Laughing Bane

"What? How many casualties did you say?" Gordon's voice was strained. "I don't know, I really don't know... waah waah waah..." The soldier standing before Gordon covered his face with his hands. He was at least six feet tall, a head taller than the aging commissioner, yet he wept like a child.

"There are bodies everywhere. Bane slaughtered most of us. The National Guard is finished, everything is finished!" 

"Where's Bane? Where did he go?" Gordon demanded. 

"He..." The soldier clutched his forehead, sobbing uncontrollably. "Waah waah... He went to find Batman!" Gordon tried to question him further, but the soldier only continued to cry, filling Gordon with frustration and anger. 

"I think his PTSD has kicked in. We won't get anything out of him. Calm down, Gordon. Get someone to sedate him, and then—". Bullock, standing beside Gordon, trailed off as he saw the soldier suddenly raise his head. His tear-streaked face was now twisted into a wide grin. 

"Hahahahahahaha!" 

... 

Adam looked at the massive body of Jason Woodrue, the plant master weakened and barely conscious, bound tightly by Poison Ivy's vines. He resembled a crab ready for the pot. Woodrue let out a frustrated grunt. Poison Ivy pursed her lips. "Jason, I didn't want to do this, I'm sorry, but..." 

"Pamela, screw you," Woodrue spat. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Poison Ivy retorted, and in the next moment, the vines snaked upwards, sealing Woodrue's mouth. Adam even saw her summon a vine and shove it directly down his throat—hmm. 

You really can't underestimate a woman's wrath. Once betrayed, she goes all out, doesn't she Luckily, Plant master was essentially a plant, not a human. Otherwise, that vine would have suffocated him. 

"Batman, do you mind telling me—" 

"Ivy, do you mind saying a few words?" Harley Quinn squatted beside them, feeling left out. She pouted, but her annoyance went unnoticed. Poison Ivy glanced at her thoughtfully. "You go first." She had intended to ask Batman how to deal with Plant master, but his words caught her attention, sending a chill down her spine. "I suspect the Black of Decay is still among us." 

"Don't look back," she heard Batman whisper. "I need you to protect Professor Goldblum. The potion that enhances the Green could only have come from his knowledge—if I were the Black of Decay, I wouldn't let him live." 

"We can't guard him forever. Instead of passive defense, I prefer to actively weaken the Black of Decay so they can't harm him. On the matter of keeping the professor alive, Ivy, I believe we can agree." 

He continued, "I know for you elementals, rebirth through a host body is a specialty, but it comes at a cost. We've dealt with one of the Black's minions, and there's another, or perhaps several, lurking within the team. I don't intend to let them live." 

Adam paused, then revealed, "I have a plan." 

Boom, boom, boom...

A massive figure crashed through the forest, snapping trees in its path. "The water and food those mercenaries consumed these past few days were all provided by me..." Poison Ivy grew uneasy. Despite being distracted and not quite used to Batman's "we're teammates" tone, she gestured for him to continue. 

"I'm ready - and then induce decay..."

The hulking figure emerged from the woods into the muddy swamp. The treacherous terrain would trap even a mammoth, but it didn't hinder the figure's progress. He was so fast that he seemed to teleport. Wherever he stepped, the entire swamp water was exploded by his huge kicking force, turning into propulsion, allowing him to charge forward like a nimble ape. 

"We can... Ivy, are you listening?" Adam asked, noticing her distraction. "We're discussing something important." He was met with Poison Ivy's serious gaze. "Someone's coming. Get ready. It's hostile." 

"Hahahahahahaha—ho ho ho, ha ha ha..." 

Maniacal laughter echoed through the trees. Adam turned to see Bane, cackling incessantly, emerging from the forest, wielding a massive uprooted tree as a club. His muscles rippled and writhed like grotesque creatures, both repulsive and terrifying. Before, no matter how much Venom Bane consumed, he still retained a human appearance, albeit taller, stronger, and with prominent veins. And now, the infinitely proliferating muscle knots have broken through the limit of the human anatomy for the normal distribution of human muscle tissue, so they can only be stacked one by one on the original muscles. The skin was stretched by the suddenly enlarged muscles, showing an abnormal whiteness. 

Adam was dumbfounded. Bane's unexpected move had completely blindsided him. Hadn't they agreed to a strategic retreat, to regroup and prepare for a final showdown? Why was Bane rushing in again? Had their unspoken agreement been a misunderstanding? Was he a mind reader? Hadn't Bane gone to great lengths to lure him away, to buy time and prepare his plan? 

In the few seconds since Bane's appearance, Adam began to doubt himself. Was it possible he had overthought things? Maybe Bane simply wanted to rush in and pummel him, and all his previous analysis was wrong. 

But then, as Bane turned his head, Adam dismissed that notion. In addition to the grotesquely swollen limbs, what caught Adam's attention was the broken lower half of Bane's mask, revealing a smile that was all too familiar. 

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" 

Bane's laughter was hollow, his blood-filled mouth a gruesome sight. Whether the blood was his own or someone else's was impossible to tell.