Divination

Thunder Mayhem is here!

Synopsis

Riding a bus back to Merida, Vroom is still incredulous at the revelation of this universe's Megatron. Metalhawk accuses the former Decepticon leader of being a coward, but Megatron grimly claims that he is a survivor. He may very well be the last "true" Decepticon in his universe, and in his eyes, he must stay alive to keep the Decepticon culture alive, though Metalhawk has his doubts...

Meanwhile, back on New Cybertron in the "Shatteredverse", Galvatron, Nova Prime, and Ultra Mammoth go over reports on potential renewed threats to the populace from Megatron and Rodimus. Grimlock, watching over the meeting, is greeted by the Acolytes of Unicron, having been requested by the Dinobot. Grimlock angrily demands that the three take him to see Gaea, despite their protests. At the core, Grimlock explains that he knows that Gaea had sent the humans to another dimension to keep them safe, and insists that they need them once more, believing that only with them can New Cybertron stay down the right path. Gaea, however, disagrees; while the humans helped prevent Grimlock's group of Cybertronians from heading down a dark path before, New Cybertron is, at last, coming to a proper balance; all that remains are a few straggling clouds. Gaea then explains that, in the universe she sent the humans to, Homo sapiens never evolved. The war for Cybertron continued without them, and having detected the planet's surface as barren, with few remaining Cybertronians left, she believed that they would be safe there... but this was not the case. Gaea explains to a shocked Grimlock that, in order to protect humanity, she sent the Autobot Pretenders with them, having been trained to be the guardians Earth needs by their previous experiences...

Back on this alternate Earth, Megatron tells the Autobots that, when the time comes, the Pretenders will need to be ready to protect humanity. Unfortunately, that time is now, as a laser blast strikes the bus, knocking it off of the overpass, falling into the Parque Zoologico de Merida and coming to a stop, precariously leaning over the gorilla exhibit. The Autobots, Spike, and Elizabeth help the other passengers get out the bus, as Megatron points towards the source of the blast, the thing he has been running from: the ultimate combiner, Thunder Mayhem! The Autobots shed their disguises to engage the massive Decepticon, leaving Spike and Elizabeth behind to help get out the remaining passengers. Unable to get through to the emergency services phonelines, Elizabeth calls the personal number of the detective from earlier. Meanwhile, Spike helps out the last few passengers; only two more are left on board, but as Spike tries to help them get off, the bus finally falls into the gorilla exhibit. The three begin to plummet to the ground... only for Garry the Gorilla to leap to their rescue, much to the shock of Spike!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"I believe this is an abyssal mode of transportation for a leader of the Autobots to be able to secure."
"... I've only been at the travel agency for a few weeks... transportation perks kick in at six months."

—Megatron and Metalhawk discuss the perks of riding on a bus.

Notes

• Characters mentioned include: the police detective.

Continuity notes

• We check in on the Shattered Glass universe after the events of the "Another Light" storyline; the combined Shattered Glass Decepticon/Autobot populace of New Cybertron/Gaea, the reformed Nova Prime, and the Acolytes of Unicron were all introduced there. Classics Megatron was last seen surveying New Cybertron in "The Future Buried...", while Rodimus fled after the destruction of the evil incarnation of Primus.
• Grimlock notes how humanity has often brought out the best of Autobots like Ultra Mammoth; in the latter half of the Marvel The Transformers comic, Optimus Prime's decision to crashland the Ark on Earth four million years ago and inadvertently bring humanity into the war weight heavily on the Autobot leader, pushing him to defend the planet from any and all threats.
• Gaea recounts how she sent the humanity to the Of Masters of Mayhem universe, as seen in "The Future Buried...".

Transformers references

• Megatron and his Decepticons have taken up residence in New Kaon, named after both the polity introduced in the Dreamwave Productions The War Within mini-series, and the new home planet of the Decepticons seen in the IDW Publishing Animated comic, The Arrival.
• Rodimus has been reported to have been seen in the Skuxxoid Cluster; the Skuxxoid was an alien of the same race seen a few times in the third season of the Sunbow The Transformers cartoon. Galvatron notes they're known as "Bastion of Beauticians"; in the positive-universe, Skuxxoids are considered quite ugly.
• In her form as "New Cybertron", Gaea's face has taken up place in the center of the planet, drawn to resemble how the sleeping Primus' face was depicted in the Marvel The Transformers comic.
• Elizabeth states that she can't get through to "113" in reference to the emergency services. In the real world at the time, the emergency service number for Mexico was switching from "066" to "911"; it would appear that "113" is in reference to how Transformers writer James Roberts uses the number throughout his work, after the first issue of the Marvel UK The Transformers comic that got him hooked on the franchise.

Other trivia

• The sole Spanish phrase in this issue is "la policia", which means "the police".

Errors

• On the second page, part of Grimlock's dialogue is mis-emphasised as "they are".