Bane of Humanity
(Part one of a two part story)
By Michael


(Shortly after the events of "Give me a sign")

"Jessup, youíve got a visitor", a sentence that Bane hardly ever heard. He was curious. Who on earth would want to see him? Prue? He hoped so.
He was led into the visitor's area. It wasnít Prue, sadly. It was his sister (and only living relative) Sarah. Sarah was an attractive girl, 18 years old, with dark brown hair (she looks a lot like Eliza Dushku- Faith on Buffy)
"Hey, Bro" her usual greeting for him.  "Look, I donít have much time. I need you to do something for me"
"How are you Broí? Keepiní well? Not bad, sis." Bane added sarcastically.
"This is no time for your jokes. This is important. Heís coming and we need to stop him"
Bane suddenly grew serious.
"Whoís coming"? He asked her.
"Thereís no time, look, I have something for you- donít give this to anyone"
She held a scrap of paper in her palm.
"How are we gonna get it in here without showing it to the guard?" he asked.
"Magic"
Suddenly a flash of light came out of her palm, enveloping the paper. It disappeared and then reappeared in front of Bane.
"How did youÖ"
"No time. I have to go. Read that out loud tonight. I love you, remember that, no matter what happens, I love you ok?" Sarah hurriedly said, standing up. Tears formed in her eyes.
"Nothing will happen to you, not whilst I'm here" Bane tried to reassure her. It didnít work. Yet a slight smile formed on his sisters face.
"I wish I could be so sure" She left, not looking back.

That night in his cell, Bane began to read the paper aloud. He had no idea what would happen to him after he had done so. It was some sort of poem or chant. Possibly an incantation. It reminded him of Prue.
"Hear now the words of the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the nightÖ"
He had no ideaÖ

(Present day, about a week after Just harried. We are in a shopping mall, outside the food court.)

"God, Prue, you can SHOP!" Phoebe told her sister. She was out of breath and was holding a number of bags from different stores. "Whereís Piper, anyway?"
"Iím here". Piper was using the same exhausted tone Phoebe had used. She was also carrying a mountain of bags. "Prue, you are turning into a shop-a-holic.  I think you have a problem"
 "The only problem I have is deciding what I should wear tomorrow. Itís the first time I have visited Bane since we last helped him. I donít know what he must want, but it sounded important on the phone" Prue wondered to herself.
"It would make me feel a lot better if I knew what he wanted. I'm sorry honey, but he still makes me uneasy." Phoebe waited for her sisterís reaction.
"Me two, sweetie." Piper added. At least Phoebe wasnít in it alone anymore.
"Me three if Iím honest." Prue agreed  "Apart from the uneasy part."
"Well," Phoebe began "there must be something in here that you can wear."

The three of them sat down at a table, and waited to be served. They all sat there silently, yet they each knew that they were all thinking about the same thing. Bane.
"Maybe heís being released." Phoebe wondered.
"Perhaps" Prue replied.  "Weíll just have to wait ëtill tomorrow"
They sat there wondering. As they began to eat, they began to talk about the normal, everyday things that had seemed to have escaped their lives. Yet they all were still wondering what was going to happen the next day.

Prueís dreams that night disturbed her. Nightmares may be a better term for them. By the time she awoke, they were gone, long forgotten. She was excited about today, the day she was going to visit Bane. Her feelings for him disturbed her, too. She was unsure of her emotions and of his. It made her begin to wish that she were still an empath.  The feelings confused her.
It was such a bright morning, yet clouds formed in the pink tinted sky. Confusing. It matched her mood. She took her time is dressing this morning. She wanted to look perfect, yet she was confused about why. Again, confusing. She had chosen a beautiful dress. She walked downstairs into the summer room, where her sisters were eating breakfast.
"Hey" she greeted her sisters.
They returned the greeting; both of them were obviously still tired.
"Prue, you look great" This came from Phoebe, and greatly reassured Prue that she looked ok.
"Are you sure itís not too much?" Prue asked her sisters, still confused about many things.
"Of course not," the recently married Piper began "Youíll knock him out!"
Prue could not help but laugh at this.
Half an hour of small talk followed, nothing that important to inform you about, just the little things. Prue commented on the drive to Baneís prison, since he was moved she would have to drive a long way to see him.
Phoebe began pouring milk over a second bowl of cereal.  She looked up just in time to see the flash of light that we recognize as astral projection. It was not Prue, she was still eating. Kit hissed in surprise. The milk in Phoebeís hand went flying across the room.  She levitated and kicked the recently appeared astral form of a man across the room. As this was happening, Prue used her power to send a glass bowl towards the mans head. Unluckily for her sisters, Piperís power also kicked in. She froze the room.  However, and this surprised all of the girls, the only things to freeze were the milk (in mid air) the bowl (inches from the mans head) and kit, who at the time was trying to claw the mans eyes out.
"That wont work on me Piper" The man began. "I'm a witch, just like you"
Everyoneís mouths dropped in surprise in response to this revelation. Everyone was surprised due to the fact that the good witch that had just astral projected into the Halliwell manor was the man that they had been discussing that morning. Bane Jessup had become a witch.

"Someone say something" Astral Bane began "I cant hold this form forever you know" His voice was a fifty fifty mixture of fear and sarcasm.
"Did you say that you were a witch?" Phoebe asked this astral form of Bane.
"I am, I swear," he tried to convince the sisters "it happened just after I went back into prison. You have to believe me"
"Ok, say we do, why did you come here?" Piper quizzed him. Prue remained silent the whole time. He seemed even more attractive to her now; at least if she were with him he could share in the supernatural part of her life.
"A powerful warlock is after me" Bane replied "my book of shadows tells me that it is a warlock so great that only the charmed ones stand any hope of defeating him" His tone became even more serious "Please. Trust me. I need your help" Bane had almost been reduced to tears. Suddenly, as soon as he had appeared, he left just as quickly.
"Whoa" With one word, Phoebe had summed up everything that they were all feeling.
 

"Thatís the Plan?" Piper began to ask Prue. About five minutes had passed since that incident occurred.  Just enough time for a convinced Prue to tell her sisters her plan of getting Bane out of prison, the glass bowl to smash, the milk to spill and for Prue, Piper and Phoebe to run up the stairs and into the attic to get the necessary spells that they would need for Prueís plan.
"How can you believe him so quickly?" she finished.
"I donít know" Prue responded. Phoebe was about to cut in and say something, but Prue continued too quickly for her "I just, I just trust him. Please, if you guys cant do that too, at least just trust me"
"Ok, weíll help you Prue" Phoebe told her sisters, on behalf of Piper as well. This was not her originally intended response, but it was the best. "Do you think you could go over the plan one more time?"
Prue could see that she had some work to do.

"Why are we doing this again?" Phoebe asked her sisters. Her tone was not serious, but more just humour mixed with a little bit of fear.
A further two hours had passed by. They were running behind the prison wall. They had forgotten to catch the name or the exact location, but it doesnít matter in the slightest.
"You know why, Phoebe. Donít back out now." They came to a halt "Letís start."
The plan to break Bane out of prison was now set into motion. Prue began by astral projecting right in front of herself. Her physical body went into a sleep like state as usual. Her exact double was once again under her control. She dressed her astral self in a large, heavy cloak. It weighed her down. It was just for disguise, and it did its purpose. The brown hood covered every inch of her face, protecting her from the view of the guards- that was precisely her intention. She slowly walked to the front of the prison. Her sisters could not make out exactly what she did, but she managed to grab the attention of the guards just enough for them to all give chase. She astral projected back into her body, leaving the guards to find just a cape on the floor. The three of them then cast the spell to create a door (when you find your path is blocked, all you have to do is knock) and ran inside the prison. They quickly ran through the maze that was the prison. If a guard walked by, Piper would simply freeze him. One was too quick and managed to fire a shot at Phoebe. She levitated though, and it missed her. Tear gas was thrown at them once too, yet Piper froze it and Prue sent it flying back to whence it had came. The trio did not stop until they reached Baneís cell. He jumped up and ran to the door.
"Get back" Prue ordered him. Her expression was serious, and he knew not to question her. She used her power to break open the door. He ran out and the two embraced.
"Phoebe, now, the teleportaion spell" Prue ordered her sister.
"Not so fast" was Phoebes surprising reply. It became clear that there was another potion in one of Phoebes mojo bags. "A truth spell. Me and Piper wrote it just before we left."
"Phoebe we donít have time toÖ" Prue was cut off. Phoebe blew a handful of a glitter like powder into Baneís face. He breathed in the mixture that was the truth spell.
"Now, tell the truth." Phoebe began to ask, "Are you really a good witch that has no intention of hurting me, my sisters, anyone we know or do not know?"
All three of them waited for his reply.
"Yes"
They were all relieved to hear this. Bane made Phoebe reverse the spell, promising that he can be truthful on his own. She did so, willingly. All of them were now convinced that Bane was what he said he was.
"Now can we get out of here?" Piper asked.
The four of them stood close together. Phoebe sprinkled what resembled fairy dust on them. I a manner similar to orbing, they disappeared and reappeared back in the manor.

"You have got some explaining to do, Mister." Piper told Bane.
No one was sure how much time had passed since they reappeared in the manor. The best guess is fifteen minutes, yet since they woke up there, they could have been out for sometime.
Bane had been sat down at the breakfast table. He had changed out of his old clothes and into an outfit found in the old boyfriend pile. Prue had made him lunch, consisting of a sandwich and some coffee. Prue, Piper and Phoebe all gathered and sat down around Bane, and began to listen as he told them his story.
"About a year ago, my sister came to visit me in jail. She gave me a piece of paper with an incantation on it to receive my powers. It turned out that my grandmother was a witch, and my dad was one too."
"Was?" Prue interrupted him
"Yes. Both my grandmother and my dad were killed by a powerful warlock that has been after my family for years. The warlock also killed my mom. Before he died, my dad performed a binding spell upon my sister and me. It kept us safe from the warlock, and he had no way of finding us either. Itís been about two years since my dad died. Shortly after, the warlock disappeared. However, half a year ago, the warlock came after my sister. She found the book of shadows buried in our back yard. So, she cast the spell to unlock her powers. She gave it to me so I could do the same. This way, we could both defend ourselves. I donít know what's happened to my sister. She was in touch with me till about a week ago. Its then that she disappeared. And yesterday, in the shower, the warlock appeared and tried to kill me".
Bane had finished his tale. It took a minute for it to sink in, and questions were asked, but soon everyone was clear on what was happening, and what had happened. More importantly, they had also started to work out what they could do.
"What's the Warlocks name?" Piper asked Bane.
"His real name cannot be pronounced by man, it says so in my Book of Shadows, but the name that he goes by on this plane is Jeremy"
The charmed ones stared in disbelief. Could this be the same Jeremy that they have vanquished twice before? It couldnít be. Could it?
"It couldnít be him, could it?" Phoebe asked. She was unsure whether she wanted an answer or not.
"The timing fits" Prue replied. "Bane," she began "does your book have a picture of him?"
"Yeah, its right here" was his reply.
He delved into his pocket. When his hand re-emerged, he appeared to be holding something. Something was there, you could see from the position of his hand that there was something there, but you couldnít see it.
With a wave of his hand, this nothing shimmered and a book appeared.
"This is my book of shadows" he explained "It has been in my family now for three generations".   Prue began flipping through the pages of the book.
It was small compared to theirs. It was about the size of the fourth Harry Potter book, Prue noted to herself. The cover was made of black leather, with an embossed "J" in the center. There were symbols around this letter J, mostly pentagrams.
"How did you do that?"  Phoebe questioned.
"With one of my powers" He replied.
Piper proceeded by asking him which powers he has, and what his sister has. His reply was, "I can astral project, make objects and people invisible, and throw fire. My sister can teleport objects and throw balls of electricity."
"You have three powers already?" Piper began to question "you must be talented!"
"I had nothing else to do in prison"
Prue looked up, and told her sisters what she had found. Their suspicion had been confirmed. It was Jeremy; Pipers ex love and the warlock whom had tried to kill her twice.
"Cant that guy take a hint?" Phoebe began; she was referring to Jeremy.
"What I would like to know is who brought him back," Piper finished Phoebeís sentence for her.
"Probably the source," Prue replied.
Bane looked into Prueís eyes and she into his. They had feelings for each other. There was no doubt about that. Their moment was interrupted by what sounded like a firework. They span round to see none other than Jeremy himself.
He looked different. A long black cloak replaced the usual clothes we see him in. The thorns on his skin (caused by the charmed ones) had gone. There was a long scar going across his right eye and up his forehead. He was more muscular, and he looked strong.  He had a bone skewer protruding from his right arm, yet it could be retracted.  Also, his eyes were glowing red, then yellow, then blue, then green, the black and then back to red.
Piper attempted to freeze him.
"That wont work, witch, I'm too strong for you powers. I expect them now," Jeremy had the voice, the sub- human voice, that all warlock seem to have.
"Bet you donít expect this one" Phoebe told him. She levitated through the air, and kicked him square in the jaw. He flew across the room like a rag doll. He raised a knife. It was different from an athame. It was larger, about the size of the distance between your elbow and the tip of your index finger. It was decorative, too. Phoebe ran to him, and tackled the knife out of his hands. She then flipped him over her shoulder and onto the floor. In doing so, she had a premonition. She felt a shock go through her body, her muscles stiffened, her eyes snapped shut and there was a ringing in her ears. She was presented by a black and white vision of a young girl (Sarah) tied up in a cave.
The vision ended and she ran back to her sisters. They began to chant "The power of three shall set us free" over and over, but it had no effect.
"You think theyíd bring me back to be vanquished with that for a third time?" he asked the sister. He vanished, yet the words "until next time" lingered in the room.
Phoebe explained to her sisters and to Bane what she saw in her premonition. Bane broke down, yet Prue was there to comfort him.

That night, in Prueís room, she and Bane sat on the bed.
"Feeling any better?" Prue asked him, staring into his eyes. "A little" was his reply "I feel better knowing that you and your sisters are here helping me."
He smiled at her, and she smiled back. The two sat there looking into each otherís souls for a moment, and then began to kiss, slowly at first, and then passionately.
The sounds of giggles were heard outside. Prue looked round to see her two sisters. They were happy for Prue and for Bane. He had grown red and embarrassed. Prue smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek for reassurance. She turned, stood up, and with a wave of her hand and a smile on her face, she used her power to shut the door.