While I agree that she's hardly defenseless, I do think that the 'superficial cut to the face' counts as the torture being started. Cutting someone's face with something you just threw at them is a lot more of a threat than the action with the tail. The face is more visible and your head is home to the organs that perceive 4 out of 5 senses. It's serious, despite it not being treated as such. Also it wasn't done in a fight, so the comparison to Bruce breaking a nose isn't applicable. She wasn't stopping her, she was attempting to intimidate her.