Bane

December 7, 1993

Gina was awake, drinking coffee in the kitchen when Bart came down stairs in his night clothes. "Feeling better?"

Gina stared at him, and sipped her coffee.

"What is it, Gina?"

"Who is Jonathan Walker?"

"He's my grandson." Bart locked eyes with Gina. "He died fighting the Sharif Coven."

"The Sharif Coven."

Bart attempted a somber nod. "Traitors to The Order."

"...yeah. I did a little digging, boss. The Sharif Coven was killed to the last person. Except Suheila. Suheila wasn't there that day. What happened to Jonathan?"

Bart felt warmth in his cheeks. Embarrassment. Anger. "He died, Guerrero. Drop it."

Gina frowned. "You know, I would be less angry with lies, than half truths. I'm not a suck-up to The Order. Man, I thought we had this talk. When are you going to stop covering up for the asshole at the top?"

"I'm not covering for the Judge. I can safely, and with honesty say that Grifford had nothing to do with it."

"Which Grifford. Grifford, Randall? Or Grifford, Samael?"

"Neither. I know Judge Samael Grifford did your mentor wrong, but I told you before. Our ranks are too thin, and our bloodlines too few to march around killing every idealist, or adversary that dons a duster, and a cowl."

"Bishop aside," Gina sniffed at her coffee and made a face. "Where is Jonathan, really?"

"Dead."

"Besides dead, where is he? Did The Order stash him somewhere? Is he pulling aftermarket off-the-books jobs somewhere else, like Cameron?"

"He's dead. He died fighting the Sharif Coven. "

"Who is Bane, Bart?" Gina let the question roll off her tongue as though she were asking what he wanted for breakfast.

Bart scratched at the back of his neck. "It's not who Bane is. It's what Bane is."

"Okay." Gina nodded, sand took a deeper drink of her coffee. She wiped her mouth with the palm of her hand. "...but who is he?"

"Bane isn't a he. He's not a person. He's an it, and it's that kind of something's attention you don't want."

Gina stared at the black coffee, no cream, no sugar, in her cup. She considered it a moment, staring at the reflection of her eye in the surface of the drink. "Bart, who is Bane?"

Bart wiped his brow, and moved past Gina to the percolator. He pulled a cup out of the sink, and did not care whether it was dirty or clean.

Bart poured himself some coffee.

"Bane is a monster. Whoever it was before it became Bane, that person is long gone."

Gina sighed. "Who is Bane?"

Bart flexed his fists, and wanted to pull at his hair. He arched his neck to the left until he felt the satisfaction of a pop. "We don't speak of him."

"Speak of who?" Gina drank down the rest of her coffee, and set it on the counter next to her. She folded her arms.

"It is not my place to say. "

"I need to know how to get into its head. How to trick Bane, and confuse him so that when the time comes, I can destroy him."

Bart scowled, eager to end the conversation, but Gina was not having any of that. "You can't trick Bane. You can't trap him, or deceive him. I'm not even sure it can die."