#hybridizers

Are there other Transformers that transform into deer besides Scrapper? I would like to know the female ones if possible.

Dear Antler Appreciator,

The Scrapper you mention is far from the only one. Some non-Hybridizer incarnations of Thunderhoof turn into deer. The Autobot Herne, when outside of his Pretender shell, transformed into an electro-elk—as did Sero, a Maximal Resistance member who underwent the Beast Upgrade. Now that you mention it, it’s curious that of all the individuals who come to mind, from across the multiverse, not one of them is female. I wonder if there is some underlying metaphysical principle that precludes the adoption of the doe as an alternate form…

This reminds me of a story, which—if my chronometer is to be trusted—should be seasonally-appropriate. Gather around the energon furnace, and I will tell you of the time Sky-Byte learned the meaning of Christmas.

Between schemes, Sky-Byte’s personal mission to understand human literature was well underway. Having already enjoyed A Tale of Two Cities, he next set his sights on that seminal classic, A Christmas Carol. So moved by it was he, that Sky-Byte was inspired to spread the “Christmas Spirit” to his fellow Predacons—and thus he enlisted the help of Slapper, Gas Skunk and Dark Scream, to play the role of the three spirits in his own re-enactment… and as for the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, why, that part would be played by none other than Megatron, of course.

The production went about as well as you might expect. Nevertheless, having been alerted to the magical properties of the “Christmas Spirit”, Megatron couldn’t help but covet this power for himself. He turned once more to Doctor Onishi’s memories, and in doing so, learned of the existence of the being known as “Santa Claus”.

Megatron reasoned that Santa Claus was the being who commanded the Christmas Spirit, and plotted to hijack the holiday. That night, he travelled to the North Pole to lie in wait… and when the sleigh appeared, he used his flying hand mode to snatch Santa Claus and all the presents! Having stolen Santa's list, he checked it twice, identifying the nicest humans with the most Christmas Spirit to take. On the back of the sleigh, he mounted the Predacons’ psycho-probe, which had been modified to absorb this psychic energy, stealing the hopes and dreams of children asleep in their beds. Dragging it behind him, Megatron changed into his reindeer mode… and took flight.

On Christmas morning, the Autobots were surprised to find a miserable Koji Onishi, who didn't even want to get out of bed to open the Autobots’ gifts. Their attempts to cheer him up only irritated him further. X-Brawn wondered if Koji was upset to be spending Christmas without his father, but Side Burn couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong…

Meanwhile, at the Megastar, Sky-Byte had been left to guard Santa Claus—as Predacon intelligence suggested the old man had a preternatural ability to break in and out of buildings unnoticed. But when Santa Claus revealed to Sky-Byte that his name was near the very top of the naughty list, the Predacon shark had a crisis of conscience. He sent out a transmission, which was received by T-AI at Autobot HQ, to warn them of Megatron's scheme.

Unfortunately, the number of humans affected by the psycho-probe was rapidly snowballing, causing a wave of humbuggery that would give even old Scrooge himself pause. Combined with Santa's magical sleigh, Megatron was moving faster than the Autobots could possibly keep up with! Only Rail Racer stood a chance of catching him, but Team Bullet Train was off-duty, as trains don’t run on Christmas Day. Thinking quickly, the Build Team modified the Global Space Bridge to lock onto Megatron and trap him in the transwarp field, allowing Prime and the Autobot Brothers to intercept. Cornered, Megatron needed more power if he was going to stand a chance—and unfortunately for the Autobots, the Christmas Spirit had unlimited power to give. Absorbing the stolen energy into himself, he supercharged his body into a menacingly festive new form, decked out all in red and gold. The victory he had chased for so long was finally within reach. The Autobots always got what they wanted. Why shouldn’t he?

Koji shouted to Megatron that he would never understand the meaning of Christmas. After all, it’s not about getting what you want—it’s about giving to others. But Megatron only let out a wickedly jolly laugh, for he did indeed have something for the Autobots… and with that, he began to charge his devastating Cutter Beam. Koji begged for him to listen. All the young boy wanted was to spend Christmas with friends and family—to see his father again, to have just one day without fighting. Why should such a dream be impossible? If only he promised to stop fighting, even Megatron would be welcome at their table.

And though Megatron laughed, some part of this warm sentiment touched his icy spark. It triggered a chain reaction in the Christmas Spirit coursing through his circuitry, which fought with his natural evil impulses… before finally exploding. Free once more, the Christmas Spirit returned to all the good little girls and boys. Bitterly, Megatron asked Koji if he had truly meant it. But before the boy could respond, Megatron saw a rift in the transwarp, and took his chance to retreat. Optimus Prime thanked Koji, and renewed his promise to rescue Doctor Onishi—though he regretted that they had not stopped Megatron sooner, and that all the children would be waking up without presents…

When Megatron arrived back at the Megastar, he was furious to discover that Santa Claus had vanished—and Sky-Byte, too! Meanwhile, all over the world, children found gifts had mysteriously arrived under their trees. A little girl looked out of her window, and caught a glimpse of a bearded man in a big red sleigh… pulled by a flying shark.