Chapter Three:
Beneath the metal walls of Magneto's island, Yuriko stood over her unconscious patient silently as she put the last few stitches into Rebecca's arm.
The room was circular, with the same stone and metal walls as the rest of the fortress. The lights, however, were brighter here than in most areas and the tall reinforcement beams running from floor to ceiling shone with a sharp, silver light. Most surfaces in the room were constructed of metal and each piece of medical equipment was pristinely cared for.
Yuriko picked up a pair of gleaming surgical scissors from a tray to her left, and delicately trimmed the excess 'thread' from the last stitch. The wound had been clean, passing through Rebecca Malloy's shoulder without striking any bones or main arteries. The exit wound on the young woman's back had been partially cauterized, and Yuriko had examined it curiously before wrapping the wounds with gauze and bandages.
From a few feet away, Sid Malloy was leaning against the medical bed adjacent to his sister and watched Yuriko intently. He was still wearing his own bullet ridden shirt and suit jacket, and his expression was a mixture of concern and mistrust. Even though none of the Brotherhood had made any threatening comments or actions towards them, Sid still wanted to get out off this island as soon as possible. He knew Magneto was directly responsible for involving his family in this situation. Sid hoped Sebastian would be able to arrange transportation to get them home soon.
As Sid watched Yuriko work, he did relax slightly. Pyro's words on the helicopter had been very true. The Lady attended to the bullet wound with a skill that would have made the most practiced surgeon jealous. Sid frowned as the Lady completed wrapping Rebecca's wounds and walked across the room
"Well?" Sid said in an impatient tone, "Is she ok?"
Yuriko did not respond immediately, but spared the young man a glance as she hung an IV bag over Rebecca's bed.
"The bullet did not do any serious damage," the Lady said in an even tone, "And the blood loss was not as serious as I had first thought."
"Then what's with the drip?" Sid said, suspiciously.
Yuriko stared at him for a long moment. Her eyes were hard, but only because of his tone. Sid shifted uncomfortably under the weight of her gaze, and Yuriko looked down at Rebecca again.
"She's dehydrated," Yuriko explained without losing her cool demeanor, "Her hands and her lips have several breaks in the skin. I would assume this is due to the heat she created around her. But, also given the serious nature of her wound, it would be beneficial to provide her body with essential fluids intravenously until she regains consciousness."
Yuriko raised one eyebrow cynically, "As long as you approve, of course…"
Sid nodded and folded his arms, looking embarrassed. Yuriko's face remained emotionless as she continued on with her work. She attached a long needle to the end of the IV tube, and she noticed Sid shift uncomfortably again. She glanced at him, but Sid was staring at the long needle. After a moment, he turned away and walked toward the other side of the room.
Yuriko ignored his discomfort and shifted Rebecca's left arm away from her body. The young woman's palm was facing upward, and the Lady carefully drew the long sleeve of Rebecca's shirt up past her elbow. Yuriko paused as she stared down at the exposed forearm.
Beginning at the inner bend of Rebecca's elbow and trailing down towards her wrist were several entwining scars. They were old, fading at the ends closest to her hands, but Yuriko recognized what the wounds had been. She had many memories of devices used on mutants in experiments, and knew that intravenous methods were not gentle, especially if the subject had been of small build, or very young.
Carefully, respectfully, Yuriko turned Rebecca's arm over, so her palm was faced down. She showed no outward reaction, and quickly shook off an inner uneasiness at her discovery. She decided it would be wiser to find an appropriate vein to use that was not too close to the tangle of scars.
As Yuriko prepared to put the IV in place, she heard Rebecca's breathing change. She was waking up. Before the Lady could react, Rebecca's eyes had opened and the first thing they locked on was the shining needle near her hand. With one swift motion, Rebecca lunged away from the Lady and stumbled off the medical bed with a yelp of surprise.
"No!" the young woman screamed and fell hard to the floor. Rebecca's face was filled with terror as her first waking moments were overwhelmed with the memories of past trauma.
Rebecca was holding her hands out in front of her protectively, despite the sudden pain running down her right arm. There was nothing threatening in the motion, and Yuriko had not flinched as the young woman had leapt away.
"Please…please, don't…" Rebecca said breathlessly. The fright was fading from her face as she realized she was in no immediate danger, and her eyes looked weary and pained. Yuriko gazed down at her evenly, but inwardly was sympathetic.
Sid knelt down next to Rebecca and took her hands. She sighed audibly and held onto him with relief. As she relaxed, the wound on her shoulder flared painfully and she hissed as she drew her arm close to her body.
"Hey…" she said, glancing between her brother and the Lady, "Where are we? What happened?"
Sid grinned, but did not reply immediately. He was glad she was awake, but was hesitant to immediately start giving her details of what had happened to the base.
However, the Lady spoke first, and did not have the same appreciation of Rebecca's temporary lapse in memory as Sid.
"You were injured," she said quickly, pacing around the bed, "And you may have reopened the wound. As I was explaining to your brother, the bullet had not caused too much damage to your shoulder, but your sudden movements may have added to the injury. Are you able to stand?"
Rebecca nodded and touched her hand to her shoulder in confusion.
"Yeah, I think so," she said and Sid helped her to her feet. She sat on the medical bed and Yuriko began to unwrap the bandages.
Rebecca frowned as she watched the Lady work. The last moments she remembered from the base had been just after she was shot. She knew her power had been rising up in reaction to the attack, but she did not remember what had followed. She glanced at Sid, who met her gaze firmly, but she knew he would not tell her yet. Something had happened. He knew…she could tell he knew, but she did not question him for now. She would know eventually, but she dreaded finding out exactly what she had done.
When Yuriko was satisfied that the stitches were still in place, she placed the bandages around Rebecca's shoulder again.
"It would be wise for you to stay here a rest for a while longer," the Lady said firmly, but not unkindly.
"Where is here?" Rebecca asked.
"An island not far from the mainland," Yuriko replied, and before she could continue, Rebecca chuckled.
"Let me guess…" she said, "Secret, underground lair?"
Yuriko frowned curiously at the young woman's amusement, and Sid laughed.
"Remember?" Sid asked, "Magneto? Xavier? Sebastian finding out that a giant robot ate our house?"
Rebecca's eyes widened, "Oh, no…"
Sid waggled his cell phone in front of her eyes and Rebecca covered her face with her hand.
"Oh, no…" she repeated and sighed.
Yuriko smirked, "I'll inform Magneto you are conscious. He wishes to speak with you both soon, but not until you are well enough to leave the medical bay."
Sid looked at her angrily, "And just when will that be?"
Yuriko narrowed her eyes, "When I deem it is appropriate."
"Yeah, that's great," Sid shot back, "And please, let Magneto know, we're leaving as soon as our transportation arrives, whether or not you deem it's appropriate for us to go."
Yuriko raised one eyebrow, and spoke slowly, "Considering you have accepted our help, I would hope you would not be opposed to returning such a courtesy."
"Well, it certainly was a great courtesy for you to invade our home," Sid replied, "We definitely appreciated that."
The Lady's typically unwavering expression changed slightly, and she glared at him viciously.
Rebecca was sitting back on the medical bed, glancing uneasily between her brother and the Lady. The tension in the room was weighing on her.
"Ouch…" she said with loud sarcasm, "My shoulder…"
Sid rolled his eyes and shot her an annoyed look. The Lady regained her composure and looked evenly at her patient.
"I'll check on you in an hour," Yuriko said, and then added, "If you feel well enough to eat, I will make sure something is sent down."
Rebecca's face suddenly brightened at the prospect of food.
"That would be great, thanks," she replied quickly.
The Lady turned and headed out of the medical bay. Sid glared at her until she left the room and the door closed. Rebecca was looking at him with confusion and grinned.
"Well…" she began, "That sure helped a lot…"
"What?" Sid said angrily, "A mutant terrorist group tries to kidnap you and I'm supposed to be nice to them? Bull shit…"
Rebecca rubbed her shoulder with a sigh.
"Can you just not be a jackass while we're in their secret lair at least?" she asked and Sid laughed.
"Why do we always end up at secret lairs?" he asked with a grin.
Rebecca shrugged comically and then winced and grabbed her shoulder before replying.
"Just lucky, I guess."