In a world torn between heroes and villains, it can be a dangerous and hostile place. Some take comfort in the Gifted that stand up against those who would use their powers for greed and chaos. While others choose to hide away, fearful of the day...
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"For those with mind based gifts, there is only one weakness."
Elaina sat in a small conference room in the bowels of Cat's underground complex. As with most things in the labyrinthine basement, it was stark and sterile. White paneled walls, glossy tiled floor, and a smooth ceiling that hid several cameras from view. In the tight confines, there was only a single square table made of a polished metal, two chairs of a similar material, and a large television screen, which Karina operated with a tiny remote control. The screen displayed three gaudy question marks surrounding clip art of a brain.
Karina pinched her lips and continued when her student failed to respond to her bait.
"Do you know what that weakness is?"
"Boredom?" offered Elaina with a drowsy pull in her voice.
"History." Karina punctuated her point by slamming a palm against the table, the impact bouncing around the small room and shaking Elaina from her groggy state.
"Okay." The tutee stretched out her arms and yawned as Karina ushered in the next slide, which displayed a woman rubbing her temples with her eyes sealed, brow pinched, and teeth clenched. She stood in the middle of a crowd that passed her by without notice, which was likely because someone slapped two different stock photos together.
"We are at the mercy of our emotions. We can learn to temper them, tame them, and maybe even control them, but when trauma is unleashed, then your base instincts take over — fight, flight, freeze, or fawn." Karina called up the next slide, showing a chart detailing the four responses. "When these reactions surface, we broadcast them over a mental loudspeaker that doesn't have a mute button."
Despite Elaina's general annoyance with her teacher, she sat up straighter and leaned in to read the smaller text on the slide.
"Trauma is a scar that your past leaves in your mind. Your history is your weakness. If an enemy discovers what left those scars, they can abuse that knowledge and trigger a reaction that will remove all the safeguards you have in place around your volatile emotions."
Elaina took a deep breath as Karina's words sank in. She hated to admit it, but Karina had a valid point, and as someone with enough baggage to fill a small U-Haul truck, trauma triggers were a genuine concern for her.
"So, what do you suggest?" Elaina failed to meet her teacher's gaze as she bowed to Karina's knowledge on the subject. When she did glance over at her instructor, she found a pleased smirk on the devious woman's face.
"We could train you to prepare yourself for all of these responses, but the best method would be to find out which particular response you are prone to and how you manifest it. A targeted approach will provide better results."
"Well, if I were to guess, I think my go to response would probably be flight since I did run away from home..."
"Oh, but that's your ego talking and when triggers happen, ego and the superego are thrown to the curb." Elaina's brow raised at Karina's words, uncertain of the direction the lesson had suddenly taken. "It's the id that drives your panic response. It takes care of you when all else shuts down. So I'd like to hear what your id has to say."
