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The events in Los Angeles, now dubbed the "Battle of Mission City" by the media, had come to a temporary, uneasy end. Megatron, the terrifying leader of the Decepticons, was captured and imprisoned in the deepest, most secure naval base on the planet. A fragile, tentative alliance had been formed between the US military and the Autobots. But for the supposed victors, there was no joy. The AllSpark, the source of their life, the object of their centuries-long war, had vanished.
In a makeshift Tactical Operations Center, the human leadership tried to make sense of the chaos. Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes sat with Agent Simmons and a team of analysts, watching playback on a massive computer screen.
"At timestamp 14:32:07," an officer said, pointing to the screen, "the asset, which we've designated 'Lancelot', initiates his run." On the screen, they saw Aidan's red-and-blue bio-suited figure appear on the street. "He hesitates for 1.2 seconds—a clear moment of choice. He then simultaneously deploys a non-terrestrial energy construct to shield the civilians, and a tensile energy filament to retrieve the AllSpark. The multitasking is… extraordinary."
The footage continued, showing the thrilling chase through the city, and finally, the mysterious disappearance.
"We saw it," Sam said, still shaken. "One minute he was there, talking to Ironhide, and the next… it was like he just stepped through a silver, mechanical doorway that wasn't there before."
"He has to be a magician!" Mikaela said with certainty. After seeing giant alien robots transform into cars, magic didn't seem so far-fetched.
A scientist in a lab coat, invited by the military, shook his head in frustration. "It's not magic! Magic is just a word for science we don't understand!"
"Then understand this, Doctor," Agent Simmons retorted, his face grim. "He drew a circle in the air and vanished, along with an object that can rewrite the laws of your precious physics. What word would you like to use?" The scientist fell silent. "But what does he want with the AllSpark?" Simmons continued, his voice filled with worry. "That's what worries me the most."
"Optimus Prime has issued a summoning order into deep space," Sam added, gesturing to where the Autobots stood outside the tent. "He says other Autobots out there might have encountered this 'magic' before. They can help us find him."
A few days later, while the Autobots and the newly formed NEST task force began their uneasy alliance, Aidan Parker, now under a new identity, appeared in the sleek, glass-and-steel headquarters of Kinetic Solutions Incorporated—KSI.
His new persona was "Snow Jacob," a 28-year-old prodigy in the field of bionic engineering. The identity was a flawless construct by Ruby, complete with a fabricated academic history from MIT and a portfolio of brilliant, but intentionally flawed, bionic concept designs.
He sat in an opulent office opposite Joshua Joyce, the stylish, arrogant, and visionary CEO of KSI. Joyce wore expensive glasses, a tailored suit, and a sexy little beard. He reminded Aidan, uncomfortably, of Obadiah Stane.
"Your name is Snow Jacob," Joyce said, looking over a data slate. "I remember you. Very talented. I have a meeting in twenty minutes, so just say what you have to say."
"Thank you for your time, Mr. Joyce," Aidan began, his voice calm and professional, perfectly playing the part of an eccentric but brilliant scientist. "You are, of course, aware of the robot battle that occurred in Mission City a few days ago."
"Yes," Joyce nodded, a flicker of annoyance on his face. "Some of our infrastructure was damaged in the process."
"What I noticed, sir, was not the destruction, but the creation. A mysterious person appeared among them," Aidan continued, "a man in a red and blue coat of some kind."
Joshua looked at him with new suspicion. This was not public knowledge. "Go on," he said.
"Sir, I can be sure that he was a human, and that his 'biological coat' is the exact technology I have been researching for years," Aidan said, his voice now filled with a scientist's passion. "It is a living, programmable matter, the next step in human evolution. My research has always been confined to the theoretical stage, but now… now we have real-world data. We have an example. With the right resources, I believe I can not just replicate it, but perfect it. For KSI."
Joyce stared at him, his mind racing. Programmable matter… wearable tech that's alive… the military applications alone are worth trillions. "I'll think about it," he said, his expression now unreadable. "I'll get back to you this week." He needed to confirm the acquisition of the alien corpses from his government contacts first. An R&D project this massive needed raw materials.
"OK," Aidan nodded, not pushing. "Then I will wait for your reply." He stood up and left the office.
After Aidan left, Joyce went to the main conference room. A middle-aged man in a sharp, black suit had been waiting for him. It was Harold Attinger, a shadowy figure from a black-ops division of the CIA.
"Joshua," Attinger greeted him with a warm, insincere smile. They were old partners in the lucrative business of government contracts and corporate back-scratching. They quickly got down to business, finalizing the contract for KSI to receive the bodies of the Decepticons killed in the battle for research and reverse-engineering.
"The price seems fair," Joyce said, signing the digital contract.
"We get the technology without the official budget allocation, you get the government funding and the alien metal. It's a win-win," Attinger said smoothly.
"By the way," Joyce said, leaning back in his chair. "My scientist, Mr. Snow, just came to me. He said he saw a red and blue man at the scene, wearing some kind of… biological machine."
"Snow?" Attinger asked curiously. "The one who developed those hyper-sensitive sensors for our drone program?" He knew Joshua had hired him a few years ago. "How could he have seen that?" The footage of Aidan was highly classified.
"He says he's been researching it for years," Joyce said, a hint of surprise in his own voice. "It seems he was right."
"Yes," Attinger confirmed. "The robots were fighting over an artifact, which was taken by the man you describe. I'm told he's some kind of magician." He scoffed. "Probably just some high-tech illusionist."
"That's all I can tell you," Attinger said, standing up to leave. "The alien corpses will be delivered to your facility as soon as the formalities are complete."
After he left, Joshua Joyce sat alone in the conference room, a thoughtful frown on his face. He replayed the conversation in his mind. His scientist, Snow Jacob, had somehow known about a top-secret, classified figure before anyone else, and had a research proposal ready to go the moment the opportunity presented itself. Something didn't add up.