Author's Note:

This chapter has been updated in my attempts to correct errors and make the story more cohesive. The rest of this author's note is the original text. Thanks to all of you for reading!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! All of the reviews I have been getting have just made my day, and have made me work extra hard so that I can get another chapter out to all of you. I hope that you will be kind enough to send me some encouraging words, or your thoughts/hopes for future chapters. I welcome PM's just as much as reviews. I also want to thank the Guest reviewer that sent me the incredibly kind words. Your words helped push me to get this out tonight! Enjoy!

*This is a rather emotional chapter and I feel like I really have to warn everyone that it does have a moderately graphic non-consent scene near the end. If you can't hang with that, just skip the italic text down there.

Thanks again!

- I do not own any of the Nolan characters used in this story; I only own my original characters and ideas. I am not making any money from this story.

Chapter Six – Feel Again

It's been a long time coming since I've seen your face, I've been everywhere and back trying to replace, Everything that I broke till my feet went numb, Praying like a fool who just shot a gun
Heart still beating but it's not working, It's like a hundred thousand voices that just can't sing
I reached out trying to love but I feel nothing, Oh my heart is numb

- One Republic

Tiana didn't understand for a moment when Bane's words slipped into her ears, but her eyes widened minutely when the meaning became clear to her. She had been positive that he had never seen her… Though he had looked at her many times when he first arrived, his eyes had not seen what was really before him at that time. And after he had gotten his mask, and regained control of his mind, she had always stayed to the darkness, becoming one with the shadows in a way that no one else in the League had ever dreamed of. The shadows did not merely belong to her, they were her.

She considered a million answers to his words, from blatant lies, to the deepest truths, but when she did answer him, the word sighed from her lips seemingly unbidden. "Yes…" She suddenly found that she could no longer sit beside him, and jumped to her feet. In three long strides she was on the far side of the cell, with her back to the man that had unknowingly been the center of her young life, all those years ago. The man that she had cared for and protected, even when the cost to her had been great. The man that she continued to care for and protect, knowing that this time the cost would most likely be more than she could pay.

She could hear his ragged breathing, his attempts to fight back the grief that was tearing him apart. His pain bit into her soul like the icy winds of her childhood home would bite through even the warmest of clothing. She wrapped her arms tightly around her own body, the mere memory of that bitter wind chilling her. Tiana simply stood holding herself together, fighting the overwhelming urge to go back to Bane, to try to hold him together with her strong arms. She knew that the pain he was now feeling was not one that she could give him relief for. And so she just stood there listening to his breathing slowly begin to normalize and after awhile it seemed that he must have drifted back to sleep. She remained there for what felt like eternity to be sure that he truly was sleeping; and when she felt certain, she turned back to him.

When her eyes fell on his face her breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened in surprise, yet again. His eyes stared up at her, looking at her as if she had suddenly become a very interesting and dangerous animal. His eyes were still clouded with his despair, but she felt that he was no longer seeing her at all. Instead it seemed as though he saw some long extinct lion… interesting and exciting to see, but not just a little freighting. His voice was still hoarse when he spoke the one word question, "Why"

Tiana assumed that he must be asking why Talia had died. She hated that she would have to be the one tell him, but knew that he deserved to hear what had happened to his love. She sighed and took an uncomfortable step back towards the bed. She could barely manage to whisper, "She died in service of your vision. She died because the Bat wouldn't let her decimate the city. I understand that the truck she was driving crashed, that's what…" She trailed off when she saw Bane wearily lift a hand to halt the words that had begun tumbling from her mouth.

He closed his eyes for a moment, nodded to himself and took a pained swallow, choking back the pain and rage that threatened to explode from him. He opened his troubled blue eyes and looked back at her from across the darkened cell. His voice was slightly stronger this time, "No Little One, why were you there?"

Tiana looked at him with a small frown falling on her face. She was confused by his question. What did it matter why she was at the League? That was before, and this was now. She knew of Bane's love for Talia, his deep devotion to the child he had saved… and the woman that she had become. Why should he care about the little girl that had only sat at his bedside? The worst part of that question was that she could not answer it. She would not talk about that life; she simply refused to let that world claim her again. So instead of replying, she turned away from him and walked to the window, looking out at the ghost of a moon floating high above the asylum.

The softness that was in Bane's voice rather surprised her, and she couldn't help but look back at him when he spoke, "Little One?" While his voice was soft and kind, there was a hint of his commanding nature still in it. He expected an answer and she knew he would not just let the question drift away if she continued to ignore him. She was aware that in the state he was currently in he could easily fall into his rage, letting his sorrow drift away for a time. She absently brushed her hand against her bruised and pained neck. She really didn't feel like spending the night with a raging Bane. Her body didn't need any more trouble, if she continued to allow herself to get hurt her body would take over. That would end badly for everyone.

Sighing, she turned back to the window and shrugged. Her warm voice was quiet and gravelly from the damage to her throat, "Because you needed someone."

Bane internally winced at the sound of her voice. It was usually was so warm and smooth, like honey poured into hot tea, but now it sounded as if she spoke with broken glass in her throat. He had lost control and hurt the only person that seemed to care about him. He had not lost control in so many years; in fact he couldn't remember ever losing his restraint since he had been wearing the mask. Everything he had done in the last 12 years, every action, had been planned, had been with reason and intent. And now he had lost the control he had fought so hard to maintain, and could not stand the disgust he felt for himself.

The realization that he knew this girl – no… woman – only made it worse. She had been willing to touch him while he had slept, but now she would hardly even look at him. He knew that he deserved to be treated this way, but he hated himself for making her fear him. As he looked again at her neck he wondered how it had not merely broken from the force he had exerted, the bruising was worse than before, and he felt an unfamiliar emotion wash over him… guilt. He didn't like the way this new emotion hit him on top of his already overwhelming grief and wished that it would turn into his familiar rage.

Bane didn't feel the same way that normal men did, he never had. He had born in hell, his mother had died when he had only been a small boy, and he had quickly learned that the only emotion he could show was anger. It was the only safe response; anything else could get you killed in that life. When he had felt love for his little Talia, it had ended with him sacrificing his life as payment for that feeling. Yes, he lived, but a part of him had also died in that pit. Only Talia had been able to bring out that part of him, and now she was gone. He knew that part of him was gone with her. The part of him that had been able to love, the part of him that would have been able to deal with the emotions that were racing through him at that moment, and it was gone. The irony did not escape him, but it did little to comfort him.

His eyes refocused on the woman that had already done so much for him. The woman that had apparently been the only one that had sat with him when he had first arrived at the League complex, not only that, she had been there when they had pulled him from the Pit. He didn't know how that was possible, but he knew it was true. He opened his mouth to ask how she could have been there when she was obviously so young, but he stopped when he saw her expression.

He could see that she was deep in thought, obviously reliving old hurts, and he couldn't bring himself to interrupt her with an unnecessary question. It could wait until later. He rose to a sitting position and was reminded of his very real physical pain. That pain had not simply left him when his reason for living had. He fought the urge to lie back down and wait for death to come and claim him, after all, Death had to be feeling cheated by his continued existence.

He took a deep breath and stood up, gently placing his large hand on the small shoulder of his cell mate. He was a little surprised when she didn't flinch, or try to pull away. Instead she turned her face to his and looked at him with her eyes filled with that same understanding that had so amazed him before. She still didn't judge him or pity him, and most amazingly, she didn't fear him. She just understood him.

Bane shook his head, feeling even more confused by the fact that the tiny woman was not afraid of him. It somehow made him feel even guiltier. She had never feared the monster that he was, and all he had done was hurt her. He suddenly felt unworthy of touching her, and pulled his hand from her shoulder. She held his gaze and slowly reached down to clasp his hand. Her broken voice was heart wrenching, "Do not sorrow over me Brother. You have done nothing wrong… Life is pain, but that does not mean that we always know what to do with the pain…"

Bane watched as her eyes clouded over, and he wondered what she could be thinking of that made her feel the pain that was so obvious. He had his suspicions, but he wouldn't dare to ask her about them. She wasn't ready for that… and he never would be. He watched as she swallowed, a slight shiver falling through her body. Her eyes suddenly shifted away from his, and he was stunned to see her look positively shy. She wouldn't look at him when she spoke, "Please lay with me… I think that we both could use the comfort…"

She dropped his hand and practically darted to the small cot. Laying down and moving so that she was firmly pressed against the wall, with her back to him. He wanted to refuse, knowing that in spite of what she said, his presence in her bed only distressed her sleeping mind. But as he looked down at her small form, he knew that he had no choice, he couldn't refuse this girl any more than he had been able to refuse Talia. He lay down, knowing that this night would not be easy for him.

Tiana stood before her father, his cold eyes looking at her as he so often did these days. He looked at her as he was waiting for something to happen, something to magically change in her that would please him. The only difference between this time and all the other times was that he looked as though he had finally found what he was looking for. The look on his face suddenly made her feel sick and fearful. Fear was an emotion that she had been taught must be conquered, but she still fought to accomplish that task. The thin smirk that played across her father's lips told her that he had also seen that small glimmer of terror in her eyes.

His eyes searched her now womanly body once more, before he gave a slight nod and spoke to her, "I can see that you have already deduced what I feel needs to be the next step of your training. You will go through the same training that your sister did." He looked her in the eye to see what her reaction would be to the news, apparently not surprised by the look of cold fear that had blossomed in their green depths.

Tiana took a deep breath trying to steady herself. She knew of that final training that her sister had endured, before leaving like a ghost in the night. She also knew that there had been a rather brutal initiation into that training, an initiation that had left her strange and broken for some time. Tiana was amazed that her father had decided that it was time for her to begin this training as well, she was only 14 and her sister had been 16. She looked up at her father with fear filled eyes, and she hated the shakiness in her voice when she spoke, "Will there be the… initiation?"

Her father's icy eyes flashed with irritation and his voice could allow for no argument. "Yes, and it will be now. Go to the room and wait." He turned from her, knowing that she would follow his orders; she was nothing if not obedient. He strode away from her and down the hall, obviously off to collect his men. She did as instructed and walked to the room that she knew she had to.

The room was just a simple bedroom within the complex that she called home. In fact, it was said that it would soon house a new member of their group. A member that her father expected to fill the role that he had decided she was unfit to fill herself. She did not mind the thought that someone else would take her father's place instead of her; she didn't much care for being a leader. It wasn't part of her, the need to command. That was just another thing that her father found lacking in her, something else that disappointed him. It did however bother her to think that this room, where she would so soon lose a part of herself, would simply fall to a new henchman. As if there was nothing important in her loss. And then she realized that there wasn't…

A few moments later her father led a group of six men into the room. He didn't look at her or at the men, but she knew that he was speaking to her when he whispered, "This is the only way to assure that you will conquer your fear." And with those words, he closed the door and walked away leaving her with the men.

The men immediately began disrobing and they were all visibly excited by the idea of what was to come. The first man to completely undress moved swiftly to the bed that Tiana sat on and roughly pulled her to her feet. He mashed his mouth onto hers and kissed her violently as his hands began trying to remove her clothes as quickly as possible. Tiana could feel all of the men running their greedy hands over her body, ripping her clothing from her as fast as they could. A man behind her forcefully ripped her away from the one that had been kissing her, and dragged her down onto the bed. She could hear ragged breathing all around her, and was unable to move as paralyzing fear overtook her.

She noticed a slight scuffle taking place next to the bed and was unsurprised when the victor moved toward her with a predatory look on his face. Two other men grabbed her arms, securely holding her in place as the triumphant man straddled her. She let loose with a scream as his engorged manhood slammed into her untried body…

Tiana awoke with the scream still flying from her lips, flailing her body violently against the solid wall of muscle that held her. She fought violently against the body that held her like a child, but she came to an abrupt halt when she heard the quiet moan of pain. Her eyes finally snapped open, and saw Bane looking down at her with pained eyes, though the pain within them was deeper than just the physical pain that he was dealing with. She quickly realized where she was, and that he was holding her in his large lap, just as if she were a frightened child. He looked into her eyes, trying to see if she was fully conscious, and when he felt satisfied that she was, he spoke, "Was it just a dream, or was it memory Little One"

She could feel his hard body shaking faintly against her and she feared that her struggle had really hurt him in some way, so she tried to slip away from his grasp. As she went to move away his arms tightened around her, showing her his true strength. He looked into her eyes and slowly shook his head side to side telling her to stop her movements. When she had completely stilled, he merely raised an eyebrow indicating that he was still waiting for her answer. She took a deep breath and whispered upon the exhalation, "Memory… from long ago."

The next instant she found herself alone upon the bed, and watched in mild horror as Bane pummeled the wall next to the bed with his large fists. Large chunks of plaster fell in a pile at his feet and the concrete behind it turned to powder beneath his unceasing attack. She moved to stop him but changed her mind, dropping back to the bed. She knew that he needed the release of his rage and his grief.

What she didn't know was that the rage and grief he felt was not for his loss, but for hers.

The Joker lay on his uncomfortable cot, a mad grin filling his disfigured face. His face had been devoid of the sinister makeup for eight years, and it had not aged particularly well. However, tonight he was loving the greasy feeling of the paint once again. In spite of the long years he had been without it, it still felt like a vital part of him.

He had received a box from an old friend that morning. He had many friends in this place, both prisoners and employees, but his box had come from the outside. It had only made it to him because of his friends within the wall of Arkham, however. The box had contained the makeup he now wore and a short, cryptic note.

When the puzzle pieces finally unite, the gates of hell will open from within.

The Joker had immediately known what the message meant and had gone to work putting the oily paint on his face as soon as he had finished reading it. He had fallen asleep shortly after completing his little makeover, but had not been upset when he was awakened by the crashing sound that had risen from the cell next to his. He knew that it just meant things were progressing well within that cell. Now all he needed to do was aid those silly little puzzle pieces along in their joining…

His smile was dazzling as he closed his eyes to drift back to his frenzied dreams.