TFCC - Cheap Shots

Staff

Writer: Forest Lee

Pencils: Dan Khanna

Inks: Jake Isenberg

Colours: Thomas Deer

Letters: Jesse Wittenrich

Managing Editor: Pete Sinclair

Editor in Chief: Brian Savage

Cover/Inside Cover: Thomas Deer

Timelines Creative Director: Lanny Lathem

Plot

Since the end of the war about 20 years ago, Nightbeat has gone off on his own with a small team of Autobots and organics to act as a Detective agency of sorts.

Nightbeat is drinking alone in a bar on Azure when he's approached by some aliens who ask him to come with them to speak with someone. Nightbeat mistakes this as a threat, as does his team (which includes two angry Dinobots) who beat up the aliens, throwing one through a wall. The remaining alien re-states that he just wants to escort Nightbeat to a someone who wants to use his services.

The team are taken to see the client, Amory, a Shi-Lai sentient Battleship who want's Nightbeat to find and rescue her bonded pilot, who was kidnapped on Purgatory, a settlement in an asteroid field, so they head there to investigate.

On Purgatory the team split up, Slag, Sludge and the organics started roughing up the locals to see if anyone knows where Phyrion (the pilot) is, whilst Nightbeat and Siren go to see the local magistrate to see if he knows anything. Neither road leads to anything though.

Later on Amory remembers that Phyrion received a message from an anonymous source before arriving on Purgatory, and knows where the message originated from. Later, Nightbeat and the others stake out the warehouse the message originated from, and wind up entering it, when inside they find Ruckus in command of a new version of the Mayhem Attack Squad, Ruckus reveals that he set all this up for revenge for how Nightbeat and the others ruined their plans back when they worked for Thunderwing, which starts an argument about what happened back then, and leads to an all out battle.

The battle is going in the Autobot's favor when Ruckus calls in reinforcements, Amory, who is forced to help them or Ruckus has said he'll kill Phyrion, and reveals that he brought Phyrion with him, which stuns everyone at his stupidity. Slag quickly slices off Ruckus' arm and frees Phyrion (and claims the arm as a trophy for himself).

Later Phyrion and Amory thank and pay Nightbeat, and take off into space. The team suddenly realize that they don't have a ship and are therefore stranded on Purgatory, but Nightbeat doesn't care, as he's sure someone around here needs a detective.

Characters

Autobot

Nightbeat - Sports Car

Siren - Emergency Car

Sludge - Apatosaurus

Slag - Triceratops

Hosehead (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Ruckus - Baja Buggy

Needlenose - Jet

Octopunch - Crab

Strangehold - Rhino

Sunbeam - Gun

Zigzag - Gun

Thunderwing (Mentioned)

Bludgeon (Mentioned)

Other

Muzzle

Lug

Quig - Siren's Head

Minerva

Amory

Phyrion

Vorg (Azure Alien)

Narfl (Azure Alien)

Azure Residents

Purgatory Residents

Purgatory Magistrate

Notes

• Nightbeat's toy head not having ears is explained here as being because Siren made them explode
• Lug survived Hosehead's death during the Unicron War
• Quig is the only member of the team still bonded to his partner (Siren)
• SIREN IS CONSTANTLY SHOUTING IN THIS COMIC!
• Amory is probably based on Moira from Farscape, she even seems to do a Starburst on the last page!
• Minerva and Muzzle being in a relationship is kind of creepy when you think of it...they're repaints of each other in the toyline
• I wonder if Nightbeat and his crew got back to Earth before the whole "Universe being destroyed" thing from Invasion?