Who: Talia Al Ghul What: Talia finds herself in LA When: Morning Where: Her home by the beach Status/Rating: Complete/PG
It wasn't until she saw the pits with her own eyes that Talia Al Ghul understood her purpose for being in Los Angeles. She didn't believe in coincidence and had assumed that her odd transportation through time and across countries had occurred for a reason, but she'd not known the reason until now. The familiar sulfuric smell, the steam rising from the ground, and most of all, those mixed feelings of reassurance and dread… it was just like home in Bhutan, and it was that reminder of home that told Talia everything she needed to know.
She'd never been an open supporter of her father's methods. They were violent, cruel, and not centered enough. The League of Assassins was an axe, where as her mind preferred to work like a scalpel. As far back as she could remember she'd been regaled with tales of the League's successes, and while they were missions firmly accomplished, as she'd grown Talia couldn't help but see the flaws in their actions. Why sack all of Rome? Why not just those unworthy of life? Why kill off an entire city filled with inventors and minds who would, in ways, shape the future? Why a plague that would cull hundreds of thousands of lives in London without discrimination? How many great minds had been lost in that massacre? She had a great appreciation for what the League did, understanding the value of society free from moral detractors and focused simply upon advancement, but she'd never grasped the point of wiping out an entire society. It seemed… clumsy.
R'as was anything but clumsy, Talia knew this. He went about the League's job in a very methodical way, but even as carefully as he worked, the death and destruction he left behind was not methodical, clean, or orderly. It was, frankly, a bitch to clean up.
She stooped down, running her hand through the greenish liquids that made up the Lazarus Pits. It was as smooth as normal water even if the color made it seem like it wouldn't be and it dripped down between her fingers back into the pits. Talia had no interest in becoming immortal. She enjoyed the feeling of having a mortal life to look forward to rather than dreading waking up day, after day, after day. Still, she saw the usefulness of the pits and had used them more than once herself. Wiping her hand off on her pants, she wondered if others in Los Angeles would see their use as she did.
She knew why she was here. Los Angeles needed help, obviously. But instead of burning it like Rome or Chicago, perhaps she could first try and fix it from the inside. That seemed so much cleaner. Easier. Was it possible cleanse a city through healing? Talia honestly didn't know, but she didn't see the harm in trying this way before she went about lighting the match.