Chapter 12

Ascoobian- I mean the relic was from an age of Cybertronians where they, supposedly, had more advanced tech than the present ones. (No idea how that works.) Plus there's also the old classic FTL drive malfunction that caused a ship to venture into another dimension that Sci-Fi fanfic writers seem to enjoy using. Also magic.

RisingSolstice- Yeah, he'll get his chance to shine more when I make chapters dedicated to him and Argent. And there will be some conflict between the League regarding Barricade and his history. That'll be explained more in the next chapter. And a lot of conflict with Soundwave (Who is somewhat different than the cannon prime version.)

Also I completely your criticism with Slade. He's, after all, shown to be in complete control of his emotions in the TV show. He only really showed anger when Robin continued to refuse his apprenticeship. I guess I just accelerated his anger with Robin a bit too quickly. Though, in my defense, I would be angry when a teenage kid continually refused my offer to join my side, especially if I see my side as better than the alternative.

Basket in a Nutcase- Eh, same as Barricade and Soundwave. FTL drive nonsense. Old civilization artifact. Or magic. Or the writer being lazy.

Several years ago

New Zealand

In a remote part of New Zealand a group of criminals were hiding out in a secluded part of a forest. They had just robbed a bank and had gotten away with a ton of money. Through a combination of luck and planning, the robbers managed to escape from the police and arrived at their safe house with no one on their tail. As they began to count the money, the door to their safe house was thrown to the other side of the room. Standing up and looking at the broken door in shock, the robbers didn't notice the young girl coming in until she yelled out.

"Hello loves!" Yelled the girl as red energy covered her hands. Immediately after, several large claws appeared before her. "Might I ask that you all turn yourselves in? It'll be less painful for you." The robbers simply looked at each other and laughed. Did this little girl really think she can take them on. As they got out their guns, the girl smirked. She was hoping that they'll do this.

Thirty minutes later

The girl was struggling not to laugh as she saw the police brought the robbers, all of whom were unconscious, into their cars. It had been so easy in taking them all that it should be a crime. After wiping their butts, Argent, the girl that took them all down, called the police, who arrived to arrest them all. With her work done, the girl walked her merry way back to her home. After a few minutes, she arrived in the abandoned junkyard that she called her home. It filthy, and still is, when she arrived, but she managed to freshen it up a bit. It still reeked though, but it was better than nothing. Jumping on the bed that was relatively in good condition, Argent wondered on what to do next.

"Could always go to the city and watch a movie." Thought Argent as she began to play with her hair, bored out of her mind. "Or I could go take a walk in the forest. Been awhile since I've done that." Deciding to take a walk in the forest, Argent left the junkyard to venture in the forest. Walking in the dark forest, Argent felt relaxed. It always felt good to just walk in the forest and have no worries in the world. To have the wind breeze through her exposed skin, creating a feeling that Argent just enjoyed. After a few minutes, Argent decided she had enough and was about to go back when she heard a groan. Upon hearing it, Argent stopped and looked around, ready in case it was a trap. She then heard the groan again, this time a bit quitter. Realizing that someone was in trouble and could be near death, Argent quickly went over to where she thought she heard the noise.

"Listen!" Yelled Argent as she ran toward the noise. "If you can, keep making noise so I can find you!" Whether or not the person listened to her advice, the noise continued, allowing Argent to pinpoint where it was coming from. When she arrived, she widened her eyes in shock. In a ditch was a damaged, large and alien machine, groaning in pain as he tried to drag himself out of the ditch. Seeing the state the machine was in, prompted Argent to jump down and go to it. "Hang on! I'll get you out." She then used her powers to lift the machine from the ditch. Gritting her teeth, she pushed herself to the limit as she struggled to get the machine out, having never actually used her powers in any real intensive work before. Soon the machine was out of the ditch and in a nearby clearing. Gasping for air, Argent went to the ground, sweat dripping down her body. After a few minutes, she stopped and walked over to the machine. When she neared it, she placed a hand on it. "Are you in pain?" Looking over to the girl, the machine spoke in a language that Argent couldn't decipher.

"Okay. Definitely an alien." Thought Argent as she eyes the weapon on one of its arms. "And armed. I should report this to the authorities, but." She then looked at it in the eyes. Even though she couldn't see any form of emotions from them, she could feel that it was afraid of death or to be dissected by the government, which will most likely happen if she reported this in. Hearing it groan again made Argent decide to help it by herself. The only question was how.

"Okay listen." Said Argent as she climbed up the machine's chest and looking at it. "I don't know if you can understand me, but I'm going to help you out. My place isn't to far. I'll get you treated there." She then placed her hand on it's head. "I'll help you recover. Trust me." With that, Argent got off and started to lift it again using her powers.

"I know I said I'll help you, but damn!" Thought Argent as she struggled to both walk and carry the machine with her powers. "You're heavy. This will take awhile. Well, at least I get some exercise."

Few hours later

"Finally here!" Yelled Argent as she finally laid the machine on a relatively clear part of the junkyard. With it now secured, Argent collapsed on the ground, sweat all over her body. She had to take several breaks to regain her energy, but it was worth it. The robot was safe in her home and now she had to help fix it. Only, she didn't know how. Knowing that the next step was to speak with the robot and hopeing that it can understand her, she walked up to it, causing it to look at her.

"Listen love. I said I help fix you, but to do that, I need you to tell me what's the problem." Said Argent as she looked all over the robot, seeing nothing was wrong on the outside. No damage from battle. No leaking oil or anything. Seeing that it was staring at her, Argent sighed. "Okay, let's try this. Are you hurt on the inside?" Asked Argent while acting out what she's trying to convey as best as she could, which basically was her punching her stomach and her looking at what the problem was. Thankfully, it got what she was trying to say and it opened up its chest compartment, revealing its power core. Staring at the blue core in awe, Argent realized that it was glowing dull.

"Ah." Said Argent, piecing it together. "You're almost out of power. Well, do you take double D batteries?" Laughing a bit at her own bad joke, Argent wondered what to give it. She didn't have a working power generator in the junkyard and she doubted that it'll take any sort Earth power source that she can buy with what money she had. That left only one option. Sighing to herself, her hands began to glow with red energy. "Hey listen, I'm going to give you some of my energy. I'm not going to hurt you. Just…raise your hand or something so I know that you're good." Tilting its head, Argent sighed before showing one of her hands, surrounded by red energy. She then pointed to the robot's core with her other hand before transferring the energy form one hand to the other. Nodding in understanding, the robot braced itself as Argent began to transfer her energy carefully to the robot. As the energy transferred, the robot made groans of pain but continued to hold on, clutching the dirt around it. Eventually, the transfer was done and the blue core was glowing brightly, though it was know violet. Sighing in relief, the robot looked at Argent, nodding its thanks. Smiling, Argent waved her hand. "Its my job, love. I help out those in need."

"That you do." Said the robot, shocking Argent. Blinking she looked at the robot.

"Did you just speak English?" asked Argent, shocked. The robot nodded.

"Yeah, while you were transferring your power to me. I was busy downloading the language of this world to my processor. I was in the middle of it when I suffered a system crash due to lack of Energon." Tilting her head in confusion, Argent spoke.

"Energon?" The robot shook his, at least she thought it was a he based on the masculine voice, head.

"I'll explain later. But first, my name is Barricade. What's yours?" Asked the robot. Argent smiled before introducing herself.

"Argent. Now, hurry up and explain. And make it interesting. I get bored easily."

Present

Titan's tower

"So that's how you two met." Said Soundwave, causing Barricade to nod. "How did you not reject the energy from your companion." If he remembered correctly, Cybertronians would reject any substance that wasn't Energon."

"Trust me, my systems would ask the same question." Said Barricade, remembering that he was sick for a week after that. "I eventually adapted to the energy transfer but I must admit I miss the sweet taste of Energon. You wouldn't happen to have some, would you?"

"I do along with several Energon convertors. They'll keep us good on Energon so long as we don't overwork them. You can have some. I really have more Energon that I know what to do with." Nodding gratefully, Barricade continued the story.

"So after that. I told her what I was, what Cybertron was, the war, and my faction." Upon hearing that, Soundwave was worried that Barricade had revealed everything to her, including the less satisfactory parts of the Decepticons. Barricade must have noticed as he shook his head, as if to tell him that he didn't. "She was pretty much fascinated on everything."

"Course I was!" Said Argent, jumping to take a seat next to Beast Boy, who yelped a bit at the girl appearing before him. "The history of a completely new species, and a robot one at that! What's not to be fascinated on. Anyway, I get both sides of the war. Its like the American Civil War. Both sides are in the right and in the wrong." Soundwave felt somewhat amused at that. The girl was clearly smarter than she looked.

"Indeed." Said Barricade. "Moving on, she allowed me to stay with her as I didn't want to get dissected by any government and she didn't want that either as I was essentially a refugee on Earth. Three weeks passed and eventually I became her guardian."

"Partner!" Yelled Argent in protest.

"Guardian." Said Barricade, annoyed. "And we worked together to keep New Zealand's criminal elements at bay."

"And its awesome!" Said Argent with a smile. "I always wanted to arrest criminals in a police car that can transform. We go in and bust them while they're in the middle of robbing a bank or something and blam. After I get out, I tell them to surrender or get their butts whopped. They laugh, of course, thinking I can't do anything, but then Barricade transforms and I get my powers out, and they wet themselves." She laughed at the times that actually happened. She then sighed, putting her arms behind her head and placing her feet on the coffee table. "Does get boring from time to time though. Though things livened up when the League came and spoke to us."

"Right." Said Barricade. "After a few months. Superman and the Martian came to interrogate us. They wanted to see if I was a danger to Earth or wanted to protect it. I claimed to them that, back on my world, I was a police officer, protecting the citizens from corrupt officials and criminals. And that, since Earth was my home now, that duty extended to Earth. Argent vouched and after the Martian searched my mind for the truth, he confirmed to Superman that I was telling the truth. After that, we had to register with the Justice League as heroes so that we won't get interference from the government and the like."

"Which is kind of a bummer but also awesome, I guess." Said Argent. "I liked it when I was just a solo hero, but I guess with the amount of Supervillains on Earth, it was kind of necessary. I rather not fight the Joker or Lex Luthor by myself if I can help it." Barricade nodded in agreement, happy that he didn't have to face those two yet.

"Along with that, I was also assigned to be a mediator should any of my kind venture here to Earth. I'm to help them integrate to Earth culture and get them registered to the League of they want to."

"Must be a sweet gig." Said Beast Boy. Barricade just shrugged.

"Well I never happened really did it before until now." Said Barricade. "Anyway, I'll help you Soundwave with the League. They trust me and I can vouch for you. I'm sure your friends will do the same."

"You bet we will." Said Cyborg with Beasty Boy and Starfire agreeing. Raven and Robin nodded in agreement. Nodding gratefully, Soundwave looked at Barricade.

"I appreciate it. However, how did you get here though?" Barricade sighed at that.

"A long story." Said Barricade before telling the story.

Unknown planet

Different dimension

Several decades after The Exodus

"Don't let any of them escape!" Yelled the commander of the Decepticon platoon in charge of attacking a group of Autobots. The platoon was just out searching the cosmos for Energon and other Decepticon when they received an Autobot transmission. Eager to spill Autobot blood, the Decepticons ambushed them. They managed to shoot down their escape transport, killing most of the Autobots with the explosion, but a few managed to escape and try to run away. They captured most of them, but a few slipped past them, forcing some to give chase.

"Ones about to get away!" Yelled a grunt as he watched one Autobot transform and get away. The grunt was too busy with restraining another Autobot to give chase. Growling the commander fire his rocket launcher at the feeling Autobot. With some luck, the rocket got a glancing hit, taking out a wheel but the Autobot kept going. As he kept going, he was suddenly under fire from a barrage of assault rifle fire.

"Eat this!" Yelled Barricade as he made himself known. His wrist-mounted gun managed to blow several holes at the Autobot, causing him to leak out Energon, but the Autobot must have been tough, as he still kept driving. Impressed, Barricade watched as the Autobot left.

"You soft-hearted fool!" Yelled the commander as he punched Barricade. "You had the perfect chance to kill him, but you refused. And you call yourself a Decepticon!" Spitting out some Energon, Barricade glared at the commander behind his helmet.

"I placed a tracker on him. We'll be able to catch him before he can escape." Said Barricade, showcasing the commander a holographic map with a dot moving away from their position. Seeing this, the commander growled before going over to the rest of his men. Huffing, Barricade followed.

"I haven't been around this platoon for long and I already hate this guy." Thought Barricade, having only been with the platoon for a week when they picked him up from a damaged transport. Out of the crew of ten, he was the only survivor. Once everyone was assembled, the commander gave his orders.

"Barricade. Pursue that Autobot. Bring his head to me. The rest of you, round up the survivors and bring them to me." As everyone did their assigned orders, the commander spoke to Barricade. "Barricade, do not fail me again. Do so and I'll declare you unfit for duty anymore." Growling at that, Barricade just wordlessly transformed and went to pursue the Autobot.

"Is the Decepticon cause a worthy cause anymore?" Thought Barricade as he watched the commander beat up a prisoner. "Are we still fighting for a better society for Cybertronians? Cybertron is dead now. Our people near extinction and we're still fighting each other when we should be focusing on the survival of our race. Whoever wins gets nothing in the end." Sighing to himself, Barricade wondered how everything went wrong.

10 minutes later

Destroyed building

"This must be it." Said Barricade as he transformed before a building. He recognized it as a building reserved for scientists, who used it to test out old relics of the past, from the days of the 13 primes. Not caring much for what it used to be, Barricade readied himself and went inside. Looking at the ground, he saw fresh Energon.

"Fresh." Thought Barricade as he examined the Energon. "He must be near." With that, he followed the trail of Energon. As he continued to follow the trail, Barricade realized his query must be near death. "He lost too much Energon. He'll be lucky to get even a few more minutes to live." Hurrying his pace, Barricade eventually spotted a large pile of Energon that stopped in a room. Opening the door, he found his query, dead and holding an old artifact. Based from his positioning and the machine he was slumped over, Barricade guessed the Autobot was trying to stop the Decepticons from acquiring this old artifact. Grabbing the artifact and gently laying the Autobot to the ground, Barricade examined the old thing.

"Era of 13 primes I reckon." Thought Barricade. "Must have been pretty important." Deciding to take it with him, Barricade was about to leave when he heard a metallic drone. Hearing it, he looked around, ready for trouble. "A stray defense drone must be still active. Got to get out of here. Don't want to fight with this on me." Barricade rather not end up in tiny pieces if the artifact turned out to be a bomb. As he walked out of the building, the droning got louder and louder, signifying that the drone was nearby. Readying his gun, Barricade was getting himself ready for a fight. After a few minutes, he found the exit. Keeping an eye on his surroundings, he was closing in on the entrance. Seeing nothing was coming at him, he lowered his guard and walked the rest of the way. That was a mistake as the defense drone came at him with blades at the ready. It was only when it screeched that Barricade dodged its attack before unloading his wrist-mounted gun at it, though he dropped the artifact in the process. Once it hit the ground, the device activated, distracting Barricade as he was about to finish off the drone. Seizing the chance, the drone fired its stun gun, located at its head, at Barricade, who roared in pain as electricity surged through his systems. It then tackled him to the ground and tried to stab him. Barricade, fortunately, grabbed the blades in time, just inches from his helmet.

Growling, he broke one blade before jamming it in the drone's neck. As it spasmed out of control, Barricade brought out his own blade and jammed it in the drone's chest, hitting it power core. As the drone died, the artifact activated. In a flash of light, the drone and Barricade were gone from the building.

Present

"And that's how I got here." Said Barricade. "That bloody artifact teleported me here. I got stuck in an old starship, likely from the age of the 13 primes based on the architecture, that was a fifty feet below ground. It took me a month to dig myself to the surface. Do you know how hard it is to dig through dirt and rock without any adequate mining gear? Its not easy. By the time I was out, I was running low on Energon. If it wasn't for Argent, I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be stuck in the forest, stuck in stasis. Or worse." Soundwave nodded, knowing just how much humans wanted Cybertronian technology in his world. Though the humans in this dimension were more advanced, that won't stop governments from taking them and dissecting them. "And that's it. I got nothing else to say unless you want to hear stories of Argent and I taking down crimnals."

"That'll be fine." Said Robin, having enough information for one day. "We need to prepare for the arrival of the League member. Can you help us prepare?"

"Of course." Said Barricade. "That's my job. First off, we need to…"

Few hours later

Soundwave

Soundwave was patiently waiting for Barricade to finish talking with Robin, regarding the Leaguer that will arrive soon. He had a lot to talk with the Decepticon. Eventually, Barricade was done and was walking away from Robin's room. Spotting Soundwave, he motioned for him to follow him. Once the two were alone, Barricade spoke up.

"Its good to see you again, Soundwave." Said Barricade. "To be honest, its refreshing to see another Cybertronian. I feared that I would be the only one here in this dimension."

"I'm afraid there's another one. Lockdown is here." Upon hearing that, Barricade narrowed his eyes.

"That scum of a bounty hunter is here? Alive?" Growled Barricade. He absolutely hated Lockdown. He found the bounty hunter dishonorable and a coward. If it weren't for the fact that Megatron had forbidden him from touching Lockdown, Barricade would have killed him the moment that two meet.

"Yes. And he's working with the one called Slade. The one that sent Monstructor against the Titans and I." Barricade sighed at that.

"That would explain how he was able to reactivate Monstructor. I scanned the Pretenders. It seemed they had a recent injection of Energon. Enough to bring them out of stasis. Lockdown must have a large supply of Energon to wake them up."

"That must mean he was a crew or he has a large stockpile of Energon." Said Soundwave, hoping for the former, though he doubted it.

"Scrap." Said Barricade. "I'll keep an eye out for him. He's a danger to both of us and our human allies." Soundwave nodded, knowing that Lockdown only cared about money. "Moving on, how'd you really get here?" Soundwave then told him the truth of how he got here. Stroking his chin, Barricade spoke. "Think that artifact of yours can get us back home."

"Its possible." Said Soundwave. "I spend sometime examining it. I haven't had a faint clue on how to get us back to our exact dimension, but I'll continue to try. We must return to Megatron." Hearing that caused, Barricade to sigh.

"Speaking of Megatron, how is he? I heard he's changed." Said Barricade. The rumors surrounding Megatron after the Exodus concerned Barricade greatly. Initially, Megatron was a Cybertronian that he'll eager to follow to battle, but as the years dragged on, Barricade found himself losing faith with the Decepticon cause, especially as Megatron's tactics became more and more ruthless.

"Cold." Said Soundwave, deciding to tell the truth. "Far colder and ruthless." Indeed he has. When Megatron had injected that shard of dark Energon into his spark chamber, Soundwave felt a dark presence in him that caused him some concern, but his loyalty held and he didn't let the dark presence bother him much. Though he will admit, the dark presence and Megatron's increasingly intolerance of failure made him question if it was his temper for continued failure of his officers or the dark Energon was corrupting his mind.

"Oh, that's good to hear." Said Barricade, sarcastically. Sighing, he looked at Soundwave. "Soundwave, I know you're one of the most loyal Decepticons out there, but tell me truthfully. Do you still believe the Decepticon cause is as just as it was back during the first years of the war?" Soundwave just stayed silent. As seconds passed into minutes, the two stood there, silently watching each other. Eventually, Soundwave gave his answer.

"Even if it lost its moral high ground, I'll stay loyal to the Decepticon cause. For a traitor is worse than being a loyal soldier that obeyed unjust orders." Barricade shook his head at that.

"Even if those orders ask you to kill sparklings? Are you willing to kill children or innocents that just wanted to be neutral of the war? Soundwave, I consider you a friend, but you have to admit. Is it really worth being a loyal soldier when your leader tells you to do things that your morals tell you to disobey? Is it worth being that loyal soldier when he tells you to kill innocent? To kill friends for speaking out? When you answer those questions, tell me if its really worth being loyal and not being a traitor to a cause that has been corrupted." Staying silent, Soundwave processed these questions, answering them to the best of his abilities. Before he could speak, they heard Beast Boy yell out.

"Guys! The Leaguer is here! Get up to the roof!" Yelled Beast Boy before taking off. Sighing, Barricade looked at Soundwave.

"We'll continue this later, but you need to give me the answer soon." Said Barricade, leaving Soundwave to his thoughts.