Rising Storm Part 1

## Plot

While on patrol in Dalian, China, Whirl and Springer break cover to save the workers of an oil processing plant from a fire. Just before departing after a successful rescue, the pair spot two streaking comets in the sky overhead, which promptly reveal themselves to be Shockwave and Astrotrain. The two Decepticons kill the Autobots and all the humans in the area to keep their presence a secret, and Shockwave instructs Astrotrain to begin gathering building materials.

At the Underground NEST headquarters, Armorhide mentions that he is not a fan of Drones, but only winds up proving Optimus's point when he accidentally calls him "Sentinel Prime", and has to stop mid-flow to remind himself they are no longer on Cybertron. The exchange punctuates how important it is that the Autobots stop any more humans from exploiting Cybertronian technology, that being the purpose of the mission currently that very moment under way in eastern California. There, Theodore Galloway, having had a change of heart after the Initiative affair, is posing as an arms dealer intending to purchase weapons from Starscream's representatives, Skystalker, Divebomb and Fearswoop, but his act is less than convincing, and the Decepticons realize they had been led into a trap just as Skids, Mudflap, Arcee, Elita-One, Chromia, and NEST's human forces spring into action. Robert Epps and William Lennox try to get Galloway to safety, but when the sisters destroy Skystalker, Divebomb rips open the humans' vehicle and prepares to shoot them if any of the Autobots make a move. Unfortunately for the Decepticon, he does not spot Ironhide coming up behind him, and is blown to fragments by the Autobot weapons-master. Fearswoop surrenders, and the team takes him back to Diego Garcia, where the wounded Arcee receives medical attention and Elita-One briefs Prime on the mission's outcome. Prime's concern extends beyond Decepticon weapon-dealing, though, as he fears for the new vicious streak his old friend Elita now displays and the ramifications of the strange new bond between her and her sisters.

Unbeknownst to any of the combatants, Shockwave observed the battle in California from afar, dubbing all involved "idiots". He contacts Astrotrain for an update on his mysterious construction project, then tracks Divebomb's radiation trail back to Starscream's current base of operations, in a junkyard on the outskirts of Mexico City. Blasting his way through the Decepticons unwise enough to try defending Starscream, Shockwave informs the treacherous air commander that Megatron has "requested his services". Before the conversation can go any further, Astrotrain radios Shockwave with some bad news: the "brain unit" scrap drone that held the control software for the machine he is constructing has gone AWOL, displaying a self-awareness it was not programmed for and absconding upon overhearing that it was to be destroyed after its task was done. Shockwave charges Starscream and his followers with recovering the drone.

Meanwhile, the brain unit, now calling itself "Brains", has made its way to Philadelphia, hoping to get some help from a native. Brains unwittingly tries questioning other vehicles, but when none of them respond, he angrily kicks the nearest one... at which point it transforms, revealing itself to be Bumblebee! As the Autobot draws every gun he's got on the little drone, Sam Witwicky emerges from a nearby fast food joint, and Brains sheepishly introduces himself...