As the World Falls Down Chp. 2 (original) (raw)

Title: As the World Falls Down
Author: DarlingLilEve/LittleDarlingeve
Pairing: Bane/John
Rating: R for violence and slight distrubing content.
Word Count: 3,273
Warning(s): Violent imagery that may be distrubing. Viewer discretion is advised.
Beta: cathenian
Author's Note:
This is set before the film has actually been released, so please don't get your panties in a twist. This is my version of what happens if Batman gets taken down by Bane.
Bane also has tattoos instead of being completely uncovered by them. I don't like the fact they're taking Tom's tatoos out for the movie. >:| I believe it adds more character to Bane.

Summary: When Batman fell, so did Gotham. When Batman fell, the world went to shit. When Batman fell, the people lost hope. John Blake is one of the many who fights to survive the now hell hole of Gotham. Unfortunately, Fate is a cruel bitch who loves to play jokes.

Chp. 2: Flowers and Hands

A shallow intake of breath.

A widening of eyes.

John Blake woke to a world of black and white.

He felt heavy, yet light at the same time. A comforting, yet frightening pulse ran through his entire body as he tried to take in the scene around him. There was nothing but a vast darkness that was as far as the horizon. The ground, in stark contrast to the vast darkness, was white. Strangely there was something in the whiteness, which made it even more peculiar.

‘_Hands...?_’

The ground that John was standing on was covered in hands. They were reaching out to the abyss that was the sky, as if it would produce a source of light; like a plant, specifically a flower. But perhaps they weren’t reaching for a source of light. The former police officer shivered at the thought, shivered at the possibility that there were actual people buried beneath the ground.

As John turned his attention to the ground, he noticed that he was clinging to a large red cloth that seemed to comfortingly cover him, to the point where his dignity wasn’t questioned. He didn’t know where he had gotten the blanket, or why he was naked beneath it, but that wasn’t his major concern at the moment. Taking a hesitant step forward, he tested to see if the hands that were jutting out of the ground would suddenly come to life. The hands did not come to life, but instead, a hand or two broke when he stepped forward, causing a nasty crunch to flood his ears.

He had broken a hand’s fingers, the bones of the wrist jutting out as blood started to pour.

John cringed and tried to fight down the bile that was fighting it’s up to his mouth. He braced himself as he continued forward, breaking the hands that littered on the ground, pouring more and more blood. After a while, John stopped walking all together because he was going anywhere, yet nowhere at the same time. His feet were covered in blood and he had growing tired of hearing the now familiar sound of bones breaking.

He couldn’t remember what had happened to him, or how he had gotten to a place like this. Nothing made sense to him. John entertained a thought that he was dead and that he had finally been wacked off by a gang member or something. He entertained the idea that this was Hell and that he was going to die of boredom, that or hearing breaking bones every time he took a step.

A sigh of frustration escaped John’s lips as he looked up towards the sky. After what seemed like hours of staring blankly into the void and listening to the silence, his ears picked up a familiar sound. The sound was as familiar as a mother’s voice, yet gentle and as powerful as a drum.

It was a heartbeat.

John was soothed by the steady beat; however, he still didn’t feel safe. All of the sudden, it seemed, to John, that the void had come to life. The darkness was now a living thing. Slowly, the darkness’ heart was pumping and it filled the air around him with its gentle thrum. The hands that had once been stiff and lifeless started to sway around him. It reminded him of how the grass would sway when the wind caressed those around it.

John would have laughed if he didn’t find those damned hands disturbing.

Once more, John debated whether to take a step forward.

But there was nowhere to go, no one around him. There was nothing but the swaying hands, the thrum of a heartbeat, and the darkness that surrounded him. Everything seemed too surreal that it sent a shiver down his spine. His grip tightened on the cloth that covered him, as he watched the hands slowly sway faster and faster. The heart beat was starting to rise in tempo and echo louder and louder. John wondered what was making that dreadful sound and making the hands sway so.

His answer came in the form of an even larger hand, extending from the void of the sky and reaching out to John himself.

Brown, now black; John’s eyes widened and a silent scream escaped John. Apparently sound was not a luxury in this world and it seemed that the only sound permitted was the heartbeat. It didn’t matter to John because there was no use for a voice when no one was around. The larger hand had made John’s decision, and the police officer ran away without a second thought.

Like in many horror films that John has seen in his life, he felt his whole body slow; even though he knew that he was running as fast as he could. The hand that was pursuing him came closer and closer, until finally, it wrapped itself around John and whisked him into the air. John cried out and started to violently thrash around in its grip, trying to escape. Escape where though? There was nowhere to escape to.

As he was lifted higher and higher into the void, the small hands that had been reaching out to an invisible sun were now directed towards him. It was as if they were trying desperately appeal to the larger hand to let him go. It was as if they were saying “he is one of us, do not take him.”

John didn’t and would not host that idea.

Suddenly the hand stopped. It seemed that once again, he was surrounded by the void and the now excited heartbeat. The noise was sending a feeling of wrong through his body and he was started to feel nauseated. Vertigo overwhelmed his senses and he swayed in the hands grasp.

Then, in his peripheral vision, John noticed something large. He turned his wary gaze to the object that caught his interest and started to silently scream and struggle once more.

The face of a giant, red skull with glowing yellow eyes stared down at him.

John screamed and screamed until he could feel his lungs burning as the skeleton face watched. The hand that was holding him was the skeletons. It seemed that the skeleton was interested in what was underneath John’s cloak.

“No!” cried John internally, “For God’s sake, no! Let me go damn it! Let me go!” He prayed that someone would hear his pleas, that this demon would leave him be. He wondered what he had done in his life that had been so terrible that he deserved hell such as this.

The skeleton laughed as it forced John to come closer to it. John, who shrank back as far as he could, stared into the face of what he considered the devil. The skeleton was observing him with glowing yellow eyes and grinned at him with bloodied teeth.

As it came closer and closer to him, John hoped that if he was going to die, that his death would be painless.

It seemed that fate wanted John to die by a fall.

Something attacked the skeleton in the darkness and whatever it was, forced the skeleton to drop John. John fell closer and closer to the hand covered ground he had once walked upon. He closed his eyes and waited to hit the ground, but the ground never came. Instead, he landed in another large hand.

This hand, however, was not of the skeletons; instead, it was a large, calloused hand that warmed him completely.

When he had landed, instead of curling around him instantly, the hand gently curled around him, as if it was necessary. It was acting as a cushion instead of a cage. John’s natural reaction to being captured was to assume that he was being attacked again. He quickly noticed that he was not being gripped or being forced to approach a demon’s face. It allowed John started to slowly collect himself. John sighed heavily and lay in the palm of the hand, soaking in its warmth. The heartbeat of this hand was much more soothing than the other. It made him feel completely safe and welcomed.
As he was about to close his eyes and drift to sleep, he saw a blurry image of another face coming towards him, this time gentle and kind, rather than hideous and tortured as the other. It smiled gently down at him and softly commanded him to rest.

-------

Una palabra, no dice nada y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo

This time, when John woke, he woke to reality.

He breathed erratically as he tried to comprehend where he was. After several minutes of staring at nothing in particular, John slowly took in the world around him. Instead of his rundown apartment, it appeared that he was in a deluxe suite bedroom of a hotel. And from the looks of it, it was damn well expensive. The room was a beautiful cream color and decorated with white furniture. The room itself looked very modern and up to date; compared to the hotels that John used to sleep in when he traveled to visit family outside of Gotham. Then again, John had never been able to afford anything this costly.

igual que el viento que esconde el agua como las flores que esconde el lodo

The bed he was sleeping on was one of the softest that he had ever slept on. The comforter was a dark brown color that blended well with the colors of the room. He was vaguely glad that the thick blanket wasn’t just for looks, but also for comfort.

John looked towards his left and noticed something breathe taking. The entire wall to the left of him was a window that had a view of a snow covered Gotham. It was evening outside and the snow was gently floating down to the city. The scene suddenly made him extremely sad.

Unda mirada, no dice nada y al mismo tiempo lo dice todo

Turning his attention away from the dreary sight, John noticed the doors that lead out of his room. He wanted to see who or what was behind that door, but at the same time, he didn’t. Some part of him wanted to stay in the comfort of ignorance, but then again, he wanted to escape. After the horrific ordeal that he went through of being captured--

“Fuck...” John hissed as he covered his face. He remembered being in his apartment, drinking a glass of whiskey and then going into his room. Then he remembered being assaulted. It made him realize where he was. He was in the house of a slave buyer. It was the last place that John had ever wanted to be.

He roughly lifted the comforter and checked himself. There were no signs of mistreatment, nor were there indications that his “owner” had done anything sexually to him. He noted that he was wearing a comfortable set of clothes. A red shirt and green plaid sleeping pants covered his body. Instead of feeling grateful that his buyer wasn’t a crazed psycho or rapist, John felt a sense of dread. Various scenarios were running through his head. Maybe the buyer was going to use this against him and force him to do anything his buyer desired.

Shaking his head violently, John stopped his train of thinking and extracted himself from his bed roughly. He stumbled a little and swayed slightly, feeling light headed from the remaining drugs in his system. Thankfully though, he was able to walk towards the door with ease. He could feel his heart pounding rapidly in his chest as he took the door handle and opened the door quietly. As silent as a mouse, John exited the room.

como la lluvia sobre to cara o el viejo mapa de algun tesoro.

The first thing that John noted was that even the living room of the penthouse suite was dark. The only light came from a roaring fire place that was located to John’s right. A comfortable looking sofa was placed in front of the fire place that made John want to curl up on it and fall asleep. He noticed that like the bedroom, the living room was just as intricate in color design and furniture. The fire’s light reflected beautifully from a crystal chandelier that hung from the roof. Everything seemed like it was out of a fairytale.

John turned his attention to the fireplace once more. He noticed now that a figure was casually sitting in front of it. He became aware of the sad melody playing from a stereo, placed on top of the mantle. Before, John hadn’t noticed the crestfallen music, not until he had stepped in this portion of the suite at least.

Una verdad no dice nada y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo

The man sitting on the sofa was large compared to most people that John had seen. It appeared to be a man, who was naked from the waist up. At least John hoped that he was naked from the waist up. It would be rather awkward if the man stood up, only to be completely naked. From what John could tell, the man was covered in tribal tattoos; a gang member perhaps, and with a bald head.

John frowned as he looked around for a weapon of some sort. Seeing nothing worth using, John decided that instead he would simply try to sneak out of the suite without the man knowing. If there were guards outside, he could take them out with ease.

John slowly made his way towards the kitchen and towards what he believed the exit; until he heard the man call over his shoulder. “Leaving so soon?”

John froze and glanced at the other man, who was looking over his shoulder at him, with a grin. John turned towards him and kept quiet, only answering him with a glare. “If you are planning on leaving, you won’t get very far. There are hundreds of armed men in this building and none of them are the kind to take prisoners.”

His buyer’s voice sounded familiar.

“What makes you think that I can’t make my way out of here?” John asked.

“Because, even though you’re a cop; they’ve got prison and the street, for their fighting credibility. And nothing that they taught you at the police academy would help you in the long run, unless you’re Rambo.” The stranger stood up, turned the stereo off and made his way over to John. John’s eyes widened as he finally recognized who the stranger was.

Bane, the man who took down the Batman, had bought him as a slave.

Bane stood in front of him with a nonchalant look on his face, “You must be hungry. I’m rather hungry myself. Have a seat and make yourself at home.”

John wearily watched Bane walk into the kitchen portion of the suite and start to take ingredients out. John stood where he was, instead of taking a seat at the kitchen table, as Bane had requested. John watched as Bane cooked for the two them.

Without his mask, Bane looked like most other people; except for his muscles of course. John could see that Bane had facial hair and distractingly full lips. John was in shocked that Bane wasn’t wearing his mask around him. Well, it was his “home”, but he would have thought that the man would have been more at ease in front of a stranger with his mask covering his face. He was thankful that Bane wasn’t wearing the mask though; otherwise he would probably have had a panic attack right then and there.

Bane finished cooking breakfast, a platter of pancakes, eggs and bacon and placed the contents of his labour on the table, before sitting down. He looked up at John with a look of expectation. It seemed that Bane wasn’t about to touch his food until John was sitting at the table with him. John slowly took his seat and warily stared down at his plate.

“It’s not poisoned, you know.” Bane said as he handed John a fork and knife. “If I wanted you dead, you would already be so.”

“I might as well be.” John stated as he put the fork and knife down. “There is no longer any safe place in Gotham; I learned that last night. There’s also the fact that I’m now here with you.” He said the last part with hate. Bane merely nodded as he started to consume his food. John stared at him as he did so, not touching his own food, merely watching the other man. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you buy me?”

Bane looked up at John, “Does it matter?”

“Of course it does!” John hissed, “Because I’d rather know what I’m being used for instead of being played with. What is it? Labour? Sex? Torture?”

The other man stared at John as he glared angrily. Bane merely took a large bite of a pancake before he replied, “Why should I tell you? I own you. What I do with you is my choice.”

“You--”

Bane placed his silverware down calmly and continues on, “Would it make you feel better if I acted the role of a villain? Would you like it if I did say that I wanted to use you to relieve my sexual needs or to use you to vent my rage? Yes, that would make you feel better. It would also confirm that I am indeed a monster.” Bane picked up his napkin and wiped the sides of his mouth.

John weakly glared at Bane as the other man looked him in the eyes, “What do you expect me to think? That you bought me randomly from the street for conversation? Men like you don’t take slaves for just random occasion.”

“Tell me, John, what would you say if I did indeed buy you for that reason?”

His answer completely floored John. His eyes widened as he stared in disbelief into Bane’s eyes. A laugh erupted from Blake’s mouth and continued to do so for a couple of minutes. “You’re...You’re not serious...Are you?” Bane remained quiet. “Oh...This is just rich...Fucking great.” John laughed as he turned away and continued to laugh. “You know, this is like, one of the biggest jokes ever. Seriously, it’s like one of the Joker’s jokes.”

Bane remained quiet as John slowly started to spiral into a panic attack. “You’re fucking with me. Please, just kill me instead.”

“No.”

John moved forward and grabbing Bane by the shoulders, the taller man simply let John do it.

“Just kill me damn it! Go ahead! Do it! I’d rather die than lose my dignity to you!” John pushed away from Bane and the table and walked back into the living room. Bane followed the other man, but remained a safe distance from the other as John slowly descending into a panic.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.” John suddenly sobbed. Bane reached out and took John into his arms when John started to fall to the ground.

Bane held John gently as John started to violently beat his fists against his chest. “Just kill me already! Please!” John cried out as he thrashed in Bane’s arms, “I’d rather...I’d rather die than live a life like this!”

After minutes of struggling and thrashing in Bane’s arms, John slowly began to weaken. His crying intensified as Bane started to stroke the back of his head soothingly. “Please...Please...”

Time passed slowly around them. In the distance, a clock struck midnight.