Plot
The Autobot Away Team are chasing the bug-like Shocksprocket, but following being shocked by their target's electricity, Sideswipe realizes that Earth's trees don't conduct electricity and uses a branch to smack the Decepticon unconscious.
Optimus contacts the scrapyard and asks Fixit to send a stasis pod or them to capture Shocksprocket inside, but before they end the call, Fixit informs the team that their next Decepticon target is on Mount Everest.
Russell, along with Fixit explains that he saw a Decepticon, which was mistaken for a yeti on a film documentary on Everest, whilst the Autobots aren't convinced about the proof, but agree to go.
Fixit identifies the Decepticon as "Abominus". Windblade recognizes the name as a Decepticon that she captured in the past on Cybertron, and remarks that he's a hermit that protects his "property" with dangerous weaponry.
Elsewhere, Bumblebee's team of Autobots approach a newly detected stasis pod, near to the scrapyard. When they find it, they find the Decepticon seemingly deactivated, and are worried that he died in the crash, until he wakes up and uses his optical abilities to hypnotize the Autobots into not wanting to fight him, before they fall asleep....
Optimus' team arrive by Groound bridge at the base of Mount Everest in their artic camo to help with hiding from the film crew on the mountain. The team slowly climb the mountain, but don't find it too difficultm, until Drift is almost shot by a hidden blaster, he manages to avoid it and destroy the turret. Windblade recognizes it as Abominus' work, and theorizes that he's booby-trapped most of the weapon in the same way.
Back at the Scrapyard, Russell is watching the program, where he sees that the Autobots were caught on camera, but have also been mistaken for yetis, and the explosions from the booby-traps are mistaken for a yeti celebration.
Russell tells Fixit to contact Optimus' team to warn him about the humans being nearby, but Fixit tells him that he can't get a clear signal through the atmosphere in the area. Russell asks how the film crew are able to do so, and Fixit guesses that it's due to hi using relays on the mountain, but he cannot hack into them to use it for communication without being exposed
On the mountain, the film crew are concerned that they will lose their contract with their station if they don't get any good footage for the show, before heading up further.
Elsewhere on the mountain, the Autobots continue their trek, avoiding the turrets etc along the way, however, along the way they accidentally set off a small avalanche, the team manage to brave the avalanche, but Slipstream is separated from the rest of the group....
Bumblebee's team wake up from their "attack" from the Decepticon Brakepad, but feel different than usual, and feel "lazy", they return to the scrapyard, where the Humans and Fixit worry about their conditions. Fixit learns from them that the Decepticon's name was Brakepad, which worries him.
Fixit brings up Brakepad's dossier and reveals that he used his optical powers to render the security forces lazy and unwilling to stop him whilst he stole whatever he wanted. Russell comes up with a plan, knowing that Brakepad isn't too physically strong, and requires the targets to have eye contact with him for the powers to activate...
Back on the mountain, the team are worried about Slipstream, but Drift points out that he has been trained to figure out a situation like this himself,,.and would agree that the mission is more important that just his safety. The team don't like abandoning him, but agree wit Drift's decision nonetheless.
Elsewhere on the mountain, Slipstream wakes up and worries about being alone, but soon remembers his teachings and evaluates the situation. He deduces that the team must have continued with their mission, so if he keeps heading to the summit he'll eventually find them. Slipstream then finds the Human film crew and hides from them, deciding that hhis current mission is to make sure they don't find the Autobots, or get killed by the hidden booby-traps set by Abominus.
Back home, the Autobots have been forced by Russell and Denny to take them back to the stasis pod's location, where they assume Brakepad to be still (due to his notorious slowness). The Humans trick the Autobots into believing that Brakepad's powers will make the Autobots have to do some hard work.
Before Brakepad can use his powers on them, the Humans put some over-sized sunglasses on Bumblebee and Strongarm (Grimlock is meanwhile sleeping). By doing this, they stop the ability from affecting the Autobots, Grimlock is coerced into knocking the stasis pod into Brakepad, leading him to fall in, and get locked in.
Russell is glad, but wonders how he will convince the Autobots into bringing the stasis pod back to the scrapyard for them...
On the mountain, Slipstream leads ahead of the Humans, and takes out the weaponry, protecting the Humans in secret, he reaches a fork in the path, and causes a small landslide to block the path leading more directly up, allowing him to abandon the Humans and go towards his allies.
On the other side of the summit, the Autobotss find a door, which they assume is Abominus' lair, but are worried that they haven't found any more traps lately. When they enter the lair however they quickly trigger a spike trap, attacking them from the walls. They manage to evade them, but find Abominus at the end, who simply sends them into an electrified cage.
With them trapped, Abominus reveals his master plan to cause a massive avalanche with explosives to get rid of all the "intruders" on "his" mountain, so he can be aloe with himself and his weapons.
Soon, Slipstream finds his way to the lair whilst Abominus is out placing some more explosives. Slipstream reunites with his team and disables the cage. The Autobots make a plan...
Before long, Abominus returns to his lair where he sees some footage of Slipstream in the tunnel, so he goes to attack him in their, unfortunately for him though, this was just a looped video, and he has been lured into the tunnel for his own booby-traps to be used on him instead.
After he has been injured enough by the traps, Abominus is placed in a stasis pod, but the Autobots discover that the film crew have found the entrance to the lair. The Autobots are worried, but Sideswipe has a plan...
Back at the scrapyard, the Autobots are almost returned to normal from their battle with Brakepad. Russell is watching the film crew's live program again, where he hears some audio footage the crew got from the mountain of the "yeti" shouting at the crew to leave and never return. Russell recognizes the voice as Sideswipe's
Characters
Autobot
Optimus Prime - Truck
Windblade - VTOL Fighter Jet
Drift - Race Car
Slipstream - Buzzsaw Deployer
Jetstorm - Buzzsaw Deployer
Sideswipe - Sports Car
Bumblebee - Muscle Car
Strongarm - Police Cruiser
Grimlock - Tyrannosaurus Rex
Fixit
Decepticon
Abominus Captured by Away Team
Shocksprocket Captured by Away Team
Brakepad Captured by Bee Team
Human
Russell Clay
Denny Clay
Loren Fortean, the Presenter
Ernie, the Cameraman
Brigadier Wilson, the Mountain Guide
Notes
- This story is the first to be set in Season Two, set some time after the team are forced to split apart in the series premiere.
- This story implies that the "Away Team" was a purposeful thing, and not just caused by a Ground bridge accident. Whilst this COULD be the reason for why the team took so long to return to the base, as they just took this as an opportunity for more captures....but it seems a bit of a stretch to me....
- The Away Team are shown to have their artic camo modes here, and we already know about their desert camo from the cartoon, so did they have a "jungle camo" for the opening scenes too?
- An electricity sparking Insecticon that isn't Shrapnel? I call shenanigans!
- I mean it's not like they're worried about possibly reusing names from other characters in the Aligned continuity, one of the other Decepticons in this issue is called Abominus!
- Russell's old favourite program, "My Miniature Mustang" is of course a riff on Hasbro's popular "My Little Pony" franchise. Whilst probably a coincidence, the name also evokes the IDW group "Triple M"...but I can't see a connection other than the acronym.
- I don't know how seasons and episodes of a program livestreamed in small segments works.....
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