The Two Fates of Optimus Prime / DeepDream

Before.

ONE

It turned out the matrix was alien technology all along: an electro-organic symbiote which bonded to its host. As such, its extended use had…consequences.

Prime became something new—something machine and flesh at once.

Later it became clear that the alien symbiote had spread throughout the Autobot network from the moment Prime had first touched it. Each Autobot was slowly transmuted, just as Prime had been. They began to move less and less, until finally they were absorbed into the new living, breathing, Autobot City. At that point, they were beyond caring….

TWO
 

The Autobots knew the matrix drew its immense power from another dimension, by opening a portal between worlds. What they didn’t know were the things watching and waiting on the other side. With each use of the matrix, the portal opened wider, until finally…something slipped through.

Containment and eradication of the entity called ‘Cthulhu’ took years, and necessitated the careful quarantine of the Autobot leader himself. In the end, however, Prime did survive the encounter…in a manner of speaking.

BONUS

Shockwave transmuted by the Matrix Plague (original source)

Shockwave in thrall to Cthulhu (original source)