Who: Talia al Ghul, NPC Bane, open to Victor Von Doom What: Talia recuperates in Santa Prisca, and takes the opportunity to recruit her former lover to her cause. She is also expecting a guest, with whom an alliance could be particularly helpful. Where: Island nation of Santa Prisca, in the Caribbean When: Saturday, January 16th Rating: PG/PG-13
She preferred this to the snow and ice of Gotham. The beach stretched before her at her feet, the sands pristine and white. The water was a crystalline blue, shimmering and dead, unpolluted by fungi or fish. This cove was preserved, protected, despite the squalor and poverty of the village it supported. On the other side of the island, tourists vacationed drunkenly, relieving their good old college days in Tijuana and Cabo on the balconies of multi-billion dollar estates, gorging themselves on and vomiting up local fare, engineered for vapid tourist palates and whatever intoxicants could be found-- of which there were a great many.
But this village, this place, was none of those things. It was perfectly still, perfectly tranquil, and the perfect place to convalesce and recover from her wounds. This place, and the people in it, were under the protection of the former prisoner of the infamous Pena Duro prison, a man whose intellect matched- if it did not surpass- his mighty strength, a man whose prowess and reputation were known the world over, the man who had broken the Bat.
Bane.
Talia had no fear of this man, however. And she knew, just as she knew that Bruce would see to her stitches, that Bane would protect her while she recovered. He loved her, and she loved him-- and though their relationship had never run entirely smooth, she knew that she could count on him to give her sanctuary while she was injured, if not far more. In truth, she had rather missed him. After his falling out with her father, there was little she could do to avoid being caught in the middle, and Bane himself had returned to Santa Prisca to defend it against the drug lords who ran the island-- but by the looks of the small nation, he had not fared as well against the narcos and corporations as he would against assassins, men in masks and capes, and sociopathic killers.
She, however, was very good at just such matters. And she was glad to offer an alliance.
Currently, she lay out on the beach with her eyes closed. She wore a navy blue string bikini, an airy sarong tied high on her hip, the mock skirt falling open down one leg. A shadow crossed the sun and Talia opened her eyes languidly. A child stood above her with a pink and purple hibiscus, with the smallest, subservient smile. Talia pushed herself to sit up, ignoring the dull pain in her side and back to accept the flower which she twined in her hair, and kissed the little urchin's hands in thanks. Giggling and blushing, the child turned and ran back to rejoin his friends, crossing the path of a very large man, scarred from face to feet. The child ran past him, beckoning him down to whisper something in his ear all the while staring at Talia, then scampered off as Bane chuckled and shooed him along.
Talia remained seated, and tilted her head far back to look up, up up at her lover when he approached.
"The salt water will not help your injuries." He chided, gentle for a man of his size and reputation. But Bane had always been a paradox of himself, his strength juxtaposing his intelligence, his ferocity at odds with his compassion.
"I do not fear it. There are worse things." She replied, holding her hand up for him to take, and she tugged lightly on his hand to bring him down into the sand alongside her, so that she could rest with her shoulder against his side. "What did the boy say?"
Bane chuckled and looped one of his great arms over her shoulders. "I am afraid he is lost now. He said that you are the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Not many here have been in the presence of such a fine and cultured woman, who does not flee from them or balk at their... situation." He said, though his voice turned thoughtful, his jagged expression pensive.
"Their situation is mine as well. They are the people to whom the world truly belongs. They have been crushed and ground down by those who think only of themselves, who have allowed the world to become polluted and corrupt. This is a struggle we all share in, riches or no." But that wasn't the only reason she could relate to the peasants of this village, "Like them as well, I have been cast out and pushed aside, left for dead. Betrayed by my own sister. Like them, my home has been taken from me by one with no claims to it, and now I must fight not only for the survival of myself and my child but of the legacy of the family that was entrusted to me alone. I do not speak lightly when I say I understand their plight, and am moved by it."
Silence stretched between them for a long while before Bane spoke again, "I assume then that you plan to war with Nyssa?"
"She has no claim to what she had stolen. My father searched for heirs, as you well know being one of his favored students." She added, but there was no need to dwell on the painful past, "He found several but for one reason or another, such things did not come to fruition. During all that time, I was by his side, not Nyssa. He trained me himself, he taught me our mission, showed me how to create it. He considered naming me as his heir," A momentary madness, but still... it had been an honor she would not forget, "Never once did he speak of Nyssa with fondness nor even respect. Nyssa was nothing to him, the result of an evening's pleasure, nothing more. She presumes much to take the League from me, and I will reclaim what is mine." Talia spoke with fervor, a snarl rising in her voice but she calmed herself. There would be time for such things later. Now, patience was required. Patience which Nyssa did not have. Talia would prove herself superior in every way, she had no doubt. And Nyssa Raatko's first lesson would be this: that the Daughter of the Demon did not enter into wars that she did not intend to win.
Calmed again, Talia turned her head to look up at her lover again, meeting his eyes, "I know there are things here that required your attention, my love, but you were close to my father once. He once called you his heir, loved you more than his own son. If you would join with me, help to depose my half-sister, there are advantages I could offer you in your own battles."
Bane withdrew his arm from Talia to eye her with careful consideration. She was a beautiful and powerful ally-- but she was just as deadly an enemy as well. "What do you propose?"
"With the full force of the League at my beck and call, you would have my word to help rid Santa Prisca of the fungus that infests it. Shiva, Bronze Tiger, Elektra, my greatest assassins I could send to you to eliminate the drug trade here once and for all."
He didn't answer right away, but considered her offer. For her part, Talia did not ask again, but let him have his time to weigh his options, content instead to simply sit within the crook of his arm, watching the waves crash on the beach.
Yes, patience was needed here. Patience would be what won the day.
Patience, and as many powerful allies as she could find.