| abstract | - The destruction of Unicron has resulted in the formation of a colossal black hole that now threatens the safety of Cybertron and the entire universe. Reporting from a remote station, Red Alert informs the Autobots on Cybertron of the black hole's continued expansion and the resultant destruction of the planet Moriturus, forcing Optimus Prime to issue a drastic command: the complete evacuation of Cybertron. The Autobots arrange to relocate to Earth and adopt vehicular forms scanned from the planet by Jetfire to hide in plain sight among humans. A little later, as the population is transported via space bridge to Earth, the Autobots' headquarters is rocked by a tremor, caused by the appearance of a strange portal above the planet. From out of the portal emerges an ancient spaceship which suddenly transforms, revealing itself to be Vector Prime, "keeper of space and time." Vector Prime wastes no time in explaining his purpose on the planet, informing the Autobots of the lost Cyber Planet Keys, tiny fragments of the power of the Transformers' creator, Primus, that were lost to the far reaches of space eons ago. The Autobots must now find the keys and restore Primus's power in order to stop the black hole, but as Vector Prime synchronizes the map that will lead them on their journey, Starscream launches an attack on the base. The Autobots retaliate, but Optimus Prime realizes that Starscream is simply serving as a distraction; while they have been busy fighting, Megatron has infiltrated the base. Prime returns just as Megatron overpowers the ancient Transformer and steals his map. Meanwhile, Starscream goes one-on-one outside with Landmine, but the fight takes a turn in the Decepticon's favor when the crumbling surface of Cybertron shifts under Landmine's feet. Starscream exploits this momentary distraction to blast Landmine into the air, where he is caught in the pull of the black hole. As the villains escape, Vector Prime opens a portal in Landmine's path, teleporting him across space and time to safety. Across the galaxy, on Earth, the Hansen family are picnicking in the Rocky Mountains. Coby and his father ride dirt bikes through the forest, much to the consternation of Coby's friend Lori, whose family have moved to the Hansens' sleepy country town for the peace and quiet, which the Hansens are now disturbing. Before a full-scale argument can break out between Coby and Lori, Coby's younger brother, Bud Hansen, steps in and calms things down, and the three kids go for a walk. A strange glow in the sky attracts the kids' attention, and they watch as something comes crashing down nearby. That something, as they soon discover, is Landmine. The kids drag Landmine out of the crater he has made for himself, and Coby puts some of his mechanical knowledge to work repairing an injury in the Autobot's arm. As Coby goes to work, Lori and Bud polish Landmine's armor, and he recounts to them the events that led to his arrival on Earth. Little does Landmine know, however, that Megatron has ordered Thundercracker to follow Landmine to Earth, and the loud-mouthed Decepticon soon tracks him down and opens fire. Landmine and the kids are saved when Thundercracker is knocked out of the sky by the sudden arrival of Optimus Prime, who lures him into a narrow cavern and uses the cramped space to explode Thundercracker's missiles in his own face. Thundercracker flees, and the Autobots all gather at Prime's location, where they are reunited with Landmine and introduce themselves to Coby, Bud and Lori. Vector Prime's Mini-Con companions, Jolt, Six-Speed and Reverb, also introduce themselves, at which point Jolt recognizes the symbol on Lori's shirt. Although Lori insists that it is simply a rock group album cover, supposedly an image from Atlantis, Vector Prime explains that it is the symbol of the Omega Lock, the focusing device for the Cyber Planet Keys...meaning that the ancient device must be hidden somewhere on Earth!
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