3RD MAY 2016
LAGOS, NIGERIA
"Ground Floor, game time! What do you see?"
Braedey, now as Dreadwing, who's standing on one of the tall buildings in Lagos, told Kate Bishop, who was at a cafe in disguise as the two are currently in Lagos, following a lead on Rumlow, who's now going by the designation of Crossbones. Their mission, courtesy of SHIELD, is to capture or terminate Crossbones, as he is a ex-HYDRA operative. And the bad news was, they aren't the only ones after Rumlow.
"Standard beat cops. Small station." Kate answered as she took a sip from her drink. "Oh, looks like Wanda and your least favourite Avenger are here as well. You think they're here for Rumlow as well?" She asked.
"Romanoff." Dreadwing grits his denta in anger. "Maybe, but it's paramount we get to him first, Kate. Romanoff is expendable."
"Wow, somebody really does hate her." Kate reacted as she spotted Romanoff speaking to Wanda. "See that Ranger over there?"
"Yeah, that's our ride out to the extraction point once we have Rumlow." Transformer then switched Comms to US Command where the operation's being overseen by Everest Ross. "Looks quiet out here, Charlie 2. Rumlow could be here any minute."
"Copy that, Blue Angel. Extraction plane's standing by, you're green to go." Everest Ross told Transfomer, confident that he"ll get the mission done. "Stay sharp."
"Roger that." Dreadwing said as he taps the Infinitrix symbol, turning into a 30ft tall Decepticon with a black paintjob with purple highlights. It has a blank screen for a face and the Transformatrix symbol on his chest.
Soundwave now patched into the Avengers' communications grid, so he can now listen into their conversations.
"Eyes on target, folks. It's the best lead we have on Rumlow in 6 months. I don't want to lose him." Steve told the team, unaware that their comms have been hacked by their former teammate.
"If he sees us coming there won't be a problem, he kind of hates us." Sam Wilson commented with a chuckle.
Soundwave then noticed a large maroon truck filled with garbage as it's beeping and bumping into market stalls, causing the people to yell at the driver in anger. "Laserbreak, eject. Operation: Truck Inspection." An eagle-like drone now ejected from Soundwave's body and it now started to fly towards the truck, Laserbreak flying above it as Redwing flew below the truck.
"That truck's loaded at max weight, and the driver's armed." Sam reported to the other Avengers.
"It's a battering ram." Natasha muttered as Sam notices something on his new gauntlet, telling him that there's a breach in their communications. "Guys, we've got a problem. Someone's piggybacking our comms, it's alien."
"You're right. You guys seriously need to work on your comms" security." Soundwave said in Braedey, then realised what it now meant. Transformer's and Kate's cover was blown. "Kate, GO!!"
Kate immediately grabbed her bow and arrow and fired a flashbang arrow to cover her escape as Soundwave jumped off the building transforming into a dark purple MQ-9 Reaper drone whilst in free fall before flying after the truck.
"Switch comm channels. New plan, stop Transformer before he kills Rumlow." Steve told the Avengers. Wanda was surprised that Braedey is in town as well. And knowing Transformer, he's up to something that the Avengers don't.
The Reaper drone then ascended to 3,000ft as it continued to follow the truck. "Charlie Two Actual, we're blown!! The Avengers know we're here now!"
"Stay on the mission, Autobot. Not our choice." Ross advised to Transformer. "Don't let the Avengers stop you and Kate from getting Rumlow."
"Copy that, Bishop. Stay on mission. I'll provide overwatch." Soundwave told the one in charge. "Now, where you going, Rumlow?"
~*~*~
Rumlow's target was none other than the Institute of Infectious Diseases. As Kate arrives on the scene, she jumped out of the ranger, executing a perfect forward roll before shooting one mercenary, then double kicked two in the face at the same time. Kate next fired an arrow the second mercenary before dodging an attack from a third mercenary. Kate elbowed the mercenary in the face, flip-kicked him and shot him in the shoulder.
"Can't touch this." Kate said with a smirk as she fired a shock arrow at the fourth mercenary without even looking. Kate looked at the downed mercenaries who continue to groan out in pain. "Nice to meet you, bad guys. I'm the new Hawkeye."
Kate then fired a grapping arrow at the building next door. "Later." Kate smirked as she grappled up to the roof. "Soundwave, four hostiles down. I count seven hostiles posted outside in the courtyard."
"Slow down, Bella. Wouldn't steal all the glory, would we?" Transformer told Kate as she now spotted the Mercenaries still outside.
"If you can do that, then so can I." Kate pointed out as Captain America arrived via Falcon as he slammed his shield into one and then double kicked another. Kate then took out a mercenary who was sneaking up on Captain America. "That's five for me. Suck it, blue."
Falcon then dealt with two more mercenaries on the balcony as Wanda then swooped in. One of Rumlow's men started firing at Wanda as she created a shield to protect herself.
Wanda grabbed the mercenary with her magic before calling Sam who then took out the soldier with his wings. Redwing swooped in and scanned the interior of the building for Rumlow, and the drone found him easily.
"Rumlow's on the third floor." Sam told Steve who got ready to jump into the building with Wanda's assistance.
"Wanda, just like we practiced." Steve said.
"What about the gas?" Wanda asked.
"Get it out." Steve replied before Wanda used her powers to lift Steve up into the building and directed him into the third floor of the building.
From her position, Kate was impressed by Wanda"s skills. She had heard good things from Braedey about Wanda; she would tell the shapeshifter later, once the two were clear from danger.
Sam turned around and provided cover for Wanda as she used her magic to draw the gas out of the building. Kate shot an arrow at one of the men, taking him out of the fight. The other three turned and started firing at her position.
"Three targets bunched together in the open. Danger close. Requesting precision strike." Kate shouted through her Comms to Soundwave.
"Copy, Hitman 0-2, missile away. Danger close. Four seconds." Soundwave answered as the Reaper drone fired a rocket, causing a big explosion that took out the three mercenaries all at once. "Good kill."
Wanda, meanwhile, had gotten all of the gas out of the building and sent it ascending up into the sky, dispersing it harmlessly in the atmosphere.
"Rumlow has a biological weapon." Steve now said on the Comms, unaware that Transformer was still piggybacking off the Avengers' communications.
"Oh, crap! Autobot to Charlie 2 Actual. Rumlow has a bioweapon. Repeat, bioweapon in play." Transformer told Everest, the situation was now very serious, now that an unknown biological weapon was now in play.
"Copy. New objective: retrieve the bioweapon by any means necessary. Forget Rumlow, the bioweapon is now our main priority." Everest gave the two young heroes their new objective.
"Copy that. Rumlow and his remaining troops are heading for their getaway truck. I'll handle them." Soundwave said as he quickly descended back towards the ground.
~*~*~
As Natasha raced in on a motorbike and started to fight Rumlow's men, Transformer swoops in and transformed into a 20ft Autobot, with a dark yellow, silvery grey, and black colour scheme, with a broad body shape and design, with tank treads built into the upper and lower arms, whilst what could be described as parts of a large bucket scoop could be seen making up the lower legs and feet. The cab of the vehicle mode was built into the lower section of the chest and abdomen, whilst the helm has the shape at best to look like that of a mining helmet with a single light in the centre, while having a Bumblebee-like facial plate. The Transformatrix insignia was placed In the centre of the chest.
"EarthMuncher!" The Autobot began to cause havoc for Rumlow's men, grabbing another truck and threw it into a group of soldiers, taking them out. Rumlow's men start shooting at EarthMuncher, as he started drilling into the ground, the bullets bouncing off the armour, leaving practically no damage.
Natasha meanwhile tried to use Widow's Bite on Rumlow, but it doesn't do anything to the former SHIELD agent. "That don't work on me no more!"
The two were suddenly thrown off the truck as it was thrown away at the remaining soldiers who hadn't gotten in the escape vehicle, courtesy of EarthMuncher as he drilled underneath them.
Natasha got up to see it's only Transformer. "New one?" Natasha asked.
"Yeah, got to keep things fresh for Facebook, Twitter and YouTube." Transformer nodded his helm as he then spotted Rumlow getting into the getaway vehicle as it then sped off. "Race you to Crossbones!" He then shouted as he turns into Bumblebee and drove off after Rumlow.
"You're on, kid." Natasha smirked. Deep inside, she was happy that the robot shapeshifter was now on their side, and that this is the beginning of their friendship, the hatred now forgotten.
If only she knew better.
~*~*~
Transformer was still in pursuit of the humvee as it was heading north, heading straight for a marketplace. Bumblebee shifted into Freezerburn and freezes the front tyres before them, causing the vehicle to crash outside the market. As the Autobot landed on the roof of one of the huts, Freezerburn turned back into Braedey who spotted the mercenaries attempting to lose the Avengers in the crowd.
"All units. I've got four mercs, they're splitting up." Braedey reported on the comms.
"I got the two on the left." Natasha said.
"I have the two on the right." Sam told Braedey as the shapeshifter raced Romanoff to get the two.
Though he was adapted in multiple forms, Braedey could still defend himself as he leaped up onto one of the mercenaries, taking him to the ground before punching him in the face. The other mercenary pointed his gun at the teenager before Natasha intervened, giving him kicks and punches as two worked together to take out the mercenaries.
Braedey now formed his newest armour made by Shuri. It is an advanced Wakandan tri-weave bodysuit with responsive shock absorption for stronger counter-attacks, and liquid body armour layer for increased flexibility.
Transformer immediately grabbed the first mercenary's right arm with a knife in his hand, as Transformer caused him to stab himself in the arm before elbowing him in the face. Natasha spun around to face Transformer, ready to switch dance partners, but gets caught off guard as Transformer punched Natasha in the face twice before slamming her head into the ground. He then grabbed the second mercenary and threw him through a wall, knocking him out.
Transformer looked at his groaning or unconscious opponents, then used the new and improved detective work to locate the bioweapon; it'a in the first mercenary's pocket as he then retrieved it. "Autobot to Charlie 2 Actual, bioweapon secured."
"Good work, Chimera. Now find Bishop and rally up at the extraction point. Let's get you two home." Everest said.
Transformer threw two flashbang smoke grenades in front of him, covering his escape as he raced to the road where Kate was waiting for him in the red Ranger.
Transformer jumped in as Kate floored the accelerator, now heading off for Murtala Muhammed International Airport, where their ride out of Africa, a C-17 Globemaster III, was waiting for them.
The two young heroes have struck like thunder, and disappeared like smoke.
~*~*~
Soon, a C-17 Globemaster III is flying over the Atlantic Ocean, now heading back to the United States of America with Braedey and Kate onboard, the two now resting their first successful mission together. After the biological weapon was secured, Braedey was given the okay to study it before it was destroyed safely.
"Question..." Kate asked to Braedey who had Shockwave's head, and had been studying the bioweapon. "What kind of bioweapon is that?"
Braedey looked at the biological weapon before turning to Kate. "This biological weapon is a airborne variant. If it shattered open contact with the ground, it would cause the human body to shut down in 12 seconds. The human subject would then reanimated into a living monster that would be filled with only two purposes, to feed and to infect others. It is purely logical."
Kate looked at the robot shapeshifter in shock. "So what you're saying is it turns people into zombies?!" She asked.
"Correct, much the ones from World War Z. Seen the film, but I've seen worse." Braedey agreed as he turned back to normal, before taking a seat to the side. Kate joins up with Braedey as she sits next to him.
"We make one hell of a team out there, Braedey. I just wish we get to do this more." Kate smiled at Braedey as he looked ahead, unsure of what will happen next after the Avengers discover the unconscious form of Natasha. This was beginning of the road to all-out war.
"Yeah, we will, soon. Loads more. I'm putting together a new team. A team of young heroes who want to a name in the superhero gig. You and Peter Parker are the first of recruits. Phase one." Braedey said to Kate. "But after what has happened in Lagos, it's time for Phase Two."
"Phase two?" Kate asked in confusion.
"Increasing our roster. Three of us aren't enough. I need to bring us together to save the world. We gonna need more heroes, and a base of operations." Braedey told Kate who starts to think for a few seconds.
"Well, you're good friends with both Clint and Tony. Clint and I can go and search for anymore young heroes who want to make a real difference." Kate said to the boy. "And you can get Tony to set you up somewhere."
"But where, my home turf in Seattle. Or maybe Carolina?"
Their conversation was then interrupted as one of the pilots came down. "Hey, you two. Get up here, you've got to see this."
Braedey and Kate looked at each other, realising what this could mean. Trouble. The two young heroes quickly headed up to the cockpit where the co-pilot had his tablet out, and was playing the news. The headline read this;
AVENGERS INDICTMENT?
World reaction to violence
"A tragedy was averted earlier during a clash between the Avengers and a group of mercenaries when Pietro Maximoff AKA Quicksilver risked his own life to ensure a bomb strapped vest detonated at a safe distance. 24 people escaped with minor injuries."
"However, the situation would've been way worse if not for the intervention of Transformer and Kate Bishop as a biological weapon that could've caused an apocalypse was also in play. The Wakandan King was very grateful and praised the heroic efforts of both Transformer and Kate Bishop."
The scene shifted to T'Chaka standing behind a UN podium.
"On behalf of Wakanda, I humbly give thanks to Kate Bishop and Transformer, who have once again put themselves at risk to save so many innocent lives. Victory at the expense of the innocent is no victory at all, and I am glad to see these two young heroes were mindful of this fact. Our people's thoughts and prayers are with Transformer and Kate Bishop, who we give our out most appreciation and gratitude. May the great Bast grant the two a bright future.... Wakanda is forever in their debt."
Braedey and Kate smiled at each other; the two felt grateful for T'Chaka's praise as they were both making a difference. Unfortunately, the happy moment was ruined by the next report.
"This, however, has increased tensions between the Avengers and Transformer as Black Widow was attacked by Transformer during the fight. This follows after Transformer's resignation from the team last year after the Battle of Sokovia, as the sightings of the robot-in-disguise skyrocketed around the world in the period of a year. If tensions do not cease, we maybe locking at a potential conflict between the Avengers and one of their own."
Kate and Braedey were now stunned by the news, not with the news of Black Widow's attack now out there. The Avengers were now under more pressure after Lagos, and tensions were now very high between the Avengers and Transformer.
War is now all but imminent. All it takes is for someone to pull the trigger.