Comics#13

We see a protestor and her son, Hawk in a limo, and three Dreadnoks at the gate to a military base.
The limo pulls up to a large shuttle-like vehicle created as a possible solution to energy problems. The occupants of the limo discuss the pros and cons of such a device and the name Blackrock is tossed out. Hawk and a lovely senator named Barbara Larkin are talking about the potential of the station. Two other Senators are also present Senator Garcia and an unnamed portly Senator. It seems that Senator Larkin may be romantically interested in Hawk. Guarding the station are: Snake Eyes, Scarlet, Mutt and Junkyard, Roadblock and BeachHead.
Cut to the Ark, home of the Autobots, Optimus Prime is watching the situation on Teletran 1. He decides to send Bumblebee on a scouting mission, hoping it will boost his confidence level.
Meanwhile, the Dreadnoks, Buzzer, Ripper, and Torch, take it upon themselves to attack the launch. The attack quickly goes downhill when they find that the Joes are the ones guarding the station. Finding themselves under attack the Joe team does its best to protect the V.I.P's. Hawk personally protects Senator Larkin. The battle is short and the Dreadnoks are losing until Buzzer takes the slower Senator hostage. Having no choice, Hawk agrees to let the three flee.
Cobra Commander, Zartan, the Baroness, Dr. Mindbender, and Serpentor watch as the Dreadnoks botch things up. Cobra Commander, not pleased in the slightest, has Zartan order Zarana to go pick them up.
It seems the Decepticons are watching as well. Megatron dispatches Dirge and Bombshell to the scene. Megatron tells Bombshell to take over the station with a modified "cerebro-shell".
During their flight the Dreadnoks tear up the interstate. By chance they run into Bumblebee who dodges an attack from Buzzer by partially transforming. The Joes are stuck in traffic. The Dreadnoks meet up with Zarana driving into the back of what looks to be a normal truck. Now out of sight of the Joes, the group tells of their run-in with the strange car with legs. Oddly Zarana doesn't seem surprised. Not having any luck finding the Dreadnoks, the Joes return to the base.
Bumblebee arrives at the base where he parks outside the fence and waits, admiring the station. In the morning he finds himself being given a parking ticket and laments that it wouldn't happen to an Aerialbot.
The Joes prepare for the launch. Power Station Alpha itself transforms into a land mode, its wings fold down and long rocket pods extend from its fuselage.
Mutt sends Junkyard ahead. Soon the pooch finds Anthony who promptly begins to play Frisbee with the friendly dog. While doing so the boy is attacked by Bombshell who implants a cerebro-shell in him. Under Bombshell's control Anthony starts to walk towards the station's giant treads certain to be crushed, Junkyard bites the boy's pants leg trying to pull him away.
Bumblebee spots Bombshell buzzing away and calls Optimus who sends out the Aerialbots to assist. Seeing the boy in danger Bumblebee has no choice, he transforms, which in turn scares the crowd. Bumblebee rescues Anthony as Snake eyes stops the giant station. The Joes only see the aftermath, a dazed child in Bumblebee's hands. They surround him.
Senator Larkin and Hawk arrive, before Bumblebee can explain, the order is given to stop him by Senator Larkin, Following her orders Hawk has the Joes open fire, destroying the little Autobot. At the same time Bombshell enters Power Station Alpha. Now the Joes have a much bigger problem however, the combined form of the Aerialbots, Superion has arrived.

Superion stands over the remains of Bumblebee attempting to retrieve him from the Joes. Realizing the situation has escalated, Scarlett has called in reinforcements. They consist of: Sgt. Slaughter, Lady Jaye, Dialtone, Ace, Slipstream, and Crankcase. They fire at Superion who is forced to defend himself. In the fracas Lady Jaye is injured.
The Joes use all they have, which is not enough to harm Superion, but he wonders how long it will be before he is forced to retaliate. An urgent message from Blaster changes his mind. Optimus Prime has been assassinated, and all Autobots must return to the Ark at once. Superion leaves as quickly as he arrived leaving the Joes puzzled as to why.
Mainframe and Crankcase are given the task of analyzing Bumblebee's remains. The rest of the team pitches their ideas on what these giant robots may be.
Hawk makes a social call to Senator Larkin, but Cobra and the Decepticons keep their eye on the prize: Power Station Alpha. While Hawk is engaged in a kiss the station launches under Decepticon control. Dr. Mindbender soon changes that as he dons a helmet and begins flying the station himself. The team mobilizes all their aircraft including the pilots, Ace, Wild Bill, Slipstream, and Lift Ticket.
The scene switches to the home of Anthony Duranti, the young boy from issue one. He is still near catatonic from Bombshells cerebro-shell implanted in him. Mrs. Duranti is concerned and seeks medical help for him.
Cobra has sent an entire fleet of aircraft to escort the station back to Cobra Island. They are soon engaged in battle with the Joe aircraft. On the ocean surface below is the yacht of one Mr. Blackrock, the passengers watch the battle in the sky. Spotting the ship, Serpentor uses it as a bargaining chip. He orders the pilots to threaten to fire on it if the Joes do not withdraw. The message is relayed to Hawk, who is at the base with Senator Larkin. Senator Larkin chooses to destroy the station, but Hawk refuses saying too many innocent lives are at stake. The Joes leave and one unlucky Cobra pilot parachutes and lands on the yacht.
Serpentor doesn't keep his word and fires on the yacht anyway, forcing the team to mount a rescue operation. Dirge watches from high above while Mr. Blackrock overhears the Joes talking and offers his assistance; apparently he is familiar with giant transforming robots.
Power Station Alpha lands at Cobra Island, immediately Dirge and Bombshell make their presence known. They introduce themselves and tell Serpentor they let them take over the station on purpose in order to meet. Dr. Mindbender plants a homing device on Dirge before the two return to the Decepticon base. Dr. Mindbender uses the device to listen in on a conversation about using Cobra, and hears one other detail, their true plan is to strip the earth of its energy and destroy it.

The intro to this chapter is a computer simulation of Power Station Alpha's true capabilities it is a device that can destroy the Earth itself. It appears Shockwave is in command of the Decepticons, as Megatron is absent. Cobra arrives at the Decepticon base along with the station which is now being called Alpha.
Serpentor shakes Shockwave's hand but is plotting against him at the same time. Shockwave's intentions are no nobler. Dr. Mindbender is selected as Cobra's ambassador and stays behind. Dirge is elected Emissary to accompany Serpentor in an attack on the Ark. Not willing to sacrifice so many men but also not wanting to show his cards Serpentor agrees. During the trip to the Ark the Baroness's plane veers off it seems she has her own mission.
Back at Fort Lewis in Seattle, Crankcase and Mainframe along with Mr. Blackrock are attempting to salvage poor Bumblebee.
It is a somber time at the Ark not only is Bumblebee lost but the Funeral of Optimus Prime is taking place. Omega Supreme vows to defend the Ark. Meanwhile Hawk returns to the Pentagon for an emergency meeting. Anthony is going in for surgery to remove what the doctors have found attached to his brain.
Senator Larkin leaves the Senate only to be harassed with questions from reporters about the power station. She soon arrives at a French restaurant called The Cavalier. She meets someone inside and their discussion grows quite heated, Sen. Larkin reveals how Alpha is a failure in most respects and that she mainly was creating jobs and money for her state. Unfortunately she resorted to attempting to destroy the project to prevent further problems. The person she is having the meeting with, the person she commissioned to destroy Alpha is none other than the Baroness. Senator Larkin is also being watched.
At the Ark, Omega Supreme is destroying Cobra aircraft left and right with ease. Serpentor and Dirge monitor the one-sided battle. Hawk is at the Pentagon in a meeting as well, Senator Garcia ( see issue 1) is present also the meeting is about project Alpha and the current situation, there is reason to be suspicious of Senator Larkin it seems. Hawk tries to defend her, until he sees the photo of Larkin and the Baroness at the caf�.
Serpentor lures Dirge into attacking Omega Supreme. The slippery snake has his own agenda; he uses a device to create an overload in Dirge's weapons and cripples him. It seems Cobra is not a great ally after all.
At the hospital the surgery was successful. Anthony's doctor pokes and prods at the object he removed from the boy's brain. Bombshell starts to go into convulsions right in front of Dr. Mindbender. He plans a way to exploit this weakness.
Fort Lewis: Mainframe and Crankcase have reassembled part of Bumblebee, mainly some parts on a table. Now able to talk Bumblebee explains the situation that led to his current predicament.
Hawk confronts Senator Larkin about her dealings with the Baroness, he tells a teary eyed Larkin that he trusted her, he loved her, and then he leaves slamming the door behind him. Sitting in a room near a bottle, Hawk gets word from Mainframe about everything they have learned from the now talkative Bumblebee. Alpha launches, Dr. Mindbender informs Serpentor, who is currently at the Ark making a deal with the Autobots, as the Joes are flying overhead. It now seems that Cobra, the Joes, and the Autobots are forming an alliance to stop the Decepticons.

During an attack on the Ark in the previous issue, Serpentor makes his move realizing the Decepticons true motives and turns on them. Now the G.I.JOE team, Cobra, and the Autobots must stop power station Alpha which is already well on its way to destroying the planet. Tremors are felt within the Ark; the destabilization of volcanic and geologic forces is underway. Shockwave's plan is now in motion.
Dr. Mindbender, still with the Decepticons, observes some odd glitches in Bombshell. The Baroness incapacitates Bombshell rendering him the size of a true insect.
In Fort Lewis Seattle, Mainframe gets some company. The Autobots have sent in Ratchet to help restore Bumblebee to his old self. Ratchet is relieved to find Bumblebee alive but a bit disheartened to see that he is in a state of disarray. In walk Dr. Mindbender, and the Baroness escorted by Roadblock and BeachHead who quickly leave. Dr. Mindbender is nervous as Snake eyes is staring him down, he remembers the recent sessions in the brainwave scanner and Dr. Mindbender was responsible. Dr. Mindbender has brought the tiny Bombshell with him. As Mainframe pokes and prods at the device that was given to him by Anthony's doctors, Bombshell goes through some unusual transformations.
Hawk ponders how his heart has ruled his actions recently. He questions whether or not Alpha may now have a form of intelligence and debates the action to take against the station with Serpentor.
Meanwhile Ratchet and Mainframe have finished repairing Bumblebee. Feeling he has changed greatly, Bumblebee requests that from now on he be known as Goldbug.
The mission to stop Alpha is started. Scarlett and the Baroness, both covert operatives, are sent as a team along with Goldbug to covertly place explosives on Alpha itself. It is felt that a smaller two person team would have more success. The combined air power of the Joes, Cobra and the Aerialbots cause a diversion by attacking the Decepticons. At first Ace is thinking no one is there just a few construction vehicles. He is soon proven wrong as the vehicles known as the Constructicons combine and form Devastator a match for Superion.
Scarlett and the Baroness ride in Goldbug until they reach Alpha. They scale the outside of the potential nuclear disaster and plant the explosives. Dr. Mindbender then puts on the helmet used to control Alpha and launches it into space. Unbeknownst to Scarlett who is uncertain if Alpha is alive, the Baroness has armed the explosives. We see a blast in the sky as Anthony watches below, and we know Alpha, sentient or not, is gone. Soon everything returns to normal in the Duranti household.
When the news reaches Serpentor he takes his forces out of the battle quickly. Superion wins his battle with Devastator by causing him to break apart. Blaster relays a message to the Joes telling them to withdraw as he does not want to involve the humans in the age old battle between Autobots and Decepticons. Feeling the mission itself complete, the Joe team heads for home. Still at Fort Lewis Dr. Mindbender sneaks away behind Ratchet's back.
Hours after the battle, Hawk is watching as Senator Larkin, the woman he fell in love with, is being led away by two MP's. Her collusion with Cobra costs her dearly as we see a sniper's scope pan up to her head and Hawks face grimaces, as a shot rings out. Who took the shot is uncertain but a smiling Baroness looks on, "no loose ends".
The final scene is that of Hawk over Senator Larkin's grave paying his respects.