"Lock Tannis is always with me." Bane Sinister said.

He kneeled while keeping his palms pressed together. His blue eyes were closed.

Underneath the man's elbows was his bed. Clad in white, Bane kept his love for the greatest Soynite intact. Unbroken.

Warmth and safety continued washing over Bane. Lock Tannis's status as a living being only increased the possibility no enemy would kill Bane. Despite His distance from his worshippers, Lock Tannis was alive.

Bane, Summer, and Anne believed in the good glory of Lock Tannis.

Anne's siblings, the children Summer had told Bane about, were abominations.

Nick. Hailey. Sabrina.

Bane hadn't met Nick or Hailey, but he had seen Sabrina in a Freeman base on planet Earth.

He had learned there was a new generation of Highs. He had learned that yesterday. His daughter's biological sister was one of the six Highs.

Sabrina Sam.

She had been born as Nova Majestic. Using his X-ray vision goggles, Bane had seen the baby Sabrina had put inside her red backpack. A Freeman baby.

Bane assumed the girl had become that pale boy's mother. If the man's assumption was true, that meant Theo Majestic was now a grandfather.

Did Sabrina enjoy motherhood?

Her sister Anne was too young to reproduce. She couldn't continue her birth father's bloodline. Not yet.

Anne Majestic.

What a darling. She and Summer had come into Bane's life, and they were better than the horrible Majestics they had been with.

Anne. Bane's daughter, Theo Majestic's youngest child. Bane had raised his worst enemy's kid. His own father was dead, and it was the leader's wonderful fault.

If Bane was a man with good fortune, Jake, Sabrina, and Kevin would join the Lock Tannis Church.

If Sabrina became a person who prayed to the great and powerful Lock Tannis, Bane's group would have two of Theo Majestic's children as members.

Bane. Summer. Anne.

They were the Lock Tannis Church's first three members. Bane, the founder, the leader, the man who had done something great to his father, and then he had done something wonderful for Summer and Anne. The three had been younger then.

Summer had been in her early twenties. Anne had been a baby who released a baby's cries.

"Lock Tannis, I've been a devoted worshipper of Yours," Bane said, keeping his blue eyes closed. "I've been one for years. Please, keep my wife, Summer, and Anne safe. Keep me safe. And do the same for my brothers and sisters who have been intelligent enough to become Your worshippers. Protect me. Protect Summer. Protect Anne. Protect Claudia. Some members of my family have been killed. Felix, Toby, and Camilla, for example. But You haven't joined them in death. I will do whatever I can to keep the surviving members of my family safe. We will do whatever we can to keep You safe."

Lock Tannis was always with Bane, and the Freeman ruler was always with His other worshippers.

"If I find Theo Majestic, I won't give him the choice," Bane said. "He isn't going to get the opportunity I gave his daughter Sabrina. I will stab Theo in the heart for You. Regardless, I will continue to care for his youngest child. I wish You could see Anne with Your own eyes. Because of me and Summer, Anne is a highly devoted worshipper of Yours, Lock Tannis. We will join You one day. And so many heretics will die. So many of them. I lost count of how many heretics I've killed, but I know I will kill more of them. And when me and You finally meet, I will be filled with joy."

An enemy slipped into Bane's mind. Then one of the men's children, Hero.

Wade. Everett. Macy. Kat. Sydney.

"Lock, please kill Mitch Shame and his children," Bane said. "I don't know where they are, but kill them. Please. Wherever they're hiding, strike death into them. Please, Lock. Please. Those people proved to me that they're not worthy. The Shame family isn't like my big one. They oppose You. They hate You. They're like my father was. If the Shames had it their way, You would be dead. I can't let that happen. I refuse to let that happen, Lock."

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Lock Tannis wasn't only a man. He was the best man, the best person. His power was extreme. And He was more powerful than Bane would ever be, but He deserved it.

Bane took a deep breath.

"I will continue to protect Your devoted worshippers," Bane said. "Any Soynite who wants to will be given the chance to join this family. We will always love You. I will always love You. The end."

Bane opened his eyes.

"Bane," Allison Scape said.

Bane stood, faced the group's newest member.

Anne had met Allison's twin brother in a Freeman base on planet Earth. Allison, the newest convert, had joined the group earlier. The scarred teenager was Bane's newest sister.

Jake wouldn't convince Allison to leave the group, neither would Sabrina or Kevin.

"What is it, sister?" Bane said.

"I'm thinking about my brother again," Allison said. "I wish he could pray with me."

Allison wore a white shirt with long sleeves, blue jeans, and black shoes. Her face wore a scar. It was shaped like a triangle, and a Freeman warrior had granted it to the girl. Brown-haired and green-eyed, Allison was safe.

Her brother had become unsafe. And Bane's child had been in that Freeman base when it happened.

Allison hadn't gone into Bane's room alone.

"Your brother would've been a great worshipper of Lock Tannis, Allison," Anne Majestic said. She put a hand on Allison's back. "I was with him. He was so brave, and he would've been a brave brother to all of us here."

Like Bane, Anne wore a white shirt and white pants. Unlike her father, her hair was blonde.

Anne's eyes were blue. If she desired it, she could shoot red laser beams from them. Bane didn't have that power. He could see the past and the future, and he could become invisible. But he didn't have the Save his daughter possessed.

"Doug isn't here," Bane said. He rubbed his thumb against his index finger. "You're here, though, darling. You can do what your brother can't. Being a worshipper of Lock Tannis makes you more important than the heretics beyond this home, and they are true fools. True fools get killed. My father was one, and I murdered him. Anne, don't get any ideas. I am a busy man, and I have much to do."

Bane had to recruit Jake, Sabrina, and Kevin. He needed to meet Lock Tannis. The man needed to find and kill Theo Majestic. Wherever Lilly Majestic was, wherever she hid, the woman had to die. She would try taking Anne back, no doubt.

"Only two of my parents need to die, Father," Anne said. "You're not one of them."

"Thanks, Anne," Bane said. "I can always count on you. I know that. Right now, though, I need you to leave me and Allison alone. I'll see you in the auditorium."

"Okay, Father," Anne said.

She left.

"May I hug you?" Allison said, her green eyes glistening with tears.

"Of course," Bane said.

When Allison was close enough, she hugged Bane, and he embraced her back. Bane wasn't a stranger to hugging the people he led.

"This group of ours is your new family," Bane said. He rubbed Allison's back. "And when you kill the heretic in our home, Anne and the others will love you even more."

They stopped hugging. Allison held Bane's hands.

"I'm not going to disappoint you," Allison said. "Thank you for letting me join the Lock Tannis Church. I'm not going to fail you, and I'm not going to fail Lock Tannis."

They stopped holding hands.

"Can I touch your scar?" Bane said. Allison nodded. The man rubbed the triangle with his thumb. "Lock Tannis's Freeman supporters are brutal people, Allison. I'm sorry they found you. They hurt you. And it's time for you to hurt our captive. It's time for you to kill that boy."

Bane and Allison went to the auditorium.

People sat in seats, hundreds of Bane's people, Lock Tannis's faithful worshippers. On the stage was a plastic sheet. A boy wearing white pants was on it, shirtless and bathed in bright light. He was restrained with Strife handcuffs, and a rope was wrapped around his legs.

Corbin Tame.

He hadn't arrived in the space station with the white pants. That piece of clothing had been given to him. Bane and Anne wore white, but they weren't what the restrained boy was.

Corbin was the Lock Tannis Church's thirteen-year-old captive. Killing him would bring happiness to Lock Tannis, the only person greater than Bane.

Tall and muscular, Leo Letterman stood on the stage, armed with a Soynite dagger. He and Allison were both sixteen-year-old members of the group, but Leo had joined the Lock Tannis Church years ago. Allison had become one of its members earlier.

In Leo's other hand was a wireless microphone.

Leo was brown-haired and brown-eyed, like Don Ascend. Summer had met him. Now, though, she sat in one of the auditorium's seats, Bane assumed.

People watched Bane and Allison as the two walked through the aisle.

After approaching Leo, Bane took the dagger from him. He gave it to Allison.

"Thank you, Leo," Bane said. He grabbed the microphone, turned it on. He prepared to let his voice emerge from the massive room's speakers. "Allison Scape, our newest member, is going to kill Corbin Tame. This boy refused to become a worshipper of Lock Tannis, and Leo decided that we should sacrifice him to Lock Tannis. Your sister Allison will stab Corbin in the heart. She will spill blood for the great and powerful Lock Tannis, the best Soynite. Kill Corbin, Allison."

Allison took a breath that trembled.

Corbin aimed his blue eyes at the Strife handcuffs, struggled. His blond hair stayed off the plastic sheet as he acted as if he could undo what Leo had done. Leo had handcuffed Corbin from the front.

Leo wouldn't save him.

"You Lock Tannis-worshipping idiots!" Corbin said, the thirteen-year-old yelling as he expressed his hatred for Bane's family. But he was doomed. Allison kneeled beside the boy. Bane smiled. "Theo! Theo Majestic, save me! Save me, my High!"

Allison buried the dagger into Corbin's heart.