TITLE: Primality
SERIES: Imperfection Deviation
AUTHOR: Macx
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: None of the characters belong to me, sadly. They are owned by people with a lot more money :)
FEEDBACK: Loved


Primality [mathematics]: The property of being a prime; the quality or state of being a prime.


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This fic borrows from the second movie and the accompanying novel. You’ll know when you read it.

Beware! This is still my AU and the second movie as such never happened! I just found some of the plot points intriguing enough to figure out a way to use them here. Prior fics have mentioned movie stuff, too.

Regular readers know what I’m talking about ;)

And yeah, Optimus in battle mode kicks a$$ :P I adore the fight scenes in ROTF.


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Booted feet crunched on grainy sand, kicking up tiny plumes of dust.

There was nothing but empty desert. Here and there a Joshua tree made up for a bit of plant life, dried bushes waving lazily in the wind. The horizon was a wavering line of white heat.

The tall, slender man in the jeans and shirt outfit with his heavy hiking shoes looked like an anomaly in the hostile environment of the Yuma desert in the middle of apparently nowhere.

He wasn’t.

He was where had intended to be.

Former Army Major Will Lennox had set up a schedule for his Yuma training exercises. With or without the help of the Constructicons, mostly Scavenger and Hook, who had taken a liking to Will’s ability to really and truly test his force shields. Scavenger had given Lennox the readings from prior trainings and taught him how to use one of his own scanners to keep track of his output. So far it had only told Will that he regularly spiked just before blowing himself into a rock face or mountain side, and that reabsorbing energy was still a bad idea.

The week he had scheduled now was one where he was on his own. The Constructicons were all on the Ark as they got ready to finalize her transformation into a battle station. It meant he had the whole base and all of the Laguna Test Site for himself.

Cool.

Unlike the mechs he didn’t need that big a site and he had cleared it with the base commander that he wouldn’t use most of it. The military could still run their own tests and Will had a comfortable safety zone to himself.

It was all the more surprising to find he had a visitor.

The red and blue Peterbilt rolled to a stop and Optimus Prime transformed into his bi-pedal mode.

“Prime,” Lennox greeted him with a nod, tension racing through him at the sight of the Autobot leader. “Anything wrong?”

“No, nothing is wrong, Will.”

“I just thought…” He made a general gesture. “You, here.”

Optimus smiled a little. “Do you want to be alone?”

“No. No, not really. I was just.. surprised. What gives me the honor?”

“Like you seek a place away from the base and prying eyes to work on your abilities, I sometimes seek a quiet place to just… be.”

Will met the calm, blue optics and smiled after a few seconds. “Yeah. Gotcha. Can’t guarantee for the ‘quiet’ though. I tend to blow up stuff or blow myself somewhere. It’s loud, not really pretty, and I keep rearranging the landscape.”

Optimus chuckled, an amused rumble coming from deep within. “So I heard, but I also heard you have improved greatly.”

“Depends on who you ask. The Constructicons, who kicked my butt and wiped the floor with me, or Ironhide, who also kicks my butt, not to mention the floor-wiping part.”

“Their experience is a lot greater than yours, Will. Don’t stand in the shadows of those who aren’t you.” Prime knelt down. “You have great power and you are unique. You combine human fighting style with what Ironhide taught you and what the Constructicons gave you as training. You will develop your own style, your own strength and speed.”

“The moment I get a handle on the energy inside me, yeah, maybe.” Will shrugged. “Until then I’m a menace.”

“You haven’t met some of those who were under my command,” was the wry reply. “They were millennia older than you and still a menace, despite rigorous training.”

“So what you’re telling me is that I need time and more time to train.”

“Yes.”

Another shrug. “It’s what I’m doing. I know how long it took me to become an Army Ranger. This isn’t really all that different when it comes to learning, just the… new options are sometimes scary. With the Army you have protocols and books and stuff. You have those who went through the same training and now hammer it into your skull. This… this is only me, Prime.”

Optimus nodded. “I understand.”

“It’s hard enough that I melt rock. I don’t want to hurt any of you while training,” Will added with a sigh. “That’s why I’m here.”

“You haven’t harmed the Constructicons.”

“Yeah. I know. Because they’re bigger and meaner and faster.” He grinned. “They’re a challenge.”

Optimus tilted his head a little. “Are you looking for one today?”

Will blinked. “W-what?” He had to have misunderstood!

“If you wish, I’ll be your partner for a sequence or two.”

Lennox blinked again, blind-sided by the offer. Prime wanted to spar with him? He had once exchanged a few blows with the Autobot leader and it had been over in seconds. Prime was old, he was powerful, he was incredible… he was Optimus Prime!

“Really?” he managed.

“Yes, Will, really. I think I need the exercise, as you would say, and I’m interested to see how much you have improved.”

“Uh, okay. Sure. What’s another butt-kicking among friends?”

Prime chuckled softly. “I promise not to kick too hard.”

“It’s appreciated, but one request: no holding back. Short of lethal force, that is. Same rule I gave Scrapper and the others. I hate coddling and I hate kiddy gloves.”

A nod. “I accept. And I ask the same of you, William Lennox.”

Lennox laughed softly. “Hell, with my control problems sometimes, you might get what you asked for.”

Optimus looked amused. “Let’s see.”

Prime rose and Will felt something inside his stomach knot with the anticipation of their sparring session.

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Maybe, just maybe, it had been a bad idea.


-- A huge battle scythe came at him and Will jumped back, hitting the ground in a defensive crouch, then quickly back-flipped as the weapon came his way in a blur of red-hot fire and cold metal.

Optimus nodded his approval of the fast-paced maneuver, but Lennox didn’t feel very much reassured. He had just about evaded the sharp blades, though he doubted the Autobot leader would slice him apart.


Ironhide was very difficult to take on. He was armored to the hilt and his cannons freaking hurt!


-- Will raised one hand and blasted at his opponents, satisfied when the energy ball knocked Optimus slightly to the left. It was the second he needed to widen the distance.


Lennox had developed a tolerance for those low-level shots and learned to duck and move faster. Speed was his asset. Speed was what he needed. Using his body’s ability to shape a gun or another weapon was secondary to just getting away and to safety.


-- Something exploded to his right, but he only went with the flow, rolling around, legs kicking out and unerringly finding Prime’s chest.


But he also needed to learn close combat. The Constructicons had shown him that he was easily overpowered by several mechs, so Will had concentrated on finding weak spots when up close and using these.


-- He kicked hard, adding an energy bolt that wasn’t strong enough to harm, but blinding enough to dazzle optics.


Jazz had been a big help. He was smaller than most and his size gave him both a disadvantage and an advantage. He was faster than the others and he had the processing power and maneuverability to use that.


-- Grabbing Prime’s weapons arm, he tried to push the blade aside, but was caught in a strong body grip instead.

Shit!

“Never come that close to a larger opponent,” Optimus rumbled. “It’s a mistake that might cost you dearly.”

“You don’t say,” Will breathed.


Yeah, it had been wrong. Prime was so much taller and so much stronger! He had to take him out without physical harm and that was proving difficult.


-- Lennox placed both hands as much as he could onto the Autobot leader’s body and sent another charge through him. It got the hybrid an annoyed hiss, but he was released out of the hold.


Optimus wasn’t holding back, as promised, and by tomorrow the bruises would be spectacular. Of course he taught Will something with each move, corrected his stance, allowed him to get very close, just to catch him again. Epps had called it his masochistic streak. Lennox simply called it need. Soundwave was bigger, Starscream was bigger, whoever else might show up would most likely be bigger. Size mattered in some battle situations, as Jazz had so painfully been shown over a decade ago, so Lennox trained.

And he took on more than he could chew, let alone swallow.


-- Ducking, blocking, returning blows and fire, Will was amazed at how much Optimus could take and not even falter. Sure, they weren’t on lethal terms, but he had sent mechs like Mixmaster and Long Haul on their metal butts and Prime was still standing!

“You have improved your balance, Will,” the Autobot lauded just before sending him on his ass.

“Not enough, though,” Lennox replied, feeling black and blue already.

“Warriors are not born,” Optimus told him.

“Live and learn. Yeah, we humans got that, too.”

“And you’re very resourceful and resilient as a race.”


The battle blades looked dangerous, but so far Will had evaded them and Prime wasn’t trying to lop his head off, which he was thankful for. But the scrapes had given him an idea how easily Optimus could have cut him – or worse.


-- Following instinct, as he had done so often before, Lennox triggered something he had never used before: a blade shot out of his forearm above his hand and he blocked the next move.

Blades clanged together.

Optimus gave him a nod of approval and Will drew back, a little startled.

Hot damn!

“Fast learner,” Prime rumbled. “Ratchet spoke of your potential, but it is the first time I see it for myself. You have discovered a new ability, I take?”

Will nodded, stunned. “Never happened before.”

“Apparently you never had an incentive.”.

His guard down for a second because of the confusing alterations to his body, Will was struck by a powerful kick and went flying, but he was right back on his feet, only to have one of the battle blades scrape the metal of his protoform shape. With a curse he lost his balance and slammed back onto the ground.

His second attempt to get up was thwarted by Prime pinning him down, using a technique not unlike Scrapper had – knee slamming into his abdomen – and one foot stomped down on the bladed arm, making the weapon ineffective.

Will had learned from the last time and Mixmaster had actually taught him a few dirty tricks to keep himself from being incapacitated so quickly.

So he used his knowledge, triggered the reduction of the blade back into his forearm, and the flare of surprise in the blue optics told Will that the Autobot leader hadn’t counted on that particular move.

Lennox felt energy summon in his palms, ready to stun his opponent, when Prime jumped back and evaded the blast.

Damn!

Will rolled aside as a blade came at him, landing in the dust where he had just been. He wasn’t fast enough to get out of reach of the second blade and instinct kicked in.

What happened next occurred within the span of two seconds.

‘As seen on TV’ flashed through his head as he brought up both hands and clapped his palms together right in front of his face – and the blade was trapped between them.

Runes flared on his protoform fingers.

Energy hissed along his palms.

“What the…” he managed, shocked by his own body’s reaction. The runes had never been so pronounced in this form. They had only ever shown on his hands when he was human.

Blue eyes widened, meeting startled blue optics.

Will stared at the symbol on Optimus’ face. For a second it glowed a deep, golden-bronze color, then it twisted into what could only be described as cosmic code before flowing back into its original form.

Stunned, concentration for a second lost, the energy between his palms wavered, sizzled, then the tiny bubbles blew apart. They encompassed the blade, raced along it, touched Prime’s hands, his arm, flowed toward his chest… his spark.

Lennox gave a cry of denial and tried to summon them back, but they simply seeped into Prime chest. He let go of the blade, jumped forward, trying to grab droplets of energy bubbles…

… and his hands connected with metal.

With Prime.

He seemed to sink up to his wrist into the massive chest.

… and the world was simply white...


There was a pulse of energy.

Like an echo.

Answering his own.

His chest hurt dully and the pulse came from deep within him.

The infinite white drifted, he drifted, everything was… just… different… wrong… strange… not… it was not. Nothing existed.


There was a world where Jazz didn’t die.


There was a world where Barricade was killed by Optimus Prime.


There was a world where Captain Will Lennox didn’t survive the attack on the Soccent base in Qatar.


There was a world where Sarah Lennox died in childbirth and her husband resigned from Army life.


There was a world where Sam Witwicky auctioned off the glasses to a guy who was later found gruesomely killed in what seemed like a car accident.


There was a world where Optimus Prime sacrificed himself, laying waste to Mission City, and Sam Witwicky died a year later from radiation poisoning.


There was a world where Sam Witwicky absorbed the Allspark and became it.


… where the Autobots crashed the Ark on Earth in a mountain, asleep for millions of years.


… where the Nemesis was located on the bottom of the ocean.


… where the Allspark never existed.


… where the war was avoided by the assassination of Megatron and his closest circle.


… where Jazz defected from his own kind to follow the call of his spark-bonded.


… where the Allspark wasn’t destroyed and chose Sam Witwicky as his tool to interact with humanity and the Autobots.


… where Sam’s consciousness was transferred into a mechanoid body.


… where Lennox’s body changed into a mechanoid form forever.


… where the claim of a Cybertronian on his mate was absolute.


… where Jazz wasn’t brought back and Barricade killed whatever Decepticon he came across without mercy, and Optimus Prime let his new assassin work as he wanted.



… and there was a world where Will Lennox could see all the possibilities. Where he stood rooted to the spot, breathless, close to tears, feeling terrified, elated, in mourning, defeated and so very, very glad all in one. His body thrummed with energy, the runes bright and pulsing on his visible skin. His human skin and his human body. He could feel his power, he could feel the possibilities, felt the barriers between dimensions.

Parallel universes fold against each other, separated only by a thin layer of nothingness. Right now he was looking through those layers, felt it, experienced it, and was it.

The Allspark that existed in alternate worlds pulsed with his own powers.

The Matrix of Leadership responded.

For a clear moment he knew that it was there, not everywhere, but in some universes. It was like a tiny sister of the Allspark, powerful and still not the same as the cube. It was important in some universes, redundant in others, and in some it was purely legend, or had never existed.

The Primes knew. All of them, in every reality, were aware of this moment.

He was so tempted to answer, but the divide that kept the dimensions from touching was closing and he knew it was for the better.

This was his world, his life.

“You’re part of the future,” a voice said and it seemed to come from everywhere.

“You’re part of our heritage, William Lennox.” Another voice, slightly different, but still the owner was unseen.

“What are you talking about?!” he demanded.

“You carry part of the Allspark.”

Fear coursed through him and he felt the presences around him rise in strength.

“It won’t hurt you. It submits to you. You use what powers were given to your body.”

“You protect,” one of them said and Will thought he saw gigantic shapes in the distance. Their structures were like protoforms and their optics were red.

“Who are you?”

“We are who came before.”

“The Primes?” he stuttered.

“Yes. All of our kind’s sparks return to the Allspark upon death.”

“Then how can you still be alive?”

“Through the Matrix.”

Will froze.

“You are part of it, as is the human called Sam Witwicky. As is Optimus Prime. As is one of the few of our direct descendents. You are the key, William Lennox.”

“How can you guys inherit something?” Will demanded. “You’re mechanical life forms. You don’t reproduce like us.”

One of the Primes finally grew clearer. Will stared at the protoform that was unlike any he had ever seen. It was powerful, as tall as Optimus, but it appeared more massive. Red eyes glowed in a decidedly inhuman face.

“Our sparks were created by the Allspark. We were the first thirteen. Our heritage are those created with the same energy as us, the Primes. Not all were knowledgeable of their past. The Allspark gave them potential. Not all could use it because of their inability to access it.”

“I’m not a Prime,” Will argued, fear rising inside him.

“You have the power inside you. You are, as your kind would say, related to us. The Allspark gave you the power.”

“Why?!”

“Our world is dead. Our race was scattered. Optimus Prime will need you and Sam Witwicky. He will need your strength and your abilities, as well as your trust.”

“I trust him.”

The Prime knelt down, still terrifyingly awesome and large. The others had formed a circle around him, their equally red optics watching him with a silent power that had Will trembling.

“Trust him with the knowledge you have.”

“Trust him with the matrix code,” another added.

“What code?”

There was something like amusement. “You have already deciphered what is written on you. You know.”

“What will it do?” Will demanded. Yes, he had deciphered something, but he had never really understood.

“It has no powers by itself, but it will show him who he needs,” the third one told him.
“It’s our genetic matrix,” another added. “A code without power, but still very powerful. It’s the base of the design framework.”

Will was teased by knowledge from other realities where the matrix was more.

“Not here. Not with you.” The Prime shook his head. “The matrix is a part of the whole and a part alone can’t unlock the Allspark. It was disassembled by Samuel Witwicky. Its energies dispersed and it will take time to reform. No one knows where and when.”

“And the part inside me?”

“Offers opportunity. It offers hope.”

Will shivered. “Is it… alive?”

The red optics of the Prime flared. “No. It’s up to you to control, not the other way around.”

“So I have something akin to a Cybertronian DNA strand painted on my back?”

“Yes.”

“And because of it I’m here?”

“Yes.”

“Like some access card to a room?”

“A room with many other doors,” the Prime replied.

“So the matrix is like a blueprint. You see the schematics, but I can’t use it to create mech sparks or something like it because I’m lacking the machinery?”

The Primes radiated slight amusement.

“Yes.”

Will felt a tremor race through him. He finally pulled his thoughts back to the part about showing Optimus who he needed.

“How can I help him?”

“The matrix key, when you use it, will allow you to understand what the ancients did.”

“What are you talking about?! How can I use it? It’s a tattoo!”

“You’ll know.”

So everything was more or less involuntary. He had no control. Will felt less and less amused.

“Why don’t you talk to Optimus yourselves? He’s a Prime!”

They were fading back into the nothingness they had come from.

“Your connection to the Allspark makes it easier for us,” the first one explained.

“So how often do I have the honor of relaying your orders?” Will called angrily.

It got him the first chuckle he had heard.

“We don’t guide. Our time has passed. You will create your own future, William Lennox. You saw the limitlessness of dimensions, of possibilities. This here is the one you will shape.”

And then they were gone.

But someone else was there. Someone powerful and someone known. Will turned and found himself facing a tall, slender, protoform-like shape. Blue optics in a strangely familiar face. Symbols overlapped with the facial features, exactly where Prime had his markings.

“Optimus?” he asked.

“Yes, Will.”

Lennox felt something surround them, something incredibly strong. It felt like…

“A spark,” he heard himself whisper. “We’re inside… a spark?”

“My spark.”

“Impossible!”

“You pulled us here.”

“And you heard…?”

“Yes. Part of it. I felt them.”

“Optimus…” Lennox suddenly felt all his fear race back at him, the fear of who he was, what he was, what he could become.

Hands rested on his shoulders. Hands of his own size, no difference between them. While he still thought of himself as human and saw human skin, Prime was a protoform – and they were no different.

“In here, we are equal in every term, Will Lennox. Outside only our physical appearance differs. I don’t know what you did, but it opened a door for us, showed us possibilities. This is the reality we live in and you are my friend. I need you as my friend and ally.”

“I am,” he stuttered.

“You are powerful. Like Sam is powerful. Your gifts differ, but you are important.”

He felt Prime’s spark, a fragile but strong coil of energy. His heart and soul. His very self. He could see it so clearly, felt it so deeply… and he knew this was where he had to be.

Not a life with Sarah in another universe, where they were happy.

Not with his team in a world where he had never married.

This was it.

Here.

It was so tempting to let go and slide to a place where he might be happy, where he thought of himself as luckier than here, in his reality.

“Will,” Prime intoned, voice very intense, gently squeezing his shoulders. “You are where you have to be.”

“I’m not the ultimate solution, Optimus,” he managed. “I’m not the all-powerful weapon. I’m me!”

“And you will always be. You have a gift and you will use it wisely.”

Power. So much power and strength. Such incredible age. Will was inside a millennia old being, looking at the very center of his being, and Prime let him. He understood so much and still didn’t. It was so vast, so terrifying, so much more than he could understand.

Will stepped back. The infinite white wavered, then closed. His body suddenly relaxed, muscles going limp, and he was caught by familiar hands. He grabbed at the too big fingers, breathing hard all of a sudden. The runes skittered over his hands as if hurrying to the point of contact between him and Optimus Prime. The mech made a startled sound, apparently able to feel something.

“Will?”

“I’m fine. That was… unexpected.”

And scary, terrifying, frightening… elating, powerful, like a caffeine boost… and it somehow also calmed him.

He was still Will Lennox, still mostly human, still… himself.

Ancient blue optics regarded him and Prime’s expression was knowing. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. For a moment Will understood it all in great clarity. He knew about the first thirteen Primes, created by the Allspark. They had disappeared to somewhere, never to be heard of, never to be found. With them, knowledge and technology had disappeared, too. He knew of the struggling line of Primes, the hidden-away new generation. He knew that the one before him was the last of this heritage line because the Allspark was gone.

Optimus Prime wasn’t just a mech who had become leader by default. He had been born this way. It had been his destiny.

“Optimus…” he said softly.

They were on the ground, Prime’s back against the rocks that he couldn’t recall being there before, but they must have been. He was cradled to the big mech’s chest. And he was naked; looking like the Allspark – bronze and burned golden, covered in runes – but naked.. Great. He had reverted from protoform sometime throughout whatever had hit them both.

“We have a destiny together;” Optimus said, voice so deep and serene, it calmed jittery nerves. “You, me, all of us. Every single one of this team was meant to be here, Will.”

“I’m not your salvation. I’m not some mystical figure! I’m still human!”

“I know. Neither am I more than who I am, though some of my people look at me as if I am. I am a Prime, last of a long line, but no closer to the first ones than you are. We all are simply parts of a greater puzzle.”

The hybrid nodded dazedly, mind still reeling. “We need to talk,” he said firmly.

Optimus inclined his head. “And we will.”

Will gazed at the symbols on Optimus, the designation of the Prime Dynasty. He was scared of the implications what his own meant, what the Primes had meant by Sam and him being needed.

But there was someone else, someone who had been kept hidden from possible enemies. Another heir. For millennia there had only been one Prime. Now there was a new possibility. And in that second Will Lennox knew that what he had, his abilities and powers, might one day become an asset greater than a few energy balls and shape-changing capabilities. He wasn’t the Allspark; he wasn’t a mech; he wasn’t human. He incorporated it all. He could help and he would, in whatever capacity.

“Will?”

He was startled out of his thoughts and found that they had moved. Not far, just to where Will had set up his camp in the desert for the night. It was already getting dark. The mech smiled a little at his confusion.

“You zoned out.”

“Oh. Okay.”

He looked at his skin, alive with runes, as alive as they hadn’t been in a while. He quickly got his spare clothes and redressed, feeling a little more human because of it. His skin looked far more human, too. Only the glyphs had remained and they moved in a lazy dance.

“Tell me,” was the gentle prod.

Lennox was pulled out of his thoughts. “What?”

“What you saw. What they said. I only felt their presence.”

“Have you ever…? Before, I mean?”

“Not to my conscious knowledge. It might have happened once before, but never so I knew that it had.”

Will sat down in front of his tent, then got up and paced again, finally he stopped and rubbed his bare forearms. He wasn’t cold, just… feeling helpless and overrun and like everything rested on his shoulders.

Optimus suddenly transformed and opened a door in a clear invitation. Lennox took it after another second of hesitation.

For some inexplicable reason just sitting inside the semi-dark cab had him relax.

“Tell me,” Optimus repeated gently.

“I was… connected to you, right?”

“Yes. You touched me; my spark.”

Lennox chewed on his lower lip. “Not like a spark-bond, though.”

There was a soft rumble, a laugh. “No. That you only have with Ironhide.”

“But it was familiar… like it’s supposed to happen. It wasn’t a bad feeling.”

Optimus was silent, letting the human hybrid think.

“Because of the Allspark and the matrix code?” Will finally wanted to know.

“Most likely. Tell me what you saw and heard, Will.”

And he did.

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Optimus had chosen a lookout to stand and watch the sun set. He liked this planet a lot, despite the secrecy of their existence, having to hide. He respected the humans and he knew that this alliance was vital, for his kind as well as humanity. The surviving Cybertronians needed humanity and vice versa.

What Will had told him had been shocking, elating, scary, terrifying, and filled with hope. The human was equally terrified and Optimus wished he could calm him down. So far only three other people knew of what had happened: Ironhide for obvious reasons, Ratchet and Jazz because of their senior officer status. Lennox had gone to talk to Sam and with Sam, Bumblebee would know. His inner circle, his oldest friends.

The humans had a saying: it’s lonely at the top. Prime had always felt it. He had ruled Cybertron together with Megatron; they had been a team. Then Megatron had split them all apart, destroyed lives and in the end their home. Optimus had been alone ever since because no amount of friendship and understanding could relieve the burden of leadership. That Will and Sam carried the same potential without being mechanoids was amazing and frightening in turn. He accepted it, though. Humans had incredible potential and their two allies had shown just how much.

“Prime?”

He looked down at one of those allies. Sam looked pale, tense, lips thin.

“Will talked to you,” Prime stated.

“Yeah. It’s… I’m not sure what to feel, Prime.”

“Neither of us does. Personally I’m glad to hear that the line of Primes doesn’t die with me, selfish as it might be.”

“No, not selfish. Almost human.” Sam grinned, then grew serious. “You’re allowed to feel like that, Optimus. Really.”

It got him a brief smile. “It’s been a long time since I could feel like that.”

The war had made emotions dangerous. He had lost too much, too many, and the loss accompanied him.

“I’m not a Prime, Optimus,” Sam spoke up. “Neither is Will. I’m not even a leader on my own planet.”

“The greatness of a Prime is not in his position but in his deeds. You showed great courage, Sam. The Allspark gave you a heritage to keep. Just like Will.”

“And the still unknown other mech.”

Optimus nodded. He had a suspicion but until Will could confirm it, and he was convinced the hybrid could… and would see the signs, he would keep all his thoughts on that matter to himself.

Optimus knelt down.

“No one expects you to rise to Prime and lead your people, Sam,” the Autobot leader said calmly.

“Then what does it mean?”

He smiled. “Change. Hopefully a change for the better. I’m honored to call you a brother, Sam. A fellow Prime. I won’t refer to you, neither will anyone else. You have a place in our alliance with this planet, a place with Bumblebee. This changes nothing.”

Sam felt a blush color his cheeks at being called a brother and fellow Prime.

“Did you talk to Will about this?” he asked, voice a little rough.

“Yes. He understands. His access to the lineage is more pronounced, a lot more direct, but he has the same choices you have.”

“So I’m what? Part mech? Part Prime? Allspark genes and all?”

“Nothing like you or Will have ever existed in our history.”

“Or maybe we have and you never read about us?” Sam tried to joke.

The blue optics flared only slightly. “Everything is possible, Sam. Everything.”

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Ironhide had given his partner the needed space. He had watched Will from afar, had kept his mouth shut and his worries to himself. But a mech could only do that for so long. He finally sought out the hybrid in his quarters, looking at the human with the runes on his skin.

Lennox looked back, a challenge in his eyes. Pin-pricks of blue could be detected in their brown depths.

Ironhide smiled a little at the familiar sign of agitation and annoyance. Right now Lennox was more pissed off than anything, which was actually good.

Sitting down on the floor he materialized his holoform to interact with his partner on a more size-equal level.

“Don’t argue,” he growled when Will opened his mouth to do just that.

His energon levels were at one hundred percent. Ratchet had only nodded when Ironhide had requested him to fill him up, so to speak.

Ironhide held out a hand and finally Will’s frown lightened a little as he took it. Usually it was more mutual comfort, but right now the human hybrid needed it more. Feeling runes react to his energy-laden image Ironhide suppressed a pleasant shiver. This wasn’t about sharing; this was about simply being there. He could do that. He had learned how to handle these emotions a long time ago and he enjoyed the closeness just as Will did – and neither would really confess to that.

Tracing the writing on Will’s forearm he watched as it turned from Cybertronian to ancient glyphs.

“I’m no Prime,” Will said firmly.

“I know.”

“I’ll never be a Prime.”

Ironhide didn’t comment.

“And I’m no different than before.”

Still silence. The inhumanly blue eyes watched him. Finally,

“I’m not gonna worship you any more than I already do, Lennox.”

Will blinked; stared at his partner; then he felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

“Worship, hm?”

“Don’t set your hopes too high. You’re always telling us you’re not the Allspark.”

“Still ain’t.”

“That’s settled then.”

“And you don’t mind the whole bonding stuff with Prime?”

“No.”

“No jealousy?” Will teased.

“Over what?”

He laughed. Ironhide’s no-nonsense approach was helping. “Never mind.”

“You’re Will Lennox, my partner. Everything else… I don’t care.”

“As long as Soundwave doesn’t try to kidnap me again.”

The blue eyes turned even more alien as they flared. Ironhide felt his anger rise at the name, at the suggestion that Soundwave might try again. He would kill the Decepticon should they ever cross paths. Lennox would never fall into his hands. Never!

Will pulled him close and Ironhide let him, answering the kiss with gentle pressure. The runes flared and sent little shockwaves through him; very pleasant shockwaves. The neural net of his mechanoid body hummed with the pleasure they created.

“This won’t solve anything,” he commented.

“I know,” Will replied, still close, still covered in very active runes.

Ironhide smiled.

The smile was answered.

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For the first time in his very long life Optimus Prime had no idea how to breech the subject. He was supposed to explain to a young mech who had never so much as had an inkling that he was of the Prime Dynasty that yes, he was a Prime.

Hot Rod would be thrilled.

And what did it mean? Prime didn’t know that one either. He would accept Hot Rod as a fellow Prime, but would the mech in question want it? Then again, no one had actually asked Optimus when he had been assigned as Prime. He had been born into his role and he had assumed it dutifully.

Back in his days – and boy, that sounded like he was ancient – the Prime ruled Cybertron together with the Lord Protector. Now… now was different. Now he led the survivors of the Cybertronian civil war, tried to work an alliance with another race, and he tried to keep his people alive.

Hot Rod meant a way to share his burden, but not in a negative way. A Prime was not meant to lead alone; he was meant to be part of a team, so to speak. Megatron was dead and no one would ever take up the title of Lord Protector again.

Times had changed. The war had destroyed the past.

The future meant something radically new.

Two Primes, leading together.

Hot Rod was a competent young mech, he had an incredible potential, and he would make a great leader. Prime was convinced of it. He had proven himself, had outgrown his ‘teenage’ years, was a serious and reliable mech, and he had taken over the task of guardian to Tony Stark, which was no small feat.

Prime sighed softly. This would be hard. Harder than many things before.

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“Prime?” Hot Rod echoed, optics wide and flaring. “I’m…? No! That’s a joke, right?”

“No. No joke.”

“I can’t be!”

Prime’s steady optics had the smaller mech step back, shaking his head.

“Will could be wrong…” he tried. “I’m no Prime…”

Optimus approached him, looming a little more than he wanted, and Hot Rod shot him a fearful look. The Autobot leader reached out and touched the symbols engraved on Hot Rod’s cheek.

“You never wondered what it meant.” It was a statement.

Hot Rod shrugged uncomfortably. “It’s gibberish. It’s some kind of fancy stuff.”

No one had ever asked. Some of the younger mechs had had symbols on their bodies that were neither designation nor rank. They had been given to them by the Allspark and most found them cool, to use a human term. Hot Rod had been one of them. He hadn’t had a care in the world, had been young and brash, a hot head, a racer, until he had finally found a place in an exploration team.

“It’s the Dynasty of Primes.”

The silver mech froze, unwillingly touching the unknown glyph. No one had ever tried to translate them and no one had drawn a connection between his mark and Prime’s. They were different. Completely different.

“You never noticed it before either!” he accused.

“It was never this clear. We never had a way to actually translate those runes that weren’t in our language. This one… was hidden. From every prying optic. It is, as you so correctly said, gibberish. But I can see it now. It’s a puzzle and the pieces are finally together.”

Hot Rod stepped away, frowning. “Lennox could be wrong,” he repeated. “He doesn’t know the language of the Allspark either.”

“But he carries the matrix.”

Hot Rod shook his head again. Matrix or no matrix, he didn’t believe that the human could know what this meant.

“Like me, your heritage was kept hidden. Now it’s clear to those who can read it. You’re a Prime.”

“And now what? If this is true, what do you want to do now?” the racer demanded. “I suddenly get new respect? What am I supposed to do? You’re Optimus Prime! We don’t need another leader!”

Optimus shook his head. “I was never meant to lead alone. The Primes always co-led with the Lord Protectors. What I want is your support, Hot Rod. Your partnership. I want a co-leader, not a replacement. Too much is changing and too much is no longer as we were always used to.”

“Like two Primes?”

“Yes.”

“The others won’t go for it.”

Optimus smiled briefly. “They will.”

“Prime, I’m not like you! I’m a racer! I’m irresponsible! I’m hot headed and not fit to lead my own team!”

“Is that your opinion or was it Kup’s?”

Hot Rod rocked back a little, then looked away.

“You’re more than capable to be what the Allspark gave you. You’re a Prime. You were created from the same energy I was, as were those before us. I wasn’t all that different from you. I wasn’t activated to be a leader, Hot Rod. I had to grow into it.”

The answer was a little shrug.

“Hot Rod?”

He finally looked up. Optimus wished he could be so selfless to ignore his need for a partner, for someone to share what leadership meant. He couldn’t be. He was selfish and he was needy. He needed Hot Rod and he needed the support of another Prime.

“This won’t work,” the younger mech tried one last time.

“You’re a Prime,” Optimus simply stated.

“I could be the mystical Allspark and no one would take me seriously!”

It got him a chuckle. “You have my respect,” Prime finally stated. “You have the respect of the others. This is no different than Cybertron, my friend. Two leaders, sharing responsibility and burden, triumph and loss alike. We are what is left of Cybertron’s ancient past, Hot Rod.”

It got him a startled look. “The Allspark is gone,” Hot Rod said weakly. “The Dynasty hasn’t existed for… eternity.”

“I’m not trying to rebuild what once was. I want to take a step into a future that concerns us all, this whole planet.”

“With me,” Hot Rod stated wryly.

“Yes,” was the simple answer.

Hot Rod fidgeted, optics flickering. “You don’t need me for that, Prime. You’ve got a second-in-command already. You’ve got competent leaders.”

Optimus regarded him steadily. “You’re not taking anyone’s place,” he translated Hot Rod’s words. “You’re not going to stand in my shadow. You won’t be second. You are at my side. The Ark is close to being finished. Yuma, Nevada, Arctic… the bases are growing. I can’t be everywhere, neither can Jazz.”

“I’ve never taken command of anything in my life, Prime!”

“There’s a first for everything. And you won’t be alone.”

Hot Rod leaned heavily against the wall behind him.

“I won’t pressure you. In the end it’s your choice, Hot Rod.”

“You just gave me the news, huh?” was the wry reply. “Hot Rod, you’re a Prime. Great! If I say no, whatever happens is my fault! I can start shoveling around heaps of guilt! If I say yes, my life’s as good as over! I’m not ready for this!”

“No one ever is. Some of us are chosen after they were prepared. Some of us grow into their fate. Some can’t be asked because circumstances are against it.” Optimus closed the distance again. “Please think about it, Hot Rod.”

“There is nothing to think about because there’s only one solution,” was the weak but still defiant answer.

“No one forces you into anything.”

“Just you.”

“No. Never. I ask you to join me in your heritage as a Prime. No one else knows so far. You, me and Will. Should you choose to remain in hiding, we will respect it.”

The younger mech quivered a little. “I’ll just disappoint you, right?” he whispered.

Optimus smiled softly. “No. I’d only ask of you to reconsider then, to give it more time.”

Hot Rod shook his head. “No. Nothing to reconsider. I’m now part of the illustrious few who never wanted what they got handed to them. Sam and Will must be ecstatic that the club has grown by one more member.”

“Same as you.”

The younger mech sighed, but there was more acceptance than defeat in his stance. “This will cause waves, Prime. Lots of ‘em.”

“You weren’t around when I was given the designation of Prime. I didn’t want it, but I grew into the role. Of course, it was easier for me. No war, Megatron was Lord Protector with me…”

“And I got everything piled on me. Yeah, ecstatic. So you want this? Really? Pin ‘Prime’ on me? Hot Rod Prime?”

Optimus chuckled. “Like I said, I can’t force you. I can only ask for your help, your cooperation and your partnership. Primes weren’t meant to be alone as leaders. We rely on a partner. Megatron counter-weighed me and I him. I think you would make a very fitting partner, …Rodimus.”

A tremor raced through the silver mech. “What about Tony?” he tried one last argument.

“You want to stay with him?”

“In a way. He needs someone to look after him. He’s a bit… accident prone.”

Optimus chuckled. “I think we can come up with a way for this to work, too.”

Hot Rod looked into the ancient optics of a mech so much more older than him, so much more wise and powerful to lead and decide the fate of their kind. Still, part of him resonated with the knowledge revealed to him. Part of his spark was pulsing softly, aware of its destiny.

So he was a Prime.

Rodimus Prime.

Pits! Kup would have a pump arrest if he ever knew! And Ultra Magnus would probably get his processor checked if he heard of a young punk he had read the riot act more often than not in pre-war times who was now a Prime.

“Okay,” he finally said softly.

Optimus regarded him steadily, then a tiny smile graced his features. It was as if a burden had been lifted off of him, as if he had found what he had needed for a very long time.

Hot Rod smiled back.

The older Prime held out one hand and the younger one took it.

“Welcome, Rodimus Prime.”

Rodimus Prime. He had to get used to that. Really used to it.

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Up on the roof of his sprawling luxury home Tony Stark stood next to Lennox, coffee in hand, watching the two mechs.

“Prime, hm?” he mused. “Damn, I knew the guy would be going places.” He gave his companion a grin.

Will chuckled. “From Tony Stark’s baby-sitter to Prime. Quite a jump.”

“Hey, my training.”

He grew somber again as he sipped at his coffee.

“Don’t think you got rid of him now, Tony,” Lennox teased, knowing fully well what was going through the other man’s head. “I don’t think he’ll just leave.”

“He’s a Prime, part of the command structure now.” Stark shrugged.

“And you’re an important ally and contractor, Stark. Relations and all. You know.” Will smiled more.

Tony’s eyes glinted a little. “Yeah, there’s that.”

Both men fell silent, both in their own thoughts. Of course Hot Rod couldn’t stay down in Tony’s garage any longer, sitting and waiting and guarding. He was a Prime. He had job demands. But Stark wouldn’t be without protection, had never been helpless, and the new Prime would make sure it stayed that way.

Will watched as the silver Autobot transformed and the Audi R8 alt form rolled toward the garage entrance that led underground.

Tony nodded at him. “My cue. Thanks for dropping by.” And with that he was inside and heading for the workshop.

Will looked at Prime, who had approached his position. “So?” he asked neutrally.

“He has accepted,” Optimus said serenely.

“Things they are a-changing.”

It got him a slightly amused look. “Indeed.” Prime held out a hand and the hybrid easily stepped on it to be lowered to the ground. “Rodimus will join us when he has… wrapped up matters here.”

Will nodded. He got into the truck after Prime had transformed and leaned back.

Yes. Things were changing. Faster than ever before.

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Once again, end for this fic. Hope you enjoyed the ride. :)