Victor Stone had resigned himself to the fact that he was completely alone in the world. He had comrades, but they were completely organic. He had people he'd consider calling 'friend', but they were organic as well. They had secret identities. They...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"There's nothing we can do." Doctor Gray explained regretfully to Victor, who had been waiting outside Harper's hospital room for almost two days; they had refused to let him enter until she was stable. The medical professional appeared almost afraid to relay this news to the cyborg. "The injuries she sustained were severe, but treatable. Some of them have already started to heal, but that's not what's killing her."
Victor paced left and right, constantly, with the untameable feeling of uselessness. "There has to be something. Anything."
"Honestly, we're not even sure what it is. All we know for certain is that her body couldn't fight against it and heal her new injuries simultaneously. While her immune system was occupied with the blood loss, broken bones and burns, her cells began to decay even faster." The Doctor never met Victor's gaze. Not even once. it didn't matter though. Nothing mattered as long as Harper's life was still in danger.
"Where is the source of this cellular decay?" Victor asked urgently.
"I'm sorry?" Gray replied, bewildered by such a direct question.
"If it's spreading, there has to be a point of origin." Victor halted his erratic movements, and instead simply stared at the ground beneath him. It was glistening under the artificial light, but there were small bolts of blood stained into the tiles that could never be scrubbed out.
"The...vertebrae in the Lumbar section of her spinal column."
Victor's head finally snapped upward, eyes directing themselves towards the doctor. "Then take it out."
"Even if we did, it wouldn't cure her. She'll still die..."
"But not now." Victor argued. In that moment he would have done anything to save her, no matter the cost. "If we remove the primary cause, then we could delay it for at least another few years."
"I don't think you understand. The infected tissue is embedded in her spine. No man on Earth could perform that procedure without causing lethal trauma."
Silence engulfed them both. It echoed in Victor's head and forced the reality of the situation inside. He couldn't let her die, but he knew that there would be a price for his own selfish desire to keep her with him a little longer. "I'm not a man."
Victor pushed passed the doctor, who didn't even try to stop him. He knew that no one could. Cyborg was a hero, but there was no sane person that would dare oppose him. More out of general terror of his mysterious technology rather than anything else.
————————
Harper's eyes fluttered open, and were left to stare at a blank white ceiling. It was the smell that hit her first. It was a sterile scent with the underlying metallic reek of antiseptic beneath. She recognised the odour as distinctly medical. She was in a hospital. That much was clear.
