Hey! sorry for the wait, I haven't had much muse for this story, but I made this chapter extra long to make up for my lack of posting.
I've hit a road block though, so I leave it to you, dear readers, if there's something you'd like to see happen in the story, or particular characters you'd like to see interact, let me know and I'll try to put it in there! My idea machine has suddenly run dry.
Please review, it only takes a second.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Raelene, Maddie, Gotham's Underground gang and the subplot.
Jeremy slowly helped Raelene remove her jacket, sweater and shirts, the woman biting her lip and hissing slightly, his powder blue eyes fell upon a large purple bruise on her ribs. As well as a collection of other bruises, various shapes and sizes in a range of different colors, there were scrapes and cuts all over her body. "What the hell happened down there?" Rae sniffed, removing the rag from her bloody lip, spitting blood on to the floor of the cold room "Bane kicked my ass, that's what happened" She huffed "He hurt your pride as well by the tone of your voice" Jeremy stated, feeling her ribs and causing her to give a sharp cry, squirming away from his touch "I'm sorry Rae, I just need to see if they were broken"
Rae sucked in a sharp breath "They...are..." She breathed, pain washing over her in thick, heavy waves. "Thought you'd put them back in to alignment yourself, did you?" Rae nodded, hanging her head slightly "That was stupid of you, one of them isn't aligned properly" He spoke, feeling for the broken rib, then without warning set it back in place. Rae yelled and gripped the woolen blanket on top of the small cot, leaning forward and wiping her forehead, Jeremy sighed "With all the bruising on your ribs, I can hardly see your tattoo" He spoke, trying to put her mind elsewhere "You don't have any compound fractures, although you did crack the one pretty badly, I think you'll be feeling better in a few weeks" He spoke, Rae nodded "So why did he decide to beat you in to a bloody mess?" Jeremy asked, she sighed and looked over at him "I lied to him" Jeremy looked at her "Really?" He raised an eyebrow and packed away the medical supplies, Rae nodded "Yes, I lied about letting my eyes wander" Jeremy couldn't help but snicker at the situation, his boss had gotten beat up because she lied about looking at him in a way he probably wasn't used to "Don't check him out then, and don't lie about it next time" Rae rolled her eyes "Ha ha, real funny Jer"
/
Bane sat with his head hung over the blueprints, slowly marking the ways they could enter, then narrowing it down to find the most efficient way to get in and out of the stock exchange building. However, he couldn't get the mental image of Raelene leaning against the wall, delicate fingers pressing and pulling her ribs, pain drawn across her face, out of his head. Of course, he was confused by her actions, why had she tried to fix broken bones first without the help of their doctor? Was she trying to prove to him that she was tough enough to work with him, or did it have something to do with her pride? Regardless of what it was, Bane had enjoyed punishing her for her fault, and he was nearly thrilled when she fought back at first, but as their fight wore on, it became apparent that she wasn't one to give up easily, and his patience had been wearing thin with her, but eventually she gave up and submitted to his will.
His mind wandered to earlier that day when he had pinned her close to him, her heart rate had picked up again, and she had flushed when he drew close to her and widened her stance slightly. This reaction had been similar to the one she had given to him when he had pinned her against the wall that previous night and he was confused by her body's reactions to him, almost as if he was the cause of her flushing and racing heart. She didn't shake, so she wasn't afraid...Bane groaned and slammed a fist down on the desk, how could someone he hardly knew arouse his anger in such a way that it made concentrating on anything a near impossibility? She infuriated him, the way she defiantly met his gaze made him boil, rage coiling in his chest like an angry snake, poised and ready to strike.
He shivered when cool fingers slowly grazed his shoulders, slowly slipping under the plain black fabric of his tee shirt, then under his chest plates. He growled "Not now Talia, I'm working" Bane sighed, the woman walked over to stand front of him across the desk, his eyes flicking up to her face, which was in a soft smile "You looked stressed, I thought I could help" She spoke, her hair, the color of Italian coffee spilled over her shoulders in loose curls. Her hair was damp, she had probably walked here in the rain, it was a look he somewhat enjoyed on her. "Come now Talia, why would I let such a little thing like stress interfere with my work?" He asked, standing up and holding his plated vest, looking at her
"Beloved, stress is a natural thing, it's only human to feel it" She spoke, taking slow, graceful steps around the desk, reaching his side and gently touching his arm, he pulled away and walked over to the end of the wall, staring down at the small army he had, observing them build explosives "I don't feel anything, Talia, emotions are weak, they give you a weakness for your enemies to target, it's better to not have any then to be a slave to them" He spoke, She sighed and approached him again "You feel emotion Bane, I know you do, if you didn't, I'd be dead" He looked down at her, then focused his gaze down at his workers again, Talia watching them now as well "So you found Gotham's Underground, good job" She spoke, Bane nodded "It wasn't as difficult as I had first imagined, however, their leader leaves something to be desired"
He growled, She looked up at him "What do you mean?" She asked, Bane looked down at her "She is defiant, disobedient and infuriating" Bane spoke, lifting his chin a little "She was punished earlier today for deceit, you know how I feel about that" Talia gave him a look "Well do you at least know her name?" He inclined his head slightly "Her name is Raelene Eaddows" Talia nodded once, than raised an eyebrow "Do I get a chance to meet her? Or is she just here to do a job?" "If you wish, she's upstairs with the doctor, apparently some ribs of hers have been broken" Talia gave him a look "Bane, behave, she's no use to us broken, now is she?" She chided, Bane rolled his shoulders ever so slightly "I punished her Talia, she will learn or she will die, I would like to hope the more positive of those two options appeal to her. However if she changes her mind, I will gladly break her neck"
Talia slid her hand along the small of his back, rubbing the spot in small circles "I assume you'll send for her then?" She asked, Bane nodded and motioned over for one of the guards walking by "Go find Raelene and bring her down here for me" The man nodded and left the two alone, Talia looked down at the workers "Who's that?" She asked, pointing to the green haired teen "That's Sidney Butane, Raelene's little arsonist, he's quite handy when it comes to explosives, his lack of intellect, however, annoys me" Bane spoke, watching them carefully as Sid carefully worked over a complex looking explosive device, Talia quirked an eyebrow "If he's stupid then why are you letting him work with explosives?" Bane gave an annoyed sigh "Talia I expect this from Raelene or her gang, not you" He answered sharply .
"He knows what he is doing when he is creating explosive devices" He spoke "Do not second guess my decisions" He was gruff with her, and Talia was confused, he never spoke to her in such a manner, not even when she annoyed him "Dearest-" She didn't get a chance to finish, Bane had turned away from her, his gaze resting on something behind her "Talia, this is Raelene Eaddows" He spoke, gesturing to the woman behind her, Talia turned, and her smile fell, the woman before her was rough looking , her hair was disheveled, her lip was split wide open, her cheek was bruised and she had deep purple marks on her neck. However, she could see that the woman was indeed, attractive...in a strange way. Talia took a step forward and took a hold of Kat's jaw, turning her head left and right, those startling grey eyes never left her own.
Talia's gaze hardened and she turned Rae's head to the right again, the woman jerked to the left, breaking Talia's grip and giving her a hateful glare "Hmm, You're a pretty little thing aren't you? Bane was rather rough on you, wasn't he?" Talia crooned softly, her tone somewhat mocking, Rae mustered up all the anger she had and gave Talia the worst look she could manage "Yeah, he was" She responded hotly, Talia looking back at Bane, however, he didn't notice this, his gaze was fixated on the gang leader, and this brought on questions for Talia, One of which being why he hadn't noticed that she turned to face him, and why his posture was rigid and tense. She looked over at Raelene, who at this time was gently holding her ribs, her eyes locked with Bane's in a hate-fueled stare, cold steel and molten amber, and she was caught in the middle of it "Raelene, may I speak with you for a moment?" She asked, Rae lowered her gaze
"No, I have things to do, I'll speak with you later" She spoke sharply, Talia's gaze grew dark as the woman turned and left Bane's 'office', walking slowly down one of the grated pathways. Bane watched her go, his gaze lingering longer then She would have liked "So what is the plan you have for her?" His gaze lowered "I plan on using her and the gang to get my operations done quicker and with more success" "Nothing else?" Talia asked, her tone taking a suspicious edge to it, and Bane picked up on this, and amusement broke out on his face "Now Talia, don't tell me that you are afflicted with jealousy? It's most unbecoming of a woman such as yourself" He spoke, cradling her cheek in the palm of his hand, his thumb gently swiping over the smooth flesh
"I'm not jealous of a lowlife, she's a hired hand, nothing else. I was foolish to actually let the thought cross my mind that she was something more to you then that" She spoke, nuzzling in to his touch, then smiled "I must leave now, I have important business to take care of, but you need to go a little easier on her, she's no use dead" Bane gave one slow nod and Talia gently ran the back of her fingers down his neck and turned on her heel, her form retreating back to the dark mouth of the tunnel. She stood for a moment longer, watching his hired hand for a moment before completely disappearing, Bane couldn't help the sinister snicker that rumbled deep in his chest, she did feel threatened. This new little tidbit of information then made him think a little harder, what if Talia felt so threatened that she fired the woman and her gang? Where would that leave him?
He wasn't giving them a generous salary to live off of, in fact, he was hardly going to pay them at all. The few hundred dollars a week though, seemed acceptable enough to most, and this group was one that wouldn't reject to the offer, they looked like they hadn't seen a sum of money that large in years. Still the thought of having to find other workers weighed heavily on him, and he felt the gravity of the delicate situation settle on his shoulders. He'd have to tread lightly, he didn't want to arouse Talia's temper and he didn't want to have to entice more and more street skids to come work for him in these damned tunnels.
She fought him well, although she already annoyed him and he wasn't so sure how long he could take her defiance and constant insulting comments, not to mention poor language. Besides all this though, he wondered if Talia thought that this woman would drive a stake right in the heart of their relationship. Of course, he wouldn't let that happen, he would fight tooth and nail to stop it from happening, but he felt strange when he thought about it. Talia wasn't as innocent as she once was, she was older, colder and more powerful than he had seen her in years. She had become unforgiving, he refused to say anything about it in fear of losing her, but it was a far cry from who she used to be. Bane massaged his temples and rolled his shoulders back, cracking his back and continued to watch, he could feel the lack of sleep creeping up on him.
Rae was walking around and observing her workers, stopping to look at Sid's explosive device, then gave a curt nod and continued on, her arms behind her back stiffly. She held herself with pride and had power in her stance, it was no wonder why she was elected their leader. She had an intimidating stride and rigidity when she put the effort in to it, and, he thought she reminded him of himself in a way. The way she carried herself around his members was different then when she did when she was with him or alone with her group.
She wasn't as relaxed with his goons as she was with her kin and not nearly as patient. He watched her talk to a girl with dark red hair, picking up a bullet and examining it thoroughly, then, she set it down continued to watch the woman for a while. She shook a little, nervous to have her boss breathing down her neck, but she had a reason to, Rae was trying to get them to strive for the best to give him the best. It was a strange feeling he got when a satisfied smile crossed her face when she examined another bullet, giving the girl a touch on her shoulder before yet again, moving on.
Bane found himself wondering if she had a temper to match her stride, he knew she got easily frustrated, but he hadn't seen her angry. This thought process was getting him nowhere, he was distracted and was having a hard time trying to steer his mind back to planning the heist. He watched for a few more moments before returning to the drawing board, settling himself in the rusty stool and let out a low, mechanical hiss of a sigh, what the hell had she done to him?