Cheshire Cat and Killer Croc weren't dead. Chen Tao couldn't help but feel…
Overwhelmingly delighted.
He and the suddenly appearing Ventriloquist dragged the three still-living people out of the rubble.
[Broken Scale of Killer Croc]
[Description: After being brutally beaten and seeing a powerful enemy flee, Killer Croc shed this scale. Along with it shattered his once-fearless heart. You might be able to use it to summon a Batman from a parallel universe.]
Chen Tao was slightly stunned. He looked at the still-alive Killer Croc beside him.
[But a being summoned through something inhuman… could it ever be a normal human being?]
["Bane ran away. How could he run away! There's actually some kind of immortal technique that lets you live without fighting? Then what have I been struggling for all this time?"]
[Crisis Energy Converted: 50 Units]
[You currently possess: 60 Units of Crisis Energy]
[Warning! Downloading Targeted Batman File]
[DinoBatman]
[Threat Level: E]
[Earth-27 is a world filled with dinosaurs. There's no Justice League—only the Jurassic League. Every superhero and supervillain is a dinosaur.]
Chen Tao didn't plan to synchronize right here in front of everyone.
First, he needed to get the injured out of here. He helped Deadshot up.
Deadshot said bitterly, "Am I going back to Arkham Asylum?"
"I don't wanna go to Arkham," groaned Killer Croc, dizzy from Bane's earlier beating. He stared blankly, barely aware that Batman himself was standing right in front of him.
"I'm starving… got anything to eat? My arm's broken."
Then his eyes finally focused, and when he saw who was in front of him, he flinched violently—then collapsed again, utterly exhausted.
He really didn't have the strength.
Cheshire Cat, despite her condition, still wore her mask. She was the only one among the three who could still stand.
She limped away—only to be knocked out with a single bonk from Chen Tao.
Chen Tao found that he was getting smoother and smoother with this "knocking people out" skill.
Everything seemed normal again. Things were finally settling down. Now, Chen Tao just needed to take them away, continue manipulating things from the shadows, recruit more fighters, hire more mercenaries…
But something kept bothering him.
Bane…
Did he really just run away that easily?
Thinking that, Chen Tao frowned and retreated behind the three wounded, the old man, and three corpses.
A bad premonition crept up his spine.
From his knowledge of Bane in the comics, Chen Tao knew—Bane was bold, meticulous, and ruthless. Every time he met Batman, he tested him in some way.
Running away without a fight… that wasn't his style.
If he were Bane, he would wait until Batman thought the fight was over—and then strike back when least expected—
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Chen Tao's expression darkened. He wished he could slap his own cursed mouth.
---
"Alfred?"
No response.
"Alf? Alf?"
"Ah, sorry, Tim—I got distracted. Where were we?"
"We're going to catch Batman, then beat him with whips and crowbars," said Tim Drake—the third Robin—crossing his arms so the chains around his wrists rattled.
Seeing Alfred unresponsive, he pressed anxiously, "You still don't believe me, do you? He's not the Batman I knew—"
"He's not the Batman you knew. He is Bruce."
"He's just pretending to be Bru—"
"You don't understand…" Alfred's eyes grew distant. "You don't understand at all, Tim. Gotham… Gotham gave him back to me."
"What?"
"He's alive again. The child who died in Crime Alley with his parents—my little Bruce—he's alive! He was just that small back then… not this Batman."
"But—"
"This filthy, damned city—I've cursed it so many times. It took Thomas and Martha, my best friends. But today, it showed mercy!"
"Wake up, Alfred. He's not—"
"No, no. I know him. He's my Bruce. Tim, Bruce and I have talked. We're retiring. We're leaving Gotham. We're going to Fiji—to live out our days in peace."
Alfred rambled on. Once so sharp and composed, he now seemed every bit the frail, sentimental old man he was.
"Jean-Paul (the Angel of Death), Jason Todd (the second Robin, beaten to death by Joker's crowbar)—Bruce has lost so many already… Tim, let him go. Gotham isn't Bruce's responsibility anymore."
He sighed:
"My poor Bruce… he's suffered so much. There's not a single soft bone left in his body. Every time he throws a punch, his bones grind together, torturing him with pain. The scars left by Two-Face, Riddler, Joker—they all rot and fester every rainy season."
"But Gotham… who will save Gotham without Bruce?"
Alfred fell silent for a moment. "As much as I want to say, 'let Gotham burn,' Bruce told me he would find a successor."
"He mentioned the man you couldn't find before—someone named Clark Kent. I don't know why Bruce chose him, but—"
"My Bruce deserves to rest. We all do."
"And you—" Alfred hugged the young Robin tightly. "You'll come with us, Tim. We'll leave Gotham. We'll find a new life, together—with your parents. Alright?"
Tim hugged Alfred back, holding the frail, aging man.
He couldn't bring himself to refuse.
"If Bruce's 'Clark Kent' can really protect Gotham…"
He promised softly: "I will."
---
Chen Tao felt like he was about to die.
When he saw the massive, muscle-bound monster emerge from the shadows, he felt his blood rush from his spine all the way to his skull.
"Bane—!"
Everyone froze in terror the moment they saw him.
Deadshot struggled to his feet and loaded his gun. The Ventriloquist ducked behind him. Cheshire Cat—well, the curvy girl—was still unconscious.
Killer Croc wasn't lying down anymore. He rolled up, stood beside Chen Tao, and muttered—
"Man, this world is insane. Never thought I'd see the day I'd fight alongside Batman."
But no one had time to answer Croc's philosophical reflection.
Everyone was ready for battle.
Batman slowly stood up.
That single motion was enough to make Bane feel suffocated.
The mingled terror and fighting spirit made his heart pound violently. The venom in his veins surged like magma, fueling his strength.
This raw power and killing intent could break any man—snap him like a twig.
But this man before him… was different.
For the first time, Bane feared that maybe—he couldn't break this "twig."
"I knew you," Bane said at last, his deep, masked voice echoing. "I knew you even when I was thousands of miles away, buried in that cursed pit. I met you in my dreams. And when I escaped that hell, I fled my dreams too—just to find you. To destroy you. To take Gotham from you."
"So you came to my city," Batman replied, "only to hide like a rat in the sewers? You released the lunatics from Arkham and watched me fight them, waiting for me to exhaust myself before you'd dare show your face?"
Bane knew Batman was provoking him. He wouldn't fall for it.
"I've seen too many arrogant fools like you. You've caused so much death, so much suffering… all for the pathetic illusion of ruling this city?"
"I'd kill for anything," Bane said coldly.
His aura surged with every word: "I'd kill to silence a voice that irritates me."
His muscles tensed, veins pulsing. "I'd kill just to see the light fade from the eyes of anyone who dares look at me."
Bane could clearly see the flames of fury blazing in Batman's eyes. This was it—his greatest challenge yet—
A direct confrontation with the Dark Knight at full strength!
How… exhilarating!
And then—
He saw the black Bat just calmly grab Cheshire Cat and Deadshot, throw them over his shoulders, scoop up Killer Croc with one arm, clamp the Ventriloquist under his other arm—
—and then bring his legs together.
In a whoosh, they turned into two wheels.
Bane: "???"