As she chewed her lunch of a light spinach salad with strawberries and mandarin orange slices sprinkled throughout, she thought about why she would have been taken to a pharmaceutical research lab for medical help. It was kind of strange but then again that had been the way her life had been heading these past few days. All she knew was that the people working here had to of known Bane was the man from the stock exchange incident. So they either worked for him or worked for the person he probably worked for.

As for the doctor, Daphne Vallis, the name rang a bell, but she couldn't quite place where she remembered her from.

Judging from the view, this place was on the outskirts of the city. The only places that were out this far were the asylum, the docks and a few large, private homesteads. From the bit she could see outside, and what her room was like inside, it was the latter, refurbished to make it work.

Her mind came back to the room as the door opened.

A man, his mouth smeared with blood, was forced in. He looked dirty, and scared. The man's shaggy brown hair was knotted and tangled. The sallow skin of his face pulled taunt against his bones, his belt pulled tight to hold his pants up. Fear flashed in his eyes as his gaze darted around the room as he was pushed forward. Bane and Barsad followed him in with Barsad shoving the man until he was in front of Shae's bed.

"Shae! Oh God, what did they do to you! I told them you had nothing to do with any of this." Barsad quickly clocked him on the back of his head shut him up. He fell to a knee, hand reaching to rub his injury.

'Oh god! That's Frankie! What's wrong with him?' Shae's mind shouted at itself, as she took in his new look. She could barely recognize him, he had lost weight, no longer the fit young man she had once cared for. His arms visible under the shorts sleeves of his dirty blue t-shirt, lacked muscle tone and were covered in pockmarks and small scabs. The yellowness of his skin worried her, his perpetual light tan long gone. He lightly twitched as he knelt there, a small smile skirting across his lips as his eyes rapidly flashed around the room.

Barsad turned, shutting the door and then stood watch in front of it. A large, menacing assault rifle was slung over his back. Bane walked up to Frankie, watching him shrink as he loomed closer.

"Tell our dear Shae what exactly you were doing while you lived with her." his voice boomed inside of the overcrowded small room, the statement sharp with rancor.

"I , I ah, was researching a relatively unknown narcotic analgesic with steroidal properties under the name Venom for Bannerman Pharmaceuticals. When used it causes enhanced strength, and muscle growth along with heavy pain relief without the sedative effect of most narcotics." tumbled quickly from Frankie's mouth in a small giggle.

"Continue Mr. Ambler." Bane's voice calm and collected voice urged on, his eyes never leaving the man crouched in front of him.

"Well, our original samples were from Mr. Bane's blood and the gas canisters in his mask. We were able to successfully replicate the original formula. We then started work on trying to make it stronger, make the effects last longer. But we couldn't without sacrificing some of its properties. The second formula, we, um we called Titan. Long term use can cause excessive muscle growth, a higher tolerance for pain, and only a small dose was needed, but it can cause permanent psychosis." he finished glancing up at the large man, as he wrung his hands together.

"And what exactly did you do with this second formula?" Bane questioned, his voice raising.

" I stole it!" loudly burst from his mouth in a crazed snicker. "All of it! All the files and test results, all the samples, everything. I was gonna to sell it. I was going to make enough to pay off school the rest of the way and have plenty left over to start a life somewhere else. I was going have it made for the rest of my life based on this one experiment alone. Do you know how much money we could charge for the smallest dose?" His eyes glazed over as he spoke, his mind clearly on this fantasy he had built.

Shae couldn't believe it. Frankie had always talked about helping people, helping to save the world from the everyday problems of disease and malnutrition. Greed had consumed him, this good man she had known had turned into someone she barely recognized. Tears filled her eyes as she gazed at this man she had thought she once loved. He had been a good friend before they became lovers and watching him twitch and snicker to himself, it hurt seeing him this way.

Bane's hand shot out, wrapping around Frankie's skeletal face, pulling him up until his feet dangled and kicked six inches above the floor.

"Now you see, Mr. Ambler also developed a taste for this Titan himself. It slowly ate away at his thoughts until he believed stealing from me would be a good idea. This man has gone through withdraw and come out the other side someone who, no one would recognize if they had known the original man. All of the muscles and strength shrank away leaving only this deluded husk."

The knuckles on Bane's hand starting bleaching against his skin. Frankie began to thrash and tried to pull Bane's hand away, his throat emitting a high-pitched whine.

"Are you not glad Ms. Driscol that he left before he became what he is today?"

"Yes, I am." she softly responded, frowning as she looked upon them both. Her body ached and now her heart did as well. Thinking of all the missed dinners and dates, how he suddenly had put on a good thirty pounds of muscle in a few weeks before he suddenly just disappeared, it all made sense when all the details were laid in front of her. That didn't make it hurt any less though.

Bane looked down at the man he held in his grasp. The whine quickly ascended into a muffled gargling scream. A sharp crack echoed through the room as Bane's thick fingers shattered one of Frankie's cheekbones. Frankie's face appeared lopsided, the one side crushed under the strength of the man's hold, the eye above it bulging in its socket. He squirmed and struggled, trying to free himself from the deadly grip, his eyes rolling wildly.

Shae let out a scream and cried, turning over to bury her face in her pillow, not wanting to watch as Bane killed him.

A few more pops and cracks sounded throughout the room followed by a sickening thud. Shae sobbed in the pillow, wanting to be anywhere else at this moment. The vision of the fingers of Bane's grip shifting as the bone broke underneath of it danced through her head as she cried, each sob painful.

Barsad left his post, and dragged the body into the hall, the sickening sound of the deadweight being pulled across the tiled floor filled Shae's ears.

A hand slowly glided in a small circle between her shoulder blades. It was strangely comforting given what she had gone through the past week and a half. Her sobs eased as the hand continued its gentle massage.

She grimaced as she tried to roll back over. Eyes clenched shut, she huffed and was ready to try again when a large arm slid under her shoulders and another under her knees. They repositioned her so she could lay back on the bed comfortably. It hurt to be moved like that, but not nearly as painful as it had been, trying to move around by herself.

She mumbled a thank you as she reopened her eyes. She stiffened in shock as the masked man towered above her. She flinched as his hand reached out and wiped the tears from her cheek.

"Hmm, you didn't mind my touch a moment ago little one. You need to be stronger. I know you are a fighter, it's there in your eyes at times. You will need that strength, there is so much more to come."

He caressed her other cheek softly, wiping the tears away before turning to leave. "I'll see what Dr. Vallis can give you to make you a bit more comfortable for the day. You leave here in the morning."

Shae watched him leave in silence. Her mind drew a blank. Of course she was glad she could get a bit more pain relief than the Naproxen, but she wasn't too thrilled about having to leave this place yet. It was clean and well-lit. No creepy men lurking around every corner. Plus the food was always hot.

Daphne came in, with a small vial in her hand. Her eyes were wide , her face drained of color.

"I didn't know he was going to kill him. I just can't believe..." Daphne trailed off as she came up to the bed.

"Did he make you watch? How sick, I just thought he was gonna beat Frankie up a little..." the shock and disbelief kept tumbling from her mouth as she prep Shae's arm and the needle.

"How did you know Frankie?"Shae asked, confused as she looked up at the distraught woman.

"I worked with him, he was one of the three upperclassmen who had internships here at the lab last summer. When the special project came up and we were short-handed, he was the first person I thought of to hire on. He was just so gifted when it came to formulating dissolution rates , it just seemed natural to add him to the team. He was such a hard-working kid, if I had known what he was doing..." her voice cracked as tears filled the woman's eyes.

Shae closed her eyes and tried to imagine being back at home with Sampson swimming happily in his tank while she work on homework, or studied for an upcoming exam. Any place where her mind and her body didn't hurt this much would be an improvement. Shae continued to let her mind wander as Daphne chatted away in panic, until finally her body succumbed to the drug induced sleep.