Reaching an open clearing surrounded by massive fuel storage tanks, Bumblebee threw the doors open and slammed on the brakes, the lateral force ejecting Sam and Mikaela from the cabin.
"Gah!!"
The world spun for the two teenagers. Before they could process the asphalt hitting their backs, the yellow Camaro was already unfolding. Plates shifted and gears ground as a five-meter-tall mechanical giant rose from the pavement, assuming a low defensive stance.
Bumblebee stared impassively at the black-and-white cruiser hurtling toward him. He shifted his weight, his optics narrowing. While he was often the team's heart, he was never soft on Decepticons.
Barricade, seeing that Bumblebee was no longer running, felt a surge of ancient rage.
"BUMBLEBEE!"
With a roar, Barricade transformed mid-drift, his kinetic energy carrying his bipedal form forward like a battering ram as he lunged.
Thud!
Spark—Shink!
The two titans collided in a spray of sparks and grinding steel, rolling across the asphalt and smashing into a cluster of oil drums. The fuel ignited instantly.
BOOM!
The explosion terrified Sam. He grabbed Mikaela's hand and scrambled toward the shadows, desperate to stay clear of the metal-on-metal violence.
Bumblebee found his footing first, using the momentum of a roll to deliver a heavy hydraulic kick that sent Barricade skidding backward.
"Bumblebee!" Barricade snarled, climbing out of the debris. He deployed his weapon—a massive, spiked flail. He had sworn to make the scout pay for the trap that had led to his death during the war on Cybertron.
"Streetwise... so you were resurrected," Bumblebee's radio chirped, a mix of static-distorted frequencies. He recognized his old rival.
"Streetwise?" Barricade's optics burned with hate. "That name is a relic. Now, I am Barricade!"
Bumblebee didn't seem surprised. Decepticons frequently brought back their most effective killers. "I didn't think you'd be the one to find us."
"Indeed! And I didn't think my vengeance would come this soon!" Barricade laughed—a harsh, grinding sound. Ever since his revival, he had hunted for news of the scout. While Optimus Prime had delivered the killing blow, Bumblebee had been the one who lured him into the ambush. Since he couldn't kill a Prime yet, the scout would suffice.
Bumblebee fell into a fighter's crouch, his radio scanning for a broadcast: "Barricade... tell me. Why are the Decepticons on this planet?"
The distorted mix of radio clips drew a sneer from Barricade. "Hundreds of years, and your vocoder is still a piece of junk? Pathetic."
"My voice doesn't matter," Bumblebee's radio buzzed. "I can still rip the Spark from your chest without it."
"Try it!"
Barricade lunged. The flail whistled through the air, keeping Bumblebee at bay. For Cybertronians, the seven-step rule applied—but the flail ensured that even within seven steps, the scout couldn't close the distance to use his laser blades.
As they clashed, a small form leaped from Barricade's chest: Frenzy. The Mini-con hit the ground spinning, his razor-claws whirring as he skittered toward the pipes where Sam and Mikaela were hiding.
Bumblebee saw the danger and tried to intercept, but Barricade's flail slammed into his path. It was a calculated distraction; the humans were a weakness the Decepticons intended to exploit.
WHAM!
The flail caught Bumblebee in the shoulder, the force staggering the five-ton machine into a storage tank. The heavy metal buckled.
"Bumblebee, these flails were forged specifically to counter your speed!" Barricade boasted.
But Bumblebee wasn't done. As he slumped, he suddenly rolled, his arm shifting into the plasma cannon. A brilliant blue pulse of energy caught Barricade square in the chest.
BOOM!
Barricade was lifted off his feet, his armor cracking. He hit the ground hard, but his internal repair protocols were already jumping to seal the breach. He looked up to see Bumblebee lunging with a laser-edged arm-blade.
The two became a blur of motion, a heavyweight wrestling match that turned the storage sector into a mangled heap of scrap.
Meanwhile, Sam was learning that even small robots were terrifying.
"He's got me! Oh God, he's gonna kill me!" Sam screamed, kicking wildly at the spindly, skeletal robot that had latched onto his leg.
In the struggle, Sam's jeans were shredded, leaving him in nothing but his boxers. With a desperate heave, he landed a solid kick.
THUD!
Frenzy was thrown back. Sam didn't stop; he scrambled up and sprinted into the darkness.
"Disgusting biological..." Frenzy hissed, tossing the piece of denim aside. He flicked his wrists, launching two razor-disks that whistled past Sam's ear.
SHINK!
叮~
The disks hit a pipe, sending up a shower of sparks. Sam ran faster. He was a wreck—half-naked and convinced he was about to die. He had no fight left in him.
Mikaela, however, did.
Separated in the chaos, she had ducked into a maintenance shed. Her eyes landed on a heavy-duty industrial power drill. She tested the trigger.
Whirrr!
She sprinted back out to find Sam cornered against a chain-link fence, throwing clumsy, terrified punches at the Mini-con.
"Come on! You want some?!" Sam yelled, his "boxing stance" shaking with fear. He'd realized the robot was only as tall as his thigh and thought he had a chance.
Frenzy paused. Then, with a click, he deployed two jagged blades from his forearms.
"Oh... okay," Sam froze.
Frenzy lunged. Sam flailed his arms, screaming as the robot latched onto him again.
WHIRRRRRRR!
A high-pitched mechanical scream filled the air. Sam felt the weight on his chest vanish as blue fluid and sparks erupted. He looked up to see Mikaela standing over the robot, the power drill screaming as she drove it into Frenzy's neck.
She didn't stop. With a roar of adrenaline, she sawed through the mechanical joints. In seconds, the Mini-con was in pieces.
"Mikaela! You... you're amazing!" Sam gasped.
Mikaela didn't answer. She kept drilling until the robot stopped twitching. Finally, she stopped, the drill's motor smoking. Only Frenzy's head remained, emitting a faint, distorted groan.
In a final act of defiance, Sam wound up and kicked the head like a soccer ball. It flew through the air, disappearing into the shadows. "Heads up, you little freak!"
He didn't notice that the head landed right next to Mikaela's discarded backpack.