A Captured Beast Within a Human Skin
By Uniasus
Chapter 8 – Lab Rat
Sam did not know at what time he had fallen asleep, but he guessed late by Swiss local time. He woke up groggy and bleary eyed, and while his side still pained him at least his back was not stiff from spending a night on top of a desk. Pushing himself up, Sam did his best to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
"Good morning!" Sam nearly jumped out of his skin at the way too chipper voice. In a chair near the head of his bed was none other than Superman, still keeping that three-foot distance. He vaguely wondered if he was radioactive or something.
"I did not introduce myself yesterday, but I am Dr. Lenz. I'll be working with you."
"Um, nice to meet you, I'm Sa—"
The scientist cut him off with a wave of his hand. "I know you, or at least of you. We have received data of what you did in the United States."
"And what exactly did I do?" He narrowed his eyes at the scientist, but he doubted it would be very aggressive considering his current state.
"You, shall we say, animated a robot."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come come, lying isn't becoming of you. You bring robots to life."
Sam paled and made his way toward the other side of the bed, fluffing a rumpled blanket and placing it under his still swollen ankle. Bringing robots to life was a crazy thing to be able to do, something fantastical, and not allowed. It couldn't be real (did that mean Spidey and Lilith weren't either?), it shouldn't be real (and yet that connection to them, a sense of ownership), and he could somewhat pretend it wasn't. But hearing it out loud, as frankly and as surely as if the older man was reading from the encyclopedia, made it impossible to deny even a little bit.
"I don't want to." He whispered the confession, the half-lie because the All Spark part of him did and was fluttering in his mind in agitation, distracting him from the here and now. But here was someone who was actually talking to him, not a solider, not a spy, and yes a creepy scientist that acted like he was a leper, but still someone who was treating him decently and not ignoring him like Chie was on the plane. Sam felt like he owed Lenz something for it, and while he wasn't going to give up his brain he could offer up a little honesty. Not that he thought it would change anything.
Dr. Lenz nodded. "We figured as much and are not going to force you to do something you have no desire to do." He reached down to the floor and brought up a plate, which he set gingerly on Sam's pillow. "Good ahead, eat."
Sam stared at it, there were some slices of bread and a variety of meats arranged on the plate with selection of butter rounds in one corner. He crawled forward, shooting a questioning look at Lenz before grabbing the plate and settling in the bed's middle.
"If you don't want living robots, than what do you want?"
"To understand, to gain knowledge, to find out what is causing this…ability of yours. All we know is that the All Spark is involved."
Sam, who had been trying to spread the butter on a piece of bread without the use of a knife, poked a hole through the slice. "Wh-what?" he sputtered.
The other man gave him a knowing smile. "After what happened in Egypt did you really think your government could keep quiet? I know you were young then, still are, but I find it hard to believe you are that naive."
Sam blushed in embarrassment. "I never thought about it, just that they had all been told I had died."
"Ah," the doctor shifted a little his seat, uneasy and then cleared his throat. "After that spectacular it was impossible to hide the existence of the aliens from Cybertron. Select members of foreign governments were told about their presence here and the war they, and now indirectly us, are involved in. How they followed a powerful artifact here, only to have it destroyed eight years ago. And how the Deceptions tried to get revenge on humanity for getting in their way the first time by trying to blow up the Sun."
Sam gulped, breakfast forgotten for the moment.
"Am I correct in assuming they wanted you because you were the one who stopped them in Mission City?"
"I'ld rather not talk about that," Sam mumbled into his plate. That had only been a bonus reason; the real one had been the map in his head. Lenz seemed to take it as a yes.
"Fascinating. Anyway hybrid, following the law of conservation the energy the All Spark had, had to have gone somewhere. Considering that Mission City is still standing, we hypothesize it was absorbed."
Sam gave up on the butter and placed a piece of meat on the bread instead, taking a bite and chewing thoroughly before swallowing to answer. Lenz was way to close. "Like what, into the ground? Mission City is rather green for still being in the process of rebuilding from a battle."
Lenz narrowed his eyes at Sam. "Yes, something along those lines."
"Sorry, but you're wrong."
"Oh?" the scientist leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
"Yeah, there was a shard of the All Spark that had not been destroyed. I'm sure the energy you're looking for is there."
Sam thought he saw a sneer flash on the doctor's face, but it did not last long enough for him to be sure. "My team is of the opinion that the energy from the Cube was enormous. So even if a part of the All Spark had survived I'm sure not all of it's previous energy would be inside."
"You don't believe me? Ravage attacked the place where it was held and used it to heal Megatron!" Sam started to eat his breakfast more quickly, thinking that it would be taken from him before he was done at this point.
Lenz did not answer for a moment. Sam wondered just how much the U.S. government had told everyone. It seemed that there were some elements missing from the tale that Lenz knew and it was making his life tough. Then again, if the scientist had known everything he would have known right away the younger man was twisting things.
The man bent down again and came up with a thermos that he placed next to Sam's pillow. Sam eyed it, after all the bread he was eating something to drink sounded like a good idea. He leaned forward to grab it and then returned to his previous position. It was not much desired coffee, but at this point he did not mind exchanging it for tea.
Sam took his first sip when the scientist spoke again. "Knowing what I do, I still think that much of the All Spark energy found a different container. An organic one that had been close by when it was destroyed."
Sam did not look at him, just continued drinking. God, it had been a while since he had caffeine; this stuff was addictive! And this type was not overly sweet like the stuff his mom had liked to drink.
"Don't you want to know why the things you touch come alive?"
He looked into the thermos, not answering.
"Or maybe you know that already?"
Sam knocked back the rest of the tea and glared at Lenz. "No. I do not know why they come 'alive' as you say. Would I like to know? Maybe. But I don't know anything." Yes, it was the All Spark's fault, he was pretty positive about that at this point. He didn't need to know the details of how it happened though, he knew enough; machines feed off of his energy.
Dr. Lenx looked coolly at him, flicked his eyes to the tea, and then back to Sam's face. The American had a sneaking suspicion that he was not believed. They sat in silence for while before the doctor spoke up again. "You sure you don't want to know what's happening to you?"
"No! I mean, yes, I don't want to know," Sam stated. Things happened and that was that. His only worry was if it meant something bad for him long term, this new development. If Ratchet was near by, he'd practically teleport to the medic's side. Because this was certainly a new effect of being the All Spark's container, and something had to have triggered it, right? But still, his only ill effects up to this point had been insomnia and having no choice but to run his body into the ground. There was nothing…dangerous about this new ability. 90% certain. Or maybe 80% now that he thought about it, shivering slightly from the cold and removing the blanket from under his foot to place it around his shoulders. The scientist was making a point to keep his space.
The question he asked Spidey earlier drifted through his brain, what would happen if a robot took too much energy?
But he was reluctant to let Lenz and his team do anything to answer his question, he didn't trust them. But there was very little chance Sam could figure things out for himself, he did not know how to operate medical equipment aside from a thermometer. Ratchet could tell him what was wrong, but it had been what? Four, five days since he got kidnapped at work? He was not really sure, all the changes in time zones had made him lose track of time. And Sam was currently on the other side of the ocean. He was nowhere near the Autobots, so if he wanted answers he had to rely on the Swiss. Being trapped was never a feeling he liked.
"What did you have in mind?"
Lenz leaned back in his chair with a satisfied air. It made Sam frown.
"Nothing invasive. Just simple a medical exam, some blood tests, maybe a brain scan."
Sam fiddled with his hands and thought about it. It sounded harmless enough, just a couple of tests.
"Okay." He swung his feet over the side of the bed and stood up, giving a large stretch. His ankle only twinged a little. Sam looked at the plate and mug still stilling amidst crumpled sheets. "Um, what about my dishes?"
"Don't worry about them, someone will take care of them. Come on now." Lenz made his way over to the door and knocked a pattern on it. Slowly it opened outwards.
"Are you planning on wearing that out?"
Sam looked down and found that the blanket was still around his shoulders. "Yes, I'm cold."
Almost defiantly, he tightened the blanket's ends around his shoulders and held them together with his right hand. Lenz didn't react much, just walked out the door.
Sam followed, eyeing the guards that stood on either side of the door as he passed. They were the same two he had noticed behind the doctor when he had first gotten off the plane. He wondered why they seemed less intimidating now, but did not dwell to long on the thought.
He had expected a long trek, through miles and miles of tunnels to cross the Swiss base before ending up in front of the door to the medical bay. Instead, it was three doors down. Sam sent a quizzical look at Lenz as he drew abreast to the scientist, but was taken aback instead when he seemed to jump back away from Sam.
"I prefer my space," Lenz gave as an explanation and Sam began to question his choice to let the doctor examine him if he was this eccentric.
At least the medical bay looked normal enough; beds in the center with a bunch of technology on wheels situated along the walls. There looked to be a dentist chair in one corner. Sitting in front of the TV in another were the two assistants Sam had noticed earlier.
"HCH 1, I want you to meet Dr. Carter and Dr. Smirnov."
"What does that mean anyway?" Sam asked, turning to face the lead scientist. His question went unanswered as both of the other scientists got up out their chairs to face him.
Sam had not taken a good look at the two the previous night, and considering they were both staring at him like a lab rat, he took the opportunity to now to return the feeling. Dr. Carter, the female, was the taller of the two but not by much. She was thin, had a huge head of fuzzy short hair, and to his surprise had a single circular gauged earring on the left. The skin around it was different hue than the rest of her ear, what he assumed was birthmark.
"Cold?" Dr. Smirnov asked. Sam turned his head toward him drawn by the sound of a voice that reminded him of Michael Crawford, though he had the same accent as Chie did. Lenz had a different one, now that he thought about it, but it was barely there. What really caught Sam's attention though was the pair of sunglasses on the male scientist's face. Sunglass at night he could understand, but a pair in an underground complex?
"Blind?" He shot back.
"Almost," The Swiss man pushed up his sunglasses to reveal massive scarring around his eyes. The lid was closed on the right and Sam had a sickening feeling there was no eye behind it.
There was someone prodding his back, Carter since he could see Lenz off to the side. "Sit, sit," she said in a piercing voice (which strangely reminded him of Starscream), and Sam had to wonder if she knew much English. He didn't think it was a main language in Switzerland. Actually he had no idea what they even spoke natively here. But he was pretty confident it wasn't English.
He didn't feel like striking up a conversation and it seemed like the doctors didn't mind his lack of talking, so he just sat there as they directed him to do things. They did everything from take his blood to measure the circumference of his head. He tried to make out what they were saying, Carter and Smirnov had accents that sounded like German and he had studied that a little due to school requirements, but the sounds surrounding him were softer, more lyrical, and yet didn't match any of the Spanish pop culture had taught him. The All Spark in his mind was intrigued by the challenge, comparing what he was heard with what he knew of other languages. It had actually been able to figure out numbers, though not what the language was, by the time Lenz asked him to take his shirt off.
"What? No." Sam said, snagging back full control of his mind. "I'm cold."
"You have a fever, I'd expect that. It's pretty high actually." Sam frowned, but Lenz didn't seem to notice. "I'm surprised you're not sore."
Well, he was actually, but Sam had attributed that to getting rough handled by Chie. Seriously, Megatron didn't even make him bleed! But he did managed to burn layers of his skin off… But in any case, Sam was use to soreness. Hunching over satellite innards wasn't very comfortable and body aches were also a sometimes side effect of taking a back seat to the All Spark. Mild headaches too (which he also had the moment). Which meant he had long ago learned to ignore such mild body complaints and move along with his life.
"Again, take your shirt off," Dr. Lenz directed, assisted by Dr. Carter yanking his blanket out of his one handed grip.
"Alright, alright."
Sam snagged his blanket back from the female scientist and then slowly peeled his old, who-knows-how-long-lived-in shirt off; it ended up in his lap to be wrung and twisted by his hands. He kept his eyes on the shirt.
Ratchet had left him to the hands of the human medics after the Giza attack, too busy seeing to the Autobots to do anything other than make sure someone was taking care of him (though his parents and Mikaela did a wonderful job at that). It wasn't until they had gotten back to the States and were forced to stay in the safe houses that the Cybertronian had a chance to look at him. Ratchet had did what he could, but there was still an ugly scar on his left side. Pale and pink, the shape reminded him of a hide put out to tan.
It wasn't that he thought the scar was horribly disfiguring or anything, he was pretty indifferent towards it, but the reactions to it felt belittling. Bee seemed to think it was his fault, that it was a failure on the scout's part, and looking at it always seemed to result in a sad/guilty/apologetic look in those blue optics. His parents had fretted, Judy making hysterical what-if horror statements while Ron talked her down, saying it was okay became Sam came back (from the dead). But his dad would still follow him around, staying just past the hover perimeter. And Mikaela…Mikaela had refused to touch it. Her fingers sometimes had stretched toward it, but they never fully made contact. Like ignoring it meant it had never happened, like if she acknowledged it by touch his heart would stop a second time and this go-round there was no return trip.
It made him angry; had he not survived everything from high school bullies to Megatron? Twice even on that last one. Yes he was human and than meant he would bruise and get injured. But he was also stubborn and refused to die. It wasn't Bee's fault, his parent's worry (while justified) was obsolete ar his age, and Mikaela…Mikaela seemed to be rejecting reality and treating him as glass at the same time. Sam appreciated it none of it.
The Swedish doctors around him however paid it no mind. Or at least, a detached mind. They took a picture of it, which Sam found as strange, and then proceeded to take a number of pictures from different vantage points around his body to capture his entire chest, back, left and right sides, inner views of both arms, and at least six different angles of his head. The tape measure came out again, though Sam really had no idea why they need the dimension from the top of his sternum to his belly button or the space between each set of ribs. He was asked to bend over, presumably to check his spine and not look at his butt, though he wiggled it a little in the direction of Dr. Carter just for kicks. And then he was asked to take off his pants and go step on the scale. It felt as if he was being catalogued for type of scientific journal.
He was then thankfully allowed to redress, complete with blanket and taken across the hallway to a room where the doctors took x-rays and a whole bunch scans with him inside metal canisters: MRI, PET, and others he didn't know even existed. And then they shoved a razor in hand and pointed towards a mirror before turning back to set up a machine.
"What, no shaving cream?" Sam asked, staring at the doctor's backs but he didn't get answer. It was the wrong type of razor anyway: big, bulky, and electric. The type used in barbershops.
"I'm too young to be bald."
"Either you do it or I do," Dr. Smirnov said over his shoulder. Sam eyed him, they were of similar build and most likely similar strength and if he need to he could fight, but this seemed a rather trivial thing to have a brawl over.
"Well, can I at least get something to get rid of this unfetching beard too?"
The sunglasses made it hard to tell, but Sam felt he was on the receiving end of a glare similar to the one his dad delivered when he had asked for more money three days after receiving his allowance. "Maybe later." And with that, the doctor ignored him again.
Sighing, Sam did a little hop-push off the table and made his way over the mirror. Since he needed to a trim anyway … He turned the contraption over a couple of times in his hand to understand it and then flipped the switch. It was surprising how hard the thing vibrated; he had to steady his right hand with his left. Wincing, he placed the razor on his temple and push up to the crown of his head. It fell of so easily in the wake of sharp blades it slightly angered him. He had strangely wanted his hair to put up a fight. For the principle of the matter. Though what exactly that matter was he found it hard to say.
A low growl was all he got before the razor was ripped from his hand. Sam whirled to see Dr. Smirnov hand the razor off to Dr. Carter. The female scientist turned it off, did something to the settings, and then pointed a finger down towards the floor.
"Sit, sit!" she demanded (yep, definitely Starscream) and when Sam didn't immediately reply Smirnov placed a heavy hand on his shoulder and pushed down. He ducked and spun (watch the ankle!) to get free and then turned to glare at them with his arms across his chest. Only then did he follow Carter's orders and sit.
Apparently not only had he missed spots, but he had failed to use the shortest setting. It was unnerving, having only an inch of hair on his head. He couldn't stop touching it on the way back to the examination table.
Lenz hovered around him, still not wanting to touch him, as Carter and Smirnov placed sticky circles attached to wires all over his head. They lead to a machine with a screen showing a bunch of lines that made no sense to him, but seemed to increase as more stickers were placed on his skull. Eventually, he was as sticker covered as he would ever be. Lenz pressed a button, and the machine started spewing out paper covered in more lines.
It was the most uninvasive thing yet. They just had him do things: read a book, watch TV, do a math (from algebra to higher level physics), and take a nap (which he was fairly sure he was drugged into taking, because he fell asleep really fast and woke up with none of the aches being knocked out produced). And then he was escorted to his room. After such attention it almost felt like abandonment. It was all very strange, but what unnerved Sam to no end was that they had been talking adamantly to each other in that foreign language the entire time. High, excited voices. The All Spark had figured more of the language out, enough to understand all the excitement had to do with his brain waves.
Well duh. Sam knew he was pretty messed up in the head. Housing a five year old girl did that to you. The question still remained though: was that harmful?
A/N: Poor Sam. If only he knew everything up till now has been easy. He hasn't run into the Decepticon's yet.
Von asked a good question after last chapter - "I do enjoy your all spark, though Im curious as to when/how this desire of hers came to be. In cube form she clearly wasn't making sparklings left right and centre or Sector 9 would have been drowing in them. SO what changed? Has she been affected by her vessel? Some reproductive human urge making her desire for companionship become a drive?" I figured there are probably a couple of more of you wondering similar things, so I figured I'd let you all know.
What changed? Nothing much actually. She had a similar personality on Cybertron, but cast into space and settling here on Earth she went into status. Her energy could be harvested, but she really didn't 'wake up' in a sense until Bee touched her and she had direct constant with something Cybertronian.
But on Cybertron, she really wasn't as active as she is now. Prime described her as semi-conscious, and that was really her top potential because she had nothing to learn from, being an isolated guarded object deemed to holy to approach on a regular basis. Until Sam.
She's always liked sparklings, creating kids, but on Cybertron she didn't have the full awareness that she could do it by herself, she had her caretakers to guide her and she followed like toddlers are wont to do. Now in Sam, her own awareness is growing. Ed was an accident, a result of so much time in the presence of All Spark energy. But she learned it could happen, something she could do on her own. She doesn't know why, only that it does, and she likes the feeling of it. So she tries to repeat it, creating Spidey and Lilith.
Of course, more time she spends with Sam, the more her consciousness evolves. Which may or may not be a good thing.
Any other questions? I'm happy to answer them. Also, I kinda need to snag myself some TF toys for Christmas gifts, and the store near me are stocked very well in such things. Do you guys have any suggestions of websites that I could browse for hours trying to find that perfect gift for a super fan?