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Command Center

The following message appears on the command console in front of Kup:

”Incoming Priority 1 Transmission for Kup from Autobot Garrison on Earth (Encrypted) – Authorization codes required.”


-- Message Decrypted --

From: Prowl – Military Strategist and Commander of Earth Infiltration Team

Kup, the situation here has taken a tragic turn. I am sorry to report that during a recent assault on the Decepticon Earth Base, Optimus Prime was lost in a massive explosion and volcanic eruption that leveled the facility and left the entire area an utter wasteland. Fortunately, all other Autobots are accounted for, suffering a variety of injuries, but none life threatening. Recently, a small team was dispatched to conduct a search for Prime and to investigate strange energy readings that were emanating from the blast site. New readings were obtained successfully, but Optimus was nowhere to be found and is presumed dead. Unfortunately, the region is now too unstable to conduct another more thorough search.

It is also presumed that Megatron is lost, as well, since he and Prime were fighting one another deep within the Decepticon Base at the time of the explosion. Current status of enemy forces is unknown, but it is highly probable that Starscream will take command. Their current location is also unknown but are likely residing in the Ultrax somewhere in Earth’s orbit. Hot Spot has been tasked with locating their ship with the intention of attacking it if the opportunity presents itself.

The Ark-19 has also suffered severe damage in a Decepticon air strike which has flooded a substantial portion of the ship. The vessel is salvageable and Ironhide is currently forming a team to initiate repairs. Until then the Guardian is serving as our new base of operations in Earth’s orbit.

It has become necessary to recall you and your team to Earth in order to reinforce our position here and to also sort out who will lead the Autobots as a whole. Share this information with whom you must. Other Autobot commanders across the galaxy will be notified of the situation shortly.

Good luck, Kup. I hope to see you here as soon as possible.

- End message -

Iacon

Howlstrike nodded when Rodimus gave him the order to follow Shockwave back to his tower. "Understood. I will alert you the moment I see anything." Giving a departing nod to Grimlock and Wheeljack, the Autobot tracker then transformed into his timber wolf mode and headed off in the direction the cycloptic mech had flown.

Howlstrike kept a reasonably safe distance while darting in and out of the various ruined structures as he monitored the purple mech's movements overheard. This was exactly the type of mission he excelled in, one where his tracking capabilities could come in handy. Unfortunately, his heightened sense of smell was mostly useless as the powerful Decepticon was airborne and left no trace of his travels on the ground. Still, there was the faint stench of Shockwave’s exhaust fumes hanging precariously in the air that allowed Howl to keep tabs on him.

Howlstrike stopped for a moment as he approached the Iacon border region. Keeping within the shadows of a half destroyed building, the former Predacon watched as the cyclopic mech flew out of Autobot territory, heading directly towards Polyhex. Howl took a deep breath, knowing that it was quite possible that he might spot Razorclaw and the other Preds while keeping watch on the tower. It would take all of his willpower not to engage his ex-teammates. While his lust for vengeance still lingered deep within his circuitry, it would be unwise to give in to his desires under these circumstances. He would be greatly outnumbered and outmatched, which would only result in his capture or termination. No, revenge would have to wait for another time.

Once Shockwave had gone ahead, the mechanical wolf emerged from the shadows and crossed the Iacon border, heading straight for enemy territory.

Command Center

Kup had been monitoring the goings on between Shockwave and the Autobot team over the open radio frequency. He didn’t agree with everything Hot Rod was saying. Frankly the Autobot was overstepping his bounds big time. He wasn’t sure if they would be able to fulfill all of the promises he was making, but at the very least he was keeping Shockwave talking.

The old warrior did have ponder Shockwave’s sudden and abrupt withdraw from Iacon. Grimlock was liable to throw a fit about that. There was a lot of history there, history that had remained buried on Earth until they got dug up. To everyone else that vendetta was long in the past and barely remembered, but for the Dinobot leader it probably felt like it just happened yesterday. He had to have been itching for a rematch with Shockwave and now he was gone.

Kup’s thoughts were interrupted by the urgent message from Earth. He routed the signal through his command chair and read it on his private viewscreen. He clenched his jaw as he read the devastating news. It was about the worst news he could have gotten, but he wasn’t going to let it show. You let depression or fear show around the younger ones and it would spread like wildfire. This wasn’t exactly the first Prime he had outlived either, so he had been there before. This was going to be a lot worse though, as no Prime had been as important or beloved as this one.

The Autobot stood up and sent a signal to Hot Rod. >>”Hot Rod, get your team back here ASAP. We are locking up the base and heading back to Earth immediately. Have Grimlock meet me in the conference room while you organize everyone else in getting the ship prepped for take off.”<< Kup looked over at Springer. “Come with me lad, we have something to discuss.” With the orders given he marched out of the room.

*

Springer smiled back at Bluestreak. “I’m not sure if anyone can talk as long as you can Blue, although Kup can certainly lose a lot of time in one of his stories.” Springer was rather enjoying himself at this point. While he wouldn’t mind being on the front lines somewhere he wasn’t going to object to some quiet time in base. You so rarely got those opportunities in the war, especially for mechs like him. You had to enjoy every slow moment you got, since you never knew when you would get another.

The triplechanger’s optics lit up when the priority message came through the communication’s console. He couldn’t read it of course but that kind of priority was definitely a red flag. He passed it on to Kup and waited for his response. When he got it he knew that this particular slow moment was now over. He followed the other Autobot off of the command center.

*

Iacon

Events moved very fast all of a sudden. Shockwave abruptly left before he could find his opportunity to take him out. Then Rodimus was giving him orders to stay behind with Wheeljack while he did something technical. He hadn’t really been paying much attention, focused as he was on Shockwave’s withdrawal.

The Dinobot produced his sword, using it to point at Rodimus. “You let one of most powerful Decepticons around fly around Autobot base, drop probes, then leave without shot fired. After that, you think you can order me around? Me thinking you got bigger body, maybe stronger, maybe tougher, but brains not improve. If anything you get dumber. Thought you understood war, but you even dumber then Optimus.”

Grimlock stalked right up to Rodimus, his visor glowing a bright red as he looked him in the optics. “Me only going to say this once. You never order me around again, not for real or show. Me not interested in watching Wheeljack do experiments. Need to be busy planning how to take down Decepticons, including the one who just flew out of her without a scratch!” The last part was yelled into the other Autobots face. Grimlock brought his empty left hand up and gave Rodimus a hard shove as he stalked back to the base on his own.

Command Center

Snarl led the Dinobots back into the command center, having just come from the med bay where he had received a quick recharge. The Desert Warrior was just in time to overhear Kup sending a message to Hot Rod about packing everything up and going back to Earth. The old timer then ordered Springer to follow him and both mechs quickly disappeared from sight. Snarl knew that something was going on and he feared the worst as he approached the only other ‘Bot left in the room. “Bluestreak, what’s going on? What we miss?” The Dinobot demanded from the Autobot gunner.

Bluestreak turned around in his chair and regarded Snarl with a smile. “Oh, hey there, big guy. Well, Springer and I were discussing whether Shockwave should be trusted or not and whether he had an escape plan and what his true intentions here were. Of course, I don’t think we should trust any ‘Con, but that’s just me. Then the topic came up about how Kup can be a bit of a chatter box like myself when he gets to telling his old war stories, but we were interrupted when we suddenly received a Priority 1 transmission. Now it seems we’re leaving for Earth as a result. Personally, I think there’s something else going on as Kup is having a private meeting with....”

“Shut up!” Snarl bellowed at the gunner, agitation creeping into his prehistoric circuits. “Me didn’t ask you for every last boring detail. Me heard what Kup just said. Me just want to know about Grimlock. Is he okay and what of Shockwave?”

“Oh, well Grimlock and the others are fine and are returning to the base as we speak. As for Shockwave, I think he’s gone back to Polyhex now after conducting whatever research he was here for. He abruptly left not long before we received the transmission from Earth. Maybe there’s some connection. I’m sure we’ll find out more soon. Although, I have to say that I don’t like the idea of leaving Cybertron with the ‘Cons still on planet. It’s basically giving them an open invitation to just take over. Unless, of course, they’re leaving too, which I guess is possible considering we don't really know what’s happening back on....”

The Desert Warrior growled under his breath as he raised up one hand to signal Bluestreak to stop talking. “That’s enough. Me don’t need to hear anymore.” Snarl then moved away from the silver and black mech in order to stave off having to listen to any more of his endless babbling. Instead, Snarl positioned himself across the room with the rest of the Dinobots as they waited for Grimlock and the others to return.

"Well, that was just rude," Bluestreak muttered quietly to himself. He then turned back around to face the console in front of him where he closely monitored the progress of the Autobot team as they headed back to base. It was then he noticed that one signal in particular was no longer present amongst the returning group. "Hey, wait an astrosec. Where the frag is Howlstrike?"

Iacon

Rodimus watched almost impassively as Shockwave vanished from sight and Howlstrike followed suit. He shook his head gently before he turned around only to be confronted an irate Grimlock. The Dinobot was upset about the Decepticon getting away and the fact that he had been ordered back to base. Grimlock then quickly closed the distance between them and glared directly into Rodimus’ optics. The young mech did not back down from the former gladiator and once he was finished with his tantrum, Rodimus simply took the hard shove in stride and watched Grimlock stalk back to base.

The self- proclaimed Autobot leader turned back to look over the landscape beyond Iacon and let out a low growl. These creatures are unpredictable. I will need some time amongst a larger group, but… It was then that he received the communique from Kup. The corners of his mouth curled upward into a smirk only to fade again before he turned back to the others.

“All right every one. I’ve just received a message from Kup. We need to head back base; it appears that we’re going to be leaving and heading back to Earth. Let’s get going.”

He motioned toward the base while he opened a link with Grimlock.

>>”Grimlock. Kup wants you to meet him in the conference room when you get back to base.”<<

After sending the message he quickly opened up a link with Howlstrike.

>>”Howlstrike, it’s Rodimus. Change of plans; head back to base. We’re heading back to Earth.”<<

Upon completion of his comms, Rodimus began to make his way back to base.

Swoop got back to the Repair bay just a little too late, and the other Dinobots had already gone. Hopefully non of them had noticed his absence!

He began a base-wide scan, and shortly, three small dots popped up, representing Snarl, Slag, and Sludge.

Swoop ran down the hallways to the Command Center, where the other Dinobots were located. He peered around the corner to find them standing against the wall. He slowly inched his way into the room and next to the other Dinobots...

Conference Room

Kup was the first to enter the room, followed shortly by Springer. Kup wasn’t about to start until they were all there and so the two of them waited awkwardly in silence. Finally Grimlock walked into the room with a slightly angry stomp. Kup quickly shut and locked the door before turning to the other two Autobots.

“Now I know you’re angry Grimlock, but we don’t have time for that now. Something much slagging bigger then anything going on here happened back on Earth and we are heading back their immediately.”

Grimlock could still feel the anger boiling inside of him, but he stowed it away for now. He still did respect Kup, so he would let it go, for now. “Fine.” Springer simply nodded silently.

“Alright then,” Kup continued. “I just received a priority 1 message from Prowl stationed on Earth. Apparently they just had a major tussle with the Decepticon forces there. Seems like everyone got out ok, save on critical casualty. It appears that Optimus Prime was terminated in a massive explosion combined with some sort of tectonic event. They sent down search parties but they came up with no trace of him.” Kup gave it a minute to let that sink in with both of them.

Springer was shocked, he couldn’t deny that. He had seen more then his share of Autobots die fighting in this war, friends, comrades, Bots he barely knew, despite all of that though he had always thought that Optimus was untouchable. Despite everything the Autobots had been through he always figured Optimus would be ok. He was the one who had turned things around after the Primes before him had been snuffed out so quickly by Megatron and his forces. They were all going to have a much tougher time without him.

Grimlock was also shocked, although he didn’t show it. While he had often disagreed with Optimus, he did have a buried, grudging respect for him. He had certainly done better then all of the other idiot Primes before him in fighting the war. He had salvaged the Autobots from the brink of losing the war up to a deadlock with the Decepticons. While it wasn’t a victory, he never seemed to be willing to go far enough for that, it was an accomplishment.

Springer was the first to speak up. “I assume we are heading back to do damage control then? If the Decepticons realize Prime is dead then we are probably in for a series of attacks all over the galaxy. He’s never had an opportunity like this.”

Kup shook his head. “Prowl suspects that Megatron was killed in the same explosion that took out Prime. I don’t the Cons are in any shape to launch any massive campaign like that.”

Now it was Grimlock’s turn to speak. “Hmm, maybe Optimus not so bad if he take Megatron down with him. Decepticons easier to take out without him leading them. Probably start killing each other for leadership, thin things out for us to finish off.”

Kup nodded his head in agreement. It was easy to forget sometimes that Grimlock was a pretty capable strategist and tactician in his own right. Most just saw his brute strength and how he talked and dismissed him as some sort of dumb thug. Those same Cons or Bots often found themselves humiliated later though at the Dinobot’s combination of skill, strength and cunning.

“I wanted to tell the three of your first because you are the highest ranking ones here, and I am concerned about the Hot Rod situation,” Kup sighed. “I figure once he hears about this he is only going to use it as further proof that the Matrix chose him or some other blasted thing.”

Grimlock grunted. “Me not going to follow him as leader. Too eager to work with Cons, not know that even Shockwave want nothing more then to see us wiped out. Him just maybe happy to have our help now to fix Cybertron, the do away with us later.”

“Well I’m not exactly convinced he’s leadership material either,” Kup added. “He was just the young punk Hot Rod not too long ago before magically ‘growing up’ into whatever he is now. Springer, what do you think?”

The triplechanger shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve seen a lot in this war, but nothing like what happened to Hot Rod. With Optimus dead there are certainly going to be those Bots who will want to believe in Hot Rod. The timing is pretty extraordinary.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of,” Kup grumbled. “At the same time though we might have an opportunity though, with the cons in a lot more turmoil then we are. With us coming back as additional firepower maybe we can deal them a harsh blow.” He paused for a moment, “Although I’d be willing to wager my last cy-gar that Shockwave got a similar message from Earth and is scrambling to get back there too.” He frowned. “Means we gotta get back there before he does.

>>”Bluestreak, Wheeljack, start packing up and moving back to the ship. We are probably racing Shockwave and his guys back to Earth so we need to hustle.”<<

Kup turned to Grimlock. “I’ll trust you to gather your team and let them know what is going on. I’m going to have enough to deal with telling the others whats happened.”

Grimlock grunted in response before leaving the room. He opened a line to the Dinobots. >>”Where are you? Big things happening, meet me outside main base door. Look like leadership situation change again, might be opportunity for us.”<<

Kup then turned to Springer. “I want you to go ahead and start powering the ship back up. Hopefully we can get packed up and out of here fast. Whatever we were doing here doesn’t matter much with Shockwave leaving and the situation on Earth changed so much.”

Springer nodded and left the room, followed by Kup heading for the command center.

Command Center

Bluestreak studied the screen in front of him carefully, using the perimeter sensors to scan for any signs of Howlstrike. Most of the others were either on their way back to base or had already arrived, but there was no sign of the former Predacon. It was as if he had just vanished off the face of Cybertron. Where the frag did you run off to, Howl? The Autobot gunner thought as he rubbed his chin. You go home with your buddy, Shockwave? It wouldn’t surprise me in the least.

A few breems passed before the image of a four-legged beast appeared, entering into Iacon territory. A pair of autocannons powered down as the creature quickly approached and continued on between them. Well, there you are! And where exactly have you been? Bluestreak watched closely as Howl made his way towards the Command Complex. Kup had previously convinced the black and silver mech to give the Autobot tracker a chance, but with behavior such as this it was hard to do. Still, perhaps Howl had been given orders to follow the purple Decepticon, but now that things have changed, the former Predacon was called back to base. Perhaps. We’ll see.

With every member of the team now accounted for, Bluestreak switched off his view screen just as Kup’s communiqué came in over his comm line. >>”Roger that, Kup. I’ll get right on it.”<<

Standing up, the gunner looked around the Command Center. They had just gotten everything up and running and now it all had to be shut down and packed up again. Something big must be happening back on Earth for them to be trying to beat Shockwave and the Decepticons there first. Whatever it was, Blue had a job to do and thus he quickly moved over to the hover cart that still sat up against a far wall. Pulling it out into the middle of the room, ‘Streak began gathering up all of the equipment that wasn’t nailed down and loaded everything in to the cart, being careful not to damage the more sensitive stuff. The talkative mech then went about the room and started powering down some of the non-essential terminals, but decided to leave the main command station operational just in case Kup needed to use it one more time before they left.

Bluestreak then glanced over and noticed Snarl and the Dinobots leaving the Command Center. They had previously been loitering around doing nothing but taking up space. Now, they had either received new orders or simply gotten bored watching the Autobot gunner do all the work. “Thanks for no help, guys,” Blue muttered quietly once they were gone and the command center doors had slid shut.

The black and silver mech then opened his comm line to Wheeljack: >>”Hey, ‘Jack! Where are you, buddy? I could use a little help packing for our trip back to Earth.”<<

******

Snarl growled under his breath as he watched the Autobot gunner run around the room like a crazy petro-rabbit as he began to pack stuff away in the hover cart. The Desert Warrior had no intention of helping the smaller Autobot as menial labor such as that was beneath a soldier of his caliber not to mention the other Dinobots present. Instead, Snarl just looked on with a stoic expression across his face plate, while deep down he found the whole sight to be rather humorous. Better him do that than me.

An astrosecond later, Snarl and his comrades received Grimlock’s communication. He was back in the base somewhere and wanted the Dinobots to meet him outside the main base door. Apparently, something had happened involving a leadership change which could present an interesting opportunity for them if the situation was just right. Snarl opened his comm line back to the Dinobot Commander:

>>”Us in Command Center. Will meet you shortly.”<<

Switching off his communicator, the Desert Warrior turned to the other Dinobots present. “Okay, you heard Grimlock. Time to go.” Snarl then walked towards the door and exited into the corridor beyond.

Main Base Door

Having made his way down through the complex, Snarl reached the main entrance within one breem as the other Dinobots followed behind him. He peered around the area, looking for Grimlock, but did not immediately see the Dinobot Commander. Instead, he only saw Howlstrike approach in his wolf mode at a fast pace before coming to a sudden stop and transforming back into his robot form. The Desert Warrior quietly regarded the Autobot hunter with a nod and then waited patiently for Grimlock to arrive.

Corridors

Howlstrike made his way past the Dinobots and entered into the base, heading directly for the Command Center where he would hopefully find Kup and learn why they were already leaving Cybertron to return to Earth. It seemed to be a rash decision, but considering he didn’t have all the facts, he was willing to not jump to conclusions until he knew everything that was going on. Kup wasn’t the type of mech that would just up and leave suddenly without a fraggin’ good reason. Howl trusted the old timer explicitly and would follow him anywhere, whether it be to Earth or to Cybertron’s core. It really didn’t matter to him.

Reaching the upper levels of the complex, Howlstrike rounded a corner and found Kup walking towards him as they both converged on the command center. The former Predacon walked up to his only real friend and gave a respectful nod. “So, what’s going on, Kup? I hear we’re headed back to Earth. Is that true?”

Iacon

Wheeljack was on his back, oddly enough when a message cam in from Kup. He looked around and noticed he was still near the chasm, but the rest of the team was not. Slag it!!! He thought. Before he could reply to Kup, Bluestreak paged him.

>>"I'm on my way back. I must have suffered a minor personal powerfailure, as the team started back to base." He replys to both Kup and Bluestreak

He opts for the speed of his alt mode, and motors back to base, while in route, he opens up a line to Bluestreak

>>What do you mean, back to Earth? I just got those computers back on line not that long ago. How are we supposed to fix Cybertron, if we're not on it?!?!??<<

Luckily the blue engineer didn't get lost on his way to base. In fact he made good time, transforming as he got to the exterior gate and entered his access code. The door hissed open and he proceeded to beat feet to the his lab so that he could pack at least his most essential things.

Command Center

Rodimus had made it back with Grimlock, unfortunately Wheeljack was lagging behind a bit, but he knew the engineer would be back in due time. The flame covered mech walked into the Command Center but bypassed Bluestreak who was busy at one of the terminals and made his way to the door of the locked Conference Room. He knew it was one of the only locations that Kup would go to speak to the other officers. He wasn’t surprised that the elder ‘Bot hadn’t requested him to attend this meeting for it seemed that Kup was not convinced that Rodimus was now more than what he was before.

After several minutes the door to the Conference Room opened and Springer exited followed by Kup. Rodimus pushed himself off the wall to the right of the door and stepped in front of Kup making sure the old timer could not pass by.

“Tell me Kup, why don’t you believe that I have been chosen by the Matrix to lead us in to a new era?"

Rodimus never gave Kup a chance to answer his question.

"If my physical appearance has failed to convince you then perhaps my knowledge will.”

Rodimus stepped in close to his former mentor, his features stoic.

“Keeping the death of the Prime quiet is not a very wise endeavor, old friend. The information is not to be taken lightly. A new leader must step forward, and like it or not I am that leader.”

Rodimus glared down at the old warrior, his optics focused on the slightly shorter mech. Within the azure glass burned a bright flame visible only to the elder ‘Bot.

Outside the Conference Room

No sooner then Kup had stepped outside of the conference room then he found Hot Rod directly in his path. He scowled back at the younger Autobot as he began to tell him how he was chosen by the Matrix again. The old timer had just about enough of his talk about how he was destined now to lead the Autobots. He was on the verge of telling the young bot where he could stick all of his nonsense when he mentioned knowledge of Prime’s death.

Kup’s scowl slipped for a moment at his words, replaced by a look of shock. At the same time he saw something in the other Autobot’s optics. It looked like a glow, or a flame burning inside of them. Whatever it was it was only there for a second before disappearing.

The Autobot was quick to recover, although what he had seen was going to bother him for sometime. He jabbed finger into Hot Rod’s chest as he spoke. “Listen here kid, I don’t know what the slag has happened to you, physically or mentally, but I know it ain’t the Matrix. I don’t recall any other Primes magically just spontaneously growing up like you did. Now maybe if you could pull the Matrix itself out of your chest, which I’m guessing you would have done by now if you actually had it, then I would believe this pile of scrap.”

He dropped his hand back to his side as he continued talking. “Now I don’t know how you know that information, whether you eavesdropped on our meeting or something else. What I do know is that I am going to tell the others once they are gathered. Grimlock is already dealing with his team, as you may or may not know. Now I suggest you assist with packing things up for our trip back to Earth. I’m sure Prowl and Ratchet will want to see you and figure out what the slag is going on with you.”

With the exchange ended Kup slid past Hot Rod just as Howlstrike came up to them. Kup’s expression remained grim as he spoke. “That’s right lad. I’ll explain more once we are gathered on the ship, but we are all needed back on Earth as soon as possible.”

*

Outside the Autobot Base

Grimlock arrived shortly after the other Dinobots had piled out of the base. He gave them all a brief looking over, making sure they were all there and in good shape. He stopped in front of them and began to speak. In his usual manner he was blunt and quick to the point. “Kup receive message from Prowl back on Earth. He say Optimus die in explosion, maybe Megatron too. We heading back to try and help stabilize things.”

He gave that a moment to sink in with his troops before continuing. “Me think Prowl in charge now, at least on Earth. Me think you know what me think about that. Me never like Prowl. He good at crunching numbers, but war not just about numbers. He not understand real courage, real battle strategy and tactics. Things look different on computer then on battlefield.”

The Dinobot leader paused in thought for a moment before continuing. “Maybe Kup take command when we get there. He experienced, good fighter. Even me respect him. Me doubt he want job though. Old timer always seems happier with troops and teaching ‘young punks’ how things work.” Grimlock did genuinely respect Kup, and it showed in his voice, but he truly didn’t think he was meant to lead.

“Then there ‘Rodimus,’” he grunted after saying the name. “He going to make move for command whether anyone like him or not. He got power now from somewhere, but not have brains to back it up. He too willing to deal with Shockwave and Decepticons. Even without Megatron they still dangerous, especially Shockwave. We have chance to put down Cons forever, not time to negotiate with them.” Grimlock lifted his right hand and clenched it into a fist.

“Me seeing only one alternative that me like. Me going to push for leadership when we get back to Earth. Many probably see that as ego at work, and me not going to deny that to extent. It take some ego to leader.” He looked at each of the Dinobots as he continued to speak. “Me also know that other candidate I see not up to job or not want it. If wrong leader take control now, then we lose opportunity to end this war once and for all. This chance not come along in entire war. We have chance to give Cons permanent knockout blow,” he slammed his right fist into his open left palm. “Me not going to let that opportunity slip by.”

*

Ark-22

Springer walked up to the vessel, sending his command code to get the ramp lowered. It did seem as if they had just arrived here, but in that short time so much had changed. They had gotten the old base in some sort of state of repair. Something had happened to Hot Rod to change him, something they were all trying to figure out still. Then there was some sort of alliance with Shockwave and now, to top it all off, Optimus had died somehow.

The triplechanger sighed at that thought. He could only imagine how some bots were going to take this news. Not all of them were as battle hardened as he or Kup were, and even then he knew that knowledge was weighing heavy on him. He would do his best to boost everyone up though, maybe even bring back the Wreckers or something. Springer had always been a bit wary about creating a new Wreckers team, as their mortality rates were rather legendary, but morale was going to be in the pit with the loss of Prime. While he didn’t support the fan worship of the Wreckers, he knew that it would at least distract some Bots from that loss. It was something to consider at least.