//------------------------------//
// 35. Jasper, Nevada (Part 3) 
// Story: Through The Multiverse 
// by Battwell 
//------------------------------//

Earth 1984 




Jasper, Nevada


 



 

"Blue streak, speeds by! Sonic the Hedgehog! Too fast for the naked eye! Sonic the Hedgehog!" A certain blue hedgehog hummed to himself as he sped down the lonely road in the desert a great distance from the Autobot Base. After accepting Team Prime's offer to help, they each split off into teams of two to search for the Foundation Element, whatever it may be. 

Batman had gone off with Arcee. 

Mario with Bulkhead. 

Tony opted to stay behind with Ratchet to see if they could pick up any traces of the element. 

And Twilight had gone with Optimus Prime. 

And where was Sonic's partner? He was making his way to the hedgehog's location, much slower than the Blue Blur, much to his chagrin. Sonic folded his arms and tapped his foot on the ground at a quick pace impatiently, waiting for Bumblebee to catch up to him. 

He wondered how Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were doing as he waited, hoping that they were all okay given their current situation. He frowned slightly, if this Exiled character had hurt them in any way.... 

He quickly crushed that thought in his head, he let his fears take hold over him back at Monster's, Inc., which allowed a dormant piece of Dark Gaia's spirit to corrupt him, and that wasn't a good situation for anyone involved. Sonic furrowed his brow, why was he thinking like this? He was Sonic the Hedgehog! Hero of Mobius. He had saved the world more times than he could count. 

So why was this any different. 

Probably because the stakes are much higher. 

His left ear twitched at the sound of a motor headed his way. Sonic looked up from the ground to see a yellow muscle car with black stripes moving towards him. He smirked as the car transformed into the Autobot known as Bumblebee. "Took ya long enough." Sonic joked to the Autobot about his slowness. 

Bee let out a series of beeps in response. Although the hedgehog couldn't understand what he was trying to say, he could tell by his movements that he was a little bit miffed about being left behind. 

Sonic chuckled and walked to the Autobot, "Any luck in finding the element?" He asked, hoping that the bot had better luck than he did. "Cause I'm gonna be frank with you, I got nothin'." At this point he really wished that X-PO wasn't as vague as he was. It would make saving the Multiverse so much easier. When Bumblebee shook his head, indicating that he hadn't found anything, Sonic sighed. "Figures..." He noticed Bee looking at him with a concerned look in his optics. The hedgehog waved his hand dismissively and replied, "It's fine, I'm just worried about my buds, y'know? Haven't been this worried about them before, and I can't help but feel a little powerless." He looked downcast, "I wasn't fast enough to save them, and now the Multiverse is in danger and if we fail everything could be destroyed." He then chuckled hollowly and turned to Bee, "It's just a lot of pressure." 

Bee nodded in understanding, he felt the exact same way when Megatron ripped out his pipes. Or when M.E.C.H. removed his T-Cog. He felt powerless then, and he got the feeling that Sonic was feeling the exact same way. 

The hedgehog let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding, "Thanks for listening, Bee. Good to vent, gets the blood pumping and the juices flowing!" He then pointed behind him with his thumb and said, "Whaddya say we get going and find that Foundation Element?" He then smirked deviously, "I'll race ya!" 

The look in Bee's optics spoke volumes. He was down for that. 



 

Meanwhile with Mario and Bulkhead 

The entrance into the abandoned Energon mines was finally accessible as the boulder blocking it exploded into nothing but pebbles. But it wasn't due to Bulkhead's strength. Mario wiped his hands to removed the dust from his gloves after destroying the boulder with a single punch, even Bulkhead was impressed. 

"For a human you have the strength to become a Wrecker." The Autobot commended as they both entered the mine. 

"A Wrecker?" Mario repeated, unsure as to what the Autobot meant by that. 

Bulkhead elaborated, "It was a squadron during the war, similar to Earth's Black Ops, I think Agent Fowler called it?" He shook his head, getting sidetracked, "Anyway, only the strongest and the very best could be a part of it. Right now there are only two Wreckers left, me and my buddy Jackie." He revealed, name dropping the Autobot known as Wheeljack. 

Mario had a solemn look on his face, "I'm sorry to hear that, Bulkhead." 

"It's fine. They're with the AllSpark now." He sighed before asking, "So how are you as strong as you are? I mean no offense, but you're a human." 

Instead of being offended, Mario simply laughed as he answered, "Years of exposure to Power Ups and Mushrooms gradually gave me enhanced strength and durability. Believe me I used to be a looot weaker back in my earlier days, back then saving the princess was a lot harder than it is now." He felt a smirk tug on his lips, "Now I can destroy boulders with a single punch and leap over buildings in a single bound!" 

Bulkhead let out an impressed whistle, "Jeez, that's impressive." 

As the two powerhouses traversed through the abandoned mines, Mario couldn't help but ask, "So what was down here exactly?" 

"Energon, a very rare source that gives life to all Cybertronians." Bulkhead answered. "It's basically our blood, without it we wouldn't be able to function. We thought it could only be found on Cybertron, but for some reason it was here as well. Now we're fighting for scraps to survive and get it before the Decepticons can get their claws onto it first." 

"Decepticons?" 

"Our arch enemies. They're the reason our planet has gone dark and is practically impossible to live on." 

Mario looked down in thought, could this Energon stuff be the element they were looking for? With how Bulkhead described it, it was very similar to the way X-PO described the Foundation Element. 

He put that thought at the back of his mind for now, and continued following the Autobot into the mines. 



 

Meanwhile with Iron Man and Ratchet 

"Any luck with finding the Foundation Element?" The silence was broken by the question from Tony Stark. Unlike everyone lese he had elected to stay back and help the Autobot medic at least try to find the Foundation Element from the Autobot base. So far they had been unsuccessful. "Cause I'm gonna be honest, I've had no luck whatsoever." 

Ratchet, who was typing on the monitors, sighed and responded without looking at the human. "Sadly I am of the same state of success as you. I have not picked up a single energy reading or homing beacon that could be related to this 'Foundation Element' you speak of." He sighed once more and looked over to Tony, who was hovering in the air typing on blue holographic images displayed before him. "I am curious. Did you truly create that armor you're wearing right now?" 

Tony scoffed, "Of course I did." He replied as if it was obvious. 

The Autobot arches an eyebrow, while he had figured that there were some talented minds on Earth, not once had he seen such genius on display from the organic race. "Truly?" He questioned, struggling to believe his claims. 

Iron Man shrugged his shoulders, "It helps that I'm rich..." He paused before adding, "...And smart...." Another pause. "...And also rich." 

The Autobot didn't respond verbally, instead humming and returning to his task. He felt conflicted internally, on one hand he understood the stakes at play here. If they didn't find this Foundation Element then all of existence would be done for. But on the other he just couldn't bare the thought of Megatron getting his claws on any other Iacon relics. 

It was conflicting, though that came with the territory of being an Autobot. 

Being a hero instead of a conqueror. 

Being a bot that heals instead of being a bot that destroys. 

"This is getting us nowhere." The Autobot medic sighed as he spoke, turning his body to face Tony. "Are you certain that there are no other clues that could help us find this element?" He asked, clearly grasping at straws here, but could you blame him? Finding this thing was like finding a needle in a haystack. 

Tony shut off the holographic projections and turned to face Ratchet. "Well the only thing we're going off of is what a friend of ours told us." 

"And what would that be?" 

"He said, and I quote, 'You're looking for a substance that grants life.'" He recited what X-PO had told them before they arrived here. "That's all I got." 

When the Autobot didn't respond, Tony looked up to see a look of realization in Ratchet's optics. 

"It couldn't be that simple.... Could it?" Ratchet thought to himself as the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place. A substance that grants life. Cybertronians need a specific substance to function. Without it they'd go offline. It grants them life. 

"By the AllSpark..." 



 

Meanwhile with Optimus Prime and Twilight Sparkle 

The sound of an engine echoed throughout the canyon, a big rig driving along the narrow path as a certain lavender unicorn sat in the drivers seat. Normally she would be ecstatic to be sitting in something as evolutionary as this, by Equestria's standards of course. But Twilight could only look downtrodden with her ears pressed against her head, a lonely look in her eyes. 

She was thinking about them again, about how they left her. 

Nearly two years of friendship thrown away because they wanted to show themselves off at Cadance's wedding. They abandoned her. They had used her to get closer to royalty. They didn't care how she felt, in fact, they didn't care about her at all! 

...But did she really feel that way about them? 

Should she feel that way? 

They were her only friends after all. 

...No, that wasn't true either. 

The other Guardians were her friends too, as a matter of fact they had become great friends over the past few days that she has known them. They had made many friends in the various dimensions they had visited. But the sad fact was that these people who she had only known for a short while had treated her better than her supposed best friends. 

And that's what really got to her. 

"Is something the matter, Twilight?" The sound of Optimus Prime's voice broke Twilight out of her stupor, causing her to lift her head up. 

She sighed sadly, looking depressed once more, "It's nothing Optimus, just thinking about... People whom I trusted with my life, only to find out that they weren't who I thought they were." 

"If you ever need to talk to someone, my audio receptors are always open." Prime offered kindly as he continued to drive. 

Twilight smiled softly at his kindness. She shrugged before deciding to take him up on his offer, they had the time after all. So she explained everything to him, all that was going on between her, her friends.... Celestia. She told him about the wedding, the Changeling attack, Chrysalis posing as her sister-in-law, her friends and mentor abandoning her, leaving her behind and destroying any trust that was ever between the lot of them. 

And Optimus never said a word. He just listened. He actually listened to what she was saying, to how she was feeling, letting her finish what she was telling him. The Autobot leader couldn't help but feel sympathy for the poor girl. 

After she was finished a brief silence followed before being broken by the sound of Optimus' voice. 

"May I tell you a story?" He asked. When Twilight nodded he began, "I was not always Optimus Prime, I was not always a warrior, or leader of the Autobots." He revealed, still driving through the canyon. "Before there was a time where Autobots and Decepticons did not exist. There was peace on Cybertron, but the populace was divided, it was unequal. During that time I was a clerk known as Orion Pax. As I continued to discover Cybertrons history, I found the inequality that was present at the time." 

Twilight was fully interested now, her ears shooting up as she listened attentively. 

"There was also a gladiator in the Pits of Kaon named Megatronus, he too sought equality for all Cybertronians. Over time we began corresponding to one another. We became friends. Brothers. We confronted the council, and Megatronus demanded that there be change, otherwise he would enforce it by force. I did not agree, and pleaded with the council through peaceful means. Their Sparks were moved by my sentiments, but it came at a cost. Megatronus, now renamed Megatron, grew bitter and angry towards me. He became resentful and rageful. He felt that I betrayed him that day, and cut all ties with me. The next time we saw one another was when he became leader of the Decepticons." 

Twilight couldn't help the tears threatening to fall from her eyes, she felt so bad for the Autobot. To have someone you considered a brother turn on you like that, to grow so vengeful and bitter towards you so much that he tried to kill you was horrible. 

Was that happening to her? Was she feeling that way towards Celestia and her friends? She would never go to the lengths Megatron had, but the anger was still there. 

Optimus continued, "I never had the chance to make things right with my brother, and I may never have that chance. But you, Twilight, do have that chance. They may not know that you feel this way, but you must tell them so they can make it right. Otherwise you will come to regret it for the rest of your life." 

With the way Optimus had said that, something told Twilight that he felt exactly like that. 



 

With Batman and Arcee

The Dark Knight jumped down from the gas station rooftop as he spotted a familiar looking bike approaching the destination. It was agreed that this gas station just outside of town would be their meeting point after they had split up to search for any signs of the Foundation Element. 

Once Arcee's wheel stopped moving, the hologram disappeared and she transformed into her robot mode. She looked down at Batman and asked, "Did you find anything?" 

"No. I'm assuming you didn't either?" 

When she shook her head Batman nodded readjusting his glove. "Who's Cliffjumper?" 

That made Arcee tense up, her optics shrunk at the question before turning around to look down and face the human. "What?" 

"Cliffjumper, you mentioned that name back at the base." Batman explained, remembering her question about the Multiverse. 

The Autobot sighed as she held herself uncomfortably, this was obviously a hard topic for her. "He was my partner, and a very close friend." 

"What happened to him?" 

She sighed before looking down and meeting his gaze, "He died. He was murdered by a Decepticon named Starscream, then brought back as a Terrorcon." She looked away, her hardcore exterior melting away as she thought about her deceased friend. "There was nothing I could do to save him, and that'll live with me for the rest of my life." 

Silence. 

"I know what that's like." Batman revealed suddenly. When she looked at him, he met her gaze with a hard, stern look. "I've lost more than you could possibly know." He added, clearly thinking about his parents' death, what Joker had done to Jason Todd, and now the fact that Damian's life was at stake. 

But before either of them could continue, a sudden missile shot down on the ground, the explosion sending them both flying back, landing on their backs. Quickly transforming her hand into a plasma gun, Arcee got to her feet as a blue fighter jet nose dived downwards, quickly transforming and landing in a three point landing pose. 

Dreadwing smirked as he stood upright, twisting his neck as he walked forward, "Arcee, you will relinquish the human to me at once." His eyes glowed as he closed his fists, "Or you will be terminated." 

Before she could respond, she heard an incoming vehicle to her left. When she turned around she saw Knock Out, transforming into his robot mode, walking towards her with a confident and smug look on his face. "You might want to listen to him." As he walked closer, he noticed something, "Umm, where's the human?" 

Upon hearing his query, Arcee looked down to her left, only to find that Batman had disappeared. 

Then all of a sudden, a grappling hook shot through the air and clamped onto Knock Out's right eye, causing him to cry out in pain. "ARGH!!! MY OPTIC!!! THERE'S SOMETHING IN MY OPTIC!!! GET IT OUT!!! GET! IT! OUUUT!!!" He spun around madly as he tried to remove the hook from his socket, failing to notice the Dark Knight swing around him. Batman threw four explosive Batarangs at Knock Out's chest, each of them exploding on impact. He stumbled backwards due to the explosions as Batman called back his grappling hook, relieving Knock Out of any pain. 

Meanwhile Arcee was running in front of the multiple laser blasts coming from Dreadwing's laser cannon. She quickly transformed and zoomed forward, performing a wheelie as she used a small rock formation as a makeshift ramp to sore through the air and hit Dreadwing in the face with her front tire. 

As he was stunned, she transformed again nd landed behind him before kicking him in the back, sending him to the floor. The smug look on her face was gone when the Decepticon turned and smirked at her. Suddenly she heard multiple beeps from beneath her, when she looked down her optics widened as a series of explosives that were hidden beneath the sand revealed themselves. 

They had been planted before hand, Dreadwing knew they would be here. 

He had been tailing her this whole time. 

Dreadwing activated the explosives. 

They went off. 

Arcee went down. 

Back with Batman, he was currently evading the multiple swings aimed for him by Knock Out, who had transformed his hand into a buzz saw. "YOU! RUINED! MY! FINISH!" He yelled with each swing, missing every time. As he swung again, Batman took that moment to throw another Batarang into his damaged optic, causing him to cry out in pain. 

But before the Dark Knight of Gotham could attack again, Dreadwing caught Batman off guard as he fired a laser blast at the ground behind him, the explosion sending him flying before tumbling across the ground, knocking him unconscious. 

Dreadwing smirked as he made his way over to the fallen human, passing Knock Out as the injured Con asked, "You couldn't have done that earlier?!" 

The second in command rolled his optics before reaching down and grabbing Batman. Once the unconscious human was in his grasp, Dreadwing pressed two of his fingers against the side of his head and said, "Soundwave, package secure. Open a Groundbridge to the Nemesis at once!" 



 

Sometime later 

Optimus and Twilight entered the Autobot base through the Groundbridge, Team Prime and the majority of the Guardians of the Multiverse waiting for them. Judging by the looks on their faces they had not been successful in locating the Foundation Element. 

"No luck?" Bulkhead asked, already knowing the answer. 

Twilight shook her head, "No, we didn't find anything." 

"Well it's a good thing you have us then!" The voice of Iron Man echoed throughout the base, making everyone turn to him as he and Ratchet entered the main room. 

"Why's that?" Sonic asked with a raised eyebrow. 

Ratchet let a small smirk tug on his lips, "Because we were able to determine what the Foundation Element is." 

Eyes and optics shot open upon hearing this. While the other teams had no luck in finding the element, the two brainiacs were able to determine what it actually was that they were looking for. An astonishing feat if Twilight said so herself. 

"Well don't leave us in suspense!" Mario shouted loudly, excitement evident in his voice. "What are we looking for?" 

"Energon." Ratchet revealed. 

The looks on Team Prime's faces were beyond surprised, to think that what they were looking for was right under their noses this whole time. It was kind of a strike at their pride, save for Optimus, of course. 

Sonic, clearly confused, tilted his head to the side, "What's Energon?" 

It was Optimus that answered the hedgehog, "It is our lifeforce. The very thing we need to remain functional, the substance that gives our Sparks the means to power our bodies." He then turned to Ratchet and Iron Man and asked, "How did you come to such a conclusion?" 

Iron Man answered, "Well I thought about what a friend of ours said, 'a substance that grants life.' Once I told Ratchet he put the pieces together and Bada-Bing, Bada-Boom! Energon!" 

"And luckily we have enough to give them one cube of it to keep out of enemy hands." Ratchet said as he pointed behind him with his thumb. 

Bulkhead rubbed the back of his head with his hand, "Sooooo.... We did it? Day saved?" He asked, unsure how to feel about their underwhelming victory. It was a victory sure, but he had to admit that it was a bit of a letdown.

The victory was short lived as Arcee rode into the base through the tunnel, transforming with an urgent look on her face. 

Everyone looked at her with worried expressions, but they also noticed the absence of a certain bat themed superhero. "Arcee?" Optimus spoke her name in a concerned manner. "What's wrong? Where is the Batman?" 

"Cons!" She panted out, causing Team Prime's optics to widen. "They took him." 



 

Aboard The Nemesis 

Megatron was very pleased. 

Not only had they taken down an Autobot, but Knock Out and Dreadwing had also managed to bring him one of the Multiversal travelers, who was waiting to be interrogated in one of the many rooms aboard his warship. He couldn't stop the smile that graced his lips, his sharp teeth bare for all to see. He was on the verge of discovering the secret to Multiversal travel. With this hidden knowledge the Decepticon Armada would expand to the never ending reaches of the Multiverse. 

His mood was soured somewhat when he heard Knock Out whining and complaining about his ruined finish. Honestly that bot could be such a drama queen sometimes. But to be fair he was more tolerable than Starscream, which reminded him that he needed to finish off that traitor sooner rather than later. 

The doors to the room slid open, revealing Dreadwing standing at attention next to the door, Batman contained in a see through cylinder like containment unit, and Knock Out pacing around the room, glaring at the Dark Knight, who simply stared at him, clearly unimpressed. 

"-AND ANOTHER THING! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES TO APPLY SUCH A FINE FINISH TO MY COAT?! IT TAKES TIME AND PRECISION TO BUFF OUT ALL THE DENTS AND SCRATCHES! HOW DARE YOU USE YOUR DISGUSTING EARTH TOYS TO DAMAGE MY AWESOME--" 

"ENOUGH!!!" Shouted Megatron, shutting Knock Out up instantly. The red Decepticon nodded rapidly as he took a step back, moving out of Megatron's way as he approached Batman. "Do you know me human?" He didn't receive a response from the hero, simply staring at the Decepticon warlord with a stoic expression on his face. This caused Megatron to chuckle, "Not the talkative type? No matter, you will listen well, human. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticon Armada, and I know that you do not originate from this planet, or should I say, this universe." Again, no response. "You are here for one purpose, and one purpose alone." He set his sights on the human and leaned down to get in his face as an intimidation tactic. "So tell me. What is the secret? How do you traverse between dimensions?" 

Megatron expected silence, but this time Batman smirked, "Guess." 

That honestly caught the Decepticon off guard, he hadn't expected that. He had never met a human with as much confidence as this one, let alone enough confidence to mock and talk back to him. 

"Watch yourself, human." Dreadwing spoke up, annoyed by Batman's blatant disrespect towards his leader. "You are in the presence of Lord Megatron, soon to be ruler of all worlds in the Multiverse." 

"And I should care because?" 

That had done it. 

Megatron roared in frustration before aiming his arm cannon down at the Dark Knight, a purple glow shining from within it. "I GROW TIRED OF THIS!!! REVEAL THE SECRETS TO MULTIVERSAL TRAVEL NOW!!!" His eyes glowed a menacing red as he declared, "Or else." 

But Batman simply walked forward and glared up at the Decepticon, "Or else what?" 

The Decepticon tyrant was stunned, why wasn't this human afraid of him? It didn't make any sort of sense! 

"You need me to tell you what you want to know, so we both know you won't kill me unless you find my other compatriots. Which is unlikely because they're within a secret Autobot base, which you don't know the location of. You need me, and I won't tell you a thing no matter what you do to me. So go ahead..." He took a defiant step forward and glared up at Megatron, unmoving, and not afraid in the slightest. "Do. Your. Worst." 

Megatron was stunned, not only was this human not afraid of him, but he was egging him on as well, disrespecting his authority. Oh, how he would make him regret the words he had spoken. He lowered his arm cannon and proceeded to turn around and walk away, talking to Knock Out as he did, "Knock Out, prep the medical bay for 'surgery'. If he wishes for me to do my worst, then I'm more than happy to oblige him." 

Knock Out chuckled as he glared at Batman as he followed Megatron out of the room, with Dreadwing following behind him. "Oh I'm going to enjoy this." With that, the three Decepticons left the room, leaving Batman to himself. 

"Big mistake." He thought to himself as he tapped the buckle on his Utility Belt. It then began to beep, blinking a red bat symbol as it sent out a distress signal. "Too easy."



 

Meanwhile 

"How could this happen?!" Twilight shouted frantically, pacing back and forth as panic began to set in. "Oh, I knew we should've stuck together! What if something happens to him?! What if we never see him again?!" She had been going on like this for the past hour while the others had been trying to figure out a way to locate the Decepticon warship. 

"I don't get it." Bulkhead said. "Why would the Cons want Batman in the first place?" 

Optimus folded his arms and replied with, "It would seem that Megatron has figured out that there is more to our new allies than initially perceived." He frowned at the thought of Megatron learning the secrets of the Multiverse, the implications of that alone made him worry. "We cannot allow Megatron to learn of the secrets Batman possesses." 

Once Prime had said that, Sonic sped up to the railing and leaned on it casually, looking directly at Optimus. "Don't worry, Bats is as tough as they come." He got off of the railing and folded his arms, a look of confidence on his face, "If anyone can hold their own against these bots, it's him." 

Prime nodded at the hedgehog before turning to Ratchet, "Has there been any further development in locating the Decepticon warship?" 

The medic shook his head, "Not ye-" He was suddenly cut off by a ping on the monitor, "Wait a second.... What is that?" He asked, pointing to where the ping was located. Once everyone looked to where he was pointing, they saw a bat symbol flashing in an out. 

"That's Batman!" Twilight exclaimed, happy that her friend was okay. 

Ratchet was confused however, "Wait a second, how did he manage to get a beacon into our systems? Matter of fact, how did he even have access to our communications in the first place." 

"He's Batman." The Guardians all said as one, completely used to their friend's methods by now. 

Optimus had steely focus as his face mask clamped over his mouth, "Ratchet, open the Groundbridge to those coordinates." Both Team Prime and the Guardians moved to the Groundbridge as it whirled to life. "Autobots! Roll out!" 



 

Back on The Nemesis 

Knock Out flexed his fingers as he strolled back into the room before transforming his hand into a buzz saw, an eager grin plastered on his face. "Now human, are you ready for surgery." He chuckled as he waved his hand dismissively, "Now don't worry, you're in capable hands." He opened his optics to enjoy the look of terror on Batman's face. 

Only for a look of terror to shine on his. 

For Batman was gone. 

Knock Out looked around frantically as he rushed over to the containment unit, seeing a freshly cut hole in the material. "Nononononononono. Where is he? WHERE IS HE?!" He shouted before beginning to hyperventilate, "Okay... Don't panic, Knock Out. Just breathe.... Breaaaathe......... IT'S NOT WORKING!!! WHERE COULD HE HAVE GONE?! MEGATRON'S GONNA HAVE MY SPARK FOR THIS!!!" A sudden sharp pain made itself known all over his body, as electricity covered his whole form. 

His optics went dark as he fell face first to the floor, completely unaware of the tiny circular EMP device on his back. 

Batman landed on the floor behind him and scowled, "You talk too much." He then took out his Grapnel Gun and zipped upwards into a ventilation shaft, sneaking out of the room and going further into the halls of The Nemesis. 



 

An alarm began to blare throughout the ship, catching Megatron's attention, who had been observing his minions on the command deck. "What's this?! What is happening?!" He demanded to know as Soundwave approached him from the left. On his visor showed an unauthorized Groundbridge in one of the halls of his ship. Then from within the portal outstepped the Autobots, the other Guardians, and his most hated enemy. 

"Optimus Prime." 



 

"So where do we start?" Iron Man asked, aiming his Repulsor Rays ahead of him, on the ready for a fight. 

Beside him walked Twilight Sparkle, who looked around at the dark halls of the ship and felt a sense of dread creep up her spine. "This place is massive! How're we supposed to navigate this place?" She asked, concerned with how they were gonna find their missing friend. 

Bumblebee let out a few beeps as Optimus stood at the front of the pack, "Then we'll just have to search every room on this ship." 

"HALT!" 

Everyone turned around at the sound of the voice. Behind them were a small squadron of Vehicons. They were purple in color, with grey arms and legs with purple accents on their feet. They had a singular visor spanning across their heads with no mouths, yet their voices could still be heard. 



 



 



 

All of the Autobots transformed their hands into blasters and aimed at the Decepticon troopers, while Twilight lit up her horn to fire a magical blast if they tried anything. Tony had his hands set on the troopers, his Repulsor Rays humming with energy. 

"Welcome aboard, Optimus." The sound of Megatron's voice echoed throughout the hallway, accompanied by loud, metallic footsteps. The Vehicons lowered their blasters and stood aside as Megatron, Dreadwing, and Soundwave approached and stood in front of the group of heroes. "I don't know how you managed to locate my vessel, but rest assured, you will not be leaving." 

The Guardians all scowled at the Decepticon tyrant as Optimus glared at his most hated enemy. 

"Megatron, I cannot allow you learn the secrets our ally possess." Optimus declared. "Release him. Now." 

In response Megatron simply laughed, seeing how humorous this truly was. "Oh, Optimus. You think I don't already know about the Multiverse?" That caused the Prime's optics to grow wide. Megatron chuckled, "I already figured it out. And once I learn the secrets of Multiversal travel, all worlds will fall under my heel!" He set his sights on Twilight and the others, "I must thank you for bringing the others to me. Now I can use them to unlock the secrets in their pitiful minds." 

"That's not gonna happen, buckethead!" Bulkhead declared, his blaster set upon Megatron. 

"Release Batman." Twilight demanded as her eyes glowed a bright white, her horn sparking with magic. "NOW!" 

Megatron raised an eyebrow at the unicorn, "The day I take orders from organic filth like you is the day that I rust!" He then aimed his arm cannon at the heroes and grinned, "You were foolish to come aboard, Prime. Now you and your allies will be turned to scrap!" 

He was about to open fire, when the sounds of pained grunts reached his audio receptors. He turned around to see all of his forces surrounded by electricity before watching them all fall to the floor. His optics were wide in shock before he let out a pained grunt of his own, falling to one knee as electricity overcame his form. 

The heroes were confused at first, but the Guardians looked ecstatic when Batman glided over Megatron's head and landed in front of the group. 

"BATMAN!" That came from the excited form of Twilight Sparkle as she rushed over and tackled his waist in a bone crushing hug. The Dark Knight simply patted the top of her head before she let go and asked, "Are you okay?" 

"What do you think?" Batman responded with a small smirk. 

"Well I'll be." Arcee uttered, astonished that the human managed to escape after all. 

"H-How....?" Megatron asked weakly, his kneeling form shaking as the EMP device held him in place. 

Batman turned to him and said, "Not to sound like how people think I do, but I'm Batman. I could've escaped anytime." 

"N-No..." 

Optimus took this moment to address his allies, "With our ally accounted for, I believe it is time to take our leave." 

"I couldn't agree more!" Mario exclaimed as he and the others made a beeline for the other side of the hallway. 

"Ratchet!" Optimus shouted as they ran away from the fallen Decepticons. "Open a Groundbridge." 

Upon seeing his chance for Multiversal domination making a getaway, Megatron growled as he slowly got to his feet, his whole form writhing in agony as he fought against the EMP device. He clenched his fists as he channeled the power of the Dark Energon in his veins, his eyes glowing purple with black vein protruding from them, his Decepticon symbol glowing purple as well. He let out a monstrous roar as he spread his arms out, unleashing a shockwave of dark energy that dispelled the electricity. 

He looked down the hallway and saw a Groundbridge open up. "NO!!!" He shouted as he quickly transformed into his jet mode and flew down the hallway at high speeds. Upon hearing his approach, Optimus turned around and fired multiple blasts at the incoming Decepticon. Megatron swerved left and right to avoid the blasts as he drew closer. 

Optimus fire done more shot before jumping into the Groundbridge, making his escape. 

Megatron transformed and unsheathed his blade and dove for the Groundbridge, only for it to close, resulting in him stabbing the ground beneath him. Megatron removed the blade and looked around frantically. "WHAT!!!" He shouted in disbelief before grinding his teeth together and shouting up towards the heavens. 

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"