Author's Note: In this chapter Ultra Rodimus gains a new ability. Thank you to my reviewers for expressing concern for Ultra Rodimus. And you should be able to work out the answer. Ultra Rodimus and Magnus are lifebonded. The death of one will kill the other. What's your opinion?

Disclaimer: The usual disclaimers apply.

Burning Skies

Chapter 7: Awakening

For hours teams of surgeons worked to stabilize the young Prime. A group of Autobots and humans camped out in the waiting area, feeding news to the rest of the army. They waited on every word from the surgeons.

Finally, nearly three days after Ultra Rodimus had been brought back to the city, the head surgeon came out to talk to the Autobots.

"Well?" Downshift asked, worry in his voice.

"It was close." The surgeon ran his hands through his short hair. "We had to attach a metal plate to his skull, and call in the world's most experienced brain surgeon to deal with the brain damage. We're still repairing his legs. The bones have to be pieced together where possible, and the rest will be replaced with metal rods. He lost a lot of blood, and that is proving very difficult to get around. We don't have a supply of his blood in stock. We had to give him neutral plasma and hope for the best. He'll probably have scars on his chest from the incisions. Falcon will forever be missing a tentacle, and he will have scars. There are gaps between the muscles of Ultra Rodimus's arms and legs. His one remaining lung is working well, but we put out feelers, looking for a transplant that his body might accept."

"I don't think you have to worry about his body rejecting it," First Aid cut in. "His body adapts any new parts to fit in. I've repaired him using parts from a dozen different bots, and every new part is adjusted to fit in perfectly. It has something to do with his immune system. The same thing works with viruses. Instead of them altering his cells, his immune system attacks them and turns them into something useful."

"Good. Then any transplant will be accepted. He's also recovering well from being exposed to electric currents."

Another doctor raced through the door, waving an envelope. "We got the results of his bloodwork back!"

The head surgeon grabbed the envelope, opened it, and began reading the contents. "My god! He's got more drugs loose in his system than I thought possible!" He turned and raced back into the OR.

Kup looked at Jazz. "Who did this to him?"

The black and white Autobot shrugged. "We don't know. We didn't find anyone at the complex."

"So whoever it was is still loose out there."

"Unfortunately."

"Then we'd better start a search."

"For what?" Chief O'Connor asked, looking up. "We don't know who did it or why. We have nothing to give us any clues about who it was. We're gonna have to wait for Ultra Rodimus to wake up so that he can tell us what happened."

"That may take a while."

"I understand that, but it's all we can do."

The door opened, allowing Perceptor to enter.

"Did you find out anything about that piece of equipment Lightspeed brought back?"

"I learned a great deal about it," the scientist informed them. "It is a most fascinating piece of equipment. It affects the molecules of the target's body, forcing them to take on a new shape. It is meant to shift chosen targets from one shape into another. That must be how Ultra Rodimus was turned human."

"Can you reverse the effects?"Air Raid asked.

"Unfortunately, no. The machine was sabotaged, rendering it useless. I do not know if I can repair it. Without the builder's notes, I can do nothing."

The Autobots made a low sound, a grumble of disappointment. Perceptor apologized and returned to his lab.

"Will Ultra Rodimus be all right?" Terri asked.

Jesse hugged his daughter. "The doctors are doing everything they can, but he was very badly hurt."

"How is Magnus?" Linda asked.

"Holding his own. The lifebond between him and Ultra Rodimus is what's holding Ultra Rodimus here. If it wasn't for the lifebond he would already have died."

The medics didn't reappear for another several hours. They looked tired, but happy.

"He's been stabilized, and his condition has been downgraded to serious," one reported. "He's not completely out of danger, but it's likely that he will recover."

"How is he right now?" Groove asked.

"We purged the drugs from his system, and gave him an anesthetic to keep him under. The drugs we got rid of were a nasty mix of dangerous and illegal drugs, with a few narcotics thrown in. We got rid of them all. Can Autobots become addicted to anything?"

"Not that we know of."

"Good. There was a dangerous level of what looks like cocaine in his blood. But it looked like the levels were a lot higher. I'd say his body has been fighting the drugs, and managed to get rid of at least half of them on its own. He's a real fighter."

"Of course."

"Can I see him?" Spike asked.

"Can we?" Terri jumped in.

"You may see him for a short time."

The six humans, Jesse, Linda, Terri, Spike, Sparkplug, and Carly, entered the room and approached the bed. Lying there was Ultra Rodimus, hooked up to every life-support machine Metroplex had, and even a few he hadn't had. His golden skin was pale, more a dull yellow, and his silvery hair looked faded. An IV had been stuck into the back of his left hand. Other tubes ran into his shoulders. An air tube stuck out of his nose. Bandages were wrapped around his chest and arms. Both legs were in casts. Falcon was bandaged, but whimpers still emerged from underneath the wrappings.

"He looks so fragile," Carly whispered.

"I never thought I'd see him looking so helpless," Spike agreed.

Terri looked at the arrangement of the tubes. "Why aren't there any tubes in his right arm?" she asked.

"Because that's his skrill arm. The doctors don't want to hurt Falcon any more than he already is."

"Falcon? That thing on his arm?"

"That's Falcon. It's a living creature, a sentient life-form. He met Falcon during a sudden shift of dimensions. He was thrown into another universe. There, he met Falcon. Falcon's kind were taken from their homeworld and bio-engineered to become weapons. They draw nutrients from their hosts. Ultra Rodimus and Falcon are partners."

Terri peered under the bandages at the creature. "It looks strange."

"It resembles a mutant scorpion, but without a tail. It has eight tentacles that it inserts into it's host's forearm. Whoever tortured them cut off one of its tentacles. Falcon can fire a blast of energy powerful enough to disintegrate its target."

The teenager nodded, then reached out to pat Ultra Rodimus's hand. "I hope you get better," she whispered to him.

His hand twitched. Terri froze.

"What is it?" Spike asked.

"He moved. I felt his hand move."

"Impossible. He's unconscious."

Ultra Rodimus's hand twitched again. Terri gently lifted it. Slowly, his hand closed around hers. She looked at his face, and saw his eyelids twitch. He was trying to open his eyes. After several minutes of trying, he finally managed to lift one eyelid slightly. An emerald eye gleamed faintly, trying to focus on her.

"He's waking up!" Carly leaned over.

The Autobot Prime's eye opened a little further, enough to focus on their faces. He recognized Carly, but regarded Terri with suspicion.

"I won't hurt you," she told him. "You're in Metroplex's Medbay. You're safe now."

"Her name is Terri Maxwell," Spike explained. "Her father brought you back here. Just relax."

Ultra Rodimus blinked, trying to stay awake, but he was too tired. He closed his eye and let sleep steal over him.

Terri patted his hand. He squeezed her fingers gently before falling into a deep sleep. She laid his hand back down and stepped back.

The doctor poked his head in. "I'll have to ask you to leave now."

The others obediently filed out.

"He woke up for a few minutes," Linda told the doctor. "He opened one eye to look at us."

"He's really fighting the drugs. It's not surprising."

"At least we know he'll recover," Sparkplug said.

"That's a good thing. But he will recover."

To be continued...

And there is another chapter. I hope you like it. Ultra Rodimus woke up for a few minutes. That's a good sign. Here are my reviewer responses:

Rose: Yes, Ultra Rodimus will live. But there will be problems. You'll have to continue reading to find out what those problems are.

Gromia: Yes, ouchies is right. Wounds like those tend to hurt like all hell. I've had cracked bones, none really broken, but cracked, and I know how much that hurts.

That's it for this chapter. If you want more, send me reviews and I'll get right to you!