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Chapter 228: The Major Prisons
Bane was a classic example of a newcomer. Unfamiliar with the scene and its rules, he fell victim to one of the most important tenets known among Batman's informal club of rogues.
One of Arkham's most important rules: never schedule a fight with Batman.
Keeping Batman in the dark before a confrontation, so he doesn't know who he's up against, is a crucial point that many newcomers to Gotham tend to overlook. In the source material, Batman suffered quite a few setbacks, most of which were due to such situations.
After all, he's only a mortal. When facing superhuman opponents, he relies more on strategy and specialized equipment. That's why first encounters are particularly effective against him. Almost every member of the Gotham Fan Support Club, during their debut, managed to leverage their "newbie protection period" to hand Batman a setback, big or small.
However, Bane, that oaf, manually forfeited his one and only chance at this protection. He arrogantly jumped on television to issue a challenge to Batman, setting a time and place as if it were a grand martial arts tournament.
So, as expected, before the battle, Batman dug up every single piece of information on Bane, from his birth to his rise, unearthing all his dirty laundry. Consequently, when Bane arrived for the appointment, he was met with a suit of Bat-Armor that looked to weigh five hundred pounds, armed to the absolute teeth.
Having learned his lesson, Bane was smarter this time. He understood he couldn't let that cunning Bat prepare in advance, which meant he couldn't be the one to stick his neck out. If Batman knew from the start that the case involved him, he would undoubtedly bring his financial power to bear, and Bane would once again be drowned in an ocean of US dollars.
So he found an ally, kept a low profile, and lay in wait. When Batman, investigating another case, followed the clues and showed up, he would suddenly jump out and give him a surprise, certain he could avenge his previous defeat and take him down.
As the Titan venom flooded his system, Bane's body was filled with unparalleled power. Rushing, restless energy coursed through his veins. His bulging muscles seemed to throb with his pulse, making him feel as if he possessed the divine power to uproot mountains.
He was invincible now!
He threw a punch, his massive fist, easily twice the size of a normal man's, blasting forward like a cannonball and leaving an afterimage. The Titan venom had swollen his body to resemble a green giant. He looked clumsy and slow, but it was actually an all-around enhancement, which included speed. It was a superhuman punching speed that an ordinary fighter could never hope to achieve.
But "Batman" seemed not to notice, standing his ground without dodging or evading, watching as the heavy punch tore through the air toward him.
"Batman, look out!"
Catwoman, seeing that he wasn't dodging, couldn't help but cry out in alarm. She wanted to rush forward and push him away, but it was already too late.
She was one of the people most familiar with Batman. She knew his capabilities, but she also knew he was a mortal. If a punch like that landed squarely, she could already imagine the scene of Batman's brains splattering as he was killed instantly.
Thud.
Bane's heavy punch landed, dead center, right on the forehead.
It was accompanied by the crisp, cracking sound of a bone breaking.
Bane's bone.
A punch of terrifying power, generating a transparent shockwave, struck him square in the face. Yet as the punch landed, Batman remained as still as an iron statue; only the domineering force of the blow lifted the knight's black cape.
Bane, however, staggered back as if struck by lightning.
It wasn't because of the pain. The recoil fracturing his bone was certainly excruciatingly painful, but for Bane, who had grown up with pain as his companion, it was nothing.
What truly dealt him a devastating blow was the enemy's unbelievable power.
The strongman, over three meters tall, cradled his shattered hand, looking down at himself and then at the completely unharmed Batman before him. He was shocked and bewildered, looking like a lost five-hundred-pound child.
Even Catwoman was stunned.
She knew what Bane was capable of. Enhanced by Titan venom, he could definitely topple a tank with a single punch. And yet, this person not only took such a punch head-on but even dealt recoil damage?
With... his face???
How?
What kind of new Bat-tech was this?
"Impossible, this makes no sense... No!"
Bane roared again, but this time it was less a beast's roar and more an attempt to mask his fear. He strode forward, his steps cratering the ground, and his other, still-intact fist came flying at high speed.
But what Bane thought was a perfect punch was as slow as a snail in Orin Vale's eyes. He calmly stepped forward, avoided the fist, and extended a finger. Wrapped in an electric arc, he flicked it lightly against Bane's body.
A muffled explosion echoed in the air. A powerful and wondrous force, accompanied by an electric current, shot through Bane's entire body.
The next moment, Bane was still standing, but an alloy-encased device on his back cracked open with a boom. Large amounts of venom splattered everywhere, along with metal fragments. The tubes plugged into it snapped, spraying venom wildly.
All of Bane's equipment shattered, instantly turning into metal scraps. Deprived of his venom supply, Bane was immediately hit by the venom's side-effect backlash. His entire body rapidly deflated, his formerly magnificent and tough form instantly becoming limp and weak.
For a man—especially one as proud and tough as Bane—this was a fate worse than death.
Bane completely deflated, his eyes wide with disbelief. "How is this possible?"
Was all the intelligence gathered before fake? Had Batman been this strong all along?
But if he was this strong from the start, why the hell did he need that suit of armor last time!?
Wasn't he, in person, far stronger than that damned armor?
Could it be that he anticipated a rematch and deliberately held back the first time, leaving me with the delusion that I could get my revenge next time?
Bane had thought that in their last clash, he was on the first level while Batman was on the third. Then, for today's ambush, he thought he had painstakingly climbed to the fifth level. But after this final exchange, he was stunned to realize that the man had been in the stratosphere from the very beginning. He never even had a chance.
"You... despicable Bat..."
Bane's eyes rolled back, and he went still.
Catwoman watched him from the side, shocked and uncertain. Hesitantly, she said, "You... what you did..."
"We can talk later," Orin Vale interrupted her with a wave of his hand.
Such a huge commotion had, of course, alerted the Intergang members below. A group of minions clamorously grabbed their weapons and charged up, but not a single one of them even got a clear look at the enemy before a black whirlwind swept through, and everyone in the room was knocked to the floor.
The blur of motion came to a halt amidst the minions scattered across the room, and he let out a soft sigh.
Actually, both last time and this time, Orin Vale hadn't initially ruled out resolving things the Batman way. But unfortunately, every attempt at traditional stealth had gone awry, leaving him no choice but to switch to the new 'stealth' method of an Assassin's Creed berserker...
He didn't want to do it, either; the other side had forced his hand.
Catwoman finally came down from the top floor, looking at him with a strange expression. "You're not Batman."
"I never said I was," Orin Vale clapped his hands.
"But you're wearing his... alright, who are you? Where did he go?" Catwoman hesitated for a moment, then asked, "So, does this mean he's really missing?"
"That's one of the questions I'm trying to figure out myself."
Orin Vale casually picked up an unconscious underboss and woke him up.
"Who's supplying you with weapons from behind the scenes? What do you want in Gotham?"
"I-I'm telling you, Intergang isn't like those softies in Gotham! I absolutely won't leak any secrets..."
He met the gaze of Batman's menacing mask, and his voice grew smaller and smaller, losing all its conviction until it was just a whisper.
"...absolutely won't leak secrets, unless... unless I can't hold it in..."
"Then start talking."
"Alright. But I really don't know where the weapons came from. I heard people say the big boss met some aliens, and they're the ones who gave them to us. But that's just our speculation. As for our mission in Gotham... our mission is to investigate the prisons."
"What prisons?"
"Blackgate Prison and Arkham Asylum... They call it an asylum, but we all know it's one of the biggest prisons in the world."
"Why the prisons?"
"I don't know the specifics. It seems the order came from the boss himself, based on some intelligence from who-knows-where. It said we're looking for someone, and all we know is that this person is definitely in a prison, one that must be a particularly high-security metahuman prison, but we don't know which one specifically. Gotham's Blackgate and Arkham, the super-prison on Stryker's Island in Metropolis, and Iron Heights Prison in Central City... we have people arranged to investigate almost all the famous prisons."
"Who are you looking for?" Orin Vale continued to ask.
"I really don't know that. The intelligence we were given only said it's a special criminal, likely held in isolation from the others. His detention area might have a specific symbol, and we just need to look for that symbol... Ah, right, there's one more thing. It's also our speculation, but this one should be pretty reliable."
The underboss lowered his voice and said quietly.
"They say the one we're looking for is probably an alien."
(end of chapter)
Bane was a classic example of a newcomer. Unfamiliar with the scene and its rules, he fell victim to one of the most important tenets known among Batman's informal club of rogues.
One of Arkham's most important rules: never schedule a fight with Batman.
Keeping Batman in the dark before a confrontation, so he doesn't know who he's up against, is a crucial point that many newcomers to Gotham tend to overlook. In the source material, Batman suffered quite a few setbacks, most of which were due to such situations.
After all, he's only a mortal. When facing superhuman opponents, he relies more on strategy and specialized equipment. That's why first encounters are particularly effective against him. Almost every member of the Gotham Fan Support Club, during their debut, managed to leverage their "newbie protection period" to hand Batman a setback, big or small.
However, Bane, that oaf, manually forfeited his one and only chance at this protection. He arrogantly jumped on television to issue a challenge to Batman, setting a time and place as if it were a grand martial arts tournament.
So, as expected, before the battle, Batman dug up every single piece of information on Bane, from his birth to his rise, unearthing all his dirty laundry. Consequently, when Bane arrived for the appointment, he was met with a suit of Bat-Armor that looked to weigh five hundred pounds, armed to the absolute teeth.
Having learned his lesson, Bane was smarter this time. He understood he couldn't let that cunning Bat prepare in advance, which meant he couldn't be the one to stick his neck out. If Batman knew from the start that the case involved him, he would undoubtedly bring his financial power to bear, and Bane would once again be drowned in an ocean of US dollars.
So he found an ally, kept a low profile, and lay in wait. When Batman, investigating another case, followed the clues and showed up, he would suddenly jump out and give him a surprise, certain he could avenge his previous defeat and take him down.
As the Titan venom flooded his system, Bane's body was filled with unparalleled power. Rushing, restless energy coursed through his veins. His bulging muscles seemed to throb with his pulse, making him feel as if he possessed the divine power to uproot mountains.
He was invincible now!
He threw a punch, his massive fist, easily twice the size of a normal man's, blasting forward like a cannonball and leaving an afterimage. The Titan venom had swollen his body to resemble a green giant. He looked clumsy and slow, but it was actually an all-around enhancement, which included speed. It was a superhuman punching speed that an ordinary fighter could never hope to achieve.
But "Batman" seemed not to notice, standing his ground without dodging or evading, watching as the heavy punch tore through the air toward him.
"Batman, look out!"
Catwoman, seeing that he wasn't dodging, couldn't help but cry out in alarm. She wanted to rush forward and push him away, but it was already too late.
She was one of the people most familiar with Batman. She knew his capabilities, but she also knew he was a mortal. If a punch like that landed squarely, she could already imagine the scene of Batman's brains splattering as he was killed instantly.
Thud.
Bane's heavy punch landed, dead center, right on the forehead.
It was accompanied by the crisp, cracking sound of a bone breaking.
Bane's bone.
A punch of terrifying power, generating a transparent shockwave, struck him square in the face. Yet as the punch landed, Batman remained as still as an iron statue; only the domineering force of the blow lifted the knight's black cape.
Bane, however, staggered back as if struck by lightning.
It wasn't because of the pain. The recoil fracturing his bone was certainly excruciatingly painful, but for Bane, who had grown up with pain as his companion, it was nothing.
What truly dealt him a devastating blow was the enemy's unbelievable power.
The strongman, over three meters tall, cradled his shattered hand, looking down at himself and then at the completely unharmed Batman before him. He was shocked and bewildered, looking like a lost five-hundred-pound child.
Even Catwoman was stunned.
She knew what Bane was capable of. Enhanced by Titan venom, he could definitely topple a tank with a single punch. And yet, this person not only took such a punch head-on but even dealt recoil damage?
With... his face???
How?
What kind of new Bat-tech was this?
"Impossible, this makes no sense... No!"
Bane roared again, but this time it was less a beast's roar and more an attempt to mask his fear. He strode forward, his steps cratering the ground, and his other, still-intact fist came flying at high speed.
But what Bane thought was a perfect punch was as slow as a snail in Orin Vale's eyes. He calmly stepped forward, avoided the fist, and extended a finger. Wrapped in an electric arc, he flicked it lightly against Bane's body.
A muffled explosion echoed in the air. A powerful and wondrous force, accompanied by an electric current, shot through Bane's entire body.
The next moment, Bane was still standing, but an alloy-encased device on his back cracked open with a boom. Large amounts of venom splattered everywhere, along with metal fragments. The tubes plugged into it snapped, spraying venom wildly.
All of Bane's equipment shattered, instantly turning into metal scraps. Deprived of his venom supply, Bane was immediately hit by the venom's side-effect backlash. His entire body rapidly deflated, his formerly magnificent and tough form instantly becoming limp and weak.
For a man—especially one as proud and tough as Bane—this was a fate worse than death.
Bane completely deflated, his eyes wide with disbelief. "How is this possible?"
Was all the intelligence gathered before fake? Had Batman been this strong all along?
But if he was this strong from the start, why the hell did he need that suit of armor last time!?
Wasn't he, in person, far stronger than that damned armor?
Could it be that he anticipated a rematch and deliberately held back the first time, leaving me with the delusion that I could get my revenge next time?
Bane had thought that in their last clash, he was on the first level while Batman was on the third. Then, for today's ambush, he thought he had painstakingly climbed to the fifth level. But after this final exchange, he was stunned to realize that the man had been in the stratosphere from the very beginning. He never even had a chance.
"You... despicable Bat..."
Bane's eyes rolled back, and he went still.
Catwoman watched him from the side, shocked and uncertain. Hesitantly, she said, "You... what you did..."
"We can talk later," Orin Vale interrupted her with a wave of his hand.
Such a huge commotion had, of course, alerted the Intergang members below. A group of minions clamorously grabbed their weapons and charged up, but not a single one of them even got a clear look at the enemy before a black whirlwind swept through, and everyone in the room was knocked to the floor.
The blur of motion came to a halt amidst the minions scattered across the room, and he let out a soft sigh.
Actually, both last time and this time, Orin Vale hadn't initially ruled out resolving things the Batman way. But unfortunately, every attempt at traditional stealth had gone awry, leaving him no choice but to switch to the new 'stealth' method of an Assassin's Creed berserker...
He didn't want to do it, either; the other side had forced his hand.
Catwoman finally came down from the top floor, looking at him with a strange expression. "You're not Batman."
"I never said I was," Orin Vale clapped his hands.
"But you're wearing his... alright, who are you? Where did he go?" Catwoman hesitated for a moment, then asked, "So, does this mean he's really missing?"
"That's one of the questions I'm trying to figure out myself."
Orin Vale casually picked up an unconscious underboss and woke him up.
"Who's supplying you with weapons from behind the scenes? What do you want in Gotham?"
"I-I'm telling you, Intergang isn't like those softies in Gotham! I absolutely won't leak any secrets..."
He met the gaze of Batman's menacing mask, and his voice grew smaller and smaller, losing all its conviction until it was just a whisper.
"...absolutely won't leak secrets, unless... unless I can't hold it in..."
"Then start talking."
"Alright. But I really don't know where the weapons came from. I heard people say the big boss met some aliens, and they're the ones who gave them to us. But that's just our speculation. As for our mission in Gotham... our mission is to investigate the prisons."
"What prisons?"
"Blackgate Prison and Arkham Asylum... They call it an asylum, but we all know it's one of the biggest prisons in the world."
"Why the prisons?"
"I don't know the specifics. It seems the order came from the boss himself, based on some intelligence from who-knows-where. It said we're looking for someone, and all we know is that this person is definitely in a prison, one that must be a particularly high-security metahuman prison, but we don't know which one specifically. Gotham's Blackgate and Arkham, the super-prison on Stryker's Island in Metropolis, and Iron Heights Prison in Central City... we have people arranged to investigate almost all the famous prisons."
"Who are you looking for?" Orin Vale continued to ask.
"I really don't know that. The intelligence we were given only said it's a special criminal, likely held in isolation from the others. His detention area might have a specific symbol, and we just need to look for that symbol... Ah, right, there's one more thing. It's also our speculation, but this one should be pretty reliable."
The underboss lowered his voice and said quietly.
"They say the one we're looking for is probably an alien."
(end of chapter)
