As the Maximals retreat from the swamp, Darkecho and Caesar reach the valley, and speak with Waspinator about the newest development. Waspinator has never been eager to help, but Darkecho, aided by a multimedia presentation, manages to convince the bug that coming along to meet the Insecticons and help save the planet is definitely in his favor. Meanwhile, the battle-weary heroes regroup near the edge of the jungle, and those still functional discuss their plans. Cheetor begins to formulate a strategy for attack, but Darkecho, arriving with Waspinator, counters him. He suggests that a more Maximal approach—not to mention a safer approach—would be to have the Insecticons' true descendants attempt to speak with them on the matter, so that they would not be damaged and interfere with the timestream. Darkecho also makes one more suggestion; it would be better to present the insects with two of their descendants, and Beetalion, who is now being held for no reason, should be let free, and used to aid the heroes' cause. When Cheetor disagrees, still unsure of the commander's intent, Caesar slinks off and sets the commander free on his own. Beetalion is grateful to be let out of the cell, and when the others arrive in the brig, he has only one demand: that his weapons be returned. Miriam, who had tempted him with escape before, grudgingly complies. Cheetor argues back, but he seems distracted...almost tired. The Axalon II crew note this as odd behavior in their normally energetic commander, and when they make comment about it, he gets upset. Caesar does an internal scan of the cat, and locates a few odd points: it seems he's been bugged by the Predacon troops, who are on to the Maximals' conversations! Blackarachnia is called in to help fix the problem, and she puts Cheetor into stasis lock to remove the infestation. With Optimus headed for a long repair cycle, the veterans seem to be leaving the young ones on their own to solve the Insecticon syndrome.
The group finds it wiser to leave their ship behind, knowing the Insecticons' appetite for destruction. When the heroes arrive back at the swamp, they note at least a score of Insecticons now present, gathered with a team of Yellowjacket drones and all contentedly chewing on trees. Darkecho does a surface scan, seeking out which are replicas and which are the originals. When he does locate the originals, he finds something odd: they aren't reading as Decepticons, as their programming has been tampered with. He points out to Waspinator and Beetalion which are the true Insecticons, and shoves them forward. Beetalion is surprised at his ancestor's crudeness, but nevertheless bows in front of him. The bewildered Waspinator does the same, and the two try to convince the insect that they are allies. Shrapnel seems to understand the concept of a "Predacon," and though confused senses kinship in the other bugs. However, the other two Insecticons are not as amazed, and act instead on the "Kill them now" order from the radio transmitter somewhere in the trees. The Maximals duck for cover as Bombshell, Kickback, and their duplicates begin to attack. However, the Maximals know the risk of fighting back... all except Edge, who is positioned in a tree with a sniper rifle. He shoots a clean blast to knock off Bombshell's head-mounted mortar, nullifying the most powerful weapon in the vicinity, but enraging the insect. As Kalee runs over trying to get Edge to stop, several of the Bombshell clones defend their master and take Edge down. Meanwhile, Ceasar and Stalker race off into the rainy swamp, looking for signs of Swiftsting whose voice they heard over the com-link. With increased pressure from his future children, Shrapnel manages to call his troops off. The last to calm down is Bombshell, who becomes increasingly coherent. He demands to know who it was who tampered with his programming, so that he can promptly return the favor. Darkecho (proudly wearing the Decepticon insignia by this point) is happy to explain, and he also mentions to the bugs that if they would be in favor of taking a nap now, there would be Autobots to kill in the morning. Before they're ready, however, the swarm of Insecticons home in on Swiftsting, and return with some satisfaction in about a megacycle. The Maximals, pleased that they were able to solve the problem with such a low injury-count, put the problem to rest.