[WARNING: Yo Batman (and especially Bane) fans, just wanted to get the word out there that I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING RELATED TO THE BATMAN FRANCHISE. -breathes- Ah, there we go. Now that that's all said and done, please enjoy this introduction to my new fanfiction story!]

Fight the darkness and arise,

From broken hearts torn by lies.

Clear the storm and wash away,

The wounds and blood of long past days.

- Unknown (1-4)

My name is Sam, and just that. People always assume that it is a nickname, or a shorter version of Samantha, but I must repeatedly correct the common assumption. For those anticipating an epic introduction into the vastly superior knowledge I contain, or the extraordinary powers that separate me from the rest of society, I am sad to disappoint you with a greatly milder version. Before any of the stages of decline that Gotham faced after Bane and his army invaded the city, I was but a normal twenty-one year old girl. Well, excluding the fact that my mother was a highly successful board member of one of the richest companies in the world, I was completely normal. Never prone to violence, and always maintaining a quiet demeanor, I was never suspect to have any influence on the events to come.

Before anything truly began…

Gotham had been poisoned by an aggressive virus bent on muddying the vitality of the city. Criminals and violence pumped into the running veins of the metropolis, the arteries sick and black from lack of justice. Soon enough, the establishment of law and rightfulness would be torn at the seams to reveal a tumour of chaos bulging beneath the skin.

Hope of regained welfare still faded to that day, when Batman disappeared from the streets. Any heedful person feared leaving the mild safety of their homes into the unstable outdoor world. The air slowly transitioned into a thick smog of hostility, and was barely breathable. Paranoia quickly took over, and soon every shape, every movement granted frightened reactions from those who dared to venture outside.

But our beginnings are not always as glorious as our ends.

In the darkness that ensued, I was but a delicate leaf, torn from the comforts of normality and a simple life into an uncontrollable world, led by an uncontrollable fate. Whether I would be stepped upon, or outlast the storms of life, I did not know, though I wished for the wind to pick me from the ground and send me to a higher place, away from harm… Away from the cruel inevitable. Such wishes seemed foolish, but I had nothing else but dreams to keep at bay the onslaught of madness.

When my father died, I was sent out of Gotham City into the countryside, at my mother's behest, and kept at a small estate where I grew up a lonely, inquisitive child. Rather than join other children at school, I had tutors to occupy most of my time during the week, though I tended to be easily distracted by thoughts of the outside world, and an otherwise 'silly child imagination,' as my instructors admitted. Those who worked at the estate did not have any desire to play with a child, which was considered an entirely different job, and left me to fend for myself.

Mother visited on the weekends, or when her job allowed free time. She was a beautiful woman of great discipline and fierceness. When in a room, mother demanded attention, not with words, but with her very presence. Glacial blue eyes pierced the darkness of her tresses, as if a wolf prowling the night, and a quick light catching its ferocious eyes. Even as her child, I found my mother to be a mystery. I never questioned her decision to leave me at the estate, because I trusted my mother, and also because I was afraid of her. When I was asked how I faired during the week, I said that everything was fine. I lied, of course, but knowing that mother had a stressful, relentless job to fend against, I did not want to worry her any more than necessary. Some critics might have argued that my mother's decision to seclude me at the estate for so long was irresponsible and stemmed from an obsessive over-protective need, but I would have defended her to the end, even if my conscience whispered differently.

The only connection I had to the outside world was the television. To tell the truth, I might as well have been from another planet. Everything that spewed from the T.V. was a considerable verity, and I regarded the outside world to be some foreign land full of adventures awaiting an explorer. The news was a favorite of mine, because it spoke of real events, real information about Gotham City, and the rest of the world. Every morning at seven o'clock, and evening at eight o'clock, I watched Gotham Cable News religiously to catch up on events happening in the metropolis.

Once day, I promised myself, I would visit Gotham.

As the years passed, my curiosity grew exponentially, to the point where I was planning an escape. Over time, I learned the schedule of every worker at the estate, when the security guards switched shifts, and when everyone rose in the morning, and went to bed in the evening. To my instructors' surprise, I grew to be quite an intelligent girl, despite my imagination that still clung on, and served as a distraction during school sessions. Now, I would vent my thoughts into literature. I wrote poetry and prose during much of my spare time, and also read a plethora of classical books that flooded my mind with a sense of escape.

"Gotham city is under attack," George Terrence announced from the television in a panic. "Bane, known to be the leader of the rebel organization overpowering all armed forces, has claimed ownership over the city in a slew of violent attacks against opposing people and the government…"

Hearing this broadcast echo into the bathroom, I rushed out with a toothbrush still foaming in my mouth, wide eyed with disbelief.

"No way," I slurped, catching toothpaste from sliding down my chin onto the floor with a fast tongue. As the news continued to update the situation, I ran over to the window of my bedroom and glanced towards the tower tops of Gotham City, which seemed to be blurred by plumes of grey smoke. Even in the countryside, I could make out the metropolis on the horizon. At night, through the darkness, it was a beacon of light that glowed faintly, taunting me to heed its call.

"Mom," I whispered, gripping the windowsill tensely. What if mother was in danger?

"We-we're just getting another update from Chris on the streets," George continued, pressing the microphone in his ear for better reception. "It seems that Bane has broken into Blackgate Penitentiary and released all of the inmates inside. They're pooling out into the streets as we speak. God help us."

I turned towards the television again, honing onto the street footage being played live.

A man dressed in a long coat stood atop a strange modernized army vehicle with a torn picture of Harvey Dent in his grasp. Something seemed strange about him. As I neared the television to get a better look at this Bane character, I noticed a mask clasped around the greater portion of his head, with the main component centered on the mouth and nose like a biotical aperture with wires for teeth. What was that machinery for? In any case, Bane was a giant specimen of human engineering, most likely towering over six feet tall, and made of nothing but impenetrable muscle.

"We take Gotham from the corrupt, the rich!," Bane shouted above the crowd of freed prisoners. "The oppressors who for generations have kept you down with myths of opportunity and we give it back to you, the people! Gotham is yours, none shall interfere ... do as you please! Start by storming Blackgate and free the oppressed. Step forward those who would serve, for an army will be raised. The powerful will be ripped from their decadent nests - and cast out into the cold that we know and endure. Courts will be convened. Spoils will be enjoyed. Blood will be shed. The police will survive as they learn to serve true justice. This great city... it will endure. Gotham will survive." The mask must have been the source of Bane's mechanical voice, but it reminded me of when someone would speak through cupped hands, filtered into echoes and crackles like a static radio station.

I touched the screen, horrified, as I watched Bane's disciples hand out guns and weapons to all willing prisoners. "What are you doing?" I shouted at Bane. "Why… why is this happening?"

There was no other choice. I had to escape to the city now in order to save my mother from harm. Bane mentioned the rich and powerful would be torn from their nests. My mother fell under that category, and only I was probably willing to go into the chaotic city quarters to find and bring her to safety. I quickly dressed, nearly fumbling to the ground a few times, and ran downstairs.

"Sam, where are you going?" Mrs. Burton, the timid housemaid, asked as I sped passed her towards the front door of the estate.

Quickly, I slowed down to a jaunt, and turned around with a false smile. "Oh, I'm just going outside for a run," I lied.

"In boots?" She wondered.

I looked down at my feet. "Would you look at that! Seems I've grabbed the wrong shoes. Ah, well. Maybe a walk would better suit me, then?"

"Indeed!" Mrs. Burton replied, seeming content with my recreational decision. "Breakfast will soon be ready. Then, it's off with Mr. Cadwell for a math lesson first thing at eight."

"Right, I won't be late." I lied again. Lucky for me, it seemed as though the maid was not suspicious of my plans, and no one else was around to intercept either. With all said and done, I left the house and proceeded towards the parked cars at the front of the lot.

One thing was for sure. I did not know how to drive. However, with the help of Google, I did learn how to spark start a car. The time was 7:18, so the guards at the front of the estate should be making their rounds to the back gardens by now. This should give me enough time to reach the cars, and drive out of here before anyone has time to catch up. I looked back once I reached the rows of cars, to see if anyone was running after me, but the coast was clear.

"Locked… locked… locked," I mumbled under my breath, as I checked to see which cars were left open. "Locked… locked… open!" Without hesitation, I climbed into the driver's seat of the available car, and reached under the steering wheel for the right compartment. Once found, I pulled it open and fetched the yellow and red wires. There was a pair of scissors in my bag, and I pulled them out and cut both wires in half.

"Please work," I pleaded. The two wires sparked on touch with one another, and the car whined. With a couple more tries, the engine started, and I twisted both wires securely together. "Yes, I did it!" After the task was completed successfully, I performed a quick joyful dance.

"Sam!" Someone yelled from a distance.

I stopped celebrating, and shot a look out of the window only to see Louie, one of the guards, running towards the car.

"Oh, crap!" I cursed, and pulled the shift into drive. For a moment, I forgot what pedal was which, and I pressed on the breaks hard by mistake. The car jerked. "Oops, wrong one." I mumbled, frustrated. "Here we go." This time, I pressed on the gas pedal, and shot out of the parking lot with nothing but dust and a dazed Louie in the background.

"Sorry!" I yelled out the window, as I sped off into the distance, towards Gotham City.

This explorer has some adventures to tend to.

To be continued...


Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoyed this intro chapter! More will be explained about Sam's appearance in the next chapter, and her background history... Must write in strides! Please leave a comment, and don't forget suggestions too! I'm always willing to take in advice! :) Thanks for the read!