Note: So, once again in my many years of lurking in fandom I'm attempting to write and hopefully complete a multi-chapter fanfic. It hasn't been beta-ed and strongly features OC. However I've found that the Nolanverse Batman fandom tends to be more accepting than others of original characters. I've been wanting to try my hand with original, so here it goes. Feedback, thoughts, comments would all be appreciated!
sensitive bore, markedly more: chapter one
batman begins/dark knight, female ocs, bruce wayne, 1,757
The unfortunate circumstance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time leads a woman to find herself surrounded by three of Gotham's most notorious criminals. Her life from then on is never quite the same.
A periodic groaning punctuated the discussion in the conference room. It had started off as a small whistle and then increased in volume as time wore on. The handful of others present in the room did their best to ignore the source of the sound as they had become accustomed to its presence often when the man joined them. Most regarded this with contempt and indignation, however, there was one with an amused smile.
Neither of the two guests of the meeting was that individual. In fact it grated one on her nerves so much that she could scarcely pay attention to the subject of the meeting. The frustration led her to wonder what would happen in an alternate universe if a bolder version of her stood up and walked out right then. Of course in this universe that would be a foolish move and put her into the bad graces of her superior sitting to her right.
Her superior, initially upset herself, set aside her irritation near the beginning of the meeting and set off to complete the task of convincing the board members - a specific one in particular - why their branch of Wayne Enterprises required more funding this year than the last.
She heard some soft shuffling made by her assistant beside her, but she paid it little mind at the time until moments later the room was filled with a sharp clack! as metal stapler met table.
The snoring immediately stopped and Bruce Wayne jumped up in his seat looking around at the other men and women in the room with frazzled surprise. His gaze settled on an olive-skinned woman babbling apologies to the room.
"Oh! I'm so sorry. It-it - slipped!"
"That's perfectly all right, Ms. Khairi." Lucius Fox smiled kindly at the woman while she composed herself. He turned back to the woman next to Sana. "Please, go on, Ms. Osburn."
Wendy Osburn steeled herself and blanked out the surprised and annoyed gleam from the expression she had pointed at Sana Khairi. Wendy returned her attention to the older gentleman and Bruce Wayne now that he was awake. He might not know what was going on, but it would only be polite to include him as well since being abruptly awakened.
The quiet assistant took on an incredibly impassive expression that clashed with her frantic apology earlier. The only indication that her thoughts were on something other than the subject of the meeting was a pink-redness quickly coloring her face.
The meeting ended forty-five minutes later. Mr. Wayne looked about ready to nod off again and Mr. Fox, the board members, and Wendy completed outlining a draft for the budget. The renewed activity of men and women rising from their seats and collecting their belongings woke Bruce up once again. He glanced at the pair of women about to leave and rose up quickly to meet them. Wendy reacted to his approach by swearing underneath her breath. Sana hid a smile and took care to look engrossed with the contents of a day planner.
Sana was not entirely sure what she was looking at nor what she was pretending to be reading. She was too drawn to the conversation between Wendy and Bruce Wayne. There was no mistaking the flirtatious tone of the conversation that Wayne was trying to set. What impressed Sana the most was how with a smile firmly in place Wendy artfully side-stepped his many invitations and still kept the conversation light-hearted and friendly.
Flirtation was something Sana herself had little experience and skill in, and she found it a curious and entertaining process to observe.
Watch how the male of the species flashes his blindingly white teeth and ruffles his plumage towards the direction of his desired mate. However, this female is difficult to impress and she slips away to hid behind the bushes. Her disinterest only encourages the male's efforts to increase.
"Ms. Khairi," Wendy's even voice pulled Sana suddenly out of her thoughts to see both Wayne and Wendy watching her. "Are we ready to go?"
This cannot keep happening, she told herself as she shook away the fanciful thoughts from her mind.
To her recollection this was the first time Wayne had ever looked at her directly at this proximity. She found herself wishing for some wall to block her from his eyesight. Sana blushed and nodded. "Yes."
The women both said their farewells to the man and left the room towards the direction of the elevator. Sana watched Wendy from the corner of her eye as Wendy pulled out her cell phone and sent off a message to her driver. Sana tried to get some sort of clue of Wendy's mood, but her expression remained carefully blank.
Once they stepped into an elevator heading down to the lobby of Wayne Enterprises, Sana again pretended to look over the contents of a folder, praying that Wendy would not acknowledge her assistant's slip-up. But Wendy did.
"Why exactly did you have a stapler out?" Wendy's voice remained level, but her frustration was clear. "What on Earth did you need it for?"
Sana deliberated on possible plausible answers, one that wouldn't reveal herself as the unprofessional spaz she was, but none come to her at the moment. "To... wake him up?"
Wendy's jaw dropped slightly. Oh yes, this would be Sana's last day as Wendy Osburn's assistant. Tomorrow she would be back to filing and making copies in the Radiology Department.
To Sana's surprise, Wendy chortled and brought a hand up to her forehead. "Well, that's new!"
Sana's dread quickly dissipated and she released a shaky breath. Her anxiety had left her too wound up to laugh along side with her new boss, but she managed a smile. Wendy was now looking at her with an interesting combination of surprise and something else Sana couldn't identify.
"You didn't have to do that," Wendy said in about the kindest tone Sana had ever heard Wendy use towards herself. "We had to get our point across to the board members, Lucius Fox in particular." She sighed, glancing up for a moment to see which floor they were passing. "For the most part Bruce Wayne is just a figurehead."
Wendy fell silent when the elevator stopped on a floor and two men stepped inside. Sana's expression grew confused. "What do - ?"
Wendy sharply shook her head and looked pointedly at the two individuals in front of them. A few moments later, the elevator reached the lobby and everyone stepped out.
"Everyone who works in this building knows this already," Wendy spoke up once they were a safe distance away from others, "but I'd rather not let Brucie Wayne know of my opinions... for now. To be honest, I'm not even sure why he was there. I wouldn't be surprised if he just wandered by and took a seat because it was one of the few meetings of any significance scheduled at the time."
Sana listened intently, fascinated by the topic, as Wendy went into his history, playboy antics and frivolousness which Sana had only been vaguely familiar with before. Now that she had met the infamous man and been in close proximity for a short period of time, she was shamefully more curious than usual.
For a moment it seemed like Wendy had exhausted herself on the subject and they fell into silence while they waited by the doors for Wendy's driver. Then she suddenly spouted angrily, "And absolutely no subtlety too!"
Sana took a quick look around them to make sure there was no one was close enough to take notice. Clearly, she was remembering their interaction after the meeting was over, Wendy began spouting insults growing louder with each one.
"The cocky, egotistical, slimy - !"
"Wendy!" Sana sharply whispered to caution her from getting any louder. Wendy's excited reaction left Sana with a small smile. "Too loud!" Wendy had done such a perfect job of looking friendly and unaffected by his insinuations earlier that it hadn't occurred to Sana that Wendy might have felt so negatively about the attention.
"Yes," Wendy exhaled and nodded a little too vigorously causing a strand of brown hair to fall across her eyes which she quickly swept aside. "Ah," Wendy said, glancing down at her phone, "he's here. Let's go."
The women stepped outside in the direction of Wendy's town car. Just as they reached it a flurry of excitement came from the next block. They both looked towards the direction to see a handful of exclaiming teenagers staring up and pointing past the skyscrapers.
"The Batman!" one of the children squealed in excitement.
A black dot glided over from the top of Wayne Enterprises to another building and then another. Before either woman could take in what they were seeing, he was blocked from Sana and Wendy's eyesight by the nearby skyscrapers.
The unusual appearance of Batman in the daytime and in the presence of so many people became clear shortly after Sana and Wendy returned to Wayne Biotech. Most offices and labs were empty - to Wendy's irritation - until they passed by the main conference room. Over thirty individuals were crammed into the room with their eyes glued to a television that was generally used for video conference calls.
Sana asked a lab technician she was acquainted with. "What's going on?"
"There's been a breakout at Arkham." The young man's eyes never left the screen.
Sana began to do the same, but the news revealed nothing other than the wreckage and ruins a significant portion the asylum had been left in. A sense of dread fell on her and Sana was sure anyone that had been in Gotham on Fear Night or when the Joker had held the whole city hostage was feeling the same too.
"Do they know if - "
He seemed to know her question before she finished it. "No. No news on him. The whole place is in complete chaos. They don't know who's dead, alive or... gone."
As it became clear that all news channels were recycling the same meager scraps of knowledge over and over again, the room began to empty. Sana wouldn't have been surprised if some people left work altogether today for their family and homes.
She returned her office which was adjacent to Wendy's. She had no family in Gotham to worry for or to worry about her, however, she did have a handful of friends that were as good as family. She nudged her phone thoughtfully, but decided to leave it alone for the time being.