Only then did Crossbones remember his duty. The primal fear Megatron's presence had instilled in him had made him want to do nothing but escape. Now that the immediate threat had departed, he quickly came to Pierce's side, helping the older man to his feet and positioning himself as a human shield between his superior and the unsettling blonde beauty.
"Stand away!" Crossbones shouted at the blonde Cybertronian, his voice tight with aggression.
Pierce gritted his teeth, his composure returning. "Rumlow," he said, his voice a low command, "forget what happened here and go do your mission."
Crossbones glanced from Pierce to the blonde Cybertronian, his instinct screaming at him to leave directly through the collapsed wall. But after seeing the forbidding look in Pierce's eyes, he obediently turned and left the office through the main door.
"You are called Decepticons, are you not?" Pierce said, settling back into his large office chair. He was regaining his commanding demeanor, a feat that would have been even more impressive if it weren't for the collapsed walls and gaping hole in the ceiling. "There is no need for these theatrics. I am more than happy to cooperate with you. As it happens, Tony Stark is also a target we both wish to eliminate."
"Minister Pierce," the blonde Cybertronian beauty said, seating herself on the edge of Pierce's desk and crossing her legs. "Although you are not even a baby compared to our long history, you are just as cunning and treacherous as ever." She leaned forward, her voice a soft purr. "It's useless for you to tell me this now. From now on, you will work with Lord Megatron, and you will not slack off."
Nick Fury was in a world of trouble. He had just received news that a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house had been attacked by the Decepticons. There were no survivors, and the cause of the attack was a complete mystery.
"It's really a turbulent time," Nick Fury thought to himself, pacing his office. "The Allspark is no longer in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession. So why don't they attack Tony Stark? Why do they keep coming after us?"
While Nick Fury was still studying the Decepticon situation, there was a knock on his office door. He could see through the display screen on his desk that it was his old friend, Alexander Pierce, waiting outside. Nick Fury stood up and welcomed him in.
"Old man," Fury asked, "what brings you to my corner of the world?"
Pierce sat down in the chair across from Fury's desk. "It's all because of the aliens," he said, his tone grave. "I heard another S.H.I.E.L.D. base was attacked. What happened? How did you let it happen?"
Nick Fury sighed, a rare expression of weariness on his face. "We haven't been able to check it out yet. There are no survivors in that base."
Pierce poured himself a glass of water and continued, "And what about those other aliens? The ones who claim they're here to stop the invaders? How are you dealing with them? They are an extremely unstable factor."
Nick Fury touched his head in distress. "I don't know how Tony Stark did it, but those aliens who call themselves Autobots trust him completely. They are now guarding one of Stark's private experimental sites. Moreover, they are incredibly naive. There are only five of them, yet they think they can stop an entire army of Decepticon invaders. They are truly overestimating their own abilities."
"Really?" Pierce took a sip of water and asked, his tone casual. "What are they doing over at Stark's? What does that man have that the aliens would be so interested in?"
Because he trusted his boss and old friend, Nick Fury didn't feel that anything was amiss and answered Pierce's question directly. "They're probably studying the Allspark they stole from us. Damn bandits! If it weren't for the overall situation, I would definitely find a way to get it back!"
"Is that so?" Pierce took another sip of water. As he raised the cup, his cuff slipped back slightly, revealing the strange, metallic watch on his wrist. The observant Nick Fury noticed something different about his old friend: Pierce didn't usually wear a watch.
He was a little surprised. "When did you start wearing a watch? I don't remember you having this habit before."
"Oh, you mean this!" Pierce rolled up his sleeve, showing the Decepticon watch to Nick Fury. "This is a watch my daughter gave me a little while ago. I had been talking to her about how I couldn't seem to remember the time as I got older, so she gave me this."
"You have a wonderful daughter," Nick Fury said.
"Haha, I think so too," Pierce laughed.
The two talked about other topics for a while, and when Pierce was about to leave, he said to Nick Fury, "Nick, we must handle this alien issue properly. The Security Council is taking these alien attacks very seriously."
"Old man, you still don't trust me?" Nick Fury said with a weary smile.
"Okay, I've said what I need to say. I still have a lot of things to do, so I'll be leaving now." Pierce stood up, said a few more words to Nick Fury, and walked toward the office door.
"Let's meet again sometime," Nick Fury said.
"Of course," Pierce replied without looking back.
Sitting back in his private car, the blonde Cybertronian beauty asked Pierce, "How is the situation? What is your plan?"
"The Autobots are all guarding Stark and the Allspark. From what you've said, Optimus Prime is very difficult to deal with. We can't just go there and try to take it by force. We need to find a way to lure them away." Pierce sat calmly in his chair, analyzing the situation. The Decepticon next to him was becoming a little impatient.
"You seem to have a plan. Tell me now!"
Pierce continued to speak slowly and deliberately. "Don't be impatient. Tony Stark has a powerful business empire backing him. This is his strength, but it is also his weakness. He recently shut down his company's weapons division, a move that cost him most of the military's support. This is our opportunity. You will feint an attack on Stark Tower. I believe Stark will not ignore a direct threat to his company. Our people can then seize the opportunity to steal the Allspark. I also learned that Tony Stark has a particularly... ambiguous... relationship with his secretary, Pepper Potts. If we can capture her, Tony Stark will most certainly surrender."
"A good suggestion. Now, you need to provide me with all the information you have on the woman named Pepper Potts, as well as the detailed arrangements for this plan," the watch on Pierce's right hand suddenly spoke, its voice that of Megatron. The Decepticon leader could communicate with Pierce remotely through this device.
Pierce was taken aback. "Yes, Lord Megatron," he said quickly.
Obadiah Stane was very annoyed as he looked over the company's latest data. Although Stark Industries' stock price was no longer plummeting after his remedial work this past week, the situation was still far from optimistic.
"It's all that damn Stark's fault," he growled. "Sooner or later, this company will become Stane Industries."
After cursing, Obadiah stood up, holding the data report in his hand, and walked toward the shredder. He wanted to destroy the data. Under his control, the company's situation would definitely improve.
Obadiah put the first page into the shredder and pressed the switch. But what he didn't expect was that after he pressed the switch, the shredder began to transform. With the horrifying sound of grinding machinery, the shredder twisted and contorted into a Decepticon holding a weapon.
A cold, sharp scalpel was placed across Obadiah's neck while his arms were held firmly in place by the newly-formed Decepticon.
"Don't move or shout, old man."
__________________________
"Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider donating Power Stones and joining our patreon
[patreon.com /coolperry]
for early access to future chapters.(+30 chapters)