TYRANT!

Chapter 3- No Longer A Nuisance

After lunch, Haylen returned to Robert's office that was beside Steve's cell. She sat down, took out a notebook, and began to write in it. Steve watched her, since there really wasn't anything else to do, and grunted.
Haylen looked back at him. "You've been making that noise ever since you woke up from your unconsciousness." she laughed. Steve looked away, then paced. Haylen sighed sadly. "I know you're bored, but I'm not allowed in there unless I use a clamp or a collar." she said.

Steve rubbed his neck, but all he said was a faint "Hm." He then stopped pacing and sat on the floor and yawned. "D'you want me to play the radio?" she asked him. Steve shook his head. "Are you sure? They got good songs!" she taunted. Steve shook his head again, faster this time.

Haylen pouted, then continued to write:

"CODE NAME: T-008
EXAMINER: Dr.S.Haylen
DAY: 1
TIME: 13:45:32
COMMENTS:
Steve "T-008" is suffering greatly from withdrawal of being human, just like all of out other patients on their first day. Oddly enough, however, this one's the very first specimen to get me worried. But--why would I care about him? Maybe because he's the sweetest..."

Haylen blushed, then erased those two sentences. She started again.

"...worried. Such a young age. Maybe our youngest specimen yet. Very odd. T-008 had attacked me a few hours ago. Having been attacked by hunters before, I can easily say his power matches with them."

She sighed, then looked back at Steve, who was now curled up in a ball on the floor having a nap. Well, he was in a fetal position, but the curve of his back made it look like a ball. She smirked then continued.

"PLANS:
A) clean him off and extract a sample of the virus for molecular study. -approx 14:27:50
B) feed him -approx 18:49:10
C) let sleep and lock up -approx 21:10:01"

She closed up her notebook, and put it back in her cabinet that was in that room. "Hey hey!!" she heard behind her. She turned to see, but then someone covered her eyes.

"Guess...?" "WILSON, get your shit hands off of me!!" she yelled. Wilson took his hands off, and laughed. "You're not funny." Haylen growled. Wilson pulled up a chair, and sat down. "Sorry, your 'majesty'" he said.
Wilson looked at Steve. "Ahh. Still watching that 'thing', eh? Its so damned ugly." he said. Haylen then spun to face him. "Why did you come out here for!? To act like a 12-year old??" she yelled.

?"Hey! I was just kidding! No, I came here 'cause Roberts doesn't think its safe if you clean up and extract Steve. By yourself, that is." Wilson said.
"What!? But I told you the reason why all that happened!!" Haylen replied. Wilson shrugged, while Haylen sighed in frustration. "Look, just tell Roberts I'll be ok. It's my job. It I...'die', its my problem." she said.

"You're the boss." Wilson sighed, then he got up and left. Haylen rolled her eyes, and looked at the time. "Hmph. 14:01..." she thought. She patted the top of her head, then stood up. She then began to look at the many books Roberts had in a large oak bookshelf by his desk.
The titles included "BIOLOGY - LIFE STUDIES", "THE HUMAN ANATOMY", and "DNA - STRIPS OF LIFE". Haylen's eyes continued downward. On the very bottom shelf, there were many large binders. One of the titles caught her eye: "B.O.W Sweeper Labs - Specimen Records." She kneeled down and took it out from its spot.

The cover was white and somewhat dusty, and the leather skin of it was peeling off, revealing its cardboard inside. She opened it. "Huh. It's just a booklet on all our specimens..." she said to herself. She flipped through a few pages and read it. She nodded at the truth of it, then flipped a few more pages.
When she was done looking at that page, she flipped a few more...than a small, tore up cardboard card fell out. She glanced at it, put the binder down. Then she picked up the card.

A small message in messy writing was on it. It read:

"Message to Dr.Roberts:

We have received reports that you have recently obtained a never before examined "tyrant" (class 00-hunter variation) which was infected by a new modified T-Virus.

Once you have received enough information, please send us your research--"

The rest was torn off. Haylen looked at it oddly. "What the heck--?" she asked herself. Suddenly, she heard the door being clicked to open. She hastily shoved the card in her pocket, then put the binder back into its slot in the bookcase. Then, like a rocket, she stood up quickly. The door then opened, and Roberts walked in.

"Haylen," he said with a nod "Wilson says you still want to work with T-008??" Haylen nodded. "Yes. I want to get a good--doctor-patient relationship with him. You know, to get more research?" she said. "Ahhhhhh, yes. We can never have enough research! But, I hope you realize that you're putting your life in danger!" he said, shaking his finger. Haylen laughed, "Roberts, I'll be ok. I did the same thing to hunters!--"
"Yes," Roberts interrupted "but they were tranquilized. I don't want you hurting yourself!" Haylen smiled, "Roberts! I'll be ok!" Roberts looked down at the floor, a smile on his old, wrinkly face. "Alright. you should wake him now from his nap. And please," he looked up at her, "be careful."

"I will." Haylen replied. With a slight nod, and a satisfied "Hmph.", Roberts left. Haylen sighed, and cracked her fingers. She grabbed a collar and a leash, then went up to the cell, opened it from the control panel, and she walked in.
She went up to the sleeping Steve, and clicked the collar around his neck, then she placed her hand on his shoulder, and shook him. "Steve...Steve wake up." she said, as she continued to shake him. Steve groaned, stretched his arms and legs, relaxed, then sighed. He opened his eyes, and focused on Haylen. He looked up and down on her, then looked at her eyes again.

"I-I thought you said you werrrrren't allowed to come in here..." Steve said. Haylen smirked and tugged on the leash. "I have a collar on ya." she laughed. Steve bit his lip as he looked at the leash attached to the collar on his neck, then stopped. "Then where are we going? T-The park or something?" he asked.
"Nope. I gotta get you all washed up, then I have to extract a T-Veronica sample from you. For... research purposes. Now get up, I'd like to do this before I turn 50!" she said. Steve grunted, and stood up. "Woarrrh. What's the rush?" he asked. "No rush, I just hate extracting!" she replied. Steve nodded, he still had no idea what she was going to do to him.

"Now, come on." she said, tugging at his leash as she led the way out. Steve followed close behind her. "And..." Haylen said, stopping and turning to face him. "I promise I won't annoy you." Steve sighed. "Thanks." he said, while in the meantime he thought ' C'mon! Let's go! Let's get this extraction thing over with already!'
Haylen nodded, then turned back to the door of the office. She pressed a few buttons on the panel beside it, and the door got a little bit wider, and taller. "You might have to duck a little bit, you stand 8'3" when you stand normally, but it doesn't go past 8'0"." she said, as she walked through. Steve walked towards the door, crouched a bit, then got through.

Steve looked around the lab. Large, white hallways, cleaner than anything he had ever seen. A grey carpet lined the floor, and on the ceiling there were large neon lights... like you'd see in classrooms or stores. Every so often there were large windows in the walls, allowing you to see on the other side. A meeting room, a cafeteria-like room...... Haylen tugged on his leash. "Sorry Steve, but I have to do this. Maybe some other time." Haylen said.
Steve rolled his eyes, as Haylen led him off into one of the hallways that led to a large, blue-painted, steel door that read "B.O.W Facilities" above it. Steve sighed lightly as they headed inside. This was going to be a long night...

..."Ah, here we are, the B.O.W Facilities!" Haylen said. She turned to Steve and undid his collar. "A bathroom for B.O.Ws?" Steve asked, looking around. "Ha ha! Hmm, not exactly. We wash them here." she replied. "Ahh." Steve said gutturally.
The room was very large, and looked a lot like a spa.... but more defensive. Electric stunners lined the walls, laser eyes, B.O.W Gas release handles... side by side with big tubs and showers... looked a lot like some militaristic car wash.

"Now, let's go!" Haylen said. "Follow me." She led Steve to the back of the room, where it looked almost identical to a do-it-yourself car wash. "Ok. Lemme adjust the water--" Haylen said, going for the hose nozzle. She stopped, and turned to Steve. "Wait a sec... you have hair on your head!" she laughed. Steve looked at her oddly.
Haylen walked up to him and messed with his greenish-grey hair. "Wait here, I'll go get you some nice shampoo." she said, then she jogged away to the front of the room. Steve rubbed his head. 'Yeah... won't annoy me...' he thought. He turned, and looked at the room. 'I guess I better get used to this...if this place is run by crazy people like her, there's no way I can get a vaccine! I wonder--' "I'M BACK!" Haylen squealed, running back.
Steve faced her. "Found some shampoo! Now, I'll get the hose ready..." she said.

***

Haylen scrubbed a now soapy Steve as he stood there, bored out of his skull. With a long scrubbing brush, she began to scrub the part of his hump behind his head. "Steve?" she asked. Steve grunted. "I'll... take that as a yes. Um...I'm--I'm sorry..." she sighed. "What for?" he asked. "I...I...

"...I'm sorry I seem all annoying to you. I just-- You see, I had a husband. I wanted to be everything he ever wanted, but when he died..." Haylen paused, and stopped scrubbing. Steve whimpered. "It's ok." he said. Haylen cleared her throat and resumed. "A-Anyways, you just touched me on the same cord he used to. Not by love, but... by taking care of you." she said.
Steve grunted. "That's ok. I lost someone... I loved too." Steve said. Haylen made a clacking noise with her tongue. "I'll stop bugging you, Steve." she said. She then scrubbed the rest of his back. "I'm sorrrry too." Steve said. Haylen continued to scrub. "You're sorry!? For what!?" she asked.

"Being a jerk. I'm sorry I threw you, a-and I'm sorry." Steve replied sadly. "Oh, Steve...." Haylen said "I was the jerk You probably think I'm an annoying ditze." she said, tears building up as she still scrubbed him. Steve chuckled lightly. "Y-You probably think--" "Don't say anything bad about yourself, Steve!" Haylen yelled.
She rushed to the front of Steve, tears running down her face. "You got infected with a virus with hardly any chance of being returned to normal any time soon, and you're in a lab where 1/3 of the scientists accepts you for who you are...oh, Steve...don't end up hating yourself too..."

She walked up to him, and gave him a huge hug, bursting into tears. Steve, still soapy, wrapped his big tyrant arms around her. "Dr. Haylen..." he gutturally said. "Steve, I..." Haylen began, but she cried some more. Steve grunted as Haylen rested her head on his big chest.
Haylen then let go, as did Steve, and stepped back. Her clothes were all wet and soapy now, but that was okay with her. She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat.

"I'll finish scrubbing you, then I'll... I'll extract the virus sample. After that, we'll have supper, OK?" she asked. Steve smiled weakly, and nodded. "OK." Haylen said. She went back beside Steve, and continued to scrub him.