Author's note: This alternate version of "Son of Primus" takes place in the Transformers: Prime universe. Compiled from old notes and from salvaged material I've had for a while, this is what I originally had planned this story to be like. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have writing it.

TransFormers: Son of Primus

Prime Edition

Prologue

Vengeful Vows

Stripes, a white and blue BMW M3 GTR, pondered over his new-found existence as a Cybertronian. He didn't want this. He didn't want to get dragged into a million-year-old war for power. He didn't want any of it. He couldn't have any of it on his hands. There he stood, on the edge of a large plateau, overlooking Carbon Canyon, tears of energon running down his faceplate. He wept for what he had lost, what he could not go back to...

"Damn you, Megatron... Damn you..." He sobbed, clutching the area of his chest where he had mangled the Decepticon insignia they had inscribed on him. The very symbol they had tried to burden him . His tears did not cease to flow. He had barely escaped the abuse and clutches of the Decepticons, the badge they had imprinted on his chest etched, scratched, and worn beyond recognition. He was not going to be part of their conflict. He was no one's pawn. His hand servo clenched into a fist of rage as sadness and despair coursed through his circuits, the feeling going into his very spark. He heard car engines revving through the canyon, seeing the headlights of various models drifting through the corners and hairpins on the road. Street racers. They were always challenging each other in the canyon. Contests of skill. He remembered when he was one of them. When he was human...

How Stripes longed for his lost humanity. Granted, he didn't have much of a life as human street racer. But it was much more than he had now. Back then, he had some acquaintances, a girlfriend he was planning to marry, a crew, a home, even some money. Now, that was all gone. The Decepticons had taken everything from him... Stripes missed all of his human friends, aqaintances: Nikki, Neville, Samuel... He even missed some of his rivals, and Cross! Cross, of all people!

It had been several months since his change to a Cybertronian. Many more months since his last meet up with his old crew in Palmont. Code name: Stickshift. He wondered how they were all doing. His human picture was all over the news: everyone was looking for him since his last encounter with the law. It wasn't pretty. He had to outmaneuver undercover cops in that one. Street racing units. That was when he encountered Megatron and his faction.

Stripes remembered what happened: Megatron was charging at him in vehicle mode. His human self was forced to turn the car into an unrecoverable drift, and it rolled the car. Shortly afterwards, Megatron grabbed him straight out of his own car, the roof torn off after Megatron had scanned it. They somehow had knocked him out. Either that, or the accident injured him enough that he lost consciousness. The next thing Stripes knew, he woke up like this: A freak of science and nature.

The Decepticons beat him, tried to break him many times over, but Stripes kept his patience as best he could. He waited for an opportunity to escape, and found it. Several weeks ago, he had finally found his was back to Palmont, only to find they had officially declared him dead. He had driven by his grave; A simple headstone decorated with a big block engine engraving, the name reading clear in the stone his human name: Carlos Lopez.

He tuned his radio to a station he usually listened to when he drove. It was playing a song by Linkin Park he recognized: New Divide. At first, it only seemed to deepen his sorrow. But then, he saw a light. A light within his soul, his very being.

"Megatron..." He whispered. "You took everything from me. But I won't let you control me, as my friends are with me, now and forever. No longer will I be afraid. Somehow, I will find strength, find guidance. Those you send after me will be ashamed, and disgraced. I will not let what you did to me mold me into what you wanted me to become. I will not give up... I will triumph!"

Chapter 1
Angel's Highway

Route 444
Jasper, Nevada - City Limits...

Bumblebee drove down the lone highway, on alert. Optimus and the Autobots were all on patrol once more, readying themselves once again for a Decepticon attack that they felt was coming.
Somehow, Megatron had returned again, though something was different about him. Bee couldn't place his finger on it, but he knew something was different about him. Oh, well. It didn't really matter. Bumblebee had his pipes back at least, so he could speak again. Thank Primus for that.
At that moment, a blue and white modified sports car blew by him at insane speeds! Bumblebee could have sworn he was going at least one-hundred and sixty mph! He started after the car, but it sped up. He recognized the make: A BMW M3. It was clearly modified: Spoiler, body kit, custom exhaust...
Then he noticed when he scanned the car that it didn't have a driver! Was this a new Decepticon? He sped up alongside the car, which seemed to keep increasing speed as they rapidly approached the city of Jasper.
Finally, the BMW hit the brakes, and went into a flawless drift on the exit ramp. It then took off once again, engine howling as it tore down the street, Bee still in pursuit.
Bee chased him down to the suburbs. Where were the cops in this city, he wondered? They tore through neighborhoods, catching much unwanted attention from close calls as they drifted through corners with racing precision.
As they got back onto a highway, Bee had finally had enough of this car's game. He pulled up and made a pit maneuver. The BMW attempted to correct itself, but it was futile. It spun around from the sudden loss of traction on the rear wheels, and stopped as it slid off the road into the dust. Then it transformed! Bee followed suit, ready for combat, but the opponent wasn't making any hostile moves! Instead, it was laughing! Though it wasn't a sinister laugh; more of a laugh of glee, or humor! As if it was amused!
"Well, no one's ever been able to keep up with me like that before!" The bot laughed. "Good pit, by the way! Not even Cross could do that to me!"
Bumblebee kept his guard up. He noticed the badge on his chest, but it was so scratched up and worn, the symbol wasn't even legible. Even the color was faded from what appeared to be intentional wear and tear.
"Well? Are you going to introduce yourself? Because I know you're not one of them." The other bot asked, a smile on his faceplate.
Bumblebee was silent. One of who? What was this bot's game?
"Hello?" The unidentified bot waved his hand. "Do you even speak?"
"Yes, I can speak!" Bumblebee snapped in annoyance. "And I'm the one who should be asking the questions! Who are you? Are you a Decepticon?"
The other bot gave Bee a sour look. "Do I look like a Decepticon?" It asked in annoyance. "My name is Stripes, by the way." He then tuned his radio to a station playing rock music, which he danced to.
Bee's processor felt like it was ready to crash. Whatever he was, Stripes' behavior wasn't making any logical sense whatsoever. His carefree attitude reminded him of Miko.
"Enough!" Bumblebee said, starting to worry that someone might see them. "Go back to vehicle mode and follow me..."
Stripes chuckled. He did as he was told, and followed Bumblebee to where he was taking him: The Autobot base.

On board Nemesis...

Megatron held his cannon up to Starcream's face. His patience was at an end.
"You claim you've scanned the whole planet, yet you haven't found any trace of him?!" He snapped. "He couldn't have just vanished into thin air!"
"My liege..." Starscream begged. "Please, forgive me... I-I will send out recon teams, and scout the planet personally. We won't rest until we find him..."
"THEN WHAT ARE YOU JUST STANDING HERE, FOR?!" Megatron roared. "GET ON IT, NOW!"
Starscream ran off of the bridge with haste to organize a recon team. Megatron slammed his foot down in disgust, and sulked down into his throne with a disgusted groan. He was so angry, he could feel the energon and coolant pumping through his systems.
"Idiot..." He sighed, slowly calming himself. "Sometimes I wonder if he knows his intake from his exhaust..." He turned to see Soundwave walk up next to him.
"Yes?" Megatron said with an unenthusiastic deadpan. Soundwave then gave him a small report. He had found someone who could help to track down their escapee. A human, dubbed as "Nathan Cross." Megatron felt pleased by this new news. He'd need to see this human in person.
"Bring him to me." He ordered.

Autobot Base
Jasper, Nevada

Optimus looked over the scans as he saw Bumblebee approach. He was with another bot.
"Wonder who that is?" Ratched said, watching them enter the base. He figured the other bot was fairly young, considering the disguise he had taken up: A modified BMW M3 GTR; A "punk car" as he would have put it.
Jack and Arcee watched Bee enter with the new bot. They changed to robot mode, and saw the mangled badge on his chest. They couldn't tell whether it was an Autobot or Decepticon insignia. It was just too mangled to make out.
"Who are you?" Optimus asked, approaching the bot.
"Stripes." The bot answered casually. He looked around. "Nice pad." He went over and found a place to sit down, propping his legs on a rather large crate, arms behind his head.
"Are you a Decepticon?" Ratchet asked, ever cautious. "You don't have any I.D. Markings."
Stripes lowered his head. He appeared to relax, but his processor was racing to come up with a believable explanation. All he knew about them was the war... Yes, that's it!
"No, I'm not a Decepticon. I'm just a drifter... I've been looking for a planet to call home for a while. For many vorns. I wasn't part of the war. Just wanted to find a place to settle down... And that was long before the Decepticons showed up here." He lied smoothly, showing no signs of unease.
Bulkhead was angry. "Why didn't you do something?! You could have helped us!"
"I didn't want to get involved." Stripes said flatly. "The war is not my problem."
Optimus knew there was more to this bot than there seemed to be, but knew he was not a threat to anyone here. At least not at the moment.
"Your appearance is a surprise to us, though not unwelcome." Optimus said. "We've been searching for someone. You might be able to help us, Drifter."
Stripes took a look at Optimus without moving from his position. "How so?"
"The Decepticons have begun to abduct humans. We don't know why though. However, we believe we know their next target: a former law enforcement officer. Goes by the name Nathan Cross."