(Monthly Short FIction Contest Prompt: Mystery/Noir, desert) BANE

BANE struggled against his restraints as the men came in. One he had never seen before came forward. "Extraordinary," he said, breathless. "This is our Bionic And Nuclear Entity, or BANE for short. He is only a prototype, but he is still one of our most successful creations," the engineer said, smiling at his creation. BANE struggled again and this time he broke free. He grabbed the engineer's throat and lifted him off the ground. The other man's eyes widened. Then he ran. There was a crack and BANE dropped the limp engineer as the alarm sounded.

"How much can you pay," BANE asked in his robotic voice, taking a toothpick out of his mouth. "As much as I have," the Wilken said. BANE cocked his head to the side. The alien reached his dark red hand in his pocket and took out 10 renker's. BANE stuck his hand out. The Wilken handed him the money. BANE nodded. "So, you'll find my child?" BANE nodded and left.

BANE's ship landed on the desert planet. He sighed as he stepped off his ship, the Chronus.

There was only one town on the planet Creon. The town was called Trender. It was a small town with huts instead of houses and skyscrapers like on other planets. People only went there for one thing: to hide from something or someone. No law-abiding citizen would ever come here on purpose. That was unless someone had taken them here against their will.

BANE walked through the town. The people around stopped what they were doing and looked at him. No surprise. He was the only one of his kind. BANE looked around and found a bar. A drunk man was an honest man, BANE remembered from her training.

BANE shot the last training probe. Suddenly, someone clapped. "Well done, BANE," the engineer said. BANE just looked at him. Then he shot at the glass separating him and the engineer. The engineer got up and sighed. He pressed a button and BANE was electrocuted. He fell to his metal knees. "Next time think about things before you do them. Now, go back to your cell and study those notes." BANE shook his head. "I know them," he said. The engineer glared at him. "Number 7." "A drunk man is an honest man." The engineer sighed. "Cell. Now." BANE listened.

"What can I get you," the bartender asked. BANE just waved him off. He looked around and found a dark blue creature with sharp teeth and black eyes. He matched the description the Wilken had given him. BANE sat down, close enough to hear but not seem suspicious, and listened. "Yeah, that kid was a handful, I'll tell you that," the dark blue alien said. "Yeah, he wouldn't just be quiet. We had to knock him out," a green creature with an elephant head said. BANE then noticed something. He remembered him.

The green elephant creature banged on his glass cage. BANE almost felt sorry for him, but being in the same situation, he had no time to worry or care about the alien. "Hey, why aren't you fighting," the alien asked BANE. BANE shrugged. "Point?" The alien looked at him in disbelief. "To live! To be free! Have you ever been outside?" BANE slowly shook his head. The alien smiled slightly. "It's amazing. There's a whole galaxy out there, with oceans and meadows and deserts." BANE cocked his head to the side. "D-deserts?" The alien chuckled. "A desert is an area full of sand, just sand for miles. Seems like a death trap for me, but being what you are, I don't think it would bother you too much." BANE smiled very slightly. "Name?" "Dax. You?" "BANE."

BANE didn't even notice his fists were clenched until he started to draw ichor from his palms. He took a deep breath and kept listening. "So, the kid, why take him anyway," a man in a suit asked. The Dark blue creature chuckled. "He happens to be the son of a billionaire. We'll give him back to that Wilken, I already hate this kid anyway, but for a really good price." The men talked for a few more minutes and then the green and dark blue one got up, saying they had to go. The green one looked around and saw BANE. He stared for a second. "Come on, Dax," the dark blue one said. "Yeah," the green one muttered. He looked away. "Just thought I saw someone I knew."

BANE followed them as they went through the sandy streets. They kept walking until they left the town, and BANE had to hide behind sand dunes. Soon, they made it to a cave. The aliens went inside and BANE followed, trying not to be seen. Eventually, they made it to a cage where a little Wilken was banging on the cage and cursing at the aliens. The kid looked around 9, with red skin that looked faded and little nubs where his horns would grow in. The kid didn't look like a pampered rich kid. He looked like a kid who had grown up on the streets, with bruised knees and a dirty face.

"Could you please shut him up," the dark blue alien asked a guard. The guard shook his head. "Tried everything, sir. Even tried knocking him out." "And what happened," dark blue asked. The guard took a deep breath. "He knocked all of us out. Almost escaped too."

Green laughed. The other two glared at him and he stopped. "Let me out of here you desca's," the kid yelled. "Woah," all 3 creatures exclaimed. "Kid's got a mouth," BANE muttered. Suddenly, BANE realized he needed to help the kid now. Waiting wasn't an option. He jumped out from behind the rock he was hiding behind and shot the guard. The other two guys looked at him. "You," the green one said. BANE nodded. "Me."

BANE shot at the two aliens but missed as they ran for cover. More guards came in but they were no match for BANE. Every shot they took just bounced off his metal skin. He shot them and every time he hit one. Soon there was none left. BANE stepped over the bodies of the guards and went towards the kid and his cage. The kid just stared at him in awe as BANE hacked into the cage's database and the forcefield keeping the kid inside powered down. The kid looked at BANE. "You wanna get out of here, or are you staying in there," BANE asked. The kid stepped out. "What are you?" "BANE." He started to walk away but the kid followed him. "You mean the Bionic And Nuclear Entity prototype? Did my father hire you?" BANE simply nodded. "Now kid, I need to kill these desca's, so I want you to stand outside the cave and wait." The kid shook his head. He picked up a fallen guard's gun. "I can fight." BANE sighed. He didn't have time to fight with this kid. He just walked further into the cave, the kid behind him.

BANE came across so many guards it seemed off. All of this for one kid? Sure, he was rich, but it didn't seem necessary for them to have so many guards. BANE kept going and finally, he found dark blue and greeny. They were talking while looking at a strange blue energy source. "That's the Eye of Conra," the kid whispered. "It's the most precious thing on my planet." BANE nodded. He motioned for the kid to shoot left and he would shoot right. The kid nodded. They both shot, the kid hitting the dark blue one in the chest and BANE shooting the green one on the arm.

"Nice shot kid," BANE said. The kid smiled. BANE walked over to the Eye of Conra. Then the green alien grabbed his ankle. "Please, don't leave me here, I'm your friend BANE." BANE chuckled. "No, you're not." Then he shot him in the heart.

BANE grabbed the Eye of Conra (which was in a metal shell) and left with the kid. "That was absolutely awesome," the kid exclaimed. BANE chuckled. He gave the Eye to the kid. "What's your name, kid?" "Ren." "Well, Ren, you're very brave. Now come on, we need to get you back home."