Mara has now been following hypnotherapy for two weeks and she feels better than ever.
For once, her mind is starting to become at peace and she is losing the worry about her trigger words.
She had called Natasha almost daily to discuss her progress and Whitehall. Apparently, they still haven't gotten anything from him yet aside from empty threats.
She really wanted to be there for the interrogation, but she couldn't when the trigger words were still putting her at risk of becoming a weapon once more.
Her hypnotherapist Dr. Imani Adisa told her that she wanted to start testing her during the therapy sessions by carefully incorporating some of her trigger words. Today was the day they would start the tests.
They were sitting down in the 'Base of Peace' room once again. At this point, it had become a second home for Mara.
"Are you ready to get started with today's session Mara?" Dr. Adisa asked her. Mara nodded and visualised opening her mind to which the doctor started saying her verbal cues.
She only had to say the list of words once before Mara entered her now-familiar trance.
"Okay Mara, I want you to be fully calm before I start testing your mind. Really focus on that future we talked about and fight the words I am about to tell you."
Mara pictured her life with Natasha and their house in the countryside. The doctor slowly started talking.
She decided it would be best to put the trigger words in a short story first, to test the waters. If that worked, she would know the therapy was going according to plan.
Mara told the doctor that the trigger words worked in English as well, so she could use that to build the story.
Guards were positioned outside the door, in case Mara was triggered by the words and returned to her soldier state.
"Mara, I want to talk to you about fear. It is something we all carry inside of us. The thing that carries it, can often be compared to a car in the sense that it can drive us to a completely unknown place. Whether that place is only seven miles away, or on the other side of the world. If others provoke us and our fear we will go as far as necessary to stop it. The simplicity of it is, that fear is only in our minds. It is not a tangible thing. We can train our minds to combat the things we're scared of the most."
Mara shifted slightly throughout the story, clearly trying to control her mind. The doctor decided it was a good time to encourage her a little more with some inspirational words.
"Your biggest fear is being controlled by Hydra. To become their weapon. You and your mind have the power to say 'no'. Once you condition your brain to protect itself against evil, you are truly fearless."
With that, the doctor slowly and carefully brought Mara out of her trance. She looked into her eyes and saw that she was herself, not triggered by the words.
"Welcome back. How do you feel?" She asked her.
"I was scared at first and actively had to calm my mind as you spoke. But I do feel good and confident with my progress."
"That's good Mara. Soon we will start by only listing your trigger words in English and as a final test, we will list your trigger words in Russian." The doctor explained.
"Thank you. I will also keep meditating when we do not have our sessions. It helps me progress and control my own mind and thoughts." Mara tells her.
"Very good. We will likely follow the current schedule, so you could be finished with your treatment in two weeks." Dr. Adisa spoke with a kind smile before turning around and walking out of the room.