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    Ram Horn sat back and watched.  Before him, chained to the wall, Pride, Silverstreak and Ironhide hung.  Their moans and screams filled the lab.  A beam of energy was piercing each of their chest. The beams could be linked back through an elaborate set up of equipment.  A glowing orb, the Transmetal Driver, was the dominant piece of the twisted set up.
    "Now, how is this different from the experiment you did with the other two Maximals?" Sea Clamp inquired.  He had been watching Ram Horn closely with this latest set of experiments.
    "The first two received a full charge to the whole of their body.  This was as Megatron had done before.  It produced similar results.  Their organic and technological components were interchanged and merged.
    "With this group I am seeing if I can merge only their sparks.  At first I was unsure how to focus the beam.  Then your returned with a dead spark, and I was set."
    "You are using Magnaboss' spark as a focusing mechanism?"
    "Yes.  it should be interesting to see the results.  I am figuring a link similar to what Dinobot and Rampage had.  The pain of one will be felt in the others.  There is even the possibility of a telepathic link."
    "Now that would be a very useful tool for us to have," Sea Clamp remarked.  He smiled for the first time sense watching Ram Horn's experiments. "Instant communications with the troop.  Undetectable with any know equipment.  I like where your work is headed.  Please continue and inform me of any results."
    "Yes sir."

    Sea Clamp strode to his chamber in a cheerful manner, which seemed out of character for him.  As he entered his quarters all the cheer was lost.  The door to his office was wide open, several of his data pads were out and on.  There was plenty of evidence that someone had been going through his stuff.
    Sea Clamp pulled out his blasted and charged into his office.  His aggressive behavior vanished as soon as he saw the figure sitting behind his workstation.
    "Venom?" Sea Clamp said with a hint of anger in his voice
    "That is Mistress Venom, if you don't mind," the female transformer replied as she got ot her feet. "It has been a while."
    "What are you doing?  I thought the Council had you leading the underground."
    "Things have changed back home.  The council felt I was needed here to check on your progress."
    "We are on schedule.  Stasis reports have been sent out regularly sense we landed.  All you need to know is there.  Please inform the council that there is no need to waste such talents as yours for the simple task of  messenger."
    "I am much more than a messenger here.  And I will be staying for a while, so please have quarters prepared for me.  Although I do like this workspace, may be I should use these."
    "I believe you would find the quarters on the far side of the ship more to your liking.  They are dark and out of the way."
    "We can play this game for ever," Mistress Venom said as she sat back down. "You do not like me, and I do not like you.  This is not the time for personal grudges.  I am not here to take your command, just to observe and make any recommendations that I feel are needed."
    "Then please leave so I can get some rest and prepare my next report.  Ram Horn's latest experiments may make this mission worth the effort."
    "Please tell me about them."
    A scream filled the ship before Sea Clamp could start his explanation.
    "Get out of my head!!" Came an unfamiliar voice.
    Sea Clamp and Mistress Venom both rushed out the room to find the source of  the scream.

    Ram Horn and turned his attention to Prowl and Nightglider, who were now locked in observation tubes.  Both had stabilized in form and were now unconscious.  The scream caught Ram Horn by surprise.
    He turned, puzzled by the unfamiliar voice.
    "Who said that?" Ram Horn inquired looking at the three Maximal guinea pigs.
    Silverstreak pulled hard against his bond and yelled again. "Get out of my head!!"
    The anger in his voice caused Ram Horn to back up into the wall.
    After several hard tugs at the chains, Silverstreak was able to pull himself free.  In a madden spasm he started smashing himself in to any fixture he could find.
    "Get out of my head!!" He kept yelling.
    Spittor, Iguanus and Transquito came rushing in to the lap.  They took a quick look to sum up the situation and then surrounded Silverstreak.
    Silverstreak showed no sign that he noticed his new attackers until Spittor tried to grab his arm.  Silverstreak picked Spittor up and threw his across the room.
    Iguanus tried a more direct approach and fired at the crazed Maximal.  The blast hit Silverstreak in the side.
    Silverstreak picked up a table a smashed Iguanus in the face with it, sending the Predacon to rest next to Spittor.
    Transquito rushed in and grabbed Silverstreak in a restraining hold.
    With a sly smile Transquito remarked, "My comrades may have been easy to fight off, but you will find me more of a challenge."
    Silverstreak produced one of his swords and sliced through Tranquito's arm.  He then turned around and savagely lashed out at the Predacon as though Transquito were the cause of all his problems.  With in moments all that was left of Transquito was a burnt out shell and a cracked spark.
    "No!!" Silverstreak yelled. "I want you out of my head!!"
    Silverstreak run through the closest doorway and vanished down the hall.
    Sea Clamp and Mistress Venom stood in a doorway.  Both wore looks of surprise.
    "What was that all about?" Mistress Venom asked.
    "I would guess that Ram Horn predictions were right.  I guess the Maximal doesn't care for telepathy though." Sea Clamp remarked calmly.
    Without warning the remains of Transquito exploded.  A large chunk of what had once been his chest smashed into the Transmetal driver, redirecting its' beam toward the two fallen Predacons that were laying in the corner.
    "No," Ram Horn said as he rushed to turn off his machine, shutting down the energy beam.
    Spittor and Iguanus both let out moans of intense pain.  It was clear by the way their outer casing were reforming that the Transmetal Driver had affected them.
    "It looks like we will be gaining transmetals for our side," Sea Clamp remarked coldly.

    Silverstreak had escaped the Predacon ship in a panicked rush. The few Predacons that tried to stop him were thrown around enough to make them change their minds and let him by.  All Silverstreak wanted was open space, and nothing was going to get in his way.
    As he left the Predacon ship, Silverstreak took to beast mode and flew away.

    Wolfang was worried.  he had been trying to contact any of the other members of the team, but there was no answer from any of them.  If the Predacons had gotten his six missing teammates, then he and Powerglide would most likely be the next target.
    "Of all the slaggin deals," Powerglide remarked as she entered the bridge of the Star Skimmer.
    "What's up?"
    "The stasis pods should be charged and ready to activate by now, but there seems to have been too much corrosion and the power cells are not holding a charge."
    "Anything you can do?"
    "I was thinking of jury rigging the cells back through the ship's.  The only problem is that we would not be able to make a quick take off if needed."
    "Then we will just have to keep the protoforms in stasis until we reach Cybertron then."
    "No good.  With all the corrosion the pods will fail if left on their own.  I remember when the great Optimus Prime was faced with a similar type of dilemma.  The Decepticons had taken the scientist Preceptor and giving him Cosmic Rust.  Prime either had to let his teammate suffer and die alone or rescue him and risk loosing all of the Autobots.  Prime took the risk..."
    "Yes, I know the story," Wolfang interrupted. "Go ahead and hook the pods up to the ship's power cells."
    "I already did..  And for your information this is my ship and I do not need your permission fro any activity involving her."
    "Sorry," Wolfang said honestly.
    "But I am glad you agree with me."

    "Silverstreak, I need you to calm down," came the voice again.
   Silverstreak landed showing none of his normal coordination skills.  Switching back to robot mode Silverstreak began to run into the trees and rocks.
    "Get out, get out," the once quiet warrior repeated as he brought more and more damage upon himself.
    "This is not going to help you or our teammates," the voice stated firmly. "You are a Maximal warrior, now start acting like one."
    "Who are you?" Silverstreak found himself calming down now that he asked the question.
    "Magnaboss."
    There was a long silence before Silverstreak spoke again. "They told us you were dead."
    "I was about to become one with the Matrix when they pulled me back.  Now I am inside of you and Pride and Ironhide.
    "I don't want you inside of me.  My mind is my own."
    "What are you afraid of?  Does it have anything to do with Shother?"
    "How dare you probe my memories"
    "I already knew about Shother when I picked you for the team.  Being to only survivor of  your team.  I read summaries of your accounts as to what happened to out people there.  I understood why you were so distanced and cold.  But I also knew that you were loyal and a worthy soldier.  I only took the best into this team."
    Silverstreak fell to the ground and cried.  A rush of memories came flooding through his thoughts.
    "I promise that I will not go any father in your mind than is needed.  You dark memories can remain buried."
    "Thank you."
    "If we do not go back and free the others though, you may end up reliving Shother here and now."
    Sobering up Silverstreak replied, "Yes, you are right."

    "Where are my men?" Sea Clamp aggressively asked as he barged into Mistress Venom's chambers.
    "I have sent them to deal with the remaining Maximals," Venom replied matter-of-factly.
    "And why was I not notified?"
    "Because I did not want to waste any more time.  We knew that we had captured most of their forces, leaving a minimal force back at their ship.  We needed to strike now and finish the few that stayed behind off."
    Sea Clamp held back his anger.  he could not argue with her logic and had been thinking along the same lines.  he just regretted that he did not act first.
    "Next time you are to get my approval before committing my troops to any action.  I am still the commander of this operation and will not have you breaking the change of command."
    Sea Clamp turned and left before Mistress Venom had a chance to reply.
    Once she was sure that Sea Clamp was gone, Mistress Venom pulled forth a container and opened it.  In the container was a hexagonal transparent box with a Spark glowing inside.
    "It looks like we have the means to give you the new body.  It won't take be long now and then we can begin to rebuild."
    "Good," replied three voices from the Spark.

    The alarms on Star Skimmer pierced the normal quiet of the forest.  Powerglide came rushing onto the bridge.
    "What is it?"
    "We have six Predacon signatures having broken the parameter and headed straight for us," Wolfang remarked calmly.
    "Get the autoguns on line and the shields up."
    "They are, but not at full power.  We are draining off too much energy to recharge the stasis pods.  It looks like we'll have to handle the Preds directly."

    Waspinator, Inferno and Firecracker landed next to Quickstrike, Spittor and Iguanus.
    "Mistress Venom said we should spread out in groups of two and attack from all sides," Iguanus explained. "Quickstrike and Inferno go around and attack from those trees. Waspinator and Spittor, you guys should go for the frontal assault.  Firecracker come with me to attack from their rear."
    "All I know is it is about time I get to slag something again," Quickstrike remarked as he headed in the appointed direction with Inferno.
    "Waspinator doesn't like frontal assaults.  Normally Waspinator gets blasted when he attacks Maximal bases."
    Spittor groaned as he and Waspinator were left alone.
    "You, you. Just shut-up and prepare to attack," Spittor finally said.

    An explosion of the main hatchway being torn apart was the only warning Cicadacon had that something was happening.  He had been busy complaining to himself about not being able to participate in the attack to notice the intruder alert on his security console.
    "He's back," Cicadacon mumbled hopefully as he rushed to the hatchway.

    Silverstreak rushed through the hallways of the Predacon ship.  He knew where he was headed and was not about to let anything get in his way.
    "Good, I was hoping for a rematch." Cicadacon blocked Silverstreak's path. "Our last battle was over too soon and the outside interference left me not having proven myself."
     Silverstreak folded his wings in front of him. the tips of the wings folded away to reveal two sets of three missile launchers.  Six missiles came streaking out at Cicadacon. Silverstreak passed over the unconscious form of Cicadacon right as the explosion died down.

    Inside the lab Ram Horn stood waiting nervously.  He had heard the explosion which was then followed by a power loss until the back-ups came on line.  He knew that something was going on.
    Sea Clamp came rushing in "That stupid Maximal is back," he explained "We need to stop him. What do you have that we can use against him?"
    Ram Horn gave Sea Clamp a long hard look.
    "I have something prepared in case of another incident in my lab."
    "Good, good."
    Silverstreak came charging in at full speed pushing Ram Horn and Sea Clamp to the ground.  Ram Horn quickly got up and flip a switch on a near by control panel.
    As Silverstreak broke the bonds that held Ironhide and Pride to the wall, several tentacles emerged from the ceiling and took hold of the three Maximals.
    Silverstreak struck at the grasping coils with his swords, but to no avail.  Pride and Ironhide were still too disoriented to do anything more than struggle.
    "Let me tale control," Magnaboss said to each of them in their heads.
    "No," Silverstreak's reply came hard.
    "Trust me.  I know I can free us.  Ironhide and Pride are willing to let me try.  I just need you to loosen up.  My word still stands, I will not dig in your mind."
    Silverstreak nodded his head and relaxed.
    "You see, my coils have taken the fight out of him," Ram Horn boasted. "Now we should just finish them off.  My experiments with them are done.  I will need new subjects however."
    As Ram Horn was talking to Sea Clamp, the forms of Ironhide, Pride and Silverstreak started to transform.  With in moments where that had been three, there was now one.  A perfect merger on the three bodies ripped free of the tentacles and landed on the floor with a loud stomp.  One of the figure's massive hands grasped several of the tentacles and pulled the ceiling down in front of him.
    Ram Horn turned to look at the new figure. "This is interesting."
    Sea Clamp pulled forth his blaster and pointed it towards the figure. As the face came into view he instantly recognized it.
    "Magnaboss?"
    Magnaboss strengthen up his posture and drew forth his new sword.  As with the body, the weapon was a merger of the three warrior's weapons.
    Before Sea Clamp or Ram Horn could make a move, the sword came crashing down upon the two Predacons.
    Prowl and Nightglider had watched the whole unfolding of events from their cell in the corner of the lab.  They were more than over joyed when Magnaboss used his sword to free them.
    "It is time to leave this horrid place," Magnaboss remarked. He then closed his eyes and allowed the three bodies that made him whole separate into their individual selves.
    "We should take the Transmetal driver," Pride remarked as they prepared to leave. " We can't leave it in the Predacon's hands."
    A quick look around the room did not reveal the wareabouts of the alien device.
    "I know it's here," Pride mumbled.
    "We need to go," Prowl said. "Hopefully it was destroyed when the ceiling came down."
    The five Maximals took no more time in leaving the Predacon ship.

    From out of one of the corners of the lab Mistress Venom emerged.  In her one hand she held the Transmetal Driver and her tentacle arm was wrapped around the hexagonal  box.
    "I think we have found what you were requesting," she said to the box. "Now it is time for your rebirths."

    "The shields are failing," Wolfang said showing no sign of panic.
    "We only have two ship's guns left," Powerglide stated trying to hide her panic.
    "We get to do this the hard way then."
    Powerglide nodded.  The two Maximals picked up their predetermined hand guns and made their way to the main hatch of the Star Skimmer.
    "Ready?" Wolfang added, showing his first sign of stress.
    "Not really, but do I have a choice?" Powerglide joked as she hit the open switch for the hatch.
    Wolfang gave her an amusing smile.  The two of them walked down the boarding ramp back to back.

To be concluded in

Part 4: And What of the Future

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