Adair sat on the stone overlooking the river. It was night, pitch black but with some street lights casting flickering shadows. Shadows had frightened her for years because of the man they belong to. The man that was born in darkness, the man that is molded by the darkness, the man is darkness. Unlike Batman, who simply adopted it. And unlike her as well, she adopted the darkness but she was not born in it. The shadows don't belong to her, they only belong to him.
It has been eight years since anyone has witnessed Batman. The frail man that remains is only a wisp of a memory. Gotham is a forgotten place. It is corrupt, ruined. She had not wanted to admit it, but one night she had to. It was also the last night she saw Batman…
She had watched Batman for a long time while he handled the Joker. The Joker is a crazed, deranged man. Now Batman was with James Gordon… with a dead Harvey Dent at their feet. How could Gotham not realise Harvey Dent is a crazed lunatic? Now he's dead and what will they remember? A hero... A lie.
She was hiding on a rooftop, and decided to pay one last visit to Batman. Not that she overly wanted to, as he did kill Ra's Al Ghul, who had accepted her in the League of Shadows, but she was never loyal to him. She was only loyal to one man. But she needed to see Batman… to tell him something much worse than the Joker is coming for him…The one man she was loyal to.
She swung down and landed without a sound on her toes. Adair only used knives, sharp knives, as weapons. And a grappling hook that allowed her to get out of tight situations, and also allowed her to swing from place to place, much faster than walking.
She approached Batman, who didn't notice her first, but Gordon did. He cleared his throat and nodded at her and Batman swung around. His eyes opened in surprise at the sight of her, who he hasn't seen since the training at the League of Shadows.
"What are you doing here?" he asked with a note of anger in his voice.
"No hello? I thought you had more manners-"
"Where have you been?" he interrupted.
"I am with a very powerful man," she said, and the image of Bane filled her mind. She glanced down at Dent's corpse, and then looked at Batman. "I have been watching you for a long time. You may have won against the Joker, but something much worse is coming," she whispered and closed the space between them, and stood on her toes so her mouth was against his ear. "One day he will come out of the shadows, like a beast from the darkness. And he will break you and all that will be left is a sniffling little man in a prison cell, awaiting death with a glad heart."
She backed away from him and he stared at her. She didn't grin; just continued walking back until she met the shadows. She disappeared in them. She raised her hand to her ear, where a small communicator was placed so she could tall to Bane directly. She pressed it, and Bane answered immediately.
"Yes?"
Adair watched as Batman ran from Gordon, limping and clutching his side which was surely hurt. "He's running." She whispered.
"Good."
She released the communicator and continued deeper into the alleyway, the shadows concealing her from the police. She continued walking until she reached a brick wall, and then used the hook to get up to a rooftop. She watched Gotham, the never ending car lights, the yelling and screaming of someone being mugged. It was corrupt, a broken reminder of a once great city. She smiled at the sight. Be ready, Gotham, for the pain that will come…
Gotham was not prepared for it. Batman was not prepared for it. Bane arrived and Gotham was destroyed. One of the biggest damages was the attack at the Stock Exchange. Few people were killed, impressive considering Bane's usual tactics. And then who was to show up but Batman. In the end, it leads to a chase through the streets. Bane was able to escape, as was she by using the grappling hook on a high street light. Now she was sitting on a rock, concealed by trees. No one ever came here, not at this time at night. But then a heavy pair of footsteps proved her wrong.
"What are you doing here?" Bane asked.
She shrugged and turned to him. His hands are holding the lapels of his heavy leather jacket. His entire outfit adds to his frightening look, with the heavy leather and boots that could crush your scull. She wears somewhat similar clothing, with dark green pants, a grey tank top and boots, easy to fight in. She used to dress with far more… theatricality, for lack of better words, with a black leotard and boots and a mask. Once she pledged herself to Bane, she realised that it would be easier to fight without having to worry about a mask.
"You disappeared. Don't ever do that again," Bane said. He walked closer to her, and she hopped to her feet and away from him.
"You don't control me, Bane. I can do-"
He had closed the space between them and had wrapped his hand around her throat in three seconds. She gasped and tensed, frozen in place. Bane tilted his head, as if he was observing her. And then he let her go.
"Don't disappear again." He said and gestured for her to come to him. She swallowed and followed him without a word. She was scared of Bane for years. Maybe she started to have more confidence that he wouldn't kill her, but his hand wrapped around her throat reminded her that he would easily take away her life, and most likely without an afterthought.
She maybe believed that deep down he cared enough for her that he wouldn't kill her if she disobeyed. Bane has saved her two times. The first was when she was in the League of Shadows…
She was on a cliff, practising balancing. She was walking carefully on the small line of rocks. Her boots were slippery, just as Ra's requested they should be. Her foot slipped off the rocks, but she regained her balance. She took a deep breath and continued walking… until she stepped on a very loose rock and she slipped. She fell, and was only able to grab a rock that was loosely holding on to the cliff to save herself. She knew it wouldn't be able to hold her for long, and she prepared herself for death, and the rock began to loosen. It broke, but then someone grabbed her hand. She gasped, and then she was yanked up in a second. She looked up to see Bane. He threw her on the ground, away from the cliff. She was gasping, and Bane was chuckling.
"Why did you do that?" she asked.
"I thought you would have known. Goodbye, Ada." He whispered and in a second, he was gone. She almost called out, but her pride overruled her. Had she known that she would not see him again for two years, she may have called out, maybe even run after him. But she didn't, and she did not see the man she pledged herself for two years…
She waited for two years to hear something, anything from him. And finally, while in Gotham, she finally found him, actually when he found her…
Ra's Al Guhl was dead. She had been sprayed by the poisonous toxin, and everywhere she looked the shapes moved and shadows slithered around her, like snakes. The shadows, oh the shadows, moved around her in frightening shapes. She screamed, batting at the empty air. Suddenly she heard footsteps and then hands on her shoulders.
"Another crazy one, boys! Come on, she can't do anything."
Someone grabbed her, and she squealed as she saw two more faces come close… and a snake come out of their mouths. She screamed and kicked, but she was not in her right mind, obviously. And then the man howled and was dragged off her and she heard a snap. The two others were taken away as well, and she was left quivering on the ground.
"You can't cry like a baby." A harsh voice said. A voice that was muffled by a mask.
"Bane?" she whispered.
"Yes. Now can you come with me? Or will I leave you here to die?" he asked. Bane never shows emotion. That's where she learned never to show emotion, from Bane. And he never candy coats things. If you're dying, you're dying; you never lie and say that you'll survive when you will die.
Bane kneeled down and grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming as she saw more snakes wrapped around his face. Bane grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up, and she gasped.
"Answer me," he sneered.
"Yes…" she whispered. Bane nodded and grabbed her and forced her to her feet, and then jabs a needle in her arm. Almost immediately, the frightening images disappeared.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Antidote. Poor chap who was hiding it is long gone now. Now, come along." He said and grabbed her and made her walk. Adair let her muscles relax, allowing herself for one moment to be calm and let Bane take care of her. A short moment, but one she treasured. The feeling of trust she had was unsurpassed by anything else….
Trust, what a delicate thing it is. When you're a soldier, a fighter, you can't trust anyone. Was she wrong to trust him? Maybe she was wrong.
Hello :) thanks so much for reading! Please leave a review so I can know if I should continue this :P