Visitations

Writer: Bob Forward

Performance date: June 20, 1998

Visitations is a hilarious audio play written by Beast Wars story editor Bob Forward and performed by several members of the Beast Wars cast at BotCon 1998. Officially set during the show's second season, it cannot be taken completely seriously as canon due to its high frequency of fourth wall breakage, fandom in-jokes, and random improv by the voice actors, but that's okay because that makes it funnier.

Packrat (this guy again) and Onyx Primal, a repaint of Optimus Primal's bat-mode toy which wasn't even canon to the show, are searching for a meteor that fell near Predacon territory. But rather than a meteorite, what they find is some kind of strange device. A "plot device," to be precise. Suddenly, they are attacked by Fractyl and Vice Grip. Onyx Primal tries to hide the device in a crevice, but a mysterious figure appears and steals it from him.

These four made-up characters shoot at each other for a while, then Rattrap and Silverbolt appear. Silverbolt immediately wants to rush to the aid of their fellow Maximals, but Rattrap says, "Whaddya, nuts? They're repaints." I died.

The Predacons are driven off, but then Packrat ejaculates, "Amazing! A dark figure of power and evil, appearing from a cloud of smoke!" It is ANTAGONY, a convention-exclusive gender-swapped repaint of Inferno, and she starts filling our heroes full of holes. "Broadcast Standards & Practices will not save you this time, Maximals," she declares.

Just then, Megatron and Waspinator also arrive at the party. Antagony identifies herself as the "Herald of Destruction" and claims that she has long been seeking Megatron. Megatron sees Optimus Primal approaching and says that the two of them are best friends, so Antagony starts shooting at Optimus.

Optimus lands and explains to her, "We desire only peace. Join with us. Together, we all can make the world a better place. Think of it. A place without weapons. Without violence. With no harsh conflicts between the characters." Antagony declines this offer, so Optimus opens up on her with his giant back-mounted guns.

Optimus takes down Antagony, then Megatron takes down Optimus, then Antagony takes down Waspinator. Packrat, Onyx Primal, Rattrap, and Silverbolt are also presumably still lying about someplace. As the last one standing, Megatron takes Antagony prisoner and brings her back to the Predacon base, where he vows to uncover the truth behind who she is and what mission has brought her into the Beast Wars.

The story continues in Reaching the Omega Point, the con-exclusive storyline spanning 1999 and 2000. Alas, that story is not also a joke. They should have just gotten Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio to write all of this tie-in dross, but sadly that just would have been too awesome.