Sunshine State. Miami.
WHOOSH.
A sonic boom tore through the clouds above the Atlantic coast, followed by four smaller echoes.
Nathan throttled back his engines. Below him, the city of Miami glittered like a circuit board of gold and neon.
Three hours from Nevada to Florida, he noted. Not bad for a Mach 1 cruise.
He checked his energy levels.
[ ENERGY: 84% ]
Flying cloaked burns fuel. 1% drain for the flight, 1% for the stealth field.
He was currently invisible. Not to radar—his mass was still there—but to the naked eye. His Cybertronian Jet Mode came with an integrated Optical Camouflage suite. It bent light around his fuselage, making him a shimmer in the sky.
It wasn't perfect. A keen eye or a thermal sensor could spot the distortion. But for flying at night? It was a ghost mode.
Time to land.
He scanned the outskirts.
[ TARGET ACQUIRED: ABANDONED INDUSTRIAL ZONE ]
...
Aiken Chemical Plant.
The factory had been dead for decades. Rust ate at the iron girders; vines choked the smokestacks.
CRASH.
The roof of the main warehouse shattered inward.
Nathan dropped from the sky, shifting mid-fall. He slammed onto the concrete floor in robot mode, his optical camouflage flickering off.
The air shimmered, and a nine-meter-tall giant of black steel materialized from nothing.
CLANG. THUD. THUD.
Seconds later, E-13, E-14, E-15, and E-16 crashed down around him, kicking up clouds of dust and debris.
"Cough..." E-13 waved a hand through the dust.
"Outside," Nathan ordered.
He led them into the overgrown courtyard. The factory was a perfect hideout—isolated, dilapidated, and ignored by the city.
"Listen up," Nathan said, turning to his squad.
The four clones snapped to attention. They were still terrified from the earlier beating.
"This is our Forward Operating Base. We hold this position until further orders."
"Yes, sir!"
Nathan paced in front of them.
"Rule Number One: Stealth."
"We are in enemy territory. Humans are weak, but they have numbers. And they have nukes."
He pointed a finger at E-13.
"If any human sees you... if you are spotted on a camera... if you so much as dent a car without my permission..."
Nathan leaned in, his red optics glowing.
"I won't report you to Starscream. I will rip your Energy Core out of your chest and feed it to the sharks."
The clones shivered.
"Understood, sir! Absolute stealth!"
"Good."
Nathan looked around the rusty chemical tanks.
Why Miami?
It wasn't just for the view.
Proximity to the ocean. If things went south, he could disappear into the Atlantic.
Proximity to the border. He could flee to Cuba or South America if Sector 7 heat got too high.
And most importantly...
Scalpel's map.
The spider ship signal was weak, but it pointed generally southeast.
If Blackarachnia crashed anywhere, it was likely in the swamps or the ocean.
But first, he had a job to do for Starscream. Or at least, he had to pretend to do it.
"E-13, E-14. You take the night watch. Monitor local radio frequencies. Look for keywords: 'Giant Robot,' 'Meteor Crash,' 'NBE-1.'"
"Yes, sir."
"E-15, E-16. Scout the perimeter. Stay in vehicle mode. Do not engage."
"Yes, sir."
Nathan watched them scatter.
Now that the kids are busy...
He walked into the main warehouse and found a secluded corner.
Time to do some real research.
He activated his internal comms, not to call Starscream, but to scan the local internet.
I need to find Hoover Dam's schematics. And I need to know where Sam Witwicky is.
If he could find the boy, he could find the glasses. And the glasses led to the AllSpark.
[ ACCESSING WORLD WIDE WEB... ]
[ SEARCH QUERY: CAPTAIN ARCHIBALD WITWICKY ]