A Week Later, 7:04 PM

The ICU ward was almost unnaturally quiet, with the only noises being the quiet hiss of a
mechanical respirator and the muffled footsteps of the two duty nurses. One of the beds was
occupied, with a second one having been wheeled out several hours ago when its occupant had
regained consciousness. The person who had been removed was a young member of the spec-ops
team who had landed on a claymore mine in his last live-fire exercise, and ended up with several
metal braces to keep his bones together until they healed.
The sole remaining occupant was still heavily bandaged, looking more like a mummy than
a person. However, many of the bandages had been removed, revealing that most of the smaller
lacerations and bruises had faded away to nothingness. Outside of the ICU, leaning against the
plexiglass window was a massive tank of a man, looking like he had enough muscles to compare
with an elephant. At this point he was observing the unconscious form in the ward, but soon turned
around to look at the lanky, bearded doctor who had walked up behind him.
"Hello Wilson. Come to check in on her?" The doctor removed his glasses, wiping them
clean on his tie before replacing them. Wilson scruffed at his heavy beard with one hand, then
shrugged.
"Well, it just doesn't feel right without her awake. Hell, on my first day here, she sheeted me
as a prank. I've never seen any CO, military or otherwise do something like that." the Doctor
chuckled as Wilson continued. "She's wild, undisciplined, utterly contemptuous of her superiors,
and unarguably the most humanitarian and best-skilled of all of us. Please tell me she's going to get
better Sorbie."
"She will. However, it will take many more months for her mind to heal than her body, both
of which were severely abused during her involuntary tenure in that hellhole. Sadly, I think that, with
her mind in such an unstable state, she might decide to take revenge on those who she would believe
put her there."
"Really? Who would those people be?"
"Yourself, for not backing her up. Vincent, for convincing her to do such a crazy mission.
Everyone in the prison who assaulted her, physically, sexually, or mentally."
"I agree with the people at the prison, and sometimes even I'd love to kick Vincent's ass out
of his twentieth story office window, but me? Why?"
"Inside her mind, she may connect her capture to not enough help from the other members
of the team, despite the fact that she specifically said that she'd do it alone." Sorbie readjusted his
glasses as he noticed that his patient had begun to shift her left arm again. He tapped on the glass in
a prearranged code, and the nurses repositioned the patient's arm.
"What about her other injuries doc?"
"The minor injuries have cleared up, but her left arm will lose some mobility due to damage
done to her ligaments. Also, she'll never regenerate the two fingers that had been amputated by the
guards, and her right eye will take several months to get used to before she can see normally. Finally,
her knee will be stiff for several weeks after she gets back on her feet. All in all, she's going to be
in for a long, painful recovery."
"Still, she's going to recover, and that's good enough. Look, I have to go, but if there's any
change in her condition, page me. Hell, I won't care if you do that in the middle of the night, but just
call me if anything happens."
"I will. Don't worry Wilson, she has me for a doctor, after all." Wilson nodded, shook
Sorbie's hand, and walked away, looking like someone had squashed all the willpower out of him.


Several Levels up, 7:29 PM

"Look, I don't care about the situation in Meridiana, she's not going anywhere until we're
sure of her recovery!"
"I know that, but she's the only one qualified to go into an area rife with paranormal
sightings, constant gunfights, and borderline psychotics. Hell, that city is worse than Gotham! I
swear Commissioner Gordon must be having conniption fits when people like the Joker break out
of that asylum of theirs." Vincent smirked as he remembered how Selina had gone into the city
during the no-man's-land incident and helped crush some of the really insane cults that had popped
up during that chaotic year.
The older man sighed, and rubbed his eyes slowly. "Still, she's severely injured, and her
mind will probably take years to recover. When we found her, she was bordering on catatonia."
After a moment's thought, the older man sighed again. "Okay, you win!" he said, shaking
his head. "We'll send Wilson's beta team to Meridiana for the first stint, and he can start to establish
a branch office and infrastructure system to assist the police in containing all these vigilantes. After
Selina recovers, we'll send her down with Zeta team."
"Zeta team!?! Are you crazy? They're the most gun-crazy, undisciplined, and mean bunch
of louts under our employ!" Vincent nearly exploded, but remembered who he was talking to.
"And, if you haven't noticed, Selina is the same except for two things: she's the toughest
person here, and she's a mother. That reminds me, Dr. Sorbie called before you came in,
recommending that Wilson visit Oroborus for a few days. After all, he hasn't visited his god-
daughter in almost a year."
"I have no problem with Wilson visiting, but he's gonna have to go to Meridiana in a month."
"Okay. Let's tell the teams." Vincent stood up, nodded at his superior, and walked away,
leaving the older man to figure out what's next. Shuffling through a sheaf of papers, the old man
found something that managed to cause him to laugh, but didn't explain himself when his secretary
walked in, wondering what the laughter was about.