Frozen in Prime

Loose Cannons

"Prime! What in blazes are your people doing out here?! We had an agreement! No collateral damage!" Agent Fowler roared over the monitor. "I am sorry, Agent Fowler. But all Autobots are present and accounted for." Optimus said.

"Then explain why I'm receiving reports of two jumbo-sized bots mixing it up 20 miles outside Omaha." Agent Fowler said. "Decepticons?" Ratchet asked. "There has been plenty of infighting lately. Megatron can't seem to keep his ranks in line." Arcee said.

"Well, I'm just arriving on the scene. Have a look." Agent Fowler said. The monitor showed two Cybertronians battling. The screen zoomed in on one who looked suspiciously like Skyquake. "I don't know, paint job aside, it can't be Skyquake. You and Optimus pounded him into the ground, " Bulkhead said to Bee. "Before Starscream yanked him back out as some kind of undead Terrorcon." Arcee followed.

"The question remains: Who's the other guy?" Cyclonus asked. The monitor moved to a spaceship with a familiar Autobot. "By the Allspark. It is one of ours!" Ratchet said. "Wheeljack! Haha! Jackie's back!" Bulkhead cheered. "Who?" Cyclonus asked. "What?" Bulkhead asked. "I don't care if Abraham Lincoln's back! We have to contain the situation before we all wind up on the 11 o'clock news!" Agent Fowler said.

"You got nowhere left to run, 'Con!" Wheeljack said, and he and the Skyquake look-alike shot at each other. He then chased the Decepticon as Agent Fowler hovered above him. "This is Special Agent Fowler of -" Wheels shot at him. "Whoa! Stand down, hothead! I'm on your side!" Agent Fowler said.

The Decepticon shot Wheeljack away, and Agent Fowler shot back. Then, a Ground-Bridge opened. "Had a feeling the gang might show." He said.

The Autobots emerged, and the Decepticon shot at them, then ducked behind a building to avoid being hit. "Jackie!" Bulkhead said, alarmed and ran to help his friend. Arcee, Chromia, and Bumblebee shot the Decepticon, forcing him to hide behind the nearby gas station, and then Agent Fowler appeared.

"That will do." Dreadwing said. He scanned the jet, much to Agent Fowler's annoyance. "Gah! Not this again!" He groaned. Dreadwing started running. "Oh no, you don't!" Wheeljack said and pointed a cannon. "Wheeljack!" Optimus warned. "Jackie, no!" Bulkhead yelled, but Wheeljack shot and hit a gas pump, causing the station to erupt in a massive fireball.

Dreadwing was in his new Earth mode and retreated as Wheeljack kept shooting him. "Dreadwing rigged the place to blow!" He groaned. "Dreadwing?" Bulkhead asked. "Actually, that was your handiwork, trigger-happy." Cyclonus said. "It's called a gas station. Kinda like an Energon depot, doesn't mix well with blaster fire." Bulkhead explained.

"Huh. Well, our 'Con's getting away." Wheeljack said. "Wheeljack, there are other considerations. While upon this world, you would do well to follow my lead." Optimus said.

The Autobots escorted the Wrecker to base where Ratchet began to repair him. "Ow! Take it easy, doc. I need that arm." Wheeljack groaned. "Hold still, and maybe you'll keep it." Ratchet remarked.

"Look, commander, apologies for the fireworks, won't happen again. But I tracked Dreadwing across a hundred light years of space." He said. "I thought you were roving the galaxy, you know, looking for Autobot refugees." Bulkhead said.

"I was until I found one, a Wrecker." Wheeljack said. "Who?" Bulkhead asked. "Seaspray." Wheeljack said. Bulkhead laughed with enthusiasm. "How is old barnacle butt?" He asked. "Not so good, Bulk. Blown to bits, actually." Wheeljack said, leaving Bulkhead horrified. "What? No!" He said.

"Dreadwing." Optimus said. "My flyer, the Jackhammer, picked up Seaspray's signal a couple of light years from Madeira. We made contact and arranged a rendezvous in the Andromeda system. But Dreadwing must've intercepted the transmission, 'cause he got to Seaspray first. A proximity bomb, supposed to take us both out, guess I should be glad the Jackhammer can take a punch. I picked up Dreadwing's ion trail and tracked it through a dozen solar systems before catching up with him, and he led me right back to this marble. Some coincidence, huh?" Wheeljack asked.