End of Bane

There were a lot of villains in Gotham. Some were indescribable evils like Scarecrow, Black Mask, and the Mad Hatter. Others were somewhere in the middle like Bane, Two-Face, and Poison Ivy. Villains who veered from good and bad on the regular. Then there were those that were completely sympathetic, like Mr. Freeze.

Aaron targeted the Gotham villains case-by-case. He checked their psychological profiles, their histories, their threat levels, and then personally went after them. No Lady Shiva and no Inner Harem was involved. All they did was supply him information, Aaron himself went after the villains.

Some were already in Arkham Asylum. Which, frankly, wasn't a good place to keep them. Despite Mayor Lucius Fox's efforts, it would take time to fully rebuild Arkham Asylum into a proper psyche facility.

So, he did some background manipulation. Elizabeth Kane's father held a huge influence in the GCPD and the bureaucracy of Gotham. So did Tanya. With two of them acting in tandem, he had them place Scarecrow and the Mad Hatter into Gotham State Penitentiary.

NOT Blackgate Penitentiary because fuck that place. It was the mirror of Arkham Asylum, a failure of a containment facility. Aaron had Lucius and Elizabeth focus on diverting the budget to something old and untainted. Gotham State Penitentiary was the perfect mould for his plan.

Last week, it was Black Mask. Today, it was Bane. Punchline had told him how he was one of the villains that was with her when the Joker changed her. Using all the magic and technology at his disposal, he found him.

He was at a warehouse, seemingly stocking up on weapons. From the outside, he looked fine.

The moment Aaron's foot touched the ground, the large man spun to face him.

Bane, the Venom addict. Bane, who sometimes fought for justice but whose hate for Batman often superseded his morality. Bane who destroyed Arkham Asylum. Bane who nearly destroyed Gotham when he ruled it.

"Who are you?" Bane asked.

Aaron half-expected him to go crazy. He didn't. So he didn't answer his question either.

Bane was immediately irritated. "You dare enter my domain?"

The humongous man lunged forward, his fist aiming for the Chosen One's chest.

Aaron effortlessly sidestepped him and his swift counterattack came in a whirlwind of strikes, fists and kicks. Every single one of them landed with calculated precision.

Bane's muscles flexed as he tried to block, but the Chosen One's speed and strength was unmatched. It was like getting launched back by an explosion. Burn marks were left on his flesh.

At that moment, he realized he wasn't dealing with a normal human.

"Just who are you?" Bane hissed.

Aaron's response was swift and unforgiving. A kick to Bane's midsection sent him staggering, and a backhand strike followed, the **** causing Bane to stumble. Bane recovered, growling.

His frustration bubbled into a flurry of attacks, his blows becoming wild and uncoordinated. He swung, his fist whistling through the air, but Aaron effortlessly ducked and weaved, his movements almost dance-like.

"Tell me why you're here!"

Aaron's response was a flurry of strikes that connected with Bane's vital points, leaving him reeling.

Bane's vision blurred as he struggled to stay on his feet. His attempts to grapple with Aaron were met with swift evasions and precise counters. He was smaller than him by eight inches and significantly less bulky, granting him agility and balance identical to a certain acrobat.

"I demand answers!" Bane roared, desperation creeping into his voice. "Why do you fight like Nightwing? Like Batman? Are you one of his new students!?"

Nothing.

That was when Bane decided he had enough. He decided to activate the venom strung out through his body, through his veins and muscles. The extremely potent green steroidal compound appeared through the many delivery hoses.

He grew in size. His muscles bulged. His veins expanded unnaturally.

Bane's voice rumbled, flexing his muscles as he sized up his opponent. "Now you die!"

Bane lunged forward and swung his fists with unexpectedly calculated precision, aiming to land a crushing blow to the head. But the Chosen One's movements were fluid and almost graceful, evading Bane's strikes effortlessly.

Bane was massive. He was strong. But in this form, he was slightly slower. Just a smidge, nothing huge. But for someone as skilled as Batman, as Aaron, it made a heap of difference. Aaron understood how Batman struggled with Bane so much. For a peak human, it would be nigh impossible.

Aaron, however, was so far beyond the peak of humanity. In fact, this whole battle meant nothing to him. It was easy. Playful.

With a powerful kick, he sent Bane staggering back. His surprise was palpable as was his laboured breathing.

"You...what do want from me?" Bane growled. No answer. Hands in his pocket, Aaron refused to oblige him. Bane attacked again, relentless, but the Chosen One met every strike with eerie calmness, dodging, blocking, and countering with a finesse that was otherworldly.

Their fists clashed, each impact resonating with raw power. Bane felt a chill down his spine as he realized his usual strength was matched by an unyielding **** he couldn't comprehend. Aaron could read his thoughts, read his fears and his moves. It was easy.

Yet Bane pressed on, grunting with each strike, but the Chosen One's movements were impossibly swift. A powerful sweep of his leg knocked the heavy Bane off his feet, and he crashed to the ground.

Bane rose, panting, his eyes locked onto the Chosen One. "What do you want," he demanded, desperation colouring his voice. But the Chosen One remained silent, their expression unreadable.

A blur of movement and a flurry of strikes followed. Bane's defences faltered, his every attack countered effortlessly. The Chosen One's strikes found their mark, leaving Bane stumbling, bloodied and bruised. Each blow weakened his resolve, his consciousness slipping.

With one final strike to the nose, the Chosen One incapacitated Bane, sending him crashing to the ground. Bane's world faded to darkness as he slipped into unconsciousness, his questions left unanswered by the enigmatic entity who had bested him.

Whether it was base to base, whether it was with a year of preparation, Bane would never have been able to beat him. Aaron could have dismantled him in a million different ways before he could conceive a single thought. He was that far above the Venom-addicted human.

"Weird." Aaron squinted at his large, fallen body. "I thought he would be affected like Punchline. But he wasn't. Did he escape somehow?"

"...Hell…machine."

Two words slipped from Bane. Aaron turned and saw a purple shroud of darkness on him. He could have finished him right then and there.

He didn't. Aaron watched. He watched as Bane's body split and broke and terraformed into something else.

He grew. He grew. He grew until–

"What the hell…?"

He started to break out of the warehouse. His rapid change in size wasn't stopping either. In fact, he wasn't even remotely human at this point. Bane had transformed into a purple monster with three eyes and a huge mouth.

There was no doubt about it: if Aaron let him walk out of this, he would destroy the planet.

He teleported to the front of the middle eye, gathered up Sixth Dimensional energy, and with his palm out destroyed the purple creature from the inside out.

It was quick and easy.

Nothing remained except the falling body of Bane. Aaron caught him despite him weighing over three hundred pounds. His outfit was in tatters and green venom was splattered across his body. He wasn't dead, luckily, only ****. Perhaps if he had let the transformation manifest to its fullest potential, Bane wouldn't have been so fortunate.

'I should take him to the Justice League Dark. I bet they'd do a better job of analyzing him than me.'

His analysis of Punchline had been moot after all. No use pretending to know more than he did when he didn't. He had allies. He wasn't alone in this.

Snap!