Chapter 1
The missile impacted against Bane's body but did not explode. It shoved him like the fist of God through several walls. Finally his back smashed against a full length oval mirror. It rippled like water and he was slowly absorbed into the surface.
Chapter 2
There was the soft crunch-crunch of fawn's feet through the snow. Bane turned his body to look through the forest at what was approaching him. A very strange looking man with shaggy legs like a goat and a strange hat and scarf stepped out from behind a tree and looked at Bane. Bane tilted his neck to the side head as he looked at the strange Faun. Banes eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Good evening gentle giant, Excuse me- I do not wish to pry- but would I be right in thinking that you are a Son of Adam?" asked the Faun.
"Oh, you think I am a son of Adam. You merely see what is before you. I am actually a son of Darkness. And what are you- the product of a hippy and a goat?" said Bane.
"Goodness gracious me!" protested the Faun. "Such language. Although I do not know what you mean by Hip-Eee. And to think that I was going to invite you home to tea." the Faun looked sadly down at the umbrella it carried folded underneath its arm then back up at Bane. A snowflake landed on the Faun's nose and a long prehensile tongue emerged from its mouth and it licked it away.
Bane took several steps forward in the snow and looked around the strange forest. The trunks of the trees were quite silent and beyond them were endless stretches of snow drifts and dark underbrush. It appeared to be quite a silent forest except for the gentle white whisper of snow falling on snow. Bane viewed this new land approvingly then turned his head to ask of the Faun-
"What manner of strange place is this? Is this the land of the dead, the fabled Valhalla?" he demanded of the Faun.
The Faun shivered at the force of the man's words. "Oh no sir. This is not Val-Hal-Ah. Oh dear I wish I had worked better at geography in my younger years. Neither am I a Hip-Eee. I must have missed that class when I was still in school. I am a Faun." the Faun protested said feeling quite miserable as he stood there in the snow.
"A Faun?" asked Bane.
"Why yes, a very good Faun as a matter of fact. I come from a proud lineage of Faun's. We are cave dwellers and warriors and I do must say that I am quite proud of my tea mixing abilities." the Faun said.
Bane ignored him and went out of the small cove of the trees. He found himself in a more open space in the woods. However it only led to more snow and a blank forest wall of tree trunks at the far side of the small white meadow.
There was the gentle pitter-pat of feet from behind him and then the Faun emerged from the forest behind him and put the umbrella up to cover them both from the snow. It hissed open with the sound of well-made wooden mechanical engineering. Bane continued to look away from the Faun as he observed this strange land- his snout moving from left to right as he surveyed this new strange land.
"Speak of a faun and he will appear." said Bane as he turned around and looked at the Faun. "Take me to your leader."
"Oh dear." the Faun said.