The special confinement cells were dreaded by everyone in the prison. They had been prepared by Amanda during the prison's earliest days for high-risk inmates with special abilities. They followed no humanitarian standards and imposed brutal solitary confinement twenty-four hours a day.
Bruce could think of no reason for Bane to deliberately seek out such a cell, yet that was exactly what he had done.
Amanda had told him to kill Eliot, but he refused. She had told him to protect Gallardo, yet he killed Gallardo the moment they met. He was clearly provoking Amanda on purpose. He had long anticipated that her ultimate method of dealing with him would be to transfer him into special confinement.
Why would he do that?
The several confrontations Bruce had expected to have with Bane had ended before they even began. During their few exchanges, Bane had revealed no useful information.
Bruce should have been relieved. He could return to his original plan and continue escalating step by step: manipulate Jimmy first, then drive Donn mad. Once new cellmates were transferred in, he could use the same methods to stir up conflict among them, summarize behavioral patterns and techniques for manipulating others, and complete a fairly decent paper.
But Bane's appearance had successfully aroused his curiosity. He was intensely curious about what sort of story this Beast with a philosopher's soul possessed.
At the end of the day, Batman had always possessed a kind of knightly spirit. He did not enjoy crushing weak opponents; he preferred pursuing equally powerful beasts.
Madmen had a peculiar attraction to one another. Before the other appeared, ordinary people could provide some small comfort. But once a true opponent stepped onto the stage, no matter how dazzling everyone else's dance might be, they became mere background decoration—just like