit that Starscream isn’t giving us nearly as much trouble as Megatron did when he was still alive.” I reply, earning me a small huff of amusement from Arcee.

“Lets just hope that squeamish little scraphead gets marooned by his own army on the far side of the galaxy before we have to deal with him again.” Arcee said as she leaned her head back, trying to rest it.

I chuckle at her colorful hopes and dreams before responding. “If only it were that easy.” I said while also trying to get into a comfortable laying position.

Unfortunately, before I was able to find a good position, my spider sense began to tingle frantically, warning me that this convoy trip wasn’t going to be so easy after all. I quickly perk my head up and try to hone my senses toward the source of the danger. Arcee sees this and immediately becomes vigilant of the situation, her resting face quickly replaced with a mean, war hardened face.

“What’s wrong Jack? Are your senses picking up something?” Arcee said as she crouch walked towards me.

 “Yeah, but it isn’t in here, it’s outside.” I said as I got off the DNGS and walked towards the entrance of the cargo box.

Reaching the entrance, I put my ear up near the metallic wall and try to hone in my sense of hearing toward any suspicious noises. My ears immediately pick up on the sound of helicopter blades whirling and spinning quickly behind us, and it sounded close by too. I also picked up the sounds of more approaching vehicles, their tires screeching against the concrete road as they quickly drove in on our position.

“Ahh shit.” was all I said before placing both my fingers onto my earpiece and contacting Optimus. “Optimus, my spider senses picked up some company. There’s a helicopter and a couple of other cars behind us, and I think their closing in on our convoy.” I warned.

“Understood. Autobots, remain in vehicular mode and increase your speed. We must not allow the DNGS to come under fire or come into possession of enemy hands.” Optimus called out to the rest of the team.

“What Con are we dealing with Spider-Man?” Fowler asked, suddenly speaking through the comms.

 “I don’t know, I’ve sensed them, but I haven’t seen them yet. Does anyone here know a Decepticon that can transform into a helicopter?” I asked no one in particular.

“Well, there’s Blackout. He usually transforms into a cybertonian style helicopter, but he was on Cybertron the last time I’ve seen him.” Bulkhead replied before suddenly, the sounds of multiple tires screeching and engines roaring came into earshot of everyone in the convoy.

“Bulkhead, what’s your status?” Arcee asked through her comms.

“*Argh* Just feeling a little constricted here. These green armored cars just came all around me, *argh* trying to limit my movement.” Bulkhead replied while grunting a bit through the comms.

“Do not engage them unless they engage you Bulkhead. Remain in vehicular mode and keep driving unless absolutely necessary.” Optimus ordered through his comms.

“Green cars? That’s not the color that Vehicons usually roll in, unless Starscream decided to give his whole army a paintjob.” I lightly joked.

However, Arcee took my joke into consideration with our situation as she hummed in contemplation for a few seconds before placing two of her fingers on her helm and speaking.

“Ratchet, we’ve got company, but we’re not sure if they’re Cons or not. Are you detecting any bogies on your end?” Arcee asked.

“I’m not detecting any Decepticon activity near your positions. Perhaps they’re utilizing some sort of advanced cloaking technology to obscure their signals.” Ratchet theorized.

“Wait a minute, that helicopter model, I know that model. That’s the Con that shot me down earlier! And by the looks of it, he’s carrying a package of his own.” Fowler shouted through the comms.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“That Cons’ carrying some sort of sci-fi drop pod below it. What do you think Prime? Is it some kind of big Con weapon of mass destruction?” Fowler asked.

“That device is unfamiliar to me Agent Fowler. Whatever it is, it is not of cybertonian design.” Optimus concluded as he began to speed away from our unfamiliar aggressors.

Bumblebee began expressing his thoughts through the comms as well, his thoughts unfortunately only being understood by everyone except me and Fowler.

“What did he say?” I asked Arcee.

“Bee’s unsure about this whole situation, and so am I. Why would the Cons go through this much effort, even putting on a special cloaking device on their foot soldiers, just to steal a primitive energy source?” Arcee expressed in a concerned manner.

“Hmm, now that I think about it, this whole thing does seem a little-“

“By Uncle Sam’s star-spangled shorts! They aren’t Cons, they aren’t Cons at all!” Fowler suddenly shouted, interrupting my train of thought.

“Autobots! Our opponents are not Decepticons, they are humans.” Optimus warned to us all.

“Humans! / Humans?” me and Arcee said at the same time.

“Indeed, and they are armed as well. Autobots, remain in cover and apply minimum force. We must not kill them, so disarmament only.” Optimus ordered before suddenly-

BOOM!

An explosion went off near the front Optimus’s vehicle mode, slightly shaking him off course before he was able to regain control of his balance again. The explosive force of the blast shook my around the cargo box, causing me to tumble around as if I had never learned how to walk. Fortunately, Arcee made her way over to me from behind the DNGS and caught me with her hand before I could lose my footing again.  

“I’ve got you partner.” Arcee reassured with a smirk.

“Ah, my hero.” I teased before she set me down on my feet. I brought two fingers to my earpiece once more and opened my comms to Optimus.

“Optimus, I’m coming out. If there’s anyone who’s good at dealing with armed gunmen, it’s me.” I said while trying to open the cargo entrance.

“Negative, remain with the DNGS and guard it with Arcee. You and her are our last line of defense against our new assailants. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and I will try to fight against them for now.” Optimus commanded with no room for question as he closed off his comms.

Suddenly, Optimus swerved to the left, using the side of his large vehicle mode to bash into the car beside us. After a few more hits on Optimus’s end, I heard the tires of the car beside us swerve out of control until all that could be heard was the sound of the car flipping over and crashing onto the road.

“Good thinking boss. If we can’t bash’em with our fists, then we’ll have to bash’em in vehicle mode.” Bulkhead remarked enthusiastically while Bumblebee beeped through the comms in agreement.

Just as Optimus did, Bulkhead began to ram and bash himself into the surrounding vehicles, throwing the drivers off course, but not killing them or their passengers. For the next couple of seconds, all that could be heard were the violent sounds of metal hitting metal, and tired harshly screeching against the solid road.  

“Now that’s the shit I like to see!” Fowler happily remarked.

“*Argh* It ain’t over yet Fowler, I still got some on my tailpipe.” Bulkhead quickly reminded him.

Suddenly, a loud staticky noise violently roared through all of our comms, bringing mild discomfort to me and Arcee. Grunts and surprised gasps could be heard from the others through their comms, essentially telling me that this was just as much of a surprise to them as it was to me. Then, the static stopped, and not even a few seconds later, the deep voice of an unknown man suddenly spoke through our comms, to all of us.

“Be careful agent, stunts such as that might damage the DNGS. God only knows what your superiors might do to you if their precious energy source ends up causing a statewide meltdown.” the mystery man said in a mockingly cold tone.

“This is Special Agent William Fowler! Identify yourself!” Fowler ordered loudly.

“I am Silas, and the gentlemen that are attempting to pry the DNGS from your pathetic convoy is MECH. Fair warning to you and your drivers, we will not stop until we have what we want from you, even if it means ending your lives.” Silas spoke coldly.

“Friend of yours Fowler? He does know that the nearest mental asylum was six miles back, right?” I mockingly joked, expecting Fowler to respond.

“And who might you be, boy?” Silas responded in a harsh tone.

“C’mon Si, didn’t your mother already tell you?” I quipped smugly.

“Hmh, the joking type. We’ll see how your jokes fare once we’ve cut your engines and watch as you crash into the cliffside.” Silas coldly threatened.

“You’re welcome to try.” I simply said before closing my comms. I turned back to see Arcee still wearing a stern expression on her face, this time, with a bit more anger in her eyes as she stared at me.

“We’re already in the scrapheap, and you decide to make it worse by telling him off with quips. Are you trying to send us into the All Spark this early in the day?” Arcee said in an upset tone while crossing her arms.

“Well, even you’ve got to admit that that was pretty funny.” I replied as Arcee shook her head at my response.

 “You don’t understand, none of you understand. A war is brewing within our world between the current world order, and the newest. And the only way to achieve victory is through the means of acquiring the most advanced, innovative technology. The weak will perish, while the victors shall evolve into something much greater than they are now.” Silas said in a low tone.

“Spider-Man, Arcee, watch out! They’re breaching the cargo box!” Bulkhead warned suddenly.

As if it were on queue, three shots were suddenly heard near the cargo’s entrance, each of them hitting the entrance doors. By the looks of it, they were no ordinary bullets, but instead, a small breaching device that could be shot out and stuck onto solid surfaces. Seeing this, Arcee immediately transformed into her vehicle mode and began to rev her engine, as if getting herself ready for battle.

“Hold on partner, I got this.” I said to Arcee while putting my arm in front of her.

Arcee quieted her revving and spoke. “Be careful Jack.” she said gently.

“Careful as a spider can.” I remarked before setting myself into a web slingshoting position.

Shooting two weblines onto both metallic interior walls, I pull myself backwards slightly, mindful of the space that Arcee was taking behind me and waited for the cargo doors to be open. Suddenly, an electrical surge covered the entirety of the cargo door in a colorful blue before blowing the lock off and opening the doors wide open. With that as my queue, I immediately let go and allow physics to throw my body towards the unsuspecting MECH soldier that was on top of his car.

All the poor solider could do was let out a surprised yelp before I kicked him off the sunroof, sending his figure quickly tumbling onto the empty road behind him. With athletic ease, I immediately backflip and land onto the hood of the car, facing towards the driver of said car.

“Hey buddy, I think you’ve got something wrong with your engine.” I quipped before punching my fist into the hood of the car and activating my venom bioelectricity.

The blue glow of bioelectricity quickly flowed through my arm and into the car engine before the MECH driver could even react. Venom bioelectricity surged and crackled through the hood of the car, knowing that this car would soon be out of commission, I quickly turned towards the open cargo box and web zip inside. As soon as I made it into the cargo box, the hood of the car behind me suddenly exploded, causing the driver to lose control and crash into the grassy plains. Injured, probably, but not dead.

“Save some for me.” Arcee chuckled from behind me while still in vehicle mode. I gave her a small nod of appreciation before suddenly, my comms opened again.

“So, you’ve enlisted the help of a meta-human, have you Agent Fowler. Then it seems as if we can both agree on our visions of human evolution. Can’t we, Spider-Man?” Silas taunted sinisterly.

“He isn’t just some “meta-human.” for hire, he’s an American hero, and a damn good one at that.” Fowler expressed sternly before closing off his comms from Silas.

“See, I told you he needed a mental asylum.” I flatly joked to Fowler.

“I think a maximum-security prison would fit him just as nicely, wouldn’t you agree Prime?” Fowler nonchalantly replied.

“Indeed, but beware Agent Fowler, we must not take this “Silas” lightly. For as hard as it is for you to believe, Megatron had preached the exact ideology on Cybertron before plunging it into the great war that destroyed our world.” Optimus spoke in a stoically grave tone.

“He won’t be getting away with that Prime, not on my watch.” Fowler remarked, seriously this time.

“Optimus, prepare yourself to initiate phase two. Five miles ahead to the South, you will reach the rendezvous point.” Ratchet warned.

“Understood. Autobots, disengage the humans and follow me.” Optimus commanded as he and the rest of the team on the road began to speed up faster.

“Optimus, they’re still tailing us, you sure you don’t want us to take them down?” I asked while staring at a group of armored MECH cars that were still in pursuit.

“Attacking them now will only slow us down and allow Silas to gain the upper hand. We must move the DNGS as far away from here as possible before reengaging him.” Optimus explained as he continued to speed down the road.

‘We just had to be delivering a nuclear device, of all things.’ I sarcastically said to myself. I walked towards the flailing cargo doors and prepared to shut them, but before I did, I took a moment to analyze the helicopter that was in pursuit above us.

“Huh, guess Fowler wasn’t kidding about the sci-fi drop pod.” I quietly mumbled to myself.

Hanging just a few inches below the helicopter was a massive metallic oval shaped pod with all sorts of buttons and strange mechanisms on it. The pod itself didn’t have any windows or see-through material, so whatever was in there would remain a mystery to me and the team. Though, that’s assuming that it’s even a pod at all, for all I know it could be a massive MECH bomb.

As for the helicopter carrying the pod, it unsurprisingly happened to be the vehicle that Silas was chasing us in. However, what intrigued me about the helicopter the most was its build and size. The helicopter itself looked larger than most normal helicopters, and it also seemed to sport a more armored look around the front and its sides. Despite that though, it had no weapons attached to it, which meant that the helicopter was probably only used for heavy carrying.

‘Lucky us.’

“Are you impressed Spider-Man? Or just intrigued? Perhaps, if you are willing to join us, then-“

“Don’t kid yourself Silas, I chose my side, and I’m more than happy to stay in it.” I immediately interrupted.

“We’ll see about that, sooner or later.” Silas concluded before closing his comms.

“Congratulations Jack, you just made yourself a new enemy.” Arcee joked from behind me.

I scoffed before answering. “What else is new.” I remarked before shooting two weblines at both cargo doors and pulling them shut, dusting my hands off afterwards.

“Get ready soldiers, there’s our destination point.” Fowler announced to all of us.

Although I couldn’t see it, I knew that our destination point for phase two would be a train that we would have to carry the DNGS inside of, since I was already filled in on the plan.

“Autobots, keep a tight formation near the train. Bulkhead, do not allow the ground units to follow us into the tunnel.” Optimus commanded as he suddenly drove off the smooth road and onto the rough terrain of the train tunnel, the sudden shaky movement causing both me and Arcee to tumble around a bit.

“Alright Jack, open the doors, we need to do this quickly.” Arcee ordered as she transformed back into her bipedal form.

I nodded in acknowledgment before forcefully pushing the cargo doors wide open. The instant I opened the doors to the outside world, I saw that we were already inside the train tunnel, and that our MECH pursuers were almost in it as well. Before I could warn anyone about them, Bulkhead quickly transformed into his bipedal mode and pointed both his blasters at the top of the tunnel. Shooting a couple of large energon bolts, large debris and rubble immediately fell from the powerful shots, hitting the ground hard and covering the clear pathway from our pursuers to chase us through. With that, Bulkhead turned back around and transformed into his vehicle mode, speedily following beside us.

“Nice work Bulkhead.” I simply congratulated, to which Bulkhead responded with a simple “Thank you”.

Suddenly, the confines of the cargo box around me began to split apart and shrink until it was no more, fully exposing me, Arcee, and the DNGS to the outside. Afterwards, Bumblebee transformed into bipedal form and ran next to the train until he was able to find a spot to jump on without totally wrecking the train. Now, it was me and Arcee’s turn in the phase.

“You’re up, Jack.” Arcee said.

I nodded to her before jumping onto the roof of the train beside Bumblebee. Afterwards, Arcee lifted the DNGS slightly above her waist and waited for me to make my move. I shot out multiple weblines from both webshooters onto the DNGS, and after signaling Arcee with a nod, she let go of the DNGS, allowing me to pull it towards the train. Thanks to my super strength, I was able to pull the DNGS toward me without it even touching the ground. When the DNGS was close enough to the train, Bumblebee immediately grabbed it and quickly put it inside of an empty train cart, guarded by only one US soldier.

Just as quickly as we initiated phase two, Bumblebee jumped off the train and transformed back into his vehicle mode, speedily following next to Optimus. Arcee jumped off of the floor of the cargo box and transformed into her vehicle mode midair, landing back on the ground with ease.

“Hop on.” Arcee said as she drove near where I was positioned on the train. With precise timing, I jumped off the roof of the train and perfectly landed on top of Arcee’s seat.

“A job well done, if I do say so myself.” I happily remarked.

“We’re not out of the scrapheap yet. We still have Silas and his massive helicarrier to worry about.” Arcee reminded me sternly.

“What is he going to do? Drop that pod on us while we’re driving above 30 mph?” I scoffed jokingly as we neared the end of the train tunnel.

Unfortunately, my insight was proven wrong when my spider sense suddenly began to go off. Listening closely, my senses honed in on the sounds of multiple jet engines closely flying above us.

“Optimus! My senses picked up some company just above us! I think they’re fighter jets!” I shouted through my comms.

“He’s right Optimus, I’m picking up multiple airborne Decepticon signals nearing your location.” Ratchet informed.

Bumblebee “talked” through the comms as well, his thoughts on the manner being unintelligible to me.

“Bee’s right, Cons must’ve picked up on our radio chatter while we were away from the base. What’s our next move boss?” Bulkhead expressed sternly.

“We must lead the Decepticons and Silas away from the train, only then will we be able to drop our cover and engage them.” Optimus spoke as he and the rest of us finally made it out of the tunnel.

“But what if Silas sees you?” Fowler asked in concern.

“I am afraid that it is a risk we must take to ensure our survival. The Decepticons will not stop attacking us until they see to it that we are all destroyed.” Optimus explained without any room for question.

As we drove further outside the tunnel, the sounds of Vehicon fighter jets slowly started to come into earshot until they became visible on Arcee’s rearview mirrors. Without any hesitation on the Vehicon’s end, they immediately shot a couple of missiles toward us, attempting to take us out as quickly as they could. Thanks to my spider sense however, we were able to quickly dodge their missile barrage will ease, the entirety of Team Prime remaining unfazed through the attack.

“There’s a plain field over there! Maybe we can take the fight there.” Bulkhead announced to us.

“Good idea Bulkhead.” Optimus congratulated as he and the rest of us sped up towards the large empty field.

The field, like Bulkhead said, was a plain grassy flat area, the only thing being inside its vicinity was a handful of large pine trees. It was the perfect place for hand-to-hand combat between cybertonians, but not really the perfect place for a web slinging vigilante like me to… well, web swing.

‘I guess I’ll have to swing on my teammates for this fight.’

My team and I made our way into the field first before the Vehicons managed to finally catch up. All ten Vehicons that were following us flew upwards into the sky a bit before transforming midair and landing back onto the earthy ground with a thunderous slam. I jumped off of Arcee’s seat and landed in front of my teammates as all of them collectively began to transform into their bulky bipedal forms, each of them as battle ready as they could be.

“Remain here Agent Fowler, we will handle this.” Optimus said as he set Fowler down behind the cover of a few large trees.

“Don’t have to tell me twice. Just kick their asses for me, will you.” Fowler remarked as he crouched behind the trees.

Suddenly, the sound of Silas’s chopper came into earshot, grabbing my attention, Team Prime’s, and even the large group of Vehicons’ attention.

“Hm, it’s just what my agents have reported to me. Gigantic, living technology stands before humanity, and before MECH.” Silas said sinisterly, this time through a loudspeaker coming from his chopper.

“He spied on us before? Talk about being a fanboy.” I quipped.

“Silas, this is a dangerous matter, leave now or we will have no choice but to fire upon your vessel!” Optimus warned in a loud stoic voice, which earned him a sinister laugh from crazed human.

“Oh, trust me, I didn’t plan on staying anyways. Did you really think that I wouldn’t be wise as to figure out your little stunt back in the train tunnel?” Silas said smugly.

“Scrap, he knows.” Arcee cursed under her breath.

However, the Vehicons before us didn’t share the same sentiment, in fact, they didn’t care at all. The Vehicons slowly and menacingly walked towards us, trying to scare us into surrendering before this scene escalated any further. However, if there’s one thing I learned from Team Prime, it’s that they never back down that easily, and neither do I.

“Now, before I make my leave, I would like to show Agent Fowler here that he isn’t the only one with assets and allies. Consider this… a parting gift, courtesy of MECH, and of me.” Silas chuckled maliciously through his loudspeaker.

Suddenly, the large metal wires that held the pod onto Silas’s chopper disconnected, dropping the heavy pod onto solid ground, nearer towards the Vehicons, with a booming metallic slam that echoed through the sunny sky. Both Team Prime and the Vehicons stepped back in surprise, each of them eerie and vigilante of the pod, while I stepped closer, curious as to what it was even supposed to be. The pod stood still for a few seconds, before suddenly, it started to shake around violently. The sudden movement shocked me a bit, causing me to step back towards the safety of my teammates, and causing Arcee to step in front of me protectively. Soon enough, heavy metallic banging could be heard from inside the pod, as if something or someone was trapped inside of it.

“Uhhh, Optimus? That doesn’t sound like a bomb.” Bulkhead piped up while eyeing the pod.

“I concur, but we must keep ourselves vigilant nonetheless.” Optimus replied, squinting his eyes at the pod before us.

However, before any one of us could act, the door of the pod suddenly flew out into the air momentarily before falling over the tall cliffside. Two massive hands then grabbed the edge of the door frame, and the thing pulling themselves out of the pod was nonother than-

“THE RHINO!” I screamed in absolute shock as the lens of my mask blew wide open.

The massive, hulking figure of the Rhino came stomping out his pod, growling and snarling in pent up anger while doing so. My teammates were just as surprised with his reveal as I was, as Bumblebee and even Arcee gasped in shock, while Optimus and Bulkhead stared down in surprise. Some of the Vehicons even shared the same reaction as a handful of them could be seen stepping away from Rhino in either fear or confusion.

The Rhino stood at a height of 24 feet, exactly as tall as Bulkhead is. And although the Rhino was only half as large as Bulkhead, that didn’t negate his strength by any means. Aside from a few changes of his armor, he still looked exactly the same as I had seen him last time. He wore a full body light gray metallic armor that covered the entirety of his skin, so any trace of his physical humanity was well hidden behind his durable outfit. From what I learned from his records over the years, his chest plate, backside, helmet, and even his gigantic horn was mostly made of tungsten, one of the strongest and most durable metals on Earth. The other armored portions of his body were made of a lighter metallic material, allowing him to move around with ease without looking like a stiff zoo animal. His knuckles were outfitted with massive dark gray metal plates, essentially acting as both a protective layer of armor and brass knuckles. The mouthpiece of his helmet was shaped to resemble a menacing looking muzzle mask, like the ones normally used to prevent dogs from biting people. And his eyes… they glowed an eerie dark red color on the surface of his helmet, almost resembling the bright reddish hue of the Decepticon’s eyes.

“Who- What the frag is that kid?!” Bulkhead asked in a confused shout.

“Only one of the most stubborn and destructive people I know.” I remarked as I went into my battle stance.

“I am flattered that you remember me so well, Spider-Man, because I have not forgotten you. Not. One. Bit.” Rhino spoke coldly through the confines of his helmet.

Rhino then took this moment to look around himself, to see the various cybertonians that surrounded him and the setting of his environment. He did this for a few seconds before scoffing heavily in amusement.

“So, the rumors are true. Metallic titans of destruction walk amongst us, and yet most of us are oblivious to their existence.” Rhino said with a bit of awe in his voice.

Unfortunately for Rhino, his sight seeing was cut short when one brave Vehicon decided to assert himself to the much taller being. The brave Vehicon raised his blaster toward Rhino’s head and walked closer to him, showing nothing but a stupid amount of courage.

“You! Earth beast! I command you to raise your hands in the air and surrender yourself under the Decepticon- AAHHH!”

The Vehicon screamed in terror as he was suddenly picked up by the Rhino and held up horizontally. Not even a few seconds after, the Rhino used his powerful strength to rip the poor Vehicon in half, ending the tin soldier’s life in an instant. Gallons of energon spilled on the ground from the Vehicon’s corpse before his remains were discarded like a piece of garbage.

“Holy Primus!” Arcee shouted in shock as she and the others stared at the horrifying display.

“These weak machines are meant to be our invaders? How pathetic.” Rhino taunted as he stared daggers into the nine remaining Vehicons.

“Now that you all have seen my asset, I believe I have a train to catch. Farewell, titans.” Silas remarked before his helicopter flew away from us, hastily rushing toward the train in question.

“This purple titan was not a satisfying kill, would you like to fix that for me, Spider-Man?” Rhino threatened coldly as he stared directly at me. Suddenly, Arcee and Optimus stepped in front of me defensively, all the while giving Rhino a mean glare.

“We won’t be as easy to snuff out as those drones. So if you want to get to him, then you’ll have to go through us first.” Arcee threatened as Bumblebee and Bulkhead joined in on the defensive stand.

“Gladly.” Rhino remarked happily before going into his charging stance.

“Uh oh.” I said under my breath.

Before Rhino could charge at us however, his backside began to get shot at by four Vehicons behind him, causing Rhino to immediately give up the stance and turn toward them.

“You five! Deal with the Autobots! The four of us will snuff out this organic beast!” one of the Vehicons shooting at the Rhino shouted.

Complying, five Vehicons began to disperse from the group dealing with Rhino and hastily charged towards us, their fists ready for hand-to-hand combat. Seeing this, Optimus activated his battle mask before stepping forth and taking the lead.

“Autobots, attack!” Optimus commanded as we all collectively charged towards the aggressive Vehicons, equally as battle ready as they were. However, my offensive advance was cut short when Fowler began to shout my name through the comms.

“Spider-Man! I need you to get on that train and prevent Silas from stealing the DNGS!” Fowler shouted in worry.

“I’m kinda in the middle of something right now, if you couldn’t already tell. I can’t just leave my team now, not when they’re fighting the Decepticons and Rhino at the same time.” I spoke sternly.

“Kid, there’s no telling what he’ll do once he gets his hands on the DNGS. I know this seems like a hard decision, but you have to think about the greater good here. Otherwise, thousands of innocent lives will be at stake.” Fowler tried to convince.

I stood still, away from the heated battle beside me as my mind was occupied by these hard decisions. I didn’t want to leave my teammates like this, not while they were in the middle of battling multiple enemies. At the same time though, I knew that Fowler was right. The Rhino was only dropped here to serve as a distraction while Silas chases after the train riding DNGS. He already sounded crazy enough when he spoke to us through the comms, there’s no telling how much crazier he’ll get once he steals the DNGS.

I knew which decision I would already choose, I was just pretending as if I had any other choice on the matter.

“Guys, I’m going after Silas. I need to stop him before he does anything stupid… Stupider.” I spoke to all my teammates through the comms.

“Understood, we still handle the Decepticons and the Rhino. Call Ratchet for a ground bridge!” Optimus shouted without the use of comms as he slammed his fist into a Vehicon’s face.

“Got it. Just be careful about the Rhino, especially his horn. I’ve seen it pierce through massive steel beams before.” I warned with concern.

“We’ll be fine Jack, we’ve handled worse before. Now go, before Silas gets his filthy hand servos on the DNGS.” Arcee reassured sternly as she sliced a Vehicon’s arm off before roundhouse kicking him in the face.

I nodded to her before contacting Ratchet. “Ratchet, Silas knows about phase two. I need you to bridge me inside the train, pronto.” I requested sternly.

“Wha- Inside the train?! Are you insane!? Bridging you into a confined space, one that’s moving at 90 mph no less, would cause more amount of harm to you than I could possibly imagine! Mass displacement trauma, twisted limbs, death!” Ratchet shouted in angered worry.

“There aren’t any other options of fast traveling for me Doc. The cliffsides are too low for me to swing on, and the others are too busy fighting. Bridging me there is the only option I have.” I explained as I continued to stare at the fight before me.

“Ground bridging onto something moving at that speed isn’t an option either. Its suicide!” Ratchet warned.

Just as I was about to lose patience with the medbot, Raf suddenly spoke up through the comms. “W-would knowing the train’s coordinates help?” Raf asked as I heard the sound of his keyboard clicking through the comms.

“Well… that would certainly make things easier… Fine. Raf, lock onto the train’s coordinates, we need to time this perfectly.” Ratchet commanded the little genius. “Jack, ready yourself, you need to jump through the portal as soon as appears in front of you. Not a second wasted, understood?” Ratchet said sternly.

“I understand Doc. Just hurry it up will you, I’ve got a train to catch.” I quipped, earning me a tired groan from the medbot.

“AARRGGHH, SPIDER-MAN!! WHY DO YOU NOT FIGHT!” Rhino screamed in rage.

I looked towards the raging Rhino to see that he was already charging towards me, his sharp horn pointed straight at my figure. I quickly ready myself to dodge his lethal attack, but before Rhino could stomp any closer to me, Optimus suddenly slammed himself into Rhino’s side, knocking him far into the ground.

“Go now Spider-Man, I’ve got him!” Optimus shouted as he stood before Rhino, his fists bawled and ready for combat.

Suddenly, the green hue of the ground bridge portal appeared in front of me, and without wasting a single second, I immediately jumped into the portal and out of the battlefield.

Grassy Plain Field – Present Time

When Jack jumped into and through the ground bridge, the portal itself began to shrink and disappear until nothing was left. For a moment, Arcee breathed a sigh of relief (Even though she didn’t need to breath) in knowing that her partner would at least be safer away from here. That was, until she realized that she wasn’t exactly in a safe position herself, to which she quickly refocused on the battle.

There were around three remaining Vehicons left, two for Team Prime, and one for the Rhino. Arcee quickly charged towards the first Vehicon and dropped kicked him square in his chest. The forceful motion caused the first Vehicon to fly backwards into the awaiting arm servos of Bulkhead. After catching the first Vehicon in his hand servos, Bulkhead quickly held him vertically then slammed the Vehicon headfirst into the dirt, causing the poor drone’s legs to stick upwards into the air.

The second Vehicon was just as unlucky as he unfortunately came face-to-fist with Bumblebee’s hard punch. The punch threw the Vehicon onto the ground with a cracked visor and broken confidence. Suddenly, the Vehicon felt himself spinning as Bumblebee grabbed onto both his leg servos and started spinning him around. This went on for a few seconds before Bumblebee immediately let go, causing the Vehicon to fly headfirst into a pine tree. After the Con went limp from that attack, Bumblebee dusted his hand servos off, a gesture he picked up from Spider-Man.

However, this fight was far from over for the Autobots as they suddenly heard the third Vehicon screaming in terror and pain. Looking towards the Vehicon’s direction, Arcee, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Optimus all witnessed in horror as the Rhino lifted his head up from his recent charge attack at the now dead Vehicon soldier. The Rhino’s horn had pierced straight through the Vehicon’s chest, leaving the Vehicon handing dead on his horn as the Con’s spark laid impaled on the tip of Rhino’s energon covered horn.

“HA! This was all too easy. Even the Spider-Man gives me a harder challenge than this!” Rhino boasted as he removed the Vehicon and his spark from his horn.

“Rhino! Just as I have given Silas a warning, I will give you one as well. Stand down and surrender yourself peacefully, before this situation escalates any further. I do not wish to end a human life, today, or any other.” Optimus warned through a stern stoic voice.

“Surrender? Surrender! The Rhino does not surrender! My purpose is to fight and destroy. I EXIST TO KILL!” Rhino yelled as he readied himself for a charge attack.

“So much for surrendering peacefully.” Arcee remarked quietly.

“You want a fight ugly?! Then I’ll give you one!!” Bulkhead shouted as he charged towards the Rhino alone, one hand as a mace.

“Bulkhead! Do not engage him alone!” Optimus loudly warned.

Though, it was already too late for warnings as Bulkhead and the Rhino were already charging at each other, unable to stop their momentums. Just as Rhino’s horn was about to make the piercing kill through his opponent’s spark, Bulkhead suddenly slammed his mace onto the side of Rhino’s face, pointing his horn away from his spark and toward the empty air. This attack surprised the Rhino as he was left stunned for a few seconds, which was all the time Bulkhead needed to perform his next attack. With his free hand, Bulkhead uppercutted the Rhino’s chin before immediately following up with an overhead slam attack with his mace. Bulkhead continued to use his free hand for quick attacks while he later followed it up with a heavy attack from his mace. Just as Bulkhead grew confident that his next punch would knock the Rhino out of the fight, his incoming fist was suddenly caught by the Rhino’s awaiting hand, catching Bulkhead by surprise.

“This… This is exactly the type of challenge I needed today!” Rhino remarked loudly before raising his other fist.

Unfortunately for Bulkhead, Rhino was able to land five square punches into his faceplate before he could manage to block any of them. With Bulkhead now momentarily stunned, the Rhino then used this moment to lift Bulkhead over his head, using only the pure strength of both his arms to lift the bulky green bot into the air. Before Arcee, Bumblebee, or Optimus could react, the Rhino quickly threw their green teammate at them, causing all three Bots to scatter away like bowling pins.

“This feels better than any amount of money I could ever be paid.” Rhino boasted happily as he looked at his destructive handy work. However, the fight wasn’t over for the Rhino as he suddenly spotted Arcee’s figure slowly arising from her laid position, trying to get herself battle ready again.

“Oh, I see that you still have some fight in you left. So courageous, just like your little spider friend.” Rhino taunted as he stepped menacingly closer to Arcee.  

Arcee stayed silent as she stared daggers into the Rhino, all the while huffing in anger. Deciding to just end her life outright, the Rhino raised both his fists into the air, readying to slam them both onto Arcee’s small cybertonian figure. However, that was proven to be harder than he expected as Arcee quickly dodged his slam attack last minute, rolling in between the Rhino’s open legs. Before he could even turn around, Arcee quickly transformed both her hands into blasters and started peppering his backside with energon bolts. Although Arcee was the least effective member on the team in terms of brute strength, she was unsurprisingly the most effective in quick fast paced combat, able to run circles around her opponents before quickly ending their lives.

The gigantic organic brute yelled briefly in pain before holding it in and turning to face the pod he came from. Without hesitation, the Rhino ran behind the safety of his pod, quickly escaping the light barrage of Arcee’s energon bolts.

“Coward! All that talk about having a good fight, and you-“

Arcee’s anger filled taunt was cut short when the Rhino suddenly lifted his pod with both hands over his head and threw it straight towards Arcee. Arcee’s optics widened in shock before she quickly regained herself and rolled out of the heavy pod’s way. Unfortunately, just as Arcee was about to recover from her dodge, she suddenly felt a large hand wrap around her waist and over her arms, pinning her inside her opponent’s grasp. Despite her struggling and wiggling, she could not overpower the Rhino’s pure strength, but for the Rhino, she was welcome to try.

“Tell me small titan, what else can you do?” Rhino asked in a taunting manner as he held Arcee’s faceplate close to his. Arcee’s response was to headbutt the Rhino as hard as she could. However, when she did so, all that could be heard from her attack was the small clanking of metal as the Rhino’s head remained still, clearly unfazed by her only method of attack.

“Hmh, that’s what I though. It is truly a wonder how something this small could ever survive for so long.” Rhino mocked as he began to tighten his grip around Arcee, causing her to groan lightly in discomfort.

“You want to know how I survived for so long? Well, here’s the secret. Unlike you, I’m not alone.” Arcee remarked with a smirk as she looked behind the Rhino’s shoulders.

Following where her optics were pointed, the Rhino turned around only to catch Bumblebee’s fist in his face, causing him to stumble back and lose his grip on Arcee. Following up with Bumblebee’s punch was Optimus’s fists as he punched the Rhino twice in the face before kneeing him in his stomach. Stumbling backwards from the team-up combo, the Rhino looked up only to see Bulkhead’s mace swinging straight at his face. The mace made contact with the Rhino’s face, causing him to fly backwards with a thunderous metallic boom echoing through the sky. The Rhino laid on the ground, injured and somewhat exhausted, and as he tried to pick himself off the ground, the muscles of his arms wobbled before he suddenly fell back onto the dirt with a weary groan.

He was finally defeated.

Optimus stared at the display for a moment before moving his optics to look at Arcee. “Arcee, are you okay? Are you injured?” Optimus asked with polite concern.

Arcee raised her hand servo up in a dismissive wave before responding. “I’m fine Optimus, I was just caught off guard is all.” Arcee said, putting on a tough front. Optimus acknowledged with a nod before looking towards the distant train tracks, his concern for Jack being hidden under his stoic demeanor.

“Do you think the kid actually stopped Silas in time?” Bulkhead piped up from behind Optimus and Arcee.

“Knowing him, he’s probably already made easy work of Silas by now.” Arcee remarked proudly.

The Train – Minutes Earlier…

After only a second of being inside the ground bridge, I quickly landed back onto solid ground, immediately finding myself in a completely different environment, as expected. Seconds later, the green hue of the ground bridge portal disappeared behind me, shrinking out of existence. Looking in front of me, I immediately spotted the DNGS and an unconscious US solider laying on the cold metallic floor. Worry begins to overcome me as I quickly went beside the body to check if he was still alive or not. Luckily, I could still hear his heart beating, along with how he was also drawing in small breaths of air.

“Thank God you’re still alive. But how did get like this anyway?” I mumbled under my breath.

Suddenly, my spider sense began to frantically vibrate, causing me to look around for the source of danger. I looked up onto the ceiling and realized that there were strange noises coming from the roof of the train. I listened closely to hear the sounds of multiple footsteps, just above me and the DNGS. Not even a few seconds later, the loud sound of a laser cutter began emanating above me, and soon enough, the cutting was starting to show in the form of a large square.

‘Shit! They’re breaking in from above! Think Spidey, think!’

I began to quickly brainstorm some potential surprise attacks, ones that wouldn’t end up having to accidentally throw any of the MECH agents off a train going at 90 mph. When my idea finally came to mind, I awaited just below the slowly forming laser cut square, waiting for the doofuses above me to be almost finished with their cutting, but not completely.

When they were very close to finishing their laser cutting, I quickly super jumped into the cut piece of metal, hitting and breaking it off with my backside. I immediately found myself on the roof of the train cart with two MECH agents facing in front of me and one located behind me.

“Hey fellas, didn’t know you guys were hitching a ride too.” I quipped.

Without giving them any room to react, I quickly shot out two webshots onto both of the MECH agents’ faces, blinding them temporarily. Afterwards, I quickly roundhouse kicked the MECH agent behind me, sending him falling backwards onto the solid roof. I took this moment to completely web up the fallen MECH agent, sticking him onto the train cart’s roof. I turned back around and web yanked both of the blind agents by their legs and onto the floor, webbing them up completely afterwards, like the agent prior to them.

“A job well done, right guys?” I mocked, only earning me muffled grunts and groans from the webbed agents.

It didn’t take long for me afterwards to spot Silas’s helicopter, which was parked just above another train cart not too far from me. Even from here, I could see Silas’s smug expression through the windshield change into one of absolute worry and fear.

‘This is gonna be good.’

As I started running towards the parked chopper, Silas’s pilot frantically began to start up the helicopter’s blades, even lifting it off the ground a few inches into the air. Unfortunately for them, I was already close enough to jump onto the helicopter and land straight on their windshield.

I knocked on their windshield mockingly before talking to them. “Knock, knock Silas. Going anywhere?” I taunted.

“Sir, I can’t shake him off. We’ll crash into the cliffside.” Silas’s pilot said worryingly.

“Y’know, you can try parking your helicopter and surrendering peacefully. It’ll probably reduce your sentence.” I joked as they started to fly higher into the air.

“You just don’t know when to quit, do you. Tell me, do you really think you can trust the government to keep you safe, to keep your identity safe.” Silas scowled sternly.

“Buddy, you’re saying that as if I didn’t already know that.” I said flatly.

Just when I was about to grab Silas and his pilot out of the helicopter, my spider sense suddenly began to tingle again. Confused at where the danger might be, I looked back to see a MECH agent on one of the far high cliffs of this terrain. The agent had parked his car on the cliff and was carrying a gun of some kind. However, he wasn’t pointing the weapon at me, but instead at the far end of the train tracks.

“No… You wouldn’t.” I whispered to myself.

“First rule of combat, Spider-Man. Never leave the victor with the spoils.” Silas chuckled sinisterly before the agent on the cliff fired his weapon.

A small missile fired out of the agent’s weapon and quickly traveled its way towards its intended destination, blowing up and completely incinerating the tracks it was shot at. I quickly began to remember that there were people still alive on that train, including a couple of Silas’s agents.

“You psycho! Your agents are still on that train!” I shouted angerly at him, to which he lightly cackled.

“Their deaths are a necessary sacrifice, ones that I will use to my fullest advantage. So go on Spider-Man, be the hero of the day and save those men, if you’re willing to let me go in exchange.” Silas taunted smugly, already knowing which decision I would choose.

I silently stared at him with furrowed lens’ for a moment, before quickly jumping off their windshield and landing onto the tail end of the train, all the while cursing myself mentally for having to let him go to fight another day.

“We’ll meet again Spider-Man, be certain of that.” Silas threatened through his loudspeaker before flying away from me.

***

“Rhino, come in Rhino.” Silas said through his comms. After a few seconds of silence, Rhino finally opened his comms piece and spoke.

“*Urrgh* What do you want Silas.” Rhino spoke in a low tone.

“The mission is a failure, retreat from battle and regroup with my men at these coordinates.” Silas explained as he sent the coordinates digitally to Rhino’s helmet.

“Very well, but remember, I expect to be getting paid in full by the time we arrive at your base. Just because you are Otto’s superior, does not make you mine.” Rhino coldly threatened before closing his comms.

“Stupid oaf.” Silas huffed under his breath as he and his pilot flew from the soon-to-be train wreck.

***

I ran as fast as my legs could possibly take me, trying to reach the front of the train before it got any closer to the small crater. When I finally reached the very front of the train, I quickly jumped through the windshield of the conductor’s cart, violently breaking the glass feetfirst. Afterwards, I quickly looked for a brake of some kind, something that could slow the train down. Suddenly, I spotted a black lever on the control panel, along with a list of words next to the lever that described the speed of the train based on which setting it was set on. Seeing this, I immediately set the lever on the slowest possible setting, however, after a few seconds of waiting, I realized that the train wasn’t moving any slower.

“God dammit! Those MECH agents must’ve shut off the controls somehow!!” I shouted in anger before climbing back out of the broken windshield.

I couldn’t wait around any longer, if I don’t do something now, then the train will crash, killing everybody onboard and maybe even setting off the DNGS into a nuclear meltdown. But my webs alone aren’t strong enough to catch an entire train speeding at 90 mph, how am I going to stop the train without brakes? Suddenly, an idea popped into my head.

‘What if I become the brake?’

I already know that my super strength allows me to carry a couple of tons easily. What if I combine my strength along with my webs and stop the train by force. It definitely sounds easier said than done, but what choice do I have?

Breathing a sigh of determination, I seal my fate and jump down onto the front railing of the conductor’s cart. It was a small space, but it was big enough for me to stand on without having to balance myself. Quickly looking at my left and right sides, I realized that the cliffsides were close enough for me to shoot out my weblines on both sides and have them actually connect to the rocky terrain. So, without any hesitation, I shot out two weblines from both my sides, and as soon as they connected to the cliffsides I immediately began to hold onto the weblines as hard as I could, trying to slow the train down with strength and webs. Unfortunately, the singular webs only lasted a few seconds before completely ripping in half.

“Shit, no! I need more webs, I need more strength, I need to be better.” I scolded myself harshly before returning to position.

This time, instead of just shooting out one webline on both sides, I shot out as many weblines as my webshooters allowed me to until my cartridges ran out. I clicked the trigger of my webshooters multiple times until all that could be heard was air being shot out of the empty cartridges. Afterwards, I held a tight grip on my weblines once more and began to hold onto them as if my life depended on it… Which it kinda did.

My bicep and pec muscles began to flex so hard that it started to hurt, but I ignored the pain and continued to hold onto my webs with all of the strength that I could muster at the moment. The distance between the train and the small crater grew closer to each other, the threat of crashing becoming more evident by the second.

“No… I won’t let these people die!” I motivated myself, pulling harder on the weblines than I ever did before.

Soon enough, every muscle in my arms and chest started to ache greatly in pain, feeling as if they were being torn apart on the inside and out. However, I didn’t give in, no matter how great the pain was, I continued to hold on and pull. Suddenly, I started to feel the train slowing down a bit, slowly but surely giving into my strength and webs.

But it wasn’t enough, it wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t good enough. I needed to do better!

With that mentality in mind, I began to flex my chest, biceps, and forearms as hard as I ever could through the great deal of pain that I was feeling at the moment. The weight and momentum of the train proved to be much more of a challenge to stop than I thought as the areas of my suit where my muscles flexed the hardest started to rip open, showing my bare skin to the outside world.

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH.” I screamed in absolute pain and agony as I seriously started to feel some of my muscles and tendons ripping apart.

However, even through all of the pain, all of the agony, and all of my tears, I still held on. I couldn’t give up, not now, not ever.

Fortunately for me, the extreme feats of strength that I had been using started to show as the train started to drive slower and slower, no longer going at a sped of 90 mph. With that little bit of hope in mind, I used whatever strength my ripped muscles had left and pulled on my webs harder, so hard in fact, that some of the rocks on the cliffside began to rip from their rocky home by force. The metal of the train that I stood on began to cave inwards, heavily denting the front of the conductor’s cart into an extreme mess of damaged metal.

I could start to feel my body succumbing to the weariness and exhaustion of acting as a human train brake, but I screamed through the exhaustion nonetheless, trying my hardest to keep myself conscious. Soon enough, the train started to slow to single digits as the conductor’s cart slowly neared inches away from the small crater.

Finally, as the very front of the train dripped slightly downwards into the crater, the train came to a halting stop. I found it within myself to finally let go of whatever weblines I had left in my hands, despite how stiff my arm muscles were. Spitting a large pool of blood through my mouth and staining my mask, I finally decided that it was time for my body to give up consciousness as I let myself fall frontwards, allowing gravity to take me down.

However, before I could fall into the crater, my ears somehow picked up on the sound of a blaring semi-truck horn, and then, the sound of shifting metal. Suddenly, my limp body felt a large, warm metallic hand wrap around it, lifting me from the front of the train.

“Jackson! No!...” the sound of Optimus’s voice suddenly came into earshot, but my body felt so tired that my ears almost didn’t register his voice.

“Op…timus…” I weakly called out.

“I’m here Jackson! But you need to stay awake! Ratchet! Open a ground bridge at my coordinates NOW!” Optimus yelled (Yes, like a real, genuine scream).

“Did… Did I… stop….” I weakly mumble.

“Yes, you did Jack. You’ve stopped the train in time before it could reach the crater. You saved the lives of everyone aboard that train.” Optimus spoke, gentler this time.

“You’re a hero Jackson.” Optimus said.

“I’m…not…” I tried to talk, but my mind felt too weary to even think.

“Try not to speak, save your breath and your energy. You’ll get the medical help you need as soon as the bridge opens.” Optimus reassured as he held me gently on the palm of his massive hand.

Taking his advice, I shut my mouth and rest my eyes from the shining sun. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts to think positive thoughts about today while I rested, my mind kept dwelling back onto a looming thought. One that’ll be stuck in the back of my mind until I find out soon enough.

What will Silas’s next plan be?

Chapter Text

Location Unknown – 1 Day Later…

Darkness.

That was what surrounded me at the moment. A pitch-black aura that filled the void of this endless empty room.

“Wha-Where am I? Why am I here?” I quietly mumbled to myself, fear clearly evident in my voice.

Looking around the vast void of empty darkness, I quickly came to realize that I was the only one present in here. Wherever here was. However, despite the fact that I was virtually alone, it didn’t stop the heavy beating of my heart, nor did it clear the paranoia from my head.

‘Is this a dream? Maybe a nightmare? God, please don’t let it be the afterlife.’ I prayed mentally.

Whatever this place was, I knew from the beginning when I woke up here that I needed to escape, and fast. So, quickly picking myself up from my laying position, I immediately started walking frontwards, towards wherever the void might take me. As I walked down the empty path, I started to think harder on where I was, trying to occupy my mind with thoughts in the hope that I wouldn’t turn crazy over the loneliness that I was now experiencing.

Even though this place basically had nothing to show, it still felt “familiar” to me somehow, as if I had unconsciously been here before. Maybe this is a dream, and that I had a hard time remembering this place after waking up?

Suddenly, the pitch-black aura that filled this endlessly empty room started to change into a lighter gray color as I walked further into the unknown. It was still pretty dark all things considered, but now, I at least had a better chance at seeing where I was stepping to. After a few seconds of walking into the emptiness later, I saw two human looking bodies laying on the floor in the far away distance. I couldn’t make out whether or not they were even alive, but if there was any sign of life in this empty hell, then I needed to know.

My slow walk quickly turned into a fast jog towards the lying bodies, all the while I mentally prayed that what I saw before me wasn’t just an illusion. As the distance between me and them grew closer, my vision of their features slowly grew stronger and stronger until I was fully able to make out both of their distinct features.

The one laying on the left was an old man with tannish skin, white hair, and wore a familiar brown leather jacket… Wait a minute…

I quickly looked towards the person lying beside him on the right, hoping that my suspicions wouldn’t be the truth. My heart almost dropped the moment I was able to make out her features. She was a young woman, not that much older than me, who had beautifully smooth white skin, bright blonde hair, and gorgeous brown eyes…

“Ben!? Gwen?!” I shouted with dread as my jog suddenly changed into a full-on sprint.

‘Please God, for once don’t let this be another nightmare. For once, let me have the chance to save them both!’

However, I soon stopped my prayers by the time I reached them, instead, replacing them with feelings of absolute defeat and despair. All I could do was let out a loud shaky gasp as I took a kneeling position beside their bodies. I ran my hands down both their bodies, checking to see for any serious wounds.

It was more horrific than I could ever imagine.

My Uncle Ben’s torso was almost completely filled with pistol sized bullet holes. Dark warm blood flowed down his chest area like a waterfall, creating a small puddle of his blood underneath him, completely staining the leather coat he wore. His eyes were completely glassy and devoid of life, staring into the empty sky with no thoughts behind them. Bile began to rise from my stomach and into my esophagus, threatening to spill from my mouth in a violent vomit. Not wanting to make this scene any messier however, I swallowed the bile back down in an attempt to pull myself back together.

Unfortunately, my bile threatened to rise into my esophagus again once I took a look at Gwen’s twisted body. There were no surface wounds on her skin, and the only sign of blood on her body was a small string of it coming out of both her mouth and her nose. However, that wasn’t what made me almost vomit in horror and disgust. Her back was twisted in a way that it shouldn’t have been, almost as if somebody had snapped her spine like a twig. Like my Uncle Ben, her wide opened eyes were glassy and lifeless, and it didn’t take a detective to tell that fear was the last thing her eyes displayed before her life came to an end. She was so young… She never deserved this…

I couldn’t even find it within myself to cry at the horrific sight that I was witnessing, the shock was just too great. Instead, I pulled them both closer to me and held them in a tight hug, all the while whimpering and quietly begging them for forgiveness. My arms shook greatly in utter despair and guilt as I held them close, knowing deep down that their deaths were my fault, and mine alone.

“I-I n-never wanted this… f-for any of you. God, I’m sorry… I’m so sorry… I’m a-“

“A failure.” a strange voice echoed to me.

I quickly perked my head up for the source of the noise, only to find that it was standing right before me and the bodies of my loved ones.

It was… me, but at the same time, it wasn’t.

This figure shared my exact silhouette, height, and even some of my features. However, what immediately stood out to me was the fact that this imitation’s entire body was completely pitch black, not a single trace of skin ever showing. On its chest was a large white spider symbol that almost completely filled its black chest, somehow managing to mimic both my life as Jack Darby and as Spider-Man at the same time. However, the most terrifying aspect of this thing was its eyes. Its eyes were small white circles that glew with an eerie bright hue, and the way it looked upon me, it was as if it could stare at me for the rest of eternity without so much as even blinking once.

To say that I was scared at the moment would be a major understatement.

Suddenly, I realized why this place seemed familiar to me in the first place. Seeing this twisted imitation of me, the gloomy setting, and the result of my failures, made me finally understand that this wasn’t the first time that I experienced this. And it would most definitely not be the last.

The creature that stood before me was an amalgamation of the horrors that I have seen, the hate that I have for some people, and the hate that I have for myself. All of my sorrow, despair, grief, and loneliness all formed into this being.

It was my pain, it was my agony, it was my Nightmare.

“If telling the truth counts as a nightmare to you, then so be it.” Nightmare spoke suddenly, even if it seemed as if it had no mouth to speak out of.

It spoke in my voice, except, it sounded completely and utterly empty of any human emotion. Like itself, its voice was devoid of any joy or happiness, not a single trace of humanity left within it.

“And its all because of you. Every ounce of your misery is a result of your own actions.” Nightmare said, stepping every so closely to me.

“I… never wanted them to die…” I whimpered sorrowfully.

“And look how that turned out. A wife lost her husband. A father and mother, their daughter. Next thing we know, Miko and Raf’s parents will lose them as well, all because of-“

“NO!” I snapped loudly, clutching Ben’s and Gwen’s bodies even tighter.

“Your screams won’t shut me out, and neither will your rage. Because you know that deep down, that I am right.” Nightmare echoed eerily.

I wanted to scream at it more, punch it, strangle it, kill it… But I knew it was right about me, it always was….

“You can hold their corpses as tightly as you want, beg for their forgiveness for as long as you can, but no matter what you do, they will never forgive you. We both know as well I that you don’t deserve it.” Nightmare said harshly.

My entire body began to quiver and shake, the weight of my immense guilt slowly taking a heavy toll on me. Soon enough, tears of sorrow and shame began to flow down my cheeks, some of them dripping down onto Ben and Gwen’s bodies.

“I know…. I know I don’t…” I spoke in a shamefully soft tone.

Seeing the pathetic display, Nightmare stepped even closer to me until it finally stopped and took a kneeling position in front of me.

“You killed your family.” It said in an eerie whisper as its words began to echo within my head. “And because of that, you will always be alone.” Nightmare said.

“T-that’s… That’s not true… A-Arcee and-“

Nightmare began to chuckle hollowly, quickly cutting off my sentence. “You think that the Autobots actually care about you?” Nightmare asked harshly. When I responded with silence, It moved its head closer to mine, staring at me straight in my eyes.

“Do you think that Arcee actually cares about you?” It asked again, almost mockingly.

“Y-yes…” I quietly responded, not even being sure of myself.

Nightmare chuckled hollowly once more, louder than its previous chuckle. “She doesn’t care about you, you don’t matter to her in the same way you think she does. All you are to her is a replacement. Someone to fill in the shoes of her deceased partner. If Cliffjumper were still alive, then you wouldn’t even be an after thought to her.”

 Its words struck me even harder than I expected it to, causing me to hiccup in distress and sadness.

“P-please, please stop…” I begged it.

“You never mattered to anyone. The Autobots will never consider you as one of their own, as their family. You will always be an asset to them, something for them to use and then throw away later. And those who actually showed you even the slightest bit of regard ended up dead because of you.” It continued with animosity.

“N-no, no more… I c-can’t handle it anymore… please.” I pleaded even more pathetically.

“You can hide behind that mask, behind your heroics, and behind your powers, but it will never change anything. You and I, we will always be alone.” Nightmare said, with even a bit of sorrow in its voice as well.

“PLEASE!!... No more… Just kill me already… Please…” I screamed as I began to break down into small whimpers and cries, no longer finding it within myself to even hold Ben and Gwen’s bodies.

“Death? You don’t deserve death. No… You deserve much worse. You deserve to suffer by the memory of your own agony and failures. You know you do.” It taunted hollowly.

“I know….” I said quietly.

Suddenly, a strange black mass began to spread and cover the empty space around us, slowly reaching its way towards me. Instead of being scared, running, or even questioning it, I stayed in place, not even caring about what happens to me next. Soon enough, the black mass made contact with Ben and Gwen, slowly but surely covering them completely in a veil of darkness.

Then, it was my turn.

The black mass attached itself to my kneeling legs, slowly making its way up towards my head. Instead of feeling the pain that I expected to feel, all I felt at the moment was coldness. And as it slowly covered my torso, I took one last look at my Nightmare, looking at it in its eerily cold eyes.

“It’s better this way, for everyone.” Nightmare simply said.

Hearing its truthful remark, I close my eyes and accepted my fate, waiting for the mass to overtake my body. Maybe it is right, maybe this is better for everybody this way...

Nevadan Outskirts - Autobot HQ - Present Time...

I suddenly awoke from my punishment, the environment around me looking blurred and dim as I tried to open my eyes. It was until after blinking a few times that I could finally see the world around me without the obscuring haze. Instead of being in the empty void that I was just in, I was in… the Autobot’s base?

‘What? How did I get here?’

Turning my head slightly to my left and right sides, I quickly came to realize that I was lying on the makeshift hospital bed we kept around near Ratchet’s workspace. What was even stranger was the fact that I had large white bandages wrapped around my chest and arms, making them feel even stiffer than they already felt. Though, that wasn’t meant to be a bad thing, as far as I know medically. But how would Ratchet know? He doesn’t know anything about human biology. Actually, now that I think about it, how would anybody in the base know how to wrap bandages around me this well?

Suddenly, my thoughts came to a halting stop when I started to feel a familiar warmth brushing against my hand. Looking up slightly, I immediately saw the familiar cybertonian figure of Arcee, and she was brushing her hand against mine.

‘Oh my God, is she… Am I still dreaming?’

She wasn’t looking at me, instead, it seemed like she was staring off into space while she brushed my hand, otherwise she would have known that I was awake by now. However, that didn’t make her touch all the less comforting. Knowing that she could easily hurt me if she wasn’t too careful, Arcee softly and gently brushed her large thumb against my limp hand continuously. Seeing the way her thumb brushed over my hand, it was almost as if she was fascinated by the feel of human skin. Whether her fascination was about how fragile our skin was or about how soft it felt, I don’t know.

However, looking at Arcee’s face, she wasn’t wearing the expression I expected her to be wearing. She wore a sad frown on her face, a frown that could turn even the happiest man into a gloomy mess. And her usually bright cyan eyes were equally as sad as her frown, sporting a dimming feature to them that ruined the normally memorizing hue of her eyes. Was she… sad for me?

“A-Arcee?” I spoke in a hoarse voice, wincing as I felt the scratchiness of my throat.

Arcee gasped loudly, quickly changing her expression to an alerted one as she immediately perked her head towards me. Suddenly, her dim eyes brightened strongly once again as she quickly changed her demeanor to a relieved happy expression.

“Oh my Primus! He’s awake! Jack’s awake!” Arcee shouted in an excited relived tone.

“The kid’s awake?! Guys! Jack’s awake! Don’t just stand there!” Bulkhead shouted from the far side of the common area.

I suddenly began to hear the sounds of multiple heavy and metallic footsteps coming my way, along with the small pitter patter of Miko and Raf’s footsteps. One by one, everyone in the room began to surround me, relief and happiness sketched across all their faces, including Ratchet’s, surprisingly. Just as quickly as everyone arrived, Miko and Raf suddenly wrapped themselves around me, trapping me in a tight hug.

“Spidey! You’re alive! I knew you’d wake up eventually, but don’t you ever scare us like that again!” Miko shouted with closed eyes as she wrapped around me in a tight hug.

“Jack! You’re o-okay! You’re actually alive! W-when they b-brought you in, I-I thought…” Raf shouted as he broke down into tears.

“Guys, I’m okay, everything is going to be okay.” I reassured to them softly as I gently patted their backs.

Walking closer to us, Bumblebee knelt down next to Raf and began to brush his large index finger on his back as well, trying to comfort the crying young teen. Bumblebee started to communicate in tones and noises to Raf while comforting him. His method of speaking was obviously completely foreign to me, but whatever he was saying, it sounded gentle and comforting. Somehow, even making me feel calm and collected.

“Jack, if you ever pull a stunt like that on us again, then Primus himself won’t even save you from me.” Arcee threatened sternly, though, I could tell her threat was meaningless as I heard her voice almost break midsentence. In the end, she was ultimately happy to see me well and awake. Wait… I still haven’t figured out why I was even here in the first place.

“Guys, guys, I know this might ruin the moment and all, but how did I even end up here? What happened?” I asked as I put my hands up defensively, despite how much my muscles ached in pain.

“You don’t remember?” Arcee asked with concern.

“Remember what?” I asked back, earning me a concerned stare from everybody around me.

“The train, Jack. Don’t you remember? A MECH agent blew up the tracks, and you stopped the train just before it crashed. You saved everybody on that train, including the DNGS.” Raf explained to me.

Suddenly, it all came flowing back to me. The DNGS, Silas, MECH, the Rhino, even the train that I stopped using only my webs and pure strength. I remember being so exhausted after stopping that train that I honestly felt like melting into puddy on the spot. Then I remembered Optimus suddenly catching up to me and bridging me back to base before I passed out. Honestly, if it weren’t for him, then my death on that day would have been guaranteed.

“Yeah, I remember it all now. I also remember feeling my muscles almost being ripped apart. Speaking of, how did you guys even manage to patch me up this well? Last time I checked, the best that Ratchet could do for humans was stabilize them on our makeshift bed.” I asked before grunting in pain because of my aching muscles, causing Arcee to instinctively check to see if I was okay.

“On the contrary Jack, none of us were the ones to heal you, that responsibility actually fell onto a human medic. One of Fowler’s combat medics to be precise.” Ratchet explained as he sighed in disappointment at himself.

“What! You’re telling me you guys allowed one of Fowler’s men to take off my mask and work on me! Even after everything I said about not bringing me to a hospital!” I shouted in shock and anger, clutching my sore chest afterwards.

“We couldn’t just bring you to base, lay you on a bed, and hope for the best. Blood was spilling from your mouth, and you fell into unconsciousness. We had to do something.” Arcee said.

Just as I was about to retaliate, Optimus suddenly stepped closer to me, kneeling down as far as he could to come into eye level with me.

“We knew that the risk of revealing your identity to everyone would have been far too great if we were to have brought you to a hospital. So instead, Agent Fowler and I agreed to bridge one of his field medics to our base and heal you under heavy supervision. Afterwards, the medic was sworn to secrecy by Agent Fowler to keep your identity a secret, least he wishes to spend the rest of his life under imprisoned.” Optimus explained solemnly.

Hearing this, I immediately sighed in relief, feeling all the more calmer in knowing that my identity was still relatively secret.

“Thanks guys. I… I didn’t think you’d all go through that much trouble just to get me patched up.” I admit a bit sheepishly.

“Jack, your health is just as important as ours. I may not be acquainted with human biology, but believe me when I say this, I would have tried everything in my power to heal you, if bringing a human medic here hadn’t been an option.” Ratchet said genuinely.

“I know Ratchet, and you probably would have done a damn good job with it as well. Afterall, you’re the smartest of us all.” I said with a smile.

“So I’ve heard.” Ratchet quietly remarked, although not smugly.

Just as I was about to lay back down and relax, another alarming thought came into my mind. I haven’t been home for God knows how long, and my mom hasn’t seen me ever since I told her that I would be leaving for work before secretly joining the Autobot’s convoy.

“Wait, h-how long have I been out. My mom, she must be worried sick right now!” I said in worry.

“Don’t worry partner, you’ve only been out for a day. Though, that still didn’t stop me from worrying about you to death.” Arcee said the last part quietly. “As for your mother, Raf here came up with a solution to that.” Arcee then gestured her head to Raf.

I turned my head to face Raf, to which the young teen stiffened for a moment before nervously speaking. “Y-yeah, I called your mom and told her that you’d be staying over at my house to study. At first, she wasn’t convinced about the excuse, until I got my mom to confirm it. That was when she finally bought the lie.” Raf explained, less nervously at the end.

“Yeah… My mom can be a hard woman to fool sometimes. I’m just glad I woke up so early, before she could suspect anything.” I said as I patted Raf’s head, ruffling his hair around a little and causing the young boy to chuckle.  

We all enjoyed the happy silence for a moment, before Miko suddenly piped up.

“Alright, now that that’s out of the way. How did you do it? How did you stop that train from crashing? “Did you punch it with your cool electric fist? Did you shoot your webs at the tracks to slow it down? Oh, oh! What about the Rhino’s horn, did you use it to-“

“Ohhh. Guys, I think I’m feeling dizzy again, maybe I need to rest for a few more days. What’d you think Doc?” I said in a mockingly sarcastic tone, earning me a pout from Miko.

“Aside from plugging our audio receptors from the obvious headache, I believe that you need a few more days to recover before you’re fit for service again.” Ratchet said, also earning him a pout from Miko, and a death glare from Bulkhead.

I wave my hands up dismissively at the medbot. “I’m alright Doc, it’s just a few sore spots on my muscles. That doesn’t mean I need to stay out of the field.” I said as I tried to pick myself off the bed, only to be halted by Arcee’s hand.

“Look, I know I can be stubborn with staying out of the field too, but Ratchet is right, you need to stay here and heal. The medic that worked on you said that you would need at least a couple days worth of rest before you can do any heavy lifting or swinging for that matter.” Arcee said with an authoritative, yet caring voice.

“It’s alright Arcee, Its just some ripped muscles. I’ve gotten stab wounds and broken bones before, and yet I still managed to heal from them just fine within a couple of days, without much rest. It’s the courtesy of my spider powers, so I’ll be fine.” I reassured her as I tried to get up again, only to be halted by Arcee once more.

“You may have been in charge of when you were fit to go into the field when you were fighting alone, but now, that isn’t up to you. As your teammate and your physician, I strongly advise you to stay here until I’ve decided that you’re fit for duty.” Ratchet sternly stated.

“Wha- Bu- C’mon… Arcee, Optimus, help me out here.” I pleaded as I looked at the two Bots.

“Sorry partner, Ratchet’s rules, not mine.” Arcee said with a smirk.

“I’m afraid that I cannot have any say in this as well. Ratchet far exceeds my command when it comes to his medical diagnosis’.” Optimus responded as he patted Ratchet’s shoulder, earning him a confident smirk from his oldest friend.

I crossed my arms and playfully pouted as I looked away from them. “*Hmph* Well, good luck finding another Spider-Man in the meantime.” I joked, earning me a few chuckles out of the Bots.

“Oh! Can I be your guys’ Spider-Man while Jack recovers! I’ll totally be as awesome as he is out there!” Miko said excitedly while doing web shooting gestures.

“Don’t even think about it.” Bulkhead sternly said, causing Miko to pout for the third time today.

Suddenly, the alarm near the monitor started to blare loudly, quickly gaining our attention and causing all of us to look toward it.

“Hmm, it must be an energon surge, or Decepticon activity.” Ratchet said as he walked towards the monitor, along with Optimus, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and even Raf.

“I guess you’re up partner.” I remarked to Arcee.

“I’ll be back to drive you home before your curfew, I promise.” Arcee gently smiled before standing up and walking away towards the forming group.

For a moment, my heart fluttered at the sight of her soft smile, bringing me back to my most precious moments with Gwen. Then, my body began to miss the feeling of her warm, soft metallic touch brushing against my hand, causing me to try to replicate the feeling on myself. However, that attempt was to no avail, it just didn’t feel the same.

“Soooo… Can I at least use your webshooters while you recover? It’s not like you’ll use them while your-“

“Not a chance Miko.” I said flatly to the pouting punk rocker.

“Awww, no fair.” Miko said in a disappointed whimper.

I ignored her disappointed state and continued to look at Arcee from afar. She was standing near Bulkhead and Bumblebee, staring sternly into the green monitor as Ratchet tried to identify the issue that caused the alarm.

Arcee… I didn’t know what to think of her. It’s clear that she cares about me in some fashion, but what exactly am I to her, a replacement? What exactly is she to me?

 Do I love her as a friend? Do I love her as a partner? Do I love her as a-

“Watcha looking at Spidey.” Miko whispered beside me suddenly, startling me and ripping me from my thoughts.  

“Ah! Miko! Don’t do that!” I scolded in a harsh whisper.

“What? I just wanted to know what you were looking at. Honestly, from here it looked like you were staring at…” Miko trailed off as she suddenly went silent, before she began to wear a devious smirk on her face.

“Miko? What’re you smiling for? Look, you better not make any assumptions.” I said to the devious teen sternly.

“You were staring at Arcee, weren’t you.” Miko stated with a mischievous tone, greatly matching up with her devious smirk.

“Wha!- No! I wasn’t, I was just-“

“Dude, you’re not as good at lying as you think you are. I saw the way you were giving Arcee that puppy-eyed stare just now.” Miko teased.

“I have literally never given out a puppy-eyed stare to anyone, ever.” I said flatly, knowing full well that I was just lying through my teeth at this point.

“C’mon Spidey, do you really need me to point out the obvious. You like her, and she likes you!” Miko said, pointing a finger at me.

“Miko! I don’t like- Wait, did you just say that “She likes me”?” I suddenly said, that fluttering feeling coming back into my heart.

“Yeah! Well, at least I think she does. She’s been staying by your side while you were unconscious the whole time. I’ve even got some killer romantic pictures of her brushing your hand with hers.” Miko said as she pulled out her flip phone and showed me the various shots of Arcee and I.

I stared at the photos in bewilderment for a second before responding. “Okay, aside from the fact that you were creepily taking photos of us, how would you even know that it meant she likes me!” I asked sternly in an upset tone.

“Dude, do you not know anything about a romantic relationship?” Miko asked with her hands on her hips.

“Do you?!” I asked back.

“Well duh! Why else would I be telling you!” Miko remarked, a bit angerly this time.

“Well, if it means anything to you, I DO actually know something about being in a romantic relationship with a woman.” I immediately covered my mouth in shock at the accidental reveal. Hearing that, Miko’s eyes quickly widened in surprise as an excited gasp escaped her mouth.

“Who is she? Who’s the lucky girl? Does she live here? Does she know that you’re Spider-Man? Oh! Did you take her web swinging with you!? Does she also have superpowers?! Is she a-“

“She’s dead…” I answered in a sorrowful whisper.

Miko’s excited demeanor instantly changed into one of regret, quickly dampening the entire mood. I couldn’t even bear to look at Miko after telling her that as the painful memories started to flood the confines of my head. Just when I began to feel myself tearing up, I suddenly felt a hand on top of my shoulder. Looking beside me, I saw that it was Miko’s hand covering my shoulder, the teenage rocker trying her best to comfort me as she gave me a shaky smile.

“I… I’m sorry, Jack. I shouldn’t have pushed it.” Miko’s voice was quiet, but genuine.

“D-don’t be, you were just curious.” I replied in an equally quite voice. We stayed in silence for a few seconds before Miko finally spoke.

“What was she like?” Miko asked, more politely this time.

I chuckled for a moment, remembering the good memories I had with her before she died. “She was… the smartest, kindest, most beautiful woman I had ever had the privilege to meet. And for a time, she made me feel like the most important person in the world, u-until she…” I trailed off into a shaky sigh. Miko squeezed my shoulder for support and comfort, letting me know that she was here for me to listen.

“Y’know, despite some of their obvious differences, Arcee and Gwen are similar, in a strange sort of way.” I stated, earning me a cocked eyebrow from Miko.

“How so?” she asked.

“They’re both brave, courageous, and when you get on their good side, they’ll show just how much they care for you.” I replied, wearing a small smile on my face.

“If that’s true, then maybe you can ask her if she feels the same way. Who knows, a relationship between you two might work.” Miko suggested innocently, to which I shook my head at her.

“It’s not that simple Miko. We’re in the middle of a war, there’s too much going on for her. I’m sure the last thing she needs is to worry about being in a relationship with an alien she just met a few weeks ago.” I sighed.

“Well, if you ever decide to change your mind about asking her, then you can come to me for some romo advice. I’ll try my best to help you two lovebirds out. Wink, wink.” Miko lightly teased with two actual winks.

I scoffed heavily in amusement before talking. “Y’know, I’m beginning think that you don’t actually know anything about a romantic relationship.” I mocked playfully.

“Hey! For your information Webhead, I read a lot of romance fanfictions online. So, uhh… beat that.” Miko smirked with crossed arms.

We stayed silent together, staring at each other with flat stares, until we both suddenly started to laugh, our humorous noises filling the air in unison. I may have lost the people I love before, but I will defend the family that I have now. Even if it means defending them from my own Nightmare.

Chapter Text

Outer Space – 6 Days Later…

As the secret war on Earth between the Autobots and the Decepticons rages on, a large, peculiar ship of cybertonian origin flies down through the vast cloaked vacuum of space like an uncontrollable ball of fire. Unfortunately for Earth’s inhabitants, said ship was crashing straight into Earth’s atmosphere, and eventually, Earth’s surface. To make matters worse, the ship harbored a single predatorial cybertonian who was neither of Autobot nor Decepticon origin. No, she was much worse…

She is one of Cybertron’s most vicious and sadistic hunters, someone who kills without mercy or remorse. She picks no sides but herself, has no obligation to either cybertonian factions, and has little to zero honor. And now, as her crashing ship reached closer to Earth’s surface, she was going to make life much harder for our Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and his Autobot friends.

Maine – Forested Area – Three Hours Later…

“-And then my Uncle Ben told him, “You’ll get your rent money when you fix this damn door!”.” I chuckled along with Arcee as we continued down the forested pathway, toward our destination. 

“He certainly knows how to make a statement.” Arcee chuckled.

“Oh, you have no idea.” I remarked before shooing away a small swarm of mosquitoes. “*Tsk* Stupid bugs.” I grumbled under my breath.

“Y’know Jack, I heard that spiders are the natural predators of mosquitoes. Maybe you can use your predatorial strength to scare them away.” Arcee teased with a large smirk.

I scoffed before answering. “No offence Arcee, but how would you even know? I thought you didn’t care much about learning Earth’s animals, or Earth in general.” I said while killing each mosquito around me with precise hits.

“I’m living here, aren’t I? May as well use some of my free time for research about this planet.” Arcee shrugged as she and I followed to where her energon radar was pointing to.

“Research huh. What… What kind of research do you do exactly?” I asked, trying to hide my growing curiosity.

“Mmhh, just about human life and culture in general. If I want to get to know my human partner better, might as well learn about Earth’s norms too.” Arcee said nonchalantly.

“Well… Now that you say it, I guess I should be trying to learn about cybertonian customs too. Can’t have this friendship be one-sided, y’know?” I chuckled nervously.

Arcee’s eyes widen a bit in surprise before softening. “I’d be happy to fill you in on our norms back at base. I think I still might have some data pads in my room, perhaps you could put them to good use for your research.” Arcee said, sounding a bit happier than usual.

“Sure thing, as long as it doesn’t take too much time off our sparring sessions and joyrides together. I’d hate to miss out on our hobbies together.” I say genuinely.

“The feeling’s mutual, Jack.” Arcee replied just as genuinely.

We stayed silent for a bit, walking down the quiet forest in search of whatever Ratchet detected here back at base. Soon enough, the silence between us starts to get to me, warranting me to speak up and break the silent atmosphere.

“So, what’re we searching for again? Because it seems like we’re looking for a whole lot of nothing right now.” I joked lightly while Arcee continued to stare at the radar in her hand.

“We’re supposed to scout for an energon deposit that Ratchet detected here through Earth’s satellites. But its strange…” Arcee trailed off.

“What is?” I asked, cocking my left eyebrow, to which my left mask lens mimicked.

“Subterranean energon deposits usually don’t cause this kind of surge. See.” Arcee explained as she lowered herself to me, allowing me to get a good view of the radar in her hand.

The red arrow of the radar was pointing solely to the right, all the while frantically shaking in its spot. From what I remember from my previous scouting missions with Arcee, the radar’s arrow is usually a lot more calmer looking whenever we we’re searching for energon deposits. So seeing the arrow going ballistic now, it almost worries me in a way.

“M-maybe the radar’s bugged or something, otherwise, I would have sensed something bad happening by now.” I suggested.

“Hhmm, maybe you’re right. We’ll just have to keep walking and see for ourselves.” Arcee said as she stood back up and continued walking.

Following her example, I quickly followed up behind her, all the while keeping a lookout around us, incase of an ambush by the Decepticons or MECH. Even if my spider sense hasn’t gone off yet, I still have this bad feeling that we aren’t going to get off easy today. Coupled with the fact that we’re both alone in a forest with little to no other human activity around us, it makes the growing pit in my stomach all the bigger.

“Wait, what’s that?” I called out suddenly, pointing to where I was looking. Arcee looked up from her energon radar to look at where I was pointing, and in an instant, her curious expression changed into a stern, vigilante war veteran demeanor.

“Somebody crash landed here.” Arcee simply responded as she put her radar away.

“Autobot, or Decepticon?” I asked.

“Don’t know, we’ll have to check it out. Stay close behind me.” Arcee commanded.

“Yes ma’am.” I remarked before crouch walking with her to the fallen ship.

As we sneaked nearer towards the ship, I began to recognize some key factors about the ship that could probably help us determine what our situation might be. For one, the ship was definitely of cybertonian design. Nothing about it looked human at all, so MECH was out of the question. Two, there was no smoke or fire arising from it, which means that this ship probably crash landed here a long while back. Let’s just hope that whoever piloted this ship is either alive or not evil.

‘God, please let it be both.’

Soon enough, we stopped near the open entrance of the ship and hid behind a couple of forest trees to scope out the area for enemies. Just as I had expected, there was nobody near the ship, at least nobody that we knew of yet.

“Doesn’t look like anybody’s outside the ship. Maybe there’s somebody on the inside?” I whispered.

“Maybe but stay sharp. We still have no clue whether it’s a friendly vessel or not.” Arcee whispered back before transforming her right hand into a blaster.

She carefully and quietly got up from her position and treaded near the entrance, gesturing for me to follow behind her every footstep. I comply, following carefully behind her while relying heavily on my sense of hearing to detect any threats, not caring about the fact that the rubbles of dirt caused by the ship’s crash was dirtying the lower half of my Spidey suit. Eventually, we reached the open entrance, and after a quick aim of her blaster pointed inside the ship, Arcee signaled to me that the coast was clear, allowing her and myself to roam inside the ship, albeit still quietly.

“Jesus, somebody forgot to fuel their engine.” I quietly joked while looking around the heavily damaged interior of the ship. However, Arcee didn’t laugh or chuckle, she stayed quiet the whole time as we continued to walk deeper into the mystery ship.

The interior was relatively dark, the only sources of light being the slight shine of the sun from the outside and Arcee’s bright cyan eyes. If this wasn’t a great setting for a horror movie, then I don’t know what is. I mean, I’ve definitely been in scary situations before, like when I had to search for Dr. Connors in the sewers while he was in his lizard form, but this is definitely up there in my list of scary moments. Sure, I have Arcee by my side, but despite how reliable and skilled she is, we’re still alone in a crashed ship of unknown origin. For all we knew, this could be another scraplet trap, and if that’s the case, then I could lose Arcee in a matter of seconds…

‘NO! Don’t think like that or else you’ll jinx us dumbass! Just keep an eye out and hone your senses. And for God’s sake, will you get ahold of yourself and lower your heart rate!’

With that in mind, I shake my head and continue down the darkened path beside Arcee. Eventually, we reached a very peculiar standout area of the ship, causing me and Arcee to look around as if we were viewing a museum exhibit. The area itself was captivating… In a strange disgusting kind of way. There were six large life-sized tubes in total, three tubes set on one side of the area’s wall and the other half on the other wall. Each tube was filled to the top with a strange golden liquid that somehow shined through the glass of the tube. However, that wasn’t the disgusting part. What stuck out to me and probably even Arcee the most was the fact that five out of the six tubes contained devilish, dangerous looking creatures. Or at least the heads of those beasts….

It was obvious that none of them were Earth based animals, and I don’t know whether I should be relieved about that or terrified. Then suddenly, it hit me like a freight train.

Our “visitor” must be a collector of sort, someone who enjoys the thrill of hunting and collecting their trophy afterwards. So now, there’s no doubt in my mind that this area is meant to be a trophy room, a purely twisted cosmetic room for the owner of this ship to look at and feel proud of. Unsurprisingly, this room almost reminds me of a hunting celebrity that goes by the name of Kravinoff, or Kraven as most people call him. I never met or knew him personally, but I did hear that he basically makes his living off of hunting the wildest and most dangerous animals on Earth, sometimes even in the most barebone conditions too. I just hope our “friend” here doesn’t make trophies of our heads.

“Something tells me that we aren’t going to be running into another Autobot today, right Arcee…. Arcee?” I called out semi-quietly. When Arcee didn’t answer, I turned to face her, only to see something that I never thought I would ever be able to see from her within my lifetime, ever.

Pure, unadulterated fear.

Her eyes were as wide as they could ever be, so much so that it almost looked like they would fall right out of her eye sockets. Her bottom lip was also visibly quivering, something I thought that humans could only do. And her figure…. She was as still as a statue, as if she had seen something that had petrified her on the spot. It didn’t take a genius to know that something was very wrong, and that there was more to this than meets the eye.

“A-Arcee, what’s wrong?” I asked gently, trying not to startle her. However, she didn’t even bat me an eye. In fact, she didn’t even move at all. All she did at the moment was whisper something.

“Primus… It can’t be…” Arcee spoke in an eerie whisper.

The only times I had ever seen her even remotely scared was when she had seen me in a near death state or when I was critically injured. Other than that, she had always managed to put on a tough front when she was around me and the others. She and the other Bots even told me that she didn’t show a sliver of fear when she was held by the Rhino, and that man is capable of ripping Vehicons in half like paper. Now though, there was more fear in her eyes than I could ever manage to see.

“Arcee, please tell me what’s wrong. What happened?” I ask in an almost frantic voice as I patted her thigh to get her attention.

Arcee flinched heavily at the touch as she immediately perked her head to face me, her blaster almost raised to aim at me. Her eyes wore a frantic expression as she shuddered a shaky breath out of her mouth, even if she didn’t need to breathe.

“Woah, woah, it’s me Arcee. It’s just me.” I reassured while putting my hands up defensively. In a way, this situation reminds me of our first encounter with each other, back when I had just discovered the Autobot’s existence on Earth.

“We need to get out of here. Now!” Arcee commanded in a loud, stern voice.

“Wha- But we didn’t even explore the whole ship yet. There might be-“

“Jackson Darby! I am not asking you, I am telling you to leave the ship with me!” Arcee shouted even louder, leaving no room for further argument.

“O-okay.” I replied quietly, feeling my own fear build up through my nerves. Though, it was not fear of her, but mainly the fear of our situation.

Without wasting anymore time, Arcee and I made a b-line out of the ship, finally stepping outside into the foggy and eerie forest. I glanced over at Arcee, only to see her visibly shake in place for a few seconds before becoming still again.

‘I’ve never seen her this scared before. I need to know what’s wrong. I need to be there for her.’

“Arcee, you’re shaking. Please, just tell me what happened.” I asked in a gently concerned tone.

“I know who this ship belongs to.” Arcee said almost sorrowfully before she raised her fingers to her helm. “Arcee to base, we need a ground bridge ASAP.” Arcee said through her comms. However, all she was met with was unintelligible static.

“Primus damn it!” Arcee cursed loudly. “Jack, does your comm link work?” Arcee quickly and sternly asked.

I bring my fingers to my earpiece and open my comms only to be met with the same, loud static. “No luck, b-but why do we need a ground bridge?” I asked, only to be ignored.

“Frag, the ship’s gotta be transmitting a high frequency scrambler pulse.” Arcee said as she began to walk away from me, going towards the empty woods.

“Arcee! You’re freaking me out, what’s going on?” I asked as I catched up to her.

Still, nothing but silence from her. Instead of answering me, she gets into a kneeling position and analyzes some scratch marks on the trees and dirt. Maybe it was just me, but the way she was analyzing the clues before her, it was as if each clue was causing her entire body to shudder momentarily. Unfortunately for me, it doesn’t seem like Arcee wants to include me in the scene, like, at all.

“Hey! You can’t just walk away from me like that. This place is creepy enough as it is.” I remarked in an upset tone.

Hearing me, Arcee suddenly flinches before looking at me with an upset expression. Without even saying anything, Arcee stands up to her full height and transforms into her vehicle mode, the engine of her alt mode scaring away any nested birds near us as it roars to life through the cloudy sky.

“Get on.” Arcee commanded rather aggressively.

I comply and seat myself on her before she suddenly starts driving at a high speed. I yelped out a scream before gripping her handlebars tightly, not wanting to accidentally fall of my partner. The rough terrain and the abundance of large pine trees causes Arcee’s usually smooth and fast driving style to change into a more frantic, hurried style. Or maybe, she was just driving that way because of the way she’s been acting lately. She’s obviously scared, that much is certain, but why? Why won’t she tell me?

After dodging a few more pine trees, Arcee comes to a screeching stop, almost causing me to be thrown off of her, if not for my spider powers. I huffed an angered breath before speaking.

“What the hell Arcee! This place isn’t exactly vehicle friendly!” I shouted as I was starting to get fed up with her. And what do you know, she ignores me once again.

“Arcee to base, do you read? Arcee to base! Scrap!” Arcee cursed to herself in irritation.

Not wanting to play along with this anymore, I get off of her and decided to confront her about what she was freaking out about. However, as soon as I got off, Arcee began to drive away from me slowly.

‘Oh no you don’t.’

I quickly shot out two weblines on her back wheel and pulled her slightly, preventing her from moving away any further.

“You can’t just shut me out and leave me here! We’re partners, remember?” I said sternly. Hearing this, Arcee quickly transformed and aggressively ripped my webs off of herself before turning to face me, anger clearly evident on her face.

“Let’s get one thing straight, even with your powers you’re still just a kid. You haven’t seen what I’ve seen, and this war just isn’t the right place for someone like you.” Arcee said coldly with furrowed eyes.

“I’m not “just a kid”, and you know that Arcee. We need each other if we want to survive through this.” I replied sternly as I furrowed my lens’ back at her.

“I don’t need you, arachnid. You’ll just get in the way. So stay here, I mean it.” Arcee then quickly turned away from me and ran at full speed before suddenly transforming and driving away from me, leaving me all to my lonesome.

I couldn’t even bring myself to follow her as I stood in place, absolutely dumbfounded by the confrontation. The way she spat out the word arachnid at me like an insult. I’ve been called a lot of names before, but the way she said it, it had more venom in her voice than I honestly expected it to have. Suddenly, the deep pit within my stomach slowly returns as my anger starts to turn into fear and dread. Just a few minutes ago, me and Arcee were happily chatting away with each other, and the next, she suddenly hates me now.

“Is it any surprise that she ran from you? After all, you are a walking disaster.” a familiar voice called out to me eerily. I quickly look around myself, my heart now pumping at a faster rate as I try to locate the source of the voice.  

“No… Please, just leave me alone.” I whisper to myself.

“You already are alone. As far as you’re concerned, I’m the only thing you have left in your pathetic life.” It called out from behind me. I quickly turned around and spotted the mysterious voice, just a few inches behind me.

It was my Nightmare.

“I told you that she never truly cared about you, and yet you didn’t believe me. You wanted to hold onto that false hope that there was somebody left in the world that actually cared about you.” Nightmare spoke eerily as it stepped closer to me, causing me to back away slowly.

“Y-you don’t know that. I still have people in my life who care for me.” I said, trying to assert myself to it.

“Do you now? And who would that be exactly? Your mother who sent you away to New York because she couldn’t stand to look at the product of her ex-husband. Or perhaps you’re thinking of May, a woman too naïve to realize that the real murder of her husband was living with her all along.” Nightmare said condescendingly.

“Shut up. I don’t need this right now. I need to find Arcee.” I said before walking right through Nightmare, towards where I had last seen Arcee.

“You were able to keep me at bay for these past few weeks, but you will never be rid of me. You will never escape from the growing abyss of your guilt and failures. Eventually, you will come crawling back to me, knowing that I was right all along.” It said as it started to follow me.

“Arcee does care for me! I know she does… She looked scared, terrified even. She couldn’t have meant what she said… She couldn’t…” I trailed off as I started to pick up my pace.

“She hates you, said that she doesn’t need you, ran from you, and ditched you in these woods. Do I really need to say more? You never mattered to her, you were always a burden to her, a liability. But if you really don’t believe me, then I won’t stop you from learning the hard way.” Nightmare concluded before it disappeared through an eerie echo of horrible whispers.

Not wanting to get caught up by my own agony, I jump up high and shoot out a webline onto the nearest tree. Afterwards, I swung myself into the air and continue web swinging through the forest, honing out my senses to try and find Arcee before she does anything stupid.

I just hope that I’m able to get to her before whoever crash landed here does. 

Maine – Forested Area – Five Minutes Later…

“Piece of advice, make your self comfortable. You’re going to be here a while.”

“Just tell me what I want to know, or, well… You’re a smart Bot. I think you can imagine what happens to Tailgate next.”

“We shall see.”

Her voice, her taunts, her laugh. All of them, sketched and burned into my neural processor as I search around the forest for more clues. I haven’t found her yet, but I swear upon the All Spark, I will not stop until I find her and rip her spark right out of her spark chamber! She deserves it, more than any other Con that I can think of.

By this point, I’ve already transformed back into my bipedal mode so that I can analyze clues more carefully. So far, the only pieces of evidence I’ve found of her were large scratch marks on the trees and acid burns that had completely burnt through any obstacle it was shot at. Though, that was all the evidence I needed to know that she was still here, somewhere.

There were no airborne vehicles above these woods close enough for her to scan, so the possibility of her already acquiring a vehicle mode was slim to none. And knowing her, she’s still searching these woods for any potential prey to add to her list of trophies, human or animal.

‘She won’t be hunting for anything by the time I get my hand servos around her throat.’

My fist servos clench tightly at the thought of her, and the anger within my circuits boil the energon that flows through my veins. Everything she’s ever done to me was personal.

Every. Single. Thing.

She captured me, hung me up, tortured me, and finally, broke the spirit of my spark when she murdered Tailgate in front of my very optics. I could still remember that day like it was yesterday. The way her bladed spider legs slowly ripped through my armor plates and into my circuits, her acidic touch burning the surface of my faceplate, the gallons of energon that spilled from Tailgate’s throat, even when I begged her not to kill him…. And she did it all while wearing a smile on her fragging faceplate.

“Never again, Airachnid. Never.” I whispered to myself while the sun slowly began to set, giving the cloudy sky a bright orange hue.

Funny… At this point in the day, I’d usually go on a nice hour-long joyride with Jack while we basked in the warmth of the late afternoon sunset, chatting away about whatever stories we wanted to tell each other, or just enjoying the pleasure of each other’s company.

Jack….

“You can’t just shut me out and leave me here! We’re partners, remember?”

…

…..

No. He’ll just slow me down and get himself killed. I had to leave him behind, this is something I have to do alone. He wouldn’t understand the unspeakable horrors she’d done to me. And if Airachnid learns that he’s allied with me, then she’ll use that to her advantage and kill him. I already have enough loved ones who became one with the All Spark. Ditching him was the only right choice I had.

Suddenly, I began to feel a very heavy bitter feeling coursing through my circuits, as if my very spark itself was telling me that I was wrong and that I should turn back and stay with Jack. Despite how powerful that feeling was however, it turned it down, trying my hardest to refocus on the task at hand.

Was I… feeling guilty about leaving Jack behind?

I have my reasons for ditching him behind, and yet, it just didn’t feel right. It was as if my reasons were more so for convincing myself than for convincing Jack. He’s done so much for me these past few weeks, more than I thought any human could ever do for an old war Bot like me. Even after Cliff’s passing and how Jack reminded me of Airachnid at times, he still somehow managed to get through to me in my darkest moments, even when I tried so hard to shut him out and push him away. Despite how sudden and tense our partnership was in the beginning, he still never gave up on me. 

And yet here I was, leaving him alone in the woods and basically throwing our friendship into the scrapheap. Even if I did find and kill Airachnid, would he still forgive me for leaving him behind, for saying that I didn’t need him?

'That doesn’t matter right now. You said it yourself, he’ll just slow you down. Now forget about him and find Airachnid before she leaves the forest.’

With a heavy ex-vent of anger and determination, I shake away any thoughts about Jack out of my head and continue my search. Fortunately for me, Airachnid seemed to have left behind more of a trail than I expected her to. The scratch marks and the acid burns were starting to become more frequent, and my pace toward her location started to become quicker and quicker until I finally spotted her dark silhouette from a distance.

“Airachnid.” I hissed in a harsh whisper as I hid and peered from a large tree.

There she was, in all of her disgusting glory, peering the entire upper half of her body through the confines of the forest. Seeing her in the metal causes me to experience brief memory surges of when she tortured me for many cycles on end, and for a moment, I froze, not finding it within myself to move out of my petrified state. However, even through my fear-stricken state, I was still able to spot Airachnid suddenly shifted into her spider mode and sneakily crawled towards a small human tent. She wore a deviously malicious grin on her faceplate as she neared towards the human campsite, a grin that I knew all too well. Then, it suddenly hit like a fusion cannon as I quickly realized that she was currently on the hunt, and that whoever was in that tent would be her first human victim.

I willed myself forcefully from my petrified state and sprinted full speed towards her figure before she could complete her lunge attack. Tackling her, me and Airachnid quickly and roughly tumbled down a nearby hill, the both of us grunting in pain before we were stopped by flat ground. When our rolling came to a halting stop, we were suddenly split apart by the momentum of our hillside tumble. My figure came crashing into a rocky cliffside, causing heavy damage and cracks to appear on the natural wall behind me while Airachnid forcefully landed faceplate first on the earthy ground.

Airachnid laughed sinisterly before picking herself off the ground using her spider legs. “Arcee. Small universe, isn’t it.” Airachnid remarked mockingly.

“Too small, Airachnid.” I remarked back as I got into my battle stance, staring daggers into her optics.

“Tsk, tsk Arcee. Still holding a grudge, I see. Y’know, that’ll get you into a lot of trouble one day.” Airachnid taunted with a sinister grin.

“I fight through trouble almost every day. What difference does it make today.” I spat back coldly.

“The difference is, I won’t be as lenient as the Decepticons when it comes to ripping you limb from limb. And believe me, I will make every nano-cycle of it hurt.” Airachnid threatened coldly while she slowly crawled circles around me.

“You won’t be adding any part of me to your collection, Airachnid. Consider your hunting career over.” I said as my optics followed and analyzed her every movement.

“Career? Oh, my dear Arcee. Collecting endangered species is a special hobby of mine, and I would do it all for free without even needing to be paid a sliver of energon cubes.” Airachnid laughed in a sinisterly hollow tone, causing me to clench my fist servos even tighter.

“You won’t have any energon left in your body by the time I’m finished with you.” I threatened as I activated my wrist blades.

“Is that so? Well, if that’s the case, then at least you’ll feel happy now knowing that you’ll be hung up in my trophy room, along with the rest of the Autobots and humanity.” Airachnid taunted smugly before hissing into her battle stance.

Having had enough of her taunts, I quickly sprinted toward her and tackled her to the ground, pushing aside her hand servos from clutching onto me. Before I could use my wrist blades to slice open her faceplate however, she used all eight of her spider legs to clutch onto my body before throwing me off of her. My figure came crashing onto the cliffside once more, this time however, I recovered much quicker than I had previously. Unfortunately, Airachnid seemed to have recovered just as quickly as she immediately jumped up and latched her spider legs onto the nearest tree, giving her a high ground advantage over me. Aiming both her palms at me, red colored energon bolts began to fire from them, causing me to immediately move out of her line of fire and dodge any stray energon bolts coming my way. Without hesitation, I deactivated my wrist blades and transformed my hand servos into my iconic twin blasters.

She may have a high vantage point over me, but that doesn’t make her any less of an open target. Aiming both my blasters at her, I quickly unload a barrage of small energon bolts toward her. Airachnid hissed in anger as a stray energon bolt nicked her armor plate before she suddenly dropped down from the tree and quickly shot out a large web cluster onto my blasters. My blasters were stuck together by her webs, and worse so, she had a webline connected to my web clustered blasters. Unbeknownst to her though, I’ve had enough sparring sessions against Spider-Man to learn that the best way to counterattack in a situation like this was to contest my own strength against her by quickly pulling her towards me using her own webline. And that was exactly what I did.

Using all the strength in my arm servos, I immediately pulled her towards me and completely threw off her next attack as she clumsily stumbled towards me. While she was momentarily stunned, I quickly roundhouse kicked her right in the faceplate before sprinting toward her and running up her body, using it as a ramp to backflip off of and increase the distance between us. The quick and powerful motion caused the webline to easily rip in half, finally allowing me to roam freely from her. And as soon as I landed back onto solid ground, I activated my wrist blades to cut through the web cluster, finally setting my arm servos free. Suddenly, Airachnid came rushing towards me before using the bladed end of her two front spider legs to strike me. Seeing this, I quickly used my wrist blades to parry both strikes before returning blade slashes of my own at her. She was quick in parrying and blocking some of my slashes, but not quick enough as she started to look visibly overwhelmed by my flurry of blade slashes. Soon enough, one of my blade slashes manages to slice off the bladed end of Airachnid’s frontmost right spider leg.

“*ARRGGH* I’ll tear out your optics for that!” Airachnid hissed loudly before attacking me with the claws of her hand servos.

Luckily, I was able to dodge her slash attack just in time to avoid having it tear through my breastplate. Her digitrtip servos were lightly emitting a small trail of smoke, signifying that she was using her acidic touch to couple it with her slash attacks.

“Look familiar Arcee? Just know that unlike last time, I’ll be using them to full capacity.” Airachnid said surly.

Airachnid then charged me, her claws ready and primed for slashing and ripping, but I wasn’t going to play by her rules. Transforming my hand servos into twin blasters, I throw myself backwards while unleashing a barrage of energon bolts on her. Airachnid quickly abandoned her charging attack and side-stepped my barrage before using blasters of her own to shoot at me. I dodged to the side as well and quickly raised my blasters to shoot at her still figure. Luckily for me, Airachnid was too slow to dodge my next shots as she took two energon bolts straight to her breastplate, causing her to be thrown back onto the ground by the force of my bolts. Her armor plates were thicker than most Con armor, much to my disappointment, which meant that neither of my blaster bolts managed to penetrate through her spark. Fortunately for me though, it seemed to have packed enough punch to knock her out of the fight, maybe even knock her dead.

Airachnid laid there, groaning and moving weakly before suddenly going limp, her spider legs twitching slightly in place before following Airachnid’s limp bodied state.  

‘… Is it over? Did I finally avenge Tailgate? Maybe I need a closer look, see if I really did snuff out her spark.’

With my blasters aimed at her, I slowly and carefully walk towards her, extremely mindful of the possibility that she might jump at me at any moment. As I got closer to her, my spark began to pulsate faster, causing the circuits within my body to go haywire in fear and paranoia. For the moment however, I pushed these feelings aside and analyzed her limp body as I finally got close enough to accurately observe her. Her optics were closed shut, and her hand servos laid on top of her breastplate, exactly where my energon bolts had hit her. She looked more dead to me than I could have ever imagined her to look like. Suddenly, a wave of relief starts to course through my circuits as I finally let my guard down and ex-vent a heavy sigh of closure.

“I hope you never find your way into the All Spark, you fragging glitch.” I cursed quietly as I stared daggers into her corpse.

Suddenly, before my neural processor could even register what happened, Airachnid quickly sprung back to life before aiming both her palms at me and shooting out a large web cluster. The web cluster was strong and heavy enough to send me flying back onto the cliffside for a third time, and as soon I crashed onto the cliffside, the sticky substance of her web cluster started to take action, trapping me in place for good. The fear that I had previously shut down began to emerge from my circuits like a pool of energon, causing me to panic frantically as I struggled to wiggle and move out of place. My optics moved around crazily, trying to spot something, anything that I could use to escape from Airachnid’s webs. Unfortunately for me, my luck ran out the moment she had me trapped in this web cluster.

Airachnid laughed sinisterly as she crawled closer toward me, her faceplate bearing a massive smug grin of victory.

“I would have thought a Bot only as stupid as Grimlock to fall for a trick like that, but you Arcee? Tsk, Tsk. You would put your poor partner Tailgate to shame.” Airachnid taunted mockingly, lifting my chin up with a single digit servo to meet her optic to optic.

“You’re a fragging coward, and one cycle, you’ll die like one.” I remarked coldly.

“Unfortunately for you, you won’t be functional enough to see that cycle happen. Ever.” Airachnid threatened just as coldly before raising her left bladed spider leg upwards, readying herself to strike my throat just as she did with Tailgate.

I could only look up to her bladed leg with fear in my optics as I suddenly began to experience brief memory surges of my life cycle. But instead of reminiscing in the horrible memories of the war here and on Cybertron, I was reminiscing in all of my most precious moments with my family and my closest friends. Tailgate, Chromia, Bumblebee, Optimus, Cliffjumper, Jack…

Every good Bot and human that I had even met, all of their smiling faceplates, all sketched into my neural processor. With a small ex-vent, I close my optics and finally accept my fate, mentally praying to Primus that I would find my way into the All Spark and reunite with my loved ones.

“Goodbye Arc-ARRGH.” Airachnid suddenly shouted in pain, coupled with the sound of stone and metal clashing together.

Opening my optics, I was met with the sight of Airachnid, now a couple feet away from me, lying still on the ground next to a large broken boulder near her faceplate.

“What?” I mutter to myself. Suddenly, Jack swings into my view before landing in front of me with the agility of a two-wheeler Bot.

“Nice to see that you’ve stuck around after all. Was worried that I’d never find you.” Jack quipped before approaching me and analyzing Airachnid’s webs.

“Didn’t I tell you stay away!? Why did you come back?!” I shouted at him in anger.

“That’s a weird way of saying “Thank you Spider-Man”. Maybe I can teach you that when we get back to base.” Jack joked as he tugged at the webs with no avail in removing them.

“Primus damn it Jack! This isn’t a joke! This is something I have to do alone, and you’re only making it worse!” I yelled louder this time, trying my hardest to get him to understand the direness of the situation.

“Yeah? Well good luck with that, because partners don’t ditch partners. I thought you of all people would know that more than I would.” Jack remarked sternly as his tugging slowly started to rip some of the webbing off.

“Get this through your thick skull, we are not partners, we never were. You’re just a setback to me, a liability.” I said in cold anger, this time, feeling all the more bitter to myself than I have before after saying that.

For a moment, Jack stops his pulling to look up at me in bewilderment and shock, emotions that I could very clearly see, even through his mask. That was until he shook his head at me and furrowed his lens’ before resuming his attempts at removing Airachnid’s webbing from me.

“I don’t believe you for a second. You’re lying and you know it Arcee. I can see it in your eyes, the way you shut me out back in the forest. You’re afraid, aren’t you Arcee….” Jack said in a gently stern voice.

My optics widened in surprise as repressed energon tears threatened to leak out from them. He knows…. Primus damn it, he knows. I should have figured he’d be able to see right through my tough faceplated demeanor. I just… I didn’t want to burden him with my own misery. I don’t want another partner of mine to be dragged down by my own problems. Because if Jack were to die, if he were to be taken from me by anyone, I don’t think I could ever recover. Forget being broken, my spark itself would cease the will to live.

Taking my silence as his answer, Jack then momentarily stopped his tugging to look back at a slowly recovering Airachnid. Afterwards, he turned back to me, his lens’ somehow filled with a genuine look of sincerity and sorrow.

“She’s who I remind you of… Isn’t she?” Jack said quietly, a bit of sorrow staining his voice.

“Y-yes… But you’re nothing like her, you never were. And you’re right Jack, I AM afraid. Afraid of losing my partner again, afraid of losing my closest friend. I’m afraid of losing you Jack!” I shouted in genuine sorrow this time, no longer caring about having to put on a tough front for him or anyone.

“Arcee….” Jack whispered.

With a sigh of determination from him, he refocused on pulling Airachnid’s webbing off me, and due to his abnormal strength, he was slowly succeeding. It would take another couple of kliks for him to fully remove her webbing, but with how fast Airachnid was recovering now, he would be extremely vulnerable to her while doing so. I can’t let him put his life on the line just to free me.

“Jack, listen to me, you need to go. Get as far away from here as you can and try to call for base if you can find a signal.” I urged him sternly.

“I thought I made it clear that I wouldn’t leave you behind.” he replied.

“Jack please! She’s too dangerous for you to take on! Please, just run away!” I urgently begged.

“No! I’m not leaving you here as bait just so that I can escape unscathed. We’re both going to make it out of here alive Arcee, I *argh* just need a *mmph* bit more time removing these *agh* stupid things.” Jack grunted sternly as some of the webbing started to rip off with ease. Suddenly, the sound of Airachnid’s treacherous laugh begins to fill the air, quickly drawing me and Jack’s attention to her. Airachnid had just picked herself off the ground and was slowly approaching us.

“Oh Arcee, another partner for me to kill? And a human partner at that. You shouldn’t have.” Airachnid cooed sinisterly.

“Listen, I can’t free you and fight her at the same time. So for now, I’ll have to draw her attention to me while you figure out a way to free yourself from this web cluster. Wish me luck partner.” Jack concluded before jumping off of me and landing between Airachnid and I.

“NO! JUST RUN, PLEASE!” I screamed out, but to no avail.

Airachnid laughed sinisterly at my urgent begging before laying her optics on Jack. An evil grin started to grow across her faceplate as she saw Jack standing defensively in front of me, her large sharp fangs menacingly peering from her oral cavity.

“So, you must be Arcee’s human pet, or does she prefer to call you her “partner”? Because if that’s so, then I’ll enjoy killing you more than I did her first partner, Tailgate.” Airachnid smiled surly.

“I prefer to be called Spider-Man. Don’t forget the hyphen between Spider and Man. Anyways, what should I call you? Psychoempress, Crazy Legs, Spider-Woman?” Jack mocked.

“Airachnid, and it’ll be the last name you’ll ever hear before I tear your tiny limbs piece by piece.” Airachnid threatened coldly before raising her left palm at him. Before I could even scream for Jack to move, he had already side-dodged her webshot before quickly web zipping on the high end of a tree.

“Hey! Webshooting is my thing! Get your own gimmick!” Jack shouted before aiming both his webshooters at her faceplate. Unknowing to what exactly Jack was capable of, Airachnid stood there, staring at him with a mix of anger and confusion.

Before Airachnid could even question him, Jack shot out two large webshots toward her faceplate and onto her optics, completely blinding her momentarily. Airachnid screamed in anger at the blinding attack as she used both her hand servos to try and rip off the webbing. I would have laughed loudly at her misfortune and congratulated Jack if it weren’t for the fact that my partner’s life was on the line.

“You fragging squishy! I’ll make every nano-cycle of your death more agonizing than any Autobot I had ever snuffed out!” Airachnid shouted as she finally ripped off the webbing.

“Yeah? Then you’ll have to come and catch me first. And you better not web swing, because that’s my thing too!” Jack taunted before jumping off the tree and swinging onto the next one.

“No! Don’t do this! Leave him alone!” I shouted at Airachnid, much to her amusement.

“As annoying as your human pet can be, he sure knows how to start a hunt. Let’s just hope he has bolts to finish what he started.” Airachnid concluded to me before taking her leave and following Jack into the deep darkening forest.

“JAAAAAACK!!!!!”

Maine - Forested Area - 17 Minutes Later...

I don’t know if this was the smartest or dumbest idea I could have come up with today, but as long as Airachnid isn’t anywhere near Arcee, then I’ll count it as a win in my book. Nighttime in Maine had already started a few minutes ago. So not only am I being hunted through a deep dark forest in the middle of the night, but my huntress also so happens to be a Decepticon-sized Spider-Woman.

‘Great, the one time I actually get to meet another spider person, and they want to kill me. What a way you have with woman, Jackson.’

Eventually, I decide to give myself a small break and swing onto a nearby tree, hoping and praying to God that Airachnid hasn’t been able to pick up on my exact location Just to be sure though, I quickly activate my invisibility while scoping out the area around me, making sure that I haven’t been spotted by her while cloaking myself. After seeing that the coast was clear, I made quick work checking my webshooters and their cartridges. I wasn’t exactly stocked full of web cartridges, but I knew I had enough to last me through the night. At least I hope I do.

“Look at you, hiding and cowering as if you don’t have the strength to take her on.” Nightmare eerily whispered. I ignored it, silently trying my hardest not to lash out on it and give away my location.

“Despite how pathetic you always were, even you know that you have the power to end her life. Why bother hiding it?” Nightmare asked out of thin air, his dark figure nowhere to be seen through the darkness of the forest.

“I won’t kill her just to satisfy your urges.” I quietly replied.

“Honor among murderers, eh? Should have expected that coming from you. You may not know this, but my thoughts are yours too. So don’t bother trying to lie to me with your broken morals, you never were a good liar anyways.” Nightmare taunted through an eerie, cold whisper.

Just when I was about to retaliate any further, I suddenly picked up on the sounds of metallic pitter-pattering. Shaking my head out of my dark thoughts, I immediately focus on the origin of those sounds, hoping that It would just be Arcee’s sneaking footsteps. Unfortunately, my hopes couldn’t have been more wrong as I spotted the eerie purple hue of Airachnid’s eyes piercing through the darkness of the forest. Her entire figure was slowly coming into view, and yet, even with the sheer size of her giant metallic body, she still was somehow able to lurk through the woods almost as quietly as a, well… a spider could. It was safe to say that her stealth skills could definitely give mine a run for my money.

“Playing hard to get, aren’t we my little spider? I like that.” Airachnid cooed out surly.

I cringed a little at the nickname this psycho gave me. We just met not even a few hours ago, and she’s already given me a nickname. Almost makes me wonder if this is how she treats all of her victims.

“Tell me, my little spider. What do you prefer I call you, Jack or Spider-Man? I’d hate to get your name wrong when I finally get the chance to rip the flesh from your bones.” Airachnid taunted with an evil laugh.

‘Shit, she knows my name. I hope this won’t bite me in the ass later.’

I furrowed my lens’ at her, more anger than fear building up in my system as I try to come up with another plan other than hiding. If I swing back to Arcee now, then there’s no doubt that she’ll follow me back. Maybe I should fight her now, try to take her down as soon as I can. Problem is, I don’t know exactly what she’s capable of. Maybe there’s more to her abilities than just shooting webs.

“Y’know, I’ve come across so very few beings within my life cycle who take after me, and so far, you aren’t disappointing me, my little spider. Are you sure you were meant to be Arcee’s partner? I know I usually work alone nowadays, but perhaps if you can survive me for the night, then maybe we can work something out.” Airachnid ushered in a seductively sinister tone.

Is she… flirting with me? Ew. 

Sorry Airachnid, but I’ve come across enough crazy people in my lifetime to know that the last thing that I ever need to do is date a sadistic spider huntress.

Having had enough of her taunts, I quietly aim a webshooter at a tree near her, a stealth trick that usually almost always works on crooks and other bad guys. Preforming my iconic hand gesture, a single webshot quickly traveled its way toward the nearby tree, hitting it and causing a sound loud enough to draw Airachnid’s attention to it.

“Hmm? What’s this, another gift for me? It’s a cute copy, but mine are far more effective.” Airachnid mocked as she analyzed my webshot.

Taking her distracted state as my opportunity to strike, I quickly shot out a webline onto a nearby tree and swung from it while trying to line up my fist up to meet her face. Airachnid turned around to face me midswing, but it was already to late for her as my fist finally made contact with her face. The momentum of my web swing coupled with my unnatural strength sent Airachnid stumbling onto her back with a pain filled grunt. I deactivate my invisibility and land back on the ground in my iconic pose, showing nothing but courage and anger towards the murderous Spider-Woman.

“You can make this easy for yourself Airachnid. Surrender peacefully and maybe I can talk Arcee out of killing you.” I warned with hidden anger in my voice.

Airachnid’s response was to laugh at me while she picked herself up using her spider legs. “Surrender? Has Arcee not told you anything about me? Then again, I was one of the very few to scar her for life.” Airachnid mocked, standing at her full height.

I clenched my fists harder than ever, feeling my anger slowly build up the more she talked about Arcee. “Last chance Airachnid, because now, you really don’t want to see what I’m capable of.” I threatened coldly as I felt my bioelectricity coursing through my arms.

“By all means Spider-Man, show me.” Airachnid hissed before revealing her sharp claws.

Not wanting her to make the first move, I quickly lunged towards her body, drawing my fist back as far as I could while allowing a powerful amount of bioelectricity to course through my right arm, setting myself up to venom punch her. To my surprise however, Airachnid jumped over my attack using her spider legs and landed behind me, completely misdirecting my punch and making me accidentally destroy the tree that she was just in front of. Suddenly, my spider sense started going off, warning me that she was about to attack me from behind. Without even looking back, I quickly dodged to the side and web zipped into the air before swinging onto a nearby tree.

“Was that all? Because now you’re just starting to bore me, and I hate being bored.” Airachnid said coldly.

“That was just one of many tricks up my sleeve, Airachnid. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind if I showed you a few more.” I remarked while staring her down in a cold fury.

Airachnid hissed at me before raising both her palms and shooting out a flurry of her own webshots. Using my quick reflexes, I jumped off the tree and continuously web swinged around her, all the while dodging some of her webshots midair as she continued to fail trying to shoot me down.

“Stand still you little scraplet!” Airachnid growled.

“Not a chance, Webhead!” I remarked loudly.

‘I always wanted to call someone that without sounding stupid.’

Soon enough, Airachnid stopped shooting her webshots at me, probably knowing as well as I that she could never hit me while I was freely dodging her shots in midair. Before Airachnid could try any other method of attacking, I landed on top of a nearby boulder and quickly shot out multiple weblines onto several large rocks laying on the ground. Using them as a makeshift flail mace, I jumped high off the boulder and swung at her in midair, hitting her face and arms several times. Airachnid yelped in pain as some of my hits began to severely put a dent in her armor plates, that was until she had enough of my makeshift weapons and decided to just grab onto them. With a firm grip on my weblines, she lifted them up, along with my entire body, and slammed me onto the earthy ground several times before flinging me away using my own weblines.

I was thrown back a couple of feet from the fling before hitting my right shoulder onto a large tree. I screamed painfully at the sudden jolt of pain that coursed through my right arm before my voice was reduced to pain filled grunting. However, there was no time for me to rest as I suddenly heard the sound of an energon blaster charging. Looking towards Airachnid, the holes on her palms glew a bright red color as they were getting ready to fire, almost like the blasters that Vehicons used. Without hesitation, I activated my invisibility and dived out of her line of fire before she could even shoot at me.

“Huh? A cloaking device, how strange. I thought human technology was supposed to be primitive, or perhaps that’s just another one of your “tricks”.” Airachnid questioned with a bit of frustration in her voice.

Although I had my invisibility on, I had no intention of hiding or running away from her. Admittedly, she is a bit faster than I thought she would be, so if I were to just try and venom punch her head-on, then she’d be able to dodge it with little effort. So instead, I opted for a sneak attack, something she’ll never see coming if everything goes according to plan. Without the use of web swinging or zipping, I sneakily walked behind her and crawled onto a tree, trying to get myself a high ground advantage over her to perform a powerful venom slam.

“*Arrgh* Back to hiding now, are you my little spider? Just when I was having fun with you, I’m truly offended.” Airachnid said sarcastically while scanning the area for any sign of me.

Not wanting her to move out of her spot before I could venom slam her, I lined myself up and quickly calculated whether or not my slam would miss. When I finally decided that my slam would successfully line up towards her body, I deactivated my invisibility and jumped off the tree, all the while charging an extreme amount of bioelectricity through both my arms. I was already inches away from her when she finally tilted her head up to look at me. In an instant, her calm sinister expression was replaced with pure shock and surprise as my falling body came inching closer to her.

“No!” Airachnid yelled out before my slam successfully hit her.

It was a beautiful light show of bright blue bioelectricity that coursed and surged through her armor plates and spider legs as I slammed the top of her body. The forceful slam brought her entire body down onto the dirt and gravel filled forest ground, staining and dirtying the front side of her armor plates. Her pain filled scream was like a chorus that followed along in unison to the sounds of my bioelectricity crackling through her robotic figure. In a strange, creepy sort of way, I found this situation almost satisfying.

Seconds after allowing my bioelectricity to course through my arms and into her body, I backflip off of her and quickly aim my webshooters at her. Since she was temporarily stunned, clearly evident by how all eight of her spider legs were frantically twitching out of control, I decided to give her a taste of her own medicine by throwing her into a tree myself, or several trees. Shooting out multiple weblines on her backside, I slowly started to swing her heavy body around me until my muscles finally got used to the feeling of swinging her entire weight. Eventually, my muscles were tense enough to allow me to hastily swing her around, even while she was practically midair.

“Now for the fun part!” I loudly remarked before letting go of my weblines.

In an instant, Airachnid’s entire body went flying a couple of feet into the woods. The momentum of her flying body became slower and slower as her large figure started to crash into more and more trees. Soon enough, Airachnid came to a halt after crashing into a few more trees, essentially creating a clear pathway for me to see the wreckage.

“Had enough you psycho?” I asked sternly. I felt a bit tired after those last few attacks, but it was something that I was already used to feeling by now.

Airachnid on the other hand, sounded a bit more exhausted than I was as her groans of pain audibly filled the night sky. Much to my disappointment however, she was far from finished.

“You… You wretched human! I’ve killed hundreds of species before your planet was even a spec of dust in the universe!” Airachnid yelled angrily while picking herself off the ground.

She was definitely damaged from my attack, that was for sure. Her face was slightly charred and covered in dirt, while her armor plates were even more dented and broken than before. That wasn’t even mentioning the fact that there were still some slight surges of bioelectricity that coursed through her body and her spider legs every few seconds.

“So… I’ll take that as a no?” I quipped.

“ARRGGHHH!” Airachnid screamed in rage, her pupilless eyes filled with a fiery fury.

Most Decepticons I knew would usually retreat by now, either in vehicle mode or through a ground bridge. But Airachnid, she’s relentless, as if she isn’t willing to take defeat from a human, or from somebody like me. To my surprise, Airachnid decided to transform back into her bipedal form, her spider legs shifting and shrinking onto her backside while her two real legs shifted and expanded out until her sharp heels finally touched the ground.

“I’ve had my fun toying with you as a spider, but now, it’s about time I collect your head and return it to my trophy room! I still have one empty space left, so it’s best not to let it go to waste.” Airachnid threatened coldly, this time giving me a sinister scowl.

Before I could retaliate with a quip, she sprinted toward me at full speed, her eyes and claws filled with malicious and dangerous intent. I quickly got into my battle stance and readied myself to dodge and then counterattack her, though I really wished for this fight to have ended already.

“You could have ended this much earlier, and you still can. All you need to do is show her your true colors. End. Her. Life.” Nightmare whispered to me.

I furrowed my lens’ even further and felt more internal rage build up through my body and into my nerves. Not rage towards Airachnid though, but rage towards myself and my dark thoughts. However, before me and Airachnid could clash again, the roaring sound of a familiar motorcycle engine started to fill the confines of the forest around us, interrupting and bringing our fight to an immediate stop. A massive sense of relief hit me like a freight train as soon as I saw the beautiful shine of Arcee’s cobalt blue metallic plating. Airachnid could only stare wide eyed in shock at Arcee’s hastily arrival before Arcee drove up a dirt slope and transformed midair, driving her heel into Airachnid’s stomach area and sending her flying several feet backwards.

“Arcee! You’re free! And you came back for me!” I shouted in joy.

“I wouldn’t dream of leaving my partner behind for a second time. Besides, you were able to loosen the webs up enough for me to use my wrist blade and slice through them.” Arcee replied as she wore a happy smirk on her face.

“Now what’d you say Jack, how about we get rid of an oversized bug infestation? Together this time.” Arcee asked in an excited tone.

“It would be my pleasure.” I happily remarked.

Before we knew it, me and Arcee were hastily making our way toward a slowly recovering Airachnid. Unfortunately for Airachnid, she wasn’t even able to stand up to her full height before receiving a devastating uppercut from Arcee’s fist. Following up with Arcee’s uppercut was a powerful swing kick from me, sending Airachnid’s head turning the other way and meeting Arcee’s fist once again. Balling both my fists together, I swung myself near her head and slammed both my fists onto her forehead while in midair. Airachnid’s head violently perked downwards, a small puddle of energon spilling through her mouth as she faced the ground. Without even being able to recover from my attack, Airachnid was suddenly held up high by her torso before being wrestler slammed onto the stonier ground by Arcee.

“*Uuuggh* H-how did you-“

Airachnid’s weakly spoken sentence was cut short when I threw a large broken log at her chest, causing her to violently roll backwards a few feet.

“Ready to finish this Arcee? Because I still owe Airachnid a venom punch.” I asked, vividly remembering when Airachnid effortlessly dodged by venom punch from earlier.

“Ready.” Arcee simply replied.

Together, in a coordinated unison, me and Arcee ran towards Airachnid’s damaged and kneeling body. At this point, Airachnid didn’t even seem to have the energy to get up and run, which was more than fortunate for us. As we got closer, I started to charge up a powerful amount of bioelectricity through my right arm, while Arcee balled her metallic fist tightly and drew it further backwards as we near towards Airachnid. The psychopathic Spider-Woman could only look upon us in absolute fear as she came to realize one thing…

She was going to lose today.

Jumping up to Arcee’s shoulder height, me and my partner drew our fists back to their fullest capacity before finally landing both our punches in unison, hitting Airachnid square on her breastplate. In an instant, Airachnid screamed in pain as the combined strength of our punch sent her flying almost an entire yard away from us. A large bioelectric explosion crackled loudly through the night sky as Airachnid was sent flying through the nightly forest, crashing through a couple of trees on her way that were unfortunate enough to be in her path. To add flare to the already awesome combo, a small trail of bioelectricity followed with Airachnid’s body before slowly fading out of our vision, like a comet shooting through space.

After the epic display, me and Arcee stood here for a while, blood and energon rushing through our veins as we were both seemingly exhilarated from the heavy beatdown we gave to Airachnid. That was when Arcee quickly turned my way and knelt before me, worriedly checking to see for any wounds or deep scars.

“I-I’m fine Arcee. She just ruffed me up was all. You should’ve seen wha-“

I was suddenly interrupted when Arcee wrapped both her arms around me in a tight hug, squeezing and holding onto me as if I would vanish into thin air if she let go. My breath hitched for a moment, before I closed my eyes and returned a hug that was equally as compassionate as hers. We stayed like this for some time, happily basking in each other’s company and compassion. Whether it lasted for seconds or minutes, I didn’t know for sure, but I wasn’t exactly complaining either.

“Jack… I’m glad you’re okay. I feared the worst when I heard an explosion coming from the woods, back when I was trapped on the cliffside. I felt so powerless and afraid… I was so afraid for you Jack…” Arcee spoke softly, with sorrow staining every edge of her beautiful voice.

“I was terrified for you too Arcee. When you ran from me, I thought you would be gone for good. I… I felt so alone…” I whispered softly as I brought a hand up to Arcee’s smooth metal cheek, rubbing it gently to her liking.

Arcee smiled at the gentle touch, even pushing her face slightly more into my hand to further enjoy the sensation. Arcee then slowly broke our hug, releasing me from her warm arms, much to my disappointment. To my surprise though, Arcee slowly raised her right hand towards my face, and using only her index finger and her thumb, she pinched a small portion of my mask’s cloth before slowly raising my mask up. Strangely enough, I wasn’t objecting to her taking my mask off, not even a small grunt of disapproval came out of my mouth as she slowly revealed my face. Eventually, she removed my mask fully, completely exposing my bruised face to the cold winds of the night. For a moment, Arcee’s calm and happy expression changed into slight concern as she spotted several light bruises on my cheeks and head.

“Yeah… I’m not exactly a sight for sore eyes.” I chuckled playfully. Arcee smiled back at me as she shook her head.

“You are to me, Jack." Arcee ushered softly as she brushed her smooth metallic finger against my cheek.

I was starting to blush heavily at the intimate touch, while Arcee continued to brush her finger softly against my face. However, unlike all the other times I blushed in front of Arcee, I didn’t back away from her. This time, it was different, it felt different. Strangely enough, I felt our faces slowly moving towards each other, and the closer we got, the more intimate this whole situation felt. I looked up at Arcee’s eyes to see if she was also experiencing the same feeling, and to my complete surprise, she was. Her gorgeous cyan eyes, lined with beautiful pink outlines, looked calm but unsure at the same time. However, neither her eyes nor her expression was objecting the matter, in fact, it almost looked as if she was completely fine with how close we were getting.

‘I-is this really happening?... Are we… going to…’

We slowly inched our faces closer…

And closer….

Closer……

VVVVVVMMMMMMMMMMMM

The continuous sound of a loud drill suddenly ripped us from our intimate moment, causing me to internally scream in rage at whoever ruined the moment. Arcee quickly perked her head up towards the sound, hastily trying to find the source of the drilling.

“Airachnid!” Arcee suddenly shouted, standing herself up and sprinting to where we had just punched Airachnid away.

I quickly followed behind her, having to web zip to her in order to catch up with Arcee. Eventually, we came across a huge hole that was dug deep through the dirt, one large enough to fit Arcee inside of. Looking around the hole, there seemed to be no sign of Airachnid’s body anywhere. Which could only mean that she used some kind of device to dig through the earth and escape while me and Arcee were having a…. a moment.

“A-at least drilling wasn’t another spider gimmick she copied from me, am I right?” I nervously joked, earning me a small glare from Arcee before her expression changed into a smirk.

“C’mon smooth operator, lets get you to base. You could use a few bandages… and a clean suit.”

Chapter Text

Nevadan Outskirts – Autobot HQ – Two Days Later…

“So, what’d you think Doc? Are they ready for the field yet?” I asked from the catwalk beside Raf and Miko, both of which were observing the medbot at work in awe.

“Almost, but it’ll take a while. Admittedly, thanks to your help, I was able to understand the function and design of your webshooters, along with how I would be able to interpret Airachnid’s webbing into them. Which thankfully cuts the length of this project by a rather vast amount.” Ratchet admitted rather genuinely, causing me to wear a proud smile on my face.

“However!” Ratchet suddenly said, causing my smile to quickly falter. “Due to how primitive the design your webshooters are compared to Airachnid’s, I will have to make some slight adjustments of my own in order for them to work under the intensity of her webbing.” Ratchet explained in his usual cybertonian scientist voice.

“As long as they’re not colored white and orange, then I’m fine with a few changes.” I chuckled, followed by a small giggle from Raf and Miko.

“Look, I know Ratchet’s a genius and all, but even geniuses break stuff sometimes, especially when said genius is a giant robot from outer space. What if he accidentally breaks your webshooters?” Miko asked, earning her a small grunt from the working doctor.

“Well, if that happen, then it’s a good thing I always make extras.” I said smugly as I pulled both my sleeves down, fully revealing the extra webshooters I had hidden underneath.

“Woah! / Sweet!” Raf and Miko shouted in awe, to which the grumpy medbot rolled his eyes to.

“Yes, yes, its all very impressive. Just remember who created your upgraded versions while you web swing through the battlefield.” Ratchet said gruffly, not taking his eyes off his work on my webshooters.

“I’ll be sure to give you a gold star and a kiss on the cheek when you’re finished with them.” I joked, which earned me a brief glare from Ratchet.

“Wait, don’t you usually have to chemically make your normal webs? What if you run out of Airachnid’s webbing, do you have a way to make more?” Raf asked while adjusting his glasses.

“Well…. No, not really. So far, these samples Arcee and I got are the only ones we could get our hands on. Me and Ratchet have yet to analyze them, let alone know how to make more without having to take some from the Psychoempress herself.” I explained, shuddering slightly at the memory of her evil taunts about Arcee’s pain.

“Wait, you and Ratchet?” Miko asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Yeah. I might not have cybertonian scientist levels of genius, but I can still be at least helpful in a lab situation. I can collect and create some chemical mixtures similar to Airachnid’s webbing, while Ratchet can help analyze and study the webbing’s exact properties and materials. Who knows, maybe by the time me and Ratchet are done studying them, we can probably keep creating an infinite supply of Airachnid’s webs.” I replied to Miko, even though she seemed to lose interest halfway through my explanation.

“That… isn’t actually a bad idea, Jack. Perhaps Rafael can help us with our studies as well. It’s as you humans say, “The more, the merrier”.” Ratchet smiled at the little genius.

“I-I… Me? Well… Making chemicals isn’t exactly my strong suit, but I can definitely help Ratchet with analyzing the samples.” Raf said confidently, to which Ratchet laughed proudly at.

“Now that’s the scientist spirit! It’s as if I were studying with my fellow peers back in the academy again. Except with humans this time.” Ratchet remarked before returning to his work.

“Sooooo. What kind of upgrades are we talking about?” Miko excitedly asked.

“Hm? Oh, nothing much. Just stronger, more durable webbing, that’s all.” I reply, trying to hide the excitement in my voice. As much as I hate to admit it, I really could have used webbing like Airachnid’s when I was stopping that train. Could have saved me a few web cartridges… and some muscles.

“Awwww. I thought it would be much cooler than that.” Miko pouted disappointedly.

“Don’t worry Miko, I’ll think of a face-melting webbing formula later.” I joked, which seemed to raise Miko’s spirit. The sound of radio static suddenly sounded through the base’s monitor for a second before cutting off to Bulkhead’s voice.

“Hey Doc, we need a ground bridge here. Just got done with dismantling duty.” Bulkhead requested calmly.

“I’m opening a ground bridge at your arrival coordinates, stand by.” Ratchet replied before leaving his spider project and making his way to the ground bridge controls.

“Dismantling duty?” Raf questioned.

“Yeah, we’ve been dismantling and destroying Airachnid’s ship for parts and tools for the past two days. And when I mean by “we”, I mean by Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee, and Optimus.” I explained.

“What for? Wouldn’t it be a better idea to just repair the ship than destroy it for parts.” Raf asked with a cocked eyebrow this time.

“That’s what I said at first, until Arcee and Ratchet objected to the idea. Ratchet said that we didn’t have the tools nor the energon close enough to even think about making repairs to her ship. And Arcee, well…. She has her own issues with Airachnid’s ship.” I say the last part a bit sheepishly.

The sound of the ground bridge opening suddenly echoed throughout the base, and one-by-one, Arcee, Optimus, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead came walking through the portal, each of them carrying a heavy crate load filled with parts and other junk. They each set aside the loaded crates in the corner of the room, where Ratchet usually works on his projects and whatnot. Suddenly feeling a bit happier now that Arcee was here, I jumped down from the catwalk and approached my cobalt blue partner.

“Hey Arcee, had any spider trouble today?” I asked with a big smirk plastered on my face. Arcee scoffed before answering.

“After the beatdown we gave her, she wouldn’t dare to show her fragging faceplate around us for another five cycles.” Arcee smugly stated.

“Yeah, a venom punch combined with the punch of a strong cybertonian woman can really do numbers on a psychopath like her.” I chuckled. “Anyways, what about her “trophies”? You guys didn’t just leave it out in the open for any campers to see, did you?” I asked Arcee.

Suddenly, Bulkhead started to laugh loudly, followed by Bumblebee’s chuckling beeps. “Those creepy displays? Don’t worry kid, me and Bee here made good use outta those overgrown fleshy scraplets, by using them as target practice.” Bulkhead explained before laughing again with Bumblebee.

I followed along with their laughs with a chuckle of my own. “Just imagine the look on Airachnid’s face when she realizes that you guys destroyed her ship and her stuff.” I chuckled louder.

“If only she didn’t escape from us that day. She still has a lot to pay for what she did to me.” Arcee remarked a bit angerly.

“We’ll get her next time Arcee, together.” I promised genuinely. Hearing my promise, her expression softens into a happier tone as she changes her small scowl into a gentle smile.

“I know, I can always count on you Jack.” Arcee replied genuinely. “Anyways, how’s that new upgrade of yours working out?” Arcee asked, placing a hand on her hip.

“Its not finished yet, though Ratchet did say its going well so far. Honestly, I’m just glad I’m finally getting an upgrade on my webshooters. You have no idea how many paychecks I would have had to save up just to even consider wanting to upgrade them.” I said, mentally relieved at how much money Ratchet’s work is saving me right now.

‘Maybe I really should give Ratchet a gold star and a kiss on the cheek.’

“I wish I had some upgrades of my own. Could really go for some stronger armor plates and blasters right about now.” Arcee scoffed playfully.

“Yeah, and maybe you could get yourself a new paintjob while you’re at it. I always wondered what you’d look like in all pink.” I said before trying to conjure up a mental image of that thought exactly.

“What’s wrong with my current paintjob?” Arcee asked with a cocked eyebrow.

“Wha- N-nothing! I-It’s just a thought, y’know, since you’re mostly cobalt blue with pink accents. It’s like how some people want to know what Spider-Man would look like with his suit’s colors reversed.” I replied nervously, hoping that I didn’t just upset my partner.

“Hmm? I’d be lying if I said that thought hadn’t crossed my mind more than once. Though, transforming into an all-pink motorcycle isn’t exactly a great disguise for me.” Arcee thoughtfully replied.

“Yeah, now that you mention it… Anyways, I think cobalt blue suits you better. It’s what drew me to you the first time we met, outside of K.O Burger.” I said, briefly reminiscing in the memory of our first encounter, before the shit hit the fan.

“Is that all?” Arcee said teasingly.

“W-well… No. T-the build of y-your vehicle mode was uhh, unique and cool.” I said sheepishly as I suddenly felt nervous about what to say next.

“Careful there Jack, you might blow a fuse just thinking about it.” Arcee teased at my nervousness.

“Y-yeah, sorry.” I murmured, to which Arcee lightly chuckled at, though not condescendingly.

“Alright Spider-Man, I’ve got to debrief something to Optimus. I’ll catch up with you later.” she ended with a wink before walking off.

“Yeah, sure thing partner.” I said, still feeling a bit nervous on the inside.

‘Great job Darby, you’ve got butterflies in your stomach for a sentient alien robot from another planet. What a perfectly normal love life you have Spider-Man.’

At this point, it was no question to myself that I had feelings for Arcee, and that she might also feel the same way as well. Although, we never really mentioned to each other about how we almost kissed after our fight against Airachnid. In fact, we never mentioned it at all, either out of respect for each other or out of embarrassment. It was obvious that that kiss almost happened because we were drawn to each other at that moment, a moment when we were both physically and emotionally vulnerable. Did that mean we grew distant from each other from then? Not even close.

Sure, we weren’t in a romantic relationship, but our relationship now, not just as partners, but as close friends, is closer than ever before. We relish in our company together, and in the happiness and comfort we both bring to each other, even during our most vulnerable moments. And for the first time in a long while, I feel…. happy.

A happiness that I’ve only ever felt around Gwen Stacy, one of the few women in the world who brought out the best in me. It’s almost surreal to me how similar Arcee can be to Gwen sometimes. Sure, she may be all metal and energon, but she’s proven to me more than once that she was just as much of a living being as the rest of humanity, unlike some monsters I’ve met. I know that Arcee feels happier being around me too, and despite how well she hides it from the others, I can still see that she sometimes shares the same nervousness that I show around her as well. Though, times like that can be very rare for me to spot.

Although a romantic relationship between a human and a cybertronian seems extremely unusual, and maybe even impossible, it still doesn’t mean that I can just push down these feelings and ignore them. I just hope that maybe someday I get to confess my feelings to her, and that hopefully, she feels exactly the same for me as well. Because this internal pit within my stomach, this growing feeling of uneasiness and dread, it’s slowly but surely getting to me.

“If Gwen wasn’t already ashamed of you then, then there’s no doubt that she is now.” Its eerie voice scolded me, causing my entire body to immediately tense up.

“You think that you can just love somebody else and forget about what you did her?” Nightmare questioned in animosity.

 “I-I still l-love her, even now…” I murmured through the tenseness of my throat.

“Really? Then why do you feel guilty about your feelings for this machine? Could it be that you know, deep down inside, that your love for Arcee means betraying the love that you have for Gwen.” It scolded harshly.

Shaking out of my tenseness, I looked around the common area for any sign of my Nightmare, only to see it floating beside Arcee, she was facing away from me while talking to Optimus. Suddenly, anger started to boil inside of me as I saw it eerily staring at Arcee while it slowly caressed her shoulder.

“Get away from her.” I quietly threatened.

“Tell me, how long do you think it’ll take until you get her killed? A week, a month, a year? Maybe even today.” It started to laugh hollowly, a laugh that I grew to hate ever since it conjured itself within my mind.

I suddenly found myself instinctively walking towards Arcee, my hands clenched into hard fists as I started daggers into my Nightmare. But before the real conflict could even start, the monitor’s alarms suddenly began to blare, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. I stared at the blaring monitor for a moment before looking back at my Nightmare, only to see that it was gone, vanished into thin air. I let out a long, shaky breath of relief before joining the small group of Autobots that were staring at the monitor while Ratchet tried to figure out the cause of the sudden alarm.

“What’s going on Ratch?” Bulkhead asked as he peered at the monitor.

“It appears that the satellites have detected a signal, a very peculiar signal… Wait, it can’t be…. By the All Spark!” Ratchet shouted in surprise.

“W-what? What’s going on?” I asked while perching myself on the catwalk’s safety rails.

“T-this is impossible! My optics must be deceiving me!” Ratchet continued through a surprised tone.

“What is it Ratchet!” Arcee shouted, snapping Ratchet out of his awe-stricken phase.

“If Earth’s satellites are detecting this signal correctly, then we may have found an ancient cybertronian data cylinder.” Ratchet explained, not hiding the awe that stained his voice.

While I, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee gave Ratchet a look of confusion, Optimus instead looked upon Ratchet and the signal in slight shock and surprise.

“Are you certain of this Ratchet?” Optimus asked, stepping closer towards the monitor and inspecting the signal himself.

“Optimus, there are very few ancient cybertronian devices that can conjure a signal as powerful as this one. I am certain that we are detecting the signal of a data cylinder.” Ratchet poised proudly.

“Uhh, guys? I don’t mean to intrude, but what’s so special about a data cylinder?” I asked, confusion clearly written all over my face.

“Long ago, during the golden age of Cybertron, dozens of these cylinders were created to hold the sum total of cybertronian knowledge. Each of these cylinders contained vast intelligence on any given cybertronian subject, such as medicine, mythology, and even ancient but powerful weaponry.” Ratchet explained with wonder in his eyes.

“But why now? Doesn’t it seem strange that a signal that powerful, leading to an artifact this important, just seemingly appeared out of nowhere?” I questioned as my suspicions began to grow.

“The sudden appearance of it’s signal may be because it had just crash landed onto Earth’s surface.” Optimus answered.

“You mean like how we detected Airachnid’s ship?” I replied.

“Yes, but more so. During the war on Cybertron, many of these cylinders were jettisoned into space to keep them as far away from the Decepticon’s reach as we could. The one that we are detecting now may have just recently landed here.” Optimus said, sounding almost reminiscent of his time back on Cybertron.

“Correct, and if we were able to detect it’s signal, then there’s no doubt that the Decepticons would have been able to track it as well.” Ratchet said with a stern expression.

“Agreed. These cylinders contain information that could possibly turn the tide of this war for either side. We must reach the cylinder first and retrieve it before the Decepticons manage to capture it.” Optimus then activated his battle mask.

“Ratchet, open a ground bridge near the cylinder’s coordinates. Autobots! Prepare yourselves, the risk of a Decepticon ambush may be imminent once we arrive near the cylinder.” Optimus commanded stoically as he stood near the ground bridge device.

As Bulkhead and Bumblebee said their goodbyes to their charges, I began to quickly change into my Spidey suit in a secluded area of the common room. When I finished changing, I came out and waited for the team to be ready while standing near Arcee and Optimus.

“So, where exactly did the cylinder land?” I asked Optimus.

“I believe it has landed in a remote area of the Nevadan desert, far from Jasper. However, due to the crash site’s lack of tall structures, it may prove difficult for you to traverse properly through the use of your webs. Are you sure that you want to accompany us in this mission?” Optimus asked with polite concern. Arcee stared at me with a worried look on her bright cyan eyes as she awaited my answer.

“Don’t worry Optimus, there’s more than one way to travel around a place.” I remarked as I smiled upon Arcee, to which she nodded back with a smile as well. “And if that doesn’t work, then I’ll just use Bulkhead’s backside to web swing around.” I joked, earning me a small chuckle from Arcee and an amused huff from Optimus.

“I appreciate your light sparked humor Jack. We all do. Because even through the tragedy and horrors of war, we must never lose ourselves amidst the violence of our battles. Be it a battle against our enemies, or a battle against yourself.” Optimus sincerely said in a more genuine tone.  

“If only he knew just how broken you really are.” Nightmare suddenly whispered, followed by a hollow, echoey laugh.

“I-I…. Thank you, Optimus. I appreciate you guys too.”

Nevadan Desert – Two Minutes Later…

Swinging through the almost nauseating portal, my team and I finally found ourselves on solid, earthy ground as we exited through the ground bridge. While hanging onto Optimus’s shoulder, I look around the crash site and scope out the area for any Decepticon activity. It was like what Optimus said, it was a remote, flat desert area covered mostly by light orange sand and surrounded by tall rocky mountains. Unfortunately, those mountains were too far away from me to even consider web swinging off of them.

Bumblebee suddenly began to communicate through his usual tones and beeps while pointing at something in front of us. Looking at what he pointed out, we were immediately met with the sight of a large light blue and silver colored cylinder with a glowing red button on the very top of it. It laid on top of a small crater that had a cobweb-like pattern of the shattered ground surrounding it, and yet somehow, the cylinder looked undamaged.

“That’s the ancient cylinder? That thing looks more advanced than most Oscorp tech I’ve seen.” I remarked in surprise.

“It’s cybertronian ancient, remember?” Arcee pointed out with a grin.

“Very funny.” I said flatly.

“Remember, this may still be a Decepticon trap, so stay vigilante. Spider-Man, do your senses detect anything?” Optimus asked as he and everybody else slowly walked towards the cylinder, their blasters activated and primed.

“Not yet, though that might be because they don’t know that we’re here yet.” I replied while looking around on Optimus’s shoulder.

Bulkhead scoffed, “That’s unlikely. The Cons can practically track us while we’re outside of base through our radio chatter.”

“Okay, so what’s taking them so long?” I said as the anticipation within me started to grow heavier.

“Maybe the Cons are trying to play with their food, trying to scare us into losing.” Arcee suggested sternly.

“While Optimus and the rest of us are out in the open? No offence Optimus, but Starscream would jump at the chance of killing you anytime he has the opportunity to.” I said.

“None taken. And I concur, it is a rare opportunity for us all to be in such a vulnerable situation. This makes it a perfect chance for any Decepticon to strike us down. Especially one such as Starscream.” Optimus replied stoically.

Suddenly, my spider sense started to set off frantically, and my sense of hearing began to hone in on the distant sounds of multiple fighter jets roaring through the sky, closing in on our position.

“Optimus! We’ve got company, fliers closing in on us!” I warned through a shout.

“Autobots! Quickly, we must retrieve the artifact and escape through our ground bridge!” Optimus commanded as we all started to b-line it towards the cylinder.

Before we could reach the cylinder though, another ground bridge suddenly opened inches away from behind the cylinder, and out came running from the portal was a huge dark blue metal plated cybertronian. He was as large as Bulkhead and even a bit taller than him too. His face was a smooth orange color, and unlike most Deceptions I’ve seen, his eyes glew a bright yellow hue.

Coming to a halt, the orange faced Con suddenly activated his shoulder mounted energon blaster and aimed it at Optimus before shooting him square in the chest. The energon bolt was powerful enough to knock Optimus back, causing me to stumble off of him and onto solid ground. Suddenly feeling a major sense of danger, my body instinctively activated my invisibility without even needing me to activate it myself. I quickly stood up and looked around to see that the Vehicon fighter jets that I had sensed earlier were now transformed into their bipedal mode and surrounding me and my team. Not wanting to be accidently stepped on and turned into spider minced meat by my own teammates, I quickly web zipped out of the frantic Autobot stampede by using Bulkhead’s backside, unironically.

My team, excluding me, were huddled together in a group, with their backs facing together as they all pointed their blasters at their surrounding opponents. All eight Vehicons, including the newly arrived Decepticon, aimed their blasters at my team as they slowly closed in on them. Strangely enough though, the Cons weren’t firing at them, at least not yet.

“Lord Starscream, we’ve got them surrounded. They aren’t going anywhere.” the new Con chuckled through his comm link.

“Breakdown. Should’ve known I’d see you here, sooner or later.” Bulkhead coldly remarked.

“Bulkhead! You old fragging mech. I figured you would’ve been blown to bits by now. Well, it’s a good thing you aren’t, I’ve been itching for another rematch with you.” Breakdown remarked as he slammed both his fists together. Bulkhead responded to his enemy’s snarky remark with a low growl and an icy-cold stare.

‘Didn’t know Bulkhead had an archenemy of his own. Next thing I know, Bumblebee is going to have an archenemy called… the Waspinator or something.’

Despite how calm and collected Arcee looked right now, I could still tell that she was somewhat distressed. Not of the Decepticons that surrounded her, but of that fact that she couldn’t find me at all. She looked around herself and around the other Autobots to see if I was anywhere near, and when she saw that I wasn’t, worry began to grow in her eyes. Her worried look was almost enough to make me deactivate my invisibility then and there, but I held through those feelings, knowing that I’d instantly lose the element of stealth and get shot on the spot if I were to turn visible again.

A familiar dark and sinister chuckle suddenly began to sound through the battlefield. Looking towards the origin of the villainous laughter, I was met with the inglorious sight of Starscream’s devilish figure. He clasped his sharp hands together as he slowly emerged from the same ground bridge portal that Breakdown ran through, all the while wearing a sinister grin on his face. The smug look on Starscream’s face caused all of Team Prime, especially Arcee, to glare daggers into him, intensifying the situation even more.

“Prime, I’m glad you could show up. I was beginning to wonder if you had even picked up on the cylinder’s signal at all.” Starscream chuckled evilly.

“Starscream. Was this all an elaborate set up to trap us outside of our base’s confines?” Optimus questioned without an ounce of fear in his voice.

“On the contrary, the data cylinder that stands before us is the real deal, according to Soundwave’s data. And I fully intend to use whatever ancient data lies within it, not before I snuff the life out of your sparks. One by one.” Starscream threatened as he pointed his sharp finger at each member of Team Prime.

“You knew we’d be here for the cylinder, so you used that to your advantage by setting up this ambush to kill us.” Arcee pointed out without sounding even a little impressed.

Starscream laughed smugly, “Sometimes, I prefer to kill two scraplets with one stone.” Starscream remarked, grasping his left hand into a tight fist.

It felt strange, watching this whole thing unravel before me as if I wasn’t here at all. Sure, I’ve been in some situations like this before, but not to this extent. I couldn’t ponder on this feeling forever though, Starscream would eventually stop his annoying monologuing, and when that happens, he and the rest of his merry band of drones will execute my friends on the spot. I have to stop him now, while I still can.

I quietly and carefully stepped towards Starscream, trying to make my invisible presence as unknown as possible to the Cons surrounding us. I opted to sneak up behind Screamy and give him a shock of his life, something that I knew would instantly draw everyone’s attention, including the surrounding Vehicons. If my sneak attack goes according to plan, then it should buy my team enough time to fire at the distracted Vehicons while one of us grabs the cylinder and escapes through our ground bridge. Maybe it wasn’t the perfect plan, but it was better than doing nothing while watching my friends die in front of me.

“And all Decepticons will witness a new age of Cybertron! The Age of Starscream! Emperor of- Wait… I’m missing someone, aren’t I?” Starscream asked in confusion as he eyed the Autobots in front of him carefully.

“Missing who?” Breakdown asked in even greater confusion.

“The Autobot’s super-human bug. The one that broke off my thumb servo! Didn’t you listen to anything I said in the debriefing room!” Starscream shouted in anger.

“Uhhh, I… I didn’t think you were actually serious about that Spider-Guy.” Breakdown replied, earning him a mean glare and a growl from Starscream.

“I am always serious! Did Knockout not show you my recent medical records!” Starscream shouted even louder.

“Y-your thumb servo seems fine to me…” Breakdown said nervously.

“THAT’S BECAUSE KNOCKOUT REPLACED IT YOU IDIOT!!” Starscream… well, screamed.

“I-I’m sorry Lord Starscream.” Breakdown apologized as he visibly backed away from the seething Con leader.

Starscream pinched his nose area and let out a heavy sigh of anger. “Now you’ve made me forget my ENTIRE monologue. Alright… Where is he! Where is the one these primitive lifeforms call Spider-Man!” Starscream yelled at the grouped-up Bots.

“Spider-Man? Bulk, you’ve heard of him before?” Arcee lied.

“Never met the guy.” Bulkhead remarked as he stared coldly at Breakdown.

“You’re stalling for him, aren’t you? Very well, if that’s the way it’s going to be, then I’ll save you all the trouble of having to hear the screams of this planet’s inhabitants as I scourge and destroy their cities-“

Finally having made my way behind Starscream without being detected, I took his long and boring monologue as the golden opportunity to go on with my plan. Deactivating my invisibility, I quickly jumped onto the back of his neck and charged up an immense amount of bioelectricity through my arms.

“Surprise Screamy.” I remarked smugly, earning me a shocked side-glare and a surprised yelp from the slender gray Con.

“AAAHHHHHH!!!” Starscream screamed in pain as his entire body began to seize up and shake frantically.

Every Con within the vicinity immediately aimed their blasters toward me, but since Starscream was in their line of fire, all they could do was watch and hope for a clear line of fire at me as Starscream continued to wail in electrified agony.

“Autobots, attack!” Optimus ordered before quickly shooting down two distracted Vehicons in their heads.

Following his command, the rest of Team Prime began firing upon all the other Vehicons, including Breakdown. Now knowing that they had lost their advantage, the Cons were either desperately firing back at Team Prime or running for whatever little cover there was here. My body suddenly began to feel weary, warning me that if I continued with my bioelectrical shock attack any further, I would eventually wear myself out. Acknowledging that, I quickly discontinued my shock attack and jumped overhead Starscream, effortlessly landing on the ground in front of him. Starscream stood there for a moment, his limbs still slightly shaking in electrical shock before eventually, he fell onto his knees, letting out a shaky painfilled grunt as he pointed his face at the ground.

“Y-you… f-fried my circuits…” Starscream weakly said.

“Good to see you too Screamy. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Looks like you got yourself a new manicure while you were at it. Were you anticipating me that much?” I joked mockingly.

“W-when I g-get my hand servos on you, I will- *AARGH*”

His threat was short lived when I quickly web striked his face, causing his back to hit the solid ground below him as he yelped out in pain.

“You wanna reconsider your threats? Call off your guys and surrender, before things get worser for you.” I told the whimpering gray Con.

“B-Breakdown… Destroy him.” Starscream quietly mumbled.

Before I could even question him, my spider sense began to tingle frantically, causing me to look behind myself and spot Breakdown’s rapidly approaching figure. Like Bulkhead, Breakdown was able to transform one of his hands into a heavy melee weapon. In Breakdown’s case, it was a giant cybertronian sized hammer.

‘First I had to deal with the Rhino and his horn, and now I’ve got to deal with this bozo and his hammer!’

As Breakdown was rapidly closing the distance between us, I went into my jumping stance and waited for the king-sized bozo to make his first move at me. With quick and athletic precision, I backflipped away just in time to dodge his first hammer swing. Now that he was momentarily open for a counterattack, I jumped onto his chest and crawled near his face before delivering him a flurry of my own swings and punches on his orange-colored face. Breakdown sputtered in pain while stumbling backwards, as if his face were being mauled off by a wild honey badger.

“G-get off of me!” Breakdown shouted angrily.

He suddenly made to reach for me and throw me off his face, but before he could grab me, I quickly crawled away from his face and onto his back, causing him to grunt in angered confusion.

“Where’d you go?! I haven’t pummeled your squishy body into the dirt yet!” Breakdown yelled as he looked around himself.

“I’m right here you doofus!” I called out before delivering him a surprise web strike to his face. As Breakdown started to act more aggressively, I continued to make a joke of him by crawling all around his giant body, confusing him and just throwing him off in general.

“You sure you’re a Decepticon? Because if you are, then I’m sorry to say this, but you’re really starting to disappoint me here. I’ve seen Vehicons more dangerous than you.” I mocked while he tried to swat me off unsuccessfully.

“How’re you doing this! You’re just a human!” Breakdown shouted in anger.

“Haven’t you read the Daily Bugle’s news reports on me, or are you too dumb to read?” I taunted as I crawled onto the back of his neck.

Yelling in rage, Breakdown suddenly lifted his hammer hand toward his back, trying to hit me off. Before he could lift his hammer any closer to me though, I shot out four weblines from my right webshooter onto his hammer and pulled on it with just the strength of my right arm, preventing him from moving his hammer out of position.

“That’s a cute hammer, did your husband give it to you?” I taunted as I pulled harder on his hammer, causing Breakdown to struggle even more from moving it.

“*Argh* As a matter of fact, he just polished it this morning!” Breakdown remarked before suddenly transforming into his vehicle mode, completely throwing me off his back and onto the rocky ground.

I quickly picked myself off the desert floor only to be met with the rapidly approaching sight of Breakdown in his vehicle mode. He was flooring it towards me in terms of speed, trying to run me over as opposed to just swinging his hammer at me. Without wasting a second, I jumped overhead Breakdown’s large jeep mode and quickly landed back onto the floor, only to jump overhead again as Breakdown tried his luck to turn me into roadkill for a second time. After landing back a second time, I saw Breakdown speeding towards me for a third attempt. Now, he was really testing his luck.

Deciding to end his vehicular man slaughtering attempts, I side dodged him this time before quickly turning around and shooting two separate weblines at both his back wheels. Before he could drive away any further, I forcefully pulled back on both weblines as hard as I could, which almost instantly broke off both his back wheels, causing the big oaf to roll around in vehicle mode before sloppily transforming back into his bipedal mode.

Realizing that he was losing the fight, Breakdown slammed his fist onto the ground, causing a small crater to form around the impact.

“If you think that I’m gonna back down and retreat from a human wearing a stupid red and blue costume, then you’re sorely mistaken.” Breakdown said as he raised himself off the ground.

“Look, as much as I’d like to keep throwing you in the dirt, I think you have much bigger problems to worry about.” I remarked as I spotted Bulkhead slowly approaching Breakdown from behind.

“Like what? Optimus Prime.” Breakdown scoffed heavily in amusement.

“No. Bulkhead.” I replied smugly.

Breakdown’s humorous expression instantly changed into confusion before turning around and having his face quickly smashed by Bulkhead’s left mace hand.

“Good work kid, I’ll take care of him now.” Bulkhead gave me a thumbs up before returning to his beatdown against Breakdown.

With him out of the way, I quickly looked around the battlefield for Arcee and the rest. Optimus and Bumblebee were fighting in hand-to-hand combat together against three Vehicons, while Arcee was taking on three other Vehicons alone, and by the looks of it, she was defending the cylinder that laid on the ground next to her. Deciding to be a good partner, I hastily ran toward Arcee to help her out with her fight. As I was running however, my spider sense began to frantically warn me of something, but I couldn’t tell what the danger was since my senses weren’t honing in on anything.

Suddenly, a ground bridge portal opened feet’s away behind Arcee, and out came through the portal were four battle ready and murderous Vehicons. Their arrival was unbeknownst to Arcee since she was already busy with the three Vehicons currently battling her. As far as I was concerned though, they didn’t care. Those Vehicons were going to overwhelm and kill Arcee unless I step in and help her.

“ARCEE! BEHIND YOU!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Arcee caught attention of me and quickly turned around only for her breastplate to be met with two Vehicon energon bolts. The impact of both bolts not only damaged Arcee but also knocked her back a few feet onto the ground as she briefly yelled in pain.

“ARCEE!!” I screamed even louder as my heart instantly dropped at the horrific sight.

When I finally reached Arcee’s fallen body, I quickly made to check for any serious wounds on her breastplate. A portion of the upper half of her breastplate was slightly charred, and even a bit of energon spilled from the blaster wound. As far as I could tell, her armor did its job in not allowing the blaster fire to pierce through her. Though, that didn’t make her injuries any less serious to me as I was still panicking for her.

“J-Jack.” Arcee weakly called out.

“I’m here Arcee, I’m gonna get you to safety. I’ll call Ratchet in for a-“

“No! You need to g-get the cylinder away from those Cons.” Arcee said sternly through small painfilled groans.

“I don’t care about that right now! Your wellbeing comes before some stupid cylinder!” I shouted back.

“Jack please! If those Cons capture the cylinder, then we’ll be even more outgunned and outmatched than we already are. Please Jack… Do it for me.” Arcee urged with worry in her beautiful eyes.

Damn it. She knows how to get to me with just her eyes alone.

“A-alright, but you’ve got to find some cover Arcee. You can’t stay out in the open like this.” I urgently warned her.

“I’ll try my best partner, now go get that cylinder.” Arcee remarked.

With a nod, I stand back up and run towards the large group of Vehicons that had attacked Arcee earlier. They were making their way towards their ground bridge portal, and one of them were carrying the data cylinder that had started this whole mess in the first place.

“If you really did care about your loved ones, then you’d show those drones the full strength of your power. Kill them, Jack. Kill them all.” Nightmare’s voice echoed through my head, driving me to be even more rage filled than I already was.

Finding myself close enough to them, I shot out two weblines at the data cylinder and pulled it out of its carrier’s hand before they could escape through the portal. With the cylinder now attached to my weblines, I quickly threw it far away from of us, back where Arcee was previously laying down. Seeing that the cylinder wasn’t damaged from my throw, I turned back around to face the group of seven Vehicons that were now standing before me. All of them were staring down at me in anger and bloodlust, despite the fact that they lacked a face to do so. Unfortunately for them, their attempt to scare me by sizing themselves up wasn’t going to work.

Not for a second.

“I would’ve given you all a chance to surrender before, but you shot my partner. So now, second chances are over.” I said without an ounce of humor in my tone.

The Vehicons however, showed no fear to my threat. One by one, each Vehicon slowly began to chuckle at my threatening remark, until all seven of them were chuckling in unison. Some of their chuckles even evolved into a series of heavy laughter, as if they had never been allowed to laugh before. This only causes the anger within me to boil even further. Without wasting anymore of my time with these drones, I started to channel a copious amount of bioelectricity, not just through my arms, but through my entire body and even through my very veins. Slowly, the abundance of bioelectricity I had coursing through my veins started to glow heavily through my suit, even showing off a bit of my skeletal structure. It hurt so much to do this, to have this much energy coursing through my entire body at once, but I can’t just hide this power away forever.

They needed to learn, they all need to learn why they don’t mess with my loved ones.  

As if on queue with my thoughts, the dark purple bioelectricity that had manifested itself with my biology during my fight against Soundwave started to form and crackle along the bright glow of my naturally blue bioelectricity. In unison, both colors of bioelectricity began to surge and course through my body with loud audible crackles, sounding more like thunder than small surges of electricity. At this point, the Vehicons had already seized their laughter, instead, some were looking down on me in confusion while others were slowly backing away in fear of my mega venom blast.

“Let go of yourself. Let your fears and your trauma guide you through this. Let me show you just how powerful you really are.” it called out.

“Because with great power-“

Memory flashes of Ben’s bullet filled chest and Gwen’s funeral suddenly surged through my mind, greatly reminding me why I would never truly be a hero. No matter how many times I wore the mask.

“Comes greater fear.”

Then I let go.

A choir of electricity, metal, circuits, and explosions sounded loudly through the desert sky, greatly overtaking whatever other sounds were occurring at that moment. Until suddenly, it became quiet. The dust and grim of the desert floor floated through the air due the force of my venom blast, completely obscuring my vision until finally, the dust floated down and settled back onto the earth. When I was finally able to see again, all that surrounded me were the bodies of the once lively and deadly Vehicons, now a charred and dismantled mess. Some of their limbs were feet’s away from the vicinity of my blast, energon pouring out through the open wound of their bodies.

It was a mess of metal and energon.

And yet here I was, right in the center of the blast, alive and on my knees, feeling more tired than I have been this past week. This power, it was still destructive, painful, and tiring to use, but unlike last time, I managed to stay conscious through the blast, tired but conscious. This could only prove that I’m able to control this devastating attack, despite how small my progress in mastering it is. Although I didn’t know much about my mega blast or how I would be able to control it in the future, I do know that it took much more than me just voluntarily using it, unlike my other bioelectric abilities. Whatever the case is, this ability is still too dangerous to use, and I honestly should’ve known better than to use it while it was still at its most lethal phase.

“There he is!” Arcee’s voice called out from a distance.

I turned my head slightly backwards to see all of my teammates running towards me with distress sketched across their faces. They all looked hurt and damaged, but otherwise, they were doing fine. Optimus and Arcee knelt besides me to check if I was okay, while Bulkhead and Bumblebee observed the destruction around me, surprise and shock clearly written on their expressions.

“Primus kid, what happened here?” Bulkhead asked in awe.

“Oh, y’know… Spider-Man business, just the usual.” I replied wearily.

“Yeah? Well, whatever that business was, it took out an entire group of Vehicons. And by the looks of it, you came out just fine and dandy.” Bulkhead said with a mix of impression and fear.

“Yeah… Just fine and dandy… What about the cylinder?” I said weakly.

“Bumblebee has acquired the artifact.” Optimus replied. As if it show it off, Bumblebee held up the cylinder in front of us, all the while beeping in what seemed like amusement and happiness.

“Great job Bee. Just wait until Raf hears about this one.” I said in a weakly happy tone, earning me a few small but joyful beeps from the yellow scout.

“Look! Its Starscream and Breakdown!” Arcee loudly pointed out.

We all turned our heads in unison just in time to catch Breakdown running through a newly opened ground bridge portal with a limp bodied Starscream in his arms. After completely disappearing through the portal, the ground bridge quickly closed behind them until all that was left was thin air.

“Huh, looks like we won.” Bulkhead said, wearing a victorious smirk.

“For the moment. However, it is likely that Starscream will return with more troops if we were to stay here any longer.” Optimus warned.

“Finally, I could use a good nap back at base.” I said as the weariness of my body really started to take over.

“Jack, you were in the vicinity of a massive explosion and all you want to do now is recharge?” Arcee asked with a mix of confusion and concern.

“I’m not the one with a charred breastplate, am I?” I joked, earning me a scoff from Arcee.

“Uhhh, speaking of charred. You wanna tell us exactly what happened here? Because the last time I checked, your powers didn’t include incinerating a whole group of Cons at once.” Bulkhead glared in curiosity, followed by the rest of the Bots.

“I’ll tell you guys all about it back at base. For now, let’s just get the cylinder out of here before any more Cons show up.” I said as I silently signaled Arcee to carry my tired body.

“Very well, we will have Ratchet decode the data after he examines you for any injures.” Optimus said.

I shook my head at the red and blue Bot. “No. Arcee first, then we can let Ratchet decode the data.” I requested sternly.

“I’m fine Jack, really.” Arcee assured stubbornly.

 “The energon leaking from your chest says otherwise.” I pointed to the small strings of energon dripping down her breastplate.

“Jack is correct. You have suffered more physical wounds in this battle than the rest of us. We must have Ratchet examine you this instant.” Optimus ordered sternly to his SIC.

Arcee stayed silent for a moment before letting out a small sigh. “Fine.” Arcee simply responded.

Hearing this, Optimus nodded at her before raising both his fingers to his helm. “Ratchet, requesting ground bridge. We have acquired the cylinder.”

Nevadan Outskirts – Autobot HQ – Ten Minutes Later…

“-AND THEN YOU BLEW UP THE WHOLE GROUP OF CONS JUST LIKE THAT???!!!!” Miko screamed excitedly as she repeated back what I had just explained.

“Yeah, pretty much.” I simply responded, taking a sip of water as I leaned on the catwalk’s safety rails.

“Dude that’s so cool!! I wish I could have been there to take some killer shots on my phone!!” Miko jumped up and down as excitement ran through her veins.

“I didn’t even know you could do that Jack. At least, not to that extent.” Raf commented.

“If I’ll be honest, this was only my second time using that ability. The first was when I had to fight Soundwave back at the dish arrays.” I admitted nonchalantly.

“If its that good at turning Cons into scrap metal, then why don’t you just use it all the time?” Miko asked.

“Miko, I could barely walk the first time I used it. I was lucky enough to still be conscious the second time around.” I deadpanned to the punk rocker, much to her disappointment. “Besides, it’s too volatile to use anytime I wanted to. That blast could have as easily damaged the Autobots just like it did with the Vehicons. Maybe even worse…” I finished in a grave tone.

I looked away from the group around me for a moment and stared at Ratchet and Optimus as they both worked on decoding the data inside that cylinder on the monitor. It had only been minutes since Ratchet patched Arcee’s wound up. It wasn’t anything too serious, according to Ratchet, she was just lucky enough not to get shot in the face. Now, me and my partner are up and running again, thankfully.

“Well, maybe warn us next time you use it, and I’ll be happy enough to throw you to the Cons as a makeshift hand grenade.” Arcee joked, followed by giggles and laughter from Miko, Raf, Bee, and Bulkhead.

“Har har. Since when were you the expert in making quips.” I chuckled with a cocked eyebrow.

“Ever since I was partnered with you.” Arcee teased with a sly grin.

I tried to respond back with a snarky remark, but when nothing came to mind, I let out a small sigh of defeat.

“Touché.” I replied.

Bumblebee then stepped up to me and began to speak in his usual incomprehensible speech. All it took was a small side-eye from me to Raf for the little genius to understand what I wanted from him.

“He wanted to know how your venom blast worked exactly.” Raf translated.

“Oh, uhhh… W-would it be crazy if I told you guys that… I didn’t one hundred precent know how it worked… exactly.” I said nervously, earning me a surprised look from everybody.

“I’d think you’d be Ratbat scrap insane.” Bulkhead said.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Are you telling us that you don’t know how your own explosive ability works. Does that technically make you a ticking Spidey bomb?” Miko said, sounding more confused than scared.

I quickly perked up and held my hands up defensively, trying to diffuse the situation before anyone panicked.

“No, it’s not like that, its just… I don’t really know how it came to be. All I know for now is that it usually takes a tremendous amount of effort and bioelectricity for it to work. And unlike all my other bioelectric abilities, this one can’t only be activated voluntarily.” I explained as I watched their surprised expressions slowly soften overtime.

“What do you mean?” Raf asked.

“I-it’s hard to explain in full detail. For short, it really only comes up during emotionally stressful situations, or when I’m in extreme life-threatening danger. Other than that, the feeling of wanting to use that ability doesn’t really… pulsate through my body.” I explained as best I could without sounding crazy.

“And you’re sure you can master this ability?” Arcee asked with her hands now on her hips.

“In time, yes. It’ll take a while, a long while, but I’m sure I’ll be able to control it better in the future, with the proper training. Maybe you can help me with my training… I-if you w-want to, of course.” I said the last part sheepishly.

Arcee didn’t laugh at me though, instead, she nodded and smiled. “I’d be happy to help, partner.”

I smiled back at her, mentally thanking God that she hadn’t really cared for my stupid fumble. In the corner of my eye, I could see Miko giving me a mischievous grin as she moved her eyebrows up and down quickly at me. Without even saying anything, I shot her a quick death glare to get her to stop, which thankfully, she did.

“BY THE ALL SPARK!!” Ratchet suddenly shouted, causing me to embarrassingly flinch before looking back at him.

“W-what! What’s wrong? / What’s the deal Doc? / What happened?” me, Bulkhead, and Arcee asked frantically in unison. Ratchet and even Optimus continued to stare at the data displayed on the monitor in silent disbelief. 

“Ratchet? Optimus?” I said carefully as I started to feel a bit scared for the two Bots.

Hearing his name, Ratchet immediately perked up and faced me. His eyes matched the tremendous amount of surprise that his face displayed.

“I believe that the cylinder has shown us the solution to our problems.” Ratchet said almost cryptically.

“What do you mean?” Arcee asked with her left eyebrow cocked.

“The data that we see before us is a formula… a formula for synthetic energon.”

Chapter Text

Nevadan Outskirts – Autobot HQ – One Month Later…

It’s been a relatively quiet meta-cycle ever since we captured that data cylinder and kicked Starscream’s aft back into the Nemesis. Aside from the usual close calls and energon scouting missions, nothing majors’ been at large for a while. Normally, I’d hate to just sit around and wait while the Cons plan their next course of action, but now, I’m actually enjoying the few moments of peace that I have staying in base.

And it’s all thanks to my partner, Jack.

While Ratchets’ been working on perfecting a synthetic energon sample, and the rest have been out patrolling for energon and Con activity, I’ve been helping Jack in having better control over his newest bioelectric power, or his mega venom blast as he likes to call it.

It felt… good to say the least, to know that I was worth more to someone than just a simple soldier, even if that someone was a different species than me. I’ve been around Optimus and the others long enough to know that they cared about me as more than just a member of Team Prime, but with Jack… it felt different.

It was hard for me to describe my feelings then, but now, I think I know what I might be feeling towards Jack, as silly as that sounds. I’ve been fighting this war for almost my entire life cycle, even when Tailgate was still functioning, we never had any time to strengthen our bond to that level. And Cliffjumper, he was always like a spark-brother to me, acted like it too, especially when Bee was around.

So why am I feeling this way for Jack? Why now?

Was it because I was on Earth? Was it because I wasn’t fighting for my life every five nano-cycles on this planet? Am I this emotionally vulnerable to let my guard down around my newest partner?

…..

No. Jack has been treating me right ever since we became partners. He would never take advantage of me during my most vulnerable moments. He doesn’t have it in him to do something that cruel and fragged up. The truth is, whenever I’m around Jack, he always manages to bring out the good in my spark. Despite how hard I put on a tough front to make everyone believe that I’m some unbreakable warrior, somehow, Jack always knows how to break through that front and make me smile….

Suddenly, my memory surged back to the moment when I hugged Jack tightly after our fight against Airachnid, in the woods. Probably one of the fewest intimate moments we had as close friends. Then, as if to tease me, my neural processer surged deeper into that memory, until it reached to the moment when me and Jack were almost about to interface, causing my spark to pulsate faster.

…..

‘Primus fragging damn it… I almost interfaced with my partner. Way to let yourself go Arcee.’ I mentally scolded myself.

Admittedly, it wasn’t a bad feeling, being that close to Jack. It was almost as if my spark itself was drawing me closer to him, to form a deeper connection with him. But even so, I should’ve known better than to do that. Despite how close we are, we’re still two very different species. How would it even work out between us?

'Primus Arcee, look at you, fretting over your feelings like a young school Bot. Just like Chromia.’

It’s almost a good thing that Chromia isn’t here right now. She would never let me hear the end of it if she ever found out that I had feelings over my partner, my human partner of all people.

“Uhhh, Arcee? Earth to Arcee, please respond. Or should it be Cybertron to Arcee?” Jack joked while he hung upside down on his webline in front of me. Snapping myself out of my thoughts, I perked my head up to see my favorite webslinger nervously waving at me. “Sorry, I hope I didn’t interrupt anything important. Just wanted to tell you that my break times’ over. We can get back to training if you want.” Jack said.

Right, we were in the middle of training his new ability, until he wanted to take a small break to help relax his body further. How could I get so distracted by my own thoughts in just a few kliks by myself?

“O-of course, I was just… thinking about something.” I replied, trying to hide my own nervousness from my partner.

“Thinking about what exactly?” Jack asked as he dropped from his webline and landed perfectly on the floor.

“I-it’s nothing important Jack.” I said as my nervousness started to grow.

“Doesn’t sound like nothing.” Jack said teasingly.

“Remind me who’s helping you train.” I glared at the little scraplet.

“Oh, sorry. Sir, yes sir.” Jack remarked with a lazy salute.

I scoffed and rolled my optics at his quippy remark. “Glad to know that my new recruit at least has some form of respect.” I said sarcastically.

“New recruit?” Jack asked with a chuckle.

“We were only partners for a few months, remember.” I replied while wearing a smirk.

“Only a few months? Huh, with how close we are now, I could’ve sworn we were paired up for longer.” Jack mumbled.

“Yeah… how close we are now…” I quietly mumbled to myself as I started to get a bitter feeling in my spark. Before we could continue with his training though, the monitor’s alarms suddenly began to blare loudly throughout the base and even into the training room, instantly drawing in mine and Jack’s attention.

“Guess we should see what’s going on. Might even get some real action today.” Jack perked up in excitement.

“You read my mind.” I remarked with a smirk.

We exited the training room together and walked side-by-side each other until we finally entered the common area. In there, Miko and Raf were staring at the monitor on the far side of the catwalk, while Ratchet, Optimus, Bee, and Bulkhead were grouped together near the blaring monitor. Bee walked closer to the monitor and asked Ratchet what the issue was.

“It appears that I have detected a great energon reading located in an abandoned town on the far side of Eastern Russia.” Ratchet explained sternly.

“What’s an energon reading doing all the way in Eastern Russia?” Jack asked as he jumped onto the catwalk in a single leap.

“Many energon deposits had been created all around your planet long before most human civilizations were even formed there.” Ratchet said as he glanced over at Jack.

“Or it could be a sign of potential Decepticon activity.” Optimus added in.

“Well, whatever it is, it doesn’t sound like anything I can’t handle.” Bulkhead suddenly chimed in before slamming both his fist servos together.

“Sweet! Can I come with?” Miko asked excitedly.

“Ah yep, yep, yep! You still have some important duties to fulfil here.” Ratchet said while wagging his finger servo.

“Awww! C’mon Ratchet! Can’t Spidey or Raf just mop the floor?” Miko said, wearing a disappointed frown on her sad faceplate.

“Jack is training to control his new bioelectric power, and Raf is doing what he can to help me create the perfect synthetic energon sample.” Ratchet reminded her sternly. Miko began to wear an angry expression on her faceplate, but before she could retaliate any further, Bulkhead walked up beside her, covering Ratchet from her view.  

“Hooow about we go dune bashing on the highest cliff when I get back? Maybe I could even bring you along on my next recon mission, y’know, when you’re done…. with your duties.” Bulkhead ended with a nervous laugh. Miko deadpan stared at Bulkhead before closing her optics and sighing heavily.

“You promise?” Miko simply asked.

“I promise Miko, from one wrecker to another.” Bulkhead smiled, bringing up his finger servo near Miko for her to fistbump.

“Awesome!” Miko cheered as she happily fistbumped Bulkhead’s finger servo.

“Alright then. Ratch, open the ground bridge. Been needing to stretch my leg servos these past few cycles.” Bulkhead remarked excitedly.

While Ratchet was pinpointing the signal’s coordinates on the monitor, Optimus walked up from behind Bulkhead and gently placed his hand servo on Bulk’s shoulder plate.

“Remember Bulkhead, if you are to encounter any Decepticon threat, or even MECH, then be sure to contact us for support. I have lost too many fellow Autobots from their decision to engage the enemy alone.” Optimus spoke in a low, almost sorrowful tone.

“Don’t worry boss, I don’t plan on joining the All Spark today, not while the Cons are still out there.” Bulkhead confidently remarked.

“Nobody does, my friend.” Optimus replied before the ground bridge finally activated.

With a slight stretch of his arm servos and a roll of his shoulder plates, Bulkhead slowly walked towards the open ground bridge, confident and battle ready for any Cons standing in his way.

“Hey Bulk!” I suddenly shouted, causing Bulkhead to stop in his tracks and glance over at me with an awaiting stare. “Stay safe out there. Mikos’ expecting to go dune bashing with you later. So it’s best not to disappoint her.” I grinned at the massive wrecker.

“A promise is a promise.” Bulkhead finally remarked before disappearing through the ground bridge, vanishing from out sights.

The room stayed completely silent for a moment as we stared off at the deactivated ground bridge, until Miko scoffed audibly, drawing our attention to her.

“C’mon guys, there’s nothing to worry about. Bulks’ the strongest there is, he’ll totally wreck any Con that gets in his way!” Miko proudly stated.

“Lets just hope it doesn’t have to come to that today. Or else he’ll be late for your guys’ dune bashing session.” Jack said before picking up a mop of his own and helping Miko.

Eastern Russia (Kamchatka Peninsula) – Bechevinka – Four Minutes Later…

Although Bulkhead was a wrecker, and a damn good one at that, he still appreciated a little peace and quiet every once in a while.

Not in this instance though.

During his four minutes of searching and locating the strange energon signal, there was only one thing that Bulkhead could come up with to describe his current environment.

Creepy.

“Ratchet wasn’t kidding when he said this place was abandoned.” Bulkhead mumbled to himself as he continued to follow where his energon radar was pointing to.

The abandoned town of Bechevinka was an extremely gloomy and desolate place, devoid of any sign of life, as far as Bulkhead could tell. Every building, every structure, and even every road here were either completely destroyed or dirtied to the point of ruin. The current nighttime didn’t help with the town’s already desolate atmosphere either, it only enhanced the eerie look of Bechevinka’s abandonment.

Unsurprisingly, this town reminded Bulkhead of how Cybertron’s cities looked after its damnation into the Great War, especially Iacon. All of his hard work as a construction unit, all of it, gone and destroyed due to the many centuries of fighting between the Autobots and Decepticons. It almost shook Bulkhead’s spark to know that humankind was also capable of causing worldwide destruction. Though, his worry on that thought was mostly for Miko and his other human friends.

“The sooner I find this signal, the better.” Bulkhead quietly said to himself, shaking his head of his prior thoughts.

Bulkhead continued his small journey towards the energon signal, carefully stepping around various buildings and small structures as to not cause even more destruction than this town has already seen. Eventually, his energon radar started to sound as loudly as it could, indicating that Bulkhead was close by the source of the signal. Walking to where his radar was pointing towards, Bulkhead stepped around the side of a tall apartment building only to spot something that he hadn’t expected to see during this mission.

“What the frag?” Bulkhead cursed quietly in shock.

There were five Vehicon troops in front of where Bulkhead stood, but that wasn’t what shocked Bulkhead. What surprised the green wrecker was the fact that all five manufactured troops were completely dead, all of them limply laid on top of each other in a pile. What added to the gruesome scenery even more was the large puddle of the Vehicon’s energon that surrounded them, which stained both the concreate floor and their metal bodies. And according to Bulkhead’s energon radar, this pile of deceased Con soldiers was the source of the energon signal.

Shaking himself out of his shocked state, Bulkhead slowly walked closer towards the pile, caseous and vigilant of any sign of an ambush or trap. The closer Bulkhead got to the pile, the more frantic his radar’s arrow became, further confirming to Bulkhead that this was what Ratchet detected back at base. When Bulkhead finally got close enough, he carefully checked the wounds of the Vehicon troops, trying to determine what their cause of death were.

Surprisingly to Bulkhead, none of the Con troops had any scorch marks or energon burns on their armor plates. Instead, they all sported the same gruesome wounds throughout their chests and heads. Said wounds were massive dents and holes that littered the upper half of their bodies, some holes were even big enough for Bulkhead to fit his fist through.

“Primus… Whoever snuffed them, they did it up close and personally.” Bulkhead whispered to himself.

This wasn’t a fight, this was a massacre.

Suddenly, loud and massive footsteps were heard rapidly approaching Bulkhead from behind him. Before the green wrecker could even react with his weapon, a massive fist powerfully slammed into his face, sending Bulkhead feet’s away from the pile of dead Cons. A deep, sinister laugh loudly sounded from Bulkhead’s assailant as the wrecker tried to pick himself off the floor. Now standing on both his leg servos, Bulkhead was finally able to meet his attacker, faceplate-to-faceplate.

“You again?!” Bulkhead growled in anger as he stared daggers into the Rhino.

“You sound surprised, titan. Tell me, were you not expecting to see me again?” Rhino said, slamming both his plated fists together threateningly.

“After the beatdown I gave you last time, yeah, I kinda wasn’t.” Bulkhead spat back before transforming both his hand servos into maces.

“You weren’t alone then, but now, it’s just you and me here. Unless of course, you’re coward enough to call for backup.” Rhino taunted with a condescending chuckle.

“I don’t need backup to take you down, fragger.” Bulkhead snarled coldly, readying himself for this fight despite a part of him telling him to disengage and call Optimus.

“Now that’s a titan’s spirit.” Rhino chuckled before charging at Bulkhead full sprint.

Remembering what Jack had told him about the lethality of Rhino’s horn, Bulkhead made sure to have it pointed away from him by slamming his left mace into the Rhino’s face. The powerful impact of the mace slam heavily misdirected the Rhino’s charge attack, causing him to charge right into one of the many abandoned buildings around them. With a heavy grunt, the Rhino pulled his body out of the decayed building’s rubble just in time to dodge Bulkhead’s double mace slam. The Rhino quickly followed up his dodge with a high kick to Bulkhead’s chin, forcefully bobbing the green wrecker’s head upwards. Knowing that the wrecker was now momentarily stunned, the Rhino charged at him once more, this time piercing his sharp tungsten horn through Bulkhead’s shoulder plate without interruption.

Bulkhead screamed as he felt the sharp sudden pain of his shoulder plate being torn through with ease. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the end of it. The Rhino tightly held onto the wrecker’s sides before slightly lifting him up and charging forward. Before Bulkhead could even think of a way to escape his aggressor’s grasp, his backside was suddenly slammed through a large, decayed building, slightly damaging the wrecker’s posterior armor plates. Though, the Rhino didn’t stop his charging assault as he slammed Bulkhead through another building, and then another, and then another, and another until finally, the Rhino released his tight grasp and threw Bulkhead onto the ground. The hurt wrecker rolled a few feet away from his opponent before friction finally took action against Bulkhead’s forceful rolling.

Team Prime’s wrecker wasn’t just hurt, he was badly damaged. His posterior armor plates were heavily dented and bruised, a large portion of them showing obvious signs of heavy abuse. Bulkhead’s shoulder plate wound didn’t make his situation any better either as energon slowly leaked and spilled onto the ground from the open hole, almost making a small trail of energon for all to see.

Despite all of that however, Bulkhead was still a wrecker, inside and out. All wreckers were tough, but Bulkhead, he was one of the toughest, along side Wheeljack, Seaspray, and the others. He could take all of this abuse, and more, and he’d still be up and fighting until his very last drop of energon.

Besides, he had a promise to keep for his best friend, and he wasn’t going to disappoint her by showing up late.

“Is that all you got, ugly? Because I’ve taken a whole lot worse before.” Bulkhead remarked coldly as he tried to pick himself off the floor.

The Rhino laughed lowly as he menacingly stepped through the dust of rubble and decay while his blood-red eyes pierced through the darkness of the night.

“This, this is exactly what I dreamed of. A fight with minimum cowardice and maximum destruction! You are the perfect fighter for me!” Rhino shouted joyfully before sighing disappointedly. “Unfortunately, my employer would be more than displeased if he found that you are dead. At least, for now they would.” Rhino chuckled lightly.

“Your employer? What are you- AAHHHHH!!!!” Bulkhead screamed in agony as he suddenly felt a massive surge of electricity course through his entire body and even through his very spark.

Three large groups of MECH ground units suddenly appeared from behind the width of multiple abandoned buildings. All of them quickly marched towards the continuously screaming wrecker and aimed their weapons at him, just in case he still had some strength left in him. As much as Bulkhead wanted to move and pummel through the MECH agents that surrounded him, the pain of his circuitry being fried was all too much for his motor functions to handle. Soon enough, Bulkhead’s electrified screaming came to a slow stop as the device shot onto him eventually deactivated. Not being able to fight through the weakness of his systems shutting down, Bulkhead fell into unconsciousness, letting his massive body fall onto the floor without any regard for what was around him.

“Sir, we have the creature secured. We’re ready for pick-up.” one of the agents confirmed through his comm link.

“Understood.” Silas simply replied.

The sound of Silas’s chopper soon came into earshot not too long after. Eventually, the chopper landed near the unconscious wrecker, and out from it came the cold and calculating MECH leader. At first, Silas inspected the body with a stoic expression, but soon enough, he changed to a smug, victorious smile as he faced towards all his troops, including the Rhino.

“Excellent work. Now hurry, we must retreat back to our hideout with the specimen before any of its allies show up to stop us.” Silas ordered.

With a collective response of “Yes sir” from his agents, they immediately began to retreat back into their hidden armored vehicles and drive back to one of the many secret MECH hideouts that were hidden all around the world. The Rhino on the other hand, held Bulkhead’s heavy figure and carried him alongside the retreating convoy while Silas rode on his personal chopper above the convoy to keep watch on both his agents and the Rhino. Suddenly, radio static began to sound through Silas’s comm link before a voice finally patched through.

“Silas, did you retrieve the specimen I require?” a man with a German accent asked.

“Yes, we’re delivering it to you as we speak. Be sure to ready it’s restraints, it won’t stay unconscious forever.” Silas commanded.

“Excellent. Everything is going well, according to my plan.” the man said proudly.

“Don’t celebrate yet Otto, we still have yet to study the specimen. Now, have the agents with you prepare the heavy surgical tools. It may take a while to open it up.” Silas said sinisterly.

“Very well Silas. I do enjoy a good open surgery.”

Train Tunnel Station (MECH Hideout) – Bechevinka – 15 Minutes Later…

As small as MECH may seem on the outside, on the inside, they were much more efficient and threatening, even to the likes of a cybertronian. Only fifteen minutes after Bulkhead’s capture, and they had already brought him to their hideout and restrained him for study. An efficiently timed capture that would put most trained military squads to shame.

Unfortunately for MECH, Bulkhead wasn’t going to remain unconscious forever. After his systems finally came back online from the momentary crash, Bulkhead began to slowly open his optics back up. The stinging pain of his fried circuitry was still relatively fresh, causing the green wrecker to moan in pain due to a massive headache that surged through his large cranium.

“*Uuuuugggghhhhh* W-where… What? What is this?” Bulkhead questioned weakly.

 It took him a while for his optics to readjust, but when they did, he didn’t like what he saw around him. There were three large excavation saws and drills pointed at him from his left and right sides, no doubt used by humans to cut through thick and durable material. Speaking of humans, there were plenty of them around Bulkhead, all of them in full body dark-green body suits that worked in the eerie setting. Some of them were either holding weapons and guarding the area or tinkering with the dangerous gadgets that surrounded Bulkhead.

Now, there was no doubt in Bulkhead’s mind that he was captured by MECH. The same human organization that was crazy enough to let a train with a nuclear device in it crash and let the Rhino loose on his team. Bulkhead then felt a sudden sense of dread course down his circuits and into his neural processer, further fueling the fear that he felt at the moment. He wasn’t going to die in some glorious battle, he wasn’t even going to die in a one-on-one fight against someone like Breakdown. No, he was going to be cut open alive and studied by some crazy humans dressed in dark-green, and when they finally finish from their first-person studying, they were going to snuff him dead, just like that.

Immediately, Bulkhead grunted angrily as he began to move himself from his restraints, using all of the strength that he could muster to break free from his cuffs and escape with his life. Bulkhead wasn’t going to experience the human equivalent of being in one of Shockwave’s fragged up experiments, at least not willingly. Unfortunately for the wrecker, MECH had already prepared his restraints for any heavy resistance coming from him. So whether Bulkhead knew it or not, he had no hope of breaking free by himself.

“Little scraplets! If I’m not out of these cuffs in the next five nano-cycles, then I’ll wreck this whole joint and the rest of you with it!” Bulkhead yelled in rage while frantically trying to break his cuffs off.

To Bulkhead’s surprise however, none of the MECH agents reacted to his threat, none of them even flinched. They all just stared at him momentarily before returning back to their work, as if the wrecker’s rageful yell was just another fly in the wind. Bulkhead huffed in anger before staring daggers into the MECH agent closest to him.

“So where’s your boss, huh? Isn’t he going to join you and the rest of these butchers here?” Bulkhead said coldly.

“I believe the correct tern you are searching for is ‘scientists’.” Otto suddenly chimed in.

Confused by the sudden arrival of the new voice, Bulkhead perked his head up to face the catwalk in front of him. Since Bulkhead was cuffed onto a large platform that laid still on top of the tunnel’s train tracks, the catwalk in front of him seemed much higher from his perspective, which added a bit more dread to his situation.

“I apologize for me and my superior’s tardiness. We had to make sure that you were as secure as possible through our security room.” Otto said as he made his grand entrance onto the catwalk above Bulkhead, with Silas silently walking alongside him.

Bulkhead was immediately perplexed by the man who had just walked in. He wasn’t like any other MECH agent that he had seen before, or like any other human for that matter. The man looked human, but the monstrous mechanical tentacles that followed besides him almost said otherwise. And unlike the MECH agents that surrounded him, his uniform was distinctively different.

Otto was a relatively overweight man who wore a full body bright yellow and dark green uniform that covered everything but his head. Covering most of his distinctive uniform was a large white lab coat that reached all the way down to the half point of his calves. On his face, Otto wore simple dark-red tinted goggles over his eyes, adding onto the man’s already villainous appearance. However, what amplified Otto’s menacing appearance to Bulkhead (and to most other people) even more were his four large, industrial built mechanical tentacles that slithered alongside their wearer. His tentacles would have almost reminded Bulkhead of Soundwave’s mechanical tentacles if it weren’t for the fact that Otto’s were given a shiny silver and black color palette that covered the entirety of their body and claws. Speaking of claws, each tentacle sported four large and sharp claws that extended over the head of his tentacles, making them all the more dangerous.

“Another weirdo working for MECH. Why am I not surprised.” Bulkhead spat back at the doctor.

“Weirdo? You misunderstand. I am one of the greatest living geniuses that this world has ever seen. However, for the time being, you may call me Dr. Otto Octavius.” Otto introduced politely. “You should feel honored, visitor. I had never been able to formally introduce myself to the others when it came time for me to study their biology.” Otto remarked.

“Wha- Others? What do you mean “others”?” Bulkhead asked coldly. Suddenly, Otto and Silas began to laugh sinisterly at the cuffed wrecker.

“Did you really believe that you were the first cybertronian to be tested on by us?” Silas replied coldly.

“If you could call those dead manufactured drones “cybertronians”.” Otto remarked with a scoff.

Suddenly, it made sense to Bulkhead. The Vehicons must’ve been what they were referring to, especially the bodies of the deceased drones that laid left behind by their own faction. The technology of those dead Cons was easy picking for the likes of MECH, and the fact that Team Prime hadn’t considered that as a possibility in the past made Bulkhead feel all the stupider. But even so, that still left Bulkhead with one question.

“Why me then? If you’ve cut open some dead Cons in the past, then why do you need to study me now? Were those drones not enough!!” Bulkhead shouted in anger.

“Despite how technologically advanced you are, you’re still just some simple-minded creature, aren’t you?” Otto taunted before using the lower half of his tentacles to leap onto Bulkhead’s chest.

“You see, I was one of the only few scientists in MECH’s ranking to figure out just how technologically manufactured those “Vehicons” were. And although I had made many fascinating discoveries through those drones, I knew deep down that they wouldn’t even compare in the slightest to the likes of a real, authentic cybertronian such as yourself.” Otto explained with a mix of awe and crazy in his voice.

“For example, Vehicons do not possess enhanced orbicular optics such as yours.” Otto said with an evil grin.

Then, as if to prove so in a cruel and twisted manner, Otto suddenly lunged one of his tentacles straight into Bulkhead’s right optic, causing the wrecker to immediately let out a painfilled yell. The claws of that tentacle dug deep into Bulkhead’s optical socket, grabbing his right optic and quickly ripping it out of its place, all the while Bulkhead screamed in absolute agony at the sudden, horrendous pain that surged through his newly opened wound.

“Silas! You said that his pain receptors were powered off! Now he’ll be screaming throughout the entire procedure, and I cannot work with such noise ringing though my ears!!” Otto shouted angrily.

“*AARRGGHH* OTTO!!! WHEN I GET OUT OF THESE CUFFS, I’M GONNA RIP YOU APART, LIMB FROM LIMB, TENTACLE FROM TENTACLE!!! AND BY THE TIME I’M FINISHED WITH YOU, YOU’RE GONNA WISH THAT YOU RIPPED OUT MORE THAN JUST MY OPTIC!!” Bulkhead screamed at the top of his voice box, all the while he aggressively tried to shake his hand servos out of his restraints.

“Do not worry my dear visitor, I will rip out more than just your optic, in due time of course. For now, I plan on using this fine piece of machinery to lure in the rest of your Autobot allies.” Otto laughed sinisterly as he used his tentacles to climb off of Bulkhead’s chest and back onto the catwalk.

“What?! You’re crazy if you think you can snuff them out with a cheap party trick!” Bulkhead shouted.

“We don’t plan on killing them immediately. Not after the fascinating discovery that the good doctor had found out about your species’ lifeforce.” Silas grinned smugly.

‘Scrap… They know about our energon.’ Bulkhead thought to himself.

“Silas is correct. You see, over the few Vehicon corpses that we had been able to acquire, I was able to discover just how powerful and efficient your people’s lifeforce is. It is single handedly the most effective power source that could ever be found on Earth, more powerful than all of our energy sources combined!” Otto explained in an awe that only a scientist could ever express.

“Unfortunately, your people are always one step ahead of us when it comes to locating the energy source. Leaving us with little to nothing for us to take. Our stockpile of it is barely enough to power this entire tunnel station.” Otto expressed in anger.

“So what’re you gonna do, huh!? Get on your knees and beg Optimus for some of our own energon!! Ha! Forget it!” Bulkhead taunted loudly.

“MECH begs to no one, visitor. We’ll simply use your life as a method of bargaining for their entire energon stockpile. At least, we’ll make them believe that we’ll honor our side of the bargain.” Silas chuckled in a low, sinister tone alongside Otto.

“No! I won’t let you fraggers get the chance!!” Bulkhead screamed ragefully as he tried to wiggle out of his cuffs.

“I’m afraid that you have no choice in the matter. Otto! Are its pain receptors powered off? We still need to conduct a thorough study on it’s biology!” Silas asked.

“Now they are.” Otto chuckled evilly. “Silas, dispatch one of your agents on the far Southside of our hideout and have them place this device near the decayed water fountain. If all goes according to plan, then the Autobots will no doubt track the signal emitting from the specimen’s optic.” Otto said sternly.

“And in turn, we will be able to contact them and force them into a bargain. God knows just how foolish the Autobots can be when it comes to saving one of their own.” Silas grinned mischievously.

“Precisely.” Otto replied with an evil grin of his own.

Suddenly, the sounds of drills activating and saws sawing through metal filled and echoed throughout the train tunnel as MECH made their way in opening Bulkhead’s chassis. True to Otto’s word, Bulkhead’s pain receptors were powered off. However, that didn’t stop the immense amount of dread that filled the poor wrecker’s mind. Dread, not only for himself, but for his team, his friends, his family….

All Bulkhead could do now was sit tightly and pray to Primus that his team catches on to what MECH has planning for them. Or else, he might just not make it back to Miko alive.

Nevadan Outskirts – Autobot HQ – Present Time…

“What do you mean you can’t find his signal?!” Miko shouted at Ratchet.

“Miko, just calm down. Ratchets’ trying his best to figure this out.” I assured in a comforting voice.

It’s been twenty minutes since we sent Bulkhead to go scouting for some random energon signal that appeared all the way in Eastern Russia. Fifteen minutes into his little scouting mission and suddenly, his signal just disappeared out of our radar. I was assured by Arcee and Optimus that this didn’t necessarily mean that he was dead, but it was still worrying for us all nonetheless.

“Well, his best isn’t enough! I’ve been trying to call Bulkhead through his comms like I always do for the past five minutes, and do you want to know what I got?! Static! Just static!” Miko shouted in worry this time.

“Don’t you think that I’m trying everything in my power to find his signal. You aren’t the only one here who cares about Bulkhead!” Ratchet shouted back.

“Well maybe you’ve been losing your touch Ratchet! If you hadn’t been just working on that stupid green energon project for the past month, then maybe you would have already found Bulkhead by now!” Miko yelled angrily.

“Why you little scrapl-“

“ENOUGH!” Optimus commanded.

Everyone in the vicinity stood still in silence as we were all suddenly overcome in fear by Optimus’s sudden shout. Even Arcee showed a bit of shock and fear at her leader’s booming voice of command.

“Shouting and arguing against each other will not resolve the issue at hand. We must not allow ourselves to be divided, not when Bulkhead needs us the most.” Optimus said with furrowed eyes.

Ratchet and Miko took a small moment to cool themselves off. Afterwards, they silently exchanged glances at each other before Miko decided to be the first to speak.

“I-I’m sorry Ratchet. I’m just… I’m worried for the big lug, y’know.” Miko spoke quietly.

“I am too Miko… I am too.” Ratchet spoke just as quietly.

“Guys. Do we have any clue as to who might’ve taken Bulkhead? Anything at all?” I asked, trying to get everyone to refocus on our wrecker problem.

“For all we know Jack, the Cons might’ve found him and taken him as prisoner.” Arcee replied.

“I doubt that the Decepticons would have sent their entire fleet just to search one measly energon signal.” Ratchet said with a scoff.

“Yeah, and there’s no way Bulk wouldn’t be able to stand his own against a couple of Con drones.” Miko added in.

“Are you saying that he could’ve gotten jumped by surprise? I mean, that doesn’t sound totally out of the question.” I responded.

“Maybe he did, Bulk was never really good at keeping an optic around his surroundings.” Arcee remarked.

“Screw this! Why don’t we just ground bridge there and find Bulkhead ourselves?!” Miko chimed loudly.

“You want us to blindly ground bridge into a hostile area without the slightest regard for our safety!? Are you insane?!” Ratchet replied, baffled at the sudden idea.

“What about Bulkhead’s safety?! He’s the one who’s already missing right now!” Miko glared at the medbot.

“I think I can help you guys with your missing Bot problem.” Agent Fowler suddenly chimed in as he exited through the elevator doors.

“A-agent Fowler? How long have you been standing there?” Raf asked nervously.

“Long enough to know how I could help out with your missing person’s case. Besides, you Bots are surprisingly loud, even through thick metal doors.” Fowler remarked as he made his way near Ratchet’s monitor. “Show me where you last sent the big Bot.” Fowler asked Ratchet.

With a few clicks on the keypad and a couple of seconds later, Ratchet quickly pulled up the map coordinates of Bulkhead’s last known location for all of us to see.

“This was where Bulkhead was last seen, in an abandoned town located in Eastern Russia.” Ratchet said to Fowler.

“Not just any abandoned town. Bechevinka used to be a lively town located in the Kamchatka Peninsula of Eastern Russia, but much of if was abandoned after its first volcano erupted twenty years ago.” Fowler explained as he looked through some files he had in hand.

“Based on my recent intel, there were numerous sightings of MECH activity seen earlier today in that same town.” Fowler stated sternly.

“MECH? You mean those guys who tried to steal the DNGS from us?” Raf asked.

“Yeah, and get this. They’ve been seen being accompanied by a high-ranking scientist of unknown origin, and by everyone’s favorite zoo animal, the Rhino.” Fowler said, more seriously this time.

“Oh no….” I mumbled quietly.

“That fragger again?” Arcee snarled.

“If this is true, then Bulkhead’s sudden disappearance cannot be a coincidence. Autobots! Prepare yourselves, we must rescue Bulkhead at once, before any more harm comes to him.” Optimus said loudly before activating his battle mask.

With a simple nod, I make my way to jump down the catwalk and change into my Spidey suit. However, I was quickly halted by a sudden grab of my wrist. I turned around only to come face-to-face with a very serious-looking Miko.

“I’m coming with you.” Miko said without an ounce of excitement in her tone.

“That’s out of the question Miko, and you know it.” I replied just as sternly.

“My best friend just got Botnapped by some weirdos dressed in dark green, and you want me to just sit here and pretend that everything’s alright.” Miko said in a low, stern voice.

“I don’t like this as much as you do, but risking your life haphazardly isn’t going to help save him. You’re just going to get yourself killed out there.” I said in a gentle, yet stern tone.

“How’re you out of everybody else here going to tell me not to risk my own life to save the people I care about.” Miko glared at me.

“This is different Miko. You have no way of defending him and yourself.” I said.

“But-“

“Miko.” I said softly while gently placing a hand on her shoulder. “Everything is going to be okay, I promise. Just… stay here, please. If not for me, then for Bulkhead.” I comforted her.

Miko continued to glare at me with furrowed eyebrows for a moment before snarling in anger and slowly walking away from me, back towards the safety rails that she was leaning on earlier.

‘Damn it, I hate seeing her like this, I really do. But I won’t purposely put her in danger, not when I’ve already lost so much before…’

Taking one last look at Miko, I jump down from the catwalk and make my way to a secluded area to change into my Spidey suit. After a few quick seconds of changing, I jog towards the ground bridge device where I was met with the sight of every Autobot in the room waiting near the ground bridge as well, including Ratchet.

“Ratchets’ coming with us?” I asked no one in particular.

“If MECH is as savage now as they were before, then Bulkhead may require a field medic on the go.” Ratchet replied.

“Smart move, Ratchet.” I remarked with a nod.

“Hey Jack, you don’t happen to have your upgraded webshooters with you right now, do you?” Arcee asked, placing a hand on her hip.

I chuckled lightly. “How could I forget, they’re the latest addition in my Spidey arsenal.” I remarked while showing off my new webshooters that Ratchet thankfully built for me before he started creating synthetic energon.

Ratchet scoffed. “No thanks to me I suppose.” Ratchet sarcastically said.

“If you want, I could still give you that gold star and kiss on the cheek for all your hard work.” I joked, eliciting a chuckle and a giggle from Arcee and Bumblebee.

“Little scraplet.” Ratchet quietly growled.

“Rafael, activate the ground bridge! Autobots! Transform and roll out!” Optimus ordered.

All the Autobots transformed into their respective vehicle mode in unison and began to rev their engines together as the ground bridge portal slowly opened to its fullest capacity. I quickly climbed onto Arcee’s seat and sat there, gripping her handlebars tightly and pulling them back to rev her engine even louder.

“You ready partner?” I asked Arcee.

“To save my friend’s life, ready as I’ll ever be, partner.” Arcee replied back.

When the ground bridge fully opened, we all rode out and through the mass of green swirling energy together, vigilant and battle ready for whatever or whoever awaited us on the other side.

We weren’t planning on losing another one of our team members, not today or any other day.

***

Unbeknownst to Team Prime or Spider-Man, Miko secretly sneaked through the open ground bridge portal while Raf and Agent Fowler weren’t looking. Despite how loud she could be sometimes, she somehow always knew how to sneak into places she wasn’t supposed to be in, undetected.

Miko knew that there would be life-threatening dangers that awaited her on the other side of that portal, like she did all the other times that she sneaked through the ground bridge without anyone’s knowledge. This time however, she was doing this not for the sake of experiencing something that she considered “cool”, but for Bulkhead’s sake.

Bulkhead was one of the few, the very few friends that she had in her life, and she wasn’t planning on worryingly anticipating whether he would return or not while she sat safely in base. If Jack had taught her anything about being responsible, it was that she had a responsibility to look after and protect the ones that she loved before herself.

“Don’t worry Bulk, I’ll save you, I promise. From one wrecker to another.”

***

Chapter Text

Eastern Russia (Kamchatka Peninsula) – Bechevinka – Present Time

The roars of my team’s engines and the sound of the ground bridge’s passageway deafeningly filled my ears until we finally exited through the other side of the portal. Immediately, our surroundings were shrouded by the darkened atmosphere of the abandoned town as the ground bridge behind us slowly closed and shrinked into nothing.

“Jesus. Fowler wasn’t kidding when he said that this place was abandoned. Everything here looks so decayed and ruined.” I remarked as I stared around me in shocked awe.

“Indeed, and it makes the perfect place for little scraplets such as MECH to reside in and conduct their horrendous experiments.” Ratchet replied in disgust.

“The sooner we get Bulkhead back, the earlier we can bridge out of this place.” Arcee said.

“Agreed. Spider-Man, are you detecting any hostiles around us?” Optimus asked.

“Not now, no. Maybe they don’t know we’re here yet.” I said while getting off of Arcee’s seat.

“Perhaps. However, in the likely event that we engage in a battle against MECH, we must remember not to force lethal harm onto them. They may be our enemies today, but they are still humans nonetheless.” Optimus warned as he transformed back into bipedal mode.

Bumblebee began to beep and sound in aggression as he and the rest of the Autobots transformed back into their bipedal modes too, all of them wearing an aggressive look on their faces.

“Bees’ right. They’re the ones who took Bulkhead from us first, doing Primus knows what to him. What makes them any different from the Cons?” Arcee asked with restricted anger.

“My point still stands Arcee. We will not kill any humans today, or any other. That is what separates us from the Decepticons.” Optimus replied sternly.

Arcee could only huff in anger at Optimus’s response, as she knew that there wasn’t really anything she could say to change his mind. Although I wouldn’t have agreed with Arcee about going all lethal against MECH anyways, I still understand her reason for wanting to do so. Even if she’s not showing it right now, she’s scared for Bulkhead, as we all are.

“Hey. We’ve all gotten out of sticker situations before, and this time won’t be any different. Besides, with his size, how hard could it be to find the big lug?” I joked lightly while softly patting Arcee’s leg.

Arcee scoffed in amusement. “I hope you didn’t just jinx our chances on finding our only wrecker.” Arcee smirked.

“So do I, partner.” I remarked with a smirk of my own.

“Quiet you two. I think I’ve found something.” Ratchet announced, staring at the beeping energon radar he held in his hand.

“Yeah? Well, I think I’ve found something too.” I said as I pointed toward a long trail of freshly made tire tracks.

“Forget the tracks Spider-Man. I’ve got a reading on a faint energon signal, three kliks South of our location.” Ratchet said.

“But we shouldn’t even be getting a reading on his signal, unless…” Arcee trailed off.

“His energon’s been spilled…” Ratchet continued gravely.

“Look, I know what I’m about to say might sound stupid right now, but it might be our best chance at finding Bulkhead, since we’ve already got two good leads on his location.” I said, which earned me a mean scowl from Arcee.

“Don’t say what I think you’re about to say.” Arcee glared at me.

“I’m sorry Arcee, but our best bet could be for me to split up from you guys and follow the tracks while the rest of you follow with Ratchet.” I finished off.

Bumblebee then started to beep loudly while shaking his head and hands at me, probably his way of disagreeing with my idea.

“Look Bee, if you’re worried about me getting caught, then don’t. With how dark it is right now, plus my invisibility, I’ll practically be like a ghost to them.” I tried to assure them.

“That is not our only concern. If MECH was able to obstruct Bulkhead’s signal from us, then there is no doubt that yours will be obstructed as well. We will not be able to communicate with you via our comms links the moment you enter their hideout.” Optimus warned gravely.

“I can’t let that stop me Optimus. Every second that we’re not tracking Bulkhead’s location could mean certain death for him. Comms or not, we have to do what we can to find him, no matter what.” I spoke confidently. Everyone’s eyes widened a bit in surprise at my response, even Optimus’s, surprisingly.

“Huh…. Spoken like a true Prime.” Arcee remarked.

“Indeed.” Ratchet replied.

Optimus hummed in contemplation for a moment as he looked between the fresh tracks, Ratchet’s energon radar, and me. Finally, he made up his mind as he took his eyes off of both objects to stare at me.

“Very well, you may follow to where the tracks lead. We will update you on anything of importance through our comms, and I trust that you’ll do the same on your end.” Optimus said.

“I’m the talkative type, aren’t I? Talking’s kinda my thing Optimus.” I quipped.

“Just be careful Jack. Try sticking the rooftops for higher ground, that always did the trick for me back on Cybertron.” Arcee smirked.

“I’ll keep that in mind, stealth expert.” I teased.

With that, I activated my invisibility and turned towards the tracks before web zipping onto the nearest rooftop. Thankfully, most of the buildings in this town were built just high enough for me to effectively web swing around the area. I just hope that these tracks actually lead to something, because right now, there aren’t many other options for finding our one and only jolly green wrecker.

***

Miko watched from behind a rusty and abandoned car as Spider-Man and the Autobots departed their separate ways in search of Bulkhead.

“Fresh tracks, huh?” Miko remarked quietly to herself.

She may not be the smartest or even the most logical member of Team Prime, but she’s seen enough movies to know that there was something up with that energon signal Ratchet picked up. They weren’t able to pick up on Bulkhead’s signal back at base, but now, Ratchet was suddenly able to detect some random energon signal the moment they arrived here?

It seemed way too suspicious for the teenage rocker.

At least the fresh tracks made sense. As far as Miko knew, MECH doesn’t have the means of teleporting around via a ground bridge like Team Prime does. Deciding that following the tracks were probably her best way of finding Bulkhead, Miko quickly and quietly followed the freshly made tire tracks while occasionally taking cover behind several large buildings, incase of any wandering MECH agents or Spider-Man.

The reckless rocker may have never been able to defend her best friend from the Cons, but now, she at least had a fighting chance against her current adversaries, since most of them were normal humans.

Keyword, most of them.

***

Eastern Russia (Kamchatka Peninsula) – Bechevinka – Three Minutes Later...

The Autobot warrior, scout, and leader kept a tight formation together with their blasters drawn while their medic navigated them towards the energon signal. They were all vigilant of course, now that they knew that MECH was very capable of capturing or taking down a cybertronian, especially with the Rhino by their side. However, that didn’t make Team Prime any less determined to rescue their bulky friend, not in the slightest.

“Ratchet, are we any closer to the signal?” Optimus asked.

“Hmmm. The reading should be coming from… here.” Ratchet said, staring at the dried, nonfunctioning water fountain in front of him.

“A dead end? Figured.” Arcee remarked in disappointment.

“Wait. I see something on the center of the fountain. Its… By the All Spark…” Ratchet said in a shaky, horrified tone.

“What is it Ratchet?” Optimus asked his fear-stricken friend.

“Its… Its…. Bulkhead’s optic….” Ratchet said, shaken by his discovery.

Loud, horrified gasps suddenly emitted from Arcee and Bumblebee at the discovery of their friend’s severed optic. Even Optimus’s stoic demeanor changed as he instantly withdrew his battle mask to reveal the full extent of his shocked expression.

“Were… Were we too late?” Optimus said worryingly.

“I-I don’t know. Perhaps I can…” Ratchet trailed off as he began tinkering with Bulkhead’s optic and his energon radar.

“What are you doing? Now isn’t the time for one of your science experiments Ratchet!” Arcee said, sounding almost offended by Ratchet’s use of her friend’s optic.

“I’m linking his optic nerve to my radar’s screen. The optic receptors might have retained the final images seen by Bulkhead.” Ratchet explained, sounding entirely focused with the linking process.

Hearing his explanation, Arcee stayed quiet and stuffed down her offended demeanor. Optimus and Bumblebee stayed quiet too as they observed Ratchet’s quick and brilliant idea, hoping to their sparks that they could at least get a sign that Bulkhead was still alive. After a few seconds of tinkering, the radar’s screen finally changed as it showed the Autobots the last few seconds of Bulkhead’s POV. Unfortunately for the Autobots, it was something none of them were prepared to see.

“-And although I had made many fascinating discoveries through those drones, I knew deep down that they wouldn’t even compare in the slightest to the likes of a real, authentic cybertronian such as yourself.” A mysterious man with four mechanical tentacles said in awe through the radar.

“For example, Vehicons do not possess enhanced orbicular optics such as yours.” The same man said, sinisterly this time.

Then, all of Team Prime witnessed in horror as the man lunged one of his tentacles into Bulkhead’s optic, easily ripping it right out of its optical socket as the gruesome process was accompanied by Bulkhead’s loud, painfilled screams.

“No!” Arcee shouted in shock and fear, coupled by Bumblebee’s loud, hostile tones.

“Those savages! They tore him apart!” Ratchet yelled in anger.

“Ratchet, can you pinpoint the location of Bulkhead’s other optic!?” Optimus asked, more frantically aggressive this time.

Before Ratchet could answer his question however, the radar’s screen suddenly changed yet again, this time, showing a front view live feed of Bulkhead’s dissection. Standing in front of the camera that showed the horrendous display were two men standing side-by-side each other. One of them being Silas, and the other being the same man that had cruelly ripped Bulkhead’s optic from its optical socket.

“W-what is this? What’s happening Ratchet?!” Arcee asked worryingly.

“It appears that he converted the optics to a two-way feed.” Ratchet said, furrowing his optics at the men that stood before him.

“Optimus Prime and his fellow Autobots. A pleasure to meet you all again. I was hoping for Spider-Man to show up as well, but that would just be asking for too much, wouldn’t it.” Silas said smugly.

“Silas! Where is Bulkhead?! Where are you keeping him!?” Optimus yelled angrily.

“Don’t fret yourself Prime, he’s right here, is he not? Your precious Autobot is still alive and under MECH’s containment.” Silas said as he and the man beside him moved away from the camera to give a better view of the dissection.

True to his word, Bulkhead was still alive. His large chassis was in the process of being cut open, and his right optic was missing from his faceplate, but he was still alive nonetheless.

“Bulkhead! / By the All Spark, Bulkhead!” Arcee, Ratchet, and Bumblebee all shouted in unison.

“Do you hear that, visitor? They’ve all come to rescue you. How touching.” Silas said in disgust.

“Silas, you would be wise to release him at once! Because if you do not, then we will scourge the entirety of this town for him, and for you.” Optimus threatened coldly.

Silas chuckled sinisterly. “You’re forgetting Prime, I am the one in control of your friend’s life, not you.” Silas spoke coldly.

“Guys, whatever you do, don’t listen to a FRAGGING thing this monsters’ got to say!” Bulkhead shouted through the radar.

“I advise that you keep your mouth shut, before we turn your pain receptors back on and operate on you.” Silas threatened.

“Scrap… Optimus, what do we do?” Arcee asked worryingly.

Optimus looked at Arcee, and for once, he was unsure about their next course of action. As much as Optimus hated to admit it, Silas was right. None of them were in control on whether Bulkhead lives or dies right now, Silas was. And seeing as they haven’t heard anything from Spider-Man yet, they had no other option but to listen to what Silas had to say.

“Ready to comply, Prime?” Silas said.

“What do you want.” Optimus growled coldly.

“Excellent. I’ll let the good doctor take it from here.” Silas chuckled evilly as he stepped aside, letting the mysterious man next to him come into full view for the Autobots.

Team Prime instantly took a disliking to the ominous doctor as they finally had a view of the man’s full frame. Everything about him screamed dangerous and sinister, not to mention the metallic tentacles that slithered alongside him like a pack of vicious snakes. However, Arcee took more a disliking to him since she too was a victim of another crazed and cruel scientist that went by the name Shockwave, back on Cybertron.

The man on screen viewed the Autobots’ presence in awe for a moment, before suddenly filling the silent atmosphere around them with a low chuckle.

“And I thought the specimen I had here was fascinating, but you Prime? You truly are more than meets the eye.” The doctor spoke in fascination.

“Silas brought you here to speak, not squabble. So speak.” Optimus said in a low, cold tone.

“Where are my manners? My name is Dr. Otto Octavius, and I wish to bargain with you.” Otto said formally.

“Bargain? Bargain for what exactly?” Ratchet asked, cocking his eyebrow at the menacing doctor.

“Simple. In exchange for your friend’s life, I demand that you deliver your stockpile of energon in its entirety to MECH.” Otto said calmly.

“Wh- Wha- H-how do you-“

“What’s the matter doctor? Did you think us too primitive to study and understand the concept of your people’s lifeforce?” Otto taunted the baffled medbot.

“What you ask for is far beyond your measure of knowledge, doctor.” Optimus said sternly.

“Maybe so Prime, but are you really willing to risk the wellbeing of your precious ally for that statement?” Otto asked with a malicious grin. Optimus kept quiet as he stared down at the doctor before him with furrowed optics.

“That’s what I thought. Because unlike the Decepticons, you Autobots live by your humane, peacekeeping, merciful morals. It is what defines you, what makes you an Autobot in the first place. And despite how unbelievably weak those morals would make you, you wouldn’t give them up, even if your own life depended on it.” Otto spat out in disgust.

The Prime remained quiet, trying to keep his already flaring emotions in check. What Otto demanded for Optimus would do more than just hurt Team Prime, it would absolutely cripple them. Despite that however, Optimus was above sacrificing even a single member of his team, or any Autobot for that matter under any circumstance. Their safety was his responsibility, no matter what, and from that moment, Optimus knew exactly what he had to do in order to save Bulkhead’s life.

“Let me make this simple for you Prime.” Otto spoke before Optimus could even reply. “Silas and a majority of his agents will meet you and your allies at your exact location to pick up the stockpile we requested. If you do not have what we demanded for by the time that they arrive, then Silas will issue me the order of executing your friend on the spot. And trust me when I say this dear Prime, I will make every second of his execution as agonizing as humanly possible. That is a promise.” Otto threatened coldly.

“How do we know you wouldn’t just kill him the moment we give you our energon!” Arcee yelled viciously.

“You won’t, but I’m afraid that you have no other option but to trust us. Unless you wish to carry what remains of his carcass back to your base.” Otto grinned at the furious femme Bot.

“I’m not worth it boss! Just go! Forget about me and these creeps!” Bulkhead shouted from his restraints.

“You have eight minutes Prime. Use them wisely.” Otto concluded with a sinister laugh before the screen reverted back to normal, filling the night sky with silence once again.

The moment of silence didn’t last for very long as Bumblebee shouted in various aggressive noises before destroying the fountain in front of him out of anger and hatred.

“Bumblebee! Calm yourself!” Optimus ordered. To his surprise however, Bumblebee quickly spun around to face the Prime and began shouting at him in angered beeps.

“Calm?! How could he be calm!? How could any of us be calm right now?!” Arcee shouted.

“Because Bulkhead’s life depends on us!” Optimus yelled, setting every Autobot in front of him straight.

Optimus ex-vented and calmed himself to a softer, yet sterner tone. “If we are to ensure that our friend stays alive, then for now, we must abide by Otto’s demand.”

“But Optimus, we barely have enough energon in our stockpile for ourselves, and our current stock of synthetic energon is far from complete. With the lack of functioning cybertronian tools at my disposal, it’ll take Primus knows how long until I’ve perfected even a small dosage of it. And with how likely we’ll encounter any future Decepticon or MECH threats, our risk of dying will be higher than ever before.” Ratchet explained worryingly.  

“Would you rather we sacrifice Bulkhead to keep our measly storage of energon?” Optimus asked Ratchet.

“…. No….. Unless…. Ah ha!” Ratchet exclaimed loudly as his expression suddenly lit up with an idea.

“Oh boy.” Arcee quietly remarked to Bumblebee, eliciting a small giggle from him.

“Instead of trading away our entire natural supply of energon, we could instead exchange our small stockpile of synthetic energon to them. That way, we can still keep our natural supply-“

“While MECH runs off with an incomplete energy source. And here I though Bots were bad at deceiving people.” Arcee smirked.

“Precisely.” Ratchet exclaimed enthusiastically.

“While it may seem like a plausible idea now, we cannot forget that it may cause consequences to us in the unforeseeable future.” Optimus chimed in.

“Unless they’ve acquired the most advanced Earth technology known to man, which may not even be enough on its own, MECH won’t be able to perfect their synthetic energon stockpile to its truest form. No matter how hard they try.” Ratchet explained.

“So what are we waiting for, a permission slip to save Bulkhead’s life? They’re gonna come any klik now.” Arcee remarked.

“Right.” Ratchet said before raising his fingers to his helm. “Rafael, open a ground bridge at my coordinates, but keep it open. I must retrieve something.” Ratchet ordered.

“Wait, Optimus, what about Jack? We haven’t heard from him in a while. Shouldn’t we fill him in on our plan?” Arcee suggested. Without even a reply on Optimus’s end, the Autobot leader raised both his finger servos to his helm and activated his comm link.

“Spider-Man to Optimus Prime, come in Spider-Man. There has been a change of plan… Spider-Man?” Unfortunately for Optimus, all he received through his comms were the loud annoyingly familiar sounds of static. “Spider-Man, come in. Jack… Jackson.” Optimus tried again, but to no avail.

Without even being told, Arcee quickly held her fingers to her helm and proceeded to contact Jack.

“Jack, come in, its Arcee. Jack…. Partner!” Arcee shouted as she started dreading the worst for her spider partner.

“Scrap….”

Eastern Russia (Apartment Rooftop) – Bechevinka – Present Time…

“Arcee, come in Arcee…. Cybertron to Arcee, come in….” I whispered through my comms, only to be met with the gargled sounds of static instead of my partner’s voice.

“Damn it… Nothing.” I cursed under my breath.

I had just finished following the long trail of fresh tire tracks that MECH had sloppily left behind, and strangely enough, the trail ended near some train tracks that lead to an abandoned train tunnel. I didn’t take Raf’s genius to realize that MECH had set up their little hideout inside of that tunnel, and if I was as lucky as I was in finding their hideout, then I’ll probably be able to find Bulkhead in there as well.

The only problem is, I can’t contact my teammates on my find, like, at all. I’ve been standing on this rooftop for the past two minutes trying to reach them, only to have an obnoxious amount of static running through my right ear.

This couldn’t have been a coincidence. MECH must’ve set up a large field jammer around their hideout to hide Bulkhead’s signal and prevent communications, like how Airachnid used a jammer in the woods to prevent me and Arcee from contacting base while we were in Maine.

‘Great. Just my luck. Hope Arcee’s having a better time than I am.’

Well, jammers or not, I can’t back out now. If there’s any chance that Bulkhead’s in there, then I’ve got to rescue him, with or without backup. Just as I was about to jump and swing to the tunnel though, my spider sense began to tingle, quickly warranting me back into cover.

“What now?” I hissed quietly.

As if to answer my question, the sounds of multiple car tires, engines, helicopter blades, and loudly barked orders started to fill the atmosphere of the eerie abandoned town. Curious as to the sudden ruckus, I peaked my head slightly out of cover to take a look at what was probably a commotion being caused by MECH. Lo and behold, it was MECH, a whole convoy of them too.

Three brightly colored green sports cars, six armored jeeps, one heavily armed chopper, probably Silas’s personal chopper, and a very bloodthirsty looking Rhino. One by one, each member of the convoy exited through the train tunnel and behind it in their respective vehicles. Well, except for the Rhino of course.

“Move out. Their stockpile isn’t going to pick itself up.” Silas ordered through his loudspeaker.

“Stockpile? What?” I questioned quietly.

It looked like they were all ready for war, but with what Silas just said, it sounded like they were retrieving something. I didn’t know if it had anything to do with my teammates, but whatever it was, it just made their hideout a hell of a lot less secure than before. This was more than just an advantage, this was my golden opportunity to sneak in and rescue Bulkhead without much resistance. Stepping onto the edge of the rooftop, I place my fingers on my earpiece and make one last call to Arcee, hoping that my message wouldn’t just come out as gargling static to her.

“Arcee, if you can hear me, just know that there’s a bunch of MECH agents, including the Rhino, that’re armed to the teeth and probably coming your way. I’m saying “probably” because Silas said something about retrieving a stockpile. Whatever it is, just be careful. I’ll rescue Bulkhead, then I’m coming straight for you. Stay safe partner.” I concluded to her, despite only receiving radio static as a response.

I took a deep breath and sighed, hoping that we’ll all make it home alive. “Alright, here goes nothing.” I said to myself.

Diving off the edge of the rooftop, I quickly aim my right hand up and shoot out a perfectly strong webline onto the edge of another building. Setting my eyes straight on the tunnel before me, I swing towards it with athletic ease, even daring to do a couple of air tricks midswing, just for the fun of it. It took me less than a minute until I finally reached the front of the tunnel, and running deeper inside of it, it took me even less to find the heavily armored steel doors that blocked me from fully entering the hideout.

“Damn it. They thought of everything, haven’t they.” I hissed in frustration.

Wait, what am I worrying for? I can punch through a Vehicon’s armor plating like it’s no problem. All I need to do is give myself a bit of a “push”, and eventually, those doors should give in.

“Looks like I’ll have to trade in stealth for a more aggressive approach.” I remarked while getting myself into a slingshot position.

Thanks to Airachnid’s stronger webbing, this well placed slingshot should give me more than enough elasticity to enhance my body’s forceful momentum. More than my normal webbing formula ever did for me. Pulling myself backwards as far as my webs could allow me, I flex my arm and leg muscles in preparation for the absolute cannonball of a move that I’m about to do.

“Alright Spider-Man. Legs first in three… two…. ONE!” Finally letting go of my makeshift slingshot, I instantly found myself flying feet first towards the steel metal doors.

It didn’t take long until my legs finally made contact with the barriers, and to say that my idea went perfectly would be an understatement. Aside from the booming echo of steel bending inwards, the doors themselves busted wide open, roughly hitting the walls beside them and revealing five surprised MECH agents scattered apart from each other near the doors. Landing on the ground in front of them, I struck my on-the-ground pose while wearing a quippy expression on my lens.

“Hey fellas. You all seem like responsible, upstanding citizens. You didn’t happen to see a friend of mine come through here, have you? He’s around the Rhino’s height, green, likes rock music, and is a bit on the overweight side.” I quipped to the still shock-stricken MECH agents.

“I-it’s the meta-human! Shoot him!” One of the agents shouted.

“Is Silas paying you guys not to call me Spider-Man?” I quipped right before they all took aim at me.

Without even giving them a chance to fire, I athletically jumped overhead all five agents while shooting a flurry of webshots on their eyes, leaving every agent before me blind and vulnerable. Though, that didn’t stop one agent from blindly firing his weapon at what he thought was his red and blue target.

“AAHH! Stop firing you idiot! None of us can see the target! You’ll only be shooting at us!!” Another agent yelled through a terrified voice.

“Do you guys have licenses to own those rifles, or does MECH just hand over rifles to any idiot that asks?” I quipped before quickly shooting out multiple weblines onto each of their guns and yanking them straight out of their grips.

True to its effectiveness, the agents continued to struggle pulling the small webshot of Airachnid’s webbing of their goggled eyes, leaving them open for a knockout by yours truly.

“I hope MECH has medical insurance for you guys, because- Wait, no I don’t, what am I even saying?” I quipped humorously.

Looking at the agent closest to me, I run towards him and uppercut him straight into the air before grabbing both his legs and slamming him down on the ground, knocking him cold. The second agent did no better than the first as I kicked him hard in his stomach, sending the poor man stumbling backwards with a painfilled yelp. Not being finished with him though, I web-yank the second agent and pull him towards me just to roundhouse kick him in his face, just for good measure.

With three agents left, I decided to knock two agents with one stone by directionally web yanking two agents in front of me onto the tunnel walls and webbing them there, leaving them completely unable to fight.

“Four down, one to go.” I remarked as I turned to face the last agent.

To my surprise however, the last agent had managed to finally remove the webbing off his face, allowing him to see just how outmatched him and his buddies really were. With shaky and sudden movements, the agents quickly drew his pistol out of his holster and aimed it at me. Though to his surprise, his drawn weapon didn’t elicit a single ounce of fear out of me, causing the agent’s hands to shake even more in fear.

I put my hands up defensively and slowly approach the shakily armed MECH agent. “Hey, you and I both know that you’re not cut out for this. So how about you just put down the gun, and I promise not-“

Suddenly, my spider sense started to tingle, warning me that despite his fear, the agent wasn’t going to comply without trying to draw blood from me. With a cry of fear and anger, the agent continuously unloaded his bullets at me, trying his hardest to land a shot. With my superior reflexes and speed however, landing a bullet on me would be the last thing the agent could ever do to me. Without even jumping out of position, I effortlessly dodged each bullet that came my way until the agent’s pistol ran empty. Afterwards, all I could hear were the sounds of loud clicking coming from the empty handgun and slight whimpering coming from the terrified agent.

“C’mon man, you didn’t even get to let me finish my sentence.” I sighed out in disappointment.

“P-please, don’t hurt me. I give up.” The agent threw down his pistol and raised his hands.

“Look, how about this, you tell me what I want to know, and I’ll let you go Scott free. Deal?” I suggested.

“W-what do y-you want to know, exactly?” The agent asked timidly.

“First, I’d like to know if you’re keeping my friend here somewhere. Y’know, big guy, wears green, likes to smash things, and a bit of a softy once you get to know him.” I remarked.  

“Y-you mean the specimen? Yeah, we’re containing him here. He’s just down this tunnel, over there.” The agent pointed towards the farther end of the tunnel.

“Alright cool, cool. Secondly, why the big convoy? You guys got more important things to do than kidnapping cybertronians?” I asked wittingly.

“Well, sorta? When we got word that the other Autobots made it towards the energon signal we set up, we contacted them and used the specimen’s life as a way of bargaining for their energon stockpile.” The agent explained nervously.

“Shit….” I whisper to myself. “That’s kind of a dick move, don’t you think?” I asked a bit angrily.

“I-it wasn’t my plan! I’m s-sorry!” The agent cried out fearfully.

“Just go…” I pointed towards the open doors.

Scared, the agent quickly ran for it, unknowing to the fact that I wasn’t going to let him off that easy. Picking up the agent’s discarded pistol, I held it like a baseball and got into a pitching stance, carefully aiming my makeshift baseball towards the agent’s head before finally throwing it at the coward’s cranium. It took a moment before I finally heard the *tink* sound, coupled with a momentary grunt coming from the agent before he fell to the ground, unconscious.

“Five down, none to go.” I remarked smugly. “Alright Bulkhead, time to get you out.” I mumbled quietly.  

To be on the safer side of things, I activated my invisibility and jumped onto the ceiling before crawling deeper into the tunnel. With my slow, stealthy pace, it took a while to get there, but when I did, my heart almost dropped at the sight before me.

Restrained on top of a large metal platform that laid above the tunnel’s train tracks was Team Prime’s one and only wrecker. Around him were various heavy-duty drills and saws that were cutting into his chest, to my surprise though, Bulkhead wasn’t screaming in pain like most people would. Instead, he was just laying there, wiggling and struggling to move himself out of his cuffs as if they were his only problem. I knew Bulkhead was tough, but I also knew that he felt pain like the rest of us did. The strangest part of this whole thing was that there was nobody else here. Nobody here to guard, monitor, or even test on the poor wrecker. Nobody except for Bulkhead

Something was up, but first things first, I needed to shut those drills and saws up.

I quickly crawled towards Bulkhead and deactivated my invisibility before webbing up every piece of machinery that was cutting my friend open. The heavy machines easily stopped and submitted under the strength of Airachnid’s webbing, finally halting the obnoxiously loud noise of metal cutting through metal.

“Wha- What the? Kid? Is that you?” Bulkhead questioned.

“Who else would it be, the Rhino?” I joked as I dropped onto the wrecker’s chest. Before I could make another quip though, I immediately spot Bulkhead’s bleeding empty eye socket, quickly dampening my witty demeanor down the drain.

“O-oh my god…. Bulkhead, what happened?!” I asked in absolute worry.

“T-there’s no time to explain kid. We n-need to get out of here, t-to help Prime and the others. Fast.” Bulkhead grunted in discomfort.

“The others? They’re just making a deal with Silas to keep you alive, buddy. It’s actually the whole reason why I was able to get through to you without much trouble from Silas’s weirdos.” I explained nonchalantly.

“No kid, you don’t understand! They weren’t planning on keeping me alive, whether the boss gave them the energon or not! It was all a trick to get their fleshy hands on both our energon and the rest of Team Prime!” Bulkhead shouted worryingly.

“Shit, a double cross. That explains the firepower of their convoy. Well, if that’s the case, then we’ll just have to hurry- “

A massive, painful migraine suddenly surged through the entirety of my brain, somehow managing to vibrate the entire organ in place. The migraine felt so painful that I had to clutch my head with both hands in the hopes that it would stop somehow, but it didn’t.

‘Can’t… Think…. Too painful.’

“He’s here.” Nightmare warned eerily.

“W-what?...” I grunted in pain.

Why would it warn me? Was this my spider sense going off? It feels more painful than all the other times my senses warned me, as if something was forcing bad, horrible memories into my brain. Especially my memory of when I lost Gwen….

Then, a slow, but powerful applauding clap suddenly began to continuously emit from behind me. Bulkhead’s eye widened as he looked at what was behind me, directly at the source of the clapping. Confused, I slowly turned my head around and saw-

“You…. I-it’s…. It’s you….” I whispered in horror as I stared upon the monster that had caused me tremendous grief prior.

“Spider-Man, ever the hero. It has been quite some time, hasn’t it?” Otto chuckled lowly.

“How’re you…. How’re you here?” I spoke shakily.

“Oh please. I have much more important matters to indulge myself in than to chase old rivals. Then again, I suppose a confrontation with you is ultimately inevitable for me.” Otto said from the catwalk.

My fists clenched tightly as my heart began to beat faster and faster, not only out of fear, but of anger, fury, and hate. This wasn’t a hallucination, otherwise, I wouldn’t have sensed him at all. He was here, he was really here, after a year of vanishment we finally met face-to-face once again. I knew that this confrontation would be inevitable, especially after what he caused me on the Brookland Bridge, and yet, it didn’t stop the plethora of emotions from flowing through my head like a tsunami.

“What’s the matter, hero? You seem a bit scared. Oohhh, don’t tell me that you’re still holding a grudge against me for…. What was her name again?” Otto grinned sinisterly.

His antagonizing comment about Gwen only put fuel on the fire that was already boiling my blood. Otto knew what he was doing, he enjoyed trying to draw out uncharacteristic reactions out of me. Today though, I was going to give him more than that.

I’m going to give him what he deserves.

I slowly stepped towards the tentacled man with my fists clenched to my sides, staring coldly into Otto’s goggled eyes. No quips, no laughs, no witty remarks. All that filled the air around me was my own unspoken fury, a rage filled silence that spoke for itself.

“Kid, don’t! We don’t have time for this! He’s trying to ruse you into a fight!” Bulkhead shouted as I stepped further from his face.

“Yes, kid. Take your ally’s advice. Free him and run, run as you had tried to run to save your precious woman.” Otto antagonized with an evil smile.

His remark earned him a hate filled growl from me. “I’ve given you so many chances Otto, so many times for you to change for the better. But you didn’t, you never cared about the people you’ve hurt, and you always took those chances for granted. Well now, I’m done trying to redeem you. Today, you’re going to die for what you did to Gwen. That is my promise.” I stared coldly, without a hint of humor in my tone.

“Revenge?” Otto sneered. “How very uncharacteristic of you Spider-Man. Or perhaps, this is your way of coping with the guilt of your own failure to save her.” Otto scowled.

“Don’t…” I quietly snarled.

“I may have been the one who threw her off the bridge that fateful morning, but at the end of the day, it was your very webs that snapped her spinal cord in half.” Otto chuckled loudly.

With a rage filled scream, I immediately shot out multiple weblines onto the catwalk Otto was standing on, much to his immediate confusion. Before he could even realize, I used the entirety of my arms’ strength to pull the catwalk, completely ripping it out of place in less than a second and causing Otto to fall onto the train tracks. The disgruntled doctor picked himself off the tracks using his tentacles and raised himself in the air, trying to gain a height advantage over me.

“Let us see if you have gotten any faster, shall we?” Otto remarked before lunging both his upper tentacles at me.

I sprinted towards Otto and jumped onto one of his tentacles, using it at another platform to run on before dodging the second tentacle and using its body to swing further towards my target. My feet quickly made contact with his stomach region, knocking the air out of his lungs and making the octo doctor stumble back on the tracks. While in midair, I quickly shot two weblines near the fallen doctor and descended downwards into a quick ground slam to crush him. Unfortunately, Otto was quick enough to command one of his tentacles to slam into my side, preventing my ground slam and crashing me onto the tunnel wall.

My pain was only momentary before it was quickly replaced with adrenaline and pure rage. As Otto tried to get himself back into the fight, I took this small margin of time to connect a webline onto one of the saw blades near Bulkhead and rip it out of place. With the saw blade now ripped out, I jumped off the wall and spun around midair to get a good windup on my throw. Otto gasped in surprise and fear as he saw the circular blade I had thrown hastily traveling towards his head like a bullet. With quick reaction timing on his end though, his tentacle grabbed the saw blade that was mere inches away from his face and threw it back at me as hard as he could, to which I dodged with ease.

“You show much anger for the girl’s death. Good, it shows me just how greatly you cared for her.” Otto said, grinning as he pointed his tentacles at me.

I growled and lunged at Otto in the air to strike him from above. All four of his tentacles lunged back at me, in an attempt to grab me out of the air. I dodged the first one before kicking the second tentacle away from me. Then, I side-dodged the third one and punched the side of its body, heavily denting its silver-colored plating. Unfortunately, the fourth tentacle was quick and lucky enough to grab me by the throat and drag me down, slamming me onto the hard, concrete floor of the train tunnel.

“I can see just how much you truly miss your love. Here, let me help you reunite with her!” Otto growled loudly, either in rage or satisfaction, while he squeezed his tentacle’s claws around my throat.

“Kid! No! Get your fragging claws off of him!” Bulkhead yelled from his restraints.

“You’ll get your turn soon enough visitor. For now, I have a spider to kill.” Otto remarked with a sinister laugh.

I struggled to move or stay conscious as the strength of Otto’s grip started to get stronger and stronger around my throat and collar bone. However, even through the hurt and pain, I still kept myself awake and thinking. Not through Bulkhead’s worry filled shouting or Otto’s sinister remarks, but through sheer, undying willpower. And through the strength of my own willpower, I brought up both my hands and wrapped them tightly around two of the four claws around my throat. Without a second more to lose, I gripped onto the claws as hard as I could and screamed in pure rage as I ripped them out of place.

Otto yelped loudly and clutched his head as he no doubt felt the pain of losing his two metallic claws, courtesy of the neurological connection that he has with his monstrous creations. However, his neurological pain had only just begun as I started to use both his amputated claws as daggers to continuously stab at and rip off the head of the tentacle Otto still had wrapped around my throat. With an agonizing scream coming from Otto, he used one of his other tentacles to fling me away from him, finally freeing me from his grasp. Unfortunately for the mad doctor, the only thing left from the tentacle I had just escaped was its lengthy silver body. The entirety of its head was ripped off and missing, allowing its internal wiring to protrude freely outside its metallic shell.

“Do you understand now, Otto? Today isn’t another one of those days where you escape unscathed. Today is the day that you pay for what you did, for all that you did.” I said in cold fury.

“If that's so, then answer me this Spider-Man. Will my death make you feel any better about hers, or will it only fill the void inside you?” Otto asked through small, painfilled pants.

“Time to find out.” I coldly remarked.

Eastern Russia (Kamchatka Peninsula) – Bechevinka – Present Time...

True to Otto’s word, Silas and his convoy arrived at the Autobot’s location within the eight-minute marker. Unsurprisingly, the Autobots themselves stood there, awaiting their arrival with the energon stockpile they requested, in the hopes that they would spare Bulkhead’s life of course. Every vehicle and MECH agent, including Rhino, surrounded the Autobots as they readied themselves and their weapons for a potential battle, just for extra security measure.

“What’s this about! We’ve got what you wanted right here!” Arcee said with a mixture of confusion and frustration.

“Do not worry yourselves titans. They are just tiny men being cautious of gigantic and powerful creatures, such as ourselves.” Rhino assured them.

“You’re nothing like us, scrapeater.” Ratchet sneered with venom in his tone.

As soon as all the agents surrounded the Autobots, Silas’s chopper began to close in on the landing point in front of them. The Autobots eyed the chopper, more specifically, the man inside the chopper, as it flawlessly landed a few feet in front of Optimus Prime. With the chopper’s engine still powered on, Silas stepped out of his personal ride and towards the leader of the Autobots in an authoritative manner.

“Optimus Prime. Do you have my stockpile?” Silas got to the point.

“As you requested, Silas.” Optimus replied, pulling out a large glass container filled to the brim with bright green, synthetic energon. As if one queue with their leader, the other Autobots pulled out several differently sized glass containers filled with the same synthetic energy source.

“Fascinating.” Silas commented. “Although, my recent studies with the good doctor showed that your people’s lifeforce usually comes in the color blue.” Silas frowned at the Prime.

“That is the natural form of energon. What you see before you is its synthetic counterpart.” Optimus said, earning him a cocked eyebrow from the scar-faced man. “Due to the slim number of natural energon deposits on Earth, and the Decepticons effectiveness at excavating said deposits, we have opted for a more synthetic, producible source of energy.” Optimus explained as he signaled Arcee to hand over her smaller container to Silas.

Silas inspected the synthetic energon container with a strict eye. “And this synthetic form of energon is recreatable, yes?” Silas asked.

“Correct. So long as you posses a dosage of its liquid form.” Optimus replied.

“Hmm. It seems that you care a great deal for your comrades if you were willing to hand over an energy source as effective as this.” Silas taunted with a smug grin. “Rhino! Take the rest of their stockpile and gently insert them into the trunks of our jeeps. Those of you who have the containers in their vehicles! Secure the packages and fall back to base.” Silas commanded.

Optimus stared directly into Silas’s eyes as the Rhino took the containers from each Autobot, one by one. “Silas. We have honored our side of the bargain, now it is time to honor yours. Release Bulkhead now.” Optimus said with his fists clenched.

“Yes, of course. Honoring my side of the bargain.” Silas quietly chuckled. The MECH leader boarded onto his chopper, peaking his head through the passenger window to give the Autobots his sincerest regards. “Gentlemen, Rhino, show our visitors here how MECH honors its side of a bargain.” Silas ordered with a victorious grin.

The agents that arrived in their MECH personalized sports cars suddenly aimed their rifles and grenade launchers at the Autobot. The Rhino on the other hand chuckled loudly as he prepared himself to charge attack the furious titans before him.

“Scrap!” Arcee loudly cursed alongside a furiously beeping scout and a medbot mumbling curse words in cybertronian.

“Silas is escaping! We have to stop him!” Ratchet pointed at Silas’s chopper, which was now high up in the air and retreating from the fight.

“Forget about him! We must fall back!” Optimus shouted.

The agents that remained opened fire at the Autobots, peppering their armor with bullets and small explosive rounds. Although their rifles proved to be more annoying than anything to the Autobots, those who carried a specialized grenade launcher were managing to wear out their armor with each grenade shot out. Slowly leaving them weaker and more vulnerable. As for the Autobots, Arcee and Optimus fought back with their ranged weapons while Ratchet and Bumblebee stuck to their melee alternatives. Of course, none of them were intentionally trying to kill any of the agents, per Optimus’s command.

“What’s our plan of escape Optimus?” Ratchet asked.

“We will not ground bridge back to base until we have Bulkhead and Jack. For now, we must transform and regroup in a remote area.” Optimus replied just before roundhouse kicking Rhino and knocking him back with a blaster shot to his chest.

“Sounds great Optimus. So what are we waiting for?” Arcee remarked as she destroyed two of the three remaining MECH vehicles with his blasters.

“Autobots! Transform and roll out!” Optimus ordered.

Following his command, every Autobot present transformed into their respective vehicle modes and quickly drove away from the fight scene, leaving the MECH agents firing at them from behind until all the Autobots were fully out of their line of sight. A disgruntled Rhino rose from the ground, checking to see if he was mortally wounded. He wasn’t.

“Hmh. Cowards.” Rhino sneered, placing his fingers on the side of his helmet. “Silas, they’ve escaped us. We should send out a search unit and find them.” Rhino suggested, hoping that he would get another chance at the Autobots.

“There won’t be any need for that, Rhino. We’ve got what we wanted, now we must make off with our spoils, before its too late.” Silas said.

“Before its too late?” Rhino said in confusion.

“If the Autobots managed to find our operations here, then there’s no doubt that the government will pick up on their trail as well. We must retreat with what we have to another location before this entire town becomes a military investigation.” Silas explained sternly.

Rhino lightly grunted in anger. “Understood. I’ll meet you at the rendezvous point.” Rhino concluded before turning off his comms. Now that he was finished with the Rhino, Silas had one more asset he needed to inform.

“Otto, come in. Finish studying the specimen and kill it, quickly. We must pack up and regroup at the rendezvous point for relocation….” Silas however, received nothing but silence from the other end.

“Otto…. Otto!”

Train Tunnel Station (MECH Hideout) – Bechevinka – Present Time…

*AUGHH*

Otto let out a painfilled noise, followed by a series of loud coughing as he blocked his body using his three functional tentacles. I on the other hand didn’t stop my assault, as I began to furiously web up his tentacles together in the hopes that they would become immobile. However, even with Airachnid’s webbing formula, his tentacles’ strength far exceeded their efficiency as he ripped them off his slithering machinery with ease.

We were both feeling tired, yet restless at the same time. I knew that this fight couldn’t last forever, that Silas and his agents would return any minute now. Yet, there was something in the back of my mind that told me that there was only one way that this fight could end. With Otto laying on the ground, still, cold, and unmoving.

“Is this *huff* how we were *puff* destined to end, Spider-Man? Just two old rivals, *huff* fighting to the death inside of an abandoned train tunnel.” Otto questioned through labored pants.

“You chose this Otto. Now, there’s no running from your consequences.” I clenched my bleeding chest.

“No. I suppose there isn’t.” Otto said as he removed his broken goggles and discarded them. Then, using his tentacles, the mad doctor leaped towards the pieces of the catwalk I had broken down earlier and used its pieces as ammunition to throw at me.

His throws were hard enough for the pieces to damage the tunnel walls besides me, giving me more incentive to dodge the thrown metal debris. When Otto ran dry of pieces to weaponize, he immediately made a break for the immobile drills and saws beside Bulkhead’s restrained figure. I quickly web zipped towards the eight limbed psycho only to be thrown back into a wall by one of his tentacles. I forced myself through the pain and quickly recovered from his attack just in time to see Otto ripping one of the massive drill blades from its machinery. With the drill blade in his tentacles, he positioned himself as if he were chucking a spear and threw it at me as violently as he could.

My lens blew wide open in surprise before I quickly jumped overhead the massive makeshift spear. The drill blade broke through the tough concrete of the tunnel wall as it penetrated right into it, slightly catching me off guard. Otto however, took this as the opportune moment to grab both my legs midair and slam me into the cold, concreate ground. I wheezed in pain and tried to force myself up only to be grabbed again and slammed into the floor beneath me multiple times. The concreate floor I was being slammed on began to form a cobweb shape pattern of cracks as Otto’s relentless slamming started to become more and more violent each time my body made contact with the ground. By this point, I could feel my muscles and bones aching greatly in pain as my body kept absorbing the impact of the doctor’s slams.

“Stop! STOP OTTO! HE’S HAD ENOUGH!” Bulkhead loudly begged, but to no avail.

With my body now too weak, and the pain now too continuous, I laid limply within the grasps of his tentacles, no longer finding it within me to fight through the hurt. Seeing that he had now overpowered me, the mad doctor slammed me into the ground once more before wrapping one of his lengthy tentacles completely around my body, fully restricting any movement.

Otto laughed smugly in triumphant. “It seems that your own rage served against you Spider-Man. You could have escaped with your friend so long ago, but now, you’ll both just end up as experimental corpses on my lab table.” Otto grinned.

“This… This won’t… This won’t stop me, Otto.” I weakly remarked.

Otto scoffed. “Can you not understand the scope of your situation Spider-Man. You’re finished, defeated, there is nothing you could do to escape now.” Otto said, tightening his grip around me.

“There’s still one option left… You know what to do.” Nightmare whispered.

“N-no… Bulkhead… he’s still here…” I weakly mumbled.

“Hmm? What was that? I’m afraid I couldn’t hear you through all your whimpering.” Otto mocked. “It must feel so unfortunate, for you to have waited all this time to avenge your precious woman, only to fail her once again.” Otto laughed mockingly.

“You have the chance to redeem yourself from your own failures, and yet, you aren’t taking it because of him? You really are a disappointment, and now, you’ll die like one.” Nightmare harshly scolded.

Bioelectricity began to charge up within me through my veins, but I held it in, desperate to not let it astray and hurt Bulkhead in the crossfire. I couldn’t, I wouldn’t let it out, not even if it meant getting back at Otto.

“Otto, please, just let the kid go. I’ll tell you anything you want to know, just… please, don’t kill him for trying to save me.” Bulkhead pleaded sincerely.

“I’m afraid that we are much past the time of mercy, visitor. Now, the spider must pay the price of his actions.” Otto replied as he brought me closer towards his face. “Aren’t you going to say something hero, or do you prefer to die in silence?” Otto asked sinisterly.

“Do you!!” Miko’s voice suddenly chimed in.

For a moment, I thought that I was somehow hallucinating Miko’s voice, and that when I turned to look around the tunnel, she wouldn’t actually be here. Much to my bafflement however, she was here, standing before me, Otto, and Bulkhead, in the flesh. That wasn’t all though. Aside from her gritted teeth and the rageful expression she wore on her face, the furious punk rocker was also carrying a large MECH personalized assault rifle, and she was aiming it towards Otto.

“MIKO! / MIKO!” Bulkhead and I shouted in a mixture of shock and worry.

“A child! What is the meaning of-“

Before Otto could even finish his sentence, Miko let out a loud rageful cry as she began to unload her rifle’s magazine onto my captive. Due to the suddenness of her attack, Miko managed to get a few hits on Otto, despite the recoil of her rifle betraying her aim. Otto let out a scream of agony as bullets penetrated through his right shoulder, left forearm, and right thigh, quickly prompting him to accidentally loosen his grip on me. Once I felt his grip lessen on me, I immediately mustered all of my strength to break free from my metallic bondage and venom punch him square in his stomach, sending the mad doctor crashing limply into the wall with a trail of bioelectricity following shortly after him.

Feeling tired and spent, I quickly knelt onto the ground, panting and breathing heavily through the cloth of my mask. Miko soon stopped her relentless firing and quickly ran towards me to help my tired body up.

“C’mon Spidey! Get up! Don’t give out on us!” Miko worryingly shouted.

“M-Miko, how- why are you here?!” I stuttered.

“It’s my responsibility to look after the people I care about too, and I care about you and Bulkhead. Isn’t that what you’re all about?” Miko said as she helped me stand to my feet.

“B-but, you could’ve gotten yourself killed…” I said quietly.

“Look dude, you can scold me all you want back at base, right now we need to-“

I cut off Miko’s sentence of frustration with a quick and grateful hug, catching the brave teenage rocker completely by surprise.

“Thank you Miko…” I whispered sincerely.

“Wha- Bu-… You’re not mad at me?” Miko said quietly in confusion.

“I am a little, but at the same time, it’s what I would’ve done too…. And I’m proud of you for it, Miko. I really am.” I said proudly. Miko’s breath hitched for a moment, before she suddenly returned a hug equally as warm as mine.

“God… Now you’ve got me feeling all mushy like Bee you dork.” Miko giggled.

I chuckled. “That’s kinda my specialty, now that I think about it.”

“Awww, don’t tell me you’ve already forgotten about your favorite Bot here.” Bulkhead said, sounding almost a bit jealous. Miko looked at the big oaf and smiled as she broke from our hug.

“How could I forget about you Bulk? You’re the whole reason why- *gasp* Bulkhead! Your eye!” Miko shouted in horror, dropping her rifle to the ground and running towards her wounded friend.

“I-its fine Miko, really. It’s just a scratch, nothing a patch won’t fix up.” Bulkhead assured in a soft tone.

“No, no, its not fine! They were torturing you Bulk! You-you….” Miko trailed off with teary eyes as she continued to inspect the open wound.

“She’s right Bulkhead, they’ve been trying to cut you open for the past hour or so. We need to quickly get you back to base and have Ratchet take a look at you.” I said while pulling off his metallic cuffs, finally freeing the poor bot from his restraints.

“Yeah… Yeah, I guess you’re right. I could use a good welding job on my chassis right about now.” Bulkhead remarked. “Oohhh yeah. Feels good to finally have my pistons moving again.” Bulkhead stretched his arms and legs, followed by grunts of relief.

Suddenly, the sounds of shuffling and metallic slithering emitted from behind me. I quickly turned around just in time to spot Otto weakly escaping through an emergency exit door near the catwalk I had destroyed earlier.

“OTTO! GET BACK HERE OTTO!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs as I almost begun to give chase after him, only to be halted by Miko’s hands. “Miko! What’re you doing!” I shouted.

“Dude, forget about the creepy scientist! Bulks’ hurt, we have to get back to base!” Miko said, tightening her grip around my arms.

“Miko, you don’t understand-“

“Jack! Please….” Miko said with a sorrowful look in her eyes. I stayed silent at the sudden plead, looking between Miko’s sad face and Bulkhead’s hurt expression, then, back at the doorway Otto just escaped through.

‘To overindulge yourself in violence and power, is to lose yourself completely.’ Uncle Ben’s words echoed through my mind.

….

“Shit!” I yelled in frustration, which I eventually followed up with a heavy sigh. “…. Bulkhead, can you still transform?” I asked the green wrecker.

“Yeah, I think so.” Bulkhead replied, stepping onto the tracks and slowly shifting himself until he finally transformed into his vehicle mode. “Alright, think I’m good to go. Get in guys.” Bulkhead said.

We climbed into the backseats, and from then on, Bulkhead quickly sped through the opened steel doors and out of the train tunnel. Bulkhead kept driving as far as he could take us from the tunnel, knowing full well himself that Silas had installed a jammer near his hideout. After a few minutes of driving, we were finally far enough from the jammer to contact the rest of Team Prime.

“Hey guys. Arcee, Optimus, please respond.” I said through my comms.

…..

“I read you, loud and clear partner.” Arcee finally responded, causing me to sigh heavily in relief.

“Oh, thank God.” I sighed.

“It’s good to hear from you too, Jack. Speaking of, where were you this whole time?” Arcee asked.

“Oh, y’know, seeking, finding, fighting MECH agents, rescuing Bulkhead. That sort of thing.” I remarked.

“Wait, you rescued Bulkhead?” Arcee said in confusion.

“Good to know you guys care about me.” Bulkhead said with a small chuckle.

“Bulkhead! / Thank the All Spark! / *Beep* Beeeep*” Arcee, Ratchet, and Bumblebee all said through the comms in unison.

“You’re welcome.” I scoffed.

“Jack, I am glad to know that you and Bulkhead are safe at last. Though, I am curious as to how you managed to rescue Bulkhead all by your lonesome?” Optimus asked.

“Well… I wouldn’t say that I did it all alone per say.” I said, nervous to reveal that Miko had secretly come along the rescue mission.

“What’d you mean?” Arcee asked.

“Oh, you should’ve seen me Arcee! I picked up this cool looking gun from one of those techy dudes Spidey knocked out and shot a super-villain with it, an actual super-villain!” Miko exclaimed excitedly through Bulkhead’s comms.

“MIKO!!” Everyone, except Optimus, shouted through their comms.

“How, in the name of the All Spark, did you even get here!” Ratchet said furiously.

“What? You guys left the ground bridge open for too long, and I wasn’t just about to let Bulkhead get ripped apart by these creeps.” Miko pouted.

“Miko, what you did was incredibly reckless and of a lack of better judgement. We may have faced off against human adversaries, but MECH, as they have proven today, is a foe not to be trifled with.” Optimus scolded, causing Miko to pout even harder.

“W-wait, Optimus, with all do respect, Miko saved my life. If it weren’t for her, I probably would have had to do something I might have regrated.” I chimed in. “Reckless? A little. Lack of better judgement? Maybe. But brave and courageous, especially since she doesn’t have powers like mine? One hundred percent.” I proudly defended, giving Miko a small smile of assurance.

“I understand Jackson, but it does not change the fact that she placed herself in mortal danger.” Optimus said.

“Look boss, I’d never intentionally put Miko in any kind of danger, but you should’ve seen how she took on that eight-limbed freak! She’s a wrecker if I’ve ever seen one.” Bulkhead also proudly defended, turning Miko’s pout into a great smile.

Optimus hummed in contemplation for a moment. “Miko, although my point still stands about your decision to follow us through the ground bridge. I will not deny the bravery that you have shown today to save those that you hold dearest to your heart. If what Jack and Bulkhead said about you today is true, then we are truly in your debt for helping us with Bulkhead’s rescue.” Optimus said sincerely.

“Thanks Optimus. Its good to finally hear a complement about me coming from you.” Miko said.

“I have always thought highly of you, Miko. Your ability to show courage, even in the face of immense danger, is most inspiring.” Optimus genuinely complemented.

“And who knows, maybe in the future, Miko might become the next Spider-Man- err… Spider-Woman.” I remarked.

“That sounds awesome!! Well, as long as I don’t have to get bitten by any spiders… Creepy monsters…” Miko shivered in fear.

“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to get the frag out of this place. My backside is killing me.” Bulkhead remarked with a tired groan.

“Understood Bulkhead. Meet us at our arrival coordinates and I’ll signal Rafael to open a ground bridge there. I’ll try to prepare a medbay for you as soon as we return to base.” Ratchet said.

“Sounds good, Doc.” Bulkhead concluded.

As Bulkhead continued driving, I thought about everything that had happened today in the span of a couple of hours, maybe not even above the span of three hours. MECH, Silas, Bulkhead’s eye, Otto….

I’ve faced one of the many demons that I have today, and I still have yet to win against him. That isn’t even mentioning the energon stockpile that agent told me about earlier. I mean, it was a good thing that most of them moved out at the time, made things much easier for me, well… as easy as it can get for somebody like me. At the same time though, if Silas did by chance manage to get even an ounce of energon, who knows what kinds of things he and Otto might do with it.

It’s a scary thought for sure, but I’ll have to save those questions for another time. Because if I’m being frank, I could really use a good nap right about now, and probably so does everybody else. I just hope that this’ll be the last time that we ever see of Silas and his MECH agents.

Though, that would just be classified as “wishful thinking”.

Chapter Text

Secret MECH Lab Facility - New York City – 3 Day Later…

Within the big city of New York, in an area secluded from most law enforcement personnel and civilians, laid a large two-story lab facility personally bought and owned by Norman Osborn himself. Inside the lab facility were not just any working scientists and management staff employed by Osborn, but instead, workers that are all a part of an illegal, yet secretly Oscorp funded organization that reveled in the creation of innovative technology and human enhancements.

An organization otherwise known as MECH.

Deep within the facility, twenty or so MECH scientists, including Otto, were stationed in the research department of the facility per Silas’s command. For the past three days, ever since their last encounter with the Autobots and Spider-Man, every scientist Silas had available with him worked hard in figuring out the chemical formula and build of the synthetic energon Otto had so kindly requested for. However, it didn’t take Otto very long to realize that their bargained energy source wasn’t currently in the best shape to be used for its normal function. Or anything for that matter.

And to say that Silas was displeased about his lead scientist’s discovery would be a major understatement.

“They’ve dupped us!!” Silas slammed his fist atop the metal table. “They tricked us like damn fools!!” Silas shouted at his research team, throwing a metallic chair across the lab in blind rage.

“Silas, calm yourself. This is only a temporary setback.” Otto assured professionally.

“A temporary setback!!? Thousands upon thousands of dollars wasted on our operation in Russia, and you want to classify this as a temporary setback!!” Silas yelled in fury.

Otto took a deep breath and calmed himself from any intrusive thoughts about ripping Silas apart with his tentacles. Silas may be his superior on paper, but Dr. Otto Octavius is no man to be trifled with, in both mind and strength.

“I assure you, this chemical is much more than meets the eye. I just need more time to-“

“Time is precisely what we don’t have enough of, doctor.” Silas sighed while pinching his nose. “First the DNGS, then the specimen you had in cuffs, now this…” Silas rubbed his aching head.

“Let me guess. Norman…” Otto growled coldly.

“The fool’s been biting at the back of my heels ever since we failed to retrieve the DNGS. How do you think he feels now that he knows about our most recent expensive failures?” Silas said, feeling more worried about his future than he’d like to admit. “Norman Osborn is many things, doctor. Rich, successful, charming, but not patient.” Silas said gravely.

“Then Norman will have to make an exception regarding his thin patience if he wishes for us to successfully recover from this predicament.” Otto counterargued.

“Pray tell doctor, what exactly is there to recover from this catastrophe?” Silas glared.

Otto smiled slightly. “A chance, Silas. A chance to resurrect something that has been long discontinued from Oscorp Industries.” Otto grinned, to which Silas cocked his eyebrow in return.

“Elaborate.” Silas simply replied.

“Do you remember a certain neogenetics project developed by Oscorp’s brightest minds, including me and my former partner, Dr. Kurt Connors? The one that involved the creation of genetically modified spiders.” Otto asked with a bit of mischievous excitement hidden in his voice.

“Yes. It was Oscorp’s first and most expensive attempt at creating a neogenetically modified creature. It was also their last attempt at such a project.” Silas frowned.

“And do you know why it was discontinued, Silas?” Otto asked.

“Do tell, doctor.” Silas replied, unamused.

“It was because of that damned fool, Connors!!” Otto angrily shouted. “Weeks before my creations could be released to the military for testing, Connors decided to use himself as a test subject for his little side project! The one that involved instant limb regrowth with the use of reptilian DNA.” Otto huffed furiously as he reminisced the neogenetic catastrophe.

“Hmm. Yes, now I remember. It was Connors’ worst and most destructive lab accident. In fact, it was the entire reason why Oscorp had to shut down all projects and products relating to neogenetics in the first place.” Silas said.

“And because of that, any chance that Oscorp had in recreating the super solider serum was destroyed… Until now.” Otto grinned as he held up a small vial of synthetic energon.

Silas stared at the vial in slight bewilderment. “Synthetic energon? Doctor, that formula is barely able to function as an energy source in of itself. How can you possibly hope to recreate the product of human evolution from a bottle of incomplete alien chemicals.” Silas frowned in confusion.

“Because Silas, it does not only serve as an alternative energy source, but also a means of cybertronian physical enchantment.” Otto then led Silas to a small, metallic table containing only a microscope with a small petri dish underneath its scope.

“What you see before you in this petri dish is a small sample of Bulkhead’s CNA, one of the only few samples of data that I was able to collect from the specimen.” Otto said, earning him a small grunt of anger from his superior. “Now, observe what happens when I mix the CNA sample with synthetic energon.” Otto gestured to the microscope.

Feeling more curious now than annoyed, Silas complied, leaning his eyeball down towards the small end of the scope and observing the countless amounts of alien molecules that lazily flowed through the bright blue liquid. Otto then mentally commanded one of his tentacles to place a single droplet of synthetic energon within the petri dish, all the while he stood next to Silas, silently anticipating his superior’s reaction. Silas observed silently in surprise as the droplet almost instantly began to change the specimen’s CNA around it, but not in the way that Silas thought it would. Instead of destroying the CNA, it not only multiplied it, but it also modified it as well, almost as if it were reinforcing the molecules around it in a strong suit of synthetic armor.

“H-how, how is this possible.” Silas whispered, trying to hide his astonished tone.

“Science, my friend. At the end of the day, no matter which world or universe one lives in, science will always prevail, and so will MECH.” Otto grinned smugly, before replacing his grin with a disappointed frown. “However, due to the formula’s… incompleteness, it also produces many major issues. Such as the self-destruction of the user’s DNA.” Otto sighed.

Perplexed, Silas looked through the microscope once again, only to see that every CNA molecule was now slowly breaking itself down, disappearing and dying a slow, painful death.

“This… This is an astonishing discovery, doctor. Though, this still marks one major issue for us… we aren’t cybertronian.” Silas glared. “You said it yourself, doctor. Energon is more harmful to the human nervous system in more ways than even you’d like to count.” Silas patronized.

“It is, for now. However, with the right equipment, technology, and time, I can complete and refine our synthetic energon formula down to a more suitable serum for human consumption.” Otto stated in slight glee.

Contrary to Otto however, Silas still wore a displeased look on his scarred face. Despite how big of a discovery this was for MECH, Silas knew that there was still the matter of convincing Norman into helping them fund their newest project. Much to Silas’s disappointment, MECH’s existence was forced to be kept in the dark from the rest of the world, especially since the reveal of their partnership with Oscorp would undeniably drag Norman’s business down to legal hell. So, if by any chance Norman was willing to fund yet another expensive project for MECH, then their super serum project would have no choice but to be successful.

Otherwise, Norman would take more than just Silas’s funding…

Silas’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Otto’s hand gently placed itself atop his shoulder. “I know that look on your face Silas, but you must understand, this could be our chance, MECH’s chance at creating the next step in human evolution. The serum that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America, and the neogenetic spiders that created Spider-Man? They would all pale as a myth in comparison to the history that we could achieve… with this.” Otto held up the vial of synthetic energon, humanity’s possible steppingstone in evolution.

Silas stood there, silently staring at the vial of bright green energon as he thought of all the possibilities that MECH could achieve with the very stockpile that the Autobots had given away. This opportunity couldn’t have been just coincidence. This was a sign to Silas, an otherworldly intervention that would prove to do great things for MECH, and for those who would be willing to join and evolve with the new world order, MECH’s world order. For now however, Silas would have to continue playing as Norman’s pawn, if he wishes to have the tools necessary to create the super serum.

Silas sighed. “…. Very well, doctor. I’ll inform Norman of your discovery and hopefully try to have him deliver all the equipment and test subjects necessary for this project to succeed. For now, I want you and your team to continue researching the properties of our synthetic energon, down to its last molecule.”

Otto chuckled gleefully. “You never cease to see the bigger picture, mein freund.”

“That’s because I always think of the bigger picture, doctor.” Silas smiled. The MECH leader then turned and walked towards the research department’s exit, only to then turn around last second and face his lead scientist.

“Oh, and one last thing, doctor.” Silas announced, earning him Otto’s attention. “Don’t fail me this time. Because if you do, then you’ll have more than me to fear…”

Secret MECH Lab Facility - New York City – 4 Weeks Later…

It was never in Silas’s best interest to please Norman just for the sake of satisfying his corporate boss, but to secretly benefit from Oscorp’s heavily advanced resources for his own self interests. So, when Silas informed Norman that he and his organization had a formula capable of enhancing human biology, the Oscorp CEO of course did everything in his power to fund and assist Silas in recreating the super soldier serum. However, Oscorp’s assistance did not come without its potential consequences.

To quote Norman, “I’m putting a lot of effort and money on my end into keeping this operation afloat. So if this project goes south on me Silas, then I’ll be sure to string you up by Otto’s tentacles and have the Rhino ram his horn so far up your ass, that you’ll be tasting the rusty flavor of tungsten for the rest of your life!”.

Not wanting to anger Norman more than he already had before, Silas willingly complied to his superior’s orders by trying to perfect Oscorp’s promised super solider serum. Every team in the research, testing, and engineering departments of MECH’s lab facility kept themselves hard at work for the past four weeks, completely avoiding any scuffles relating to the Autobots. Silas wasn’t going to lose his chance at creating a steppingstone in human history to the Autobots, Spider-Man, or even Osborn himself. He was going to see this through, one way or another.

As Silas walked through the front doors of the testing department, his lead scientist immediately took notice of his authoritative presence. Otto stopped what he was working on at that moment and came to walk beside his superior, confident and ready to give Silas his full report on the “Green Globulin” project.

“I presume that you have some good news to share with me, doctor.” Silas said as he stared at the plethora of working MECH scientists around him.

“Very good news indeed.” Otto grinned smugly.

“First things first, doctor. What’re the diagnostics of our battle gliders?” Silas asked, peering at the small team of engineers who were currently testing a MECH designed glider.

“According to our pilots’ test-runs, they have been preforming quite well in terms of its flight duration, speed, and weaponry. And thanks to your suggestion prior, the durability of our gliders has exponentially increased by 40% due to the sheer strength of our stolen Vehicon armor plates.” Otto informed professionally.

Silas chuckled. “Well doctor, it can’t really be stolen if they were already dead to begin with.” Silas remarked.

“I suppose you’re right.” Otto replied with a sinister chuckle.

“Now, how is our progress on the Green Globulin serum?” Silas asked.

“The serum itself has been faring drastically well in terms of stability. According to recent tests, the chemicals of the serum no longer breakdown and destroy its user’s DNA, and thanks to our hefty supply of Oscorp technology, my team and I were able to condense and refine the chemical to be safe enough for human consumption.” Otto proudly responded.

“Excellent. Have you found a way to make its effects permanent?” Silas cocked his eyebrow.

“I believe so. However, in order for its enhancements to be permanently etched into your DNA, the serum must be taken in both liquid and gaseous form.” Otto said.

“That won’t be a problem, doctor… For now.” Silas said lowly. “Does the serum produce any noticeable side effects or backdraws that we should be concerned of?” Silas stared into the empty testing chamber before him.

“Aside from nausea and dizziness, there is one particular side effect that may serve as more of an upside, coupled with the serum’s enhancements.” Otto pulled out a data pad, showing it to Silas. “According to the data collected from prior test subjects, the serum was able to tremendously change the psyche of its user to a more aggressive state of mind, minutes after the serum’s initial consumption. At first, the change of their psyche proved to be too much for the test subjects to handle, causing them to die either from overwhelming stress or from the sheer intensity of the serum.” Otto explained as he showed Silas countless pictures and footage of past test subjects dying under their serum’s influence.

Silas frowned at the data shown, not because he felt sympathy for the test subjects’ deaths, but because he was afraid that the serum’s side effect would setback their progress of the Green Globulin project.

“However!” Otto broke the silence. “With the correct resources, I was able to reduce its chemical intensity by destroying certain molecules and by adding Earth’s own chemical elements. That way, the serum will enable the human mind to act more aggressively without it psychologically destroying your brain from the inside out.” Otto said proudly.

Silas grinned. “This is marvelous news, doctor. You’ve truly outdone yourself this time.” Silas congratulated as he walked nearer towards the empty testing chamber, inspecting it further.

“Imagine, Silas. Imagine what this serum could do for our agents, for MECH. An entire army of battle aggressive super soldiers ready at our disposal.” Otto chuckled sinisterly. “Coupled with our technological advancements, and not even as someone as powerful as Spider-Man can stop us.” Otto said with sinister glee.

Silas chuckled lowly. “In their attempt to hide their technological advancements from humanity, the Autobots have unknowingly given us the one thing capable of changing the tide of human biology. All thanks to the weakness of their own morals.” Silas grinned.

The MECH leader suddenly turned his head away from the testing chamber to face his lead scientist. “Doctor, how soon can we begin human trials?” Silas asked sternly.

“We can begin human trials today, Silas. Though, we would need a few minutes of preparation before-“

“Do what you need to do, doctor. Just inform me when the preparations are over, I’ll be ready for testing by then.”

“Wa-wait, “ready for testing”?”. Otto replied, puzzled.

Silas glared coldly at the criminal scientist. “Did you really think that I would let someone as the likes of Norman Osborn use the Green Globulin serum before I could?”

“I’ve played by Normans rules and restrictions for too long. Now… Now I have the chance to evolve beyond the limitations of human capabilities, and I will not let anyone take that away from me. Not you, not Norman, not the Autobots, and not Spider-Man…” Silas inched menacingly closer towards Otto, bearing a crazed look in his eyes.

“So, I will not ask again Otto…. Have the testing chamber ready for my trial.” Said whispered coldly.

Otto stared silently into his superior’s crazed, stern eyes through the confines of his tinted goggles. Otto knew that Silas intended to use the Green Globulin serum for MECH’s benefit before Oscorp’s, but the mad doctor had never anticipated his superior to make a move as bold as this. As much as Otto wanted to argue back against his leader, the unhinged look in Silas’s eyes said everything Otto needed to know about his superior’s decision.

“I… As you wish, Silas. Gentlemen! Ready the testing chamber for human trials! Today is the day that we make history!” Otto loudly announced.

Hearing their lead scientist’s order, every MECH scientist and engineer within the room quickly scattered away from their initial workplace as they all prepared the necessary tools and equipment for the Green Globulin trial. As his underlings got to work, Silas prepared himself for the trial per Otto’s instructions, which involved the removal of his torso clothing, decontamination of any outside substances or germs, and the consumption of a 2ml vial of Green Globulin. Afterwards, Silas was now ready to begin trial.

“Excellent. Now, place yourself upon the steel frame. From then, my team and I will take it from here.” Otto instructed. Eager, Silas complied, laying himself on top of the cold steel frame that stood vertically within the confines of the testing chamber.

“Good, now ease yourself, Silas. These restraints are not meant to be comfortable, y’know.” Otto said as his tentacles got to work in cuffing Silas to the steel frame.

“Restraints? What for?” Silas asked, feeling partially concerned about the use of steel cuffs.

“Safety precautions, Silas. For me and for yourself. Since the serum is chemically foreign to the human body, your cells will try to fight against the serum’s influence, which will undoubtedly cause you to react in a violent manner. It is unfortunate that one of our agents had to die from a test subject’s violent reaction before I could think to install restraints such as these.” Otto explained expertly.

When the restraints were finally locked, Otto quickly made his way out of the testing chamber and sealed it shut before walking towards the chamber’s control panel. From here, Otto and the rest of Silas’s men could safely keep a watchful eye on Silas through the clear glass of the testing chamber.

“How’re his vitals?” Otto asked the medical agent beside him.

“They all appear to be stable, sir.” The medical agent replied, looking through his data tablet.

“Good. Is the gas installed and ready for deployment?” Otto asked the engineering agent near the chamber.

“Installed and good to go, sir.” The agent replied with a thumbs up.

“Perfect.” Otto remarked with a grin. The mad doctor then picked up a small microphone that connected to the speakers inside of the chamber. “Silas, can you hear me in there?” Otto asked through the microphone.

“Loud and clear, doctor.” Silas responded.

“We have everything prepared and ready for deployment. Just tell us when you are ready to commence with the trial.” Otto said while he stared straight into Silas’s stern, determined eyes through the glass.

“….. Do it.” Silas said in a low, stern tone.

“Very well. Releasing gaseous serum in five… four… three… two… one.”

With the click of a button on the control panel, dark-green gas slowly began to pour inside the testing chamber. The gas continued to fill the inside of the chamber until it almost completely obscured Silas’s figure from Otto and the rest. Hearing no immediate screams or frantic noises coming from within the chamber, Otto checked off phase one of the trial as a success before shutting off the gas dispenser and closing the vents.

“Phase two, gentlemen. Now we wait. Vitals?” Otto quickly asked.

“His heart rate is increasing, but it’s nothing too serious. The rest of his vitals seems to be- Wait… This… This doesn’t look right.” The medical agent whispered.

“What is it?” Otto glared at the data tablet.

“All of his vitals have suddenly changed, they’re all increasing at an alarming rate!” The medical agent answered worryingly. Before Otto could question the medic further, he suddenly started to hear audible groans of pain and discomfort coming from inside the gas-filled chamber.

“Silas. Silas! Can you hear me? How are you faring?” Otto asked through the microphone.

Otto continued to look through the glass of the chamber for Silas, only to see nothing but endless thick clouds of the Green Globulin’s gaseous form. Loud, alarming beeps abruptly began to emit from the medic’s data tablet, quickly drawing in everyone’s attention.

“Shit! His heart rate’s been increased to 170 bpm! He’s going into tachycardia!!” The medical agent shouted, causing a full-room panic.

“You! Vent the gas out of the chamber, now!!” Otto barked loudly.

Then, what used to be groans of pain coming from Silas suddenly evolved into loud, frantic screams of agony, coupled with his frenzied shaking. Otto took one more look through the thick gas for Silas’s body, only to catch a glimpse of his horrific face. The mad doctor’s spine shivered as he saw massive green veins protruding from around Silas’s neck, along with the whites of his sclera as his eyes were rolled to the back of his head, giving him a corpse-like appearance.

“Look! The gas is dispersing!” One of the agents pointed out.

Sure enough, the gas inside the chamber slowly began to vanish and disappear out of sight until their leader’s limp body was finally revealed to everyone. Unfortunately, their luck was short lived as the loud deafening noise of a flatlined heartbeat blared from the medic’s data tablet.

“He’s going into cardiac arrest!! I need to get in there quickly!” The medical agent shouted as he pushed himself through the growing crowd of MECH agents.

“I’m unlocking the doors to the chamber! Get in there now!” Otto shouted from the control panel.

The medic ran inside of the testing chamber as soon as the doors were unlocked. Wasting no time, the medic began to perform CPR on his limp bodied leader, forcefully pushing both his palms into Silas’s sternum.

“Somebody get me a defibrillator!!” The medic yelled without halting his CPR performance.

Otto stared silently at Silas as the medic continued to perform CPR on him. “What could I have possibly gotten wrong…” Otto whispered to himself.

Suddenly, a noise emanated from the medical agent’s discarded data tablet, a noise that only Otto could notice through all of the current chaos. With a mental command, one of his tentacles quickly retrieved the tablet, placing it in Otto’s awaiting hands.

“What is thi- …..Mein Gott…” Otto whisper gravely.

It was… it was Silas’s heartbeat.

“Can somebody get me a goddamn defibrill- *AARGH*”

The medic yelped out a loud cry as he was suddenly held up from the floor by his cranium from nonother than the very man he was trying to save. Looking at the scene from afar, Otto could only look in bewilderment and surprise as the man who had just flatlined not even a minute ago suddenly awoke from cardiac arrest. Silas wasn’t just awake however, he was awake and stronger than ever before, as if he were a completely different person.

His iris’ glew a bright green color, as if mimicking the very serum he had just taken. His muscles, especially his arm and chest muscles, were larger and more defined than before the trial. And his veins… His body’s veins protruded strongly from around his neck and arms as they bared a slightly darker shade of green than his iris’.

“Wa-wait! *ARGH* W-what a-are you doing- *AAGH* Silas!” The medic whimpered loudly from Silas’s iron grasp.

“Testing…. Something….” Silas growled as he began to tighten his grip even harder.

The medic’s yelping and whimpering quickly changed into screams of distraught and absolute pain as he felt the pressure around his skull tightening even further. The poor medic tried his hardest to wiggle out of his leader’s grasp, even going as far as to kick Silas’s shins as hard as he could, but all his efforts were to no avail. Every person in the room looked in astonished horror as the unfortunate medic let out one last scream of agony before the sound of his skull getting crushed loudly echoed through the chamber and into the testing department.

“Hmh. What’d know, the serum did work.” Silas remarked with a sinister chuckle, letting the medic’s headless body fall to the cold steel ground.

Without even an ounce of effort, Silas ripped off the cuffs restraining his other arm, finally freeing himself from the metallic frame he laid on. Silas brought himself to the front doors of the chamber in a slow, menacing walk, stepping over the bloodied mess of the medic’s body without an ounce of care in the world for what he had just done. When Silas finally emerged from the testing chamber, he looked upon the group of scientists and engineers before him, all of them wearing a terrified expression on their faces from the display they had just witnessed. Despite their reactions however, Silas began to let out a slow, manically sinister cackle, showing absolutely no remorse for the life he had just brutally taken.

“Congratulations, doctor. You just made history.” Silas let out a low, sinister laugh.

“I…. *ahem* T-thank you, Silas.” Otto said nervously.

“I feel like a new man, in a newer body. I’ve never felt this powerful before.” Silas commented with unhinged glee.

“T-that is one of the many benefits of the Green Globulin serum. You’re welcome.” Otto replied, trying to hide his nervousness. Suddenly, one of the agents cleared his throat, gaining Otto’s and Silas’s attention.

“Umm, sir… W-what, what do we do now?” The agent asked timidly.

“Now….” Silas grinned evilly, facing Otto once more. “Tell me doctor, is the battle glider ready for the field?”

Chapter Text

Location Unknown – Crashed Autobot Ship – 1 Day Later…

PPHHUMMM

Stepping through the ground bridge with two of my most trusted friends, Optimus and Ratchet, the lens’ of my mask were immediately bombarded with a hail of sand particles freely floating through the dark desert sky. From a distance, a few meters away from us, was an old and decrepit Autobot spaceship, crashed landed deep into the sandy hills of this desert. How this ship wasn’t discovered before by humans, I’ll never know, honestly.

“A crash landing. Buried here for centuries.” Optimus muttered quietly.

“You think they’re any survivors in there?” I asked, dusting away any sand particles off my mask.

“With any luck, we may be able to find survivors if they traveled in stasis mode.” Ratchet replied.

“Maybe we could even find some useful equipment in there while we’re at it. Like a replacement eye for Bulkhead or something.” I said optimistically.

Ratchet scoffed pessimistically. “If only we were that lucky.”

“Well old friend, there is no better time to test our luck than now.” Optimus remarked as he headed forth, towards the ruined ship.

“You heard the big Bot. Lets go test our luck out with this ship, Dr. House.” I teased, following quickly behind Optimus’s footsteps. Ratchet angrily grumbled at the nickname before eventually following with us as well.

Things haven’t really been the same for Team Prime, and even myself, ever since we rescued Bulkhead from MECH’s clutches. Sure, we still do the same old scouting missions and curbside duties, sometimes even the occasionally rare free days where nothing comes up for us, whenever those are. But even then, there’s still been this air around us, this air of vigilance and eeriness. As if we’re trying our hardest to prepare ourselves for MECH’s next sneak attack, even in the mildest of situations.

Though, that could just be me being paranoid. After all, it’s not everyday that you let the man who threw your girlfriend off a bridge escape with his organization of dark-green suited maniacs. Even with Fowler and the military’s help, they haven’t been able to trace a single footnote of their escape in Russia. It’s as if they’ve vanished completely into thin air, according to Fowler’s report. Though, in my experience, it’s either they’re really good at escaping, or that we just don’t know where to look yet.

Either way, I’ll do everything in my power to find Otto again, and when I do, I’ll make sure that he never escapes from his consequences. Ever again.

As we approached closer, near the hull of the ship, it started to become apparent to us that there was no actual way of getting inside the space vessel, since most of the entrances were either buried in the sand or simply jammed shut.

“Great. How’re we gonna get inside?” I sighed disappointedly.

“Leave that to me.” Ratchet remarked smugly.

Using his right hand, the medbot transformed it into a blowtorch and began cutting through the hull’s thick body, effectively creating an entrance large enough for me, Optimus, and himself to fit through without difficulty.

“Huh. Talk about practicality.” I remarked, impressed by Ratchet’s quick thinking.

It took only seconds until the medbot finally made our entryway through the thick hull. Taking the initiative, Optimus kicked down the pierced frame and stepped inside the pitch-black ship, checking for any sign of trouble before we could continue through. After checking, the Prime silently gestured for us to follow alongside him whilst turning on his cybertronian-sized flashlight. With compliance, Ratchet and I followed beside the Prime through the creepily darkened hallway of this centuries old, abandoned spaceship.

‘How many abandoned places have I been to already? Because at this point, this is starting to become a routine cliché.’

“So- uuhhh, Optimus… Just wanted to thank you for letting me tag along today. I’ve been dying to stretch my legs this past week, y’know, since I’ve been busy having to uphold my schoolwork and all.” I said, the talkative part of me getting the better of myself.

“It is always a pleasure to have you with us, Jackson. No matter the circumstance.” Optimus said with wholehearted sincerity.

“Some people don’t share the same sentiment.” I softly chuckled.

“If you’re referring to that mustached scrapeater from the Daily Bugle, then forget it. He hasn’t the slightest idea of what you’ve done for us and for this planet.” Ratchet sternly replied, catching me by surprise.

“Huh. I didn’t think you actually cared about J. J’s opinions on me.” I said with a hidden smile.

“I may be a war hardened Autobot, but I am not without a spark. And unlike us, you have a reputation to uphold to the public. So to see Jonah blatantly belittling your name, despite your countless heroic actions, angers me to the very core of my spark.” Ratchet scowled with furrowed eyes.

I smiled even harder underneath my mask. “Thanks Ratchet. That means a lot to me coming from you.” I said appreciatively. “What about you Optimus? Does old J. J.’s opinions about “The Masked Menace” tickle your spark wrong?” I joked lightly.

“His accusations about you are… more than unkind to say the least.” Optimus replied.

I huffed in amusement. ‘That’s just Optimus being nice. I wonder what he actually thinks about the mustached menace.’

After what felt like hours of walking through the cold steeled hallway of the decrepit ship, we finally stumbled upon a large rusted metallic door. It was sealed completely shut, preventing anyone from getting in or out of whatever lied behind it. Though, it didn’t prove to be much of an obstacle as Optimus simply pried the door open for us to enter through, using nothing but pure, brute strength on his behalf. When we all finally entered the room, it didn’t take us long to spot the abundance of rusted Autobot corpses that laid stilly on the cold floor.

“By the All Spark.” Ratchet whispered gravely.

To add to the already gruesome scene, some of the lifeless corpses were even surrounded by a large puddle of their own rusted energon. Signifying that these Bots weren’t even given the chance to die peacefully. Despite them not even being human, my stomach couldn’t help but twist at the horrific display, giving me a sense of nausea. Their unmoving bodies, their lifeless eyes, their rusted features… It felt all too familiar to me, yet it didn’t stop the twinge of trauma and fear that coursed through the river of my own terrible memories.

“Look familiar to you, murderer?” It whispered eerily. Shuddering a shaky breath, I shake my head of any dreadful thoughts and quickly look away from the bodies, looking instead at Ratchet’s tall frame.

“What happened here?” I asked in a quiet, stern voice.

Without answering, Ratchet quickly pulled out his medical scanner and began scanning the nearest Autobot corpse, trying to find the cause of his death. It took only mere seconds until Ratchet suddenly called out to Optimus and I, worry clearly evident in his tone.

“These Autobots didn’t perish in the crash. They’re displaying the effects of a virus.” Ratchet explained solemnly.

Optimus furrowed his eyes. “This is a plague ship.”  

“Wait. Virus? Plague? I thought cybertronians didn’t get sick?” I said, puzzled by new revelation.

Before I could even step one inch closer towards the plethora of bodies, Ratchet quickly set his foot in front of me, swiftly halting my movement.

“Don’t touch anything! We have no idea if the virus could still be active.” Ratchet sternly warned.

“Don’t touch the infected bodies, got it.” I casually replied.

As if luck itself was laughing right at my face however, the ship began to creak loudly as the sounds of its croaks hastily echoed throughout its metallic confines. Without even a moment for us to react, the room around us slightly tilted to its side, causing Ratchet and Optimus to land onto the wall behind them. Meanwhile, I stuck myself onto the floor in an effort not to end up like my Autobot friends.

“You guys okay?” I asked from atop them.

“We’re fine, Jack. Though for now, I would advise against any sudden movements if we wish to escape from here unscathed.” Optimus said while he and Ratchet regained their footing.

“Well, no offence Optimus, but you two are on the heavier side than I am. So, it’ll probably be for the best if-“

A shocked gasp escaped my breath as my spider sense started to run wild through my head. Hearing the sound of more creaking metal above us, I quickly looked up only to see a hanging Autobot corpse slowly descending from where it hung high on the ceiling by its own wires. A slowly descending infected corpse that hung right above Optimus Prime.

“OPTIMUS!” I yelled out.

Without any hesitation, I hastily shot out two weblines onto Optimus’s body and pulled with every fiber of my being, swiftly moving his enormous figure to the other side of the room, away from the infected corpse. However, the sudden shift in weight proved to be too much for the decrepit ship as its metallic confines almost instantly trembled around us, effectively shaking me off my own position. I found myself violently tumbling onto Optimus’s previous position, and before I even knew it, the wires around the corpse’s body above me gave into the ship’s quake, ripping and causing the body to fall free from its restraints. I restricted a yelp of fear from exiting my breath as I saw the corpse falling towards me, instead, I quickly rolled out of the freefaller’s way before I could find myself squashed by his massive figure.  

“*AARRGH*” An immense stinging pain suddenly shot up through my left forearm after my last-minute dodge. Though, the last thing I was concerned about right now was my own well-being. After all, I probably wasn’t the only one affected by the ship’s ruthless trembling.

“Optimus! Ratchet! Are you both okay?!” I called out.

“*Arg* We’re fine, Jack.” Optimus grunted while Ratchet helped him off the floor.

“I believe we would all be doing ourselves a favor if we leave this damned ship immedi- *gasp!* No!” Ratchet suddenly shouted.

“What? Ratchet, what’s wro…..” I trailed off my sentence as my eyes slowly locked onto the massive cut wound on my forearm. It was then that my brain finally registered that I had accidentally cut myself on the sharp end of the fallen Bot’s armor plate. Though for me, the cut wasn’t even the worst part of it all. Dripping and leaking through each crack and crevice of the Autobot’s armor plates was his own rusted, plagued energon. The very same infected energon that happened to be covering the open wound on my forearm.

“O-Optimus… R-Ratchet…. I… I don’t… feel so good….” My body suddenly began to feel too weak to operate, and the world around me started to become blurrier by the second. Before I knew it, my body fell limply onto the cold, rusty floor within seconds.

“Jack! / Jackson!” Ratchet and Optimus yelled.

“Opti…mus…. Ratch…. I can’t…. move… A-Arcee…. Help...” I wasn’t even sure if those words left my mouth or not, let alone if Optimus or Ratchet could even hear them. Though, at this point, I was too weak to even care. All I could think about right now was how painful this all felt, not just the wound on my forearm, but everything. Every part of my body ached and suffered in pain like never before, yet somehow, I felt too weak to even scream. All I could do was lay there and wait until I finally succumbed to the virus that was now freely flowing through my bloodstream.

“Ja- Bumb- Open!- Grou- Coordi-“ 

Very brief noises of what sounded like Optimus’s voice barely registered into my ear canals. The only prominent noise that I could even have the strength to listen to was the loud ringing of my own spider sense. Whatever use that’ll be me now…

Despite everything, even my own absolute willpower to get up, I couldn’t even muster to lift up a single finger. Soon enough, my mind started to give into the sickness, and the will to stay conscious began to fade away like a decaying rose.

“Gw…en…. Da…d…. I’m… sorry….”

…

……

Nevadan Outskirts – Autobot HQ – Ten Minutes Later…

The time it took for Ratchet to hook Jack onto the medical berth was miniscule compared to the amount of panic that arose from the Autobots the moment he and Optimus came through the portal while carrying his lifeless looking body. As expected from the Cybonic Plague, it was bringing a heavy toll on the crimefighter’s health, from the inside and out. By the time Ratchet had begun scanning the deathly sick vigilante, black veins and dark-brown spots had already started to form around Jack’s eyes, giving him a rusted, undead feature on his face.

The entire situation was extremely distressing for the Autobots and their human allies. Not a single one of them were calm or nonchalant about the fateful accident, especially a certain two-wheeler femme. While Bulkhead and Bumblebee were comforting their teary-eyed charges with sorrowful looks of their own, Arcee was impatiently pacing behind Ratchet as he was conducting the medical scan. If Arcee was capable of breathing right now, she would have already been hyperventilating with how stressed she was currently feeling.

‘Primus, if you’ve ever even listened to my prayers, then please… PLEASE, don’t let me lose another partner. Please…. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you Jack… It should have been me on that berth, not you…’ Arcee thought to herself as she started paced faster behind the working medbot.

Ratchet’s medical scanner suddenly began to blare out alarming tones, causing the scowl on the old Bot’s face to grow even larger. “Cybonic Plague… It’s only contagious if contact is made with the patient’s infected energon, or blood for that matter…” Ratchet scowled even harder.

“How soon can we get a cure for him?” Miko said in stern sorrow, trying to put on a tough front for herself despite how sad she was truly feeling.

Instead of receiving a straight answer however, all Miko got were small, silent painfilled glances from the Autobots around her. Miko’s eyes widened as her heart nearly dropped at the sight, knowing full well what those silent glances meant, and the answer it carried.

“You have a cure for him…. D-don’t you, Ratchet?” Raf followed up with Miko, albeit more agitated than her.

Optimus stepped and knelt before the worried preteen. “Rafael, I am… I am so sorry…” Optimus spoke grievously. “The Cybonic Plague was engineered in the Decepticon’s biological-warfare program in an attempt to fully exterminate Autobot populations during the Great War… By Megatron himself.” Optimus growled lightly.

“Jack would have perished by now if not for the uniqueness of his altered DNA structure. Though, that in of itself will not be enough to save him. As far as we know in terms of a cure…. There isn’t one…” Ratchet frowned dishearteningly.

Bumblebee let out several low saddening tones at the news as Raf clung onto his guardian’s finger more firmly, his human charge sobbing even harder than he already had before. Miko continued to stare, teary eyed in absolute disbelief at Optimus and Ratchet, not wanting to believe that her brother figure was going to die a slow, plagueful death. While Arcee… She had already known the answer to Raf’s question the moment Ratchet identified the disease that infected her closest friend. Though, she wished to Primus that somebody would prove her wrong, right then and there.

“S-so that’s it? You’re telling me that the kid’s gonna die, and there’s nothing we can do about it?” Bulkhead furrowed his optic.

“No… no, no, no, no. T-there has to be something we can do!” Raf exclaimed, trying to find hope for his ill-stricken friend, despite how hopeless it may seem. “Megatron wouldn’t just create a disease without having the cure for it. I mean, what if he was accidentally infected by it? What then?” Raf asked rhetorically.

“Its not as if we can ask him ourselves. Megatron is still deceased, remember?” Ratchet sighed. Hearing this, Raf returned to feeling hopeless and sorrowful, wishing that they had never detected the plague ship’s signal in the first place.

Arcee’s hand servos twitched and shook as she looked upon her partner’s plagued form. Jack was barely managing to keep himself awake, drifting between staying conscious and unconscious with each minute that passed. And his eyes… once so full of life and delight, now reduced to a pair of strained fleshy optics. Arcee couldn’t even bring herself to look Jack’s ill-fallen body, she was ashamed of herself, ashamed to call herself “Jack’s partner”.

“You deserved so much better, Jack. You deserved someone better than me…” Arcee whispered sorrowfully.

Her partners couldn’t even die a peaceful death. Each of her partners had to perish in a death more gruesome than the last, and that wasn’t something she could bare to live with a third time.

“A-Ar…. cee…. Arc…ee…” Jack heaved heavily through his hoarse throat, immediately catching the femme’s attention.

“Jack?” Arcee whispered, stepping closer to her ill-stricken partner. “I-I’m here Jack. I’m not leaving your side, partner.” Arcee tried to put on a smile, only to fail into a miserable frown.

“Dece…pti…con…. signal…..” Jack groaned hoarsely. 

“What? The Decepticons? What about them?” Arcee asked in concern.

“Their…. ship…. Si…gnal…” Was all Jack could muster before returning to silence. Arcee remained by his side, silently pondering her partner’s coarse words until it finally hit her like a freight train.

“The Decepticon frequency waves.” Arcee whispered to herself. “Ratchet! Do we still have a fix on the Con’s ship?!” Arcee shouted.

“Wha- Well, yes, for the moment we’re still able to trace the warship’s location. But what does this have to do-“

“The cure Ratchet! If there’s any place where we can find the cure, then it’ll be somewhere in the Nemesis!” Arcee said as her spark pulsated with hope.

“I concur.” Optimus chimed in. “If we can sneak aboard the Nemesis without being detected, then we may be able to access the Decepticon database for a possible cure.” Optimus then glanced over at Jack. “Though, we must act quickly. For his time may very well be at its end if we do not proceed now.”

“Then its settled. Bee, you’re with me.” Arcee sternly commanded. Suddenly, the femme’s movement was halted by her leader’s hand servo.

“Arcee, you will remain here, by Jack’s side.” Optimus ordered.

“Optimus, with all due respect, this isn’t up for discussion. Right now, I need to save my partner’s life, and I’ll do whatever it takes to find that damn cure, even if it means going through a whole warship of Cons.” Arcee furrowed her optics.

“I understand Arcee, I truly do. But given the circumstance, it would be best for Jack if you were to remain by his side. That way, you may be able to provide some comfort-“

“-Before he dies? Is that what you were going to say!?” Arcee sneered with venom in her tone.

“Arcee….” Optimus spoke softly, gently placing his hand servo on Arcee’s shoulder. “I would lay down my life for Jackson, if it meant that he could live to see another day. Just as he had saved me from becoming infected by the virus when he pulled me out of harm’s way.” Optimus said solemnly. The Prime’s words seemed to calm the irritated femme as her angered expression slowly softened overtime with each sincere word ushered by the Autobot leader.

“I… I know, Optimus. I’m sorry…” Arcee sighed.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Arcee. Jack would have done the same thing if he were in your perspective.” Optimus said wholeheartedly.

“I know he would…” Arcee grinned.

“Optimus, get ready. I’m opening a ground bridge portal near one of the Nemesis’ labs. It should have all the data we need to create a cure.” Ratchet announced near the monitor.

“Understood. Bumblebee, come with me.” Optimus ordered the yellow scout. Bumblebee beeped in compliance, quickly joining up beside the larger Autobot near the wall-mounted ground bridge device.

“Know this Arcee, we will not return to base until Bumblebee and I have found the cure to Jack’s illness. You have my word.” Optimus solemnly spoke as he then activated his battle mask.

Arcee silently nodded at the Prime as she stood beside Jack, near the berth he laid on. Despite Arcee’s urge to sneak into the Decepticon warship and blast through every Con in search of the cure, she knew that it would be better for Jack and for the mission if she stayed put in base. That way, she would at least be in arm’s reach of her partner, in case if he needed her, or if she needed him.

The ground bridge device then activated before the two Autobots, filling half of the common area with a bright green hue of energy. Without hesitation, both Autobots bravely stepped through the portal with their weapons primed and ready for any Decepticon confrontation.

Optimus was going to retrieve the cure for the Cybonic Plague, no matter how many Decepticons he had to go through himself.  

The Nemesis – Present Time…

The two iconic Autobots wasted no time stepping through the portal and into the dark-purple halls of the Nemesis. Without even so much as a word to each other, the two Bots immediately began sneaking towards the Decepticon lab, hiding behind the corners and crevasses of the halls every so often to avoid detection. Once the two managed to sneak inside the lab undetected, Optimus instantly began typing into the Decepticon database for any information regarding the plague’s cure, while Bumblebee kept guard over the mech that he considered to be his sire.

“Ratchet, I’m in the network.” Optimus called over his comms.

“Excellent. Now hurry Optimus, scan their entire database if you have too!” Ratchet urged.

Thankfully, due to Optimus’s past experience as being one of Iacon’s greatest archivists, it wouldn’t take the Autobot leader long to scan through the entirety of the Decepticon database. Unfortunately, there was one major problem that the Prime ran into during his extensive research.

“Ratchet! We have an issue. Their database… it yields nothing regarding a cure for the Cybonic Plague.” Optimus spoke sternly as worry began to fill his firmly pulsating spark.

“What! Are you certain of this?” Ratchet replied worryingly.

“I’ve scanned through every file, every document, and every medical record… Nothing.” Optimus stared at the monitor, a mix of worry and pity washing over his many thoughts.  

“Then search again! You must be missing something!” Ratchet exclaimed in frustration.

“Calm yourself, old friend. We must-“

“Do not tell me to be calm! Jack’s vitals are deteriorating by the minute! There must be something we can use!” Ratchet shouted angrily.

Before Optimus could reply to his friend’s shouted response, Bumblebee abruptly emitted tones of worry, fear, and shock as the yellow scout peaked through the small, open frame of the massive steel door that led into the patient room.

“Bumblebee, what is it?” Optimus called out in concern, only for the scout to point into the patient room once again.

Curious and concerned, the Autobot leader walked towards the steel door, next to the open frame that his best scout was so intensely looking through. What came next was a plethora of immense emotions that flowed and invaded the Prime’s head the moment he peered inside the occupied patient room with his scout. Laying still on a tiled metal platform, hooked up to multiple wires and life support machines, was none other than-

“Megatron…” Optimus whispered gravely.

“Megatron? What about him?” Ratchet overheard in confusion.

“Megatron, he…. He’s alive.” Optimus replied in a quiet, immense tone as he and Bumblebee entered inside the patient room in awe and bewilderment.

“What, alive?! That’s impossible! He couldn’t have survived the space bridge explosion!!” Ratchet scoffed in bafflement.

“I speak the truth, Ratchet. Though, the same cannot not be said for Megatron.” Optimus said, furrowing his optics at his rival’s unconscious figure.

“What do you mean?” Ratchet asked.

“His vitals appear to be critical. The only sign of life emitting from him are faint brainwave readings emanating from his unconscious mind.” Optimus observed Megatron’s weak form in contempt.

All of a sudden, Bumblebee growled in hostile tones and beeps as the mute scout swiftly activated his wrist-mounted blasters and aimed them towards Megatron’s head.

“Bumblebee! Hold your fire! / Wait Bumblebee! Don’t!” Optimus and Ratchet frantically shouted.

All the Prime got in response were angered whirls and beeps emanating from the scout, basically translating to “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t splatter his energon all over the walls?!”.

“Because Megatron may be Jack’s only chance for survival.” Ratchet said. Bumblebee beeped in confusion at the medic’s response.

‘His only chance for survival? Are his circuits blown?!’ Bumblebee thought to himself.

“I know what he’s done to you in the past Bumblebee, but if a cure truly does exist, then Megatron may be the only one in existence who knows of it.” Ratchet explained.

“While that may be true, old friend. We cannot hope to retrieve such information, not while Megatron remains in his unconscious state.” Optimus said stoically.

“On the contrary, we can. Earlier, you said that he was emitting brainwave readings, correct?” The medbot asked.

“Yes. His twisted mind is still at work.” Optimus furrowed his optics.

“Perfect.” Ratchet remarked, surprising both Bumblebee and Optimus. “If Megatron is withholding any information in his head regarding the cure, then we may be able to access that information via a cortical psychic patch. The tools necessary for the procedure should be somewhere inside the lab.”

Bumblebee let out a long-whirled noise of bewilderment, while Optimus continued to stare wide-eyed at Megatron’s unmoving body. Both Autobots were not only baffled at the idea of entering Megatron’s mind using a method outlawed by Autobots, but also at the fact that neither of them had ever actually performed the procedure before.

The risks would be high, too high. Then again, they weren’t really sure if there was any other option on the matter. At least, not one quick enough to save Jack’s life.

“Ratchet, the risks of performing a cortical psychic patch are clear in of itself. Are you absolutely certain of this to be our only option?” Optimus said with uncertain edge in his voice.

“We have no choice, Optimus. To not go through with the procedure is to condemn Jack to certain death… And as his friend, I REFUSE to let the Decepticons take the life of another one of our own! Be it the life of an Autobot, or that of a human.” Ratchet exclaimed with an undying determination in his spark.

Though Ratchet wouldn’t say it himself, he had grown fond of humankind over the months that he and his team had endured together with their human allies, and it was mostly thanks to Jack that he had grown to have such care over a completely different species. To Ratchet, other than Optimus, it was almost as if Jack was the light that ignited the spark of Team Prime. So if Jack were to die under his care, and to a Decepticon-made virus of all things, then Ratchet knew that he’d never be able to forgive himself for his death, not in a million solar-cycles.

“Very well… If conducting this procedure is what it takes to save Jackson’s life, then so be it.” Optimus glared at his nemesis’ unconscious figure.

“Good. Now quickly, search the lab for the necessary tools and await my instructions. Remember, only one of you can enter inside Megatron’s brain.” Ratchet said sternly.

Optimus, ever the brave, knew that if there was any Autobot willing enough to go inside the sick mind of the monochrome warlord, it would be him. To Optimus’s surprise however, Bumblebee unexpectedly spoke over the Prime before any of his words could even remotely exit his mouth, heavily insisting that he should be the one to enter inside Megatron’s twisted mind instead of Optimus.

“I appreciate your courage Bumblebee, but the risk of this procedure is far too great, even for the mightiest of Autobots. I should be the one to volunteer for the psychic patch, given my previous history with Megatron.” Optimus argued calmly.

Bumblebee waved his hand servos dismissively at Optimus’s response, telling him that if there was anyone in Team Prime quick enough to retrieve such valuable information, it would be himself. After all, he wasn’t described as the Autobot’s best scout for nothing.

“Are you absolutely sure of this decision? I understand if-“

Bumblebee beeped again, impatiently this time, urging Optimus that he was better suited for this task than him, and that Jack was running out of time the longer they stayed here without a cure.

“….. Very well.” Optimus slowly nodded.

The red and blue Bot then walked over to a nearby lab table with all sorts of tools and medical assortments on top of it. Without needing much description of the device, Optimus picked up the familiar looking psychic patch and clutched it within the grasp of his mighty hand. He stared down at the torture device in contempt and anger, displeased with the fact that he now had to use the very same device in the hope that it could save Jack’s life.

Placing both his finger servos on the side of his helm, the heroic Prime spoke through his comms in solemn determination. “Ratchet… We are ready for your instructions.”

Nevadan Outskirts – Autobot HQ – Five Minutes Later…

The terminally ill vigilante heaved through each breath of air he took, feeling as if his own lungs would collapse upon themselves at any moment. His muscles weren’t faring any better than his lungs, as they were too weak to even allow the poor hero to stand by himself. It was a miracle that Jack was even conscious at the moment, considering that he looked and felt like a rotting corpse being kept alive just for the sake of suffering a slow death. This felt worse than any previous flu, cold, or virus he had ever been infected by. The Cybonic Plague spelled certain doom for the one and only web-swinger.

Though, no amount of pain could ever compare to the fear built up inside Spider-Man the moment he heard of Megatron’s true condition. Sure, the warlord wasn’t exactly in a conscious state of mind, but he also wasn’t in pieces either. So long as the Decepticons kept Megatron alive under life support, the risk of his return will always be present and waiting, like an unstoppable, impending force of doom.

The only thing that kept Jack even remotely calm was the presence of his friends and his partner by his side. Without them, well… he wouldn’t even know what to do without them.

“Everything’s going to be fine, Jack. You’re going to be okay.” Arcee ushered gently, failing to keep her optics from dimming sorrowfully. “Bee and Optimus are gonna return with a cure, and when they do, Ratchet’s going to patch you up to full health. Then, we can get back to scrapping Cons and going on joyrides… Right, partner?” Arcee wore a shaky smile, faltering between a frown and a grin.

All Jack could do was smile weakly at her and usher a few broken words. “Ar…cee…. T-thank… you… being…here…” Jack coughed hoarsely, followed by immense groans of pain.

Arcee instinctively shot up to check on her partner, only to then remember that neither she nor anybody other than Ratchet could touch Jack while he was still infected with the virus. That realization hurt Arcee in more ways than she’d like to admit.

“Initiate cortical psychic patch.” Ratchet ordered through the comms link.

Complying without hesitation, Optimus plugged in the other side of the patch into the back of Bumblebee’s cranium. The monitor before Ratchet almost instantly changed into a plethora of foggy colors before quickly converting into a live feed, showing an unfamiliar, but hellish setting through the optics of Team Prime’s best scout.

“Communications downlink successfully activated. Now we can see and hear everything Bumblebee does while he ventures through Megatron’s subconscious.” Ratchet explained.

“Woah…” Miko said in awe. “Where is he?” Miko asked curiously.

“That’s Kaon, the largest capital city ever built by the Cons, back on Cybertron.” Bulkhead answered as he stared at the setting in contempt.

“Wow, it’s a lot more edgy than I thought.” Miko started at the monitor in wonder. “You should totally check this out Jack, its…” Miko trailed off, realizing that Jack was in no condition to even talk, let alone checking things out. The teenage rocker let out a shaky breath as tears began to form around her eyes. She couldn’t bear to see Jack in this state, but the entire situation was so surreal to her that she could neither take her eyes off of him. Bulkhead and Raf were quick to comfort the sorrowing girl with gentle pats and comforting words.

“I know that you’re in unfamiliar territory Bumblebee, but you must make haste. Figure out where the information might be kept hidden inside Megatron’s subconscious plane.” Ratchet urged sternly.

The scout beeped in compliance before walking further into the Decepticon capital, unknowing to whatever threats lied before him. Bee’s journey went on for only a few mere seconds until the scout had finally reached a large, flat, arena-like platform. On said platform stood the massive, undeniably recognizable figure of Optimus Prime, seemingly awaiting the arrival of someone or something. Though, that mattered little to Bumblebee as the yellow scout ran happily towards the awaiting Prime, all the while beeping joyfully at the presence of his sire figure.

“Bumblebee, that is not Optimus, but only a mere figment of Megatron’s imagination. He cannot see nor hear you.” Ratchet sighed as Bee tried to interact with the figment anyways.

Unfortunately, the small reunion between the two Bots were cut short as a maniacally sinister laugh suddenly filled the hellish atmosphere around them. A laugh so recognizable that it could have only belonged to one mech.

“Megatron.” Arcee growled, staring at the monitor that shows the treacherous warlord.

“Mega…tron?... H-here?….” Jack heaved roughly.

“Sshhhh… It’s okay, Jack. He’s not here… Not really.” Arcee ushered softly, reminding Jack just how soothingly beautiful her voice was when she wasn’t putting on a tough front.

“Your Autobot armies have been defeated, Prime! My Decepticon warriors outmatches yours in every way possible! Surrender now, and I may let you live to serve me another cycle.” Megatron laughed triumphantly through the monitor.

“Never.” Fake Optimus said with unyielding determination. “So long as there is one Autobot left to fight against the likes of you, then you will never truly win this war.”

“Then I will have the pleasure of extinguishing the spark of every Autobot who stands in my way… STARTING WITH YOU!!” Megatron screamed ragefully.

With a furious war cry, the monochrome Decepticon leaped down from the arena balcony, landing straight on his feet with ease before charging towards his red and blue nemesis. The figment mimicked the rageful Decepticon, drawing his left blade to his side and fearlessly charging straight at his centuries-old rival. What came next however, was something that not even Ratchet had anticipated. Instead of blocking Megatron’s incoming slash attack, Fake Optimus instead opted to go for a slash attack of his own as well, leaving him completely open for Megatron to slice through. And slice through him he did, as Megatron completely obliterated the figment before him in a single blow, turning Fake Optimus into nothing but a pile of dispersing fog. Everyone, including Bumblebee, was left shocked, worried, and confused at the second’s long battle.

“That’s not how it went!” Bulkhead shouted.

“Yeah! What gives?!” Miko shouted as well.

“Quiet you two. It’s not a memory, it’s yet another one of Megatron’s darkest figments of imagination. The recreation of an event based on Megatron’s deepest, most twisted dreams.” Ratchet scowled. It didn’t take long afterwards for the fearsome warlord to spot Bumblebee’s recognizable figure.

“Ah, the Autobot scout. It seems that today, you will suffer the same fate as did your precious Optimus Prime.” Megatron grinned menacingly as he rolled both his shoulders together, preparing himself to deliver yet another devastating blow.

“Prepare to meet your fallen leader, IN THE ALL SPARK!” Megatron yelled, swinging his massive blade across Bumblebee’s chassis with all his might, only to hit… Nothing?

“What?” Arcee said in confusion, alongside Bulkhead, Raf, and Miko.

“WHAT!? How can this be!!? You should have perished by now!!” Megatron screamed. In a rageful attempt, the evil warlord tried his luck yet again with another slash, and another, and another, and another, until his efforts proved to be fruitless all together.

“H-how is Bee doing that?” Raf asked.

“He isn’t doing anything, Rafael. Unlike the previous figment, Bumblebee isn’t a creation of Megatron’s mind. Thus, his invulnerability to Megatron’s physical attacks.” Ratchet calmly explained.

Jack’s hoarse coughs suddenly cut through the thick tension between Bumblebee and Megatron on the monitor. Arcee was the first to respond as she quickly checked her partner’s vitals over the various medical devices that surrounded the young hero.

“Ratchet, his vitals are dropping…” Arcee worryingly pointed at the medical devices.

“I know…” Ratchet responded, equally as worried.

“A-A…Arcee….” Jack whispered. Luckily, Arcee was close enough to hear her partner’s faint cry for help.

“I’m here, Jack. I’m here for you…” Arcee’s voice was as faint as Jack’s whisper.

“I… I’m….. I’m gonna die…. aren’t I?....” Jack whispered with labored breaths.

The sudden question caught the two-wheeler completely by surprise, so much so, that it even caused the poor femme’s spark to miss a pulse.

“N-no, no! You’re not going to die, Jack! Not on my watch.” Arcee’s voice almost broke, and so would have her entire composure, but the two-wheeler stayed strong. Not for herself, not for the others, but for Jack. She needed to be strong for him when he couldn’t be strong for himself. She needed to be the one to pull him out of the darkness when he couldn’t do so himself.

She needed Jack, and Jack needed her.

“Arcee…. I-it’s… it’s okay…. D-don’t… don’t b-blame… yourself…. Please.” Jack said with finality in his tone. Suddenly, the medical devices displaying Jack’s vitals blared in an alarming tone, drawing everyone’s attention to Arcee and her disease-stricken partner.

“No, no, no, no, no! Ratchet! He needs that cure!!” Arcee panicked.

The medic’s optics widened at the scene, filling the stern Bot’s spark with as much worry as he had when Cliffjumper perished. “Bumblebee! You need to acquire the cure’s formula by any means necessary!! Even if it means stirring Megatron from his oblivious state!” Ratchet yelled with panic arising in his voice.

Hearing the alarm in Ratchet’s voice, the dream walking scout wasted no time explaining to Megatron about the true state of his body, outside of his subconscious dream, and how he was able to enter his mind via a cortical psychic patch. Bumblebee figured that the quickest way to get anything useful out of the villainous warlord was to “wake” him from his own oblivion by plainly telling him the truth. Though, with how stubborn Megatron can be sometimes, it was easier said than done.

“So scout…. You mean to tell me that all of this-“ Megatron gestured to the arena around him. “-is but a figment of my own subconscious imagination?” Megatron growled with gritted teeth.

Bumblebee nodded, further explaining to Megatron how Starscream had been leading the Decepticons during the warlord’s absence. Bee made sure not to leave out a single detail regarding “Lord Starscream’s” rule over the Decepticon army, knowing full well that this would stir the warlord further out of his own oblivion.

“Starscream?... Starscream….” Megatron growled in cold fury. “Yes… Yes, now I remember. The space bridge, my attempt to bring forth an army of the undead, and Starscream… That traitorous pest left me to perish by the explosion so that he may assume command over MY own army!” Megatron shouted.

“But you…” Megatron suddenly pointed at the internally terrified scout. “You being inside my head can only prove one thing, that I am not yet one with the All Spark. That I still function outside of this desolate dreamland.” Megatron menacingly towered over Bumblebee.

“So, tell me scout… what are you doing inside my head.” Megatron said coldly. “If I truly do function outside of my subconsciousness, then why haven’t you made the effort to kill me while I was still weak? What is it that you so desperately hoped to learn from me, hm? Megatron cocked his eyebrow, staring skeptically at the stunned scout.

“Bumblebee, Jack is running out of time!” Ratchet remined Bee through his comms.

Furrowing his optics, the brave scout shook his head of any fear he felt at the moment and immediately got back on track. Bumblebee informed Megatron in a series of beeps and whirls about the return of the Cybonic Plague, and how it had already severely infected one of his friends. Bee, in a not so kind tone, said to the warlord that the only reason why his circuits weren’t already plastered over the walls was because Megatron had the formula for the cure somewhere deep inside his demented mind. Thus, why he had even used the psychic patch on Megatron in the first place.

“The Cybonic Plague? Someone beside myself in unwell?” Bumblebee nodded at the warlord. “And you mean to tell me that you snuck into my warship, found my unconscious body, and went through the trouble of a cortical physic patch, all in the hope that I could provide you with a cure for your sick human pet?” Megatron smiled a toothy grin, right before bursting into a sinister laugh.

Arcee scowled at the warlord’s mocking laughter, wishing that she could get her hands on Megatron’s unconscious body for the torment that he had placed them all under. Miko, Bulkhead, Raf, and Ratchet all joined in with Arcee’s scowl as the monochrome Decepticon continued to laugh wickedly on-screen.

“I don’t know whether to be entertained or disgusted by this level of care for a simple human bug.” Megatron mocked belittlingly. “What makes you think that I would ever care enough to save a human’s life, let alone, one allied with the Autobots?”

The seasoned scout clenched his fists tightly as he was quick to answer Megatron’s ill-mannered question.

“What’s he saying?” Miko nudged Raf.

“He’s saying that unless there’s a miracle waiting to happen for him, Megatron won’t have any hope of escaping his subconsciousness, not unless he hands over the cure to Bee.” Raf explained.

“Woah.” Miko simply awed.

“HA! You think I need the likes of a mere scout to wake me from my endless slumber? Don’t make me laugh.” Megatron sneered. “So long as I still function, my Decepticons will do everything in their power to awaken me. And by the time they do, your human pet will already be long gone…” Megatron grinned evilly.

With a mixture of coldness and anger, Bee whirled with sound, telling Megatron that as long as Starscream continued to rein control over the Decepticons, he would never see the light of day, ever again. And for once, the mighty warlord stood still, not in pride nor in triumph, but in speechlessness. For all his wits and strengths, Megatron hadn’t considered the fact that Starscream would do everything in his power to keep him from waking again, even if it meant convincing his Decepticons into putting him out of his misery.

All of the promises he made to rule over Cybertron, all of the battles he fought and survived through, all of the countless Autobots he slaughtered with his own bare hands, only for the mighty overlord to be felled in his sleep by his own S.I.C.

Megatron couldn’t imagine a more pathetic way to die.

With a threatening snarl, the powerful Con turned away from the Autobot scout in a fit of anger. As much as Megatron hated to admit it, really hated it, he knew that Bumblebee was right, and that in order for him to escape from the confines of his own subconscious, he needed to rely on the help of a mere scout.

“*Gghhrrr*…. Well played, scout.” Megatron remarked, turning to face the veteran Autobot. “Here. The chemical formula for the cure you seek.” Megatron opened his palm out, revealing a large, holographic cube showcasing the cure’s formula, which was written completely in cybertronian text. Not that it was a problem for Bumblebee or the other Autobots secretly watching.

The holographic formula hovered above Megatron’s palm, as if it the cube itself was wanting to be taken back to Autobot HQ. Unfortunately, the formula’s few seconds of holographic splendor were short lived as Megatron quickly closed his palm shut, taking the formula with it.

“First things first, scout. You must help me escape from this perpetual dreamscape, then, and only then, will I consider giving you the formula.” Megatron grinned maliciously.

“That was it, Ratch! We have it recorded!!” Bulkhead frantically shouted. Ratchet quickly reversed the live footage a few seconds back, confirming whether or not it was the actual chemical formula they needed.

“OPTIMUS, WE HAVE THE FORMULA! DISCONNECT BUMBLEBEE NOW!!” Ratchet screamed at the top of his voice box.

Meanwhile, inside the Nemesis, Optimus unhesitatingly complied to Ratchet’s urgent order, removing the psychic patch from Bee’s cranium and grabbing ahold of the scout’s limp body. Suddenly, the dreamish landscape of Kaon began to crumble and dissipate into thick, thunderous fog around the Decepticon overlord as Bumblebee too began to vanish before Megatron’s dilated optics.

“WHAT?! YOU WERE WATCHING!! YOU TRICKED ME!!” Megatron yelled accusingly. In a fearful act of desperation, Megatron ran full sprint towards the vanishing scout, hoping that reaching him could somehow allow himself to escape from his own endless dreamland.

“TAKE ME WITH YOU!!! TAKE ME!!!” Megatron’s screams echoed throughout the chaos of his destructive mind, as he too began to disappear alongside the collapsing ruins of Kaon until he was nothing more than… nothing.

“Optimus, I’m opening a ground bridge at your location. Take Bumblebee and hurry through before the entire warship becomes alerted of your presence!” Ratchet said while swiftly operating the ground bridge controls.

Within only seconds of opening the ground bridge, the two iconic Bots ran through the swirling mass of green energy until they both found themselves once again under the confines of Outpost Omega One.

Home sweet home.

“Hell yeah!! Team Prime for the win!!” Miko cheered gleefully.

“Now isn’t the time for celebration, Miko. We still have yet to create the cure.” Ratchet scolded as he uploaded the chemical formula into his data pad. “Optimus, I need your assistance in my laboratory, stat.”

“Understood.” Optimus acknowledged, running to Ratchet’s aid. “Arcee, continue to keep watch on Jack. Alert us if anything dire occurs.”

“I will.” Arcee nodded, before kneeling down to Jack’s fragile body. “You’re going to be okay now, partner. They’ve returned with a cure for you. You’re going to live, Jack. You’re going to live…” Arcee smiled fragilely.

“Bumb… bee…. Is he…” Jack weakly ushered.

“He’s here, Jack. We’re all here, safe and sound.” Arcee softly comforted.

Just then, Bumblebee arrived from around the corner of Arcee’s optic, checking to see the state of his super-human friend. Bumblebee winced heavily behind the cover of his mouthguard as he looked upon Jack’s plagueful, corpselike body. The scout was quick to express his grievances to Arcee, wishing he could have done something to prevent her partner’s suffering beforehand.

“It isn’t your fault, Bee. He’s supposed to be my responsibility to look after. I should’ve been there with him, but instead, I…” Arcee’s words hitched midsentence, causing the two-wheeler to close her optics shut.

With a heavy ex-vent, Arcee continued. “You saved his life, Bee. You even went inside Megatron’s fragging mind to get the cure for him. And I… I can’t ever thank you enough for that.” Arcee expressed with nothing but gratitude in her spark.

Before the yellow Bot even knew it, he was pulled into a warm, gracious hug by the usually stern-faced two-wheeler. It surprised Bumblebee at first, however, it didn’t take long for the scout to return a hug as equally as affectionate as hers. He cared for Arcee, for Raf, and for everybody in Team Prime. Not just as their scout, but as their family, as someone they can rely on every day if need be. And all he could ever want in return for his help was to see his family safe and happy.

There was no greater, spark-warming thing Bumblebee could ever ask for.

***

Somewhere, deep inside Bumblebee’s healthy mind was a disease, an evil secretly waiting to be let out.

Wanting to be let out.

It ached for its return, ached for conquest over the universe, and ached for the destruction of all Autobots.

It was him. It was Megatron.

“I’m out…” Megatron laughed maliciously. “Or should I say…. In.”

***

Chapter Text

The Nemesis – 1 Day Later…

“Knock, knock. Is anyone in there?” Starscream imitated mockingly, staring dead center at the face of his former master’s cold, unconscious, thoughtless body.

“No?... Oh well.” Starscream shrugged, a wicked smile plastered over his faceplate.

It had been around two months since Megatron was… decommissioned from leadership over the Decepticon army, thanks to Starscream’s treachery. While every Con – especially Soundwave – hoped for the return of their one true master, Starscream on the other hand, hasn’t felt this ecstatic ever since he was tasked with leading his very own elite squadron of Seekers during the Great War. Except now, the treacherous Con was in command of an entire army instead of a mere handful of elite Seekers.

And Starscream intended to keep it that way, for as long as the very universe existed. Even if it meant deceiving the eyes and ears of the Decepticons into “mercy killing” their coma-induced overlord.

Starscream smiled in contempt as he stood over Megatron’s lying frame. “It seems that I posses the only thing capable of mending your body back to full functionality.” Starscream said, holding a shard of dark energon just above Megatron’s unmoving head. Its purple hue shined powerfully within Starscream’s sharp grasp, reflecting over and covering Megatron’s silver helm in a heavy tint of dark purple.

“Although… This shard alone will not be able to restore whatever’s left of your mind. If there’s anything left in there to restore whatsoever.” Starscream coldly chuckled, before faltering to a scowl. “Which… I suppose I have the Autobots to thank for that, much to my displeasure.” Starscream stepped away from the medical slab, opting to pace back and forth in front of Megatron while he continued on with his villainous monologuing.

“It’s such a shame Megatron, truly. You would have made an excellent second-in-command yourself, fighting on my behalf, in the name of my new order.” Starscream clenched his fist. “Unfortunately, you were too blind to recognize the true greatness of my superiority, and now… now look at what you’ve become, mighty Megatron. Slumbering endlessly, unable to move, unable to even dream… rusting away on a medical slab for the rest of eternity. That is, until I finally convince that blasted Soundwave to let me put you down for good.” Starscream growled. The monologuing Con then pointed a sharp, accusing finger at Megatron, glaring directly at his immobile figure.

“I was always meant to be more than some meager pet, serving mindlessly under your feeble command. I, Starscream, true heir to your throne, am burdened… with glorious purpose. A purpose, in which you can no longer deny me of, Emperor of Destruction!” Starscream scorned hatefully.

“Bravo Starscream. How long did it take you to practice that little speech of yours?” Knockout sarcastically cheered as he leant against the lab wall.

“AH!” Starscream startlingly yelped, prompting himself to quickly hide the shard of dark energon behind him. “H-how long have you been standing there, Knockout?” Starscream anxiously asked.

“Long enough, your majesty.” Knockout mock bowed.

“Heh, y-yes…. Eehhhh, you’re not going to tell anyone about this… are you?” Starscream shifted nervously.

“Not as long as you’re willing to promote me to “Commander Knockout”, once and future Lord Starscream.” Knockout smirked.

Feeling a sudden sense of pride and admiration flowing through his very spark chamber, Starscream straightened his body to a more superior, sovereign stance. Standing taller and prouder than ever before, facing his newly appointed second-in-command.

“That can be arranged. Commander Knockout.”

Nevadan Outskirts – Autobot HQ – Present Time…

“Good, good. Keep following the light, Jack.” Ratchet instructed while he shined his flashlight right into my eyes, much to my discomfort.

“*Argh* Is the flashlight really necessary, Ratch?” I grumbled.

“It’s a precautionary measure, as is this entire checkup. So yes, it is very much necessary, says your physician.” Ratchet blankly replied.

“Precaution for what? I’m cured, aren’t I?” I chuckled from atop the medical berth.

“We can’t be too careful now, can we? Your body may still be showing certain symptoms of the plague.” Ratchet smirked.

“*Hmph* Since when were you an expert in human biology?” I pouted.

Ratchet scoffed. “I never claimed that I was. Though, as of recently, I have taken it upon myself to study basic human functionalities and medical procedures, since you so stubbornly refuse to visit an actual hospital.”

“Can you blame him, Ratch? He’s gotta keep his identity a secret somehow. Wouldn’t want the whole world to know that Jack Darby is secretly a long-time vigilante now, would we?” Arcee chimed in, crossing her arms as she watched my “precautionary” checkup.

“Secret identity. *Pheh*” Ratchet grumbled. “Jack would have been awarded the highest honor for his heroic actions during the Golden Age of Cybertron.”

“Tell that to half of New York’s finest.” I mumbled. I can’t even be awarded a good headline about me from the Daily Bugle.

Suddenly, Optimus walked into the medical bay alone, his presence calm, unintrusive, yet unannounced. “Ratchet, how is Jackson faring lately?” Optimus asked politely.

“Hmm. Based on the results of his latest checkup, it’s safe to say that he’s on a steady path to recovery from the Cybonic Plague. Though for now, I would advise against anything strenuous. Give yourself more time to rest, and you should recover fairly quickly.” Ratchet said, finally allowing me off the medical berth.

With groans of satisfaction, I immediately began stretching my strained, stiff muscles all around my body the moment I found myself standing on solid ground. After sitting on a berth and listening to my grumpy physician instruct me for thirty minutes straight, if felt good to finally let out some steam.

“Getting your stretches in, huh partner?” Arcee teased. “Just try not to pop any of your joints. Still need you on the field with me, remember?” Arcee smirked, her hand placed on the side of her hip.

I chuckled softly. “Yeah, I’ll try not to disappoint. Though, if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t even be stretching right now if it weren’t for Bee. Speaking of, where is he? I haven’t seen him since the start of my checkup.”

“Bee’s in the common area playing lob-ball with Bulkhead, while Miko and Raf are reffing for the two blockheads.” Arcee answered with a small, cheery grin.

“Lob-ball?” I questioned curiously.

“A common cybertronian sports game popular amongst the warrior and wrecker classes during the Great War on Cybertron.” Ratchet answered, albeit with a bit of disdain in his tone about the sport.

“Think of it as the cybertronian equivalent of the game “catch”, except with an eight-ton heavy metal ball instead of a rubber one humans use.” Arcee added casually.

“That kinda sounds like fun. Well… if you’re not at risk of getting crushed, that is.” I replied, somewhat awkwardly.

“Then let’s count ourselves lucky that they aren’t playing competitively.” Arcee jested. “C’mon Jack, we still have some time to kill. How ‘bout a joyride around the outskirts? Might help clear your mind.” Arcee suggested while gesturing to the tunnel that led outside the base.

“Sure. I could use some fresh air right about now.” I smiled.

“Actually-“

Optimus suddenly spoke, grabbing mine, Arcee’s, and Ratchet’s attention.

“There is something that I wish to discuss with Jack, alone. If you do not mind.” Optimus respectfully requested, glancing between Arcee and Ratchet.

Arcee silently gave Optimus a confused, yet concerned look, probably because of the suddenness of his request. Ratchet, on the other hand, stared between all three of us with a stern expression, as if he already knew about the true nature of the upcoming conversation.

“Uhm. Sure thing, Optimus.” Arcee hesitantly nodded. “I’ll be in the common area if you need anything.” Arcee glimpsed between me and Optimus.

“Guess I’ll catch you later then, right?” I chuckled nervously. Arcee shrugged with a small, reassuring smile on her face before exiting the med bay with Ratchet, leaving me and Optimus alone together.

I spoke up before the awkward silence could get to me. “So, Optimus… you wanted to talk?” I said bashfully, as if I was guiltily being confronted by my dad. Maybe it was the authority he imposed, or maybe it was how stoic he acted at times, but there’s been something about Optimus that gets me to feel nervous around him.

‘Wonder if Optimus has this affect over the other Bots as well.’

The kindsparked Prime wasted no time shifting to a more eye-to-eye level with me as he politely knelt down before my smaller figure.

“Indeed. I wanted to personally commend you for your actions on the plague ship.” Optimus’s expression softened, along with his tone. “My life would have been in much peril that day if it had not been for your selfless, heroic deed. You, Jackson Darby, have saved me from death that fateful day, and for that, I am, and always will be, eternally in your debt.” Optimus spoke with such sincerity and gratitude in his spark that it could even put Captain America’s WW2 speeches to shame.

Honestly, even I was almost at a loss for words, if it weren’t for the slight twinge of guilt and regret that I could hear sounding from his voice. It was a tone of voice that I knew all too well myself.

“W-wow, I… T-thank you Optimus, really, b-but… Why do I have the feeling that you regret being saved?” I asked, catching the Prime slightly by surprise. Optimus’s expression hardened for a moment, before he ex-vented a heavy sigh, ultimately dropping his stoic appearance.

“It is not that I regret being saved by you. It is that I regret having to watching you suffer from the consequences of my own carelessness.” Optimus sighed regretfully.

“Optimus…”

“Yesterday was the closest we were to losing you… Had Megatron not been alive that day, then you undoubtedly would have perished by the virus. All because I was too heedless of my surroundings.” Optimus bowed his head sorrowfully.

“It wasn’t your fault, Optimus. The situation was out of our control, none of us could have expected the ship to suddenly shake. Besides, I had to do something. I couldn’t just stand there and let you get infected, not when I could do something to prevent that.” I reassured calmly.

The Prime shook his head. “I have already lost so many Autobots in the past… Not soldiers, but friends and family alike. I do not wish to mourn your death as well…” Optimus spoke grievously.

“I… I get that Optimus, but in the grand scheme of things… my death wouldn’t matter…” I muttered the last part, letting out a quiet, shaky breath. Though unsurprisingly, Optimus was clearly able to hear my dejected muttering as his eyes grew wider at the saddening remark.

“And why is that, Jackson?” Optimus said, concern now evident in his tone.

“Because… I’m a nobody… I’m not important, I’m not even a real hero, I’m a vigilante at best! B-but you? You’re Optimus Prime. You’re the person everybody looks up to, the person that everybody depends on. Without you…. We wouldn’t know what to do without you.” I sighed with closed eyes.

“Jack…” Optimus whispered gently. When I didn’t answer, Optimus shifted a bit lower to me, carefully placing his metallically large finger onto my shoulder.

“Arcee would disagree, along with the rest of us.” Optimus said with warmth in his tone. When I remained silent, he continued on.

“You claim that you have no worth amongst us, that you are not worthy enough to be a hero, but I disagree. Since the beginning, I have witnessed your capacity for courage, kindness, valor, and nobility. Traits in which most Autobots live by their entire life cycle. So remember Jack, what measures a hero’s worth is not the powers they possess, nor the battles they’ve faced, but the courage and bravery that they carry from within.” Optimus said with genuine wholeheartedness, placing his left hand upon his spark chamber.

“Be strong enough to be gentle. That is what it means to be a hero.” Optimus smiled softly.

This time, I really was at a loss for words. It wasn’t just the meaning his words carried that got through to me, it was the memories they’ve unlocked. My memories of Uncle Ben…

His kindness, his gentle appearance, his life changing advice. Strangely enough, Optimus is almost like him in many ways. No doubt those two would have been great friends, if Ben ever had the chance to meet him.

“Jack, are you okay?” Optimus asked worryingly, immediately noticing the tears that were now freshly staining my face.

I swallowed a lump in my throat as I wiped away the few stray tears dripping down my cheeks. “Y-yeah, yeah. Its just… Y-you sound so much like him… Like my Uncle Ben.” I smiled shakily. “H-he raised me along with my Aunt May for seven years, back when I was living in New York. Ben is… was like a father to me, until he…. passed.” I frowned sadly.

It was Optimus’s turn to frown along. “I am deeply sorry for your loss, Jack. I did not mean to open old wounds…”

“I-its alright, Optimus. I’m over it- AAARRRGHHH”

A sharp, ringing sense of pain suddenly jolted through my brain, prompting me to quickly kneel and cutch onto my head like it was going to fall off any second. The pain was continuous, agonizing, and distributing all at the same time, as if something were causing my brain to painfully overload itself.

“Jackson! What is happening?!” Optimus shouted alarmingly as he protectively stood over my curled body.

“*AARGH* M-my spider s-senses!... It hurts!” I spat out through the aching pain. Like during Bulkhead’s rescue, my spider sense felt too painful to even consider ignoring, as if it were screaming, begging me to get up and defend myself this instant.

‘There’s something wrong! Extremely wrong! I need to check on the others, NOW!!’

“Optimus, - *ARGH* something’s seriously wrong here! I’m sensing something *AGHH* dangerous!” I shouted, shrugging Optimus away as I willed myself to stand firmly, despite how immense the migraine was.

Optimus’s expression hardened. “We could be under attack. Quickly, we must find the others and inform them!” Optimus wasted no time readying himself for battle, activating his battle mask and transforming his hands into blasters in an instant. At this point, Optimus knew better than to argue against my spider sense, given all the times it saved us in the past.

“Stay behind me, Jack.” Optimus ordered firmly.

We briskly exited the medbay, running rapidly to find the others, all the while my migraine inducing spider sense continued to agonize my brain into mush. As we neared closer towards the common area, the intensity of my spider sense grew painfully larger, feeling more frantic than it ever did, even compared to when I was in Russia.

“Autobots! Prepare for…..” Optimus’s words trailed off his metallic tongue as he and I ran into the common area, only to find that everything and everyone was…. okay?

“What?” I mumbled breathlessly.

“Optimus? What’s wrong? Why are you in battle mode?” Ratchet asked, confusion sketched over his faceplate.

It didn’t take long for the others to join in on Ratchet’s confusion as they all stared silently in concern, quietly waiting for either of us to speak up and explain why we just spooked the hell out of the entire team. Honestly, I couldn’t blame them, from their perspective and mine, everything looked normal. Ratchet was working by the monitor, like he always does. Bulkhead and Bee were still playing lob-ball by the looks of it. Miko and Raf were safely reffing from the catwalk, and Arcee was spectating the whole game from afar. Everything seemed okay.

So why do I still feel so… paranoid?

“Uuhhh, kid? You aren’t looking too good. You sure you’re doing alright?” Bulkhead questioned.

“Yeah. W-well no… It’s weird.” I huffed.

“Weird how?” Arcee cocked her eyebrow.

“Weird, as in, I just experienced the most painful spider sense I’ve ever felt, only for there to not be any actual danger.” I rubbed my aching head.

“Hmm. That does sound unusually strange, considering that your senses haven’t failed you before.” Arcee hummed.

“Maybe Ratchet left the oven on while you guys were on a mission or something.” Miko said casually, earning her a side glare from me, Ratchet, and Arcee.

“Miko, this is serious!” Ratchet scowled.

“What? Just saying.” Miko shrugged.

 “Look guys, I don’t know why it happened, but maybe it was just my senses acting up. I was infected with an alien virus not too long ago, so maybe-“

Then it happened again, a loud, alarming, ringing sensation sounding from within the confines of my own skull. This time though, the alarm was subtle, more tame and harmless than last time. This couldn’t have been a coincidence. Something was triggering my spider sense, and I’ll be damned if I let them trigger it a third time.

“Jack? What’s wrong?” Arcee’s voice was low, skeptical, and above all else, worried.

I ignored her, quickly scanned the room around me for anything unusual, anything dangerous that could hurt me or my friends. Then, I noticed something, more specifically, someone standing idly by the far side corner of the room, away from everybody else.

It was Bee, except, he was acting… odd. He was standing as still as a statue, like his body was frozen in time at that exact moment. What made it weirder was the fact that Bee, normally the most expressive and jovial Bot in the team, was completely expressionless in the face of this situation. Though the strangest - and probably the most eerie – part of his behavior were his eyes. His eyes were hollow and almost devoid of any emotion or light, which, considering how brilliantly cyanic his eyes usually were, was completely out of the ordinary for somebody like Bee.

‘Is Bee the one triggering my spider sense?’

“A-are you okay, Bee? You’re acting a bit weird.” Raf expressed in concern.

Hearing his best friend’s cry for concern, the eerie scout fiercely shook his head, instantly returning himself back to his ordinarily cheerful self. Bee let out several low whirling noises as he leaned against the wall wearingly, clutching his head with one hand and his knee with the other.

“You do not look well, Bumblebee. Are you hurt?” Optimus calmly asked.

For a while, Bee kept to himself, a look of uncertainty evidently shining within his bright cyan eyes. Despite how sketchy he looked, the last thing that I wanted to do was jump to conclusions. After all, if it weren’t for Bee, then I wouldn’t even be standing here contemplating our situation. Though at the same time, I couldn’t just ignore what I felt and turn the other way, not when all our lives could be at stake. If only my senses were strong enough for me to know what he was feeling right now.

‘God dammit. Where’s Daredevil when you need him?!’

“Bee, I-its okay. We’re your family, you can tell us anything.” Raf spoke with tender innocence as he stepped closer towards his guardian.

Bee stepped back from the young boy, holding his hands up defensively while letting out a small, high-pitched whirl. From the looks of it, it almost sounded like Bee was afraid for Raf. Why? I honestly have no clue.

“What? Y-you’re not dangerous, Bee. You’re my best friend. You wouldn’t hurt me or anyone else here. Just tell us what’s wrong, and maybe we can help you. Please Bee…. I’m worried for you.” Raf said, his voice sad, but reassuring.

The air around the room was silent as we all stood vigilantly, quietly anticipating Bumblebee’s response while internally trying to make sense of this entire problem. However, after a brief moment of silence, Bee finally gave into Raf’s kindhearted words, his eyes slowly softening to a calmer expression as he emitted a long low-pitched whirl.

“What?! You’ve been seeing visions of Megatron’s face! When has this started happening?” Ratchet exclaimed, already leading Bumblebee into the medbay as he continued to question him further.

“Scrap.” Arcee quietly muttered, her eyeridges already furrowed.  

“I knew something was up, but it still doesn’t explain why my spider sense was activated earlier. I mean, last I checked, visions can’t hurt anyone, can they?” I skepticized while I stood near Arcee.

“Beats me.” Arcee shrugged. “All I know is, if it has anything to do with Megatron, then it’ll always be bad news.” Arcee scowled.

“Yeah… You said it.” I sighed.

Ten Minutes Later…

The sound of a mechanically forced shutdown filled the silence around us as Bumblebee went into stasis mode within the confines of the medbay, per Ratchet’s orders.

“Bumblebee’s been complaining about intermittent visions. Waking nightmares regarding Megatron, if you will.” Ratchet solemnly explained.

“But you said that Bee was fine yesterday.” Raf frowned.

“Physically, yes. But the psychic experience he endured seems to be having a temporary effect on his mental state.” Ratchet sighed.

“So how do we stop that?” I chimed in.

“By allowing Bumblebee’s mind to rest and recover during this induced shut-down. Overtime, his psyche should be able to recuperate back to full functionality.” Ratchet said.

“Huh. So, kinda like sleeping then?” I cocked an eyebrow.

“Something like that.” Arcee remarked.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

“PRIME!!” Agent Fowler shouted through the monitor.

“*Ugh* What now.” Ratchet grumbled.

“Yes, Agent Fowler?” Optimus answered politely.

“Have you spotted any Decepticons wearing hula skirts lately?” Fowler asked, without an ounce of humor in his tone.

……

“H-hula skirts?” I repeated, completely stumped by the agent’s question.

“That’s right, son. Hula skirts.” Fowler replied firmly.

“No Agent Fowler, we have not…. Why?” Optimus asked.

“’Cause I was hoping you had a lead on the Cons that broke into the Kauai Naval Observatory. Place looked like it was raided by an army of tanks by the time they left.” Fowler grimaced.

“Why would Cons break into an observatory of all places?” Arcee chimed in.

“Does the Hoit-Nikogosian ring any bells?” Fowler asked.

“Oh! That’s the space telescope in Hawaii.” Raf answered.

“Yeah. And as of lately, it’s missing its primary lens.”

“I’m gonna take a good guess and say that Screamy didn’t steal the lens just to go sightseeing.” I remarked.

“Knowing Starscream, he is likely using the lens for his own sinister scheme. Though, it’s difficult to guess his intent without first knowing where he had taken it.” Optimus said, his expression readably stoic.

“Then it’s a good thing the lens has a tracking device attached to it.” Fowler smirked, gesturing Ratchet to pull up the lens’ coordinates. Within a matter of seconds, the coordinates were quickly revealed to be located somewhere in the Arctic.

Great…

“The Arctic?!” Arcee exclaimed with bafflement, remembering full well how her last trip to the Arctic went.

“Of all the fragging places.” Bulkhead sighed. Ratchet zoomed closer into the coordinates, showing us the exact map area where the lens had been taken.

Bulkhead let out a low whistle. “That’s an ND-7 class. Largest unminable energon deposit there is on this planet.”

“Unminable, until Starscream uses the lens to melt his way down into the deposit.” Optimus furrowed his eyes.

“Shit.” I cursed under my breath. “If he melts a glacier that big, then it’ll cause sea levels to rise and destroy all sorts of costal cities.” I explained sternly.

“Exactly. Which is why I need you and your team to roll out and stop that maniac before he floods thousands of innocent people.”

“Understood, Agent Fowler.” Optimus nodded before facing the rest of us. “Arcee. Bulkhead. It is now up to us to prevent Starscream’s plan from coming to fruition. We must prepare ourselves and mobilize this instant.” Optimus commanded, activating his battle mask at the end of it.

“What about me, Optimus? You could probably use a bit of Spidey action by your side.” I piped up.

“Perhaps so, but for now, I believe that it is better for you to remain here and continue your recovery. For your sake.” Optimus gently spoke.

“Oh, right…. Guess you won’t be needing me then.” I sighed disappointingly.

“Hey, chin up kid. The healthier you are, the better you’ll be at kicking Con tailpipe. Just try to take it easy on yourself for now.” Bulkhead grinned before walking off towards the wall-mounted ground bridge.

“Great. Now I’m being talked down to like a kid.” I frowned, leaning against a nearby crate. Suddenly, Arcee’s legs come into view, standing just a few inches short from me.

“Hey partner. Got some wisdom to share with me too?” I sighed, my tone sarcastic. Arcee smirked, kneeling down to come into eye level with me.

“Only that you should count on days like these more often. Getting put off-duty isn’t exactly the rarest thing to happen around here. Just ask Bee.” Arcee said, gesturing to Bee’s stasis induced body.

I scoffed. “Yeah? Well, I’m not exactly keen on sitting around and doing nothing all day. Especially when Screamy’s out there rearranging the Arctic.” I crossed my arms.

“Neither are we, Jack. But when it comes down to it, your safety is more important to us than any mission. So don’t think that you’re useless just because you’re not out on the field with us.” Arcee smiled warmly, gently placing her hand on my shoulder.

Despite how disappointed I was with myself, I couldn't help but smile back at my caring partner. Somehow, she always knew what to say, to make me feel happy and appreciated, just like Gwen did.

“Thanks, Arcee. You’re more of a smooth talker then you let on.” I chuckled, placing my hand on hers.

“Don’t mention it, par-“

“C’mon Arcee! We’ve gotta go!” Bulkhead shouted from across the room.

Arcee ex-vented a frustrated sigh. “Well, duty calls.” Arcee shrugged.

“Go get ‘em tiger.” I remarked, smirking as she walked towards the activated ground bridge.

“We’ll be back before you know it, Jack.” Arcee concluded before transforming and driving through the ground bridge portal, with Optimus and Bulkhead not too far behind.

“Yeah, and I’ll be here waiting.” I whispered as Ratchet closed the portal shortly after. Now, it was just me, Raf, Ratchet, and Bee left in the base. Miko had to leave earlier, sometime before Bumblebee was placed into stasis mode. It had something to do with her host parents, or something like that. Honestly, I hope she’s having a better time than I am right now.

At least she’d be doing something worth her time, unlike me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been in situations like this before, situations where I’ve had to sit things out while everyone else does the heavy lifting. But even then, it doesn’t make me feel any less pathetic. If I had been just a little faster, then maybe I could’ve prevented myself from getting sick. Instead, I’m over here leaning against a crate three times my size while Lord Screamy - in all his grand wisdom - tries to melt his way through a massive glacier.

Suddenly, a small familiar tingle began to reverberate echoingly through my mind, reminding me that there was still one large problem at hand.

Bumblebee…

First, my spider sense goes off like crazy, then Bumblebee starts acting extremely weird - far from his usual self - and now, he’s saying that he’s been seeing dark visions of Megatron in his mind, even hearing his voice from time to time. If I didn’t know any better, I would have called it a coincidence, brushed if off as just paranoia or PTSD, but the way he looked at me earlier, it told a different story. The way his eyes looked hollow and empty, the way his body was devoid of any expression, and the way he freaked out after…

It was almost like he was… possessed.

But how? Would it even be possible to possess a cybertronian? I mean, they are sentient people, so I guess the math checks out there.

*Uugghh* Who am I kidding? I’m not an expert in this sort of stuff, and neither is the rest of Team Prime. At this point, I’ll have better luck asking Doctor Strange for help than-

Wait a minute…

I will have better luck asking Doctor Strange for help! He’s the Sorcerer Supreme, Master of the Mystic Arts, he’s delt with mystical stuff like this a million times before I even became Spider-Man! Better yet, I’ve helped him before to stop a group of demonically possessed thugs from breaking into the Sanctum Sanctorum one time. So he should know me well enough not to think of me as a stranger, assuming he hasn’t forgotten about me already.

Whatever. Bee risked his life on the Nemesis to get me a cure, and now he’s paying for it, physically and mentally. So it’s better to fail trying than to not try at all.

With my decision now final, I web yank my backpack down from the catwalk, slinging it into my hands and checking its contents.

“Spidey suit, check. Web cartridges, check. Should be good to go.” I grin, slinging the backpack around my shoulders as I walked towards the ground bridge.

“Yep! Yep! Yep! Where do you think you’re going!” Ratchet exclaimed with his arms crossed scoldingly.

“Was just hoping you could bridge me into New York for a bit. Need to run some personal errands around the neighborhood, if you don’t mind.” I spoke casually, hoping the medbot would just take the excuse. Though even with how unsuspicious I looked, Ratchet still didn’t seem convinced.

“That depends, will you be running your errands as Jack Darby, or as Spider-Man?” Ratchet cocked an eyeridge.

“Well, that also depends. Am I gonna finish my errands uninterrupted, or am I going to have to stop an old lady from getting mugged on the way?”

…

….

……

Ratchet sighed heavily. “Just… Don’t take too long.” The medbot frowned as he opened the ground bridge portal.

“Thanks, Ratch. You’re a lifesaver.” I remarked before heading into the swirling portal.

“But remember! Nothing strenuous!! Your body still needs some time to-“

Ratchet’s voice began to muffle as all I could hear at this point was the sound of the portal’s energy mass flowing abundantly around me.

Well Spidey, it’s all or nothing. Time to go meet the wizard of New York City.

New York City – Sanctum Sanctorum – 13 Minutes Later…

After a few minutes of web swinging through the neighborhood, I finally landed and perched myself onto the edge of a nearby building, giving me a full view of the Sanctum’s frontside. Man, even after two whole years, the Sanctum still looks as cool and mysterious as it did when I first saw it. It’s a bummer that Arcee isn’t here to see it with me, she would’ve found it alluring, and probably dangerous too.

‘Hey, remember the plan, Darby. No time for sightseeing.’

Oh, right. Jumping straight off the rooftop, I land flawlessly right in front of the Sanctum’s front doors, without a single ache of pain from the fall. Normally, not many visitors would be allowed to enter inside the Sanctum this way, y’know, given their mystical occupants and whatnot. But maybe, with a couple of good hard knocks, they should be able to-

*KREEEEEEEEEEEK*

Before my knuckles could even touch their wooden frames, the doors to the Sanctum suddenly opened by itself, slowly revealing to me the beautifully structed interior of the Sanctum itself. Taking that as a ghostly initiative to enter, I slowly step inside the confines of the cryptic building, taking in the elegantly polished woodwork of the Sanctum’s architecture around me. Once I was fully inside, the doors behind me slowly shut themselves with a creaking harmony until they were completely closed, blocking anyone else from entering with me.

“Welcome, Jackson Darby.” An elegant voice echoed loudly from atop the staircase of the main foyer.

“Doctor Strange.” I eagerly smiled as the sorcerer himself descended down the staircase, his cloak levitating him just slightly above the surface.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?”