It had been a long time since Ra's had been outmaneuvered by a foe. Napoleon had been one such person, someone the ancient one could look back fondly and recount the multitude of skirmishes between them.
Bane had just placed himself among such giants this night. Either Ra's had underestimated the man's intelligence, or he had allowed his own arrogance to blind him; either way, he had committed a grave error.
"Bane," he greeted the masked man stoically.
"I am," he acknowledged. "You, on the other hand, are a mystery to me. You and your traveling companions."
The Demon's Head tilted his head to a side to regard Talia and the child, the former openly scowling at Bane. Actually, the boy was too, but that was the expression that was chiseled into his flesh. Rarely did that scowl leave his face. Their identical expressions, however, were not all that hard to determine the cause for.
"I am known as Ra's al Ghul," he then informed the towering hulk, returning his attention to him. "The leader of the Demon's Fang."
He was not surprised to see a lack of surprise on Bane's face, though his mask disguised them anyways. It was Bane's body language that he studied and it betrayed no astonishment. Ra's had worked tirelessly to bury his organization in the shadows, so a man from a remote Caribbean island would have never heard of him.
Bane ultimately nodded his acknowledgement of the introduction. "I assume you wish to conquer Gotham now that its guardian had been discarded, yes?"
"Perhaps. All you need to know is that I wish to pay my respects to that guardian you broke. It is in his name that I defend this city against your scourge."
Bane shifted his body, a sign to Ra's that he did not believe him and in fact seemed amused. "Do not deceive a fellow conqueror, al Ghul. I know my kind all too well and we are one and the same. You want this city as your own, much like I do."
"Do not presume you are my father's equal," Talia snapped then, her voice betraying her anger. "He is a man beyond you in every facet."
"That's enough, Talia," Ra's interjected, tilting his head so that he could shoot her a silencing stare.
"I believe you are overestimating your father, señorita," Bane replied, not the least bit offended. "I am Bane and I break all those who oppose me."
"Then it is battle you wish to commence." Ra's opened his cloak to reveal his sword hanging from the belt at his waist. "This is my weapon and my choice for a duel. Do you accept these conditions?"
"If you are indicating a sword duel, I would were it not for my lack of arms."
Ra's did not have to utter a word. Immediately, Talia unsheathed a sword that had been hidden behind her back. The Demon's Head held his hand out, to which his daughter approach, resting the hilt in his palm. With his other hand, he drew his own sword, flipping his grip so that he held the blade upside down. At once, he tossed the swords to Bane, who caught each with his hands. "Choose your weapon."
Bane seemed to studied the blades before he tossed Ra's sword back to him, the older man catching it as easily as the brute had moments earlier. "You may keep your sword, old one. I want all to know that you kept your advantage even as you fell before me."
Fool. He had granted this man the opportunity to even the playing field and he had cast that generosity aside. Ra's was never one to deny himself an advantage, especially when his opponent gave it to him. Though he was competent with every sword known to man, there was something to be said about the fit and grip of the hilt and the weight of the blade. His sword, custom-made for him from its tip to the snake head that formed the pommel, was a mere extension of himself.
Raising up his blade, he held it parallel to the floor, the tip pointed to Bane as the underside of his hand faced upwards towards the ceiling. He held his other hand behind him as he stood with his profile to his foe, spreading his legs apart. "You may have the first move."
Bane assumed an en garde pose, indicating some familiarity with the sword. His footwork needed some adjustment as he shuffled forward across the wooden floor, Ra's was quick to note.
Once the distance between them was gone, Bane struck, arcing his sword arm out wide before slashing it inward for Ra's head. In response, the Demon's Head flicked his wrist, his arm twisting around until the underside was facing the floor. There was a clash as steel met steel. Both blades bounced off each other, though Ra's sword was flung back further than Bane's.
"Raaaahhhh!" Bane roared as he again struck with his blade, again aiming for a headstrike. Ra's ducked the swing, feeling it fly by harmlessly as a breeze ruffled his hair. With a simple twitch, Ra's sword shot upwards, leaving a red mark along Bane's bicep, a shallow cut, but one that would get his attention.
That proved to be true as Bane jumped backwards, keeping his sword tip pointed towards Ra's while he moved his other hand to inspect the wound. This caused his head to turn so that he could regard the scratch, a fatal error in judgement. Much like the simple gesture he had made to counter his foe, Ra's did the same, only he beat aside Bane's sword before making his own strike for the masked man's head.
Though surprised, Bane managed to recover faster than expected, moving his sword back to block the blow. Then with great strength, he shoved Ra's blade back, purposefully moving his sword arm out before swinging back inward, this time going for a body blow. Easily, Ra's blocked and parried the strike, though he was quick to note the strain his arm felt from such a maneuver.
Bane was strong, this much he knew prior to their meeting. The man was using this strength to overpower him with his every attack. Undoubtedly this strategy had served him well in battles past. Brute strength would not win him this day, however.
Arcing his sword upward, Bane then swung his weapon down to slice Ra's in two from head to foot. Again, Ra's blocked the blow, positing his sword above his head in a high block stance. He was successful in this maneuver, allowing the force of the blow to drop him down, his knees bending as a result. Undoubtedly, Bane would assume his adjustment in stance was due to his strength.
Immediately, Ra's lashed out with his leg, landing a side-swinging kick against the side of Bane's knee. The larger man cried out in pain and surprise as his leg buckled. Quick as a whip, Ra's slashed at Bane's chest, leaving a horizontal cut along his pectorals. The masked man stumbled backwards from the wound, attempting to put some distance between them.
Ra's would have none of that. He pressed his attack on his unsteady foe, thrusting for his abdomen. In response, Bane swung his sword down to beat the thrust aside, one in which Ra's allowed, if only to flick his wrist and deliver another cut to his foe's sword arm, this time leaving a cut along his forearm. A hiss escaped from the man's mouth at this.
Continuing to raise his sword up, Ra's again rotated his wrist as he went for a slash for Bane's head, an attack the man jerked his head back to avoid, the tip of the blade barely missing him. The brute's sword returned to the duel, slashing for Ra's shoulder, which he immediately blocked.
Bane went on the offensive then, sending a sword strike for Ra's other shoulder, then the chest on the opposite side, then again reversing, aiming for the opposite hip. Ra's calmly blocked each attack before he parried the last, slashing diagonally at Bane and leaving another cut, one that started at the lower left side of the abdomen and crossed upwards, ending at the upper right side.
Bane backed off then, this time not dropping his attention. Ra's did not press the attack this time.
"You are quite skilled," Bane complimented him, adjusting his grip on the sword even as he seemed to rock back and forth on his feet, shifting his stance. "I believe I have underestimated you."
"You are not the first to make that mistake," Ra's replied. "Nor will you be the last."
Indeed, this was merely child's play. It was quite clear now that Bane had rudimentary skills when it came to the sword. So far the Demon's Head had been content to give him a death by a thousand cuts. Each one that marred the larger man's sword arm and torso were shallow at best, small stings that would clot within minutes, but heal into scars days later.
Regardless, it was clear whom the better man was. It was time to end this duel.
The manhole cover rattled. One end tipped up before the tipped end rotated to the other end. Then one side completely raised up, allowing the foul stench of the sewer out into the stale air. A pair of hands held the lid up until a head appeared.
"Sweet mother of God, that is some good oxygen!" Bat-Joker gasped as he hauled himself out of the sewer. He shoved the manhole cover to a side and crawled across the wooden floor until he was fully saved from the suffocating sewer stench.
There was no telling how long he had been down there. In all honesty, he had lost all track of time.
His big time clue he found, and then caused the destruction of the GothCorp lab, had led him here. Well, it had been this general area to be precise and then more clues found here—ones he did not care very much for, thank you—led him into the sewers. That had turned out to be a bust. Unfortunately, he had gotten lost and had been trying to find his way out ever since. It could've been five minutes, it could've been five days. He had learned things about himself that he didn't care to repeat and found things the rest of the world had no clue about.
Things that will never be mentioned again…
As he kept breathing, sucking in the sweet, delicious air that wasn't contaminated by waste products, he heard something. Slowly rising his head, he saw people; one, two, three, aaaaand four to be exact. They were talking about something that seemed important to them.
And then two of them began attacking each other with swords.
Bat-Joker's head shot up, which incidentally caused his back to bend at an awkward angle, then promptly forced him to lay back down. Pushing himself up, he scrambled onto his feet and watched with wide eyes.
There were some support beams that got in his way, but eventually he could make out a muscle-bound giant, showing off his marvelous body with a leotard. There was a wrestling mask on the man's head and Bat-Joker had to ponder where he had heard such a description. And then something clicked in his head.
Holy Wrestlemania, Bat-Joker! That was Bane! The big, bad, hunk of steroids that had snapped Batsy's spine like a matchstick! And he was here, getting cut up by some old geezer who—if you asked him—looked like one sinister dude. Those regal features, high cheekbones, and upturned nose could only mean one thing.
He was a One Percenter.
Egads! Those guys were evil by definition! So why was Bane-of-his-existence fighting with a country club alum? They were both bad guys, so thus they should be working together. That's when Bat-Joker's eyes fell onto the other two people.
No, this was too much. There was a woman with a nice derriere, if he didn't say so himself, and a little boy. The woman was clutching at the child, indicating she was clearly afraid of the two bad guys. And then it hit him.
The woman and the kid were hostages! And both Bane and the senior citizen were fighting for them! There was no telling who the hostage-taker was, or who was trying to steal the hostages, but it was quite clear these two were fighting for the right to keep them.
It was clear what Bat-Joker had to do. He had to save them and save them he would. Now, it was in his experience that frightened people had the nasty habit of squirming when scared and being rescued. They would either fight back or suffocate the person trying to rescue them. That was something he did not need, so logically he needed to knock them out to spare him that problem.
Carefully, Bat-Joker sneaked his way through the rather dusty warehouse room. So far, Bane and the old guy were completely focused on each other that they didn't notice him. So far, so good.
Before he or anyone else knew it, he was right behind the woman and the child. Carefully, oh so carefully, Bat-Joker reached to his belt and pulled out the very tool he needed to knock these two out. Once he had it in hand, he raised it high above his head.
His ever-faithful rubber chicken.
"You are not the first to make that mistake nor will you be the last," the geezer was saying, Bane staring at him despite the lovely cuts on his muscle-y body. Good, they were still focused on each other
And then Bat-Joker swung the rubber chicken down, hitting the boy against the back of his head. The kid cried out before he crumpled to the floor unconscious. Instantly, the woman snapped her head to him, her long brown hair whipping around her head to fly over her shoulder, a curiously enraged look on her face.
Before she could so much as thank him for his service—or snarl, that was very possible now that he thought about it—Bat-Joker swung the lead-filled rubber chicken and clocked her against the back of her head, knocking her out as well. Like the kid before her, she collapsed to the floor.
There, half of his work was done. Now he just needed to—
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Jerking his head up, Bat-Joker discovered he was now the center of attention. Both the old guy and Bane were looking right at him, rage twisting the older man's face, his baby blue eyes flashing with steel. Hmm, was it just him or did that face look familiar?
Bat-Joker snapped his fingers. Of course! That was the look Batsy gave him just before they took the plunge into the fires of Hell! Good times!
However, he had just been asked a question and it was his duty to answer. "Why, I was just saving these poor saps from the forces of evil! And by evil, I mean you two gents, no offense."
"What are you wearing?" Bane asked, sounding quite incredulous.
Well, that wasn't the question he was looking for, but it made a good segway. "Why, this is crime fighting gear, high-tech, and street friendly. For you see, I am no Average Joe. Nope, nope, nope, I am something...more."
Grabbing onto the ends of his cape, he pulled them around him, one hanging around his belly while the other covered his mouth...face...everything below his eyes. "I am the revenge of weak-minded souls, the ones that whine for justice! I am the twilight of the night that doesn't sparkle!"
He then threw his cape wide open, fists pressed into his hips as he posed.
"I am Bat-Joker!"
There was totally silence before the old man completely turned to face him, his nifty little sword tightly grasped in his hand at his side. "You dare soil the good name of the Detective?" he seethed as he began marching towards the vigilante clown. "You, who have no right to uphold his mantle? Then you attack my progeny? You have crossed Ra's al Ghul, the Demon's Head and I will have your head for it!"
Lightning fast, Al Ghoul swung his sword at Bat-Joker, startling him. Instinctively, he held his rubber chicken up to defend himself, only for the sword to cleanly slice right through it. Half of the chicken fell to the floor while a large piece of lead clunked down with it.
"Horace, no!" Bat-Joker cried out.
Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to worry about...Horace, sniff...as Al Ghoul attacked him again. Bat-Joker ducked down as the old man's sword swung over his head. Geez, you would've thought this guy was trying to chop his head right off.
However, because of this, he saw something flying right for Ghouly's head. Eyes comically widening, he pointed and shouted, "Watch out!"
Without breaking a sweat, Al Ghoul spun around and lashed out with his sword, knocking aside a flying sword that had been aimed right for his skull.
A moment later and Bane rammed into the aging gent, arms wrapping around his body as he tackled him, lifting Al Ghoul right off the floor. Ghoul dropped his sword, leaving it to fall to the floor right next to Bat-Joker. Following them, he watched as Bane kept running until he slammed Al Ghoul's back right up against a support beam.
Now that was no way to treat the elderly!
Ra's felt his the wooden support beam ram into his back, the ancient one grimacing from the pain shooting up his spine. Bane had him pinned to the beam with his upper body, which allowed him to draw a fist back.
"Hazzah!" the insane clown cried out then, coming in from behind Bane with a rotting club in hand. He must have found it somewhere in this deserted place, not that it really mattered. Sliding in low, he cracked the club against the back of Bane's knee, causing it to buckle as the larger man grunted, his upper body pulling back from Ra's as he leaned backwards.
That was all the opening he needed. As quick as a cobra, Ra's shot a palm strike upward, ramming his palm beneath Bane's chin and causing his head to snap back. The brute stumbled backwards, allowing Ra's to drop to his feet on the floor, though he used the support beam behind him to steady himself.
That was when the Joker came flying back into view, this time from Ra's right. Club still in hand, he swung it with great velocity, clubbing Bane against the side of his head, dropping the man to the floor.
"That's another blow struck for the good guys!" he crowed.
Immediately, Ra's scowled. His disgust with this man knew no boundaries. In an instant, he strode to the man, raising his hands up before him and crossing them at his wrists to form an X, his fingers pressed stiffly together. Joker tilted his head to regarded him, dumbly extending a hand out to him as if he were receiving a handshake. "Put 'em there, chum!"
In response, Ra's attacked, striking with his left hand to bat aside the Joker's offered hand, then quickly following up with chop with his right to the pale man's throat. The Joker jerked backwards even as he gagged. Hands returning to him, the Demon's Head prepared for another strike.
Only for something to slam right into his side, knocking him clear off his feet. With a cry, Ra's went tumbling to the floor, rolling across it until he came to a stop. Jerking his head up, he saw Bane lowering his foot, the source of the surprise attack. The moment his foot touched down, the hulk had his left arm crossed over his body, right before he swung it back across, backhanding the Joker and sending him careening through the air well.
"You are in the way, interloper," Bane growled as he fully faced the Joker, who had hit the ground soon after, bouncing across it until he too came to a stop. "You I will squash first."
It seemed Bane was underestimating his recovery time. That was fine by him. Pushing himself up onto his feet, even as his larger foe stalked towards the clown, Ra's undid the clasp to his cloak, allowing it to fall to his feet. Reaching to the waistband of his pants, he found two sheaths, the handles of two long knives reaching out from their openings. Grabbing the hilts, he drew the daggers and silently chased after Bane.
The masked man had come to stand over the fallen Joker, gazing upon him if only for a moment. Then he placed his weight on one leg as he raised the other, attempting to stomp the helpless man into pulp.
There was his opening. Darting forward, Ra's stabbed one of his long knives right into his lower back. "Ahhhhhhhh!" Bane cried out as he dropped his raised leg back to the floor, touching down behind his grounded one.
And then the brute twisted his body, a raised arm held at shoulder height, bent at the elbow. Immediately, Ra's ducked as the elbow flew over his head, the Demon ready with his other knife to stab his foe right in the gut.
However, it seemed Bane was expecting this as he pivoted on his feet. His backward elbow strike had been a feint as his true attack was coming with the power of a freight train. Ra's only saw the fist coming for him and the next instant it was in his face. Pain exploded throughout his face as he went flying backwards, blood shooting out of his nose and mouth.
For a moment, Ra's lost consciousness if only for a moment. He was only aware of darkness, but soon his sight returned and he found himself lying on his back on the floor, a constant throb in his face, particularly his nose. It was a wonder it wasn't broken.
He felt vibrations through the floorboards, alerting the older man to footsteps. Jerking his head up, he saw Bane stumbling around him, walking a circular path until he stopped perhaps a quarter of the circuit.
It was a constant pain. Try as he might, Bane reached for his back, but could not reach the knife that was protruding from it.
Internally, Bane reprimanded himself. He had dropped his guard against this Ra's al Ghul and the man had made him pay the price. First, he had demonstrated his skill with the sword, which the masked man conceded he was the better man. Then Gotham's infamous resident interfered with their duel, dressed in a crude version of the Bat's costume.
All of that he could excuse himself. What was galling was that he turned his back on al Ghul to dispose of the Joker. Perhaps he thought his kick was sufficient enough to leave the much older man stunned long enough to rid them of their interloper. Now he was stabbed in the back, along with the other cuts Ra's al Ghul had decorated his body with.
Focusing his attention on al Ghul, he saw the older man standing on his feet, another long knife in his hand. If his skill with the sword was anything to go by, then he was fully capable of wielding that dagger as well. He needed to be careful lest he put himself in another compromising position.
Then something small and black flew through his vision. It hit Ra's al Ghul's hand, knocking his weapon out of his grasp. There were two sounds made, one of the knife clattering across the floor and the other, more solid object bouncing as well. Looking to it, Bane couldn't help but blink his eyes in bewilderment.
Was that a television remote?
"Hey! Old guy!" an enraged voice shouted, causing both al Ghul and Bane to look to its source. Standing on his feet was the Joker, teeth bared from anger. "What's the big idea hitting the very guy helping your ass? Huh?! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a sore loser about being upstaged!"
"Madman," Ra's al Ghul spat back, hiding none of his distaste for the other man. Bane was in agreement with that feeling.
"Ingrate!" the Joker shouted back.
"I will see to it that this will be your last night, clown," al Ghul responded heatedly. "Mark my words."
"I would, but I get the feeling you've said that about E.D. too."
The insult notwithstanding—though that was a very low blow, even for the insane clown—Bane could see al Ghul was distracted by their unwanted company and decided to take a page from the older man's book. He lunged towards him, a fist drawn back. He swung it an instant later.
In response, al Ghul leaped backwards, disputing the notion he was unaware of the masked man's presence. Though his punch missed, it did not stop Bane from throwing another, this too missing as al Ghul backpedaled..
What stopped him from throwing a third punch, however, was something yanking hard on the tube connected to the back of his head. "Hands off, buddy!" the Joker snarled as he pulled down again on the Venom tube. "I got dibs on Ghoulie over there!"
Immediately, Bane twisted his torso, attempting to backhand the clown much like he had down earlier. This time, the Joker jumped back, avoiding the blow as it sailed harmlessly through the air.
That was when Ra's al Ghul struck, though not at Bane this time. Instead he went for a side kick, one the Joker surprisingly blocked as both of his arms shot up, taking the brunt of the kick with his forearm. "Bad form," he growled sinisterly as he glared at al Ghul.
The Demon was undeterred. Even as he lowered his leg back down, he was thrusting with a palm strike to the clown's cowled face. In response, the Joker jumped backwards, one of his hands disappearing behind his back, only to reemerge with a small sack in his grasp. With a jerk of his hand, small, metal caltrops flew out of the bag, decorating the floor between him and al Ghul, causing the older man to skid to a stop. This allowed the Joker to continued stepping backwards several more paces, putting some distance between them.
This also granted Bane an opportunity. Lowering his shoulder, he charged forward, ramming into Ra's al Ghul's back with as much force as he could gather. The old man cried out as he went sailing over the caltrops, flying right towards the Joker. In response, the man stepped to one side, but raised an arm up, clotheslining al Ghul and sending him flipping through the air until he landed on the ground.
"That's what I call teamwork!" the Joker exclaimed, right before his eyes settled on Bane. With one mighty jump, the masked man passed over the short field of caltrops. "Oh, you again."
Flinging his arm at him, the Joker threw his empty bag, one that softly slapped against Bane's face and fell to the floor. It was pitiful really. At least, that was his thought until he saw the Joker pulling out a massive handgun and pointed it right at him.
With a squeeze of the trigger, a loud BANG! echoed throughout the room. However, it was not a bullet that hit Bane, but some object. He did not really know as a cloud of white smoke had exploded out of the barrel with the projectile when it fired. What he did know was that something hit him in the chest and an insane amount of ribbons suddenly erupted all over him, wrapping around his body, pinning his arms to his sides and his legs together until he was a brightly-colored cocoon. Losing his balance, Bane topped over, his back landing right on the caltrops, the small bits of metal stabbing him into his back.
"Now wait your turn, Bane-inator. I've got some issues to clear up with the Ghoul."
Bane snarled as he began twisting and turning beneath his restraints. Surprisingly, they were strong and his strength did little to release him. Try as he might, he could not free himself.
No, he did have one way. Things would get very tight, but these absurd restraints would not hold. Tilting his head up, he saw Ra's al Ghul on his feet, both of his hands held before him as he stared down the Joker. The clown was busy raising a hand up, licking his thumb for some reason only known to him.
Moving his hands as best he could, he managed to get them onto his thighs. Slowly, he edge them closer together. The closer they got, the more he began reaching out with his fingers as far as they would reach, straining to reach his salvation.
Finally, he reached the Venom control on his wrist. It took a little longer to touch the dial and more time to finally turn it. However, he knew he succeeded when he felt Venom flood the back of his skull.
A rush hit him, not unlike a high. That was soon replaced with all of his senses sharpening. Energy flooded his body even as his muscles began to bulge. As expected, the ribbons encasing his body grew tighter and tighter.
However, the caltrops behind him had pierced through the material when he had fallen on them. As his body grew larger, pulling on ribbons, the holes created by the small, metal shards began to grow, ripping wider and wider.
And then they tore, a ripping sound filling the building. Feeling the restraints go slack against him, Bane moved his arms out, finishing off whatever resistance they offered. He slowly stood up, his height having increased due to the Venom infusion. His shadow stretched forth, looming over the other two combatants.
The two had actually been fighting from what Bane could tell. Ra's al Ghul was showing signs of fatigue due to an increase in his breathing, though no other signs of wear and tear were visible. The Joker looked about the same, though he had a large smile on his face.
That smile disappeared when he caught sight of Bane. al Ghul took notice as well, turning to stare at the masked man at his full power. The Joker was the first one to speak.
"Oh, this is gonna suck."
For once, Ra's was inclined to agree with his ridiculously-dressed opponent.
Bane was much larger than he had been mere minutes ago. With his attention solely focused on the clown—whom had proven himself a more adept fighter than Ra's had been led to believe—he had missed Bane's transformation. It was too late now to undo what had been done.
Bane raised his hands up before him, wrapping one with the other as he began cracking his knuckles. Every step he took sent tremors through the floorboards. The Joker audibly gulped as he craned his head to keep the entirety of the Goliath before them in his view.
And then Bane attacked, leaping with incredible velocity. His enlarged fist swung down like a sledgehammer, which both of them dodge, leaping out of the way. Bane's fist hit the floor and absolutely demolished it, the floorboards snapping like twigs beneath the blow. His fist sank into the hole had made, pieces of wood sticking up and our around the fist.
Fortunately for Ra's, he had covered quite a bit of distance to remove himself out of a second attack. Even better was that the Joker had not done the same himself as he seemed to trip over his absurd cape. Bane saw this and set his sights right on the clown, his head turning to stare the pale man down.
Something hit Ra's foot then, causing him to look down. Right on the floor was his dagger, the one that had been knocked out of his grasp earlier. Snatching it up, Ra's looked back at Bane as he roughly tore his fist out of the floor and stomped towards the Joker, the floorboards cracking beneath each step.
"Someone! Find me David!" the Joker cried out as he pulled...something from his belt. "Tell him I need his slingshot!"
"You'll need more than a child's toy, clown," Bane growled as threw another punch. The Joker backpedaled, avoiding the blow, though his cape fluttered in the wind the swinging fist left in its wake. Another punch was thrown, again dodged by the madman much like the first.
And then he threw what was in his hand at Bane. It was a rubber ball, which hit Bane in the face and bounced off harmlessly. "Well, that didn't work," the Joker said dumbly.
Those words proved to be a mistake as he had stopped moving. Immediately, the giant man lunged at him, his hand ramming into the Joker's chest, his fingers nearly wrapping around his torso. The force of the lunge knocked the pale man off of his feet, Bane slamming him down onto the floor while he raised a fist high above his head.
Now! Ra's was on the move, making a running leap. Stretching out a foot, he pressed down on the knife that was still in Bane's back, using it as a stepping stone to raise the Demon higher into the air. Holding his dagger above his head with both hands, he swung it down and stabbed the blade right into the massive muscle that comprised of Bane's right shoulder.
Immediately, the large man flung his upper body up, screaming in pain. He released the Joker, leaving him to lie on the floor as he took a step backwards, raising both of his hands above his head in an attempt to grab at Ra's. Pressing himself down against Bane's back, he avoided his foe's hands as they grabbed at him.
It was then that Ra's noticed the tube coming out of Bane's head. While he had known of it, he hadn't really paid it much mind. Now though, he could see a green fluid running up the tube and into the back of his skull. For a moment, he eyed it, getting lost in the fluid's flow.
So this was Venom.
Then he shook his daze off. Ra's had long heard of the human experimentation that occurred in Santa Prisca. He had heard of one of the subjects surviving the trials and obtaining inhuman strength. Right now, there was no other person it could be than Bane. This tube, this Venom must be the secret to his inhuman strength. A quick snip of the tube and this mighty dragon would be slain.
Quickly, Ra's pressed a hand down against Bane's back as he prepared to pull his knife out of him. However, before he could do so, he felt something large wrap around his ankle. Jerking his head to a side so that he could look downward, he saw Bane had changed tactics and was reaching awkwardly behind him at his waist, managing to get his hand around the older man's leg.
And then he was pulled right off of Bane's back. Bane did not release him as he began spinning around in a circle, his arm stretched out as Ra's was swung through the air, the wind whipping at his hair and clothes. The moment his leg was released, Ra's felt himself sailing through the air. The velocity in which he flew was incredible.
That came to an immediate end when he crashed right into the wall of the room, the air being knocked right out of his lungs. With a gasp, Ra's felt himself bounce right off the wall before he fell onto the floor, a crumpled, painful heap. It took a moment before he began to cough harshly, fighting to restore air into his lungs. Unfortunately, he was assaulted with the urge to throw up and he did so, spitting out a glob of blood onto the floor.
"Surprise!" the manic voice of the Joker cried out. Tilting his head up, Ra's saw the Joker up on Bane's back, much like he had previously. He had his hand grabbing onto the the Demon's dagger, using it to brace himself on the raging hulk. However, he had his other hand pressed right up against Bane's face, specifically his eyes. By the time Bane began reaching for him, the clown pushed himself away, landing awkwardly. He had to lean over so far that he used his hands to brace himself against the floor, scampering back.
Returning his attention to Bane, the Demon saw there was some sort of substance—a sticky substance—smeared all over Bane's mask, primarily the eyes. The giant roared as his hands grabbed at the substance, pulling on it, causing it to stretch, but not removing it from his face.
"What is this infernal—" Bane growled, cutting himself off as he continued to struggle.
"Silly putty!" the Joker answered for him, a smug tone in his voice. "Not only just for copying the Sunday Comics!"
At last, the clown did something useful. Though Bane outclassed them with sheer strength, that power was useless if it did not hit something. Goliath was effectively blind.
Whatever that substance was, Ra's highly doubted it was that putty stuff. It looked more like an adhesive and an effective one at that. Very effective, in fact. Let the maniac call it what he wanted, it mattered very little.
Ra's tried to push himself up, but promptly discovered a lack of strength in his arms and he immediately collapsed to the floor. Damn it, this was not the time for weakness. Tilting his head to a side, he eyed the wall he had hit earlier. There was a spider's web of cracks right where he had hit it, the bricks dipping inward noticeably. He had collided with that brick wall harder than he had thought, though he should have expected it considering the blood he had coughed up.
"And now it's time to cut down our mighty beanstalk," the Joker proclaimed, causing the older man to return his attention to his two foes. Though Ra's had believed this warehouse had been abandoned—and thus empty—the Joker seemed to know where to find things. Nonchalantly, he held a crowbar in his hands, one hand firmly gripping one end and steadily tapping the other end against the palm of his free hand.
Then he moved his free hand down to his other one, getting a firm grip of the crowbar. Pulling the metal bar across his body, he then swung it back, nailing Bane against his abdomen. There was a dull thud and Bane didn't seem the worst for wear from the blow.
This did not deter the clown in the slightest. Over and over, he beat the crowbar against Bane's stomach until he finally got results. At first, Bane had stopped moving. Then he grunted. Then he gasped, bending over slightly.
This only seemed to excite the Joker as he began swinging the crowbar with more fervor. By then, Bane was hunched over, trying to turn away from the assault. It took Ra's a moment to realize the "silly putty" was sticking to the man's hands, keeping them close to the masked man's face, which prevented him from properly protecting his abdomen.
That was when Joker swung low with the crowbar, hitting Bane on the back of his knee. The knee buckled from the blow and Bane dropped to one knee.
Then the pale man hit his foe across the face, effectively stunning him. "God! I love my job!" he exclaimed as he tossed the crowbar high over his shoulder, the crowbar flipping about in the air before it fell to the floor, clanging loudly. "And now for the sweet kiss good night!"
That proved to be a bad idea, whatever the clown meant. Apparently he intended to punch Bane as hard as he could with his fist and did so. Then he promptly stumbled backwards, grasping his fist. "Haaaaaa! Haaaaa!" he gasp. "Punching people hurts!"
Idiot.
That was when Ra's heard a low groan. Looking up, the ancient man saw Talia beginning to stir. And lo and behold, she had her sidearm on her. With renewed vigor, Ra's began crawling across the floor, forcing himself to move towards his daughter. It took much longer than he would've liked, but he reached her and removed the handgun from its holster.
"Uhhhnnn, Father?" Talia groaned as she began to shift her head, looking at him through squinted eyes.
Ra's ignored her instead extending his hand out and taking aim at Bane. While he was not well from being tossed aside like a child's doll, his marksmanship was not affected. He squeezed the trigger, firing a shot, and then another. Over and over he fired, the bullets racing nearly instantly through the air, hitting Bane in his side.
"ReeeeAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Bane roared as he shot up onto his feet. With renewed strength, he pulled has arms away from his face as far as he could, stretching the putty along with it. Finally, one of his hands tore away from the sticky material. Without looking, the brute took off running, Ra's following him as he continued to fire the gun, finally hearing only a clicking sound as the hammer hit nothing but air.
Unfortunately, Bane reached one of the support beams. At first, Ra's assumed the man was seeking cover from the gunfire. Instead, he drew his fist back and slammed it into the beam, obliterating it. Even from where he laid, he saw a large portion of the beam was gone, nothing more than splinters flying aimlessly through the air.
A loud groan rang out throughout the room. Jerking his head up, Ra's continued to hear the sound, realizing a moment later just what support beam Bane had hit. That had been the main support beam and without it, it was placing the strain of holding up the building on the other, less sturdy beams.
Would they hold?
They had to.
A much louder crash caused him to jerk his head down, just in time to see a large hole in the wall, courtesy of Bane plowing right through it.
That was when one of the remaining support beams, towards its top, splintered and broke. More followed its example, breaking and snapping at various places throughout the beams.
"Father! We must leave!" Talia cried out, even as she scrambled onto her feet, her hands grabbing onto the child.
"I believe you are correct, Daughter," Ra's agreed, attempting to get to his feet. Chunks of the ceiling began to fall to the floor, crashing down with heavy thuds.
"Go!" Ra's shouted, even as Talia took off into a run, the child's body bent over her shoulder, her arms desperately clutching him tightly to her. Ra's followed after her, unable to keep up.
Perhaps if he had, he wouldn't have felt a piece of debris land on him.
The area was nothing more than a heap of rubble. Pieces of wood stuck out in random directions, the remains of the broken support beams. Piles of brick and cement created an uneven ground, clearly unsafe to be tread on.
And amidst the ruined remains of the warehouse, a doorway stood, the cracked frame largely intact, the door all in one piece. It was a small miracle in the wasteland of rubble.
The door then swung open and Bat-Joker appeared in the doorway. His costume was covered in dust and dirt, marring its lovely, dark coloring. A dazed look was on the hero's face.
He then leaned his head back, looking up into the starry—well, almost starry since, you know, light pollution—sky, raised his arms up as high as they would go, and shouted, "I live!"
And then he toppled over, landing hard on his back. The ground had never felt so soft in his life. Definitely a good place for a nap.
To Guest: I think he'll demand shared custody. He does look after the city most evenings after all
To FlackAttack: You're referring to Bane of the Demon. Talia and Bane did hook up in it, but that was more of Talia acting on a whim. Ra's originally wanted to do away with him. It was until he realized that Bane was more than brawn that he accepted him and refused Talia's wishes to get rid of him once she tired of him. That was my interpretation at least; somehow that became Ra's wanting to set the two of them together in the public conscious. In this story, it's clear Talia does not have the attraction as she did in the comics. Probably has to do with the little boy she keeps at her hip lol
Since the moment I came up with this three-way battle between Bane, Ra's al Ghul, and the Joker, I had a vision in my head. It was of a Venom-infused Bane, crushing the Joker to the floor as he held a fist above his head, while Ra's al Ghul practically kneeling on Bane's back, holding a short sword in his head. This vary image made it into the fight; it's not too hard to see where. At least it was epic-looking in my head. I hope I did it justice.
Also, the Joker's line, "This is going to suck," is right from the end of No Man's Land, in which Bane confronts the Joker when he's destroying Lex Luthor's reclamation projects. The Joker was hoping to draw out Batman, but got Bane instead. Those were his words in response and I could not help but use them here.