Buster Witwicky wakes up to find himself prisoner on the Decepticon's island headquarters on the Florida Key. He finds Ratbat and Shockwave looking over him and he asks them to bring him some food. When Ratbat brings him a raw fish, Buster is disgusted, prompting Shockwave to fry some fish with an optic blast and bringing him the cooked bounty. While out at sea three military aircraft carriers head toward the island. Among the passengers are Forrest Forsythe and Walter Barnett of III. Barnett has with him a briefcase containing the minds of the Throttlebots, who are still trapped in the toy bodies of RC cars to provide advice on how to proceed. They are about to attack when they spot Buster on the beach, prompting them to cease any military action for fear of injuring Buster.

Calling Sparkplug, Walter explains to the elder Witwicky to tell him that they've found his son. Spike, also present has his father keep Walter on the line long enough to trace the line. When Sparkplug inquires how Spike can do this, Spike reveals that he has been binary bonded to Fortress Maximus. He then introduces his father to the Autobot Headmasters and Targetmasters along with their Neublan counterparts. Sparkplug is shocked by this revelation, however accepts it on the basis that Spike has bonded to Fortress Maximus in order to save Buster from the Decepticons.

When the Autobots land on the Decepticons Island, Kup recommends that Fortress Maximus stay behind given that Spike's emotions will effect his ability to fight. Buster spotting the Autobots arriving dives for cover and realizes that the plants on the island are really mechanical. Detecting the Autobot invasion, Shockwave initiates the islands defenses which prove to be too powerful for the Autobots to handle and they are forced out into the ocean. Then everyone is shocked to see a great glass dome enclose the island, and watch as it takes off into space, as the Decepticons have converted the island into a space ship.

Fortress Maximus jumps onto the ship and scales it as it flies out into orbit. Detecting the Autobot on the side of their shuttle, Shockwave has him knocked off and then impales him with one of the ships weapons (hidden in a palm tree) with his larger form incapacitated, Fortress Maximus unleashes Cerebros. With this new Autobot pest, Shockwave decides to deal with him directly and exits the ship in space gun mode. Although Shockwave blasts Cerebros, incapacitating him as well, he neglects to see Spike disengage and float over to Fortress Maximus' body. There Spike uses Fort's defenses to blast Shockwave causing him to get caught in Earth's gravity and pulled into reentry, seemingly destroying him. Ratbat then blasts off, however Spike gets a brief moment to reassure his brother that he will save Buster before losing him again.

Taken aboard the Autobot shuttle, Fortress Maximus and Cerebros are taken for repairs, while the other Autobots praise Spike for being a worth leader of their group for his courage and bravery.

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