Two bots patrolled a forest. “What’s going on here?” muttered a bot with motorcycle parts, Sideways. He had gotten reports of Straxus and Deceptitran being killed off horribly and was now on edge. He was actually a little scared, truth be told. The whole situation wasn’t exactly pleasant. With three Terrorcons now dead, he wasn’t feeling confident about his chances of survival. His partner, the Scraplet-turned-protoform-hijacker, Makeshift, simply scoffed.
“What are you so worried about?” he asked. “Those three were useless anyway, so why worry? We’re stronger than all our enemies combined.”
“One of us died by a bot juiced by a Mini-con in his super mode,” argued Sideways, “one of us died by a weapon that was lost, and one was stripped of all that made him a Transformer before dying in the same manner he usually executes his victims with! You’ll forgive me if I’m not so confident!”
“Oh, you’re being paranoid! Deceptitran was killed by something Megatron CLAIMED was the Requiem Blaster! The only way we could even be sure it was the real deal was if the Forge and Creation Lathe still existed and, news flash, they’re gone!”
“For all we know, they’re here on Mobius!”
“You’re just spouting conspiracy theories!”
“Oh, for Primus’ sake, JUST KISS ALREADY!” shouted a new voice.
“Who said that?!” demanded Makeshift.
“I ain’t locking lips with no mech! Especially not with a Scraplet!” snarled Sideways.
“There ARE kinder ways to say that you don’t swing that way,” snarked the mystery voice as the person speaking stepped out of the trees. It was a Mech about half the size of an average Transformer, yellow, and smirking. Makeshift then smirked.
“Well, well, it’s been too long! How’ve you been, Pipsqueak?” The yellow bot, Bumblebee, contorted his face in anger.
“SLAGGIT, I ALREADY TOLD YOU, DON’T CALL ME PIPSQUEAK!” Bumblebee charged at Makeshift and swung a punch. Makeshift and Sideways leapt out of the way as Bumblebee’s optics tracked Makeshift.
“Take it easy!” protested Makeshift. “We’re just here to examine the forest! We don’t wanna fight you, Pipsqueak!”
“THAT’S FIVE NOW!” Bumblebee’s punch hit the tree behind Makeshift as the Terrorcon rolled out of the way.
“What are you talking about?!”
“That’s five times you called me ‘Pipsqueak’! Twice here and three times while we were scattered! Don’t tell me you forgot!”
“…Impressive, you’ve got such a sharp memory.” Makeshift then launched an energy blast at Bumblebee. Bumblebee then took something off of his back and used it to deflect the blast. Makeshift’s optics flickered.
“Well? What do you think?” asked Bumblebee. His left arm carried a giant triangular shield colored in yellow, black, and a silver center. “The Skyboom Shield, able to deflect ANY attack, even those from Unicron himself!”
“There’s no way that’s the Skyboom Shield!” Makeshift then turned to see Sideways running away. “COME BACK HERE, YOU…!” He didn’t get far as Bumblebee threw the Shield like a frisbee and it sliced the Terrorcon in half, right where his original Scraplet self was. Once the bug was destroyed, the whole body shut down and fell down in a gunmetal gray heap. The Shield then returned to Bumblebee’s arm.
“Captain America, eat your heart out!” chuckled Bumblebee. “Now, where’s the motorcycle?”
Sideways had long transformed into his alt-mode with one of his Mini-cons riding on top. The other Mini-cons had connected to his sides and given him a boost. He continued speeding though the forest until he thought he was far enough away. He transformed and sat under a large tree. “Crazy bug!” he panted. “No way am I gonna fight him! …But Lord Unicron would want me to give him the Skyboom Shield so he’s not over-powered by our enemies. But then I would need to fight that runt! But it would mean less options for Optimus to choose from for his team! But there’s a non-zero chance I could die in the process!”
“If you’re done,” grunted Bumblebee’s voice as he stepped out of the trees. Sideways screamed like a baby as he backed up.
“I’m warning you! Stay back!” Bumblebee didn’t heed him. “Right! You asked for it! ALL MINI-CONS! POWERLINX!” All of his Mini-cons connected to his body and he started blasting like crazy! Bumblebee simply held up the Shield in front of him, deflecting his opponent’s attacks. Sideways had exhausted all of his ammo reserves and stumbled backwards.
“Offer me money!” snarled Bumblebee.
“Yes!” begged Sideways.
“Power too! Promise me that!”
“All that I have, and more! Please!”
“Offer me anything I ask for!”
“Anything you want!” Bumblebee then ran the Skyboom Shield through Sideways’ torso, right at the Spark Chamber.
“I want Fulcrum back and my brother returned to a normal body, you Spawn of a Glitch!” He then pulled his arm to the left, dragging the Shield through Sideways’ body as he collapsed into a heap. He faded into static, only to find that he couldn’t become a shapeless mass anymore and his wounds wouldn’t close. Sideways returned to his usual colors before fading to gunmetal gray, along with his Mini-cons. Bumblebee then panted before he started cleaning the Skyboom Shield. As he did, he opened a comms channel to the base. “Sideways and Makeshift are dead,” he reported. “The Skyboom Shield works.”
“Megatron’s reported that the Requiem Blaster works too,” replied Teletraan. “He took care of Straxus and Deceptitran. Prime’s and Blackarachnia are still looking for Nemesis Prime and Crystal Widow.”
“Still need to test the Star Saber?”
“That’s the idea.”
“I’m heading back to base. I could use a Ground Bridge.”
“Coming up.” A Ground Bridge portal then opened for Bumblebee. He hesitated walking through. Somehow, Teletraan guessed. “Bumblebee, you did what you had to do. They served Unicron.”
“Yeah? So why do I feel so evil at taking their lives?”
“It’s what you’re feeling right now that proves you AREN’T inherently evil, unlike the Terrorcons. They took pleasure in killing, you don’t. Only a monster wouldn’t feel remorse at killing, even if there was no other option. Now, come on, we need you back at base.”
“Right.” Bumblebee then entered the portal and it closed behind him.