Introduction: Shockwave is very... logical
An opportunity for Wheeljack to escape would present itself eventually. Shockwave was being careful with him, keeping him under close surveillance, but Wheeljack could still outmaneuver him. It was only a matter of time before he had a chance to break free and kill the twisted shell of his former best friend.
It was his only goal, and when Wheeljack set his mind to something, nothing could stop him.
Shockwave was trying, of course. He'd carefully removed everything from Wheeljack's subspace, and was keeping him under close surveillance. But Wheeljack had still managed to build a few small explosives out of pieces of himself. He'd be able to break the lock on the door, though he'd probably need some kind of actual weapon to kill Shockwave. He wished he knew where his belongings were being kept.
But before any of that, he had to figure out a way to escape without immediately being seen.
He was thinking through that particular problem when the guards came for him.
His spark leaped as they unlocked his door. The more times he was taken through the base, the better he'd know the place, and the easier it would be to break out.
They were careful to lock the door behind themselves before opening his cell. Wheeljack knew he wouldn't have an opportunity to get away right now, so he didn't fight as they put stasis cuffs on him.
He was a little worried, though he tried not to think about it. Last time Shockwave had pulled him out of his cell, it had been to show him some projects. Wheeljack knew how his old friend treated his test subjects, and he knew that if he continued refusing to cooperate, he'd end up as one of them. A shadowplay experiment, to be specific.
Wheeljack didn't want that. It was the only thing he was really afraid of.
They brought him to Shockwave's main lab, which was empty at the moment, except for the scientist himself.
That might be a bad sign.
Shockwave walked around his little station of desks and equipment to stand in front of Wheeljack and the guards.
"So" Wheeljack said, hoping to gain some measure of control over the conversation. "Are you going to try to convince me to help you again?" Talking to Shockwave wasn't as pointless as he had thought at first. Wheeljack suspected that, deep down, Shockwave still considered them friends.
"No," Shockwave replied. "It occurred to me that even if you agree to cooperate with me, there is no way I can trust you. You would eventually turn on me and make an attempt on my life. "
Wheeljack didn't deny it.
"As that would be inconvenient, I cannot allow you to assist me."
"I wouldn't agree to help you anyway," Wheeljack said.
"This is what you have said. In either case, you will not be ultimately useful to me."
Wheeljack nodded in agreement, trying not to look nervous.
"In fact, the only way to ensure your usefulness would be to complete your shadowplay. But that is also problematic because I believe that would prompt you to redouble your efforts to escape."
"Also true," Wheeljack admitted.
"I have no doubt that, given time, you will succeed in breaking free from your cell, no matter what precautions I take."
Wheeljack looked up, wondering what that meant. "So… what are you going to do? Kill me?" He wasn't afraid of dying, but it was frustrating. He was supposed to kill Shockwave before the mech did even more things his former self would regret.
"No," Shockwave said. "Some orn, you could still be a valuable asset. Perhaps I will be able to improve the shadowplay process or determine some other form of ensuring your cooperation. Until that orn arrives, however, I cannot allow you to plot against me. Therefore, you will be put into long-term stasis for the time being."
Wheeljack stared. That was as bad as being killed. Worse, even, because if he was ever freed from the stasis pod, it would mean Shockwave had come up with a way to force him to help.
He'd have to bump up his escape plans to now. They'd need to take the stasis cuffs off of him in order to put him in the pod, and if he could get into his subspace…
The doors opened behind him and Wheeljack turned to see several more guards dragging a stasis pod through them.
They were going to put him into stasis here and now?
Pit. That didn't give Wheeljack enough time.
"Empty his subspace," Shockwave said.
"No!" Wheeljack couldn't help crying out. They'd already emptied his subspace, and he thought he'd been careful about hiding the explosives he'd made. But Shockwave must have guessed, or at least wanted to be sure.
Wheeljack struggled, even though it was no use, but they took his explosives out of his subspace, then removed his stasis cuffs and dragged him to the stasis pod.
They threw him in and the pod closed. He felt the machinery on the inside attach to him, connecting to his systems.
The last thing he saw before he shut down was Shockwave walking toward him, staring with his one red optic.
Notes: Thanks for reading! Sorry this one was super short.