Matrix
I was wondering through a cave system in Yellow Stone National Park when I saw it. Whatever the blue glow was it was mesmerizing. As I got closer I could see that the light was coming from a jagged blue crystal within some kind of gold colored container with silver handles on it. When I touched it I was shocked and brought into some kind of strange room.
"Who are you?" I swung around looking for the source of the deep baritone voice. Eventually my sight landed on a shadowy figure with humongous shoulder pads and a bulky body.
"Uh, my name is Alexis Summers but my friends call me Lexi." Along with that I am a brunette with blue eyes.
"Well hello Alexis, my name is Optimus Prime."
"Hi so, um, where are we?"
"We are within the Matrix of Leadership, a sacred relic of my people bestowed only upon those who are worthy to wield it, those with a strong conviction to do what is right. I was the last of the primes, the 14th in a lineage of 13. But if you are here then that must mean that the Matrix has chosen you to be its next wielder."
"How am I supposed to wield something three times my size?"
"The Matrix is a source of mystical power it will reconfigure itself to suit your needs, however you must hide it in order to keep those who wish to do evil from harming you and those you love."
"And how am I supposed to do that? Shove it under my bed?"
"You must carry it within you."
"Carry it within me?! Are you fucking mad?!" The shadow surrounding him started to lift and the first thing I saw was the strange symbol on his shoulder.
"The thirteen original primes who preceded me always carried the Matrix of Leadership within their chest," he continued to say as the shadow completely lifted to show a red and blue robot. To say that I was stunned was an understatement. "I know that it seems impossible for a human to carry a devise such as this one, but if you want to save your planet then you must do so. There is a great evil coming towards your planet one that I thought had been sealed away thousands of years ago."
"What are you?"
"I am a sentient autonomous robotic organism from the planet Cybertron. I was leader of a faction on our planet trying to save it from destruction. We were known as the Autobots and our enemies, the Decepticons. The combat was fierce and endured for century's, but in the end neither Autobot nor Decepticon was able to sees the eventual death of our planet, poisoned from the inside out due to our war. Both sides scattered to the stars hoping to find a suitable planet for our race to thrive upon once more. We eventually found this planet, Earth, and our war started up once more.
"My small team and I fought for years against the Decepticon threat and eventually they discovered the location of our original base resulting in my near death. However due to the quick thinking of one of my troops I was able to survive and lead them to victory against the Decepticons. While my medic Ratchet was captured he and a Decepticon scientist known as Shockwave were able to rebuild the device to revive our home world. But with the reactivation of our creator Primus his long time enemy Unicron soon awakened."
"So this Unicron guy is the bad guy?"
"That is correct. You also seem to be one of the few people to realize that I did not say unicorn. We had to fend him off and keep him from destroying our planet once more. I thought that if we were to trap him in the container used to hold the Allspark then we could defeat him once and for all. But in order to do this the Allspark would need a new vessel and it was thus that the lineage of primes ended for in order to return my race from the brink of extinction I had to join with the core of our planet, with the Allspark. So if the Matrix has returned to Earth then Unicron the Chaos Bringer has indeed broken free from his prison and has come looking for his old body. Everything will become clearer when you accept the Matrix as I once did, and if you do," he reached out his hand. "Then take my hand and except your destiny." I walked forward but hesitated.
"Are you sure I'm worthy?"
"Not everyone is destined for greatness, however not everyone is destined for normal either. I was once a data clerk named Orion Pax after all." Making up my mind I reached forward and took his hand. There was a sudden gust of wind that swept my hair back and a bright blinding flash of light before I was back in the cave. The first thing I noticed was that the Matrix was gone and that my chest felt different. Turning my flashlight toward my chest I saw the same symbol on it that was on Optimus' shoulder only smaller but practically impossible to hide. It also looked like a birth mark.
"Do you wish to see the Matrix?" I heard Optimus ask in my mind.
"Yes please, but how do I do that?" I said out loud.
"In order to accommodate for the Matrix being held within you your body has changed into that of a techno-organic. This means that you can now do things that will have been dubbed impossible when you were entirely human." He explained. "This includes life threatening stunts and battles seemingly being passed off with a wave of the proverbial hand. I still would suggest extreme caution when doing such however.
"Okay so how do I sneak a peek at the Matrix?"
"All Cybertronian system processes are thought controlled. Heat sensors, night vision, and motion tracking software can all be accessed through a main hub which can be turned on or off at will. Transformation and weapons activation as well as opening a subspace can be done by will alone. However I suggest that until you get acquainted with your new body that you use the selectable options in your HUD. Also when speaking to one of us past primes I suggest doing so within your mind. Someone may overhear you speaking to yourself in public or in private and believe that you have lost your mind."
"I probably have," I thought back. "You said that the 13 original primes that proceeded you all carried the Matrix in their chest cavity, so what happened to my heart?"
"It has been transformed into that of a spark. The spark to a Cybertronian is like that of a soul to humans. Not only is it that but it is also our 'heart' if you will. And since you now wield the Matrix all of your thoughts and experiences will be kept within for future wielders too look back upon."
"Hold a second there, all of my thoughts including my more 'dirty' desires?"
"If you are referring to perverted thinking, and perverted sights, then no they will not be kept within the Matrix. Not even we past primes will be able to see them during or after. Even I myself must admit that those thoughts have crossed my neural net more than once."
"Neural net is your guy's version of a brain isn't it?"
"That is correct."
"Okay good, now it's time for me to see what changes my body has undergone." Looking back down at my chest, shut up perverts, I concentrated for like a millisecond before blue lines appeared on my chest in the basic outline of the Matrix and opened up. One piece of it slid forwards and up over the insignia, another forward and to the right, the third forward and to the left, and what seemed to be a secondary hatch forward and down. Then the Matrix started to glow.
I was so severely shocked that I didn't move or blink for at least a minute. Then I slowly reached up to my chest and removed the Matrix. Looking over the alien object I couldn't help but marvel at the device that used to be at least 2-3 times my height. Now it was barely a third of the size of my shin and fit in my hands.
"Shocking yet wonderfully amazing isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Back on Cybertron if you were a prime then you were at the top of the political system."
"Holy shit, I am basically the president." After checking my watch I saw that a substantial amount of time had passed, to be specific, three hours. I closed... my chest and began to climb out of the cave. Surprisingly I was able to move quicker going out then I was going in even though going through it originally it was all decent. So of course I asked Optimus about it and he said that my muscles were now partly Cybertronian so they were basically super charged. Not only would I be able to climb something faster than normal but run faster and hit harder as well. Once out of the cave I saw that it was dusk which meant that the park would be closing very soon. Making sure I had everything and that I had remembered to put the Matrix back in... my chest compartment I returned home as quickly as possible. Optimus told me as much as he could on the way home about the legend of Primus, Unicron, and the Thirteen, the war for Cybertron, the now retired war lord Megatron, his old team and the many friends and comrades that he lost during the war.
I was surprised when I found out that there was a set of Decepticon seeker twins that he respected for their honor and loyalty to their cause, but mainly their honor. He told me about his mentor Alpha Trion who was also a member, as well as the one who lived the longest, of the Thirteen. Once home I asked Optimus if he would be able to see anything while I showed. He said no so I had him explain more about his race and their planet. Then he told me one of the most shocking things that I have ever heard in my life. Unicron was the core of my planet and the reason why humans and Cybertronians looked so much alike was because of this. Primus created the Thirteen then later created the Well of Allsparks where the mass of the Cybertronian race came from. They also reproduce like humans and rely upon that more than they do the well now. But the ultimate evil is still the core of my planet.
Optimus even had to enlist Megatron's help in defeating Unicron. Because of that he lost his memories for a short while but because he gave something called the key to Vector Sigma to this kid named Jack who went to Cybertron to go to Vector Sigma to get the Matrix which was stored there and reloaded it into Optimus who then beat Megatron to a pulp and forgot what happened to him during that period. Anyway I finished getting around and laid in bed for a couple of hours listening to Optimus tell me about his experiences. After a while he eventually started talking about each individual prime before him. To be honest it was kind of annoying that he was jumping around so much. But the last one he told me about was Solus Prime.
Considering how all of the primes he talked about were all male of course I would be thinking? 'Oh great another guy,' but I was surprised when I found out that Solus Prime wasn't a he but a she. Besides me she was the only female prime and she had this wicked hammer called the Forge of Solus Prime that she used to craft all of the weapons for all of the original primes. I even talked to her! I swear that we are so alike that we could be sisters. Eventually falling asleep from the excitement of the day I couldn't help but wonder when I woke up if it was all just a dream.
I stole a look down at my chest and saw a birthmark like Autobot insignia just barely clearing the top of my bed shirt.
"Hey Optimus are you there?" I said within my mind.
"I am here Alexis, is something the matter?" He sounded groggy but it was hard to tell with how well he could hide his emotions.
"I thought I said my friends and family could call me Lexi."
"I was not aware that you were willing to call me a friend so soon after meeting me."
"Well I guess that for once you were wrong. But back to what I was going to ask, if I'm a human,Cybertronian techno-organic now does that mean that I can consume energon as well?" There was a long silence before he answered.
"I believe it to be possible, but I would not recommend trying until we learn more about your body."
"That would probably be a good idea to follow huh?"
"Yes it would. Now I do believe today is a Monday. That would mean that you have school correct?"
"Not when it's summer vacation," I said back. "Why do you think I was still asleep at noon?"
"I was still asleep with you so I did not know."
"Hey, didn't you say last night that in order to try to imprison Unicron you had to put the Allspark into the Matrix which in turn made it impossible to pass down to continue the legacy of the primes?"
"Yes I did, however when Unicron escaped his prison Primus separated the Matrix from the Allspark and sent it to the most likely place for the next prime to be. That place just so happened to be your planet."
"But the Matrix was hidden in a cave if Unicron only recently broke out then wouldn't that mean that the Matrix shouldn't have shown up yet?"
"Most generally yes but the Chaos Bringer could have broken out thousands of years ago and has not made it here yet due to the massive distance between this planet and the galaxy in which I chose to hide his prison. Secondly he might be having problems traversing the vast distance due to him having transcended physical form. After all in order for him to get to Cybertron he had to revive Megatron and use him as a vessel."
"So what you're saying is that because Unicron doesn't have a body he can't turn into a form that allows him to move faster through space or allows him to use some sort of space craft?"
"That is correct. He might even need to rest for long periods of time do to him expending massive amounts of energy to move through the cosmos."
"So he could still be quite a way's away, that's good. But I am going to need to get ready if I want to meet up with Clara in time."
"What will you be doing?"
"We made a little schedule the day before that I could go cave exploring yesterday and we would hangout today. Is it alright if I tell her about the Matrix? She is my best friend after all and I don't want to keep such a big secret from her."
"I do not think that would be a wise decision."
"But the major downfall of every super hero in any movie is the fact that they don't tell their best friends about their powers or the fact that they go out and catch criminals for a living. In the end their friends end up not wanting anything to do with them and stay as far away from the hero as best as they can."
"That is only in movies, there are no real super heroes in real life except that of your military."
"You don't understand, I don't want to possibly lose the only friend I have," I spoke out loud not caring if anybody heard me. We were silent for a couple of minutes before he finally gave in and agreed to me telling her. I quickly hopped into the shower and got dressed. The doorbell rang just as I was putting on my shoes and when I opened it I saw Clara standing there. She is a brunette with blue eyes and slightly pasty white skin where as I am a bit more tanned.
"Hey girl how you doing?" She asked me as we both smiled. "You got a tattoo?" Noticing where she was looking I pulled her into my house and up to my room. At the moment I was the only one home thanks to me being an only child.
"Clara what I am about to tell you is freaky, cool, and awesome so don't freak out okay?"
"Is it E.T?"
"It's an E.T.D."
"A what?"
"An extraterrestrial device that is also a relic of great power." She was silent for a couple of seconds before just completely deadpanning the conversation.
"I don't believe you, and I was being sarcastic when I asked if it was E.T."
"I know but this is for real. Yesterday when I went cave diving I found a strange device that was at least twice my size and when I touched it something happened and I became something called a prime. It shrunk enough for me to carry it without a problem and also put this symbol on my chest. I'm not lying."
"Okay Lexi, if you aren't lying then show me this prime device." There were a few almost in audible clicks before my chest opened to show her the Matrix. I moved my shirt down a bit so that she could see it better and her eye's bugged out. She just stared at the Matrix for a little while before pinching herself, then slapping her cheek.
"This is real," She said as she looked back up at my face.
"And from what Optimus told me I am the first female prime since Solus Prime."
"Who and who?" I mentally asked Optimus if there was a way for him to explain and he told me to take the matrix out of my chest and present it to her. Doing as I was told I took the Matrix out of my chest and maneuvered it out through the bottom of my shirt closing my chest after. He then told me to have her touch it.
"Okay Clara, I am going to need you to put your hand on the Matrix and we will be pulled inside. Not physically but mentally like I was when I touched it for the first time. It might take while though so be wary." She hesitantly reached out to touch the Matrix and when she did its calm yet bright glow grew even brighter until we were no longer in my room but within the Matrix itself. At first Clara just spun in every direction before looking back at me getting a shrug in response.
"Hello Clara." She jumped at Optimus' baritone voice and turned to look at him "My name is Optimus Prime, 14th in a lineage of leaders known as primes," He said as the other thirteen walked up behind him. "Please allow me to tell you of our world and its past." There was no talking for a couple of seconds before I smacked her on the back of the head.
"The faster you let them talk the faster we can go hang out," I said as she glared at me before looking back to Optimus and sheepishly asking, "So, what's a prime?"