Transformers: Shattered Glass

Chapter 18- Start Of A Big Moment

Colorado River, 1927
Herbert Hoover, Theodore Joseph Wells, and Roy Thompson arrived in time to see Walter Simmons and the salvage team put the giant metallic cube in a more stable position with a new crane. The three took notice of America soldiers behind the salvage team with guns. "Who invited the troops?" asked Hoover curiously. Simmons turned to him and responded curtly, "Why don't you ask my old friend, the U.S. marshal?" Raising his brows, Wells pushed back his glasses and reminded, "Just a precaution, Walter. Do you need to recall what happened last time we underestimated this thing?" Simmons scowled, "I'll give you that, but as long as they don't get in the way of my people studying it!" The two former friends glared at each other with daggers in their eyes as both Hoover and Roy got in between them. "All right, that's enough!" intervened Hoover. "We're supposed to be on the same side! Working together, remember?" The two men sighed as Wells turned around as Simmons shouted, "That's right, Wells! Just walk away! Just like you did at the Arctic and the Colorado River all these years ago!"

Turning to the corner, Wells shook his head as he muttered angrily, "You're one to talk, Walter." Roy ran after him and called, "Hey, Wells! Don't let Simmons get to your head!" The U.S. marshal sighed as he turned around to face the young man and asked, "What? Did you expect this meet up to go hunky-dory, Roy? Let me remind you, Simmons will never let go of his obsession. Even if we do start this new... program, his obsession will never go away!" Roy nodded, "Okay, you have a point. But we need people like you to make sure we run it right. You know, keep what we do secret and keep people safe?" Wells sighed deeply as Hoover came in and added, "You should listen to the young man, Theodore. You won't have to be here with the cube in Sector Seven." Wells blinked, "'Sector Seven?'" Hoover shrugged his shoulders as he explained, "Well, since the cube is now on stable ground, which is on Sector Seven, might as well call our new organization just that." Wells sighed, "I suppose so. However, I need to get going." He left as Roy turned to Hoover and notified, "There is somethin' I need to talk to you about. The, uh, robots that were at Europe during the war, I think they're lookin' for the cube now that there's no war." Hoover nodded, "After seeing the awesome power of it fourteen years ago, I know enough that we shouldn't let them get it." He gave some thought about Roy's words and suggested, "Perhaps we can create... some kind of barrier within the Colorado River's riverbed." Roy shrugged, "I don't think the president would be that interested in building a dam." Hoover assured, "Don't worry about that, Mr. Thompson. I'm sure President Coolidge and I can work something out. After all, I am the Secretary of Commerce."

Later
Wells returned home, welcomed by Clara Simmons who hugged him to which he hugged back. "Sorry for being gone for so long, Clara," apologized Wells sincerely. Clara smiled, "It's okay, Theo. You're just in time for dinner. Plus Margaret, Carlson, and Billy are here..." Then an eight-year-old boy ran in and exclaimed, "Grandpa Wells!" He hugged Wells as he laughed and hugged him back. "It's good to see you, too, Billy," smiled Wells, shuffling the boy's hair. He then looked to see Margaret Simmons and her husband Carlson. The young woman hugged Wells. "Margaret, how are things at the paper?" asked Wells. She smiled slightly, "Good, good. Although not much has happened significantly. Still looking for a really big story that could make my publisher not underestimate me too much." Carlson wrapped his arm around his wife and encouraged, "You'll find that big story, and that publisher will have to nominate you for a Pulitzer." Clara announced, "All right now, dinner everyone!" Billy dashed off to the table as his parents joined him while Wells and Clara go set the table with platters of meatloaf, bread, and vegetables. Eventually the family sat down together began eating. As Wells ate, he couldn't help but think about the lives that Walter Simmons was missing. His daughter and now both his son-in-law and grandson.

1928
When President Calvin Coolidge refused to run for a second term, Hoover stepped in to run. However, there was another candidate named Alfred Smith, the governor of New York, who was also running for president. Eventually, Hoover won by a landslide, with 43 states voting for him whereas Smith only had seven states.

Colorado River, 1929
President Herbert Hoover, along with Simmons, Wells, Roy, and along with several other workers gathered around at a table with a blueprint. "So, are you sure this will help keep the aliens from finding this?" asked Roy. Hoover nodded, "It has to, not only for the sake of our country, but the world." He turned to Simmons and asked, "What does the men up in the Arctic have to report about the Mega-Man?" Simmons answered, "They have the Mega-Man partly excavated, but it'll take some years or so and lot of work before they do dig him out." Hoover nodded, "So we need the necessary materials, resources, and equipment to help build a dam to keep many of our alien visitors from discovering the cube..." The men looked up to see the cube and all its terrifying and mysterious glory as the now president concluded, "...and hopefully contain the Mega-Man so we can learn from it, see if it'll help revolutionize our lives for the better, and when it comes to it, take down its kind before they become a threat to humanity."