Disclaimer: I do not own Batman in any way, shape or form (film, TV show, comics, books, toys, etc. etc.) or any of the characters. I merely own my OC Juliet and her family
Thirteen: Masked Heroes
The little boy who had spotted Batman outside of his apartment on that one rainy evening, was standing frightened and shaking by a small group of SWAT officers. He was lost and terrified. His world was being yanked apart around him and he just wanted to get out. Reaching up, he tugged on the navy colored sleeve of one of the officer's jackets. He looked down disdainfully at the boy.
" I can't find my mom," He told the man. With a gloved hand, the man pushed him to the side, completely ignoring him.
" Hey!" Came the call of Rachel's voice. She'd managed to get away from the officer who'd been meant to get her out of the Narrows, and the treatment the man was giving the small boy was just not going to do. " What the hell are you doing?" Rachel jogged over, a rightfully angry expression on her face. She took the boys shoulders and pulled him closer to her as the officer pointed back to the street wordlessly, obviously telling her to move away.
" Gentlemen!" Ra's stepped out of the back of the SWAT van, pulling on a pair of expensive leather gloves. " Time to spread the word." The stolen Wayne Enterprise's microwave emitter, now positioned on the damp ground began to whir to life. Rachel hugged the boy to her, covering his face. " And the word is… panic." With the push of the button, the emitter was activated and manhole covers blew upwards, pipes burst and toxin-laden water vapor permeating the air. Rachel pulled the boy to crouch down and covered him with her body to make sure he was safe. As the whole of the Narrows began to become engulfed in the hazy vapor, Ra's pulled on a mask that covered his mouth and nose, which would filter the toxin.
After inoculating himself, Gordon found Flass in the haze, aiming a gun at two young men. Flass didn't see two young men. He saw two grey-eyed zombie-like creatures. He shouted babbled orders at the two frightened teens, and when they didn't comply, he cocked the gun… and then fell passed out on the ground as Gordon hit him over the head. He took away his gun and handcuffed him to a pipe, making sure he wouldn't hurt anyone else.
Rachel was comforting the boy, who was slowly beginning to panic.
" It's okay, it's okay, no one's going to hurt you…" She whispered to him, rubbing his shoulders and arms.
" Of course they are!" Shouted a loud, distorted voice. Head whipping around, she spotted a figure on a horse.
" Crane?" She asked, scared.
" No! Scarecrow," He corrected, holding up a finger, leering at them from under his mask.
Rachel pulled the boy up and they began to run through mazes of alley ways, Crane following close behind on his black horse, which still had the dead cop dragging behind it. Heart racing, Rachel jerked to a stop, pressing up against a set of rusty railings.
" There you are!" Crane shouted as he pulled on the horse's reins, causing it to rear. " There's nothing to fear but fear itself!" The boy saw a demonic horse with red eyes, breathing flame with an equally demonic rider, and he shuddered in Rachel's arms. Refusing to be scared by him, she pulled out her tazer. " I am here to help—"
The tazer barbs hit Crane's burlap covered face, sparking and causing him to scream out in pain. He arched backwards in the saddle, gripping the reins as the horse trotted away with him still screaming out. Rachel panted and relaxed for only a moment as a new threat began to a peer through the foggy air. She shuffled towards the end of the alley, only to find it blocked off with debris. A gang of inmates began to step towards them, crazed by the toxin. Rachel's eyes widened and she grabbed a gun off a nearby unconscious officer.
" Batman will save us, he'll come," The little boy whispered. " He'll come…"
" Don't peak," She whispered back.
Rachel raised the gun to the man leading the gang…
Someone pushed her arm down.
A female figure stepped beside her, sleeves torn, arms and hands bloody, face covered by an elaborate red and gold domino mask. The woman's eyes, peering through the eyeholes, were trained on the inmates and she stepped in front of Rachel and the boy.
" Stay behind me," She told them in a voice that was quiet and slightly lower than average. Rachel stared at the woman and blinked in confusion for a moment.
The man in the front of the group raised a knife, which glimmered sinisterly in the dim light. He lunged forward and the masked woman grabbed his wrist, slamming a knee up into his gut. The man grunted and wrestled his knife hand away, affectively managing to slice through her sleeve again, a laceration appearing on her arm. She hissed in pain and grabbed his arm again, twisting it painfully till he dropped the weapon. She made a swing to punch her, but when she made a move to block, he faked her out and swept her feet out from under her. She fell to the ground with a yelp and the man grabbed the knife again. Hell only knew what he saw when he saw her in the toxin-induced state…
A dark figure dropped from above, cape flying and surrounding Rachel and the boy, sweeping them upwards. Batman had indeed come to the rescue.
Juliet kept fighting off the man trying to pin her to the pavement. She'd push him off, try to stand, get knocked down again by crazed movements. She would get pushed back onto the ground and the knife would get too close to comfort. The inmate was hell bent on killing her; his mind was fogged and crazed, and he wasn't about to stop till she stopped moving for good.
OOOO
Gordon stood, staring transfixed at the Batmobile, 'key' in hand. He began to climb up to open it… some how… but a sudden shout made him spin around. A terrified citizen came bounding out of an alley, wielding a metal pole. The man ran at Gordon and smashed the pole into his knee, causing the police sergeant to fall to the pavement, fumbling to stand up. A sharp pain radiated up his leg and he knew he could absolutely not shoot the man; it was against everything he and the police force stood for. So, he began to scoot backwards, unable to stand on his now injured leg. Just as the man was about to jab the sharpened end of the pole into Gordon's chest, a sound caught his attention. With wild, almost un-human eyes, his head flicked to the side and he took off running to assault someone else. Gordon sat on the pavement, back resting against the black metal of the Batmobile, taking in deep breaths as his leg continued to scream out in pain. He had to find some way to get into the vehicle… they were going to spread the toxin through all of Gotham… there had to be a way…
OOOO
Bruce dropped Rachel and the young boy on top of the building and then jumped back up on the edge, peering down at the masked woman who was some how managing to hold her own against the man with the knife. Dropping down again, he knocked the man off the masked woman, narrowly saving her from having her throat slit by the blade. The woman pulled herself up and as the inmates began to close in on them for beating down their leader, Bruce looped an arm around her waist. She linked her arms around his neck and the cable was activated, pulling them upwards. The air whooshed around them as they ascended, eventually safely landing on the roof again.
Before he could make sure Rachel and the boy were safe, before he could leave, search for Juliet, save Gotham… he had to know who was behind the elaborate domino mask.
" Who are you?" He asked in his signature gruff whisper. He saw an amused brow arch and a smirk pull across rosy lips.
" You… don't recognize me?" She asked him. Her voice was lower than average, soft and some of the words were spoken slower than others. In a sense, her voice sounded quite sultry, something that made him listen to her.
" Should I?" He asked, still standing close to her. A quiet laugh escaped her and she rolled her blue eyes. Beaten and battered arms crossed over chest, the tattered sleeves of her black sweater pulling to reveal scrapes and slow-forming bruises.
" I would certainly hope so. Trust me, why don't you," She snickered, popping her hip to the slide slightly. His eyes narrowed at her. He didn't like the idea of a non-trained citizen risking their lives in hellish situations just for the hell of it. His hand grabbed her elbow, albeit softly since he saw her injuries, and he drew her a bit closer.
" You're risking your life. You aren't protected at all. Now tell me who you are; how could I trust you if you could be one of Ra's' accomplices?"
" Oh, come on, you can't be that fooled, can you?" She asked, both eyebrows arching. She swept a strand of hair from her face. Seeing that there was no humor on Bruce's face she grinned and leaned in to whisper to him, voice no longer disguised. " I hope you'll give me some time off or a pay raise for saving myself from Crane, Bruce."
Bruce's eyes widened and he stepped back to stare at who he suddenly realized was Juliet. Her hair had seemed darker in the night and her voice had changed to disguise herself… he supposed he should blame himself for all of this. Bruce couldn't help but think despite the injuries and blood; she still managed to look incredibly attractive, even with the brightly colored mask covering almost half her face. He opened his mouth and almost said 'Juliet,' but she smirked and raised a finger to press against her lips, which reminded him to not say anything.
" I know that this is stupid, I just didn't want anyone else to get hurt. I knew he was after Rachel, but it looks like she took care of him herself. But, please, I'm here now, tell me what I can do," She told him, voice dropping slightly again. Bruce's jaw tightened as he thought of all the horribly dangerous situations she could get into… he didn't want her hurt or dead; he wouldn't know what he'd do if that happened. But he'd learned there was no fighting with her.
" Gordon could use some help with the Tumbler. I left him by the bride on the main road. You know how to drive it, see if you can help take out the monorail," He told her. She nodded at him as they both heard the boy say,
" I told you he'd come." Rachel was brushing hair from his face as he stared at the masked and caped man. She looked up to see Batman for the third time that night. He nodded to her and jumped up on the ledge of the rooftop.
" Wait!" Rachel called out. Bruce froze in his crouching position, head bent. Rachel stood and stepped towards him. " You could die. At least tell me your name." He met her eyes and turned towards her.
He couldn't tell her. He could subject his best friend whom he'd known his entire childhood to the danger of knowing. He couldn't tell her. He felt as though another reason… another person… was why he shouldn't tell her. He couldn't place why just yet, but he only shook his head to Rachel and dove off the building, cape stretched out to swoop through the air.
Rachel stared after him in disappointment almost. The woman stepped towards her.
" Stay here till everything dies down. It'll be safer, trust me," She told her. Juliet then walked over to the little boy and smiled at him, crouching down to his level. She wiped the tears off his cheeks and winked at him.
" Keep being brave; it suits you," She told him with a grin before heading for the fire escape on the opposite side of the roof.
" Will you tell me who you are?" Rachel asked, voice skeptical. Juliet turned and grinned at her.
" Not a chance. Sorry," She said. And with that, she made her way towards the main road.
OOOO
When Juliet managed to spot the Tumbler, she ran towards it as fast as she could, not seeing Gordon in immediate vision. As she got closer, she saw him trying to use the side of the vehicle to stand.
" Sergeant Gordon?" She asked voice altered as she crouched beside him. He looked up at her, brows furrowing. When he spotted her mask, his face relaxed.
" Friend of the Batman?" He asked. She smirked.
" How could you tell? Are you alright?" She asked as he slumped to the ground again. Gordon's hand landed on his right knee.
" Some crazed civilian ran out and hit me with a pole. I don't know what it did to my leg, but I can't stand."
" Luckily for you, I'm here to help." She took the key for the Tumbler and pressed the top of it, which opened the top. " Put your arm around my shoulders… there you go. Now one… two… three!" She helped him stand and he leaned up against the vehicle as she jumped in, helping him get into the passenger seat. " Think there's any way to get the commissioner to lower the bridge?" She asked as the roof closed and she checked everything.
" I can try." He pulled out the radio. " This is Gordon. Prepare to lower the bridge." No reply was given, but Juliet knew if they didn't comply, the Tumbler had some tricks up its sleeve.
She spun it around and the GPS came online, telling her how far to drive. It was like an extremely dangerous road trip. The Tumbler revved up and sped forward, towards the nearest bridge. She could see Gordon grabbing onto the side of his seat as she swerved around corners; she may drive slightly mad, but at least she was doing it safely… and right. Speeding around corners, Gordon updated her about what was going to happen: the monorail, the microwave emitter, everything. As they sped towards the bridge, it lowered and Juliet smirked.
" Looks like they paid attention after all!" She said as they sped across the bridge, dodging the cop cars. Gordon winced and grabbed his leg, which had been jostled. A good distance away from the cops, Juliet pulled over and looked at him, the sound of exploding water mains surrounding them as the monorail sped by. " If you stay, you're going to hurt your leg more. I need you to get out, I'm sorry; I won't have you seriously injured because I'm driving insanely at the moment."
Gordon stared at her for a long moment, debating on whether to trust her or not. Slowly, he nodded and the roof pulled back, allowing him to pull himself out and limp to crouch by a nearby car. And with him safely out of the way and in no current danger of further injury, Juliet sped off, preparing to help take down Ra's al Ghul.
Afterword: THINGS ARE GETTING SERIOUS. XD Bruce was obviously shocked that she was there, and she enjoyed being able to pull one over on him! Gotta love her, am I right? XD
REVIEW REPLIES! WOO!
grapejuice101: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! It was fun to write. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again!
ChinaDang: Hope you got the link! I'm glad you liked the chapter! Thanks again!
kindleflame5: I'm glad you liked the chapter and the mask! She may not have gotten a rematch with Crane in THIS chapter, but perhaps later on… 'cause we all know he isn't captured and can totally turn up anywhere… anytime. 'Cause he's TOTALLY that kind of villain! I hope you enjoyed Juliet pulling one over on Bruce, she had fun with it! And I've planned out the Rachel finding out scene, it's gonna be awkward and what not! Hope you enjoyed! Thanks again!
Theonlyredhead: I'm really glad you're enjoying and liking the edits I've made! I hope you enjoyed this one as well! Thanks again!
Outsidel0okingin: Rachel doesn't know right now. But when/if she finds out, I'm sure if she tried to take advantage of Bruce, Juliet will have something to do and say about it! I'm glad you've been enjoying! Thanks again!
FreeSpiritSeeker: Yeah, she wasn't about to let Jonathon get away! XD Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed!
Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967: Glad you liked it! I hope you enjoyed this one as well! Thanks again!
Nymartian: We'll see what Bruce will have to say about her wanting to help him XD I think he'll protest quite mightily! Hope you enjoyed! Thanks again!
WinterRain36: I'm glad you like the mask! I debated on which one to choose for a while. And I'm glad you're okay with the compromise! Thanks again! Hope you enjoyed!
highlander348: Yes, once they realize and admit they love each other, both being quite passionate people, I would think that mad passionate love would be soon to follow! XD And I know how you feel about Rachel; I don't hate her, but she does take advantage of him quite rudely, which gives me a mixed attitude about her. And I do plan to do other chapters before starting the Dark Knight. We'll see training moments and probably her family's reaction about her dating the richest man in Gotham. We'll see what her brother thinks XD I hope you enjoyed! Thanks again for the amazing review!
Deranged-eccentricity: I'm really glad you've enjoyed my story thus far! And I haven't had much time to read lately (what with sickness, school and my shows) but from what I've read thus far of your story, I really like it! I can't wait to read more of it! =D Thanks again and hope you enjoyed!
MoonlitSorrows: I'm glad you've been enjoying! I hope you liked this chapter and thanks again for the review!
And thank you for all those who have added this to their story alerts or their favorites! It means a lot to me!
Okay, so that poll I put up last time I posted about my next story? Like I expected, Captain America (Steve/OC) won! So, the first chapter is up! If you'd like to read it, I'd really appreciate knowing what you all think of it so far and if you'd like me to continue writing it! I've got SO many ideas for it!
So, I hope to get the next one up as soon as possible, because it's all getting really exciting! And then we get into the Dark Knight with the Joker! I LOVE him! Which brings me to mention that if you haven't seen the Joker Blogs on youtube, go watch 'em! They're amazing (in my opinion at least)! OH AND ANOTHER DISCLAIMER: I do not own the idea of using Cillian Murphy's birthday as Crane's patient number; that comes from the Joker Blogs.
So, let me know what you think of the chapter! Thanks again you guys! Please check out the Captain America fic if you'd like!
~ Mary