"Well," Tony muttered, watching the towering yellow Autobot square off against Iron Monger, "look how the tables have turned."
He smirked, unable to resist the flash of schadenfreude creeping in.
Across from him, Obadiah was frozen in place. His eyes widened as the Autobot's extended hand began to shift and transform with mechanical precision, panels folding, metal reshaping. Within seconds, the fingers were gone, replaced by the sleek barrel of an energy cannon.
"Oh, no…" Obadiah's words were cut off by a searing blast of golden light.
The air exploded in a shockwave. The energy beam hit Obadiah square in the chest, and his entire suit was sent hurtling backwards, smashing into the side of a nearby building with a deafening crunch.
Sparks flew as his armor peeled and crumpled, a thick column of smoke trailing in the aftermath. One of his arms hung uselessly, wires exposed and twitching.
On the ground, Tony whistled low. "Well... that's definitely not StarkTech. Jarvis, remind me to treat my cars better from now on, wouldn't want to piss them off in the chance they can also transform like that, you never know..."
Jarvis's voice resounded in his ears, "noted sir."
Iron Monger struggled to rise, panic flickering across Obadiah's face. His once-unshakable confidence was gone. For the first time, he realized with growing dread that he was utterly outclassed.
"This… this isn't possible…" he muttered, coughing inside the helmet. "That thing shouldn't exist..."
But now wasn't the time to fight, he had to escape. As long as he survived there was always another chance to make a rise. He had already transferred most of his assets away, and with the technology in his hands there wouldn't be a lack of countries offering him asylum.
With a groan, he activated his armor's emergency thrusters. Panels opened and jets of flame shot from beneath his feet as he slowly lifted off the ground.
Tony cursed under his breath. "Oh, come on, that hunk of junk can fly as well?"
He checked his HUD. Energy reserves were dangerously low. The outdated Arc Reactor pulsed weakly in his chest.
"Jarvis, tell me I've got enough juice to chase him."
"Negative, sir. Not unless you intend to fall out of the sky halfway there."
Tony clenched his jaw and watched as Iron Monger ascended.
Meanwhile, Obadiah soared higher, confidence returning to his expression. "Let me go, you freak of a toaster. I'll be back, and next time, I won't hold back."
He gritted his teeth, hoping the Autobot couldn't follow.
After a while he looked back and saw it was still on the ground, making the corner of his mouth rise into a smug smirk.
But then he heard it.
A heavy metallic thud behind him.
Obadiah glanced back again and his heart plummeted.
The Autobot had leapt into the air. Its feet glowed with energy, and powerful jet boosters propelled it forward at blistering speed. On its back were new wings, angular and glowing, forged from a vehicle that had transformed and fused itself to the larger robot mid-battle.
On the ground, Luke, peeking out from behind a scorched taxi, heard the familiar ding of his system.
[Ding! Your Transformer has closely observed Tony Stark's flight technology. Flight subroutines learned. Autobot Assisted Flight unlocked.]
Luke's jaw dropped. "Wait… it just learned how to fly? Just like that?!"
He looked skyward and watched as the Autobot's new wings unfurled with a loud hiss. A second later, it rocketed upward, closing the gap to Iron Monger at terrifying speed.
Obadiah's face contorted in disbelief. "NO, no, this isn't possible!"
The Autobot reached behind its back and drew a sword of gleaming silver alloy, charged with crackling energy.
Obadiah's blood ran cold.
He poured all his remaining energy into the thrusters. The sky blurred around him, but it was no use.
The Autobot caught up in an instant.
Then, a flash of golden light streaked across the night sky as it swung its sword.