EPISODE III: THE BATTLE BEGINS
Marissa Faireborne sat in her jail cell, studying every inch of it. For the several hours she had been imprisoned there, she had played the model prisoner perfectly. She showed no emotion and made no attempts to escape. The guard had finally gotten the hint and relaxed in his chair next to her cell. It was then that Marissa began to formulate an escape plan.
She had been placed in a secret prison for EDC use only. Many alien scoundrels and pirates were incarcerated there, pending their trials before the United Nations. Quite a few of them Marissa herself had apprehended. She had a grim laugh about how she was now a prisoner in her own prison.
When she had been thrown in, Connelly ordered that she be searched for anything that might aid her to escape. They found a few hairpins she could use to pick the lock but nothing else. That hindered her progress significantly, but did not make escape impossible. She simply had to think about it a little longer.
Marissa was startled to hear a large explosion nearby. The guard sprang up and ran to the end of the corridor to see what was wrong. As soon as he reached the end of the corridor, Marissa heard a voice behind her.
�Psst!�
She turned around. �Goldbug!�
The small gold Autobot was crouching down, looking in through the barred windows. �Better late than never.�
He punched through the wall with ease and transformed. Marissa climbed into the driver�s seat and they sped off.
�What was that explosion?� she asked when they were far enough away.
�Hound, I�m afraid,� he answered. �He drove up, shot the prison�s generator, and then sped off. Half of the guards chased after him, and the rest just gawked. Connelly really put a lot of slack-jawed morons into this place; almost like they�ve never seen a Transformer before.
�Anyway, that was just enough of a diversion to give me time to sneak around the back and get you out of there. Not like you needed my help much; I�m sure you had already concocted some sort of plan. I just figured we didn�t have much time to waste.�
�You�re right, we don�t,� Marissa said. �If I wasn�t so bullheaded we might have been better off.�
�Don�t bother blaming yourself,� Goldbug said, trying to cheer her up. �We�ve all done that too many times in our lives. Let�s just worry about what�s going on in the present.�
�How did you figure you out that I was here?�
Goldbug sighed and began the story of how he tracked down her rental car and heard Connelly�s conversation. �As soon as I figured out where you were I took off with Hound, and that puts us where we are right now. There�s only one thing I hoped you could answer: who is the �silent partner�? I couldn�t decipher who that was.�
�You�ll never believe it,� she said. �It�s Starscream: he�s back.�
�Starscream�� Goldbug said the name as if it were the Devil�s. �Rodimus Prime will hate to hear that. He�s the most unpredictable Decepticon ever built.�
�Yes, and he�s going to have a whole army at his control,� Marissa said. �Connelly doesn�t have a team of technicians controlling the robots: Starscream is controlling them via headset.�
�Well, won�t Starscream just eliminate Connelly once he has the headset?�
�No. Connelly placed a highly sensitive scanner in the set. If his brain waves stop due to his death, then the headset is useless.�
Goldbug laughed. �Well at least our enemy is smart enough not to trust Starscream. I almost wish the lousy Decepticon will waste him�that should end this whole problem pretty quickly.
�But that�s not exactly what I want to happen. Connelly has to pay for his crimes another way, and his death may make him look like a martyr.�
At that very moment William Connelly was en route to visit Starscream. His scientists had finally finished the headset, carefully placing the brain wave scanner device inside. The EDC director smiled, pleased with his decision. He didn�t care if Starscream wanted to rule the planet; he had other plans
The limousine pulled up to the hangar. Connelly got out of the car and strolled nonchalantly up to the door and opened it.
�Good news my friend!� he said as he shut the hangar door. �Your headset is finished!�
Starscream transformed. There was a sly grin on his face. �Excellent. I must say, you are one of the more efficient humans I have met in all my years on this God forsaken planet.�
Connelly handed the headset over to him. �The army is finished. They need to be activated, but that won�t take much time. Oh and by the way, I thought you should know about some precautions I�ve taken.�
Starscream raised an eyebrow. �Precautions?�
�That headset is useless unless I�m alive,� Connelly said shrewdly. �It�s attuned to my brain waves, and can sense them from miles and miles away. I know about your track record, Starscream. You�ve betrayed everyone you�ve met, including your own leader. Why not me?�
For a moment Starscream looked absolutely furious. Then a look of amusement came over his face. �You�ve done your homework, Connelly!� he said, laughing. �Very well. I guess great minds think alike.�
�It doesn�t really matter,� Connelly said. �You can have the world. All I want is one small island, all to myself. I won�t interfere with anything. Hell, you could turn this planet into another Cybertron for all I care. I just want one measly tropical island.�
�I have to say, Connelly,� Starscream said. �Of all the fleshlings I�ve met, you�re the first one I actually like!�
At that same moment, Goldbug, Hound and Marissa Faireborne were approaching Metroplex. They had all eluded the EDC authorities and made their way back to the Autobots� transport. As they now neared Metroplex they saw an Autobot shuttle in the landing pad. Setting the ship down, they went inside to find out what was going on. They found Ultra Magnus and a team of Autobots from Cybertron.
�What are you guys doing here?� Goldbug asked.
�Rodimus Prime ordered a strike force to be assembled,� Ultra Magnus answered. �We�re it.�
�Well, we�re going to need all the help we can get,� Goldbug replied. �Marissa will brief you about everything.�
He turned it over to Marissa, who proceeded to tell the full story. She talked about everything: the tailing of Connelly, Starscream, her capture, the plan, right up to the point where Goldbug rescued her from the prison. Ultra Magnus listened to every word, and was especially surprised to hear that Starscream was involved.
�I heard that he was dead,� he said. �Galvatron destroyed him after he betrayed Megatron.�
�His ghost survived,� Marissa said. �Connelly didn�t just talk about his plan. The man really doesn�t know when to shut up. Apparently Starscream made a deal with Unicron to rebuild his body, only Starscream didn�t live up to his end. Galvatron blasted him again, but not fatally. Starscream floated through space for years, unconscious, before he awakened and came back to Earth. He laid low for a long time and eventually contacted William Connelly, due to his appointment to the EDC. I guess lowlifes have an affinity for one other.�
�They certainly do,� Magnus said grimly. �Is this headset operational yet?�
�I don�t think so.�
Suddenly Jazz ran into the room. �I think everyone will be interested on what�s on the news right now.�
He turned on the television. ��and that was only a few days ago. Today we see that William Connelly�s dream of a protecting the Earth with these soldiers is far from in the future.�
The screen changed to New York City as Connelly�s robots were attacking anything and everything in their path. There were hundreds of the drone robots marching through the streets. Then suddenly the screen flashed to Hound as he attacked the EDC prison.
�According to EDC director William Connelly, the Autobots are to blame for this sudden attack. Apparently these soldiers were stolen from his institute several days ago. Earlier today they attacked an EDC establishment and freed a known felon. Here is what Mr. Connelly had to say.�
The scene again changed to Connelly in a press conference. �I didn�t mention that these soldiers were missing because I simply thought it was a glitch in our systems,� he said, appearing very mournful. �So I blame myself and take full responsibility for this. I was na�ve thinking that something like this could never happen. But there will be retribution. Even now I have taken precautions necessary to deal with the threat. I would now like to ask the Autobots to please have mercy on us humans. Please!�
The television burst into flames. Grimlock�s gun was smoking as he put it back down.
�Me hate that guy!� he said. �What we going to do?�
Before anyone could answer, they were startled to hear an explosion nearby. They all looked outside and to their horror they saw an uncountable number of Starscream�s robots attacking.
�Autobots,� Ultra Magnus said. �I believe we are now observing his �precautions.�� He turned towards his friends. �Prepare to defend! Hurry!�
They all evacuated the room as quickly as possible. The sounds of an attack were heard all around: it was almost like the Autobots had nowhere to run. Ultra Magnus himself remembered grimly how this attack paralleled the Battle of Autobot City six years ago.
�First thing�s first,� he said. �Hound! Get up to the communications tower and get Rodimus Prime on the wire. The robot army is almost too much to handle at this point. Send a few transmissions but then leave immediately. Arcee! Transform Metroplex, we�re going to need him!�
The two Autobots went off to their posts while the rest followed Ultra Magnus outside. They engaged the robots in hopes that they would not damage Metroplex in any way. While most of them began firing, Grimlock led his Dinobots into the air and fought the robots in one-on-one combat. Keeping them busy for a short period, the Technobots joined to form Computron.
Though the robots fought hard, the Autobots fought harder. Even Marissa was firing a laser weapon that her friends had given her. The robots kept coming, though, and Ultra Magnus was running out of options. Grimlock was hacking through the robots with his energo sword, and Computron was wiping out several with his highly skilled analytical fighting methods. As valiant as they were fighting, they were slowly being pushed back. The robots were like locusts: they didn�t seem to end.
Then the tied turned. Just when the Autobots thought they couldn�t be pushed back any further, they heard a loud voice.
�LET ME DEAL WITH THEM.�
They all turned to see Arcee and Hound running up. Before they could open their mouths, Metroplex transformed into robot mode.
�ROBOTS,� he said. �YOU HAVE MET THE AUTOBOTS� LAST LINE OF DEFENSE. YOU FACE METROPLEX.�
He then produced two rifles. As he fired both several times, dozens of robots were vaporized. Almost on a will of their own, they decided to attack the behemoth Autobot fortress instead. Metroplex fired off missiles and even crushed many of the robots with his bare hands. In only a few short minutes the robots� numbers were diminished. The remainder retreated
�Well that was easy enough,� Kup said. �I think we need to go to the UN and clear our name.�
The other Autobots agreed, but Ultra Magnus was wary. �I don�t know, Kup. Something tells me that wasn�t it. Starscream knew we had Metroplex. Unleashing all his forces on us would be foolish at this stage.�
He turned to Hound. �Did you contact Cybertron?�
�I sent the message,� Hound replied. �Twice, just like you said. Unfortunately there wasn�t time to see if Rodimus or anyone else responded.�
�Very well,� Ultra Magnus said. He then turned to Metroplex. �Metroplex, can you get a hold of Omega Supreme? We are going to need his help.�
Back in New York, Connelly�s army was ravaging through the streets. Terror was widespread as people ran for their lives. The National Guard had finally been called in to deal with the problem since the EDC was apparently doing nothing.
�Take this you metal bastards!�
A tank rolled through the streets and fired off several rounds at the robots. Smoking holes were seen in their chests as the large metallic creatures fell to the ground. Just as the tank was about to take down another one, the two men inside heard a piercing noise that sounded like metal on metal. They ducked just in time as a robot�s sword cut off the top of the tank. The robot peered in and brought his arm up. Its hand changed into a laser cannon as the robot prepared to kill the two soldiers.
BAM! The men were surprised to see the robot flail off to the side. They got out of the tank and saw a large car carrier screech to a halt. It transformed and they saw that they were actually saved by an Autobot.
�Get to cover!� Ultra Magnus yelled as he opened fire on incoming robots. They were both confused.
�Aren�t they the ones who are controlling these things?� one asked as they ran into a nearby building.
�That�s what Connelly said,� the other replied. �But hey, who am I to judge?�
The Autobots had arrived in New York.
TO BE CONCLUDED