Do Over
Template:Episodenav Ricochet springs a trap for Megatron as Optimus Prime prepares to launch a rebuilt Ark towards Earth.
Synopsis
Starscream enters the Dinocon's pen to check up on them, but is shocked to find that Overkill and Slugfest are missing. He contacts Soundwave to check the security recordings, and asks Goryu if he ate them. Finally, Starscream discovers two octaltrack data cartridges that suddenly transform into the missing Dinocons. It seems that the Decepticons' eight captured Dinos inexplicably have embers where they had none before, and they can transform. Megatron asks Cliffjumper if this revelation may be related to his recent adventure, but the displaced Autobot's memory mysteriously lacks details of the Omega Terminus and its effect on Grimlock.
With that issue unresolved, the Decepticons turn their attention to Optimus Prime's's plans to revive the Ark and invade Earth. Megatron believes it easier to stop the Ark after it has launched, so the Decepticons will follow the Ark in the Nemesis. The Autobots (and therefore the Decepticons) will need to move soon, due to the Plait Expanse. Once Cybertron enters the Expanse, off-planet travel and communication will be impossible for a whole Earth year. Megatron appoints Cliffjumper as head of the mission, due to Cliffjumper's knowledge of Earth.
While Cliffjumper is occupied with those tasks, Megatron arrives at the ruins of the Temple of Knowledge. During the earlier meeting, he had received a call from Boltax, but upon his arrival, ambush awaits him. Ricochet and his Targetmaster partner Nightstick attack Megatron, bringing him down.
The maniacal, sarcastic Ricochet hangs Megatron upside-down over a death trapped chasm, and gathers his minions, the cowardly Scoop and the indifferent Crosshairs. He calls up the Autobots and alerts them to his capture of Megatron, demanding ransom.
Cliffjumper convinces Starscream that sending a large force to rescue Megatron would jeopardize their Earth mission, so they agree to send the Micromasters, Razorclaw, Rampage, Divebomb, and Wisper.
Meanwhile, Optimus Prime oversees the preparation of the Ark. Jazz offhandedly mentions that Ricochet has taken care of the Decepticons. Ricochet believes that as long as he has Megatron, the Nemesis won't launch. Prime is outraged at this news. Optimus insists that only he will be the end of Megatron, and rushes out to confront Ricochet.
Razorclaw and the other Micromasters sneak into Ricochet's hideout, the Underbase, under cover of Whipser's cacophonous distraction.
Scoop cowers at the noise, imagining an invading army. Ricochet sends Scoop and Crosshairs to root out the intruders. Megatron says that if Ricochet kills him, Prime will be furious, but the crazed schemer plans to place the blame on Crosshairs.
Whisper torments Scoop, pretending to be the ghost of Boltax in the dark corridors of the Underbase. But Whisper wasn't counting on Scoop's more level-headed Targetmaster partner, Holepunch, who transforms into a helicopter and exposes Whisper. Scoop, frustrated, fires wildly, bringing down the ceiling. Whipser escapes.
The sound of the battle draws Crosshairs attention, but Rampage and Divebomb knock him down. Again, the Decepticon Micromasters are taken unawares by a Targetmaster, this time Crosshairs' partner Pinpointer. The small Autobot fires three missiles at Divebomb, who flees the seeking projectiles. The apathetic Crosshairs and the enthusiastic Pinpointer then close in on Rampage. Divebomb circles around and guides the missiles into the floor, causing the two Autobots to plummet to the level below.
Back at the Ark, Rodimus wishes to leave Prime behind, and convinces Goldbug of his plan. Blurr objects.
Finally, Prime bursts in on Ricochet, halting him from dropping Megatron into his trap. Prime, attempting to save face, take credit for Ricochet's plan. Razorclaw bounds down from the ceiling, toppling Ricochet and destroying the mechanism that would release Megatron into the deadly chasm. Optimus chooses to simply shoot his adversary, but again, Razorclaw foils Prime by biting his knee. Divebomb and Rampage arrive and take care of Ricochet while the newly-freed Megatron takes on Optimus.
Megatron quickly gains the upper hand, while also taking out Ricochet. He snatches Ricochet's weapon, but the Targetmaster takes over Megatron's arm. Optimus charges, using Megatron's tank/sword, but Megatron shifts his body. The blade cuts through Megatron's wrist, giving him control of his arm again, at the loss of his hand. He calls out to his tank module/sword, Rumbler, which detaches from Optimus.
At that moment, Prime receives word that the Ark had lunched without him. His long-term plans in shambles, he orders a retreat. Upon his arrival at the launch site, Nightbeat and Blurr inform Prime that Rodimus and Goldbug had dumped anyone they deemed too loyal to Optimus off the Ark.
The Ark and the Nemesis soar away from Cybertron and make their Transwarp jump to Earth. Once there, they resume battle, although the Nemesis is outgunned. Astrotrain flies from the Nemesis to the Ark, releasing his Micromaster partners Submarauder, Fasttrack, Tailwind, and Stonecruncher to cause mischief.
The Ark loses control, and Rodimus flees in an escape pod. The others brace for impact as the Ark heads toward a sea where California should be.
Back on the Nemesis, Soundwave cheers the Autobots' fate. But after being hit by a nuclear weapon from Earth, the Nemesis isn't any better off. Starscream and his crew struggle to keep it in the air. Heatwave communicates with the ship, bypassing failed systems, to access details of the damage. He reports that the ship is beyond immediate repair, so Starscream has the falling ship evacuated. He and Cliffjumper guide it away from population centers as it plummets toward the planet.
Back on Cybertron, the Remote Patrol Six scan the Plait Expanse's radiation, looking for a way to escape the planet. The group is harboring Hound from Prime, because he faked his death when Rodimus threw everyone out of the Ark. (Hound, master of fear, is afraid of Earth.) But when a familiar signal is detected, Hound considers coming out of hiding sooner rather than later...
Stats
Writers: S. Trent Troop and Greg Sepelak
Pagecount: 30pp
Originally published: online exclusive for the Transformers Collectors' Club on February 13, 2009
Illustrations: Yūki Ōshima and colors by Drew Eiden
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Decepticons | Autobots | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Notes
- The "Prologue" at the end leads directly into the Collectors' Club magazine's "Reunification" comics.
Errors
References
Transformer references
- Cliffjumper is shocked to hear that Prime is again attempting to flee Cybertron on the Ark, since, in Cliffjumper's home universe, the head bad guy (Megatron) was always hatching new schemes, not improving old ones.
- Cliffjumper is flummoxed by the presence of Demolishor and Heatwave, because they don't exist in his home universe. Indeed, Demolishor seems to be an alternate-universe version of Armada Demolishor (an exeption to the idea of Shattered Glass an an alternate Generation 1), and Heatwave has a greater destiny.
Real-world references
External links
- Transformers Collectors' Club exclusive fiction (must be a logged-in member to access)
