DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bane, Talia, or any other character in the comics/Nolanverse.

(beginning is a bit cliche-ish, but don't be discouraged)

Graphics - on my tumblr

Chapter 1 - A Blessing and a Curse

My feet dragged against the gravel as I walked underneath the warm sunset. I was tired. I wondered what would happen if I stopped walking. Would the man who I was being escorted by beat me with the stick he held in his hand? I shuddered thinking about it. I was heading up the path to an unknown place. It would become my new home. I was being brought to Tibet to live, though I have no idea why. I was scared and didn't know what to expect. This place was definitely not another orphanage. It was large and looked like a prison. Is that what they looked like here? The man leading me was Asian and looked to be in his late thirties. I don't know if he spoke a word of English. When he picked me up from the airport, all he held was a sign that said, Sienna Rain Fischer. I went with him, obviously. I hoped I wasn't being lead to a sweatshop or being sold for labour.

No, that can't be it, I thought. At least, I hoped not.

How fortunate for me that both my parents were gone now. My dad first, he was killed when I was 9, while we were still living in Germany. A robbery gone wrong... After that, my mom took me to live in America. Up until recently, I was living with my mom in Boston. We were happy. A few months ago she got into an accident on her way home from work one night...went over a bridge. I tried not to think about it too much. Though I often spent my time daydreaming of us all being together.

My mom, Celine, had warm chocolate skin, long curls and beautiful brown eyes. She was born in the Caribbean, but left while she was still young. She was the exact opposite of my father, Erik, who had ivory skin, light hair and icy blue eyes. He said it was the Swede in him. He was very tall, around 6'4... and also strict, but when he smiled, as only so few people could make him do, my mother being one of them, his whole face lit up. Wie die sonne, My mom would call him. Like the sun. Then, he would laugh and say I was the rain because I use to cry all the time when I was a baby...something I have no recollection of. In fact my middle name was Rain, but my mother only named me that because I was born in April during a thunderstorm that almost flooded all of Munich.

I sighed. I guess in a way I looked more like my dad, than my mom. My hair was closer to his colour, more of a golden brown though. I got my waves from my mother. My eyes were closer to his as well, though mine were blue with gold specks, to his pure ice blue. My skin was a warm light brown. Right in-between them both. My parents met while my mom was working in Germany. She had just started teaching English there. She was 28. He was 27. They didn't date for too long before they got married. I was born in the next year.

I lost my train of thought when I realized how close I now was to the entrance. The light in the sky had finally gone away. I stopped. Just a few more metres to go. The man stood at the top of the steps waiting, as he had always been far ahead of me. My belongings stood waiting there too, for they had somehow made it here before me.

The man eyed me and I began walking. It 's not like I had a choice. I was 14. I had nowhere else to go...no choice but to live with this man...go to this place.

I had no other family. It wasn't my fault. It was how my parents chose to live.

I had no one else on my file.

It only read, FATHER - DECEASED. MOTHER - DECEASED.

Come to think of it, it was always just the three of us. In Germany, I never visited any grandparents, any aunts, uncles or even cousins, like the other kids had. My father was an only child who lost both his parents to cancer. One after the other.

My mom was an only child too, was raised by a single mother in Barbados, whom she barely mentioned when I was younger.

I didn't learn more about her until after my dad had died. She was gone as well.

So that meant straight to the orphanage for me. I hadn't even been there for more than 4 months before they informed me I was being "taken in". They didn't even call it an adoption. I don't even know if that was what it was, because for some reason, I was never introduced to him beforehand...before they told me to pack my things and threw me on a flight. I had seen enough TV shows and movies to know that wasn't how it worked.

I knew nothing of the man except his name, Ducard. It was probably his last name, though. I only knew his voice. I had heard it once when he came to visit the orphanage about three months back. I saw nothing, but the shadow of a man against the wall.
"I knew the father...I will be willing to take in the child." I didn't know who he was. I hadn't heard of him before.

I was now being lead through dark, narrow hallway with lamps that lined it on each side. The man I was with, told me to wait outside. After a few moments, he came back.

"You may enter."

A man was standing with his back facing me and staring out the window into the night. Dark figures, moved swiftly as he watched on. I couldn't make them out. He was tall and was wearing a brown suit, a few shades darker than the walls. In the room stood a bookcase and a desk covered with a few stacks of paper, a pen holder and a telephone. There was a large filing cabinet in a corner by the window. It looked like an office.

He turned and I finally saw his face. "Good evening, Sienna." He smiled at me, and I felt a bit at ease hearing the familiar voice. Even if I didn't know the man.

He stepped away from the window and took a step forward with his hands behind his back. "Have a seat." He said, gesturing towards a chair in front of his desk. "How was your flight?"

"It was fine", I replied, as I slowly made a move to sit. I was waiting for the part where he would tell me what exactly I was doing here.

"Do you know who I am?"

I shook my head. "No, sir," as I looked up at him from my seat.

"My name is Henri Ducard. I am a mentor here."

Was that suppose to mean anything to me? I didn't say anything.

"And do you know what we do here?"

I shook my head.

"We are a secret society called The League of Shadows. We protect against the corruption and injustice in the world."

OK...I thought. Why on earth would a secret society want me? There was no way someone like me could be capable of being part of any League...especially one that required physical effort. I mean...I could sort of run fast, but that was about it.

"Why do you want me?"

"Your mother and father are both gone and you have no family-no place to call home. You can belong here. At this young age, you can be raised into a fine warrior like..." He stopped. "Like many other members here have been."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what TO say. I just held on tightly to the arms of the chair. I was pretty sure me joining this thing, wasn't a suggestion.

"There's someone I would like you to meet."

I turned behind me.

A young woman with dark brown hair and soulful blue-grey eyes walked into the room. Her hair was tied neatly in a a bun and she wore a navy blue robe with tribal designs a that stopped by her hips, with grey pants underneath. She didn't look that much older than me - probably in her twenties. I assumed she was Ducard's daughter. She stood straight with her hands folded in front of her. She didn't smile, just watched me intently.

"This is Talia. A member of the League. Like you, she has also lost both her parents."

The woman, Talia, looked over at Ducard, with a slight gleam in her eyes. She then quickly turned back to me again, raising her chin. "That's right."

"Talia is going to mentor you while you are staying with us."

"Hello, Sienna." She smiled a small smile, that barely made it past her cheeks.

"Hi." I smiled. Not trying to show how truly excited I was. There was a woman here, so I had no need to worry. She would be take care of me.

She turned to Ducard and nodded.

Then, Talia opened the door and stuck her head out to say something to someone. A man swiftly came and stood in front of the door. Then, she turned to me. "Carlos will take your room. Your belongings will be waiting for you there."

I stood and slowly followed the man out of the room, but stopped beside the door. I could hear them speaking.

"Why her?" Talia asked.

"She reminds me of you. A flower with poison running through its veins."

"I'm not a flower. " She corrected. "Flowers can be crushed."

"Indeed you're not. " He agreed. "But we can never have too many members, especially those who are female. She could be useful one day."

What exactly did that mean, I thought.

"Come along, girl." The man noticed I wasn't behind him and had his hand placed on my arm.

Embarrassed I was caught, I turned away from the door and followed him. Most of the escorts I had weren't one for talking, so of course the walk was silent. We were in a hallway with numerous other doors side by side. Each door had a number. Some of them had a symbol beside the number. A black X. That probably meant they had been occupied. Oddly, most of the rooms didn't have them. That was good. I wouldn't have to worry about bumping into too many people as I went about this place. He stopped outside a door at the end of the hall, waiting for me to catch up.

So, this was my room, I guess. "Thank you." I told him.

He nodded and walked away.

I opened it and went inside. It wasn't too small, but it sure was empty. There was only a medium-sized bed, a small dresser beside it and a closet.

This room way grey and the floor was brown. Everything around here was either gray or brown. The bedding was white and the pillow as well. A mirror hung on the wall. I could live with that. My stuff was there too. My suitcase and duffel bag. I just sat on my bed and laid back. A few moments later there was a knock at the door. I sat up.

"Coming," I called out, as I got up and opened the door.

It was Talia. She stood in the doorway and didn't come inside.

"I thought you might be hungry. So I brought you this." She handed me in a see-through plastic container with a chicken sandwich inside and a bottle of water.

"For tonight, you can eat here. We usually eat in the dining hall and you'll be expected to as well. To find the lavatory, you just turn right, go down the hall past the dorms, stop and it's another right."

I accepted them and smiled. "Thanks."

She nodded. "You should get some sleep. You'll need it."

Then, I looked down at the floor.

I wanted to ask her something. I wanted to know how old she was...how old she was when she first came here...if she was the only woman...if she liked it here...if I would like it here...

I opened my mouth, but she had already turned to walk away. I shut the door and sat there on the bed, with the plastic in my hand. I was really hungry. Although the sandwich looked boring and disturbingly healthy, I couldn't wait to eat it. I just really needed to use the bathroom first because the last time I used one was on the flight. I put the sandwich and the bottle down and stood up. I opened the door, and peered out . No one was out there and Talia said the bathroom was just down the hall.

Down the hall to your right.

I turned and went down the hall, past the string of doors. When I reached the end I turned, and there it was. One male. One woman. After using the bathroom, I felt relieved. No one was around so I didn't feel too shy about checking out the place. I didn't go too far, they were mostly just other hallways. I would try more tomorrow.

On my way back, I must have took a wrong turn somewhere. I was heading for the room I thought was mine. The one at the far end...but the door was open. Confused...I stopped. There was a man crouching down in the room, with his back toward me. He had a nasty scar on his neck and some weird one on his back...something metal attached to the back of his head. I listened. A weird sound was coming from the room. Like air desperately forcing itself through small tubes...like a sick person in a hospital. He looked to be opening a vent, but stopped when he heard something. He turned to the side, noticing someone was watching him and that's when I saw the mask. It was covering most of his face, leaving only his eyes and the side of his head bare.

The sound was coming from him.

I stumbled back towards the wall, almost tripping over my feet. What was wrong with him? What was that thing he was wearing? The man, knowing he was correct about being watched, slowly rose from the ground. He rose like an animal that had just been awoken from a nap. Seemingly small, but as it stood, you could really see just how large it truly was. He turned and was now facing me, a strange look on his face. He couldn't have seen my face for more than a few seconds, because before he could say anything, I took off running down the hall.

A/N: Something I just started working on. An all new fic with a new OC. This will be different than all the others. Plus, I've never written Talia before or a pre-movie fic. I know some people don't like Talia/Bane, so note that this isn't necessarily a romance fic.

TBH I don't really like stories with younger OCs (she's 14 RN), but I just couldn't pass on this idea. Plus she'll be in her early twenties by the end of it.

The first part of this chapter is kind of plain, but it gets better, I think.

The story begins roughly around April 2003. Using The Dark Knight's release date as a starting point for the timeline.

The Dark Knight, 2008. So the end of Batman Begins takes place in the year 2007, meaning Ra's dies in 2007. The Dark Knight Rises is 8 years after the Dark Knight, so 2016. (the future - eek!)

Talia becomes Miranda Tate in 2011.

I honestly want to know if this even sounds REMOTELY interesting. Also let me know if my OCs name sounds like a soft drink...when I Google it, I get rain coats/boots. :|

Review. I'm curious to know.

EDITED: Added two extra parts after meeting Talia. They were originally going to be in CH2 but I wanted to give a little Bane tease. :P