Energon key

"CYBER KEY POWER!!!!!"

Created to store energon in a time when it was in short supply, energon keys contain a potent amount of the live-sustaining substance. A key doesn't simply contain enough to refuel a bot, but an amount sufficient to regenerate their living metal and restore even an ancient Cybertronian to youthful vigor and fighting shape. When in proximity with a Cybertronian who hasn't been reconfigured to more crude forms of fuel, the bot's body will actually transform in its presence, opening up a "lock" for the key to fit into.

Fiction

Last Bot Standing

Rodimus, Strongarm and Gripper had three keys, one for each of them, when they went hiding on the planet Donnokt to protect its developing energon. They communicated with the local inhabitants, giving the ancestors of Shib Wakiss and her family the keys, to awaken them in the event any other Cybertronians came to the world. Both Strongarm and Gripper died before they could use their keys, leaving all three hidden in the family's Fembrance home by the time of Shib, who was privy to this ancient secret. Last Bot Standing #4 After the arrival of an alien visitor and Rodimus' awakening, Shib took one of the keys from their hiding place and hung it on a necklace. She had it with her when she was captured by Steeljaw's crew. Last Bot Standing #2 When the Veteran allowed them the chance to say goodbye, Shib held the key up to Rodimus, and the key activated, restoring his body and rejuvenating him. Steeljaw would venture back to Fembrance, finding both the remaining keys and the explanation of what they were for. Last Bot Standing #3 Before he could use them, Steeljaw was dogpiled by his sister and crewmates, who ended up smashing one of the keys on the ground. By the time Steeljaw confronted Rodimus in the mineshaft, he seemed to have managed to absorb the key, making him a match for Rodimus, who only defeated him after being supercharged by exposure to raw energon crystals. Last Bot Standing #4

Notes

• The energon keys, and the way they seem to "unlock" ports on their users, is a reference to the AllSpark Key from Transformers Animated.
• While the energon inside the key and the larger story is consistently blue (consistent with energon's non-Generation 1 depiction since the 2010s in most media), it gives off a pink glow when used, and is depicted with a more traditional Generation 1 pink color on the final issue's cover.