Hello, everyone, I am back. What follows are two separate excerpts from a potential story. After seeing The Dark Knight Rises, I became obsessed with Tom Hardy's Bane. A concept for a story came into my mind, and these are two parts of it that I was able to put to paper. This isn't the beginning of the story-the two parts I have written would occur at some point during the middle. Captured will take place during TDKR (that is, if I decide to write it). I would love any feedback you guys might have on this little experiment of mine! Happy reading!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Batman or TDKR or Bane or the unbelievably sexy Tom Hardy.
I was starting to panic. The sewers were cold, wet, and dark. I was an idiot to think that it would be easy for me to find a way out. My breath was coming out in short, quick puffs. I began to pick up the pace while still being as quiet as possible. I didn't want to die in the tunnels under Gotham.
Just when I was considering turning back—the commotion at the stock market exchange must have moved to the streets by now—I saw something on the ground near a fork in the tunnels. As I moved closer, I had to cover my mouth to prevent myself from screaming. The boy appeared to be no older than 16. He was thin and covered with dirt. Someone had shot him three times in the chest. It was then that I truly knew I was somewhere I was not supposed to be. The hairs rising at the back of my neck told me I was in danger.
Holding back my tears at the sight of the fallen child, I searched his body for a weapon of some sort. No such luck. However, there was a small flashlight in the front pocket of his jeans. I slid it out and held it in my hand, wondering to myself how much battery power was left. I pressed the button to turn it on, and aimed the beam of light in the direction the boy seemed to be going in. I reached down toward my waist and lightly touched my camera. I had made it this far without any sign of trouble. Perhaps Bane had taken all of his men with him to the surface. Maybe I could find something else down here that could help Bruce. And maybe I could find a quick way out.
Keeping the flashlight on, I quietly stepped down a staircase and peeked around a corner. There was no one in sight, so I kept moving. One long tunnel led to another staircase, and another. Finally, I came to a tunnel that was well lit. I turned the flashlight off and took a deep breath. I wanted to help Bruce, and there was no turning back now. I needed to hurry before Bane made it back down to the sewers. I broke into the quietest run I could muster, winding my way down a few more tunnels until I found it.
There was no question that this was Bane's home base. It was an overwhelmingly large cavern, strewn with metal platforms and bridges that crossed over the running waters below. I looked around the area, and could see no one. Other than the bridges and a few light rigs, the cavern seemed to be pretty bare—until I turned my head to the right. I had discovered Bane's control center: he had an abundance of computers, TV monitors, and other technological devices I couldn't even identify. They were set up around a giant metal table, and stacks of heavy explosives and gasoline surrounded the area. I took one last look around before I stepped over toward the table and picked up my camera. I adjusted the zoom and took a picture, and then turned to my left and took a picture of the whole cavern. I took a few more steps and approached the table. A large map was folded out, taking up half of the table's surface. It appeared to be a map of the tunnel system. One area was circled in red. I assumed it was the area I was standing in. Next to the map was a blueprint of a building: Wayne Enterprises. Scrawled at the top of the blueprints was a set of geographical coordinates. I lifted the blueprints to see if there was anything underneath, and gasped when I saw photos of tanks and submachine guns. I snapped a picture of the evidence and pinched my eyes shut, trying my hardest to put the pieces together. I was jolted out of my thoughts by the sudden sound of shouting coming from behind me.
"HEY! What do you think you're doing, girly?" I spun around. The man wasn't large, but the gun he was holding certainly was. I barely had time to examine his thickly bearded face before he lifted the gun and aimed it at me. I couldn't allow my instant terror to paralyze me. I let my instincts take over and I sprinted to my right, throwing myself over the railing and into the water below. I covered my face with one arm and protected my camera and flashlight with the other as I hit the water. Luckily, it was deep and the current was strong. I quickly floated away and was out of the cavern by the time the man got close enough to begin shooting at me. I could hear his frantic shouting and threats of my imminent death as I rushed downstream.
The water was cold and it smelled absolutely awful. I was thankful when the current emptied me out into another tunnel. I rolled out of the water and struggled to stand up. My entire body was shaking. I couldn't believe I was still alive, and I knew that if I remained in these tunnels much longer, things wouldn't stay that way. I began to wonder if that man, who had undoubtedly been one of Bane's servants, had jumped into the water after me. If that was the case, I needed to move fast. I flicked the flashlight back on as I broke into a sprint.
I continued to let my instincts guide me as I ran, coming to another fork in the tunnel and taking a quick left. My spirits lifted when I saw a ladder at the end of the passageway. I began climbing quickly as soon as I reached the bottom, and was relieved to see that the manhole cover was removed. When I made it to the top, I paused to stick my head out and breathe in the fresh night air. I appeared to be on a side street off the main highway. The area was quiet and there were no cars in sight. I prepared to lift myself out of the tunnel. That was when I heard a motorbike approaching. I turned to my left and saw a man speeding towards me. The red helmet he was wearing made it impossible to see who he was, but the speed he was moving at made me assume he was somehow involved with the stock market exchange crisis. I could now faintly hear police sirens. I hesitated. I really didn't want to go back down into the tunnels, but if I jumped out of the manhole and ran, he would be able to catch me if he wanted to. That mere moment's hesitation sealed my fate.
Before I had a chance to make a decision, the bike skidded to a stop next to the manhole. The sirens were getting louder, and the man on the bike seemed to hear them. He looked behind him and then at me, slowly pulling off his helmet. I felt my mouth go dry and my pulse quicken. It was him. The man that had seemed to come from nowhere. The masked man. I was less than two feet away from Bane's feet.
This time, I couldn't help but be paralyzed by my horror. Bane was a huge mass of muscle, and his blue-grey eyes widened as they pierced mine. I didn't know what to do. I wondered if I should try to cover up my camera, but that would draw attention to it. It didn't matter. He glanced down at it before meeting my eyes again. I struggled to hold his gaze, knowing my obvious fear was written all over my face. The sirens were growing still louder. I quickly glanced to my left and felt a glimmer of hope. I could see the front of a parade of speeding police cars headed straight toward us. I looked back at Bane, who then looked toward the noise, appearing to weigh his options. Once our eyes were no longer locked, I took a chance. I slid down the ladder, quickly disappearing from view, and waited at the bottom. I knew that if he chased after me, my life would end in less than a minute. I held my breath. To my relief, I heard his motorbike speed away, dozens of cop cars quickly following him. When the sound stopped, I climbed back out of the ladder and headed toward home.
I clutched my camera tightly to me, thinking of the evidence I just gathered. Bruce would be able to use those pictures. They would maybe even help to stop Bane from doing whatever horrible things he was planning. I couldn't prevent his horrifying image from creeping back into my mind. His eyes seemed to capture me like my camera had captured him earlier that day. I knew for certain I couldn't hide in plain sight anymore. If I ever met the masked man again, he would kill me, and I wouldn't be able to help Bruce. I needed to be careful. Oddly, I didn't feel afraid. As I walked, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I decided that I would go see Bruce the very next day. Attempting to keep my mind off of the horrors I had witnessed in the sewers, I thought about what I would wear when I went to see him. I allowed a smile to spread across my face as I thought of my hero, Bruce Wayne- the Batman. I thought of the kisses he had gently placed on my neck just a few nights before, and his strong arms that held me as we lied sprawled out on his bed. I imagined lightly touching the scars that were scattered on his back and chest. I couldn't believe I had feelings for the man who I had once thought to be nothing more than a self-obsessed billionaire.
As I lied awake in bed that night, however, it wasn't Bruce's face I saw. Bane's wide-eyed leer appeared whenever I closed my eyes, and I couldn't help feeling some of my fear return. Something told me that he was bent on controlling Gotham, and I knew something terrible was coming. Sighing deeply, I rolled over in bed and clutched a pillow to my stomach. I tried to bring Bruce Wayne back into my thoughts as I finally began to drift off to sleep.
I pushed open the heavy mansion door and called out for Bruce once again. The house was dark. I guessed that his power had been shut off.
"Bruce!" I called. "I have something I need to show you!" I walked up the stairs toward his bedroom, tightly clutching the photos I had printed earlier that day. As I reached the top of the stairs, I thought I sensed movement.
"Bruce?" I continued to walk toward his bedroom, panicking slightly as the hallway seemed to darken. "Bruce, are you there?"
Once again, I thought I sensed movement behind me. I quickly whipped around. "Bruce, I know you enjoy hiding in the dark, but this is not funny." I squinted my eyes and thought I could see a shadowy figure standing at the top of the staircase. "Bruce?" I blinked, and the figure was gone.
"Great," I thought to myself. "Just what I need right now." I cursed my eyes for playing tricks on me. I thought I heard a floorboard creak and turned back around. This was getting ridiculous.
"Bruce!" I called out once more. "Please, that's enough!" Just as I lifted my foot to take another step forward, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I gasped as the grip tightened, and I knew the man touching me was not Bruce Wayne.
"Afraid of the dark?" A familiar voice rumbled. I felt a chill travel through my entire body. Bane had found me. I didn't dare move. "Give us a light!" Bane called out, immediately spinning me around to face him and shoving me up against a wall with one hand. I shuddered as a lantern was turned on and my eyes once again were locked with Bane's. He was standing impossibly close to me. His clothes were slightly damp, and he smelled faintly of sweat and gunpowder.
He continued to glare at me, seemingly waiting for me to respond. I tried to appear as confident as possible as I continued to hold his gaze, though I knew he could sense my terror. With as much strength as I could muster, I attempted to speak.
"Bane," I whispered, almost mesmerized by the even breathing sounds coming from his mask. "What have you done with Bruce Wayne?"
"Bruce Wayne is being punished," Bane said in his warped voice. "And I came here to punish you." Still holding me firmly with one hand, he ripped the photos out of my arms with the other. Fanning them out, he looked at them briefly and stuffed them in his pocket. He looked at me once more.
"Now, if I may ask, what were you planning on doing with these pictures?" His blue-grey eyes seemed to be looking right through me. I hesitated. He let go of my shoulder and threw a punch at the wall just next to my head, his fist effortlessly going through it. I cringed and turned away as some of the debris hit my face. He grabbed my chin with one hand and turned me to face him again. Our faces were barely a few inches apart. His eyes widened. "I will ask you again. What were you planning on doing with these pictures?"
This time, I answered without hesitation. "I was bringing them to Bruce Wayne. I want to help him stop you." I expected him to react to this statement, but he didn't move. He continued to hold my face close, his stare boring into me. He put his other hand on my neck, and I knew I was done for.
"You know," he said quietly, "I came here planning to kill you. Then I saw your choice of attire. That is…quite a dress." His eyes lowered, and I knew he was looking over my entire body. I felt my face grow hot as he continued to examine me. Time seemed to crawl until he finally spoke again. "I heard Mister Wayne and his new girlfriend were mixing business and pleasure. I had no idea that this girlfriend happened to be the pretty little photographer I was looking for." I imagined that he was smirking under his mask. Embarrassed, I said nothing. I wondered why he was stalling. I braced myself for the end.
The hand that was holding my neck now moved down to my waist, and I couldn't help but squirm a little. His grip tightened on my chin. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you now. You are going to help me punish Bruce Wayne." My eyes widened. I had no idea what that could have possibly meant.
"You see, my dear," he continued, "If I have you, I can break him even further. I will keep you until it is time for him to die. And then I will kill you." I could barely breathe. I couldn't even imagine what horrors lied in store for me.
"I would never hurt Bruce," I somehow managed to blurt out. In an instant he closed the distance between our bodies.
He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply before he spoke again. "Not willingly," he said, and when he opened his eyes, they seemed almost black. I tried in vain to push away from him. He grabbed the back of my head with one hand and our eyes met again.
"Now, now, don't struggle. I'd hate for you to ruin that little dress of yours." I barely had time to react to the perverse tone in his voice before he brought his head toward mine with a crash. My world went black and I went limp in Bane's arms.