Phobia.

My fingernails were torn to shreds, barely there. Each finger stung, flecks of blood around the leftover half centimetre. I had my glasses over my tired, dry eyes, a light layering of make-up not able to hide the bags under my eyes.

Gordon sat upright, a cup of coffee close to him. He had changed wearing some of Blake’s clothes, eyes hard on the television, even the normally perfect looking news anchorwoman was in a state of disarray, her own fear evident through her calm controlled words.
Gotham was in a state of shock.

“It’s on.” Gordon said suddenly, Blake bursting to life. He had been packing his clothes in a suitcase, the few clothes brought from the store that belonged to me placed on top.

He stood behind the two of us, all our eyes intent on the screen. Two tumblers rolled up, decorated in a camouflage paint.

“Those are like Batman’s car.”

Blake shushed me, one hand on my shoulder as Bane became visible, the cars stopping in front of Blackgate as Bane climbed on top of one.

His eyes were hard, staring straight down the lens, even through the tv he made me shiver slightly.
“Behind you stands a symbol of oppression. Blackgate Prison. Where a thousand men have languished for years. Under the Dent Act. Under the name of this man...” He paused, pulling a crinkled picture of Harvey Dent from one of the large pockets of his fur lined coat.

The collar almost comical, had it been any other situation.

Harvey smiled at the camera, reminding me instantly of the man he had been, the man he was now.
“Harvey Dent. Held up to you, and over you, as a shining example of justice and good.”

Blake turned back to packing, and I winced for a second time as Bane pulled out a lighter, burning the picture.
As Harvey had been burnt, as he has turned, twisted.

“Talking shit,” Blake muttered, speaking to Gordon, “We’re gonna keep moving you, till we can get you in front of a camera.”

“People need to see you,” I muttered, not drawing my eyes from Bane who began to speak again.

“But they supplied you a false idol. A straw man. To placate. To stop you tearing down this corrupt city...” I felt my stomach drop, what did he know? “And rebuilding it the way it should have been rebuilt generations ago...” I risked a look at Gordon, his lips one thin line.

Bane threw the picture aside, one huge hand searching in his coat as he continued to speak, to preach. He pulled out folded pieces of paper, “Let me tell you the truth about Harvey Dent. In the words of Gotham’s Police Commissioner, James Gordon...”

Oh God no.

The speech, from the party...where Gordon had wimped out, hadn’t told the truth.
Now Bane would.

That would destroy everything.
I heard Blake shuffle back to face the screen.

“Gordon..” I was hushed again and we watched in silence as Bane read the letter, exposing Harvey.

He was a broken man... physcopathic...the Batman did not kill Harvey Dent... took the blame for Harvey’s appalling crimes, so that I could, to my shame, build a lie around this fallen idol.

I blinked hard. Gordon’s face sunk into his hands, but Bane wasn’t finished.

I praised the madman who tried to murder my own child.. But I can no longer live with my lie... it is time for me to resign.

I took a shallow breath, hearing Blake’s deepen.
“Blake.” He ignored me.

“Do you accept this man’s resignation?” Bane roared, the inmates behind him cheering, others in the crowds starting to. More people began chanting, a hard ‘YES’ resounding, I could almost hear it outside, not just through the television.

I leant forward, snatching the remote and muting the television.
I could feel the disbelief, the immediate hurt and confusion of Blake.

“These men, locked up in Blackgate for eight years, denied parole under the Dent Act. Based on a lie!” I sighed, letting the two men argue, Gordon trying to defend himself, but Blake having none of it.
He didn’t understand, look at all the good Gordon had done with this lie.

But look at how it had affected Bruce, how it had backfired.

“To plunge their hands into the filth so you can keep yours clean.”

“Your hands look plenty filthy to me commissioner.” Blake concluded, turning around to pack. I saw Gordon’s eyes sting with tears and stood, grabbing the back of Blake’s shirt, pulling him into the bathroom, the only part of the apartment that was a separate room.

“Don’t instantly be a dick to him Blake, he’s ill that won’t help.”

“And him lying for so long did, this whole thing, everything that’s been done was in the name of a liar.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, not waiting long for him to piece it together, “You knew.”
I kept silent, “You knew?! Keira...”

“When he was... after the accident, you don't understand Blake, he lost it...he went around with the stupid double faced head coin and he was killing people. Rachel died and he came after me and he flipped it, and if it was on the burnt side he killed you. And with Gordon's family, he tried to kill them he...” My voice was a pant, words broken, cracked, his arms already around my shoulders.

“Why did Gordon lie?”

“Because it was for the greater good, and it was...until now.”

“I don’t agree with it.”

“That doesn’t make any difference...we need...” I sighed, pulling away and leaving the room, calling him at the sight on the news.

The tumblers fired some sort of explosive and the front gates of the prison were blow off, Prisoners spilling through them, a poor guard running, overtaken. Dead.

I waited for one body to emerge, long, skinny. The camera’s moved away, overrun by the prisoners, rapists, thieves, murders, drug dealers, returning to the streets of Gotham...when we were all trapped.

“There’s already looting and he’s just handed them guns.” Gordon breathed, his glasses steamed by his anger, at himself, at Bane. “Things can only get worse now.”

Now that the law held no meaning, now that Bane had riled the crowd, now that the majority of police officers were trapped underground.

I’d always said there was still scum in Gotham, and now, you didn’t even have to look hard for it.
“We’ll move ASAP...”

“But where, if there’s already looting...we need somewhere poor, quiet, not likely to be targeted.”

“The narrows?” I chewed on my lip, “Too rough?”

“Possibly, near where my apartment is...was, that might be better, I know the flat below mine was empty, the woman died a few months ago.”

“You want to go back to where they knew you were?” I shrugged, turning back to the television.

“I really don’t think I’ll be that important to them right now.”

There was still no sign of Jonathon, “And isn’t returning to the scene of the attack a really stupid and unlikely thing to do?”

“If you believe the attack from your brother...” I cut the newly resigned Commissioner off.

“With all this going on, Jonathon won’t give a shit what I’m doing, I was just to entertain him.” My voice sounded sure, but I wasn’t. “It’s fine Gordon.” Blake sighed, and I could feel him nodding, starting to zip up the case.

“We’ll go now, before this really all kicks off.”
_________________________________________

The power flickered on and off.

The apartment was decorated nicer than mine, the ceiling black where the fire had almost bit through.
It was drafty, cool.

It was a bad idea, but I didn’t want to admit that, and the other two didn’t seem to want to push it.

“Couple of days here, whilst we see what areas are least affected, and then we move. I’m going to go out, see if I can find any trace of any others cops, see if I can find a way down to them, to Ross.”

“I’m coming.” He lifted a brow, but said nothing, Gordon again sat on the sofa.

“Try and get some rest Jim.” He was sat upright, about to announce his own plans but my use of his first name cooled his temper, and I suppose in a way he admitted defeat, he was still ill, still weak, and he was a target, more than I was.

“Ginger or black?” Blake asked, wig in either hand, I smirked and he put the black one down, tossing the ginger wig at me. “If you’re not hiding why should I?”

“My brother isn’t a physcopath whose now prowling Gotham, no matter what you say about that.” He waited until I drew closer, slipping a hoodie on, “Why don’t you stay here with Gordon?” I could see the worry on his face, an added line forming on his brow that was due to me.

“You know as well as I do that that isn’t going to happen.”

He dropped it, sorting himself out, gun in his pocket, a knife in mine.
We didn’t know what we were heading out in to, although so far it had been fairly quiet out on the street.

But then, if there was looting, no-one would come here, they would be heading for the wealthier parts of Gotham, overlooking the park, the hotels.

“We’re not going downtown.”He said shortly, the hidden agenda to the words. We are not risking running into your brother.

“Fine, where are we going then?”

“Head to Foley’s if you can, wait a minute...I have addresses...” He pulled out a small notebook, passing it to Blake wordlessly, “We need to sort out some kind of...”

“Resistance?”

The word seemed ridiculous, like we were in a war film.
But the word was true.

“Exactly, try and secure some plan, or at least some show of unity, the will...We need to band together, what is left of the law.”

I saw Blake frown, the idea to send the police down had been ours, his. I moved, squeezing his wrist slightly, hoping the movement was enough to flush that poisonous thought from his mind.
After all, I had enough swirling in mine.

I wanted to find Jonathon, out of the prison situation, free.
A part of me wanted to kill him.

Another, as always to understand, to try and somehow miraculously cure him, make him sane.

But maybe he was sane, and it was me that wasn’t.
Irony at its finest.

“Ready to go?” I nodded, the two of us wishing Gordon a quiet goodbye, telling him to lock the door behind us.

If there was a resistance, if we could form one, Gordon would be the face of it, he needed to be kept safe.

“Before Foley...I wanted to check on the boys home...” I nodded instantly, linking our fingers.
“Of course.” That was as close to a home as he had had growing up.

I tried to understand.

After all, just the other day I had gone and stood outside my childhood home, but...at least Blake’s memories there were better, it was an almost happy place, in an unhappy situation.

Some of the busier roads were in grid lock, some stayed in their cars, even though there was no way out. The main tunnel had been blocked in the explosions and as far as I was aware armed mercenaries, all loyal to Bane stood on the bridges, and it wasn’t just them.

Gordon rang the cell phone as we were walking and I answered, listening as he explained a further piece of news, the people on the bridges, keeping the citizens of Gotham in were US military.

The mercenaries threatened that if anyone crossed past a person line they would detonate the nuke.
We were being kept in a cage by our own people in a respect.

As I had recited Gordon’s words to Blake his face had paled, the harsh wind whipping up the front of his hair. We kept our heads down, passing random large groups of men, guns in arms, some wearing the prison jumpsuits.

We didn’t look rich, Blake didn’t look like a cop, so... we weren’t safe, far from it...but we were left alone mainly, a few jeers, shouts that made the arm around my waist harden, my mutterings the only reason some of the more vile men were still walking.

But if we started anything, gave any sign, I was sure they would kill with no thought.

Only a day had passed since Bane had revealed himself, and already Gotham was turning on itself.
I couldn’t imagine how bad it would become.

“I swear to God I’m going to...”

“Keep your mouth shut and keep walking.” I hissed, shooting him a look as we passed a few drunk and likely teenagers. “Blake, seriously,” I whined, my voice high pitched as I had to tug him, his feet almost cemented to the spot.

I followed his gaze, my less than perfect vision causing me to squint, I could see a mass of people and... “They’re dragging them from the apartment building.” I gaped, cringing as I saw a fur coat, no doubt an older woman be thrown into the road, “Blake they can’t...”

This time it was his grip that tightened, tugging me across the wide road, near the metal railings of a small patch of grass and flowers. “No, but they are...take your own advice Keira.” I sighed, my breathing a rattle but nodded, letting him pull me along, his teeth gritted, I swear I could hear the pressure over the shouts and panic, as a mass of men tore people from their homes.

I kept my head down, feeling angry tears threatening to burst.

For something like this to happen so quickly, so swiftly.
Human’s truly are the worst animals alive.

“How long will it take to get to the home?”

“About half an hour if we keep out of trouble.”

“Wonderful.”