Author's Notes: Hey guys! Welcome back to the fic. I've been so surprised by how many people love "Killer Bee", and I'm glad you came back to read the latest chapter. This is where the plot starts to come into focus, though with a meandering detour or two. LOL! Anyway, please read and review, and thanks for your support :)


Chapter 4

The New World

Cybertron's eventual demise was met among mechs of all creeds and classes with mourning and sorrow. Autobot and Decepticon alike had fought for control of this planet, their planet, but now there was nothing left but an empty shell. Starscream was in command of the Nemesis when the final call came from Shockwave that soon the planet would need to be abandoned.

Starscream decided to go to Cybertron to aid Shockwave in relocating his lab and interrogating some captured Autobots about the location of their resistance. If the Autobots knew where a habitable planet was then the Decepticons needed to know, not only to obliterate their enemies but also to have a new place to call home. While Starscream was away on his mission Soundwave would be in charge.

Wasp meanwhile continued his duties as a janitor on the lower decks. He hated his job and took every opportunity to flake off and go racing, but there weren't many opportunities with Starscream the tyrant watching his back every five breems. Since Starscream was leaving the ship Wasp hoped to get some time off, but those hopes were dashed when he realized Soundwave would be the acting leader.

Wasp didn't hate Soundwave per se, but he also didn't understand him. Most of the Vehicons feared Soundwave because he said nothing, observed everything, and could kill a mech with a single tentacle. Wasp never showed fear to his superiors, but he was at least wary of Soundwave just in case. He would not shirk his menial duties while the ironically silent communications officer was in command.

Wasp was mopping the floor that orn when he saw two Vehicons walking by and chatting with one another. Wasp sighed irritably, knowing they would track scrap all over his freshly cleaned floor.

"Mop duty is a huge waste of triple changer technology," Wasp grumbled under his breath, "Stupid Starscream...Stupid Soundwave...Stupid everybody..."

As he continued mopping he caught a few words of what the Vehicons were saying.

"I can't believe it's just...gone," One Vehicon said to the other, "The Autobots will pay for destroying Cybertron."

"Yeah, and then Megatron will return and we will find a new greater planet!" The other one agreed enthusiastically.

"I remember when I was a sparkling," The first one said wistfully, "Cybertron was so beautiful then. Life was hard for my fellow workers and I, but the Crystal City sure was beautiful at sunset."

The Vehicons walked away and continued talking about old times, and Wasp just harrumphed and wiped over their dirty pede prints. Wasp held no real attachment to his sparklinghood or to Cybertron. He was nothing more than an experiment to win the war, and the sum total of his life experiences revolved around Shockwave's tower at Darkmount. To him there was no 'before the war', and to him there was no glorious Cybertron to miss. As far as he was concerned those Vehicons needed to get their helms out of their tailpipes and get back to work.


A few joors later Wasp had finally finished his duties and allowed himself some down time to fly around the seeker training room on deck 4. Afterward he would probably cool off with a few laps around the track in his alt mode. To many Cybertronians this particular activity would seem aimless, but Wasp loved just moving as fast as he could for as long as he could.

His training time was interrupted however when he heard a noise coming from the ceiling. At first he ignored it, but then the noise grew more desperate and more frequent. It sounded like a cross between machinery static and something bumping against the cooling vent. Wasp grew curious at the frantic sound, so he flew up to check it out.

When he arrived at first he saw nothing unusual, but then he saw the tiniest piece of dark blue armor poking out of the vent, and then saw it move as it tried to get out of the confined space. Wasp used his wing to flip the grate off the vent's access shaft, and to his surprise he saw Laserbeak fall out of the vent and toward the ground. Wasp quickly nosedived and caught the bird-shaped symbiote before it fell and broke apart, and then he transformed into robot mode to check it for injury.

"Oh, scrap! Laserbeak, what happened?" Wasp asked, but then realized it wouldn't be able to respond to him, "Were you spying in the training vents? You naughty little thing. I get it. I like to spy too. You gotta be more careful though. What would your master say if you got scrapped by some disgruntled Vehicon?"

Wasp continued to talk soothingly to the symbiote as he welded its injuries shut. Wasp wasn't a medic, but to be fair the ship didn't have a medic anymore. That had been Airachnid's job, and she abandoned ship after Starscream's failed coup. Wasp only hoped Soundwave wouldn't disassemble him for touching his precious symbiote or something.

With the loose wires repaired and the armor sealed, Wasp walked with Laserbeak up to the bridge, and could only hope Soundwave was in a good mood.

Soundwave was still monitoring communications in case Megatron or Starscream returned, and Wasp silently wondered if the mech ever took any personal time.

"Excuse me, sir?" Wasp called out nervously, "I, um, I found Laserbeak, and..."

Before Wasp could finish his sentence Soundwave sharply turned around, and despite the face mask Wasp could tell Soundwave was angry. Wasp held out Laserbeak almost placatingly and Soundwave used his tentacles to retrieve the bird symbiote. The host and his dependent were rejoined when Laserbeak attached itself to Soundwave's chassis, and Wasp feared retaliation despite not actually doing anything wrong. He dared not leave without being dismissed however, as Soundwave was a stickler for the rules; much as Shockwave had been.

A moment later, Wasp noticed that the tenseness in Soundwave's body relaxed. The symbiote had probably told Soundwave what happened, and Wasp tried his best to look innocent. He actually was innocent this time, but among Decepticons that was hardly relevant.

Finally, after a moment, Soundwave used a clip of Megatron's voice to say "Good job, Wasp. That will be all."

Wasp didn't question it. He just slightly bowed at Soundwave and then ran out of that room as fast as he could. He knew Soundwave was protective of his symbiote, but that was intense. He took away one thing from that encounter though: never mess with Laserbeak.


It was a few decades-orns later when Starscream returned. He brought a few hundred Vehicons and Eradicons back with him from Cybertron's surface. Now that the planet was uninhabitable they had nowhere else to go. Wasp knew they would make fine additions to the Decepticon warship, but he feared that this might make Starscream more powerful and thus his reign more legitimate.

"Status, Starscream," Soundwave asked in Megatron's voice.

"The planet has been evacuated and all useful technology retrieved," Starscream informed him, "I am now relieving you of command. Also, thanks to the interrogation of two Autobot prisoners we now have the location of Optimus Prime and his motley crew of Autobot rebels. You will set course for a planet known to its natives as earth. The archive footage of the interrogation will be made available in the public record. It's not nearly as interesting as my tactics, but Shockwave's new brain drain toy was most useful."

"Shockwave...Status?" Soundwave asked in the voice of a random Vehicon.

"Unfortunately he was terminated by the Autobot prisoners during their escape," Starscream explained, not exactly sounding too upset about it, "Oh, that reminds me. Have Counterpunch ready the medbay. Several Vehicons were injured during the battle. And Wasp? You will assist him."

"Nurse duty?" Wasp groaned, "I know being a janitor isn't very dignified, but it still beats working in the medbay!"

"Wasp," Soundwave said in Starscream's voice, "Is appropriate. Repaired Laserbeak. Ready for...new assignment."

Thanks a lot, Soundjerk... Wasp thought to himself as he pouted.

Wasp was of course sent to the medbay by Starscream, and he had no choice but to go. He didn't even bother sending a comm to Counterpunch. He was too tired to fool with that loose cannon, and he knew Counterpunch would be upset that Starscream had sent help. Counterpunch liked to work alone, and as far as Wasp was concerned he didn't blame him. Most of the other 'Cons were jerks.

The yellow and black Decepticon entered the medbay feeling personally attacked for reasons he couldn't explain. To be fair most of his days were pretty lousy anymore, but for some reason ever since Starscream returned Wasp felt especially angry. He couldn't remember being this upset since that time Shockwave had tested steroids on him when he was 8 vorns old.

That memory suddenly made Wasp smile. He remembered how the roid rage tore him apart, and then how tired he felt after the substance wore off. Shockwave had to carry him back to his room, and then when Wasp annoyed him for a bedtime story Shockwave read him a repair manual for some type of maintenance drone or something.

Wasp then realized he was alone in the medbay, and all of the beakers and berths reminded him of some of the rooms in Darkmount. It just sort of hit him then. His mentor was gone. Shockwave was dead. Wasp never loved Shockwave, and Shockwave never loved him, so he didn't understand why this thought made him so sad. Why were his memory processors pulling up old files of Shockwave tending to his injuries, testing new concoctions with him, and his singular optic light attracting nocturnal bugs?

He didn't understand why he missed him. Shockwave wasn't his sire. He was just the scientist that twisted and warped Wasp's body until he was ready for Megatron. He was nothing to Wasp...right?

"I don't miss him," Wasp declared softly to himself, "Shockwave wouldn't even want me to miss him. It's illogical to miss him. Wait, why do I care what Shockwave would want? He never cared what I wanted. If I miss him that's my business, not his! So what if I do care that he died? So what if I care that I'll never see him again? Big deal!"

Just then, amid his tirade, Wasp heard whispering coming from the medbay's supply closet, and Wasp got curious enough to sneak over there and check it out.

"Optimus...come in, Optimus!" A voice hissed desperately from inside the supply closet, "Ratchet are you there? Anybody? Come on, somebody pick up! There's no time to waste! If anybody can hear me, the Decepticons are heading for earth. The ship will arrive soon, and you need to prepare yourselves."

"Counterpunch..." Wasp whispered ominously, and then louder, "Counterpunch! You traitor!"

"Ah!" Counterpunch jumped in surprise when he saw Wasp, "Hey kid, this ain't what it looks like."

"No, but it is what it sounds like," Wasp growled dangerously.

"Look kid, I admit it, I'm an Autobot," Counterpunch told him as he backed against the wall, "I've been spying for vorns now. I have to. I don't hate you or any other 'Con, but I have to protect my people. Starscream will kill them all. If you turn me in they'll be helpless. You hate Starscream too, right?"

"Right..." Wasp replied cautiously.

"So, we can help each other," Counterpunch offered, "You don't tell Starscream about me, and I'll make sure Optimus knows all about your act of bravery. The Autobots would let you join in a heartbeat, and they'd treat you better than Starscream. You know Starscream doesn't appreciate your talents. You're a triple changer, a star in the making. He doesn't care, but Optimus would. You could have a better home with a better life. Just keep my secret and don't tell Starscream I'm a spy. Okay?"

Wasp stared at Counterpunch for a moment, mulling over his options. Counterpunch was nervous, knowing if Wasp chose the Decepticons then he would be tortured by Starscream until he forgot his own name. Finally, Wasp relaxed his stance a little and came to a decision.

"Okay Counterpunch, I won't tell Starscream anything."

"Really? Thanks Wasp," Counterpunch replied gratefully, "I knew there was a good mech underneath all that posturing."

Wasp stood aside and allowed Counterpunch to leave the closet. As soon as Counterpunch's back was turned to him however, Wasp turned his servo into a cannon and shot Counterpunch right in the back through his spark! Counterpunch landed in a lifeless heap on the ground; Wasp's cannon still smoking from the burst of energy.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Starscream anything," Wasp repeated in a darker tone than before, "Rest in slag, traitor."

Wasp then hacked the security footage and deleted the last two breems. He then went to the control to inform Starscream that he found Counterpunch dead in the medbay. Whether they suspected him or not was irrelevant. They'd never be able to prove it, and Wasp fully intended to keep his promise to a dying mech to not tell anyone his secret. Even if Counterpunch was a traitor, a promise was a sacred thing.


It was three deca-orns later when the Nemesis arrived on planet earth. Hovering above the terrestrial world amid the heavy atmospheric clouds, the ship almost seemed to crawl. It was a fine ship, but it was used to the weightlessness of space. For the fliers aboard said ship however, the new clouds were glorious.

Starscream had allowed all flying types to take a break to catch some air, and he did the same while leaving a Vehicon grounder in charge of the bridge. Wasp wasted no time and took to the sky; grateful for some respite from mop duty.

He flew over canyons, mountains, cliffs, and forests. It was all so alien, so strange, so wonderful. The air smelled sweet, and the avians in the sky were so tiny and, dare he think...cute. Everything was foreign, and Wasp loved it. No more thoughts of his dead mentors, Shockwave and Megatron. No more thoughts of Starscream the Terrible. No more thoughts of anything except for flying and exploring. It felt so natural, so pure. If only this moment could last forever.

A few Vehicons flew behind Wasp, both to flank him in case of battle and to watch with admiration his flying skills. Despite being an expensively built janitor, Wasp at least had some admirers in the form of the Vehicons. Things were looking good again.

At that moment Wasp and the Vehicons flew over an energon depository that they were supposed to mine later, but noticed that they weren't alone in the area. There was a red car in the vicinity. It didn't look Cybertronian, but it felt Cybertronian. There was an intruder on their new world!

/Vehicons,/ Wasp said over the comm, /Attack pattern alpha four. Engage the Autobot./

Following his command, the Vehicons touched down and transformed with weapons firing. The Autobot transformed as well. He looked to be about Wasp's height and build, but was a shiny red with glinting silver horns. Another compact beast of war, just like Wasp.

The Vehicons already had the Autobot against the rocks before Wasp even landed. The Autobot flipped and shot and sliced wherever he could. A few Vehicons had already fallen, but they refused to surrender. The Autobot continued his deadly dance, unaware that Wasp had landed behind a boulder close by. As the Autobot backed up to where Wasp was, Wasp wasted no time shooting the Autobot in the back!

"AHH!" The Autobot screamed before falling to the ground in a barely conscious heap.

"Take him to Starscream," Wasp ordered his surviving troops.

"What about you, sir?" One of the Vehicons asked him.

"Yeah, like me getting credit would earn any points with His Royal Aftness," Wasp snorted derisively, "I'm going for a drive."

With that Wasp turned into vehicle mode, leaving the Autobot to his fate. He didn't have time to think about his first real victory against an Autobot. He had a brave new world to explore.