Talia al Ghul

## Background

### 1771 - 1994: Talia al Ghul

Talia is believed to have been born in the late 18th century to Ra's al Ghul & lady named Melisande. According to the tale, the two met at a music festival & Ra's became quite enamored by the woman. They fell in love & she fell pregnant. Sources conflict but Melisande either died giving birth to Talia, overdosed on drugs shortly after Talia's birth or was murdered by one of Ra’s' former servants or Ra's himself.

Talia was taken care of & raised by her father, traveling the world & learning all the skills she would need to help her father with his criminal empire. In addition to being a member of her father’s organization, she also became one of his closest advisors. In time, her position was shared as she gained many sisters & brothers over the centuries but she was always closest to her younger sister Nyssa.

She surely proved herself as the most advanced of his children, earning the role of the favorite despite being a woman. He even allowed her to bathe in the Lazarus Pit to obtain eternal youth as he had for many years.

### 1994 - 2000: Talia al Ghul

Though many bachelors had come & go, Talia soon met the love of her of life in the recruit Bruce Wayne. She was quite aware of the billionaire prior to his arrival but was not impressed. But upon seeing his skills & intellect, Talia became convinced. They tried to keep their relationship a secret but once Ra's found out, he indicated that she needed to officially choose Bruce as her mate. He had a calming influence on Talia, with her becoming less radical than before.

They were together for less than a year before Ra's not only planned for them to wed in an elaborate celebration but he also named Bruce to be his successor. The two were married the next month, making both Talia & Ra's very pleased. The two had a loving marriage (as much as two assassins could) but after a year as husband & wife, Bruce disappeared in the middle of the night without a trace. He soon resurfaced in his hometown of Gotham, returning to his role as a billionaire playboy. His departure brought shame to Talia, with her father even looking down on her. Unknown to Bruce, she was also pregnant with their child. Under the disguise of a brokenhearted & ashamed woman, Talia left the compound & began moving around in League safe houses to keep her pregnancy under wraps.

Talia soon gave birth to a daughter & a son with the help of two handmaidens. Once they assured her that she & the children were healthy, she slayed them both with her sword to guarantee the pregnancy would remain a secret. She named the girl Athanasia, choosing the name after the flower that Bruce gave to her when Ra's decided to have the two married. She named the boy Hafid al Ghul, meaning "grandson of Al Ghul" in Arabic. The two were left with servants while Talia kept tabs on them & made occasional visits at the League compound to keep up appearances. Two years later, Talia made her official return to Infinity Island alongside Nasia, under the guise that she was a girl she adopted after slaughtering her parents. She then spent her time aiding her father & training her daughter into a lethal weapon.

Though Bruce had greatly broke her heart, Talia could not seem to stay away. After getting played by Matthew Hagen, a man who she considered less than worthy, she met up with the Bat for old times sake. She had gotten with Matt to get over Bruce so who else would be better to help her get over being hurt by her rebound. At the time, Bruce was depressed from the death of his fiancée Silver St. Cloud at the hands of Onomatopoeia. The two found comfort in each other in the sheets of Bruce's bed at the Wayne Manor. The following morning, Talia did not immediately leave. She began to think of her dream plan for her & Bruce to come together to rule the world, even debating on revealing the existence of their children to him. Her mind quickly changed when Bruce woke back up & stated that the night was a mistake. Heartbroken, she slapped him across the face then immediately left the city.

### 2000 - Present: Talia al Ghul

Talia continued playing a crucial part in all her father's plans, like The Cataclysm. Though fiercely loyal to her father, she would occasionally provide support to Batman over the years. She has done other altruistic actions like coming to his aid & aiding in the resurrection of Jason Todd.

Despite Bruce’s usual refusal of her romantic advances, the two share an attraction to one another & have had multiple trysts over the years. Other than Athanasia & Hafid, another proof of this is their third child & second son Damian. It just so happened that they were after the same artifact at the time, leading to them teaming up in the country of Bulgravia. She claimed to be after the same man he was searching for but she was really looking for him. They shared a night of passion together then Talia left the next morning, not willing to hear Bruce refuse her or regret their night together. Again, Talia left the premises with a pregnancy & a broken heart. Like their children before, Damian was born in an undisclosed location & his identity remained a secret. He too was trained to become an elite assassin, quickly surpassing the expectations of his mother.

She later resurfaced in Bruce's life, revealing only the existence of their son Damian right in the middle of Bruce & his wife Selina's honeymoon. Although he believed Talia only introduced him as a matter of deception, Damian made a lasting impression on Bruce, leading to his acceptance of him as part of the family.

## Romantic Relationships

* Matthew Hagen: Lover (1999)
* Bruce Wayne: Lover (1994 - 1995); Husband (1995 - 1996); One Night Stand (1999); On & Off? (2004 - 2006)

## Personality

Talia is a lethal & beautiful assassin, having been raised by her father since birth to eventually take over the League of Shadows. Her father gave her everything she could ever asked for though Talia once noted to Bruce that he never asked what she truly wanted in life. When Bruce asked what it was that she desire, she responded that she had always wanted a mother in her life. Ra's desire for his empire to be passed on to Talia & her children have led her to become a devoted follower of his, willing to do whatever for him. She saw no man as being his equal & as such, her father was the only man she could love. To Bruce, Talia was everything he could want in a woman. He described her as beautiful, intelligent & loyal. He only opposed marrying her because he felt that she would stand in the way of his mission against crime & he knew she would eventually choose her father over him.

In the international super-crime community, Talia has come to gain quite the fearsome reputation. It was said that many people tended to underestimate her with this being a common & fatal error on their part

## Powers & Abilities

* **Peak Human Condition:** As a highly skilled assassin, Talia is in top physical condition with fast reflexes & physical strength that is powerful enough to swiftly incapacitate men much larger than she is, such as Batman. She has also demonstrated excellent reflexes, as well as impressive flexibility & coordination. Her durability & resilience are remarkable as she was able to survive an explosion with just a few superficial scars.
	+ ***Acrobatics***: Talia is a highly accomplished acrobat, capable of scaling buildings & running from rooftop to rooftop with ease.
	+ ***Hand to Hand Combat/Martial Arts*:** Having trained with the League of Assassins, since childhood, Talia is a highly skilled hand to hand combatant & martial artist, having gone through the same training that all league members do. However, being the daughter of Ra's al Ghul meant that she was subjected to a higher level of training. Talia was able to effortlessly subdue both Bruce & Oliver during their first encounters.
	+ ***Honed Senses*:** Talia has both sharp sight & hearing, as well as advanced skills of perception for a normal human, as she has the ability to sense & identify people sneaking behind her back without looking at them.
* **Longevity:** Talia possesses the health, performance & appearance of her physical prime. Like her father, she uses the Lazarus Pit to maintain her youth.
* **High Level Intellect**
	+ ***Indomitable Will*:** A driven & determined individual, Talia is nearly fearless & almost always calm in every situation.
	+ ***Interrogation / Torture*:**  Talia is a very effective interrogator and torturer, as she taught Bruce how to use a Mongolian skinning technique on men.
	+ ***Investigation*:** Talia is a very perceptive individual. She was able to uncover & memorize a map in a matter of few seconds.
	+ ***Leadership*:** Underneath her father, Talia has a group of loyal attendants that she trained to be effective combatants & killers
	+ ***Medicine*:** She knows much about the human anatomy, as she's probably the one who taught to Bruce about pressure point manipulation. In terms of healing methods, Talia can patch up most injuries on herself or others.
	+ ***Multilingualism*:** Talia can speak fluent English, Arabic & Russian.
	+ ***Network*:** As a member of the League of Shadows, she has many contacts all over the world
	+ ***Occultism*:** She has some knowledge of magic & mysticism, as she fully understands how the Lazarus Pit functions & is one of the few that her father has allowed to use it.
	+ ***Seduction*:** Talia is not above using seduction to complete a mission. She has successfully used it many times due to being desire by both men & women.
	+ ***Tactical Analysis*:** Talia is highly tactical, both in preparation & while in action, able to quickly analyze the situation & how best to handle it.
	+ ***Toxicology*:** She is very proficient in toxicology & has familiarity with poisons, able to use paralyzing drugs on her victims.
* **Weaponry:** Her weapons knowledge extends from simple weapons to advanced modern weapons.
	+ ***Archery*:** Talia has proven herself to be a highly proficient archer, firing an arrow into Ishmael Gregor's hand, which was holding a firearm & which forced the man to drop it before his arm was pinned against the wall.
	+ ***Knife Throwing*:** She is highly skilled at throwing knives.
	+ ***Stick Fighting*:** Talia has used two police batons while fighting against her opponents & subdued many of them with relative ease.
	+ ***Swordsmanship*:**  As a former member of the League of Assassins, Talia is a highly skilled swordsman, using her sword she was able to overpower her opponents. Though she has been bested by Nyssa in a sword duel, Talia is indeed the superior swordsman.

### Weaknesses

* **Bruce Wayne:** Talia is fiercely loyal to her father but has been known to waver if Bruce is involved. She feel that she is torn between her love for him & her father.
* **Children:** She is even more loyal to her children, going to great lengths to ensure their protection. Many have noted that Damian is her biggest weakness (as the public is not aware of Athanasia or Hafid). Talia has turned on many of her allies in order to ensure Damian is safe & grows with a safe lifestyle.

### Ratings

* **Intelligence:** 5 - High / Exceptional
* **Strength:** 5 - High / Exceptional
* **Speed:** 5 - High / Exceptional
* **Occult:** 3 - Average / Basic
* **Weapons:** 6 - Expert / Advanced
* **Range:** 5 - High / Exceptional
* **Strategy:** 6 - Expert / Advanced
* **Combat:** 6 - Expert / Advanced
* **TOTAL:** 173 - Threat Level 4 / Moderate Threat

## Trivia

#### General

* Her orientation is listed as heterosexual because she only goes after men but that's usually under the means to find an heir for the League. However, it is rumored that she's had relations with women.
* It is believed that her mother was of mixed Chinese & Arab descent.
* She decided she would use Hafid in her plan to beat Batman into submission for the pain he had caused her. In time, she knew this plan would not work due to the personality of her son & let go of this idea.
* She mentored Nyssa al Ghul, Slade Wilson, Penumbra, Brant al Ghul, Athanasia al Ghul & Damian Wayne.

#### Relationships

* Ra's once tried to force a relationship between Talia & Bane. She made it very clear that she does not hold any emotion for him.
* Unlike her sister Nyssa, she only has three children & they all are with Bruce.
* Out of all of her siblings, she is closest to Nyssa. She is also the one she fights with the most.