A/N: 2022.08.08
The march toward the final battle continues! How will the Dark Knights respond to Bane's message?
Chapter 21
After the transmission ended, Bane looked behind the camera at Athanasia, Ikram, and the Elites.
"Well done, Beloved," Athanasia smiled.
"Damn, I'm glad we work for you," Switchblade chuckled.
"Thank you, all," Bane replied.
"I imagine you won't want us out on the streets now," Bulletstorm noted.
"Not at the moment," Bane walked toward them. "We should prepare for the night the Castellum launches." He removed his mask, "Batman will attack with everything he has. Once he's finished, the city will belong to all of us."
"As long as I get the red-light district," Switchblade smiled.
Bane, Athanasia, the Elites, and some of the soldiers nearby had a laugh.
Athanasia noticed Ikram's look of disbelief. "Father?"
"You…" Ikram stared at Bane. "…you changed the name… you changed the name of the weapon!"
Switchblade blinked. He looked at Bane, "He never caught that?"
Ikram shot his eyes over to Switchblade.
"No," Bane answered Switchblade. "He did not."
Ikram looked at Bane again, his giving way to total shock.
"What…" Ikram whispered.
"Father…" Athanasia said, disappointedly.
"Why do you think I called off your planned blitzkrieg offensive over a year ago?" Bane asked. "Why do you think we made the decision to abandon the assault on Gotham and why we hastily abandoned the bunkers you had installed? Batman cannot be overwhelmed like that. Not effectively. You may stumble him… for a single night. But Batman, this Batman, has learned the lesson of 'strength in numbers'."
"Even got Jaguar to listen and play ball," Switchblade folded his arms. "Ghost-Wing being that stupid took me by surprise."
Ikram shook his head, "No, no, no! We were meant to kill Batman! Have our revenge on him! Take Gotham! Then the world! This is supposed to be but one step to…"
"'One step'?" Bane asked, condescendingly. The Elites laughed.
"Why do we need anywhere else?" Killer Frost asked. "Gotham is the place!"
"You want something?" Tremor asked. "It's already here! Greatest city on the planet."
"We'll make it even more so," Bane assured. "Very soon. A haven for us. A stronghold for all we want and desire."
Ikram looked back at Bane. "The… upgraded Venom…"
"Was simply to match Batman," Bane finished for Ikram. "And in case any of his superpowered friends decide to show up. The threat of the bomb will keep them at bay for now. But I wanted to be ready just in case."
"About that," Tremor said. "How powerful is the bomb?"
"It will level half of the city. We won't be near it, I assure you. Batman is, above all else, someone who values life. Even of those he doesn't know. Especially them, in fact. With the bomb, we will keep the U.S. military for making any unnecessary moves and the JLU will think twice before attempting anything. However… when the Castellum flies… the Dark Knights will attack. That much is for certain. We won't be able to prevent that eventuality. Will all of you be ready?"
The Elites answered in the affirmative.
"We will fight them. We will kill them. Then… we will turn Gotham into our city."
"Man, I like working for you!" Switchblade laughed.
Ikram stood stoically as his mind raced. In a moment, it all completely clicked. He understood exactly what was happening. Had he been honest with himself, he already knew the truth. He was only just now accepting it. He blinked. "You… never intended…"
"To follow your father's flawed vision?" Bane asked. "Of course not."
Ikram looked at Athanasia, stunned. "You knew about this?"
"Father," Athanasia exhaled, the annoyance dripping from her words. "How could I not? He is my husband."
Ikram stood, aghast. He looked off, then back at Athanasia, "You knew. You knew all along!"
Athanasia stared at Ikram. Then shrugged.
Ikram glared at Bane. "You… you swore…"
"Ra's al Ghul was a failure!" Bane declared. "Over 50 years ago, Batman defeated him."
"The true Batman! Not this fake! Not this…"
"This new Batman is the true Batman! He is not a fake, not a facsimile. He is the Batman. I stake my life on that declaration. He has already proven himself a worthy successor in every way. Meaning he would easily defeat another Ra's al Ghul. Therefore… such thinking would be a waste of time. Only a fool would follow in Ra's' footsteps. And only a greater fool would follow that fool. Why do you think we are now called 'Scourge'?"
Ikram looked around at the Scourge soldiers. Most of them were remaining members of the Society of Shadows. At least, they were. Judging by the looks in their eyes, Ikram could clearly tell that was no longer the case.
"You…" Ikram looked back at Bane, "you stole the Society of Shadows away from me!"
"There is no Society of Shadows!" Bane declared. "There hasn't been since Ra's al Ghul died! Just fools holding on to a desolate past!"
Athanasia walked over wrapped herself around Bane's arm, lovingly.
"Your daughter and 'your' soldiers… all saw the truth, once I explained it to them. Trying to cleanse the world? Humans are humans. You don't need to rule the world. Let the rest of them do what they want. All that matters is you become the strongest. That you build the strongest kingdom. Then… while the rest of the world goes about as they will… they won't dare challenge you." Bane smiled. "Once Batman dies… once I kill him… the world will see I am strongest. And no one will dare challenge me!"
Ikram stepped back, nervously.
"I swore to Athanasia no harm would befall you, Ikram," Bane informed. "You have no fear of that. However… we do not need your cooperation for our goals to be a success. You will be watched. Guarded. You can make the experience pleasant or difficult."
"I am to be nothing but your prisoner!" Ikram growled.
"Hey, your word, not ours," Switchblade shrugged. Bulletstorm, Tremor, and Killer Frost tried not to laugh.
"Think of yourself as a monitored guest, Father," Athanasia explained. "Just sit back and watch. Watch my Beloved conquer this city. Conquer Batman. Watch us rule…" she looked up at Bane, lovingly, "our world."
That night, Batman and the team were helping the police in keeping the peace and any evacuation efforts. It was nearly dawn when they came back to Machine Shop. They were sitting around, all of them still in their uniforms, just without their masks. Hayate was sitting on the floor with Michelle sitting next to him, leaning against his shoulder. Kailyn was lying on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. Basem sat in the chair at the main computer, with his feet on the console, and Terry was sitting on a table.
Basem took a deep breath. "So!" He exhaled. "This is now happening!"
"Whole town's in a panic thanks to Bane's little variety show," Michelle groaned.
"Basically causing a mass exodus outta Gotham."
"You think he really has a bomb?" Kailyn asked.
"It's Bane," Terry declared. "No reason to think he's lying. So far, he's proven to be a man of his word."
"Think he'll kill himself?"
"No, but he wants the insurance. He wants everyone else to stay out of this. He wants to deal with us on his own."
"He can bring it," Michelle declared.
Terry exhaled, hopped down from the table, then paced for a few moments.
"What's on your mind, Terry?" Hayate asked.
Terry looked at all of them. "We need to plan for the night Bane's ship launches."
"Agreed. Did you have one in mind?"
"One. Aaaaaand it's a doozy."
Hayate raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"I wanna restructure this game a bit," Terry answered.
The team slowly began to consider his wording. Kailyn sat up and Michelle moved herself from Hayate's shoulder. Everyone looked at each other, then focused back on Terry.
"You have our attention," Basem declared.
"I'm gonna do what I know how to do and that's fight these guys," Terry explained. "The difference is where you guys come in."
"Meaning what, exactly?"
"I need you guys come up with some plans."
"Say what?" Michelle asked, immediately.
"You heard me."
"And why are we doing this?" Basem asked.
"It's the last thing Bane's expecting," Terry admitted. "He's as smart as Bruce. Meaning, he's way smarter than me. He's not smarter than all of you. I'll try to figure out something, but I need you guys, too. And whatever you guys come up with, I'm in."
"I'm still lost, Terry," Michelle confessed. "Like… why have us do the planning?"
"Bane probably thinks I think like Bruce. Like I have to solve this. And… I wish I could. I wish I was smart as Bruce. Most of my life would be easier. But I don't care about my ego. I'm admitting this, I'm saying it: I can't do this alone. But with you guys, I can."
Basem thought it over. "Okay. Okay, that makes sense."
"I'll stay on the streets with you," Hayate volunteered.
"Count me in on that, too," Michelle raised her hand. "I'm not a strategist. Whoever gets a plan that involves me, tell me. No matter what it is, I'm in."
"It'll be suspicious if I'm not out there," Basem admitted.
"So, we may have to plan while working," Hayate mused.
Terry smiled. "Then, I say we pull a Hail Mary. Or, to be more specific and what's always worked for me… a Hail Max."
The following morning, Terry and the rest of the team met with Max, Sally, Tiana, and Helena at Max and Terry's house, eating breakfast and discussing the current events.
"Last night sent the city into a panic," Tiana explained. "A majority of the employees called in, are using vacation time, or straight up quit."
"No surprise there," Terry admitted.
"My parents called." Sally looked at Basem, "They want us outta here, babe."
Basem sighed. "Gonna be hard to explain why we haven't left yet."
Terry exhaled. "Guys…"
"We're not going any-damn-where, Terry!" Sally declared, immediately. "Don't even try that shit!"
Terry chuckled, "Alright, alright."
"Me and Tia are handling things with the company," Max informed. "Can't blame anyone for wanting to leave."
"Not at all."
"So, what's next, Terry?" Helena asked. "You have any ideas?"
"About that," Terry replied. "I have one. And it's a bit out there."
"You are aware of the life we're currently living, right?" Max asked.
Terry stared at her, blankly.
Max smiled. "But what's your 'out there' idea?".
"I want all of you…" Terry scanned the group, "to come up with plans to fight and stop Bane."
Max blinked. "Say that again."
"I need help," Terry shrugged. "I'm trying to come up with some ideas, but I don't have anything yet. Even if I do come up with something, I still think we all need to plan for this." He turned his attention to Max, "And you were gonna do it anyway."
Max smiled. "You're right. I am."
"'Am'?"
"Like you don't know me."
"Fair."
"You're serious?" Helena asked Terry.
"Yeah," Terry confirmed. "I need you. All of you here. Please."
"You didn't need the 'please', little brother. That's not why I asked if you were serious. I'm just… you're really gonna trust us that much?"
"Absolutely. Bane is smarter than me. On his best day, he's not smarter than Max, and with this thinktank? We'll take him down."
"You're partially flirting," Max smiled. "It's a little weird that it's working."
"So, you want us to come up with plans on how to stop Bane?" Sally asked Terry.
"It's the best play," Terry admitted. "No matter the plan, I'm in." He looked at them all. "Sound good?"
"You got it," Tiana nodded.
"Count on us, Terry," Helena smiled.
"We'll take care of it, babe," Max replied.
"But if we can't come up with anything good enough?" Sally asked.
"That's okay, Sal," Terry replied. "If Bane proves he's smarter than us, it just is what it is. We're gonna fight him, anyway. With everything we got. We're not going to let him win. He's never gonna find Bruce. He's never gonna touch him! And we are not… going to let him takeover Gotham. We're gonna fight him… with everything we got."
Basem grinned. "I like it when you get focused."
Max smiled, seductively, "Me, too."
"And here comes baby number 3," Sally joked.
"Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world," Max shrugged.
"I'm gonna keep that in mind and concentrate on it during a less horrifying time," Terry replied, drawing laughter from the others.
"So, we have some planning to do," Basem noted.
"Yep," Michelle agreed.
Basem thought. "We might be able to call for help."
"The bomb in play is the main issue with that," Terry reminded. "Bane is pretty adamant of outside help staying… well, outside."
"Still have to try. This is probably something we need, and should, ask help for. I mean, you're asking. I don't mind."
Terry chuckled, "Okay."
"I can't help but notice how Bane is letting us prepare," Hayate noted. "He seems quite confident."
"He kinda earned it, babe," Michelle acknowledged. "He's been kicking our asses all over the place."
"True."
"Speaking of Bane kicking asses…" Basem looked at Kailyn. "Kay."
Kailyn looked up.
"Al. Think he's still here? We might need him."
Kailyn looked off. "Yeah, the yacht's still in the harbor. I'll talk to him." She looked back at everyone. "For all of you. I want that to be clear. I'm talking to him for you. That's it."
"Given the jackass he is," Michelle said, "I get it."
"Shell…" Basem groaned.
"Oh, I'm sorry! Did he or did he not challenge Bane to a fight alone? I think me calling him a 'jackass' is accurate!"
Basem thought for a moment. "Alright. I'll give you that."
"So, we spend today and tomorrow planning," Tiana summed up. "Then what?"
"We separate for a while," Terry answered. "Then meet up."
"Where at?" Max asked.
"The Machine Shop first for us," Terry motioned to the usual team.
"What about others we might bring in?" Michelle asked.
"In that case… we can go to the one place that's isolated enough that we'll know if we have to worry about anyone we can trust, and the one place that's far enough out of the way that we can Bane coming if we need to."
"Where's that?" Helena asked.
"Arkham."
Max blinked. "The original building?"
"Yeah," Terry confirmed.
Basem nodded, "Alright, sounds good."
"Tomorrow night. 7 PM. Arkham. 6 at the Shop. No one be late." Terry smirked, "Shell."
"Oh, my God!" Michelle shouted, agitatedly. "That was two years ago! And I said I was sorry! I mean, damn, it was only five minutes! Five!"
Everyone laughed while Michelle just shook her head with a smile on her face.
"Alright," Basem said. "We got work to do."
"See everyone later, I guess," Kailyn said.
"Wait a sec," Max spoke up. "What about the city? Folks are panicking."
"Actually…" Terry smiled. "About that… I do have an idea."
Terry always felt weird whenever he put on the Batsuit when the sun was shining, especially in the afternoon. Though it wasn't unusual for him to just be changing out of it around 8 AM or so. Some nights were that long and strenuous. In a strange way, Terry hoped he'd have more nights like that.
Even more unusual than putting on the suit at such an early hour was what he was about to do while wearing the suit.
He went to Site Black, alone, and set up some camera equipment. He made a mental note to deactivate, strip, and dump all the camera gear when he was done. He put his mask on and darkened the whole room, save for a single light overhead.
He pressed record and walked in front of the camera, standing under the light.
"Gotham City," Batman began, "I know you're scared. I don't blame you. But I am not running. If any of you feel the need to leave, do it. I don't blame you for that either and no one else will or should. Save yourselves and your families and loved ones. Protect yourselves, protect the people you care about. There is no shame in putting your life and the lives of those you love over a city. But me? I'm going to fight. I give you my word: I'm not running. I'm going to fight Bane and the Scourge with everything I've got. I give you my word: I'll fight until I can't stand up… and I'll get up anyway. Be safe and watch yourselves, everyone." He stared, intently, into the camera lens. "And Bane? Ready when you are!"