The night beckons in with the golden stone walls turning blue and the grey shadows encasing all of the light through the openings. The corridors are silent, the air, thin and subtle. Bruce Wayne sits against the wall on the floor. He contemplates many things. It's been weeks since he was brought to this place and the world hasn't ended. Nothing has changed in his absence as far as he can imagine. It puts all manner of doubts into overdrive. In here, he is a revered champion of prowess. Out there, Bruce Wayne is a forgotten man, lost to the edges of the world like all forgotten men. Is this the test after all? He can't help but wonder. Has removing Bruce Wayne entirely from his life revealed an ulterior purpose? This is the longest he has lived apart from that existence in Gotham City since he left it behind once. Then, the League of Shadows took him in and buried the old Bruce Wayne at the gates. He never went back to Gotham. All that took his place was an idea. A crusade. A mission. A calling that was to live and die in him and him alone. Now the pair are separated and this Bruce Wayne, kept underground in this place, tortured and tested to the extent of his abilities and instincts, seems nothing but a ghost of that figure in Gotham City. No more mythical, now merely mortal.
A soldier steps to his room and disturbs those thoughts. He stands at the doorway and simply nods with his head, a gesture for Bruce to follow, so he does. He walks behind the man by the rooms and through the corridors of this structure, passing all walks of life along the way. Older men and women living in a state of comfortable acceptance, fighters readying themselves for the next battle, young women tending to chores like modern slaves. None of the people carry the face of anger, resentment or sadness. They wear the same mask. Devoid of any outward emotion. They are at a peace with their placement here in these walls.
He is brought down a dark set of steps to a room where the ground chills, hidden from any and all natural light. The leader stops there and motions Bruce to continue alone. No-one stands around here. It is an empty space and a quieter one, more like a tomb than anyone's quarters. Bruce walks forward hesitantly, almost expecting an assault from the dark. He paces further until he reaches a velvet, gold embroidered curtain up ahead. The glow of a torch bounces off the ground underneath the cover from beyond. Bruce approaches and pulls the curtain back. There inside is a room not like any other of the cold and dark above. It is sprinkled with candlelight all around, the scent of rich fragrances, with the skin of lions and tigers as rugs and centred, a large round bed adorned with thick, silken sheets draped to the floor. On the bed she lays. Talia Al Ghul. Robed in nothing. Bare and golden under the candlelight's applause.
Bruce turns his head. "Forgive me.."
"There is nothing to forgive" Talia responds. "The body is many things, Bruce, a vessel, a piece of art, a structure of great beauty and life, but a shame it is not."
Bruce returns to her exhibit.
"Though if you are not comfortable, I can dress" she tells him, laying against her heavy white pillows, arms stretched from one side of the bed to the other, and legs wrapping to the foot of the bed.
"No, its okay" Bruce, soft of voice answers.
"I see the body as with everything we do here. It is life eternal, a celebration of desire and virtue that we are gifted to have bestowed on us. Life is the essence of existence and we must treasure it. Treasure it with honour and flesh."
"You sent for me?" says Bruce.
"I did. I thought it time that we should talk after all. Please, sit." She extends her palm to the foot of her bed. Bruce steps forward and takes a seat there on the edge, facing away from the beauty. "You have proven everything my father has expected of you. Even surpassed I should say. Your will and desire for survival is exactly what I am talking about. You appreciate life, Bruce. You should be honoured for that."
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Batman II: King of Pain
FanfictionTHE BATMAN TRILOGY PART 2: Bruce Wayne is forced to confront his demons through a series of trials and tribulations brought upon by his most dangerous foe and decide the fate of his future as the Batman.
