Warnings: Slight violence, threats, mentions of vague mental/emotional/physical abuse

Notes: Set back in the WWF when Kane was still with Paul Bearer.

Prompt: Brainwashing at angst_bingo


"You can't leave me, Kane. You're nothing without me." Paul cackles, staring at the broken man in front of him.

Kane doesn't respond, doesn't look up at the man who rules over him. How easy would it be just to break his neck? Simple for someone like Kane, but Paul knew things that terrified Kane. Things about darkness and pain, things he used quite freely to keep Kane under his control.

Kane shifts slightly on the locker room floor, half-listening to Paul ranting above him, pacing around. His attention is suddenly turned to the locker room door when it slams open and his brother stands there, a glare on his face and the promise of Death in his eyes.

Paul shrieks at him, nearly tripping in his haste to get behind Kane, shoving him towards The Undertaker, demanding that he do something, anything, just get him out of there. Kane gets to his feet, ignoring Paul's hands on his back and takes a step towards his brother, who stares at him with those too green eyes.

"What are you waiting for, you imbecile? Hit him! Destroy him!" Paul screams, fists pounding against Kane's back.

The Undertaker watches Kane for a reaction, measuring him. Kane stiffens and stares at his brother, unable to move, caught between him and Paul. Paul is getting angrier, fists hammering harder at him. "Do something, you useless, worthless freak!" Paul shoves him harder this time, actually managing to make Kane stumble forward. The Undertaker reaches out and steadies him, hands gentle and sure, not hurting him like he's used to. Kane doesn't know how to respond, but he doesn't shake The Undertaker off.

The Undertaker moves Kane to the side, out of the way, so he can get to Paul, who tries to run past him, but he's too slow and The Undertaker seizes him by the throat. Paul's eyes bulge out, fear radiating off the man. His fingers scrabble uselessly against The Undertaker's wrist. "Listen up, Bearer, because I am going to say this one time and one time only. You are going to stay away from Kane from now on. You're also going to disappear and never come back because if you do, I will hunt you down and I will rip your soul out and send it to Hell and I won't even have to use the Darkness to do it, got it?"

Paul nods, face a horrible shade of purple-red. The Undertaker releases him and he falls to the floor, coughing and gasping for air. The Undertaker stares at him for a moment before turning to Kane, who's standing by the door, simply watching. "You alright there, Kane?" The Undertaker asks, still on his guard.

Kane nods slowly, looking between Paul and his brother. The Undertaker nods too, reaching out slowly to Kane and leading him out of the locker room, a hand on his lower back. They head past Superstars, Divas, and crew members alike as everyone leaves the arena. No one pays them much attention and Kane is grateful for that and the reassuring presence of his brother at his back.

The Undertaker leads them out to his truck and urges Kane inside. As Kane gets in, he spies his bag in the backseat of the extended-cab, but doesn't ask how his brother got it. He doesn't really care. He wants a nice, long, hot shower to get the sweat off and a change of clothes and some sleep. He notices that his brother is still in his ring attire too. He wants to ask where all of this came from, why The Undertaker is helping him now when he seems to hate him, when he should hate him. He doesn't give voice to the questions swirling in his head and instead stares out the window while they ride in silence.

The Undertaker pulls up in the parking lot and swings the truck into a free space and turns it off. He doesn't get out immediately and Kane looks at him as he takes off his seat belt, curious as to why his brother is just sitting there, staring out the windshield.

"You're my little brother. I should have taken care of you. Should have protected you. Been there for you. And I wasn't. All this fighting is getting us nowhere. I don't want to fight you. You're my flesh and blood. Family. That means something to me. And I hope it does to you too. But I promise you, I'm going to be the brother I should have been then now." The Undertaker says, finally looking over at Kane as he finishes.

Kane is frowning though his brother can't tell behind his mask. He tries to find some lie or half-truth in his brother's words, but finds nothing but sincerity. He searches The Undertaker's eyes and finds nothing but love and compassion there. It's odd, seeing those emotions in his brother's eyes. They're usually filled with anger or hate or both. There's no sight of them tonight though.

Kane nods and The Undertaker looks relieved. "Come on, I've booked us a room." He gets out of the truck, snatching the bags from the back. Kane follows suit, taking his bag from The Undertaker when he gets out. They head inside the hotel and ride the elevator to the fourth floor. The Undertaker slides the key card into the slot and pushes open the door. There are two beds in the room, a small living room area with a TV and a couch, and a bathroom off to the side.

"Hope you don't mind sharing. I thought it was better if we did tonight." The Undertaker explains, dropping his bag on the bed closest to the door.

Kane shrugs, not really caring at the moment and places his own bag on the other bag. The Undertaker watches him for a moment before asking if he wants the first shower. He nods, grateful, and takes what he needs to the bathroom and turns the shower on as hot as it will go.

He strips out of his clothing, tossing them carelessly to the floor to be picked up in the morning. He pauses as his fingers trace over the clasps of his mask, slowly undoing it. He gets it off and lays it gently on the counter, avoiding the mirror as always. He hates looking at his reflection and seeing the monster in his eyes and the scars on his face.

He steps into the shower, welcoming the heat that sinks into his very bones. He stands under the spray, letting it sooth the ache in his muscles until he remembers that his brother has to take one too and won't be happy if he uses all the hot water. He scrubs his body clean and washes his hair quickly before turning off the water and stepping out onto the rug. He dries off, pulling on a pair of sweat pants and a shirt and drapes the towel over his wet hair, picking up his mask.

As much as he would like to, the mask is uncomfortable to sleep in, so he keeps the towel over his hair and his hair in his face, so his brother can't see anything and steps into the room, a cloud of steam following him.

The Undertaker glances at him, opens his mouth to say something, but seems to think better of it and heads into the bathroom for his own shower. Kane lays down in bed, facing the window and tosses the towel to the floor beside his bed. Hopefully he'll be asleep when his brother comes back in and won't care if he happens to catch a look at his face. If he does, well, Kane only hopes it won't scare him away or disgust him like it does so many other people.

He shoves an arm underneath his pillow and stares blankly out at the city lights. Their window is one of those big ones that leads out to the balcony, so it takes up the entire wall, leaving Kane to stare as much as he likes with nothing blocking his view. He isn't asleep when The Undertaker finishes his shower and comes back into the room as much as he would like to be. He hears his brother shifting around the room before a weight settles on the end of his bed.

"Kane?" The Undertaker's voice is quiet.

"Hmm?" Kane hums absently, eyes still fixed on the blinking lights outside.

"You haven't said much about all of this." The Undertaker says, tilting his head at Kane.

"Glenn." Kane says after a moment of silence.

"What?" The Undertaker asks, not understanding the random statement.

"Call me Glenn. I was always Glenn to you." Kane answers, still looking out the window.

"Okay. You'll be Glenn and I'll be Mark again." Mark smiles at Glenn.

They settle into the silence, Glenn resolutely staring out the window to avoid looking at Mark. Mark, however, soon catches onto him.

"Why won't you look at me?" Mark asks softly.

"I don't have my mask on." Glenn mumbles.

"So? I don't always want to look at that thing. I want to see you." Mark says. He doesn't know where this is coming from, but if it's helping him reconnect with his brother, he'll take it.

"No, you don't." Glenn says, tilting his head down even more, hair falling over his face in thick, curly waves.

"If I said I do, then that means I do." Mark says, a flare of irritation in his voice. He hated it when people told him what he did and did not want.

Glenn flinches slightly, but doesn't reply. Slowly, his hands come up and brush his hair away from his face. He doesn't want to show Mark, but that steely note in his voice is familiar and he knows what happens when he doesn't obey orders. He's tired of being hurt. Mark had said he wouldn't hurt him, but others have said that before and they have lied. He is better off just doing as he's told.

He closes his eyes and angles his head towards Mark, cringing when he hears Mark inhale sharply. "See, I told you. No one ever wants to see me." He makes to turn away again, but Mark's hand on his chin prevents him from moving.

"I want to see you. I want to see Glenn, not Kane all the time. So you've got scars. So what? They're honestly not as bad as you think. You look fine, Glenn." Mark says softly, the fingers of his other hand brushing lightly against the border of smooth skin on Glenn's face.

"You're lying to me." Glenn whispers, pushing Mark's hands away from from him and curling further into himself on the bed.

"Boy, I don't lie." Mark growls. If there's one thing he hates, it's being called a liar.

Glenn flinches again at his tone and this time Mark catches it. He softens his voice. "I don't lie, Glenn."

Glenn just shakes his head, not in denial of Mark's words, but he just doesn't want to hear them. Mark sits back and frowns at his brother's reactions to him. Not for the first time, he wonders exactly what Bearer has done to his little brother and how he could have missed it. He sighs and stands up, telling Glenn to get some rest before laying down in his own bed, hands tucked under his head, eyes fixed on the ceiling. Sleep doesn't find him easily that night.

It doesn't find Glenn easily either as a few hours later, Mark is awakened by a loud groan from Glenn's bed. He blinks sleepily at the clock, noting that it's way too early for him to be awake and looks over at Glenn's bed, squinting in the darkness of the room. The comforter has been thrown to the floor and the sheets are twisted around Glenn's body as he writhes on the bed, locked in his own mind. Just when Mark starts to get out of his own bed, Glenn stops moving, laying limp on the bed. Mark sits on the edge of his bed, watching Glenn's unmoving form closely.

Mark curls his bare toes into the carpet and frowns at Glenn's sleeping figure. The nightmare had seemed pretty intense and then it just stopped. Mark has no idea what to think about this. He sighs and lays back down with another glance to the clock. They still have a good four hours before they have to be awake and heading out and he intends to make the best of it. He closes his eyes once again and this time sleep comes a bit faster.

He's just about completely asleep when Glenn rolls over and mumbles something. The mumbling gets louder and Mark cracks open an eye. "You say something, Glenn?"

"No...please...no more...I don't want it...no...stop..." Glenn whimpers.

Mark groans as he sits up again. The nightmare has apparently returned. He drags himself out of bed and over to Glenn's. He reaches out and shakes Glenn's shoulder. "Hey, wake up. It's just a dream. Wake up, Glenn."

Glenn's eyes snap open and he sits up too quickly, nearly headbutting Mark, who jerks back just in time. He pants heavily, leaning forward so his hair covers his face as he regains his breath. Mark watches in silence, sitting on the edge of Glenn's bed once more. When Glenn's breathing has slowed to a more natural pace, Mark speaks, voice a low rumble in the quiet room. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No." Glenn answers too fast.

Mark sighs, but nods, reaching out and resting his hand on Glenn's shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. "Well, I'm here if you decide you do want to talk about it."

Glenn nods, still not looking up at his brother. Mark goes back to his own bed and Glenn lays back down, pulling the covers around him tightly. There's really no point in going back to sleep, but Mark just wants to lay still for a bit, still trying to figure his little brother out.

Mark knows that Bearer had done a number on Glenn's mind, but he doesn't know how bad it is. How little Glenn thinks of himself. What a failure he perceives himself to be. He doesn't trust Mark, but Mark knows this. He knows he doesn't deserve that fragile trust yet anyway. Too long has Mark spent breaking Glenn down instead of building him up like a brother is supposed to do. It's a wonder that Glenn even went with him tonight.

Hell only knows the kind of brainwashing that Bearer had done to Glenn. For years, he let Mark believe that his entire family had perished in the fire (it had been an accident, not his fault, he reminds himself firmly), so who knows what Bearer had told Glenn. He knew that Bearer made Glenn hate him, blame him for the death of their mother. He had refused to fight his brother for that very reason, happy enough that Glenn was alive and as well as he could be. He hadn't been happy to see that the little brother that had so adored him when they were children now only looked at him with hatred in his eyes instead of the love and affection and hero worship that used to be there.

Mark knows he has his work cut out for him, but with time, love and patience, he is determined to undo all the damage Bearer has done to them and heal them, so they can be whole again, be ibrothers/i again. He just wants his little brother back. He wants his family back and there is nothing he won't do to get it. After all, you mess with Kane, you get Undertaker. You mess with Glenn and you get Mark and Mark is Big Brother and he is much scarier than the Undertaker.

Don't mess with his family. He'll make you famous.