Merry Christmas everyone!
Jacob: I am finishing up this story and will then continue on the others. Don't worry. Glad you like the story.
Life Unexpected
Chapter 21
Gotham Mercy Hospital
Oswald Cobblepot resided in a hospital bed following the attack at his establishment. An ambulance had transported him to the hospital due to a concussion and smoke inhalation.
The heart monitor beeped continuously with every greedy breath the round man took as an oxygen mask covered his face. A little soot still covered his face.
Penguin wasn't worried about the cops all he cared about was getting his club back up and running. He was a master of stonewalling the police to the point where they were pulling out their hair and he made it clear to all his employees to never tell the cops anything.
If you did, well it would be the last thing you ever did.
He felt a shift in the air of the room and suddenly felt like he wasn't alone in the dark hospital room.
He opened his eyes and was greeted to the sight of the other guy he did not want to see anytime soon.
Pulling the oxygen mask off his face, he hissed, "What do you want?"
Batman leaned over the round man intimidatingly, "I heard you had some trouble at your club. Tell me about it."
"Drop dead," Penguin spat, pulling the mask back over his face taking in rich oxygen.
White lenses narrowed displeased by how uncooperative the puggy man was being. "I heard there's new competition in town and he made an appearance at your club. Who is he?" he demanded, undeterred.
"I have no idea what you're going on about," Penguin denied, eyes staring daggers at the masked man.
"A guy in a mask has been causing you trouble," Batman stated.
"No kidding," Cobblepot grumbled. "I'm staring at the pain in the ass now."
Patience wearing thin, Batman tried a different tactic. He noticed the tube that connected the oxygen mask to the tank at the side of the bed. With his index finger and thumb, he bent the tube obstructing the airflow.
With panicky eyes, Cobbblepot gasped for air. "Ok, ok," he uttered quickly, removing the mask. "He's got an accent. South American, I think. Big guy in a mask. He wanted the docks and one of my warehouses," he supplied, struggling to breathe.
Batman stared intently at the man, letting the man squirm a little longer. Eventually, he relented and let the mobster breath.
"The name," the dark-clad man demanded for the final time 'cordially'. Next time he was going to start breaking fingers.
"Bane," he said in a hoarse tone. The smoke inhalation was still wreaking havoc on his lungs.
Bane. For some reason Batman felt that the name fit for he was loathing their inevitable encounter.
Iceberg Lounge
He had left Cobblepot to stew at the hospital and arrived at the man's damaged establishment. He barely spared a glance at the damaged entrance. The doors destroyed; scorch marks riddled the wall of the front. All that was left of the sign was the 'I' in iceberg and the 'o' 'u' in lounge. The 'o' hanging by a thread upside down.
Right now, Batman was interested in the vehicle. The police were still canvassing the scene and taking statements from witnesses and the employees. Forensics were already well underway in examining the scorched vehicle.
He kept his distance and stationed himself in front of the Lounge on a rooftop. He was on good terms with the police, it was an open secret that he worked with Gordon. But he still wasn't about to expose himself to others. He was not at that stage just yet. He preferred to stay out of sight until necessary for maximum effect.
He tuned his cowl to listen in on their findings and magnified his lenses to examine the scene. The medical examiner was already on scene and was being assisted to remove the bodies from the destroyed vehicle.
Vehicle belonged to the Iceberg Lounge, DNA and dental records would be necessary to identity bodies. But Batman can already piece together an idea that all these men worked for Penguin and were sent to deal with this Bane character.
"Jeez, don't want to go out like that," one forensic technician stated.
"No kidding."
"They weren't extra crispy until after they were dead," the medical examiner announced to the detectives on scene.
"Cause of death?" one detective inquired, staring at the medical examiner.
"Eyeballing it, gunshot wounds," they disclosed. "Although, one had their neck broken."
"They all have broken bones to fit in the car," the detective reminded the doctor.
"None had their neck broken," they retorted. Rising, "I'll know more after the autopsies."
"Are you ruling this a homicide?"
The medical examiner gave a wryly glance at the detective, "I'm ruling this a homicide."
"Gotcha. I just wanted to be certain," they explained.
Batman listened to the preliminary results of the investigation already getting some ideas and avenues to rundown. If this was retaliation by Bane, Penguin was going to respond in kind. He was not about to let some upstart show him up. Penguin's reputation in the criminal underworld was declining as other characters were rising to power to fill the void of the crime families that had once ruled Gotham before the Batman descended upon them.
He suddenly noticed something as did one of the technicians. A detonator component, he was struck with a sense of familiarity. He knew that component. Rare.
It was then he put it together. The Stock Exchange robbers' vehicle exploded through outside means via a detonator. He would need to verify it from the case in question but if it panned out, Bane had orchestrated the robbery and attempted to cover his tracks. Yet, he never got his hands on the stolen goods. What was the point?
All Batman had now was speculation, which left a bad taste in his mouth as he preferred evidence to support facts. He left the scene and decided to check Penguin's warehouse again for further evidence. The police were already working the scene so he might not have much to work with.
Perhaps he would have Robin check the traffic cameras to identify the driver of the vehicle that nearly destroyed the Iceberg Lounge.
When he arrived at the warehouse, police tape had already set up a perimeter and officers were on scene. Forensic technicians were already working the scene. Batman scowled as he hoped he would have a little more time to the scene himself. He was here not that long ago but had interrupted his investigation when he heard about the explosion at the Iceberg Lounge. He had called it in to the police because he did not want evidence to be disturbed by any unsuspecting individuals.
He adjusted his cowl's sensors to try and pick up a trail the bodies had to be dragged from the warehouse to the vehicle and then the tire tracks could get him something more. He would await the forensics report on the vehicle and hopefully they would have more conclusive evidence to work with. Hopefully some fingerprints that matched someone. Because Batman had a feeling Bane was not working alone.
He picked up traces of blood becoming a trail and leaving the docks, he also picked up tire tracks. It appeared the car was leaking for quite a distance. Batman pursued the trail until he ended up a few blocks from the Iceberg Lounge. Uninterested in going around in a circle, he decided to take a look at all traffic camera footage. Someone had to be driving the vehicle and another had to follow in another car to pick them up.
He noticed a car of a similar make and model of the one that was destroyed. He tried to enlarge the image of the car that contained the bodies, but the sun visor was down. They knew to keep their face hidden. He tried the other car that had kept pace with the former. After minutes of watching the footage, Batman discovered that they stopped down the street that led straight to Penguin's club, the driver used the seatbelt to control the steering wheel and used a brick to put weight on the gas pedal.
The driver abandoned the car and sent it on its' way and jumped into the other car. As the car turned, he managed to capture the man's face on the camera feed. This was nothing but a lucky break as they had intentionally ducked previous traffic cameras.
White male, long blonde hair, early thirties.
He began to run the face through multiple databases. Took several minutes before Batman finally had a name for the face. Birdy 'Bird' Colossimo. A Gotham native that had connections to organized crime. He was about to be indicted on conspiracy charges before he skipped town.
He scanned records and learned that the suspect had been arrested in South America and was sentenced to life in prison at Pena Duro, the worst prison imaginable for any human.
Pena Duro was located in Santa Prisca, a war-town country that had just recently gone through a regime change.
The vigilante kept investigating, searching for any Gotham affiliates. Several were either dead or in prison. All except for one: Jimmy 'No Nose' Novak. Word was he skipped town not that long ago.
And he had a penthouse in Gotham Tower Apartments.
Santa Prisca. The name of the prison struck him with an ominous feeling. This Bane character was probably from Pena Duro prison.
"Penny-One," he hailed over his comms.
"Yes, sir," Alfred answered almost immediately.
"I need you to investigate Santa Prisca, specifically Pena Duro. Our new players in town seem to originate from there. See what you can find," he ordered. "I'm sending you the information that I have right now."
"Of course, sir. But it may take some time," the older man informed him.
"Understood," Batman nodded. "Just let the computer do its thing if you have any trouble," he instructed.
"Understood."
The dark clad man took off from his perch and swung through the air via his grapple. His mind putting the pieces together as the hot summer air was hitting his exposed chin.
This Bane came to Gotham wanting control of the city's criminal underworld. First, he needed a base of operations most likely No Nose helped him out. Second, he hired those robbers. For what reason he did not know but he eliminated them to ensure silence. Third, he picked a fight with Penguin to garner supplies or to make a name for himself. Or perhaps to make Penguin know he was no longer top dog in the criminal underworld.
He planned to check No Nose's place first and after that work out the rest of Bane's helpers.
Gotham Tower Apartments
From a distance Batman observed the penthouse, searching for a sign of any of the inhabitants. The lights were off, he decided to approach cautiously. Carefully, he opened the balcony doors greeted by cool air-conditioned air.
He smelled the scent of men's body odor, stale take out. He glanced at newspapers scattered on the coffee table. A blanket and pillow abandoned on the couch. He scanned the living room finding nothing out of the ordinary.
Until he stepped on a tiny stack of papers. Struck by curiosity he picked them up and scanned through them. His eyebrows rose as he went through them. All of them consisted of Batman. From his beginnings to now.
Bane was studying him. Of course, he did. It was obvious that Batman would oppose Bane when he made his play for the underworld.
He was surprised by the little notes written pertaining to Batman. Bane was analyzing him and his tactics.
Suddenly, he went rigid as he felt that he was not alone. Slowly, he dropped the papers onto the coffee table his other hand went to his belt.
He spun on his heel just in time as a knife flew, he twisted his body back as the knife missed him and stuck the wall. Countering, he tossed a batarang in the direction from where the knife came from.
He just knew that he didn't hit anything as a pair of knifes were sent his way. He performed a tuck and roll to evade them. When he was back on his feet he kicked the couch upward, the other end pointing towards the ceiling and took cover behind it.
He faintly heard a couple more knifes hit the upholstery of the couch. Activating his thermal vision function in his cowl he finally got a bead on his attacker. They were hiding behind one of the columns holding up the ceiling.
The vigilante waited for his moment and then dove out from the couch to hide behind a chair. Silence hung in the room as Batman had control over his breathing.
Grabbing a magazine, he rolled it up and tosses it across the room, only for a knife to stab it, hitting the floor with a flop.
Both men were patient as they waited for the other to make the next move. Neither knew how much time had passed as they waited for the other to make a move.
Eventually, the attacker ran out of patience. Steadily, they inched themselves closer and closer to the living room, sticking close to a wall.
When he reached the threshold of the living room, that was when he made his mistake. He heard an explosion and then smoke blinded him and constricted his lungs. Coughing, he blindly swung his knifes around trying to strike Batman.
He felt a large hand grip the back of his head and before he could counterattack, in the blink of an eye his face was smashed into the wall and then it was lights out.
When he awoke, he was greeted to a gentle breeze and the deafening roar of late-night traffic. He opened his eyes wide as he felt the blood rush to his head. He realized he was upside down, although he did not scream. No exclamation of any kind. He felt something wet leak from his forehead, his nose was bleeding. A lot.
"Who are you?"
He glanced up, and was greeted to the sight of the Batman, the enemy of his master, Bane.
When the man didn't answer, Batman shook him, letting the man think Batman would drop him.
"Who?!"
He tried again only for the bald man to smirk in rebellion.
"I will tell you nothing," he protested.
Narrowed slits glared at him. "Who is Bane?"
Suddenly, he saw a change in his attacker. As rebellion turned to shock as Batman was not supposed to know that name yet.
Seeing that he was in a corner, the name replied. "I am Zombie. Loyal to Bane. You will get nothing else from me," he spat literally at the dark clad man.
Scowling, Batman let the ghoulish looking man go as he went plummeting, a scream on his lips until the wire tied to his ankle went taut. His panic slowly vanished and kissed the wall of the building he was attached to. A groan escaped Zombie as he winched from the impact.
From what he had learned, Zombie was one of Bane's lieutenants. With him in custody that led him one step closer to getting Bane.
GCPD HQ
Atop of the building stood two men with a beam of light shining a familiar sight above the clouds hanging over the city.
Gotham stood across from Batman, his sleeves rolled up, his hand fiddling with the pipe his daughter gave him for his birthday.
"What can you tell me about the creepy guy you brought into my house?" Gordon began.
"I believe he's part of the attack on Penguin," Batman answered, his cape enveloping his body.
"You sure this isn't Penguin sabotaging himself to throw us off of something?" the older man inquired. He recalled the portly man was cunning as he slithered out of jail time several times over the years.
With a shake of his head, Batman disagreed. "Doesn't fit. Penguin would have to gain something from all of this. Damaging his club, losing men and some of his illegal goods is too costly even for him.
He says a man named Bane was responsible. The man downstairs is connected to Bane, a lieutenant possibly. I also believe that the Stock Exchange robbers were a ruse to study me or distract me from Zsasz's breakout. I found research at the penthouse regarding me," he disclosed. "It's a theory, but your forensics team should be able to connect the bombings."
Gordon stood silently digesting the information. His mind putting the pieces together. "I can't hold him on anything. He attacked you, an intruder," he pointed out.
"I discovered some illegal weapons. That's a start," Batman advised. "Also, keep silent about the address on the police bands. I'm counting on this Bane to be surprised when he returns there and greeted to the sight of cops."
Gordon nodded, "We could nap him before this gets uglier," he understood the intention. "I'll handle it. What about you?"
"There's still more I'm not seeing yet. I need to see the whole picture," Batman stated. A thought suddenly struck the man, "I have an I.D. on the one responsible for the bombing at the Iceberg Lounge. His name's Birdy Colossimo. Traffic camera footage spotted him just before the explosion," he informed his ally.
Gordon's wrinkled face scrunched up in concentration. "Why does that name sound familiar?" he thought aloud.
"He's from Gotham. He had some ties to organized crime but fled before he could be charged."
"I'll have an APB put out on him," Gordon stated.
With that Batman leapt off the roof to continue the hunt for Bane.
Gotham Mercy Hospital
"Oh, now what?" Cobblepot complained as he found himself with a visitor once more. Batman glided in like a wraith wrapped in his cape. His silhouette was the only thing the mobster could see as well as the white lenses in his mask.
"I just thought we'd chat again. Just in case something slipped your mind," the vigilante stated. He ignored the bedridden man and instead inspected the equipment that was supplying Penguin oxygen.
The short man sneered at the man through an oxygen mask yet remained silent.
"For Bane to take Gotham he needs supplies—weapons. Hardware that you traffic into the city," Batman spoke aloud.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," the overweight man denied.
He received a blank look from the Dark Knight. With a finger he switched off the machines supplying him pure oxygen.
"He-Hey!" Penguin stammered. "What are you doing?!" he cried as it was getting difficult to breathe.
"Where can he get weapons?" Batman demanded. "Where do you store your weapons?!"
"Go to hell!" Penguin sneered.
Scowling, Batman removed Cobblepot's mask with a violent yank.
"Ow," the man grumbled.
"You're losing more turf and merchandise the longer Bane's out there. By the time you're out of here you may not have anything left of your empire," Batman reasoned to get the man to talk.
He saw Penguin pale at the idea of him having nothing left when Bane was done.
"North Refrigeration," he ground out, before he erupted into a coughing fit. He was too preoccupied that he didn't realize Batman had left and turned the machines back on.
North Refrigeration
North Refrigeration was one of Cobblepot's many fronts. Its main branch was located in Bludhaven, although there was a place in Gotham that stored most of the profits and merchandise. It housed refrigerators, even doubled as a shipping company for fish. While everything was legit up front, beneath the surface was where Penguin made his real money. Underground was a large room with an incredibly large vault in the front of the room. Crates of cash and guns were stacked in a few corners of the room.
Members of Penguin's crew were cataloging the hardware and counting the money. Some were even considering taking a little off the top for a rainy day. Only to be dissuaded by another telling a story about the last one to take from Penguin. He got fed to a shark.
While they were preoccupied, they didn't hear the commotion occurring above them until the gunshots rang out. They froze, slowly turning to one another. Each grabbing their piece from their waistbands.
Gunshots followed by screams from men they never heard scream like that.
Then…
It all got quiet.
The two men got nervous as they shared looks of fear.
At first, they thought it was the Bat, having finally found out about the place. But that thought was swiftly dismissed when they heard one of their pals Darren plead for his life.
"No. No, please! NO!"
A deafening bang silenced the muffled pleading until it was just the two of them.
Before they could even call it in to Penguin, the door to the room flew off the hinges and sailed across the room before crashing into a stack of crates with ice and fish, knocking them over.
A massive men covered in blood entered, his blood red lenses stared at the two men as if they were mere insects before him.
Shaky hands tried to aim their guns at the hulking man, however their hesitation was their undoing as Bird followed behind Bane with an Uzi. In seconds, the Uzi cut the two men down with a scream of gunfire.
Bird lowered the Uzi and whistled after a short inspection of all the hardware stored there.
"It's Christmas!" the man gloated. Only to be met with silence from Bane.
It seemed Bane was a bit disappointed at how pitiful Cobblepot's defenses were. When Bane and his men killed their would-be assassins and stuffed them inside a car, the other vehicle they commandeered checked the GPS and found North Refrigeration saved, leading them to lay siege upon Cobblepot's operations. Sure, they had plenty of guns here and back home, but taking their enemies arms was so advantageous that it could not be ignored.
Bane strode around the room inspecting crates that contained cash and weapons. Silently, he was pleased by the new resources they had obtained, they were one step closer to conquering Gotham.
Broken from his thoughts was the voice of a burly man, who sounded like they had a Russian accent.
No doubt one of Penguin's enforcers.
"Allo son, yer trespassing. Yer 'bout to find out what we do to them!" he batted Bird away with a wave of his arm, sending him flying like he weighted nothing.
Bane gave the fellow large man a cursory stare, noticing the man was accompanied by another man with similar build and size as Bane.
"Yer 'bout to lose yer head!" they charged the masked man. Arms pumping before they took a swing at Bane, nailing him on the side of his face just as the other rammed his shoulder into Bane's torso knocking him back.
Scowling beneath his mask, clenching his fists, Bane delivered a right uppercut to the one that tackled him, a grunt escaping him as his head went backwards.
Next, Bane performed a leg sweep that flattened the man, just in time for him to get Bane's boots onto his chest as the former prisoner jumped onto his chest, sternum cracking from the weight.
Witnessing the assault, the other enforcer charged at Bane, only for Bane to use the man's momentum and sent him flying into a table with cash lying on it.
Green paper fell from the air like leaves with Bane paying the man little mind.
Unfortunately, the other enforcer got his second wind and wrapped his arms around Bane trapping his arms.
Surprised, Bane turned his head to the man reflexively. A smug look on the enforcer's face as he was confident that they had won.
"Finish 'em!" the enforcer called to his ally, who had just gotten to his feet.
The fellow strode over to the men, Bane's captor had to struggle to keep his hold on him as muscles tensed and shook from Bane fighting back.
"You going nowhere!" the captor declared boldly. He tightened his hold and awaited his ally to start pounding the man.
The other enforcer was cracking his knuckles and chuckling to himself as he approached.
They could not see with the mask in place that Bane gave both men a blank look before he smirked. His right hand reached for the wrist bound device that was connected to the red tube that was attached to the back of his head.
Turning the dial, he activated the device and his strength flooded to him.
His body tensed, straining as his muscles flexed, the veins became more profound, his body almost doubling in size!
The enforcers eyes widened in utter shock at what they were witnessing. It boggled the mind, truly.
The enforcer's hold could no longer contain Bane as his arms weren't long enough to envelop him.
Bane broke the man's hold effortlessly with his arms. Turning, he gazed down at the man, who was once Bane's equal in size, now, just another insect beneath the glory of Bane.
Grabbing the enforcer's shoulders, he picked him up like he was a chair, turning on his heel, he tossed the man at the other one.
Crashing into his friend felt like he hit a brick wall, as the two fell with a grunt.
Bane's footsteps sounded like the marching of an army as he stalked over to the two, who quickly tried to get to their feet.
However, they were not fast enough as Bane was upon them and held no mercy. Clutching the side of each of their heads, his thick fingers digging into their skulls. Rearing their heads back, he slammed them together with a loud crunch reverberating through the room as blood splattered everywhere, bathing Bane in the crimson life essence of his kills.
The lifeless bodies fell to the ground with a thud. Bane's breathing heavy as he heard his heart beating in his ears.
Just then, Bird had finally regained consciousness. With a groan, he walked over to Bane, rubbing his head, trying his best not to step into any of the… mess.
"Damn. You really are inhuman sometimes," he commented at the savagery. Make no mistake, he did not care in the least that the men were killed, he had his own body count, but to do that with your bare hands that did not involve strangling seemed impossible.
Bane didn't notice Bird. All he saw was red. His lenses didn't count as Venom turned him into a beast that craved destruction. Its effects potent. As well as the side effects.
He was losing himself to his addiction.
In a single moment of clarity, he deactivated the pump and soon returned to his normal size, his hazy mind starting to clear.
"Bane?"
Bird called his attention as he was growing concerned.
"Fine… I'm fine, Bird." The large man dismissed his ally's concern. "Start taking the weapons and money," he commanded with a haggard voice.
Wordlessly, Bird complied. He called Trogg, who was in the getaway car, to give him a hand in lugging some of spoils to the car.
An insurmountable amount of time had passed before Batman arrived on scene. What he was greeted to when he arrived could only be described as carnage.
Blood painted the walls and floor.
Dozens dead, bullet casings littered the floor. Crates of ice and fish were turned over, with the ice melting.
A glance at the bodies showed various causes of death.
Gunshot wounds, broken necks, blood loss caused by the amputation of limbs, which left a profound image in his head. What could do something like that? The wound on the body wasn't smooth enough to be caused by a blade.
Were the limbs torn off?
The question left a shiver down the man's spine as he proceeded.
He tried checking for survivors, but it was a wasted effort. There were no survivors. He soon came across a trail of bloody footprints. Judging by the size of the boots they were tens that lead straight down to the basement.
He discovered that the door to the basement was torn clear off the hinges by something very strong. By a person or group of persons as there was no trace of any explosives used.
Cloaked in his cape he entered and was greeted to yet another blood bath. More bodies with two large men with their heads almost paste like.
Suddenly, his body went ridge as he felt that he was not alone.
Turning his head slowly, looking over his shoulder he noticed a large man clad in blood, a black and white mask with red lenses. He found it odd that the mask had a red tube connected to the back of his head to his wrist.
"Was this you?" The question came out of the vigilante's mouth out of reflex, he already suspected the man in front of him.
The large man nodded; a tilt of his head indicated that he was curious on Batman's appearance as vice versa.
"Bane, I presume?"
"Indeed," Bane confirmed. Behind red lenses the Santa Priscan observed the appearance of Batman. To many, they would dismiss him as a lunatic. But to Bane, he viewed him as a worthy foe. The cape just as much of a weapon as anything else in Batman's arsenal. The man couldn't tell what the dark clad man was up to as the cloth concealed his body.
"What do you want?"
"To kill you," Bane boasted. "Kill you and claim Gotham for myself," he declared his deadly motives. The legend of the Batman did not deter Bane in the slightest. It only made him hungrier for the challenge of a lifetime.
"You want to kill me? Take a number," Batman retorted. It wasn't the first time someone used this line on him, and it would not be the last. Plenty of criminals wanted the man dead and this Bane was just another person in a blurred crowd of filth.
Batman slowly started to get into a fighting stance, to which Bane was just as eager for a battle, but the time was not right.
Bane's hand pressed a button on a remote on his belt and suddenly a voice cried out.
"Help! Please help me!" a woman's voice called out, muffled as she was trapped inside the giant vault door secured shut.
Batman turned his head to the vault door, surprise written on his face, before swiftly turning back to Bane as it was unwise to lose sight of him.
In the second that passed Bane had made himself scarce and left the Dark Knight alone in the room.
Surprised by this, the man quickly got over it and went to the vault door. Inspecting the locking mechanism, he pondered on how to open the vault. "Hold on! I'm going to get you out of here," he promised.
Abruptly, he paused. Bane seemed to have planned the hostage situation. Curious, he activated his cowl's sensors. Through the vault he noticed explosives and a speaker.
With wide eyes, he darted from the vault as fast as he could. Leaving the room and making it up the stairs. Pulling out his grapple, he fired through the skylight and was propelled towards the outside. He took off without stopping just in time for the building to go up in a mighty fiery explosion.
Its roar deafened the area, causing dogs to bark and alert everyone that possibly slept through the explosion.
With a grunt, Batman rose to his feet. Scowling, he was already doing the math. Bane was already winning, and Batman was two steps behind.
Bane was in silent contemplation as he was pondering his next move. Trogg was driving the van that contained weapons and cash that they made off with. Bird was in the passenger seat listening to the radio.
As they approached their hideout, they stopped at an intersection as the light turned red.
"Bane!" Trogg shouted, garnering his master's attention.
"Shit," Bird swore, a scowl on his face.
Curious, Bane leaned forward from the backseat and he too, scowled at the sight of the police parked outside their safehouse.
Flashing red and blue lights of multiple squad cars littered the side of the street.
"Keep moving, Trogg." Bane commanded as they could not draw attention to themselves.
Wordlessly, Trogg made a turn and flashing lights of red and blue became nothing but something in the rearview mirror.
"We need a new safehouse," Bane stated aloud. He was disgruntled by this minor setback, but it was time to move on.
"On it," Bird replied as he started to make inquires.
"And Bird?"
Turning to face the masked man, the blonde responded, "Yeah?"
"Get into contact with our men in Santa Prisca. It is time for us to invade Gotham City," he declared assuredly.
"Understood," the blonde nodded his head.
Batcave
When Batman returned to his den, he hoped to have accomplished something. Yet, he only felt that he had just lost something.
"I hope you had a more productive night than I did?" the man began as walked over to Alfred seat at the supercomputer.
"Indeed, sir."
Alfred pulled up a window on the large screen. "This Bane is originally from Santa Prisca, specifically Pena Duro, a horrid prison in Latin America. He was sentenced at birth to serve his father's sentence for leading a failed rebellion against the regime at the time. In the years that followed he became quite feared and eventually took over the prison.
It took some doing but I managed to hack into the U.S. governments files and learned that a deal was made between the two countries to create the ultimate soldier. The project was called Gilgamesh. Bane was the subject as the Santa Priscan government wanted Bane to be their soldier. The two governments colluded in developing a super steroid called Venom. Its effects incredibly potent that increased strength and muscle mass making the subject almost impervious to harm."
Alfred brought up a video file of scientists strapping a fit man down unto a table and inserting an IV into him.
Both men were horrified as they witnessed the process as the man grew larger and tore through his restraints. Killing doctors left and right as blood splattered over the room and the camera. Guards busted in only for Bane to tear them apart with his bare hands. In the struggle the camera got knocked over opening a new angle to record.
He leapt through the glass window of an observation room overlooking the operation. U.S. officials mixed with Santa Priscans of similar rank were killed.
"My God," a flabbergasted Batman uttered at the carnage. Alfred was in a similar state.
"And he's here in Gotham," the older man shuddered. Continuing the story, "Nearly a year later, Bane killed the Prime Minister of Santa Prisca and installed himself as the governing power. The U.S. cut its ties with Santa Prisca and washed their hands of the matter. Until now Bane had been content with his kingdom," the older man concluded.
Batman's eyes remained glued to Bane on the screen. His thoughts of his first meeting with him and the carnage he was capable fresh in his mind.
Turning his head to Alfred, "We're going to need help on this," he stated obviously.
A war was about to begin in Gotham. And only one was going to left standing.
Gotham Shipyard
Weeks had passed and Bane was greeted to the sight of his men exiting the cargo ship they used to travel to Gotham. Dozens of men with armed weapons greeted their master ready and eager to share in the spoils of their master's war.
"Everything's accounted for," Bird informed Bane.
With the loss of Zombie, the three had to make do with what they had as they dodged Batman and the cops for the last few weeks. Bane was confident that Zombie would not break and reveal secrets. He was forgotten for the moment. When Gotham was in ashes and the Batman laid broken at his feet, Bane would free him.
"Excellent," the man was pleased to hear it. "Come," he beckoned. "It is time to conquer this fertile land and reap our rewards," he declared. A cheer erupted from Bane's men as they were more than ready for war.
"Soon we will all get what we want. Gotham will be mine and the Batman will be broken!"
NEXT: The War for Gotham
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