Terror grips your spark. You'd be a fool to not be scared, waiting for Shockwave to return.

But then again, you signed up for this. With your outlier ability to share emotions, Prowl had hoped that you'd be able to guilt Shockwave into... Quitting the Decepticon cause? He wasn't very clear, and now you're mentally kicking yourself for trusting Prowl of all mechs, especially when he told you to keep this a secret from Optimus.

Stupid Prowl. Stupid you for agreeing to this. Stupid Decepticons and their stupid resident mad scientist. Wait, no, Brainstorm and Wheeljack are mad scientists, Shockwave is just a weirdo that had his emotions surgically removed. Granted, it wasn't exactly his choice to get all Empurata'ed and emotionally lobotomised, but still.

The door slides open with a soft hiss, and it suddenly feels like all the air in the room has been sucked out as Shockwave enters, barely glancing at you aside from making sure you're still in your little holding cell.

If your spark didn't feel like a fist was squeezing the life out of it, you'd be impressed with just how clinical everything he does is. Everything has a place, and everything is in its place.

It's just bright enough for him to be able to see what he's doing, allowing more power to go to his many instruments of torture (technically they're just random scientific and surgical equipment, but in his servos they may as well be torture devices).

Anyone that's been through Empurata is scary enough, with their single blinking optic in place of a face and helm, and the claws in place of servos, but at least Whirl has the common decency to be silly enough to balance it out. Shockwave on the other servo, consciously decided that it'd be a good idea to give himself one servo and a gun where the other one should go, and despite the fact that everyone knows he can 100% give himself a real helm instead of that weird yellow optic that always seems to be following you, he just... Doesn't.

No emotions your aft, you're sure he does it just to scare everyone more.

"You're a strange one," Shockwave speaks, and you just blink dumbly at him. Is... Is he making small talk? This might be scarier than just silence. "Bombshell says that you didn't put up much of a fight. That you all but surrendered, and then begged rather unconvincingly to not be put on my operating table."

Oh. You were half-joking before, but the way that what remains of Shockwave's helm snaps to your direction makes you want to offline on the spot.

"Know that you are only here and still functioning because you're an outlier and I don't want to waste a spark support system on Autobot scum." You swallow, despite not needing to do such a thing (the human's weirdo customs must have rubbed off on you), and Shockwave unlocks the cell door and you only have one shot and-

You lunge forward, grabbing Shockwave's arm with both of your servos and feeling that familar crackle in your spark, the telltale sign that your outlier ability is working it's magic and...

Your emotions dull almost instantly, replaced with a cold and clinical list of what else you need to do, you no longer feel fear towards Shockwave or anger towards Prowl or much of anything really.

Suddenly, you're shoved away and your emotions flood back, and you realise that Shockwave must have pushed you, and the terror takes hold and you punch him in his creepy yellow optic, retreating a few steps.

He just stands there, his helm dented and leaking blue energon from the centre of his optic, bright against the dull purple of his paint job.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he raises his servo and wipes the energon from his optic, focusing only on it, barely paying you any mind.

"I've wondered for quite some time now... Why do living things 'need' feeling?" His vocaliser cracks slightly, and you wonder if you somehow damaged his voice box with your desperate attack. "Does the oil that is dripping mean this is a cry?" Shockwave's optic focuses on you once more, and you swear you can detect a hint of sarcasm.

Oh no.