Prodigal Son

Chapter 20

"Careful, careful now...."
Heatwave winced as he slid to his feet, groaning at a sharp pain from his chest.
His stance was uneasy, and as Optimus quietly slid his arm around his back, he found himself leaning against the prime for support.
"... Oh...  Feel like Boulder tap danced on me.... Again...."
Blades watched him with concern, meeting his optics.
"Heatwave... You... You really scared us. Don't push yourself, okay? Take it slow."
Ratchet frowned, a thoughtful look on his features.
"While you were comatose, your processor still showed signs of activity. I've... Seen something like this before...."
Optimus's optics went wide, but Ratchet continued.
"From our end, you appeared to be... Dreaming. Can you tell me, if you remember anything?"
Heatwave froze, then sighed.
"... It was.... Odd. I... I felt something was... Off... But I couldn't tell what. I didn't remember the fight... Not at first."
Ratchet nodded.
It all sounded familiar...
"Do you mind my asking what you saw?"
Heatwave was quiet, then chuckled.
"Cody. It was just the kid and I, in some sort of... Autumn themed limbo."
Ratchet frowned.
"Autumn?"
Blades clarified,
"The earth season where all the leaves change color, before everything turns white!"
"Ah, yes. I can never keep them straight. Anyhow."
Heatwave steadied himself. He was slightly embarrassed to be using Optimus as a crutch, but the Prime didn't seem to mind.
Optimus looked at him Intently, saying,
"Heatwave... What you did... it was truly a nobel deed."
"Just my duty, sir."
"Heatwave. I... I should have told you this far sooner."
Heatwave steadily pulled away, but still keeping a firm hand on Optimus for balance.
".... Sir?"
Optimus sighed, a rare shake in his optics.
"... Heatwave. When we first met... You were a very different person, than you are now. I could sense a brilliant leader in you. But you needed time. Time to both grow, and realize your own power. And grow you did... Heatwave. I am... So very proud of you. You have become one of the finest leaders I have ever seen."
Heatwave looked up, his face soft.
"... Sir..."
Optimus watched him steady himself, then slowly, place a hand to his chest.
He traced the scars, gouged deep into his metal.
He'd never be able to forget, what happened.
But maybe he shouldn't.
-
"Easy... Easy..."
Cody's legs wobbled and trembled, threatening to buckle on him as he tried getting to his feet.
He'd ditched the hospital gown, swapping it out for a pair of loose sweatpants, and a tee-shirt.
As he struggled to hold himself up, his hands clenched the crutches planted under his arms.
Doctor McSwain watched him intently, mentally keeping notes on his progress.
"Don't try anything crazy just yet, we're not training you to run a marathon here."
Cody sighed, almost growling under his breath.
"I can walk. I know how."
The Doctor only raised an eyebrow.
"Then show me. One lap, around the room."
"Fine!"
With that, Cody pulled himself forward, teetering wildly on the crutches.
He nearly toppled over with the first step.
His legs didn't seem to want to communicate with the rest of his body, the muscles weak, almost flimsy.
He gasped, but managed to regain his balance, bumping hard into the dresser against the wall.
"You okay, tough guy?"
".... Fine."
Cody stared at the wall.
Just above the dresser, a mirror was hung on the wall.
He didn't consider himself a vain person, not like Kade, anyway.
But he just couldn't help but stare.
The thick bandages still wrapped around his forehead and neck.
The bruises all along his head, some spilling out from the bandages, and dark splotches along the unbandaged sections of his neck as well.
But what scared him most, were his eyes.
"Cody? Are you alright?"
He blinked, pulling himself back to focus.
Doctor McSwain was looking at him worriedly, and he sighed.
"... Yeah. I'm fine. I just... Zoned out, I guess."
She looked like she wasn't convinced, but didn't push him.
"I see.... Okay, I need to go check some files. I'll be back in a few minutes, be careful, alright?"
He nodded, and she left.
His attention was drawn back to the mirror.
He'd only seen himself once, while serving as the Moor-Bot's Partner.
Using the bathroom of a gas station, he couldn't help but glance up at the mirror while washing his hands.
He remembered the purple glow, seeming brighter than it was because of the dim florescents.
And.
He'd never forget that look of malice.
That sly grin of no regrets.
...
So who was he now?
Amid the bruising, dark, cavernous circles lay under his eyes.
The eyes themselves, they were...
Hollow.
He almost couldn't recognize himself.
But he wasn't sure he wanted to.
Who was he, now?
What was left?
What kind of person was left after everything came crashing down?
He couldn't rip his eyes away, no matter how much it hurt.
His hands shook, the crutches almost slipping away.
He wasn't sure if the glint of purple in the mirror was an illusion or a memory.
".... What are you doing, Cody.... What happened to you...."
He finally pulled away, and dragged himself to the bed.
He let the crutches clatter against the bedframe, sighing.
"What happened to you...."
"Oh Cody.... You really didn't figure it out?"
Cody bolted up, whipping around the room.
"W... W-Who's there?!"
The low chuckle in response shook him deeply.
It was a low, mocking tone.
He knew it well, it was the same one haunting him to his core.
The same one that made guilt stab at his soul, with every thought of Kade.
For it was the same laugh from that night in the tunnels.
It was his.
Then he looked back at the mirror.
"You're loosing it, Cody."
It was that glow in his eyes, that smirk.
"What's the matter, you didn't think everything would just... Magically go back to normal, did you? The heroes magically break the spell, and suddenly Cody Burns is welcomed back with a parade or something? You did bad things, and who cares about mind control, when you'd been holding onto those thoughts all along?"
Cody groaned, rubbing his head.
"You're not real... You're not real..."
The face in the mirror laughed.
"Real as you. In fact, maybe more than you. After all, it's not me that's drowning in guilt right now."
"Go away. Just... Go away. I'm not you. I'm not that person. I never wanted to hurt anybody!!!"
"Why not? They hurt you, didn't they?"
Cody's hand shook, gripping the bed railing.
".... That doesn't matter."
"Doesn't it?"
The eyes in the mirror narrowed, a vibrant purple.
"It's only fair, if you think about it."
"I don't want to think about it!"
That laugh was back.
Mocking. Low.
"You don't want to, but you know you will. You'll never forget what you did. You'll never forget that it felt GOOD, MAKING EVERYBODY HURT JUST AS BADLY AS THEY HURT YOU."
"STOP, STOP!"
He thought about the conversation with everybody.
The guilt etched on their faces with every word, the sharpness in his own tone as he berated them, and the cathartic feeling of years worth of repressed words.
But that catharsis had faded, as he saw how heavily his words had cut.
"Dad told me once, that the problem with an eye for an eye, is that everybody winds up blind. I'm tired. Yes, I'm hurting, but making everybody else hurt too won't fix this. Yes, I'm angry! I want them to know what they did! But I won't attack anybody else. Never again."
He'd felt so drained, after telling them all that.
He felt drained now.
That rage made him feel powerful at first, but it always drained him eventually.
"I'm not going to be you again."
No laughter this time. Only a scowl.
"So what, you think you can just... Be who you were? Be the you that was always left behind, had everybody walking all over him, that never did anything? Is that what you want to be again?"
"... Of course not!"
"Then stop. Acting. Like. It."
Cody almost didn't feel it as the paperweight from the bedside table flew from his hand, shattering the mirror.
He almost didn't realize as he pulled himself to his feet, sliding the crutches under his arms, and making his way over.
He almost didn't register it as his hands reached out, ripping the frame off the wall.
One hand gripping the dresser, he bent down, sliding it behind, into the dark crevice behind the dresser.
Then, he swept the glass shards beneath and below the dresser as well.
With that, he stood back up, and gathered up his crutches, before stumbling back over to the bed.
When doctor McSwain came back in, if she noticed the missing mirror, or a stray glass shard on the ground, she opted not to say.
She merely made a note for her records.
-
Ratchet watched Heatwave pacing, taking notes of his quickly improving functionality, and leaned closer to Blades.
"One question."
"Shoot."
"You said that autumn is the season where the leaves change color, before everything turns white. Is white not a color?"
Blades was about to answer, when another voice cut in.
"Actually, the humans refer to white as the absence of color. Quite fascinating, really."
Everyone turned, as Boulder and Chase stormed in.
"Heatwave, you're active!!!"
"Heatwave, thank the All-Spark!"
Heatwave smirked, and was finally able to stand without leaning on Prime.
"Miss me?"
Boulder smiled earnestly.
"More than you know."
"HEATWAVE!!"
Kade burst into the room, frantic.
His breath was ragged, air clawing in and out of his lungs.
But as his eyes latched onto his heatwave, for the first time in a long while,
He smiled.
Heatwave stepped closer, his smirk softening some.
"... Hey."
"... Hey."
"Miss me?"
Kade paused, then took a deep breath, a deep smirk of his own forming.
"... Hardly, you bucket of bolts."
Heatwave snorted.
"Surprised you didn't blow anything up while I was out."
"Eh, pretty sure we used up every pyrotechnic on the island on the Moor-Bot."
"You once blew up a toaster, who says you need dynamite?"
The two stared at one another for another moment, then Kade sighed.
He covered his mouth, his body starting to shake, as a low laugh built up inside.
He doubled over, then looked back up, tears welling in his relived eyes, a smile splitting his face.
"... You scared the living hell out of me, you big jerk. Don't know what I'd do without you."
Heatwave knelt down, and scooped up Kade.
"... Glad you're okay, hotshot."
Heatwave held his partner to his chest, and Kade grabbed him tight.
They embraced, quiet.
"... Glad to have you back, partner. ... I thought we lost you."
"Hey, I'm not going anywhere."
Heatwave placed him back on the ground, and Kade really took a moment to study him.
He latched onto the scars, and Heatwave sighed.
"Nasty looking, huh?"
Kade was quiet, then tapped the bandages on his forehead.
"Eh. We all got banged up, right? We've all got scars. .... In one way, or another."