Barbara Gordon - Oracle (knowsherstuff) wrote in newalliance, @ 2012-06-03 11:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | oracle |
Who: Barbara Gordon
NPCs: Lady Shiva
When: 6/3/12
Where: Shiva's residence, near Chiang Mai, Thailand
What: Barbara spars with Shiva and learns some things.
Rating: SFW
"Feh. You intellectuals...you telegraph every move. The people he sends my way..." For a woman of few words, Shiva had a way of finding just the right ones to strike a real blow to the pride. Barbara found herself shoved back with little effort, but it was her ego that was more bruised than anything. She knew she was better than this. She could remember with perfect clarity being better than this, but something was holding her back. Not even a week into her training, and she already had the bruises and cuts to prove it.
She went at Shiva again, careful to lead with her left. It had never been her dominant side, but working this way kept the weakest parts of her (her old injuries) from immediate exposure to an enemy. Shiva found a way to leverage her cautious approach, delivering a blow to the hip that lit up all of Barbara's nerves like a Christmas tree. She cried out in pain, in spite of herself. "You wear your wound like a regret. Stop it." Shiva slapped Barbara hard across the face to prove her point. "This is your body. The only one you have. No mark made on it makes it any less a tool at your disposal."
Barbara just stared at her for a moment. Now Shiva was talking her language. She had made it through training with Bruce. She had reclaimed a big chunk of her history, but the truth was things would never be the same. Being Batgirl now didn't mean being a 24-year-old version of herself. She had scars and wounds that she would always carry with her, but they were hers. They didn't belong to the incident or to the Joker.
They were hers.
Shiva delivered a brutal punch across her face, and she could feel everything in her head rattling around. She fell backwards, disoriented, and didn't bother getting up when Shiva placed a boot firmly on her chest. They were done for the day. It was time for her to crawl into her corner and think about how to do better the next day.