Who: Shepard and Callisto What: It's been a year since Hydra kidnapped and experimented on Callisto, and she needs an outlet for her anxiety. When: Today Where: An open space away from prying eyes Warnings: Fighting, some blood, Shepard suffers a broken nose and dislocated shoulder
This time of year was not a good time of year for her. A year ago, she’d been kidnapped by Hydra, experimented on and locked inside a tiny cell. The memories of that experience were coming back with a vengeance. Callisto was agitated, unable to sit still due to the anxiety she felt. Her hands periodically tangled into her hair, messing it up and pulling at it.
“Fuck,” she cursed as she was pacing around the place she and Jane lived in. She felt like she was going to explode, and that the walls were closing in on her.
Jane watched her, a bit torn on what to do. Drinking wouldn’t solve this, it would only make it worse, but they couldn’t stay here. And she understood. Callisto was locked in the memories in her head.
Taking her to the ship would be counter productive too. And she couldn’t take her to a gym to punch it out without killing someone. Jane rubbed her chin, then got up. “Lets go out. I’ve got an idea.”
While Callisto liked being in space, she’d prefer just being in the vacuum of space herself as opposed to on a ship. The Normandy wasn’t tiny, but it was definitely enclosed and that would set her off even more. At Jane’s suggestion, she looked at her. “Anywhere is better than here.”
So long as it was outside, or at least in a place that was bigger than this.
“Okay.” Jane grabbed her armor, then led Callisto to the Mako. After a swath of mild destruction, she eventually got them to a wide open field. Shepard put her armor on, and waited for Callisto.
“Okay, come at me.”
The Mako wasn’t exactly her favorite thing at the moment, but she just closed her eyes and focused on the bumps and so forth that indicated the swath of destruction that was being left behind. Once they reached their destination, Callisto climbed out of the Mako, then looked at Jane after she got her armor on.
“You sure about this?” Callisto wasn’t completely certain just how strong she was. And she’d really like to not break her girlfriend.
Shepard rolled her shoulders, flexing her biotics so that she glowed blue, with a matching bubble that briefly appeared. “I can take it, babe. Come at me.”
Callisto gave a little nod. She took a moment before she charged at Jane, lashing out with a fist, quickly followed by her other one. She would refrain from hurling fireballs for the meantime. Physical combat would be better for her for the time being.
Shepard parried and blocked each blow, taking one or two to the chest and causing her biotics to flare vividly. But she didn’t hit back, not yet. For now, she’d be a human punching bag for Callisto, because she was sure that’s what was needed.
She definitely needed the physical release. Well, this kind of physical release. At this moment, at any rate. She kept attacking, and soon she let herself start picturing the face of that scientist who’d taunted her and experimented on her. She let out a blood-curdling scream of rage as she unleashed another punch, this one having a lot more momentum behind it.
Shepard stumbled back, and instinctively unleashed a blast that flattened the grass and bushes around her and shattered half the rocks. She charged forward, grabbing for Callisto with every intention of kneeing her in the face.
The charge was a little unexpected, however Callisto reacted in time to block Jane’s attempt to knee her in the face. She tried to grapple Jane, intending to flip her over like one might see in a wrestling match.
“Good,” Jane grappled back. Callisto was insanely strong, but Jane wasn’t a slouch. She didn’t just have her biotics, she also had her implants, which gave her a boost of strength. She tried to flip Callisto around too, but was the one that ended up on her back. Biotics and implants couldn’t quite keep up with a goddess.
Jane was definitely strong, but it was hard to match a goddess’ strength. With Jane pinned to the ground under her, she balled up a fist and punched Jane. However, she left herself open to be flipped over her blown back by biotics.
Pretty sure her nose was broken (and it was bleeding like it was) Shepard chose the least sane thing ever, and slammed her head up at Callisto in a Biotic-charged headbutt. Wrex would be so proud.
That biotic-charged headbutt definitely knocked Callisto back. Now her nose was bleeding as well. Or at least it was for a period of time until her healing started kicking in. “Nice one,” she responded, wiping some blood off. She then threw a fireball at Jane.
Jane thrust her hands out, blasting away the fireball. Running at her girlfriend, Shepard charged up another blast, concentrating all her energy into a single point on her first. She wasn’t Jack, but she could make up for less power with more precision. “Stop this one!”
While Callisto was well aware of Jane’s abilities, she hadn’t exactly fought her in this respect before. So her full range of abilities weren’t exactly something she was keenly aware of. However, she tried to block Jane’s attack. Sometimes, she was afraid to delve too deeply into her own powers, afraid that it might lock her into that Demon Attack Mode that she had. Right now, she didn’t draw up her deeper power to block it, she was simply using her physical ability. Which did nothing to protect against the biotic blast that sent her flying backwards. She skidded and rolled a few times before she ground to a stop and got back up. Her clothes were ripped and dusty, and she had several scrapes that were already healing by the time she got back to her feet.
“Here comes trouble,” she quipped with that deranged smile of hers before her eyes turned red and she did her own version of Jane’s charge, fire gathering around one fist.
Shit. Jane brought her arms up in a cross block, taking the hit. The fire washed over her and her biotics spasmed out and shattered in a massive amount of feedback. She crashed backwards and through a boulder, crushing it into rubble.
The feedback of the biotics did hit Callisto, but not nearly as bad as it had hit Jane. She dusted herself off a bit and looked at her. “You still alive?” She wasn’t making a move to attack. She was actually a little fearful that she’d just killed her girlfriend.
A cough was Shepard’s answer from the rubble, followed by a, “No.”
She dug herself out, groaning. “Christ, I think I dislocated something.”
Maybe she was getting too old for this, but she was only 34. But she had her leg, and the issue with her hearing that had never fully gotten fixed after her implants had come. She should ask Miranda about both those things, actually…
She frowned a bit and walked over to Jane. “Do you need me to put it back in place for you?” Callisto could definitely do that. And it was probably the least she could do after driving her into the ground like that.
Grimacing, Shepard rammed her shoulder into what was left of the boulder, “I’m good.”
Rubbing her arm, she hobbled over to Callisto, “Feeling better? That was harder than a Krogan.”
“Yeah. Thank you.” It took the edge off for the time being, at any rate. She’d probably have a meltdown later when the memories got too much. Or she’d wake up screaming. Waking up screaming had been a regularity of late.
“Lets go home,” Shepard said. “I’ll draw you a bath, and we’ll sit in it and just… “ She didn’t finish the sentence, but she knew that Callisto might need a silent presence.
Callisto nodded a bit. That did sound good. And Jane could probably use a warm bath to soothe the aches and pains Callisto had just given her. “Okay.”