Starscream decides to leave the Combaticons behind, telling them anything is better than being stuck with them. He transforms and leaves the asteroid, so the Combaticons put him on their revenge roster. But they want revenge on Megatron, Cybertron and the Earth first, so Blast Off pulls the asteroid towards Cybertron. There, they are attacked by Shockwave and his Sentinel units, but they transform into Bruticus and defeat them all. Shockwave gets blasted into space, whilst the Combaticons set about the next phase of their plan. On Earth, the Insecticons attack a city, so Optimus Prime has the Protectobots -Hot Spot, Groove, Streetwise, First Aid and Blades -head in to evacuate the people.

Starscream happens to bump into Shockwave, and the two head back to Cybertron. There, Onslaught has reprogrammed the space bridge, and is able to change the Earth's orbit. He puts the planet on a collision course with the sun, hoping to destroy Megatron in the process. On Earth, Perceptor and Spike find out about the Earth's orbit change, and rush to tell Optimus. The Autobots head to the space bridge, only for the Insecticons to steal the control panel.

Starscream and Shockwave arrive on Cybertron. Shockwave distracts the Combaticons with some holograms, then he and Starscream see Onslaught's device. Shockwave attempts to deactivate it, but Starscream, happy at the thought of Megatron being destroyed, shoots him in the back. He then contacts Megatron and says he wants to be acknowledged as the new Decepticon leader, or he'll allow the Earth, and Megatron, to fall into the sun. Shockwave then shoots at Starscream and the two start fighting, but the Combaticons then appear and place them both in a jail cell.

On Earth, the Autobots and Decepticons realize they are in danger. They manage to get the control panel back from the Insecticons, but it has been damaged. Perceptor says he can fix it, but will need parts. Optimus says he will donate some, but only if Megatron will do the same. Megatron reluctantly agrees, and the controls are repaired. A team of Autobots and Decepticons use the space bridge to get to Cybertron, where they find Starscream and Shockwave. Starscream lies about what happened, claiming the Combaticons forced him to threaten Megatron. Megatron and Starscream start to argue, but the group are then attacked by the Combaticons. The battle goes outside, where the Combaticons form Bruticus. Starscream reveals he built in a failsafe mechanism into Bruticus.

He says if the three spots on the back of Bruticus are shot, he will be deactivated. Optimus manages to do this, as Sideswipe reverts the Earth's orbit just in time. Bruticus can't move, and Optimus believes the combiner is a hazard to the galaxy. Megatron agrees, and has him destroyed. The Autobots are allowed to use the space bridge to return to Earth, but as they leave, it's revealed that Bruticus wasn't destroyed. The one seen exploding was just a hologram, whilst the real one is being reprogrammed to only serve Megatron. Megatron believes that once this has been done, no one will stop him!

Notes

-SCRIPT DIFFERENCES: Click here for details.

-This episode marks the debut of the Protectobots. Unlike the other special teams introduced recently, they don't get an origin story, and just appear out of nowhere.

-The Protectobots also present a bit of a problem, as three of them transform into things other Autobots could already do. Streetwise and Prowl both turn into police cars, Inferno and Hot Spot both turn into fire trucks and Ratchet and First Aid both turn into ambulances. The next season will not feature any of the three older characters, but the Protectobots will make plenty of appearances in it.

 

Errors

-The asteroid Starscream and the Combaticons are on is much larger than it was at the end of the previous episode.
-When Thundercracker lands, he's colored like Starscream.
-Some if the Insecticon clones are colored white during this shot.
-The sign on the Protectobot's base reads "SPARK PLU" instead of "SPARKPLUG".
-The police text on Groove reads "POLISE" when he's first seen rolling out.
-Brawl's eyes are colored gray instead of orange during this shot.
-Ratchet's helmet is colored black instead of white during this shot.
-During this shot, Megatron's chest Decepticon insignia is missing.
-Vortex is shown saying "Combaticons, transform into Bruticus!", but Onslaught's voice is heard.
-Bruticus has gray eyes instead of red ones during this shot.