Before…
AMNIOTIC FLUID DRAINED.
INCUBATOR WOMB UNLOCKED.
NINE MONTH TERM CYCLE COMPLETE.
INFANT WEIGHT SIX POUNDS TEN OUNCES.
"Come my little one."Talia carries up the infant to the sky admiring its existence. Cradling it her arms, unable to take her eyes off of the infant in her hands.
She has made the perfect child. A child genetically superior every other and it's hers. All these months pouring her time and resources have led to this and now it is up to her child to prove herself. Walking down the corridors to another room she moves towards a pool of water, with two nursemaid's following close behind her.
"Show me you have the strength,"Talia stops at the edge of the shallows and gently lowers the baby into the pool, her anticipation strong and her pride stronger.
"And the will power," The crying stops the baby is completely submerged in water.
"To do do what is necessary," and she lets go. This one has to be it, after so many failures and modifications and failures this one made it.
The infant kicks their limbs out swimming forward, "Let me see the steel in your eyes." Fascination slowly crawls into her features. Talia trails her eyes behind her infant.
One of the nursemaids follows the infant's movements worried about the child, but the elder nursemaid catches eye and shakes her head slowly a petrified look of fear on her face.
A look of resignation and fear comes over the young nursemaid but understands the warning and so stayed silent in her concerns for the infant's safety.
Satisfied with her daughter Talia raises up the baby from the water and holds her daughter, "Welcome to our world Darissa." She smiles at her daughter and cradles her close.
Talia takes the infant to a room set up for Darissa. Preparing to leave her to the nurse maids but she was met with her father in the corridor.
Blocking her path in one of the narrow walkway, body tense, taking heavy steps until reaching her on the other end of the corridor. Anger blazing in his eyes, his face flushed red, eyes narrowed like a snake, a sneer on his lips. He stands before her silent.
Talia grips her daughter tighter.
"Talia. I thought your little pet project would give me a grandson, an heir!"
Talia just stared stoically at Ra's before responding. "Father, I assure you she will not tarnish our lineage."
Ra's exhales deeply through his nostrils flaring at her words. "You can not guarantee that." He stares down at his daughter. What punishment should he give?
"She will not be my heir, and I will only claim her as an Al Ghul if she proves herself worthy."
Ra's decrees in that moment of his anger- his plan for a grandson Ruined!
Talia remained impassive but her tone became convicted in her response, "When she proves herself," correcting Ra's word. "I promise you she will be perfection."
With a flat voice of disbelief Ra's simply says, "We will see about that." and turns to leave.
"Until then keep her out of my sight."
"As you wish father" Talia injects the final words in that conversation.
She continues her way to her child's room, but brings the squirming child higher on her chest to make eye contact.
"Ignore him my child you will prove him wrong soon enough, and when you do you will exceed all his expectations." She touches her nose to the baby's nose. "I will make sure of that." She stops in front of a door and opens it to reveal Darissa's room.
4 Years Later
Her the last of her training for the day is with her mother.
Each are holding there wooden swords facing each other battling their mock fight, but the silence bothers her.
"Mama tell me another story about Alexander the Great." She swiped above the guard of her mother's sword and fails.
"Of course my daughter." They break apart and prepare to attack once once more.
"Once there was a horse called Bucephalus. A wild black stallion that was given to Alexander's Father, King Philip, as a gift that no one dared ride, and one day-"
"Who is my Father mama?"Darcie interrupts to ask a question.
A slightly irritated look passed Talia face at the interruption but she chose to answer her daughter's question anyway. "A man that lives very far away, now keep your sword up. What have I said about lowering your defenses?" Talia critiques.
Intrigued by the answer Darcie had stopped engaging in the sword fight all together, riddled with questions she had never thought to ask before. "How come you never tell me stories about him or show me pictures?"
Not wanting to anger her mother she raises her sword once more to engage in battle.
"Because I choose not to at this time my Darling." The wooden swords clash.
She can't stop wondering though. "Is he a king too?"
"I suppose in a way he is." She blocks the next attack from her mother, but she just needs to know. "Can I meet him?" She asks while barley blocking the next attack from her mother; the force of the attack causing her to stumble.
"When you earn the right to yes."
"How?"
She stops to face her mother fully. "By not losing your focus!"
Talia pulls her arms above her head in a wide arch coming down toward Darcie. Talia can't keep her daughter's attention on the fight but she must always invest everything in a fight,"There are no easy wins in life, Darissa. Everything worth having is hard fought."
Darcie narrowly dodges Thalia's kick and then blocks the next swing.
"Today is your birthday, my love, and when you best me in a duel on your special day, that is when you will be ready to meet your father." At Thalia's words Darcie eyes narrow into determination. Now she's invested in the fight she wants to know so she will beat Mother.
"Then and only then will I tell you his -"
A servant steps outside bows at the entrance, "Miss Talia as you requested, I have Otto Netz on a satellite link."
Talia stops her attack and stands to her full height she stops their fight and hands her weapon to her daughter. "Is it a secure line?"
"Yes." The servant steps aside for Talia and then follows behind her.
She steps into to the darkness with a single monitor light in the room.
Talia speaks first, "I grow weary of your excuses Netz. Make sure, the meta-bomb program stays on schedule."
"I endeavor to make your dreams a reality."
"As well you should. But any further disruptions and you will find yourself Expendable, understood?"
"You have my word there will be no further complications Talia."
"I'll have more than your word, Netz. I'll have your head."
"End Transmission." There is a short click and the screen goes dark.
Talia trails the corridor for her daughter, "So the wild stallion took off in a blur of speed and… Darissa?" Talia continues her story as she walks out of the room. "Where are you Darissa?"
Darcie had gotten bored waiting for her mother to finish talking with the stranger and decided to find out what was in that chest in front of the bed. She tugs at the lock before it pops open. Eager She she pushes the chest open and stairs at the dark mask like cape.
She hears her mother's voice call for her and she answered "Here mama."
Talia walks into her bedchamber and sees her daughter on the bed wearing a familiar dark cowl"Look I'm a bat!"
At the sight of her daughter wearing the cowl on her bed she laughs and comes up to your daughter"You are more than the bat, my love." Talia picks up Darcie from the bed.
"You are Darissa, you are the future."
Walking out of the room Talia places her daughter on the ground and leads her to circular corridor. The floor is a model of the earth with all its color and vastness.
Darcie is still in a very curious mood so she continues her questions,"Mama why is my name Darcie?"
"Your name Darissa comes from the Persian word Queen, and ruling this world is what you will do as the Al Ghul dynasty takes shape."
"A new age is dawning, and the people will see once again that giants walk among them, giants that are destined to carry out a divine mission."
"Together we will build an everlasting kingdom"
"After you have dominance of the world you will control it- posses it. And I will show you how."
"There is only one way to rule the world, my darling daughter, and that is to understand the many facts of art in life."
She takes on every beast of every land and takes their heads as trophies. She has taken on successfully nature's greatest warriors.
She thinks that's all she will need to defeat her mother, it's not. She is flat on her back wiped out by her mother's staff, "Happy Birthday Darissa, you loose."
"You will immerse yourself in each and every subject and I expect nothing but complete Mastery over all of them."
She learns how to read music, perfects every instrument she picks up. She learns from her new teachers everything they know in technique and form.
Her body is under her complete control. She has balance a delicate touch when holding an instrument an iron fist that breaks ten boards when fighting an enemy. She thought it was enough, taking up the same weapon as her mother she fought. She lost. Her cheek was pressed to ground, her nunchuck had flown out of her grip and landed on the other side of the room, Talia stood above her shadow looming over her "Happy Birthday my Daughter, you loose."
"You will come to understand that there is nothing your body and mind can't do when they work in tandem."
She needed to know more -everything.
This life or death filter in her mind forced her to fight until her opponent was dead.
Taking up art detail became everything. Understanding the important facts of life She learned about every Scientific branch that sparked interest from Astronomy to bio-engineering to computer science.
It also marks the first year she is sent out on assassinations. Her sniper skills are exceptionally great, her perfected skill.
She feels daring enough to get close and personal as she attempts to defeat her mother, for her efforts she ends up with a short blade at her throat and her mother at her back, "Happy Birthday Darissa, you loose."
The year of blood slowly started creeping up on her and she barely had her training done. She asked her mother to push up her time table, doubling her daily lessons and taking on more missions to have the field training and experience under her belt.
A few days ago Ra's asked to meet her and that was making her nervous.
From that day on all her missions where personally given to her by Ra's Al Ghoul.
At first he was cruel and unrelenting one impossible mission after another but as time went on she would return victorious.
After one particular mission her grandfather actually engaged her in a conversation it was surprising. He would give short anecdotes about Al Ghoul's history things that were not written on paper. He would show her great treasures in their possessions and how all of it would be hers to claim when she passed her final year of trials. Every day she was told she was meant for great things by Ra's by her mother her teachers. When the new year came her cape flared around her as she bowed to Ra's.
Bright green eyes glowed in the dim lighting of the fires. The drums beat thrummed around her again and again reverberating in her chest.
Back then the year would be her pride until she met her father and it became her deepest regret.
Now…..
"Mother." Darcie bows to her mother. While not outwardly expressing her emotions struggled to keep her face neutral as excitement bubbles to the surface of her regale calmness.
"Darissa," Her Mother acknowledged as she came forward to stand beside her.
Thalia stays silent for a few minutes simply looking at the multiple screens on the wall but a sharp look and Darissa knows its time. "Watch carefully my daughter. Tell me, can you find your father?" Talia places a hand on her shoulder,"Can you discern his features, his demeanor?" her mother asks.
"The way he carries himself, his attitude and actions are very telling."
Darissa just hums in concentration looking from monitor to monitor until stopping at one of a tall man with a charming smile talking to a woman.
She has his jaw and cheekbones his hair color and eye shape. "There that's him mother" she points at the screen with absolute certainty.
A pleased smile forms on Talia's face. "Yes my daughter now prepare to meet your father face to face."
"My manbats have subdued him. Make ready Darissa. We'll be arriving in the bowels of London shortly."
"Yes Mother" Darcie says absently still transfixed on the image of her father. That is the man that is responsible for her existence, the great mystery of her life. Finally she will know her father. She watches her father evade the man bats and escape before returning in his bat costume. She admires his valiant effort to escape capture, before looking away. No more stories no more screens, she wants to see him in person.
The manbats dragged her father to kneel before her mother.
"I've allowed you to evade your responsibilities, my beloved."
"She has been Trained not only by me, but the best masters of the league of assassins along with other special… teachers. But the child is growing beyond even my control" Patience escaped her by every word waiting and wanting desperately to reveal herself. All she needed was the signal.
"Child?"Surprise filled his hard features.
"She needs your guiding hand at this juncture to become the perfect heir to the Al Ghoul Empire."
"Soon I intend to hold the whole world hostage to a new kind of terror.. But in the meantime, I leave you to get get acquainted. Don't allow her to cramp your style, my detective." Talia walks away.
Darissa's black hair sweeps her elbows as she walks toward her father. She knows her mother expects her to act a certain way but she is not prepared to get closer to her father.
She pulls her Katana to his neck. No time to be scared after all he is right here "Father. I imagined you taller."
AN: This will be following the comics from the pre-new 52 and the new 52
I'm focusing solely on Damian's character as a female everyone else is the same gender.
When it came to picking her name there were several that made the list but a lot of them ended up not fitting well as the meaning behind the names fell short of what Damian's name meant, eventually I settled on Darissa with the short version of her name being Darcie meaning "Queen" in Persian in tribute of character's birth location.
After the first arch the story will break off from cannon but follow the same story arcs with a few personal ones thrown in here and there.
Update: So I don't have beta reader and I try my best to go over the chapters and fix stuff so hearsfor round one!