Chapter Text
Martin wasn't sure exactly what he expected at the Vampire Research Lab run by Gertrude Robinson but it certainly wasn't the terrified man staring up at him when he, Gerry, Sasha, and Tim opened up the coffin. There was thrashing while he watched Tim secure the muzzle, Gerry the restraints, and Sasha the IV with the 0.01% vervain solution that kept them calm but not unconscious, but it wasn't the thrashing of a vicious monster. It was the panicked thrashing of a person woken up from sleep to find themselves in an uncomfortably bright room being pinned down, muzzled, restrained, and stabbed. Martin unconsciously stepped over from where he was observing and grabbed the man's unhooked-up hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
Terrified glowing red eyes turned to look at him and Martin was almost convinced they'd made a mistake and grabbed a human instead of a vampire until he noticed that the man's panting revealed four pointed fangs extending below the rest of his teeth. “W-what's… what's going on?” The vampire quaked and Martin felt a surge of pity - was this really the ethical thing to do? Then he remembered the stories of vampires brutally taking people out from his orientation and shook his head clear. It wasn't personal, it was just a fact that vampires ate humans. And unlike the vampire hunter types who simply killed them, like Julia and Trevor or Daisy and Basira, Gertrude wished to study the creatures to try to find a way to either cure or at least minimize the impacts of vampirism. She might not have been the kindest to her charges and was undeniably ruthless with her failed experiments but she had the greater good at heart. After all, vampires were simply people who had had the misfortune of contracting the vampirism virus and Gertrude was determined to do anything that it took to keep it from overtaking humanity completely.
“What's your name?" Sasha looked down at the man over the edge of her clipboard and her tone wasn't quite unkind but a bit brisk. The tone of the seasoned scientist, Martin thought.
The man simply looked up at her and continued panting, his breath coming out in short ragged gasps. Sasha sighed.
“You can also choose to keep it a secret and we can give you an experimental name but we offer our subjects the choice - we don’t want to dehumanize you any more than is absolutely necessary.” She smiled gently. “Or you can simply pick a name you’d like us to use for you. It’s your decision.”
The man gasped. “J-Jon. My name… is Jon. Jon Sims.”
Sasha nodded and wrote it down. “Welcome, Jon. We apologize if this wake-up hasn’t been the most pleasant experience but assure you that it is all for the greater good of humanity.”
Jon’s eyes flicked from Tim to Martin to Sasha to Gerry in rapid succession, trying to keep a view on all their movements. Tim was preparing a solution across the room, Martin was still holding his hand and looking at him with eyes full of pity, Sasha was making notes on her clipboard… Jon let out a yelp and fruitlessly tried to pull away as Gerry stuck him. “Hey, easy. We just need a sample to collect some of the virus to see how much you’ve got and how much it’s mutated.” Gerry gently patted his arm and placed some gauze atop the newly formed puncture wound. “All done.”
Jon panted harder, his mouth hanging completely open now, and his fangs glistening in the fluorescent lights. Martin thought he recognized that sight - he’s going to faint, isn’t he? - and then sure enough the man’s eyes rolled back in his head and he went limp.
“Did we use too much vervain?” Sasha looked up from where she’d been monitoring and writing down the vital readings from the nearby machines. “He’s small but I wouldn’t think that the amount we gave him was enough to cause this.”
Martin shook his head. “I think he fainted.” Upon the others’ quizzical looks he explained. “It’s happened to me in the past too - he can’t take the, uhm, medical procedures.”
Sasha nodded. “Ah, I see.” She stepped over and put a hand to Jon’s forehead. “Not sweaty - I guess vampires don’t do that - but he does feel… off. I’ll go see what Gertrude recommends for a vampire in a fainting spell.”
Martin simply nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding the man’s hand, and he began to gently massage it. Easy, little vampire. You’re really not a thing like I expected - no vicious attacking lunges or snarls or anything. I mean, maybe you would have been were you not immediately restrained and drugged upon waking up but it still feels… unexpected. He gently brushed some hair out of his face where it had fallen in the struggle. Wouldn’t want that to tickle your nose when you wake up - it’s not like you can even move it away. He sighed as his eyes fixed on the bands tying Jon to the bed, his arms, legs, and chest carefully held down. It’s going to be okay. I’ll take care of you.