A shipment was supposed to come to this warehouse and his men were supposed to retrieve its contents but none replied when he called them. Normally, he would assume they were busy or had a shootout with a local gang but this time, he found their silence suspicious. No reports of gunfire in the district, no gangs occupied the shipping yard except the Falcones but they weren't in Gotham right now so that meant someone was getting into his business where no one should.

Almost an hour of communication silence had him go down to the warehouse with a few men and he expected either cops or at worst the Batman but instead, he found a surprise awaiting him. His men were lying about dead with no bullet holes, no lacerations, and no sign of physical breaks in their body. Whoever this was killed them with no trace, but he did see a tiny dot on one man's neck, a puncture wound like small fangs or the tips of claws.

The blood had coagulated relatively fast, almost as soon as their skin was punctured which told him immediately it was a toxin, snake venom to be absolute. It didn't take him long to piece together the origin of the toxin.

"Copperhead. She's here."

"Uh, Bane?"

Bane turned around and noticed most of the men he came with were gone with only one mercenary left, frightened now and he had to say he couldn't blame his soldier for showing this fear. Copperhead was not someone even Bane would take lightly. He knew she liked to keep hidden and the rafters above were some of the perfect places for her to hide. Peering up with distain, he eyed the shadows for movement.

To his annoyance, he heard his last mercenary let out a shriek of pain and turned just in time to see two forms. One was indeed the mercenary but the other slinked beyond crates piled high. The man clawed at his neck in a panic screaming bloody murder running around like a turkey missing its head. Foam began to build at the edge of his mouth and he sank to his knees moaning and gurgling on his last breath. Bane could only watch the man sink lifelessly onto the floor with one last jagged breath.

Oh yes, he was dealing with Copperhead alright. Joker hired many colorful assassins and out of all of them, he could honestly say Copperhead was unexpected. Realizing he was the last one standing, he kept on high alert. Listening for her was hard but as he traveled through the warehouse, he saw brief visions of her silhouette creeping from above. If she wanted him dead, she was certainly taking her time.

He could hear her prowling above, around him like the snake she was. He admired her abilities, weaponizing her own body to constrict around her enemies and killing them not unlike a boa waiting among the trees patiently for its prey. She was going to strike soon.

As it turns out, strength verses agility can get really one sided. Which one wins depends on the reaction time of each party. It was...safe to say Copperhead won a fair deal this time.

Almost on cue, he heard a brief scrape of metal and he turned fast enough to see her jumping down at him. Bane could only throw the woman off him angrily but she kept slithering back, wrapping her body around him before he could repel her again. One leg managed to entangle around his neck and in one move, she could have broken it but instead, she only tightened her body's grip as a warning. Her claws barely pressed against his collarbone as an extra precaution risking death if he dared to remove her again.

"¿Crees que puedes desafiarme, Bane? I could strike you and you'd be dead in minutes! But I would rather save my stamina and precious toxin for the Bat, not the likes of you."

The burly mercenary growled but knew if he tried to pull any tricks while he was one prick away from dying a morbid death, it would indeed put an end to any plans he had and there was a lot he wanted to get done before he even thought about taking a chance at death.

"Fine, bruja, you win. I shall back down this once. I too am saving my strength for Batman," Bane grumbled.

He suddenly felt the pressure on his throat release and Copperhead swung off him to land just near his left side. She prowled around him with a hiss and he only glared at her in response.

"We can't both kill the Bat so that leaves an interesting problem, mi amigo."

Readjusting his jacket's collar, Bane shook his head, "I intend to break the man before I kill him, test him until his knuckles are bloody and his mind is broken before I even think about killing him. But perhaps I could let you make the last assault on his senses, poison him until his heart stops beating. Will that suffice?"

Copperhead cackled but kept her distance, "Quizás, Bane, but if he's too weak, it won't be very satisfying to see him struggling for life as it leaves his body. La muerte debería hacerlo sufrir con las venas en llamas."

"I can only offer a fatality, not a guarantee of suffering at your hands. I'll split the money; it is of no real use to me. Take it or leave it," he snarled.

The woman poised herself on a crate and her tongue slithered unsettlingly out, "Your offer is generous but I have to decline this time. I want him at my mercy and dead after I've had my fun. But for others, I may consider it."

That was not the answer he wanted to hear. "I can give you anybody but the Batman."

"Then no hay trato. Whoever gets to him first gets to kill him. No hard feelings, Bane, but I will win."

Bane dwarfed her but she was hardly scared as he drew close, "Challenging me is fatal. You will regret taking my kill, señorita."

Copperhead laughed, placing two fingers on Bane's covered chest. She danced them over his jacket slowly to taunt him. This act made the man glance down slightly at the claws with a deep frown.

"Then stop me," she challenged with a purr in her voice. "I dare you, guapo. Jugar conmigo es un pecado mortal, pero eso te gustaría, ¿no?"

He would admit Copperhead had her charm but he pitied the poor fool who got tangled up with her. He had no intentions in being that fool. He was hardly one knowing how easily she could kill him if he showed a moment of weakness, any weaknesses in fact. He would rather stick to better known associates than risk something with this viper of a woman.

"Flattery will not save you," Bane warned.

A sudden tug at his jacket collar had her lips almost touching his. "Then perhaps, mi amor, you want something else?"

He hesitated at first but he managed to produce a simple though wayward answer. "No."

Copperhead pulled back in disappointment, "You're no fun. But I like pushing men until they break, yearning for my touch but of course, we both know how it ends, don't we? Just so you know, I wouldn't hurt you even if you did give in. I like messing with you too much."

Bane grimaced, "And I don't like being mocked."

He felt himself kicked back as Copperhead once again fled to a safe distance. He almost lunged to grab her but stopped himself knowing he was just playing into her games. He cursed himself for letting her get that far into his head.

She gave him a sultry smile as she abruptly held up something, "Well, I could mock you for being very easy to distract but I guess you've suffered enough so I'll take this as my constellation prize for being the first to make you heed my mercy and be on my way."

In her clawed hand, she held up his bowie knife that he carried on his person in case of necessity. It was gift from an old friend from Peña Dura and he'd be damned if he was going to let her make off with it.

Bane all but growled at her. "Give that back now!"

"You want it, querido, come and get it," Copperhead said, blowing a kiss and leaping up into the scaffolding.

The chase was on. Bane quickly tried to jump and drag her down but only grabbed some of the steel that broke from his weight. He watched her somersault up to run across the rafters and he followed, punching loose boxes and climbing onto shipping containers to keep up. He almost lost sight of her a few times given she had a knack for blending in the shadows.

"Am I too fast for you? Are you having trouble keeping up? I can go all night, can you?"

"Maldita perra," Bane muttered under his breath.

He performed a long jump over a large gap between shipping containers and rolled when he landed in order to make a smooth transition back to running. He could hear her laughter above and in the back of his mind, he hoped he could get his hands on her to break her in half over his knee and see if she would still be as flexible afterwards. He abruptly slid to a halt when her shadowy form took a sharp left towards a much more cluttered area.

He needed a plan to coax her close for him to capture her, otherwise there was no way he could stop her from down below. Walking into the cluttered labyrinth of crates and containers, he made sure to cover all bases in his sight so she couldn't get the jump on him again when he successfully plays to her ego, if he successfully plays to her ego more so.

"Copperhead, you and I are much alike. We both strive on the challenges we face, enjoy the victories over lesser men, and like me you desire to kill the Batman. Perhaps we could work together as partners."

"Hahahaha, as if you have anything to offer me, guapo." He heard her voice echo above somewhere, but he couldn't pinpoint it.

"Well, I...think you'll find I have a lot to offer actually, much more than just prey or the Bat. Me encuentro ... atraído ... hacia ti," he muttered.

"So, the big bad Bane is human after all. Was it the power play? Didn't think you'd like a little competition. Would you like to see what else I can do with you?"

He would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit curious how far the implications on that went but he would rather not deal with the consequences of it. He was still "human after all."

Bane tilted his head, listening for her. "I...I am in no hurry to get back to my headquarters so I have time to indulge you. Although, it is hard to do so if I can't see you."

He wasn't good at flirting back. It was always a small weakness of his when it came to people he found interesting. He wouldn't let her know that out loud.

He thought he heard a flicker of movement to his right but he tried not to give away his acknowledgement to see what she would do. Wandering through the warehouse casually with a cobra on his trail was not how he envisioned his night to go.

Hearing her adjust her footing behind him, he smirked. He had her now. He waited until she was nearly to his back before whipping around and catching her wrist to prevent her from apparently touching him as her arm was outstretched. Her posture went rigid and he pulled her close to secure her other hand but she didn't struggle as much as he anticipated a trapped snake would.

She instead grinned, "If I didn't want to be caught, I would have left through those windows and never returned. All you really had to do was ask nicely for your knife back and I would have obliged."

"It is one thing to lie to me, it is another to play me for a fool," Bane spoke darkly.

"But I'm not lying and I never said you were."

She gestured to her hip and he acknowledged his knife was there, taking it and placing it back into his vest. Now that he had what was his, he now contemplated what to do next as she gave a venomous laugh.

"So now that you've captured me, what are you going to do, mi querido?"

Bane didn't really think about that. He had a plan but now that she gave in willingly and he had his knife, he was at a loss of what to do with the woman. He could just let her go and give her a warning but what exactly would stop her from doing the exact same thing over and over?

Copperhead seemed to be studying his hesitance and to his shock, she moved her hands up to trace his jawline before harshly grabbing the back of his head and bringing him down at an angle for a kiss. He was much larger than her so the angle wasn't the most comfortable but she somehow read his mind and jumped up to wrap her legs around his upper waist so she has hovering over him.

She deepened the kiss, keeping her hold on his jaw. Bane hardly fought with her for even he found something enjoyable to the touch as deadly as it could be. But before he really began to crave her, she pushed off him in the form of a backflip and stood her distance with an expression of lust. He, however, found the sudden hinderance of their moment disappointing.

Copperhead blew him another kiss as she sauntered away with an obvious emphasis in her hips. "Until next time, guapo, maybe I'll bring back Batman's head as a second date gift."

And with that, she disappeared into the shadows, leaving Bane with his thoughts. He could honestly say he was playing a dangerous game and a part of him enjoyed it. Although, he had no plans on letting her take down the Batman first so it was going to be a race to the finish then and he was going to win.

AN: Copperhead, I believe, would be Catwoman to Bane's Batman in this version I feel like. I was duly surprised when I saw they made Copperhead a woman in the game but she ended up definitely proving herself.