Selina squinted her eyes against the harsh fluorescent lighting. Her head was swimmy and there was a dull buzz in her ears. The last thing she remembered was lying down on the couch in Tabitha's office. She had been so tired after their shopping trip that she nearly fell asleep in the car on the way back to The Sirens. Barbara had suggested Selina should rest and offered Tabitha's office since she and Butch were out running errands.
Groggily, Selina raised her arm to cover her face but it only moved a few inches before meeting resistance. She peeked down to see a padded leather strap around each wrist. Instead of her own clothes, she was covered in a sterile-looking white cotton hospital gown. A third strap crossed over her chest, pinning her down. She couldn't lift her head enough to see but she guessed there were probably straps on her ankles as well. Selina tested the theory and panicked when she realized she couldn't move her legs, or anything else below her belly button, for that matter.
"Hold her still," a familiar male voice ordered. "This is a delicate procedure."
Heavy hands fell on Selina's shoulders pressing them firmly into the hard bed. Selina tried to bite one of the hands and received a slap across the face for her efforts. She saw stars and the coppery taste of blood filled her mouth.
"I said 'hold her' not 'hit her,' you Cretin," the voice scolded. "We need her unharmed, at least for the time being."
"Sorry, Doctor," the man attached to the hands apologized in a slow lumbering voice.
"Selina," the first voice addressed her. "You need to stay very still. I don't want to have to sedate you again, it's not good for the fetus."
"Let me go!" Selina's voice came out shaky and higher pitched that normal.
"You'll be free to go when we're done here," The doctor assured her calmly. "Now, you might feel some pressure. I recommend you refrain from moving."
"What are you doing to me?" She demanded.
"Amniocentesis. We need a sample of your amniotic fluid," the doctor explained matter-of-factly.
A large syringe floated into her field of view. She screamed and continued struggling.
"Please be still. This needle is very sharp, I wouldn't want to miss and hit the fetus by mistake," the doctor warned.
Selina looked at the needle fearfully. It looked long enough to go all the way through her.
When Selina was very young, her mom had taken her to a magic show. One of the magical tricks featured the magician's assistant arranging herself neatly into a large, round basket which was subsequently run through with several slender swords. It had taken Selina a few years before she realized the real magic was how the assistant expertly folded herself into the basket so that the sharp swords would miss her. Selina held her breath as the needle pierced her skin and hoped her baby could do the same.
"I could probably bring it back if it was lost but I've never brought back one this young before. I wonder if the resurrection would even work on a fetus," the doctor mused and suddenly Selina recognized the voice.
"Dr. Strange?" She asked after the needle was removed.
"You do remember me," Hugo Strange says in an amused tone. "How sweet."
"I remember everyone who tries to kill me," Selina replied with bitterly.
"I'm sure you do," Strange said absentmindedly. He rolled his chair across the room. He switched on a light in the corner farthest from where Selina lay. A desk with a microscope and various other laboratory implements came into view.
"Sometimes I even get to return the favor," Selina muttered under her breath.
"You know, Subject 514A was no miracle. He is the result of years of experimentation and failure. He is a work of art and science, sculpted with my very own hands," Strange rambled as he emptied the syringe of amniotic fluid into several test tubes. He ignored Selina's threat entirely. "It's very nice of you to offer to incubate his replacement."
"What are you talking about? I never offered any such thing." The large man charged with holding Selina down during the amniocentesis had disappeared freeing her to continue testing her bonds in search of a weakness.
"It is very difficult - not to mention costly - to make one such as Subject 514A," Strange continued. "I hadn't planned on breeding him, not this soon, at least. I'm glad he was able to manage such a feat on his own. Since the recent developments, it will be very handy to have a backup."
"Breeding…?" Selina wasn't sure she had heard right. "No, Bruce Wayne is the father, not Five." Selina hoped whatever they doped her with didn't include a truth serum.
"Nice try, child," Strange said with a laugh. "You can take that story to the tabloids. Let them give you your fifteen minutes of fame, but don't insult me with your lies. Among my many, many talents is the ability to read a calendar, not to mention my own custom genetic markers."
Selina's heart sank. A normal DNA test would most likely show Bruce as the father of her baby, but Strange had made Five special. There was more that just normal DNA in him that his creator would know how to find.
"You can't take my baby," Selina said weepily. She wished her voice didn't sound so whiny. "I won't let you."
Strange laughed again. "My dear, that baby has been mine since its inception. Subject 514A, Five, as you call him, is the express property of my employers. Anything he makes is theirs by default and, by extension, mine. There really is nothing you can do about that."
That's not entirely true. Selina thought heavy heartedly of the nearly forgotten blue and white packet of tiny pills stashed under a loose floor board in her flat along with some emergency money. There is one thing I can do about it. I just need to get out of here.