Transformers Prime: The Swift and Proud (Sequel to Echoes of the Past)

Chapter 3: A New Predacon

A New Predacon

I groaned as my processor came back online, though my helm felt like one of Wheeljack’s grenades had detonated inside it.  I could tell I was lying on a flat surface, though other than that I had no idea where I was.  I lifted a servo to my helm in the hopes of alleviating some of the pain, but as my servo came into contact with my helm something felt off.  I opened my optics and felt around with my servo in confusion as bumps and ridges came into contact with my digits.  I lifted my other servo to my helm and felt around for a moment, not understanding what had happened to me.  I lowered my servos slowly but paused as they came into view.  My optics widened as I took in my servos, or rather, my new servos.

I turned them over and over as I took in their new appearance, my digits now long and claw-like while my armor had become more ragged and bulky.  My color scheme was still the same but that was the only thing that hadn’t changed.  I pushed myself into a sitting position and my optics grew even wider as I took in my body.

Just like my servos, my body had undergone a huge transformation, and not in the usual way.  My peds were now more beastly and were tipped with three razor-sharp claws.  My midsection had become more curved and my body size seemed to have grown almost double from my original form.  I pushed to a standing position and wobbled for a moment as I found my new center of balance, and I walked over to a mirror that hung on the opposite wall.

The being that stared back at me was no longer the femme I thought I was.  No, this being was more like a beast than bot.  My faceplate was still the same color, and my optics were still their dazzling white, but I now had four horns sprouting from the back of my helm.  Also, my faceplate was longer and more pronounced, like the muzzle of an animal flattened to the normal dimensions of a Cybertronian.  I turned to one side and then the other, taking in my new body, but as I moved I felt a large weight hanging off of my back like Ratchet’s medical kit.  I turned fully to the side and my optics almost fell out of my helm as I spotted two huge wings sprouting from the middle of my back.  It took me a few tries, but after concentrating hard I was able to extend my wings out to the sides.  The undersides were a shimmering amethyst, glittering like the Earth jewel as they shifted in the light.  I folded them a bit so I could turn around, and as I glanced over my shoulder plate I saw the top of each wing was a brilliant crimson, interlaced with intricate designs of the same purple as the underside. 

I turned to face the mirror again, completely dumbfounded as to how this could have happened.  However, something in the center of my chest caught my attention, and as I leaned closer I spotted a symbol that I recognized from somewhere.  All of a sudden, my processor lit up with an image of Predaking, and the symbol that had been in the center of his chest.  It was exactly the same symbol, and as I stumbled back from my reflection I realized what had happened to me.  I remembered what Shockwave had done to me in the lab, and as I looked down at my new body I felt Energon tears stream from my optics.  Shockwave had turned me into a Predacon, and there was nothing I could do about it.

I held my faceplate with both servos, my new claws poking at the edges as I fell to my knees, sobbing as Energon dripped to the floor between my legs.  I had been turned into a monster, and there was no way I could ever show my faceplate to the Autobots again.  My mother would be crushed to see her daughter like this, and I could only imagine what Optimus would think.  I knew that by now the rest of the team would have faced Predaking at least once, so they would think of me as an enemy unless I explained myself.  My frame shook with sobs as my spark twisted painfully, and for a moment I thought about ending my own existence.  However, that thought was quickly overpowered by the image of Megatron standing over the lifeless bodies of Team Prime.