Onslaught could only sighed as he stood in front of the second-story building that belonged to Shockwave. Unlike the other buildings, there was no windows in it, ensuring that no one could look in on the experiments going on in this place of terror. He was dreading come here, but as Shockwave was the de facto boss of the area, he had to do his part and interview him for any clues.
At least that was the plan until Killshot stepped out of the building with a box in hand and he found a convenient excuse to delay going in there. "Killshot, may I talk to you for a little bit?" he requested the mech with the red shades. One look at him was enough to tell that he was severally disgruntled and grumbling to himself. The Combaticon half expected him to look terrified or maybe even unnerved, but all he could read on his face was annoyance. He had to guess that he's been there more than once.
"Yeah, yeah, make it quick. I gotta make a trip to a supply depot nearby for Shockwave," Killshot stated to him with a huff.
"Shockwave is making you run an errand?" Onslaught asked him. "He does realize that we're after an escaped prisoner, right?"
"I pointed that out to him, but he didn't give a slag. I'm used to it from that freak. It doesn't matter what's going on, whether I'm having mechanical issues or an Autobot is free and could potentially ruin everything, he still has time to push me to do menial BS," the red-and-black mech ranted to him, annoyed at it all. "All he said was that I'm uninvolved with the investigation and should take this worthless box of crap out of here."
"Well… I guess you are uninvolved in all of this… right?" Onslaught asked him to make sure.
"Damn right I'm not involved in this. Last time I came here weas three weeks ago when I was hired to drop this shady figure off here. Shockwave really wanted this weirdo to get here," Killshot explained to him.
"Huh? You mean someone was transferred here?" Onslaught asked him.
"No, he wasn't transferred here. Shockwave just told me to pick this guy up at the main base and bring him here. He said he was specialist of some sort, I don't know. Dude didn't say a single fragging word the whole way here and it was a two-hour flight! You think he would've said something during that whole time," the pilot ranted to him.
"Right… did you get a good look at him?" Onslaught questioned him.
"Not really… he looked pretty generic. Generic height, generic build, I can't even remember his stupid colors," Killshot remarked as he scratched his head in confusion. "The only thing I can remember were those optics… those pure-white optics."
"White optics?" the detective repeated. "That is a very unusual color to have for optics."
"I know. That's why I remembered them so well. Honestly kind of creepy. Felt like he was watching me very closely the whole ride over here…" He pushed his glasses up to revealed his own red optics to him. "They were not the optics of the normal mech. They were the optics of a predator."
"Were they? They were so striking, you were unable to remember anything else about him?"
"I know. Usually, I'm good at memorizing details, but those optics… the only way you can get it is if you see him for yourself. He should still be around here somewhere," Killshot explained to him.
"You haven't fly him out of here?"
"Like I said, last time I was here was when I dropped him off here three weeks ago. I haven't come here since. Guy should still be around here somewhere," Killshot explained to him.
"Understood… thanks for telling me," Onslaught said to him as he sought to remember these details.
Ammo Added: Killshot's Errand
Killshot had to leave the base during the middle of the investigation to do an errand for Shockwave, dropping off a box at a nearby supply depot.
Ammo Added: The Specialist
Shockwave requested the aid of a specialist who was dropped off at the prison three weeks ago.
Killshot could only describe them as having unusual white optics.
"Yeah, well, I got to get going. I shouldn't be long," Killshot assured him as he walked off quickly with the box in hand.
"Be careful," Onslaught stated to him as he looked back at what he was here for. The lab of the mad scientist of the prison.
Should be fun.
Onslaught entered inside windowless building. The first room was innocuous enough, being a simple lobby area with a hallway to follow. As expected from someone like Shockwave, the room was highly sterilized, with the only thing dirty was a few spots of dried energon on the floor, most likely from some of the poor slaggers who were taken in here. He sighed as he started exploring the lab, looking for the owner of the building. "I hope it doesn't take long for me to find him."
As he said that, an intercom in the building came to life as the monotone voice of Shockwave bellowed from it. "Meet me in lab 102, Onslaught. I shall be waiting." Just as suddenly as he chimed in, the intercom went silent again, leaving Onslaught to muse about it.
"Well, it appears he expected me. Nor surprising," he muttered as he made his way over to the room he designated. "As the de facto leader of the prison, I'll have to ask him about how this lapse in security could happen under his leadership." It didn't take long for him to reach the room in question, with each door in the building having a label next to them to designate what their name was, which Onslaught appreciated. He knew that Shockwave required a certain amount of order within his lab and wouldn't accept any deviations. Shockwave would want this finished quickly and cleanly, as an escapee was a blemish on his impeccable record.
A couple of steps landed him at the entrance of lab 102 and he entered inside. The room was much like the lobby, sterile with a few blotches that gave a hint to the cold savagery that went on in here. There was, thankfully, no one else in the room for Shockwave to inflict his experiments on, with said mech just analyzing something on a computer. "Welcome, Onslaught, to my lab. Important experiments are carried out here at all times, so let us make this quick." The one-optic mech turned to look over to him.
"I understand the importance of your work here, but don't you think you may have been derelict in your duties here?" Onslaught questioned him. "I understand you're not the warden, but you do take charge in their absence."
"I merely delegate responsibilities to the appropriate people. Your gestaltmate, Vortex, is most helpful in our pursuit of running an organized prison," the monotoned mech remarked to him.
"Yes, I hear about that. He's good at following orders… most of the time," Onslaught remarked with some exasperation.
"Yes… we do have the same problem with him. He has a tendency of being too rough with prisoners. Dead specimens are far less useful than living ones," Shockwave remarked to him dryly.
"As are prisoners and suspects," the Combaticon added on to his response. "He has, on occasion, killed the subject he's interrogated before we could collaborate their statement, which is naturally problematic for me."
"And thus, a common connection arrives. I am glad we found one. Now then, give me all your questions. I know you must have a few. I will do my best to answer them if it leads to the prisoner being captured again," Shockwave encouraged him as the scientist gave Onslaught his full attention.
"You're certainly more cooperative than I expected, Shockwave. I like that," Onslaught thanked him, but quietly added in his mind, 'Why does this feel like a rehearsal for a script that Shockwave wants me to follow?'
"Cooperation leads to a shorter conversation and more time to experiment," the scientist explained to him.
"And you're not afraid of any of my questions?" Onslaught asked him.
"There was some hesitation, but not anymore. I am sure all will go well now," Shockwave stated.
"As expected, you don't lack in confidence," the investigator murmured to him, although he once again had that strange feeling from Shockwave's answer. "Now then, will you tell me where you were when Perceptor broke out?"
"Where I always am. In here. It is not my mission to guard the prisoners nor watch over any of the places here. My position is here. It would be best to ask Vortex for anything that may have happened before, during, and after the breakout," Shockwave explained to him.
"And this can be proven?" Onslaught questioned him.
"I do not appreciate such suspicion directed towards me, but my position is not in doubt. I'm sure one talk to that insolent tech mech would dispel any notion of me being involved in this sordid affair," Shockwave explained to him.
"And this 'insolent tech mech' is Bitstream, correct?" Onslaught asked him for clarification.
"Yes… him. That immature upstart is far too much of a nuisance for my liking," he remarked to him. "Yet the warden brought him in to be the chief technician and run security for the place. Quite a foolish mistake."
"I have heard about you and Bitstream not getting along, and yet, you'll use him as your alibi?" Onslaught remarked to him.
"Not him, but the system he set up. Much as I dislike him, he also does good work. There is no chance I could leave my lab without it being tracked on all the sensors here. Because of that, my innocence is assured," the one-eyed mech surmised it for him.
"You sure are making a big deal about your innocence, Shockwave. I thought I was only hear to find Prowl, not measure how guilty someone was," Onslaught pointed out to him, crossing his arm to the mech.
"When I say I am innocent, I mean that I don't have any blame, nor did I fail in my duties in any way. My job is here so I don't see how I could've led to Perceptor's escape," Shockwave stated to him, not missing a beat with his logical explanations. "I assume you will report to Megatron about any potential failings."
"So you're protecting your aft is what you're doing?"
"In those vulgar terms, yes," he affirmed to him.
"Right… got it."
Ammo Added: Shockwave's Testimony
Shockwave claims he was in his lab the whole time.
Ammo Added: Bitstream's Sensors
Sensors that Bitstream added to log when people went through a doorway.
"So then, who you say is to blame for this?" Onslaught quizzed him.
"I have limited information on the event, but I find it natural to blame the dead for letting such a disaster occur," he stated to him.
"If he was competent, he wouldn't have died. Is that what you're saying?" the detective queried him.
"Far as I'm concerned, most people here are expendable, especially the guard. We don't rely on them for their intellect around here, we just ask them to watch some prisoners for a few hours. It is hard to fail such a task, yet Runabout did so," Shockwave remarked to him.
"Huh? Runabout? He's not the victim, it's Runamuck," Onslaught corrected him.
"Oh." There was a pause in the conversation as he could even with Shockwave's lack of a face and near-emotionless persona, he was embarrassed with making such an error. "I… thought my information was accurate about the situation."
"Did you even see the body?" Onslaught questioned him.
"I told you, my position is here and nowhere else," the scientist informed him quickly with a huff. "Vortex told me about it. I thought he would be more accurate with his information."
"…You've got to be kidding. Speaking ill of a dead mech is one thing, but speaking ill of them without realizing they're not at fault is quite unbecoming of you," the Combaticon warned him with an indication of disgust for him.
"It is a mistake, I will admit, but in the whole scheme of things, irrelevant," Shockwave stated to him.
"Maybe… but it's not like you to make a mistake," Onslaught reminded him.
"Accurate."
Ammo Added: Shockwave's Incorrect Comment
He claimed that Runabout was the victim when it was actually Runamuck. He claims it was because of Vortex giving him incorrect information.
"While we're on the topic of it, why did you push so hard to not bring an investigator like me here?" Onslaught questioned him.
"I would not exactly call you an experience investigator. You have never been a part of the police force before the war and you have spent your life in the military," Shockwave remarked to him. "You are an advisor on tactics, nothing more."
"Well… I'll admit that it was more like that I'm the closest mech of authority around here to make decisions, but still, Megatron ordered me here to help find Perceptor and determined how such a debacle could occur. When something like this happens, it should be all hands on deck, not working to keep it hidden," Onslaught reminded him.
"You misunderstand me, Onslaught, as did Flatline when he made a call to the warden without my say so. You, Flatline, and the warden all believe that this is an event that requires a full-blown investigation into the cause of it, but I see it differently. There is zero chance that Perceptor will be able to escape the prison, so it's only a matter of time before he is found and detained on again. I know on the face of it, it seems like a disaster, but it is something that is easily fixed so long as we keep a calm, well-ordered unit and an effective search parameter. This will solve itself soon," Shockwave stated to him. "I did not anticipate an arrival from you, but I am adaptable to changes in the plan. An extra set of optics would be helpful."
"Right…" Onslaught said doubtfully. Once again, he got the feeling he wasn't being given the whole truth, so he just had to sit on it for now.
Ammo Updated: Shockwave's refusal
Shockwave refused to bring in an investigator, requiring Flatline to get the warden for permission.
Shockwave explained that he believed that the situation was not as dire as Flatline stated, stating that he was fine with Onslaught being here, even if he finds it unnecessary.
"Well then… what can you tell me about the visitor that came here? The so-called 'specialist' as Killshot called him," Onslaught questioned him.
"The specialist?" Shockwave tilted his head to that comment. "There was no specialist. We are not a place to have visitors."
"Really? What about the mech of three-weeks ago?" Onslaught asked him.
"There was no mech that was deposited here three-weeks ago," Shockwave stated to him. "The only new person that we've had is when Perceptor was brought here one week ago."
"Huh? But that can't be. Killshot distinctively talked about a mech with white-optics being brought here," the investigator grilled him.
"Onslaught, we have had no specialists of any kind brought here. Killshot is telling you an impossible tale," the cold scientist explained to him. "If he actually came here, Bitstream's camera would've caught them. Go bother him about such a subject."
"You're kidding me, right?"
"I do not 'kid' in any way," he immediately rebuffed him. "Such an action is a pointless waste of mental capacity."
"But you could just as easily be lying to me," Onslaught pointed out to him.
"And what would I have to gain from such an act?" Shockwave questioned him. "A mech with white optics coming here unannounced and unsee by everyone else? It's absurd to believe such a tall tale. I have never even seen a mech with white optics. Have you?"
"Well… no. That one fact being the only thing that Killshot can remember about him is very strange," Onslaught admitted to him with a sigh. "I'll have to see the cameras to be sure of this, but I'll have to admit that it is unlikely this supposed white-optic is real. Still, if that's the case, why would Killshot lie about it?"
"Any number of reasons," the scientist answered back. "I am not good at identifying specific motives, but I am good at the broad motives. Any specific or combination of reasons could be the reason for him spreading conspiracies like that. Before believing such a statement, you should first ascertain the mental state of such a mech."
"You seem to have no problem with using him to transport good and such here. You're suddenly questioning his mental state?" Onslaught asked him with a grunt.
"He is quick, efficient, and doesn't ask questions. Far as I'm concern, he is perfect for the job, regardless of his apparent mental state," the one-eyed mech remarked.
"Simple and to the point… that's at least one trait I can admired," Onslaught remarked with a sigh as he could tell he was not going to get anything else from the scientist about this strange anecdote from Killshot.
Ammo Updated: The Specialist
Shockwave requested the aid of a specialist who was dropped off at the prison three weeks ago.
Killshot could only describe them as having unusual white optics.
Shockwave claimed that a so-called 'specialist' never arrived and that Killshot was making them up.
He only had one more question. "So, what is it you had Killshot moving?"
"A box of components that I do not need and need to make room for other items of note. It is not a completely necessary event, but him bringing you here certainly was fortuitous for me. I just took advantage of that."
A pause filled the room as Onslaught took it in, a look of disbelief coming over him. "Really? We're looking for a prison escapee and you're more worried about properly organizing the space for all your components then him possibly escaping on that ship?"
"A clean and organized workspace is important at any time. You find it strange, but keeping a proper order of everything is what keeps everything here working perfectly," Shockwave explained to him in complete seriousness, not liking that Onslaught was unimpressed by the reason.
"And you can't just use the storage unit here why…?
"I just told you. Clean and organized. Both my labs and my storage room must be kept that way. That storage depot is something that I care about keeping in an organized state. Shockwave was sounding even more annoyed with Onslaught about his habits, so Onslaught wisely kept quiet about it now.
Ammo Updated: Killshot's Errand
Killshot had to leave the base during the middle of the investigation to do an errand for Shockwave, dropping off a box at a nearby supply depot.
According to Shockwave, the box contains a bunch of components that is not needed right now and to go to storage at the supply depot.
"Now if you are done mocking my prerogative, please leave my lab."
"Can't I look around a bit? Perceptor may've gotten in here during the breakout," Onslaught suggested to him.
"I find it impossible for him to be here. Besides, these are all top-secret experiments I am working on. I cannot let you investigate my lab, further," Shockwave shot him down.
"Now, now, you share this building with Flatline, do you not? He's given me the okay to investigate, so I think I'm authorized to search the place," Onslaught remarked to him.
"He inhabits a very small area of my building. He does not get a say in whether you get to search it or not," Shockwave rebuked him with a huff. "You may search his place, but I must restrict your access to everywhere else. This is not something that can be talked over."
"Resistance is futile, yeah, yeah, I get it," the Combatican remarked bitterly with a huff, glad this conversation was almost over. "Just tell me where Flatline's area is so I can search it."
"When you first entered the building, first room on the left," Shockwave told him simply.
"Right, right," Onslaught murmured as he took one last look around the lab for any clues to what Shockwave was doing. However, he could tell that this wasn't he primary lab with a few noticeable tools that he used. The most noticeable part was the two chairs in the middle, which was likely where he had test subjects. Aside from that, there was not much else in the room except for one object. A strange purple-and-black wire that was currently rolled up and placed aside. "What's this here?" he asked Shockwave as he picked it up and looked at it.
"It is not my duty to explain such matters to you… but I guess I can tell you. It's a cortical psychic patch. I use it to invade the memories of prisoners that we keep here. In my opinion, it is a far better way to interrogate someone then with your gestaltmate's methods," Shockwave informed him.
"Ah… I've heard from Megatron about you developing a way to do better interrogations. And is it as effective as you want it to be?" Onslaught questioned him.
"Well… it is still in the prototype stages," Shockwave informed him. "It is not perfect yet, but I am working on it. And when I do, we will have limitless access to the memories of the prisoners here and even download them. We could even modify them in certain ways."
"Like brainwashing them?"
"No. I am good, but that is not something that can be easily achieved. What I can do is push down memories and selectively edit them in our favor," Shockwave informed him. "At least, that's what I hope I can do. It will not be an easy process to master."
"I imagine not… so you use this from time to time on the prisoners to test it?"
"Yes. I most recently used it on Perceptor three days ago. It was quite insulting peering through the mind of an inferior scientist," Shockwave remarked and Onslaught just rolled his optics. Typical of Shockwave to find no one else is his equal. He might as well poke him on that a bit.
"I heard he is quite brilliant. I'm sure you leaned some things you didn't know from him," Onslaught remarked to him with a hum.
"Don't test me, Onslaught. I will not have my work insulted from this. Perceptor was quite the scientist, but he fell short in a lot of ways. My advancements will outlast all of his laughable studies," Shockwave remarked to him and Onslaught could tell that it was personal between the two of them, but that probably wasn't the best of evidence. If anything, it further proved his innocence, so Shockwave was definitely not a viable suspect. He still kept a note on the Cortical psychic patch.
Ammo Added: Cortical Psychic Patch
A device that Shockwave invented to look through people's memories and download them. With time, Shockwave said he could even modify people's memories with the cortical psychic patch.
"Alright, then I'll get going then," Onslaught said to him with a nod as he started walking out.
"And naturally, you have decided that I am not involved in this affair, am I?" Shockwave queried him.
"Right the, the worst I could do is reprimand you for dereliction of duty and not taking this prison break seriously," Onslaught informed him with a sigh. "I get your studies are important, but there are other things to worry about."
"Right now, I have nothing to worry about aside from my studies. Now leave me alone," Shockwave demanded as he went back to work. Onslaught grumbled quietly to himself about the surly scientist before walking out, the door closing behind him. Talking with Shockwave was just as infuriating as he thought it was going to be. And worst of all, as suspect as his actions were, he was likely not involved in this in any way. He was still going to keep an optic out on his actions, but he was not a viable suspect.
He backtracked over to the front of the building and went to the door that shockwave specified. He could just sneak around the rest of the lab without Shockwave's permission, but he had a feeling that he a security measure or two to keep him out and he didn't want to risk annoying the scientist either. He may not be the warden, but he still had considerable power here.
He entered inside Flatline's area to take a glance inside of it. As expected, it was certainly a doctor's place, with a sterile looking area. The room was split into two parts with the area he was currently in being an office area of some sort and the second area was being an operating room where Flatline done his procedures. He could even see that one side of the operating room can open up, probably to get anyone injured on the job in there on the double.
Onslaught looked around, trying to find anything that would be worth investigating. There was a computer, but he respected Flatline's doctor-patient privacy, even if such a thing didn't exist with the Decepticons. He would never look through that without his permission. He had standards that he would not breach. So he looked around for any other information that he could gleam from Flatline's possessions. He looked around the area quietly for a few moments, although there wasn't really anything that he could use. A collection of medical materials and other good reads was on a bookshelf which was certainly impressive looking. Flatline was certainly a well-read individual.
He headed inside the operating room to take a look around the area. While Flatline did do his best to keep it clean, he could see a stain here and there, much like with the rest of this building. It was pretty apparent that when the room was used, it was quite bloody. Still, there wasn't exactly much in the room for him to look at. He was about to turn out before he realized there was another door that led elsewhere with a label on it naming it the 'stasis room.' "Now who is in here?" he wondered as he went over to the door and opened it as well to peer inside.
Inside was a small room with stasis chambers. There were five of them in total inside the room, but he could only see one that was occupied in the moment. He went over to take a look at it. On a chart next to it was a label calling them 'Prisoner 1X5E.' He hummed before taking a look at the prisoner inside as best he could. The windows were heavily fogged up as a result of the preservation progress, so the only thing he could see was a silhouette of a mech with a short frame inside of it. Aside from that, he couldn't determined anything else.
"Hmm… why are they here?" Onslaught remarked to them before reading the chart. According to it, the prisoner was put in the stasis pod 2 weeks ago. This was due to a 'physical altercation with Vortex.' That was not surprising to Onslaught in the slightest considering Vortex's sadistic streak. Guess he'll have to ask him about this when he gets the chance.
Ammo Added: Stasis Chamber Prisoner
A prisoner is inside a stasis chamber due to a 'physical altercation with Vortex' two weeks ago.
"Well, I guess this is all I can find. Nothing too useful in here," Onslaught murmured as he thought to himself. "I do wonder why Flatline is keeping a prisoner in here though… he's under no obligation to ensure their survival. Why this act of charity from him?"
With that last question, he exited Shockwave's lab to continue the investigation.