(A little prologue to see how well the story might be taken. I will post more if it is taken well.)
It was very honestly the best change he'd had in a long time.
While Shockwave preferred solitude, he still desired the opportunity to speak with someone. That was why finding Knock Out's search party had been such a blessing. Silence quickly becomes oppressive if it is not occasionally broken by something other than the whir or hum of equipment. Though it meant having to deal with every kind of distraction imaginable, Shockwave counted Darkmount's noisy operations a small inconvenience to the satisfaction of hearing the evidence of other, living beings outside his laboratory doors.
It was still monotonous, but less so, because there were others to talk to who would actually listen, reports to give that would actually be read, and deadlines that would actually have consequences if missed. It was a refreshing change to an existence that was only kept orderly and efficient solely by his own efforts.
And so it was a good change for him, and he acknowledged this in a moment of sentimentality, and then he put the feeling away and did not think on it again. This was his way.
It was good that this was his way, for if he had spent more time thinking about change and good, he would not have noticed that there was something very strange about the fortress.
He would not have noticed the source was coming from him.
