With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Thank you, corrected.

 

Attempt at "I know better then you" moralizing shot down by Optimus fucking Prime.

 

Optimus played straight and done justice very nice good work Zoat also the rest of the chapter also very nice

 

I see Fred Perry fans here. Good on you lads.

 

Fred Perry has fans everywhere that people have taste

And fans of.... robotics >_>

 

Ah, we return to the world of 'Transformers: Prime'. And given the titling, at the end of the corresponding episode. And evidently Slipstream is being her charming self to the other Autobots. Odd, how many formerly-Decepticon femmes have what some would call 'attitudes'. It's like they attracted a certain type...

Spoiler: Commentary spoilered for length

While she may sound bitchy, Arcee really does have reasons to be so... Short with Decepticons... Though she's hardly the only bot in the world with issues.

To be fair, she does have big... Boots. I always figured a lot of transformers are basically hollow, given the sheer amount of displacement involved in some transformations. Would put them in line with their toys, these days.

Best turn around, big 'bot, you have no idea what you're about to walk into...

Yep, he's not crazy enough to get in on that kind of fight. Femmes can be real nasty.

Aw, no catfight. Still, there's always hope in the future...

For those not into 'Transformers' lingo, it's basically a stun-ray for transformers. Effectively a taser using a laser pulse to carry the charge. Bad news for anything technological, but for squishy humans? Unless you have a pacemaker or the like, not much worse than an actual stun-gun.

...Still hurts like hell, given the on-screen depictions, though.

...Not that he'd leave an oversight like that stand for long. Given how long he's worked with humans now, I would not be surprised if he's downloaded just about every scrap of human biological and medical data on the internet...

Yeah, Nebulans have really strange naming conventions. Assuming they aren't using a pseudonym, like the various Targetmaster partners (Old military nicknames, perhaps?) they tend to sound like a writer stringing random phonemes together.

Well, given the weirdness that happened to some binary-bonded Nebulans(Hi-Q and Zarak in Marvel Comics being the strangest amongst them) you're right to worry.

Only if you're working with human technology. We still haven't seen whether this Paul still has charge in his Ring, after all. (Though we can assume he does have one, given how he apparently met Slipstream...)

Along with anything else nearby. So you're hardly unique in that aspect...

Well, not worried anywhere anyone else can see, I would assume.

Well, given the Decepticons they interact with on a regular basis... Is it any wonder they're biased?

And yes, those figures are reasonably accurate. Cybertron was not a small planet, whatever the continuity. And a war lasting several million years with no way to replace troops will eventually whittle those populations down.

Feeling a bit of curiosity about the parental thing, honey? On the other hand, he is Arcee's latest 'partner'.

...And Arcee isn't about to lose another partner this soon.

His original body in the series was easily thirty feet tall. After his near-death at the end of Season two and subsequent repair... He's even bigger... As in, even Bulkhead is barely chest-high to him, and even a little less massive.

Dang, Paul. Talking back to Optimus Prime? That's like... Tugging on Superman's cape.

Ah, making a point, eh? Still, I doubt the Autobots would be down for cold-blooded murder... They're kind of dumb heroic that way.

I can imagine more than a few fanboys would need some... Alone time. Though if he gets Dakimakura with her image made up before-hand... He'd make a killing on sales.

...That's one hell of a twitch reaction. Then again, I doubt she can really grit her teeth...

And that is a discreet flex. "I'm so much better than you, I don't even need my weapons."

...You and thousands of other 'bots, Arcee.

OH, god, this is gonna start a fight, isn't it?

Forget pressing a berserk button... Arcee just started headbutting Slipstream's like a jackhammer.

On the other hand, this is probably a little cathartic for Slipstream to get out of her processors, and it's something Arcee needed to hear.

Now, imagine Peter Cullen speaking this in a sad, tired voice, and you're hearing what I'm hearing right now... And it is glorious.

And there is the charisma that earned him the title of Prime. And in the end of the series, they ultimately accomplish that.

Though I suspect he'll not forget their arguments. Such is the weight of command that he carries on his shoulders.

Somehow, I don't think this will be the last time Paul and Slipstream encounter team Prime. Though the next will likely occur after the end of the series, because Season Three of 'Transformers: Prime' was fast-paced and short... Still, even this brief encounter will probably have knock-on effects. Seeing a Human and a Decepticon working together willingly, as mercenaries beholden to neither side? That might plant the seeds of hope that others can set aside old hatreds... Which may come into play during the sequel series, 'Transformers: Robots in Disguise.'

 

Don't worry, old Bulk here knows a situation when he sees it.

 

There's a comment by one of the show runners from back in the day (no clue where mind) that Cybertronians in this continuity are made of a living metal, with their transformations just compressing or expanding it with no weight change, which is also the reason they can do facial expressions.

I'd make some witty comment about physics getting kicked to death in an ally, but it's a science-fantasy setting, so it's whatever as far as I'm concerned.

 

And this is why he is frikkin Optimus Prime. Really well done Mr. Zoat.

 

One interesting factiod that generally gets overlooked is that most of the depictions of Cybertron have it so that most of it's interior is built in layers right down to the core.
This means that even in those continuities where it's smaller than our moon, it's actual habitable area is many times that or Earth, as it's a matter of volume rather than surface area.

This also explains why the Autobots didn't bother trying to retrofit all their troops with flight capability, and one of the reasons the war dragged on so long.

The planet is honeycombed with tunnels and most of the fighting would effectively been happening indoors.

It also means that you have to take and hold territory in three dimensions, which is an order of magnitude harder than doing it in two.

Another fun planet fact is that a sphere of pure iron or other heavy metal a few hundred kilometers across would have about the same surface gravity as Earth, but the pull would drop off with height much faster, making it trivial to get to space.

The layers of lighter rock surrounding Earth's iron core increase Earth's overall gravitational pull, but, it also puts the surface much further from the densest part. This wouldn't be the case if planets were of uniform density, but during the molten stage of formation, the heaviest elements sink and push the lighter ones up.

What all that means is that even a planet smaller than the moon could have a surface gravity of one gee if it were mostly
heavy metals.

Optimus gets away with noble speeches that would sound cheesy coming from anyone else because you can tell he genuinely means every word of it.

Yeah, the inner form is made out of that grey "living" flexible metal that can heal and maintain itself while the outer plating that serves as both armor and alt-mode chassis is inert solid stuff.

Think of the outer plating as a bird's feathers.

 

Probably the same way Slipstream is standing without sinking into the floor.

…I take it he is unaware of how the human brain and nervous system work. A cessation of electrical activity is instant death. A disruption is effectively a stroke.

Significantly easier than you, meat bag.

The amount is odd but not necessarily excessive. It isn’t enough to kill every human, or remotely enough to destroy the biosphere. On the other hand it is far more than enough to wreck civilisation. And a ludicrously excessive amount for fighting a war that doesn’t end with the “winner” back in the stone age.

If they commanded billions and have about one-in-a-thousand left there should still be millions of them. Not dozens.

Possible that their population expanded immensely during the war as both sides attempted to outnumber the other via mass production.

Optimus to a T.

 

I think one reason Optimus doesnt blow up the Nemesis is because of how few of them are left. He could have personal issues with killing so many like that who arent actively attacking him at that moment.

Although the logical argument is that they havent stopped yet and arent actively trying to figure out how to end the war.

Also at this point and time, Megatron is in a coma. So it would be the perfect time for peace talks brokered by Paul and Slipstream.

 

Arcee wouldn't talk while Airachnid was in charge, Starscream can't be trusted ever and Soundwave wouldn't negotiate unless Megatron okayed it. Shockwave might, but I don't think he was ever in charge.

 

Starscream was technically in charge. He could maybe be persuaded with his self-interest to build a new society. Especially if he would gain a seat on the High Council. Of course he is Starscream, so even then his loyalty would be suspect.

Arcee isnt in charge to negotiate for the Autobots. The others could probably talk her around it. Besides that, Airachnid was only really in charge towards the end of season 1 when Megatron was absent, and Soundwave put her in her place.

Honestly even when Starscream was in charge Soundwave was the one really calling the shots. He would definitely be the one to deal with. And yes the fanatical loyalty to Megatron is an issue. But only if Megatron is still around. At the moment he is comatose. If someone were to assasinate him, negotiations with Soundwave could be opened up. Especially if Starscream were framed. Which wouldnt be hard given Staracream was trying to kill off Megatron. Maybe if some unaffiliated mercenaries were involved and "sold him out".

 

Though that does run the risk of them finding out he was assassinated and potentially stepping up their game in fighting and destroying their enemies.

Also it's possible that Soundwave may want to honor his leader by making sure his enemies are destroyed.

 

While I enjoy this little side diversion, it always reminds me that we almost got a Transformers/Justice League crossover.

GL Optimus Prime. Invisible Plane and Batmobile Transformers.

Darn you Flashpoint! <shakes fist at sky>

 

Also because it's a mile or two above Earth's surface, something like 2.5 miles long, made out of super metal, and the resulting effects from a nuclear bomb going off inside it would involve very large pieces of wreckage impacting the planet to the equivalent of a couple hundred nuclear bombs impacting the Earth like a shotgun blast...

And that's ignoring the fact it would scatter Dark Energy all over the planet...

 

I still remember when Spider-Man fought Megatron.

I was thinking earlier about a very long essay I read that someone wrote claiming that the Decepticons were the heroes of the Michael Bay films and the Autobots the villains. It made a lot of sense to me: Megatron tried to recover the device that allowed transformers to reproduce and that the Autobots launched into space. He was captured and tortured for decades, and even after he got out he focused on recovering it. The other Decepticons focused on helping him, fighting only when saving their species required it.

And I think that's why Prime's decision to go all 'if I can't have it then no one can' with the Allspark really struck me. Not only is that necessary for the health of Cybertron and the production of new transformers, that's also their afterlife. When a transformer dies their spark is reunified with the Allspark. And he chucked that into an asteroid field.

 

Not to keep it from anyone. To keep it from Megatron. Megatron is a xenophobic fascist trying to conquer everything. He would use the All Spark to conquer other worlds and either enslave or exterminate other life.

Optimus prioritized the good of all before his own species. Because he is primarily Indigo or Blue over Orange like Savage or Paragon.

Plus launching it away was more of a depaying tactic given they had effectively lost the war on Cybertron.

 

Me too.

I also remember Circuit Breaker and the other Transformer superheroes, including the guy who really seems like Hank McCoy's long lost brother.

Circuit Breaker, the gal who came up with a technological cure for paralysis and used it to fight giant robots instead of you know, helping people not be paralyzed.

But it's not like the comic pretended she wasn't crazy.......

 

Seems like he best option right now would be to try to peel off at least two or three Decepticons from Megatron's forces and plant seeds of doubt within their ranks. Also push Starscream to do even more backstabbing to get Megatron to exile or kill the bastard.

 

Do we need to take a survey of cannibals to determine where people have taste and where they don't?

 

Of course, "season 2.5" and season 3 of Robots in Disguise established that

Spoiler

the new High Council were secretly Megatron-hardliner Decepticons working to brainwash the rest of the planet.

"Scale in Transformers is, not to put too fine a point on it, screwed."

I'm not sure it ever comes up in the "Aligned continuity" (most importantly, Prime and RID), but the main recent comics continuity established the "Made To Order" soldiers, "constructed cold" Transformers that were built, had a Spark inserted, basic knowledge dumped in, and sent to war.

Given the Vehicons are all but identical (they have two different alt modes depending on the individual, "car" and "jet"), it can be easily inferred they're all MTOs.

Even if you discount the Vehicons, bombing the Nemesis would be literally killing half of the known surviving Cybertronians, so yeah, Optimus would probably be willing to try anything and everything possible before resorting to that.

Not to mention one other thing: while it doesn't explicitly come up in the cartoon - it does in the loosely aligned (heh) novels and is heavily implied, although not outright stated/named, in "Flying Mind" - Nemesis isn't actually a ship like the Ark, Axalon, or Darksyde, it's a Cybertronian. It's Trypticon, mode-locked in ship mode; a space-bridge accident basically lobotomized him, and Megatron decided he was more useful to the cause not being repaired and instead left as a battleship.

 

It was pretty clear in the game.

 

When QuantumBranching did a map/writeup cover of the world of G1 Transformers, he explained it as the Cybertronians shifting their mass into a pocket dimension, and that looking too closely at it will make humans a bit uncomfortable.

(I am admittedly not a TF fan, but I thought that was a pretty cool idea.)

 

The games were awesome, I wish they were easier to obtain on PC.

Nothing like swinging a hammer or tearing through bots as a giant robot dinosaur.

 

Man it would be awesome to see TransformersPaul recruit a dinobot as a third member of their mercenary group, or some other animal based transformer, who he rides when Slipstream isn't available. Maybe have them be a former Autobot disillusioned by the war, not to the point of ever siding with the Decepticons, but they don't hesitate to bring up how much the war has costed them as a species and sees further conflict an effort in futility.

Other than that it's too bad we don't see Miko's reaction to the human-bot relationship, or asking the rest of the autobots about their own lovelifes, and teasing Jack and Arcee over their partnership.

 

We'll probably see something like that if we ever cut back to this reality.

 

Archon?
My curiosity is tickled.

The fluff between the Bat and OL was fun but the next chapter I await with eagerness.