Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters end up in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way of it.

An Interesting Twist

After letting them know in vivid detail what would happen to them if anything happened to Blake while he was gone, Bane left his new pet in the care of the guards placed outside his door before walking away with Barsad at his side, his second having been waiting for him as pre-arranged. Neither spoke to the other for the first few minutes, their destination an out of the way spot that didn't guarantee privacy or that they wouldn't be overheard, but was the best they could do without actually leaving the building.

Once there Bane stopped and looked at Barsad, waiting for the man's report.

"I was ordered to inform you that we're to leave tomorrow morning."

He'd expected as much. His presence was never wanted here by his lord, much less for very long. The very sight of him was a reminder that Bane had saved Talia when his lord had failed to do so, and then on the flip side he had failed to protect the other man's mate from The Pit's inhabitants. That no man could have gotten her out alive in that situation was understood, but changed nothing.

There was also the fact that since the failed attempt to destroy Gotham his lord had been worried, unnecessarily, that his leadership would be questioned. And while it was true that Bane would be a possible, even somewhat popular successor, that he would kill anyone who tried to overthrow Ra's al Ghul was understood by all. He'd made sure that that was understood, in fact, but Bane was aware that there were those who thought he should be the man's heir at the very least. And had made that known.

"He is also sending Hitachi and the boy with us."

Now that was an unexpected turn of events, not to mention one that made little sense to Bane as he turned the idea over in his mind. "Did he say why?"

"He wishes to test the boy's loyalty."

Hitachi had been one of Bane's instructors when he'd recovered enough from his injuries to start his training as a member of the League. The older man had shown himself to be one of the most patient, knowledgeable, and gifted members of the League, in Bane's opinion. Bane had always regarded the elder with great deference and respect, as Hitachi was a great man as well as warrior, but one with one very obvious and glaring weak spot.

The boy.

Long before Bane had come to this place Hitachi had lost a son. He had spoken little of the boy or his mother, but had worn a bracelet belonging to said son every day of his life in remembrance of him. Or he had up until four years ago. It was then, during the mission against Gotham, that Hitachi had encountered a half dead boy who bore a striking resemblance to his long dead son in some back alley in the city. A boy who looked enough like the long dead son that the old man had brought the boy back here with him, and had convinced himself that the boy was in fact his son. Hitachi had returned the bracelet to the boy's wrist, and threatened death to anyone who tried to take the teenager away from him.

Of course the boy wasn't his son. That was obvious by age alone even before the boy had recovered enough to speak and it was made clear that he didn't speak Hitachi's native tongue, recognize his 'father', or have any memories of a life outside of Gotham. But Hitachi would not be swayed by all the proof to the contrary, telling the teenage boy that he'd simply suffered a head wound that had addled his thoughts and robbed him of his memories. And the boy, realizing that Hitachi was the only thing standing between him and imminent death, had wisely decided to play along and had answered to the name Kei ever since.

And so the father had retrained his new son, and the boy had apparently learned well despite his occasional bouts of clumsiness, but he remained in the League solely for Hitachi's sake. It was unfortunate, but the boy was not a true follower of their ways and everyone knew it. And many questioned what would be done with him when Hitachi, who was pushing seventy three at this point, passed on to the next life.

It was known that Hitachi wanted Ra's al Ghul's promise that he would see to the boy's wellbeing and allow him to remain with the League after his death. A promise his lord would not give lightly. Hence 'volunteering' them for this task, Bane surmised, given the undeniable fact that Hitachi would have a hard time pressuring al Ghul for his word when there were both mountains and a desert between them.

And if the old man was to die while he was in Bane's territory, the boy would become his problem instead.

"I'm to test his loyalty to the League?"

"No. He wishes to see what the boy will do when faced with someone from Gotham. Someone who he believes would try and convince the boy to escape with him, if given the chance."

Ah, that made a little more sense. Though the point in doing this before Hitachi's death escaped Bane. "So I'm to assign the boy to guarding Blake in some capacity."

"That is the just of it, I believe."

Bane knew the boy mostly through overheard or reported gossip, but what he did know left him undecided as to whether this would be a good idea or not. Kei was said to be socially awkward, rarely speaking and with a habit of staring at people unnervingly.

Provided the boy wanted friends, Blake was smart enough to use that and befriend the boy just to use him to escape, which was the point of their lord's experiment. On the other hand there was nothing to suggest Kei had ever attempted to make a friend to the best of his knowledge, and appeared to be asexual in nature. Those that he knew had approached the boy about sharing their beds, as the young alpha was considered very attractive in appearance, were always turned down. Ergo Blake attempting to seduce the boy into helping him wasn't likely to succeed, and if the boy did decide to make a break for it, it would most likely be of his own volition.

But there was also the fact that the boy seemed to live in his head a lot, which wasn't conducive to watching over someone as slippery as Bane imagined Blake could be. Physically the boy was up to it though, and as long as Hitachi was supervising as well Bane wasn't completely against the idea. Especially since for the most part Blake would never be in a situation where running away would lead to anything but death by nature. And besides, Kei wouldn't help Blake leave and remain behind. The boy couldn't be stupid enough to think Bane would let him go unpunished.

"What do you think of this?"

Barsad was silent for a moment, obviously considering the matter seriously. "I think we don't know what either man is capable of. From what I've been able to gather, the detective was judged based on his data alone, without effort made to look beneath the surface as to who he might be under the uniform. And no one seems to know Kei. He stays in the shadows, his only known allegiance to Hitachi. And even then, whether there's true bonds there or it's just a matter of survival…I could not read him, the few times I tried to converse with him."

That was saying something, as his second was usually very skilled when it came to sizing up those around him. And Barsad preferred the shadows as well, so the two would have had that in common, if nothing else.

"Arrange for the boy to meet us midday. I wish to judge him before I assign him to the task." Not that he would disobey his lord's wishes, but how much contact this alpha would have with his pet was his decision unless al Ghul specified otherwise.

"Understood."

)

Bane hadn't seen the boy called Kei in a couple years, to the best of his recollection, and his first glimpse of the boy had his eyebrows rising a little, while beside him Barsad made a sound in the back of his throat that Bane wasn't exactly sure how to interpret, but assumed was some commentary on the fact that the boy really was a strikingly handsome example of the world's ethnicities. A mixture of many bloodlines and races, the Asian blood showed in the slightly slanted eyes and shiny black hair, while the light brown skin despite living on a mountain suggested ancestors who'd required the darker pigment to survive in their hot climates. Add in the green eyes and a height that suggested Caucasian blood, and you had a boy-young man who exemplified the best of his varied genes.

A cold beauty, though, Bane mused to himself, as there was nothing on the boy's face to read. Like there was nothing going on underneath the surface either emotionally or mentally. Whether that was so, or it was simply a façade the other man had adopted to survive, would remain to be seen.

Though Bane did make a mental note of the fact that the boy was wearing multiple layers, suggesting that perhaps all Gotham's inhabitants were unusually sensitive to the cold.

Stopping in front of them, Kei bowed his head slightly before looking up to meet Bane's gaze for a moment, no fear or even trepidation in those green eyes. And then he went back to staring at the floor as he addressed Bane. "Sir. You asked to see me."

"I did. Do you know the task your lord has asked that you be given?"

A head shake.

"Were you at the meeting last night?" Bane didn't recall seeing him.

Another head shake.

"I have acquired a Pet. It will be your job to come back to my territory with us, and act as his guard."

This had Kei looking up at him again, dark brows furrowed as just a hint of the man's alpha nature showed itself. "I can't leave my father. He needs me to take care of him."

"He is coming as well."

"Oh. That's fine, then."

Cocking his head ever so slightly to the side, Bane studied the other man as he would prey, the tone his gaze had taken seeming to have no effect on the much younger alpha, who couldn't be much more than twenty. "You don't fear me."

Still meeting his gaze the younger man shrugged, like he'd just been asked if he wanted corn or beans for dinner. "Your regard for my father means if you decided to kill me, or were ordered to do so, you'd do it quickly. And I know how to take a beating. You are Death to many, but I stopped fearing death a long time ago. Can I go now?"

Finding himself intrigued, Bane thought to himself that it would be interesting to observe this puzzle before him in the future. And he was curious as to what Blake would make of the boy, especially since they were both from Gotham. Was there something in the water over there, he wondered, that made men from that city so unusual in nature?

"You will come with me to meet your charge now."

Again a nod rather than words, the boy waiting until they were moving before falling into step behind them, careful to keep an arm's length distance between them.

"How old are you, Kei?"

"My father tells me I'm fifty four years old."

"And if a physician were to examine you, how old would he think you to be?"

There was just a hint of amusement in his response. "Twenty one. Twenty two in a few months."

"Any run ins with the law when you lived in Gotham?" If the man had a problem with cops, it was best to know now. Blake had only a cop's training to fall back on, which wouldn't stand a chance against a League trained alpha. Even one who appeared as simple as this one.

"I didn't have a juvenile record before I came here, if that's what you're asking."

"And no family to miss you?"

"I don't have any family but my father." Was the boy's shrugged response.

Leaving it at that for the moment, they were all lost in thought, anyway, the three of them traveled in silence up until the point where they entered the hallway leading to Bane's personal rooms. It was then that Bane spoke again, simply stating that it would be wise for the other man not to underestimate his new charge.

"Understood."

Opening the door Bane stepped through the threshold, making note of the fact that Blake was currently wrapped up in the blanket again, a book in hand. A book Blake set aside, along with the blanket, as the beta got to his feet, a questioning look on his face.

A puzzled expression that morphed into shock, and then fury.

And Blake wasn't looking at him.

He was looking at Kei.

"John?"

"Simon Tomas Deveroix! What the FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!"

His pet moving with a speed that took Bane aback given the careful way his pet had moved that morning, Bane's eyes widened that much more when Blake grabbed ahold of Kei's shirt and yanked on the material to force Kei down enough that his shorter pet could grab the alpha by the ear. And then Blake was twisting it while the beta continued to yell at the much taller and stronger alpha.

"Do you have ANY FUCKING IDEA how many FUCKING HOURS for FUCKING YEARS I spent combing alleys and the slums for you? Flashing your fucking picture around trying to find someone who might have seen your sorry ass! Huh? You want to know how many times I visited the homeless shelters and the damn fucking morgues, looking at fucking bodies so fucked up their identities weren't obvious?! I know emotions aren't your strong suit, but how could you not realize what it did to Father Riley and I, having NO FUCKING IDEA WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU all these years! YOU IDIOT! And what the hell were you thinking, joining the fucking League?! Of all the stupid things for you to-" Stopping in mid-sentence, Blake let go of both Kei's shirt and ear, his face a picture of confusion while Kei just placidly continued to stare at him while rubbing his ear.

"Wait a minute, you'd never join the League. Not willingly. They don't allow happy things around here like music. Hell, Eurovision is probably on their list of things to end once the control the world. And you're too-are you a pet? Did they kidnap you from Gotham?"

And now Blake spun around to give Bane his full attention, the look in Blake's eyes black and feral. The darkness that hungered to rip and tear, to hurt before he could be hurt, were visible in those dark eyes, Bane noted, and he had no doubt that were the answer to Blake's question a yes, Blake would dedicate himself to making those responsible suffer.

"I'm not a Pet. It's complicated. But they haven't hurt me or anything. I promise." Kei tugged on Blake's shirt to get his attention. "What are you doing here? You're even less likely to get along with them than I am. They hate cops."

Tired of being ignored, not to mention left in the dark, Bane answered the question before Blake could.

"He is my Pet."

"What?" Confusion crossed the young man's face, though understanding dawned quickly. And in reaction to that the boy's body and face tensing up in a manner that suggested he too, would draw blood in defense of the man who moments before had been prepared to do the same for him.

"Yup. So I expect you to start calling me Khaleesi."

Now all three men looked at Blake questioningly, Bane frowning behind his mask at the unfamiliar word. What did Khaleesi mean? It didn't sound English in origin. What other languages did his Pet speak? Or was it some sort of American slang? And if so what did it mean, as the boy was now looking back and forth between him and Blake, all signs of aggression and anger gone in the wake of Blake's casual statement. Why?

Turning his head slightly to meet Barsad's gaze, the two silently convey that no, neither knew the meaning of the word. And found that fact frustrating even if it probably was some mindless bit of slang that wasn't worth knowing.

"Kaleesi." Kei repeated, and then to Bane's shock the boy broke out into waves of laughter, Kei's whole face lighting up in a way that elevated his face from striking to stunningly beautiful.

Blake wore a fond expression when Bane returned his attention to his pet, the affection Blake felt for 'Kei' not sitting right with him. Blake was his, and should look at no other alpha but him. Especially since Bane could end the boy without an effort on his part.

"So since he's busy laughing at the moment, care to explain why you guys took him from Gotham?"

"After you explain how you know him."

"We were roommates in St. Swithin's for a year, before I aged out. That's a boy's home funded by the Wayne Foundation, by the way. Father Riley figured he'd do better with me than kids his own age, and even after I left I kept in touch to make sure he was doing okay."

"I see. He will explain his circumstances when we leave here. For now, Barsad, see him out."

Nodding, Barsad pointed at the door, Kei obviously struggling to contain his laughter at this point, as he bit down on his bottom lip and then waved goodbye to Blake, obviously not trusting himself to be able to talk at the moment.

And looking equally amused Blake waved goodbye in turn as the other two men left the room.