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Tatiana remembered climbing out of the pit with her twin sister talia. She wasn't the smarter of the two twins. And she had relied of talia to be their survival. To find their father. And when they had thats when their differences had started. Their father paid more attention to talia than he did tatiana. Talia showed more of personality for revenge and vengence. Tatiana put her anger into more creative outlets. And therefore she hadnt been trained in the league of shadows like talia had been. And when they had become old enough tatiana split off from her sister and father in search of adventure and better things than fighting and death. Though she held no contact with her father or sister, her sister had somehow found a way to tell her their father had excommunicated their protector from the league for nothing more than the way he now looked with the mask. It was the last time she had heard from either of them. So when she had received the note scrawled into two words she couldn't help the feeling of dread that made its way into her stomach. "HE'S BACK" she folded the note and sat back in her seat. Her sister was devious. And she knew she had something planned. Something that involved the help of their savior. And she couldn't help feeling like it was something absolutely horrible.
------------ Talia touched Banes mask gently with graceful fingers. Taking him in for the first time in years since his excommunication. He closed his eyes momentarily in relaxation. He opened them slowly. "I am very glad to see you again Bane." She said softly. He said nothing. Only listened to her. "We have much to plan." He finally had the courage to speak. "Your sister?" He asked. She sighed and stepped away from him. "My sister has left. The first chance she got. She is not cut out for what the league asks." He felt a slight feeling of dread. "Do not worry about tatiana. She is fine. I assure you. She has put her anger and pain into more creative routes. Last update I've gotten is that she enchants people with her voice." She smiled gently. "But we have much to discuss. The topic of my sister can wait for another time." She said. Bane moved his focus.
------------------- Tatiana stood over the hospital bed. "And you're certain he will recover?" She asked the doctor. She didn't usually deal in the underground. But she couldn't let him suffer and die like that. She wasn't her sister. Her sister was content using him as a chip in her game and leaving him when it was convenient. She had witnessed it herself in gotham. She had gone to talk her sister out of her mad plan and she had seen it in her sisters eyes she was too far gone. And she had proven that Bane was too deep in his belief that her sister had actually cared for him by ordering him around by phone to prove to tatiana her point. But when she had seen catwoman blow him away from a distance she couldn't leave him. And so here they were. In an underground hospital with a seedy but genius doctor who had tended to Bane and kept him alive. "Yes. He will be good as new." He said with a predatory smile. "Though he will need to lay low. I'm sure if they find out he's alive he will be the world's most wanted. Now. Let's discuss payment." He said darkly. She met his look and raised a brow. Tossing him the duffel bag. ------------------
When Bane woke the first thing he did was tear out the IV in his arm and all the other wires and tube connecting him to the machines. Taking a look around the room he noted the expensive and goth decor. He immediately went on the defensive when the door clicked open. He eyed the woman that walked through it. She was covered in tattoos and piercings. Her black hair in a messy ponytail and red eyeshadow covered her eyelids in a sleek cat eye look. She eyed his stance and tense body language. "Stop it. Sit down. You're gonna undo all the work I paid handsomely for." She said sternly. He immediately relaxed recognizing the accent. "Tatiana.." he trailed off in a question. She had grown up. The complete opposite of talia. She seemed more...warm. though she was being stern at the moment. He did as she asked sitting down on the hospital bed. The metal creaking under his large body. "Who else is gonna go through the trouble eh?" She asked setting the breakfast tray on the small desk beside the bed. "We have a lot to discuss." She said taking a seat in the chair beside the bed. He wouldn't meet her eyes. Instead he finally let emotion take over. Shame was the first. Then sadness. Then anger. "You followed every order she gave you. Like an obedient dog. Why?" She asked seriously. He was quiet for a moment. "Because I loved her." He answered finally. She nodded and kissed her teeth. "My sister was evil. She had her sights on revenge and anyone and everyone was a tool to her. You have to understand that." She said leaning forward. He closed his eyes. It wasn't what he wanted to hear. But he needed to. "Bane. She did not love you. She did not love any of us. The only reason she wanted to avenge our father was for power. Not because she loved him. She never did. He was means of protection for her. As were you." He clinched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. "Bane. This is the truth. I loved her. But she stopped being my sister when she turned into a monster. When she turned YOU into a monster." She placed a hand on his giant arm gently. He opened his eyes slowly finding her almost black ones. "You wanted a purpose. We all do. And she gave you one. She played pupet with you. She did it to all of us." She assured. "But she's gone now. And you have a chance to start over. Redemption." She said genuinely. "Do you accept it? Or do you live in your pain and let it drown you?" She stepped back. She let the quiet take over before nodding and getting up, moving towards the door. "I cannot help you then." She said opening the door. "I accept." He said. She froze in the door and turned to him. She eyed him. "Then it starts with a new purpose." She said with a smile.
----------------------- He watched her on the stage. The music seemed to take over her. She turned into someone different. Each song telling a story. Some he recognized as actual events. Others as simply a message. He had a new purpose now. He was once again her protector. This time to simply keep her safe from the world. Not from death. Not like when she was little. His job was much easier now. And unlike how it was with talia tatiana did not order him around. He was free to do whatever it was he pleased as long as it was legal. She wasn't his keeper. She didn't get angry at him or yell at him. She simply let him know if he did something distasteful and it was up to him to fix the behavior. She was his redemption.
------------- BONUS:
"BANE!" She yelled from downstairs. He rushed down his footsteps shaking the steps as he went. He was on alert immediately. But as he rounded the corner all he saw was her fiddling with a remote infront of the TV. He sighed and relaxed. "What is it?" He asked the adrenaline still pumping. "I think the stupid firestick came loose on the TV but its too high up and I can't reach it." She pouted. He eyed her for a moment and she smiled sheepishly. He let out a breath and muttered to himself as he reached up to the mounted TV and jiggled the USB back into the port. The words 'AMAZON FIRESTICK' came across the tv screen as it turned back on. "Thanks!" She said as she resumed the episode she was watching. He grunted and began to make his way to the stairs. "Hey! Wait!" He sighed and moved back over to where she was standing. She seemed to study him for a moment before climbing on the couch and using it as a platform. She pulled him gently by his mask and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks dude." She said jumping off the couch. He was glad his mask covered his face. It was flaming red. "Yeah yeah. Just don't scream like that again unless there's actual trouble." She saluted him. "Got it." He nodded and moved back up the stairs. Only until he was out of sight did he allow himself to think about what just happened.
