Chapter 21- A Void
x
x
With the threat of danger over, Gotham gradually returned to a new state of normal.
Streets were cleared of rubbish, supplies in stores were replenished and order was restored.
As the weeks passed, businesses and schools resumed, and people felt safe to venture out again.
Slowly, citizens of Gotham moved on with their lives.
Whilst the city returned to what it was before Bane's occupation, something felt different.
A newfound appreciation for life, freedom… everything.
xxxx
Alongside Alfred, Gordon and Fox, Blake attended Wayne's funeral and subsequent reading of his Will.
Blake was astounded to learn that Wayne had left his entire estate to care for orphaned children.
Wayne really had impressive foresight, covered all his bases, should the worst come to pass.
After leaving the police force, Blake decided to help out at the new orphanage location of Wayne Manor.
That way he could kill two birds with one stone.
Here he could not only spend time with underprivileged children but also somehow, using the same hallways and staircases made him feel closer to Wayne.
Like he was walking in his shoes, somehow.
Blake thought it strange that he too was a beneficiary in Wayne's will.
What would the billionaire orphan want to leave for him?
After all, he hadn't been friends with Wayne that long.
Returning to his car after collecting the mystery duffle bag, Blake looked inside to find some coordinates on a piece of paper, a harness and rope.
A puzzle of sorts.
Blake was too curious to wait.
Following the coordinates via GPS, Blake realized that he had driven out to a secluded location on the large grounds of the Wayne Estate.
Using the gear provided in the duffle bag, Blake eventually swung through the waterfall to discover the Batcave.
That was where the coordinates led to after all.
Blake was beside himself.
Wayne had left him the most valuable treasure of all.
His secret.
xxxx
Blake decided to share his incredible new discovery with Ebony.
After all, it was through their shared fascination of the Batman that they knew each other.
Although they had reconnected after the day of detonation and celebrated with the rest of the city, they never rekindled their romance.
That seemed so long ago now.
Ebony was understandably over the moon for Blake, that he had the honor of walking in Wayne's footsteps.
They shared stories of their experiences in occupied Gotham.
Blake told Ebony that he had been communicating with the force underground and had almost died the night before the bomb went off, but luckily Batman had returned.
Ebony told Blake that she had almost died under the rubble of the building collapse.
Again, she conveniently left out who saved her and her time with Bane saying she just wanted to move past it all.
Not knowing what ever happened to Bane, Ebony reluctantly resolved that she had no other choice but to try to move on with her life.
But for some reason, Ebony couldn't get Bane out of her mind.
The authorities claimed that Bane was still at large and had most likely slipped out of the country.
But there were some conspiracies that Bane had been captured, and was being held, interrogated and tortured without trial.
Perhaps Bane was locked up somewhere at Blackgate Prison, or Arkham Asylum.
Not knowing was the hardest part.
Her head was telling her to move on, find some sort of happiness with what was in front of her.
Blake was perfect.
But if Blake was so perfect for her, why was she still thinking about her time with another?
At first Ebony simply put it down to her mind making sense of the traumatic experience of the whole thing.
Trying to process it all for some sort of closure.
Bane haunted her dreams.
Every time Ebony closed her eyes, he was there, gazing at her over his mask….
Saving her from imminent death under the rubble…
Carrying her in his strong arms…
Holding her close in bed….
She had bonded with Bane, on a level that she could never have imagined.
A crazy, reluctant, whirlwind romance when their worlds collided.
But now he was gone, leaving Ebony to pick up the pieces of her life once more.
Even if her head was telling her to move on to what was in front of her, her heart couldn't.
After being with Bane, no other man would ever come close to comparison.
Blake became ever engrossed with his new inheritance, which was quickly consuming him.
It seemed to Ebony that he was taking over from the Batman as the new caped crusader of Gotham.
Blake was living his dream, but Ebony knew he was becoming someone else.
But.
She wasn't the same person either since knowing Bane.
Having never picked up her camera again after it had been damaged in her near-death experience, it sat on her dresser in her bedroom.
She looked at it every night before she went to sleep.
She woke to see it sitting there, the cracked lens staring back at her.
Strangely enough though, it no longer reminded her so much of her parents, but of one particular image.
The morning she had first stayed in Bane's bed.
When he had been injured and she had woken up to find her camera next to her on his side of the bed.
xxxx
Thirteen months had passed since the day that the bomb had detonated out over the bay.
The day that Batman had sacrificed his life for the people of Gotham.
In that time, bridges had been rebuilt and buildings repaired.
One year memorials were held.
Ebony had taken safest, most boring, mundane job she could find.
In the Gotham State Library, stacking shelves.
She still had bills to pay after all.
She resolved that she was done with the danger and the risk taking.
But in her mundane new job, she had much time to think.
Unfortunately.
She knew there was something missing in her life.
A void.
Him.
Ebony could still remember how it felt to have his huge arms around her.
But how could the last time she saw Bane seem like only yesterday and eons ago at the same time?
She had filled the hole in her life that her parents had left, with someone different.
Someone unexpected.
Made her want to live again.
There was something about Bane that she knew she wouldn't find in anyone else.
She didn't want to spend her life without him, but now she didn't have a choice.
Now he was gone too.
But.
The feeling remained that she didn't need to put herself in danger anymore, to feel alive.
Perhaps Bane really had healed her, in his own way.
She wanted… normal.
Or at least that is what she tried to tell herself.
She didn't know how she felt about anything anymore.
What else was left?
Ebony had questioned a million times, was Bane dead?
And she answered a million times, he must be.
Perhaps Bane was locked up somewhere in a supermax prison, restrained and sedated.
Perhaps it was a cover up by the authorities, they didn't want the public to know details of where he was.
If he was alive, surely that was it.
But the main reason she thought that was that he didn't seem like the relinquishing type.
Their bond had been strong.
Unbreakable.
If Bane had have been alive and free, surely he would have tried to contact her?
He had said that whatever happens, they would see each other again.
Perhaps he had meant in another life?
She thought she had found her man.
The one.
But just her luck again, everyone she loved was somehow taken from her.
Ebony gasped.
She had loved Bane.
She did love Bane…
Still.
But, what could she do?
Just like her parents, now he was gone too.
It was easier just to assume he was dead than to keep on wondering.
And after Bane, nobody else would ever be enough.
xxxx
Ebony lived her life mostly alone.
She worked alone, travelled alone.
Ate dinner in her apartment.
Alone.
It was routine and routine was safe.
Every day was the same.
Wake up, take the subway to work, sort books, stack shelves, eat lunch on the park bench, sort books, stack shelves, take the subway home.
One day rolled into the next.
Ebony had resolved to the fact that she would probably be single for the rest of her days.
After being with Bane, what man would ever compare?
He had been everything she never knew that she wanted.
Perhaps even everything she never knew she needed.
Well, at least she had the memories of their time together.
That would have to do.
xxxx
xxxx
Getting home from another boring day at work carrying a large paper bag filled with groceries, Ebony unlocked the door of her apartment to see something she never thought she would see again in a million years.
Or more specifically someone.
The blood instantly drained from her face like she had seen a ghost.
Barsad was lounging comfortably on the couch watching tv with his feet up like he was her best friend gate crashing for the night.
It looked like had been waiting for a few hours.
He had even helped himself to snacks from the pantry.
His appearance was very different.
Beardless, shaved head.
Practically unrecognizable.
But it was definitely him.
'Jeeesus fffucking Christ!' Ebony exclaimed in surprize as she froze mid step, dropping the bag full of groceries with shock.
'No… just me.' He replied, calmly, quietly as always, like had hadn't been gone for over a year.
Still the comedian apparently.
They both eyed each other for a minute, curiously, suspiciously, thoughtfully.
She would never forget that he was the one that cut her.
She hadn't been fond of him since that very first night.
But she did know that he was trustworthy, and very loyal.
Loyal to… Bane.
Cautiously, Ebony sized Barsad up.
What did he want?
Doubt crept into her mind.
Did Barsad know about her efforts to help get people out of the city?
Help them escape?
Was Barsad here on Bane's orders to kill her for helping the Batman in some small way?
Ebony pushed down feelings of panic in her gut.
Keep calm and controlled.
Like it was no big deal like one of the most wanted men in the country was lounging on her couch.
Attempting to regain her composure, she spoke first.
'I always wondered what had happened to you both, the authorities claimed to never have found either of you, or your bodies.' Ebony said casually.
'I went to City Hall after the bomb detonated over the water, but there was no trace of you, or Bane.' Ebony added.
Thirteen months on, Bane was still public enemy number one and close behind in second place, Barsad.
But who could trust the media?
Ebony listened carefully as Barsad explained that after being shot in the shoulder and knocked off the tumbler, he came to on the steps of City Hall when the blast radius blew out.
Barsad found Bane unconscious inside, barely breathing.
It looked like Bane had been shot point blank in the chest with a powerful weapon.
Ebony gulped unconsciously.
She thought back to the woman on the Bat bike… the weapons on that vehicle were powerful.
And Ebony had told that woman to go help the Batman.
Perhaps that was what happened?
Had Ebony somehow indirectly hurt Bane by interfering?
Barsad continued, explaining that he fixed Bane's mask enough to get him on his feet and mobile.
They found their way underground and slipped away.
After a moment of silence to process the information, Ebony spoke.
'I am glad you're not dead,' She said after a while.
Barsad had said the exact same thing to her once, after they found her under the rubble.
'Everyone else in Gotham City wants you executed with your head on a spike.'
Realizing how precarious it was for Barsad to be in the country let alone this city, Ebony hesitated before asking.
'Is he…is Bane… alive?
Barsad nodded.
'So where is he now?' Ebony asked cautiously looking around.
Wondering if he too, would miraculously appear in her living room…
Walk out from behind a door?
But no, if he did barely escape with his life, he wouldn't be foolish enough to return to Gotham, risk getting caught.
'Bane is far away in an undisclosed location, somewhere the authorities here can never reach him. He has powerful allies with influence.' Barsad explained.
'We called in favors from some important contacts in the past few months to help with his recovery.'
Ebony nodded, taking it all in.
'So… why are you here?' Ebony asked curiously, not completely sure if she wanted to know the answer.
Barsad looked Ebony dead in the eye.
'I have risked a great deal to return here for one reason alone…. Isn't it obvious?' Barsad stated quietly, pausing for Ebony to put it together.
Ebony's mind raced, considering all possibilities…
More surveillance…?
Being unsuccessful at Gotham's demise, were they going to try again?
Unlikely.
Had he returned to punish her, for what she had done on the day of detonation?
Ebony's heart skipped a beat.
Surely it couldn't be because Bane still…