More than Meets the Eye Chapter 2

I do not own Transformers Prime or any of its characters or Transformers or any of its characters

It had been six months since Jack's birth at MECH, now a half a year old he was advancing through his infanthood… both as an organic and as a technological being. Despite being so young, the young child as already capable of mobility. He constantly shifted back and forth between his two forms, the soldiers no longer needed to press his pressure point in order to do so. The baby boy also seemed to be capable of speaking his programmed cybernetic language as he would chirp strange sounds.

Another thing that made him different from other babies was the fact that he comprehended things quicker and understood more. Everything around him didn't seem to be a mystery, that fact alone didn't make him human. At least, not entirely.

Even at six months old he was already training to become the perfect solider… and the perfect weapon.

Silas stood in front of a window that overlooked an arena. He was watching Jack as he was being tested on by the soldiers. Wires and patches were stuck all over his body as he continued to swift between his two forms. He smiled as he watched the young boy transform into his robot mode once again. As time went on the child's armor became less dull and plain. Shades of gray and black started to appear along with small traces of dark blue.

Silas had every solider document the child's progress, he wouldn't allow a second to go by without any sort of monitoring on Jack. All eyes of MECH were on him. He was the star of the show… but that would soon change. Silas had called for a meeting between his top scientists and doctors as he watched the young boy. Lately, he had been contemplating the future of said child. There were so many possibilities and yet not enough time, at least he felt like there was not enough time. He needed more… more of everything. One subject alone wasn't enough to answer all of the questions he had, and it certainly wasn't enough to perform the missions he wanted.

To Silas, there was never enough and he would never be satisfied with just that. He needed and wanted more. And that's what he wanted to discuss with his men today. He had to alert them of his decision to expand Project Chimera beyond what they had set out to do. The initial stage had been successful, but it could be better. More research could be collected if they about it in the right way. With his back turned to his men, and with his eyes watching Jack, he spoke.

"Gentlemen," he addressed. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately."

The group of soldiers listened carefully, they didn't know what their leader had in mind nowadays. He had always been a closed book, but lately he had become more unpredictable than usual. But they couldn't deny that success had come out of that unpredictability, Jack was proof of that.

"About what sir?"

That's when Silas turned to them, his eyes filled with determination.

"Jackson," he simply replied.

"Jackson?" one of them questioned. "Is there something wrong with the boy?"

Silas shook his head.

"Not at all, he's the perfect subject and a true testament to MECH's purpose."

"Then what sir?"

The leader of MECH started to pace around the room, all the while he still contemplated what he wanted to do.

"Do you realize what Jackson's existence means?" he asked rhetorically. "He is the first of his kind, and his progress so far has been a successful one. However…"

That's when they felt a shiver run down their spines. Over the years they had become acquainted with Silas's temper, and they were worried that this might be one of those times. No one wanted to be on the receiving end of such a disposition. But thankfully, a instead of a glare, a smug expression appeared on his face. He raised his fist and clutched it tightly.

"But what if Jackson wasn't the only one of his kind?"

That puzzled them, they were sure that Jack was the only one of his kind. After all, who would be competent enough to pull off such a task without MECH's involvement? No one, that's who. But they continued to listen.

"What are you implying sir?"

That's when Silas turned to look at his men once again and he stated his intentions.

"I want to make more techno-organics."

A series of gasps spread throughout the room, they couldn't believe what they had just heard. But then again, maybe they could. Maybe they shouldn't have been entirely surprised. They had seen the look in their leader's eyes every time he saw Jack. There was a certain longing in them, and now they understood why. He wanted more of Jack's kind.

"B-but sir!" one exclaimed.

"You know how difficult Jackson's conception and labor were!"

"We were lucky enough to achieve success with him, there's no telling what could happen with another!"

Suddenly a glare spread across the MECH leader's face as he punched the table, leaving an indent behind. This shocked the men, but they were soon frightened as Silas spoke.

"Didn't you hear my order!" Silas exclaimed.

That's when he gestured to Jack outside the window. The child was in his robot mode at the moment and he was hitting the targets assigned to him.

"Do you see that?" he questioned. "That is our first success. Imagine how many more we can have if we were to repeat the formula."

"But sir, we only have so much cybernetic DNA to work with.

"Is it enough to start another techno-organic?" he asked.

The group looked at each other with nervous glances on their faces. They couldn't deny that there was enough material to work with, but the first time had proved to be rather tedious as well as frustrating. They not only had to keep an eye on the growing fetus, but they also had to attend to the carrier's needs as well… at least until it was time for her to be disposed of. And now their leader was talking about doing that all over again, it was maddening! But that was one way to describe Silas. They supposed that it came naturally to the man, especially after the years of failures. And who were they to argue at this point, they had gotten so far… why turn back now? One by one the men nodded their heads in agreement before turning to Silas.

"Very well sir, we'll get right on it."

A proud smile spread across his face as he heard those words.

"Excellent."

That's when the men started to exit their seats, some of them were taking notes on the future procedures.

"Would you like the same donor to be used for this subject sir?"

Silas thought about the first donor they had used for Jack, the end results proved to be worthwhile. And why fix something that wasn't broken then if that was the case? Because of that he saw no reason to change the donor, he nodded his head in approval.

"Of course I would, after all look how Jackson has turned out," he said. "I'm sure that the next one will be just as great as him."

That's when a certain idea struck him, he let out a dark chuckle.

"Who knows maybe, if we're lucky it will be a girl this time."

This surprised the men, they weren't expecting their leader to announce such a thing. They weren't biased when it came to their subjects, their past failures were proof of that, but it was still shocking to hear such a statement from Silas.

"A girl sir?"

"Yes, we already have a boy… why not make it even with the opposite gender?" he questioned. "That way we can monitor both genders and see how they manage with their abilities. What a remarkable dream that would be."

They couldn't argue there, having both a boy and a girl would open many opportunities for them to test their strengths and weaknesses. Not to mention that it opened the door for so many other possibilities. With that they left the room and prepared themselves for the future of their project.

And so Project Chimera was reestablished… only this time a new subject was involved. Once again MECH and Silas used their resources to location an appropriate carrier for their current subject. Weeks went by before they finally had one in sights. Unlike the previous carrier, this one lacked in high intelligence but she wasn't a fool either. She made up for it with her headstrong personality and dashing looks. And much like the former woman, this one had no living family members either. She was alone and worked to support herself. She was the perfect candidate for such an experiment.

With donor and carrier chosen yet again, the process continued to the next steps. With some time, the action was successful. The woman had been successfully impregnated, and the monitoring began until it was time to take the carrier to MECH. She put up a fight like the last one, but it was futile. There was no escaping MECH once a prisoner was inside its grounds. The fetus was growing as healthy as it could be, and Silas was more than happy to add the sonogram to his collection. Often he would compare it to Jack's, and he never got tired of doing so. He was witnessing the start of something entirely new and sensational. He couldn't wait to see the actual birth.

Nine months passed before it was time for the final act to begin. Silas sat behind closed doors as he heard the pains of labor slowly die down. Hours went by before the operation concluded, and Silas could tell that it had been successful for he heard the cries of a newborn. A smirk spread across his face as the doctors came out to greet him. The stains of blood decorated their bodies as they did so, but all that mattered to him was the product of that bloodshed.

"There's joyous news sir," the head doctor stated. "The carrier gave birth to a baby girl."

His devious smirk increased, a girl. That's what he had hoped for. Now they would be able to monitor the process of two genders instead of one. Without anything else needing to be said, Silas moved past the doctors to see the child. However, unlike Jack's birth, this one was born in her robot mode. Her skin shined with plain colored metal and appendages that were more machine than human. She was perfect. Silas stepped over to her and didn't hesitate to press the pressure point on her neck. She let out a ear piercing wail at the action, Silas chuckled darkly at the response.

"Lively little thing," Silas commented. "Certainly louder than Jackson was at his birth."

"Quite right sir," the doctor remarked. "Takes after her carrier in that regard."

Silas's eyes turned the team of doctors, uncaring and unmoved by the statement.

"I assume that she suffered the same fate as the other," Silas said.

"Yes sir, but she went quicker than the other. This subject's birth in her robotic form killed her before we could extract her in her entirety. We had to rely on the machines to keep her alive long enough to acquire the subject."

"I see," Silas replied.

With that Silas took the baby girl into his arms and held her high, he got a good look at her features. Dark brown hair adorned her small head while wide brown eyes decorated her face. Her skin was noticeably fair and light completive, she was the spitting image of her carrier in many way. And in honor of her carrier, he would give her the name she wanted… but once again a last name was not necessary.

"Miko," he stated. "That will be your name child."

The little girl let out a wail in response, she had every reason to be scared at the moment. For she had no idea what was in store for her, she didn't realize that there was another one of her kind here as well… suffering the same fate as she would.


Jack and Miko targeted each other as they stood their ground. That's when they let out their attacks, Jack aimed at the bottom while Miko aimed at the top. Jack managed to land a blow on Miko's leg while Miko hit his shoulder. Both of them let out a grunt and they quickly backed off. They panted a little as they regained their composures.

Currently they were in their robotic forms and they were being monitored at the moment. A group of soldiers stood around them with clipboards and machines, they were just watching and noting. Wires and patches were connected to their metal bodies as they sparred together. Their heart rates, fuels pumps and stamina were being collected as data. Lately Silas had been wanting to test their early abilities, and he had been pleased with how easily fighting came to the two techno-organics.

"Again!" the soldier ordered. "But this time with more focus and more power!"

They grunted a little but they listened to their command.

"Yes sir!" the two of them answered in unison.

With that they let out another attack against each other. Unbeknownst to the two children, they were also being watched by another pair of eyes. It was none other than Silas himself. He smirked as he watched the two beings engage each other in combat. They may have been only three and four years old but they weren't weak. They learned quickly and they fought with great power, they were taught to never hold back… not even against each other. Silas knew that as time went on they would go get stronger, but he would make sure that they would never question his authority. The last thing he needed were rogue techno-organics.

He needed soldiers! And they would become those perfect soldiers... through any means necessary.

Plus, he had a feeling that there would be more of them very soon. Once again, a certain fancy came into his head. He had been looking over the data collected, and he also looked at their source of cybernetic DNA. Over the years it had dwindled down to nothing but scraps and leftovers. He had the failed subjects to thank for that, they had taken a lot out of the original specimen. And that's why it was critical to not make any mistakes when it came to Jack and Miko's conceptions and births.

If his calculations were correct, there was enough cybernetic DNA to create yet another techno-organic. But this would have to be the last one because of the low supply of materials. If he played his cards right, he would be able to add another to his collection… and army. The very thought of that excited him! He felt his blood pump with adrenaline as his mind raced with the possibilities.

He couldn't believe how far they had come with the little they had, if only the government could see him now! They had laughed at him, they called him mad, and they disgraced his reputation! Well no more, let it be known that Silas was at the top of the world! And no one was there to stop him! No one!

That's when he clicked on the intercom button, his voice rang through MECH's base. Everyone was more than quick to stop what they were doing, they listened to their leader. Jack and Miko also stopped dead in their tracks.

"That will be all for today," he said. "Jackson, Miko, report to me as soon as possible. There is an urgent matter I would like to inform you about."

Jack and Miko looked at each other, their eyes filled with surprise. It was rare that Silas asked to speak with them alone, they normally stayed around the soldiers while he silently observed. Whatever it was, it must have been very important. And they were taught to never question Silas, they had seen the consequences that came out of doing so. Without a second to waste the soldiers were unhooking them from the wires and patches.

"You heard our leader," one soldier said.

"Get going you two," another added.

"And be on your best behavior, remember that you owe your existence to him."

Jack and Miko nodded their heads in response, time and time again they had been told that. Even Silas himself had said it on multiple occasions. It was a fact that they never wanted them to forget. Before they left the arena they transformed back into their organic modes. And so they walked away from the soldiers and headed to their leader. They walked in silence and made sure to not get distracted, within minutes they were standing in front of Silas himself. His back was turned to them as the four and three year old stood side by side.

"You wanted to see us sir?" Jack asked.

For as long as they could remember, Jack had always been the voice of the duo. He had a talent for choosing his words properly and his voice resembled that of a leader. They were qualities that Silas had been proud of. Miko, on the other hand, was more brash and headstrong compared to Jack. But she wasn't without her skills, they stemmed from her brute strength. She was the muscle of the duo and she took pride in using her fists instead of her words. Silas was proud of her raw power, he knew that it would come in handy someday. Silas turned to the two children, a confident expression was on his face as he did so.

"Yes," Silas replied. "As you know I have called you here to discuss a matter of importance. It relates to your existences."

This puzzled the two techno-organics. They didn't understand what their leader was referring to, especially when they didn't think that they had done anything wrong. Silas never stated that he had been disappointed in them lately. What had brought this on all of a sudden?

"Us sir?" Jack asked.

Silas walked closer to the boy and girl, he paced around them and observed them closely. They had come so far but there was still so much to do. Once he was done he walked away from the two and back to his desk. He wanted to get right to the point, he didn't feel like beating around the bush today.

"How would you both feel about having another one of you running around here?

The children's eyes widen at the statement, and it hurt a little as well. Jack had been told the story of Miko's conception. Apparently he was the first success, and that encouraged Silas to create yet another… and thus Miko was born. But Jack had thought that they were enough, he assumed that there was no need for another. But apparently Silas felt otherwise.

"Are we not enough sir?" Jack questioned.

Jack feared that Silas would lash out at him, but surprisingly he didn't. Instead, he gave the two children a devious smile. Jack and Miko weren't afraid of that expression, it was something they had become used to over the years. Besides, Silas rarely smiled in front of them. They didn't even mind that it wasn't a sincere one. They knew that Silas was incapable of such an emotion.

"Nonsense," he said. "The both of you have been serving your purpose quite nicely. It does me proud to watch your progress. But you must realize how unique your existence is. It's not every day that we come up with something as incredible as you, your very lives are worth the lives of thousands."

Jack and Miko knew this to be true, everyone else always told them something similar throughout the years. And how could they not believe it? After all there was literally no one else like them out there, there was only the two of them. Jack and Miko only had each other, in many ways that made them feel both lonely and accepted.

And now their leader and lead creator wanted to make another one of them? They knew that their purpose was to lead MECH into the next generation of man and machine, that's what the child's purpose would be too. But then again, they would have a new member of their group. Miko resisted the urge to smile at the thought of that, finally she would have an underling of her own. Ever since she was born Silas entrusted her to Jack, and while she loved Jack, there were times where she wished she had someone to look up to her as well. This would be her chance to be in the same role as Jack.

Jack, on the other hand, was a little concerned about this whole situation. He didn't fully enjoy the purpose he had been created for, but life offered him little to no options. Where would he go if he were to leave MECH and Silas? Plus, he could never leave Miko behind, she needed him as much as he needed her. Jack had never been one to question his commander, and today wasn't any different. If this is want Silas wanted, then he would have to listen and obey. He nodded his head.

"If that's what you want sir, then so be it," Jack firmly stated.

Silas smiled proudly at his soldier's obedience, Jack would make a fine leader someday. He was counting on the older child to lead his army of techno-organics. All he had to do was make sure that Jack never forgot where his place was, especially when it came to his hierarchy. Despite their obvious advantage over him, he would always be the top tier and they would always be below him. He was responsible for their creation, he controlled their lives and he would never allow them to slip under his command. There would be serious consequences if they ever tried to do so.

"Excellent," he responded. "Your new comrade will be here shortly. Its carrier has already arrived here, I expect you to give her privacy until the actual birth. You won't be allowed to see the child until then, is that clear?"

Jack and Miko weren't surprised that Silas actually went through with the plan without their knowledge. They couldn't argue with him, and they wouldn't have won even if they tried. Besides, what would they gain out of being angry with him over this matter? What's done was done, and they were going to have a new member of their group very soon.

"Yes sir!" they answered in unison.

"Good, you are dismissed. Go back to your training," he said.

With that they left the office and made their way back to the arena. They continued with what they were doing before as if nothing ever happened. That's how they were raised to be, they weren't allowed to have their emotions overloud their judgement and thinking. Today was no different, and so they spared together until the day was done.

Months went by before they heard anything on the new subject. And it wasn't the news they were expecting. They had woken up to the sound of alarms ringing! At first they thought to it was a drill, but they were soon proven wrong. They heard the base's doctors being called to the birthing room, and that's how they were able to figure out that it was the baby. They were escorted by one of the soldiers away from the commotion and they were finally made aware of the situation.

Apparently, the carrier went into an early labor… two months to be precise. And she was in between life and death at the moment, Jack and Miko couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards her because of this reason. They weren't told much about their own carriers, only that they had served their purpose after their deaths and that they were worthy of carrying the future of man and machine. They didn't even know what their names were or what they looked like.

That didn't make it any less painful, they wished they had gotten to know their carriers. And to know that their lives cost them theirs made it worse, it made them feel guilty about living. Silas always made it seem like the carriers weren't nothing to cry over, and that's why they didn't.

But it still hurt to know that their newest comrade would never know their carrier, and that it was killing her at this very moment. And so, they just sat there, waiting for the inevitable and hoping that maybe some good would come out of this situation.

Hours had passed… and it was finally over.

Silas stood in front of the newborn techno-organic. It was much smaller compared to Jack and Miko, and it was as active or as emotional. That wasn't a good sign, it showed that the child wasn't as healthy as the other two either. The carrier apparently passed before the actual birth, it got so bad that they'd resorted to using machines to keep her alive long enough for her to deliver. But not even that could have stopped the disappointment Silas was feeling at the moment. He resisted the urge to melt down the half-being, but that would have gotten him nowhere.

Besides, despite being weaker than Jack and Miko, it still was a valuable resource to have. Time, energy, money and materials went into creating it. It would be a shame to dispose of it before they knew what it was truly capable of. Silas supposed that they would keep it… for now that is.

"Sir," the head doctor said. "It's a boy."

"I am aware," Silas responded.

He moved his hand over the boy's pressure point and pressed down, slowly but surely, he transformed into his other mode. That was promising at least, then he did so again until he was in his human form. Silas recalled what his carrier wanted to name the child if it was a boy. And so, much like the other two, he named the newborn techno-organic.

"Rafael," Silas said with a hint of disappointment in his tone. "Your name is Rafael."

That's when he looked to the team of doctors.

"Monitor him, I won't allow all that time and resources to go to waste," Silas stated. "And dispose of the carrier, much like her offspring, she was a disappointment. I thought she would have had the honor of carrying and delivering the last techno-organic, but it seems that I was wrong. Now we have to salvage her scraps and failure."

Silas walked away from the child and team, he made his way to the two successes he still had. Despite the failure, he had to alert them to the presence of their newest comrade… that is if it lived long enough to become so. Meanwhile, the doctors started to do as they were told as they moved the child to an incubator and hooked him up to multiple machines. They made sure that he was as comfortable as possible as they began to monitor his fragile life.

Jack and Miko waited patiently until the sight of their leader met their eyes. They immediately noticed that there was a scowl on his face as he walked to them. Whatever had happened, it wasn't good and they feared the worst. And nobody wanted to deal with an angry Silas, not even them.

"Jackson, Miko," he greeted. "Come along, the birth of your newest comrade has been complete. However, he is not what I was hoping for. His birth had made him weak and vulnerable."

Jack and Miko expressed their disappointment and sadness by looking at each other. They were hoping that everything would have gone well, but now it seemed like the opposite had happened. They only hoped that their leader would take mercy on the newborn, they hoped that he wouldn't toss him away.

"It's a boy sir?" Jack asked.

"Yes, his name is Rafael. Now come, you will only get see him for several minutes before he has to be transported to another part of the base. A team of doctors will have to keep a close eye on him until he is well enough to be on his own."

Jack and Miko listened to Silas they made their way to the birthing room. Within minutes they were there and Silas gestured to the area were the child was at. Jack and Miko walked over to the incubator. Jack was the first to see him, his heart skipped a beat over the sight of the new life.

"Look how small he is," Jack commented.

The little girl leaned closer to the glass to get a better look at the infant. Her eyes widen when she realized how little he was compared to them.

"He… he's so tiny," Miko added.

"So fragile," he said.

"Nothing like us," she replied.

Silas gave the children credit for noticing the differences between them. They weren't as naive as other children, that's for sure. Then again, Silas had taught them better.

"Indeed," Silas responded. "I will take my leave for today, but you two will stick to your regular schedule despite this little mishap. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" they answered.

With that Silas left and motioned for the soldiers to keep an eye on them. And so, the two children continued to observe the newest addition to their group. They knew how Silas felt about this child, he was clearly disappointed with the results. And they couldn't blame him, their births weren't perfect but they ended up being born healthy. But this child was the exact opposite of them, and yet Jack still felt a strong connection to him despite that.

"Even so… we'll have to look after him," Jack added.

Miko turned to her older companion with an unsure look on her face. As much as she was happy to see the baby, she was sad to think that he might not live long enough. But Jack seemed convinced that he was going to survive this. Jack turned to her and gave her a small smile.

"After all, we're the only ones of our kind right?" Jack stated. "That makes him one of us and that's why we have to look out for each other."

Miko couldn't argue with him, it wasn't everyday they came across someone like them. They weren't like normal human. They weren't born, they were created. And now there was another like them sitting right before them, they couldn't throw him away like Silas did. He was one of them!

"Welcome to the world Rafael," he greeted "I'm Jack."

That's when the three year old followed his lead, she waved to the small baby and answered as well.

"And I'm Miko," she added. "Welcome to our group Raf."

At the sound of their voices, the small child stirred a little, and his eyes even fluttered a little. The simple actions made Jack's and Miko's hearts brighten with warmth. Jack put an arm around the young girl and gave a sincere smile to the infant. Despite being raised as a soldier, he was capable of emotion. And his emotions always shined through whenever it came to someone like Miko… and now Raf as well. They made him feel human.

"We're very different from other people, but we're happy that you could join us," Jack stated.

Miko smiled at her closest friend and leaned into his touch. Despite the situation they were born in, Miko felt a little bit of pride over the idea of having a younger comrade. Ever since she was born Jack had been her protector, even when it got him into trouble. And now she had the chance to be someone's protector as well. She looked down at the newest addition to their little group, and smiled even more.

And so the three techno-organics stood around each other, enjoying their presences. They felt so alone yet so welcomed at the same time, for they were the only ones of their kind.

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