At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Nick Fury, still fuming after being denied military cooperation by the U.S. government, happened to catch a glimpse of the live footage on TV—two monsters who, under normal circumstances, would've been thrown straight into a lab for study, were now fighting on the frontlines like real superheroes, defending Earth against alien invaders.
A sudden thought struck him: if he had a team composed entirely of individuals with extraordinary abilities, then whenever a crisis hit, he wouldn't have to worry about red tape or protocol.
With such a trump card in hand, not only could he genuinely protect Earth—or more accurately, protect America—but it would also win him considerable political capital.
But once he found out that Blonsky was a new product of the Super Soldier Program, Fury sighed inwardly.
Snatching a person from the stubborn old fossil Ross would be difficult. That left Hulk as his next best option.
Yet it didn't take long before Fury realized that while Hulk's kill count against Decepticons was equally impressive, in terms of intelligence and tactics, he was no match for Abomination—who picked up weapons dropped by Decepticons and actually used them.
Both of them started out the same way—braving hot weapons and energy blasts, charging into battle with fists or looted melee weapons to crush Decepticon skulls.
But after more than twenty minutes of combat, the differences began to show.
Neither was afraid of Decepticon weapons, but taking hits from massive metal fists or blades still caused pain, even injury.
Hulk's solution was simple: get knocked away, catch his breath, then rush back in with even more force and smash whatever was in front of him.
Abomination, on the other hand—though his strength had greatly surpassed that of the movie version thanks to William's enhancements—still retained most of his military training and instincts. After realizing that head-on brute force consumed too much energy, wasted time, and increased his own injuries, he naturally started switching to more efficient tactics.
He hurled parked cars like grenades, picked up Decepticon energy weapons, and began using urban guerrilla tactics like a special forces operator in a city battlefield.
He set ambushes, pulled off sneak attacks, and even used civilians as bait to lure in distracted Decepticons before taking them out from the shadows.
One was a reckless brute who only knew how to smash.
The other embodied the best qualities of a super soldier.
To the eyes of major organizations and power players, the value gap between the two widened by the minute.
But to others, Hulk's lack of reason was precisely what made him more reliable—he instinctively avoided harming civilians, unlike Abomination, who used any means necessary to achieve his goals.
There was, however, one thing they had in common—no matter where they went, either the surrounding buildings got smashed to pieces by their fists, or Decepticon weapons reduced the streets to rubble.
This made the Americans weep in anguish, while those who already resented them secretly found satisfaction in the chaos.
But soon, people all over the world stopped laughing.
The reports of Hulk and Abomination's appearance, and the Decepticons they had slain, had already been relayed to Nemesis Prime by Soundwave.
After observing for a while, Nemesis Prime simply sneered. "Ignore them. Let the beast-type Decepticons stall those two.
What's important now is diverting our ships through the space bridge, sealing off the skies above New York as soon as possible, and activating more energy pillars worldwide.
Once Cybertron is successfully transferred into the solar system, with our technological superiority, we can fight however we want.
It won't take long before humanity bends the knee and works as slaves to help rebuild Cybertron."
Once full formations of ships began entering New York, the number of Decepticons killed by Hulk and Blonsky wouldn't even scratch a tenth of the reinforcements.
Shockwave and Soundwave immediately grasped this logic. As for the fallen beast-type Decepticons, not even they, much less Nemesis Prime, cared.
As long as they had enough Energon, these nearly mindless, mass-producible Decepticons could be created in endless waves.
So long as Hulk and Blonsky didn't directly threaten the energy pillars, Nemesis Prime had no reason to pay them any attention.
The longer they stalled, the wider the rift in the space bridge became. On Cybertron, ships and fighters were already prepped and ready for deployment.
Outside New York's skyline, aboard a hundred-meter-long ship prepared by William, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and the others—who should've been at the frontlines—were also watching and waiting for the rift to widen.
"Calm down, Ironhide," Optimus said to the pacing warrior. "If we rush out now and fight the Decepticons to the death, we'll only die pointlessly.
It's better to follow William Devonshire's plan—wait until the Decepticons fully enter Earth, then return to Cybertron to rally the surviving Autobots. We'll end this at the source."
"I—I know you're right," Ironhide muttered, "but watching the Decepticons run wild like this… I just want to charge out and kill that traitor Nemesis Prime!"
"No, you're wrong, Ironhide," Optimus said solemnly, watching Nemesis Prime on the screen. "If William Devonshire is telling the truth, then Nemesis Prime is just a small problem.
The real danger is still on Cybertron."
"What?" Ratchet looked shocked. "Nemesis Prime is a small problem?"
Optimus nodded. "Don't forget—the power gap between Nemesis Prime and the Fallen is like that between an elite Autobot and a newly built one.
If Devonshire could eliminate the Fallen, taking out Nemesis Prime won't be difficult."
Ironhide, Bumblebee, Jazz, and Ratchet were momentarily stunned—but then nodded, realizing it made sense.
But that only raised more questions. Ironhide looked uneasy. "You're saying… there's been a mastermind hiding on Cybertron this whole time, stirring up our civil war?"
"I don't know," Optimus shook his head. "But I do know that William told me days ago that Nemesis Prime had betrayed us.
And two hours ago, when we retreated, he told me again—if we want to end the civil war among Transformers, we have to destroy the one who created us: the Life Lord of Cybertron, Quintessa.
It was she who created both factions of Transformers, with two completely opposite minds."
"This person exists?" Ironhide thought hard, but couldn't recall a thing. "How are we supposed to find someone named Quintessa?"
"I don't know," Optimus said again. "Devonshire only told us to return to Cybertron and rally the Autobots.
Once he finds Merlin's staff—which is actually the energy source Quintessa used to create Transformers—she will appear on Cybertron herself."
"You're telling me… we're not only going back to fight the Decepticons—but also to battle our creator?"
Ironhide hesitated for a long time before speaking. "I'm not afraid. But are you sure… we can beat our creator?"
Optimus remained silent for a while, then said softly, "Maybe… maybe he never intended for us to face Quintessa ourselves.
Maybe he's planning to deal with her on his own."
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