The little rays of sun streamed in through the large floor to ceiling windows, the balcony outside shimmering in the suns glow, rays reflecting off of its marble tiles into the confines of the dark room, the sheer curtains diffusing the light into soft gold glittering rays and lighting up the enormous bedroom. A figure stirred, its form seeming small and fragile lying on the massive bed trapped between the mattress and the heavy copper colored custom bedding. The dark brown built in the wall tufted, upholstered headboard contrasted beautifully with the light beige wooden fall ceiling under which it ended, a huge crystal chandelier at its centre, its bright crystals shimmering gold and silver.

A dresser and wardrobe double door lay opposite the bed, the door to the dressing room and bathroom on the wall beside it. Huge wooden double doors separated the large room from the rest of the house. A knock sounded, breaking the silence of the huge room, as the double doors creaked open. A dark head of hair peeped in before stepping into the mid century inspired room. The tall woman, dressed in dark loose clothes, her kurta reaching past her knees, the maroon of her flared bottoms touching the travertine flooring.

Her long dark hair pulled back in a braid, Nyssa walked carefully to the edge of the bed. Her hand reached out to shake its occupant awake, bringing the little girl back into the real world. Shadow blue eyes peaked up from under the covers, the haze of dreams leaving them as her eyes focused on the smiling woman leaning over her, the ends of her braided hair tickling her hands where they lay on her side.

Felicity smiled as she got up, dragging her body back to lay back against the headboard her dark hair in tangles above her head as she searched for her glasses on the nightstand beside her.

"Good morning, my Darling." Nyssa greeted softly.

"Nyssa, good morning…" Felicity replied yawning and stretching her arms up, her gaze momentarily falling towards the windows. "Wow what time is it?" She asked, noting the soft morning light.

"It is 6:30 my Dear."

"You guys wake up awfully early here don't you?" Felicity grumbled good naturedly.

"It isn't early, it's actually quite late." Nyssa replied back, her forehead wrinkling as she frowned lightly.

"What time do you get up then?"

"Four in the morning, it's imperative for the body to get up early, helps with our daily systems and keeps the body fit."

"Ohkay…"

"Come on Talia, today is an important day. We cannot be late." Nyssa said getting up from her seat beside her sister and moving to the side of the room to step into the double doors of her wardrobe.

"Why, what's today?"

"Today you take the first steps to becoming a true Al Ghul." her older sister called from the depths of the wardrobe.

"I…"

"I was really young when father started my training," Nyssa spoke stepping out of the closet, a bright purple jumper and a pair of denims clutched in her hands offering it to the younger girl, "younger than you in fact," she finished stepping back in the closet as Felicity got out of bed, readying her things for a quick shower.

"It is time for you to join us in our crusade my little sister." Nyssa spoke cryptically as Felicity stepped out of her shower, noticing the packed bags now sitting at the foot of her bed, a newly dressed Nyssa beside it. Felicity frowned at her older sister in confusion drawing a quiet chuckle from the older girl, "Do not worry, Talia. You will see, but first we must leave."

"But why must we leave? Can't we stay here for whatever you want to teach me?"

"We can, in fact a lot of our men and women have. But father wants you to learn where I did, where he taught me to be who I am today. That my darling Talia is an honor in itself." Nyssa smiled kindly down at her sister, as she sat her down in front of her, braiding the brunette locks in a braid identical to hers. "Shall we?" The older girl asked tying Felicity's hair and turning her around to look at her.

"Yeah," Felicity nodded a hesitant smile on her face, getting up to walk ahead of Nyssa. Stopping in her way to the door momentarily she turned to her sister, her face pulled down in a frown as she questioned, "We will come back here though right?"

"Do not worry Talia, you will like it there just as much as you like it here."

"Really, I will?"

"Yes, you will. I promise." Nyssa smiled down at her once again, her long fingers lithely smoothing back locks of hair already falling over the younger girl's forehead.

"Ok, so where is it exactly that we are going?"

"Nanda Parbat."

Felicity looked around, her mouth agape and eyes wide behind her glasses, the towering pillars and huge archway, the enormous hallway they had entered into all made of rock, cut into the depths of Nanda Parbat astounding her. Her sister walked beside her, holding her small hand in hers, her head held up proudly, their father walking ahead as veiled men and women alike gathered one by one to greet him.

"You would love it here, little sister," Nyssa whispered, repeating her earlier words back, smiling slightly down at her still gaping sister.

"This place is awesome!" Felicity exclaimed quietly to her sister, her voice to low in a whisper echoing around in the space, "Whoah!"

"It really is. You should know dear one that even the quietest of words can be heard in here. So be careful with what you say Talia." Nyssa replied her eyes twinkling in amusement and affection.

"Ok. I will. But how awesome is this place?! It's almost like the Great Hall, minus the floating candles and charmed ceiling, of course but with more stone work and marble finishing, and armed…" Felicity hesitated a little before picking up her ramble, "men instead of empty armors and portraits. There are no portraits, why aren't there portraits, this looks like a place that would have portraits, large portraits hanging over the walls, even photographs…

Nyssa chuckled good naturedly as Felicity finally paused to take a breather, lips pursed in a thin line as her nostrils flared to take in the extra air flow, "I do not know of what Great Hall you speak of, عزيزواحد(Dear One), but it sounds enchanting," Nyssa replied.

Felicity suddenly stopped in her tracks rounding onto her sister in disbelief, her eyes as wide as it had been when she first entered the premises of their Nanda Parbat home, "You don't know what the Great Hall is?" she asked incredulously, "You mean to say you have never heard of Hogwarts or Harry Potter?"

"No I have not. What is Hogwarts and is Harry Potter a well known person?" Nyssa asked confusion written all over her face as she watched her sister become more and more shocked by the second.

"Merlin's pants!"

Nyssa's brows furrowed further in confusion at her little sister's sudden exclamation.

"I know of Merlyn and he wore a robe not pants, Little Darling. Why is there…?"

"Stop right there!" Felicity exclaimed her right hand flying up to shoulder level palms up, she closed her eyes and took in an exaggerated breath, "Where have you been the last few years?!" she exclaimed out suddenly, "Hiding under a rock?"

Nyssa's eyebrows rose, her eyes momentarily flitting around her, her eyes focusing on the ceiling and the walls around them before returning back to her sister, the affronted look the young girl held before now melting into one of understanding. "Well, no worries, big sister," Felicity said her right hand now coming back down as her left arm encircled her sisters waist, "I am here and I promise to make it my sworn duty to educate you on the fine points and nuances of the world of pop culture and related fields." She continued pulling herself closer to the older girl before following after her father.

"I would certainly love that, ياعزيزي(my Dear)," Nyssa replied, chuckling under her breath as they continued on their way to show Talia more of her new home.

"Shift right Talia, right…" the walls of Nanda Parbat vibrated with harsh commands, the echoes of the thuds of a falling body accompanying it."You are moving your feet but not your arms! Your body has to be in sync!" Ra's exclaimed, his frustration over his daughter seeping into his voice.

"I can't do this! I'm done!" Felicity suddenly exclaimed, throwing the metal sticks she had been holding down beside her with a huff.

"No you are not!" Ra's roared. "Every Al Ghul is a fighter, we are not quitters Talia Al Ghul! Now get back into the fighting position I showed you earlier, legs apart…"

"I said no!" Felicity defied her arms now crossed over her chest, her young face pulled down in a frown as she glared at her towering fathering.

"Talia…" a frustrated Ra's growled his eyes livid in anger.

"I told you," Felicity's voice rose, her hands coming down to rest on her hips, her legs wide as she glared right back at her father, never once backing down, "I am not doing this anymore. I was not made to fight. I am a thinker...you can give me any math problem in this world, any computer or piece of technology to decipher, Hell give me different languages to study, I can do it. Butthis, I cannot do and you can't force me to!"

"Talia…"

"You need to stop with that. I won't just do everything you ask of me because you growl at me!" Felicity shouted her eyes reflecting her father's anger back at him.

"I am your father,." Ra's started, his voice eerily calm but his eyes never once losing the heat. "And you may not want to learn what I have to teach you but you will respect me and not speak to me the way you just have." Felicity eyes lowered by the end of Ra's' silent tirade, "Do you understand Talia?"

The girl stood silent, her head hung low in shame of her outburst, "I asked you a question Talia…do you understand?"

Her form deflated as she looked up at her father, a father who had welcomed her with open arms and done everything he could since she entered his life once again to make up for lost time and to make her happy, her eyes lowered in shame once more before she quietly replied with a "Yes," she looked back up again, this time her eyes meeting her father's blues, "I'm sorry Dad."

The assassins eyes filled with softness, the innocent word 'Dad' uttered so quietly breaking his defenses and penetrating his heart, opening up whatever was left of his soul to the fragile little girl standing before him, covered in sweat, her ponytail in a state of disarray, a plethora of weapons lying on the ground beside her feet, her face still flushed with exertion shattering all the walls he had ever built.

"It's ok, my Dear," he sighed, "I forgive you."

The little hesitant smile the girl offered brought out a smile on the face of the hardened warrior in return, lighting up more of his soul, and before he had realized he spoke quietly, "Now what do you say we go and find something for you to read in that library Nyssa showed you earlier?"

His heart skipped a beat when he watched his daughter's eyes sparkle as she nodded her head with excitement, a bright smile lighting up her face one that he had been unable to have elicited from her until now. Feeling his soul soar, he placed his large arm around the little girl's shoulders, for once not caring about anything but the happiness of his youngest daughter.

"So what is it that you want to read, dear one?"

"Do you have any books written by Jules Verne?" Felicity asked, a spring in her step, "I left my copy of 'From the Earth to the Moon' back in Vegas and I really feel like reading it. Oh what about 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'? And 'Sherlock Holmes'? Everyone has 'Sherlock Holmes'…you have 'Sherlock Holmes' right?"

"Why don't we go see for ourselves, little Talia?" Ra's responded as he chuckled lightly.

"Now that we have finally gathered," Ra's announced, standing at the head of the enormous hall, looking down upon the men and women around him, unmasked and free for the night, enjoying the feast laid out in honor of the return of his daughter to him, "I have something to say. Three weeks ago I had no hope to ever see my youngest child, but that all changed when a twelve year old girl knocked on my doorstep in Egypt, demanding to meet me. I will never understand how she did it but in such a short time she has managed to astound me with her intelligence and diligence. My daughter, Talia Al Ghul my dear men and women of the League!"

A roar sounded around the room, as everyone welcomed the little girl standing beside their leader, her tiny hands clasped in front of her, the smile stretched across her face blinding to all. Moving his arm to wrap around his daughters shoulder he steered them away from the crowd to the corner of the room where a smiling Nyssa awaited them.

"Sir…" A voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Ah, Bruce," he turned facing the young man before him, his eyes critically analyzing the twenty five year old before him, "you made it."

"I did."

"What about…"

"Everything went down seamlessly," Bruce interrupted drawing a small smile of acknowledgement from the man before him. "Good, good. Come here my boy," Ra's extended his unoccupied arm to Bruce, slipping it around the young man drawing him closer, "Bruce meet my youngest, Talia. Talia this is my protégé, Bruce Wayne."

"It's good to meet you Mr. Wayne," Felicity said. As she extended her hand for the man to shake, she noticed he was dressed in all black, in the uniform of the League, his face uncovered along with the others. "Welcome to your home Talia," Bruce replied back stoically with a firm nod in her direction.

"Thank you," Felicity smiled in return.

"Talia why don't you head on towards Nyssa, I have some business to attend to," Ra's said moving away, already turning to make his way outside.

"But…"

"Do not worry my dear Talia, I will be back soon. Till then do enjoy your party," Ra's interrupted her, pulling at the young girls cheeks lightly, a slight smile gracing his lips. He then turned to the young man and said, "Bruce would you take a walk with me?"

"Who's there?" A heavily accented voice called, the surrounding circular structure echoing it back as the sound of flowing water drowned it out.

"I see your skills at invisibility or detection haven't overly improved Ducard!" Ra's called, his voice taunting and goading the man. The defectors' ears perked, the voice of his former master ringing in his ears as he stepped out from behind a pillar, his eyes holding a hint of fear and distrust.

"How did you find me?"

"Don't be silly, Ducard. I always knew where you were…"

"But…"

"I thought the life that you are now leading was a much better punishment than death. Death would have been too easy for you."

"You…"

"I am not here to play games or rehash the past my dear friend."

"Really, then why are you here?" the man asked skeptically, his eyes narrowing as he stepped toward the towering leader of the League. "Are you here to kill me?"

"I already told you Henri, death would be too easy for you. You betrayed me and the League, why would I want to end this misery that your life is now." Ra's said taking slow measured steps towards the defector, his gait calculated and intimidating. "But… as I'm in need of your expertise I think a pardon wouldn't be too bad of a bargain do you? I'm here, Henri to offer you a place back in the League."

Henri Ducard let out a humorless laugh, "Really? Just like that?" turning livid eyes at the tall figure of his former leader. "I am not stupid, old man. I know very well that there is always a price to pay. I defected, I became a traitor in the eyes of the League and it's great and fearless leader," he mocked, "so I have to pay…"

"And you have, there's no doubt about it. I mean look around you old friend, you are living in a sewer like the rat that you are. So tell me, what would I ever have to punish you with or to make you pay with against this?"

The French man stood silent, his anger faded to be replaced by misery and desolation, "Now let's get back to why I'm here, shall we? I'm here, Ducard because I have a proposition for you."

"And what makes you think I would be stupid enough to trust you?"

"Well for one it would get you out of the sewers…"

"I'm fine exactly where I am old man. I do not need your pity!" Henri spat out causing Ra's to tut, shaking his head in mock disappointment, "Have you not learned your lesson yet, defector! It is not wise to cross me…"

"I…"

Ra's held up a hand, exasperated at the man before him, "I'm not here to exchange pleasantries with you. I want you to do something and it is only you that I believe would be successful in achieving what I want done."

"What do I get in return?"

"Have you not been listening you dumb creature? You get back your place back in the League, your freedom, no more sewers and no more hiding."

Henri's ears prickled, his eyes lighting up with hope as he looked to Ra's, searching for a confirmation of the truth, "And what will I have to do to earn it?"

"It is simple really. You will take my daughter Talia, for no more than two days to a location that I will assign to you. I want you to break her, her mind, her spirit…manipulate her, make her feel weak. I want to ignite the fire in her to fight and the only way to do that is to break who she is now and you, Henri will do that for me. You will break my daughter and when she returns to me she will finally want to learn to be all that she is meant to be, what she is destined to be, she will be Talia Al Ghul."

I apologize for the delay in posting. The chapters been ready and beta'ed for days I just haven't had the time to post it. I have a new job and it's not been possible for me to even sit at my computer for a minute or so for the past two weeks and finally today on my day off I'm posting this. I will probably be taking at least this much time if not less to post the chapters to this and my other story, just a heads up. Sorry in advance.

Bruce Wayne according to the comics was trained by a number of individuals including Henri Ducard but he never joined the League of Assassins/Shadows unlike what was shown in 'Batman Begins'. For the purposes of this story Henri hasn't ever met Bruce until now of course. The ones who have read my first story in this series know that Henri defected when he couldn't complete a mission and in fear of his life went on the run until he came back to kidnap Talia to buy his way back in to the League. He did this under orders from Ra's.

In the comics it was Ebenezeer Darrk aka Dr. Darrk who had kidnapped Talia under orders from Ra's but the reason that Ra's had ordered him to do so was because he wanted to test Batman who he had gotten to come with him on the mission to rescue Talia in exchange for the life of Robin. This was because he had learned that Talia was falling in love with Bruce and he wanted Bruce to be his successor if the man succeeded in helping him. In this story, there will be no love story between Talia (Felicity) and Bruce, just a mutual admiration. Other characters big and small from the League will also be showing up in this story. [Information courtesy of ]

Also to andy (Guest Reviewer): Oh no Thank you Andy for yet another amazing review and I'm glad, really glad you loved it =D