"Sam, get to cover, now!" Bumblebee's voice blared through his speakers. He then transformed, his chassis grinding as he pivoted to charge the Decepticons closing in on them.
Sam didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted away from the escalating battle between Bumblebee and the enemy machines. As he dashed across an intersection, his head snapped to the right. Another Decepticon had just rounded the corner, its optical sensors locking onto him instantly.
"Shit! Why is there another one?" Sam cursed, his breath catching in his throat. He yanked himself into a sharp turn, his sneakers screeching on the asphalt as he bolted to the left. The newly appeared Decepticon gave chase, its heavy footfalls thudding ominously behind him.
"Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck!" Sam chanted under his breath, his legs pumping furiously. The last thing he wanted was a one-on-one encounter with one of these metal monstrosities.
Suddenly, his panicked gaze locked onto an improbable sight: a woman with an unnervingly calm demeanor, perched on a sleek motorcycle ahead. The city was a warzone, yet she sat there as if waiting for a traffic light, muttering something to herself.
"Hey, you need to run!" Sam yelled, his voice cracking with exertion. "There are giant robots—aliens!"
At his warning, Ilyana shifted from her casual pose to an alert, upright stance. Without a word, she gunned the engine. The motorcycle roared to life and launched directly toward the metal behemoth chasing Sam.
"Hey, it's dangerous!" Sam shouted again as Ilyana sped past him.
"What's so dangerous? It's just a little monster!" Ilyana's voice carried back to him on the wind, and what followed was a scene Sam would never forget.
As Ilyana and her motorcycle, Artemis, closed the distance, the bike launched itself upward, catapulting her into the air in a breathtaking arc. In mid-air, she twisted her body, and a brilliant silver armor materialized from her chest and shoulders, encasing her torso in seconds. Simultaneously, a blade of pure blue energy ignited in her grasp.
With the momentum of her leap, Ilyana plunged the energy blade deep into the glowing core on the Decepticon's chest. Instead of pulling back, she used her remaining velocity to swing around its massive frame and land gracefully behind it. The energy sword, still embedded in the giant, sliced clean through its torso in a 180-degree arc, severing the upper body from the lower.
Meanwhile, Artemis hadn't been idle. After its aerial maneuver, it transformed into a humanoid form. A wickedly sharp blade extended from its right arm, and forged from adamantium, the weapon sliced through the Decepticon's legs as if they were made of soft wax, bringing the bisected machine crashing to the ground.
"Cool!" Sam breathed, his previous panic replaced by pure astonishment. "Is that motorcycle also an Autobot?" he muttered to himself. He didn't get to ask Ilyana, as she had already remounted the re-transformed Artemis and sped away.
A familiar horn beeped. Sam turned to see Bumblebee, who had apparently made short work of his opponent. Sam quickly got back inside the car.
"Sam, what were you looking at?" Bumblebee asked.
Sam scratched his head, still trying to process what he saw. "I just saw this incredible woman in black stockings wielding an energy sword. Oh, and her motorcycle also seems to be an Autobot. Do you guys have motorcycle forms?"
"We Autobots do have motorcycle types among us, but the only ones I know are the three Arcee sisters, and they're not on Earth," Bumblebee replied. "Are you sure you saw that correctly?"
"I couldn't be wrong, they were right there!" Suddenly, a thought struck Sam. He slapped Bumblebee's steering wheel. "Bumblebee, could they be them? The new race of Transformers you mentioned? We have to go after them!"
Bumblebee's synthesized voice filled the cabin. "It's highly likely, Sam. But we can't pursue them right now. Look ahead!"
Sam looked up and his heart sank. A formidable wall of at least four Decepticons blocked the road ahead. He swallowed hard and asked with difficulty, "Bumblebee, you're not going to fight them, are you?"
Bumblebee answered with his actions. The car screeched into a sharp U-turn, and with a roar from the engine, he sped away from the Decepticon blockade. If he were alone, Bumblebee might have taken the chance, but with Sam to protect, retreat was the only option.
As they fled, Bumblebee spotted two motorcycles approaching, one a racing-style red bike and the other a heavy-duty blue one. They blazed past in an instant. Feeling something was off, Bumblebee slammed on his brakes, transformed, and scooped Sam into his protective hand.
Before their eyes, the two speeding motorcycles launched into the air, their forms shifting and reconfiguring mid-flight into two powerful robotic warriors. The red one, Thunderbolt, brandished a heavy-bladed polearm. The blue one, Vanguard, held a formidable halberd. Their voices echoed as they unleashed their power.
"Crescent Thunder Strike!"
"Concussive Wave!"
The two devastating attacks, one of crimson energy and the other of cobalt blue, slammed directly into the pursuing Decepticons. The resulting explosion obliterated the machines, reducing them to a heap of smoldering scrap metal.
Sam was stunned. "Bumblebee," he stammered, "they're so powerful. Are they Autobots?"
"I've never seen Cybertronians like them," Bumblebee said, his optics focused. "They must be the new Transformer race I've been looking for!"
"What a coincidence! Let's go talk to them!"
Wasting no time, Bumblebee ran over to Thunderbolt and Vanguard. "Greetings. I am the Autobot Bumblebee. Are you also from Cybertron? I don't recognize your faction."
Thunderbolt and Vanguard exchanged a look before answering. "Cybertron? We've never heard of it. I am Thunderbolt, of the Rider Clan."
"My name is Vanguard," the blue one added.
Bumblebee's processors whirred. They were Transformers but had no knowledge of Cybertron. This confirmed they were the new race Optimus Prime had spoken of.
"Do you have other clan members nearby?" Bumblebee asked. "Perhaps we could get acquainted. Our leader would be very interested in meeting you."
The red warrior, Thunderbolt, responded, "We have more than a dozen others from our clan, and they're all engaged with these unknown Transformers across Manhattan. As for meeting your leader, let's discuss it after this situation is resolved!"
"Understood!" Bumblebee agreed, content to wait.
Elsewhere on the chaotic streets of Manhattan, citizens fled in terror. A hulking Decepticon soldier pursued a small group of people. In the desperate scramble, a middle-aged man was shoved aside, stumbling and falling hard onto the pavement.
Pain flared from his scraped and bleeding knees. He looked up in sheer horror at the towering Decepticon as it zeroed in on him, its footsteps shaking the ground. "Stay back! Please, don't come any closer!" he screamed, his voice thick with despair.
The Decepticon ignored his pleas, raising the cannon on its arm to execute the helpless human.
Suddenly, the roar of a powerful engine cut through the chaos. A Dodge police car appeared as if from nowhere, accelerating and ramming into the Decepticon with tremendous force, sending the metal giant flying several meters away.