THE NIGHTMARES ALWAYS BEGAN THE SAME WAY:

so vivid, so excruciatingly real that replayed like a sickening loop. Then the screams. The sound of Butcher's voice, cold and unfeeling, as he executed Victoria, pulled in half. The most haunting aspect was Zoe, your daughter, witnessing it all. Jolting awake, sweat slicking your skin when the sheets tangled around you. Then, you found yourself sitting by her side of the bed, tracing the patterns in the fabric as if you could summon her back.

It was a particularly restless night, after tossing and turning in the cold, empty bed and roaming around in Victoria's closed off office, you came across an old journal. And then, as you were sifting through old documents and research, you stumbled upon something that made your heart race.

It was a conjecture, a fragment of an old manuscript penned by Victoria, suggesting the possibility of healing her extensive body damage with her blood-bending capabilities. Utilizing a uniquely formulated serum, the Compound V in her surviving blood cells is invigorated, leading to the reconstruction of her tissues through energized DNA.

Due to your past role as a Vought scientist, you were able to develop the serum, which you had painstakingly perfected over several weeks. It was based on the old blood-bending research, a risky blend of science and magic, designed to bring Victoria back from the brink.

Victoria's body, retrieved from the CIA with painstaking effort, lay in a cryogenic chamber, cold and lifeless. You took a deep breath, her hands steady as she administered the serum. The process was agonizingly slow.

And then, the impossible happened. Victoria's chest began to rise and fall, her fingers twitched, and her eyes fluttered open while her body, once pulled apart rebounded back, skin weaving together and organs reconnecting.

"Dr Maniac?" Victoria croaked, leaving your sobs mingling with her weak breaths.