A Flash Forward, Part 4

Pyro and crew attempt to find Hi-Q, but end up prisoners on an unusual planetoid.

Synopsis

On the planetoid of Qre, where Jhiaxus has set up operations, Runamuck, Runabout, and Side Burn explore the surface. Bored and slightly annoyed at the Battlechargers indiscreetly discussing his amnesia, Side Burn asks them what they do for fun. Soon, the three begin racing, and Side Burn is thrilled to remember the sensations of winning. Their fun is cut short, however, when Runamuck spots an Autobot ship; Runabout realizes that they didn't cloak their exhaust like Jhiaxus told them to, and the three transform and rush back to warn their boss.

Setting down, Pyro is confused; Qre's supposed to be a barren rock, but it has been terraformed into a metallic world. Hubcap recognizes the new metallic surface as sharing similarities with Cybertron and begins to set out. However, Pyro's forestonite-induced powers of clairvoyance springs him forward to protect the Mini-Bot, as auto-guns reveal themselves and come online. Even with their powers the Autobots prove unable to stop them all, much to the disappointment of Jhiaxus, who reveals to them that this was only Level 1, and that his "second generation" beat it in 10 cycles. Jhiaxus has Mirage shut the course down, and Pyro, ever diplomatic, requests to meet with the Decepticon.

Inside, Jhiaxus quickly turns on them, having Sky-Byte's Sharkticons restrain them as he blasts them with an dose of radiation that renders their powers inert. Imprisoning them in a cell made of the same radiation, Jhiaxus explains that he wanted them to find him and his "Second Generation", one that did not choose to fight in a war not their own. Pyro denies his accusations, insisting they only fight because of the Decepticons, but Jhiaxus ignores him, proclaiming that Optimus Prime is just as responsible for the war as the Decepticons. Jhiaxus turns to the Autobot, and asks him if he's willing to die...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Hoo-yeah. I remember that feeling."
"Racing?"
"Winning."

—Side Burn goes Charlie Sheen on Runabout.

Notes

• Characters mentioned but not seen include: the original Mirage, Cliffjumper, Sky-Byte, and Optimus Prime.

Continuity notes

• Hubcap notes that he's quoting Cliffjumper when he calls the clone Mirage a "traitor"; Cliffjumper accused the original Mirage of working with the Decepticons in the season 2 The Transformers episode "Traitor".

Transformers references

• While it's not fully explicit, Jhiaxus has terraformed Qre to look like Cybertron; his counterpart and the Cybertronian faction had restructured multiple planets in the Marvel Generation 2 comics, establishing the Cybertronian Empire.
• When shapeshifting into his Generation 2-form, Sideswipe gives himself spike wheels, as his counterpart had in the Generation 2 comic. He's also carrying his big 90's guns from said comic.
• The quotes of Optimus Prime that Jhiaxus uses are mottos from two of his toys. "Fight for the good of all!" originates from his Commemorative Series Powermaster reissue, while "No sacrifice is too great in the service of freedom" originates from his Classics Voyager-class toy.

Errors

• Not an error per se, but Electro shows up out of nowhere this chapter, not being among the crew seen last issue.