Games of Deception



A crew of Autobots arrive on Earth in pursuit of Bug Bite, who seeks to take control of the Decepticons for his own purposes.

=Transformers Timelines Vol. 2 #2=

Story: Forest Lee, Pete Sinclair, Benson Yee Writers: Forest Lee Pencils and Inks: Alex Milne Colors: Drew Eiden, Josh Perez Letters: Junemoon Studio


 * Major characters (in order of appearance): Ultra Magnus, Springer, Elita-One, Bug Bite, Dreadwind, Grimlock, Mirage, Starscream, Megatron, Ravage.


 * Minor characters (in order of appearance): Huffer, Snarl(??), Strongarm, Dirge, Thrust, Thundercracker, Weirdwolf, Optimus Prime, Jetfire, Bumblebee, Hot Rod Rodimus, Ramjet, Skywarp, Shockwave, Swoop, Soundwave.
 * Originally published: July 2007

Synopsis


Aboard the Autobot battle cruiser Graviton, Ultra Magnus and his crew arrive in Earth orbit, having followed a tip from Weirdwolf's abandoned Nebulan partner Monzo. The crew assumes Earthen alternate modes and heads to the surface, while Huffer remains on the ship.

On the surface, Dreadwind laments leaving Darkwing behind, being stuck with Bug Bite's crew, and the general state of the universe. Bug Bite is waiting for a contingent of Megatron's forces to arrive.

Much further south, Optimus and Jetfire return to Autobase Prima with the intert form of Rodimus, having barely escaped a Decepticon contingent that included Devastator. Prime orders Barnett's forces to stay away from the Decepticons. Inside, Grimlock makes contact with Springer from Magnus's crew, and flies off to meet them. Mirage observes this and follows, invisible.

Starscream, Ramjet and Skywarp arrive to meet Bug Bite. While Starscream discusses Bug Bite's proposal, Dreadwind and Weirdwolf catch wind of Mirage and blast him. Magnus's crew observes this with displeasure from a nearby cliff. Starscream is set to execute Mirage, when Bug Bite blasts him and his crew with modified cerebro shells, gaining control of them. Bug Bite's control is not perfect, but enough for the job.



The observing Autobots are prepared for this, however, and have shell jammer standing by. Bug Bite leads his followers away to meet with Megatron; Swoop tracks them.

At Decepticon Earth Base, Megatron consults with the captive head of Shockwave about Bug Bite. Bug Bite and company, with Swoop still following, arrive at the base. Elita-One arrives and disables Ravage, who is guarding the entrance.

Formalities are short between Megatron and Bug Bite, as the latter makes his play almost immediately, his troops opening fire on Megatron, Soundwave and the Constructicons, implanting them with cerebro shells. Megatron, retaining some free ability under Bug Bite's partial control, demands an explanation for his action. Bug Bite explains that he comes from a parallel universe, one of quadrillions that exist, and one that was ravaged by some unknown action in this one. Some few managed to escape, including Bug Bite, who has come for revenge.



Megatron, however, is not so easily controlled; he's immune to the shell's effects. He throttles Bug Bite, who orders his troops to defend him -- just as the Autobots jam the cerebro shells. Decepticon fires on Decepticon, just as the Autobots burst into the room firing. In the chaos, Bug Bite makes a grab for a weapon, but Megatron kills him at point blank range. Springer destroys the Decepticon computers; the Autobots rescue Mirage and make a clean escape, leaving Megatron surrounded by lot of wreckage and deactivated Decepticons. He swears lethal vengeance.

Grimlock join Magnus's crew as they head back into space to continue their hunt for Bludgeon.

Errors

 * Not an error per se, but it's very easy to mistake Dirge's deactivated form for Ramjet, as the light-on-metal gleam makes it look as much like a white head with a shadowed side, rather than the blue head with a metallic shine that's intended.
 * Strongarm's name is parsed as two words instead of one.

Items of note

 * This issue was available at BotCon 2007, and promoted the various exclusive toys available at the convention. All of them make an appearance except for Alpha Trion.
 * Bug Bite's modified shells seem to leave the victim in a normal state most of the time, until he activates a control mechanism. While under the shell's control, Dreadwind continues to moan and complain, Thundercracker is happy to see Skywarp, and Starscream makes threats against Bug Bite.