Transformers Classified: Battle Mountain

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How big is the motorcycle Reverb turns into?
Transformers Classified: Battle Mountain
Publisher	Little, Brown and Company
First published	September 24, 2012
Writers	Ryder Windham Jason Fry
Continuity	Movie continuity
ISBN	ISBN 0316188743 ISBN 978-0316188746
Page count	224

Kevin is informed of a cache of Cybertronian weapons at Battle Mountain that might contain the key to finding his brother.

Synopsis

In a junkyard in a Nevada desert, Ironhide does battle with a remote-controlled prototype tank created by Hyperdynamix. Company CEO Alexander Porter is not impressed that Ironhide did so much damage to his prototype, and Optimus Prime and General Marcus have to remind the pair that they're on the same team. Porter introduces them to the operator of the tank, his son Douglas, whom he is not particularly forgiving towards for failing to beat the Autobot, raising Ironhide's ire. Back at home, Douglas assumes his identity of "Stealth Leader" and has Simon Clay send him footage of the battle with Reverb at Hawthorne Army Depot. He recognizes Kevin Bowman from the footage, and comes up with a new plan.

Meanwhile, Kevin is paying a visit to his home at Hurley's Crossing to pick up some things. While playing Twenty Questions with Gears, he gets a phone call from Gilbert Poole, but isn't able to tell his friend much, as he's now part of the super-secret NEST organization. He and Gears return to the NEST Rapid Response Base where General Marcus has news—NEST technicians have isolated a chemical signature unique to Cybertronian artifacts and used it to locate another such storehouse on Antler Peak near Battle Mountain. Kevin wonders if his brother might have been transported there, and plans are made to leave for Battle Mountain in the morning. Unfortunately the meeting is interrupted by news that the Decepticons are attacking Hyperdynamix Laboratories in Mission City, and Marcus and Optimus set off to help, leaving Kevin at the base with Gears and Bumblebee. Kevin and Gears pay a visit to Lindsay in the lab, who has been analyzing the cylinder from Hawthorne and identified it as a device for trans-spacial porting. Unfortunately there's no way to determine where it transported Duane Bowman, or even if it transported him anywhere.

Douglas arrives at the base, using his clearance from earlier to visit Kevin. Apologizing for their last encounter, Douglas reveals a recording of a Cybertronian transmission intercepted by Hyperdynamix, which reveals that a Decepticon named Blowback is heading for the Battle Mountain storehouse. Kevin wants to call in Optimus, but Douglas insists Optimus is needed to defend Hyperdynamix, and manipulates Kevin into agreeing to an expedition there without the knowledge of any of the NEST superiors. Douglas meanwhile leaves his MP3 player at the base.

At Hyperdynamix, Porter discovers that the twelve prototype tanks are missing, despite the attacking Decepticons not having reached that area yet. Simon Clay notifies Stealth Leader that he's obtained the tanks, but Douglas refuses to give the order for the Decepticons to withdraw as he still needs them there as a distraction. The Autobots at the labs continue to hunt for the Decepticons, who appear to be in hiding.

Once Gears scans a new vintage British sports-car alternate mode, he and Bumblebee set off for Battle Mountain with Kevin and Douglas riding in Gears. They play Twenty Questions, and Douglas demonstrates how part of the game is guessing your opponent's technique by working out that Gears is thinking of Reverb. Back at the NEST base, Douglas's MP3 player which is actually a highly advanced drone, frees Reverb who immediately injures a bunch of soldiers and escapes. Once the MP3 player drone informs him of the Battle Mountain storehouse and the fact Gears will be there, Reverb scans a new jeep mode and heads in the same direction.

As the two Autobots head through Nevada, Bumblebee stops by the Kwiki-Burger in Tonopah to pick up a meal for the kids. They near Battle Mountain, at which point they encounter Blowback. Gears instructs Kevin and Douglas to hide as he and Bumblebee take on the Decepticon, but the two boys immediately start heading to Antler Peak to check out the storehouse. Gears and Bumblebee start to fight, unaware that Blowback has reinforcements in the form of Sawtooth, Roadrash and Burnrate and the battle moves into Battle Mountain, forcing the residents to scramble to safety.

Kevin and Douglas find a chamber of rusted, useless Cybertronian technology, but also an artificial intelligence guarding a door. By playing Twenty Questions with the AI and showing it an image of the Hawthorne cylinder which Douglas mysteriously has on his phone, they're able to get inside and find a second identical cylinder. Meanwhile, Gears and Bumblebee finish dispatching the four Decepticons and head to the storehouse, where Douglas has already arranged a Hyperdynamix truck to take away the cylinder "to the NEST base". As they wait, they spot a car coming which Gears recognizes as Reverb. The two Autobots are about to face him when Ironhide arrives in a NEST helicopter and says he's come to take everyone and the cylinder back. Douglas suggests he leave the cylinder for the Hyperdynamix truck so he can pursue Reverb, but Ironhide turns down this idea.

They arrive back at Hyperdynamix just in time for Ironhide to miss out on killing any of the Decepticons, as Optimus and Ratchet have already finished all three of them off. Kevin receives a telling-off from Optimus and General Marcus. Lindsay examines the second cylinder, and concludes it's operational, but only has enough charge for one journey, and they don't know what coordinates the first cylinder was set to. Douglas contacts Simon Clay who is now sharing quarters with Reverb, and declares the mission at least a success as far as stealing the prototype tanks and winning the confidence of Kevin and the Autobots goes. He also has another bargaining chip—an image of Reverb's cylinder showing the coordinates it was set to.

Meanwhile, on an alien world, Duane Bowman and his men struggle to survive.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Is this hostility an example of your usual anti-social behavior, or does it have to do with the fact that the boy nearly defeated you?"

—Optimus Prime hits Ironhide where it hurts.

"Bumblebee will lead the way, hopefully at a rate of speed that is not too excessive."

—Gears has confidence in Bumblebee's self control.

"I ain't no Decepticon. Human-made, I am, big boy. I swear, you Transformers think you own a patent on robots who can change to look like other things. It's egotistical is what it is."
"Humans are insects, so now we have insects making insects. The universe is an increasingly miserable place."

—The MP3 player and Reverb

Notes

Errors

• On page 147, Reverb is incorrectly named as Gears.

Continuity notes

• This book takes place a month after the previous one.
• In links to the movies, Hyperdynamix is located in Mission City from Transformers, and Lindsay mentions Sam Witwicky and retcons the teleporting technique Jetfire used in Revenge of the Fallen as trans-spacial porting rather than some sort of space bridge.
• The Fifth Baron-Warlord of Polyhex, Dorsata Secundus, the Apex Legions and Polis Station are all mentioned.

Transformers references

• References are made to Ky-Alexia from the "Transformers: The Movie Guide" and Gorlam Prime (from the 2005 IDW continuity).

External links

• Product page on LB Kids