Navigation system activated.....
Getting coordinates......
Restoring Energon flow........
Rebooting systems........
Weapons Calibrating.......
Alternate forms loading........
Loading information.......
Systems updated...... Power restored....
"That's weird, I could've sworn that this battery was fully charged" Max said.
He was an 18-year-old jock with a knack for planes. He and his grandfather were working on an old P51 Mustang warplane that his great grandfather had purchased. The two of them had basically rebuilt half of the plane replacing most parts with parts of newer planes or getting their hands on parts from other mustangs. The plane was jet black with white tipped black propellers, it had shark jaws painted in white leading up to the nose and the name "Destroyer" painted on its side. The tips of its wings and stabilizers were also colored red.
The plane was inside a wooden hanger parked next to a crop duster with a dirt runway in front of them.
"What seems to be the problem?" his grandfather asked.
"Looks like the battery is dead" he answered.
"Well, it's a good thing you brought two"
Max hopped out of the cockpit and hooked up the jump cables to a second battery and hoped that this time, the plane would start. The only thing was that this plane was far from normal for on its rudder, the Decepticon emblem was imprinted in white.
"Where am I?"
"What year is this?" the Decepticon said.
Then came a rush of information, the wars, the evolution of the humans, advancement in technology, the transformers revealing themselves, the defeat of the Decepticons, N.E.S.T, the Autobots. So much information came flooding in that his mind almost collapsed.
"Calm down Jetstream" He spoke to himself as he gathered his thoughts.
"I guess we went under far longer than we expected"
"Now it's time to enact our plan"
He immediately tapped into N.E.S.T's command network and tipped them about Decepticon activity in an old warehouse in Kansas City as he knew that was the only way to get attention of the Autobots.
"Ma'am, we just got a tip about Decepticon in an old warehouse in Kansas" a man said.
"How reliable is the source?" a man asked.
"Pretty reliable ma'am. It's a local policeman in the area"
"Dispatch Optimus and his team to go check it out" Lennox ordered.
"Yes sir"
That was the first part of his plan down, using an officer's phone to relay his message was an Ingenius way of making his tip concrete. Now time for the second part. Just at that moment Max hopped into his cockpit and prepared to start him.
"Please work" Max muttered to himself.
He hit the ignition and his engine kicked in as a thick cloud of dust and smoke shot out of his exhaust pipes.
"Yes!" Max yelled raising his hands with a sense of accomplishment. He jumped down and pulled out the jump cables from his engine and closed it as his grandfather also wore a smile of pride.
"Can't wait to take it for a test flight" Max said as he was putting away the battery and jump cables.
"I don't think that would be a good idea. I mean we just got it running"
"Come on Grandpa, we built most of the thing. I'm sure it can hold its own in the air" Max said trying to reason with his grandfather.
That's when Jetstream took his chance, closing the cockpit and began to roll out of the hangar. Max and his grandfather saw the plane had started moving and rushed over to try and stop it.
"What are we supposed to do?!" Max asked distressed.
"Try and block the wheels then get into the cockpit and stop the engine" his grandfather instructed but it was too late, Jetstream had already turned onto the runway.
"Let's see what you got" Jetstream said as he hit full throttle.
The Mustang began to accelerate getting faster and faster as he began to angle his flaps ready for takeoff.
"No, no, no!!" Max yealled as he saw his plane jet off before his eyes and before long it was in the air.
"Woo-hoo!!!!" Jetstream cheered as he retracted his landing gear and began his approach to Kansas City.
................
Within a matter of hours, Optimus, Ironhide, Sideswipe, Ratchet and a group of soldiers surrounded the warehouse Jetstream had tipped them about but there were no Decepticon readings.
"This place is empty. No Decepticon readings for miles" A soldier reported to Lennox.
"This doesn't add up. Our source was reliable" Lennox said as thought hard on what to do next.
"Or maybe the Decepticon learned of our coming and fled" Sideswipe suggested.
"Or maybe there was no Decepticon in the first place" Ironhide chipped in.
"Be advised, unidentified aircraft approaching. Over"
"Aircraft? This place red flagged as a no-go zone" Lennox said.
"Then apparently the pilot of this craft has no information about this" Ratchet said.
"Or maybe it isn't a normal aircraft at all" said Prime.
"Command have you tried making contact with the pilot?"
"Yes but no response" a man answered.
"The thing's a damn Decepticon" Lennox said. "Prepare to engage!" he ordered.
"Autobots, aerial formation" Prime added.
The Autobots got out their weapons and were ready to fire and so were the humans as they awaited the arrival of the plane.
Jetstream inched closer and closer to the area as he spotted the Autobots and their allies waiting for him to appear. He deduced that his arrival would inevitably lead to chaos and decided to set off an E.M.P upon his arrival taking down all pieces of their technology and cutting of their means of communication.
"Shit! All our comms are down" Lennox said.
"I believe the Decepticon is responsible for that" Optimus said.
"Well, he certainly doesn't want us to communicate with our superiors" he replied.
"All means of communication lost with Lennox and his team reported" one reported.
"Suspected use of an E.M.P" said another.
"We need comms re-established ASAP" a woman ordered.
Jetstream circled around them buying his time as tension rose.
"Easy men" Lennox said as they followed Jetstream's movements.
Jetstream finally approached them on a straight getting to about one hundred and fifty meters away from them before transforming. From the propellers to the cockpit split in half as the wings folded in half. His vertical stabilizer collapsed as the horizontal ones began to point downward as they began to take the shape of feet. His arms began to form and so did his head, popping out of the split between the cockpit and the nose of the plane. The headlights of a 1969 Ford mustang 429 boss made up his chest.
Wings hung on his back vertically rather than lying there flat and were a quarter of their original size, his head formed with metal pieces standing straight on the sides of his head like that of Optimus. He was of medium build and stood at twenty feet tall, he had sleek looking arms, concealing his wrist cannons and machine gun whilst also housing his wrist blades. Shoulder missiles also sat in-between his neck and shoulders housing four missiles but were also concealed like the rest. Tires stayed on his hip as fenders surrounded them from the bottom being upside down. His rear lights were located on his lower back as the panel reading "Destroyer" staying on his right thigh. The exhaust pipes from his P51 Mustang ran across his back.
"I don't believe it" Ironhide said instantly recognizing the Decepticon.
His face mask was on with a visor covering his eyes like the ones pilots have on their helmets and a mask resembling that of Scorpion from the mortal combat series covering his mouth and nose. The visor retreated to the top of his head as the mask retracted to his cheeks.
Everyone had their weapons pointed at him as they all prepared at the slightest of provocations.
"It's Deathstrike" Ironhide said. "Hold your fire" he instructed.
"What?" Sideswipe reacted in disbelief.
"Ironhide, what are you doing?" Prime asked.
"It's Deathstrike"
"So?" Ratchet said confused at the way he was acting.
"If I know Deathstrike very well, he would've attacked us by now and this whole thing would be a different story" Ironhide said.
"What is he talking about?" Lennox asked.
"Lower your weapons" Prime said shocking everyone as well.
"What?!" a soldier said.
"I trust Ironhide's judgement and if he says something is up then it definitely is" Prime stated.
With a double mind, Lennox asked his team to stand down. "Stand down guys" he said. His mind was torn between attacking and trusting the Autobots but resulted in choosing the latter. With all they had passed through together, he put his faith in them.
Jetstream walked towards them with his hands up as a sign of surrender until he was within fifty meters of them.
"Greetings Autobots, Humans" he started.
"What do you want Deathstrike? Or have you come to take my other eye?" Ironhide said. (Yes, I made Jetstream responsible for damaging Ironhide's left eye).
"I don't go by that name anymore; I'm known as Jetstream now and I am not here for that. As a matter of fact, I'm here for something more important than that" he replied.
"Get to the point Jetstream. Tell us why you have come here" Prime said.
"Okay. I have come here to ask that I may join you Autobots in your fight against the Decepticons" he said.
His words were met by total silence with many not believing what they had just heard.
"What did you just say?" Sideswipe asked.
"I have come here to ask that I join you. Or did I stutter?" he said.
"You, the mighty Jetstream, responsible for multiple deaths of our comrades and the fifth highest Decepticon under Megatron ask if you can join us? What a joke. I say let's kill him" Ratchet said pointing his weapon at him.
"Easy Ratchet. let's hear him out first" Optimus said.
"What made you come to this decision?" Sideswipe asked.
"After years of fighting under Megatron and years of turmoil and beating from him. I've grown tired and I have decided not to pursue that path anymore" he explained.
"How can we trust him?' Lennox asked.
"Yes, when we picked sides during the war, we all took an oath to follow the ways of our leaders and it takes a strong will to look at the oath one took thousands of years ago and turn back on it. That is why many still stick with Megatron even though they undergo ill-treatment" Optimus enlightened.
"And for Jetstream to this, then I can believe him" Ironhide said.
"How are we sure he isn't going to double cross us?" Lennox asked.
"He cannot do that, no Decepticon would do that. It would be so repugnant for them to even say such a thing. It's like a soldier turning on his own country " Prime said.
"So, what are we going to do with him?" Lennox asked.
Prime exhaled loudly as he turned around and looked at Lennox and he could understand every word the Prime said without moving his mouth.
"You've got to be kidding me"
Jetstream transformed to his vehicle mode now. The grill of the Mustang appeared as the two headlights moved to the side making room for it to come out and then they clanged into place. The front splitter also emerged as his head went down to help create the engine and the hood of the car came over from his back with his shaker scoop popping up. His wings merged with his body as his windscreen, top, doors, side panels, and front fenders formed.
The upside-down fenders on his hips made a 180 degree turn to right themselves as he moved closer to the ground. The back of the car formed with the lights moving into place completing his transformation. His engine revved as he departed the factory alongside his new Autobot comrades and their allies to N.E.S.T headquarters. His Decepticon symbol was finally replaced with that of an Autobot.
"This is Lennox to command, notify Mearing that we're coming in with another Autobot" he reported.
"Okay, placing a call to the minister now" said a woman.
"This is not going to go down well" he sighed.