The Transformers
(guía de cómics)

29 - Crater Critters !

Criaturas del cráter

	Guión:	Bob Budiansky
	Dibujo:	Don Perlin
	Entintado:	Ian Akin & Brian Garvey
	Letra:	Janice Chiang
	Color:	Nel Yomtov
22 páginas

Resumen:

A meteorite falls in an isolated region of northern Arizona. A deteriorated robot tries to crawl out of the crash site, but fails.

The next night in Portland, Goldbug and Blaster find G.B. Blackrock. After some browbeating from Goldbug, Blackrock takes his date home early and gets dumped as a result. The Autobots then tell Blackrock that they have defected from Grimlock (last issue), and are looking for news about possible Decepticon activities. Blackrock informs them about the meteorite, and how it is emitting strange radio signals. Thanking him for the tip, the Autobots drop Blackrock off and head for Arizona. Goldbug then learns about Blaster's last encounter with Scrounge (in issue #17), and is horrified at Blaster's desertion.

On Cybertron, the Decepticons have been taken over by the Accounting division, and are now led by fuel auditor Ratbat. He explains to Astrotrain, Blitzwing, and Octane that he had been using meteorites as a fuel-efficient delivery system to the Decepticons on Earth. Unfortunately, something has gone wrong with the latest shipment, so he has approved one use of the Space Bridge to send them to investigate.

Back on Earth, a team of humans is preparing to investigate the crash site when the Space Bridge appears. Ignoring orders, the Triple-Changers drive off the humans and recklessly jump into the crater. Oblivious to the mysterious corrosion around him, Blitzwing finds the dying pilot and starts to interrogate him. But then he gets a sudden jab of pain, and his leg is covered with little nuts and bolts...

Goldbug and Blaster arrive at the site, which is now under military guard. They find Dr. Charlie Fong, a member of the science team, and quickly convince him to help. The three of them bluff past security and reach the site, but are attacked by the Decepticons. Charlie falls into the crater, and Goldbug leaps in to save him.

At the bottom, they find the meteor-ship's pilot, who explains that his ship had passed through a space cloud when he stopped to make repairs. He was then infected with Scraplets, little robotic monsters that transform into nuts and bolts. As the pilot dies, the Scraplets attack; they swarm Goldbug, but are repelled by Charlie's organtic nature.

Meanwhile, the Decepticons mount a ground attack and knock Blaster into the crater. The Triple-Changers follow, and everyone is immediately attacked by the Scraplets. Goldbug wants to help Blaster, but Charlie persuades him to escape and find a cure instead. When Blaster sees Goldbug's desertion, he angrily swears vengeance.

Goldbug stops with indecision, and in that moment, a Scraplet attacks his foot. Charlie tries to remove it, but fails, and it starts to replicate. In desperation, Goldbug and Charlie drive off, with Goldbug begging Charlie to help him save Blaster...