Author's note: Sorry for the long wait finishing up this semester has been rough but it's finally over for the summer so I hope to post more regularly. As always I own nothing and I'm not making any money.
Lena was going crazy. She'd spent the previous day pacing her apartment after her narrow escape from Bane determined to keep a low profile. She had cleaned and re-cleaned her firearms in an attempt to calm her nerves but to no avail.
Lena tossed and turned most of the night and woke the next morning feeling drained. After her regular breakfast of pop tarts and coffee she ambled up to the roof pushing through the access door she stepped out into the cold morning air. As she scanned the grey horizon of the now quiet city she thought of all the times she'd gazed at the Gotham skyline growing up.
Lena had lived in a small broken down two story row house in the nicer part of the Narrows, not that that was saying much. As a child she had always been climbing on everything. When she was five years old Lena clambered onto the roof to watch a meteor shower almost giving her dad a heart attack.
"You yelled at me so loud that night," she thought to herself as a sad smile played across her face, "But even though you didn't like it you never tried to keep me down."
Lena looked at her hands, rough and scared but still soft in a way, and rubbed them together completely lost in memories. The creaking of the heavy roof access door didn't pull her from her thoughts nor did the soft shuffling footsteps. Lena didn't come back to reality until a large hand clasped her shoulder causing her to jump slightly and let out a small yelp. She looked up into the kind eyes of Mr. Henry Scottsdale and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Lena my girl I've been looking all over for you." He stated gravely. Mr. Scottsdale leaned heavily on a polished mahogany cane and in his other hand he held a newspaper.
"Why so serious Mr. S?" Lena questioned, her face falling as she remembered the infamous figure she'd unintentionally quoted.
"Undoubtedly serious." He mumbled gruffly as he held out the paper for Lena, "You should see this."
She took it and scanned the front page. The Batman Will Hang was splashed across the page with a large picture of Bane holding what looked to be the shattered mask of Batman. The article that followed read along the lines of the Batman would be hung tomorrow for his crimes against Gotham.
"What does it say I didn't have my reading glasses on me?" Mr. Scottsdale asked.
"Oh you know, blah blah the batman let the people of Gotham suffer under the finical elite. More of his esoteric bullshh…crap" Lena said curbing the profanity at the last second.
"Bullshh crap indeed" Mr. S replied with the hint of a smile. "Be careful Lena, that world out there has only gotten more dangerous with the actions of this terrorist and his men. Eleanor worries about you it would break her heart if anything happened to you, mine too."
"I know." Lena said sheepishly.
Before either one could say anything else they heard a bone chilling scream. She and Mr. S both froze while another scream split the air. Lena moved to seek out the person in trouble but was stopped by Mr. Scottsdale grabbing her wrist.
"Take this." He said severely as he pushed a small revolver into her hand.
Lena looked up in surprise but she tightened her grip on the pistol and gave him a small nod. She took off running across the roof tops toward the sound of the screaming jumping the gaps in between the buildings she traveled over with adrenaline pumping through her system.
When she ran out of roof top she hustled down the fire escape and weaved her way through the alleys getting closer and closer until she rounded a corner and slid to a stop. About 25 yards down where two alleys crossed three men had a young woman pinned down. She whimpered and pleaded with the men as they laughed and jeered at her.
Lena saw red and her blood went hot. She almost lost it but then she took a deep breath and regained control. "Hey" Lena shouted at the men in the most intimidating voice she could manage.
They all looked around in surprise but when they saw Lena they began laughing again. She leveled the revolver at the group which caused them to laugh even harder. The largest man of the group took a step toward her he had a shaved head, prison tats, and Lena could see the remnants of an orange jumpsuit under the layers of his clothes.
"Sweetheart you come to join the party?" he said as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.
He started walking down the alley toward her when she yelled
"Nope I just came for the girl, let her go and nobody has to get hurt." This got another round of laughter from the men.
"Baby, baby, baby what the hell do you think you're gonna do with that little pea shooter of a gun? I've got something way bigger for you to play" he was cut off by the sound of a gunshot.
The thug fell to the ground with a small hole in his forehead just left of center and the handgun he had been pulling from behind his back clattered to the ground. The other two men shared a moment of surprised immobility and then they scrambled away like cockroaches after the lights come on. Lena jogged up to the teenage girl still lying on the grimy asphalt.
"You alright?" She asked noting the girl's torn shirt, bruised cheek, and split lip.
"Yeah I'm alright…how did you learn to do that?" she said in a shaky voice.
"Learn what?" Lena asked.
"How to shoot someone from so far way I thought that shit only happened on T.V." her voice seemed to be regaining its strength.
"Practice," Lena said bluntly, "You need to get somewhere safe and stay there."
"Yeah I know I had essential supplies to get," she replied as she dug into her jeans pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "When they say these things will kill you I didn't think this is what they had in mind," the girl said sarcastically.
"Probably not," Lena agreed with a dry laugh. She took off her zippered hoodie and handed it to the young girl. She took it, got to her feet, and pulled it on zipping it all the way up to her neck. Lena turned to head back to her apartment building.
"Wait, I don't even know your name." the girl called after her.
"And I don't know yours, maybe that's for the best." Lena called over her shoulder.
She retraced her steps and got up on the roof tops as soon as she could. When she finally got back to her building Mr. Scottsdale dragged her into a bear hug.
"Lena girl you gave me a scare, when I heard the gunshot I thought the worst."
"Sorry to worry you Mr. S, but thanks for this, it saved me," Lena stated handing the pistol back to him grip first.
He took the gun from her and tucked it in his pants pocket. "What happened out there?" he questioned.
"I had to put down a very bad man before he put me down." Lena replied emotionlessly.
"Are you going to be ok?" Lena paused before answering and let out a tired sigh.
"Yeah I'll be ok." She turned and headed down to her apartment.
When she entered and locked her door she went straight for the bathroom. Lena filled the tub and added ample amount of bubbles. She didn't regret what she had done that day if she hadn't acted he would have tried to kill her and probably the young girl too. Even though she didn't regret her actions she'd killed someone that day and it wasn't something to take lightly. Lena needed to decompress and reflect on the grave choice she'd been forced to make.
She lowered herself into the tub letting out a groan that seemed to carry the weight of the world. Lena cupped her hands and splashed water onto her face and ran her hands through her thick brown hair. She slowly slid her way deeper and deeper into the water until only her eyes and up were uncovered.
"So much for keeping a low profile," she thought fleetingly before she slipped completely under.
Bane once again sat at the mayor's large oak desk in city hall. It amused him that he and his men had shut the city down and now he was probably the only person left with a "desk job". It was getting late, the sun had started its downward descent and he was reading over files waiting for Barsad to bring in the daily reports form his men in the field. A moment later there was a light knocking at the door.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear," Bane thought. "Enter," he said with the hiss of the mask sounding particularly load in the still office.
"Sir I've got the status reports," Barsad said in his oddly soft yet strong voice.
"Excellent and how is the liberated city fairing today my friend?" Bane question in a wickedly cheerful manner.
"Our men were in a few skirmishes today, some people are trying to organize a resistance movement but nothing very effective yet. Recruitment of the Blackgate prisoners has been high since most of them don't know what to do without the structure of the prison they once had and they'd like to eat of course."
"Of course," Bane admonished.
Barsad continued, "I've gathered as much information on the resistance members as possible, family, and friends in case they become more of a problem."
"What of the sensational news headline today?" Bane asked as he steepled his fingers.
"People are defiantly talking, we will need as many armed recruits as possible for crowd control just in case people get sentimental."
"Indeed we will, if there is nothing else you are dismissed," Bane stated.
Barsad turned to go but stopped when he'd realized he'd forgotten something.
"Sir there was one other thing, two new recruits came in with quite a story. They said that they'd been having some fun with a girl in an alleyway when a woman came out of nowhere and shot their friend in the head almost exactly dead center."
Bane had been skimming through the reports and said, "That doesn't sound very unusual."
"The woman made the shot with a small caliber pistol from roughly 25 yards," Barsad said with a smirk knowing this would get his boss's attention.
Bane looked up from his files with raised eyebrows.
"Impressive, although I suppose everyone is entitled to a lucky shot every now and then." Bane commented.
"We never had a need for luck," Barsad replied with the ghost of a smile.
"Yes, we never did have much need for luck to be sure. Make sure you go over the preparations for hanging tomorrow everything must go smoothly."
"Yes sir," Barsad said as he exited the office closing the door with a soft click.
Lena spent the night being haunted by the ghosts of her past needless to say it was a restless night. She'd had a reoccurring dream for many years that always went the same way.
She was 17 again laying on her living room couch with her headphones blasting music and her toes tapping to the beat. She feels a thud from upstairs and it pulls her out of her music coma. Lena pulls her headphones off and stands up. The house has a calm quiet feeling to it but as Lena makes her way to the stairs it starts to feel darker, colder, like the air is pressing in on her.
She slowly ascends the stairs with the air feeling thick enough to cut. When she reaches the top the hallway looks impossible long and menacingly dark. Lena makes her way towards the door at the end of the hall her body completely tense and her throat so tight it is hard to breathe. She finally makes it to the door and Lena grasps the crystal door handle and starts to open the door.
Just as she does there is a blinding light spilling out from the room and a hellish roar deafens her ears. Lena shot up in bed gasping for air her body slick with sweat, shivering from the cold.
"I can't breathe, I can't breathe." She thought frantically.
A moment passed and she began to regain her senses. "Deep breathes, deep deep breathes," she repeated to herself until she finally gained control again.
The adrenaline had finally emptied from her system leaving her shaking slightly as she ran her hands through her hair. Lena got out of bed and pulled on thick pants, a coat, and a warm hat making her way to her fire escape. She scurried up the metal stairs and sat on the ledge with her legs dangling into space and her eyes scanning the night sky. She could actually see some stars with so many lights turned off now a days.
"I wonder if those lights will ever come back on." Lena said in a small almost childlike voice.
Lena heard a low chirruping behind her and she turned to look seeing the pair of peregrine falcons perched atop one of the old chimneys. Evelyn, the name she'd given to the female and the name she'd borrowed during her exchange with Bane, was still sound asleep with her head tucked into her shoulder feathers. Freddie was next to her and he had one curious eye opened looking in Lena's direction.
"Sorry bud just cuz I can't sleep doesn't mean I should be bothering you," she apologized softly.
Freddie replied with a quite squawk and tucked his head back. Lena took that as his forgiveness quietly stepping back onto the fire escape and headed back down to her apartment thinking about how much she'd rather have the falcon's dreams instead of her own.
It was a rough morning and an early morning, so early. Lena dragged herself into the bathroom rubbing at her eyes while she stood in front of her sink.
"OH GOOD LORD!" she yelled when she finally got her eyes open and saw her hair.
It was sticking up in ways Lena didn't even know were possible. She turned the shower water on and cold water did double duty in taming her wild hair and waking her up. Lena shook her head much like a golden retriever would, flinging water everywhere. She whipped her hair back and wobbled a little bit.
"Whoa head rush." Lena said to herself with a goofy giggle.
She brushed and pinned her hair back and headed out into the kitchen. Poking her head into her pantry she grabbed the pop-tart box and found it depressingly empty.
"This is not shaping up to be a good day," Lena said with a frown.
She resigned herself to stale cheerios and sat down with a Gotham city map. The newspaper article the day before had said that the Batman would be publically hanged in front of the Gotham Times newspaper building. The choice of location confused Lena but she figured it would somehow play into Bane's theatrical streak.
She mapped out all the possible ins and outs of the area figuring out which building top she'd perch on. Lena loaded up her gear and pulled a warm coat, her ski mask/ hat, and fingerless gloves on. She made it down to the basement without running into either of the Scottsdale's thankfully, she really didn't feel up to a lecture about the dangers outside and she didn't want them to worry.
After Lena used the lift to get her motorcycle to street level she paused for a minute just enjoying the feel of the bike beneath her. It was an older triumph scrambler and it was a bike Steve McQueen would be proud of. Lena gripped the handle bars and kicked the engine to life. She made her way to the Gotham Times building which was located in the center of the city.
Lena avoided rubble and people alike as she weaved through the city streets. It was unnerving her how many people were out and appeared to be headed to the same place she was. Lena had to park her motorcycle five blocks away in a deserted alley to avoid notice and covered it with debris. It was much farther than she was comfortable with and it would be hard to get back to it if anything went wrong.
As Lena walked calmly to her chosen vantage point, with her backpack tapping out a rhythm, something nagged at the back of her mind. She still couldn't shake the feeling as she entered the building and started the long trek up fifteen flights of stairs. Once she was out in the open air of the roof she began to calm down a bit, gaining higher ground had always had that effect on her. She sat cross legged on the roof top and pulled out her riffle parts and assembled her weapon.
When Lena finished that she pulled out her length of ribbon and let the silky fabric flow through her fingers. Once she'd fastened it to the railing of the roof Lena took a closer look at the plaza beneath her. There was a large open area in front of the newspaper building which used to be home to vendors, performers, and business people on their lunch breaks.
At the center of the plaza used to stand a statue of the first owner and editor of the Gotham Times but it had been torn down and in its place there was a large gallows. Lena saw that instead of one rope center stage for the Batman there were eight ropes spread out along the sturdy beam.
"What are you up to?" Lena muttered as the plaza began to fill with curious spectators.
Shortly after truckloads of armed men entered the plaza pushing people back away from the platform. She didn't have long to wait as Bane pulled in on his motor cycle flanked by more armed men. He took the stage with his megaphone and a hush settled over the crowd.
"Good day to you people of Gotham. Today I am here to right a terrible wrong," he said in a mechanical lilt.
A man was brought up on stage, short, pudgy, and balding he was about as far from Batman as a person could be
"This man before you is named Charles Harris, and while he is not the Batman I can assure you he has committed inexcusable crimes against you."
Lena knew the name "Charming Charlie" Harris was the editor and chief of the Gotham times. He wrote witty and topical editorial and had been an icon in Gotham for as long as she could remember. Lena came to the realization that Charlie must be responsible for the New Gotham Times as Bane continued his speech.
"For years this man stood by and let the rich color the news for their own ends. He force fed you lies and false hope of success. Even now as I have given you back your city he toiles to impose on you the same lies form the fallen regime that the people of Gotham have gladly thrown off. He wishes to see you all burdened with the yoke of inequality once again. I ask you will you allow it?!" Bane shouts the last sentence and Lena was amazed that this terrorist had somehow managed to whip the crowd into a blood thirsty frenzy.
The crowd jeered and booed at Charlie as he tried in vain to defend himself. Seven more men are marched up onto the platform.
Bane continued his rant, "These men write lies saying I was going to execute the Batman today I assure you I am not. The Batman has fled this city after the light of truth was shown on him and the people of this city found him wanting. What I offer you today are these liars, and defilers of the truth. What will be there punishment?!" He shouted again.
The energy coming of the crowd was incredible and terrifying. They chanted Death over and over again until Bane finally spoke again.
"The people of Gotham have spoken and I will carry out their will." Lena pulled her mask into place and brought her gun up into position.
Below one of Bane's men approached the lever that controlled the trap door as the eight men were lined up and had the ropes put around their necks. The crowd grew louder in anticipation as Bane's men stepped back and the hangman tightened his grip on the lever. Lena took careful aim with her riffle and not a moment too soon she squeezed the trigger. She heard the blast and felt the recoil of her riffle as the bullet speed toward its target.
Lena noted a sudden breeze pick up out of the west then she heard the sound of another high powered rifle being fired and she saw the muzzle flash from the building across from her position. She was knocked back by a large caliber rifle round grazing her left arm. Lena laid flat on the roof top stunned for a moment it only lasted a minute but in that short time her mind was working in overdrive. It had been a trap of course it had. Bane had set up a scenario he knew she couldn't resist and she'd fallen for it.
"Stupid Lena stupid," she berated herself.
He had placed a sniper on the roof across from her. He must be a good one because he'd chosen the second best position knowing she would go for the first best vantage point. Lena was more than likely only alive because of the sudden gust of wind throwing of his shot ever so slightly.
She cradled her riffle in her uninjured arm, shrugging her pack on, and rolled to her knees, getting to her feet she ran in a crouch to the far side of the building. Pausing there she closed her eyes for a few seconds and visualized the building were the opposing sniper had fired from. She took a deep breath hoisted the riffle on to the ledge and using all the strength in her good arm fired at the spot where the muzzle flash had come from.
The boss had come up with an excellent plan. Draw the shooter in with a public event surrounded by optimal snipping positions and wait for him to bite. Barsad knew that Bane would prefer the shooter be taken alive but he had given him orders to take a kill shot if the gunman posed a threat to the completion of their mission. So he had set himself up in the spot that would have been his second choice if he'd needed to snipe into the plaza.
The building he was on was only slightly shorter than the optimal spot east across the plaza. The sun rising over the building he was aiming at would normally be a problem but the haze of the morning didn't limit his visuals much. As Barsad lay prone on the roof's wide ledge he saw the flash of the shot and smiled to himself.
"It was fun playing the game with you friend but your time is up," he whispered to the wind in satisfaction.
The wind must have heard him and decided not to favor him that day because as soon as fired an amazingly strong updraft hit and he was not sure if it had influenced the accuracy of his shot or not. He watched through his scope as the shooter was knocked backwards off the ledge but he couldn't see anything else after that. He radioed the men he had waiting and they entered the building to apprehend the shooter dead or alive. He wondered if his shot had been good and the gunman was dead or if the wind had interfered enough to spare his life.
"If he's alive then he's on the run and the men will get him before he escapes if he's dead," but Barsad didn't get to finish that thought because at that moment he saw another muzzle flash from the building across the plaza and he heard the wiz of a high speed bullet as it flew past his ear and buried itself four inches to the right of his calf.
Barsad rolled off the wide ledge he had been laying on and took cover behind it. Breathing hard he radioed his men and told them to use extreme caution the shooter was still active and to obtain him alive if at all possible. Barsad wanted to meet this man and beat the hell out of him, it was the closest any sniper had ever gotten to actually hitting him and he had no idea if he should be angry or impressed.
Bane stood before the masses of gathered people and reveled in the fact that he could mold them to his every whim. He had complete control over the thoughtless mob because he knew exactly what emotional buttons to push so that they would react with anger instead of thinking logically. The sweetest part was knowing that after the good people of Gotham went home that night and really thought about what they had done many would feel the pain of guilt and remorse for having these eight men's blood on their hands. He saw the flash of the riffle and the soldier that was about to pull the trapdoor lever fell down dead.
"It was no matter Barsad would take care of the shooter and another one of the Blackgate prisoners would finish the act his fallen comrade could not." He thought.
There was confusion in the crowd, not many had heard the shot over the noise but they had seen the man fall. Bane quickly ordered another man to pull the lever and soon the eight men were swinging freely their time on earth extremely limited.
There was a roar of approve from the crowd but Bane hadn't noticed he had just seen another shot fired from the shooter's roof towards the roof Barsad was positioned on. Bane motioned for a group of his men to follow him as he jumped from the platform landing with a heavy thud and made his way through the crowd toward the eastern building.
Lena had gotten one shot off and she hoped it had struck home. The pain in her arm had grown excruciating as the initial shock had worn off and she was still bleeding heavily. She managed to get the backpack off and reached in and pulled out her riffle strap. At this point subtlety was by the wayside and she didn't care if people saw her with a riffle strapped to her back she just needed to get away.
With her riffle secured she ditched her backpack and headed for the access door using her right hand to keep pressure on the wound. As she reached for the door handle it burst open causing her to stumble back. A lot of men came out onto the roof and pointed guns at her telling her not to move, she suspected there weren't as many men there as she thought she saw though because the ones she could see where all swirly and their shouting was echoy.
Lena's head swam as Bane's men disarmed her and grabbed her roughly by the arms. This caused white hot pain to shoot up Lena's injured arm and for a moment she saw spots as she teetered on the verge of blacking out. She heard the access door open and the big bad Bane himself stepped out onto the roof followed closely behind by a man with a large sniper rifle slung over his back. He stood in front of her clasping the straps of his bulletproof vest and looked down at her.
"It appears our friend here was trying to leave the celebration early, now we can't have that now can we boys?" Bane said with a tone of mock hurt.
With the last bit of strength Lena had she looked into Bane's eyes and lunged at him.
When Bane had looked down into his eyes he'd almost had a spark of recognition.
"Why do those eyes look familiar?" He wondered to himself but then the shooter lunged at him and he chuckled in a menacing way.
"Even in defeat the man has courage, excellent," He though.
Bane drew back his fist and delivered a fast strong hook across the shooter's jaw causing the man to grunt in pain and black out.
"Shall we unmask our would-be hero gentlemen?" Bane asked gaining a laugh from his men as they all nodded agreement.
He grasped the black ski mask and pulled it off but as he did Lena's hair tie came lose and her brown hair spilled out from under the mask. A confused silence fell over the group of men as Bane reached down and roughly grabbed Lena's chin and tilted her head up. The moment he saw her face he realized why the eyes had seemed so familiar to him.
"He's a she?" one of his men asked dumbfounded by the revelation.
Bane took only a moment to come to a decision. He motioned for his men to loosen their grip on the girl and he scooped her up in his muscular grasp.
"I will be taking her back to the penthouse. When she wakes up we will see if this little bird will sing us an interesting story," Bane stated as his men moved to let him pass.
Bane carried Lena as if she weighted nothing to the door and into the darkness of the building, much like the darkness that had swallowed Lena up only a few moments before.
Well there it is this one was pretty action packed and I hope you enjoyed it.