Pleaseread the Author's Note at the end of the chapter, extremely important!
Review responses…
PLacIDwiCkedNEss- It might be Talia…it might not be Talia ;) I think you know haha.
PurpleStrawberry14- Like I told you in PM and I'm relaying this to everyone else Bane is between the age of 35-40, but closer to 35 than 40 lol. :)
To everyone else- Thank you so much for the support and reviews!
Disclaimer- Blah, blah, blah…don't own.
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"Wh-what?" Alexis stuttered out, not comprehending Bane's words.
"This is my room, Doctor. What do you not understand about that?"
Her mind immediately took a wrong turn and her mouth morphed into a grimace. "I am not sleeping in the same bed as you," She replied distastefully.
She could see Bane's face contort amusedly as he rose from the bed. Standing a few feet away from her he still towered over her form. "I have no interest in sharing a bed with you, nor do I plan on sleeping in it. I am far too busy to sleep."
Staring at Bane's eyes, she saw he was not bluffing. The clear heavy bags under his dark green eyes and dark circles around them easily hinted at the lack of rest.
"Fine, then."
He then turned away from her and as Bane walked, his boots thunderously stomped on his way to the door. Alexis turned to him, a firm scowl planted on her lips now.
"Now just wait a second!" She nearly shrieked.
Bane stopped, but didn't face her. He didn't say anything in response to her outburst, prompting her to continue.
"Do you honestly just expect me to sleep happily in this dress?" She said defiantly, her voice rising.
Bane was silent still.
"Do you know how much money I paid for this dress?"
Bane's noiselessness lingered as Alexis' anger persistently went on.
"This dress cost me an entire paycheck and-"
Alexis' rant was suddenly ceased as she was rammed up against a wall. Her head banged on it heavily and her ears began to ring. She felt one of Bane's rough palms wrapped around her neck, causing her slight pain. His grip was just rough enough to make her breath with difficulty. Alexis grabbed at his hand, pawing at it to regain her breath.
"If you value your life as much as the cost of your precious dress I suggest you quit your silly little tirade immediately." He replied darkly, his eyes piercing right through her.
Releasing his grip on her, he whirled on his heel and returned to the door. His hand that had just previously been around her neck fingered the handle of the door.
"And if you truly value the cost of that outfit, you would have worn it for a better occasion."
With that, Bane opened and then reclosed the door with a slam leaving Alexis alone in disbelief.
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No longer than a minute after Bane departed, Alexis instantly began to search for an escape.
She ran to the door, careful to not trip in her stilettos. No matter how much she twisted and wrenched at the door handle it would not budge. She peered into the door frame and studied the door locking mechanism within.
Locked.
The bastard locked her in here!
Alexis let out a scream of rage and began to pound on the door.
"Let me out! Let me out of here!" She cried frantically.
When no one came to her rescue, she furiously increased her thrashing on the door. Even when she briefly paused to catch her breath and saw blood on her knuckles, she didn't stop. All of her efforts were doing nothing against the metal door.
Alexis growled in irritation. Facing the room again, she looked around for anything she could use. Nothing. No random crowbars or pipes. Not even a secret hidden key. A disappointed sigh left her lips as she slowly slid down the door, sitting on the ground.
Her eyes continued to search the room before settling on the bathroom entryway. In her sight was the toilet. She quickly leapt up and raced to it. Pulling the tank lid off, she ran back to the door and continued bashing it. The tank lid was evidently doing more damage to the metal door as indentations were soon made.
"What's going on in there?" A voice from the other side of the door startled her and almost made her drop the lid.
"Finally! Let me out of here!" She wailed.
"Not happening, sweet cheeks. I got orders from Bane. You aint leaving that room without an escort," he replied with your typical gangster accent.
Alexis rolled her eyes, "So escort me out of this damned room!"
"Let me finish will ya? As I was saying…you ain't leaving that room without an escort. Your only escorts being Barsad and Bane himself." He paused thoughtfully. "Although…I may open the door for you on one favor…"
"Anything! I'll do anything!" She answered without thinking.
"Show me your titties!"
Alexis huffed angrily. She should have known. "Fuck you!"
"If you do fuck me, I'll let you out…" He goaded.
"Go away!"
The man began to bang on the door, scaring Alexis enough to move away from the door. She leaped onto the bed, rolling up in a ball.
"Come on, sweetheart I just wanna have some fun!"
"GO AWAY!" She repeated, screaming this time.
She had realized that the man didn't actually have a key to let her out at this point. But the terrorizing thoughts of what could happen were plaguing her mind. Fresh, hot tears were streaming down her cheeks now. She had wrapped the blankets around herself as much as she could. The man's attempts continued and even increased as he started to kick the door as well.
After five more agonizing minutes, the man's loud actions ceased. She could hear his footsteps quietly retreat in defeat. She was almost positive he only stopped because he feared Bane would come storming back down the hall.
Alexis untangled herself from the sheets and silently stepped into the bathroom. She closed the door as to provide herself more privacy. After doing her business and washing her hands, she realized there was a full-length mirror on the back of the door. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, she sighed sadly.
She looked pitiful.
Her eyes were red and irritated from her crying. Her tears had effectively ruined her eye makeup, smearing her mascara everywhere. Her hair was yet again messed up from all of the rough handling. The dress was ripped and torn in numerous places, as well as stains from unknown substances. She saw trails of her blood, mostly on her knees from being shoved down the stairs. There was a large abrasion on her forehead, still slowly trickling out fresh blood. The imprints on her neck scared her the most. The bruises from Landon and Bane's palms were already a nasty shade of purple. The fingerprints were clearly formed as well.
She reached up to her neck to gently caress her skin, but it was then when she finally felt the pain from her fractured arm. She cursed quietly, wincing from the ache.
Alexis knew she needed to wrap her arm in a makeshift cast and sling, but how would she do it?
She couldn't rip her dress, lest let Bane see more than he needed to or already had. There was always the possibility of ripping off pieces of the bed sheets. She could even take some of Bane's clothing from the closet but she feared Bane would…God, she didn't even want to know. The last thing she wanted right now was to make Bane mad again.
She sighed again, opening the door and flinging herself onto the bed. Confining herself to the sheets' protection once more, mindful of her arm, Alexis simply decided to sleep the rest of the night away hoping it was all a nightmare.
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The loud slam of the door closing shocked Alexis to slightly stir from her sleep. The sheets were thrown off of her and a sudden cold caused her to shiver. Still believing she was asleep, she sat up with her eyes still closed shut, blindly grabbing around for the sheets. Her hand came in contact with some fabric and out of habit; she tried to pull it closer. The fabric didn't budge, and she wrapped her entire hand about it. Holding it, she slowly realized that the fabric was not the sheets.
Opening her eyes, she quickly noticed that she had mistakenly grabbed a hold of Bane's right calf.
She gasped, immediately releasing her hold.
Her eyes dared to glance up at his face that was mostly impassive. The only amount of emotion he was showing was slight discomfort.
"It is time for you to get up, Doctor Rhodes."
"And what time is it, exactly?" She quipped.
Bane's eyes locked with hers dangerously. "Two in the afternoon. We have somewhere to be and are on a tight schedule."
"Where are we going?" She asked, sitting up completely and swinging her legs to the side of the bed.
Bane ignored her, walking to the closet. He kneeled down, shuffled around through some things before producing a white box. Alexis was going to berate him for ignoring her, but she noticed his brief struggle to rise to his feet again. She caught his eyes crinkle in pain as he straightened his back and almost missed the barely audible groan from his throat.
"You have back problems." She stated.
"Ah…you are quite observant, Doctor."
She continued to observe him, as if he were a patient. "What happened to you to cause the pain?"
"It is not important." He dismissed her question in less than a heartbeat.
Returning to the bedside, he placed the box on her lap.
"I can help you, you know. I'm a doctor…I can get you some pain medication-"
If Bane wasn't wearing the mask, he would have snarled angrily at her. He grabbed her chin forcefully, bringing her to stand and demanding she look him in the eyes.
"Do you think I wear this contraption for fun, Alexis?"
"N-no," she could barely stutter out. "I-I thought it was important for some reason…I just never knew exactly-look, Bane…I can help you. Let me go to the hospital and I can-"
Bane sharply turned his head, giving her a full look at the back of his mask. He pointed to large circular pieces with a part that looked like a button sticking out. They were equal on both sides. He pushed down on one of the buttons, and out popped a mechanism holding a small cylinder with a green substance.
"This green formula is the only combination of chemicals that manages to keep my affliction at bay. You cannot find another cure to help me."
He pushed down on the button again, and the cylinder disappeared back into the mask. Bane faced her again, "If you even think of considering removing the cylinders from this mask…"
Alexis gulped fearfully. She didn't need to be told twice. Hell, she didn't need to be told once.
Bane knelt down to pick up the box that had fallen to the ground when he forced her to stand. He placed it in her hands again.
Alexis stared at it and eventually put it on the bed. Opening the box, she pulled out a reddish-orange knee-length pea coat wrapped in tissue paper. She quirked a brow skeptically. Why was he giving her clothing? Didn't he just say hours ago that he was giving her nothing? Sifting through the box some more, she found there was also a hair brush, some makeup and an arm brace.
She turned to him, holding the coat in her arms. "I…don't understand. Why are you giving this to me?"
"It is important for today's events. Put them on now, Doctor. We must leave."
Alexis sighed, still not understanding what the hell was going on. Grabbing the arm brace, she fastened it albeit with some difficulty. She brushed her hair rapidly, fluffing it a few times in the mirror. Quickly applying the makeup, she made sure to cover her bruises extensively. Alexis started to put the pea coat around her shoulders but flinched when a pain almost like a stab hit her shoulder blades. She gasped in shock, dropping the coat.
Alexis saw Bane glance over to see why she had cried out in agony. He came to her side, picking the coat back up. She was startled when he moved to put the coat on her himself. With surprising touch, he gingerly took hold of her fractured arm and slid it through the arm hole, doing the same with the other arm. She thought he would stop there, but he even continued to fasten the buttons.
Bane stepped back, silently gazing down at her. She gawked up at him. Had he really just done that? The man that was apparently Gotham's Reckoning and captured her had gentlemanly put her coat on for her?
She quietly managed to speak, "Thank you…"
"You are welcome." The mask's mechanical voice breathed back at her.
Suddenly, the door to the room opened and in popped Barsad. "Sir, the team is ready for departure."
He was dressed in a gray leather jacket and similarly styled pants. Seeing this, Alexis took the time to observe Bane's new outfit. He was now wearing a dark gray vest with two sets of stripes down the front. Underneath the vest was a similar colored jacket. His pants hadn't changed much, they too were also gray. Wow. Do these boys really love gray or what? On the back of the vest, 'DCS' was stitched into it. DCS? What the hell is that?
"Come now, Doctor, we are leaving," Bane called to her from the doorway, breaking Alexis out of her thoughts.
Alexis obediently chased after him. Bane shut the door behind them and they began their trek through the sewers once more. Bane and Barsad quietly discussed whatever today's events were supposed to be. Alexis was listening intently, but they were purposefully being vague. Bane eventually spoke some important things to her, and it became evident that she was involved in their plan.
Soon, they arrived at a ladder and an entrance to the surface. Barsad went first, removing the lid. Alexis flinched from the sudden light attacking her eyes and shielded them with her arm.
When she didn't immediately climb the ladder, Bane nudged her in the back, pushing her forward. Alexis reluctantly began to climb, with Bane not far behind her.
They reached the top of the ladder, now in a deserted side street. Barsad pulled a walkie-talkie from his pocket and spoke into it. "We're here. Get ready. Five minutes maximum."
Barsad turned to Bane, giving him a signal to move on. Bane nodded and then wasting no time, Barsad took off running down another street.
"Do you remember what I told you?"
She didn't answer, evoking Bane to reach for her neck. He didn't actually come in contact, but just close enough to make her whimper in fear.
"Yes!" She cried. "Yes, I remember Bane!"
"Good. Now go inside and wait." He commanded, heading in the opposite direction as Barsad.
Alexis did as she was told, racing to the front of the building. She walked up the steps, her heart pounding against her chest. She kept her head down low to avoid suspicion. After dealing with the security, she was instantly greeted with the insanity that was the Gotham Stock Exchange.
She saw the position she was supposed to stand in and immediately ran-walked to it. She pretended to watch the screens above her head, but she glanced at the front doors every few seconds.
In the near distance, she could have sworn she heard gunfire. Then, completely out of nowhere more gunfire appeared. She saw Bane's men firing at the screens, narrowly missing some people. She saw Landon among them with a sadistically ecstatic grin. Remembering to play the part, she screamed bloody murder and crouched down like everyone else.
The main doors opened and in walked Bane, looking as imposing as ever. The room instantly was hushed as Bane stared straight at some of them, scanning the room. He stepped forward to one of the worker's stations where he was promptly addressed by one of them.
"This is a stock exchange, there's no money you can steal."
Bane inspected the card on the man's jacket, replying with a mocking tone. "Really? Then why are you people here?"
Bane then grabbed the man by the tie and slid him over to the other side of the desk. To everyone's shock, except for his men, Bane proceeded to slam the man's head on the desk. He then took the employee's card and placed it into a reader. Bane began to pace around the room. As he treaded around, he found Alexis among the crowd. Their eyes met for a brief moment and nothing more.
Sirens were heard from outside the room, letting the occupants know the police had arrived.
A minute later, one of Bane's men informed him that the police had cut the fiber, but that their download program was still working.
"For now," Bane replied, his hands held together.
Another few moments later, more sirens had a joined the others.
"How much longer does the program need?"
"Eight minutes."
"Time to go mobile." Bane gave a signal and his men started firing their weapons again.
One by one his men grabbed a hostage. Alexis gulped, knowing this was her part in the plan.
Standing apart from the crowd, she called out to him. "You think you'll get away with this?"
Bane turned in interest. "The police will catch you and stop you from stealing!"
He slowly advanced on her, his boots pounding on the ground. "And why do you believe that?"
"B-because I believe in our police department! The Harvey Dent Act put thousands of inmates-"
Bane smirked beneath the mask, "There is hidden truth about Harvey Dent…but now is not the time for that."
His hand quickly jutting out, clutching her neck once again. "I believe I found my hostage."
He nudged her forward to where his men were waiting. Behind a door they unveiled five motorbikes. How they managed to pull that off was beyond her, because she was froze in place at the sight of the bikes. Her hands had started to tremble in fear.
Bane had already settled himself onto his own bike, a red helmet on his head, and the engine running. Alexis cautiously walked to the bike, eyeing it nervously.
"Get on the bike, Doctor, I have no time to be wasted. You can easily be replaced." He warned.
Alexis took a deep breath before apprehensively swinging one leg on the other side of the bike. She sat on the leather seat, feeling the engine purr beneath her. As Bane revved the engine of the motorcycle, Alexis' heart raced at nearly the same speed it would have been going if he weren't also holding the brake. Like in her nightmares, her palms were clammy and beads of sweat formed on her porcelain skin.
All of a sudden, Bane let go of the brake handle and the bike sped off racing through the doors.
Letting out a quiet whimper of fear, Alexis instinctively nestled herself backwards into Bane's chest for protection. She was nearly tempted to reverse herself on the bike, hide her face in Bane's chest and wrap her arms tightly around his waist. This way she wouldn't have to see what was coming and only the darkness that came from the security of his body.
The red helmet he wore pressed against her hair as he glanced down to see her huddling against him in absolute dread. He could feel the foreboding panic practically radiating off of her body.
The bike hurtled down the steps, narrowly avoiding the escaping workers and screeching onto the pavement. The rest of Bane's men followed quickly behind on their bikes.
Much of the Gotham City Police department was there waiting for them. They had made blockades in the streets, in futile attempts to stop them from escaping. Bane was anticipating this, unknown to them. It only helped him in part of his plan to escape.
Silently wrapping a large arm around Alexis' small waist, he effortlessly lifted her off the bike.
Alexis stared up at him in terrified horror, "Bane, no!"
Before she knew what was happening, she hit the cold, hard pavement.
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I deeply apologize for the complete lack of updating this story ever since I began it. Starting at a new college aka university has thrown me into the flames and I'm off balance. I'm totally over worked with class work and my job. I barely have time to write, as you can see. This fact upsets me greatly because I know all of you as well as my other readers are waiting on updates. Writing is like an escape for me and if I can't write...I get a bit depressed. My parents seem to be constantly at each other's throats since I moved out. I'm so sick of college that I honestly just want to drop out. I feel as though I have no friends. Since 11th grade in high school (2009), my group of friends has drastically changed and I have little to no one. Being in a college with some 30,000 students does not help. You'd think it'd be easier to make friends with all those people but it really isn't. I'm in a very bad place right now everyone. Expect no updates until Thanksgiving...if not then, then it will be December. Again I apologize...from the bottom of my heart.
Also, please…please. Do not give me pity reviews. Give me sympathy and support if you wish, butDO NOTreview simply because you want to do the aforementioned things. Review because of this chapter.
As for when the next update will be…no, it will not be in four months because that seems to be the trend for this story. Chapter two was up within a week, chapter three took a month, and this one took two months. Second week of December, this hellish college semester and I'm praying to God (while I'm not religious) that I pass, will finally be over. I have a month, yes anentiremonth, before the next semester. So I will be writing my ass off.
I absolutelyrefuseto abandon this story along withChangesandTrapped.
xXxSaiyanPrincessxXx
