Summary: Meia has always been a kind hearted person, and that becomes her downfall when she interferes at the wrong time. Her decision has cost her freedom and she is desperate to escape…but she can't help but be drawn to her captor like a moth to a flame.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Batman or any of the DC comic characters, or Christopher Nolan characters. I only own my original characters.
All the right Assets
The silence was intense as Bane walked casually about the stock exchange. Eyes were placed on him as they waited, waited to see if they would live or die. Meia, simply waited for when she could leave. Her part was done and she could go but she knew that she would have to be patient. Silently she thanked her grandmother for the acting lessons she was forced to take in high school because a smile was beginning to creep up on her face. Meia controlled herself and felt the grip of a woman's hand on her own. She turned her head to look at the woman who seemed to be a bit older than her, her skin was pale with fear. Meia thought of pitying her for only a split moment before she took in account the woman's attire. She was garbed with pearls around her neck, diamond stud earrings and a suit that cost more than what Meia had in her checking's account.
She doesn't deserve your sympathy! Look at her, she has never wanted for anything, she has no clue what it is to suffer! Meia's voice was pounding away in her head and it took all of her will not to snatch away from the woman. She silently argued back with herself saying that she was still a person who had fears just like anyone else. Pushing her thoughts aside she squeezed the woman's hand while giving her a kind smile. It seemed to put the woman at ease and both of the women turned their attention back to the man now in charge. His eyes roamed about, connecting with Meia's before she nodded her head discreetly at him for him to look behind him.
Slowly he turned his head around and came eye to eye with the man sitting on the stool. His facial expression was priceless. His mouth was agape and his eyes seem to bug out from his sockets when the muscled man approached him. Bane didn't break his stride as he shoved his red helmet into another male's hands as he sat beside the weasel sized man that Bane reached out to and took a hold of his name tag.
"This is a stock exchange; there is no money you can steal." The arrogant prick had to be brave, at least that's what Meia thought. His tone was void of fear, just full of arrogance that made Meia cringe inwardly for the man's safety. Though Bane paid him no mind as he checked the man's verification card clipped to the front of his suit.
"Really," Bane said with indifference as he dropped the man's name card. "Then why are you people here?" He finished his statement as he gripped the front of the man's collar and with little effort he dragged him across the now open stock exchange floor. The chair roughly hit the desk across the room. Obviously afraid, the man lifted his head but was only greeted with Bane's massive hands connecting his face to the desk. Meia couldn't see what they were doing but she knew that he took the man's card and placed it in some type of machine just as one of the mercenaries working for him came to stand beside him, placing down his gun. Out of the corner of her eye she could see a man eyeing the gun, debating whether to be a hero. That thought was quickly washed out of his mind when Bane turned around and began to walk about the floor, nodding his head directly to the man as if he knew what he was thinking.
They all sat in silence, the sounds of sirens breaking everyone's own personal thoughts. Some felt that everything was going to be alright, while others sat around and prayed. Meia did nothing accept occasionally stroke the woman's hand when she tensed up. It was her own way of telling the woman it would be alright, even if it wouldn't. Meia didn't even notice that Bane had spoken; she was in her own little world for quite some time. It was his movements that caught her eyes.
"Time to go mobile." His hand was raised and the gun shots were heard while the rest of the mercenaries forced people up and out into the lobby. The entire while, the woman didn't let go of Meia's hand, as if she was afraid she would get trampled by the herd of people who were trying to move away from the men with the guns. Meia couldn't help but feel as if she owed this woman a bit of her support and she didn't pull away as they were herded like cattle to the front of the building.
Her eyes searched for Bane and found him when he was slipping onto a motorcycle. Her brows furrowed as she questioned exactly how he even got the two wheeled vehicle inside the building. His raised his arm and moved his hand in a circular motion as he looked at the frightened hostages.
"Surround us."
They didn't hesitate to listen to the mastermind and surrounded the bikers. Soon it became obvious what they were doing; making sure their escape was not interrupted. A man was grabbed and yanked towards one of the bikes.
"Hey, let me go! I'm not getting on that with you!" Brave man, Meia thought but his bravery was rewarded with a blow to the back of the head with the butt of one of the mercenary's gun. He laid there on the ground unconscious while the mercenary stepped over him and grabbed another hostage who was more open to complying. The rest began to pick one hostage for their bikes but everyone was waiting to see who the masked man was going to choose. Meia was expecting to just walk out like the rest of the hostages. It seemed that was going to be the case when he placed a woman on the front of the bike and the rest of the room seemed to relax; everyone was going to make it out safe. It wasn't until Bane made no effort to move that the tension began to creep back into the room. When one of his men tried to move, he halted them with a raised hand. Dark eyes scanned the room leisurely with an intense gaze as if he was looking for a specific person. Instead of the old woman gripping Meia's hand, she found herself gripping the woman's as his eyes landed directly on her.
A lump appeared in Meia's throat as his gaze penetrated her. This was not part of the plan told to her by Talia. He wasn't even supposed to even really pay her any mind at all. She was going to walk out like the rest. It wasn't going to happen now, not as he raised his hand and curled his index finger up and beckoned her forward. Meia couldn't move at first, and perhaps that was a good act for the rest of the hostages but he could see the fear, and Meia believed he could even smell it on her. The look he gave her told her that he would not ask her again and she feared what he would do to her if he had to get off of the bike to obtain her.
Her feet moved involuntary but something was holding her back. Turning to see what it was, she found the older woman clinging to her arm. Meia gave her a reassuring smile and placed her hand on top of the woman's. Something about the woman's concern for Meia's safety made her heart feel heavy for having a part in all of this chaos. When she was able to pry away her hand, she made her way over to Bane's bike, keeping her head lowered. His arm shot out and curled around her waist. This made Meia let out a small gasp of surprise. He placed her onto the back of his bike and forced her to hold onto the back of it. The woman on the front of his bike was shivering in fear while Meia, was beginning to regret her choice as the doors were slowly pushed open by the crowd of terrified captives.
Meia didn't expect them to make it out of the doors without at least one being shot. No gun shots rang out, instead the voice of someone telling the rest to hold their fire. She didn't place the voice and she wasn't trying to. She had her head buried in Bane's backside, clinging to him for dear life as they sped pass Gotham's entire police department. She felt as if she was a target since she was on the back. What if they were shot at? She would fall off the back of the motorcycle while Bane still made his clear get away. Meia's mind raced with this thought and in that instant she hated this man who was putting her life in danger for his own selfish reasons.
It didn't take long for the police to follow in hot pursuit behind them. She could hear the sirens blaring. Meia only pulled her head up once to look ahead and she noticed the woman that was once on the front of the bike, was now missing. Panic kicked in and her grip on Bane tightened as she lowered her head again. She didn't know if he had tossed the woman off or she simply had feel, either way, Meia refused to go down like she did.
His speed increased as they approached the entrance of a tunnel. Meia didn't want to be a part of this anymore when they glided deeper into the tunnel. She contemplated falling off, at least the police could help her but she then thought that she could be ran over by the pursuing cop cars if she did. She wasn't thinking clearly at all, she just wanted off of this wild chase. Regret began to fill her mind, she should have never agreed to be part of this, and she should have let Talia kill her. Her hands began to slip from around his waist; she had no doubt that he noticed this. But it wasn't the fear she felt for him that stopped her from her feeble attempt. The tunnel lights began to go out around them. Her head lifted from Bane's back and looked behind them to see the lights shutting down in sections until the tunnel was completely black.
She could hear the sound of an approaching vehicle but Bane didn't stick around long enough for it to catch up with them. Meia couldn't turn her head away from the scene unfolding while the lights turned back on. One of the mercenaries stopped to shoot at the approaching vehicle but was quickly knocked from his bike. In that small moment she was able to catch a glimpse at the secret assailant. Her eyes squinted against the wind that was slapping her face because of the speed they were going but she was positive at what she saw.
"Batman…?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper but he had heard her. There was a smidge of hope in her voice, as if she wanted to be saved by the masked billionaire. She wasn't aware of his anger until they were out of the tunnel and right beside another biker. Without coming to a full stop Bane swerved the bike around and Meia found herself slipping off. She made no sound as she let her grip retighten around his waist for dear life as he sped off in the direction of the pursuing cars. In a few seconds they came in contact with the Batman. Meia thought it was over then, that Bane had lost but shockingly he passed right by them. She turned her head to look back at the Batman and Bane did the same just as the cars sped by them, they were now in hot pursuit of the Bat.
Relief filled her lungs and she noticed that she was holding her breath when she let out a sigh. As long as Bane was able to escape, that meant she was at least safe...for now. She didn't want to think about what would have happened if she would have gone through with her escape plan. Meia pictured Bane hunting her down and brutally beating her before ending her meaningless life with a bullet lodged into her skull. The image slipped into the back of her mind and she buried it deep inside of her as she laid her head into his back. Although she was frightened, she couldn't help but feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins. As sick as the thought was, she had actually enjoyed the chase, the feeling of almost being caught. What she enjoyed the most was the smug feeling she had gotten from being able to escape with the masked man as he took an exit, leading them away from the hot pursuit chase.
By the time they came to a full stop, Meia was nearly sleep. It was odd how comfortable she had made herself on the back of Bane's motorcycle. The adrenaline had ran its course and left her drained of all energy. The shifting of his body jarred her awake, he had begun to get off of the two wheeled vehicle. Meia slowly sat her head up to give him the room he needed, her arms falling from his waist to her lap. With tired eyes she looked about and then looked up at him, confused to where they were.
"Where are we?" Meia inquired as she followed his lead and got off of the bike.
It was obvious by the look of the area that they were on the ritzy side of Gotham. Penthouses and townhouses lined the street but Meia was fully aware that this was not the place Bane took her to meet Talia, so who else was there to speak to in this area? She turned to ask him a few questions, her curiosity getting the better of her. With her mouth opened, she clamped it shut when he began to walk away, never stopping to answer her question. Shrugging her shoulders, she followed him knowing that she would find out if she stuck around long enough.
Bane cast a glance behind him to see her following him and he was pleased to see that she was no longer questioning him but using her own eyes to observe their surroundings. She was slowly learning how to retrieve information for herself. He was confident that in the brief time that she had been around him, she was growing in her knowledge and his molding was growing as she grew more attached to him. She could feel him watching her and her dark eyes darted to him. He could see her tilt her head to the side as she observed him now, trying to take his demeanor to determine his mood.
"Was your task a success?"
His abrupt stop made her crash into his back since she was not paying the least bit of attention to his stride. Strong hands gripped her shoulders and pushed her back gently. The pressure of one left one of her shoulders and she found her chin being lifted up so that her eyes could meet his own. The crinkles in the corner of his eyes were the first thing she noticed. He was smiling beneath that hellish mask, smiling directly at her.
"A task that will lead to the fulfillment of a destiny." A confused looked crossed Meia's face. Her mouth opened to ask what destiny was he speaking about but he had dropped her chin and turned, leaving her there as if he had no intention of acknowledging her any further. Meia could do nothing but to follow after the masked man in silence.
"Stay here."
Bane commanded as they entered the ritzy penthouse. Her eyes darted around as he began to walk away from her. Her eyes went in his direction and just when she was certain he was out of sight, she made her way about the place, wanting to know who exactly lived there. With her hands clasped behind her back, her heels were the only sound that drifted throughout the immaculate bachelor pad. It became obvious to her that a male lived there by the décor and it was clear to her when she heard a weasel-like voice yell out to get some girls. Meia noticed that voice from somewhere and it irked her nerves tremendously that she just had to follow the sound of it.
By the time she came to the room where it had come from, she heard the shattering of glass and saw a slender figure exiting out of the room from the window. Curious to what happened; she made her way into the room and to the broken window. Her hands instinctively lay on the window panel. A shock of pain went through her palms and she jolted her hands away to look down at them. They were covered in small particles of glass, a few shards cutting through her skin and sticking. Her palms began to bleed as she tried to brush the glass off slowly.
"I told you to stay put."
The sound of his voice made her jump while she was brushing off the glass from her palms. Turning she saw him standing in the door way, his hands gripping leisurely onto his shirt. He beckoned her to follow him as he turned to walk away from the doorway and she quickly followed behind him. Ignoring her bleeding palms, she climbed the stairs that he was leading her up. The door to the roof was pushed open and she found the night wind hitting her face.
"Stay here."
The tone of his voice was more authoritative this time around while he looked at her with a dark glare that halted her in her steps. With a nod of her head in understanding, he made his way out onto the roof top in a casual stride that screamed danger. Whoever he was approaching, he was in no rush to get his hands on them, the confident and terrifying air around him had already grasped them. She wanted get a better view of what was going on so she peaked her head out from around the corner to look. Just in time she caught the Batman jumping from the roof and a woman soon following behind him after hesitating to look at Bane. The woman caught Meia's gaze and she looked directly at her before shifting back to the approaching Bane and taking her jump off of the roof.
It was no surprise to see a large air craft take off into the night sky, obviously one of Bruce Wayne's toys. Meia scoffed at the thought of this grown billionaire playboy who thought he could simply come back and save Gotham, when he was the true villain for killing the City's iconic member, Harvey Dent. Seeing that the two of them were gone, she stepped out from her hiding place to look up in the direction that the aircraft had gone. Her silent thoughts were cut short by the sound of the weasel-like voice that had jarred her curiosity in the first place.
"Well, well, well. When I asked for some girls, I didn't expect them to get me a woman with...all the right assets."
Meia turned her head around to see who the perverted man was that was complimenting her. She found his eyes glued to her backside and that made her turn her body completely around so that he had to look at her front. It wasn't the best option for his eyes leered up her front just as slowly as he locked eyes with her. A toothy grin was bestowed upon her and she simply gave him a blank stare.
"Forgive me, but I recognize that mesmerizing ass anywhere."
"Well then you will have to forgive me for I don't recognize your half-assed attempts from the list of men I usually encounter."
The grin on his face quickly dispersed at her cool insult. She could see his face growing red and perhaps he would have started yelling at her but a far more superior presence intervened. Meia could feel Bane standing behind her. He looked down at her and then to John Daggett, who stood there with an angry snarl on his face before he turned and walked away.
"Next time you bring a bitch here Bane, make sure she is on all fours."
His words didn't seem to faze Meia on the outside but inwardly she began to fume. How dare this man speak to her like she was one of his toys? Obviously she was the only one of his 'toys' that rejected him. He had his panties in a bunch and Meia wanted to snatch them out. Her step forward was halted by a hand on her shoulder. She could feel her anger radiating off of her. Meia's body temperature began to rise as she shook in anger. He couldn't talk to her like she was some dog and as she looked up at Bane with pleading eyes to at least let her give him a proper tongue lashing; she was only given a hard stare.
". . .Asshole."
Her comment got a low chuckle from the masked man who placed his hand around her shoulder and led her away from the cocky weasel who called himself Daggett. Her arms folded underneath her breasts and she was close to pouting but her anger made her scowl instead while she was pulled closer into the side of Bane.
"Come, Meia. You have had quite the tedious day."
The same events from the previous night were repeating themselves. Bane took her home and no sooner than she entered her apartment, he was ordering her to the bathroom. Meia didn't want to bathe, she just wanted to find a bed but he wouldn't allow that. She was escorted to the bathroom and placed on the counter where he stripped her down while the silence clothed the both of them.
Meia didn't like to be naked around men but Bane didn't make her feel too uncomfortable. He didn't gawk at her body nor give her a lustful gaze. Instead he gave an admiring nod for the simple fact that she kept herself in such good shape. He was more focused on her cut hands and before he bathed her, he cleaned her artificial wounds since they were not as deep as she thought.
This time he didn't lift her out of the tub, instead he handed her a towel and she dried her body off while he left out and made his way to her bedroom. When she exited the bathroom with her towel around her body, she entered her bedroom to see him sitting on the side near the wall with his head lowered as if he was in deep thought. She wanted to ask him what exactly he thought he was doing in her room on her bed. But she kept silent and began to gather her night clothes so that she could change in the bathroom.
"I have no interest in forcing myself upon you, little moth. You will change in here, this is your room."
Meia merely looked at the back of his head for a moment, expecting him to turn around but he stayed in his same slumped position. Letting her towel drop around her feet, she slipped into her under garments and adorned her body with a night gown. Grabbing the towel from the floor she exited the room to place it in the dirty hamper in her bathroom. She was in no rush to go back to her bedroom so she busied herself about her quaint apartment. Meia made her way to the kitchen and raided her fridge, realizing she hadn't eaten all day, nerves had her appetite shot but now she was feeling the hunger at the pit of her stomach.
She went to work in the kitchen, it was quite late but that didn't stop her from making a full course meal of steak and potatoes. The last thing she made was a quick dish of macaroni and cheese and biscuits. By the time she finished cooking; hunger was pushed aside and replaced with a smug feeling. Meia loved to cook but she had the terrible habit of going overboard. As she began to prepare herself a plate she remembered the masked man in her bedroom and in that instant she wondered how he ate. Not wanting to be rude to her guest…she wiped her hands on her kitchen towel and walked to the entrance of her bedroom to where she found him standing in the front of her window, looking out at the city.
"Would you like something to eat? I have plenty…I went a bit overboard."
It took him a moment to acknowledge her presence but once he did, he turned to look at her. Meia knew that he was studying her, trying to see what she was up to. When he was satisfied that her words were sincere he turned back around.
"Enjoy your meal, Meia. I shall eat when you are asleep. "
She figured he would say that so she just gave a nod of her head before she turned to walk away from the door way and back to her food.
"Ms. Williams."
When he called her name she stopped and turned her head to look at him, curious to what he could want with her now.
"Yes?"
A silence lingered in the air as she stared at the back of his frame. His feet shuffled that let her know that he was slowly turning to face her. His brooding eyes landed on her and her mouth became dry in fear as he walked towards her. As much as she wanted to drop her head, his gaze captivated her so that she was frozen in place, her limbs seeming to be glued down. He loomed over her now, those beautiful eyes burning into her soul. A hand was raised to her face to where he caressed her cheek in an affection manner that caused chills of fear to course down her back.
"It would be in your best interest not to flee. I would have no difficulty ending your life. You belong to me, little moth. It's best that you remember that."
Author's Note: Yay! Another chapter complete. Thank you guys for reviewing :3 I really love hearing from you guys. I know that this is supposed to be a romance but I really don't want to just jump into it at first. Meia right now is drawn to Bane, that is true but she still feels conflicted with the masked criminal. I am always ears to hear what you all think will happen next and of course tell me if you see any typos, I will be honest here and say I didn't double check, I was just so excited to post this chapter. Also, keep in mind Meia's appearance on my full profile, you will slowly see a change in her appearance as the story goes on.~