Disclaimer: I do not own and am in no way affiliated with The Dark Knight franchise.

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world"

― W.B. Yeats, "The Second Coming"

Chapter One

For a Friday afternoon, Gotham General Hospital was slow and quiet. It was exactly how Audrey preferred it.

From the nurse's station in the Emergency Room, she could hear a sportscaster talking about the upcoming football game. It was the first of the season and against the Gotham Rogues' rival, Rapid City meaning it was sure to well-attended and wild. By evening, the waiting room would be packed with drunks and people who had gotten into fights. Not that the two were mutually exclusive. Not the shift I would want to be on, she thought somewhat smugly. She would be watching from the comfort of her own couch with a beer and whatever her dad whipped up.

"Huh. Wasn't John Daggett at that charity gala you went to?" Beth asked, newspaper rustling as she turned the page.

Audrey looked up from the computer where she was working on a report and made a face. "Oh, you mean Chad's boss' boss?" She rolled her eyes. "I think so, but that wasn't the guy I met. Why?"

A glimpse of her face as she turned another page showed a deep frown. "Apparently they found his body in a dumpster this morning."

"God, that's awful," Audrey replied uneasily.

Though Gotham was no stranger to violence, much of it had died down in the last eight years as a result of the Dent Act. This was just another strange death in a list of increasingly odd things that had been happening recently. It was easy to chalk up to paranoia, however, as Beth lowered the paper with a mischievous grin. "Speaking of… did Chad ever call you for a third date?" She held up the paper to block the pen rocketing toward her head.

Elizabeth Sawyer had been Audrey's best friend since the first grade. She was also the one who had helped Audrey get the job when she had returned to Gotham. In looks and personality, they were complete opposites. Beth was tall with a model's bone structure, straight blonde-haired, and green eyes whereas Audrey's eyes were brown, her hair curly and dark, and she had what patients often deemed a sweet face. Only those that worked with them knew the truth. Poor Beth was often mistaken as the aloof and intimidating one because she was shy and stunning when it was Audrey they should have been worried about.

"No, thankfully. Besides, that was, what? A month ago? But if we're going to play that game, how was your last date with Officer Blake?" Beth colored. She had been asked out several weeks ago by a charming Gotham PD officer. Though she had kept quiet about most of the details, Audrey couldn't resist teasing her. "That's- what?" She held up her hands and silently counted the number of dates on her fingers. "Your sixth date now? Am I allowed to call him your boyfriend yet?" She grinned and spun around in her chair as a highlighter whizzed through the air.

"Audrey," interrupted an exasperated, but slightly amused voice. "Mr. Foster is asking for you."

"Aw, come on," she whined. "I've got ten minutes left on my shift, Cass."

Cassandra, the charge nurse, gave her a no-nonsense look before walking away. Audrey sighed dramatically and pushed against the desk so the chair rolled away from it. "He probably thinks he can get more pudding off of me, the dirty dog."

"Drinks after work tonight?" Beth asked.

"Ooh- no can do. I promised Dad that I'd watch the game with him. If you get lonely without Blake's big, strong arms to hold you, you're more than welcome to-" She ducked to avoid a flying staple remover. "Join us."

Humming to herself as she swung the end of her stethoscope, Audrey walked down the hall. When she reached the room marked 5, she poked her head around the corner just in time to catch the ending of the National Anthem. "Hey, Mr. F." She stepped inside, conducting a quick scan of the machinery to make sure everything looked and sounded like it was supposed to. "How's she doing?"

Mrs. Foster had been admitted early that morning for a stroke. They had managed to get her stabilized but didn't want to move her until she was a little stronger.

"Hey! She's still sleeping. The game's about to start." He winked at her. "Didn't think you'd want to miss kick-off before you left."

"You thought right, sir." Audrey smiled back, leaning against the wall closest to the window so she could stare at the screen where the players were lining up. The best part of the job.

They watched as Rapid City kicked off, but Gotham caught the ball. Audrey gave a quiet whoop of enthusiasm as the Rogues cleared the path for him down the field. Beside her, Mr. Foster cursed excitedly under his breath.

That was when an explosion shook the ground beneath them. The force was so powerful that she later swore she heard the stifled boom first. All around the hospital people screamed. Someone in another room shouted something about an earthquake, but Audrey watched as outside of the window a manhole erupted violently into the air. She thought back to that morning, when a confused but big-mouth police Captain had dropped in to check on Commissioner Gordon, and her heart leapt into her throat. Hadn't he said something about police training in the tunnels when he had been flirting with Beth?

She was about to run out to check on the nurse's station when Mr. Foster gave a startled shout and pointed at the television. The stadium ground looked as if it had been punched out in the middle. A lone uniform-clad figure stood on the precipice, hands dangling at his side. The football sat at his feet as he stared below.

Out of one corner emerged a half dozen figures, each clad in combat gear and toting rifles. They were wheeling out something large, round, and metallic.

"Christ!" Mr. Foster whispered in a tone that scared Audrey more than what was on the television. "That's a bomb." Audrey's hands flew to her mouth as a string of unheard swear words escaped her lips.

"Gotham! Take control. Take control of your city." The booming voice belonged to a hulking figure with a black mask around his head and mouth. He made a gesture to the people behind him. Audrey squinted at the screen and realized, with growing alarm, that each man was wearing a red scarf around his throat. It wasn't a fashion statement; it was an identifier, a way to separate themselves.

This was something that happened in war-torn countries where dictators and tyrants ruled. Not in Gotham. Not anymore. The thought immediately following this twisted her stomach. My dad is watching this right now.

A hunched, handcuffed figure was brought forward. The world around her disappeared while they watched this self-proclaimed "liberator of Gotham" conduct a brief interview with the only man who could disarm the device, a man named Pavel. Audrey would never forget it for as long as she lived.

She ripped her eyes away from the TV as the massive monster snapped the doctor's neck, crisis mode kicking in. "Mr. Foster, I'm going out to see what's going on. If I don't check on you, someone else will, okay?" He nodded.

Then the power went out.

What now? she asked herself as she tried to avoid the people running wildly back and forth. She sprinted down the hall to where a wide-eyed Beth was holding a dead phone in one hand. "Audrey, what's-"

The pop-pop of automatic rifle fire cut through her words. Without thinking, Audrey hopped over the desk and pulled Beth and some man- a doctor- to the floor. "Shh!" she hissed, straining to listen over the screams that followed.

There were two more reports, these fired from something with less power, but both sounded like they were coming through the floor above. Hesitantly, she peered over the desk where Cassandra was crouched down across from her. They both looked around before giving each other a thumb's up. Cass scurried over as the backup generator kicked on.

"What the hell is going on?" the doctor demanded, standing up and brushing himself off.

Audrey ignored him, looking at Cass and Beth. "Long-term is upstairs, right?"

The ward, which had gone quiet after the gunfire, was starting to come alive again. Cass nodded, unsure what she was getting at.

"The Commissioner," said Beth, plucking the thought from Audrey's head. "Who are they? What do they want?"

"Clearly, they're terrorists," a male voice interrupted. They all turned to the doctor, who seemed pleased with himself for having something useful to add until Cassandra shot him a withering look.

"Do you think we should check on them?" Audrey asked.

Cassandra's eyes rolled to the ceiling. "No, Miss 'Doctors Without Borders', we should not. This isn't a combat zone; we've got a whole hospital full of trained, competent people who can help. We're going to stay here and take care of our patients. We've got maybe eight hours with the backup gen. We'll have to move the critical care patients and pray we get these people out safely."

She had kids at home, Audrey knew, and at that moment her respect for Cassandra skyrocketed.

Beth punched fruitlessly at the number pad on the phone. "The lines must have gone down in the explosion." Her eyes welled with frustrated tears as she slammed it back down. Audrey put an arm around her shoulder. "Hey, it's going to be okay."

"What about your dad? Or Cass's husband and kids? What are we going to do, Aud?"

The weight of that question was crushing. Too much for Audrey to want to stop and give thought to.

"Everyone's going to be okay. We're going to get through this."

She wasn't sure she believed it, but Beth seemed placated.

Another doctor came running down the hall, skidding to a halt in front of them. "Someone just got Rapid City on the radio. They're not taking any patients until further notice. Our helicopter is grounded so we can't even air-vac anybody out." He ran his hands through his hair. "We're on fucking lockdown because they're saying these assholes have threatened to blow the city if anyone leaves."

Five faces stared blankly at one another, each trying to digest this new information. The formerly smug doctor spoke first. "Well, we get everyone out of here that we can and-"

The metallic doors burst open and three men entered, surrounding the desk. Each one was wearing a red scarf.

"Who's in charge?" The man in the middle demanded with what Audrey guessed was a Russian accent. Neither doctor answered, the formerly smug one cowering in the corner. Audrey saw Cass move to step up, but she darted forward, cutting her off. She turned her head slightly, so that their eyes met, and gave her head a nearly imperceptible shake.

"I am," Audrey declared in a voice that was braver than she felt.

The Russian regarded her doubtfully and glanced back to where the doctors were standing. When neither of them did anything beyond gaze at him with helpless expressions, he shrugged. "Fine. Bane orders we move life-threatening only. You," he made a sweeping motion with his gun to indicate all of them. "Show us who. Nothing funny or we shoot."

"Deal," she said.

He grunted and gestured for her to lead the way.

(*)

"That was a dumb ass thing to do," Cass snapped as they walked, unescorted, out of the building. It had taken them two hours, but they had managed to clear the floor. Audrey, Beth, and Cassandra had all offered to help with the remaining areas but had been told in no uncertain terms to get lost.

"Because you weren't about to do the same thing? You've got kids at home, Cass."

"And you've got your daddy who's probably worried sick about you."

Audrey's jaw clenched. She opened her mouth to snap back, but Beth, who had sensed this might be coming, broke in. "Knock it off. You're both too ballsy for your own good. We're lucky they didn't kidnap us or- or worse. And, for the record, I think both of you should have kept quiet."

Audrey rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands and sighed. Not that she would admit it, but Beth was right. Besides, she didn't want to fight, not with Cassandra. "Well," she said with a coy glance at Cass. "I didn't see the doctors doing anything about it." They all laughed, a little too loud and a little too long, but it was the best they'd felt in hours.

When they reached the parking lot, Cass pulled them both into a fierce hug. "You girls take care of yourselves, okay? I'll see you when this whole thing is over."

Beth drove them home in silence, carefully navigating through the semi-ruined streets. Audrey's neighborhood seemed mostly untouched by the chaos although they'd had to swerve around a gaping manhole.

"You're welcome to come in, you know," Audrey offered as the car came to a stop in front of her house.

Beth shook her head and blew out a long breath. "Thanks, but I want to check on my folks and see if, you know," her voice turned thick. "I hear from him." Audrey knew she meant Blake. "Love you, Aud."

"Love you too, B," Audrey replied and watched her take off.

When the car was safely down the street, Audrey turned and trudged up the steps to the townhouse her parents had lived in since before she'd been born. The doorknob turned easily, and her nose wrinkled in annoyance. Her father, despite all of his anxieties, never locked the front door when he was home. It was always her job to do that before they turned in for the night and it drove her insane.

She was immediately greeted by a plump, wiggly fawn-colored pug. Lobelia had been her parents' way to battle empty nest syndrome. With her fickle personality, which had not gotten better with age, she fit the Tolkien character she had been named for. Audrey reached down and gave her a good scratch behind the ear to calm her down. "Dad?" she called.

The television glowed vividly in the fast fading evening light. Audrey followed the sound to the living room where her father, Alexander Campbell, was camped out on the couch. His eyes flicked up and relief washed over his face. He leapt up, not an easy feat for such a big man, and engulfed her in a bone-crushing hug. When he released her, he swiped under his eyes.

"I'm glad you're okay, kiddo. I was watching the game and now-" he pointed at the flat screen which was broadcasting the speech from the stadium again.

"I know. I'm glad you're okay too. Did you-"

Alex held up a hand, his focus on the screen behind her. The coverage had shifted to a reporter who was standing outside the hospital. Audrey groaned and collapsed on the couch. So much for not telling him about that part. He sat next to her, eyebrows creasing as he turned up the volume.

"We have received reports that five people are confirmed dead after the occupation of Gotham General Hospital late this afternoon following the events at Gotham Stadium." The station cut to grainy cellphone footage showed men with guns running into the facility. She knew that Alex was looking at her, but kept her gaze trained on the screen. They went back to the reporter. "Commissioner Gordon is still listed as missing despite a statement issued by the hospital that everyone has been safely evacuated from the facility."

Finally, she turned to face him. "Okay, before you say anything, it really wasn't -"

"You're not going back there, are you?" His tone was more plea than a demand.

"I mean, no, it's shut down, but Dad, come on. I'm not just going to sit here and do nothing while a bunch of… radical assholes take over the city. People are going to get hurt. They're going to need help."

"Who? Who's going to need help? They've got the police trapped and they've given the detonator to someone in the city-"

She waved her hand dismissively. "I doubt they just handed some idiot a trigger to a nuclear bomb. And there are going to be people left on the streets that are going to want to fight back." At least, I hope there are.

Alex's shoulders slumped. "You're as stubborn as your mother was. Look, Audrey, you don't have to fight all the time. Some battles are too big for one person." She chewed her lower lip and said nothing. There was no way to make him understand that she wasn't fighting, she was helping. Healing. He sighed. "What about a compromise? I'm going to St. Swithin's tomorrow. We can talk to Reilly about setting something up for the boys. I'm sure he'll open the place up to whoever needs shelter."

And, for the second time that day, Audrey found herself uttering the words, "Deal."