#throttlebots

The Throttlebots | TV Magazine | Artwork by Shinya Ohria

Canon divergence, during war time.

During a mission gone wrong on a robot planet, Bumblebee, who had been sent out on his own to spy on the decepticons Suddenly he is surprised when both he and the Cons team are surrounded by Cybert-Panthers. The Cons, who had been informed by Soundwave of Bee's presence, decide to flee and Leaving the mini-bot to its fate to deal with the cyber beasts, they believed that if it was nearby, then the Autobots were too (they weren't; the bots were on the ship at that moment, And they could do nothing but listen as Bee was attacked by the cyber beasts; by the time they arrived, there was almost nothing left of the mech that had once been the youngest of Optimus's Sparklings but a bunch of A heap of agonizing metal, spattered with energon, they had presumed the poor thing dead until Red Alert gave them the horrifying news that Bee's body still showed vital signs.

He was quickly taken to the ship where he spent hours in horrible pain and suffering while they tried to stabilize him. Optimus, who had already been informed of the situation, could do nothing more than Watching his sparkling fight for his life on a medical table while multiple bots worked around him to try and save him.

After what seems like multiple hours, Bumblebee is in intensive care, with a med bot always by his side in case he wakes up and doesn't remember what happened.

The following months are eternal torture for Bumblebee, as he cannot move, cannot speak, cannot see, cannot hear, and cannot feel—the horrible feeling of not having a shred of control of his own body, It was driving him crazy, slowly leading him towards an abyss from which he probably wouldn't be able to recover, and multiple bots knew it.

Not knowing what to do, Optimus turns to Shockwave, his former Sparkmate and Bumblebee's sire, asking him to help his Sparky, if not for Bumblebee then for that love he once had for him.

Against all odds, the Decepticon mad scientist agrees, and Bumblebee quickly obtains a new, brighter body; the yellow that characterized him is gone, Instead, there was a gold one with dark purple and orange details; now he wore a visor and had a mask similar to that of his carrier, Optimus.

Many cannot recognize the bot he once was, while others praise his new form. Some time after the war, he acquires a team of combiners and they call themselves the Throttlebots, who are conformed by

Chase - anxious and superficially friendly; he's a red Ferrari.

Freeway - the comedian of the group; he is a blue Chevrolet Corvette .

Goldbug - Bumblebee's rebuilt form; it's a golden Camaro.

Rollbar - aggressive and manly driving; it's a green Jeep.

Searchlight - a silent and secluded lookout; it's a Ford Raptor.

Wide Load - vain and narcissistic; he is an orange mining truck and the biggest of the Throttlebots.

Optimus doesn't like almost any of the Throttlebots except for Freeway.

Left to Right: Goldbug, Freeway, Searchlight, Wideload, Chase, Rollbar.

Concept designs (a little different from the final) under the cut

Dear Sixshot Searcher,

It may sound redundant to say "Sixshot survived", but he did. Heavily damaged, he lurched into the air in pursuit of the escaping Throttlebots. Furious in apparent defeat, he used his last resort, the rarely-seen lethal Wingwolf mode. He caught up to their shuttle and began to chew it to pieces. Fortunately for the Throttlebots, the shuttle contained a prototype Pathblaster, and Goldbug stared down the beast, blasting him off of the hull.

Sixshot, now in critical condition, had completely lost control in his rocketing and guidance system, and drifted semi-consciously a great distance before crashing into a metallic asteroid. As he wondered if this were the end, he slowly felt strength returning to him. Standing, he even felt re-energized. But as soon as he realized this, he saw Deathbringer and the Reapers standing before him, demanding that he join them once again. He did not ask how they survived or how they found him, only giving them a glorious battle. Eventually Sixshot bested them all. Feeling even stronger, he was attacked from behind: it was Black Shadow! As he engaged his fellow Phase Sixer in battle, Overlord joined the fray—and soon, even Megatron arrived.

In the eye of the storm of the battle, Sixshot wondered how this was possible. Out of the corner of his optic, he saw a dilapidated laboratory emitting a warning: "Ward Zero: EMERGENCY. Failsafe telepath life support critical." Sixshot did not understand the message and kept fighting.