Given to Fly

Marty watched the TV with a furrowed brow.

"More than sixty volcanoes are erupting worldwide, and downtown Honolulu is under six inches of snow!" A reporter stated. "Scientists continue to devise that there are connections between unprecedented natural disasters with the planetary alignment, which–"

Colorful blocks decorated the screen, accompanied by a long dial tone.

June turned to the kids. "So, who wants to play a game?"

The four kids made no sound of agreement. They stood solemnly.

"That tears it!" Fowler shouted suddenly. He stormed off towards the lift.

"Where are you going?" June asked.

"I can't just sit on my hands when the world spins out of control," the agent huffed.

"And what exactly is that you intend to do?" Ratchet challenged.

"Anything!" Fowler exclaimed. "Hook up with my boys at the Pentagon, figure out a way to bury that monster for good!"

Ratchet glared at him. "In the event Optimus can't?"

Fowler returned the look. "Don't you mean 'Optimus and Megatron'?"

The medic sighed. "No one here is thrilled about this arrangement, Agent Fowler, myself included. But with Optimus and Megatron together again–"

Marty perked her head up. "Whoa, wait, 'again'?"

"Megatron was an Autobot?" Raf asked.

Miko suggested the opposite. "Optimus was a 'Con?"

"No, on either count," Ratchet answered. "But, there was a time, back on Cybertron, in the twilight hours of the Golden age, when Optimus and Megatron were not sworn enemies."

The medic's expression grew distant, like he was reliving a memory.

"Do you recall when I mentioned that Optimus wasn't always a Prime? Well, he wasn't always Optimus, either. He was once a clerk, in the Iacon Hall of Records, named Orion Pax. But as he learned more about Cybertron's past, he grew increasingly concerned about the present corruption in high places, an inequality among the masses. Orion became inspired by the words and ideas of a gladiator..."

Marty stifled a gasp.

"One who had named himself after one of the thirteen original Primes: Megatronus. Megatronus vowed to challenge Cyberton's leadership and demand that all Cybertronians be treated as equals. This gladiator turned revolutionary, Megatronus rapidly gained a loyal following, Soundwave chief among them.

"Orion began corresponding with Megatronus, who came to be something of a mentor to him. As Megatronus left the gladiatorial arena for the political, he saw fit to shorten his name. Before long, Megatron appeared before the High Council to propose his vision for a just society. And it was here that he began to reveal his true colors: Proclaiming the need to overthrow the old Guard with force and arrogantly demanding to be named the next Prime.

"But Orion did not believe in violence as a means of achieving justice. The sparks and minds of the Council were moved by Orion's words. Here, for the first time since Cybertron's Golden age, stood someone worthy of being a Prime. But that honour could only truly be achieved by earning the legendary Matrix of leadership.

"His ambitions thwarted, Megatron spitefully severed all ties with Orion and the Council, and came to wage war on all who opposed him through his growing army of followers which he named 'Decepticons'. He vowed to claim the Matrix for himself, wherever it might lie. In time, warfare consumed Cybertron, poisoning the planet to its core.