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Can the Autobots finish stealthing their base before the Decepticons discover it?
Detailed synopsis[]
The Autobots need to establish a base on Earth. Lori offers up a chunk of canyon that her father was going to use for a housing development, but is currently going unused. Optimus approves the site, and the Autobots begin going over the blueprints. The kids all offer constructive criticism, resulting in a design that is more workflow-efficient (Lori), mechanically sound (Coby), and way cooler (Bud). Optimus declares that they have to be done by sundown.
The Autobots begin construction, using their special attacks to excavate and clear rubble. Nearby, Vector Prime initiates a search for the Omega Lock. The kids ask him to turn off "that racket", which A) is the transsonic signal given off by the Lock, that B) only humans can hear.
In space, Starscream urges Megatron to forget the Autobots and initiate the search for the Cyber Planet Keys. Megatron, however, is concerned that the Autobots are up to something, and is determined to find out what.
Back on Earth, the Autobots have begun applying stealth-beam coating to the walls of their base. Once this is complete, their base will be undetectable from outside.
Things are on schedule, when Coby and Scattorshot fire up the main computer and sensor grid, and immediately detect two blips approaching the general area of the base. They turn out to be Megatron and Starscream, to everyone's consternation. The stealth coating isn't complete, and their secret base may be discovered before it's even finished. If that happens, the Autobots will have to abandon the base, and Earth.
Optimus declares that he, Hot Shot, Jetfire, and Vector Prime will slow down the Decepticons, while the rest rush to finish applying the stealth coating. Fortunately, all the launch bays are complete, so the intercept team gets to take off and roll out in some very dramatic soon-to-be-stock-footage sequences.
The flying Autobots engage the Decepticons in the upper atmosphere. Vector Prime demands that Megatron return his map, and backs his demand up with some (largely ineffective) punches. Megatron swats him away.
The fight continues as the kids and Autobots back at the base hurry to complete the stealth coating. Optimus tries to talk Megatron into going away, which only arouses his suspicions. However, it is Starscream who analyzes their defensive pattern, and determines that the Autobots are deliberately blocking them from something. The nefarious duo break through the Autobots' line.
At the base, Overhaul races over to D Block to finish the stealth coating alone. Megatron gets closer and closer, but suddenly Vector Prime teleports in front of him, summons his Cyber Key, and raises a force shield, stopping Megatron cold. Optimus uses this opportunity to switch to Super Mode, and blasts Megatron. The Decepticon leader is wounded, and he and Starscream retreat through a warp gate. Seconds later, Overhaul announces that the stealth coating is complete.
As the sun sets, the Autobots thank Vector Prime for stopping Megatron, and ask him what the heck a Cyber Key is. He explains that a Key is a small part of the power of Primus, and grants them all Keys of their own.
Stats[]
Written by: ???
Original airdate: September 2005???
Featured Characters[]
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes[]
The kids and the Autobots are examining the proposed blueprints.
Scattorshot: Looks like we got everything.
Lori: What? Are you serious? I just think you could use a more efficient design, that's all.
Scattorshot: So, what's wrong?
Lori: Are you kidding? There's no workflow, no ventilation, and if you haven't noticed, there aren't even any bathrooms! You gotta work smarter, not harder, that's my dad's first rule of business. Catch my drift? You should organize everything around a central hub, with easy access to all the other work areas.
Jolt: Wait, you mean, something like this?
Jolt displays a revised plan.
Bud: Cool! Just like The League of Galactic Guardians!
Lori: Well, it's a good start.
Landmine, to Overhaul: I don't really see the difference, do you?
Overhaul: I guess it's some weirdo "Earth" thing.
Lori: That's just rude!
All: (Mollifying noises.)
Bud: Whoa! Would you check out all that sweet gear?!
Hot Shot: Yeah, it's probably way beyond human technology, so whatever you do, don't touch the equipment, you got it?
The kids are all touching the equipment.
Hot Shot: Hey! C'mon you guys, stop that!
Coby: Hey, ahh, Hot Shot? How come you use a crystal oscillator?
Hot Shot: That's, uh, kinda technical . . .
Coby: 'Cause, I just thought that, a phase-locked loop would be, ah, much more stable.
Hot Shot: Hmm. (Pause.) Hey, uh, how would you like to help me set up the transmitter?
Coby: You got it!
Bud: You can't just fly out of here. You gotta go tik-tik, then pshooow!
Jolt: Ooo! Tik-tik, then pshoow!
Jetfire: Do what now?
Bud: You need to shoot out of here at top speed, just like a catapult!
Jetfire: A catapult?
Jolt: Humans use them to launch planes off ships.
Bud: All you have to do is step on the platform, and then blam! You're in the stratosphere!
Jetfire: Look kid, I don't know what the heck . . .
Scattorshot: No, Jetfire, I think the kid's got the right idea.
Jetfire: What idea?!
Scattorshot: The catapult thing! You could reach maximum velocity, before you leave the base! Without using extra energon.
Jetfire: Really? Well, why didn't you say that in the first place?
Bud and Jolt: We did!
Bud: Hey, good job, you guys! This totally looks like a real secret headquarters!
Hot Shot: Gee, maybe 'cause it is one!
Scattorshot: Fire it up!
Coby: You got it!
Coby flips the huge switch. The whole command system powers up.
Coby: All right!
Bud: Hot Shot was right! This is the real thing!
Lori: And so stylish!
Alarms begin to sound.
Scattorshot: Okay, nobody panic, it's probably just a glitch.
All: Huh?!
Scattorshot: Just let me tie this down here . . . gimme a second . . . adjusting frequency . . .
Two blips are approaching Earth.
Coby: What is that?
Scattorshot: Hang on! Let me see if I can boost the resolution. They're still pretty far away.
The screen reveals the blips are Megatron and Starscream.
Scattorshot: Oh no.
Hot Shot: Hmm?!
Scattorshot: Now you can panic!
"Okay, stealth-beam coating is completed on A Block, B Block, and C Block. And now it's all up to Overhaul... We are so doomed!"
- —Scattorshot's faith in his teammate warms the heart, doesn't it?
Lori: We made it!
Scattorshot, big ol' fibber: Yeah, I knew we would.
Notes[]
Pain count[]
- "Cyber key power!": One, but it's early days yet. We also get one "super mode", and a half-dozen special dirtmoving attacks.
Animation and/or technical glitches[]
- When Hot Shot talks after the team blows up a huge hole in the wall, one will notice carefully that his face flashes with each word he speaks.
Continuity errors[]
- On the display graphics on Scattorshot's screens, the progress of the blips representing the Decepticons resets itself backward at least once.
- Why is Overhaul the only one who can work in D Block?
- Scattorshot announces that they have 50 seconds left at 16:40 or so. Megatron isn't stopped until about 18:18, over 90 seconds later.
- Despite Landmine saying that his block is 50% complete, the scanner will be at 75%.
Notes[]
- The Autobots can build a gigantic secret base in one day?
- Three normal Earth kids can apparently offer sensible advice on how to construct a high-tech secret headquarters. Just roll with it.
- In the shot of Optimus's back at 6:06 in the episode, you can see two toy details that probably wouldn't be present on a "real" giant robot, namely the lever used for sliding his head up out of his torso, and the smaller lever on the back of his head that moves his faceplate up and down.
- The plans Lori is working from are clearly for a normal Earth kitchen.
- They give the minimum safe distance as 240 kilometers, then as 150 miles. Pleasantly, this conversion is correct. (Jetfire also gives it as "a lightyear", but he's being hyperbolic.)
- Overhaul sprays the stealth beam coating out of, more or less, his belt buckle. Possibly a different location would have been more decorous.
- In this episode, no one but Vector Prime knows what a Cyber Key is. Within a few episodes, everyone's got one, even people who have never met Vector Prime.
- Interestingly, the instructions for Optimus's Leader-class toy depict Super Mode differently from how it appears in this cartoon. In the instructions, his cannons go over his shoulders. In this episode, his wing and cannon assemblies are flipped vertically, so that the cannons are slung under his arms. The toy is capable of both positions, though the "cannons down" orientation is slightly more awkward.
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