Chapter 78 Sector 7
The morning sunlight had just swept across the glass exterior wall of the S.H.I.E.L.D. branch office in the suburbs of Washington.
Coulson was standing in the lobby checking the reporting list of field Agents when he saw a man in a crisp black suit and with a meticulous slicked-back hairstyle stride in.
The man wore sunglasses on the bridge of his nose, his face taut like an iron plate, and he rushed straight toward the elevator entrance, looking as if someone owed him eight million dollars.
Coulson stepped forward quickly to block him, wearing a standard professional smile: "Hello, sir. The internal office area of S.H.I.E.L.D. requires an advance appointment. Do you have an appointment?"
The man stopped, took off his sunglasses, cast a sharp look at Coulson, and said in a stiff tone: "I am looking for your Director, Nick Fury. I am from Sector 7, Reginald Simmons."
"Sector 7?" Coulson's brows furrowed imperceptibly.
He had dealt with hundreds, if not dozens, of Military and intelligence departments, but he had never heard of any Sector 7.
Maintaining a polite smile, he turned slightly sideways: "Sorry, sir, I haven't found any related appointment records, nor have I received notice from superiors. If you have no other business, please go back."
Simmons's face darkened as she pulled a black document folder from her inner pocket, flipped it open with a snap, and handed it in front of Coulson.
The cover of the document had no markings, and the inner pages only had a line of gold-stamped numbers and an inconspicuous eagle emblem, below which were printed the words "Top Secret Clearance".
"Now, can you take me to see Fury?" Simmons's tone carried a hint of arrogance. "This concerns national safety. If delayed, you can't bear the responsibility."
Coulson stared at the document for two seconds, quickly weighing things in his mind.
The anti-counterfeiting marks on this document didn't look fake, and since the other party dared to directly barge into S.H.I.E.L.D., they probably had some background.
He nodded slightly: "Please wait a moment, I'll go report it."
A few minutes later, in Fury's office.
Fury sat behind the desk, his single eye sizing up Simmonsopposite him, his fingertips tapping gently on the tabletop.
He had just asked the system to check Sector 7, but the clearance wasn't high enough to find any information.
This was interesting. A department that even the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director couldn't check had actually come looking for them directly.
"Agent Simmons, let's cut to the chase. What is your business with me?" Fury got straight to the point. "I don't have much time."
Simmons didn't beat around the bush either, pulled a chair over and sat down, leaning forward slightly, her tone serious: "I'll be straight to the point. Our Sector 7 is responsible for keeping a national-level secret item. Last night, it was stolen. We investigated all internal personnel without any clues. In the entire United States, only S.H.I.E.L.D. has the ability to intervene in such unconventional events, so I am here to seek cooperation."
"A national-level secret item?" Fury raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"The allspark." Simmons spat out three words, watching Fury's expression as she added, "Or rather, an energy cube from an alien Planet. It was discovered in Antarctica in 1913. Discovered along with it was a giant alien robot, internally numbered NBE-1 by us. Over the past nearly a century, relying on the technology of reverse-engineering the allspark, we developed transistors, integrated circuits, laser guidance... half of the electronic devices you use today trace their origins back to it."
Fury's fingers paused for a moment.
An alien Planet energy cube, and an alien robot?
His first reaction was that the other party was talking nonsense, but looking at Simmons's solemn expression, he felt it might not necessarily be fake.
If really there was such a thing, its scientific research value would be immeasurable, even more valuable for research than Stark's new element.
He leaned back against the chair, his tone calm: "So, you mean that such an important thing was lost on your watch, and now you want S.H.I.E.L.D. to help find it?"
"It's cooperation." Simmons corrected, "Sector 7 has complete research data and samples, while S.H.I.E.L.D. has a global intelligence network and field resources. If we join forces, we can retrieve the allspark the fastest."
"Cooperation is fine." Fury spoke slowly, his single eye staring at her. "But after retrieval, the allspark must be jointly kept and researched by S.H.I.E.L.D. and Sector 7. With something this important hidden by you for nearly a century, it's about time you brought it out to share."
Simmons's face stiffened.
How could she have this clearance? The allspark was the core secret of Sector 7, and even the President only knew a general idea. Joint research was simply not within her authorization scope.
Her bottom line before coming was just to borrow S.H.I.E.L.D.'s manpower to find things; matters of research were out of the question.
She cleared her throat and put on airs: "I cannot make the decision on this matter and need to report it to superiors for instructions. The current top priority is to retrieve the allspark; everything else can be discussed later."
Fury sneered inwardly.
Report? By the time you finish reporting, it'll be too late.
This was obviously wanting to freeload off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, and then turn hostile and deny acquaintances once the thing was found.
He didn't expose it either, tapping his fingers on the desktop: "Fine then, you go back and file a report first. Once your superiors approve the cooperation agreement, we can talk about finding it."
"You…" Simmons didn't expect Fury to be so impervious to reason, and suddenly stood up. "Director Fury, this is no small matter! Once the allspark falls into the hands of criminals, it can manufacture a mechanical army in minutes, and by then the entire East Coast will be finished!"
"That serious?" Fury feigned surprise, spreading his hands. "Then you guys should have shown sincerity earlier. Otherwise, why should I mobilize S.H.I.E.L.D.'s global resources to clean up your mess?"
The two stared at each other for a few seconds, neither willing to yield.
Simmons was so angry her cheeks puffed out a bit, and finally she stiffly dropped the sentence "I will contact you again," turned around, and slammed the door as she left.
Inside the office, Fury looked at the closed door, his fingertips rubbing his chin.
Sector 7, the allspark, NBE-1...
It was hidden deeply enough; he actually only found out today that there was such a department.
He pressed the intercom button on the desk: "Coulson, check Sector 7 for me. Dig three feet into the ground if you must to figure out their bottom line. Also, keep an eye on all abnormal energy fluctuations, especially those related to alien metals."
"Received, Director." Coulson's voice came through the receiver.
Fury leaned back in his chair, his single eye narrowing.
New York has really been getting livelier lately. Thor's hammer had just left, and now an allspark popped up.
On the other side, in the Villa in Long Island, New York, Logan had just gotten up not long ago.
He was wearing loose casual home clothes, sitting by the dining table in the dining room, holding a cup of hot coffee in his hand, leisurely browsing the morning trending topics of the Astral Realm.
Ares was lying at his feet, head resting on its paws, its tail brushing against his ankle from time to time.
Anna pushed the door open, holding a tablet in her hand, her silver hair coiled meticulously at the back of her head, her pace as steady as if it had been measured with a ruler.
She walked over to the dining table, first placing a few files that needed signing beside Logan's hand before starting to report: "Mr. Logan, the product iteration plan from Silicon Valley has been sent over. The recommendation algorithm has been optimized with a focus. I've looked at it, there's no major problem, you can sign it after reviewing. In addition, three alternatives have been finalized for the offline experience stores in Europe; I've put the materials in your study."
"Mhm, got it." Logan nodded, taking a sip of coffee. "You just decide as you see fit; you don't need to ask me about everything."
Anna acknowledged with a hum, the tip of her pen lightly stroking her notebook, as if she casually mentioned: "Right, parked in the garage is a new model of Camaro this year with a yellow and black color scheme. Is it a new car you bought? I checked the recent procurement records, and there is no related order. Do I need to make up the paperwork?"
"Pfft—"
Logan spat a mouthful of coffee straight out, splashing brown marks all over the tablecloth.
Choking with a couple of coughs, he quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth, his heart skipping a beat.
A new Camaro? Yellow and black color scheme?
Aside from that guy Bumblebee, who else could it be!
He clearly sent the guy back to the abandoned factory yesterday, yet this fellow actually ran to his own garage overnight? And picked the newest car model, as if afraid others wouldn't notice!
Anna stood in place, watching his reaction. A trace of doubt flashed in her ice-blue eyes, but she didn't pursue the question, just quietly waiting for his reply.
After wiping his mouth, Logan forcibly suppressed the complaints in his heart, putting on an insouciant look: "Oh, that? I didn't buy it. It's a friend's car, left here for me to keep for a few days, and they'll drive it away after some time. No need to supplement the paperwork, it's fine."
"Alright." Anna nodded, not asking another half-sentence, as if what she just mentioned was casual.
She added two more details about work, then hugged her tablet and turned to leave, the action of closing the door so light there was almost no sound.
After Anna left, Logan finally breathed a sigh of relief, holding his forehead with a helpless expression.
Goodness, this guy has made himself right at home.
Optimus Prime really knew how to arrange things, stuffing the contact person straight into his home.
He got up and walked toward the garage, already scolding Bumblebee eight hundred times in his heart.
The garage's sensor light lit up in response. In the spacious space, a bright yellow new model Camaro was parked steadily right in the center, its car paint shining brightly and lines sharp, looking a hundred times more spirited than the old car from the used car dealership yesterday.
If Logan hadn't been familiar with that weak alien energy fluctuation, he would have almost thought someone's new car was parked in the wrong place.
He walked over, raised his hand to knock on the car door, his tone unfriendly: "Alright you, quite good at finding places. The factory can't accommodate you anymore? You ran straight to my house?"
The car door unlocked with a click, and the car window slowly rolled down. The car radio buzzed and crackled, the frequency jumping back and forth, piecing together a disjointed sentence: "Optimus Prime... let me... come over... contact convenient... factory... leaky..."
"Leaky and you ran to my house?" Logan raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and leaning against the car door. "My assistant saw it! When S.H.I.E.L.D.'s people follow the scent over later, are you responsible for explaining to that black boiled egg?"
The radio crackled twice more, popping out a line from an old movie: "I can... disguise..."
"Disguise my ass." Logan flicked the car window unhappily. "Such a big new car of yours parked in my garage—my garage was full of old cars before, it sticks out as abruptly as lice on a bald head. What kind of look does Anna have? KGB background, her observation skills are more venomous than an eagle's. She didn't pursue it just now to give me face, but who knows how many times she's already guessed it in her heart."
Bumblebee fell silent for a few seconds, as if feeling a bit guilty.
A faint, apologetic, soothing piece of music came out from the radio, the volume pressed very low.
Watching it like this, Logan's anger dissipated by more than half.
When all is said and done, it was arranged by Optimus Prime. If he really chased it back, and the Decepticonssneaked over later, it would also be troublesome if communication wasn't timely.
He sighed and instructed: "Fine, since you're already here, stay here for now. But three rules: First, you are not allowed to transform casually at ordinary times, and you must not move before the garage door closes; second, you are not allowed to make strange noises, especially at night, don't let the servants hear; third, when someone comes over, honestly act as your car and don't give yourself away. If you give yourself away, I will send you back to the used car dealership and let Bob dismantle you into parts to sell."
The radio hurriedly crackled out two sounds of "Got it," and then followed up with a brisk drumbeat, as if pleading for mercy.
Logan shook his head and turned to walk back.
Walking two steps, he turned back to look again.
The bright yellow sports car parked quietly there, looking no different from an ordinary luxury car. Who could have thought that an alien robot was hidden inside.
He muttered in his heart, days were getting livelier and livelier. Sector 7 was probably already exploding, S.H.I.E.L.D. was likely going to get involved too, and after a while when the Decepticons showed up, goodness knows what kind of mess New York would turn into.
Chapter 79: Tony's Surprise
Sector Seven didn't hold out for three days before they caved.
The higher-ups approved the preliminary joint research agreement, and when Simmons pinched half a sheet of paper and stepped into the S.H.I.E.L.D. building once more, her expression was as ugly as if she had swallowed a fly.
Both sides signed the memorandum of cooperation with ulterior motives, sharing data while guarding against each other. A search net was quietly cast, spreading all the way from the periphery of Hoover Dam to the East and West Coasts.
When the news reached Logan's ears, he was leaning on a lounge chair in the yard fishing, while Ares lay nearby chewing on a bone.
After listening to the intermittent report from Bumblebee's radio, he just chuckled softly, tossed out the words "Got it," and turned around to send an encrypted message to Optimus Prime, telling them to stay honestly in the factory recently and not run around casually, especially Ironhide, telling him not to practice firing his cannons at trees for no reason, as the commotion was loud enough to attract a helicopter.
Just like that, a peaceful month passed, and as they watched the end of 2010 approach, Christmas decorations were hung all over the streets of New York.
The net S.H.I.E.L.D. cast didn't catch a single hair. The energy signal seemed to have evaporated out of thin air, and not even the slightest aftermath could be tracked.
Fury sat in his office staring at the empty map, his single eye narrowing even more.
He refused to believe that such a large alien energy cube could truly vanish from the face of the Earth.
"Coulson." He pressed the intercom. "Take a trip to Stark Tower and deliver the allspark energy spectrum data to Tony Stark. Have him help make a high-precision tracker capable of identifying energy residues that have come into contact with the allspark. Money is no object; just say that S.H.I.E.L.D. will fully fund it."
"Understood." Coulson acknowledged.
He knew Tony's temper all too well; a direct request definitely wouldn't work, so he had to use brand-new alien energy as bait.
Sure enough, the moment Tony saw the spectrum data, he couldn't look away. Though he muttered in disdain that "S.H.I.E.L.D. is always picking up junk every day," his body was very honest as he dove headfirst into the lab, pulling two all-nighters to build the tracker.
The finished product was only the size of a palm with a silver-gray shell, capable of capturing extremely weak homologous energy residues.
After finishing it, Tony didn't rush to reply to Coulson; instead, other thoughts arose in his mind.
He always felt this energy frequency looked a bit familiar, as if he had encountered it somewhere before.
"Jarvis," he leaned against the lab bench, spinning the tracker, "scan the whole city, match this spectrum, and see if there are any overlapping signal sources."
"Scanning now, sir." Jarvis's steady voice sounded. "Global matching in progress... A high-matching signal source has been discovered with a 92% match rate."
Tony raised an eyebrow: "Where is it?"
"Logan Howlett's Villa in Long Island, as well as the areas where he has recently been active, have all detected homologous energy residues."
The tracker in Tony's hand hit the countertop with a 'click' sound.
He froze for two seconds, then reacted, so angry he almost laughed out loud.
Good grief, Logan, this guy really had things hiding from him. He had been mysterious back during Thor's Hammer, and to think he had already gotten mixed up in this alien cube business this time too?
To think he was staying up here making a tracker, while the other person probably had the thing tucked in their pocket ages ago.
"Pepper, I'm heading out!" Tony grabbed his jacket and dashed toward the elevator. The mark ix automatically finished assembly downstairs. The moment the hatch lifted, he sat inside, and the engine roared as he flew straight toward Long Island.
Logan was currently sitting on the living room sofa browsing the astral net, pondering whether to issue some benefits to his employees since Christmas was coming soon.
Suddenly hearing the familiar sound of battle armor landing in the backyard, he raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself how this guy had found his way here.
Before he could get up, Tony strode in from the backyard with his jacket draped over his shoulder and a foul expression. As soon as he entered, he slammed the tracker onto the coffee table with a 'thwack,' producing a crisp sound.
"Care to explain?" Tony crossed his arms, tossing his chin toward the tracker. "Logan Howlett, why is there alien energy residue on you? And its frequency is identical to the cube S.H.I.E.L.D. is looking for."
Logan picked up the tracker, weighed it in his hand, and casually tossed it back onto the coffee table with an innocent look: "What alien energy? I don't understand. Maybe it picked up the dust from that hammer the last time I went to Mexico with you?"
"Who are you trying to fool!" Tony rolled his eyes, pointing at the bouncing values on the tracker. "I stored Mjolnir's spectrum long ago, and this is completely different! This thing is another kind of alien metal energy, and Jarvis has already compared it. The residue on you is the strongest, and even that new car in your garage has it. Spill it, what good stuff are you hiding behind my back?"
Logan clicked his tongue inwardly.
As expected, he couldn't keep it from this guy.
With Tony's technology right here, coupled with Jarvis's computing power, tracing it back to him was only a matter of time.
He originally wanted to keep it hidden for a while longer, waiting until S.H.I.E.L.D. and Sector Seven had tossed and turned enough, but now it seemed it couldn't be hidden anymore.
"Fine, you win." Logan raised his hands in surrender and stood up from the sofa. "Want to see it? Follow me."
Tony's eyes lit up, and he immediately followed, still not sparing any sharp words: "I knew you had skeletons in your closet, kid! Pretending to be idle every day while secretly stirring up big news behind the scenes. If what you have isn't interesting enough later, see how I..."
Before he finished speaking, the two walked to the garage door. Logan pressed the switch, and the rolling shutter slowly rose, revealing the bright yellow camaro parked quietly inside.
Tony froze for a moment, frowning: "Isn't that just a camaro? Since when do you like these civilian sports cars? I thought you were hiding some kind of treasure..."
Before his words fell, Logan raised a hand and knocked on the car door: "Cut the act, transform one for him to see."
Before Tony could react to what that meant, he heard a dense series of 'clack clack' sounds ring out.
The yellow sports car in front of him instantly disassembled, flipped, and reassembled. The sound of metal parts meshing was crisp and neat, the headlights turned into optical lenses, and the car body unfolded into a torso. In just a few seconds, a tall yellow robot stood in front of the two, its antennae swaying gently on its head.
The radio crackled twice, piecing together a greeting: "Hello... Tony..."
Tony froze completely, his eyes wide open, his mouth slightly agape, unable to utter a word for a long time.
He had seen battle armor transform; his own Mark series from assembly to transformation was something he knew inside out, but the thing in front of him was different.
It was an entire car completely transforming into a robot, with no external parts, no auxiliary robotic arms, relying purely on its own structure to complete the transformation. The craftsmanship was exquisitely beyond imagination.
"Holy shit..." After a long while, he finally choked out two words, taking two steps forward with his eyes full of the excitement of a tech geek, "Alive? An alien robot?"
"Otherwise?" Logan leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms as he watched his shocked appearance, finding it amusing, "I thought you, Mr. Stark, had seen everything. Are you scared silly by this?"
"Who's scared silly!" Tony instantly snapped back to his senses, refusing to admit defeat with his mouth, while his hands unconsciously reached out to touch Bumblebee's arm armor, "It's just that the structural design is somewhat interesting... a bit more clever than the transformation logic of my armor. What is this thing called? Where did it come from? How many more are there?"
"Called Bumblebee, from Cybertron, an Autobot." Loganpatted Bumblebee's leg armor, "Want to see the full set? Let's go, I'll take you to meet their boss."
Without saying another word, Tony walked outside, took two steps, then turned back, pulling out his portable scanning device and stuffing it into his pocket, looking like he was afraid of missing a single bit of data.
Logan shook his head continuously. This guy couldn't move his feet whenever he encountered new technology, exactly the same as when he saw capacitive screens last time.
The two got into the camaro transformed by Bumblebee, and the engine roared as they drove toward the abandoned factory in the suburbs.
Sitting in the passenger seat, Tony's hands never stopped. For a moment he patted the dashboard, then knocked on the car door, muttering under his breath: "This material is wrong, the density is even higher than titanium alloy... Where is the transmission structure hidden? Not a single gap can be seen at all..."
Bumblebee felt a bit uncomfortable from being touched by him, and his radio crackled and jumped across channels randomly, switching between news and rock music like he had crashed.
Logan smiled and patted the seat: "Stop touching, you're making him uncomfortable."
Tony rolled his eyes, but his hands didn't pull back.
Twenty minutes later, the car stopped at the entrance of the abandoned factory. Logan got out and gave a whistle, and heavy footsteps immediately came from inside the workshop.
Four tall figures walked out one by one, casting long shadows in the setting sun.
Optimus Prime walked at the very front, his blue-and-red colored armor steady and heavy. Seeing Tony beside Logan, he nodded slightly: "Logan, who is this?"
"Tony Stark, my friend, does tech work." Logan introduced, then tossed his chin toward Tony: "This is Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots. Beside him are Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet."
As soon as his voice fell, the four Autobots bowed slightly at the same time, their metal components emitting a low hum as a greeting.
Tony stood in place, tilting his head up to look at these several-story-tall giant robots, his shock indescribable.
He had seen Thor's Hammer, but having so many living, breathing alien intelligent lifeforms standing right before his eyes was a first.
Especially the armor craftsmanship and energy core on Optimus Prime; at a glance, they far exceeded Earth's technological level.
He cleared his throat, forcibly suppressing his excitement, and put on a calm appearance: "Ahem, hello, I'm Tony Stark. You guys... come from Cybertron?"
"That's correct." Optimus Prime's voice was deep, "We came for the allspark. Thank you, Logan, for helping us retrieve it."
"The allspark really is with you!" Tony abruptly turned his head to look at Logan, "S.H.I.E.L.D. has been searching like crazy for this thing, and you quietly dug it out? Not bad, Logan, you hid this deep enough from me!"
"Isn't it because I was afraid your curiosity was too heavy, and running over here every day would delay your proper business." Logan smiled, "Besides, you never asked me."
"If I don't ask, you won't say?" Tony bristled, "What is our relationship? You have alien robots and didn't even tell me, isn't that unbrotherly!"
While the two were bickering, Ironhide at the side spoke in a muffled voice, looking Tony up and down: "A human inventor? Doesn't look like anything special."
"Hey, how is that big guy of yours talking!" Tonyimmediately retorted, "Nothing special? Once I thoroughly research your structures, I'll build a suit of armor tougher than you guys in a minute."
"Alright, alright, stop arguing." Logan smoothed things over, "We're all our own people, and we might have to work together in the future. Tony, as long as you know about the allspark, don't talk about it outside, especially to S.H.I.E.L.D. If Fury finds out, he'll pester you guys until your heads spin every day."
Tony curled his lips, considering it an agreement.
His attention had long since run off to the energy core on Optimus Prime's chest. His eyes shone brightly, and he was already plotting eight hundred research plans in his heart.
Everything else had to take a back seat; alien robot technology was way more appealing than anything else.
Jazz leaned against the factory wall and whistled, teasingly saying: "Looks like we've gained another technical ally?"
"An ally is a stretch, let's call it mutual exchange." Tonyraised his chin with a proud look, "I'm a bit interested in your Cybertronian technology, we can chat about it later."
Logan watched the lively scene before him, a smile curving the corners of his mouth.
Well, Tony was in the water now too.
With Stark Industries' technology backing them up, the Autobots had an extra layer of protection on Earth.
When the Decepticons started trouble later on, or the Chitauri attacked, this bunch of people gathering together could certainly be considered a luxury lineup.
He pulled out his phone to check the time and said to everyone: "Alright, you've met the people, and you can chat about tech slowly later. It's getting dark, I'll take Tony back first. You guys mind your concealment, and have Bumblebee contact me if anything comes up."
Optimus Prime nodded slightly: "Safe journey."
On the way back, Tony sat in the passenger seat, still flipping through the scanned data from just now, muttering nonstop: "This metal composition is too outrageous, the density is more than three times that of Adamantium... The energy conversion efficiency is also scarily high... No, I have to come over tomorrow, I need to have a good chat with them."
Logan smiled and shook his head: "Take it easy, don't take them apart. Optimus Prime has a good temper, but Ironhide is not someone to mess with."
"Take apart what, am I that kind of person!" Tony glared at him, then grew excited again, "Hey, do you think they can fly? What is the principle of their weapon systems? Can the allspark really turn ordinary machines alive?"
Watching his nonstop chatter, Logan leaned back in his seat and chuckled softly.
Chapter 80: Autobot Base
Ever since being dragged into this by Logan, Tony had completely abandoned any thought of helping S.H.I.E.L.D.
Fobbing off Fury was something he was thoroughly adept at doing.
He casually tweaked a few tracker parameters and handed Coulson an ambiguous report, stating that the energy signal had ultimately disappeared in the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean, guessing that the holder had likely left on an alien spacecraft, which current Earthtechnology could not keep up with.
At the end, he didn't forget to snidely comment, "Your S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence network is pretty useless, huh? Something that huge floated away without you even noticing," completely shifting the blame away from himself.
Fury stared at the report for a long time, his single eye narrowing into a slit.
He felt something was off, but Tony spoke with such convincing detail, and the tracking data had no flaws to pick apart. Coupled with Sector Seven pressing him hard on their end, Fury could only follow this lead overseas for now, causing the search efforts in New York to slacken significantly.
Having handled S.H.I.E.L.D., Tony turned around and plunged headfirst into the renovation project for the abandoned factory.
The first one to team up with him was Ironhide.
At first, the two didn't get along; Tony thought Ironhide's aesthetic was crude, welding steel frames that turned out all crooked, while Ironhide thought Tony was overly flashy, installing a bunch of useless glowing light strips.
For the first three days, they spent almost the whole time arguing—bickering about the load-bearing structure in the morning, snapping at each other over the energy circuits in the afternoon, and even eating their meals (one consuming engine oil, the other a boxed lunch) far apart from each other.
But bickering aside, the work wasn't delayed in the slightest.
Ironhide understood Cybertronian structural mechanics, while Tony was a master of Earth's precision engineering. When these two tech nerds clashed, their arguments unexpectedly forged a tacit chemistry.
Ironhide took charge of expanding the underground space and reinforcing the armor; once his plasma cannon fired, the rock walls were sliced as cleanly as tofu. Tony led the development of the concealment system and energy loops, shielding all signals from the entire factory. Not only was it invisible to satellite scans, but even if a S.H.I.E.L.D.reconnaissance plane flew right past its face, it would only see a patch of abandoned wasteland.
"Your wiring is laid out way too densely; if it overloads, it'll blow straight up," Ironhide crouched on a steel girder, pointing gruffly at the conduits below.
"What the hell do you know? This is layered current limiting." Tony floated up on a hover platform, sparks sizzling from the welding torch in his hand. "With your crude wiring methods, the moment the allspark charges up, the entire Base will trip the breakers."
"Bullshit! Cybertronian wiring methods have been used for millions of years..."
"Millions of years ago is ancient history!"
Logan occasionally wandered over, watching the two drive the project forward while bickering, thoroughly enjoying the show.
He occasionally lent a hand, using Magnetic Field Manipulation to precisely hoist several tons of steel plates into place, saving a lot of mechanical crane work.
Every time he came, he would see Ironhide looking dark-faced while Tony acted smug, making for a rather lively atmosphere.
Optimus Prime took all of this in.
He had observed Tony for nearly a month, moving from initial guardiness to gradually recognizing this human inventor who was sharp-tongued but soft-hearted.
Though Tony seemed flamboyant, he had a bottom line, respected technology, and harbored no greed for the allspark.
On this evening, as the project neared completion, Optimus Prime approached Tony on his own initiative and transferred a portion of basic Cybertronian materials science and energy conversion formulas to him.
"These are basic Cybertronian technologies, not core secrets, but they may be of help to you," Optimus Prime's voice was deep and gentle. "Thank you for everything you have done for the Autobots."
Tony stared at the dense formulas on the projection, his eyes glowing intensely. He still maintained a tough front: "Ahem, it's alright I guess, looks like it's got some substance. I'm just taking a look for reference, not that it's anything overly precious..."
Before he even finished speaking, he had already rushed into the temporary lab holding the tablet, beginning to derive and verify formulas overnight, not even answering three phone calls from Pepper.
Over two full months, the abandoned factory underwent a complete transformation.
On the surface, it remained run-down—overgrown with weeds, with factory buildings on the verge of collapsing. Underground, however, three spacious levels were excavated: the top level was for maintenance bays and parking spots, the middle level was for the energy room and data center, and the lowest level was specifically designed to house the allspark, surrounded by three layers of energy shielding.
The entrance was hidden behind an old machine tool deep inside the factory, requiring dual gene and energy passcode verification. Even if someone accidentally stumbled in, they would never find the door to the underground Base.
On the day the Base was completed, Optimus Prime stood in the central hall, looking at the metal walls glowing with pale blue light strips around him, and nodded gently.
After drifting for so long, they finally had a stable place to settle down on Earth.
Once settled, Optimus Prime sent out an Autobot rally signal into the depths of space.
Over the next half month, the Base gradually grew lively.
First, three sharp-looking motorcycles cut through the night and drove into the factory area, transforming into three nimble female Autobots.
The Arcee sisters, swift in movement and sharp-eyed, immediately completed a patrol around the Base upon landing.
Not two days later, a silver-gray supercar roared in. Sideswipe swung open his car doors and transformed upon landing in a suave posture, not forgetting to adjust his shoulder armor against the reflective metal wall.
The last to arrive were a pair of comedic troublemakers: Skids and Mudflap. The two chose matching battered pickup truck forms, and as soon as they landed, they started arguing over who would enter the maintenance bay first, bumping and shoving each other, nearly knocking the steel frame at the entrance crooked, until Ironhide finally walked over with a dark face and dragged them apart one by one.
In just half a month, the originally empty underground Base became packed to capacity.
The Autobots fulfilled their respective duties: some overhauled equipment, some analyzed Earth's data, and some stood guard around the allspark—no longer just the lonely five they once were.
Tony was more excited than anyone; he went so far as to move the core equipment from his Stark Tower laboratory over, partitioning off a massive lab at the edge of the Base, spending every day immersed inside.
In his words, dealing with humans was too exhausting—having to deal with the board of directors, Congress, and S.H.I.E.L.D. every day with endless scheming; being with the Autobots was much simpler: talking tech was just talking tech without all the convoluted nonsense.
The only problem was that Pepper was very dissatisfied.
Today, as soon as Logan entered the Base, he heard Tony's coaxing voice coming from the lab, sounding as perfunctory as could be: "...I know I didn't go back for the meeting this week, wasn't I busy with a project... a very important project... Oh, Pepper, rest assured, I'm not messing around, it really is serious business... Next week, I'll definitely go back next week..."
Logan leaned against the doorframe, waiting until Tonyhung up before speaking with a smile, "Not bad, Tony. Now that the Base is built, you don't even go home. Pepperdidn't drag you out of the lab?"
"What does she know? This is called tackling key technological challenges," Tony hung up the phone stubbornly and tossed the tablet onto the console, though his face looked a bit guilty. "Once the mark x is made, I'll go back."
Speaking of the mark x, Logan raised an eyebrow: "Is that the space-folding armor you mentioned? You really built it?"
"Of course." Tony instantly perked up and snapped his fingers.
As soon as the sound faded, the metal box next to the workbench slowly opened, inside which a set of razor-thin metal components was neatly stacked, looking no different from ordinary protective gear.
Tony walked over, picked up the wristband, buckled it onto his hand, and pressed a button on the side.
With a series of fine clicking sounds, the metal components spread rapidly from the wristband, covering his arms, torso, and legs all the way down. In less than two seconds, a complete streamlined red-and-gold armor encased his whole body. The faceplate closed, white light lit up in the eyes, and the entire process was impossibly smooth, without a single superfluous motion.
"How is it?" Tony's voice came out from inside the helmet, carrying a bit of smugness. "Space folding technology, referencing Cybertron's transformation logic. Normally you just keep it in your pocket—no need to fly around in full armor showing off anymore."
As he spoke, he demonstrated retracting it once; the armor instantly shrank back into the wristband, extraordinarily nimble.
Logan stroked his chin, looked it up and down, and nodded: "Not bad, a bit better than that clunky stack of gear you had before. Just don't know if it can take a beating—hope it doesn't fall apart from a single shot."
"Fall apart?" Tony sneered, raised his hand and fired a laser beam, hitting the distant test target with precision and melting a hole through the center in an instant. "Even Adamantium doesn't have this hardness. Next time I run into a guy like Abomination, see if I don't beat him to the ground."
Ironhide, passing by, heard this, paused, glanced at the armor, and added gruffly, "Structure is alright, but the energy conversion rate is a bit lacking."
Though he was picking flaws with his words, the contempt from before was gone from his tone, replaced by a bit of recognition.
Tony raised his chin and didn't retort—getting an "alright" from an old stubborn mule like Ironhide was far more effective than ten compliments from Logan.
Looking at the Autobots coming and going in the Base, watching Tony talk incessantly around his suit of armor, and seeing Ironhide crouching in the corner servicing weapons, Logan felt quite emotional in his heart.
In just two months, the originally empty abandoned factory had actually turned into a hidden stronghold filled with formidable figures.
The Autobots had a home, Tony had a new toy, and he himself had gained a group of reliable allies.
He pulled out his phone, checked the time, and said to Tony, "Alright, stop showing off. Pepper's already called to nag you, so hurry up and head back once. If you really make her angry, you'll be in for a rough time."
Tony clicked his tongue and reluctantly retracted the armor: "Got it, got it. So talkative."
Despite his verbal complaints, his steps honestly walked toward the exit. After a couple of steps, he turned back and shouted to Logan, "Tomorrow I'm bringing a new energy amplifier over, help me test if your magnetic field can boost the output!"
Logan smiled and waved his hand without replying.
He turned and walked toward the garage. Bumblebee was quietly waiting at the entrance; seeing him come over, his headlights flashed twice, and a cheerful jazz tune popped out of the radio.
"Let's head home." Logan opened the car door and sat inside. "And pop by the supermarket while we're at it to pick up a couple of bags of beef jerky for Ares."
Chapter 81: The Unlucky Decepticons
At the desert Military Base in Qatar, the hot midnight wind whipped sand grains against the iron barracks, making a crackling sound.
The on-duty soldier had just yawned when he heard a piercing tearing sound coming from the distant night sky.
He looked up and saw a strangely shaped heavy helicopter breaking through the clouds. Its rotor blades spun so fast they were practically invisible, yet there was none of the roaring sound typical of conventional helicopters.
Before he could sound the alarm, the helicopter hovered above the Base, its fuselage instantly dismantling and reassembling. The metal parts gleamed coldly in the moonlight, transforming within seconds into a giant robot several stories tall.
"Enemy attack!"
The sound of the alarm pierced the night sky, but it was already too late.
Blackout raised his hand and fired an electromagnetic pulse cannon. A pale purple energy wave swept across, instantly blowing the Base's radar and communication equipment into sparks, and paralyzing the power grid completely.
Soldiers raised their rifles and fired wildly, but the bullets hitting his armor only splashed tiny sparks, leaving not even a white Mark.
Amidst the chaos, a tiny black shadow slipped through the ventilation duct into the command center.
Frenzy transformed into the appearance of an old radio, silently connecting to the Military network. His slender mechanical arm swiftly swiped across the server interface, copying massive amounts of data like running water.
In less than ten minutes, he dug out a clue from the encrypted backups of Sector Seven.
An old-fashioned pair of glasses engraved with the allspark coordinates belonged to an American high school student named Sam Witwicky.
"Got it," Frenzy emitted a sharp electronic sound, dashing back out the way he came.
Seeing this, Blackout fired another shot that flipped over the ammunition depot, the soaring flames reddening half the desert.
He turned back into helicopter form, plunging into the night with Frenzy, leaving behind a Base in complete disarray and a sky full of yellow sand.
When the news reached The Pentagon, the entire upper echelon exploded.
Alien robots raiding a Military Base was much more serious than that Mjolnir business.
Simmons of Sector Seven caught a flight to Washingtonovernight, and as soon as dawn broke, she kicked open the doors of S.H.I.E.L.D. once again.
This time she didn't put on airs, her expression extremely ugly: "Director Fury, you should already know about the matter in Qatar. That thing's metallic composition is homologous with NBE-1; they are in cahoots. Now they have invaded the Military network, and their target is most likely the allspark."
Fury sat behind his desk, his single eye staring at the on-site photos on the screen, his fingertips gently tapping the desktop.
"Homologous?" He raised his eyes to look at Simmons. "You've hidden NBE-1 for nearly a hundred years, and now its associates have come looking for it. Isn't Sector Sevenquite formidable? Solve it yourselves, then?"
"Now is not the time to talk about this!" Simmons slammed the table anxiously, "If they really find the allspark and NBE-1, the entire Earth is doomed! S.H.I.E.L.D. must fully cooperate, mobilize all satellites and field Agents, and track down these alien robots!"
"Cooperation is fine," Fury slowly began, "but S.H.I.E.L.D.wants half of the wreckage and research data. You guys kept things hidden during the allspark incident last time; you surely can't hog it all to yourselves this time, right?"
Simmons's face turned alternating shades of green and white before she finally gritted her teeth: "Fine! Let's find them first!"
The two of them reached a consensus harboring their own ulterior motives, and the search net tightened once again, except this time the target changed from "the stolen allspark" to "the invading alien robots".
Meanwhile, in the underground Base in the suburbs.
A red early-warning alert flashed on the central large screen, and the energy fluctuation curve soared all the way up.
Optimus Prime looked at the coordinates on the screen, his brow tightly locked: "It's a Decepticon signal. Blackout and Frenzy have already arrived on Earth. They raided a Military Base in the Middle East, probably looking for the whereabouts of the allspark and Megatron."
"Those haunting bastards." Ironhide punched the steel frame beside him, rattling it so hard several bolts loosened. "Let's just find them directly and blast them to pieces with a cannon! What kind of behavior is it to keep hiding!"
"No," Optimus Prime shook his head. "If we show ourselves now, we will only attract the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Military. Being attacked from both front and rear then would only bring trouble."
Jazz leaned against the wall and whistled: "We can't just sit by and watch them wreak havoc everywhere, right? If they really manage to stumble into Hoover Dam and release that old guy Megatron, we're going to have a huge problem."
Tony had just emerged from the laboratory, still clutching half an energy chip in his hand. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow and said: "What's so hard about that? It's inconvenient for us to show up, but it's convenient for others. Aren't S.H.I.E.L.D. and Sector Seven searching the whole World for alien robots? Just hand them an address, won't that do?"
The room instantly quieted down, and everyone looked at him.
Logan had just walked in holding coffee. Hearing this, he smiled: "Not bad, Tony, you're getting so smooth at using others to do your dirty work. S.H.I.E.L.D. rushes to the front to act as cannon fodder, while we watch the fun from behind. If they win, we clear out the hidden dangers; if they lose, we have nothing to lose."
"What do you mean using others to do dirty work, don't make it sound so ugly." Tony rolled his eyes and tossed the chip onto the console. "I call this rational utilization of official resources. Don't they shout about defending national security every day? This is just the right opportunity for them to perform. You can't expect our alien friends to charge to the front while they pick up ready-made achievements from behind, right?"
Optimus Prime was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly: "This method is feasible. The Decepticons are naturally cruel and leaving them will sooner or later become a disaster. As long as our location is not exposed, eliminating them through the hands of the Military can also reduce civilian casualties."
"Then it's settled." Tony snapped his fingers with a slight wicked smile on his face: "Just wait, Coulson will probably come looking for us soon. When that time comes, I'll 'reluctantly' help them out and 'accidentally' leak the Decepticons' locations."
Logan leaned against the door frame and gave him a thumbs-up: "Brilliant, truly brilliant. If Fury knew he was sold out by you yet still had to help you count the money, he'd probably smash his coffee cup in anger."
Tony lifted his chin with a smug look: "Naturally, compared to fighting me, he's still a bit too green."
Sure enough, that afternoon, Coulson drove to Stark Towerin person, carrying the on-site report of the Qatar Base, his attitude even more courteous than last time.
"Mr. Stark, you've probably heard about the situation." Coulson placed the documents on the table. "Alien robots raided the Military Base with extremely fierce methods. We need your technical support to help us locate these targets."
Tony pretentiously flipped through two pages of the report, his brow furrowed enough to pinch a fly to death: "So troublesome? I've been busy with new projects lately..."
"The Director said, you can mobilize any resources you like, and research funding will be fully reimbursed," Coulsonadded. "And these robots belong to the same source technology as the previous allspark; you might be interested in them too."
Tony feigned hesitation for a long time before sighing: "Fine, since I'm a good citizen of New York. Give me two days, I'll modify a tracker and strive to sniff out their locations."
Coulson let out a sigh of relief, gave a few more instructions, and hurried away.
As soon as people left, Tony immediately pulled out his phone and texted Logan: "The fish has taken the bait."
After sending it, he dove into the laboratory, modified several versions of algorithms based on the previous energy spectrum, and made three portable trackers in less than a day.
He deliberately left some backdoors, allowing S.H.I.E.L.D.to accurately locate the Decepticons without detecting the signals of the Autobots Base, while incidentally 'accidentally' marking the general coordinates of several Decepticons on the map, disguising it as initial scanning results.
When Coulson came to pick up the trackers again, looking at the red dots on them, his eyes lit up: "Mr. Stark, your efficiency is too high!"
"Small matter." Tony waved his hand, casually pointing at the map: "These places have the strongest energy reactions, you can focus on investigating them. But I must remind you, these guys' firepower is not weak, bring more heavy weapons so you don't get wiped out inside."
"Understood!" Coulson treated it like a treasured find, took the tracker and left, turning around immediately to sync the coordinates with Sector Seven and the Military task force.
Over the next three days, the entire western United Statesbecame lively.
The first to have bad luck was Bonecrusher.
This guy transformed into a heavy bulldozer, rampaging wildly on the interstate highway.
As soon as he entered the canyon, he was caught red-handed by the ambushing Military units.
Tank guns and anti-tank missiles took turns greeting him, shell rounds smashing down like raindrops.
Just as Bonecrusher wanted to transform and counterattack, S.H.I.E.L.D. fighter jets raided from the flank, striking precisely at his joint connections. The huge robot collapsed with a crash, raising a sky full of dust, and stopped moving after struggling for less than two minutes.
Next was Barricade.
He transformed into a police sports car, squatting near Sam's house to scout the location, intending to grab those glasses.
Before he could make a move, Agents from Sector Sevensurrounded him, holding specially made electromagnetic restraints.
Barricade turned hostile out of embarrassment and transformed to start the battle, but he was hit squarely by well-prepared freezing shells, his joints instantly freezing stiff and his movements slowing down by half a beat.
The Military's armor-piercing shells followed closely behind, directly blasting through his energy core.
The most intense battle was the melee in the desert.
Brawl and Scorponok got together, preparing to wipe out a U.S. Military outpost.
S.H.I.E.L.D., Sector Seven, and the regular army joined forces in a tripartite alliance, with ground armored vehicles lined up and aerial fighter jets bombing in turns.
Relying on his thick armor, Brawl rampaged wildly, artillery fire shaving off half of the sand dunes. Yet he couldn't withstand the large numbers and dense firepower, coupled with the tracker provided by Tony that could accurately lock onto the position of the energy core, making every strike fatal.
Finally, he was hit simultaneously in the chest by three bunker-buster bombs, blowing up into a ball of fire.
Scorponok wanted to burrow into the sand and escape, but he was forced out by Sector Seven's high-frequency seismic waves. As soon as his tail was exposed, he was riddled into a sieve by dense firepower, his lower body buried in the sand and unable to move.
Four Decepticons were taken down one after another. When the news reached the Base, Jazz whistled: "Not bad, humans, the firepower is fierce enough."
"Isn't thanks to the coordinates given by Tony." Ironhidesaid in a muffled voice, his tone carrying a hint of approval: "Saves us from doing it ourselves."
At the battlefield cleanup site, however, the three parties argued fiercely.
Simmons put her hands on her hips, her face flushed red: "These wrecks all belong to Sector Seven! The NBE project is led by us, and all alien materials should be brought back by us for research!"
"Agent Simmons, you've got that wrong." Fury stood aside, his tone flat yet yielding not an inch: "The intelligence was provided by S.H.I.E.L.D., the positioning equipment was made by Mr. Stark, and we also sent out the field team. Why should it all go to you? At least half must be given to S.H.I.E.L.D."
The army general nearby was also unhappy: "The ones fighting were our people, so many soldiers died, and a portion of the wreckage must be given to the Military! Otherwise we cannot explain it to the higher-ups!"
The three groups surrounded Bonecrusher's huge wreck, arguing back and forth with red faces from afternoon until evening, and finally took a step back: Sector Seven took the core components, S.H.I.E.L.D. split the energy system, and the Military hauled away the armor wrecks. After carving them up with various ulterior motives, the three parties cursed and withdrew separately.
On a distant hillside, Logan and Tony sat in the car, watching this farce with binoculars.
"Look at what I said." Logan lowered his binoculars, smiling and sipping his coffee: "Splitting the loot right after the war is even livelier than buying vegetables at a food market."
Tony shrugged, twirling the Mark Ten wristband in his hand: "Let them argue. Anyway, it will take them some effort to research the wrecks even after taking them, which happens to buy us some peace and quiet for a while."
"Are you so certain they won't figure it out in a short time?"
"Nonsense, if Cybertron technology were that easy to crack, Optimus Prime and the others wouldn't have been wandering around for so many years." Tony shrugged, then furrowed his brow again: "However, there's one thing to note: Blackout and Frenzy weren't caught, and Starscream hasn't shown up yet. These guys won't let it rest."
Logan nodded, his gaze looking toward the distant skyline.
The setting sun dyed the clouds golden red, and the wind swept sand grains across the hillside.
The four Decepticons were only the vanguard; the real grand show was yet to come.
Megatron was still frozen in Hoover Dam, Starscream was eyeing hungrily from the shadows, and Loki's Chitauri army was also waiting deep in the Universe.
However...
He turned his head to glance at Tony, who was still endlessly analyzing the Decepticons weapon system, and then thought of that group of Autobots back at the Base, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
With these guys around, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Furthermore, if an unexpected situation occurred, he would also step in.
"All right, the show's over, let's head back." Logan started the car, "Optimus Prime will probably hold a meeting later to discuss what to do next."
Tony clicked his tongue: "What's the rush, let's watch a bit more. I bet fifty cents that Simmons will definitely file a petty complaint with her superiors when she gets back, saying S.H.I.E.L.D. snatched her things."
Chapter 82 Bickering
In an abandoned steel mill deep in Arizona, the rusty factory building leaked wind, and moonlight shone diagonally through the holes, casting mottled light and shadow on the dust-covered ground.
Starscream transformed into the form of an F-22 fighter jet and parked in the center of the factory, his wings trembling slightly as if impatiently shaking his feathers.
After a long while, he shifted into humanoid form, his silver-gray armor gleaming with a cold light, and an undisguised anxiety in his tone: "We can't wait any longer! The humans are acting like they've gone mad right now; Barricade, Brawl, and the others have all gone down. If we drag this out any further, the three of us will be dismantled into parts and sent to a lab! In my opinion, we should withdraw to outer space first and wait until the heat dies down before talking about anything else!"
"Coward!" Blackout cursed in a muffled voice, slamming his massive body against the ground and causing dust to rattle down, "My Lord Megatron's whereabouts are unknown, and the allspark hasn't been found either. How can we leave? You've completely thrown away the Decepticons' face!"
"Can face be eaten as energy cubes?" Starscream retorted in a shrill voice, his optical lenses flashing, "The humans have precise trackers and heavy weapons in their hands. There are only three of us, rushing in is just throwing our lives away! If you want to go, you go, but I'm not playing along!"
Frenzy, squatting on a steel beam, creakily turned his head, his tiny mechanical claws scraping against the rusted iron and emitting a sharp electronic sound: "Arguing... arguing is useless... find the glasses first... Sam Witwicky... has the allspark coordinates... get the coordinates and... and then we'll talk..."
Before he could finish speaking, a harsh piercing sound suddenly echoed from outside the factory.
"Not good! There are missiles!" Starscream reacted the fastest, suddenly raising his head to look out the window.
Before his words fell, three cruise missiles dragging tail flames broke through the night and precisely smashed into the surroundings of the factory.
Towering flames erupted with a loud explosion, and the heavy brick walls collapsed by more than half in an instant, a heat wave rolling in with the smell of rust.
"How did the humans find this place?!" Blackout roared, raising his hand intending to fire his electromagnetic cannon, but he was suppressed by the dense firepower and couldn't lift his head.
Outside the factory, the Agents of Sector Seven, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s special operations squad, and the Military's armored forces closed in with an encircling momentum.
Coulson raised his communicator to command, while Simmons squatted behind an armored vehicle, his face turning red with excitement: "Hit them! Capture them alive! It'd be best if we can catch that one that turns into a helicopter!"
Fury stood in the command vehicle in the distance, his single eye staring at the energy signal on the screen, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.
The tracker given by Tony was indeed useful; even such a remote place could be precisely located.
Amidst the chaos, Frenzy shrank his body, transforming into a palm-sized radio form, and drilled into the underground pipeline along the collapsed gap.
This fellow was extremely slick; seeing that the situation was bad, he wanted to slip away and planned to drill into the urban area to hide.
"Want to run?" S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Agent had been prepared for a long time, and a thermobaric bomb precisely blocked the pipeline entrance.
Amidst a deafening roar, the shock wave scattered in all directions within the narrow space.
Frenzy didn't even manage to emit a scream before he was directly blown into fine metal parts, splashing all over the ground accompanied by charred dust, his core circuit instantly melting into a pile of scrap iron.
On the other side, Starscream had no intention of lingering in the fight.
He took two anti-aircraft missiles, and a piece of armor was scraped off his left wing, hurting him so much that he bared his teeth and grimaced.
Seeing that the encirclement was getting smaller and smaller, he didn't care about Blackout's life or death; he suddenly flapped his wings, transformed into fighter jet form, and rushed into the night sky with full engines.
"Stop him!" Simmons shouted anxiously.
The anti-aircraft gun's firepower chased after Starscream's tail, but this fellow flew so fast and cunningly, twisting and turning in the air to evade the artillery fire, forcefully breaking out of the firepower network.
It's just that his escape posture was truly disheveled, with black smoke billowing from his tail wing, looking like a pheasant whose feathers had been burned, plunging headfirst into the clouds and disappearing without a trace.
"Good-for-nothing!" Blackout watched the direction of Starscream's escape and cursed angrily.
During the moment he was distracted, two armor-piercing shells precisely hit his right leg joint.
"Click——"
With a crisp sound, the heavy metal leg was directly blown off, and his massive body crashed down, collapsing half a wall and raising a sky-full of dust.
He struggled to raise his arm to fire his plasma cannon, but S.H.I.E.L.D.'s electromagnetic net had already spread over, blue currents wrapping around his entire body, paralyzing his joints so much that he couldn't move.
"Capture him alive!" Simmons waved his hand excitedly.
The Agents swarmed forward, tying Blackout up tightly with special alloy chains.
This fellow was still roaring unwillingly, struggling to get up, but he was suppressed firmly by dozens of electromagnetic beams, and in the end, he could only heave heavy gasps, his optical lenses filled with ferocity.
By the time the battle ended, the sky was just barely breaking dawn.
The morning Sun shone on the littered steel mill, and Blackout was hogtied and thrown onto a heavy-duty trailer, electric sparks still sputtering from his broken leg. The three parties surrounded the prisoner and started bickering again.
"This unit is the principal offender and must belong to Sector Seven!" Simmons put his hands on his hips, spittle flying everywhere, "The NBE project is our responsibility, and all related prisoners and debris should be brought back to Hoover Dam by us for research!"
"Agent Simmons, you are being unreasonable here." Furyspoke slowly, "The location was provided by us, the assault main force was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s people, and the electromagnetic restraint net is also our technology. Such a large living captive, do you want to swallow it all by yourself?"
The Army Lieutenant General beside him also had a dark face: "The Military dispatched two armored battalions, and air support was also ours. We must be given half of the research rights for the prisoner. Otherwise, we won't be able to explain it to the Department of Defense!"
The three factions surrounded the trailer and argued incessantly, from sunrise to noon, and in the end, when neither side could convince the other, they simply took their dispute all the way to Washington.
The President was alerted, and a video conference was held that very afternoon.
In the Oval Office, the President sat behind the desk, rubbing his temples with a headache as he watched the representatives of the three parties arguing into a ball on the screen.
Simmons spoke eloquently and passionately, saying that Sector Seven had guarded the NBE project for nearly a hundred years and had the most research experience; Furywas clear and logical, saying that S.H.I.E.L.D. had a global intelligence network and alien incident handling experience; the Military representative was even more direct, slapping the table and saying that without Militaryfirepower suppression, no one could have captured the prisoner.
The President gave official-sounding bureaucratic replies three times in the video, praising Sector Seven for their hard work and great contributions one moment, affirming S.H.I.E.L.D.'s outstanding technology the next, and finally not forgetting to comfort the Military soldiers, offending neither side.
Finally, a decision was made: Blackout would be imprisoned at Hoover Dam, primarily managed by Sector Seven, while S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Military would each send research teams to station there and share the research data.
Saying it was sharing, but in reality, they were guarding against each other.
Sector Seven feared S.H.I.E.L.D. would steal core data, S.H.I.E.L.D. feared Sector Seven was concealing things, and the Military stared at the debris every day wanting to dismantle the armor for research.
Such a good research project was turned into something resembling a spy thriller, with dramas of planting informants against each other playing out every day.
When the news reached the underground Autobots Base, Logan and Tony were leaning against the console, both of them immensely amused.
"Oh my god, look at Simmons' face, it's as dark as the bottom of a pot." Tony pointed at a captured photo of the arguing scene, laughing so hard he almost spilled his coffee, "And Fury, his single eye is almost squinted into a slit, he's probably plotting in his mind how to poach Sector Seven's corner."
Logan smiled and shook his head, looking at the photo of Blackout being captured: "A dignified Decepticon capable general, ending up in such a plight is miserable enough. Starscream sure runs fast though, able to slip away even after taking two cannon shots. Valuing his life to this extent, he's also quite a talent."
"What's the use of valuing his life? He's still just a commander with no troops." Tony curled his lips and casually tossed the tablet aside, "Now it's good, Frenzywas blown to dust, Blackout was captured alive, Starscream ran off without a trace, and Megatron is still frozen at Hoover Dam sleeping soundly. On the Decepticons' side, they probably won't be able to stir up any waves for a short time."
Logan didn't answer, his gaze falling on Megatron's old profile photo on the tablet.
He knew clearly in his heart that things weren't that simple.
Behind Megatron stood The Fallen; that old fellow was hiding deep in the Universe, eyeing the allspark and the Matrix of Leadership not for just a day or two; and there was also Sentinel Prime on the dark side of the moon, Optimus Prime's former mentor, who had long colluded secretly with Megatron under the guise of rebuilding Cybertron, but actually wanted to enslave humanity.
If these two both popped out, they would be much more troublesome than these few Decepticons right in front of them.
"What are you thinking about?" Seeing him in a trance, Tony reached out and waved in front of his eyes, "Don't worry, with us here, plus these Autobots fellows, we won't be afraid even if things really kick off."
"Nothing." Logan recovered his senses and smiled, "I just feel that Megatron staying frozen there all the time isn't a solution. Those people from Sector Seven researching back and forth might wake him up one of these days. When the Hoover Dam blows up then, it'll be another mess."
Tony shrugged: "If he wakes up, we'll just beat him back again. It's a good time to test the power of mark x, as well as Ironhide and the others' firepower. If that really doesn't work, you go up and dismantle him into parts with your magnetic field; it'd save a lot of trouble."
Logan chuckled softly and didn't retort.
He actually wanted to go right now and take care of Megatron, incidentally pinching out the hidden dangers of The Fallen and Sentinel Prime, but the timing wasn't right.
Right now, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Sector Seven were keeping their eyes locked on alien events, and the Autobots hadn't yet gained a firm foothold. Acting rashly would only draw all attention onto themselves, which would instead be troublesome.
Anyway, Megatron was still frozen, The Fallen didn't dare to show his face easily without getting the allspark, and Sentinel Prime was still lying on the moon; there was plenty of time to slowly plan and lay out the strategy.
"Fine then, let them argue for now." Logan straightened up and patted Tony's shoulder, "Let's go, let's go check on Optimus Prime and the others. They're probably holding a meeting right now to discuss what to do next."
Tony nodded and casually grabbed an energy chip on the table: "Just right, I just modified the blueprint of the energy amplifier, I'll have Ironhide help test its effect."
As the two walked toward the central hall, they just happened to hear Ironhide pounding the table: "That coward Starscream! If I run into him, I'll definitely blast his wings to pieces with a single cannon shot!"
Jazz leaned against the side and laughed: "That guy runs faster than anyone else, where are you going to chase him? Besides, now Blackout has been captured, Megatron is still frozen, and the Decepticons are leaderless; they won't be able to stir up trouble in a short time."
Optimus Prime stood in front of the big screen, looking at the battle report on it with slightly furrowed brows: "It's not that simple. Although Starscream is cowardly, he is very cunning. Moreover, once Megatron is thawed, the consequences will be unimaginable. We must make thorough preparations."
Seeing Logan and Tony coming over, he nodded slightly: "Logan, Tony, you're here. Just in time, we are discussing the subsequent alert plan."
"Just set up the alerts normally, no need to be too nervous." Logan waved his hand and walked to the big screen, "Starscream won't dare to come back for a while, and Megatron is still frozen. We can just take advantage of this period to reinforce the Base further. When they really attack, we'll be prepared and have nothing to fear."
Tony took over the conversation: "That's right! I already have a new plan, add a layer of energy shield to the Base, and equip a few sets of automated defense cannons. Even if they come knocking, they'll have to knock out a couple of teeth."
Ironhide's eyes lit up: "Defense cannons? I'll come help! Cybertron's artillery technology is guaranteed to be ten times more powerful than human technology!"
Watching the two who had gathered together again to discuss weapons, Logan smiled and shook his head.