The original AllSpark had been shattered by Optimus Prime, but energy was conserved. The energy inside the AllSpark had not disappeared; it had merely changed form.
All the energy that once belonged to the AllSpark was now scattered across Titan. Bella needed Starscream to gather that energy again and reshape it into its previous form.
Starscream carefully examined the data recorded in the Apple of Eden. It was true that the guy was wildly ambitious, too cautious when the stakes were high yet reckless for petty gains, but Megatron had tolerated Starscream's stubborn obsession with becoming the boss for so long without crushing him to death. That indirectly proved Starscream really did have talent.
After some calculations, he reached a workable conclusion and even proposed his own method.
Now he began showing off a little. "Boss, I think it should work like this. This moon has a very high nitrogen content, and nitrogen's properties are well understood. I can build an Energy Absorption Factory here and use the characteristics of first-stage decomposition and second-stage compression for the most basic energy refinement..."
Starscream went on and on. Bella listened with an imposing, dignified expression. She understood the first few sentences. After that? What the hell was he even talking about?
She could not reveal her ignorance. Unicron did not understand such basic knowledge? Wouldn't that expose her in minutes?
Bella carefully observed Starscream's thoughts. This guy was the classic type who became cocky the moment he was given a little encouragement. Once he knew his life was safe, he started trying to look clever again. The brainwashing was not foolproof enough yet. She needed to add more fuel to the fire.
She floated in midair, reached out, and patted Starscream on the shoulder. In a low, emotionless tone, she continued deceiving him. "I know what your heart covets. I can also see that you possess the makings of an emperor. But! Only what I give you is yours. If I don't give it to you, you cannot take it!"
Starscream was terrified. Every thought of showing off vanished instantly.
To be fair, he truly had not been thinking about taking Unicron's throne. Give him the position of Decepticon leader and he would already be satisfied. But now that Bella had said it, he suddenly thought, Huh? That's right! I really am capable! Didn't you hear it? Even this Avatar of Unicron said I have "the makings of an emperor"!
His original plan—to join Unicron, help the great being rule Cybertron, and finally become leader of the Decepticons—transformed into an entire program: join Unicron, rule Cybertron, become leader of the Decepticons, then eventually lead the Decepticons in a counterattack and replace Unicron.
For a greater goal and a higher level of power, he could tolerate more work and exploitation.
Originally, once Starscream's loyalty score fell to eighty, this guy would probably betray her or run away. Now, with those "makings of an emperor" dangling in front of him, both his patience and expectations had risen considerably. Perhaps he would not betray her until the score dropped to sixty.
For Starscream, that was already extremely rare.
Bella was delighted. The deception had succeeded. As for Starscream wanting to challenge Unicron to the death someday, she did not care. If he wanted to, he could go. What did that have to do with her?
For now, she wanted to see Starscream's ability and obedience.
"The AllSpark is extremely important for my return to Cybertron. First gather its energy and reshape it. I'll have my servant stay with you." She spoke without showing any emotion.
Smaug let out a shrill cry. Ghostly blue undead fire shone from his eye sockets as he stared fixedly at Starscream. The message was obvious: Smaug was there to keep an eye on him.
Starscream had no objection at all. This was how the Decepticons did things. If they followed the saying "If you doubt someone, don't employ them; if you employ them, don't doubt them," that would be strange. He put on a fawning smile. "No problem, no problem, Master. This is exactly what I should do."
Bella left Starscream on Titan. The moon was not small, and the AllSpark probably could not be fully reshaped in less than a month.
Bella returned to Earth that same day and spent another two hours taking part in the fight against the Tripods.
These Selorians had been modified by Starscream. Their immune systems were damaged and their genes were collapsing. They had already deteriorated this far, so even Starscream had no way to eliminate them immediately. They were going to die tomorrow anyway; no matter how powerful a toxin was, it could not do anything to them today.
The next day, the Selorians met their end. They were completely wiped out, without a single survivor. The bacteria in the air killed them all.
Humanity won another victory. Large numbers of citizens returned home. Because the military had provided timely support, civilian casualties were not especially heavy, but the soldiers had paid a much greater price.
President Benjamin Asher gave a televised address, repeatedly praising the military's enormous contribution during the crisis. He also personally visited the cemetery for fallen service members to pay his respects, yet he still faced considerable criticism. Many military families held portraits of the dead while protesting in front of the White House, accusing him of disregarding soldiers' lives and caring only about pleasing voters.
Their anger was understandable. Civilian lives mattered, but did the lives of our sons, brothers, and husbands not matter too?
Nick Fury chose this moment to propose creating a superhero team. He believed they could put another line of defense between the threat and ordinary soldiers and civilians, using a superhero team to protect both groups.
Political leaders from various countries did not immediately agree, because the amount of money he wanted was simply far too high!
President Benjamin Asher, however, was very interested in Tony Stark's armored suits. If they equipped an entire squad, there would be no need to create some superhero team at all.
But Tony Stark refused without the slightest hesitation. He emphasized that he himself was Iron Man. Buying his products or patents was also out of the question. Handing over the Iron Man armor meant handing over himself—it would be forced labor or selling his own body. A thousand arguments all came down to one sentence: absolutely not!
None of this had anything to do with Charlie's family. They returned to Los Angeles, and their luck was good. Their house escaped disaster yet again and had not been damaged by the Tripods.
The United States lacked a single dominant ethnic group. Normally, that was not much of a problem, but whenever some natural or man-made disaster occurred, it became especially obvious how little cohesion there was.
Wildfires in California? What does that have to do with me in Kentucky?
A hurricane in Florida? Does that affect our baseball game in Pennsylvania?
Bella's family was like many families that had not suffered any disaster. Other people's misfortune had nothing to do with them. Everything continued as usual, and they did what they normally did.
They passed Christmas peacefully. With another baby, Little Elsa, now in the family, Charlie began thinking about a family trip. The last time the whole family had gone somewhere together was their trip to the White House, and that experience had not exactly been pleasant.
His work was relatively relaxed now, so he had the time. If he won the election in three years, he would have no time to spend with his wife and children.
While he still had both the time and energy, he decided to organize another family trip. This one would include a very large group—even Jazz, Ratchet, and the others, who were basically guests, were included.