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Post by Leathurkatt on Jun 11, 2010 23:32:03 GMT -5
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Novel As Sam Witwicky seeks a normal life and the Autobots seek acceptance, The Fallen rises again... NovelizationOn ancient Earth, early human hunters are stalking a tiger when they find what they believe to be a god. Said god briefly examines one, then lets it drop and walks off. Some of the hunters follow the god when they find smaller gods building something.... In the present, the city of Shanghai is being evacuated due to a major chemical spill. However, the team sent in are not hazmat teams, they're NEST, special force of soldiers from multiple Earth governments working with the Autobots to locate and eliminate the Decepticons still on Earth. Ironhide, Arcee, Sideswipe, and the Twins are deployed to locate a Decepticon in an industrial sector. When Major Lennox discovers two children who were not evacuated, the Decepticon Demolishor strikes. As Demolishor attacks, his partner Sideways tries to escape, and is forced to fight Arcee and the Twins. He fights them off but is killed by Sideswipe. Demolishor continues his attempts to escape, but is intercepted by Optimus Prime. He and Ironhide fatally damage Demolishor, but the dying Decepticon relays a warning: "The Fallen shall rise again." Back in Burbank, Sam Witwicky is packing up for college while watching a report of the cover up on Mission City, which laid blame on Massive Dynamics. Sam dismisses it with disgust and resumes his packing. He then has to deal with his mom Judy suffering from sadness over Sam's departure. As his father Ron expresses pride in Sam for getting a scholarship to Princeton, Sam gets a call from Mikaela, who halfheartedly announces that they're breaking up. Sam then announces that he has a long-distance relationship kit for her, including some personal items, a Sector Seven badge, certain glasses, and even offers up the shirt he was wearing that day. As he unfolds it, a fragment of the AllSpark falls out. Picking it up, Sam experiences a brief flash of images, then is shocked by the fragment and drops it, which burns through his floor and lands in the kitchen. The resulting surge of energy brings several appliances to life, who immediately make their way to Sam's room and attack him. Sam jumps out the window and seeks cover with his father, before Sam yells for Bumblebee. The little Autobot manages to destroy the rampaging mutations, but is overzealous and destroys Sam's room in the process, damaging the house. Emergency services are already there when Mikaela arrives and Sam gives her the fragment, telling not to tell anyone about it. Judy then announces that Bumblebee will be leaving when he leaves, and since freshmen aren't allowed to have cars on campus, Bumblebee is going back to the rest of the Autobots. Sam and Mikaela share a goodbye, but reach a minor rough patch when both hesitate to be the first to say "I love you". They move though, and Sam and his parents head for the airport, while Mikaela heads home. Unknown to her, Wheels, a Decepticon, is watching her, and discovers that she has the AllSpark fragment with her. He relays his discovery to Soundwave, who orders him to retrieve to the fragment. On Diego Garcia, NEST is returning to base after the operation in Shanghai when Director Galloway arrives, saying he has a message for the Autobots. NEST is preparing to debrief Admiral Morshower, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, via satellite conference. Soundwave promptly hacks into the satellite and listens in on the message. Optimus Prime relays the warning of "The Fallen", and admits that he is unaware of its origins. It implies a link to the past, but since the only recorded history of Cybertron was contained in the AllSpark, they cannot research it. Director Galloway then interrupts, asking why the Decepticons are still interested in Earth with the AllSpark's destruction. Galloway reveals the President is concerned over the destruction resulting in Shanghai, and takes issue with the Autobots refusing to share weapons technology with the humans and continued sending of transmissions into space inviting more Autobots to come to Earth. Major Lennox and Sergeant Epps defend the Autobots, but Galloway dismisses their defense. Galloway then explains that with Megatron at the bottom of the Laurentian Abyss, and the last fragment of the AllSpark locked on Diego Garcia, there is only one reason for the Decepticons to be interested in Earth: they're here to hunt the Autobots. Galloway then asks that if they conclude that humanity would be better protected by denying the Autobots further asylum on Earth, would they leave peacefully? The other Autobots and NEST personnel are less than thrilled with the concept, but Optimus says that as freedom is the right of all sentient beings, he will honor the request. However, Optimus aks Galloway to relay a question to the President: what if they leave, and the Decepticons do not? Having learned of Megatron and the AllSpark shard's location, Soundwave begins to formulate a plan... Arriving at Princeton, Sam makes his way to his dorm and meets his roommate, Leo Spitz, owner of The Real Effing Deal, an alternate news website trying to prove the existence of alien robots on Earth. He and his partners are working on a scope regarding the recent events in Shanghai, but they are beaten to the punch by their rival, Robo-Warrior, at GiantEffingRobots.com. Sam quickly realizes that they may have some conflict of interest, and asks if there is another room available, but there are no other rooms available. Sam and Leo are introduced to Alice, an attractive young girl who seems interested in Sam, but Sam has other priorities—namely, controlling his mother, who has just ingested marijuana laced brownies and nearly reveals the existence of the Autobots. Over Diego Garcia, Soundwave releases his partner Ravage, who sneaks onto the base and releases the microcons comprising Reedman. Reedman manages to remove the AllSpark fragment in the vault, and kills several soldiers in the process. Rejoining Ravage, the pair blast off for their next destination. At Princeton, Sam is dragged to a fraternity party by Leo, despite his insistence that he has a web chat date with Mikaela. While he avoids any brownies, he does feel strange at the party, seeing strange images. Alice is there, and starts chatting him up, until a member of the fraternity announces that a yellow Camaro is parked outside in the bushes. Sam runs out and sees Bumblebee, and quickly decides to take him away. Alice hitches a ride, and makes it clear she's interested in Sam. Bumblebee disapproves of the girl, and douses her in lubricant, causing her to get out in a huff. Sam is angry at Bumblebee's behavior until he mentions a meeting with "the boss". Mikaela eventually gives up on the live chat date, while Sam is taken to an abandoned graveyard to meet with Optimus Prime, who informs Sam of the theft of the AllSpark fragment and the trouble he's having with the United States. Optimus needs outside help, and believes Sam to be a worthy ambassador. Sam is upset, as he just arrived at college. Optimus knows that fate rarely calls at a moment of one's choosing, and believes that there is greatness in Sam. Sam, however, disagrees, and declines the request. Optimus is disappointed but respects his decision. On the Bayos, a ship traveling across the Atlantic Ocean, a sailor finds of his comrades dead, but is quickly killed himself by four of the Constructicons on the ship. Ravage arrives on the ship, and the five Decepticons jump overboard and begin diving for the ocean floor. A Naval submarine detects their presence and begins diving as well. Finding Megatron's shell, the Doctor is released and declares that he needs more parts. Three Constructicons descend upon the smallest of them and kill him, quickly using his components to repair Megatron. Once they're complete, the Doctor inserts the fragment into Megatron's spark core. The plan works, and Megatron is reactivated, hitting the submarine on the way to the surface. At Princeton, Sam attends Professor Colan's Astronomy 101, and quickly begins seeing the images from before. He quickly reads Colan's book in seconds, and then stands up and says that Einstein was wrong about the theory of relativity. It's only accurate if you take this dimension into account, but false if you take the other seventeen. He then writes down complex equations on the chalkboard in alien script and cites the Sentinel Prime expedition as his source. Furious, Colan orders Sam out of class. Realizing something is wrong, he looks up information on his great-great-grandfather, Archibald Witwicky, and learns that he drew the same images after he discovered Megatron. Elsewhere, Megatron has reached a dying star system and made his way to a dead, cold world, where the Nemesis lies in ruins. Once he reaches the cargo hold, which still houses hundreds of Protoform Decepticons in stasis, an image begins to form, which Megatron bows before as the face of his master, The Fallen, who is gathering forces in other dimensions. Megatron tells the Fallen that the AllSpark has been destroyed, but the Fallen tells him that the Cube was destroyed, while the knowledge within the AllSpark was instead transferred into Sam. With it, they can find another source of Energon to raise their army. Once he has succeeded, The Fallen will grant Megatron the powers of "The Dynasty". An incredibly fearful Starscream then enters the hold and tells Megatron he needed to take command in Megatron's absence. Megatron swats him aside and warns him that even in death, there is no command but Megatron. He then activates thirteen protoforms... Meanwhile, Mikaela reaches the shop she works at, and is followed by Wheels. Sam calls her and starts telling her about the symbols she is seeing, and realizes they started happening when he touched the AllSpark fragment. She reassures Sam that it's safe in the shop vault. Wheels goes to retrieve it, but is caught in several mousetraps and attracts Mikaela's attention. She captures him, and says that she's heading for Sam. Meanwhile, NEST receives multiple Decepticon contacts on the East Coast, but the Autobots are both responding to the contacts, and not responding to NEST's communication attempts. Lennox orders NEST ready. At Princeton, Leo attempts to woo Alice, who is more interested in Sam. They reach Sam and Leo's room, to discover that Sam has covered the room in alien symbols. Alice dismisses Leo, and attempts to seduce Sam. Leo goes to watch some television, when he happens across a commercial for an Alice in Wonderland amusement park...and the "Alice" of said amusement park looks exactly like Alice. Mikaela reaches Sam's room, and finds Sam with Alice. Before he can explain, Alice reveals herself to be a Decepticon. She chases Sam, Mikaela, and Leo to the library, and then to the parking lot, where Mikaela hot wires a car and runs over Alice. The car is intercepted by a helicopter Decepticon and taken to an abandoned foundry where Megatron and Starscream await. Megatron taunts Sam with threats of death, and restrains him as the Doctor inserts a probe into Sam's mind. The probe replays images from Sam's brain, including the symbols he's been drawing. Megatron orders the Doctor to remove Sam's brain, but the Doctor is destroyed by a sniper shot, just as Optimus Prime and Bumblebee break into the foundry. Optimus escapes with Sam, while Bumblebee escapes with Mikaela and Leo. Megatron, Starscream, and the copter Decepticon reach up with Optimus at a nearby forest, and Megatron says that the boy is the key to another Energon source. Optimus refuses to let him have Sam, unsheathes his swords, and fights the off the Decepticons, killing the copter Decepticon. As Optimus goes for Starscream, Megatron impales Optimus with his sword from behind. Fortunately, the rest of the Autobots arrive before Megatron can finish off Optimus and take Sam. Unfortunately, the damage is severe, and Optimus will be in complete stasis lock until he can heal, which will take some time. A few days later, Megatron and Starscream meet near the Arctic. They cannot find Sam, and there are over seven billion humans to look through. Megatron decides to compel the humans to bring Sam to him, and then destroys the U.S.S. Lincoln, while Soundwave tracks Ron and Judy Witwicky to Paris, and dispatches another Decepticon to retrieve them. Following this, Megatron makes a televised broadcast to humanity, revealing the existence of the Transformers and demanding Sam be turned over to them within a day. At the military base where Optimus Prime's body is taken to, the United States military surrounds the Autobots at gunpoint, as Galloway reveals that he has operational command now and has deactivated NEST as a sign of good faith to the Decepticons, who they are negotiating with to buy time while they make a coordinated military strategy. Ironhide believes Galloway to be insane if he thinks the Decepticons will negotiate, but Sideswipe reminds him that this is not what Optimus would want. Reluctantly, the Autobots stand down. At an abandoned prison in New Jersey, Sam, Mikaela, and Leo are hiding with Bumblebee and the Twins, Skids and Mudflap. They learn of NEST's deactivation, and the manhunt for Sam. Blaming himself, Sam announces that he will turn himself in, but Bumblebee and Mikaela insist that this will only make things worse. Sam then decides to figure out where this energon source is. He assumes that some knowledge got transferred to him when the Cube was destroyed, and Mikaela surmises that the information is what allowed Sam to ace his SATs and get a scholarship to Princeton. Sam has no idea what the symbols mean, and asks if the Autobots can read what he's writing. They identify it as the Language of the Primes, an ancient Cybertronian language they cannot translate. Leo then offers up the location of the Robo-Warrior, his rival. Heading to New York City, Leo explains that he and his friends once revenge-hacked Robo-Warrior's site, and saw some of the symbols on his site. The group make their way to a deli, where Robo-Warrior is located. To Sam and Mikaela's shock, Robo-Warrior is none other than Seymour Simmons, former chief agent of Sector Seven, now working in his mother's deli. For his part, Simmons is hostile to Sam and Mikaela, blaming them for the loss of his job and failing to kill Megatron. Simmons tells them to get lost, but when Sam mentions the symbols, Simmons interest is piqued. Taking them to the attic above the meat locker, Simmons shows them his archive of research he poached from Sector Seven (along with the head of Frenzy). The research is the presence of alien symbols on ancient ruins all over the world, meaning that the Transformers visited Earth several thousand years ago, and Simmons believed some were left behind. He shows them evidence of suspected Transformers across the planet, which Sector Seven dismissed as insignificant, despite Simmons insistence on investigating them. However, Simmons is just as in the dark on the symbols as the Autobots. With no choice, Mikaela brings out Wheels, who panics when he sees Frenzy's head. It's enough to frighten Wheels talking, who says that he cannot read the language of the Primes either, but tells them of those who can: the Seekers, the Transformers that Simmons mentioned, who were sent to look for something thousands of years ago. He tells them where to find them, and the nearest one is in Washington, D.C.. The group head to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, where the Seeker is located. After dispatching the guards, the group finds that the Seeker in question is the Blackbird on display. Unfortunately, it's also a Decepticon, and is revived by the AllSpark fragment from Sam. It quickly becomes apparent that the Decepticon, named Jetfire, is barely functioning. He makes his way outside and is shocked by how much time he's been in stasis, also revealing that he defected to the Autobots. This amazes Wheels, who announces that he's defecting to Mikaela, dubbing her "Warrior Goddess". Jetfire also says that he has a mission, but cannot remember what it is. Sam writes down some of what he's been seeing, and Jetfire realizes that they're part of his mission. He quickly teleports them to Egypt. The trip is unpleasant for all, human and Transformer. It also attracted the attention of another Seeker, this one as barely functional as Jetfire, but still a Decepticon. The Seeker tries to kill Jetfire, but his shot bounces off him, and Jetfire crushes the Decepticon under his foot. With things settled down, Jetfire explains what is going on: in the beginning, the Transformers were ruled by the Dynasty of Primes, the Thirteen original Cybertronians and their descendants, who were forged by the AllSpark to bring order to Cybertron. Because Energon was scarce, the AllSpark forged for them the Matrix of Leadership, which contained the AllSpark's power and fueled the Great Machines needed to recharge the AllSpark...by destroying stars. The Dynasty had a single rule in their searches: life is precious, so any inhabited star system was spared. One day, the Dynasty came to Earth and built a machine in Egypt, but when they discovered the humans, twelve of the Primes upheld their law. One of the Primes despised the humans and tried to defy the rule, and he was forever known as The Fallen. He killed eleven of his brothers, but the twelfth stole the Matrix and hid it in a tomb made of his brothers bodies, sacrificing his own spark to fuse it shut. The machine was abandoned, and the Seekers dispatched to find the Matrix. If The Fallen finds the Matrix, he will activate the machine, which will mean the end of all life on Earth. Mikaela asks how they can stop him, Jetfire explains that only a Prime can defeat The Fallen. Sadly, The Fallen knew this, and he destroyed the rest of the Dynasty when he returned to Cybertron. A single orphan was hidden from him, unaware of his lineage. Sam recognizes that he's talking about Optimus, and wonders if the Matrix, as a part of the AllSpark, could heal Optimus. Jetfire says it's possible, but they need to find the Tomb first. He then relays a riddle the Seekers discovered: "When dawn alights the Dagger's tip, Three Kings will show the way". Unable to help them further, Jetfire goes back into stasis. Leo is ready to give up, but the rest of the group leaves him and drives far enough away to convince him to shut up and get in Bumblebee. In New Jersey, the Autobots are loaded onto cargo planes, strapped in nets and under heavy guard. Although they could easily free themselves, they realize that this is what Optimus would want, and that time will make the humans realize that they are still valuable allies. Lennox and Epps have no such extended concept of time, and are angry at the Autobots mistreatment. It would comfort them to know that Morshower and the Joint Chiefs are working to relieve Galloway of command, but without a proper target to retaliate against, the Administration needs a scapegoat. As Sam's group travels through the desert, Simmons calls his CIA contact in general history, and learns that "the Dagger" is the Gulf of Aqaba, a region which separates Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. The group find themselves at a checkpoint, and the Twins are easily able to move through without papers as their holodrivers used supermodels. Simmons tries to take charge, but he doesn't speak Arabic and the soldiers do not speak English. Worse, there are cameras at the checkpoint, and Sam tells Bumblebee to drive, fearing that he was identified. They are able to make their way through Cairo, but pick up police on the way. Unable to shake them, Wheels jumps out Bumblebee and attacks the following police car, his screams surpassed only by those of the police. After driving the car off the road, he steals a window wiper as a trophy and says his actions are evidence of his defection. Sam needs to call Lennox and have Optimus brought to Aqaba, but Simmons says that contacting Lennox will allow him to get traced. Instead, Sam calls Lennox's wife Sarah, and tells her what is going on. The group then makes their way to abandoned tourist center outside the Pyramids of Giza. Sarah and Epps wife Monique call their husbands, but Galloway refuses to allow a private call and places them on speakerphone. Saying that Monique is interested in plastic surgery, the two wives are able to convey the message in an incredibly unsubtle way. Fortunately, Galloway is untrained in subtlety. Lennox and Epps then talk with the pilot of the plane that will take them back to Diego Garcia, who says that the coordinates are in Jordan. Lennox realizes that Sam knows or has something Megatron wants, and hatches a plan to fake engine trouble over the coordinates, while Lennox has a message relayed to Admiral Morshower, who is trying to get NEST reactivated. Morshower realizes that Lennox knows something and arranges for assets in the target area. Traveling to Egypt in jet mode, Megatron makes a stop at the Rock of Gibraltar and contacts The Fallen, saying that Sam has been spotted in the land where the harvester was constructed. The Fallen tells Megatron the harvesters specific coordinates and gives him two commands: assemble his forces, and prepare for his arrival. At the tourist center, Sam and Mikaela get into another argument over who will say "I love you" first, with Mikaela pointing out the romantic location under the stars, which jogs something in Sam's memory. He recalls the textbook saying that Orion's Belt were called the "Three Kings", because they lined up with the pyramids when they were built. The trail leads to Petra, which appears to be a dead end. Skids declares that he's done listening to Sam, and when Mudflap defends the human, the Twins get into a brawl which ends up damaging the ruins. However, it also reveals Cybertronian symbols underneath, and Bumblebee blasts a hole in the wall. They find the Tomb of the Primes, but only find sand where the Matrix should be. Simmons assumes that the Matrix devoured itself in the years waiting, but quickly leaves when he hears C-17s approaching. Sam refuses to believe that something from the AllSpark would simply decay, so he gathers up the dust. On the C-17, the pilot announces engine trouble and orders the passengers to bailout. Galloway is tricked into opening his parachute while inside the plane, forgetting his cellphone and laptop. The team then parachutes out with Optimus' body, and Lennox relays words to the Autobots aboard the other plane, who immediately start releasing exhaust. When a guard opens the cargo door for fresh air, Arcee brings up her guns and "persuades" the guards to allow them to leave. The Autobots meet up with NEST on the ground at an abandoned fishing village. Bumblebee's team is quickly spotted, and a flare is popped. Unfortunately, Starscream reaches the area and releases an EMP burst, disabling communication. He and Megatron begin strafing Sam's group, and Sam and Mikaela leave on foot while Bumblebee, the Twins, Simmons, and Leo draw them away. A force of Thirteen Decepticons then land searching for Sam. At the Pentagon, Morshower begins observing the area through a satellite, but the Decepticons are not on the image. Soundwave is connected to the satellite and is doctoring the video to remove the Decepticons presence. After a while, Morshower becomes suspicious at the lack of communication, and asks for help to be sent from Egypt and Jordan to confirm on site visuals. In the abandoned village, Sam and Mikaela sneak into a building as Starscream leads a group of Decepticons to search for him. A tiny Decepticon flies in and is crushed before Sam realizes what it is. Starscream tears off the roof and tries to grab the teens, but they manage to escape. Meanwhile, the Twins take Leo and Simmons to a quarry near the pyramids, where they find four heavy Construction vehicles. As Simmons grows suspicious, three more vehicles arrive...and the seven vehicles combine into one: Devastator. Back at the village, Sam and Mikaela are making their way to the soldiers when a Decepticon cuts them off, depositing Ron and Judy Witwicky, and demanding the Matrix. Sam is ready to give him the sand, but Bumblebee manages to ambush the Decepticon and kill him. Sam then tells Bumblebee to take his parents somewhere safe, despite Ron's initial refusal to leave Sam. At the quarry, the Twins presence causes Devastator to activate his maw and suck everything in, which includes Skids. As Simmons realizes hiding underneath it is the only safe place, Skids busts out, and Mudflap helps him by climbing up. However, Devastator shrugs them off and makes his way to the Great Pyramid of Giza, where Megatron is waiting. Just then, a space bridge opens above the pyramid, and a Transformer arrives, this one appearing on fire: The Fallen has risen again, and he commands Megatron to go forth and deliver the Matrix to him. Two Jordanian helicopters arrive; one is shot down, while the other is crashed by the Fallen, who uses telekinesis. As Simmons and Leo make their way to the downed helicopter, Leo notices Devastator has begun attacking the pyramid, and realization hits Simmons: the pyramid is built right over the solar harvester. Taking a radio, Simmons makes contact with Captain Wilder of the U.S.S. Roosevelt, and says that an experimental rail gun is the only way to destroy Devastator. At the village, a UAV reaches the battle site, and begins transmitting information of what is really happening to the Pentagon. Morshower orders everything available sent at once. Just as Megatron arrives and begins attacking in tank mode, heavy armor from the United States, Egypt, and Jordan begin pouring in, reinforcing NEST and allowing Lennox and Epps to reach Sam and Mikaela. Just as they prepare to make a break for it, a Decepticon finds them. Before it can act, Jetfire appears and blows up the Decepticon. Unfortunately, Scorponok makes a surprise attack on Jetfire, impaling him with his tail. Jetfire is able to rip his head off, but is seriously injured. An Air Force strike manages to destroy most of the Decepticons, and Sam makes a mad dash toward Optimus' body. Just as he reaches it, Megatron fires a shot which hits the ground near Sam, sending him flying. Although Megatron is forced to retreat under human fire, Sam appears dead. Medics are unable to revive him, and even Mikaela's admission of love fails to do anything. On another plain of existence, Sam finds himself with twelve Transformers, who identify themselves as the Dynasty of Primes. They have been watching him for a long time, as he was destined to find the Matrix. But the Matrix cannot be merely found; instead, it must be earned. Sam's courage, selflessness, and sacrifice were tests, and now he has earned the Matrix, and must fulfill his destiny: raise up the last Prime. Sam is returned to life, and tells Mikaela he loves her, as the Matrix begins to reform before him. Sam makes his way to Optimus's body, and drives the Matrix into him. The plan works, and Optimus Prime is reborn, and pleased that his assessment of Sam was correct. Unfortunately, The Fallen teleports in and steals the Matrix, crushing Optimus beneath him and swatting Ironhide and Sideswipe like they're nothing before teleporting to the now exposed harvester. Sam frantically urges Optimus up, but he is still injured from his fight with Megatron. Already injured, Jetfire offers his parts to Optimus, and snuffs out his own spark. Though all are shocked, Optimus recognizes that they do not have the time mourn, and orders Ratchet to start refitting the necessary components onto his structure. Soon, Optimus Prime has achieved a more powerful flight mode, and flies off. At the pyramid, The Fallen, with Megatron, Starscream, and Devastator, inserts the Matrix into the harvester. As it powers up, Devastator sees Optimus and prepares to fire. Just then, Simmons relays coordinates the ship with the rail gun, which fires, killing Devastator. Unfortunately, the machine also activates, firing a beam which destroy the sun in eight minutes. Distracted by Devastator's death and the machine's activation, the Decepticons are unable to shoot down Optimus, who flies through the harvester and causes the beam to collapse, seriously wounding Megatron and Starscream. The Fallen is enraged, not just at the attack on the harvester, but at Optimus's presumption to challenge him, a Prime. Optimus declares that The Fallen abandoned that name when he slaughtered his brothers, and that as the last Prime, it is Optimus's destiny to avenge his lineage. As Optimus battles The Fallen, it quickly becomes apparent that Optimus is going to win. Incredulous and angry, Megatron reminds The Fallen of his promise to make Megatron a Prime. Optimus reveals that this is a lie, as Primes are born, not made. Panicking, The Fallen opens a space bridge and tries to flee, but Megatron and Starscream leave The Fallen to his fate. Optimus then rips off the top of the harvester and drives it through The Fallen's head, killing him. Optimus then recovers the Matrix and rejoins the others, who are also joined by Simmons, Leo, and the Twins. Later, on the Roosevelt, Sam and Optimus watch the view, and Sam says that he can no longer see the symbols. Optimus explains that the knowledge of the AllSpark has been absorbed within the stuff of the Matrix, which is attached to his hip, and thanks Sam for preserving Cybertron's past and saving his life. Sam then asks what the future will hold, and Optimus Prime declares that it is a future Humanity and the Autobots will face together, as their ancestors did once before. That future may be sooner than they think, for on the Nemesis, Megatron commands his Protoform army to "arise"...
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Post by Leathurkatt on Jun 12, 2010 1:08:39 GMT -5
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Movie Adaptation Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a 4-part comic series published by IDW Publishing. It is an adaptation of the movie Revenge of the Fallen . Part 1An adaptation of the summer blockbuster of 2009. It is the dawn of mankind. Primitive humans stalk game through a lush jungle. Their hunt is interrupted by the impact of a colossal foot, cracks in its structure glowing with otherworldly energies. The Fallen takes notice of these curious fleshlings, wondering if this is truly life. He shrugs the question off, looking to the construction of the harvester which will soon extinguish this feeble planet's sun.In the modern day of Shanghai, China, the NEST forces engage Demolishor, who comments on the annoying tenacity of the human race. Meanwhile, Sideways tries to make good his escape elsewhere in the city, with Mudflap and Skids hot in pursuit. Unfortunately, their combined ice cream truck form proves too ungainly to handle the turns, leaving the three motorcycles that make up Arcee to continue the chase. Arcee is advised to make certain Sideways does not breach the quarantine perimeter, to prevent public knowledge of the incident. Ironhide and Optimus Prime finally manage to take down Demolishor, while the timely arrival of Sideswipe aids in neutralizing Sideways. As Prime stands over the wrecked form of the Constructicon he felled, Demolishor delivers a warning: their days on this planet are numbered as The Fallen will soon claim it! Back stateside, Sam Witwicky snorts derisively at the government coverup of the Mission City debacle. He is nearly finished packing to go off to college. He gets a call from Mikaela, now working at a motorcycle repair shop. She announces she's breaking up with him, which he objects to just shortly before he discovers a shard of the All Spark embedded in the shirt he wore in Mission City. His vision is flooded with Cyberglyphics, and the shard tumbles to the floor, burning a hole in it. In the kitchen below, all the appliances are brought to new, malevolent life! The timely intervention of Bumblebee saves the Witwickys from the newborn Transformers... at the cost of entirely demolishing their home. Mikaela arrives, having rushed over when Sam went quiet. Sam entrusts her with the All Spark shard, urging her not to tell anyone of it. Little does he know that the RC truck over by the fire hydrant is actually the Decepticon Wheelie, who is spying on them. Ron calms his wife down by saying that the government will take care of their house. Sam talks with Bumblebee, telling him that unfortunately freshmen aren't allowed cars on campus, so this will be goodbye for awhile. Back at the Diego Garcia base of NEST, the Autobots are met by a representative of the U.S. government, on orders from the president. Director Galloway and Admiral Morshower's briefing for them is classified, even from other NEST operatives, but in low orbit the Decepticon Soundwave parasitizes a communications satellite to listen in. Optimus Prime tells the Admiral that the Decepticons have most definitely not abandoned Earth, and relays the cryptic warning he received in Shanghai. Galloway is concerned that the Autobots are keeping secrets, as they have kept weapons technology from their allies and have been sending unauthorized transmissions into space. He asks if the Autobots will leave should the president decide to ask them to. Prime reluctantly answers that they will. He however asks Galloway and by extension the president to consider what will happen if the Autobots leave and the threat still remains. Moving into his dorm on campus, Sam meets Leo Spitz, his conspiracy theorist roommate. Leo manages a website dedicated to sightings of Cybertronians, and one of his contributors is uploading footage of the Shanghai incident. As Sam watches, he is approached by the extremely enthusiastic Alice, his neighbor. Meanwhile off the shore of Diego Garcia, Ravage arrives via orbital insertion. Transforming to robot mode, he infiltrates the NEST installation and seeds its ventilation system with microcons. This swarm forms the crude outline of a body, and manages to pilfer the All Spark shard being held at the base. Apparently wasting no time, Sam attends a party at the Delta Fraternity that night. Though amply distracted by Alice's ample mammalian traits, he insists he ought to call Mikaela. Alice has other ideas, and suggests he just pretend that she is his girlfriend. Sam offers half-hearted protest, and is thankfully saved from embarrassing himself by the arrival of Bumblebee. Bumblebee urges him to get in, and he takes the welcome reprieve as he is driven off to speak with Optimus Prime. Prime reveals to Sam that the shard of the All Spark has been stolen from the NEST base, and that the Autobots are under fire from human authorities. He asks Sam to speak on the Autobots' behalf, to help the humans understand. Sam says he's got enough on his plate, and thus can't help the Autobots right now. Beneath the ocean, deep in the Laurentian Abyss, Ravage meets up with a tiny Decepticon. Surrendering up the shard, Ravage watches as his compatriot uses it to revive the inert form of Megatron. Optics blazing, Megatron rises from the ocean and vows retribution upon the Earth! Part 2An adaptation of the summer blockbuster of 2009. At the final resting place of the Nemesis, Starscream is surprised by the arrival of his deceased commander, Megatron. After berating Starscream for old times' sake, Megatron approaches the sarcophagus of The Fallen. He announces with some regret that he has failed his master. The Fallen disagrees, asserting that things can still be salvaged if Megatron locates the harvester, and that the All Spark can guide him there. Megatron states that unfortunately the All Spark is destroyed, but is rebuffed by The Fallen, who states that an object of such power can never truly be destroyed, only changed. He tells Megatron to seek out the human who killed him, who is now the vessel for the All Spark. Said human, Sam Witwicky, is at that moment in his Astronomy 101 class. In a daze, he doodles Cyberglyphics in his notes while barely acknowledging the presence of Professor Colan. Leo Spitz urges him to pay attention and open his textbook, so he won't get in trouble. He does, and manages to digest its contents merely by rapidly flipping the pages. Slamming it shut, he announces to the professor a shocking thing: Albert Einstein was wrong! After the professor corrects him on the pronunciation of his name, he is invited up to the chalkboard to explain the nonsense he had just exclaimed. Sam covers the chalkboard in Cyberglyphics, babbling about the expeditions of Cybertronian explorers, claiming that Einstein's theory of relativity is only a valid observation of this dimension, not the other seventeen. This proves quite amusing to most of the class, but Alice in particular watches with rapt interest. The professor tells Sam to kindly get out of his class. Immediately afterward, Mikaela receives a belated call on her cell phone. She begins castigating Sam for not calling the night before but he interrupts, asking if he remembers what he told her about Archibald Witwicky. After being exposed to Megatron's tracking program, Sam's grandfather had started seeing strange symbols, which he had drawn endlessly during his time in the asylum. Sam asserts that these are the same symbols he now has been seeing ever since he touched the All Spark fragment. He asks Mikaela if it is still safe, which she reassures him is true. As they talk, a child's toy truck rolls into the garage where Mikaela works, transforming into a diminutive Decepticon. He approaches the safe where the fragment is stored only to be foiled by a mouse trap, causing him to cry out in pain and knock over a pile of paint cans. Mikaela hears the ruckus and corners the little Transformer, threatening him with a welding torch. Sam asks what the commotion is, and Mikaela tells him to stay put as she's coming over. At the NEST base in Diego Garcia, the klaxons sound. Numerous Decepticon contacts have been spotted in the Eastern United States, and the Autobots are being mobilized. Back at his dorm room, Sam is cornered by Alice, who has noticed that even the walls have now been covered in the Cyberglyphic drawings Sam has been making. She tells Sam that the solution is obvious: they must have sex immediately. In the next room over, a dejected Leo is on the couch with his enterprising buddies, Sharkatron3000 and The Fassinator. He complains that Alice kicked him out and called him a pervert because he'd asked if he could watch her make out with Sam. Sharkatron3000 interrupts, telling The Fassinator to rewind the video they're watching. Once this has been done, he points out Alice's uncanny resemblance to the animatronic girl from a commercial regarding an Alice in Wonderland tour. Back in the dorm room, Sam quickly discovers that Alice is much stronger than she looks. She forces herself on him, which manages to distract him from the large robotic torture tools emerging from the back of her head. The timely arrival of Mikaela alerts Sam, but Alice wraps mechanical tentacles around his neck. Alice's inhuman nature revealed, Mikaela clobbers the Decepticon spy with the metal case she'd stored the All Spark fragment in. Leo arrives to tell Sam there's something funny about Alice, just in time to see the Decepticon's true face and have to dodge a hail of razor-sharp projectiles. All three humans flee, Leo expressing surprise that alien robots are actually real. He asks why Alice looks like her animatronic doppelganger, and Mikaela and Sam explain that Transformers can mimic any machine. Leo bemoans that obviously this is all due to his work on The Real Effing Deal, and that he's being silenced for getting too close to the truth. Mikaela is about to give Leo a piece of her mind when Alice bursts in and nearly fries them all with a blast of plasma energy. The three escape through the gaping hole in the wall. Mikaela hotwires a car, causing Leo to comment that she is obviously a keeper. They grab the box with the fragment and speed off, only to be captured by the looming form of Grindor. Sam is brought to an abandoned industrial plant, where he is put on an examining table in the presence of Megatron and Starscream. The tiny Decepticon that revived Megatron is perched on Sam's head, wielding a bonesaw to cut open Sam's very valuable head. Sam begs them to let his friends go, but his pleas fall on deaf ears. Thankfully, the Autobots managed to track Sam down, and Optimus Prime's sharpshooting picks off the miniature malefactor without harming Sam. Bumblebee rescues Mikaela and Leo, while Prime prepares to face off against Megatron. Megatron asks Prime why he would risk so much for a human child, to which Prime retorts that Megatron has no concept of friendship. Megatron replies that there is a great deal at stake here, a source of Energon hidden on the planet by The Fallen, which Sam can lead them to. This being the second time that Prime has heard the name, he asks Megatron who The Fallen is. Megatron scoffs, as Prime is unworthy. The Fallen is their past, and their future! The Autobots speed towards the battle, concerned because Prime is outnumbered due to Starscream and Grindor joining it. Prime tells Sam to flee so that he can fight Megatron unencumbered. He is expendable, but Sam is vital to the plans of both sides of the battle. Taking the opportunity presented, Megatron outflanks Prime and impales him through the chest. Prime again tells Sam to flee before going offline. Megatron is unable to give chase, as the remaining Autobots have arrived and their gunfire drives him off. Expressing frustration at the loss of his strategic asset, Megatron takes to the skies and rendezvous with Soundwave. Using the Decepticon's parasitized communications satellite, he announces to the people of Earth an ultimatum: give him Sam Witwicky or the planet will burn! In Paris, Sam's parents are watching the broadcast in a cafe when a robotic fist smashes through the window. They are taken away. In Trenton, New Jersey Sam is a fugitive. NEST is being disbanded, the Autobots disavowed by the government, and as Leo points out, every human in the world is looking for him. Sam theorizes that his only hope is to figure out what the symbols in his mind actually mean. Neither Mudflap nor Skids can read the Cyberglyphics, but Leo says he knows someone who can. In Brooklyn, Leo explains that he doesn't like doing this. He is taking them to see his rival, the webmaster known as "Robo-Warrior", who claims to be an expert on such things. Sam soon discovers that "Robo-Warrior" is none other than the former Sector Seven agent, Seymour Simmons! Now running a sandwich shop, Simmons takes them to his basement where it is shown that he has a sizable cache of Sector Seven documents and artifacts, including the severed head of Frenzy. He shows them photographs of Cyberglyphics exactly like those Sam has been drawing. These, he says, show that the Transformers have been on Earth far longer than most previously suspected! Part 3An adaptation of the summer blockbuster of 2009. Under threat of physical harm, Wheelie reveals to Mikaela Banes that he recognizes the Cyberglyphics but does not know how to read them. He went on to say that Seekers would be able to read them, then leads them to the Smithsonian Institute where one can be found. While Sam Witwicky, Mikaela, Leo Spitz, and Seymour Simmons search the museum, the All Spark fragment Sam was carrying jumps from his hand and attaches itself to a SR-71 Blackbird on display. This rouses the Seeker from his slumber. He reveals his name to be Jetfire but does not remember what planet he is on or what he is doing there. He states his dislike of Decepticons and says that he had defected to the Autobots some time ago. Jetfire displays no interest in dealing with the humans until Sam mentions The Fallen. This seems to jog his memory and he becomes suddenly serious and insists that Sam tell him what he knows. Sam then reveals the Cyberglyphics that have been racing through his head. When he hears enough, Jetfire transports himself, the four humans, Bumblebee, Skids, and Mudflap to Egypt via trans-dimensional space bridge. The humans don't know why Jetfire needed to go to Egypt so they ask him to explain. Jetfire then holo-projects some of the relevant historical footage to explain. The All Spark created the Dynasty of Primes for the protection of Cybertron. The Matrix of Leadership was also created as a key to the harvesters and entrusted to the Primes. The Primes were not to harvest the power of a sun from a star system with life. The Fallen defied that rule and destroyed all but one of his fellow Primes. The last of the twelve created a tomb from the chassis of his deactivated brothers. He sealed himself and the Matrix inside using the last of his own life essence. The tomb is hidden somewhere in Egypt.Jetfire also reveals that only a Prime can stand against The Fallen. While the wars on Cybertron destroyed the Prime Dynasty, one orphan was left with no knowledge of his history. Optimus Prime. In New Jersey, Director Galloway informs William Lennox and Ray Epps that, by order of the President, the Autobots have to stand down and return to Diego Garcia. Back in Cairo, Egypt, the humans ride in Bumblebee trying to figure out the clues to the location of the Prime crypt that were obtained when Jetfire translated the Cyberglyphics. Local authorities spot Sam and try to detain him. Bumblebee and the Twins lose the police, but not before Soundwave is able to pinpoint Sam's location from intercepted communications. Sam decided he needs to get a message to Lennox and Epps, but knows that calling them directly would give himself away, so he comes up with a plan to deliver the message indirectly. He gives the message to William Lennox's wife Sarah who then tells Ray Epps's wife Monique who then calls her husband on an insecure line. While she makes the call appear to be about ordinary husband and wife chit-chat, Monique is able to get the true message through. Sam wants them to deliver Optimus Prime to Egypt. The clues from the Cyberglyphs lead Sam and the others to an ancient tomb of human origin. This appears to be a dead-end until the Twins get into an argument that becomes physical. Mudflap shoves Skids into a wall which crumbles, revealing the tomb of the Primes. They find the remains of the Matrix of Leadership. After thousands of years, the Cybertronian artifact turns to dust, which Sam collects in his sock. Lennox, Epps, Galloway and the Autobots arrive in C-17s. The pilot feigns engine trouble as an excuse to jettison the cargo over Galloway's objections. The Autobots and humans aboard parachute out of the plane. Sam and company are then attacked by Megatron and Starscream while at least 11 cometary Decepticons rain down into the action. Human communications are disrupted by an EMP burst from the Decepticons while Soundwave alters satellite imagery so that the United States military will not see anything out of the ordinary happening in Egypt. While Simmons, Bumblebee, and the Twins draw the Decepticons' fire, Sam and Mikaela try to get to Optimus Prime in hopes that the Matrix of Leadership dust could still revive him. Starscream is in pursuit of Sam and Mikaela when The Fallen appears atop a pyramid (via Space Bridge). Part 4An adaptation of the summer blockbuster of 2009. The Fallen orders Megatron to find Sam Witwicky and bring him the Matrix of Leadership. Megatron agrees. Seymour Simmons and Leo Spitz decide to stay in their place of relative safety with Skids and Mudflap but to keep their eye out for an opportunity to help. The Twins then agree they were totally and majorly screwed. Sam and Mikaela Banes are still running from Starscream when they are found by Rampage who is holding Sam's parents hostage. William Lennox and Ray Epps wonder why the United States military is not sending help, figuring they could see the conflict from satellites. However, satellite images continue to be disrupted by Soundwave. Some Constructicons form Devastator. Sam is about to trade the sock full of Matrix dust to Rampage in exchange for his parents when Bumblebee shows up and defeats Rampage with his bare hands. Bumblebee drives Ron Witwicky and Judy Witwicky to safety just before Megatron opens fire on Sam and Mikaela, missing. The Fallen downs a couple of American helicopters by telekinesis. One helicopter is completely destroyed but the other is able to make a crash landing. Simmons borrows its radio. While Devastator begins demolishing a pyramid, exposing a harvester, Simmons reaches a nearby US Naval destroyer on the radio. Simmons tells the captain to prepare his prototype rail gun and be ready to fire when he gives him the coordinates. The captain briefly argues about security clearance but Simmon's persuasive personality convinces him. An unmanned aerial vehicle is finally able to get images back to the US military and they send a tank battalion led by General Salam into the fray. Sam and Mikaela are pinned down by Megatron near Lennox's position when the tanks arrive. Lennox orderes the tanks to give covering fire and Sam and Mikaela are reunited with Lennox. Long Haul then arrives barreling down on their position. Before he can run all the humans over, Jetfire swoops down and destroys Long Haul with one shot. US planes are entering the area on a bombing run, so Lennox and Mikaela run to safety. Sam instead runs to Optimus Prime. Scorponok appears out of the sand and stabs Jetfire through the chest. Sam arrives at Optimus Prime's body when an explosion from Megatron knocks him unconscious. Sam's heart stops, and he has a vision of the Dynasty of Primes, who tell Sam that he has proven his leadership ability and give him stewardship of the Matrix. Sam is resuscitated by a medic. He pours the Matrix out of his sock and it reforms itself into a solid artifact. Sam jabs the Matrix into Optimus Prime's spark, reanimating him. Having apparently gained knowledge through the Matrix, Prime wakes up wanting to know where he can find The Fallen. The Fallen teleports to where Sam is, steals the Matrix through telekinesis, shoves a couple of Autobots out of the way with a wave of his hand and teleports away. Optimus Prime declares he is still not in shape to face The Fallen, so a dying Jetfire offers his chassis for parts. Ratchet then performs a field refit of Optimus, installing Jetfire to him, forming a makeshift super mode. Simmons makes his way under Devastator's feet and tells the destroyer captain to fire the rail gun directly above his position. This is a direct hit and Devastator is destroyed. Optimus Prime then goes on the offensive, and takes out the harvester. The Fallen is incensed that anyone would dare challenge him, as he is a Prime, but Optimus says that The Fallen renounced that name when he slaughtered his brothers, and that there can only be one Prime now. Megatron objects, calling Optimus a liar because The Fallen promised the power of the Primes to him. Optimus informs Megatron that he was deceived by The Fallen then chops off one of Megatron's arms and one of his legs. The Fallen opens up a portal in preparation for a retreat, but takes too long in his farewell monologue because, at that moment, Optimus uses grappling hooks from off-panel to tangle him up. The Fallen begs Megatron for help, but Megatron instead uses the portal to escape to the Nemesis. Optimus then finishes off The Fallen by driving a spike through his head. Later, the humans and Autobots are on the U.S.S. Roosevelt celebrating their victory. Sam says the symbols in his head are gone, and Optimus tells him that the knowledge had passed to him, and they are all that are left of Cybertronian heritage. Optimus is grateful to Sam for keeping the information safe. Sam asks about the future and Optimus gives a speech about facing it together. Megatron is then back on the Nemesis with all of his limbs. He is busy raising a new army from stasis pods located there.
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Post by Leathurkatt on Jun 12, 2010 2:42:24 GMT -5
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: Tales of the Fallen Transformers: Tales of the Fallen is a 6-part comic series published by IDW Publishing that ran from August 2009 to January 2010. It takes the form of six spotlights, with each issue focusing on a different Revenge of the Fallen character: Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Jetfire, The Fallen, Ravage, and Arcee. BumblebeeBumblebee adjusts to life with Sam. The events of this book take place between the events of Alliance #4 and Revenge of the Fallen #1.After the events of Alliance issue 4, Bumblebee returns to his role as guardian to Sam Witwicky. In doing so, 'Bee scares Mojo onto the front lawn, much to the displeasure of Ron Witwicky, and a cat up into a tree. After Sam returns Mojo to the back yard, Bumblebee "helps" by shaking the tree until the traumatized cat is free. After discovering that Bumblebee is there to watch over him, Sam uses the Autobot as his ride for a double date to the movies. Sam and Mikaela are accompanied by Miles Lancaster and Mikaela's friend Lyndsey. On the way to the movie, Sam sees Trent's truck and totally freaks out. The movie night goes without a hitch, but it seems Bumblebee decided to overturn Trent's truck, much to the jock's consternation. Without the guiding influence of the other Autobots, Bumblebee grows more reckless and impulsive, running red lights and even flinging a random punk into the air with his vehicle doors. Sam discusses his upcoming college plans with Bumblebee, explaining that the yellow guy might not be able to accompany him at school. Sam tries to persuade his parents to let Bumblebee stay in the garage while he's at school, but Ron rather strenuously rejects that notion, stating that 'Bee can only stay for the summer. Frustrated, Sam decides to walk to Mikaela's to cool off, but twenty minutes in, Sam encounters a rather less friendly Cybertronian presence. Hours later as Bumblebee prepares to shut down for the night, Ron comes into the garage and explains that Sam never made it to Mikaela's. Bumblebee zooms out of the garage and drives towards Mikaela's house but he hears a report of hacked highway matrix signs on the radio. The signs turn out to be a message in the Cybertronian alphabet "The All Spark for the boy." "The boy" is chained up and hanging from a hook over a junkyard car crusher as he is being interrogated by Barricade. The Decepticon is trying to find the location of Bumblebee or the All Spark fragment. Sam, having no idea where these items are located, is being a less than stellar interviewee. Barricade makes preparations to drop the fleshling into the crusher, but is interrupted by Bumblebee leaping in. The Autobot's intervention is timely enough that Sam is able to fall onto a pile of tires while Barricade is taunting Bumblebee. Barricade easily swats Bumblebee aside and begins to re-apprehend Sam using a shuriken like weapon. Bumblebee manages to pull himself out of the scrap and assaults Barricade once more. The two robots duke it out, with the Decepticon having the upper hand until Sam drives in with a crane. However, Sam is having trouble controlling the vehicle and Barricade snaps the chain-hook off and tosses it aside before charging at the crane's occupant. Bumblebee swings the abandoned chain-hook and knocks Barricade into a pool of gasoline. Barricade rises from the gasoline pool and stalks towards Bumblebee. Bumblebee sends Sam off to a safer distance and fires his cannon at the gasoline-soaked Decepticon menace, causing a massive explosion. Bumblebee steps out of the explosion to pick up Sam, but makes it clear he doesn't think Barricade is finished. Sure, enough, this is confirmed as we see Barricade driving out of the flames. SideswipeSideswipe risks becoming the very thing he's fighting against. Demolishor could have hit any Autobot colony, but he chose the one that Sideswipe was tasked with defending. Sideswipe failed to stop him, and is now determined to get brutal revenge on the Decepticon... leading him to Earth, where he tears his way through the highways of Montevideo to reach his foe! Admiral Morshower is distinctly unimpressed when Optimus Prime informs him that this vicious new arrival is an Autobot: the deal with the Autobots was there would be no grey areas. Optimus tells him that they'll handle it, and NEST's techies pinpoint the new arrivals crossing into Argentina. A joint strike team is ordered to ready itself, and Optimus makes it clear that if Sideswipe won't stand down he'll be... dealt with. Ironhide speaks up when he hears this, requesting to have first crack at trying to bring him into line: he trained Sideswipe, he used to be like him once, and he knows he's an asset NEST can use. Optimus gives him one hour's grace... On his way to reach Sideswipe, Ironhide remembers a time when the two of them were locked in combat... and his student broke rank despite an order to fall back, declaring his teacher had become conventional and he'd grown beyond him. Meanwhile, Sideswipe enters Ezeiza International Airport, Buenos Aires: he's tracked Demolishor to this location, but has no idea why the Decepticon would be hiding here. Deciding the Decepticon is waiting for reinforcements, he charges into the airport and storms about the hangars looking for him... And Demolishor attacks! But while the Decepticon is both fast and strong, Sideswipe is faster and deliberately makes his foe mad, knowing anger will make him careless and that will make him more vulnerable. However, while the hangars get trashed, Sideswipe is unable to land the finishing blow... and then Ironhide arrives, and Sideswipe realises the Decepticon was waiting for more Autobots to arrive so he can achieve a greater kill-count! This achieved, the Decepticon rolls out into Buenos Aires; Sideswipe moves to pursue, not caring when Ironhide points out the Decepticon wants a battle in the city so it will cause massive collateral damage. They both yell at each other, Ironhide pointing out Sideswipe is too reckless and Sideswipe accusing him of just having wounded pride... but it leaves a mark when the older Autobot points out Sideswipe's crossing the line into becoming just like the enemy. Demolishor is tearing up Buenos Aires to goad the Autobots and Sideswipe takes the bait, leaving Ironhide to try and shelter civilians as best he can. The two rivals come at each other with intent to kill... but the Argentine Air Force is entering the fray, and thanks to Sideswipe all three Transformers are seen as hostiles! The missile salvo stops the battle and downs all three Transformers, and Sideswipe finally recognises—and respects—the humans. Luckily, Optimus Prime and NEST have arrived, calling in for the Air Force to back off. Demolishor hobbles off declaring there will be another battle of his choosing, and Sideswipe fights off his urge to pursue and gets medical aid for Ironhide instead. His teacher was right: he'd stepped over the line. There are lessons still to be learned... JetfireJetfire works for The Fallen. No, really! Ages ago, the Seeker Jetfire served directly under the Prime who would become The Fallen, finding for him various stars to harvest; he believed he was serving the Dynasty of Primes as a whole and harvesting non-living systems, not realising he'd been conned by his master into killing a living world. Reporting back to the not-yet-Fallen, he was surprised to find his master had already located a new world. When he asked questions about this, his master became impressed that he dared seek answers from a Prime, and decided to let him in on the truth: the rest of the Dynasty had betrayed Cybertron, and were leading it to extinction! It was still-not-yet-Fallen's duty to take control and save the planet from this fate! Confused by all this, Jetfire was taken to the Chamber of the Dynasty of Primes, home of seven sarcophagi from which the Dynasty could communicate; he soon became more confused when six of the Primes stated that he'd committed a heinous act that had to be punished! The almost-Fallen defended both "my Seeker" and his actions, causing the Dynasty to warp into the chamber to ask about this nonsense he was speaking. While they remained adamant that a grave sin had been committed by killing a living planet, he asked how this sacrifice could matter now after they'd gained so much valuable energy for Cybertron? The other Primes were having none of it, and none of the about-to-be-Fallen's arguments that this gained them power far more quickly; one of them made it clear that the whole Dynasty would have to be in congress before the Solar harvester would be used again, and there would be severe consequences if he made this "mistake" again. The from-the-next-page-he's-Fallen assured them there'd be no more mistakes... Jetfire left the meeting confused: his master had explored that last planet and there'd been no life on it... had there? He was told a mistake had been made, but the important thing was that the Dynasty were allowing Cybertron to die; that they wish to take power; that someone had to stop them. And that someone was the Fallen, and his hand-picked army of construction drones... the Decepticons! Jetfire is left confused by this new name, but is informed that this group is the future of Cybertron... and there's a place in it for him... Despite his doubts, Jetfire joined the Decepticons and followed them to a desert on a small blue planet to build another solar harvester. This doubts flared up when Long Haul found primitive life was on this planet... and the Fallen did not care. Jetfire was shocked and finally broke rank, ordering Long Haul to cease work on the harvester. He then pleaded with the Fallen that they couldn't harvest another living world... but since the Fallen had just killed one of the primitives for the hell of it, you can guess how that went. All the Fallen wanted was for the other Primes to come to this world where he was ready to all, or remain in limbo for eternity. Either way, he wins. Jetfire declared he'd stop him, only to get easily swatted down and left to be killed by the Constructicons... But the Primes had arrived, just as the Fallen wanted. Before engaging in battle, he warped Jetfire and his minions away, and the Seeker found himself under attack. Determined to reach the harvester and stop it, he began tearing through the drones: even wounded, he had power and abilities beyond them! One by one, he dispatched the drones until only Mixmaster remained standing. Unfortunately for Jetfire, Mixmaster got the drop on him and the only way to avoid being crushed was to teleport into the planet's atmosphere and let re-entry finish him off. Unfortunately, Jetfire was paralyzed and unable to fly; the stunt doomed him as well. Thousands of years later, Jetfire awoke in a desert. Confused, he wandered it until a spy plane crashed into him. He took its form, and the rest is history... The FallenThe Fallen betrays his brothers. Basically it's the same story as last issue. A long time ago, the one who would become the Fallen began to hear the AllSpark speak to him. It anointed him its chosen one, granted him an armada of lesser Transformers, and sent him abroad to find suns for harvesting... all while forbidding him to speak of this to his brother Primes, telling him that one day he would need to stand alone. That time came when the Primes met and came to the conclusion that while Cybertron's growth was requiring more energy than they had and they needed to harvest yet more suns, they must be "judicious" and avoid harvesting suns that were supporting other lifeforms. The not-yet-Fallen broke in to snarl that, as the children of Primus and servants of the AllSpark, it was their divine right to simply take the energy the All Spark required. One Prime, however, demanded that they take an oath not to harm other lifeforms. The almost-Fallen, obviously, ignored this and harvested the first system Jetfire found. Jetfire took the blame for the carnage caused and it was decreed that, in the future, a full congress of the Dynasty must meet before the star harvester is used. The about-to-be-Fallen ignored this, too and found his own world (an inhabited one) and built his own harvester, deciding the others were unworthy and he would show his devotion to the All Spark. Unfortunately for him, the Matrix he'd built for this job didn't work very well: he was consumed by primal fires and emerged as a burning, insane figure that blamed the Dynasty for driving him to this and swore they would pay! The Dynasty, aware he'd done this, cast him out and declared him... Fallen. The Fallen made an act of contrition and pretended to accept their judgment, then began to tear his way through the galaxy, ravaging inhabited worlds, assimilating any advances in science and methods of warfare he found, and coming to believe himself beyond the All Spark. Once he was prepared and armed, he called the Dynasty from Earth claiming he'd totally found an uninhabited world, and they should come down to harvest its sun, intending to slaughter them and take the Matrix once they arrived. They could face him or stay in limbo, but either way he wins! Jetfire tried to stop him and was cast out, but the Dynasty arrived in full force. While they waffled at him to explain himself, the Fallen drew out two of the weapons he'd collected on his travels and began to massacre his way through his brothers. Only one, the Prime who had demanded the oath, remained alive, and he began to flee across the planet in multiple teleportation bursts. The Fallen followed... not knowing the Prime had, during the jumps, been gathering the sum total of all of the Dynasty's lifeforce, and once the Fallen had run his energies down he banished the monster into his sarcophagus! The Fallen swore he would have... revenge! RavageRavage is raised for a new mission. Flashback to Ravage's death at the hands of Bumblebee just before Rampage's demise. In the present, Ravage's reconstructed form is brought back on-line in an undisclosed location. Again shifting locations, Ravage appears outside Guantanamo Bay, searching for a "new target". Breaking in, he finds the remains of the appliancebots and appropriates them. His presence at the base is detected and he is forced to make a run for it, dodging helicopters and soldiers before escaping into the ocean. The military mobilizes several jets to track him down. Ravage, meanwhile, has emerged on a beach near MacDill Air Force Base and appears confused, revealing he is following the commands of a mysterious new master. He curls up on the ground to await further instructions, however, his catnap is interrupted by helicopters as the military tracks him down. Ravage destroys several helicopters before being surrounded by soldiers and jeeps. He unleashes Reedman, and although the smaller robot is eventually taken down by electric prods, he provides the distraction needed to allow Ravage to escape into an petrochemical plant. Deciding the relatively subtle approach isn't working, officials at the White House ask the President of the United States for permission to level the plant. In space, still linked to the US satellite, Soundwave is shocked and outraged that Ravage's remains have been tampered with. Ravage makes a run for it as several jets close in on the plant. As they cut loose, he attempts to blast his way through the ground but the missiles detonate, demolishing the plant and throwing Ravage's battered body into a pit. As the news reports blame a faulty intake valve for the explosion, a damaged but still online form settles in to wait for new instructions, surrounded by the remains of the appliancebots. ArceeArcee finds herself as the subject of a twisted Decepticon experiment. The events of this book take place between Reign of Starscream #5 and Alliance #4.As the ship Arcee is on enters a planet's atmosphere (probably Earth), Thundercracker appears and blasts the ship from the sky. Arcee is trapped in the ship's remains as her shipmates leave the wreckage to battle Thundercracker. As she finally frees herself, she finds it has gone strangely quiet, as Thundercracker has emerged from the battle victorious. As he approaches her and says he's glad to see her, she blacks out. She wakes up later with a scream, horrified by seeing her dead and dissected body on a table in front of her. She is in the laboratory of Flatline, a Decepticon field medic, and her spark has been transferred to a protoform body. Flatline notices she is awake and reports to Thundercracker that he thinks her spark is not strong enough to power "the rest". Thundercracker disagrees and tells Flatline to try again, without making any more mistakes, as they're running out of protoforms. As Thundercracker heads down to see their new warriors for himself, Flatline leaves to gather more supplies, telling Arcee to stay put. As she looks around, Arcee is surprised to see Skids and Mudflap in an energy cage. The Twins note that Arcee "doesn't look right", "none of them do". This leads Arcee to further notice the two lifeless protoforms next to her, and wonder aloud what is going on. The Twins debate over which one should answer her, but when she cuts them off and demands they just tell her, Flatline returns and answers her for them: Arcee's spark was saved by the medic as part of an experiment to speed up the development of new protoforms and quickly produce more Decepticon soldiers. Flatline also explains that he only did part of the dissection, with most of the initial damage having been caused by Thundercracker. The mech in question comes in just in time to hear this, and claims he was happy to do so. Arcee feels a surge of hatred over Thundercracker killing her teammates, but can't yet remember his name.
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Post by Leathurkatt on Oct 16, 2010 2:54:56 GMT -5
Transformers: Nefarious Transformers: Nefarious is a 6-issue comic-book mini-series published by IDW Publishing in 2010. Set after the events of Revenge of the Fallen, the series details the Autobots making a "desperate alliance" with Soundwave and Theodore Galloway to investigate the Initiative, an unknown human group with designs on the Transformers. Part 1Soundwave monitors N.E.S.T. whilst a new player emerges on the scene. The sequel to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen starts here! What is The Initiative? More to the point, why doesn't the all-seeing Soundwave know anything about it? How did they come to reanimate/control Ravage? Soundwave must find the answers, and he'll destroy anything in his path to get them!Orbiting the Earth, the sinister Soundwave is gathering information about the planet's inhabitants from their various news broadcasts. The space-faring Decepticon's eye is caught by police pursuing an apparently stolen RV in Seattle. The involvement of the NEST forces under the command of Major Lennox tips off that a Cybertronian is involved in this pursuit, something which is quickly confirmed by the sight of Alice driving the RV whilst the terrified owners cower away from the sinister Pretender, hiding in the back of the vehicle. Skids & Mudflap are deployed to deal with Alice's Grand Theft Auto as well as the Decepticon's highly reckless driving. The Twins box the RV in, limiting the destruction Alice can cause, but the Pretender shows no sign of slowing down for an upcoming roadblock, forcing Sideswipe to enter the fray and attempt to ram the RV. At the last possible moment, Sideswipe transforms and stabs Alice in the face through the windshield of the RV, ending the vehicular rampage and terrifying the vehicle's owners even further. With the confrontation over, Soundwave focuses his spying on Theodore Galloway, roaming the corridors of power. It seems that Mr. Galloway is doing all he can to dismantle NEST and the Autobot-military alliance, still upset at his forced deplaning at the hands of Lennox. Soundwave is happy that the human is doing his work for him, and that if other members of the global infrastructure act in this manner, then by the time Megatron is combat-ready, Soundwave will have already conquered the Earth by stealth. Of course, the best laid schemes o' glitch mice an' mechs gang aft agley and Soundwave's carefully considered plan receives a spanner in the works as the Decepticon satellite discovers that his minion, Ravage, is apparently functioning again, a feeling that wasn't passed on to Soundwave, unlike the sensation of Ravage's death. Not far from the newly re-animated Ravage, a pair of mysterious trucks are allowed through a security checkpoint onto the grounds of Kingdom Petrochemicals after handing a police officer some official-looking documents. Once through, the trucks disgorge some yellow ground attack vehicles and a lot of people wearing military-style hazard suits. At Diego Garcia, Optimus Prime is discussing the success of the previous mission with NEST, but both sides note that without some way of knowing how many other Decepticons are active on the planet, Alice's capture means very little. Lennox notes that due to Galloway's actions, NEST doesn't have the funding for the required level of vigilance. After Sideswipe expresses a rather poor opinion of Humanity, Bumblebee, Knock Out, Dune Runner and Jolt are dispatched to Kingdom Petrochemicals to monitor five unknown spark traces, with Breakaway acting as air support. Once the Autobot patrol arrive at their destination, they encounter the mysterious military-looking people and ground vehicles. Bumblebee gives the order merely to observe proceedings. Unbeknown to 'Bee, others are also observing the scene, namely Buzzsaw. The Decepticon condor reports back to Soundwave about this new group of humans, describing them as "Armed. Organized. Well-equipped." Concerned by this unknown factor, Soundwave unleashes his animalistic minions with the orders to bring him a single survivor for interrogation and eradicate the rest. The humans detect this new Decepticon threat and respond with force immediately...and appear to gain the upper hand, much to Soundwave's astonishment. Soundwave is forced to take direct action and enters Earth's atmosphere, where he is confronted by Breakaway. Soundwave brusquely tells the Autobot that the current situation is not their business. Breakaway refuses to back off and is promptly obliterated by Soundwave's Sonic Cannons. Upon the death of their teammate, the Autobots open fire on the Decepticons. The mysterious human group, caught in the crossfire of an inter-Cybertronian battle, withdraw, realizing that they cannot complete their mission in these circumstances. Soundwave copies the human example and withdraws his forces, expressing frustration at being unable to track these humans. Shortly, a group of humans meet in holographic form to discuss the results of this mission. They state that it was an incomplete success and that not enough energy was extracted to feed the group's "infant"—the partially restored AllSpark Cube. Part 2The Autobots begin to suspect that a human organization is working against them, while Soundwave continues to investigate the resurrection of Ravage. Layers within layers are revealed as the massive global conspiracy that is Project: Nefarious continues to unfold. OPTIMUS PRIME wants answers, and he's prepared to go to any lengths to get them. But how far is too far? And by committing his forces to stopping SOUNDWAVE, is Prime just playing right into The Initiative's hands?Galloway is prepared to shut down N.E.S.T. after the battle at Kingdom Petrochemicals, but Major Lennox is not going down without a fight. Galloway explains that all Cybertronians must have the proper paperwork to be active on Earth, which Jolt and Knock Out apparently don't have. The Decepticon threat level has been downgraded to blue, which means N.E.S.T. will no longer be needed. Lennox tries to explain how Bumblebee, Jolt, and Knock Out just fought a bunch of Decepticons at Kingdom Petrochemicals, but Galloway won't hear it. After Galloway and his boys leave, Optimus Prime and Lennox discuss the possibilities of a possible third organization involved in their situation in some way. Meanwhile, a team of investigators is inspecting the sight at Kingdom Petrochemicals, and while searching through the ground, they discover a sub-level, and send down a team to investigate. When the humans go down there, Ravage comes charging out of the hole, and Soundwave orders him to to find a safe place to hide until he arrives, while he sends Buzzsaw to rendezvous with a strike team in Wendover, Utah. While these events unfold, the people at Initiative are testing their newly reconstructed Allspark, but some of its members are worried about what could happen if things go wrong, while others tell them to shut up, and that everything'll be fine. Meanwhile, three Decepticons proceed to absolutely OBLITERATE a farm in Utah, looking for something to do with Ravage. They spy a sub-level in the farm, but they see a flashing red light, and Soundwave tells them to GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE! This has attracted both Initiative forces, and N.E.S.T. forces, with only N.E.S.T. responding. Lennox tells them to deploy Ironhide's team, as they are the closest to the Utah location, and when they get to the Utah area, they proceed to try and defeat the Decepticons. The Autobots fare pretty well against the Decepticons, killing two of them and causing Dirt Boss to surrender, but that is when Soundwave comes in and attacks. He unleashes Ravage to attack Ironhide, but he is quickly dispatched of. Just as Soundwave is about to use his saw on Ironhide, Optimus Prime comes parachuting down from the sky, and quickly defeats him. Soundwave then tries to convince the Autobots not to cryo-freeze him, as he is a valuable asset to them if they need to investigate who's working against them. Optimus Prime says that they will arrange for Soundwave's arrest, but they won't freeze him. In return, however, he has to tell them everything he knows. Just then, the Initiative discovers that the Hoover Dam is gone off the radar... Part 3The Decepticons stage a jailbreak, while the Initiative's plans kick into high gear. Capturing SOUNDWAVE is one thing, holding onto him quite another... as BUMBLEBEE, JOLT, KNOCK OUT and DUNE RUNNER are about to find out! And while the Autobots and Decepticons continue to stumble in the dark, National Security Director Theodore Galloway closes in on the secrets of Project: Nefarious... but his days are numbered!In Utah, Bumblebee is reflecting on the type of soldier he is; he doesn't waiver, doesn't compromise and NEVER disobeys an order from Optimus Prime. Bee considers that the same applies to his trio of cadets: Jolt, Knock Out and Dune Runner. However, that kind of uncompromising, unquestioning attitude is precisely what got Breakaway killed. The yellow Autobot's reverie is broken by a communique from Optimus Prime. Prime informs Bumblebee that the Autobots are ready and that 'Bee should bring Soundwave in at Bumblebee's discretion. Bumblebee acknowledges the order, but it's apparent, at least to Jolt, that the yellow Autobot thinks that Prime is underestimating the danger posed by Soundwave, even in his current, imprisoned and restrained, predicament. As he is being transported in a NEST cargo plane, Soundwave smugly intones that the Autobot patrol have a mere twenty-two minutes left to live. Knock Out dismisses it as head games, but Jolt and Dune Runner are less sure, a view reinforced by Buzzsaw tailing the plane. In a disused nuclear shelter in Odessa, Texas, Optimus Prime is asking Ironhide for confirmation that they'll be ready for Soundwave's impending arrival. Ironhide assures the Autobot commander that things will be ready "if and when" Soundwave makes it to them. Optimus questions Ironhide's use of "if," but Ironhide sticks to his guns. Further, Ironhide tells his senior officer that he should be there overseeing the transfer, as Soundwave is tricky to contain. Prime agrees but he claims to need Ironhide's expertise at their base more so than in the field. Ironhide pointedly asks Optimus why he's at the base instead of trying to patch things up with NEST. Prime confesses that he's not in the mood to deal with Lennox right now. Back on Soundwave's prisoner transfer flight, the Autobot field team is in trouble. Buzzsaw destroys both of the cargo plane's starboard engines, leading to the inevitable fiery crash. Over at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Theodore Galloway boards a helicopter and tells its crew to disregard any order they might have received barring them from conducting any reconnaissance over Sector Seven's old stomping grounds. The flight personnel acquiesce to Director Galloway and two helicopters are soon en route to the Hoover Dam. Inside the Dam, some Initiative personnel are beginning a drilling operation that will lead them to reach an unspecified payload within thirty-six minutes. Somewhere in the region of Inyokern, California, Initiative-1 AKA Carter Newell, is bemoaning the amount of time it's taking to drill through the reinforced concrete, whilst he is in radio contact with another of the Initiative's 'cardinals,' Mr. Kirkpatrick. Mr. Newell assures Kirkpatrick that he will deal with Galloway. Newell immediately contacts Woolf who is with the Allspark cube. Carter asks Woolf for a fast thaw, specifying that it must be an airborne unit. At the NEST plane's crash site in New Mexico, the joint human/Autobot unit are checking their wounds. Bumblebee is a little unsteady after using his body to shield much of the human crew, as well as their 'cargo' from the worst of the impact. The Autobots are unable to send out a request for medical aid as Soundwave has comprehensively taken over the regional airwaves. Bumblebee realizes that leaves them as sitting ducks, so Bumblebee and his patrol race away, dragging the still-restrained Soundwave along for the ride. Bumblebee is seriously questioning the wisdom of transporting Soundwave to Odessa Base at all costs -- something that becomes even trickier when Buzzsaw, Beastbox, Rumble, Dirt Boss, Ratbat and Ravage show up to make their acquaintance. At Odessa Base, Prime is dealing with a NEST captain, and agrees that they are unilaterally out on a limb. The operation is a risk and a subterfuge that will be entirely meaningless if Soundwave is lost. Back in New Mexico, Bumblebee and his patrol are trying to deal with Soundwave's militia so that they can bring Soundwave to Odessa. Things start off well with Bumblebee taking on Rumble directly. Unfortunately, the Autobots are unable to deal with the Decepticon air support. Realizing that they can't win the combat, Bumblebee decides he has to take decisive action. During the melee, Soundwave orders Ravage to free him from his restraints. Ravage goes to obey, but before he can do so, he is once more under the control of the Initiative. Soundwave expresses his disgust at this development. Meanwhile, Bumblebee decides that this team isn't fighting to the death - not his own, nor that of his cadets. Surmising that the Initiative clearly wants Soundwave very badly, Bumblebee blasts the Decepticon prisoner's restraining sled and abandons him to the desert. Knowing that he'll face consequences for his decision, but also knowing that such a decision meant life for himself, Knock Out, Dune Runner and Jolt, Bumblebee gets his cadets together. In the airspace above the Hoover Dam, Captain Cox radios to Director Galloway that there's an unknown aircraft on an intercept course, right before Cox's 'copter explodes. The other helicopter takes evasive actions but is still hit by the unknown assailant. Soon Galloway makes visual contact with the attacker - a WWI-era biplane with clearly hostile intent... Part 4While Galloway fights for his life against Ransack, Soundwave confronts the Initiative head-on! Even SOUNDWAVE's monumental patience has limits, and at last he goes fully on the offensive-staging a direct assault on The Initiative's base of operations. But the mysterious human organization always seems to have an extra trick up its sleeve, and this latest one's a real jaw-dropper!Just outside of Boulder City, Nevada, Director Galloway and his accompanying helicopter crew are under a vicious attack from an Initiative-controlled Ransack, whilst over in Inyokern, California, Carter Newell and Ingrid are remotely observing the carnage. Ingrid asks Carter why has such hatred for the Cybertronians, a hatred that goes so far as not even considering the possibility of them having names. After that, Ingrid presses further, demanding to know what's in Isolation-1, an Initiative subdivision that Carter, and only Carter, has access to. Newell cuts Ingrid off, stating that despite their familial connection, she asks too many questions. Over in Nevada, things go from bad to worse for Galloway's group, with Frank having his stomach impaled by a piece of debris thrown up in the chaos. Galloway searches the body of their helicopter pilot and finds a radio. At the same time, Carter & Ingrid are updated on the progress of their operation at the Hoover Dam. It's tight which worries the Initiative scientist as it may mean Armageddon, something that Ingrid proclaims to be "Cool." Someone who is finding things far less cool is Galloway, who is radioing an urgent help request to the NEST Tactical Base as Ransack looms ever closer... Five minutes earlier at that very same base, Optimus Prime and Major Lennox are discussing how Soundwave's escape has left the trail that they were following completely cold, which, combined with how far off-book they went to achieve Soundwave's capture in the first place, means that Galloway could effectively shut NEST down completely. As this grim possibility is being pondered, the base receives Galloway's emergency radio call. Optimus dispatches the only Autobots in the area, Skids and Mudflap, to come to Galloway's aid. Ironhide isn't entirely sure Galloway deserves to be helped, but Prime's order is relayed. In Eastern California, Soundwave and his minions, accompanied by Dirt Boss are investigating an operational base located within restricted airspace. Soundwave surmises that the humans were smart to minimize aerial surveillance in this way. Dirt Boss thinks that if these humans were that smart, they'd realize that Ravage's new handlers would be traced. Soundwave thinks they may have done, and that it could be a trap. Dirt Boss pooh poohs this and charges forwards, exposing a gap in the humans' outer perimeter by the simple means of getting blown the hell up. Buzzsaw and Ratbat penetrate the gap opened by Dirt Boss, but are forced back and conquered by automated aerial defenses. Soundwave orders Beastbox and Rumble to face the oncoming military vehicles, but they, too, are quickly subdued and destroyed by the human forces. Forced to go in by himself, Soundwave claims to have taken the measure of the foe. He is quickly proven wrong as the military vehicles raise up and disgorge two more Initiative-controlled Transformers, who fire at Soundwave, rendering him unable to continue the attack. In Nevada, Ransack is closing in on the dying Frank, until Galloway breaks cover and draws the Decepticon's attention away. As Ransack chases and fires at the NEST director, Skids and Mudflap finally arrive and start blasting at Ransack whilst mocking the Decepticon's retro styling. Outgunned, Ransack transforms back to his bi-plane mode and flies off, raking the Autobot twins with gunfire as he flies off. Unfortunately for the Seeker, his escape is cut short by a squadron of NEST gunship helicopters who promptly blast Ransack out of the sky, effectively neutralizing the threat. As Galloway's helicopter crew is extracted and a medic tends to Frank, Galloway reports to Lennox that someone tried to kill them all because they had gotten too close to something at the Hoover Dam. This prompts the group to head over to the Dam, where they note signs of forced entry. The Twins surmise that whoever forced the entry were going after the AllSpark. Back at the Odessa base, an enemy contact is detected and closing in fast. Prime sends out Ironhide and a squad of humans to investigate the new arrival. It turns out to be Soundwave, who tells the welcoming committee to lower their weapons, as he is there to propose an alliance. Over at the Initiative, Carter appears to be in Isolation-1, and is musing on Ingrid's words, talking to a sinister-looking Transformer head about how he hates the robots as they took everything that he cared about. As he says this, a wrecked vintage car is clear behind him. Apparently he's dedicated his life to humbling all robots, and soon all robot-kind will know his revenge. Part 5Can Soundwave's uneasy alliance with the Autobots stand against the forces of the Initiative? The full scope and scale of The Initiative's grand plan-some eighty years in the making-is revealed, and the pooling of AUTOBOT and DECEPTICON forces may just be too little too late. Armed with his very own Allspark, Carter Newell has nothing less than total annihilation on his mind!Following Soundwave's lead, the Autobots and NEST arrive at the site of the Initiative's base in Inyokern, California, only to discover that the base has completely disappeared! Suspecting some kind of mobile/modular headquarters, Optimus Prime's fear that their enemies have access to Cybertronian technology continues to grow, and Soundwave, seeking to maintain the upper hand in their uneasy alliance, refrains from confirming Prime's suspicions by telling them about the mind-controlled Transformers he battled previously. While the NEST team preps for departure and Galloway gives Lennox some uncharacteristic words of encouragement, Ironhide escorts Soundwave to a nearby cellular tower, where the spymaster uses his abilities to track the Initiative down. The Initiative base, meanwhile, has relocated to Crater Lake in Oregon, where the facsimile AllSpark has been briefly stabilized by the infusion of the residual energy harvested from Hoover Dam. Exploiting this lull, Carter Newell uses some kind of technological apparatus to link himself into the cube's energies, finally giving him control of them. Soon after, when the Initiative's board of directors convenes in their virtual reality boardroom, the directors announce their intention to force Carter out... and Carter responds by transmitting AllSpark energy through the virtual systems, into the board members offices, where it brings various pieces office equipment to life. The feral Allspark Mutations kill all the board members, leaving Carter in sole control of the Intiative and Project: Nefarious. The surge of AllSpark energy released by Carter is felt from afar by Optimus Prime as he, the Autobots and NEST home in on the Initiative's new location. The group divides to attack the base from every side, and the Initiative's human troops quickly fall before their superior opponents. Carter demands that every Transformer the Initiative has captured over the years be thawed out to join the battle, as he activates the counterfeit AllSpark to supply them with the necessary power. The Autobots react in horror to the sight of familiar friends and foes emerging from the Intiative base, but a greater horror is brewing within... the energy demands Carter has placed upon the AllSpark prove too much, too soon, and it begins to go into meltdown! Part 6A great battle between evil and good! Who will reach the cube? The fate of the entire planet teeters in the balance as OPTIMUS PRIME makes a fateful decision; a no-win scenario he never thought he'd have to face... again. Cover-to-cover searing battle action and truly epic stakes, the sequel to Revenge of the Fallen concludes!Carter Newell descends further and further into insanity, intent on using the facsimile AllSpark to exterminate all Transformer life, beginning with Optimus Prime and his Autobots. Outside the Initiative base, the Autobots struggle in their battle against the Initiative-controlled Autobots and Decepticons; unable to fight to their fullest extent due to their unwillingness to hurt their friends, they are forced instead to subdue them, allowing Ratchet to cut them off from the controlling energies of the artificial AllSpark. With the AllSpark entering meltdown due to Carter's misuse of it, Hank Kirkpatrick attempts to stop the madman, only to have Carter blast him with the AllSpark's energies, reducing him to a pile of smoking bones. This horrific sight prompts Carter's niece Ingrid to race to the isolation unit where the mysterious Transformer head held captive by Carter resides, agreeing to liberate the Transformer in order to stop Carter if he explains what is going on. The robot explains that he is a Seeker named Fortress, one of many left abandoned on Earth by The Fallen thousands of years beforehand. In 1929, a reckless contest between Fortress and another Seeker for information on the location of the Tomb of the Primes led to the young Carter Newell's parents being killed in a car crash, and Carter himself being crippled. Carter has hated the Transformers ever since, and has used his parents' wealth to build the Initiative for the goal of destroying them. Exploiting the chaos of the battle, Soundwave is able to wrest control of Ravage back from the Initiative, and has him deploy the Microcons. Just as Carter is using the power of the AllSpark to inflict pain upon Prime and the Autobots through their very sparks, the tiny robots sneak up behind the human and form Reedman, grievously wounding him before they are destroyed by an AllSpark-powered blast. Believing the AllSpark will heal his wounds in time, Carter disconnects a portion of the mobile base and flees with the cube, only to be pursued by Optimus Prime, Buzzsaw (at Soundwave's command), and Fortress himself, who has been freed by Ingrid and has reconstituted his body from the remains of the abandoned mobile base. Prime is forced to propel Carter's escape vehicle off the road, plucking the cube from the wreckage and attempting to bring it under control by feeding it the energies of his own spark. Carter emerges from the rubble and is about to use the cube to destroy Prime, when he is killed by a cannon barrage from Buzzsaw. At that point, Fortress arrives and convinces Prime to give him the cube, teleporting away with it to some far-off corner of the cosmos, where it explodes harmlessly, taking no lives but Fortress's own. In the aftermath of the battle, the Autobots and NEST arrest the surviving Initiative personnel and comb through the base's computers, but information on the full extent of Newell's organization and his operations remains elusive. Prime fears that everything Carter did could all happen again...as up in orbit, Soundwave completes his upload of the Initiative's databanks...
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Post by Leathurkatt on Dec 23, 2010 18:30:42 GMT -5
Transformers: Sector 7 Transformers: Sector 7 is a 5-issue comic-book mini-series published by IDW Publishing in 2010, telling the story of secretive Sector Seven. It has been billed as the first prequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, but by all appearances, it doesn't really have anything to do with it. “At last—the secret history of the Transformers is finally revealed, through the multigenerational saga of the clandestine spy group code-named SECTOR 7. Events in this series tie directly into all of the massive hit Transformers movies, but trust us when we say—there has never been a movie-tie in comic like this before!” Original1898: by order of the President, an investigation is undertaken of a blind mental patient's claims of a thirty-six feet tall steel man... While on their latest fantastical exploit, gentleman adventurers Walter Simmons and Joseph Wells run afoul of a race of inhuman subterranean monsters beneath the Sierra Nevada mountains. After escaping the beasts and re-entombing them beneath the Earth through a combination of Joseph's fondness for firearms and Walter's predilection for rational thinking, the pair are approached by United States Secret Service agent Billy North, who has been sent to draft the two men on orders of the president. Walter and Joseph's history of endeavours into the worlds of the unreal make them the ideal men to study the case of Captain Archibald Witwicky, who has returned from a voyage to the Arctic blind and mad, spinning "delusional" tales of a giant mechanical man frozen beneath the ice. After questioning Witwicky in Boston, Walter is intrigued at the possibility, while Joseph scoffs at the notion, enraging Witwicky's first mate, Reginald Danco, who accosts him. Defusing the confrontation, Walter and North learn that Danco also saw the metal man, and begin putting together an expedition to follow Danco's directions back to the Arctic and see it for themselves. A short time later, Walter, Joseph, North and Danco set sail for the Arctic, joined by metallurgist Jack Arden, explosives expert Philippe Bowen and geologist Theodore Grant. Witwicky's claims prove more than mere fantasy when the team discovers the frozen form of Megatron, and Walter begins speculating about the true nature of the alien marvel before him. As Witwicky's presence did before, however, the arrival of the seven activates something within Megatron, and one-light second away, in Havana, Cuba, the long-dormant Jetfire senses the Decepticon leader's energy signal. Having been disguised as a boat, Jetfire promptly transforms and flies away, leaving his crew none the wiser, thinking that their ship has merely been sunk by the Spanish. Danco advocates destroying Megatron to North before he can pose a threat to humanity, while Walter and Joseph discuss each other's reactions: the former shocked by the latter's incredulity, the latter fearing the former may be consumed by the enormity of what they face. Arden, meanwhile, studies Megatron's metal body, coming to the frustrating conclusion that he is made of no metal he has ever seen; information without which Grant cannot calculate where Bowen should place his charges to free Megatron. The whole matter soon becomes a secondary concern when Jetfire comes crashing through the roof of the ice cave, having followed Megatron's signal there. Ignoring the humans, who look on in awe, he converses with the reactivated Megatron, but upon learning that the Decepticon is not The Fallen, upon whom he seeks revenge, he simply punches his prone form. Jarred out of their shock by Jetfire's violent act, the seven spring into action, with North firing upon the Transformer with his six-guns. Irritated by the "insect's stings", Jetfire seizes North, and hurls him over his shoulder to his death. At Danco's direction, Grant and Bowen set up charges to blow the ice out from under Jetfire, while Walter, Joseph and Arden distract him from either side. The resultant explosion sends Jetfire plunging into the depths of the freezing sea, and partially immerses Megatron as well, knocking him offline; as he shuts down, Megatron gasps out his name, which Walter mis-hears as "Mega-Man". The death of Agent North weighing heavily on his conscience, Walter tells Joseph that to be consumed by the extra-terrestrial mystery is inevitable. He tells the others he expects nothing from them, their duty to him and the mission done, but they all object, insisting that the group stay together. And so ends the first and only adventure of the First Seven... Irreplaceable1913: Walter Simmons discovers the AllSpark where the Hoover Dam will be built, and Jetfire wants it for himself... In the fifteen years that have passed since Walter Simmons, Theodore Wells and their group discovered the frozen "Mega-Man" in the Arctic, Simmons has become consumed by the mysterious metal creature, as well as a giant cube uncovered in the Colorado River in 1902, which he believes to be connected to the robot. Simmons's wife Clara and their daughter Margaret, living in the middle of the Nevada desert, have not seen Walter in eight months, their needs looked after by Wells… but Clara's patience is wearing thin, and Wells is running out of excuses… Wells and Simmons's group of seven has gained and lost members over the last few years; metallurgist and geologist Lou Hoover and her mining expert husband Herbert have joined the group after meeting Wells when they were all caught up in the middle of the Boxer Rebellion in Tianjin, China at the turn of the century, as has the enthusiastic young Roy Thompson. Wells returns from his latest visit to Clara and Margaret just as the Hoovers are telling Roy how they met Wells, and they all head down into the Colorado River basin to join Simmons for the excavation of the cube, finally made possible after nearly a decade thanks to Herbert masterminding the diversion of the river around the mysterious object. Wells attempts to remind Simmons of his family, but Simmons is more concerned with the glyphs on the cube's surface, which match those on the Mega-Man, definitively proving the two relics to be related. As the cube is hoisted from its crater, revealing a cave system below, Wells and Simmons are shocked to see traces of the same mysterious glowing material that they found in the caves in Sierra, Nevada fifteen years ago, and the team heads underground to investigate. Once under the Earth, the team realizes that the caves must form a huge network that connects to the ones Wells and Simmons previously explored. Puzzling over the glowing substance, they happen upon the corpses of many of the creatures Wells and Simmons had encountered on their last adventure, and are promptly confronted by the beasts' slayer: Jetfire still lives! Even after spending years questing through the tunnels after sensing the cube's power signature, the energy-deprived Jetfire recognises Simmons and Wells and attacks. The team scrambles for the surface, and Simmons calls for the cube to be dropped on Jetfire, despite the fact that Wells has not yet emerged. Thankfully, Wells is able to escape, but before the cube can be dropped, the shocked Jetfire recognizes the AllSpark and reaches out for it. He triggers a surge of energon from the cube which brings the crane hoisting it, a nearby car, and Thompson's shotgun to life, and overloads his own systems, forcing him to teleport away. Wells has to physically drag the mesmerized Simmons away from the cube as the Hoovers break open the water bypass floodgates diverting the river, flooding the basin once more and "drowning" the crane robot. Dismissing his willingness to abandon Wells, Simmons decides to move to Colorado to study the cube permanently, leaving the Mega-Man under the watch of the other group members in the Arctic. But everyone has forgotten the car robot brought to life by the AllSpark, as it silently drives away into the desert… Later, a knock comes at the door of the Simmons residence, and Clara answers, thinking Walter is home at last. But it is Wells at the door… and having seen how much his old friend has irrevocably changed, he begs Clara to forget about Walter… and run away with him! Together1934: Let us tell you a story of two bank robbers named Bonnie and Clyde... and their transforming death car! On January 8, 1934, infamous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde complete another successful bank robbery in Sowers, Texas, only to have their getaway driver W. D. Jones crash into the police car that arrives in response to the crime. With Jones out cold, the two criminals seek an alternative means of transport, and spy an old car nearby with its engine running. A cop draws his firearm on them before they can board the vehicle, but he is as surprised as they are when the car transforms into a giant robot! Two days later, veteran Sector Seven officer Roy Thompson arrives in Sowers to investigate the cop's report, on assumption that it may be connected to the car which was brought to life by the power of the AllSpark over twenty years beforehand, though he is highly skeptical. He is accompanied by Margaret Simmons, daughter of Sector Seven founder Walter Simmons, who has been given the job by her father following the recent end of her marriage, on the belief that it will be a safe assignment that will keep her out of danger. Walter's assumption, however, is soon proven very wrong when Roy and Margaret discover that the cop is bandaged from head to toe, and his description of the creature that attacked him is identical to the robot they are looking for. At Bonnie and Clyde's hideout, Clyde attempts to get the car to transform again by shouting various phrases at it, while Bonnie works on her poetry, penning a morbid prediction of the deaths the couple are destined for when they are caught. When Bonnie comments that she wishes the car had windows like their other vehicle, the pair watch in amazement as the AllSpark mutation disassembles the other car and incorporates its parts, reshaping its appearance to Bonnie's liking. Convinced of the car's willingness to help them, the pair prepare to employ its power in staging a jailbreak to free the captive W.D. Jones. Deducing Clyde's plan, Roy Thompson readies the Texas Rangers at Eastham Jail for the criminals' inevitable attack, and arms himself with a gun created by Sector Seven's Dr. Oppenheimer that will disrupt the robot's mental functions. As Roy is explaining the history of the gun and the AllSpark mutation to the bewildered Margaret, Bonny, Clyde and the car arrive and open fire on the jail. The robot breaks down the prison walls and frees all the inmates, but during the chaos, Margaret is able to shoot Bonnie in the arm. The robot takes this badly and unleashes a furious barrage of firepower, causing Roy to drop the gun, but Margo is able to recover it and blast the robot, reverting it to vehicle mode. Nevertheless, the criminals are all able to board the car and drive off, leaving Bonnie behind. But Margaret has observed that the robot has sentience and feelings, and quickly concocts a plan... Some time later, Clyde and the inmates make camp in the wilderness under cover of night, while the recovered robot wanders off into the woods. Without his mechanical bodyguard around, the inmates start to argue with Clyde: many of them only had short sentences, but they now know they will get the death sentence if they are re-captured. One particularly vocal inmate is suddenly silenced when the robot returns and grasps him in its hand, crushing the life from him. As the other crooks flee, the robot reveals that it has found a map in the woods, showing Bonnie's location. Clyde can tell a trap when he sees one, but the robot is insistent that they not leave Bonnie behind, and Clyde can't help but agree with the sentiment. Following the map, they naturally walk straight into a Sector Seven ambush... at which point the car transforms to robot mode, and guns Bonnie down, preferring to see her dead than behind bars! The agents return fire, and Clyde is killed, leaving only the crippled robot. Margaret walks up to it, and as it apologizes, deeming its actions "the only way", she unloads the gun into its head at point-blank range. After a moment, the robot explodes, as the Sector Seven agents wonder how to cover up the whole bizarre affair. Recovering Bonnie's poem from the rubble, Margaret quotes it as an answer to their question: it was death for Bonnie and Clyde. Weapon1944 — At the height of World War II, the Allies' worst fears are realized: the Nazis have captured a Transformer! On April 3, 1944, Walter Simmons summons his grandson, Private Billy Simmons, to the Sector Seven beta command post at the Hoover Dam, having orchestrated his transfer from his military unit to the Sector Seven forces. Billy is not happy with the situation, preferring to be out facing the Nazis on the battlefield, but as his grandfather reveals the secret history of Sector Seven to him, it becomes apparent that that's exactly where he's going: behind enemy lines to destroy an N.B.E. that the Nazis have captured and are reverse-engineering to create incredible weapons of war! Together with Sergeant Donovan, hand-to-hand expert Horwitz, infiltrations specialist Louie Corliss, machine-gunner Garcia, intelligence officer Newcombe and sniper Lupton (nicknamed "The Kid" because he lied about his age to join the army), Billy departs for an air-drop into Nazi territory, close to Castle Neuschwanstein where the N.B.E. is being kept. The heavy-handed speeches of Donovan and the joking of Corliss get the mission off to an uneasy start, but things suddenly get exponentially worse when the team's plane is shot down by Nazi laser-tanks! Simmons, Donovan, Newcombe and Lupton are the only ones to survive the fall, managing to deploy their parachutes, but Newcombe doesn't last long on the ground, crushed by one of the freakish tanks as it comes rolling in pursuit of the soldiers. The three remaining men take cover in a ditch, reasoning that the tank will not be able to follow... only for the tank to transform into a humanoid mode! Luckily, the tank's conversion time gives Donovan a chance to load a bazooka and topple the tank-robot, which is revealed to have a human pilot wired into its systems. The pilot pleads for Simmons to kill him in German, and Simmons does so—but not out of mercy, since he doesn't speak German. Detecting the approach of more tanks, the men prepare to leave, but Simmons and Lupton discover that Donovan has been fatally wounded by blow-back from the bazooka, and obey his wishes to leave him. Deducing that the pilots' brains are wired into the robot tanks to help them maintain an equilibrium, Simmons has Lupton lead the two tanks pursuing them through a dense crop of forest, where they fell all the trees in their wake. Simmons then strikes from behind, hoping to cause the robots to stumble over the collapsed trees, but only one tank falls, and the other continues to attack him. Lupton smashes his way into the fallen tank and seizes the manual controls from its pilot, bringing the robot's cannon to bear and taking down the other with a blast that also, unfortunately, severs Simmons's hand. Simmons and Lupton conceal themselves in the captive tank and try using it to approach Castle Neuschwanstein by hiding in plain sight, but the tortured pilot's repeated pleading screams that they kill him tip off the castle guards. Abandoning stealth, the two men take the tank through the castle walls all guns blazing, prompting the scientists within to activate their ultimate creation: the "Panzer-Giganten", a huge robot that proceeds to smash the tank and kill Lupton. Simmons evades the robot and machine-guns his way through the ranks of Nazi soldiers that come at him, seizing a scientist and demanding answers. Getting only the standard "I was following orders!" response, he hurls the man out a window, but immediately regrets it, since he could have used his help in finding the captive N.B.E. The Panzer-Giganten comes crashing through the floor after Simmons, who hurls a satchel of explosives at it, only for the automaton to swat it aside. As luck would have it, the satchel blows open the cryo-containment chamber holding the captive N.B.E.—none other than Jetfire himself! Sickened by the Panzer-Giganten, Jetfire drives his fist through the Nazi robot, tearing out its human components and causing it to drop to the floor, deactivated. Jetfire then turns on Simmons, demanding to know how his own kind could do so monstrous a thing. Simmons tries to explain that it was not his doing, and that he thought the bomb would kill them all, prompting Jetfire to question why he values his life so little. Simmons's retort that he values his life, but values freedom more, causes memories of Jetfire's rebellion against The Fallen to well up in the Seeker's mind, and he tells Simmons that they are more alike than they may well realize. After destroying Castle Neuschwanstein and everyone in it, Jetfire flies Simmons to an Allied command post and departs without leaving any tangible evidence of his existence. One great mystery remains: a map of a cave system that Nazis had pried from Jetfire's mind. Although the copy in the castle was destroyed, Simmons fears that they may have duplicated the information, and requests permanent transfer to Sector Seven, at last understanding why someone, like his mother and grandfather before him, would so dedicate themselves to the organization. Frozen1954 — What you fear most... is among you. On February 9, 1954, disaster strikes the Sector Seven command post in the Arctic: an act of sabotage has sent the furnace heating the base into overdrive, driving up the temperature in the base and threatening to defrost the Mega-Man. The rising temperature triggers an unbreakable lockdown, trapping the skeleton crew manning the base—Bill Simmons, Anne Fischer, Philip Nolan, Danco and Fontaine—inside, and leaving Walter Simmons with no alternative but to have the complex struck with liquid nitrogen bombs in order to ensure that the Mega-Man does not thaw. Inside the base, tensions run high as Bill (now sporting a robotic prosthetic fist) is forced to subdue and lock up the unstable Nolan, who believes that an N.B.E. is among them in human form. With the group unable to communicate with anyone outside thanks to a destroyed radio, Danco explains that the furnace is trapped in a loop that is pulling in the warm air that heats the crew's living quarters above, heating it further, and cycling it into the Mega-Man chamber. With only four hours before the alien defrosts, Anne, Fontaine and Danco concoct a plan to link an air duct that leads outside to the chamber, restoring the freezing Arctic air that will keep the Mega-Man immobile. Being the smallest, Fontaine has the unenviable job of climbing up into the ducts to make the link. Anne visits the imprisoned Nolan, who denies responsibility for the sabotage and grudgingly admits that his hostile actions were born purely out of his hatred for Bill; a hatred that is the result of Bill accusing respected Sector Seven scientist Robert Oppenheimer of being a Communist and disgracing him. He is unsurprised when Anne tries to defend Bill's actions, knowing that there is something going on between them, but more important matters suddenly come to the fore when blood splashes on Nolan from above, and Fontaine's corpse slumps out of a duct in the ceiling. No sooner has Bill rushed to respond to Anne's scream at this sight than an explosion draws the trio back to the Mega-Man chamber, where the control panel Danco was working on has exploded, driving the generators even further and giving the team only an hour until the robot awakens. Having seen their transforming abilities in action during World War II, Bill is forced to accept the possibility posited by Nolan, that an N.B.E. could have taken human form. Taking blood samples from sick bay and comparing them with fresh samples drawn from each of the crew, Bill proves that he, Nolan and Danco are human beings, but Anne's sample does not match. Thankfully, this is quickly proven to be because she is pregnant, leading to the revelation that she and Bill were secretly married the previous year, but that they couldn't say anything because of regulations. Unwilling to trust either of them now that he knows they are together, Nolan draws a gun on Bill and demands that he show them where he was when Fontaine was killed. Bill reveals that he was investigating the mysterious cave system that links the Arctic base to Colorado, and which stretches all over the world—that this has been his job at the Arctic base ever since the war ended. With the caves now offering an escape route, the saboteur, and Fontaine's murderer, reveals himself: it is Danco, who has defected to the Communist side and plans to escape to Russia with Sector Seven's secrets. Before Danco can kill the others, however, the defrosted Mega-Man comes crashing through the wall, bringing the base down around him as he claws his way to the surface. Aboveground, reflecting on the family tragedies his obsession has caused, Walter Simmons gives the command to drop the liquid nitrogen bombs on the base. One of the spy planes circling overhead suddenly dives to intercept, revealing itself to be Jetfire, who transforms and shields Nolan and Anne from the freezing blast as it consumes Bill, Danco and Megatron. Walter approaches Jetfire, recognizing him from their encounters in 1898 and 1913, asking for his grandson, who Jetfire regretfully tells him is dead. When Walter asks why Jetfire has done this, the ancient Seeker relates how Bill saved him from the Nazis during the war, and how it made him realize the extent of the contradictions that exist within humanity, and within himself. Jetfire seeks to atone for past sins, and as he departs, tells Walter he is no longer the creature he met in those caves... and that Walter does not have to be either. As Jetfire disappears into the sky, Walter begs Anne for one thing: to keep her baby away from him, away from Sector Seven, away from the self-destructive Simmons legacy. In his journal, Simmons writes of how Bill and Danco's bodies were never recovered... but that five months later, the Soviets activated a nuclear power plant, suggesting Danco made it behind the Iron Curtain with his stolen secrets, and giving Walter hope that Bill could have survived. Anne took the Simmons name, and followed Walter's wishes, returning to a normal life and opening a delicatessen. She named her child Seymour... a child who, for both their sakes, Walter hopes he will never meet.
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Post by Leathurkatt on Mar 3, 2011 2:09:23 GMT -5
Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Foundation Transformers: Foundation is a 4-issue comic-book mini-series originally meant to be published by IDW Publishing in 2010, but delayed to February 2011. Comic tells the history of rivalry between Optimus Prime and Megatron. It is the second prequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, running alongside Rising Storm. “The origin of the bitter rivalry between Optimus Prime and Megatron starts here! But what is the secret connection that will forever bind them? And how will it affect the future of all Transformers?” Part 1Victory in the battle to save Cybertron from extinction heralds the dawn of a brand new day... and the beginning of a resentment that will shatter the Transformer race forever. Corrosive rain falls on Cybertron, searing the metal skin of Megatron, who laughs maniacally into the storm that Optimus Prime is coming for him, and will not stop until he is dead. And Prime is coming, fighting his way through an army of Decepticons with Elita-One, Ironhide and other luckless warriors at his side. Prime has changed, Megatron realizes... changed so much from that time, long ago...Thousands of years ago on Cybertron, Optimus, Megatron and Elita were among the followers of Sentinel Prime, an ancient Cybertronian who claims to be a descendant of Primus. With Cybertron's energy supply dwindling, prompting an increase in factionalization and in-fighting over remaining energy supplies, Sentinel Prime and his pupils set out to save the world by unearthing the long-forgotten AllSpark, but upon successfully finding the relic, they are beset by the heretic Thetacons, a militant faction who refuse to accept Sentinel's teachings. Through the technical genius of Wheeljack, a sun is teleported into the skies above Cybertron, and its energy revitalizes the AllSpark, filling Cybertron with Energon, and new life. Seeing that Sentinel's teachings were right all along, the Thetacons lay down their arms, but Megatron is not so willing to forgive, and clashes with the Thetacon Ironhide. Optimus calms the situation, but Ironhide cannot understand what they plan to do with the AllSpark, if they have no desire for subjugation. Sentinel Prime explains that an ancient word spoken by the Dynasty of Primes will now be what defines the Transformer race: "freedom", the right of all sentient beings. With life restored to Cybertron, new hatchlings emerging at a rapid rate, and the Thetacons building a temple around the AllSpark as a form of recompense, Optimus decides to accompany Elita-One back to her home city of Metrotitan to see her sisters. Megatron, however, is far less content, as is Shockwave, who confides in Megatron that is he unsure what a world of peace and so-called "freedom" holds for him. As Cybertron's new sun sets at the end of its first day, Megatron spies upon a meeting between Sentinel Prime and Optimus, and overhears as Sentinel announces that, rather than go with Elita, Prime will instead accompany him to Trypticon, there to establish a government with a new leader for Cybertron. Optimus is confused, as all the tribal leaders have already given Sentinel their support... but Sentinel explains that he shall not be leader—Optimus shall. From the shadows, Megatron grimaces as he hears Sentinel declare Optimus to be Optimus Prime. As Optimus viciously tears his way through the Decepticons that stand in his way, Elita begs him to stand down by telling him that this violence is not who he is. But to Prime, Megatron's death is all that matters now...Part 2TBA Part 3TBA Part 4TBA.
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Post by Leathurkatt on Mar 3, 2011 2:46:54 GMT -5
Transformers: Dark of the Moon: Rising Storm Transformers: Rising Storm is a 4-issue comic-book mini-series to be published by IDW Publishing in 2011,[1] continuing the story of the live-action movie universe after the events of Nefarious. Along with Foundation (and to an extent Sector 7), it serves as a prequel to Transformers: Dark of the Moon. “Megatron has been on the run since Optimus Prime defeated the Fallen... But now a new player has arrived on Earth, and he's not taking prisoners! Fan-favorite SHOCKWAVE enters the scene in a major way, just in time for his role in TRANSFORMERS 3!” Part 1Enter... Shockwave! While on patrol in Dalian, China, Longarm and Salvage break cover to save the workers of an oil processing plant from a fire. Just before departing after a successful rescue, the pair spot two streaking comets in the sky overhead, which promptly reveal themselves to be Shockwave and Astrotrain. The two Decepticons kill the Autobots and all the humans in the area to keep their presence a secret, and Shockwave instructs Astrotrain to begin gathering building materials. At NEST headquarters on Diego Garcia, Optimus Prime tries to convince the Autobot refugees rescued from the clutches of the Initiative that they need more time to recuperate before returning to the battlefield. Armorhide attempts to refute this, but only winds up proving Optimus's point when he accidentally calls him "Sentinel Prime", and has to stop mid-flow to remind himself they are no longer on Cybertron. The exchange punctuates how important it is that the Autobots stop any more humans from exploiting Cybertronian technology, that being the purpose of the mission currently that very moment under way in eastern California. There, Theodore Galloway, having had a change of heart after the Initiative affair, is posing as an arms dealer intending to purchase weapons from Starscream's representatives, Skystalker, Divebomb and Fearswoop, but his act is less than convincing, and the Decepticons realize they had been led into a trap just as Skids, Mudflap, Arcee, Elita-One, Chromia, and NEST's human forces spring into action. Robert Epps and William Lennox try to get Galloway to safety, but when the sisters destroy the misogynistic Skystalker, Divebomb rips open the humans' vehicle and prepares to shoot them if any of the Autobots make a move. Unfortunately for the Decepticon, he does not spot Ironhide coming up behind him, and is blown to fragments by the Autobot weapons-master. Fearswoop surrenders, and the team takes him back to Diego Garcia, where the wounded Arcee receives medical attention and Elita-One briefs Prime on the mission's outcome. Prime's concern extends beyond Decepticon weapon-dealing, though, as he fears for the new vicious streak his old friend Elita now displays and the ramifications of the strange new bond between her and her sisters. Unbeknownst to any of the combatants, Shockwave observed the battle in California from afar, dubbing all involved "idiots". He contacts Astrotrain for an update on his mysterious construction project, then tracks Divebomb's radiation trail back to Starscream's current base of operations, in a junkyard on the outskirts of Mexico City. Blasting his way through the Decepticons unwise enough to try defending Starscream, Shockwave informs the treacherous air commander that Megatron has "requested his services". Before the conversation can go any further, Astrotrain radios Shockwave with some bad news: the "brain unit" scrap drone that held the control software for the machine he is constructing has gone AWOL, displaying a self-awareness it was not programmed for and absconding upon overhearing that it was to be destroyed after its task was done. Shockwave charges Starscream and his followers with recovering the drone. Meanwhile, the brain unit, now calling itself "Brains", has made its way to Philadelphia, hoping to get some help from a native. Brains unwittingly tries questioning other vehicles, but when none of them respond, he angrily kicks the nearest one... at which point it transforms, revealing itself to be Bumblebee! As the Autobot draws every gun he's got on the little drone, Sam Witwicky emerges from a nearby fast food joint, and Brains sheepishly introduces himself... Part 2TBA Part 3TBA Part 4TBA.
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