meet the family [BANE]

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Hot on their tails, Batgirl followed the trio of thugs into the dark alley, unable to risk smirking at the cliché. She didn’t know why they always assumed that racing into the darkness was going to stop her, in fact it simply welcomed her. The sketching of tires alerted her that they planned on climbing into a get-away care of sorts on the other side, causing her to pick up her speed as she almost effortlessly dodged bullets that occasionally sounded from their gun. Closing the distance quickly, she tackled one of them, slamming the shorter man roughly onto the concrete. With her hand on the back of his head his face hit first and instantly broke his nose on contact. He shouted in pain while she kicked his gun from his hand and into a cluster of trash on the opposing side of the alley.

While one of them clutching a briefcase continued to run toward the car, the large decided to stay and fight, seizing a discarded pipe-like item from the side of the alley and starting toward her. Making sure she stepped on his former alley rather than over, sending her sharp heel into his excessive skin as she got into a defensive stance. Reaching into her belt, she grabbed a series of bat-a-rangs between each finger, sending them rapidly in the direction of the thug that was attempting to get away. His cries informed her that she had hit her target, but there was little time for victory. Pain blossomed in her shoulder as the larger male hit her forcefully with the makeshift weapon. Quickly sending her elbow back at an upward angle, she smirked as her sharp elbow came into contact with his nose, resulting in a disturbing cracking noise.

Batgirl smirked, whirling around to notice that blood was pouring from his nose. He dropped the pipe with his eyes closed, bellowing in pain. “That seems to be the theme of the night. Let’s see if I can go for three out of three.” She taunted, kicking the larger male with quite a bit of force in the gut. He stumbled backward into the same cluster of trash cans and she turned toward the man she had hit earlier with her weapons and started toward him. “No-please! Don’t hurt me! Look-lady I was only doin’ this to help feed my family…” he pleaded to the nineteen year old. The tires on the van squealed before it disappeared, leaving the three henchmen defenseless and left at the mercy of Batgirl. “Looks like your ride left you.” It wasn’t like it mattered, she was sure that Dick would be patrolling on the other end of the city. After she finished dealing with these three should would give him a quick call on her radio and the fourth member of their group would be in a similar position.

She grabbed the front of his shirt, slamming him into the nearest brick wall. “Then maybe you should get a real job.” The redhead hissed, sending a series of swift punches to his already puffy face until he slid down the length of the wall. Her adrenaline rushed through her veins and her heart pounded as she turned in a full circle to see each of the men sprawled across the alley. Perhaps she had been a bit excessive, but she certainly managed to get her built up frustration out. Reaching toward the belt that sat on her hips, she pulled out her Bat-communicator. “Hey, I have a white dry cleaning van headed your way. The driver is male, Caucasian with a sleeve of tattoos. He’s driving like a bat out of hell because he thinks he slipped me, but really I was just saving him for you. I know you hate when I have all the fun.” She teased, “I've got the briefcase. I’ll meet up with you in a bit.”

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It seemed to be quite the eventful evening for Gotham after dark. Bane had been informed by his faithful henchman, Barsad, that Batman was supposed to show. From what he'd observed, Bane realized that Batman only came out when there was trouble. Gangs, cultists, terrorists and the like; somehow they all seemed to reside in Gotham. New York had been full of such power-hungry madmen, or so he'd heard. Bane had eventually perched himself high above the city like a shadowy, dooming fit of irony. He had all of his equipment on his person and removed a pair of binoculars. They had several settings which would allow him to observe in nearly any vision type ranging from infrared to even night vision. His henchmen stayed below all except the loyal Barsad. He was one of the refugees who fled his country once Bane entered and proclaimed his rule over the government and snapped the spine of the cruel dictator. There was a monumental level of loyalty and faithfulness to serving his leader - his true leader.

Clearing his throat, Barsad began to propose his idea on where the Dark Knight would strike and how he would move through this black sheet, this cover, of pure darkness. Bane did not respond. He began surveying the city through a wiry emerald view dubbed night vision. It allowed him to see everything perfectly in the dark; not that he had much trouble with it. Bane was born in the darkness, molded by it. He didn't see the light until he was already a man. The cruel warden had tried threatening and scaring him by placing him in the darkness of a pit for most of his life. The League of Assassins had a stronghold over that South American government, enough to force a parentless child into imprisonment. But his captivity would prove to be his greatest strength. Overlooking Gotham, Bane let out what could only be described as a growl while swaying the binoculars from one side of the city to the next. It was such a wretched and unforgiving place to raise ones' family. Bane, however, was used to much worse.

"Do not worry about Batman. I do not think that he will follow the pattern you presume he will use, far from it. He is a creature of habit, yes. But there lies an unpredictability in him. Go - wait below until I have need of you, brother. The Batman is mine!", Bane claimed as he wanted to procure the prize for himself. It took only a few moments more before Bane observed someone in a similar costume trailing a car full of criminals. This would become rather exciting for the mercenary as he viewed the scene best he could from such a great height and anticipated the arrival of his new intended target. Bane studied the movements and style of this 'pretender', albeit a female. But her costume wasn't exactly the same. There were some similarities but nothing outstanding. Bane was rather disappointed. To further his frustration was the act that Batman hadn't yet shown up which proved to the ruthless mercenary that his target utilized his allies and saved the difficult tasks for himself.

At least that's what Bane took from all of this. He determined that she was probably a trustful ally to the Dark Knight, and upon observing her finishing the criminals as a vigilante would he had seen enough. Bane had discovered a great strength in her which was an honor code bound by Bane himself which happened to be 'no killing'. Bane didn't need to kill someone to get his point across for his exceptional strength was more than enough. But his analytic mind didn't stop there. She was graceful in her attacks; she was like a violent ballerina with precise attacks but a predictable strategy. This did not concern Bane as he watched their getaway van attempt to drive off. Through the lenses, Bane could not hear what this 'Batgirl' was saying, but certainly acknowledged that she was communicating with someone through a comm-link. Now that caught his undivided attention! But who? Another ally or Batman himself? It was all very interesting and left the mercenary to ponder on the situation. Perhaps it would not be a dull night.

Bane eventually made his way down to the streets below as the foggy and ominous presence of the night made everything much more eerie than intended. Then again, perhaps that was the norm for this gloomy city. Bane had actually used his grip and climbed down as he slowly and menacingly emerged from the thick foggy air that surrounded the alleys and narrow roads nearby. His breathing was like something from a horror film and sounded nothing like a normal inhalation of the lungs. Armed with nothing but his tactical vest and bare hands, Bane advanced. He wanted to meet this vigilante whomever she may be. If she had a link to his enemy then perhaps she would prove useful. Every footstep made a threatening 'thud' as the bottom of his combat boots stamped down the alley. From afar she wielded a briefcase. Bane had no use for the object and simply wanted her. He approached with red lenses emerging from the darkness, clutching the straps of his tactical vest. His imposing stature neared ever closer.

"I would beg to differ.", Bane managed to exhale in a muffled breath several feet behind the unusually dressed but aptly named Batgirl. "Interesting how creatures of the night are also creatures of habit. Perhaps you can assist me. You are affiliated with him, are you not? The Batman?", The mercenary asked in quite an imposing tone. His presence was, of course, very unexpected. That was always the way of the League of Assassins, however. The power of unpredictability and deception were powerful agents and Bane employed them swimmingly. But his intimidating demeanor seemed even greater amid the cold, foggy night with no one in their immediate vicinity. Talk about the wrong place at the wrong time.

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Her chuckled echoed around the dark alley at her partner’s reply. “Funny, see you soon.” She clipped the communicator back onto the segment of her belt before taking a moment to look at her surroundings. Each of the designated thugs remained in their proper places, groveling on the ground in pain or unconscious. With the newly-secured briefcase in her hand and an air of confidence about her, she started down the alley, the thick heels of her boots barely making a sound as she moved. The skin-tight bat suit appeared as though it was almost painted on her toned body and defined her curves. With the bat emblem plastered onto her ample chest, she stood a little taller in her stride than she typically did without the comfort of the mask that covered the top half of her face. Only having recently ended her conversation with Dick, a harsh voice called out, causing Batgirl to whip around so fast that her vivid red hair nearly came back to hit her in the face.

Her hand clutched tightly around the handle of the briefcase in her hand, the smile instantly erasing from her face as she turned to face who had challenged her. Batgirl took a few moments to look him up and down, her photographic memory examining a face that she would not soon forget. He towered over her and greatly rivaled her in size; her eyes roamed over the brace that that he wore and its unusual construction. Babs silently marveled at his intimidating size as she stood defensively, racking her brain to conjure a name that would match the mask before her. “Is that so, are you taking me out on a date or something, big guy? Funny, you’d think that we should exchange numbers first.” The redhead quipped, attempting to stand her ground as he continued to near closer.

Batgirl was prepared, however, to spring into action if needed. A list of maneuvers and combative raced through her mind that would enable her to avoid whatever he attempted to throw at her – assuming only by his words that he might try something.
She couldn’t help but chuckle, looking down at her generous chest at the well-known emblem that she proudly sported. “Let me guess you are new around here, aren’t you?” She began, almost condescendingly. “I’m Batgirl, in case the outfit didn’t give me away already. So yeah, I guess you can say we’ve met once or twice.” The redhead was proud to wear the bat symbol on her chest, though by doing so she was automatically granted with an excessive amount of enemies and alleys. Still considering herself moderately new to the bat family, she was still adjusting to the fact that the moment she slipped into that costume, she put a target on her back. Still, she wasn’t intimidated and held her ground, prepared to strike at any moment.

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Bane understood that this individual worked with, and probably stayed close to, Batman. His ultimate target. Why? Because Batman was the ruler of this city and Bane wanted to claim that trophy. No, he wanted to pry it from his hands and make his enemy acknowledge that he was greater. He wanted to break the Batman, and right now there was one simple way to do that - with her. Batgirl would prove a most useful tool. Bane realized that if her comm-link was not properly attended to then Batman would get suspicious, thus bringing him right to the trap. It wasn't original, it wasn't some grand scheme, but neither was it needlessly complicated. Bane just wanted the hero to show up and get broken. Gotham would soon be his.

But she acted in an unusual manner. Making small quips, as if not wanting to truly take his presence seriously. The men she had beaten down were still on the ground and attempting to crawl away. He glanced down the one closest to him and then back to Batgirl. She seemed to be preoccupied with the emblem on her chest. She began explaining how yes, she was affiliated with the Dark Knight and had worked with him before. Interesting. "You believe your wit and sharp tongue will calm your nerves...", Bane began addressing as he had noticed what she was doing; if that was what she was trying to do. He also noticed her stance and posture. "Attacking me would prove painful, for you.", The muscled merc exclaimed.

Bane took a few steps forward and that menacing 'thud' that grew ever near to Batgirl probably seemed like a march from Hell. He stopped with just a little distance in between them but was prepared for her to feel uncomfortable with him in her space. If she did attempt an attack on him he would not wait for Batman to arrive and would decimate her right here on the spot. Batman would then feel empty and alone, as Bane did. A parentless child, born in a prison facility and forced into the cold, wet 'pit' that many inmates considered Hell itself. But not Bane. He had conquered that demon and it was time to move on to another one. He brought up the back of his gloved hand and gently rubbed the back of it across her masked cheek. So precious.

He assumed she couldn't have been more than a teenager, or perhaps a young adult. But she was far from experienced. Not yet rough around the edges like her mentor. He lowered his hand and tilted his head with that piercing gaze glaring at her from behind red lenses. Their one-way attraction was eerie if for the fact Bane could see everything and everyone perfectly from behind them but no one could see in. Just as he liked it. "You will bring him here to meet his better, and then I will break you.", Bane commanded in a calm but serious nature. That was the intimidation factor playing the game now. He was a master at that art and excelled at it as a member of the League of Assassins. He was waiting.

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His presence was intimidating to say the least. She swore that with each mighty step she could feel the ground shake, or perhaps that was just the adrenaline racing through her veins after her previous fight. The redhead studied his image over and over extremely carefully; there was something all too familiar about his build, composure and overall look. She knew she had seen him before though not necessarily in person. She refused to let her confidence waver in any way, despite the distance he was closing between them. His massive size was becoming all too apparent the closer he came to her. The stirring behind her made it evident that her previous targets were beginning to move from their former situations and attempting to make a break for it now that she was distracted. She could sense their presence, but allowed them to retreat fully aware that Dick would hit them with round two in a matter of minutes. It seemed as though she had bigger fish to fry.

“It’s gotten me this far, hasn’t it?” She replied, pulling something from her utility belt as she heard the shuffle of feet from behind her. Only one of the thugs had managed to his feet and started to make a break for it, dashing down the alley and leaving his former comrades behind. She smirked as she chucked the bola at the man’s feet, causing nylon cords to emit from it and wrap around the escapist’s feet. The cords ascended up his body and caused him to trip, barely catching himself with his blood-stained hands before he came crashing unceremoniously to the pavement. With a satisfied smirk, she turned back to face the man of impressive size before her. “Is that so?” She asked, clutching the heavy briefcase in her gloved hand even tighter.

As he reached out to touch her, she jerked her face away and her relaxed features contorted with the utmost annoyance. Shoving his hand away, she scowled at his demand. “Good luck with that. I'm not one that's easily broken” She replied as swung the metal-encased briefcase full-force in an attempt to ram it into his skull. Who did he think he was? Thinking she would willingly sacrifice her mentor to a complete stranger, though it seemed to be a common theme amongst the more notorious faces of Gotham. They all wanted Batman delivered to them on a silver platter, but that wasn’t how the teenager prepared to serve him. Barbara was incredibly obedient to Batman and the rest of her Bat family. “What do you want with the Batman?” She practically shouted as she prepared to strike once more. While he rivaled her in size, she was certain that she was much quicker than him and would use that to her advantage.

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Bane observed Batgirl in action. Her mouth still had that sarcastic venom to it, those clever quips, and yet these criminals, if one could call them such, refused to take advantage; and so did Bane. It would be too simple to gain the advantage over someone whose attention happened to diverted and thus Bane refused. But he had a reason. Common armed thugs had no honor among themselves and would backstab their target in a heartbeat. They were inferior, simple creatures. Bane had no use for common thugs. One of them attempted to take Batgirl from behind as she hurled the bola but the muscled merc put a stop to that! He grabbed the man from around the neck with one arm and with a jerk, cracked his neck.

Done and victorious. An easy victory, granted, but Bane did not allow such underhandedness in his presence. He was a warrior of honor and dignity, not desperateness. Bane knew he was an evil man himself. He was aware that his actions would be considered appalling and far beyond the law itself. But that was his code. Cheating and underhanded tactics only serve to prove oneself to be a fool and Bane was no fool. Once Batgirl turned her attention back to the task at-hand there stood Bane with his arms spread out in a shrug. "Now, if we are finished with these unnecessary interruptions...", the mercenary shamelessly boasted as the body of the criminal lay at her feet while the others cry for help. It was a necessary step to advance.

Her grip tightened around the briefcase and Bane did not notice this for his assumptions of her were less than enthusiastic. After all, she refused to kill. To Bane, that was a weakness and a great disadvantage. Bane didn't kill unless absolutely necessary because of his unorthodox code of ethics, bound by honor. But he did kill. That was the point. Batgirl seemed to grow increasingly frustrated at his questioning her abilities. Perfect. In a fit of rage, or were it fear, she chucked the metal briefcase at his head and made contact. It caused his head to sway the opposite direction but as he slowly turned to fixate his gaze upon her yet again it was evident that it only served to piss him off. Bane let out an aggravated growl under the mask.

"You are brave for one without much of an advantage. You do not know me, thus you cannot anticipate my movements. But I've seen everything you can do so far. Still feel in control?", Bane asked with a very imposing tone in his voice. He would not retaliate yet simply because he knew Batgirl would be an easy victim. But she was not his intended victim, Batman was. She asked the million dollar question and he simply glared at her with the folds of his mask forming a devilish grin. "What I want with your master is of no concern to you. All you need to know is that he will suffer, not in death. He does not fear death. But of his soul...", the musclebound adversary explained without hesitation. Bane noticed she was going to strike again.

In defense, Bane gripped her around the wrist but did not care about what was in that briefcase. He had no use for it and so he did not take it from her. Bane came in closer, and closer, until their noses were practically touching. "You cannot defeat me. You are not the adversary I seek. Tell me where he is and your punishment will not be as severe!", Bane threatened as his breathing became odd and sounded unusual. It was the sound of his system taking in the venom inhalant. His musculature increased about fifteen percent and counting as Bane stared her directly in the eyes and hoped to instill fear. Even though that was Batman's schtick, Bane was no rookie. He would find him... and then he will break him. It was as easy as counting to five.

((OOC: hope this is okay. If not, tell me, I will edit! :3))

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Batgirl cringed at the resounding ‘crack’ of the man’s neck, sending an involuntary shiver down her spine. Her heart rate picked up once more at the sight of life evidently leaving the man’s eyes. She tried not to look surprised in the least bit and ignore the shock that had clearly surfaced. He had murdered him with such ease and no remorse, causing her to wonder what kind of monster this man truly was. Killing was against everything in her code of ethics, which was also acknowledged but the rest of the vigilantes that she associated with. The man’s limp form fell to her feet, leaving Batgirl ultimately speechless. There was nothing she could have done to prevent it – nor was it something she had particularly expected. She turned her attention from the fresh corpse, back to the massive mercenary before her, glaring. “What the hell do you think you are doing!” She shouted, preparing to strike once more.

“I’m always in control,” She spat back hatefully. “Tell me who you are.” She demanded, though in reality her confidence wavered. His hulking physique made her feel relatively small in size. One thing was for sure, she wasn’t going to let him anywhere near Batman, despite what drastic measures were required. “I’m sorry, Batman isn’t here at the moment…you are going to have to leave a message. Don’t worry; I will relay it as soon as possible. Bat’s honor.” Her voice laced with venom, she circled him once, taking in his overall outfit and impressive size. She moved quickly, regaining her place in front of his hulking figure in no time, ready to attack at any moment.

Her confidence growing, at her successful impact with his cranium she couldn’t help but remark that he moved fast considering. He tightly seized her wrist, but Batgirl suppressed the pain and dropped the briefcase as she was pulled forward. “You know, the last person who told me that ended up in Arkham,” She scowled, attempting to pull free of his grip by twisting her wrists in a circular motion. Typically, the move would have worked against someone with moderate strength, though his biceps were quick to inform her that he was certainly wasn’t average. Deciding now was better than ever to attack, she brought her knee up forcefully before sending her spare fist in his direction, intending on delivering a very painful punch that might help him consider releasing her wrist.

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Bane knew what this would entail. You see, behind every heroic figure was an equally as naive sidekick. They were the chosen few who worked alongside their idol growing up, intentional or not. It was a common misconception that every sidekick was just as important as the hero they were handpicked to fight alongside; and this was wrong. They were expendable. At the cost of what? Well, that depended on certain things. Perhaps the hero could use them as a decoy to grab the villain's attention. Maybe they could take the spotlight to give their beloved hero enough time to prepare himself and, in time, land the devastating blow. But mostly, and this was the case here and tonight, they were fodder for something far more devious. Though Bane did not fail to notice her bad habit of gabbing and throwing out quips, he tried his best to ignore them.

It proved a difficult task. This Batgirl, whoever she was, was quite the wily and rebellious vigilante sidekick. She was unruly. Undisciplined. Unlike Bane, who was mostly stoic and disciplined to the point you almost feel sorry for him. But that was the way of the League. Bane had adopted their teachings and put them together with his own chaotic goals to create an objective that would destroy the Dark Knight and enable Bane to claim Gotham for himself -- if his plan proved successful. It had to. There was no room for error. Then again, it was hard to keep focus with the younger one constantly trying to agitate Bane and throw him off his game; nice try. The mercenary refused to loosen the grip he had on her wrist when she had the idea to use both her knee and, immediately after, her own punch. The knee enabled her to help pry herself from his grip, but the punch?

That was just foolish. If her plan was to free herself from his clutches then it did prove a success, albeit a foolish one. Did she truly believe that Bane would allow her to live after this encounter? Vigilantes were humorous that way. The muscled merc simply inhaled, that eerie sound emanating from his apparatus-like mask, and slowly exhaled. He did not require venom against her. She was already deemed too weak to defeat him. Bane had nothing to praise her for, though there was one thing. "You are out of your league. Though I did feel that right jab, your arm wasn't fully extended to deliver full impact. That was your first mistake. I could simply siphon every breath from your body and leave you a broken heap in the streets for Gotham's worst to abuse at their own pleasure. But...," Bane mocked, attempting to rile her and get her to make mistakes, throwing in that monkey wrench as needed.

"That is not why I am here. After all, you are aware why I am here. I do believe that I will let you deliver the message to your master as you so gratefully offered earlier. Unfortunately for you, it will be in the form of broken bones... and bruised organs.," Bane menacingly started to advance and used his deceptive speed to his advantage. He was not superhumanly fast, not even close, but for a man his size and with his build it was unexpected and very deceptive. Bane used the darkness and the shadows to his advantage and seemingly 'vanished' from the alleyway. He was preying on her. He was waiting in the shadows, watching her. He wanted to let her sweat a little. After all, the most fun a predatory foe such as he could truly have was letting his enemy terrify herself. It was almost too hard to watch, and if it were anyone else it would have been painful.

Suddenly, two large hands slowly emerged from behind Batgirl and his massive frame suddenly began to appear. This was no mere enemy Batgirl was facing... Far from it! This was Bane, the last opponent she would ever face!

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She didn’t know what bothered her so much about his looming presence, other than the fact that he seemed incredibly stoic and persistent on communicating with the Batman. Batgirl knew that it wasn’t particularly wise for her to remain here unaccompanied, especially when it wasn’t in the agenda. At the same time she couldn’t leave without recognizing the familiar figure before her. While she was sure they hadn’t the opportunity of meeting before now, she felt as though his description was one she had researched before. Though it was highly unrealistic, she lingered in the presence of the large man, determined to thwart his efforts at all costs.

Only wincing slightly at the tight grip on her wrist, she tried a number of combinations that had worked dozens of times before this encounter, though finally she managed to remove his thick fingers that were wrapped tightly around her delicate wrist. Tossing her long red hair over her shoulder, her she was seconds away from striking once more, though his words seemed to halt here where she stood. Was he offering her advice? She scoffed at his words, having been enrolled in courses for years in various different forms of martial arts. His words seemed to cut her like a knife and the vigilante gritted her white teeth at his comments. Who did he think he was?

“I’m not a delivery girl. Good luck with that.” She prepared to strike, her hands curled into tight fists as he charged toward her – or so she thought. Jumping out of the way and landing in a crouched position several feet away. Looking up, the smirk on the lower half of her face vanished almost instantly when she noticed his hulking figure had disappeared completely. She blinked and quickly composed her posture, carefully examining the alley around her as she looked for the man’s impressive frame. He was nowhere to be seen, almost like he had completely vanished. Smug, the redhead reached for her communicator with a smile. He had left, which was wise of him considering that she was seconds away from putting him in a state similar to the thugs.

Or- so she thought.

As she spoke to one of the other members of her Bat family, she hadn’t even noticed his presence looming behind her, oblivious that he was even there. It was a completely foolish to expect that he had left. After all, this man wasn’t like the others she had faced in the past.