"You've got to be fragging kidding me!" Smokescreen exclaimed dramatically at the Autobot meeting after school. "Shockwave is back. As in the actual Shane Wavers. He's back?"

Ratchet nodded gravely. "Yeah, no doubt he's gonna be rejoining the Cons. And worst of all...there's also no doubt that he'll be rejoining the med science program. Damn Con! He was always showing me up in the old school, now he made a big flashy entrance and is totally gonna try to take the top spot at the med science program that I've worked so hard for!"

Ironhide patted Ratchet's back sarcastically.

"Good to know where your priorities lie Ryan." Ironhide spoke.

Ratchet groaned and brushed the other boy's hand off of his back.

"So this Shockwave guy is really bad news, huh." Miko commented. "I'll be totally honest, I didn't really believe you guys when you were telling us about Shockwave for the first time. The whole mad scientist schtick seemed pretty, ah, far fetched."

"Yeah don't worry we get it." Bulkhead replied. "But we gotta stress that it's all true. Shockwave is gonna be bad news for us. Especially with the war getting really heated up lately."

"Huh, what kind of things did he used to do? Like, what should we be looking out for?" Raf wondered.

"Hm...well first of all he's no chump when it comes to fights. Dude packs a mean punch. Then there were a bunch of times he came to school with these wacky inventions. Yes, even worse than Wheeljack's. We're talking explosions, mini mushroom clouds, and nervous breakdowns." Bumblebee answered.

"Nervous breakdowns? Why? How?" Raf asked frantically.

"Oh, well, uh, some weird stuff." Bumblebee answered cryptically.

"He also has a long list of connections. He has a lot of access to some crazy tech thanks to those connections. We Autobots had one hell of a time with the Cons in the old school when he was around. And now he's back. Which is fragging great for us." Smokescreen answered.

"Sounds scary." Miko said.

"Uh huh. Anyways, where's Jack?...Steadfast. Damn, I'll get it eventually." Smokescreen wondered.

Miko shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. He was acting really weird earlier today."

"Was he. Hey Arcee," Smokescreen called to the girl, "do you know where Jack is?"

Arcee looked over at him and frowned before turning away.

"Okay. Weird. And kinda rude." Smokescreen muttered.

"Yeah, I haven't seen Jack all day either." Raf added.

Arcee went up to Ultra Magnus and explained to him why Jack wasn't attending the meeting. The older student crossed his arms and nodded.

"Thank you for telling me Arcee. I'll let Optimus know." Magnus told her.

"Hey Magnus. Has anything like this ever happen before?" Arcee asked. "Like, do you know how Optimus will deal with this?"

Magnus brought his hand to his chin in thought.

"Not that I can recall I'm afraid. However, I have known Optimus for a while. He'll be cool about it, but upset nonetheless. I don't know what he'll do but it'll be just." Magnus answered.

Arcee nodded before the other boy walked off.

"Shockwave!" Megatron exclaimed happily as he walked up to the other boy and wrapped his arm around his shoulders excitedly. "It is good to see you. I've been waiting for this ever since you came up to me during the Christmas break."

"Indeed sir. I must admit, it is good to be back at school." Shockwave replied.

"Speaking of, where have you been for the past year and a half? You haven't been skipping have you?" Knockout asked as he popped the can of soda in his hand. "No one's seen you since the fire at the old school. You practically disappeared off of the face of the Earth. Most of us thought you had died."

"What an illogical conclusion." Shockwave spoke. "I was out before the fire reached the exits. I left through the back. I couldn't get to you lot because of the flames however. As for where I've been, I've been attending several classes at the Vos Institution of Technology."

Everyone who was within earshot of the statement stopped dead in their tracks. Knockout in particular did a spit take, partially soaking Starscream and just narrowly missing Breakdown.

"You've been where?" Megatron demanded incredulously.

"The Vos Institution of Technology." Shockwave repeated.

"As in...the university?" Megatron said. Shockwave nodded.

"I haven't been able to stay in contact with you lot due to the workload of the institution." Shockwave explained.

"Okay. Wow. I always knew you were smart Shane but...the Vos Institute of all places. Yeah, alright, uh, why'd you come back?" Megatron wondered.

"Well, while the workload increased by an incredible margin, it was almost less challenging than the work they provide here. Not to mention that the overall environment was...boring. Almost painfully so in fact. I found it to be far more logical to simply earn my high school diploma and enjoy my teen years amongst the Decepticon faction. Not to mention, the Galaxy Games are starting soon. I would like to participate once more before graduation." Shockwave answered.

Megatron nodded.

"Well, welcome back Shockwave. It is good to have you back."

"Indeed it is. However, there is one matter I would like to deal with before we get into anything else." Shockwave walked forwards, towards Starscream who was frantically trying to wipe the liquid stains off of his shirt.

"Starscream," Shockwave spoke, "when the fire started in the old school you left me there for scrap. Why were there no attempts to rescue me?"

"Ah! Well, like Knockout said. All anyone ever saw of you was your back before the flames really began to spread. I thought you were smart enough to run out on your own. Clearly you did. No harm done, right?"

Shockwave stared down at the SIC with his piercing red eye.

"A logical answer. I will accept it." Shockwave finally decided after several tense moments.

"Swell. It's great everyone is getting along." Megatron said sarcastically. "Now Shockwave, you have a lot of catching up to do."

Quick chapter out before things get hectic again. Yay.

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