Chapter 7
A/N- sorry for the delay guys, death tried to claim me this past week but I had to beat the crap out of him with my fists. Anyways, enjoy!
"She is staying here," ordered Hippolyta. Bruce and Aella had recently returned from the beach, and Bruce and the Queen had been deep in a slowly escalating discussion on who Aella should be staying with.
"She's my daughter, Hippolyta. She needs to come home with me," growled Bruce. He clenched his fists together tightly, refusing to back down.
"Aella is an Amazon, so she belongs here with us," countered the Queen.
"But she's also of Man's World. Eventually she'll leave you. If you keep her locked up she'll want to escape to the outside world with or without your permission and you know it."
Hippolyta sighed.
"No. She is staying here and that is my final word on the matter. You may say goodbye to your daughter then depart this island immediately." She commanded her guards to escort Bruce out, but Aella moved to stand between them.
"Do I not get a say on the matter?" she demanded. Bruce raised an eyebrow at his daughter, then looked back to the Queen. Hippolyta nodded her head, motioning Aella to continue. Aella took a deep breath before beginning.
"I have been on this island my whole life, and you have taught me many things, Grandmother." Aella looked back to her dad. "However, as Father has already pointed out, I'm of both Themyscira and Man's World, so I belong there as well. Father came all this way to find me, so I think it is only fair that I go back with him."
Hippolyta stared at her granddaughter in surprise. She had expected Aella to side with her, thanks to the Amazon ideals and morals she had instilled into the little girl. Unfortunately, Aella was curious like her mother and as stubborn as her father. Hippolyta tried to use her last excuse to convince Aella to stay.
"As Queen of Themyscira, I order you to stay-" she began, but was interrupted by Aella.
"You may be both my queen and my grandmother, but a grandmother's word comes after the parents. My father wants to take me home, so I am going." She looked up to her father, watching the smirk slowly crawl along his face. Why didn't I think of that? Bruce pondered. He moved to stand beside Aella, resting a hand on her shoulder.
"She's made her choice, Hippolyta. Respect it and let her go," he stated as he narrowed his eyes. hippolyta pinched her nose before sighing.
"Very well. Aella, collect your things and prepare for departure," she finally said with a wave of her hand. Aella struggled to contain her excitement as she sprinted away with a speed that would make the Flash proud.
XXX
Bruce and Aella made their way back to the Batwing, followed by Hippolyta, Artemis and the Queen's royal guard. As they neared the black jet, Aella turned around and rushed towards her grandmother, embracing her in a tight hug.
"Do not worry Grandmother, I will come visit you often," she whispered. Hippolyta chuckled.
"I would hope so, little one. Or else I would have to beat your father up and come drag you home myself," she responded lightly. Aella giggled at the sight of her grandmother beating up her father as she carried Aella away. Aella finally released Hippolyta and hugged Artemis. Artemis responded by picking up the girl and giving her a big kiss on the cheek.
"Come visit me as well, or I'll be joining your grandmother," teased Artemis as she winked at him. Bruce merely rolled his eyes and beckoned Aella onto the jet. Aella turned and hopped into the plane, waving goodbye as she did so. Bruce turned to Hippolyta and Artemis.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of her," he said before disappearing into the Batwing. He helped put Aella's belt on, securing it tightly around her shoulders. He hopped into the pilot's seat and turned on the jet's engines. He slowly lifting the plane into the air before blasting off away from the island.
XXX
There was silence for most of the trip until a light on the plane's console started flashing and beeping loudly. Bruce turned off the button and slightly veered the jet to the right. Aella noticed the focussed look of her father and decided to satiate her growing curiosity.
"Where are we going Father?" she asked.
"We have to go to Belle Reve prison, there's been an attempted break in there," he replied.
"Is that where Mother is being kept?"
Bruce didn't answer that.
XXX
Bruce parked the jet on a landing pad specifically for the Batwing. As the plane landed, he grabbed his cowl and put it on before he jumped out of his chair.
"Wait here. I'll come get you once it's safe," he commanded Aella. She sat back in frustration, crossing her arms and frowning.
"I have fought before, you know," she pouted.
"But have you fought a super villain before?" Bruce retorted. When she didn't answer, he left the plane and sealed it shut. He rushed to the prison's front entrance, meeting up with the Flash and Warden Cash.
"What's going on," he demanded in his usual Batman voice.
"Bane somehow got a hold of some Venom and trashed the whole detention centre," answered Flash. "We're not sure if he let anyone out, but better to be safe than sorry." Batman nodded his head.
"How many workers are still in there?" he asked Cash. The Warden shrugged.
"Flash got pretty much everyone out, although we think there might be some doctors trapped in the infirmary."
"Okay." Batman pulled up a map of the whole prison. "Flash, you'll be coming in from the south-side of the prison. If you see any workers, evac them immediately."
"What about if I see a villain?" asked the Flash. Batman only gave him a look that told the Flash he should already know what to do. "Right," Barry backpedaled. "What about you?"
"I'll be entering from the west side of the facility. From there I'll make my way to the detention centre and confront Bane. Once he's taken care of, I'll need to have a word with Wonder Woman." Batman closed the map and signaled for the Flash to go. Barry speed of in a red and yellow blur, the drag of his speed causing Batman's cape to billow in the wind. Bruce turned to the warden.
"Cash, have your men on standby. You can move in once I give you the all clear." He pulled out his grapnel gun and fired it, zipping off into the night. He landed on the roof stealthily and made his way to a rooftop door. Opening it, he quickly ran to the ledge of a stair case. He jumped off the edge and glided down, quickly cutting the time down to reach the bottom. He crouched once he hit the bottom and slid into an air vent so he wouldn't be seen, and quietly made his way down to the detention facility.
XXX
Aella couldn't stop fidgeting in her seat. It had been over twenty minutes since her father had departed, and her young mind quickly became bored.
There must be some way I can get out of here, she thought. She scanned the controls in front of her for a few minutes before her eyes stumbled upon a button. This looks promising, she thought before pushing it. Immediately the back of the jet detached from the rest of the plane and descended onto the ground. Proud at herself, Aella unbuckled herself from her seat and flew out of the ship as fast as she could.
She wandered for a bit before coming upon some strange metal objects with flashing lights on the top. Surrounding them were lots of men, all wearing similar clothing and carrying weapons. She descended to the ground, landing gracefully. One man saw Aella land and walked up to her with a look of annoyance etched across his features.
"What are you doing here, little girl?" he demanded.
"I am looking for my father," replied Aella. the man scoffed.
"Unless your parents are bad guys, I don't think they're around here."
"I am the daughter of Batman and Wonder Woman," Aella declared proudly, folding her arms to show she wasn't in the mood. This caused the man to laugh.
"Yeah right, and the Joker was my cousin," he mocked. Aella flashed a look of anger before swinging her clenched fist upwards. Her punch connected with the man's jaw and he was sent flying into a police car, making a large dent in the front door as he impacted. Other men turned to look at their fallen comrade before seeing the little girl, whose face had become visibly red with anger despite the darkness of the night. Two men raced to help their friend up, while several others led by a man with a hook for a hand.
"What the hell is this? Who are you? Where are your parents?" bellowed the man with the hook. Aella pointed at the prison.
"My father recently went into that building, and my mother has been in there for over a year," she began. "As for your other questions, I am Aella Wayne, daughter of Bruce Wayne and Diana of the Amazons." Some of the men surrounding her began to laugh, but the leader merely shrugged.
"Let me get a look at you," he said less harshly than before. Aella stepped forward into better lighting so the man could study her. A moment later the man smiled warmly.
"Well you sure look like your mom," he kindly said to her. "Although you have your dad's features too."
"Thank you," Aella bowed.
"The name's Aaron Cash," he said as he offered a hand.
"Aella Wayne," she responded as she took it politely. "Now, why did my father leave in such a hurry? Is there a problem?"
"Follow me," beckoned the leader. Aella followed him as they made their way to the edge of the barricade. He motioned for her to sit on the hood of a police vehicle, which she easily leapt onto.
"Your dad's in there because there's been an attempted breakout. Your dad and the Flash have gone in to put the baddie's back in their cells," Cash explained. Aella nodded her head.
"Do you think my mother could have been a part of this attempt?" she asked. Cash shrugged.
"Unlikely. Your mom's in a different part of the prison, away from the bad guys," he answered before adding "well, the badder bad guys." Aella only nodded her head.
"Is there any way I can help you?" she asked Cash. He looked stunned for a moment.
"If I let you go in there Batman would have my head, not to mention you're only- wait, how old are you?" he finished.
"Six and a half years," she replied. Cash's eyes widened even further.
"What the hell? You're only six? To be honest I thought you were at least eight or nine years old but that's still too young to be in there fighting!"
Aella raised an eyebrow.
"I just punched one of your men 20 feet through a whatever that thing is," she growled as she pointed behind her to the damaged car and guard, whose jaw was currently being treated. "I would bet that I could take on anyone in there."
Cash shook his head again.
"I'd bet that too. But I'd rather you did nothing than have to face the wrath of you dad," he answered. "Sorry kiddo, but I plan on dying in my sleep of old age."
Aella frowned and crossed her arms.
"But I-" she was interrupted by a loud boom, followed by a beam of energy that shot out the side of the prison. Cash swiftly turned to face his men whilst grabbing a radio.
"All units! get your asses over there now! We got ourselves a possible fight on the west side of the building!" he screamed into the radio. He then turned back to Aella, who had vanished without a trace.
XXX
Bruce found himself in a dangerous predicament. Somehow, Bane had known where he would be and had ripped Bruce straight out of the ventilation system before beating the Dark Knight mercilessly. Batman managed to deliver a few blows of his own before dodging out of the way. He pulled an explosive batarang out of his utility belt and threw it at Bane, exploding on impact. Bane took a few steps back, stunned by the gadget's impact. Batman seized the opportunity and fly-kicked Bane straight in the nose, sending the hulking man stumbling even more before colliding with the wall behind him. Batman threw a glue grenade at Bane's hand, sticking it to the wall. As Bane struggled to free himself, Batman began executing numerous punches and kicks to his enemy's body, targeting the pressure points an his chest, shoulders and arms.
As Bruce launched himself at Bane, Bane freed his arm and slammed it into Batman, sending him flying across the room and smashing through the other side. Batman got up slowly, wiping some blood from his mouth.
"You realise that you're not getting out of here?" growled Batman.
"I didn't stage this breakout to escape, Batman. I'm here to kill you," sneered Bane. Bruce thought for a moment.
"Who gave you the Venom supply? There must be someone pulling the strings around here cause you have no one left outside of here," Batman concluded. "So who's your new boss?"
"Let's just say he has a mutual hatred for you and your Dama," Bane answered as he cracked reached behind him to grab something. He then pulled out a weapon that Bruce didn't recognise and fired it. Batman tried to dodge it but the powerful beam struck his arm and blew a hole through the wall of the building. Bruce collapsed on the ground in agony, the pain causing him to fall unconscious. Just before his eyes closed he saw a tiny figure slam into Bane's gut.
XXX
Aella arrived through the hole in the building just as her father collapsed. She then turned to see his assailant, who's smile could be seen through his mask. Aella's blood boiled and adrenaline surged through her veins and she charged him, slamming into the larger man's torso. The impact of Aella's fist knocked the wind out of Bane and sent him hurtling back through the wall behind him. As he got up slowly, a foot smashed into his jaw and knocked him onto his back. H looked up quickly and saw a child standing before him.
"Who are you ninita?" he demanded. the girl raised her hands in a defensive stance.
"I am the girl who is about to punish you," she answered angrily. Bane cocked his head to the side.
"You look familiar. Do I know your parents?" he asked, then realisation hit him. "You are the Batman's child are you not? His little desovar?" Bane smirked. "Though, you are far too powerful to be a mere human. I'm willing to bet your mother is the Wonder Woman, no? You seem to have the fire an Amazon possesses."
"I am willing to bet my Father gets sick of you monologuing," Aella snapped. "Are you going to continue to talk, or are you going to fight?"
"As you wish, seƱorita." Bane quickly got up and charged Aella, slamming her with his shoulder. A loud exhale of air came out of Aella as Bane hit her and she was sent flying away. Sh quickly got up and roundhouse kicked Bane in the chest just as he got close to her. She quickly followed her kick with a powerful uppercut which sent the massive beast upwards into the air. Aella then grabbed his leg and slammed him down through the floor. she dropped onto Bane's torso and grabbed his neck, then punched him over and over again.
Despite the pain the small girl had caused him, he managed to recover and grabbed her waist. He then threw her onto the floor and slammed his massive foot into her gut, nearly crushing her.
"YOU WOUNDED ME BRUJA!" he bellowed. Aella struggled to lift his foot off her, but failed. As Bane continued to apply more bone-crushing pressure, Aella looked at her unconscious father.
No, I cannot lose, she thought. She silently prayed to her gods to give her strength, then gave one last heave with all her might. Bane's foot loosened just enough for her to roll out of the way before it slammed into the ground, causing massive cracks. She then kicked the back of Bane's leg, causing it to buckle and he collapsed to his knees. She then grabbed the tubes sticking out of his back and ripped them out, spilling Venom formula everywhere.
Bane panicked and scrambled to reattach the tubes to his pack, but kept getting thrown off as Aella repeatedly punched and kicked him. He fell to the ground, squirming as his body shrunk back down to regular size. He wheezed heavily as he lay in a pool of Venom, suddenly weakened as his strength quickly left him.
Aella ignored her enemy's moaning as she rushed to her father's side. She knelt down beside him just her hair blew slightly and she became aware of a presence behind her. She quickly spun around, prepared to defend her father again. However, the man who stood before her raised his hands in a friendly, yet nervous manner.
"It's okay, I'm a friend of Batman's," he said politely. Aella then realised who she was talking to.
"You are the Flash!" she exclaimed.
"Yep, Fastest Man Alive, at your service," he replied heartily before bowing low. "Which reminds me, who the hell are you?"
Aella rolled her eyes as well as sighing. She was getting sick of everyone asking who she was.
"Long story short, I am Batman and Wonder Woman's daughter," she quickly answered. The Flash's eyes widened in shock.
"Wait, you're Bruce and Diana's kid? When the hell did they get it on? And when did Diana have you?" he exclaimed loudly.
"That is not important right now. We need to help Father. that man attacked him with some energy weapon and he hasn't woken up." She checked to see if Bruce was okay. She removed his cape and gasped loudly at the damage Bane had done to her father. The Flash zipped around, his eyes widening once more.
"Oh shit. I need to get him to the hospital right now. I'll have the Warden escort you there as soon as possible." He picked up Bruce and sped away, leaving a trail of lightning behind him.
Aella stood up, trying to hold back tears as she looked at the pool of blood that lay where Bruce used to be. She quickly flew back over to the police and asked Warden Cash to take her to the nearest hospital.
XXX
Bruce's mind felt hazy as he slowly became aware of his surroundings. He sensed that he lay on a bed and was covered in blankets. Barry must have taken me to the hospital, he surmised. He tried to sit up, but realised that he couldn't feel a certain appendage. The revelation made Bruce's eyes flash open and dart to look at his left arm.
Or rather, where his left arm used to be. Instead there was nothing from the shoulder down except for bandages, which had begun to show signs of blood coming through. He slumped back into the bed, angry that he allowed Bane to beat him in such a way. The realisation of his amputated arm fully hit him then, and e did something nobody thought possible: the Batman cried.
Aella picked up the sound with her enhanced hearing, and rushed into the room. She saw her father sobbing on the bed, and looked at him sadly.
Bruce realised that he wasn't alone and saw Aella standing at the doorway.
"What do you want?" he growled furiously. Aella ignored him and walked over to him before sitting on the edge of the cot.
"I'm sorry Father," she said sadly. "I cannot imagine the pain you must be in."
Bruce sniffed. "I don't feel anything, which is much worse," he replied. "How long was I out for?"
"Four days, eleven hours," she told him. At that moment a doctor came in carrying a clipboard.
"Hello Mister Wayne, how are you feeling?" he asked politely. The politeness of the doctor got on Bruce's nerves.
"Just tell me how it is," he grumbled. The doctor nodded.
"Whatever Bane hit you with, it completely disintegrated your left arm. A lot of the nerves in your shoulder were damaged by the blast, which is why you can't feel anything," explained the doctor. "I don't want to be the one to say it, but I'm afraid your days as Batman are over. I'm sorry Mister Wayne."
Bruce gave the doctor the infamous Batglare, prompting the doctor to leave as quickly as he could. He rested his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes.
"I'll have to thank Flash for saving me at least," he muttered.
"Ummm," began Aella. Bruce opened his eyes and eyed her suspiciously.
"Um what? What did you do?" he demanded. Aella sighed.
"The Flash wasn't the one who saved you Father. I did," she said. Bruce glared at her furiously.
"You WHAT?"
Aella raised her hands in defence.
"Hey! If it wasn't for me you would be dead!"
"Bane could have killed you!" shouted Bruce. Then he thought for a moment. "How did you beat him?" he asked. Aella smirked, which made Bruce a little uneasy as the mischievous look didn't seem natural on her beautiful face.
"My mother is the daughter of Zeus, so I got her powers as well. I guess my strength was enough to overpower Bane," she told him. Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"I've known you personally for nearly five days and you're still surprising me," murmured Bruce.
"I guess I must take after you then," joked Aella. Bruce smiled, then lay his head back again. They remained silent for ten minutes.
"This isn't the end," he muttered, which caused Aella to perk up.
"Excuse me?" she asked. Bruce looked at her.
"This-" he gestured to his shoulder, "-isn't going to stop me. I'm going to find a way to get back into the field, and I think I might know where to go." Aella straightened up, excited that she might be going on an adventure with her father.
"To do what?" she asked excitedly.
"I'm going to look into Lex Luthor's robotics department."
