Lok-480K, Cancer of the Zodiac, space traveler and warrior lay on the table under the brilliant lights of the operating theatre.  Heather McKenna, Pisces of Zodiac, hovered over him, her beautiful almost elfin face marred with grief.  Behind her the towering bulk of Taurus stood as helpless as Heather.

               "It is my time," the tube at Lok-480K's throat rasp, his translator, the voice as mechanical and cold as always.

               Heather turned away and buried her face in the furry chest of the Minotaur, hot tears streaming down her cheeks.

               "You cannot save everyone, Heather," Taurus rumbled.  "Even Gemini could not determine his age though he estimated several million years."

               Heather looked up into the mismatched eyes of the leader of Zodiac.  "I know, it’s just I feel so ...”

               There was a crack, the sound of rock shattering, and the theatre was filled with shards of stone.  Instinctively Taurus, spin his body, sweeping Heather around into the protective shadow of his bulk.  Several score fragments struck his back while several score more bounced off his bionic arm and legs.  Ever with Taurus' effort, Heather's far more frail skin was slashed to the bone in three places.  Deftly and with great tenderness, the huge bull-man caught the bleeding girl up and lumbered out of the devastated O.R. bellowing for a med kit.

               With infinite care he laid her on the floor and snatched the first aid kit from Scorpio’s hand.  Ripping the metal box apart, he fumbled with the tourniquet as blood pumped from Heather femoral artery.   Sagittarius knelt in the blood and took the tourniquet from the ham-handed Minotaur and tightened it high up on Heather’s thigh.

               “This is bad, boss,” she whispered.  “We don’t have anyone with the skills to save her.”

               “I know someone that does.”  The Minotaur stood and activated his internal comm unit.  “Ghost Archer, I need help for Heather.”

               There was almost no pause between Taurus’ message and the reply.

               “Where?” Even the bowman’s voice sounded tense.

               “We’ll beam you to us,” Taurus said.  “Give me a homing beacon so I can target you.”

               He knew his choice of words might cause mild trepidation with Archer but he didn’t have time to allay fears.

               “Ready,” came the response from Ghost Archer.  Taurus nodded to Scorpio and she vanished, appearing in the teleporter room an instant later.

                She stood poised to battle as Ghost Archer materialized only a few feet from her, unarmed.  She knew that meant nothing in this man’s case.

               “Where is she?”  The tone of the bowman’s voice made Scorpio relax.  This man was genuinely concerned about her teammate.

               “This way,” Scorpio led him at a slow run back to Heather and, by now, the rest of the Zodiac.

Archer ignored the surrounding ten members of the most powerful team of villains on Earth and dropped to his knee beside the stricken girl.  With a delicate touch he examined the horrible wound and found a shard of stone.  With a touch the stone vanished and the bowman placed his hand over the wound, heedless of the gout of blood.

               “What have you done to yourself, Heather?” he whispered as a green glow coalesced over her ragged flesh and the blood stopped.

               Scorpio’s eyes widened.  To her it looked as it Heather’s heart had stopped beating and she made a move to attack the kneeling Archer but the powerful arm of the Minotaur held her back.

               “He would never hurt Heather, Annabel,” Taurus rumbled.  “Let him work his magic.”

               Ghost Archer’s body melded with the girl’s, his cells flooding the wound and regenerating torn flesh.  First the two ends of the artery met and fused, growing together in a split second and stopping the fountain of life’s blood.  Flesh accelerated its healing and drew the sides of slashed muscles closed, the skin covering all and showing a soft pink.  In a final show of power, Archer made the pool of blood vanish, leaving the girl and floor spotless.

               “Aaron?”  Heather’s eyes met the archer’s and he smiled.

               “Feeling better now?” he said.

               She nodded then grabbed him by the arm to pull herself up.  He rose, assisting her to her feet.  She hugged him tightly and he showed no hesitation in returning the warm embrace.   He became aware of the ten pairs of eyes a moment later and released Heather, stepping back just enough to show separation but not enough for others to mistake it for a retreat.

               Heather scanned her teammates, seeing in more than one a desire to rid themselves of their most implacable foe, and scowled.

               “If one of you so much as breathes on him, you’ll have ME to deal with!”  She snapped.

               Taurus rumbled his deep laugh and clapped the bowman on the shoulder, half hoping to rock him but disappointed.

               “Well met, old friend!” he chuckled.  “We are in your debt.”

               “You know I will do anything to save Heather,” Archer said quietly.  “And, come to it, nearly any of you.”

               The bowman leveled his gaze on the demonic Gemini.  Several of the team exchanged looks.

               “Of course you will,” Heather said, insinuating her way under Archer’s arm.

               He looked down at her, hearing sorrow in her voice.  Suspicion clouded his face and he noted the surrounding Zodiac.

               “Where’s Cancer?”  He asked in a low voice.

               “That was part of him you pulled out of Heather’s thigh,” Taurus told Archer.  “It seems that even the very rocks must die.”

               Archer nodded, offering no words of solace.

               “It is time for me to go then, since Heather is no longer in any danger.”

               “What if we don’t let you go?”  The temperature of the room rose ten degrees as Leo sauntered up to Archer and clung to his free arm.

               Unperturbed Archer smiled at probably the most beautiful woman in the world and said “You really think you can stop me?”

               Leo licked her upper lip and almost purred, “Bet I could.”  She pressed her body against him and came up on her tip toes to kiss the bowman but her lips only met air as Archer vanished.

               “One of these days, Archer,” Leo murmured.

               Taurus cleared his throat; a sound all knew meant it was time to pay attention.

               “We’ve lost Cancer,” he began.  “It seems it was time for him to die, or whatever his kind did.  He exploded and pretty much destroyed the O.R. so first priority is rebuilding that.  Then we will have to turn our attention to a replacement.  Everybody take a little time in your busy schedules to consider candidates.  Heather, if you’re up to it, you need to start inventory on the med equipment and see what we need to replace.  Aries, you and Sagittarius will be the gofer team for Heather.  Scorpio, clean up that mess.”

               The team broke up and each turned to their task or returned to whatever they’d been doing before Archer’s arrival.