Pale, glaring fluorescent lights flooded the underground chamber beneath the old house. Several researchers in white sterile suits, dressed like surgeons, crowded around a cold alloy operating table.
Working alongside Dr. Arnim Zola's octopus-like mechanical arms, they busied themselves over the body of a woman missing her right leg below the knee and her left arm.
The Kree Empire's science officer Mar-Vell, once known by the alias Wendy Lawson, lay motionless on the operating table with her eyes shut tight. Large patches of skin were cracked and shriveled like parched earth. A transparent oxygen mask covered her nose and mouth, and her severed limbs had been carefully treated and bandaged.
A blue cloth covered her naked body, which was riddled from head to toe with tubes keeping her alive. After a moment, Dr. Zola studied the readings on the monitor. The little head wearing round glasses on the display in his chest nodded with lively satisfaction.
"Sir, this female alien's vital signs have stabilized. She's still unconscious, but compared with her other organs and tissues, many of which have failed, her brain is in relatively good condition."
At the other end of the room, James sat back in a high-backed chair and listened to Dr. Zola's report. He nodded slightly, but the mechanical body before him rubbed its silver-gray metal palms together and remained where it was, hesitating to leave.
"Go on. What else do you want?"
James got up and patted Zola's round mechanical head, his tone casual and mildly teasing.
"Well, sir, this is a living alien! And her appearance and most of her bodily structure are extremely similar to a human's. Do you think that later, perhaps..."
The flat, dry electronic voice carried a hint of sly ingratiation. James smiled knowingly and walked over to the operating