Scars Don't Heal - Transformers Prime (1)

Chapter Twenty-One

[Jack]

  The Con brought his blade down on Bumblebee with alarming speed, just barely giving the scout a chance to raise his hand in defense. But the blade never hit him.

  "How can this be?!" Megatron demanded, looking as confused as we all felt. He kept on swiping at Bumblebee with his sword, none of the hits actually making impact.

  "Megatron can't touch Bee?" Raf asked, relief in his tone.

  "Because he is not a creation of Megatron's mind," Ratchet explained. "Bumblebee is immune to his physical attacks."

  Megatron began pacing in front of Bee, who seemed stuck in place. "You're not wearing phase-displacement armor... Your eyes track my movements, so you're not a hologram... And I do not believe in spirits. So tell me scout, what are you?!"

  "Megatron." Bumblebee turned to show us a new Fake Optimus, accompanied by a Fake Bulkhead and a Fake Bumblebee.

  "Uh-oh, special guest stars." Miko commented.

  "This is not good," Ratchet added.

  Bumblebee crept away from Megatron and towards the Fake Autobots. He glanced up at Fake Optimus before moving closer to Fake Bumblebee, waving a hand in front of his doppleganger's face. All of a sudden, Megatron let out an enraged roar before firing several shots towards Bee. All of them went through the scout, hitting the Fake Autobots instead.

  "You are real," The Con growled, still trying to figure this out. "They were not." He took a long pause before laughing. "A cortical psychic patch. How unexpected."

  "We've stirred Megatron from him oblivion," Ratchet said, a bit of horror in his tone. "He's becoming self-aware."

  That couldn't be good.

  "If this is my subconscious..." Megatron mused before whirling on Bumblebee. "What are you doing inside my head?!"

  "Come on, Bee," Arcee's voice came through the comm, separate from the screen we were watching. "What are you doing in there?" a pause before, "Ratchet, it's Starscream, Soundwave, and Knockout. They're going to unplug Megatron."

  "If Megatron perishes, Bumblebee's mind will remain separated from his body," The medic stated. "Forever."

  That's when a sort of panic set in. "We'll lose Bumblebee and Optimus?!"

  No one replied, because Megatron started pacing around again and our attention was brought back to Bee's situation.

  "The only way you could have entered my mind is via cortical psychic patch," The Con was saying. "But the question remains- what happened to me?!" Suddenly his eyes widened. "The space bridge explosion. Yet, if you're in my head, I am not one with the Allspark. Tell me scout, do I still function?"

  "Ratchet!" Amanda's voice caught all of our attention. I noticed the degree of alarm, fear, and urgency in it as the medic shook his head, pressing forward.

  "Bumblebee, we are out of time!" Ratchet exclaimed into the comm.

  So, instead of answering the Con's questions, Bumblebee began buzzing what I assumed to be the reason he was in Megatron's head.

  "Cybonic plague?" Megatron asked. "Someone besides myself is unwell?"

  Bee nodded, allowing the Con to connect the dots.

  "Optimus!" He began laughing. "Such irony! After ages of endless battle, the mighty Optimus Prime is felled by a simple virus from the past! What makes you think I would save the life of my oldest enemy?"