Adam had expected a room.
He had expected guards outside, cameras in the corners, maybe a table, and maybe one bed. That would have been bad, but at least it would have looked like a room.
Instead, he was standing inside a glass-walled cell.
The cell was not on the Helicarrier. Adam could tell from the quiet floor and the lack of engine vibration. This was some S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, somewhere underground or hidden inside a larger building. The walls were thick, the door was sealed from the outside, and the upper frame felt too much like the cage he remembered from the movie.
It was not exactly Loki's cell, but it was close enough to make Adam's stomach twist.
"You have got to be kidding me," he muttered.
He walked to the transparent wall and looked out. Two agents stood outside, a camera sat above the door, and another small device was aimed at the center of the cell.
Adam turned slowly.
"They are treating me like Hulk," he said under his breath. "No, worse. Hulk and Loki package deal."
That thought was not funny for long.
If they were willing to put him in something like this, then they really did think he was dangerous, not just useful or strange.
Adam looked down at the Omnitrix.
The dial was green.
He knew he could leave if he wanted to. Big Chill could phase through walls, and Diamondhead could break things if he had to. The thought made him feel better for a second.
Then he remembered Steve telling him this was not over.
Adam sat down on the simple bench near the wall and forced himself to wait.
A few hours passed like that.
Food came first. A tray was pushed through a sealed slot with water, a wrapped sandwich, and something that was supposed to be fruit.
"Great," he said. "Prison lunch."
He still ate it.
Not long after that, Steve came to see him.
Captain America stopped outside the cell, and the guards stepped back. Adam stood up at once.
"Please tell me this is the part where you say it was all a big misunderstanding," Adam said.
Steve's face stayed serious. "I wish I could."
Adam let out a slow breath. "That is not the heroic answer I wanted."
"I know," Steve said. "But listen to me. You are not alone here."
Adam looked at the thick glass between them.
Steve noticed. "I know how this looks."
"Do you?" Adam asked. "Because from this side, it looks very Loki-flavored."
Steve's jaw tightened a little. "I spoke to Fury. He says this is temporary."
"Fury says a lot of things."
"So do I," Steve said. "And I am telling you we are with you."
Adam wanted to make another joke, but it did not come out. He only nodded.
Steve stayed a few minutes longer and asked if anyone had threatened him or touched the watch. Adam answered honestly.
Then a doctor arrived with two assistants and three armed agents.
Adam saw the medical case first.
His whole body went cold.
"No," he said immediately.
Steve turned. "What are you doing?"
The doctor stopped outside the cell. "Basic examination. Vitals, blood sample, tissue sample, and surface scan."
Adam backed away from the door.
"Absolutely not."
The doctor looked at Steve, then at the guard control panel. "Director Fury approved the examination."
Adam's eyes dropped to the Omnitrix.
He knew what blood and tissue samples meant in stories like this. Give one secret agency one sample, and sooner or later someone worse would have it.
"Nope," Adam said.
Before anyone could open the cell, he raised his wrist.
He did not carefully scroll through the alien list or act like he was making a formal choice. He simply slapped his palm hard against the Omnitrix face.
To the people outside, the watch only flashed green.
To Adam, the selection snapped open and Diamondhead's silhouette appeared.
He slammed the dial again.
Power rushed through him.
His height rose, his body grew denser, and the crystal pattern spread over his skin. He still looked mostly human from a distance, but his skin had become hard, sharp, and almost glass-like.
The doctor froze.
Adam looked at him through the glass. "Now you can do your basic examination."
Steve closed his eyes for one second.
The cell door opened after more guards arrived.
They did not rush him. The doctor came in slowly with one assistant holding a scanner and another carrying a sealed tray. Adam sat on the bench and held out his arm like he was doing them a favor.
The first needle touched his skin and bent. The doctor tried a thicker one, but that one did not even leave a mark.
One assistant brought a small cutting tool and pressed it carefully against Adam's forearm. A thin scraping sound filled the cell, but the tool slid off the crystal layer without cutting deep enough to draw anything.
Adam watched the whole thing with a tight smile.
"This feels like a bad time to say I told you so."
The doctor did not answer.
They tried a pressure injector next. It clicked against his arm and failed. A small drill-like sampler made Adam flinch, but it still did not break through properly. Only a few tiny crystal flakes came loose from a cracked edge of his transformed skin.
The assistant collected those flakes like they were gold.
The only usable result was a few broken pieces of crystal skin.
By the time the team left, Adam was still sitting on the bench in Diamondhead form.
The report reached Fury less than an hour later.
Maria Hill stood beside him while the medical lead explained it.
"We could not get a blood sample," the doctor said. "The transformed skin is crystallized and extremely dense. Standard tools failed, and small arms fire may have little effect unless aimed at exposed weak points."
Fury looked at the small container on the table.
"And that?"
"Surface fragments only," the doctor said. "Not enough for full biology, but enough to confirm the outer structure is not normal human tissue."
Fury's face did not change.
Across the facility, copies of that report moved through hands that were not supposed to have them. One file was scanned, another was photographed, and a third was copied into a restricted drive.
The label changed before the file disappeared into Hydra channels.
[Subject: Adam]
[Classification: Enhanced Extraterrestrial Asset]
[Priority Interest: Omnitrix]
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