[OLD] The Scorpion Mission (#2)

Three

"Victoria."

Victoria jumped at the sound of her name. She'd taken a wrong turn a few hallways back and hadn't noticed, too deep in her own thoughts. To her right, Dr. Newman stood in an open doorway.

"Sorry Dr. Newman, I was just going to bed." Victoria looked around and realized she'd never been in this part of this ship before. "I guess I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."

"Don't worry about it. Actually, could you help me with something real quick? I don't know where my assistant went."

"Sure." Victoria followed Dr. Newman through the doorway into a small, white room. A counter ran along one wall, with cabinets hanging above it. He grabbed a blue curtain to the right and pulled it back.

"Oh," Victoria said. She hadn't realized this was Summer's room. She must have wandered into the medical wing of the ship. She'd only been here once, after the battle in D.C., to have her injuries looked at.

Summer was asleep. She was hooked up to several machines, and an IV tube was stuck in her left arm.

"Has she woken up at all?" Victoria asked. Dr. Newman hadn't told them much about her condition, except that it would be a while before anyone could see her.

"A few times, after the surgeries we had to do," Dr. Newman answered. He grabbed a bottle of hand sanitizer off the counter and handed it to Victoria. "We transported her to a hospital right after the battle and kept her there for a few days before bringing her back to the ship. We've got medical staff and basic equipment, but..."

"Not good enough for this." Victoria pumped some sanitizer into her hands. "What did you need my help with?"

Dr. Newman opened up a drawer and examined its contents. "She needs more surgery, so we're transporting her to another hospital tonight. A friend of mine who works there is sending a chopper soon. I just need to get some numbers real quick." He grabbed a clipboard off the counter and held it out. "I just need you to write them down. My short term memory isn't the greatest."

"Sure," Victoria said, taking the clipboard from him.

Dr. Newman pointed to the paper clipped on to it. "Heart rate goes here. These two boxes are for blood pressure. The first one is systolic, and the second is—"

"Diastolic," Victoria finished.

Dr. Newman smiled. "That's right. Most kids don't know that."

"I actually wanted to go into the medical field when I was younger," Victoria said. "I mean, I guess I still do, but I don't really think I could with all that's happened.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Newman said with a heavy sigh. "I really do hate this. Every Super on this ship, and even the ones working for Scorpion, deserve so much better. If I could send you back to your old lives and guarantee your safety, I would."

Victoria shrugged. "Should we get these numbers, then?"

"Of course." Dr. Newman wrapped the cuff around Summer's arm.

"You're not a medical doctor, right?" Victoria asked.

"No, I'm a biologist. I do know some basic procedures that the doctors here on the ship have showed me. Usually they take care of this stuff, but I told them to take a break. They've done so much for Summer already." Dr. Newman adjusted the cuff, and Summer stirred.

Victoria tensed as Summer's eyes opened. Should she say something? Apologize for what happened? Or would that be weird?

"Newman?" Summer mumbled.