5 - Earth's Mightiest Heroes

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES

PART 1

A lone motorcycle with rider sped along the elevated expressway into Iacon. The rider, Prowl, could remember a time when Iacon had a population of several hundred thousand and its expressways and airspace were filled with Autobot activity. He also remembered seeing the Great Dome a smoking ruin, the Celestial Spires toppled and the expressways made broken and impassable as a consequence of Megatron's war.

The motorcycle, Groove, remembered none of these things. He only knew Iacon as it was now - healed, intact and largely empty, but still the most densely populated place on Cybertron, and home to around half the surviving Transformers on the planet.

"I want to thank you again for giving me a lift," said Prowl as they passed the building site where Grapple supervised Huffer, Landfill, Quickmix, Scoop and the Construction Patrol in the assembly of the defence station known as Metroplex, inspired by schematic designs passed on a few years earlier by Time Warrior (designs Grapple recognised his own handiwork in, despite having no memory of producing them in this timeline).

"No problem," replied the Protectobot. "Who'd have thought the Nucleon would deprive you and Wheeljack of your ability to transform this long after taking it?"

"It sure caught us by surprise," agreed Prowl, self-consciously catching sight of Cliffjumper, Fastlane, Red Alert and Scamper zipping along a lower expressway in vehicle mode, and the tanks, Grand Slam, Quickswitch, Slammer and Warpath, keeping watch over the city from a high ridge. "We thought we'd got away with it. Anyway, I gather the Nucleon II has now arrived from Hydrus Four, so we should be driving ourselves around once more by this time tomorrow."

"That's good news. After the last few days, I was afraid I might have to become your ride on a permanent basis!" Groove joked. "I don't think I'll ever get used to not shrinking down to human size when I transform to motorcycle mode."

Prowl said nothing, thinking of the 'Turbo Cycle' and 'Turbo Racer' plans he'd seen Wheeljack half-seriously doodling while stuck in his lab and unable to transform, looking enviously out of the window at the likes of Groove and Hot Rod speeding around the empty expressways. Thankfully, those plans would not now be required to proceed any further than the drawing board.

"So," said Prowl, changing the subject as they passed Six-Gun and the three Omnibots standing guard over the currently vacant Space Bridge materialisation zone, and approached the meeting complex where Groove's fellow Protectobots awaited Prowl's final debriefing. "What's the verdict, after a week sightseeing on Cybertron?"

Groove hesitated as Cloudraker, Raindance and the Air Patrol rocketed overhead, and considered the spectacular metal vistas, sterile and free from the chaos of carbon-based life in all its multitude of competing forms.

"It's nice, I guess," he replied at last. "But it just ain't home."

Prowl nodded thoughtfully to himself.

Jetfire. Omega Supreme. The Aerialbots.

That's what they'd all said.

TO BE CONTINUED

[Andy Turnbull]

Love it.

Andy

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES

PART 2

Trailbreaker fell into step beside Prowl as he and Groove entered the meeting complex. "Urgent message from Cosmos, Prowl. A battle between Decepticons has broken out in the city-state of Kalis."

"Do we have eyes on the ground?"

"Groundshaker is sending us live pictures," replied the defensive strategist, gesturing to the big screen that the other four Protectobots were watching intently. It showed a prehistoric battle re-enacted by robots, as the giant dinosaurs Overkill and Slugfest laid into Trypticon with murderous intent.

"Trypticon would win easily against either one of them," observed Streetwise, as Slugfest's chainsaw-like spine ripped through Trypticon's underbelly, allowing Overkill to take a big bite out of his neck. "But together they clearly have the upper hand."

"Are we going to get involved?" wondered Hotspot. "As I recall, we have a non-aggression pact with Trypticon that has held since the battle with Unicron, while those other two are wanted for war crimes committed on Klo."

"We have a non-aggression pact with Trypticon," said Prowl, "not a mutual defence treaty. There are no non-combatants in the area. If those two win, then we move in and take them. If not..." He shrugged. "But down to business. You Protectobots have all requested permanent citizenship of Earth, and the United Nations have granted your request, along with those made by Jetfire, Omega Supreme and the Aerialbots. From this point forward, all twelve of you cease to be part of the Autobot army. You answer only to Jetfire, the U.N. and the laws of whatever country you happen to find yourselves in."

"How does our status differ from that of the other Autobots currently on Earth?" asked First Aid.

"You twelve were created on Earth and owe part of your programming to Buster Witwicky, who added a distinct human element to the Creation Matrix. You are the only Autobots permitted to bear arms on Earth outside times of crisis. There have been other instances where the humans granted special dispensation to robots and extraterrestrials to act as authorised defenders of the Earth, but it is still a rare honour. The various crimes, natural disasters and other threats you Protectobots resolved when you went freelance for a few years after declining to hand Blaster over to Grimlock have not gone unnoticed by Earth's governments. The other Autobots who have been permitted to remain on Earth for the time being have not been granted citizenship. They are registered aliens, and must go unarmed. Some of them, like Beachcomber, Brawn, Bumblebee, Hound, Jazz, Seaspray, Skids, Tracks and Ultra Magnus, just want to cruise around in their vehicle modes, see the world, visit old friends and make new ones. Others, like the Micromaster Off Road and Race Car Patrols, being able to shrink down to a height of just seven feet in robot mode, have become television personalities. But you twelve, you are Earth's first line of defence against any future Decepticon incursions. It's a great responsibility."

"It's what we were created for," said Hotspot. "It's our purpose, and one we gladly accept."

"The Protectobots' role is different from those of Jetfire and the Aerialbots," continued Prowl. "They can fly rapidly to any location in response to a threat, but they cannot blend in among humans. You five can move around towns and cities without attracting attention. You will therefore have greater contact with the humans, and with the unarmed Autobots living on Earth."

"We understand," said Groove.

"A couple more things before you go," said Prowl. "Blades - you have been requested to act as official Autobot liaison with G.I. Joe. Streetwise - Jetfire has requested that you team up with the Nebulan law enforcement officer, Peacemaker, to track down and apprehend any Nebulans allied to the Decepticons who may still be running around on Earth. Groove - please use your inflatable rider when you're not teamed up with a human partner. It really freaks people out the other way. First Aid - to avoid spending another Christmas undergoing repairs, the next time someone asks you if you're a Spaceknight, you say, 'No!' And Hotspot, about your colour scheme..."

"What's wrong with my colour scheme?"

"We've got some new movement out there, Prowl," interrupted Trailbreaker, and they all turned to the screen to see a blast from Bruticus's sonic stun gun knock Overkill backwards, while Devastator's solar energy rifle burnt a hole clean through Slugfest's side.

"Looks like your old skirmishing buddies, the Combaticons, have finally picked sides," said Prowl to the Protectobots, as a punch from Bruticus removed Overkill's lower jaw. Trypticon recovered his footing and moved in for the kill.

"Were you expecting this?" Blades asked Prowl, observing the satisfied look on his face.

"I don't know what you mean," he muttered. "Now get going, all of you. You have a Space Bridge to catch."
___

Three weeks later, the Decepticon Wingspan arrived at Iacon, bearing a request from Trypticon to begin talks on the matter of a mutual defence treaty.

TO BE CONTINUED

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES

PART 3

"Anomaly! Large scale transformation!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Access visual data from ten minutes previous!"

"See? It is still in the process of morphing!"

"Could it be... another one of us?"
___

"What's going on here?" demanded Cobra Commander as the castle continued to alter its configuration. "Who's taking the blame for this fiasco?"

"Destro escaped with the help of the G.I. Joe ninjas," replied Dr Biggles-Jones. "Scarlett took a sword thrust next to her heart! Why would they do that if she were a double agent?"

"Snake-Eyes is a master swordsman and this was too easy a cut to miss," countered Slice. "Let's let her bleed out and see how the Joes react to it!"

"I like the devious twists to your slimy mind, Slice!" chuckled Cobra Commander. "But I have other plans for her! Let's let the Cobra medics patch her up and- huh? What's that falling out of the sky?!"

A large white Transformer wielding a massive black cannon descended like a meteor from the upper atmosphere. The ground shook as it landed before Castle Destro.

"Oh... this is nothing but another non-sentient construct! Not one of us," said the Transformer.

"Listen," begged Cobra Commander. "Can we talk?"

"One moment, please," said the Transformer. "Jetfire to Silverbolt - stand down. Negative on Decepticon presence. I repeat, negative on Decepticon presence." He turned back to the humans. "Now, what did you want to talk about?"
___

The Autobots' Earthen defence forces had no fixed base, but operated from Spanner's Space Bridge, which had been allocated nine different locations around the planet, all far from the nearest human habitation, to serve as its landing zones. Each zone came with a refuelling and maintenance facility and an airstrip. When Jetfire and the Aerialbots needed to be somewhere fast, Spanner would take them to the nearest Space Bridge landing zone, and they would launch and fly to their destinations at various multiples of the speed of sound. Omega Supreme, having taken Nucleon II and reverted to his original form despite being blessed with limited transformation capability as an Action Master, normally stayed behind to guard the Bridge.

Their rapid response to the long-range detection of Castle Destro's transformation sequence was flawless. The fact that it turned out to be a false alarm was beside the point. If it had been a Decepticon, they would have dealt with it.

TO BE CONTINUED

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES

PART 4

Somewhere, high above the Atlantic...

"You're topped off, Wild Bill! Prepare to disengage!"

"Thanks much, pard. Next time we'll get an oil change! Listen up, Joes. We still have another four hours to our destination. Anybody who's hungry can- Wait, hold that thought. I'm getting a radio signal from the Autobots! Hawk, get a load of this. Our 'bots detected the reconfiguration of the Silent Castle and thought it was a Decepticon. When we flew out of Transcarpathia, Jetfire was flying in at Mach 29!"

"What? Did he come into conflict with Cobra forces?"

"No. Cobra Commander tried to make a deal with him, but as soon as he realised his mistake, Jetfire hightailed it."

"Hmmm. All right, then. Stick to the plan. Maintain course for the Gulf of Mexico, and Cobra Island!"
___

But the Autobots weren't the only alien beings to be drawn to Destro's transforming castle, now in the hands of Cobra Commander. As everything quietened down after the evening's excitement, a winged shape flitted over the moon. If the Cobra troopers stationed on the battlements had been more observant, they might have noticed its hard edges and the way the light glinted off its purple surface. They might have recognised it as... mechanical.

The creature darted silently through an open window, easily detecting and evading state-of-the-art motion-detection sensors, and made its way across high-vaulted ceilings, from shadow to shadow, until it found itself in the main weapons bay. It made a cursory inspection of Dr Biggles-Jones's new rail gun. Had Megatron lived, he might have coveted the firepower of a weapon such as this, but the small winged alien had no use for it. The intruder moved on through the castle, eventually stumbling upon Dr Mindbender's cloning vat and brainwave scanner.

Now this, the bat-like creature thought to itself, is technology I can use.

TO BE CONTINUED

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES

PART 5

In downtown Los Angeles, a high-speed pursuit was in progress.

Over the last few months, various pieces of cloning technology had gone missing from Castle Destro, Cobra Island and the Cobra brainwashed town of Millville. The American Department of Defense's spy in the Cobra camp, Dr Biggles-Jones, and the G.I. Joe spy, Scarlett, were exfiltrated after months of secret information-gathering inside the terrorist organisation, and along with the location of Millville (which the Joes wasted no time in liberating), they brought with them reports of thefts of cloning vats, brainwave scanners and associated computer files, all of these disappearances accompanied by stories told by Cobra employees of a purple robot bat and other more humanoid mechanical figures overpowering guards and taking the equipment away.

The word 'robot' made the Joes think of Decepticons, and so a trap was laid in the form of a highly publicised breakthrough in cloning technology. The bait was taken, and the Protectobots were waiting.

"Target van heading east at 85 mph," reported Blades from the air. "Roads are too busy for me to take them down without risk to human life, damn it."

"Keep monitoring," ordered Streetwise. "We'll get them, don't worry."

"They've got the cloning tech on board," said Peacemaker, sitting in Streetwise's driving seat but absorbed in his energy readings, leaving the Protectobot police car to drive himself - he was better at it, after all. "But I'm also picking up thermal readings indicative of a Decepticon Targetmaster weapon. Whoever they are, they're packing some serious firepower."

"Groove, did you get that?" Streetwise radioed his motorcycle partner, who was much closer to the target vehicle, weaving in and out of traffic.

"Got it," came the reply. "We may have to-" The van's rear doors opened, revealing the Nebulan codenamed 'Tiptop' in full battle armour. Groove watched as he transformed to gun mode. "Watch out!" Tiptop was a gyroscopic destabiliser, capable of destroying the balance of any target. He fired and hit Groove, who skidded and spun onto his side. "I'm down!" he called to Streetwise. "Keep going, but be careful!"

Streetwise kept his distance and transformed to his battle vehicle mode, firing his double-barrelled air-compressor cannon which blew out the van's tyres, forcing it to stop. He then transformed to robot mode and fired his photon pistol, temporarily blinding Tiptop, followed by Peacemaker in stereophonic sonic blaster mode, on low power - just enough to disable Tiptop until they could take him into custody.

The van's passenger door opened and the human mercenary known as Felix stepped out and aimed a device at Streetwise, who promptly fell over and stayed down.

"Jammer!" shouted Peacemaker, transforming back to humanoid mode. Felix's partner Skunge climbed down from the driver's side and aimed a second jammer at Peacemaker, who was immune to its effects and knocked him out with a steel-gloved punch to the face. Felix ran, but by this time Groove had recovered and arrived in his battle vehicle mode, firing his side-mounted vaporators which created an icy surface on the road, causing the fleeing human to slip and fall.

The other humans had all cleared out by this point. Peacemaker relieved Skunge and Felix of their jammers, deactivated them and added them to his collection. Streetwise scrambled to his feet. While the two Protectobots secured the Earthlings, Peacemaker dragged Tiptop out of the van.

"What are you doing with all this cloning technology?" he demanded.

"Nothing," muttered the ex-circus strongman. "Just hired to do a job... Don't know who our client is or what the stuff is for... Didn't ask..."

"Well, you'll never see your client again. You're going to join your pal Heater in a cell and be shipped straight back to Nebu- What the-?!"

Without warning, a purple robotic bat swooped down and ripped the roof off the van. Peacemaker aimed a jammer at it, but it had no effect, and the bat flicked him aside with the tip of its wing. Streetwise and Groove turned to face this new threat, and were blasted onto their backs again by twin lightning bolts from the creature's eyes. Abandoning Felix, Skunge and Tiptop to their fate, the bat snatched up the cloning technology and fired its back-mounted jet engines, propelling it skyward. It shot past the hovering Blades and was quickly out of sight.

TO BE CONTINUED

[Fortmax2020]

Excellent excellent... *hits refresh*

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES

PART 6

Peacemaker sat at the bar of his favourite diner, in plain clothes, nursing a coffee and deep in thought. He had always planned on returning to Nebulos once the survivors of Zarak's rogue faction had all been rounded up, but now he wasn't so sure. Earth was so much bigger, in human population terms. Mightn't Nebulos seem rather tame and boring after all this? His more technically minded friends, Firebolt and Pinpointer, had certainly thought so, and had found permanent niches here on Earth, discarding their flamboyant codenames in the process.

A beautiful woman entered the diner and sat down at the bar beside him. He tried not to look at her, but then she spoke, presumably to him, as there was no-one else around.

"Leave the bat alone."

"What?" He spun in his chair to face her.

"She's not a Decepticon." The woman got up to leave.

"Wait!" Peacemaker grabbed her by the arm and felt metal underneath the sleeve of her coat. With one fluid motion she pulled free, took hold of his arm, twisted it behind his back and bent him forward over the counter.

"And I'm not one of you," she snapped. Then she released him, and by the time he had turned around, she was gone.
___

"We've found the bat's lair, all right," pronounced Blades as the Protectobots approached the out-of-town warehouse. "The passive tracers attached to that stolen cloning equipment are within the main building, and I'm detecting the two missing Centurion droids standing guard just inside the compound's main gate."

"Remote-controlled?" asked Hotspot.

"No radio signals detected," said Streetwise. "I think they're automated - pre-programmed for defence."

"Then you should be able to handle them," said Hotspot. "I'm going to enter the warehouse from the rear while you provide a diversion."

"Nothing personal, Centurion, old pal," muttered Blades, powering up his weapons.
___

"Get back!" shouted a grey-and-red metal figure, brandishing a jammer at Hotspot. The voice was that of a woman.

"That's a first-generation jammer," Hotspot said calmly, stepping carefully past her and into the building, "and I'm carrying an anti-jammer..." His voice trailed off as he beheld half a dozen cloning vats, all containing large organic bat-like creatures with cybernetic implants. They appeared to be in various stages of early development.

With an angry hiss, the purple armoured bat flew at Hotspot, eyes blazing.
___

Outside, Blades slashed at one Centurion with his rotors, revelling in being able to tear into an opponent with no pangs of conscience. Streetwise was having trouble with the other Centurion, and Groove was circling the fight, looking for a clear shot. Blades aimed a missile in the direction of Streetwise's opponent, but just as he was ready to fire, his own Centurion made a late comback and knocked him flying. The missile launched straight at the main building.
___

There was a massive explosion and the ceiling fell in. Hotspot instinctively moved to shield the human, but she screamed at him to protect the vats, so he threw himself forward onto his hands and knees, covering all six developing clones with his body.

The upper levels of the warehouse collapsed on top of them. Debris pinned the armoured woman to the floor and Hotspot felt more weight than he could withstand pressing down on his back.
___

"Whoops," said Blades, and the Centurion took advantage of his distraction to punch him in the head.
___

"Can't... hold it up..." gasped Hotspot. "Not... strong enough..."

The woman exchanged a look with the armoured bat creature. "Help him," she said.

The bat nodded, flapped her wings, transformed into a Powermaster engine and clamped onto Hotspot's chest. He felt a surge of power, and managed to straighten up, lifting the fallen upper levels of the warehouse with him. The woman scrambled forward to make safe the cloning vats.

TO BE CONCLUDED

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES

CONCLUSION

1991. The Battle of Klo.

On the southern land mass, Counterpunch revealed his true allegiance, transforming back into the Autobot Punch in order to come to the aid of Blurr, Chromedome, Gears, Hubcap and Red Alert, but the six of them together were soon overwhelmed by the superior firepower of Ruckus, Slugslinger, Treadshot, Triggerhappy and Windsweeper. The Autobot Motorvators rolled forward to take the place of their fallen comrades, but Doubledealer swooped down and raked them with fire from his solid-light blaster, while the Reflector trio, Spectro, Spyglass and Viewfinder, blasted Chainclaw and Ramhorn from three directions.

"Stop!" screamed Knok from her position plugged in behind Doubledealer's main gun.

"What?" protested Doubledealer.

"Look! Look around you! Look at what the Decepticons have done!"

The giant falcon blinked, taking in the sight of all the dead pink aliens for the first time since having arrived on board Grimlock's fleet, disguised as an Autobot.

He looked up as a series of flashes appeared in the sky - ships dropping out of hyperspace.

Sky Lynx. Countdown. The Astro Squad. Omega Supreme.

The Autobot reinforcements had arrived.

Doubledealer ejected Knok and Skar and landed.

"Go! Get out of here!"

"No," said Knok. "We can escape together. Transform yourself into an Autobot! After what the Decepticons have done here, no-one's going to be taking any prisoners."

Doubledealer looked around, first at all the dead natives, then at the wounded Autobots, Chromedome, Red Alert, Gripper and Chainclaw, rising to their feet, and finally at the approaching form of Omega Supreme casting a shadow over the battlefield.

"No," he said quietly. "That's not going to work this time."
___

1993. Earth.

"I was the last survivor of the ill-fated VsQs Exploration Team," said Knok. "Skar was the last survivor of her entire species. Something ate her world - Galactus, Unicron, it doesn't really matter. I felt fortunate by comparison. I swore I'd help her bring her people back... hence the cloning vats."

"And Doubledealer?" prompted First Aid.

She shrugged. "He saved us. That's all there was to it. And it wasn't all bad, travelling the Galaxy with him. I suppose it's like they say - you can't choose your family."

The Protectobots were silent and looked around at the ruin of the warehouse, the fallen Centurion droids and the six intact cloning vats, each with a new life growing inside. They looked at the two survivors.

What was it Prowl had called them? Earth's first line of defence against future Decepticon incursions. How had Hotspot responded? "It's what we were created for. It's our purpose."

Maybe so. But maybe they could also create purposes of their own.

"We'll help you," he said.

THE END

[Fortmax2020]

Excellent as always.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Thank you.

So we've had a Time Warrior story, a Minispy story and a Protectobots story.

Which toy poll will result in the next story-writing frenzy?

Martin

[Fortmax2020]

GESTALT WARS.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES

DELETED SCENE

"And Hotspot, about your colour scheme..."

"What's wrong with my colour scheme? I'll have you know there are literally... tens of blue fire engines on Earth... presumably some of them roadworthy... and, well, there isn't a human alive who would look at me and think I'm an odd colour for a fire engine..."

"(In Hull)" whispered Streetwise.

"...in Hull!" concluded Hotspot, defiantly.

"Especially if they were colour-blind," added Blades.

But Prowl had stopped listerning at the word 'literally'.

"We've got some new movement out there, Prowl," interrupted Trailbreaker.

END DELETED SCENE

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Aug 9, 2018 13:32:50 GMT Fortmax2020 said:

GESTALT WARS.

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES

BONUS CHAPTER

The Protectobots returned to Alternate Reality, Inc., the software company owned by Ethan Zachary. The security guard at the gate nodded them through.

"I don't know about you guys," said Groove, "but things got pretty serious out there today, and I can't wait to plug in and check out for a couple of hours of downtime on the Cloud-Steppes of Multi-World."

"I'm still amazed at how easily you 'bots can switch between the real world and a virtual world," said Ethan, coming out to meet them. "Don't you ever get confused as to what's real and what's not?"

"Not normally," said Streetwise. "But sometimes. Aren't humans the same? When you're dreaming, you sometimes mistake the dream for reality, don't you?"

"I suppose."

"Transformers need to shut down every so often," said Hotspot. "Take it as a compliment that we Protectobots favour spending our rest periods in the virtual worlds you've created for us."

"Believe me, I do," said Ethan. "But you said, 'Not normally.' So was there a time when the virtual reality had you Protectobots fooled?"

"Only once," muttered Blades.
___

"Nicely done, Superion," smiled Defensor. "You could say we grounded both our foes!"

"Hang on a minute," said Superion. "I'm picking up an Autobot distress call..."

"Superion - this is Optimus Prime. The Ark is under attack. Seems the power plant was just a diversion. We need you and Defensor back here now."

"Heck - that means..."

"Yeah, we'll have to leave laughing boy and his friend here unguarded. They're sure to escape."

"Can't worry about that now. Prime needs us..."

"There's never a moment's rest when you belong to one of the- WHAT THE-?! Where did that fog come from?"

"It's not fog!" shouted Air Raid. "There's nothing at all ahead of us - just a void!"

"Reverse course, Autobots!" ordered Silverbolt. "Regroup back at the power plant. We need to figure out what's going on around here ASAP."
___

"The Autobots are coming back," grunted Bruticus, rising painfully to his feet.

"Let's get out of here while we still can," said Menasor.

"Take your time," said Silverbolt, coming in to land. "We won't try to stop you. Return to your base... if you can."

A few minutes later, the Decepticons were back, thoroughly confused.
___

"Wow!" said Ethan Zachary. "You mean, that was the extent of the virtual world you were trapped inside?"

"'Trapped' isn't exactly the right word for it," said First Aid. "You see, those were our first memories. When we thought about it, we couldn't remember anything before Optimus Prime meeting us at the power plant and giving us our mission. The Creation Matrix created us that day, but it would be months before our minds were released from the Matrix into the brain modules in the physical bodies you see standing before you today."

"Incredible. So you and the other Special Teams lived together in the vicinity of that virtual power plant until Optimus Prime brought you into the real world."

"Yep. Well, not together, exactly. Once we worked out what was going on - to be fair, it was Skydive and Swindle who worked it out between them - we and the Decepticons kept to separate areas. We didn't get on, but there wasn't much point in fighting."

"The day Megatron came to steal the hydrothermocline was the first time we and the Combaticons met each other in the real world," said Blades. "But we already knew each other well, from our time in the Matrix."

"Damn," said Ethan. "However much time I spend around you guys, you keep finding new ways to surprise me. Okay then, what's it to be today?"

"I'm easy," said Hotspot. "Does Floppy Prime have a preference?"

"I don't know," said Ethan. "Let's ask him, shall we?" He flipped a switch.

"So," said the computer. "When do we start the next game, Ethan Zachary?"
___

On Cybertron, the Constructicons and Combaticons, forever banished from their planet of origin on pain of death, prepared to power down and enter their own virtual world - Earth.

THE END

[Fortmax2020]

Brilliant.

But were the Stunticons and Combaticons really Decepticons in the Matrix? Or were they all just Autobots?

And did nobody else notice the upgrade Ethan's computer got after 1986??

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Aug 10, 2018 21:39:53 GMT Fortmax2020 said:

And did nobody else notice the upgrade Ethan's computer got after 1986??

Well in 'Afterdeath' he was just using someone else's computer after office hours. In 'Pretender to the Throne' he had his own computer games company. I think it's fair to say he exploited Floppy Prime's software somewhat.

Martin

[Fortmax2020]

The fiend!

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

AUTOBOT CITY: CYBERTRON

The Autobot-Decepticon war ended in 1991 with the great battle on Hydrus Four, which saw the deaths of Bludgeon, Megatron, Overlord and Soundwave. With the governments of North America taking steps to destroy all fallen Decepticons recovered from ships and bases on Earth, peace returned to Cybertron. But victory for the Autobots came at a very high price, as the planet's population, which once numbered in the hundreds of thousands, now amounted to less than a thousand, including those surviving neutrals who were never given the gift of transformation.

Although contact had been re-established with the friendly Junkions and Lithones, races whose origins could be traced back to Cybertron, and although the Last Autobot's temporal powers were sufficient to restore recently fallen Autobots and Nebulans following the Battle of Klo, and Nucleon revived others whose bodies had been preserved intact, the Transformers killed fighting Unicron and in the millions of years of war and Decepticon rule on Cybertron were not coming back. The Creation Matrix was gone, and it was doubtful whether new Transformers would ever be built again. Those that remained were insufficient to populate a world the size of Cybertron, so other space-faring races moved in.

The Autobots claimed the city-state of Iacon for their own and consolidated their forces there. Those that had been created on Earth returned to their planet of origin to stand guard against any future Decepticon incursions, and a number of Cybertron-born Autobots also chose to go back to Earth, to see if they could live their lives peacefully amongst the humans. The surviving Autobot Headmasters, Chromedome, Nightbeat and Siren, returned to Nebulos, where they found the original head of Fortress Maximus still alive and sent it back to Cybertron. This living remnant of a once-great leader volunteered to become the sentient core of the new Autobot City in Iacon, and with the aid of plans obtained from an alternate future by the mysterious Autobot known as Time Warrior, Metroplex was born.

In robot mode, Metroplex has enormous strength. He can lift 70,000 tons. His armour is the equal of any Transformer's. To merely scratch it would require at least a low-yield nuclear explosion. In Autobot City mode, he has a helipad and ramps leading to a storage bay and various repair bays. He is able to service up to four vehicles at any one time. His left rear tower transforms into a tank called Slammer. Scamper, the small sports car berthed within Metroplex, carries side-mounted electro-blasters that shoot streams of 20,000-volt electricity. Six-Gun, the robot made literally of six guns and Metroplex's central tower, is a walking, talking artillery battery. Metroplex is mind-linked to Scamper, Six-Gun, and Slammer, and mostly uses them to scout and defend his periphery, although occasionally he'll send one or more on short missions. Metroplex's final form, the mobile battle station, is a wheeled platform whose formidable firepower makes him virtually untouchable. In this mode, Metroplex can have up to twelve pieces of artillery blazing away simultaneously.

Emirate Xaaron and Optimus Prime are frequently away on diplomatic missions with the Autobot space fleet, comprising Countdown, Sky Lynx and the Astro Squad, as they seek to re-establish peaceful relations with the rest of the Galaxy following millennia of robot war. In their absence, Prowl acts as chief administrator of Autobot City: Cybertron. The other members of the city's governing council are Downshift, Pointblank and Red Alert (security), Grapple, Perceptor and Wheeljack (science and technology), Groundshaker and Quickswitch (defence), and Grotusque, Overdrive and Trailbreaker (strategy). The city's maintenance and defence are delivered in part by a permanent resident population of Micromasters, consisting of the Air, Battle, Construction and Rescue Patrols and Metro Squad, together with the three Powerdashers, Camshaft, Cliffjumper, Cosmos, Doublecross, Huffer, Repugnus, Warpath, the Autobot Clones and the former Targetmasters, Crosshairs, Landfill, Quickmix and Scoop.

Not all the Cybertronian Autobots live in Autobot City. Many, such as Jackpot's Action Masters and Scattershot's Technobots, have struck out on their own, creating smaller fixed or transient Autobot communities living life on their own terms on a Cybertron where anything can happen.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

DECEPTICON CITY: CYBERTRON

After the war with Unicron, the battles on Klo and Hydrus Four, and the humans' clean-up of fallen Decepticons on Earth, very few Decepticons remain alive. The most powerful Decepticon to survive the war is Trypticon, the mighty mobile assault base. Too slow to reach the armies massed against Unicron in time to assist them, too antisocial to join Bludgeon's sham alliance with the Autobots, he remained covered by the Unicronian truce and, unlike Bludgeon, never broke the ceasefire. As a consequence, he found himself left alone by the Autobots when the fighting ceased. Other Decepticons who had declined to sign up with Bludgeon gravitated towards him for protection, and as he found himself no longer looked to as an engine of war but rather as a would-be protector, his long-standing hatred of everyone and everything abated, and he accepted his new role without complaint.

Pounce, Wingspan and the Micromaster Sports Car Patrol were the first to come to him seeking sanctuary, and he took them under his wing. A few survivors from Klo and Hydrus Four also came, but he turned them away, as they were still wanted by the Autobots. Frenzy, Reflector, Rumble and the Micromasters Grit and Knockout walked off back into the Cybertronian wilderness without complaint, but the giant dinosaur Decepticons, Overkill and Slugfest, took rejection badly and attacked Trypticon. Fortunately for him, the Combaticons and Constructicons had also joined him by this point, and the battle ended badly for the hostile duo. Together with Trypticon's drones, Brunt and Full-Tilt, the two combiner teams brought the number of Decepticons based in Kalis to twenty.

Teams of Autobots, including Boss's Turbomasters and Gripper's Motorvators, were known to be roaming the planet Cybertron, hunting down Decepticon fugitives. When a small Decepticon scout car arrived in Kalis, claiming to be all that remained of Overlord and seeking to recruit troops for a new Decepticon uprising, Trypticon considered him to be too dangerous to have running around loose, and sent an anonymous tip-off to Autobot City. Shortly afterwards, the Motorvators cornered the trouble-maker and brought his far-fetched story to an abrupt end.

With more and more aliens arriving each week to claim a piece of the Transformers' depopulated homeworld, Trypticon and Onslaught have now opened negotiations with the Autobots, seeking to upgrade their non-aggression pact to a mutual defence treaty. Meanwhile, the Constructicons have begun work on enhanced fortifications for their Kalis stronghold, not unlike those they had created for the Decepticons' coal mine base back on Earth.

Two other smaller groups of Decepticons are known to be still at large and technically still covered by the Unicronian truce. Gutcruncher and his followers, Axer, Banzai-Tron, Charger, Double Punch, Slicer, Take-Off and Turbo Master, have established themselves in the slag swamps. It is currently unknown whether or not they intend to make trouble for the Autobots. Astrotrain, Blitzwing, Dirge, Thrust and the Insecticons left Cybertron after Unicron was destroyed. It is uncertain how the Autobots would react to their return, for, while they helped to destroy Unicron, their names remain forever associated with the horrors of the Smelting Pool.

Nobody has seen the Predacons since the disbanding of Grimlock's Autobot Earthforce in 1990.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES: MINEFIELD

PART 1

Peacemaker was drinking coffee at the bar in his favourite diner and idly trying to calculate the probability of another beautiful woman sidling up to him to deliver a cryptic warning message before physically humiliating him and then vanishing out of his life. Which wasn't exactly what Knok had done, since he had grabbed her arm first, and they had seen each other twice since then on a purely professional basis. But still, he felt there was a lot of ice there to be melted before he could broach the subject of maybe spending some time together, you know, one human from another world to another...

A repeat of the previous scene looked exceedingly unlikely. Unusually, the bar was virtually empty today, and not just of beautiful women. Come to think of it, now Peacemaker considered it, the diner was completely empty! Had they closed early for some reason and neglected to tell him to leave? He leaned over the bar, looking for the waitress.

A person slid into the seat next to him. He turned, and his shoulders slumped.

"You're not a beautiful woman," he grumbled.

"Thank you for confirming that for me, Mr... Peacemaker, isn't it? Is that your real name?"

"I tell people I have Native American blood in me, that usually does the trick. Is Fury your real name?"

"I tell people to butt out of what doesn't concern them if they don't want a broken nose, that usually does the trick. Mister, you're in all kinds of trouble today and I just couldn't resist coming down here to tell you about it in person."

"Oh, great. Look, I know the Protectobots should have turned the thieving shrikebat and her stolen equipment in to the human authorities, but they just couldn't be sure that the clones wouldn't have been aborted if they'd done that. By sending them across the Space Bridge to Cybertron, they can be confident that the clones will live, and the owners of the equipment will still get their stuff back. There will just be a little delay, that's all, and then my government, yours and the Autobots can sit down and talk about which planet is the most suitable new home for a race of cybernetic bats. Give us a break, will you? We're talking about an endangered species, here."

"Nice speech, pal," said the Director of SHIELD, as Peacemaker reached for his coffee. "But I don't care about any of that. None of it is in the public domain, and anything that is kept secret can be handled. You should be more worried about what is in the public domain."

He slapped a newspaper down on the counter. The headline read, 'HOIST GOES TO HOLLYWOOD'. Peacemaker spat out a mouthful of coffee and looked for a napkin. The staff were still nowhere to be seen.

"Well, that's just brilliant," he spluttered. "As if Micromasters on chat shows wasn't enough... But still, what's it got to do with me? I'm not responsible for what Autobot civilians get up to on this planet."

"No, you're just the guy responsible for tracking down his fellow Nebulans - the ones allied to the Decepticons, that is - and quietly sending them back where they came from to stand trial on their homeworld."

"Yes, you've known about that for years. What's the problem? I've nearly got them all."

"The problem is on page 6 of that newspaper. Like I said, what's not in the public domain can be handled. Trouble is, this is now in the public domain. One of your friends, I think you call him Fracas, has surfaced in Europe. And... he's got himself a lawyer."

TO BE CONTINUED

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES: MINEFIELD

PART 2

"A... lawyer? As an extra-terrestrial, can he do that?"

"A judge says yes, apparently. DNA analysis shows him to be 100% human, although you'd have to go back several thousand years to find an ancestor in common with any current citizen of Earth. There's nothing in law to say human rights don't apply to humans who happen to have been born in outer space."

"Well, I'll be damned... I didn't think he was that clever."

"He doesn't have to be clever. All it takes is to cross paths with a clever lawyer who can smell the money, and they'll take care of everything for you."

"Money?"

"You're a law enforcement officer, aren't you? Don't they have lawyers on Nebulos?"

"Sure, but they're all employees of the state."

Nick Fury snorted. "Well, here on Earth, lawyers work for anyone, and they work for money."

"Where do you think Fracas got the money to hire a clever lawyer?"

"He doesn't need money. The lawyer will get the money later. Don't you see? This is a big case that's going to open a whole can of worms. It's going to chart new ground, and lead to more cases further down the road. It'll be career-making, whichever way it goes. Lawyers will be falling over each other to get a piece of the action, as will the media. However it ends, every lawyer involved will make a ton of money out of it in the long run."

"So where does that leave us?"

"What is the status of the other Nebulans you've arrested?"

"Hairsplitter, Singe, Sunbeam and Zigzag were the first to be captured, at the end of the Matrix Quest, and were dropped off on Nebulos by the Ark in the Earth year 1990. They have been tried and convicted and sentenced to prison sentences of varying durations. We got Blowpipe and Caliburst on Klo in 1991, and my detective colleague Muzzle took them back to Nebulos with him the following year. Their trial is currently under way. And then we got Heater and Tiptop in the last few weeks. They're due to be shipped out shortly."

"I'd get them off-planet right now if I were you. If word gets out about them and they lawyer up, you may lose them."

"Lose them?"

"Trust me on this. But let's talk about your pal, Fracas." Fury noted Peacemaker taking another sip of coffee. "Or, as he's now calling himself, Frank Casserole."

Peacemaker discharged his coffee all over the counter again. The corner of Nick's mouth twitched ever so slightly.

"We were going to let you have him, if you caught him quietly," the Director of SHIELD continued. "But now his story's out, and my political masters have insisted on seeing our files on him."

"And?"

"They want him to stand trial in America."

"What? What for?"

"Well, for starters, for the shooting down of three Grumman F-14 Tomcats over the Oregon Cascades in 1988, and the deaths of four airmen. He's a terrorist in the eyes of the current administration."

"How can they prove it was his finger on the trigger, rather than the Decepticon Scourge?"

"That's for lawyers to argue and a jury to decide. Of course, he'll claim he had no choice but to go along with the Decepticons."

"So when does the trial start?"

"You're not listening. He's in Europe. Read the European Convention on Human Rights. He's going to fight extradition to America on the grounds that we have the death penalty. And he'll also fight any attempts to extradite him to Nebulos. His lawyers can tie the case up for years as the courts struggle to establish their position in respect of the Nebulan justice system. This kind of thing has never been done before. His lawyers will argue that the courts can't rule until they've seen the Nebulan system for themselves. We're talking about Earth lawyers going to Nebulos to watch your laws in action. I said it'll take years - I take that back. Decades is more like it."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you've lost him, that's what. But count yourself lucky. Things could be a lot worse."

"How's that?"

"Well, the way I see it, the Autobots are going to be dragged into this before too long. The lawyers that aren't busy arguing over the legal rights of Nebulans will start exploring whether Transformers should be afforded the same rights as humans."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Well, sure, but suppose the law had recognised the rights of Transformers before we had permanently decommissioned all those deactivated Decepticons? Imagine if Galvatron, Shockwave and Starscream had lawyers making representations for their right to a fair trial?"

"The Autobots would have given them a fair trial."

"Yes, so it was mighty convenient for them that we got to them first, saving them that moral quagmire. We got our hands dirty for them. Except that we had help from your pal, First Aid, who supervised their destruction."

"He was just there for safety purposes. Galvatron and Shockwave had advanced nuclear reactors inside them."

"Yeah. But he didn't object to what we were doing."

"I guess his dedication to safeguarding the Earth must have overridden all other ethical considerations."

"Rationalise it all you want. The Autobots are pragmatists, same as the rest of us."

"Anything else?"

"Nope, that's all for today. We can talk about customs checks on your Space Bridge some other time. See ya round."

Fury left the diner, and within a minute the waitress returned and frowned at the spilt coffee and the smell of tobacco smoke. Soon afterwards, other customers began to arrive in ones and twos.

THE END

[Grand Moff Muffin]

EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES: MINEFIELD

BONUS CHAPTER

Omega Supreme reluctantly fired his plasma blaster on low power, testing Defensor's force-field.

"Double it," said Defensor.

Omega complied, and Defensor's force-field held. Omega powered down his weapon, unwilling to risk pushing it any further. The Protectobots had proven their point.

Superion moved in and locked arms with the smaller Protectobot combiner, expecting to find his energy reserves depleted after his exertions with the force-field. To his amazement, he was unable to prevent Defensor from pushing him back.

"Enough," said Jetfire.

The combiners disengaged, and the Protectobots separated. Knok unfastened herself from Hotspot, transforming back into her human form.

"Omega's in no danger of Defensor replacing him as Earth's mightiest Heroic Autobot," conceded Hotspot. "But at a conservative estimate I'd say our power levels were at least doubled by having a Powermaster engine in place. You never know when knowledge like that might come in handy."
___

"You're not a coffee drinker, then?"

"No. We had it on Cameron, same as on Earth and Nebulos, but I never developed a taste for it. What we didn't have was this amazing drinkable and edible substance - chocolate!"

"Funny, we didn't have chocolate on Nebulos either."

"It kind of makes sense. The cocoa bean is native to America, and there were no humans in America at the time whoever it was came from outer space and abducted our respective ancestors."

"Maybe they weren't abducted. Maybe they volunteered. They were allowed to take coffee with them, after all, for which I'm eternally grateful."

"So what's it like being a Targetmaster?"

"Nothing special, really. When I put on my armour, I get to transform into a stereophonic sonic blaster. They call it binary-bonding, but that's a bit misleading. I'm not physically tied to one specific robot. Neither are you, it would seem."

"I'm not going to turn into Doubledealer the way HiQ turned into Optimus Prime, and Double Powermasters don't end up permnantly merging with their robot partners, as happened with Getaway and Slapdash, and with Darkwing and Dreadwind before they died on Hydrus Four. But Skar and I both still possess some of Doubledealer's memories. He was a... complicated individual. I'm not the same person I was before I met him, and I don't think I could ever go back to my former life at Cameron Space Control."

"You'd miss the chocolate if you did."

"Not really. How do you think I was able to afford that warehouse and hire those goons to help Skar steal all the cloning equipment she needed? You're looking at the girl who sold the cocoa bean to the planet Cameron. Not to mention the potato and the tomato. Want to go into business? I'm always on the look-out for potential new markets."

"You're on," he grinned. "But we'd better move quickly, before Earth beats us to it. Fury was talking about stationing customs controls on the Space Bridge, and that's the first step to imposing tariffs on traded goods."

"Forget the Space Bridge. I have a space-skimmer stashed away that can do the round trip to Nebulos in under a month. We'll be back before they've even had time to notice we're gone."

THE END

[Grand Moff Muffin]

FACT-FILE INTERFACE

AUTOBOTS ON EARTH

There is no Autobot City on Earth. No-one would even have considered such a preposterous idea, had Unicron not planted the thought in Smokescreen's mind in 1986, and had Time Warrior not seen it for himself whilst on a brief foray into an alternate future. No, with the Decepticons gone, the Autobots on Earth are a highly dispersed community. The closest they have to a base of operations is whichever of the nine designated landing zones dotted around the planet happens to be playing host to Spanner's Space Bridge and Omega Supreme on a given day. Each of these sites includes refuelling facilities (courtesy of G.B. Blackrock) and an airstrip, and together they enable Jetfire and the Aerialbots to respond to distress calls received from anywhere on Earth in double-quick time.

The only other Autobots permitted by the United Nations to routinely carry weapons on Earth are the Protectobots, who work in close co-operation with both G.I. Joe and SHIELD. They are a highly mobile unit, operating anywhere on the planet, but their home base is Ethan Zachary's software company, Alternate Reality, Inc., located in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California (around 150 miles north of the Space Bridge's U.S. West Coast landing zone), which, besides making computer games, also serves as the World Wide Web's first line of defence against Decepticon cyber-attack.

The other Autobots active on Earth are here in a purely civilian capacity. The Micromaster Off Road and Race Car Patrols thrive on publicity and make regular television appearances, often performing dangerous stunts never before attempted by humans. They are in great demand in the film industry. By contrast, Beachcomber, Brawn, Hound, Seaspray and Ultra Magnus shun society, travelling the globe incognito, enjoying the wild and natural beauty of Earth and making only infrequent contact with humans and their fellow Autobots.

Others, such as Jazz, Skids and Tracks, just enjoy cruising around, making friends and soaking up Earthen culture, while Bumblebee has returned to Oregon to renew his acquaintance with Buster Witwicky, now married to Jessie, whose daughter has displayed early signs of being able to levitate and manipulate mechanical objects with her mind. With the energy of Creation Matrix scattered across Cybertron, the Autobots currently have no way of creating new Transformer life, so to say this development is of great interest to them would be an understatement. It is being kept a closely guarded secret. If anyone asks, they will be told that Katy Witwicky is an early developing mutant.

In 1993, eight further Autobots elected to travel from Cybertron to Earth. Bluestreak has joined Bumblebee in Portland to provide discreet protection for the Witwicky family. Hoist has set up shop in Los Angeles, where he is available to provide maintenance to any of his fellow Autobots, while at the same time giving the Micromasters some competition in the movie stakes. Inferno, Ironhide and Powerglide have formally signed up to carry out search and rescue missions for the United Nations, saving lives in the places that human rescuers cannot go. Pipes is collecting Earth memorabilia for a museum he proposes to establish back on Cybertron, Smokescreen is promoting demolition derbies, and Swerve has been recruited by Stark Enterprises as a metallurgical consultant.

Having cut all ties back home, the former Targetmaster Nebulans codenamed 'Boomer', 'Firebolt', 'Flintlock', 'Holepunch', 'Pinpointer', 'Ricochet', 'Silencer' and 'Tracer' are seeking to establish new civilian lives here on Earth. The Nebulan law enforcement officer known as Peacemaker continues to work with the Autobots, as does Knok, a human astronaut from the planet Cameron whose team was slaughtered by a monster whilst exploring the moon VsQs, and who only survived thanks to being rescued by the mercenary Doubledealer, to whom she became binary-bonded as a Powermaster, travelling the Galaxy with him until his untimely death on the planet Klo.

No-one has seen the Dinobots since they returned to the Savage Land with an ailing Snarl in 1992.

FILE ENDS

[Grand Moff Muffin]

THE RULES OF THE GRAND MOFF MARTINVERSE

This universe contains the following stories:

The Marvel Transformers comics from issue #1 (September 1984) up to and including events that take place in the year 1992, i.e. including 'Another Time and Place' and 'Destiny of the Dinobots', but no further. 'Generation 2' doesn't happen because Megatron and Bludgeon died in 'Another Time and Place'. Jhiaxus, the Liege Maximo and the Cybertronian Empire do not exist. 'Regeneration 1' does not happen because the Autobots and humans are not that stupid. Events in the Marvel Transformers comics taking place from 1995 onwards ('Prime's Rib', the animated movie, 'Space Pirates', 'Aspects of Evil', etc.) don't happen because Unicron died in 'On the Edge of Extinction'. However, there have been time-travelling visitors from that timeline, as well as from the 'Rhythms of Darkness' timeline. The Earthforce stories occurred before the battle with Unicron. 'The Last Minispy' explains how.

The Marvel G.I. Joe comics from issue #1 (June 1982) to issue #137 (June 1993). Events in subsequent issues do not happen because Megatron died in 'Another Time and Place'. G.I. Joe sometimes goes by the name of Action Force when operating in Europe, allowing the Action Force / Transformers crossover and other Action Force stories to be included in the timeline. However, the original Marvel G.I. Joe / Transformers crossover is not included as we only require one origin for Goldbug.

Other Marvel superhero comics published around the same time as these Transformers and G.I. Joe comics. This includes X-Men titles up to and including Uncanny X-Men #317 and X-Men #37 (October 1994), i.e. up to the end of 'The Phalanx Covenant', but not 'Age of Apocalypse'. The presence of Autobots on Earth, and the establishment of diplomatic relations between Earth, Nebulos and Cameron, cause the timeline to diverge from the mainstream Marvel universe from this point forward. The Marvel sliding timescale does not apply, and characters age in real time.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

MARVEL SUPERHEROES MEET THE TRANSFORMERS

PART 1

The Phalanx Covenant Book 3: Final Sanction (Cable #16):

October 1994, Mount Everest. Approaching the point of divergence.

Cameron Hodge: "An unidentified aircraft has penetrated our sensor screen!"

Stephen Lang: "Reformat! Spread the Citadel away from the point of impact!"
___

Spanner: "Anomaly! Large scale transformation!"

Omega Supreme: "Are you sure it's not another shape-changing castle built by humans?"

Spanner: "Yes. This signature appears to be extra-terrestrial in origin."

Omega Supreme: "Possible Decepticons? I shall inform Commander Jetfire."
___

Wolverine: "Looks like the whole Phalanx is taking the long ride down the steep side of Mount Everest!"

Storm: "How many living, thinking entities were in there, Jean? Are they still a psionic presence?"

Phoenix: "Oh, Storm - they are like lights, blinking out one by one."

Cable: "Don't feel too sorry for them. Remember what they were trying to do!"

Archangel, Beast, Bishop, Cable, Cyclops, Gambit, Iceman, Phoenix, Psylocke, Rogue, Storm and Wolverine watched the final bastion of techno-organic sentience on planet Earth crumble and fade into nothingness. Then, out of the billowing clouds of dust and snow rose a shape...

It was a British Aerospace Sea Harrier Jump Jet, with no pilot.

Slingshot: "You humans are a long way from Base Camp. Do you require transportation?"

Cyclops: "'Humans?' Is this a new manifestation of the Phalanx?"

Beast: "Don't you ever read the newspapers, fearless leader? It's a Transformer."

Cable: "If that cockpit has heating, I'll accept the lift and save the introductions for later."

Bishop: "There isn't room in that thing for all of us."

Psylocke: "Look again, Bishop... He's brought a friend."

A Concorde supersonic transport hove into view, held aloft on alien thrusters.

TO BE CONTINUED

[manmiles]

MSN, I read Phalanx Covensnt back in the day... memories.

I liked it, although I’m left wondering if Transformers are susceptible to the Transmode Virus.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Sept 24, 2018 23:07:58 GMT manmiles said:

MSN, I read Phalanx Covensnt back in the day... memories.

I liked it, although I’m left wondering if Transformers are susceptible to the Transmode Virus.

Thanks.

Doesn't really matter if my two-and-a-half readers get what's going on here. The point is that there was an X-Men comic around the time I want to diverge from mainstream Marvel continuity that contained a shape-shifting fortress, which here attracts the attention of the Transformers much as Castle Destro did in G.I. Joe #138.

Martin

[Grand Moff Muffin]

MARVEL SUPERHEROES MEET THE TRANSFORMERS

PART 2

Normally when heroes meet for the first time they misinterpret each other's intentions and have a fight before becoming allies. That didn't happen when the Phalanx's shape-shifting Citadel (now destroyed) made the Autobots suspect Decepticon activity on Earth, leading the Aerialbots to run into the X-Men. Why did the heroes skip the traditional misunderstanding and fight on this occasion? They skipped it because it's far too cold on the top of Mount Everest. Oxygen was also an issue.

The Aerialbots helped the X-Men down the mountain, and Cyclops and Storm agreed to go and meet their leader, Jetfire, to recount their experience with the Phalanx. The Autobots had not encountered the Phalanx before, but the technology that they used to remotely detect fellow Cybertronians transforming on Earth apparently also detected Phalanx activity. In recent weeks, the Protectobots had been on several wild goose chases looking for Decepticons who were never there, and the X-Men confirmed that they all coincided with the presence of individuals who were subsequently revealed to be Phalanx agents.

All this was incredibly important, because it meant that thanks to the Autobots, they now had the ability to monitor Earth for Phalanx activity and detect them immediately should they rise again. Months later, Phalanx from outer space did indeed return and attempted to substitute themselves for X-Men for a second time, but thanks to the technology shared by the Autobots, they failed, and when Gladiator arrived on Earth seeking the X-Men's help to save the Shi'Ar Empire from destruction by the Phalanx, the X-Men were in a position to swiftly turn the tide of that interstellar conflict for the sake of their friends.
___

Another consequence of the X-Men's meeting with the Autobots was that, through them, they were introduced to the mutant former members of the Neo-Knights - Katrina Vesotsky (Rapture), Lee Gruber (Thunderpunch) and Hector Dialonzo (Dynamo). The first two of these were in full control of their mutant powers, but Hector, who possessed the greatest destructive force, was still afraid of his abilities, which tended to get out of control when his emotions took over, putting innocent lives at risk. He accepted Professor Charles Xavier's invitation to take up residence at the X-Mansion and work with him to better understand and control his powers. The Professor also thought that Katrina's skills could be useful in the treatment of the captive Sabretooth, and she agreed to assist him for a time.
___

Meanwhile, Spike Witwicky, still partnered with Cerebros, who Hoist had re-engineered so that he now transformed into a silver Honda NSX rather than into a giant robot head, had been given reserve status by the Avengers and was next in line for full membership of Earth's mightiest heroes...

TO BE CONTINUED

[Grand Moff Muffin]

MARVEL SUPERHEROES MEET THE TRANSFORMERS

PART 3

Learning from the Autobots that the humans of the planets Cameron and Nebulos possessed more advanced medical knowledge than Earth's doctors, Dr Hank McCoy (Beast) left Earth for a few months in 1995 and returned with a cure for the deadly Legacy Virus currently sweeping through Earth's mutant population.

Piotr Rasputin (Colossus) was wracked with grief that the virus had been stopped two years too late to save his little sister Illyana. He went to Reed Richards and begged him to use the Fantastic Four's time machine to go back two years and deliver the cure into the hands of the X-Men of 1993 so that lives could be saved. Richards refused to meddle with history in this way, and Colossus left angrily through a wall.

In desperation, he sought out Dr Stephen Strange, who also possessed the power to travel through time, and made the same demand of him. Strange refused for the same reasons as Richards. However, he offered Colossus an alternative.

Despite being magically spared the usual human ageing process, Strange had an eye on his future retirement, and wished to train a successor up from scratch to eventually take his place. Strange wanted a student who possessed an affinity with the Mystic Arts and the potential to be Earth's mightiest Defender against supernatural threats, but who had not encountered magic to date. Where to find such a student?

Colossus gave him the obvious answer - in the past, in the year 1982, before his sister was transported to the demomic realm of Limbo and learned its dark secrets. The Illyana Rasputin of 1982 had both the potential and the innocence that Strange sought in a trainee successor. But Strange would not meddle with history. At least, not with the history of his own timeline.

Dr Strange used the Orb of Agamotto to make contact with an alternate reality where the alien Brood had over-run the Earth and wiped out humanity ten years earlier, shortly after Illyana's abduction to Limbo. The six-year-old Illyana had no future in that timeline, so with her brother's blessing, Strange plucked her out of her reality before she encountered the demon dimension and brought her into his own, and the year 1995. Brother and sister were reunited, and the Master of the Mystic Arts had his new apprentice.

Twenty years later, Illyana would succeed Stephen Strange as Sorceress Supreme, custodian of the Book of the Vishanti, the Eye and Orb of Agamotto, the Wand of Watoomb and the Cloak of Levitation, and would successfully defend the Earth of 2015 from an invasion by an alien sorcerer called Mumm-Ra who wielded a dark Sword of Omens and commanded a horde of magically enhanced Reptilians from the planet Plun-darr.
___

While all this was going on, Professor Xavier helped Hector Dialonzo learn to control his powers, and the Beast recommended Dynamo for possible future consideration as a Avenger. At the same time, Scarlett and Snake-Eyes had a baby son...

TO BE CONCLUDED

[Grand Moff Muffin]

MARVEL SUPERHEROES MEET THE TRANSFORMERS

CONCLUSION

In the year 1995, the Avengers' core members consisted of the Black Widow, Captain America, Crystal Maximoff, Deathcry, Giant-Man, Hercules and Quicksilver. By chance this team found itself in the middle of a G.I. Joe operation aiming to bring down the terrorist organisation, Cobra, and although not strictly within their remit, the Avengers decided to lend a hand. Cobra were unprepared for the Joes to have such allies by their side, and were utterly destroyed.

In 1998, Rocket Raccoon, Lylla and Wal Rus teamed up with Sky Lynx to save the robots of Halfworld from a band of marauding Mecannibals, and then spent three years travelling the Galaxy on board the Autobot shuttle before parting company with him.

In 2003, Optimus Prime would ally himself with the Silver Surfer to expose and drive out an infestation of Dire Wraiths on the planet Klo. That same year, Galactus would approach the planet Nebulos. The Last Autobot would travel from Cybertron to intercept Galactus. What occurred between them would never be known, as the Last Autobot would never return from their meeting, though Galactus would turn back and not come near the planet that he had originally intended to consume.

By the year 2005, the Avengers' line-up would consist of Energizer (Katie Power), Hector Dialonzo (Dynamo), Jocasta, Kitty Pride (Shadowcat), Lockheed, Spike Witwicky (Cerebros) and X-51 (Machine Man). This team would be the last to encounter Ultron and would succeed in utterly destroying him, though final victory over the robot psychopath would ultimately cost Dynamo his life.

In 2008, the mercenary Death's Head would assist an alliance of Asgardians and Olympians in hunting down Thanos. Together, they would kill the mad Titan for the sake of all life in the Galaxy, and Death's Head would walk away with the biggest pay cheque of his career.

Ten years later, in 2018, the core Avengers on Earth would be Daniel O'Hara (Laserblade, son of Scarlett and Snake-Eyes), Franklin Richards (Tattletale), Illyana Rasputin (Sorceress Supreme), Lady Sif, Swift (one of the Midnight Wreckers seen in a parallel timeline in Machine Man Volume 2), Thor and the Vision.

THE END