Optimus gave it a tap and the AllSpark—previously compressed to the size of a soccer ball—expanded back to its original form: a metal cube roughly 160 feet (50 meters) on each side.
The sheer scale of the thing had Natasha gaping. Even Ratchet and Jazz, who'd never actually touched the AllSpark themselves, craned their necks for a closer look.
Bella produced Apple of Eden #3. "Number Three—can you scan the internal structure of this thing?"
Apple #3 had learned, since coming into Bella's service, that its new master attracted the strangest objects imaginable. This massive metal cube was something even the Isu had probably never laid eyes on.
Golden filaments began scanning the AllSpark. Unlike the artifact's usual rapid sweeps, this scan crawled—glacially slow, so slow that without close attention you'd think the threads weren't moving at all.
Bella set Apple #3 to hover in midair, then drew a second artifact: Apple of Eden #6, the one Natasha had retrieved from Italy. It was the relic that Renaissance Assassin Mentor Ezio Auditore had buried beneath the Roman Colosseum.
One on the left, one on the right—two Apples of Eden began orbiting the AllSpark in slow circles.
Scan, copy, scan again, copy again. Vast quantities of data poured into the Apples, and the golden light spilling from the process was blindingly intense.
When Bella saw both Apples approaching their limits, she quickly drew the Koh-i-Noor.
The Koh-i-Noor had no scanning capability, but it could serve as a storage device—offloading data from the two Apples into itself.
Three Isu artifacts, straining to their absolute breaking point, finally managed to duplicate the AllSpark in its entirety: internal structure, operating principles, energy conversion processes—all of it.
If Bella mastered this knowledge, she could build a brand-new AllSpark from scratch—and peer deeper into the secrets of the soul.
Both Apples and the Koh-i-Noor were burning hot to the touch. Cybertronian technology clearly outstripped Isu engineering. The whole process was like trying to copy a CD game onto a stack of floppy disks—absurdly cumbersome, but she'd gotten it done.
"Starscream escaped. There's a strong chance he's still on Earth. I'll leave Jazz and the others here to help," Optimus said.
Bella and Natasha conferred in low voices. With Earth's current capabilities, fighting Starscream was a tall order. The mech had extreme mobility, heavy firepower, was cunning by nature, and had an almost comically overdeveloped instinct for cutting and running the instant things went south. If Starscream committed to fleeing, the two of them genuinely couldn't pin him down.
They needed Autobot support. Nothing overwhelming—just enough to block an escape route at the critical moment.
"All right. I'll arrange their accommodations," Bella agreed with a nod.
Optimus was delighted. This mission had gone as well as anyone could hope: Megatron and several Decepticons eliminated, the AllSpark secured, and zero Autobot casualties. Mission accomplished.
"Friends—once I've secured the AllSpark, I'll return. Please watch over Earth in the meantime."
Jazz, Ratchet, and Ironhide nodded enthusiastically.
Optimus launched into another victory speech about how the united strength of humans and Autobots could overcome any Decepticon threat. He went on for a solid ten minutes, and by the time he wrapped up, every listener was fighting to keep their eyes open. Then, AllSpark in one hand and what looked like a jetpack strapped to his back, he rocketed into space.
The boss was gone! Jazz, Ironhide, and Ratchet exchanged glances—and all three broke into grins. The lecture-happy boss was finally out of earshot. Two days of peace!
The earlier battle had drawn enough attention that the three Autobots decided to lie low at Bella's place.
When Charlie and Samantha got home from work, they found three more strange vehicles parked at the house.
"Don't tell me these are friends of yours too?" Charlie asked, his tone heavy with implication.
Natasha stared at the sky, pretending she had nothing to do with any of this.
Bella could only nod. "Yeah... how do I put this? They are friends. Let me introduce you—this is Jazz, that's Ratchet, and the one over there is Ironhide."
Charlie and Samantha were quintessential American parents—laid-back and hard to rattle. After a brief moment of astonishment at their daughters befriending aliens, they took it in stride.
Each Autobot had a distinct personality. Jazz, as Optimus's second-in-command, was well-traveled and deeply curious about Earth culture. Before long he and Charlie were thick as thieves, swapping opinions on country music and ranch management.
Ratchet was the team medic. Bella put him to work examining Samantha. The birth itself hadn't caused any lasting damage, but between the earthquake, the tsunami, and the alien invasion, plus juggling work and a newborn, Samantha's body had never fully recovered. She'd been running on fumes.
Many latent health issues couldn't be treated until symptoms actually appeared—not even Sadako's healing could catch them. Bella wanted Ratchet to give her stepmother a thorough checkup, at least to make sure nothing serious was lurking.
Ironhide was the weapons specialist, and Natasha claimed him immediately. The younger sister felt her offensive arsenal was woefully inadequate and wanted to leverage Cybertronian tech to develop compact, practical weapons and gear.
Bumblebee was still on babysitting duty. In the end, Bella realized she was the only one left with nothing to do.
She sank into the porch chair and sighed. "Sakura, at least I've still got you to keep me company..."
The Divine Dragon, who'd been napping, instantly perked up. "Where's that new anime you promised me? When's it coming? You'd better not be lying!"
"You have no idea how badly I want to strangle you right now."
...
Time rolled into June 2003.
The biggest news in early June was Tony Stark's whirlwind romance with Rumiko Fujikawa, heiress to Japan's Fujikawa Industries. The two came dangerously close to the altar—but lurking beneath the courtship was Fujikawa Industries' scheme to seize control of Stark Industries. If Obadiah Stane hadn't stepped in and fought tooth and nail, the Stark family would have lost every last share.
The fallout hit Tony hard. He started drinking heavily. Meanwhile, Obadiah not only cemented his grip on Stark Industries but walked away with chunks of Stark Industries stock from both the Fujikawa Group and Tony himself. Combined with his existing holdings, he was now a bona fide billionaire.
Tony Stark battling the bottle seemed to be a lifelong saga at this point. The media had long since stopped caring. Drink away. Whatever.
...
Starscream vanished like smoke—no sightings, no signals. Optimus hadn't returned either.
Baby Kitty, meanwhile, was subjected to Bella's daily interrogation: "Who's the most beautiful woman in the world?" At four months old, the infant couldn't even babble properly—but Bella had somehow bullied the words "big sister" into existence.
Charlie and Samantha were beside themselves. What kind of baby's first words were "big sister"? It was supposed to be "mama" or "dada"!
Bella, naturally, had a ready defense: Kitty was exceptionally smart—far ahead of the average infant. That managed to placate her parents, barely.