Mars: Olympus Mons.
A sleek, high-tech fighter jet, its thrusters glowing with twin blue lights, shrieked into the crater of the shield volcano. It streaked toward the center, aiming for the jagged Cybertronian warship embedded in the rock.
"Starscream! I am back!!"
The moment he transformed and hit the ground, Megatron's roar announced his resurrection to the entire base.
"Lord Megatron, seeing you restored brings such joy to my spark."
"I have waited so long for your return..." Starscream emerged from the ship, hunched over in a display of practiced servility.
After escaping Skygnaw's clutches, Starscream had fled straight back to Mars. When The Fallen had originally escaped Cybertron, his ship had been crippled by the Dynasty of Primes and crashed here. While the crash was accidental, the resources Mars held were real. Using the stasis pods in the med-bay and an abundance of Energon cubes, Starscream had repaired his battle damage in mere cycles.
"Starscream! You fled that planet the moment I fell, leaving me to rot on that wretched ball of dirt!"
Starscream's flowery flattery did nothing to soothe Megatron's fury. The leader lunged, grabbing Starscream by the throat and slamming him into the ground.
CRASH!
The massive frame hit the dark red rock, cratering the surface of the volcano.
STOMP!
Megatron ground his pede into Starscream's chest. "You coward! You stood by and did nothing! You even dared to try and stop Skygnaw from bringing me back!"
"Starscream, you have disappointed me for the last time!" Megatron saw right through the Seeker's ambition.
"My... Lord Megatron..."
The sound of protesting metal echoed from his chest plates. Starscream smelled the scent of death and scrambled for an excuse. "I was expanding our ranks! Lord Fallen was incensed by your defeat at the hands of the Autobots and humans; he ordered us to seek revenge. But you were gone... someone had to lead the chaos!"
Megatron's optics flared with a murderous light.
"You?"
Megatron hoisted Starscream up again, his voice dropping to a dangerous hiss. "Remember this, Starscream! Even if I truly perish, the Decepticons will never answer to you!"
Megatron's other arm shifted, his Fusion Cannon humming as it pressed against Starscream's core.
"Lord Megatron, merc—"
BOOM!
The roar of the cannon drowned out the plea. A blinding flash erupted in Starscream's terrified optics.
THUD.
Starscream was blasted hundreds of meters away, skipping across the Martian soil until he lay still, his status unknown.
"Hmph! Pathetic whelp!"
His anger partially vented, Megatron turned and marched into the warship. He headed straight for the medical bay. Inside, leaning against his treatment chair, The Fallen remained in his state of perpetual, withered malice.
"My Master. A century has passed. How is your recovery?"
"My apprentice. You have come."
The Fallen opened his optics, watching Megatron approach. His prize pupil had returned; the one called Skygnaw had performed his task well. Megatron circled the chair before stopping before the ancient Prime.
"Master, the AllSpark is destroyed! Without it, our race is doomed to extinction."
Ever since The Fallen had taken Megatron under his wing, the leader had addressed him as Master.
"My foolish apprentice, you still have much to learn."
The Fallen chuckled darkly. "The AllSpark was merely a vessel. Its cosmic energy and the Essence can never be truly destroyed. The energy has dissipated, yes, but the source code has simply shifted forms."
"What do you mean?" Megatron asked, confusion flickering in his processors.
"The Decepticons I sent witnessed it. The Essence of the AllSpark was absorbed by the human boy—the very one who killed you with it!"
"Him!" Megatron's voice rasped with pure venom. If there was one being he hated more than Optimus Prime, it was that human.
"He holds a fragment of the cube, and a girl holds another. But the key to our race's salvation is locked within the boy's mind."
"Leave him to me, Master. I will tear the secrets from his brain myself!"
"You will... you will... in time, my apprentice..." The Fallen murmured, his gaze becoming distant and misty. "For a million years, I have dreamed of returning to that planet to destroy it with my own hands. Now, only a Prime can stop me. And on that world, only one Prime remains."
Megatron understood immediately. "Optimus! I will eliminate him for you. He and the Autobots are already shielding the boy."
The Fallen had recovered to a Leader-class power level. Though still a shadow of the Prime-class strength he possessed at his peak, his hunger for vengeance was reaching a breaking point. For safety, he intended for Megatron to clear the board of Optimus Prime before he made his grand descent.
"Find the boy, my apprentice. Reclaim what is ours!"
"Lord Fallen. Lord Megatron."
Starscream stumbled into the room, leaking Energon and smoke. Megatron's shot had been a warning, not a killing blow, but it had added fresh scars to the Seeker's frame.
"The boy cannot hide," Starscream rasped. "Skygnaw knows exactly where he is."
"Then we return to Earth," Megatron declared. "And we find Skygnaw!"
Mission City University.
"Space. Time. Gravity."
Professor Vitok, the youngest physics professor at the university, paced across the stage with a green apple in his hand. He spoke with a practiced, arrogant charisma to the hundreds of students in the lecture hall.
"Today, I begin your journey. You are young, full of life, and naturally, burdened with an excess of energy."
CRUNCH.
He took a large bite of the apple and tossed it casually toward the front row. A girl caught it, looking startled. James gave her a greasy smile. "Finish that for me. Thanks."
"I am your partner. Your guide. Your soulmate. I can see your darkness, and I can forge your light. Welcome to Astronomy 101!"
In the middle of the hall, Sam Witwicky listened, but the world was beginning to blur. Suddenly, jagged, fiery-red characters began to dance across his vision, shifting and scrolling in mid-air. His body spasmed as if struck by a live wire. He grabbed a heavy textbook on his desk and began flipping through the pages at a manic speed.
Flip-flip-flip-flip!
"Hey, bro, you okay?" Leo whispered, patting his shoulder. Sam didn't hear him. He just kept flipping, his eyes scanning pages in milliseconds.
"Now, let's talk about Orion," Vitok continued. "A constellation girls dream of. But it holds no gems—only the raw, explosive power of a dying sun. Let us look at Professor Albert, a man who was once as famous as I am..."
"I have a question!"
Sam's hand shot up like a spring.
"What are you doing?" Vitok asked, stepping from behind the podium. "Put your hand down. Young man, in my class, we save questions for the climax of the lecture."
"I read Albert's book," Sam said, his voice high and strained. "I have one conclusion."
"And what is that?"
"Albert was wrong."
A wave of murmurs and snickers broke out across the hall. The students looked at Sam with a mix of shock and amusement. It was the first day, and someone was already losing their mind.
"In a one-dimensional space, energy equals mass times velocity squared. But what about the other seventeen dimensions? Does no one discuss those?"
Sam's eyes were blinking at a frantic frequency. He ran down to the stage, snatched a piece of chalk, and began writing on the board while he rambled.
"For example, if you decompose an Energon crystal and assume a constant decay rate by reflecting the signal of a Matrix, you can calculate the energy generation of an interactive space... resulting in a formula that mass and light speed cannot explain!"
Within seconds, the chalkboard was covered in alien symbols and complex geometric patterns. The students stared in total confusion. However, amidst the mocking glares, one set of eyes watched him with a calm, predatory focus.
Sam turned to the class, breathless. "Well? Doesn't anyone agree with me?"
"Kid," Vitok looked at the board, then at Sam. His face went dark. "I'll remember you. You actually had the nerve to embarrass me in front of my students."
He stepped close to Sam, his voice a low hiss. "I run this room. Understand?"
"Now, get out. Immediately!"
"Okay, Professor."
Sam's manic energy vanished, replaced by a hollow, terrified stutter. He turned and fled the hall, leaving his books behind.
Alice sat quietly in the back, watching him go. She packed her bag and slipped out the rear exit.
"Everyone," Vitok said, taking a deep breath and looking at the remaining class. "Is there anyone else who intends to go insane today?"
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