Gotham Temporary millitary Base—
The base was quiet now—eerily so. Floodlights flickered across abandoned corridors, shadows stretching like claws across the ground. The smell of gas still lingered—Scarecrow's toxin had reduced Commissioner Gordon to a trembling wreck in the corner. His screams had gone hoarse, trapped in nightmares no one else could see.
Joker strolled in casually, boots echoing on the hollow floor. His painted smile gleamed under the dim light.
"Guess what, Straw-face? I got Batman's old bird from Riddler." He crouched, grinning inches from Scarecrow's mask. "So tell me… are you in for breaking the Bat? Making him choke on his regrets and fears? Hehehe…"
Scarecrow's voice was calm, almost surgical, his breathing distorted behind the mask.
"I am always interested in dismantling him. But tell me...what have you planned this time? Kill Nightwing before his eyes? Or make the boy spill his mentor's blood? Form what I know of him....both would fail. He always saves them. He always does."
Joker tilted his head back and clapped mockingly.
"Ahahahahaha! No, Doctor. Not at all. Those are old tricks. Outdated. Boring! Come on now—make another guess."
Scarecrow tilted his head, the hiss of his mask filling the silence.
"Then perhaps… torture him. Break him down, limb by limb, until there is nothing left but silence. Like you did..... to the previous Robin."
Joker froze then burst out laughing. He started tp laugh—loud, unhinged, echoing through the hangar. He clutched his ribs, his face twisting with delight.
"Ahahahaha! Ohhh, Jonathan… you made me remember something so much fun. I can still see it—Batsy's face when he found out what happened to his little bird. The disbelief. The horror. The hate! Ohhh, it was priceless!Hahahahahahahahaha!"
His laughter suddenly snapped into stillness. Joker leaned in, his eyes glittering.
"But no… I've thought of something better. Something fresh. Something that will rip the Bat's soul apart from the inside." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Let's pay a visit… to his little Batgirl."
The room seemed colder at that moment.
Scarecrow tilted his head, understanding dawning in his cruel voice.
"…So that is the game. Interesting. Very interesting. Love—what a meaningless emotion."
The two madmen stood in the stolen army base, one laughing, the other calculating, while Gordon whimpered in the corner—his nightmares nothing compared to what was coming.
---------
Massacre Swamp—
"You know, filthy green servant."
Poison Ivy glared at Bane, his pale eyes unblinking as the vines tightened around him.
"None of this… is of any use to me."
A drop of sweat dripped from Poison ivy's forehead as she stretched out hundreds of tree roots one after another reinforcing the already tangled zombie Bane.
But everything seemed meaningless as the plants blackened and withered under the touch of rot. Bane gave a slight pull—
Snap.
The vines broke.
The monster stepped forward, his rotting bulk towering over her.
"Poison Ivy, right? Can I call you Ivy? I hear they call you that."
Squeak!
A gunshot cracked.
Shields of trees burst upward, one after another in matter of seconds to defend against the surge gun attack. Ivy's reflex saves her. The electric surge barely penetrated the first layer before dying.
Beside her lay Plant Master Jason Wood, barely alive, breathing shallow, his body limp like a fallen log.
Deadshot stood at Bane's side. His once-handsome face now sagged with rot and maggots. Interlocking canines jutted from his jaw, red flesh dangling loose. His pale eyes were the only thing left of him.
The Cheshire Cat still wore her mask—maybe a shred of self, maybe nothing. Poison ivy didnt know. It didn't matter, such a feeble self-awareness couldn't possibly resist the rot. The rot had consumed her already.
Nearby, the Ventriloquist had lost his glasses and now clutched a Thompson, his once cherished Batman doll discarded. Insect limbs protruding from his mouth twiched slightly.
They were all infested by the Rot, just like the one called Bane.
And then came the one Ivy dreaded most.
"…No…"
Harley Quinn staggered into view. Her red and blue twintails now loose and untied, her chemically bleached skin cracked as black blood spilling down her chin. The dark green armor Ivy had woven for her was stained pitch-black.
"In the end… you failed everyone, Ivy. But you still have a chance to salvage something."
Bane's monstrous hand reached for her.
"Hehehe. All we need is you. The agent of the Green. This woman—Harley Quinn—she is insignificant. You care about her. But we don't need such a mortal."
His voice split into two, both hunters of the Rot speaking as one:
"Let's make a deal. One for many. You know the truth—corruption isn't always irreversible. We only want you. This woman will open her eyes in a few hours, intact. All you must do… is join the Black. Dont be afraid. The purification process is heavenly."
Jason coughed behind her waking up at some point, spitting splinters of green wood. His voice was faint.
"I hate you, Ivy. I really do. But I hate the Rot more. Don't surrender. It isn't a solution."
Ivy forced a bitter smile.
"I know what you mean. That even if I give myself up, they won't let Harley go. That death is the nature of the Rot—they will always desire that."
Jason weakly nodded.
"Yes… exactly."
Bane chuckled. "if that's what you are worried about perhaps we can try a different deal."
Then he pointed at Jason.
"You don't want to come to us, we understand. You just don't understand the Rot. How about someone else?"
"That man poisoning your ear. Plant Master. Right? You've betrayed him once—why not twice? Trading an enemy for a friend? There's no better deal."
"Isn't there a saying? Either don't do it or do it to the end?"
Jason face changes in horror as he coughed harder, his voice ragged.
"…I understand the Rot can't be trusted. But there's no other way. It's okay to sacrifice yourself ivy."
Ivy's eyes snapped to him, burning with disdain.
"You serious? You really think they'll spare you after corrupting me? Idiot. Coward."
Jason lowered his gaze staringon the mud of the forest floor . His whisper trembled.
"Since it's hopeless… burn me. Burn me to death before they claim me. I don't fear death. But becoming one with the Rot…" He shuddered. "…that should never happen."
Bane's laugh shook the swamp.
"Hahaha! Green weeds, are you both done with your pathetic little discussion? Then tell me—your decision. Quickly. I want to hear you beg."
Jason's face paled. He looked at Ivy desperately.
"Fast…ivy use the Green… rub the vines… make fire… end me before they take me."
Ivy stared at him. Her lips curled in a bitter smile, though her eyes were wet with fury.
"You know… I tried. I really tried. But we aren't hopeless."
Her voice hardened, defiant. Staring at bane's rotten face she claims.
"We still have hope. Even if I hate to admit it—our last, greatest hope… is Batman."
"Batman?" Bane's gray eyes flickered with hatred. Even his rotting face seemed to twitch.
"This… is your hope? To cling to him? A mortal? To place your survival in the hands of a coward who fled? Pathetic."
His voice dripping with venom. "Even though you are supposed to be my enemy. I am really....disappointed."
He steps closer, vines cracking under his decayed boots. " Even if a miracle happens and he comes — so what? He is just a man. A man who hides behind a mask. He can't save you. He can't save anyone."
He stepped closer, his stench suffocating as his foul breadth hits Ivy.
"Batman will also lose in the end."
Slam.
Zombie Bane's skull gets smashed into the dirt, the ground cracking beneath the blow. Dust and stone flew. His rotted tendons tore under the sudden force.
A shadow loomed above him. Cloaked, silent, unwavering, looking down on him as if looking at a twig.
Batman had arrived.
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