Okay, this chapter's a bit short compared to others, but there's some pretty intense stuff coming up so be warned...
Bane paced the kitchen, waiting for about 30 of the best the League of Shadows had to offer to settle down in the main area of the house. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, waiting for Barsad to come to him and tell them the men were assembled and ready for his address. But Barsad did not come. Out in the main area, he had paused to talk with the IT specialist about a pressing matter and so, had instructed Mae-Ling to fetch the Bane, a task that she was not relishing at all. In the two days since Kit's abduction, Mae-Ling had been in Bane's presence only when Barsad was also there. She knew that at the first chance he got, Bane would be perfectly justified in verbally or physically punishing her for her recent failure. So with a heavy heart, she opened the kitchen door, stood in the frame and said quietly "They are ready for you Sir!".
As she turned to leave, she heard him utter "Mae-Ling, come here please" in a serious and hushed tone. She held her breath and steeled herself for what was undoubtedly to come. "You were in sole command of Kit's safety that night, correct?" he asked.
"Yes Sir" she replied quietly.
"As such, you consider that you alone are responsible for her being taken?".
"Yes Sir".
"You expect punishment for your actions?".
"Sir, I not only expect punishment, but deserve it" she stated, he head bowing in deference to her leader.
"Nonsense!" Bane exclaimed. "You are in no way responsible for what happened Mae-Ling. I have been subject to plenty of my fathers evil machinations in the past and understand full well that he will stop at nothing to get what he wants. So, I need you to cast off your feelings of dejection and responsibility and focus on one thing only; the safe return of my soon to be wife and your friend. Do I make myself clear?".
"Yes Sir!" she replied with small smile on her lips.
"Good!, lead on!" he replied, as he held his hand out to signal her to preceed him to his men. As Mae-Ling approached Barsad, he raised an uncertain smile and she nodded her head in acknowledgement. When she had taken her place at his side, Bane looked at his brother, his back turned to the rest of the men and allowed himself a quick wink of his right eye, in acknowledgement to the unspoken thanks given by Barsad.
He turned to face his men, grasped the lapels of his coat with both hands and spoke slowly and clearly. "My brothers...the future of the League of Shadows rests in our hands. As you know, Katherine Prescott is carrying my son, the heir to the Demon Head. She was taken two days hence, by my own despicable father. He intends to use my child's body to extend his own piteous life in a most inhuman and heartless way.
Now,...I am aware that some of my former methods and actions have been regarded as inhuman by the rest of the world and indeed, some members of our organisation. I can only apologize to you all that I became blinded to true justice by my misplaced sense of duty to the daughter of our former leader. But while knowing Miss Prescott, I have realized that the might of the League of Shadows should return to the cause that it was originally created for. As a beacon of social justice, a conduit for the equal rights of all men, women and children, and as the scourge of those who would seek to obtain power and wealth through corrupt and nefarious means. I truly believe that the only way that this can be achieved, is through a child raised within our ranks, being taught our ethos and practices, but with her influence. Therefore, I ask you to join me in a mission to save both Miss Prescott and my son. I have no doubt that sacrifices may have to be made and you have my assurance that if those include myself, I will consider it an acceptable price to pay to secure their safety So, my brothers, will you help me?".
To a man, those gathered signaled their assent by raising their clenched right fist, the way in which all group decisions were made within the organisation. Bane nodded and turned to Barsad. "We leave in 30 minutes!" he confirmed and then walked up the stairs.
Opening the door to their bedroom, Bane paused for a moment, amazed but still delighted that the unique smell of his lover still permeated the air around him. He would not have had it any other way. He needed any and all reminders he could gather in order to find the physical and metal strength required for this task. Along with Talia, his father had always been a great weakness for Bane. Was it a misguided and unjustified sense of loyalty? A desperate need for true family? A misplaced and undeserved feeling of lingering affection? No matter what feelings he had for both his father and his former charge, they had completely dissipated as soon as he learned of Kit's pregnancy. The news had made him realize that although he had only known Kit for a short time, she was the missing piece of him. She was moody, beautiful, maddening, delicious and challenging all at the same time. She completed him. He needed her. He wanted her and no other, forever. He had to get her back, had to make her safe, had to let her know just how much she meant to him. He longed to hold his son in his arms and know that he was a better man than his own father, that he was of more use to someone than Talia had made him believe. Kit and his son were his redemption, his reward, his salvation.
He sat on the edge of their huge bed. His shoulders sagged and his brow furrowed. He felt the strangest and most unwelcome feeling in his chest. A sinking, empty feeling that would only be sated when she was back in his arms again. For the second time in his mainly miserable life, tears came to Bane's eyes. He quickly blinked them away and chuckled under his breath and beneath his mask at the thought of Kit's reaction if she were here.
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Edmund Dorrance sat on his bed, eagerly watching the monitor in front of him. It showed Kit, naked, bound to a bed and crying. Although he was somewhat sickened by the ongoing and constant ocular waterworks produced by the woman, he had to admit to a certain amount of arousal also. He had previously believed that his fondness for the pain and suffering of others had only been of a physical nature. But now, he realized that despite the annoying sobs and cries, the emotional pain that she was no doubt feeling was a sweet nectar to him. He wanted to be next to her, relishing every moment of her suffering, making it worse by detailing exactly what the future held for her son.
He wanted to touch her when she was like this, to see if her inner anguish could be felt through her creamy, pale and flawless skin. He hoped it could. How wonderful it would be to thrust inside this woman while heartbreak tormented her soul. To ravage her body while her mind screamed in pain. He felt himself stiffen to a ridiculous degree at the thought, a sensation which had only been bettered by the time he had wrapped his hands around the neck of an sixteen year old male while he pushed his manhood into the slicked up but still tight anus of the young man. Naturally, the boy had died a day or so later. Not due to his treatment in Edmund's bedroom, but because of his repeated attempts to escape his captor. Dorrance did not share his prizes, he did not release his victims and he did not, under any circumstances, relent in his treatment of them merely due to pathetic whimpers and plea's. Kit would soon learn this, but not while the bastard of his mutant son was still inside her. It sullied her.
For now, he was content to let her wallow in misery, enjoying every last moment of it while rubbing himself to completion.
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Kit awoke from a fitful sleep, dismayed to find that what she thought had been a nightmare was actually real. She felt uncomfortable, nothing unusual given that she had been tied to this bed for two days straight. But this feeling was more than that. She was hungry but nauseous. She wanted to throw up and go to the toilet, preferably at the same time. She was calm and irritable at the same time. Overall, she was perplexed by the wealth of emotions coursing through her body. On the very dot of 7:00 am, the strange looking older woman who had been assigned to attend to Kit entered the room, without a word or a look towards her patient. The woman busied herself checking machines, measurements and stats and finished her duties by emptying the bag that hung from the side of the bed. While Kit had prepared herself for certain things during her pregnancy and labour, she was not ready for the catheter that she found had been installed in her when she woke. She turned her head embarrassed as the woman ensured all fluid had been removed and then lifted the sheet to check that the place where it's tube entered Kit's body was clean. The woman callously flicked at the tube and chuckled, as Kit shot her a look that had previously made her missing lover cringe with dread. But Kit's sour expression had the opposite effect on the woman, who only chuckled more at her own heartlessness.
Just then, Kit felt moisture between her legs and being unable to sit up and confirm what she thought must have happened for herself, she said towards the woman "You've knocked the tube out, you silly old bitch!". Immediately, the woman turned on her heel and stormed back over to the bed, fully throwing back the sheet this time. She stared down at Kit's groin and smiled, then walked back out of the room without taking any further actions.
As Kit heard the sounds of increased activity outside of the door, she realized that it wasn't a spillage from the catheter tube that had caused the wetness, it was her waters breaking She was in labour.