Transformers: Shattered Glass

Chapter 10- Frozen Flashbacks

Arctic Circle, 1899
The First Seven: Comprised of agents Joseph Wells and Walter Simmons, Secret Service agent William North, geologist Theodore Grant, former pirate Reginald Danco, explosive expert Philippe Bowen, and metallurgist Jack Arden. They arrived at the Arctic Circle by three ships. There was some uneasiness between them. Danco got into a heated fight with Wells and almost got shot by North because of their visit to Captain Archibald Witwicky at the Boston Secure Hospital, calling him insane and mispronouncing his surname. Thankfully, Simmons managed to break up the fight.

Danco led the group of men through the intense cold and heavy snowfall. Finally Danco stopped at the crater where Captain Archibald Witwicky fell into the tunnel and made his discovery. He turned to the other men and pointed to the tunnel as he said, "There, see?" They took out flashlights and shined it down the tunnel much to their combined awe.

They traveled down the tunnel carefully, holding onto their ropes to avoid slipping on the slippery surface and sliding into the tunnel. Finally the First Seven made it to the frozen cavern where they were face to face with a giant white face with a black helmet and cyan eyes that flickered on and off like a pair of lightbulbs. Simmons was in bewilderment, recalling what the Captain Witwicky told him back in the mental hospital at Boston.

"I tell you, I saw the face of the devil! Its eyes burned! And that... was the last thing I saw!"

"Our Captain Witwicky wasn't exaggerating, was he?" said Simmons in awe. "Imagine, Theo, what this will mean to mankind? What we can learn from this metal man!" Wells joked, "You didn't go insane by looking at it, did you?" Simmons continued, "Who created it? A race of giants, noble and peaceful beyond our understanding? I mean, who piloted this—" Then he came to a realization as he added, "Or good God, man! What if this is the creature itself?" Wells looked at his friend with a lifted eyebrow as Simmons asked, "What if this is... a mechanical form of life evolved by pulley and electric current rather than Darwin's tooth and claw?" Wells took all this in before he replied, "Walter, I'm glad you were right. This truly will be the dawn of a new age."

Danco had a slightly different reaction toward the frozen slumbering being. He stated, "This thing turned my captain crazy." Next to him, North agreed, "It's somethin' all right, Danco."

"Their War, Our World!"

The former pirate glared, "It ain't somethin' to be studied and brought home. It's what we oughta destroy before it destroys us."

Wells took notice of both Danco and North as he commented, "Quite a motley crew we assembled. Do you think they'll be able to free the ice man? I don't wanna spend the rest of my life in the damned North Pole." Simmons looked at him in shock and said in disbelief, "I can't believe how well you're taking this. It's a machine...  from another world!" Wells reasoned, "You and I have seen things that beggar the imagination... Does it really matter where it came from? Don't let yourself get consumed by this, Walter."

Both Wells and Simmons were being overheard by Bowen who was reading The War of the Worlds and Arden was getting to work on studying the giant mech's frozen hand. "There's somethin' I don't get about these two," said Bowen. "Well, the fat one I get, but the other guy, uh, what's his name?" Arden reminded, "Wells." Bowen nodded, "Right, right. So he doesn't believe in this thing, now he does and he's all like, 'Aliens, they do exist!'" Arden was transfixed by the metal as Bowen asked, "So what is this thing made of?" Arden analyzed it closely and with a shrug, he answered, "That's just it. It's a metal I've never seen before and I've seen every single one. If I wasn't shivering my arse off and in my lab..." Bowen pointed out, "But it is cold and we're not in your lab." Simmons walked over to them and asked, "So what's our status, lads? Can we get it free?" Arden turned to him and replied, "Aye, Mr. Simmons. We got a bit of a problem. I know zilch about what this thing is made of..." Simmons concluded, "So you don't know how much stress it can withstand. I expected this to happen." He turned to the geologist and asked, "Mr. Grant, perhaps you can help point out where Mr. Bowen can place the explosives? We'll put floaters and break the ice from below." Grant answered, "Not a good idea. There are at least a dozen locations that'll drop the ice floor without causing damage to the rest. However..." Arden pointed out again, "Yeah, that's the thing. If I don't know what the metal is..." Simmons sighed, "Then you don't know how much it weighs. Well, I'm sure we can come up with something for this..." He got interrupted by a loud cracking noise from the icy ceiling as the seven men looked up to the source and Simmons finished, "...conundrum...?"

Then a fifty foot tall bipedal being burst through the icy ceiling with a loud crash. Snow and bits of ice fell toward the seven men who tried to cover themselves. "The Iceman has a brother!" exclaimed Bowen. Wells gaped, "I don't believe it..." Simmons exhaled, "Well, that's a problem..." Then the being landed right on top of them. It was chalk white with some purple stripes and had dark blue glowing eyes. It also had metallic whiskers on its face and had wings on its back along with several other devices the men had never seen before. The seven men took the time to see the being in all its terrifying visage. "My God," said Simmons astonishingly. "It-It is unholy."

They watched the being turn to its frozen counterpart which its cyan eyes met with the other's dark blue ones. The two made sounds that emanated from their mouths. "Are they... talking?" asked Bowen in disbelief. Grant nodded, "It appears so, yes." Then the white and purple metal being swung at the ice which kept the Iceman's black helmeted head at bay. The seven men ran off to avoid getting stepped on like ants as North turned around, grabbed his guns, and shouted, "Hey, you! Don't know if ya can understand me, but let's see if ya can pick up this!" He shot at the white and purple mech but the bullets merely pinged and bounced off its metal skin as it then pulled out an axe from its back. Without warning, the axe slammed towards North's position, creating a shockwave that made the Secret Service agent fly back so fast, he impacted onto an icy wall which killed him instantly. The shockwave also caused cracks on the ice floor, which surrounded both Danco and Arden. Danco almost slipped off as Arden realized, "That's it! I was wrong about the metal! I mean, about me knowing about it! I mean—" Danco snapped impatiently, "Spit it out!" The metallurgist nodded, "Okay, we know it freezes at subzero temperatures! So if we can..." The former pirate agreed, "Okay, let's blow the ice and freeze this thing underwater!" The men got to work by placing explosives around the white and purple being who was being distracted by Arden who grabbed one of North's discarded guns and shot at it at a few times. Finally when the explosives were placed and the rest of the men were out of harm's way, Arden aimed the gun at the fuse which exploded and the being's weight forced it underwater. It let out a roar of anguish before it splashed down and felt subzero freezing temperatures stiffen it as it drowned deeper and deeper. The Iceman watched helplessly as it let out one last noise from its frozen mouth before its eyes flickered out.

The six men huffed and puffed in exhaustion as Simmons recalled in shock, "You asked me not to let this consume me, Theo?" Wells looked at him with sympathy as Simmons added, "A man died under my watch. How can I not let it consume me?" Arden agreed, "He's right." Danco concurred, "Agent North was one of us." Simmons peered down with mournful eyes closed and retorted, "There is no 'us' anymore. You've all done your duty..." Taken aback, Arden questioned, "Are you kiddin' me? We killed a freaking space-robot! Do you have any idea what a metallurgist does? Not exactly fulfilling, if you've heard!" Grant noted, "They got one of ours, we got one of them. The way I see it, score's tied. And I play to win." Bowen nodded, "I'm afraid I must agree. After all, someone has to stand watch while everyone fills out their reports. We must work together."

Then the men recovered North's deceased body, placed his wide-brimmed hat over his head, and after a short eulogy, they buried him within the frozen sea. As they mourned for the loss of their fellow teammate, their collective consciousnesses became all as one, contemplating of what the future holds next for them.