Family System: Chapter 43

Faced with their doubts, Optimus Prime spoke sincerely:

"Don't forget!"

"This being from the Tribe of Light didn’t have to tell us anything!"

"He could have taken it all for himself!"

"But he’s still willing to share half with us. If that’s not generosity, then what is?"

"And let’s not forget that the AllSpark is..."

Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet immediately fell silent!

In their subconscious minds, they instinctively believed that the AllSpark belonged to Cybertron and to them.

But they had forgotten that Vex was far more powerful than they were. Now he even had more information than they did.

Even if he took the AllSpark entirely for himself, what could they do about it?

Thinking about it like this...

Vex really was generous for offering to split it!

...

Although Vex had flown a bit farther away, his super-hearing was still locked onto their conversation.

He greatly appreciated Optimus Prime's level-headedness. This was true wisdom, unlike that guy Stark, who was full of flaws.

As for the part Optimus hadn’t finished saying...

Maybe in the past, it would’ve been a problem, but not anymore.

"The situation is basically like this," Vex explained over the phone. "I detected aliens and intercepted them. They’re here to reclaim their energy source, which is key to rebuilding their world, kind of like Krypton. So, are you going to let them take it or not?"

Fury: "..."

Vex hadn’t mentioned that Cybertron was down to just a handful of survivors.

Fury, looking at the footage from the satellite, assumed Optimus Prime and his crew were just the advance team.

From the satellite view, these things looked like war machines!

And now they were asking for something that could revive their civilization?

Could Fury really say no to that?

Probably not, unless he wanted to start a war like with Krypton all over again!

But...

Just handing it over wasn’t Fury’s style either.

"How about this: keep them calm for now, and we’ll talk when I get there?"

"Are you telling me how to do my job?" Vex shot back.

"I'll bring an artifact over." Fury said calmly.

"Then hurry up, I’m trying to get home to sleep," Vex yawned.

"…"

Fury had figured it out—Vex was a real cheapskate!

After hanging up, Vex walked over to Optimus Prime and gave him a quick rundown of the situation.

"It looks like Earth will agree, but you’ll have to pay a price," Vex explained. "Just offer them some advanced but non-critical technology, and that should be enough to satisfy them."

Optimus Prime nodded in understanding.

"No problem!" Optimus Prime responded respectfully. "However, our scientific bot, Wheeljack, is still in space, so we don’t have access to high-end tech at the moment..."

"That's not entirely true," Ratchet interjected. "My database mostly contains medical technologies for repairing us, but Earth’s tech seems to have been reverse-engineered from ours, so they could definitely use it!"

"That’ll do," Vex replied casually. "By the way, make a copy of your tech for me too. I won’t take it for free—I’ll trade you some alien tech in return."

What could Ratchet say?

As Optimus Prime had already mentioned, Vex had the power to take it all by force but was still willing to negotiate.

That was already more than fair.

The two exchanged technologies, both nodding in satisfaction afterward.

"So escape pods can be modified like this? That’s impressive!"

As for Vex…

Congratulations, Host, for acquiring the "Transformers Medical Compendium," adding depth to your family’s knowledge. Reward: "Light of Resurrection."


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Name: Light of Resurrection

Grade: C

Description: Convert your healing abilities into a beam of resurrection that can be used at range, either on a single target or within a designated area!

PS: If you can't heal, just blind your enemies with it!


---

Hmm... combined with the Horse Talisman, this could enable long-distance healing.

Next time there’s a disaster, I can just toss out a "Light of Resurrection" and gain some goodwill.

Who knows? I might even save someone's "future in-laws," like Gwen’s.

"Oh, right! Almost forgot!"

Vex opened his Gate of Babylon and took out the black teleportation stone.

His arm vibrated, activating the portal.

Clark zoomed out at light speed.

—As the keeper of the Codex of Life, Clark’s involvement was essential for reviving Krypton.

"Ah, sorry about that," Vex said awkwardly. "When Faora arrived, I should have let you out, but things got a bit hectic, and I forgot..."

—Back then, Faora had been quite insistent, leaving Vex with little room to act.

What could Clark say?

That he almost flew back on his own?

But then, Clark noticed Optimus Prime and the other Autobots, looking at Vex questioningly.

Are they yours?

Vex shook his head.

"New alien life forms. Fury and his team are on their way," Vex explained. "Clark from Krypton, now residing on Earth. Optimus Prime from Cybertron, here to retrieve something."

Clark nodded in greeting toward Optimus Prime.

"I’m heading back. Lois is probably waiting," Clark said.

—Lois Lane, Clark's reporter girlfriend.

"Wait a second," Vex called, pulling out a vial of KW89 Enhancement Serum and tossing it over. "As an apology, give this to Lane."

Just a little boost for Lois’s stamina.

Clark didn’t recognize KW89 Enhancement Serum, but he trusted Vex.

He caught it, nodded, then bent his legs and launched into the air, disappearing in a series of sonic booms.

Optimus Prime and his team stood there, mouths slightly agape.

This Earth...

Seems pretty dangerous, doesn’t it?

Vex closed the portal and put the black teleportation stone away.

Immediately, Optimus Prime and the others became alert!

A swarm of Quinjet aircraft disengaged their stealth mode and suddenly appeared overhead, swarming like a dark cloud.

One jet descended, and its hatch opened, revealing Fury and Hill stepping out.

"Quite the show of force," Vex teased.

"I'm just trying to prevent any potential conflict," Fury said seriously.

Fair enough.

As long as our side has overwhelming firepower, you won’t dare start a fight!

"We have no intention of bringing war," Optimus Prime said, lowering himself to face Fury. "Once we retrieve our AllSpark, we will leave Earth immediately."

"It’s not yours yet, gentlemen," Fury replied coldly. "Until a sufficient price is paid, it remains Earth’s property."

Hmm...

That statement would have been more convincing if Fury hadn’t subtly moved closer to Vex while saying it.

Vex, not thrilled about being used as a pawn, was about to leave the negotiations when…

Hill stepped forward, opening a briefcase in front of Vex, revealing a set of small, gleaming blue cubes.

"These are energy blocks extracted from the Tesseract by Hydra during World War II," Hill explained softly. "Each block contains enough energy to power a nuclear power plant."

Vex raised an eyebrow