Chapter 3:
Phoebus leaped back as Bane's fist collided with the floor letting out a small shockwave that caused Phoebus to stumble a bit. Regaining his balance, he opened fire on Bane, who shielded his face with his arms to deflect the projectiles. Bane then charged forward again and launched a punch toward Phoebus, who dodged as the fist slammed into the wall. Bane removed his fist from the dented wall, stating "You only have so many bullets, it won't be long until you run out. When are you going to fight like a real soldier?" Phoebus glowered at Bane, knowing that the madman was right. He only had one clip left, and the dust rounds were less than useless against Bane's clothing. Quickly thinking up a plan, Phoebus ran towards Bane, guns blazing. "Say what you want, I'm just getting started," Phoebus shouted as Bane once again shielded his face to stop the onslaught, but Phoebus had expected this. As he was about arm's length from Bane, Phoebus tossed his now empty rifle, pulled out his knife, and jumped, propelling himself over his opponent. Bane looked up and saw Phoebus when he was halfway over him, a smug look on his face, believing he had deceived him. That smugness turned into worry when Bane's arms shot out and grabbed Phoebus' legs mid-flight, and slammed the Captain to the ground. While his aura took the brunt of the blow, Phoebus felt the air being forced out of his lungs like a popped balloon. Not giving the man a moment's rest, Bane slammed Phoebus into the adjacent wall, and then threw him overhead into the wall on the far side of the corridor. Phoebus could feel his aura cracking, by his guess he was about at a little less than half now. If his aura fell any further he could be in serious trouble, he had to end this quickly. Bane, however, was perplexed, as his opponent showed no sign of injury from the attack that would have crippled a regular man. "You're sturdier than I first believed," Bane said, clearly irritated.
"An Atlas soldier never surrenders," proudly stated Phoebus between gasps for breath, "As long as my aura shines, I will keep on fighting until you are defeated!" He said as his aura flashed triumphantly." While Bane was mildly surprised by this development, he furrowed his brow, grim determination spreading across his face."No shield is impenetrable" Bane factually stated, as he charged toward Phoebus, intending to prove his point. Phoebus stood his ground, waiting for Bane to get closer so he could use his semblance on him, not wanting to waste any time finishing this fight. As Bane closed in, Phoebus' hands began to burn with power as he thrust them forward, shooting a bolt of red-hot fire out of his hands, striking Bane dead center in his chest. Bane was propelled backward, landing hard on the floor until he skidded to a halt, as he groaned in pain.
While the blast hadn't broken his clothing, he still felt the full impact. As he was getting to his feet, he saw Phoebus charge towards him, flaming fists a blazing, as he jumped forward to strike Bane down again. Before Phoebus could barbecue him, Bane rolled out of the way as Phoebus's clenched fist hit the floor, causing an explosion of fire to erupt from underneath it. Safely dodging the blow, Bane got to his feet and resumed his fighting stance once again. While this did explain how these soldiers melted the doorway, it complicated how Bane was going to win this fight. While durable, the jumpsuit he was wearing could not take another concentrated blow like that again, and he would be left vulnerable to his enemy's power. However, Bane noticed Phoebus' aura flashing again, and his deep breathing. Overall, his opponent looked tired, and Bane discerned that he could not keep up this power for much longer. At that moment, Phoebus closed the gap between him and Bane with astounding speed, as Bane barely had enough time to put his guard up to block the blast. The fire forced Bane back a few feet, but his guard held, but his sleeves were burnt to a crisp. Bane only cringed slightly as he felt his forearms burning from the blow, as he lowered his guard and saw the triumphant look on Phoebus' face. "You were correct about no shield being impenetrable. While your suit was impressive, it cannot stand against the true power of a huntsman," Phoebus heroically said, "Now it is time for you to-" Phoebus stopped mid-sentence, as he heard the most peculiar noise coming from Bane's mouth. He was chuckling. Although he was a little concerned, Phoebus was mostly unfazed by this. "Realizing your futility in this fight, murderer?" questioned Phoebus.
"No," said Bane, his solemn excitement evident in his voice, "just enjoying this little workout is all." Phoebus' eyes widened in shock and then narrowed into an expression of fury, being taken so lightly by this madman. "Now," Bane continued, "I don't have to hold back anymore," as he tightly clenched his fists. Taking his chance to overpower this soldier, Bane concentrated, as his brain began to respond to his commands, releasing the naturally produced Venom. The steroid began to flow through his body, as his veins began to glow green and activating the monstrous transformation.
Phoebus, seeing his opponent immobilized for the moment, took this chance to finish him off, and brought his hands out in front of him and fired a huge torrent of fire towards Bane. As the blast engulfed Bane, hope and triumph shone from his eyes. He had successfully avenged his fallen men, and they could rest easy now. However, this bright light was quickly diminished, as to his horror, Phoebus saw a large figure forcing its way through the fire. "No… this isn't possible," he said despairingly, "Burn, you bastard, BURN!" Phoebus forced the last bits of his aura into this blast, increasing the size of the blast and forcing the figure back, but it just kept coming. Phoebus could feel the last drops of his aura slipping away, but he couldn't give up, he would not give in! It was then, to Phoebus horror, Bane burst from the flames, fire rolling off him like some kind of monolithic demon and glowing a sickly green color. Bane roared as he launched his now massive fist straight at Phoebus, who couldn't think of anything else to try and guard against the blow. As his aura crumbled, Phoebus felt his forearms and ribcage crack and shatter like glass, as he was launched like a missile into the wall behind him. He felt his right shoulder crumble as blood began expelling from his mouth like a geyser. Before he could fall, Bane pinned the man to the wall with one hand, bringing him to eye level. Barely conscious, Phoebus lifted his head to look his adversary in the face, "You 'cough' may have defeated me 'cough', but there will be others. When word spreads about your actions, 'cough' Atlas will hunt you down and make you pay for your crimes!" Bane tightened his grip on the man, feeling more bones break under his clutch, as he prepared to deliver his coup de grace. "When your armies, your heroes, and your guardians come for us, we will not only defeat them but like you," said Bane as he lifted the bloody captain over his head, "we will…," with that he violently brought Phoebus back down on his knee, as a sickening sound of the man's spine breaking resounded through the halls,
"BREAK THEM!"
Phoebus' blood-curdling scream ended as he finally lost consciousness, and rolled off of Bane's knee. For a moment Bane stood their triumphantly, knowing he had made his message clear. However, this moment did not last long.
"Took you long enough, for a moment there I thought you were gonna get taken down a peg as well," said Computo, sarcasm evident in his voice, as his drone body approached from behind Bane. "Where have you been?" asked Bane, the moment now ruined with the AI's presence. "I was off repairing the gaping hole in the wall they used to get in here, it was logical. Also, I thought you said you didn't need help, hmmm?" Computo teased, trying to get a rise out of his compatriot. Bane wouldn't give the soulless machine the satisfaction and just continued to glare at the spherical drone. After this, they both turned their attention to the broken and unmoving body of the captain at their feet.
"Shall I dispose of the body now? After all, it is appropriate for a Captain to go down with their crew, isn't it?" asked Computo, activating the disintegration turrets from overhead. However, Bane put his put his hand up. "No," said Bane, "This man fought valiantly, even with his body tired and broken he persevered. Instead, this Phoebus will serve as a warning to any who seek to oppose us, and help spread the fear of us around the world once again," Bane said proudly.
"Well I'm glad you had fun on your playdate, kid, but how do you suppose we get him to where other people can actually see him?" Computo asked as Bane used all of his self-control to not crush the drone into a baseball. Calming himself, Bane turned his head to the drone and asked, "Are the Boom Tube generators online yet?"
"They will be online in 10 minutes," stated Computo, "shall I set the coordinates for the surface then?"
"Yes," Bane said, but then another thought occurred to him, "and if possible, try to pinpoint the location to where that other soldier ran off to," he said, a small grin slowly forming on his face.
Even though Computo didn't have a mouth, one could imagine from the way the drone was whirring, that a demonic grin was forming on his face as well. "I will see," the AI said a little dementedly, "Anything else?" he asked. Bane wasted no time and said, "Yes, get me my mask."
—
After Lt. White had escaped from the mine, he began to sprint towards the office facilities to try and get a hold of the Atlas army to report to them about what had happened. He broke his way into one of the communication towers, sat down at the nearest call terminal, and quickly dialed in the number for the Atlas military. "Come on, come on, pick up!" he screamed at the machine, nerves shot. He left Captain Phoebus at the mercy of that monster down there, and while he did not doubt his Captain's abilities, he wasn't sure how long he could last against the mysterious figure. Finally, after what seemed like an age, the phone picked up and to his surprise, General Ironwood appeared on the screen. "Hello," the General greeted, "I understand this transmission is coming from the-" "Help, help, we need HELP!" White screamed. Ironwood's worry and surprise grew at that moment, as he heard the man's desperate pleas. He heard about there was an incident at the mines and tried to contact Jacque or Phoebus earlier, but for some reason, none of his calls went through. He alerted the army to send back up units and forward any calls coming from the facility directly to him. Ironwood had hoped it would be a small problem, but that
"Pull yourself together soldier," Ironwood ordered, "I need you to tell me exactly what happened. Is Captain Phoebus with you?" he then asked. Taking a minute to compose himself, White began to say, "General, we were able to get through the wall today but-"
BOOM
A surge of light and energy burst into the room, as White was knocked back by the sudden blast. The surge also interrupted the transmission, and the call began to turn to static. Pulling himself off the floor, White turned and saw what looked a pulsating portal in the middle of the room. Soon he saw two figures exiting the portal, and to White's terror, it was the monster holding the bloodied and broken body of Captain Phoebus. The monster now sported a black mask over his head, with a white area covering his facial area. Even through the blood red lenses of the mask, White could still see those piercing green eyes staring at him. As he approached the computer specialist, White began to tremble in fear, not knowing whether he was going to be killed right then and there. The man stopped in front of White and dropped the unconscious Phoebus to the floor at the lieutenant feet. He then directly stared into White's eyes and said, "Your captain fought admirably, you should be proud, but know this. Retaliating against us will only cause your people more suffering, as we will return any transgression you commit against us a hundredfold. Also, if you think I am the worst the Hall has to offer, well then I am sorry to say you're sorely mistaken. Some of my brothers and sisters can cause more damage to their pinkie fingers than your armies entire arsenal. Now, return to your leaders, and let them know that the Secret Society of Super-Villains is not to be trifled with, and any attack against us in the future will ensure their utter destruction." Bane then leaned down close to White's face and threateningly whispered, "Are we clear?"
White, who at this point had broken out into a cold sweat, was too terrified to speak, and only let out a squeak of terror as a response. "I'll take that as a yes." Bane said as he got back up, turned around, and walked back toward the portal. Stepping inside, the portal closed with another flash of power that momentarily blinded White for a minute. White just sat there with his injured Captain, completely shaken by what had just occurred. Suddenly the call came back online, as Ironwood's face appeared on the monitor again. "HELLO, HELLO, soldier what happened?!" At that White completely broke down, and the only response Ironwood got was White despair filled scream.
—
As Bane made his way out of the Boom Tube generator, he began to make his way over to the main meeting room. Exiting the elevator to Level 2, it was only a short walk from their to the spacious meeting room. Once he entered, Bane made his way over to one of the court style chairs and sat down. At that moment, Computo entered the room, still inhabiting the drone, and floated his way over to Bane.
"So is it safe to assume the kid is gonna have PTSD ridden nightmares of you for the rest of his life?" Computo said in a disturbingly gleeful tone.
"Most likely," stated Bane.
"Excellent." Computo responded, "Well now that that ordeal is taken care of, what should our next move be?," the AI then questioned.
"You said it yourself earlier," Bane said as he pressed a button on the console in front of him. The computer pedestal in the center of the room lit up and began to display various faces of people, the children of some of the greatest super villains the Society has ever known. It was their destiny to restore the Society to its former glory, so they could live once again. "Now we assemble the founders of this new era."