"COWARD! FACE ME LIKE A MAN, BATMAN!"

Bane's voice thundered throughout the sewers, accompanied by his nearly seismic footsteps echoing in every corridor.

The Dark Knight's eyes narrowed as his back remained pressed up against a corner of a nearly demolished corridor.

"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE ME, BATMAN! I WILL BREAK YOU!" came Bane's adamant voice again, this time punctuated by the sound of a pillar breaking in two.

The sound of his footsteps increasing to a crescendo, prompting Batman to remain perfectly still as the uneasy silence threatened to escalate into the behemoth outright demolishing anything else in his path including the sewer system itself.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, the giant yelled in frustration and lashed out against a wall, breaking through the already rotting exterior before stalking away.

"DO YOU HEAR ME, BATMAN? I WILL FIND YOU!"

Turning away, Batman remained crouched as disappeared further into the ancient maze.

Scaling a rusted ladder that sat perched atop a low wall, he ascended to a higher level then began walking at a hastened pace as Bane's voice continued to boom throughout the sewers.

Ducking underneath a hanging canopy of rebar, he spotted a ventilation shaft with the lid already pried open.

"BATMAN!"

Bending down to enter the vents, he easily shimmied his way through the narrow spaces while Bane's voice boomed all around him.

Stopping next to a vent opening with the bars ripped out, he peered at the scene unfolding down below: an ocean of debris and pipes scattered on the floor with the ceiling threatened to collapse due to Bane's child-like temper tantrums.

"Batman, I've finished analyzing the sample you sent. It contains trace elements of the TN-1 formula and the usual components of Venom. However, when I cross-examined the mystery agent against the Batcomputer records it aligned perfectly with a certain psychotic eco-terrorist's MO."

"Poison Ivy."

"Yeah. From what I can tell, she's artificially advanced a strain of Titan possibly taken from her own bloodstream, but to greater effect. Instead of reducing brain activity, it overloads it. Every sense is heightened, every neuron on overdrive. Bane's been enhanced by this Titan not just physically, but mentally as well. I've been theorizing that that's how Bane's been able to keep up with you this long. He's actually using his brain for once, and thanks to this specialized Titan he's become more powerful than he's ever been even back when he was still using TN-1"

"So how did Bane get this…. ivy venom in his possession?"

"Not of his free will. The ivy venom attacks brain cells like a virus, recoding them once they're latched on. Once Bane was freed, she found a way to get him hooked on her new formula. Once he was, the ivy venom acted as remote pheromones to make Bane more of a threat while also keeping her influence over him at any point. And the more he uses, the more brain cells are converted."

"Until he's just a brainless husk like the rest of Ivy's pawns."

"Not all of them," Oracle reminded him.

"I've been thinking of ways to stop him. Nothing in my utility belt seems to have a lasting effect, but if I can use the environment, or at least what's left of it, I may be able to take him down," he told her.

"Well I'd suggest you do it fast. From the sounds of it, this whole system is going to cave in on itself sooner than later with both of you still in it," came her worried voice again.

Stopping suddenly, Batman noticed something peculiar slithering alongside the vents to his right. Upon further focus with his visor, he zeroed in on its strange yet familiar physical appearance.

It was one of Poison Ivy's serpentine vines, its exterior glowing with the same greenish color that had populated Bane's bulging eyes.

Following the sentient plant as it continued to crawl through the metallic tiles, he began to see what looked like moss covering the sides of the ventilation shaft.

"I may have found something. Standby," he said, still following the trail of Ivy's plants that led to another exit in the ventilation tunnels.

Squeezing out and standing out, the battered Batman found himself standing in an abandoned control room.

The archaic look of the control panels was indicative of the time it was built, at least circa the inception of a Gotham by gaslight. The front windows were broken, overseeing a giant pool of murky liquids down below.

Yet, that wasn't what stood out most about it.

Looking around, Batman noticed several organic cocoons resting against each corner with the more engorged and wide vines draped around them. More of the snakelike plants draped from the nearly collapsed ceiling, the greenish liquid circulating through their cylindrical bodies.

Walking up to one of the cocoons, Batman looked for an unconscious inmate trapped within being brainwashed by Ivy's pheromones. Instead, he found one of Bane's previously hidden Titan containers with several suction-cup like plants attached to the lid.

It was at that moment that Batman realized the true irony of his words previously.

That despite everything he's done to convince himself otherwise, he had been just as much a pawn in Ivy's game as Bane was.

"Oracle, there's more to Ivy's plan than I had originally deduced. She's been planning this for a while, weeks possibly. Gathering the remaining Titan containers that Bane had kept as contingencies, brainwashing Bane into guarding them. She meant to get captured, counting on the fact that I'd let my guard down which I did," Batman told her urgently, the full gravitas of what was happening finally setting up on the long disillusioned Dark Knight.

"What about Robin? How does he play into all of this?" Oracle pointed out to which he had no immediate reply.

"I….don't know, Barbara," he finally admitted, his characteristically calm and scientific cadence slowly disintegrating into an uncharacteristically unsure whisper.

"Well we can still stop this. Ivy should be halfway to the Precinct now. You can interrogate her, find out what she's planning and save Tim," she said optimistically, but Batman's pessimistic side weighed in.

"Too late. At this rate, I can still catch up to the transport truck and get Robin's whereabouts out of her. Only then can I-"

"BATMAN!"

The sound of Bane's voice brought the frantic vigilante back to his current situation, trapped in a near inescapable labyrinth with a crazed giant out for his cowl.

Peering through the broken glass, Batman looked down below.

He saw a sea of pitch black sewer waste still present in the pool, with several other bits and pieces of centuries-old garbage and toxic materials floating in the murky water. From his estimations, the water levels were at least a few feet deep.

"Oracle, I found a way to stop Bane. The waste in the old water treatment facility is still here. When Ra's Al Ghul built his Lazarus Pit here, he must've drained the remaining pools within Wonder City through the underground systems. They all converged at this exact location," he theorized.

"Good catch. But how does that stop Bane?"

"These chemical materials have had centuries to decompose and harden. Some of the materials are still tangible. If I can trap Bane down there, it should restrict his movements. Once I take away his speed, he'll try to compensate with his fists. But he'll wear himself out, and I'll remain out of reach until the opportune moment. Then, I'll take him down," Batman declared confidently, retrieving his Explosive Gel gun.

"Getting him down there is one thing, but taking him head-on even with his movements limited is still a bad move," Oracle argued.

"Yes, but it's the only plan of attack I have left, Barbara. Bane's brain has deteriorated down to what Ivy programmed him to do, and that's kill me and tear down anything that's in his way. At this rate, he's going to bring down the whole sewer system. No telling the damage that'll do to the whole of Arkham City and everyone still in it," he countered, before bending on one knee and spraying a giant bat-shaped layer of explosive gelignite across the floor.

Hearing her sigh from her end of the comlink, he stood up and pulled out one of his last sonic Batarangs.

"You're such a stubborn piece of work, you know that?" she sighed, as Batman threw the Batarang at the wall behind him and backed away slowly anticipating the behemoth's inevitable arrival.

"You keep reminding me," Batman told her with a smirk of his own, as the Batarang emitted its high-pitched screech.

"Just be careful, Bruce. After what's happened to Tim, I just….I need you to make it out of this alive, okay?"

Oracle's voice was calming to the Dark Knight, who remained facing the wall as a sudden crashing noise sounded.

Then, there was only silence.

Making no move to scout for any exit route, Batman remained perfectly still as the silence only grow, building to an eerie crescendo until-

BOOOOM!

The wall exploded before him, sending chunks of debris flying past his still form. Showing no fear as the dust settled around him, he merely cracked his neck as Bane's seething silhouette became visible in the smoke.

After a few more seconds, the dust finally cleared, and Bane stepped forward to meet his greatest adversary one last time.

Panting heavily but with a crazed grin pained all over his nearly unrecognizable face, he sized the masked man up with his one good eye. Gallons of sweat poured down his forearms, his pants were nearly in ribbons.

Batman continued to regard him stoically, showing no fear in the face of the mammoth himself.

"Nowhere...to run! Time to…. break you, Bat!" he proclaimed breathlessly, his speech patterns slurred thanks to the ivy venom's stranglehold over his greater motor functions.

"This ends now, Bane," Batman told him simply, holding up the trigger to the explosive gel that had hardened at Bane's feet.

Not even realizing what was happening, Bane made a mad lunge for Batman's throat only to find himself sinking as Batman pressed the trigger.

The floor immediately gave away in the wake of the explosion, depositing Bane into the darkness below while Batman simply took a few steps back.

Waiting until he heard Bane's fall end in him crashing into the waste, the Dark Knight took not one second to hesitate before plunging into the darkness himself to finish what he had started.


Reemerging from the waters, Bane's panicked movements caused him to splash out against the waste all around him. After taking a few more seconds to calm himself, he stood to his full height and surveyed his surroundings.

"You think this will save you, Batman? I am unstoppable! Do you hear me? DO YOU HEAR ME?" he roared out, wading across the pool only to be met with silence.

"THERE IS NOWHERE IN THIS PLACE THAT YOU CAN HIDE, BATMAN! NOWHERE THAT I WON'T FIND YOU! SHOW YOURSELF!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, demanding Batman's presence.

Silence again.

Looking for a hint, a glimmer of his black-clad adversary, he started to yell again but somehow calmed himself.

"You think the darkness will protect you, Batman? It is not your ally! I was born into the abyss, made into a monster that has no rival. This is my arena; do you hear me pendejo? I am God here," he declared arrogantly, oblivious to the shadowy figure emerging from the waters above him.

"Then show me."

Twisting his body around, Bane set his sights on the detective, only waist-deep in the water, who made no move to attack.

They were both drenched in the black liquids, both physically and mentally exhausted. Yet only one of them would walk out of the arena of their own free will.

Grinning with the cockiness that would come with being enhanced by ivy venom, Bane lunged at the Batman with a haymaker to put him down quick.

Easily evading the blow, Batman remained on the defensive as Bane tried again with an overhead left but to no avail.

Jumping backwards as Bane clasped his hands together and brought them down on the space where Batman's torso occupied.

Screaming in pure frustration, he threw yet another punch only for Batman to duck and spring back up with a massive uppercut that rocked his lower jaw.

This time, Bane stumbled back as the full power of Batman's blow began to sink in. Shaking off his momentary dizziness, he only became more incensed and lunged yet again towards the waiting Batman.

Unclipping his utility belt, Batman strategically ducked underneath his armpit and reappeared right beside him. Looping the belt around Bane's enlarged wrist, he tugged backwards using Bane's own momentum against him.

Twisting his arm behind him in an improvised wristlock, Batman aimed a shark kick to Bane's shin that stumbled him.

Tripping over his own weight, the behemoth fell on a metallic slab of garbage, denting the hood with his face.

"You're not a god, Bane. You're a pawn who doesn't realize that he's been played."

Stumbling to his feet, he turned to the sound of the voice while grabbing the sizable chunk of metal.

"SHUT UP!" With that, he hurled the object at what he thought was the Batman.

Instead, the projectile made a splashing sound before sinking into the cesspool.

Undignified at the sheer audacity for his adversary to taunt him, he nearly came absolutely unglued as he heard Batman's voice again.

"You almost had me that time." There was an almost smug confidence to Batman's taunt.

"SHOW YOURSELF, BATMAN!" He demanded, making his way towards the center of the pool but tripping yet again and faceplanting into the waters.

"I'm right here." That was punctuated by a fist to Bane's mouth just as he reemerged from the blackness. Rocking him back on his heels, Bane countered with a slower than usual backfist only to once again feel nothing, but air on his knuckles.

Bane was becoming more unglued than ever while remaining unaware of the fact that his movements were becoming more sluggish, his attacks even slower.

"This is impossible! I am unbeatable, untouchable! The bruja said so!" he muttered under his breath.

"She used you, Bane. You gave her what she needed, and she made you believe you couldn't be beat. But you and I both know that that isn't true."

"You talk as if you've beaten me yet, Batman," Bane pointed out, now intently listening in for Batman's movements.

"I don't need to beat you, Bane. You're doing that yourself."

Ignoring Batman, he snapped his head back to a slapping sound in the water behind him.

Listening in for a few more seconds, he turned back only to be greeted by another fist to the face.

"Raarrghhh!" This time throwing rights and lefts in reckless abandon, Bane was hell-bent on cornering the Dark Knight.

Ducking Bane's deadly barrage of fists easily thanks to the waste slowing down Bane's advance, Batman retaliated with a few jabs to his side before rolling to the side to avoid Bane's last haymaker.

Nearly falling down to one knee, Bane was now panting heavily as the stress of having to trudge through the waste while carrying all of his excess upper body weight finally began to catch up to him.

"You may think that this will slow me down, Batman. But you cannot attack from the shadows forever. You will face me like a man soon enough, and Bane will cru-"

SMACK!

The blunted end of a pipe slapped Bane in the face, causing him to spit out crimson while stumbling back.

"You talk too much."

That was the last straw for the irritated and fatigued Bane, who abandoned all semblance and simply gave in to his primal instincts.

Lashing out at anything that remotely looked like Batman, he demolished anything and everything in his wake. Sending waste flying everywhere, he had no idea that he was only exhausting himself out.

Then, out of the corner of his one good eye he spotted a sliver of what looked like his cape against a larger piece of wreckage.

Moving with the speed of a cheetah, he emphatically thrust his hand through the Batman's torso, finally ending the Dark Knight for good.

Or so he thought.

His glee and triumph suddenly disintegrated into shock as he realized that he had only plunged his hand into the wreckage and tore through Batman's cape, not his chest.

Then, he heard a clicking sound to his right.

"You just don't get it yet, Bane."

CRACK! The sound of metal hitting bone sounded throughout the abandoned facility as Batman's Bat-claw fired its three-pronged hook into Bane's exposed elbow and fractured the bone.

Screaming as he no doubt felt the searing pain rush through his forearm, he attempted to pull his now trapped arm out, but Batman capitalized.

"This isn't a mudhole."

Kicking off the wreckage that Bane was still trapped in, Batman delivered a savage kick to Bane's fractured forearm and fully broke the arm with the sole of his boot.

"It's an operating table," Batman growled calmly as he landed beside him.

"And I'm the surgeon."

Despite not having use of his right arm, Bane still charged at the awaiting Batman with his left arm swinging.

Sidestepping as Bane attempted to bulldoze over him, Batman raised his back leg and brought it down against his knee.

Wincing as Batman's kick brought him down to a knee, Batman twirled around and nailed a jumpspin kick to the side of Bane's face.

Blood now dripping down almost every inch of his face, Bane blindly swung at Batman again only for the Dark Knight to simply back out of range then retaliate by kicking off his bent knee and reintroducing Bane's broken nose to Batman's reinforced kneecap.

While in mid-air, Batman drilled both feet into Bane's chest in a sudden dropkick that only rocked the giant back.

Teetering with every step, Bane was quite clearly in a crossroads: his body was screaming for him to simply lay down and accept defeat yet his stubborn mind refused to acknowledge his body's demands.

Uttering his resilient war cry, Bane charged at the equally frustrated Dark Knight who was determined to disassemble the giant piece by piece.

Another swing by Bane, another miss.

Batman connected with a punch to his jaw. And another one.

In one last desperation move to regain control of the situation, Bane grabbed Batman's chest with his left arm just as he went down on one knee.

Wrapping his meaty fingers around Batman's neck, he was determined to make good on his promise.

"I….will...break you, Batman," he slurred together, blood still trickling down his mouth.

"Never again," Batman told him simply, before raising his fists and ramming them against Bane's exposed ears.

The dual blow nearly deafened the giant, who screamed out in pain as his grip over Batman severely loosened.

Raising one last fist, Batman delivered the final blow and struck the giant down with one last right cross to the face.

Finally falling to Batman, Bane collapsed backwards as the fatigue overwhelmed him as well. Defeated by a combination of Batman's vitality, the fatigue, and the stress of the ivy venom, the giant was finally knocked unconscious.

Beaten. Broken.

Standing tall and triumphant over his defeated adversary, Batman finally allowed himself to pant slightly.

"Oracle, Bane is down," he stated simply, as the greenish glow of Bane's bulging veins began to fade away.

"Are you sure this time? Because last time you said that-"

"I'm sure. Notify GCPD of my current location and have them pick him up. I'm done here," he told her.

"Will do. So, what's the plan next? Interrogate Poison Ivy at the Precinct?"

"I've underestimated Pamela for too long. She's too smart to tell me where he is, or what her endgame is. I need to find someone who she trusted with information regarding her hideouts, especially those located in Arkham City. There, I'll find a lead on where Robin is," he deduced, wading across the waters.

"Like, Harley? I doubt she'll be much help considering what happened back at the Steel Mill."

"No, the only other human being who Ivy trusted," he sighed, before activating his tracking device on his right gauntlet.

His eyes narrowed irritably. "Selina."