The Power Within - Transformers Prime (2)

Chapter Twenty

[Agent Fowler]

  "Raf, I have a bead on the relic." Bulkhead said through the comm link, which I answered since Raf was occupied making a virus for Ratchet.

  "Raf is busy." I said. "I'll take it from here."

  "Fowler? How was your beauty sleep?" There was amusement in his tone.

  I rolled my eyes. "Fine. What's your status?"

  "Came up empty to provided coordinates, but I'm figuring old lava flow might have carried the relic downhill."

  "Wouldn't that just burn it up?" I asked.

  "This relic survived interstellar transport, I'm sure that it can stand- Oh scrap."

  That snapped me to attention. "What is it?"

  "I'm leaking energon. That Insecticon hit me hard."

  "Insecticon?!"

  "Nothing to worry about. Trust me, he's in way worse shape than I am."

  There was silence after that, but I could see on the screen that Bulkhead was still moving down the volcano. Raf was still working on Ratchet's virus, while Amanda and Finn were monitoring their own situations, both of them focused on their own screens. I couldn't help but notice how much Amanda looked like her mother when she was at work, but didn't say that because I knew how touchy that topic was for her. On my own screen, Bulkhead stopped abruptly, causing me to return my attention to his situation.

  "There you are!" He said, and I assumed he found the relic. "Let's see what's inside... uh-oh. Base, we have a problem."

  "What is it?" I demanded.

  "It's a cash of energon," he replied with dread.

  That made me confused. "That's good, right?"

  "No, no, no, not this kind. It's known as Tox-En. Causes nausea and dizziness upon contact. Prolonged exposure weakens us to the point of paralysis, and then it snuffs out our sparks."

  Amanda jerked away from her computer suddenly, her eyes on me. "Did Bulkhead just say what I think he said?" I nodded slowly. "I just- This scene flashed before my eyes when he said Tox-En. Valilorna created it to weaken Cybertronians slowly and painfully as a way to get back at Primus. That stuff is no joke; it's even weakened Cleona herself to the point where she couldn't use her powers for a year." Her gaze went to my computer next. "Bulkhead, you have to get as far away from that stuff as possible."

  "If it's as deadly as you say," I said, trying to persuade the wrecker to ditch it. "The Cons won't want it either."

  "No, they'll want it even more." Bulkhead argued. "During the war for Cybertron, Megatron figured out a way to refine raw Tox-En, probably with Valilorna's help, and he turned it into a weapon of mass destruction. I witnessed an entire unit wiped out by the sickness.There's no way I can leave this stuff for the Cons to find and abuse."

  "So bring it back here." I said.

  "Forget it. Even if we had a safe place to store it, it's way too risky to expose the rest of us." He paused. "I'll call you back. I'm going to take care of this wrecker style."

  I sat back on the chair, feeling familiar nerves take over. It felt the same when a military team got sent out; the same nerves dominated then too.

  Before another thought could cross my mind, Amanda flinched, her eyes wide as they went to my computer screen once more.

  "Bulkhead, get away from that stuff!" She exclaimed. "Carrying it-"