Gone Too Far
Two Autobots try to make their way in Axiom Nexus and get more than they bargained for.
Stats
Writers: Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop
Pagecount: 28pp
Originally published: online exclusive for the Transformers Collectors' Club on March 13, 2008
Illustrations: Evan Gauntt
Synopsis
In Axiom Nexus, Jackpot goes through interrogation by a rather crotchety member of the Department of Acclimation. He and Hubcap have wound up in the multiversal city after some sort of space bridge accident. Designated Jackpot III, Primax Cluster, he is reunited with Hubcap and introduced to their guide, Scattorshot, whose job is to introduce them to their new world. Over glasses of oil at a plaza-side pub, Scattorshot explains the way Axiom Nexus works to his offworlder guests, explaining such bureaucratic funfests as the Order of Bureaucratic Enlightenment and the Freelancer Police Legion, not to mention the vagaries of cross-dimensional travel. Jackpot regards the whole thing as just another travel stop, but Hubcap is uneasy about both the bureaucracy and the limitations placed on offworlders.
After Scattershot leaves them, the pair find their way to the somewhat seedy tavern The Blue Deployer. Jackpot makes the acquaintance of the owner, Cryotek, while Hubcap attempts to win them some credits via gambling. Hubcap does well; playing cards against Gutcruncher, he is preparing to win a high-stakes round when a bizarre twist of Jackpot's luck-altering aura causes him to lose all his earnings, and the loan money they'd finagled in the first place.
As the two Autobots debate their next move, Gutcruncher invites them in to talk business, offering them unspecified but well-paid work if they show up at a meeting the next day. Cryotek, noting that the Autobots' monetary options are severely limited, advises them to take him up on it, despite their misgivings.
The two arrive at a massive arena filling up with all manor of unsavory mechs; finally, Gutcruncher takes the stage to speak. He rouses the rabble with a speech declaring that they, the "low-techs", should have the true power in Axiom Nexus, power withheld from them by the Transtechs. He proposes a multi-faction alliance, an end to the fighting amongst themselves, to overthrow their oppressors, escape their gilded cage, and take over the city! Can! You! Dig it!?!
Hubcap and Jackpot realize they're looking at the start of an uprising, but before they can do anything, a sniper shot from right behind them kills Gutcruncher in full view of the crowd. A nearby voice accuses the Autobots of the murder; they flee in the face of an angry mob set on vengeance. The Autobots narrowly escape a run-in with the Malignus Revolutionary Army, and Hubcap overhears on police radio that they are reported to be armed and dangerous.
Unable to find help from the other-universe versions of themselves that have passed through Axiom Nexus, the pair turn to Cryotek, who politely refuses to shelter the two fugitives but advises them to try the Widow's Cafe Cybertronian instead. Running out of ideas and options, Jackpot proposes trying to find the actual killer. Before they can consider the option very much, they literally run into a law-enforcement bot, who pursues them. Jackpot exults that they can't possibly catch them...
When we rejoin our heroes, they are well and truly caught, held at a police station by Commander Cheetor, who cuts through their wheedling and informs them that of course they didn't murder Gutcruncher -- it doesn't fit their profiles or abilities at all -- but no mob is going to realize that. Cheetor says he's putting them under protective custody. Alarmed by the prospect of being stuck in one easy-to-locate place, Hubcap and Jackpot make a break for it. Cheetor isn't too concerned; he sends a seemingly invisible agent after them.
The escaped Autobots head for the Widow's Cafe Cybertronian, but have another run-in with the Malignus Revolutionaries before they can quite get there. Another stroke of Jackpot's luck gets rid of their six pursuers for a while, while simultaneously revealing the concealed police-bot who has been tailing them. Detectas introduces himself -- Cheetor sent him to tail the Autobots in hope that they would lead him to the murderer -- but the two Autobots are already moving on, particularly with the Malignus bots recovered from the previous incident and closing in again. After tricking the Malignus into falling down an elevator shaft near the entrance to the Heaps, the two Autobots take shelter in an abandoned building to rest and recover.
As they wait, they hear a lone mech approaching; Hubcap recognizes him as one of Cryotek's employees. Black Shadow speaks, aware of their presence, and explains that he knows they couldn't have killed Gutcruncher -- because he did. He gloats that he can toss the two dead Autobots to the gangs to satisfy their need for vengeance, collect bounties for them and Gutcruncher, and leave the cops a dead end to boot. The Autobots flee, but Black Shadow splits into his robot form and Crossformer shell, and pursues them both.
While Jackpot battles the shell, Hubcap evades Black Shadow's robot component, and tricks a passing Decepticon into giving him a ride to Level 29. After a merry chase through Zone 6, Black Shadow catches him in front of a band of Malignus bots, led by Dirge, one of Gutcruncher's cohorts. When Black Shadow announces he's brought in the assassin, Hubcap confirms it -- by playing back a recording of his earlier admission of the deed, pulled from audio backups of his own memory banks.
Black Shadow points out that audio can be faked; Hubcap counters that he also video recorded the whole incident, Black Shadow killing Gutcruncher with a maser cannon. Black Shadow smirks and announces that he only uses photo blasters... which, Dirge quickly reveals, is the weapon that killed Gutcruncher. The mob sets on Black Shadow, and brutal justice is served.
Black Shadow's shell overloads, erupting in smoke and flame, just before it can deliver a killing stroke to Jackpot -- lucky for him! He turns around and runs right into Officer Airazor...
At his office, Cheetor sorts through the whole affair while Jackpot and Hubcap wait. The Malignus are in jail, an uprising has been averted, and many illegal weapons recovered from Gutcruncher's cache. The only remaining mystery is, who paid for the original hit on Gutcruncher?
Cheetor pays a visit to Cyrotek, who profusely professes his innocence. But after the police leave, Cryotek remarks to a barhand that Gutcruncher's revolution would have simply called down the full wrath of the Transtek, and that... would be bad for business.
Classified as "undesirables", Hubcap and Jackpot are shipped off-dimension post-haste. Jackpot is pleased that they'll be back on familiar territory... till he sees the smile on Cheetor's face as the transwarp field carries them away.
The pair land with a thud on an alien world, smashing a rampaging Decepticon named Killzone just before he could execute a random alien, who is quite grateful, if a bit confused by the turn of events. Turns out the locals are quite troubled by some explosive glowing rocks that keep rising to the surface, first causing mine and farming troubles, and now attracting violent space robot monsters. With said monster out of the way, the two Autobots look for a means of getting off-world. While they wait for an answer to their radio distress call, Hubcap and Jackpot offer to clean up the pesky rocks, all for free!
Quotes
Hubcap: "So, when do we get to go home?"
Scattorshot: "Oh, that. Whenever. You just gotta apply for exit visas, an' the 'Techs will deliver you to your universe of origin... or at least an approved alternate reality. Provided, a' course, that you ain't been designated 'units of interest'."
Jackpot: "And I'll take 'Ominous Terminology' for 500 shanix, 'Shot."
"Expression of menace and unveiled hostility. ...Ironic yet mean-spirited quip."
- -- Black Shadow's Crossformer shell AI. It knows the words, my dear, but it will never master the tune.
"You are in Zoruul, capital city of Zegris. Please, are you to bring more terror as he did? If so, kindly strike us down in a more painless and efficient fashion, for we are running out of places to pile the rubble and the screams are disturbing the rest of the untouched."
- --Yurgeth is a practical-minded alien.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others/Unknown |
|---|---|---|
|
Items of note
- Axiom Nexus is home to a whole host of teams, gangs, and subfactions. The United Anarchists League rule the Heap, to the extent that anarchists will deign to rule anything. Gutcruncher notes in his speech that the crowd includes representatives of the Destructicons, Free Technorgs League, Scourges, Destron Boys, WildGuard, the Neo-Mutant Liberators, Beast-Riders, Mayhem Attackers, the Malignus Revolutionaries and the Junkion Rippers. He also mentions the Lightning Strikers, Imperius Legions, and Dinobots.
Cameos
- The cameos fly fast and furious in this story, some more obvious than others. Axiom Nexus's offworld population includes two other versions of Jackpot, Gutcruncher's doorman Calcar, Cryotek's thug Buzzbomb, and a Hubcap who our Hubcap finds rather unsettling. Several characters aren't explicitly named, including Cryotek's croupier, Gutcruncher's many-gunned thug, and the mob of Malignus Revolutionaries.
- At one point, a "large synthetic-flesh canine" walks past, which could be a Pretender Beast or any number of Beast Warriors such as K-9 or Wolfang.
- In addition to those bots who actually appear in the story, Gutcruncher makes reference to Bruticus, Swerve, and Mindset.
- The illustrations reveal even more offworlders, including Delta Seeker, Beastbox, Squawktalk, Signal Lancer, Tracks, Thrust, Apeface, Manta Ray, Tigertrack, Deep Cover, and Crowmax.
Transformer references
- Hubcap's ID card reads "Strength=3".
- Jackpot describes himself as an Action Master; various Transtechs construe this to mean that he is a Nucleon addict. Several asides in the story explain some of how the Nucleon serves as a self-regenerating fuel source and a means of sudden power bursts.
- Jackpot and Hubcap are surprised to find that energon is not a currency in Axiom Nexus, but appreciate a currency format that isn't likely to explode, as energon is so often shown to do in the Generation 1 cartoons and comics.
- Jackpot: "Shall we make like a Scraplet and bolt?"
- Jackpot regrets the absence of Sights, his Targetmaster partner.
- Jackpot notes the irony of them being unable to afford a disguise, which would have been in the form of a reformatting.
- Cheetor mentions "three very strange mechs" who've just arrived -- a reference to Breakaway, Landquake and Skyfall's transit at the end of "Crossing Over".
- While verbally harassing Jackpot about his "Nucleon habit", Stungun first quotes the Action Master tagline of "Stronger, faster, more alive", then parodies a line from the 2007 live-action film: "What else you into? Syk? Chips? Solitarium? Hit a little of the Old Fortran at nights?" Jackpot plays along: "Are you on plugs?"
- Cheetor: "And anyhow, did you want to live forever or something?" (Jackpot and Hubcap: "Yes.")
- Hubcap tells the blue Decepticon hoverskiff (presumably Scourge) that he's been rigged with an exponential generator.
Real-world references
- Jackpot, as quoted above, parodies the contestant format of the game show Jeopardy.
- "They can't catch us! We're the wind, baby!" Jackpot enthuses during a high-speed chase, paraphrasing Mystery Science Theater 3000's Tom Servo.
- "This is another fine mess you let me get us into," says Jackpot, a play on a famous Laurel & Hardy line.
- "Didn't we just leave this party?!" Jackpot says, quoting Han Solo.
- Boy, this thing borrows pretty heavily from The Warriors, doesn't it?
- "Old Fortran" is an alcoholic beverage made for robots in Futurama.
External links
- Transformers Collectors' Club exclusive fiction (must be a logged-in member to access)
