Injustice Dies In Daylight: The Complete Saga

Healing the Hurt

"Roger that,engaging target."
Banshee chased him down the hallways,slamming doors open and keeping pace with him.
As she rounded the final corner,knowing he had hit a dead end, she was met with a blunt object to her temple.
She reeled from the attack,and tuned to be met with a strong punch to the face.
Though dizzy,she dodged the next hit and swung at the target. With a powerful connection,she sent him backwards a few feet.
In response,he charged and tackled her.
They rolled around one trying to gain the upper hand on the other.
Unfortunately his strength won out,and she felt pain surge from her shoulder through her arm.
Out of the corner of her eye,she saw a knife handle sticking out from the blade of her shoulder.
He jumped for the doors,only to be met by Jonas' gun barrel. Behind him,she could hear George,Robert,and Aaron approach,and apprehend,the target.
She rose to her feet,trying not allow the bleeding to get any worse.
George attempted to help her but she brushed him off,steaming and embarrassed that she wasn't able to take him down.
She took a moment to make sure he was secured,and scornfully left.

"Lieutenant,what happened was quite unfortunate. We are lucky we still managed to incarcerate him. For now,I want you to go through some more combat training. This is not a demotion,but I believe there needs to be more training. And I suggest more frequent visits with Dr. Hill."
Great,how humiliating.
"As such,I have requested Lieutenant Jonas to assist you in your physical training.
And the hits just keep on coming,don't they?
"You are expected to meet him in the gym in two hours."
"Yes sir."
"Don't take this personally kid,I know you've got a lot going on right now. But it's in all of our best interest to make sure that you are operating at your best on the field."
I wish I could say I was,and skip all this.
"Head out,he'll be waiting here soon,and after that I've scheduled your appointment with Phillip."
"Yes,Colonel."

She bitterly walked to the gym, frustrated with everything that happened running through her mind.
Failed mission,my fault,the nightmares,Killian.
She hated what was happening,all out of her control. She couldn't control the recurring memories that seemed to resurface only recently.
Even thinking about him made her adrenaline run fast. Her hand began shaking as she opened the door to the gyms.
Mentally she kicked herself for being worried about it,Killian was dead,and she would be fine.
Breathe.
Inside she was surprised to see Jonas in a tank top and boxing shorts,wrapping his hands.
Great,he's gonna beat the life out of me. Great lesson,Colonel.
He turned around,to see her standing by the ring.
"Change,we're going to do some boxing lessons."
She sighed,and headed for the locker rooms,she found a pair of boxing shorts that managed to fit and stay decent. The short sleeved shirt smelled awful,but would have to do. After some digging around she found some wrapping and tied it around her hands.
A pair of red gloves were the only ones that fit,matching the dyed,teased up section of her hair.
She exited the rank room,and headed for the mat where Jonas had put on some dark purple gloves.
He's doing this for the laughs.
She climbed into the ring,knowing the beat-down she was about to receive.
"Ready?"
She nodded,knowing she wouldn't leave without at least a black eye.
Hit after hit was delivered,some to her,some to him. After a while she began to notice something.
She was reading his movements easier.
Less of hits landed,and she was able to land more herself.
But for a moment,she stopped focusing.
The intensity in face looked too familiar.
He looked just like Michael did.
This moment of distraction was met with a powerful hit to the ribs.
"What happened? You were doing so well."
"Sorry,just got distracted is all."
"Distraction is your enemy. Had I been wielding a weapon,that moment of hesitation could've been deadly."
"Yeah,I know."
"Do you?"
"Yes,I told you I do."
"Then what is your problem recently? Huh? It seems being distracted and half asleep is the only thing you know."
"I CAN'T HELP IT."
She instantly regretted yelling at him,he was technically her superior officer,and he was frustrated with her drop in performance.
"I'm..sorry,that wasn't right of me."
"Then talk to Phil about it."
She looked up slightly confused. Instead of hate or anger,he seemed to be a little gentler in his tone.
"I know you've been seeing Phil in some sessions. I don't know what's going on,but I know you're probably not telling him what you need to in order to overcome it faster."
"You know I'm stubborn in my ways,don't you?"
"I've been working with you since the second year I enlisted,of course I know how stubborn and mean-spirited you are."
She sat there silently. She couldn't help but appreciate how he could still somehow tell her how it is even when comforting.
"Speaking of,our times up,and you have an appointment scheduled."
"I guess I do,I'll see you tomorrow,eh Hill?"
"Yeah,and I'm going to beat you down even worse next time."
"We'll see about that."

For some reason,she found herself in a better mood to talk to Phillip. Maybe it was the quick improvement during training,or maybe she just had fun punching Jonas. Either way she at least had a half smile walking into his office.
"Welcome back,I see you're in a better mood today. Pleas have a seat."
She sat in the old chair that looked like it belonged in the reception room of a funeral parlor.
He laid out that same old portfolio again. Even after six sessions he was still using it.
Instead of pictures this time,he instead had her open to the very back of the album,where no pictures resided.
He handed her a pen.
"I want you to write your name on the very back one time."
She obliged. Her hand glided gracefully,spelling her name in the blue ink.
"Good. Lovely handwriting,now,I want you to write you name again."
She began to write her name again. However,this time she was struck with the stench of cigarette smoke.
The smell alone brought back unwanted memories.
She looked at the small but brutal scar on her hand.
The very hand she was writing with.
The name looked a lot less graceful,now looking more like something written by a toddler.
She looked up at Dr. Hill,who was putting out a cigarette in his hands into an ash tray on his desk.
"It seems that my smoking has affected you."
He walked to a trash can and dumped the now useless cigarette into it.
Watching him do that was,almost comforting.
A weight that seemed to have been clutching her heart for so long dissipated.
He wasn't here to hurt her anymore.
She was safe.