Lightning-fast job hopping

— Decepticons, assemble!

The built-in alarm beeped, simultaneously announcing Megatron's location. The newly appointed Decepticon patrolman, Grimpus, still adjusting to the sudden mission, asked his new teammate, "Should we fly to the coordinates now, or... continue patrolling?"

“Of course, we’re heading towards Lord Megatron’s location. In the Decepticons, Lord Megatron’s orders are paramount,” D16 reminded the recruit beside him. Then, he flipped upwards in the air, smoothly tracing a circular trajectory to steer his flight toward Megatron’s position.

A slight hesitation caused Steel Fork to fall behind her teammates, and the grumpy d16 urged her: "Hurry up and catch up!"

...

"Megatron! I didn't expect you to still be alive." Optimus Prime looked up at Megatron flying in the sky, closed his mask, transformed, drew his hand blade, and got into a fighting stance, ready for a fierce battle.

"Hahaha, I am Megatron! You think you can kill me so easily?" Megatron laughed wildly, quickly transforming and landing on the ground. He raised the Fusion Cannon and fired at Optimus Prime. As expected, the shell didn't hit the agile Autobot leader, but instead struck the ground of the mine, leaving several small fragments of energy ore scattered around the crater.

"Oh no! This is a mine!"

When Steel Fork arrived, she saw two machines locked in combat in the mine. They were exchanging punches and shells, and the mine was full of super-energy beings; their actions could easily cause an explosion. What pained her even more was that if an explosion occurred, all these super-energy beings would be gone! Those were super-energy beings!

She screamed in terror, "Don't fight! It'll explode!"

She darted between the two fighting machines at near-sonic speed, before any of them could react, spreading her arms to create a barrier centered on herself.

"You can't fight here, it'll explode!"

What's going on? The Decepticons are fighting amongst themselves again?

Optimus Prime's mask remained pressed against his visor, exuding a chilling aura, but his hand cannons were deactivated. He extended one hand in a gesture of peace, saying to Megatron, "Let's call a truce. What do you say?"

The other Autobots, who weren't present, were secretly transporting ore from unseen corners.

Just as they were getting into the middle of a fierce fight, they were suddenly interrupted. No one would be happy about that, so Megatron roared angrily, "Get out of the way, or I'll beat you up too!"

The wings behind her fluttered, and Steel Fork opened her optical glasses wide. Now, half of her attention was focused on the energy mine beneath her feet, and the other half on Megatron: "I'm not moving aside!"

Megatron raised the Fusion Cannon and fired straight at Grimfork, but the shell melted instantly upon hitting the barrier, like an ice cream ball hitting a heat source, leaving no trace. This zero-damage performance calmed Megatron slightly; he squinted through his optics and carefully examined Grimfork's body and the energy barrier she had erected.

Ha... no wonder it's a work by Shockwave.

Completely misunderstanding the relationship between the steel fork and the shockwave, the Decepticon leader regretfully thought, "It's a pity I don't need soldiers who disobey me." So Megatron coldly said, "I'll give you one more chance. Obey my orders and get out of the way."

The sudden change in tone alerted Optimus Prime, but Grimlock, caught up in her anger, didn't notice that she was furious and enraged by the words "follow orders." She hated this condescending attitude and wanted nothing more than to beat up her leader! "No way!"

"In the Decepticons, if you want something, make a name for yourself," Megatron pointed to Optimus Prime, then to himself, and continued, "or beat me."

The enraged Grimfork didn't even glance at Optimus Prime, its eyes fixed on Megatron.

"Let's fight!"

"But we can't fight here, we have to fight somewhere else."

Go somewhere else? Optimus Prime has already run away! Megatron looked at his old nemesis, Optimus Prime, who had been standing to the side without making a move. He said, "No, we'll fight here. To avoid causing a collapse, I can't use the Fusion Cannon. To be fair, you can't use your powers, how about that?"

"Let's fight!"

A promise made is a promise kept.

...

Now, apart from the Autobots secretly transporting the ore, all the other machines present, including Optimus Prime who was surrounded by minions and prevented from escaping, stood in a large circle watching the battle in the open space in the middle. Meanwhile, Optimus Prime was secretly contacting an ambulance.

From the moment she emerged from the incubation chamber, Grimfork's powers had been with her. They were like her own hands and feet; not using them felt like having her hands tied, something she found extremely uncomfortable. Not to mention, without her powers, she was just an ordinary Cybertronian, perhaps with slightly stronger physical attributes; her size wasn't even as large as Megatron. How could Grimfork possibly compare to Megatron, the seasoned gladiator champion who had fought the Autobot leader for four million years?

Uppercut, lowercut, a combination of punches. Steel Fork was initially able to dodge a few blows thanks to her quick reflexes, but Megatron's fists were always waiting for her as she dodged. Steel Fork was forced back repeatedly, collapsing to the ground, dizzy and barely able to stand.

"I refuse to believe I can't beat you!" The resentment within her steel fork fueled her anger, and a small barrier was about to form.

"You agreed to not use your powers." Megatron slammed the Grimfork that had just managed to prop itself up back down, clenched his fist, extended his arm blade, and gathered his strength, intending to pierce through the spark chamber of the machine beneath him, ending the suffering cleanly and quickly. Megatron felt a rare pity; after all, the Grimfork had saved his life.

"Now, you're going to die!"

Just as the sharp blade was about to strike her back armor, Grimlock's will to survive erupted like never before. Almost instinctively, she used her powers to erect a barrier, and the wings behind her flapped, propelling her away from Megatron's feet. As Megatron's arm sword swung downwards, Optimus Prime simultaneously fired his hand cannon. The cannonball struck the arm sword, disrupting its trajectory and allowing Grimlock to escape the attack unharmed.

Megatron maintained his balance and stood firm, glancing at Optimus Prime, who was entangled in fighting with the soldiers, then at Grimlock, and scoffed, "Not using your powers, huh?"

This time, there was nothing to say. Her interactions with the oscillating wavelength and her simple nature had made her very attentive to rules and promises. The steel fork's wings twitched backward as if trying to squeeze together; she was somewhat uneasy. Still recovering from the combat, she was a little dazed: "I used my ability, I broke the rules first… Let's continue…"

Feeling her wrist being grabbed, Grimfork turned around. A tall, red and blue figure appeared beside her, pulling her towards the newly opened spacetime vortex. Purple projectiles from the Fusion Cannon and even smaller red projectiles from the Decepticon minions rained down on them. The Autobot leader struggled to dodge the attacks, and having endured a fierce battle and taken the brunt of the hits, Grimfork's machine was clearly less agile.

"Don't pull me, I want to keep fighting..." Steel Fork shouted weakly.

“Not all rules should be followed, and besides, you didn’t say it was a fight to the death.” Optimus Prime said to the machine beside him during a break from dodging attacks, “I don’t want a Cybertronian who dares to resist tyranny to disappear. Would you like to join the Autobots?”

Just as Steel Fork was trapped in a self-imposed mental dead end, she suddenly cleared her mind. She herself hadn't necessarily followed many rules, so why should she care so much about breaking the agreement by using her powers first? Besides, she was about to die! Wasn't Megatron using the Fusion Cannon on them right now?

"Stinky Iron Bucket! I want to join the Autobots!" Steel Fork shouted, trying to make his voice reach Megatron's audio receiver through the chaotic sounds of artillery fire on the battlefield. At the same time, the barrier opened, and high-energy shells fell around her, melting away like raindrops on the ground without harming her or Optimus Prime in the slightest.

Optimus Prime continued pulling the fork towards the land bridge; with the cover of his powers, they ran even faster.

"Thank you for joining the Autobots."

"You are not allowed to leave!"

Megatron angrily raised the Fusion Cannon and fired at the land bridge. The energy cannon only passed through the shrinking spacetime vortex and hit the mine wall, knocking down some small stones.

...

On the other side of the land bridge, the Autobots, who had already returned to base with several truckloads of ore, anxiously awaited their leader's return.

Grimfork, battered and bruised, was supported by Optimus Prime. Many unfamiliar eyes, both Cybertronian and human, stared at her. Under this barrage of gazes, even Grimfork could only manage an awkward smile.

"Hello everyone? Haha..."

"Ha ha."

"..." The Autobots looked at her warily.

Steel Fork fainted.