The Gotham West Bridge - 4:30 AM
Conner Kent was bored.
He floated twenty feet above the bridge, arms crossed, watching the police round up the unconscious bodies of Killer Croc's gang.
"This is too easy," Conner yawned into his comms. "Hey, Bats? You got anything harder? Maybe a giant robot? A kaiju?"
"Stay focused, Superboy," Batman's voice was a rasping growl, breathless and pained. "Secure the perimeter. Wait for backup."
"I am the backup," Conner muttered.
He looked down at the dark waters of the Gotham River.
Something was bubbling.
"Hello?" Conner flew lower.
Suddenly, a massive steel shipping container erupted from the water, thrown like a baseball.
CLANG.
It clipped Conner in mid-air. The impact sent him spinning, crashing into the suspension cables of the bridge.
"Ouch," Conner shook his head, floating back up. "Okay. Who threw that?"
From the river, a figure emerged. It climbed up the bridge piling with terrifying speed.
It was Solomon Grundy. But he looked different.
Tubes were surgically implanted into Grundy's pale, rotten chest. They glowed neon green.
"Grundy..." the zombie roared, his muscles swelling to grotesque proportions. "...BREAK!"
And behind him, climbing the other side, was Amygdala—a brute of a man with zero brain function and infinite rage. He, too, was pumped full of Venom.
"Oh, look," Conner smirked, cracking his knuckles. "The zombie and the dummy. Bane gave you some juice? Cute."
Conner rocketed forward.
"Tactile telekinesis... engage!"
He punched Grundy in the chest.
Usually, this would send an opponent flying into the next county.
THUD.
Grundy didn't move. He absorbed the blow like a sponge.
"Uh oh," Conner whispered.
Grundy grabbed Conner by the leg.
"GRUNDY CRUSH ALIEN!"
Grundy slammed Conner into the asphalt. CRACK. The road splintered.
Conner gasped. The wind was knocked out of him. Before he could recover, Amygdala jumped from the cables, landing a double-fisted hammer blow on Conner's chest.
The Batcave
"Bruce!" Tim shouted. "Conner is in trouble! His vitals are dropping!"
"Bane enhanced them," I noted, watching the satellite feed. "He knew Master Conner relied on brute force. So he sent stronger brutes."
"I'm going to him!" Tim grabbed his staff.
"No!" Batman's voice cut in. "Red Robin, stay on the Mad Hatter! If you leave the East End, the bombs go off! I'm... I'm going to the bridge."
"Sir, you are in the Narrows," I argued. "You are ten miles away. You cannot make it in time."
The Bridge
Conner was being ragdolled.
He tried to fly, but Grundy had a grip like a vice. He tried to use his heat vision, but Amygdala smashed his face into a concrete divider before he could focus.
"Get... off... me!" Conner yelled, releasing a telekinetic blast.
It pushed them back a few feet. Conner scrambled up, wiping blood from his nose. He was dizzy. He wasn't used to pain. He wasn't used to losing.
"You want to play rough?" Conner's eyes glowed. "Fine. I'll take the gloves off."
He charged Grundy.
But he didn't see the third player.
From the shadows of the suspension tower, a sniper took aim. It wasn't a bullet. It was a high-frequency sonic round, stolen from STAR Labs.
SCREEEEEE.
The sonic blast hit Conner.
For a human, it would be annoying. For a Kryptonian clone with super-hearing, it was like a knife in the brain.
"AHHH!" Conner screamed, clutching his ears. He fell out of the sky.
He hit the deck, writhing.
Grundy walked over. He lifted his massive boot.
"Night night," the sniper whispered from the shadows. It was Deadshot.
STOMP.
Grundy brought his foot down on Conner's chest.
Conner Kent, the Boy of Steel, went limp.
Grundy picked him up by the back of his jacket. He didn't kill him. Bane's orders were specific.
Grundy threw him.
Conner sailed off the bridge, plummeting two hundred feet into the freezing, dark waters of the harbor.
He didn't surface.
The Batmobile - 4:45 AM
"Conner!" Batman shouted. "Report!"
Static.
"Red Robin, do you have a signal?"
"His tracker is underwater," Tim's voice was shaking. "He's... he's not moving, Bruce. The pressure... if he's unconscious..."
"Sebastian!" Bruce yelled. "Get the Batwing! Retrieve him!"
"I am already en route, Sir," I replied, the engines roaring in the background. "But it will take me eight minutes. He has been under for two."
Bruce gripped the steering wheel. He swerved the Batmobile, crushing a fire hydrant.
"He took out the heavy hitter," Bruce whispered. "Bane knew. He took him out."
Now, it was just a man and a boy. Against an army.
The Gotham Zoo - 5:30 AM
Batman didn't go to the bridge. He couldn't. I was handling the rescue.
He had to go to the Zoo. Man-Bat had been spotted terrorizing the nocturnal house.
Batman crashed the car through the gates. He stumbled out.
His left leg was dragging. His vision was blurring. He had been fighting for six hours straight.
He walked into the bat exhibit. It was humid and dark.
SCREE!
Man-Bat dropped from the ceiling, claws raking across Batman's back.
Batman fell. He rolled, gasping.
"Get up," he told himself. "Get up."
He fired a grapple, wrapping Man-Bat's wings. He pulled.
Man-Bat shrieked and crashed into a glass enclosure.
Batman didn't have the energy for a fight. He pulled a tranquilizer dart and jammed it into the creature's neck.
Man-Bat slumped over.
Batman leaned against the glass, sliding down to the floor.
"One more," he wheezed. "One more down."
"Bruce," Tim's voice. "Joker. He's at the Amusement Mile. He has the Mayor."
Batman closed his eyes.
"On my way."
"Sir," my voice came over the comms. "I have retrieved Master Conner. He is alive, but his solar reserves are depleted. He is in a coma. He cannot help you."
"I know," Bruce whispered.
"Sir. Please. Return to the cave. You have a concussion. You are dehydrated."
"If I stop... Joker kills the Mayor."
Batman stood up. He swayed. He vomited bile onto the floor.
He wiped his mouth.
"I can do this."
He walked back to the car.
High above, on a nearby roof, Bane watched through binoculars.
"He stumbles," Bane observed. "His form is sloppy. His spirit is cracking."
Bird, his lieutenant, grinned. "Do we take him now?"
"No," Bane lowered the binoculars. "Not yet. He still has hope. He thinks he can save the Mayor. Let the Clown have his fun. Then... when he returns to his sanctuary... thinking he is safe..."
Bane cracked his knuckles.
"That is when I will break him."
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