A/N: It's time for chapter seventeen everyone. Unfortunately this will probably be my last update for the week. I may post one more chapter during the weekend, but that's a big maybe. I'm usually very busy on the weekends, but it's always a possibility. Anyway, I'm about to get very annoying by asking you again, to go vote on my poll. I'll probably be asking every time I post a new chapter. Right now, the Joker and Harley Quinn are winning by one vote. If this isn't who you'd like to see during the sequel, go vote for one of the other choices. If it is, well, go vote again anyway to ensure that the Joker and Harley Quinn stay in first place!
Like last chapter, I'll be using content from The Dark Knight Rises, so WARNING: SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen the movie and want to find out what happens yourself, reading my story wouldn't be advisable. But if you've seen it, or you just want to read and find out what happens, then by all means, read on!
Disclaimer: I do not own Batman, or any of its characters. They all belong to DC Comics and Christopher Nolan… Even though I'd really like to. If I did I would put much more John Blake in the movie. And my characters would most definitely be added.
Reviewers and Replies:
phantomcat97: Thank you for the review! I'm really glad you like my story, and I hope to hear from you again.
Her Highness Gaki-chan: I know, although I'll admit when I saw that part in theatres, I laughed really hard. I thought it was funny. But I'd be so upset. I mean, come on. He made a touchdown. That's awesome, then he turns around and the whole field is gone. That's a bad time. Thank you for the review!
dream lighting: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
kindleflame5: I'm glad you found that funny. I think that every story deserves a bit of comedic relief at some points. Thank you for commenting on the fight scene. I'm always worried that I don't deliver when it comes to those, and it relieves me when someone comments on them, telling me that they're good. So thank you for that. I originally had a plan for when Rosalie was going to reveal her secret. I may go with the sequel, or my original plan. I just have to think on it a bit. Thank you for the review, and I hope to hear from you again.
Katara Melody Cullen: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
NathalieIyper: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
PowerToThePeople23: I think that's a good suggestion. I may do that. It'll give something extra to the story, and that's a great line! Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
highlander348: He sure does need to listen to her. But hey, he's a stubborn, hot-headed guy. What can you do, huh? I love your suggestions. I can't reveal anything that I'm planning on doing. That would ruin the surprise. But I really hope you'll be satisfied with what I have planned for the end of this story and the sequel. Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
Ravenmore45: That's a good question. Don't worry, The Black Swan will have an encounter with Bane again. She has to get her cell phone back, right? ;D Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
Luli Cullen: I really wish I could answer your question, but that would ruin the surprise for what I have planned. All I can say, is I hope you won't be disappointed with my writing. Thank you for the review! I'm glad you liked the last chapter and I hope you like this one as well!
WinterRain36: Well thank you! You're the first one that's commented on my Polyvore sets. I'm glad to know that my work on there hasn't gone unnoticed. So thank you for that. :) You have a lot of good questions, and I wish I could answer them, but unfortunately that would ruin the surprise. As The Black Swan says: "Why ruin the surprise? All the fun is in not knowing."
Ayiana.M.W: Well, don't worry. I remember how tough school was, and I know how stressful it can get. I'm really glad you tool the time to read and review my story though! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I look forward to hearing from you again.
-IWRU-
"That's where they're keeping the bomb. In one of those trucks," The Black Swan tells John as a large truck drives by the alley that they're hiding in. John had recently taken up helping her out a bit come nights. Rosalie reluctantly agreed so that she could make sure he stayed safe when he refused to go back to his apartment.
"Are you sure?" John asks, and Rosalie nods.
"I've seen it in the back of one. They have at least four of them though, so I can't be sure which one it is," Rosalie tells him, and John nods a bit.
"Gordon will want to know," John says, and Rosalie rolls her eyes.
"Well did you think we'd keep it our little secret?" Rosalie asks mockingly, and John smirks, but rolls his eyes at her.
"How can you walk around with no coat? Especially at night?" John asks, as the two begin their walk in the shadows around the city again.
"You get used to the cold," Rosalie says, smirking widely. "It's just my shoulders anyway."
"You're insane," John says, and unzips his coat, but Rosalie reaches out her hand and stops him.
"Stop. No need to be a gentleman. Way too cliché for my taste. Besides, I'd have to be insane to keep doing this under Bane's nose," Rosalie mutters.
"I don't think you're insane for what you're doing. I can't even count how many lives you've saved in the last two months. You're brave for doing this," John says, and Rosalie bites back a smile. "How's Rosalie been?"
"Who?" Rosalie asks, forcing a bored tone.
"Rosalie Kyle. I haven't seen her in a while. How's she been lately?" John asks, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"She's fine. She has her sister looking after her," Rosalie says, and John nods.
"Good… good," he says.
"You really like her, huh?" Rosalie asks, nudging John's side with her gloved elbow. John chuckles a bit.
"What's not to like?" John asks.
"Her sister's a criminal," Rosalie points out, wanting to her his opinion about her.
"But she isn't. Besides, she told me their story. I understand why," John says, and Rosalie nods approvingly.
"Well, to give you a little ego boost, she really likes you too," Rosalie says, glancing at the ground and smiling. She doesn't miss the large grin that plasters itself on John's face, which refuses to leave for nearly ten minutes.
-IWRU-
Rosalie wakes up at around 2:30 the next afternoon after arriving back at her apartment at 6:10 the same morning. She stretches a bit and stands up next to her bed. She glances outside her window and frowns when she sees John outside her apartment building, kneeling next to a car with a red gas gallon next to him. She sees him begin to siphon the gas out of the car and she opens up her window.
"Don't get a mouthful of gas!" she calls out, with a large smile on her face. John looks up sharply and smiles when he sees her. He waves a bit to her and she waves back. "I never thought I'd see the day where you broke the law. What do you have to say for yourself?"
"Everybody else is doing it?" he calls out as a question, and Rosalie laughs.
"Come on up when you're done there. You look cold," Rosalie says with a smirk, and John nods. Rosalie shuts the window and glances around the apartment. She walks into the kitchenette, and starts a pot of coffee. She smiles a bit when a knock sounds at the door, but the smile quickly drops from her face when she sees her Black Swan mask lying by her bed. She quickly kicks it under the bed and goes to the door. She opens the door and smiles at John, gesturing for him to come inside.
"Thanks. It's freezing out there," John says when Rosalie closes the door.
"No problem. I'm making coffee if you want any," Rosalie says, walking back to the kitchenette where she finds her coffee halfway done.
"That sounds great, thanks," he says, and takes a seat on the couch. Rosalie walks to her dresser and pulls out a pair of jeans and a shirt.
"I'm going to go change into some… appropriate clothes," she says, and heads to the bathroom.
"Hey, if it makes a difference, the Hulk is my favorite Avenger," John calls out, and Rosalie looks down at her Incredible Hulk t-shirt, and laughs.
"Yeah? Mine too," Rosalie says, taking off the shirt, and replacing it with her clean one. "Who's your least favorite?"
"Are we talking comics, or the new movie?" John asks, and Rosalie thinks a bit while pulling on her jeans.
"Either," she says, coming out of the bathroom.
"Hawkeye. Definitely Hawkeye," John says.
"Really? Well… yeah, I guess he'd be my least favorite from the movie. Quicksilver was my least favorite from the comics. I always had a problem with Magneto, and I guess that got transferred over to his kids," Rosalie says, sitting on the couch next to John.
"That's not very fair," he says, smiling.
"Yeah… well, life isn't fair. I've always preferred the X-Men over the Brotherhood," Rosalie shrugs.
"Doesn't everyone?" John asks, chuckling a bit.
"Nope. Selina always argued with me, saying that the Brotherhood was better. We really didn't have much else to do as children except argue with each other. We actually came to physical blows over which was better," Rosalie says, and the two laugh a bit.
"Well, you gotta like the X-Men. They have Professor Xavier," John says.
"And Wolverine," Rosalie adds, standing up and going to the kitchenette. She pours two cups of coffee and takes them over to the couch. She hands John a cup, and he thanks her.
"You didn't want any sugar or anything, did you?" she asks, and John shakes his head.
"I've been taking my coffee black for years," John says, taking a drink.
"Same here," Rosalie says, and sighs. She takes a long drink of her hot coffee, and puts her sock clad feet up on the table in front of the couch.
Rosalie sits up a little straighter when a series of booms go off outside. She and John quickly make their way to the window where they see a couple of men stripping parts off of a car. Rosalie frowns and shakes her head. John begins to head to the door, but stops when Rosalie grabs his arm.
"Leave it. No one drives anymore anyway. Besides…that's the car you were just illegally siphoning gas out of anyway. The owner wouldn't get that car very far anyway," Rosalie says with a small smirk. John sighs and looks back out the window. "It's still hard to believe that this is happening. It's been over two months, and I still think I'm going to wake up… and be late for work. That everyone's fine, and the rich people are still in their homes, and not hiding or being killed. That everything in Gotham is just like it was before. But then I look outside and see… things like that," Rosalie says, gesturing to the men outside. "And I see nothing being done about it. Then I remember that it's all real. That Bane has a fucking nuclear bomb somewhere in the city, and if one person makes one wrong move, this city's going to be shot straight to hell."
"That's not going to happen," John says firmly. "We're going to stop him before that happens."
Rosalie looks up at John briefly, and he looks back down at her. He raises a hand and cups her cheek gently, caressing her cheekbone with his thumb. John slowly leans down and softly captures Rosalie's lips with his own. Rosalie's eyes flutter shut on contact and she raises one of her hands and rests it on his hand on her face. She rests her other hand on the back of his neck, while he rests his other hand on her waist. They stay in this position for a few moments before they both pull away.
A smile instantly graces both of their faces, and John presses his forehead against hers.
"I can't believe it took me so long to do that," John says, letting the hand on Rosalie's face slide down to her neck. Rosalie's hand remains on his, and he turns his hand around and laces his fingers with hers.
"I think it was worth the wait," Rosalie says back, and they both chuckle a bit. John pulls back from Rosalie a bit but his hand remains in hers.
"I have to take this gas to the St. Swithin's. Do you want to come?" John asks, and Rosalie nods a bit.
"Yeah. I want to see Elijah," Rosalie says, and steps away from John, letting go of his hand. She pulls on a pair of boots, and puts on her navy pea coat. Rosalie watches as John picks up the gas can and he heads to the door. She follows him and smiles as he opens the door for her. She walks out and John closes the door behind them. He places his free hand on her back and they walk down the stairs together. "Have you been to the boy's home recently?"
"Yeah, I was there last week, just to check up on things," John responds.
"Did you see Elijah?" Rosalie asks, frowning slightly.
"Yeah," John answers.
"Is he alright?" Rosalie asks.
"He seemed okay. From what I saw he doesn't go anywhere without that Iron Man doll," John says, smiling a bit.
"Good… good. I was worried…wait, doll?" Rosalie asks, looking sharply at John. John frowns a bit and looks at her.
"Yeah… the one that you gave him on his birthday, remember?" John asks.
"Oh, I remember. But I did not give Elijah a doll. Iron Man is not a doll. He is an action figure. There's a difference," Rosalie defends. John laughs.
"You usually hear young boys saying that," John says, and Rosalie grins.
"Where do you think I got it from?" Rosalie asks, and John nods a bit with a grin on his face.
"Fair point," he says, and they smile at each other.
Soon enough, the pair of them reach St. Swithin's and John once again, opens the door for Rosalie. Rosalie smiles and steps into the mildly heated building and brushes some of the fallen snow off of her coat. John puts a hand on the middle of Rosalie's back and leads her up the stairs. Rosalie smiles at the sight of Father Riley and the boys. Rosalie glances around the room and sees that it's not just the boys that are there. Instead, the room is filled with refugees that were hiding from the criminals roaming the city.
Father Riley approaches the pair, and John immediately hands him the gas can.
"For the bus, incase there's a chance to evacuate," John says when Father Riley takes the can.
"Rosie!" Rosalie hears a small voice call out. She smiles widely when she sees the familiar blonde boy. She bends down and lifts him into her arms. He wraps his arms around her neck, and Rosalie kisses his cheek.
"Hey, Eli. Are you doing alright?" Rosalie asks.
"Uh-huh," he says, and she sets him down on the floor. She smiles when she sees him clutching his Iron Man figure to his chest. "Father Riley says we can't go outside anymore," Elijah complains.
"It's only for you to stay safe, Elijah," Rosalie tells him gently, kneeling down before him, and smoothing down the hair on the back of his head.
"From the bad people?" Elijah whispers to her and Rosalie nods.
"But you're safe in here, alright?" Rosalie asks him.
"Promise?" he asks, and Rosalie nods with a smile.
"I promise," Rosalie says, and embraces the small boy. "I won't let anything happen to you."
"Hey, Rosie? I'm gonna go. Are you coming?" John asks her softly. Rosalie nods a bit.
"Yeah I have to get back home," Rosalie says.
"Don't go, Rosie," Elijah whines, throwing his arms around Rosalie's neck. Rosalie frowns a bit and softly pats his back.
"I'll be back alright. Don't worry," Rosalie assures him.
"I don't want you to leave Rosie," Elijah says, and Rosalie frowns deeper when she spots tears forming in the boy's eyes.
"Oh… I know you don't sweetie. But I'll be back, I promise," Rosalie says, and kisses the boy's forehead. Elijah looks down at the floor and walks away from Rosalie, clutching his Iron Man figure to his chest and sits down next to another boy on the other side of the room. Rosalie watches him walk away with a frown, and John puts a hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him, and sighs at his concerned expression.
"You alright?" he asks. Rosalie nods and stands up.
"Yeah," she says and heads to the entrance of the room. She glances back at Elijah one more time before she and John exit the room, and then the building.
"He'll be alright," John says to Rosalie.
"I know. That doesn't stop me from feeling bad though," she says, and John wraps an arm around her shoulders. Rosalie moves a little closer to John for warmth, making John grin a bit.
Eventually John and Rosalie arrive back at Rosalie's apartment building. Rosalie turns to face John and sends him a small smile.
"I'll see you later then?" she asks.
"Of course. You can't get rid of me that easy," John says, and Rosalie leans forward and presses her lips to his softly. John puts one of his hands on the back of her head and steps closer to her. Rosalie smiles into the kiss and reluctantly pulls away. "Especially after that."
Rosalie chuckles a bit and quickly pecks him on the lips one more time.
"Be careful, okay?" Rosalie asks, frowning a bit. John gives her a reassuring smile.
"I'll be fine," he says, and Rosalie nods a bit. She smiles a bit back at him, and he turns around and begins his venture down the street. Rosalie sighs and looks up at the sky. She frowns a bit at the darkening sky, and heads up to her apartment. She shuts the door behind her as she enters her apartment and reaches under her bed. She pulls out her suitcase that contains her outfit and silently puts it on. She picks up her mask and walks into the bathroom. She looks at herself in the mirror for a few moments, and glances at her mask. She sighs and puts her mask on and ties it around her head, and exits the bathroom. She walks into Selina's bedroom, makes her way out the window, and begins her journey around the city, watching as the gray cloudy sky turns black, as the late evening descends to night.
-IWRU-
A/N: And there was chapter seventeen. I don't have much to say, except to take another trip to my profile and vote on the villain for the sequel!
New outfits on Polyvore! Go check them out if you'd like! Link on my profile.
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