Location:Abandoned Petrochem tunnel, Watson district – 2075
The stranger waited where the light never touched the walls.
Bee entered first his blade-arm ready, optics dimmed. Lucy followed close, her quicksilvers pulsing with Netrunning heat, nerves sharp. The air smelled like dust and ozone.
Then the stranger stepped forward. Towering, armored, but unmistakably human at least in frame. His movements were heavy, his presence even heavier.
He knelt.
"Designation: Gridlock. Wrecker Unit. Class-Alpha.""And you… you're the last spark still burning on this world."
Bee tensed, and Gridlock saw it. "Easy, soldier. I ain't your enemy. But you're about to make more than you ever imagined."
Scene: Memory Echoes
Gridlock led them deeper into a sealed room lined with ancient tech. In the center floated a fragmented core drive, projecting glowing Cybertronian glyphs.
"This is what Soundwave's freak is hunting," he explained. "Not you, Bee. The message you triggered… it wasn't just a signal."
The drive activated. Holograms flickered to life.
Lucy gasped.
She saw them Cybertronians in their prime. A younger Bee, fighting beside Arcee, Ironhide, and Optimus Prime. Explosions. Cities torn asunder. Worlds burning.
Then came Megatron.
And behind him, always in the dark Soundwave.
"This is the war you were born from," Gridlock said."And it never really ended."
Bee stared into the hologram. Silent. Still.
Scene: Truth Revealed
Gridlock crossed his arms. "You think Earth's safe? Kid, you lit a beacon and half the galaxy now knows there's something worth taking down here."
Lucy looked between them. "So, what Soundwave's not alone?"
Gridlock nodded grimly. "He's the scout. The next wave's coming."
"Insecticons. Seekers. Maybe worse."
Lucy turned to Bee. "We have to stop it. We can't run anymore."
Bee slowly nodded.
Gridlock looked impressed. "You've still got it in you, don't you?"
He held up a crate. Inside was a glowing blue core a Cybertronian upgrade.
"This was meant for a Wrecker. But I think you're something rarer someone who still remembers what honor is."
Bee stared at the core, then back at Gridlock.
"He accepts," Lucy said for him."He always does."
Scene: The Gathering Storm
Elsewhere in the remains of a failed Arasaka black site Soundwave stood in silence. The Specter drone knelt before him, badly damaged.
"The Autobot no longer speaks.""But his Spark... persists."
Soundwave extended a hand. The ruined drones scattered around began to hum. Their scraps twisted into new forms.
From behind him stepped new Decepticons, forged from tech, stolen AI, and alien cores:
A towering mech with a jet black trenchcoat and cannon-arm: Deadcoil.
A sleek, fanged, serpentine femme-bot with dual blades: Virex.
And a reanimated titan built from stolen Militech tanks: Iron Barrage.
Soundwave's optic flared."Commence purge. Autobot must fall."
Final Scene: Bee's Choice
Back at the hideout, Bee knelt before the upgrade core. Gridlock had already left gone to "gather old friends."
Lucy placed a hand on Bee's shoulder.
"You don't have to be Optimus. Just be you."
Bee pressed his hand into the core.
It flared to life.
Armor across his body shifted. Reinforced. Lighter. Stronger. New stabilizers formed across his back not wings, but shields. His optics brightened.
And a new glyph etched itself across his arm:
Hope.
But before Lucy could speak, Bee jolted.
He heard something. A sound no one else could.
A voice. Broken. Warped. Ancient.
Calling his name.
"B-127… Final Spark... Primus awaits..."
His optics widened.