In Harm's Way: A Cluster Prime Story

In Harm's Way: A Cluster Prime Story (formerly The Cluster Crisis and Reign of Terror) is a work-in-progress science fantasy/mystery thriller fanfiction project. It is a fan-made spinoff of the Nickelodeon original cartoon My Life as a Teenage Robot, and particularly, its 2005 special Escape From Cluster Prime.

Synopsis
In Harm's Way takes place three years after the events of Escape from Cluster Prime. It follows the story of Brad Carbunkle, recently re-enlisted as a pilot in Skyway Patrol, and his working partner, engineer Tara Blackburn, as the two are sent on a reconnaissance mission to Cluster Prime. The two are tasked with finding the missing Skyway Patrol Heavy Cruiser (SPHC) Dragonaut, which was under the command of Tara's mother, Rear Admiral Haley Blackburn, when it suspiciously went missing on an oversight mission to Cluster Prime.

Concurrently, Cluster Prime, now under the rule of Vega, itself must deal with the advent of a new public enemy in Antaurus, a super-powered maniac hell-bent on avenging the purging of his family under the Vexus regime. More than willing to use violence against high-level government officials, Antaurus is posed to cause a crisis of disastrous proportions for Vega's reign.

Due to the circumstances, Vega forms an alliance with Brad and Tara in an effort to solve the problems of both parties. However, in doing so, the group discovers unwelcome truths regarding Antaurus, Skyway Patrol, and even the very history of Cluster Prime itself. Putting all of the pieces of the resulting political puzzle together could spell life or death for everyone involved.

Background
In Harm's Way was initially conceived as an original story idea in late 2016 by Travis Lance "Wedge" Hawkins, under the working title of The Cluster Crisis. It has since been thoroughly revised many times, to a point where it only minimally resembles its original form, with character and plot ideas being merged, changed, or removed outright.

Rather than adapting the action-centric format of the original MLAATR series, Hawkins has stated that his vision for the fic can be better described as a plot-heavy thriller that contains bouts of action. A proponent of adding new elements to MLAATR in an effort to keep it fresh (as seen in this post), his idea is to write one large story that can captivate readers in ways the series never attempted.

In Harm's Way was originally a proper continuation of the series, but was retooled into a spinoff in February 2018, as its new premise was focused exclusively on events and characters concerning Cluster Prime. This was made permanent with the removal of MLAATR's main character, Jenny Wakeman, from playing a direct role in the story.

Sub-pages

 * Characters