BATMAN || Automatonophobia || a fanfiction story

||CHAPTER EIGHT||

On her way through Gotham's streets Solane got caught in crossfire, the familiar sounds of gunshots and screaming rang through her ears. An explosion sent Solane off balance and she fell to the ground, the sound of glass shattering on the ground. The smell of fire quickly rose in her senses, sending her adrenaline through the roof.

Pop-pop-pop.

That's a Beretta 92 pistol. Solane furrowed her brows at the recognizable shots of the gun as she hid behind an ally as she shakily got back on her feet, Solane peered around the corner to further investigate the chaos. People ran off in one direction and the sound of car tires turning around squealed in the distance making Solane flinch at the noise.

Solane considered taking off for her own sake, but the sounds of some people caught in the debris made her mutter a curse. Sol is gonna kill me, Solane thought in frustration, knowing well her brother was going to talk her ear off about it if she had to be rushed to the hospital again, they couldn't take another bill like that, especially when Solane still doesn't have a job.

She took a deep breath steadying her thoughts, her eyes closed. Gathering her courage she made her way towards the chaos that suddenly became silent, the sounds of the GCPD sirens creeping ever so closer, she knew they wouldn't let her help so she had to be quick, the smoke acted as her cover.

Keeping her posture low, she swiftly trotted over to the ally beside the burning building. Solane heard voices of men mocking a few stragglers they had held prisoner, their pleas not getting across the men seeming to toy with them, Solane gritted her teeth at this heinous act. Knowing well this sort of thing in Gotham happened every single day struck a nerve, through the smoke she managed to see one of the men spray paint something on the brick wall, from what her vision could make out it was a crude shape of a coin consumed by flames.

Nightwalkers. Solane concluded bitterly, knowing she couldn't stand there any longer she would get shot, she swiftly made her way out of their view and pulled a black cloth she found and draped it over her mouth to try to last in the smoke.

She heard the cops storming around in the house, to Solanes relief they were spotting the left behind rather quickly. She crawled to the ally, eyeing the men to try to get a clear perspective on how to strike without getting shot, the first man she spotted had an unbalanced step and had a limp to it.

That's it, he's the straggler I have to go for first. Taking a deep breath, she went for it. She lunged from the darkness. The man's head snapped to her, she managed to get a short glimpse of his face: lined, aged, intimidating, shocked, afraid.

Solane struck at his weak leg, clenching her fist to brace for her knuckles to impact his thigh. With a hoarse yell he fell back, hitting his head on the brick wall, he twitched, moaning, on the ground. Move, Solane shouted to herself. She had to act fast or the bullets would be the end of her, however she couldn't help but feel powerful in the protection of the overcast and the smoke blanketing her body.

It was almost like this unsettling aura was her turf. They were on it, and she was the predator. Solane moved soundlessly back through the safety of the smoke and darkness as the men's eyes darted all around them, one of the men took a woman by the hair as a hostage, a meek attempt to save your own skin.

"Come out or she gets it!" the scarred man shouted aloud holding the barrel of his AR at the sobbing woman's head.

Solane narrowed her eyes in careful thought, she needed to get those people out of there, but how? Ones directly held at gunpoint and the others are guarded at gunpoint. Solane had to trust her gut with this, she slowly pulled out her knife from the hilt and made her way behind the man that held the woman.