"We were flying toward Boulder City, which—fortunately—had already been evacuated," I thought, feeling the wind on my face as the huge Cybertronian ship loomed in the distance.
"I don't like this," Simmons grumbled, his voice heavy with frustration. "I wish I could be down there helping my soldiers."
I decided to ignore the comment. I understood his irritation, but it didn't make the situation any less awkward.
"You don't seem bothered about running from the fight," one of the soldiers said, looking at me.
"I know many would call it cowardice," I replied. "But I know my body's limits. My body is like a battery—if I get hit, my radiation could leak. We don't want another ecological disaster, right?" I referenced the forest I'd accidentally cyberformed.
The soldier fell quiet; he had no answer to that.
"As long as the dam isn't destroyed, we can call it a win," I said, hoping Airachnid wouldn't do anything reckless, an optimistic hope, given the circumstances.
"It frustrates me that we couldn't beat the Decepticons," Simmons muttered to himself.
"Cybertronian technology has always been light-years ahead," I answered, my mind drifting to the age of the Primes. "What we saw today is just an echo of the past, when this technology was even more ridiculous to the point of making the Death Star from Star Wars look like nothing special."
For some reason, simply mentioning Cybertron tightened something in my chest, stronger than I expected. It was as if that word— that wounded, distant world—brought up a longing that shouldn't belong to me. A nostalgia that wasn't strictly mine but burned as if it were. Images of gleaming towers, metallic skies, and energon fields flashed through my mind like echoes of a memory that, deep down, might belong to the Allspark. Maybe… to me. The line that separated what I was from what the Allspark wanted me to be grew thinner every day.
It was strange to think about. I hadn't actually lived that era, and yet I missed it. Perhaps that feeling came from the Allspark of that time, mixed with my experience as its bearer.
Sometimes it was hard to tell whether I was merely a vessel or if I carried a will of my own. That nostalgia confused me—and since the awakening, it had grown stronger than ever.
The shrill drone of the helicopter was constant, but the cool wind provided some relief. Then something caught my eye and drew my attention away from the battlefield.
I opened my hand and a flying object latched onto it. It weighed a little, but nothing for someone like me who can bypass the brute-force limits of his own body.
It was a robotic insect, about 30 centimeters long, the kind of thing that would spook anyone with common sense.
When Simmons noticed the creature clinging to my arm he tensed, pulling his gun ready to fire. At least their reflexes were still sharp.
"No need," I said calmly. "It's harmless."
"That thing looks like the monsters from that forest," Simmons muttered, suspicious.
"Harmless to me, not to you," I replied teasingly, though I knew the little creature wouldn't attack.
I studied the insect closely. It seemed calm in my presence, probably able to sense my energy — after all, at that moment I was a walking beacon.
By its design it was clearly a product of the cyberformed forest, but from what I could see it was even more advanced — which meant that place had changed.
"You keep evolving," I whispered as the tiny creature rearranged itself into an ornament on my metallic arm, a small contrast to the gold. "Nice, definitely nice."
"Just what I needed… now I have to worry about these animals running around like a plague," Simmons said, almost giving up.
"No need for melodrama. This little unexpected companion is more of a scapegoat," I answered. "Basically something to spy on me… except I gave my consent."
"What kind of twisted logic is that?!" one of the soldiers exclaimed.
"In short, I'll have to return to the source of my mess soon," I said, glancing at my metal arm and the decorative insect. "But enough chatter." I turned my gaze to the Cybertronian ship firing at the ground. "If you want to do real damage to that ship, you'll need to strike the turbines."
"As if that were easy," Simmons grumbled. "Our fighters can't do meaningful damage to that thing."
"You're a man of little faith when you don't have your expensive toys, aren't you?" I taunted. "From its structure, that ship wasn't designed for this kind of fight." I adjusted my vision to analyze the details. "Its armor is very heavy in many spots — basically built to plow through anything ahead of it. But that structural choice is a weak point that can be exploited."
"How do we exploit it?"
"Simple. We need an electric cannon. That should be enough to inflict significant damage and force them to pull back," I explained, looking toward the city. "You can land on that street," I pointed.
As the helicopter began to descend I jumped down a few meters in advance and walked into the relatively clear street.
I touched the ground and started forming a five-meter block of metal. I put both hands on its center and split it into two parts, which began to transform into distinct mechanical systems. I forced the two halves against each other until a cannon barrel emerged from the center.
I heard the helicopter powering down, but I was already finished. When I turned around, the soldiers and Simmons were mouths-agape.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present the electric cannon. A fine long-range anti-air system," I announced, extending my hand. "I've minimized my radiation as much as possible, but I still don't recommend you use this without protective suits."
I walked to a power distribution pole, climbed up casually, and ripped one of the cables free. "If I use my energy as the source, I'll end up blowing up half the state in the process," I said as I came back down with the live cable sparking on the pavement. I hooked the line directly to the electric cannon. "I'll need a good spotter to help me aim this thing."
I watched the panel and saw it was siphoning power from the whole city for itself. "It'll take a few minutes to get it online." I knew full well that the electric cannon would give a lot of people a nasty electricity bill… but that's life.
"You made this so… casually?" Simmons looked baffled at the cannon — over six meters tall and eight meters long.
"That's the cool part about controlling the Allspark. Anything I can imagine can become real… but I need a good idea of how to do it. It's not just think-and-boom! An object doesn't pop into existence out of nowhere," I explained. "There are rules I have to respect when I create something."
"Anything you imagine?! That would make you—"
"A god? In context, yes. But I can't just make anything without consequences. If I abuse my power, there comes a point where my thoughts become reality. And believe me, that's not even remotely fun," I answered.
"Why would that be bad?" a soldier asked — in his logic, that kind of power seemed extraordinary.
"Imagine the situation: I'm watching a war movie and my subconscious uses my powers while thinking about it," I explained.
"So… you'd create a third world war."
"It would be far worse, believe me," I scoffed. "A fertile imagination is more terrifying than you can imagine."
Simmons stepped closer, curious despite the risk of exposure to my radiation.
"How are you making these things without side effects?" he asked, clearly wanting to know more.
"You mean my ability to create life?"
"Exactly."
"In short, my energy acts in multiple ways. The most well-known to Cybertronians is the ability to create life out of anything," I explained.
"Anything?"
"Anything," I confirmed.
"Anything, really?" he pressed.
"Believe me: anything your mind can imagine," I replied, clarifying with a touch of sarcasm.
"Go on."
"The other way is like how I just made the electric cannon. I used my energy to generate matter, and the knowledge from my infinite internal library to design it in seconds," I continued. "What decides whether it will have life or not is the spark. If the spark isn't inserted, any object I create is nothing more than an object."
Simmons nodded.
"The third way is when my energy is used without control. Let's say I accidentally create an energy pulse that hits a car," I made a fake explosion with my fingers to illustrate. "Because I didn't encode my energy properly, a spark forms and stores itself in the car, giving it life. But since it's not encoded correctly, it becomes an unstable creature, without reason, that attacks everything around it out of fear."
Simmons seemed to get it. Many things started making sense to him.
"What happened in the forest? Why did you turn entire hectares into metal?" he asked.
"I'm responsible… but the blame goes to Airachnid," I threw the blame to her.
"She made you lose control?" he asked suspiciously, given that Airachnid in human form was incredibly sensual and distracting. "You thought with the wrong head, didn't you?"
"In the situation I was in, it was a shitty string of coincidences," I tried to patch a defense. "Still doesn't change the fact she's to blame."
"But you had your finger on the trigger," Simmons shot back, slightly irritated.
"You questioning my performance?!!" I bristled.
"Well, you've got thousands of years… so nothing prevents you from having an off day," Simmons mocked, causing the soldiers to stifle laughs.
"If it weren't for my impeccable moral compass, this near-extinct relic, I would've sent you all straight to hell," I said with a mocking smile as the cannon slowly reached 20% charge. "I sincerely hope Airachnid isn't pushing boundaries… beyond the absurdities she already considers 'normal.'"
***
Meanwhile...
Airachnid weaved through the energon fire with absurd ease, as if the vehicle chase were part of her nature—even though it was her first time fleeing on four wheels for real. The sound of gunfire rang around her, but she slipped between it like she was dancing.
"This is almost fun," she muttered, amused by her own confusion."For a rookie on four wheels, I'm killing it."
In the rearview she spotted the Autobot Bumblebee closing in, thanks to his excellent handling.
"A little worm catching up to me?" she said with contempt. "That pisses me off more than when Lux forbade me from eating cotton candy."
She gunned it. The engine's roar sounded like metallic thunder, drawing attention for miles.
Ahead, a group of Decepticons dove and landed, weapons ready. The Allspark gleamed like a beacon, but the soldiers hesitated — afraid to damage it with a stray shot.
Airachnid looked at them with disdain and laughed derisively.
"Oh, how precious... afraid of ruining the golden toy?" She sneered, already transforming into her robotic mode. The Allspark was tossed into the air like a gold coin. The Decepticons' eyes fixed on it, torn between greed and fear. It was the last thing they saw before they lost their minds.
Airachnid snatched the fake Allspark before it hit the ground. She wiped vital blood from a fallen opponent across one of her legs and smiled with contempt.
"Do you really think you'll get your hands on this prize?" she hissed. "This body is magnificent... and with Lux's recharge, I'm unstoppable."
Before she could switch back to vehicle mode, Bumblebee crashed in at high speed. The Autobot transformed mid-air, did a somersault and grabbed the golden cocoon, landing square on his two feet.
For a moment Airachnid merely narrowed her eyes, irritated by the audacity.
"Pathetic... he doesn't even know he's only delaying the inevitable," she thought, forcing a cold smile before lunging with a clenched fist. "You're not taking that thing!" she roared, pure fury and contempt in her voice.
Bumblebee gave a determined beep and jumped back at the last second. The blow gouged a crack in the asphalt, sending sparks and chunks of concrete flying.
He raised his free arm and fired his cannon, but Airachnid blocked the shots with her legs as easily as swatting flies.
"No new tricks?" she mocked, all scorn. "How predictable..."
In a swift move she fired a web, entangling Bumblebee's cannon. Another web lashed for his feet, but the Autobot dodged.
Frustrated, he beeped again and transformed, accelerating to escape.
"You won't run off with my prize!" Airachnid shouted, activating her combat armor. The red shell cloaked her body and a mask hid the cruel smile on her face.
To Bumblebee's horror, she materialized in front of him like a ghost. The sharp tips of her legs glittered in the battlelight.
"This recharge made me invincible... even I could kill Megatron, Lux was quite generous to a lady like me," she thought, ravenous for victory and not granting her opponent any value.
At the last second Bumblebee transformed and evaded, but he didn't come away unscathed. One of Airachnid's legs ripped across his shoulder like a blade, tearing plates away and leaving exposed wires that spattered through the air. Energon poured from the wound in blue streams while shards of his damaged shoulder ricocheted off the ground.
"Good reflexes... for an insect," Airachnid taunted, advancing slowly to seize the worthless treasure.
The moment she grabbed the fake artifact, a portal opened beside her and the barrel of a large cannon appeared so close to her face she could feel the vibration of the imminent shot.
She didn't flinch, but for a brief instant a subtle surprise crossed her features before she grew dark. Rightly irritated — who would like a weapon pointed at their face?
"Prime..." she hissed, her voice thick with venom. Her eyes locked on the imposing figure of the Autobots' leader. "How long has it been, Optimus? Thousands of years since our last meeting?"
Beside Optimus, Arcee leapt forward, positioning herself between Airachnid and the rest. She noticed the new form of her old enemy, felt a twinge of confusion inside, but showed nothing. She kept her eyes fixed on the objective, leaving any questions for later.
"Drop the Allspark, Airachnid," Arcee ordered, her voice steady, cannons ready to turn the arch-enemy's head into scrap.
Airachnid laughed — a cold, cutting sound like blades clashing.
"Hahaha! Found your courage now, Arcee? Just because your precious leader's here to clean up your mess if you fail again?"
"Give me the Allspark, Airachnid," Optimus said, his voice deep and commanding. "It is the only hope to restore Cybertron. Do not force me to take drastic measures."
Airachnid raised an eyebrow, feeling the weight of determination in every word from Optimus. There was no doubt: he was willing to do whatever it took to protect the Allspark.
Before the standoff could resolve, dozens of Decepticons plummeted from the sky, landing around them with weapons loaded and ready to fire.
Bumblebee, even wounded, did not hesitate. With his good arm he activated his forearm cannon and took aim, aware they were at a disadvantage even with the base portal still open behind them.
Optimus cast a sidelong glance, maintaining an unshakable posture, but his instincts warned him of the worst. The slicing sound that tore through the air confirmed his fears.
Megatron hurtled down from the sky like a metallic comet, wrapped in an aura of pure fury. The impact of his landing cracked the ground, causing a small tremor. His fist slammed into the earth with thunderous force, raising a cloud of dust and rock. Despite the damage across his armor, his eyes shone with savagery and power.
"Enough games. The Allspark comes with me," Megatron declared, his voice booming across the battlefield like the roar of a titan.