Fantastic Four and the Transformers (CONT)

by Chris McFeely

CHAPTER FIVE

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RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL

Springer paced up and down in the main chamber of the capitol building. Silverbolt stood nearby, leaning against a wall, worrying as only he could. Arcee was restless, and kept running scans on the computers.

“Where could they have gone?” Springer asked finally, breaking the uneasy silence. It had been several hours since their reconnaissance mission, and when Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus had disappeared, Springer began to worry. The gigantic being called Galactus seemed to be nearing completion of his device, whatever it was, and the Autobots had no plan of action.

Suddenly, the room was filled with a bright light, startling Springer and the others. When the burst of fluorescence had faded, in the centre of the room stood Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, and four humans whom Springer thought looked familiar.

“Sorry we had to run out on you like that Springer,” Rodimus apologised. “But we’ve got help.” He gestured at the four humans. “Meet the Fantastic Four - Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Thing, and the Human Torch.”

“Greetings,” Mr. Fantastic said, stretching up to Springer’s height.

“Hello,” Sue said warmly.

“Howyadoin’?” the Thing asked.

“Hi,” the Torch greeted them.

“They have battled Galactus and defeated him in the past,” Rodimus explained, noting the sceptical expression on Springer’s face.

“Well, any port in a storm...,” Springer commented, recalling the old Earthen proverb.

Mr. Fantastic stretched across the room to stare out the window. He carefully observed what Galactus was up to. “We haven’t much time,” he said darkly.

“What exactly is he doing?” Rodimus asked.

“He’s assembling his elemental converter,” Reed explained. “It will absorb the life energy of your world, and channel it to his ship where he will consume it. Then he will move on to the next planet.”

“And the next,” the Thing grunted. “And the next, and the next, and the next.”

“Can’t you stop him?” Ultra Magnus inquired.

“Theoretically, yes,” Reed replied. “There is a device, known as the ‘Ultimate Nullifier’, which is capable of destroying Galactus. However, it is in his possession, and additionally, it is in fact far too dangerous a weapon to actually employ. Furthermore, Galactus has stated in our previous encounters that he is a primary force of the universe. If that were true, which I suspect it is, then to actually destroy him would... cripple, for lack of a better word...the entire universe. To destroy Galactus would be to doom the entire universe itself.”

“I’ll ask you again,” Magnus said, irritated. “Can you stop him?”

“Not permanently, no,” Reed admitted. “But I believe it is possible to save your world.”

“How?” Rodimus asked bluntly.

“I must speak with Galactus.”

Minutes later, Reed Richards found himself sitting snugly in the cockpit of Springer’s helicopter mode, heading towards the towering form of Galactus, which seemed to Reed to be even bigger, when one compared it to the stature of a Transformer. The Torch flew alongside, as did Sue, riding a wave of invisible energy. The Thing, meanwhile, was journeying inside Skylinx. As the small contingent grew closer to him, Galactus turned. Reed threw open Springer’s cockpit, and stretched out, deftly avoiding Springer’s rotor blades. Galactus’s face contorted with rage the instant he saw the elongated human form.

“Is there nowhere Galactus goes that he may be rid of you?!” the titan fumed, speaking in the third person, as he so often did. “Be warned Reed Richards - It has been much time since I have last fed! Interfere at your own peril!”

“Hear me, Galactus,” Reed began. “We have agreed to help the denizens of this planet. We will oppose you, should you persist. We have beaten you before. We will beat you again.”

“Away from Galactus, bothersome fleas,” the giant said, waving his hand. With a start, Reed found himself back in the capitol building with his team-mates - but Rodimus and Magnus looked as if they had seen it all before.

The glowing rectangle faded into existence once more, and the armoured form of Doctor Doom stood on Cybertron once again. The dictator instantly noticed the difference between this Cybertron and the one he had left - so much more well kept, immaculate even. And of course, the giant floating silver ball, and the lavender and blue clad giant on the horizon were a definite indicator. Doom’s armour seethed with power - it could barely contain the unearthly energies Doom had injected into it. Tapping a few controls on his wrist, Doom surrounded himself with a cloaking field, to remain undetectable to anyone in this time, and headed towards his objective - Taa II, the spherical ship of the world-devourer, Galactus.

“This ain’t good, is it?” the Thing asked, but no-one was sure if it was a rhetorical question or not.

“Indeed it is not, old friend,” Reed replied, still staring out of the window at Galactus. Suddenly, Galactus stopped assembling his converter. He looked up. His ship began to shudder.

“What’s going on out there?” the Human Torch inquired.

“I... I don’t know,” Reed responded, his eyes fixing on the strange scene unfolding before him. Galactus’s ship convulsed, and then... exploded... outwards, taking on a newer more deadly form, one which Rodimus, Magnus, Springer, and all the other Autobots recognised immediately. A sphere of about the same size as Galactus’s ship stood in its place, but this resembled more of a planet than a ship. It had a ring around it, and strangely, two horn-like protrusions at the front. It’s surface was apparently metallic, like that of Cybertron itself.

“Unicron,” Rodimus said, for the second time in less than an hour.

“But how is that possible?” the Invisible Woman asked, concern growing in her voice. “We saw him explode!”

The silence that followed this remark was pierced by a peal of evil laughter - one that was chillingly familiar to the Fantastic Four. With a crackle of blue energy, Doctor Doom dropped his cloaking field to stand revealed in the main chamber.

“Von Doom!” Reed exclaimed, with hate in his voice. “What have you done?” He seized Doom by the gown, and dragged him over to him.

“Nothing much,” Doom replied, a smirk upon his armoured face. “After you left that earlier version of Cybertron, I travelled to Unicron’s disembodied head, where I downloaded a copy of his program files and datatracks into my armour’s computers. I have simply uploaded that information into our purple friend out there’s ship. Observe!”

Slowly, the thing which had once been Galactus’s ship began to change. Began to transform. After what seemed like an eternity of gears and pistons pumping, the horrifically familiar form of robot mode Unicron, the single most destructive entity in the galaxy, stood before the Fantastic Four. Even the form of Galactus was dwarfed by his all-encompassing presence.

“Not good at all...” Reed said.

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