Chapter 11
The door slams shut behind him, leaving Selina in complete and utter silence. Absently, it occurs to her that the electricity is now off—all the lights she left on the night before are out and the apartment is filled with a chill that leaves her shivering in her robe.
Her knees hit the floor before she realizes they have given out; the tears hit her hands before she realizes she is sobbing. She feels loneliness close in on her, suffocating. The realization hits her that Bane was her rock over the past few months, especially as the rest of her relationships deteriorated. She was reckless to have put so much of herself into something as damned as her association with Bane.
Pulling her right leg out from beneath her, she gazes desperately at the tracker. Over time she has grown to accept its presence. Really, so long as she does as Bane says, is where he wants her to be when he wants her to be there, it does not affect her so much.
She stands, but the sobs do not stop. She rushes into the bathroom, steps into the shower. Without bothering to remove her clothing, she yanks the nozzle.
Nothing happens. The water has been shut off as well. Selina collapses to the floor of the tub and wonders if she could bathe in her own tears. Not likely. But in the blood Bane plans to shed? Undoubtedly.
Everyone is going to die. Everyone Selina loves and loved, nearly everyone she has ever laid eyes on, in the flesh. Those left over after the massacre that 'rid' Gotham of the class system would be drown and perish in the simultaneous despair and destruction of the object that they believe insures their new society.
Ignorance is bliss, they say, and Selina does wish for ignorance.
She breaks a finger when she punches the wall. Then, she spends hours cradling it to her chest and rocking back and forth, attempting to console a part of her that inconsolable.
As she rocks, she whispers first bits of prayers that she never really learned, then nursery rhymes she wishes she could unlearn, and finally poetry—'Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.'
"The woods are lovely…" She murmurs. "Dark and deep…"
By the time she pulls herself up from fetal position, it is midafternoon. She does not change clothes or fix her makeup that must look disastrous after the sexing and the sleeping and the crying. Instead, she walks straight out the door and onto the streets of Gotham, where she roams as if nothing is wrong, nothing has changed. She tells no one that there is no hope, that the bomb will go off regardless of what anyone within or outside Gotham does.
She wishes she still had hope.
When she arrives at Bane's apartment—it is his apartment again, not theirs—he does not ask what happened to her finger.
Two months later, Selina continues to obsess over when the bomb will go off. It has become an integral part of her life. Each morning, she wakes up and wonders, will this be the day? When she walks the many roads of Gotham City, she thinks about the people she's saving, about the fact that she isn't saving them, not really.
She and Bane stopped talking, except out of necessity, after he told Selina the bomb would detonate. He chooses when they fuck and Selina acts as she always has, enjoys it as much as she can, just wordlessly. The request for control during copulation does not come up again, nor is it offered. She has nothing to say to him and, she believes, he has nothing to say to her. If she asked when the bomb would go off, he would not respond, so she does not waste her breath. Luckily enough for her, he also stopped giving her pointless objectives. Her time during the day is now her own, while the night is Bane's, as it always was.
One day, she walks. The snow sticks on the ground, and the cold air bites at her nose. Out of the corner of her eye, she catches sight of a couple thugs about to beat a kid to crap. She bristles in anger. They should not be here. She grabs one of their arms before it can come down on the boy's head.
"You boys know you can't come into my neighborhood without asking politely…" She twists him away and grabs the apple as the two men run off. She turns to the kid. "Never steal anything from someone you can't outrun, kid."
She takes a bite for herself then throws the apple back. The kid scampers off, leaving Selina to wonder how many times kids like that steal for nourishment, then are assaulted or worse as punishment for it. It makes her sick. She considers doubling the time she spends out on the streets, but decides against it. Bane wouldn't be very happy with her being more exhausted during sex than she already is. It isn't like she would really make a difference anyways.
"Pretty generous, for a thief."
No. She turns and Bruce Wayne steps out of the shadows. Bane lied. Bruce Wayne lives. She wants to run to him.
"I thought they killed you," she calls.
"Not yet." She feels a hysterical, girly giggle bubbling to her lips but she quashes it. Now is neither the time nor the place, especially considering what happened when they last saw each other.
"If you're looking for an apology…"
"It wouldn't suit you. I need your help." He's coming to her for help?
"…And why would I help you?" Old habits die hard.
"For this." He pulls out a small USB drive. For a moment, Selina doesn't even recognize it. It is the first one Selina has seen in months—a symbol of technology and a different world. "The Clean Slate."
"You'd trust me with that? After what I did to you?" She sounds incredulous, rightfully so. Out of all the people in this city, why would he trust her enough to ask for her assistance?
"I'll admit I was a little let down," he says, but she can hear the laugh at the edge of his voice. Same old Bruce. No—not the same… something is different. "But I still think there's more to you. In fact, I think that for you, this isn't just a tool, it's an escape route. You want to disappear. Start fresh."
He holds it out to her. A laugh is born and dies instantly in the pit of her stomach. "I can't even get off this island."
"I can give you a way off—once you get me to Lucius Fox. I need you to find out where they're holding him, then take me in."
She hesitates for another second, then takes the USB drive. She knows she can't do anything with it right now, not yet, but there is something comforting about holding something so coveted in her pocket. It is her ultimate treasure, because it gives her the world.
"Why do you need Fox?" She asks. Not that it matters, she would do practically anything for this man.
"To save this city," he says simply.
"Who said it needs saving? Maybe I like it this way."
"Maybe you do. But tomorrow that bomb's going off." The comment throws her entire world off balance for a split second. She feels the tension built up over the past two months explode, melt into acceptance of what is to come.
Then, she realizes Bruce is offering her a way out. "Got your powerful friend on the case?" She doesn't ask how he knows about the bomb; she trusts this man unconditionally.
"I'm trying, but I need Fox. Just open the South Street tunnel and you can leave."
She stares at him for a second, deeply hurt that he doesn't even try to convince her to stay and help—with him. "Fine."
They walk down an alley approaching Main Street, side by side. Neither speaks but Selina doesn't feel awkward. The entire situation feels comfortable, strangely.
"What's the plan?" Bruce asks her.
"First, we get you caught and brought to the courthouse."
"That sounds a bit risky," he tells her, but he doesn't sound skeptical. Just curious.
"That's where Lucius Fox is being kept. I'll get both of you out."
"Got it. So what do I—" Selina shoves him out of the alley, right in front of a large group of Bane's men. The group is pushing around a helpless teenage boy, making him dance. Selina's feet ache to kick them in the jaws to leave the poor kid alone, but she knows what is about to happen will suffice. She notices Bruce's shoulders go rigid for a moment, in anger, but then he puts on a look of fear—fake of course. It takes only moments for the mercenaries to notice him. They surround him and throw him to the ground, pulling the black bag over his head. In the New Gotham City Order, the bags are meant to symbolize the stripping of the rich's identity in the same way the poor were stripped of theirs.
They pull Bruce away and Selina follows behind. Once he disappears into the courthouse, she ducks into a side street and changes into her cat suit, along with the mask. Showing up in jeans would be suspicious.
"Sorry to spoil things, boys," she drawls as she walks through the back door, directly beside where prisoners are kept to await trial. "But Bane wants these guys to himself."
Selina loops her hands into the collars of both Fox and Bruce. When she pulls him up, Bruce's hand touches that of a woman previously sitting beside them. Miranda Tate. Famous for her do-gooding and her beauty equally, Selina feels a bit of a sinking disappointment when she sees the link between she and Bruce. The woman looks up at Selina; there is something in Tate's eyes she cannot place.
"I won't forget about you, Miranda," Bruce whispers.
"I know."
Fox looks a bit freaked out when he sees Selina, but he seems to notice Bruce's ease with the situation. When they step into the hall, she immediately takes out the guards.
"I like your girlfriend, Mr. Wayne," Fox says, more to Selina than Bruce, as she releases the older man's cuffs.
Selina swells with pride. "He should be so lucky."
They wind down street after street, Fox leading the way while Selina and Bruce lag behind.
"How did you get back into the city?" She asks.
Bruce laughs. "It was a bit simple actually—the South Street tunnel. There's a car pile up on our side of it, but on the other side there's nothing, the army isn't even guarding it because they assume no one could get in and it is nearly impossible to get out. I only had to make a hole big enough to squeeze myself through."
It is so simple, but so easily overlooked. Selina feels a bit bitter that no one attempted to do so before, but, then, after Bane made an example of the agents that made it in from the other side, she's sure no one was willing to try.
"Lucius!" Bruce calls. Fox turns around. "If I can't, you need to save Miranda, alright?"
"Mr. Wayne. Surely you know there is no need to tell me that." Bruce turns back to Selina to tell her about what he did once he got into Gotham, but her mind is elsewhere.
"Miranda Tate," she says after a moment. Bruce's eyes widen fractionally. "She's a friend?"
"Yes." The way he says it, Selina infers that they are a bit more than friends. "From what I understand, she's been helping the rebellion in every way possible. Have you two met? It was her ball, that night when I popped in on you."
HOW WOULD I HAVE MET HER, YOU—?! Selina's mind begins spewing a long stream of angry curses and shouts at the all-around stupidity and obliviousness of Bruce Wayne. She want's to slap him across the face.
Instead, she says simply, "No."
Fox finally stops and opens a hatch in a wall. Bruce steps inside, holding out his hand for Selina to follow.
But she looks up at the setting sun; Bane is expecting her. He is the last man on earth she wants to see. Should the bomb go off, despite all attempt at another outcome, she wants to be with Bruce. But not going to Bane would possibly lead him coming to get her, throwing a wrench into the plan to save Gotham. There is no way around it.
"I have to go for a bit…" She tells them. Bruce looks at her and there is not even an ounce of distrust in his gaze. "Where can I meet you?"
Bruce tells her the location of a garage about a mile and a half from where Bane's apartment is. It should be easy enough to get to.
"At three in the morning. I'll be preoccupied until then." Selina nods in understanding, then turns on her heel.
A/N Hi everyone. I've gotten a some messages (as reviews, pms and messages on tumblr) giving support in light of some people that have been a bit judgmental of this story (specifically in regards to the presence of graphic rape). I didn't ask for any, that fact that people are even reading this says the world to me, but I wanted to say it here that your messages have made me ridiculously happy. So thank you. I ranted about this issue a while back on my tumblr, if you'd like to see my more passionate opinion, but I won't bore you with it here, because it is a bit long...
On a more positive note, I have added two new songs to the soundtrack, which can still be found at .com (just click writing etc). This chapter was a bit dull, but it is setting up for the next one, which I think is sure to please. I'd like to remind everyone that this story focuses mostly on Selina's relationship with Bane, not Bruce, so if these parts seem a bit less detailed, I apologize. Until next time xxx