FIC: Faith Wayne (12/?)

Faith stared at the Batman as she pulled herself to her feet. "He's nuts, right?" Faith shook her head as she forced a laugh, the world rushing around her, blood roaring through her ears.

"Oh Batman!" Bane laughed. "Your dear daughter doesn't-," Batman spun around and kicked the super-villain square in the jaw. His head snapped around, the super-villain crashing to the floor.

"Faith, I can-."

"Explain?" Faith shook her head and wiped the blood dripping down her face away as police officers rushed in. "Don't bother. In fact stay the hell away from me if you wanna make any more kids!"

Faith stumbled away from the scene. The mall that had seemed so warm and bright just minutes ago now felt filled the nightmares of her childhood – mockery, loneliness, and humiliation. Soon she was staggering down the street, the pain from Bane's beating nothing next to the hurt inside her.

She reared back when the Bat dropped out of the sky and landed in front of her. "Faith, you have to give me-."

The Batman reared back from her anger-fuelled haymaker. "Stay the fuck away from them!" she screamed. "You lied to me, you bastard, you used me to get an in into the Council!"

"No Faith," Batman shook his head as he tried to block her path, "everything I told you is true. You're my-."

Faith feinted stepping to the left and the moment the Batman followed her, she jammed an elbow into his flank where she'd seen Bane connect. Batman let out a groan, partially doubling up as she took the opportunity to step around him. "Unless you wanna see your unmasked face on the nine o'clock news, you stay the hell away from me from now on."

"Xander!" Freddy burst through into his office. "You need to turn your TV on, any station!"

"What?" Xander queried as reached into his desk drawer, pulled out his remote control, and turned the TV fixed on the wall opposite. "Oh no." He watched with mounting alarm as the news reported on Batman rescuing Faith from Bane. "I have to -." He scrabbled for his car keys.

"Just go!" Freddy encouraged.

Xander rushed downstairs, ignoring any calls for his attention. He'd just made it through into the lobby when the academy doors swung open, and Faith limped in.

Faith looked battered, her mouth swollen and several lumps on her face. But worse was the desolation and loss in her eyes. "Faith what's wrong?"

He made to hug his girl-friend, but she sidestepped. "I gotta go upstairs, I need a shower."

"But-." Xander forced his concern under control, recognising the signs. When Faith was in this sort of mood, you waited for her to come to you.

"Sir," Alfred rose as the Batmobile screeched into the Batcave, the costumed crime-fighter leaping out. "I see from the TV reports you were able to save Faith."

"Bane revealed my identity to Faith," Bruce's eyes were as bleak as he ever recalled seeing them. "She seems to believe I faked the DNA tests as a way to get close to the Council."

"Oh surely not!" Alfred shook his head.

Bruce smiled wearily as he pulled his cowl off. "She has a lot of trust issues, and the Batman has a reputation for elaborate manipulations."

"Perhaps you should talk to her-."

Bruce interrupted his suggestion with a shake of his head. "Faith told me if I went near her, she'd reveal my identity on the news. I don't think she's one for making idle threats."

"No sir," Alfred watched with concern as Bruce began to stride off, the shoulders of his normally ramrod straight employer slouched as if carrying the weight of the world upon them.

Batman sighed as he reached the secret elevator. "I'll give her a week or so to calm down, then try again."

"Most wise, sir."

Alfred waited more or less patiently outside the Academy's brooding walls. The door creaked open, revealing a girl in her mid-teens, one of the suspected Slayers. "Hello?" The brunette stared up suspiciously at him.

"Hello dear," Alfred tried his best smile, "I'm Alfred Pennyworth, an employee of Ms. Lehane's father, with a message from him."

The girl continued to stare suspiciously at him. "I don't know anything about a message."

"That's why I'm here to deliver it." Alfred peered down at the young girl and sniffed. "Now, if you don't mind?"

"Yeah." The girl sidestepped from the entrance allowing him to walk in. "I'll take you to her office."

"Thank you," Alfred followed the girl through the school's corridors, approvingly noting its welcoming air and warm colours.

After clambering up a set of stairs, the child led him down a corridor and to a door. She knocked on the door. "Yeah?"

The girl blanched at the Slayer's growl from within and glanced at him as if to say, are you sure about this? He replied with an encouraging nod. "Your funeral," was her less than encouraging mutter before looking back towards the door, "it's Alfred Pennyworth, he's an -."

"I know who he is," Faith interrupted. "I ain't seein' anyone."

"Oh this has gone on long enough." Before the girl could react, Alfred reached for the door and opened it. "Ms. Lehane," he greeted as he walked in, noting the brunette's red eyes and blotchy cheeks, "may I take a seat?"

The brunette's red lips pulled up in a half-smile. "Don't suppose it'd make much of a difference if I said no?"

"You're most astute," Alfred praised as he sat down, his eyes scanning the simple yet well equipped office before returning his gaze to the beautiful Slayer. "I can assure you this is no ruse by Mr. Wayne to infiltrate your organisation, he'd recognised you as his possible daughter before he was aware of the Council." He hesitated, in part for dramatic effect, in part to really make his point. "Indeed, when he described you, your powers, and the fact you were fighting vampires, it was I who suggested you might be a Slayer." Alfred smiled wryly. "Although I initially ruled you out due to your age."

"My age?" the brunette beauty looked mortally affronted. "Do I look ready for the retirement home?"

"You're only old for a Slayer, dear," Alfred comforted.

"Yeah," Faith's dark eyes narrowed to slits. "How do you know 'bout Slayers anyhow?"

"Ah," Alfred grimaced. "That is a complicated story." He explained about his brother and the Council's interest in him. "As a result," he concluded, "it was I who alerted Mr. Wayne to the Council's existence, after he'd met you."

"Not that I don't believe you." Despite her words, Faith sounded sceptical. "But proof?"

"You have my word as an Englishman," Alfred stiffly replied. "Failing that, I'm sure a search of Council archives of the late 50s will unearth some mention of an Arthur Pennyworth."

"Faith," the office door was flung open and suddenly Xander was looming in the entrance, "Nita told me about your visitor, are you-."

"I'm cool baby," Faith's eyes didn't shift from him. "Just give me a min."

"Okay," Xander nodded slowly. "I'll be in our room if you need anything."

"'Suppose I believe all this," Faith began the moment the door closed behind her boyfriend. "He still lied to me."

"It would be impolitic of me to point out you also lied by omission, about you being a Slayer-."

"That's different!" Faith snapped defensively. "I wasn't doin' it so I could infiltrate his organisation, I did it to protect him! I didn't know he was the freakin'…." Her voice trailed off.

"I wouldn't be so presumptuous as to apply motives to my employer's actions," Alfred replied. "However, there has only been two times in his adult life that I've seen Mr Wayne as distraught as he was when he learnt Bane was after you."

Faith stared stonily at him, but he continued anyway. "The first time was when the niece of Police Commissioner James Gordon, Barbara Gordon was crippled by the Joker. Barbara was an ally of the Batman, but the Joker didn't know that when he attacked Barbara, that was just an attempt to break Gordon, but Batman felt the guilt because he failed to save someone close to him." Alfred paused, the pain from those days threatening to choke him.

"It wasn't exactly a cake-walk for you either."

"Ms. Gordon was and is someone I hold in great esteem." Alfred smiled slightly at the girl's gruff attempt at sympathy. "The other time was perhaps even worse, the second of Bruce's wards fell foul of the Joker and was killed in a warehouse explosion. Those are the only times I have seen Bruce as distraught as he was today." Alfred paused. "However in the interests in full disclosure, I will admit the DNA test was a fake-."

"I knew it!"

Alfred ignored the Slayer's roar to continue. "In that Bruce already knew what the results would be because he'd already extracted a blood sample from you that day he did a tour of your academy. The lab tests were simply for your satisfaction, not his." Alfred rose. "Now I understand the deceit hurt you, but your father never lied about how he felt about you. I'll look forward to seeing you and Xander at dinner on Saturday night."

Bane smirked as the prison van carried him to Arkham Asylum. He might have been caught, but the asylum wouldn't hold him for long, it never had before. And the inconvenience he'd caused the Bat. Bane's rumbling laugh echoed around the darkened van. Not as good as crippling his bitch, but he imagined the Batman would be very uncomfortable for quite some time, if his relationship wasn't irrevocably ruined.

"What the-!" He swayed as the van seemed to sway then tilted over, landing on its side with a crash. Bane looked over his basketball-shaped and sized shoulder to his shackles. His shackles weren't normal, rather they were two inch thick pure metal restraints welded into the side of the van and secured to his ankles and wrists, holding him steady.

And now with the van tipped over, he was hanging in mid-air, and unable to do anything to free himself, not matter how much he struggled and writhed his limbs. Then the van's door swung open and light spilled in, followed by a heavily-armed quartet dressed in paramilitary uniforms. "Bane. We have an offer to make."