Deus Ex Machina

Detention. I love this song! Yeah! Miko, I thought you had a history report to do. Did detention end early? Did for me. Here comes teacher, and she doesn't look happy. Step on it, Bulkhead! Ah, Miko. Miko, I'm supposed to be your guardian, not your getaway car. You can't just cut detention. What if your parents found out? They live in Tokyo, remember? And don't even worry about my host parents. I think I scare them. Miko, listen If you fail high school, you can't go to, uh Uni-- Uh, it's "keys" -- Uh, "codge" -- Wait, wait. W-what's that word again? Uh, "college"? Ugh. You sound like my parents. Well, aren't they Japanese? They may speak a different language, but you say the same things. Because we want the best for you. And that means making sure you go to school, not jail. Uh-oh. What'd you do? Look, Miko, before I became a warrior, I was a laborer -- Construction. I can build stuff. I can break stuff. And that's it. I love breaking stuff. I want to be just like you, Bulk. Why would you want to be like me when you can be a-a medic like Ratchet? I'm detecting a fresh energon pulse from the nation called Greece. An ancient city -- Quite historic, I believe. Ancient Greece, huh? Oh, field trip. It's about time, knockout. I do not enjoy being kept waiting. It was a long drive, Starscream. I'm still picking bugs out of my grille. Yes, right. You're one of those. Come again? Never understood why any self-respecting Decepticon would choose automobile as his vehicle mode when he could have flight. I like the way I look in steel-belted radials. I take it lord Megatron requires a laboratory assist. YouMight say that. Here we are. Sweet! So, what are we doing in Greco-ville? I'm scouting energon. You're doing research for your history report. You punked me, Bulk? Not cool. Hmm. Signal's strong. An excavation site. I know construction. According to my scanner, humans hit energon veins, and they don't even know it. That's Cybertronian. Sadly, our inevitably former lord Megatron has been like this for some time. But the crew took a vote, and it was decided that an expert might put him on the road to recovery. I've done plenty of body work, Starscream, but I'm better at breaking them than fixing them. It would help if I had my assistant. I summoned both of you. Where is he? We were hot on a fresh energon trail when you called. Breakdown will show when he's through scouting it. Why would ancient greeks paint an energon harvester? You know what that round thing is? You're smarter than you let on. But even dumber than he looks. Breakdown. Miss me? Like rust in my undercarriage. You know this lunkhead? We have a history. And you have a pet. Does it play catch? Catch. Miko, stay down! Hope the pretty picture wasn't too important. Told you I'm good at breaking things. I always have your back, Bulk. Got us a picture of the picture. It is indeed an energon harvester -- A powerful tool created by the ancients to remove raw energon from any source. Greek gods knew autobots? No. The ancients often used the art of a given era to conceal messages. This fresco was likely a signpost indicating a harvester's location hidden somewhere on this planet. Uh, Optimus, if the harvester removes energon from anything, and you all have energon pumping inside you In Decepticon hands, the harvester would be a devastating weapon. See? You were a genius to total that painting. Miko's not wrong. How can the 'cons find the harvester without the fresco? With high-speed Internet. If you do an image search for "Greek God" and "golden orb," this pops up. It's in a museum. That the real deal? Contact agent Fowler. You've reached special agent William Fowler. I'm currently on an intensive training retreat and unavailable until Tuesday. I hate talking to machines. Without agent Fowler's direct aid, we will have to confiscate the harvester on our own. Whoa, whoa, whoa. "Confiscate"? As in steal museum property? That sounds Illegal. I do not wish to break human law, but once the Decepticons learn of the harvester's location, they will not hesitate to obtain it by any means necessary. We must act covertly. Okay, n-no offense, Optimus, but covertly and giant robots don't really go together. Museums are public. A-and they have guards and security cameras. No problem! We're small enough to sneak in. And we are not a government secret. Miko, I'm not sure that's wise. But it may be our best option, Bulkhead. The longer we debate, the more time we give the Decepticons. Mm-hmm. That's definitely it. Then I'm afraid Megatron's well-being will have to wait. It's harvest time. Autobots, confirm position. Westward Ho. South side covered. Maintain your guard. Jack, Miko, Rafael, I will have a clear view of you. Once you secure the harvester, I will contact Ratchet to bridge you back to base. Now, since you'll bypass all points of normal entry, you won't need to worry about setting off the alarm. But take care to avoid any security guards. Opa! Sweet rims. You're real heavy-duty. Just like my friend here. It's 'cons. They got Optimus. What? Come on. Time to make our exit, boys. UhWhat's up? Better come with me, miss. Not good. Arcee! It's Soundwave. Mm. That would be game. The 'cons have the harvester! And security has Miko! What? I'm going in after her. Bulkhead, Miko may be detained, but she is safe from harm. Look, kid, if this is some kind of prank, you need to know that the authorities are on their way. It'd go a whole lot easier for you if you just told me what happened to t sphere. I was researching my history report. I just lost track of time and got locked in here after closing. So, what's your history report about? I'd love to know. In all likelihood, Starscream will use the harvester to gather as much energon as quickly as he can from the planet's otherwise unmineable energon deposits. Approach with extreme caution. Starscream will not hesitate to turn the harvester on any one of us. Bulkhead, it is best that you remain here. So I can bust Miko out of the museum? So you can help Ratchet. You may be Miko's guardian, but she requires human assistance. Agent Fowler remains her best option. You've reached special agent William Fowler. I'm currently on an intensive training retreat and unavailable until Tuesday. Still no answer. Fowler's lounging around some poolside cabana. Bulkhead! I needed that! We can free Miko if we can just return that harvester to the museum. So the Decepticons can steal it all over again? I am so dumb! So, how are we going to help Miko? By returning this replica to the museum. The construction of which would be going a whole lot faster if Bulkhead hadn't just mangled my frame welder! We're already trespassers and thieves. Why not add forgery to the list? I wish I'd never taken Miko to the -- The painting of the harvester isn't the only thing we found at those ruins. I'm sorry? Starscream's not dumb. No matter what kind of tool he has, he's gonna take the easy route. Why move mountains now when we have a mother lode of energon right here for the taking -- Courtesy of this gift from ancient autobots? Uh, actually, commander Starscream, it was a gift from breakdown and myself. All that energon in such a tiny vessel. Those ancient autobots never missed a trick, lord Starscream. Oh, scrap. Back for seconds? You're a big one. This could take a while. W-wait. What are you doing? What I do best Breaking things. He's a glutton for punishment. Fight? Mm. Drive. Hey. And, of course, there's the whole principle of deus ex machina, uh, the God from the machine. It's that part in Greek storytelling where some character shows up out of the blue to make everything right. That so, young lady? Well, I'm sure the police will want to hear all about your history report. Special agent William Fowler. The stolen property has been located and restored to museum premises. The girl comes with me. You dropped your cellphone. Found it on the floor, right next to your history report. Off you go. Good timing, Bulk. I was running out of history factoids, stuff I didn't even know I knew! Looks like you're smarter than you let on. Under pressure. Me too. I can't wait to finish my history report. I'm gonna write all about how the autobots interacted with ancient civilizations. Uh, I'm not so sure that'll get you into college, Miko.