Editing How Ratchet Got His Hands Back

{{Comicstory|
|series=mtmte|issueno=5
|prev=Life After the Big Bang
|next=Interiors
|caption=
|image=MTMTE5_cvrA.jpg
|title="How Ratchet Got His Hands Back"
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[May 23]], [[2012]]
|coverdate=May 2012
|story by=[[James Roberts]]
|art by=[[Alex Milne]]
|colors by=[[Josh Burcham]]
|letters by=[[Chris Mowry]]
|editor=[[John Barber]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2012)]]
}}

'''There's nothing left to lose as Ratchet confronts the 'bot behind the plague on Delphi.'''

==Synopsis==

At the [[Delphi]] medical facility, the furious [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] dispatches the two [[Genericon]]s threatening the remaining Autobots there, tearing one in half and decapitating the other with his shoulder compartment. As [[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] and [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] return to tending the inflicted, [[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]] pulls a gun on [[Ambulon (G1)|Ambulon]], accusing him of freeing the Decepticons and releasing the virus plaguing the facility, on the basis that he is a former Decepticon himself. First Aid, however, turns the tables on Pharma when he examines the Genericons' remains and discovers that they were ''not'' [[Militant Monoform Movement|Monoformers]], as Pharma had claimed. Ratchet puts the final pieces of the puzzle together, and requests that Pharma transform; when he refuses, Ratchet diagnoses the virus as being activated through transformation. First Aid and Ambulon have not succumbed to its effects because the former has a malfunctioning [[transformation cog]], while the latter has no reason to transform, his alternate mode being only the leg of a prototype [[combiner]], but Pharma will not transform because he knows this already, being responsible for the plague in the first place. Pharma shoots out a life-support system to cover his escape, rabbiting down a hidden tunnel in a [[CR chamber]] while the other medics scramble to save the lives of their patients. [[Backstreet (G1)|Backstreet]] fades particularly fast, forcing Ratchet to transform into ambulance mode in order to give him a full systems boost from his reboot coils. With the virus now activated within him, Ratchet sets off after Pharma.

Meanwhile, aboard the ''[[Lost Light]]'', [[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] meets with [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] and requests to undergo the [[Rite of the Autobrand]], having realized the foolishness of his earlier decision to be a [[Decepticon]]. Grudgingly impressed with Tailgate's skill set, Magnus agrees to teach him the [[Autobot Code]], nearly driving the poor little bot out of his head with intense study of the code's ten thousand pages. Tailgate's interest is caught by clause nineteen-eighty-five; remembering the giant robots pursuing [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], he inquires about clause nineteen-eighty-four, which Magnus informs him relates to the supposedly non-existent "thought warfare".

Elsewhere on the ship, [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] meets with one of his oldest patients, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], concerned that the paranoia he helped the security officer overcome is returning. Red Alert insists that he heard a noise emanating from a crack in the floor of the chamber in which the [[Sparkeater (creature)|Sparkeater]] was found, but that ''should'' be impossible, as that chamber is at the lowest point on the ship, with only outer space beyond. Despite Rung's skepticism, Red Alert produces a recording of the sound, which Rung recognizes as a distorted voice...repeating "kill me" over and over again...

Back in Delphi, Ratchet catches up to Pharma, who gleefully explains his master plan: he engineered the plague in order to shut Delphi down so that he could escape a deal he made with the [[Decepticon Justice Division]] that forced him to kill patients in order to harvest their transformation cogs for the [[Tarn (DJD)|DJD's transformation addicted-leader]] in return for Delphi's safety. The two Genericons—[[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] and [[Boom]]—were paid by Pharma to surrender to the facility, and once locked up together, to merge into their audio-equipment alternate mode and project a blast of weaponized sound calculated by Pharma to corrode Transformers from within: the "big bang" that contaminated all who heard it. His vigorous monologuing has blinded Pharma to one thing, however: as Ratchet slowly rusts away in front of him, his liquefied innards have pooled around Pharma's feet, infecting him. Pharma escapes to the roof of the facility with the only vaccine, but is surprised by the appearance of Ratchet's remote-projected [[holomatter]] avatar, which distracts him long enough to let Ratchet catch up and tackle him, causing the vaccine to fall off the building. Ratchet and Pharma grapple, but when Ratchet's arm breaks off, Pharma tumbles off the roof, and is left clinging onto the edge, unable to transform to jet mode and fly to safety without activating the virus. Ratchet turns to leave him to his fate, and the traitorous medic tries to shoot him in the back: luckily, the near-dead [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] appears and slices Pharma's hands off, letting him plummet to his presumed doom.

Thanks to Pharma's vaccine, saved from its fall by Ratchet's holomatter projection, the virus is cured, and everyone leaves for the ''Lost Light''. On the return journey, Ratchet invites First Aid to succeed him as the ship's chief medical officer, recognizing both his skill, and his dedication and honor: it was he who transmitted the escalating death rates—caused by Pharma's cog harvesting—over the ''[[Wreckers: Declassified]]'' frequency. The two doctors lament the loss of both [[Ironfist (G1)|Ironfist]] and the old Pharma, but First Aid remarks that Ratchet will always carry part of Pharma with him. Two parts, actually: Ratchet has replaced his worn-out hands with Pharma's!

==Featured characters==
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear in flashbacks.)<br>
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] (2)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (5)
*[[Ambulon (G1)|Ambulon]] (6)
*[[Pharma (G1)|Pharma]] (7)
*[[Drift (G1)|Drift]] (8)
*[[Backstreet (G1)|Backstreet]] (9)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
*''[[Nova Prime]]'' (12)
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (13)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (14)
*[[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] (16)
|c2=
*[[Sonic (G1)|Sonic]] (1)
*[[Boom]] (4)
*''[[Tarn (DJD)|Tarn]]'' (15)
|c4=
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (10)
}}

==Quotes==
"I have the '''world's worst alt mode:''' I turn into a '''leg.''' Ambulon: From the verb 'to ambulate,' meaning 'to walk about.' It's a stupid name..."<br>
"...but all the best names are taken."
:—'''Ambulon''' and '''Ratchet'''


"It's just—I thought it would be more of a '''ten-point plan...? One:''' Don't do bad things. '''Two:''' Don't, er, be rude... stuff like—'''three:''' don't be a Decepticon. Stuff like that."
:—'''Tailgate''' on the unexpected intricacies of the Autobot Code


"Relax! A few weeks of '''cripplingly intense study''' and it'll be '''over!''' It might even be '''fff'''— It might even be '''fff'''— I can't—my mouth just won't—I can't say it."<br>
"Fun...?"<br>
"'''That's''' the one!"
:—'''Ultra Magnus''' and '''Tailgate'''


"I'm not convinced you're paying attention."<br>
"...what? Oh. Sorry—I, er, I thought I saw some '''graffiti''' on your desk. Yeah, some—some really '''tiny''' graffiti. 'Ultra Magnus is an O.C.D. control freak who uses learning to hurt people.' But it was just a speck of dirt."<br>
"'''DIRT?!'''"<br>
"It's okay, sir—it's gone. It can't hurt you now."
:—'''Magnus''' and '''Tailgate''' quickly become this book's next great double-act.


"Pharma, I've been held at gunpoint by the '''best'''—[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]], [[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]], [[Killmaster]]—remember Killmaster? With the wand?—and I've never known anyone take '''so long''' to explain their grand plan."
:—With a dry cool wit like that, '''Ratchet''' could be an action hero.


"You died a long time ago, Pharma. And as for me... my hands don't work, I'm miles from anyone I truly care about, and I'm still coming to terms with the fact that after a '''four-million year build-up,''' peace has turned out to be a '''massive anticlimax.''' Bottom line? I've got nothing else to lose."
:—'''Ratchet'''

==Notes==

===Continuity notes===
*The absence of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]'s [[Moonbase One|first moon]] is mentioned again, previously noted in [[Liars, A to D Part 1: How to Say Goodbye and Mean It|issue #1]] and an important plot point over in ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Stick Together|#3]]. Tailgate claims (falsely) to have coordinated the first search for it, meaning it's been missing since the early days of [[Nova Prime]]. 
*Speaking of Nova Prime, Tailgate claims (false) responsibility for persuading him to look beyond Cybertron. (He probably didn't know how [[Revelation (IDW)|that turned out]].)
*Ultra Magnus tells Tailgate to relax, a word he later [[Cybertronian Homesick Blues|denies the existence of due to never having heard of it]].
*Ratchet's [[holomatter]] avatar returns, a concept only seen [[Police Action Part 2: Only Forward|once]] since [[Simon Furman]]'s time on the series ended. A quick explanation is offered for why the tech was phased out in universe: it's energy-intensive, demands total concentration, and the hair never looks real.
*While talking about Red Alert's history, Rung mentions the security officer's belief in "the [[Institute]]", a mysterious facility previously mentioned in "[[Chaos Theory Part 2]]". This scene has a very sneaky payoff in [[Shadowplay, Part 2: Patternism|#10]].

===Transformers references===
*The opening moments of the issue, as Fortress Maximus tears one of the Genericons in half and slams the pieces together, is an homage to ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]'' [[Last Stand of the Wreckers issue 5|#5]], in which [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] did the same thing to [[Guzzle (G1)|Guzzle]].
*A patient named [[Tracer (disambiguation)|Tracer]] is listed among those at Delphi. Whether this is supposed to be a new character or one of the existing Tracers is unknown; as only the Japanese-exclusive [[Tracer (ROC)|Tracer]] was an Autobot, we'd guess it's him.
*Rung and Red Alert's session numbers are clearly evocative of issues of the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic]]: [[Prey!|#97]] was Roberts's first issue; [[Wanted: Galvatron — Dead or Alive!|#113]] was the issue that hooked him; and [[End of the Road! (US)|issue #332]] was the final installment of the series. The significance of [[The Last Stand|#7]] and [[Front Line! (issue)|#288]] is not apparent, aside from being the first chapters of the final story from the original US mini-series and the final UK-original story, respectively.
*On the subject of numbers, Rung's patient number for Red Alert is the [[List of Japanese ID numbers|numbers]] used for Red Alert's Japanese toy releases (his [[Red Alert (G1)#Generation 1 2|original toy]] ID, [[Red Alert (G1)#Smallest Transforming Transformers|Smallest Transforming Transformers]], and [[Red Alert (G1)#Binaltech Asterisk|Binaltech Asterisk]] numbers respectively).

===Crew Manifest===
*Fortress Maximus, Ambulon and First Aid return to the ''Lost Light'' with Ratchet.
*Red Alert admits finding 207 of his fellow crew suspicious.
*5 deaths, 5 new arrivals since the launch.

===Soundtrack===
*''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS_DcqPkEYM Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying]'' by [[Wikipedia:Belle & Sebastian|Belle & Sebastian]]
*''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpZcO_OSIcA Carries On]'' by [[Wikipedia:Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros|Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros]]
*''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c7QRP8mIt8 City Sickness]'' by [[Wikipedia:Tindersticks|Tindersticks]]

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Ratchet, infected with Red Rust, by Alex Milne and [[Josh Perez]].
*'''Cover B:''' Ultra Magnus teaches Tailgate the Autobot Code, by [[Nick Roche]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]. This cover was accidentally printed in a blurry, low-resolution quality.
*'''Cover RI:''' Ratchet and Drift, by [[Marcelo Matere]] and [[Priscilla Tramontano]], the first half of a combined image formed with the RI cover to ''[[The Transformers: Robots in Disguise|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[A Better Tomorrow|#5]].

<gallery>
File:MTMTE5_cvrA.jpg|This looks [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|familiar]].
File:MTMTE5_cvrB.jpg|You '''will''' deal with this now!
File:MTMTE5_cvrRI.jpg|I am cooler than you.
</gallery>

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