The first impression everyone got when Shockwave was first brought to the labs and introduced was "This is one freaky looking kid." and they had the right to! Shockwave came decked out in gear and ready to cut open some aliens. Not to mention he was the (back then) youngest member of the labs, everyone else being at least a decade older.

Like every morning, when the day shift came to the labs, everyone had gathered in the meeting room and were exchanging reports, sharing information and progress on current projects. They had all received an e-mail a week prior that the higher-ups had hired a new scientist – some Dr from who knew where, since none of them had heard of him before.

Bang!

The door to the labs' meeting room slammed open, there, stood a young man in a very off getup. The first thing that caught their attention was the glowing yellow visor that covered the top half of his face, then was his excited grin and purple lab coat. Behind him stood one of the office workers, looking sheepish and embarrassed.

"Good morning, future colleagues!" – Shockwave greeted.

The heavy, steel-toed, rubbery boots he wore squeaked with each step he took on the linoleum flooring as he entered the room. His long purple lab coat fluttered as he spun around and introduced himself, the large yellow visor glowed like one giant yellow eye in the dimmer lights of the meeting room.

"My name is Shockwave! I hope we'd work together productively from here on out." -he said firmly.

"Shockwave?! What name even is that?" – one of the scientists asked with an incredulous look on his face.

"For your information, it is the name I chose for myself and I plan to change it legally very soon." Shockwave clasped his hands together "Now, back to the main topic, your bosses hired me because they wanted my GENIUS, but I came here for SCIENCE! And science alone! I don't care what you all do with your time, as long as you don't impede my research and get in my way. This is the most logical decision for you. As long as you do that, I promise you results!"

He spread his arms wide, his shirt depicting the human vascular system on full display. It was a pretty memorable intro to the young scientist and his preferred name. They didn't think too much about it. After all, everyone that worked in the labs was a bit mad or became after working there long enough, but they should have known better.

Shockwave soon became one of the leading scientists and got his own private lab. He advanced the MECH program with leaps and bounds. Completely removing the need for the old mechanically or remotely controlled mechs the program was using. He developed Neurolink technology to directly connect the human mind to the machine, not that different from the same connection he used for his own cybernetic enhancements. Yes, enhancements, as in plural. He implanted himself with multiple robotic components and limbs, turning from about average looking young man into a hulking amalgamation of human and machine, all while acting nonchalantly about it.

One day, he just casually strode into the labs, missing a leg, the stump was wrapped in a bandage and he was using an improvised peg leg made of a pipe. Everyone freaked out because they had literally seen him with 2 legs the previous day and now, he was missing one? How?! Well, he casually orders a few parts and requested they be delivered to him asap.

"Mr. Shockwave! Wha- what happened to your legs?!" – one of the lab assistants almost fainted at the sight of the bandaged stump.

"Oh, this? I cut it off myself, for science! Want to see the new multifunctional port I screwed into my severed thigh bone last night? It was quite interesting experience to document properly, now that I have proper equipment to do so! I would have shown you the new leg I built but the bearings blew up when I tried it out last night. It turns out my calculations were wrong- such a shame." - he made a sad puppy face.

And just like that, he dropped a bombshell that not only did he cut off his own leg and implanted himself with an attachment port, all while being conscious and awake for it all. But also tested a working prototype and blew it up!

And just like that, over the 10 years working in the labs, Shockwave became infamous for his mad scientist shenanigans and slowly implanted himself with more and more machines. Including a brain implant that allows him to send orders from the two 'antennae' sticking out of his skull to his small army of robots or even connect his consciousness to them. (and the system but no one else really knew about it ... Well... Maybe one more person knew about it? A certain silent observer and master of spying and hacking.)

Shockwave had a lot of assistants throughout the years, with emphasis on HAD. Ever since he got his own lab, the lab managers and base commander tried to get him a lab assistant or at least an intern. They wanted to have one more set of eyes on the mad scientist, both for their own peace of mind and to make sure he did not end up dead in his own lab after cutting himself open for yet another robotic enhancement.

….

The first assistant was another scientist from the labs – Marcus? Marx? No one really remembered after so long. Well, the man was older than Shockwave by a lot and he did not quite approve or take the young mad genius' ideas. The only thing the people that remained in the base from back then remembered that the older man was constantly berating Shockwave when he was not around, sometimes even arguing with Shockwave himself over something. He lasted a few months before he just… never showed to work one day.

They though he might have gotten sick but he didn't call to work, nor did he pick up any of the calls. A week after his disappearance, they found his car wrecked in the middle of the forest but no body. The police came to question them but nothing came out of it.

"We heard you did not get along with your assistant." – a policeman levelled a look at Shockwave.

"I don't get along well with a lot of people. Just ask around the lab." – he said as a matter of fact and took a loud slurp out of a large plastic cup.

"Yeah… right. And you had nothing to do with his disappearance? We also hear you argued a lot."

"Well, yes! The fool was trying to hinder my research! I told everyone that THIS is the one thing they are not allowed to do! It should have been easy to understand, yet they try and do the most illogical thing and mess with the one thing I told them not to- OH! Now that's an interesting thought- I have to test it out right now! Here!" – Shockwave shoved his shake in the officer's hands and rushed to his lab.

"Gah! Shit, it got all over me!" – the man cursed as he tried to wipe the red milkshake off his uniform.

In the end, the case remained unsolved but some suspect to this day that Shockwave did something, not that they could prove it.

…

The second assistant was a newly-hired lab technician that started her first day as Shockwave's assistant. She barely lasted a month before requesting a transfer to another base and a new position as a secretary.

Shockwave had dragged her around wherever he wanted because she was quiet and meek and didn't get in his way. He had her fetch him things and assist with simpler tasks in his experiments, which at the time were mostly focused on studying the aliens' biology. So, one day after a huge attack in the middle of the night, Shockwave confidently walked to the battlefield, still littered with alien corpses. The clean-up crews were just starting their work at dismantling the huge remains of the aliens.

The sun was just rising over the horizon, shedding light over the carnage and destruction before them. Shockwave was still in his pajamas, the cat ones this time, and was holding a large cup of… well, some coffee-like concoction after all the additives he put in.

"Ah, what a beautiful day, right, assistant?" he took a loud sip "The perfect weather to cut up some aliens and use their flesh and blood to further my research!"

The woman beside him looked upon him with a very disturbed look as he took another sip from his mug.

"For humanity, I mean." – he said as an afterthought.

She quit the very next day.

…..

The third assistant… well, no one knows what exactly happened, but not even 3 months after working with Shockwave, he ran out of the lab, screaming like the devil was after him.

….

The 5th quit after an accidental spill in Shockwave's lab almost melted half the flesh off his arm.

…..

The 8th had to be rushed to the hospital due to head trauma from fainting and requested a transfer right after. The reason for fainting? Finding Shockwave hooked to some machines and trying to replace his hip joint with a cybernetic one. The mad scientist had even calmly hobbled off the operating table and called 911 all while his leg was cut open. Needless to say, Shockwave was showing off his new and improved hip replacement soon after and even provided the records from the procedure for when a pilot or someone else might need a cybernetic hip replacement.

…

The 15th didn't listen to the rules and tried to clean up a broken bottle from the labs instead of evacuating and reporting the spill for the Hazmat team. He fell into a 2-month long coma and even after waking up had nerve damage.

Shockwave was caught trying to sneak into his hospital room with a portable brain scanner after midnight one evening after the assistant woke up from the come. He was escorted off the premises by security.

…

The 28th turned out to have type 1 diabetes and Shockwave suddenly found that fact intriguing one day. The assistant didn't even need a 'reassignment' since she was already working for Shockwave.

"AAAAAAAH! Noooo~" – the woman was running through the halls like her life depended on it.

She then tripped and was immediately tackled by a small army of purple, 4-legged robots. Their flexible legs wrapped around her body, their sharp claws restrained her movement and anchored her to the floor. A few workers nearby stopped and stared at her.

Thud-thud!

Shockwave's heavy footsteps approached from down the hallway and she struggled even more.

"H-help m-MMHHHH!" – she tried to shout but was muffled by a robot warapping around her face.

"Oh, good day!" Shockwave greeted "Please, don't mind us. We just had a little…disagreement. That's all!"

And then she was dragged back into Shockwave's lab all while struggling and screaming, albeit muffled. It was that day that everyone learned that no one is safe from the 'Shockwave roulette', not even his assistants.

The woman was fine though! Shockwave released her a few months later and he had actually managed to cure her diabetes somehow! He submitted the research papers and everything after but the woman was so terrified that she quit. Also, during her stay in his lab, she had developed a serious morphine addiction and had to go to rehab for it. Unfortunately, the research was never published or shared with the public and so there was still no cure for diabetes available.

…

After that, no one really wanted to get too close to the mad scientist, so whenever he needed an assistant, a few people were put on rotation every couple of days, until Kavin came along that is.

Kevin's father was one of the big investors of MECH and his son never lacked anything but he got too spoiled and ended up totaling his father's car by crashing it into the back of an ambulance. His father was so pissed that as soon as Kevin was released from the hospital, his father gave him an ultimatum to find a job and keep it, least he gets cut off completely. Well, in the end his dad helped again and got Kevin a job in the MECH base as an assistant.

Kevin, however was arrogant and was also not the sharpest tool in the shed. So, people passed him along from one place to the next, until one of the lab technicians was due to help Shockwave in his lab and really didn't want to go help the mad scientist.

"Hey Kevin, was it? I need you to go to Shockwave's lab down in the basement and help him with whatever he needs." – he said and handed Kevin a keycard.

Kevin did not want to go there and work but had no choice – it was his last chance before his father cut him off, so he went down there and met Shockwave.

"Who are you? I don't recognize you." – Shockwave loomed over Kevin, his visor glowing in the dim light of his lab.

"I am the new assistant. They gave me the keycard and told me to come here with whatever you need." – Kevin said, a bit intimidated by Shockwave's figure and multiple implants.

"That's logical." Shockwave backed up "Follow me, new assistant. We have experiments to do! Now, go bring me the manometer from over there!" – he pointed at one of the work desks.

"Oookay…" Keving went there and stared "Um… which is the mana meters thingy again?"

"I am surrounded by idiots. How did you even become an intern without knowing what a manometer is? Just bring me the whole black case with yellow handles!"

"OK. I can do that."

And the rest was history. After meeting Kevin, shockwave quickly understood that the guy was not only of below-average intelligence, but that he simply never cared what Shockwave did. It pleased the scientist very much and he decided to keep Kevin around, despite his many shortcomings and even shorter attention span.

"You know…" metal fingers clasped over Kevin's left shoulder "I like you! You don't nag me and you listen to what I say. And as long as you don't get in the way of my SCIENTIFIC PROWESS, you can be my personal assistant. How's that sound?" – Shockwave peered down with his glowing yellow visor.

"You got it boss!" – Kevin did not quite understand what he was getting into but he agreed.

"Great! Now, follow me, my minion! We have aliens to dissect!" – Shockwave stomped forward and Kevin followed.

…..

A smaller alien head was put on a metal table, many cables, hoses and wires were hooked onto it and a steady supply of nutrients was keeping its flesh alive and safe from rotting. Shockwave stood back behind a few monitors, his left arm was interfacing with the machines and sending the information directly to his brain through the cable connected to the back of his neck.

[Nutrient flow- normal. Vital signs – within the expected range for a severed head. Neuron activity – low.]

Shockwave pressed a few more buttons and increased the oxygen flow through the air supply system.

"Alright, time for science." he took a deep breath "KEVIN! Come here!"

"I am coming master Shockwave!" – Kevin rushed to the lab room.

"About time, now go to specimen S-012 and wait for my signal."

Kevin did as the scientist told him and eagerly awaited the next order. Although he did not understand what Shockwave was actually doing, he was eager to see some cool or gross stuff, maybe even both.

"Increasing voltage, time until fully charged – 30 seconds. Get ready." – Shockwave said.

Kevin eagerly approached the large lever just a few steps away from the giant alien head, eagerly waiting.

Shockwave observed from the sidelines, way out of harm's way in case something happened. It would be shame if something goes wrong, as it often does when he deals with something as finnicky as living flesh, so he kept a good distance away and let his minion stay in the danger zone. Yes, it would be a shame if his minion got hurt or killed but it was a risk he was willing to make, plus he could always just replace anything broken with machine. Could Shockwave activate the machine remotely? Also yes, but he read that enrichment was very important for both animals and humans, plus Kevin seemed to be enjoying the whole process of pulling said levers and pressing buttons. Not to mention that his minion could REALLY pull levers in a properly dramatic way!

"Now… Pull the lever, Kevin!" – Shockwave said dramatically.

"Yes, master~." – Kevin said.

He pulled down the lever with a dramatic flair the mad scientist liked and the whole machine came to life. Electric signals were shot directly into the alien's brain, activation neurons and pathways as they passed. Muscles started twitching erratically, a few of the tentacle stumps that still remained after the head was separated from the body, started wiggling but with the tentacles long cut off it did nothing. Suddenly, its eyes shot open and it bellowed a gurgling screech.

BEEP_BEEP!

Red flashed as alarms indicating errors in the system sounded. Warning messages filled the computer screens and the head's meaningless struggle increased. Veins started to bulge underneath the green skin, drool and other secretions flowed out of the mouth as the creature's brain was slowly cooked by the sudden, uncontrolled electricity flowing through it.

Kevin took a few steps back as cables and hoses popped off the creature, some sparking, some leaking on the floor. Shockwave terminated the program but it was too late.

Pop! Pop-pAT!

The creature's eyes exploded one by one and green blood along with steaming brain matter flowed out of its skull as the pressure became too much for its flesh to bear.

"Woo-hoo! That was awesome! So gross!" – Kevin cheered.

"Another failure, huh? Well, that's a shame." Shockwave opened a comm link to management "Good day, Sharon. Call the cleanup crew down to my lab- Yes, the experiment failed. No, no it didn't- Just tell the pilots to try and get me a new head next time an attack happens- Yes, I am aware it is a war, I am not stupid-"

The scientist then noticed his minion trying to approach and poke the still oozing head with one of the glass straws from his chemistry set.

"No- bad Kevin! Back away from the specimen and don't you dare drop my straw! I had these custom-ordered from Globe Scientific! Don't drop it!"

….

Half a year later, Kevin was still working under Shockwave and he was the only intern that lasted so long with the mad scientist. Needless to say, they left him there, since everyone else was NOT eager to take his place and the rich kid was the only person not afraid to be in a 50-meter radius of Shockwave. The scientist seemingly found him so boringly average and dumb that he let his Igor- I mean, his assistant be and never tried to stick him in one of his machines or slip him some new concoction he was making.

Kevin even gifted Shockwave a damn science pun mug for his birthday! It said "I made a chemistry joke but there was no reaction". At first, Shockwave just stared at it, but then started cackling like a madman, all deranged like it was the funniest thing he's ever read. Everyone that heard the maniacal laugh froze and durned to look on in horror as he proudly poured himself a cup. Since then, Shockwave would use the mug for his drink every day and as time went on and another year passed, he got one more mug, he got more mugs with science puns and would change them daily.