I guess I should have gotten this out of the way in the first chapter, but oh well, here goes:
Thar be TDKR spoilers ahead! Really though, if you haven't seen the movie yet, and your reading fanfiction, you're just asking to run into spoilers, so stop it, and just go watch the damn movie.
Eight years later
It was nearly midnight, down an empty, grungy alley, and in a bad part of town. Most people would agree this was a stupid place to meet someone. However, the common rapists and thugs of Gotham would be lucky to steer clear of this alley tonight, because of just who Nyssa was waiting to meet. Still, until her escort arrived, she nervously fingered the pocket knife stashed in her coat.
It was a small thing. City ordinance forbade blades any longer than four inches, unless you carried a permit. But Nyssa's blade didn't need to be long. It just needed to be sharp. Sharp enough to slice the skin, and deliver the poison coating the blade into the bloodstream of a would-be attacker. For all the things Nyssa couldn't do right while she'd trained under her adopted family, she had still learned how to effectively use poisons at least.
Nyssa shivered as a chilly breeze swept through the dark alley. Pursing her thin lips, she pulled the hood of her coat over her short dark hair, and sniffed, rubbing her elongated, aquiline nose, attempting to return heat to it. No, she had never turned out to be the skilled assassin her trainers tried to make her. Though a part of her had wanted to succeed, to make Talia and Ra's proud, and prove to them she was grateful that they took her in. However her mind would not absorb the training and her body was slow and clumsy.
Sure some of the training stuck. And were she to be jumped tonight in this place, she could at least put up a fight to defend herself, but she would never be in the same level as even the roughest footman of the League. But none of that mattered anymore. Ra's was gone, Talia and Bane lead the League of Shadows, and everything was different now.
Nyssa looked down to check her watch. As she did a shadow detached itself from the landing of a fire escape, and as smooth and quick as a cat, landed behind her with a quiet thud. Her hand dove back into her pocket, grabbing the knife, and flipping the blade out. But it was too late. Before the blade could even be pointed in the direction of the threat, the muzzle of a gun was resting on her shoulder.
"Neglecting your training?"
The quiet voice was steady and almost emotionless, with only the smallest tinge of humor, which most people would not have caught. It was also familiar. Nyssa let out the breath she had been holding, and turned to face Barsad, her guide.
"What training?" she sighed in annoyance, her smile ruining the effect. Since the moment she'd gained her independence she had not done anything to sharpen the few skills she'd managed to acquire in her youth, besides the occasional yoga class, or the meditation she did in the quiet of her own home from time to time. Talia had taken Ra's al Ghul's death hard, and in her own way Nyssa had grieved for him as well. But he had never been as close with her, so when Talia and Bane had returned to the League, and asked Nyssa what she wished to do, she decided it was time to leave. She asked to move to America, to get a formal education. And none of these plans encompassed stealth, or speed exercises.
The mercenary grunted and meandered off deeper into the alley. Nyssa followed, glad she was no longer alone in the decrepit place. They stopped only a short distance down, at a manhole. Barsad knelt down behind an overturned trash can and brought forth a crowbar, then used it to pry open the sewer cover.
"Down we go." He nodded to the dark opening, waiting for Nyssa to go first.
Though she had to admit going into the sewers was not at the fore of her desires tonight, she had known that wherever Bane had set up his base of operations would be somewhere out of the way. Without complaint, Nyssa lowered herself into the hole, toe reaching for the rung of a ladder, and finding it, began to descend. She reached the bottom quickly, and to her relief stepped off onto concrete, and not into sludge like she had worried. When Barsad stood beside her, he took her by the upper arm to help lead her in the blackness, and they made their way into the bowels of the city.
Eventually they reached a stretch of tunnels that were dimly lit, and Barsad released her arm. The faint sound of rushing water reached her ears. It was soon after this that they came across the first sign of the League's presence. A small group of patrolling mercenaries, clothed in military fatigues, and armed with automatic weapons. They nodded absently at Barsad, ignoring her completely, and continued in the direction the pair had come. In passing interest Nyssa noticed that only three of the five men had the rough look of a trained and seasoned assassin that the initiated had. The other two were really just boys. Perhaps seventeen or eighteen, and had the scruffy look of street punks.
"Two of those men were not of the League." Nyssa stated, her brown eyes questioning Barsad.
"Gotham's corrupt economy provides us with an almost unlimited supply of expendable soldiers." He replied simply.
Nyssa nodded grimly. She had only been in Gotham for five years, but she understood that life in the great city was as difficult as ever for its citizens. Sure, the Dent Act had all but cleared the streets of the mob, however, there were still hundreds of desperate men and women on the streets, and when the mob wasn't around to offer work, they would find it in other ways.
Soon the sound of rushing water grew louder, and the two turned a corner to find the entrance to a vast underground system. Ramps, stairs, and ladders lined the sides of the huge space, connecting multiple levels, and various tunnels leading into other unknown parts of the undercity. Two large streams of runoff water raced from huge pipes, falling into an underground river, and flowing out of sight.
On one of the levels Nyssa noticed a great deal of activity. More scruffy homeless looking men and teens appeared to be excavating the site, jackhammers sounded, and workers carried buckets of earth and gravel away to be disposed of. Grim-faced mercenaries watched over the work, large guns in hand.
Two such men stood at the entrance Barsad and Nyssa walked through, and fell in line behind them as they passed, two other men filling their now vacant position. Nyssa looked back at their escort curiously, noticing one was clearly another Gothamite hire-on. This man was different then the teenagers they had passed in the tunnels though. He looked a little more ragged, with dirty stubble shadowing his face, a receding hairline, and dark, greasy hair. However, he also looked more dangerous. His eyes flashed to her as she glanced at him, they looked slightly vacant, and haunted, like the eyes of a man that did not live fully in his right mind. One corner of his mouth turned up in a chilling smirk, and Nyssa was quick to face forward again, moving closer to Barsad as they walked.
Finally they reached a narrow catwalk that crossed between the twin streams of falling water, leading to a recessed platform. The space was like a cave that had been refurbished into living quarters complete with bookshelves, desks, and cots. A few other men occupied the space, cleaning and repairing weapons, or mixing powders, but they ignored Nyssa, and she barely noticed them. The two people she had come to meet with had her full attention.
Striding forward quickly, Nyssa left Barsad and her two other escorts behind and walked across the make-shift command center to embrace a woman that stood there in a dark hooded sweater, and simple jeans. Talia hugged her back tightly. For five years Nyssa had been living in Gotham to be closer to her adopted sister, who had taken up a life and alias here some time before that, however for all they actually got to see each other, they might have still lived in separate parts of the world. Talia had created the identity of Miranda Tate, a wealthy philanthropist, while residing in Gotham. Just another part of her and Banes intricate plan to finally fulfill her father's work. However the effort of maintaining that disguise kept Talia very busy.
Finally pulling away from the hug, Nyssa looked over Talia's shoulder at the massive form standing just behind her, clad in a thick, bullet-proof vest, militant clothing, and heavy boots. However it was the mask that got the attention of all who looked upon Bane. A huge, metal and rubber contraption that covered half of the man's face, and looked like the muzzle of some hellish beast. A mask that dragged painful memories to the front of Nyssa's mind.
The room was hazy, and dark with predawn. The smell of smoke assaulted her nose, and filled her lungs, and the sound of villagers screaming outside terrified the seven-year-old girl huddled alone in the corner. Her father and brother lay near the doorway. They weren't moving. Nyssa wanted to go to them, to hug her father and have him tell her it was all going to be ok, but she was too afraid. The men were still in the house; she could hear them in the other room of the tiny hut, only a thin, thread-bare blanket covered the doorway, and she could also still hear her mother in there with them, sobbing quietly.
A sudden gunshot sounded from the room like thunder, causing Nyssa to flinch violently, and the sounds of her mother crying ceased. The men soon emerged from behind the door covering, moving quickly to the exit. However one happened to look around, and saw her. Nudging the others they turned, and another gun was produced. Nyssa could only stare at them, wide-eyed, like a small animal caught in a bright light. It was then Nyssa saw the shadows of the room shift, though the men did not. Still quaking in terror the girl watched as two wraiths clothed in darkness moved behind the men, and with quick efficiency killed two of them, the third turned to the doorway to run as soon as he saw his companions hit the ground.
The man never made it however, because the exit of the hut was blocked by a massive figure. He ran into the beast in the doorway, and fell to the ground, almost comically, before the masked man brought one giant foot down on the soldier's neck with a grunt, and a snap. Nyssa stared up in terror at the new threat that stood over her. However, one of the figures in black stepped between them, cutting off her line of vision, and removed the mask covering a soft, feminine face. She was only a young woman, no older then her brother, who had been seventeen. Having a face to put to the dark figure, and finding it to be a human one, Nyssa finally broke, and a sob tore from her chest.
The young woman clothed in shadow made a soft shushing noise, and scooped the terrified child up, holding her close. Arms wrapped around a warm neck, and chin propped up on a firm, comforting shoulder, Nyssa cried.
Standing before him now, Nyssa looked up from the terrifying mask on Banes face, and into the expressive, gunmetal gray eyes she knew. It had taken a long time for the seven-year-old Nyssa to trust the man with a face of steel, but now, she trusted him with her life.
Unexpectedly Bane reached out and took her in a light, one armed hug. The act startled her, as even when she was a child, living with Talia and him, learning from them, Bane had never hugged her. It suddenly drove home to her the fact that this was it. After tonight she would never see them again. She would be leaving in a few days time, and they would be staying to finally bring Gotham down. And they would go down with it.
Nyssa pushed back the emotion that rose in her chest as the short embrace broke, determined not to disappoint her surrogate family with tears now. Instead she turned the corners of her lips up in a small smile.
"I missed you teacher." She mustered in a voice she was happy didn't quaver. Teacher was what she had called Bane ever since he had taken it upon himself to instruct her to read and write, just as he had for Talia.
"Enjoying the American life-style I see." His voice came out clear despite the contraption covering his mouth, and was accompanied with a mechanical hiss, the slight crinkling of the corners of his eyes the only indication of a smile.
Nyssa grimaced sheepishly, knowing full well Bane referred to the extra padding she had put on, especially around her hips.
"My interests these days have gone more towards the intellectual, you have no one to blame but yourself." She quipped quietly at him.
"We are both just glad you are well Nyssa." Talia interjected. She sounded tired, but hid it well. Nyssa knew what the other woman risked just by meeting them down here. Miranda Tate's part in their plans was essential, and she needed to play her character perfectly. "But we have much to discuss tonight, and not much time to do it in."
Talia led her to a small dilapidated table covered in blueprints, and papers, and sat in one of the small rickety chairs, motioning for Nyssa to do the same, as Bane dismissed Barsad and the two other men who had led Nyssa in with a few quiet words before joining them.
"There is not much I need to tell you at this time," Talia started "We have secured the physicist, so Banes original plan is still in motion. Soon I will have access to the reactor, once I do, you will have a small window of time in order to leave Gotham in."
Talia paused to look carefully at Nyssa, then continued, "Unless you decide to stay with us."
Nyssa stared stonily at her hands, carefully folded in her lap before speaking.
"I will go." She answered simply, and this time her voice did falter.
"There is nothing for you do here in any case." Bane stated frankly. "It will be better for you to be out of the way."
Nyssa blanched inwardly at the blunt truth laid before her. Even if she had wanted to stay the last few months her family would be on this planet, and die with them, she would be useless.
"Also," Talia cut through Nyssa's thoughts, "there is the matter of the League itself."
Nyssa looked back up at the older woman, fearing she knew what was coming next.
"The League of Shadows will live on." She continued. "Bane and I have chosen Ubu to take over after us, though we wish there was a better warrior to take Ra's al Ghul's place, Ubu will at least lead well. However, we would like to see you rejoin the League."
Talia held up a hand as Nyssa opened her mouth to protest.
"Even as an uninitiated, you will be useful to the League. You know our father's ideals as well as I do, and would be adept at teaching them. You could help Ubu lead, and," Talia studied her adopted sister's eyes carefully, "Ubu would make an acceptable mate for you as well."
Nyssa was careful to not blurt out her refusal immediately. She went back to studying her lap carefully before answering.
"I wish to continue my education here in the United States. I'm very close to being finished, and," she struggled to word her next sentence carefully, "I feel there will be nothing left for me with the League without you."
Nyssa bit down on her tongue, fearing that if she didn't, all the other reasons she never wanted to return to the League would spill out. The fact that she did not want to spend the rest of her life planning the ruination of empires, that she could never bring herself to even think of marrying Ubu, and most of all, that she secretly hated the League, and all it's 'ideals' for ripping away from her the only family she had left.
"I expected you would refuse." Talia sighed. "Very well. Do you know where you plan to go then Nyssa?"
The question was almost asked as a challenge, as if the real matter was if Nyssa knew what she would be doing after this. Which besides the finishing of her education, she didn't. If Nyssa could choose she would spend the rest of her life learning really. There was always so much more to know in the world.
"I'll be moving back to Seattle to finish my education," she answered confidently. This much, at least, was already planned. She had loved Seattle during the two years she lived there, right after she moved to the States. When Talia had finally come to Gotham, Nyssa immediately joined her, but she hated the corrupt, rotting city almost immediately.
Talia seemed satisfied enough with the answer, though still visibly annoyed that Nyssa planned to stay in America. She reached across the table and pulled a small messenger bag towards herself. From it she received a black leather check book, and handed it to Nyssa.
"I've set up a bank account for you to ensure you are provided for. You should also know that I have left provision with Ubu that should you desire to remain in the US, you will always be kept loosely under the watchful eye of the League. And do remember, that if ever you change your mind, you will always be welcome with them."
Nyssa took the check book numbly, aware that their time together was coming to a close, and not sure how to feel about being under the constant supervision of the League. She opened the small black object to find a fresh stack of checks, and a debit card, all with her name on them.
Bane's mechanical voice brought her attention away from the items "When you get home tonight, begin packing. Talia will call you the day before the city is taken. There will be a private jet ready for you when the time has come."
With that he and Talia stood as one, and Nyssa reluctantly followed suit.
"Barsad will take you home." Bane said quietly.
Nyssa nodded slowly, and embraced her family one last time before turning to find Barsad already back, and waiting to lead her out.
AN: Joker's back in the next chapter. Until then, some feedback on how I did with Nyssa would be greatly appreciated. I tried to introduce her thoroughly enough in this chapter without making this a laundry list, but I feel like I may have droned on some.
Any comments with constructive criticism on the character, or anything I should fix/clarify about her will be met with internet thank you cookies. Though I didn't go through her entire history as I'm trying not to write a powerful sedative here, I shall share more of her history in later chapters. ;)