A/N Well we're back for another installment, as always I own nothing Dark Knight related, and I'm not profiting from this story. Also an apology in advance for any spelling / grammar issues, Hope you enjoy.
"Henry Scottsdale, you have been identified as an enemy of the people, your attempt to hinder justice is an act of treason against Gotham. Do you have anything to say for yourself before receiving your sentence?" Dr. Johnathan Crane droned with disinterest.
Henry was seated on an ornate chair in the midst of the tarnished courthouse. The sun had fully set and the cavernous hall flickered with unsteady torch light. It hid the faces of the onlookers and danced across the glasses of the disheveled man in the judge's seat. Henry got to his feet slowly, the murmur of the room rising with him as he cleared his throat.
"I have always done my best to help the people I love and I will not stand here and justify myself to you."
Lena's mind raced as she heard the jeers of the crowd begin, she felt the anger and hatred of the assembled mob and it caused her gut to churn. She turned to the giant beside her, and his indifferent nonchalant fueled her fury more.
"Are you just going to stand there and let them do this?" Lena seethed in a barely restrained
whisper.
"What makes you think I have any authority here little bird? This is the people's court, I am simply their weapon for justice." The mechanical hiss of the mask underscored the emotionless response.
Lena pulled against her restraints as she fought for control, a bomb on the verge of detonation, when the terrorist leaned in and asked,
"What do you choose to do about it?"
Lena froze for a moment, mesmerized by his eyes, his presence always seemed on the edge of swallowing her up. The seconds passed before Lena tore her eyes away from his enthralling gaze, and with wavering confidence she strode to the middle of the empty hall. Lena took a steadying breath and as she looked around, the assembled crowd began to settle into a quiet murmur.
" I've known Mr. Scottsdale for only a short time, but this city has known him for over 70 years. He was born here, raised his family here with his loving wife, and he spent 35 year teaching at P.S. 83 helping thousands of kids. This man has done nothing in his life but help others and that includes trying to help me." Lena paused for a moment and felt a stirring in the bodies around her.
She continued to list the countless things Mr. S had done for the people of Gotham over the years and she became emboldened by the surge of energy from the group. Lena had never spoken to this many people in her life and once the fear had passed she felt a rush of adrenaline as she delivered her closing statement.
"Mr. Scottsdale is not an enemy of Gotham, he was only trying to protect me and I can't ask him to do that any longer. If it's justice you want, judge me and give him mercy, let him go home to his wife and live out his days in peace."
As she finished her speech Lena heard a few people shout out "Mercy" and soon the entire assembly had picked up the chant.
Dr. Cane had been sitting quietly through the whole proceedings and finally spoke as the din subsided.
"Well it seems the people have spoken, Mr. Scottsdale will be forgiven of his transgressions and remanded to his home for the remainder of his days." Crane punctuated his statement with a sharp gavel rap.
Mr. Scottsdale turned to Lena, with grateful tears in his eyes and relief plain on his face. He wrapped her in a tight hug before several of Bane's men stepped forward to remove him from the court. Before he was dragged away Lena caught his rushed words,
"Come back to us my girl, stay alive." and then he was gone and Lena stood alone in the hall as the mob turned its sights on her.
Crane's reedy voice again rose over the crowd as he laid the charges against her,
" Miss. Newman, you are charged with inciting panic, rebellion, and violence against the people's army. You killed a man in front of a crowd of witnesses and attempted to stop the public hanging of a group of men spreading propaganda through the city, do you have anything to say for yourself before your sentencing?"
Lena felt her confidence begin to waiver, she'd always been better at defending others rather than herself and it took her a moment to collect herself. When Lena finally spoke she found strength in Mr. Scottsdale's words.
"All I've ever tried to do was protect the people of this city." Lena swallowed hard, her words failing her and the hall fell silent as Crane looked down on her.
He paused in contemplation for a moment then spoke as dryly as ever,
"You speak of only wanting to help the people of Gotham Miss. Newman and I believe you. But I think you have been misguided in your efforts, and so I am sentencing you to service in the people's army. You will be under the direct command of Bane and he will ensure your skills are utilized for the true benefit of the people."
Lena stood in shock as the chant of "Service" was taken up by the crowd, blood rushed in her ears as she turned to face her captor. He's eyes were crinkled up at the edges in that hidden, malicious grin she was all too familiar with. Lena had steeled herself for the ice but she had never anticipated being returned to his cage, she really should have known better,
"He's a predator that always gets his prey," Lena thought ruefully as the masked titan strode towards her his mechanical voice booming over the mob,
"Welcome to the people's army Miss. Newman, we have much work to do."
Much later that evening after they'd returned to the Penthouse and Lena had retreated to her bedroom, Bane sat in Daggett's office sorting through field reports making particular note of growing unrest in the Narrows.
Despite these concerns his mind kept wandering to all the interesting events of the day. Seeing his little bird's home was most enlightening and he had Barsad collect her few belongings before they left for the courthouse. Their struggle in the truck came to mind next and Bane was conflicted by the interaction.
While it was clear physical intimacy was unsettling to his little captive and he would use any weakness of hers to his advantage, Bane had been disconcerted by his reaction to the girl, he hadn't been lying when he'd told Lena it had been a long time since he had a woman against him and as he considered whether or not to continue with this line of attack in his game with her there was a short knock at the door.
With his allowance, Barsad entered the office and took a seat across from his commander. "I have a message from Talia,"
Barsad handed a small piece of parchment to Bane and waited silently as he read it. The note was brief and encrypted with a code they'd learned during their time with the League. Bane translated it easily and read, "So is this your new little bird? Do not let her turn you from the path brother."
Bane's anger flared for a moment and he thought, "Does she think me so weak that I would allow a girl to jeopardize our mission!?"
Barsad sat perfectly still as he watched his boss seethe for a few moments knowing that anger could be turned against him in an instant, but it only took a few seconds longer for Bane to regain control.
"Our dear Talia thinks the girl is a distraction and she fears I may lose sight of the mission, but she will soon see how I will mold the girl to our needs. Lena Newman has an important role to play in the coming months."
Bane crushed the note and tossed it in the fireplace before addressing his friend again. Barsad spoke in his usual relaxed tone, " The courthouse scene was a success, word is spreading quickly through the city that the heroic Gotham sniper is now fighting with your army, and I gathered all the supplies you requested."
"Excellent brother, I'm most fortunate to have such a capable second in command," Bane said jovially, the anger from earlier completely forgotten. "We should both get some rest, it will be another eventfully day tomorrow I'm sure."
Barsad didn't miss the spark of excitement in his commander's eyes and he chuckled to himself on the way to his quarters as he thought of the odd pair the two of them made.
Lena stood in the forest, her forest, the one place in the entire world where she felt safe. She could smell the pine needles like always and the fragrant smell of moss and vegetal decay. Lena breathed in the crisp air deeply and had totally lost herself in the moment until the familiar smell began to change.
She took in the earthiness but now there was a spicy undertone she couldn't place and a moment later she heard an echoing mechanical hiss. Lena turned and somehow he was there, like he'd always been and always would be, a menacing force dragging her closer and closer to the edge. Bane grabbed her roughly by the waist rooting Lena to the spot. She thrashed desperately trying to get away but it was no use his grip was unbreakable. Lena could only think to do one thing and in her panicked state she reached up and tore the mask from Bane's face.
They both stood there frozen for a moment and then Lena finally comprehended what she was seeing. Bane looked down at her unflinching and his face was covered in a thick and matted beard. Lena hadn't known what she'd expected but she was still taken aback by the sight.
Bane still hadn't moved and as she continued to stare she realized something was off about the beard, it wasn't real hair at all but the stick-on kind you get from a costume store. In confusion Lena reached up again and tore the beard away to reveal a rubber horse mask. Lena continued pulling at the masks uncovering one oddity after another until she finally jerked awake to the sight of a familiar scruffy sniper peering down at her.
Lena jumped in surprise and because she was so close to the edge of the bed she proceeded to tumble onto the floor. Barsad had nimbly stepped aside as she came crashing down and proceeded to laugh his ass off as she stared in confusion at the penthouse ceiling.
"What the fuck just happened and what are you doing here?" Lena managed to groan out.
Barsad took gasping breaths as he tried to regain his composure. "I heard you thrashing around in here and when I came to check on you, you were listing random things in your sleep, a horse, Chevy Chase, a chicken, and Richard Nixon. I shook you and when you finally woke up you fell out of bed on your ass, I'm telling you I don't think I've laughed this hard in years." Barsad finished by wiping a tear from his eye grinning widely.
"Sooooo glad I could entertain you this morning but is there a reason you're here or is it just to have a laugh at my expense?" Lena questioned dryly and this seemed to bring the rival sniper back to the task at hand.
"I'm here to pick you up, we have a full itinerary today so get cleaned up and meet me in the main room."
Lena grumbled but took his offered hand and stood up from the crumpled sheets making her way to the bathroom muttering under her breath about annoying terrorists who should learn to knock before barging in on people while they sleep.
Lena entered the bathroom catching sight of the tub and a cold shiver ran down her back thinking of her last night in the penthouse. Memories of Bane flooded her mind before she rushed to the shower and blasted herself with freezing water.
"I'm just not going to think about anything and do what I have to do to survive this place." With this resolution in mind Lena finished in the bathroom and peaked her head into the bedroom.
Her scruffy rival was gone and a set of clothes were laid out on the bed. Lena dressed in layers of thermal shirt and pants, military sweater, cargo pants, thick socks and shockingly a sturdy set of combat boots.
"Alright now that I look like lady Rambo I suppose I should go see what the little guy has in store for me," Lena thought reluctantly as she made her way into the living room.
Barsad stood at the dining room table where a small arsenal was laid out and Lena tried to hide her excitement when she realized most of it was her personal weapons.
"As you can see most of this is your's, but I have to go over the ground rules before we load you up." Barsad began in a no nonsense tone making it easy for Lena to see why he was Bane's second in command. "First rule is you never take this off unless Bane tells you to."
Barsad handed her a small wristband that looked like a beefed up fitness tracker. "It's a GPS tracker, it'll let us know if you try running off again. If you feel the need to remove it without permission bad things will happen to the people you care about and you'll get a shiny new ankle monitor that won't be removable, understand?" He finished curtly and Lena nodded barely managing to keep her indignation restrained.
"Alright next is the ballistics vest, you leave this building you better have this on unless…"
"I have permission from Bane." Lena droned like a peevish kid but Barsad didn't miss a beat,
"Exactly I'm so glad you're picking this up so quickly."
Barsad moved around Lena and loaded her up with her sidearm strapped in a thigh holster, and combat knife on her hip, and a smaller blade tucked in her boot. There was a tactical AR-15 with magazines still on the table as well as her trusty rifle and Barsad went on to explain that they wouldn't be entering any high aggression areas so the larger guns were staying home.
As they rode down in the elevator and Lena got acclimated to the new gear Barsad explained the plan for the day,
" We'll be doing a little PR today you're going to visit the troops and maybe a soup kitchen or two. You're going to smile at everyone and say how happy you are to be on board with the people's army."
"So you want me to lie and pretend everything is hunky dory? You know no one is going to buy that shit right?" Lena asked in distaste. "Oh you'd be surprised what lies people will believe when they're desperate to survive." Barsad stated coldly.
Lena clenched her jaw, his cruelty a brutal reminder that he was a mass murdering terrorist not in any way her ally or friend. He was so beguiling at times Lena would lose focus on that fact but she resolved not to forget it again as they made their way through the lobby and out to the front of the building.
It was a short walk to the soldier's barracks across the street, most of the men were congregated outside in the weak morning light gathered around burn barrels, some were eating most just seemed to be waiting for their next patrol to start. Lena could see that many of the men still wore the Blackgate prison uniform and as they moved through the crowd she got far more leering stares than she was comfortable with.
Barsad led her to a clearing and told her to wait while he organized transport. "Just smile and be polite. If any of the men come up to talk, stick to the act I'll be back in a few minutes."
Lena had a sinking feeling in her stomach as soon as Barsad was out of sight and it only took seconds for her anxiety to be confirmed. A group of men approached her slowly, catcalling and encircling her. Lena stood unflinching in the middle of the loose circle until one of the biggest guys stepped forward from the pack.
Lena could smell the sweat of unwashed bodies all around her and this guy, she assumed the ringleader of this particular pack, had shoulder length grease hair and a rotted smile the Grinch would have envied. He was a burly guy but was only a few inches taller than Lena and slowly began to circle around her talking in an arrogant tone to his crones.
"Well if it isn't Bane's little whore, come down from her tower to mingle with us peasants." this got a chuckle out of the assembled crowd so the man continued, "We heard you were sentenced at the courthouse last night to serve in the army, so how 'bout it whore are you here to service us or what?"
During his speech he'd been steadily moving closer to Lena and he punctuated his last word by slapping her ass. This got hoots and howls from the group and the grimy convict came to a stop in front of Lena.
"Well bitch, cat got your tongue, or did Bane cut it out? I'm not much for mouthy broads myself unless they're screaming my name." This got a big laugh from the assembly but Lena still stood unmoving. As the man looked down on her Lena cocked her head to the side, a contemplative look crossing her face.
"You called me a whore?" Lena asked quizzically.
"Yeah I called you a whore, are you slow or something?" He shouted angrily
"You know you have to pay to touch a whore right?" Lena replied smoothly.
"What the fuck are you…"
Before the man could finish Lena had drawn her sidearm in an instant and shot the man point blank in his foot. He crumpled to the ground bleeding profusely and screaming in pain. It had all happened so fast that most of the circle stood there in shocked silence as Lena addressed them calmly.
"Anyone else want to pay the price to touch me?"
A moment later Barsad broke through the crowd and approached Lena, with a stern look he took the gun from her hand and turned to the men, he slowly made eye contact with each and every one of them before approaching the injured man and shooting him once in the head. The crowd moved away quickly after that and Lena stood in shock looking down at the blood pooling on the fresh snow.
"I...I had it handled," was all she could stammer as he slowly holstered the gun for her and he began untying the crimson bandanna he wore around his neck as he explained.
"You are Bane's now and the men must know that his protection and power are absolute."
Lena chafed at the statement of ownership but kept quiet as Barsad placed the scarf around her neck and knotted it in place. She followed him to a convoy of soldiers and Lena was ushered into the backseat of a waiting Humvee.
Barsad took the front seat and Lena got wedged between two hulking mercenaries in the back while a third climbed in the driver's seat. Lena had already mental begun referring to the three men as Huey, Dewey, and Louie as they headed to their first destination.
They'd stopped at several soup kitchens at the start of the day and Lena had done her best to play the loyal soldier which mostly consisted of her awkwardly standing around while regular Gothamites avoided eye contact.
Several young children ran up to Lena and began barraging her with questions, their excitement at meeting the Gotham sniper was obvious. Lena began running around with the kids playing tag when their distrusting parents rushed up and ushered the children away apologizing profusely for bothering such an important person, which just left Lena feeling more isolated.
Their merry band had pulled up to the last stop of the day and as Lena hopped out noting they'd arrived at a boys home. They entered the building and were greeted by an older man clearly on edge at their presence. Barsad stepped forward and got right to business, "Father, we're here to offer any of your older boys the opportunity to serve their city by joining the people's army."
Lena went cold and she could see the fear and anger in the Father's eyes. It took a moment for him to compose himself,
"I'm not sure any of the boys here would be ready for that kind of responsibility, they are just children after all." He countered diplomatically.
"By the time I was most of these boy's age I'd had a rifle in my hands for many years, I'm sure it's hard enough to keep them all fed in these trying times Father, we can offer them food , protection, and propose."
Lena could no longer stomach as she listened to Barsad recruiting child soldiers she blurted out,
"Father does this place have a roof?"
The man looked surprised by the request but after a moment gave her directions to the roof access and before Barsad could object Lena bolted for the high ground. As she burst out into the clear cold air she had to take several steadying breaths before the buzzing in her ears diminished, "FUCK this I can't be apart of this shit, they're using kids for fuck sake" Lena thought angrily. She hadn't quite managed to calm herself before Lena heard a familiar and completely unexpected voice.
"Miss Newman, what are you doing here?"
"Blake, we've got to stop meeting like this." was the first response that came to Lena's mind and it got a boyish grin from him.
The handsome detective had walked over from a set of bleachers where Lena could see a young boy sitting. As the situation set in Lena gasped out, "Shit you need to get out of here, Bane's men are here recruiting it's not safe."
Blake's eyes flashed with rage but before he could move Lena had grabbed his arm, "If you go down there they'll send you out on the ice and you'll be no good to anyone."
Lena could feel the tension in his body, taut as a bow string, he didn't relax an inch but she saw his face clear and Lena sensed he was back in control.
"I can't let those monsters near these boys," Blake stated in a cold voice so unlike his usual easy tone.
"I'm not sure what I can do but I promise I'll do anything I can to protect them Blake."
"You know I don't usually believe people when they make promises to me but there's something about you Lena Newman, I have a feeling you'd go to hell and back to keep your word."
There was that damn smile again and Lena felt her cheeks flush, as she released her grip and turned to go.
"I've got to go before they send out the dogs to hunt me down, I'm back at Bane's penthouse for the time being, I'll do my best to contact your rebel alliance if I learn anything that might help."
"Playing the spy is a dangerous role Lena please be careful," the sincerity in Blake's voice stirred up some butterflies in her stomach and Lena felt the blush creep up again as she down played the situation,
"Well being Bane's roommate isn't particularly safe either but at least something good may come of it."
Blake nodded his acquiescence and Lena headed down the stairs, trying to formulate a story to get the mercenaries away from this place as quickly as possible and mentally berating herself once again for getting herself embroiled in a dangerous situation,
"Sorry Mr. S I know you told me to keep my head down but at this point I seem to be physically incapable of it," Lena thought ruefully as Barsad came into view.
Before Lena could try spinning a story about a migraine setting in Barsad stated, "The good Father has seen the sense of our offer and has promised to speak to the older boys, our work is done for the day we'll be heading back to the penthouse."
Lena was not happy with how relieved she was that they'd be heading back to the high-rise and she avoided the disapproving look from the father as she exited the St. Swithin's. It took all her willpower to keep her eyes on the sidewalk as her mind wandered to the roof and the face of the dashing young detective. She'd need to keep her mind focused in the days to come, she'd placed herself on a knife's edge and one wrong move would led to disaster for her or for the people she loved.
"Just another day in the life of Gotham's sniper I suppose."
A/N Alright I hope you enjoyed, Lena just can't seem to catch a break. As always thank you for reading and any comments or constructive criticisms are appreciated.