Brace yourselves readers, this chapter's going to drag y'all down the rabbit hole!
Disclaimer: Don't own Bane or any TDKR affiliated shenanigans. Enjoy!

It was past two in the morning. Kali was asleep in his bed. Bane sat in the armchair, shirtless, pressing his forehead to his clasped hands. A million thoughts were shooting by, too fast to really grasp. Not very long ago, he would never bow to anyone. Yet he would drop to his knees before her. He cringed at that fact. He was weakening to her. She was his, he was hers, but what good was that? To belong to each other? He still hadn't told her what he'd found out about her parents. How would she react to that devastating news?

Just an hour ago, as he had held her sleeping form, she had whispered to him in her sleep. "I love you Bane." That was not something he had been prepared to hear. He also hadn't expected himself to whisper back "I love you too."

What future could he possibly have here? He was a killer. He had plans, a mission. He wanted to make the world know the pain of the injustice done to him, to Talia, to... Kali. Somehow that poor girl had been trapped in his web, spun into his plan. Yet he dreamed, so hesitantly he feared it, of a future he could have here, with her. Happy... but how long would it last before their shadows caught up to them?

Bane heard vibrating from the kitchen, and quickly went to retrieve his phone. Pulling it from its charger, he blinked in surprise at the number.

"Talia?" He asked.
"It's time."
"Now?"
"Yes." She hissed, sounding exasperated. "It's already been set in motion. I need you now."
Bane sighed, glancing towards the hallway.
"Right... I'll be there tomorrow."

He expected her to hang up.
"I heard about your little pet." Talia nearly spat. "You know you'll never see her again. Forget her."

Bane crept around the room, packing his few possessions. He'd have Barsad collect the rest of what he needed from his apartment. Kali sighed in her sleep, the slightest smile on her face as she nuzzled into his pillow. His throat constricted as he looked over her. How quickly she had wiggled her way into his dark heart. He nearly thought about forgetting his lifelong plans, to stay here with her. It sent tiny shards of glass splintering through him. He loved her, and he would never see her again.

He slipped his mask off, and leaned over very slowly. He placed a long soft kiss to her forehead, inhaling her peppermint hair for one last time, putting it to memory. He stood back up, securing his mask, and placed a note and a tape recorder on the side table. He swung his bag over his shoulder, and left the house, never looking back.

Kali awoke to the birds beginning to sing outside. It was only just getting light out. She sat up slowly, stretching. She was sore as hell, but the soreness made her smile. Bane was not there, and there was no warmth anywhere else on the bed. He'd been gone a while. Sleepily, she shuffled into the bathroom with just the sheet wrapped around her.

Coming back out, she noticed a note folded up on the end table, with a tape recorder next to it. Curious, she sat on the edge of the bed, picking up the note. The writing was incredibly neat and a fluid cursive.

"Kali,
I regret to inform you I have to leave. For good. It's better for us. I'm no good for you, and you're no good for me. Don't come looking for me. I'll be dead within a year. I wish I'd had more time, I'm sorry. I've left a bank account for you, you should live quite comfortably for the rest of your life. Please, take care of yourself. Goodbye. I love you.
Bane."

Kali's hands trembled, and slowly crushed and tore at the note as she suppressed a rage filled scream. Her attention was caught by the tape recorder. What was she supposed to do with this? Cautiously, she took the cold object into her hands and pressed the play button. Bane's velvety voice came across in a second.

"Kali, I have some news for you. It's too long and complicated a story to write. Please, listen to this tape the whole way through. This is going to be hard for you to hear. I found the truth in your parents' deaths. Your mother and father were not the best off. They lived in Gotham City. They had many financial problems. Your father worked at a chemical factory, which made him sick often, and your mother was working in an office until she couldn't work any longer, after she got pregnant with you. She had many complications during the pregnancy, and it built up the medical bills. Your father joined a group of thugs, helped to rob banks. When you were born, your father didn't want to end up going to jail because of his crimes. So he did a job himself, robbed a bank, kept all the money.

The group he'd joined did not like the fact he was robbing their banks. When you were just a few months old, your parents decided to leave. Your father would rob one last bank, and then the three of you would leave. However, the thugs were waiting for him when he got back from the robbery. They had killed your mother, and they were holding you when he got there. There was a huge fight, first fists then guns. They pinned him down, cut open his face at the corners of his lips. The cops arrived, firing at everyone. That's where the scar on your temple came from.

Your father thought you had died. He ran, went to the factory he worked at to hide. He'd been shot, and he was working on fixing the wound when a man in Gotham City, calls himself Batman, arrived. They took your father away. He was crazy, so lost in his grief that he refused to believe you were alive. It wouldn't have mattered anyways, he was going to jail for a long time. The man who found you was a William C. Blake. That's where you got your last name from. They sent you to an orphanage far from Gotham, to protect you from anyone who might still want revenge against your father.

Kali... ... You are lucky to have left that poisonous place when you did. It has gotten so much worse. What I'm about to tell you is very important, Kali. I beg you to do what I'm about to ask you. Stay away from Gotham, as far from it as you can. Just stay here, stay safe. Your father is still alive, but you must stay away from him. Kali... ... your father is the Joker."

Kali gasped as hot tears poured down her face. "No! No no no! NO!" She spat, glaring at the device as though it were evil itself. She dropped it to the bed, like it had scalded her.

"He's been rotting in Arkham Asylum since he failed to destroy Gotham. Many times they have asked him if he remembered you. He doesn't remember anything about himself, not you, not his wife. I just thought you should know the truth about yourself. I have to go now. Good luck."

Kali stared at the recorder as it stopped playing. She clutched to the sheet around herself, sobbing. Bane was gone, and her father... She remembered sitting with the other girls in the orphanage, cluttered around the TV as reports showed the destruction of the big city. The Joker's face splashed across the screen, his haunting voice, his eyes-

Kali nearly shrieked. "His eyes!" She moaned, clenching her own closed. They'd shared the same eyes. Kali reached up, brushing her hair out the way as she touched the faint silver scar on her temple.

At the orphanage, they'd told her that her parents had died in a car accident. She preferred that story now, would die to believe that story. She sank to the floor, sobbing until she couldn't breath.

An hour later, Kali stood naked before the mirror in the bathroom. Beside her reflection, a picture of the Joker was taped to the glass. She looked from the picture to herself. Same exact eyes. Same cheekbones. Same hairline. Same wrinkle at her brow, slightly off to the left. She believed it now. The Joker really was her father.

She sank to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. The demons inside were tearing at any light they found. She was dying. The shadows sneered from the corners just beyond her vision. She slowly clamped her hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut. But the volume rose, deafening her, and it vibrated through her dying body.

You're not even good enough for that monstrosity. Bane, ha! How ironic. You're filth, useless! The only good you've ever served is a good fuck for him. Just like your father, useless filth! Failure! You know crazy runs in your blood? Monstrosity! Killer! Useless filth! Just like your father.

Kali screamed Bane's name a few times, until the darkness tore her from reality, swallowed her whole, drowned her. The fire screamed.

Reviews please!
To answer a few questions. The man, William Blake, that saved Kali, is John (Robin) Blake's father. More is coming, I promise. Hopefully by Friday. Reviews!