The Next Generation

C35: He Would Do it Alone

A moment of weakness is an opportunity for greater strength. Optimus had had many, many moments of weakness. One of them was on a hospital bed yesterday afternoon. Now the hospital bed sat empty, a few drops of blue stained the sheets next to a pair of handcuffs, and there was a man throwing equipment at the wall, raging angrily. Raging desperately.

Optimus was far more calm. He leaned against the wall of a building, looking up at the news report from the two battles that happened last night. Last night, All Might faced off against his nemesis, a man Optimus didn't even knew existed. A man that Megatron was cursing right now as he sat in his cell block, finally freed from the influence of a quirk he hadn't realized was in effect.

Optimus was far more calm. He knew Bakugo had been rescued and his classmates were all safe right now. All for One was defeated and in prison, All Might was a shadow of his former self, and the leader of the League of Villains was on the run. He was angry he lost some of his pawns and his master and that things didn't go according to plan.

Optimus was far more calm. Hearing his father figure and his friends tell him they couldn't trust him to back them up was all he needed to hear to believe Megatron. He believed the tale that Cybertron was dead and gone due to his own actions, and everyone he knew was also dead and gone.

But Optimus remained calm.

You see, he had a moment of weaknesses. He arrived on this planet in an unfamiliar body with an unknown purpose and an unknown path forward. It took some time for him to figure out what he needed to do, but he knew now.

In those early days, Detective Tsukauchi and Principal Nezu had been right. Optimus wasn't ready to be a human. Optimus was meant to be a hero. The only thing they got wrong was how Optimus was meant to get where he needed to be. UA had been a mistake.

It was time to do things his way, without the UA staff and students holding him back.

With All Might fallen, the world was about to erupt. Criminals and chaos would get bolder and bigger, wild and difficult to control. The people who lived here were blissfully ignorant. They deserved happy lives, free of the fear of villainy, and Optimus was going to make sure it stayed that way.

This time he would do it alone.

Optimus pushed off the wall and swayed slightly, still a little dizzy. He righted his posture and continued walking down the street.

He would do it alone.