Sophia could feel her arms and legs tingling slightly, she knew that was a good sign. The feeling was returning slowly, she knew she had to do something quickly. She lay on her back from where they dropped her, none to gently, onto the ground. Six men stood above her, all looking down at her with a strange expression on their face. The one she kicked in the stomach fell to his knees, straddling her mid-section.
"All that running didn't do you any good, did it honey?" He breathed. Sophia tried to turn her face away from the putrid scent spilling from his mouth. She felt one of the men kick her foot at those words. No, the running might not have done her any good, she didn't know yet. She flexed her hands, feeling the numbness slowly recede.
"Leave me alone." She said, her voice quiet but strong.
"Now why would we ever want to do that?" The man on top of her asked, grabbing her face roughly and smashing his lips against hers. Sophia's eyes widened in shock at the actions of the man. She then brought both hands up and pushed hard on the mans shoulders, pushing him back. Once he was far enough away, she connected her palm with his nose, instantly breaking it. He reached for his nose as blood began to gush from the wound. He screamed in pain, rearing back and rolling off of Sophia's waist.
She quickly rolled to her feet, regretting the action as soon as her vision swam and nausea filled her body. She looked around, seeing blurry bodies moving towards her. She swung blindly, hitting one of the men solidly in the jaw before two of them grabbed her arms and forced her to her knees.
"You may be more trouble than you're worth." The man with the broken nose growled, his voice nasally.
"You haven't even see the worst of it yet." Sophia growled, looking up at the man before her. He watched her for a moment, then brought his fist forward, connecting with her cheek. Pain exploded from the point of impact as her head was tossed to the side, her vision swimming.
"Hasn't anyone ever taught you any manners?" The man sneered, grabbing her by the face.
"Someone has been trying to." She spat, pulling her face away. Her head throbbed from the possible cracked skull and bruised cheek. The man turned away from her, rubbing his hands together, thinking about something.
"Apparently, this person hasn't been doing a very good job." With the last word, he turned quickly, his fist connecting with Sophia's stomach. She coughed as she gasped for breath, a laugh bubbling in her throat.
"You have no idea, I'm just a tough nut to crack." She laughed slightly, gasping at the pain. She refused to cry, she wouldn't allow herself to. She saw a movement from one of the henchmen and turned her attention to him. He pulled a small item out of his pocket and handed it to the man who stood over Sophia. She eyed his hand as he pressed the button on the side of the blade, causing it to flip open.
"Maybe he's just not using the right methods to teach you." The man said, holding the blade up. He nodded to the three men who where just standing around and they walked to the end of the alley they were in to keep watch.
The leader stepped forward and once again grabbed Sophia's face, running the blade softly along the contours of her face. "Where shall we begin?"
Sophia started to struggle, trying to pull herself free of the two thugs that held her. Their grip never faltered, holding her in her place. A sharp pain pierced her side, instantly stopping her struggles. She looked down, the knife buried hilt deep in her side. Sophia tilted her head back, biting her lower lip in an attempt to keep herself from screaming.
"Have you learned your lesson yet?" He asked, his lips brushing against Sophia's ear.
"Not even close." She pulled her head back so that she was looking directly into the mans eyes, pursed her lips, and spit. The man reared back, dragging his hand across his face, wiping the fluid away. A look of rage contorted his features as he stared down at the girl. She watched as his hand brought the blade forward once more, slowly digging it into her stomach. She whimpered in pain, closing her eyes in an attempt to thwart the pain that flowed through her side. He held the knife in her side for a moment then slowly started to twist it. Sophia whimpered again, trying desperately to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes.
"Did this other man ever teach a lesson like this?" He continued twisting the blade, tearing open her wound. Sophia clenched her fists, biting back a scream of pain.
"These methods seem a little extreme to me." A mechanical hiss filled the silent air. "I prefer to use other lessons to get the point across." Sophia looked up, seeing the hulking figure of Bane stepping soundlessly from the shadows, every muscle in his body tensed.
The men holding her instantly released their hold, dropping her to the ground. Sophia fell forward, landing on her hands and knees. She couldn't remember a time she had ever been happy to see Bane until now. She looked down at the knife that still stuck out from her stomach and grabbed the handle, jerking the blade free. She gasped at the pain, dropping the knife to the ground.
Bane stepped forward, his massive figure dwarfing the leader of the gang. "And what was it that you planned on doing to this woman once you were done with your lesson?" Bane asked, his voice dangerously low. The man in front of him shirked away, trying to make himself smaller, invisible.
Bane's hand reached forward, grabbing the man by the throat and lifting him off the ground. Sophia heard the sickening crack of the man's neck then the thud of his body hitting the ground. The men that held her had ran, trying to escape the monster that had appeared from the shadows. He watched them run, a puff of air escaping from his breathing device.
"They won't get far, I will have some people hunt them down later." Bane stated, then turned his attention to Sophia. He knelt down next to her, tilting his head as he helped her sit up. "You broke that man's nose." It wasn't a question.
"Yep," she grunted, "didn't think he should get away without a scratch." Her breath was shallow, she could feel the warmth of her blood running down her stomach and side.
"You must receive medical attention soon." Bane said, gently checking over her injuries. Sophia started to shiver, realizing for the first time just how cold it was outside. Bane looked at her for a moment, then removed the jacket that draped his shoulders. He gently moved her so she was leaning forward, placing her head on his shoulder as he draped his jacket around her.
Sophia didn't protest, his jacket was warm, he was warm, and she accepted the warmth happily.
"Come little one, we must get you home." He lifted her off the ground slowly, trying to cause her as little pain as possible. He carried her bridal style, walking as smoothly as he could.
Sophia could feel her vision blurring once more, that pesky head wound acting up again. She looked up at Bane as he held her again his chest. Then he vision went black.