A/N: It's been quite a long while, hasn't it? Well, the business and spontaneity of life is unpredictable. Anyway, I seemed to have wrangled my muse for this story for now. Hopefully she behaves and stays till the end. Enjoy!~

CHAPTER 15: More than Normal

Word Count: 1,284 words

"It seems the fleshling girl is still alive. Barricade seems to have survived as well- Ack!" Starscream flinched when the mech working on his damaged plating touched some exposed wiring in his shoulder. The Air Commander growled, but the silent scientist working on his injuries merely vented air in what sounded like a contemplative hum.

"The human that radiates allspark radiation?" The mech paused his work, waiting for a response.

Starscream rolled his optics, a human gesture that he seemed to have picked up. "Yes, yes. The same one." He said, a bit irritated. He was impatient for his repairs to be done with, but he knew better than to complain, considering just who was digging around his shoulder at the moment.

"The human would make for an interesting test subject." The scientist turned to pick up another tool from the surface where the implements were lined. "Allspark radiation logically means allspark energy. Harnessing it would be most advantageous."

"That was what I was thinking..." Starscream would have smirked, but the coldness of his companion hindered him from doing so.

Shockwave was not one for emotions.

::Sergeant! We're at the brig level.::

Epps let out a relieved breath. It took them long enough to find a way down there. They'd had to move a lot of rubble and get around collapsed hallways. Today marked the third day of the rescue.

The dark skinned man placed his intertwined fingers in front of his mouth as he focused on the feed that was coming from a headcam one of the soldiers was wearing. The frame was somewhat shaky as the rescue team continued forward, picking their way around the pieces of concrete and steel that littered the ground.

::There's less rubble down here, but one section of the corridor's wall collapsed.::

"Is it blocking the Con's cell?" Epps asked to confirm what he was seeing on the video and what the red dots on a different monitor was displaying.

::Yes sir... but there's about a third of the entrance still open, closer to the ceiling.::

The feed showed a large section of the wall and ceiling had crumbled into a pile of twisted metal and concrete in front of Barricade's cell. However, true to the soldier's description, the upper portion was dark, indicating an opening that the team could use.

"Is it stable, Bumblebee?" Ratchet commed the scout. It took a moment for the young Autobot to analyze the debris before the CMO received an affirmative whir. The neon green mech relayed the information and nodded toward Epps.

Bumblebee received a strange ping on his scanners though, and he sent a databurst to Ratchet.

"Be ready Bumblebee. Barricade is in that cell as well. Though he may not risk being violent with the possibility of another collapse, he is a volatile mech, even with his weapons disabled." Ratchet warned.

The scout simply gave a thumbs up and nodded to the camera, readying his blaster just in case.

"Get the kid out of there, but be careful, ladies. You heard the doc." Epps tried to lighten the solemn mood slightly.

::Bee's giving us a lift right now. We're at the opening.::

The video feed shook as the soldier with the camera shimmied carefully forward and through the hole. The inside of the cell seemed eerily quiet and the beam of light that came from the headcam flit over the perimeter of the space before landing on Barricade's helm.

The Decepticon's optics flared to life and focused on the soldier who was staring at him. The poor man almost wet himself.

"You fleshbags should get moving if you want this femme alive." A deep, mechanical voice cut through the darkness.

Carefully, but quickly, Ash was brought out of the wreck. Relief filled Epps when he saw the orange stretcher emerge from the doors of the hangar.

The remaining medical staff rushed to assess her condition. Ratchet was close by, eager to do a scan.

"There's a deep laceration in her shoulder. Strange... it looks like it was repeatedly cauterized and reopened."

"She's dehydrated. Lips and fingernails are blue, low blood pressure, weak pulse."

Ratchet cursed. "Slag. She's in hypovolemic shock."

"Dopamine!" A syringe full of the said liquid was quickly jabbed into the girl's pale arm.

"Hand over those blankets!" They needed to get her warm.

Robert really hated his position, but Will was busy with Optimus trying to find another place for them to set up a proper base, and Epps was the man the captain really trusted.

"Bee... What's the status on the con?" Epps turned back from the frantic medical staff to his monitor.

Bumblebee slowly worked on lifting and moving concrete sections. A team of apprehensive soldiers watched, alert and ready if the mech beneath the rubble decided to make a move.

"So... Prime decided I'm worthy to live? Ha..." Barricade ground out sardonically as more of the rubble blocking his exit was removed. He didn't like the idea that his spark was actually being rescued by an Autobyte. He absolutely abhorred the idea of being helpless.

The yellow scout let out a hum and shook his helm, continuing his work. Bumblebee wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't come down here, but he'd seen what remained of the crushed IV stand beneath a large section of concrete and the blood smear on the floor that led to the cell.

The final piece of the puzzle fell into place when he moved enough debris to free Barricade. The hunter hotly rejected any form of assistance to help him walk, proud as he was. He growled at the humans as he staggered his way out, one leg half crushed. Bumblebee and the soldiers followed right behind him with their weapons primed and ready. From his position, the young Autobot took note of the severe scorch marks on the con's shoulder, arm, and both servos.

**Diego Garcia**
**One week later**

"We already gave her a transfusion to replace the blood she lost, but it looks like she's slipped back into that coma like state she was in two weeks ago." One of the medical staff looked at the papers clipped to her file and shook his head. "With her body slinging between these traumatic states, there will definitely be some long term effects. But, she should be awake already."

"Indeed... but her heart rate is still a good deal slower than what is normal for a human."

"She has no reason to be in stasis. Three days should have been more than enough for her to recover from her hypovolemia. It's been a week. Going over her bloodwork, cell count, hemoglobin, the nutrients in her body... Everything is at the right levels."

After a moment, Ratchet's optics brightened suddenly, an idea crossing his processor. "Everything is at the "right" levels..."

"That's what I said..." The human doctor deadpanned.

"Yes." Ratchet said in a bit hotly, his temper flaring. "Right levels for a normal human. However, she is not a normal human anymore."

"You're not suggesting-"

"She had nanites rampaging through her body for a week. Energon tainting her blood even before Mission City..."

"If you're wrong, you could end up killing her-"

"I do not want to wait for her pulse to get so weak it stops again before we try!" Ratchet ground out, optics looking sideward. He knew the risks.

He moved to the door of the medical wing of their new base in Diego Garcia. "Come along, doctor." The medical officer brought up the records of girl's previous bloodwork, making calculations as he walked. Yes, he knew the risks. But he was not about to take one with his patient without taking some precautions.

A/N: Much shorter than my usual chapters, but it's something. Thoughts? Suggestions? Comments? Let me know with a review. I'd love to know what you guys are thinking. Till next time~