Transformers Prime: The Tesseract

Sixteen: Clearly

Bulkhead told everyone that Starscream had broken out of his cell, and went to relay the message to Sunbeam and Arcee, who were still sparring.

"Hey, I hate to break up your match, but we've got a problem..." Bulkhead started.

"What kind of problem?" Arcee questioned.

"Starscream escaped. I knew Fowler should've put a lock on the door..." he explained.

"What?! How did he escape?" Arcee asked.

"I don't know. That's what we're trying to figure out."

"Why would he break out? Didn't he wanna know about the Tesseract?" Sunbeam pointed out.

"He must've found out that you're keeping it. You didn't let anything slip, did you?" Arcee wondered aloud.

"No. I don't think so. I don't remember what all we talk about," Sunbeam answered with a shake of her head.

"Bee! Ratchet!" Raf called, running into the base.

"Aren't you supposed to be in school?!" Ratchet questioned.

"My mom picked me up early because one of my sisters got kidnapped on a field trip, along with her whole bus! I snuck out of my window to come here," Raf explained.

"Atta boy! I'm so proud!" Sunbeam exclaimed.

"Don't encourage him!" Ratchet shouted.

"You think it was Decepticons?" Bumblebee asked.

"Who else'd be able to kidnap a bus full of kids without getting caught? I'm willing to even bet it was Starscream who pulled it off," Arcee stated.

"Then, let's go get him!" Sunbeam encouraged before moving to open the groundbridge.

"Not so fast. You're not going anywhere," Ratchet said.

"What?! Why not?!"

"This mission will require stealth and skill that you don't have yet," Ratchet explained.

"But, I can sniff 'em out. I already know what Raf smells like, so sniffin' out his sister wouldn't be that hard," Sunbeam pointed out. "Besides, as a wise bot once said, 'the best teacher is experience.'"

"Nope! You are not dragging me into this," Arcee retorted.

"Please...I wanna help, and I can't just stay in here forever," Sunbeam begged. "Unless, of course, you're totally fine with me bugging you 24/7..."

"Honestly, it's not up to me. But, we're running out of time, so just let the experts handle this rescue, and you can go on the next one," Ratchet suggested, despite knowing that probably wouldn't happen.

"Alright..."

So, Bumblebee, Arcee, Smokescreen, Bulkhead and Ultra Magnus went through the ground bridge to the Decepticon base in Alaska, hoping to find the bus and kids there.

"I knew you couldn't resist saving these useless humans," Starscream remarked, emerging from a dark corner.

"Let the kids go, Starscream! They have nothing to do with this!" Ultra Magnus urged.

"If you don't want the humans to get hurt, then hand over the Tesseract," Starscream bargained.

"Fat chance! If we gave it to you, you'd just kill them!" Arcee shouted.

"So he doesn't know where the Tesseract is..." Ratchet whispered to himself as he listened over the team's comm link.

"He's doin' all this for the Tesseract?!" Sunbeam shouted.

"Starscream!" A familiar voice shouted at Starscream, causing a chill to run down the Decepticon's spine. He was suddenly hit from out of nowhere by a furious Megatron. "I told you that the Decepticons were no more! And you dare double cross me again!"

"I-I'm sorry, Master! I was just looking out for your best interest..." Starscream stammered.

"It's Megatron...he's back..." Ratchet mumbled.

They were out of time. Vehicons nearby had heard the commotion and came to investigate, only to find five Autobots. They instinctively began shooting. The Autobots shot back, dodging blasts as they attacked.

Arcee used the blades on her arms to slice a Vehicon's head off before throwing it to distract another of its comrades and kicking them into a wall and shooting them.

Bulkhead used the wrecking ball hand to bash a Vehicon's head in before using the con as a shield from more fire. Smokescreen helped him out by phasing an arm through a Vehicon, then solidifying it again, instantly killing the Cybertronian. He then ripped his arm out of its chest, leaving a gaping hole in the body.

Ultra Magnus used his hammer to smash Vehicons and fling them around. He didn't even notice Megatron aim the fusion cannon at him. Arcee noticed, however, and rushed to push him out of the way, causing part of her side to be blown apart. She collapsed before anyone could react.

"Arcee!" Bulkhead shouted.

"What happened?! What's going on?!" Ratchet questioned.

"Arcee was hit! We need you!" Bumblebee admitted. Ratchet quickly set up the med bay and opened the ground bridge. As he helped Arcee through the portal, Sunbeam rushed through and went for Starscream, punching him in the face and flinging him into a wall.

"What's the big idea, huh?!" She shouted. "You think kidnappin' kids'll make ya look better?! I've never met someone so stupid!"

"Sunbeam! Get back through the ground bridge!" Ratchet commanded.

"I ain't leavin' 'till I give them a piece of my mind!" She shouted. However, Ratchet couldn't argue, as he had to help Arcee as quickly as possible. He took Arcee through the bridge and got to work helping her.

"We've gotta do something!" Bulkhead shouted.

"Wait. Something's not right..." Bumblebee pointed out, noticing that Sunbeam's normally brown eyes had become a bright shade of blue. "Besides, we need to focus on Megatron and getting the kids out of here."

"You want the Tesseract?! Fine! Come get it!" Sunbeam shouted, transforming into her dog form. She lunged at Starscream and bit down on his arm before throwing him through a wall. She then stepped through the door and emitted the illusion of the lights going out, leaving only her bright blue optics to light the room as she made it seem like the hole in the wall had sealed itself.

Meanwhile, Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus were trying their best to distract Megatron while they released the children from their cell. Ultra Magnus swung his hammer at Megatron, and when Megatron caught it, Bumblebee was able to shoot him right below his arm, causing Megatron to jump back and grip his arm in pain before all feeling faded completely. He used the blade on his other arm to slice a sizable gash in Bumblebee's leg before aiming to shoot him.

Ultra Magnus took the small distraction as an opportunity to hit Megatron over the head with the hammer, knocking him over just long enough for the kids to escape through the ground bridge.

Smokescreen was doing well at holding off the Vehicons, as the bots were already terrified of Autobots and were pretty easy to put down. He would shoot them and reach through them to pull out their sparks or cause them to shoot one another.

However, once the kids were through the ground bridge, the Autobots took that as their cue to leave, and they rushed through the ground bridge, dragging Sunbeam along as they went and subsequently pulling her and Starscream out of her illusion.