OOC: We're moving on past the prologue, so I'm fast-forwarding to the point where your week in Chile is over.<br/><br/>"Oh, sorry if this hurts!" Dr. Wilson said as she peeled back the bandage on Oscar's head. The gauze, put in place by a medic in Chile, came away dark with puss and dried blood.<br/><br/>The team relaxed at 20,000 feet, flying back to the states in their Freedom Force jet. The interior of the craft was well appointed, more befitting for corporate executives than as marine transport. The exterior was all white, in honor of the team's captain, with a red, white and blue "FF" logo emblazoned on the tail.<br/><br/>Dr. Jane Wilson stood behind Oscar as he sat slouched in a cushioned seat. He looked beat, as did JD. Athena was the only one of the three who appeared refreshed, annoyingly energetic.<br/><br/>Jane looked closely at Oscar's scalp, making a face as she did. "Ouch, that must have hurt. You might be hard as stone, but you can still be wounded," she said. "Too bad you don't heal fast, like Rachel. I'd suggest stitches if we had needles that could penetrate your skin. I'll have to add that to the project list."<br/><br/>"Get the Defenders on the horn," Major Welles called out without looking up from his laptop. "I heard they came up with some kind of powered syringe with a diamond tip."<br/><br/>A few staff members worked busily, handling press inquiries and monitoring the week's coverage. Clouds rolled by the windows, and far below the jungles of South America slid by.<br/><br/>"Hold still, please," Jane said, applying a new bandage to Oscar's bruised and battered cranium. "Good as new!"<br/><br/>"Hmm, check this out," Welles called, reading his email. "The General thinks we should add another member to the team. Apparently a poll shows that 12 percent of the public thinks this is an all mutant outfit, and they don't like it."<br/><br/>Welles pulled his eyes away from the screen long enough to look at Oscar, the only true mutant on the team. "No offense, Oscar," Welles said, returning his attention to the email.<br/><br/>"The General wants to add a member who's a straight up, obvious human, like a tech genius," he said, pulling up an attached file on his screen. "Hmm, there's this guy, Anthony Star. He claims he built a suit of powered armor in his barn in Nebraska. Repulser ray, super strength ... roller skates? You gotta be kidding me," Welles said, closing the file. "I don't think so."<br/><br/>The week in Chile had been intense, but Freedom Force had gained impressive international attention from their efforts. Welles had been giddy since the operation had concluded. Even Athena's run-in with banditos hadn't resulted in any deaths, although the guy who got crotch-kicked may have wished he would die. The publicity surprise of the week had been Oscar, whose adventure with the fallen building had scored excellent footage which had been replayed over and over on news broadcasts around the world.