Ever since Mystery Inc. had come across the heroic Autobots, they have learnt so much from their new Cybertronian friends and vice versa. The Autobots also learnt much about what they do, and how they work as a team. It was interesting for the Autobots to learn about these 'supernatural phenomena' that the gang pursue and deal with, only to unmask them to reveal the spectres and monsters to be criminals or folks just trying to gain some finances to get away from the authorities.
TurboRacer had also been caught up to speed on some events that have transpired for the Autobots, and also got information regarding ranks of those like Breakdown, Knockout, Airachnid, even Blitzwing, and Starscream. He asked to Optimus regarding Megatron, and the Autobot leader reluctantly informed to his soldier that the Leader of the Decepticons was still functional, much to TurboRacer's annoyance.
~*~*~
Today, however, is a Saturday at the Autobot base. The tense of the week has settled down, though everyone was more than ready for anything that could happen. For now, everything seems calm.
Ratchet was down by the control station, Fred, Shaggy, Scooby, and the girls over by the human platform, each one of them either reading, checking the news on the TV, or even doing some light drawing to pass the time.
"Seems like today is gonna be a relaxing one." Fred said softly, not wanting to annoy Ratchet.
Velma was actually standing on the platforms nearby where Ratchet worked. She now looked over at the tunnel carved into the side of the mesa wall, that was occupied with an apparatus of ring structures.
"Ratchet, what exactly is that thing?" Velma asked to the gruff medic.
"It is known as a Groundbridge." Ratchet replied back nonchalantly.
"What's that, exactly?" Velma inquired with intrigue.
Ratchet vented a heavy sigh as he continued. "It is a scale down version of Spacebridge technology. Since we do not possess the means or the Energon required for intergalactic travel..."
"You're stuck here on Earth." Velma guessed.
"With the likes of you, yes." Ratchet replied. "But I engineered the Groundbridge to allow travel from here, to anywhere on this planet."
"Does it work for humans?" Velma queried.
"Naturally." Ratchet replied with a hint of pride.
"So, you can travel to any point across the globe in just seconds with this machine." Velma cupped her chin. "Wow, that's pretty cool and efficient."
"Indeed." Ratchet shrugged.
"I leave you guys for a few moments, and one of my new friends is now aligning herself with Ratchet?" TurboRacer joked, the others looking over to see the blue/black Autobot walking up from the hallway nearby. "Well, the world is freezing over." He joked.
"Like, anything going on?" Shaggy asked to his Autobot friend.
"So far, nothing out of the ordinary. I just checked up on our Energon storage, and it's looking somewhat alright." TurboRacer informed. He looked over to Ratchet with a serious expression. "We should be looking for more Energon deposits anywhere to help."
"TurboRacer, you know as well as I that finding enough Energon to keep our fellow Autobots going in the fight is vital." Ratchet said calmly though levelheadedly.
"I understand." TurboRacer nodded back.
Just then, a three-chime sound came from the main console, now getting everyone's attention. Ratchet now made his way over, and he checked what it was. It was Ironhide on the Comms, calling in from the state of Montana.
"Ironhide to base. Requesting a Groundbridge at my coordinates." Ironhide asked over Comms.
The gruff Autobot medic now made his way over to the groundbridge controls. He entered in the set of coordinates before he pulled down the lever. All of a sudden, the apparatus of ring structures sparkled to life with greenish-blue light. A few seconds later, a swirling portal took shape at the end of the tunnel.
"Zoinks." Shaggy commented in awe, along with the others about the Groundbridge.
A few moments later, the rumbling of an engine could be heard coming from the portal, and a red/grey rough pickup truck drove out of the portal, coming to a stop as the Groundbridge shuts down with a power-down sound.
"Found anything of use, Ironhide?" TurboRacer asked, the Wrecker now transforming into robot mode and stood before the others.
"Nothing so far. I didn't even find any Energon." Ironhide added with reluctance. "This is now getting frustrating for us."
"Guys, could you keep it down?" Daphne called out. Everyone looked to see she was by the TV. "Something is going on." She turned up the volume for everyone to hear.
Everyone looked at the screen. There looked to be a jewellery store that had its front window smashed in, and the title story read ''Ghost' Jewel Robbery', a major red flag for the gang.
"Latest reports have come in from the city of Evansville on the jewel robbery." The TV reporter began. "Police witnesses have been called in regarding the break-in, and have stated a 'T-Rex Ghost' was sighted in the area alongside two other ghosts. When they had disappeared, the jewellery had been stolen. It's the latest robbery in a line of many in town, and all law enforcement is calling upon anyone who can help."
"Like, a g-g-g-ghost T-Rex?" Shaggy stuttered in fear, he and Scooby not too happy about this.
"So, is this something you humans try and find?" Ironhide asked to them.
"Yeah. It's sort of our job in a way." Daphne clarified. "Still, this is something for us to solve and make sure nobody gets hurt out there."
"You five are really going out there to look for... 'ghosts'? Ridiculous in my opinion." Ratchet scoffed at this.
"Don't sell them short, Ratchet. When I found both Jazz and Wheeljack, the gang took care of a car theft ring and got the crooks arrested, the crooks scaring the car owners, and them selling the vehicles at higher prices to gain a buck over others." TurboRacer spoke up, Ratchet looking over at the Autobot with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, gang. Looks like we've got another mystery on our hands." Fred announced, he and the others now going over to the Mystery Machine.
"I'll go along with you." TurboRacer added in, the gang looking to him. "I may be an Autobot, but I'm also part of the team." He now turned to Ratchet with a nod. "Ratchet, set the coordinates for the outskirts of Evansville." He asked.
"Just be careful out there, all of you." Ratchet advised as TurboRacer transformed into vehicle mode.
The gruff Autobot medic now made his way over to the groundbridge controls. He entered in the set of coordinates before he pulled down the lever. The Groundbridge came to life with greenish-blue light. A few seconds later, a swirling portal took shape at the end of the tunnel. Once the bridge was online, both the Mystery Machine and TurboRacer drove into the portal.
~*~*~
Evansville, a city on the Ohio River in Indiana. Angel Mounds State Historic Site was home to prehistoric Native Americans, and has 12 earthen mounds, a museum and trails. Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden houses jaguars and tropical plants. Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science displays thousands of objects and has a planetarium. The Koch Family Children's Museum has play-based interactive exhibits.
On the outskirts of the city, a greenish-blue portal appeared out of nowhere, fortunately nobody seeing it. A second later, the Mystery Machine and TurboRacer drove out of the portal, as it closed behind them. The humans groaned a little, shaking their heads as they regained their equilibrium.
"Like, that felt weird." Shaggy shook his head.
"Reah..." Scooby sighed.
The gang drove along down the roads, eventually coming to a stop a block away from the incident. The gang got out of the van, and made their way over, now seeing an officer by the name of John standing by the premises.
"What are you kids doing out here?" John asked them.
"What happened here, officer?" Velma asked innocently. She and the rest of the gang were feigning not hearing the news and acting like this was all new.
"Some officers are reporting sightings of this ghost dinosaur with three ghosts around here." Officer John informed to them. "I think it's some practical joke or something."
"Are there any witnesses?" Fred asked.
"There's only been a handful, but they moved out of here." Officer John replied. "Now, best you kids get going."
After getting into the van, the gang drove away from the jewellery store and made their way along towards a mechanics shop nearby. However, the mechanic named Mac wasn't giving them anything.
"I don't know nothin' about ghost dinosaurs." Mac grunted, not answering any of the gang's questions.
"Pretty suspicious behaviour..." TurboRacer noted to himself.
"Now get outta here before I have y'all arrested for trespassin'." Mac threatened, the gang made their way back to the van, and they drove away before Mac can even get back at them.
The gang started to drive over to the hotel, TurboRacer also following alongside. However, TurboRacer noticed the gang weren't stopping by the hotel, and they drove along, heading off down to somewhere, until coming to a stop and hiding in the shadows.
"So, what's the plan now?" TurboRacer asked to his human friends.
"We'll wait until tonight, and we'll find out more about what's going on." Fred answered to the Autobot. "It's like a police stakeout situation."
"Oh, now I know." TurboRacer reminisced. "I did a lot of that back during the War for Cybertron, myself and a few others would be watching the Decepticons and be waiting for the opportunity to catch them in the act."
"Well, I guess this counts as the same thing, only we'll be catching a T-Rex and two other ghosts." Velma commented.
"Right. Let's get going." TurboRacer acknowledged.
A little later, the sun had gone down, and nightfall came. Once everything had gone silent, the gang were now making their way to the other jewellery stores to see what they could find inside or out. TurboRacer, meanwhile, he was waiting by the van, checking around the area to see if anything suspicious comes along.
However, as he does so, TurboRacer now picked up on what could be an Autobot energy profile, and it was nearby. So, he decided to go and take a look, driving along to go and see what it could be. He drove silently down the roads, eventually coming across a green, yellow, and red Ford Explorer SUV with the markings of 'Jurassic Park' on the hood and doors.
TurboRacer drove over to the SUV, his headlights now aimed at the vehicle. "Autobot, identify yourself." He spoke out. "I am TurboRacer, member of Team Prime."
A few moments go by in silence, then a masculine sigh emanated from the Ford Explorer vehicle. "You know, I never thought I'd ever see a fellow Autobot in forever." With that, the Ford Explorer began to break apart and started to transform into its robot mode, now standing before the blue muscle car.
The Autobot before him stood about 20ft tall, the chestplate being that of the Ford's front bumper, hood, bull-bars, and front fenders, the front wheels folded in, with the arms in dark grey and black. The back of the robot is formed from the roof of the vehicle mode. The front doors of the vehicle are sitting behind the shoulders of the robot, with the rear of the vehicle mode forming the legs, the feet looking boot-shaped in form, with the other wheels hidden from view. The helm has what can be sunglasses over the optics, a grey facial plate with green markings either side of his helm, and a helmet that's similar to a safari hat of sorts.
"What is your designation, Autobot?" TurboRacer asked, now shifting into robot mode. Fortunately, there was nobody around to see them in robot mode.
"I am known as Explorer." The safari Autobot now gave his designation to TurboRacer. "What brings you here?"
"I am here with a group of humans investigating the string of jewel store robberies that have occurred here in this city, as well as investigating the 'ghost dinosaur' that's been sighted." TurboRacer explained. "What about you?"
"I am here to track down this beast and bring her forth to justice." Explorer answered to TurboRacer.
"'Her'?" TurboRacer raised a metal eyebrow at this.
Suddenly, there was a loud thump, then silence. Again, another thump, then silence. The two Autobots looked over to what were large three-toe footprints in the ground, which had water in them, and as they do so, they were fine circled ripples in the water every time a thump was heard. It happened once, then a few seconds later, it happened again.
'That footprint must belong to the ghost dinosaur.' TurboRacer thought, then had another thought. 'Wait... How could a ghost have footprints? As far as I know from what the gang told me, ghosts don't leave footprints...?'
Then, a loud roar could be heard, getting the two Autobot's attention. They looked to one another and nodded sharply, Explorer pulling out a blaster which looks like a Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun, and the two now run off towards the noise.
"Run, Scooby!" Shaggy's voice called out, TurboRacer now sprinting forward as fast as he can to go save his friends. "Faster!"
"Split up, gang!" Fred's voice called.
TurboRacer leaped out into the street, now grabbing both Shaggy and Scooby off the street, and before something charged by them, TurboRacer performing a tuck-and-roll to dodge the attack. The three of them tumble for a little while until coming to a stop, just as the sound of gunfire could be heard, as well as the cackling of the ghosts.
"You two okay?" TurboRacer asked to Shaggy and Scooby, after putting the two down on their feet.
"Like, a lot better knowing you're here." Shaggy replied back with a shaky breath.
"What happened?" TurboRacer asked.
"Like, we went down to one of the stores that haven't been hit by the ghosts, and we found something rather important." Shaggy pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, showing it to TurboRacer. The Autobot zoomed his optics in on the paper, now seeing several markings and signatures on the paper. "Like, it's some kind of map."
"It's showing all the locations of jewellery stores and the locations they have already struck." TurboRacer noted, cupping his metal chin in thought.
"But then, that ghost dinosaur just appeared and attacked us, the other two ghosts chasing after Fred and the girls." Shaggy added in.
"I see." TurboRacer acknowledged with a nod.
"Turbo! Shaggy! Scooby!" Fred called out, he and the girls now running around a bend, coming to a stop by them. "There you are."
"Is everyone okay?" TurboRacer asked in concern.
"We've been better." Velma replied with a shaky voice. "Have you seen the ghost T-Rex?" She asked.
"No. I just came across another Autobot, who I believe has a vendetta against this dinosaur." TurboRacer then added in.
"Wait. There's another Autobot?" Fred now asked in surprise.
Explorer now made his way over, putting away his shotgun into his storage compartment. "I've lost the dinosaur. It managed to get away. I got it away from the store it and the other ghosts were trying to steal it." He told them, then saw the humans nearby. "So, these are the humans you and Team Prime work with?" He asked.
"Yes." TurboRacer nodded, then he looked at Explorer. "By the way, what's your story between you and the 'female' dinosaur, as you say?" He asked. That got the gang's attention. This dinosaur may be a Cybertronian and on top of that, it's female?
"Can you tell us?" Velma asked.
Explorer sighed, as he began to think back to his past. "It all started back on Cybertron, before the Great War. I never realised I was so good at using weapons, so I became an excellent marksman, and began to study about one's movements and how to anticipate their next move. Overtime, as war broke out, I began to work in a profession of bounty hunting. I set myself to incarcerate any Autobots who try and go against us, or even capture Decepticons that had gone against Megatron's commands. Whatever they offered me, I'll do the job, whether it be in upgrades, weapons, rescans, alternate modes, and other such components. I enjoyed my profession, and I rather enjoyed working behind enemy lines to gain information and bring in the enemy. However... one particular Decepticon would garner my attention and it would result in the conflict we have right now."
"Like, what happened?" Shaggy asked.
"The name of Decepticon is Tyrann. She worked as a miner, but she got into some of the wrong crowds, soon ending up catching the attention of Megatron and his lieutenants." Explorer explained to the humans and TurboRacer. "She underwent genetic reconfiguration by Shockwave, the mad scientist of the Decepticons, and she was given a bestial form. However, she had began working with the wrong crowds once again, and had been selling out secrets to the Autobots and even to Starscream, who had been attempting to assassinate Megatron. So, the Decepticon leader placed a bounty on Tyrann's helm so high, even I couldn't refuse. I went straight to Kaon to accept the bounty, and Megatron informed me I can make any request to the reward. With that in mind, I began to chase after Tyrann across Cybertron, each trap of mine being evaded, and she was able to get away, but for me to keep up with her. Eventually, the two of us chased one another off the planet and began to trek across the universe, Tyrann trying to lead me astray, only for the two of us to crash onto this planet, maybe millions of years ago, before humans ever existed."
"You must've crash-landed during the time of the dinosaurs, which is where Tyrann obtained her T-Rex mode." Velma took a guess.
"Yes. She took that form, renaming herself Tyrannocon, and the two of us still chased after one another across this planet, each one of us trying to take down the other. But eventually, the two of us had to go and hide underground when the meteor hit 65 million years ago." Explorer continued to explain. "After what felt like millennia, I found myself over in the region of what's called Costa Rica. I had to conceal myself as a vehicle, then stumbled upon this 'Jurassic Park' tour vehicle, so I scanned it and began to make my way to the North, tracking down Tyrannocon until she ended up around here in this region of the United States." He sighed. "Talk about something?"
"Wow." Was all Daphne could comment.
"Right. We need to think of a plan to catch that Decepticon and the two ghosts." Fred cupped his chin in thought.
"Explorer and I can handle Tyrannocon. You five will have to catch those two ghosts." TurboRacer plotted a plan. "Explorer and I will lure Tyrannocon away from the area, and towards an empty mine about a mile from the city, and from there, we can deal with her."
"Like, good idea. Lure the evil Decepticon dinosaur away from the area." Shaggy agreed quickly.
"Right. We have a plan in motion, now let's execute it." Fred nodded firmly.
~*~*~
The next evening, the gang were now setting up a trap inside of the next jewellery store, using a catapult, a large hunting net, high-strength springs, plus an empty van at the back doors, and a riot control firehose. The gang's have talked to the jewel shop owners, and have replaced the real jewels with fakes to fool the 'ghosts' and catch them in the act. TurboRacer and Explorer, meanwhile, they have been staking out the area in vehicle mode, waiting for the moment to intercept.
As everyone waited inside of the store behind the store counters and pillars, TurboRacer and Explorer waited patiently for the opportunity to intercept and strike. They soon saw an old truck roll up until stopping one store away from the jewellery store, the grumbling and roars of Tyrannocon being heard nearby, as well as the sounds of departing police sirens. Once the robbers were sneaking into the store, TurboRacer and Explorer both raced away, now intercepting Tyrannocon, who lets out a roar at them, showing off her 17ft tall, 45ft long, and 7 tonne-tall might.
"Remember the plan: wash off the paint, then take down the Decepticon." TurboRacer stated to Explorer.
Explorer shifts into robot mode, pulling out his shotgun blaster, and began to fire rounds at the Decepticon, Tyrannocon snarling and roaring back in response. TurboRacer pulled out the riot firehose, and turned it on, shooting a stream of water right at the Decepticon T-Rex, washing off the white paint to reveal the tanned scales underneath the white paint that washed off.
"Tyrannocon. Time to stand trial." Explorer announced.
TurboRacer and Explorer both charged forward, tackling down the T-Rex robot, all three tumbling helm-over-heel strut down the embankment until they all hit the ground with a thud. The two Autobots tumble away, from sight, as the T-Rex transformed into robot mode, standing tall and glaring with its red visor.
The Decepticon stands 30ft tall, the legs of the T-Rex bent around and looking human-like, the feet keeping Tyrannosaur-like, the chestplate in red and black, her left arm and hand formed from the tail section of the dinosaur, with the rest of the beast mode forming the back section, the head structure of the Rex being the right arm, now forming into a cannon. The helm is in black with a red visor, a mask forming over the nose and mouth, a set of vents on either side of the helm.
"Well, well. Looks like you managed to find me." Tyrannocon commented at Explorer, as if ignoring TurboRacer in the first place. "It took you this long to try and find me?"
"I've been hunting you down ever since the Great War began, Tyrannocon." Explorer grunted, now arming the shotgun blaster in his hands. "Now, it's time to rope you in."
The two let out yells, as they charged forward at one another, their footsteps echoed across the earth. Tyrannocon deployed a cannon inside of the T-Rex head, and she fired as quickly as she can at Explorer. But, Explorer redirected her firing arm, and shifted his own forearm into a blaster, attempting to return fire. Instead, Tyrannocon redirected Explorer's arm as well. Both opponents tried shooting one another, but the other redirected every attempt. Next, Explorer spun on his heel, and lifted his leg, intent to slam it into Tyrannocon's facial plate. The female Decepticon was quick to dodge back at the last second, then whipped forward and continued firing at Explorer. The hunter again redirected his movements several times. At that last second, TurboRacer leaped in, grabbed Tyrannocon by her cannon, pulled her towards him, then he drew back his fist, and punched Tyrannocon in the facial plate, sending the Decepticon flying straight into the rock wall, leaving an indent of her into the wall, Tyrannocon falling forward and hitting the ground with a thud.
"Nice shot there." Explorer commented, holstering his weapon and retracting his built-in cannon.
"Had to wait for the opportunity to strike." TurboRacer shrugged back, then he grabbed Tyrannocon by her back, dragging her over to Explorer. "What will you do with her?" He asked.
"That's my own business. You got yours. I'm no longer on the side of Autobots. I'm a free agent now." Explorer said back to him. "Good luck."
"You too, Autobot." TurboRacer now gave a two-finger salute, then he shifted into muscle car mode, and he drove off to meet back up with the gang, Explorer now dragging off the unconscious Tyrannocon away for his own business.
When TurboRacer drove up towards the jewellery store, he saw the 'ghosts' being that of Officer John and the mechanic Mac being the criminals, and the offical head of the Evansville P.D was present. The Autobot soldier listened carefully to the gang as they explained the plan. Officer John had paid some of his police force to be 'scared and run away' from the dinosaur, while John and Mac go and steal from the stores, framing criminals they already have incarcerated. John and Mac intended to leave the country with the stolen jewels so they could form new identities and get away from America, but they didn't count for the fake jewels to get them caught.
"So, if that is the case, where are all the stolen items?" The head of Evansville P.D asked the gang.
Shaggy and Scooby now opened the rear tailgate of Mac's truck open, and opened a hatch built into the truckbed, revealing a vault bolted into the frame. "Like, in the one place nobody would think to look." Shaggy revealed, Scooby tripping the lock with one of his claws, and opened it up to reveal the jewels inside.
"And what about the T-Rex ghost they had with them?" One officer asked, after getting the cuffs on both John and Mac.
"Actually, it wasn't a real ghost: just a robot with a hologram to try and scare the officers off." Velma shrugged innocently.
"And we would've gotten away with it, if it weren't for you meddling kids!" John yelled out as he and Mac were thrown away into the police van, which now drove away.
"Well, we can't thank you all for what you've done." The Evansville P.D leader thanked to the gang.
"It's the least we can do." Fred shrugged back.
A little later, the gang all got back to the Mystery Machine, just as TurboRacer drove over and shifted into robot mode, kneeling down next to them. Turbo smiled in relief when he saw his friends were alright.
"Like, what happened to Explorer?" Shaggy asked to TurboRacer.
"And where is Tyrannocon?" Velma asked next.
"Tyrannocon has been disabled and taken down. Explorer also left with the Decepticon in custody, but I don't know where." TurboRacer explained to his human friends, and he gently patted Scooby's head with one of his digits. "But I'm glad you all are alright."
"Let's get back to base and tell the others." Daphne offered, now climbing into the van with the others alongside her.
TurboRacer liked that idea, now shifting into vehicle mode. "Ratchet. It's TurboRacer. We're ready to come back to base." He called on Comms.
"Understood, TurboRacer. I'm bridging you back to base." Ratchet's voice replied back.
A few moments later, the greenish-blue Groundbridge portal appeared before the gang and TurboRacer, all of them now driving into the portal, then it closed as they entered, all of them heading back to the Autobot base.
~*~*~
When the coalition of Mystery Inc. and TurboRacer arrived base at the Autobot base, they explained about what had happened in Evansville, and how they came across the two Cybertronians, then went their separate ways.
"You all are fortunate to have TurboRacer handling the situation with Tyrannocon." Optimus said to the gang after they explained everything. "And congratulations on what you've done."
"It's the least we can do for those people." Fred shrugged.
"Also, it was kinda cool to see another Autobot." Velma added in.
"Like, I wonder who else could be out there?" Shaggy wondered as well.
TurboRacer then looked over to Optimus. "Do you think Explorer will go and deliver Tyrannocon to Megatron?" He asked to his mentor.
"There is a possibility he'll do such a thing, no doubt for the bounty that had been placed upon Tyrannocon during the war." Optimus acknowledged gravely. "One could only assume Explorer will do so just to obtain any kind of reward he deems worthy."
"Now I feel bad for her." Daphne muttered softly to herself. She then felt TurboRacer gently pat her back. "Was it wrong to do what we did?" She asked.
"Sometimes, we do what we must, even if it doesn't make any sense." TurboRacer replied calmly to the redhead, Daphne nodding back in understanding.