Ah, he was awake now. His eyes searched the room and the doctor smiled, gazing down upon the multitude of monitors that captured every angle of his new subject. He was seeing something in this setup, as the doctor had hoped, and it was causing his heart to race. Every single bit of this experiment would be recorded, everything about it scrutinized later for further research. He had everything ready, everything perfect. Now it was time to bring the boy genius up to speed.
"You know who I am, Brainiac 5, just as you know why you are here," he said, one finger pressing down on the intercom button. The cold edge to his voice suddenly melted and it seemed as if the doctor was distracted as he began to speak again. It was unclear whether he was speaking to himself or to Brainiac 5, although his questions were most certainly directed at him. "Perhaps the better question is whether or not you are the right subject for this, hm
( ... )
What a good little guinea pig. Brainy fought against the instincts to turn away, to thrash and run from the pain, instead enduring it like a trooper. Like a hero. Like a complete and utter fool. The doctor smiled and depressed the plunger, pushing the cold, milky blue formula into his eye. The nanomachines hidden within rushed into Brainy's body and the doctor slid the needle out, discarding it and releasing Brainy's eye. "Tell me? Does it sting? I suppose it might. All things considered."
He turned away and picked up the next syringe, identical to the first. "If the pain ever becomes too much, just tell me. I'd be happy to change to a different subject and spare you."
Oh, but the boy wouldn't take that path, would he? Never. Not him. Not the hero. He would tough this out or he'd suffer endlessly a different sort of hell, one brought by his own weakness. The doctor returned to Brainy's side and tapped his face again. "Your other eye now. Are you ready?"
If it weren't for the fact he was doing his best to choke off another cry of pain as the strange liquid machinery was forced into his body, Brainiac 5 might have been tempted to answer that question with something bordering on extreme sarcasm. Organic bodies didn't particularly enjoy having foreign liquid shoved into them, especially when it was through their eyes, so of course it hurt!
He gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut the moment the doctor released him and tried not to cry out too much. He had to be stronger than this. Superman would have been stronger than this. Peter would have been stronger than this, which was why he had to make sure they didn't take his friends instead.
He shook his head vehemently at the suggestion that he could just give in and end this easily. "No, I won't," he managed through clenched teeth. "I won't let you hurt them
( ... )
"We'll see what you say by the end, Brainy," the doctor said, not bothering to hide his amusement. The Coluan should know he was putting on a show - the best sort of show. The doctor was thoroughly enjoying it and would enjoy seeing just how much it took to bring out the screams of pain, the cries to stop the experiment, the venomous accusations that he was crazy. He relished that part and he had to wonder if Brainy would call him insane. He hoped he would. He loved it when they did
( ... )
"I never did anything like this against someone's will," Brainiac 5 snapped, unable to keep the pain from his voice as the doctor withdrew the second syringe and set it aside. His eyes ached and watered from the abuse, and he had to keep blinking to clear them and keep an eye on the man.
"This isn't considered science in my time; it's torture."
In one way the talking helped. He could channel his pain, fear, and frustration into that, try and hold off the urge to fight and scream for everything to stop, because the moment it did and they decided to finish their experiments with someone else, then he'd have lost. Lost and doomed someone like Peter or the Doctor as well.
"The only thing I understand is that you're doing this out of some twisted desire to--" He broke off with a cry as the tip of syringe bit into his skin and the strange liquid seeped and crawled into his body, burning and strangely cold at the same time.
"Keep your eyes closed. It will help with the pain." The doctor mused on Brainy's words. The idea that anything was being done against his will was so...silly. He'd given the boy a choice and he'd taken the one that had appealed to him. He'd chosen to be the experiment. "In the progression of science there are often sacrifices. You chose this path, Brainiac 5. Unless you'd like to go back on our deal
( ... )
He didn't particularly like not watching the doctor's movements constantly, since who knew what he might miss that could be important, but with how his eyes were aching, Brainiac 5 had to admit that closing them and giving them a rest was the best option. Plus he also had to admit that he couldn't think of a reason for the man to do anything he hadn't already informed the Coluan of. It wasn't as though Brainiac 5 was in any position to stop him, after all
( ... )
Brainiac 5 closed his eyes and the doctor smiled. "See? Much better."
The boy could be so stubborn sometimes, but that was why they'd chosen him. Well, sort of. They'd chosen him because the experiment was perfect for him. He and his team had slaved away to tailor the entire thing to him, all for him, everything to make it perfect suited to him. They knew he wouldn't sacrifice others to save himself, but they also knew how the implication that he might would irk him. Everything, down to the smallest detail, all for him - and he didn't yet notice
( ... )
His eyes opened again as the table he was strapped to began to move without any warning and Brainiac 5 blinked rapidly, trying to get his eyes to stop watering long enough to see what the doctor was up to. The man had already moved out of his field of vision, however, and it was only the prickling at the exposed back of his neck that gave him an inkling of what was going to happen next
( ... )
No point in lying. He'd said he would explain things to the boy anyway, so why should he lie now? From here on, things would be so much worse, so much more barbaric by Brainy's Coluan standards
( ... )
Manual. Hardware. Implants. With twenty-first century medical knowledge. It didn't matter that Brainiac 5 couldn't make out the contents of the container that the doctor held over him, it could have been the tiniest of devices and he'd still feel sick to his stomach. The injections he could deal with. They burned and hurt, but they were liquid technology, not dissimilar to his own Coluan nanotechnology. It was somewhat familiar.
This? This was invasive and horrific and he wanted to scream out for the doctor to stop... except that if he did, the man would, which was worse. If he'd known that nothing he could have done would stop it, it would have been easier to scream and rage against the man tormenting him, but since the doctor had already made it clear that if he protested, they would simply take someone he cared about instead... He couldn't do anything of the sort. He had to remain silent at all costs. No protests that they couldn't do this, no screams for him to stop, no matter how bad the pain got to be
( ... )
What a pleasant sound. The doctor smiled behind his mask as Brainy finally let go of the terror and pain welling up inside him, expelling it all in a bone-chilling scream. It hurt. Oh, yes, it was certain to hurt. It would hurt worse when the doctor had to make the other incisions
( ... )
His limbs were trembling with the exertion of keeping still, each muscle locked tight to stop himself from fighting against the straps and the doctor like a pain-crazed animal. He couldn't afford to relax now, not as the man moved around to his other side to repeat the process there. He wasn't sure how much of it was misguided belief and how much of it was knowledge of himself and his limits, but Brainiac 5 felt as though letting himself even relax the slightest fraction would undo all the control he had over himself
( ... )
One last chance to be heroic and one last chance to save himself. Brainiac 5 took the honorable path of course and the doctor smiled down at him through the mask, proud of him. He had taken the only path open to him, certainly, but it was the path that would serve him the most. Now he could hold his head up high, pretend he did this to save others, say he was a hero of true worth. Or perhaps it was only to make himself feel better. He sacrificed because he thought that was what heroes were supposed to do. The poor boy had no idea that heroes were only imaginary representations of all that humans wanted to be, but could never become. Humans were dirty, like the doctor. For a robot who wanted to be human so badly, he certainly didn't act like a real one
( ... )
He managed, just barely, not to flinch when the doctor touched him. But it was almost more difficult than everything else had been so far. The condescending touch was worse than the injection that followed it was; it felt far too much like the doctor was treating him like a pet or animal that was performing particularly well
( ... )
The liquid machinery was in place. The circuitry necessary implanted in the projection points. Visual control had been given. The pilot program had been injected. Bit by bit everything was falling into place. The doctor smiled and turned away, picking up the last of it. All that remained was giving Brainy mental control over what was happening. It would take quite a bit of practice, he was certain, but for a Coluan perhaps learning the ropes would be a bit easier than it had been for the other failed test subjects. He really hoped it would. Most of the failed experiments had ended up in the incinerator
( ... )
"You know who I am, Brainiac 5, just as you know why you are here," he said, one finger pressing down on the intercom button. The cold edge to his voice suddenly melted and it seemed as if the doctor was distracted as he began to speak again. It was unclear whether he was speaking to himself or to Brainiac 5, although his questions were most certainly directed at him. "Perhaps the better question is whether or not you are the right subject for this, hm ( ... )
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He turned away and picked up the next syringe, identical to the first. "If the pain ever becomes too much, just tell me. I'd be happy to change to a different subject and spare you."
Oh, but the boy wouldn't take that path, would he? Never. Not him. Not the hero. He would tough this out or he'd suffer endlessly a different sort of hell, one brought by his own weakness. The doctor returned to Brainy's side and tapped his face again. "Your other eye now. Are you ready?"
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He gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut the moment the doctor released him and tried not to cry out too much. He had to be stronger than this. Superman would have been stronger than this. Peter would have been stronger than this, which was why he had to make sure they didn't take his friends instead.
He shook his head vehemently at the suggestion that he could just give in and end this easily. "No, I won't," he managed through clenched teeth. "I won't let you hurt them ( ... )
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"This isn't considered science in my time; it's torture."
In one way the talking helped. He could channel his pain, fear, and frustration into that, try and hold off the urge to fight and scream for everything to stop, because the moment it did and they decided to finish their experiments with someone else, then he'd have lost. Lost and doomed someone like Peter or the Doctor as well.
"The only thing I understand is that you're doing this out of some twisted desire to--" He broke off with a cry as the tip of syringe bit into his skin and the strange liquid seeped and crawled into his body, burning and strangely cold at the same time.
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The boy could be so stubborn sometimes, but that was why they'd chosen him. Well, sort of. They'd chosen him because the experiment was perfect for him. He and his team had slaved away to tailor the entire thing to him, all for him, everything to make it perfect suited to him. They knew he wouldn't sacrifice others to save himself, but they also knew how the implication that he might would irk him. Everything, down to the smallest detail, all for him - and he didn't yet notice ( ... )
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No point in lying. He'd said he would explain things to the boy anyway, so why should he lie now? From here on, things would be so much worse, so much more barbaric by Brainy's Coluan standards ( ... )
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This? This was invasive and horrific and he wanted to scream out for the doctor to stop... except that if he did, the man would, which was worse. If he'd known that nothing he could have done would stop it, it would have been easier to scream and rage against the man tormenting him, but since the doctor had already made it clear that if he protested, they would simply take someone he cared about instead... He couldn't do anything of the sort. He had to remain silent at all costs. No protests that they couldn't do this, no screams for him to stop, no matter how bad the pain got to be ( ... )
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