Multiverse with the Ultimatrix

Chapter 264: The Clash (1)

James looked at Megatron. His eyes went down to the human-sized figures. 

James thought why are they there. "Is that, Yuuki? And Tsunoda and Miura?" he questioned. He thought it was first Drowned, then Aladdin and Reiner and now them. 

Rei and Saeko looked at them. Their eyes widened. They knew those faces from the halls of Kuoh Academy, but something was horribly wrong. 

"It is them," Saeko said as her thumb flicked the hilt of her katana.

“Why are they here?” Rei questioned. “And how did they get here?” she asked.  

James looked at the man standing beside them. "And that’s Marcel," James muttered. He thought if Marcel is here the Reiner could also be around. He thought who else is here. 

“Do you know him?” Jasmine asked as she looked at them. 

“No not personally, but he can transform into a titan,” James replied. 

“Titan?” Lancer questioned. 

“So he must be strong,” Musubi said as she pumped her fist. 

“He can be dangerous,” James added. “We need to be a bit more careful,” he said. 

“We are always,” Lois responded. 

Lefi nodded. “He wears the skin of a man, he is not human. A Great Beast slumbers within his blood,” she said. 

Lennox saw the Decepticons  raising their weapons. He raised his rifle. “"They’re coming! Brace yourselves,” he shouted. 

“What shall we do?” Rei asked. 

“We fight and beat them,” James responded. “If we capture them alive, we can question them,” he added. He opened the Ultimatrix faceplate. He saw the silhouette of a large muscular man with a big chest. He had a double-bladed scythe on his back. He had a long clock. He slammed down the faceplate. 

His body was engulfed in a brilliant, pulsating light. The air crackled with energy. James' body distorted. In a surge of radiant energy, James` features reshape.His hair changed to silver. It was wild and long. His eyes turned to red and glowed like coals in shadow. His face was sharp, sculpted, with a small scar beneath one eye. Across his chest, a black leather harness secured a massive double-bladed scythe to his back.  A strange heart-shaped tattoo pulsed just above his abdomen, glowing faintly with an inner light. His bare torso revealed a slim but defined musculature. He wore long black gloves stretched up both arms, etched with alien glyphs. He also had sleek black shorts reinforced with red armored plating, secured by a belt with a glowing red heart-shaped buckle. His tall combat boots reached to his knees, secured with blood-red wires. He had a clock which was deep black. The Ultimatrix symbol appeared on his upper chest. “Death,” Death said. 

"So he did have a trick up his sleeve," Moonracer chirped as her optics widened as she recalibrated her scanners to the new energy signature.

"He is not as useless as he seems," Elita-1 added with a rare, sharp smile. "In fact, he looks almost formidable,” she said.

The soldiers, however, were less composed. Epps shielded his eyes. "What the hell was that light? My NVGs just fried,” he asked. 

"He changed," Donnelly remarked. His jaw hung down as he stared at the silver-haired reaper. "He just turned into a ghost," he added. 

"Another alien?" Lennox questioned. "Is that a transformation or an illusion?" he asked.

Firestar glanced down at Lois. "Lois, was this the power you mentioned before? This shifting?" she asked. 

"That’s only the start," Lois replied. Her eyes were fixed on James with a mix of pride and lust. "He has forms for every occasion. He even has one that looks like you, Firestar," she added.

Rei was practically dazed. He looks.handsome," she murmured.

Jasmine looked at the weapon. "Look at the size of that weapon,” she remarked. 

“We should focus,” Saeko said as she looked at the Deceptions raising their weapons. 

"You are right, Saeko," Death said. He had a predatory smile  on his face. "Now, let’s reap,” he added as he sprinted directly towards Megatron.

"I am with you," Musubi cried. She launched herself into the sky, performing a perfect, high-speed somersault over the front line to descend like a meteor. 

"Wait! We must wait for Optimus," Ratchet shouted. 

"No, the kid's right,” Ironhide countered. “We must push through. We’re surrounded," he added.  Ironhide countered. His dual cannons hummed as he sprinted forward. Each heavy footfall shattered the asphalt beneath him. Beside him, Bumblebee moved forward. 

"Astro-Magnum Particle Beam," Shockwave said as His massive right arm cannon hummed with a terrifying, high-pitched whine. The gunmetal barrel erupted in an intense violet glare. A concentrated beam of pure thermal energy went through the air. He aimed directly at the heart of the charging group.

"Move," Elita-1 shouted as she was prepared to dive.

"Killing Cut,” Death roared as he swung his massive double-bladed scythe in a vertical arc. The blade met the particle beam head-on and sliced the thermal attack in half. The diverted energy struck the ground on either side, triggering a massive explosion that engulfed the street in fire and soot.

"James," Sam screamed as he shielded his face from the heat. He had the All-Spark in his hands. 

The smoke was still thick when four shadows tore through it. Death, Musubi, Ironhide, and Bumblebee emerged unscathed.

"They'll be fine," Lois said. She leveled her M4W as her finger squeezed the trigger. She unleashed a relentless hail of high-velocity rounds at Blackout. The glowing bullets peppered the giant’s chest and blew a reinforced panel clean off his torso.

"Rotor Blade Cleave," Blackout hissed. The massive helicopter blades on his back detached and spun toward the group like a jagged, horizontal guillotine.

"Get out of the way,” Moonracer yelled. Greenlight, Jazz, and Lancer leaped in different directions just as the blades whistled through the space they had occupied a second before. Rei and Jasmine also jumped out of the way. They both landed on their feet. The blade sliced a parked car in half as if it were made of butter.

"That's enough out of you," Ironhide growled as he skidded to a halt and pivoted his heavy frame. "High-Output Discharge," he added as his cylindrical cannons spun with a mechanical roar. It started to vent superheated steam before spitting twin bolts of brilliant blue plasma.

Blackout lurched to the side. The plasma bolts missed his head by inches and slammed into the office building behind him. The structure groaned and collapsed. It threw up a massive cloud of grit.

"We need to isolate him," Lancer commanded. Her optics were fixed on the helicopter-giant.

"I'm with you," Greenlight replied. "Veridian Siege-Pulse," she added as her dual arm-cannons hummed with a low, vibrating thrum before launching two heavy spheres of emerald energy.

Blackout tried to step clear, but he was too slow. The pulse clipped his right side. There was an explosion which sheared his shoulder armor away.

"Aegis Overrun," Lancer bellowed. She put her head down and charged forward. She tackled Blackout with the force of a freight train and drove the massive Decepticon backward into the ruins of the building. Ironhide and Greenlight were right on her heels.

“They have the right idea, we have the numbers," Elita-1 shouted. Her pink optics glowed. "Isolate them. Don't let their heavy hitters group up," she added. 

Megatron let out a guttural roar. He charged forward "We are the Decepticons. You are nothing," he shouted. He ripped a sedan from the pavement and hurled forward. 

Musubi didn't flinch. She leaped into the air and twisted her body. She delivered a powerful mid-air kick to the flying car. The metal buckled under her strength, and the vehicle sent spinning harmlessly away. 

Death leaped into the air. He swung his massive scythe in a wide arc. Megatron roared and swung his massive metallic fist to meet the blade. The collision of the scythe and the Decepticon’s knuckles created a localised shockwave that shattered the surrounding windows. Death smiled at Megatron. 

Bumblebee then swept in from the right  and tackled Megatron’s knees. 

Megatron was pushed into the building. The building windows shattered from the force of the impact. 

"Lord Megatron!" Brawl bellowed as he turned his massive turret. "120mm Tungsten Slug," he added as the smoothbore cannon on his right arm barked with a deafening boom. A single, devastating kinetic round tore through the air and screamed towards Death, Musubi, and Bumblebee.

"Killing Slay," Death growled. He pivoted on one heel and swung his double-bladed scythe in a horizontal sweep. A flash of silver light cleaved the air and sliced the shell clean in half mid-flight. The two halves detonated behind them and created a towering wall of smoke.

Bumblebee didn't wait for the smoke to clear. "You are annoying," he chirped through his radio. He sprinted toward the olive-drab tank. Brawl unleashed his machine guns. The street erupted in sparks, but Bumblebee slid and tumbled. He dodged every round.

From the flank, Lois ran forward and her M4W rifle held steady. She squeezed the trigger, and the rounds went through the air. It pierced Brawl’s heavy chest plating and forced the giant to stagger. Bumblebee closed the distance and delivered a rocket-boosted punch that lifted Brawl off his treads and sent him crashing into the next street.

“We got him,” Lois said as jumped after them. 

“I am behind you,” Ratchet added as he jumped forward.  

Death thought she was crazy and tough. He thought this was a battle. 

Megatron snarled as he forced himself back up, but Musubi was already there. She leaped and tucked her knees and slammed both feet into his torso. Megatron’s optics widened in shock as his armor buckled. Before he could recover, she followed up with a snapping kick to his chin.

The Decepticon leader stumbled back. "Who are you?" he demanded as he stared at the small girl who landed perfectly on her feet.

"Number 88, Musubi Everheart," she declared as her chest heaved with pride.

"Number?" Megatron hissed.

Before he could respond, a shadow raced across the plaza. A Megajet, a dark, predatory variant of an SR-71 Blackbird sliced through the air. Its needle-like silhouette dipped its nose and unleashed a rain of high-caliber rounds.

"Finally, air support," Epps cheered.

"Get down,” Death shouted as his instincts screamed. He grabbed Musubi and pulled her into a roll just as the bullets tore into the ground where they had been standing.

"Why is he attacking us?” Epps screamed as he dived behind a concrete pillar. Donnely jumped and ducked down with Epps. 

“I don't know,” Donnely replied.  

Elita-1 raised her sleek pink rifle and aimed down the sights. "They are not on our side," she stated. She squeezed the trigger and sent a volley of laser bolts into the sky to intercept the jet. The Megajet flew forward.

Then, the ground began to groan as a Gigatank rumbled forward. It was a multi-tracked fortress of cerulean armor. Its colossal primary cannon swiveled and locked onto the military convoy.

Lennox looked at the tank. "Everyone out. Move," Lennox roared. 

The Gigatank fired. The shell shrieked through the air and slammed into a transport vehicle. There was an explosion which tossed soldiers like ragdolls. Sam and Rachael were sent back as well.

Lefi looked unphased as the soldiers went tumbling back. Rei stood behind Lefi. "They're coming from everywhere," Rei said. 

"Push them back," Elita-1 commanded. "Elysian Pulse," she said as her forearm plate retracted to reveal a glowing purple cannon. A beam of brilliant pink energy blasted forward and struck the Gigatank’s reinforced glacis plate.

"Lunar Ricochet," Moonracer added as she drew her high-velocity rifle. She fired a single glowing round that skipped off the pavement and struck a weak point in the tank's tread.

The Gigatank groaned under the dual assault and pushed the massive cerulean fortress backward. 

"This is insane!" Epps shouted as he craned his neck to look up at the towering metal giants.

Sam and Rachael scrambled over to join them. Epps looked at them in disbelief. "What are you two still doing here?" he asked.

"I don't know," Sam yelled back over the gunfire. "I just wanted a new car, and now I’m in the middle of a warzone,” he added as he had the AllSpark.

"Where is our air support?" Lennox roared as he emptied his magazine at Goddess Bludgeon. The bullets sparked uselessly against the Decepticon’s heavy armor.

"I'm checking,” Donnelly replied as he pulled his radio from his vest. "Delta 01 to Command! We are under heavy fire and need immediate air support at the plaza. How copy?" he said.

The radio crackled to life through the static. "Delta 01, this is General Morshower. Sit tight, Captain. Air support is inbound," he responded. 

Epps let out a breath of relief, checking his ammo. "Finally. Some backup of our own," he said. 

High in the sky, the scream of jet engines cut through the smoke-choked sky as a flight of F-22 Raptors roared over the skyscrapers. Inside the lead cockpit, Pilot 1 adjusted his flight stick. His HUD was locking onto the massive mechanical signatures below.

"Raptor 01 to Ground Control, we have eyes on the hot zone," Pilot 1 said. "Targeting the hostiles in the plaza. Weapons hot,” he added. 

"I’ve got a lock on the big one in the center. Paveway missiles away in five, four,” the second pilot added. 

Suddenly, a massive heat signature flared on their radar. Another F-22 pulled into their formation with impossible speed. Its airframe was shimmering with a strange, violet energy.

"Whoa, whoa! Raptor 01, we’ve got a bird on our six," one shouted. 

"Who the hell is that? He’s not on the flight manifest,” Pilot 1 said. He looked at the F-22 Raptor identical to theirs, but the insignias were wrong. "Identify yourself. You are in restricted airspace,” he added.