Part 1 of 6! The saga of the Transformers' secret war on Earth begun in The Infiltration continues with Phase Escalation. With the monumental menaces of MEGATRON and Ore-13 looming, the AUTOBOTS could be forgiven for thinking things couldn't get much worse. But, as OPTIMUS PRIME musters his response to the mounting threat, the Machination strikes with shocking and tragic consequences!