Hi everyone! Sorry this update took so long... Thank you so, so much for your reviews, follows and for favoring this story! It's really cool to know that so many of you like this story. At last - here is the new chapter. Hope you're going to like it! =)


"I need a martial arts trainer and someone to teach me how to use guns, because lets face it, I'm not going to need them." I said to Alfred as I was pacing through the room with newly-found enthusiasm.
"May I express my opposition to this plan again." Alfred said.
"You may but it won't do any good. I'm doing this, with or without you."
He sighed. "So be it. Follow me."

We walked to the living room and he pressed the combination on the piano that opened the Batcave. The elevator opened and I stepped in with Alfred. It was strange to be here again. Especially because this was all his - everything in here reminded me of him even more. Here he was able to be who he truly is.

We reached the bottom and Alfred opened the door of the elevator for me.
"Remind me what we're doing here." I said as I walked around, wrapping my arms around me trying not to get emotionally overwhelmed with the memories of Bruce in my mind.
"I wasn't entirely honest with you miss when I said everything in here is based on cell service." I
looked at him surprised.
"I kept it a secret for now because I was afraid you might get the crazy idea of trying to do something similar to Master Wayne. Well, now you're having these ideas anyway…" "So what can we do with all this material?" I asked looking around.
"We have a backup server that allows us to communicate with the CIA, FBI and Gordon though of course we don't know where or how he is."
I nodded. "Can we alert the FBI then?"
"They need no alert, they're aware. But it's good to go through their server to see what exactly it is they know."
"We can hack their server?"
Alfred grinned at me. "Oh you have no idea what we can do."
"Let's do it then."
"I took the liberty and already look into it."
"So, what do they know?"
"Nothing I'm afraid. They don't know what we know - that this bomb will go off in a few months regardless of anything. That is information we should provide them with but honestly I am not sure of how much good it will do. I think they don't want to risk any blood on their hands."
"Ok, fill me in. I should know how everything works in here."


"Bruce."
The familiar voice woke him up.
His mouth was dry, his head was pounding and his entire body was in excoriating pain.
He tried to focus his eyes on who was speaking.
"Bruce." It was his father.
"I'm sorry." He said barely above a whisper. "I failed you and mom. I failed both of you." He looked to the ground in shame.
"Bruce, what do we do when we fall?" His father asked with a smile.
He looked back up at his father. "I can barely walk."
"Pick yourself up. You always have."

With that he woke up, still hanging in the sheets from the ceiling. He tried to stand and it worked, his legs were able to support his body for the first time in a week.
"There you go." The old man said, smiling at him.
His arms grabbed the sheets and he tried to get himself out.
"Wait." The old man said but it was too late and Bruce stumbled and fell on against the wall, holding himself up.
"Don't be impatient." The old man said, trying to help him but Bruce refused.
"No I need to do it on my own." He said as he slowly started to take a step and another one.

Suddenly pain shot through his body again and he fell down.
"You need to give your body time to heal."
"I don't have the luxury of time." He said getting slowly up on the stretcher, breathing through the pain.
"It takes about 8 weeks for a broken back to heal. And that's with proper care that we can't give you here. It's also not the only injury you have."
"Ah, what makes you think that?" Bruce asked sarcastically, his body covered in scars and bruises .
The old man smiled at him. "Right."
Then his smile vanished and he grabbed the remote control. Bruce's eyes were following his movements very closely.
"I'm sorry. They insisted." He said as he turned on the TV again.

"Gotham. Take the city back from the corrupt. The rich. The oppressors of generations who've kept you down with the myth of opportunity." Bane said and he saw her standing next to him, her hands handcuffed.
She looked beautiful but her face looked lifeless. He tried to read every flicker of emotion that went over her features. He hated seeing her in his hands. For a second the thought of what else he might done to her flickered through his mind. But then he stopped himself - Bane wouldn't do that to a woman. He saw his mother die of a brutal death - raped by many men.
"And we give it to you, the people. Gotham is yours - none shall interfere. Do as you please…"
Bane suddenly put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. Bruce immediately tensed up, balling his hands into fists, clenching his teeth, breathing heavier. The anger in him boiling.
"Do as you please. It is your city." Bane said as he ran his hand over her body. She closed her eyes.

Bruce got up, not even sure how he did it. It must have been the adrenaline. He grabbed the remote and smashed it against the wall, a guttural scream coming out of him. He kept walking and caught his fall by grabbing on to the iron bars. He rested his head against the cold iron bars, still listening to Bane. He slowly turned his head, facing the TV. This time she wasn't wearing a collar around her neck but once again she had to wear a gown. He knew why - to showcase her. Make her look like the princess of Gotham - the very elite Bane was trying to get the city to hate and revolt against.

"The powerful will be ripped from their decadent nests," Bane continued. " ...and cast into the cold world the rest of us have known and endured. Courts will be convened. Blood will be shed. This great city will endure. Gotham will survive."
He kept watching her face throughout the entire speech, hoping to get a hint of whether she was ok. She kept staring straight ahead, her eyes cold. Was the baby ok? He wished he could tell by looking at her. Did she know he was still alive? Probably not.

At least Alfred was there to look after her. Make sure she was somewhat safe. Alfred wouldn't allow the monster to touch her.
"You should get back to resting." The old man said. Bruce still held himself up, holding on to the iron bars.
"No." He shook his head, pushing through the pain. "I need to get better. Fast."


"Was that necessary?" I asked when we got back in the car.
"Which part?" Bane asked.
"The one where you had your hands all over me?"
"Ah yes. Apologies. But to answer your question it was. Necessary. You're the symbol for Gotham."
"Shut the fuck up with your stupid symbol bullshit. I'm nobody and you're just dragging me into this because it's your personal vendetta against Bruce." His name stung more than I thought it would. I felt close to throwing up suddenly. Bane smirked at me - well as much as he was able to do so with the mask.
"Oh don't worry Miss Hunter. This is far bigger than you and me and your husband-to-be."

The car stopped and the door opened. We were at Manor but I still looked at Bane. There was an eerie confidence around him. "I believe this is your stop." Bane said, his eyes still with a smile in them.
I got out, my stomach in knots. Alfred immediately opened the house door for me, his eyes worried as always.
"Are you alright Miss?" He asked once the door shut.
"You don't need to ask me every time."
"Very well miss. I am just worried." I took a deep breath.
"Sorry Alfred. I'm not myself these days. I feel helpless."
"You don't need to apologize for anything. I'm in awe of how you're holding up given all the circumstances." I nodded, looking to the floor. The truth was I wasn't holding anything up - I was falling apart. The Catherine Hunter everyone knew was gone. She died that day.
"I'm going to take a shower and get out of this dress." I said, feeling disgusted with myself in it.
"Very well. I will make some tea." Alfred said.

When I got out of the shower I went back into his bedroom. Still feeling a massive emptiness inside of me. I remembered the feeling of when we broke up, when I thought he had cheated on me. Nothing of that came even close to how I felt now. At least then I felt pain. Now - I felt numb. So numb that it scared me. I didn't feel alive anymore. A lifeless shell of myself, walking around, breathing but not living. I put on sweatpants and then I saw his Yale hoodie. I put it on and it felt utterly painful to wear it. Good. At least I was feeling something. I still hadn't even been able to cry. The pain at least distracted me from the emptiness. Even when Bane touched me in front of all those cameras, his hand gliding up my body on my dress, I felt nothing - no fear. It wasn't normal.

I opened another drawer on his dresser and saw all his ties carefully laid out. Images of him putting on a tie went through my mind. I grabbed a dark blue tie with grey stripes on it. It was my favorite tie on him. My hands wrapped around the material. When I put it back, I noticed a satin box in there. It was the ring box. I felt my heart race as I slowly took the box and opened it. The beautiful diamond sparkled at me in familiar fashion. The night he proposed to me rushed through my head as if it was a faint memory from another life. Our time on that island seemed to be from another universe. Now everything was so awful. So hopeless.

Slowly I took the ring out of the box and placed it gently on my finger. I nodded at myself, almost as confirmation that this was the right thing. I closed the box and the drawer and went downstairs. Alfred smiled at me and poured me some tea.

"I think I need a refresher on how to use the computers downstairs." I said as I brought the cup to my lips.
"Certainly." Alfred said.
"And who do you know when it comes to martial art?"
He took a deep breath. "Well, I think I have someone."
"Who would that be?"
"She's an ex- SEAL team 6 member."
"A woman? I didn't know they ever had female members."
"She's the only one. They had to accept her because she is the best at literally everything."
"Literally everything?"
"You'll see. She'll be here tomorrow. For your first session." I looked at him surprised. "How will she get by Bane's men?"
"She won't. We have a secret entrance through the Batcave. Like you said - you playing along is the perfect disguise."
"Great! Now I just need someone who can teach me guns."
"I've taken care of that as well."
"Oh?"
"He's a former CIA agent. They say he's the best in the business when it comes to precision shooting."
"This is amazing. Thank you Alfred."
He just shook his head. "You better don't get killed or I'll never hear the end of it from Master Wayne."
I smiled softly at him. "I promise I'll do my best."
He nodded and then he noticed the ring on my finger. He smiled at me, tears in his eyes.
"More tea?" He asked, trying to hide his tears. I nodded, handing him my cup.

The next morning I felt more focused than I had all week. I had a goal. Something to work towards.
"What is her name?" I asked when I sat down at the breakfast table.
"Shaye Cook." Alfred responded and handed me a classified army file.
"Where did you get that from?" I asked. He smirked.
"So much you don't know yet." I opened the file and saw a picture of her, covered in mud in her uniform, her head shaven, carrying a boulder.
"Shaye Cook, made history by being the first woman to complete the Ranger training and getting the Ranger tab. Moved on shortly after to special forces. Best of her class." "What class?"
"All of them. She was then promoted to SEAL team 6, known for obtaining Osama Bin Laden. It's a multi-functional special operations unit with several roles that include high-risk hostage extractions and other specialized missions."
"When are we going to start?"
Alfred checked his watch. "In 30 minutes miss."
"How did you convince her to do this?"
"Oh I didn't need much convincing. I told her you wanted training to feel safer."
I nodded. "So how are we going to get her through the Batcave without her knowing that he's Batman?"
"There's a secret entrance that goes above the cave. It's just a long tunnel."
"Ok good."
"But Miss Cook knows."
"What?"
"I took the liberty of telling her since right now, there's no need in hiding his identity from her. It's more beneficial for her to know what you're trying to accomplish. If she is to be your trainer, you need to be able to be a hundred percent honest with her. You can't keep secrets, especially not one as big as that."
"What about Bruce. Did he tell his trainer?"
Alfred nodded. "He did. And another time I will tell you all about him. Not a very pleasant man."

Shaye walked into the Batcave which we determined would be the best place for us to train. Away from Bane's men. She was not much taller than me but much bigger. Her shoulders were broad, her arms muscular. She wore black boots, sweat pants and a tank top.
"Nice to meet you." I said holding out a hand.
She just looked at me, walking around me as if she was assessing me. "Ok soldier, are you ready for this? This ain't going to be a yoga class, even though you're dressed for one." She asked, crossing her arms in front of her body.
"Um, I'm ready."
"The answer is yes ma'am." I smiled.
"Ok, we don't need to do the whole army thing. I just want to learn how to fight…"
"I am here to make you into a soldier. Not help you lose a few extra pounds. Do you have any idea who you're up against?" She asked me, only inches away form my face. Her eyes piercing through mine.
"Yes, I know…"
"You don't because you've never fought a soul in your life. Right now you're under their radar. Just a pretty little girl in a dress. Nothing to be worried about. The second you're trying to fight them, they will not hold back. They will break your bones, they will torture you, rape you, and kill you. That is out there. War. You hired me to train you so are you ready?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Good. Let's work on strength training first. You look like you can't even lift a twig."


It had been three weeks in this hell hole. The pain in his back wasn't any better but at least now he was able to move again. He had gone back to strength training, pulling himself up on an iron bar. His back yelping at him in pain each time. But he had no time to let it heal. He had to get back to Gotham as soon as possible. Most of the media in Gotham had shut down. Bane had created his own TV channel, through which he fed lies. Once a week he held a speech, Catherine on his side each time. It was all a show for him, to make him realize how significant his failure had been.

"Why build yourself?" The old man asked, watching him do crunches.
"I'm not meant to die in here." He responded, pushing his body to the limit.
"Here? There? What's the difference?"
Bruce ignored him and kept doing crunches.
"You can't leave here." The old man said. "No one ever has."
"You said a child did it."
"But no ordinary child. A child born in hell. A child forged by suffering, hardened by pain. Not a man from privilege."
"My body makes the jump. I can do it." He said, getting up and doing pushups.
"The leap to freedom is not about strength. Survival is the spirit. The soul."
"My soul's as ready to escape as my body." He responded, sweat dripping from his body.
"Fear is why you fail."
"I'm not afraid." He said, looking at the TV screen where Bane held Cat like a trophy. "I'm angry."
With that he lifted one arm behind his back and continued to do push-ups with one arm.


At the first day of training I had thrown up. Alfred convinced me not to give up then and there but I felt completely out of my league. Because I was.

Every day we trained for 8 to 10 hours until I reached complete exhaustion. I felt my body getting stronger but after three weeks, I still felt like she was torturing me more so than train me.
"Ok little princess." She said when my legs gave in and I fell to the ground.
"Stop…calling me that." I said out of breath, my head dizzy with exhaustion.
"Stop acting like one then. Get up. Now. Come on!"
I got up, my legs felt like rubber. "Give me a hundred pushups."
"I can barely walk." I said, feeling close to passing out.
"Fine make it 200 princess. Get down!" She yelled.
I got down and did pushups, my entire body hating me.

"See you tomorrow bright and early." She said when she left. I nodded, holding myself up by holding on to the boxing bag.
"Shaye?" I asked and she turned around. "How much longer until we can start fight training?"
She smirked at me. "I gotta give it to you, you're one tough princess."
I smiled back.
"You need at least another two weeks of strength training. Then we go into marital arts while we're continuing the strength training and cardio."
I nodded, still trying to catch my breath as she left.

The next morning came sooner than I wanted it to. It was 5 am when I had to get up and meet her. My muscles still aching. It was the daily drill. I would train with her all day, unless Bane needed me for some spectacle on camera. Each time he made me dress up in a fancy dress, put on makeup and jewelry.

"You're meeting Mr Brenning today at 3." Alfred said as he handed me my protein shake, which I took with a weak arm.
"Who is that again?" I asked, my brain confused from all the training. He handed me another file.
"Brandon Brenning. Also a former Navy SEAL, now CIA agent and the most lethal sniper in history."
"Does he also know about Bruce's identity?"
"No. There was no need to tell him. For now at least."
"How do you know all these people?"
He smiled at me. "I served as an MI6 agent during World War II."
I looked at him surprised. All this time I thought of him as this sweet little old butler. I had no idea he was an intelligence agent back in the day.
"Are you serious?" I asked, still shocked by the revelation.
"I'm afraid so. Since then I have kept in touch with some. Of course I don't know Brenning and Cook personally, but I know someone at MI6 who owes me a favor and knows people at the CIA."
"That's crazy."
"Well, you don't want to be late for your training with Miss Cook."
I sighed. "Remind me why I'm doing this to myself."
He laughed. "Oh I really don't know miss."

When 3 pm finally rolled around, I was exhausted. Hardly able to hold my arms up. I took a quick shower and got changed before I met Brandon Brenning in the cellar that Alfred had retro fitted to a shooting range. He was tall, bigger build and had dark hair. When I introduced myself he actually shook my hand. Not like Cook who immediately started yelling at me.

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am."
"Please call me Cat."
"How are you holding up?" He asked, smiling at me.
"Ugh, can you tell?"
He laughed. "Kinda. I know Cook. She's a beast."
I nodded. "That is true."
"Let's not waste any time." He said, grabbing the black duffle bag with several guns in it.
"First of all, I really hate guns. I don't like to be around them." I said, looking at the vast array of guns in his bag.
He smiled and handed me one of them. "That's a good thing. You're not supposed to like killing people."
I carefully took the gun and it felt foreign in my hands.
"Now, using a gun is all a mind game. You need to focus. Take a deep breath. Center yourself."
He used his hands to push my shoulders back, lengthening my spine.
"Think about it like archery."
"Pull from my vast experience with archery? Sure."
He laughed.
"Sorry." I said. "Alfred should have warned you that I'm a smart ass."
"Not at all. I like it." He said as he stretched my arms with his. "Follow my movement. All I'm doing is looking at the target while holding absolutely still. I call it the steel arm. Pretend like it's made out of steel."
"Ha! No problem since my arms are currently made out of jello."
He laughed. "I figured they would be after Cook was done with you. But we'll get there, don't worry."
He let go off me. "Practice on your own. Take a deep breath, focus on the target. You should get tunnel vision where you don't see anything but that."
"So then should I pull the trigger?"
"No. I mean you can, but it's not loaded. Today is not about you firing a gun. It's about you learning how to hold one."

Two weeks had passed and I had reached the point of complete physical exhaustion.
Alfred opened the door to the bedroom and brought in a tray of breakfast which simply consisted of a green protein shake and coffee.

"Rise and shine."
"Do I have to?" I asked as I was sitting up, my abs screaming at me.
He laughed. "Not if it was up to me." He handed me my smoothie.
"Go on, say I told you so." I said as I took a big sip of the drink.
"Not today Mrs Wayne. More coffee?"
The name almost made me spit up the smoothie. The pain ripping through me. Mrs Wayne. I almost had been. It felt like an old wound had been reopened.
"What did you just call me?" Alfred looked at me confused, obviously unaware of the fact that he had mistakenly called me Mrs Wayne.
"I'm sorry?"
"You called me Mrs Wayne." I said sitting up straighter.
"That is impossible."
"No, you did. You just did."
"Well, I apologize."
"No, no…" I got up. "Say it again."
"That I'm sorry?"
"No, I mean call me by the wrong name again."
I needed to see if it would do what I was hoping it would. I needed to feel pain because pain distracted me from the numbness.
"Alright. Would you like some coffee…Mrs Wayne?"
I felt like someone had punched me right in the gut. It worked. I still wasn't able to cry but for a second I felt alive again.
I softly smiled, close to tears. "Could you do me a favor Alfred?"
"Certainly." "I know this might sound completely stupid… Maybe I shouldn't ask."
"You can ask me anything." Alfred said and smiled at me.
I smiled softly back at him. "Please keep calling me Mrs Wayne." I looked up at him again, checking to see what his reaction would be.
He smiled at me with tears in his eyes. "It would be my pleasure." He said.


It was the day he was going to get out of this hole. It had to be. He went to the wall, some of the guys tied a rope around his midsection. He stared up at the sky, seeing the sunlight.
"So close. So easy." He heard Bane's voice in his head. A few steps separated him from freedom and from saving her and Gotham. He could taste the adrenaline. Feel the anger boil in his blood. He started climbing. So far this was easy. His hands grabbing tightly onto sections of the wall. It was meant to be easy. It was meant to be almost achievable. Until you fell just feet away from freedom.

He kept going, as if he was trying to persuade himself that this was doable. He got to one section and stood up. He could see the portion of the wall that he had to reach to be able to get out of here. It was close enough that you had hope to be able to do it, but far enough that it seemed impossible all at the same time. He looked down and saw all the men chanting and rooting for him. He took a deep breath and took a big jump. But as he jumped he realized that it was too far and his jump not big enough.
He fell and felt utterly hopeless. The rope jerked him back up with force and his spine, hardly healed, screamed in pain at him.
The men slowly brought him back down and he felt devastated. Why wasn't he able to do it? Was he going to die in here and watch her and his city die as well? It couldn't be.

The old man came to him and helped him up. He could barely walk. "You re-injured your spine." The old man said.
"Tell me something I don't know." He responded, leaning on the old man while trying to walk back to his cell.

He got back on the stretcher, breathing through the pain. Bane was on TV yet again, holding Cat next to him.
And then he noticed something. He tried to focus his eyes, looking closely. He watched her hand and saw the ring on her finger. He smiled, tears streaming down his face. "She's wearing it." He whispered. "She is wearing the ring."


It was my first day off training. I still had to do some cardio and strength training on my own but at least I didn't have to work 8-10 hours. Fox walked into the Batcave, smiling at me with a concerned look on his face.

"How are you doing Ms Hunter?" Fox asked.
"I'm doing fine. And please call me Cat."
"Are you sure you're fine? It would be more than understandable if you weren't."
I nodded, looking to the ground. "So, what have you got for me?" I tried to quickly change the subject.
He looked at me closely before he grabbed something out of a bag. He laid the material in front of me. "Micro kevlar." He explained as he showed me the suit. It was black and skin tight. "It looks like regular material but it protects you from knives. In the midsection, you have double kevlar. Bullet proof." I looked at the whole suit closely. The legs and arms were micro kevlar and the midsection plates of kevlar, shaped to fit my body form.
"Your mask won't give you any protection. Are you sure you don't want a helmet?"
I shook my head. "I want to be able to move quickly. A helmet is in the way."
He nodded. "I made it look dramatically different looking from Bruce's suit to not raise suspicion. Otherwise they would know immediately that it's you."
"What about the boots?"
"Two versions. One pair is flat the others have heels. But not any type of heels." He showed me the dangerous looking heels. "They're razor sharp on the sides and if you take off the end cap," he demonstrated and revealed a dart looking metal piece.
"Your mask also has integrated bluetooth service. You will be able to talk to Alfred directly. A utility belt that is equipped with several useful tools that we can go over. And Alfred said you'll be brining a gun."
"Yes. I mean, let's face it, I'll need it. I'm not as well trained as Bruce…" I cleared my throat, his name always hurting more than I had remembered.
He looked at me closely again, observing every flicker of emotion across my face. I looked down, avoiding his worried looking eyes.
"I understand." He finally responded. "There are several other things that you might find useful. Pepper spray is included in your sleeves. If you activate them - the person gets sprayed. Everything is fingerprint protected so only you will be able to use it."
"Great."
"Now this is just the first version of the suit. Depending on what you want changed or what other fighting techniques you're learning we can expand."
"It looks great so far. Thank you so much Mr Fox."
"Please, call me Lucious."
I smiled. "Lucious."
"I am worried for you out there. Bane is not a regular opponent."
"I know. I'm not trying to fight Bane. I'm trying to stop his plan. I know the nuclear device came from Wayne Enterprises."
Fox nodded, big wrinkles forming on his forehead.
"Do you have a way to stop it?" I asked.
"Only if we re-connected it to the core."
"Could you do that?"
"If you brought me the device, yes."
"Who oversees everything now?"
"Mostly myself. Though one of our top investors on the project has stepped up as well since Bruce is absent."
"Who?"
"Miranda Tate."
That name rang a bell. "Wealthy French woman?" I asked, remembering reading some articles about her.
"Yes, that would be her."
"Can I meet her?"
"I don't see why not. Are you able to get out of here though without Bane's men noticing?"
"I don't think he will mind anymore. Since I'm playing the part in all his dumb speeches he is more relaxed when it comes to my house arrest."

Cook walked in to our daily training. She dropped her gym bag, crossed her arms and stared at me for a few seconds. I waited for her to do something.
"You're ready." She finally said.
"Ready for what?"
"Your first fighting lesson."
Thank God! I thought the day would never come.
"We're on a tight schedule so I don't have years to train you. Instead, I'm going to train you in several fighting techniques. A potpourri of martial arts if you will. The goal is to give you as much of an edge as possible."
"I like the sound of that."
"We're going to start with Keysi, a relatively new fighting form. First up - I'm going to teach you the main stance for Keysi."

She walked up to me until we were just a few steps apart. "Now this is the key element to Keysi." She said and put her arms over her head. "You're using a natural defense mechanism as an offense. Now pretend like you're punching me."

I reached my arm out to meet her.

"I can not only block your punch but I can immediately defend myself." She said as she brought one arm down to break my arm away from her. "The next step is how you stand. Your feet should be further apart, almost pointing at a 9-12 angle. What this allows you is to go down low and protect your abdomen and then you can strike quickly again. You can also step and slide. That way you're fast to move around and you're always protected. Try it."

I mimicked her stance and followed her movements. It seemed logical and natural.

"Good." She noted. "Now in that position, you can easily and quickly transition from jab to cross hook and upper cut."
I did.
"Good. In between always going back to your defense pose."
I went through the movements over and over again.

"Keysi means 'from the heart'. The movements are fast and effective. There are no kicks in Keysi. It takes too much effort and doesn't flow as fast. Plus you're giving your opponent an awful lot of your body to work with. Instead everything is relatively close distance. Think of it almost like a dance. Use whatever comes to mind to quickly destroy your opponent. Use things around you. If there's a bottle, an ashtray… It's all about quick thinking."


Two more weeks had passed of intense training. Every muscle ached but I felt still far from facing an opponent. Why was I progressing so slowly?

I had left the premise several times to see how Bane would react. He seemed to not care anymore, only a few of his men remained at the entrance to Manor to make sure I was coming back at night time. First I went to visit Alex. I knocked on his door, he opened and looked at me shocked.

"Cat!" He said hugging me closely. "Oh thank God you're 's not safe out here, come inside." He said and I nodded.
"How are you? Are you ok? Is everything ok with you?" He asked me nervously.
"Fine." I nodded. "How are you?"
"Fuck I don't know. I don't know what the hell is going to happen to all of us. That maniac seems to have taken over the city. I don't think one of us has that trigger."
I nodded. "No. He has it. But Alex, in three months that bomb will go of no matter what."
"What?" He looked at me in shock.
I nodded. "I spoke to Fox and he told me everything about it. I don't know what we can do but we have to try."
"Of course. What's the plan?"
I sighed. "I'm not sure yet. I need to find Gordon and see what he knows and what he's working on."
"I've been keeping taps on him."
"You have?"
"Yes, knowing he's still alive means we still have a fighting chance."
"Where is he?"
"In hiding. In an old warehouse. He knows that Bane would kill him given the chance."
"Have you talked to him?"
"Briefly. I'll give you the address to the warehouse but be careful not to lead Bane's men there."
"Of course."

My next stop was Miranda Tate. I had arranged a meeting with her and Fox. Officially because I wanted to know that my fiancé's company was in good hands. In reality I wanted to get a closer look at her and how she could help us re-connect the bomb.
I walked into the office, now also a ghost town. "
Everyone works from home these days." Fox explained as we walked to the elevator. "Not that there is much work anymore. We have no way of dealing with the outside world. We're just trying to keep our heads above water."

I walked into the office where Miranda was waiting. She was wearing a tan coat with a flowery scarf around her shoulders. She was pretty. Soft features, her loose curls framing her face perfectly.
"Miss Tate, pleasure to meet you." I said, shaking the woman's hand.
She smiled. "The pleasure is all mine." She said in a French accent. "I consider Bruce a close friend of mine. I hope he is well wherever he is."

I nodded. Close friends? Bruce had never mentioned her before. I felt a flicker of jealousy.

"I hope so as well. The reason I wanted to meet with you is to see how Wayne Enterprises is doing. Fox filled me in on most of it but I know you're responsible now for one project in particular."
She nodded.
"Don't get me wrong. I know nothing about business and trust that you know what to do. I also know that you don't have to tell me anything since I'm not a stake holder in the company nor his wife."
"Please Miss Hunter, you don't need to explain yourself. I completely understand. The Clean Energy Project was developed several years ago. The idea was to have clean energy for an entire city. No more fossil fuels." "Good idea but something tells me things went wrong after that." She smiled softly. "Unfortunately a Russian scientist found a way of making this source of energy into a nuclear bomb - many times more destructive than Hirsohima."
"And then Bane killed that scientist who is also the only guy who could disarm it."
"Correct. But we have one other option."
"Reconnecting it to the core."
"I see Mr Fox has filled you in already."
"So, we need to bring it to the core, reconnect it and then make sure Bane can't get to it. Well, that's a piece of cake." I sighed.
"Once we reconnect it to the core we can decommission the unit."
"How?" "By flooding it. The core would still be nuclear but the bomb part of it would be disarmed. Bane would need another Russian scientist to come up with that."
"Well…I guess now we at least have a plan." I sighed.
"How can I help?"
"Oh no, I couldn't ask that of you."
"Please, I'm the reason we're in this situation. If I hadn't convinced Bruce to build the device…"
"Don't blame yourself." I interrupted her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Something about her felt fake. I didn't trust her but I didn't know why. Maybe I was simply jealous? The thought of her working with Bruce flashed through my brain and I could totally see her hitting on him even though he was engaged.
Fox trusted her. And I trusted Fox. For now I just had to accept that I didn't like her.


My training had progressed well, although I still wasn't happy with my progress.
I was working with Brenning every few days. The emphasis was on marital arts, not guns. Both said told me over and over again that a gun is only one way how to win a fight and if you're not good at defending yourself - opponents can easily get the gun out of your hands.
I had been getting pretty good at target shooting and at assembling and dissembling a gun in no time.

Cook trained several martial art styles with me. Keysi remained our basis training but she threw in Brazilian Ji Jitsu, and Israeli Krav Maga, a martial arts style focused on winning real-life combat situations used by the Israeli army.
"Brazilian Ji-Jitsu is vicious and aggressive. Eye gouging, choke holds, biting, grappling and joint locks." Cook said as she demonstrated some moves. "Once your opponent is brought the ground the fun begins. The first step is to grab a limb and manipulate it at the joint until it breaks."

Every day we would train for up to 9 hours until I hit complete exhaustion.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked me as I was slowly getting up after she had once again thrown me on the ground with ease. "Doing what?" I asked out of breath.
"All of this?"
Throughout our entire training she had never really talked to me about anything but fighting techniques.
"I…I want to stop Bane." I said.
"Yes, but why?"
I looked at her confused. "To save the city. To save everyone in it."
"That's a lofty goal for a journalist, don't you think."
"So, is this going to be the time that after weeks and weeks of training you're going to tell me I will never be able to do that?"
"Do you think you're going to be able to?"
I hadn't myself allowed to think about it. Right now I felt like I was not able to win a fight against any of Bane's men. "Yes." I said in a voice that didn't even convince me.
"You don't even believe it yourself."
"So what? Should I just give up?"
"Maybe before you kill yourself out there."
Her comment made me angry. "I'm not giving up." I said and landed a punch at her.
"Really? Because the way I see it, you're still the princess of Gotham. Not a soldier. You wouldn't be able to win against Alfred."
I felt the anger boil inside of me. "Shut up!" I yelled as I threw another jab cross hook at her but she immediately grabbed my arm and threw me on the ground, twisting my arm behind me until I felt the joint was close to snapping.
"What's the matter princess?" She said.
"Stop…calling me that."
"Why are you doing this?"
"To stop Bane." I said under pain.
"Why are you doing this?" She kept asking, each time twisting my arm further.
"To stop Bane."
"Why are you doing…"
"Stop it!" I begged and suddenly, for the first time since Bruce vanished and I lost our child, I started crying. She let go off me. Obviously this was what she wanted. Bringing me to a breaking point. I was on all fours, hysterically crying.

"It's all my fault, it's all my fault."
She grabbed me and helped me up. "What is?"
"He is…gone because of me. He…he came there to save me…. And I couldn't stop it…I couldn't protect him. If I had been able to fight he wouldn't have to come in and try to rescue me. It's because of me that he is gone. It's because of me that Gotham is facing destruction. Thousands of people might die because of me. I couldn't protect him. Or me. Or our child. If I hadn't been so useless none of this would have happened."

Up until now I hadn't allowed myself to mourn the loss of our child. Now it hit me with full force. I sank to my knees…a sobbing mess.
"Pull yourself together by tomorrow soldier." She said as she left. I curled up on the floor, the pain surrounding me like a dark blanket.


"Mrs Wayne?" Alfred asked hours later. I didn't respond. I had no energy to. I was still in the fetal position on the floor. I had stopped crying after hours.
Alfred placed a blanket around me, slowly helping me up. "Let get you upstairs."
"I don't know if I can keep on going." I said in a weak voice.
"What do we do when we fall, Mrs Wayne?"
"You still believe in me?"
"Of course. When I said that I told Ms Cook about Master Wayne's background I did so because I knew she needed to do what I couldn't."
"What's that?"
"Allow yourself to mourn."
I started crying again. It was like I had opened a gate and couldn't close it anymore. "I feel so guilty Alfred."
"None of this was your doing."
"I can't help but feel it was. I am so pathetically useless. I couldn't even protect our baby. What kind of mother can't even protect her child?"
His eyes looked at me in sadness. "I wish there was something I could say or do to help you but I know there isn't. Only time can heal those wounds. But let me ask you this - do you believe Master Wayne is responsible for the murder of his parents?"
"Of course not." I said surprised he would ask me that.
"Then why do you think you would be responsible for this?"
"He was just a child, Alfred."
"Yes. But just like Master Wayne - you faced an impossible opponent."
I just looked at him helplessly, wrapped in the blanket.
"I've known Master Wayne his whole life," Alfred continued. "Can I tell you something?"
I nodded. "He doesn't blame you."
I felt hot tears running down my face. "He asked me…" I swallowed hard, trying to bring out words. "He asked me whether it's a boy or a girl. That was the last thing he said to me."
Alfred looked at me closely, his eyes looked tormented.
"So I told him it was a girl." I wiped away tears with the blanket. "And…he smiled. He looked so happy and peaceful for a second."
"Wherever he is right now, that's the last memory he has and it's a good one. You've given him hope in more than one way."
"And then I took everything away from him."
"You didn't. Bane is the one who is doing this."
"I don't want to feel helpless anymore, Alfred."
He nodded. "I know. Let's get you upstairs. You're shivering."


With not nearly enough sleep and emotionally and physically completely exhausted, I was back for training at 6 am. "Well, well… I didn't expect to see you here Hunter." Cook said as I walked into the Batcave.
"Sorry to disappoint." I said in a weak voice. "Ok so what do you want me to do? Push ups?"
"No. You're ready."
"For what?"
"The next phase."
"What's that?"
"Fighting is an art form. And it's all in your head and your heart. It's a mind game. You need to feel and anticipate what your opponent is going to do next. You need to move quickly. You can't do any of that with your mind cluttered."
"Cluttered?"
"We've been training for weeks but you're barely there. It's because you have blocked off your emotions, hidden them deep inside. You can't fight like that. You need to forgive yourself. Learn to live with the pain. Use the pain against your enemy."
"How?"
"Well, that's the problem. There's not one way to do that. It works differently for everybody. For many it takes years. Unfortunately we don't have years. We don't even have months. We have weeks."
"Painfully aware of that."
"You know why I joined the Force, Hunter?" I shook my head.
"My father was a drinker and he had a gambling problem. He had spent all our money and he was in some deep shit. I was ten. All I remember from that night was loud screaming but that wasn't unusual. My parents were always fighting. Always over money. But that night, the yelling was louder and more vicious. And then I remember hearing my mom's voice change and suddenly she sounded scared. I ran down the stairs to see what was going on. My dad pointed a gun at her and she saw me and said: "Call the police honey. Call 9-1-1." But I just stood there in shock, unable to move. And then my dad pulled the trigger. The bullet pretty much exploded her brain. Blood everywhere. Then my dad put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Bam."

I stood there in shock looking at her.

"I blamed myself for years. All the therapy in the world didn't seem to help me get over it. Why didn't I call 9-1-1? Why didn't I do something? Why was I just standing there? And sure therapists would tell me all the right things, that I couldn't have done anything to prevent this. That it was my dad's decision. After that I lived with my grandparents and that was all fine but I never got over it. The guilt. The hatred for my father. The anger towards my mother for not leaving that bastard before any of this happened. I had so much anger balled up in me…I didn't know what to do with it. That's when I decided to start martial arts and other training. It helped me. It wasn't until I met my mentor that I learned that blind anger doesn't translate into a good fighter."
"So what did you do?"
"Meditation. I traveled around the world, trying to find inner peace and learn who I really was."
"Ok. So in other words I'm screwed."
She smiled. "Not quite. We just need to be more aggressive. That's why I had to push you over the edge yesterday. I couldn't wait any longer for you. I need you to write a letter."
"To whom?"
"To Bruce."
"What?"
"I need you to write your feelings, everything you want to tell him. I need you to write all of that down. Get it out of your head and on paper. You need to face the pain. You need to let go off the guilt. Right now - anyone could beat you because you're welcoming it. I know the feeling. I know what it's like to have given up."
I nodded.
"See you in a week kid." She said as she left.
I was standing there, an emotional chaos inside of me. Anger, sadness, hopelessness… It all swirled in me. The numbness had vanished. Now I had an array of emotions - none of which I was ready to face.


I had spent a week doing what I had avoided until now - grieve.
I wrote that letter to Bruce, telling him how much I loved him and how sorry I was for everything. I told him about losing our child. But all of it was just a paper that would never reach him anyway.

All I wanted was to turn back time and make sure I don't end up in that cab…making sure I wouldn't end up like bait.

I folded the letter carefully, putting it in an envelope. As I searched for it I also found the ultrasound picture.
It was cruel how much you can grief over something that you weren't even sure you wanted to keep at first. I placed the picture in the envelope as well and addressed it to "Bruce".

Alfred drove me to Bruce's favorite spot, overlooking Gotham. We sat on the bench for a while, looking at the snow falling, blanketing the city.
"This is his favorite spot," I said, the letter in my hands. Alfred nodded.
"Alfred I miss him so much." My tears felt hot against the cold Gotham air.
"I know miss, so do I." He said as I was crying in his arms.
I still hadn't asked Bane if Bruce was alive. I couldn't bring myself to ask. Something told me, if he was dead, Bane would tell me.

"Do you think he's still alive?" I asked Alfred.
He nodded. "I know so." "How?" I asked, breaking the hug and looking at him.
"What does your heart tell you?"
I nodded and started crying again.

I wiped away my tears. "Do you have the lighter."
"Certainly." He said and handed it to me.
I stood up, holding the letter in front of me as I started burning it on one end. The flames burnt through the ink and the picture. Alfred put an arm around me as I was sobbing, watching the last proof of my pregnancy go up in flames.
When it burnt through most of the letter I let it go. A wind picked it up and carried it higher. The last pieces of the paper were dancing in the air before they brunt completely.
"Let's get back home." Alfred said as he walked me slowly back to the car.


He felt physically back to normal again. He felt strong, alert and centered. His back was still painful but nothing more than the other aches he had all over his body. The price he had to pay for being Batman.
Why wasn't he able to make the jump? What was keeping him from doing it?

"You have mail." The old man said.
"Mail?" He asked, wiping the sweat off his face and stopping his workout. For a second he had hope it might be from her. But then he realized that Bane would never allow anyone to know the location of this prison.
"Let me guess, my biggest fan?" He asked with dry sarcasm.
"You can say that." The man said as he handed him the letter.

It was just an envelope - no stamp no address. Obviously delivered by someone in person.
It was from Bane and whatever was in this envelope would only cause him pain - he knew that already. He sat down on the stretcher, holding the envelope in his hands in fear of what he might find. He flipped the envelope over and opened it, his heart race increasing as the paper ripped open.

He pulled out the white paper and unfolded it. Hospital discharge papers.
Name: Catherine Victoria Hunter
He felt his heart stop. His ears ringing, his hands numb. He scanned the paper. Date - it was the day Bane had put him in this hell hole.
"28 year old female patient suffered internal bleeding and bruised ribs from trauma on her left side."
He felt so angry - he was ready to punch his way out of this place. Whoever did this to her would have to pay a hefty price.

"Patient was 4 weeks pregnant."
He covered his mouth with his hand, feeling close to tears.

"Patient had miscarriage due to blunt force trauma."

Anger and sadness ripped through him at once. Tears were streaming down his face and hitting the paper.
He had failed her in so many ways. And he had failed to protect her and their child. He felt defeated. Like he was fighting an impossible uphill battle that he could never win.
All this time in this hell hole, he had this vision of what their daughter would look like. Long curly hair. She had Cat's dark eyes. An image of her running into Cat's arms was flashing through his mind.
He crumpled up the paper into a ball with one hand.
I keep letting people down. Those I love keep dying around me.

He knew why Bane send this to him. Torture. "But not of your body. Of your soul." That's what he had said and he kept true to his word, inflicting as much pain on him as possible. He got up, grabbed the stretcher and threw it with all force against the wall, a deep scream escaping his lungs.
The old man was watching him from the other cell, not saying a word.

He paced up and down his little cell, shivering on his whole body from the adrenaline. Hot tears still streaming down his face.

"Don't let him win." The old man finally said.
"He already has." He responded in an angry voice, biting down on adrenaline like a poisonous pill.
"The woman you speak of…."
He shook his head. "She's still alive."
"Then he hasn't won yet."
"Let's face it, I have no shot at getting out here. You said it yourself. I'm building myself up for what? I will never get out of here. I will watch him kill everyone I love and my city."
"The only impossible journey is the one you never begin."
Bruce stopped pacing, leaning his hands against the wall, his head hanging down.
"I've been traveling on this journey for a long time. It seems more impossible with every step I take."


We were back to training. It had been almost a month of non-stop martial arts training. Cook had me do exercises blindfolded, balancing on moving barrells.
I had given up asking when I was ready to go out there. I wouldn't make the process faster.

Cook threw me two sticks.
"What's this?"
"Japanese fighting sticks." She said as she grabbed two herself and I emulated her moves.
"It's good training for reflexes." She said as she moved toward me, hitting me with it but I blocked it with my sticks.

"I need you to forgive him." She said, breaking the stance and regrouping.
"Who?" I asked confused as she was running toward me again.
"Bruce."
"What? What in the world would I need to forgive him for?"

She hit me at my arm. It burned but I tried to not lose focus.
"For walking in there knowing it was a trap. For his hubris of thinking he could take on Bane. He had no plan other than beating him in a fight. There was no plan B."
She kept moving faster and faster.
"That's ridiculous."
She kicked my feet out underneath me and I fell to the ground.
"He had the training. He was warned by Alfred before he went in there."
"Stop talking about him like that." I said, getting angrier by the minute, jumping up and charging at her.
She blocked my attack and kicked me back.
"You need to clear your mind before we can resume training."
"We have no time. Bane is out there…"
"Do you want to beat Bane? Then don't make the same mistake Bruce made."

Unfortunately she was right. Deep down, I was mad at Bruce for knowingly walking into the trap. I hadn't allowed my anger to surface because I felt awful for even thinking that.

"It wasn't Bruce's fault. He didn't know Bane was freakishly strong!"
"Once you forgive him, you can forgive yourself. You didn't know either."
I looked at her breathlessly for a second and nodded before throwing down the sticks.
"This is not a time to give up." She said.

I hadn't intended to give up. I was creating a diversion. As she let her guard down I threw down an upper cut and cross hook and before I knew it she was on the ground.
I helped her get up.
"Well done."
That was the first compliment she's ever given me.
"You're ready."
"For what?"
"For war." She said and smiled at me.