After his dreams for a Predacon army are shattered, a desperate Starscream looks for other methods of dealing with his enemies. Thankfully for him, Shockwave had been busy with his newest experiment, a nigh-unstoppable juggernaut, Lugnut, who fanatically serves his cause without question, but there are secrets around his creation that Lugnut himself means to uncover...

The mutated Tailslide, now going by the name of Kickback because of his new, Insecticon appearance, finally reunites with his Autobot friends. However, the trauma he has faced since they last met, coupled with his new, uncontrollable Insecticon instincts, has left him on the verge of disrepair and madness. What's more, his clone, Lugnut, will stop at nothing to see his destruction.

In the months following his "rescue," Phase-Out, a Decepticon Shifter, spy, and sword master, has infiltrated Team Prime under the guise of the Autobot Mirage. After earning their trust, he starts to secretly feed information about them to Starscream and the Decepticons, but then his life begins to change after he forms an unusually strong bond with one of his would-be enemies.

Almost one year after the restoration of Cybertron, the Autobot-Decepticon war continues. A heavily injured Vehicon named T-7 is captured by Team Prime in a small battle, and they attempt to teach him what Autobots and humans are really like. He undergoes many changes, both positive, and horrific, as he struggles to learn what kindness, friendship, love and sacrifice truly mean.