Chapter Text
ONE
The city was rather peaceful, and if she was being honest, the young woman who had just made that silent remark and note to herself would have to admit that she could not remember the last time that the city had been this peaceful during this time of the night. She mentally shook her head, however, at the same time that she reminded herself that she should not let first impressions get in the way of her self-appointed mission, and a few moments later, she told herself that just because the city appear peaceful does not always mean that it is.
Supergirl, also known as Kara Danvers, paused for a few moments, and as she did so, to an observer who was looking at her at that moment, it would appear that she was hovering in mid-air. It was not an unreasonable conclusion to arrive at, considering that that is exactly what Kara was doing at that moment. After all, she was a good hundred feet or so above the tallest building in National City and was calling on her powers of flight – rather subconsciously, she would have to admit – in order to cancel the effect of gravity upon her. Even if gravity were to exert its force upon her, however, and pull her to the ground, she would still emerge from that fall without a scratch on her.
Once more, Kara shook her head in order to force herself to return to the present, and a few moments after she had done that, she resumed her flight path around the city, patrolling the outer edges of the same even as she relied on her super hearing sense in order to hear if there is anyone down on the ground that would require her assistance. After five minutes of doing that, however, and not hearing anything, the Kryptonian survivor would have to admit – even if only to herself at that moment – that her earlier assertion was turning out to be correct. It would appear that the city was unusually peaceful tonight.
This caused the super powered woman to pause again, though this time, she did not actually hover over where she was and instead, she just continued to fly race-track patterns around the city. As she allowed herself to be lost in her thoughts, she failed to realize that she was actually picking up speed, though even if she had realized what was going on, it was doubtful that she would have stopped what she was doing, not when her thoughts are distracted.
At that moment, the thoughts of Kara were diverted toward her family, in particular, her adoptive sister. She knew that her sister was struggling with her break-up with her girlfriend, but much as Kara would have wanted to help her adoptive sister, she had not asked for help, and she felt that it would be too much for her to offer her help when the same was not requested for.
‘Maybe this coming trip will be of help to us,’ she thought even as she reminded herself that she and her sister are heading back home on the morrow in order to reconnect with their mother.
A sharp, wobbling sound that came out of nowhere tore Kara out of the reverie that she had fallen in, and she instantly returned to the present at the same time that she stopped following the race-track pattern of flight around the city that she had established for herself. There was something about the sound that had forced her to turn her attention toward the direction that she imagined it had come from, and it took her a few moments to realize that the sound was unnatural in the sense that she had never heard it before.
It was not a scream or any other obvious sound requesting for assistance, but Kara still felt compelled to check out the source, which was why before she even realized what she was doing, Supergirl was already heading toward the direction of where she was sure the sound came from, and with every meter that she got closer and closer toward the source of the sound, the feeling that compelled her to investigate became more and more powerful.
A part of the mind of Kara could not help but note that that was a sign of danger, after all, this might be a trap as she was being compelled toward the direction of the source, but at the same time, she told herself that she could actually only completely understand what was happening if she were to head toward the source and look at it herself. Kara placed that at the forefront of her mind even as she increased her speed, and as she had expected, the seeming power compelling her became more and more powerful.
The source of the sound turned out to be a deserted alleyway in the middle of the industrial sector of the city. Kara was not the least bit surprised to see that there was no one else around and she told herself that even during the daytime, this part of the industrial sector would usually be abandoned, but the fact that it was abandoned was another reason for the mystery of the sound that had compelled her to come here, after all, if there was no one here, then it begs the question of where the sound had come from.
She was still wondering about that when, without warning, she heard the sound again. As Kara already had her gaze focused upon the alley where the sound had come from, the second time that it had happened, she had no problem confirming that the sound had indeed come from this place, yet it was empty as the first time that she had checked it, and even using her powers had revealed that there was nothing special about this place.
When the sound came for a third time, Kara would have to admit that she was not even the least bit surprised, even if she would have to admit that the sound was as unexpected as the first two times that it happened. There was, however, something different about the sound this time, and it was not only the length of time – it was twice as long – that the sound echoed in the air surrounding Kara.
The most visually obvious sign that there was something different this time was a powerful burst of light suddenly appearing from a seemingly random corner of the alley. That burst of light was so powerful that even Kara had to avert her gaze slightly, and she could honestly say that if there was someone in the alley at that moment, then they would have to say that it was akin to the sun suddenly bursting in front of them.
Of course, there was no one in the alley at that moment, and Kara would count that as a positive – because if there was an ordinary human in the alley, then she had no doubt that that person would be blind by now – even if the burst of light actually lasted for only a second or two.
When she returned her gaze upon the direction where the burst of light came from, the eyes of Supergirl widened when she saw that there was something there that was not there before, and it was in the form of a large purple door that, at first glance, looked as if it was made of solid crystal. It was something that Kara would readily admit she had never seen before, and she had seen many things since the day that she decided to use her powers to help those in need.
She was still staring at the crystal-door – she had no other term that she could use to describe it – when she was forced out of her reverie a few moments later by the sight of the same opening. Once the door was fully open, she fully expected a person – a human or otherwise – to step through, but the first thing that actually crossed through the portal that was marked by the crystal-door was not a person but a burst of energy, in the form of a red bolt of light that shot toward the opposite side of the alley where the door had materialized.
The eyes of Kara narrowed as she recognized that that bolt was something that was fired from an energy weapon of sorts and when she turned her attention toward the direction where the bolt had made contract with the concrete wall, her suspicion was confirmed when she saw that that part of that concrete wall had turned black.
More energy bolts crossed through the portal marked by the door and before she knew it, Kara was already diving toward the direction of the door with the intention of giving those who are at the other side a piece of her mind – in the form of fists on their faces, of course – but just as she was about to come within thirty feet of the door, she suddenly let out a surprised scream even as thousands of volts of electricity forced its way into her body.
Had she been a normal human, Kara was sure that she would have been killed at that moment, though just because that huge amount of electricity that had forced itself into her body was not enough to kill her does not mean that she was not momentarily disabled. Indeed, by the time that the effects of the sudden electric shock had faded away, Kara found herself lying on the concrete floor of the alley that she had been observing.
It was at that moment that she realized that there was a form of barrier surrounding the crystal-door, completely isolating it from the rest of the world.
That, however, was of secondary concern to Kara, because the energy bolts coming from the direction of the door had not stopped, though a few moments later, she saw a man – and it was a man – step through the portal. He had barely placed his other foot on the concrete floor of the alley, however, before he let out a loud scream –the barrier apparently does not protect against sound – and he fell face-first toward the concrete floor. A few moments later, Kara saw a burn-mark – similar to the ones that had appeared on the concrete wall opposite the crystal-door – on his back, more than enough evidence to tell her that that the man had been hit by one of the energy bolts as he was trying to cross the door.
Kara focused her attention upon the man who was lying face-down on the concrete floor of the alley and she realized that he must be some sort of soldier because the clothes that he was wearing was the same as those worn by soldiers that Kara had seen before. Indeed, the camouflage pattern of the clothes that the obviously now-dead man was wearing was actually rather familiar to Supergirl, though at that moment, she cannot place where she had seen such a pattern before.
It would appear, however, that the man who was now lying face-down on the floor in front of Kara was just the first man to make the attempt, because a few moments later, two more men made the crossing, with the second man obviously covering the first with his body even as he returned fire with some sort of weapon that Kara had never seen before, though judging from the fact that it appear to be the same energy bolts that she had been observing, she would have to say that it is probably the same weapon that those who are shooting at these men are using.
Like the now-dead man who was lying face down on the concrete floor of the alleyway, the man who was using his body to cover his companion was wearing the familiar camouflage pattern clothing, but the man who was being protected was not wearing anything that would suggest that he is a soldier too. Indeed, judging from the fact that he is being protected, Kara would have to say that it was more likely that he is a high-ranking civilian or some such.
Loud screams suddenly erupted from within the crystal door, and though Kara was not sure if she could recognize the language that those at the other side are using, it was obvious that those who are screaming are expressing their anger. It was also rather obvious that the screams of anger were directed toward the men who had just crossed the crystal door.
A few moments later, Kara was forced to amend her statements, because a few moments later, it was not ‘men’ who had crossed the threshold, but just ‘man’. That was because at that moment, the second man who had been using his body to protect the first took an energy bolt to his back, and Kara watched as his face morphed into one of pain before he pushed the person that he was protecting to the side.
He did not even made sure that the person that he was protecting actually made it toward where he had pushed him before the second man then turned his body toward the direction of the door, and Kara saw him raise his weapon with the intention of firing back. She saw him pull the trigger – she supposed that it was some sort of gun now – twice or thrice, but in the end, it was a futile gesture, because by turning his body toward the direction of those who are shooting at them, he had made himself a bigger target for them.
With a start, however, Kara was forced to admit that that was exactly what the man was aiming for, after all, if those who are shooting at them were focused on him, then they would not be focused on the first man that the second was protecting. Of course, by making them focus on him, the man condemned himself, and a few moments later, Kara found herself unable to do anything but watch even as a dozen bolts of energy made contact with the front of the man before he fell – backward – toward the direction of the concrete floor of the alley.
Even without moving over to confirm, Kara could tell that the man is dead, indeed, she could tell that the man had died even before he had hit the floor.
Kara would have turned her attention toward the direction of the civilian at that moment, but before she could do so, the sound that had brought her into this place in the first place echoed around her again. She did not know how she knew it, but she was sure that by that time, the barrier that had prevented her from investigating the door more closely – and that had shocked her with that thousand volts of electricity when she tried to cross the same – had disappeared.
That meant that she was now free to come to the aid of the civilian for whose protection, at least two men – because she was sure that he had far more than two bodyguards – had given their lives, though before Kara could turn her attention toward the civilian, she was distracted as half a dozen people – and while she can tell that they are humans, the clothes that they are wearing prevented her from identifying them as men or women – crossed the door.
These were obviously not part of the protection unit, indeed, if she was being honest, it was rather obvious that they are part of the unit that had been firing at the civilian and his bodyguards. One of them turned his – or her – attention toward the direction of Kara and she watched as that person sharply jerked his – or her – head toward the direction of Supergirl even as she remained on the floor.
Kara may not be able to understand their language – and in any case, it was not as if they had actually said anything – but it was obvious that the reason why attention was now being directed toward Supergirl is so that the six of them could decide as to what they would do about her. She narrowed her eyes at them and she hoped that that would be enough to tell them that if they were to do something against the law in front of her – even if she told herself that it was possible that these people may not even know the law – then they would regret it.
It would appear, however, that the other members of this team was more concerned about their true target, and one of them actually shook her head the moment that he turned his attention toward Kara. Again, no words escaped from the lips of the person, but to Supergirl, it was obvious that he – or she – was warning her, and telling her that it would be best for her to not get involved in this.
At the same time that Kara narrowed her eyes toward the direction of the group in front of her, she found herself wondering why they would give her that warning. She was in her costume, after all, and thus, she was expecting them to realize that she would get involved to defend those who cannot defend themselves. It was impossible for them to not know that, unless they were hiding underneath a rock or something.
A few moments later, Kara blinked even as she unconsciously turned her attention toward the direction of the door. Suddenly, the fact that they do not know who she is, and the fact that they are using energy-based weapons that she had never seen before, made sense. The door was a portal to another dimension or reality.
Kara would have to admit that she was rather curious as to how it was possible, but at the same time, she forced herself to direct her curiosity to the back of her mind as she had to defend the civilian that these half-dozen assassins had come to kill. She turned her attention toward the direction where she had last seen the civilian, but to her surprise, she found that he was no longer there.
A loud scream coming from the direction of the second group to cross the portal forced Kara to return her gaze toward the direction of that group, and she turned her attention just in time to watch as the five of them jumped toward a seemingly random direction – though no two people had jumped toward the same direction – in an obvious attempt to place as much distance between themselves.
The reason why only five of them had jumped – and the five of them did not even include the one whose screams had made Kara turn her attention toward that direction – was because the sixth man – the one who had screamed – had found himself with a long blade embedded in his stomach.
Kara turned her attention toward the direction of the handle of the blade just in time to watch as the civilian grabbed the handle of the sword, and with one swift motion, he pulled the length of the blade out of the body of one of those hunting him. That kind of wound, Kara knew, was fatal without the necessary medical intervention, but it would appear that it was not enough for the man who was defending himself, because a few moments later, Kara watched as he expertly reoriented his sword before spinning on his heel at the same time that he cut the head off of the first person that he had killed.
The eyes of Kara were wider than she could remember them being as she watched the sliced head arch through the air, but a few moments later, she was forced to return her attention toward the direction of the body of the now dead assassin even as blood began to fountain off of his severed neck. Even that, however, did not last long, because the civilian pushed the dead body toward the direction of one of the assassin, forcing the said assassin to jump again in order to evade crashing into the dead body of his comrade.
A part of Kara wanted to scream at the men to stop what they are doing, but she found herself unable to even move from the position that she was in. She did not think that it had anything to do with the shock that she had received when she tried to cross the barrier, but the commands that she was giving to the muscles of her arms and legs were being ignored, forcing her to remain lying on the surface of the concrete floor of the alleyway and just watch the fight happening in front of her.
The next target of the civilian was not the assassin that he had pushed the dead body toward, rather, it would appear that it was the one who was at the other side of their formation. Kara could tell that these people are enhanced in some way, because there was no way that the civilian could have moved as fast as he had moved at that moment, and there was no way that the assassin would have been able to block against the blade of the sword that the civilian was wielding.
She heard the sound of metal crashing against metal as the blade of the sword of the civilian made contact with what she assumed would be metal gauntlets around the wrists of the assassin that he had attacked. At the same time, she saw the four other assassins regroup, bringing their energy weapons up and making sure that the business end of the same was pointed toward their target.
No sound escaped from any of them before they opened fire, but even if they had moved fast enough that a normal human would not have been able to watch them move – Kara, of course, was able to watch what had happened – it would appear that their target was far faster, because by the time that they had fired, he had already moved out of the way.
Of course, he had not bothered to bring his target with him, and that meant that when the energy bolts that were launched from the weapons of the four other assassins reached their destination, the only target that they found would be the body of their comrade. A loud scream of pain escaped from the man even as dozens of energy bolts made contact with his body, and much like the last bodyguard of the civilian – though even now, Kara was unsure if that was the proper term to use for him – the assassin was dead even before his body hit the floor.
The scream that had escaped from the lips of the second assassin had barely died in the ears of Kara before another scream echoed in her head, and she hurriedly turned her attention toward the direction where that scream came from just in time to watch as another one of the assassins was forcibly separated from the group, with the civilian in front of her – from the scream, it was obvious that she was a woman – pushing her toward the direction of one of the walls in the alley with his hand wrapped around her neck.
Supergirl was reminded of the fact that she cannot understand the language that these people are speaking a few moments later as she heard the civilian say something, though exactly what it was that he had said, Kara cannot understand. What Kara could understand, however, was the moan that escaped from the lips of the assassin a few moments later as her back hit the concrete wall, because it was obvious that the moan that escaped from her lips was one of pain.
Unlike the first two assassins, the third one that the civilian had targeted did not die right away, and indeed, Kara could not help but wonder if there was a special reason for that even as she watched the civilian conjure – it was literal conjuration because she could see the objects materializing out of nowhere – knives from out of nowhere, and those knives quickly embedded themselves on the side of the assassin, causing her to scream in pain even as they obviously ensured that she cannot move from where the civilian had pinned her.
He then turned his attention toward the remaining three assassins, and once more, he said something that Kara failed to understand. Whatever it was that he had said, however, it was obviously something that angered the remaining assassins because as one, they once more raised their weapons and fired at him.
Of course, he was already moving even before the energy bolts could reach him, and by the time that those bolts had reached their destination, the only target that they had found would be the female assassin that – it would appear to Kara, at least – the civilian had tried to spare. The female assassin pinned on the wall died before she could even scream, with more than dozen black marks on the clothes that she was wearing and the rest of her body to mark the spot where the energy bolts fired from the weapons of her comrades had hit her.
The regret was obvious in the tone that the civilian had used a few moments later, but because she still could not understand the language, that was the only thing that Kara could take from the words that had escaped from the civilian. That became a secondary concern once more a few moments later, however, as she watched him throw himself toward the direction of the three assassins who, apparently having realized that they cannot match him after he had taken out three of their numbers, began to hurriedly move toward the direction of the portal.
They were barely halfway there, however, before Kara saw the man that was supposed to be the target of the assassins place himself in between those who had obviously been sent to kill him, and their egress point back to their reality, and the moment that he placed himself there, she saw the door beginning to close, telling her that the civilian intended to ensure that the assassins would be trapped in this reality.
When Kara turned her attention upon the face of the civilian, she could see a wide smile on his face, and that was the only thing that she needed to see in order to realize that he was having fun.
Using her enhanced vision, Kara was able to see past the helmet that the other three assassins were wearing, and she could see the undisguised expression of fear that was written on their faces, and she just knew that those expressions of fear that the three of them are wearing is exactly what was fuelling the smile on the face of the man that they had been sent to assassinate.
Kara was not sure if the civilian could see pass the helmets that his would-be assassins are wearing or if it was something else, but at that moment, it was obvious to her that the reason for the smile on his face was precisely because of the expressions of fear that they are wearing. A few moments later, the civilian said something again, and the expression of fear on the faces of the remaining three assassins intensified, even as the smile that was on the face of civilian widened even more.
She heard screams coming from the three of them a few moments later, and that was followed by the three of them actually breaking their formation as they seemingly ran toward random directions. Whatever it was that was happening to them, Supergirl knew that the civilian that they had been sent to assassinate had something to do with it, after all, when Kara turned her attention toward him a few moments later, he was silently laughing as he watched his would-be assassins running around like headless chickens.
Kara would readily admit that when she first saw the civilian and his bodyguards cross the door, she thought that he needed his help and she was more than ready to give him that assistance. As she watched those tasked with killing the man running around in seemingly random directions screaming their heads off, however, Kara realized that it is not the civilian and his bodyguards that she should be helping, rather, it is those who had been sent to kill him.
The screams that escaped from the lips of the three remaining assassins increased in volume a few moments later even as the three of them stopped running around. Kara actually saw one of them drop the weapon that he was carrying, but then it turned out that the reason why he dropped it was so that he could draw a pistol from his side – and she saw that it was the same as the one that the second bodyguard had been carrying – before he then pointed the business end of that pistol toward his own temple.
Kara felt her eyes widened as she realized what the man was about to do, but even if she knew that he was going to kill himself, there was actually nothing that Kara could do but watch as the man did the deed. The weapon made no sound as it was fired, and a few moments later, the sound of the now limp body of the dead man hitting the concrete floor of the alley echoed around the same.
It would appear that the two remaining assassins did not even realize what had happened to their friend, though as she thought about it, Kara told herself that perhaps that is to be expected, after all, the two of them were still screaming their heads off as they ran around.
The screams that were coming out of their mouths reached such a volume that even Kara was sure that the action of the man who had just killed himself was the correct thing to do in the situation that they had found themselves in. Unfortunately, it would appear that neither of the two remaining assassins could muster the will-power to even reach for their pistols on their sides, and Kara was not even sure if they had such weapons.
She turned her attention toward the civilian and the first thing that she saw was the wide smile that was on his face. He was obviously having fun with what is happening, but that smile that he was wearing only made Kara want to pummel him into the nearest concrete structure that she could find. It was rather ironic that they are literally surrounded by concrete, yet she could not do what she wanted to do because the muscles of her limbs refused to cooperate with her.
Without warning, one of the assassins – and this one was a woman because, again, the screaming gave that away – stopped moving even as her screams faded away. This made Kara turn her attention toward the assassin, but she turned her attention toward her direction just in time to see her go limp before her leg muscles gave way and she fell to the floor. It was possible that she had just lost consciousness, but there was something in the way that it was all so sudden that told Kara that it was likely more permanent, or, in other words, it was likely that the woman had died.
This made Kara return her attention toward the civilian, but judging from the frown that he was wearing on his face at that moment, she could tell that he was not the one who had caused what had just happened.
‘A fail-safe of some sort?’ she asked herself, ‘probably embedded in the helmet that they are wearing?’
Kara did not get the chance to continue with that line of thought, however, as a few moments later, the only other person in the alley who had been screaming had also stopped, and again, Kara was barely able to turn her attention toward the direction of the assassin – and this one was a man – before his body went limp, and like his last companion, his legs gave way under him before he fell toward the floor, his life having been ended by what Kara was now sure would be a mechanism in the headgears that they are wearing.
‘The fact that they are wearing such a mechanism means that they are expecting that something like this would happen,’ she thought even as she forced herself to return her attention toward the direction of the only other person – well, only other alive person – in the alley. She could not keep the expression of anger from her face as she looked at him, but it would appear that he actually enjoyed the expression that she was wearing, as Kara saw him smile again when he fixed his gaze upon her.
She heard him say something and she knew that the message was directed toward her, but of course, because she could not understand the language that the man was using, she cannot understand what it was that he was saying, though judging from the fact that he continued to speak, it was obvious that he expected her to understand him.
After a minute, however, he seemed to have finally realized that he was not getting through to him because he saw him let out a sigh before he shook his head. There was something about the expression on his face at that moment that made Kara wary, but before she could do or say anything, she was forced to pause as the world around her seemingly warped.
Before Kara knew it, she found herself floating in space, and in front of her, the familiar planet of her birth suddenly materialized. This caused her eyes to widen even as she willed herself to head toward the direction of the surface of the planet, but at the same time that she did so, the planet suddenly exploded into a million pieces, causing indescribable terror to fill the being of Kara.
She was still figuratively swimming in that feeling of terror a few moments later when she found herself in her childhood home, and she could see her adopted sister sitting on the couch in front of the television. There was something different about Alex Danvers at that moment, and with a start, Kara realized that she looked younger, with her appearance corresponding to the time when they had been in Junior High.
Kara took a step toward the direction of the couch, but at the same time that she did, a sound coming from the direction of the second floor of the house made her – and Alex – turn their attention toward that direction. Kara debated about whether or not she should check out what made the sound, but before she could come up with an answer, a loud scream escaped from the lips of her sister, and she turned her attention back toward her, just in time to see her kneeling in front of and in between the knees of a man.
A few moments later, Kara could see her adopted sister bobbing her head up and down the cock of the man in front of her, but it was obvious that she was not enjoying what she was doing, and this made Kara want to come to the assistance of her sister. Indeed, she watched as her sister turned his gaze – as much as she could – toward the direction of Kara, and the expression that Alex was wearing told Supergirl that her sister was desperate for her help.
The world around her warped again, however, and she once more found herself in space and staring at the direction of the planet of her birth. Kara was not sure what was happening, but to her, it seemed as if the vision in front of her was real, which was why without really thinking about it, she dived toward the direction of the planet with the intention of warning everyone of what was about to happen.
As she was heading toward the surface of the planet, however, it once more shattered into a million pieces, and this time, as the rocks that once formed the planet was forcefully thrown into space, Kara found herself swimming through the debris that was the home of her species, and she could feel the rocks as they made contact against her body. That told her that this was real, though if she was being honest, Kara would have to admit that it was actually the sheer terror that she was feeling at that moment that made her even more aware that this was reality.
Once more, however, the world around her revolved, and instead of being in space, she was once more back in her childhood home, though this time, her sister was not there and the house appeared deserted. Of course, it only appeared deserted, as a few moments later, she saw her foster mother lying on the couch, her body covered in blood as she breathed her last.
“Kara...,” she heard her mother speak even as she reached for her with her hands.
She tried to come to the aid of her mother, but just as she took her first step, she once more found herself in space, forced to relive the moment of the destruction of her home planet once more, though at that moment, Kara realized that none of this was really happening. She was somehow caught inside a device or something that was forcing her to relive her nightmares, and with a start, she realized that this was exactly what had happened to the assassins that had been sent to kill the civilian.
That meant that it was the civilian who was doing this to her.
Of course, all that realization meant nothing when she once more found herself being showered by the remnants of the planet of her birth a few moments later, and somehow, even though Kara knew that this was all just a nightmare, the feeling of dread that she felt at that moment was rather real, and indeed, a few moments later, as she anticipated what she would see when she found herself in her childhood home once more, the feeling of dread increased once more as she realized that it was the anticipation of what she would see that truly terrified her.
It was not, however, in her childhood home that Kara found herself next, rather, she found herself back in the abandoned – well, it was abandoned, but now it was full of dead bodies – alley in the industrial sector of the city. At first, she thought that this was part of the nightmare that she had found herself in, but that thought fled from the forefront of her mind as she heard a voice in front of her.
“I have never had an alien before,” the voice said, and as she focused her gaze upon the source of the voice, she found herself being stared at by the civilian who had killed the assassins who had been sent to kill him, “I imagine that this would be quite an experience for the two of us,” he smiled as he added, “I am already having a hard time knocking you unconscious by showing you your worst nightmares, but oh well,” and before Kara could say anything, she watched as his first suddenly became larger.
That, however, was the last thing that she would be remembering for quite a while, because when his fist actually made contact with her face, she found herself drifting off to unconsciousness.