Reunification: Part 3

Landquake and company chill out with a most groovy visitor!

Synopsis

Landquake, Breakaway, and Topspin are baffled; all the other Cybertronians in their makeshift home have completely stopped, showing no signs of life and unable to be moved. Their questions are soon answered however, when the groovy five-faced Quintesson Aquarius appears, explaining that they're in a bubble of slow time. Landquake, disconcerted by the alien, demands to know what he wants, and Aquarius explains that he recalled them here to Cybertron. Topspin insists that Alpha Trion was the one who brought them here, but Aquarius explains that things are more than they seem, and that the group have very big responsibilities. Landquake takes a moment to talk with his friends; the Decepticon doesn't trust Aquarius, but Breakaway and Topspin advocating listening to the alien. Using his telepathic powers, Aquarius explains that he, along with other Quintessons, arrived on Cybertron sometime ago, keeping a low profile to study the Cybertronians. Occasionally, they would intervene to eliminate some threats, but now, Optimus Prime is developing a weapon that even the Quintessons cannot match: Omega Doom.

Ironhide informs Prime that Omega Doom's construction is on schedule, and that security is constantly on patrol. Prime pointedly reminds Ironhide not to fail him like Blurr, while Grimlock nibbles on his corpse. Prime declares that Omega Doom will be his greatest victory, and promises Ironhide his own star system if he succeeds in his duties.

Landquake is unable to see how the three of them are able to defeat a threat as powerful as Omega Doom; Aquarius explains that the three, along with Skyfall and a fifth robot, are capable of more than they realized. This fifth robot, Heatwave, is already on the planet with Megatron. Suddenly Aquarius is alerted that his slow time bubble is about to run out, and promises to tell the others more along the way, as Computron rips the roof off the building...

Meanwhile, Alpha Trion negotiates with one his contacts; once Megatron is assassinated, his business partner's agents will attack Optimus. This will give control of Cybertron to Alpha Trion, and control of Earth to the speaker on the other side: Rodimus Prime!

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Can you...stop doing that thing with your faces? It's disconcerting."

—Aquarius seems to be making Landquake a little motion-sick!

"I do not like this creature."
"You don't like anyone, Landquake. He seems fine to me."

—Landquake is dour towards Aquarius; Breakaway is accepting. What else is new?

Notes

• Mentioned characters include: Wheeljack, Megatron, Skyfall, and Heatwave.

Continuity notes

• Blurr's faliure to stop the Ark's launch was seen in "Do Over". Ironhide also was briefly mentioned in that story, showing up visually for the first time here.
• Rodimus took the name of Rodimus Prime in "Eye in the Sky"; his communication with Alpha Trion would be seen from the other end in "Transhuman", published two years later.

Transformers references

• Again, some new characters are introduced this chapter:
  • Fortress Maximus, who's based on his positive-universe counterpart in Generation 1 Scorponok colors.
  • Ironhide, who's based on Universe Ironhide colored black, in a reference to both the original Diaclone colors of Ironhide's toy and the live-action movie incarnation of Ironhide.
  • Omega Doom, based on Cybertron Menasor in the colors of Cybertron Sideways, with a head based off his positive-universe counterpart, Omega Supreme.
  • Landcross, based on his positive-universe counterpart in the colors of the Generation 1 Constructicons.

Real-world references

lolzors

• Grimlock picks up a popular Internet meme as he chomps on Blurr: NOM NOM NOM!
• Aquarius is a homage to multiple people and concepts:
  • Aquarius takes his name from the astrological term, the "Age of Aquarius"; heavily associated with the hippie culture of the 1960's, which Aquarius rainbow and psychedelic imagery also pay homage to.
  • Aquarius' "Joy" face is based on Buddha.
  • Aquarius' "Compassion" face is based on Martin Luther King Jr.
  • Aquarius' "Love" face is based on John Lennon.
  • Aquarius' "Peace" face is based on Gandhi.
  • Aquarius' "Satisfaction" face is based on Jerry Garcia, with colors based on Dr. Teeth from The Muppet Show.

Errors

• Big Daddy should be on Earth with Rodimus right now. Similarly, Ironhide notes that "Wheeljack's boys" are working on Omega Doom, when Wheeljack is also on Earth.
• Aquarius: "I can explain more while we run, but Computron's about the rip the roof off this building." (correct: "Computron's about to rip the roof off this building.")