After making my nightly patrol around Gotham City I sent Robin off to bed and I was wrapping up some things in the Bat Cave. I sensed someone in the room with me. I called out “who’s in here?” She came out of her hiding place and said “It’s just little old me." It was Talia al Ghul and I knew better than to argue with her.
I asked her what she was doing here. She got quickly down to business. She said she had heard of a planned attempt by some of her father’s henchmen to kill me in the next couple of months. She said “It will surprise you to hear that I still love you!” She was right about that. She went on about her step-sister torturing her horribly and forcing her to do some bad things. She said she felt bad because of the torture and the things she did after words. She broke down at this point and I reflexively embraced her and she cried on my shoulder for quite a while.
She said she wanted to save my life and hopefully feel some peace of mind. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Talia has a complex personality and I can’t really be sure about her. She seemed sincere, but that was no guaranty. I said I was sorry that her sister did that to her. She said her sister would kill her in a cruel way and resurrect her using a lazarus pit repeatedly. She said she had lost count but she thought she was burned to death a couple of times, had her heart cut out a few times and was disemboweled. I said “That’s awful, I’m so sorry.” She said that she couldn’t stand it psychologically and cracked and did her sister’s bidding.
She went into hiding after that and regained her self control. After hearing about the attempt on my life she came to see me. She said no one followed her and no one knows she is here. I thanked her for warning me and asked her if any of the League of Assassins knew I was Bruce Wayne. She said she hasn’t told anyone about that. I said I think we have to assume that they know somehow. I asked her if she would recognize these henchmen and she said she would. I proposed that she accompany me whenever I was with the public, as both Batman and Bruce Wayne and warn me if they show up. I suggested that she stay in Wayne manor. She agreed. I advised that we get some sleep and work on our plans tomorrow.
The next morning I pulled Damian Wayne aside and told him his mother was in the house. He was shaken a little but I thought he should be warned in advance. I sent out a secret message to the rest of that Bat family to convene at the Bat Cave after breakfast. I also warned Alfred about Talia being here. At breakfast Damian greeted her with “Mother, I’m so surprised to see you here!” They hugged and Talia said she was proud of him. We had a pleasant meal. I said that Damian and I had some business to tend to in the Bat Cave and that she could amuse herself until I got back. I asked Alfred to keep an eye on her.
On the way to the Bat Cave Damian said he was confused. I said I was confused too. I became Batman and Damian became Robin. We were greeted by Batgirl, Oracle, and Batwoman. Nightwing was still in Bludhaven. I told them what had happened and that Talia was here supposedly to prevent an assassination of me. I said we needed to work out the details but by the time Robin and Batgirl were back from school we would have a plan to present to them. They headed off to school and I took Oracle and Batwoman up to Wayne Manor to meet Talia for themselves.
Oracle asked me “How can you trust her?” I said “I can’t fully trust her, but we need to work with her on this while keeping an eye on her”. We arrived at the residence and found Talia talking to Alfred. Oracle, Batwoman, Talia and I met in the study. Oracle remembered Talia from before and was most distrustful. Talia told Oracle how sorry she was about her injury. Oracle softened a little. I opened the informal meeting by asking Talia to tell us all she knew about the threat to my life. She started out saying that her father Ra's al Ghul had the League of Assassins working for him.
She said she had been in hiding for a while and learned about the plan through the League’s wiki. She confirmed it over the phone with someone she knew and believes it is real. She reaffirmed that she wanted to prevent this from happening. I presented my idea about keeping Talia close by me in public to warn me if any of her father’s people show up.
Batwoman said it made sense but how would Talia’s presence be explained. Oracle said Talia would need a disguise, and she could be introduced as a distant cousin or friend. I said it would be easier to introduce her as a long-time friend and that with different hair and eye color she would be hard to recognize. She would also need a costume for accompanying Batman on patrol. Batwoman said she was willing to help Talia with clothes, wig and eye color changing.
Oracle said she would like to check this wiki out and check the internet for chatter about the planned attack. I said it sounded good. I thought Robin and Batgirl could team up with Nightwing and Batwoman. She left the mansion and returned shortly as Kate Kane. Kate and Talia went out to run errands. I gave Kate $10,000 in cash so there wouldn’t be a paper trail for these transactions. I trust Kate.
Oracle returned home to use her super-computer. Oracle found the wiki and said that it seemed to use some code. She worked on decoding it. Eventually she did and it seemed to confirm Talia’s story. Nightwing arrived and I updated him on the situation. He is very concerned. Kate and Talia returned after several hours. Now Talia has platinum hair, blue eyes and an assortment of formal and other style of clothes. Kate handed me $4,000 back. I thanked her and she whispered to me that Talia really seems to have a crush on me and is very cute.
They altered one of Batwoman’s costumes to fit Talia. She thought she should call herself Arabian Bat. I don’t know about the name yet. That night Batman and the Arabian Bat patrolled Gotham City. I introduced her to Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn and said she was a bat cousin of mine and would be in town for a while. Catwoman was jealous for sure.
We interrupted a burglary and Arabian Bat did quite well. She is an excellent fighter, and looks lovely in her costume. The next day Talia went to the office with me. I introduced her as Talia Smith and said she was a long-time friend who was helping me analyze Wayne Foundation’s business processes. She was given a desk near my secretary so she can see everyone who comes in.
The next week I hired Damian Wayne and Stephanie Brown as interns since they were on Spring break. When my secretary went on vacation I hired Kate Kane as a temporary employee. When Dick Grayson was available he would hang out in the area of my office on the alert. After the first couple of days things went smoothly.
One evening Bruce Wayne was to attend a formal ball. I took Talia as my date and she was a big hit. She looked stunning in her formal gown and was very charming to everyone as well as a great ballroom dancer. Before we left we had one final dance and I realized I was falling in love with her. After about four weeks about two in the afternoon, I was in my office with the door ajar. Talia was at her desk working on the process review. Kate was being my secretary. Damian and Stephanie were being interns. Dick was in the hall just outside the outer office looking busy.
Talia must have given the signal that the killers were here. Almost instantaneously Talia threw herself in front of the door and was hit in the chest and in the left shoulder. Kate, Stephanie, and Damian were attacking the shooters in a heartbeat. In that same heartbeat I caught Talia as she fell and carried her into my office because she was safer there. There was one more shot but I didn’t realize where it went. I laid Talia on the sofa. She had tears in her eyes and said it hurt. She had a lot of trouble breathing. I leaned over and kissed her and told her she would be okay.
I called 911, then I held her hand and tried to comfort her. I heard another gunshot. I was worried. Damian came in and told me that Ra’s al Ghul was dead in the outer office and that the gunmen were subdued. I told him that Talia was badly injured. She had already passed out but I asked Damian to hold her hand. Then I went out into the outer office and saw two men lying face down on the floor with their hands cuffed. Stephanie was watching them. I began to feel dizzy and Stephanie told me my arm was bleeding. She helped me get a tourniquet on my arm to slow the bleeding.
Just inside the door I saw Ra’s al Ghul lying in a pool of blood and Dick and Kate were talking to a police officer. Later on I learned that Dick heard the commotion and ran towards the office just as Ra’s al Ghul was arriving. He tackled him just inside the door, and Ra’s produced a sword and wounded Dick a few times. A police officer arrived and ordered Ra’s to drop the sword. The officer shot him dead when he refused to drop his weapon. More police arrived along with an ambulance. I asked them to take Talia first. I also asked Damian to go with her. I said Dick and I would take the next ambulance. I felt better knowing she was going to the hospital.
Some officers checked on the gunmen and found they were dead. Later I learned that they had swallowed poison. The penalty for failure in the Assassin’s League is death. Eventually the second ambulance arrived and Dick and I were on our way. Then, I fainted. When I awoke I was in the intensive care unit in a curtained off area. Dick told me that the other bed was for Talia when she got out of surgery. He said that Damian was in a waiting room. Dick told me that the bullet went through my left arm but didn’t do much damage and that he only needed a few stitches.
He said we would be released soon. I snuck out to see Damian. I told him that things would turn out well. I gave him a hug and he started to cry. I said it was okay to cry. I snuck back to intensive care. I had lost all track of time and had no idea how long it had been since the attack. Dick estimated that it was 12 to 18 hours since the attack.
Finally Talia was brought out of surgery. She was hooked up to tubes and monitors. She was on oxygen. I kissed her on the forehead. The doctor said one bullet damaged Talia’s left lung and wound up about an inch from her heart. The other bullet went into her left shoulder and did some damage to that joint. He said both bullets were removed and that she would recover.
I gave Damian the good news. He seemed relieved. Dick and I got our discharge papers. When Kate and Stephanie arrived I updated them and called Alfred to pick up Damian, Dick and myself and take us home. All three of us were exhausted. I slept for about twelve hours. I found Dick and Damian already up.
Dick said he needed to go back to Bludhaven. I thanked him for what he had done. Damian and I returned to the hospital and found Talia awake. She had trouble breathing and speaking. I kissed her and said she didn’t need to say anything. Stephanie and Kate were worn out so I said they could go home. I thanked them for their good works.
The doctors had installed a chest tube to keep Talia’s lung from collapsing. She got pneumonia anyhow. I had one of the first floor rooms at Wayne Manor turned into a hospital-like room for Talia. She recovered from pneumonia and was released after two weeks. I hired some nurses to tend her. Talia liked it better at Wayne Manor. Gradually she healed. First she started walking short distances, then around the grounds.
She exercised her left arm and shoulder and got stronger. One night I had a dream in which Ra’s al Ghul confronted me and said I was taking his daughter away from him. I said I loved Talia and would do anything I could for her. I reminded him that he was dead and should be moving on and not bothering people. Ra’s said he would not permit Talia being with me. Still in my dream, Talia came up and said she loved me and wanted to be by my side. We both concentrated hard to force Ra’s to leave. Two demons showed up and escorted Ra’s down to Hell. The next morning at breakfast I told Talia about the dream and she said she had exactly the same dream. I asked Talia to marry me and she said yes!
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