Saddle up and get ready! Shit is about to hit the fan! No edits.

B4tmans – Thank you :) My first few chapters that I had originally written were pretty awful, so I'm quite sure that has a bit to deal with it. :) But, I appreciate it, reading what you sent me only makes me want to write faster.

Splishbloom – No offense taken. :) I know the first write was pretty difficult to read.

& here we go… less talking, more reading, right? - D

Two days passed and Bane was still unconscious. I hadn't slept, but maybe for two hours right after his surgery and a few small naps. It wasn't relaxing sleep. I missed my bed, I missed my own shower, and I hated looking out and seeing Arkham past the plexi-glass wall of the Infirmary- all of its dingy walls and deranged individuals. I sat like a log in the waiting room area, Selina slumped over in the same fashion as me. She was afraid to leave Bruce alone with Venus, at least that's what I gathered from her round the clock stay there. I couldn't see any other reason why she would stay in a damn place like that, especially seeing as she was dating a billionaire. My fist was under my jaw, holding my head up as I listened to Venus and Lucius joke about the name for the serum they had created for Bane. Venom inhibitor. Wow. They were beyond slap happy. I glanced up at the clock. It was already nearing midnight. Damn. Almost another full day of an unconscious Bane. I rubbed my face and pushed my hair back.

A door from down the hallway clicked shut, it took my attention away from the hilarity around me. I glanced up and watched a nurse that was on her shift walk away from Bane's room. I haven't made a medical form for him yet. He really needs one in that phone book of a file- if they can add anything to it. I rose up from the chair and carried myself to his room, just wanting to do something to occupy my mind. I had tried reading my novels with no success. Each sentence just seemed like a block of words. I couldn't stop worrying that I had hit something major in his brain when I was drilling. Damn, did I hate messing with people's brains. I'm not a neurosurgeon for a reason! I closed Bane's door quietly, taking a seat in the chair beside his bed, just listening to the steady beep of his heart monitor. Silence. I smiled and closed my eyes, resting my hands in the armrests of the chair for a second…

She was running through the field, her hands grazing the tops of the wheat grass, the sun warming her skin in the most pleasant way, a large, goofy smile on her face. No noise, no stress, no people… She laughed and ran faster, running from the pain and mundane workings of her everyday life. A voice called out to her, her pace slowed as she tried to focus on the voice. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she scanned the field, it called to her again…

My body jerked awake, something wasn't right. I felt the adrenaline pump itself through my system. That wasn't a bad dream!

"TALIA!" yelled a raspy, deep voice. I stared wide eyed at the man in the bed beside me. Bane was thrashing, his body straining against the restraints on the bed. Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! "Where is Talia?!" he yelled at me, his face a deep red color as he pulled on the restraints again. I jumped up out of the chair, my brain spinning as I tried to think of something to do. "Where is she!?" He grunted loudly, sweat dripping down his face. Um, I don't know? I just woke up! Cut me a fucking break!

"Bruce!" I yelled, screaming with Bane. "Bruce!" I opened the drug cart beside me and pulled out a syringe of Lithium and stabbed it into his leg. Fuck proper procedures right now!

"What is that?! What are you doing to me!?" I pushed the syringe down.

"Helping you," I breathed. And helping me. I think my heart is about to jump out of my throat right now!

"No!" he screamed through a sob, his lip quivering as I stepped away from him. Bruce flung the door open, panic on his face. I held onto the wall with a death grip, bracing myself against it. Bruce looked at me, then at the syringe sticking out of Bane's leg. Bane slumped against the wall, his anxious expression slowly dropping into a relaxed one. I took a deep breath and held my hands on my knees. Christ, what a way to wake up. "Where is Talia?" he asked, his voice quiet and subdued. Bruce sat down in the chair I was sleeping in and held an iPad up in his hands. Bane stared at it, his face contorted up in an expression I couldn't understand. Is that sadness and fear? Whoa! Fuck me running, I thought I'd never see the day- Bane, afraid and crying.

Bruce cleared his throat and smoothed his hair back. Bane's blue eyes were brimming with tears. What is this? What the hell? I leaned against the wall, wrapped in my own confusion, confused as to the emotions he was displaying and still a mess from the way I was woken up. "Did I fail the league? Did the serum fail?" He blinked and looked over to me, his eyebrows threaded together. Tears rolled down his cheeks slowly. Okay then… I blinked and broke eye contact. Not today. No awkward eye contact for me. No thank you. I stared at the crook of Bruce's knee, not even daring to face Bruce either. "Please, just tell me what's happened," he pleaded, his voice cracking.

"Talia's dead, Bane," Bruce spoke calmly with a firm tone. I didn't dare look up, I listened to him sob quietly, the restraints clanking as he shook.

"No," he whispered. His voice cracked as he sobbed. "No."

"I watched her die with my own eyes." Can I just leave now? I don't need to be here. I don't need to hear this. He screamed loudly, viciously, and I remembered who he was compared to the man that was just sobbing a second ago.

"I'm so sorry, Talia," he sobbed. I dared to look up, his head was hung, tears wetting the thin white sheet that was covering his lower body. The pain in his voice felt so third world. I remembered his dramatic speech as he stood on a taxi cab, the one that was played and replayed all over the news. He didn't sound like that deep of a person with the mask on, he didn't seem like he experienced anything beyond anger. "I was supposed to protect her-"

"You did," Bruce stated calmly. He watched Bane carefully, studying him. "What's the last thing you remember, Bane? You don't remember the conversation you had with her? Her leaving you with me and the bomb?" He stared at Bruce quizzically.

"What bomb?" he asked in a scoff. "I've never seen you before." Bruce looked dumbfounded. He sat for a minute and looked over at me again. Um, yeah, talk about memory loss. I've heard of memory issues after scopolamine, but seriously? Did I drill too far? Yeah, cerebellums don't hold memories, idiot. It's not my fault. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's typical of the scopolamine," I explained, swallowing as I looked over at Bane again. "Sometimes there are memory issues."

"Scopolamine?" Bane questioned. He looked away for a second, staring at empty space. "So, they did inject me with the serum."

"And you knew they put scopolamine in it?" asked Bruce, flicking through some things on his iPad. Typical men- can't stop playing with their toys for two seconds. Even in the middle of serious conversation. That's what's wrong with men in America today.

"No," Bane replied, shaking his head. "I had no idea what was in it."

"But, you took it anyway?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow up at him.

"When Ra's al Ghul wants you to do something, you do it," he clipped, his eyebrows dropping into that familiar angry expression. Jesus, calm down. I wondered where you were hiding in there.

"Do you want to see the video?" Bruce held the iPad up, the screen displaying a grainy image of a dark haired woman holding Bane's cheek. "I can show it to you and you'll see you died doing just what she asked you to." Bane looked from me to Bruce, then to the iPad before giving a short, curt nod. Bruce pressed the screen, allowing the video to play. I could only assume it was from the Batsuit. I had no idea he had on-board recording like that. I listened with my head down. The conversation was- different to say the least. I soon discovered the woman in the video, was in fact, Talia al Ghul, the brains behind the entire operation. I also discovered that Bane had sworn himself to her during his time in The Pit. He joined The League and was thrown out shortly after his transformation- well, I was just damn right confused, this woman loved Bane and controlled him at the same time? Mind fuck. I could sympathize, but to an extent. My father never loved me or even claimed to. At least she had said it, even if the bitch was lying. With a quick swipe, Bruce played the ever famous taxi cab speech. Bane's disdain was apparent as he watched it, the disgust writing itself all over his face. I straightened against the wall and watched him stare at the iPad long after the video had ended.

"I don't remember anything," Bane admitted, his voice sounding hollow. Bruce nodded, turning the iPad off.

"Maybe that's not such a bad thing," I whispered, trying not to be heard. I couldn't hold my tongue anymore. I would love to forget the shit that happened to me. The shit that I was made to do. I wish I could have blamed it on fucking scopolamine. I wish I could have just woken up in the hospital going 'oh, who am I?' and 'what's happened?' so everyone could lie to me out of pity for what really happened. Maybe I would have been normal. But, that was the past. Jealous ate away at my insides. He had no idea how good he had it.

"Perhaps not," he whispered back, slumping against the bed.

"So, you're not a deranged lunatic?" I asked, curiously. He laughed slightly, a smile encompassing his face, eyes scrunching up. Different. I studied him, looking at the face that hid behind the mask for so many years. The serum Lucius had applied to the scars was working, you could barely see the scar on his face.

"No, I'm not disturbed."

"I'm not convinced," clipped Bruce. Whoa, Mr. I'm-All-For-Making-Him-Normal-And-Giving-Him-A-Chance. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"He's received a good amount of pentothal sodium, Bruce, he couldn't lie about what color the fucking sky was right now." I crossed my arms and settled into the wall. Talk about the tides changing- did I just defend Bane? Ugh. I need sleep. "What year is it, Bane?"

"2008," he answered without missing a beat.

"2012."

"Four years? It's been four years?" The contempt in his voice made me smirk. Well, no offense to you, Bane, but you were a serious ass before this surgery, so I'm not going to feel 100% bad for you yet. You missed four years of your life? Poor you. There were people out there dead, because of you. You ass. His fists clenched and unclenched. "I can't believe-"

"Yeah, save it," I quipped, holding my hand up. Sleep, now. Just quit the talking. He gaped at me. "Explain to me why Ra's made you undergo this surgery. He obviously wasn't too proud of the outcome if he kicked you out shortly after." Seriously, what was up with that? I felt like I was in way too deep. I didn't know anything about any of this before Bruce fell into my office, telling me who he was and then it was all- secret missions, secret gadgets, and villains. Not exactly a part of my everyday life. If Bruce was mad I was interrogating his new pet, he should have picked another surgeon.

"I was in a lot of physical pain when I was broken out of The Pit," he explained slowly. "I had been beaten pretty badly in prison after Talia escaped. Ra's said he had a way to make me stronger and so that I would never feel physical pain again. I agreed to it. I was willing to do anything I could not to feel that way again."

"Ever have any issues with anger before?" I questioned, feeling just like Jada. Am I really asking questions like a therapist right now? I've had enough experience with one to take on a new profession if I wished to. Not that I can handle anyone else's issues on top of mine.

"A few, but-" he breathed and closed his eyes. "I had no idea. I had absolutely no idea and have no recollection of what happened to me after I agreed to have the mask put on. I remember speaking with Talia and-" his voice cracked again, tears falling from his eyes again. "I can't believe she's gone," he sighed. Oh, enough. Honestly? That woman had some fucking issues and you want to feel sorry for her? I don't care how deep your love went for someone, there were some things that were unforgivable.

"Obviously she wasn't as innocent as she once was. I didn't even know her and could gather how fucked up she was in that short video," I snapped. He glowered at me.

"You didn't know her," he growled, lowly. I raised an eyebrow. A challenge? At 3 in the morning? I'll take it. I was tired, cranky, and finally able to relax knowing he was awake. He was no longer my problem. He had recovered. Any normal doctor could take it from there.

"No, you're right, I didn't know her, but it doesn't take an Engineering and Medical degree to see how fucking twisted her views were." I waited a beat and looked to a shell-shocked Bruce before turning back to Bane. Didn't anyone hear the truth anymore? Was everyone that afraid to speak? Not me. Not anymore. I had held my tongue long enough the last three days. "Not that yours were any better. You put a whole fucking city in the middle of a war! You released prisoners on innocent people, all of the rapists and murders out to roam freely and do as they pleased. That was your idea of a salvation?! Are you fucking stupid?! Are you seriously that stupid?! You were an educated man, Bane! You went to college, had no prior issues with the law before…" I felt the anger boil in my blood. The anger about the entire situation. Gordon laying in the hospital again. Small children walking the halls of the hospital with cuts and bruises, their parents missing… Bane dropped his head.

"Oh, no, you don't get to be fucking sorry now!" I screamed, pointing a finger at him. I felt disrespected. Bane not looking at me angered me more. I knew who it reminded me of in that moment, but I was past caring about that. "You look at me when I am talking to you! Especially about this!" I yelled again. He brought his eyes to mine. "You have no idea what you've done to this city, the pain you put people through! The lives you took! I don't give a shit if you remember or not, Bane. You are so lucky and should sing praise to every known religion that Bruce has given you this chance to re-live your life. I would have preferred to have killed you in that OR."

"I apologize," he spoke, his voice sounding muffled. "I honestly have no recollection of what I was doing or what happened to me."

"Even if you could, there would be nothing you could say to fix the situation, you demented piece of shit." I clenched my jaw, my fists tightening. He clenched his jaw and looked down. I breathed in and out a few times, trying to calm the inner beast that I had unleashed. You've spoken your peace. It's time to leave. The deed is done. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Bruce," I spoke, harshly, making it apparent that I was not giving any respect to Bane. "He is alive and healthy, I told you I was finished with this after he recovered, and I'm keeping my word." Bruce merely nodded. "I would give you a recommendation to a doctor in this situation, but you're a big old billionaire and I'm sure you are more than capable of finding one on your own. So-" I looked between the two of them. "Good fucking day," I spat, turning on my heel.

I entered the hallway, slamming the door behind me. Venus, Lucius, and Selina had crowded around the door. What no bravo or encore? Whatever. Selina was staring at me wide-eyed, Lucius was staring at the floor, and Venus just had her normal expression on her face. She was used to me. I walked to my room, thrust the door open and packed my bags in a hurry. The nerve of him. The nerve of that man. Even after knowing what he knew, he still felt pity for someone so willing to destroy an entire city! Not everyone in this city is corrupt! Maybe he wasn't innocent as he was seeming. Perhaps Bruce was right, maybe there was a flaw with the pentothal sodium. I just wanted to get out. I left quickly, leaving Arkham without an escort. Some small part of me wanted a fight. I wanted someone to cross me and a psycho would have been perfect- at least I would know that I wouldn't look crazy compared to them.