XIX.

Ruptured & Bandaged With Care

Faceless, I remain. The weight of my confused and broken sense clings to my shoulders, like cords are rooted between the blades; it is bloody, agonising; sweet, almost – like weight being applied to a sore tooth. Dragging me back, like a tiny statue someone would see torn down; further and further, it is choking me into submission. My thin legs snap at the knees, the pressure builds; as my sanity battles with the hungry shadow-wolfs; my slight brittle, grey and deprived body pays the price...Still it is not enough. It'll never be enough. The hum of the orange streetlights rudely pushes out any other noise; shadows have voices, I have heard a shadow speak; through the obstruction of metal; released into the frightened air like the dull drone of these streetlights, only, he strangles the light from above; his form blots out all which allows or helps me to see. I am becoming a blind diminutive consort.

"Tomorrow...You gain what is rightfully yours."

Lily felt numb as she was bundled up by Barsad – who had resumed curling his nose at her, his momentary remorse for his forgetfulness of her, forgotten.

"Move." He shoved her on roughly.

Lily ignored his derision, her dark eyes wide as she tried to wrap her mind around what had just happened. What kind of day she had just experienced. She felt strange; like someone had reached out and battered at her chest with their fists with some amount of force...Only, it seemed as though she had been hit years ago, like the wound was only just beginning to throb, the pain only now dulling. The throb reignited suddenly like a drowning man's flare; and she gripped her chest and wheezed, still moving forward with Barsad at her heels.

"What's wrong?!" Barsad snapped, whipping her round. His voice was utterly wound with tension.

She searched his hawkish face and felt her brows knit together; it was the first time in what felt like ages since she'd looked upon his features, his eyes were bloodshot; flinty and annoyed and his thin lips were pulled back in a snarl, on his head sweat glistened, glinting off of the veins which bulged. Impatiently he shook his head and didn't even wait for Lily's response before he pushed her away, his eyes unable to stomach the sight of her.

"Hey!" Lily barked, her temper spiking along with the pain in her chest. "What the hell is you're problem?!"

He faltered and looked away, the mercenaries all strode by him purposefully ignoring Lily and himself as they stood against the current. Lily's eyes drifted past him and her breath caught; a huge contraption was being wheeled towards them. When Barsad returned his rueful gaze to her, he frowned and turned – following her own agape stare. Barsad turned round; Lily's eyes were on him;

"That's it isn't it? That's the bomb..."

"Sourise-" Barsad started, but he was cut off by a far more powerful voice.

"'Bomb' is a crude word to describe the instrument of liberation."

Lily looked up. Bane was standing at Barsad's side, overshadowing the smaller man; his hands were up at his chest, his fingers hooked over the neck of his armoured vest and his dark eyes on her;

"Bombs are bombs and terrorists are terrorists. It doesn't matter how you dress it up, Bane-"

"How dare you!" Barsad fumed, taking an imposing step towards her.

Lily backed up with a gasp, but faltered when Bane's arm went out to stop Barsad's approach. The mercenary didn't look away from Lily, his eyes were blazing at her gall, but he did not seem taken aback by Bane's intervention – more annoyed by it, actually.

"You presume much," Bane said stepping forward. Lily saw a ghost of a smile cross Barsad's face.

She'd get her just deserts now. Bane would humiliate her as she had seen him to before to somebody who had the audacity to presume with him. Lily's mouth went dry, but she kept her nerve and eyed him as though she were untouchable and not the fragile little husk she was in actuality. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, like he had done so before, but there was no warmth in the contact and Lily felt herself go weak with terror.

"You presume much to think I won't break you for your outspokenness. You're here and alive now because I saw fit to pull you from the twisted wreck of your own frozen poverty."

He paused to eye her, letting his weirdly smooth words seep in. Bane leaned down and uttered dangerously,

"Yet you speak to me as though I am in your debt."

It was quick, so very quick. Lily had been witness to the nimbleness which Bane could embody however she had never had to feel it. Before she could even blink, she was thrown aside brutally, her cheek absolutely aflame after the strike which Bane had seen fit to give her. Her breath was barely a rasp, sinking to her knees as she pulled her roasting cheek from the cold wall, she gripped her face and glared up defiantly at Bane; standing over her dauntingly, commandingly and with not even a hint of sorrow in his eyes,

"Go," He commanded shortly of Barsad who left with a lingering look to them.

When he was gone, Lily watched as Bane knelt down to be eye-level with her and he said as he caressed the tender cheek making Lily flinch at his sudden launch from violent to amorous,

"Before my men..." His eyes flicked up to look at her face.

Lily thought she saw some regret glitter in his eyes before he blinked it away, ushering it off with the guilt she felt he should have been feeling for the terrible thing he had just done to her and the people of Gotham.

"...You cannot speak to me so."

She jerked her head away, his fingers carelessly hovering in the air between them now.

"Don't touch me." She spat spitefully, tears pricked her eyes at the sudden pain.

"You're malevolence would be more welcome in the eyes of my men than your dependence, Lily."

"I never asked you to save me!" She fired back passionately and he eyed her,

"Oh, I know it; for you've shown me not one scrap of gratitude."

"You never ask for any! In fact," She sneered with a faint smile, her cheek rosy pink;

"You object to it."

There was a pause as they looked at each other; Bane's brown eyes were intense as he glowered at the slight girl before him and he made no move to touch her again. Lily's chest ached; she could hear a wheeze scrape on her breath and Bane heard it too;

"Everything I've done for you was to protect you-"

"What, slapping me was for my protection?!"

"To a degree," He nodded.

"Oh, spare me."

The edge in her voice was grating him. Too much so it would seem; he lunged forward so fast it drew a small scream from Lily's lips, his usually-calm demeanour spiking into something more vicious and violent, Lily pushed herself back to keep herself out of reach of his rare, cold and deeply frightening temper.

"I already did." He growled darkly, his eyes shadowed.

Lily panted; Bane's mask was practically against her nose. The metal frozen and rude, she averted her eyes and peeped back fearfully and still Bane did not retreat, he looked at her as though he would break her. Like she was something totally insignificant, but has riled him so much that he would enjoy destroying her in a fit of resentment; but then she saw him hesitate, as though he would regret it later and he drew back and looked away.

"It would be such a waste of my time to kill you now..." He said thoughtfully, his voice mellow again.

With that, Lily sat up; her chest was heaving up and down, her pulse erratic in her throat and wrists. Slowly he looked back at her, a ponderous look; like he was actually gauging her worth right then and there. Lily didn't look away, but she felt her ragged breath catch when he leaned in once more, his hand against the wall by her curly head. Their eyes were locked as he threatened severely,

"But do not put it past me."

She nodded, flinching only a touch when she felt his hand slide up her arm again for a second time that day; her head turned and she saw that he had adjusted her crooked cardigan without looking away from her. Lily shuddered and Bane saw this; getting up, he jerked his head at her,

"Up."

He commanded like she was his dog and like an under-fed, ill-treated dog who wishes to bite their owner Lily could only cower in the corner, hackles up and teeth bore in a snarl of utter umbrage; she did so, obeying him, she got up and stood before him. Lily watched curiously as he shrugged off his sheepskin coat and threw it over her head. The huge, amazingly warm garment swamped the tiny girl as she threaded her wire-thin arms through the too-big too-long sleeves. Bane appraised her for a second, arms folded and nodded.

"Now, we go. Stay close; keep your face hidden if you must."

He started off without another word and was stopped when Lily piped,

"Where are we going?"

Bane halted, his shoulders squared with irritation and she heard his irked sigh as he spun round quickly to say something; he stopped completely and Lily squirmed when his eyes roved over her. So tiny, embedded in his coat, she did not look so different from when he had first laid eyes on her, only now she was of more consequence. He sighed again, this time like he was more annoyed with himself than her and strode over easily and smoothly; there was commotion building behind him. Still the screams radiated from the football field, Lily gulped as he came closer.

"Tomorrow is where the real work begins," He said cryptically and Lily frowned,

"B-but, what are you...Y'know, I'm sick of asking that..." Lily sighed and shook her head.

To Bane's surprise, she smiled and threw back her head; and laughed. She chuckled at her own repetition, then at the fact that she was finding mirth before Bane and all his atrocities. He actually backed away. Peering at him, she cocked an eyebrow stoutly and demanded,

"Did I just...unnerve you?"

He said nothing and Lily raised her other eyebrow and nodded mutely. He watched her as she strode on past him and said over her shoulder; his coat was so long on her that it practically drug along the ground in a train of brown suede and sheepskin cotton;

"Shall we go?" She said and he came up alongside her;

"Remember, stay clo-"

"Close and keep my face hidden...I heard you."

He huffed and stalked out ahead of her; Lily threw Bane's coat over her head and shuffled after him. The mercs were waiting for his arrival and some of them glared indiscreetly at Lily; most of their eyes held to Bane's coat which was slung over her head protecting her identity, she grimaced as she peeked out from under it and saw thousands of civilians all running about aimlessly, afraid out of their minds. With her wince, she felt pain rocket through her face; the pinkness of her cheek which she could feel was bruising by the second. She ignored the mercenaries and their glowers, she peered at Bane who in turn nodded at her and inclined his head towards Michael. The bald-headed merc strode over and looked at Bane,

"Take her. We'll follow soon."

He bobbed his head curtly and placed one of his gloved hands on the small of her back, ushering her through the gang of mercs till they were upon one of the stolen car-contraptions.

"Alright, get in-" He said crisply, but he was cut off by gunfire.

Fearfully, Lily turned and threw her eyes out to the direction of the noise; Bane's coat slipped slightly from her small frame, revealing her grey, sickly face. Michael hit the deck, pulling on Bane's coat to drag Lily down with him; he growled,

"Damn, we waited too freakin' long-"

"...Bravery here today as a man, wielding a shotgun attempts to shoot down some of the terrorists..."

Lily frowned and glanced up over the car and saw a camera crew and a news caster standing before the lens, shouting manically into a microphone. She gasped and turned to Michael,

"What do we do?!" She said and he frowned deeply,

"Get in the car."

She nodded and got up, forgetting to throw Bane's coat over her head; she made a grasp for the car's door handle and panicked when it remained shut.

"Michael! It won't open!"

"Yeah, gimme' a Goddamn minute, kid!"

He ran round the car and threw open the driver's seat; Lily waited impatiently, her knuckles as white as alabaster as she gripped the door handle,

"Hurry up!"

The gunfire was escalating; Lily suddenly shook herself and realised,

"Oh, crap...!" With that, she flung Bane's coat over her head just as Michael managed to open the door.

"Right, get in! We're outta' here now!"

Lily didn't wait to be told a second time, she got in and breathed a long and deep sigh of relief when she sat back. Michael wasted no time either and revved up the car, speeding off; they parted the crowds easily enough.