Again, sorry about it taking longer...at least longer than it did when I started. I'm writing as I go now so it probably will stay closer to this pace than when I first started posting. But I will keep writing as much as I can.


Chapter 12: What Comes Around

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Optimus woke up in a quiet room unfamiliar to him. Several nanokliks passed before he realized he was likely in a private recovery room in the Autobot Infirmary. He was slightly put off to realize he must have recharged through the whole move. Lately he seemed to be recharging through too much outside activity. He wondered if he needed a sensor adjustment.

The door opened and the lavender and white femme medic from before entered.

"Ah, good. You're awake." She smiled at him.

"How long have I been in recharge?" Optimus asked.

"Nearly a full solar cycle, sir." She answered, still smiling, pulling a cube of energon from her subspace. "Red Alert will be coming by shortly. Please fuel and wait here for her."

Optimus took the cube silently, aghast that he could have recharged so long. He didn't think his injuries were that severe that he needed so much rest. The femme left before he could thank her or ask her name. Optimus drank the medical energon slowly, trying to occupy himself while he waited. As comfortable as medical berths were meant to be, it was no fun just sitting there with nothing to occupy a bots processors.

As he sat there, Optimus noticed that his processors seemed a bit different. He must have had a code adjustment because their functioning was now slightly different than what he was used to, but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. Red Alert would undoubtedly explain to him what had been changed. And probably snap at him some more.

Red Alert arrived several cycles after Optimus had finished the cube of energon. The first thing Optimus noticed was that she wasn't glaring at him. That was promising. He just hoped it would last the conversation they were undoubtedly about to have.

"You are lucky. The sparkling viruses had adapted and upgraded themselves. The firewalls wouldn't have kept them in for more than a stellar cycle." Red Alert began, fixing a calm and unwavering stare on him. "Those viruses had been pushing the firewalls out and forcing your processors to adapt their coding to reinitialize programs and processes damaged by the viruses. The ones you firewalled yourself had not mutated severely enough yet to be damaging."

"So is that why my processors feel…different?" Optimus asked. "Because the firewalls aren't encroaching anymore?"

"Your processor functions have been restored to what they should be, all programs running through their original intended coding. Perceptor himself fixed the damage when he and Ultra Magnus stopped in for an update." Red Alert informed him as she prodded the still healing welds.

"Why was Perceptor here for an update?" Optimus asked confused as to why a councilbot would be interested in his status when it had been far from critical.

"He was in a meeting with Ultra Magnus when he received word that we returned and you were in Medical with potentially dangerous viruses. Given Shockwave's virus activities, he accompanied the Magnus to offer his skills should they be needed." Red Alert answered, connecting a datapad and downloading his most recent systems status.

"Do you know how many bots were affected?" Optimus queried, recalling that he hadn't been updated on that particular incident yet.

"No. You will undoubtedly be told when you meet with Ultra Magnus after I clear you." Red Alert disconnected the datapad. "Your systems are back to acceptable functionality. Although you are restricted to half shifts until the end of the decacycle."

"That's not necessary!" Optimus snapped.

"While your injuries are not severe, your systems indicated a lack of proper recharge prior to your capture and stasis is no substitute." Red Alert leveled a disapproving look at him. "It is clear you were not taking proper care of your health, something I noted in my report to the Magnus. He is supporting the restriction."

Optimus vented hard to calm himself. Those few nights of missed recharge had come back to haunt him, but with Ultra Magnus on Red Alert's side he likely wasn't going to get her overruled. Optimus slid off the berth.

"Am I cleared to see Ultra Magnus now?" He asked, keeping as much of the frustration out of his voice as possible.

"Yes." Red Alert answered before turning and leaving the room.

Optimus left the room and headed down the short hallway to the main medical bay. There were only two other bots there besides medical personnel, one recharging on a berth, the other standing just inside the main doors. He was holding a metal cube, looking rather uncertain of himself. Optimus casually approached the mech.

"Is there something you require help with?" Optimus asked him, eyeing the light blue metal of the cube. It looked vaguely familiar in color, but the black smashed in with it was strange. It didn't look like a storage container he'd ever seen before.

"Sir!" The mech exclaimed, straightening up a bit. "Well, I was cleaning the waste disposal level when I found this and…well…it…I think…I mean I wanted to be sure…" The mech paused, venting deeply, looking at the floor. Optimus realized that this mech was a cadet since they were the ones assigned the task of cleaning the waste disposal areas as a form of discipline. "I think…there's a spark…" He trailed off and turned the cube so that Optimus could look through a gap in the metal.

Sure enough, inside was the faint pulsing glow all bots associated with a spark. Optimus' optics went wide. That cube was possibly the remains of a bot who actually survived being crushed.

"Medic!" Optimus shouted, directing the other mech to one of the berths, letting him gently lay the cube on it. A medic hurried over to them. "There appears to be a spark in there."

The medic gasped and peered into the cube, immediately motioning to the other medics nearby while starting to hook monitoring equipment up. As Optimus and the other mech were pushed back, the spark monitors registered the weak pulse of a spark within the cube.

"Get a spark containment unit!"

"Prepare for immediate spark removal!"

"Notify Central we have a severe damage emergency situation!"

"We need to get started! Now!"

The medics shouted to each other, the medical bay becoming a flurry of activity in nanokliks, Optimus and the other mech ending up pressed against the wall to keep from being tripped on. An unfamiliar medic approached them.

"Thank you for bringing him to us." The medic addressed the unknown mech. "He may likely survive because of you." The medic then turned to Optimus. "It will be a while before there is any real information available. We will be sure the Magnus is informed as soon as we know anything."

"Understood. Thank you." Optimus responded, gently guiding the other mech out the doors, but when he turned to address the mech they were interrupted.

"Optimus Prime, sir, there you are." Bluestreak hurried towards them. "I was told you were heading to the Magnus' office, but you didn't show up when I calculated you should have so I came to look for you. Is everything alright, sir? What's happening in there? Seems to be a lot of activity all of a sudden. But you can tell me on the way to Ultra Magnus since he's expecting you and you really don't want to be late."

"Everything is fine, Bluestreak." Optimus told him, noticing that the other mech had taken the opportunity to leave. He was obviously going to have to get used to other bots not hanging around him for long given his new status. He had wanted to commend the mech and find out his name, but Optimus decided he would have to find the mech again later. "Just an unexpected development."

Bluestreak fidgeted as they started walking before he nervously asked, "it wasn't you, was it? I mean I thought that you were all fixed now. Something didn't go wrong did it? That would be…"

"No, it wasn't me." Optimus interrupted, assuring Bluestreak.

They walked in silence for a while, encountering very few bots. Optimus glanced at Bluestreak, a bit worried about his silence. The bot seemed genuinely concerned about him. He noticed that Bluestreak seemed to be thinking quite hard.

"Is something on your mind Bluestreak?" He asked quietly.

Bluestreak jumped, clearly startled. "No sir, I was just thinking and…" Bluestreak cut himself off, pressing his lip plates together.

Optimus realized that, likely, somebot had told him he talked too much and to just shut up. He found that, as annoying as constant talkers could be sometimes, he didn't like the idea of Bluestreak forcing himself to be quiet.

"I worked with Bumblebee, you know." Optimus told him, casually.

"Yes, I know that, sir." Bluestreak gave him an odd look.

Optimus vented a sigh.

"What I meant is that I don't mind if you talk. You don't have to try to keep quiet around me." Optimus told him. "Bumblebee talks a lot. Somebots do."

"But sir, what if you're trying to think and need quiet? I talk almost constantly and most bots find it rather annoying and I don't want you to be upset with me. Sentinel hated it when I talked and was always telling me to shut up and I don't want you to be mad at me all the time too, but I guess I shouldn't have mentioned Sentinel and I'm sorry sir." Bluestreak blurted out, keeping his optics glued firmly on the floor.

"It's alright." Optimus assured him even as he felt a now familiar stab of pain at the mention of his friend. "I'm not going to yell at you for talking. If I need you to be quiet I'll tell you." A smile quirked his lip plates. "Besides, I'll never be behind on the latest news with you around."

"I…sir…I…thank you?" Bluestreak sounded embarrassed and unsure.

Optimus chuckled lightly. It seemed Bluestreak wasn't used to bots who didn't mind his chatter. He would have said more, but by then they had arrived at Ultra Magnus' office. They proceeded through the outer doors, Bluestreak stepping over to Ultra's secretarybot who waved Optimus through the inner doors immediately.

Stepping in, Optimus was no less intimidated and overwhelmed by the sheer size of the office than the first time. The windowless walls practically gleamed and the vaulted ceiling gave the place an air of infinite size. Ultra Magnus sat behind his desk, studying one of the many datapads before him, somehow not dwarfed by the monstrous room.

"Ultra Magnus, sir?" Optimus announced his presence.

"Optimus." Ultra Magnus greeted him, motioning him towards the chairs in front of his desk. "I believe I told you to call me Ultra."

"I was under the impression that this was an official meeting." Optimus responded, carefully taking a seat in front of his commander.

"Even so, you may still call me Ultra." Ultra told him, sitting back in his own chair. "The only exception would be formal diplomatic functions." Optimus nodded and Ultra continued. "I received Red Alert's report."

Optimus shifted his gaze to the desk, embarrassed. "I'm…" Optimus trailed off, unsure of what, if anything, to say.

"Her report indicates that you had not properly recharged for several solar cycles." Ultra's voice softened. "Perhaps I pushed you into this too soon. I apologize Optimus."

"No, it wasn't this!" Optimus blurted out, optics snapping up to meet Ultras as he realized that Ultra had misinterpreted the information and laid the blame on himself. "I just…had a lot to process."

"I understand. You were informed of your shift restrictions." Ultra not so subtly reinforced.

"Yes." Optimus acknowledged, realizing that it was only four solar cycles until the end of the decacycle, a relatively short restriction. "Have all Elite Guards been cleared of viruses? Do we know Shockwave's intent?"

"Yes, all virus scans are now complete. The pattern of infection became clear quickly, but all personnel were scanned just to be certain." Ultra pulled out a datapad and handed it to Optimus. It was a list of Elite Guards who had viruses with Shockwave's coding in them.

" 'Only experienced Guard members, either directly in line for or capable of taking the Magnus' office were infected.' " Optimus read, "the most serious viruses were found in the Primes that stood between his office and you." Optimus looked up at Ultra who nodded gravely.

"Undoubtedly his plan was to take the office of Magnus while remaining undiscovered." Ultra concluded, "but even with his discovery, the viruses would have destroyed a great deal of the command structure. A crippling blow to our forces."

"Were all the viruses removed? Was there any permanent damage?" Optimus asked.

Ultra nodded. "Once the base virus was identified they were removed effectively without permanent damage."

"Cliffjumper said that Shockwave didn't design the virus." Optimus remembered aloud. "Do we know who did?"

"We have identified the virus as one that was created during the Great War by a Decepticon, Codemaster. Shockwave modified it specifically for each bot, so the effects would remain unnoticed." Ultra told him. "You will find a full report on your desk, as well as the latest intelligence on the seeker clones."

"Thank you, Ultra." Optimus stood up, realizing that he was being dismissed.

"Remember to report to Red Alert at the end of the decacycle." Ultra instructed him.

"Yes sir." Optimus responded, saluting before turning and exiting the office. Apparently there was doubt about his ability to take care of his health still and Ultra wanted to be certain he was in good working order before having medical clear him. He supposed, after everything that had happened and he'd done, he deserved it. But in his defense, the viruses were simply ignorance which, he realized, was precisely why those around him were being this over concerned.

Together, he and Bluestreak walked back to Optimus' office, just down the hall, Bluestreak chattering merrily the whole way. Upon entering his office, Optimus was greeted by a, likely small, stack of datapads. With a bit of a smile, Optimus sat down and began to work.


I seem to love to practically twist the plot a little more in every chapter, don't I? Oh, well, it satisfies some of the nicer plot bunnies. I'll try to keep the uber evil ones in their cages, or use that nice flamethrower on them. :P And, finally, one evil plot explained. :P Took a while to get back to that, ne?

Wolf Prime: Interesting idea. Perhaps a different story sometime. I'm not wanting to be that evil to Optimus in this story. :P Well, not in his own processors. Some of the lurking plot bunny ideas might be a little less-nice than others. Thanks for another review! Watch those medics...

Optimus'girl: Wow...two reviews. Didn't know you could do that. ;) Yes, plot bunnies can be very evil, but I'm trying to keep the most evil contained. As for Optimus' creators...dunno...I haven't really decided which may have been his carrier. And, while Optimus isn't a sparkling anymore, medics do get a bit fussy about untreated medical problems. Firewalled viruses are dangerous because they're still there. Instead of being removed, like they should, they're still in the processor and active, so they can change as time goes on and become mutated and dangerous. None escaped though. Bee was a bit forward. :P Thanks again for the reviews. Hope you liked.

Sounddrive: Yea, Ratchet's not real great about keeping his liking Arcee a secret. :P Course, he's liked her for so long...well. And, yes, the most dangerous bots...are the MEDICS! :P 'Cause they're evilly nice...o_O Thanks for the review!

scrin99: So true. :D Thanks for reviewing!