Chapter 28

Bane lifted Batman up and slammed him into the ground, leaving a small crater in the metal. Batman kicked Bane across the face and rolled away. Batman used his rockets to launch himself at Bane, sending Bane crashing into a wall. Bane shook off the attack and clubbed Batman in the back with both fists. Bane quickly lifted Batman up and tossed him away. Batman managed to land on his feet.

Pulling himself free from the wall, Bane groaned at the soreness and pain working its way through his body. He rolled his shoulder, "I feel it's time to explain why I'm doing this to you, Terry."

Batman decided to take this time to get his breath back. And he couldn't lie to himself, Batman really wanted to hear this explanation. "I'd like that."

"When Ikram and Athanasia came to me… they explained they had plans to revive Society of Shadows… but knew they couldn't defeat you. Your defeat of the Moirai three years ago proved that."

"And that had what to do with you?"

"They sought out someone who could be your intellectual and physical equal," Bane continued. "Time marched on while I was preparing to meet death, but, as your father clearly explained to you, I adapt quickly. I just needed to be back to 100%. So they sought me out. Took me to a Lazarus Pit. I gained my strongest body back. Free of all shackles of the past. My mind… clearer than ever."

In an instant, it all made sense. "And you figured out Batman was Bruce," Batman concluded.

"It was even easier to know you were his successor," Bane added. "Now… learning you were his son? That was far more shocking."

"Imagine how I felt."

Bane chuckled. "I'm sure."

"What made you figure out the blood relation?"

"The closeness," Bane answered. "It seemed… uncommon. Especially for Wayne. It was more of a theory at first. I had no idea I'd be right." He studied Batman. "I must know… how did that feel? Knowing your father, Warren, wasn't your blood father… but a man who saved more lives than any other natural born human in existence was your blood father?"

Batman didn't know why, but he felt compelled to answer. Maybe because it only felt fair. "Heavy. That's the easiest way to sum it up."

"Hm."

"It took a while to absorb but… once I did, it made me appreciate a few things. It didn't take away anything from Warren. I mean, he still raised me, for as little as I listened to him. And, honestly, it added more to Bruce since he went out of his way to never tell me."

"Not wanting to taint the memories of Warren McGinnis in your mind." Bane scoffed. "The first Batman has more heart than most would wish to believe."

"Can't argue with that," Batman admitted. Another piece of clarity hit. "You found out all that…" He studied Bane. "That means… could only mean one thing. They found you… further back than a year ago, didn't they?"

Bane smiled and chuckled at Batman's conclusion. "Very astute, Young Bat. Ikram was wrong. You are your father's son. It was nearly three years ago when they came for me."

"Three years?" Batman asked. "That's right after we beat the Moirai. Hold on, how'd Ikram even know about them in the first pla—ohhhhhhhhhhh, Michigan Takeover…" he groaned, throwing his head back.

Bane laughed. "Yes. Gregory Michelakos. Nyssa's former beloved and father of her son. Curious: do you even remember his real name?"

"It comes and goes."

Bane chuckled a bit more. "Michelakos was in connection with Ikram for a number of years before going his own way with the Moirai. It was why Michelakos and Nyssa crossed paths to begin with. Ikram and Michelakos traded resources even after their partnership concluded. When the Moirai fell, Ikram knew a strategy was needed to defeat you. He made me many offers, including his daughter."

Batman stopped. "That's sick."

"I agree," Bane admitted. "Still, Athanasia and I decided to make the best of it, and, interestingly enough, we found ourselves… falling in love."

Batman paused for a moment then shrugged, "I can't even get mad at you for that. Something about al Ghul women."

"Agreed. But Ikram was a fool from the beginning. Proving himself even bigger fool as time went on. Trying to be Ra's al Ghul? A waste of time. He failed more times than most can count!"

"Couldn't agree more."

"Even Athanasia understood after I explained my position to her."

"While you were changing positions, I'm guessing," Batman joked.

Bane chuckled. "In so many words. My conclusion, one she and the rest of the Society agreed with, was this: a strong king can rule, effortlessly, as long as he has a strong kingdom."

"Which is why you want Gotham and only Gotham."

"I always felt the flaw of any empire is trying to become an empire," Bane rationalized. "Just be strongest kingdom. Then you can dictate what rules you will follow to all who would ally with you or oppose you."

Batman had to admit Bane's words were making a disturbing amount of sense. "So, you get Gotham totally under your control…"

"And the power I'll command will be absolute. And that will be confirmed after I destroy the GCPD, your allies…"

Batman closed his hands into fists.

Bane took note. "…and, certainly, after I kill you."

"A-HA! I found the key flaws in your plan!" Batman threw three batarangs at Bane.

Koutetsu and Tremor clashed against each other while Ember and Frost fired their respective attacks at each other. Tremor used to his vibration abilities into his strikes and defense to, respectively, attack and block Koutetsu. It wasn't the first time Koutetsu had encountered an opponent like this but few of them were this strong.

Ember found herself having similar problem with Frost as they were locked in a struggle of their respective attacks against each other. It occurred to Ember that Bane managed to find her perfect opposite, as she was probably the easiest one to plan for. Still, Ember enjoyed the challenge. Ember held the fire with one hand then pulled a small flash grenade from her coat with her other hand. She threw it along the ground, causing it to land at Frost's feet where it exploded. Frost cut her off her attack after she was blinded, and Ember charged in and tackled Frost to the floor.

Koutetsu's and Tremor's battle intensified and, when Koutetsu missed a strike, Tremor punched the ground hard enough to cause a crack in the floor. The crack spread along the ground then split the wall open, revealing they were in the lowermost section of the Castellum. Koutetsu refocused and dashed back at Tremor.

Frost's vision began to clear up, but Ember had already delivered a significant amount of damage. Frost managed to form a block of ice around her fist and punched Ember across the face.

Ember nearly tripped but caught herself and shook off the strike. "That all you got?!" she screamed.

Frost seethed, "You… WISH!" She charged at Ember and tackled her.

Sending them both through the hole Tremor created and falling out of the Castellum.

"EMBER!" Koutetsu yelled.

Tremor punched Koutetsu in the stomach, sending crashing into a wall. "Worry about yourself, samurai!" Tremor shouted.

Barbara, Valerie, and the GCPD all readied their weapons as the Castellum subtly glided over the Gotham skyline, closing in on the building. When it could, the Castellum would lower the closer it came to the GCPD building.

"Been a pleasure, Commissioner," Valerie whispered.

Barbara smiled. "We're not out yet, Captain."

"Yeah, just…"

"Just wait. I think we've got a little bit of help on our side."

Valerie smiled a bit. "You have a lot of faith in him, don't you?"

"Can't help it," Barbara replied. "That kid's always proven himself. I don't think he'll pick now to fail." She glared at the Castellum. "Ready all weapons."

"Yes, ma'am!" Valerie looked at the other officers. "READY ALL WEAPONS!"

Nightwing punched a Scourge soldier, "Oracle?!"

"I'm here," Tiana replied.

"How close are we with the hubs?"

"Not close enough. Batwing and Runner ran into some trouble."

Nightwing growled, "We're running outta time! GCPD has to be close."

"Very. They can fire on it anytime."

"They'll bring the whole building down. They'll kill everyone." Nightwing exhaled. "Barb…"

Tiana was silent for a second, exhaled, then reassured, "Leave it to me, Nightwing."

Nightwing stopped. "What?"

"What'd she say?" Catwoman asked.

Tiana started typing, furiously.

"Tia…" Sally said, fearfully.

Tiana smiled. "I got this. Trust me." She hit a few more buttons and pressed ENTER. "Alright. Hope that worked."

The Castellum slowly came to a stop, hovering in the air. The lights inside of the ship flickered, momentarily, and the weapon systems were disrupted, nearly turned off. The Castellum certainly wasn't going to fire any time soon.

Valerie blinked. "Uhhh… Commissioner?"

"Yeah," Barbara replied. She got on her comms, "Everyone, hold your fire for now! Give it a few minutes."

Inside the Castellum control room, Athanasia looked around then growled, "I knew it!"

"Mistress!" a Scourger soldier shouted. "Our systems are being scrambled."

"I can see that, you fool! Find the source!"

"As you command, Mistress!"

Ikram exhaled. "Batman came well-prepared."

"Beloved said that he would," Athanasia remembered.

In Bane's chamber, Bane had just punched Batman back when he saw that the lights flickered for a moment. He stopped and looked around, "Interesting." He looked toward the ceiling, "Athanasia."

"Yes, Beloved," Athanasia replied as her image on appeared on screen, circling near the top of the room.

"What is happening?"

"We seem to have an intruder in our systems. The ship has been stalled, though we remain airborne."

Bane smiled and looked at Batman. "Well done, Young Bat. You did come prepared."

Batman didn't respond, simply pushing himself to his feet.

"Do we know who or why?"

"We are checking now," Athanasia replied. "We believe the signal is coming from…" She smiled. "Hm. Wayne Enterprises."

Bane smiled. "Is that so?"

Batman just gritted his teeth. 'Crap! Tia! What did you do?!'

"Have our… special soldiers go deal with this issue."

"Yes, Beloved," Athanasia replied, ending the transmission.

Batman blinked. 'Special? What…?'

"Yes, Batman," Bane replied, as if hearing Batman's thoughts. "Yes, I have my elites. I had to prepare to face you, especially when you had your own clan. But more so… I knew that wasn't where your aid stopped. You're so much like your father… and you couldn't be more different. I knew you'd seek help. I knew you'd take steps. So… I planned a few, as well. In those steps… I've learned that remarkable… near miraculous things have been done in medical advancements in these past few decades. Such as splicers."

Batman's eyes widened.

"After all… didn't you wonder why She-Bat was a part of my elites?"

Batman growled, "You bastard…"

"Indeed. After all… unlike you… I never knew my father." Bane charged at Batman.

Athanasia summoned some of her advanced guard to her. She looked at them, "We have a fool attempting to interrupt our master's plan. Whoever they are, they are located at Wayne Enterprises. Take the serum. Storm the building. Kill any and all you find inside."

"Yes, Mistress," the Scourge soldiers all replied, simultaneously.

The Scourge soldiers took an elevator to the top of the Castellum. Once they were there, all of them rolled up their right sleeves, removed autoinjectors from their pockets, and inoculated their arms with a serum.

Seconds later, their bodies all mutated into perfect copies of the first Man-Bat. The Man-Bat Scourge members took to the sky and started flying toward Wayne Enterprises.

Tiana saw the camera feed she had on the Castellum, noticing several objects leaving from the top of the ship. She zoomed in and saw the squadron of Man-Bats headed her way.

Tiana smiled, ruefully. "They know…"

"What?!" Sally whispered, terror filling her voice.

"They figured out it was me, where I am. They're on their way."

"Oh, my God, Tia! Get outta there!"

"No."

"What?"

"I'm staying," Tiana declared. She hit a few buttons and metal shutters slammed down over the windows. "I'll lock the building down all I can. Everyone still needs me to do my job."

"Tia, no!" Sally pleaded. "Please! Just get outta there!"

"Sorry. I gotta stay." Tiana activated the other comms. "Everyone. They know I'm here. A squadron is heading this way. Looks like a bunch of Man-Bats. Probably splicers. I'm locking the building down but I'm staying."

"WHAT?!" Batwing shouted.

"Oracle, you gotta leave!" Catwoman ordered.

"Sorry," Tiana replied. "I'm still needed here."

"But…"

"I'm staying… for as long as I can."

Batwing struggled to breathe. "Oracle…"

"This is my job," Tiana reminded. "I agreed to this. All the good… all the bad."

Runner, who was listening in, stopped. "Batwing."

"Y-Yeah," Batwing answered.

"Go. Now. Get to her."

Batwing wanted to leave at that moment but stopped. "Are you sure? What about the…"

"Damn the hubs and damn the plan!" Runner interrupted. "We don't let friends die. I'll step it up and find another hub. You, go. We got this. If any of us can join you, we will. Get going. Now!"

"On my way! And… thanks." Batwing blasted a hole in the hull of the Castellum and flew off.

"Oracle," Runner continued, "lock yourself down and stay put! Hide, if you can. As soon as we can, we'll get someone else to you and backup Batwing! You hang in there, you got me?!"

"I got you, Runner," Tiana replied. "Thank you."

"You wanna thank me?" Runner asked. "You keep yourself alive. You stay alive, above all else! You hear me?!"

"I hear you," Tiana wiped her eyes. She muted the comm then looked at Sally. "You and Max really found a couple of good ones."

Sally smiled and giggled, sadly. "It's why I said 'yes' in the first place."

Batman kicked Bane across the face then punched him, followed by throwing four more batarangs. Bane knocked two of the batarangs out of the air, caught the third, but the fourth lodged into his left bicep.

Groaning, Bane looked at the injury. "Extremely impressive."

Batman grumbled, "Oh, come on! Can you, at least, pretend that hurts?!"

"Oh, it does." Bane threw the batarang he caught to the floor. "My compliment was referring to your tactics."

"How do you mean?"

"You're as skilled as the original…" Bane removed the batarang from his arm.

"Now, you're messing with me," Batman argued.

"On the contrary." Bane tossed the batarang aside. "The difference is in how you use it. Your predecessor was precise. Fitting as he trained longer. But that doesn't mean you are weaker. You brawl but with purpose. You're unpolished… not unskilled. Your unusual tactics… are an advantage, not a hinderance. An army of you? I wouldn't need any elites."

"I feel like you're coming to a point… and that scares me."

"The point is…" Bane pressed a button on gauntlet. "…your skill, your demeanor… it proves you are a worthy Batman. Just because you like to talk… just because you requested aid against me… and just because you're a young man who values the relationships and bonds he's built… doesn't make you any less of the Batman. I almost pity Ikram for thinking he could ever defeat you. Thank God I stopped his outlandish blitz strategy."

"'Blitz strategy'…" Batman's eyes widened. "The bunker!"

"You found one?" Bane chuckled. "That makes sense. We did abandon that plan in a hurry."

"And put a better one in place."

"I'd say we did." Bane groaned as the Venom worked its way through his circulatory and nervous systems. "A plan to test your true strength. You've passed… flawlessly."

Batman took a step back. "Oh, great! The one test I get a good grade on!"

"And that means…" his body began to expand. "…you're more than worthy…" he growled as pain shot through him. "…of facing my true power." He let a content exhale then glared at Batman. "I hope you're ready."

"More than." Batman entered a battle stance. "C'mon!"

A/N: ...I left you guys with a LOT of cliffhangers, didn't I?

A few notes: the idea of an army of Man-Bats came from "Batman R.I.P.", as Talia sent a squad like this to attack Jezebel Jet. Bane's explanation of why he's tormenting Batman was inspired by Ocean's 12, when Toulour told Danny about why he was after him. Lastly, the Lazarus Pit clarity was inspired by the Riddler in Batman: Hush who had a similar experience. An interesting note? I almost put the Riddler in this story, but I decided against to keep the spotlight on Bane. I'm a Bane mark; can't help it.

Okay, we're still going! See you next time!