The room was silent except for the steady beep of the heart monitor. Oliver sat in a chair near the bed, his eyes on the still form of the girl laying in the bed. She had finally stilled, the agony silenced for the moment. He wasn't even sure what had happened to her. His herbs had managed to send her into a comatose state but it did nothing to alleviate the pain and agony that had been inflicted on her. It had taken five hours before she had finally fallen silent. During that time, every bone in her body had been crushed and re-crushed.

He sighed lightly and leaned forwards, his hands resting on his knees as he looked over the girl. She looked to be about 17 or 18 years old but with her ageless skin and petite frame, he was sure she could probably pass for much much younger if she wanted. Her skin had a sun-kissed tan look to it and her hair a silvery white mixture. She had tattoos over her entire body that shimmered and shinned like silver. He would bet his last dollar that the ink HAD been mixed with silver. they were a mixture of Viking runes and Celtic with some unrecognizable runes hidden within the designs.

He pulled his gaze from the girl to his sister as Thea walked in. "Hey, how is she doing?" she asked as she leaned against the door frame of the room.

"About the same. I think whatever was happening to her has passed." He leaned back in his chair. He needed to shower and to change. He was still wearing the cloths that she had bled on but he had been afraid to leave her side. He was afraid that one of the violent fits would happen again and he was afraid what would happen if she awoke while he was gone.

"Soo...wanna explain." Thea asked motioning to the girl in the bed.

"I don't know." When Thea lifted a brow in disbelief. "Seriously. I don't know. As far as I knew she was just a wolf. Well, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Yeah," He moved over to the bed and rested his hands on the sheets, his stormy silver blue eyes looking down at the girl. He stood silent for so long that Thea didn't think he would answer her. "She was a pup when I was on Lian Yu." He laughed a short sad laugh as he looked back on the memory. "I couldn't have survived the first few weeks if it hadn't been for her bringing me food, showing me what was poisonous, what areas to avoid ..she kept me safe, and she kept me Sane. I would talk to her and it always felt like she understood what I was saying. One day she just disappeared." He turned to his sister, placing a hip on the bed as he crossed his arms. "I.." he paused again, finding it hard to talk to his sister about what happened. "I found out more about her through Amanda."

"Amanda. A.R.G.U.S Amanda?"

He nods lightly. "She had been an experiment they had been working on to create the perfect soldier, eight litters of puppies and she was the only survivor. I still don't know everything about her but...Amanda said that they had manipulated her DNA. They did something to make her faster and more agile then a normal wolf. She had better hearing and a better sense of smell as well. She was smart. Really smart and she found ways to communicate even if she couldn't speak." He glance back over at the girl as he spoke. "They had somehow altered her DNA ..something about accelerating her natural healing ability."

Thea remained silent, listening.

"Thea, I have seen her take bullets from a full auto and still remain on her feet and charging. It ..was like the Marikuru serum but without the madness."

"Oh, wow..."

"Yeah, like I told you, I'm not denying she is dangerous." He sighed again. "I didn't know she could change form, I don't know if she always could or if that is something of a newer development. And the tattoos...that's a new accessory as well."

"What was happening to her? That was...awful."

"I wish I knew. I guess we will have to find out when she wakes up."

"If.." Thea said with her eyes on the girl.

"Yeah, if..."

# # # # # #

(Adskaya Past, Russia, 2 years ago)

Nikita paced the length of the small cage that contained her. She wasn't sure where she was or why she was here, but she could sense evil in the air. The feeling intensified as am man clad in all black with Ice white hair and startling ice blue eyes walked into the room. She instantly lowered her head, baring every tooth in her head. Unlike her cousin, the dog, Nikita hunted like the wolf, soundless. The growl that rose from her throat was strictly for the human's understanding. She didn't know this man but she didn't like him. All of her instincts told her to not let him touch her.

"Cute." The man said as he straightened one of his cuffs. With the flick of a hand, she was slammed against the bars of the cage, silver searing against her skin. She bit down a yelp and quickly regained her footing. This time the man closed his hand and the wolf's front left leg shattered. Again she remained silent, balancing herself on three feet and staring the man down, ready to attack if given half a chance. "Aww ..puppy want to play?" He asked in a mocking tone as he unlatched the cage and pushed the door open.

Nikita lunged as soon as the lock was off the door. She was quick, much quicker then he had expected. She managed to get the upper hand on him as she landed on him, biting down on his shoulder blade. Before she could re-adjust her grip to do more damage, she was flung away from him and slammed into the far wall. She sprang back to her feet, her crushed leg now completely healed.

"Oh this is going to be fun!" He gave her a motion with his hand to signal that she should attack him.

Instead, she circled around him slowly, looking for a weakness or a drop in his guard. Finding her chance, she lunged once more. She felt a blast of force hit her and it slid her back a few feet before she concentrated enough to push it from her, the tattoo's across her body glowing softly, even through her fur. The loss of power surprised the man for an instant but it was all she needed to once more attack, her teeth sinking into the back of his calf. He cried out and slammed a fist into her muzzle, causing her to lose her grip. Once more, she was flung against the far wall. She felt bones shatter as she hit. She could do nothing more then to lay there panting as the man walked up to her. With his fist closed, he raised his hand, an invisible force lifting the wolf up by it's neck.

"That was fun but I'm done playing." He threw her once more against the wall. "But first we need to deal with these pesky tattoos of yours." Pain flared through her as the tattoos glowed like a small sun. A scream erupted as her skin caught on fire. Before her eyes, her form began to warp and twist as the man called her out of her alternate form. As he muttered an incantation under his breath, the pain intensified.

The pigments of the ink that had been used to create the tattoos warped and changed until the dark black lines glimmered and glowed. As the process finished, Nikita hovered on the border of life and death. There was a constant burn anywhere that had been tattooed, the ink now done in silver.

"Now, " The man walked over to the now naked girl and lifted her head up by her hair. Nikita groaned in pain. "First the introductions. I am Damien Darhk." He smiled as the fear and recognition flashed across the girl's face. "And you are going to tell me...who trained you and where do I find them."