Ghosts and Impostors

Ghosts and Impostors is the twenty-fourth episode of Transformers: Robots in Disguise season 1.

Plot
An educational trip turns into a Decepticon hunt as Bumblebee and the Autobots stumble upon a chameleon-like fugitive in a western ghost town.

Synopsis
Russell and Denny return to the scrapyard from their camping trip, having been drenched. While the pair go to warm up, the Autobots reflect on Cybertron's many vacation spots. Bumblebee asserts that Earth has equally wondrous places to visit. Intending to prove it, Bumblebee has Fixit set the GroundBridge for a vacation spot, but unwisely asks the Mini-Con to surprise him. The Autobots end up on the side of an active volcano and are forced to vacate the area at speed to avoid the lava and steam vents and falling rocks. Bumblebee radios Fixit for a different destination, and this time they emerge into somewhere in the western United States. Fixit is able to give them some facts about the location, including that the ghost town of Edmondville is nearby. The Autobots are soon pulling up in Edmondville, though Bumblebee is the only one enthusiastic to be there. As they discuss ghosts, they're unaware that they're being watched from one of the buildings. Bumblebee leaves the others and starts exploring, but quickly becomes aware that there's something else lurking in the town. Grimlock alerts him to an incoming tour bus, and the Autobots all hide. As the bored tour guide attempts half-heartedly to spook her group, the Autobots begin making spooky noises of their own, and the terrified humans soon pile into the bus and depart. The amused Autobots regroup, but something is still bugging Bumblebee who thinks they're not alone. Indeed, there's a dark shape watching from the shadows. The Autobots decide they must eliminate any threat in the town as it's a regular tourist stop, so they split up to search. Strongarm, Jetstorm and Slipstream venture into the bank, only to be shut in the vault. Bumblebee and Grimlock spot a cart full of explosives speeding towards town. Drift and Sideswipe are in the saloon when a chandelier almost falls on them. The pair dive out through the nearest wall, shortly before Strongarm blasts her way out of the vault. Grimlock stops the runaway cart by punching it, which only makes it explode. Regrouping in the middle of town, Bumblebee contacts Fixit who identies a potential Decepticon as Pseudo, a Shifter. On Bumblebee's suggestion, the Autobots reset their optics to detect heat sources, however from the shadows, Pseudo scans them all. After another search, the Autobots return to the middle of town having come up empty, however Bumblebee quickly notices that the group seems to have picked up a second Drift. Both Drifts appear identical, and Bumblebee is at a loss at telling them apart until the real Drift deploys his Mini-Cons. Realizing he's been rumbled, Pseudo speeds off and enters the town's abandoned mine. The Autobots follow, but are forced to split up when the tunnels fork. Bumblebee suddenly encounters Pseudo disguised as Strongarm, who promptly punches him in the face and runs off. A few moments later, Pseudo, now in the form of Bumblebee, knocks Sideswipe down as well. The Autobots rendezvous in a cavern, where they now have two Grimlocks. A quick question about the Acid Wastes flushes out Pseudo, who turns into Sideswipe to evade them. They pursue him out of the mine and spot him trying to escape in the form of a dilapidated steam engine. He manages to evade them by knocking down rocks to block the canyon he's moving through, however Bumblebee has Grimlock hurl the two Mini-Cons. Jetstorm and Slipstream crash down on the track ahead of Pseudo, causing the Decepticon to crash. As they take Pseudo into custody, the Autobots reflect that maybe Earth is great after all, and as Fixit opens a GroundBridge for them, they're too busy admiring a sunset to go through.

Autobots

 * Bumblebee
 * Strongarm
 * Sideswipe
 * Grimlock
 * Fixit
 * Drift
 * Jetstorm
 * Slipstream

Decepticons

 * Pseudo

Humans

 * Russell Clay
 * Denny Clay
 * Tour party

Quotes
Sideswipe: Are we having fun yet?

Bumblebee: Ha! C'mon, Earth is unpredictable! That's part of its charm!

Drift: I would not describe molten lava as 'charming'.
 * —Different opinions on fun and charm are exchanged

Drift: Humans may show fear, but not warriors.

Slipstream: That was not fear, Master.

Jetstorm: It was a small tactical retreat to achieve battle readiness.

Drift: ...Boo.

Slipstream and Jetstorm: AHH! (Slipstream jumps into Jetstorm's arms.)
 * —The Mini-Cons aren't going to be passing their fearlessness test today.

"It's quiet. Too quiet"

"A location cannot be too quiet. It is either quiet or it is not."
 * —Sideswipe is wary and Drift throws logic at a bot who doesn't care

Bumblebee: Can you get them there?

Grimlock: Does a cat have whiskers that shoot lightnin'?
 * —No they don't, but...

Jetstorm: Did we emerge victorious?
 * — ...The kick is good!

Continuity notes

 * Denny and Russell return from a camping trip, possibly explaining their absence in the previous episode.
 * Fixit references Shifters, a Cybertronian subspecies that previously appeared in Transformers: Prime.

Prisoner manifest

 * In stasis: Hammerstrike, Bisk, Chop Shop, Terrashock, Filch, Minitron, Springload, Ped, Quillfire, "that one with all the eyes", Malodor and the Skunkticons, Nightstrike, Vertebreak, Octopunch, Groundpounder, Headlock, Scowl, Scratch, Zizza, Pseudo
 * Known at large: Steeljaw, Thunderhoof, Underbite, Clampdown, Kickback
 * Released: Grimlock
 * Countless others all missing, presumed at large, others arrested by Windblade and held elsewhere

Transformers references

 * Potential Cybertronian travel destinations the Autobots suggest include the Sonic Canyons, Manganese Mountains and the Acid Wastes.

Trivia

 * Grimlock has a distinct aversion to "ghost cat movies". He might have just been being hypothetical, but he could also have knowledge of the movie Ghost Cat