Chen Tao stood in the distance, his soul roaming through the darkness as boundless knowledge explosively appeared in his mind. He could even clearly recall the warm sensation of blood splashing across his face when the shattered spine burst apart during Bane's first murder.
"I am Chen Tao."
He said it to himself.
At the instant the enormous dinosaur caught Zombie Bane off guard, it shrank into a normal human-sized figure two meters tall. Then, like a comet, its rising punch sent Bane crashing backward.
The monsters inhabiting Bane watched helplessly as that bat-shaped shadow leaped into the sky. Then, the several-ton dinosaur came crashing down.
Boom!
Poison Ivy sat on a chair woven from green vines and turned to look at Robin, who had suddenly appeared beside her. "The virus Jason and I created? He already used all those ingredients to synthesize that failed drug."
"We have Professor Goldbloom to thank for all this."
Robin stood quietly beside Poison Ivy. "Killer Croc has already taken him somewhere safe."
He turned his head slightly and quietly asked Poison Ivy, "Ivy, don't you want to use the power of The Green to do something?"
Then he saw Poison Ivy lower her head, half her face turning rotten and ashen.
This nearly made the young Robin jump in fright.
"Shh. Don't make a sound." He heard Poison Ivy whisper like a corpse. "The power of The Green is already weakened to its absolute limit here, little red bird. I'm probably powerless for now. Your job is to maintain the illusion that I can still fight as much as possible, not make a fuss here!"
"That's impossible!" Robin anxiously whispered to Poison Ivy. "The power of The Green has already begun eroding Bane's body through that drug. Your power should have increased dramatically. The Black should already have been driven away..."
"Wait. Unless..."
Tim Drake's pupils suddenly contracted. He looked toward the spot where Plant Master had been lying. "Where did Plant Master Jason Wood go?"
"It's useless, mortal."
After a brief moment of panic, the servants of The Black regained their composure.
"Even if your power surpasses ours, you're still a mor—"
Bang!
Batman's iron fist carried overwhelming force, making Zombie Bane's head wobble on his neck like a rubber ball.
"You can't kill me when I'm already dea—"
Bang!
Batman transformed into a giant dinosaur again, seized the other man by the collar, and slammed Zombie Bane into the earth. A huge mouthful of mud forced the words back down his throat.
The creation of The Black spat out a vicious curse. "You cannot escape death, mortal. You have no chance of resisting us."
"I don't need to resist you. I only need to dispel you," Chen Tao said. He pinned Zombie Bane to the ground.
"Bane wasn't part of my plan, but as it happens..."
"You are."
He pulled the tube from his back and connected it to the tube behind Zombie Bane.
"Ha. What's this supposed to be? That venom called Titan Venom?"
Zombie Bane's numb, hideous face could not form any expression of mockery. Half his face had split open under the violent punches, revealing a rotten tongue and half a tooth.
"That so-called Titan Venom can't awaken this body at all. A mortal under our control could never—"
"Shut up," Chen Tao said quietly.
I am Bane Batman now... He's a bat, but he's also Bane.
Chen Tao thought, then said in a low voice, "Part of Bane overlaps with me. I understand him."
"And you don't understand Bane at all."
Hiss!
Like sulfuric acid dripping onto skin, Zombie Bane let out a howl composed of two voices. "What is happening?"
"The Lazarus Pit, also known as the Fountain of Youth. A treasure I obtained from the League of Assassins' headquarters."
He heard the freak called Batman say coldly, "This tube can link Bane and me. It can transmit more than just venom—it can also transmit anything I prepared beforehand. I knew long ago that everything possessing vitality was your nemesis."
"I always make every preparation. Listen, scrap. Under normal circumstances, I might crack a few jokes or something, but I'm sick of being called a mortal every other word."
"I'm going to show you how the people of Gotham do things."
The scrap heard him deliver his cold verdict. "You've never been to Gotham, have you? You don't understand what kind of opponents Gotham's people are. You regard us as mortals... but perhaps you've forgotten."
"The Black may be a fundamental mystical force, but you are merely its low-level agent. Before Arcane, you are nothing."
"Arcane... How do you know the Master's name?"
"None of this matters."
It was not Batman speaking.
Zombie Bane's eyes shifted toward the other side of his face. "You..."
"I am Bane." The other half of Bane's face had already regained its human muscles, though it had not regained the slightest trace of color.
"So what?"
The hunters of The Black continued shouting. "How could a mere mortal escape the parasitism of the great death?"
"You're nothing but—"
But they soon found themselves unable to speak.
"Because I am Bane."
The gray-white rotten flesh rapidly vanished from Bane's face. "I am Batman's enemy, his unprecedented archenemy."
"Because once Bane's consciousness returns, Bane can do it," Chen Tao added. "As long as Bane wants to."
The gray-white rotten flesh peeled away from Bane's body. His tiger-like eyes were filled with an indescribable emotion. "I never imagined this situation."
He spoke in a low voice. "You saved a venomous snake, Batman. I am no less harmless than these filthy creatures of death. Even though you helped me, that will not change my determination to crush you."
Chen Tao answered him, "But at least, as living beings, we stand on the same side. Your fate is to be defeated by me and sent to Blackgate Penitentiary, not reduced to a zombie."
Bane fell silent.
He said, "I'll spare your life—"
Then he raised his voice. "No matter what, we'll be enemies for life! But before that—I'll spare your life."
"First, you need to focus on what's in front of you."
Bane saw Batman give him a faint smile. The lines of that square jaw beneath the cowl left him dazzled.
He knew he would not forget this scene even after a hundred years.
Chen Tao said:
"The most important trait of The Black is that it clings like a parasite. I had already considered that they might take advantage of my absence to..."
Rumble.
One great tree after another came crashing down.
Standing before Bane and Chen Tao was Plant Master, completely corrupted by The Black.
Bane's gaze remained fixed on Batman.
"I never imagined I would fight beside you, my enemy."
"But I expected it long ago, my nemesis."
Batman replied to him.
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