The grip had yet to cease or lighten in any way, Jack venting rather heavily. He didn't know why Shockwave was as upset as he was but Jack didn't want to push his luck.
It was made worse since he didn't have the slightest clue what Shockwave was thinking. Only his optic gave an indication that he was feeling anything at all, given how it would cycle to widen or narrow.
And right now, it was narrowed, his frame still. Slowly, his optic turned to look down at Jack, who tensed up even more, his vents stalling as he didn't know what was going to happen. "You are close to him."
It wasn't a question, and Jack found something unsettling about the way Shockwave looked at him, even more than any other time. It felt like Jack had to be even more careful with how he answered. "It's not…unusual," he said cautiously, "to bond with others in such a harsh environment."
The hand holding his arm tighten just a little more before loosening. Not enough to let him get away though.
"Your logic is... sound." Shockwave conceded. Jack resisted the urge to sigh in relief. Especially when Shockwave moved and took Jack with him. "We will be returning to my lab for further study of your new developments. You will take a decontamination shower upon arrival."
'Well that figures.' Jack thought, but felt guilty for looking forward to taking a shower. He frowned slowly when he realized something. "Did you come here in your alt-mode? I…" he stalled, wondering if he should reveal this, but sighed as it was useless to hide it, "I don't have one."
Shockwave stopped, and Jack almost wondered if he got whiplash from the force of the sudden halt. The mech levelled him another stare. "Interesting." He said, his tone giving away nothing. Jack wondered what kind of 'interesting' that meant. "I had assumed your T-cog was already dismantled, so I brought with me a transport. I will not allow you another chance to escape."
Jack scowled, because that had been a thought, fleeting as it were.
"Even if they did that my body would heal it like it does everything else." Jack remarked, rather scathingly. It was lost on Shockwave, who was more intrigued in the fact that he thought he could regenerate a T-cog.
"A T-cog is biology, not technology." He surmised, revealing what Jack already knew due to Bumblebee having once lost his own. "It cannot be replaced by conventional means. It would be interesting to see if you are indeed capable of regenerating such an important bio-mechanism."
Jack could read between the lines, but would have to not be familiar by now with what Shockwave's go-to seem to be. "You're going to cut it out of me, aren't you?"
"It is the only way to determine if such regeneration were possible." Shockwave replied. "With everything you reveal, your value grows as my specimen." And, as if it were a threat, he added, "And so does the credit value your life holds."
Jack couldn't stop himself from scowling again. 'As if being reminded of the value I already have wasn't enough.'
Shockwave hauled him into the transport- miraculously not a trailer but something smaller and more personal, making Jack wonder if Shockwave had driven here himself. There wasn't time to ask though as he was still crammed into the back of the vehicle, out of sight, as the mech moved secured it in place. A lurch informed Jack that they were already moving.
It took even less time to get to Shockwaves laboratory than it did last. 'He must have really floored it to get here.' Jack shuddered at the thought of being dissected again.
And Jack flinched when he was pulled out of the back, twisting to avoid bumping into the seat. "I know I can heal, but it still fragging hurts!"
"And so your insolence returns." Shockwave said. Jack was jerked the rest of the way, stumbling to keep himself from falling on the pavement. "Is it because you grow to fear me less, or because your companion is no longer around?"
Jack didn't know what was being implied, or even why the purple mech was bringing it up, but his answer was the same. "I don't like being here," he said scathingly, "because you cut me up the last time!"
"If you had behaved accordingly I would have disabled your pain receptors." He stated once again, Jack growing still at the thought of having to endure that again. "If you wish to prevent a repeat of the incident, I highly suggest you comply and cease your arguing."
Jack was at war with himself; he didn't want to endure that excruciating, agonizing pain ever again…but…but the thought of lying pliant to be experimented on made him sick. In the end though, the thought of not being able to feel it, to just pretend it wasn't happening, forced Jack's hand. "And... if I don't argue, you promise you'll turn off my pain receptors?" Even saying though made him want to berate himself.
"So long as you remain compliant." Shockwave stated as he was taken back inside the much-dreaded building. The walls were as dark as he remembered, Jack noted grimly, vents humming along the walls.
"A-alright." Jack bit out, the words hurting more to say than he thought, knowing what was going to happen. It was a depressingly short time before Jack found himself back in the lab, everything as sterile as before, and he felt a tug when he saw the dark energon. "Do you really need that out though? I'd rather not look at it."
"Your aversion is strange, considering you've been the only one to find it thus far." Shockwave replied.
Jack scowled, but instead of the truth he gave a partial fact of what he told Megatron. "You're not the first-" he smothered his instinctive reaction to call Shockwave a mad scientist- "scientist to mess around with that stuff."
"As you informed me last time," Shockwave commented, gesturing for Jack to take his place on the table. He even let go of his arm- to test him, maybe?
Jack sighed heavily. "I guess that's a no then." He muttered. He glanced at the door, his instincts screaming to run-but if he did, there was no guarantee he'd even be able to reach the exit. He didn't even know what kind of security Shockwave had in this place. 'Just play along, just play along.' He repeated to himself. Steeling himself and burying the shame, Jack reluctantly climbed onto the table before lying down.
If Shockwave was pleased with his compliance it didn't show as he moved closer. Jack tensed, expecting the pain of a scalpel.
It didn't come though as Shockwave tilted Jack's head, forcing him to turn to the side as examined his neck. Jack felt the fingers probing, something shifting at the base of his neck.
And then he felt nothing. Jack tensed, his optics sharply to Shockwave, who only tilted his head again to look at the ceiling. It was unsettling, because when he heard the word pain receptors, he didn't imagine losing all sensation of touch. 'Kind of extreme advertising.' He thought.
Jack opened his mouth, still in an odd disconnect of being aware of everything around him, but it was as though his body had been blanketed to a numb-no, a nothingness. "And…" It felt like a struggle to even talk, "are you taking anything else out?"
"I will be examining your energon lines and your spark. The results of your metal shavings and bone were...interesting." He answered vaguely.
"My...my spark?" He asked, considerably more concerned now.
"Yes, it is the epicenter of where this strange energon is originating from." Shockwave said. "It's being pumped through your system, acting like energon but I require a closer look to give my findings any validity."
"You're...not going to tear my spark out, are you?" Jack knew he could survive being killed, but not the specifics of it-even when his chest was caved in-had it just been the trauma of the action or his spark giving out? It likely could have healed itself, but Jack didn't want to know if he couldn't regrow an entire spark.
"While the results of that would be intriguing, at the moment I am only interested in how your systems function." Shockwave said.
Jack was not comforted, and even less so when he saw the mech bring out the tools to vivisect him again.
He could hear it, saw the sparks, and how it dug into metal, but Jack still couldn't help but wince, watching with widened optics as the plates below his chest were being surgically cut open.
Thank god, he couldn't actually feel it.
Everything in Jack made him want to shut his optics, avoid looking at what undoubted wouldn't be a pleasant sight-but his optics stayed locked on the 'operation'.
Eventually his chest was splayed out like a frog in a school science project, Jack watching in horror as he saw his insides. Something he never thought he'd ever see and never wanted to again.
Energon beaded, a symptom of being cut open like this, but it was eerie to see that while the energon visibly spilling out was blue, he could see the dark purple glow clinging to his insides. Circuitry and wiring were splayed out, Shockwave carefully moving them around to surgically cut out what could only be Jack's T-cog. It made a crack sound, and Jack couldn't help flinching even if he didn't feel it.
His breath hitched when he saw Shockwaves hand gently prying the object from his cavity, his optics locked on the object. It looked typical to him from what he could remember from Bumblebee's own.
It was a strange circular orb, with indents on the center and glowing lines going around it. Jack was a bit shocked that something which fit neatly into Shockwave's palm had been stored inside of him-if the fact the mech's servo could engulf if was any indication. 'That thing lets me transform?' he thought, still horrified to even see it, and covered in his energon, with worrying signs of dark energon having been siphoned to it as well, with several spots leaking the purple substance.
"W... why is that stuff on it?" He found himself asking. Not to Shockwave, but rather to himself as the mech seemed as curious as Jack himself.
"Perhaps it goes to all vital areas. The ability to transform is integral to our systems." Shockwave explained. "This too shall require further research."
Jack grimaced, but his optics glanced down as he caught sight of his empty area-only to see something beginning to form. His spark dropped as the purple substance dripped into the center, and slowly a circular shape began to grow piece by piece. Had Jack felt it, he would likely be screaming in agony as his body created a new T-cog.
As it were, Jack only felt like screaming in terror. 'What's going on with my body!'
Why was there dark energon inside him?! It didn't make any sense!
"Fascinating." Shockwaves voice cut through his thoughts. His optic zoomed in on the process. Even Jack could tell that he was taking in every unnatural klik of the regenerating organ. Jack vented rapidly, in a panic.
'How is this even possible?' Jack thought, his entire being kicked into a frenzy as soon a new T-cog rested in the previously empty space, as though nothing happened. "Close it, please-I don't want to look at it anymore."
"Then avert your gaze." Shockwave replied, grabbing a scalpel. Jack flinched as he reached in, but only used the flat end to tap against the cog. It clinked, sounding even brand new. "It would appear this substance has been allowed to incubate in your for so long that your body has processed it as a natural part of you."
"There's nothing natural about it." Jack muttered.
"Indeed," Shockwave agreed. Jack was surprised, but when the mech continued it was not for the team's he thought. "I have never seen a T-cog as quite like this. The energon lines are peculiar."
Jack furrowed his brow, and despite the disgust he felt, he made himself look down at the cavity. His optics widened. Beneath the blue energon, he could see the small lines running over his protoform. They reminded him of human veins, and from Shockwave's reaction this was not normal. 'Just one more thing to lie about I suppose.' He thought. "That's… something else that changed, I guess."
"Quite." Shockwave said. He moved to Jack's arm, turning it over so the inside of his forearm was exposed before he brought out the scalpel again.
Jack flinched despite feeling nothing as the scalpel cut in deep, removing a chunk of armor to reveal even more of the veins. 'This is weird.' He thought. "You…you said there was something strange about my CNA-what was it?"
"The sequence of the CNA is not standard for Cybertronians. I have compared your unique CNA to various lifeforms of Cybertron. None have matched thus far."
Jack's spark sank, because all he could hear was the price of his freedom going up. 'Maybe it's already included in Shockwave's previous estimate?' he thought, but he hated how he couldn't be certain of anything. "That…isn't normal I take it?"
"No, it is not." Shockwave replied. "What else was used in the experiment done on you?"
"I... I don't know everything that went on." Jack stammered as Shockwave drew back. The cut in his chest was starting to pull itself together.
"This is problematic." Shockwave announced as Jack's chest closed.
It left only a scar over his T-cog area. Given how long it took to heal up, there seemed to be a time difference between what counted as 'immediate healing' and 'take time'. Or was it because Jack couldn't feel it, and thus it took longer for his body to register it? "How so?"
"Without proper identification of what was used, it will make determining what exactly lets you heal and regenerate." Shockwave replied. "Clearly the purple substance allows this, but is it backed up by the unidentified contaminants?"
Jack didn't know if the mech was talking to him or himself, but was starting to think more and more he probably didn't have many visitors. 'Lucky me.' He thought darkly. Jack stiffened when Shockwave's servo rested on his chest, digits prodding around the seam in the middle. "What are you doing?"
"A chest plate can be opened manually, therefore I don't need to pry anything off." Shockwave explained.
Jack grimaced, unable to not be comfortable about this. "Do you really have to look at it?" he asked cautiously. "Sparks are-are personal." He had no idea if it was true, but it must have hit a nerve, if Shockwave abruptly stopping and giving him a long stare was anything to go by. "...what?" He asked after the silence became too unbearable, shifting uncomfortably under the gaze. Forgive him if he didn't want what equated to his soul being poked and prodded the scientist if he could help it.
"You are my slave," Shockwave said, "and that gives me complete access to your form; including what would be reserved for only a medic or a mate to see."
Jack's optics widened. "What?" he winced in instinct when Shockwave's digits clutched something, and tugged. His optics widened further as his chest plates began to part by themselves, revealing the inside to them both.
Fear pooled into Jacks middle. Unlike the healthy, whitish blue he had expected, an ominous purple glow emanated from his spark chambers.
Shockwave leaned in, his optic cycling as Jack stared down at the thing where his spark should be. Inside his chest was a glowing purple orb, almost crackling with energy.
"This is highly unusual." Shockwave mused as he pried down at the orb. A tool was pried down, likely to take a sample of the energy it was producing. Jack gave a start when he could feel the energy lash out when the metal touched the orb, disintegrating it on contact.
"And highly dangerous." Shockwave added. Jack only stared, his optics wide as he couldn't believe that his spark could dissolve matter.
'I really should have asked Primus for a rundown.' Jack thought, not for the first time.
"W... what's wrong with my spark?" Jack asked, barely able to get the question out through his own panic. For the first time he was glad it was Shockwave looking him over, because as insane as the guy was he knew his stuff and would likely know what was wrong with him. "I thought it was supposed to be blue."
"It should be." Shockwave said, but his tone gave nothing away. "It would appear that the substance has changed your very spark. Given the volatile nature your spark has shown, this is likely the epicenter of where your healing and regeneration comes from."
Jacks chest rose and fell with increased pace, the panic fully setting in now. He shouldn't have a spark like this. His body shouldn't have...have these weird veins, and he shouldn't be able to detect dark energon!
'Why, why, why is this what I get? Why couldn't I just get regular energon and a normal spark?!' Jack thought frantically. 'What's going on?!'
"Cease your excessive ventilation. This is a delicate procedure-" Shockwave warned sharply as he was examining other parts of him, but Jack couldn't stop. Something wasn't...it wasn't right-
His thoughts came to a sudden halt when his jerky movements caused his insides to hit against Shockwaves hand, then against something inside him he couldn't see.
And then there was nothing at all, until the world came jarring back in a whir of colors and a series of alarming beeps that only just started to settle down.
It only took Jack a moment to realize what happened, and his whole body felt drained from the weight of it. He glanced at Shockwave, whose optic had cycled wide, glowing as it stared down at him.
"You were graying." He said, his voice astonishingly calm. "You were dead."
Jack let out a shaky sigh, because he knew what this meant. "I…guess healing isn't the only thing I can do."
"You knew." It wasn't a question, and Shockwave's optic narrowed at him. Then it shifted to the scar that went from shoulder to hip. "This caused more damage than what simple healing could fix, did it not?"
"... yeah." Jack muttered, optics wide as he was unsure of how Shockwave was going to take this. Was he going to be punished for getting killed in the arena? Jack feared the possibility of Shockwave turning his pain receptors back on or worse tampering with his ability to resurrect.
"You sought to not only disobey me, but you lied and deceived me." Shockwave said, his tone never wavering but his servo came to the back of Jack's head where his pain receptor was.
Jack's optics widened even further. "No, wait!" he shouted, desperate to avoid what was sure to the be the scorching pain of his exposed spark chamber. "I-I was going to tell you!"
The servo touched the receptor switch, but didn't let go or move to engage it. "Explain why you didn't."
"H-how do you think it is?" Jack said quickly, his voice cracking. "I died. Do you have any idea how that feels? When there's nothing around you, like you don't even exist in some void- that's not something you just get over! I needed time to...to cope."
Jack's spark was pulsing heavily, both because he could feel it and actually see it beating erratically. Shockwave stared at him for a long time, his optic nerving as he never once blinked. Finally, the mech pulled his servo away.
"Your reason is adequate." He said calmly. Jack held back his relief, waiting to see just what the 'but' would be. "You will be forthcoming in the future though. Should you disobey or hide anything from me again, I will punish you severely for it."
Jack chewed his lip. While he certainly didn't want to say anything more of his abilities, he also didn't want Shockwave wrath on him. Not while he was in such a vulnerable state every time he was in the mechs presence.
"I can heal." He stated simply, looking the mech dead in the optic.
"I am aware of your ability to regenerate, as you have already demonstrated quite clearly." Shockwave responded, sounding just a touch irritated.
"I mean I can heal others." Jack clarified for the scientist. "But I don't really know how it works yet-"
"You are capable of regenerating others?" Shockwave cut in. He leaned in closer, his optic focused unnervingly on Jack. "When did you become aware of this?"
Jack leaned back a little, uncomfortable with how close Shockwave was getting. "I-I was sparring with Mega-er, someone and I accidentally shattered their optic." He bit his lip for a moment, wincing as he hoped Shockwave hadn't noticed the slip. "I felt so…guilty that it must have triggered another part of my healing, since I was able to heal his optic, and it just left a scar like it does on me."
Shockwave stared at him, time seeming to stretch before his optic narrowed a touch. "You healed the other slave, your… friend, didn't you?"
Jack was a little confused as to why it was that the mech choose to focus on. "Y…yes." He said carefully. "He wouldn't have been able to work as well-look, why does it matter if I healed someone else? You just know that I can now." He said, because honestly, he'd rather Shockwave not try to make contact with Megatron, just because he knew from the future what would happen.
"You will demonstrate this ability to me in due time." He informed Jack, causing him to relax a fraction. "For now, this new information will be logged. Is there anything else you have neglected to tell me?"
'I'm from the future, but that's something you'll never be able to verify.' Jack thought, because he had a loophole. So long as he never let it slip and no one could tell one way or the other, he would never have to say anything about it. 'Wait…' he thought of what Megatron had said in the arena to the pit boss, and he resisted the urge to groan. 'Scrap.'
"Just- let's say future reference- what kind of information would you want me to tell you?" Jack asked, because he wanted to gauge how angry Shockwave would get if he ever found out about his and Megatron's ruse.
"Any more unique abilities, unusual occurrences, your participation in the arena's. If you discover any more of this substance," He gestured to the crystals, "You will be brought to me at once. I have confirmed this with the guards- failure to comply will result in punishment. If the guards refuse to perform their duties, you are to inform me and they will be... released from their position."
Jack was relieved to know Shockwave wouldn't care about a rumor then, and nodded. "I-I can do that." He said. His optics glanced to the side for a moment; his plating still crawled from the touching back in the tunnel. "And, would that include the guards keeping their servos to themselves?"
"They have been...touching you?" Shockwave asked. His tone, normally dull and consistent, strained a little.
Jack did his best not to shiver from the intensity of his stare. "Y-yeah. Well, it was just one mech, but-"
"Even one is unacceptable." Shockwave cut in. "I sent you back there to work, not be their plaything." He paused, and Jack flinched when the mech grabbed his chin and forced him to meet his optic. "How far did this mech go?"
Jack stared back, his plating crawling outright. "He…not far," he said quietly, "he touched me, but didn't…get inside." Inside what, Jack didn't want to know.
That singular optic of his brightened intensely for a second, unsettling Jack.
"Do you recall his designation?" Shockwave demanded of Jack, who shook his head.
"He...he never said his name."
"That is a problem." Shockwave said. "Do you have a description?"
"All I could get was that he was tall and his plates were darker-" Jack started, but paused mid sentence. "Why are you wanting to know anyway? Wouldn't your word be enough to keep them away if you don't want anyone contaminating your experiment?"
Shockwave narrowed his optic, and Jack tensed up, not relaxing as the mech drew in closer. "It is, but an example must be made to the guards what will happen should they step out of line again."
"Okay..." Jack conceded, not wanting to push this any further. An uncomfortable, itchy sensation drew his attention to his chest, were energon had stained it, then to Shockwave. He hesitated before asking, but the itching made his decision for him "...can I have another shower?"
Shockwave looked him over, and nodded. "Yes, you've become quite dirty." He reached behind Jack's head, and flipped the switch.
Abruptly, Jack was hit with aches over his body, specifically where his T-cog was. He struggled to get up, and froze when Shockwave grabbed his arm. He looked at the mech, who didn't move. Slowly, Jack realized incredulously that Shockwave was helping him off the table. It was surreal, especially when Jack moved and the mech acted like a support.
The feeling didn't lessen as Jack was taken back to the shower. He heard the door lock behind him as the solvent began to pour over him, and he scrubbed the dried energon away.
Jack sighed happily once the blemishes had been washed away, sitting down at the center and reveling in hot solvent washing over his frame, easing up the tension he had accumulated.
It lasted a little longer this time, to Jack's surprise, but he didn't question it as he was eventually forced to leave, drying with a cloth before exiting, where Shockwave was inevitably waiting for him.
The mech looked him over. "It was to your satisfaction?"
Jack blinked, and looked down at himself. "Well, I'm clean, so…yeah." He wasn't sure why Shockwave seemed so interested in that, or why he was asking. "Are…are we done? Are you sending me back to the mines now?"
"No." Shockwave said, surprising Jack. "There are still examinations I must perform after scanning through the new data."
Jack was unsure of just Shockwave meant. Did it mean more poking and prodding? "What…other exams are there?"
"Neural network scans, along with tearing your energon and comparing it to the substance." He informed Jack, waiting for the mech to stand by his side so they could move on.
Jack was surprised that he was willing to wait at all, or that he didn't yank him by his arm. Slowly Jack edged closer to Shockwave, intent on keeping him as 'friendly' as possible.
Jack followed alongside him, trying to sneak glances around for any part he could feasibly escape from. The thought was always on his mind, especially since Shockwave was being weird.
The mech led him down an unfamiliar hall, but unsurprisingly to a lab. This one looked different than the other, with a console and more 'techy' stuff around the room. A twitch in Jack's mind drew his gaze to a microscope, and beside it a slide with dark energon on it.
Jack sighed. 'Just can't get away from that stuff.'
"So, what am I supposed to do?" Jack asked as Shockwave moved to a table full of tools.
The one-optic mech reached down and picked up a flat, rectangular screen, attached to a handle that he grasped. "For the moment, stand there while I scan your neural patterns."
Jack furrowed his brow. "Neural...how's seeing how I think going to help you?"
"It will provide a baseline in the case the foreign substance which fused with you has any further changes." Shockwave explained. He held the scanner to Jack's head, just barely pressing against it.
Jack held still, his frame tense as he heard the scanner letting out a series of beeps and long screeches. It didn't last long, but to him it felt like an eternity before the scanner was taken away, the sound still ringing in his head. "And let me guess, for my energon you're going to stick me with a needle."
"Unless you know of another way." Shockwave replied.
Jack pursed his lips tightly, unable to come up with an excuse. Wincing when the needle pierced his hide, he watched as energon slowly filled the vial.
"After this I'll be able to leave?" He asked in a neutral tone.
"Yes. You will be returned to the mines with new instructions for the guards."
"And if I wanted to participate in the arena again." Jack ventilated nervously. "Would you punish me for it?"
Shockwave was silent for a moment. "I have been thinking over what you explained earlier. I do concur it is sound reasoning to test your abilities against others."
Jack bit his lip. "So..."
"No, I will not punish you." Shockwave said, his voice flat. Jack though was relieved. "And perhaps taking a more vested interest in seeing your gladiatorial matches would provide me with more data."
Jack went right back to nervous. "What?" he hoped that didn't mean what he thought it meant. "Like...going to watch? Isn't that...beneath you?"
"Gathering data for my research is my highest priority. Even if it involves going to revolting places such as the arena." Shockwave answered curtly, factual as he almost always was.
Jack tried not to grimace, and only just barely managed it. "Of course." he said neutrally. "Then I look forward to seeing you there." he added, somehow managing to keep his voice calm despite how much he wanted to freak out.
"I will inform the guards to inform me when you shall be participating." Shockwave continued, looking up from his precious work. "Do you intend to continue sparring with the other slave?"
Jack blinked, but answered cautiously, stating only the facts. "Yes," he admitted honestly, "he's been helping with my training. How to use my head, where to hit, where to avoid being hit." he explained, though his voice lowered to a mutter, "and grabs me just to prove a point why I need to get better."
"Does he teach you anything beyond basic combat?" Shockwave persisted. Jack assumed he was curious how a slave could know anything like that to begin with.
In fact, Jack wondered that too. Was Megatron self-taught? Had in all his years he just gotten good at fighting through experience? 'Maybe I should ask him.' he thought. "Well," he grasped for something, "he's shown me areas to get for the most damage, but...nothing beyond that. For obvious reasons we aren't allowed weapons in the mines."
Shockwave seemed pleased by his response. "Obviously." He conceded, as it was only logical that a slave would not be allowed to have weapons outside the arena.
Jack began to grow agitated. "Why the questions about my combat prowess? You think I suck even though you've never seen me fight?" It was a defense mechanism, to push agitation away with humor.
Shockwave though remained impassive. "The scars I've seen on you tell me what I need to know."
Jack crossed his arms. "Well, I'm still getting used to fighting."
"Clearly. Though your skills will likely improve as you continue to battle." Shockwave looked up, optic locked on him. "Your transportation will be here shortly. I expect you to behave accordingly."
"Yes, master." Jack rolled his optics. Though it was meant sarcastically, Shockwave's frame stiffened as his optic glowed briefly.
"It's about time you began to show me proper respect."
Jack crossed his arms, scowling. 'I just had to try and be funny.'
"Of course." He nodded going along with it just to put himself in Shockwaves good side.
Shockwave paused, tilting his head for a moment. "Your transport has arrived." he said, and Jack was not surprised when the mech came to grab his arm. Thinking Jack couldn't get out of the building was one thing, but he clearly didn't trust him not to run again once outside. "Let us not keep them waiting; and I reiterate, behave."
"Yes master," He repeated, gritting his denta at being like an unruly child. The guards waiting outside looked almost as happy to see him as he was them.
"Do not touch my slave," Shockwave warned as cuffs were placed around Jack's wrists. "In any way."
For a moment the guards stiffened, and Jack glared at them as they turned their gaze on him. Jack jerked his chin up as he reluctantly marched into the trailer, refusing to even give them a response.
A single guard followed him in, the door shutting soon after. Muffled talking from outside could be heard as Shockwave was likely relaying his commands, delaying the take off.
The guard glared at him. "You talked."
Jack scoffed. "He asked, and I gave him his answers." his frame tensed as he glared back. "I didn't do anything wrong.
"You weren't supposed to say anything you little scraplet-!"
The mech made a move for him, which Jack deftly dodge, an idea hitting him. He ran for the door, banged his cuffs against them and shouted, "Help!", hoping Shockwave would hear him.
Jack yelped as the guard roughly grabbed him and yanked him back, but underneath his own panic, he heard the talking abruptly stop. "He-" his call was cut off by the guard clamping a hand over his mouth, and Jack struggled to free himself.
The door opened though, and it was the only time Jack would ever say he was actually relieved to see Shockwave.
It took Shockwave only a moment to assess the situation. Jack's spark stalled when the cannon rose with a hum and a flash of light inside the barrel, terrified that his head was about to be blown off-
The shot went off, whizzing by him and into the guard that had been covering his mouth. Jack was frozen on the spot as the guard fell to the floor, a huge hole in his chest where the spark chamber should have been.
Jack couldn't help the shaking, optics wide as though he could still feel the heat of the blast that went by him. His vents heaved as he collapsed to his knees.
Shockwave glanced at Jack for a moment, before giving the guard beside him a hard stare. "I trust you understand the price should anyone lay a hand on my slave?"
"Y-yes sir!" The clamored, rushing to the vehicle at once, though not one dared to move to the back with him again. To Jack's slight horror, Shockwave grabbed the leg of the body and pulled the dead mech off the trailer.
"W-what're you going to do with him?" Jack asked despite the terror that was still fresh in his mind.
"It is none of your concern." Shockwave said in a nonchalant manner. Before he shuttered the door back, he gave Jack one last command, "You will tell me if they disobey my commands." To which Jack could only nod before he was closed off to the world.
Crawling back to lean against the wall, Jack pulled his legs to his chest, his optics straying to the splatter of energon that coated the floor.
Shockwave didn't care about the energon being dragged from the corpse, staining the floor. A cleaning drone would take care of it, and so did not deign to give it any attention.
It would make for a perfect, much needed test for his experiments though, a convenient bonus that came with the attempted defilement of his slave. His grip tightened around the leg of his slave's attacker, crushing metal and wiring under his grip.
It was a…curious development, how much he'd come to see his slave differently. Shockwave was not some simple-minded mech to believe anything about the slave had changed, only how with each passing visit so far, his slave had proven to be more valuable than he originally thought.
Although…he wouldn't deny there was a certain oddity to his own reaction to his slave and the other slave's so-called 'friendship.'
It had caused something hot and tight to formulate in his chest that was not caused by an issue with his spark. Shockwave hated whatever it was. And the mech who caused it. The one that called Shockwaves slave by his name.
As if he had any right to use it. Shockwave's slave may have been tossed down into the low caste, but he was onlined from a high caste. That mech overstepped his boundaries. Shockwave didn't have regrets, but he found the idea distasteful to send his slave back to the mines-to him.
But currently his tower wasn't meant to accommodate anyone other than himself, and he had no time to oversee his slave being broken in properly. Though…Shockwave had felt something when his slave finally called him 'master'.
He had been...pleased. Similar feelings arose when his experimentations were successful, or he discovered something new and intriguing. Such as when the purple substance had been brought forth to him to discover its workings. But it was different as well, something he could not place.
It was strange, illogical why his slave made him feel different than just the simple pleasure he derived from his work. Even when grabbing his slave to make sure he didn't run, made him reluctant to let him go, but felt that equally strange satisfaction when he hadn't tried to escape.
His slave also started to learn on his own, staying by his side and following without complaint. Shockwave had decided to reward his good behavior with letting his slave clean himself a little longer. And he couldn't deny seeing his slave newly cleaned made him just as…pleased.
His slave had been grateful for it as well- following him to his lab with no mumbling complaints or arguments, merely following him after a few questions about further experimentation.
Shockwave wouldn't deny he had been infuriated by his slave keeping secrets. The unique ability to revive oneself from the dead was possibly the greatest scientific discovery in the history of Cybertron.
He had been ready to turn the pain receptors back on, and let the sudden rush of agony teach him a lesson, but the response had stayed his hand. His slave had given no indication he'd been lying, and the fury in his voice had been real. So, Shockwave had allowed his slave a reprieve, just the once though, because he would not tolerate lying. Especially when it pertained to scientific inquiry.
Reaching his lab, Shockwave lifted the corpse onto the table, and narrowed his optic slightly. He may have killed this one, but there was still a guard in the mine that had also tried to defile his slave. A fact which did not please him at all, but they would be fools to do anything with how clearly he sent his message.
There was nothing of value Shockwave found in the mech inherently, but his body could provide the perfect vessel for his newest potential experiments. Shockwave's optic narrowed in on the vial of energon he had collected from his slave, sitting innocently in its container.
The color was deceptive- to everyone it would appear to be normal energon, but it shared some of the same properties of the new mineral his slave had discovered. A look at his insides revealed that it did indeed begin with purple coloration, but became blue as it was processed through the body without changing its inherent properties.
It was…fascinating, and worth further study along with the neural scans he taken of his slave. Shockwave had yet to find any similar case where the energon was so strange, but it would make posting his findings even more ground-breaking.
Without another pause, he set into his work, securing the body onto the slab his slave had occupied earlier. The vial was grabbed, then pricked the mechs arm plating. Shockwave injected a small amount of the energon into the body, curious what effects such regenerating substance would have on a different being.
Almost instantly, color returned to the corpse, while every energon line in the corpse's body glowed purple, and the optics flickered online with the same purplish coloring. A deep snarl erupted from the mech's body, struggling to get free. Shockwave's optic cycled, because this was certainly not the reaction his slave had when he'd seen his revival.
"Cease your struggling," Shockwave demanded of him. There was no response other than snarling growls, no recognition in those purple optics.
"Desist-" Shockwave's ordered was cut off by the sound of screeching metal.
The mech had managed to bend the restraint holding his wrist down, snarls picking up as he pulled even harder on it. One more and his servo would be free.
A second blast from his cannon stopped it in its tracks- this time his head having been blown off completely. Shockwaves vents cycled as the body still moved, albeit with less direction than it had before.
"It would appear there is much to discover about this substance." Shockwave said to himself. If it made revived bots ravenous, then what would the result be with a living bot? His slave suffered little effect of his own diluted energon, but he could very well have been only the final subject. "If that is the case, then I must find subjects of my own to perfect this procedure."