Other Visits (Part 2)

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All that trouble, just for a giant vacuum cleaner.
"Other Visits" (Part 2)
Airdate	February 15, 1999
Written by	Larry DiTillio
Directed by	Colin Davies
Animation studio	Mainframe Entertainment
Continuity	Beast Wars continuity

With the alien craft in his possession, Megatron intends to use it to conquer Cybertron!

Japanese title: え? かおが? (E? Kao ga?, "Huh? The Face?")

Synopsis

The Maximals aren't too thrilled with the radiation tent put around their house.

The Beast Warriors lay inert after the Metal Hunter's energy surge… but the Transmetalized ones soon recover. Megatron begins investigating the alien base, finding it does not react to their presence. Tarantulas says that the surge has used most of their energy, and they must act quickly. Tarantulas activates the devices that the Predacons had previously planted around the alien site, creating a force field which repels a Maximal attack. Safe inside the web, Megatron casually uses the alien disk to enter the base, shrugging off Optimus Primal's warnings.

Primal sends Cheetor and Silverbolt to take Dinobot and Rhinox back to base for repairs, while he and Rattrap prepare to take down Tarantulas' shield.

Megatron boots Quickstrike into the main chamber of the alien base, but nothing happens. Tarantulas observes that their beast modes shield them from detection. Tired of hiding, Megatron transforms, but still nothing happens; he realizes that the quantum surge has rendered them invisible to the aliens.

I hope that isn't JaAm.

Tarantulas hacks into the base's systems, but finds no trace of the aliens. A control interface appears, which Megatron activates with the alien disk. Energy surges down into him.

Rattrap produces a couple of bombs, which he and Primal use to take down the refractive web. Tarantulas realizes what's happened, and takes Quickstrike to defend the base, determined that it remain in Predacon hands. After they leave, the energy surge ends, a control chair descends, and Megatron laughs in triumph.

Primal and Rattrap puzzle over how to enter the base, only to have Tarantulas and Quickstrike pop out from a door and open fire. Primal charges and nearly makes it to the entrance, but the base rumbles to life just then, lifting off the ground. A single shot knocks out Primal and sends Rattrap flying away. A green energy beam scoops up all the Transformers and levitates them into the air. Only Rattrap avoids it, by diving into cover amid some boulders.

I am the navigator.

A giant version of Megatron's face emerges from the base, speaking to his troops. He tells Tarantulas that the aliens no longer matter, and that with his victory, their alliance is terminated—and thus drops Tarantulas back to the ground. The rest of his troops are repaired and, along with Primal, are brought inside the base. Just as Rattrap is wondering what else can go wrong, the base teleports away, and he finds himself held at gunpoint by a battered Tarantulas.

The alien base rematerializes over the mountaintop where Inferno found the alien disk. Megatron needs time to achieve his next goal; he sends Waspinator and Inferno on a special task.

At the Maximal base, Dinobot and Rhinox are back online. Silverbolt is unable to find the Metal Hunter; however, he does detect Rattrap incoming... along with Tarantulas! The spider wants access to the Maximals' computer system, which—after some initial distrust—he quickly uses to locate the base. He also scans Inferno and Waspinator, who are carrying Transwarp cells back to the base. Tarantulas urges an immediate attack.

How many more dodgy situations are in this show?!

At the Metal Hunter, Primal awakens to find that Megatron intends to take the base back to Cybertron. Again, he brushes off Primal's concerns about the aliens discovering Cybertron; he plans to destroy them, along with the Maximals and the Autobots. He reasons that the trophies of the base and Primal will convince the Predacon Alliance that conquest is the right path.

The Maximals attack, drawing out the Predacon troops and providing a distraction while Rattrap and Tarantulas infiltrate the base. With the Predacons drawn out, the Maximals fall back. Tarantulas sends Rattrap toward the control room, and vanishes.

King Kong vs Godzilla!

Megatron engages a teleportation sequence, but Rattrap bursts into the control room and frees Optimus Primal. Megatron and Primal battle, while Rattrap attempts to stop the teleport sequence. Destroying the control chair doesn't do the trick, but just as Rattrap seems to have run out of ideas, Tarantulas arrives. He sends a download into the alien systems and hightails it out of the base. The combatants soon realize what's happened, and flee the alien base shortly before it teleports into space. A transwarp portal opens to receive it, but the base explodes before it can leave Earth.

Primal resolves to the gathered Maximals that, if Tigatron and Airazor's sparks are still online, they will recover them.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Maximals	Predacons
Rattrap (7) Optimus Primal (8) Rhinox (9) Dinobot (10) Cheetor (11) Silverbolt (11)	Inferno (6) Megatron (1) Tarantulas (1) Inferno (1) Quickstrike (1) Blackarachnia (1) Waspinator (1)

Quotes

"Megatron, don't! Their power is beyond what you can imagine. You can't control it!"
"I am power."

—Optimus Primal and Megatron, just before the Predacons enter the Metal Hunter

"Oh, man! Looks like we lost this one big time."
"We lose when we quit, and I'm not ready to quit."
"I hate it when he talks like that."

—Rattrap and Optimus Primal

"You do realize the web's the only think keepin' that alien locker quiet."
"Blow it."

—Rattrap and Optimus Primal, with the line that launched a thousand childish innuendos.

"Your turn to think of something."

—Rattrap has done his bit.

"Yeah! Now this is the party I expected!"
"Let's mingle."

—Rattrap and Optimus under fire

"Oh man, what else can go wrong?"

—Rattrap, just before the Metal Hunter teleports away and Tarantulas holds him at gunpoint.

"I'm getting sick of waking up in the slagging R Chamber."

—Rhinox after getting knocked offline for the umpteenth time.

"Waspinator not think this job so important."
"Every job for the Royalty is a gift!"
"Ant-bot is major suck-up!"

—Waspinator and Inferno, while flying the transwarp cells to the Metal Hunter

"Hhh! Your scanning system is pitiful. Did you learn nothing from the alien disk?"

—Tarantulas isn't impressed by Rhinox's skills.

"This time, you lose, Megatron!"

—Optimus Primal to Megatron after the Predacon's plans for glory are ruined.

"What about Airazor and Tigatron?"
"If their Sparks are still online, we'll get them back."

—Cheetor and Optimus Primal

Notes

• Before Megatron places the alien disk into the control column, he gives it a kiss for luck. Truly.

Technical/animation glitches

• Glitch

Continuity errors

• Last time, the aliens were prepared to blow up the entire planet to stop the Transformers. This time, they just send this plant base thing which makes a single attack on the Beast Warriors and then just sits there, waiting for Megatron to stroll right in.

Transformers references

• Megatron explicitly states his plan to destroy the Autobots, the first indication that the Maximals' ancestors are still an active faction in the Beast Era.
• The idea of a giant floating Megatron head would go one step further with the debut of the Grand Mal in Beast Machines.