Editing Extermination 8.6

{{infobox chapter
|book=[[Extermination]]
|number=8.5
|dateposted=20 March 2012
|link=http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/extermination-8-6/ 
|previous=[[Extermination 8.5]]
|next=[[Extermination 8.7]]
}}'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is the seventh chapter of [[Extermination]]. Uncomfortable triage procedures continue; [[Skitter]] gets an impromptu lecture form [[Panacea]]. After an abortive hospital escape a [[Shadow Stalker|Ward's]] identity is outed.

==Plot==
Skitter is terrified by her confinement on the hospital bed, becoming increasingly paranoid about the possibility she won't receive medical care or might be arrested. The situation of being in a position where she is relying on outside factors to help her is a theme that is repeated through nightmares she suffers of her bullying and she questions whether her 'heroic' act of luring away [[Leviathan]] was really worth it.

A nurse comes to the bedside, but only to take some readings from the equipment. She attempts to explain to Skitter that they aren't meant to talk to the patients due to an incident where capes who had suffered career ending injuries sued medical staff, trying to earn money that way. Skitter begs for information about [[Tattletale]] or her back but the nurse hasn't seen Tattletale and is not sufficiently qualified to be able to diagnose her issue. The nurse offers the use of her cell phone but Skitter refuses and the nurse then leaves.

After a wait where Skitter occupies her mind by making bugs form patterns on her stomach, Panacea enters and asks permission to touch Skitter to heal her. Skitter has reservations due to the threats Panacea made to her at the bank robbery, despite Panacea explaining that the recovery process will otherwise be long and expensive. Panacea muses on the idea of it being fitting for a bad person to struggle more with fear at what another person may do. Skitter talks about how morality is not black and white and that her intentions have been good even though there were unanticipated consequences, but Panacea tells her she's ignorant or delusional to think she's a good person. Skitter finally accepts her help, reasoning that if Panacea screws with her body then at least she would then have someone to hate.

Panacea lists through a long set of injuries including nerve damage and the not fully healed brain injury, both caused by Bakuda, before beginning the healing process. As she tests the nerve functionality, she talks about how [[Legend]], [[Armsmaster]] and [[Miss Militia]] want to talk to Skitter afterward. Skitter panics, assuming this is the arrest that she had spent most of the time since arrival in the hospital fearing. Panacea refuses to offer any consoling information and also confirms that she has not healed Tattletale, implying that she may be dead. She then states that messing with Skitter this way is nowhere near as bad as what Tattletale did with her at the bank robbery and dismisses Skitter's apology as she leaves to treat other patients.

Deciding that it is better to make an escape quickly that to wait to be arrested, Skitter uses cockroaches to take the keys from a PRT employees pocket and bring them to her. She unlocks her restraints and leaves the bed, attempting to sneak away. After passing a few other patient enclosures she spots a window and pushes into another enclosure, towards it. Entering the enclosure she sees the cape on the bed, without her mask on, revealing [[Sophia Hess]] as [[Shadow Stalker]]. As raised voices and hurried footsteps are heard behind her, Skitter falls to her knees in a daze.

==Major Events==
*Shadow Stalker is revealed as Sophia Hess
*Skitter is [[Healer|healed]] by Panacea

==Characters==
{| class="CharTable"
! [[Heroes|{{color|white|Heroes}}]]
! [[Villains|{{color|white|Villains}}]]
! Others
|-
|
;[[The Protectorate]]
*[[Armsmaster]] {{M}}
*[[Miss Militia]] {{M}}
*[[Legend]] {{M}}
----
;[[New Wave]]
*[[Panacea]]
*[[Glory Girl]] {{M}}
----
;[[Brockton Bay]] [[The Wards|Wards]]
*[[Shadow Stalker]]
|
;[[The Undersiders]]
*{{Link|Skitter}}
*{{Link|Tattletale}} {{M}}
*{{Link|Grue}} {{M}}
*{{Link|Bitch}} {{M}}
*{{Link|Regent}} {{M}}
----
;[[Coil's Organization]]
*[[Coil]] {{M}}
*[[Dinah Alcott]] {{M}}
----
;[[Azn Bad Boys]]
*[[Bakuda]] {{M}}
|
;Civilians
*[[Danny Hebert]] {{M}}
----
;[[Endbringers]]
*[[Leviathan]] {{M}}
*[[Behemoth]] {{M}}
*[[The Simurgh]] {{M}}
|-
|}

==Trivia==
{{Spoilers}}
*Panacea would later tell Taylor the consequences of her taunting the paralyzed girl.<ref>[[Snare 13.2]]</ref> Amy and her entire family would be lectured by [[Emily Piggot]], [[Legend]], and [[Miss Militia]] at home, how serious what they wanted to talk to Skitter about was and how sensitive the situation in [[Brockton Bay]] was during the [[Unwritten Rules|Endbringer Truce]].

{{Reflist}}

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