Transformer Animated

Laws of Nature 2

Ch 1: Danger Lurks Near

It has been three weeks since Bumble Bee's brutal and near fatal abduction at the hands of Wasp. During those grueling days, when it was discovered the yellow Autobot suffered from a completely wiped memory core, Optimus had ordered for Bumble Bee to stay close to the base and had placed himself in charged of retraining the smallest Cybertronian. To which the eager little bug stuck to him like glue. While the young Autobot leader tended to his new protégé, the other Autobots went on their individual missions. One mission in particular was the search for the ringleader of the dreaded chop shop ring that had provided the necessary means for the rouge robot, Wasp, to torture and maimed the smaller Autobot. A mission that both Prowl and Bulkhead took to their sparks.

******

Downtown Detriot

Down in the lesser part of Detroit city, a suspicious looking man in a black leather jacket causally walked down a quiet sidewalk, overlooking the many parked cars as he strolled. He paused to admire a sleek and expensive looking Carmella in a pale blue paint job. A few blocks down and across the street, two very large figures observed the man from the shadows.

Bulkhead gritted his jaw hard as he aggregately watched the suspicious human pace from one end of the sidewalk to the other. "Come on… take the bait already!" He all but yelled it out loud forcing Prowl to place a servo on his large friend's mid region.

"Patience Bulkhead." The stealthy ninja bot kept his eyes on the human. "This may very well be the lead we've been looking for, but we need to be patient."

"I'm trying." Yet try as he might, the largest of the Autobots could still clearly envision his best friend's battered and broken body. It took everything in his circuitry to focus on the mission. "Is Captain Fanzone sure this guy's part of that… Chop Shop ring?"

"Yes. The police have been watching this particular human for weeks." The stealth ninja bot carefully read the change in movement and behavior of the human. "He's narrowed his choices down to three cars." From what he could tell it was the blue Carmella, the white Corvet and a pale yellow Sub-Compact. "When he deices which is worth more to take; we'll follow from a distance and hopefully find his leader."

Bulkhead could practically feel the mangled heap of the disassembling equipment in his servos as he carefully clamped them open and close. "Then after the police get all the evidence they need to lock them away, we shut down the shops for good, right?"

"Yes." Prowl, too, was looking forward to closing down the ring permanently and forever freeing the city of such an atrocity. "One way or other we will discover the identity of this 'Ring Leader' and put an end to his chop shops of horrors once and for all."

Another half hour had gone by before the human finally approached the compact car. The two Autobots watched and recorded how he picked the lock, opened the car door and entered the car, and finally hot-wired it. "There he goes!" Bulkhead stated as the stolen car drove pass them.

"Alert the police units. Remember to keep your distance and keep in contact." Using his superior agility, Prowl made his way to the rooftops and began his pursuit of the suspect. "Captain, your suspect is on the move in a pale yellow compact convertible."

"Copy that Prowl." From three blocks away, Captain Fanzone started his engine and began a safe distance pursuit. "Check point one just confirmed the same vehicle. The boys and I'll follow down here; you keep tabs on him from the rooftops."

The stealthy ninja bot leap from roof to roof with ease as he followed his quarry. "Affirmative." Understanding that evidence was highly important; every turn the auto-thief took Prowl noted, recorded and reported.

*****

High above the City

As this pursuit continued down on the ground none had noticed a helicopter was flying nearby. It flew high in the clouds, swaying as if pleased that no other flying machine was in the skies. There was a billboard ad for a new paintball center opening soon in the city with a large bull's-eye background pattern. The chopper suddenly made an impossible loop-de-loop and shot four electrical blasts at once, hitting and destroying the billboard.

An insane sounding laughter rang from the chopper. "Bumble bot stingers now Wasp's stingers!" In a fit of joy at his own long ranged skills, the mental malfunction landed on a nearby rooftop and transformed into robot mode to admire his work. His own stingers still out and ready for another target, along with an additional two protruding out of his chest region. "Now Wasp more than before!"

As the warped robot enjoyed another laugh, a distant moving object caught his ocular sensors. "Hmm?" Said object was the same stolen car being driven down the empty street. Only from Wasp's point of view the coloring of the car was switching from its pale yellow tint to a stronger, bolder hue. The vehicle, in a mental after image, transformed into a running robot for a few seconds then changed back. "Bumble bot?" The image changed back and forth so much the robot couldn't distinguish between the two. "No… Not Bumble bot." The image went away, but the design of the car was still the same. "Bumble bot gone!" The insane bot claimed angrily from his rooftop perch. "Wasp destroyed Bumble bot!"

*****

Streets of Detroit

Meanwhile, back down on the streets, the carjacker drove on without the slightest suspicion that he was being followed. "He's headed south on 3rd Avenue." Prowl had his optics zoom in on the street corner sign as the car thief made yet another turn.

Bulkhead was to the east of the location with his group of police units and human officers. They have been driving in a near parallel direction of the auto thief incase they had to cut off any escape. "First thing I'm going to do when we get there is smash the conveyer belt." The comment was loud enough to be picked up on the radio frequency they were using.

"Easy there Bulkhead." Captain Fanzone radioed from his car about a block behind the stolen vehicle. "I know you're still ticked off about what happened to Bumble Bee." In all honesty the chief of police couldn't blame the talking SWAT car. "Don't worry, you'll get to take apart the shop alright, but only after we get these hoodlums behind bars."

"This may be it." Tense for the capture; Prowl gripped the top of the roof ledge as he recorded every movement below. The suspect had circled a particular building through the used of multiple turns and detours design to through any pursuers off. "He's coming up to a warehouse on the left."

"I see'em." Captain Fanzone was parked on the other side of the street, just out of sight. "This could be it boys." The burly policeman radioed his team as someone from inside the warehouse stepped out to meet with the carjacker. "All units, get ready to move in."

******

Chop Shop Entrance

A man about 5.8", wearing a black biker jacket over a red muscle shirt and black pants and boots had walked out of the marked chop shop after hearing his errand boy's honk. "A compact, Lance?" He spoke in a deep, amused voice as he eyed the little car.

"Hey it ain't the size that matters, Pete." Lance, swayed his way over to the hood of the compact car and opened it to show off a very well designed engine. "It's how well the parts are." Obviously the hot car was used in underground street races, for the engine had been modified with nitro booster fuel lines. "Bet ya fifty bucks this baby's gonna bring us that bonus we've…"

"BUMBLE BOT!!"

"What the…!!!"

The huge surge of electricity came flying out of nowhere; striking the small car and destroying it instantly in a fiery blaze. The explosion acted like an alarm and had the workers within running out and away from the warehouse. Captain Fanzone quickly called for his forces to move in for damage control. As the police moved in among the panicked auto thieves; Prowl stood in place on the roof completely bewildered. They had been so close; so close to putting an end to that dreaded organization. As he came out of his shock he heard a strange, high-pitched voice screaming insanely.

"Wasp not remember! Bumble bot destroyed!! Never forget!!"

As the ninja bot looked up at the rouge copter he caught sight of a Decepticon insignia. He could only grit his teeth when he recognized the fleeing helicopter. "He's back."