The Next Generation

C9: It All Falls Down

The first few two weeks of school went by, and despite a few rough patches here and there, everything was going well. Mr. Aizawa didn't hate his guts anymore, Bakugo only yelled at him when they were doing physical training, he started passing his tests, and things found a pattern of normal for him.

Optimus could almost imagine that this was post-war Cybertron and they were training the next generation. He hoped his team was doing okay, but now he was more focused on his human classmates. They were going to have a non-violent rescue training on Thursday that Optimus thought would be great.

Everything was going well. Everything was great.

And then suddenly it all came crashing down.

Contemporary World Issues and Civic Engage was one of the subjects Mr. Aizawa liked to teach. He had them research subjects that were on the news and then give a presentation on them. Optimus chose social media addiction and gathered several articles to help him with his article. He also surveyed his classmates.

It was a decent job and Optimus didn't struggle to explain it to the class. He told them he chose the subject because it seemed to be a popular addiction that provided insights to the human mind. Maybe there was a better way to word that, because everyone just stared at him in boredom.

Next, Iida came up.

"I decided to research a new villain—" everyone cheered and Mr. Aizawa groaned. Probably because most of the students chose new villains and found it interesting, but Mr. Aizawa was disappointed at their lack od creativity. "—who showed up a few months ago. At first, he was only committing petty crimes, but has been steadily getting more and more bold."

Iida turned on his presentation to display a photo of the villain.

Optimus's body froze.

"I chose this villain because I think there's a new type of heteromorph," Iida explained before pointing at several body parts the villain had. "See here? Metal grey audio receivers instead of ears, red optics instead of eyes, and this guy has sharp metal fingers."

Iida looked at Optimus. "Remind anyone of someone we know?"

Optimus couldn't move. He was staring at the picture.

"Ooh!" Momo looked back at Optimus. "Those are some of your features, Optimus. Just not the weird hands."

Iida nodded. "Like I said, a new type of heteromorph."

No, Optimus thought. It can't be.

"A cyborg!" Kaminari jumped up. "I told you guys Optimus was a cyborg!"

"Heteromorph," Iida corrected. "Anyway, this particular villain calls himself Megatron. He's got a bad track record and no one can identify him, because his blood is blue. It's—"

"Optimus," Mr. Aizawa stood up from his desk abruptly, sending everyone's attention toward the purple-faced Prime. "Optimus."

Optimus couldn't answer. He was staring at the screen. Iida just said Megatron's name. Confirmed the suspicion.

Megatron was here.

"Optimus, are you okay?" Shoji asked, leaning over.

Black spots started popping up, but Optimus was tense. He couldn't think straight. This was Megatron's doing. Megatron was here, on this other Earth in another dimension, making a name for himself in villainy, and as a human no less.

"Optimus, breathe!" Aizawa pulled Optimus out of his chair, but it wasn't until he was on the floor that his gaze was torn away from the photo. Aizawa got in front of him, his face blown up with concern. The classroom door was open and there was shouting in the hallway.