🔧 Backyard HQ – Transformers Sanctuary
While Cade and Bumblebee continued chatting quietly under the tree, the rest of the compound was far from silent.
Some of the bots had started eavesdropping on conversations, while others… just couldn't resist teasing the military officers.
One of the ex-Decepticons, Mudstorm, leaned down next to a young soldier, curiously lifting the man's helmet off his head.
Mudstorm
"This thing… is it for battle? Or maybe… baking muffins?"
The soldier glared, confused and offended.
Not far off, another bot, Smackline, was crouched behind one of the military jeeps, inspecting it with exaggerated interest.
Smackline
"Is this your land vehicle? What brand is this? 'Slowpoke Deluxe 2000'?"
He slapped the hood gently—CLANG!—and a tire fell off.
Soldier
"HEY—!!"
From across the lot, Wheeljack shouted without even looking up:
Wheeljack
"Smackline! Touch that again and you're on oil-filter duty for a week!"
Laughter erupted among the bots.
⚙️ Meanwhile, the Serious Corner – Leandro and Lennox
While chaos brewed in the background, Leandro stood with Colonel Lennox, joined by Noah, Tyler, and Sofia. A faint holographic map hovered in front of them, projected from Wheeljack's wrist module.
Leandro looked at Lennox with calm, focused intensity.
Leandro
"Colonel, I need to ask you something. Bumblebee's friends—Jazz, Sideswipe, Dino, Roadbuster. So many were lost in the last wars. Or buried under wreckage. But if I know where their remains are…"
He paused, letting his voice firm up.
Leandro
"…I can bring them back. Not as weapons. As beings with a choice."
Lennox raised an eyebrow.
"You're saying… you can revive Autobots who were destroyed?"
Leandro nodded.
"With enough residual Spark energy, and their original data signatures… my system can re-ignite their Cybertronian neural core. I've already done it with four of the bots you see here."
Tyler whistled softly.
"Damn. This isn't just resistance… this is resurrection."
Noah turned to Lennox.
"You guys kept any wreckage or Spark traces from the old war zones?"
Lennox hesitated. Then spoke.
"Area 19. Nevada. We stored whatever we could salvage from the battlefield. The ones we didn't bury... or dismantle."
Leandro's eyes lit up.
"Then that's our next move."
Suddenly, footsteps echoed on the gravel behind them. Sofia approached quickly, a tablet in her hand and a sharp concern in her eyes.
Sofia said, "If you bring them all back... won't that increase the risk of spreading the virus?"
The entire group fell silent. Several military agents glanced at each other. Noah raised an eyebrow, Lennox turned to Leandro, eyes narrowing with cautious interest. Even Bumblebee, who had been sitting relaxed, shifted slightly, sensors now focused on Sofia.
Tyler stepped forward, his tone puzzled.
"Wait... who are you?"
Leandro gave a calm nod toward Sofia.
"She's my sister."
Sofia shrugged slightly, but her voice remained firm.
"I've been running this junkyard for years. I wake up every morning to talking cars arguing over who crushed who. So, sorry if I actually care enough to say something."
Cade smirked faintly, reminded a bit of his own daughter.
Noah whispered to Tyler under his breath.
"She's got a point. And she's no ordinary civilian."
Tyler muttered while stealing a glance at Sofia.
"Neither is her face..."
Leandro took a step closer to his sister, looking her in the eyes.
"I know the risk. But if we don't bring them back, we lose more than just allies. We lose hope. Necrotron could spread, yes… but if anyone can adapt fast enough to resist it, it's them."
Sofia stared at him in silence for a moment. Then she said,
"You know I'm on your side, Leandro. Just don't let your decisions start something we can't stop."
Leandro looked around at everyone gathered.
"Tonight, we finalize the strike team for Area 19. And who stays to protect this base. We can't wait around while the signal grows stronger."
In the distance, Bumblebee stood. He gave a silent gesture to Ironhide and Jolt, who began preparing their gear.
🌌 That Night – Leandro's Workshop, Main Garage Converted into a Strategy Room
Dim lights dangled from old car parts overhead. In the middle, a makeshift hologram projector built by Wheeljack flickered to life, displaying a satellite map of Area 19—a long-abandoned military facility believed to store remnants of Cybertronian tech and corpses.
Leandro stood in the center, wearing his signature black hoodie and track pants. Behind him stood Sofia, holding a data tablet. Bumblebee, Ironhide, Wheeljack, and four other bots stood lined up. On the opposite side, Noah, Tyler, Lennox, and Cade sat facing them. The rest of the bots hung back, either standing or crouching awkwardly given their size.
Leandro spoke up, his voice steady.
"This mission is simple. We head to Area 19 to recover what's left—Autobot corpses, spark fragments, anything that can be salvaged. But this isn't just retrieval. That site has been locked down for years. Heavily guarded. And there's a chance... it's already infected with Necrotron."
Noah nodded, "Then we need a team that's fast, stealthy, and adaptable."
Tyler leaned back in his chair, grinning, "In other words… a bunch of lunatics."
Ironhide let out a grunt, "Then count me in. It's been too long since I cracked the face of something that dares to defy the Spark."
Wheeljack chimed in, "I'm going too. I'm the only one here who can read Spark residue signatures properly. Step in the wrong zone, and boom—there goes a city block."
Leandro pointed to the map, highlighting three possible entry points.
"There's three access points. But we'll take the west route, through the old maintenance tunnels. It's the least monitored. I'll need someone who knows how to sneak."
Sofia tapped his shoulder gently.
"Tyler," she said.
Tyler gave a crooked smirk, "Can't say no when a pretty girl volunteers me."
Leandro turned to Bumblebee, "You're coming too."
Bumblebee nodded. Through his speaker, he replied:
📻 "Where you go, I follow."
Cade spoke from the side, arms crossed.
"I'll stay here. If this is a trap, someone's gotta protect the base."
Noah added, "I'm in. I've got G.I. clearance. I can help unlock digital channels and coordinate with our backend."
Leandro concluded, "Team Alpha—me, Noah, Tyler, Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Ironhide... and one ex-Decepticon: Mudstorm. Everyone else stays here. Sofia, Cade, and Calmpdown will run mission control from base."
Wheeljack raised an optic ridge, "When do we leave?"
Leandro looked around at everyone, his gaze steady.
"Midnight. We go in silent… and come out carrying hope."
Midnight – Leandro's Workshop Compound
The night air was cool, filled with the soft hum of machines and distant metallic clanks. Half the lights in the garage were dimmed, keeping the area subdued for the upcoming mission. Inside the control room, Cade Yeager sat alone in a worn-out chair, eyes fixed on the wall of photos.
He looked at them one by one: Leandro in martial arts gear, holding up a championship medal; another where he worked on a small custom-built robot; then a family photo—Sofia as a little girl, their father beside a broken-down car.
Cade muttered, "How does this kid juggle all that? College, training, fixing bots… now leading a damn squad?"
Outside, Leandro stood under the dark sky, breathing slowly. A thin stream of blood trickled from his nose. He wiped it quickly with a wrinkled tissue, tilting his head back.
Without warning, Jolt stepped up behind him, quietly as usual.
Jolt asked, "Hey… you okay? Your nose…"
Leandro replied, his voice calm but tired, "Oh… yeah, it's nothing. Just fatigue."
Jolt eyed him closely before speaking flatly, "Even machines need rest. And you're not a machine."
Leandro gave a soft chuckle, straightened up, and tucked the bloody tissue into his jacket.
Then from across the yard, Tyler's voice rang out, casual and teasing.
Tyler said, "Yo, let's go already, Leandro. Don't tell me you passed out before we even leave."
Leandro smiled faintly, stepped forward.
Leandro said, "Alright. Let's move."
The team began to gather. Noah strapped on his comms helmet. Bumblebee stood tall beside Leandro. Ironhide loaded his cannon, and Wheeljack adjusted his handheld spark scanner.
Leandro turned back to look at the others staying behind—Sofia, Cade, Clampdown, and a few more bots.
Leandro said, "Everyone… hold the base. If we fail, this place is the last safe zone."
One of the bots, half-dozing against a wall, waved lazily, "Yeah, yeah… just don't bring back any viruses."
Noah, tightening his gloves, chuckled and said, "Do robots even get sleepy?"
Ironhide grunted, "Depends on who programmed 'em…"
Tyler was already at the wheel of their transport—a reinforced, hybrid Cybertronian-human armored truck.
Leandro climbed in last, taking the front seat beside Bumblebee, who let out a low rev and flashed his headlights.
And with that, the vehicle powered up and rolled out of the gate—cutting through the still night, heading toward the buried secrets of Area 19.
🏠 Back at the Base – After the Team Departs for Area 19
The sound of Leandro's transport vehicle fades into the night. Quiet settles across the scrapyard base. A few bots resume their low-powered standby positions. Inside the central room, Sofia walks in carrying a mug of coffee, setting it down on the long table cluttered with blueprints and signal logs.
Cade is reviewing satellite images when Jolt steps in through the back door, his expression oddly tense.
Jolt said, "Is Leandro sick?"
Cade and Sofia immediately look up. Cade stands from his chair, brow furrowing.
Cade asked, "What do you mean?"
Jolt folds his arms, his visor flickering dimly. His tone is quieter than usual—stripped of his typical snark.
Jolt said, "I saw him outside before departure. He was alone… his nose was bleeding. He wiped it off fast and pretended it was nothing. But he was pale. His balance looked… off."
Sofia puts down her mug quickly. Her eyes narrow in concern.
Sofia said, "Why didn't you say anything sooner?"
Jolt shrugged.
Jolt replied, "He said he was just tired. But I could tell—his voice… he was hiding something."
Cade looks down briefly, then glances out the window toward the road they just left on.
Cade said, "That kid's stubborn…"
Sofia begins pacing, mumbling under her breath.
Sofia said, "He barely sleeps. College during the day, the garage every evening, training the bots all night… and now he's leading full-on missions."
Jolt added, "He's a leader, but he's forgetting a leader has to survive too."
Cade sighs and steps closer to the radio terminal.
Cade said, "Keep monitoring their comms. If something goes wrong, we're heading out immediately."
Sofia stared at the screen, her face hardening with worry.
Sofia said, "Let's hope it's just exhaustion…"
From the far side of the room, Calmpdown, sweeping up a pile of broken tools, mutters sarcastically.
Calmpdown said, "Or maybe it's the side effects of all those Sparks he's been touching…"
Silence falls for a moment.
In the quiet night sky, a streak of light tore through the atmosphere—a small meteor, burning silently as it crashed deep into an uninhabited desert.
No satellites noticed. Not G.I., not Leandro, not even Bumblebee. But at the heart of the smoldering crater, beneath glowing shards of metal… a pair of blue eyes flickered to life.
His voice was low, gravelly, almost a whisper.
Optimus Prime muttered, "Cybertron… is not finished."
Then his body slumped, half-buried in rock and sand. His Spark still weak—but alive. And not alone.
In the darkness, his dormant systems came online. One alert blinked urgently:
Necrotron has awakened.