Back in his Tokyo apartment, every muscle in Utopian's body screamed in protest. The battle against Reign had taken its toll. Yet, under the scalding shower, he could already feel his body working, repairing the micro-fractures in his bones, regenerating bruised tissue at an abnormal rate. The Compound V, catalyzed by the ordeal, wasn't just healing him. It was improving him.
But the mental fatigue was very real. The weight of having to imprison a being who had just tasted freedom, even one as destructive as Reign, weighed heavily on him.
That's when Shayera arrived. She didn't knock, simply using the key he had given her. She found him sitting on the edge of the bed, a towel around his waist, staring at his hands as if he didn't recognize them.
Without a word, she placed a first-aid kit on the nightstand and knelt before him. With skilled fingers, she began applying an antiseptic and healing salve to the cuts and bruises marking his torso and arms.
"You should have called me," she said finally, her voice low and deep.
"It all happened too fast," he murmured, closing his eyes at the touch of her hands. "And you had your own investigation."
"My investigation can wait," she retorted, pressing a little harder on a deep bruise, making him hiss softly. "You can't."
She continued her work in silence, cleaning, disinfecting, bandaging. It wasn't necessary, not really. His body would have healed on its own, faster than any bandage. But that wasn't the point. It was a ritual. Her way of caring for him, of reaffirming their bond after the horror of the mind control she had endured.
When she was finished, she looked him straight in the eye.
"Is she gone?" she asked, referring to Reign.
He nodded. "Back in the Phantom Zone."
"It was necessary, Marcus."
"I know," he sighed. "But that doesn't make it easier."
Shayera sat beside him and took his hand.
"You don't carry that burden alone," she said. "We're a team. Next time, you call me. Even if it's just to... hold someone down while a mad scientist opens a portal to another dimension."
A tired smile finally touched Marcus's lips.
"Promise."
For the first time since returning, he truly relaxed. Shayera's care, her simple presence, had worked a magic that even his powers couldn't accomplish. They had dressed wounds that no one could see. And as night enveloped Tokyo, Marcus felt his body not only healing, but adapting, sharpening further. The ordeal had marked him, but it had also strengthened him. And with Shayera by his side, he felt ready to face what was coming.