Earth, Hell's Kitchen, New York.
Three thousand meters beneath the Miracle Clinic.
The air in front of the long obsidian table warped.
Lynn unbuttoned his white coat and tossed a loose black jacket beside the bed.
Wanda braced herself against the hard operating table and sat up.
Her long, dark red hair spilled over her pale shoulders.
She reached for the jacket and draped it over herself, feeling the warmth still lingering in the fabric.
"Is it over, Lynn?"
Wanda's voice was weary, and a fine sheen of sweat covered her forehead.
“The impurities in the Reality Stone have all been removed through Separation.”
Lynn turned, picked up the nonprescription glasses from the table, and settled them back on his nose.
"The energy left in your body should keep you going for a long time."
"My body feels a lot lighter."
Wanda stepped down from the operating table, her bare feet touching the floor.
"All those whispers that kept tormenting me are gone."
"That's part of the medical service."
Lynn adjusted his glasses, their lenses reflecting the basement's dim light.
"Under the terms of the contract, you'll need to pay the corresponding fee."
"I'm yours. All of me."
Wanda walked up to Lynn and looked up at the man who had given her a new life.
"You can take anything you want, whenever you want."
"The clinic doesn't accept empty promises."
Lynn picked up an Electronic Bill from the table and made a few marks on it.
"I'll deduct the depreciation charge and compensation for emotional distress from your salary, in installments over a hundred years."
Wanda watched Lynn maintain his strictly businesslike demeanor.
She reached up to straighten his collar, then slid her hand down his chest.
"You really won't let yourself lose out on anything."
"Equivalent exchange is