Divide and Conquer

Optimus Prime is critically damaged and the Autobots must brave a hazardous journey to find the rare element that can repair him before Megatron strikes.

Earth factories are busily preparing weaponry for use against the Decepticon menace. Chip Chase is inspecting one such facility, where the administrators hope he can develop new methods to improve the efficiency of weapons production. The Decepticon Seekers suddenly attack the factory, breaching its walls and landing inside. They begin draining the factory of its energy, but have not noticed Chip, who sends out a distress signal to the Autobots.

Optimus Prime and Spike are on a search mission, fruitlessly looking for any trace of the Decepticon space bridge. Prime intercepts Chip's call for help, and orders the Autobots at the Ark to meet him at the munitions plant. Prime arrives at the scene first, and is outnumbered three-to-one. A stray shot hits one of the massive computer banks, which begins a critical meltdown and overload. Prime attempts to shield the humans from the inevitable explosion with his own body. The blast tears through Prime, and the Decepticons take advantage of his weakened state to nail him. Prime collapses under fire.

The Seekers hear the approach of the other Autobots, and following Megatron's orders, retreat with the energon cubes. The Autobots find Prime's badly damaged form and take it back to base. Prime's power relays are fused. His mobility limited. His speech... slow... and labored. Part replacement... essential....

Wanting to confirm Prime's condition, Megatron dispatches Laserbeak to the Ark to spy on Ratchet and Wheeljack's efforts to repair Prime. Optimus's electropulse is fading. At Megatron's command, Laserbeak attacks the incredibly vulnerable Prime, tearing into his exposed chest cavity and causing a tremendous explosion.

It's more smoke and sparks than fiery blast, and Prime survives the explosion, though his energy is fading fast. His very laser core is at risk of snuffing out, and Ratchet needs a cosmitron to keep his Prime's energy levels from draining. Wheeljack only knows of one in existence, but it's in his shop back on Cybertron, which the Decepticons had placed under a computerized lock. The Autobots need to get back to their homeworld and pick this lock. Naturally, Chip Chase is the only one of them familiar enough with Cybertronian computers to make this possible.

Chip uses Teletraan I to do what Optimus could not: triangulate the likely coordinates for the Space Bridge's next appearance. Following Chip's detective work, the Autobots drive into the woods and discover the Space Bridge site. Starscream and Rumble oversee the transport of a shuttle module filled with Energon cubes, with a hapless Reflector-type soldier sent to pilot it across the gulf of interstellar space. With the Autobots' arrival, a fray breaks out–and so does a sudden thunderstorm.

Surprisingly, Megatron (who has been monitoring the battle) orders the Decepticons to let the Autobots win. The thunderstorm has given him an idea, but he does not elaborate. The Autobots—Bumblebee, Bluestreak, Trailbreaker and Ironhide—drive into the Space Bridge and are teleported to Shockwave's base. They blast their way past a shocked Shockwave and into Cybertron's streets. Megatron orders the Rainmakers to destroy the Autobot infiltrators with acid rain.

At Wheeljack's workshop, Chip works his way past the locking mechanism, and Ironhide instantly finds the cosmitron. Outside, a trio of Seekers somehow seed the clouds over the workshop so they produce incredibly debilitating acid rain.

—Sparkplug witnessing the Autobots transform

—Huffer, hoping the best for a dying Prime.

—Sparkplug, commenting on the fact Optimus Prime is still alive after his chest explodes.

—Spike, hopelessly over his head when it comes to computer talk.

—Chip Chase, and that’s one to grow on.