Her pale skin was icy cold under his fingers. The bright light shone off the stainless steel table and made her skin almost glow. He took careful note of all the wounds on her body. Huge wounds had been sewn shut and wrapped in bandages. Her bones stuck out slightly, as if her skeleton was just a shade too big for her skin. She had apparently been tortured before she was killed; not at all like the other victims that he'd seen on his table.

He brought the sharp edge of his scalpel down with utter confidence. He needed to know how the girl died. A line of pink followed his movements as her pale skin split easily. He drew a long Y down her torso; not even flinching as the knife scrapped slightly against her sternum.

He put the scalpel off to the side and peeled the skin back to expose her slight ribcage. The door opened as he went to grab his next tool. "Hey, G…what's goin' on?" A man with dyed purple hair and a toothpick hanging out of his mouth asked as he walked over to the table. "New stiff, huh?"

"Your powers of observation are astounding…" Gaylord said blandly. "Christopher found her in the woods today."

"Not a bad face on her…if ya ignore the big ol' gash an' all…" the new man said jumping up to sit on a nearby stainless steel counter.

"I didn't know you were a necrophile, Davy." Gaylord commented as he walked back to the table.

Davy adjusted the pair of sunglasses that obscured his eyes and rolled the toothpick in his mouth. "I'm not…but ya gotta admit she's not exactly ugly or anything." He said awkwardly. "Anyway…what're you doing?"

"An autopsy. I want to know how much damage she survived before dying." Gaylord answered. There was a sickening snap as a large pair of bolt cutters sliced through a rib. Another snap followed. Then another. "She seems to have a mutated X-gene. If I can isolate the extent of her mutation I should be able to advance my own research." He said as another rib snapped.

"But…she's dead." Davy said.

"Another astute observation." Gaylord said as he put the bolt cutters off to the side. "It's amazing how much one can learn from the dead. But then you aren't much for learning are you?"

Davy frowned. "No need to be rude…remember I'm the reason you're being funded, Gaylord."

Gaylord paused, his bloody hands holding the sternum above the girl's body. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses and put the sternum aside. "I'm aware of your position, Davy." Gaylord bent closer to the opened chest and gently cut through the flesh.

Davy glanced over the body again. She only looked about sixteen or seventeen. It was times like this he really started reconsidering his current employment. It almost didn't seem worth it. Poor girl was nothing but a science experiment now.

What was that sound? It was horrible. Something being squished. He was vaguely aware of something moving inside his chest. It was horrifying and yet he couldn't find the strength to move. ~Deiu! Someone! Make it stop!~

Davy sat up straighter. His eyes must be playing tricks on him. He could have sworn the girl twitched a bit. Davy narrowed his eyes. The girl's eyes twitched and Davy's eyes widened. "She just moved…"

Gaylord looked up. "What?"

"She just fuckin' moved!"

"Don't be absurd. She's dead as a doornail." Gaylord said annoyed.

"I'm telling you she moved, G!"

Gaylord gave the other man a glare. "She's dead." He said.

Davy shook his head and pointed. Gaylord sighed and looked over at where Davy was pointing. After a moment, her brow twitched and Gaylord took a quick step back. "That's…that's impossible…"

Silence filled the room. As the two men watched the body that was still pulled open began to twitch a little more. Finally, her dead eyes closed and when they reopened they were completely alert; slit pupils thin from the harsh light.

Slowly Gaylord took a step forward. He looked down and immediately her eyes found his. "Immortal…"

"Good Lord…" Davy breathed in shock.

Gaylord ignored Davy completely, focused only on the supposedly dead girl on his table. Her lip trembled slightly. "You're still alive aren't you?" He said pushing a lock of white hair back.

"…w-where…am…am I?"

Gaylord smiled a bit. His luck just kept improving. He didn't have a dead mutant. He had a live mutant. "You're on my autopsy table, my dear."

Her eyes widened. "A-autop…sy?"

"I thought you were dead. Had I known you couldn't die I wouldn't have sliced you open like I did…but I don't suppose it matters to you any does it?" He asked glancing at the open rib cage. If possible her eyes widened further. "You're going to be of great help to me, my dear."

He could feel his eyes burning. This man was utterly mad. ~Help…someone…~ The man above him smiled and he could swear his heart would have stopped. ~Please…~