Chapter One: The Bat Returns
It started with blood.
Robin. Nightwing. Batgirl. Red Hood. Alfred. They killed them all.
Bruce Wayne had always thought he could control it—the darkness. The unending violence Gotham offered. But that day, that day when all of Batman's enemies came together, everything broke. The Joker. Bane. Scarecrow. Two-Face. Penguin. Riddler. Killer Croc. They coordinated, for once, in their miserable lives, and they won. Every member of the Bat Family was murdered and torn apart like prey while Bruce was off with the League trying to stop a threat halfway across the world. They didn't even leave him a body to bury for Alfred.
They knew. They fucking knew what they were doing.
And so, after the funerals and the empty graves, Bruce Wayne disappeared. No one could find him. Not Clark, not Diana, not even those he might still call friends. The man vanished into the dark corners of the world, leaving Gotham to fall deeper into chaos, the villains who murdered his family ruling the streets. Gotham became a hellscape, overrun with criminals that the Justice League couldn't handle. They weren't built for this city. Batman was.
A year passed. Gotham was worse than ever. But Batman… he wasn't the same man anymore.
Bane roared as he pummeled Superman, his kryptonite gauntlets glowing green with toxic energy. Superman was on his knees, choking on blood, struggling to stand. The world's strongest man, brought low by Bane's brute force. The kryptonite burned his skin, each punch feeling like his bones were shattering.
"You were never a god, Superman," Bane growled, his thick, venom-enhanced arms rippling with power. "Just a man pretending. And now you'll die like one."
Bane raised his gauntlet for a final blow.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." The voice came from the shadows.
Bane hesitated. The words were cold. Familiar. A growl from the dark, like a beast about to pounce. He turned slowly. And there, in the smoke and chaos of the burning Gotham street, stood him.
Batman.
But this wasn't the man Bane remembered. This wasn't the detective, the strategist. This wasn't the human they'd all once feared. This was something far worse. Batman stepped out of the shadows, his massive frame towering over even Bane. His muscles bulged, veins visible under the tight black suit, his cape trailing behind him like a dark cloud. His eyes, normally cold, glowed red—angry, inhuman.
"Bruce…" Superman gasped, blood dripping from his mouth. "What… what have you done?"
Batman didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on Bane, the murderer. His prey.
Bane chuckled, but it was nervous, the bravado slipping. "Batman. I should have known you'd crawl out from whatever pit you were hiding in. Too late, though. This city is mine."
Batman tilted his head, staring at Bane like one might look at an insect. "Mine," he whispered. His voice was deeper, darker, like gravel grinding underfoot.
Without warning, Batman launched himself at Bane, moving faster than even Superman could track. He slammed into Bane with the force of a freight train, the sheer impact sending shockwaves through the street. Bane crashed into a building, bricks collapsing around him. The giant villain groaned, dazed, his body aching from the hit.
But Batman wasn't done. Not by a long shot.
He walked over to Bane slowly, like a predator stalking its prey. "You thought you won," he said, grabbing Bane by the throat and lifting him effortlessly into the air. "You killed my family. You thought I'd disappear. That I'd break."
Bane clawed at Batman's grip, but it was no use. Batman was far stronger now, far beyond anything he'd ever been before. He tightened his grip, cutting off Bane's air supply.
"You have no idea what you've done," Batman snarled. His other hand shot forward, punching Bane square in the gut with enough force to break ribs. Bane coughed up blood, wheezing in pain.
"You thought breaking my back was something? That was nothing compared to this."
Bane's eyes widened in fear. This wasn't the same Batman. The man in front of him now was something else, something far worse. He was no longer a man; he was a monster. A monster built for one thing—pain.
Batman tossed Bane across the street like a rag doll, his body bouncing off the ground as he crashed into a car. "You're not done, Bane," Batman said, his voice low, cold. "Get up. We're just getting started."
Bane groaned, trying to stand, but his legs were like jelly. He'd never felt anything like this before. Not even against Superman. "What… what are you?" Bane muttered, blood trickling down his face.
Batman stepped forward, his eyes glowing brighter. "I'm pain."
He raised his fist, and bone spikes erupted from his knuckles. Sharp, deadly, and dripping with malice. "This time," Batman said, "I break you."
Bane screamed as Batman brought his fist down, the bone spikes digging deep into Bane's chest. But Batman didn't kill him. No. He wanted Bane to suffer. He pulled his hand back, the spikes retracting as Bane gasped for air, clutching his chest, blood pooling around him.
Batman crouched down next to him, his voice soft, almost a whisper. "This is what you wanted, right? You wanted to break the Bat? You did. But what's left… is far worse than anything you could've imagined."
Bane's breathing was shallow, his eyes wide with terror. He had broken Batman once before, but this? This was something beyond human. Something primal, something monstrous. Bane couldn't stop shaking.
"I… I will kill you," Bane rasped.
Batman's smile was chilling. "No, you won't. But I'll make sure you want to die. Every. Single. Day."
He stood up, his eyes still glowing red, and turned his back on Bane, leaving the broken villain to wallow in his misery. As he walked past Superman, still gasping for breath on the ground, he didn't even glance at him. Superman had seen enough. He had felt enough.
"Bruce…" Superman whispered, barely audible. "You're not… you anymore."
Batman stopped but didn't turn around. "I never was, Clark. You just didn't see it."
With that, he disappeared into the night, leaving Gotham's burning ruins behind him. The predator was back. And Gotham was his jungle.